Lilianna wasted no time, neither in making her way back to Condore—which felt precipitously swift compared to the plodding march through the tunnels Lycoris recalled—nor in her haste with bringing Lycoris to a hospital. She landed on the rooftop and shoved the door open, terrifying several people walking through the uppermost floor's hallway.  Carried in her mother's arms, Lycoris could only turn her face away to hide her embarrassment. With the pain suppressed, the biggest blow she could take was to her ego, though her mother did not have appearances as her primary concern at the moment. That much was obvious with the tone she spoke with while she grabbed and glared at the first person in a labcoat to cross her field of view.

"You. My daughter has a sunburn, treat it."  "Auh… Eh? Uehuh?"

The bespectacled man was understandably dumbstruck. Before he could attempt to even regain his composure, the Exaltare impatiently dragged him along and all but threw him into a random hospital room—which was thankfully unoccupied.  Rather than releasing her hold on Lycoris, Lilianna sat down on the plastic-covered bed herself, resting her daughter on her lap.

"How fares our little flower?"  "It still feels numb. I still feel tired," grumbled Lycoris.

She immediately regretted her choice of tone. She was decidedly happy to be back with Lilianna, the sense of security flushing the fears and doubts from her mind, but she was too worn down to be mindful of her manners.  Prompted by her mother, Lycoris lifted up her bandaged right arm for her, who held it carefully as she began to unwind the makeshift bandage. The sight of the black-stained interior made Lycoris recoil, as she realized that was ash from her own arm that had… flaked off onto the cloth.

"That… how in the world did she manage a sunburn that terrible!?"

Mortified by the state of Lycoris's arm, the doctor made no attempt at showing decorum or deference for the royalty he was in the presence of. There was no need for chastisement or encouragement to do his job, as he immediately rushed out of the room without another word wasted.  While his competent reaction was certainly a good thing, it also caused the pit of Lycoris's stomach to sink.

"Am I going to be okay…?"  "Of course, dear. Something like this won't stop an Aphtangloa. But the same methods that work for lesser Vampires will work for us, too. We promise you will heal quickly and without agony."  "I still don't really feel anything…"

Though that applied to more than just the physical, Lycoris blushed and shrank inward. Her numbed emotions flared up as she thought back to how her mother had initially "treated" her burn.  Picking up on the cue, her mother tenderly stroked her hair. While it seemed there was something she wanted to say, Lilianna remained silent, her brow furrowed as she held her daughter.

After several quiet and comfortable—as comfortable as Lycoris could feel in such a situation at least—minutes passed, the doctor returned with a large, cylindrical container filled with a clear and slightly luminous blue liquid, which he set down on the bed beside the two of them. Despite the fact he made no comment on the mother cradling her daughter, Lycoris still felt her cheeks flush dark purple in embarrassment. The only person who had ever seen them so close before was Athena, and her sycophancy diluted any sense of embarrassment her words might have caused.

"Please keep your arm fully submerged inside the solution for at least thirty minutes. Push the buzzer after the solution loses its color, or if anything goes awry. Any questions?" He timidly looked between the mother and daughter pair, unable to make proper eye-contact with either of them.  "None. We offer thee our gratitude."  "Ah, uhm, yes. Right. It might not be me who responds, but whoever comes will have been briefed on the situation."

After carefully removing the seal on top of the container, the doctor left the two of them with a solemn nod. A pungent aroma of chemicals filled the air, worrying Lycoris. The phosphorescence offered her little confidence that it was at all safe to use. Then again, there was little reason to doubt the words of a healer, and there probably were few measures short of the most extreme that would do much to help given the sort of damage sunlight wrought on Vampires.  Looking up to her mother, who nodded with a solemn smile, Lycoris gingerly inserted her arm into the vat of cool liquid. It was thicker than water, its viscosity causing it to wobble around her, a tingling sensation filling her arm. Fortunately, it was much less painful than any previous sensation in her arm, even if it was an alien and uncomfortable feeling.

As Lycoris relaxed, her mother cleared her throat and delicately extricated her daughter from her lap to stand up and pace about. It seemed she still had no shortage of restless energy to work off.  An awkward mood hung in the air as she turned to Lycoris. Her lips were pursed in a tight frown, and she finally began to speak what had been on her mind.

"Now then, Lycoris… I'm sure this goes without saying, but—"  "Do we… really have to do this right now?"

For once, Lycoris openly spoke her thoughts, her filter worn away by the past several days of constant stress. As much as she would have been willing to argue that everything she'd done had been with her own safety and best interest in mind—barring maybe a moment or two of overzealotry—Lycoris just… didn't have the energy for it. The softness of a comfortable life had put the bleak state of affairs in Kranes into a stark contrast, and loathe as she was to admit it, Lycoris felt a disconnect to the trained soldier that she had once been.  Perhaps that was unfair to herself. Even the greatest soldiers still needed time to rest. A week straight of active work in the field would leave anyone feeling stretched thin.  Startlingly, Lilianna withered and sat back down beside her, letting her hands rest in her lap with her ears drooped low rather than press the issue.

"…no, we suppose not." Lilianna wrinkled her lips. "We're getting ahead of ourselves, wishing to rip the bandage off early. Apologies, Dear."  "Heh…"  "Hmm? What amusement is there to find in that?"  "Oh, no it's just… It made me think. It's sorta surprising that you didn't just… rip my arm off entirely. While saying something like 'do not worry Lyco, it will grow back.'"  "We do not sound like that! …Moreover, you already made it quite clear that you loathed such extreme measures, even if they would be technically functional. And… this manner is swifter, and less reliant on— Ah."

Lilianna stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening as a sudden concern gripped her. She cozied back up beside her daughter and held her as gingerly as she could, to avoid disturbing the arm resting in the vat.

"Will you be alright waiting here while we source some nourishment for you?"  "Hm? Do they not have anything here? The facility in Kranes had some nice juice. I think the nurse called it pomegranate."

Thinking back to that conversation with Athena was embarrassing, her stubbornness seeming foolish in hindsight. It wasn't as though it had changed anything, just as the maid had said. And if she hadn't restored her energy then the situation might have ended up even worse. They only just got to Emma in time.

"Oh! Oh no, we forgot about Emma and Sera!"  "What's this now? And… juice? Darling, you… know that there is blood in that, yes?" Lilianna sounded more nervous than at any point Lycoris could recall prior.  "Of course, isn't that the point? Vampires drink blood, and all that…"

Not that Lycoris enjoyed fixating on the subject herself, and she understood why her mother would be on pins and needles, given it was entirely her fault for being so obstinate to begin with. And, agitating her while she was already in this state would probably only worsen the situation with her arm. She was already afraid of moving it too much, a shiver running up her spine as she visualized it just… accidentally falling off or something.

Her mother stared at her as though she'd just recited the Goddess's scripture from heart, backwards. Lilianna's hands trembled as they held Lycoris.

"Wh…at? L… Lycoris, are you sure you feel alright? There's nothing wrong with your head? You know what you just said, yes? Shall we call the doctor back to—"  "I know. I know… I'm fine. Can we… not fixate on it?"  "We— I— of course, dear. Just, this is quite a sudden paradigm shift. What ever happened?"  Lycoris closed her eyes, inhaled a deep breath and half-heartedly smiled, "Well, almost immediately after our evening call ended…"

＊　＊　＊

In the wake of Lilianna and Lycoris's departure, the tension filling the study gradually filtered out through the opening left behind. Athena didn't move her head, even as she felt Gier—or, "Gerald"—shift behind her.  The Count of Kranes clapped his hands together once and looked around, a forced smile on his face.

"I believe that went about as well as we could have hoped, all things considered. If anything, arrest will lead to a nice change of scenery for me after being cooped up in here all week. Some Moonsend this has been!" He loudly declared, covering for his obviously frayed nerves.  "Ugh. Doesn't sound like that silver a linin' to me. Not that I was expecting to figure out how to put my life back together after all this, but… prison doesn't really sound all that preferable. Plus, I'm still worried about Lycoris. Even though she acted just fine after being stabbed all over, that burn actually had her… y'know…"

The Fangchaser, meanwhile, troubled himself over something actually worthwhile. But Her Highness would be fine. It would take time for her skin to heal, but the Aphtangloa were legendarily sturdy. Even if they possessed the instinctual fear of the Sun inherent in all Vampires.

"…Sorry, did you say stabbed?" inquired the Count.  "Yeah, she chopped down a massive mob of Whispers outside of a hospital… Oh shit! The Princess's other companion is still there! What'd she say her name was… Uhh… And what are we going to do about Emma?! Hey, Athena, you work for them, you can do something, right?!"

But Athena was still bent over on the ground, propped up by her trembling arms. Though the outcome should have been obvious, she had convinced herself she could return Her Highness to Her Majesty's side without incident. All she had to do was ensure that nothing threatened the Princess until she was satisfied that her business was resolved and Athena could convince her to return to Condore.  Instead, she had completely, utterly failed to keep Her Highness out of harm's way. And, even worse than being executed for her failures, all Athena had to look forward to for it was a fate of rotting away in a jail cell for the rest of her life.  And on top of everything else, Her Majesty had called her Ochros…

…Something wasn't right, Her Majesty had never once acknowledged the family Athena initially hailed from—something that the ex-maid had been incredibly grateful for. It was because the Exaltare had judged her by her own merits, rather than the ties to the family that had put her through hell, that she had been so eager to dedicate herself, body and soul to serving Her Majesty. It was all she had in life. Without that…

"Hello? Hey! Athena, are you listening?"

The Fangchaser's shouting pulled her back to reality just long enough for her to hear the sound of clinking ceramic plates echoing from the hall. Athena recognized the sound of the armored Executioner's footfalls easily, as Lesath stopped in the doorway. The already-low temperature in the room plummeted before she even uttered a word.

"The three… four of you are to be taken into protective custody, pending questioning for your involvement in Her Highness's abduction."  "Ah, please wait—" began the Count.  "There will be no questions at this time. Submit yourself for processing."  Verndil puffed his chest out in annoyance. "Now see here! Do not interrupt me while I am in the middle of trying to—"  "Continued speech will be seen as an act of aggression and you will be subdued accordingly."

Gier shuffled around and reluctantly stuck his hands out for shackling, but his attention was focused on the unconscious woman in Verndil's arms still.

"She's been starved for a few days."  "Noted."

The sound of clasps latching themselves around his wrists snapped through the air.  The Fangchaser was smart enough to not wag his tongue unnecessarily, telling Lesath only the exact information required for her to get the point.

"She's Princess Lycoris's friend."  "Mm. Set her down."  "Gladly."

Verndil let out a grunt as he set Emma down, and then found himself shackled as well. Before he could even raise a complaint, Lesath gripped him by the arm and all but tossed him into the hallway, where her men were waiting to escort them.  After dealing with the two men, Lesath marched around the shattered remains of the desk and put her hand on Athena's shoulder.

"That means you too."  "Just execute me now," Athena whined, "I'd rather die in this office than rot in a jail cell, robbed of my purpose."  "… …Lilianna believes you to be responsible for this debacle." There was a hint of surprise in Lesath's voice.  "She isn't wrong to do so, I've already failed Her Highness twice over… no, thrice."

Lesath hauled Athena up to her feet with one hand, the earless woman's expression as inscrutable as ever. Her gaze tore through Athena like a dagger.

"Her Majesty has blinded herself. This would not be the first time she has let her concerns cloud her judgment. One in your position, with your training, would not show such guilt on your face if you were truly responsible. You still have a duty, as both a noble and one who stood beside Lycoris. I will not end your life, not yet. Now collect this 'friend' of hers and come with me."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.  "Very well."

The aimless maid straightened her back as she moved to pick up Emma, and realized how badly her arms were still trembling. She'd ignored it until then, but the glasses sliding down her nose were a physical reminder that her body was still frail. It wasn't just her spirits that had been shattered, she'd been pushing herself well past her limits for Lycoris's sake.

"I… can't carry her."  "And why is that?" Lesath sounded ready to throw something through the wall.  "…Mana-deficiency. I woke from a state of torpor earlier today."

Athena lowered her head, her face heating up as shame after shame piled up on top of her.  Lesath sighed heavily, then whistled loudly. Heeding her command, a vaguely familiar brightly colored myrh shuffled into the room, looking quite awkward and out of place in the luxurious room.

"Mira, carry her."  "A-Ah, um. Her Highness also has another companion in the city still. Seraphine, at the Lambert Memorial hospital."

Though she didn't have ears to gesticulate with in response, Athena could still tell just how deeply frustrated Lesath was with that little tidbit.  Heaving an even greater sigh than before, she turned to stare at Athena with nonplussed irritation.

"Very well then. We shall return to the hospital and pick up her 'friend' as well. Might as well pick up the pair of orphans while we're at it…" she grumbled and growled to herself. "Can you at least fasten her to the myrh?"  "Yes, I can manage that much, I think. …My apologies for complicating your job."  "Better to find out now than after we made it halfway to Condore," Lesath replied indifferently.

Athena stumbled back up to her feet and took some rope from the myrh's saddle-pack, while Lesath sulkily laid the unconscious Vampire onto its back. She had never been so aware of how long each second felt until after being cast aside by Her Majesty.  At least the Executioner had given her a glimmer of hope to cling on to. It was a small kindness, but the idea of still being necessary to Her Highness had managed to relight a tender flame in her heart.

＊　＊　＊

Mira trundled forward with a rather displeased look on his face. Or, whatever approximation a bird-headed creature could make that. One would think it was because he was surrounded by armed soldiers on all sides like a funeral procession. It'd taken Cecily's presence to even get him to allow Seraphine to ride atop his back, grim-faced with the emaciated Emma leaned against her back.  And because Cecily had to be there to convince the myrh to leave the hospital after they returned, Vanessa naturally had to accompany her sister.

Which meant Lesath and her troops were escorting seven civilians and a mount that were all in some way connected to the crown princess. One of the soldiers suggested asking Athena for her assistance with defending the group, but given that every time she opened her mouth, it was to self-flagellate or speak favorably of the Aphtangloa, or ask that she be shackled as well, the guards quickly realized she would be of no help. Nevermind the fact that she looked ready to keel over if the wind blew the wrong direction.  Another suggested the Fangchaser be allowed to carry his weapon, while a third had questioned why the Count was shackled as well, but Lesath ignored them.  Instead, she took the front, carving a path with her blade and venting her frustrations on the Whispers still stumbling about the town. She left the soldiers to protect the miniature caravan from any of the machines that approached their flanks, while charging just far enough forward herself to clear the way and keep an eye on the parade behind her.

This is utterly absurd, she lamented with her blade halfway through a bison-like Whisper's head, And yet, they are all material witnesses. Perhaps after their testimonies, there will be something I can do to convince Her Majesty that this princess is a threat to the future she wanted to build.

When the beast collapsed, she realized that there was nothing left in the intersection she occupied, other than ruins and rubble.  Enough of the creatures had vacated the town that she almost felt confident in sending teams in to begin escorting the civilians out under cover of night, but of course it could never be that simple with these machines. They infested every nook and cranny like roaches, and it'd probably be months, if not a multi-year project, to properly ensure that Kranes was fully safe for inhabiting once more. Still… that was likely faster than the alternative of leveling it and rebuilding over the blackened glass left behind. She could offer Her Highness that much credit, at least.

Recapture one town a few years quicker, at the cost of an entire empire five centuries later… not even the berry-loving bumpkins wandering the plains could be convinced that's a good deal, she sighed.

"Lady Executioner!"  "…Yes?"

One of the soldiers jogged up to her as she straightened her back out, lifting his visor to expose his lavender eyes scrunched up in confusion and concern.

"Is this not the wrong way? The breach is in the opposite direction."  "You still have that portable generator with you, yes?"  "While someone joked that we might want to toss it for a change of clothes for the Count, yes we still do, Ma'am."  Finding no mirth in the joke, Lesath pointed with her blade toward a particular section of the southern dawn wall ahead of them. "We're going to use it to jumpstart the walls. Given the Whispers are being nice and leaving on their own, we might as well give ourselves more avenues for entering and exiting. Evacuating civilians and clearing out the town is already going to take too long for Her Majesty's liking."  "I… see! Of course, my apologies for the foolish question, Lady Executioner. I'll relay the plan to the others at once."

He offered a crisp salute before walking back to link up with the others. The group's expression grew stiff as Lesath wordlessly followed him. Not that it should've come as any surprise, they'd already dealt with the last of the Whispers in the area. …Perhaps they thought she was about to chew them out for their blithe jokes.  But she simply kept her silence as the soldier recanted what she'd told him, and the absurd mishmash of soldiers and civilians continued toward the ground access for the walls.

＊　＊　＊

"…and then you showed up while I was in the middle of… having my arm bandaged."

As Lycoris finished her story, she glanced down toward the vial her arm was dunked in. The retelling of what happened took long enough that the liquid had turned a murky brownish-black color, but she could still feel her hand inside of it even if she couldn't see it.  She had remained entirely truthful, save for… cushioning some of the language certain individuals used. At the very least, Lycoris saw no reason to lie about her motives or line of thought. She fully expected her mother to interrogate—or at least receive a report from an interrogation of—the people she encountered and collaborated with.

A great number of expressions crossed Lilianna's face over the course of the recapitulation, ranging from anger to concern to horror and back to some variation of irritation. But at the end of it all, she immediately embraced her child with renewed vigor, a deep frown on her face.

"To cause our daughter such distress and agony, a thousand deaths are not enough for the Vanas."  "Well… he's kinda already done and dusted."

The girl shifted shyly against her mother, her cheeks darkening as she looked down and away from her mother's scrutinizing gaze.

"Given the involvement of that Witch, this clearly goes far deeper than just the one man. But do not fear, we will ensure that everyone responsible is dealt with."  "Um… not Seraphine and Athena, r… right? They didn't do anything wrong."  "There will be a price their negligence has earned. And there is an additional matter of checking how your maidservant is tied to all of this."  "Athena? What? But she's—"  "An Ochros. One that was ostracized from the heights of the family, but we must pursue every avenue and possibility. This sort of occurrence will not happen again."  "She was very desperate to get me out of Kranes, though… and blamed herself for all of this."  "A pawn doesn't need to be willing to do its job, if placed correctly, dear."  Lycoris turned to look up at her mother with a frown. "But I like Athena! Do you know how few Vampires there are that qualify for that!? It's like, six!"  "We know, Lycoris," Lilianna nodded solemnly, "and if there is no danger to you as a result of it, she will be reinstated as your handmaiden. Now then,"

Before Lycoris could say anything else, she lifted up and pressed a button on a small device connected to the bed, all while continually running her fingers tenderly through her daughter's hair.

"There's also the matter of your own free-spirited decision to stay in Kranes, when vacating the town should have been your only priority. Do you have any inkling how concerned we were?"  "Mm…"  "And while your honesty is appreciated, it obviously earns you little in the way of pardons."  "As it rightly should be… 'honesty is its own virtue, it would be sullied by indulgence,'" Lycoris recited, no more keen on the encroaching discussion that was coming than she had been half an hour ago.  "That said, there is little we can offer in the short term as punishment. Instead, we shall simply take this into account the next time you make a request of us. Particularly if it involves going somewhere without us."

Lycoris went still, blinked in confusion, and opened and closed her mouth several times as she attempted to process what just happened. She'd expected her mother to get angry, or to make some unreasonable and absurd demand, like she'd have to drink human blood for a week, or that she'd be locked in her room or kept under constant surveillance.  Though… the more she thought of it, the more that seemed to be the default anyways. She was already more or less under regular surveillance wherever she went in the palace, and drinking blood was… sort of a non-issue now. Less of one, at least. She still had her reservations, but if her mother insisted, she wouldn't complain.  And being locked in her room… would obviously be pointless when the palace itself was enough of a prison, and it wasn't like she had regular plans to leave to go out on the town anyways. The only people she knew were largely indisposed, and she was fully aware of how much of a commotion that would cause.

"That's… fair. Even if I didn't leave Condore by choice, I still betrayed your trust and expectations. Um, I was not expecting this to be so… normal."  "We have ever been a reasonable mother, have we not?"  "I dunno about that…" Lycoris muttered with a squint.

Interrupting their conversation, the door opened and a female Vampire in a white labcoat and salmon-pink dress entered with a placid smile. She had an oppressive, overpowering fruity aroma that immediately obliterated the medicinal smell lingering about Lycoris.  She bowed her head somewhat jerkily, her dark purple curls bobbing about.

"Forgive my intrusion, is everything alright in here?"  "The previous doctor instructed us to summon someone once thirty minutes had passed. The salve has run its course." Lilianna gestured in front of her daughter at the brackish liquid.  "Of course. Your… Highness, correct?" The nurse glanced toward Lycoris for confirmation before continuing, "can I ask you to slowly remove your arm."

Lycoris nodded and complied, gingerly pulling her right arm out of the basin of liquid. There was a squelchy sound and sensation as she felt it try to cling to her arm, and what came out was… a splotchy, blueish-purple arm covered in dripping ichor, the cold air of the room sending sharp tingles up to her brain.  It looked like the skin had been stripped off it, revealing the muscle and veins beneath, though there were terrible burns on the subdermal layer as well, with the gooey liquid wrapped around the entire limb.  Looking directly at it made her head spin. Despite being a former soldier, something about the sight made her incredibly squeamish. She wobbled unsteadily as her blood pressure crashed and a cold sweat broke out on her face.

"Oh, I don't think that's good…"  "Hmm, you appear to be healing well. As expected of the royal Aphtangloa lineage, but we should change out the solution once more just in case. After the next container is spent, we'll wrap it up in a cast and it should be fine within a week. Likely faster, honestly. That's just a cautious estimate based on previous patients I've seen. Please wait here and try not to agitate your arm."

The nurse gave a compassionate smile as she handed Lycoris a towel to set her arm on, before hoisting the bucket of goop away and putting the lid back on it. She wasted no time in hurrying out of the room with as polite a haste as possible, leaving the two of them alone once more.  Even though she'd instructed Lycoris not to mess with it, she was too unsteady to even try if she wanted to. Closing her eyes, Lycoris forced the mental image away as she instead performed mental drills, swinging a sword in her mind's eye to calm herself.

"Lycoris, are you alright?"  "Of course… Shouldn't you know better than me how durable we are? Aphtangloa blood, whatever…"  "Yes, but,"

Lilianna's concern was almost overbearingly uncharacteristic. The woman fidgeted and fretted over her daughter like a mother dove double and triple checking her nest for signs of damage. But it was also cute, in a way. Seeing the most powerful woman in the entire world hem and haw over Lycoris's every change in demeanor brought a weak smile to her face.  It also was a little troubling in and of itself, though. Why was her mother so worried?

Lycoris released the breath held in her lung and leaned into her mother reassuringly. "I'm just more squeamish than I thought. Don't worry, I'm okay Mama."  "Of course…"

Interrupting the moment with the same kindly and awkward smile on her face, the nurse returned with another jar of the blue potion. The fresh dose of pungent chemicals mingled rather unpleasantly with her aroma of fruit the moment she pried the lid off, but Lycoris powered through and stuck her arm back into it, as bubbles fizzed off of her skin and it began to tingle once more.  Before the nurse could leave—and she seemed all too eager to—Lilianna cleared her throat loudly.

"We request a bottle of blood be brought up at once. Our daughter requires sustenance." She turned to smile down at Lycoris, "Does our precious little flower have a preferred flavor?"  "I would be okay with whatever is readily available, but that pomegranate juice was pretty good…"  "Pomegranate it shall be then. Ensure that you do not bring us something of middling quality, understood?"

The Exaltare warily eyed the nurse, who nodded in understanding before leaving with a consternated expression.  Lycoris felt somewhat guilty. She had tried to be pliant with her request, but it seemed as though she had only put further pressure on the nurse… but of course that sort of attitude was absurd for a future ruler of the world. Or at least, that was probably what was going through her mother's head.  But, being the princess who only drank pomegranate juice felt even more embarrassing than the idea of drinking something that could potentially be construed as unfitting for royalty. She didn't even have any context for what that might be!

I mean, I was literally drinking canned blood two days ago… It probably doesn't get any more desperate than that.

Lycoris let out a tender sigh, and her mother put her hand on her head.

"What's the matter, Dear?"  "Nothing, just… wondering if it wouldn't be good for me to branch out and try new things."

Then again, Lycoris wouldn't have any shortage of time to do as she wished.  There was no need to rush things and worry over the minutia. Not at the moment, at least.

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