Prince Brody of Heath was coming, it was only twenty-one days before his arrival. After getting bashed in almost every conceivable body part by Jameson, Aidan was greeted by Sora at the training grounds. She had archery the whole morning. Even though healing magic erased the bruises, the memory of the pain was still fresh.
Sora smiled at them and her ears twitched twice, "Why the long face?" She locked eyes on the young man. If they were not in public, she would pounce him and kiss her mate.
Dawn skipped forward with a graceful step and leaned on Sora's shoulder, "Instructor Jameson was a bit too rough with us, but I'm looking forward to some nursing later." She whispered on the beastkin's ears, gently blowing on her inner ear fur.
Sora had to fight not to do something shameful right there. She narrowed her eyes and glared at Aidan. The boy grimaced and bowed before going away with Dawn.
Another ranger cadet approached her, "I didn't know you were so close to the princess, Sora. It is a stark change from before her accident."
Sora masked her indignation at being played at by her mate and dismissed her colleague, "It might change again. Who knows what the future brings."
Ignoring the nosy colleague, she took her bow out of the quiver and started to string it. Her mind, however, was not in the bow or the arrow. Deep within her, a dark cloud was stirring.
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The academy campus was too big. At normal walking speed, from the training grounds, the magic laboratory was twenty minutes away. They couldn't run or fly, all that they could do was to walk at a brisk pace enhanced by the Tailwind spell. Dawn didn't pay attention to the throng of students walking to their classes. Now and then a teacher or someone attempted to call the princess' attention, but they couldn't be late for Astromelicus' lessons. Today was going to be a special day. However, one teacher caught their attention.
'Isn't that the guy that dispelled our Pain Resistance during the assassination attempt?' Dawn thought as she slowed her pace to focus on the teacher. The anger at having that spell dismissed allowed that brief image to burn in their memory. And slowing down allowed the man to block their path.
The teacher had slightly Asian features. He bowed, "Princess Lumina, what a joyous sight to see you back and healthy! I was so worried about you when I was unable to save your Highness." His voice sounded with real concern.
"Yes, I am back. It will take more than that to end me. I'm sorry if I don't remember your name, sir —"
"Baron Yoshida. I'm sorry you don't remember me, your Highness. I was your spellcraft tutor before the accident. But nonetheless, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance once more."
That name was not a total miss. Dawn remembered seeing the man's name in Lumina's diary. Yes, the tutor that helped her finish the Healing Mist spell. Several things flared at once inside their shared mind. That man had access to Lumina away from prying eyes. He was the only teacher to come out after the final examination. It seemed they would have to look deeper into Baron Yoshida's character.
But they couldn't afford to let their suspicion leak, "Professor Yoshida. Yes, I recall something now. I'm sorry, I had a head injury during that incident. I'm sorry to cut our meeting short, but the Headmaster is waiting for me."
They went on, Dawn before Aidan. With the corner of his eyes, he could see a small frown forming on the corner of the teacher's mouth.
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"We are changing our schedule due to recent news. Helios alerted me yesterday that Lumina's finacée is coming to visit." Astromelicus warned them after all his students arrived. "It means we are creating Lumina's body today."
The announcement sent a cold shudder up Dawn's spine. No matter how practiced was the procedure, the thought of being hacked to bits and put together was still awful. Pearl grabbed her hand and held it, showing her friend a sympathetic smile.
"This will give student Dawn time to recover before he arrives and will give me time to perform the restoration of Lumina's body with the care the princess deserves. I know there won't be enough time to fully restore the princess, so we are leaving the second part of the revival procedure on hold until he departs." Astromelicus continued. "I called for Princess Claire. There is one special step on our procedure that demands her presence."
That was not the moment to have cold feet. However, their minds refused to acknowledge that. Dawn felt her hands sweat and her breath short.
"Headmaster," Cythrel rose from her seat, "I want to be present as well. I believe they will need all the moral support they can get."
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"I see no reason to deny that, I asked for Sora to come as well. However —" Astromelicus was cut short by someone knocking on the door.
He answered the door to admit Claire inside. "Your Highness, I am sorry to have summoned you in such short notice, but I believe caution demands we adjust our schedule. We are heading to the basement for the first step in getting your sister back."
Claire moved across the room as she spoke, "Yes, Archmage. I understand that, and before we go, I'd like to tell that I am deeply grateful for all you have done for her. I've seen and felt the burden you carried for all this time." She stopped before Aidan, curtsied, and bowed deeply. Back in a standing position, she looked at him with watery eyes and held his hands. "I'll be in your debt forever."
Astromelicus cleared his throat to garner attention, "Well, allow me to explain something. There is a crystal receptacle where I'll restore Lumina's body. The receptacle will keep the body safe for as long as needed. Depending on the whims of our royal visitor, it might take a month or more before we can do the second part of the procedure, but it won't be a problem. Is that clear?"
Everyone nodded and he continued, "Then we should move to the basement. Follow me, please."
They moved in silence to the basement. Nobody was in the mood for talking. After reaching the ground level, a worried squirrel-kin was waiting for them. She grabbed Aidan's arm and latched to him.
"I'll be right by your side the whole time." She kissed his cheek.
They reached the basement. Aside from a brand new crystal coffin, another stone operating table was set. The eerie torture room feeling was imprinted in the whole room. Grooves in the stone floor were carved to direct the flow of fluids, certainly blood, to a corner of the room. The straps and bindings attached to the stone tables didn't help.
"What is the second table for?" Aidan asked.
Astromelicus answered with completely neutral and detached face and voice, "For you, of course. I can't have you thrashing the laboratory during the procedure. Now that you know, please stay back.
"Ladies, the procedure will take nine hours to complete, and I must be totally open with you, it will be disgusting and gruesome. I must ask the princesses to witness the first part, a few minutes only, as we will do things slightly different from the other procedures. You must witness this first part to vouch on our sake later. Please take any seat you like among those on either side of the door."
He pointed to the stone table right next to the crystal coffin, "There will be nudity involved. We don't want any cloth fibers ending in odd places. I know we should try to protect the princess modesty the best we can, but that is impossible, and for it, I apologize in advance. Student Dawn, please undress behind that screen and take your place. Actually, before that, please set an Ash Suppression spell on that corner."
Claire went with Dawn, "Please, let me help you. It is the least I can do."
Aidan went to the second table, this one facing away from the first one and slightly slanted. A furry pelt was laid over the bare stone. He laid on the pelt and asked Sora to bind him. The reason was simple. The procedure was extremely painful, especially when the trollblood potion was doing its job. The odds of Aidan doing something to ruin the procedure weren't low. The beastkin woman tied her mate to the table, snapping mana-sealing bracelets on his wrists after all the bindings were in place. Astromelicus came right after, checked the bindings, placed a biting protection made of wood and cloth in his mouth, adjusted a muzzle over his mouth and nose and used a spell. covering the bed.
The archmage looked at Sora and nodded, "This should avoid any sound to either enter or leave the area around that table. I'll also render him unconscious."
"Silence Field."
"Endless Slumber."
Dawn came out of the screen led by Claire. Her hair was tied into a bun on itself. She sat on the table and felt the cold stone against her skin. She slowly laid down, barely able to hold her heart inside the chest. Claire caressed her cheek and gave a reassuring smile. Dawn could hear the rustling of chains and feel the leather straps binding her ankles, waist, wrists. She also received mana-sealing bracelets.
Nervous looks washed over all the girls watching the scene unfold. Pearl didn't even notice she was holding Cythrel's arm. Claire took her seat next to Pearl and was also grabbed by the petite girl. The only person able to talk was Astromelicus.
"Now, I asked for your presence here because there will be a pressing concern regarding the purity of Princess Lumina's body when what we did here gets known by the King. While I can vouch that Lumina's body was not defiled, it is an undeniable fact that it remained under the control of a man for too long. I will amend any doubt regarding that subject now, and the two princesses present will serve as witnesses." He made eye contact with Pearl and Claire, his face showing a grandfatherly smile. "It is unfair to our friend to keep them any longer than the strictly needed on a cold stone slab, so I'll start the procedure now."
Astromelicus took a blade and spoke some word on a forgotten language. The blade started to hum, its blade blurring. He touched Dawn with his free hand and used a spell.
"Pain Suppression."
The spell would remain in effect until the first Trollblood Potion was downed. And he proceeded to make the first cut. Instead of splitting her at the waist, he removed only the center part of the lower abdomen and the inner thighs, applying a Regrowth spell immediately after. He wrapped the cut piece with a cloth and placed it inside the area of effect for the Ash Suppression spell.
"Incinerate."
The spell burned the cloth and everything inside instantaneously, faster even than Dawn burning corsets. He moved away from the table, giving the three witness full view of Dawn's naked body. The regrown part had the tenderness and slight discoloration of recently-regenerated flesh and no hairs.
"As you can see, even if there was some foul deed committed and once again there was none, the offending part was stripped away. Now I'll begin the actual procedure, I thank you for your presence. You may leave if you feel so inclined."
Pearl and Claire stood up and walked out with pale faces. Cythrel also stood up but she walked on the other direction, next to the table. She leaned down and kissed Dawn's cheek, tenderly caressing her head with the stump of her forearm at the same time. "I'll stay next to you and Sora. Be strong, soon we will be free."
As she walked to the other stone table, Astromelicus placed Dawn under a Silence Field. He looked at her, the blade vibrating in his hand. He asked with his eyes, she blinked and nodded.
Dawn closed her eyes and prayed while the Archmage brought the blade down.