Chapter 4: Melt my Spirit

At first, the room was completely dark, not so much as a shred of moonlight within. The windows were shut, and even Flame's tail was temporarily dimmed. But Don could still feel the heat within. Not just from Flame, but from someone else. With a snap of the fingers, the drapes parted to fill the room with silvery light, revealing the room's master, Kirche.

Kirche had on her nightly clothes, which were far more revealing than what Louise had. Deep purple in color, her breast breast supported with a see through, partial gown that stopped just in front of her body and around her mid calf. She wore a pair of laced panties on her as well, but her whole outfit seemed as if it barely could contain her. The gentle glow of the moon gave Kirche an almost ethereal appearance, like some vision pulled straight out of a legend or storybook. Flame finally released Donovan, his eyes locked on her, much to Kirche's enjoyment.

"Sit down, your highness."

Donovan struggled to compose himself, rising to his feet and searching for a place to sit. Funny… There was a table, but no chairs. Only option was for him to sit on the bed, which he did. Kirche sat beside him, seeming uncertain of something. She squeezed her legs together, biting her bottom lip and avoiding Donovan's confused gaze.

"You must think me a lowly, despicable woman."

Don showed genuine concern at her wording, placing a hand on top of her to console her. "Kirche… I can't say I know you particularly well, but I could never call you lowly or despicable. You speak harshly to Louise, but that alone isn't enough for me to really judge you."

Kirche turned her body to face Donovan, one hand placed on his lap while the other remained held below his. She kept her shy, almost fearful look. "I could not blame you for seeing me as such, Prince Donovan. My runic name, the Ardent… it is in my nature to be passionate. To yearn and seek out others warmth."

The notion of a runic name didn't initially register with the prince… although at a listen it sounded vaguely similar to that of a Scrift. But although the letter was branded to the soul of a Quincy, the actual name inscribed to them was determined by their own nature. In a sense, it was their inner self summed up in a word. His hazel eyes briefly wandered to the back of his hand, the runs branded onto him that he struggled first to suppress. He inhaled deeply for a moment before returning his attention to Kirche. "Kirche, you trouble yourself too much with such a thing. Your nature might be passion, but it is your own choice how it's expressed. You're free to do with those feelings as you wish, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise."

Kirche had to admit, she didn't expect him to be well said or insightful in such an environment. It was nice to hear, but unexpected regardless. She kept up the innocent, worried expression, wrapping her arms around his side, rubbing her breast up his arm. "Thank you, your highness."

Donovan let out a sheepish chuckle. "Heheh… just Donovan is fine. And no need for thanks. If there's anything you need, just let me know."

"Anything?"

Donovan nodded, giving Kirche all the reassurance she needed to press forward. Both her hands reached for Donovan's chest, her nails dragging against the thin fabric making up his shirt. She unbuttoned them, revealing the quincy's chest. Sculpted, deep brown muscle running down his chest and abs. She can't recall the last time she saw one with skin such as her own harboring that much strength underneath it. Pressing her fingers against his flesh felt like pushing at iron cords, and earned a blush from Don. "What're you-"

"My lust is flammable as hay," she interjected, tracing circles along his pectorals before looking up to him, her gaze peeling back the layers of his being. "The smallest spark can set it aflame, make it something that would consume without end if it cannot be quenched. But you weren't just a spark… you were a wildfire that set my entire being alight."

Kirche pushed Donovan onto his back, slipping his shirt off and leaving his upper body completely exposed. Her hair fell over her body, hiding both their faces from another's view. Donovan's heart was like a war drum, Kirche keeping that needy gaze with his own startled look. Her soft, rosy lips parted to speak once more, each word like honey. "Can you forgive me… for loving you so suddenly?"

Donovan was completely taken aback by that one word. Love. For some time, he only heard it in passing, but never meant for him since separated from his mother. To hear that word once more, to know it was for him… he couldn't explain it.

"Your grandeur and heroism when you defended that maid from Guiche, and defeated him so soundly… It was like a legend brought to life. At that moment, you set my heart on fire and plunged me into this feverish passion! I've been writing love songs since that day, and then you saved me just a few hours ago. My dreams are filled only with you now, I know it must be the same for you! You're the one that caused this after all…"

Donovan's mind was racing. Did he dream of Kirche? He didn't remember. Every night he ever slept was just darkness till the morning. Maybe he did. Maybe what she's saying is right. After all, this feeling in his chest, coursing through his body and screaming so loudly… it had to be love. What else could it possibly be?

Kirche straddled Donovan, abandoning her gown and bearing her full upper body to Don. Her massive breast hanging in front of him, with modest areole and darkened nipples exposed and erect. She stared down at Donovan as he came to terms with his own feelings the best he knew how to. Resting on his hips let her feel the size between his legs. Kirche wouldn't lie, that got her more excited than she already was. Now was time for the final push. Her fingers danced across Donovan's chest, reaching for his cheek and gently caressing the skin. "Please your majesty… let's turn this passionate fairy tale into a reality."

Donovan lifted his neck up, Kirche leaning down with closed eyes ready to kiss… but their lips never met. Instead, red lipstick marks were left on Donovan's hand, and the young Quincy escaped from under her. His eyes were brimming with fear, one hand clutched to his chest as his breathing became choppy while sweat poured off him. He scrambled to put his shirt back on, trying to stamper out the words. "Kirche I… I just… you… I… I can't," he muttered the last two words with an overwhelming sense of guilt and shame. "I'm sorry Kirche… I just can't. I-It's not your fault, but I… I'm sorry…"

Without another word, he left the room, buttoning up his shirt with trembling hands as he headed for the stairs, only to collapse at the entryway. One hand held firmly onto the arch, fingers digging into the stone while one hand held his face. Those rustic gold eyes, looking at him so unconditionally… why did she have to look at him like that. Why? Why couldn't she look at him any other way with those accursed eyes? One word left his lips, a word Kirche heard as she was about to go and "console" him.

"M-mom…"

Kirche was many things, a fool was not one of them. She decided not to approach Donovan, merely watching as he panted that name to himself, over and over again. Eventually, she saw Donovan regain some composure, shutting her door as he turned to walk back over. When Donovan opened the door, Kirche was waiting on her bed again, seeming to only be getting ready for bed. Donovan performed a slight bow, raising up to look her in the eyes with a hollow gaze.

"I apologize for my previous behavior, Lady Kirche," he said with a lifeless voice, as if the line had been rehearsed a thousand times. "It was unbecoming of a Quincy Prince to consider surrendering to such base thoughts so easily. Although you are absolutely stunning, I cannot let such incomprehensible beauty distract me from my duties as a prince. By no means do I wish to offend you, and I hope you can forgive me. Goodnight," With that, Donovan turned away from Kirche, leaving her more confused than anything.

Kirche had prepared for a simple night. Get Donovan into bed, butter him up, then break the bed. Should've been simple enough, and not many would be able to say they slept with an exotic prince. With how flustered he got, she expected this to be pretty simple, someone she could wrap around her finger… but apparently Donovan had more going on in his past than she would have assumed. Still, Kirche the Ardent wouldn't surrender so easily. Donovan may be something she'd have to work on, but the flavor denied is ever sweeter. His reaction was a cause for concern though. This would be more complicated than she first anticipated.

Whenever Don was upset with someone, particularly himself, he would distract himself from his thoughts by training. If he was going to be bogged down by that pent up energy, might as well try and channel it into something productive. So the young Quincy sent himself outside and began to practice in the quiet of the night, launching arrows into distant targets he tried to find with only his sense of reiatsu. The creatures of this world had poor quantities of spirit energy, his intangible bow being proof of this. Sensing them was difficult even for one such as himself, but he could do it… at least barely.

"You'll have to adapt," a figure called out behind Donovan. He had never heard this voice before… yet it felt as if he's known it for all his life. He turned to face the source, finding a young man cloaked in black, with onyx hair and pale blue eyes. Don had never seen this figure before in his life… but he knew. He knelt down before the figure, head held low as two words left his lips.

"Your majesty…"

"Not quite… I am merely an Effigy, the blood of the Quincy made manifest within you. I am no more Yhwach than you are," he explained. The Effigy stepped forward, walking close to the ledge of the academy's spire. "This place… it's quite beautiful. Unlike the Silbern, forever encased in ice. This place is green and alive, growing and changing… and the powers of the humans here is quite odd, is it not?"

Don calmed himself, focusing his attention on the words of the Effigy. "Yeah. My own powers are weakened a ton, so I'm not a hundred percent sure how well I can do here. I have to be careful, even with my powers as they are. Blut is far weaker, as are my arrows. I imagine the stronger individuals will cause me a bit of trouble."

The Effigy nodded. "Indeed… but their magic is a simple thing. You could perform the same thing with ease."

"... pardon?"

The Effigy prompted Don to hold out his hand, which he did without question. He placed both his hands above the prince's own, prompting his own Reiryoku to exert itself as Reiatsu. "What the mages of this world do is none too different from the Ginto you are accustomed to or the Kido of Shinigami. One needs only transform their Reiryoku to accomplish a similar feat as casting a spell. The mages of this world… in some ways their power is already similar to your own, halfway between shinigami and quincy. They use a wand as a means of focusing their abilities, while the strength for such power is called from within instead of outside."

Don looked down at his hand curiously, considering carefully the words of the Effigy. "That would give me more stability than offered by the weak Reishi in the atmosphere. My own Reiryoku would make a better source," he admitted. "And it would give me more credulity amongst the people here, seeing me do as they do."

The Effigy nodded. "Indeed. I implore you to listen closely to the classes and experiment with your abilities. You are stuck in this world… I suggest you start carving your place in it. Besides, it would be unbecoming of a prince to be weaker than lesser nobility, yes?"

Don's lips turned to frown, his eyes averting the Effigy's own and instead focusing on his now clenched hand. The image of young Yhwach sighed, placing its hand onto Donovan's shoulder. "The blood of the Quincy runs through your veins like water through a stream. It is in your nature, and you are a prince regardless of your own wishes or desires. Even if you forsake the crown, you bare our people on your shoulders. If you are bound to this world, then your duty is to make this place a home for a new breed of quincy. One which stems from you, Donovan. You can do this much, yes."

Donovan's clenched fist slowly uncurled, his head rising up to look the copy of Yhwach in the eye. With a fiery gaze, he gave a firm nod. "Yes… I can do that."

The Effigy responded with a faint smile, vanishing as a blizzard of azure fireflies, leaving Don on his own. He resumed training… although not with a bow this time. Now it was purely with his reiryoku. He wanted to dazzle everyone soon enough. And of course, he needed to refine his story.

I'm back motherfuckers! For now anyways, still workin on the big book. This chapter is a fair bit shorter than normal, but the contents are just as important!

Now, Donovan as a character is pretty strong both in his universe and this one, but here his power is noticeably less. Given time, he'll likely rise to a position of strength that in the grand scheme of things is close to how powerful he is within the Bleach World, but he won't reach that same number. Halkeginia and the Bleach Universe function very differently internally, which is part of why Donovan also isn't as physically powerful here as he would be in his native universe. Even things like Shinigami and Hollows would, eventually, be affected by it. Their powers would wane and fluctuate until they "Fit" this new universe. This is so things aren't uber one sided towards Bleach, as if Donovan were at his original strength level... he'd kind of obliterfuck everything.

This chapter and chapter 2 also expose Donovan's major weakness. Love. And no, I don't mean that in a dime store novel way, I mean that quite literally. Don is easy to manipulate with even the slightest affections, those who offer it tend to worm their way under his skin and into his mind, and he bends over backwards for that positive reinforcement. The only reason Kirche doesn't have him giving her his Helig Pfeil is because she looks like his mother, which freaked him out and caused him to have a bit of an episode where he reverted to the persona of a "proper prince" to protect his mind. As the story goes on, you'll realize more and more just how fragile of a mental state Donovan is actually in.

Anyways, I'll be seeing y'all much sooner than last time!

... maybe.