Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tristain Academy of Magic

The morning rose and shone on the famous magical school. Students from various noble families were starting to wake up for lessons, or at least they would have been if not for the special nature of this day. Why one might ask?

It was the Springtime Familiar Summoning.

A day when students summoned different creatures to be their familiars and servants. A very sacred ritual that was only performed once in a person's life.

One student however was nervous about the day and what it would entail. A girl with lush long strawberry pink hair that went down her waist.

That girl was Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere, third daughter of the Valliere House. While academically she was quite gifted scoring the highest on many tests magically speaking, she was not talented. The reason being that every time she cast a spell, even a basic one like levitation a large explosion occurred. No one knew why it just did. Her classmates deemed her incompetent at magic and thus dubbed her Louise the Zero because of her incapability to cast magic. The nickname angered her to no end but there was nothing she could do about it.

Today was her last chance to prove her worth as a mage, to prove she was capable of casting magic, to prove herself as a noble to both her family and her peers.

The night before she had prayed to the Founder Brimir for a divine majestic familiar, like a dragon or griffin. However, she would have been content with anything as long as it was a living creature that had been summoned.

Getting out of bed she quickly changed into her school outfit and then stood just at the door to her room.

"Failure is not an option today!" she declared. "I will summon a familiar and show them that I am a mage."

Earthland: Veronica city

In a hotel, a blonde-haired girl finally woke up. Sitting up slowly she yawned as she took in the morning. Getting out of bed she got changed into her usual attire which consisted of a white tube top with a blue heart at the centre and gold lines on the edges, a small blue jacket with gold lines at the end, two blue sleeves with a white shirt in them, a black miniskirt with a white belt that held her keys and whip, black stockings and brown boots.

This was Lucy Heartfilia, Fairy Tails very own Celestial Wizard.

"Well, I'd better get going," she decided as she gathered her things and left.

She checked out at the hotel she was staying at and proceeded to leave the city taking one last look at everything. Things had really improved since the last time she had been here. The city was being repaired and was starting to look like it's old self. It had only been a couple of weeks since she'd been here along with her friends, though it hadn't exactly been a pleasant experience.

Lucy had only accepted a job here because it offered enough money to pay her rent. Dealing with a group of bandits, nothing too complicated, although their leader was a wizard which made things a little more complicated. Still, she managed to defeat them by herself and got paid, which was a good thing. Her friends were all out on job requests of their own, so Lucy decided to try a solo job for once just to gain a bit more experience since she usually did team missions.

At last she came to the exit and took one last look at the city.

"Wherever you're resting, I hope it's peacefully, Éclair, Momon," Lucy murmured softly before leaving.

Tristain Academy of Magic

The students were all gathered in the courtyard to summon their familiars. The weather was sunny and warm, quite fitting for the day's events. Managing the event was Professor Jean Colbert, a professor all the students respected and one of the few who did not think lowly of Louise.

Several students had summoned their familiars already. Tabitha had summoned a dragon, Kirche summoned a salamander, Guiche summoned a mole, Montmorency summoned a frog, and Malicorne summoned an owl. Others had summoned things such as a bugbear or a cat or a dog. It was close to Louise's turn and she was slightly nervous. Seeing how everyone did with their familiars made her wonder about her own. She wanted so badly to live up to her claim that she would summon a divine, beautiful, powerful familiar but found it hard to considering her past experience with magic.

"Has everyone gone yet?" Colbert called out.

"No, we still have Miss Valliere to go," Kirche responded with a smirk.

Louise clenched her fists. That damn Zerbst woman. Ever since she had first met her, she had endured taunts and jeers from her. It wasn't entirely surprising since their families were rivals, but it was still infuriating.

As she stood in the centre of the courtyard, she could here several derogatory comments from the students.

"Look, Zero is going to try and summon a familiar."

"There's no way she'll summon anything."

"We'll just get another explosion like usual."

"After all that boasting, you'll summon something much better than this guy right, Louise?" Kirche taunted as she petted her salamander.

Louise gritted her teeth in frustration. She would show her, she would show all of them! Failure wasn't an option this time. She would prove to them she was a mage.

Holding out her wand she began the incantation.

"I, Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere, in the name of the great Five Pentagon Powers, following my fate, summon a familiar!"

Just seconds later an explosion occurred.

Earthland

Lucy continued walking towards the nearest town with a train station. Magnolia was a long way away and she would like to keep the journey as short as possible.

'I wonder if Natsu and Happy are in my apartment right now?' Lucy thought. 'Or Gray or Erza. Whenever I arrive back there's always one of them there.'

As much as it annoyed her, Lucy had gotten used to it by now. She suddenly stopped when she noticed this green orb in front of her.

"What the," she exclaimed.

What was this thing and what was it doing here?

Curiosity got the better of her as she touched it only for it to ripple like water. She pressed her finger in slightly. Then, without warning, the orb opened up and caught her entire hand.

"W-What," Lucy stuttered surprised. "Let go of me!"

She attempted to resist but it was futile. The orb consumed her fully and she fell through darkness. While falling she heard a girl's voice.

"Summon a familiar!"

'Familiar? What's that?' she briefly thought before she ceased falling.

She was still in darkness, but she was hovering.

"Hello there, young mage!" a distorted voice rung out startling Lucy.

The voice was male and sounded ancient.

"I know this must be quite shocking for you but please listen. One of my descendants is in need of your help."

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She tried to speak but no words came out. Confusion quickly turned to fear as she felt something strange coursing through her body.

'What's going on? Why can't I talk? Also, why does he need my help?' Lucy thought confused.

"Your body is adapting to the change. Where you are going the language is foreign, this way you will be able to understand it and given time read as well. Don't worry it happens to everyone when they pass over here."

Lucy was still confused as to what was going on.

"You're confused. I can sense it. Regretfully I don't have much time so please listen carefully. You are about to embark on a journey unlike your previous. This journey will test you and those who stand with you. You will encounter enemies both new and old. However, above all you must guide my descendant down her destined path or there will be nothing but chaos."

Lucy gulped. This man was asking a lot of her. She had so many questions. New and old enemies? Guide his descendant? Who was he? And how did he know her?

"Our time is up. Good luck, and at the same time sorry. Oh and before I forget, you'll be able to use your magic where you're going."

Lucy only felt a bit of relief of hearing that. Why wouldn't she have been able to use her magic?

'Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to end well?' she worried.

She didn't get to dwell on it much more as she was consumed by a blinding blue light.

Tristain Academy of Magic

The explosion cleared up and students were beginning to stand up. Some were yelling at Louise, criticizing her for causing another explosion. All of their taunts fell on deaf ears as Louise's attention was entirely devoted to the crater she created.

The students and professor seemed to have picked up on this and turned to where she was looking. There was something, or rather someone, sitting at the centre with completely shocked eyes.

She wasn't the only one. Everyone present was stunned that Louise had actually managed to summon something, and a human no less.

However, between Louise and Lucy, without actually realizing it, both had the exact same thing running through their mind.

'What the Hell!'

Chapter Text

‘What the hell!’ was the first thing that came to the two girl’s minds.

For Lucy, it was the fact that she had been transported to an unknown area who knows how far away from Earthland. There was also the fact that she was in front of a girl with pink hair (much like Natsu) who was wearing an equally shocked expression.

For Louise, it was because there was a human in front of her. This didn’t make any sense. She knew she had done the summoning perfectly (at least in her opinion), so why had this girl appeared? A familiar was usually animal of some sort. An owl, a griffon, a dragon, a toad, even a cat. They weren’t supposed to be human, let alone a commoner. At least, Louise assumed she was a commoner, judging from her clothes. Albeit she had never seen commoner clothes like this before.

‘Perhaps she’s from another country,’ Louise thought.

Upon closer inspection, the girl appeared quite beautiful. However, what caught Louise’s attention was her chest. It was almost as big as Kirche’s, much to her own disgust. Already she had a reason to dislike her familiar.

‘No that can’t be right. This can’t be my familiar,’ Louise decided. “Who are you?”

She needed answers. There had to be some sort logical explanation this. Humans couldn’t be summoned as familiars, they just couldn’t. There was no record of it ever occurring, so why would now be any different?

Lucy didn’t answer. It wasn’t that she couldn’t understand the girl, she could, but for some reason, no sound would come out of her mouth. She didn’t entirely understand why, perhaps she was still changing. That person from before said the language was foreign so she would adapt to it. That was the strangest part of all. While the words she was hearing were a different tongue, she could understand them as if they were her own language.

“Where are you from commoner?” Louise demanded impatiently.

‘Commoner? Like peasant? Who uses those words anymore?’ Lucy thought incredulously.

Sure, in Fiore there was some nobility, but they never spoke down to people like that, and they never used those sorts of words either.

“What were you thinking Zero? Calling a commoner with a summoning spell!” one student taunted, causing laughter to erupt between the students.

It was at this point Lucy noticed they weren’t alone. She saw several teenagers, who were about the same age as her (though technically she would be older) all wearing the same outfit.

‘Are those uniforms? Does that mean I’m at a school?’ Lucy wondered.

With this new revelation, the celestial wizard quickly examined the area. From what she could see, she was in a courtyard, surrounded by three towers (she didn’t know what else to call them) and there were these strange creatures alongside the students, whom for reasons Lucy didn’t know, looked they’d been hit with one of Natsu’s fire dragons roars. Had there been some sort of fire before she arrived?

“I just made a mistake,” Louise defended. ‘Now of all times when I didn’t want to. Why? Just why?’

“Mistake? Nothing unusual here!” Malicorne chirped.

“It is Louise the Zero after all,” another student added, causing the others to laugh once more.

Louise gritted her teeth in frustration. She wanted to scream. She really did. Of all the days for her to mess up, it had to be today.

“Enough!” Colbert ordered as the students shut up.

He didn’t care if Louise wasn’t capable of magic like the others. He would not stand for bullying.

“Professor Colbert, please let me redo the ritual. I summoned a commoner, this can’t be right,” Louise pleaded desperately.

Lucy felt somewhat offended by that.

“I’m sorry Ms Valliere but this is a sacred ritual that can’t be redone. And since you did summon something you must proceed with it,” he said sternly.

‘Ritual? Summon? What are they talking about?’ Lucy wondered.

She wanted to say something. To ask them where she was and what they were talking about, but no sound came out of her lips. It was as if something was preventing her from speaking.

“Whether you like it or not, this girl has been chosen as your familiar,” Colbert said firmly.

Louise couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“But I’ve never heard of a commoner being a familiar,” she argued.

That only caused the class to laugh again.

‘Neither have I to be honest, but in this case it can’t be helped,’ Colbert thought. “I will not allow any exceptions, commoner or not. Please proceed with the binding ritual Ms Valliere. If you do not form a contract, you will be expelled.”

“With her,” Louise despaired.

“With her,” Colbert confirmed.

The only thing Louise could do at that moment was sulk. This was meant to the moment when she proved to everyone else that she was a mage, that she was capable of magic. Instead she was humiliated by summoning a commoner. Did the universe hate her or something?

Lucy had no idea what was going on. Familiars, and binding rituals, just what did it all mean?

Louise groaned but proceeded. She moved towards Lucy and knelt down beside her, her face directly across from her. Lucy was slightly nervous about what was about to happen. She tried to move, to stand up, but for some reason her body wouldn’t allow it.

“Be grateful. Most commoners would never receive this from a noble,” Louise muttered as she moved in closer, much to Lucy’s confusion. “My name is Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere. Pentagon of the five elemental powers; bless this humble being and make her my familiar.”

Then, without warning, Louise leaned in and kissed Lucy on the lips. Lucy froze at what was happening.

“This is the binding ritual,” she thought dumbstruck. “My first kiss, gone, just like that, and with a girl I just met.”

Louise retracted from Lucy, and when she did, a burning sensation took place on Lucy’s left hand. The pain was so bad she nearly passed out. Fortunately, she had a high level of endurance built up from her previous battles, and she’d felt the heat of flames before (generally from Natsu). When the pain ended a set of ruins were engraved on Lucy’s left hand.

Colbert took a step forward to examine the runes himself.

‘These are… different,’ he realized. ‘Different to any familiar runes I’ve seen before. Perhaps it’s because she’s a human, although I’ll have to investigate more.’

‘What on earth was that?’ Lucy thought. ‘What are these markings on my hand?’

“Congratulations Miss Valliere, you’ve successfully summoned a familiar,” he said before turning to his students. “Classes are done for today. You’re free to do whatever you wish.”

The students murmured among themselves before going off with their familiars discussing the events of today. There were some comments about Louise and Lucy but, they were mostly ignored.

“Ms Valliere, I know this isn’t ideal for you, but this is the way things are. This girl may not seem like much now but give her a chance. She may prove to be much more than you think,” Colbert assured.

Louise somehow doubted that. The girl was just a commoner after all.

Lucy, at that point, was fed up with sitting around as they talked about her while pretending she was not even here. It was also at that point, where she managed to find her voice again.

“OKAY WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?” she shouted out surprising both Louise and Colbert.

Immediately after that, she started coughing. Once she had calmed down, she spoke again.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t speak before, or move for some reason but, what is going on?” she asked pleadingly. “Where am I? Who are you people? Furthermore, this whole familiar and binding ritual business, what is it?”

Lucy didn’t know if she sounded hysterical or not but she didn’t care. She needed answers and she needed them now.

Louise was about to snap at Lucy to keep quiet when Colbert intervened.

“Ah, my deepest apologies,” he apologised. “We were so wrapped in performing the ritual we didn’t bother to explain things first. Furthermore, a human being summoned as a familiar in our society is unheard of so it was a surprise when you appeared. Although I guess the same applies to you. You must have gotten quite a shock when you were brought here.”

‘You think!’ Lucy thought sarcastically.

“That aside, what is your name if I may ask?” Colbert inquired.

Not sensing any hostile intent, Lucy decided to be honest.

“It’s Lucy,” she murmured softly. “Lucy Heartfilia.”

Louise had to admit, it was pretty name.

“Well, Ms Heartfilia, to answer your questions, you are at Tristain Academy of Magic. You were summoned here by Miss Valliere to be her familiar, a servant generally summoned by a mage once in their life, though, you are the first human one to be summoned,” Colbert explained.

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows at that. Not that she didn’t doubt the man but she had never heard of Tristain before. She had to have been in another country, there was simply no other explanation. The part about familiars however, that caught her attention.

“Wait, you mean I’m supposed to be this girl’s servant?” she cried. “Don’t I get any say in this?”

Colbert couldn’t deny she had a right to be upset. Anyone would be if they found out they had to give up their freedom.

“I’m afraid not,” Colbert shook his head. “Once the ritual has been completed the familiar and their master are bound for life. Those runes on your hand are proof of that.”

Lucy was in a state of utter disbelief. Not only had she been summoned here against her will, but in one kiss (her first kiss) with a girl she hardly knew she had lost her freedom. She had plenty of bad luck in her life but this by far was the worst. It was as if the universe hated her.

“I think it would be best if you and Ms Valliere talked it over a bit more,” Colbert said. “So I’ll leave you both to get acquainted with each other.”

And with that, Jean Colbert left the courtyard to speak with the headmaster about the days events, and perhaps research those runes he saw.

“Follow me,” Louise sighed. “We can talk more in my room.”

Not in the mood to argue, Lucy grudgingly followed after her master.

Louise’s Room

The pair arrived at Louise’s room Lucy briefly marvelled at the luxuriousness of it before being creeped out by the chains hanging on the wall. Louise went to her bed and sat down facing Lucy.

“What’s with the chains on the wall?” Lucy asked suddenly.

It was the first question she could think of.

“I was expecting to summon a griffon or a dragon, so I prepared my room just in case,” Louise explained.

That didn’t exactly make things better in Lucy’s opinion.

“This familiar thing, can’t you redo it?” Louise asked. “Redo it and send me back that is?”

“I wish,” Louise sighed. “But no. Once you’ve been contracted, you’re a familiar for life.” Louise groaned. “Ugh, look I’m not any happier about this than you are. I wanted to prove my worth as a mage by summoning a griffon or a dragon, maybe even a manticore. Not by summoning a lowly commoner.”

Lucy felt a little offended by that. This girl could act disappointed all she wanted but she didn’t know who Lucy was, nor did she know what she was capable of.

Before she could ask any other questions, Louise started to undress much to Lucy’s ire. Then without warning she threw her uniform at Lucy and changed into a nightdress.

“Wash those,” Louise ordered.

Lucy wasn’t sure if she heard her properly.

“I’m sorry, what?” she exclaimed.

“Did I not say it loud enough? Wash those,” Louise repeated. “Have it done preferably by tomorrow. Speaking of which, wake up in the morning for breakfast.”

Without another word, Louise turned over and went to sleep on her bed.

Lucy wanted to protest and say she didn’t have to do this sort of thing. However, the smart rational side of her decided against it. Right now, she didn’t know much about the place she was in. It would be impossible to return to Fiore if she didn’t know what direction she was in. So, for the moment, she would play along.

Scooping up the laundry she left the room to look for a suitable place to wash them. Walking through the corridors and down the stairs Lucy couldn’t help but feel the place was old-fashioned from the way it was designed. That said, she wasn’t sure how she was going to find the right place to wash these.

While walking the celestial wizard briefly came across a boy called Guiche and a girl called Katie who were flirting and talking about souffle. However, Lucy didn’t pay them much attention and continued onward. It was the same when she came across this girl Kirche flirting with some boy who’s name she didn’t catch by the fountain.

‘Well, the students certainly like to keep their date lives up,’ Lucy thought. ‘I hope no one tries to hit on me, though from what I’ve seen from Nobles, that’s unlikely.’

While she was wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn’t notice someone in front of her. it was the professor from before.

“Agh,” he cried out as he dropped several books and scrolls.

“Oh I’m so sorry,” Lucy apologised quickly. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

She set the laundry and picked up some of the items that fell.

“It’s alright,” Colbert assured. “It was just an accident.”

Colbert eyed the runes on her left hand. He had only recently discovered what they were and was about to inform the headmaster. His eyes then fell towards Lucy’s right hand where there was a pink symbol. He had never seen it before so he had no idea what it meant. He would attempt to ask the girl at some point though.

“Hey, um, Louise wanted me to wash these. Do you know where I might be able to?” Lucy asked.

Colbert thought about it briefly before he gave her directions to the servant’s quarters to retrieve some soap and a basin and then to a well outside. Lucy completed the first task with relative ease. The second one, however, that was different.

The minute she stepped outside Lucy took a moment to look up at the sky. She dropped the laundry at what she saw.

Shining bright in the night sky was two, not one, bright moons. One red, the other blue.

Lucy couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Earthland didn’t have two moons. Earthland didn’t, leading her to a shocking realization.

“N-No way,” she stammered. “I’m in another world.”

Chapter Text

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."

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"I'm sorry, what?" Louise exclaimed.

Chapter Text

"I'm sorry, what?" Louise exclaimed.

"I'm from another world," Lucy clarified.

Louise stared at her with a dumbstruck expression. And after an eternity of silence.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"I'm sorry, what?" Louise repeated still wondering if she had misheard her or imagined it.

Lucy had honestly expected this sort of reaction. It wasn't every day someone told you they were from a different world. Frankly, it would have been weirder if they didn't react this way.

"I'm not from Tristain, or any place you would know of," Lucy explained slowly. "I come from a land, no, a world where magic and traditions are different to yours called Earthland. I was brought here by your summoning spell."

Louise stared at her for another long period of time before finally speaking.

"If you are going to lie, you could at least make it convincing. I mean seriously, another world! You honestly expect me to believe something as bizarre as that?" she said incredulously.

"I'm not lying," Lucy argued.

Her claim fell on deaf ears.

"And there you go again. If you keep this up you won't be getting any supper," Louise ranted. "Do you have any idea of the severity of what you are claiming? Without any proof I might add?"

"My magic is different!" Lucy exclaimed, causing Louise to halt. "You saw it yourself during the duel. Is summoning multiple… familiars something anyone can do?" Lucy didn't like referring to her friends as familiars, but she needed to get her point across. "I dress differently to everyone, and I use a special whip. Have you ever seen or heard of anyone like that before?"

Louise bit her lip in contemplation. Her familiar wasn't wrong, but… what she was suggesting went against the teachings of the church. It was blasphemy.

Even still, she could not deny the proof presented. She could say Lucy lived near the elves or was related to one, but she bore no physical characteristics, nor did she believe they were capable of such magic. Oh, she knew they possessed powerful magic, but having access to multiple familiars at a time was not one.

Lucy eyed her with careful eyes. She was not expecting Louise to believe her right away. However, at the very least, she could get her to consider the possibility and let her believe it over time.

"Let's say for a moment I believe you, sort of," she added. "That doesn't explain how you can use magic."

Lucy blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is that a commoner such as yourself should not be able to use magic," Louise stated. "Unless of course, you are a fallen noble, which by the way are you?"

"I'm not a noble at all, nor have I ever been one," Lucy clarified. "My father ran a successful business, and I lived a privileged life, but I was never a noble. As for how I can use magic, where I'm from anyone can use it. Noble or commoner. Albeit it's only ten per cent of the total population."

Louise stared at her bewildered. That couldn't be true.

"Stop lying! Only the Great Founder Brimir can bestow magic upon someone! Not just anyone can have it," she argued. "And even then, it's more than ten per cent who can use magic."

Nobles were fewer than commoners but not that few. There were also the elves, but Louise did not want to include them.

"I wasn't bestowed it by anyone. I learnt how to use it growing up," Lucy calmly explained. "I've never heard of this Brimir person either. To my knowledge, magic came about on its own, not because someone granted it to us."

That struck something in Louise. This girl, she had never heard of the founder! That should not have been possible. Brimir was such a widely known figure that the entire world (regardless of class or species) knew his name. It wasn't possible for anyone to not have heard of him. And yet, this girl, from the way she spoke to the look in her eyes, was not lying.

That, and the fact that not knowing Brimir would have been an incredibly stupid lie, one nobody would believe. And if her analysis of the summoning was anything to go by, Lucy had proven she was far from stupid.

That did not mean Louise believed her (at least not fully), however, she would acknowledge the possibility of her claims.

"I still don't believe you, but I don't think you are a liar either," Louise admitted (much to Lucy's relief). "That said, I still have some questions."

She was eager to move on to a different topic.

"What would you like to know?" she asked.

"How many familiars do you have?" Louise started. "I noticed that when you summoned them you were holding keys."

This brought a smile to Lucy's face. She was more than happy to explain her magic. Taking out her keys she held them up for Louise to see.

"Fif-actually no, sixteen," she said. "I received another one just before coming here. Each one allows me to summon a spirit I'm contracted to."

It had been part of the reward she received upon completing the job. The employer was so grateful that when he heard she was a Celestial Wizard he gave it to her as a bonus.

As grateful as she had been, Lucy was surprised to see this particular one since there were said to be none after… the Incident.

Louise for her part was utterly baffled by the information.

"S-Sixteen," Louise stuttered. "You have sixteen familiars."

"Celestial Spirit," Lucy corrected. "Where I'm from, they are called Celestial Spirits."

Louise frowned. That was a strange name. Then again, she was not from this country, so it made sense.

"Why do you have different coloured keys? Is it a sort of ranking system?" Louise asked.

Lucy smiled at that question.

"Ah, you just noticed something important. The silver keys come in a wide variety and can be bought in shops. The gold keys are super rare and one of a kind, they're known as the Zodiac Spirits. There are thirteen in total, and I've got ten of them," she said proudly.

Louise couldn't deny she was impressed. This girl had ten rare famil- spirits, ten rare spirits. She also had six regular spirits. She practically had an army at her waist.

"You mentioned you were contracted to them. Is there a limit to how many you can have?"

"Not really," Lucy admitted. "There is a limit to how many I can keep out at once. Right now, it's two."

Louise didn't see a reason to ponder any further, however, she did have one more question.

"Is that whip you used magical? I've never seen anything like it before," Louise asked. 'Nor heard of it for that matter.'

Lucy nodded. "It was given to me by Virgo. It can extend very far but it has its limits." And then she remembered. "That reminds me, during the duel when I was using it the runes on my hand started to glow and my body suddenly felt lighter. Is that normal for a familiar?"

Louise's eyes narrowed. She hadn't heard about runes glowing before, but she had heard about the other thing.

"Glowing, no. However, I have heard cases of familiars gaining abilities upon their contracts being forged. Like a cat gaining the ability to talk, or a bird being able to change its size at will," she explained.

"But I already knew how to use a whip," Lucy pointed out. "Could it be related to physical abilities?"

"I honestly don't know," Louise shrugged. "It's different for each familiar. And in your case, you are both human and a mage. Neither of which…"

"…have ever been summoned," Lucy finished.

"Exactly," Louise stated. "It could be anything. We just don't know what."

Lucy let out a groan. This was just becoming more frustrating by the minute. Every time she unlocked one mystery, a new one appeared.

"Do you think Professor Colbert might know?" she suggested. "He was very interested in the runes when they first appeared. Maybe he recognized them from somewhere."

It was a long shot, but right now she couldn't think of any other leads.

Louise raised an eyebrow. It wasn't the worst idea. At the very least, they could ask him and see if he knew anything. And if not, no harm done. Louise was also in favour of the idea because out of all the teachers, Professor Colbert was the one she trusted most. He was the one who treated her fairly and always doubled down on any bullying. Not that other teachers didn't do the same or anything, just that he was more proactive about it.

"We can ask him tomorrow when class ends," Louise noticed the surprised look on Lucy's face. "What? Did you think I would leave you here alone? You will be there to guard me, of course. Normally a familiar would not be allowed to attend class alongside their master, but since you're a human there should be no issue."

Lucy still did not like the way Louise spoke about her, however, at that moment she chose to let it slide. Because she knew virtually nothing about this world, attending classes would be a good way to learn.

"And another thing," Louise continued. "Do not tell anyone about what you said today unless absolutely necessary. It's not that I don't believe you, well I don't, but certain people would not take kindly to it."

The church would quickly condemn it as blasphemy which would lead to a number of problems. She might be able to get away from them through her own connections (one of which being her mother) or shrugging it off as her familiar's attempts to get attention. Regardless, getting on their bad side was a very bad idea, one that would bring more problems than they were worth, and Louise was not going to risk that.

Fortunately for her, Lucy didn't argue.

"I understand," she said simply, taking note of the way Louise looked. 'I don't know who these people are, but if she's worried they'll do something then I don't mind keeping quiet.'

Lucy did not want any trouble herself and this wasn't something she would just tell anyone. Perhaps a person she trusted, but other than that.

Following this, Louise decided that they had shared enough information for the day and that they would discuss more later. Now she needed to get ready for dinner.

Library

Colbert was reading through every book he could find on familiar runes. The ones that had appeared on Ms Valliere's familiar, Lucy, there was something unique about them. At first, he thought it was because she was human, but then he witnessed her duel against Mr Gramont and realized it was something more. In addition to summoning a human, Ms Valliere had called forth a mage with unusual magic as her familiar (something that was unheard of).

As such, it was possible the runes were directly linked to that.

He searched through every book on summonings and familiars he could find until he came across an image that resembled the runes on Lucy's hand.

"Gandalf," he murmured. "The Left Hand of God."

His eyes widened as he read even further.

"Brimir's left hand."

The next day

Much the surprise of both girls, Mr Colbert was absent from classes. According to Ms Chevreuse, he was away on an errand for the headmaster.

Still, the day wasn't a waste, at least not for Lucy.

Because the school year had only recently begun, teachers were going back over the basics with students which worked out just fine for her.

From the classes, Lucy learned that magic was divided into four elements: fire, water, wind, and earth. Each person had a natural affinity for one element though it was possible to learn from others. There were a variety of spells such as levitation and healing, but others like the alchemy spell or controlling the weather required a combination of elements.

That led her to the ranking system of mages. There were four classes based on the number of elements you could use: Dot (one), Line (two), Triangle (three), and Square (four). The more a mage could use, the stronger they were. Lucy could somewhat identify with this since there was the S-Class wizard ranking in Earthland.

She also learned a bit about neighbouring countries such as Germania, Gallia, Romalia, and even the country she was in now, Tristain. She learned some of their history and past conflicts. Not a lot, but enough.

Needless to say, Lucy was glad Louise had allowed her to attend classes. The lessons provided her with much-needed information.

She didn't learn anything about Louise's classmates, which were now technically her classmates. She saw some of the students from yesterday, Tabitha, Kirche, and Guiche included but didn't get the chance to talk with them.

Then came lunch break which students had in the hall. Lucy was concerned because she did not want to eat on the ground.

"Psst, Lucy," Siesta signalled to her. "Follow me."

Curious, Lucy excused herself and followed Siesta to the kitchen where she was greeted by several chefs and maids.

"Ah, you're Siesta's friend and the Valliere girl's familiar," one chef greeted.

"Yes, my name is Lucy," she responded. "Lucy Heartfilia."

"Marteau," the man returned. "I've heard a lot about you, we all have."

"Nothing bad I hope," Lucy said softly. "Just so there are no misunderstandings, I'm not a princess, that's just something Virgo calls me. I'm not a noble either. I have magic, yes, but I'm not a noble."

That sent a wave of murmurs across the kitchen.

"Very different magic though," Marteau admitted. "I've never seen anyone who can summon familiars before."

"Magic is a bit different where I'm from, which is quite far away," Lucy answered vaguely. "That aside, Siesta why did you bring me here?"

"Ah, that," Siesta replied with a sad smile on her face. "I couldn't help but notice your eating arrangements in the Great Hall and… well, familiar or not you are still a person so, I asked Marteau to prepare something."

Siesta gestured to the small table behind Marteau. It was a stew similar to what the students were eating outside, though a little smaller. Lucy caught the drift of the heated scent and started drooling.

'Wow, that smells amazing,' she thought awed. Her stomach grumbled, much to her own embarrassment and everyone else's amusement.

"Here, dig in," Marteau offered to which Lucy graciously accepted.

As she ate the stew, the feeling she had before increased. 'This is so good! My friends would love this!'

Natsu would be especially ecstatic over it. Even Happy would probably drop the fish for a second just to sample.

Siesta smiled as Lucy feasted on Marteau's cooking. She was glad she asked him to cook it. Truthfully, she had been disturbed at Lucy being made sit down on the ground eating like an animal, familiar or not. Commoners like her weren't treated much better by nobles but they weren't dehumanized to that point (most of the time). Then again, if Lucy was a commoner like them (tied with a familiar's status), then it would explain why she was treated that way. Still, she didn't agree with it, and it gave her even more reason to help her. After all, they commoners needed to look out for each other.

"Thank you so much," Lucy exclaimed. "You're an amazing chef."

"Sorry it's just leftovers," Marteau said. "Most of what's here is for the nobles."

"Don't apologize!" Lucy interrupted. "Leftovers or not it's still delicious, so don't discredit yourself so quickly. If anything, this school is lucky to have you as a chef."

And just like that, the opinion of Lucy skyrocketed and placed her directly in Marteau's good books.

"Just for that, feel free to stop by here whenever you're hungry," the head chef beamed. "It's just us here most of the time so you don't have to worry about any nobles bothering you."

Lucy was elated to hear that. Not that she hated the nobles or anything if anything she was mixed on some of them: Guiche (for obvious reasons), Kirche (she didn't like her attitude from the other day), Louise (treatment and views, though they were still getting to know each other), and Tabitha (she genuinely liked). However, thinking about them brought another person to mind.

"What about Katie? Doesn't she come in here?" she asked.

"Katie?" Marteau repeated quizzically. "Oh! You mean Ms Lotta. Yeah, she's come in here to bake before, much like her sisters before. Nice girl. Her family is one of the few good nobles."

There was a murmur of agreement amongst the staff, much to Lucy's confusion.

"Good nobles? What does that mean?" Lucy asked.

On any other day, the staff would have questioned where she had been for the past few centuries. However, since the girl clarified that she lived very far away from Halkeginia it was highly probable that things worked very differently where she was from.

"Most nobles in this country and others are haughty, arrogant, and act as if they are above everyone else," one chef explained.

"Because they have magic, they're Brimir's chosen ones or something like that and we don't," a maid said.

"And because of their authority and powers they rule over us commoners and can mistreat us as they see fit," another waiter explained.

Lucy frowned. That didn't sound right at all. There were a few nobles back in Magnolia, but they weren't as bad as what they were describing.

"Some of them go much worse than that," one maid started.

"Which we won't be going into while she's eating," Siesta warned.

Not that she didn't think Lucy shouldn't know, but now wasn't the time to tell her.

"There are good ones though," Marteau admitted. "Old Osmond, Colbert, Ms Lotta, Ms Zerbst, though that maybe because she's from Germania."

Katie's was really tied to her family situation, but still, the staff liked and respected the girl. She made a good souffle as well.

"Why would Kirche being from Germania matter?" Lucy asked.

Marteau shrugged. "Their ways are a bit different to here, along with their standards for nobility and relationship with commoners. Heck, even magic isn't as big a deal over there as it is here."

Now she was definitely curious. For a moment she considered asking Kirche but given Louise's relationship with the girl, it probably wasn't a smart idea. She could always ask Tabitha since she was less likely to arouse suspicion.

One of the maids informed them that the lunch break was almost over causing Lucy to finish her meal quickly.

She thanked Marteau and the staff once more before she left to find Louise. There were still classes to attend and more to learn.

And also, chores to do.

The following day: Day of the Void

"You don't need to hold on so tight you know," Louise chastised.

"Sorry, it's been a while since I've ridden on horseback and I really don't want to fall off," Lucy apologized as they rode towards the town.

It may have seemed a bit trivial compared to the damage she had been dealt in her previous battles, but Lucy didn't want to risk it.

"You've done this before?" Louise asked sounding surprised.

"I had a few lessons as a kid, but if I was travelling far, it would be by carriage so it became unnecessary," she explained. "Especially since I take the train most days to get to job locations."

Louise was somewhat curious as to what a train was but decided to focus on the journey instead. The mention of taking a carriage frequently gave an idea of how wealthy Lucy was. There was also her behaviour and manners which showed she did have a high upbringing. Even if Louise did not fully believe her about her homeland, she did believe what she said about her family. Like all nobles, she was biased towards commoners, however, even she knew it was possible for them to become wealthy through business or other accomplishments to the point where they were more successful than nobles. Perhaps Lucy's father had been one of them.

At the very least, Lucy was not an ordinary commoner. Of that she was certain.

"Hey, why are we going into town exactly?" Lucy asked.

Earlier this morning on what she assumed was this world's version of the weekend, Louise suddenly announced that they were going into town with no explanation. The horse they were on now was property of the school and Lucy, being both a commoner and a familiar, was not allowed one.

"To get a book," Louise said simply. "It's one I need for history."

"Couldn't you just have it brought to the academy?" Lucy pondered confused.

"That was the original idea yes," Louise admitted. "However, due to staff and security issues, delivery will not be possible for another few weeks. I need the book now which is why we're travelling there."

Nothing more was exchanged between the pair as they rose to town.

When they finally arrived, they left the horse at a stable and walked through the streets towards the bookstore. Many shops were open as customers scrambled to buy different goods. From Lucy's perspective, it resembled a typical marketplace.

Because Louise knew where to go, Lucy trailed behind her steadily while quietly taking in everything she saw.

Technologically speaking, Halkeginia (or at least Tristain), was not as developed as Magnolia. If anything, it looked as though everything was set back a couple of centuries, even magic. However, because she had only been at the school for a few days she wouldn't discount everything. Tristain might have some unique magical items that not even Magnolia had.

When they arrived, Louise ordered Lucy to remain outside much to the latter's disappointment.

'I really wanted to see what books they had,' she lamented as the populace moved about. 'Perhaps the school has a library. Given how long I've been here, I should be able to read it now.'

She didn't know if she could read the language here or not. She had not looked at any texts and most of the lectures had been verbal. The voice had not specified when it would kick in only that she would be able to read it given time.

As she contemplated over her situation, Lucy took mild notice of several individuals moving about. They were all cloaked to cover their faces and they were coming from different directions (with some even chatting to appear normal), but they were heading to the same location. Due to the large crowd gathered, the rest of the population was completely oblivious to their presence, all except Lucy.

Maybe it was wrong for her to be suspicious. Maybe she was just being paranoid. But in the back of her mind, something told her to follow them.

So she did.

Lucy walked up to the corner of the street only to see them turn at another one and disappear. She trailed after them as quickly as she could. The area was more deserted than the last so there were fewer people out and about. As they rounded another corner, Lucy briefly considered letting the issue go and returning to Louise who was probably finished and wondering where she was.

Then she heard a scream.

Dropping all pretence, Lucy rounded the corner just in time to see a shop door slam shut.

"NO PLEASE! I BEG YOU!"

Slap!

"Shut up! Men, gag him and tie him up," the leader ordered. "Then take whatever you can."

"These weapons are amazing. Much too good for a loser like this to own."

"Hence, why we're confiscating them."

"Right."

Lucy heard all she needed to. She didn't know if there were any law enforcement in this town, but even if there were she didn't know where to look nor did she have the time. She had to do something or else that man might die.

"Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!" she whispered.

"Is it time for punishment princess?" the spirit asked.

"No Virgo. I need you to tunnel into that shop over there, quietly," Lucy requested. "There are some bad men in there and I don't want to alert them."

"Understood, princess," Virgo acknowledged before facing the building. "Diver!"

Inside the shop

The weapons shop owner was not having a good day.

To start, a client of his cancelled an order out of bloom. Shortly afterwards, these bandits break into his shop, take him hostage, and begin to steal his merchandise. It might not have been top quality, but it was still his livelihood.

"Woah, check out this one," a bandit held up a golden sword in awe.

The shop owner inwardly smirked. That sword was junk, a forgery he'd gotten his hands on to fool any arrogant noble who came here.

While the idiots fawned over it, the shop owner heard a small sound at the back and then felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Shh," Lucy whispered. "I'm here to help, so please remain quiet."

The shop owner was surprised at the sudden appearance of his rescuer. Where did she come from? And how did she get in undetected? The bandits had covered all exits.

He then got a better look at his rescuer… and her chest, and suddenly his heart soared. He was being rescued by a beautiful maiden with an amazing chest. Oh, this was his lucky day indeed.

Lucy undid his bindings and gagged and quietly dragged him over to the hole Virgo dug.

"How did you? Are you an earth mage perhaps?" the shop owner asked without thinking.

"Not exactly," Lucy answered in a hushed tone.

Virgo chose that exact moment to pop out. "Princess, are you and the owner ready?"

The shop owner's mind went blank as he processed several important things that transpired. The first being that another beautiful maiden was rescuing him, and the second was what she said. He tried, he really did, but sometimes, even in the direst of circumstances, he did things that defied the very nature of common sense.

"P-P-P-P-Princess!" he yelped.

The volume of his voice alerted the bandits who raced into the room. When they saw the situation their first instinct was to attack. Virgo threw both of them to the sides just as the bandit's weapons came close. The attack sent her back to the spirit world.

"Apologies, princess," she said before disappearing.

Lucy collided with the wall causing several weapons to fall down. One of them was a black and white sword with a gold hilt that crashed down onto Lucy's hand, causing her to grip it out of pain.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Then the runes on her hand began to glow.

Outside

Louise was very irritated. Her familiar had disobeyed her instructions to wait outside and wandered off. She didn't know why yet, but when she found out there would be consequences. So here she was wandering around aimlessly with a book in hand trying to find her.

The business exchange had gone rather well. The shopkeeper (whom she had dealings with before) didn't overcharge her and apologized for the inconvenience over the delivery process which she accepted. She knew the situation here was not ideal thanks to recent bandit attacks, so she understood why. He then offered her to browse some new books that came in recently, which was really tempting but Louise then noticed that Lucy was not outside.

Thus, leading to this.

"Where could she have?" Louise started.

BOOM!

A loud explosion from the next street startled her and caused her to drop her book. After picking it up, she took off running towards the source fearing that her familiar may be there.

When she arrived she saw several men on the ground, the entrance to a weapons shop damaged but not destroyed, and her familiar at the centre with a sword in hand. Unlike with the duel, Louise could perfectly see the runes glowing on Lucy's hand this time.

'What? Why are they?' she wondered as the men got back to their feet.

"Okay, that does it! Fellas kill this bitch!" the leader commanded. "Then the shopkeeper. Can't have any witnesses."

They were completely oblivious to Louise's presence which suited her just fine.

Lucy stood with the sword at her side unintimidated. She wasn't quite sure what happened. One second, she was being attacked, and then the second she got the sword she was the one winning. Just like before, her body felt lighter, and instinct took over.

An image of her friend appeared in her mind.

'Erza does it like this I think,' she thought as she got into a stance.

When the men attacked, Lucy retaliated with full force.

The first was one in front who took a swing at her with his sword. She brought hers up and parried quite easily. The bandit pressed but Lucy didn't budge. A second bandit came from behind and tried to stab her but Lucy sidestepped and allowed his blade to collide with his ally's instead. Holding them both in place Lucy used all her strength to push them back and then slash at them and leave them on the ground.

Surprised at this, one bandit shot from the crossbow only for Lucy to slice the bolt in half. She then pulled him to her using her whip and knocked him out with a kick to the face.

Realizing this wasn't working, the bandits made a full-frontal charge on her. However, Lucy remained calm and dashed forward, holding the sword in a similar manner to Erza, and passed the bandits while slashing them non-fatally. Their faces were on the ground in seconds.

The final bandit, clutching the golden sword panicked and screamed as he tried to take her from behind. Lucy swung her sword at the same time he did. The result was the golden sword breaking apart, much to the man's shock. Not wasting this chance Lucy pivoted on her feet and thrust the hilt of the blade into the man's abdomen, knocking him out instantly.

Louise and the weapon shop owner stared at the scene in shock. She took down all those people by herself, and she hadn't used any magic.

Lucy herself was stunned by her actions. She stared down at the runes on her hand.

"What are you?" she muttered.

Louise's room later

As soon as they had alerted the local law enforcement, Louise and Lucy hurried back to the Academy.

As a gift for saving him, the shop owner allowed Lucy to keep the sword saying she needed it more than he did. As they left, he thanked Lucy and wished her well.

"Disregarding you wandering off, what was that?" Louise demanded. "You beat those bandits like they were nothing."

"I'm as surprised as you are," Lucy defended. She bit down on her lip and held up her hand. "I think it was these."

"The runes?" Louise said puzzled.

"I don't know how but when that sword fell into my hand they started glowing and… and… I stopped thinking and let instinct take over," Lucy said flatly. "I've never wielded a sword before. A friend of mine specializes in them but I've always relied on my whip and spirits. I don't understand how I could use one like that without undergoing any training. The only thing I do know is that these were responsible for it. Louise, didn't you say familiar runes could grant abilities?"

"In general, yes," Louise agreed. "Then again, you being a human complicates things."

There was silence between the two girls. With every mystery that was solved a new one popped up. It was starting to get frustrating.

"Geez, are all humans as depressing as you two?"

The girls were taken aback by the new voice.

"Oi, blondie, pinkie, down here."

"Pinkie?!" Louise yelped. "My name is Louise. Have some respect for- wait." They both looked down at the sword. "Did that sword just?"

"Took ya long enough," the sword answered. "The name's Derfflinger, Derf for short. Nice to meet ya, partner."

Chapter Text

Lucy had seen and done a lot of things in her life.

Travel the continent, go to another world, fight a murderous godlike dragon, leap through time, and meet her future self. She had encountered many people and objects with their own unique magic and properties.

However, out of all those things a talking sword was not one of them. Magical swords maybe (courtesy of Erza), but none that had a mind of their own.

"Partner?" Lucy repeated. "Do you mean me?"

"Of course! Who else?" Derf responded like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're the one wielding me. That makes us partners."

That was offly simplistic. Although, simplistic reasoning was nothing new to Lucy.

"Okay," Lucy replied slowly still flabbergasted by the situation. "Um, I don't mean to be rude but, how are you, you know, able to talk?"

"I don't know," Derf quickly stated. "I just can. Always have. It annoyed the shopkeeper a lot because I kept ratting him out to customers he tried to cheat. I bet he was happy to get rid of me."

That sounded…off to Louise. She knew for a fact it was possible to imbue objects with magic or even animate them, as was the case with Guiche's golems, but to literally give them sentience! She'd never heard of any magic like that. Even the Elves wouldn't have that capability.

"So, it wasn't these runes that brought you to life then?" Lucy asked holding up her hand.

"Those things, no," Derf denied. "I'll admit I felt something from them when you held me, something…familiar, but it can't think of what it was."

"You mean there was another familiar with those runes?" Louise exclaimed.

"I don't know maybe. It's been a very long time and my memory is not what it used to be," Derf explained sounding guilty.

Louise didn't really like his explanation though Lucy was more confused.

"How old are you, Derf?" Lucy asked uncertainly.

"I don't know. A few centuries at least. I'm a sword so I don't age," Derf said with a sombre tone. "And being constantly sold from shop to shop doesn't help much either."

That was something neither Louise nor Lucy found they could argue with.

"Aside from being able to talk, is there anything you can do?" Louise asked. If the sword had other powers, then it would be very beneficial.

"Again, I don't know. I'm good in a fight and I'm very durable. As for the rest, I can't remember. It might come back the more time I spend with partner here," Derflinger explained. Neither of them was sure of that but made no attempt to argue. "That said, I don't know your name partner."

"Oh, I'm Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia," she introduced herself.

"Not a bad name I'll say," Derf quipped. "And what about you Pinkie? All I heard was Louise."

Tick marks began to appear on Louise as she glared at the sword.

"MY NAME IS LOUISE!" she angrily snapped. "LOUISE FRANCOISE LE BLANC DE LA VALLIERE ! NOT PINKIE! YOU STUPID SWORD!"

Lucy grimaced at the volume. Not that she didn't understand her frustration, but she was literally standing right next to her.

"That's a long name. You a noble then?" Derf asked casually shrugging off her outburst.

"Yes, she is," Lucy answered before Louise could, hoping to de-escalate the situation. "I'm her familiar, and you are currently at Tristain Academy of Magic."

Louise was once again annoyed for being interrupted but Derflinger spoke before she could.

"A human familiar. That's a new one," he admitted. "But I'm not complaining."

"A sword that is capable of complaining," Louise deadpanned. "Well, now I've seen it all."

"No one has ever seen it all. They just think they have," Derf corrected. "Whatever the case, it's nice to meet you both. I look forward to working with you."

"And I you," Lucy returned.

She was surprised at the quickness and simplicity of his sudden pledge, but she found she didn't mind. His attitude kind of reminded her of Natsu.

"You're planning on keeping it?" Louise whined.

"Well, I wasn't going to take him back," Lucy argued. "And besides, having Derf around may be a good thing. For one, if I use him as a weapon instead of my whip it will raise fewer questions outside the Academy, won't it?" Louise bit her lip but didn't argue. If Lucy fought with a sword, then she was less likely to raise suspicions than with that whip of hers. "And you saw how well I was able to fight with him."

"Okay, I'm convinced," Louise gruffly cut her off. "Sort of. It's your responsibility though. I'm just dreading how everyone will react."

"If the recent comments are anything to go by probably something along the lines of "that familiar a weird one" or "why do strange things also happen when that familiar is involved"," Lucy suggested while making sure to leave out the 'Zero' parts knowing full well how much the term irritated her.

With that settled, Lucy and Derflinger were officially partners. Louise was too exhausted at that point to argue any further, so she just let it be and went to sit on her bed. The book she bought earlier was at her side.

"Hey, would it be okay if I went outside for a bit?" Lucy asked suddenly.

"Why?" Louise asked suspiciously. "We just got back from town."

"I know but there's something I'd like to test out," she explained.

Vestry Courtyard

While it was hardly the most private area on campus, the place where she fought Guiche was the ideal location to test her theory. There were no people and plenty of space to practice freely since she couldn't do it inside out of fear of the damage she might cause. Property damage was an issue her friends and guildmates had yet to kick though she preferred to keep it to a minimum since it meant a reward deduction. Unfortunately, this wasn't Earthland. A different world meant different rules and different consequences for those who broke them. And while she was not happy about it, she was Louises familiar which meant whatever she did would reflect on her. If she started doing what Natsu did then there's no telling what could happen. Which made her realize she still didn't know anything about how the country was governed or who was in charge. She could worry about all of that later. Right now, she needed to focus on what was important.

Barring Derflinger, Lucy was alone. Louise had opted to stay in her room to study the book she bought while the other students were off doing who knows what on their day off. The staff like Siesta were still busy and the teachers were probably in their offices. All of which suited Lucy just fine.

"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!" Lucy shouted.

"Back so soon Miss Lucy! Were you missing me that much?" Taurus yelled enthusiastically.

"Not quite Taurus. I summoned you for a different reason this time," Lucy replied.

Taurus frowned at her response. He was wondering what other reason Lucy could have summoned him for when he realized he wasn't fighting anyone. Lucy usually summoned him for a fight, so he could hardly a time where he was required to do anything else.

"Wow, a familiar!" Derf piped up. "You certainly are something partner."

"MOOO!" Taurus shouted. "A talking sword! When did you?"

"Today," Lucy answered quickly. "Taurus meet Derflinger or Derf, Derf meet Taurus. He's a Celestial Spirit."

"Celestial Spirit?" Derf repeated. "That's new, but in a good way. And you! Just by looking at you, I can tell you're strong."

Taurus grinned proudly. "Hell yeah, I am! I'm one of Miss Lucy's strongest!"

"That so! In that case, let's take down whoever tries to harm her!" Derf proposed.

"Damn straight we will!" Tauras proclaimed.

Lucy got the strangest sense that if Derf had hands, he and Taurus would either be shaking or doing fist bumps. Or possibly both.

However, Taurus' face faltered the next second.

"Um, not that I'm unhappy to see you Miss Lucy, but why did you summon me if not for a fight?" he asked confused.

"Right, that. Taurus this might sound a bit strange, but could I have your axe for a few minutes?" Lucy requested.

Taurus blinked. "My axe? What? Why?"

"It's a little difficult to explain," Lucy said awkwardly. "Could I though? I promise I'll give it right back."

Taurus stared at her uncertainly (a rare look in his case). "Look, Miss Lucy, I'm not saying you're weak or anything, I swear I'm not, but my axe is extremely heavy. It's not something that can be lifted and held by just anyone. Maybe your buddy Erza could, but you, definitely not. You'd hurt yourself trying to hold it."

Lucy couldn't exactly blame Taurus for his concerns. She wasn't physically built like her friends and was more of an agile fighter. Also, generally speaking, Celestial Wizards didn't ask their spirits if they could use their weapons.

"I understand your concerns. However, there's something I would like to test out and it's far easier to show you," she explained. "Please."

After much reluctance, Taurus finally relented and handed her his weapon, albeit with the metal part on the ground since it would likely fall if he handed it to her upright or sideways with Lucy going down with it.

Lucy took it by her left hand and just like before the runes started glowing and her body felt lighter. Flipping the axe around Lucy held it perfectly (much to Taurus' surprise). She then took off and began swinging it around with fluid motion as though she had trained in it all her life. For the finale, she brought the head of the axe into the ground to pivot and flip into the air before bringing it straight down into the ground, leaving a crack in it.

Taurus was staring at her completely dumbfounded. "What? How? You? What?"

"Just as I thought, the runes let me use any weapon like a professional," Lucy concluded. She held up her hand for him to see. "This is what I wanted to test out Taurus."

"Okay, wow," Taurus somehow uttered. "Um, is this how it's gonna work now? You summon us and use our weapons while we fight with our bare hands."

Lucy couldn't help but laugh. It was incredibly rare to hear something like that from Taurus, just like it was rare to see him with that kind of expression.

"No Taurus I won't be doing that," Lucy reassured him as she handed back his axe. "Like I said, this was just to test the runes. If I need a weapon, I'll be relying on my whip or Derf."

"Mooo, good," Taurus exhaled. "I like my axe very much. It doesn't feel the same fighting without it."

"You needn't worry about that," Lucy promised. "You can go back now."

And just like that, Taurus returned to the Celestial Spirit world.

Back in Louise's room

"And that's about the gist of it," Lucy finished as Louise took another sip of tea.

Louise placed her cup down carefully and looked into Lucy's eyes. "I see. The power the runes bestow is absolute mastery over any weapon simply by holding it while also amplifying your natural capabilities. It's not one I've ever heard of but very useful nonetheless."

Louise didn't outright say nor show it, but she was happy. The situation was turning out much better than she initially thought. Although Lucy was not a dragon or a griffon like she hoped the fact that she had an army of familiars and could use any weapon made her a force to be reckoned with.

"Perhaps Professor Colbert could explain more," Louise suggested. "When he gets back, I mean."

"There's that to," Lucy agreed. "Before we do that, could I show you something?"

"Sure, what is it?" Louise asked confused, but a little intrigued.

Lucy stood up and walked to the centre of the room. "I'm going to contract a new spirit and I want to show you how." Louise perked up interested. "As I've explained, magic is different where I'm from, that includes contracting spirits or familiars as you would call them."

Lucy held out a silver key with a rectangular end and green gem at the hold. "O spirit, heed my call and enter through the gateway! Open, Gate of the Chisel, Caelum!"

A bright light appeared blinding Louise. When it dissipated, she saw a large metallic sphere floating in her bedroom.

Caelum greeted the wizard who summoned by beeping enthusiastically. Lucy smiled warmly at the spirit. She had received Caelum as a reward on her last job and would've summoned him sooner only to be summoned herself first. The Chisel wasn't a particularly rare key, or at least it hadn't been until recently, but it was a good one to have.

"I'd like to form a contract with you if that's alright," Lucy offered to which Caelum beeped even more. "That's great! What days would be okay to summon you?"

"You ask them when they can be summoned?" Louise asked clearly baffled by the notion.

"It's part of making a contract and for building up trust with them," Lucy explained as Caelum poured out a little light to generate the words. "The more you do that the more you can summon them later. The more you bond with them, the more loyal they'll be. And the better you treat them, the more protective they'll be. Don't and… well, you get the idea."

Lucy secretly gauged Louise's reaction to the hidden meaning behind her words.

Louise was frazzled over this method. Granted, she knew bonding with a familiar was necessary for any mage, but to do it this way with set rules and times was completely unheard of. Although, the method of summoning familiars was vastly different, not to mention they could refuse to form a contract with them.

It made her consider something else. As a mage and noble she understood the importance of summoning a familiar, it was a mark of their strength and talent. However, she'd never considered the other side's perspective when they were summoned. Were they meant to summon them? Did they want to be summoned? Lucy hadn't. Nor had she wanted to be her familiar. Louise didn't have much of a choice either. She needed to go through with the ritual, or else the consequences would be far worse for her, both here and at home.

Still, that was the difference between her summoning and Lucy's, consent. Those familiars were all given a say in being her familiars, but Lucy hadn't had a say in being hers.

"Yes, I do," Louise finally answered. "It's… different to what I know… very different." She paused uneasily. "Is their contract establishment anything like ours? I know it's not the same but, are your Fam- Spirits with you for life? Do they gain any powers like you did?"

She didn't understand why she was asking these questions. Maybe to move the conversation along quicker or out of genuine curiosity.

"They don't gain powers. They have their own magic to use at their own leisure. I'm merely holding open the gate to their world. Of course, they can use their own magic to get here," Lucy explained. "Contracts aren't permanent either. They can be nullified three different ways: the caster breaking it off willingly, the caster being arrested by the magic council or death."

Louise's eyes widened. Aside from death, she knew it wasn't possible to nullify a contract. Even if a noble was arrested, their familiar would still be theirs since they were bound by the ritual for life.

"Magic Council?" Louise repeated. "What's that?"

"I guess you could say they're the ones in charge of overseeing the activities of wizards where I'm from and punishing them if they break the law," Lucy replied.

"You don't have a monarchy?" Louise asked surprised.

"We have a monarchy," Lucy denied. "It's just that they're the ones who take care of magical-related threats like criminals or illegal objects."

Lucy left out the part where it was guilds who dealt with them before turning them over. She didn't see much point in mentioning it yet.

Caelum began to beep again earning a smile from Lucy.

"That's wonderful. I'm looking forward to working with you," she said sincerely.

Caelum beeped enthusiastically before disappearing into the light. Their contract was officially established and they were officially part of the team.

"Well, that was something," Derf said. "Feel like I'm going to get along great with that guy."

"I think you'll get along with all of them," Lucy supported. Then an image of Aquarius flashed into her mind. "Or at the very least, most of them."

"Those interactions can be saved for another time. For now, we should head downstairs. Dinner will be served shortly," Louise said standing up. "Will you be heading to the kitchen for yours?" Lucy's eyes widened. "What? You think I didn't notice! I'm not mad or anything. You need to keep yourself sustained after all."

Louise wondered if she could request Lucy to sit in and eat with the other students. Familiars really weren't allowed to be there but with her being human things might be different. Then again, if she preferred the kitchen she would not argue.

Lucy was somewhat surprised by Louise's lenience though she would not argue either.

No more needed to be said between the two girls as they headed downstairs with the magic sword.

Colbert

"So this is what those runes mean," the former flame snake muttered concerningly. "Which means Ms Valliere is… that explains a lot… but what to do now? I can't just outright tell her. The amount of people who would target her, regardless of her mother's threat, is staggering."

After searching through various old tomes for hours, Colbert finally found what he was looking for. What he told the headmaster the other day was only a few small facts he'd gathered in a few hours from the normal books. However, they didn't tell him anything about their history or the type of familiars they were bestowed on. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't pry this far. Ms Heartfilia was not a normal circumstance. She was a human with her own unique magic and weapons.

Hence, Jean Colbert was searching for information in the Secret Archives below the school.

And what he found both shocked and intrigued him.

"Gandalfr, the Left Hand of God, a master of all weapons, and familiar to a Void mage," He paused with a sombre expression. "Oh, Louise. You're going to have a lot more than anyone your age should have to deal with. And Lucy, I'm sorry you've been dragged into all of this."

For the moment he would only tell the headmaster, and perhaps the Princess. She and Louise were good friends after all.

Looking upward, Colbert moved to the next book. This one was specifically on Void magic. He only hoped what he found wasn't as bad.

Fouquet

The master thief known to the nation as Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt stalked through the halls of Tristain. She had spent a while analysing this place, learning all its secrets and weaknesses in order to claim her prize. It had taken a while, but all her efforts would soon pay off.

The Familiar Exhibition attended by the Princess herself would be the day she made her move.

And when she did, the Heavenly Armour would be hers.

Count Mott

Count Mott sat in his carriage lost in thought as he headed towards the Academy for official business.

Truth be told he was troubled. The Queen and Princess had treated him rather unfairly the past few weeks over such trivial matters. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised. This was what happened when you put a woman on the throne, especially one who was willing to hire commoners as part of their guard. Oh, how his majesty must be rolling in his grave.

As they finally reached the school, Mott strode quickly to the main office. He wanted to get this over and done with and get back to his hobby.

As he walked, he noticed several figures in the courtyard and his eyes immediately swooned. His expression quickly turned into a soft smile.

Maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad after all.

Chapter Text

"Princess, according to our spies, Count Mott has departed for the Academy," the Captain of the Royal Musketeers informed.

"As he was tasked with," the Princess replied smoothly. "Any progress made in his activities? We found nothing at his estate last time, nor his other homes."

"Unfortunately, no," the Captain lamented bitterly. "If he is responsible for all those girls going missing, then he is doing a good job hiding it."

"Keep looking then," the Princess ordered. "Do whatever you must to bring him to justice."

The Captain bowed and excused herself from the throne room, leaving the Princess all alone. For several months now, girls have been going missing from their homes, never to be seen again. The cause was unknown, but Count Mott was the primary suspect as most female staff under him tended to disappear after they started working for him. This tended to happen every couple of weeks or months when he would pluck a new girl from a lower-ranked noble, all of whom were noted to be quite beautiful, though why he did not do this with women in his territory was a mystery.

She suspected foul play, although she couldn't make such an accusation without thorough proof. So, she did the next best thing and revoked his right to take staff members from other nobles until further notice, a decision he was quite unhappy with. The accusations he made following were quite explicit but she refused to change her decision. Not that it mattered because girls were still going missing, hence the ongoing investigation.

Sighing, the Princess stood up and prepared to leave. Her mother and Cardinal Mazarin would be back soon and they would expect a full report.

Despite the lacklustre success of the investigation, the Princess had the utmost faith in her allies. It was all she could do.

"Speaking of which, I wonder how Louise is doing," she said softly.

Tristain Academy of Magic

The day had been relatively quiet for the master and familiar. The students and staff were surprised to learn Lucy now had a talking sword, however, they quickly brushed it off as most strange things tended to happen around Zero (much to her fury).

Classes were normal; however, much to the students' surprise, Mr Colbert was absent once more, leading them to suspect he was ill. The teachers explained he was away on official business, but refused to say what it was. Louise and Tabitha both suspected it was something else since Colbert was rarely (if ever) sent out for official business. At any rate, she and Lucy would not be able to talk with him today.

While Louise had lunch, Lucy went to eat hers in the kitchen. However, before she could, she noticed Siesta out in the Courtyard walking with two wooden buckets toward a fountain.

"Need a hand?" Lucy called out. Lunch could wait.

Siesta turned with a surprised expression, which turned into a smile. "If you're offering."

Filling the buckets, Lucy took them inside to where Siesta needed them. That was when she noticed a black state coach waiting outside.

"Oh, that's a messenger from the palace," Siesta explained. "He usually comes once a month."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. Considering the school taught young nobles, it made sense for the palace to be involved, but what would they be sending messages about? Exchange students? Or maybe new teachers?

When she glanced back at the carriage, she noticed a man dressed in red walking towards it. Just as he was about to enter the carriage, he took a brief look around until his eyes locked on hers. For a few seconds, he did nothing. Then his expression morphed into a smile. At first glance, it looked friendly, however, something about it rubbed her the wrong way.

She turned on a heel to the kitchen as quickly as possible, forgetting Siesta was there, mopping the floor. The man's eyes didn't leave her as she worked blissfully unaware. Licking his lips, he entered the carriage.

'Oh, those bodies and that look in her eyes. I'm going to enjoy this,' Mott thought lecherously.

Later that day

"You met Count Mott!?" Louise was alarmed.

"No, I saw him getting into his carriage," Lucy corrected. "He gave this look and… I just walked off as fast as I could. I don't want to sound judgmental, but something about him was… off. I'm sorry if that's."

"No!" Louise sharply interrupted. "You were right to get away from him. If he approaches you in the future, tell him you are my familiar. That technically makes you a servant of the Valliere Family, and even Mott isn't stupid enough to go after one of ours."

Lucy did not like being referred to as a servant, but for once, she wouldn't argue. It wasn't like with Kirche where Louise simply disliked her, no, this time she was cautious.

"That bad, huh?" Lucy guessed.

Louise didn't answer immediately. Instead, she opted to gaze out her window. Her expression conflicted as if debating whether she should tell Lucy everything about him or just a general idea. She shouldn't be ridiculing a high-ranked noble, as it would only lead to trouble, but Mott was dangerous. If even half of what she'd heard about him was true, then perhaps providing some information as a precaution couldn't hurt.

"I told you about the ranking system amongst the nobility, did I not?" Lucy nodded. "Well, in some cases, a noble, if they rank higher than the other, can request things from that noble like… staff. Regardless of how that noble feels or protests about it, they must hand them over because they rank lower."

Lucy blinked. That was an odd way of doing things. On Earthland, unless a request like that came from the Monarch themselves (and within reason), it was unlikely to happen.

"In the case of someone like Mott, it is not unusual for them to select a female member of staff to work as part of their estate. The staff themselves cannot protest as they are a commoner," Louise swallowed. "Specifically as a mistress."

"Oh, joy," Derf said sarcastically. "He's one of those nobles."

Lucy's eyes widened in horror. A noble could just take a random person away from here without their consent and essentially turn them into their sex slave just because they want them! That was kidnapping!

Lucy suddenly recalled their brief exchange. The look in his eyes. The darker implications of it were not lost on her.

That's when she remembered Siesta had been beside her. 'Oh, no!'

"Could he request anyone from here?" Lucy asked worriedly.

Louise considered it for a moment. "Considering he ranks higher than Osmond, I would say yes." Lucy's face turned pale. "But I don't think that's the case now."

"Huh?" Lucy breathed.

Before Louise could elaborate, she heard something knocking on her window. It had started raining.

"I don't have all the details, but I heard rumours of arguments breaking out between Mott and the Crown rendering his acquisition rights momentarily suspended," Louise explained. "Still, given his character, I wouldn't put it past him to try something. If he comes near you again, be on your guard."

Lucy nodded, having managed to relax a little. However, she was still worried about Siesta. Mott hadn't approached her, but there was no telling what happened after she left. It wouldn't hurt to check up real quick.

"I need to check something," Lucy said, standing up. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"As long as you aren't going off the premises, I don't mind," Louise informed her. "Also, the laundry can wait till tomorrow. The weather seems to be acting up."

Off in the distance, they could hear thunder as the rain pounded heavily off the window.

"Noted," Lucy replied as she exited the room.

"Stay safe, Partner!" Derf called out.

He was a little annoyed he'd been left behind, but it was a small walk. It wasn't like he was needed for everything.

When she left, Louise reviewed her lessons from that day to make sure she understood everything. However, the weather was making it difficult to concentrate.

She looked out the window, confusion sprawled all over her face. 'Seriously! What's up with this weather? It was fine earlier!'

Hallways

Lucy sped through the hallways looking for Siesta as thunder and lightning danced outside.

'Maybe she's in the kitchen,' she thought. 'Dinner wasn't that long ago. She could still be cleaning up.'

As she continued her search, Lucy started to suffer from fatigue. So much that she needed to lean against the wall to steady herself.

'Huh? Why am I?' Her eyelids drooped and she became drowsy. 'I'm tired? No! That's not right. I can't be tired, at least not that tired. I didn't do that much today.'

Slowly, her strength and vision began to leave as she sank to the ground. She attempted to pull herself back up to no avail.

'What's happening? Somebody! Hel-' was all she could think before she finally succumbed to sleep.

She was not the only one. All across the campus, teachers, students, staff, and familiars alike found themselves drifting into a state of unconsciousness.

All but two.

Louise had been right about the weather. Just not in the way she expected.

Outside the Academy

Count Mott smiled as his spell spread over the school. Just a few more minutes until everyone would be asleep leaving him to do as he pleased.

It pained to resort to such tactics, it truly did, but as the old saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures.

He had needs that were… frowned upon by others, but required that they be met so that society could function normally without disturbance. Unfortunately, his usual method for meeting them was restricted, forcing him to rely on more drastic measures.

Originally, whenever he saw an appealing commoner, he would arrange for her to be transferred to his care, much like a child wanting a new toy. His position as Royal messenger was perfect for that. And when he was done indulging in them, they were sent away just like that. Not necessarily back to where they came from, but hey, life wasn't fair (to the unworthy). Much like today, when he laid eyes on those two luscious servants, his needs acted up and he attempted to gain acquisition without alluding to whom. Unfortunately, the palace had informed that fool Osmond of his punishment, shutting down any attempts before they could be made. But Mott was nothing if not a patient and persistent man. He just needed to bide his time until he was out of sight to make his move.

It wasn't his fault things were this way. It was the Princess with her cruel and unfair treatment towards him. What had he done wrong exactly? Nothing. He'd taken a few commoners whom no one would miss (much like he had before the ban had been placed) to satisfy himself, and he had been persecuted for it. Why? It wasn't as if he were the only noble who did it. He and his dear friend Chelenne got together now and then to indulge together. His friend had shown him this lovely tavern in the capital. Well, the tavern itself was not lovely, but its maidens… ooh… they certainly were in both face and body.

Honestly, he was certain the Princess only used it as an excuse to be a bully since she had never liked him. Had she no shame!? A noble, much less the Princess of this country, should not abuse her authority in such a manner. What kind of example was she setting for the younger generation? A terrible one, that's what. They were just commoners. They weren't important. They didn't matter. Great nobles like him did. Why was that so far for her to see? Because she was a woman? If that were the case, then he prayed her one-day husband would be strong enough to rein her in!

Oh, well. Not much point in complaining about it. He would have to make do until then.

Mott was certain enough time had passed for the spell to take complete effect that he sent his soldiers to collect his new toys. Their clothing was protected by his magic, rendering them immune to his spell. It took a little bit of time for them to return, but when he saw they had the girls from this evening, a big smile spread across his face. Part of him had been tempted to take Miss Longueville, but he restrained himself. Taking Osmond's secretary, fallen noble or not, would have been a bad idea. Not to mention, she was still a mage, so there was some risk in taking her.

Nevertheless, he was satisfied with his current prey.

"Back home, everyone!" he commanded. "I've got work to do."

Louise's Dream

Louise was a dark place. There was nothing here. No people. No objects. Nothing.

There was the ground. She walked. She didn't know why. She didn't have a particular direction. She just did.

"Wake up."

She heard a voice. She couldn't tell from where.

"Wake up."

It was a male voice, but not one she recognised.

"Louise, you need to wake up!"

He knew her, but she didn't know him.

"I know you can't speak here, but you can hear me."

Why couldn't she speak?

"Your familiar is in danger. Lucy is in danger. You must rescue her!"

Lucy! Why would she be? What was going on?

"One follows her! When she returns, go with her! She will guide you!"

Who would guide her?

"Heed my warning, child! Do not go alone, for your foe is anything but weak!"

The voice sounded urgent. As though she should heed its warnings, even if misguided. Seriously, she was Louise the Zero, who exploded everything at the simple wave of a wand, who was disrespected by all her classmates, and even some teachers. Who would want to help her?

Louise started to float away. Wait! Why was she floating?

"Ah, it seems our time is up. Remember what I have said here, Louise. Good luck!"

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"WAKE UP, PINKY!"

Louise's Room

"WAKE UP, PINKY!" Derflinger shouted as loudly as he possibly could.

Louise's eyes snapped open. Groggily, she lifted herself only to realise she was on the ground and still in her uniform to boot.

That made no sense. She would never sleep on the ground. Not while there was a nice big comfortable bed right there. Nor would she sleep in her uniform unless she had no other choice.

"Finally, you're awake!" Derf stated. "Do you know how long I was yelling for? My throat will be feeling that all day."

"You don't have a throat. You're a sword," Louise corrected until she realised. "Wait, how long was I asleep? Actually, when did I fall asleep? I remember feeling a little tired but not so much too."

"No, you're wrong," Derf denied. "You fell asleep in that chair not long after Partner left, and then you fell to the floor."

Louise's eyes widened. That wasn't possible. Her day hadn't been that strenuous.

"Where is Lucy?" she demanded.

"I don't know," Derf answered. "She never came back after leaving."

Louise went pale. It was just like her dream warned. Even so, she needed to be sure.

Grabbing her wand and Derflinger, she ran out of the room and searched through the hallways for signs of life. Along the way, she checked various student rooms only to find their doors unlocked (much to her alarm) and in positions similar to her own. Feeling uneasy, she woke Tabitha to request her help. While at first surprised, she quickly sprang into action and roused Kirche who was sleeping on top of her table. Joined by Flame, the three girls searched the school.

"This makes no sense. I get it if one of us fell asleep awkwardly, but all of us, that can't be right," Kirche noted.

"You know, for once, Zerbst, I agree," Louise admitted.

"Teachers asleep?" Tabitha asked.

"I don't know. I haven't checked yet," Louise said.

"What about the commoner staff?" Derflinger suggested.

"The sword has a point. We should check the kitchens," Kirche urged. "That reminds me, where is your Familiar Louise?"

"I don't know. She left shortly before I fell asleep. According to Derflinger, she didn't come back," Louise explained quickly.

When they arrived at the kitchen, they saw that everyone was asleep, including Katie.

"Okay, this is too freaky for it to be a coincidence now," Kirche exclaimed.

For the second time that day, Louise agreed with Kirche.

Wasting no time, they roused each of the staff and Katie from their slumber. All of them were confused.

"What were you all doing before you fell asleep?" Louise asked. "Did anything seem out of place?"

"Not really. Everything seemed normal. We performed our duties like we were supposed to, then the next thing we all felt tired and you came along," Marteau explained.

"I was here making soufflé for… someone," Katie revealed. "I got distracted by Siesta coming in and… hold on a second." She took a quick look around the room. "Where is Siesta?"

That sent a wave of confusion across the room.

"Siesta?" Tabitha repeated. "That maid with short dark hair."

Katie nodded. "She just came in drenched from the rain, carrying a bucket. At least, that's how I remember it."

Something was off. If everyone fell asleep at the same time, Siesta should have as well, as should Lucy. Yet, they never encountered her.

"It's got to be a mage!" Derf exclaimed, much to the staff's surprise. "This whole thing started after the rain came out of nowhere. A mage could influence the weather if they wanted."

"Is that possible?" Marteau questioned. "I know some can control the weather, but putting the entire school to sleep?"

"It would be if you're a triangle or square mage," Louise said. Even more, if your element was… water."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than she went pale, something which did not go unnoticed.

"Um, Miss Valliere," one of the staff called out.

She didn't hear them. Her mind was racing as she recalled the events from the day. Someone had come to the Academy that day. Someone powerful enough to cast a spell of that range and level. Someone with a very bad history. It was too much of a coincidence to ignore.

"We need to find the headmaster."

Unknown Parts

Lucy slowly opened her eyes. It was a mild struggle at first, but she eventually managed.

It was dark. The only thing she could see was a dimly lit candle on the other side.

For some reason, her body felt sore.

She tried to move, only to find she was shackled standing up against the wall.

"What?" she whispered, confused.

"Lucy," a familiar voice whimpered.

Lucy looked to her right and saw Siesta chained next to her. She looked terrified.

"Siesta, what?" she started. "Where are we?"

"Ah, finally awake, I see. That spell was a bit stronger than I intended, but one can never be too careful, can they?" A not-so-friendly voice cut her off.

Lucy turned slowly to see a figure just outside the room. The light intensified as she could see his face from their cell. They were in a cell. It was a face she had only seen once. A face currently smiling in the suggest, most unpleasant way possible sent shivers down Lucy's spine. Even worse was that he was holding up her keys.

"Greetings, my most lovely of staff. I am Count Jules de Mott of the Wave. The Triangle mage and most devout messenger of the Royal Palace, and the most valued servant of the Royal Family. As of today, I am your new master. I look forward to… having you!"

He licked his lips at the end, eyeing them in the way a predator would its prey.

Lucy and Siesta almost burst into tears right then and there, if only refraining out of sheer terror.

Chapter Text

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE DO NOTHING?" Louise screamed.

"Miss Valliere, I understand your concerns, I do. However, we simply cannot go charging in without a proper strategy or authorisation from the Royal Family," Osmond reasoned.

It hadn't taken them long to find the Headmaster and Miss Longueville (both of whom were unconscious in the office) and explain the situation. To their surprise, Osmond believed them instantly. According to him, Mott had voiced his interest in a dark-haired maid earlier, only to be shut down by Osmond, who reminded him of his restrictions. Mott had tried to argue using his status, but Osmond stood his ground and firmly told him that until they received an update from the palace in the future, they would give him nothing. Mott appeared to have shrugged it off and left without making a scene. Then the rain happened. There weren't many mages with the skill to influence the weather and apply a secondary effect.

Osmond was ashamed to admit it, but he had underestimated Mott's persistence. Still, he never imagined the man would be so daring as to try something on the Academy grounds of all places. Students from all over the world attended this school in order to grow as mages, prep for their future duties as Nobles, to forge alliances and friendships that might one day benefit their families, but also to enjoy their lives since they were teenagers. An attack on them, be it harmful or peaceful or indirect, would be seen as an attack on the Noble houses they represented. Said houses would then demand retribution.

Put simply, it was a very, very, very, very stupid idea.

"For starters, we don't even know where he took them," Osmond continued.

"He's right," Katie spoke up. "Mott has several estates. They could be at any one of them."

"Exactly. This needs to be timed right. Otherwise, we'll lose them both for good," the Headmaster added.

"And if we don't act quickly, they'll both be dead," Louise hissed. "You know the rumours about him. Do you honestly believe there isn't some weight to them?"

"I know there is weight to them," Osmond replied gravely. "I should not be telling you ladies this, but Count Mott is under investigation by the Palace for the disappearance of numerous commoner girls over the past several months."

"Okay, I'm sorry, but why would he do that?" Kirche demanded. "Not that I agree or anything, cause I don't, but couldn't he just request someone from here or another noble's place? His rank and position would allow for that, wouldn't it?"

"I don't think he has that privilege anymore," Katie said. "He's taken girls from my family's home before, but he hasn't done it in months. Granted, we stopped hiring girls as staff, but he hasn't been around enough to find out."

Not that there was much staff they could afford.

"It was revoked by the Princess herself," Osmond stated.

Louise's eyes widened. 'Henrietta!'

"I will send her a message explaining the situation," Osmond said. "Once we have her aid and permission, we can act. Until then, I must ask that you all return to your rooms. Miss Longueville will accompany you. When there is news, I will inform you. Until then, please remain where you are."

Before Louise could protest, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Tabitha waving her head. As usual, she was quiet, but the message was clear. Now isn't the right time or place.

Gritting her teeth, she turned heel and walked out the door with the others following after her. Louise briefly spotted Guiche down the corridor, eyeing them with curiosity.

'The other students and staff must be awake by now,' she realised.

Meanwhile, Osmond was looking out at the Academy grounds. His message had been sent, but now came the tricky part. On the off chance they did get the bastard, what then? Mott was unlikely to go down without a fight. If the rumours were true, he wasn't even the biggest threat.

No. That honour went to his familiar.

Tabitha's Room

Despite Osmond's request, Tabitha remained awake. She suspected her classmates were as well. Unlike them, she was waiting for someone.

"Kyuu!"

Sylphid appeared at her window and started knocking. Tabitha immediately let the dragon in and settled her down.

"I take it you know where Lucy and Siesta are," the blue dragon nodded. "Good girl. Now, let's get the others."

Around the Academy

Louise heard a knock on the window and saw Tabitha and Kirche outside.

"We know where they are. Sylphid followed them," Tabitha explained.

"Katie's leaving a message for the staff to follow," Kirche said. "She's also getting Guiche and his familiar. They'll be good for getting in undetected."

'One follows her! When she returns, go with her! She will guide you!' Louise remembered. 'Just like in my dream. But how? You know what, forget it. Act now, question later!"

Louise stood up, grabbed Derflinger, and mounted the dragon. This was going to be a long night.

Count Mott's Estate

"Um, I think there's been a mistake," Lucy finally said. "We're not supposed to be here."

Count Mott continued to smile. "Oh, but you are. I selected you both personally. And it was agreed with the Headmaster. I'll admit it took some… convincing on my part. Although eventually I got through to him."

"Somehow I doubt that," Lucy carefully worded. She needed to be cautious. There was no telling what would set this man off. "He would need to talk it up with our master first. And I doubt she would relinquish her maid or familiar to you, Count Mott. She does not have a high opinion of you."

Siesta was quick to catch on. "That is true."

Mott's expression faltered slightly. "Master? Familiar? I'm sorry, could you please elaborate? You're not making much sense."

Lucy took a deep breath. "I was summoned by Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere to be her familiar."

Mott shook his head. "My dear, if you are going to lie, you could at least make it convincing. Humans cannot become familiars."

"The runes are on my left hand. If you pull up my glove, you can see them," she explained quickly.

Mott eyed her suspiciously. Raising his hand he motioned one of the guards to come forward. After unlocking the cell Mott removed the glove and ran his fingers over the runes. Lucy felt very uncomfortable with him being so close and the way he touched her.

"I have never seen familiar runes like these before," Mott said softly. "And if I've never seen them, then I don't have to believe they're runes. That could be a tattoo resembling runes for all I know."

"They could. But on the off chance that they aren't, what will you do if our master shows up looking for her staff? She knows you were visiting the school today. She also knows that you were watching me and Siesta because I told her. My point being Louise is smart enough to put two and two together," Lucy replied.

Under normal circumstances, she would have felt iffy about calling her Master or lying about her friends, but right now, she was desperate. She and Siesta were shackled; she had no weapons, and she couldn't feel her keys on her. She would use whatever she could to keep him away from them.

"Ah, Louise. The disgrace of the Valliere Family. Not that her sisters are much better," the Count smiled. "I wouldn't worry about her. Even if she does show up, I've made sure that neither of you two will ever be found. You'll find that I'm very good at covering my tracks. One must be if they were playing this game for as long as I have."

Siesta and Lucy's eyes widened in horror.

'This long! Just how long has he been doing this?' they thought.

"You've… done this before?" Lucy said without thinking.

"Oh, I've done it many times. I used to keep count, but after a while I just stopped and lost track altogether," Mott nonchalantly replied. His expression slightly darkened. "Recently, things have become a tad difficult. The bitch princess belonging to this country has made it her mission to make my life as hard as possible. I've had to take some… shall we say… drastic measures."

With every word that left his mouth, the air in the basement became colder.

"Like this afternoon," Siesta whispered.

"Like this afternoon," he agreed, his eyes never once straying from Lucy. "If you are indeed what you say you are, then I will admit I acted too hastily. Which is why I shall endeavour to exercise more caution and restraint in the future, as well as research those who catch my interest first." His expression didn't change, nor did the girls. "I still can't let you go, though. I'm already under scrutiny, and if you were to just up and leave, it would cause many problems."

And just like that, the temperature plummeted below zero. The girls started to shiver. As they did, the shackles that held them shook violently. The sound of clacking echoed throughout the cell.

(WARNING! THE FOLLOWING SCENE IS VERY DARK, UNCOMFORTABLE AND MAY TRIGGER SOME PEOPLE! YOU MAY SKIP IT IF YOU LIKE, SINCE YOU CAN GUESS WHAT HAPPENS! BUT YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!)

Count Mott's face twisted into a big, evil smile.

"I'm sure there are many things you wish to say. However, I'll need you to be quiet for this part. There's a certain point I need to get across about what you'll be doing and what you are," Mott stated as he faced both of them.

Reaching out with both hands, he caressed their faces, his fingers moving swiftly towards and through their hair, causing them to flinch. He moved his hands downwards slowly, coming over their breasts and softly squeezed them, causing them to gasp. He continued to move down to their lower sections to get a good feel, causing them to shudder uncontrollably. He refrained from breaching their clothing, but that did very little to lessen the effect. Mott called his guards to hold them and then moved upward to sniff their hair. At this point, both girls were crying, unable to hold it in any longer. Tears streamed down their faces, with no way to stop them. Mott pulled back and proceeded to rip the top part of their clothing, leaving their cleavages exposed. He then started to tear at their skirts enough to keep them from breaking, but enough for their underwear to be visible.

(SCENE END)

"I think the point has been made," Mott said softly as he stood back with a big smile gleaming across his face. "You're probably wondering why I'm not going further, my lovelies. Much like a meal, you must be prepped first. You must be bathed and properly dressed. I prefer to savour these moments; indulge them with the highest pleasure, but only after certain conditions have been fulfilled." He turned to leave the cell. "You may take this moment to collect your thoughts. Because, like it or not, this is your life from now on. Do be sure to use it to come up with ways to keep me interested. Because the second I lose interest or you're not pretty enough for me or you can't satisfy me, I will throw you away like a broken tool. Don't worry. It takes me at least two weeks before I get bored and have to find new staff. I have faith you will last longer than your predecessors. Until then, enjoy your stay."

And just like that, he was gone with his guards, leaving them all alone.

Tears continued to fall as they both started breathing heavily. Sweat oozed from their bodies. They tried to calm themselves, but to no avail. Lucy wanted to vomit, but managed to keep it in. Siesta wasn't so fortunate and threw everything up just in front of her.

Lucy had seen and faced many kinds of monsters in her time as a wizard. Dark guilds that tried to kill her, wizards that would hurt her, Acnologia, dragons, thieves, a slave trader, along with some perverts. All of them would have been stronger than that man. They would all have come closer to killing her and her friends than him. And yet, for some bizarre reason, he scared her so much more than any of them ever had.

Never before had she wished so much for her friends. For Natsu, Loke, Ersa, Gray, Happy, Levy, Mira, Aquarius, Cana, Wendy, Carla, the Guild, everyone. She wished they were here to help her. She wished she could summon her spirits to break out. But also, she wished Louise were here. She wished that she would find them and get them out.

Siesta was terrified out of her mind. Like all commoners, she knew who Count Mott was. Like all commoners, she knew the rumours and warnings. It was said amongst them that whenever he showed up to take a new staff (sex slave), that person would be taken and never heard from again.

Why was this happening? Why her? Why Lucy? What did they do to deserve it?

"Lucy," Siesta looked to her friend. "I don't want to die." She sobbed. "I don't want to be raped." Her face was completely wet from tears, snot, and vomit. "I want to go home."

"So do I," Lucy agreed. "Don't worry. We're going to get out of here before he has the chance to try anything."

"How?" Siesta whimpered. "Mott has your keys. I saw them. And there's nothing here we can use to break the chains."

Lucy scowled. Not for the first time, she wished she had studied another type of magic as a backup. It would be very useful right now. Out of frustration, she yanked her hands sharply.

CLANG! CRACK!

Lucy looked up at her chains and saw there was a crack in the wall they were nailed to. She pulled again, this time harder. The shackles began to come loose. Siesta noticed and started pulling on her own shackles to the same effect. Little by little they chipped away until the shackles broke from the wall freeing their hands.

"The wall must be decayed," Lucy realised.

"I don't really care about the reason," Siesta picked up the end of the chain. "Watch what I do."

Using the sharp end that was hammered into the wall, Siesta unlocked her chains and freed her wrists before moving onto her legs. Lucy had a bit more trouble since she'd never done this before, so Siesta helped out.

"How do you?" Lucy started.

"A relative of mine showed me," Siesta hastily cut off. "I'll tell you later when we're out of this hellhole!"

After unlocking the shackles, Siesta moved to the cell door. Following that, she and Lucy took a set of chains each to use as a weapon and set off through the dark basement.

The Skies of Tristain

The fact that Tabitha summoned a dragon as her familiar was nothing short of convenient. It flew all five of them (six counting Derf) towards Count Mott's mansion. Guiche's familiar Verdante was following them from underground. In his own words, Verdante's sense of smell (particularly towards jewels) was vastly superior to many species.

"So, what's your deal with Mott anyway?" Kirche asked suddenly. "And I don't mean Lucy. I can tell there's a bit more to it than that."

"Perhaps Kirche, you do know the rumours surrounding him," Guiche offered. "Being from Germania and all."

Katie initially tried to convince him to come as a means of making up for the two-time incident. However, the second he heard Mott was involved he agreed without hesitation.

"I know all about the rumours. As does Tabitha," Kirche informed. "By the way, can we please stop calling them rumours? If the Crown is investigating him then they clearly aren't rumours."

"They aren't," Katie supported with a guilty expression. "All the girls he's taken from my house, I asked around one day and their families said they never heard from them again."

"Did you report it to the palace?" Guiche asked. "Regardless of your rank or status, one is allowed to file a complaint about another noble if they believe they've broken the law or abused their authority. The King ten generations back made sure of that during his reign when corruption between Nobles was at its peak."

"My parents did. A short while later, a royal guard came and asked some questions. I've heard nothing since," Katie said.

"Well, that answers that one, but what about you, Zero?" the Zerbst asked in a non-teasing fashion.

Louise didn't respond to her horrid nickname. She was staring down at the world below her lost in deep thought.

"It's not me specifically. It's my sister. A long time ago, she was engaged to Mott until she called it off," Louise revealed to everyone's shock. "My oldest sister, Eleonore, to be exact."

Arranged marriages between Nobles were common. Hearing Louise's sister was engaged to the Count was something else entirely.

"That can't be true," Guiche argued. "From what my father has said, your parents, especially your mother, there's no way in hell they would sell her off to that disgusting piece of flesh. They'd run a background check on him first to make sure he would be a good suitor."

"You'd be surprised what parents will force their children into if it conveniences them in some way," Kirche offhandedly remarked. "Still, Guiche has a point. If what my brother tells me about your parents is true, there's no way they'd agree to it. I can't see Eleonore going through with it either."

"It was just something mentioned in passing. Also, and I didn't see him that time, but I heard he visited our estate one day," Louise explained. "A little while after he left, my second sister Cattleya came in and begged her to call it off."

Louise remembered the moment quite well.

It was the first time she had ever seen her sister angry.

Flashback

"So, has it been decided yet?" Louise asked her sister.

"It is only in talks at the moment Louise," Eleonore said sternly. "Certain things need to be discussed and agreed first. Then we can decide on a date, and then we can start to plan accordingly."

Louise was happy her sister was finally getting married. It was something she had wanted for a while.

BANG!

The doors to the study slammed open, surprising both Valliere women. In came a frantic-looking Cattleya.

"ELEONORE!" she yelled.

"Cattleya!" Eleonore exclaimed, alarmed by her sister's behaviour. "Is everything alright?"

"Call it off! You need to call it off!" Cattleya said frantically.

"Call it off! Why?" Eleonore would normally be angry at such a suggestion, but since it was coming from Cattleya and in such a manner, she didn't know how to respond.

"Cattleya, what's the matter?" Louise asked,d just as shocked. This wasn't the loving sister she knew.

"She can't marry him! She can't marry Mott!" Cattleya stated, an expression of pure rage plastered across her face (something that really didn't suit her). "That bastard! That scumbag! He's evil! Pure, utter, evil! Marry any other Noble! There are plenty to choose from! But not him!" Her expression turned pleading. "Please, big sister, I beg you. If you marry him, it will end very badly for you! I know it means a lot to you, but don't pick him! Please!"

Flashback End

Anger, wrath, and hate came naturally to her and Eleonore. It was easy for them to be slighted. As were their parents to a degree (although they were better at controlling it). However, Cattleya was different. Despite her sickness, she was easily the kindest and most beloved member of their family. Someone who could make even her mother smile (a very difficult feat, mind you), someone who brought out Eleonore's softer side, and someone who supported and loved her regardless of her difficulty with magic.

For her to hold such hate for someone, to use such derogatory terms to describe them, was unnatural. It spoke volumes about how bad something or someone was to get her to react that way. Even her mother was surprised by it (again, no easy feat). The incident frightened Louise. She never imagined her sister could hate someone that much, although it was never explained why. Eleonore called off the engagement immediately afterwards, and it was never brought up again.

The others were silent. Much like Louise, her sisters had a certain reputation. Cattleya's was the kind sickly child who could make even rival/enemy families love her. She was impossible not to love. To hear that made them concerned.

"It doesn't make sense," Tabitha spoke for the first time.

"What doesn't?" Kirche asked her friend.

"Mott getting away with it for this long," Tabitha said. "The Royal Guard isn't stupid or bad at their job. Yet they haven't uncovered a single corpse. He could be using magic or someone else to dispose of the bodies, but even that's traceable."

She wasn't wrong. Magic always left a trace of some sort, although it would fade away after time. There was a spell to examine a wand or staff that informed the caster of the most recently used spells. This was generally used at crime scenes. There were also tools like Last Night Orb that could reveal memories. In spite of this, Mott hadn't been discovered.

"She's right," Louise realised. "Mott's a good mage, but he's not this good."

"Well, he's doing it somehow," Guiche bemoaned.

"Maybe he's got access to magical tools or spells not from Tristain to work around the issue," Katie offered. "Given his wealth and connections, it's possible."

"Even so, if the amount we've heard about is accurate,e even he wouldn't be able to cover it up," Louise mentioned.

An uncomfortable silence stretched on afterwards as they made their way to the Count's home.

Count Mott's Estate

Using the candle, Siesta and Lucy quietly made their way through the basement. As they moved, they came across several other cells in poor condition. They were covered in dust, dirt, and various stains (some of which Lucy suspected were blood). At one point, they came across a torture chamber. It had tables and chairs designed for restraining people with various instruments of torture (the kinds Lucy had only ever read about in books) and a fireplace at the centre. It was like something out of a horror novel.

Whether it was for pleasure or interrogation or both they didn't know. They weren't sticking around to find out.

"Siesta, this probably isn't the best time to ask, but when you woke up, did you notice anything off about the guards?" Lucy asked.

"Other than their faces being covered, do you mean?" Siesta retorted. "There was something wrong with their eyes. I could have been imagining it, but I thought they were slit. They all shared the same green colour too."

Well, that wasn't normal.

BEAT!

Lucy stopped moving and looked around.

BEAT!

What was that? Where was it coming from?

BEAT!

There it was again.

"Lucy," Siesta called out. "Is something wrong?"

"Don't you hear that?" Lucy asked.

Siesta looked confused. "Hear what? It's just us here."

BEAT!

Lucy placed her hand to her heart. She was looking at this the wrong way.

She wasn't hearing anything. She was feeling it.

Magic. She could sense magic. And it was close. She could feel it tugging at her.

BEAT!

She turned to the right and saw a passage sliding down into the dark. It was an incredibly bad idea, but it felt like the right one.

"Follow my lead," Lucy said as she slid down into the darkness.

"Lucy!" Siesta yelled as she hurried after her with the candle still lit.

SPLASH!

After two to three minutes of sliding, Lucy collided with a body of water and something lumpy within it. The water was freezing (but she had experienced colder) and the smell was horrendous. She could feel several objects around her. Some soft, others hard. The water was filled with them.

'What are these? Logs?' Lucy wondered. 'Given that this is a sewer, it's probably worse."

SPLASH!

Siesta arrived a few seconds after with the candle miraculously still lit.

"You okay?" Lucy asked.

"I'm fine, just," Siesta froze. Her eyes widened in horror. "Lucy."

She hadn't noticed before. How could she? It was too dark.

The light from the candle illuminated the area. They were in a sewer. And they weren't alone.

Lucy looked down and saw a hand at her waist floating. To her right she saw red hair. To her left she saw brown hair. Then all around her she saw different hair colours attached to different bodies of different women. Some had their eyes closed while others had them open. Their eyes were blank with pupils enlarged. All of them were naked with various scars across their bodies, but most notably around their neck.

They couldn't be in anything but their twenties if not lower.

Lucy started to hyperventilate. She was breathing erratically.

Siesta wasn't faring much better. Placing the candle at the side, she struggled to stand as she fully processed what they were dealing with.

And then…

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

They screamed!

Chapter Text

Outside Count Mott's Estate

"So, what's the plan exactly?" Derf asked, much to the others' surprise. "Tear the place apart until we find what we're looking for?"

"How is that sword talking?" Guiche demanded.

"I don't know. I bought him for Lucy. Not our main priority," Louise quickly brushed aside. "Why didn't you say anything on the way here?"

"Well, you were all getting along swimmingly well with such scintillating conversation that I thought it would be better if I just kept quiet and listened in," Derflinger replied smoothly.

Kirche laughed. "A sword with a sense of humour. Now that's something you don't see every day."

"Sweetheart! There's a lot you don't see every day!" Derf snarked. "I'm just the tip of the iceberg."

"The plan," Tabitha reminded them.

"The plan is to have Guiche's familiar bring us in from underground. Preferably to an isolated area. It's the middle of the night so Mott should be asleep, but I'd rather not take chances. Once inside, we'll split into two groups to find Lucy and Siesta. Guiche, Katie, and Kirche will be group one. Tabitha and I will be group two. One member of each group will cast a Silence spell to keep quiet and avoid detection," Louise explained. "I trust I don't need to explain why."

Surprisingly, she didn't receive a sarcastic comment. The others (particularly Kirche) understood. It was very rare for Louise to admit to her own volatility or faults with casting spells, but when she did, you could tell the situation was serious.

Of course, given what they were about to attempt and who they were dealing with, they wouldn't have joked anyway.

"We're really doing this," Kirche said softly. "Even if we succeed, the punishment for breaking into his house will be rough. And I'm not talking about the school. Even our parents won't be able to help with that one." Not that mine would.

"For once, Zerbst, I agree," Louise admitted. "However, I have a friend at the palace who might be able to help with that."

She had never used her influence before. She rarely, if ever, used her parents' status to get out of a situation or get her way (she wanted to solve her own problems). However, these were extenuating circumstances.

"Good to know the legal backlash is sorted. Public backlash, on the other hand. Five nobles break into the house of the Palace Messenger to rescue two commoners. My older brother is never going to let me hear the end of this," Guiche complained. "My parents will probably be upset that we took on someone of Mott's calibre."

"Then why the hell are you even here?" Derf snapped.

Guiche's expression notably darkened. "Regardless of their status, in no way does it warrant what he has in store for them. Of that, I can assure you. That's why I'm helping."

He may have been a womaniser, but even he had standards. As did a lot of nobles.

All nobles looked down on commoners because they lacked magic. However, when it came to how they were treated a good few nobles like the ones present drew lines at what was acceptable and what wasn't.

Of course, there were also nobles who treated commoners as equals, but those were rare.

Case point, none of them agreed with the likes of Mott.

"Isn't Lucy a mage?" Katie asked.

"She is," Louise confirmed. "But she isn't a noble. I doubt Mott is aware of the former."

RUSTLE!

They whipped their heads around at the sound. Something was moving slowly through the bushes. It couldn't have been the guards, as they were still standing at their positions. Whatever it was, it moved away from their position.

THUD!

Just then, Verdante popped up from the ground and started pulling Guiche towards the hole.

"Verdante, what are you? What's wrong?" Guiche asked, noticing how frantic his familiar was.

Sylphid started growling at the bushes.

"Sylphid?" Tabitha murmured, concerned. "What is it?"

The growling intensified as Sylphid stood protectively in front of the group. Verdante became more frantic in its attempt to pull Guiche which was really a way to pull his master to safety.

"Um, guys. I don't think what's out there is human," Kirche warned while slowly edging backwards. "A human wouldn't frighten them this much."

"We need to move," Louise urged. "Now."

Verdante started to dig through the ground with everyone (bar Sylphid) following afterwards.

As soon as they were gone, the figure began to slowly move away through the forest.

It had watched them.

Intruders.

They entered the master's home.

They must inform him.

Until then.

They will stalk them.

And when ordered, slaughter them, and feast on their corpses.

Count Mott's Estate (Underground)

Lucy and Siesta barely managed to keep themselves standing amid the shock, using the stone pathway at the side to steady themselves. Siesta placed the candle on top and pushed it inward. The duo shakily pulled themselves up and out of the water, but they didn't stand up. They just sat there hugging their knees, staring out at the nightmare in front of them.

They knew what it was. They understood it. That didn't make it any easier for them.

'Who could? How could?' A million thoughts flooded through Lucy's head as she tried to make sense of it. 'Why would anyone?' Who could do such a thing? How could they do it? Why would they do it? Lucy tried to understand what kind of monster would do something this evil, but nothing came to mind. 'So much death.'

And eventually it became too much.

"BLEGH!" Lucy vomited to the side away from Siesta, unable to keep it in this time.

The girl in question gave no reaction. She just stared. Traces of tears could be seen in her eyes, as with Lucy's. This was beyond worst from what she heard. It was inhuman.

"All those girls," she whispered softly. "All those poor girls. What they must have endured." Tears began to fall from her face. "And their families."

She couldn't bring herself to finish. Pulling her legs into her face, Siesta loudly began to sob.

Lucy's form remained still. Her teardrops fell from her face onto the filthy ground on which she sat. Sitting straighter up, she rested her back against the wall and stared back out.

This wasn't like the other times she had been in danger. This time, she could actually die. That man, Mott. If he got hold of them, he would kill them. No. He would do worse than that at first, then he would kill them. And throw them away like he had done with everyone else. Which left only one option.

'We need to get out of here!' Lucy realised. 'No matter the cost. We need to escape this hellhole.'

If they escaped, they could get back to the Academy and tell them what happened. She could tell Louise what happened. It wasn't much, but it was something. Then there was the matter of escaping. The sewers had to have an exit point to send waste through. They just needed to find it.

BEAT!

Lucy's eyes widened. Was that?

BEAT!

In the shock, she had forgotten about the magic she had sensed earlier.

It was close, real close.

BEAT!

Shakily, Lucy slowly pulled herself up. She didn't know what it was, but it was close. It could lead to a way out or something worse.

Still, she needed to take that chance. Because right now, she and Siesta had very little going for them.

"Lucy," Siesta whimpered. She looked into her eyes with tears still falling. "Are we going to die down here?"

Hearing that, Lucy's expression hardened as did her resolve.

"No, we won't. Siesta, however hard it might be, or how long it may take, we are getting out of here!" Lucy held out her hand. Her eyes brimming with determination. "I promise you."

They couldn't die yet. And they wouldn't. Not without a fight.

Siesta couldn't tell if she had gone mad from despair or was really just that determined. Even so. That look in her eyes. It made her feel hopeful. She didn't want to feel it, but she did. While it was stupid for her to hope, if there was even the slimmest chance Lucy could do what she was offering, then she had to take it. With that, the decision was made.

Wiping her tears away, she grabbed her hand.

With Count Mott

Jules stared intriguingly at the objects he'd confiscated from his newest staff upon their arrival. The first was a maroon coloured whip with the tip shaped like a heart; the kind that belonged to a mercenary. However, its appearance was quite different to what he knew. The same could be said for her other possession.

The keys he found on her were of great interest. Gold and silver (somehow genuine), oddly, and uniquely shaped. The bows of the keys contained a symbol he did not recognise that corresponded with the blade. Jules couldn't tell if they were meant to open something (as all keys were) or if they were just for decoration. The designs were too outlandish. One looked like an axe while another resembled a crab. Whatever the case, they definitely weren't from this country. Perhaps they were from up near the elves' country or Gallia. That was where he procured his special equipment from.

Just then, he heard a familiar movement in the back. Jules smiled kindly.

"Ah, my sweet," he cooed. "How are you? Is everything alright?"

Jules felt his familiar wrap around his neck as they whispered in his ear.

"Hmmm."

"Intruders, you say?" Mott stood up immediately. "How many of them are there? What did they look like? Did you happen to catch any of their names?"

"Hmmm."

Jules scowled. It appeared the blonde had not been joking about her service to the Valliere Family (though he still didn't believe she was a familiar). Now the youngest daughter of Karin of the Heavy Wind and Centurion de la Valliere (two of the most powerful nobles in Tristain, no one should ever piss off) was here searching his mansion. He needed to play this smart. Despite being a failure, if she were killed, then her parents would see to it that all of the Kingdom was overturned until they found the person responsible.

Of course, that was only if they found her corpse.

The rest of her companions weren't as concerning. He knew next to nothing about the Gallian girl, so he didn't know much trouble her death could warrant.

Katie de la Lotta had surprised him with her boldness in coming here, not that it would save her. Her family were low in wealth and status, so they couldn't possibly be a threat. At times, he wondered how they could still be nobles, considering how poor they were.

The disgraced whore from the barbaric Germania he knew by reputation. Her death might be used to stir up something, but ultimately, none of her family would give a shit about her passing. If anything, they would rejoice and celebrate. As was the fate of someone who brought that much controversy and shame to their family name. Despite this, her chest was big enough that he might have a go or two with her first. It would be a waste not to.

The youngest son of his most hated enemy, General Antoine de Gramont. Unlike the other students, Jules was going to take his sweet time killing him, and he was going to enjoy every single second of it. For as long as he could remember, that bastard had been the bane of his existence. Challenging him, outperforming him in school, stealing his women (one of whom was his current wife), and taking every available opportunity to make him look bad and ruin his perfect image. The man had no shame, no restraint. He was despicable in every sense of the word.

Now was the time for a bit of retribution. The son wasn't the father, but sounded and looked just enough like him that he would do.

At least, if it came to that.

Jules wasn't that cruel. At the current moment, they were just teenagers doing something very stupid. Breaking into the home of the Royal Palace's messenger was a serious offence no matter what your rank was. So, when he caught them, he would give them the chance to explain. He would make them see the error of their ways and send them back to the Academy.

And if they resisted, or got bold and troublesome, or knew something they shouldn't or he didn't like, then he would kill them. And he'd feed them to his familiar.

"My lovely," he whispered softly as he stroked her face gently. "Capture them alive. You know where to put them."

Count Mott's Estate (Underground)

BEAT!

They were getting closer now. Lucy could feel it.

SLOSH!

Lucy and Siesta froze. What was that?

SLOSH!

Something was moving through the water. Had one of the guards come down here looking for them, or was it a patrol? They doubted it. What reason could the guards possibly have for coming down here? Unless they were looking for them.

SLOSH!

Definitely not human. Humans would have been louder and made more splashes if they walked through the water. This thing sounded like it was swimming… or slithering. They weren't sure.

SLOSH!

Whatever the case, it was getting closer.

Just then, a set of hands grabbed Siesta from the side and held her tightly. She let out a small sound, alerting Lucy, who saw it was a guard who covered her mouth just as quickly. Before she could attack, the guard held up his hand.

"Please don't try anything!" the guard whispered with an urgent tone. "I promise you I'm not going to hurt her. I just need you both to be quiet."

His eyes met Lucy's, and she could see they were a normal brown colour. But there was something else. Fear.

SLOSH!

The guard panicked and glanced outward. "It's getting closer." He looked back at Lucy. "Hide within there. And be quiet. Please, I don't want it to find us. I don't."

Lucy didn't think it was a good idea… but right now it wasn't the worst one.

"Let Siesta go first, then we'll follow you," Lucy stated.

The boy nodded and released the maid. He moved to the darker part of the wall and knelt down to reveal an open passage they would need to crawl through. Lucy and Siesta crouched down and prepared to follow.

SPLASH!

SLOSH!

"Grrrr!" something snarled in the dark.

The trio instantly stopped moving and held their hands to their mouths so no one would hear them breathing. Siesta quietly blew the candle out to hide them, leaving them in complete darkness. Something (a body, probably) fell into the water, and now the thing that had been stalking them throughout the sewers was practically on them. Any sudden movements or sounds could end with them dead. So they didn't act. They waited.

SLOSH!

Finally, they saw it. A huge figure slithering through the water like a snake. The darkness made it difficult to see, but they could vaguely make out the shape.

Without warning, it pounced. Not at them, but the water. They could hear the sound of crunching. It was eating. Once it was done, it started to move away, then it suddenly jerked and turned the opposite direction and started surging through the water with immense speed.

For several minutes, they didn't move out of fear that it might be waiting for them. Only when they were sure it wasn't coming back did they go through the passage with the guard pressing a button to close it up.

"Just keep moving forward," the guard informed. "We'll arrive soon enough."

True to his word, they could see a light at the end of the tunnel, causing them to move faster. They arrived at a room which Lucy could only describe as a study or small library due to the bookshelves. There was a large desk at the top of the room with several books and notes on top, while to the side, there was a board with what looked like a map (albeit incomplete). At the other end of the room, there was a bed (presumably where the guard slept. To the right, there was a washing station. To the left, there was another passage that led who knows where.

The guard exhaled in relief as he removed his top and gloves, which were covered in mud and sweat. "Okay. We should be safe now. That thing won't follow us here."

Lucy and Siesta were surprised by how young he looked. He couldn't have been older than sixteen. His skin was very pale (likely from not seeing the sun), his hair black and messy, his eyes were tired as indicated by the dark circles under them, but evidently brown and otherwise normal.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions," the guard started.

"Who are you?" Lucy demanded.

"Why'd you help us?" Siesta added.

"What the hell is this place?"

"What is that thing?"

"Are you working for Mott?"

The guard groaned. He should have seen that one coming.

"First off, my name is Jack," he introduced himself. "I came here looking for my sister after she was taken by Mott. I thought if I became a guard, I could find her, but…" he trailed off. Lucy and Siesta's expressions immediately switched from suspicious to sympathetic. "Anyway, I couldn't find her. Not that I ever got the chance to look. When you become a guard here, you're made to drink something. It dulls your senses and makes you susceptible to suggestion as long as you keep taking it. You can notice the change in the eyes. The only reason I'm free now is that one day I accidentally spilt my drink and had to continue working. I tried escaping, but the estate is well protected both inside and out. If a guard is seen not doing their duty or in a place they shouldn't be, they're killed instantly. Not just by other guards, but Mott's familiar. That's what you saw earlier." The girl's eyes widened at this new revelation. "It's got a large body that can split up into several. I don't know the limit. It's like a snake but has the head of a dog. It produces the poison that keeps us here. And these sewers, it's their feeding ground. Mott throws down the bodies of his victims so his familiar can consume them all while getting rid of the evidence. Two birds with one stone, so to speak."

Lucy and Siesta steadily processed the information. It explained a lot of things and gave them a better idea of what they were up against.

"How long have you been here?" Siesta asked cautiously.

Jack didn't answer right away. He simply pondered.

"I'm not sure. The poison dulls your sense of time, and being down here in the dark hasn't helped. It's been months, though. Maybe even a year. I came not long after I turned fifteen," he finally said.

The girls were shocked. Siesta the most. "You've been here by yourself for maybe a year! How have you survived this long!?"

Jack let out a dry, tired laugh. "Mostly luck. Finding this place definitely helped. The passageway there leads to the kitchen, so I never run out. And the notes and maps left have been useful in searching for a way out of this place. Not that I've gotten far. That thing keeps getting in the way."

Lucy inspected the map. It was as detailed as it could have been.

"Have you tried going this direction?" she asked.

"No," Jack answered. "Nothing down there. According to the journals, anyway. Why?"

"Because I think there's something magical down there," Lucy said.

Jack shot her a look of disbelief. Siesta was more uncertain.

Lucy sighed and explained from the beginning. She gave a quick summary of her status and magic. Then she explained the magic energy she had been sensing and following this entire time.

"So, you mean to tell me there's a powerful magical tool in this hellhole not too far from where we are now," Jack said incredulously. "And you want to go and see what it is."

"Bluntly speaking, yes," Lucy confirmed. "I don't know what Mott is using it for or if he's even aware of it."

"As much of a slimy bastard that he is, the Count wouldn't throw anything down here without a good reason," Jack bitterly pointed out.

"Noted. Whatever the case, it's powerful. I could feel it when Siesta and I were walking by the cells. Now that I'm closer, it's gotten much stronger," Lucy explained. "It might help us get out of here, or it might hinder Mott in some way. Either way, I need to find it. In the meantime, would it be alright if Siesta stayed here with you?"

"Lucy," Siesta started.

"No, I won't ask you or Jack to come. I have magic runes that let me wield any weapon like Erza, meaning I can defend myself against Mott's familiar. You do not," Lucy reasoned. "I won't endanger your life like that."

"My life is already endangered," Siesta countered. "I'm not going to sit back and relax while you go at it alone. I might not be able to do much, but I can act as bait while you attack it from behind. Also, who's Erza?"

Jack let out a loud groan. "Oh, for the love of. How about instead of arguing about it, we make a plan and all go together. Will that work?"

Lucy and Siesta stared at him, surprised. After the way he described his situation, they didn't think he'd join them so quickly.

"I know what I said, and it's stupid to go out, but," he trailed off. He let out a deep breath and looked up at the new arrivals. "I'm sick of this. Sick of hiding. Sick of living down here. Sick of living under the same roof as that psychotic, perverted piece of shit while he's murdering and raping people and living the high life while doing without ever as much as a fucking slap on the wrist! I'm fucking sick of it all! So, if there is a chance that following you two will get the fuck out of here or stick to Mott in some way, then I need to take it. Because, newsflash, if I'm going out, then I'm going fighting. Not rotting away peacefully until I can't handle it anymore. Is that clear!"

"Crystal!" Siesta affirmed, smiling. She looked back at Lucy, who was also smiling. "Let's all work together! No one stays behind!"

"I'm sorry I brought it up to begin with. The situation is a bit more tense than normal," Lucy apologised. She turned her gaze to Jack. "Do you have any weapons? Swords, spears, anything like that?"

"A few," Jack confirmed. "There's a chest to the right of the desk. That's where you'll find them." For the first time since he met them (and in a long time) he grinned with excitement. "And get this. Remember the way the familiar suddenly turned? I don't know why, but the bastard suddenly ordered it to his side, meaning it won't be back for a long time."

Lucy's smile got even bigger. "I'm all fired up now!"

Elsewhere

The team of Kirche, Guiche, and Katie silently moved through the East side of Mott's mansion while Tabitha and Louise took the West. So far, they were having zero luck finding Lucy and Siesta.

Verdante had scurried off in a hurry (likely in search of treasure). However, Guiche made a point of commanding his familiar to stay out of sight and not do anything to draw attention to himself. No doubt, he would be captured and killed (or worse) if he didn't, especially if Mott knew he was his familiar.

Guiche was well aware of the rivalry between his father and the Count. To say they hated each other would be an understatement. The two simply despised each other's being for no other reason than existing. Antoine de Gramont, despite his position and rank, was a surprisingly light-hearted and friendly fellow, and a great father. Guiche looked up to him more than anyone and aspired to be just like him when he grew up. That said, when the topic of Count Mott came up, he saw a much darker, angrier side to his father's personality. So much that he seemed like a completely different person from the one Guiche knew. Their rivalry gave Guiche the necessary knowledge to be wary of Mott and how to deal with him.

They came to another room with a hot bath prepared and two distinct leather maid outfits on the side.

"Oh, Founder!" Katie breathed.

"Tch," Guiche scowled. "Just what I'd expect from him. These look new. I bet he throws out those that have been thoroughly used once he's finished with them."

Katie and Kirche eyed Guiche with concern. His behaviour was… abnormal. While the situation was serious, the Guiche they knew rarely took one this serious. The fact that he instantly agreed to come without making so much as a pass at anyone raised a lot of questions.

"You seem to know a lot about him," Kirche said.

"He and my family have a history," Guiche supplied, but didn't elaborate. "I can only guess the number of women he's abducted and…"

He didn't finish. Not that he needed to.

"It's odd to see you this concerned towards commoners," Katie murmured.

She didn't mean any offence by it, but still. It was highly unusual to see Guiche this concerned about the fates of commoners.

"I know," he admitted. "Believe me, I look down on commoners as much as the next noble. However, I completely draw the line at forcing someone to become a sex slave, and senseless murder. Having multiple lovers isn't entirely a bad thing, but it's far better if the relationship is based on the consent of both parties. Noble or commoner." That's what his father would have done. "Nobility forcibly taking women to sleep with them against their will is wrong and disgusting on so many levels."

Katie's eyes widened. After the incident with Montmorency, she didn't think it was possible for Guiche to be this righteous. Then again, a lot of nobles had standards when it came to the treatment. Why would he be any different? Still, she liked this side of him.

"And boys," Kirche intervened. "It happens to boys as well. Commoner men, if you prefer. And it's not always a male noble who does it. Female nobles have done it before."

Germania held its share of Nobles who were similar to Mott, and it held its share of those who weren't. Of course, there were nobles who swung the other way, who took lovers to get by with their lives. And then there were nobles like herself who swung both ways (her entire family pretty much did), but she wasn't going to get into that.

Still, the things Mott did (maybe not the exact same) happened to both men and women.

"That is true," Guiche agreed.

"Yeah," Katie added.

It wasn't something they thought about that much, so they forgot.

SHRRR!

The group immediately halted. That sounded like something opening. And it was close.

"Grrr!" something growled in a deep voice. It sounded like a dog, but wilder, beastly. It wasn't normal anyway. And it sounded much bigger.

Guiche quietly motioned to the wall where they all stood in tense silence. Holding out his rose/wand, Guiche summoned two Valkyries and sent them off in opposite directions.

At the same time, Katie slowly summoned some water to cover them. This would block their scents (if it were that kind of creature) and make them invisible from where they stood. Normally, a student wouldn't know this kind of spell until their second year, but her parents had insisted on showing her before she attended school.

Kirche held her wand ready in case they needed to strike.

At first, nothing happened. A second later, one of Guiche's Valkyries vanished from sight.

CRUNCH!

Then they realised. It hadn't vanished. It was being eaten.

Out of the shadows, something slithered into view that sent shivers down their spines and made their eyes widen in terror!

In front of them lay a large serpent with the head of a wolf. It easily towered over them as its eyes scanned the area and its nose sniffed about.

Believe it or not, the students did pay attention in class (most of the time), and Kirche listened to every fact Tabitha mentioned because she was her best friend. Despite that, none of them could tell what it was they were seeing now. Katie was barely able to keep her composure. Only managing to do so with the knowledge that if she faltered now, the spell would waver and they would all be dead.

'What the fuck is that thing?' Kirche thought.

'Father and mother never mentioned Mott owning anything like this!' Guiche remembered.

'That must be his familiar,' Katie realised. 'My parents said it was dangerous and unnatural, but they never described it like this!'

Just then, they heard a door to their right open. Much to their horror, a familiar figure slithered out to join its counterpart. At first, it wasn't as big, then it slowly began to grow to the size of the other one.

'Maybe not his familiar, just a strange pet,' Katie considered.

The two creatures surveyed the area; their eyes eventually fixating on their hiding spot. All three of the students' faces turned pale. None of them dared to even breathe out of fear of alerting the monsters to their presence. It shouldn't have been possible. None of it. They shouldn't be able to see them, let alone spell them. Their fears increased when the monster's heads inched closer to Katie's spell.

BOOM!

CRACKLE!

BOOM!

WHOSH!

BOOM!

Judging from the familiar noises, it seemed that Louise and Tabitha had found their own sort of trouble. Tragically, it did nothing to deter the monster's movements, implying that they were also fighting these beasts.

"Katie, release your spell," Kirche whispered. "Guiche, restrain them with something big. I'll fire off a temporary distraction. And then we run."

It was obvious that those things were going to find them. Their only options were flight or be torn apart. They knew which was better.

As Katie released her spell, Guiche and Kirche fired off their own.

"Earth, the great mother! Answer my words and restrain them in your embrace! Earth Arms!" Guiche yelled, putting more power than he ever had into his spell.

Four large arms shot up from the ground to restrain the monsters. They roared in response and began to thrash about as they tried to escape. Guiche stood his ground and held the spell despite the intense pressure it was putting him under.

"Fire, the Sun's radiance! Answer my words and obliterate them with your flames! Fireball!" Kirche shouted, putting in the same effort.

A massive fireball, close to the size of the monsters, formed from Kirche's wand and shot towards the enemy.

BOOM!

The monsters screamed in agony while the students covered their eyes from the searing hot wind. Katie even went as far as to set up a small water barrier to protect them from any embers.

"RUN!" Kirche shouted.

They didn't need to be told twice. The trio dashed towards an opening and ran as fast as they could. They didn't dare to look back. The sounds of screaming died down, and they could hear movement once again, which motivated them to run even faster. Kirche hadn't expected her spell to kill the monsters, but it gave them the time they needed.

Next thing they knew, they were in the main hall where they met a fleeing Louise and Tabitha. Both looked tired and fearful. At least Louise did. Tabitha was more weary and cautious. Snakes with dog heads were not something she had encountered even while performing tasks for her family. Still, there was something familiar about them. Perhaps she had come across their species in a book she read a long time ago.

"I take it you were unsuccessful as well," Derflinger presumed. "And possibly made a few new big fluffy snakelike monster friends."

"Some!" Katie yelped. "How many of those things are there?

"She has six heads, I believe," a cruel voice answered softly. "Seven if you count her main body."

The student's head whipped in the direction of the stairs where the infamous count stood waiting for them. He was dressed eloquently for the occasion, like one would attend a ball with his staff in his hand, ready for use. The smile he presented contained many things: smugness, superiority, entitlement, and authority. He gazed upon them as though they were sheep before their slaughter, and in a certain sense, they were.

"Well, well, well. What have we here? A gathering of Tristain's Academy's best and brightest," Mott sneered, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Would you be so kind as to tell me why you decided to enter my abode unannounced?"

"We're here for my familiar and maid," Louise stated firmly, sounding braver than she actually was. "They went missing earlier following your visit to the academy. And I'd like them back, please."

Siesta wasn't a servant of the Valliere Family, but Louise didn't feel comfortable leaving her here either.

Mott frowned. Familiar? Maid? Had his staff been telling the truth?

He discounted her claims about being a familiar because there had never been a human familiar summoned. Granted, there was nothing in the history books or spell description that said a human couldn't be summoned, but still, there were no records of it. Perhaps the founder had one since his familiarity to this day was largely unknown.

He was confused as to why she wanted the maid back. With her family's influence, she could easily order a new one. Then again, a family like the Vallieres did not like it when someone stole from them. Not that he was any better. If someone stole from him, he would see to it that they were appropriately punished before he fed their remains to his pet.

Which is why Mott made a mental note to be more careful when taking someone who caught his interest and not rush into it until he verified who they were. Mistakes were to learn from after all.

"That's merely a coincidence," Mott lied, not very convincingly. "Why would I take them? The bit-Princess has placed some heavy restrictions on me based on a few misunderstandings. Even if I wanted to take them, I simply don't have the authority. Therefore, your."

"I'm just going to stop you there," Louise interrupted. "They were taken under the guise of a sleeping spell in the form of rain that affected the entire school. You happen to be a mage capable of such a thing. And one of our familiars saw you doing it and followed you. So stop with the lying. It's not working. If you give them back now, we'll leave quietly and pretend this whole thing didn't happen. So, what's it going to be?"

Maybe it was a bad idea to be up and blunt about it, but playing around would get them nowhere. And she hadn't missed what he almost called her best friend. No, she wasn't fooled. None of them were.

"Well, that answers that question," Mott lamented. "It is a shame, but you know, not really a shame, that it's come to this." A small light emanated from his staff. "I'm afraid I can't let them go any more than I can let you go."

CRACK!

All around them, various pots started to crack until they shattered completely, releasing large quantities of water that began to fill the room.

From behind Mott stood a woman with green skin, lush dark hair, green serpentine eyes, sharp teeth and claws, and a face that appeared human. From her lower body down were two familiar figures. The monsters that had been pursuing them were attached to her body. Just then, from the hallways they fled returned the four monsters who ignored them in favour of the woman. Swarming around her, the monster's tails joined with her like the other two and increased in size.

The students panicked. Just when they thought things couldn't get any worse. They readied their wands to defend themselves… except for one.

"GET BACK!" Tabitha screamed at the top of her lungs.

They flinched. For as long as they had known her, Tabitha had never once raised her voice. They turned back and saw she was shaking. Her expression was one of pure fear.

"How is that here?" Tabitha questioned. "They're supposed to be extinct."

Mott chuckled. "I'm impressed. Records about her kind are scarce. You must have read a lot of books if you were able to recognise her, you clever little girl. In that case, I'll give you the honour of explaining to friends."

Tabitha didn't respond. She couldn't take her eyes off it. Kirche was the first to notice she was mildly shaking.

"Tabitha," Kirche said softly as she approached her best friend. "Look at me. Just me." Slowly, Tabitha's gaze dropped to Kirche's face. "It's okay. You're okay. Everything is okay." Everything obviously wasn't okay, but Kirche needed to calm down her friend somehow. "I'm here for you. We're all here for you. Just take a deep breath and exhale slowly. Like this." She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Tabitha steadily copied her. "Keep doing it until you've calmed down."

Tabitha carefully followed through on those instructions until she finally had her breathing back under control, much to everyone's relief.

"Thank you, Kirche," Tabitha thanked, her voice calmer and once again low. "I'm sorry for worrying you. I just didn't expect to see that of all things here."

"Don't sweat it!" Kirche brushed off with a smile.

"And on that note, mind explaining what that is?" Guiche requested. "I've never seen or heard of a familiar like that before."

"There aren't that many records about them. Although it's possible your parents or tutors brought them up as part of a story," Tabitha explained as she stared directly at the monster beside her master. "It's an old creature. One that existed long before the Founder's time. In the form of a woman, it carries six serpentine bodies with dog-like heads that can adjust size and shape in any manner they please, venom in its teeth that can kill within an hour, and has the strength to rival that of the mightiest dragon. It's had many names throughout history, but the one we would associate it with most is… Scylla!"

The others blinked in confusion. The name sounded kind of familiar, but not much else. The same could not be said for the Pinkette and the talking sword.

Louise's face went very pale. Her family home had a massive library with books on nearly everything, including this. She knew exactly what Tabitha was afraid of and the true danger they were facing.

'I should have listened to the Principal and waited. I never would have dragged the others here if I'd known about this,' she realised. Not that she would have abandoned Lucy or anything, but Old Osmond was right about handling the situation. 'Too late for that now. We'll just have to do what we can to stay alive!'

"Oh, fuck!" Derf swore. "Out of all the slimy, murderous monsters he had to summon as a familiar. Fuck! Just fuck!" He paused. "That last part sounded wrong."

"I don't care what it is," Guiche stated firmly as he stepped forward with his wand in hand. He remembered their previous encounter in the hallway. "We made this thing scream earlier. If it feels pain, it can be harmed. And if it can be harmed, it can die!"

For a moment, there was silence.

"That has got to be the smartest thing that's ever come out of your Guiche," Kirche mused as she held her wand up. "Alright then. Bring it on!"

"You can't be serious!" Louise exclaimed. "Do you know what that thing can do to you?"

"Nope," Kirche bluntly retorted. "But let's face the facts, Zero. It's not like we have a whole lot of options now, is it?"

Louise scowled. Zerbst was right. And she hated it.

"I don't like it either. However," Tabitha interrupted. Their chances of pulling this off were slim, but they needed to take it. "Our odds of survival will fare better if we stay close and work together. We have to fight. All of us."

"I agree. We might not be able to win, but at the very least," Katie said softly. Knowing what was likely to come, her eyes hardened, and she stared at their enemy with bold determination. "Count Jules de Mott of the Wave. If you want us dead, you're going to have to work for it!"

Mott smiled at the girl. He had always looked down on her family (and still would), but he admired her spirit. Then again, someone who was about to die had nothing to lose at all.

"Such arrogance. You children think you can defeat me! What are they teaching you at that school? Granted, I wasn't much better," he mused as water swirled around his feet. "Still, preferring to die in battle rather than just accept your fate, I can respect that. And so dear children, your wish shall be granted." He smiled brightly. "Also, it's much more entertaining when my prey struggles. Do me a favour, would you? Try not to die too quickly!"

All mages readied their wands.

Count Mott's Estate (Underground)

To Lucy's surprise, Jack owned a surprising number of weapons. Well, owned might not have been the right word. He had acquired a fair sum over the course of his ordeal. Whatever the case, they were all armed.

Lucy carried a rapier, a spear, and wore a belt with several throwing knives. Thankfully, her runes glowed whenever she held one.

Jack wore armour he had been given when he started (procuring new ones was impossible for some reason). For weapons, he carried a rifle, four ammo pouches, and two throwing axes.

Being the least combat-experienced, Siesta opted to carry supplies on her back along with a lantern to guide the way. Despite this, Jack made sure she had a few throwing knives on her, along with a dagger, just in case.

All in all, they were ready.

"Why does Mott even need all these weapons?" Siesta asked. "I understand arming the guards as a necessity, but surely they wouldn't require this level of variety."

"You would think so," Jack replied. "You saw that torture chamber of his, right?" Lucy and Siesta shuddered at the memory. "Just because the guards aren't using them doesn't mean they aren't being used at all. And Mott, unfortunately, doesn't buy stuff to flaunt his wealth and status. He always buys it for a way to benefit himself."

BEAT!

"What was that?" Siesta stopped suddenly.

"It was," Lucy did a double-take. "Wait, you can feel it!?"

"How can I not? It's so close," Siesta said.

"What are you guys talking about?" Jack asked, confused. "I can't feel anything."

Lucy was stunned. How was Siesta able to sense the magic when she lacked any?

"Did you feel it before?" she asked carefully.

"No," Siesta denied. "Only now that we've gotten closer, I've." Siesta brought her hand to her head. "Lucy. What is this?"

"It's magic," Lucy said. "Similar to my own, but."

The Fairy Tail mage was left flabbergasted. Siesta, by her own admission, couldn't perform magic. Yet here she was picking up on its trail.

Why?

"We've got a mission, remember?" Jack reminded. "Whatever you're worried about, save it for after we fuck the bastard over."

BEAT!

Lucy bit her lip. Jack was right. Now wasn't the time. Not when they were this close.

BEAT!

They were close now. Very close.

Although no one asked her, Siesta began to move quicker. Her companions hastened their pace until they rounded a corner and…

A bright light shone at the end. Or rather, five lights did.

Yellow. Turquoise. Grey. White. Purple.

Those were the colours they could see emanating from the five spherical figures floating gently mid-air. They were held together by something (probably one of them). Each colour indicated a different purpose.

Lucy could not believe her eyes when she saw them. Up until now, she had only marked the similar magical sense as a coincidence, but she never could have imagined what she was seeing right now.

"Lacrima," she breathed out.

It was unmistakable. The floating orbs of magic she had been sensing this entire time were lacrima.

"Lacrima," Siesta repeated. 'Wait! How do I know that term?'

"You know what that shit is?" Jack asked.

"I," Lucy started. "Yeah, I do. Too complicated to explain now."

She didn't know how or why they were here, but it didn't matter. Not right this second. If they were being held together by magic. If they were what was keeping them here. Then there was only one alternative. She needed to break them apart.

Taking the spear in hand, Lucy's runes glowed brightly. Aiming carefully and acting on instinct, Lucy threw the spear.

SHRIEK!

The moment the spear collided with the lacrima, an unearthly shout could be heard as various lights began flashing. All of a sudden, the sewers were filled with bright yellow light. In an instant, the defences that had kept this place safe and hidden were undone, allowing any who looked to see the true horror of the mansion.

The lacrima did not shatter upon the impact. Instead, they broke away from one another in different directions. Lucy quickly went to pick them up and gave them to Siesta for holding. She would look into this later.

BOOM!

A loud noise could be heard not far off in the distance.

"Was that… an explosion?" Jack asked uncertainly.

Lucy's eyes widened. 'Louise!'

Count Mott Estate Main Hallway (Fifteen Minutes Earlier)

"Scylla dear, don't kill the Gramont boy," Mott ordered. "I have something special planned for him. Little bit of payback for his father's arrogance."

In response, Guiche summoned six Valkyries. "Tch. My father and mother had nothing but poor words to describe you. Now I can see why."

"I think you mean your father. Marie has no reason to hate me," Mott said. "Is she still as beautiful as she was back then? We used to be together, you know. Then your bastard of a father came along and stole her from me. He could have taken anyone he wanted, but he intentionally chose the one that was mine just to spite me."

"Stole her!" Guiche spluttered. "She was never yours to begin with. You repeatedly harassed her to the point where her father and her friends had to become her bodyguards."

"It wasn't harassment. She was just playing hard to get," Mott shrugged off.

"Ugh, look, you creep," Kirche spoke before Guiche could. "Trying to get away from a stalker isn't playing hard to get. It's getting away from a stalker. She wasn't into you, and that was it."

Mott scoffed. "I doubt that the whore of the Zerbst Family could comprehend what true love is like."

"You'd be surprised what I understand," Kirche deadpanned. "And I wish I didn't."

"By the free East, I call upon Air. Breath that sings, wind that dances. Carry my dreams, breathe my name. May destiny hear and consume me! Join wind and water to skewer them with ice. Windy Icicles!" Tabitha chanted the strongest version of her spell.

Out of thin air, several large icicles formed and fired out at the enemies, with many more following. At the same time, Guiche compelled his Valkyries forward with their weapons.

Mott barely managed to get up a shield in time to protect himself and Scylla, and even then, he was only partially successful. One icicle broke through and grazed his ear while Scylla ducked down out of the way. The rest of the heads did their best to dodge through movement and altering their size, and in the process, destroyed the Valkyries. However, Tabitha's spell still broke through and stabbed several.

'A triangle spell! This one is more dangerous than the other,' he realised. 'I may need to get serious.'

"By the deep West, I call upon water. Current that heals, tide that caresses. Bring your soul of tears and memory. Purify the steps of my story! Water surge forth and converge into a wicked monstrosity that will end all life. Water Hydra!" Mott chanted.

From the water on the ground, several large heads appeared, hissing. They eyed the students like all predators would eye their prey.

"Earth, the great mother! Answer my words and subdue us behind your cell! Earth Prison!" Guiche wasted no time in putting up a protection against Mott.

From the ground just in front of them, earth shot up to the ceiling, which protected and concealed the students from Mott and his familiar.

Earth Prison wasn't typically cast this way. It was mainly for imprisoning foes and holding them (or, in some cases, killing) until the battle ended. His father showed him that the spell could in fact be used defensively if you were surrounded from all sides. And sure enough, it was coming into play.

Mott's Water Hydra fired off beams of water while Scylla's heads struck and bit away at the prison. Each time they destroyed part of it, the Earth managed to reform itself thanks to the Gramont boy.

"Tch," Mott scowled. "You taught your offspring some of your cheap tricks, eh, Antoine. I suppose I should have expected this much. Still, his magic and fortitude are much weaker compared to yours. Your boy can't keep it up forever."

Inside the Prison, Guiche was steadied by Katie as he held the spell. The sound of objects smashing against the wall outside could be heard and felt clearly.

"Guiche, I'm impressed," Kirche complimented. "I never knew you could be this creative with your element."

"That makes two of us," Louise added.

While Guiche on paper was a decent student, he rarely, if ever, displayed any skill that was above that of the average mage.

"Thank my father. He's the one who taught me," Guiche explained as he struggled. "I can't hold this forever. If you're going to do something, do it now."

"I have a plan," Tabitha announced suddenly.

They all turned to her.

Meanwhile, Mott was getting impatient. These students were proving to be more troublesome than he gave them credit for. But two could play at that game.

"By the deep West, I call upon water. Current that heals, tide that caresses. Bring your soul of tears and memory. Purify the steps of my story! Water and wind combine as a shower of ice to pierce them a thousand times over. Ice Needle Rain!" Mott chanted while cancelling his other spell.

The Hydra disappeared. In its place came a flurry of ice needles that attacked the prison from all sides. Mott prepared to fire off another when he saw the prison beginning to disappear. He smirked with triumph. The boy must have finally reached his limit.

As the protection disappeared, a flurry of rose petals suddenly shot out and surrounded the room, much to Mott's confusion.

"By the free East, I call upon Air. Breath that sings, wind that dances. Carry my dreams, breathe my name. May destiny hear and consume me! Join wind and water to blow them all away."

"Fire, the Sun's radiance! Answer my words and burn them to ash!"

He could hear the women's incantations and immediately started to prepare countermeasures… until he heard Gramont's voice.

"Petals of rose, I beseech thee. Turn to oil. Alchemy!" Guiche shouted.

Instantly, everything the petals lay on was coated in flammable oil, much to Mott's horror. And just in time for the girls' spells.

"Hurricane!"

"Flame Burst!"

Earth Prison ended. And in its place began a gale force wind strong enough to keep Scylla in place and throw Mott off his balance took place. Combined with Kirche's fire spell, it became a vortex of fire that destroyed everything in its reach save for those safe within its eye. Combined with the oil, Scylla and her heads were unable to dodge this time. As the flames consumed them, they let out an inhuman screech of agony while Mott hid behind the main body.

Knowing his familiar would be dead if he did nothing, Mott began chanting.

"By the deep West, I call upon water. Current that heals, tide that caresses. Bring your soul of tears and memory. Purify the steps of my story! Allow your tears to fall and cleanse the world. Heavenly Rain!"

Up by the ceiling, clouds began to form, and rain began to fall heavily. Because of this, the fires were quickly extinguished. Scylla was badly burned but not dead, much to Mott's relief and our hero's misfortune. If anything, being burned made her angrier and more determined to slaughter the intruders who dared to oppose her beloved master.

"Oh, come on," Kirche moaned. "We put everything we had into that, and it still wasn't enough to kill it."

Tabitha gritted her teeth. In a rare moment, she looked frustrated. Not that her friends noticed.

CLAP!

CLAP!

CLAP!

CLAP!

CLAP!

"Congratulations, children," Mott applauded, his praise genuine. "Not many mages manage to push me this far. I'm not ashamed to admit I underestimated you. So well done! Unfortunately."

Before he could finish that sentence, the area was consumed by a bright yellow light that lasted for several seconds. When it was gone, it revealed an entrance by the stairwell that hadn't been there before.

The students were confused. Mott was left unsettled.

'The protections are down! But, how?' Jules was flabbergasted. The tools he had purchased from abroad that had kept his activities hidden for so long had been disabled. 'Okay, change of plans! Survival before pleasure. If I don't get those defences up and running quickly, it will be the end of me. Time to finish this!'

"Scylla, my darling, no more wasting time!" Mott declared loudly. "Kill them! Kill them now!"

The monster launched several of her heads with the intent to kill. Playtime was over!

"Fireball!"

BOOM!

A large explosion appeared that forced Scylla to halt her attack.

Louise held up her wand shakily. She wasn't sure if that would work, but for once, her magic was doing exactly what she wanted.

"Zero. What are you?" Kirche started. "If you try to."

"I KNOW!" Louise screamed, much to the others' shock. "I know Kirche. I know I make an explosion at every tiny spell I cast. No matter what I do, it's always the same result. That's what I'm trying to do with him!"

Louise always hated how her magic backfired on her. She hated how it made her look in front of the others. She hated how it brought shame to her family. She hated how it damaged her pride and reputation as a noble. She just… hated it. But now, when she needed it the most, she was trying to cause an explosion.

"Louise," Kirche said softly, stunned by what she had heard. "If that's what you're trying to do, then make it a big one. So big that the whole country will hear it!"

Tabitha realised something.

In barely two minutes, three things had occurred that highlighted the severity of the situation. First, Louise was intentionally trying to cause an explosion. Second, Kirche called Louise by her name. Third, Kirche was encouraging Louise to cause said explosion.

It was official.

They were all going to die.

Count Mott's Estate (Underground)

BOOM!

"This way," Lucy called as she ran through the sewers, her companions not far behind.

Jack couldn't tell whether or not this was a smart or incredibly stupid (possibly both) idea, but he didn't question it.

As they neared an entrance now visible, a familiar voice could be heard on the other side.

"Levitate!"

BOOM!

'Miss Valliere!' Siesta realised. She's here!'

Taking the rapier in hand, Lucy sliced through the entrance with relative ease. Upon breaking through, she saw Louise, Kirche, Tabitha, Guiche, and Katie in a circle looking frightened and exhausted. Louise, in particular, was panting.

"Louise!" Lucy yelled.

"Lucy!" Louise replied, shocked to see her.

"Partner!" Derflinger greeted cheerfully. "You've got to help us! This psychotic bastard and his equally psychotic familiar are trying to kill us!"

Lucy and her companions turned and saw exactly what Derf was talking about. Their eyes widened at the sight of Scylla.

"Oh, hell!" Jack whimpered.

"That's bigger than what we saw," Siesta said lowly.

"Run. Now," Lucy meekly ordered. 'What is that thing? I've never seen anything like it!'

The three of them ran to the students while Mott watched them with a baffled expression.

'How in the Founder's name did they escape? For that matter, how are you still alive? If they were in the sewers, Scylla should have eaten them. Is it because I called her back? But wait, that boy. He's one of my guards. Scylla told me one got trapped in the sewers some time back. If he was alive this entire time, how did he?' Mott wondered as he tried to make sense of the situation.

"Jack, is that you?" Katie called out. "What are you doing here?"

"You know him?" Tabitha questioned.

"His family lives on my family's territory," she replied.

"Lady Lotta!" Jack exclaimed with tears in his eyes. "It warms my heart to see you well after all this time. But you shouldn't have come here. It's dangerous!"

"He's right!" Lucy pointed at Mott. "Louise, he's a murderer!"

"Such lowly accusations from a pathetic commoner," Mott sneered.

"We've seen the bodies, you disgusting piece of shit!" Jack screamed. "All the women you abducted and raped, you eventually threw to the sewers for your familiar after you got tired of them."

The student's eyes widened in horror. They knew Mott was… evil, but it couldn't have been as bad as he was describing it, right?

Mott's eyes zoomed in on Jack. "Watch your tongue, boy! I don't know how you managed to evade my darling all this time, but I promise you here and now your little lucky streak ends." He paused. "By the way, how did you escape Scylla's thrall? Let alone manage to avoid her all this time?"

Jack glared hatefully at him. "Like I'd tell you! You sick son of a bitch!"

"Wait, it's true then!" Katie exclaimed. "That means… all the women you took from my estate."

Mott nodded thoughtfully. "It works multiple ways. I take something I find appealing, like a child wanting a new toy and play with it for a bit. When I'm bored, I throw the toy away so my sweet Scylla can sustain herself. Girls got to eat after all. I get rid of evidence, and everyone lives happily ever after." He brought his familiar's head to his own and stroked her hair, who growled lovingly in return. "Truly, we are a match made in heaven."

Everyone present felt sickened by the scene. The confirmation of what they heard didn't make it any better.

"Buddy," Derf announced. "I'm pretty sure you're confusing heaven with hell."

"Ugh," Kirche groaned as she brought her hand to her face. "He does and says all of that with a smile on his face. And nobles like him call my country barbarians. They should take a long, hard look in the mirror."

Without warning, the heads lurched forward with the intent to kill. Lucy grabbed Derflinger and leapt into the air with her rapier in hand. She jumped from wall to wall swinging her swords, much to Scylla's frustration. The rapier couldn't do much damage, but Derf managed to carve through their skin, which only served to make her angrier.

The others did their part as well. Jack fired bullets at the eyes, but missed. He shot at Mott only for Scylla to shield him with her body. The bullets ricocheted off her skin.

"Earth, the great mother! Answer my words and restrain them in your embrace! Earth Arms!"

"By the free East, I call upon Air. Breath that sings, wind that dances. Carry my dreams, breathe my name. May destiny hear and consume me! Join wind and water to skewer them with ice. Windy Icicles!"

"Fire, the Sun's radiance! Answer my words and obliterate them with your flames! Fireball!"

The students' spells struck the monster at full force, startling (but not killing) it. Still, they were doing damage.

Katie had yet to fire off a spell. However, nothing she knew would be of any help against Scylla. Count Mott, on the other hand, was a different story. She watched him carefully while making sure she was safe and not interfering with the others, and waited for him to make his move.

Enraged, one of the dog heads broke through their defences and went straight for the kill, not caring who it was.

"LOOK OUT!" Siesta screamed, alerting the others, who barely had time to deflect and dodge.

The dog head lay right beside Siesta and eyed her furiously. It attempted to bite her, only for Siesta to jump back, grab climb onto its head to avoid the teeth. It was only then that she realised it was a bad idea. The dog's head started to bark and shake her off by slamming into the roof and walls. Siesta accidentally dodged when she lost her grip and fell forward before grabbing on again. She opened her eyes and saw the monster's own staring back at her with murder. As it started to shake her again, she panicked and threw the dagger right at its eye. The head screamed in pain as blood spewed on Siesta's right side as it began to move more violently than before. In the frenzy, she lost her grip and let out a scream as she fell to the ground.

"Got you!" Lucy shouted as she caught her mid-air.

"You certainly do," Mott agreed as water formed from his wand. "By the deep West, I call upon water. Current that heals, tide that caresses. Bring your soul of tears and memory. Purify the steps of my story! All water unite and blast my foe away. Water Sphere!" A large volume of water shot out towards Lucy and Siesta only for it to conveniently miss. "What! How did?"

Jules was shocked. He shouldn't have missed, not from this distance. He glanced back at the students and saw that the Lotta girl was facing where he aimed his spell.

"You sly little vixen," Mott swore. "So, that's your game, is it?"

Katie glared back at him. "I'm not as powerful as you. I couldn't hope to defeat you by myself. I know that. But deflecting some of your spells, keeping my friends safe, that much I can do."

"Can do? Oh, please!" Mott sneered. "A ninth-rate noble like you couldn't hope to achieve anything. Your family is so poor and low in status that you might as well be a commoner. How can your parents even afford to send you to a prestigious place like the Academy? Perhaps you have to work there to pay it off. Yes, that must be it. In the past, noble children who couldn't afford the school fees performed tasks for the Academy so they could attend classes. And given your family's position, it wouldn't surprise me."

Katie's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. Of course, he would bring that up. Every time he had visited her house, he always made small comments about the way they lived. Her parents put up with it and agreed because there was nothing they could do against him. He was the Palace Messenger, and they… they were the Lotta Family. A noble family that had made some financial mistakes in the past and were now struggling to get by. One of the laughing stocks of the Tristainian Nobility.

Everyone eyed Katie with concern and sympathy. From her skillset, they had their suspicions but never actively voiced them. While many nobles lived better than most, it would be wrong to say they had it easy. Some more than others.

Hatred burned in Jack's eyes as he glared at Mott. How dare he insult Miss Lotta's family like that!

"So what?" Guiche spat. "Even a hundredth-rate noble is higher than something disgusting like you. They wouldn't stoop to the lows you did."

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH YOU IMPUDENT BOY!" Mott shouted. He reminded him too much of his father. It made his blood boil. "I AM A NOBLE, A MESSENGER TO THE ROYAL PALACE, AND ONE OF BRIMIR'S CHOSEN! I TOOK THOSE COMMONERS TO FULFIL MY DESIRES BECAUSE IT WAS MY SOLEMN RIGHT TO! I AM ABOVE THEM LIKE I AM ABOVE YOU! EVERYTHING I DO IS WITHIN MY DIVINE RIGHT! BESTOWED BY THE FOUNDER, OUR GOD, HIMSELF!"

Everyone, regardless of status, stared at him with horrified expressions. Many nobles were prideful, some more than others, and they themselves had pride, but this… this was something else altogether. Here and now, Count Jules de Mott had claimed his power and authority were bestowed upon him personally by the Founder. Did he not realise how blasphemous that was?

"He wasn't a God," Kirche muttered softly, snapping everyone back to reality. "Brimir wasn't a God. He was a man. More powerful than others, yes, but a man nonetheless. He lived, he walked, he loved, and he died like any other human." She gazed at the mad noble with a firm, yet determined expression. "Yes, Mott. You are a noble. We all are. However, he did not make us nobles, nor was he involved in their creation. The nobility system we live in today came after his time via his followers. Whether or not he would have approved of such a system, well, that's up for debate. Even so, I bet that if he met you, he would be beyond disgusted that a slimy, pathetic, evil piece of filth like you had received his gift, and at the atrocities you have committed using his name. So much, he would feel completely ashamed."

There was silence. Complete silence. The only sounds that could be heard were breathing.

Scylla had halted all movement. The students and commoners stared at her in wonder. Never could they have imagined that Kirche could speak something so powerful, so inspiring. Even Louise was in awe of her speech. Her words resonated with each of them and steeled their resolve. Tabitha, in a rare display of emotion, smiled brightly. They all gripped their wands and weapons and faced Mott more determined than before.

Mott was… choking on his own rage! His face had turned purple. Veins were visible on his forehead. He tried to speak, but no sound came out. That wench! That whore!

How dare she! How dare she! How dare she! How dare she! How dare she! How dare she! How dare she! How dare she! How dare she! How dare she! How dare she! How dare she! How dare she! How dare she! How dare she! How dare she! How dare she! How dare she!

She dared to question the Founder. She dared to question his right and authority! Oh, forget the Gramont boy! She was dying last! He would see to it that she died the slowest, most painful death imaginable! He would make it last for weeks if not months! Before that, he would force the Germanian whore to watch as he killed each of her allies in front of her and fed them to Scylla. Then he would lock her up in the deepest darkest part of his basement and begin his work. Such impertinence deserved to be punished!

"Germania is a nation of faithless barbarians. They give little worship to the founder and allow commoners to become nobles, not unlike the bitch princess belonging to this country. As if that wasn't enough, they insist on advancing without magic. True blasphemy if ever there was. Why the Pope has not advocated for wiping your disgusting species off the face of the earth is beyond me!" Mott ranted and raved.

Kirche smirked. "Who really knows? Maybe he doesn't because he knows our barbaric presence pisses the hell out of assholes like you."

Her voice was as flirtatious as it normally was, which only served to make him even angrier.

"You are nothing but a vile barbarian cow," he pointed at Guiche. "You're a smug piece of shit like your father." He pointed at Katie. "You and your family will never be anything more than you are, no matter how much you try." He pointed at Tabitha. "You're an emotionless freak who happens to be good at magic." He pointed at the commoners. "You're all nothing. You will always be nothing. Just like the trash I threw in the sewers. I liked taking every girl I could. I loved making them quiver in fear as I beat and fucked them in every way I could. I loved their screams as I tortured them. I loved the way the light left their eyes before I tossed them down the hole. I'd do it all over again if I could. And I'm going to keep doing it because I can!" Then he pointed at Louise, whom he'd forgotten. "And you! You're a disgrace as a mage. You look just like your bitch of a mother and your complete slut of a sister, yet you can't even cast a single spell properly. Ugh, I cannot even begin to tell you how happy I was when the engagement to the bitch Eleonore was called off. Her personality was so annoying, and her chest wasn't even that big like yours, and not unlike the slut you call Cattleya! She's even worse."

Everyone stared at the man-child with unimpressed eyes. This was what they were afraid of? The man acted no differently than a toddler throwing a tantrum.

At that precise moment, Lucy felt something for Mott she had never truly felt for anyone else. She knew of the feeling. She understood it. But she had never properly expressed it. She remembered all the battles she fought and all the enemies she faced. She never felt this way about them. Maybe Angel and Jose came close, and possibly her own father before they patched things up, but they never elicited this much scorn from her.

Hate.

That was the word. For the first time in her life, she felt true, unparalleled hatred for someone. And it scared her how much.

"What did you just call my sister?" Louise asked calmly, her expression unreadable.

"Hah, which one?" Mott called out mockingly. "The overbearing bitchy Eleonore or slutty sly Cattleya?"

"Cattleya. Eleonore, I understand can be difficult, but Cattleya is generally the more… how shall we say… easy-going. How could she be worse?" Louise asked softly.

Her tone was calm and even, so no one else picked up on it. No one except Lucy. She had been in enough situations to recognise when a person was furious, even if they didn't show it. This was one of them.

"Ugh, where do I even begin?" Mott lamented. "You know, the day I went to your home as part of the marriage discussion, I met her. She was so beautiful, so innocent, so big, that I didn't see it coming. She enticed me and I followed up. She wanted me to touch her, and I did. The slut with the way she led me on. She wanted it, and when I tried to give it to her, she threw a tantrum. Such a spoiled brat. I heard she's not long for this world because of some illness, but seriously. I'm telling you, though, she cannot go quickly enough."

"You're beyond delusional," Guiche whispered.

"No, he's just a monster," Katie added. "Nothing more."

They didn't think it was possible for Mott to be even more deplorable than he already was. And yet he kept proving them wrong.

Louise remained silent and motionless.

"Anyway, as amusing as this has been," Mott started.

BOOM!

Without warning, an explosion occurred right where the Count and his familiar were standing.

BOOM!

Then came another. This time, screams could be heard.

BOOM!

And a third in the exact same spot. No words had been uttered, but the magic and target remained the same.

Everyone turned to the caster, Louise, who had always caused explosions that damaged everything and everyone, but this time managed to limit it to two targets with limited damage to anything else.

Just then, Verdante sprang up from the ground, much to everyone's surprise. He jotted up to Lucy with her keys in hand. Guiche was wary. If his familiar was willing to give up something shiny, then you knew it was serious.

Lucy took the keys and patted his head affectionately. "Thank you, Verdante. I was looking for these." She smiled at him warmly. "Don't worry. I'll take it from here."

"MY FACE! YOU FUCKING BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU!" Mott screamed at the top of his lungs.

The smoke cleared and revealed a dishevelled-looking Mott with a large mark across his face. Upon closer inspection, they could see it was blood.

"Mark my words, Mott. When the Princess finds out about this, you are finished," Louise declared, her vitriol evident. "And if we can't defeat you, my mother will."

"YOU THINK I'M SCARED OF THAT HARLOT AFTER SHE WORMED HER WAY INTO THE ARMY!" Mott shouted, having lost all reason due to his injuries. "SCYLLA! NO MORE GAMES! KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!"

His familiar gleefully obeyed. Unfortunately, Lucy was done playing around. Time to summon her strongest spirit.

"Open, Gate of the Waterbearer, Aquarius!"

A bright light shone, and an annoyed mermaid appeared with water surging and holding the familiar back. Everyone was in awe of her new familiar, but Mott was horrified.

"How did you? You're a mage!" Mott exclaimed. He had kidnapped a mage. A mage who was a familiar. No. That wasn't possible. That's when he realised. "Those keys. That's how you can summon one. That means if I kill you, I'll have many more at my disposal like your lovely friend."

"This is what you summoned me for. Dealing with a pervert. Unbelievable. And what is that smell?" Aquarius ranted.

"Aquarius," Lucy muttered in a low, dangerous tone that made the spirit flinch.

She turned slowly to her master and saw how furious she was. She also saw the dishevelled state of her clothes. In all the years she had known Lucy, she had never once seen her this angry.

"I am going to give you an order and I expect you to follow it," Lucy said simply. "That man, and that snake. Fuck! Them! Up!"

Aquarius was stunned and didn't argue. "Sure thing."

Water increased as Aquarius began to swirl it around and contain Scylla, who could do nothing to fight back. Mott tried to control it. He tried to fight it. But it was pointless.

"What is happening?" he demanded. "Why won't the water do what I want?"

"Oh, shut up!" Aquarius cut off. "If it's water, I can control it."

Scylla moved to protect her master, only for Jack to shoot her eye out. As she screamed, Louise was struck with inspiration.

BOOM!

Around Scylla's head, a powerful explosion took place, ending her life once and for all. The dog heads immediately stopped moving and died with her.

"NO! SCYLLA!" Mott cried out in anguish. "MURDERERS! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

"We're murderers!? That's rich coming from you!" Katie snapped. "How many lives did you destroy just to satisfy your own disgusting hobbies?"

Aquarius absorbed all the water from the area, even clothes, into her urn and then hurled it back out at Mott. "Torrent!"

A large mass of water shot directly towards Mott with intense speed and force.

"NO! THIS CANNOT BE!" he screamed in denial.

This couldn't be happening. He was Count Jules de Mott, messenger to the Royal Palace, one chosen by the founder Brimir, a powerful Triangle Mage, and one of the greatest nobles Tristain had to offer. He was meant to live out his life without issue and regret, not die here at the hands of some children and commoners. He just couldn't.

When the spell cleared, Mott, through some miracle, managed to stand back up, only for Lucy to knock him out with Derflinger.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

They won.

Through some miraculous means, and after all their trials, they managed to come out on top.

Katie, Siesta, Kirche, and Jack broke out into tears. Lucy, Guiche, and Louise exhaled in relief. Tabitha remained neutral while Aquarius remained confused about the situation.

"Alright," Jack said as he moved toward his sworn enemy while taking out an axe. "Time to finish this."

"Jack, wait," Lucy ordered. "Don't kill him. Time him up instead."

"Are you kidding me?" Jack exclaimed. "After everything he's done."

"She isn't telling you to let him off the hook," Guiche pointed out. "With the amount of evidence here there's enough to put him away for life. He'll get what he deserves, I promise."

Jack hated to admit it, but they had a point.

"Well," Aquarius announced. "If that's all, then I'm going to head back."

"It isn't," Lucy interrupted. "There's still one thing I need your help with, Aquarius. You can control all the water, right? Can you feel how far it reaches?"

The Waterbearer Spirit knew then and there she wasn't going to like this.

Count Mott's Estate (Underground)

"Huh," Aquarius said softly. "Haven't seen this in a long time."

The implications of that statement were… concerning.

Following Mott's defeat, they took his wand and bound him with Siesta and Jack keeping watch. The students who had not seen it were frozen in shock at the sight. Mere words could not describe what was going through their minds right now.

Aquarius held her hand up and focused. "It goes far, Lucy. Very far. Beyond here. Possibly to other houses."

That told them everything they needed. Tabitha stepped forward, distress and sorrow evident across her face.

"We need to contact the school," she said. "And have them contact the palace."

Chapter Text

Old Osmond let out a deep sigh as he lay back in his chair. His familiar, a mouse called Chuchu, did the same. He had finally sent off the letter to the palace so the matter should be settled. And yet, he was still uneasy. Depending on how long this took, the women could be dead long before they found them.

He hated having to leave them to such a fate, he truly did, but at the same time, he had to adhere to protocol. He could only hope that the palace would act quickly and rescue them. He would assist in any way he could. Lucy and Siesta would just have to hold out until then.

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

Osmond glanced over at the window, and to his shock, he saw Tabitha on Sylphid outside.

'Don't tell me they!' he thought fearfully.

He ran to the window and yanked it open.

"Miss, what is?" he started.

"We have defeated Count Mott and his familiar," Tabitha stated clearly.

Osmond's eyes widened in horror as his worst fears were confirmed. Instantaneously, he was furious with the students for disobeying him and going after Mott. They could have gotten themselves killed, or worse. However, he was also impressed. The students had managed to defeat Mott and his familiar all on their own. Granted, they had someone like Tabitha with them, but still, it was no easy feat. Much as he loathed the man, he acknowledged Mott was a skilled mage in his own right. And his familiar, if the rumours were in fact true, was no joke either. And yet they.

"We need you and the teachers and anyone from the palace you can get to come down to his estate right now!" Tabitha said urgently. Osmond blinked. He opened his mouth to speak, but Tabitha beat him to it. "I understand we broke the rules and probably the law. We will accept the consequences of our actions later." Tabitha's expression shifted to one that was pleading. She was on the verge of tears. "But please, I beg you. Assemble everyone you can and bring them to the estate! We have uncovered things about him, crimes if you will, that require greater justice. I can't explain it properly. It's far easier for you to see for yourself. But I beg you. I beg the school. Come back with me to his estate."

Osmond knew Tabitha as a quiet girl who always kept to herself, rarely engaging with others. Yet here she was expressing more emotion than she had in her entire time at the school.

He knew then… something had transpired. Something bad.

"Give me twenty minutes," he said finally.

Count Mott's Estate

"Thanks for your help, Aquarius," Lucy said softly. "You can go back now."

Aquarius eyed her master apprehensively. In a short span of time, Lucy had behaved very differently to how she normally did. Not that she could blame her. Between the sights in the sewers, the state of Lucy and the maid's clothes, and the attitudes of Mott and her summoner, Aquarius could only guess at what transpired. One thing was for certain: the girl and her friends would not be sleeping for many nights.

"Sure," Aquarius shrugged off, flipping her hair. "Hey, idiot. Do me a favour and try to stay out of trouble."

Lucy smiled at her weakly. "I can't promise that. Trouble seems to find me."

Aquarius' expression briefly faltered but quickly soured to cover it up. "Tch. Whatever."

There was a flash of light, and she was sent back to the Spirit World.

Lucy turned to look at the others who were just idly standing by. Their facial expressions were unreadable, although it wasn't hard to assume what was going on in their heads. Since they first entered the sewer, none of them had uttered a single word. Not even when Tabitha departed to get help. Lucy doubted they had ever seen such a thing in their entire lives. Then again, neither had she.

She wondered if Siesta and herself handled it better because at the time they were focused on survival and escape. Jack was fine, but he'd lived in the sewers a while, so he had gotten used to the sight.

"Ugh," a familiar voice groaned. "What happened?"

Lucy's expression instantly darkened. She turned to see Mott slowly sitting up while Jack and Siesta both had weapons pointed toward him.

"You lost. That's what happened," Siesta stated.

Mott sat straight up and gazed around. He reached for his staff only to find it was missing.

"Don't bother, old man, we took that away while you were unconscious," Jack snapped. "So no sudden movements. Any funny business and I'll shoot. Capiche?"

"How dare you!" Mott shouted, arrogant as ever. "Do you know who I am? Don't you know what the Crown will do to you when they see what you and those brats did here?"

"Oh, I'm aware of what they can do," Jack acknowledged. "But right now, you should be more concerned about what they're going to do to you. There's enough evidence through those passageways to put you away for life, if not beheaded."

"Hah!" Mott snorted haughtily. "I won't be the one losing my head tonight, scum. There is no proof that I did that. Another noble could have planted all of that to frame me. With my position, many would." Lucy's whip shot out and wrapped tightly around the monster's neck. "Ack!"

"I am both impressed and disturbed by how utterly insanely delusional you are," Lucy seethed. With intense strength (courtesy of the runes), she yanked Mott towards her and held him up by the neck with the whip. Mott didn't have time to exclaim or take in the nature of the glowing whip as he met with an intense glare from Lucy. "Let's get one thing straight, Mott. You finished! Your reign of terror is at an end! Nothing you say or do is going to change that your noble status be damned!" Every word she uttered was laced with contempt. "You'll be punished like any other criminal. But before that, I would like to ask you something, and I expect an honest answer." Lucy took out the lacrima from the sewers. She loosened her grip on the fleuve d'etoiles enough for Mott to speak. "Where did you get the lacrima from?"

Despite the threat, Mott remained as defiant as ever.

"Bah! As if I would tell you anything, you filthy whore. I see you are still aroused from our earlier session, along with the maid. How strange! I thought that would've worn off by now, but you're as excited as ever," Mott taunted smugly.

That comment was enough to snap the students back to reality. They glared hatefully at Mott. Siesta shook with anger as her grip on the dagger's handle tightened so hard it threatened to break. It took Jack all of his willpower to resist pulling the trigger and sending Mott straight to hell right then and there. He only managed to hold off because a) Lucy was in the way, and b) he wanted the Count to suffer for his crimes.

"I mean, I perfectly understand," Mott continued to gloat. "GAH!" Only to be but off by Lucy kicking him hard in the groin. The Count wailed in agony as his precious jewels recovered. Lucy yanked her whip downward, causing his face to smash directly into the floor. She then kicked his body over so that he was facing the ceiling and placed her foot on his chest to keep him in place as she held Derflinger to his neck.

"You will answer my questions, you pathetic excuse of a man," she stated firmly in the same tone she had used when she summoned Aquarius. "Because if you don't, I'm going to start chopping off body parts. And given your hobbies, which one do you think I'll go for first?"

"Hmm, I'm not big on castration," Derf admitted. "But for you, I'll make an exception."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!" Mott squealed in terror as he desperately tried to cover his crotch. All colour had drained from his face as the gigantic smug, narcissistic ego he carried himself with easily crumbled. "GALLIA! GALLIA! GALLIA! I GOT THEM FROM GALLIA!"

Gone was the proud noble filled to the brim with superiority, and in his place was a sobbing baby.

"Gallia?" Lucy repeated. "What's that?"

"It's a country to the southeast of Tristain," Kirche explained, somewhat surprised Lucy hadn't heard of it.

"Well, I don't know if they came directly from Gallia, but the seller had a Gallian accent," Mott frantically explained. "They said they were found near the elves' country. They told me what they could do and showed me how to work them. They were expensive, but worth it. I never asked how they acquired the,m just as they never asked me what I wanted them for. I never saw their face either since they wore a veil. I couldn't even tell their gender despite the accent. That's all I know, I swear. So, please. Don't chop my dick off. I need it."

"Shut up!" Lucy ordered, to which the man complied.

So, the seller was anonymous. Still, if they knew about the lacrima, then that meant there was a chance they came from Earthland or descended from someone who was.

"Lucy," Louise called out. "What's going on? What are these things?"

"Mott's security system. They're called lacrima, a type of magical object from my homeland," Lucy phrased carefully as to not arouse suspicion. "They're the reason he's been able to get away with everything for so long."

Louise's eyes widened in shock. "Your homeland. Are you sure?"

Lucy nodded. "I'd recognise them anywhere. They're quite common."

Louise was concerned about what this could mean. If there were other people from Lucy's home with magic like her,s then it could shake the very foundations of Noble society. Magic that was different from what the Founder had bestowed. The Church certainly wouldn't take kindly to it.

Thankfully, none of the others sought to question Lucy's admission, albeit they were a little confused. Siesta kept trying to think of where she had heard the term lacrima.

"Thanks," Lucy said to Mott before bringing her knee down on his head and knocking him out again. "Hopefully, he'll stay that way until he reaches a cell."

Jack snickered.

"One can only hope, partner," Derflinger lamented. "It would be a shame if the escort guards had to put up with his obnoxious personality."

Celestial Spirit World

Loke sighed as he took a gulp of coffee. Currently, he was at a café in the Spirit World following his meeting with the King.

As he feared, he couldn't cross over to Earthland while Lucy was in the other world because that's where his key was located. While it had been possible to cross over before, even when he wasn't contracted to a wizard, that had only been possible because his key was on Earthland.

Oddly enough, when he described the world and how Lucy came there to the King, he seemed familiar with it. When Loke tried to get more information, the King shrugged him off and said he had told him everything he knew and left. It was strange, but the King had been off for a short while. Not that he was any better. He wasn't sure why, but occasionally, he received these small headaches that left as quickly as they came.

"There you are," an annoyed voice said. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Aquarius!" Loke exclaimed. The two of them didn't talk very often, although they had communicated a bit more since becoming Lucy's spirits. "Is something wrong?"

"You need to go see Lucy, now," she said gravely. "Something's happened. Something bad."

Loke's eyes widened in horror. "Wha-What?"

"I don't have time to explain because I'll be doing that with the other spirits," Aquarius cut off with a severe expression. "But she definitely needs you. Leo, I'm not joking when I say shit has gone down where she is. She was physically fine when I left, but the things she saw and the way she appeared and acted; those held a lot of implications. And given your experiences, I'm sure you can guess which ones."

He didn't need to hear any more after that. If Aquarius was the one telling him, then he knew it was serious. Loke immediately opened his own gate and disappeared in a flash.

Count Mott's Estate

"By the Founder!" Professor Kaita exclaimed. "How the hell did you manage to kill that thing?"

Kaita the Gust was a teacher who specialised in Wind Magic. Out of all the professors, he was the tallest with long black hair and grass green eyes and wore a pitch black cape over dark green robes similar to Colbert's. He also had a short beard.

"Luck," Jack answered nonchalantly.

He wasn't in the mood to provide a full explanation.

Tabitha had finally returned with the teachers, who were all equally horrified at the situation. Osmond had sent out an urgent call to the Palace, which had agreed to send soldiers straight away. It seemed they were eager to arrest the Count. Their aid was but minutes away.

"Is anyone hurt?" Professor Chevreuse asked, concerned.

"Mostly exhausted from constant spell casting," Tabitha answered. "We were able to deflect and block Mott's spells and familiar. I can't say the same for the other three."

"We're fine… mostly," Jack replied. "A couple of scars and bruises, but we'll live. Siesta got the worst of it, though."

Osmond examined Siesta and Lucy with a glance. With the state their clothes were in, he feared the worst.

"Lucy, Siesta," he addressed. He walked up to them slowly and faced them squarely. Then he bent down and prostrated himself before them, much to the others' shock. "You have deepest apologies. I am truly sorry for what you endured."

For a noble to kneel before a commoner and apologise was rare, so much so that it was almost unheard of.

"H-Headmaster," Siesta stammered. "It's alright. None of this is your fault."

"She's right," Lucy supported. "It's Motts. He's the one who abducted us."

"Even so, I must apologise," he continued. "This happened on school grounds under my authority and protection. Therefore, I am responsible for what happened. As such, I must say sorry to those who were affected."

Lucy briefly looked to Louise for a bit of help, only for the Pinkette to shake her head solemnly. While she did agree that Mott was solely responsible, she also had to acknowledge that other nobles would still be critical of Osmond for allowing it to happen in the first place. It was unfair, but reality nonetheless. The children of many esteemed nobles from different countries attended the Academy and would not react kindly to what Osmond had "allowed" to take place.

"Apology accepted then," Lucy said quickly.

"Yes, indeed," Siesta added just as quickly. "Please raise your head, Headmaster."

Old Osmond did so, albeit slowly. He glanced around at the other students. He could tell they didn't have physical injuries; however, judging from their expressions, he knew they had acquired psychological scars. Being as old as he was, Osmond knew when a person was traumatised from the subtlest of signs via body language or speech. Since they entered, none of the students had spoken properly. They had offered no excuses or apologies for breaking the rules, nor had they bragged about their victory over such a powerful enemy. They just looked tired, shocked, and mournful. Whatever had happened had shaken them to their cores.

"It was incredibly reckless of you all to come here without help. And for breaking the rules, I will be informing your parents and guardians," Osmond explained. Their lack of reaction spoke volumes. "However, I am relieved you all survived and are unharmed. Regarding your skirmish with Mott and his familiar, well done."

His praise got them to look up and glance around and nod, but there was no joy.

"Headmaster, shall I take them back to the Academy?" Professor Chevreuse offered. "They've been through a lot this night. They could use a medical check-up and a warm bath to freshen up."

"Guards from the palace are en route to this place," Professor Kaita reminded. "Won't they want to question them?"

That was a fair point. The students and abductees were witnesses. Naturally, the Palace would want to question them immediately as their testimonies would be vital in convicting Mott.

"We can do that at a later date," a new voice chimed in.

They all turned to see a blonde woman dressed in armour and wearing a white cape. To many, she was known as Agnes Chevalier de Milan, the Captain of the Royal Musketeers and personal bodyguard to Princess Henrietta. Behind her were several musketeers, all of whom were women, and outside was a prison carriage.

"Captain," Osmond greeted.

"Old Osmond," Agnes returned.

She glanced around the area and the people present. Her expression surprised when she saw Scylla's corpse, angry at Mott's unconscious form, and then hardened as she turned to the victims.

"Take them back to the Academy," Agnes ordered. "Once you've all recovered, we will question you about what happened. Is that clear?"

Rather than answer, they all nodded.

"I'm sticking around," Jack stated. "I worked here. And you're going to need someone to show you the more disturbing parts of this hellhole."

Agnes raised an eyebrow, but didn't protest. Having someone like him help would speed up the process.

"Jack, are you sure?" Katie asked, concerned. "What about your parents? Shouldn't you at least let them know you're alive?"

"I should, and I will," he agreed. "But I need to see this through first. Thank you for your concern, Lady Lotta."

"How many times have I told you? Call me Katie," she urged. Without warning, she flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Jack's eyes widened. "I'm glad you're okay. And… I'm sorry about Colette."

At the mention of his beloved sister, Jack's expression softened, and he returned the hug.

"Thank you, Katie," he said as he gently pushed her back. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. I'd worry more about yourself. If your parents are as I remember them, then they're going to have the mother of all freak-outs when they hear about this."

Katie grimaced. He wasn't wrong. Her parents weren't going to be happy about this.

Despite the tension, Lucy couldn't help but smile at the scene. At least some good came out of this incident, even if only a little.

"You should head back and get cleaned up. I'd tell you to get some sleep… but I'll be honest. You won't be sleeping for a long time after tonight," Jack warned with a serious expression. He then scanned through the rest of his allies until he finally settled on Lucy. "None of you will."

Lucy felt a chill go down her spine, as did the others. From the way Jack spoke, it was clear that he was speaking from experience.

"Right, well, let's head back then," Chevreuse said.

No one complained as they followed the Earth Mage. They were all tired, both physically and mentally. Lucy and Siesta both waved goodbye to Jack before following.

"I should warn you," Jack turned back to the authorities. "What I'm about to show you is fucking disturbing beyond all levels."

"Boy, I have lived a very long life and witnessed many disturbing sights," Osmond countered. "One more won't make a difference."

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"By the founder," Osmond breathed. "It made a difference."

"Fucking hell!" Agnes whispered.

She had seen a lot of fucked shit in her life. From her village being burned to the ground to rotting corpses to executions to cold-blooded torture. But this! This put all of them to shame.

"Hey, you work for the Princess, don't you?" Jack asked slowly. Agnes merely nodded, unable to take her eyes off the atrocity. "She won't let him get away with this, right?"

Upon hearing that, the captain of the Musketeers' face hardened. "No. She most certainly will not!"

Tristain Academy of Magic

Upon their return, the students and staff were given a medical check-up by the doctor. Siesta and Lucy were treated for more serious injuries. Afterwards, they were all washed and sent to their rooms… or so the teachers thought.

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

Montmorency frowned. Who could it be at this hour? Opening the door, she was surprised to see it was Guiche who looked exhausted.

"Guiche! What are you? Do you know what time it is?" she demanded.

"Hi, Montmorency," Guiche greeted with a weak smile, his voice lacking the usual flirtatious tone. "I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour, but I have a favour to ask. Could I stay here tonight?"

Montmorency was floored by the sudden request. For as long as she had known him, Guiche had never requested to spend the night with her or any girl.

"And what's wrong with your own room?" she asked, although her voice lacked an edge this time.

"Nothing. I just don't want," he paused. "I can't be on my own right now. I'll sleep on the floor if that helps. But please. Allow me to spend the night here."

Montmorency was about to ask why he didn't just have Verdante keep him company when she stopped. She had known Guiche for enough years to know when something was wrong. His voice, his appearance, his behaviour. With the way they were now, something must have happened.

Almost like those times.

"Sure," she said softly. "Come in."

"Thank you," he said tiredly. "Truly."

Meanwhile, with the girls.

"Hey, my room's quite big alongside my bed," Kirche announced. "Do you all want to spend the night there?"

Tabitha didn't have a problem. Katie eagerly followed. Louise surprisingly agreed to the offer. It appeared that none of the girls wanted to spend the night alone, not that anyone could blame them.

Siesta was being cared for by the kitchen staff, who were relieved she had returned safe and sound… physically.

That left Lucy and Derflinger to wander the halls as part of a patrol. In reality, she just needed a few minutes to herself while she processed everything. She thought about how she started off this morning to where she was now. She thought about doing chores, eating breakfast with her friend, then their abduction, Mott's harassment, the dead bodies, the monster they hid from, the battle, and finally, the aftermath. All of that took place in the span of less than a day.

The shock of it all caused Lucy to fall against the wall on her right, and she slowly sank to her knees. Her breathing increasing rapidly.

"Partner!" Derf exclaimed. "You need to calm down! It's over now. You and the others are safe."

"I-I-I-I-I am D-D-Derf," Lucy struggled to say.

She was hyperventilating now. Her heart was beating rapidly, and she struggled to control her breathing, with cold sweat starting to form on her skin. The walls began to cave in around her as she sat with her arms around her legs. All of a sudden, she was back in Mott's sewer, surrounded by bodies floating in the water, while she was covered in blood and dirt.

"Run!" the bodies were speaking now. "Run away!" Their lifeless faces lifted up to face her, to warn her. "Run away before it's too late! Run away before he catches you!" She could hear Mott's twisted laughter mocking her. Derf's pleas turned to shouts, which fell on deaf ears. "PLEASE! RUN AWAY BEFORE YOU END UP LIKE US!"

Lucy tried to run, only to fall. She was caught by someone. She looked up to see a smiling Mott. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. She tried to fle,e but his grip was too strong.

"LUCY! IT'S ME!" a familiar voice shouted.

In an instant, the walls and corridor returned to normal. Lucy turned to see that the person holding her tightly was not Mott, but Loke. He was staring at her with an alarmed expression.

"L-L-Loke," she stammered out. "H-H-How? W-Why?"

She didn't call him here. He had to have opened the gate using his own magic.

"Shhhhhh! Shhhhhh! It's alright. You're alright. It's just me," Loke said gently, but also urgently. "Lucy, I need you to listen to me. You need to calm down. Take a deep breath, and then slowly let it out. Just like this, in and out."

He took breaths to demonstrate, and Lucy followed. Eventually, she managed to calm her body down.

When she was steady, she pulled Loke into a hug and started sobbing, much to his shock.

"Don't go!" she begged as tears fell from her face onto his suit. "Please just… stay with me!"

Loke pulled Lucy in close. Slowly, he rubbed her back in a circular motion to soothe her.

"I will," he promised. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

They stayed like that for the entire night. Lucy cried in his arms, and Loke didn't interrupt her, nor did Derf. He refrained from asking for details. There was a time and place for everything, but this wasn't it.

As they sat together, Loke felt three distinct things. Helplessness for not being there when Lucy needed him most, even if he had been unaware at the time. Sorrow for whatever horrors she had to endure. And third, intense hot rage towards the person who drove Lucy to this state. He didn't know what they had done, but they were officially on his list. If they were to meet in person, he would demonstrate exactly why he was the leader of the Zodiac Spirits. The other spirits whom Lucy had contracted would likely want to join in, as would the King.

His gaze returned to the crying wizard and softened. 'Lucy. What the Hell happened to you?'

The Royal Palace of Tristain

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" Mott screamed in front of an unimpressed Princess Henrietta and Cardinal Mazarin. "I WAS ASSAULTED IN MY OWN HOME! MY FAMILIAR SLEWN! AND YET I AM THE ONE IN CHAINS! I DEMAND THAT ACTION TAKE PLACE IMMEDIATELY!"

Henrietta didn't know whether or not to be impressed or disturbed over the sheer audacity Mott possessed in spite of his circumstances. Possibly a bit of both.

"Action is taking place," Henrietta reassured with a sweet smile. "As we speak, the guards are collecting all testimonies and evidence from around your estates. Once everything has been gathered I one place, your trial can properly begin."

Mott blinked, confused. "My trial?"

"Of course," Henrietta said, her smile still bright. "For the crimes of mass murder, rape, abduction, and acting above your station towards many commoners, you are to be put on trial. Until then, with evidence we do have, and it's quite a lot, I assure you, I, Crown Princess Henrietta de Tristain, hereby strip you, Count Jules de Mott, of your noble status, your position as the Royal Messenger, your titles, and all of your possessions."

All colour had drained from Mott's face as the Princess read out his punishment. He really shouldn't have said anything after that… but his pride was too great to allow it.

"You stupid girl! This is absurd! I am the victim here," he whined. "It's those vile students who are responsible, you harlot. They're trying to frame me! I did nothing wrong!"

"Agnes," Henrietta said in a sweet tone that matched her face. "Kindly shut him up in whatever way you see fit."

"As you wish, your Highness," Agnes replied.

She walked up to Mott and punched him hard in the gut. The now former noble gagged in pain as he felt a bit of vomit come. He didn't get the chance to dwell on it as Agnes then punched him in the jaw and sent him sprawling to the ground. She then dragged him by the neck and made him face the Princess.

"Watch how you address the future queen of this nation, scum," she growled.

Although she didn't show it, a small part of Agnes was enjoying this.

"Let me be very clear, Mott," Henrietta said softly, her smile finally disappearing and replaced with a darker expression. "The only reason I am not executing you right this second is that we haven't uncovered the full scope of your crimes yet. But rest assured, once the investigation is complete, you will be executed in front of all the families whose daughters, sisters, friends, and wives you ruined. If you must ask why, then it is simple. They are owed justice and closure, and I intend to give it to them." Henrietta spoke with such authority that Mott began to tremble. "Agnes, take this criminal to his cell where he will spend the remainder of his days until his trial."

"With haste, Ma'am," Agnes acknowledged as she dragged Mott away.

Defiant as ever, the former noble screamed many profanities and insults at her, not that she was bothered.

Henrietta lay back in the throne and let out a deep breath she'd been holding in.

"Do you think I was too strict, Cardinal?" Henrietta asked.

"On the contrary, you handled it with grace and fairness as any ruler would," Cardinal Mazarin applauded.

Mazarin was a man in his sixties with short white hair that stuck out on both sides. He wore traditional cardinal robes and a hat. He had served the Royal Family of Tristain for years, even forgoing the chance to become Pope and Emperor of Romalia. Henrietta herself had known him since childhood and always made sure to listen to his wisdom, especially after her father's death and her mother's withdrawal. The man had essentially become her guardian.

"I may be regent right now, but one day you will be Queen," he said kindly. "You will have to pass these judgments yourself. Although I must admit. This one was more troublesome than I anticipated."

"On that, we agree," Henrietta responded tiredly.

"If I may ask, why not proceed now? Surely, there is enough evidence," the Cardinal questioned.

"There probably is," Henrietta agreed. "However, it's not enough. Call me petty, but I want to give him a taste of what his victims went through while they waited in those cells, even if it is not the same."

That was a fair reason in Mazarin's mind.

"Will you be attending the meeting between the students' parents then?" Mazarin asked. "I know you planned to attend the Familiar Exhibition despite protests, and still do, but this is different. Given that Mott was a noble working directly under the Royal Family, a member of said family showing up would be understandable."

"Astute as ever, I see," Henrietta acknowledged. "I do intend to go. This is partially our responsibility, but I also want to hear first-hand on what went down."

The part where she wanted to see an old (and possibly only) friend again was left omitted. Of course, Mazarin was well aware of her desires.

Being a royal was never easy and frankly, lonely.

The Royal Cells

Agnes through Mott (who was still throwing a tantrum) in his cell, which had a blanket, pillow, and a bucket. She slammed the door behind her and started walking as fast as she could to get away from that man's horrible voice. Did he ever know when to shut up? The answer was no, probably not.

While Mott started complaining about his new accommodations, an unknown figure watched the scene. Their face was obscured by a black hood, which helped them blend in with the shadows. They smiled at Mott's detriment.

He would prove useful soon. But for now, it was best to let him stew in his own anger.

Tristain Academy of Magic

Despite their best efforts, no one was able to truly sleep that night. Unable to stand it any longer, they all got up and went out into the Courtyard. Montmorency joined Guiche, and Loke (who had not slept either) joined Lucy. Their familiars also joined them outside with Siesta.

Normally, Montmorency would be furious that Guiche was with other girls, but noticing the dark circles around each of their eyes, she had a feeling things were a bit more complicated than that.

Loke had his arm wrapped around Lucy. Glancing around, he could tell she wasn't the only one who had suffered. Oddly enough, no one questioned his presence despite being a complete stranger. Then again, it's possible they were too exhausted to care.

Just then, rays of sunlight began to shine into the Courtyard, catching their full attention.

The nightmare had ended, with more to inevitably come. But for now, the sun rose on a new day and a new light.