Please note that I do not own Familiar of Zero or Fate
Also please note I do not know much about the Fate Universe. I will try and search everything I can, But I will make mistakes. And I'll make a lot of them. Please tell me so I can fix them. I'm doing this to try and cure my writer's block, so please don't bash me too hard in the comments.
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The room was decorated like a serene forest. Ivy and vines grew around furniture made of the darkest oak. Delicate flowers and emerald grass sprouted from cracks in the brick walls. Ferns and moss clung to the large bed, so thick and lush that you couldn't see the frame anymore.
Such was a bedroom in the mansion located in a Welsh forest. In fact, the entire estate had been taken over by nature, even though someone still called this place his home.
On the bed in the bedroom, a swarm of butterflies and moths lightly fluttered their wings on a breathing body. The body didn't seem to mind, allowing the colorful insects to do what they wished.
This was how the master of the estate spent his days, too weak to do anything else. He had the strength to walk on rare occasions, holding onto a small cane as he treaded around the forests surrounding his home, almost like a content elderly who had enough excitement.
Today, however, was not one of those rare days. The master's strength slowly being sapped away. His familiars did their best to keep the mansion tidy, but there was only so much a swarm of moths could do.
He heard the sound of his bedroom door opening. That's strange. He wasn't expecting any visitors today. Not that he knew many people in the first place. He weakly twitched a finger, but it was enough for the moths to understand. They flew away from his upper body, resting on his legs and abdomen.
With all the power he could muster, he tried pushing himself up. He knew he didn't have the strength to, but it was the required courtesy he could offer for someone who took the trouble of visiting him. He was surprised when a firm hand forced him back into his lying position.
"Geez. Stop pushing yourself. I can't save you a second time." The voice was irritated, but the master of the house could still tell he cared. If only a little.
He opened his eyes and was met with the sour face of a man roughly in his early thirties. He wore a red coat with golden ornamentations on its shoulders, but his black hair had long since fallen past them. His black, greenish eyes glared at him as the creases on his brows deepened.
A foggy memory rose to the surface. Though it was clouded with pain, he still remembered it nonetheless. The face of a fearful young man who saved him from that burning hellscape.
"Lord El-Melloi II. I did not expect you to visit. I still haven't repaid you for saving my life. For that, I apologize." His voice was raspy-barely audible, but it got the point across.
The lord huffed. "Save your talks of debt when you're recovered enough to walk. I doubt you even have a pound to your name right now."
The master of the house huffed, but he still laughed. "I guess that's true. Why have you decided to visit? I hardly find it believable that a lord would take time only to check up on some boy he saved."
The Lord of Mordern Magecraft sighed. "Your... acquaintance wanted to see you."
"Hmm? What are you...?" He noticed the young girl beside the lord.
A young British girl with green eyes and grayish hair was fidgeting at his bedside. The face covered by the gray hood wasn't unfamiliar, but it was still vastly different from the one he remembered.
"Gray? That's you? Right?"
When they were younger, they were good friends, often playing together in the forest surrounding his mansion. But then other things happened.
"Yes...I realized we hadn't seen each other for over ten years. And when I heard about your curse from Sir, I just had to rush over."
The master of the house contemplated her words for a few moments. "'Sir?' Don't tell me you became-"
"She became my apprentice a few years back." The lord coughed to clear his throat.
"I see..." The master of the house was sober, if only for a split second. After a moment, he burst into laughter. "I couldn't have ever imagined you as a magus! You were already goofy enough. Being afraid of ghosts as a grave keeper. I remember scaring you so much with my spells that you hid in a tree! Fufufufu. Oh, what I wouldn't give to see that again!"
"G-geez, Saito. Can you not embarrass me for one moment?" The girl seemed flustered. Though the words seemed to criticize, Gray knew this was merely his way of joking around.
Saito continued laughing for a good few seconds before he was forced to stop by a cough. The jerking motion roused something from its slumber, causing it to fly from its place in Saito's hair. It landed on Gray's head. She yelped at the sudden contact.
"Hirei. Come back. I know you're excited, but don't make Gray uncomfortable." Saito called to the white bird.
The bird seemed reluctant, but after a few persuasive words from its master, it flew back and settled in Saito's black hair.
"I see his favorite place is still your head." Gray giggled.
Saito sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if he's gonna make my hair his nest-Ow!" The bird seemed to understand his master was making fun of him. So he pecked him with his beak.
"Hehehe. You're still as lively as always." Gray mused, "But it's my first time seeing you in this form."
Saito nodded. "I only come to this mansion in the winter, so you never got to see my summer form. I'm surprised you even recognized me."
"Well, your eyes gave it away."
Saito's eyes were unique. Orbs of constantly shifting rainbows on a canvas of silver and gold. "I guess they did." He paused for a while, wondering about something. He seemed to have made a decision as he began pushing himself up from bed.
"Don't push yourself. Lie down." Lord El-Melloi II scolded him for his stupidity while Gray was too busy supporting him.
"Hah! As if I'm some frail old man. Gray, help me stand. I could use a bit of fresh air."
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"Well, take care on your way back." Saito waved. The sun was setting, making the room glow orange. The various plants seemed almost mystical under the sunlight.
"We will." Lord El-Melloi II nodded.
"And come back anytime. I get bored often."
"Okay. It was nice seeing you." Gray waved one last time before she closed the door.
Saito slumped back on his bed, exhausted. He smiled. "Well. That was the most entertainment I've had since forever."
His eyes widened. A pulse of magical energy was spreading through the house. He called to his familiars, and they fluttered beside him at once
A round, mirror-like object appeared before him. It was a large ellipse, about two meters high and one meter wide. It was floating a few centimeters above his bed. "Did someone breach the barrier?" He wondered, staring at the obviously magecraft-caused phenomenon. "Why did this spell materialize here?" It didn't seem malicious, but you could never be too careful. It looked like a portal, but that was almost impossible. Teleportation was all but impossible in the Age of Man.
He poked the spell with his cane, and nothing happened. Then, he threw a leaf freshly plucked from the many plants in his room into the portal. It vanished. "A transportation spell.' Saito decided. "It's best if I don't touch it. I don't know what it'll do to me-Huh?" To his horror, he realized he accidentally poked the ellipse without noticing. It felt like electricity was running through his body. Saito fainted.
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The first thing he noticed when he awoke was the bright sunlight shining on his face, so bright it almost blinded his eyes. 'What in the world...?' He tried to rub his eyes. To allow them to adjust to the sun.
The second thing, and the thing that shocked him the most, was that he couldn't move. He couldn't even lift a hand to soothe his burning eyeballs. He was so weak he felt like a newborn, unable to cry. It was as if he was a corpse. His Glam Sight allowed him to see the traces of magical energy surrounding him, and he found it was abnormally thin, almost like he was...repelling it away.
"Who are you?"
He used what little Prana left to turn his eyes away from the dirt. The sky was a clear blue.
A girl was staring at him intently. She was kneeling down, looking shocked at his face. She seemed about sixteen, with a white blouse and gray pleated skirt. Reddish-brown eyes held curiosity like a kitten, and her strawberry blond hair framed her flawless white face.
'Who...She's cute. Is that a school uniform?'
Saito had no idea how he got there. 'The transportation spell. Did this girl cast it?' He was lying on his side, which allowed him to see the crowd of people in black cloaks curiously examining him. In the distance, on an endless rick grassy plain, he saw a magnificent castle with stone walls. It vaguely reminded him of European tour photographs.
'Where am I?' He couldn't even wince as a pang rang through his skull. 'My head's killing me.'
"Well? Answer me, familiar!" The girl seemed irritated as she yelled at him.
'Familiar? Does she mean me?' Now that he focused, he could feel magical energy flowing from the girl into him. 'Why would someone summon me of all things? I may be the child of elementals, but I'm still human.'
He sucked up as much air as possible and choked out a raspy response. "S-Saito..."
"Where are you from, commoner?"
'Commoner? Didn't that term fall out of usage a few hundred years ago?' Everyone around him had some stick in their hand. Oh, shit. There were all mages, weren't they?
"Louise, where were you thinking, calling a commoner with 'Summon Servant?'" Someone asked, and everyone but the girl before him began laughing.
"I... I just made a little mistake!" The girl shouted in a refined voice that carried like a bell."
"What mistake are you talking about? Nothing unusual happened."
"Of course! After all, she's Louise the Zero!" Someone else said, and the crowd burst into laughter again.
'So, her name is Louise.'
"Mr. Colbert!" The girl shouted.
The crowd parted, revealing a balding, middle-aged man.
'He must be the teacher here.' Saito decided, seeing as the man seemed more experience than these youngsters.
The girl named Louise seemed to be in a panic, begging to redo something and gesticulating franticly.
"Oh, my. Is this what you summoned, Miss Vallière? He looks like a corpse." The teacher, named Colbert, bent down and put his finger below Saito's nose. "You don't need to worry. He's still breathing. But I recommend getting medical attention as soon as you finish the ritual."
"That's not...! Please! Let me try the summoning one more time!"
'I see. So this girl did summon me. I can't understand why, and judging by her attitude, she doesn't know, either.'
Mr. Colbert shook his head. "I can't allow that, Miss Vallière."
"Why not?"
"It is strictly forbidden. When you are promoted to a second-year student, you must summon a familiar, which is what you just did."
'Familiar?!'
"Your elemental specialty is decided by the familiar you summon. It enables you to advance to the appropriate courses for that element. You can not change the familiar once you have summoned it because the 'Springtime Familiar Summoning' is a sacred rite. Whether you like it or not, you had no choice but to take him."
"But... I've never heard of having a commoner as a familiar!"
Everyone around laughed. Louise scowled at them. The laughter did not stop.
''Springtime Familiar Summoning?' Is that the spell they used to transport me here? Never mind that. I have to run away. Who knows what these people will do to a half-elemental like me.'
"This is a tradition, Miss Vallière. I cannot allow any exceptions; he," The middle-aged Mage pointed at Saito. "May be a commoner, but he must be your familiar as long as you summoned him. A human has never been a Familiar in history, but the Springtime Familiar Summoning takes precedence over every rule. In other words, there is no other way around it; he must become your Familiar."
"You have got to be joking..." Louise drooped her shoulders in disappointment.
"Well then, continue with the ceremony."
"With him?"
"Yes, with him. Hurry. The next class will begin any minute."
"How much longer are you going to take?"
"After mistake upon mistake, you have finally managed to summon him. Hurry and form a contract."
Everyone voiced their agreement and began jeering.
Louise stared at Saito's face.
"Hey," Louise addressed Saito.
Saito could only turn his eye to look at her, having exhausted himself by saying his name.
"You should count yourself lucky. Normally, you'd go your life without a noble doing this to you."
'Lucky my ass. You literally kidnapped me.'
Louise closed her eyes with an air of resignation. She waved around the wooden stick in her hand.
"My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers; bless this humble being and make him my familiar."
She chanted that spell and touched Saito's forehead with the stick. She then lifted Saito's limp body and brought her lips closer.
'Excuse me, girly. What are you doing?!'
"I suppose it's good you don't struggle."
"Hmm...!"
Louise's lips touched Saito's.
Louise removed her lips. "It is done."
'Why is your face red. You're the one who decided to do this!'
"You have failed 'Summon Servant many times, but you have succeeded with 'Contract Servant' in one try." Colbert Sait happily.
"It's just because he's only a commoner."
"If he was a powerful magical beast, she wouldn't have been able to make a contract."
Some of the students laughed.
Louise scowled at them. "Don't make fun of me! Even I do things right once in a while!"
"Truly 'once in a while,' Louise the Zero." Laughed a girl with gorgeous curly hair and freckles on her face.
"Mr. Colbert! Montmorency the Flood just insulted me!"
"Who are you calling 'the Flood?' I'm Montmorency the Fragrance!"
"I heard that you used to wet the bed like a flood, didn't you? 'The Flood' suits you better!"
"I hadn't expected better manners from Louise the Zero."
"Watch it! Nobles ought to show each other the proper respect." The middle-aged Mage interjected.
Suddenly, Saito's body began heating up.
'What...is happening?!' A foreign concept was engraved into his being, fighting for control against his origin as an "Elemental of the Seasons." "Ah...ah!" The air around Saito seemed to heat up to the temperature of a raging summer's day, yet, somehow, also cooled to below freezing. "What...what did you mages do to me?!" Eventually, neither concept won nor was defeated. Both settled and achieved balance as a Rune was carved into Saito's left hand.
"By the way."
"What?" Saito snarled, allowing the air around him to return to normal. 'Huh? My strength is returning. I can talk now.'
"Why do you allow yourself, a commoner, to use that language in front of nobles?"
"That was quick..." The middle-aged Mage approached the kneeling Saito and checked the back of his hand. "Hmmm... These are very interesting Runes."
'What are...Gandálfr? What's the point of these Runes?'
Saito, finally having the strength to stand up, leaped to his feet. "Who are you, people?!" He swiped his hand in the air, attempting to create a rift to summon his familiars, but...it wouldn't open? 'What?!'
No one seemed to react to his sudden outburst.
"Well, let's get back to class, everyone." The middle-aged Mage turned on his heel, then rose gently into the air. The other people who looked like students did the same.
Saito looked closely with his eyes and noticed wind gathered around the mages. 'A wind spell. I think it's pretty basic.'
Everyone floating moved toward the stone walls of the castle in the distance.
"Louise, you'd better walk back."
"She shouldn't try to fly. She can't even manage levitation."
"A commoner's perfect as your familiar!"
The students all jeered as they flew away. The only ones left behind were Saito and the girl named Louise. Saito considered following them, but he wanted answers from this girl first. Besides, he couldn't use magecraft because of that stupid cursed mud, which meant he only had one other option.
As soon as it was only the two of them, Louise took a deep breath, turned toward Saito, and yelled. "Who are you?!"
"That's my line!" Saito shot back. "Who are you? Where is this place?! How did you even bring me here in the first place?!"
"I don't know what backwoods you came from, but all right, I'll explain it to you."
"Backwoods?! I'll have you know I live in a sought-after area, not some run-of-the-mill 'backwoods!'"
"Then where are you from?"
"England, Wales."
"So you're from Albion."
"Then you do know where I'm from. Where the hell am I right now?!"
"This is Tristain! And this is the renowned Tristain Academy of Magic."
"Tristain? Never heard of it. And by 'Magic Academy,' do you mean 'Clocktower?'" Saito was beginning to get a bad feeling about this situation. "Did you really summon me here?"
"That's what I've been telling you over and over again. I can't believe you're this dense. Why does my familiar have to be uncool... I wanted to have something like a dragon or a griffin. At least an eagle or an owl!"
"If you didn't want me, why'd you pick me specifically?"
"I didn't!"
"The transportation spell literally appeared right before me."
"It's not my fault the damn spell picked you! I'm just as unhappy about this as you are!"
"Well, I guess that's the only thing we agree on. And who decided the contract had to be sealed by a kiss?!"
"How should I know?! Ugh! This is a nightmare! Why do I, the third daughter of the Vallière family, have to have someone like you as my familiar?"
"You think I know?! And, by the way, you took my first kiss."
"That was mine, too!"
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"Is that true?" Louise asked, looking at Saito with an expression of disbelief. In her hand, she held bread from tonight's dinner.
They were in Louise's room. It looked like about 12 tatami mats in size. All the furniture looked like valuable antiques. Louise ordered Saito to stay here while she went about her day.
"Of course it is." The two moons outside were enough proof already. Unless some mage actually managed to clone the moon, of all things.
It was dark now, as night had fallen. He looked out the window at the twin moons. Their pale blue and pink light illuminated a mountain range in the distance. Saito sighed. How much he missed the moon's silver light.
"I can't believe it."
"Look, neither can I."
"By another world, what do you mean?"
"There's only one moon, and we aren't still in the Stone Age."
"There's such a world like that?"
"I'm telling you, it's where I came from!" Saito shouted.
"Don't yell at me, you commoner!"
"Who are you calling a commoner! I happen to be-" Saito paused. His titles didn't matter here. His mansion, his land, his forest. They were all back in his world. Meaning: even though he was a "noble" in his world, that didn't mean jack shit here. Arguing wouldn't get him anywhere. Right now, he's as poor as a beggar.
"Well, you're not a mage, right? So you're a commoner."
"Why does that matter?"
"Look, do you really know nothing about the world?"
"As I've been telling you, I happen to be from another."
At that, Louise set her elbows on the table with a troubled look.
Saito stood up, having had enough of this nonsense. "Send me back."
"That's impossible."
"Wha-?! You have enough energy to use the Kaleidoscope. Sending me back should be easy!"
"You've been bound by a contract as my familiar. I can't just send you back to wherever you came from. Once the bond is established, it can't be undone."
"Are you serious?!"
"Look, I don't like this either! Why do I have to be with a familiar like you?!"
"Then abandon me for all I care!"
"Are you saying you're really from another world?" Louise asked, seemingly still perplexed.
"Honest to-... Why are women so dense. Yes. I am."
"Show me proof."
"Well, I can't. You literally pulled me here without warning."
"Then I don't believe you."
Saito groaned, rubbing his forehead. Why was this girl such a spoiled brat?! He was a king, damn it! Why did he have to bow to this clueless damsel?
"Just...just send me back home. I don't care about whatever 'bond' we share."
"I told you, it's impossible."
"Why?!"
"Look. Let's say I believe that you're from another world. No spell connects this world to yours."
"Then how'd I end up here?!"
"I wish I knew!"
Saito and Louise glared at each other.
"Listen. I'm being honest when I say there's no such spell. Nobody's even heard of another world."
"Have you never heard of the Second Magic?"
"What 'magic' are you talking about? The elements aren't numbered."
"Oh, for the love of-just cast whatever spell you used to bring me here."
"Why?"
"It might return me to my world."
Looking discernibly perplexed, Louise tilted her head to one side.
"That won't work. 'Summon Servant' is a strictly one-way spell. No chant of any kind exists to return a summoned familiar."
"Whatever. Just try it."
"That's impossible. And I can't even cast it."
"What? Why?"
"Using 'Summon Servant' again is..."
"Hmm?"
"...Ineffective unless the familiar you have summoned dies."
"Pardon?"
"Would you like to die?"
Saito hung his head. "I'll...pass..." His eye wandered to the Runes on his hand.
"Do you want to know what that is?"
"Let me guess. The mark you put on me so I can't run away."
"Huh. I guess you're not that dumb after all."
Louise stood up and crossed her arms. This close, she was actually cute. Slender and well-proportioned legs, thin ankles. Not very tall, at around 155 cm. Her eyes were like amber jewels, and her eyebrows traced a subtle line over them.
"Yeah, alright. I act as your 'familiar.'"
"Come again?"
'What, you got a problem with that?"
"I see you're still not used to formal speech. It should be 'Is there something you wish to address, master?'"
"Fine." Saito cleared his throat. He knelt down like a knight would kneel before their king. When he spoke again, his voice overflowed with sarcasm. "Master, oh dear master. Tell this humble spirit what he needs to do."
Louise looked creeped out, and Saito looked pleased with himself. It wasn't like he couldn't be polite. He was rude only to spite the young girl before him.
"Stop that."
"My apologize, dearest master." Saito's voice was still abnormally high-pitched. "Tell me, what do you expect of me?"
"Firstly, a familiar can grant its master an enhancement in vision and hearing."
"You mean sharing senses?"
"Yes."
"Well, that's not gonna work."
"Also, a familiar will retrieve items that its master desires. For instance, reagents."
"Are you talking about catalysts for spells?"
"Yes. But you won't ever find me stuff like that, will you?"
"Hey. I think I can still function as an errand boy."
Louise frowned irritably but continued talking. "And this is the most important of all. A familiar exists to protect its master! The task of protecting them from any and all enemies is a duty of the highest priority. But that might be a little problematic for you..."
"Well, you're not wrong. I'm currently useless in battle."
"That's why I'm only making you do things I'm fairly sure you can do: laundry, cleaning, and other miscellaneous tasks."
"Oh, so you're treating me as a servant."
"Sure, sure."
"Why you..."
"Right then, all his talking has made me sleepy." Louise yawned.
"Where do I sleep?"
Louise pointed to the floor.
"I'm not some dog or cat, you know."
"There's nowhere else. And there's only one bed." She threw him a blanket. Then, she brought her hand up to the top button of her blouse. One by one, they came undone. Soon she was down to her underwear.
Saito blushed. "Wh-what are you doing?!"
"I'm going to sleep, so I'm getting changed," Louise answered as if it was the most obvious thing.
"Then do it somewhere I can't see you!"
"Why?"
"For the love of- Do you not understand the idea of shame, woman? Did Adam and Eve never eat the Fruit of Wisdom here?! How are you not ashamed of doing it in plain sight of a guy?"
"A guy? Who? I don't need to think of being watched by my familiar."
'Have the mages here gone daft?' Saito grabbed the blanket and threw it over his head. He grumpily turned away, deciding to revoke any thoughts he'd previously had about her cuteness. 'Me, an Elemental, being that naive girl's familiar? Yeah, right. That's gotta be the biggest joke of the century.'
"Oh, and these. Wash these for me tomorrow."
Several items came flying over to lay softly beside him. He picked them up, considering burning them with his Authority. He threw them as far away as possible from his when he realized what they were. A lacy camisole and matching panties.
"Why do I- Do you know how much of an offense this is?!" Saito could feel his masculinity and pride being sapped away.
"Who do you think is going to support you? Who do you think is going to give you food? And just whose room are you going to sleep in?"
"Uhh..."
"You're my familiar, right? Laundry, cleaning, and other menial tasks. They're naturally your job." Louise snapped her fingers, and the glow of the lamp died out.
Saito let his blanket drop to the floor as he stood up.
"Familiar this, familiar that. Who does this girl think she is? I'm a king, damn it! How dare she-" Saito slapped himself. "Alright. Calm down. I'm just gonna go for a small stroll outside. She shouldn't mind that, right?"
The air behind Saito's back shimmered like someone was sprinkling glitter. A calm breeze blew through the window, bringing with it a small leaf. It danced around Saito's back, and when it left the room again, a pair of moth wings were folded behind Saito's back. They were blue, akin to a clear winter sky, with bold slashes and blotches of white that resembled rolling clouds. They were fluffy, similar to freshly fallen snow.
He felt something stir within his hair, and a small white bird flew onto his shoulder. "Hirei. You got pulled here, too, huh?"
The bird nodded, and his curved beak groomed one of his feathers.
"How about we go for a flight? I want to check out the areas around us."
Saito's familiar looked at him like a stern father. Saito shifted uncomfortably under the tiny avian's gaze. "I know I haven't flown for over ten years. But I think I have enough strength to do it now." Saito gestured towards his left hand, where the Runes were carved. "I don't know what these Runes did, but they feed me power. I don't have enough to go all out, but flying is one-hundred-percent possible!"
The tiny bird shook its head, almost like scolding his newest master.
"Just you watch. I'll show you why I'm the descendent of -̵̡̫͓͕̦̲̲̥̝́͗̈́͗̓̉̄-̷̢̪̤͈̬̘̠͐̆̒̈́͗̐̿͗͜ͅ-̷̱͚̱͈̈͑̃͊́͆́̎̿̈́̚͘͜͝-̵̡̥͉̟͔͈͈͇͓̭̋̋̀̀̄̂-̷̼͔͖͎̙̻̤̓̅̅̕͝͝͠-̷̨̨̛̩͖͖̺̘͖̭̳̪͎̰̎̎̏͆́̈́͐͐͌͜͝ͅ-̸̡̢̧̛̛͉̞̜̦̱̙̩͔̺̫̟̞̋̉̽̓͋͊́́̀̎͠͝͠ ̵̢̫̜͖͈̞̻̹̠́ͅ-̶̤̞̮́̀-̸̘̫̯͇̝͉̪̲͙̟͖̬̩̈̆͒͌̐̌́̈́͘̚̚ ̴̫͍͉̈̈́̀-̸̙̓̓̏͐́͘-̸̨̰̦̪̪̤͖̣̻̻̖̘͎͎̈́̏́̀͗̌̆̈͝-̸̛̝̲͎̻͕̜̖̠̂̂̂̐̚ͅ." Saito didn't seem discouraged. In fact, he almost seemed more eager to fly. "Alright. Let's do this!" His wings spread as he casually leaped from the window.
That night, students of the Academia of Magic would report a faerie accompanied by a spirit flying across the night sky.
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So? What do you all think about the second chapter? Not too bad, I hope. So, like, follow, comment, and share if you liked this.
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As always.
I wish you all good luck in your game of life.
P.S.: I'm taking not taking a break from Mushoku Tensei. It's just taking a bit longer to get the next chapter out.