It was a sunny day at the end of the summer. Dawn knocked rather fiercely on an inn door.

"Cythrel! How long are you going to stay cooped up inside your room?"

She put her mouth next to the door frame, shouting past the privacy ward erected in the room. After a while, the door opened. A fairy's face with vivacious flushed cheeks peeked from the other side, the rest of the person wearing a nightgown.

"What is it?" The elf asked.

After returning from the smithy on cloud nine, Cythrel locked herself in a room. The door only opened to let food and drinks in and the chamber pot out. That was the only cue they had to soothe Pearl that the golems hadn't gone berserk and murdered their master.

It was awkward to speak with the face glued to the door but Dawn endured. "How long are you going to stay there? It's been three days! Are your hands working fine?"

"I was just going out to grab something to eat. And yes, my refurbished hands are working awesomely. Did you know they were detachable?" She said with a coy smile.

"Yes, I designed them," Dawn deadpanned, oblivious to the innuendo. "If you are coming, get dressed fast. We are going on an outing today."

"Yessir, your Highness ma'am sir!" Cythrel saluted. "One elf lady, coming out right away."

Dawn let the door close and went on with her day. Staying in the same room for days wasn't good. The room had a funky smell already, she thought as she went down the stairs to eat breakfast with the rest of the group.

"Are you sure you want to come, Pearl? It won't be nice to revisit that place," At the table, Aidan asked the Princess.

"I have to," Pearl answered with a sigh that denounced the gravity of her decision. "I have to, that's my sin."

He was amazed at the strength Pearl was showing. Even he was on the verge of tears when he discussed with Sora the need to return there. That night years ago was terrifying. The price they paid to escape, overwhelming.

Dawn joined them and after exchanging their good mornings, ate her food. As she learned every Princess worth her tiara should, she took the tiniest bites out of everything in the table.

"You need a personal maid, darling," Pearl commented in a whisper. "I know how difficult it is for you given your... condition, but you should think about getting one. It is too odd for you to not have your own entourage. I mean, I have Deb and Lola to aid me, but just for the two of us, we should be traveling with at least ten people."

"I found a plethora of spells to assist in one's personal care in Lumina's spellbooks," Dawn replied. "My sister too, traveled with very little people to groom her."

"I know," Pearl chuckled once, "Your family is very independent. But you need to act with propriety according to your station, your Highness," She playfully snubbed at the end.

"Once we return, I will request your Highness' assistance in selecting some maids to aid me," Dawn compromised.

"Good. Now eat your food. I recommend the grain biscuits there. They are made with goat's foot seed, a grain that only grows in one place in the entire world, the mountains of Gohar," She explained proudly. "In the palace, we put glazing over them to make them look good."

Dawn took one of the biscuits and bit. It was dry, crunchy, but had that strong nutty flavor and a warming aftertaste.

"I bet the glazing keeps them from crumbling," Dawn commented after she regained the ability to speak.

"It does," Pearl replied, amused. "How did you like them?"

"Delicious! I think I'll get some seeds for the Elder Fairy's garden. Would you mind?"

Pearl's eyes became predatory, "Are you trying to steal one of our country's treasures? That's war right there, Dawn."

The two stared at each other for a while.

"Are they going to make out anytime soon?" Cythrel's voice broke the silence. "I'm hungry."

Dawn stifled a snort and then both Princesses laughed.

"You can't have the seeds. And don't steal them behind my back," Pearl concluded.

"Boring," Cythrel booed. "They're catfighting for seeds? They better be Yggdrasil's pinecones. Oh, cookie!"

"Would you mind telling us why you locked yourself in for three days?" Sora asked.

"I wouldn't mind, but do you really want to know?" Cythrel grabbed one wrist and pulled the golem out. "These babies are detachable and remote-controlled," She explained, waving the still-moving hand. "Perfect for reaching awkward spots and scratching one's back."

"I don't--"

"I lived one year without hands, Sora!" Cythrel sighed. "I had some catching up to do, okay? Do you want me to draw you a picture? Mou!"

"I think it won't be necessary, Cythrel," Aidan interrupted. "Are you coming with us?"

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Yesh, mai mam," She answered with the mouth dry because of the cookie.

"You're right, Darling. I'm asking Deb to teach the cook how to do the glazing," A somewhat disgusted Pearl decided.

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After breakfast, the ladies went on their own to get ready for the trip. Aidan took Cythrel to his room for a talk. He sat down on a chair and the elf unceremoniously took his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her skirt dangled down in a crumpled mess.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her.

She gave him a sultry stare and then kissed his lips. "Better," she whispered and opened a mischievous grin. "And I know just how we can improve on it."

Her innuendo was obvious. That she was gazing at the main furniture of the room was not even noticed.

"That's not what I meant. Your mana. These golems have quite the upkeep."

She blinked, bit her lower lip, and sighed. "It is not worse than the Headmaster slaving me to charge his cores. I'm used to it," She replied, dismissive.

"Good," Aidan smiled knowingly. It was less empathetic than what she wished and had some evil mastermind undertones.

"You put me to that!" Cythrel accused. "You had the Archmage give me all those exercises!" She slapped his shoulders and chest. "Do you have any idea how many nights I spent with a headache from mana exhaustion!" Aidan just endured her outrage. It angered her even more. "Say something!"

"Guilty as charged, milady," He was barely suppressing his mirth.

Pouting, she turned her face away from him, slapping his face with her golden hair. After a minute or so of silence, she mumbled. "Make it up to me." He didn't respond. In fact, he didn't move at all for a few moments. "Husband?"

He blinked. "Sorry. I really need to get some handmaids. These dresses are a bother to don alone."

She slapped his shoulder again. "Don't you dare girl talk to me, mister! You'll ruin the mood!"

"What mood?"

"The one in which we fight and then have make-up---"

"Not happening," He deadpanned. "Your hands. Mana upkeep. Drain. Status report."

"As I told you already, I'm fine," She answered, angry. "It is not worse than Astromelicus' exercises. I think it will even improve my mana affinity. There, happy?"

"You know, I'm just--"

"Being a human, that's what you are doing. Grandfather Oak, it is so irritating," She vented. "What is wrong with enjoying the moment for a while before getting to the main point? No, it is a hurry to go from here to there, then back here and then over there. You're like worker ants, you know? Crawling all over endlessly."

She could see he was holding back his laughter. He'd get a point for restraint and then lose ten for restraint. "Woe is you, industry."

Aidan sighed, lowered his head and then grabbed the small of her back. He pulled her tight and ran the tip of his nose softly through her long neck, raising all kinds of odd sensations. Startled, she just mumbled some vowels.

His trip ended at the tip of her ear. He paused, letting his breath do the job for him. Cythrel couldn't even think straight. She waited for him to say something but he just kissed behind the place where her jawbone met the neck. His nose never broke contact and he went up and behind her ear, diving underneath her hair. Her heart raced and she felt like a small rabbit out in the open with a tiger. A hungry one.

"You only got half of us figured out, little elf," He whispered. "Humans only lose in lust to orcs. Don't you think I want to trace every single inch of your fair skin, milady? That I don't wish to dive with you in those white sheets? I want to pay back every single tease from the last year, my little Cythrel. Can't you read me? Do sense me, my dear. What is my body telling you."

As if she could say something. Her mind was elsewhere deeply absorbed in the sensations, taking its time to digest the words he spoke. It was as if her whole skin was tingling, some places more than others. That he didn't stop nibbling her neck and ear didn't help at all. Even remembering to breathe was a daunting task. Gone was the gentleman, a lower noble but still a noble. In his place awoke something primal. She... didn't dislike this other Aidan. After a while, she got an answer.

"I'm sorry. Too many petticoats to sense anything. But..." She paused, met his eyes, and spoke with the sweetest voice she ever made, "Thank you. Let me tell you one thing about us elves then, human."

She leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "Our ears are too sensitive. And now I need a change of undergarments."

He chuckled. Cythrel used that time to catch up on her breathing. She touched her forehead to his and kept staring into his eyes. Elves were sensitive to magic, and the quality of the Cosmos mage's had a depth that threatened to suck her in. She could stare at those mysterious pupils forever.

"Before you go," He broke the silence, "I really need to check how you are adapting to your hands. Sora and I are in the common room waiting for Pearl to get ready so we don't have much time."

"After our delving, could we come back here and do another kind of delving?" She negotiated.

"We can see what comes by. Now, excuse me."

He touched her solar plexus, a requirement for his spell to draw her soul effigy out. Cythrel always thought annoying that the effigy seemed to be naked but fuzzy enough to not show the important bits. Her affinity orbs circled around the effigy but now two thin lines were going from her heart to the stubs of her forearms. The golems didn't show up and that made her feel a bit bitter. These days she adapted to them so much that she sometimes even forgot that she was wounded.

"So, how long do I have to live, doctor?" She teased.

"Anywhere from seven hundred to a thousand years, miss," He reported matter-of-factly. "I can see some strain in your mana affinity, tiny cracks in the orb but nothing your own healing can't help with. It will definitely grow bigger. If you feel anything strange, please tell me."

She felt the urge to joke about what he thought would grow bigger now that he was basically staring at her chest but it wasn't the proper timing.

"I... just... did," She bashfully replied. Steeling herself, she pushed her embarrassment away. "I didn't get to thank you properly. This is fantastic and something only you could pull off. I mean, Pearl told me how much you spent on me and..."

She blinked away the moisture. Now it wasn't the time for that.

"You saved our lives, silly girl. I would drive a kingdom or two into bankruptcy for you. Not out of gratitude. I did this because I love you."

And his eyes were deadly serious. Aidan wasn't a "good guy" like the heroes of legends. He was very comfortable in his own gray zone. Cythrel feared what he would be capable of if the world betrayed him. Given that he held the potential to kill deities and the ultimate form of magic, she was very concerned with steering him into the lighter shades of gray.

It also meant that Sora and she had to become stronger. They couldn't be liabilities, weak points, trophy wives.

"Now that I got a clean bill of health, could you teach me how to use these babies' hidden powers? I know there is a lot hidden in here. Like these depressions here, they look awfully like the core sockets in your spell diagrams."

Aidan was amused. "You got me. They are for cores. We tried to design the cores to stay inside but without a truly living force, the cores would degrade. And as for abilities, or 'hidden powers', there's plenty. First, Your forearms and they are as hard as enchanted mithril. There are only three things I know that can damage them. Adamantite, Dragonbreath, and Ether. So if you are in a fight, you can use the golems to parry blows. Even if they take some damage, they will repair themselves."

And then he started to ramble about all the other dozen or so features he imbued in the golems. Or so he would haven't Pearl barged in.

"Ceres' mercy, you are clothed," She sighed relieved. "We have to go. Now."