Lucky Rabbit

Mistress Rose’s prediction turned out to be remarkably accurate, and shortly after the bell rang to send the students to class, Thaniel groaned, then tried to roll over. He was groggy, but very clear that he needed to use the bathroom. Timon helped him with that, in spite of Lian’s clear disapproval, and by the time Thaniel returned to his bed, he was beginning to look like himself. Pandy was actually left alone with Lian briefly during this time, which made her extremely nervous, but the young proto-villain completely ignored her.

Timon must have done as he was instructed and sent for Mistress Rose, because the healer showed up just as Lian was beginning to ask questions, promptly inserting herself between the two brothers. Just like any other doctor, she checked Thaniel’s pupils and pulse, then briskly examined the stone set into his chest, much to his dismay. By the time she was done, Thaniel was a bit wild-eyed, and clutched both Pandy and his sheet against himself as a form of feeble protection.

“Now, Thaniel,” Mistress Rose said, stepping back, out of the frightened boy’s personal space, “we need you to tell us-”

“Wait, please,” Augustus said, and a flicker of irritation crossed Mistress Rose’s face as her mouth clicked shut. They all turned to see the chancellor entering, and once again the room felt abruptly smaller. Augustus looked around, eyes catching on Lian, and said, “I think Thaniel will be more comfortable speaking to only one person at a time. Killian?”

Lian nodded gratefully, somehow managing to look down at Mistress Rose, even though she was still a bit taller than him. He slid closer to Thaniel and took his brother’s hand. “Thaniel,” he said with something akin to gentleness, “do you know what that stone is?”

Thaniel looked back and forth between his brother and the adults in the room, finally tightening one hand on Lian’s, and the other arm around Pandy. “Daddy said I mustn’t ever, ever let anyone see it, or bad people would come and take me away.” His voice was very small, and Pandy stretched up, pressing her cheek against his jaw so her whiskers tickled his ear. In response, Thaniel buried his face in her fur.

Lian sighed and crouched beside the bed, bringing his face down to Thaniel’s level. “I know, Thaniel, but now people have seen it, and I’m not going to let anyone take you anywhere.” For a moment, his voice held the cold, bare steel of the seventeen-year-old version of himself, who had already summoned a Demon, corrupted his magic, and murdered well over a dozen people. Mistress Rose actually swallowed and stepped back, but the chancellor just narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, looking as if he was reassessing the boy in front of him.

“You…you don’t hate me?” Thaniel whispered. “Daddy said…no one would like me if they knew.”

Pandy’s nonexistent heart threatened to freeze in her chest. She knew The Father had been making sure that his son would never show anyone – even a friend or healer – what had been done to him, but to make him feel like he would be hated or taken away… That was too much. How had Thaniel remained so bright and cheerful when this had to be lurking at the back of his mind every moment of every day?

Lian’s arms went around Thaniel, and he crushed the younger boy – and Pandy – against his chest. “Never,” he whispered fiercely in return. “You’re my brother, Thaniel. There’s nothing you could ever do to make me hate you. I certainly don’t hate you for something that was done to you without your consent.”

At that, Thaniel broke down, sobbing inconsolably for several minutes, until both Pandy and Lian’s shirt were thoroughly soaked in tears and other things. Not once did Lian flinch. Eventually, however, Thaniel’s sobs died down to an occasional hiccup and some lingering dampness, and Lian asked his question again. This time, Thaniel did his best to answer.

“Daddy called it my heartstone,” the boy said, hugging Pandy tightly now that Lian had moved away. “He said, when Mama…when Mama…died-” he choked, but managed to go on after a few more tears dripped down onto Pandy. “I got hurt really bad. An’ my heart…stopped.”

Mistress Rose gasped softly, causing everyone to look at her, but Lian laid his hand on Thaniel’s, drawing his brother’s attention back to him. “Did Father tell you what he did to start it again?”

Thaniel bit his lip. “He couldn’t,” he said, staring into Lian’s eyes with a kind of desperation. “So he made me a new heart. This.” He released Pandy to tap on the small stone. “And then I was okay again. But he had to do something really naughty to make it work, so it had to be a secret or he’d get in trouble, and the bad people would come.”

Pandy was willing to bet that the ‘bad people’ were the Knights of the Royal Eagle, who not only protected the royal family, but were also tasked with hunting down anyone who broke the laws surrounding Dark magic. Soldiers like Captain Reedsley might follow up on suspicions and accusations, but once a warrant was issued, it was the Knights who found the perpetrator and brought them to justice. If the Dark mage or elementalist attempted to fight back, those knights also had the authority to execute them without further trial or delay.

In Gacha Love, Dorian’s greatest wish was to become one of these ‘great protectors and dealers of justice’, so Pandy knew more about them than she wanted to. To her, it always sounded like a witch hunt, and Pandy was not fond of those who were willing to sacrifice the innocent in order to catch a monster who might not even exist.

Over Thaniel’s shoulder, Lian met Augustus’ eyes and shook his head ever so slightly. It was doubtful that Thaniel knew any more than this. He would have been four years old at the time, after all, and you could still hear the echo of the words his father had used to speak to the small child he’d been at the time. It was an indication of how traumatic the whole event had been that he remembered this much.

Augustus stepped to the side, drawing Thaniel’s attention. He smiled at both boys, then asked, “Did your father ever do anything with the stone after it was in place? Did he…check on it? Do something to make sure it was working as it was supposed to?”

Thaniel frowned and shook his head. “He didn’t like it either,” he said. “He didn’t wanna hug me any more, because he might touch it.” He pulled the sheet up to his neck, pinching it closed. “I always had to do all the buttons on my shirts, so he wouldn’t see the scars.”

Pandy closed her eyes, feeling for both of them, but mostly Thaniel. Still, how terrible must it have been for Lord Conroy, to be reminded of the day he lost his wife and was forced to use Dark magic to save his young son’s life every time one of those scars peeked above Thaniel’s collar? It was no excuse for not hugging his son, or for holing up in his tower doing who-knew-what unspeakable experiments, but that didn’t mean his pain hadn’t been real.

When she opened her eyes again, it was to find that Augustus’ face was now far too close to her own, since he’d crouched down next to Lian. He was trying to keep his own emotions from showing, but she could see the shadows in his eyes, as well as…relief?

“And what happened yesterday? When Ms. Wellington asked you to use your magic?” Augustus asked gently.

Again, Thaniel’s teeth burrowed into his lip, which was starting to swell from the abuse. “I was tryin’ to keep the D- Keep my magic out of the whistle spell. But the more I tried to keep it out, the more I could feel it inside of me. And then my heartstone started to burn, and…and I don’t remember what happened after that.”

Pandy could have smacked herself. Of course Thaniel couldn’t block out the Dark magic. Unlike the other children, his power wasn’t being influenced by something outside of him, but rather something inextricably bound to him. Pushing the stone away, even mentally, could even have damaged the very connection that kept the boy alive. Why hadn’t she noticed how much he was struggling? Why had she kept pushing?

Lian was frowning. “Whistle spell?”

Thaniel’s face lit up. “Yeah! It’s like the whistle Sir Harriet makes to get our attention. Really, super loud! I always wanted to make a whistle like that.” He shifted, as if he’d lift his hand to his mouth and try to use his fingers to whistle the way the Combat teacher did, then seemed to realize it was covered in fur and snot and thought better of it, which Pandy thought showed a surprising amount of discretion.

Shrugging, Thaniel said, “Bu- Ms. Wellington found the spell in a book, and everybody else learned it, but I couldn’t get it right.” His expression darkened. “My magic never works right. No matter what I try, it-” He clamped his mouth shut, leaving Mistress Rose and her apprentice looking puzzled, while Lian grimaced before getting his face under control.

Smoothly, Augustus stood, patting Thaniel’s hand. “Well, don’t worry about that for now. I think it’s best that you avoid using magic at all until we can figure out how to help you. Would that be all right?”

“But I-” Thaniel stopped, bit his lip once more, and nodded. Pandy noticed a hint of blood when his teeth parted, and cast Minor Heal on him. She’d attempted this several times over the last twelve hours, but after his initial attack, which had required ten Minor Heals, restoring anywhere from eight to twenty points each time, Thaniel had never needed another one. Pandy didn’t want to think about what would have happened if she hadn’t been there to provide those heals, but then, if she hadn’t convinced him to try cutting himself off from ‘her’ Dark magic, he wouldn’t have needed them in the first place.

Minor Heal successful. Healed Thaniel for three HP.

Only three. That meant the only damage Thaniel had taken was the obvious injury to his lip, which hopefully also meant that his ‘heartstone’ was functioning correctly again. Hopefully, no permanent damage had been done to it, because Thaniel obviously needed the stone, though Pandy was pretty sure a heart should be less than fifteen percent of his body mass, so surely she should be able to fix his, even if it was missing entirely.

Technically, that meant that even if his heart was completely missing – which actually seemed possible at this point – he should have regrown it the very first time Pandy used the spell on him. Unless there was some further limitation that she didn’t know about? Really, she desperately needed a manual, even though Minor Heal was a spell straight out of Gacha Love. The game had never mentioned anything about the fifteen percent mass limitation, though, so obviously there were ‘quirks’ in real life.

Thaniel was beginning to droop again though, his crying jag and the interrogation having sapped what little strength he’d managed to recover. Still, he struggled to swing his legs over the side of the bed. “I want to go to my room now. I feel a whole lot better,” he told them all with adorable sincerity.

Lian stopped the movement with a firm hand. “You’re going to stay here until Mr Bla- That is, until Mistress Rose says you’re ready to go.”

Mistress Rose obviously heard the mistake, and her lips pressed together in irritation at having her authority overridden in her own infirmary. She’d remained silent while Lian and Augustus questioned Thaniel, but now she stepped forward. “That’s right, and I have no intention of releasing you until you’ve gone a full twenty-four hours without a recurrence of this…attack. In the meantime, you will rest, drink plenty of water, and eat several small, light meals, beginning now.” She turned to Timon, who nodded once and slipped out of the room, presumably to fetch the first of those meals.

Augustus caught the door as it began to close behind the apprentice healer, and smiled at Thaniel and Lian, with – if Pandy wasn’t mistaken – a small tilt of his brow just for her. Was that a good sign or a bad one? He had left her with Thaniel, after all, but she was certain he would have Words for her about pushing Thaniel to collapse, however unintentional it had been.

“I will leave you in Mistress Rose’s extremely capable hands, Thaniel,” he said, before focusing on Lian. “Killian, what would you like to do?”

Lian actually looked torn. As far as Pandy could tell, he loved school, and it must be killing him to miss a single class. Still, he touched his fingers to Thaniel’s shoulder and said, “I’ll stay here for the rest of the day, at least.”

Augustus’ smile softened into one of approval, and he said, “I’ll let Chancellor Farbridge know. I’m sure someone will be willing to take notes for you.”

“Edgar,” Lian said promptly. “No one else’s would even be worthwhile.”

The chancellor almost managed to suppress his smile, but the twinkle was back in his eyes as he said, “I’ll let the chancellor know. And, ah,” he swept a look at Lian’s rumpled hair and blotchy, slightly crunchy shirt, “I’ll see if Mrs. Farrier has a fresh shirt in your size.”

Lian – Killian the Villian – actually blushed, which was possibly the best thing Pandy had ever been privileged to witness. Thaniel’s pain wasn’t worth it, but it certainly made her feel better to see it, even if only for a moment.

“Thank you, Mr. Blackwood,” Lian said, fingers twitching at his sides. “And perhaps some toiletries?”

“I’m certain we can find those as well. If you think of anything else, you know where my office is. My door is open to you at any time.” There was some meaning in Augustus’ voice that was lost on Pandy, but Lian flushed again, then bowed his head ever so slightly.

“I remember, sir,” Lian said.