A/N: In the wake of two stories going into hiatus, a fresh one is coming out. This time with some planning behind it at least. Should be slightly evident what happens here. I hope others will enjoy this as much as I'm already enjoying making it.

Once more she found herself in an unfamiliar place. Distant screams and the clashing of metal resounded in her ears, smoke and ash stung her eyes, and the stench of fresh blood and death invaded her nose. Yet she didn't feel fear, cringe at the sights and sounds, or really feel much for that matter. She had seen many of this before. Louise long since accepted these nightmares to be part of her life.

At first they were innocuous, exciting even. She watched the daily lives of commoners conducting their daily craft, the travels of odd cat people in a desert or thick forest, and rather humorous incidents involving miniature people and massive giant counterparts. However, soon these dreams turned into scenes of turmoil and eventually bloodshed.

First she witness groups of adventurers traversing dark crypts teeming with undead and massive arachnids. Then one of the groups confronting what had seemed to be a giant demonic figure that breathed fire and sought to put the world to that flame. After that, a winged angel that seemed just as bloodthirsty as the demon. A massive earthen golem with sentience and a grudge followed.

Now, the scene differed but followed the theme of escalating conflict in both scale and content. This time what played out before her under a darkened sky was not a single battle or skirmish, but rather a full on war. Louise noticed that on one side, mages and commoners bearing blades of all sorts had teamed up with the felines, midgets and giants, as well as damned elves, had engaged oddly armored men and women with equally odd weapons and stranger metallic mounts.

The killing field seemed to extend endlessly in all directions from the raised plateau Louise found herself to be standing. As she grew accustomed to the din of warfare her senses finally caught up with her, bringing her attention to her nearby surroundings. To her right she found a hulk of a man in dark armor, shouting orders in a tongue she couldn't recognize with his hand to the side of his head. To her left she observed a pale skinned and haired giantess wearing some sort of naval uniform calmly doing the same. Finally to her fore she witnessed a younger woman with odd horns and a staff conversing with what looked to be an elderly elf.

'Absurd,' Louise thought, 'as if anyone would so much as stand near an elf!'

Distracted by her thoughts she failed to initially notice that the entire battlefield had fallen silent, even as the ones that shared the plateau ceased what they were doing and looked skyward. Louise flinched at the sudden change, quickly looking past her 'companions' and onto the fields. Every man, woman, cat, midget, giant, and elf ceased their fighting for what seemed an eternity but was really but a moment to look skyward as well.

Louise slowly shifted her gaze to match those around her. The sight that greeted her sent a shudder cascading through her body. The red moon, one of the two moons she seen on a daily basis, seemed to have fallen from the sky and glowed an eerie shade of crimson. Geometric patterns were etched into the moon as flaming debris scattered from the moon. A massive blue 'key' had been sent from the moon, having suddenly started to open to reveal an entity that struck a cord deep within Louise, awakening something deeper, more primal, than fear.

A massive black dragon emerged from the moon where it wasted no time in laying waste to the land below. Screams of terror and pain echoed endlessly around her accompanied by the roar of flames and crushing booms of explosions left in the dragon's wake. In the distance she could see the damage wrought upon the land, entire swathes of forest were torched, desert turned to glass, and cities left in flames with countless lives silenced in an instant. Before her, Louise had decided that this was no mere nightmare, this terror was a ghastly visage of calamity she felt would haunt her for many nights to come.

In front of her the elderly elf stood in grim concentration, calmly watching the carnage. She had no time to prepare for the wave of flame that nearly consumed them. To her surprise, the elf stood his ground, using magic unlike anything she seen and vastly different from anything she'd been told of to protect as many within a barrier of light as he could. Time and again the barrier was stripped away, only for the elf to quickly reconstruct it before the onslaught of the dragon could get through. Even as her opinion of the elf begun to change for the better for his heroism, the hope and relief she started to feel was crushed as the barrier fell once more and the elf was brought to his knees.

'No, don't give up! You've shown me just how powerful you are! You can do this!' Louise's cries fell on deaf ears as she ran up to the elderly elf.

Once more Louise flinched, but this time in reaction at how she had just cheered on an enemy of human kind. Before she could regain her composure, however, the elf slammed his staff into the ground and thrust an arm forward. The white light this time was no barrier, but something else entirely. The light engulfed many men and women, human or not, and each blinked out of existence in turn. Finally the light surrounded her. The elderly elf was buffeted by the wind of an incoming attack, which he faced bravely. But right at the end, his eyes shifted towards her, his face remaining still. He smile softly, almost wistfully, at her as her world gone white.

Louise slowly blinked her eyes open. She no longer stood on the plateau overlooking the carnage. There was no dragon nor was there a sagely elf. Instead she stared blankly at the vaulted ceiling of her dorm room.

The rays of sunlight that penetrated the semi-opaque curtains cause her to cringe as her eyes slowly adjusted. Sitting up and dangling her legs off the edge of her bed, making a futile attempt to bring comfort to her eyes by rubbing them. As her blurred vision eased back into normalcy, she simply stared at the door.

'Today is the Summoning Ritual,' Louise heaved a heavy sigh.

The coming event weighed heavily on the girl. Her very worth as a noble would be judged at that moment, and all her work up until now will be all for naught if she failed. Normally a student wouldn't worry as much about the Ritual. Sure, it was seen as a measure of potency, strength, and worth to many, but the actual risk associated with failure was at worst repeating a year. That is, for a normal student, one that could cause proper magic. For Louise, the stakes were much higher. She has never once successfully cast a spell, not even the simplest of cantrip. They all ended the same way, with explosive results. Even worse still, ever since the dreams and nightmares began she has yet to even manifest her usual explosion.

In preparing for the day, she felt as if she were a dead woman bound for the gallows. Her mother had already set the ultimatum over a month prior, failure today meant forfeiture of her potential noble life. Instead she'd be bound to be married off to save face at best, disowned at worst.

Faint whispers tickled at the back of her mind, ignored and passed off as nerves in anticipation for the day. Fully clothed and washed, Louise leaves her room, stopping a moment to look back inside before she took the long walk to Alvis Dining Hall.

If this were the last she seen of the room, she would not mind. No fond memories were housed there.

Louise entered the dining hall without much enthusiasm. She felt no hunger, but deemed it necessary if only for the fleeting feelings of normalcy if provided. Taking a modest portion of bread and water to a vacant table, she took to idly gnawing at the chunk of fresh bread. She hoped for some peace before walking to her 'execution'.

"Why, if it isn't my dear Zero?" It seemed Louise would get no such peace.

"Hrrm, what is it Zerbst?" Louise growled at the redhead that sauntered up to the seat opposite of her.

"Oh? I can't simply have a chat with a friend? Hmm? Could it be you're in a bad mood? Worried about something perhaps?" The redhead shifted her hips as she stood, emphasizing the movement of her curves and smiling all the while.

Louise clenched her fists as she lowered her head at her now neglected food.

"Oh, I know. It's the Summoning Ritual today isn't it? Ah ha! Certainly someone like yourself will summon something great, like a slug, a worm, or maybe even a commoner. Oh my, now wouldn't that be amazing?"

Louise wished she could retaliate. To bite back and tell her she'd summon the most amazing familiar of them all. Yet she knew deep down the arrogance and ignorance such a claim would signify. She simply knew better. So she bit her tongue and remained silent. Such a lack of response surprised Kirche von Zerbst, as the small pinkette normally had a temper as volatile as her magic.

"A-are you okay?" Kirche tilted her head in an attempt to look at Louise's face.

Louise avoided her gaze vehemently.

"Please, just leave me be...," the smaller girl said softly.

Taken aback, Kirche backed away with furrowed brows and without any further words. Walking away she stole a quick glance at her long time 'rival' before leaving the girl to her devices.

Finally attaining her peace, Louise laid her head down on the table, cradling it in her arms.

'Only a couple more hours...'

The day passed quickly for Louise, the dreaded hour having finally struck. She stood behind the disorganized mob of students that comprised of her class. Ahead of her she could see her long time tormentor Kirche and her silent tag-along Tabitha. Honestly, Louise didn't mind the taciturn blue headed girl, and despite Kirche's annoyance Louise somehow enjoyed the attention. Nearby to her left stood the annoying fop Guiche and his oblivious girlfriend Montmorency. Truly the snobby blonde could see his cheating ways, right? Louise let out a disgruntled sigh.

Classmate after classmate stepped forth to summon their familiar at the behest of Professor Colbert. Many brought forth the mundane such as ordinary birds, house cats and dogs. Others managed the odd, the interesting, and some outright bizarre such as the bugbear the annoying kid that sat a few seats before her in her practical classes or or the giant mole Guiche somehow believes to be a thing of beauty. Still others even summoned rare, impressive, and unique beasts such as Tabitha's dragon or Kirche's rare breed of salamander.

Finally it was her turn. Her peers whispered derogatory slurs or openly mocked her as she stepped forward into the summoning circle. She ignored it all, even missing the worried glance from Kirche and Professor Colbert.

"Valliere, you needn't be so quick. Take a moment to prepare yourself," the kindly teacher gave Louise a small smile of reassurance.

An appreciated gesture, but largely unneeded in her opinion. She had long accepted her lot in life. It was all simply a formality now.

Standing grimly upon the circle she raised both her free hand and wand in preparation. The rote memory of the incantation coming to her, she begins.

"I, Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière, in the name of the great Five Pentagon Powers, following my fate, summon a familiar."

It was perfect. The incantation, the hand gestures, her posture, the circle in altered. Even the willpower supplied would have been sufficient.

Yet nothing happened.

No sparks, no smoke, no explosion, no familiar.

Simply nothing, save for a tiny blue pebble that rolled to her foot. Kneeling, she picked it up.

Closing her eyes Louise let out a breath through her nose in a short huff.

'I knew it...,' she thought, pocketing the stone while turning towards the awkwardly silent crowd.

None spoke a word as they parted for her, allowing her to simply walk away towards the student dorms. Professor Colbert was unsure if he should confront the downtrodden girl or let her have her space for now. Kirche fought the urge to pursue, pangs of guilt hit her.

'I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. Even Louise deserves SOMETHING,' the Germanian bit her lip.

Louise continued to walk undisturbed, save for the growing whispers she believed to be her 'former' peers...yet none behind her spoke a word. Before entering the tower she discarded the wand she carried, it would be of no use to a fallen noble with no magic. At least now the whispers ceased.

'Now, I should take the next carriage to the capitol tomorrow, and then back...home...'

Just as it was set forth previously by her mother, upon the possible event of her failure, she'd head to the Valliere Estate post-haste. She would not dare defy the orders of the Heavy Wind.

That night was the first dreamless night in weeks, yet not a bit restful.

Louise stood outside the Academy gates just as the morning mists began to dispel, the sun finally bringing heat to the chilled earth. Beside her was only a single piece of luggage, she didn't own much that she cared to keep as much was supplied by the school. Simply a change of clothes, a couple non-academic books, a small stuffed animal and a tightly bound stack of letters from her much loved sister Cattlya. If there was any silver lining to this storm cloud, it would be being able to see her ailing sister again. She feared the eldest sister, got chills from her mother, and was indifferent to her father. But, the middle child always held a warm place in Louise's heart.

The carriage creaked to a stop before her. Taking care not to forget what precious few possessions she carried, she pulled the door open only to be drawn away by an annoyingly familiar voice call out to her.

"Valliere! Hold on. Do you really mean to leave right away? The school hasn't even said anything about the summoning yet!" A slightly out of breath Kirche, followed by Tabitha, stopped at the gate.

'Oh? So I'm Valliere and not Zero now?' Louise silently deadpanned.

Not willing to suffer the antics of a Zerbst, Louise rushed into the carriage and slammed the door shut, knocking on the front to signal to the driver to go ahead.

"W-wait! I wanted to...," Kirche's voice trailed of as the carriage's distance grew, "...apologize...for everything..."

Tabitha placed a hand on Kirche's arm in comfort. The duo silently wishing the Valliere scion a safe journey and hopefully a happier future.

"Augh, I hate carriages...," Louise grumbled.

The road was rough and the wooden wheels did little to dampen the rocking she experienced. The jolt from the sudden stop did little to lift her spirits.

"Oh, what n-...," Louise was started by frantic talking that escalated into yelling and cursing just outside the carriage.

Louise leaned nearer to the door, pressing against it in hopes of finding out what was being said. Fear preventing her from pulling aside the curtains to the window and looking. Just as sudden as the stop, the door was torn open, sending the girl face first into the hard ground below.

"Oi! Ye have got to be killing me! It's only a kid in here?" A dirty shirtless man wielding a broken short sword whined.

"Aye, it seems so. Oi! Coachman! Ye better not be hiding no cargo," a larger, burly man holding a forester's ax motioned at the driver who sat fearful with his back to the carriage's front wheel.

"N-n-n-no sir. I'm but a passenger coach, and the girl has been my only customer today!" The coachman trembled.

The burly man scratched at his balding head in thought.

"Boss, check out the lass's clothes. She got that noble school's crest and cape," a lanky man lacking several teeth bent over and pulled Louise to her knees.

"Oh? Then she be a noble then. Mayhaps worth a ransom," the proclaimed Boss laughed, "Get lost coachman, lest you want my ax to split yer head."

The carriage driver scrambled into the driver's seat and in a panic forced the horses into a gallop, leaving Louise behind alone with three men who were most certainly brigands.

'Oh Brimir!' Louise began to tremble as she was lifted further to her feet by the lanky brigand.

"U-unhand me! You filthy b-bastard," Louise slapped away the brigand's hands and backed away.

Unfortunately, her single piece of luggage followed her fall from the carriage and impeded her retreat, causing her to stumble onto her behind. With a yelp, Louise attempted to scramble to her feet only to have the back of her cloak snatched roughly by the lanky brigand.

"Ahk, just tie the little tart up will ye," the Boss facepalmed.

The lanky brigand had a dirty grin plastered across his face as he pinned Louise down into the dirt while the shirtless one went to fetch rope.

"Oi, Boss? You mind if I rough her up a bit? Been a while since we had a cute one, they make the best sounds," he laughed.

'Oh no...no no no, please no!' Louise struggled as her left arm was pulled behind her back and pressed upward sending shards of pain through her elbow and shoulder.

"Just leave her in one piece will ye? Otherwise a ransom would be out o' the question," the Boss shrugged.

The brigand holding her down let out a sick giggle as his free hand wandered where they shouldn't. Louise's eyes widened as the implications hit her.

'No, they can't! Please...,' Louise flailed with her free arm in an attempt to grasp some means to freedom.

In the process, she found purchase of a hold on the brigand's belt, finding the grip of a dagger within. Pulling it free, her world blurred around her and seemed to still as a massive pounding resounded within her head. Images flashed in rapid succession as the whispers returned. Eventually a single voice sounded out louder than the others, the words strange and foreign, yet she understood them all the same. The images that accompanied the words shifted to that of a port city, complete with the smell of sea salt and fish. The voice she identified as a feline female from some of her dreams, confidant and sardonic.

Slowly the blur and pounding faded, as did the whispers. The world once more churned into motion. Yet, Louise's eyes narrowed in focus and grit her teeth. Shifting her feet, she found the grip to propel her body in a circular fashion while relaxing her restrained arm, allowing it to dislocate. As she spun on the momentum she flipped the dagger into a reverse grip and twisted her body to bring a slash across the face of the lanky brigand followed by a swift kick to the chin that sent him reeling back.

Astounded by the sudden retaliation by a small and seemingly weak noble girl, Louise was afforded precious few second to shrug her left arm back into it's socket, sending tears streaming down her face and a short scream in pain to escape her lips. In a three point stance similar to a marathon runner's starting position, Louise shared the astounded feeling the brigands felt.

'Did...what did I just do? HOW did I manage that!?' Louise's mind raced, her eyes still focused and her muscled taught in preparation for actions she wasn't sure she could pull off and was confused as to why she knows how to attempt them in the first place.

The now grimacing lanky brigand snapped out of the stupor first and in his anger lunged at Louise barehanded. In a blur of pink, Louise bypassed the brigand, slitting his throat in a single fluid slice. He crumpled onto the ground, clutching at his neck, letting out his final bloody gurgles as his life's blood left him dry.

"BLOODY HELLS! How did d' brat do that?" The shirtless brigand exclaimed, wide eyed and gripping his broken sword tight enough his hand bled.

With eyes still wide in focus, Louise fumbled at the belt of the now dead brigand, pulling a second dagger out and holding it in a manner mirroring the first.

"Damned brat, killing one of my men, yer not worth the ransom. YER LIFE IS FORFEIT!" The Boss snarled as his grip tightened on his ax.

Despite the intense fear that swarmed within her, Louise was unable to back down, her body simply refused. The Boss and Shirtless Brigand darted towards her in unison, with the intend of simply overwhelming her. As if responding to an unknown signal, her body responded in kind, sprinting low to the ground at the pair. Only to deviate at the last moment in a blur to her left, flanking the Shirtless Brigand.

Louise planted her offhand dagger into his chest as she twisted left, twirling her main hand dagger so that she held it by the blade. She let loose the dagger in a sharp throw aimed at the Boss, lodging it firmly in the temple of his skull.

With the second brigand bleeding out from a pierced heart and the leader killed in an instant, her focus left her as soon as the second dagger left her hand. The full effect of her ordeal finally hit her as she collapsed to her hands and knees and dry-heaved as she became fully aware of not only her only physical and mental anguish, but also what she had just done.

The small blue pebble deemed fit to fall from her skirt pocket and roll to her hand. When Louise gathered her wits enough to pluck it from the ground a familiar pound echoed within her head, but this time the voice spoke with words she understood.

"Hear...Feel...Think..."

Louise paled at the voice.

"Wh-who's there!?" Louise scrambled to her feet

"Long hast I slumber'd...longer still hath thither been a bearer of the crystal..."

"What?" Louise held the stone at arms length in shock as it chimed in tune to the words in her head.

"Marry, ye are one with the gift..."

Louise could only stare in awe at the stone, as it shimmered and pulsed in her hand, having forgotten her surroundings completely.

"Ah, ay, haply I shouldst inquire on the state of the realm. I shall be in touch anon."

"Ah, WAIT, what are...you," Louise blinked as the voice went silent and the stone ceased to shimmer and pulse.

She shook partly in fear and partly in excitement at what she held. Did she actually manage to summon something after all? Was she simply going crazy? And was it responsible for what happened earlier...

As her mind returned to the recent fight, she buckled over once more into dry-heaves. After calming herself sufficiently, she gathered her rather unscathed luggage and while clinging to it started walking the road to the capitol. Despite fearing for her safety, she dared not return to the carnage to take a weapon from the corpses.

'The capitol shouldn't be much farther anyway, I still have what little money I brought for an inn and another carriage,' She reassured herself the best she could.

And thus the trembling teen stumbled along the road, barely keeping herself out of shock.

The sun was beginning to set as Louise reached the gates to Tristain, the capitol. Upon seeing the girl, clad in bloodied garments and bearing a haunted look on her face, the gatekeeper rushed to her side.

"By Brimir, are you alright lass?" The guard, a middle aged man with a well kept beard, asked as softly as he could to avoid startling Louise.

"I-I-I...I'm not s-sure," Louise stammered and staggered, leaning forward into the guard's arms.

"HEY, BOYO, go fetch a water mage!" The guard yelled at his younger companion that had just exited the gatehouse.

"Y-yes sir!" The younger guard ran back into the gatehouse in a panicked haste.

The older guard adjusted Louise so that she could stand, albeit with a little support.

"Easy lass, the name's Weston. Come into the gatehouse, I'll brew you some tea while we wait for the water mage to check on you, okay?"

Louise nodded numbly as she was led by Weston into the gatehouse and seated at a small table. After a short while away, Weston returned with two cups of steaming hot tea and after placing them on the table, pulled out a blanket he had tucked under his arm and draped it over Louise's shoulders.

"Th-thank you...," Louise seemed to relax as she wrapped her hands around the warm cup.

Taking the seat opposite Louise, Weston sipped at his tea.

"Now, may I have your name young lady?" Weston asked, still retaining the soft tone he adopted earlier.

"L-louise..."

"Ah, Louise...and a family name?"

"Valliere..."

Weston choked on his tea when she mentioned her family name. The guard passed the initial surprise, then began to pity the sad lot that had roughed up a Valliere. He figured they were in for quite an ordeal, most likely ending in their demise.

'I should draft a letter to the Valliere Estate as soon as I get an account of what happened from the young lady here, then set the poor thing up with a carriage home,' Weston pursed his lips in thought.

"W-well then, Louise, care to explain how you came to be in such a state?" Weston leaned forward in his seat.

"Well..."

So Louise recounted her short story...

"Unbelievable," Weston whispered to himself as he gently closed the door to his private quarters, having allowed the troubled girl take residence within for the night while he kept an overnight shift on gate watch.

"To even entertain the idea a child like her could achieve such a feat, but the guard I sent out to the road confirms the majority of it, ah, bugger it all. I'll let the Valliere's sort it out, I'll report just as she told us it happened," He shook his head and shrugged.

Within the guard's quarters, Louise found herself swiftly falling asleep. This time there were no nightmares, but once more a return to the somewhat peaceful dreams. This time she returned to the sprawling port city, the dream lucid enough that she could even taste the salty air. She was able to wander along the bridges and towers with only the odd lamps illuminating the way under a gorgeous night sky. Eventually she felt drawn to a rather inconspicuous door to what seemed to be a labeled some sort of convent. Upon entering she found it completely different from what she expected.

What seemed to be the main area was lively to say the least. Men and women of all the various races she had seen drank heavily and ate hearty with the din of music setting the mood. A pair were playing cards in the corner, a group of 5 were taking turns using knives as darts on the wall, yet one set of people caught her attention the greatest. Near the back center of the room lounged a feline female, an human man, and a midget. All were laughing light-heartedly at the smallest member of the group, having done or said something apparently hilarious. The voices in the room mingled heavily, but Louise could pick up one in particular. One she recognized in her trance. She took the empty seat beside the cat lady, knowing full well none could see, hear, or feel her. She felt compelled to do so anyway.

"Thank you, whoever you are," Louise smiled at the cat lady, resolved to simply enjoy the atmosphere of her strange dream for as long it would last.