Morning. A nondescript stone room without windows in the Yutis royal academy. Sitting next to a bed, a Princess wept. A small group of five people was watching the scene.
"She's alive!"
Princess Claire of Yutis was bent over her sister, Lumina. She checked the pulse, she checked the breathing. The warmth. And she wept tears of joy.
"She's alive!"
It was a thing otherworlders called 'a broken record'. On the other side of the room from the recovering Princess, still unconscious and in dire need of spiritual healing, laid an average boy, heir to a world-shattering legacy. Also in need of spiritual healing.
Dawn was holding herself on Sora's shoulder and Cythrel was holding her other arm. Next to the elf Princess Pearl and the not-so-dead archmage. Dawn felt winded. Her little jaunt through time burned so much mana it overwhelmed her mana affinity and now she was paying the price of crossing backward what should only the walked forward.
She was suffering from mana burn.
"That was quite the night." Dawn giggled.
Astromelicus raised an eyebrow, "I must say, It was quite fortunate to engrave the ritual circle in the stone and paint it with the orichalcum paint. If the crystal shards broke the circle, none of us would be alive now."
Claire finally stopped dehydrating herself and returned to them. "I'm sorry for the unsightly display."
"Don't worry," Dawn patted the Princess' shoulder. "It is not like any of us didn't bleed to death several times over to get her back. A few tears? Nothing to worry about. And by the way, give this back to the King. I'm done playing Princess."
She handed the Regalia Ring to Claire.
"How may we thank you?" Claire asked.
"Just keep Lumina out of our heels. I'm afraid she will wake up and rampage. I know she will wake up screaming, her first reaction will be to think she is still being trampled by the rhinorses."
Claire puckered her lips and looked over her shoulder back at her sister. "Maybe we should move her to the hospital. They will know how to deal with her there."
"Yes, about that. We will have to keep her here for a month more." Dawn confessed. "We need to heal her soul entirely to avoid any further problems. She spent too long in a man's body, and it reshaped her being. We are repeating the process we used to heal back when we were trampled. Only this time it will be faster with healing magic."
"Sorry, what do you mean?" Claire was worried.
"We have a bracelet enchanted with a sleep spell. It will keep her unconscious. Then we are going to knead her soul with her body, to make her regain the shape she had. Here – Soul Reveal! – Can you see how the shape of my soul is entirely feminine? That is because I recovered slowly from the damage while it had the time to reshape in the form of my own body."
Claire sighed. "Do you mean I'll have to hold my father and brother for a month? It will be summer already!"
"Good luck, your Highness." Dawn curtsied.
Claire had to go. Being the smart sibling left all the paperwork to her. She was not swamped by work now that all financial reports were in order but she was still very busy. After she left with Pearl, It was Astromelicus' turn.
"How does it feel to be an unsung hero?" Dawn asked.
"Don't get cocky, student Dawn," The archmage replied, his countenance emanating power. "Do you think anyone remembers my exploits from two thousand years ago?"
"I'm sure I can find something at the Keeper's Library."
He chortled, "Fair enough. But no, I'm fine. In the end, we didn't really bring anyone back to life, did we?"
Indeed nobody was brought back to life. Instead, they only cheated death, playing at the edge of the abyss without never falling in.
"Not a chance. There is no such thing as raising the dead. Nobody died. But that's my path, Astro."
"Path? You are too young to decide on a path. But please humor me."
"I'm mastering Death," Dawn announced. The reaction of surprise and disgust was stamped in the faces of her two wives. "But wait. I know what you are thinking. Mastering Death to me is not just being able to kill anything. Heck, anyone can kill given the right tools. No. Mastering Death means, to me, that I get to say when people die and most importantly when they don't."
"It is like a death mage that doesn't want even the first time," Cythrel commented.
"Yes, that is it. I don't want the first time for anyone, not even the fourth." Dawn complemented.
They spread through the room, with the girls going to look after the two patients. Astromelicus pulled Dawn to a corner for a quick chat.
"I'm going to visit some friends, I was disturbed by the thought of dying and seeing ghosts from the past. It put some things into perspective."
Dawn clapped his arm, "I can understand you. Well, not on the part of the ghost, I'm only a year old." She chortled.
"I need some time to travel abroad. I've spent too long holed up in here. I'll be back by midsummer."
Dawn smiled. It was good to see the old man regain his adventurous streak. "I wish you good luck on your vacation. But who will run the Academy without you?"
"Don't worry, I left instructions with my trusted staff and you are now promoted to vice-headmaster, Dawn. Good luck running the Academy. And don't worry, it is almost self-sufficient!"
He was bolting for the door and after dawn spent a few seconds gawking at how fit the old man was, she ran after him.
"Hey, wait! I can't access the restricted sections!" She shouted.
"If that is your only concern, then don't worry! I've already keyed everything to your mana signature!" He shouted back as they dodged the academy staff and students.
They ran out of the building, through the campus, and into the square in front of the Academy gates. Dawn was winded. Damn constitution.
"I'm going now. My ride should be here at any moment." Astromelicus told her.
"It better be a dragon." She panted. "Astro, please at least... No! You can't just dump it all on me."
"Rise to the Challenge! Isn't that your thing?" He laughed. "And no, I don't do dragons very well. That is more your thing too."
Some guards approached Dawn. "Your Highness, is everything alright?"
"No, it is not!" Dawn answered, flustered. She pointed at the old man. "The Headmaster is running away!"
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The guards looked at the Archmage and back at Dawn. "What should we do?"
"Get me some water. And lend me your arm, I think I'm going to faint." She grabbed the guard's forearm, using it as a handrail. "And you, old fart, you better be back in a month. Or I'll rewind time again and shatter that crystal."
A carpet came from the west and landed next to Astromelicus. The archmage bowed.
"Well, I'm not going just for fun, if you really need to know. You've stirred quite the commotion across the word, kicked the proverbial anthill, vice-headmaster. I need to deliver a speech at the Conclave or soon this town will be swarming with curious archmages. Not to mention that now there's three of you. A dozen voyeurs up there are surely stirring from their slumber."
He walked over the carpet. Its frills warbled and soon it lifted with its passenger smiling, arms crossed behind his back. It would be an imposing view if Dawn was not passing out from low blood pressure due to overexertion.
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She woke up in the castle and recognized Lumina's bedchamber. "I can't even summon water. Stupid mana burn," She cursed. "That is the thanks I get for turning back time and saving his old ass."
She stood up and the covers fell down, revealing her naked torso. Someone harrumphed a man's timbre. She looked around and saw the Royal Family gawking at her splendor.
"You might want to cover yourself," Claire told Dawn. "Or Lucien will have a stroke."
"Oh." She pulled the sheets up. "Would you mind? I'll be with you in a few moments."
"I'll help you, Dawn," Claire said from behind her back while she gently pushed the men away.
Dressed in her academy uniform and hydrated, the fake Princess met the King and Crown Prince in the sitting room. Some fruit and pastries served on the coffee table. She curtsied at the King and then the Prince.
"I'm sorry for the unsightly display, your Majesty."
"Don't mind it," Helios waved a hand. "It was a slight of the maids to leave you undressed and us for intruding even if these aren't your chambers. But please tell me, what happened?"
"Astro had to leave in a hurry. He said that the Conclaves and the Pantheon are stirring because of what Aidan and I did."
The King actually leaned forward, "And what did you do?"
"We broke the laws of magic and probably half of the ancient covenants regarding the God-Slayer and the Twelve. Astro will be away for a month solving things. He appointed me vice-headmaster. Can you imagine the trouble! That old bastard. And right after I saved... did him a great favor. What time is it? I probably have to return to the academy. I'm starving. Are there raisins in these scones?"
"Raisins are forbidden in this castle," Helios answered. "Ever since that dinner." Dawn nodded and started to eat. She was starving.
"I will make sure a carriage is ready to take you back to the academy," Lucien promised. "I'll be back in a moment."
While the Prince went to talk to the servants outside, Helios leaned forward.
"Dawn, I talked to Lucien and Claire, we want you to be part of the family. Would you accept?"
She swallowed the small bite she took. Dawn sighed and met the King's eyes. She noticed he was fiddling with her Regalia Ring in his hands. Funny how she could sense it was her ring.
"I'm sorry, Helios. I'm not Princess material. We are on the final step to get Lumina back here, and she will react badly to my presence. I'll just follow Aidan wherever his adventures take him. I'll have to decline your offer. I won't even take a court lady title. All I ask is to keep the gifts I received while I was standing in for Lumina." - Especially the adamantite alloy rapier. Dawn would never part with that weapon for as long as she lived.
Relinquishing the offer to become royalty was not something light. Everyone knew that and it pained Dawn to see that the King seemed to age a decade in front of her eyes. But that was a game she could not play. Worse now that her synchronization with Aidan reached perfection and she gained the full power of the God-Slayer. Most of the people in the higher places knew that the God-Slayer had ties with Yutis, but becoming part of the Royal Family? It would leak sooner or later and the shift in power would be too much. Heath was going to declare war after they settled their succession issues. They didn't need a reason to make other nations think of allying themselves against Yutis.
After a long period of reflection, Helios spoke.
"You are of the blood. This is the proof," He showed her the ring. "You can sense it, can't you? All of us can know where ours is." To prove his point, he took another ring and shuffled them inside his coat, showing both fists. Dawn even closed her eyes to avoid tracking the ring by sight. "In which hand is yours?"
She felt a tug from both rings, but the strongest was from the right hand. She pointed at that hand. "The one on the left is Lumina's, isn't it? I can feel a faint connection to that one," She asked.
"Indeed it is. As the King, I also know where all the rings are. That is why I want you to at least take yours with you. Keep it hidden, but it might come in handy sometime."
Some thought crossed Dawn's mind. "When Claire was working as Lumina's handmaid, did she keep hers? When we fled the hospital, was she carrying her ring?"
"I was," Claire came forward. "It was the only way I could prove to the crowd that I was the runaway Princess and buy you time to escape."
Dawn laughed. "I always wondered how did you pull that out. It means you knew where we were the whole time. Why didn't you send your men to capture us, your Majesty?"
"Astro was intrigued by your words about Soul Magic being at play. I let you escape because of that."
Lucien returned. Dawn sighed. She looked at Claire and said, "In one month, Lumina will be back. You are a good man and a good father, Helios. I didn't have to fake my displays of affection toward you. Even as a King, you made the tough decision to be loved rather than feared even though the latter was easier. I can't be a princess," Dawn started to tear up. "I can't even be here after Lumina comes back. I went insane, I thought I was an impostor, merely a doll without feelings. I was even ready to sacrifice myself but that venue was closed. We had to take the hard, painful way to get her back.
"I know I sound crazy even now, but I exist. I am a person, with feelings, with dreams. But at the same time, I am fake. Even though unwittingly, I was created, not birthed."
Dawn stood up and went around the coffee table, kneeling before Helios. She felt it had happened before. Forcing back the sobs but unable to keep the tears, she continued to talk, "I will take the ring if you so desire, your Majesty. I have no need to hide from you."
He felt a hand caressing her head. Dawn was staring down at the King's shoes wondering if her tears wouldn't stain them. "Even if you don't accept the full Regalia, you are my daughter, Dawn. I know you women become mothers the moment you can feel the child in your wombs, but for us men it is different. We become fathers when we first lay eyes on the child. When we first hold them in our arms.
"I told you before and I'll tell as many times as you need. I want you to be happy, Dawn the adventurer. As a princess, as a peasant, adventurer, even during your brief tenure as a teacher. Arise and look at me. Would you take me to be your father?"
She threw herself on his arms. Dawn wanted, no, she needed to know she had a place in the world more than she needed to breathe. Even without her magic, still blocked by the mana burn.
"I'll be your daughter but I won't be a Princess," She confessed between sobs.
She felt a delicate hand held her arm. Claire. Lucien didn't dare to touch her. His loss. She'd even kiss his cheek right now.
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It took two days for Dawn's magic to return. She prepared the ritual room again, this time with Sora and Pearl helping, to start the healing process for both Lumina and Aidan. She had a little damage, but the healing energy of the spell would seep from Aidan to herself through their tether. She would be fully healed before his damage was even halfway healed.
"Are you sure you want to be here, Pearl? I forbade Claire from watching because we are going to get really physical to heal Lumina."
The petite Princess stopped painting the glyphs on the body of her fellow Princess and turned around to answer.
"Yes. It is better for you if I am here to witness it. This way I can dispel any accusations that may be raised against you. As you stand in for the archmage during his absence, I'll stand in for him during the ritual."
"Remeber to stay behind the glass curtain." An addition to the ritual room. A glass cabin, enclosed on all sides with a door for the spectators. The reason would be clear soon enough.
They finished painting in silence. Dawn noticed Pearl stealing glances at Aidan's naked body but didn't raise the subject. 'Let she have her eye candy, who knows how hard is for a Princess to get some', Dawn thought.
She aligned the cores and started the ritual. She let the magic drain from the cores first instead of her mana pool as it was usual. She needed her mana for another job. Dawn took a warhammer and kneeled beside Lumina. "Excuse me. This is for your own good," With those words, she started to crush her limbs. The ritual circle shone underneath the blood pooling.
"Regrowth."
Knit the limbs, let the ritual run for an hour. Use Deathless Ward on her and crush the ribcage. Blood everywhere. Once again Regrowth and wait for an hour. Dawn kept this pattern for the entirety of the ritual.
Days became weeks. Dawn would repeat the ritual every other day. The rest of her time she was busy with academy paperwork. A lot of teachers came to ask for more funding. More cores. More weapons. More healers at the cadet training grounds.
On the first session of the third week, Aidan's soul recovered. Dawn was at the Headmaster's office writing a list for their second cloud picnic to celebrate when someone knocked at the door.
"Come in," Dawn answered mechanically, the reflex ingrained by now.
The door opened and a slimy man entered. Black hair, white complexion slightly yellow, a small nose and pulled eyes. "Vice-Headmaster, your Highness. I could finally get some time in your schedule, what a joy,"
Dawn recognized the voice and felt her skin prickle with goosebumps. The feelings that flooded her were all too real. She had Lumina's memories of their private tutoring lessons. The son of a... that dispelled their Pain Resistance at the square two years ago. She looked up and confirmed her suspicion.
"Professor Yoshida. To what do I owe the visit?"
In her heart, Dawn was like the spider whose web was disturbed by an insect.
It was time to hunt.