Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Familiar of Zero

…

The explosion rang out across the grounds, many students had either found themselves on the ground or were coughing as they did their best to get rid of the black smoke threatening to invade their lungs. In a select few cases, both. Regardless, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, third daughter of the Vallière family, stood proud and unmoving as she waited for the destructive force of her spell to clear. She silently prayed for some sort of mythical creature to appear out of the smoke. A dragon. A fae. Even some sort of Salamander if only to show up that cow Zerbst.

When the smoke cleared however she all of her hopes were shattered when she saw a human woman lying on the ground. Her composure broke though when she saw the state in which the woman was in. Burn marks, bandages, severe lacerations to her arms and legs. It looked as if she had summoned someone straight off a hospital bed.

A scream from one of her peers seemed to snap everything back into reality and panic quickly ensued.

"The Zero killed someone!"

"A summoning spell shouldn't do that!"

"Wait, the commoner's still breathing."

"Only just."

"Somebody get her to the medical bay!"

Louise didn't know how long she had stood there in shock and it was only when a comforting hand placed itself on her shoulder did she seem to snap out of her stupor. Looking over her shoulder, she was more surprised than anything that the comforting touch had come from Kirche. However there was no hurtful comment, no malice filled verbal jab but just a look of sadness.

Louise couldn't help as the tears swelled in her eyes. This was the first time she had actually done something semi right. She had managed to bring forth something to be her familiar just like every other student in her class had. Not only though had she summoned forth a human to be her familiar, essentially making them nothing more than a glorified slave but they were critically injured. The familiar a mage summoned was destined to be their familiar until one of the two passed away, then and only then was the magical contract between the mage and the familiar concluded.

Was she such a poor user of magic that the most relative familiar she could summon be on the verge of death?

"Miss Vallière," said Professor Colbert, the teacher from the afternoon walking forward to where Kirche was supporting Louise. "There is much we do not know of the situation at hand but I ensure you that the medical staff at this facility will do their best to ensure that your summoned familiar achieves a full recovery."

"Thank you," Louise said in barely more than a whisper.

"That being said, perhaps completing the ritual would help in the recovery," stated the professor. "It is well documented that when a mage completes their contract with their familiar that some of the magic passes through the mage to the familiar to help bind them together. This in turn sometimes does give the familiar unique abilities. Your magic coursing through her however might increase her survival chances."

"I know this is a tough thing to ask of you but please consider it."

Those were the last words Professor Colbert gave before walking away, likely to inform the Headmaster of the situation at hand. Kirche knew exactly what their professor had been referring to but remained silent on the matter. Sealing the contract with a kiss was the final step in binding a familiar to a mage. Being asked to give your first kiss to a commoner, a woman no less, was a task no noble should be given. Young women their age were expected to be making connections at the academy, which in turn may create a relationship down the line which could potentially align two houses and bolster the strength between them. She could think of very few students at the school who would consider aligning themselves with Louise, firstly due to her magical success rate and secondly because she now had a personal handmaiden whom which she would have kissed.

Being a Zerbst, her ideal on romance were far more open than most of those from Tristain and such a thing wouldn't bother her. The rest of the school however would be far more judgemental.

"Knight," said Tabitha, the blue haired mage had been standing behind them the entire time with her book in hand, not having said a single word.

"What?" asked Louise, the first word to have come out of her mouth since her disastrous spell.

In response, Tabitha pointed with her staff towards the spot where Louise's summon had been called to. "She wore armour."

Those three little words lingered in the air for what felt like far longer than they should have as Louise's mind slowly connected the dots. She had asked for something that was beautiful, powerful and wise and she had brought forth a female knight. Perhaps the universe had selected everything she had asked for.

…

Louise stood in the medical wing of academy and looked over her summoned Familiar. The water mages who had healed her had done an excellent job as expected though from the murmurs and whispers Louise had heard on the way up it had been tough going. A quick word with the nurse informed her that all of the life threatening injuries had been dealt with and she was in no immediate danger. For everything else however they had made the decision to wait for the patient to wake up from her slumber on her own merit before continuing with their procedures.

Her familiar had been stripped of her armour and put into a standard hospital gown before being tucked in to one of the beds located in the ward. Louise walked over to her summoned familiar's armour and ran her fingers along the breastplate. All along she could feel small scratches and dents all over the piece which any good blacksmith could easily remove. The reason they were still there however Louise assumed were as badges of honor. Every attack she had allowed to slip past her guard and connect with her armour was a mistake which could not be made again. This woman carried with her all of her potentially life threatening attempts on her person with her everywhere she went.

It was somewhat inspirational.

That however didn't change the fact that she was now bound to Louise as her familiar. Lifting up her wand, Louise began her chant. "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the five elemental powers; bless this humble being, and make her my familiar." Her words having been spoken, Louise leant forward before allowing her lips to touch those of her Familiar. She could feel a small spark at that moment, likely the bedridden familiar unknowingly drawing magic off of her in order to complete their contract. There was no movement from her however, even when runes burned into the back of her left palm with enough pain to make lesser men pass out.

Louise lifted her head to look at her still resting familiar before searching out the nurse in order to give instructions for what was to happen when she awoke. "When my familiar wakes, please ensure that she does not panic before sending for me," Louise instructed before heading towards the exit. There was little more she could do now until such a time as her familiar recovered.

"Ah, Miss Vallière," the nurse said, garnering Louise's attentions as she closed in on the exit. "While examining the patient's body, we came across a strange insignia marked on her left forearm. On this own there was nothing to really worry about, during our initial inspection we could feel trace amounts of magic radiating from the mark."

Louise's eyes widened and she was grateful that she had her back to the nurse lest her expression be shown. "Thank you for informing me of this," she finally said before leaving the hospital ward and making a beeline straight for her room. There was so much to contemplate and the mark on her familiar's arm was just the icing on the cake. Members of merchant guilds often carried around a talisman to show that they were who they said they were and not trying to hoax the client out of a deal. The idea that the sleeping knight had not just a tattoo of some variety but one that had trace amounts of magic surrounding it made her worry somewhat. The scratches on the armour, the wounds she had suffered and an insignia which symbolized her prior allegiance. This all begged the simple question.

Who was her familiar?

…

Erza Scarlet awoke that night, her body filled with pain and agony. She knew exactly why; the battle against Grimoire Heart followed by the desolation at the hands of Acnologia made it quite easy to understand just why her body hurt so much. It didn't however explain how she had gotten onto an island that had suffered the breath attack of a dragon of all things and into what she assumed was a hospital. Not one for looking a gift horse in the mouth however, Erza pushed herself into a seated position, ignoring the pain that plagued her body.

Turning to the window, Erza hoped to see some sort of landmark or town that would give her some sort of inclination to where exactly she was. Unfortunately, the immediate sight of two moons hanging in the night sky eradicated any sane thought she had had at that moment. Where was she? Had Acnologia's blast sent her hurtling to some sort of alternate dimension? Where were the rest of Fairy Tail?

Erza knew that she needed answers but she was injured and nowhere near the level of strength she wished to be demanding answers of anyone. There was still the possibility that she was a prisoner of some variety and causing a ruckus could end up causing far more damage than good. For now she needed to hide and get whatever information she could.

Her eyesight drifted lower to the buildings surrounding her and the first thought was that the size was immense. At that time however she constructed the theory that such a big building belonged to a nobleman or even a member of royalty, and if that was the case then they would have a team of cleaners and cooks at their beck and call.

A golden light encompassed her body before she stood there in the maid outfit she had purchased what seemed like an eternity ago. It had served her well in the past and if it meant she could blend in without worry then that was what she would do. Her steps echoed out through the night before Erza turned around and looked at the armour that had been removed from her body. Utilizing her magic, it vanished in a golden glow before Erza left the room. All she needed to do was find another servant and explain that she was new to the establishment and needed a tour.

There was absolutely no way that this could turn out wrong.

...

Hope you enjoyed. I only recently got a hold of Familiar of Zero and fell in love with it immediately. Having read a fair amount of the crossover fics I wished to do one myself but wanted to bring forth a character that hadn't been used before, hence ladies and gentlemen, we shall get to witness just how long Erza can handle the situations at hand.