Dawn sat next to Lumina and just smiled. A few rooms away, in a reserved examination room, Aidan was waiting with his two wives. They were nagging for juicy Royal gossip.
"Did she freak out? How many objects did Lumina break during her tantrum of being cloned?" Cythrel asked.
"Even I am curious? How did Lumina react?" Sora added.
Aidan just mimicked Dawn's expression of a solemn and understanding smile. He knew that expression didn't fall well on a male body but he really didn't care. The two women kept prodding him to speak but he instead dove into his own mind to study the Princess' reaction.
Lumina was changed. Dawn used Soul Sight and looked at the girl. Lumina's soul became a dark sheen of gold, tempered now by the other three Elements she gained from their fusion. As much as they wanted to keep a "pure" Lumina soul, the fusion was too advanced to not leave a few scraps of fused soul-matter to her. In fact, he was afraid that the lack of too much soul-matter was what caused the problem that forced Astromelicus to sacrifice himself during the transfer.
The conclusion was that Aidan kept parts of Lumina's soul for himself, and vice versa. To him, Lumina tempered his shyness and indecisiveness, making him bolder and more open to taking risks and trying things. That he also had a female body with all the female sensations and thoughts gave him a broader point of view to the world. Not to mention the power. Aidan was fractions away from breaking through the D-rank in Light, Water, and Air. Once that happens, he will become a Cosmos mage.
That was bound to happen as the healing energies of the Soul Restoration ritual were going to keep working on mending and bolstering his soul for a week more. Just like it was happening to Lumina right now.
On the princess side, her obnoxiousness, lack of empathy and haughtiness were mollified. There was one thing Aidan was amazed when he discovered was that both he and Lumina were introverts. While he was left to his own devices and became passive and contemplative, Lumina turned to aggression and detachment as both a defense and a coping mechanism. The Princess was too fair and beautiful to be left alone. She had the people skills taught to her and forced to interact with thousands of nobles, merchants and dignitaries.
It got way worse after her mother's death. Sifting through the memories unlocked during his body's possession by "Dusk", Aidan could see how Lumina became a cesspit of regret, despair, and rage. To crown the cake, her engagement to Brody almost drove her to the extreme of taking her own life.
They felt pride at being able to save her in more than one way. He also felt that were the circumstances different, his love life would be very different. Dawn hugged lumina out of the blue.
"Whoa!" Lumina was surprised. "Are you trying to bribe me with cuddles?"
Claire chuckled. Dawn shook her head, rubbing her nose on Lumina's cheek.
"Not at all, Your Highness," She playfully intoned the honorific. "I'm just showing you how glad I am to have you back. Shed your past behind, Lumina. Both the grudges and regrets. You are a new person surrounded by people that care about you. People that would fight the world for you."
"People that would kill gods for you," Claire added. "There's so much we can tell you, Lumina. But this is not the time."
Lumina exhaled deeply. Dawn could feel her tension disappear as the Princess gave in. "I don't have the right to say no. These pleading eyes are too powerful," She said looking at Dawn's. "And beautiful."
Dawn giggled, "Narcissistic much?"
"I know my assets, thank you very much. Was I lying?" Lumina asked with a smug face. "But I'll accept on the condition you work as my dress-up doll for a while. I can see I've grown in all the right places these last two years and fashion waits for nobody. I need help to catch up."
"That's a deal then. One week as your dress-up doll, sister." Dawn squeezed Lumina.
"Great. Now let us both do the dress-up doll thing on Lumina and make her presentable for the King. I'm going to bring him in."
Dressing up a noble lady was always an exercise on malleable materials engineering. They placed a hateful corset with hooks on Lumina and Claire left the tugging of the strings to Dawn as she slid the 7/8 tights along the Princess' legs.
"Pull this as if you intended to murder me, Sister. If I can speak, it is not tight enough!" Lumina encouraged Dawn, getting a snort from both sisters.
"Do you know Dawn burned half your corset collection?" Claire asked. "She can't do them."
"Her loss. We can talk about it in a few years when her breasts and stomach start to sag," Lumina quipped back.
"You asked for it, sister." Dawn tied the knot and poured Matter mana over the string, forcing all the fibers of the corset's string to crawl over one another and tighten. She only stopped when Lumina moaned. "Is that enough?"
Lumina's skin was a shade of purple but she nodded. They spread the dress on the ground and lumina walked over it. Dawn and Claire pulled it up, hanging the fabric over the hooks from the waist up and then closing the buttons. Dawn threw a towel over Lumina's shoulders and Claire did her makeup.
In a record time of less than an hour, Lumina was prim and proper. Dawn even felt a small pang of jealousy as to how well the Princess could look. She had the same body but none of the skill at being a Royal Lady. Lumina noticed it.
"Is there something wrong?" Lumina asked. Dawn shook her head.
"No. I'm just amazed at how good you look." She didn't hide her feelings.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"You look as good... sister. Don't try to copy me, it is not fitting for Dawn the Adventurer. You are of a sturdier fiber, a woman of adventure and action, something I once wished to be." Lumina said with a nostalgic smile. She reached out and tapped Dawn's cheeks. "Be yourself, go out there and have your fill of adventure. Then come back and tell it all to this court lady so I can live a bit off of it. And don't be sad. All of us have our part to play."
They moved to the room where Helios and Lucien were waiting. The door opened and the three girls entered. Lucien seemed to be fighting the improper tears at the sight of Lumina between Claire and Dawn but King Helios was beaming almost as much as the celestial object he was named after.
"Daughters! It warms this father's heart to see these three flowers each with her own exquisite beauty and uniqueness lined up like that," He stood up and ran to them. He hugged Lumina, drawing a yelp from the oxygen-deprived Princess. Helios sobbed and spoke softly to her. "Lumina. I am so sorry for never looking at you the way you deserved. For never asking your opinion before giving you away. For not talking to you after Alina went away. I love you, my daughter."
Helios released Lumina and knelt in front of her. "Please forgive this fool of a man."
"I was so angry all the time, I never gave you a chance, father," Lumina fell on her knees, her skirt and petticoats ballooning around her. "Please forgive this foolish child. Let's start over, the five of us as a family."
She extended her arms and the other two girls helped her back on her feet. Helios also stood up and searched Lumina's eyes. "Five?"
"Yes. For reasons both political and personal, I want to bind this girl to our family," Lumina nudged her head toward Dawn whose hand she was still holding. "But since she is of our blood, it is a shame we can't just marry her to Lucien. It would solve so many issues... Anyway, adopt her, father. Yutis only has to gain from it."
Dawn sighed. Lumina will be Lumina, no matter how much you break her. The Princess squeezed Dawn's hand in a reassuring way. She looked at Lumina and earned a wink and a smirk.
----------------------------------------
One does not just declare a new Princess out of the blue and go on with their day. No, sir. The court was summoned. Every noble in Yutis had to travel to the capital. A festival and a holiday never before seen after the liberation of the country were being held to celebrate the return of the Princess. Records were changed by order of the King. A secret tale leaked to bards and gossipy ladies. Queen Alina had not only one girl, but twins. One was stolen from its crib before she could even taste the bounty of her mother's bosom, never to be seen again. The Royal Family decided to write her off in shame.
The lost Princess grew up as a peasant, hidden by dark forces that plotted against the Realm. Rumor had it that the rotten Royals from hateful Heath had a hand in it. After the assault on Lumina's life and subsequent kidnapping from the hospital, the Knights that searched for her mistook one sister for another. Therefore, for the last months, it was Dawn that graced the castle and academy with her presence, not Lumina.
But after his defeat in a duel of honor, prince Brody of Heath revealed the location where Lumina was, opening the way for the Princess' rescue. The hero that brought back both sisters earned the right to take the hand of one of them in marriage.
The number of ladies that swooned hearing this tragic tale of love, betrayal and adventure reached the thousands.
"I really can't understand where do you get these ideas for the tall tales of yours, Aidan," Princess Pearl of House Juvela vented at Aidan.
They were, to nobody's surprise, having an afternoon tea party in the palace gardens. Four Princesses, one noble lady, one ambassador, and one hero-of-the-hour.
"Otherworlder tales," The boy shrugged. "My family spent the last five millennia collecting them. I believe this one is called the 'Iron masked man' or something to that effect. A king was replaced by his twin brother and forced to stay in prison wearing an iron mask so nobody knew his identity. I just omitted the iron mask part."
"I thought you wouldn't want this level of exposure," Sora commented.
Aidan shrugged, "It is the best way to keep Dawn from becoming a political target. And to justify taking her with us on our travels."
"I personally think this is wonderful," Lumina added. "My sister will be protected by the God-Slayer and we will finally bind both families together as my mother wanted. And if Dawn doesn't want it, I'll take Lord Aidan for myself."
"Oh, come on!" Cythrel blurted out. "You had him for yourself for two years! You made him suffer so much you have no right to him!"
Lumina chucked. "Insecure little elf. You don't need to worry your pretty flaxen head. I know I don't deserve Lord Aidan, I was just teasing. Oh, your pouts are just so lovely, it makes me want to tease you even more, don't you know? Please take good care of both him and my sister."
Cythrel was almost bursting in anger. She waved her arm and Lumina grabbed the stumps. "I also owe you no small deal. You were protecting your man but you also protected me," The Princess added. "You are worthy, Lady Cythrel the Elf."
"Humph!" Cythrel yanked her arms back and crossed them, looking away and pouting. Lumina squealed and everyone laughed.
Sora took advantage of the confusion to take a nondescript wooden case and pass it to Claire. "Here. I bought you one set since you can't be seen going there."
"Oh, thank you." Claire blushed and accepted the case.
"It is the beginner set but honestly, the advanced ones are bad."
"I'll take your advice to heart, Sora."
Someone appeared suddenly out of the garden and crashed their tea party. "What do we have here? It is highly unfair, Lord Aidan, to hoard all these pretty ladies to yourself."
Aidan groaned and shook his head at Lucien's folly. "I don't mind sharing their company, Your Highness. However, I believe these ladies should do what the ladies want to do."
Claire protectively clutched the case and it drew Lucien's attention. The prince must have been feeling mischievous that day. He took the case from her.
"And what do we have here, sister? A tool case? Can I see it?" Claire opened and closed her mouth like a fish, too scared to answer. Lucien opened the case. "Wooden tools. What manner of strange shapes and turns, I wonder what are they for?"
Dawn seriously considered blasting Lucien away, but she needed to save Claire from a deadly embarrassment. "These are tools for gilding and metal leaf shaping. Claire needed a new hobby so we bought the tools for her."
She stood up and took the case from Lucien, leaving the piece he touched in his hand. "And please don't touch them. The grease of your hand will tarnish the metal. In fact, this piece you touched is now useless."
"Yes, yes," Claire hurriedly added. "I love those delicate gold and silver sculptures. They are so life-like."
"I never knew," Lucien bit their cover story. "I've seen several pieces during my travels, I could've bought them for you."
"It is a new passion. I also didn't know until recently," Claire lied through her teeth.
"I'm sorry for barging. You should go indoors, sister. You are obviously under the weather for too long. Look how red you are."
The girls withdrew from the gardens and regrouped in Dawn's apartment, leaving Aidan behind to distract and hold back Lucien. Dawn's chambers were next to Lumina's but this time they were hers.
"I am so glad they don't make them lifelike," Sora sighed once the girls were alone in the privacy of the newly-minted Princess' bedroom.
"We would have to kill Lucien if he saw one that looked like the real thing," Cythrel added and snorted.
Lumina was out of the loop. But she knew Claire for too long and connected the dots. "Wait a second. Are these that legendary brand of..."
"Yes. They are," Claire said as if she was confessing murder. "I asked Sora to buy a set for me. Sorry, your sister is a pervert."
"No! Not at all! I only heard rumors of it but the ladies always changed subjects and I never got to ask. I want a set for me!"
Dawn chortled and Sora curtsied. "Consider it done, Your Highness."