[Master & Familiar]: CH_2: The New Master

Nearly a month ago…

Scarlett closed the door behind her and winced when she heard the glass vase shatter against the door.

This was not how she thought she would be spending her days after contracting her first Familiar. The dreams of nurturing a supportive and nurturing partnership had shattered when she saw a man of her age dressed in strange clothes standing in the summoning circle.

“He’s still inconsolable?”

Scarlett looked up to see a man standing outside the room, leaning against the wall.

Cyrus Pierce.

Scarlett’s older half-brother from the Count’s first wife, whereas Scarlett’s mother was the second wife. While both the siblings had inherited their father’s fiery red eyes, Scarlett had gotten her blonde locks from her father, while Cyrus’ black hair were from the Countess. Two years older than her, Cyrus would be entering the third-year junior at Idogen in the coming academic year as she would be a first-year freshman.

Scarlett looked above Cyrus’ head and barely caught a glimpse of a vague moving shape that shimmered like diamond against the sun rays from the window. It was Cyrus’ Familiar—Elio, a Spirit. No one except for Cyrus knew its true form, but it was a powerful Familiar that had gained Cyrus their father’s favor.

‘Unlike mine,’ she thought, thinking about her Familiar who was in the room behind her, refusing to see her, much less talk to her.

“What are you doing here, Cyrus?” Scarlett crossed her arms, putting on a strong front. She knew how Cyrus could be and knew better than to show any vulnerability in front of him.

“Don’t be like that, dear sister. I was simply wondering if you needed some help with your unruly Familiar.” A playful smile tugged on Cyrus’ lips. “If you will let me, I can discipline it on your behalf. I’m sure I can get it to follow your order by the end of the week.”

Scarlett’s eyes narrowed. “Mind your own business. He’s my Familiar, and as his Master, I will deal with him. I don’t need the help from the likes of you.”

Cyrus’ smile widened. He stepped away from the wall and spoke to Scarlett as he walked past her. “Then you better hurry up, or else father will be very, very disappointed in you, dear sister. I’m sure you don’t want that… do you?” He looked down at Scarlett’s tense face and chuckled before walking away.

Scarlett bit her lower lip, just shy of drawing blood.

‘Human’ type Familiars didn’t have a great reputation in the Magi society. From the past records, their mana reserves were on the lower side of the different types of Familiars, the quality and strength of their magic were extremely inconsistent and entirely depended on luck, but most importantly, they were difficult to work with.

That was one of the reasons why ‘Human’ type Familiar were all but extinct.

And now Scarlett had contracted one such Familiar.

‘Why me?’ she thought.

Scarlett leaned against the wall until her forehead touched it. She covered her face with her hands and sighed deeply into them. She stood there in silence until she caught doing so.

‘No, it’s not the time to be down!’

She looked back at the door. Ken, as he had introduced himself, was very emotional and was clearly not in a mental state to listen to her, who he thought had ruined his life—as good as killed him. But she was sure he would calm down and settle in the coming days, and as long as she was patient, Scarlett was sure that she would be able to get to Ken.

While she would’ve preferred to have a ‘Spirit’ type familiar like Cyrus, Scarlett wasn’t the one to get bogged down. She didn’t mind if he ended up not having impressive magic and deep reserves, as long as she got a friend and confidant in Ken, she would be satisfied.

———

.

Scarlett would be lying if she didn’t find Ken’s flabbergasted face and his slack jaw as he stared gobsmacked at the small flame dancing on her palm thoroughly enjoyable. After weeks of cold, hateful stares and cruel words, the seemingly innocent reaction was a gust of freshness.

“Does it not burn?” he asked.

“Not at all. I feel a bit of heat, but the spell itself protects me from getting burned,” she replied. His reaction was akin to a child’s seeing magic for the first time.

“That’s crazy,” Ken looked up at her. “If someone did that in my world, they would be adored as a magician using sleight-of-hand, or become the second coming of good, or if things went terribly wrong, they would be condemned as devil-worshippers doing dark magic. Absolutely wild.”

They had talked earlier about how there was no magic in Ken’s world. Something as natural as life to her was a foreign concept to him.

Ken brought his hands forth and covered the flame from the sides.

“I can feel the warmth,” he said.

Scarlett smiled and thought about changing the shape of the fire to a bird when the flames flickered. She frowned momentarily before her heart leaped when the fire suddenly almost slipped out of her control; it took quick action and pure effort to keep the flames from jumping onto Ken’s hands.

“Woah.” Ken pulled his hands back when the fire flared briefly.

“It’s okay,” said Scarlett so as not to surprise Ken.

It was as though the fire wanted to free itself from her control and soar into Ken’s hands.

As she dispelled the fire, Scarlett noticed Ken’s face twist in grimace as his torso bent forward, and he clutched his left arm. She immediately stood up and stroked his back as Ken groaned and gasped in pain. Scarlett felt awful as the gesture of support was all she could do for him.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Y-Yes,” Ken breathed heavily and fully leaned into his chair, limp. He glanced at her. “How long will I have to suffer through this?”

“Your body is adapting to magic. It shouldn’t take this long, but perhaps because your world didn’t have magic, it’s taking you longer to adapt. The doctor said the flare-ups will gradually be less painful—are they getting better?” Scarlett said as she handed Ken a glass of water.

Ken only spoke after gulping down two glasses. “Yes, but a hundred minus five is still a huge number.”

Scarlett could tell that Ken was still developing as a Familiar. She could clearly feel the connection between them as the Master and Familiar, but it was blocked as though there was a wall between them.

“I’m terrified,” Ken said as he looked past the balcony at the huge Pierce estate. “I have no idea what I’m supposed to do now. I know nothing about this world. I don’t know how I’m supposed to go on living now.”—those words disquieted Scarlett; she had heard rumors of how ‘Human’ type Familiars in the past had reacted to being summoned—“I was barely taking care of myself in my world, I can’t even wrap my head around the notion of doing it here.”

Scarlett moved quickly. She got up from her chair and placed her hand on Ken’s shoulder.

“I’m the one who called you here; I’m responsible for your wellbeing. You don’t have to worry about anything; please take your time to get accustomed to this world, Ken. You’re my Familiar, and I your Magi—we are going to spend our lives together moving forward. I will take care of you.”

Ken gazed at Scarlett for a long, silent moment.

“…Was that a proposal? You’re going to make me blush,” he said.

Scarlett promptly slapped him on the shoulder.

———

.

Scarlett sat patiently in the second-floor private lobby of the clothing boutique with one of the books in Idogen’s curriculum in her hand.

She glanced up at the middle-aged man dressed in butler's attire beside her.

“Thank you for helping out, Mister Prichard,” she said.

Mr. Prichard was a Pierce Family butler. Scarlett had known the man to work for the family before she could remember. He usually served by the Count’s side and even traveled beside the Count when the latter left the county. He was only one step below the Head Butler, who was not only the Chief of Staff but also helped the Count manage the territory.

“It’s my duty, Miss Scarlett,” Prichard softly smiled. “You didn’t have to inconvenience yourself by coming with us, Miss. I would have sorted Mister Ken out by myself.”

“It’s not an inconvenience at all. And I had to travel with Ken; as my Familiar, he can’t be too far away from me,” said Scarlett. Prichard wasn’t a Magi, so it wasn’t strange that he wasn’t aware that Familiars couldn’t be far away from their Master.

“Is that so?” Prichard looked confused. “The Count’s Familiar often stayed at the estate while the Count attended one of the Baron’s children’s wedding for a few days.”

“You can’t compare Ken and I to the Count and his Familiar. The Count is a much more powerful Magus, and he and his Familiar have been together for decades,” Scarlett shook her head.

Prichard nodded.

“I’m sure you will be as powerful as the Count one day, Miss Scarlett.”

“Thank you, Mister Prichard. I appreciate your words,” she said. Scarlett could only hope she would one day reach her father’s level.

“Mister Ken’s here,” said Prichard.

Scarlett looked up to see Ken step out of the changing room. When he was summoned, Ken was wearing clothes from his world; he only came with the clothes on his back and a shoulder bag. Since then, he had been wearing the clothes they had borrowed from the staff and what they had quickly purchased for him. But now that they would soon leave for Idogen, Ken needed a full wardrobe.

“You don’t like it?” asked Scarlett.

He wore a standard set of shirt and pants. “No, it’s nothing like that. They’re plenty comfortable. I’m just not used to a button-up. It will take a bit of time to get used to the fashion here.” Ken walked to the body-length mirror and looked at his clothes.

“Please don’t worry, Mister Ken. I will teach you all the fashion etiquette you need to know as Miss Scarlett’s companion,” said Prichard.

Ken nodded appreciatively.

“Why are we getting me the Idogen uniform, though?” Ken asked as he fixed his collar. “I’m not attending as a student, am I?” He turned to look at Scarlett; she could’ve sworn she had seen a flash of fear in his eyes.

“No, you’re not,” she giggled behind her hand. “Because of our case, I contacted the university ahead of time. They suggested getting you a uniform so you don’t stand out amongst the crowd.”

“That’s nice,” said Ken, his shoulders relaxing.

Scarlett was aware that Ken very much didn’t like being the center of attention. She wasn’t sure if that was his nature or if he felt like that because of his current circumstances. Scarlett knew whatever they did, Ken would attract attention, but they could do the little things to minimize it as much as possible. Getting permission to let him wear the student uniform was one of those things.

“You will be attending classes with me,” said Scarlett. Ken looked at her in shock. “It’s better for you to stay with me rather than roaming around aimlessly for half a day. And you said you wanted to know about this world; I believe listening to what’s being taught will be a good start.”

Ken nodded with a sigh.

“I’m not giving the exams, though.”

Scarlett laughed while shaking her head.

———

.

Scarlett woke up in the middle of the night and sat up on her bed. Her hand went to her heart, the source of unease and discomfort from nowhere. Her confusion and worry as to why she was feeling faded when she instinctively felt the source of her restlessness.

She got out of bed, draped a shawl over her shoulders, and headed out of her room. Despite the unease, Scarlett felt a sense of excitement as she let her legs take her where her instincts directed her. It was her first time feeling like this, and she knew exactly what it was.

A minute later, she found herself at the threshold of the open balcony. On the balcony, leaning against the railings, stood Ken, staring at the stars, all by his lonesome.

From the day Ken arrived through the summoning ritual to become her Familiar, Scarlett was distinctly aware that she lacked the connection recorded in tomes about Magi and Familiars. She could tell that Ken was her Familiar, but other than that, she felt nothing from him.

But now, as she watched him, Scarlett could feel the connection. She had found him without previously being aware of his location. She could tell that her unease was because of him.

Scarlett was undoubtedly happy that her bond with Ken was heading in the right direction, but as she gazed at him, she found herself calming down. Even without the connection, she could tell by looking at his back that Ken wasn’t well right now.

She couldn’t tell why, but it was easy to guess.

He had been hurling accusations at her a fortnight earlier. Ken might have settled down considerably, but the fact that he was forced away from his world hadn’t changed.

Scarlett was shocked out of her musing by Ken.

“I can tell you’re there,” he turned to glance at her.

Scarlett gathered herself and awkwardly stepped onto the balcony. “I suddenly woke up with my heart all restless,” she spoke softly as she stepped to the railings beside him.

“How should I put it…. I can feel you,” Ken said, but his eyes didn’t move from the stars. “Your presence, essence, your magic… never knew one could connect to another in such a way… feels so foreign and yet so natural.”

“It’s the special bond between the Magi and their Familiars.”

“It must be.”

Scarlett eyed him. His black hair, brown eyes, and wheat skin matched the colors of commoners. He wasn’t particularly handsome or charming, but his features did give him an exotic look. Scarlett couldn’t help but notice how much he had changed in the short time she had known him—nothing had changed about him physically, but he looked so much more mature than before.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

“About my family,” he replied. He closed his eyes as his head hung low. “From their perspective, they would’ve returned home after work to find that I was nowhere to be found. They would’ve contacted my friends, my job, my school, our neighbors—anyone who could tell them where I was. After failing to find answers, they would’ve gone to the police, brimming with worry, desperate to find me. The police would’ve launched a search for me, but we know they would find nothing because I no longer existed on the planet.

“I can only imagine how my mom and dad must have felt when their son disappeared from the face of the earth without any warning or signs. I can only imagine how many days, weeks, months, years they would hold hope that I would one day be found.” He took in a deep, broken breath. “I hope it’s not long; I hope they move on, think of me as dead—grieve for me and then move on.”

Scarlett felt her heart sink at his words.

“I would hate it if my brother ended up changing his wedding plans because I unexpectedly went missing. His fiancé is a lovely woman; they fit perfectly for each other. I hate that one thing would throw the lives of everyone I love into disarray because of me.”

Ken looked at Scarlett, and she was taken aback by the burning hatred directed at her, but it disappeared at the exact moment as deep sorrow drowned out everything else.

“Just one message, I would give anything just for one message. Tell them that I’m fine, not to worry about me. I know it won’t change much, but at least they will know something.” His forehead was touching the railing as his body trembled.

Scarlett felt guilty as she saw him in such a state, and her connection transmitted pain through their bond. She didn’t know what to say or do, so she stayed beside him in silence.

She would later come to regret the moment and wished she had given him a shoulder to cry on, if nothing else.

———

.

AN: For [Master & Familiar], I'm going to follow this formatting.

We get a small introduction to our "Master", Scarlett—but other than the first segment, this chapter too was mostly focused on Ken. I will slowly work on Scarlett. She will be the character that we follow the most after Ken.

Among the dozens of "Transported" genre I have seen, majority of the times, there's no spotlight to what was left behind. Almost all of the time, the conflict is resolved by death. Sometimes, in the "summoned-to-another-world"-type stories, when people bring up the question if they can return home (class summoned to fantasy world to fight Demon King), you never see people thinking about what their friends and family might be thinking— that conflict is too often resolved by the promise that the displaced people will be replaced during the same time period they were taken away.

Here, there's no such resolution. Ken was ripped away and there's no mechanism to solve the problem that causes in his world.

As I said in the comments in the previous chapter, I don't want this to be as dark and gritty as TOR, but I just had to put this in to show what's going through Ken's mind. People can keep themselves upbeat, choose to not focus on their worries—but there will come times when those thoughts would barge in and the emotional status would take a nosedive.