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drtenebrisxii · 4 years ago

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Lost Traveler - Chapter 8 - Prudence

(more chapters here: deviantart.com/arcadian123/art/Lost-Traveler-8-Story-Prudence-863333735 )

The meditation chambers were empty rooms that were completely white. they were also possessed by an empathetic spirit. This meant that the room would take different forms, show different images and provide different sounds and other items to help the one inside to focus and meditate. For Flare, it became an exact replica of her bedroom at her palace, with a sunset visible through her window and the sound of the mutterings of the many conversations that took place in there… nostalgia immediately hit her and she cried silently for a few minutes before she could regain control of her feelings and could start to meditate.

She alway knew that being a heroine would not be easy, but she expected that she’d always knew what the right course of action was: Go and beat the bad guys as quickly as possible, the longer one takes, the more damage they can make. Now she has like 4 guys telling her that that’s not the right thing to do, two are powerful wizards, the other two are scientific “geniuses”. And all of them say the same thing: let’s get the help of bigger and slower authorities to minimize chances of failure. Prudence. Her Mother wouldn’t like that very much, but then again, she was the highest authority of the Sky Kingdom, so she could do whatever she wanted. Her Father would have told her… probably, something similar to what those 4 said. Her father was the one that requested her to forget her dreams and do her duties as a princess since sacrificing her dreams of adventuring for the betterment of the kingdom would be the really heroic thing to do and was the most prudent course of action.

-Why is Prudence needed in this situation, though?- she wondered out loud- All I need to do is go there and destroy the evil clone… undoing all the stuff she’d done in my place. Is not that hard!-. Why were they all doing this? Why were they trying so hard to stop her from solving things directly? Were they so confident in her failure without their help? That annoyed her. How dare them. And especially Nyepu! He had seen first hand what she could do! yeah, he had to help her a little but she could slaughter an army of savage Daemons all by herself! How is he not confident that she could just defeat a damn copy of herself?!

She huffed in annoyance at her thoughts, that damn Celio making her promise stupid things. She shouldn’t have allowed that guy to intimidate her… well, ok, she is not disrespecting a venerable Necromancer, he is the kind of guy that can just go and put her soul out of her body if he so wishes… which means that he can help her solve things quickly!

-He talked about a shadow coming, though… well, maybe we could just beat that shadow to it instead of waiting...- She sighed in frustration. She already gave them her word. -I’ll wait… I just… need to focus and then put things in perspective to those four idiots… I don’t know why they all think I’ll fail, I don’t know why they are being so careful about this, but they need to know that we all do things differently- she sighed again, trying to relax and control her feelings. Her thoughts had led her to the truth: the guys didn’t trust in her skills, they were being very prudent with her for this, obviously… wait, that meant that her fathers were like that with her mother because they didn’t trust her skills?! No… that couldn’t be, The Queen would never allow anyone question her capabilities, not even her lovers, but, on the other side, they were her helpers, so of course she had to hear them out. Still, she was the Queen, so she could ignore their advice and suggestions to go on with her own choices… yeah, no one questions the Queen, she, in her great majesty and wisdom, can hear others out but would always be the one taking the choices... -I’ll put those four in their place- she would do that after getting a better hold of her emotions, indignation and frustration were still high in her being.

Nyepu was not a happy dragon.

Just as Giorgio had anticipated, the Admin was very annoyed with this whole ordeal. The equipment Nyepu required for the tests was expensive, therefore, there were not many devices available and bringing them to the Temple of the Holy Darkness meant that a lot of projects would be delayed. The Dragon researcher had to weather a lot of angry looks and annoyed glares, he also had to give many an explanation and apology. And of course, traverse the damn dessert. Again. Twice.

-Meow… you guys really needed a lot of stuff…- would comment Amcel as the researchers and some extra helpers they brought with them put all the stuff together. Amcel and a few of his students would look from a distance, almost as if...

-Just so you know, scientific equipment rarely explodes… and we are all professionals here, don’t worry about anything- comments the dragon as he was testing one of his biological devices. They had taken a fraction of the Temple’s Hall to install their equipment.

-I can’t believe we are doing this here… this is stupid- comments Giorgio, while checking the computer they just finished installing- we could have started with the tests sooner but nooooo, we had to worry about some random shadow…- many of the students shudered or flinched at the mention of the shadow.

-Look on the bright side, with so many wizards, at least one should be able to help us quicken things…- comments the dragon.

-if you need to accelerate a process, we can do it, but you’d need to give us precise indications- comments the felyxin Adeptus, sounding very civil. - Master Celio wants us to collaborate for the wellbeing of Lady Flare, the sooner we help her the least time for her to develop crazy ideas- Nyepu would sigh at that as he went to help with the installation of another device that looked like a shower.

-I doubt so, she is a heroine and a good girl… Celio made her promise something and she will keep her word- comments him. Giorgio would approach to the same device and help as well with some connections.

-Wow… now I’m feeling jellous… since when do you have such a high image of her?- asks him with a blush and an annoyed look. Nyepu and Amcel chuckled and Giorgio pouts.

-I do have you in high regards as well, Giorgio, you are just annoying- says the dragon with a grin before focusing on making some other connections in the device.

-I-idiot…- says Giorgio, crossing his arms and blushing more.

-I agree with Nyepu, you don’t need to know her for long to know she is someone with strong values- says Ancelm as his students begin to leave to do their own things.-Why are you helping her, though? Still under the influence of the blood magic?- the feline grins and Giorgio gives the Adeptus a look before looking at Nyepu. The dragon was still working, close to finish with his part of the work and finally start the tests when he says:

-This is Giorgio’s fault- said him simply.

-NO IT IS NOT!- yelled Giorgio and Ancelm laughed. - I didn’t brought that stupid bird with me! and who was the PSYCHO who decided to pursue her despite the FUCKING SAVAGE DAEMONS!?- Ancelm laughed even more, Nyepu chuckled a little as well.

-I’d say someone lost his fear to those monsters after his little adventure in the ocean…- says Ancelm and Nyepu rolls his eyes.

-I should have brought you with me, wizard…- the dragon finishes checking the device and sighs - Well, I think that we are ready to go…-

-You hadn’t answered my question: why are you doing this? what do you gain?- presses Ancelm.

-A little reputation and probably a nice business partner in the Sky Kingdom- says Giorgio.- and well, Nyepu’s heart finally warmed up for someone so I’m protecting that- said him, giving a sly look to Nyepu, the dragon just huffed with a slight blush in his white face, Ancelm snickered.

-Shut up...-he said before clearing his throat -but yes, that’s why we are helping her, she doesn’t deserve to be sent to the Sky Kingdom to die without knowing what’s going on, and since we can get some extra benefits in the process, all the better- he shrugs, he then remembers something, a strange and warm thought he had yesterday, right after he discovered the incredibly crazy aspect of Flare’s lack of love life. Every female estirge, at certain age, gets this impulse of getting boyfriends for love, affection, support and sexual intercourse… it was in her blood, and yet, she had managed to fight this impulse to pursue her dream of heroism… not unlike how he constantly fights the call of the sea, or has this lack of heroic or altruistic blood his kin seems to have and be renowned for… “I thought we were unique” but he hadn’t reflected much on that at all recently, mainly because of other urgencies. “Maybe I just thought that under her influence” that idea, though, saddened him and that ultimately bothered the draconic researcher. -Just bring her and let’s get done with this- said him and Ancelm raised a brow before nodding.

-You want some tea and cookies as well, sir?- asked Ancelm jokingly, starting to wander towards the meditation rooms.

-I know you are joking, but… if you do have tea, it would be appreciated- said the dragon,as he, Giorgio and the others took their stations in their improvised scientific cell.

Flare was having a rather unusual experience. Seeing her blood out of her body felt weird for some reason, maybe because she’d seldom seen it? Also, it definitely was making her hungry as well. Her hunger was only aimed at Nyepu, though. For some reason, the taste of the dragon scientist’s blood was the only thing she was craving right now. “Must be that… bullshit of the blood magic… or my damn biology...” thought her, annoyed at how just seeing at his blue eyes was making her feel flustered. Also, being pierced by a needle was also a funny experience, as in, it didn’t hurt, on the contrary, it felt strangely nice. Yep, all these new experiences made her forget that she was going to “put those four in their place”.

-We have all the blood we needed to run our tests… now, with the help of the wizards, we should have the results in a few hours- announced Nyepu before taking a sip from a cup of tea, seemingly ignoring the way she kept looking at him. “I can control it, I don’t need his damn blood… also… he’d most probably deny it, no matter what” -If you are feeling hungry, you may take some of my blood- he offered looking at her and Flare almost falls in surprise, quickly regaining her flying, Giorgio made a face and Ancelm grinned.

-I… I’m ok! - declared her trying to sound offended by the offering and Nyepu shrugged.

-I recommend you at least have some fruit to recover your energies- said him -tha…ngh!- She couldn’t help herself and pierced his arm with her beak “What am I doing?” thought her as she drank his blood.

-s-sorry…- she said quietly, the gem in her neck sending the message to the dragon as she sucked his delicious blood - I… was hungrier than I expected- Nyepu shook his head.

-I understand- the princess noticed him looking at Amcel, who immediately nodded.

-Fascinating- she felt the aura of the feline, that feel of quietness- It is happening…-

-What is happening? - asked her confused after forcing herself to stop… if it were for her, she’d drink even more, but she didn’t want to abuse.

-The Blood magic- said the felixin and she frowned - Your aura is enveloping his, is fascinating since, as you say, I don’t feel emotions from you making it happen, it just happens automatically… that’s impressive and something I’ve hadn’t seen before- Seems that the scientists weren’t the only ones making experiments, she gave an accusing look to Nyepu who just smiled and said:

-I was going to offer you just fruits to recover, but he came up with the idea of making a little experiment… since I’m conscious of what’s going on now, this will help me to train in fighting external influences- said him and she huffed annoyed.

-So I’m just an experiment to you two?!-

-No one said that, lady Flare, we are just… getting as much done with as possible- explains Ancelm - not to mention that this is a great time for you to train on your blood magic-

-NO!- declared her angrily, but Ancelm raised his hands placatingly as the scientists began to work.

-I mean, in getting a hold of it, madame! I won’t insist on you learning to influence others but, maybe you could learn how to… not to?- he offered quickly and this did grab her attention- As I told you, your Aura quickly enveloped Nyepu’s the instant you drank his blood… maybe you can… learn how to dispel it?-

-I’d appreciate that if you did- commented Nyepu, working on injecting some stuff into her blood samples- and I’m sure you’d feel better knowing you can control your own power better-

-You can’t tell how I’d feel over anything- declared her and he shrugged. She couldn’t deny he had a point, though. Considering how delicious was the dragon’s blood, the idea of never sucking blood to not influence others magically sounded… depressing. She sighed and looked at Ancelm - I guess you are right, Adeptus- Ancelm seemed to relax and smiled.

-I’m glad you agree, lady Flare! Let’s begin, then!-

-Look it on the brighter side, miss Flare, now you and Nyepu have something in common: both are test subjects!- would comment Giorgio giving the dragon and bird a toothy grin, both returned him an annoyed glare.

It was clear that while Flare was a master in combat magic, she just sucked at controlling her aura. She knew the basics and knew them very well, that’s why she could start a clash of wills with Ancelm back in the day they met, but that was, actually, the limit of her control of Aura. After a few broken vials, one harmed estirge adjudant and more than a few uncomfortable pictures, Ancelm had to stop with his tests with Flare so Nyepu could get a hold of his emotions and continue working on the tests… and on convincing Giorgio to erase the pictures. The dragon had never thought that having his emotions being influenced, would be so nasty, or how little he’d be able to control himself even knowing he was being controlled… In the short span of Ancelm’s experiments, Flare, in her attempts to NOT influence him, managed to make the dragon feel sad for her, angry at the idea of her being made fun of, then sad for failing her, then happier and eager to do anything she asked, then so angry he just had to punch one of his workers. Giorgio would take lot’s of pictures with his Aux and laugh so hard at the last one that he ruined one of their experiments. Yeah, the two of them were the epitome of professionalism. He did managed to control himself enough to not murder everyone in the room with his bio-canon so he considered that a win, though.

-I’m very sorry- would say Flare, looking tired, slightly dizzy and very embarrassed as she sat on Nyepu’s shoulder, drinking more of his blood, they had taken more of her own to replace the lost samples.

-Is ok… experiments rarely go well in the first try- he replies still evening his breath, using the tentacles of his back to keep working.

-This day ended up being more interesting than I expected, hehe!- said Giorgi in a very good mood.

-Shut up- would say Flare and Nyepu at the same time.

-And now you are doing that?! Oh by the Gods! Just marry already- said Giorgio annoyed. They just glared at him. Ancelm on the other hand had a thoughtful look in his eyes. After Flare was done drinking she just stood on Nyrpus shoulder for a little longer, staring at nothingness with a blank expression in her face, she must be tired. Nyepu decided to work as soon as possible, all while thinking that he’d need more anti influence training.

After that, time went on. Ancelm would lead a small team of wizards to help accelerate things, Flare would end up falling asleep on him and then be gently laid on a working table. Apparently, se was more tired than even her expected. The researching team would begin to get their first results. And the more results they get, the more worried Nyepu and Giorgio felt. Ancelm would notice this right away but didn’t comment since he really didn’t know what they were seeing in the results. Three hours later, Flare awakens, yawning quietly and chirping a little, and just in time for the scientists to finish their last analysis on the last result.

-Rise and shine, Lady Flare- would say Ancelm with a smile - I hope your little nap had been reinvigorating. Nyepu was beginning to think that the guy was being a little too gentlemanly.

-Greetings…- she said yawning again, her eyes were still closed, then she shook her body, puffing up her red feathers before seemingly waking up entirely, opening her pretty sky blue eyes. Nyepu felt a slight blush in his face at that thought, she did have pretty eyes. -Are you guys done with your tests?- right to business, as expected of the impatient princess.

-We have very weird news - said Nyepu, giving now a look to Giorgio who nodded at him, then back to Flare and Ancelm, both of whom looked intrigue, her even tilting her head in curiosity:

-Weird news?- asks her.

-yes… we hadn’t found any trace of the known cloning and aging methods in you… but… your body’s age is… illogical…-This grabbed the complete attention of the two magicians.

-Please elaborate- said Ancelm. Nyepu sighed.

-Flare’s body seems to be missing a year- he says. Silence.

-Missing a year? how…- she was saying but Giorgio interrupted her:

-Considering your birth date, your body should have a specific age… and yet, it does not, your body’s age is one year younger than it should-

-And while usually that would mean that you are the clone, here comes the really weird part… there is no doubt that you were born in the date of your birth, but it’s like… the last year didn’t affected your body in the slightest…- says Nyepu looking bewildered.

-This usually means that we messed up, but, I can assure you we didn’t… since, we checked everything like thrice- explains Giorgio, looking as bewildered as the dragon.

-What could that mean?- asks Ancelm, but Nyepu and Flare looked at each other’s eyes. She had basically been gone for a whole year, that’s what they discovered after checking the news yesterday, at least, that had been their suspicion, back then. Was this the confirmation they needed?

-That means, that someone had kept princess Flare in a stasis of sorts, keeping her even from aging, for a whole year- explains Giorgio- that or she rejuvenated herself somehow-

An hour later, they were having a very late lunch at the Temple’s food court. Nyepu and Giorgio finished their report and sent it to Argenta. Ancelm and Flare stood with them, mainly to keep company. The little princess had forgotten completely what she wanted to say to the guys in face of the news: so it was true, she had been gone for a whole year but… how? where? by whom?! Neither Nyepu nor Giorgio could think of a technology capable of rejuvenating someone��s body like that, at least, not without leaving some trace, and stasis technology capable of stopping age like that was non-existant, at most, it would make processes slow a lot but not outright stop it. Ancelm thought that it was very hard and impractical for a wizard, or a team of them, to cast a stasis spell for a whole year. Had they needed to learn aspects of her personality, there were easier ways to do so. And while the guys tried to think in how could this be possible, Flare was more worried about other things.

“A whole year. That usurper had been with my family for a whole year, and had married a lot of people that she’d never even consider marrying… What else had the clone been doing in all that time? How is it possible that no one had noticed that the clone was not the real Flare in such a long time?!” thought her in increasing despair.

Intent on what have been the clone up to for so long, she started to investigate old news, Ancelm quickly joined her and the researchers helped her after finishing their report… so there they were, eating while facing the maddening reality of what the news had for them:

-None of this makes sense- comments Ancelm.- If what the scientists say is true, someone had taken the incredibly hard effort of keeping you away for a whole year for a copy of you to replace you and do… nothing- said the felixin Adeptus, checking old news regarding the sky Kingdom while idly eating some synth-beef.

-She got married and in general had only been behaving like a normal princess... - comments Giorgio, also reading old news while eating mashed potatoes with fried fish.

-You can sort of see some political strategies but… well… that’s it… - comments Nyepu, eating fried rice with a mix of fried seafood and algae.

Flare couldn’t deny that she was impressed with how quickly these guys processed information. Of course, she was a trained princess, she could see political ploys, and would understand easily how the imposter’s weddings had strengthened the influence of her mother on the city-states of the Sky Kingdom, all while making their governors feel like they were the ones gaining power. Also, a whole rebellion was avoided by one of said marriages. “Is like… everything was just fine, but… but why?” Wasn’t it supposed to all be a huge and hellish chaos? isn’t that the point of making evil clones? Why was everything sounding so… ok?

Suddenly her urgency to go ‘save’ her kingdom seemed a lot more silly. Her copy not only was doing a lot of good, she was following her mother’s wishes perfectly and everything seemed to be fine in general… Of course, this was what she gathered with a quick research of less than an hour, but it was undeniable that all the news had to say about her usurper seemed to be good things. She agreed with Ancelm: this made no sense.

-The only thing I can think…- said her suddenly, stopping from sucking juices from fruits, as the trio of males looked at her- is that I’m not the only one being replaced… maybe… maybe they are replacing everyone slowly? get the power of my kingdom for… for some… for evil generic reasons...- even her felt stupid saying that.

-Is… a possibility- says Nyepu, shrugging, he didn’t had the heart to tell her his own theory- honestly, at this point, anything could be happening there- says the dragon.

-But… a whole year of that? sounds unlikely, absurd, even- says Ancelm, then shakes his head -I think we really did good in take this with caution-

-I agree- Giorgio nods - this is very definitely a very weird situation, with the help of Argenta and, what the Church of Darkness can provide, we should be able to uncover whatever is going on-

-I wanted… to suggest to go and face this quickly- says her suddenly, remembering what she had thought in the meditation chamber - go beat the shadow of the prophecy before they could come to bother us but… but this is… this doesn’t make sense…- had she gone to her kingdom right now, and challenge her copy, she’d probably just been thrown to jail or executed in place… a whole year of memories that she doesn’t have, a whole year of working together and doing good for the kingdom… no one would dare to doubt that the usurper was the real deal, and most probably, a very loved one at that. It wouldn’t matter if she was the real princess… the usurper had a year of advantage over her. -if it weren’t for the tests... would my parents have recognized me? would have seen in me their real daughter when they had one for a whole year that was so… so... perfect?- There was a deep silence after she said that. Nyepu immediately understood what she meant, since she’d told him about her conflicts with her mother. Ancelm was a very clever wizard and figured something along those lines. Giorgio didn’t understand, but noticed the mood and decided to keep going towards a more posstive note.

-The clone needs to be tested as well- comments the goat researcher, grabbing the attention of Flare- no matter what, every clone leaves some trail, the most common being the age or some chemical agents in their blood… it has to be a clone created by technological methods since a magical one would require an aetheric flux that your family would have detected immediately… as soon as she takes the same tests and she is proven to be younger than you, your parents won’t have a choice but to accept you as their daughter- the goat researcher smiles at her softly. Flare nods at him with a little smile.

-That’s true… I guess… you guys were right on this of… making tests…- says her feeling like it wasn’t very easy to say that. Thankfully for her, the geneticists only nodded and smiled.- but how long will it take before Argenta decides to help us?- Suddenly, Nyepu received a message in his Aux and checked it, his eyes opened widely at what was

-Apparently, only a few minutes… Argenta wants to hold a meeting with us and the Adeptus Primus- explains him and Flare opens her beak in surprise “That… that was fast!”.

-I’ll get him right away- said Ancelm, closing his eyes for a moment. It wouldn’t take much before the Lich descents to them, passing through the ceiling and floating at the side of Ancelm.

-Good afternoon, everyone. I hope you are feeling better and your meditation had been mind opening, lady Flare- says Celio.

-Good afternoon, Adeptus Primos Celio, it… was- she did get ideas, but the recent discoveries changed things. Suddenly, Nyepu’s Aux projected a very silly and big image of an emote face.

-Heeeeello, everyone!! how are my dear citizen and one wanted criminal today? () - greeted the Goddess of Science, Technology, Truth and the Day with a synthetic female voice. “Argenta had always had a terrible sense of humor… and her face is disappointing” words of Flare’s master that rang in her head as she flinched at being called a wanted criminal, she had to agree with the comment on her face, though… seriously? just an emote?!.

-Greetings, Argenta- said Nyepu drily- We need you to convince the other princess to go through the tests… is the only way to determine that the Flare with us is the real one and the other is a clone created for unknown reasons… unless, you can tell us something we don’t know about what had been going on in the Sky Kingdom-

-You guys are forgetting to thank me for being so fast, giving you lot part of my time and for having been keeping in secret the location of the Flare with you (¬u¬) - Nyepu and Giorgio rolled their eyes.

-Thanks- said suddenly Flare, grabbing everyone’s attention- thanks for your time, and quick response, and for keeping my location a secret, Lady Argenta- said her, bowing to the technological goddess.

-AWWW!!! (^^) you are such a cute little birb! unlike my scientists... (¬_¬) you guys could learn to be a lot more grateful and sweet like miss Flare (uwu) - the felixin mages chuckled while Giorgio and Nyepu just huffed in annoyance, even Flare couldn’t help but crack a smile. -anyway! (owo) you guys had certainly discovered an anomaly ( >:T) the results of your tests tell me so: no traces of known cloning methods and a very strange age test result… there is no technology or magic capable of doing that: a WHOLE year of rejuvenation is just absurd… (:/) And, well, I’ve noticed slight changes in the court of the Royal Kingdom (u_u) -

-What do you mean?- asks Flare, suddenly having a horrible feeling.

-Nothing very particular, but, honestly, they seem a little too perfect, if you ask me…() I’m good at making psychological profiles of people uwu the royal family was perfect in its imperfection... (:3) but… (o_o) they began to be a little too perfect… (>_>) while that’s usually a good thing (._.) they were not the only ones (DX) The Sky Kingdom has grown in power considerably, the people from the court becoming a little more efficient and capable in general, of course, is not a big improvement, but is noticeable since, to me, seems a little too sudden and focalized (u_u) I’ve been proud of them, but the test results, and the attitude of Queen Mistana to try and solve this in secret had worried me (>:T) I’ll demand her daughter to take the tests… but I need you two to go do it (:3) - says her looking at the geneticists.

-Ahm… why don’t you ask that from members of the Machine Cult of the Sky Kingdom?- asks Giorgio- we have work here, going to there would be problematic-

-I have the suspicion that the Queen has a strong influence even between my own clergy in that city, so is a possibility the tests results will be compromised (=_= ) … I want to minimize risks… (X_X) take your equipment there and make the tests… (uwu) and just to be sure, I’ll send two other groups of my geneticists with Guard escorts from other cities to run the same tests… (ouo) if everyone has the same results, than it would be a given that there were no mistakes (uwu) and we’d be closer to uncover the truth… (>_>) - Giorgio and Nyepu exchanged an intrigued look.

-Maybe the other teams can meet here first so they can run their tests- suggest Celio - unless you expect the Queen to suspect a complot of sorts-

-She definitely will (-_-) -

-I agree with her there… my mother can be very distrustful, especially from things that are too convenient or too inconvenient- adds Flare.

-That’s why I’m suggesting to do everything in front of her, with different teams of experts, so there are no suspicions, she can bring any scientific team of her choice to verify the proceedings, as well (uwu) i’d also require the assistance of your wizards, Adeptus Primus (x3)-

-I’d be more than happy to offer my assistance in running the tests and providing magical support in case things turn out… problematic- says the felixin lich.

-Perfect! prepare yourselves!! () I should have an answer from Queen Mistana by tomorrow, so be ready to depart to the Sky Kingdom’s capital city! (X3) - Nyepu and Giorgio would sigh while Ancelm and Celio nod, Flare couldn’t believe it: she finally was going home. And with the support of Argenta and the Church of the Holy Darkness! She looked at the guys “their prudence… made this happen...”.

Later that day, night was falling. Ancelm and Celio went to the meditation chambers to try and enter in contact with the Dark God to seek guidance and make sure if Flare was the one in their prophecies. Nyepu and Giorgio had been busy packing up and talking with the Administrator of their research facility, there was a lot of yelling involved and Argenta had to interfere. And Flare? She had been exploring the Temple to take her mind off things. She had gotten what she wanted: she was going home to finally unravel this mystery and saved her people… but, the clone hadn’t done anything but good for her people. She probably did a way better job than her as a princess… so… was it worth it? “Truth is good on its own… that’s what a heroine would say… but a princess would admit that sometimes, is necessary to keep a few secrets and hold a few lies… for the greater good… and that’s also… heroic?” Flare would sigh. She had transformed into her Battle Form: she was way bigger than usual, her wings had become arms, and her figure was more anthropomorthic and slender… she did so because she always trains in this form at least a once a day but, she couldn’t bear herself to train when there was so much in her head, as such, she was in the training room, looking blankly at nothing in particular.

-You don’t look very happy- said a familiar voice, Flare almost jumped as she quickly turned to face the big white dragon who was entering to the training room, levitating.

-Nyepu… what are you doing here?-

-I came to check on you- he said simply, she felt a little disappointed he wasn’t walking on his legs… she shook her head to bury those silly thoughts - We are done with packaging our devices, so is happening, we are going to your kingdom- he says, smiling a bit, apparently, trying to sound nice. His pretty voice was still slightly cool but there was the sincere intention there, and there was an honesty in his smile she really liked and made her feel… something, she wasn’t sure what it was but she liked it and felt herself smiling a little as well.

-Yeah...soon, we’ll solve this mystery… is just…well...- she began to say looking thoughtful again.

Nyepu couldn’t believe he was here. While working on putting everything on crates and arranging for transportation of his devices, he couldn’t stop thinking in her: she had look shaken after discovering the clone had basically been being a “perfect princess” and just felt that she’d need some company, even if it was his. “Is this… blood magic influencing me? well, even if it is, I don’t care...”.

He was a bit surprised when he saw her transformed in her combat form again and the memories of their rather hectic encounter came back to his mind: she had been strong, bold, confident, energetic… she looked the most alive back he’d seen her then: fighting head-on abominations that made him empty his bowels in fear. He hadn’t gotten a great look at her in the frenzy of fighting and running for his life, but, now that he got a better look at her? She is…

-I don’t know…- she says finally, snapping him out of his thoughts, he immediately scratched his muzzle so she didn’t notice he was blushing. -None of this makes sense and I’m worried… I’m worried me going there will only cause more harm than good-

-How so?- he asks.

-I’ve been thinking: my clone apparently… is the Flare my mother had always wanted… so… if I go… I… I may ruin everything- her face looked more haunted now -all those marriages would be nulled and impose on me… and I won’t… I’m not sure I’m up to take for husbands…not to mention that, for a whole year, the people of my kingdom had developed an idea of how is ‘Princess Flare’ and… will I have to act like she did? Would I have to be the fake one? Will I...- but she stopped as Nyepu put a hand on her shoulder, well, more like half his hand since even in her bigger form he was still way bigger. She looked at him and he returned her a soft expression.

-Is going to be ok- he’d say -It will take a while but people will accept you for who you are… and I’m sure that some arrangement can be made so you don’t have to...you know, deal with four unknown guys at the same time… also, I’ll help you, somehow… I know you are a capable and strong girl- he smiles at her leaning closer to her- The princess that can murder hordes of Savage daemons can take a marriage… especially with some help- he adds trying to smile more. She looks at his eyes with her pretty sky blue ones, her golden beak slightly opened and stays like that for what seem ages. For a moment there, Nyepu felt he spoke out place but then she suddenly hugs him and he feels his face getting hotter before hug her awkwardly… not only because she was smaller, but also because he wasn’t sure if he should… and yet…

-You helped me today as you promised… we are going to my homeland… as you said… I… I can trust that you will be with me… thanks…- said her.

-Y-you are welcomed- he said, not sure what else to say.

He still wasn’t sure how much of this was the blood magic and how much was himself, but he felt that this was the best thing to do for the princess. For another unique soul.

She wasn’t sure if he was acting on his own or under the influence of her powers, but a part of her felt he was being genuine and she couldn’t feel happier. She wasn’t alone in this mess.

And while they were like this, hugging each other. The entrance to the Training Room suddenly disappeared...

#onirica #fantasy #scifi #dragon #avian #bird #literature #story #chapter 8

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