> [Major Geass] - 7th level spell.
>
> Element: Law
>
> Type: Curse
>
> Classification: Curse. Permanent. Language-dependent. Instantaneous Casting. Resisted.
>
> Target: Creatures in range.
>
> Places an absolute command on the target creatures. The creatures must be able to understand the command. Creatures cannot disobey the commands they understood. This spell can only be removed by the caster. The caster can specify a punishment for failing to fulfill the orders.
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"It seems they really took your advice to heart, darling," Pearl quipped as she peeked into the no-longer-village she saw through the carriage window.
Dawn grinned back. "They better. Because a Royal Inspection is coming up."
"Too bad it won't be a surprise one," Cythrel chimed from the other side. "I'd love to see their faces when you just popped before them."
"At least the knights won't follow us into the tunnel," Sora added. "We will be free to be ourselves."
"And I will be free of all these bothersome layers of petticoats," Dawn added. "Can't wait to put on some adventuring clothes."
Pearl glared at the other Princess. "You are a Princess. You'll play your part. Whether you like it or not. That's already a scandal that you won't wear corsets. The castle staff gave up on putting any in your luggage after you burned them."
Cythrel snorted. "Can you believe she even crafted a custom spell?" She waved her slender fairy hands and mocked Dawn's speech. "Incinerate Corset!"
The illusion of the dreaded piece of back-squeezing female attire burning appeared in the middle of the carriage. The mist sorceress' magic was quickly shattered with the wiggling of a finger from the only male in the vehicle's passenger compartment.
"We are arriving," Aidan reminded them. "We need to look the part and all your antics are doing is to break our concentration. C'mon."
Cythrel poked her tongue at him and then pounced to kiss his cheek. "As you wish, milord."
"You too, elf," Pearl reminded. "You are a Court Lady. Behave! And I'll boil your tongue if you point it my way," She added.
She was about to reply to the foreign Princess when Aidan seized her chin and sealed her lips with his own for a moment.
"Behave and you shall be rewarded," He said, leaving the threat of punishment hanging in the air with the unfinished phrase.
The scout knights went ahead and warned the townsfolk of the Princess' arrival. A welcome committee was hastily thrown by the city leaders. The former hamlet was visited by them twice in the last two years, once when they were on the run after kidnapping Lumina from the hospital and when they returned from Gohar through the tunnel. On both occasions, the interactions were less than friendly. But with Dawn firmly cemented and anointed as a member of the Royal Family, they couldn't afford to wrong her a third time.
"Aidan, you go first to help us get down," Pearl said. "You take Sora and Cythrel out first, they take your sides. Then Lola and Deb go and flank the other side. I will leave before Dawn."
Despite all the mood swings Pearl suffered during the trip, she still deferred to the local Royalty out of courtesy. Protocol dictated that the most important person should leave the vehicle last. Dawn reached and squeezed the Princess' hand. It was important to show that the new Princess' standing and giving her that little benefit would allow a smooth interaction with the locals.
Aidan went out and scanned the crowd. The two hundred or so townsfolk were all assembled and eagerly trying to see the Princesses inside the carriage. He found the kind innkeeper lady that helped them escape and smiled at her. She was wearing nice clothes and seemed in good health. The other authorities were at her side but Aidan intentionally ignored them. If they were going to play the influence game, he'd play it thoroughly.
One by one the ladies stepped out of the carriage. The crowd held their collective breath as Pearl put a foot outside and extended her hand to Aidan. She looked magnificent and he understood her second reason for leaving Dawn to get out after her. She moved her head, smiled at the crowd and acted regal as she descended those three steps separating the carriage from the ground. Aidan studied every movement so he could replicate them with his counterpart.
Pearl didn't just step out of the carriage. She waltzed down, flowing with uncanny grace even though her steps showed determination. Aidan had to admit she looked adorable as she moved. The result of a lifetime of coaching and training really showed.
Pearl moved to stand between her handmaids and Aidan focused on his twin sight. Dawn had an advantage almost nobody else had. She could see herself from outside her body, through Aidan's point of view. That allowed her to fix her facial expression, correct the placement of her body. They focused on not mimicking Pearl's moves but the intent. Flow gracefully, walk like she could see the steps underneath her skirt. While Pearl did it through practice and grace, Dawn cheated. While her eyes couldn't see her own feet, Aidan was in a perfect position to do so.
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Dawn could glide out of the carriage and make it seems like the easiest thing to do because of that. The alternative would be to either risk tripping or use magic to fix things. Once she reached the ground, the leaders of the growing town approached. She noticed that the kind innkeeper was left behind.
"Your Highness!" The same slimy village chief from before bowed deeply before Dawn. She spared him not a glance.
"Lady Anders!" Dawn called, startling the kind innkeeper. "Approach. You, out of my way," She commanded the officials.
Breaking protocol, Dawn took two steps forward and out of the formation to meet the woman, that quickly fell on a knee. "Princess. I'm honored you remember my name."
Dawn held her shoulders and embraced her after she got back on her feet. She spoke out loud for everyone's ears.
"Of course I'd remember the name of the kind innkeeper that saved my life. If you hadn't lent me your assistance on that fateful day when all others," She glared at the crowd as she said that, "were driven blind by their greed and intent on committing treason by capturing me, I'd be dead."
The temperature figuratively dropped a dozen degrees at the word treason. Dawn didn't use it lightly but as one precious otherworlder book had it, once is happenstance, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern. The innkeeper was crying on Dawn's shoulders.
"Lieutenant!" Dawn called the leader of the scout detachment.
"Your orders, your Highness?" The Knight took a step forward, a hand on the hilt of his sword.
"I have a proclamation to issue. I'll do it at the Staghorn inn. Lead the way."
One of the city leaders, the village chief that tried to bully Dawn when they surfaced, quietly tried to flee. With a nimble jump and shifting his scaled to red as he imbued his body with Fire mana, Skippy placed himself hovering in front of the man. Embers gathered in the little dragon's throat.
"That's your only cue to fall in and follow everyone," Aidan warned him without looking behind. He had one hand on each of his wives' shoulders and walked with the rest of the party.
The former village chief followed.
Dawn waved a hand and a dais of stone rose from the ground. She climbed up the three steps and turned around, facing the crowd. She also summoned Light to shine on her, a sign of her bloodline as one of Yutis' Royalty.
"Lady Anders, approach," She commanded with a clear voice, borrowing from Lumina's haughtiness.
The innkeeper knelt on the first step. "Your Highness, here I am," She said with a wavering voice.
"For your unfaltering loyalty and sense of duty, going above and beyond what was required of you, by the powers granted to me by my father, King Helios, may he long rule, I hereby promote Anders, the innkeeper, to Baroness Staghorn. Lord Aidan, the scroll."
It was one of the things they arranged beforehand. Aidan had a Royal Decree with him, one they asked Helios. Now that the tunnel between Yutis and Gohar was a reality, the town on their side had to be ruled by the nobility. None better than the innkeeper herself. The woman met Dawn's eyes with disbelief. Dawn smiled tenderly and nodded. Aidan unfurled the scroll and read it aloud. After the long preamble that was required by protocol, he reached the juicy part.
"... And for sheltering my daughters in their time of need and showing her worth, I am pleased to grant the title of Baroness Staghorn to lady Anders. Lieutenant Grouse and his men are now part of the Staghorn household. Peters, I expect you to assist the Baroness and teach her what she needs."
The lieutenant took a step forward and knelt. "I shall do as you command, your Majesty." He vowed.
Dawn met Pearl's eyes. The older Princess narrowed her eyes and nodded in approval.
"Baroness, stand next to me," Dawn called. "Lord Aidan, where are those that defied my decree?"
Skippy slapped the former village chief with his tail. The man took a step forward, rubbing his cheeks. Aidan pushed them forward and forced them down on their knees.
"Here, your Highness."
This dual theater was second nature to him now.
"Gentlemen, you disappointed me," Dawn said curtly.
She didn't allow anger to seep in her voice, making it as cold as she could. A pale shadow compared to what Lumina could achieve but she didn't have to pretend to be Lumina anymore. She could find her own way of doing things and 'be herself'... in whatever sense it worked for the person-in-two-bodies.
After he separated himself from Lumina's soul and fully repaired both his and Dawn's bodies and souls, these two were more than just two bodies inhabited by the same person. Each one of them had their own mana pool and elemental affinities, each was fully capable of reasoning but they were connected at a fundamental level. If he had to explain in a few words, it was ambidexterity taken to the extreme in all aspects of life. Just like some people could write two different texts at the same time with one hand each, they could act independently while remaining the same person.
"I'll offer you a choice," She continued. "You either accept a geass and work for the good of the country, or you are to be imprisoned for your crimes."
"The geass!" The former village chief quickly acquited.
"Lord Aidan, please."
Aidan gathered Law magic. Geass was usually cast with lower Elements, like Abyss, Blood, or Death. The type of punishment varied with the Element used but the weaker types always had some ways to escape. However, the Law element was the refinement of that chain. A geass of the Penta-Elemental Law theoretically was vulnerable only to divine magic.
"Major Geass!
"You are to work under Baroness Staghorn and zeal for the prosperity to Yutis, follow the laws of the country, never commit sedition, procrastination, or embezzlement, speak truthfully to the Baroness and her officers, promote safety for the Baroness and her fief, and execute her commands to the spirit of the orders. Give the Baroness useful and sincere advice with the deference and respect I expect from you."
The village chief felt the geass set and gave Aidan a questioning glance. The young mage knew what was amiss. There was no punishment for failing to execute the geass orders. They would soon discover that it wasn't necessary. the Law was absolute. They would be incapable of acting against the geass.
Casting the spell on that many people drained more than three-quarters of his magic pool. But it was well worth it. The fatigue of using that much magic was visible on his face.
"Thank you, Lord Aidan," Dawn spoke. "You may go into the inn to rest. Dismissed."
"Your Highness, by your leave," Aidan broke off from the crowd and walked to the Staghorn inn, formerly the village chief's house. Sora and Cythrel followed him.
"Baroness, these men will help you get used to your station and aid you in managing the Barony. You have the favor of the Royal family," Dawn declared to the woman and addressed the crowd. "And our wrath upon any who dares slight the Baroness."
She waved another mote of Earth magic and created steps on the other side of the dais. Dawn wrapped a hand around the new Baroness and found Pearl's eyes. The other Princess smiled and walked into the inn. The Knights boxed around the noble ladies and they all went inside for a well-deserved rest.