A/N: Chapter 13 of Mystical Eye of a Savage Hound. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own OC. Revenge of the Sword Clan's Hound belongs to the rightful owner.
Chapter 13: The Possibility of Learning
Inside Rose's Room...
"How did this happen?!" I had to raise my voice for Camus to hear as the wild energy of mana continued to howl around us, screaming and screeching in our ears. At this point I found myself right next to the red-haired princess, one arm raised in front of my face because the whipping lines were lashing against my own skin. "How did she lose control?!"
"She was trying to show me her ice spells! At first it was going incredibly well because she decided to start small, like making small ice sculptures of birds and animals. But then she tried to be greedy and change her sculptures from small things to large things." Camus responded, keeping her grip tight around Rose's hand. "She tried to make ice sculptures of human beings, as detailed as possible which can be demanding and taxing on a magician's mental strength."
"Why didn't you try to stop her?"
"Of course I tried to stop her! I demanded that we did all we could and that we should get some rest and check in for the night!" At my question she snapped her head to glare at me indignantly, appalled that I'd even question her about saving her cousin from losing control. We ducked as more tendrils of man sailed overhead, it was so close I swore it nearly cleaned the hair off my scalp. "But she refused to do as I say! She was so driven to prove herself to me...to prove to herself that she was capable of completing a complicated spell!"
Camus shook her head in anger, a prickle of hot tears threatened to roll down her face. "I should've been harsher with her, because I knew deep down that something was very wrong as the night continued; but I couldn't bring myself when she was so excited and filled with determination to show me her skills. If I had been more aggressive and told her no...none of this would've happened."
"Hey, I'm sorry for my insensitive question, it was wrong of me to assume you didn't try to stop Rose. You did your best and you can't blame yourself for what she wants to accomplish and how she wants to accomplish it. In some ways the Baskerville hounds are much like you guys, determined to finish what we started no matter how we do it." I knelt down next to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Tell me what I have to do?"
"I'm not sure if there's anything you can do...there's nothing the two of us can do unless we wait for the adults to show up." She whispered dejectedly, looking at Rose's calm facial expression with worry. I've never seen her look so heartbroken, anxious, and possibly terrified all rolled into one. "I'm scared... and I'm worried that she may never wake up..."
I watched Camus carefully as she began to cry openly, pressing Rose's still hand against her forehead and closing her eyes in some sort of prayer. I tightened my grip on her shoulder, pondering what I could do to hold her. Then I turned my gaze to Rose and paused, feeling my eye slowly burning with warmth, like a soft fire being stroked tenderly. It was strange phenomena but I could tell that it was the beginning of what I felt when Adolf raised his mana energy in our fight.
The mana tendrils were still waving around but as I stared a little closer I saw what appeared to be small holes protruding out of Rose's body, or something similar to various nerve or pressure points along her body. No, these circles were like little energy bundles, and the big clusters most likely indicated something was wrong with the energy flow. Most of the circle colors were a light blue, much like the color of the mana tendrils that are constantly thrashing around us. But some of the colors were blistering red, the kind of red that signified an inflamed infection. Rose was definitely sick, perhaps running a fever due to fatigue from exertion.
"Viktoria?" Camus noticed that I haven't made any noise so she looked over to see if I was doing okay. "What's the matter? What are you looking at so intently?"
"I'm...not sure what I'm looking at, but I believe I have an idea of how to get her mana to calm down." I murmured and heard a gasp of surprise next to me, but I kept my eyes fixated on Rose. "It's like I can see these...little circles or dots all over Rose's body that corresponds to like various energy channels; much like how blood is the lifeline that flows through our veins and circulates through our bodies, mana also serves like blood, travels through these channels, and circulates. I can also see the long tendril-like tentacles that represent the out of control mana energy sprouting from the circles that seem to have terrible circulation."
"Energy channels? Tendril-like tentacles?"
"Remind me about this topic and I'll try to draw it for you so you can visualize it, but right now we need to stabilize this immediately or else we'll be too late." Kneeling down, I held one hand over the circle and immediately felt resistance pushing against me. It was like pushing against an immovable wall. I furrowed a brow at the feeling and attempted again, once more pushing against an invisible wall; I found that if I pester it enough the tendrils actually came into play and slapped my hand away, deeming me an annoyance. Chuckling to myself I turned my attention to the most important thing: Rose's mana channel.
There were seven critical points that caught my attention instantly as I looked at her whole body, which meant there were seven places where the inflammation was critical and the circulation of mana had been cut off or will be cut off: base of the spine, pelvis, navel, chest (more specifically around the heart area), base of the throat, between the eyebrows, and the crown of the head. These seven places, indicated by the large clusters were all showing signs of red, meaning that the mana circulation was not good. Now there are a couple ways of cleansing these channels and keeping them unblocked and running like making healthy living choices and daily meditation. However, since I took note that the smaller circles around the bigger ones were either closed or threatened to being closed off, I decided that the fastest way would be acupuncture.
"Have you decided on what to do?" asked Camus as she looked at me nervously. "Do you have a plan in mind?"
"Prepare yourself and be ready to hold your cousin down, princess. I don't know how violently the body will react, but better to be safe than sorry. Roll her body till she's on her side towards you for a minute, and lift her shirt a bit just so I can see her lower back."
"What are you trying to say? ….what are those for?" She watched as I formed a couple of very thin needles out of my own mana, no more than one millimeter in length and width. I jerked my head as a gesture for her to move, waiting patiently for her to roll her cousin's body. Releasing Rose's hand, the older Morgue girl gently rolled the body towards her and gently lifted the shirt just enough to show the lower back. I spotted the nasty red-colored circle and positioned myself on my side, the needles poised and ready. Luckily for me most of the smaller circles were still open, just some were slightly red or turning red.
"Hold her steady, I'm going to begin." Without waiting for Camus to respond back I stuck the needles in swiftly and accurately, my eyes sharpened with focus, my hands unwavering and steady. Once the needles were in place I carefully raised my own mana and allowed it to be siphoned through the pinpoints. The idea here was to use my own stronger mana to subdue Rose's out of control mana, and in order to do that I needed a conductor that would allow my mana to seep into the younger Morgue's body. "Careful, her body's going to react."
My warning came a second late and Rose's body jerked involuntarily at the feeling of foreign energy creeping in, the level of her own mana surged in hopes of pushing the other unknown foreign source out; it's very similar to how a body's immune system reacts when a virus enters. Rose's limbs thrashed about and her right leg managed to knock Camus backwards before nearly rolling back over onto me, threatening to pin me against the ground. Quickly getting to my feet I held out both hands to stop her from completely rolling onto her back and jamming all the needles into herself.
"Settle down, Rose, settle down." I murmured as my mana clashed with Rose's, each side fighting against one another for dominance. Camus appeared by my side barely winded and helped me hold her in place, brows furrowed and pinched. We held the twitching body between us carefully to keep Rose from unconsciously hurting herself as well as from getting ourselves hurt; I also kept an eye on my own output control, if I raise my level too high then it could possibly make Rose's mana collapse and sent the host into a coma. There's also another possibility that overwhelming Rose's mana too quickly could be too much a shock, thus sending Rose into a spiral and then collapse.
"You look really concerned for a moment, care to share what you're thinking about?" Camus asked me when she took a chance to look at me.
"...is there a possibility that Rose could lose affinity for magic and become a normal girl?"
"As in...she loses her ability to be a magician?" The red-haired princess' voice was barely a whisper as she processes what I was asking. "No...no, she can't. I won't let her! She has so much potential and she worked so hard to reach where she is! I've seen her stay up at nights, I even watched her cry herself to sleep some days!"
"Hey, breathe. Breathe. I don't need you here hyperventilating and distracted, you'll end up jumping to the wrong conclusion and making critical mistakes." I looked straight at her as I said those words, hoping that my gaze alone could keep her grounded. "I need you to keep yourself calm and collective."
"How could I when you asked that particular question? To be born into the Morgue Clan is to be born with magic and have a future as a magician, I've never heard of someone from the clan losing their magic abilities." She then pondered about something for a minutes before saying, "If...and this is just hypothetical...if a member of the Morgue Clan loses their ability to be a magician, they'll have to find jobs in the city."
"And what's wrong with that?"
"Without the reputation of the clan behind and backing you, you're basically a nobody. I've seen the way city officials treat those lower than themselves, the slums and the common folks." Her hands curled into shaking fists and she shook her head adamantly. "I refuse to allow Rose to become like that. I refuse!"
"Then we have our answer and motivation." There was a reason I asked that question and got us to chat a bit. One was to confirm whether members of Morgue could lose their statuses as magicians, and it turns out they could, if Camus' behavior was a striking clue. The other was to buy time for my mana to slowly massage Rose's mana into submission. Thanks to the smaller opened circles continuously pumping energy into the larger cluster, the nasty blistering red hue disappeared and the cluster smoothed itself into a perfect circle. Soon Rose's body settled down and her breath came out in slight pants.
"Is she...is she going to be okay?" Camus directed her question to me when she picked up at the change and I nodded, calmly going about removing the needles. Then I motioned for her to roll her cousin carefully back onto her back. "She seems...and looks slightly better than before."
"Prepare for her to do some of these actions because we have six more energy circles to tackle." I went for the second circle located at the pelvis, another set of needles already held within the palm of my hand. We repeated the process sequentially and this time the tendrils actually lashed out when they found out that we were actually dangerous, me in particular. Camus did try her best to act as bait, afraid that I wouldn't be able to endure, but none of the tendrils came at her. Our bodies soon bore the red markings of the tendrils as they whipped themselves at us, but we endured until there was only two large clusters left.
My eye between the transition between navel and heart began to really irritate me, and I had to pause a couple of times to quell the burning and stabbing feelings coming from it. Camus looked at me with worry when a hiss escaped my lips, and I looked as if I was having a stroke trying to keep my eye open; it felt like it was on fire, and to make matters worse there were small prickling feelings that came along with it. Much like how I was sticking needles in Rose's body it felt like someone was sticking those same needles in my eyeball.
"Guuh!" I grunted as two stray tendrils of mana energy unknowingly slipped through when I was momentarily stunned from a painful throb of my eye. One of the tendrils slammed into my torso just above my navel while the other circled around to strike the small of my back. Both attacks were an attempt to separate me from Rose's body, but I just grinned and bear it. It was hard enough to keep my eye from closing, the feeling of a thousand tiny needles jamming themselves into my socket all at once was still a prevalent feeling, but also fending off the wild energy of mana that seemed to have sensed immense danger was the icing on the proverbial cake. Camus made a small gasp when she realized that I had been attacked, but I quickly shook my head, signaling for her to stay put and allowed me to shoulder most of the attacks.
"H-How much further until Rose is in the clear?" The red-haired princess asked me as both of her hands were preoccupied, one holding onto Rose while the other was holding mine. Since we no longer need to maneuver the body into other positions, she decided to go about holding her cousin's hand in one and mine in the other. "Is the circle nearly cleared?!"
"Just...a few...minutes...okay, this one is contained and stable!" I shouted as the opening I had been working on didn't glow that nasty red anymore, the circulation of energy fixed and in a consistent flow much like the other five we've been feverishly working on. At this point I don't even know what time it was, for all I know it could already be midnight or really early in the morning. "There's one more left and it's the crown of her head! It's quite possibly the largest channel for energy to flow through and is the culprit for this whole mess!"
This is going very well, Rose's mana energy is settling down and her breathing is becoming calmer with each stability of the energy circles...the thrashing tendrils that once surrounded this room has been reduced as well. This is very manageable for someone like me. I took a deep breath and got to work, quickly wiping away the sweat on my brow with the sleeve of an arm.
"Hang in there, Rose. You'll feel better in no time." whispered Camus as I shifted to move towards the girl's crown, the last set of needles poised and ready. The red-haired princess had let go of my hand momentarily and pulled out a small kerchief out of her pocket, wiping away the beads of sweat from Rose's face. "You're so strong, Rose, you're so strong. You'll get through this, I know you can."
With the needles in place I poured whatever remaining amount of mana I could muster into them. This time the process was quick since most of the energy channels within Rose's body had been stabilized. Once the final circle turned a healthy pale blue, and Rose's entire energy channels have been cleansed, Camus and I were finally able to release a huge sigh of relief. The oppressive pressure we were subjected to by Rose's mana had disappeared like the wind, and Rose herself had an expression of calm. Camus leaned over and gave her cousin a huge hug with a smile on her face, thankful that everyone got out of this situation without harm.
"Princess..." I wheezed faintly from where I had collapsed on the floor, gasping and fighting off the feeling of passing out. My vision was also going in and out, making me slightly dizzy, and the immense stabbing pain slightly ebbed away; sensing that Camus would most likely question me more about it I closed that eye immediately."Where are you...princess...?"
"I'm here, Viktoria, I'm here." I felt her beside me, her voice next to my ear as she whispered in response to my calling. I glanced up to see her leaning over me till she was all that filled my vision, I could see the tear stains that already rolled down her face and how hastily she went to wipe them away. "Just stay with me okay? The guards should be on their way soon, so you got to hold on."
"We don't have much time then...so listen carefully. Whatever happened here, whatever I did to help Rose stabilize her mana energy alongside you...you need to promise me that you'll keep everything a secret. Don't even think about telling either your mother or uncle, at least...not until I get some answers for myself." I spoke as she brushes a few strands of hair out of the way. She stares at me and I knew she was internally debating whether to agree to what I asking of her or to tell her family. She would be crushed under the weight if they asked her and pressure her to cave. "Princess, please... please hold this secret back for now."
"No, Viktoria, no we can't keep this to ourselves...not from my mom because she'll figure out what happened. It'll take only a matter of time. What if Rose has another episode like this and none of the magicians here can do what you did? We aren't equipped to handle it, it took so much out of you just to contain it and you collapsed right in front of me."
"But now you have a chance to figure this out, to prevent another incident from happening either to Rose or anyone else..." My fingers twitched and she reached out to hold my hand, squeezing it briefly. I smiled at the small feeling of warmth that emanated when our hands touched. "We'll get to the bottom of this and prevent your cousin from ever experiencing anything like this again...I promise."
"Camyu! Are you alright?!" Adolf stormed in with a couple of guards right behind him, looking between us and Rose with a worried expression on his faces. Then he turned and barked out orders, "Send all three to the medical ward for a full examination! Don't leave anything untested and keep an eye out for any abnormalities! Immediately!"
"Lord Camus, please move away from the Baskerville child and come with us. You'll need to be fully examined as well." Some of the young magicians ushered the red-haired princess to leave my side as I was placed on a stretcher and rushed to the medical ward. Rose had already been moved and I got a brief glimpse of the medical magicians who surrounded her and proceeded to give her their full attention.
"Child of Baskerville, I'm going to need you to sleep for a while while we go through your examination. A few hours at minimum I assure you but definitely less than a day. It's standard routine procedure of the Morgue Clan, however Sir Adolf issued a full examination so I cannot be certain when we'll be finished." My eyes focused on the medical staffer as she held out a hand in front of my face, summoning a green-colored magic circle. I felt my eyes slowly close shut as if a warm hand descended upon me and the last thing I heard was, "Sweet dreams."
The medical staff member watched a moment or two as I slumbered before going through the steps, doing the basics such as checking all my vitals, taking a sample of my blood, and checking for drugs. Then she uses other magical circles to do a whole body scan to capture some other data, her eyes darting back and forth as numerous amounts of values showed up at a rapid pace; with her other hand she conjured a large object – a binder by the size of it and it was filled with blank sheets of paper – and the numbers immediately began to fill in the blanks.
Outside the ward Raspane watched the various operations going on beyond the glass window with a sharp eye, her fingers nervously tapping against her arm as she waited for some kind of update on either girls. The moment she heard about the incident she put the whole Morgue Clan on lock down and rushed to the medical ward as fast as possible. When she arrived she was denied entry by the chief medical examiner, even if she was the clan head, on the premise that the staff members cannot be disturbed as they continued their jobs.
"Clan head." She turned her head to see a male and a female approach her, they were Rose's parents. It was the female who addressed Raspane, her equally sharp eyes looking through the glass windowpane hoping to catch even a sliver of her daughter. "Any news about Rose?"
"From what I heard Rose is currently showing signs of normalcy, her mana output has been recorded to be in sustainable level. Medical staff are still trying to determine how her output jumped to dangerous levels, but from what Camyu was able to tell us it was simply overexertion of using her magic."
"Rose was saying how she was learning a lot while playing around with her ice spell. I always knew my little girl had an affinity for that element ever since she was a baby." Rose's father spoke up from where he stood next to his wife, his eyes sparkling as he talked about his child. "She was especially excited to show Lord Camus all that she knows, hoping to get some pointers from her smart and gorgeous cousin on how to improve or perhaps strengthen her spell. It would appear that they went overboard that night when she exerted herself."
"She still has a long way to go towards learning how to maintain control and not let her mana run wild as it did." Rose's mother says almost like she was scolding her child but also berating herself for allowing such a thing to happen. "I feel ashamed both for my family as well as for staining the Morgue name."
"Don't be so difficult with Rose, it was just a mistake that was overlooked because she was too eager." The clan head's voice was laced with sympathy, knowing that the young girl shouldn't be punished; however, she believes that Rose would learn from this experience and will be very aware next time to not let things get out of hand. "We'll also see if there's any variables other than overusing and overexerting mana by casting repeatedly could trigger this sort of reaction."
"See that you do, clan head. It would be a devastating loss if another bright and potential young magician suffers the same thing but worse. We must get a handle on this minor hiccup before our...'competitors' shall I call them, make use of it sort of information." Rose's father says in agreement.
"Hmmmm, speaking of competitors...is that child the Baskerville guest with your daughter sitting next to her?" Rose's mother turned her gaze to where I was still deep within my slumber, Camus sat in an empty chair holding one of my hands within her own with a worried expression on her face; she had her checkup finished quickly after the medical staff deemed her okay so she decided to stay by my side after checking up on Rose. The older woman took a disdainful sniff at the scene and states, "How inelegant your guest is to be laying like a wounded animal placed on an operation table with your precious child holding its hand. That is a sign of weak moral support."
"That so-called wounded animal saved your daughter from being sent into a coma due to overexertion of mana output." Raspane replies with a stiff icy expression, honing in and not tolerating the tone the other woman was taking with while trash talking the Morgue guest. "If she hadn't bothered to check in on the two girls, hadn't done what she did then Rose would've had to sit out of this year's Rite of Passage. She would've waited until next year to participate, would've watched the rest of her friends,"
"Rose doesn't need any friends, at least not those idiot baboons one would call 'classmates' who can't even handle a small elemental spell." Her mother interjected with a stingy tone in her voice, her husband only stayed quiet but there's no doubt he took his wife's side. "If she wanted to make friends then the only one I'll approval of is your daughter, clan head. A friend by definition needs to have someone in high places after all...and certainly not one of...dirty blood."
"...the rest of her friends and family members go through their Rite of Passage. She would've been left all alone with the newbies, and she would've hated you two for the rest of her life." Raspane growls as she stood intimidatingly in front of Rose's parents, her eyes flashing menacingly between both of them. She didn't miss the jab of an illegitimate bloodline, but instead of creating a much bigger scene she swallowed down the rising anger. "So I firmly suggest you take full responsibility for what you just said and take those vile words back, or make time to visit our guest and give her your gratitude in person."
"As if I'd show any appreciation for filth like her, she shouldn't have been outside her kennel since it was nearly past curfew." Rose's mother stood just as rigid and ramrod straight at the hostility, seemingly challenging Raspane on the issue. Her husband though, watched the interaction with caution but he was instinctively ready to pull his wife back. "It was my daughter who messed up and should be taking the consequences of her actions...that mutt is just collateral damage at best for sticking her nose where it didn't belong. It was a family matter."
"Since you deemed it as such, does that imply that you consider my daughter as collateral damage too?" The clan head's eyes narrowed, watching the woman before her shrivel in on herself just a bit at the question. "Choose your next words carefully."
"Clan head, an update if I may." The chief medical personal walked up to them without any reaction to the tense atmosphere and said, "While we are currently analyzing the blood work of the young hound, we are still in need of some other tests. However, the young lord has expressed her desire to sleep in her bed and not confined to the sick bed; she was also very adamant of bringing her guest along with her, a stubbornness she could only get from you, so if we don't comply with her wishes she'll throw a massive tantrum."
That cheeky little she-devil... Raspane exhaled deeply before reigning in her aura so she could easily speak with the medical chief, however she still glowered at Rose's parents in warning. "Very well, move the Baskerville child to my daughter's room for additional rest. I know my younger brother asked you guys to do a full examination but I believe you have done enough. My daughter seems to be well, but how is Rose?"
"The younger girl of Morgue is okay and in stable condition, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary surprisingly. We all felt the intense levels of mana so we were worried that something drastic would happen to the host." The medical chief reported with a clipboard in her hand. "Her vitals are all normal and for every test we conducted the signs were all green. For now we've given her a sedative to help her sleep, and after a good night's rest we believe she'll be back to herself tomorrow."
"Then bring her to her room to continue resting as well, don't let anyone else disturb her. Send someone with food to her in the morning, don't let her go to the cafeteria. Well, at this point I don't permit any of the girls to eat in the cafeteria tomorrow until I have a clearer picture. Thank you for your hard work." The clan head ordered and then dismissed the chief who nodded in acknowledgment before leaving to carry out her duties. Once the medical woman disappeared, the clan head gave her attention back to Rose's parents who hadn't moved an inch. "You heard our medical chief, your child will be resting in her room and I suggest you two do the same."
"Clan head."
Turning on her heels to leave, she looked sternly over her shoulders to say one last thing, "I know exactly how you feel about illegitimate heirs being near those from direct lineages, but if you only approve of individuals in high places then let it be known that that Baskerville child will be the greatest thing to a friend you'll want your daughter to have by her side."
The next morning...
A spell that knocks me out in less than five minutes was quite handy and skillful. Somewhat true to that medical staffer's words, I didn't regain consciousness until the next day although I remembered her saying that she wasn't sure if I'd be able to wake up because of the numerous amounts of tests needed to be completed, but I guess I was lucky . My vision was a bit blurry but I recognized the sleeping bag I was laying in, however it wasn't on the inflatable mattress at the foot of the bed. While I was out someone helped Camus moved the sleeping bag from the mattress onto the actual bed, the princess had tucked herself underneath the blankets right beside me and facing my way. I looked at her in silence once my vision cleared up a bit more and I noticed how red and puffy the area around her eyes were. Definitely a strong indication that she probably cried herself to sleep.
"Hey, princess..." My voice was raspy but it did the trick of waking Camus up and she rubbed her eyes to look at me. When she realized that I was awake she immediately shot out from underneath the blanket and wrapped her arms around me, burying her face between the crook of my neck and my shoulder. I grunted at her added weight on my body, feeling both myself and the bottom of the sleeping bag sink in the velvet mattress, but I wiggled my arm out from underneath and pulled her close in a hug of my own. "Hey, hey... I'm alright. I'm right here."
"I know, I know! But...when you were helping Rose and you looked like you were in so much pain..." She sniffled for a minute and tightened her hold on me, holding me as if I were to disappear from her eyes. "I felt really helpless, completely worthless. I could only hold my cousin's hand while praying that you knew what you were doing. And when you lay on the sick bed with all sorts of wires attached to you, all I could do was hold your hand."
"I thought I felt something warm." The corners of my mouth quirked into a semi-smile to which she mirrored in kind, I could feel her lips against my skin which is how I knew she was smiling.
"Please don't do anything so reckless again."
"Why? Don't want to face my father's wrath if he knew I got injured?" I joked and she pulled back to give me a withered glare. Seeing that she was being very serious I spotted her shaking hands and reached out to place a hand over hers, curling my fingers gently in a squeeze. "Hey, I won't do anything reckless. I promise." Well, I promise I won't do anything reckless in her presence...but when she's nowhere around me I don't think I can keep that promise...
"You better stick to your words because I don't want to risk losing you, ever. Especially when I'm not around to keep my eye on you." She placed her other hand over mine, her voice sounding incredibly sincere and soft. I blinked not knowing if she was some sort of mastermind who could read my thoughts or if she was just that perceptive of covering all her bases. "You're perhaps the closest thing to a best friend I'll ever have."
"What about Rose? Those annoying triplets? What do you consider them to be?"
"I consider my sisters and Rose as prominent members of the Morgue family, they could also be considered as just a bunch of friends." Camus grins as she acted a bit shy, her eyes gazing anywhere but my face. "But you who hails from a different clan, who isn't related to me by blood, who not only saved my life once but twice already...I want you to be my best friend. E-E-Even though we're betrothed I feel like we're more like...partners. Others may assume that we're supposed to be...a little more than that."
"I'm more than happy to be your best friend and partner, whatever that may look like for us. If you're uncomfortable with going any further than that then I won't cross that line. If you...you ever wish to go further – and that is if you really really wish to do so – then I'll be okay with that too. I won't push or force you to do anything." I assured her before slowly moving my body into a sitting position one limb at a time.
"Steady now, wouldn't want you falling right on your face even though you'd be hitting something soft." Camus quickly shifted her body's position when I started to topple over and held me against her, allowing me to rest my chin on her shoulder. I sighed, annoyed that my body was refusing to do what I wish for it to do. "You are still shaking off the effects of the sleeper spell so your body may be a bit sluggish."
"Mmmmm well you're correct, I did land on something soft." I chuckled and felt the heat rise from her skin as a reaction which caused me to laugh even more. She's just too easy to tease! "How long do I have to wait until the side-effects wear off?"
"Hmmmmm, I'd say give it about another twenty to twenty-five minutes, you're actually moving a lot better than most who've been knocked out." She gently lowers me back down on to the bed and continues, "Mother says that you shouldn't try to go to the cafeteria to eat, so I'm guessing there'll be someone who'll come around with some food for you to eat. Don't worry, I also told her that I'll be eating with you as well so we'll get to eat out on the balcony."
At that I felt my eyes lit up and if I were an actual dog my tail would be wagging a mile a minute. Camus noticed the change in demeanor and laughed as if she just imagined what I was thinking. She was just as excited as I was to be sharing a meal with someone out on the balcony. When was the last time she ate her food out there let alone with someone else that wasn't either her mother, Adolf, or perhaps Rose? My guess was this was perhaps her first time. We didn't get very far with grins on our faces until there were knocks at the door.
"My young Lord, your breakfast has arrived." The butler behind the door announced and when Camus opened up I recognized that he was the Baskerville spy I spoke to near the training ground. He smiled deviously when he notice me staring before turning to address the Morgue child, "The breakfast for the young child of Baskerville has also been brought."
"That looks like a lot of food for just two people. Are there any other guests that will be joining us?" asked the red-haired princess.
"The clan head and Sir Adolf wish to swing by and see how you two are doing, so they will be joining you for breakfast. Where shall I set up the table? Would you rather have your breakfast in bed and I can set something else up for the other arrivals or perhaps the balcony?"
"Out on the balcony if you please. There's a lot more room and seats for us to share."
"Very well my Lord. A wise choice if I do say so myself."
"I'm going to wash up quickly then I'll meet you outside, you could probably wash after you eat I don't think Mother would ask a lot from you as you rest. If you're really starving then don't wait up and help yourself." Camus directed those words to me as the butler wheeled in the cart, stopping by her wardrobe to grab what she needed. "Ask him to assist you if your body still refuses to obey you." We waited patiently for her to disappear into the bathroom, waited until she turned on the water for the shower before we delved into our own conversation.
"You heard what happened last night and that's why you're here to check up on me." It was a statement and I already had a thought that word of my condition would spread real fast. I suppose that the most any Morgue member would be worried about would be the condition of one of their own – either Rose or Camus or perhaps both since they are important in their own right – so the only ones who would care about the guest would be members from the guest's family.
"Correct. The others were whispering that you were in the medical ward in passing, said you weren't necessarily wounded but taken for treatment and to be tested upon. So I took the first opportunity given to me by getting you two breakfast when their clan head called for it." He wheeled in the cart with the dishes hidden underneath silver covers, moving towards the balcony door and propped it open. "The other job would be serving the other young girl, but she is of no concern to me."
"Technically you're supposed to be concerned about Rose's well-being." He made a verbal guttural noise in the back of his throat as he went about setting up the table, moving the silverware before moving back to me as I continued to lay on the bed. "Does Hugo know?"
"The Clan head was sent a messenger bird the moment I heard news about you. The note should already reach his desk by now, but I doubt he'll send a reply if your life wasn't in mortal danger." was the quip response and I was assisted to my seat, the chair pushed slightly in and the napkin draped across my lap.
"Let's wait for the princess. She should be done momentarily." I told the butler just as he was about to lift the cover, noticing the lack of water coming from the bathroom. He merely dipped his head in understanding just as the genius of Morgue stepped out, making his way around to help her get seated.
"You didn't eat yet, were you two just chatting while waiting for me?"
"A silly question. Social etiquette dictates that guests must always wait for their hosts, and who am I to dare go against such etiquette?" I spoke as the butler went about serving us our meals, finally lifting the silver covers away from the plates to showcase plump omelets and a couple slices of toast. There were also fresh rolls of various types of bread in a basket, a bowl with cut fruit drizzled in a variety of juices and a bowl of yogurt with granola pieces sprinkled on top. Then I leaned over and whispered quietly to her, making sure the butler was further away but I have a feeling that he could definitely hear and is choosing to be considerate. "That was some nonsense I made up...of course I'd wait for you."
She's getting better at reigning in her feelings in response to my words because this time only a small dust of pink adorned her cheeks instead of the full-on crimson blush that reached her hairline, and her mouth quirked up into that sweet smile I like to see. I let a small smile grace my own lips as we began to dig in, going straight for the omelet and digging my knife straight down the middle while Camus opted to start with her piece of toast; she ended up spreading a copious amount of mixed berry cream on one while honey butter on another, I myself decided to keep a slice as is without any condiments while the other had a spread of silky peanut butter.
Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Clan head and Sir Adolf, please come in. The girls were just starting to eat their breakfast, I'll bring yours out momentarily." The butler spoke respectfully when he opened the door and Raspane was there, along with Adolf who keep a stern expression upon his face. Camus and I stood from our seats to greet our visitors as they came out onto the balcony.
"I see you are in good spirits, that's very good." Raspane said to me once she and Adolf took their place and we all sat down. The butler made his round putting the plates before the new arrivals before getting us beverages. We had a choice between water, milk, tea, coffee or juice. Once he had finished the clan head dismissed him out of the room, leaving the four of us to enjoy our breakfast. "I don't know how I would have to explain to Sir Baskerville if you were seriously injured under my care."
"I'm sure Father would immediately come if I were in critical danger or I would have to cut my time here short. Fortunately that was not the case, all of us got out of that situation just fine." I replied politely, raising my napkin to wipe the remnants of food away from my mouth. "How's Rose?"
"Rose is doing fine as well after a good night's rest, the chief from the medical ward went to give her a checkup this morning before she could eat out of the eyes of her peer. She doesn't necessarily remember everything about what happened, but she remembers enough to give us a few statements." Adolf answered my question this time after consuming half a poached egg, the yolk dribbling down into his beard. He quickly wiped the residue away before it could dirty his clothes. "This is the first time in Morgue history that such an incident occurred to a child so young."
"Will there be any dangerous side-effects we aren't aware about that could possibly be lingering? Physically, mentally, or emotionally? How can we be sure she won't have anything wrong with her two or three or even five years down the road?" Camus questioned intently as she stares at the two adults before us.
"We're going through all procedures and documenting responses, my dear niece." Adolf assures her, scratching his chin in thought. "It's possible we'll have to take her out of her classes for additional checkups or do those activities after classes. I would hate to hold her back from training for the Rite of Passage."
"Knowing Rose she'll probably put up a fuss if she doesn't get her study and training done." Raspane agreed after taking a sip of her coffee. "Don't get me wrong, she's definitely getting ahead of the others in her class, but once her mind's made up she won't budge. Kind of reminds me of you Camyu with your stubbornness."
"Have you asked her what she thinks?" I asked, bringing my own cup of chilled fresh milk to my lips to take a swift sip. It was incredibly rich and creamy once it touched my tongue, something I've never tasted before and I couldn't help but swipe my tongue across my lips to savor the taste. "After all it is important to ask the individual in question their opinion on the matter."
"We plan to do so once we're done here. Of course you two are needed for questioning yourselves, but we'll get to that at a later time." Raspane assured me, dipping her head in thanks when Adolf dropped a slice of bread on her plate, its surface heavily coated in honey. It was so soggy that the clan head had to resort to using a fork and knife to even eat the bread. "In the meantime, I have asked the teachers to start their classes half an hour later to give you three ample time to recuperate and recover. However, seeing as you two are in such good spirits perhaps I was too hasty in my judgment."
"You couldn't have predicted that we'd be fine and okay, mother. You made the right call and this saves us the heartache of doing additional lessons to catch up with the rest of the class." Camus spoke as I turned my focus back to finishing off the last bit of food. Her plate and cup were completely spotless and she folded her hands daintily over her laps after wiping them on the napkin. "If I remember correctly today's lesson is more on an expert level of casting, and I really don't plan on skipping out on it."
"Aren't you already on an expert level?" asked Adolf, giving his niece a confused expression. "During your match against the young hound over there, you showcased a quadruple cast which is something no one else at your age could possibly do. I think you'd survive skipping once in awhile."
"No, uncle, I can't afford to skip. I have yet to reach your level of casting after all." The red-haired princess responds before standing up, gesturing for me to also follow her lead. I knew she was still looking at her mother and uncle, but I was actually proud of Camus for saying those words instead of going along with what Adolf said; it just demonstrates just how diligent she is towards her studies and not wanting to fall behind. "Thank you for breakfast, it was quite filling...perhaps a bit too filling. We're going to go first and perhaps walk around a bit to help with our digestion before heading to class."
"You still have some time to–"
"Oh let the young ones go, Adolf. We shouldn't hold them back and make them sit here when they could be doing something more productive. I would like to have some words with Rose before she prepares for her own class, so it's probably for the best that we take our leave as well." Raspane interrupted quickly and she stood up to make her way towards her daughter. Kneeling down so she was at the ten year old's height, she lightly brushed some of the hair to the side and placed a loving kiss on Camus' forehead. A smile appeared on Camus' face and she hugged her mother tightly. "Have a good day and I'll see you at dinner time."
In the classroom...
Most of the children this morning when we walked in after our brisk walk were whispering among one another about the influx of mana near curfew, chattering about what could have caused it or who was it that allowed their mana to spike at such a dangerous level. Some were even discussing what the possible level of punishment by the clan head could be once we took our seats, firing off all sorts of ideas that had me question their mental state. Camus sat next to me with her eyes kept forward, but I could tell from how her fingers slowly curled in her lap because she was very well-aware of what was happening around her; Adolf and Raspane promised us before we left that they were going to keep the incident tight-lipped, as well as those who came in on the scene, so most of the words were pure speculation.
"Settle down, children. It's time for class! Quiet I say!" The professor rushed in with a file that was nearly bursting from its seams held underneath his arm, adjusting his glasses from being askew and flying off his nose. He plopped the poor object down on the desk before addressing the class, the chattering simmering to a stop. "Today's topic is very special, I even got the approval from the clan head herself. This topic involves something that magicians start learning a few months after they completed their Rite of Passages, however it would be imperative in my opinion that you youngsters learn about this now since you're on your way to completing your own journey to becoming phenomenal magicians."
This professor was eccentric with his rapid-firing words and how he went through his slides, but he was very passionate at what he does. Camus as usual took notes, asks and answers questions, was very attentive as if last night's event didn't faze her one bit. I was absolutely stumped and also uninterested in the topic, so I ended up just replaying last night's events in my mind. A lot of things happened that night, but I knew that in that moment saving Rose's life was top priority. Everything else that came afterwards was secondary.
...is it possible that a hound such as myself is able to learn magic just like the members of Morgue Clan? I blinked as the thought crossed my mind, I mean it hasn't been the first time I contemplated the question. Ever since I was born, and the moment I crossed arms against Adolf...coupled with helping stabilize Rose only led me to suspect that I was capable of such; I'm not interested in learning something strong or flashy, but if I can utilize the smaller lower-level spells it may serve as something useful.
"Hey, what are you thinking about over there?" Camus' voice spoke through my thoughts as well as the sound of snapping fingers in front of my face jolted me back to reality. Then I turned to look at her and blinked. The lesson had already ended and the other kids were busy filtering out of the room, heading out to their next lessons or possibly lunch. The red-haired girl tilted her head to the side and said, "You were gone for a second there, sitting there with a faraway look in your eyes. Where did you go?"
"Princess...what do you say to helping me learn a little bit of magic?"