Dawn was suddenly flooded with guilt.

How could she forget about the person that cared for her for a whole month and in the end sacrificed herself so she could escape?

"Claire. Your Majesty, what about Lumina's handmaid, Claire? She sacrificed herself so we could evade the hunters."

"A handmaid named Claire? I don't remember any maid named like that." King Helios answered. If Dawn's mental state was normal, she would notice falsehood in the man's speech. Instead, she broke down when the King denied knowledge of Claire.

"Please, some report must've reached your ears. She was captured near the border with Gohar, at a village... I don't remember the name. She dressed in the princess' clothes and drew people away from us." Dawn's eyes were marred by a trickle of salt water. "Please, your Majesty. Was Claire brought here? Is she at least alive?"

Seeing the girl earnestly pleading for a mere servant touched the man's heart.

"There was a girl brought here from a village down south, she was related to your kidnapping, Lumina. Maybe she is the one you seek. This Claire, what is she to you?"

Dawn hid her face in a pillow. The pain of abandoning Claire behind was all coming back. She spoke between sobs.

"A friend. Trusted confident. A supporter. My accomplice in Lumina's kidnapping. My caretaker. My savior. Please, your Majesty. Where is Claire?"

"Guards, open the door!" The King shouted. "Three doors to the left. You'll find a clue to what you seek. Go, Dawn."

The girl ran. She bumped on a guard and almost fell down, but she paid no mind to it. She picked up her skirt and ran, rugged traveler's boots hitting the marble floor. One, two, she almost went past the third door. Thought was a foregone thing in her mind.

Dawn slammed her shoulder on the door, it budged but did not open. She beat a clenched fist against it and then realized she should pull the door handle to unlatch it. It came open and she rushed inside.

She expected a prison cell, the thought of why there would be a prison cell right next to the king's private solar never crossed her mind. Instead, she found an office, beautifully decorated, a lot of scrolls and bundles of paper and parchment lying on the floor.

And a young woman clad in a regal dress, sitting at a desk writing some letters.

"Claire?"

The woman lifted her head, and Dawn found the face she wanted so desperately to see.

"Claire!" She ran past the bundles of documents on the ground, kicking some of them and making a mess. Dawn threw herself at the girl without even giving her time to stand up. All she could do was shove the cork in the inkwell before a mess of princess and princess' tears crashed on her.

Dawn fell on her knees, arms wrapped around Claire's neck forcing her to lean down on her seat. And the torrential Spring rains fell down indoors, out of a girl's bawling eyes.

"Claire! Claire!"

They soon found themselves sitting down on the floor. Claire tried in vain to yank herself free, but Dawn was not letting go. All she did was sob and repeat Claire's name.

Several minutes later she could speak.

"Lumina? No. Not Lumina. Are you..."

"Call me Dawn, Claire. Yes, it is me, the same me as when we left you behind. Claire, I am so sorry. Too sorry to use you as a decoy. I thought about you so much, I regretted leaving you so much. I was too weak and you protected me. Thank you. I came to rescue you."

"It is fine, it is fine. You found me and I am not in any danger or hurt. It is good to see you too..."

"Dawn. Call me Dawn. But you don't seem like a prisoner."

She calmed down enough to have a conversation. Every now and then Dawn still made a solitary sob, an aftereffect of sore abdominal muscles.

"I wonder if I am not one, just in fancier clothes. See all this paperwork you scattered all around? This is my daily torture session." she pointed at the mess of scattered documents some clumsy lass made.

She giggled. "Sorry!"

"Dawn, is it? You changed a lot. When we parted, you were dopey and could not express yourself this well. You are really used to my sister's body, I see."

"Yes. I kinda got used to Lumina's body. Not for long though. I have to get her back in here. even though this Dawn here will disappear for good. I want to see Lumina healthy again."

"Good. I want to see my sister too."

"Do you have a sister? That is awesome, Claire! Where is she?"

Claire rolled her eyes. How clueless can one become? "Last time I heard, she was scheduled to arrive in the Royal Castle of Yutis today. I think she is already here."

A scribe entered through a side door. "Your Highness, these documents arrived from the academy. They are about the enrollment of Princess Pearl of Gohar..."

Dawn answered automatically. "Yes? What is it? Something for me?"

The scribe looked at Dawn and shifted his gaze to Claire. "Your Highness, who is this girl?"

Claire answered matter-of-factly. "My sister, Princess Lumina of Yutis. You came to the castle after her accident, no wonder you don't recognize her."

'Even though there are portraits of her around the castle.' Claire thought.

Dawn shifted her sight from the scribe to Claire. "Sorry, who is your sister again?"

Back at the guest lounge, one ought to be picking up the shards of Aidan's dignity from the floor. The emotional impact of Dawn's outburst just made the male body reflect everything the female did. Including all the crying and the speech. The girls were presented to a one-sided version of the conversation Dawn had with Claire.

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Sora, Cythrel, and Pearl were trying to figure out what really happened from that. They shook Aidan until he came to his senses.

"I'm seriously considering to order you flogged if you don't explain right now what happened."

Aidan completely ignored Pearl's threats. The chance that she would see it through was minimal but he was barely able to hold any conscious thought.

"I found her."

Aidan explained in the most succinct way possible. Given that Dawn was hogging all of their shared consciousness with her emotional rollercoaster, having a half-decent conversation was already an achievement.

"No way! Seriously?" Taunted Cythrel. "Shocking."

"We understood that much by the third time you cried 'Claire, Claire' while hugging a cushion. What happened there?" Sora asked.

"She was not sent to the prison. She was put in an office and made to fill paperwork. She told me it was her torture session."

"Sora, my dear. I think Aidan's brain short-circuited. His speech is barely coherent."

"Oh, and she is my sister." He said with a bashful smile.

"About that flogging, Pearl. Can we do it now?"

"Aidan, whose sister is Claire? Take a deep breath and think before you answer."

"Dawn's. No, wait. Lumina's. King Helios recognized Claire as his daughter and made her the first princess. Second in line to the throne after Lucien."

Cythrel looked at Pearl's puzzled expression and commented.

"Princesses. The more the merrier, right?"

Servants came and gave Dawn a relaxing tea and some sweet biscuits. King Helios didn't make an appearance but a maid brought Dawn's rapier to her. It was impossible he didn't hear the commotion a dozen meters away.

 The two princesses picked themselves up and moved to more comfortable seating. It was impossible to peel Dawn away from Claire. She felt initially annoyed at being hugged by a boy but soon realized Dawn wasn't triggering any reaction from her danger sense.

The snack brought Dawn back to her senses.

"Sister? And you were made the first princess? Claire, this is awesome. I was worried you would be thrown in jail and they would beat you. I was so worried. Claire. We missed you."

Hearing that in Lumina's voice tug at Claire's heartstrings. But Lumina would never accept what was basically a demotion.

Claire looked deep in Dawn's eyes but couldn't recognize any Lumina in there. This girl was too honest, too open in her body language. Her movements were spontaneous, her demeanor raw. There were no graceful calculated moves like Lumina was a natural at.

"Did you take good care of Lumina's body?"

Claire knew the boy inside Lumina's body was honest to a fault. Silly, gullible, shy. But honest. The implication of her question was obvious. Leave a girl's body as gorgeous as Lumina's in the care of a boy, what could possibly happen?

"She is as virgin as the day she was born if that is what you are asking. I have also taken care of her skin and health. Eating regular meals, drinking safe water, bathing, avoiding abuses and wounds. I've even worked out her stamina and body strength a little."

She flexed her arm to show an unexistent biceps beneath her dress sleeve. Claire couldn't see Lumina but she could see the boy inside her sister's body. Her sister. Claire was still coping with the changes in her life.

"That is good. To answer your question, after they brought... escorted me to the palace, King Helios... father revealed that I was his bastard daughter. He recognized me and instated me as the first princess as I am older than Lumina."

"Did you tell him about my condition?"

"No. But I think he suspects something is amiss."

"I am pretty sure he thinks I am crazy. That Lumina reverted to a fantasy persona she created when she was five. 'Dawn the Adventurer'." She half-shrugged half-shuddered. "And he might be right."

"Why did you return? Couldn't you see it was dangerous to come back here?"

"There was a little problem back in Gohar that forced us to take Pearl with us. But of course, we would come back for you. There is also the need to have Astromelicus guide us in finding a way to restore Lumina. Finally, we want to find out about the assassination attempt."

"I find it hard to believe you would relinquish Lumina's body."

"Nothing would make me happier than to restore Lumina and get free to live my own life. I am not stealing her body if anything I am safekeeping it. Claire, I recovered my memories of the day of the attack. I could have left her there to die and I would be fine. Instead, I used every ounce of my being trying to keep her alive. I fought hard and spent a year in a coma as my reward. If we didn't run away that day, she would be separated from me and die."

Dawn didn't realize she was crying. Again.

"Seventeen months. For the past months, I have done nothing else but to keep as much of Lumina alive as possible. I learned things about being a woman I would've never needed otherwise. At least you, Claire. At least you have to trust me."

Claire looked at the body language, at the reactions of the person in front of her.

"I will trust you, Aidan. Whatever you need from me, just ask."

"Call me Dawn. I'm not Lumina, but I am not entirely Aidan either."

"Only if you call me 'sister'." Claire teased. She'd regret it soon enough.

"Yup!" Dawn answered with a smile that could melt glaciers. "Of course, big sister Claire!"