ARC II
CHAPTER I

DISCLAIMER:

Not mine.

For once, Adant was finished early. His major assignment wasn't due till Monday morning, but rather than leave most of it for the last weekend like he usually did, this time he was actually finished by Friday night. A fact that may have been influenced by his classmate's invitation to spend the weekend with her up on the coast. Adant had actually finished half an hour ago, and was basking in the self-satisfied glow of completion. A glow not half helped by what was now his second beer. That comforting sense of self satisfaction was stifled somewhat when the front door not-quite-slammed, and Brent stomped through the house. Adante sighed, and put down his beer.

Ever since Brent's computer had stuffed up two weeks ago, he'd been getting crabbier and crabbier. Apparently it'd still work for assignments, but it was stuffed when it came to games now. And the worst of it was, Brent wouldn't let him fix it. Adant had been the one who had built it for Christ's sake! Brent had kept asking Adant if he could use his laptop for gaming, but Adant had needed it for his assignments. Something that hadn't improved Brent's mood any. But he was done with his assignment now... Adant grabbed his laptop and stood up, heading for the kitchen.

ONE HOUR LATER

Adant sighed, glanced over at Brent on his laptop, and checked his watch. Still five hours till Sarah picked him up. From the furious hand movements over the mouse and keyboard, and the ferocious expression on his face, Adant really didn't feel like disturbing him. But with nothing on TV, no laptop to use himself, and no housemate to talk to, there was absolutely nothing to do. The tinny sounds of battle floated through the headphones, and the clock ticked... and Adant stewed. then got up, having decided. Enough of this nonsense! He'd fix Brent's computer, permission be dammed.

The machine booted normally enough, and Brent's password was embarrassingly easy to get past. Honestly, who was stupid enough to use their date of birth as a password anyway? And then put 'birthday' as the hint? While the machine slowly loaded, Adant grabbed a snack from the kitchen, passing an oblivious Brent. While his housemate clicked his forces of tanks and infantry through the enemy defenses, Adant seated himself at the finally-loaded computer. Grabbing a slice of cold pizza and cracking his third beer, he sorted his thoughts.

Obviously, before he could fix the problem, he'd need to see what it was. Brent had been very vague in that regard. So... which game should he test first?

Brent frowned in puzzlement. He'd been playing several hours now. He'd started with this year's Real Time Strategy, but for some reason the normally robust enemy AI had made blindingly obvious moves the entire game. He'd tried playing online, but everyone online seemed to be a noob at the moment. He would have liked to play his tactical shooter, but Adant was more of a casual gamer, and didn't have any of the more hardcore games loaded. So he'd had to settle for Counterstrike.

Now Brent knew he wasn't the best CS player in the world, but he was still wiping the floor with his opponents. They were accusing him of using hacks, but it wasn't that at all – he just somehow knew how to play, now. How to aim, how to move to avoid being hit, how to move around the maps – it all came to him as though he'd been playing for years.

What was going on? And what was with that Nordic symbol that seemed to be etched on every unit he commanded?

Louise stood at the back of the crowd, fidgeting nervously. It had been three weeks since her familiar's duel with Guiche, and he hadn't appeared since. Rumors were starting to circle that he wouldn't appear again. That he had fled. Or that he really had died. Thankfully, the rumors were quiet. After Guiches humiliation, no on openly mocked her any more, but she still heard a lot sniggering whenever her back was turned.

The student on the stage bowed and left with his familiar, and the next student ascended the stage, his bugbear floating behind him.

She had been meeting with Mr Colbert on a regular basis. She had originally asked Mr Colbert on ways she could force her familiar to listen. How she could force him to obey. Her mother had always insisted she have a will of steel. That she dominate those around her through sheer force of her personality. In absence of her mother, Mr Colbert was the only person she could really turn to for advice. Mr Colbert had gently but insistently tried to tell her she was wrong, though. That the way to gaining her familiar's obedience was not through domination, but through gaining it's respect.

The mere thought of treating her familiar as an equal made her want to scream. Magic or no, she was a noble. Not just a noble, but a Valliere! Yet she could see no alternative. As much as she looked, she could see no way of forcing him into his proper role of familiar. As much as she hated it – as much as it humiliated her to her core, she needed him, and he didn't need her at all.

The idea of her bowing to the needs of her familiar sickened her – but... he was such a powerful familiar. Even with his absence, the teasing she had received had gone down. Even the teachers treated her differently now. She had always been good at the theory, and now she gained a lot more recognition for this.

There was general applause from the audience, and the student with his bugbear left the stage. The next student was called – a mousy-haired girl with an owl.

One or two of the teachers – Mr Colbert in particular, had wanted to find out just how accurate she could be with her explosions, too. Her explosions had always been a source of embarrassment to her, and it had taken a long time before her teachers could convince her they weren't trying to make fun of her.

But none of this helped her now. Now was the presentation ceremony. Where the second year students showed off their familiars. The tricks, skills, and general rapport they had developed with their familiar. Not just to the student body this year, but to the princess too.

And – powerful or not, Louise's familiar hadn't even showed up.

She had tried leaving notes in the stables. She had used some of her allowance to bribe some of the other students to send it a message with magical means. But nothing had worked. She might hate the idea of having to earn her familiar's co-operation, but she was still willing to do it. But none of that mattered if it never came back...

And now it was the presentation ceremony, and she had nothing to show.

Another student was called. And now it was just Louise. Mr Colbert spared a glance at her, and Louise hated the hidden pity in his eyes. Hated everything.

Well, not everything was bad.

The princess had come to visit her. And if she had a lot of questions about her mysterious familiar, could she really blame her? Her dark mood lifted briefly as she thought of the Princesses visit the night before. Of an old childhood friendship renewed. Her mood returned though, on thinking of the princess waiting in the audience. About to see her humiliation.

'Louise De Valliere?'

Her stomach sinking through the floor, Louise swallowed, took a step towards the stage... and then the stables exploded.

As the bleating of animals and cries of panicked students mingled with the cloud of dust blossoming from the collapsed stables, a handful of accusing eyes pierced the youngest of the Vallier sisters.

The girl blushed, first embarrassed, then angry. 'It wasn't me, alright!?'

AUTHORS NOTES:

Wow. I just checked, and almost two months since my last update.

Thanks largely to the insane amount of hours I was being asked to do, I've given notice at work, and will finish mid-feb. In an effort to keep me, they've reduced my hours to thirty-six a week. Which is why I've now got the time to bring this out.

I've really only got about half the ideas I need for the next chapter. I might try just writing it and see where it takes me. But if that doesn't work, you can probably expect another month or two...