Amy

“Now that that’s out of the way,” Firana said, “we should move onto more important matters. Like the Queen’s upcoming visit.”

I wanted to protest - to complain that nothing was settled in the slightest - but at Firanna’s words I found myself instead shooting her a worried look. “The Queen? As in the king’s wife? Is she… are you going to be okay?”

“Me?” Firanna asked, blinking. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, I mean, she’s… and you’re…”

“An illegitimate daughter of the king?” Firanna finished for me, arching an eyebrow. “As if that matters to her. She’s the one who introduced Mother to him in the first place - her ‘favorite whore.’ Trust me when I say that I know more about their relationship than I’d ever want to. She tries to act like a second mother to me - insists I call her ‘Aunt Kathy.’ I think she thinks she’s doing me some form of favor, but really it just makes my position at the palace… awkward. Superficially treated like royalty, but you can tell that even the servants are whispering behind my back…”

“It sounds like you have more of a problem with her than the other way around,” Clara remarked.

“Yes, well… it’s complicated,” Firanna muttered, poking at her eggs with a fork. “And my elder brother’s coming, too.”

“I wasn’t aware you had an elder brother,” I said. “Excluding Princess Jethroo, that is.”

“Daphne hardly counts as a brother these days in any case,” Firanna replied, shaking her head. “But no. Kris was actually born before either of us - something that the court loves to play up for drama, even though the Queen herself has never expressed the slightest bit of bother over it.”

Again, I wanted to speak up - to point out that just because Jethroo looked like a girl, that didn’t mean she identified as one, deep down - but… that wasn’t really my place, was it? Jethroo had her own things to figure out. So, instead, I shook my head. “Sounds complicated.”

“Aren’t all families?” Bridgette asked, spearing one of her own forks.

“I wouldn’t know,” Clara said. “I haven’t heard from my parents since they tried to sell me into slavery. Though I believe they did try to reach out, just once.” A small smile flickered across Clara’s face, at the memory. “Lady Amelia shut them down. Said that since they couldn’t see my true worth, then she’d be keeping me to herself.”

I fidgetted a little in my chair at that. The story had nothing to do with me at all, and yet somehow I felt mildly… embarrassed?

“On another note,” I said, deciding to shift topics, “where’s Pauline? I’d have thought she’d be joining us for breakfast.”

“She went home early this morning,” Clara informed me. “Said she needed to get some things from home before classes could begin.”

“I see…” I murmured.

“Is that a twinge of dejection I sense?” Firanna asked. “Because it has nothing to do with you, if that’s what you’re thinking. If anything the girl’s quite eager to see you up and about, I think.”

“It’s just that she’s a scholarship student,” Bridgette added. “She can’t afford to do badly in her classes.”

“I see,” I murmured, feeling oddly relieved. I suppose I didn’t know how to face her after making her spend so long taking care of me.

“Oh, don’t give us that look,” Firanna said, frowning. “I already said she’s eager to see you again. I’m sure she’ll have plenty to say to you, as well, once you meet in your core carving class.”

“I suppose that’s true,” I murmured, feeling a little pleased despite myself. Though there was also some trepidation mixed in. We’d spent a fair bit of time together while I’d been recuperating, and I’d gotten the sense that she had something to say to me - something she refused to say, so long as I remained a patient in her care.

Had she gone off because she lacked the courage to say it? To tell me what she thought of me to my face, perhaps? If so, I didn’t want to think about what sort of reprimands she might have been holding back from giving me…

“My Lady always seems to assume the worst when it comes to interpersonal affairs,” Clara remarked, with a sigh.

“Indeed,” Firanna agreed, nodding her head. “It makes me glad that I at least had the courage to tell her my plans directly to her face.”

“I still don’t know how you intend to ‘woo us’ when Amy’s so against it,” Bridgette said.

“Only Amy?” Firanna asked, arching an eyebrow. “Does that mean you’re into it?”

“I didn’t say that,” Bridgette replied, immediately on the defensive. “I’m just… I don’t know… willing to hear you out, at least? I mean, thinking about who likes who and who likes who back and who’s engaged to who, and all that - it just makes me realize any potential relationship Amy gets into is going to be a mess. So if I want to be a part of that mess, then maybe I really should just embrace the messiness of it all?”

“That’s the spirit!” Firanna declared, a bright smile on her lips. “I mean, it seems to have worked out well enough for Father, at least…”

“Were you not just complaining about how his messy relationships screwed up your life?” I asked, unable to help myself.

“Something I might forgive him for yet, if I end up following in his footsteps,” Firanna replied.

“And I still don’t get a say in this?” I asked, glumly.

“Of course you do,” Firanna replied. “You have every right to deny my advances. Not that you will, of course - just watch. I’ll make sure you fall for me yet.”

“You know, I’m starting to see the family resemblance between you and Princess Jethroo,” Clara said, shaking her head.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Firanna asked, bristling.

“Nothing important,” Clara lied. “Now, who would like some tea to go with their breakfast?”

I raised my hand, immediately, drawing incredulous stares from both Firanna and Bridgette. “What? I don’t care if she’s trying to change the subject. She makes good tea!”

***

After breakfast came school, which passed in much the same way as it always did. Not a surprise, really - we hadn’t publicized our hunt, or its results, so there was no reason for anyone to be paying me special mind. Especially not when everyone was so focused on the Queen’s visit, and the ‘princess’s’ recent antics.

Eventually, though, I reached core carving class - which, of course, meant time with Pauline.

Also Professor Devulchas, of course, but she would usually focus on her own projects first and foremost, only turning to us if we had questions. Though I suppose the fact that she at least bothered to listen and respond to questions in the first place still cemented us as favored students in a class full of people she largely did her best to ignore…

I actually had something to run by her, as well. I wanted to check with her about the ant subspell before I officially carved it, after all… but there was no way I could focus on that while whatever was on Pauline’s mind remained a mystery.

Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to want to open up at first. She sat at her desk, same as usual, but after taking a singular look at me she turned away so fast her head practically blurred in my vision.

“Is everything alright?” I asked. “I understand if you’re mad at me for being reckless during the hunt, or some such, but to avoid even looking at me…” Was it the fact that I was in Amelia’s body? Or had I personally done something to drive her away without realizing it?

“It’s not that,” Pauline said, hurriedly. “I mean, you were doing that blank face thing when you came in, but then you saw me and you smiled, and…”

“And?” I asked, surprised to realize I had been smiling - though I quickly wiped it off my face. This was clearly no laughing matter.

“And I just… realized… how cute you look…” she murmured, her voice dwindling as she spoke until I could hardly make out the last words. Indeed, I must have heard them wrong. Because there was no way in the world that anyone would call Amelia cute - gorgeous, sure. Hot? Of course. Scary? Most definitely. But not cute.

“Is there something wrong with the way I look?” I asked, hoping she’d speak up a bit.

“N-no,” Pauline said, glancing my way before turning her head again. This time, though, I caught sight of her cheeks - they were bright red. “I just… think you’re… cute.”

“Cute,” I repeated. The word felt almost foreign on my tongue. “I think that’s a better descriptor of you than me, personally.”

“No,” Pauline said, her voice surprisingly firm for all that she still refused to look my way. “I think you’re the cute one… You know, you really worried me, the other day? When you got hurt. I thought… I thought for a moment that you were going to die, and I’d never even get my feelings out. It was such a selfish thought, don’t you think? I mean, there you were, dying, and all I could think of was my feelings, but I promised myself that once you felt better, I’d tell you them anyway.”

“Your… feelings?” I asked, confused. “Is this… is this some form of prank? Did Bridgette rope you into it?”

“No,” Pauline replied, shaking her head. Then she lifted her bright yellow eyes to meet mine - eyes that all but sparkled with determination. “I like you, Amy. I… I like you a lot.”

“That’s… but… I mean… I’m me,” I whispered back.

“Why do you say that like it’s a bad thing?”

“I mean… isn’t it?” I asked. “I’m… I mean, you like girls, for one thing, and while I suppose I might qualify as one, we both know it’s only due to the body I’m inhabiting… If I ever went back to how I used to look, you’d have no interest for sure.”

“Do you want to?” Pauline asked. “Go back to how you used to look, I mean?”

“Well… No. But that’s probably just this body’s influence. Amelia’s body, might I add - the body of a girl who tormented you. I can’t imagine it’s very pleasant to look at…”

“Actually, I always thought of Amelia as rather attractive,” Pauline admitted, her cheeks turning an even brighter red. “Terrifying, too - don’t get me wrong - but definitely attractive. Though it’s not Amelia I have feelings for, for the record - it’s you.”

“Me,” I parroted back, dumbly. “That’s… No. This has to be some sort of prank. I mean, first Firanna, then Bridgette, and now you?”

“Firanna?” Pauline asked, blinking at me in surprise.

“Yes. She has some harebrained scheme to date me and Bridgette at the same time. As if it weren’t obvious that she only had eyes for Bridgette. Except supposedly Bridgette has feelings for me, which… I mean, if she just wanted to reject Firanna, I don’t see why she had to drag me into it… or you for that matter.”

“She didn’t,” Pauline said. “I… I really like you, Amy. And I guess so does Bidgette? And maybe Firanna? Who I know you’re engaged to, so if you want to choose her over me, I’ll understand, but I don’t want to hide how I feel any longer! I like you Amy!”

She wasn’t lying. I could tell that much. And yet the idea of her actually having positive feelings for me… It wasn’t something I could wrap my head around. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Pauline confessed. “I mean, I’m sure there’s all sorts of reasons, but I’m not really the best at naming them. I just know that I like you. More than anything or anyone I ever have before. And I want to date you - even if it means getting into some form of complicated relationship with you and Firanna, and… Bridgette, I guess?”

“I…” my head felt like it was spinning again. “I… think I need to talk to Professor Devulchas. About my newest subspell idea, I mean.”

“But-”

“I’ll think on it,” I said, forcing myself to smile. I knew this had to be a prank, or a trick or some such. There was no other explanation for why all these girls would suddenly start taking an interest in me, at the same time. I just… didn’t know what they were all trying to accomplish.

“Please do,” Pauline said, reaching out to take my hand in hers. There was warmth in her grip, and kindness in her eyes, and… and she wasn’t the sort to pull a trick like this, was she?

…Was she?