It was the middle of July and Jeanne was sitting in front of an electric fan trying to cool off. She was in her room, or rather the room that she had claimed when she had first been summoned, and was trying desperately to avoid feeling hotter than she already did. She pulled on the front of her tanktop letting the fan blow some air down it which felt good but soon her face was hot again so she let the tanktop snap back into place as she put her face directly in front of the fan closing her eyes. She vaguely heard Micheal shouting as he got back.
Jeanne opened her eyes, frowning, as she remembered their earlier conversation. She had wanted to come with him on the grounds that he might be attacked and he had scoffed at the idea. There was a more private reason why she wanted to go with him but she refused to even think about that. She shook her head and used a hand to hold her bangs up as she let the fan blow air across her face. She heard knocking on the door and she sat up straight about to tell Micheal to come in when she glanced down remembering what she was wearing. She blushed, swore, and stood up as her Master knocked a second time,
"Give me a minute!" She snapped and winced at her tone. Being so hot had made her already low patience razor thin.
"I got some ice cream from the store in addition to the normal food stuff. Also…" He trailed off and Jeanne could mentally picture him shaking his head the way he did when he was holding back a thought, "Nevermind. Come on down to the kitchen when you can. I got a bunch of flavors since you said you didn't know which one you'd like."
Footsteps led away from her door and Jeanne sighed a breath of relief as she looked down at herself again. She pulled at her sweaty tank top, wrinkling her nose as she felt how damp it was. She glanced at the clock and saw it was just after eleven in the morning. Nodding to herself, she stripped off the tanktop and the rest of what she was wearing as she walked into the bathroom to take a shower.
One ice cold shower and a t-shirt/shorts combo later she was out of her room and walking to the kitchen. She got to the kitchen door and pulled at the collar of her shirt as she fanned herself with her other hand. In the short time between walking from her room on the second floor and arriving in front of the kitchen on the first floor she had already started sweating again. She pushed open the door to the kitchen and saw Micheal leaning back against the counter holding an ice back to the back of his neck. He smiled at her and took the ice pack off,
"Its not normally this hot by the way. This is abnormal." He said flatly as he pushed off from the counter and walked to the refrigerator. He opened the other door and pulled out several colorful boxes setting them on the counter. After closing the door he looked at her and she walked over to look at the boxes more closely. Aside from being colorful there were various items pictured on the front of them, some with cutaways to show the inside of the items. She picked up a box and her eyebrows shot up at how cold just it was in her hand.
"Not a bad choice," Micheal said leaning over to look at the box she had picked up. He reached over and grabbed different box ripping off the top of it as he did so. He reached inside and pulled out small wrapped item which he opened to let a black and white bar fall out into his hand. He quickly took a bite and Jeanne watched as he at it. She turned back to the box she had picked up and tore it open much the same way he had. Reaching inside she pulled out something conical with a ball sitting on top sitting inside a clear wrapper. She opened it and held it in her hand scrutinizing it.
"Bite into it. You'll love it." Micheal said as he finished the rest of his bar and got another one from the box. She narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out where to bite into it, and eventually decided to bite into the orb at the top. She bit into it and her eyes widened at the mixture of textures and sweetness but more than anything she was stunned at how cold it was. She looked at it, eyes wide, and then began to eat it rapidly as Micheal opened his mouth in warning,
"Wait! Don't eat it so fas-"
Pain.
Pain ran down from between her eyes and down behind her nose making her gasp. She dropped the food and grabbed the counter as Micheal started to reach over to try and reassure her only to stop as she waved him away, her eyes scrunched up as after a few seconds the feeling started to fade. She blinked open her eyes and stared at the boxes warily. She knew by now that Micheal, unlike Gille-
She shook her head to stop the memories from surfacing instead choosing to rethink the thought.
She knew by now that Micheal wouldn't try to hurt her. Which means she did something wrong.
She heard a snort and glared at her Master who looked away. She narrowed her eyes seeing his lips try to twitch upwards as she folded her arms and hardened her glare. Micheal sighed and pulled out another one of those cones,
"That was something called brain freeze. When you eat or drink something that cold that rapidly the veins that go from between your eyes down and around as well as behind your nose shrink rapidly from the sudden cold," He explained clinically as he looked at the orb at the top of the cone, "By shrinking so rapidly your brain thinks that somethings wrong and tries to push more blood to that location causing the veins to expand while they are still trying to shrink. This causes the pain you felt."
Jeanne nodded, satisified with this answer and then sighed as she reached down to pick up the cone. She frowned as she looked at its deformed shape only for Micheal to pluck it out of her hand and hand her the one he had pulled out winking at her as he did so, "The trick to not getting brain freeze is to eat slowly and carefully. This has the added benefit of making the ice cream last longer so you can enjoy it more."
Jeanne watched as he bit down right next where she had done so earlier. She wondered if that was on purpose and felt her face heat as she bit down carefully into the ice cream.
After their ice cream was finished and feeling a bit better for it Jeanne found herself about half an hour later sitting in Micheals Workshop as he tinkered with his rifle mystic code. She looked around taking in everything that her Master used for his spells and magecraft. Micheal specialized in a few specific branches of magic aside from the Lafaire Magic as well as the generalized stuff that every mage learned like reinforcement magic, mana sense, and the rest.
She reached up and touched the almost jet black ruby that formed the mystic code he had made her earlier that year that was sitting between her collarbone and the valley of her breasts on a silver white chain. It had taken her off guard when he had presented it to her before he left to go back to the Clock Tower but it had been Amelia who had had the idea to turn it into a necklace. Idly Jeanne lifted it up to her eye level with a finger, admiring the way the facets of the gem caught the light. She knew he hadn't meant it as a 'goodbye present' before he left to go back to the clock tower but she still treasured her first gift from the man she-
Jeanne paused, the ruby still sitting in front of her eyes, as her brain screeched to a halt at what she had been about to think. She lowered the ruby back down and glanced over at Micheal as he leaned over his mystic code, his shirt sticking to his back. She could see the muscles moving under it as she suddenly felt her mouth go dry. She blinked, wondering what was wrong with her, and looked away as she stared at nothing and tried to figure out what was going on,
Assuming that this isn't some bullshit Gilles put into me….no. This feels too natural and...actually pleasant to be something he'd do or put in me so its not anything he did…
Jeanne looked up as motion caught her eye and she watched Micheal take the mystic code off its mount and cycle the bolt. He loaded one of his magazines onto the side of it and then did something she couldn't see. She watched him from her spot as he closed the bolt, moved over to a corner of his workshop and sighted down the rifle as he aimed down a 100 meter long hallway he used as a range. She felt mana in the air as cicadas sounded and then there was a cracking sound as a ball bearing shot down range. She watched as Micheal cycled the bolt and then looked at the code. Despite facing away from her she could tell he was wearing the frown she'd learned by now was his thinking face.
She blinked taken out of her thoughts as she realized that she had memorized Micheals various faces.
What is going on with me….
Jeanne quickly did a scan of herself but didn't find anything except a slightly elevated body temperature which was slowly going back to its normal rate. She frowned and leaned forward putting her chin in her hand as she narrowed her eyes thinking harder,
So if there's nothing wrong with me- No. Something has to be wrong with me. There is no normal fucking reason I should be acting like this around Micheal…
You know whats wrong. You just don't want to admit it to yourself. Idiot dragon witch.
Maybe instead of being a jackass you could HELP me then because I have no idea.
Feeling the things you do for your Master but not realizing what they represent. Even if you figure it out, He'll never return them to you.
Jeanne froze.
'Feelings for him'? ...Theres….no. That makes no sense. None. I am the Evil Dragon Witch. There is no way in hell I could be falling for-
"Jeanne? You there?"
Jeanne blinked and suddenly Micheal was leaning down right in front of her staring into her eyes. Her gaze flicked down, catching sight of his muscular chest under his shirt as she yelped and started to fall backwards off her spot only for Micheal to catch her wrist and pull her forward. Jeanne felt like her face was burning as he let go of her wrist and her tongue felt like it was too big for her mouth as she tried to swallow her nerves
"...You okay?" Micheal asked tilting his head in that damnably sweet way she both loved and hated.
"Ye- Yes. I'm fine. Whats wrong?" Jeanne internally sighed, happy she managed to get out a full sentence between her racing heart and her brain continuing to shove that thought she had had earlier to the forefront of her mind,
"Well...I think I've done all I can for my mystic code for now and…" Micheal rubbed the back of his neck as his face reddened a bit, "Did...you have anything planned for tonight?"
Jeanne stared at him, "I'm a servant. We don't tend to make plans so….no. Why?"
She watched as Micheal seemed to get more nervous by the second,
"I...was going to ask if you wanted to see the fireworks tonight. For Bastille Day."
"Is… there going to be a fight there?" She asked uncertain what the point of this was. Micheal chuckled darkly,
"Depends on how much people drink. But!" He looked at her with that damn smile and she felt butterflies in her chest, "Would you like to come with me?"
"I- Sure?" Jeanne said in a half question only to jump as Micheal smiled the happiest smile she had seen from him so far. She watched bemused as he almost seemed to dance in place for a few seconds before he caught her looking at him and he blushed a bit. Coughing into his fist,
"So given the heat lately it'll still be hot by tonight so I'll pack some water for us and make sure to dress lightly too. I know this awesome hill we can watch the fireworks from." Micheal said as he took off his leather apron and Jeanne saw that his shirt was sweat stuck to his chest as well. She sucked in a breath, momentarily stunned at the muscles she knew to sit under the thin cotton of the shirt, and then her rapidly warming face made her look away as she let out a shaky breath
There's no way. Sure he's attractive...and smart…..and kind…. but….
Jeanne heard Amelias voice in her head,
"Take care of Micheal for me okay? He means well but he's a bit of a dumbass."
"Jeanne? Are you sure everything is okay?" Jeanne heard moments before she felt Micheal touch her shoulder. She yelped and jumped as she whipped her head around to look at Micheal panicked,
"Yes I'm-" Jeanne cursed herself as she forcibly calmed herself down by channeling some mana, "Yes. Everythings fine….When do we...leave for the fireworks?" She managed to get out a bit forcefully. She internally breathed a sigh of relief that Micheal didn't try to pressure her but instead just raised an eyebrow.
"Well its close to noon right now and the fireworks don't actually start until after the sun goes down so we have a few hours to kill. Did you wanna blow stuff up in the training room for a bit?"
Jeanne smiled and agreed easily, thinking that the best thing for her right now was to distract herself with some fighting.
~~~~~
Jeanne stepped out of the shower in her room and glanced at her reflection in the full length mirror opposite the bathtub as she dried her hair. She had to admit that being able to bathe at any point was a luxury she never could have imagined for herself back during her life in the Orleans Singularity. She turned to look at herself more carefully and was happy to see that the scrapes she had gotten from the various constructs in the training room had already healed and vanished completely leaving her skin flawless. As she did so she looked around the bathroom wrapping a towel around herself, making sure she didn't bring anything in with her as she walked out of the bathroom and into her room that she had been steadily making her own since she had been summoned.
Moving to sit on her bed she looked around at the now fully furnished room. After Amelia had brought her back to live with the Lafaires and they were trying to find her a room she had made sure to show the utmost interest in this one. After that Amelia had spared no expense in furnishing it,
"Not that the woman didn't try her damnedest to have me move into Micheal's…" Jeanne muttered to herself as that thought from earlier came careening back into the front of her brain. She groaned and smacked her forehead with the heel of her palm as if that would eject the thought from her brain entirely.
I cannot fucking focus like this. Its wrong. I'm not falling for-
Jeanne dug her fingers into her hair as she leaned back and fell onto the bed to stare at the ceiling. As she stared she found herself thinking back over the past few months she had lived with Micheal.
"Take care of Micheal for me okay?"
Jeanne growled and sat up suddenly wanting to hit something. She settled for clenching her fingers into a fist and biting her lip,
I am not falling for Micheal Lafaire. There is no way thats possible. We are in a fake relationship. Its not real. Gilles wouldn't have made a puppet that could love. It'd go against everything else he did to me.
After all if I could love…
Jeanne shook her head and glanced at the clock seeing it was a little after three in the afternoon. Micheal had said that he was going to pack dinner for them so its not like she had to be anywhere. Which meant that she was stuck here with her thoughts even though she wanted to be anywhere else,
If I can love then…
then what?
In order to be loved you have to be capable of loving to begin with. Which you can't do.
….Yeah okay. You got me there. Since you know so much then what the hell is wrong with me then? Huh?
Jeanne asked the Other and huffed when all she got back was silence. Shaking her head she got dressed and sat back down on her bed. She leaned over and opened the drawer in the beside table to pull out the two halves of the metal chicken she had broken months ago. She knew by know that it wasn't a mystic code but rather a kitchen timer but,
"Still doesn't change the fact I broke it…." she muttered to herself as she once again tried to fit it back together. She knew she would have to get it fixed but she-
Jeanne blinked as a thought occurred to her.
"If we go to Orleans….there should be a...repair shop, right?" She looked down at the chicken and felt the beginnings of a plan form in her brain.
~~~~
"You...want to go to Orleans for the fireworks?" Micheal was in the middle of prepping for dinner and looked at her confused, "Not that I'm against it but...are you sure you'd want to? That's where-"
"Where the real Jeanne D'Arc was burnt at the stake. Yes. I still want to see a modern city." Jeanne said glaring at Micheal and folding her arms, "I can't go into spirit form which means I can't explore on my own and I'd rather have you with me so I know where the hell I'm going."
"...Did you have somewhere you wanted to go?"
Shit.
"Not particularly but I am interested in seeing what the craftsmans guilds are up to in the present day…" She ventured trailing off into silence as she did so. Micheal stared at her and then sighed looking at the meal prep he was making. She watched his face morph into that thinking frown again and mentally slapped herself for noticing.
"..Alright. I haven't really started yet but I'm sure I can figure something out that'll keep for a few hours…" Micheal said as he began to pause what he was making causing Jeanne to wince. She opened her mouth to say something when he looked at her and chuckled a bit in that way that made her chest fill with butterflies, "Its fine. I hadn't really started or gotten to far into making dinner yet anyway. I'll pack us some sandwiches for dinner then. Anywhere in particular amongst the "craftsmen" you'd want to meet?"
"Someone that works with...small metallic things. Springs and stuff."
"Oddly specific…" Micheal stated as he arched an eyebrow causing Jeanne to huff and glare at him, "You'd probably be interested in seeing a watchmaker then. Which you are in luck in that regard."
Jeanne blinked as Micheal gave her a sly smile, "There's a watchmaker that Arnehearte used to go to that I've been needing to talk to about getting one of his watches fixed. We'll leave in...about half an hour?"
Jeanne nodded, "That's fine." and turned around to leave the room thinking that she might as well use one of the purses Amelia bought for her as a way to sneak the chicken under Micheals nose.
~~~~
A little over half an hour later and Jeanne was sitting in the passenger seat of a steel grey sports car as Micheal drove them north to Orleans. Jeanne tapped her finger on the outside of the door in time with the song on the radio. It was something called "Rock and Roll" and Jeanne loved it. As the chorus came back on she sang along with it in her head only to hear Micheal chuckle. She looked over at him and saw he was looking at her out of the corner of his eye with that fucking smile on his face. She narrowed her eyes,
"What are you laughing about."
"You sounded really good just now. Thats all."
"Sounded….good?"
"Your singing. You matched the song pretty well."
Jeanne felt her face heat as she realized belatedly that she had been singing out loud.
Music was something that never really interested her back in her original life but ever since being summoned she had been surrounded by it. The Lafaires family magic that they practiced was based entirely on music. The details of it went over her head a bit but when Amelia had taken her shopping for clothes Jeanne had asked about it when Amelia did the same tapping in the exact same rhythm that Micheal did whenever he set up a bounded field.
What the Lafaires had figured out how to do was to take magic circles and turn them into sheet music with each part of the chant and circle represented by either specific notation for simple spells like privacy bounded fields up to outright full musical chords spread across multiple sheets for more complex spells. As such Micheal grew up learning music and magic theory at the same time. In one of the subwings of the mansion there was even a sound studio and enough instruments to make the French National Orchestra sob. Micheal mainly played guitar and drums but according to Amelia he wasn't a half bad singer either.
Speaking of Amelia, She had even gotten Jeanne a tape player for her room with some non-magical music on it for her to listen to so she could figure out what she liked. It was an utterly insane assortment of songs ranging from classical to this thing called "hip hop" to a type of music where it was all vocalists mimicking instruments. As she had listened to more music she had found herself enjoying the act of doing so immensely. She was particularly fond of a subtype of Rock and Roll called "Rock Ballads" where the entire album was centered around telling a story or myth of some kind.
Eventually she even started to sing along with the songs as best as she could in the privacy of her room. She swore that she'd never let anyone hear her sing and yet she had just let Micheal of all people hear her.
Jeanne moved her head to stare straight ahead as she tried not to look at her Master.
He thought I sounded...good?
Jeanne shook her head and smacked her forehead closing her eyes half expecting the Other to show up to say something. She sighed and opened her eyes. She glanced back over at Micheal and saw thankfully that he was watching the road. She put her chin in her palm and tried not to think about how Micheal thought she sounded nice when she sang as the countryside of France zipped past them.
~~~~~
Jeanne got out of the car and stretched as she looked around what Orleans had turned into in the past 500 years. She remembered it as a bunch of stone and wooden huts along with a castle keep, but now… Jeanne looked up at a building and found that she kept looking up until she couldn't even see the top of it. She dropped her gaze and looked around at all the people as well. They had parked the car alongside the walkway as Micheal looked around for a bit and then seemed to remember something,
"Oh right. Jeanne, I have something for you."
She turned to him as he went back to the car and opened the passenger side door to reach into the glovebox. She watched, briefly amused at the sight of her Master bent over, and then he came back with an envelope which he handed to her. She looked at him, tilting her head, and then opened the envelope when he motioned for her to do so. Inside were two stacks of various colored pieces of paper rubberbanded together.
"And this is…?" Jeanne asked unsure as Micheal winked at her,
"Cash for you to use on whatever you want. Put it in your purse though. I know you're strong so I'd rather not have to hold you back if some streetpunk tries to take it from you."
Jeanne scoffed at the idea that Micheal would even be able to hold her back but slipped the envelope into her purse regardless. Then she followed Micheal into the city of Orleans. The entire city was prepping for this 'Bastille Day' which Micheal explained to her was a day to commemorate the storming of the Bastille that occurred during the overthrowing of the French Monarchy at the time of the French Revolution, all of which she approved of immensely. They wandered the streets for a bit and she noticed that they were attracting a bit of attention between her appearance and Micheals. Before she had realized it she was walking closer to Micheal which caused her pace to stutter a bit as she quickly made some distance between the two of them.
"People keep staring at us…" Jeanne muttered under her breath as she adjusted her purse onto her shoulder. Shaking her head she almost ran into Micheal who had stopped outside a shop. She stopped herself from bowling Micheal over but it was a close thing considering she had to catch him a bit as she bumped into him making him stumble. She quickly grabbed his wrist and pulled him upright as she glared at him,
"I'm the servant here you idiot. I can deal with falling over. You're a normal human which means you so much as step wrong and you die." She hissed at him under her breath as she let go of his wrist. She furthered her glare at him as he just laughed at what she said and then gestured up at the sign,
"We're here."
Micheal walked up to the door and pulled it open causing a bell to ring overhead as Jeanne followed him into the shop.
What immediately caught Jeanne attention wasn't the myriad clocks of every shape, size, and material that lined the wall but rather the elderly man standing behind the register reading a newspaper chewing on a pipe who looked up at their entering. He stared at them from behind black crystal glasses as Micheal left Jeanne to stand there so he could walk up to the man,
"Antoine Vallier. My uncle spoke highly of you."
Jeanne turned her head to watch as the man's face went from cautious scrutiny to one of happiness.
"Ah! You must be the young Master Lafaire then! Welcome to my humble shop. I am….sorry to hear about Shear." The man shook his head sadly as Micheal dipped his head a bit. She knew, and she hated that she did, that he had that small sad smile on his face that he wore whenever he had to think or talk about his uncle. Ignoring the two of them she looked around the store watching as all the clocks moved in perfect synchronicity. It was almost hypnotic.
"-anne? Jeanne? You there?"
Jeanne snapped around to see that Micheal was calling over to her as Antoine smiled at her. Smiling a bit sheepishly she walked over,
"Jeanne De Ruilly- Er...just Jeanne." She corrected herself wincing a bit. She saw Antoine raise an eyebrow at her and glance at Micheal who subtly shook his head. Antoine held out his hand to shake and Jeanne took it, surprised at the strength in the mans grip considering he looked to be almost a hundred,
"And my shop is a million times more beautiful for your being in it Mademoiselle," He said with a laugh as Jeanne pouted at him determined to not blush, "but thats not what you both are here for is it? Come, come. Follow me."
He turned around and led them into the back of the store where there looked to be fine mechanical instruments on every wall. Some watches were in the middle of being repaired while others were clearly finished and waiting for something. Micheal called to Jeanne and she looked up from a bench that had a disassembled watch on it as Micheal walked through the back wall making her blink. She stood up and walked over tilting her head. She put her hand up to it and then pressed. After a bit of resistance her hand slipped through it making her eyes widen. She then walked through the wall and felt her breath get taken away at what she saw behind it.
It was like she had stepped into a mechanical madmans workshop. Clockwork dolls stood to one side their metal bodies polished to a mirror sheen. Jeanne walked forward looking around in awe at the space. She eventually refocused on Micheal who had given Antoine something he was turning over in his hands. She walked over and saw it was a silver pocketwatch as she heard part of their conversation,
"….did always tell him to keep damn the thing wound but he never listened." Antoine said shaking his head sadly. He wound it for a few seconds and then opened the pocket watch causing a small tune to play. Jeanne watched as Micheal visibly relaxed and smiled as the tune went on. Jeanne tilted her head and listened to it trying to place it,
"...I don't sense any mana." She said causing Micheal and Antoine to look at her. Antoine looked at Micheal who rubbed the back of his neck with a hand and explained who Jeanne "was". Antoine smiled and looked at Jeanne with renewed interest as he closed the pocket watch with a click,
"Micheal. Would you mind giving Jeanne and myself some space to talk? We won't be long."
"Uh...sure? Jeanne if-"
"I'll be fine." Jeanne said narrowing her eyes at the old man who just smiled at her. Micheal looked between the two of them and then left the workshop muttering under his breath. After a few seconds Antoine looked at her with a sly smile, "You need something repaired do you not? And you can't let Micheal know about it."
Jeanne froze, her alarm bells ringing, as she reevaluated the threat level this old man represented. She narrowed her eyes at him and he chuckled before turning around and getting a chair to sit on,
"I can see you're unnerved a bit."
"Thats putting it lightly." Jeanne said shortly making the man laugh more as he sat down, "How did you know about-"
"Clockwork is for more than crafting watchs, clocks, or even machina. Clockwork is mechanical magic. It can even be used to predict the future. Every morning I wake up I look at what the day has in store for me to see if I need to man the store or not. When I woke up this morning I saw that a "Lafaire" would be coming by with a "Cursed Woman who couldn't sense mana who needed something repaired that Lafaire couldn't know about". By that I had an idea of who you both were the moment you entered my shop."
Jeanne felt herself untense and breathed a sigh of relief, "I..do have something I need repaired but...its…" Jeanne glanced around the workshop, "Probably beneath you."
"Nonsense." The man scoffed before smiling at her, "A woman of beauty and grace needs my help. I'd rather be dead than not help. Let me see it."
"You called me 'beautiful' before now," Jeanne said neutrally as she pulled the two halves of the chicken from her purse and followed the man to a nearby bench to place the pieces on top, "I don't know about beautiful but I do think I'm above average at least."
The old man scoffed loudly and gave her a look from behind his like she was profoundly stupid, "Let me tell you something Madam. I've been alive for 247 years as of last month. I've served everyone from kings to Clocktower Lords. I can count the number of people I've called beautiful on one hand. Its not your physical beauty that I'm commenting on my dear."
The adjusted the chair he was sitting in to look at the chicken under a magnifying lens,
"Although yes. You are gorgeous physically. No I mean your soul. Your soul is beautiful."
Jeanne looked at the man sharply as he looked up into her eyes as he took off his glasses and she felt her mouth fall open. Where his eyes should have been were polished flawless two diamonds. She stared into the facets as he continued,
"I can't tell everything about you my dear but I know for a fact that you are beautiful despite the tragedies that shaped you based entirely on your soul." He smiled warmly at her, "I know its not my place to ask but-" Antoine suddenly burst into a fit of coughs and Jeanne reached over to steady him until they passed. He patted her hand as he continued, "...take care of Micheal. His road is not an easy one...but it will be made better with someone like you alongside him."
Jeanne let go, her mouth a firm line as Antoine turned back to the desk. This was the second person to ask her to take care of her Master. The fact it happened twice was decidedly weird.
"Ah I see. The rotational axle snapped…."
Antoine muttered to himself as he reached for a nearby tool.
About ten minutes later Antoine had finished repairing the timer. Jeanne reached into her purse to pay him only for him to refuse, smiling at her saying it was his honor to help someone like her. Frowning she put the repaired timer into her purse and walked back through the wall as Micheal stood up from where he was sitting,
"It will take a week or so to fix the pocket watch." Antoine said from right beside Jeanne making her jump a little. She hadn't even heard him come up beside her, "Let Amelia know that I send my well wishes and hope those roaches at the Clock Tower aren't giving her a hard time. Now shoo~ You two need to go and find a good spot to watch the fireworks." He proceeded to walk them to the door and after it closed behind them he flipped the sign to closed. Jeanne heard Micheal sigh and looked at him as he glanced at his watch and then look up at the setting sun,
"We've got about couple hours to kill before we'll need to get to a good spot. Anything else you want to see? ...Jeanne?"
Jeanne barely heard him as she watched a long golden braid vanish behind the corner of the building. She was moving before she even registered she was doing so, ignoring Micheal as she turned around the building. She looked around and saw the faintest lingering traces of golden particles further down the street. She ran after them.
What is she doing here?
How is she here?
I…
I need to talk to her.
Jeanne continued to run after her Ruler self as she was led further and further into the city until finally at the end of a side street she saw her standing in the middle of bigger one made of cobblestones. Jeanne ground her teeth together and stalked forward as Jeanne D'Arc looked over at her and smiled warmly before gesturing down the street with a hand and vanishing into golden particles right as Jeanne reached out to grab her shoulder causing her to grab the golden lights instead as they faded into nothingness.
"Jeanne….What is going on?" She heard panting behind her and whipped around only to see Micheal panting with his hands on his knees, "You didn't respond no matter what I said or how often I called to you." He stood up and opened his mouth to continue talking when Jeanne saw his eyes flick up and down the street while he shut his mouth into a nervous line, "...Jeanne. Are you sure you want to be here?"
Jeanne wondered what he was talking about as she looked around and then felt a sense of panic envelope her.
"..This is-"
She started to shake and closed her eyes as she felt the chains around her wrists and ankles.
Remembered the lashes on her skin.
The feeling of burning.
She bit her lip and tried to suppress her memories as she let Micheal wrap his arms around her. She leaned her face into his shirt and made herself calm down as a sense of determination settled in her.
"We don't have to be here if you don't want to be." She heard Micheal say so softly and with so much care it made her chest hurt. She shook her head and gently pushed herself away from Micheal looking up at him.
"I need to see. I need to see where I-" Jeanne froze and shook her head correcting herself, "Where Jeanne D'Arc died."
She stared into his eyes hoping she looked more determined than she felt. She saw his worry for her and his care in his grey eyes as he inhaled slowly, closed his eyes, and then opened them to smile down at her,
"I'll be with you the entire way."
In one motion they turned to walk down the street. Jeanne reached out her hand to brush Micheals and then pulled away only to feel him take her hand in his own. She looked down at their hands and then up at him as he stared resolutely forward.
I...must have done something right...somewhere along the line to have a Master like this…
Jeanne smiled and looked forward, continuing down the road that was both her end and her beginning, hand in hand with the man she loved.