Claire was disturbed at the revelation that Dawn sent Skippy to sabotage and delay Brody.
"You know that if Brody dies in our territory —" Claire was starting but both Dusk and Dawn interrupted her.
"It would be hilarious?" — "I won't... Nobody else would have to be raped?" They spoke at the same time.
Claire groaned, "You two deserve each other." The two people in front of her exchanged a glance and that moment something clicked in her head. "Where is the bed? Don't tell me that you two..."
"Renovations," Lied Dawn. "Lumina was tired of the old bed."
"So we said our goodbyes to good old bed with a bang." Dusk quipped his double entendre with a smirk and a slight eyebrow wiggle.
"Know what?" Said the blushing Princess, "I don't care. Lumina's chastity is safe, you do what you want. Don't keep my sister in a man's body for too long. I'm out." She picked up the pile of sealed letter tubes and made for the door in a hurry, unlike the usual calm and collected Claire.
Dusk stretched and sighed, "Chastity, the duty to birth heirs. Suppress your desires and urges. A woman's burden," He mused as he turned to face Dawn. "You are your own girl and I envy you. It is not like we desperately want to have sex, but we want to be extricated of these pressures. People should not be ashamed of their bodies."
"Listen, Dusk..." Dawn hesitated as she collected her words, "There is something important you must know."
"Did you fell for me?"
Dawn pouted, "Be serious! I've used you and I am trying to apologize!"
"Why the cold feet right now?" Dusk asked, the epitome of calm, "I knew you were using me, but you made it worth my time."
Dawn knew what was happening to Dusk. Being in a male body was affecting Lumina's psyche as the chemistry and feelings changed their perceptions and directed their thoughts. It happened to her several times and was happening right now because she was cut off from Aidan's mind.
"I want you to write a letter to yourself. When you are returned to your own body, Lumina won't remember what happened here."
Dusk sipped tea before answering, "Really? You're screwed then. But I'll write that last letter."
"How can you be so calm?" Dawn asked, flustered. "You are losing this day. It would be like it didn't happen."
Dusk gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "You are wrong. Lumina might not remember, but it is for the best. She is too stuck up to cope with what we did," He chuckled in self-derision. "And even if she, I don't remember, you will. Claire will. The letters I wrote for my father and my brother will be delivered.
"You gave me a voice and that must be enough."
What could she say? How the heck did this cool and poised version of Aidan came to being? "And you will return to being good old Lumina."
"Yup. In all her classy snarkiness, haughtiness, and bitchiness. And unfortunately, she will hate your guts and loathe your very existence. Because you are a fake copy."
"How can you be so sure of it?"
"Aidan's head is calm, collected, analytical. Lumina's core is an irresolute, scared and hesitant person that second guess every move. She clads herself in that impenetrable demeanor for self-defense. You can feel it right now, don't you? Ever since you brought me up every moment you spend without Aidan in your head you get more and more wishy-washy."
Everything Dusk said rang true. Dawn got offended at being called 'wishy-washy' but it was true. She shuddered as she remembered the way she froze with doubt at the academy gates.
"Fine. You are right. You win. Go write a letter to yourself."
Dusk wrote an extensive letter to Lumina. Four pages. Dawn stood by the tea table. They would get the memory of writing all the letters and the conversation with Claire whether they liked it or not. She kept mulling over what Dusk said. Without Aidan, she was just Dawn. Her dual-body experiences gave her some ruggedness against these changes but were she that different when she was alone? It was true that Aidan's body was always linked to her even though he was unconscious. She rose from her musings by the feeling of paper touching her cheek.
"Here. It is done," Dusk said as he delivered her a sealed envelope. "I'm ready to go."
"Dusk, I..." She wanted to say thank you and goodbye, but the words failed.
"It is ironic, isn't it, Dawn? Our time together now was even shorter than that summer," He took her hand and made her stand up while keeping eye contact and a friendly smile. "One last kiss?"
She didn't kiss him. Dawn knew that if she did she'd lose it. Instead, she braced herself and hugged his waist. "Goodbye, Dusk. Were things different, we'd be an awesome couple." And she dismissed the spell.
"I'm sorry I'm such a coward." She muttered to him as Dusk faded from control. Dawn squeezed his chest hard and felt Aidan come back to consciousness.
Aidan cradled his alter-ego while she cried her loss. It didn't last long. The memories of the time spent as Dusk since morning came together with all the emotions Lumina felt as she lived that morning in his body. They remained there still for a long time.
> "I don't blame you for selling me over to Heath like secondhand goods, father. The Realm needed the treaty and I know now how much it hurt you."
>
> "I love you, sister. I'm really sorry for not telling you this earlier. I knew from early on who you were but I've never gathered the courage to tell you. And you also knew, imagine that. Silly us. I'll be back soon, sister."
>
> "Get over me, Lucien. You'll never find love if you keep obssessing with your own sister. Also stop doing disgusting things thinking of me."
>
> "Hey, me, it's cooler me. Stop being a bitch. You'll get anger wrinkles before you're thirty. Also get laid. I heard it is awesome and you'll make such a cute voice!"
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"I can't believe that hellish two-day training camp is FINALLY OVEERRRRR!" Cythrel screamed as she opened the door to the princess' chambers and found Aidan and Dawn still hugging. "Oh, sorry. Wrong door." She closed it.
"What do you mean by the wrong door? That is the door to Dawn's room and Lola just confirmed that they are inside!" Pearl protested. "Please do explain, my dear."
Sora gently pushed Cythrel aside and opened the door. She saw Dawn with swollen eyes other obvious signs she'd been crying. "Aidan, what happened here? Where is the bed?"
They decided to be honest and explain the whole thing. Except why the bed was missing. It was a recipe for suicide. After their explanation of how they made Lumina possess Aidan's body to get information from her and to let her have one last outlet for her thoughts if anything goes wrong was met with skepticism by all three girls.
"It doesn't explain why you were crying like a maiden that just sent her lover to war," Cythrel pointed out.
"Or why the bed is missing," Completed a wide-eyed Pearl that was starting to pick up the missing pieces.
"No, it doesn't," Agreed Sora with a raised eyebrow. "But you should really open up and ventilate the place if you wanted to fool my nose. Just incinerating the bed was not enough, miss burn-up-my-shame."
All the heads and eyes turned to face Sora. The squirrel-kin had a smirk and was gazing at Dawn with that penetrating 'I know what you did' look. In fact, the smell was faint but Sora knew Aidan was Dusk, that Dawn got the hots for Dusk and that she burned up things that irked her. Like corsets or stained beds. The guilt look in both of their faces was like a signed confession. After some back and forth by Cythrel and Pearl, hell broke loose.
Cythrel slumped, "I can't believe I lost to the dead Princess!"
"I can't believe you were truant to the Headmaster's lectures to have a thrift between Lumina possessing you and her copy. That must be the scandal of the millennium! Star-crossed childhood friends turned enemies swap bodies and share a night of passion while looking at their own faces."
It made Dawn look at Aidan. No, he didn't have that sexy smug overconfidence Dusk had. Or that bearing and poise that came from the certainty that the world was beneath him. In fact, Aidan's face looked a little dull and not a bit sexy. And now he was even duller because he's been betrayed by his own high standards. At least Dawn was hot and sexy and good to cuddle and tease. Not like the Ice Queen Lumina probably was. Yes, maybe they should brush up their self-esteem and not mix fantasy and reality. Dawn was sorry for mentally dissing Aidan but he didn't mind.
Cythrel broke their eye contact, infuriated. "See? They are staring at each other in a creepy way and cutting us off form eavesdropping in their lovey-dovey self romance by engaging in silent conversation! This should not be allowed!"
"I'm sorry I don't quite follow you," Pearl stated. "Which part exactly should not be allowed?"
"Everything, Pearl! We need some chastity belts. Sora, help us. Scold them."
Sora clapped her hands. "I got it. I got it. Wait for a moment while I ready myself." Sora took a deep breath and impersonated Cythrel.
"Saaaay, Dawn. How was doing it with Lumina? Exciting?" Sora asked the bashful girl. Her tone got more and more annoyed as she delivered her next line. "And you don't get to run away, miss just-soak-while-my-mate-gets-harassed."
Dawn slumped her shoulders. It was no good to keep resisting, not after Sora got serious. "I give up. I'll tell you. Everything."
The four girls sat around the tea table, taking all available seats. Aidan took the couch.
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Lesson learned. When they asked her to tell everything, she could've got off with just a vague description like 'it was awesome, I felt really good'. But in her naivety, Dawn went with the play-by-play long retelling. It had a mixed reception from the three girls. At least Sora didn't seem angry. But Cythrel was annoyed and sad and Pearl was strange.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
"Great." Sighed the elf. "Not only I was left behind but you also broke Pearl."
"No, I am perfectly fine." Pearl was tense, her back straight, her aristocrat demeanor and spotless mask fully on like she was having tea with a hostile ambassador negotiating a ceasefire and not among friends having an intimate conversation.
Cythrel snuck near Pearl's ear, she was so tense she didn't even notice. The elf whispered, "Hacksaw," And the Princess jumped with a loud yelp before she curled up and hid her face. Cythrel snickered and quipped, "No, I am perfectly fine, not tense at all."
It did a number on the petite girl's nerves. Sora was silently watching everyone's reactions so far and decided to scold the elf.
"Cythrel! Stop teasing the Princess. Can't you see that it was too much stimulation for an unmarried maiden who never touched even a man's lips?" It made Pearl look up, her face blazing hot with bashfulness. Sora saw that corrected herself, "Besides her immediate family?"
"Well at least now she has enough pixie dust to fly on her own for a while," Retorted the unrepentant creature courting death with some elven slang.
"Cythrel, stop," Sora warned.
"What, I'm being sympathetic here. Can you imagine how huge this is for Pearl? A beign that combines both Lumina and Aidan in the same body with the best of both is too much for her."
"Maybe we should excuse ourselves, us beings that combine some lesser parts of Lumina and Aidan," Commented Dawn, a bit recovered from her verbal walk of shame. There was really no reason for Aidan to talk and a lot against.
Pearl muffled a sob. A Princess is a pampered sheltered existence that was usually never allowed to leave her gilded cage, much less near these kinds of things. And right now she was feeling like being ripped apart. She glared at Cythrel, anger in her eyes.
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"Because you need to face reality, accept your feelings and put them behind you so you can move on." Cythrel answered matter-of-factly with a soft voice, "We love you, Pearl. But if you shut yourself off like this you'll never be truly happy. It is okay to fight for what you want with tooth, nail, and hips. It is also okay to give up and be heartbroken, cry a lot and move on. It is not okay to sit by the windowsill and watch life go by wondering what if."
And then she said what might've been the key to trigger Pearl's transformation, "Princesses that sit on the sidelines are condemned to be forgotten in oblivion."
Pearl stood up and slapped Cythrel. "How dare you speak to me like that! I'm Pearl of House Juvela! I'm a Crown Princess!"
"Yes, THAT! Hit me once again!" She provoked and returned the glare. "Tell me how you're going to get me flogged for my impudence!"
She didn't hit the elf again. Instead, she held her fists curled by her sides and screamed her lungs out, a high-pitched heart-rending wail. She let the tears flow and whimpered, "I thought we were friends!"
"And we are!" Clamored the elf. "It is the buffoon's prerogative to tell everyone the King is wearing no pants!" She quoted a common saying stemming from a story told many times and as much distorted. "And right now Pearl has no pants!"
"And am I naked? I've never worn pants! Am I your own personal laughing stock? Have you come here to gloat you got the man of your dreams while I will be left with only 'pixie dust'?"
The other three people in the room had no idea what to do to stop this fight or even if they should do something. What Cythrel was saying rang true. Pearl's demeanor was getting more and more subdued as time went by. She was burying herself in books and wizardry exercises and the time they spent together was less and less. Ever since she was kidnapped by Kazuya. Was it Gurf's death? Or the fact she no longer had any summoned hero to show back home? Or something else?
"No. If anyone did that it was Dawn that got the man of Lumina's dreams. Nothing of that here. You are my dear friend, one that is of almost the same stature like me." The elf answered with a candid tone, "I don't give a shit about Crowns and Tiaras. I love you, Pearl. I want to see you smile, I want to hear you sass the hell out of the assholes out there and boss everyone around like you own the place. You are a shining gem too precious to be left to dull and fade in the footnotes. If it means I have to break you apart and glue the pieces together, I'll do that."
"Cythrel," Dawn broke her silence. "Elves might be used to throwing their opinions and the glaring truth out in front of each other like that, but we humans don't."
"That's the problem with you humans," She immediately pointed out without scoffing. "Maybe if you did that, you'd not have so many wars and intrigue and assassinations and pent-up resentments. You'd be happier and live a couple decades more."
"Do you want me to admit? FIne, I'll say it out loud," Pearl took a deep breath and spoke directly to Aidan. "I like you. I said it, okay! But I am a Princess. I can't be part of your harem."
"It is not a harem," Protested Dawn.
"Yes, Dawn has a point," Commented Cythrel. "It is more like a sorority with benefits even if I've had none."
"Stop right there, Cythrel." Aidan decided to talk through his mouth instead of Dawn's. "Back off."
The elf flinched as he stood up and walked next to Pearl. The Princess was fiddling with the embroidery on her skirt.
"I'm sorry," She mumbled as he got near.
Aidan remembered of the wicked device Shinji had that could tell how to 'capture' girls. And what it said about Pearl. He had already saved her from distress three times. Cave, Gala, and Kazuya. Four if you count restoring her soul and magic. However, he didn't have that kind of love for Pearl and he was sure she was not smitten for him like Cythrel was.
"I understand. I'll treasure what we had together and I won't hold a grudge over this rejection. I'll keep being your champion if you'd have me but can we at least be friends, your Highness?"
Pearl was about to blurt everything going on her mind but her conditioning spoke louder and she mentally took a step back to think what he was doing. She figured out and even stifled a laugh.
"No. You don't need to save my face. We are all friends here. I may have mixed my feelings a little."
"Pearl, look at me. In my eyes." He waited until she did. "Do you love me as a man? Just say yes or no."
She bit her lower lip and glanced away before returning and doing as he asked, "No. It is just... you know how a girl's heart is, don't you?" She glanced at Dawn.
He chuckled holding a fist in front of his mouth, "I kinda do actually. What about it?"
Pearl hesitated before speaking sincerely, "Well, sometimes you make mine flutter, but it is brief. How many times have you saved this damsel here?"
Aidan took her hand. He led her back to the table and guided her to sit. He let Dawn answer, "True friends don't keep a tally, Pearl. Go ahead and get into trouble. We'll be there for you whenever."
She patted the hand still holding hers and moved it to her shoulder. "I guess that doesn't even count as first love, does it?"
"No way it does." Answered Cythrel. "As much as I love my man, you have a much better suitor, I'm afraid. And if you do some soul-searching, you'll see that he also made you flutter sometimes."
Sensing where it will go, Sora plucked Cythrel from her seat and pulled the elf to her lap, covering her mouth with a hand. "You've meddled too much. Now hush."
"Excuse me?" The Princess turned suddenly and unwittingly knocked Aidan's hand away. "No, I want to know what she'll say. Please let her speak, Sora."
Back in control of her mouth, however questionable said control was, Cythrel spoke her mind, "It is His Royal Highness, Prince Lucien. I don't believe you didn't notice how differently he treats you."
"What? No way that is real." Pearl giggled and waved a hand dismissively. "Lucien was just being a gentleman. There is no way he is interested in me. That much is normal regarding a guest."
"If Lucien was a normal person. But that harebrained douche only has eyes for his sister or haven't you noticed that? Besides Dawn, you are the only one he pays any mind to. Even Claire is brushed aside most of the time."
Pearl didn't even waste much time before blowing Cythrel's theory out of the water.
"No way. You are delusional, my darling."
"Serious. I'm afraid if he learns that Dawn is not Lumina for real he'll assault her. But you don't need to trust me. We are in a special position to hear from the horse's mouth."
Cythrel leaped from Sora's lap and went for Lumina's wardrobe. She used Sylph's hand to open the door and take some sashes. It only added to Pearl's confusion.
"What do you mean? And what are you doing with those?"
Sora understood and opened a grin staring at Dawn. The human girl shook her head in disbelief but Sora nodded and mouthed 'do it'.
"Aidan," Cythrel called him with floating clothing adornments by her side, "Would you be so kind as to get a chair and sit facing the wall so we can tie you up? I need to ask two questions to Princess Pulpy."
Still silent, Sora stood up and moved a chair to the room corner while making a 'come hither' motion with her free hand as she passed past a frozen Aidan.
He groaned and moved after the soft-tailed girl. Everyone followed and soon he was tied to the chair. Pearl was still out of the loop.
"What manner of play or punishment is this? What is going on here?"
"We are going to ask Lumina about her brother." Explained Cythrel. "See if she doesn't agree with us."
"I'm canceling the spell if you get too greedy with your questions. Nobody talks but me, and I'll only ask about Lucien." Warned Dawn. "And it is better to put a blindfold on."
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Aidan sighed as the girls bound him to a chair and wrapped a silk sash as a blindfolded around his head. Girls and the games they play. Well, Lumina was a girl too and it is not like he will be out anyway. Maybe even grab some new and completely needless memory.
After a silence spell was cast over the three girls that would not be doing the talk the spell was cast once more. Lumina took over Aidan's body.
"What is this, Dawn my dear? Why tie me up? Where is my goodbye kiss?" Dusk asked and then threatened with a singing voice. "Naughty girls will get punished!"
Behind Dusk the girls were excitedly scribbling questions for him. Dusk took his time to sense his surroundings. He heard his voice reflected off the walls too soon. A large chamber like Lumina's bedroom would have some reverb to all voices. He could also smell the scent of her own clothes on what he was bound with and the feeling of the back and legs was the chair from his own tea table. He was somewhat hungry so time had passed without the real owner of his body eating. It was his third time going with one of these skips in cognition that he recognized as intervals between castings of the spell.
"Lumina, can you imagine Lucien being courteous, gentle, and caring to a visiting female royalty?"
So that is what was happening. Why the sudden interest in Lumina's brother? Did something happen to Lucien? And since when that battle freak was interested in any woman that was not Lumina? Dusk scoffed.
"That dolt of my brother? She would have to walk naked in front of him for my brother to even notice her."
"Not even join her for an afternoon stroll in the castle inner garden?"
Now that would be precious. Lucien walking with arms locked with some giggling lady. The image made Dusk snicker. Something was going on. Was Dawn trying to get along with her brother. No it was impossible. Dawn would not dare show her face around the real Lumina, Dusk knew she would burn the world in envy if there was a copy of herself.
"Now that is something I'd pay to see. My blockhead brother escorting some stranger through the gardens?" He was laughing as he imagined the scene, "While speaking pleasantries and giving her a good time? Oh, please, you are going to make me burst at the seams."
Honestly, the only thing stopping Dusk from realizing they had company were the silence spells. Cythrel was cackling in Sora's arms while Pearl was about to find a hole to hide in from embarrassment. Dawn moved on with the question and answers session.
"Hypothetically speaking, if Lucien were to hook up with, let's say, Pearl of Gohar, what would you think of that matchup?"
So naive. Dusk suppressed his mirth. The petite Pearl? Well, given the bitch gallery that was the list of Princesses she knew, Pearl wasn't a bad choice at all. Now all Dusk needed to do was bait his answer.
"Wow, that is a hard one. I don't know how you'd get them together but of all Princesses I've known, Pearl is the best. Hey, if she wants to take that brother off of my shoes, she has my support."
"Thank you, Dusk. you were a real sweetheart." Dawn leaned with a hand on his shoulder and was about to kiss him but he stopped her.
"Wait, wait. Dawn, wait a moment. Is Pearl right behind me? Because from the sound of my voice and yours I know I am in a corner of the room. Blindfolded so I can't see around me. Is this what is happening outside? Pearl and my brother are planning to get engaged? Don't tell me! They are going to elope? For all that is holy, that would be awesome to see!"
Dawn froze. 'That is what I get for underestimating her, damn it.' To Dusk, the silence was gold, as they say.
"I guess I am right. Because you'd deny it as something absurd if it were not. C'mon, let me have a chat with my bestie Pearl."
They only met twice, but Dusk wanted to get something off of this exchange as well. Like Lumina never played the suitor friend interrogation game as well. Dawn looked back and Pearl waved a big no. She was scared witless. Since she was not speaking, Dusk used another bait.
"Hey, Pearl, how are those girls I left with you? Are they working hard? Are they happy?"
That did the trick. Pearl sighed and walked on to the other side. She put a hand on Dusk's shoulder and nodded for Dawn to release the silence spell.
"Hello, Princess Lumina. Yes, I am here."
Well, time to drop the Dusk persona. "Hello, Pearl. We don't need rank between us. How are you? I can only tell your hand is as delicate as ever. Blindfolds and stuff."
Pearl undid the knot and removed the blindfold. Dusk looked at her.
"You've grown. Good for you. And are those our colors? Did you enroll at the academy? Damn, Dawn. Put me back in my body, I'm missing all the fun!"
It got Pearl to smile and giggle at Dusk's antics. And she recalled everything that happened so far.
"It's complicated. I am just passing by. Maybe someday we'll tell you the whole story. Just know that you owe us big time."
He could only nod. Actually Dusk thought the whole thing was kind of exciting. He tried to keep the conversation going.
"What is this about Lucien that I keep hearing? Are you hooking up with my brother?"
The reply came curtly, "I don't know about that."
Pearl looked away and confirmed it by trying to deny it. Dusk, being the gentleman he is, went with it.
"Okay. Well, what happens now, Dawn? Any other questions in this interrogation?"
"No. But as promised, your reward, Dusk." Dawn kissed him. "Here is your goodbye kiss. See you soon in back your own body."
And she dismissed the Twin Soul Advent spell followed by the personal silence ones a minute later. Pearl was covering her mouth, her chest rising and falling fast in a vain attempt to give her brain the oxygen it needed to process what just happened.
The elf came and imitated the Princess, "I told you, darling. Lucien is head over heels for you." Cythrel hugged Pearl. "And now you have the approval of his family. You go girl!"