It was the end of the week, and the copy along with the rest of his classmates were enjoying their last day in the capital. The princess had been glaring at him angrily almost the whole week. At least she was when she wasn’t hiding away in her room. Who’d have thought she wasn’t a fan of the random magic that could go off at any moment. After much deliberation he decided any 1 prank wouldn’t be enough, so he set the enchantment to be a randomizer of sorts. His favorite one he’d gotten to see was actually Katy’s idea, and it made the princess release gas in a very unladylike way. Unfortunately he was the only one that got to see it, but watching the princess run away with a look of horror was more than satisfying.
Her skin becoming a rainbow of colors was also pretty entertaining though. “Come on Azura, we're checking out the Grand Grimoire.” He rolled his eyes. Katy hadn’t said anything wrong, but the Grand Grimoire rather bothered him because the name was completely incorrect. It was a solid magic shop, but of course there were no grimoires there. False advertising in his opinion. He had first gone in thinking there might at least be one on display… there was not, and he hadn’t ever really entered the store after that.
“Sure, I probably need to pick up a few more shards anyway, my ice shard is pretty close to breaking point.” He was actually a little curious as to how that would go. He had never actually used a copied shard to breaking point before, he wondered how exactly that would happen. He was also a little wary of getting ‘real’ things because when he eventually returned to the original any actual stuff would be left behind.
“Do you think they sell any magically enriched food for familiars? I think Stella is going to hatch soon, and I don’t really have anything for her.” He chuckled. Luna had been impatiently waiting for her familiar to hatch, he could practically feel how excited she was to meet her familiar again. He sighed. He had told her that they didn’t know much about the resurrection cycle of Phoenixes, because he wanted her to be prepared for the very real possibility that Stella wouldn’t remember everything for a good long while.
“I don’t think you have to worry about it. Phoenixes and Dragons don’t function like mortal beings. As long as they have magic they are alive. Granted some like to eat anyway, but nothing bad will happen to Stella if you don’t have food, or if she doesn’t like whatever food you have.” Thankfully at least in the feeding department Reign was easy to please. Almost any meat would do. Not that the dragon needed it, but the dragon was much easier to work with when fed anyway.
Luna practically sagged with relief. “Oh good, I thought for sure I was going to get the wrong kind of food and then all the right kinds would be sold out.” Honestly with her luck he didn’t doubt that would happen. In fact if he was her he’d just wait for the phoenix to hatch so he could ask her what food she prefers. Even if it was hard to get, it couldn't always be sold out.
“You guys are lucky in that regard, Argent eats a ton. I hope Azura is feeding him well. The other Azura I mean… It’s kind of odd talking about someone who isn’t here when they are also right in front of me.” He chuckled. It really was strange, this was the longest a copy had ever been manifested. He hadn’t really noticed any side effects per se, but it still made him a bit uncomfortable. After all he wasn’t real, or at least not in the same sense as everyone else, but given enough time he and the original could become different due to differing experiences. He wondered what the impact of assimilating the memories of a copy that had become different enough would entail. They were bound to find out, whatever happened at the pool of rebirth, it was obvious it would change him. Or the original anyway, what impact he’d have after that though wasn’t something he was able to predict.
“I can fairly confidently say that if I was in that situation I’d make sure the familiars were well fed and ready to go, so I’m sure the real me will do the same.” The familiars were a major boon after all, and he was the kind of guy who would make sure all of his allies were in top condition where they were the most useful.
Cynthia merely nodded before the group all turned their attention to the inside of the store. He didn’t blame them all for gawking. He was familiar with these kinds of stores, but for most of the party it would either be out of their price range, or not the kind of place they would want to go. It was exactly the kind of place his father liked to show off his wealth at.
“Are those clockwork mechanics? No way I thought that was purely theoretical!” Unsurprisingly Roran was the first to run off to inspect the things he found interesting. The group quickly split after that, everyone looking for things they were interested in. He sighed, sadly he wouldn’t have the luxury to look around. He knew the princess had fangs, but hadn’t expected her to send 1 of her hounds for something as trivial as a prank.
“Not in here. Come on, we can take this outside.” The presence fled quickly without anyone else in the store being any the wiser that they were ever inside. Luna would have seen them if she had been looking. He really needed to get her to keep her guard up. Well that would be an issue for later. For now he quietly slipped out the front door.
***
Azura honestly preferred it this way. Monsters were a lot stronger in the valley, but they also attacked far less frequently. Another week had gone by, and they had only been attacked 2 times, well 3 if the stone dragon was included. Thankfully the other 2 attacks were easier to deal with. They were a lot less armored, and so the two of them had managed to take them down easily enough. They had been out for a little over a month, so they should be over halfway there now, although he was actually pretty curious about the return trip, because they were by no means moving slowly. Their normal pace wasn’t the same as say their escape from the bone graveyard, but it was still far faster than a normal person could sprint.
“Where are you from?” He turned to look curiously at his traveling partner. They were currently resting in the dining room of the fortress he had made. They didn’t have super fancy meals since neither of them were particularly good cooks, but they were competent enough to figure something out each day. Though admittedly the nuts and berries added very little to the rations they were using. Which were thankfully not the war rations. Those were for emergencies only. “I’ve never really met anyone who uses magic the way you do, so I assume you’re from somewhere far away?”
It was an understandable conclusion, his brand of magic wasn’t exactly common, at least not here, but each of the other continents had developed a little differently. So it would be easy to come to the conclusion that he came from somewhere else. “Not wherever you’re thinking I’m afraid. I grew up here in one of the kingdoms. Though admittedly on the very outskirts.” He didn’t want to give anything specific. While he was hardly famous, he hadn’t exactly gone out of his way to hide his abilities. So he was hardly an unknown among noble mages and people who ran in those circles.
Jackson shook his head. “You and your secrets. I’m starting to get the feeling you’re some kind of criminal.” He chuckled. That wasn’t as far off as he would’ve liked. His father had rank on him, and he was obviously trying to undermine the man’s decision. As far as society was concerned he was in the wrong here, which was exactly why he couldn’t get caught doing this. It was one thing if the spell to break the contract failed and no one could prove why and quite another if he was caught actively trying to stop it from happening.
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“I haven’t done anything illegal if that’s what you mean, but you could say there are things I’d rather not have people knowing I did or am doing. Not illegal doesn’t mean everyone is ok with it after all.” Despite how curious Jackson looked he let it go with a sigh. He released one of his own in relief. The other man really held all the cards, aside from anything egregious, he’d pretty much have to agree simply because he wasn’t confident he could get to World’s End on his own. Jacksons curse had been their trump card in this area, and they’d been forced to use it to its limits twice already. He didn’t fancy his odds without it.
“I guess I can give you a pass if you haven’t done anything illegal, but I better not get caught up in your shit.” He chuckled. He could work with that. The man may look and act like a drunk, but at least the guide had some redeeming qualities.
“That’s why I’m not giving any details. The less you know the less likely it is for you to get caught up in anything.” Although that made it sound bigger than it was. From a completely outside point of view this would just be some teenage rebellion. The worst thing Jackson could be dragged into was confirming that he had come to Lake Spire and then that he had gone to World’s End.
“Fair enough.” Jackson released a long yawn. “Well enough of that, I think it’s about time to hit the hay. We still have quite a bit of traveling to do” He didn’t say anything as his guide walked to the room that he had set up for him.
He sighed. It was kind of funny how quickly people could grow to take things for granted. He had only known most of his friends for a couple of months, and yet he found he missed their presence a lot more than he thought he would. Nothing he could do about it now though, he’d just have to tough it out.
***
“So what’s the score, hound of the princess?” Azura’s copy had followed the escaping shadow to a secluded alley a few minutes away from the store he and his friends had been looking around. He still hadn’t really seen the person, but thanks to clairvoyance he had a general idea of who he was dealing with.
“I’m not looking for a fight if that’s what you’re thinking.” The voice was raspy and came from all around him. He showed no reaction, but the aura of death permeating the man left him very much doubting the hound’s words.
“Ok assuming I believe that, what is it you do want?” He doubted it would be something trivial. Afterall the only time he had ever seen the princess deploy one of her hounds before was when she had received a death threat from a group of thugs while visiting another kingdom. He had the misfortune of being forced along on that trip, and the excited smile the princess had as her hound mercilessly slaughtered those thugs was one of the reasons he disliked her so much. He wouldn’t argue that those men didn’t deserve to die, but taking joy in exacting that sentence was too inhuman, even for him.
“The princess has a job she’d like you to do. She’s even willing to offer protection for your sister in exchange.” He still refused to allow any hint of expression to cross his face, he had a feeling he knew what was about to be asked of him, and perhaps worse he didn’t know if he could bring himself to refuse.
“What’s the job?” He hoped he was wrong. Hoped with all his might that perhaps there was something else the princess wanted enough to drop her leverage over him.
“She wants you to kill the king.” As often as he wished he was wrong, he rarely was. Xander had already made it clear that he would be abdicating the throne should his father die, no doubt to some other scheme that the princess had put into play long before Xander realized they were even competing.
He didn’t know what to do. On one hand with the conditions he had now killing the king would be almost disturbingly easy, but the princess didn’t wait until the last day to drop this on him for no reason. He didn’t have a lot of time to decide, and that put him in a tough place. He’d either have to kill the king and ensure his sister’s safety or allow his sister to stay at risk when he could easily get her out of danger. He sighed, finally breaking his emotionless facade. He wasn’t happy with the answer he had come to, but it was the only one available to him. “My sister wouldn’t condone such tactics, so I’m afraid I will have to decline.”
His sister would sooner kill herself then allow herself to be the reason he killed somebody innocent, he couldn’t allow her to bear the weight of his choices, so all he could do was search for another way. “I see.” He barely raised his shield in time to block the knife heading for his face.
“There is no point, you know? Even if you kill me, I’ll still be alive. I’m just a mere copy afterall.” Not that he had any intention of going down quietly.
“I have no intention to hurt you. My lady said to give this to you. She said, to think of it as a gift if you accept and a curse if you reject her offer.” With those parting words the princess’ hound disappeared from his senses. He scoffed, glancing at the knife that had lodged itself into the wall a bit to his right he pulled it out and inspected the so-called gift. It was a beautiful knife. The blade gleamed a polished silver, and the hilt was a deep red enamel with gold inlay. There were a few small gems encrusted into the hilt, but there was also 1 inside the blade itself. A gem the color of blood that took up the center of the dagger just above the hilt. The gem wasn’t huge, merely an inch long, and less than half that wide, but somehow it drew his attention far more than the rest of the nearly foot long dagger.
Just holding the thing made a shiver run up his spine. Against his better judgment he scanned the dagger, trying to judge its composition, magical abilities, and history. A branch of magic that was particularly useful in creating and judging magical items, but for the first time he regretted having this skill. He paled dramatically as the details of the dagger began to enter his mind. The echoes of its past forged in blood. “What kind of twisted person would ever think of this as a gift?” He had no doubt that if he had chosen to kill the king this tool would be immensely useful, he could feel its lust for blood. He also understood why the princess had given it to him anyway. A threat clear as day, after all this was the dagger of the kinslayer. A man who had killed his family in order to save countless more. Perhaps that was the right thing to do, but he wasn’t the kind of person who would make that choice either.
His eyes narrowed. The princess wouldn’t dare have his sister killed, but it was definitely believable that she would find a way to force him to choose between his sister and other innocent people. She picked the wrong person to mess with though, he wasn’t someone who would just accept the hand he was given. He gripped the dagger so hard his knuckles turned white. Magic surged around him as he prepared his magic. Even an unstable tool could be used to give him an advantage. The princess did have a habit of underestimating people just because she was smarter than them. He smiled viciously. She wanted to see his fangs so bad? Fine, he’d show her the kind of person he became when he really bared his fangs.
Blood fell to the ground from the gash he had cut into his hand. The gem in the daggers blade glowing a brilliant red as red symbols began to appear on the dagger. A malicious aura came to life in the air around him, but he ignored it. This dagger was enchanted a long time ago, and the grudge that was put into the enchantment had slowly become a curse over time. He was no curse breaker, but even so, he wasn’t going to lose to something like this. Well do be precise he had no intention of breaking the curse anyway, just altering it a little. The blood stopped falling from his hand, and the outpour froze in mid air as if time had stopped. Then the blood rushed back at him in a sharp wave. He allowed the blade of blood to pierce his body. A malicious smile appeared on his face.
***