1: Beginnings
I really need to learn not to let my curiosity get the better of me. The last time it did, I was sucked into this world and forced into what some would consider slavery. I don't know what I thought would happen when I saw the portal that appeared today. I shouldn't be surprised by what happened, considering these portals seem to be able to reach across worlds, it should be no surprise what happened this time.
Just like the time before, it all started with the glowing portal appearing before me. I was walking through the forest, heading towards Ragdorian Lake when it appeared.
Weird, I thought. Isn't this the summoning gate?
My natural curiosity blocked out my common sense, as it tends to do, and I decided that I had to investigate this portal. What's the worst that could have happened, right? I tend to have a habit of seriously underestimating just how horrible things can get.
Some introductions may first be necessary. I am Saito Hiraga. I am a Gandalfar, a legendary familiar with the ability to wield any nonmagical weapon with ease. I am the familiar of Louise Vallière, one of the few nobles in this world that can use the legendary Void magic. My job is to protect her while she casts her spells. Though when I was first summoned, we got along... poorly, to put it mildly. As time went on eventually it got better, or worse, depending on your interpretation of the events.
Just like the time I was summoned, this portal led me to an explosion. When I stopped being unconscious, I was lying down in a grassy field. I sat up and noticed that there were a lot of people present.
"As expected. She can't even succeed in summoning a familiar! She really is a zero!" Said a red-haired familiar face who goes by the name of Kirche.
"Wait! What's that in the smoke? Is that...?" Said another familiar face with curly blonde hair, her name is Momtmorency.
The smoke cleared and everyone immediately focused their eyes on me. For a moment, there was absolute silence. Within five seconds, everyone burst into laughter.
"She summoned a commoner!"
"What a failure!"
"She can't even summon correctly!" The crowed laughed out.
I'm too confused by what's going on to point out that I may not be a mage, but I'm definitely not a commoner.
"Sh-Shut up! It's just a mistake! I just need to try again!" Said a voice I knew all too well.
"I'm sorry, I can't let that happen. This is a sacred ritual after all. I can't simply allow do-overs. Continue the ritual." I saw that the person who said that was the teacher of these people. Mr. Colbert tends to leave the impression of being a teacher with his glasses and bookish nature.
"But-"
"No buts!" Said Colbert. "Continue."
The peach haired girl look straight at me with a look of anger, embarrassment, and disappointment. It was the same look she had when we first met.
I decided to speak up for the first time, "Um, don't any of you recognize me? You all seem to act like you don't know me."
Colbert gave me a good stare down. "What an... interesting language it's speaking."
"See? It can't even speak our language! How is it supposed to be a familiar when it can't even understand what I'm asking of it?" Said the peach haired girl.
"What? Of course I understand what you're saying! How else could I respond!" I said. I was so confused that I didn't notice that they all refered to me as an "it." It made no sense to me, how could I understand them, but they can't understand me?
The peach haired girl looked at me and sighed, resigned to the fact that the ritual must continue. "Consider yourself lucky, a noble like me would never be caught doing this to a commoner like you." She said with a visible blush on her face. She then began to lean in.
"What are you taking ab-" Than our lips made contact. She seemed to want to get out of their as fast as possible, and separated at the first possible moment. Immediately, a pain went through my body and my left hand felt like it was engulfed in flame. I realized that the peach haired girl had just made me into her familiar. Louise made me her familiar once again.
*Scene Break*
Several hours, one failed silence spell and one explosion later, People were able to understand me and I was sitting in Louise's room.
"So Louise-" I began.
"Stupid dog! You think you can call me by name? I'm you master! I should be called as such! But you still haven't answer my question, who are you?"
"Me? I'm Saito Chevalier De Hiraga Des Ornières." Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have said my full name, no matter how awesome it was.
"W-w-what? You're a noble?"
"Before I answer that, I have my own question for you."
"And that would be?"
"Could you explain to me what happened?" considering I had a theory, but no solid proof yet.
"I told you," said Louise in a rather angry tone of voice. "Today was the day that us second year students summon our familiars to serve us and you are the one I summoned." At this statement she sighed. "Why couldn't I have gotten something cool like a griffon or a dragon?"
'Interesting' I thought to myself. "I just have one question."
"What might that be dog?" She said putting as much venom into that last word as possible.
"Who's the current princess of Tristania?" I asked. I already knew the answer, but confirmation would confirm my theory. I hoped she didn't say what I already knew she would say.
Her response was to quizzically raise an eyebrow. "You don't know? The princess is Her highness Princess Henrietta of course."
"She's not the queen?" I asked, my hopes dropping as I realized what was happening.
"Of course not!" said Louise "Henrietta's mother... who's name I just realized I don't know, is the queen!"
At those words I felt myself start to lose consciousness at the sudden realization. I had somehow traveled back to when I first met Louise. I did what any person in my position would do, and promptly passed out from information overload.
*Scene Break*
After I came to, I explained to a worried looking (It actually shocked me that Louise at this time was worried about my health) Louise why I had passed out.
"I don't buy it." That quickly passed and was replaced by annoyance when I told her the truth. "So, you're not only from another world..."
"That statement is correct." I calmly explained to her.
"But you're also from some point in the future?" She stared at me with doubt and resentment in her eyes.
"Also true." I stated.
"How am I supposed to believe you? How am I supposed to believe these ridiculous claims?" She asked.
"Hmmm." I tried to think of how I could prove either one of those statements. Proving just one could lend credence to the other claim. I didn't have my laptop this time, so that was out of the question. Then it hit me. Something I shouldn't be able to know at his point that could prove one claim.
"Oh well. I guess I can't prove either claim." I said shrugging my shoulders.
"I thought so," said Louise. "For lying to your master, no breakfast for three days."
"Fair enough. By the way, How's your arranged fiancé, Viscount Wardes?" I said, trying, and nearly failing, to keep a grin off my face.
"W-what? How did you know?" Louise's face almost made this situation worth it.
"At this point, I shouldn't. I don't find out for another week or two when we meet." I calmly explain.
"Eh? Wardes comes to the academy?" Louise's face was now colored with several shades of red and pink. It almost made this whole situation worth it. It looked like her mind imploded in on itself.
"While I leave you to think about this, I'll take a stroll around the academy if that's all right. It's oddly nostalgic seeing the academy like this."
Without waiting for an answer, I walked towards the door opened it and left without a word, leaving Louise to sit on her bed, blushing and looking like she just found out her best friend is an alien.
*Scene Break*
The academy was much the same as it was the first time I was here. Guiche was flirting with that first year like the first time, Katie was her name. He wasn't happy when I interrupted their private time by walking through the hallway. I also ran into Siesta doing her maid thing. I introduced myself, then realized I should probably get back to Louise's room before she got upset. When I got there I was greeted by the sight of her looking rather upset while standing in the center of the room, wand in hand.
"Well, I have decided to believe your story. There is simply no other way that you could have known about Wardes." Said Louise.
"Thank you master."
"However, that does not mean you are exempt from the chores you will have to do, seeing as you are incapable of any of the other of the functions that other familiars are capable of. A commoner like you is unlikely to know what reagents I will need and you could probably not even fight off a crow. Why are you smiling like that?"
"No reason." I tried my best to kill the smile. "I'm just overcome with nostalgia. Would you happen to have some paper and something to write with?"
Louise looked a little surprised. "What for?"
I decided to answer honestly. "I want to make a list or everything that happens in my timeline. This way I can know what's going to happen and plan accordingly."
Louise nodded her head. "That would be smart. This way we can stop any of the more horrific events from-"
"That won't work." Noticing her surprise I began to explain, "First, who besides us would believe that I'm from the future? That's not the thing that happens on a regular basis. You, my own master, didn't believe me until I proved it with that Wardes comment." And even then I'm not completely convinced she believes me, but we'll work on that. "If we try to talk to people and stop them from starting something bad, there is no way they would believe us. Second, If we try and prevent something from happening, something else that we're not prepared for might happen and the timeline skews into someplace much worse."
Louise hung her head. "I suppose your right. We can't just stop things from happening and expect only positive outcomes."
She went and got me a some paper and a quill and ink to write with. I began writing down all the events I remember happening, in the order I remember them happening. Louise tried looking over my shoulder like a curious kitten trying to find out what I was writing.
"I don't understand," She said in an angry tone. "I can't read your writing. What language is that? Is it from your world?"
I respond by nodding and continuing to write. Eventually my list is finished. I give the ink a minute to dry, then fold the paper and put it in my pocket.
"Good that's done," Louise says. "But why are you writing in that language? Did you never learn how to write in our language?"
I chuckle to myself and shake my head. "Nothing like that. I am capable of reading and writing in this language, though with some difficulty, I just took a precaution. After all, if this list were to fall into bad hands, even if they don't know what it means, if they figure it out, there could be serious consequences. That, and experience has taught me to be careful who you trust." My mind flashes back to Fouquet, Wardes, and Julio and how well those situations went.
As I said this, Louise looks saddened and upset. "You mean, You don't trust me?" She looked close to both tears, and grabbing the nearest item and beating me over the head with it. How dare I, her supposedly loyal to a fault familiar, not trust her?
A smile appears across my face, "To the contrary, I trust you more than anyone here."
Louise looks at me and appears to be mollified. "You trust me? Really?"
"You are the only person in this world who I would trust my life too."
Louise tries to suppress a gasp of surprise. "Wh-Why do you trust me so much? You barely know me!" Weird, first she's upset that I don't trust her, and now she's upset that I trust her with my life? She always was good at contradicting herself.
"You might have figured it out, being as sharp as you are, but this isn't my first time as a familiar. My previous master helped me realize that the trust between a familiar and their master is possibly the most important thing in the world." I stop when I notice something odd about my left hand.
"Huh. That's strange." I remark offhandedly.
"What? What's strange?" Louise asks, clearly a little upset at my sudden change of topic.
"My scar's gone" I tell her. It wasn't the real problem, but we could get to that later.
"Scar?"
"I was here for years. After a few battles, scars are likely to appear." I try my best to not sound like I'm completely making this up. Even though I am.
"And it's not there anymore?"
"Actually, they all appear to be gone."
"What?" Louise asked. "You had multiple scars? How many fights were you in?"
"A few." I remark casually, the battle with the army of 70,000 stands out at the front of my mind. "To be fair, most of the scars came from my last master." I'm impressed that I'm able to keep this conversation going, even though I completely made up the thing about the scars.
"What? Your master attacked you?" Louise looked like she was just told her best friend was really a psychopathic murderer. Not all too far off of an assumption really.
"Well, not 'attacked' per say, it was more for disciplinary reasons." I tried to stay as calm as possible remembering all the pain I had undergone by Louise's hands throughout the years.
"Discipline? But you seem so well behaved." Louise looked like she was trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle she only had two pieces to.
I smile and shake my head. "Think of it this way, if you were taken from your family and brought to a whole other world and was told to do the laundry, and other assorted chores or your wouldn't be fed, you would whipped or blown up would you want to do it?" I gave her a glare that tried to convey the message, "Do you get it? Because you didn't last time."
"No," Louise looked like she was finally starting to get it. "Wait, why did your master attack you with whips and strikes? Wouldn't it have been better to use magic?"
I flinched. I had been expecting this question and had to form my answer carefully. "Master... wasn't the best mage in the world." I explained, choosing my words carefully. "It was just easier to use physical force instead of exerting unnecessary effort into something that wouldn't work well. Even after substantially improving in magic, whips and kicks were sort of a habit."
Louise looked a little uneasy. "He must have been pretty big to be able to do that kind of things so easily."
I had to physically hold back laughter at that statement. "Actually it was a girl, and no, she wasn't very tall. She was about your height, maybe an inch or two taller."
Louise seemed to perk up at the idea of someone her size and sex being able to so easily beat up someone like myself.
"What was she like?" Louise's eyes were drilling into me, asking me for more information like a dog begs for more bacon at dinner. I would have to word this reply very carefully. I didn't want her to know all the details. Not yet anyway.
"She was tough and quick to anger, but also incredibly sweet, caring and beautiful. If someone important to her was in trouble, she would due everything in her power to help them. She also knew that I wasn't just some dog that she could command and beat at her pleasure. Well, she figured that out after longer than I would have liked," a shiver went down my spine as my body recalled the pain, but I continued, "She was dutiful and never forgot what she had sent out to accomplish. She did all she could to make sure the job was done." I said almost nostalgically, despite the fact that my previous master was in the same room.
Louise seemed like she was nursing an idea in her head and deciding whether to ask me about it or not. She steeled her resolve and opened her mouth.
"Did you love her?" She asked bluntly.
Surprised by the bluntness of her question, I was struck temporarily speechless.
Louise blushed and looked down. "I-It just sound like you think really highly of her."
I took a breath and decided to answer honestly.
"Yes, I did love her. She loved me too, you know. She tried to find a way to get me back home, even though we both knew we didn't want to be separated. She just wanted to help me." At least I think that's what her motivation was.
"Did you find a way back?"
"Yes, but I stayed. I had to protect her, and by the time I found out how to return, I had grown too used to life here to leave."
"What was her name?"
I laughed to myself at the question. Louise was startled by my laughter.
"Wh-What's so funny?"
"You haven't figured it out yet? Frankly Louise, I'm disappointed. If she were here, she would have figured it out already." Well, she was here, but I didn't want her to know that yet. Then an idea came to my head. "Actually, how about a deal?"
"A deal?" Louise looked a little uneasy about what this deal could be.
"If you can figure out the name of my previous master, I will answer any question you have about my past, er... This world's future. Just keep your answer to yourself. Sleep on it. I'll ask again in the morning."
Louise nodded her head. "That's a fair deal."
I smiled "It's a bet. Now go to sleep, Maybe the name will come to you in a dream. If you don't mind, I'll sleep right here." I pointed to the spot on the floor I slept on for so long back then.
Louise hesitated, then nodded. She crawled into her bed and fell asleep. I curled up on the floor and stared at my left hand. 'These runes,' I thought to myself, 'Why are the runes from after the false motive was erased?' I noticed the difference almost immediately, and I made up the scar thing. There wasn't a need for Louise to know about false motives. 'I just made the contract, so shouldn't the runes be their original form?'
Well, your mind's already been messed with, remember? No point in a false motive if you already know what's going to be affected.
What? Was someone transmitting into my head? Was I being controlled?
Nope. I'm your inner monologue. Since you can't have a false motive, you get me instead. Think of me as your conscious. Like that cricket in that one movie.
'What do you mean I can't have a false motive?'
Well there were really only two options for your false motive. Option one: Block out the memories of your home world.
'That's what I had last time.'
That is exactly why it won't work this time, you would already be aware of it being fake. Option 2: Have you fall in love with Louise.
'Which wouldn't work for obvious reasons.'
Exactly. That's why you don't have a false motive. You get me instead.
'So, instead of having my memories altered, I'm schizophrenic?'
No, your conscious has just been made a bit more loud and clear, so you can hear me.
I don't know whether to be scared at the fact that I'm hearing voices, or amazed at the fact that I can actually have conversations with my conscious. I decide on the later, and go to sleep.
*Louise POV*
I really didn't know just what to think. I thought my familiar was the worst thing ever. A commoner as a familiar! How stupid could you get? I never though he would be this awesome. He's polite, and has experience with this. He should, considering he was a familiar in his timeline. Then my mind went back to that question. "Who was his previous master?" I thought to myself. "Strong, short, short-tempered, bad at magic..." I went over those facts in my head, trying to apply them to everyone I knew. No such luck. "Stupid familiar, he's just toying with me. How can I name a person I've never met?" Then something in my mind clicked. "No. Nonononononono, that can't be who his master was, She became a great mage..." The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. That's the only person it could be. This thought in my head, a blush appeared on my face and I went to sleep.