Sorry I have not updated in a while. College has been immensely stressful with assignments and I will be busy again after this so it may be the last time update for a while.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything
Lucy couldn't believe it. She was in a different world, a completely different world.
"Nonononono!" Lucy cried out rapidly. "This can't be happening. I cannot be in another world. Because if I am how am I supposed to get home?"
The answer was that she couldn't. She had only been to another world once, and that time she was given a way to return.
"Don't worry it happens to everyone when they pass over here."
The words from the man she heard before came back to her, and that was when she knew it was true.
"Why didn't he tell me I was going to another world?" Lucy complained. "A little warning would have been appreciated."
Being in another world was the main problem for the Celestial Wizard but there was one other major problem she needed to address.
Her guild.
They weren't stupid. They knew she was off doing a solo job, and when she didn't arrive back, she knew they would search for her to no end. Natsu especially. Which is why she needed a way to reach them, a way to communicate on both sides.
"Oh, and before I forget, you'll be able to use your magic where you're going."
Once again, the man's words echoed throughout her mind.
"That's right! My spirits can travel between worlds with or without my magic," Lucy remembered. "I'll just get them to deliver a message for me. And I know just who to ask." Taking out a gold key she held it out in front of her. "Open, Gate of the Lion, Leo!"
No sooner had she said it a bright light flashed and standing in place was the leader of the Zodiac spirits and a member of Fairy Tail, Loke.
"What's up beautiful?" he said flirtatiously. "How may I be of service?"
"I need your help Loke. I'm in the middle of a crisis," Lucy said urgently.
"Say no more," Loke interrupted as he wrapped his arm around her. "Just direct me to the source and I'll handle it. Then maybe afterwards we can go on a date."
Lucy, politely, removed his arm and looked him in the eye.
"It's a little more complicated this time," she pointed up at the sky behind him.
Loke gasped when he saw the sky and the twin moons. And in an instant, his charming demeanour was dropped and replaced with a more serious one.
"Lucy, where are we?" he asked keeping as calm as he could at that moment.
"Another world," Loke's eyes widened. "How I came here, well, it's a bit of a long story."
And so, Lucy spent the next several minutes explaining to the Zodiac head about how she came here, Louise, this familiar business, and what she wanted him to do.
"Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't shocked," he admitted. "But then again, you always seem to end up in some sort of trouble, don't you?"
"Not like I asked for it," Lucy retorted. "That aside though. Can you do it?"
"Of course, it shouldn't be too hard," Loke stated. "I'll be back in a minute."
Loke teleported back to the Spirit World leaving his master/friend/love interest all alone.
"Well, that takes care of that," Lucy decided.
As much as she would have liked to have gone with Loke, she knew it would be a serious violation of her contract if she entered the Spirit world without permission from the Celestial Spirit King.
She stood there waiting for a few minutes until Loke reappeared, with, unfortunately, some really bad news.
"Well, how did it go?" Lucy asked expectantly. "Were you able to cross over?"
Loke stared at her with a hint of sadness in his eyes.
"I'm sorry Lucy," he apologised. "I wasn't. I don't know why, but for some reason, I can't cross over to Earthland. I've never had this problem before."
Lucy thought about it for a moment.
"Do you think it's because of me?" she asked. "Because I'm in a different world? I'm your master so you're bound to me by our contract. Do you think it's possible that now that I'm in this world you can only travel between here and the Spirit World is because I'm here?"
"It's possible I guess," Loke said. "I'll ask the Celestial Spirit King about it. He might know something."
That was a smart decision Lucy had to admit. If there was anyone who had an idea of what was going on with her right now it was the King.
"Okay, then thanks. I'll leave it to you," Lucy said. "I know time works differently there so I won't call you unless I need to."
Loke nodded and disappeared. Alone again, Lucy pondered over her situation. Something was going on here. First, she gets teleported to a new world to be someone's familiar, and now her Celestial Spirits can't travel between worlds properly. Something was up. She didn't know what, but she would find out.
However, she had something to do first. So, looking for answers would have to wait until tomorrow, or whenever Loke arrived back.
Begrudgingly, she picked up the washing and moved to work.
'I swear this is Edolas all over again,' Lucy inwardly sighed.
The following morning
"Louise, it's time to wake up," Lucy called out.
The third daughter of Valliere began to stir in her sleep. When she opened her eyes and noticed Lucy, she bolted upright.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?" she interrogated.
Lucy frowned. Had she forgotten her already?
"I'm Lucy, you know from yesterday," she replied.
"Oh right, the familiar I summoned from yesterday," Louise remembered. "I had hoped that was just a bad dream I was having."
Lucy felt a little offended by that remark but wanted to move things along quickly, so she brushed it off.
"Yeah, well, it wasn't," Lucy told her. "Oh, by the way, the laundry you wanted me to wash is done."
"Good," Louise answered as she got out of bed.
She may not have been happy with her familiar but at least she knew how to follow orders.
The dining hall
Lucy and Louise walked through the dining hall of Tristain Academy where several students were seated for breakfast while at the same time gossiping. The subject of gossip was Lucy herself.
"There she is, Zero's familiar."
"A human one, that's unusual."
"Are we sure she summoned it? This is Louise the Zero after all."
"You know now that I think about it. Zero's familiar is really cute."
"She's prettier than most of the girls attending this school. Even Kirche."
Lucy groaned. She didn't like the attention she was getting.
"Hey Louise, how long are they likely to keep gossiping about this?" she asked dully.
"If we're lucky a few days," Louise answered annoyed. "It is expected though considering this has never happened before."
"Mr Colbert said something similar," Lucy remembered. "Has there really never been a human summoned before?"
"Not that I'm aware of," Louise admitted with an unsure tone.
This was the first time in known history where a human was summoned as a familiar to a mage. Louise guessed it was possible it might have happened at some point in the past but went undocumented. Lucy was the first known case.
They came to a stop, and Lucy, having been taught proper manners and etiquette from birth, pulled out a chair for Louise who promptly settled in.
'Well at least I don't have to tell her to do everything,' Louise thought. 'It makes things much easier for me.'
Lucy took a moment to examine the area and students. There were several small statues of people in the distance, along with three large tables. At the tables the students were seated, however, Lucy noticed that at each table they wore different coloured cloaks. Purple, brown, and black for Louise's table in the middle.
'Maybe it's some sort of ranking system,' Lucy thought. 'Like for wizard classes or different years.'
While she didn't know much about this world, she assumed the wizards here must have some sort of ranking system that determined the strongest among them like the S-class wizards from her world.
She was about to sit down when, from the corner of her eye, Lucy noticed a small plate on the ground with what resembled bread.
"Did someone drop this?" Lucy asked bending down to pick it up.
"No, I requested it," Louise responded half-heartedly. "Only nobles such as myself are allowed to eat at this table. Familiars are to wait outside. You are only in here because I requested it."
She didn't need to say anymore as Lucy got the full meaning. Louise, her master, wanted her to sit on the floor and eat while she and the other nobles eat their own breakfast. Lucy decided to be as polite about this as she possibly could.
"Thanks, but I think I'll eat it outside with the other familiars," Lucy said. "I don't think the other students are happy about me being here."
There was no way she was eating off the ground. She was not a dog. She did not care who Louise was, she was not going to put up with this.
Fortunately for her, Louise didn't pick up on the double meaning behind Lucy's words and allowed her to walk out. However, Lucy stopped outside the exit when she heard them praying.
"Oh, Great Founder Brimir, and our lady, the Queen, we thank you for this humble meal that you have graciously provided us this morning."
Lucy wasn't sure if she'd call that meal humble, thinking back to the party at the Royal Palace after the Grand Magic Games. However, she chose not to dwell on it and continued outside where she was met with an interesting sight.
There were a variety of familiars sitting about in the courtyard just waiting for their masters to finish up. Among the ones she recognized there were cats, dogs, snakes, a parrot, and an owl, however, there were a few creatures she had never seen before, such as the floating eye or giant red lizard with flame lit from its tail.
As fascinated as she was with these new beings, there was one that stood out to her more than others. Sleeping under a bit of shade, was a blue and white dragon.
Before she knew what she was doing Lucy started to approach the dragon. Curiosity plagued her mind as she wondered about the true nature of the dragon. Was it peaceful? Was it dangerous? Was it as strong as the dragons from her own world?
Lucy had nothing personal against dragons, some of her friends were raised by them after all, however, her previous encounters with dragons hadn't exactly been… pleasant. The first time, a dragon by the name of Acnologia tried to destroy her and her friends. The second time was seven under the control of futuristic madman trying to destroy the capital, one of which stripped her completely with its roar. So, naturally, she couldn't help but be a bit cautious.
Detecting movement, the dragon woke up and stared at Lucy with emerald eyes. Lucy stopped her approach and stared deep into the dragon's eyes who stared back with mild curiosity. Standing up, it approached the Celestial wizard.
She wasn't sure how, but there was something different about this girl compared to all the other humans she had seen, barring her master. Her clothing was different from other humans, that much was obvious. There was something else, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was. Sylphid didn't mind though.
"Um, hi there," Lucy greeted. "I'm Lucy. What's your name?"
While it was the poorest greeting she could have used, especially since she couldn't understand the dragon, it was the only one she could think of.
"Sylphid," came a quiet voice.
Lucy jumped slightly and turned to see a girl with blue hair and a staff reading a book.
"Dragon, name, Sylphid," the girl repeated, her eyes staring into Lucy's.
"I see," she turned back to the dragon. "It's nice to meet you Sylphid."
Lucy reached out her hand to pet the dragon head.
"Kyuu!" Sylphid yelped in delight.
That was one of her favourite spots. Already she was beginning to like this girl.
"And you," Lucy returned to the girl. "What's your name?"
"Tabitha," the girl answered.
"Nice to meet you, Tabitha. I'm," she started.
"Lucy, Louise's familiar," Lucy was cut off.
Lucy's face faltered ever so slightly. Of course, this girl knew who she was, at this point everyone in the school did. The gossiping students from inside were evidence enough. She wondered how long it would actually go on for.
"So," Lucy tried to think of something to talk about before her eyes landed on the book Tabitha was reading. "That book you're reading, is it good?"
Tabitha raised an eyebrow. Hardly anyone asked about what she was reading, mostly because it was second nature for her. It was rare for anyone to see her not reading.
"Yes," Tabitha responded quietly. "It's my favourite story."
Lucy was about to ask what it was about, but she was interrupted by the barrage of students rushing out the building, Louise among them. The pink-haired mage marched over immediately.
"Familiar what do you think you are doing?" Louise haughtily demanded.
"My name is Lucy," she corrected with a small glare. "And I was getting to know Tabitha and Sylphid here."
Lucy was trying, she really was, but Louise was starting to annoy her. First, she summons her to a different world to be her familiar without any consent, only to express disappointment in her without knowing what she could do. Then she treats her as a servant and has her perform various chores. Thirdly, she expected Lucy to sit on the ground and eat like a dog. Finally, she does not even have the decency to call her by name. Lucy was patient, and a bit more tolerant than her friends, but if she had to put with any more of this treatment, she would pull an Erza on the young girl.
Louise ignored her protest and turned to Tabitha. While she disliked the fact that the girl was friends with Zerbst, Louise respected her intelligence and abilities as a mage. Additionally, she liked Tabitha more than most people because she never mocked her on her own magical prowess, nor did she take part in any bullying from her peers. Admittedly, she did usually walk out before an explosion occurred, but Louise didn't fault her for that.
"I see you summoned a dragon, Tabitha, most impressive," Louise complimented.
Tabitha simply nodded. Her face was as dull as usual.
"Summon human," she said softly before adding. "Unexpected."
"Yes, it was," Louise answered as best she could.
In all honesty, she wanted a dragon or a gryphon. Unfortunately, fate was cruel to her. At the very least, she managed to summon something which was a thousand times better than nothing.
"Well, well," came a familiar flirtatious voice. "What do we have here?"
Louise turned and glared at the insufferable cow that was approaching her.
"What do you want Zerbst?" Louise demanded.
"Why I'm just going to speak with my friend, is that so wrong?" Kirche countered.
Lucy was feeling very awkward about the exchange. It was obvious that the two girls didn't like each other that much, however, Louise was the only one acting hostile.
"No, there isn't," Louise reluctantly agreed. "In that case, I and my familiar will be leaving now."
Louise turned to leave, evidently expecting Lucy to follow her. Kirche hadn't noticed her until now but seeing Louise's familiar up close surprised her. The commoner was beautiful in appearance and possessed a decent figure (not as good as hers but close enough). Additionally, she wore strange clothes indicating she was from a foreign country (though Kirche wasn't sure which one). She definitely wasn't from Halkeginia, of that she was certain.
Lucy was about to follow after her "master" only to halt at a certain question directed towards her.
"So, how much is Zero paying you to be her familiar?" Lucy stopped dead as did Louise, who was now giving Kirche a murderous glare. "Personally, I think she just pretended to summon you so she wouldn't be kicked out. You covered up your lie quite well with that explosion Zero."
"Zero?" Lucy repeated confused. "You mean Louise?"
Louise scowled. The last thing she needed was her familiar finding out about her accursed nickname. Unfortunately, the Germanian cow was in the mood to mock her more than normal.
"She's called Louise the Zero around here," Kirche explained. "Every time she casts a spell it always ends in a big explosion. She can't even cast simple spells without that happening, be it levitation or transmutation. In other words, she is incompetent at magic. That and her breast size is a zero."
Louise, using all her will power and restraint at that moment, resisted the intense urge to set off another explosion right here in the courtyard where Kirche was standing. The only reason she didn't was that unlike in the classroom where they were sanctioned, this one she could actually be expelled for because she would literally be assaulting a student.
Lucy frowned. It was clear the name was meant as an insult and based on the interaction she had just witnessed between these two, it was obvious that they did not like each other. It vaguely reminded her of Natsu and Gray, although they were actually friends with one another. That said, she did not like it one bit.
However, there was something about what Zerbst was saying that didn't make sense to her.
"Okay, first of all, she isn't paying me. And second, there is no way she can be incapable of magic," Lucy pointed out.
"And why is that?" Kirche asked. It sounded like a sneer, but she was genuinely curious, as was Louise.
"Tabitha," Lucy addressed much to the latter's surprise. "I don't know much about the ritual used to summon a familiar, so would you mind confirming something for me?" The bluenette nodded (still surprised). "Any familiar summoned possesses runes just like these, right? But for them to appear, a binding ritual must take place between the summoner and the summoned. Would I be correct in assuming the ritual can only be performed after the familiar has been summoned?"
It wasn't too different than the contracts with her spirits. After summoning them, a contract was arranged between the two of them until she either released them or died.
"Yes," Tabitha confirmed.
"If that's the case, then would I be right in saying that it can only be performed on the person summoned, and with anyone or thing else nothing would happen?" Lucy pressed.
"Yes," Tabitha confirmed once more, immediately seeing where Lucy was going with this.
"You were all there in the courtyard yesterday weren't you?" Lucy held up her hand with the runes engraved deeply in her skin. "You saw the runes appear. The professor confirmed himself. Therefore, Louise can't be incapable of magic because if she was then nothing would have happened. For that matter, if she was incapable of magic, nothing should have appeared at all."
Kirche and Louise stood there flabbergasted. Kirche because she was unable to argue with the logic in Lucy's theory; Louise because she was stunned at how her familiar was defending her. Barring her sister, and Professor Colbert, no one had ever stood up for her before.
Although she did not show it, Tabitha was impressed with Lucy's deduction. She herself had thought something similar at one point. Louise may have always ended her spells in an explosion, but she could never understand the reason. The Valliere girl was doing everything they did and more so why did it happen? Unlike the others, she didn't believe Louise was incapable of magic, quite the opposite. Because by Lucy's logic, nothing should happen when Louise cast magic, and yet it did.
"I think that's enough teaching for one day," Lucy decided as she walked towards Louise. "Louise, I believe you wanted to go somewhere."
Before she even knew what she was doing, Louise started walking in the other direction with Lucy following closely. As interesting as the situation had been, Louise wanted to sit down and drink some tea.
"So, what's deal with you and that girl, Zerbst you called her?" Lucy asked. "I'm not an expert but I know two rivals when I see them."
Louise stopped walking. Her familiar would find out at some point so why not now?
"Our families are rivals who border each other on Tristania and Germania and have been so for centuries. When war breaks out we are usually the first to combat each other," Louise explained. "As such Kirche and I have never gotten along with one another. She is an insufferable cow who never hesitates to insult me about everything. Try and keep your distance from her. I don't want her filling your head with lies."
Louise had another reason, though she seriously doubted it. If Lucy had been a boy then Kirche would have likely tried to seduce and take him from her but since she wasn't the risk was quite low.
They found a vacant table and Louise requested for Lucy to get her some tea. As she walked around, she noticed the other students spending time with their familiars. It looked as if they were bonding with them, which brought a smile to her face. It reminded her of the time she spent with her spirits.
However, at that moment Lucy encountered a strange bug-eyed creature that startled her and caused her to crash into someone from behind. It was a maid carrying a slice of cake.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Lucy apologised quickly. "I didn't realize anyone was behind me."
"It's alright," the dark-haired maid assured as she picked up the cake.
From Lucy's perspective, the girl was very pretty. The same girl saw the runes on Lucy's hands and realized who she was.
"Excuse me, are you by any chance the familiar Miss Valliere summoned yesterday?" she asked curiously.
Lucy's eyes widened.
"You know about me?" she asked.
The girl smiled.
"Of course. It's all anyone's been talking about. A commoner being summoned as a familiar has never happened before," the girl told her.
"So I've been told. By the way, what is your name? I'm Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia," she said.
"What a pretty name. I'm Siesta, a maid that works at this academy," Siesta said. "I'm a commoner just like you."
Lucy was hearing the words commoner and noble a lot around these parts, meaning there was a social hierarchy in this world. Maybe she could ask Siesta about it later, after getting Louise's tea.
"Hey. I know we just met but could you tell me where I could get some tea for Louise," Lucy requested.
"I can get it for you if you'd like, I have to go back in there for something anyway. I just have to deliver this cake to Lord Guiche," Siesta explained.
Lucy recognised the name. She had seen him last night with a girl called Katie while she was doing the laundry. She heard them talking about souffle.
"I'll take it to him since you're doing something for me," Lucy told her.
Siesta had no problem with that. She gave the cake to Lucy while she went to get the tea. Lucy proceeded to where Guiche was. Along the way she encountered Katie who looked lost.
"Excuse me, could you direct me to Lord Guiche?" she asked politely.
"Sure thing. I was just delivering this cake to him," Lucy replied while noticing the basket she was carrying. "Say is that by any chance the souffle you two were talking about last night."
Katie was surprised Lucy knew.
"I overheard you both talking last night while I was going to do laundry, though that's all I heard," Lucy explained.
Katie relaxed before looking down and smiling.
"Yes. We talked for quite a while last night, and he mentioned that he would really like to try it. So, I got up really early this morning in order to bake it," she explained. "I hope he likes it."
"I'm sure he'll love it," Lucy said. "Especially since you worked so hard on it."
"You really think so," Katie asked hopefully.
Lucy nodded, making the girl smile. They then headed over to where Guiche was. He was sitting with a blonde girl (whom Lucy guessed was a friend) at a table, both of which had their familiars with them. Guiche's was this giant mole resting on his lap, while the girls was a small frog.
What Lucy didn't know was that the second she brought Katie all hell would break loose.
"Lord Guiche there you are!" Katie exclaimed delightedly.
"Katie!" Guiche panicked.
This was not good. If she was here then Montmorency would likely find out about his unfaithfulness, again.
"I baked you my souffle, the one we talked about last night and thought I'd bring it to the tea party today," Katie said enthusiastically.
"Oh, yeah, that, um," Guiche murmured nervously.
Founder! How was he ever going to explain this one?
"Last night?" Montmorency repeated suspiciously.
What happened tom bonding with Verdante?
"Well, that is," Guiche tried to defend himself.
Lucy, who had been listening, grew suspicious also. She turned to a fat boy with short blonde hair and an owl on his left shoulder walking by her.
"Excuse me, who's that blonde girl with Guiche?" she asked.
"Oh, that's Montmorency, his girlfriend," he explained.
Lucy's eyes widened. She must have heard him wrong after all Guiche was with Katie, wasn't he?
"Girlfriend?" Katie murmured slowly.
Guiche's expression when he heard the question was pure panic. Katie turned to her boyfriend. Surely it was a mistake, he wouldn't lie to her, he promised.
"Lord Guiche, you aren't dating Montmorency, are you?" she asked nervously.
"Of course he is," Montmorency replied irritated. "Why? Is there something wrong with that?"
In that instant, Katie's heart broke as tears began to well in her eyes. He lied to her.
Seeing her expression, Lucy was just as aghast. How dare he!
"Girlfriend!" she cried. "You told me I was the only one you were dating."
"DATING!" Montmorency shrieked. "So the rumours were true then. You were going out with a first year."
Katie was heartbroken at the revelation, but Montmorency was downright furious. This wasn't the first time he had cheated on her and she doubted it would be the last. Even still, she would not allow it to go unpunished.
"Ladies please calm down," Guiche begged. "This is all just a misunderstanding. If you'll let me explain."
Unfortunately, they never gave him the chance.
"LIAR!" they both shouted.
SMACK!
SMACK!
They each slapped him across the face, leaving a red mark on each side. The other students laughed at the scene while Guiche sat on the ground, utterly humiliated.
"You just got dumped Guiche. And you deserved everything you got," the fat boy gloated.
Lucy decided she had seen enough and was about to leave. Guiche on the other hand had a few things to say.
"Hold it, commoner. You have shamed two fair maidens and riven them to tears? How do you intend to take responsibility?" Guiche haughtily demanded.
Lucy could hardly believe what she was hearing.
"I made them, how the hell is this my fault all of a sudden?" Lucy demanded.
"If you had just kept quiet, they wouldn't have found out what was going on," Guiche pointed out. "Therefore, the fault lies within your idiocy, and as such requires repentance."
That was it for Lucy. The dam that had been holding in her temper finally broke. With as much fury as she could muster, she glared at Guiche in a way that would have made Erza proud.
Guiche didn't know why, but at that precise moment, he felt quite intimidated by the commoner in front of him.
"You were the one who cheated on them," Lucy hissed. "You were the one who lied to them and broke their hearts. It was you who made them cry, not me. Instead of blaming me for your mistakes why don't you take the responsibility yourself? Especially since it was your fault, to begin with."
Several students stood with their facial expressions agape. They could not believe that Lucy, a mere commoner, and familiar no less, had the gall to stand up to a noble. Despite that, some of them could not help but agree with the points she made.
Guiche was just as shocked. However, that quickly turned to fury.
"How dare you speak to me that way! I am a noble, you are a commoner, meaning I am above you," Guiche shouted. "You were the one who instigated this event therefore the responsibility is yours, not mine. However, instead of owning up to it you shamelessly blame it on me. Before if you had gotten down on your knees and begged for forgiveness I might have overlooked it, but now you've gone too far." Guiche pointed his rose at her. "Henceforth, I Guiche de Gramont, hereby challenge you to a duel!"
Lucy took less than a minute to answer. She was already angry enough as it is but now she was furious. She considered herself to be one of the more patient members of the Guild, and always tried to be civil, but even she had a limit. And now, for the first time she was taking a page out of Natsu's book, and blasting her way through (without destroying something, hopefully).
"Fine!" Lucy challenged. "Name the time and place!"
There were excited murmurs among the students. This was going to be good.
"We will meet at Vestri Court in twenty minutes," Guiche declared (though secretly he was surprised at Lucy's boldness). "Prepare yourself, commoner."
Guiche marched off. The students soon followed suit. They were excited because there was hardly anything interesting that happened around these parts, aside from regular school gossip.
Lucy was about to follow them when a familiar voice intervened.
"Are you insane?" Louise shouted, having heard the whole ordeal. "You need to go after him now and apologise. Otherwise, you'll be killed."
"I refuse," Lucy said bluntly. "Not after what he did."
"You don't understand, do you?" Louise groaned. "Commoners cannot win against nobles. It just isn't possible."
"And just why is that?" Lucy countered.
Something was off about all of this. The nobles must have had something commoners didn't, something that made them unique. Considering Louise's behaviour, it had to be something much more than wealth or land.
"We nobles were blessed by the founder Brimir with the gift of magic," Louise stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world (in her case it was). "Whereas commoners are those without magic who serve beneath us."
Lucy was somewhat dumbfounded by the revelation. If having magic was all it took to be a noble, then did that not mean she was one? Before Fairy Tail she had lived a noble life (or at least something similar) thanks to her father's business but she had left all of that behind.
"If that's the only reason, then it shouldn't be a problem," Lucy assured her. "I can take him."
Louise stared at her familiar in disbelief.
"Did you not hear a word I just said?" Louise asked on the verge of screaming. "Guiche has magic, you do not. This gives him a solid high advantage against you."
The third daughter of the Valliere Family expected her familiar to see reason now, only to be surprised when her expression remained impassive.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Lucy brushed off as she started walking. "Watch the duel and you'll see what I mean."
Louise stood there for five minutes without moving. She was utterly baffled by her familiar's behaviour just now. Despite knowing that her opponent could use magic she still persisted in fighting him. Something was up. Moving quickly, she went to Vestri Court where a large crowd had gathered.
In the centre were Lucy and Guiche standing opposite each other.
"I commend you for not running away when you had the chance," Guiche applauded.
"As if I'd run from you," Lucy retorted.
She was acting a little more like Natsu than she would like to admit but she didn't care. She was angry and sick of being treated this way. If she was going to live in this world, she was going to live. That meant no running from her problems, most of the time.
"Guiche stop," Louise ordered. "Duels are forbidden."
"Between nobles perhaps, but she is a commoner, and a familiar to boot," Guiche pointed out. "Therefore, there is no issue."
Louise's eyes widened. He wasn't wrong.
"That's… only because we've never had anything like this before," she argued.
Guiche promptly ignored her and focused on the opponent before him. He was going to show this girl what happens when you cross a noble.
Unbeknownst to him, Montmorency and Katie were both watching the duel. Montmorency came because she was curious as to what Guiche had done now. Katie on the other hand was worried for Lucy's sake. She was angry at Guiche and didn't regret slapping him, but she hadn't meant for Lucy to become involved. Commoner or not, she hadn't actually done anything wrong.
'I hope she doesn't get seriously hurt,' Katie prayed. However, glancing over at Lucy she was confused. 'Huh? She doesn't seem worried. Doesn't she know what she's up against?'
Lucy looked very calm for someone fighting with a serious advantage. Little did Katie realize, little did all of them realize, there was far more to it. And they were about to find out why.
"Louise it's fine," Lucy told her. "I want to do this." She then focused her gaze on Guiche. "So, are you ready, or are we going to stand here talking?"
"The time for talk is over!" Guiche snapped as a petal from his rose fell towards the ground. "When this petal lands, the duel shall commence." When the petal reached the ground a blue golem with a spear in hand rose from the ground. "I am Guiche the Bronze. Therefore, this golem, a Valkyrie, shall be your opponent."
Lucy was a little surprised at his magic. It reminded her of Hughes in Edolas when he controlled everything at the amusement park.
The golem charged with the intent to strike her at a surprising speed. Unfortunately, Lucy was two seconds quicker.
"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!" Lucy shouted.
Suddenly, a large humanoid cow with an axe appeared and destroyed the golem with a single swing.
"Now don't you dare hurt Miss Lucy!" Taurus snarled. "To even consider scarring such a beautiful body is sinful."
All around the courtyard, there was silence. The students were able to comprehend what happened, but they weren't quite sure they believed it.
Louise the Zero's familiar just summoned a familiar of her own.
"She summoned a familiar. How's that possible?"
"Wasn't she supposed to be a commoner?"
"Just what did Zero summon?"
The comments aside, the one most shocked was Louise. Her familiar summoned a familiar of her own. What was more it already seemed to already be bound to her. How was that even possible? You couldn't just summon a familiar like that.
Her peers said she summoned a mage. As much as she wanted to deny it (because it would mean she summoned a noble) she was finding it difficult. Her familiar could use magic, but something was off. Lucy wasn't using a wand she was using a gold key attached with several others (some of which were silver) to a chain. She knew magic could be channelled through objects such as wands and staves, but she had never heard of anyone using keys.
"H-How did you do that?" Guiche stammered unable to believe what he was seeing. "You're just a commoner." Yes, a weak commoner who want supposed to be able to do that. "You shouldn't be able to use magic."
Lucy rolled her eyes.
"Look pal, I may be a commoner in this world, but I never once told anyone I couldn't do magic. You all just assumed I couldn't," Lucy stated. Guiche's eyes widened as he realized she wasn't wrong. "It doesn't matter now. Take him out Taurus!"
"MOOOOOOO! As you say Ms Lucy. And maybe after I'm done you can give me a smooch!" Taurus yelled.
Lucy inwardly sighed. Taurus was like this no matter what world they were in.
"If you think I'll go down that easily then you're mistaken familiar!" Guiche shouted as more petals from his rose fell. 'The bull may be a threat but the girl behind him most certainly isn't. If just one of my Valkyries can get through and take her hostage then I will win for sure.'
From the ground, five Valkyries rose and charged at Taurus. With a mighty swing, Taurus cut their bodies in half and they returned to the earth whence they came. Guiche bit his lip in frustration.
"Not bad familiar, not bad at all," he complimented making eye contact with Lucy. "You and your familiar are strong, stronger than I originally thought. You have earned that." Guiche then pointed his rose directly at the Celestial Mage. "However, playtime is over. This time I'm really going all out."
Lucy wondered what he meant and got another key ready. Louise was somewhat concerned since Guiche came from a family of earth mages. She wouldn't be surprised if he had some extra knowledge on earth spells. Montmorency, Kirche, Malicorne, and Katie were all surprised. It was rare for Guiche to ever get serious about anything, and that wasn't an understatement.
Multiple petals fell to the ground and from them rose twelve Valkyries.
"That trick didn't work the first or second time, what makes you think the third will be any different?" Taurus taunted.
Guiche responded with a smirk.
"Earth, the great mother! Answer my words and become a moving wall!" Guiche chanted. "Earth Wall!"
When he finished, a large mound of earth came up and started advancing towards Taurus. The Golden Bull attempted to cut it down as he had with the soldiers, however, each time he did the earth would just rise again and continue its advance. Meanwhile, the Valkyries began to surround Taurus with several spears pointing at him. Lucy noticed four of them were positioned towards her.
"Seize her my Valkyries!" Guiche commanded. "Capture her and she will have no choice but to surrender!"
The four soldiers marched towards Lucy who held out another key. Taurus on the other hand was furious at what he just heard.
"Like hell, you will!" he shouted. "Lay one finger on Miss Lucy's body and I'll cut you in half!"
Slicing the mud wall down again he turned to attack the Valkyries after his master.
Unfortunately, this was what Guiche was waiting for.
"Earth, the great mother! Answer my words and restrain him in your embrace! Earth Arms!" Guiche chanted as his mud wall changed form.
Two hands made of stone shot out from the ground and constricted Taurus within their grasp.
"Why you?" the celestial spirit scowled as he struggled to break free.
While he was doing that the four Valkyries charged at Lucy, however, this time she was prepared.
"Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!" Lucy shouted.
A purple-haired maid with chains attached to her wrists appeared.
"How may I be of service Princess?" Virgo asked politely.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"PRINCESS!" Louise screamed.
She was too shocked to notice that Lucy had summoned a second familiar. A princess, she had summoned an actual princess, not just a noble. She was going to be in so much trouble when her family found out.
Guiche felt his heart skip a beat. If she truly was a princess, then that means he just attacked her without thinking. Maybe her country wouldn't be too angry with him and there would be no war.
Several girls, Kirche and Montmorency included, stared in awe. Beatrice wasn't as bothered. So what if Zero summoned a princess, she was one too.
Tabitha's entire concentration was on Lucy alone. There was something different about her. It was impossible to be contracted to two familiars, and it was impossible to just summon them out of thin air, yet here she was shown otherwise. Lucy wasn't from around here she knew that much, but even then, her magic was far too different to be considered anything Halekeginian. Perhaps she lived near the elves country, though she doubted it. Elven magic, or ancient magic as it was referred to, was different but there wasn't anything stating they could things like that.
"Look Virgo, I'm in the middle of a duel right now," Lucy explained. "Please deal with these guys and rescue Taurus."
"Very well," Virgo acknowledged. "Will you punish me afterwards?"
"Just get on with it," Lucy groaned.
It was annoying how Virgo always asked to punish her despite Lucy not being that type of person. Nevertheless, she was still a friend.
Virgo immediately went on the attack by performing Diver and burrowing her way underground. Within seconds of reaching Lucy, the four Valkyries were suddenly dropped into pit holes with Virgo standing on the surface. Leaping into the air, a yellow glow appeared from her hands.
"Spica Hole!" Virgo shouted.
A large crater appeared where Taurus and the remaining Valkyries were standing, causing them all to fall in. Taurus screamed as he fell but Virgo extended her chains to grab a hold of him and pull him back up.
Guiche was furious. All his attacks had been rendered useless by two familiars, one who possessed immense strength, the other who possessed powerful magic. How was that possible? Familiars couldn't have magic, or at least they shouldn't. Sadly, Louise's familiar was proving him wrong.
"Tch," he scowled. "Since it's come to this. I'll have to use that, my strongest spell." Guiche pointed his wand at the ground and started chanting. "Earth, the great mother!"
Whatever Guiche was about to add was cut off by a glowing line snapping around his wrist. Looking up he saw it was coming from Lucy as she held the handle.
Lucy kept eye contact with Guiche. She didn't know what he had been planning and she didn't want to find out. So, she whipped out her Fleuve D'etoiles that extended out and grabbed him. When she did, Lucy noticed the runes on her hand glowing and her body feeling much lighter than before. Rather than acting on thought, Lucy acted on instinct and pulled Guiche with strength she never knew she had towards her.
Guiche flew over the crater directly at Lucy who turned and performed a reverse-turning kick directly with Guiche's face. As a result, Guiche did a backflip as he flew forward and landed face-first on the grass. Lucy realized she put more strength into that then she originally planned because Guiche was struggling to sit up.
"Ugh," Guiche groaned. "That hurt."
As he finally sat up, he noticed Lucy and her spirits. Before he could react, Lucy ensnared him with her whip. Guiche's wand was a few feet away, however, he had no chance of getting to it.
Seeing the glares Lucy and Taurus were giving him, coupled with the impassive look from Virgo, Guiche did the only thing he could.
"I yield," he cried. "You win."
He didn't have any choice but to accept defeat. Continuing at this point would be suicide.
Lucy frowned. While she was happy she had won, a small part of her wasn't quite satisfied.
"Would Katie and Montmorency please come forward?" she requested much to the surprise of the crowd and the girls in general.
After a few seconds of deliberation, the two girls did come forward to where Lucy and Guiche were. Lucy forced the captive boy to face the girls.
"Now, I believe you owe them something," Lucy said in authoritative voice. "Like an apology."
Not wanting any more trouble Guiche obliged with her request.
"I am sorry to you both," he said.
"For?" Lucy added.
"For cheating on you both at the same time and bringing shame to you," Guiche continued. "It was wrong of me. And I humbly beg your forgiveness."
Any other time she saw a commoner treating a noble this way she would have been angry, but Montmorency had to admit, watching Guiche get a little punishment this time was satisfying to watch.
"Very well, I accept," she finally said.
"As do I," Katie added.
Katie was still angry over the whole thing, but she could move on. However, she would not be dating anyone for a long time. There was something she could do though.
Her gaze turned to Lucy who was still holding Guiche.
"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Taurus growled as he held his axe close.
He didn't know what this brat had done to antagonize Lucy, but he didn't care. He wanted an apology from him and he wanted it now.
Guiche then turned back to Lucy with a frantic look in his eyes.
"I am sorry to you as well," he said. "I shouldn't have accused you of a situation you had no control over."
"As long as you don't do it again, I'm happy," Lucy shrugged as she released the whip. "Virgo, Taurus, thank you. You two have been a big help. Before you go back, Virgo can you do something about the crater you created."
Virgo complied with the request and promptly returned to the Spirit World alongside Taurus afterwards, much to everyone's surprise.
Tabitha and Kirche eyed Lucy with curiosity. Louise had certainly summoned herself an interesting familiar. Maybe the summoning hadn't gone wrong after all.
Tabitha was more concerned with Lucy's origins and magic, but that could wait for another day.
Louise stared at her familiar. So many thoughts were racing through her mind right now. Her familiar just defeated a noble, a dot class but still. She could use magic that revolved around summoning her own familiars, and she had a mysterious weapon she had never seen before.
Louise cracked a small smile. While Lucy was not what she was hoping for, Louise knew for a fact that she was not a failure, that she had summoned something, or rather someone powerful.
There was the matter of her being a princess, but she would deal with that after they had talked. As happy as she was with the results, Louise needed answers.
Louise's room later that day
The master and familiar sat across from each other in silence.
Lucy knew this moment would come eventually, not that she was worried or anything like that. It was more about whether or not Louise would believe her.
"It would seem you withheld quite a bit about yourself," Louise said softly.
"To be fair, everything has happened really fast," Lucy defended. "That aside, what do you want to know first?"
"Everything," Louise responded in a definite tone. "Where are you from? Whom do you rule over? And how can you use magic?"
Lucy sighed. They were going t be here a while.
"For starters, I am not a princess. That's just something Virgo calls me," Louise sighed in relief at not abducting a monarch. She could have started a war otherwise. Or worse still, her mother and sister would kill her. "And secondly, where I come from is a place known as Magnolia." Louise frowned. She had never heard of such a place. "I doubt of you've heard of it though, especially since it's in another world."
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"I'm sorry, what?" Louise exclaimed.
Hi there. Well, what did you think of that? I decided to have Guiche put up more of a fight in the duel because I thought it would be more interesting. Speaking of which like Kirche, Guiche will have a different role in the story with his own arc like several other characters.
In addition, I'm considering giving Katie a larger role than the original serious since she wasn't a developed character, it provides room to flesh her out.
Next chapter will follow Louise finding out about where Lucy is from and what she can do. It will also introduce Derflinger as Lucy's partner.
I hope you enjoyed reading. Please review!
Merry Christmas!