The Legend of Vecro is astonishing.
It is said that in the search for more powerful magic, he challenged a God.
Vecro was defeated, but he was not known as thus at this moment. The elven people believed his soul was lost forever, but three days after being vanquished, he returned to the Gilded Towers, claiming himself to be who we know him as now.
Eyewitness accounts said he could cast unimaginable spells without a catalyst, and it was the greatest miracle they've ever seen. Making him the single most powerful mage in the world, single-handedly ending the Thousand-Year War.
Pre-Red Death writing archived at the Gilded Towers.
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Gwyn was startled awake by rustling coming from downstairs. She yawned deeply. She hadn't gotten the best sleep last night. She looked to her left, and Elise was sleeping soundly, for the moment.
A servant is probably preparing breakfast. I'd better meet them before…
Gwyn reached the kitchen. It wasn't a servant who stood by the island, but Artero with a black coffee in hand and a meal ready for her to eat.
"O-oh, hey, Artero." Gwyn chuckled nervously. "W-what are you doing here?"
Shit. Shit. Shit! What is he doing here?!
"Oh, good morning, Gwynevere. I stopped by to ensure you didn't oversleep for the test today."
He sipped his black coffee and handed her a glass of water.
"I was actually about to go upstairs to see you, but it seems you beat me to it!"
He chuckled to himself.
Gwyn's copper hair was a storm.
"Hahaha... yeah... t-thanks!"
Gwyn's hand shook as the glass reached her lips. Her eyes drifted to where Elise should be on the second floor.
Artero noticed Gwyn's strange behavior. He looked where her eyes kept checking periodically and noticed nothing out of the ordinary.
He sounded genuinely concerned.
"Something the matter? Is there a leak upstairs? Do I need to go up there?"
Gwyn thought of Artero's half-naked ex-girlfriend, Elise, in the bed that he lent her.
"N-nothing at all. Is wrong. Nothing. I'm just... so glad to see you!" She approached him and gave him a quick embrace, but pulled away just as quickly. "I'm mostly nervous for my test." She placed the glass of water down and grabbed his hands. "T-thanks for making food! What is it?"
"Oh, this?"
He held up a plate of steamed dragonfish covered in herbs and seasoning. Eggs were beside it, sunny side up. A notable difference was that the color of the yolks and whites was reversed, resulting in a white center within a yellow pool.
"This fish is from the river just outside our estate, the one that divides our people from the rest of Keceo."
Gwyn stared at the food, feeling appreciative, but this was probably the worst possible time for him to do this. Gwyn wanted to give Artero her full attention, but above all, she had to let Elise know Artero was in the house.
She came up with a plan: speak really loud.
"That's cool, Artero!"
She shouted in a voice that could be heard from outside.
Confused, Artero furrowed his eyebrows and then stared Gwyn up and down. She was suddenly acting very strangely.
He's heard about this from an audioscroll. Sometimes, Chosen Ones have odd mating rituals, and this must be her attempt at bonding with him.
He knew he must not flub this situation. But does he play into it? What if she finds it offensive? What does he do?
The young man went to war within himself over the simple act of shouting.
He made his decision.
"Yeah!" He spoke just as loudly as Gwyn. "I cooked the eggs myself! I've been learning to cook recently; it's an enjoyable time!"
Gwyn didn't know what Artero was thinking, but this worked.
"That's awesome; I'll have a bite of your eggs now, Artero!"
If Artero weren't blinded by desire or his confusion, he would probably find this whole scenario extremely odd.
Gwyn grabbed the fork and cut a piece with the utensil. Surprisingly, it was like a real egg, and the yolk oozed all over the plate as she cut into it. The yolk revealed a white sauce with the consistency of hollandaise.
"You made this yourself?! For me?!"
He nodded.
"Do you like it?!"
"It's not bad!"
"You think so?" Artero was floored. He dropped his volume for a second, but then, realizing his mistake, he continued shouting. "I'm not much of a cook! My older sister has been teaching me in her free time!"
"What does your sister do?!"
Gwyn asked loudly again, taking a bite of the dragonfish. It was soft and had a peculiar taste, sort of like salmon, but it wasn't that.
Artero needed to reciprocate Gwyn's affection, so he puffed his chest and shouted.
"She's a general on the front lines against the twenty-fourth!"
"Wait, really?" Gwyn dropped her fork. "Wait, so she was that one lady from the meeting. The one with the red hair? She is teaching you how to cook when she isn't fighting? That's so cool."
Her tone returned to normal, and Artero thought he had come off too strong.
"Y-yeah."
He wanted to punch himself for his mistake.
Gwyn suddenly felt a touch on her lower back. A whisper reached her ears.
"Thanks for letting me know we had company. I'm invisible. Let's wrap this up, okay?"
Elise's voice sent a tingling sensation up Gwyn's spine. The elven woman then dragged her fingers lightly up the human's back, stimulating her body.
Gwyn tried to end the conversation immediately.
"W-well, class is soon, right? I've got to get dressed and head to school."
Artero softly smiled as he sipped his coffee.
"Perfect. I'll wait for you down here."
"Oh, that isn't—"
"I insist."
Gwyn stared blankly at nothing.
Elise whispered in her ear.
"Just do as he says."
"I'll… be right back then."
She turned and went up the stairs, waiting an extra second until she felt Elise had enough time to join her, then closed the bedroom door.
Gwyn swung at the empty air.
"Why did you do that?!"
"I thought you liked my touch."
Elise pouted, becoming visible once more. She immediately wiped the blood from her nose.
Gwyn's face went hot.
"Not in front of him!"
Her voice was a not-so-whisper.
"Everything okay up there?"
Artero shouted, becoming more worried by the second.
Gwyn stuck her head out the door.
"Yes! Just one more moment!"
She slammed the door again.
Artero thought of the audioscroll. He surmised humans have weird customs, yelling to themselves as well as to others. Maybe it wasn't a mating thing after all. What could all of this mean? He pondered deeply.
Gwyn spoke more quietly this time.
"What's the plan?"
"I'll follow you to school. Invisible, of course."
"Okay, that's fine, but won't Artero notice you?"
"Hmm." Elise thought for a second. "Probably not. When I teleport, I'll become visible momentarily, but you can distract him. I'm sure you can think of a way to do that."
Elise murmured thoughtfully, thinking of last night.
"I mean, I can." Gwyn wasn't sure how she would gain his attention. She'd figure something out. "Okay, well. Let's do this."
Gwyn quickly stripped her nightly clothing.
Elise raised her dagger catalyst.
"The Kosmairians might have a way of detecting invisibility. So this might not work, but I refuse to use transformation magic again. If I am caught, so be it."
"Must be unseen,
a dream, a wake,
let me hide to forge my fate."
Elise slowly faded from view, as if she had never been there to begin with.
"Wow." Gwyn stood bare before Elise. "It's amazing how you can do that so easily."
Suddenly, the young woman felt a hand grasp her waist. The fingers pressed firmly into her skin, the nails sending a pleasant pain through her side. She felt herself lurch forward into Elise's invisible embrace.
"We can make him wait a little longer, don't you think? He's a man, he has no idea how long it takes for us to get ready."
Desire was on Elise's tongue.
Meanwhile, Artero was pacing.
"Man… I wish I knew how long it takes for women to get ready. Should I pull out an audioscroll?"
"T-true."
Gwyn felt a tightness in her stomach. A delicate touch graced her thighs. She giggled at Elise's playfulness, and she had considered her offer. She lightly pushed against the invisible woman and said.
"Maybe later, after I pass my test, perhaps?"
She felt a soft kiss against her cheek.
"That sounds lovely," Elise whispered.
Her lips pressed against the young woman's ear. Gwyn could feel her breath, and it sent shivers down her body.
Elise released Gwyn, and the young woman put on the same dress she had worn the previous night. Once on, the dress was breathable and comfortable. Putting it on, however…
Gwyn then quickly fixed her hair and said to the seemingly empty room.
"How do I look?"
"Perfect."
Elise wanted more time alone with Gwyn.
They exited the master bedroom and sauntered down the steps, and Artero was stunned by the Chosen One's beauty.
He held out an arm.
"You look... breathtaking."
Elise gave Gwyn a little push to get her past Artero, but Gwyn fell into his arms instead, to the Sylvian's dismay.
"S-sorry," Gwyn said. "I'm not used to walking in dresses."
She glared behind her, not knowing where Elise was.
He ran his fingers through his hair once Gwyn was on her feet.
"It's no worry, Gwynevere."
Gwyn brushed herself off and stood beside him. She laced her arm with his as they grabbed the robe by the door. Artero carried it for her.
"Rodrick," Artero said sternly.
The knight's fist met his breastplate like a hammer to an anvil.
"Yes, Young Master! Another night with no unwarranted people entering the Chosen One's dwelling, sir!"
"Good. Take the day off, then. I'll escort Gwyn from here."
"As you wish. Goodbye, madam."
He gave Gwyn a little wave. Rodrick strode away to the barracks, happy to get some sleep earlier than yesterday.
The two visible and one invisible person slowly walked the brick path to the ruby coffin.
"Sorry about earlier," Gwyn said. "I didn't mean to fall into you."
"It's not a problem..." he paused. "So, I hear you're pretty good friends with Elise, even though she is untrustworthy and a liar."
"Oh?" Gwyn was surprised at his confession. "Why do you say that?"
Artero looked eager to spill the tea.
"For one, she broke my heart, so forgive me if I'm biased. Secondly, are you aware that she snores when she sleeps? The most awful noise. You'd think someone that attractive could get that fixed or something."
Elise had to stop herself from casting a spell and killing Artero right where he stood.
"Oh? What does it sound like?"
Gwyn giggled, testing to see if he truly knew.
Artero began making the sound of a shovel scraping concrete.
They both laughed.
"Wow, how did you put up with that for so long?"
Gwyn felt a pinch in her side but slapped the hand away.
"I've no idea. This one time, we were on a date, in public, mind you."
"Yeah?"
"She was feeling adventurous, so she decided to try something spicy for once."
Gwyn gasped.
"Oh no."
"Oh yes. Keep in mind, Elise finds white bread spicy, so I try to talk her out of it."
"What does she say?"
"'I think I'd like to expand my limitations.' The plate arrives, and she takes one bite. She is in the bathroom, no joke, for the next three days."
"Three days?!"
Artero nodded.
"Then she blames me for letting her order it! Can you believe that?"
"That's low. How could she do that?"
"And the smell… What a curse to have a nose."
Elise was fuming.
He suddenly looked serious.
"All that to say."
The sudden change in his demeanor took Gwyn aback.
"Here I am. The fool. I'm still not over her." He stopped in place, releasing Gwyn's arm. The invisible Elise almost bumped into him. She sheathed her dagger, despite being a moment away from stabbing him. "I'm sorry if I've done anything to offend you."
"You've done nothing, um…" Gwyn thought of Elise, who was probably standing right next to her. "Nothing to offend me personally."
"She was my everything, you know? I thought we were going to marry. Unite our families, once and for all." Artero admitted. "Do you know the Sylvians and Kosmairians have been at odds with each other since before the Red Death? I guess some things never change."
Elise felt the jealousy fade and her sorrow about the dissolved relationship return.
Gwyn placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about that. Everything will be okay."
"She kept letting her condition tear us apart. She's obsessed with finding a cure to her curse. She collects these random bobbles and trinkets to see if they have any effect. Constantly having her head buried in a tome. She's virtually the only person who goes into the basement of the Great Library."
Gwyn got whiplash from the change in vibes.
He continued.
"But I didn't care. She told me I should be with a better mage who could cast without bleeding from her nose, ears, or eyes. But… I loved her..." Artero felt his emotions nearly spill over. He quickly wiped away the tears that were trying to form. "Sorry, when you fell into my arms, it reminded me of how Elise and I met all those seasons ago."
"Was it similar?"
Gwyn asked, prying a little.
"Yes. Remarkably similar. We met at the Academy. She was attempting to cast a powerful spell, but it rebounded. If I hadn't shielded her from the blast..."
Artero trailed off.
Gwyn thought about the café, how Artero shielded her from the blast that saved her life.
"Why did you break up?"
She felt a pinch on her side again, but ignored it. She had to know now.
"The circumstances aren't entirely clear to me," Artero said grimly. "She kept distancing herself, despite my best efforts; eventually, it ended."
"I'm sorry, Artero."
"No need." He suddenly appeared nervous. "I suppose all that to say this."
Artero went on one knee.
"What are you doing?"
What is he doing?
"Gwynevere Grim, I, the second son of the Kosmairian household, humbly request your hand in marriage. To be my wife and soulmate for as long as you shall live. With the promise to make you the most powerful caster in all of Keceo."