CHAPTER 8: FIELD TRIP (5)
~8.5~
*****
Kye landed in front of the other girls with a solemn look on her face. The Venturi sisters raced over, and Aliana wiped her cheek with a handkerchief. Alfia knew what the tear was for without even asking. She only gave Kye an empathetic look.
Kye walked up to the white-haired girl and gave her a look like she just needed a hug, and Alfia understood. From within Alfia’s embrace, Kye asked, “Fia, was I like this before?” Alfia didn’t answer at first. She waited for Kye to add to the question. “Ever since my memories begin, I’ve been like this. I feel a great deal of sorrow over anyone losing their life. Even one whose soul was warped like that.”
Alfia held the blonde princess tighter. “Caring for the people like that is what makes you a good king.”
“King?”
“You are the creator of Elysium. So king, or god, or whatever, but I know you don’t like being called a god.”
I almost slipped up.
“Mhm.”
“Eli, you are the best of us. You love and care unconditionally. You punish fairly. And you feel great pain when you are forced to do something evil for the greater good. Such as when you executed Suzuka Sakaguchi.”
Kye pulled away and looked up at her white-haired sister. “You know of that?”
“Eli, sweetie, I know everything about you. I don’t possess the unconditional love you do for the masses, only for my own loved ones. You are my baby sister. I was there when you were born, I was there as your big sister as you grew up, I was there as your best woman at your first wedding, and I have been there ever since. All the love I would otherwise give to the masses goes to you instead. I’m always there, watching over you. I hate that you’ve been through so much pain throughout your mortal lives, far more than anyone should ever be submitted to.”
Kye felt another tear, unsure what to say.
“I love you, my dear sweet sister.”
*****
“How many times have you been born male?” the pink-haired princess asked. She was sitting on the toilet, holding her hands over her crotch, doing her best to calm down. “I hate this. How do you manage?”
Doran shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t. I get sick. It takes a lot of mental fortitude to not get there, but all of that pent up frustration eventually wins out and, at the end of the day, I lose my last meal.”
“I’m glad I don’t get sick like that, but I don’t like that you do.”
Doran shook her head and smiled. “It’s fine for now. I decided this and I will suffer it for either as long as is necessary or until I can’t cope. But nevermind that, we’re talking about you. This is your first time dealing with this, no?”
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Alethea timidly nodded. Doran reached toward Alethea’s crotch, where Alethea was holding her hands, and placed a hand over them.
“I fear doing this may have negative effects, but if you are okay with the risk, I can make it stop.”
“You can? What’s the risk?”
“I use magic to calm the flow of your blood. Normally, this isn’t possible, but you know what my specialty is.”
“Telekinetic Force. It’s not only rare, but extraordinarily difficult to control.”
“Michelle is better than me at it, but I can at least control matter down to the size of cells. I’m going to force your blood flow back to normal. The risk is that you might start getting sick like me.”
Alethea grimaced, but accepted. “Do it.”
Moments later, the two emerged from the bathroom. Michelle was lying across the bed waiting for them. “All better? I sensed the telekinesis.”
“Yep! What a fantastic trick.”
Michelle smiled and gestured at Alethea to sit next to her. Alethea ended up lying on Michelle’s lap, getting her head patted.
*****
A short while later, a knock came at the door. Doran answered and found Line and Rosalie. “Do you need anything, Instructor Line?”
The instructor shook her head, pointed at Rosalie, and left. Doran allowed Rosalie in, and Michelle set the table while Alethea brewed tea. “Thank you.”
“So, what’s up, Rosalie?”
Usually, they would use “Lady”, “Duke”, or similar, but in private, they ignored that etiquette.
“I’m aware of why the field trip was set to take place here.”
The three students exchanged glanced, then looked back at the blonde elder in front of them.
“While you’re here, you mean to formally deal with the issue of Drachenheim nobility not accepting a transgender sovereign.”
“So you are informed,” Alethea said.
“I am among the older nobility. I do not know where or why this notion began, but I know it has no place in government. I have met with your mothers many times about this issue. You know that the current head of the Erdreich house is among those against it?”
“Yes.”
Rosalie’s expression hardened. “Wolfgang and the others must be made to see reason or be removed. To that end, I have agreed to take the position of sovereign again if necessary.” She suddenly smiled, but it wasn’t one that said she was happy. “However, I think Wolfy will come around.”
Alethea and the others raised an eyebrow.
“As you know, I’m an elder. I’m not a royal descended from one of the founders, but I am from the time before the war. And I knew your parents then. The royals very rarely have children, but the handful of elder nobles like me have ten million years of generations. My family created a new generation every twenty to thirty years for a long time, and every fifty years or so even now.”
Doran nodded, as did the others, “Yes. That much is in the history books.”
“Yes. So, the current sovereign of Erdreich is Wolfgang van Erdreich, my great-great-thousand some odd grandson, right? I’ve raised a handful of my descendants, him most recently. His mother died in childbirth, and his father committed suicide out of grief. Awful, but it is what it is. Wolfgang is one of my many generations that grew up like my own child, so... I think he’ll come around.”
The three grimaced, each imagining different things Rosalie might do to Wolfgang. As they each considered different things, the group chat for the three and Kye received a message from Liliana.
Alethea skimmed it, then read some of it aloud. “They say, ‘Princess’s business is wrapped up. We’ll be joining you on Erdriech soon.” She read the rest of it over a call, “While meeting with the woman that contacted Princess, we discovered that she is Princess’s elder sister. As you know, King Zen and Lady Layla have no older children, only two younger. This woman claims to be the elder sister not of Kye Akari, but of Elysia Athas. Her name is Alfia Athas. Princess has convinced her to stay for a while and she will accompany us to Erdriech. We will be there within the hour.”
Alethea and the redheads exchanged glances, each unable to hide their fear. “““ALFIA?”””
*****
Revision 12-10-2023