When she wakes, the skies outside have turned dark again. She rises from her bed with a small groan, and it doesn't take long to realize she isn't sleeping over her bed. She glances around at the room. It's a barren room, with nothing but a single bed and a small desk by the side. It's a familiar room. It's a room identical to the one Tabitha's mother was sleeping in.

She leaves, and she winces as light assaults her eyes. Her body is still aching from the stress she put herself in. Everything feels a little too raw. Too bright. But she's dealt with far worse, and so she continues on.

She eventually hears someone speaking in the distance. She quickly identifies it as Tabitha and her mother. She begins walking towards them. She soon makes her way to the living room she passed by when she was heading for Tabitha's mother's room, and there she sees them at the dining table, sitting by one another as they talk. Tabitha is sharing her stories, talking with more animation than Louise has ever seen, and her mother listens to it all with fondness and a desperate sort of hunger.

The two have missed each other deeply, it seems.

Smiling, she turns and leaves. Or at least she tries to. Because Tabitha quickly notices her and calls out to her. Which pulls the mother's attention as well. And soon Louise finds herself unable to turn away.

"Louise!" Tabitha calls out, smiling as she races towards her. Louise smiles back, and then nearly gapes as Tabitha flings herself onto her and hugs her. "Thank you! Thank you…!"

Louise actually gapes this time, her image of Tabitha and the queen she will be warring in the confines of her mind. She turns a desperate gaze to her mother, and the woman simply giggles as she smiles. "I have heard of you, Louise de La Valliere." She bows, and Louise doesn't miss the tears in her eyes. "Thank you. Thank you for bringing me back to my daughter."

She composes herself then. Because this is the technically current queen of Galia talking to her, and she will not make a fool of herself. Or at least more than she already has. "It is no easy feat. But for a friend?" She glances down at the tearful girl hugging her, and she smiles fondly. "For a friend? I'll do everything I can."

Tentatively, she wraps her arms around the crying girl. She isn't really sure why. But the girl is warm. She feels nice.

Tabitha's mother gains a strange glint in her eyes then. And something inside her shivers in terror.

They have dinner after that, despite how late it is. The mother and daughter have missed their dinner because of their reunion it seems, and Louise has missed all her meals. And so the butler returns, pushing a cart filled with food fit for an entire family. Which is fitting, she supposes.

They eat slowly, their time interspersed with conversations. They'll talk about their time in the Academy and outside. Of their lives and of their wiles. Of their hopes and of what they want. Louise doesn't bother sugarcoating anything. She doesn't want to.

There is anger when Elise hears of the mistreatment she suffers because of her inabilities. There is sadness when she hears of her argument with her own mother. Elise asks why she trains herself so harshly, and she says that it is to prepare for when this fragile peace across Halkegenia is broken. Tabitha flinches then, far too familiar with it due to her own position, and Elise easily notices it. She reaches over and hugs them both, and Louise shamefully allows herself to sink into the warmth she provides.

She wonders then. If her mother had been more like Elise, even just by a little, would her fate have been different? Would she still have turned to be who she is now? She doesn't know. Nor does she really want to.

Those memories turned her into who she is today, and she will never be ashamed of who she is.

The night goes on, and they talk even through midnight. There is much the woman has missed out on, and Tabitha is more than happy to provide it. Louise chimes in once in a while, using what little she can remember to paint a picture of the current Halkegenia.

The woman's eyes harden when she hears that Joseph is the current king of Galia, and the living room trembles with willpower when Tabitha finally musters the courage to speak of what Joseph has done to her. Louise is surprised that Tabitha has spoken of it that early, and that she says it with Louise present. She's even more surprised to feel the wave of willpower the woman releases.

She is the queen, she supposes.

Then Elise turns to her, burning ferocity in her eyes, and for a moment Louise loses herself in memories. Remembering Tabitha's-, nay, Queen Charlotte's eyes as they speak of what had been lost.

"Have they done the same to you?" Elise asks. Louise blinks, unsure what the woman means, and she elaborates, "Has Tristain done what Joseph has done to my daughter?"

And then Louise understands. Tabitha has most likely spoken about her assumptions of her. Of how she thinks she's a weapon Tristain has cultivated in secret. She opens her mouth to reject the notion, and then stops.

Because…that is true, in a sense. In her previous life, when Tristain learns of her standing as a Void Mage, it doesn't take long for people to turn to her. To look upon her as the savior. What scorn there once was turned into desperate pleading. No one turned to her when she first lost Saito. No one gave her a shred of an apology when Romalia let her be captured by Joseph.

No one.

So her mouth slowly closes. Elise's eyes narrow. "So it's true." She says chillingly, and Louise lowers her eyes in shame. It's both true and not. It hasn't happened but it will. And something inside her hurts.

She doesn't know when Tabitha hugged her. She doesn't know when Elise has reached over with a napkin in hand. She doesn't know why they're doing what they are. The woman sees her confusion, and she smiles sadly. "You are crying, dear." Louise blinks. She reaches up to her cheeks, and she feels moisture. She realizes that, yes, she is crying. More shame curls inside her, and she shuts her eyes.

"Don't." Elise suddenly says, and Louise opens her eyes to see her glaring. Louise nearly flinches back. "Don't be ashamed. For tears are not a sign of weakness. For letting loose is not failure." Elise hugs her close then. "I know not of what you have endured. I know not for how long. But it has gone long enough." Elise smiles. "It is alright. You have done well."

You've done well.

Elise feels warm. Tabitha feels warm. It's a warmth she desperately misses. It's a warmth she once felt when she slept next to Saito. It's a warmth she felt when Tiffania comforted her during her moments of stress. It's the warmth she felt when Charlotte cried into her shoulders as the adversary of the void was felled.

It's a familiar warmth.

And whether it is her young body or her old soul or both in tandem, Louise clutches onto the woman like a child and cries. She cries and sobs, for both what she has felt and what she will never again see. For the people she once knew and the people she will never again see. For what has gone by and what never again will.

She cries and cries. And before she knows it, she's tucked under a blanket, sleeping together with Elise and Tabitha. She blushes then, but Elise simply smiles and shushes her. It's a familiar gesture, and she manages a small smile as she lets her eyes close.

Tabitha is still hugging her then, and she falls asleep in comforting warmth.

Sadly, she and Tabitha need to return the next day. They have been gone for long enough. Thankfully, summer vacation is soon to come, and they promise to come. Tabitha shares a hug with her mother before they leave, and she is surprised Elise sneaks up and hugs her as well. She accepts it with a small, embarrassed smile.

They rise atop Sylphid and leave for the Academy. They'll arrive back by night then, but it is fine. It isn't as if Louise actually needs any of the Academy's lessons, and nor does Tabitha. Louise can't actually use anything they provide, and Tabitha has learnt everything she needs.

She isn't actually sure how strong Tabitha is now. There is a limiter on her willpower, one she willingly placed on herself. If she lets herself loose, how strong will she be? Triangle-Class? Square-Class? Maybe even Pentagon? Tabitha being a Pentagon Mage this early is rather unlikely, but anything can happen.

Their flight back to the Academy is silent, but it is warm. Tabitha leans against her as she reads her book, and Louise greedily takes the warmth. She isn't sure when the girl has gotten so close, nor why Louise has become so needy for it, but none of them mind. The night is warm as they fly.

…

The next day arrives. Louise eats her breakfast, thanks the staff, and returns to the courtyard. Except Tabitha is already there, dressed in loose slacks and a shirt, her large wooden staff leaning against her as she sat against Sylphid. The girl perks up when she approaches, and when Louise asks what she's doing, she simply says, "Train, together."

The warmth she felt yesterday surges back, and she nods before she can do anything else.

A Silence is cast over the courtyard, and they train. She creates that careful balance between destruction and reconstruction in her body and trains. She swings her sword and creates explosion after explosion. The air around her twists as she floods it with willpower, and the earth she tears up is wound back to the ground by her Void Magic.

Tabitha slings spell after spell. Water rushes all across the field. Winds sweep through the skies. They merge as one, and bergs of ice rise like blooming flowers. Frost creeps all across the grass, expanding like a growing parasite, and only stopped by the destruction Louise's own explosions are causing.

Her assumptions are proven right. The limiter on Tabitha's willpower is gone, and there is no doubt she is a Square Mage. Those icebergs of hers are created from two stacks of water and wind magic each. There is, of course, still the chance that Tabitha can go even further and breach into Pentagon-Class, but Tabitha hasn't shown anything.

They leave for lunch when noon arrives. The cafeteria falls silent when she goes in, and then whispers come when Tabitha follows behind her. They grab their meals, she thanks the staff, and they eat as a slow conversation comes between them. They return their empty plates, head back to the courtyard, and begin their training anew.

She's rather surprised Tabitha still has enough energy to continue, and then dashes that notion. Of course she has the stamina. The untold number of missions Joseph has most likely forced on the young girl has made her stronger. Fighting for hours on end is probably nothing new for her.

She's somewhat surprised when Tabitha hasn't gone to Kirche yet. The girl only shrugs and says that she is busy trying to romance her familiar.

Louise blinks then, and remembers that, yes, Kirche does end up trying to woo Saito into her bed. He didn't fall for it the last time, and he hasn't fallen for it this time either. It seems he and Siesta are developing something. Which is good. The two fit rather well with one another, she'll say.

When night falls, they bid each other farewell and Louise returns to the dorms. She does take a quick visit to Saito's room. He doesn't open the door, and, curiously, it is unlocked. For a moment suspicion rises in her, followed by fear, before she shakes her head and pushes it open.

Only to find him pushing Siesta down on his bed.

They blink at her, and she stares for a few seconds before she bids them goodnight and attempts to leave. She doesn't get to. Saito quickly rushes and pulls the door open, and Siesta apologizes over and over for her misconduct. Louise blinks at it all before she shakes her head and says that she's fine with it.

"If your heart's in it, then you can do whatever you want, Saito."

"And I keep saying, that's not-!"

Louise carefully ignores the rest.

She asks how Saito has been doing in his classes, and she's surprised when he mentions that he's a Line Mage now. A Line Mage with an affinity for Fire and Wind. Wind is most likely taken from her relation as a Valliere. His affinity with Fire however,

She suppresses a flinch. She doesn't know if it's coincidence or a cruel joke, but the two deaths Saito went through are due to flames. He'd been struck down by flaming arrows in his last stand against Albion, and he was burnt away by the adversary's flames as he fought to save Tristain.

Nonetheless, Wind and Fire are two complementary affinities. He would do well.

She bids the two goodnight, though not before giving them a cheeky smile and telling them not to go too far just yet. She closes the door just as she sees the two blush, and she lets free the laugh she's been holding as she enters her own room. Those two are truly adorable. Maybe she'll give Saito a ring to propose to the maid on his birthday.

She leans her sword against her desk and drops onto her bed. She turns and tumbles for a moment, uncomfortable with the lack of warmth, before she finally manages to sleep.

She dreams of deaths and flames. The night is an uncomfortable one.

…

It takes her a week to realize something ironic.

She is the master. Saito is the familiar. In the past, that is how their roles had been. She fought behind him, and he sped to the frontlines. She fought with her spells, and he fought with Derflinger. She created spells and he cut them apart.

Except now it has reversed, hasn't it? She is the one fighting directly. He is the one learning to be a mage.

It's an irony deep enough to make her laugh. Tabitha glances at her, confused, and she just shrugs and says, "I just thought of a joke."

Tabitha blinks before she returns to bombarding the courtyard with bergs of ice.

In a sense, Louise should've expected this. Maybe she's gotten her expectations off. Maybe her timing was off, but she really, really should've expected this.

Saito is, and always will be, a kind boy. A boy with his heart on his sleeve. A heart that bleeds for all injustice and cruelty. Even years later, though his flames had been reduced to embers, that same kindness remained, and it was that same kindness that became the hope that spurred their charge towards victory.

And Siesta is a gentle soul, but hiding behind that gentle facade is a lion, a beast kept in chains by nothing else but her own kind nature. Soft flesh hiding a heart of edged steel. She doesn't trust easily. She doesn't love easily. But when she does, she loves with all her heart, and like a dragon hiding their hoard, her wings will span over those that have been hurt.

So when Saito finally got fed up with people mistreating Siesta, and when Siesta finally makes a stand against the students, Louise decides enough is enough and finally steps in.

Unsurprisingly, it is Guiche who caused all this. He'd been walking when a maid bumped into him. He began berating her, threatening her, and Saito stepped in to help her. Guiche, seeing this, called him a fake, and Siesta, fed up with all the tension surrounding the Academy, blew up and called him out on his two-timing act. The girl he was with, Katie, asked if it was true, Montmorency was coincidentally present in the cafeteria, and everything spiraled from there.

She first opts to watch them. To see how Saito would handle it. And he did it admirably. He did all he could to protect him. But he wasn't a noble just yet, and so when Guiche promised to buy Siesta's contract off, there was little he could do.

And for a moment, a different memory comes to mind. A memory of the man Guiche would become. A fierce warrior. A great knight. He would fight with all his might. His valkyries would blanket the skies, and they would rain the battlefields with spears and arrows. A one-man army. The great general of the West.

Louise finds herself walking towards them. Her willpower floods the cafeteria. The floor begins to shake, and some chairs snap under the weight. Everyone turns to her then, and whatever noise there was falls away. Guiche turns to her, and the snarl he had slips off, replaced by a fearful tremble.

"Guiche de Gramont, I ask you this," She says, and her voice is cold. "You are a Gramont, are you not?"

"Y-Yes?"

She snaps her fingers. The bottle of perfume in his hand shatters and disappears. All the students back away, and she hears someone begin to cry. She doesn't pay any attention to them. She keeps her eyes on the boy. On the trembling, fearful boy. She glares, the memory of who this boy would become warring with this infantile child.

"Then where is he?"

He blinks, confused. "W-What?"

"Where is the Gramont you speak of?" She tilts her head. "General Gramont is an honorable man. A powerful man. He is a knight of great valor. He has served Tristain for years." Her eyes narrow. "You claim to be his son. You claim to bear that same honor and valor. So where is it?"

A chair in the distant snaps.

"You claim to hold his power. Where is it?"

Something metallic in the distance shrieked.

"You claim to hold his respect. Where is it?"

An entire table explodes.

"You claim to be a man of your word. To be a knight who protects." She takes a step towards him. "So where is it?"

Then, to her horror, Guiche drops to the floor and begins crying. No, not crying. Outright sobbing. She stares for a moment, completely thrown, before a harrowing sort of disgust rises beneath her chest. This boy-, how dare he? How dare he? How dare he sully her memory of that valiant man? How dare he taint it!?

The weight in the air triples, and she barely manages to restrain herself from exploding this entire cafeteria into the earth. She doesn't do that. Instead, she takes a breath, then two, and with what restraint she has she says, "You are but a petty boy. A mere skirt chaser. You do not deserve your name."

She turns to Saito, Siesta, and the maid he saved. They were staring at her with both fear and awe. She sighs. "Come. Follow me to my room. Let us talk there." And she doesn't wait for a reply. She grabs the handle to the door and purposely flings it open. It smashes against the wall with a loud bang. Everyone flinches.

She walks, and she hears footsteps following behind her. She doesn't need to turn to see that they've followed her. They don't say anything, and nor does she.

They soon make it to her room, and the door shuts behind them with harrowing finality. Or, at least that's what she assumes. Because the maid Saito saves finally turns to her and begins apologizing profusely, and she can only stand there for a full minute as she waits it out. The girl eventually tires though, and she finally gets a chance to speak.

"I'm not going to bite." She says first. They all pale, and she realizes that's probably not something she should say to a frightened crowd. "I'm not going to hurt you. You're fine." She says instead. Thankfully, the tension begins to bleed away. "None of you were wrong. It is Guiche that has done a misdeed to you all."

"And don't worry about the other nobles. Any that attempts will be…handled." She says carefully. Because saying that she'll 'put the fear of death in their life' isn't really appropriate. Nor is saying 'remind them that she is childhood friends with the princess and can get their heads chopped off with a word'.

So she gently places a hand on the maid's head and smiles. "You have done nothing wrong. Remember that. Just be careful next time."

The maid cries again, and when she reaches over for a hug, Louise indulges her. She's saved countless people, had many grasp onto her and cried as if she was the only thread keeping them alive. This is not so different. The girl apologizes once more for her act, she pushes it off with a shrug, and the maid soon leaves with a bright smile.

And with that gone, she finally turns to the pair. Sometime during it, Siesta has stepped between her and Saito, like a lioness protecting her herd. It's both familiar and endearing, and she fails to stop a smile from coming onto her lips. "I will repeat my words. Neither of you did anything wrong."

Their tension finally falls, and Saito actually droops. "Oh, I thought I was going to die." Siesta catches him before he can drop onto the floor. "Sorry, I just-, fuck, that was terrifying."

"What confidence you have to say that in my face."

He grins. "Well, you aren't going to kill me, right?"

She barked out a laugh. Oh, she's forgotten this. This sass. One that always follows any stressful situations he'd find himself in. How truly familiar. "True, true." She says, before she turns to Siesta. Her smile turns softer then. "And thank you for protecting him, Siesta of Tarbes. It is not something anyone can do."

"O-Oh, um, it's fine, Lady Valliere."

She grimaces. "Louise is fine." She doesn't like being associated with her…family. But she doesn't say that. Because she needs to at least pretend that she doesn't want to explode her mother's face into the dust.

She looks at them then. At how close they are standing to one another. At how Siesta still stands between them. Of how the fire she remembers Siesta having in the future is just as bright now.

She makes a decision then.

"Siesta of Tarbes, do you want to become a mage?"

"...whu?"

She grins. "Do you want to become a mage?" She asks again, and she watches in amusement as the maid's cheeks begin to burn red. Saito's jaws have fallen open, completely surprised at her offer, and she smirks. "Nobles were given their titles due to their acts, not because of their blood. For what reason should magic be limited to only commoners?"

"Of course, if you do become one, you need to keep it away from the nobles. You'll have to learn on your own. Maybe borrow the books Saito has received from the Academy. Maybe borrow some yourself. But it is your choice." She narrows her eyes. "You wish to protect him. Are you ready to bear this burden?"

And just like that, the steel in her eyes becomes clear to see. "I am."

She smiles, and a Silence is cast.

She performs the same spell as she did on the first day of her return. A magic circle lights under their feet, and wind sweeps throughout the room as she begins to speak. "So I decree this: For let our fate be intertwined as one. For let our souls ring as one." She takes a breath. "For let your life lay in Hiraga Saito's hand. For let his life lay in yours. For shall you walk together upon this path destiny has once laid." She looks at her and smiles. "Do you accept these terms, Siesta of Tarbes?"

And with no hesitation, Siesta says, "I do."

She closes her eyes. "Then let this contract be done."

And then Siesta screams as Runes begin to burn on the back of her right hand, her recently awakened willpower carving them one rune at a time. Saito is there to catch her as she writhes, her teeth harshly grit as she bears the pain with commendable tenacity.

Louise twitches as runes form on the back of her right hand, runes glowing as they form one line at a time.

Soon, the lights fade, and the new runes lose their light. She quickly places an Illusion spell over her right hand. It'd be rather strange for someone to have two sets of runes on them. "I'd suggest wearing gloves to hide your runes." She says. "Saito can freely show his because he's my familiar, but you are not."

"That…I will do, mistress."

She frowns. "...there is no need to call me that. Saito is your master. You are his maid. I am just an…observer." She hides a grimace at her own word, despite how true it is.

Siesta looks affronted at that, and she shakes her head. "Nay, you are my mistress, just as Saito is my master." She looks up to her, with that unbending determination. "You have given me the greatest gift I have ever received. I will come to your aid anytime you need it, mistress."

She sighs. "Very well."

She soon leaves the two to their own devices. Saito can easily teach Siesta how to bring out Siesta's willpower. And she knows Siesta will be able to.

Because she knows who that girl is. She knows who she is. She knows just how far she can reach. She knows how strong the steel inside her is.

So she leaves for the courtyard, and as always, Tabitha is there to meet her. "Need, help?" Tabitha asks, no doubt having heard of what happened. She shakes her head and simply smiles, and Tabitha nods. The girl knows just how much pull she has, and even if someone tries something, they'll sooner find their heads blown up before anything else.

So a Silence spell is cast over the courtyard, and they begin their training for the day, preparing for the day when everything falls apart, interspersed with slow chatter over mundane matters.

They train deep into the night, and they share a hug before they part. Some part of her still feels embarrassed about it, about how affectionate Tabitha has become and about how needy she has become for her warmth, but she enjoys it nonetheless. They separate with smiles and a promise to meet again tomorrow.

She returns to her room. She stays up for another hour, watching the night sky, seeing the stars glimmer back from high above. She sleeps after.

Her sleep is pleasant then, filled with food and fond memories.