Marjorie admired the sky in the luxurious room that King Bruce had prepared for his promised bride. The room contained bookshelves, a large desk, and was painted navy blue, which was the princess's favorite color. The bed was very large and soft.
The blue, of the dresses she liked to wear, helped to give color to her very light gray eyes. There were several dresses of different styles separated in a wardrobe with various jewelry and accoutrements.
The king knew most of Marjorie's tastes and for some years he had been concerned about renovating a good part of the castle, making the structure more daring. He had enlarged the library and also placed an alchemy laboratory near the princess's room.
The king prepared several fields specialized in magic training. These camps were open and safe to practice.
King Allende had heard these suggestions from Hilbert, as Bruce wanted to make his future wife feel more comfortable than at home. They weren't great friends, but they got along just fine.
When Flick, Charlotte and Marjorie arrived, the king rushed to accommodate the newcomers in the rooms. Marjorie asked Charlotte to stay in the same room as her.
Amadeus was allocated in a very luxurious room as well. The king had noticed, that morning, the state in which the three arrived after the battle with the flying fiend, and was so quick to ask his servants to accommodate his guests that Marjorie could not even have time to observe the young monarch's face.
The princess had only glanced at him when all those servants passed from side to side, almost pushing them into their rooms.
The celebration banquet would be ready in the evening; lunch had been served in the guests’ rooms.
All this effort made by King Allende had not impressed the princess, she only thought about Hilbert's safety and, oddly enough, Gödel's and Fenriz's too.
She didn't want to read, eat or talk. Luckily for the princess, her roommate was experienced in the matters of the heart. Charlotte silently observes the sad princess and approaches her, caressing her hair gently.Tears were streaming down the princess's face as she contemplated the sky.
“I wish I could be with them.” Marjorie says turning her face towards Charlotte.
“I also would like to be by their side.” answers the redhead, still staring at the stars.
“Hilbert is the most selfish and stubborn person I know!”
“He is, when it comes to protecting people he cares for.” Charlotte looked at Marjorie and wiped the princess's tears with a handkerchief.
“Why does he carry this entire burden alone? I wanted him to be more honest and to share his feelings with me! No one notices the pain he carries in his chest, he never complains, but I feel that pain in my heart.” Marjorie looks again at the stars.
“I think you haven’t notice it yet, just as I didn't. The old Hilbert would never have told us about his plans, would never have trusted you to help in the battle. He would never have said he loves me.” Marjorie looked with mild surprise and Charlotte mends:
“That behavior of his does not help to realize that he has gradually matured, but he has changed.”
“I guess you're right.”
“Day by day, he seems to be distributing this burden you mentioned. And not just with Gödel and Fenriz, but with everyone around him.” says Charlotte and then smiles at the princess.
Charlotte turns to gaze at the stars and returns to speak with a tone of admiration.
“Hilbert is respected and beloved by many people, commoners, servants, nobles, but mainly by his companions of the brigades. Did you notice all the confidence that those two men showed in each of your brother's decisions? They risked their lives in that battle and were proud to do so. That kind of thing goes beyond any oath."
“I only saw him with Gödel and Fenriz. I thought that nobody but me, the Queen and those two could stand him.” Marjorie was starting to get less worried.
“Before I heard about your brother's, 'girlfriends', I thought those two were lovers. That cheap depraved bastard! I am Sorry Marjorie, I meant no disrespect to your family. ”
“That is fine Charlotte, Hilbert is the one to blame. I think everyone thought that they were lovers at least once.” Marjorie felt a slight joy in her heart.
“There's something I never told anyone, not even your brother or Hilda!” Charlotte speaks winking at the princess who seemed to pay more attention to the words.
“When Hilbert was a little boy, he was disguised with a bag of coins in the poorest area where I lived. He was always stolen, only the next day he came back again. Those coins helped many children to buy bread, including me. We didn't know he was the prince or we wouldn't take such chances.” Charlotte and Marjorie started laughing thinking about the scene.
“How long did it last?”
“Until the day he started hanging out with Gödel and the wolf. After that, no one else approached him, you must imagine the reason.” replies Charlotte, and Marjorie starts to laugh.
“I think I was not born yet, but I would like to have witnessed this moments.” the princess responds with a lighter heart. “I can't imagine those two as children.” the princess smiled.
“Only in behavior, I presume.” says Charlotte laughing at the smiling princess. “We are talking about those fools while we have all these beautiful dresses and jewelry to try on.” Charlotte goes to the closet.
“Soon we will have a banquet in our honor; I think we should take a shower in that giant bathtub. What do you say?” the princess started to blush.
“Go ahead! I'll go after you leave, Charlotte.” says the princess looking down.
“Come on Marjorie! I'll wash your hair and your back and then we'll choose a nice dress for us!” says Charlotte enthusiastically.
“It's just that you know ... I just… have some menstrual cramps!” the princess speaks with shame, while she became more flushed.
“It is Alright, my dear! We are women there is no problem with that. Fortunately, the goddess made us this way. Follow me to the bathroom, at least.” Charlotte was going towards the chic and huge bathroom as Marjorie accompanies her.
“Look at this many bath salts!This one will make us smell good. And when you use the bathtub, you won't have to worry about our monthly visitor colouring the bath water.” Charlotte poured the powder that formed foam with a strong coloring of red and weet aroma of roses.
“Charlotte,” Marjorie begins to speak slowly with great shame. “I want you to wash my hair. You wouldn't mind if I bathed with you, would you? You wouldn’t think it would be gross?”
Charlotte suddenly takes the girl on her lap and throws her in the bathtub and starts laughing.
“Charlotte!!”
“Undress, you spoiled brat! I'll turn around! And don't look at me with that face. You can’t even scare a rat with that pretty face of yours.”
Marjorie takes off her dress and lowers herself in the bathtub, which was heated by a compartment below, fueled by firewood and a chimney that carried the smoke out of the bathroom.
Charlotte undressed and got into the bath. The sight of the beautiful body made the princess blush. The redhead laughs.
“You're making the same face as your brother! By the gods, girl!” says Charlotte smiling.
“Has he seen you naked before?”
“No, but that pervert has seen so many women without clothes that it shouldn't be difficult for him to imagine my body the way he always looked at me! Nothing that some basins of cold water could not solve his problem.”
“Excuse me for the astonishment, is that your breasts are so big! And your body is well defined and I have never seen another naked woman in front of me!” Marjorie tries to hide her dazzle.
“Not even your mother?”
“No. She just visits me full of questions about my etiquette education and my studies, and then she leaves the room in a hurry. I only studied the human body in anatomy books.” the princess's voice seemed very sad.
“My body is very different from yours!” Marjorie stared at Charlotte's breasts and palms her small, firm breasts under the water.
“Every woman has a different body, my dear! There is beauty in all of them, in skinny, fat, muscular, and even in the bodies of the old ladies, but the fundamental beauty is that which comes from the heart! A pretty person with an ugly heart is candy for the eyes and poison for the soul. Don't worry so much about it, time makes all bodies turn to dust.” Charlotte notes that the princess was staring at her bust and says:
“Come here!” Marjorie approaches the redhead. “You can touch them if you want, and judging by the way you are looking, I can tell you want to!” says Charlotte smiling. The princess's hand slowly passes over Charlotte's breasts.
“Wow! How big and firm they are. Mine are very small!” Marjorie showed Charlotte her breasts.
“But, they are very beautiful and harmonious, just like my mother’s were! Can I touch them?” Charlotte asks seriously and without malice.
“Yes you can, Charlotte!” says Marjorie a little ashamed of the request.
Marjorie feels a delicious sensation invading her body while the redhead touched her. The princess sighed and sobbed, closing her eyes and biting her lips. The redhead stops and starts laughing hard at the princess reaction.
“What's it? Are you laughing at my body?” Asks the princess with a puzzled face and without understanding her condition.
“No, you silly! Didn't you notice your reaction!?” the redhead looked with astonishment at the princess that was giving a negative sign with her head. Charlotte did not imagine that the girl could be so innocent for these things.
“Then we need to have a conversation about some things you can't learn from books. Did you never get into a relationship? Not even hidden from the Queen?”
“I was never interested in guys; they are so boring and dumb!” Marjorie makes a mocking face.
“What about girls?
“I was never interested in girls; they are so boring and shallow!” Marjorie repeats the expression. Charlotte laughs at the answer.
“You are very picky, huh? What about your body?” the redhead makes a face of astonishment.
“Ah, yes! I have been training hard for my body to store more aura, and it seems that I’m progressing fast!” Marjorie looks seriously at Charlotte who starts laughing again.
“What was it this time?” the princess looks lost in the conversation.
“We will talk about these things later. Let me wash your hair and your back. If we stay in here longer, we will be wrinkled.” answers the redhead.
Meanwhile, far from where the girls were bathing, Amadeus was in the woods next to the castle. He had his eyes closed, emanating his great aura that sparkled in the night.
Since arriving at the castle Amadeus had been training in that peaceful place trying to expand the limits of his power. The young man's concentration had been interrupted by words spoken by a male person covered in a golden cloak and hood.
“This is not going to work!” the unknown being speaks. Amadeus looks at that tall individual hidden by its cloak.
“Who are you? What do you want here?” asks Flick preparing for combat.
“Calm down, human child, for I didn't come here to fight you. Your aura caught my attention, I'm just a traveler.”
“What will not work?” asks Amadeus, still suspicious.
“What you are doing, human child. You can increase the amount of absurd energy you have and can gather, but that will not make you stronger. There is another method overlooked by men that allows for an enormous increase in power.” the being spoke calmly while sitting on a log.
“Your aura is strange and powerful, but it does not emanate energy from the shadows. Why are you telling me this? Are you trying to trick me by chance?”
“Rest assured, for if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already! I'm just passing through. You humans are very flustered.”
“What method are you talking about? I read all the books on magic that I could find, I don't think that what you are going to tell me contains any kind of news.” Amadeus lets his guard down. The mysterious being before him had piqued his interest.
“That's the problem, child! The books talk about magic. It is not the pure manifestation of it. Aura and magic are similar energies in this universe. But one is part of the spiritual strength of living beings and the other is an element that permeates the entire fabric of reality. You already know that, I'm sure, but warriors and mages use magic differently. While the former channel their auras so that they communicate with magic, which breaks down into pure or elemental power, the latter channel the magic and use it to increase their auras. This is unbalanced, but it is an easy method.” the being now crosses his arms.
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“I knew that too, what you told me is nothing new!”
“I know that, but what you humans don't know or don't understand, for some reason, is the proper way to channel these energies.”
“What are you trying to say?” asks the young man with a puzzled face.
“That you do not need to channel these energies separately! The spiritual aura and the magical aura, which permeates the universe, are energies that can be added and channeled at the same time. They are not sides of the same coin. How could I be clearer?” the mysterious being takes a short break and then continues to speak:
“The most correct metaphor would be to say that these energies would be a current flow that you separate into several parts, using only fractions of that current. It is as if you use only small flows of that energy. The “dams” that you use in the energy flow help you to channel only a fraction of all this huge and powerful flow.” the being gets up preparing to return to its path. Amadeus was trying to assimilate what the being has just said, asks it to wait.
“How is this possible? Is there any way to learn that?” the being stops and turns towards the amazed young man and speaks again in the same gentle tone.
“Think about what I told you, human child! But the most important thing is that you feel this flow and try to connect with it without restrictions. Be careful not to die in the process. Well, I'm going now. This conversation ended the boredom of my long journey.” the mysterious creature goes back on its way and Amadeus again asks him to stop once more.
“Could you show me that? At least once, please, I beg you!” the young man says this and kneels lowering his head to the floor as a form of pleading.
“It really would be easier if you felt that energy, at least once. Don't just look with your eyes, worry about feeling the energy that I'm going to emanate, for I am about to use all of my power, and I cannot do it again for some time!” the being stops and positions its legs and arms after moving his hands. Amadeus watched the being closely.
“That's my aura, energy flows from my body to the universe!” a gigantic aura began to sparkle.
“This is now the channeling of water magic in my aura, the cosmic energy is gathered from the universe to my body fusing with my aura.” the aura of the being increases and with a bluish tinge.
“And this is the manifestation of the energy flow that permeates everything and everyone in the universe!
A metallic light of various colors emanated from the being, creating enormous pressure and extending to the skies, this energy illuminated the whole forest.
Amadeus had been impressed with that kind of power and did not feel that energy had any kind of good or bad intention. The being stops channeling the energy and speaks to the young man, who looked surprised.
“Think of the flow I mentioned and remember this feeling. Enchantments and spells are a type of energy restriction that humans restrict even more. When you communicate with that force, just think about what to do with the energy and it shall meet its purpose. The next time you call, I will not stop walking. Until we meet again, Amadeus Flick!”
The being was gone and Flick was sweating cold and puzzled on his knees. He thought about what the being had said to him over and over again.
As Amadeus was already tired of training for that long period, he decided to retire to his room; so that he could better reflect on how he could reach that flow that had been mentioned.
At the castle, the royal hall was ready for the banquet. King Bruce Allende sat at a large table at the back of the hall at a higher level, with a few steps of access.
On his right side there was a large, burly man in dark green armor that resembled the shape of a dragon's body, had scales and a red cloak, this man was without a helmet and with a large green spear on his back. He was Commander Holt of the Dragon Brigade. Beside this man was a gentleman with a big gray beard wearing a gray robe.
The three chairs on the right were empty, waiting for the honorees of the night. The bards played soft music. The other tables were in the lower elevated part of the room, they were rectangular and were adorned with flowers and silk towels. The cutlery was silver and the porcelain of the dishes was very delicate. The court guests wore luxurious robes, dresses and other sophisticated garments.
Charlotte and Marjorie enter the place being announced by a servant who is dressed in a pompous way.
All the guests looked in awe at the stunning beauty of the young women who entered the place.
They walked elegantly across a red carpet that stretched to the beginning of the first step of the ornate table on which the king was standing.
The girls head towards the table, Marjorie sits next to the king and Charlotte next to the princess. King Bruce gets up and speaks a few words.
“Good night to all those present and thank you for attending the banquet offered to my guests!” everyone applauds the king who then continues to speak.
“It is with great pride that I present the court and my loyal subordinates to my beautiful fiancée, and princess of Whitecastle, Marjorie Ygdrazz White!”
The king bows to Marjorie to his left, who also stands up and makes a brief bow.
“I decree to treat her as if she were a member of the Allende royal family, of the Southstar kingdom!”
Marjorie started to blush, due to so many looks, then she sits down. All the guests get up and bow and the banquet begins. The king tries to discuss matters with Marjorie.
“How your stay at the castle has been, Princess Marjorie? Did you get comfortable in your room? If you don't like something, I can ask my servants to make some changes.” King Bruce looked at Marjorie in awe at the young woman's beauty.
“Everything was very perfect, Your Majesty.” Marjorie looks at the king's face.
The King had blue eyes and short black hair combed to the side. His face was not ugly, but he had a rather big nose for his thin face and tall body, with no apparent muscles.
He was wearing his golden crown with no encrusted stones. His clothes were red and very pompous. Marjorie tries to hide the look she gave to the king's nose, who answers the young princess with a smile.
“Call me Bruce! Let's leave these formalities to the servants!”
Marjorie nods. The comment had made the young woman uneasy. The princess thought of Whitecastle and Hilbert who kept telling everyone to stop using the treatment pronouns. Her brother always called the people that worked at the castle by their respective names. The girl lowers her head and answers the king.
“All right, Bruce. You can call me Marjorie as well.” the girl seemed discouraged, which was visible to those who were seated at the king's table. The king tried to change the mood with another matter.
“What have you read lately, Marjorie?” the king looked at the girl attentively while the servants were serving the king's table.
“Some books on Medicine, Anatomy to be more precise.” Marjorie replies.
“Ah yes! I really liked the book that Doctor Ludwig wrote.” the king tried to impress the girl.
In fact, for years, he had dedicated himself to reading the most diverse types of books, as he did not want to be an uneducated king.
“It is a good introductory book, although the descriptions about the digestive system contain many anatomical errors, mainly in the picture on page one hundred and five. I don't blame Ludwig for that, as human bodies were not allowed to be studied at that time in Edenhill Kingdom. The structures described are very similar to pigs. I prefer the transcripts of Weikath, who used the period of the last war to do his studies secretly, they are more detailed and the part about the nervous system is quite complete. His dissections were very precise.” replied the maiden thanking the servant who put food on her plate. King Bruce was embarrassed by the caliber of the princess's response. He decided to change the topic of conversation to Mathematics.
“Ah yes! These treaties are very rare to find. Do you like Math? What do you think about the study that the mathematician Walker did on Algebra?” the king was very fond of mathematics and had studied this subject more than any other.
“The demonstrations on solving equations, from second to fifth degrees, are tedious. Only the basic factoring is summarized. He always calls for a convenient and null factor. It lacks logical rigor. It seems to me that he chooses all the easy examples to demonstrate and his texts are not very cohesive. This book made me very angry, because I had to deduce more generic resolutive formulas to find the roots of these equations for any number. Unfortunately, I was only able to develop effective methods up to some of the fourth degree equation. After I found out that Harris had done all those demos in his book, I felt like I wasted my time of reading other books.” Marjorie responds with enthusiasm, she did not want to embarrass the king, she only commented on her studies, but that did not stop her from making the king feel admiration, even though he felt vexed too.
The atmosphere at the table was heavy. Charlotte thought she should say something to lighten the mood, but decided to wait. The man in armor on his left seemed lost in the matter, while the wizard was drunk on wine and mocked the king in his mind. Bruce thought that book was perfect until Marjorie opened her mouth. The king had been defeated in the area that he had the most knowledge and aptitude, so he decided to let go of the idea of impressing the intelligent princess with his academic knowledge. The king tries to compose himself and turns to the princess again.
“I really felt the same way.” answers the king that actually just felt like a great imbecile. “I prepared a presentation to entertain us. Would you like to watch a play, Marjorie?
“Sure. I've never seen a play before!” answers the princess. Bruce's eyes start to shine. It was his chance to impress the princess.
“I hope you enjoy this presentation that I wrote myself!” the king speaks with a great air of confidence. The king gets up and waves to the actors who were on standby.
Two actors enter dressed in Southstar black armor, while two men dressed in green dragon enter the scene. The dragon's head was kind of dropped on its side and the wings were crooked. The king looks at the drunken wizard and says:
“Hanemann! Get ready for the special effects!” the king seemed furious with the old man who was visibly drunk. The old man nods. Hanemann is a powerful wizard, powerful and drunk. Great combination for chaos. The king standing begins his narration of the play.
“The brave Southstar soldiers marched through the Edengard forest.” the actors pretended to march without moving.
“Suddenly, they encounter a terrible green dragon that stalked them and roared ferociously.” the men inside the costume began to howl, as if they were wolves.
“Upon hearing the, roar…” the king stressed that last word.
The dragon was static for a few seconds, and then the fantasy men started to roar, they sounded like they were clearing their throat.
“... of the imposing dragon, which stood before the brave soldiers, they try to face the dragon without success.” the men in armor simply fell to the ground.
“The beast, not content with just defeating the noble warriors, devours all men without mercy.”
The dragon falls on top of the men, while they entered the dragon costume through an opening in the belly that joined the two halves of the green fabric. With difficulty, they get up making the withered fantasy more full.
The wizard was behind the dragon, apparently he was going to use some spell as a special effect. The king continues his narration.
“After devouring the soldiers, the dragon comes across the young and courageous King Bruce Allende who heads towards the beast wielding the Dragonslayer, the legendary spear.
A very muscular and brown-skinned man, very different from the king enters the scene with a long stick painted crudely in green.
“Suddenly, the dragon unleashes a blast of fire!” the old wizard was drinking unaware of the situation.
“I said that, THE DRAGON, unleashed a blast of fire!!” the wizard sighs and concentrates his enormous aura and a red light illuminates the place. The wizard begins to utter the magic words of a spell.
“Ignis Pyro, celestial father of the undying flame ...”
Marjorie, when hearing the name of the fire god, gets up scared, concentrating her aura. She quickly utters the words of a supreme restraining spell before the wizard finishes his.
“Gaia, eternal mother of the gods and of all life, grant me control of the celestial flames.”
Marjorie extends her hand emanating a giant aura, while the wizard finished his supreme spell.
“ ... that inhabits the stars of the universe, I summon your fire!"
The wizard, who was hidden next to the dragon, releases a huge fireball from his hands towards the actor and then falls backwards passed out. As the fireball approached the frightened actor, it stopped in the air, enveloped in a bluish aura. Marjorie tried very hard to contain the powerful magic and redirected it throughout the window. With great difficulty, Marjorie deflects the fireball outside of the castle.
After a few seconds, a huge explosion is heard outside.
The disguised laughter and mockery of those who watched the pathetic play turned to astonishment and fear. Everyone was silent and the king looked at that scene totally confused.
Marjorie was breathless and aura depleted, for she had just contained supreme spell.
Before the wizard unleashed the potent magic, Charlotte was holding the princess by the dress, she had also realized the danger, and the only thing she was thinking about was turning the table and pushing Marjorie down.
When the princess began to emanate her aura, the redhead decided to trust Marjorie, a trust that saved the lives of many who were there. The silence lasted a little longer and people looked at each other in amazement.
King Bruce speaks again, trying to disguise the tragedy that could have occurred.
“… and the king is saved by his powerful and beautiful fiancée, Marjorie Ygdrazz White!” the king was sweating cold hoping that this last minute improvisation would work.
People slowly applaud, what then turns into a big round of applause. Everyone was standing there applauding and cheering the young princess who sat exhausted in her chair.
“We will withdraw to our chambers, Your Majesty!” Charlotte bows to the king and takes the exhausted princess back to her quarters.
As the girls passed by, everyone continued to applaud the princess.
“Holt! Take this drunken rag to his room! When he wakes up say that I will cut all funds dedicated to his research, if he does not stop drinking. I am dead serious this time!” the king spoke these words discreetly to the man who simply nods and leaves with Hanemann's passed out body.
The king turns to his guests and speaks. “Thanks for watching the play! Keep up the feast!” after saying this, the king leaves the hall.
Charlotte and King Bruce were in the princess's room. The redhead laid the tired Marjorie on the bed, covering her with a comforter. The king looked worried.
“He used a supreme spell of fire, Charlotte! That gentleman is very powerful.” says the princess exhausted.
“I'm glad you were there! Now rest!” Charlotte kisses the princess's forehead.
“Will she be okay, Charlotte?” asks the king with a worried face.
“She will be fine, Your Majesty! Just allow me to take care of her until she regains her strength.” says Charlotte nodding.
“Sorry for the disaster that Hanemann caused! No, I am the one to blame; I should not have trusted him in that condition.” The crestfallen king was leaving the room, and he suddenly stops when he listens to Marjorie's voice.
“Bruce! Thanks for the play you made to entertain us, apart from the last part; I hadn't seen anything so funny in ages.” Marjorie answers in a weak voice smiling at the king.
“Those comments just saved the life of that drunken old man! It's a joke, I need that drunk man, I really do. But I hope he quits wine before he or his liver dies.” The king smiles at the girls and mends a farewell.
“Good night to the maidens!” the king walks out the door, ecstatic by the princess's comment. And he goes humming melodies to his luxurious room.
Not a minute passed after the king left the room and Marjorie was asleep. Someone was knocking on the door. It was Amadeus who was concerned.
“What happened, Charlotte? I heard a very loud explosion outside the castle, then I entered this room and you were gone. Then I remembered the banquet and ran off to that hall. They told me you were going back to your chambers!” Flick was desperate and restless.
“Calm down Amadeus! Marjorie is fine! A wizard used supreme spell as a special effect on a silly play that the king made. The princess managed to stop it in time.” speaks Charlotte in a soft voice tone.
“Supreme spell? Did she stop it?” asks the surprised young man. “So, these huge auras I felt emanated from them!” Amadeus looked relieved. “I promised Hilbert that I would protect his sister and I couldn't comply with that. I'm glad you were there.” Flick sounded like his feelings were greatly hurt.
“Amadeus! Trust Marjorie! She can handle danger very well. I have never seen anyone so young with such great magical power and wit! And by the time you got here, you would have quickly helped us if it was a real battle.” Charlotte smiles at Amadeus who responds promptly.
“I think you're right! I'll stay up tonight, just in case. Good night!” Flick says goodbye and goes to his room thoughtful.
Charlotte sets up several strategic traps at entry points to the room, closes the window and locks the door. She lies down next to Marjorie, stroking her hair.
After Charlotte took care of Marjorie's well-being, she closes her eyes and falls asleep. The night quietly passed in The Southstar Kingdom.