I said I was going to post 3, maybe 4 chapters a month. Lately I've been doing 4.5 stories a month. You know what, let's keep at it. I'm still unemployed thanks to COVID-19 and I don't have classes yet. Maybe I should set up a Ko-Fi or P-a-t-r-e-o-n in the meantime. Eh. We'll see.

This chapter is the last slow one before we take off in the plot. Hold on to your hats, folks!

Onto the chapter!

Louise and Ash returned from their city excursion with several additional pounds of clothing and rusted steel, and several coins lighter in their metaphorical coin pouch. As they neared the academy gates, they could see a small procession of people on horseback escorting a carriage into the academy.

"What's going on there?" Ash asked Louise.

Louise peered around the side of her horse's head to see an unmistakable coat of arms on the uniforms of the mounted guards. "That's the symbol of the royal family!" she exclaimed excitedly. "The princess is here!"

"Isn't the holiday tomorrow?" Ash asked. "Why is she arriving now?"

"Perhaps she wanted to arrive early to be ready fresh in the morning for the events to start," Louise suggested.

Ash nodded. It sounded like a reasonable assumption. "Should we catch up to the carriage introduce ourselves?" he suggested.

Louise raised an arm to swat him, but given the distance, decided lower her hand and verbally berate her familiar instead. "No, we do not casually approach the Princess to give introductions," she said primly. "If the princess is available to interact with the students, then we will meet her at the proper time. Until then, we will simply appreciate that she has graced the academy and its inhabitants with her presence."

"That makes…sense?"

Obviously, Ash didn't get it. Louise looked completely heart-struck even mentioning the princess. Louise's reaction went beyond the expected respect or admiration; it bordered outright worship. The foreign boy knew that meeting a princess was a big deal, especially since they were responsible for ruling the country in this era, but this was a little much. And speaking of ruling the country…

"Louise, how come the princess is visiting the academy out of the blue instead of, I don't know, doing princessy things?"

"Princessy things?" Louise echoed with a dubious frown.

"You know, whatever a princess normally does. Like…" Ash's mind went blank. "Drinking tea with people?" he guessed lamely.

Louise appeared thoroughly unimpressed. "There's more to being a princess than drinking tea," she stated, looking offended by the suggestion. "The princess must be taking precious time to see the development of the upcoming aristocracy. I can't say why she might decide to do so. How would I know? I cannot assume anything on her behalf."

"True," Ash said thoughtfully. "Well, at least I'll be able to meet an actual princess. That'll be fun."

"You better behave yourself."

"Since when do I not?"

Louise narrowed her eyes. "I will deny you breakfast."

"That doesn't even make sense. I'm in the kitchen almost every day," Ash pointed out.

Not to be outdone, Louise raised the stakes. "I will ban you from the kitchen."

"Seriously?" Ash questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't that a bit much?"

Louise huffed and crossed her arms, somehow avoiding tangling the reins she held in the process. "I'm just making sure you know the seriousness of the matter," she said sternly. "You have to be on your absolutely best behavior in front of the princess. Otherwise, it will reflect badly on me. Do you understand?"

"Got it," Ash replied. He knew how important reputation was to Louise. While Ash normally wasn't too concerned about having perfect manners, he knew that Louise would be mortified if he messed up in the princess of her country. Plus, he didn't want to leave a bad impression on the princess either. It wasn't every day he got to meet royalty, after all.

Louise set the pace, forcing their horses to slow to steady walk as they waited for the Princess and her entourage to fully enter the academy before they breached the entrance. Ash followed Louise's lead to a stable boy who was waiting off to the side.

"We return the horses here," Louise instructed.

"Got it," Ash replied, swinging him off his mount with ease. "It was nice to ride you, keep up the good work," he said to the horse as he gave it a scratch behind the ears.

"Posey seems to like you a lot," said the stable boy as he took the reins from Ash's hand. "You must have a good way with animals."

"Something like that," Ash replied. "I'm more used to magical creatures, but there's not much of a difference."

"Are you kidding me? I wouldn't risk my hand dealing with a griffon or flame dragon. Those things are dangerous!"

"I haven't seen a griffon yet, but dragons aren't too bad if you're careful. Be careful around the young ones though. If they're teething, they'll gnaw on anything and won't pay attention to their jaw strength."

"If you're done talking," Louise interrupted pointedly from on top of her mount.

Ash glanced up, looking at her quizzically. "Why are you still up there?" he asked. "I thought we were returning the horses."

"You're supposed to help me down," Louise said through gritted teeth.

"Oh." Ash didn't remember her saying that, but then again, she had trouble getting onto the horse in the first place. "Alright, give me your hand."

Ash offered a hand to Louise to help her down. The girl took it firmly and lifted one leg off her mount. Then she slipped. Maybe it was because she was used to having assistance from taller servants, or perhaps Ash failed to stabilize her properly. Either way, instead of Ash helping her step onto the ground, Louise slipped from the stirrup and fell bodily onto the boy's stomach.

"Ow," Ash groaned as he hit the ground with a dull thud.

"Idiot!" Louise shouted, rubbing her bottom. Ash's belly was softer than the ground, but the fall still stung. "That's not how you help a lady off a horse!"

"Could you get off me before you start yelling? It's hard for me to breath," Ash wheezed as he tried to force air back into his lungs. The fall had knocked the wind out of him, and Louise's weight—meager as it was—was doing a good job keeping it out.

"Are you calling me fat?" Louise asked indignantly.

"No, you're pretty small actually."

SMACK

"I'm still growing! I'm just a late bloomer!"

"What was the slap for? And get off me already!"

"Apologize first!"

"For what? You're the one who slapped me!"

"You're the one who deserved it!"

"I can see that you two want some time alone," the stable boy said awkwardly as he watched the two argue on their spot of the courtyard grass. He had seen enough lover spats to know where this was going. "I'll take the horses back and bring the items up to your room." He briefly bowed to them before making a quick getaway with the two horses and their cargo.

Louise, realizing the compromising position she was in, quickly stood up and brushed stray grass from her skirt. "You really are troublesome," she huffed.

"I still have no clue what you're mad about," Ash said flatly, also rising to his feet.

"Hmph!" Louise turned up her nose and stalked away. "You'll need to learn how to deal with ladies properly if you're not going to be an embarrassment as my familiar."

"I'd learn a lot better if you used words instead of your hands and feet," Ash deadpanned. "I don't speak kick, kick, slap."

Louise turned around and marched back to Ash. Looking him square in the eye, she asked, "Are you being sarcastic with me?"

"A little," Ash admitted. He normally wasn't so snarky, but when Louise was acting like this, it was hard for him to not bite back.

Louise crossed her arms and turned away. "You're infuriating," she said without any heat in her words. There was a faint blush in her cheeks as she pointedly looked away from her familiar's direction.

Ash smiled. Louise, like all girls, could be very hard to read. However, her passive-aggressive words were a habit he had grown to recognize and accept as her way of expressing herself. "Come on," he said invitingly. "Let's go see if we can catch up to the Princess."

In a flash, Louise whirled around and reverted back into her lecturing mode. "I already told you, if the princess makes a formal presentation, we may approach her." She turned to where the princess was dismounting, surrounded on all sides by her guards, with a second ring of a crowd encompassing them. "Until she is ready to give a formal appearance, we will simply appreciate the fact that is visiting the academy at all and—hey! Don't go running off without me!"

Louise sprinted to catch up to Ash, who had stopped listening halfway into her tirade and wandered towards the crowds, hoping to catch a glimpse of the princess.

"Don't just run off when I'm talking!" Louise hissed in Ash's ear as she caught up to him.

"I don't want to miss my chance to see the princess," Ash replied, trying and failing to peer over the heads of the mage students. "Don't you want to see?"

"We're not going to be able to see anything with these people in the way," Louise said pragmatically.

The disappointment in Louise's voice was palpable enough for Ash to feel it. After a brief moment of consideration, he flashed her a sly smile. "Maybe we both can't," he said slowly as an idea came to mind. "But one of us might."

"What are you thinking?" Louise asked suspiciously.

"Hold on!"

That was the only warning Louise got before Ash grabbed her by the legs and hoisted her onto his shoulder. She shrieked as she suddenly found herself several feet higher into the air. "What are you doing?" she yelped, kicking her legs in vain against Ash's iron grip. "Put me down!"

"You sure?" Ash asked cheekily. "Take a look!"

Louise unconsciously turned to do so. From her new vantage point, she could see well over the heads of her classmates, and even over the heads of the all-female guards that surrounded the princess. Briefly, Louise's pink eyes made contact with the princess's blue ones. The royal's polite smile widened and loosened into a genuine one as she gave a small nod in Louise's direction. Louise watched as the princess was escorted into the Fire Tower, not noticing the giddy smile on her own face. Once the princess was inside with her guards, the crowds slowly dispersed.

Louise didn't say anything at first as Ash slowly lowered her to the ground. She turned to thank her familiar, only to find that he had his eyes closed. "What are you doing?" she asked, her previous words forgotten.

Ash opened his eyes and blinked repeatedly as his eyes readjusted to normal vision. "I couldn't see anything through people's bodies, so I tried to use my Aura Sight instead," he replied. "The princess has a really strong Aura. Is she a powerful mage too?"

"Of course!" Louise said proudly. "She's a member of the Royal Family, a direct descendant of Brimir himself! She's already a triangle class mage capable of using healing magic!"

"That's amazing!" Ash didn't know how advanced healing magic was, but he'd never heard of any of the students using it, so it must have been difficult to learn.

Louise nodded in obvious satisfaction. "I knew you would eventually realize just how amazing her majesty is," she said with pride.

"You must really care about her, huh?"

"Of course!" Louise proclaimed. "Why would you even question my devotion to the princess?"

Ash let out a soft snort. Then a chuckle. Then he bent over in unrestrained laughter as Louise looked on in confusion and annoyance.

"Are you laughing at me?" she asked indignantly.

"Not—ha! Exactly," Ash said between laughs as he struggled to calm himself. "Sorry. It's just, you were so antsy today, and now you finally look relaxed."

Louise narrowed her eyes, not understanding his intentions. "Are you saying something insulting?"

"No, Louise," Ash assured her, fully recovered from his laughing fit. "What I'm saying is, I'm glad to see you back to normal." He gave her a genuine smile.

"Oh," Louise wasn't sure how to respond to that. Very few people gave her such heartfelt words. It took all of her willpower to avoid becoming a stuttering mess. "Well, I'm still watching you to be on your best behavior. You better not embarrass me in front of the princess, or I will make you suffer."

"Of course, Louise," Ash replied good-naturedly.

Immediately after entering her room, Louise was hit by an embarrassing revelation. The girl immediately marched to her bed and fell face first into it. "How could I forget!" she moaned into her pillow.

"What'd we forget?" Ash ventured to ask.

Louise rolled over on the bed and laid there, eagle spread, as she lamented her woes to her kindly familiar. "The biggest part of the Void Day event is the Familiar Exhibition. Now you have proper clothes and a sword, but we still don't have a routine for you to perform!"

"It's a performance?"

"Obviously," Louise replied. "We're supposed to showcase our summoned familiars. Some people pose with their familiar, others have them perform tricks. But we don't have anything prepared! Oh… we're definitely not going to win now. I'm going to be embarrassed in front of the princess!" She rolled into her pillow and gave a muffled scream of frustration.

"A showcase of familiars, with posing or tricks," Ash said thoughtfully. "So, it's basically a contest?"

"Exhibition, contest, doesn't matter if we're going to lose!"

"Don't give up hope yet," said Ash with confidence. "It'll be rough, but I think I can come up with something by tomorrow morning."

"What, don't tell me you're a circus performer?" another voice interjected.

Louise shrieked, jumping from the bed and landing on the floor with a painful yelp.

"There you are, Derflinger," said Ash, spotting the sword lying on the floor near a wall. "What are doing down there?"

"Ask the serving boy who brought me up," the sword grunted. "He thought he would try swinging me around for the fun of it, but when I started telling him what a great weapon I was, he screamed and tossed me against the wall. What is wrong with people these days? It's like they've never seen a talking sword before!"

Louise glared at the sword as she rose from the floor. "Are talking swords supposed to be normal where you come from?" she asked with an annoyed hiss.

"Hm…" the rusted sword gave a thoughtful hum. "I don't know; can't seem to remember. But I'll tell you this, there isn't a talking sword as powerful as me! I don't know why, but that's a fact!"

"You're even worse than Ash," Louise deadpanned as she crawled back onto the bed.

"You don't get away with insulting me that easily," the sword fired back. "Partner, back me up on this! But this little girl in her place!"

"Little!"

"Derflinger, now you're provoking her for no reason," Ash rebuked the sword. "We're all friends here, so let's all get along, okay?"

"Huh. For someone with so much passion, you're quite the peacemaker, aren't you partner?" the sword said thoughtfully. While it was worded as a question, it sounds like the old weapon was talking to himself.

"I guess," Ash replied. "There's no point in fighting each other. Shouldn't we all just get along."

"You sound naïve, but it is true," said Louise, her condescending tone giving way to reluctant acknowledgement. "That said, if that sword insists on being a nuisance, I'll throw him into the forest."

"I'd like to see you try!"

Louise took a menacing step towards the rusted sword.

"Hey! Don't look at me like that. I was just kidding. Partner, help a sword out here. You're not going to let her throw me away like that are you? Partner!"

"Louise, leave him alone," said Ash. His words stopped Louise just as she was reaching out to Drflinger with a terrifying expression on her face. "We just added him to the team, give him some time to adjust."

Louise let out a dainty huff as she stood up. "Very well," she said begrudgingly. "Provided he learns to keep his mouth shut, I will tolerate his presence." A glare at the rusted sword showed what she truly thought about the talking weapon.

"Ha! I don't even have a mouth! And if I did, I'd hate to have one as wide and loud as yours!"

Louise's eyes grew blank as she drew her wand. "I'm so glad I didn't spend money on you," she said ominously.

Ash sighed. He stepped between the two, putting one hand to lower Louise's wand arm and the other to grab Derflinger by the sheathe. "Derflinger, stop antagonizing Louise," he said sternly. "Louise, put your wand away. There's no need for insults, and there's no need for violence. Let's just all get along for now, okay?" He looked at the two of them sternly.

Derflinger was quiet for once, and Louise sighed as she put away her wand.

The pink haired girl put a hand to her mouth as she yawned. "This day has been too long," she complained. "Wake me up in the morning with a routine ready for us to practice. I can't afford to lose any more sleep."

"You might want to change first," Ash suggested, noticing that her cloak and clothes were dirtied from their excursion to the city.

"Too tired," Louise mumbled. She stumbled over to her bed and flopped on it, not even bothering to reach the pillows properly.

A knock on the door interrupted the girl's sweet escape into sleep. Louise glared at the door angrily. "Who would be rude enough to come knocking at this hour?" she hissed.

Ash refrained from reminding her that the sun had only barely reached the treetops; night had yet to begin. Instead, he set down the now silent Derflinger against the wall before moving to open the door. "Let's see who it is," he said. "Hello—" He tried to greet the hooded figure who stood in the doorway, but the person pushed passed him to enter the room.

The sudden intrusion made Louise sit up from the bed. "Who are you?" she asked guardedly.

Ash snagged the person's wrist as they approached Louise, causing them to give a very feminine yelp. "Hold on…" he said as a familiar tinge of Aura filtered through his arm and reached his eyes. "Princess Henrietta?"

The person pulled the hood of her head, revealing her purple hair and blue eyes. "You could recognize me even with my disguise?" she asked Ash in surprise.

"You have a very bright aura," Ash answered honestly. He released her arm and took a respectful step back to give her personal space. "A cloak isn't going to disguise that."

"Such a flatterer," the Princess said with a smile, entirely missing the literalness of Ash's statement. "My dear Louise, I see you have a very fine… guardian?" She seemed a bit confused by Ash's appearance. He wasn't dressed like a commoner, but he also wasn't wearing the robes of a noble. He looked like a child with his youthful face, short stature, and bright-eyed expression. However, his action to intercept her from Louise was in line with a personal guard.

"Your highnesses words are too kind," Louise said, dropping into a formal curtsey. Ash quickly followed her cue and gave a bow as well.

To Ash's surprise, the princess looked saddened by Louise's politeness. "Please, raise your heads, both of you," Henrietta urged. "Louise, there is no reason to be formal around me. Rather, greet me as you once did, when we were both young and without responsibilities."

"I couldn't possibly…"

"Please? Just for me? At least when we're in private."

Louise bit her lip. "I suppose I can do that, Princess, no, Henrietta."

"Thank you, Louise."

Ash, who had been whipping his head between the two's exchanges of dialogue, suddenly interjected, "I feel like I'm missing some context here. You two know each other?"

For once, Louise didn't give him a dirty look for interrupting. "I had the honor of being chosen as the Princess's playmate when we were younger," said Louise.

"I'd prefer to think of us as childhood friends."

"Oh!" Ash said in realization. "She's the female friend you were talking about. That makes sense now. If you grew up with a princess, then I can see why you never learned how to be around normal guys."

"Ash…" Louise growled.

"Oh, was I not supposed to say that?" Ash asked sheepishly

Louise kicked his shin repeatedly as she lectured him, "How many times I have told you to be respectful in front of the princess! You're disgracing me!"

"You're the one kicking me like a child," Ash pointed out. This only encouraged Louise to kick him harder. "Alright! I give! I'm sorry, you can stop kicking me now!" Louise's kicks weren't actually hurting him, but Ash figured it was better to appease her before she decided to take more drastic measures. He didn't know if she could enforce a ban on the kitchen, but it was essential to his survival that he had access to the room that produced the heavenly food of the academy. That, and her 'punishing' him was probably doing worse to her reputation than his accidental insult.

The two turned their heads to the sound of Princess Henrietta stifling a giggle. "I'm pleased to see that you have been keeping my dear Louise company," she said with a smile. "Ash, was it?"

"Yes, your majesty," Ash replied, tucking in his arm and bowing at the waist. "I am Ash Ketchum, a Pokemon trainer of the Kanto Region. I am very honored to meet you in person."

The princess gave him a small curtsey. "I am Princess Henrietta of Tristan. The pleasure is all mine, Ash. Or is it Sir Ash?"

"Oh, I'm not a noble," Ash stated. "I'm not even a mage."

"Yes, you are," Louise hissed.

"But you have a last name?" Henrietta said confusion.

Ash could only shrug. "Culture difference, your majesty" he explained. "Most people where I come from have last names."

"I see," said Henrietta. She still looked inquisitive, but the answer appeased her immediate curiosity. "But there is no need for formalities between us when we are in private. A friend of Louise is a friend of mine."

"Same here," said Ash, letting his posture relax. "Wow, I never thought I'd end up befriending a princess here. This is unreal."

"I'm glad that you're finally understanding the true brilliance of the princess's presence," Louise said proudly.

"You flatter me too much, Louise," said Henrietta politely.

Louise now looked at her longtime friend in concern. "Something is troubling you, Henrietta," she stated.

The princess didn't bother hiding a resigned sigh. "You know me too well," said Henrietta. "While I did come here to see you again, I'm afraid I have other news to bring. I am getting married soon."

"What?!" Louise exclaimed.

"You're old enough to be married?" Ash asked in surprise.

"It's a political marriage," Henrietta explained. "As you know, Albion insurgents have the royal family on the run. It is only a matter of time before the Reconquista solidify their hold and then turn their sights to Tristan. To ensure our country does not fall, I will be wed to Germanian Emperor."

Louise gasped in shock, but her familiar only looked confused.

"Hold on," Ash interrupted. "Where's Albion? What insurgents? Who's the Reconquista? And how does this involve Germania?"

Henrietta looked at Ash in disbelief. She turned to Louise, who was burying her face in her hands and pretending she was anywhere else but her room, in front of the princess, being thoroughly embarrassed by her familiar. "You're not familiar with Albion, the White Country?" the princess asked Ash.

"Not really," Ash replied honestly. "Louise has mentioned it before, but not in detail."

"Ash is from very far away," Louise offered as an explanation. "I can't even find his home country on a map."

"You have a map?" Ash asked.

"Of course!"

Henrietta cleared her throat. "If you could fetch it please, Louise, I think I'll be able to clear up the situation for Ash."

Louise looked miffed, but when prompted by the princess, she couldn't disobey. She grabbed a rolled-up paper from her collection of school papers and spread it out on the table. The Princess took one chair and Ash stood to the side, letting Louise take the other chair. Ash didn't know how he had missed the map earlier. It was nothing like the Kalos region he was familiar with. The shape was all wrong, and the landmass wasn't connected to the rest of the continent in the same way either. While he couldn't read the words on the map, he could recognize the cardinal directions were the same. From what he remembered from his own globe, the map didn't match any landmass he was familiar with.

"Here we are, in Tristan," said Henrietta, pointing to a small country near the center of the map. Next, she tapped a similarly sized island not far off the coast. "And this is Albion. It normally floats over the waters, but it is known to pass over the continent a few times every month."

"Did you say it floats?" Ash asked. The princess nodded. "How does it do that?"

"Windstones," the princess replied simply.

"Which are…?"

"Ash, the princess does not have time to explain everything to you," Louise said crossly. "Just accept it and let the princess continue."

Ash gave a hesitant nod. He had a feeling something was off, but it was rude to interrupt the princess. "Sorry, Henrietta, please continue."

The violet haired girl nodded, next pointing to an enormous country that took up the entire northern part of the map. "This is the Germanian Empire. Germania is the largest and most powerful country in Halkegenia right now. When the insurgents from Albion—the Reconquista, as the traitors call themselves—finish taking over the country, Tristan will be their next target. To prevent this, I will be wed to the Germanian Emperor to stabilize and alliance between our two countries. This will leave the traitors unable to expand their reign of terror any further."

"What about the other countries?" Ash asked, pointing to the rest of the map.

This time, Louise answered him. "Gallia is ruled by the Mad King Joseph. There is no reason to associate with them. Romalia is home of the Pope and the Church. It would be ill of us to involve them in such manners. The only countries left are the insignificant ones bordering elf territory that are slowly being swallowed up by the Germanian army."

"Elf territory?"

"Where the elves live, obviously."

"What's an elf? Is that a type of magical creature?"

Henrietta was giving Ash a very peculiar look. "Do you truly not understand any of this?" she asked.

"No," Ash replied honestly with a small frown. "Windstones, floating continents, elves? Where in the world are we?"

"Tristan, obviously," Louise replied.

"No," Ash replied with a shake of his head. "I mean like, on a larger scale."

"Halkegenia?" Henrietta answered, still not understanding his question.

"I got that part," said Ash. "But where is Halkegenia?"

The two noble girls looked at each other. Neither had comprehension on their faces. "I beg your pardon?" Henrietta asked.

"I thought Tristan was like Kalos, but this map is entirely different," said Ash, now speaking half to himself as he tried to fit the pieces together in his mind. "A floating island the size of a region? Elf territory? Does Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, or Kalos mean anything to you two?"

"I'm afraid they don't," the princess replied with a shake of her head. "Those names are strange; I would remember them if I heard them before."

Louise also shook her head. "What are you getting so worked up about anyway?" she asked. "We already knew that your home country was far away."

"I thought we were only dealing with time and space," Ash said, tugging at his hair in frustration. "Now I don't even know where I am anymore! Is this an alternate dimension? A different timeline where Kyogre and Groudon broke the lands up differently? Argh! I don't know!"

The two girls looked at Ash concern as he slammed his face forcefully against the table, causing it to shudder. After a few seconds, the boy raised his head. "I'm good," he assured them with a broken smile. "That just threw me for a loop."

"…Are you sure you're well?" Louise asked. Ash had acted curiously before, but this was the closest she had seen him come to breakdown.

"I'm fine," Ash assured her.

The lie was blatantly obvious to all three of them, but the girls didn't call Ash out on it.

The princess cleared her throat. "As I was saying earlier, I am marrying the Germanian Emperor for the sake of the country. However, there is something that might destabilize the marriage."

"What is it?" Louise asked.

"There is a letter in the hands of Prince Wales of Albion," said Henreitta. "The contents of which, if discovered, could result in the cancelation of my marriage and doom the future of Tristan."

That snapped Ash out of his introspective breakdown. "That would be terrible" he exclaimed.

"What can we do to help?" Louise asked.

The princess gave a soft smile as she took Louise's hands in hers. "My dear Louise, I would hate to send you off to danger. But you are the only one I can entrust this mission too. I need you to travel to Albion and retrieve the letter from Prince Wales. Can I count on you?"

Louise nodded firmly. "Of course, Henrietta," she said. "I give my word; you can count on me."

"Count on us," Ash added. "If you're going on a mission to save Tristan, you can bet I'm coming too."

"Naturally," said Louise with pride. "You are my familiar, after all."

Henrietta looked between the two, puzzled. "But he's human," she pointed out.

"Apparently, I'm the first human familiar," said Ash.

"And he's a wind mage!" Louise added excitedly.

"Truly?" Henrietta asked, intrigued.

"Aura is not wind magic," Ash said with a sigh. Seeing that the princess looked confused, he added, "I can imitate wind magic, but it's different."

"I see?" It was clear by the Henrietta's tone that she didn't, but she accepted the explanation nevertheless. "It puts me at ease that Louise will be accompanied by a capable familiar. Please keep her safe during your travels."

"You bet!"

Louise kicked his shin. "You're being too causal about this," she snapped. "Show some dignity. The princess is entrusting the future of the country in our hands. At least act like you know the severity of the situation."

"I understand the situation perfectly," Ash replied calmly. The confidence in his voice surprised the girls. It wasn't the arrogance of someone who felt they could handle anything life threw at them. Rather, it was the assurance of someone who had faced trial by fire and lived to tell the tale. "We're going to head to Albion, avoid any enemies, retrieve the letter, and get back safely. Did I miss anything?"

"That does sum it up," the princess admitted. "And to ensure you can reach Prince Wales, take these, Louise." Reaching into her robe, she pulled out a sealed envelope stamped with the royal sigil and a large ruby-encrusted ring. She handed the times over to her childhood friend, who accepted them gingerly. "The letter will serve as your introduction to Prince Wales. This ring is known as the Ring of Water. It was a gift from my mother, and one of a kind. Prince Wales has a Ring of Wind on him. Using this, you can confirm his identity as well."

Louise gave solemn nod. "Thank you, your highness," she said with a bow. "I promise you, we won't let you down."

Henrietta stepped around the table to give Louise a fierce hug. "Stay safe, both of you," she said.

It looked as though the two never wished to part, but eventually, they did so. The princess put the hood over her head once again. "I'll prepare a transportation for you after tomorrow's events are over," she said. "I will inform the headmaster that I will be borrowing you two for a personal matter in the capital."

"Understood," said Louise.

Ash nodded as well. Their mission wouldn't be very secret if they didn't have a good excuse to disappear for a few days. "A crazy mission to save people," he said softly with a nostalgic sigh.

"I pray that the Founder's blessing will follow you both," the Princess said. "See you tomorrow."

"We will see you then, your highness."

"Good night!"

Henrietta smiled, nodded, and disappeared out the door.

Louise woke up by the light of the sun breaking into her eyelids. She groaned and rolled over, intent on shielding her eyes from the sun. After several moments, she realized that today was important.

"The princess is here and we have a competition and a mission!" Louise shouted, suddenly rising from her bed.

The young mage moved to rouse Ash, but didn't find him on the bed with her. Looking around the room, she found him sleeping in a chair. In his hand was a pen, tipped with dried ink. On several sheets of paper in front of him, several images were scribbled. She couldn't tell what he was drawing—he would be winning no awards for his artistry—and the symbols that marked the margins of the drawings resembled letters of the alphabet, but they were distorted. Louise knew that Ash couldn't read, let alone write her language, so she could only assume that his native written language used similar characters in different ways. For a place they couldn't locate on the map to have such similarities, it was truly remarkable.

As much as Louise would love to take the time to examine her familiar's writing, they had a lot to do in the day. "Wake up, Ash," she called out to her sleeping familiar. Ash continued to snore softly, unaware of the waking world.

Louise grumbled as she dragged herself out of bed. She was too tired to deal with her familiar's inability to wake up in the morning. She walked right up to his side, leaned into his hear, and yelled, "WAKE UP!"

Louise jumped to safety just as Ash flailed his arms, jumped back, tripped over the chair he was sitting on, banged his knee against the table, and fell face first into the unforgiving stone floor. He was still. Very still.

"Ash?" Louise said in concern. "You better not have died on me. We still have a mission from the princess tomorrow."

"I'm still alive," Ash mumbled. "Ow. Barely."

"You can best Guiche and all his golems in a duel, yet you get taken down by a table and chair?" Louise could help herself as she let out a snicker.

"Har har, laugh it up," Ash grumbled as he pulled himself to his feet. "What time is it?" he asked.

"Probably around eight," Louise replied, examining the position of the sun through the window. Her eyes shot open. "The showcase is at nine! We need to get ready! We need breakfast! We need to practice!"

"Don't worry, I've got the entire routine covered," said Ash. He yawned as he arched his back in a stretch. "I spent half the night up preparing for this. It's going to be good."

"Are you sure?" Louise asked.

"Trust me," said Ash with a reassuring smile.

Louise looked him in the eyes and couldn't help but be persuaded. "Fine, I will," she said. "But you better impressive the princess and my classmates."

"I will," Ash said resolutely. "I'm going to grab breakfast and make my final preparations. You should probably clean up a bit before you head out."

"Huh?"

Ash grabbed Derflinger and darted out of the room before she could force him to explain. She opened up her wardrobe and looked at her face in the wardrobe mirror within. She was still in her filthy clothes from yesterday, and her hair was a complete mess.

"ASH!"

Coincidentally, the Familiar Exhibition was taking place in the Vestri Court. Apparently, it was a popular choice for hosting small events. Ash—after stuffing his face with breakfast—quickly made his way to the courtyard, running into Guiche as he arrived.

"I see the young white knight is looking eager this morning," Guiche greeted him.

Ash laughed. "Performing on stage brings back some good memories," he replied. "I can't wait to get started."

"I trust you will put on your best effort. Verdandi and I have been practicing for this competition for days."

Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Actually, Louise forgot about it until the last minute, so we haven't even practiced yet."

Guiche's eyes widened comically, then he doubled over laughing. "You expect to compete against me and my beautiful Verdandi without practice?" he asked, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "Truly, you continue to surprise me at every turn, Ash."

"You're going to be more surprised when we win," Ash shot back good-naturedly.

"Such confidence, I love it!"

The two boys jumped upon hearing Kirche's loud outburst. Rotating their heads, they saw the tanned Germanian approaching them with Tabitha—head in a book, as always—trailing behind her. Both ladies were accompanied by their familiars, Flame and Sylphid.

"Good morning, Kirche, Tabitha," Guiche greeted the female students politely. "What brings you here?"

"Hi, Kirche, Flame, Tabitha, Sylphid," Ash greeted everyone in turn. Flame slithered up to Ash's legs and received a scratch on his neck in return. Sylphid similarly leaned her neck in to get scratched under her chin. Both creatures let out content throaty rumbles, much like a cat's purring.

"We're scoping out the competition, obviously," said Kirche, answering Guiche's question. She eyed the two familiars who were practically melting from Ash's touch. She seductively put her two fingers to her bottom lip. "I see someone's talent is having very nimble fingers. I'd like to get a feel of those myself."

"You want to be petted?" Ash asked skeptically.

"Don't go down the road that leads to Kirche," Guiche warned the smaller boy gravely. "There lies the honey trap that ensnares all men."

"The what?"

"Good luck in the showcase," Tabitha suddenly spoke up.

"Thanks, Tabitha!" Ash said, immediately forgetting about Kirche's strange antics. "Same to both of you as well. We won't be holding back a thing!"

"Now that's the hotbloodedness I like to see in a guy," said Kirche, teasing her tongue over lip. "I might have Flame steal you away one night. Tootles!"

Ash chuckled nervously as Kirche sauntered away. "She was joking about the kidnapping, right?" he whispered to Guiche.

"She said tootles," Guiche replied with a grim expression. "You're on her list now."

"List of what?"

"Targets."

"Why?"

"Kirche is called the Ardent for a reason," said Guiche with a heavy sigh. "Her passion burns brighter than any flame, at travels at speeds faster than the male heart can comprehend. Do not give into her wiles just yet."

"Okay…?"

"Good," Guiche gave Ash a friendly slap on the back. "Verdandi and I won't be holding back our charm, so you do the same. May the best man win."

"Same to you," said Ash, offering his hand to Guiche. The noble took it and they exchanged a firm handshake before Guiche walked off.

"Since when are you friends with Guiche?"

Ash jumped, being surprised by another pair of verticality opposed girls. Louise was walking towards him with her arms crossed and her lips drawn into a frown of disapproval. Right behind her was Siesta, who had an eager smile on her face.

Ash gave his heartrate a moment to settle before replying, "Since after the duel, I guess? We started talking, and it turned out he wasn't all bad. He just let his temper get away from him. I think he's starting to change for the better."

"If you say so," said Louise skeptically. She shook her head. Regardless of her distaste for Guiche, there were more important matters at the moment. "The show is starting in a few minutes. I trust you have a plan?"

"All you have to so follow my lead," said Ash with an enthusiastic grin.

Pink eyes narrowed as Louise glared at her familiar. "Ash…" she said warningly.

"Relax, it'll be fun," said Ash. "Trust me." He held out a hand in invitation.

Louise started to raise her hand to meet his, but then faltered, still looking hesitant.

Seeing the young noble's trepidation, Siesta added her two cents on the matter. "Do not worry, Miss Valliere. Ash is a very trustworthy person, you of all people should know that."

Louise looked between the two, who had encouraging smiles on their faces. "Fine," she said, extended her hand towards Ash's outstretched one. The boy took it firmly, then rotated his grip so instead of their thumbs running parallel, they were intertwined. The rest of his fingers wrapped around the back of her hand.

"What are you doing?" Louise asked.

"Just follow my lead."

"O-okay." Louise curled her fingers around the back of his hand as well.

Ash tightened his grip, prompting Louise to do the same. "This is a symbol that we're going to win this together," he said. "And no matter what we face, we'll handle it together."

"Together," Louise said with a sense of wonder in her voice. "Yes, of course. You're my familiar after all," she declared with pride.

Siesta watched the Louise and Ash interact with a smile on her face. It was almost like watching children play. Sure, Louise was Siesta's own age and Ash was very competent for his age, but it was still cute to watch.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention please!" a loud voice echoed across the courtyard.

"It's starting, hurry!" Louise cried. The master and familiar broke into a sprint, their hands still linked together.

"Good luck!" Siesta called out after them. So cute!

Louise and Ash waited in a line off to the side of stage with all of the other master and familiar duos. Unfortunately, they had arrived last, and thus would be the last to perform. While waiting, Ash went over the general outline for what he had planned. It sounded fascinating to Louise, but she did voice her doubts about him being able to pull it off without actual practice. Ash confessed that it was a bit risky, but if something didn't work out, he could always improvise.

The pair watched the other students and familiars perform. Kirche showed off Flame's ability to spit balls of fire. Tabitha rode Sylphid as the dragon performed acrobatic aerial maneuvers. Guiche and Verdandi posed on a bed of roses. Ash and Louise didn't get it. Neither did the audience.

Overall, the competition wasn't as fierce as Ash had expected. Then again, these were students doing a once a year event, not professional coordinators who usually performed at least once a month. "I wonder how Serena, Dawn, or May would like to perform here," he wondered aloud.

"What are you mumbling about now?" Louise asked.

"Nothing," Ash replied, the thoughts easily falling from his mind. Seeing that their turn was coming up, he idly scanned the crowds. Some of them he recognized to be faculty members, and others were students of other years. He could see Princess Henrietta on an elevated seat with the judges, and several of her uniformed guards stationed around her. However, there were several adults he did not recognize, and a lot of them had passing resemblances to some of the students.

"Is some of the audience other students' family?" Ash asked Louise.

"Yes. Noble families who live nearby, especially in the capital, tend to visit the academy during these holidays," Louise replied. There was a hint of melancholy in her voice.

Ash glanced around but couldn't find anyone who shared Louise's bright pink hair. "Is your family here too?" he asked.

Louise looked crestfallen. "They were… preoccupied," she responded after a moment. "The Valliere estate is too far away for a casual visit to an insignificant event."

"Oh," said Ash abashedly. He forgot that without trains or cars, transportation here wasn't as easy as it was back home. And even then, it wasn't often that a parent would travel across the region to watch their child give a live performance to a small crowd. "Well, how about you tell them all about our victory after we win?"

Louise nodded, the sadness in her eyes being replaced by fiery determination. "Let's do this," she said with confidence.

"And now we will have our final exhibition, Miss Valliere and her familiar, Ash Ketchum of Kanto!" they heard Professor Colbert announce.

Louise and Ash stepped onto the stage with confidence in their stride. There was surprise in the faces of the crowd, most unaware that summoning a human familiar was possible. While the rumors existed among the students, it was different to hear it from the words of the faculty. The strangeness of Ash's name and place of origin only added to the confusion.

Ash unslung Derflinger's sheathe from his back and handed the sword to Louise. Then he stepped forward and announced, "Witness the power of Aura!" Ash ignited the soul flame deep within his body, and let its power surge outward.

And surge it did. The crowd gasped as a force that could barely be described as a shock wave rippled through them. It was flowed like a breeze, but the pressure it released hit deeper than even the strongest gale. In every mage. In every person. In every creature. They felt it. Power in its truest form. Life itself turned into a tangible force.

Ash's brown irises were now glowing with blue energy. Waves of azure wisps flickered over his body like a torch in the wind. His clothes billowed from the sheer force surging from his body. Behind him, Louise discreetly held Derflinger blow her waist to help hold down her short skirt.

Ash held out his palms forward, letting his Aura siphon into a turbulent sphere. The crowd watched as the blue orb grew by the second, eventually reaching the diameter of one of Ash's arms. Lifting his hands directly above his head, Ash pulsed. The orb shot into the sky, streaking like a comet. The crowd watched it go, and started to give their applause.

But the boy wasn't done yet. He turned to Louise, who nodded and handed him Derflinger. With a dull shwick, the living weapon was pulled from its sheathe. No longer was it a rusty sword that looked at home in a forgotten corner of a weapon shop. Now, the bronze-colored blade gleamed in the late morning sunlight. Ash's runes began to glow as he readied his swing.

Now the audience took notice that the orb Ash had fired was quickly returning from its ascent. Professor Colbert looked at it worriedly, ready to intercept it if it came to close to the audience. But when he took note of its trajectory, he realized it was falling straight down towards Ash, who appeared perfectly calm as he looked up at the rapidly descending sphere. The boy took a step back in the direction of Louise, raising his sword in anticipation.

The Aura Sphere came crashing down towards the stage.

Ash swung Derflinger.

The sword caught the Aura Sphere in a clean horizontal slice. The blue orb exploded in a shower of glitter. Ash gave barely caught himself from sagging in relief as the blue sparkles floated over the crowd before dissipating into the air. He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead as let the Aura around his body die down. Louise came up to his side and bowed. He quickly followed with his own.

For a long moment, there was stillness in the audience. Then, from somewhere in the back of the crowd, someone clapped their hands together. Another person joined them. And another. A couple near the front row stood up and gave their applause as well. Within seconds, the entire audience was delivering a standing ovation to the trainer and mage. Louise and Ash gave a second bow before turning and leaving the stage.

Colbert stood forward and—using a bit of wind magic to project his voice—declared, "The judges will now take the next few minutes decide on the winner of the Exhibition!"

"Well done," Tabitha congratulated Ash and Louise as the pair rejoined the other students. The girl's voice was as soft as always, but there was clear genuineness in her words.

"Thanks/Thank you," Ash and Louise replied simultaneously.

"Your performance was most splendid," said Guiche. "But you still have little chance of beating the brilliance of my beloved Verdandi!"

Guiche failed to notice the deadpan stares being sent his way.

"That performance was more than I would expect from our little Zero," said Kirche as she sauntered up to them. "How'd you do it?"

Louise only glared at the germanian girl, but Ash replied, "I've performed in a few contests before, and I have some friends who do it as a profession. It was a little tricky to come up with something last minute, but it all worked out in the end."

"Such brilliance," said Kirche with a predatory smile. "Louise, you wouldn't mind if I borrowed your familiar for one night, would you?"

"Shove of, you sow!" Louise retorted with a red face.

"How about one hour?"

"Over my dead body!"

After several minutes of Louise and Kirche's endless bickering, Colbert once again stepped on stage to announce the results. This time, he was joined on stage by Princess Henrietta.

"And now, Princess Henrietta will deliver the results of the judges," the professor announced. He took a step back and motioned the princess forward.

Henrietta stepped forward, the same voice enhancement allowing her to be heard clearly without the need to yell. "The winner of the Void Day Familiar Exhibition is Louise Valliere, and her familiar, Ash Ketchum of Kanto!"

The audience broke into applause and congratulations. Ash whooped and jumped for joy. Louise elbowed his side, but even she couldn't hold back the wide smile on her face. This was quickly becoming one of the best days of her life.

BOOM!

CRACK!

A cry of surprise ran through the crowd as a thunderous boom ripped through the air, a sharp crack following quickly after it. The princess was quickly rushed off the stage as her guards closed in around her. Students and guests ran in a panic as the faculty tried to keep everyone in one place so they could investigate the disturbance.

"What's going on?" Ash asked Louise.

The girl's eyes were wide with panic. "I don't know!" she shouted over the sounds of the frenzied crowd.

Ash closed his eyes projected his Aura outward. The students, staff, faculty, and visitors were all clustered together in dotting flames that overlapped. He strained to stretch his senses beyond the people nearby and caught sight of something highly irregular.

"Louise."

"What?"

"I think I'm sensing a golem the size of a house attacking one of the towers."

"What?!" Louise exclaimed. "Where?"

Ash pointed. Louise's eyes narrowed. "How dare someone attack the Void Tower on Void Day!" she fumed. "We'll show this intruder what happens to those who dare act sacrilegiously on such a sacred day!" She stormed through the panicking crowd with a murderous expression on her face.

"Shouldn't we get a teacher to help?" Ash asked. He was all for stopping criminals, but against a golem of that size, he knew they would need all the help they could get.

"The teachers won't be able to do anything until all of the students, guests, and especially the princess are secured," Louise informed him. "It's up to us to distract the intruder long enough for them to arrive. But we need to hurry."

"Got it," said Ash. "Hang on tight!"

"What do you mean by—!" Louise yelped as Ash picked her up bridal style and pushed his way into the crowd. While he could weave through people with near superhuman agility, his speed truly came into play once they were free from the crowds. As they reached to opposite end of the Vestri Courtyard, they could see the round head of the large golem peaking over the top of the connector hallway. Aura flowed from Ash's body as he redoubled his speed, heading straight towards the towering earthen monstrosity.

This chapter was a doozy. So much happened here, and we never got time to sit down and talk about it. You know why?

Because in real life, things just hit you and you don't have time to relax and process them before another thing slaps you upside the head to get your attention.

Also, I purposefully let some things be skipped in the conversation. It'll come up later, but Louise and Ash know that some things can wait for a quieter time. Which will not be happening any time soon, because the mission to Albion is overlapping with Fouquet's theft! Mwuhaha! Now you can see how cruel of an author I can become when I feel the plot has been going too slow! I still feel like this wasn't done as smoothly as I wanted, but I couldn't figure out how to smooth it out. I considered breaking the scenes differently, but that would mess up my plans for the next two chapters. If I figure out a solution later I'll come back and edit/rewrite the chapter.

BTW, chapter 10 has been fun to plan and may end up being my favorite chapter so far in this story. Finally, I have found a good spot to diverge from canon in a meaningful way. This is one of the benefits of sometimes writing out of order.

For those who don't know:, winner of the latest poll was Iroh. His story is already posted, check it out!

Now for some Q/A:

Q: Why does Ash have Gandalfr instead of Vindalfr? He's a Pokemon Trainer!

A: Yes, Ash's personalities and skills line up with Vindalfr, but there's two reasons why he doesn't have it. First, runes are given based on summoner, not summonee. Louise has Tristan royal family blood, and the Tristan royal family gets Gandalfr by heredity. I could rewrite everything to force a rune switch, but that leads into the second reason. Number two, Ash has no need of it. The ability to befriend and control animals is something he spent SEVEN YEARS practicing. Why would he need a rune to do that? The Lifbrasir (Heart Rune) is also redundant, since its effects are recreatable with Aura. The only runes Ash gets any value for are the Gandalfr and Miovitnir, and I can't see Ash spamming magic items like a Caster from the Fate series.

Q: What can Ash do with his Aura?

A: Since we're about to enter a fight scene, here's all the skills Ash can use at this point:

Aura Sense - Detects the Aura of everything around him. Can also be used to detect spellcasting.

Physical Enhancement - Makes Ash faster, stronger, tougher, and gives him better reflexes. Adds a hazy flame-like effect around his body if he uses enough Aura.

Aura Sphere - Takes a few seconds to cast, but the orb moves fast and packs a solid explosive punch.

Weapon Creation - Creates a weapon made of Aura that he can use to activate his runes. Takes a few seconds to make and breaks in one hit.

Thanks to the runes increasing Ash's speed, strength, and skill, Ash is an absolute beast in close combat. Even a magic swordsman would find him a difficult opponent to face in close quarters. However, Ash lacks versatility, nuking, and reliable ranged damage, which means he's far from unbeatable.

Remember, reviews are food for a writer's soul!