A Lesson For Louise 11: Homecoming

The previous QQ chapters are here: https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/a-lesson-for-louise-znt-original-setting-reverse-summon.24775/

Enjoy!

[center][font=Impact]Chapter 11:  Homecoming

<<<Kirche>>>[/font][/center]

The gossip was still going strong, after all; why wouldn’t it? The Familiar summoning ritual had been used so much over so long, hearing it go wrong so spectacularly? It’d be the talk of the academy for months! Possibly years!

And of course nobles, being nobles, were making light of it. Many saying it was “the Zero’s” own fault for being such a failure. Others saying that her mother would probably be relieved to be rid of such a stain on the family name. And even worse, some even speculating that it was an elaborate suicide on her part.

Either she’d successfully summoned a familiar, or it failed and she became a casualty. Either way the Zero would call it a win.

Kirche, possibly to the surprise of everyone given how she would relentlessly tease and mess with Louise, didn’t take part in any of the gossip. She knew how their relationship looked to others, the family rivalry and her tauntings. But the truth was that Kirche loved to see that Fire in Louise whenever she was riled. That determination to prove everyone wrong.

How could any Zerbest not like it? They were a very passionate family, of course they’d appreciate anyone showing even the smallest hints of it.

And she tried so hard to keep that fire in Louise burning, she wanted a rival. Someone who could give as well as take! Someone to trade barbs with, someone to treat her as a person and not an extension of her family.

She wanted a friend, she had one, a few really, but it never hurt to have more.

But it was hard, she could see how the academy was wearing her down. No one really helped her, not even the staff (who often did more harm than good). Today was the last chance she had to prove that she actually had magic (which of course she did, those ‘failures’ indicated such), Kirche wasn’t sure what would’ve happened if she didn’t get a familiar, but she could imagine what was going through Louise’s head.

She looked so frail when she walked to the ritual circle and, though make up hid it, Kirche could tell the stress was getting to her. She bet there were a few gray hairs in that beautiful pink mane of hers caused purely by stress and anxiety. And that fire that Kirche loved, it was barely there. Barely embers.

Then everything went wrong, a monster just jumped from the portal and just… stole Louise away! Stole her from Kirche!

Even three hours afterwards Kirche still felt like she was having some sort of waking nightmare. Someone just played an elaborate prank and Louise was actually hiding in her room laughing, but Kirche checked… and she wasn’t there.

She was really gone… they weren’t friends, despite how she wanted Louise to succeed. She should’ve done more, actually helped her and not provide backhanded compliments and prickly support!

So when that same sound, that same lightning, that had happened during the summoning happened again in the same courtyard she was one of the first people to arrive. The event started slowly, a haze forming and fluctuating in the air; like water held aloft by magic but less dense.

Then everything happened at once, another blast of sound and light, burning the grass around it even further, and Louise was there alongside two others. A peasant woman on one side and a lamia on the other.

The staff came out in force while all the students were told to remain inside, not that she or anyone else listened. Kirche’s eyes couldn’t believe it, Louise had come back! She wasn’t dead! She… she…?

“Did her boobs get bigger?” Obviously nothing compared to her own bust, but it was there… more ample but still fitting perfectly with her petite frame.

Louise just looked at the gathered staff, and simply raised a brow, but otherwise didn’t comment. The Louise she remembered wouldn’t have looked back to the staff like that, she would’ve looked awkward or refused to meet their eyes. But this Louise just looked at them all, like she was assessing them and found them wanting, otherwise there was nothing. No respect or awe, she just looked at them like people.

Not Magicians, not nobles, just people.

Kirche processed this in the blink of an eye before running towards her, ignoring further complaints from the teachers, and forcibly hugging her. “I thought you died!” She half yelled at the girl, “Don’t scare me like that again!”

Louise just blinked and returned the hug. “It probably looked like that,” She said before glancing at the peasant, “Rei has a peculiar sense of humor. But I’ll try not to scare you Kirche.”

“We assume it happened because I was doing some experiments with some magical materials when the familiar summoning happened,” the woman that must have been Rei said, “My sense of humor may have infected the ritual and, well…”

Louise just snorted. “Can’t say I mind. I needed the time away,” She admitted.

“Excuse me, Ms. Laverie. But how long has it been for you?” The headmaster asked curiously, Kirche found it interesting that the pervy familiar of his was refusing to move from the headmaster’s shoulder.

Probably related to the Brimir-damned lamia that Louise seemed so comfortable with.

“A… year? Yeah, a year and four months.” Louise said with a casualness Kirche never expected from the pinkette, “Learned a lot about magic, even got a girlfriend!” She added with a chipper carefree grin.

Then the words caught up with her. “A year?” Kirche asked, giving the girl a double take. “It’s only been three hours! Come on, you have to tell me everything!” She announced, taking her by the hand and starting to drag her away.

“Oh?” Louise raised her brow as she allowed her, Kirche also became very aware of just how… solid Louise had become. Far away from the soft girl she knew.

“Hold on!” The headmaster ordered, waving his wand to summon a rock wall; stopping their progress cold.

Louise sighed, actually sighed, and looked at the rock wall… and it just crumbled? Oh, Kirche had to know what she went through!

“Headmaster, give me a chance to relax and then I’ll let you all interrogate me,” Louise said dryly, “Maybe drag the Inquisition in as well?” Was she sassing the Headmaster!?

He paused, visibly, before asking, “Do you feel that’s necessary? Were you in the Spirit World, Ms. Valliere?”

“No, I don’t believe it necessary, but I feel the Church will eventually send their hounds sniffing around,” She said with a shrug, “Besides Spirits aren’t that bad as long as you know how to negotiate with them. I took classes on it.”

“... I see,” He replied after a moment, “I suggest you rest in my office for a time. It would be best to remain discreet about what you learned for now.”

Louise just looked at him before rolling her eyes. “Fine. Obsidia? Can you change your legs back? I don’t think lamia is all that subtle,” She said in a tone that suggested she didn’t really care.

“Only because you asked, my Louise,” The lamia, Obsidia apparently, purred in a husky voice that Kirche simultaneously felt jealous of and aroused by. “Their looks were funny though, and tasty!”

Then she did… something and the impressive length rippled before twisting, the air filled with the sound of bones snapping and reforming, flesh ripping, and other nauseating noises. The former lamia moaned at the end of it, because of course she did.

“I’m still looking forward to more Life manipulation tips.” Then Louise dropped another fireball on the crowd, “I think I’ve gotten the hang of changing my hair color.” As if to prove her point she changed her hair to midnight black, golden blonde, earthy brown, then weirder colors.

Though Kirche found the rainbow colors rather interesting.

“I prefer pink,” Kirche said, trying to fight through the bombardment of stunning events with… anything. “It suits you.”

“Oh, I agree,” Obsidia said as she sauntered over and grabbed Louise’s hand while giving her a kiss on the cheek, “So adorable.~ She was so insecure in herself when we first met!~” She added with a smile before looking to Kirche, “Oh she talked about you.~”

“... Only good things I hope?” She would not be ashamed to say that the woman, Louise’s girlfriend apparently, scared her a little bit. “Maybe she talked about my stunning looks and good humor?”

This was rather unlikely, to put a not too fine point on it, but she was allowed to hope dammit.

Obsidia’s giggle put those hopes to rest, may they forever be mourned, and promised unpleasant things in the future.

“Her Fundamentalism Professor said she had a lot of demons to work through before she could progress,” Obsidia said, “And work through them we did, and… well your goals were admirable but your execution was very poor.”

“I realized that about two hours ago,” Kirche said, “If I promise to work on them, will you stop looking at me like I’m going to be lunch?”

“Honey? You’ll love it,” Obsidia promised, “But Louise called dibs, so she’ll start you off easy. Perhaps. Maybe. Don’t worry, you’ll enjoy it either way. Besides, I never saw the appeal of human, I’d rather do other things than eat them.”

“... That’s not worrying,” She squeaked out, “At all. I’m just going to go and get my wand real quick!” Her attempt to flee was stopped cold by Louise, smiling plainly at her as she dragged her along.

“I am going to die today,” Kirche thought to herself, more than a touch fearful. “I have made many mistakes in my life.”

<<<Louise>>>

She had to admit, if only to herself and Rei… and Obsidia, but she was probably enjoying Kirche’s reactions a bit too much. There was also the fact that the teaching staff could hear her word for word and she couldn’t bring herself to really care! Honestly it still felt so surreal to her… truly Rei was the greatest ‘mistake’ she had ever made!

She was confident now, she was more secure in who she is, and she legitimately didn’t care what her ‘peers’ thought of her! It still felt like a fever dream at times.

But her eventual ‘confrontation’ with Kirche could wait, she was allowed to ‘escape’ while she, Rei, and her beautiful sadist went to the headmaster’s office. Truly she was going to thank her lovely tormenter for ‘improving’ her as she could hear every word whispered between the staff.

Honestly, she felt rather amused when one of them suggested a Spirit hijacked her body and took over. Which, granted, was very possible; but it only happened with complete novices or those unaware of Shamanism in the slightest. And while she wasn’t a master yet, she’d grown beyond that possibility.

That said, she did have various contracts with a mix of Elemental spirits, and one very quirky minor Time spirit.

She still couldn’t believe something as esoteric as Time could even have a ‘minor’ anything!

It was, in fact, a spirit that… affected people’s internal clocks. Needless to say, she never lost track of time anymore.

Not that she ever did, but now she literally couldn’t… unless the spirit was feeling mischievous.

“You know, Louise,” Rei started, stretching over one of the chairs in the office, “There is the distinct possibility you may be too careless about this stuff. Sure, they can’t hurt me but they can hurt you and I’m not always going to step in when it's your mistakes that cause it.” Her voice was cautious, like her mother’s had been on a few occasions when she was younger. “You’ve gotten a taste of power, yes, but you’ve seen how far there is left to go yourself; don’t let it go to your head.”

Louise just sighed, “I know… I’m sorry…” She said as she rubbed her forehead, she knew Rei was talking sense, but honestly when she was working through her ‘Demons’ she had a lot of revelations that just left her… more than a little… bitter?

Disappointed? She wasn’t entirely sure.

“All I want is for you to do better after listening to my advice,~” Rei purred, “Oh, the headmaster is on his way.”

“I will, I’m sorry…” Louise just rubbed her face, “Well, let’s get this over with… how much you want to bet they’ll freak out when they realize Obsidia is an elf?”

“Oh, I give good bets on ‘enough’, but they won’t escalate into violence,” Rei said, looking towards Obsidia for her opinion.

“Honestly, I’m still perplexed over their fear. If it was Dark elves it’d make sense. But all elves?” Obsidia said, “But I agree with Rei, she’s rarely wrong with these things, after all.”

“I’m happy for your vote of confidence,” The kitsune replied, voice dry, “But I’ll note you are a dark elf.”

The door opened before Obsidia could retort, the headmaster stepping in and closing the door behind him. He was alone, apart from his familiar, and the door locked behind.

“Neither of you are human,” He noted softly, “Care to explain where you really were, Ms Valliere?”

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