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Michael finds it impossible to sleep with so many questions swirling around in his head.
Sleepless Night
I can't even remember how long I've stared up at the ceiling. I can't even begin to sleep.
Is there really no way back home?
How will my dad react when he realizes I'm gone?
Will people search for me?
What if they assume the worst and think I'm dead?
All these questions and more race through my mind and make it hard to keep my breathing steady. I can feel myself chest tightening and my breathing becoming the smallest bit harder.
"I need a distraction," I utter, mindful of Louise sleeping in her bed peacefully.
My Ipod and my phone! I had them both in my jeans pocket before being whisked away to this strange and otherworldly place! They might still be there! I could at least check if they're alright.
I slowly and quietly creep over to the opposite side of the room where my clothes are and reach into my pockets.
To my delight, the Ipod is still there in the left pocket. My phone is in the right.
It looks fine on the outside. However, the moment I power it on, it shuts down and refuses to start up again.
"Well, that's unfortunate. I guess it's fried," I mumble, "but the Ipod still seems to work. Let's see..."
I click through the menu to a photo album and start scrolling through a gallery of old memories.
The first picture is a photo of me and my dad from before his hair started turning grey.
I owe the old goat so much, even if we bicker from time to time.
"God...he'll be beside himself if I'm gone too long," I whisper.
Scrolling further up, there are pictures of me and my friend Ryan at the pub one evening. I hold a glass of rum and cola in my hand while he rolls a cigarette with a cheeky smirk.
That was an eventful night. I recall him showing up after getting dumped by his girlfriend of a few months. I tried to cheer him up and took him out for a few drinks. I can't say if he's over it. I'll have to ask him.
"What's that you have there?" asks a groggy voice off to my side.
"Jesus, Louise! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" I gasp as I look up and see the young mage staring back at me with curiosity and concern.
I point to the Ipod.
The mage girl nods with a look of intrigue and subtle fear.
"This is an Ipod. It's a kind of device that plays music, allows you to listen to music, and takes photographs," I explain.
"Photographs?" she asks.
"Right, so it takes a momentary image of something and keeps it forever. See?"
I show her a photograph of myself and Ryan at the pub.
Her eyes widen in genuine amazement at what I'm showing her.
"I-Is this box some kind of strange magical trinket...?" she utters.
I shake my head and say, "Not quite, but I suppose it's the closest thing you can call it. It's just a normal piece of technology from my world."
Louise leans in and looks over my shoulder.
"T-This strange creation... and your bizarre clothes..."
"Like I said, Louise, I really aren't from here. And I guess this is all the proof I can give you."
She shakes her head, a mix of confusion and wonder.
"So, you really were serious when you said you aren't from here."
"Why would I lie about that?" I ask.
"Because it sounds like something crazy, and I'd think you were lying if you weren't showing this to me now," she responds.
I can't help but smirk.
"A device like this is weird, but summoning magical familiars isn't?" I reply, raising an eyebrow.
"Fair point, Michael."
I continue scrolling through my Ipod and show Louise more photos.
"So, this is your home, then...?" Louise asks, still very much amazed.
"Yes. This is England. Or, more specifically, London," I explain, "I was born and raised there. I lived with my dad. He's probably the only person in my world who can relate to being transported somewhere completely foreign and strange."
"How could someone relate to being taken somewhere different and unfamiliar?"
I nod.
"I'm getting to that. He worked on cruise ships as a senior engineer before he retired."
"A ship with sails and a keel? Like our sky ships?"
"No, not quite. The one he worked on was a giant floating hotel that took tourists on voyages."
I see the look of utter confusion written across Louise's face the more I explain to her. Best I ease off as to not overload her.
"Anyway, if this is all too much for you then we can talk more on it later," I offer.
Louise cautiously takes the Ipod from my hands and looks at its large screen full of pictures with genuine curiosity.
"No, it's alright. I'd like to see more, especially since you're my familiar from now on."
I nod.
"Alright. That's fine," I reply, "you can scroll through the gallery and swipe through the photographs. It's as simple as that."
I gently guide her fingers with mine and show her how it works. She presses a video thumbnail in the gallery. Sound starts playing from the device.
Louise yelps softly and drops the Ipod on her bed.
"The pictures moved!" she gasps.
"No, Louise, it's just a video," I explain, "it's a moving picture."
"And you're sure there's no magic involved in this strange box at all...?"
"Not as far as I know. It's just a regular device. Though, the batteries won't last forever," I respond.
Picking up the Ipod, I press the power button and turn it off.
"I should try to conserve the battery, so that I don't use it up," I mumble.
Louise looks at me in surprise.
"Battery?" she blinks.
"Don't worry about it. Another lesson for another day."
I tuck the Ipod safely in my jeans pocket again.
"We can look at it again in the future."
Louise nods and looks away.
"Well...alright."
I look at the shattered remains of my iPhone 6, still unsure of why it's completely ruined.
"I guess I fell or something when I arrived here."
Louise looks back and gives the phone a strange and curious look.
"What are you talking about?" she asks, "what is that thing? I've never seen anything like it before. And is it broken?"
I sigh and shrug my shoulders.
"This is an iPhone. Or it was one," I tell her, "It's a similar type of device to the Ipod. Though, it's more complex with what it does."
Louise looks at me curiously.
"Similar...? What is it doing now?"
"It's ruined. Completely fried. It won't start up and I don't think I can repair it."
The expression of utter confusion Louise wears is adorable, truth be told.
Smiling gently, I pat her shoulder.
"Look, don't worry about it. For now, I'd rather learn more about this place."
Louise nods a couple of times, shortly. "There will be time for that. Right now, though, I have to use the toilet." The girl hops off her bed, grabs me by the wrist, and pulls me to my feet. "And I'd like you to walk me down the hall."
"Walk you down the hallway?" I can't help but blink, utterly stunned by what I'm hearing. "You want me to escort you to the bathroom?"
Louise nods plainly and simply as though her request is the most straightforward thing in the world.
"As my familiar, it's your duty to go where I go."
I sigh and can't help but shrug.
"Okay, okay, I get it."
"Good, now follow me."
"Yes, Mistress," I answer with a smirk.
"Don't call me that," she replies sternly.
"Sorry."
...
I follow Louise down the hallway. She takes me to the girls' lavatory.
"Wait for me here."
"Alright."
I prop myself by the door. Louise goes inside and shuts the door behind her.
This is surreal. I'm really standing here, waiting outside the girls' lavatory for my young mistress to finish taking a piss.
I sigh deeply and shake my head.
"I'd be getting some weird looks for this back home."
Two girls wearing brown robes walk past while I wait.
"Hey, Mister! What are you doing, spying on girls?" one of them asks.
"I'm not a creep!" I answer sharply, "I'm not peeping!"
The two girls giggle.
"I think that's Louise the Zero's new familiar," one says to the other.
"The one with the fire coming out of his fingers...?"
"Yeah, that's him. He's cute, but Louise is the biggest failure in the school."
"What a waste of a hot guy. Poor, poor thing."
"Oh, come on, stop being mean, Mary."
I frown at the two girls.
"Are you done...?"
They nod and hurry along down the hallway.
"He's got an attitude problem, too," one whispers, "no fun."
"No fun at all."
I let out a heavy sigh.
"Gee, thanks..."
As soon as I hear a door opening, I look to the side and see Louise walking up to me.
"Ready to head back, Michael?"
I nod. "You got it."
We head back toward Louise's room. Halfway down the hall we see a young blonde lad with a rose between his teeth embracing a younger-looking student. Judging by the girl's around face and innocent features, I doubt she's more than fourteen at a glance.
Louise grabs my hand and pulls me behind a suit of armour in the hall so we can watch.
"My sweet, sweet Karie. Your lips are sweeter than the ripest rose, and your heart is purer than a spring's morning dew."
"Ooh, Guiche, you're so good with words," the brunette girl, presumably Katie, purrs.
"Guiche de Gramont," Louise tells me at a disdainful whisper. "Duke Gramont's son. He's something of a cad."
I can't help but snicker. "Guy's got the Casanova routine down, that's for sure."
Louise grumbles. "I just wish he'd be honest with Montmorency, that's all."
I raise a brow, watching the lovey dovey spectacle play out. "He's seeing somebody else?"
"...Katie is the fourth girl he's courting, at least."
I suddenly feel very annoyed, likely because of everything I went through with Anna.
"You can't be serious..."
Louise nods. "It's true. And Montmorency isn't his only girlfriend to have a noble lineage."
The pinkette sighs and looks away from the scene.
"I don't care if folks want to see more than one person... just be honest about it," I say disdainfully.
"Honest? You're kidding me, right? If he was honest, then his family name would lose value and his social standing would drop considerably."
I raise a brow, still watching Guiche flirt with the brunette.
It's here I remember I'm in a different world from my own entirely.
"Fair point, Louise."
Guiche and Katie share a short peck off the lips and then continue off down the hall in the other direction from us.
"I hope he doesn't hurt this one as much as the last," Louise scoffs.
"This 'Montmorency' girl must be very, very patient," I presume with a deep sigh.
"Oh, she is. Far more patient than I'd ever be."
Louise takes my hand again and guides me back to her room once Guiche and Katie are out of sight.
Louise is wrapped snugly beneath the sheets. I'm again on the wonderfully comfy floor beside her bed. Questions and worries still race through my head about home.
"H-Hey, Michael...?" Louise speaks up with a hint of caution.
"What's up, Louise?" I answer, yawning gently.
"W-Was there anybody back home in your world that you liked...? A girl...?"
I look back up at the ceiling and smile painfully.
I have a sudden urge to say I liked a guy, just to see how she'd react. Best I don't though, as tempting as teasing Louise is for her asking such a sore question.
"I did like someone, yes."
"You did? Who was it?"
"Her name was Anna. I was in a relationship with her since high school."
"Highschool...?"
"A place where we learn in my world. Think of it like an academy, but instead of magic we learn from books about math and science and those kinds of things."
"I see. You were a scholar, then?"
I chuckle gently. "Not quite. Education's different where I'm from. Everybody goes to school."
"A-And this girl, Anna... did you really care for her?"
I can't help but feel sad thinking back.
"I cared for her a great deal, Louise. We were together for years. I loved her more than anything."
"Y-Years...? And you didn't marry her?"
A bitter twinge grips my chest like no other, and I frown.
"Things like that work waaay slower in my world than I imagine they do here. But no, I didn't."
"Why not?"
"Because she cheated on me... like Guiche is doing with Katie." I sigh and try my best to push the weighty misery chest further downward into the pit of my stomach. "...I'd rather we stop talking about this, if it's alright."
"O-Of course," Louise says. "I'm sorry, Michael. I didn't mean to stir bad memories."
"It's alright. Thanks for apologizing."
I can tell from the way she looks at me that she feels genuine concern.
I smile sadly for Louise. Her cheeks redden, then she turns over so I can't see her face.
"Go to sleep, Michael. We have the day off from classes tomorrow to bond with our familiars, and I'd like to show you more of the school," my mistress explains.
I turn over and close my eyes. "Fine by me. And Louise, thanks... for being patient with me whilst all of this crazy stuff goes around in my head."
"B-But of course! I-I'm your mistress! My being patient is only to be expected..."
Did I hit a nerve there, somewhere?
Whatever the case, I'll just roll with it.
"Thank you, all the same."
"Y-You're welcome. Not go to sleep, idiot."
I shut my eyes as commanded.
There's still so much I must figure out. At the very least, though, Louise seems like a nice enough girl.
Colbert pours over tome after tome in the school library.
He's seen the marking etched into the back of the Vallière girl's familiar before, he just knows it!
It was so many years ago, but he just knows he has!
"If I could only find the answer, then this could change everything..."
He's determined to figure out just what the runic symbols etched into the back of the young man's left hand mean.
His finger rests on the page detailing Gandálfr.
"No... it isn't this one."
The page beside it discusses a marking of greater similarity. It resembles a circular, flaming meteorite and an old runic symbol drawn into its centre.
"The Mark of the Guardian."
The image of a burning sky ship sails through the Professor's mind.
"It can't be... the most recent tales and writings date back almost a century."
His eyes narrow upon the page, nonetheless.
"But those runes were only ever seen when a void mage appeared, similarly to Gandálfr."
Exhausted from searching, Colbert closes the book and massages his temples.
"I'll have to report this to Osmond right away."
To be continued...
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