"I… this… this has never happened before," the instructor said as he turned to the three hunters. His mind was churning for an explanation.
"It isn't possible. Just… just who are you three?" Tabitha spoke up.
"About that. We are-" Vergil began.
"Hunters," Dante finished, "we is a family of hunters, look for animals," the man in red winced at his terrible grammar, but it would have to do for now.
"That explains little of how you were able to resist the binding," Tabitha spoke up, "No mere human could have broken that. It is a spell that is centuries old. You would have to be an incredibly powerful individual or a god to break it."
"What are you saying?" Vergil asked with narrow eyes.
"I am saying nothing. I am speculating."
She was sharp, Dante and Vergil both agreed. The man in red just hoped he could spin a plausible tale to divert her suspicion.
"Such a thing has happened before, did it not? Maybe we were not the correct…" the hunter in blue paused for a moment to think. "People?"
The girl narrowed her eyes, but kept her expression.
"Out of all three of you, neither one became Louise's familiar, such a thing is impossible among summoned creatures. There has never been an incident where the summoning ritual has failed. Unless you three are not what you say you are."
The instructor gulped as the young girl's words crossed his mind.
Nero looked a bit uneasy as Dante translated to the young hunter. He stole a glance at his father. His face still remained emotionless and unfazed, "And what are we? You say but you do not know."
The instructor stepped forward, attempting to throw in his own two bits.
"Wait. I may have a answer," Dante quickly interjected. Tabitha winced a bit at the incorrect grammar, but listened nonetheless.
"Everyone here got a monster, right? We are hunters. We saw a monster while we were hunting. Then we saw a blue circle and ran into it with mistake. That could be the reason?"
The teacher and students of Tristain winced at his crude speaking, but understood the meaning of those words.
"Perhaps…" the instructor began, "This is the first time I've heard of three humans who have been summoned instead of a proper familiar. There are many variables and questions that have no answers here, your guess is as good as ours."
The young girl on the other hand was not as quick to accept it, but relented with a sigh.
"Perhaps further study is needed?"
"Indeed, we should consult the headmaster," the instructor said to the three hunters.
"Hold. Are you saying we are not allowed to go home?" Vergil asked.
"Ah…" the instructor said as he rubbed his chin, "I did say you could leave, and seeing as how none of you are 's familiar, it would be improper to hold you here against your wishes…"
The three hunters stood watching, holding in their breaths slightly.
"Just say yes and let us go…" Nero muttered, "I really don't wanna tear through Greece and any other mages if I have to."
"He will. These guys don't seem that hostile. You can ease up kid," Dante replied.
"I apologize," the instructor cut them off, "but I am afraid I will have to ask that you remain on the premises for the time being."
Vergil clocked his tongue, and Dante frowned slightly. Nero, noting the small reactions from his father and uncle, assumed the worst.
"You jinxed it!" Nero said to his uncle.
Dante grit his teeth as Vergil adopted a stern look.
"Why? Are you not keeping your promise?" the man in blue asked.
"I am truly sorry, but the fact of the matter is that this is a failed summon that includes a beast intended for a summon to fail to appear, and instead a family of hunters has been wrongfully called upon instead. In all my years of teaching at Tristain I have never heard of such a thing ever occurring before. Therefore, I ask that you join me in talking to the headmaster to report this event. And…" he paused his long winded speech to give a look over the three, "he will be able to provide you with funds for travel."
The two older hunters let out a small breath, with Dante putting a hand on Nero's shoulder in reassurance.
"If that concludes our business here then, I would like to call the period over prematurely for the students. You do not need to return to class. Instead, take this time to interact with your familiars and head to your next class of the day, whilst I bring our guests to the headmaster."
The students did just that, moving to converse with their otherworldly companions while the three hunters began their walk with the instructor. A few however, took a moment of extra time to glance at the three: Kirche with bemusement; and Tabitha with a look of curiosity. The spectacled girl played the past events once over in her mind, devoting everything she had just seen to memory. While she was not a person who bluntly mistrusts all strangers she meets, there was something about the three that irked her to no end. It was as though a jigsaw puzzle was complete, yet there is an extra piece leftover on the side. As she pondered these thoughts, a gentle nudge to her waist brought her out of her mind. She turned to admonish whom she assumed was Kirche, only to widen her eyes in surprise at the large blue lizard quizzically staring at her. The small girl let out a small breath, remembering that this creature, a wind rhyme dragon, now her familiar, Sylphid. She raised a dainty hand to its forehead, and patted it softly. She thought to shelve her suspicions for a later date, lest she make her familiar worry again. However, when she turned her head towards the group for one last look, she was surprised to see them already gone, alongside a young pink haired mage.
-o0o-
A long haired and bearded old man sat at his chair in his office. One hand was slowly stroking his white beard, and the other gripping his wooden staff. He wore a baggy black coat with white accents on top of all. He looked like a textbook example of an old mage, the only thing missing was a wide brimmed and pointed hat.
A curvy and attractive spectacled woman, with emerald hair and eyes stood beside him, placing down a small stack of papers.
"And these are the bills for the coming month, including all festivities," the lady said.
"Many thanks my dear," the old man replied, "now if you could also manage to pour a cup of tea-"
As soon as he spoke those words, a steaming cup of tea was placed in front of him, resting on top of a saucer.
"Aha, how did we ever manage without you?" he said as he took a small sip. He immediately recoiled and stuck out his tongue.
"It is quite hot, headmaster," she spoke up.
"A little more forewarning next time, perhaps?" he said as he blew on his beverage.
Two knocks on his door brought his attention away from his steam cup.
"Headmaster, it is me. May I come in?"
Recognizing the voice as one of his professors, the headmaster spoke up, "You may enter."
The door opened to reveal three figures: one a professor, and two strangers with white hair.
"Excuse us, sir," the professor said as he guided the two strangers in.
"No need, but who are our guests?"
"Allow me to introduce you," the professor began, "This is-"
Vergil raised a hand, stopping the man.
"We can say our names," he said.
The headmaster raised a brow at the broken language the stranger had used, but waited for the man to speak.
"I am Vergil. This is my son, Nero," he said, gesturing to himself and Nero with his right arm.
Nero cast a glance at Vergil before awkwardly bowing, stopping halfway as uncertainty crept up his mind. He silently wished Dante was with him at the moment to tell him how to greet someone.
"Y-yo," Nero said, raising his right hand in a greeting.
"Hmmm. Well met, ser Vergil, ser Nero. I am Osmond, headmaster of Tristain Academy. This is my secretary Longuevuille," he gestured towards the woman, who gave a small curtsey. "To what do I owe the honor of your presence?" the headmaster replied.
"No need for such… nice words," Vergil said, "There has… been a mistake earlier today. I believe your teacher can explain it better than I."
The headmaster nodded, and turned to the professor.
The man walked over to the bearded headmaster and leaned in, whispering the events that took place a few moments earlier. Longuevuille too, leaned in to listen.
Both she and the headmaster's eyes widened at the news, and a stern look jumped onto his face as the professor finished.
"Well… it seems our students had quite the surprise today. You want to return home then, yes?" the headmaster asked.
"If you would be so kind," Vergil replied.
The headmaster closed his eyes, letting silence pass over the room.
"Very well. You may go. We will provide some funds for your travel, and perhaps a change of clothes and a bath as well."
Vergil smiled, and Nero took that as a sign of good fortune.
"H-headmaster?!" the professor and his secretary both exclaimed.
"Now, now, there is no need to keep these gentlemen here. If everything was a misunderstanding, then I see no reason for them not to go along their way."
"B-but," the professor chimed in, "what about the failed binding? Surely we need to conduct tests to see as to why the sealing failed, or question them about their summoning?! Such a thing has never happened before in all of Tristain Academy's history, we cannot just let them leave!"
"And they explained that it was merely a simple mistake, yes? Then we have nothing more to glean from them should they stay."
"But headmaster!"
"My decision is final," he said with a resounding voice, "You forget they are commoners, and have no knowledge of magic. Any interrogations done on them will yield no satisfactory answers, other than what they have already provided, and I will not allow human testing on unwilling participants."
Osmond narrowed his eyes towards his professor.
"Unless you are choosing to hold these commoners against their will and perform unsanctioned tests under my watch?"
The professor nervously gulped as the old man's stern eyes bore into his.
"N-no, not at all sir…"
"Very well then!" The headmaster said with a cherry tone and a bearded smile, "you both are free to leave when you please."
Vergil nodded, but took note of what transpired, filling it away in the back of his head for the time being. He bowed and gestured for Nero to do the same. The older hunter translated what had transpired to his son, letting Nero breathe out a much needed sight of relief. The two then turned to leave, but the headmaster then struck a serious gaze once more.
"Wait a moment."
The two froze, and Nero turned to Vergil with a slightly nervous glance.
"There were supposed to be three of you, yet unless my eyes have gotten that old, I only see two."
"Ah," Vergil began, "yes about that…"
"I hope he did not sneak off to visit places where he shouldn't be, yes?"
"Actually-" Vergil tried to say.
"Who's goin' to places they shouldn't be?" came a voice from down the hall.
Dante sauntered over to his family members, his cheshire grin sitting on his face.
"Dante," Vergil said as his twin peeked around the door. "My missing brother in question is here."
"Yo!" he said with a raised hand, "You are the leader, yes?"
The headmaster raised a brow at the man in red's inquiry.
"I suppose I am in a manner of speaking, but my official title is 'headmaster'."
"Headmaster…" Dante repeated in a softer voice. "Sorry, not good in this language. Thank you for fix mistake."
"Well, you're very welcome in that case. Though I am surprised someone of your age is unfamiliar with our land's language."
"Ah, pardon headmaster," the professor began, "I mistakenly omitted that they are illiterate, and only learned our language today."
The headmaster's eyes widened.
"Illiterate, and they learned our language today? I assume during the time they were summoned then."
The professor nodded.
"Yes, they were unaware of our language when they came, but quickly learned after a few exchanges," the professor continued.
"And they managed to reach a conversational level from so few words? My… skilled these hunters are," Osmond said as he stroked his beard.
Dante bowed. "My thanks for the words of good. Let me show you who I am. I am Dante, a hunter, and odd work person."
"Well met Dante. I am Osmond, and this is my secretary Longuevuille."
The spectacled woman once more gave a small curtsey.
"We were just wondering where you were," the headmaster added.
"I am sorry. I was finding the student's room."
"You went to the dormitory? Whatever could have possessed you to go there?"
"One of your students, Lousie, was not feeling well. So I brought her to her room."
The headmaster sat straighter upon hearing those words.
"Is she alright?"
"Yes. She is sleeping."
"I will make a trip there to check up on her, headmaster," Longuevuille said.
"Ahh, thank you Longuevuille, considerate and one step ahead as always."
"If there is nothing else," Vergil interjected, "Then can we say that our business is finished here?"
The headmaster returned his attention to the two hunters outside the door.
"Ah, yes. You are all free to leave. If you require funds I will of course oblige you."
"Then we are done here. Nero, let's go."
"Alright," the younger of the trio said before facing the academics. "This am nice see hello. Bye," he said with a bow.
The headmaster and his employees had to try to stifle their laughter at his attempts to be courteous. They waved at them as Vergil and Nero began to walk away.
"Actually," Dante spoke up, "I had a change of mind."
The other two stopped and all present cast their gaze at the man in red.
"If you do not think, err… care. Can we stay here?"
A moment of silence passed before all five exclaimed.
"WHAT/WHAT?!"
-hours later, within the Tristain Academy dormitories-
When the young Louise opened her eyes once more, she found herself staring at her dorm room ceiling. She blinked twice and sat up, rubbing the tears out of her eyes. She looked around in a daze, her mind trying to make heads or tails of the situation. Her mind was dazed as she pushed herself up, trying to remember what had happened. Her mind touched upon the day of the week, and slowly pieced together the date, remembering that there was something important but could not quite figure out what. As she glanced downwards, she found herself still dressed in her school uniform. This confused her, as she would never sleep unless it were in her nightgown. Suddenly something clicked in her mind, and the day's events flooded in. She bit her lower lip as she shut her eyes, trying to seal away the rioting tears that attempted to escape. She tucked herself into a ball as she lost, the salty prisoners escaping from their confines. Choked sobs broke free alongside them, quietly dancing around the room.
"Why…" she said to herself, "Why couldn't it have been a dream?"
Bitter anger and sadness weld up in the small girl's chest, prompting more tears to emerge from their cells. Her mind fell into darker thoughts. Memories of her family, and her classmates spun around her. Taunts and sneers, jests and disapproval, all directed at her. She wanted to shut them out, to stop hearing the voices, to stop hearing their voices full of disdain. Try as she might, she could not run from the darkness that lived in her own mind.
It was a cold wind that drew her out of her shell. Her window was open, and the velvet curtain waltzed in the night breeze. Mechanically she went over to shut them, anything to stop thinking about her failures for even a moment. It was only when the window pane was shut did she notice the bright light of a full moon above her. It's soft blue light brought to attention that the afternoon had long since passed.
A feeling of fear passed over the young mage. If she had been asleep since the aftermath of the ritual, then she had missed all her classes for the day. Inwardly she began to panic. She could not afford to miss even a single one, not with how her current grades are. She could not fail her academic studies alongside her spellcasting.
As soon as that train of thought arrived at the station of darkness, her cynical memories came rushing to board. She let her arms fall to her side and her head hung low.
'That's right… why should this even matter anymore… I couldn't get a familiar, so why bother? It doesn't matter if I fail now, I know no matter how much I try, I'll never be a true mage… Not without a familiar.'
She let her eyes walk over to the grass on the lawn outside, watching as the night wind made them dance. She then spotted the summoning circle that they had used, still on the field before her. Her mind then crafted an insane idea, one that she did not want to entertain. Yet this idea sparked one last light of hope in her chest, and a moment later, she chased it.
-o0o-
Louise slowed her movements one last time as she glanced around their field. Devoid of any and all life, she thanked the stars above her that no one had managed to spot her. Walking to the circle, she examined every inch of it closely, finding that most of the spell was complete. Only a few minor adjustments for wear were needed to repair it, and Louise reached into her pouch to do so.
Moments later, Louise stood before the seal again, a lump in her throat as the memories of her last summoning taunted her. She swallowed them and glared at the circle with a fierce gaze.
"My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière. Pentagon of the five elemental powers, Heed my summoning…"
Mental stigma pricked at her mind. The jeers and humiliation pulled apart at her will, attempting to force her to stay her words, lest she suffer even more shame. She fought through them all. This was her last chance, and she would not squander it.
"And bring forth…"
It has to work this time. No, it WILL.
"My familiar!" The young mage cried out.
Seconds passed again as the glow of the magic spell faded from the field. She had most likely woken up half the school, but that was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment. Like before, nothing appeared before her, with only the prancing night wind being her guest. Unlike before, however, she was patient. She waited. She knew she did not fail this time, and would wait however long it took for her familiar to appear before her. More seconds passed and nothing happened, until the sound of something yelling and crashing into the ground broke the silent night.
A small smile crept onto the girl's lips. Confidently she opened her eyes, and waited for the dust cloud to part to see what had appeared before her. Her eyes widened however, when the being before her was not what she had expected.
"Who…?"
-elsewhere on a different world-
Setting a half full glass down on the bedside cabinet, the man in black clothing sat down on his bed. A towel was draped over his neck, wet with water from the bath he had just emerged from. A dried hand ran through his raven colored hair, becoming moist with the lingering moisture. Wiping off the excess water, he grabbed his beverage and downed its contents, letting the fluid slide down his dry throat. He exhaled as he sat upright, his eyes peeking out of the room onto the waterfront before him. His mind wandered to the day's events, one in particular being the mystical blue light. His gut still churned with unease at the thought of it, and he felt restless the more his mind lingered on the topic. He knew sleep would not come easy to him tonight. His mind pondered a moment as to what to do, before setting on a nightly walk to ease himself. Shedding his nighttime wear, he placed on a simple shirt, jacket, and matching pants. He proceeded to head to the door, before checking his pockets to see if he was missing anything. Patting himself down, he realized he had not taken the keycard to his dwellings, and turned around to find it. He found it stashed in the dark sweatpants he wore earlier, and sighed in content.
"My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière. Pentagon of the five elemental powers, Heed my summoning…"
His mind snapped to attention as a mysterious and mystical voice rang throughout the air. He glanced around the room, seeing nothing.
"And bring forth…"
His mind slowly pieced together what he was hearing, and his eyes widened as the memory from the day flashed in his mind.
"My familiar!" The young mage cried out.
He snapped his head to see behind him, and just as he suspected, he saw it. A blue light, the same one he saw before. He gulped as the feeling of unease crept back into his stomach. He stepped closer to it, a hand outstretched as the light grew brighter. It felt warm, inviting, as though it were calling to him to embrace it. What possessed him to step into it, he did now know, but soon his vision was flooded with a bright light, leaving behind his room and the keycard he was holding in his hand. The next thing he knew, he was falling through the air.
-End of Chapter 4-
AN: Hello all! Hope you enjoyed the newest chapter! Thank you again for reading my story, and look forward to Chapter 5 coming out soon! I'll be taking a break after the next chapter to focus on my studies though. Cheers, and keep having that Smokin' Sexy Style! I'll see you all in the next chapter!
