Chapter 12

- POV: Private First Class Brenner: a few days later -

Not again.

A headache greeted me as soon as I sat up. I was without my uniform once again, but this time there were no bandages on me. I looked down and patted my stomach - feeling good as new. Breathing in slowly, I slowly exhaled and leaned back in bed.

"I see you're all better," a voice said. I turned to see Colbert by the door, having entered likely when I'd just woken up. "You're in the Institute's infirmary at the moment. We underwent some fairly intense spells to heal those wounds."

"I see," I said, registering that I was alive - and all better. "How bad was it?"

"Surprisingly, only some cracked ribs. Albeit, almost all your ribs were cracked but we found very little damage to your organs. It seems Fouquet's golem didn't squeeze you as tightly as we all feared," Colbert said.

I looked back in Colbert's direction. "I'm sorry, who and what?" I asked.

"You were grabbed by a golem - one of earth, it seems. And the summoner of that golem was a well renowned thief known as Fouquet the Sculptor," Colbert said. "It's been days since the exhibition and the visit of Lady Henrietta, and I still struggle to believe she was actually here..."

"How long since the attack?" I asked, quickly sitting up and stretching slowly - easing the ache and stiffness of my arms and neck. "What's the status of the school? Any injuries?"

"Calm down," Colbert quickly said. "Only one object was taken from the vault of the Institute, and none of the students suffered any physical wounds. No one was reprimanded either - in fact, those that fought to stop Fouquet were honored by Headmaster Osmond."

"Even if I failed?" I muttered.

"You didn't fail - you were outclassed by an immense margin. Those students are still training their innate magical abilities, and they worked together to stop a grave threat to the integrity of this school," Colbert explained. "Lady Henrietta also vowed to stand up for them should any nobles decide to attack them for their part in the fight."

"Louise," I said, brushing all of it aside. Who cared if they'd get in trouble or not? What I wanted to know was if my actions affected anyone. "Where is she?"

"She's in class right now, though she's struggling to pay attention. No one is giving her any grief over it - they all know how worried she is over your state. She's been very much unlike herself for the past two days," Colbert said, much to my surprise. Only two days?

"I need to see her," I said, moving to grab my clothes and equipment - laid neatly at a table next to the bed.

"We need to see the headmaster first, I'm afraid. But I'll personally bring Miss Vallière to see you on the way to his office," Colbert said. "Just be careful - you no doubt feel sore after a stressful recovery process. If you'd like, I can wait outside-"

"That'll be fine. Thanks," I said as I pulled on my pants while reaching for my shirt in the process. All of my clothes were clean, even smelling like flowers - if flowers smelled like some kind of lady's perfume sprayed thoroughly all over them. Though, super expensive soap in general tended to smell like perfume, so I could be right for all I knew. I heard Colbert leave the room, and I sighed - releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding.

Louise...you have been taking care of yourself, right?

I was done getting dressed, plopping my helmet down on my head when I heard another voice. "M-Mister Brenner!" I herald, and I looked to see Siesta enter the room with a tray of tea in her hands. Dropping the tray on a nearby desk - with a clatter, might I add - she ran over and quickly took my hands. "I was so worried! I heard about the golem, and others said you fought so hard and got injured, and others said you died! And I thought you actually-"

"Hey, hey!" I quickly said, cutting off Siesta and her rambling before it could get any worse. "I'm fine, don't you worry. Whatever they did to fix me up was a lot more efficient than how I was healed the last time." I smiled and patted her on the head. "I'm alive, that's all that matters..."

Siesta lunged forward and captured me in a tight hug, and I hugged back just as earnestly for a good few seconds. When I let go, she stood back up with a nervous smile on her face. "I know you must go and see Lord Osmond now, so I just wanted to say hi before I missed the chance to do so," she said.

"Gotcha. Thanks," I said, once again patting her on the head. "I feel as good as new, so you don't really gotta worry about me."

"I see," Siesta whispered. "Well, I want you to be careful regardless - if it's alright for me to ask such a thing of you."

"I'm not exactly rich and powerful. You can ask me whatever you want," I remarked with an easygoing smile before heading to the door. "Anyways, this meeting should be pretty short. So I'll see you around later?" Siesta nodded and politely bowed as I headed out, to see Professor Colbert waiting by the door.

"Are you ready?" he asked. I nodded, and he began to walk down the hallway, with me right behind him.

- POV: Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière -

"I hear that the school is going to try and blame the princess for this whole debacle," Kirche said - though for some reason, it lacked much of the usual snobby bite she held. In fact, she sounded more...distracted this time around. "Someone told me during breakfast."

We were all stuck in study hall - with classes attempting to restart the day after Lady Henrietta left the school to report and possibly launch an investigation into the matter. However, with the first classes already having the teachers pulled to try and work out a solution to their problem, classes ended up being effectively halted by the end of the day - with the curriculum suffering as a result.

The few days after the incident were a self propelled study hall, with every student being responsible for their own advancement in learning - which was probably the most irresponsible thing the school could do, but it somehow worked. Everybody was so buried in worry over the incident that they actually seeked out reading their textbooks and completing their assignments to try and distract themselves. Unfortunately, not everyone was that desperate to ignore the situation.

"That's preposterous - how can it be her fault? The thief clearly picked that day in particular because the princess was visiting, not the other way around!" Guiche spat.

"Obviously, but some of the students think that the school will be shut down because of this heavy breach of security - especially for something as important as the vault," Kirche said. "After all, the guards for the vault were pulled away to protect the princess, and absolutely everybody was at the exhibition because the princess was here."

"You don't know that!" I cried before I could stop myself. "Surely this isn't her fault!"

"Of course it isn't, but clearly the school's reputation is in great peril if they have to consider holding her responsible," Kirche said. "I also heard the princess insisted on visiting, despite the objections of many of her advisors."

I flinched at the statement. The visit at night before the performance sank in, and I felt a pit form in my stomach. She had wanted to see me, most of all. I was beginning to regret how things turned out - if I got Lady Henrietta in trouble even without meaning to-

The door swung open, and Professor Colbert entered the study hall. "Miss Vallière and Miss Tabitha, come to the headmaster's office immediately!" he said. I found myself getting up from my seat and leaving the room with Tabitha behind me.

I passed Professor Colbert when I left the room, only to come across someone I never thought I'd see in the next few days. "Hey," was all Brenner said with a grin. I couldn't stop myself in time - I practically tackled him against the nearest wall in the tightest hug I could manage. "I missed you too..."

"You idiot! Why'd you fight her and that golem?!" I cried, burying my face in his chest. "Stupid familiar..."

"I had to do something, alright?" I heard, and I felt Brenner's arms wrapping around me. I didn't care that I was caught hugging my familiar like a lost lover - I'd been drowning in fear and worry for so long.

Unfortunately, this tender moment was cut off when something slammed against the back of my head, smothering me against Brenner - and his admittedly fresh smelling clothes. "Oh, Brenner! I'm so glad you're alright!" Kirche's voice cried as I felt my hearing beginning to fade.

Thankfully, Brenner backed away and pulled me out from between him and Kirche, allowing me to let out a huge gasp, sucking in as much air as I could. When I turned, I saw Brenner hugging Kirche back. "Yeah, I'm alright," he was saying before Kirche released him - I was surprised that she didn't try to kiss him or stick her hand down his pants. "Thanks for the backup in that fight. All of you."

"We couldn't let you die," Tabitha said from behind Kirche. She didn't come forward to hug him, but the sentiment seemed to be accepted regardless. Brenner looked back at Tabitha for a moment before grinning, coming over to pat her on the head a few times. Surprisingly, Tabitha actually accepted it - though I wasn't sure if she was the type to reject much.

"So, we were heading to the headmaster's office, right?" Brenner asked. I blinked, remembering why the professor had called us out.

"Indeed. This way, please," Colbert said, and he took us along the hallway towards the staircase of the main tower, which led all the way up to Headmaster Osmond's office. As we headed up, we passed the door to the vault - which was currently under heavy lockdown by the guards. As we walked, I noticed Kirche inching just a little bit closer and closer to Brenner with every few steps.

"Kirche, what do you think you're doing?" I found myself asking, squeezing myself between my familiar and my family feudal rival.

"Oh, I just wanted to have some time with Brenner. After all, it's been so long since we've seen each other, don't you agree darling?" Kirche cooed, much to my discomfort. Thankfully, Brenner was either trying to look away or he was just as uncomfortable as I was.

We reached the office moments later, and I saw that Headmaster Osmond, Miss Longueville, and all of the staff were all convened in the middle of the room, discussing something quietly among themselves. When they noticed us enter, Headmaster Osmond halted the talking and moved to address us. "Ah, I see you've finally arrived."

"We were just going over the events of the terrible incident," Miss Longueville explained as she turned to face us. "We just needed you to confirm something for us. Witness reports in the local towns give us this description..." She turned over a page that she was holding - the rather neat sketch of a cloaked woman - a near perfect match of whoever we'd fought the other day.

My breath hitched, and I could feel myself glower at the drawing. "This is Fouquet. There's no doubt about it!" I said. Tabitha silently nodded in reply as well.

"It is. Pretty damn good drawing," Brenner said as well. I turned to see a near furious expression on his face, arms crossed all the while. I didn't blame him - I was angry over everything that had happened that day as well.

"Then it's settled. I'll send this to the palace, as well as a request," Professor Colbert said, which was indeed a sound suggestion. However, Headmaster Osmond seemed to have other ideas.

"If we wait for those bureaucrats to come to a decision, then we'll only lose Fouquet and the Stave of Destruction. We must act swiftly and capture this thief ourselves in order to regain our honor tarnished by that...that..." the headmaster took a deep breath, sighing quietly as he calmed himself. "Now, raise your staff if you wish to undertake this momentous challenge."

Nothing. Not a single teacher moved to raise their staff. I was a bit disbelieved - and Kirche seemed to be as well, judging by the look on her face. Headmaster Osmond was most definitely surprised, silently bewildered as he looked around the room.

This wouldn't stand - not at all.

I raised my wand at once, surprising plenty of the faculty. "I'll do it!" I announced.

"Then I shall go too!" Kirche said, much to my surprise. "I can't lose to a Vallière, after all."

"Seriously?" I found myself asking - a little angered at her. "If that's the only reason why you'll do it, then don't bother-"

Kirche's smug look aimed at me turned into that of surprise, looking at something - or someone else. "Tabitha?" she asked incredulously.

I turned to see that she too had raised both her staff and wand in reply to Osmond's request. "You don't need to volunteer," I said, watching as she simply looked back at us.

"I'm coming with you too," I heard Brenner say. The three of us turned to the soldier to see that he hadn't raised his weapon or his hand, but had stepped forward instead. "I have a few words for that bitch when we find her."

"Brenner, you-" I began to say.

"Then it is settled," Osmond said. "I shall leave it to the four of you. You're certain to succeed, especially with a Chevalier knight." He turned to Tabitha and bowed his head slightly. "A very impressive feat - very powerful at your young age."

That declaration from the headmaster had surprised all of us. "A-A Chevalier?" Kirche squawked. "Is this true?!" To our surprise, Tabitha simply nodded - which was less appropriate than expected for such a title to be bestowed upon her. Though, Tabitha rarely expressed much emotion.

"I dunno what a Chevalier means, but I'm pretty sure she's gonna carry all of us," I heard Brenner say, as tactless and unsuspecting of proper status as usual. However, I found myself snorting loudly at his blatant mispronunciation of the word 'Chevalier'.

"And Zerbst. You're the heiress of a military noble family in Germania," Headmaster Osmond said. "And I have kept track of your progress here at the Institute. Your power in fire abilities is very impressive indeed." I could practically hear Kirche's head triple in size.

"And...uhh...Miss Vallière..." Osmond began, turning to me. To my frustration, he actually cleared his throat and paused for five whole seconds.

Five. Whole. Seconds.

"Don't bother..." I said as I turned around and grabbed Brenner's hand, tugging him towards the doorway out of the office. "Come on, let's go."

"Please wait, Miss Vallière," I heard Miss Longueville say. "I wish to serve as your guide, if the headmaster shall allow me."

"An excellent idea, Miss Longueville," Osmond said. "Please bring these students to the stables. A cart should be available."

And that was the end of the meeting.

- POV: Private First Class Brenner -

The cart ride was a fairly uneventful one. Miss Longueville held the reins for the horses pulling the cart while we sat in the back. Louise sat one one side while Kirche and Tabitha sat on the other side, facing inwards.

I didn't sit in the comfy seats of the carriage - instead, I sat with my legs hanging off the back. Traveling while sitting on tanks made me accustomed to picking defensible positions over comfortable seats. Even if I didn't sit on a rumbling Sherman in the middle of traveling, the M3 Halftrack or the standard 6x6 Army utility trucks I was used to were anything but comfortable.

"Wouldn't you rather sit by me, darling?" Kirche asked, having scooched her way past Tabitha to approach me near the back of the carriage. I could feel the side of her shoe against my butt as she leaned over. "I happen to own an excellent headrest right in my lap."

"I'd rather not," I said, rifle in my hands. I could feel Derflinger on my back, the scabbard nestled between my back and my own backpack. "Someone needs to keep an eye on our six."

"Six? What do numbers have to do with anything?" Kirche asked.

"It just means our ass. Someone needs to keep an eye behind us. In case anyone or anything decides to sneak up," I said. Normally, I would've gone through the trouble of being more polite - but I was not in the mood. The thought of payback was too rich to give up, and my thoughts were occupied on ways to destroy the golem should it appear.

"Paranoid much?" Derflinger asked quietly.

"I'm not in the mood to talk," I replied, sighing.

"You sure?" Derflinger asked. "You know that fire girl, right? She's really into you. Any good reason you aren't saying yes?"

"I'd rather not sleep with someone before marriage," I sighed. I didn't like the way status worked in this world, especially since it was such a far cry from the way I grew up. I missed it dearly. "I told her once already. Just glad she didn't try locking me in her room or some bullshit like that again..."

"You know how nobles and peasants work after you pulled that rescue on the maid," Derflinger said. "I'm just saying you could get a bit more used to how things go here-"

"No. I won't need to, not when I find a way back home," I said, cutting off Derflinger at once. The sword went silent as I went back to eyeing the road behind us, eyes looking from left to right and from right to left every few seconds as I scoured the trees for something - anything out of the ordinary.

A conversation had been going on near the front of the cart - but I wasn't listening. In fact, I was almost entirely focused on maintaining my guard, at least until I was shaken out of my thoughts. "Brenner. Are you alright?" I turned to see Louise - having scooted over to my other side. "You know you don't have to keep watching for danger all of the time," she said.

"Sorry, but I'd rather play things safe," I said, looking back out at the road - keeping a constant eye out as Kirche let out a sigh and scooted back to Tabitha. For the rest of the ride, Louise was silent - but she stayed by my side the whole way.

Not that I was focused on that.

- some time later -

Our ride stopped a good ten minutes of light trotting later. We disembarked from the carriage to find a wooden shack nestled nearby a rocky cliff. While Louise, Kirche, Tabitha, and Longueville approached a nearby bush to hide, I made my own way to the wooden walls of the little house.

"Be careful," Louise whispered to me as I approached the house. After Aachen, I'd grown used to smashing windows and using grenades to clear out rooms - and this looked very easy to clear out with just one frag. But I only had two of them left, so that was clearly not an option. Plus, the windows were already smashed.

I crept to the windows, Garand loaded and armed as I peered inside, ready for something or someone to be inside. Nothing of particular interest was inside. There was a small fireplace, a few dressers, a half dozen crates here and there, and a table. It looked empty, but looks could be deceiving.

I could do this. I could do this. This is just like Aachen.

I crept to the front door, pressing my back against the wall before taking a deep breath. Here I go. I spun around and slammed my boot against the door, not only opening it - but sending it falling off its hinges and crashing to the floor with an obnoxious crash. A small puff of dust billowed up to knee level.

"Brenner!" Kirche and Louise cried out as I stepped inside, my boots planted on the broken and dusty door as I looked inside. There was a basic bed against the wall by the door, and the crates were all shut. I didn't dare step another foot inside as I peered around.

There were no other rooms - with the entirety of the shack being one enclosed living space. "Clear!" I yelled once I was sure, eyeing the room left and right for a good minute before I turned around, with Kirche and Tabitha heading for the doorway as I headed out.

Louise stormed towards me. "What if the door had a trap waiting for you?" she demanded. "You should have waited for Tabitha to make sure first!"

I blinked. "Traps? Like what?" I asked before Tabitha spoke up.

"There's no traps in the area," she said as she and Kirche looked inside. Louise frowned, and I shrugged. And that was the end of that conversation. Looking around, I blinked once again.

"Where's Miss Secretary?" I asked.

"Miss Longueville left to scout the area a few seconds ago, to see if Fouquet may have left any clues in the area around this place," Louise explained.

"Hmm. That sounds pretty good. I guess I'll do the same," I said as I eyed the trees around me. "Lots of places for the enemy to hide..."

"Oh, don't you wander off next, I don't need you to try and-" Louise began before a crashing sound sent us all flying to the ground. The earth rumbled beneath our feet for a few moments before it all stopped, with the only thing I was hearing being the sound of crumbling rock.

Looking up, I saw the golem - that same rock golem that had attacked the school just days ago. My temper flared up and I lunged to my feet, gripping Louise with my arms - one under her back and another under her legs as I ran for the bushes near the house. "Hide here!" I yelled as I grabbed my Garand and opened fire from the bush - the fresh clip dwindling down to six rounds with two shots pinging off the rock.

I immediately cursed for my impulsive decision. Bullets won't work on rock, I needed to remember that! I quickly slammed the safety back into place and slung my Garand over my shoulder before jumping up out of cover, only to be joined by Louise. "I said hide here!"

"I can fight!" Louise cried. "I can use magic, remember!?"

"You saw what magic could do from earlier - it did jack shit!" I shouted. "I need to get to Kirche and Tabitha, and then we can come up with a plan!"

"I have to do something! What kind of noble would I be if I didn't fight a threat such as this?!" Louise cried angrily, her voice cracking. I'd seen Louise and her stubbornness before - but this was on a whole other level.

And I wasn't in the mood to deal with it. "A smart one! Now get the fuck down there and wait!" I yelled, pushing Louise in the bush and running to the shack - with the old roof now torn off and shattered wooden fragments all around me.

Kirche and Tabitha were at the doorway and had simultaneously summoned some massive tornado of fire, which was slamming into the golem at full force. I was actually unable to see the golem due to how much fire there was, other than its legs that were stumbling back. But it wasn't going to last.

The golem was raising a hand that was barely seen over the inferno that engulfed it. "Hey, get to cover!" I yelled, grabbing Tabitha by the waist - she was very petite and light, with my other arm gripping Kirche's hand and yanking hard with all of my might. We were barely able to escape as a massive fist of burning rock shattered what was left of the house with a thunderous crash.

I leapt over the bush, the three of us landing in a tangle of limbs by Louise. As the rock golem began to raise its fist, I quickly scrambled to my feet. "Shit, we don't have any good cover," I growled before looking down at Tabitha, holding her staff and wand - with a peculiar long purple box being held in place underneath her armpit.. "What is that?"

"It's the Stave of Destruction. We found it in the shack before the golem appeared!" Kirche said as a huge step was heard. The golem was approaching us, and we were running out of time.

"Partner, draw me!" I heard Derflinger shout, and I turned to see the cart we'd arrived in a decent distance away down the path. There was one decision to make - and it involved fighting to cover the others. I gripped the sword on my back and drew it - the old blade proving itself balanced and light in my hand.

"You three get to the cart and go back to the school," I said. "I'll hold it off, buy you some time."

"Brenner, you can't!" Louise croaked.

"You'll die!" Kirche cried. But I wasn't listening - not with the golem storming closer in its slow manner.

"Go!" I shouted, lunging over the bush and jumping at the incoming fist. Without thinking, I swung downwards - expecting the blade to chip at the rock, or in the worst case: shatter. But that wasn't the case.

The blade cut effortlessly through the rock as if the rock were simply made of butter. Before I questioned it, I found myself landing on my feet, sliding to a stop as I was now behind the golem.

"Again!" Derflinger shouted - and without thinking, I lunged forward once again, swinging hard. The sword felt lighter, and I felt faster - barely able to hear my breathing as I slashed at the leg. Again, it cleaved the limb easily, and I slid to a stop again.

"What the hell?" I muttered. I barely felt tired at all - my breathing wasn't labored or super fast - not even heavy. In fact, my body felt like it was just taking a stroll. I looked down at the sword in my hands. "Are you doing this?"

"Nope," Derflinger said. "That's all you, partner."

How was this even happening... I looked down at my hands gripping the handle, before noticing something strange. Those odd letters on my hand were glowing brightly. Were they related? They had to be, they did nothing else before this moment after all.

I looked up at the golem and bent my knees, ready to lunge again. Its hand and leg were regenerating - drawing and reshaping its replacement limbs from the earth itself. "Gotta slow it down," I said as I began to run towards the massive moving fixture of rock.

"Then let's cut it down! One limb at a time!" Derflinger shouted. I could feel myself grin as I jumped up - much higher than I though myself possible - swinging for the newly formed arm of rock in front of me.