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Zero no Tsukaima 08: “Tabitha’s Secret”

Impressions:

Very, very good episode! Lots of romantic fun mixed in with some serious, interesting story development – a fantastic combination! Saito’s bath with Siesta was definitely the main highlight of the show, but there are other much more important things that happened. First there was the telling of Tabitha’s history as well as the lead-in to this dangerous task that she has been assigned. I loved how Tabitha was drawn before she became so reserved. I wish that she will return to that way soon, if at all. Also, this episode is when we get to hear her speak the most so far, and that is at the end when she is sleep talking. The other important thing is how Louise was drugged. It seems that potion lasts quite a while and will still be in effect next episode. I think that the love potion is meant to bring out someone’s true feelings and not create fake ones, which means that the only thing it did to Louise was make her more aware about her feelings toward Saito. It’s also good hw Montmorency and Guiche are getting more involved with the series, as so far they haven’t done much except for the first fight between Guiche and Saito. With that as well as Tabitha’s story, this show is turning out to be far more interesting than I had originally thought. It is also becoming more complex, which in my views is a good thing. I love it when things are complicated with a lot of history and such. It all makes the show more interesting, which in turn makes it more enjoyable. I don’t think there’s been a point where there has been too much information yet.

In the bath… (click for hi-res)

Louise: a change of heart: (click for hi-res)

Summary:

As they are riding home on a horse, Louise warns Saito about holding onto her chest. He says that it doesn’t matter because they’re flat anyway. He does not anticipate the sure-to-come violent response from Louise, which comes in the form of an elbow to Saito’s chest, instead of the usual whip as she probably doesn’t have one on her. Just before this though, Saito notices that the school is unusually quiet. Louise explains that it’s summer vacation so most of the students have returned home.

At the entrance of the school, Tabitha and Kirche are preparing for the trip to Tabitha’s home. Upon seeing Louise, Kirche comments on how she hasn’t seen her around lately. Louise says that she just went out for an ‘errand’. When Saito trudges into view (he had been knocked off the horse earlier when he was elbowed), Kirche runs up to him and embraces him. Calling him ‘Darling’, she apologises as he won’t be able to see her for a while. Of course, as she is saying this, she is holding Saito’s head against her breasts, though Saito is probably too worried about suffocating to enjoy the moment. Louise also looks pretty pissed… With the farewells said, Tabitha and Kirche get inside their coach leave the school grounds. Saito tries to give a final goodbye to Kirche as the coach is being pulled out, but stops on the last word as his face is smacked to the ground by Louise’s foot.

As they are travelling through the countryside, Kirche tries to converse with Tabitha, but as always she remains silent and glares at her book the whole way. Kirche decides to just talk, regardless of whether Tabitha responds or not. She says that she stays at the academy because she was thought to be a nuisance in the household. This gets Tabitha’s attention. Kirche continues, saying that she had to quit her old school as she was causing too much trouble. Her parents also tried to marry her off, saying that she was being foolish and giving the family a bad reputation. However, as the man she was supposed to marry was much older than her, she refused. The coach suddenly stops in the middle of the dirt road. A local farmer appears by the side of the coach and informs Kirche and Tabitha of the situation. It seems that the road up ahead (as well as the nearby town) has flooded, which means they must now take the hillside road.

Back at the academy, Louise is taking out her anger (due to jealousy I presume) on Saito by making him do chores with a pretty bad repercussion attached: if he takes too long, he won’t get anything to eat. The job, though, is quite familiar to Saito: washing the laundry. When Saito goes back outside to do his job, Louise fumes about how Saito flirts with all the girls. She then realises that she’s not too sure why she’s getting so angry about this. This simply irritates her more. Outside, Saito comes across Guiche and Montmorency bickering about their seemingly non-existent love affair. Guiche is pleading for Montmorency to stay with him, but she says that she really has no interest in him and only became his girlfriend because he begged her to. Saito remarks about how the two are always like this. After the two return back inside the academy, Saito spots a large, rusty pot leaning against the outside wall of the kitchen. He finds the head chef, Marto, and asks if he can have the pot. As it will be thrown out anymore, Marto lets Saito have it. He rolls it to a spot he finds suitable (still outside the building) and leaves it for tonight.

As Kirche and Tabitha look down from their coach at the lower plains, they see the town which has been flooded. After a while, Kirche takes notice of a sign they pass, with the Gallia royal family’s insignia on it. She is quite surprised and asks Tabitha if she really is a relative of the royal family. They arrive at Tabitha’s mansion of a home, also with the royal crest engraved above the entrance. Tabitha and Kirche are greeted by the butler and taken inside. However, Kirche does not notice that the butler calls Tabitha ‘Charlotte’. Inside, Kirche asks if she can meet Tabitha’s father, but she shakes her head and tells her to wait in the room. She goes off to another room, just as the butler comes with some tea. He introduces himself to Kirche as Percerin. After Kirche responds with her own introduction, he remarks about how it is quite unusual for Charlotte to bring home a friend. Kirche is surprised to hear him use the name Charlotte to refer to the person she had always known as Tabitha. This also brings out a ‘huh’ from the butler, who is surprised that Kirche doesn’t know her real name. In another part of the mansion, Tabitha knocks on the door to her mother’s bedroom. There is no reply so she enters anyway. What we see is a frail, sick old woman in an armchair, clutching a small doll in her lap. She does not recognise who Tabitha is, though she calls her ‘mother’.

In the lounge, a few things have been cleared up regarding Tabitha’s real name. After telling Percerin about how Tabitha used a fake name, she enquires him about why she would do such a thing. Apparently, she was following the orders of her uncle, the King. He also explains that Tabitha’s late father was the Duke of Orleans, and the brother of the current king. (Tabitha’s mother is ranting on about how she is part of a conspiracy to take Charlotte away (the doll) just like her husband was). Tabitha’s father had been murdered. Percerin goes on to provide Kirche with a bit of background information. When the previous King died five years ago, the Imperial Court was unable to decide who to give the throne to. In that struggle for the crown, the Tabitha’s father was killed. The party which had placed Joseph into the throne targeted Tabitha as well to prevent future problems. One night, at a dinner party, someone had cast a curse on a drink given to Tabitha. Her mother had seen through this act and took the drink for herself to save Tabitha. As a result of this, she was driven insane and has been that way ever since. Back in Tabitha’s mother’s room, Tabitha excuses herself and says that she will visit again, despite her mother’s desire for her to leave her alone. Percerin tells Kirche that the name ‘Tabitha’ was given to a doll, which was given to Charlotte. It seems that the mother now thinks that the doll Tabitha is the real life Charlotte. Ever since her mother became insane, Tabitha (the real person) has become quiet and emotionless. There’s more though. After the incident, those who had targeted Tabitha disappeared. Instead, the royal family had given her a near-impossible task of slaying a dragon as a ploy to get rid of her. Amazingly though, she had succeeded. Percerin goes on to say why she stays at the academy. It is because she was a nuisance. This stuns Kirche as she realises it’s the same reason as why she stays at the academy.

At the academy, Montmorency brews a love potion to use on Guiche. At night, Saito is enjoying a bath in the giant pot her found earlier in the day. I guess he’s not worried about being embarrassed as no one is around. He goes under the water for whatever reason just as Siesta walks past with tea and spots the steaming pot. She approaches it and looks into the water, but before she can make out anything, Saito resurfaces and knocks her over, making her spill the tea as well. When he realises that he is standing nude in front of a girl, he quickly ducks back down to cover himself up. Siesta doesn’t seem to be uncomfortable in any way. When Saito tells her that he is taking a bath, she looks around somewhat slyly to see if anyone else is around, before edging closer to the tub. Saito quickly turns around, embarrassed. When Siesta says that she would like to have a bath too, Saito jokingly offers her to join him. However, Siesta actually agrees and swiftly takes off her clothes. When her reminds her that he is a guy after all, Siesta says that he isn’t someone to do anything perverted.

In another part of the school grounds, Montmorency is waiting for Guiche with her love potion.

Anyway, back to the bath. When Saito has his head turned, Siesta slips into the tub. She tells Saito not to be embarrassed as she will be too, and says that it is okay for him to turn around and look at her, as it is dark anyway. Saito does so and the two start laughing. More comfortable now, the two converse as they normally would. Siesta asks him about his country, to which he describes as one with only one moon, no mages and no magic. Siesta does not believe this and leans forward, revealing her breasts. Saito turns red and tries to avert his gaze.

As Guiche tries to flatter and seduce Montmorency, she tries to get him to have a drink. Just as she is about to spike it with the potion, Guiche notices Louise come out of the main building, fuming about how Saito hasn’t returned yet. She manages to find Saito but is speechless when she sees that he is naked with another girl. Completely and utterly destroyed, she backs away with a devastated expression. After she’s gone and Saito has explained about his world a bit further, Siesta says that his story sounds like what her grand father’s. He had claimed to have come from another world that fell from the sky. This perks Saito’s interest, but before he can ask any questions, Siesta stands up, completely nude, in front of him. He turns around as fast as he can, but I’m sure he did manage to get a glimpse of Siesta’s body. Anyway, she says that she has to get back to work and gets out of the tub. When she’s dressed, she says that although the bath was fun, the best part was being with Saito. Embarrassed at this remark, she bids him goodnight and runs off.

Louise seems to have returned to her old, angry self as she is now stomping across the grounds, furiously trying to clam herself down. When Montmorency and Guiche are ready for a toast, Montmorency distracts Guiche by tricking him into thinking that a naked girl is flying in the sky (ahh, that was hilarious! Especially Guiche’s eyes…). Taking the opportunity, she empties the contents of her potion bottle into Guiche’s glass. However, before he can drink it, Louise comes along and takes his drink without asking. In her fury, she drinks it all and returns to her room, much to Montmorency’s horror. When Saito returns as well, but before Louise can scold him for what he did with Siesta, she becomes dizzy and hot. She suddenly lurches onto Saito and tells him that she loves him. Of course, Saito is completely dumbfounded. She hits him lightly, tells him he’s an idiot for spending time with Siesta and also hugs him tightly, not to mention that she is half-crying the whole time. Montmorency comes in to check on things, but unfortunately, things are going how she had predicted.

In Tabitha’s house, Kirche thinks over their dinner when she had been informed about an order given to Tabitha to perform a difficult task. She had decided to go along with Tabitha as well. As she is thinking about this, Tabitha starts mumbing in her sleep – she is probably dreaming about the time when her mother had drank the cursed drink. Kirche climbs into bed with her to cam her.

Preview:

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