Summoner Of Death

Chapter 4

After the Familiar summoning ritual

Louise could admit her recent behavior hadn't been the most... Noble, but in her defense, she wasn't exactly feeling like a noble at the moment. She had failed, the summoning ritual should have been her chance to prove everyone wrong. To show she was worthy of her title as nobility, she would summon a familiar, she would prove she was a mage.

For one glorious moment, Louise thought she'd succeeded when she saw a shape taking form in the dust kicked up by her explosion. Then the figure emerged in all its horrifying glory, a skeletal head with burning pinpricks of light functioning as its eyes. It was a creature reminiscent of old fairy tales, meant to terrify children into bed. For a moment Louise felt like a small child under its terrifying gaze. Before she could properly orientate herself and attempt to bind it, the creature spoke. It claimed to be a king! She had planned to berate it and force the contract but Colbert had quickly acquiesced to the creature.

It had taken longer than she liked to admit for her to realize why the professor had so easily believed her summon. It hit her as they moved towards the headmaster's office. The being's every word was infused with absolute authority, its movements were full of an easy regality and sureness she could only remember seeing in her younger years as princess Henrietta's playmate. It's movements and words heavily mimicked those of the royal family, it's every gesture reeked of its absolute authority.

She had been so wrapped up in her shock over the revelation she nearly had a heart attack when her familiar...When the king formed a pitch black throne with a wave of his hand, she had been unable to stifle her gasp. She felt a cold sweat roll down her back, she had summoned a foreign noble, not just any noble either but a ruling monarch. What exactly did this mean for her? Her family?

She hadn't meant to, yet commoners and nobles had been hanged for far less egregious crimes against royalty throughout history. Would her country hang her to avoid initiating hostilities between there two kingdoms? Would the skeletal king demand such a thing? She was so lost in her thoughts she was startled when Colbert tapped on her shoulder to get her attention.

She was told that the rest of the conversation wouldn't require her presence and that she should rest. It was probably for the best, she hadn't even heard a word of what had passed between the headmaster and the king. Thus with all the dignity she could muster she returned to her room and collapsed onto her bed in tears.

Her peers had been correct, she really was a zero. Such a zero that she couldn't even bind a familiar, such a zero that she managed to summon a foreign noble and permanently damage Tristain's image in the eyes of another kingdom. Over all that though she felt tears pouring from her eyes as her mothers stern voice repeated over and over in her head, berating her for breaking the rule of steel

She fell asleep to the music of her own broken sobbing.

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When Louise woke she could feel the tear stains on her face, rubbing the sleep from her eyes she moved off her bed. She automatically gathered her clothes, moving to wash herself she stopped at the door. The events of yesterday flooding through her mind, as tears ran from her eyes anew. She curled in on herself to caught in her sadness to move back to her bed. Thus she lay in front of the door, sobbing into her fresh clothes.

She felt so broken, yesterday had been the confirmation of her worst fear. She wasn't a mage, she was a zero, zero success rate with magic, zero familiar. Every insult against her flooded her mind at that moment, every single one. They had all been right, Zerbst was probably laughing at her this very moment. Louise didn't know how long she spent curled up by the door to her room, but eventually, she dragged herself back to bed. It's not like there were classes today, they were meant to spend time getting to know their familiars today.