Chapter 78 – Perspectives

---No chapter tomorrow, I'll stop giving these updates (Unless it's a different day/long time I miss) since you should just always assume the Wednesdays/Saturdays won't have anything. If they do, then it'll be a pleasant surprise like this week :)

__________

(Temporary Perspective Change)

"Ikarus, Ikarus!"

"Sis, calm down, she'll be fine"

(Ariza) "People don't just pass out for no reason Zeki"

This must be related to her curse, it's got to be, right? She felt light headed way back in that other dungeon, it's got to be something similar and it clearly is having a stronger effect but this still doesn't seem right, I can't help but have anxiety over her.

"She's breathing older sis, it's probably just fatigue or something"

He's irritating me now; fatigue doesn't work this way and he knows it.

(Petra) "Ikarus's stamina would've been fine Zeki, this isn't that... Fucking curses, really hope it's not hurting her in anyway"

At this point, all three of us are around the collapsed Ikarus with me holding her from keeping her slumped against the floor, she deserves better than this. If I only I knew more on curses, could've prepared her for when this happened.

I need to calm myself and try to regain composure, she'll definitely wake up, right? No, that type of optimistic thinking is something I've never been able to constantly do, need to find a solution in case she doesn't wake up quickly, better to be safe than sorry, learnt that the hard way throughout the years.

"Zeki, you have any way of contacting that dryad?"

That dryad seemed to know more than she let on when it comes to phoenixes, bet she has some knowledge on curses. Even if she doesn't, her knockout did make Ikarus seem really relaxed, never heard her snore before then.

"Nah, I don't, it's fucking dumb how she can basically stalk me anytime she wants and I can't do the same"

I'll let that comment slide, he does say too much at times.

"Then what does your voice say about what's going on?"

I've got to ask him for help, would think of asking Ariza but her voice can be a little off at times, it's why she doesn't speak to it that much. Zeki's is easier to understand but that's only because his is very similar to Zeki, apart from a few differences but that's to be expected.

"Huh? Gimme a second then... it says it can't give appropriate advice on this situation, always told you these AI voices work like shit... fuck you too!"

Once again, him and his voice can't help but fight, kind of miss mine thinking about it but now's not the time for reminiscing about that sort of thing, Ikarus always comes first.

I've got one more idea that could work or backfire a lot, it'll take a while to get there but if I fly nonstop with no breaks or rest, can make it work a lot quicker, maybe get the trip down to a third of how long it normally would. Would Ikarus hate me though? No, her safety is more important right now, they'd be able to help, surely.

"Sis, stop worrying so much, she'll probably come back around in a minute"

Normally, I'd agree with him if it was anyone else but with her, can't help but feel protective, she's Ikarus after all, rather die than be careless with her safety just waiting for her to awake like this.

Ignoring giving him a response, I quickly change my form despite knowing how much this is going to hurt and before I ask for help, those two already seem to be worried for me.

(Zeki) "Older sis! What are you doing?"

(Ariza) "You know how much that hurts"

Sometimes I think Zeki fakes any empathy he has for others, then shows just a hint in situations like this, Ariza obviously cares for nearly everyone equally though. Can fly a lot faster than those two, we're getting back as soon as possible.

"Both you help her get onto my back, we're leaving now"

I'm flying her away, no time for checking if anything has changed or has been revealed from the dungeon, rewards are pointless right now.

"Shouldn't we wait here instead of dragging her halfway across the world though?"

"Zeki might be right here, this seems a little different from how you'd normally do things"

Once again, I'd normally agree with both of them but this isn't one of those times, Ikarus comes first. It'll never come down to needing to pick favourites but it would be pretty obvious what would happen if I needed to.

"Just please help me you two, okay?"

Even if I'm overthinking this, at least she'll get wake up somewhere familiar or on my back, both would be a lot better than this shithole of a dungeon.

'Promise I'll get you somewhere safe Ikarus...'

__________

(Temporary Perspective Change)

"Ah Jekyll, you've finally returned, how long has it been since we last spoke face to face?"

"Greetings your highness, roughly just over six months I believe, why have I been sent back?"

I'm immediately greeted by the prince in this royal visitors room I've entered, surprisingly an unfamiliar face is alongside him and the white witch, I'm yet to come face to face with her but that's definitely Media, the younger sister and only princess of this empire. Her smile is a lot more innocent looking than the prince's but that doesn't fool anyone who knows anything about her.

No words need to be said on the mage, she's just sitting around like the other two but has her leg up on the coffee table, she really is even more carefree than usually today. They've tend to use this visitors room when they've got nothing else to do so I guess this is going to be more of a personal favour than actual business on why I've been sent back.

I've once again officially returned to the capital after my little 'holiday' in the east, had no choice but to return early since I was called but there wasn't much I can really do over there. Between trying to find the bastard and organizing the ongoing war, no progress has been made on either front, hopefully Petra can inevitably sort both problems out but all I can realistically do at the moment is hope for the best and just get on with it.

"Straight to the point then? I've always liked that about you..."

'I swear his smile gets more insufferable everyday'

"... The point is, I need you to organize the princess's birthday week, it'll require a load of work and can't think of anyone more suitable for such a task"

Hang on, has he seriously called me back to arrange his sister's upcoming birthday? Sigh, the priorities of this royal family really need to be sorted sometimes.

"Excuse me your highness, shouldn't this duty go to someone else? Like maybe someone who isn't organizing an ongoing war"

"Well normally, yes but everyone knows what happens when you try to 'guard' my sister, her party will need to be something special but most importantly, secure"

The prince purposely says guard in a sarcastic way, clearly the princess didn't like that.

"You worry way too much over me brother! I'm easy to handle!"

"We both know that's not true; everyone knows of your exploits down in the castle dungeon with the prisoners, I'm worried for anyone who has to 'protect' you, it requires a very strong will and powerful mind"

"You're so mean brother!"

It was just then, I realized why he wanted me to do such a thing now. I'd say it's similar to babysitting, except the trouble she gets into is more of the sadistic kind.

'Oh I see, he just wants someone who can put up with the princess's shit, I knew I'd regret returning'

In all honesty, the princess in this family might be the worst of the lot, I've never known someone so happy and excited looking to want to spend nearly every waking moment in the dungeon interrogating prisoners, truly a sadistic person at heart, she honestly makes the mage look kind compared to her.

I swear the death sentence was dropped just for her to have more people to torment, I've spoken to some of the guards on duty when she's paid a visit to the prisons and some of them are mentally scarred from what they saw. Most prefered to be sent into the front lines than remain guarding the prisons.

Wait, why am I complaining about this? Petra's idea was to get all four of them at once, has a perfect opportunity presented itself? Still have to be extremely careful but there are things I can do to make this even more favourable while still raising no suspicions. This might be too good to be true though, I'll need to send another message for her opinion soon.

"So then Jekyll, your decision?"

As if this is even a choice, I'm going to get stuck with her regardless, at least I can make the security really lax in some places and blame the princess's insistence on carelessness on it. Of course, this is only if Petra thinks it'll work, no point trying if she thinks the risk is too high, it could still be but we do need to make a move eventually.

"If your highness commands me to guard the princess, then I must... even if I'd rather not"

"Heya! Don't make it sound like this is a chore!"

I said that last bit under my breath but she still heard it, thankfully I can get away with a lot thanks to my position and these lot still believing I have that thing implanted on my body. I'm actually a little unsure if the princess even knows about the empire's pacification crest but it wouldn't make any difference if she did or not, she values nothing more than human suffering after all. It's a good thing the prince can keep his sister on a leash, metaphorically speaking of course.

Once this meeting is over though, I must send word to Petra even if the risk is high, she'll still have her work cut out for her sorting out the bastard but a carrier bird should still be able to find her, she needs to know about what's going on and decide if she wants to act quickly or not, an opportunity like this might not present itself for a long time again since the princess isn't always around. When not in the prisons, where she lives isn't known to most people, unsure if she even lives in the capital as well.

Thinking about it, the princess's pouting face does actually look pretty similar to the bastard, obviously just a lot more feminine looking compared to the hidden brother no one is allowed to speak about. Both have long blonde hair, at least that's what I remember the bastard looking like, it was a while since we last spoke though.

"Anyone who gets stuck guarding you is akin to a chore sister; you don't do yourself any favours"

"Father did always say to be yourself, not everyone is hiding behind a mask like you!"

"Whatever do you mean by that sis?"

"You know what I mean brother"

During all this though, the white witch just sits there picking her nails not even listening to the conversation, it's a good thing she can be so carefree most of the time otherwise I could see her start to suspect something, it would only be her who could pick up on something like our plans.

"Anyways, if you can make Media happy throughout that week, I'll see what I can do about providing more soldiers, you are doing a brilliant job holding back the rebels right now"

"Of course your highness, I'll see what I can do"

'That's another lie, he'll 'forget' about that like the other promises to me he's made'

And with that, I leave the room being guided by the princess, we don't even completely step outside before she starts talking to me, I'm going to be working nonstop now.

"So then, Mr Jekyll was it? Let's start with the colour scheme and palette for the first party. Sure, it may be a while away but what I want is that it needs to be black and blood red, I'd also like food to match those colours if possible as well. Are chains in fashion right now? Don't answer, obviously they wouldn't be, still keep the blood red idea, I've got a long list on how to make things perfect, obviously we can't have too many people there otherwis-"

'Urgh, I swear this woman would've been a vampire in another life, may God have mercy upon my soul...'

__________

(Temporary Perspective Change)

"Look sis, you really should eat something or get some rest"

At the moment, we're back in our home cave and I've placed Ikarus in my bed with me sitting on the floor on my knees alongside her, it's the largest and the most comfortable bed in this place after all, at least according to Zeki who made it, rarely ever use it for sleep so wouldn't really know.

I'm pretty sure there's a couple red and blue feathers underneath this bed so I know those two have been sleeping in phoenix form in here once again, should complain but couldn't care about all that right now. Ikarus has been asleep for so long now, Ariza I sent away to go fetch who I thought might be able to help, really don't know if they're going to be any help but it's the only idea I had that's nearby and might be reliable.

The magi guild master might know something but she's a bit too far away, same thing applies to the elves and dwarves. The dryad seems to be impossible to contact while she can very easily find us when she wants and Ikarus might kill me if I contact the empire for help, I'd never want to but if it wakes her, I'd seriously consider it despite all the pain and hardship they've caused throughout the years.

How long has she been out though? I guess the flight back took just under a week and she's been asleep ever since, been making sure to feed her three times a day and making sure she's always comfortable. Apart from the paleness, she looks pretty healthy and sleeps with a smile on her face, just please wake up soon.

"I'll rest when she's awake Zeki"

Zeki doesn't bother arguing leaving us and presumably goes off to do whatever it is he does when he's lounging around in his room, got a pretty good idea what he might be doing but no chance I'm asking about it.

This state she's in I've only ever heard about, never actually experienced in person. It's basically similar to being partially asleep, she's awake but at the same time, not. Giving her things like soup and drink are easy enough since she's still able to swallow but other things like relieving oneself is a completely separate matter, I don't want to embarrass her on such a thing though.

A slight surprise presents itself though, Zeki returns with another bowl of soup, I didn't ask him this time to make Ikarus something though.

"Seriously older sis, you should eat something, I've even made your favourite soup, this one isn't for orangey though"

"Zeki, really don't feel hungry right now"

He really doesn't like me rejecting his forced kindness though and swiftly makes an exit placing down the bowl on my clothing drawers after making his thoughts known to me.

"Look, this is the nicest thing I'm ever gonna do for you and orangey! If you don't drink the damn thing, I'll pour it all over orangey and that will definitely wake her up!"

I've definitely annoyed him, I'll make amends another time when I stop stressing over Ikarus, he's left us alone once again now.

'I should probably eat that otherwise it's ungrateful to him... do you eat or drink soup though? Forget it, I'm sure Ikarus might've said she's had that question for a while but even she could never decide...'