Author's Note: To the reviewer (guest or logged in, I can't remember) who thought I was dead: Nope. Still here, writing my ass off.

This chapter...whoo boy, this chapter was tough. I am not good with emotionally-charged chapters, and this one definitely counts as one. Hope I managed to do it justice.

Please read, review and check out my other stories! Also, please check my profile for my writing schedule, BEFORE you ask in a review or PM. Seriously people, I do not abandon stories on a whim!

Beta'd by BigCC

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Disclaimer: I do not own Familiar of Zero.

"Saito" -Talking

'Louise' -Thinking/ Human-Human Telepathy

"Explosion!" -Spell

:Master: -Master/Familiar Telepathy

Chapter 26: Mourning Period

Two Days Later

Princess Henrietta's Temporary Private Quarters, Tristain Academy for Magic

Siesta looked up from where she had been placing the princess' underthings neatly into a drawer at the sounds of running coming from outside. Princess Henrietta herself looked up from her desk where she'd been skimming through some reports, a puzzled frown crossing her lips.

"What could be the cause of this ruckus, I wonder?" the burgundy-haired royal wondered aloud. Louise wasn't due back for another couple of days, so it couldn't be her...

"Your Highness!" Agnès cried as she burst into the room, eyes wide with worry. "A flotilla of airships have been spotted approaching Tristainia! They fly the flag of the Albionian Royal Guard!"

A cold feeling enveloped Henrietta at this. The Albionian Royal Guard never left Londinium, they were famous for defending the seat of the Kingdom of Albion to the death, and had done so on several occasions in the past. For them to have left required the direct order of a member of the Tudor bloodline...

"...Wales! Louise!" she whispered in panic. Shooting to her feet, the de-facto ruler of Tristain ran from the room, pursued by her loyal Captain and Siesta.

As her body ran, Henrietta's mind was racing as well. She could think of very few things that would convince Wales to order the Royal Guard to flee Albion. The only thing that she could think of off the top of her head was if the situation had deteriorated to the point that he could not remain in Albion. The Guard would never abandon their prince, their loyalty to the Crown was second to none. That could only mean that Wales was aboard one of those ships, and most likely accompanied by Louise and Professor Saito as well.

And yet…why could she not quench the fear and trepidation trembling within her heart? Some instinctive part of her was screaming that those ships did not portend a good omen, and that feeling was causing fear to spike through her breast.

There were very few people that Henrietta allowed herself to love wholly and unreservedly, her position as the future ruler of the realm meant that she could not allow herself such attachments barring a few rare exceptions. Her mother was one of those, her late father was another. The final two were likely aboard the airships flying towards her.

And something dark and cold inside her was warning her that something terrible had happened to one of them.

Emerging from the main doors of the Academy, Henrietta looked around frantically before spotting the formation of airships approaching her capital city...no, their course would bring them around the city and towards the Academy.

Forcefully pushing down the rolling emotions that were pulsing in her chest, Henrietta tried to look at this through a monarch's eye and silently thanked The Founder that her studies had included a basic understanding on how Albionian airships moved and operated.

"Agnès, have the Musketeer Squad stand by in case this is a false flag operation!" Henrietta ordered sharply, her eyes narrowing as the needs of the moment managed to temper her anxiety. "Siesta, go and alert Old Osmond and have him and as many teachers be at the ready to defend the walls of the Academy. If this is an attack under false colours, the students must be protected at all costs!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" the two girls chanted in unison before hurrying off to obey.

As the oversized squad of Musketeers assembled rapidly, followed by fifteen grim-faced teachers, Henrietta stood her ground, her eyes following the approach of the airships almost unblinkingly. One hand clasped the sceptre which was the traditional casting tool of the Heir to the throne with an almost white-knuckled grip, her fears and doubts redoubling now that she was alone.

If Louise had been hurt under her orders...she couldn't bear the thought. Even worse would be if Louise's Familiar had been harmed. Henrietta had seen the admiration and trust in Louise's eyes whenever she looked at her Familiar from another world and if he were hurt or worse, killed, as a result of her orders, she didn't think Louise would ever be able to forgive her, and that was something that would break Henrietta's heart.

She and Louise had been always been close, even as toddlers they had been nearly inseparable. When they had first began to learn and understand their roles in society, Louise's first act had been to swear herself to Henrietta and had always done whatever she could to go above and beyond those vows. More than any vassal, or even merely a friend, Louise was Henrietta's sister despite their shared blood being merely distant cousins. Louise was someone that Henrietta knew that she could rely on in all things, someone that she could always trust to be on her side.

The mere thought of losing that bond…to lose her Louise…it was a nightmare that Crown Princess of Tristain could not bear thinking of.

Her mind refused to entertain the thought of it, or of the worst scenario that she'd dreaded ever since the start of the Albionian Civil War.

Every single member of her guard was twitching with tension as the small flotilla, barely large enough to warrant the name, approached and set down on one side of the Academy. Ordinary airships weren't designed to do that, only being able to moor at an airport, but military grade ships possessed strong enough keels that it would work in an emergency.

After a few more minutes of tense waiting, a solitary figure descended from one of the outermost ships, rather than the flagship as she might have expected. But then, a part of her mind reasoned, going against expectations would be the best way to safeguard the last member of the Tudor Family.

The man approaching was a slightly plump man wearing the uniform of a Captain of the Albionian Royal Guard's Air Fleet, which was somewhat reassuring. To the best of Henrietta's knowledge, the Royal Guard had remained true to a man.

"Princess Henrietta, thank the Founder!" the man said in relief as he halted within safe speaking distance. He also kept his hand away from his sword and wand, the Princess noted absently. "I am Captain Jonathan Bracegirdle, Master and Commander of the Albionian Royal Guard Ship Grasshopper. Princess...His Highness Prince Wales is aboard my ship and his time is running out. Miss Vallière, your Agent, is aboard and wishes to brief you on the entirety of the situation."

Heart frozen in disbelief and ringing in her ears, Henrietta only kept her composure as a result of a lifetime of constant training at doing precisely that. The ruler of Tristain had to maintain her composure, even in the face of devastating news.

News such as this.

"Agnès, pick four members of the Musketeer Squad to follow us aboard ship." she heard her own voice order in a calm, even manner. It was like her body was moving on its own, completely at odds with her own whirling thoughts or the voice in the back of her mind wailing in distress.

"...yes, Your Highness." Agnès replied softly and beckoned with one hand to her squad, four of them moving out and joining her.

"Lead on, Captain Bracegirdle." Henrietta said to the man.

"Aye-aye, ma'am." the Albionian Captain saluted before leading the way back to his ship. Without meaning to, Henrietta found herself assessing the ships for damage, and discovered that all of them had battle damage, although not nearly as much as she would have expected.

As she walked up the gangplank, she spotted Louise standing near the fo'c'sle with her swordwand drawn and looking around paranoically. Nearby, an exhausted-looking Saito was kneeling on the deck, chanting and holding his hands in an odd fashion. Lying in a bubble of white magical energy before him was Prince Wales, blood seeping out of his stomach and pooling on the deck.

A second later, Henrietta found herself kneeling on the deck with Louise looking her straight in the eyes.

"Princess? Are you OK?" the fright in her friend's voice somewhat snapped Henrietta out of what she realised was a panic attack.

"I-I'm OK, Louise." she managed to get out, eyes not willing to move from her best friend's own. "But...how...how did this...?"

"Wardes." Louise spat angrily. "Cromwell used the Ring of Andvari to drive the citizens of Londinium into some form of mad frenzy and used them to attack the castle. Saito convinced His Highness to flee, but Wardes and Fouquet attacked and harried us along the way. We even had to fight against the former Second Crown Fleet of Albion in order to get away from Albion, but...but..."

"But Wardes and Fouquet boarded us in the last few minutes of the battle, and used the Orb of Elements to separate Miss Vallière from young Saito here." stated an armoured man, appearing out of nowhere. Henrietta vaguely realized he'd likely been there the whole time; she had simply not noticed in her state of panic. "Lord Rupert de Rhine, Your Highness. Wardes himself managed to hold his own against both Prince Wales and myself after he disabled most of the marines with a lightning spell. The dastard stabbed His Highness in the gut and released lightning inside him!"

"Then he grabbed me." Louise said in a small voice. "I tried to fight back, but...he was too skilled and strong. I'm sorry, Princess, he has the letter!"

It was only then that Henrietta noticed the bruises around Louise's neck. Someone, and the princess didn't need three guesses as to who, had grabbed her friend around the throat hard enough to bruise. A white-hot rage, which had been slowly building since she'd heard of the former Crown Agent's involvement, burst into flames within her.

"How dare he...!" she hissed before she got herself under control. "Go on, Louise."

"P-Princess...Saito said that he...he couldn't save Prince Wales...he simply didn't know any strong enough healing spells." the pinkette swallowed. "What he's doing right now is...slowing down Prince Wales' time. If he hadn't, His Highness would have died yesterday. Once he deactivates his spell...Prince Wales will only have a matter of hours left before he passes away, and Saito hasn't slept in the last two days to maintain this spell, so he'll collapse as soon as he deactivates it. I'm...I'm so sorry to have failed you this badly. I failed the mission, and failed to save His Highness...even worse, I was a burden. However you choose to punish me, I'll accept it."

"Louise...!" Henrietta looked at her, stunned. She actually thought that Henrietta would blame her for this? For being ambushed and defeated by someone more skilled in both magic and swordplay? That was just...

"Ridiculous." Agnès stated, making the pinkette look up at the noble-hating 'Upstart Commoner' in shock. "Miss Vallière, you did your utmost to fulfil the mission that the Princess assigned you, even managing to get Prince Wales and the Royal Guard to leave Albion when it became untenable. Wardes is an experienced Crown Agent and would have likely intercepted you regardless of what you did. You failed, yes, but against an overwhelmingly more experienced and powerful opponent, the fact that you were injured to the extent that you have been is testament to the struggle you put up."

"More than that, she actually wounded that scum." Rupert put in. "She has a recall enchantment on that blade of hers and when he first disarmed her, she recalled it and stabbed him in the shoulder. The look of outrage he had..."

A part of Henrietta snarled in satisfaction that Louise had managed to hurt the traitor.

"We...had better have Professor Saito undo his spell. Being awake and actively empowering a spell for so long cannot be healthy." Henrietta said before looking at Louise. "We will talk in private later, Louise, but you are not at fault for this, nor shall you be punished for it. So I declare in the name of Henrietta Stewart de Tristain."

"Heard and witnessed." every Noble around them echoed, making her words law.

"Princess...!" Louise said with wide eyes before she snapped back to herself and led her liege-lady over to Saito, who looked terrible. He had bags under his bloodshot eyes and looked as if he could pass out at any moment. Louise gently touched his shoulder. "Saito?"

"L-Louise...?" he looked around blearily and spotted Henrietta. "Princess...I am so sorry."

The burgundy-haired girl shook her head mutely before gathering her courage. "How...how long does he have once you release your spell, Professor Saito?"

"Ah...about three hours or so, if that." the onmyōji replied with a tired slur in his voice. "If you don't mind me giving you advice, he's likely in a lot of pain. I'll give Louise a talisman that will remove his sense of pain until he passes away. She'll be able to use it."

"Thank you." Henrietta said in a whisper, her voice trembling. "Please...release your spell, professor Saito."

"As you...wish." Saito replied as he shakily handed a talisman over to Louise. It was obvious to all watching that the young man was on his last legs. With three gestures and a word spoken in his native language, the white dome flickered, stuttered and faded away. With that, the exhausted onmyōji's eyes rolled back and he started to collapse to the deck, only to be caught by Captain Bracegirdle.

"Mr Stephens, kindly arrange transport of Professor Saito to his chambers in the Academy." the man said to a young Lieutenant hovering nearby. "He's done a great service for us so don't you dare jostle or wake him!"

"Aye-aye, sir." the boy snapped a salute out and went to arrange it.

"Wales!" Henrietta cried as the blond Prince hissed in pain and tried to lift himself up. She moved over to him and pressed down lightly on his shoulder, even as Louise came over and hastily laid the talisman on his body.

"Talisman of Light and Dark, come to my aid! Numb and remove the pain!" she muttered. The paper strip glowed and the haze of pain faded from Wales' eyes. He blinked up and around until he finally locked eyes with the teary-eyed Tristainian princess.

"Henri...etta...?" he breathed. "How...what happened?"

Louise quickly gave him a condensed and to the point explanation.

"Ah...I see." the Albionian Royal whispered. "I owe Professor Saito a great debt then. To have...the last thing that I see...to be you, Henrietta...is a boon beyond any...I could ask at this time."

"Wales...!" Henrietta sobbed. "Please, don't die!"

"Would that I could stay, but alas; when the traitor's hand strikes, it strikes with the might of a legion." Wales replied, a small crooked smile on his face. "Rupert, are you here?"

"I am, Your Highness." the Duke knelt next to his lord.

"My last orders for you, the Guard and the Loyalist forces of Albion when they arrive are this: you are to...place yourselves under the command of Henrietta of Tristain as the last...living holder of the Tudor Bloodline until such time as either Albion falls from the sky or until our homeland has been reclaimed from the Reconquista by force of arms. Do you...accept these orders?" the dying prince stated firmly.

"On my life, I swear to obey these orders until they are fulfilled." the loyal man swore, his voice hoarse with emotion.

"Thank you, old friend." Wales smiled before turning back to Henrietta. "As much...as it pains me to admit...I am selfishly glad...that the letter was taken."

"Wales?" Henrietta gasped.

"All I wanted...all I ever wanted...was to make you happy." he whispered. "You cannot be happy...with Albrecht. With this, at least...you will be free from that florid old man."

"But...to be without you is...I don't want this!" the Princess said tearfully. "Why did this happen?!"

"Because I was foolish and did not think Wardes would risk becoming a regicide." Wales said with a small cough, blood leaking out of his mouth. "I did not believe Cromwell would actually use one of the Treasures of Albion against me, let alone handing over the Orb of Elements to one such as Matilda of Sachsen-Gotha. It seems we are star-crossed lovers in this world, Henrietta...all we can do is hope to be together in the next life. Can...can you promise me four things?"

"Of course." the girl nodded immediately.

"First...do not blame Miss Vallière or Professor Saito for what has happened. They did...everything they could." the dying man said, rasping slightly. "Second...ensure that the Reconquista are either contained to Albion or that Albion is reclaimed from them. Third...and this is one I am certain you will not like...is for you to not be shackled by my memory."

"Are...are you asking me to forget you?!" Henrietta asked in shock.

"Heavens...no." Wales chuckled dryly. "Remember me by all means...but please...do not use my memory as a reason...to not find happiness for yourself. Treasure what time we had together...but move on...find someone else to love. I want you to be happy, Henrietta. Were I to cause you to be unhappy by being remembered by you...it would surely...pain my spirit. Please...for me?"

"That's...not fair." Henrietta pouted slightly, tears still falling from her eyes. "You always could get me to do what you wanted."

Taking that as acceptance, the Prince smiled up at his beloved. "The final request is...fairly simple. The Ring of Andvari...has the ability to revive the dead...as the user's...puppet. Please ensure that my...body is sealed away so that no such occurrence can happen. I have no desire to be used as a weapon...against you after I pass away."

"I promise...all of your requests will be fulfilled." Henrietta wept. "No one will dare to touch your body once you have been laid to rest, I swear!"

"Thank you, Henrietta." Wales said gratefully. "Until I pass on...can we talk?"

"I'd like that." the Princess sniffled.

So it was that, just over two and three quarters of an hour later, Prince Wales Tudor de Albion breathed his last in the arms of his love, Princess Henrietta Stuart de Tristain, who let out a sorrowful wail of loss, sorrow and heartbreak and collapsed into the arms of her best friend, who wept with her.

Two Days Later

Saito and Louise's Suite, Tristain Academy for Magic

Consciousness returned to Saito slowly, and he honestly didn't appreciate the feeling very much. His head was throbbing, he had a disgusting case of cotton mouth, and his throat was as dry and parched as the Sahara at midday.

'Ugh, I'm becoming far too familiar with the feeling of waking up after being knocked unconscious.' He thought fuzzily. Combat training at the Onmyōdō Academy could be particularly rough at times, even with all the protections placed on the dojo to prevent lethal injury, and he'd been knocked out by a sparring partner more than once. This, however, was a new and far less pleasant experience; this time he'd lost consciousness as a direct result of his own actions. He'd overused his magic, draining his reserves beyond any safe limit while forcing his body to remain conscious for over two days while running on only a few hours sleep before that.

Forcing himself up into a seated position, he let out a low groan as his hand moved to cup his temple, the pounding in his head redoubling at the slightest movement. To add to the already unpleasant situation, his stomach decided to make itself known, releasing a hollow gurgle. He'd barely been able to stop to take a small bite of food or sip of water while he'd been maintaining the stasis field around Prince Wales.

Well, at least his first priority was clear now…at least once he made use of the toilet.

Once he got up and handled his business, Saito was surprised to see both of his Familiars standing in his room. Kaede looked at him with wide eyes before she tackle-hugged him, a sob in her voice.

"Aruji! You're finally awake!" she sobbed. "What were you thinking?! You went into an Overlimit State!"

Overlimit State. That was what the sensei at the Academy had referred to when someone attempted to use magic while their reserves were too low. Saito could see why it had been long forbidden for teachers to push their students to this extent; it felt like the worst parts of a hangover and the after-effects of being drugged with chloroform. Still, once his reserves started to refill, the density and quantity of his internal magic should rise quite nicely.

"Kaede..." Saito raised on hand and patted her in her favourite place, just behind her horn. "Onmyōji used to do that kind of thing all the time in Abe no Seimei's time. Doing it just the once isn't going to do much harm. Besides, there was no other way to enable Prince Wales to live long enough to see Princess Henrietta one last time before he died."

"I figured it was something like that." Emereldas sighed. The succubus looked and felt a lot more powerful, yet at the same time her power felt calmer, more controlled to Saito's senses. Obviously her Avanta Ascension Ceremony had been completed successfully. "Master, please try to moderate your recklessness from here on out...or at least summon more familiars for when Kaede and I aren't available."

"Why aren't you angry?" Saito asked warily. The succubus would usually be the first to lash at him with her acidic tongue when he did something 'stupidly noble.'

"Because while done with same overly noble sentiments that I know you for, my master, this act was only minorly reckless, rather than your normal levels of stupidly noble and majorly reckless." Emereldas replied simply. "You are correct that driving yourself to Overlimit is relatively minor risk, and you at least had the pinkette midget watching over you while you did so. Were it not for the agreement that the Ginki's father forced on you, you would have summoned Kaede to guard you. Had you been able to do so, you would not have suffered so humiliating a defeat."

"Way to rub it in, Emereldas." the young onmyōji winced, that was closer to the sharp-tongued seductress he knew. "Although you are correct in that I have to speak to Kurotama-sama in order to get him to allow me to void that particular restriction on our contract; it wouldn't be an issue back in Japan, but here, it almost killed me and caused the death of a good man."

"Rest assured, Aruji, I shall be having words with Chichi-ue as soon as Emereldas takes me back." the Ginki said stonily. "He will agree with releasing you from your promise, especially once Haha-ue weighs in on my side; she was never in favour of Chichi-ue's interference in my contract with you."

"Your father was concerned about letting some unknown boy near his beloved daughter, Kaede." Saito said patiently. "I can understand his desire to protect your innocence and virtue, but the time has come for him to trust me with you fully."

Kaede's cheeks pinked slightly and she nodded shyly. Saito blushed as well as he belatedly noticed the double entendre he had just made.

"Ahem. Anyway, I see that your Avanta Ceremony went off without a hitch, Emereldas." he said with a cough.

Wordlessly, but with a smug and superior smirk, the demoness deployed and unfurled her new wings...her large, bat-like, white wings. Even as unskilled as Saito considered himself to be (compared to his teachers from his original world), he could feel the holy energy emanating from them. This was the power of an Avanta, a demon who had taken in a small amount of the blood of pure angels. It allowed them to manifest fully in whichever world they possessed an anchor in, unfettered by the weakening effect of being away from their home dimension of Pandemonium.

"They suit you very well, Emereldas." he complimented her sincerely. "They're beautiful."

The sight of a succubus being genuinely bashful and shy was one that most people never saw. Saito considered himself fortunate to have seen it and mentally resolved to try to get Emereldas to act like this more often.

"Ahem...anyway...Kaede, can you do as I asked you previously?" the Avanta coughed, forcing her bashfulness away.

"Ah...of course." the Oni nodded, reluctantly disengaging herself from the nice hug she was having with her Master and moving to the far side of the room and covering her ears, which was puzzling for Saito.

He was still puzzling over it until Emereldas swept him into a cuddle of her own and brought her mouth to his ear.

"My True Name, Master, is {Arasalongaaliyah}." she breathed.

Suddenly, Saito's mind was bombarded by knowledge, intimate knowledge of everything that made up and defined the succubus known to him as Emereldas. All of her magic, all of her power, her deepest darkest secrets, her hopes, her fears, her aspirations...everything about her was transmitted to him with perfect clarity as her True Name became fixed in his mind.

"E-Emereldas...w-why did you...?" he asked weakly as his head started pounding again at the mental strain from the deluge of knowledge he'd just absorbed.

"One part of the contract is to ensure that the power and status between us remains with you in charge and I as your servant, Master." the succubus said smugly as a collar, an actual physical collar, appeared around her neck. "The contract was straining to maintain itself ever since I ascended to my status as an Avanta. The only recourse was to level the playing field, thus why I gave you my True Name."

"But...now you're..." Saito said softly, cupping his Familiar's face in concern.

"Yours, Master." Emereldas said softly. "Yours until the end of days."

Saito sighed and massaged his head. "OK, we will talk about this after I get changed into clean clothes and have something to eat and drink. Kaede, it's safe to uncover your ears now."

The Ginki turned around and smiled as she saw the collar around Emereldas' neck. "Congratulations, Emereldas. That collar suits you."

The collar in question was made of a metal that looked like brass, but was undoubtedly far stronger. In the centre of it, there was a Seiman, a five-pointed star, with Emereldas' personal rune in the centre.

The succubus preened at her fellow Familiar's words. "Thank you, Kaede. Your cooperation was very much appreciated and will be reciprocated in turn."

Saito eyed his Familiars warily as he got changed, sensing that something was afoot behind the scenes, but eventually he shrugged. They were loyal and wouldn't work against his best interests. Whatever plot they were cooking up would undoubtedly end up working to his benefit at some point.

"OK, I'm going to go eat now." he said aloud. "You both are to follow me while invisible. Only attack if hostility towards me is absolutely unambiguous."

"Hai, Aruji."

"Yes, my Master."

Minutes Later

He was barely able to get his food, make a table and chair and start eating in the cafeteria before people started to point at him and whisper. Saito ignored them. He'd been the victim of murmurings and whispers before and if he ignored them, they would go away eventually.

"Professor Hiraga?" Kirche greeted him as she sashayed over to his table. "You're looking well for a man who's been out cold for two days."

"Simple magical exhaustion, Miss Zerbst." he said simply, making sure to try and not eye her long and slender legs or bountiful chest (which was showing a lot of décolletage thanks to some adjustments to the shirt). "I trust you have kept your studies up while I've been away. You still have that pop quiz in...two days time."

Pouting, the Germanian beauty asked, "And if I fail it, will I have a private tutoring session from you, Professor?"

By now, Saito was very aware that Kirche was very interested in bedding him. She had done practically everything aside from strip naked and throw herself at him, much to Louise's frustration, and this was just one more unsubtle attempt by her. A wicked idea came to him as a way to tease and punish her at once.

"We shall see, Miss Zerbst." he replied softly enough that Kirche had to lean in to hear it. "If such failures continue to happen, I would be forced to...take you in hand, discipline you, as it were. Be careful what you wish for, as it may come true."

Seeing the red-haired girl let out a slight gasp and widen her eyes told him that the meaning of his words hadn't escaped her. Hopefully that would make her back off for a while. Kirche, and people like her, liked to seduce people and would even allow herself to be seduced, but what she liked about seduction and what came after it was the sense of control and power that it gave her. The thought of giving that control up would be anathema to her.

Had Saito thought of allowing her to seduce him or of seducing her himself? Naturally, he was a red-blooded male after all, and only a blind or gay man wouldn't see that Kirche von Zerbst was a knockout with the hourglass figure that most people desired in their partners. But he didn't want to be a notch on her bedpost, thank you very much, and until she realised that, she was going to keep striking out.

After the Germanian girl wandered off in a daze, Saito finished his meal and headed off to find his little Master/Pupil, although he didn't need much of a guess to know where to find her. Unbeknownst to him, Tabitha's eyes followed him as he left the room.

"So you're awake." Agnès stated as he approached the temporary suite where Henrietta was staying. Superficially, she was just as terse and scornful as ever, but looking at her body language, Saito could see that she was (subconsciously at least) giving him some degree of respect, far more than when he had last seen the Musketeer Captain.

"Yes, magical exhaustion tends to do that to a Mage." he replied dryly. "Is Louise in there with the princess?"

"Yes. Her Highness has been inconsolable ever since Prince Wales passed away in her arms." the Chevalier de Milan replied, hidden worry in her eyes for her mistress. "I am reluctant to say this, but I owe you a debt of gratitude for pushing yourself to the extent that you did and ensuring Prince Wales lived long enough to bid the Princess farewell. Had she not been able to say her farewells to him, it would have haunted her."

"I am only sorry I could not heal him." Saito replied with a sad sigh. "He did not deserve such an ignoble death."

"Agreed." Agnès nodded. "I shall see if you are to be admitted."

Turning, the woman knocked on the door. "Princess, Professor Saito is here to see you." she called through the door.

After a moment, a hoarse voice that Saito barely recognised as Henrietta's called back. "Let him in."

Exchanging worried looks with Agnès, Saito entered the room, his Familiars darting in ahead of him as he walked.

Princess Henrietta was looking absolutely desolate, sitting at her table as she was. She was dressed in a black dress indicative of mourning, her hair in slight disarray and her eyes drawn and red-rimmed from lack of sleep and crying. Louise, seated next to her friend and holding her hand tightly, looked better, but still somewhat haggard.

"Professor Saito, it is good to see you awake." Henrietta croaked. She had evidently been neglecting her need to drink fluid; her throat sounded as parched as his had been when he had woken up.

Crossing to the table, Saito bowed slightly and poured her a glassful of water from the jug sitting on the table and pointedly handed it to her. The Princess meekly sipped at it, sighing in relief as her thirst was quenched.

"Princess, first, I am very sorry for your loss." the onmyōji said softly. "I only knew Prince Wales for a very short time, but I could tell that he was a good man and that the world is a poorer place for his absence."

The Princess smiled tremulously. "He would have been honoured to hear that from you. In his last hours, he spoke of you well. He was very impressed with your character and magic."

"You pushed yourself too much though." Louise said stonily.

"Emereldas and Kaede have already given me grief about it." Saito grimaced. As he spoke, the two Familiars appeared flanking him on either side. "I can only say that I will endeavour to learn better spells so that, should a situation such as this happen again, I will be better prepared to prevent such a tragic loss. Kaede, Emereldas, I'll be asking the both of you for help looking for better healing spells."

"I shall scour my village's library for spells to suit, Aruji." the Ginki nodded.

"I'll start looking through my archives as well." Emereldas agreed. "Between the two of us, we will find something to suit your needs, Master."

"What's with the collar?" Louise blurted out, eyes locked on the succubus' newest accessory.

"It's a sign of submission to my Master." the Avanta said proudly. "I told him my True Name and thus gave myself to him in my entirety."

"True...Name?" the two girls chorused in confusion.

"There are, broadly speaking, three types of names that humans and other species possess which are magically significant. Descriptor Names, Common Names and True names." Saito said, pulling a seat up and sitting down. "Descriptor Names are just that, names used to describe positions or facts about someone. To use you as an example, princess, you would be described as 'human', 'female', 'royalty' and 'crown princess' to name but a few aspects of your person."

"Very basic ones." Henrietta observed.

"When it comes to life and magic, the basics tend to be just as important, if not more so, than the details." Saito smiled. "Common Names are the names that our parents give us and the name we are born to. To once more use you as an example Princess, you were given the name 'Henrietta' by your parents and you were born into the Stuart family, who rule over Tristain, thus the 'de Tristain' part. I know it sounds obvious, but bear with me."

He noticed that Emereldas had an arm around his shoulders and that was making Louise's eyebrow twitch every so often, so he hurried on. "True Names...well, they are our true names, plain and simple."

"What do you mean?" Louise asked, distracted from her ire for a moment.

"Descriptor Names are about parts of ourselves that we acquire as we are born and age, while Common Names are used to identify us in society. True Names are Names we are conceived with at birth, Names that represent who and what we are, have been, could be, pure and unadulterated, condensed in a single word." the onmyōji explained earnestly. "Most people go their entire lives without knowing what they are, but some people, by accident or by intent, stumble across their True Names. By learning your True Name, you learn everything about yourself. No filters, no ability to deceive yourself about aspects of your being...every iota of knowledge about yourself, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, is born inside of your mind and cannot be wiped out or forgotten."

"That sounds...intense." Henrietta said with a gulp.

"It comes with its own advantages." Emereldas drawled with a smirk. "You gain better control over yourself, all of yourself. Mental acuity, magical control, physical strength and abilities...all of that is increased as a result of gaining knowledge of your True Name. A major aspect of the Avanta Ceremony is gaining the knowledge of your True Name once your wings regrow."

"That does sound useful." Louise conceded.

"It is useful, but there is also a risk if someone learns your True Name." Saito said warningly. "Should someone discover your True Name, they will gain the knowledge of yourself that I spoke of previously, which is something most people would find more embarrassing than standing naked in front of ten thousand people. If used with the correct magical rituals, they could also take control of you using your True Name. You would be a helpless observer in your own body, unable to stop yourself from acting and speaking as directed by your captor."

Both of the girls opposite him shuddered at that.

"But then...why would Miss Emereldas tell you her name?" Henrietta asked in confusion.

"Because of two reasons." the succubus said seriously. "One, Master and I have a contract that explicitly states he has to treat me well. And Two, because I'm a demon."

"The demon part is more significant here, Emereldas." Saito said dryly before returning his attention to his audience. "Demons are unique among most species in that they can change their True Names. It isn't easy and it takes a while, but it can be done. Also, when someone learns their True Name, a collar appears on them to signify their status as having been fully bound.

"There is also the fact that Emereldas willingly told me her True Name." Saito continued. "There is a marked difference in what happens when you forcibly learn a True Name without the holder's permission and being willingly told by the holder themselves, especially in the case of a demon under a Familiar Contract such as Emereldas. By telling me her True Name under such conditions, she has completely submitted herself to me in every way and given me full knowledge of who and what she is. In return, the contract is now impossible to break, even if either of us wanted to, and she has ensured that I will treat her well, with respect and honour, as well as fulfil every part of our contract to the best of my abilities because now she is, in every way, mine in totality."

"Oh Master, you say the sweetest things." Emereldas said happily, smirking at a fuming Louise.

Saito decided to remind her not to get too out of hand, so he leaned over, shielded the side of his mouth facing the Tristainians and said very softly into her ear, "{Arasalongaaliyah}, sit there on the floor and do not tease or otherwise taunt Louise for the next five minutes."

"As you order, my Master." she said automatically, throwing a pout at him as she knelt in the seiza position on the floor and awaited the time limit expiring.

"An advantage for the Master of a Familiar is that if you know their True Name, you can issue orders that they literally cannot disobey, such as stopping Emereldas from teasing Louise there for a while." he explained. "Generally speaking, Familiars in my world do obey their masters, but a little extra insurance is never bad."

The pinkette looked relieved to see she wouldn't be mercilessly teased for a while.

"Ahem...to move on to other subjects..." Henrietta said with a cough. "Prince Wales was...concerned...before his death, that Cromwell might attempt to use his body as a weapon against me using the Ring of Andvari."

"Ah...yes." Saito grimaced. "From what I've seen and heard of the man, that sounds like a likely plan of his. He seems to have no moral compunctions about that kind of foul tactic."

"Louise agrees with you." the Princess grimaced. "I would like it if you could use your magic to create a coffin that is impossible to open so that Wales' body cannot be used for such a purpose."

"I can do that, easily." Saito nodded. "Give me a while to plan out the scheme and the dimensions of the coffin and I'll have something for you inside of three days. Please take better care of yourself while I do so, hm? Louise is obviously worried about you, as is Agnès."

"I'll...try." the burgundy-haired girl said with a blink in an attempt to forestall more tears. "It's just...Wales is dead, the marriage to the Germanian Emperor is going to fall through, Albion has all but fallen to the Reconquista and war is on the horizon. Everything's falling apart and I am the ruler of Tristain. What can I even do about all of it? How can I protect my people?"

"No man is an island, Princess. Wales told me that himself." Saito said softly. "Try to hold these burdens alone and they will crush you under the weight. Louise is here to help you, as is Agnès. You have your mother for advice, Duchess de Vallière would probably give you military advice as well. Let yourself be helped and the burdens will grow lighter. Besides, even with all the darkness gathering, it is not like there is no hope is there?"

"No...the First and Third Albionian Crown Fleets under Admiral Pellew have broken past the Reconquista blockade and are making their way to the Tristainian Airports designated for military use." Henrietta said slowly. "Sanctions against Wardes have also gained weight due to his regicide and the Holy Cee is deliberating his case as we speak. There has also been an upsurge of outrage against the Reconquista ever since Louise formally reported to the court about the measures that Cromwell has perpetrated against the Albionian people. Support for a war against the rebels has grown as a result."

"See? Things are not over just yet, Your Highness." the onmyōji said kindly. "And if the Germanian Emperor breaks off his marriage to you, so what? You're far too good of a woman for a fat old man like him."

Saito had done his research on the rulers of the kingdoms around Tristain after the interference of Joseph of Gallia had performed using Tabitha. King, or Kaiser to use the Germanian word for his title, Albrecht the Third of Germania was a fat man who wore fancy clothing and too much gold and was, as he'd said, nowhere near to being worthy of Henrietta.

"Saito! You can't go around insulting royalty, even if it's true!" Louise yelped, appalled by her Master/Familiar's words before eeping at the realization of what she had just said herself.

Everyone in the room blinked as Henrietta started giggling and then outright laughing until tears ran from her eyes as all of the tension built up over the last few days flooded out of her along with her tears.

Agnès, who had kept the door ajar to listen in at the start of the conversation, smiled softly before she closed the door properly. Now that the Princess had help to deal with her grief and the turbulent events surrounding her, she could start to get things organised and not crumble under the pressure.

'Please keep going, Princess.' the Chevalier thought as she resumed her post. 'I shall do all I can to make your mourning period as restful as I can.'

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Next Chapter: Siesta's Gift: The Dragon of Talbes

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