Louise, all irritation now replaced with concern for her friend, listened intently as the Princess began to brief her on the circumstances of her ask.
"It has been decided by the royal court that I shall marry into the Germanian royal family," she began, "in order to foster political alliance between our nations."
Into that nation of barbarians? Why? Louise wondered, deciding to keep her protests quiet so as not to interrupt.
"Tristain is small and in need of a protector. A strong alliance with Germania would fill that role," the Princess paused as she stood and stared out the window in resignation, "I'm the Princess of this land, and I do not hesitate to do what is necessary for it, but…" she turned to look at Louise, "there's something I must do first."
"I am at your service, Princess," Louise proclaimed with a nod.
"Thank you, Louise Francoise," the Princess gave a small, slightly sorrowful smile to her pink-haired friend, then turned to face the window once more, "I would like you to find an item, a letter, in fact, that I sent to Prince Wales of Albion."
Albion? Louise thought to herself, confused.
"If the contents of the letter were made public, the marriage would not go forward, leaving us defenseless. Albion is experiencing great political unrest. The government is unstable. The rich have turned against the crown and seek to establish themselves as rulers of the country."
Louise had heard the rumors, but to think that any noble would have such audacity did not fail to surprise her.
"I'm sorry for asking this of you, my best friend," the Princess continued, as she gazed mournfully out the window, "but I don't know anyone else to turn to…"
"Princess," Louise began, her annoyance at the intrusion now well and truly dissolved. "It is a great honour to receive such an important task from you," she said as she rose from her bed to kneel before the Princess. "You and I have been best friends for as long as I can remember. How could I ever consider refusing you?" She looked up to her friend and smiled in as comforting a manner as she could.
Yet another benevolent intruder, Zeratul interrupted, as the door behind the women creaked open.
"Who's there?!" Louise shouted as she dashed for her wand, "Show yourself!" Louise stood, ready for attack, even as Zeratul informed her whoever was there would not be a threat.
The door opened wide to reveal none other than Siesta and Guiche.
"I-I'm sorry, we-," Siesta began sheepishly.
"We heard your entire story," Guiche finished as he strode forward and knelt before the Princess.
You mean you were eavesdropping! Louise thought, wishing she could project her thoughts to them like Zeratul. She turned to Siesta and shot her a dirty look as well, to which Siesta looked away, shamefully.
"Please assign this task to Guiche de Gramont, your highness," Guiche implored with over-the-top sincerity.
"Gramont? Could you be Marshal Gramont's-?" the Princess began.
"His son, yes," Guiche interrupted.
"Will you aid me as well?" the Princess Henrietta asked, hopefully (contrary to Louise's expectations and unfortunate for her sanity). Guiche nodded with the reserved, respectful enthusiasm that was expected of a noble, as Louise's desire to throw him from the window began to reach critical levels. Henrietta, not registering the growing rage of her friend, knelt to the level of the two kneeling nobles. "Here," she said as she removed an ornate silver ring adorned with a blue gem, "This water ruby belonged to my mother. When you find the Prince, he will know what to do," she instructed before she rose to her feet, looking down on her kneeling subjects, "I will go now, and arrange an escort to Albion for you." The Princess bowed her head as the two nobles and Siesta bowed back. With that, the Princess took her leave through the window as she entered, being lowered carefully by wind magic as she descended. Louise could not help but to begin to feel, as she closed her window and escorted the uninvited guests from her room in haste, an overwhelming sense of dread and fear.
Zeratul, watching as he ever did, felt this fear almost tangibly. In addition, he sensed a familiarity about the "ruby" upon the ring that was ever so faint. He put it from his mind, as he knew that the more imminent issue at hand was what his next lesson must entail.
It was yet another restless night for Louise as the new task weighed heavily on her mind. The lack of schoolwork making her directionless after breakfast, she instead attempted to reach out to Zeratul in the hopes of more lessons.
You seek my service, Young Louise? Zeratul responded from an unknown location.
Yes, she replied, you know what happened last night, right? You heard everything?
Indeed, and I feel it weighs heavy on your spirit.
It's a big ask, to go into a warzone just to get a letter that could possibly end a marriage that would protect my country from being destroyed.
It is quite the responsibility thrust upon you, Young Louise.
Louise, who had gone outside, paused to sit under a tree, Zapper hovered close in proximity.
And on top of that, I have this Void power that I don't know how to use, I got a familiar I still know almost nothing about, and my feelings are all messed up since that love potion, Louise immediately regretted thinking the last thing.
Those who have power thrust upon them are given one of the greatest challenges, Zeratul began, but you are not alone, Young Louise. You are my charge, and I will dutifully guide you towards your destiny. He paused for a moment, Louise not responding. I sense and see that you are beginning the steps of mastering your emotions. You progress well, young one. However, your lifespan being as fractional as it is to one such as me, I must admit that I feel urgency in your training I would not feel otherwise.
That's what I was hoping, Zeratul, that we could keep training. I need to know more if I'm going to do this important task for not just my best friend, but for my whole country, Louise thought with urgency.
I concur. For now, I only wish for you to meditate on yourself. Learn to let go of your fears and doubts, and embrace mindfulness of yourself and your surroundings. Focus on small details, the individual blades of grass, the wandering insect, the rotting leaf, and understand how these things not only connect to each other, but connect to you as well. Beyond that, consider what things they hide, and why. What lurks in the shadows of the smallest details? Why does it hide? The Void is a power of darkness, but not evil. It is a chaotic force of energy that lurks behind all that we may never be aware of, surrounding us, but intangible to us. You must reach out, and feel this energy, as it flows within you, and manifest it. Now… manifest. Louise had hardly noticed that in Zeratul's speech, she had begun to drift, almost as if away from her own body, and at the command he issued in the end, she snapped back, her eyes transfixed on a bee that appeared to be perched on a flower growing from the grass before her. She carefully observed the bee, leaning in ever so slightly, and saw it was not actually perched, but hovering slightly above the flower, frozen in place. Your first Void Prison, well done.
An overwhelming sense of elation filled Louise, for even if the power she manifested was small and only lasted a fraction of the time Zeratul's did… it was still her first actual accomplishment at anything beyond the scholarly fields.
Gifted Siesta is in need of training as well, I will summon her, Zeratul informed. Louise did not respond, too excited about her first manifestation of her Void powers, she instead repeated the process again and again on any small creature or object she could focus on, trying to push herself to increase the size of what she could affect.
Shortly after, Siesta, in her common clothes, not her maid clothes, joined them.
"You didn't work today?" Louise asked.
"No, after everything that's happened, they've gone really easy on me and said I could take today off," she replied cheerfully. Sensing discomfort, Louise turned to her friend.
"Something wrong?" Louise asked.
"Oh, it's nothing, just…" Siesta trailed off, refusing eye contact with her, "can we… talk about what happened? With the love potion?" Siesta asked in a sheepishly hopeful tone.
Louise, her face now hot with embarrassment, turned away, "I don't remember anything," she lied, "so there's nothing to talk about!" Louise wanted to ensure that her tone was as final as possible to curtail any further discussion.
"I see," Siesta responded dejectedly.
Zeratul, observing them from a nearby shadowed part of the castle, knew of Louise's deception, and of Siesta's desire, but knew it was not his place to interfere. Louise was unable to manifest further Void Prisons after that.
Gifted Siesta, your psionics develop at an astonishing rate. Zeratul lauded, Once before, you have manifested your energy beyond yourself, but solely as an act of desperation. Your actions should not be fueled by such feelings, as they will be chaotically destructive in nature.
Siesta nodded, slightly ashamed of herself.
It is nothing to feel shame for, gifted one. You are young, and your psionics are new to you. Today, I shall teach you how to focus your power at will, and not purely as reaction.
Siesta nodded once again, this time with determination lighting up her eyes.
Like all powers that come from within, yours must be made manifest through focus and practice, Zeratul began. Psionics are a manifestation of outward energy projected from you or manipulated around you. It is my understanding that Terrans have a scale to represent the psionic potential and limits of their people, those those only with basic extra sensory perception on the low end, and those who can manipulate matter on the higher end of the spectrum. You have already demonstrated you are on that higher end.
Siesta could not help but to beam with pride as Louise busied herself with more failed Void Prisons.
To begin, you must know the different kinds of energy and decide which to focus on before manipulating it. Kinetic energy is the most basic and understood of all. Simple cause and effect, action and reaction alike. Your body is alive with kinetic energy. From the flowing of your blood to the contraction and expansion of your muscles to even the smallest cell processing proteins, it is all kinetic energy adding up to your life being possible.
Siesta seemed to be beginning to understand, as her eyes began to lose focus and she began to concentrate inwardly.
Kinetic energy, most simply, is movement. And as you have experienced, it is possible for you, Gifted Siesta, to manipulate and add kinetic energy, otherwise known as force, to objects without touching them. Feel the ebb and flow of movement within, from your breathing, to your blinking, to the beat of your heart, and understand that this energy within and without you, causing every movement you see and experience. Your unique powers grant you an energy to manipulate others, that is the Psionic Energy that you possess. Focus on an object, feel its movement. Now, as if loosing a valve, let the kinetic energy flow from you to your object of focus.
On Zeratul's command, Siesta refocused and saw her eyes trained on a small stick. With Zeratul's instruction she could feel as though something left her body. A kind of energy or stamina, and upon its exit, she saw the stick rise from the ground as though she held it herself.
Well done, my young apprentices, for the remainder of time you have, I implore you to continue your focus and release exercises. I shall watch and provide guidance as needed. Zeratul's praise reverberated throughout Siesta's entire body as she felt a pride she had never felt as she continued to manipulate the stick. Louise, unfortunately, was still unable to manifest another Void Prison.
Louise, defeated, flustered, and somehow drained, trudged back to her room. She did her best to present her most polite and cheerful front to Siesta, but was unsure of the success, considering the maid's burgeoning ability to send and receive thoughts.
Ugh, what another day… Louise thought as she groaned and fell into her bed. Not a moment later, there was a knock on her door. Of course, she thought as she got up to open the door with weary resignation. On the other side was, unexpectedly, Siesta. Louise, annoyance now replaced with surprise and anxiety, looked upon her friend wordlessly.
"I'm sorry, I-uh," Siesta began as the quickly broke eye contact and viewed the floor before mustering up her courage and looking the pink-faced noble in the eyes, "I wanted to talk to you about the mission." She stated firmly as she walked into the room without invitation. "I don't know anything about this political stuff, I'm just a commoner, and all I've been able to do is focus on surviving and not getting too much attention on me. So I," Siesta paused as she took a deep breath while she turned back to look at Louise, "I want to know more."
Louise sighed with understanding. It was reasonable of her to want to know more as soon as possible as the mission was set to go into motion within the next week. "Alright," Louise began as she sat on the bed and looked at Siesta, "Truth be told, though, I don't know if I can do this," Louise said with defeat in her voice. "Only now are my Void powers beginning to manifest, and at everything else? I'm still just like they used to call me… a Zero. I can't even repeat the one thing Zeratul taught me today." Louise's fists began to clench ever so slightly as her gaze fell.
It is an understandable fear, Young Louise, Zeratul said with as much consolation as he could give. As I have said, the burden that you must shoulder is greater than that of any of your peers. However, take heed of our lesson, young one, and learn to let go of your-
"And how am I supposed to do that?!" Louise burst as she jumped to her feet, glaring and directing her anger in the general vicinity of the room, "No matter what happens, I'm still a Zero! I'll always be a Zero! I can't even do the one thing I'm destined to do right…" Louise's expression softened to sorrow as she fell to her knees and tears began to well in her eyes.
"Miss Valliere," Siesta said softly as she approached her broken friend, "I know what it feels like. To feel like you're nothing. To feel like you're powerless. And for those feelings to make you feel like you're carrying a heavy burden… but, look at me," Siesta gently tilted Louise's head to meet her tear-filled pink eyes with her gentle, soothing gaze, "you are not, nor will you ever be, a nothing to me. You were the first noble to treat me like a human, like an equal, when you had nothing to gain from it. And, if only for that, I'll cherish you forever," Siesta pulled Louise into a warm embrace, "But more than that, you have continued to show me kindness I've never felt from anyone." The two stayed locked in their embrace for what seemed like blissful eternity to them both, until Siesta pulled away and once again met her gaze. "I know it's been crazy recently, but we've made it through everything fine every time."
"It's nice to say things like that so easily," Louise answered dejectedly as she once again let her eyes fall.
"I promise," Siesta began, causing Louise to once again look into her eyes, "if anything happens… I'll be there for you, no matter what."
That tingling warmth welled up within Louise once again as she began to blush.
A beeping from Zapper interrupted their moment as they came over to the two.
"Uh… Zapper says they'll protect you no matter what," Derflinger translated.
Louise gently chuckled as she smiled and placed her hand on the floating golden orb, "Of course you will, you're my familiar!" Feeling slightly better, Louise then told Siesta of all she knew of the situation they were walking into.