When Elise awoke, her limbs were tangled around different branches, but she was in her elven form.
Gods, that could have killed me.
She looked around, and it was dark outside. She untangled herself and fell out of the trees into a flower patch. Pollen was kicked up into the air.
Oh no.
She held her nose, but she had to sneeze.
Fucking flowers.
She held her nose as she sneezed twice; it was mostly silent.
That fucking hurts, dammit.
Elise lay as low as she could, her body barely concealed by the flowers. She peeked up from the flowers masking her, holding her nose the entire time.
Where could she be?
Elise looked towards the main manor.
Don't tell meshe's in there. Because if she is—
A thud startled her, and she looked to where the noise came from. It was the guest house. A red knight in royal armor wiped his eyes, then stood at attention.
She has to be in there; no one was ever in that house when Artero and I were together.
Memories flooded. Her jaw tensed. A third sneeze was creeping on Elise.
The Bloody Princess weighed her options. She could use invisibility, something she is proficient in, but then how does she get in unnoticed? Chances are, the guards have a way of sensing that type of magic.
Elise recalled Gwyn mentioning something about a cat earlier. She then thought of the little white tethercat she had as a child.
I mean… that could work.
She tried to use her Susurrus abilities to morph into her childhood companion, but it didn't work. Next, she tried a spell with the poetic component.
"Turn me to a tether,
Now or never!"
Nothing. The spell fizzled.
I'm out of magic, dammit.
She patted her robe and felt a bulbous object. The potion was still intact.
Thank the Gods.
Opal's warning ran through her head.
There's a reason people don't drink magic that is not their own.
The swirling blue liquid in the potion bottle seemed to beckon to her. Dazzling and distracting. It looked appetizing, but Elise was wise enough not to think that it would be.
She cautiously raised it to her lips and swallowed half the potion, figuring it would be enough.
The moment the contents reached her stomach, her body rejected the foreign magic. She retched, making far too much noise. The blue liquid lay in a puddle on the ground. It sparkled in the moonlight.
Elise heard murmurs approaching.
She scrambled to drink the rest of the potion; she felt its vile contents coat her throat. She wanted to spit it up, but she knew she couldn't. She swallowed over and over until it stayed within her.
Without a moment to waste.
"Turn me to a tether,
Now or never!"
She whispered passionately, thinking of how her tethercat would spend hours on her lap and curl at the end of her bed. It almost brought a tear to her eye.
Her body suddenly felt very tight. It was like being squished inside that small box again, but it was far worse, as though every bone in her body was breaking and reforming to its new position. She wanted to scream, but she knew she must not, for if she were discovered as a half cat, half elf abomination…
After two minutes of this agony, she was a spitting image of the white tether cat she had when she was younger. Blood coated the bottom of her ears. Nothing new to her, but she didn't know how long she could maintain a form like this, especially with magic that wasn't her own.
Two guards approached the edge of the training field. They used their catalysts as a light source, revealing Elise's dazzling white fur in her tethercat form.
"I told you it was a stupid tethercat!" The guard punched the other one. "Get out of here!"
He waved Elise off. She didn't hesitate.
The second guard rubbed his arm.
"But what if it wasn't?"
"Well then, we kill them or take them in for questioning. Now, let's get back to our post."
"Okay…" The guard said, clearly disappointed in himself.
Sorry, buddy, but I have somewhere to be.
Elise dashed across the gardens, flowers smacking her in the face as she reached the guest house. Elise hopped from window to window, trying to see where Gwyn was. A garden wall led up to the second floor, and she laboriously climbed up it with her claws. Once Elise reached the second-floor window, she peered in every room with no sign of the Chosen One.
But then her keen eyes adjusted, and she saw her standing in a room with a large bed, and she pawed at the window, waiting to be let in.
~
A subtle knock on a door painted red and white.
"Griffith, can I come in?"
A muffled yell responded.
"Don't talk to me!"
"I heard Dad talked to you earlier."
Artero strolled into the room with disregard.
His little brother's face was buried in his pillow.
"He hates me! You hate me! Everyone hates me!"
He cried.
Artero frowned and sat beside him on the bed.
"That's not true. Nobody hates you, Griffith."
He leaned up, wiping the tears from his eyes.
"Then why is she here?"
Artero was confused for a moment, but then realized who he was talking about. Artero stared at the wall of his younger brother's academic awards. He knew his little brother was talented, but his attitude was holding him back.
Griffith kept staring at his brother, waiting for a response. The silence was killing him now. He wanted Artero to say something—anything—at this point.
After his brother had suffered long enough, Artero finally spoke.
"Do you want to know what scares me?"
This question perplexed the young boy. It seemed Artero was somewhere else, not paying attention to the conversation.
"Nothing scares you, you're super talented and strong."
Artero's lips curled.
"You flatter me, but you are just as talented as I am. You are a Kosmairian, after all." Artreo ran his finger through his dark hair. "But that doesn't mean we can't be afraid sometimes."
"But I'm not afraid! I just hate her! She's rude, she's stupid, she can't cast magic."
He counted Gwyn's shortcomings on his fingers.
"I am afraid, Griffith."
Artero looked right at his little brother, which made his confession feel all the more real to the young boy.
"W-what are you scared of, big brother?"
"The King of Terror. His armies. What he summons. The nightmares. What your sister has to deal with every day." Artero let out a deep sigh. "I don't know how she does it."
"Yeah… she's pretty cool."
Griffith felt very sad suddenly.
"But I tell you this, because there is a reason." He put his arm around his little brother and pulled him closer. "There is always a way to win. As long as you keep trying, as long as you pay attention to all the factors, no matter how small."
Griffith put on his confident demeanor.
"Duh, that's why we always win, because we don't quit!"
"Exactly." He snapped his fingers and pointed at his brother. "Which is why I need you to do something for me tomorrow during Gwynevere's test."
Griffith suddenly felt excited.
"What is it, big brother?"