《Source of Magic》


 Part One — Arrival

    ¡°Miss Eo?¡± a voice called out to her, and she turned. A tall man in long robes approached her. He had a stern expression, which was enhanced by the sharp square glasses he wore. The robe itself was made of dark green, with gold and silver trimmings. His hair was brown and had a few streaks of glittering gold in it. Short and combed, it looked as stiff as the rest of him. He glanced at her, and then at the glowing rectangular pad within his left arm. He held it in one arm, like a precious child and tapped a few times on it using his other hand. Then his gaze fell back onto her. She immediately got the feeling that he was examining her as if she was a most interesting species. A species of some kind of insect. Disturbing, yet interesting.


    ¡°Yes?¡± she looked up at him, hefting her bag over her shoulder.


    ¡°I am Impero Ludwig van Ragd,¡± he explained. ¡°I¡¯m here to bring you to the academy.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she smiled at him. He scoffed. Did he expect some form of gesture from her? Or maybe the interesting part wasn¡¯t as interesting, and he had settled on simple insect?


    Insects are very important, you know? shot through her mind, but didn¡¯t say it out loud.


    ¡°If you would follow me?¡± He turned, neither waiting for an answer, nor seeing her bite her tongue. Following him, she had to hurry slightly to keep up with his long strides.


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    He led her through two corridors, past a myriad of stalls with people selling food, goods or even souvenirs, to some kind of round shaft that turned out to be an elevator. He didn¡¯t say anything while they walked, waited or even rode the elevator.


    This led to her staring through the translucent crystal glass of the elevator down at the big main floor of the station. She felt excited as they traveled up the tube. There wasn¡¯t the familiar and yet strange sensation she knew from other elevators. Instead this was more the ground falling away from her. Almost as if she was flying. Would they learn how to fly? Magic had so many applications and possibilities!


    Interested she searched for people that might be flying through the floor below. But from the dozens, no, hundreds of people, who were dressed far finer than she was used to, none flew. She noticed that the dresses, suits, and traditional working clothes she new were all well tended to, and there wasn¡¯t a single one that sported a hole. But the amount of people with unusual hair colors was almost staggering. On Eo, many had had brown, blond or black hair, but here many had green, red or blue hair. Some even had golden hair. Maybe they all managed to fix their clothes with magic? As she grabbed a stand of her own silvery hair, she noticed that many of the more ... colorful people were almost always in groups of two. Maybe she¡¯d find a partner of her own here, too? What would her dad say to that? He¡¯d probably be jealous. But not being alone ... Not being the only one with a weird hair color was almost worth bracing that jealousy. Here she could feel normal. For once. For the first time in her life.


    ***


    ¡°Crystal Academy¡±, the lift announced suddenly, the voice a friendly feminine one. Lia hadn¡¯t even noticed that they had slowed down, and when she turned, she saw the door opening.


    Ludwig left immediately, and she gathered her thoughts, righted the bag, and followed him as quickly as she could. They stepped out into a brightly lit room, or so she thought.


    Most of the quartz-like material gave way to bushes, neatly cut grass, and ponds. Far above her a sun illuminated the place, complete with a blue sky and few clouds that occasionally blocked the harsh sunlight she knew from home. Crystal walkways snaked their way through the beautifully kept garden and toward two big crystalline doors.


    On the plaza in front of the doors was a small group of other children. They all had brightly colored hair, and one had hair that seemed to glow of its own accord, rivaling the grass in the lush green color the girl sported. They were all magical. Sure, the person who had scouted her, had also taken her just by the hair color alone, but she also said that there would be a test of some kind. But now ... she was sure that this test was just a formality. She belonged here. And she would ace that test!


    ¡°Wait here,¡± Ludwig ordered, and left her close to the group of waiting children. He quickly stalked off, using one of the crystal ways that seemed to lead around the door. She walked sideways and tried to look past the door, wondering how big the academy was, but it was almost as if there wasn¡¯t anything behind the doors. Just a lone door standing in a lush green garden. This screamed magical at her.


    ¡°Oh hello,¡± the girl with the glowing green hair had approached her. ¡°I¡¯m Orphelia Deimos.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Lia Selena Eo,¡± she introduced herself in kind and took the offered hand. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Phew, I¡¯m relieved. Someone of the farming moon colonies,¡± the other girl observed with a smile.


    ¡°H... how did you know?¡±


    ¡°Because you have the surname of a moon,¡± the girl answered and giggled, ¡°and your clothes are kinda giving it away.¡± She leaned in and continued in a whisper. ¡°All those others? They have the names of stars or planets, and think they¡¯re better than us.¡± She nudged Lia conspiratorially with an elbow. ¡°Let¡¯s prove them wrong.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes, we will,¡± Lia answered, and grinned. She. had. magic. She had magic! Seeing all these signs, she was sure of it. And when they all had magic, she couldn¡¯t be worse than them. Magic was the great equalizer!


    ¡°Awww, look, the small moons sticking together,¡± another girl said, sneering at them. She had fire red hair, and clothing that just screamed ¡°rich girl¡±: A fine white blouse, a pale orange skirt that went to her knees, white knee high socks, and shiny black shoes. Lia, in contrast, wore a simple shirt and some trousers. It was the best she had, and yet the fabric was worn down, thinner at places, but at least they hadn¡¯t needed any patches. Yet. Her shoes didn¡¯t shine at all and the soles were due a replacement as well. Still she kept smiling. ¡°Bathing in the glory of the bigger planets,¡± the rude girl added after Lia didn¡¯t rise to the bait.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, too,¡± she responded instead. The redhair scoffed and turned away. ¡°I am Eclaire Centauri, and I¡¯ll be an Impera, mark my words.¡±


    ¡°An Impera?¡± Lia blinked a few times. She remembered, that Ludwig had also referred to himself as Impero, and turned to Orphelia. ¡°What¡¯s an Impero? Is that how you call mages here?¡±


    ¡°Oh, didn¡¯t you know? You always need two people to perform magic: A Donar, that provides the magical energy, and an Impero, or Impera, that guides the magic and turns it into the desired effect.¡± The green haired girl answered, while the others snickered.


    Lia stared at the green haired girl. ¡°No way. I didn¡¯t know that! I¡¯ve read a lot about the feats and the effects, but no book ever mentioned there always being two people involved.¡± This made the others laugh.


    ¡°If you looked closely at the broadcasts, you could see it,¡± Orphelia answered. ¡°And,¡± she bit her lower lip and let out a sigh, ¡°the chance that we are just Donars ... is high.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Although you are needed,¡± Eclaire jumped in, ¡°you are in effect nothing more than a battery that powers an expensive machine.¡± The rude girl sneered. ¡°You can be replaced, but an Impera?¡± She shook her head, and the others were laughing again. Her superior, upside-down smile ... was one that the rudehair had to have practiced all her life.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± Lia answered, grumbling. Then, suddenly all the puzzle pieces fell into place. That was why there were always two people together. And that was what the test would be for. Not to determine whether she had magic or not. They were so sure that they even paid all the costs for her to travel here and take that stupid test in advance. They just wanted to know whether she was of use, or just a battery!


    ¡°Dear new students of Crystal Academy,¡± a deep male voice boomed, pulling her out of those thoughts. ¡°You are welcome to enter the world of magic!¡± And then, the two wings of the big crystalline door began to open.

 Part One — Test

    The doors opened to a big courtyard, and as Lia followed the others and stepped through, she was almost sure that something had to be wrong with the space in here. There was at least some overlap between the garden outside and the walls she could see here. Where she had seen green lawn outside, she now saw tall walls from in here. Was the space on the inside actually bigger than what she could see on the outside?


    ¡°Please watch where you step,¡± a woman said. She could only hear her gentle voice, and was too far back to see how the woman actually looked. ¡°You might walk into a wall otherwise. Parts of the big open space here are just an illusion,¡± she explained, ¡°so please follow our exact footsteps.¡±


    ¡°Why are there illusions?¡± a boy asked. ¡°That sounds stupid.¡±


    ¡°Because you are expected to learn how to tell illusions and reality apart,¡± Ludwig explained, and he sounded almost annoyed. He had joined the group and was now walking with the rest of the adults in the front. ¡°Learning magic is not only about how to call it forth and control it. It is also important to tell what are magical and what are mundane effects. Not only your own, but also those of others.¡±


    ¡°But why?¡± the boy insisted.


    ¡°A wise man once said: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,¡± the woman began to explain. ¡°Ignoring a real missile, because you think it¡¯s an illusion is as much a folly as having to dodge a fake one.¡±


    ¡°Why is it wrong to dodge a fake missile?¡± he still wasn¡¯t satisfied, though Lia thought he had a point with that question.


    ¡°Because,¡± Ludwig took a deep breath, ¡°dodging another, real missile, might then become impossible. You might also lose your own target and are suddenly at a disadvantage.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean we¡¯ll be employed in military operations?¡± a girl raised her voice, half in panic.


    ¡°As much as the empire is at peace at the moment - praise be to her royal highness - there are still sinister figures, like space pirates, out there. In these cases people may call on some of you to protect them,¡± the woman explained in a calm voice. Though Lia thought she had given Ludwig a short stare before she answered.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to be in conflicts,¡± the girl complained.


    ¡°Then good luck¡±, she continued. ¡°Some of us go through life without conflict, but others are drawn into it. Others again instigate conflict.¡±


    That being said¡±, Ludwig intervened, ¡°Any conflict in this school is not tolerated, and the ones that were part of the conflict will earn harsh punishments. No matter who instigated the conflict.¡±


    As he was giving the warning, they were led through another enormous door and down a side corridor. There the doors had normal sizes once more and it took them a while to follow these two into a smaller room.


    A tall young man with black hair sat in a corner. He slowly stood up as soon as everyone had entered the room, and he put some kind of pad away. He had a gentle smile on his lips as he slung his arms wide, exposing the black robe with gold trims fully.


    Lia wondered for a moment if these were ceremonial robes or whether he was wearing them daily. The latter seemed rather impractical.


    ¡°I am Principal Arthur P. Rose¡±, he said in a loud and clear voice. The same voice that had welcomed them in front of the doors. ¡°Let me welcome you to Crystal Academy.¡± He lowered his arms and it seemed as if his smile got even broader. ¡°You are here in order to be classified. We will see whether you are an Impera or Impero,¡± his gaze wandered from a girl to a boy, ¡°and which Elements you¡¯re able to use. Those of you who¡¯re neither Impera or Impero, will be sent to a different room to see how compatible your magic is with a certain kind of Element.¡±


    Lia noticed Eclaire¡¯s broad grin, and she stuck her tongue out, pulling on her eyelid. She vowed to herself to pass this test and be an Impera.


    As if on cue, Arthur looked at Eclaire and said: ¡°Many of you may think that Impera and Impero are far better than Donar, but that is not the case. An Impero is nothing without a Donar. You are nothing without each other.¡± He turned and seemed to address everyone once more. ¡°Because of that we will teach both of you magical theory. The practice sessions will be different though. While Impera and Impero need to practice the control of the magic they¡¯re given by a Donar, the Donars will work on their control providing mana, their stamina and their capacity. Providing magic to an Impero can and will be very exhausting!¡±


    Lia glanced at Ophelia next to her. All of this was far different than she had imagined, but the green haired girl just shrugged. ¡°He might say all these nice things,¡± she whispered, her words almost drowned out by all the children suddenly talking to one another. ¡°But society sees things differently.¡±


    Lia sighed, curling her hands into fists. None of that mattered. She just had to prove that she was an Impera.


    ¡°Now, the tests will begin,¡± the principal dictated, and called the first name: ¡°Arthur Astra.¡± A shy boy with ice blue hair stepped forward. ¡°Please, hold this,¡± he said, handing him an object that looked like a disc. A woman with dark red hair put a hand on his shoulder. She was the one that had led them here and had answered some of the questions. She was middle-aged and wore a simple black robe.


    ¡°Now concentrate on simply moving the disc upward¡±, the Principal instructed the boy. ¡°But don¡¯t move it with your hands. Instead try to relax and imagine it pushing itself upward.¡±


    Lia got on her toes. She wanted to see something of what was happening, but the boy¡¯s back was in front of the disk and she couldn¡¯t see whether it started floating or not. It was even more frustrating as she heard some children gasp and murmur. Mr. P. Rose began to smile. ¡°So, you¡¯re an Impero. Congratulations. Please proceed through the door behind me.¡± The test had ended and she had seen nothing.


    ¡°Miss Eclair Centauri?¡± the Principal called the next one. Rudehair raised a hand, fought her way through the crowd, and almost pulled the disc out of the Principal¡¯s hands. Then, the same woman put a hand on her shoulder, and this time Lia could see a glow emanating from the disc. It didn¡¯t last long and was a red-orange color.


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    ¡°Another Impera,¡± P. Rose whistled, ¡°and a strong one, it seems.¡± He gestured to the door behind him once more, and she walked past him. She stopped in the door, her gaze fixed at Lia and she grinned broadly at her, before finally disappearing completely.


    ¡°Miss Orphelia Deimos?¡± Her new friend sighed, straightened her shoulders, and made her way through the eight or so children that were still waiting. She took the disc, the woman touched her shoulder and ... everyone stared at the simple stone. There was silence. Not a glow. Just ... nothing. It almost hurt Lia to see her not succeed with this test. Everyone was still looking at the stone disc. Lia sighed and looked at her friend. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she mouthed, no sound coming out of her lips. At last ... did her hair just glow a bit brighter there? Lia rubbed her eyes. Nothing had changed. The disc hadn¡¯t moved. There was no light. And then came the Principal¡¯s devastating conclusion: ¡°Seems like you are a Donar. Please move on through the door on the right.¡± There wasn¡¯t even a congratulations. Ophelia was right. He was talking nice, and yet ... he saw Donar like everyone else.


    Three more children were tested before Lia¡¯s name was called. The results were one more Impero, and two Donars. Finally she stepped forward and, with a fast beating heart, she gripped the disc. The stone felt cool to the touch, and there were minuscule symbols etched into the surface. Small geometric figures, maybe even letters from a different language, that couldn¡¯t be seen from far away. It was a fascinating sight. Some strange artifact. She had read about these things: They were from a long time ago, and could neither be replicated by modern science or modern magic.


    Suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder, and she felt as if the warmth of the woman sank into her, flooding her body, before settling around the knot in her stomach. The principal had said the instructions often enough, so she simply closed her eyes and concentrated on the stone moving upward. The warmth in her stirred, but didn¡¯t move from the knot in her stomach, as if it was trapped there. The stone itself was still cool to the touch, and when she opened her eyes, it didn¡¯t glow. She concentrated harder, and harder. ¡°Move¡±, she whispered. It felt like a shout in her own head. Nothing happened, despite her skin feeling cold and clammy. Sweat had appeared on her forehead.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± the Principal said. ¡°She¡¯s another Donar,¡± he announced her failure to everyone.


    ¡°No ... no ...¡± she said, her body shaking, tears forming at the edge of her eyes. She held onto the strange disc. She just needed another chance. She could do this. No. She had to do this. The principal laid a hand on hers, and gently removed the disc from her fingers. He had this look of sorrow on his face. The strength left her arms and she let go, then, without his prompt, walked to the door on the right. It opened with a hiss, drowning out her wistful sight. With her back to the others, they couldn¡¯t see the tears running down her face. Separating them here was a small mercy. Hers wasn¡¯t the only dream that had shattered today. Her fate was sealed. She¡¯d simply be a battery for all those real magicians.


    The door closed behind her, and she didn¡¯t hear the next student that was being called. ¡°Follow me,¡± Ludwig was standing in front of her, and turned, his voice as cold as it was in the beginning. At least there wasn¡¯t a ¡°I knew you were just a Donar,¡± or some other derogatory statement. For him she had always been on the lower rungs on the social ladder. She had had the chance to climb upward, but that hadn¡¯t happened.


    Lia didn¡¯t even wonder what was going to happen now, and she simply followed him through a corridor and past several unassuming doors. He stopped in front of one that looked exactly like several others, and there was no indication as to why he had chosen this room.


    The room itself wasn¡¯t very large. The two chairs in it almost made it look stuffed, though with the white stone walls, white marble floor and a ceiling that was made of white light, the chairs at least gave the room a speck of color, even if that color was brown leather.


    ¡°Take a seat¡±, Ludwig said, and Lia sat on one of them. The chair was more comfortable than it looked, or at least more comfortable than she was used to. He took the other chair and sat ahead of her.


    ¡°We¡¯ll now determine how compatible your magic is to the Elements an Impero wields,¡± he explained in that monotone voice of his. ¡°Take my hand.¡±


    Sighing, she laid her hand in his. She didn¡¯t look up, didn¡¯t want to look into those cold eyes that would tell her that she¡¯s just a tool for him. He only needed to know how useful a tool she was. She felt so defeated by it all. Her big dream had shattered, although anyone without magic would probably tell her that she should feel lucky.


    ¡°Close your eyes,¡± he kept instructing her like a robot, ¡°find the knot of energy within your body. Then pull from it and push it through your hand into me.¡±


    She almost didn¡¯t care to do this exercise, but finally relented. She closed her eyes, sighing and began to concentrate. At the test earlier there had been this knot within her ... hadn¡¯t it? Where was it now? Why couldn¡¯t she find it? All there was, was her churning feelings! She tried to pull at them, pull them apart, hack through them like a panicked person trying to fight their way through a jungle, running from a large animal behind them. The more she pulled and hacked, the deeper those feelings became, like vines that had a mind of their own, that wanted to trap her. Nothing was forthcoming besides more and more frustration.


    ¡°Do you have trouble finding your center?¡± Ludwig asked. She wasn¡¯t sure if the hint of sympathy she heard in his monotone voice was him, or just her wishful thinking, but she nodded in reply. Take your time.¡± That sounded once more like an instruction. That one had been her imagination then. He seemed like an infuriating robot that had programmed into its logic that he was better than her, maybe even than anyone, and they had forgotten to input what emotions were. He was even more frustrating than the test before. Where was this damned knot of energy she should feel? She had felt! Why was there nothing now? Maybe she was a new freak of nature accident that had blue hair, and no magic. They¡¯d probably sample her DNA, then send her back home. Maybe even force her and her parents to pay for the shuttle ride back and forth.


    ¡°Come on,¡± Ludwig insisted. ¡°Concentrate!¡± He sounded slightly frustrated ... no that was just his robotic voice ordering her around. She didn¡¯t want to do this anymore. Not with him. He was haughty, emotionless and now frustrating on a fundamental level. That frustration was everywhere, and she heard herself growling. She imagined casting a spell and throwing him into the corner of the room using all her frustration, her anger, her ...


    Suddenly she felt as if pushing against some kind of barrier, then through it ...


    A bright flash. Heat. A loud bang. A hand pulled away.


    Lia opened her eyes. She stared at Ludwig who stared at her with wide open eyes. He hadn¡¯t been thrown back in the room, but ... behind him there was this big crack in the wall. Half the light on the ceiling had gone dark. There was a crack on the floor. Something smelled burned. Was her hair singed? What had she done?


    Ludwig had to be furious with her, any moment he¡¯d ... he was still staring. At her. No, not at her. Past her. Even past the wall.


    ¡°A... Are you okay?¡± she asked. she reached out, wondering if she should call someone. But where should she go? Back to the testing room? She wasn¡¯t even sure she could find it again.


    Ludwig jerked, gasped, and panted as if he had run a marathon. His gaze wandered to her. ¡°I ... that ... you ...¡± he stuttered. He wasn¡¯t an unfeeling machine?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she told him. He took a deep breath, stood up and righted his robe, then he cleared his throat. ¡°Please wait here,¡± he murmured. Then, without looking at her, he turned and quickly left the room.


    He left her staring at the white door, a thousand unanswered questions on her mind.

 Part One — Premonition

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 Part One — Roommate

    As Lia stepped into the room, she felt a bit underwhelmed. Considering that the room had two beds, two desks, and two wardrobes, it wasn¡¯t much larger than her room on Eo. But it was new, and very, very clean. Orphelia was smiling as she introduced Lia to the amenities of their abode. ¡°And here, we have our own bath,¡± she exclaimed and opened a door at the end of the room. The bathroom looked clean, modern and, Lia had to admit, was really the height of luxury.


    ¡°Then the window,¡± Orphelia said as she pointed at the wall that held an old looking window, ¡°is also an HTV.¡± Lia stared for a moment out onto the peaceful meadow that was on the other side. Orphelia turned to it as well, and demanded in a loud and clear voice ¡°Show the news.¡±


    The picture of the green hills with its blue sky disappeared. Even the whole window disappeared, leaving a smooth wall for just a moment, then a lady appeared in front of them, glowing slightly. Behind her, on the wall, was the picture of a middle-aged man with dark blue eyes. Now that picture was in a modern metallic frame. ¡°Amir Saggitarius, brother to the queen, has announced that he contests the leadership of the empire,¡± the lady announced. While she kept telling the news, Orphelia suddenly stared at the picture of the one that was presumably the queen¡¯s brother.


    ¡°Fifteen years ago, Amir was excluded from the line of succession, as he was lacking his own pool of mana,¡± she heard the announcer say, as she looked to her roommate.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Lia asked, after Orphelia kept staring a long time at the man. The girl didn¡¯t even seem to notice that she was scratching her left hand.


    ¡°I ... I think I¡¯ve seen him before.¡± The answer came in a whisper, then her roommate shook her head and laughed. ¡°Impossible though,¡± she continued in a conversational tone. ¡°That was probably someone that simply looked exactly like him. There is no way the queen¡¯s brother would visit our humble moon, right?¡± She grinned, then waved her hand. ¡°End Program.¡±


    The announcer vanished and the a moment later a bright window was on the wall once more. In the same style, with the same meadow, the same blue, cloudless weather. ¡°Anyways,¡± Orphelia said and sat down on the left of the two beds. ¡°What are your colors?¡±


    ¡°My colors?¡±


    ¡°Yes, your mana pools,¡± the green haired girl smiled from ear to ear as if she knew something Lia didn¡¯t know. ¡°I have Air, Water, Life, and Light,¡± she announced, ticking each one off with one of her fingers. She also sounded very, very proud.


    ¡°Ah, right. I have ...¡± what were the ones again? After all this talk about her having all ten, including the rare one of time, Lia had forgotten the four the principal had told her she should have officially. ¡°Fire, Earth, Moon and Dark,¡± she answered. She almost whispered her answer and didn¡¯t quite look at the other girl. Then an ¡°I think¡± followed, and she felt her cheeks redden, her face flush with heat.


    ¡°You think?¡± the other girl asked. Lia¡¯s eyes looked up, and she saw a mischievous smile appear on the lips of her roommate. ¡°So ¡­ you are the other rare case that also has four colors. Congratulations!¡± She pronounced the number four as if it was overly important.


    Lia tried to smile, but it somehow felt fake. She was really bad at keeping secrets. But she had to-


    ¡°Meaning you have more than four,¡± Orphelia clarified, getting back on her feet and leaning in. Her face was suddenly uncomfortably close to Lia¡¯s.


    ¡°W... why would you think that?¡± That was a weak deflection, she admonished herself.


    ¡°Because both the principal and that Ludwig person acted very suspicious,¡± her roommate answered and sat back on the bed. With her hands behind her, she leaned back and looked at the ceiling. ¡°You know, they ordered me to keep my ¡­ full house a secret as well,¡± she whispered. ¡°And then they gave me the four I told you. Though I apparently have a better memory.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Lia stared at the green haired girl for a moment. ¡°Wait, wait, wait. Does that mean ... ?¡±


    ¡°It does¡±, she confirmed. Although Orphelia was smiling, that smile somehow didn¡¯t seem to reach her eyes. In fact, Lia thought that she detected a hint of sadness in her irises.


    ¡°Even though it makes us somewhat special, even in the lower caste of donars, we still can¡¯t wield the magic ourselves.¡± Orphelia sighed. Then she began to idly rub the palm of her left. Again. Maybe it was a habit, when she was nervous?


    ¡°I... I don¡¯t really know how to feel about that,¡± Lia sort-of agreed with her, then turned around to sit on her own bed. Her bag of clothes was sitting on the floor a short ways away from her.


    ¡°It¡¯s like getting a consolidation prize,¡± Orphelia said and looked out the artificial window. ¡°It feels wrong, somehow.¡± Then she suddenly began to scratch her left hand in earnest. That she wasn¡¯t drawing blood was probably from the callouses. ¡°Argh. This is so annoying!¡± she complained. ¡°Does your hand itch, too?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Lia looked at her own hand. Although the field work had left some callouses as well, it didn¡¯t feel any different than before. ¡°But I don¡¯t think you should scratch so hard.¡±


    ¡°Easy for you to say, when you¡¯re not itching,¡± Orphelia shot back, then sighed. She held the wrist of her left hand in her right, clearly fighting against the urge to keep scratching. ¡°Maybe it¡¯ll vanish with a hot shower,¡± the girl concluded, then got up and started to undress. ¡°You should take a shower, too. The academy has provided us with school uniforms as well as night clothes.¡±


    Lia looked at the half-undressed girl with wide eyes. ¡°We get clothes?¡±


    ¡°Yes, though they¡¯re probably marked to show what we are,¡± Orphelia said, pulling her shirt over her head. ¡°Of course they¡¯d want to see at one glance, whether we are a donar or not.¡±


    Lia shrugged, though her roommate didn¡¯t see the gesture. Instead she took the time to walk to her wardrobe and opened it up. There really was everything she needed: Underwear, Shirts, the Academy robes, socks, even shoes. She reached out to touch the robes and shivered. The fabric felt so very smooth on her skin. It had to be illegal for clothing to feel this comfortable. She lifted it to her cheek and rubbed it against her face, smiling in bliss.


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    After a moment, she stopped. Noticing what she had done, she felt her face burn and quickly closed the wardrobe. She felt lucky that Orphelia hadn¡¯t seen her like that. Instead she turned to her bag, and then slowly opened the wardrobe again. There was very little space to put her own clothing. It took her some time to rearrange the interior to fit her shoes and spare clothing, then she sat back down on her bed. Even the sheets and the mattress were very, very comfortable. She almost gave in to the temptation to lie down and bathe in the sheets, as it occurred to her, that she should shower first. It was probably a bad idea to sit on the nice bedding with her dirty clothes. Lia quickly got back up and walked over to the window again.


    ¡°Show the news,¡± she demanded from it, as Orphelia had done before. She witnessed the window and the calm meadow vanishing, only to be replaced by the announcer lady again. She reiterated what she had said before, the news about the queen¡¯s brother wanting his turn at ruling the empire.


    ¡°Amir Saggitarius invited many high ranking officials to demonstrate his abilities,¡± the woman continued the news where Orphelia had cut her off before. ¡°According to the spokesperson of Mr. Saggitarius, the exiled prince now has access to more mana pools than even the queen herself.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean,¡± she asked herself in a whisper, ¡°that the queen and her brother are ¡­ both Impera and Donar?¡±


    There was no answer, and yet, it was the only thing that made sense. Lia had seen the queen use magic in a broadcast years ago. It was what had sparked her interest in the mystic arts. But all she had to go on, had been novels. It was as if any factual use of magic had been so mundane, that no one had been interested in it. Except her. And now she knew that she had a lot to learn.


    ¡°In other news,¡± the lady said, and the picture of the exiled prince vanished. In the frame was now a depiction of the space station itself. ¡°Several traders en route to the Crystal Citadel have reported pirate attacks. So far, only cargo has been lost, but the government promised to take decisive action.¡±


    Lia turned away from the images and sighed. She felt exhausted all of a sudden, her gaze fell on the bed, and she yearned to simply lie down, but she knew that she¡¯d fall asleep as soon as she did. At least she didn¡¯t had to wait long for Orphelia to leave the bathroom.


    The news lady was still talking, and she overheard her saying that ¡°Voyager 17 will arrive at its destination within the week.¡± Lia had learned in school about it: A project that had been started before she had been born. It probably was even bigger news than the prince wanting to rule or pirates attacking ships. And yet, it hadn¡¯t much to do with her. She waved the HTV off and headed off to the shower. The hot water was refreshing, and she could have stayed there for a long period of time. She smiled as she stepped out of the shower and dried herself off. The exhaustion quickly grasped her again, so she hurried to get into her night clothes and laid down on the bed. Orphelia was already asleep, so she whispered a ¡°good night¡±, and pulled the sheets over her head. It didn¡¯t take her more than five minutes to drift off to sleep.


    ***


    There was a vast open space around her. She stood on a glass platform in front of a huge double door. Stars twinkled in the sky above, and stars twinkled in the space below her. She felt as if she had come a long way to get to this place, she remembered a corridor made of glass, and more and more stars.


    It was eerily silent. Nothing seemed to move, and yet everything was in constant motion. She turned around to the great door, made of glass, or crystal, or something. She couldn¡¯t see the other side through its milky texture, but she felt as if there was something there. Something that called out to her. Something she was supposed to have.


    She walked up to the door and pressed her hand against the cold, smooth surface. It felt foreign, as if someone hat put it there to bar her way. So, she pushed against it. Slightly, at first, then stronger, and stronger.


    It didn¡¯t budge. She could as well have pushed against a mountain. Or a moon, even a planet. There was no way she could move those.


    Dejected, she turned around and sat down. She leaned her back against the door and stared up into space. There, far away, and between the soft shining stars, she saw nine glowing orbs. One red, one dark blue. Yellow, green, white, purple, gray, brown, and a light blue one. She almost hadn¡¯t noticed the tenth one, a dark orb. She only recognized that it was there because of the absence of the starlight. Still she felt as if that one was glowing, too.


    ¡°Are you ... my magic?¡± she asked as she stared at the orbs. The answer was only more silence. She wasn¡¯t even sure if she had produced any sound. She leaned back against the door and closed her eyes. ¡°Do I need to open this gate, in order to use my magic?¡± She asked the orbs, she asked herself. There was still no answer. Maybe she could figure this place out when she learned more about magic? At least she was in a beautiful, relaxing space. Smiling she looked below herself. Maybe she could see some constellations in the stars? The glass floor reflected a ghostly image of herself back at her, but she could also see the stars on the other side.


    Then she suddenly noticed something else. Something that wasn¡¯t her reflection, but something ¡­ no someone standing there. It was as if the thin glass plane was the ground for her as well as the other girl. A girl with green, glowing hair, clothed in the black academy robes stood in front of a similar door on the other side. Lia could see her push against it. The other door opened slightly.


    Lia could see something move on the other side. Wisps of black smoke rose away from her. They reached out, like a living shadow. It was as if the girl couldn¡¯t even see the blackness that oozed onto the glass from the other side. It moved across the ground, slithering like a snake. It moved around the girl¡¯s feet, caressing them. It seemed to look around, and then it looked down. It was directly below Lia. Looking at her. It opened its mouth and hissed. Then it hit the glass. Lia could feel the impact, hear the noise ¨C


    ***


    Lia threw her covers aside and gasped for air. She wanted to flee from this place before she remembered that she was safe. That that had just been a dream. She felt her forehead. She was sweating. What was that dream? Had it been a warning? Not to open that door? Not to embrace magic? Or was she afraid of using magic, after what had happened with Ludwig? Maybe she was afraid that it was this ¡­ uncontrollable beast. But she was here to learn. To tame that beast, to control it. There were so many mages out there, it had to be possible! She pulled the sheets closer to her body and took a few deep breaths.


    Orphelia was sleeping soundly. Now that the bright sunlit scape had vanished from the window, a moonlit field displayed in it¡¯s stead, she could see the strands of her roommate¡¯s hair glow softly. For a moment she wondered whether Orphelia had abused that to read in bed at night, but then she remembered that the girl she had dreamed about ¡­ had looked very, very similar to her roommate.


    Was that ¡­ a warning? Or just an intuitive display that Orphelia had already tamed her magic? She sighed and shook her head. There was no use in putting too much stock into dreams. Dreams were often so vague that only very few people thought that they meant anything. And if this one did mean anything, then maybe it was just her anxiety acting up. Or she had to be on the lookout for pirates or something like that.


    That thought made her smile. She was getting silly and her nervousness had acted up in her dreams. Too much had happened this day and she needed sleep. Lia laid back down and closed her eyes. Sleep took a long time coming this time around, like a scared beast that first checked whether it was safe to return, but it finally settled down and the darkness took her in once more.

 Part One — First Lesson

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 Part One — Learning Control

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 Part One — Telling Colors Apart

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 Part One — Secrets

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 Part One — Field Trip

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 Part One — Nebula Asteri

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 Part One — Foresteri

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 Part One — Changes

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 Part One — Exposed

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 Part One — Gravity

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 Part One — Ormo

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 Part Two — What Might Be

    Lia felt apprehensive, as they walked through the long corridor to the pirate''s ship. Ormo Andromedae had asked for her cooperation, but he had also threatened them. She squeezed Orphelia''s hand, and got a squeeze in return, the two girls reassuring each other.


    It didn''t take them long to reach the other ship, and Lia stared for a moment. The interior was bathed in soft light and the corridors had smooth, rounded surfaces. She had imagined the ship to look at least as bad as the Aptenodyte. Or maybe worse. With rust showing here and there. But all in all, the ship looked at least as modern as the Aurelius, if not more advanced.


    "Undock as soon as possible," the captain told his crew. "I want to be in hyper space before this Ludwig can even think about contacting the imperial star fleet."


    "Yes, sir!" One of them answered, and they moved.


    "Follow me!" Ormo turned around and walked down a corridor, taking it for granted that they would follow him. Lia thought for a moment to run back the way they had come, but the airlock hissed closed before she could even follow that impulse.


    "Let''s hear, what he needs help with," Orphelia whispered. "It''s not that we can do much else, now that we''re here."


    They walked hand-in-hand the whole way through the corridor. There were windows here and there that allowed them to stare into space and the Aptenodyte that was still alongside their ship. The other ship seemed to move backwards, and Lia was almost sure that the pirate''s vessel was accelerating already. They were accelerating without them noticing it. They must have a very powerful and experienced gravity mage on board to pull that off.


    Ormo finally stopped at a junction. "Please, this way." His tone had gotten a bit more amenable, but he still seemed a bit rough. Lia and Orphelia followed his instruction and entered the room at the end of the short corridor.


    The room was also lit by some diffuse light, but more surprisingly, there were a lot of flowers in the room. Water murmured softly in the background, and the air reminded Lia of home. She froze in the doorway, staring at all the greenery.


    In the midst of it all was a low table, and four pillows were distributed around it.


    "Please, take a seat," Ormo said behind them. They both entered the room and knelt on one of the pillows directly in front of them. They heard the hiss of the door, and noticed how Ormo went past them and around the table to kneel on the other side of the table.


    He didn''t say anything for a long time, and it was Orphelia, who broke the silence. "So, you said you needed our help?"


    "Yes. We''re the Coalition of Free And Equal People, the FAE, for short."


    Neither Lia nor Orphelia felt compelled to say anything to that. There were legends of the Fae, and none of them were positive. Maybe it was best if they thought to take a different name.


    "I apologize for the rough treatment," Ormo tried next, but again, the girls kept quiet. Lia certainly wouldn''t absolve him of that crime. Kidnapping was kidnapping. It resulted in another long pause.


    "I have to explain a lot, before I can truly ask you for your help. It''s not only that Amir Saggitarius wants to ascend - and we''re pretty sure he wants to - it''s also the political landscape that has changed dramatically."


    Again, the girls didn''t say anything.


    "Have you ever heard of privateers?"


    "Aren''t those just pirates?"


    "No, they''re sanctioned pirates." Ormo stopped for a moment. "How should I explain this best," he wondered and rubbed his chin with a hand. "We had a different standing under Lillian Saggitarius, the former Queen," he began. "She basically allowed us to exist, if we only took on targets, that were not in line with her political agenda." He lowered his hands and folded them in front of him, while leaning with his elbows on the table.


    "So you lost your status of being sanctioned," Lia commented. "That justifies our kidnapping, in which way?"


    She could see Ormo grimace. "It doesn''t," he admitted. "But on the other hand, we can''t allow Amir to do as he pleases."


    "You don''t want him to ascend," Orphelia observed and Ormo nodded. "This may be common knowledge for those who have graduated from Crystal Academy, but we don''t know what the process involved or where it is headed." Lia nodded her head slowly at Orphelia''s comment. At least this wasn''t another thing she should know and had simply missed to learn at some point.


    "I was coming to that. But maybe it is better, if I start with it." He sat straight and pulled his folded hands closer to his chest. "There is an old rumor, that there''s an eleventh element: Magic itself. An Element that allows you to control the Mana that''s all around us or within you. It encompasses all the other elements, and allows for the transmutation of materials. But most importantly, it supposedly allows one to merge one''s spirit with the Mana. Which would make him immortal."


    "He''d be like a god," Orphelia whispered.


    "He could choose who has access to magic, and who doesn''t. He could upend everything. Especially since he wouldn''t be bound by mana constraints anymore."


    "But ... if he is mana, then wouldn''t he slowly destroy himself by using the magic?" Lia voiced her thoughts aloud. The mana in her was always used up, when used for an effect. No matter if it was an Impero doing it, or one of those stones that would shape the magic for them.


    "Which is why no one with at least half a brain cell is trying. And which is why that part of magic theory isn''t taught. Just imagine someone succeeding, only for parts of their mind to disintegrate over time." Ormo shook his head. "It''s the real reason why magic was split into Imperi and Donar."


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    At that comment, Lia stared at the man in front of her. She noticed that even Orphelia was surprised by Ormo''s revelation. Because that simply meant one thing: Someone had tried this before.


    "How, exactly, is it done?" Oprhelia''s voice was barely above a whisper.


    "I have no idea. But I imagine it has to do with his crazy idea of a mana tax."


    "Mana can''t be stored. How is that supposed to work?"


    "I don''t know either. Maybe he will call all Donar in the empire to Aravos, and have him give a portion of their mana at the same time?" Ormo shook his head. "The thing is, that we can find out." And with that, he fixed Lia with his gaze.


    "You want to look into the future."


    "Indeed. Each glimpse may help us to decide on a course of action that will stop this mad man." He sighed, and then added in a lower voice: "It will also help me to protect my people."


    Lia looked to Orphelia, unsure what she should do.


    Orphelia looked at her, then at her own hands, grimacing as well. When her friend looked back at her, she nodded. "Let''s do it. Let''s help him out."


    Lia closed her eyes and sighed. Then she turned to Ormo herself. "I''ll give you a bit of my mana. But I want to know what you''ve seen." It was hard to make up stories on the spot. And this way she''d know, if he was really using her magic to protect their people, or whether he wanted to wage war on the empire.


    "I agree to your terms." Ormo offered her a hand, and she took it, shaking on the deal they''d made. "I do you even one better. I will pull you into the vision with me. You just have to trust me some and provide me with some spirit mana as well."


    Lia didn''t answer right as well. Giving him spirit mana could be dangerous. He could try to control her thoughts.


    "It is your decision whether you trust my words or my actions."


    Lia bit her lower lip, nodded, and simply told him: "Brace yourself."


    Ormo''s eyes became wide just before Lia pushed time and spirit mana into him. A few moments passed, and Lia''s world plunged into darkness.


    ***


    Lia still felt Ormo''s hand, even though she couldn''t see the pirate captain. The rest of her world had faded to black as well: Orphelia had disappeared, she could still feel the table, but was unable to perceive it with her eyes. Besides her vision, her hearing was affected as well, as she couldn''t hear the steady murmuring of the small stream in the room.


    "Do you know the biggest drawback of using time magic?" Ormo''s voice cut through the silence. Could she hear him, because she had been drawn into the vision as well?


    "No." Lia shook her head, unsure whether he could see her.


    "In these visions of the future, I''m limited to my own perspective. I can''t see what will happen to you for example. Or my people. At least not directly. I have to be with them in the future to even have a chance to glimpse at their possible fates."


    Lia didn''t answer. It was a severe restriction on the magic, and yet it was still supposed to be the most valuable of them all ...


    When she felt her time mana being drained as well, it was as if she was in a field of stars, and they accelerated toward one of the distant glowing lights. The brightness quickly engulfed them, and as the light faded, she stood in a room she recognized: The bridge of a ship. Maybe even the one of the vessel they were on. It looked at least as modern as the one on the Aurelius.


    She tried to look around, but whenever she tried to look to the side of her, the picture became blurry, and out of focus. The only place she could see something, was directly in front of her. On the HTV displays hidden behind the fake windows.


    It took her a moment to realize what had the pirate captain so mesmerized: There were hundreds of ships. Some next to them, some in the distance. She could see shots of plasma glowing in the distance, moving on trajectories that spoke of magic being involved. She saw a rocket hit a ship next to them, causing a bright explosion. Then the explosion itself was whipped forward to intercept another projectile.


    The hull of the ship had a hole in it that was slowly closing, something the captain only seemed to notice out of the corner of his eye.


    "Take out as many as you can," the Ormo''s voice ordered. She couldn''t see him, and it sounded strange. As if it was coming from her, sounding far deeper than she remembered. "We need to buy Eden enough time to flee."


    The HTVs flashed and flickered, a tremor ran through the ship.


    Hull damage in sector E-14," someone on the bridge shouted.


    "Get a metal mage to repair it, ASAP." The captain shouted. A grumble left his throat. "If only I knew how they found us." There was a small pause, as if Ormo was juggling two thoughts at once. "Target their engines. We need to stop them from following EDEN into hyperspace."


    The view shifted suddenly and Lia was staring at herself. She was still wearing the academy robes, with Orphelia standing behind her.


    ¡°This is what the Empire¡¯s doing now. They came here and began to slaughter us. They didn¡¯t even try to negotiate your safe return first.¡±


    Lia saw her other self stare at the screens around her with wide open eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± she whispered.


    ¡°Amir wants to control everything. Those that don¡¯t bow to him, will be crushed.¡± Lia heard a thud and felt a dull pain on her right hand. ¡°Will you lend me your power?¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s my power going to change anything?¡± The question flitted briefly through Lia¡¯s mind as well. How could she change anything in that situation?


    ¡°I am sure that we can pin their flagship down. I just need enough mana to push through their defenses.¡±


    Her other self hesitated a few moments longer, then nodded.


    Her viewpoint rose, probably because Omor just rose from his seat.


    ¡°We¡¯re being hailed,¡± one of the crew shouted.


    Lia could feel how Omor ground his teeth. ¡°Put them through.¡±


    The lights from the HTVs showing space around them faded slightly, and a figure was projected into the middle of the room. A trimmed full beard framed a stern looking gaze. His hair was as short as his beard, and was partly white. Lia couldn¡¯t say whether that was a sign of his age, or his magic.


    ¡°I am General Arthur Horologii,¡± the projection said. ¡°Are you the one in command of the fleet?¡±


    ¡°I am part of the FAE¡¯s court of four,¡± Ormo replied. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I take that as a ¡®yes¡¯.¡± The projection waited a moment, maybe to put weight on his following words, maybe to await a denial. ¡°We demand the surrender of your fleet, as well as the safe return of the two students you¡¯ve abducted.¡±


    ¡°What if we refuse?¡±


    ¡°Then we will destroy every vessel in the vicinity, starting with your space station.¡± There was no smile on the general¡¯s face, but a rather sour look. ¡°Our darkness mages are keeping it from entering hyperspace.¡±


    Ormo¡¯s gaze wandered far to the right, where several pristine white rings floated around a central crystalline structure. Lia guessed that that was the station in question, that that was EDEN.


    Everything seemed to stop, cracks formed in front of her as if Lia was looking through a broken crystal, and the vision faded. A moment later, she looked at Ormo¡¯s wide eyes. She felt his hand shaking, pressing hard on her hand, while a tear rolled down his cheek.


    Lia pulled her hand back before he could hurt her.


    ¡°Captain to bridge,¡± he finally said, his voice sounding firm despite being barely above a whisper. ¡°Abort current course. Stay in hyperspace.¡±


    ¡°That will put a lot of strain on our mages,¡± came the answer.


    ¡°Then find another beacon nearby, one where we can hide the Lagrange, if necessary. But we can¡¯t return to EDEN right now. I repeat: we can¡¯t return to EDEN.¡±


    There was a long pause, before the acknowledgement came. ¡°Roger.¡±


    While Ormo folded his arms, Orphelia leaned in to Lia. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Lia answered, keeping her gaze on the pirate captain, ¡°but I think if he stays on course to his home ¡­ It will be destroyed.¡±

 Part Two — Fornax’s Grave

    Lia¡¯s comment hung in the air, and the only sound was that of the stream murmuring, as if shocked by her comment.


    ¡°What did you see?¡± Orphelia naturally wanted to know more. Lia took a deep breath and told her friend about the possible future. Of the attack on EDEN, on Ormo¡¯s home. She even described the station that hung in the blackness of space, surrounded by imperial ships.


    ¡°We were still on board, and witnessed the fight.¡±


    ¡°So he thinks that we¡¯re the reason that the empire¡¯s attacking their home?¡± Orphelia turned away from her and looked at the pirate captain.


    ¡°General Horologii knew that you were with us. He came at us with full force and only then tried to negotiate for your return.¡± Ormo shook his head, while he opened his fist and closed it once more. ¡°It won¡¯t be happenstance that they¡¯ll find us. They came at us with you two as goal in mind.¡±


    ¡°What will you do now?¡± Lia couldn¡¯t help but feel a shiver run down her spine. ¡°Especially since Amir is hunting for you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do what every time mage does with the knowledge they¡¯ve acquired by looking into the future. I try to change it.¡± Ormo grimaced. ¡°Just knowing, and having you two witness it, will change something. But I am sure that¡¯s not enough.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯ll bring us home?¡± If they were the reason that the empire clamped down on them, then removing them from the picture would certainly help.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that.¡± Ormo shook his head. ¡°The Crystal Citadel wouldn¡¯t allow us to get close, and even if they did, they wouldn¡¯t allow the Lagrange to leave.¡± He smiled, while the look in his eyes exuded sadness. ¡°We also still need your help.¡±


    ¡°But what are you going to do then?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to find out, how they found us.¡± He slowly rose from the pillow. ¡°There¡¯s no way that that was a coincidence. Which is why I think they¡¯ve bugged you.¡± His green eyes seemed to glow while looking directly at Lia.


    ¡°They bugged me?¡± She followed the urge and patted her robe. ¡°So they heard everything you said?¡±


    ¡°Not that type of bug.¡± He shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment. ¡°They¡¯ve probably put a hyperspace locator on you.¡±


    ¡°You mean ¡­ like a hyperspace beacon?¡± Orphelia almost stood.


    ¡°Yes, and no.¡± Ormo slowly walked around the table. ¡°A hyperspace beacon is a pretty large device, the size of this room, if not larger.¡± He stopped behind Lia. ¡°A hyperspace locator can be ¡­¡± He patted the robe around her neck and retrieved something from it. ¡°¡­ the size of a button.¡±


    ¡°But when ¡­?¡± Lia¡¯s question trailed off and she remembered how Ludwig had straightened all of their robes. That was probably when he had put the locator on her. But why? Had he foreseen all of this? Or had he really seen all of this in a vision? A vision she had unwittingly forced on him in the medical bay.


    Ormo walked back around the table and sat back on his pillow, the locator still in hand.


    ¡°That¡¯s when ¡­¡± Orphelia had come to the same realization as her.


    ¡°Bridge do captain. The only reachable hyper space beacon close to us is U1E.¡±


    Ormo bit his lower lip, and took another deep breath. ¡°Get us there and leave hyper space. If we keep our distance to it, we should be fine, and there¡¯s a chance the empire won¡¯t follow us there.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s at U1E?¡± Lia asked.


    ¡°A place that no sane captain visists. Ever. It¡¯s known as Fornax¡¯s Grave.¡±


    The announcement alone sent shivers down her spine.


    ¡°Fornax¡¯s Grave?¡± Orphelia leaned slightly closer to Lia.


    ¡°Fornax was the last emperor that tried to reach the eleventh element, to ascend to godhood.¡± Ormo took another deep breath and close his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s the place where he tried, and failed.¡± When neither Lia nor Orphelia answered, Ormo continued. ¡°U1E is known as the Bermuda Sector, a place that¡¯s avoided by everyone. Only a few Generals and we FAE know its true origins.¡±


    ¡°Why is it avoided?¡± Orphelia sounded alarmed.


    ¡°Because, something was left behind by that attempt.¡± Ormo slowly rose. ¡°It¡¯s best I show you.¡± He balled his fist around the locator, walked around the table and left the room. Lia and Orphelia looked at each other before following him.


    The way to the bridge was pretty short, probably the privilege of being the captain of the vessel. When Lia entered the bridge, she immediately recognized it from the vision she had been in just prior. So they were still on the same ship. And the bridge was rather modern looking.


    Ormo went past a crew member and handed her something. ¡°Fit this locator into a probe. I want to leave it here.¡± The woman nodded, then got up and left the bridge at a brisk pace.


    ¡°You want to leave the locator at U1E?¡± Lia asked, unsure what to feel about it.


    ¡°If they¡¯re really so moronic to come here, because they think we¡¯re hiding here, rather than us having found the locator, then they deserve to deal with the consequences.¡± Ormo walked past her and sat in the center most chair. ¡°ETA to arrival?¡±


    ¡°What consequences?¡± Lia slowly turned around to the captain once more.


    ¡°Thirty seconds.¡± The answer of one of the crew interrupted her.


    ¡°That¡¯s how long until you know ¡­¡± Ormo didn¡¯t even turn to her, while he stared at the black HTVs in front. ¡°You know what you have to do as soon as we¡¯re back in normal space?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± the crew answered, which sent shivers down Lia¡¯s spine.


    ¡°We¡¯ve reached the beacon. Returning to normal space,¡± someone announced, and a moment later the displays came back to life.


    ¡°We¡¯re in luck to be so far away.¡± Ormo released a breath. ¡°Zoom in on Fornax¡¯s Grave. I want our guests to see the folly of old.¡±


    It was as if they traveled at high speed toward an object in the distance. It looked like a large sphere made of rocks, that was illuminated by a yellow sun somewhere off to the right. The stones glittered in the sun¡¯s light as they turned but stayed on an orbit around a shared center of gravity.


    She could make out tones of brown, some of blue, and there was even a bit of green, as if plants on the rocks had been frozen in time. It took her a moment to realize that what she saw was a planet that had been blasted apart. But instead of drifting away, the pieces had stayed in close proximity, as if tied together by some unseen force.


    Then, she noticed something hidden inside the rocks, and the shiver she had felt before spread to her whole body. An unseen cold ravaged her, as she stared at the black mist half hidden in the depth of the former planet.


    ¡°Is that ¡­?¡± she asked and made a step backwards, as if she could escape from what she saw. The black mist reminded her of her nightmares. The ones where she stood at the gates and saw Orphelia overwhelmed by something hiding in the dark.


    ¡°That¡¯s Fornax¡¯s Grave,¡± Ormo confirmed.


    Lia¡¯s gaze was fixed on the object, and she had a hard time to tear it away. Thankfully, the ship turned, and the exploded planet migrated through several panes, before it was behind them. Only when it started to shrink, she managed to turn to her friend.


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    Orphelia seemed to feel the same as her, as she was rubbing her arms furiously. Lia was worried that she would scratch her arms again, as she had done in the beginning at the Crystal Academy. That had probably been a sign of her awakening as an impera.


    Lia grabbed Orphelia¡¯s hand and squeezed it, while turning back to Ormo. ¡°What happened here?¡±


    ¡°The only thing we know is, that Fornax tried to ascend. According to legend, he had gathered several dozen donar, all in the possession of time mana, and used them to conduct the ascension ritual. To have them generate higher order mana, that he would then try to control ¡­¡± Ormo stared at the vastness of space before them, not even turning his head. ¡°We have no idea what went wrong. The planet broke apart at the attempt. And the mana ¡­ stayed behind. Altered. Everyone on that planet died. Maybe they were pulled into where the core of the planet had been. Maybe they simply suffocated, because we can¡¯t even detect an atmosphere there anymore. The thing is ¡­ it was a total disaster.¡±


    Lia stepped closer to Orphelia and hugged her friend. They both needed it, she was sure of that.


    ¡°Launch the locator toward Fornax¡¯s Grave as soon as possible, and then get enough distance from it that we can reenter hyperspace.¡± Ormo slowly rose and walked past them. ¡°Come, I think you have earned yourself something nice. How about some ice-cold drinks?¡±


    Lia looked at the now small speck that had caused her goodebumps. ¡°What was that?¡± she heard herself ask, and noticed, that Orphelia had asked the same question.


    Ormo stopped in the door and turned to them. ¡°That¡¯s the reason why this is called the Bermuda Sector. Whatever¡¯s left there is sucking in mana. From everywhere. Even from Donar that are less than a lightyear away. The closer you are, the worse it gets. Some imperi hear whispers and cries of pain. Get to close, and it is almost impossible to leave.¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°Only non-mages can get closer, but even they feel as if the life is sucked out of them, if they get too close.¡± Then he made the first step off the bridge. ¡°Now come. Even if you don¡¯t want something ¡­ I need a stiff drink!¡±


    ***


    The goosebumps refused to vanish, even after they had left the bridge, and they couldn¡¯t see it anymore. Orphelia was even rubbing her arms all the way through the corridors of the ship and even when they arrived at some kind of bar or cafeteria in the ship.


    Omor walked behind the bar, and gestured at them to take the stools in front of it. Orphelia sat down and closed her eyes tightly, her hands holding her head, as if she got an headache.


    ¡°The drain has been that bad, hasn¡¯t it?¡± Ormo asked and pulled several bottles out from the shelf behind him. ¡°How about an alcohol-free mizaquaris-orange cocktail?¡± He tried to smile and began mixing. ¡°I heard it helps to replenish some of your mana reserves.¡±


    Neither Lia nor Orphelia answered him. Orphelia was shaken a lot worse than her, and even his expression was grim.


    ¡°As I said on the bridge,¡± he continued, as if he couldn¡¯t bear the silence, ¡°it affects almost everyone. I don¡¯t want to know how bad it must have been for Lilian, the former queen ¡­¡±


    ¡°The queen was here?¡± Lia asked, her voice barely above a whisper.


    ¡°Yes. Every ruler is shown this place to deter them from trying the same shit.¡± He sighed and filled some ice cubes into three glasses ¨C two tall ones and a whiskey glass. ¡°I don¡¯t even know, if Amir has seen it yet.¡±


    ¡°Would that even change anything?¡± Lia kept staring at the glass, as if it could answer a lot of her questions. But the ice cubes only danced slightly as Ormo poured the mixed drink into it.


    ¡°Probably not.¡± He pushed the two glasses to them. ¡°Drink. It will help. And we¡¯re also flying away from it. Sublight travel takes a bit of time, but the symptoms are slowly getting better.¡±


    Lia rubbed over her arms. She still felt the unnatural cold, but her goosebumps had vanished. Maybe she even had gotten used to it ¨C in contrast to Orphelia.


    ¡°The big question is still, how we keep Amir from executing his plan.¡± Ormo poured himself a drink in the whiskey glass, using a different bottle. The liquid looked as if it could be whiskey as well, and when he downed it in a single gulp, she was almost sure, it was.


    ¡°Which is why you want to keep looking into the future until you find a clue.¡± Lia took the cool glass between her hands. It was a comfortable cold, unlike the one that still clung to her skin.


    ¡°That¡¯s basically it.¡±


    ¡°But how can you find a clue, if you are outside of his system? If you keep your distance from the empire and the king, your perspective will never be close enough to him to get a clue, right?¡±


    Omor looked at her as if she had slapped him. Then he poured himself another drink.


    ¡°You¡¯re far sharper than you look.¡± He grabbed the glass, but didn¡¯t drink immediately. ¡°I guess, there¡¯s more that I need to tell you.¡±


    Orphelia stopped rubbing her arms, and looked up at Omor.


    ¡°I told you before, that we were privateers. Basically sanctioned pirates. Sanctioned by the queen herself.¡± With that, he took his second drink. ¡°She contacted us and told us about her brother¡¯s ambitions.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s thinking, or why she wanted us to interfere with your return to the Crystal Academy, but it was apparently part of her plan to change something ¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Lia tried to wrap her head around the things Ormo was telling them. ¡°Wait, wait wait.¡± Nothing of that really made sense. ¡°The queen wanted you to kidnap us?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s the source of all information regarding her brother,¡± Ormo admitted and shrugged. ¡°At first, we couldn¡¯t believe it either, and tried to keep our heads down. But then, she abdicated the throne, forced to by the rest of the family and upper echelon of the empire. He suddenly had mastery over every element. He was an impero that could control every element before, but now he also had the mana of every element to use as he pleases. Not even the queen has mana pools for all elements.¡±


    ¡°So, she suspected foul play,¡± Orphelia concluded.


    ¡°She did.¡± Ormo nodded and looked at the bottle, but refrained from pouring himself another shot. ¡°She suspected foul play since the first time she saw the vision of him taking power. And since she had no idea, how he was cheating, she couldn¡¯t do anything to stop him.¡±


    ¡°So she came to you,¡± Lia tried to make her own conclusions.


    ¡°No, not yet. She sat her staff to investigate Amir. They found out that he was investigating the eleventh element. That he hacked into the computer system somehow, and she suspected that he was already using magic, he shouldn¡¯t have been able to.¡±


    ¡°You can hack computers with magic?¡± The surprise made Lia glad that she hadn¡¯t had a sip of her drink yet. Or maybe it made Ormo glad.


    ¡°But of course. Metal mages can influence half-metals as well.¡± He shook his head. ¡°The important point is, that it came down to a hacking battle, but Amir was very careful. There wasn¡¯t even much on his personal tablet. Just a sort-of todo list: ¡®Become omni-elemental as both imperi and donar¡¯, ¡®become king¡¯, ¡®conduct the ritual¡¯, and ¡®impose a mana-tax¡¯.¡±


    ¡°A ritual?¡± Orphelia perked up.


    ¡°I guess you heard already, that several donar can create the mana of a higher order. There is a ritual involved in that. As is in getting to the eleventh element.¡±


    ¡°But why would he impose the mana-tax after the ritual?¡± Lia creased her brows slightly. That didn¡¯t make sense.


    ¡°The queen¡¯s guess is, that it is more of an after thought on how to achieve his goal. It was indented differently.¡±


    ¡°So, no one has any idea on how he wants to achieve his goal.¡±


    Ormo once again gripped the bottle, but still refrained from pouring another glass. ¡°No. But I guess, he¡¯s trying to implement it right now.¡± A wry smile formed on his lips. ¡°Start HTV and show the latest HNN-News.¡±


    Light flickered behind them, and Lia turned around, the drink in her hands. She took the first sip, as the HTV came alive, showing the same news lady she had seen in the station. Apparently you could see the Hyperspace News Network anywhere.


    ¡°The pirates make the main news again,¡± the woman said, and a picture of Orphelia and her was shown next to her.


    Lia sipped her drink. So, Amir was already using them to sow more distrust against the pirates.


    ¡°They kidnapped two students from the Crystal Academy, as they were on their way back to the Crystal Citadel. Their annual field trip came to a bad end, when Ormo Andromedae, one of the pirate¡¯s heads, kidnapped them. They managed to snatch only two donar, but since both of them were registered with four elements, one of them with the dangerous mind mana, it stands to reason that their intentions are nefarious.¡±


    Lia gripped the glass harder. A paper cup would¡¯ve been crushed between her fingers, but the glass held. So Ludwig had really switched her elements back.


    ¡°It comes after several attacks on merchant vessels, costing the public thousands of Star Crystals. Our new king, Amir Saggitarius, has promised to tighten security, and to bring the two donar back to their families.¡±


    The picture faded and was replaced with the rendering of a virus. ¡°In other news, a team of mages and scientists have discovered a new virus that seems to have originated on Lysithea. According to the team, it attacks the mana circuits in a body, which may result in the loss of mana pools for donar. Imperi may lose access to some elements temporarily, but since the virus can use the victims mana to propagate, donar are at a high risk to lose their pools permanently. A vaccine is in the works and will first be distributed on the central trade hubs of the empire, first and foremost the Crystal Citadel.¡±


    The picture of the virus vanished during her speech, and was replaced by one of the Crystal Academy, before vanishing as well.


    ¡°Amir Saggitarius has announced a change in the empire¡¯s tax code. According to a spokesperson of the empire, people may retain more Star Crystals of what they earn, but might have to part with more immaterial goods. The list of those goods is currently unfinished and therefore still classified. The question as to why this change is planned has also not been answered by the spokesperson or the king. The new tax code might be implemented at the beginning of the next cycle at the earliest.¡±


    ¡°He has made his move,¡± Omor commented. ¡°Maybe he has people researching a way to store mana and hopes that they¡¯ll find a way in a cycle¡¯s time.¡±


    ¡°Watch HNN for the newest reports on what happens in the empire.¡± The woman faded and was replaced with the network¡¯s logo.


    ¡°Then you have thirty weeks to stop him.¡± Lia sipped from her drink and turned back around to look at Ormo. ¡°How will you get around the time magic¡¯s limitation?¡±


    A half-grin formed on his lips. ¡°I guess it is time that I introduce you to the rest of the FAE¡¯s court of four.¡±

 Part Two — EDEN

    ¡°The FAE¡¯s court of four?¡± Lia echoed the last words Ormo had spoken.


    ¡°Our leadership.¡± He smiled amicably.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say, the spring captain has a unique perspective.¡± He took the whiskey bottle and put it back in the shelf behind the bar. ¡°Anyways. I think we¡¯re out of Fornax¡¯s grasp. It¡¯s only a matter of time until our mages have recovered enough that we can continue on our journey.¡± Ormo looked at them expectantly, and Lia realized that she hadn¡¯t finished her glass. She drank it all at once and put it back on the counter. Orphelia put hers back without drinking from it. Her friend still looked pale. She definitely had to ask her when they had a moment alone.


    Ormo took both glasses, dumped the contents of Orphelia¡¯s and put them upside down in the sink. ¡°Can you give me a bit of liquid mana?¡±


    Lia rolled her eyes, but quickly tapped his arm. A moment later, Ormo put two clean looking glasses back on the shelf. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The pirate captain left the bar. As Orphelia got up, Lia whispered into her ear: ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Her friend shook her head.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°It was looking at me,¡± Orphelia whispered. ¡°It told me I can¡¯t escape ¡­¡±


    Lia didn¡¯t know what to say. She couldn¡¯t even ask anyone without revealing Orphelia¡¯s secret. The only thing she could do, was to take Orphelia in her arms. ¡°You can escape, and you will,¡± she whispered reassuringly. ¡°I¡¯ll help you escape.¡± Her friend shivered in her arms, and Lia was almost sure, she heard her sob.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why haven¡¯t you ¡­¡± Ormo saw them and sighed. ¡°Come to the bridge when you feel better. I don¡¯t think Fornax has ever killed any donar, so you can rest easy now. We really have escaped his grasp.¡± Ormo turned around and left.


    ¡°Then ¡­¡± Orphelia still shook in her harms. ¡°¡­ why doesn¡¯t it feel like that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know ¡­ I don¡¯t know ¡­¡± Lia kept holding onto her friend for what felt like an eternity.


    ¡°All hand, prepare for hyper space,¡± a voice said through the communications system. Lia and Orphelia didn¡¯t move. Safe in the ship, they didn¡¯t even feel or see the effects of hyper space, so they didn¡¯t even notice when exactly they entered.


    After a few more minutes, Orphelia straightened. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m fine now. Thank you.¡±


    Lia took a step back, but kept both hands on Orphelia¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Are you sure?¡± At least some color had returned to her face.


    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s see, where we are going.¡± Her friend turned toward the exit and lead the way. Lia bit her lower lip and followed her through the corridors of the Lagrange. She wondered whether the queen had gotten a similar message or whether Orphelia¡¯s situation was unique. It probably didn¡¯t matter. They wouldn¡¯t return to Fornax¡¯s Grave. They¡¯d meet the FAE¡¯s court of four, and then ¡­ maybe, they could find a way back to the academy.


    Orphelia walked at a brisk pace, forcing Lia to hurry. She only slowed down, when they reached the door to the bridge. It hissed open and both of them stepped into the central room of the ship. The HTVs were off, once again, indicating that they were still in hyper space.


    ¡°Good timing,¡± Ormo said, turning to them, ¡°we¡¯ll reach EDEN in just under a minute.¡±


    Somehow, the atmosphere was tense. Almost as if everyone suspected that the empire was still on their tail. No one said a word, and that minute lasted an eternity.


    ¡°Returning to normal space.¡± The announcement came suddenly, and the HTVs flickered to life. The darkness of space was almost everywhere around them, with one very bright star in the distance. After approaching that star for another eternity, Lia recognized EDEN. The bright crystal surrounded by three slowly rotating rings.


    ¡°Welcome to EDEN, our home.¡± Ormo still sounded somewhat tense, probably because the empire could still follow them.


    The Lagrange approached the station very slowly, but the more time passed, the more the tension seemed to lift from the crew, as well as the captain.


    EDEN itself kept growing in front of them, the station far larger than Lia thought. It rivaled the Crystal Citadel in size, if it wasn¡¯t even larger. Could they really have built it just by being privateers? Sanctioned pirates? It must¡¯ve taken decades to build that.


    The inside of the three rings were showing different colors, sections that were blue, others that were green, and some gray, as if she was looking at rings, made of the surface of a planet, sliced up and bent into these contraptions. The light of the sun was reflected and refracted by the crystal, bathing the rings in a plethora of colors.


    Were the pirates just living in the rings? Or were there facilities in the large crystal as well?


    Seeing the crystal thrust another question on her. ¡°Why is a large crystalline structure in all the space stations?¡± she murmured aloud.


    ¡°Now that you mention it,¡± Orphelia added, and continued the line of thought: ¡°The Crystal Citadel is literally built out of a crystal, there was a large crystal tree in the main dome of Foresteri, and even EDEN has a large Crystal at its core.¡±


    ¡°I guess you would¡¯ve learned it in hyper space studies at the Crystal Academy.¡± Ormo turned to them. ¡°Crystals are a highly ordered substance. Their atoms are placed in a lattice with periodically recurring patterns. That order is affecting hyperspace, making it easier for any ship traveling through it to leave at more consistent points. It allows us to place hyperspace beacons far closer to the actual station than we can do it at planets or moons.¡±


    Lia stared at EDEN. So the explanation was far simpler than she thought.


    They watched in silence as they approached the station. It was massive. Maybe not as massive as the Crystal Citadel, but still huge. When they finally approached the lowest of the three rings, the bridge came to live. ¡°Lagrange to EDEN, requesting permission to dock.¡±


    ¡°Permission granted. Please use dock Iota. The rest of the court is already waiting for you.¡±


    Ormo smiled at the answer. ¡°Understood. Lagrange out.¡± The captain slowly rose from his chair. ¡°Dock at port Iota, then take some time off. I¡¯ll be taking our guests to meet the rest of the court. I believe this might take a few hours.¡±


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    There was no answer from the crew, but she could see all of them nodding silently.


    The captain nodded as well, then left the bridge. Lia and Orphelia followed him, after exchanging another look.


    ***


    The three of them entered the lower ring of the station together. It was the third space station Lia set foot on, and it had another distinct style to it. After entering an elevator, they emerged in a large building with tables, chairs and a counter. A man standing behind it smiled at them.


    "Welcome back, Summer Captain," the man said. "The court is waiting."


    "I know already, thank you." Ormo then turned to them. "Please follow me."


    They left the building and Lia slowed down, mouth agape. Finally she stopped, staring at the sky above. There was a blue sky above with what looked like a perpetual aurora. Bands painted in the colors of the rainbow glittered above them. It was what had first drawn her gaze, but the rest of the station was as breathtaking: Vast fields, and plantages that were only cut off by some metal railings in the distance.


    "We try to be self-sufficient," Ormo explained, as he led the way through the fields and plantages consisting of fruit trees. "The lower and the upper ring are both dedicated to producing food, while the central ring is the residential one."


    Seeing all the fields made Lia feel homesick. She wanted to see her parents again, maybe even help on the fields. They must be worried sick about her right now. There had to be a way to let them know that she was okay. She''d have to ask Ormo about it.


    "Please, come," the captain said to her. She hadn''t even realized that she had stopped once again. Orphelia put an arm on her shoulders and they continued to follow Ormo. They left the plantage and walked toward a tube at the edge of the ring. It was a fairly long trek through it to the middle ring, where they emerged in a city. A skyscraper seemed to reach up to the aurora above.


    Ormo headed straight for the tallest building. It was built in a style she knew from old pictures of earth. Maybe that, and the coming meeting with the FAE''s court of four made the approach daunting. At least she wasn''t alone and Orphelia was with her, squeezing her shoulders.


    "Thank you," she whispered to her friend. She was very glad, that Orphelia was with her right now. That she hadn''t given in to her jealousy. The thought alone made her feel bad.


    The inside of the building was paved with gleaming marble. A few marble pillars seemed to hold the upper floors of the building.


    "Ah, the Summer Captain has arrived." Another man greeted them. He looked a bit older than Ormo, with white hair and a white beard, clad in a black suit. "The rest of the court is waiting in the meeting room on the uppermost level."


    "Thank you, Blackvine." Ormo nodded to the man and led them to an elevator in the back. It reminded her of her first day at the Crystal Academy, when Ludwig had brought her to the Academy level on the Crystal Citadel. This elevator was far less transparent, and she could only see glimpses of the floors they passed by.


    Their platform slowed some time later, when they had reached the top of the building. Lia at least thought that it was the top of the building. When they exited, she could see over the city, curving toward her - or rather the crystal up above - in the distance.


    She once again wondered, how the pirates could''ve built all this.


    "Impressed?" a strangely familiar female voice asked. As Lia turned around, she looked at a woman dressed in green robes. What looked like lianas was braided into her hair, and a green mask hid her eyes. Lia only managed to nod. "You''re probably asking yourself how that''s possible." And Lia nodded. "I guess you''ll find out soon enough."


    "Spring Captain," Ormo greeted the other person.


    "Summer Captain." The woman nodded. "We''ve been waiting. Come on in." She led the way through two large, wooden double doors. A round table stood in the center, with four chairs dispersed in equal distances around it. Two chairs were occupied. There was a woman with white hair and white clothing, and a man with brown hair and clothing. Both were wearing masks.


    "These are the winter and the autumn captain respectively," the spring captain explained and walked to the table, taking one of the free chairs. "When the court of four meets with outsiders, we''re usually wearing masks, as our privacy is very important." The two other captains nodded slightly.


    Ormo nodded as well and took the last free seat. "Please, come. You can sit at my side," he said and two more chairs rose from the floor. "You''re my guests, after all."


    "You probably wonder why Ormo has arranged a meeting with us," the Spring Captain said. "It was because I asked him to."


    "Because you also want access to my time mana," Lia discerned dryly.


    "Indeed," the Spring Captain answered. "But in contrast to the Summer Captain, I am in a position to see far more than him." She reached up to her mask and removed it. Suddenly, Lia stared into eyes that she had seen before, that she had even adored at times.


    "Lilian Saggitarius," Orphelia whispered, identifying the Spring Captain of the FAE''s Court of Four as the former queen.


    Lia had recognized her as well, but her mind reeled. ¡°How? Why?¡± she stuttered while looking at the delicate face of the woman that once ruled the empire.


    ¡°Politics,¡± Lilian answered and leaned back. ¡°You probably won¡¯t believe, how often there are political players that oppose my agenda. I can¡¯t oppose them openly, because I need their support and resources. A ruler is nothing without the people that keep the empire running. The privateers keep the balance by diminishing some of their power.¡±


    ¡°In return, some of our policies are looked upon more favorably. Although the big changes have yet to come,¡± the woman in white clothing ¨C the winter captain ¨C added.


    ¡°The FAE believe in equality. That¡¯s why our court of four is made up of an impero ¨C me, a donar, the winter captain, a normal human, the fall captain, and lilian here, as the one that encompasses all aspects of magic.¡± Omor leaned back on his chair. ¡°Her parents had introduced her to us as their mother¡¯s replacement. They thought Amir would take the throne, and taught him ¨C until the magic test showed that he had no mana pools himself.¡±


    ¡°It broke the balance, and I think Amir never recovered from the blow, when he was disowned.¡± Lillian sighed. ¡°But enough about the past. This is about what¡¯s to come.¡± The former queen straightened in her seat. Suddenly she had a different aura. She seemed more dignified, commanding. ¡°Will you help me shape the future?¡±


    Lia bit her lower lip and looked at Orphelia. Somehow she wasn¡¯t sure how to react, or how to even feel. She was in front of the former queen. The one that had worked countless magical wonders on HTV. The one that had made her want to become a mage herself. It was a bit as if she stood in front of her idol. And her idol asked her to help them. Part of her was squealing in the back of her mind, making it hard to hear her own thoughts. Another part of her was the disillusioned donar, who had had to almost kill Ludwig to get him to recognize her wishes. Maybe, just maybe, right here, and now, she had a chance to change things. Orphelia nodded slightly, and Lia turned back to the queen.


    ¡°What does the future entail?¡± she asked.


    ¡°If you seek true equality between imperi and donar, then I can¡¯t promise you that,¡± the queen answered in a somber tone. ¡°I have drafted legislation that puts everyone on one footing, something I already promised the FAE to introduce.¡± She shook her head. ¡°It won¡¯t change the attitude of the people over night, and I fear that it might result in a civil war.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s citing that fear for years,¡± the winter captain said. ¡°I¡¯ve only voted for her plan to get you, because I know that it will be worse under Amir.¡±


    ¡°Things won¡¯t change for us normal people under either,¡± the fall captain added and shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ve been promised jam the next day countless times already, but all we¡¯ve been given were fruits we had to grow ourselves.¡±


    Lillian glared at the two pirates that were still masked. When she turned back to them, she took a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the future several times, and until now, it always resulted in civil war.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve been unable to change the future. Maybe I¡¯ve not tried hard enough ¡­¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s try harder,¡± Orphelia said and offered her hand. The queen smiled and shook it.


    Lia smiled herself, until she noticed how Orphelia blinked, and seemed to freeze slightly.


    ¡°Thank you. That means a lot to me,¡± Lilian answered, then offered her hand to Lia as well.


    Lia hesitated slightly, then took the hand herself.


    I just told your friend that I know her secret. The queen¡¯s voice echoed strangely in her head. With her talents, she¡¯ll be considered a princess, and has a lot more sway than she realizes. You two can change the empire, I¡¯m sure of it. Lia froze as well. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s wise to announce her status to everyone here, so please play along. I¡¯ll talk to you more in private later.


    The queen let go of her hand, and Lia lowered it far slower than she probably should have. She almost felt Omor narrowing his gaze.


    ¡°Will you help me? Us?¡± the queen asked again, and Lia nodded as if on autopilot.

 Part Two — Lillian Saggitarius

    ¡°Thank you.¡± The spring captain turned to the rest of the court. ¡°I know you want to see the future as much as I do, but before we get to that, I¡¯d like to speak to them both in private.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± the winter captain stood from his chair. ¡°We didn¡¯t agree to that!¡±


    Lilian held up a hand. ¡°Trying to change the future is a very delicate endeavor. Small changes can easily snowball out of control. Bigger changes can become system-wide disasters.¡±


    ¡°As much as I hate to agree with that right now,¡± Omor said, ¡°she¡¯s right. Let her speak to them in private for now. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll tell us the things we need to know after our first vision of her future.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯d better ¡­¡± The winter captain sat back down, but was clearly frowning.


    ¡°What did you expect?¡± The fall captain shrugged. ¡°I still think that taking one of the royal family into our ranks had been a mistake. There¡¯s something like too much equality, too much tolerance.¡±


    ¡°Too much freedom?¡± the queen asked, and the fall captain looked away. She probably had hit a nerve. ¡°True equality is hard to achieve. Oftentimes we end up with replacing one kind of dictatorship with another.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve heard that speech often enough.¡± The winter captain stood. ¡°Have your private meeting, I¡¯m waiting outside.¡±


    The fall captain followed suit, and both of them left the room. Omor stayed behind and stared at the former queen.


    ¡°I hope you¡¯re doing the right thing,¡± he whispered, before standing up and leaving the room.


    Lilian pressed her lips so strongly together that they turned a lighter shade of pink. ¡°They don¡¯t know, how much responsibility is still on my shoulders.¡± She almost shook herself, then relaxed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. In more ways than one. I¡¯m unable to stop what¡¯s coming, and I know that you two will have to endure some hardships.¡± She offered them her hands. ¡°I¡¯ll link our minds, because what I have to tell you must not leave this room.¡±


    Orphelia took the spring captain¡¯s hand slowly. Lia reached for Lilian¡¯s hand as hesitatingly as her friend.


    If everything is still on the way to the future I¡¯ve worked towards, then the empire will arrive shortly, the queen began. We won¡¯t have much time. The queen looked at Orphelia, while Lia¡¯s thoughts reeled. The empire was still coming? But they had left the hyperspace tracker at Fornax¡¯s grave!


    I¡¯m sure you know already, but as both an impera and a donar, you¡¯re a princess. You¡¯re the only one that can stop the empire¡¯s fleet from eradicating the people on the station.


    But how? Orphelia¡¯s voice resounded in her head as well. So they truly were linked.


    You have to expose your secret. The queen¡¯s aura of authority had returned. There is a passphrase you need to tell Admiral Horologii, then show him how you can manipulate five elements of your choice. That will put your authority on equal footing with my brother¡¯s. That will force him to negotiate for your release to them.


    Why can¡¯t you stop him? Shouldn¡¯t they be forced to negotiate for your release, too?


    The queen shook her head. I haven¡¯t been abducted by the pirates. If I suddenly show up, then he knows that something¡¯s wrong. Orphelia didn¡¯t answer, but looked at the floor. Please. You are the only one that can stop them from destroying this place.


    Lia looked at her friend, who was still looking at the floor. She was probably weighing the lives of the pirates to the reputation of her mother. She barely knew the former, but apparently valued their lives.


    She doesn¡¯t want her mother to get involved, Lia thought in her friend¡¯s stead. The only way for her to be a princess would be, if her mother was ¡­ unfaithful.


    There¡¯s no need to worry about that, the queen thought back. After all, you have been born to normal humans. So why should it be impossible for a princess to be born to non-mages as well?


    Orphelia suddenly looked up. There was relieve on her face, so much so, that Lia could feel it through the link.


    Orphelia will have to board the admiral¡¯s ship. I need you to accompany her. The queen turned to Lia. She¡¯ll have to designate you as her personal donar. The admiral will respect you, if you demonstrate to him that you have at least five pools as well.


    Lia wetted her lips and averted her gaze from the queen. Will that stop Amir?


    The queen was silent for a moment. I don¡¯t know. But I know it will protect the FAE. After that, Orphelia can request me as an advisor, and she can continue to counteract Amir¡¯s decisions. It will give the council more power, as they have to decide on certain issues, but it¡¯s necessary. At least it should delay his plans ¨C and we need as much time as we can get.


    The queen looked back at Orphelia. I¡¯m ¡­ I¡¯m sorry that I¡¯m sacrificing you like this, but I see no other way forward. Were those tears that glittered in the queen¡¯s eyes? I¡¯m sorry, Lia, but there are a few things that I can only tell her.


    Lilian let go of her hand, and she watched in silence as Orphelia pressed her lips together. Her friend stared stoically at the former queen, and the color drained from her face. What else was she telling her? There was no way for her to know at this time.


    Orphelia looked away from the queen, and from her, when Lilian finally let go of her friend¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Let me call the others back in,¡± the spring captain said, sounding gloomy.


    Lia scooted closer to Orphelia, hoping that her friend would tell her something, anything. She stayed quiet far longer than usual. Only when the door opened, did she whisper a single sentence: ¡°I wish I never awoke as an impera.¡±


    Lia had no chance to ask her what she meant, as the three other captains returned to the room. They took their respective seats. ¡°Now,¡± the fall captain said. ¡°Let¡¯s see what your actions will amount to.¡±


    The spring captain turned to Orphelia. ¡°I think it¡¯s better, if you sit this one out.¡± Then she turned to Lia. ¡°If you would?¡±


    The captains took each other¡¯s hands, with Lia making up the link between Omor and Lilian.


    ¡°Before we begin. Please include Lia in the vision.¡± The summer captain looked past her and at the former queen.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure she should see this,¡± the spring captain whispered.


    ¡°She has a right to see it.¡±


    Lilian hesitated and closed her eyes. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll include her.¡± Then she turned to Lia. ¡°That¡¯s if you want to.¡±


    Lia nodded. ¡°Please include me.¡± Maybe she¡¯d see something that¡¯d explain her friends glumness.


    ¡°I hope this won¡¯t change the future further,¡± Lilian whispered, then continued louder: ¡°Please begin.¡±


    Lia nodded and pushed spirit and time mana toward the former queen. A moment of silence passed, then another, until the magic finally took hold of them.


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    ***


    ¡°Careful.¡± The former queen¡¯s words echoed in her mind, then she stepped into the tube in front of her. She immediately floated along the several meter long structure until she arrived on the other side.


    The crystalline floor and the metal bands inlaid into it clued Lia into where they were: This was the Crystal Citadel. But for some reason, there wasn¡¯t any gravity.


    ¡°At least the power¡¯s still on,¡± Lilian murmured and looked around. It was somewhat disorienting to see her vision move around, but not to feel anything of that motion. ¡°Seems like life-support is also still functioning.¡±


    Lia felt a shiver run down her back. She had forgotten the prophesied zombie outbreak on the station. So that was still happening! Even though she felt the urge to look around, to check whether she could see any of the undead creatures, she couldn¡¯t ¨C she was limited to what Lillian would look at.


    ¡°Are you sure he¡¯s here?¡± Omor¡¯s voice. Lillian turned around to look at the summer captain. ¡°He had no other choice, but to come here.¡± Why did she sound so sure? ¡°The king has to be present during the princess¡¯ coronation.¡±


    Then this was happening after their return to the Crystal Academy? Probably shortly after?


    ¡°Where is he then?¡± The winter captain¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Probably still up ¡­¡± Lillian turned around. There was a hissing sound, and a block of crystal barely missed her face. Several paces away, a human ¨C no a mage ¨C floated in the air. Judging by the robes, he was a donar. There was no life in his eyes, no recognition. When he opened his mouth, all she heard was some hissing and gargling. He moved his arms, and another piece of crystal shot at the former queen.


    Lia felt her eyes go wide. The zombie was using magic. He was probably still alive, too, but his mind seemed to be gone.


    ¡°Why is that donar able to cast magic? Alone?¡± The fall captain¡¯s gasp echoed her thoughts.


    Lilian cast her own magic, and a stone pillar rose from the ground. It wrapped itself around her attacker. ¡°I have no idea, but we have to stop them, or they might breach the hull,¡± she called.


    ¡°Winter!¡± Omor called, and probably used the donar to be able to cast magic himself.


    ¡°Is ¡­ is there a way to turn them back?¡± The fall captain hovered past Lilian, an energy saber in hand. Despite his hesitating question, he seemed ready to kill his opponents.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. If their mind has been overwhelmed, then ¡­ maybe. If it has been erased ¡­¡± The tickling feeling of magic leaving Lilian¡¯s hand signaled that she used magic. A gust of air propelled her forward, just a moment later, directly at the donar that had attacked them.


    Her attacker hissed and pushed against them with his own gust of wind. Lilian¡¯s magic fought against his, wind attacking her body from both sides. The donar¡¯s mana gave out first, and the former queen managed to touch him.


    There was this horrible noise, and the whole vision faltered. Cracks appeared in the reality before her. Lia was sure she heard Lilian groan, as she struggled to keep the vision together until her future self pulled her hand away. ¡°They ¡­ they are still connected to ¡­ him.¡± The queen was panting, and the cracks in the vision stayed. Shouldn¡¯t they fade?


    ¡°Then all of this is Amir¡¯s work?¡± The winter captain¡¯s voice came closer, but the former queen didn¡¯t turn to the woman. She kept staring at the donar before her, and Lia felt how she pressed her lips together.


    ¡°Amir somehow managed to connect all these donar to himself. It was probably his way to get around the limitations of even a planet-wide ritual.¡±


    ¡°But how?¡± Omor floated closer to the donar and hit the back of the still screeching man¡¯s head with a karate chop. The ensuing silence made Lia smile, and she felt it mirrored on the body of future Lilian.


    ¡°I have no idea.¡± The queen sighed. ¡°We have to ask him, when we find him. If he¡¯s still coherent himself.¡±


    ¡°Is there a reason why he shouldn¡¯t be coherent?¡± The fall captain drifted against a wall and jumped forward from it.


    Lillian propelled herself forward with magic. ¡°My guess is that whatever happened has affected everyone in his network. And as the central point, he¡¯s also part of the network.¡±


    Omor grunted in response, pulling the winter captain behind himself. ¡°Then let¡¯s hope we get something out of him.¡±


    As they closed in on the main market square of the station, they heard even more grunting. Zombie donar were crowding around the teleporter, touching the various crystals as if they wanted to activate it. There were more donar on the ground, deep black wounds in their head. They were clearly dead. Some of the metallic lines leading to shattered crystals were bent and cut.


    ¡°Seems like they¡¯re trying to leave the station,¡± the fall captain murmured.


    ¡°Do you think whatever they got is contagious?¡± She could hear the winter captain¡¯s gulp.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not find out.¡± The former queen pushed herself toward the elevator tubes. Suddenly the groans subsided, and there was a screech. Gusts of wind pushed them off course, and pieces of crystals whizzed past them. Some stood next to the central fountain, diverting jets of water toward them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope none of them have fire.¡± Omor grunted and redirected some of the projectiles back.


    Suddenly there was a flash. A beam of light cut through the air, and the fall captain cried in pain, before deflecting the rest of the beam with his saber. Lilian grabbed him and pulled him into the open elevator. The platform didn¡¯t move, but Lilian projected a field of gravity above them. The elevator itself protested with screeches as they were pulled upward and the field subsided. ¡°As soon as we touch the ground, run. We need to get to the back entrance. The front will be overrun with students!¡±


    ¡°How often have you seen this future?¡± the winter captain asked.


    ¡°Too often!¡± Lillian grit her teeth so hard that Lia almost felt in her own body. ¡°I¡¯ve tried everything I could think of to avoid this future, but nothing worked.¡±


    Lia shivered as she recognized that Ludwig had tried to prevent this exact outcome himself. Were there events that just couldn¡¯t be changed? Events that simply had to occur, because someone, or something had been steering toward it for too long?


    The sound of shattering glass pulled her back into the vision. A rock had flown past them and into the elevator¡¯s tube. A new gravity field pulled them through an existing hole, and then to the ground. ¡°Run!¡± Lilian moved, keeping the gravity field active. She looked briefly over to the academy gates. Students were floating in front of it, groaning, and either propelling projectiles made of earth or metal at them, or themselves.


    Omor did his best to redirect some of the oncoming projectiles. Packed dirt burst on the floor, stones hit it with so much force that they left a crater, splattering them with brown. They didn¡¯t run toward the gates but past it, along the way Ludwig had taken at the day he¡¯d brought her to the academy. She only saw a glimpse of the gates. Everything looked familiar and yet different. Some of the illusions had probably failed.


    The path ended at a small gazebo, held up by seven pillars, making it seven arcs. Lilian ignored it and ran through, taking the left arc across the one she entered. She ran right at the wall and through it, stopping in front of a door. She put her hand on a palm reader and it hissed opening, allowing her and the other FAE to enter one of the many corridors of the academy.


    ¡°Stun every donar you see,¡± the queen said. ¡°I won¡¯t give up on them, until I know that¡¯s impossible to save them.¡± Lia noticed a nod out of the corner of Lilian¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Whereto now?¡± The summer captain looked around nervously.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try the chapel behind the dining hall. I guess the imperi will have retreated there.¡± They started running and came to a stop as a door opened. Ludwig stepped outside, a stun gun in hand. He lowered it as he recognized the former queen.


    ¡°Lillian Saggitarius. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you again,¡± he said. Then another person came through the door. Lia saw herself, but something was strange. When her other self looked up, the first thing she noticed, were her eyes. The iris had the color of space, and stars were glittering within them. The vision shattered before she could really make out, what the second thing was.


    Lillian pulled her hand away and hugged herself.


    ¡°What is it? Why did you end the vision?¡± the winter captain demanded to know.


    ¡°I ¡­ I¡¯m exhausted,¡± the former queen whispered. ¡°Channeling time mana and distributing the vision to five people is exhausting, even for me.¡±


    Lia let go of Omor¡¯s hand, the last of the vision still haunting her mind. What happened to her future self? What will happen to herself? Then she recognized the other thing that was strange. As soon as her future self¡¯s gaze settled on the queen, her expression had turned to ¡­ hatred. Or had she hated the whole situation? There¡¯s also one other question that suddenly came to mind. Every donar they had seen in the vision had turned into a zombie. Everyone. Except her.


    Just as she wanted to ask her questions, Lillian spoke up again. ¡°Get your people to start EDEN¡¯s hyperspace generators. The empire¡¯s coming!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Omor shot upright. ¡°Why? How?¡±


    Lillian didn¡¯t even look at him. ¡°Ludwig put a hyperspace locator on Orphelia as well. Now hurry, we don¡¯t have much time!¡±


    The fall captain shot up as well and ran to her friend, inspecting her clothes. He soon found another small disc in the same spot on Orphelia. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us sooner?¡±


    ¡°Because they have to return to the Crystal Academy, and that wouldn¡¯t happen otherwise.¡±


    ¡°Shit!¡± Omor swore. ¡°I¡¯d exile you on the spot, if I hadn¡¯t seen that vision right now!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about that later,¡± the winter captain said and ran to the door, speaking to something in his wrist. ¡°Gather the gravity and metal donar. We¡¯ll have to jump shortly.¡± There was a small pause, then Lia heard his shout. ¡°Yes, with the whole station! Now get to it!¡±


    ¡°Take Lia and Orphelia to the command post,¡± the former queen instructed, still without looking up. It was almost ¡­ as if she didn¡¯t want to meet their eyes, as if she hated herself for what she was doing. ¡°I have to stay back. Arthur must not see me.¡±


    ¡°Come.¡± The fall captain walked past them, clearly expecting Orphelia and Lia to follow him.


    As both followed the brown-haired man, she heard Omor¡¯s soft voice. ¡°Lillian.¡± There was a pause. ¡°I get the impression that you still haven¡¯t told us everything. That you haven¡¯t told me ¡­¡±


    If the queen gave an answer, then she didn¡¯t hear it, as the sound of the closing doors echoed behind them with a finality that sent shivers down her spine.

 Part Two — Hostage Exchange

    Whatever had happened between Orphelia and the former queen had changed her friend. The other girl kept holding her hand, but avoided looking at her at the same time. Lia wanted to ask her really badly, what happened, but she couldn¡¯t. The fall captain stood next to them in the mag train that hovered above the city, and kept staring at them, as if they could tell him Lillian¡¯s plans.


    ¡°It seems that both of you have become pawns in the hands of the queen,¡± he finally said and looked past them and out over the city. ¡°I do not envy you.¡±


    Lia frowned and looked out of the window herself. Seeing all the buildings made of glass, sandstone, and advertising boards pass them by, she wondered whether all the cities on the large planets looked like this. Whether the pirate¡¯s station was a cross-section of the empire itself with different ideals governing them.


    ¡°I joined the FAE because I thought we could change something,¡± the fall captain continued, ¡°but it seems that all we are, is a different part of the Saggitarius empire, kept happy with a semblance of what we desire in our own small world.¡±


    The train finally slowed as they approached a skyscraper clad in black panels. The vehicle entered it through a missing rectangle and stopped in a station that looked almost identical to the one they had left. The fall captain left and stepped into an elevator, waiting for them. After the platform lowered itself through the floor ¨C which was almost as thick as a whole story in the other building they¡¯ve come from, they entered something that resembled a bridge. They came from above and landed in the center of the room, the platform fitting neatly in the dais there, as if it had always been a part of it.


    Space greeted her at the edges of the room. It even looked as if the dais hovered in the middle of nowhere, with stars glittering almost everywhere around them. This wasn¡¯t just a bridge. This was a situation room that allowed them to keep their eyes on almost every part of the universe surrounding the station. Even the various displays scattered in a circle around the center were semi-transparent.


    ¡°Status report?¡± the fall captain demanded.


    ¡°The fleet has been warned not to approach EDEN, but to meet at point gamma,¡± a woman said, as she approached the dais. It was strange to see her walking on nothing. ¡°Our donar and imperi are migrating to the core, preparing for the jump. The rings are slowing down and should connect to the crystal core within the next five minutes.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± He took a deep breath, and set is jaw. It was almost as if he refrained from saying anything, because it could summon the imperial fleet.


    ¡°Several entry points into normal space detected,¡± someone shouted. ¡°No response to IFF request.¡±


    ¡°The empire¡¯s here.¡± The fall captain balled his fists. ¡°Let¡¯s see how they greet us.¡±


    ¡°Detecting several strong gravity fields.¡± Another voice echoed through the vast room.


    ¡°They¡¯re trying to anchor us.¡± Lia couldn¡¯t see the fall captain¡¯s face, but the way he balled his fists, there could¡¯ve been a vein bulging on his forehead. ¡°Lillian. Why didn¡¯t you warn us earlier?¡±


    Lia felt Orphelia tighten her hand. ¡°Because she wanted to force me to reveal who I am. What I am.¡± Her friend¡¯s voice shook.


    ¡°We¡¯re being hailed.¡±


    The fall captain sighed and stepped aside, steering Orphelia and her in a certain direction. ¡°Put them through.¡±


    Lia immediately recognized the person on the other side.


    ¡°I am Admiral Arthur Horologii of the empire¡¯s starfleet. Surrender and release the two students you¡¯ve kidnapped.¡±


    ¡°What if we won¡¯t comply?¡±


    ¡°I am authorized to shoot. Even though both donar are a vital asset to the empire, we¡¯re prepared to ¡­ accept losses.¡±


    ¡°In other words you¡¯re destroying the station and us with it,¡± Orphelia concluded. ¡°What will happen to them if they surrender?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re one of the donar, right? Well, if they surrender, they¡¯ll be taken into custody. The pirate leaders will be executed and the station will be converted into a trade hub for the empire.¡±


    ¡°So, some of them will die, no matter what?¡±


    Lia shared her friend¡¯s indignation. She hadn¡¯t known the FAE for long, and had only really gotten to know Omor, and the former queen, somewhat, but she didn¡¯t want to see them die.


    ¡°Look, girl. I¡¯m not here to explain empire politics to a donar.¡± Then he turned to the fall captain. ¡°You have ten seconds to comply.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how the empire operates.¡± The fall captain shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t ¨C¡±


    He was suddenly cut off as Orphelia shouted at the top of her lungs: ¡°Code Messier. Four C, Plus Thirty-Seven. Dot. Eleven.¡± She had shut her eyes tightly while blurting out what seemed like nonesense.


    The admiral¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Do you know what you¡¯ve declared right now?¡±


    There was a moment of silence before Orphelia answered, far quieter: ¡°Yes, I am aware.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s true, then this changes everything.¡± The admiral squinted with his eyes, but sighed when Orphelia didn¡¯t react any further. ¡°Very well, princess.¡± He emphasized the last word as if he couldn¡¯t believe it. Lia didn¡¯t blame him. Neither Orphelia nor her really believed it, but she was able to use her own mana to cast magic ¡­


    ¡°Pirates! We¡¯ll let you go in exchange for handing over the presumed princess.¡±


    ¡°How do we know that you¡¯ll keep your word?¡± the fall captain asked. Although he faced the hologram, his eyes were still looking at Orphelia. He had been caught off-guard by the revelation as well.


    ¡°I¡¯d say that my word is enough, but I understand your paranoia.¡± The admiral looked to the side, then nodded. ¡°How about a good old hostage exchange?¡±


    ¡°And how do you propose we should do that? There isn¡¯t any neutral ground we could meet at.¡±


    The admiral seemed to think for a few more moments. ¡°I¡¯ll have most of my fleet retreat, so that only six ships stay behind ¨C¡°


    ¡°To keep the anchor in place,¡± he was interrupted by the fall captain.


    ¡°To keep the anchor in place,¡± Arhtur Horologii admitted. ¡°Then we¡¯ll each board a shuttle and meet at the coordinates you designate. There she,¡± he pointedly looked at Orphelia, ¡°will have to demonstrate, that she truly is a princess. If she does, then I¡¯ll have five more ships retreat, allowing your station to leave.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯ll probably allow that the Lagrange will stay behind as well.¡±


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    There was a moment of silence. ¡°Very well. I guess these terms are acceptable for you?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not the best,¡± the fall captain said, contemplative, ¡°but they¡¯re acceptable.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± The admiral gestured, and after a moment, someone in the room reported, that some ships of the empire were leaving. Lia took a deep breath. Some of the tension she was feeling had left her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll sent you the coordinates of our meeting,¡± the fall captain said and gestured into the room. ¡°I propose we meed in half-an-hour. I guess you¡¯ll understand that we¡¯ll have to travel to the station¡¯s port.¡±


    The admiral grinned. ¡°Thank you for taking the stamina of our mages into account.¡±


    ¡°I am only doing that, because I think you¡¯ll fire at us nonetheless, if you can¡¯t keep us anchored long enough for the exchange to take place.¡±


    The grin on the admiral¡¯s face got wider. ¡°You know, if you weren¡¯t a pirate, I¡¯d ask you to join the fleet.¡±


    ¡°I refuse.¡± The fall captain made a gesture and the hologram vanished. He looked at them. ¡°I really hope you know what you¡¯re doing.¡± Then he turned and walked toward the stars in the distance. ¡°Come. I¡¯ll bring you to this ¡­ hostage exchange.¡±


    They didn¡¯t take the the elevator back up, but walked through the starfield holograms. Lia could feel the strange buzz of the projectors on her skin, and a shiver ran through her. When she looked at Orphelia, all she saw was, that the girl had set her jaw. She seemed determined to see this through.


    Lia sighed. It would be a long time until she could speak to her friend in private. Her worries made her almost not notice that she¡¯d started to become lighter ¨C probably due to the rings slowing down. As they entered another elevator, she wondered briefly what would happen, if gravity ceased completely on their way down.


    The only thing that happened was that she almost left the floor as the platform accelerated downwards, but after she had caught up to it, she didn¡¯t even feel the change anymore. When they left the cabin, they were in a large tunnel system. Colorful arrows were painted on the wall and the floor. The pirate seemed to know what color to follow and they soon arrived at a hatch on the floor, helpfully labeled ¡°Dock 18.¡±


    The captain jumped once, and then down the long tube. There was still a bit of gravity left, but it was apparently so weak that any fall of that height, that would usually result in injuries or worse, was harmless.


    ¡°Orphelia.¡± Lia whispered to her friend, but the other girl ignored her and jumped down as well. They should¡¯ve had a few minutes, shouldn¡¯t they? She sighed and promised herself to get answers later. Then she jumped down as well. Gravity was so weak that she floated gently downwards. It was almost as if the rotation of the rings had stopped completely. She had to correct a slight drift from time to time, but arrived safely on metal ground. Or rather a wall, as she determined after looking into the two big holes next to her ¡°floor¡±.


    ¡°Strap in,¡± the fall captain demanded. He was already in a chair, held to it with seat belts. ¡°The shuttle has no artificial gravity, unless you¡¯d like to provide some dark mana?¡± He looked at her from the seat in the front. Orphelia was already busy strapping herself into the left chair.


    ¡°No, thank you.¡± Lia shook her head and pushed herself to the right chair. There was a hissing sound behind her, which was probably the airlock closing. She felt the acceleration push her gently into the seat, and she wondered what all those seat belts were for.


    The stars in the distance swirled and turned, and Lia got a glimpse of the incredibly large ships that surrounded EDEN. ¡°Here¡¯s the Autumn¡¯s Leaf. Please transmit the meeting coordinates to me.¡±


    Lia never heard the answer, but since the stars shifted some more, the captain seemed to correct their course.


    It was quiet during their journey. Almost too quiet. Not even the stars seemed to move, only the space station far above them journeyed to the back of their shuttle. Maybe Lia should risk asking Orphelia what Lillian had told her in private, even if the fall captain could hear it. She turned to look at her friend, who gazed at the stars outside.


    What should she say? What could she say? No matter what came to mind, it felt all meaningless.


    ¡°You know ¡­¡± she began nonetheless, ¡°you can always talk to me.¡±


    That made Orphelia turn around at least. Her friend had a smile on her lips, but the way her eyes were wrinkled ¡­ Why did she look so sad? As Lia tried to speak again, all Orphelia did was shake her head and reach out with her hand. Lia took it, and squeezed. So it really was something the fall captain mustn¡¯t hear under any circumstances.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be at the rendezvous point in ten minutes,¡± the captain announced. It pulled Lia¡¯s attention to him and out the window, but she kept holding onto Orphelia¡¯s hand. She thought she could see the other shuttle in the distance, swimming through the sea of stars like a white manta ray.


    She watched in fascination as the ships closed in on each other, and the captain began to maneuver until both ship¡¯s backsides met. During those maneuvers, she understood and appreciated the seat belts.


    Metallic clangs and whirring sounds preceded the airlock hissing again. ¡°Okay. This is it. Let¡¯s get this over with.¡± The fall captain got easily out of his seat, Orphelia and Lia had to search the button that would release their belts for a bit longer. After that they floated around the metal wall and toward the door that now led to the other shuttle.


    The admiral waited for them on the other side, a stern look on his face. He floated as well, and was clad in an astronaut¡¯s suit. He either didn¡¯t trust his ship or the pirate in front of him. ¡°First things first,¡± he said, stroking his beard. ¡°I need to see that you are what you claim to be, miss Orphelia Deimos.¡± He paused for a moment. ¡°What elements do you have access to?¡±


    There was some slight hesitation from Lia¡¯s friend, then she took a deep breath and squeezed Lia¡¯s hand. ¡°All of them. But I am most versed with Plasma.¡±


    The admiral looked at her again with wide eyes. Then he quickly turned to someone behind him. ¡°Bring the lighter! And then the rest.¡±


    It was answered with a quick ¡°Yes, sir!¡± and Arthur turned back to them.


    ¡°You have to let go of the donar,¡± he instructed her after a few moments of silence. ¡°You need to be able to demonstrate magic completely under your own power.¡±


    Lia squeezed Orphelia¡¯s hand once more, then let go of it. Her friend stepped forward, past the fall captain, who demostratively put one hand on a weapon and another on the wall. Lia could feel the tension in the air as her friend took the lighter from the admiral¡¯s man and lit the flame. As it had done in the dormitory, the flame formed into a small bird and alighted from the device, flying a few circles, before Orphelia let the flame and the bird vanish. She offered the lighter back to an astonished looking admiral.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that I have to ask you to demonstrate a few more elements for me, princess.¡± Arthur Horologii took the lighter from the girl¡¯s outstretched hand. Her friend still looked determined, almost ¡­ regal.


    She was handled a bottle with a clear liquid next, and after she opened it, several drops floated out of it. They took the shapes of fishes, swimming around the bottle and back into it. Orphelia replaced the stopper and handed it back, only to be given a piece of rock next.


    It changed, forming itself as if it was a liquid, but also made of sand. Parts of the sand fell off. When Orphelia was done with it, she handed a blocky looking ring back to the admiral.


    ¡°Crude, but I acknowledge the third element,¡± he said. ¡°Can you form a breeze?¡±


    Lia gulped. She could see sweat glistening on her friend¡¯s forehead. She was pushing herself to succeed in this demonstration. To her knowledge, Orphelia had never practiced with anything but the fire. Maybe she had had practiced with water in secret, but anything else? A gust of wind ruffled the admiral¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°That makes four,¡± he observed. Before he could request anything else, there was a light blooming on the top of Orphelia¡¯s finger. ¡°And five. That¡¯s enough. You have verified your claim.¡± With a sigh, he turned back to the fall captain. ¡°As we have agreed, I¡¯ll tell the rest of the fleet to retreat. Please wait a moment.¡± The admiral turned around and climbed deeper into the shuttle, leaving only his man behind, who looked to be rather uncomfortable.


    Orphelia staggered back to Lia and took her hand again, clearly looking for support. Lia embraced her friend and whispered a ¡°you¡¯ve done well.¡±


    ¡°Someone ignite me a new star,¡± the fall captain whispered all of a sudden, and gave a slight bow. ¡°You have my thanks, princess.¡±


    Her friend didn¡¯t answer, and was breathing heavily, her skin was clammy and she was pale. Had she really used that much mana? Or was it that her mana had drained unusually fast again, as it had in Foresteri all of a sudden?


    ¡°The anchor has been lifted and the ships are retreating,¡± Arthur reported as he came back.


    ¡°Please give me a moment to confirm this,¡± the fall captain said, and disappeared into the cockpit himself.


    ¡°Princess? If you¡¯d please?¡± the admiral asked and gestured into his shuttle. Orphelia didn¡¯t move, and Lia didn¡¯t feel like moving either.


    ¡°We wait until the station¡¯s departure is confirmed,¡± she told the admiral, whose eyelid twitched.


    ¡°You¡¯re a donar, you have no right ¡­¡±


    ¡°Listen to her!¡± Orphelia said with force despite being so weak. ¡°She¡¯s my friend. You¡¯ll treat her with the same respect as me.¡±


    ¡°Y¡­ yes, princess.¡± The admiral ground his teeth, but then nodded once. ¡°As you wish.¡±


    It didn¡¯t take long for the fall captain to reappear. ¡°I have confirmed the station¡¯s departure.¡± He nodded to Lia and Orphelia once. ¡°Goodbye ¡­ and good luck.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Lia nodded as well, then helped Orphelia into the other ship. They¡¯d soon be home, or at least back at the Crystal Academy. She only wished it would¡¯ve been under different circumstances.

 Part Two — Return

    The atmosphere in the shuttle was grim, after they had settled into a seat. The admiral¡¯s man was in the pilot¡¯s seat, Orphelia and Lia in the two seats right behind him. The admiral himself sat in the row behind them. He insisted that it was because of Orphelia¡¯s status, but Lia had the feeling that he wanted to be able to see them. Maybe he suspected that Orphelia turned back into a normal donar at any point now. She wouldn¡¯t. But Lia was concerned that she once again showed signs of severe mana drain.


    ¡°Lillian is behind this, isn¡¯t she?¡± the admiral asked all of a sudden. ¡°Only she would be crazy enough to hide a princess as a donar in the crystal academy.¡±


    Neither of them answered.


    ¡°How did you manage to keep this secret?¡± It seemed that he didn¡¯t give up that easily. He probably wouldn¡¯t have become an admiral, if he did. ¡°I know how donar are treated by the imperi at the academy ¡­¡±


    ¡°Not only there,¡± Lia interjected.


    ¡°You ¡­¡± He stopped himself from what he was saying, and changed the topic. ¡°¡­ are an omni-elemental donar, are you not?¡±


    ¡°Does that change anything?¡± She didn¡¯t look directly at him. Instead she fixed her gaze on his reflection in the cockpit¡¯s glass.


    ¡°So you are ¡­¡± He sighed. ¡°It explains why Ludwig van Ragd was so adamant to get you two away from the pirates.¡±


    Lia pressed her lips together. Ludwig had more or less told her that they didn¡¯t want the pirates to have access to the tenth color or mana. Still ¡­ it seemed as if the admiral hadn¡¯t been briefed fully on what they were. And he couldn¡¯t just talk outright about the tenth color, or he would have. Probably.


    After a moment, the admiral sighed, and looked out of the cockpit himself. Out there the pirate¡¯s shuttle was docking to the Lagrange, while they approached the one ship from the empire that had stayed behind.


    Their shuttle didn¡¯t dock at some port on the large ship, but rather flew into a hangar, that was barely larger than the ship they were in. After they landed, she could see how the wall closed behind them. It wasn¡¯t a door closing like on an airlock or an oversize barn door at home. No, the wall grew together. They had a mage operate their hangar doors. Some were probably also responsible for evacuating the air before opening the wall for the ship to fly out.


    That was the kind of magic she had expected to see all the time when coming to the Crystal Academy, the kind of magic she wanted to be able to use. She pushed the thought and her slight envy aside and left the chair. The first thing she noticed was that the ship had gravity. It seemed that a lot of mages were working in the military.


    She turned to her friend. Orphelia¡¯s eyes were closed and she was breathing shallowly ¨C she had fallen asleep. In a way it was Foresteri all over again. Sighing, she loosened the seatbelts and then lifted Orphelia up. Although the ship had gravity, it was far weaker than on Eo or the stations they had visited thus far.


    ¡°With that stamina, she won¡¯t be queen material,¡± the admiral said. ¡°A pity.¡± Then he turned to the pilot of the shuttle: ¡°Tell the bridge to return to the Crystal Citadel. I¡¯ll be bringing our guests to the airlock.¡± He gestured to her to follow, and opened the back door of the ship.


    Lia carried her friend on her back while they traversed through the vast corridors of the ship.


    ¡°I hope the princess can stand up to Amir,¡± the admiral said all of a sudden. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll want access to a donar like you as well.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that he can force me to give him mana,¡± Lia mumbled.


    ¡°There are other ways to get people to do one¡¯s bidding.¡± He didn¡¯t elaborate further, and Lia didn¡¯t ask. She had a good idea what he was talking about. Her family. It made her wonder whether the empire were the true pirates and the FAE were the legitimate government.


    They passed a few more soldiers, some in the typical mage robes, delineating donar and imperi, others in trousers and shirts. Everyone saluted the admiral, and some bowed to them. Even though Lia wasn¡¯t the center of attention, it felt weird. Maybe it was the best that Orphelia was asleep.


    The ship¡¯s airlock was as large as that of the Aptenodyte or the Aurelius. The admiral paused in front of the large round door and folded his arms. ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll arrive in ten minutes, tops.¡± He looked at them out of the corner of his eyes. ¡°I¡¯d have my crew prepare a cabin for you two, if the journey would take a few hours. But it usually doesn¡¯t.¡±


    Lia settled in to wait. She was still used to carry weights for long periods, and Orphelia didn¡¯t even feel that heavy due to the reduced gravity. Her friend stirred once, but only to put a different cheek against Lia¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°You have to wake her before we get on the Crystal Citadel. The princess can¡¯t be carried by you or anyone. Even if she feels dead tired, she has to keep up appearances.¡±


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    Nodding, she stared on the door and waited. They didn¡¯t exchange any more words until she heard the telltale clangs of the ship docking.


    ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± the admiral said, and Lia put her friend carefully down.


    ¡°Orphelia?¡± she asked and gently shook her friend. It took a few times before the girl woke.


    ¡°What is? What happened?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re back at the Crystal Citadel, and you have to act like a princess until we¡¯re back in our rooms at the Academy.¡±


    ¡°Then ¡­ that wasn¡¯t a dream?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t,¡± she confirmed, and Orphelia fought herself back to her feet.


    ¡°Good. The academy staff should be waiting on the other side,¡± the admiral explained. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you with them and will report back to the king. You¡¯ll probably have two or three days before he arrives to welcome her into the royal family.¡±


    Lia gulped. It sounded like an ultimatum. Especially since sometime around Orphelia¡¯s coronation was the deadline for the zombie outbreak. Ludwig would have to find a way out of that predicament, even if she had to push all of her time mana into him to do it.


    After the airlock hissed open and they stepped through the passage leading to the station, they were greeted by every teacher of the academy. Even people she hadn¡¯t yet seen. Ludwig wasn¡¯t the one in the front, but an older looking gentleman.


    ¡°Welcome back, princess,¡± the leader of the academy said, and Lia recognized him as Arthur P. Rose ¨C the school¡¯s principal. ¡°Please forgive our lapse in security.¡± They all bowed, but Lia noticed Ludwig keeping his eyes on them, or rather on Orphelia. The expression on his face sent shivers down her spine.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Orphelia answered. ¡°We weren¡¯t harmed.¡±


    ¡°Still, I am very sorry.¡± The principal bowed again. ¡°Please, follow me. We have prepared an adequate room for you at the academy.¡±


    So, they weren¡¯t living in the same room together anymore?


    ¡°Very well. Come, Lia, let¡¯s see that new room.¡± Orphelia stepped forward, following Mr. Rose, and Lia hurried to follow her. Everyone was staring at them, but it felt as if they scrutinized her especially. As if they thought ¡®what business does she have with the princess?¡¯ That they had been together in the academy for months didn¡¯t seem to matter. That she had all elements ¡­ Well, they probably didn¡¯t know. Even the general had to deduce it himself.


    The principal stepped in the center most elevator of the five leading up within the Crystal Citadel. After Orphelia and Lia joined him, Ludwig squeezed in, too, then blocked anyone else from entering.


    The principal spoke again when they had risen several meters above the heads of the other teachers. ¡°We have a lot of things to discuss, your highness. First of all, I¡¯d like to know how you fooled our tests to enter as a donar.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that that¡¯s a secret I am not at liberty to share.¡±


    A moment of silence passed, and since Orphelia didn¡¯t add anything else, the principal continued. ¡°Very well. I assume you would like Lia here as your personal donar?¡±


    ¡°If she is willing to,¡± Orphelia answered with a nod.


    When Mister Rose looked at her, Lia gave a quick nod herself. It warmed her heart, that Orphelia still wanted to know what her wishes were.


    ¡°We shall prepare a room for her adjacent to yours.¡± The principal was interrupted by the elevator¡¯s announcement and the subsequent hissing of the doors. ¡°I really would like to know when the royal family first found you, and why they haven¡¯t taken you in earlier.¡± He shook his head while leading them through the tranquil gardens in front of the academy and to the side entrance Lia had seen in the former queen¡¯s vision. ¡°Be it as it may. The king has yet to react to your proclamation, and Ludwig believes he didn¡¯t know of your existence.¡±


    Orphelia didn¡¯t answer as they turned at the gazebo and walked straight at the illusory wall.


    ¡°Seems you already learned some royal mannerisms. I guess the former queen then?¡±


    Lia looked between him and her friend, but Orphelia refused to answer once again.


    ¡°Since you have been discovered at the Crystal Academy ¨C in a sense ¨C your coronation and official welcome into the royal family, will take place here.¡±


    Lia snapped around and looked at Ludwig¡¯s grim expression. These events were related far more closely than she thought. Her teacher didn¡¯t even look at her, and looked stoically forward. Looking at Orphelia¡¯s back, Lia gulped. Why did it feel as if she had a bad premonition, if she wasn¡¯t even capable of looking into the future?


    She couldn¡¯t even think about this, when the next door opened. Several students stood in the corridors and shouted above each other. Lia saw Eclaire in a corner, staring with wide eyes. Some shouted the question ¡°why didn¡¯t you tell us?¡± others ¡°is it really true?¡±


    ¡°Be quiet, all of you. I am sure princess Orphelia will answer any questions you might have at a later date, but allow her to rest for now. Being taken by pirates must have been very stressful to her.¡± The volume at which he spoke made Lia wonder whether he was a prince in secret as well.


    ¡°Come.¡± Mister Rose kept leading the way, while Ludwig walked in the rear. The two escorted them through the halls of the academy, out to the main square, and then to the right, opposite of where their old room was.


    ¡°We will arrange for some bodyguards as soon as possible.¡± The principal headed through the pseudo-garden. There was a large building at the end of it, with a big dome above. Lia wasn¡¯t even sure if that was still truly part of the building or already an illusion.


    ¡°This is the accommodation that¡¯s usually reserved for royal attendees of the academy.¡± The principal opened a door, and Lia stared at the inside. This wasn¡¯t like their old room. Maybe in length, but it was several times as broad, with stairs leading up to another story, and doors that hinted at even more rooms. This wasn¡¯t just a room, it was a house. ¡°You can rest here. We have already transferred all your belongings.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Orphelia nodded and entered the house.


    As Lia wanted to follow her, she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Then she felt Ludwig next to her ear. ¡°I need to see you in private.¡± Then he straightened. ¡°Please follow me, your parents have come to visit.¡±


    ¡°I will keep an eye on her, until the bodyguards have arrived,¡± the principal said.


    Lia looked at him, then at Ludwig, and lastly at Orphelia. Her friend nodded at her with a smile, and mouthed an ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Lia¡¯s shoulders slumped, then she turned around. She didn¡¯t look forward to the session with Ludwig, but she also knew that it was necessary. She would get answers, and she would find a way to protect her friend. Though this time, she would force Ludwig to include her in the visions.


    ¡°Oh, and princess?¡± Ludwig asked all of a sudden, ¡°your uncle has arrived.¡±


    That made Lia snap up. Ludwig looked down at her, an eyebrow raised, as if he wanted to say: ¡°Did you really think I used that just as an excuse?¡± Her heart beat faster. She would see her parents again!

 Part Two — Investigations

    Lia felt torn. She never really enjoyed the sessions with Ludwig, but she had to do something. She had seen what would befall her fellow students, and she was determined to stop it. Then there were her parents, whom she hadn¡¯t seen in months.


    ¡°I think this will be quick,¡± Ludwig said, as he opened the door to his room. Lia quickly looked around whether there were any students in the corridor with them. She was sure this could be misconstrued. Thankfully, they were alone.


    ¡°Why will this be quick?¡± she asked, as she stepped into the overly tidy room behind the impero.


    ¡°I now have an idea, why this is happening. I just have to test my hypotheses to see which one is correct and how to solve it.¡± He sat down at the table. On his usual chair, in his usual pose.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± she remarked and took the seat opposite of him. ¡°Take me with you.¡±


    Ludwig¡¯s expression turned sour. ¡°I can¡¯t take you-¡±


    ¡°Yes you can.¡± Lia shot his rejection down instantly. ¡°You are able to control spirit magic. You can use it to show me your vision as it¡¯s happening.¡±


    Ludwig rubbed the bridge of his nose, while his other hand drummed on the marble of the table.


    ¡°That¡¯s the pirate¡¯s fault.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s your fault.¡± Lia leaned back on her chair. ¡°You made me distrust them, and so I made certain demands. Then they showed me that it¡¯s possible to share these visions.¡±


    Ludwig kept drumming on the table. He looked at her expectantly. She didn¡¯t move.


    ¡°Fine. Since we¡¯re running out of time, I¡¯ll take you into one of them.¡±


    ¡°All of them.¡± Her insistence made him groan.


    ¡°There is some sensitive information I can not let you see. One of them.¡±


    ¡°This involves me and my fellow donar. I have a right to know all of them.¡±


    Ludwig¡¯s face looked as if he had swallowed something sour and foul. He pressed his eyes together, before pulling his hand down over his face. ¡°Two of them. Final offer. As you said, it involves your fellow donar. You don¡¯t want them to succumb to whatever¡¯s happening just because you¡¯re stubborn.¡±


    Lia pressed her lips together. He did have a point. They had to work together, had to find a compromise. ¡°Deal.¡±


    ¡°Good. Then hurry up, we¡¯ve lost enough time to your useless bartering.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t useless,¡± she said, pouting, then, a smile formed on her lips: ¡°After all, I¡¯ll get to see at least two of those visions.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± He groaned, then reached for her hands. She put hers in his and offered both strands of mana. Ludwig took them, and she was swept off and into the vision.


    Suddenly, she was surrounded by her classmates. Some had rocks in their hands, others lighters, bottles of water or nothing at all, but they were all pointing at her. Or rather him. They were all donar, and yet their gaze was empty.


    ¡°Ludwig van Ragd,¡± they said in unison. ¡°Your majesty wants to see you.¡±


    ¡°His Majesty. King Amir Saggitarius?¡± The voice came from her. So she was seeing the future. But what was happening? Those weren¡¯t the mindless zombies that she had seen in Lillian¡¯s vision. Or rather, they somehow were all of one mind. One mind that didn¡¯t deign to answer Ludwig¡¯s question.


    ¡°Come,¡± they demanded. ¡°Or be destroyed.¡±


    Lia felt how Ludwig gulped. He was, or rather would be, nervous. ¡°Lead the way.¡±


    Some of the donar turned and walked in front of him. Ludwig followed them and was soon surrounded. Lia could almost hear his thoughts: How has this gone so wrong? Why is it worse than before? But there were no answers.


    The brainwashed donar led him through the garden and past the building where Orphelia was now. The door was marked with black and yellow tape, and there was no sign of her friend. Or herself. Maybe they were next to the king?


    After a long procession, they entered the great domed building at the end of the alley. Rows of wooden seats stood next to the path that led to a dais at the end. Amir Saggitarius stood there, watching him approach. The seats were all filled with imperi, teachers she knew, and others she only recognized as imperi because of their robes. They all stared at Ludwig as he walked closer to the king. Their eyes were all empty, their movements more than choreographed.


    Lia wanted to jump out of the vision when Amir looked at them, with empty eyes. Black mist fell off of his black orbs. He had something in his hand, but she couldn¡¯t make it out. Then the king¡¯s hand shot out, and she felt pain. Pain that threw her, them, out of the vision.


    Ludwig gasped and held his head. ¡°He knew,¡± he mumbled. ¡°He knew that this was a vision. He didn¡¯t want us to see any more.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t time magic just a one-way look into the future?¡±


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    ¡°As far as I know,¡± he mumbled. She could see the shiver that ran through him. ¡°But maybe not if he achieved apotheosis.


    ¡°Is ¡­ is that really him?¡± Lia wondered. ¡°His eyes ¡­ it was almost if something else was looking through them.¡±


    ¡°Maybe a side effect.¡± Ludwig¡¯s voice got quieter, almost as if he feared that someone or something might hear him. ¡°He was controlling all those mages after all.¡±


    ¡°What was your plan that led to this outcome?¡±


    Ludwig pressed his eyes shut and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯d rather not say. It¡¯s moot anyways.¡± He sighed. ¡°Maybe I need to tackle this problem from a different angle.¡±


    ¡°And what is that?¡±


    ¡°Amir. He mustn¡¯t reach this state. He mustn¡¯t come here ¡­ But I have no idea how to stop him.¡±


    ¡°There must be away. What if you tell him-¡±


    ¡°I have.¡± Ludwig shook his head. ¡°He¡¯s adamant to come. The only way to stop him would be to ¡­¡± He stopped himself from saying anymore. Lia had a good grasp on what he would¡¯ve said, and that would end in treason.


    ¡°You had more than one solution in mind,¡± Lia pointed out. ¡°You usually prepare three.¡±


    Ludwig shook his head. ¡°I usually had one solution in mind and then iterated on it, seeing whether those changes would lead to a better outcome. But this?¡± He shook his head. ¡°This was already the final solution.¡±


    ¡°What if you take a step back?¡±


    He looked away from her. ¡°There is one thing that I can try.¡± He looked in her eyes. ¡°Mind if I see that one in private?¡±


    Lia pressed her lips together. He had promised her two visions. But then again, feeling herself die hadn¡¯t been very pleasant. ¡°Show it to me, if it works.¡±


    He nodded, then reached out with his hand, tentatively. Lia took his hand again, offered the strand of mana, and waited. When his gaze returned to normal, he shook his head. ¡°It may buy some time. But that¡¯s all. I¡¯ll advise the principal to evacuate the station. To just have the bare minimum of people here for the ceremony and the operation of the Crystal Citadel. I guess that¡¯s the only thing we can do.¡±


    ¡°Want to check it?¡± she asked, offering her hand a third time.


    ¡°No.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Those were already scenarios I considered. I need to keep the donar confined her, since I am not sure, if it is contagious.¡±


    Lia sighed and looked down at her hands. Part of her had wanted to escape the station, too, before this happened, but she wouldn¡¯t leave Orphelia¡¯s side. ¡°I¡¯ll go see my parents before they have to go.¡±


    ¡°Let me bring you to them.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Hi mom and dad,¡± Lia said as she looked into the room the academy had set aside for them. She would have run and jumped into their arms if she hadn¡¯t met with Ludwig beforehand. Now the certainty of what would occur hung like an impending supernova above her.


    ¡°Sweetie!¡± Her mom didn¡¯t have those reservations and clasped Lia in her arms. ¡°Are you alright? Did those pirates do anything to you? Anything untoward?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get the pitchfork, if they have,¡± her dad added.


    Lia shook her head. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. They didn¡¯t do anything. Most of them were even quite nice.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure they haven¡¯t done anything to you?¡± Her mother held her at arm¡¯s length and put a hand to her forehead.


    Lia giggled slightly. ¡°Really. I¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°Good. Always keep an eye on your health. Did you get your vaccination already?¡±


    ¡°The vaccination?¡± She stared at her mother for a moment.


    ¡°Yes, for that one virus that can destroy your ¡­ mana-thingies.¡±


    Suddenly her eyes became wide. She remembered the thing that had been in the king¡¯s hand. It had been a syringe. But why? Was it so he could vaccinate Ludwig? But why would he ¡­ More and more puzzle pieces fell into place.


    ¡°Mom? Dad? When the station gets evacuated, please leave with the rest.¡±


    ¡°Why should the station be evacuated?¡± Her mom sounded confused.


    ¡°I ¡­ Uh ¡­¡± She stumbled over her tongue. ¡°There¡¯s something about that virus. You¡¯re not vaccinated, are you?¡±


    ¡°No ¡­¡± Her mother looked to her father, concern visible on her face. ¡°Should we?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I fear something¡¯s wrong with that vaccination.¡± She looked to the door. ¡°There¡¯s one way to find out.¡±


    ¡°What way? What do you mean, sweetie?¡± Lia didn¡¯t listen to her mother anymore and hurried out the door. Ludwig stood there, waiting.


    She grabbed his hand and pulled him along. ¡°I need a vision. I have a suspicion and I need to know whether it¡¯s true.¡±


    Ludwig was silent for a moment, but followed along. ¡°What¡¯s the suspicion?¡±


    ¡°The vaccine. It¡¯s mainly for donar, and was introduced shortly after Amir took the crown. In the future all those zombies are donar. I wonder whether that¡¯s involved.¡±


    ¡°And how will you confirm your suspicion with a vision?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not yet vaccinated. So I need a vision of what happens if I am in contrast to one where I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think ¡­¡±


    ¡°You still owe me a vision!¡±


    ¡°Ugh. Fine.¡± She could hear him rolling his eyes while he agreed.


    On the way, she thought she heard some students call after them, and some whistle, but she didn¡¯t even think about how this would look to them. Her mind was focused on her epiphany.


    Ludwig was winded when they arrived at his room. He unlocked the door with his fingerprint and walked calmly inside. Lia followed him impatiently and was faster on her chair than him.


    Sighing he sat down. ¡°Now. Before I pull you into the vision, you need to focus on your intent to get vaccinated. There can¡¯t be any doubt in your mind that you will get that shot. Do you understand?¡±


    Lia nodded. Then shook her head. ¡°I mistrust the vaccine right now. How can I intent to get that shot?¡±


    Ludwig sighed and shook his head. ¡°You need to steel your mind and your heart in order to change the future. It won¡¯t happen on a whim. But fine. Let¡¯s start with the vision where you won¡¯t get vaccinated. I will have Miss Joy exclude you from the mandatory vaccinations.¡± Then he offered his hands, and Lia reached for them. She formed a strand of time and one of spirit mana and waited.


    It took a moment for the vision to form. Ludwig floated through a corridor of the station, and stopped at every intersection by holding onto the wall. When he noticed something, he pressed his hand against a panel on the side, and somehow opened a room. He grabbed someone behind himself and shoved them inside, only to follow a moment later. Two zombie donar floated by, their gazes empty. When he retreated behind the door and it hissed shut, he turned around. There was her. Lia floated in front of him, arms crossed. But her attention was drawn to the eyes of her future self. She saw the same strange eyes she had seen before - in Lillian¡¯s vision. As if a galaxy was trapped within each orb. ¡°And? Do you believe me now that those vaccinations are somehow involved?¡±


    ¡°The evidence seems to be on your side, at least.¡±


    The vision broke. Ludwig stared at her. Then he shot upright. ¡°The evidence is in your favor. I¡¯ll try to get the principal to suspend vaccinating people.¡± He hurried out the door. A different, past Lia, would¡¯ve looked smug at that moment, but she couldn¡¯t. Her mind was was focused on the last words her future self spoke. Orphelia would still be hit although she hadn¡¯t been vaccinated yet. Or had she? Maybe the principal was extra careful and didn¡¯t want to lose a princess to some unknown virus.


    Slowly she got up and left Ludwig¡¯s rooms. Somehow she had the feeling that she was forgetting something.


    ¡°Ah, good to see you.¡± The voice of Miss Joy pulled her out of her thoughts. ¡°We should do your vaccination now, before the whole coronation.¡±


    Lia¡¯s eyes went wide. Then she turned around and ran.

 Part Two — Decisions

    Lia ran through the corridors of the station and back into the central garden. She stopped for a moment and looked back. Miss Joy had followed her.


    ¡°Wait! Lia! This vaccination is important!¡±


    Immediately Lia ran and turned into the alley that led to the student imperi dormitory ¨C she had forgotten its name ¨C before ducking behind some of the flowerbeds. Her pulse ran and she waited.


    She heard the medical impera arrive at the central well and slow down.


    ¡°Lia Selena Eo,¡± she called out. ¡°Do you really want to lose your mana pools? Your chance at being a mage?¡±


    Lia squeezed her eyes shut. She didn¡¯t want to lose anything, but she knew she would if she got that shot. All she could do at the moment was hope that Ludwig could get the vaccinations stopped.


    ¡°With your large mana quantities, you could even die from that virus!¡± The medical impera¡¯s shoes clacked on the floor. Lia pressed herself closer against the marble of the flowerbed and tried to slow her breathing.


    ¡°Lia. Please. This is important. It just takes five minutes and won¡¯t inconvenience you at all.¡± The clacks got a bit quieter. Miss Joy moved away from her.


    Lia sighed and waited until she couldn¡¯t hear her shoes anymore. Only then did she raise and clean her robes. There were a few grey splotches on it, but she didn¡¯t dare return to her former room to change. Instead she walked to the only place where she could be safe for a while.


    She didn¡¯t get far, as there were two big burly men in front of Orphelia¡¯s new house. They had crossed their arms and stared stoically straight ahead.


    ¡°I want to see Orphelia,¡± she told them, but neither even reacted to her presence. ¡°Orphelia is waiting for me,¡± she tried.


    One of them moved his eyes to look at her. ¡°Princess Orphelia.¡± He stared at her for a moment, then continued staring straight ahead.


    ¡°Talk to Orphelia-¡±


    ¡°Princess Orphelia.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Lia ground her teeth. ¡°Talk to Princess Orphelia. I am her personal donar. She needs me!¡±


    ¡°The way you look, you¡¯re not a royal donar. Now scram!¡±


    Lia stared at him with an open mouth. She was so stunned by his comment that she didn¡¯t move. And then she felt a hand on her shoulder.


    ¡°There you are.¡± Miss Joy had somehow caught up to her. Lia wasn¡¯t at all happy to see her. ¡°I¡¯m not going to let you die on my watch, just because you are stubborn.¡±


    ¡°Princess Orphelia needs me,¡± she tried again.


    ¡°Princess Orphelia can wait until you¡¯ve gotten your shot!¡± Miss Joy forced her to turn around. ¡°It is mandatory for all donar on the Crystal Citadel!¡±


    Lia turned around and tried to channel Ludwig. ¡°Miss Joy. I am not getting that one vaccination.¡±


    Miss Joy looked her in the eyes, and somehow also managed to channel Ludwig. ¡°Fine. Then I have no other choice but to send you home. I can¡¯t have you endanger your life, or that of the princess.¡± With that she turned around and started to walk away, only to be stopped by the approaching principal.


    ¡°Ah, Doctor Joy.¡± Arthur P. Rose smiled at her, his arms wide open. ¡°You got my message already.¡±


    ¡°Your message?¡± The medical impera sounded taken aback.


    ¡°Yes. I wanted you to see the princess. She¡¯s developed this nasty rash on her arms.¡± He lowered his hands and turned to the side. There was another man behind him, a head shorter than the principal with short already graying hair. ¡°I also wanted to introduce you to Doctor Robert Deimos. He¡¯s the uncle of our new princess and also a molecular biologist.¡±


    ¡°Since you¡¯re here, Miss Joy.¡± Lia felt relief as she heard Ludwig¡¯s voice. ¡°I wanted to ask you to suspend vaccinating any more donar.¡±


    ¡°I ¡­ wait. What?¡±


    ¡°I am sure you heard me,¡± Ludwig answered. ¡°I think it is best if you suspend vaccinating anyone with that new vaccine for a while.¡±


    ¡°But why?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s strange that there¡¯s supposedly a virus that only infects donar. A virus that strives on magic.¡±


    ¡°The blue death is a well documented case of a disease that infects only donar. It could be eradicated with the help of vaccines.¡±


    ¡°I am aware. I am also aware that the blue death was a bacterial infection. Bacteria are alive and can therefore interact with magic. But this is supposed to be a virus, and those are usually not alive.¡± Lia¡¯s eyes widened as Ludwig discussed medical knowledge on par with the medical Impera. It felt a bit as if she had underestimated him.


    ¡°We can ask the expert on molecular mana biology.¡± Ludwig turned to Orphelia¡¯s uncle. ¡°What¡¯s your assessment of the situation?¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t really followed the news,¡± he answered and rubbed his chin. Then he looked away from Ludwig and up to the fake sky. ¡°That virus is supposed to thrive on mana or something similar, right? This means that it has to attack the mitochondria of a donar as they are the ones releasing mana.¡±


    Lia felt his gaze on her, and when she tried to meet his, he quickly looked away.


    ¡°The virus would need to have spike proteins that would allow it to enter a cell and then the mitochondria itself.¡± He sighed and lowered his hand. ¡°I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s impossible, but highly improbable. I can¡¯t really make an informed decision without reading the papers regarding the virus as well as the vaccine.¡± He shook his head and put his hands in his pockets. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s better to listen to Mr. van Ragd for now, unless you¡¯ve read the studies yourself?¡±


    Lia could almost hear Miss Joy¡¯s frown, as she answered: ¡°No, I haven¡¯t. I didn¡¯t have the time. The doses were delivered with an order to quickly immunize the donar against the virus. It had the highest priority because the Crystal Citadel is a trade hub with a teleporter array. I trusted the empire on this.¡±


    ¡°I think the imperial medical society has yet to release a statement themselves,¡± Ludwig added.


    ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll consult the studies myself, after I had a look at the princess.¡±


    ¡°Perfect.¡± The principal clapped once. ¡°Now, shall we get going?¡± He didn¡¯t wait for their reply and walked past them. The brutes immediately stepped out of the way and he entered the building.


    ¡°Lia, please follow as well,¡± Ludwig said as he went past her. ¡°We have a lot to discuss and prepare since she declared you her personal donar.¡± Lia was sure that he had just said that for the bodyguards. Despite that, she could almost love him at this point, and hurried up to follow him. She noticed how they looked at each other, shrugged, and then went back to their positions just before the door closed behind them.


    Orphelia¡¯s new room was big. Easily four times their old room, and there were doors to even more rooms. A low glass table was in the middle of the room, with a couch and several armchairs around it. Steaming cups of tea stood on the table and Orphelia was drinking out of another. The arms of her friend were red.


    Her friend put the cup down and stood. ¡°Uncle!¡± She sounded genuinely happy to see him. He embraced her for a moment, then pushed her at arm¡¯s length.


    ¡°How are you, my little grasshopper?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay. Mostly.¡± She started scratching her arms again.


    ¡°I never thought you¡¯d be a princess one day.¡±


    ¡°May I see that rash?¡± interrupted Miss Joy the conversation, and Orphelia nodded, holding out her arms to the medical impera.


    ¡°Trust me, I didn¡¯t want this role. But I had no other choice.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± He embraced her once more.


    ¡°Do you know what this is?¡± The principal approached Miss Joy, who answered with a sigh.


    ¡°It looks like an allergic reaction. Sometimes imperi reject certain kinds of mana, usually the rarer types they don¡¯t have access to.¡±


    ¡°But she¡¯s a princess that has proven that she has access to all the elements.¡±


    Miss Joy sighed. ¡°I read the report.¡± Then she shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll get her an antihistamine and then we¡¯ll see whether her symptoms improve.¡±


    ¡°Do that.¡± The medical impera nodded at the principal¡¯s order and left. ¡°May we sit?¡± he then addressed Orphelia.


    ¡°But of course. Please, sit down.¡± She returned to her chair, with the principal taking the second arm chair, while Ludwig and Doctor Deimos sat on the couch. Lia made her way to the couch and sat down carefully.


    ¡°Normally you¡¯d have to stand behind the princess,¡± Ludwig informed her, ¡°but we¡¯re here to introduce you to all the finer details of court etiquette.¡±


    Lia didn¡¯t know whether she should thank or curse him at that moment, so she decided to just smile at him, showing a bit of both.


    ¡°Now, as you can imagine, we¡¯re scrambling to prepare for the ceremony.¡± The principal pulled her attention to him. ¡°Normally we should have more time, before the appearance of a new royal is announced publicly, but yours was somehow leaked to HNN.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Now we have to get ready for the coronation in three days. After that, you¡¯ll be Orphelia Saggitarius.¡±


    ¡°What will happen to my family?¡±


    ¡°For now, nothing. After your coronation? I guess it¡¯s something you can decide. You can have them brought to New New Earth. Or you can fund them a more relaxed life on Deimos.¡±


    ¡°Can I ¡­ do something for them now? Just in case ¡­¡±


    ¡°There is no need to worry, princess. You¡¯ll be safe and secure here.¡± Arthur P. Rose smiled at Orphelia, who was nervously scratching her arms again. ¡°Now, as for the ceremony itself. Your uncle has agreed to walk you down the aisle, and Lia will be right behind you.¡±


    Lia gulped. She wouldn¡¯t be right in the center of attention, but she would be very close to it.


    ¡°We¡¯re having clothes prepared for the three of you,¡± the principal continued, ¡°and we¡¯re going to rehearse the steps and the things you have to say beforehand.¡±


    From there, he launched into a long explanation on what their respective tasks would be during the ceremony. Orphelia had to, once again, demonstrate that she was both a donar and an impera. Amir would then acknowledge her and adopt her into the royal family.


    Her uncle would give her to the Saggitarius for the sake of the empire, while Lia would have to pledge her undying loyalty to her lady. Then, with both their powers combined, they¡¯d have to conjure the illusion of the night sky while lighting a new star within it.


    ¡°Any questions?¡±


    Orphelia shook her head. Lia felt paralyzed. She didn¡¯t have a large role to play, but having her pledge her loyalty to someone, even if it was her best friend, still sounded like a large ask.


    ¡°Good.¡± The principal clapped his hands. ¡°Lia. We¡¯ve prepared a new room for you. It¡¯s on the upper floor. A staff member will move your belongings over.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you to your room,¡± Ludwig said and rose. Lia looked for a moment at her friend.


    ¡°Go. We¡¯ll talk later,¡± she promised. Lia nodded at her, then followed Ludwig up the stairs and stepped into a small hallway.


    ¡°Princess Orphelia¡¯s bedroom is to the left,¡± Ludwig explained to her and went to one of the two doors opposite of it. He opened the door and Lia stepped into a lavishly decorated room. It wasn¡¯t quite as long as the one in the dormitory, but it was wider. Even the bed was bigger, and she had a desk and a wardrobe all to herself. Then there were the two armchairs and the small table in the corner. She could have someone visit.


    Ludwig cleared his throat. ¡°To be honest, I wanted to talk to you in private.¡±


    Lia turned around. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because ¡­¡± He grimaced. It seemed as if what he wanted to say caused him physical pain. ¡°I¡¯m at my wits end.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re what?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do anymore. I¡¯ve tried everything, and then you tell me out of the blue that the vaccination might have to do with the zombies, which seems to be a new lead. You ¡­ clearly have a perspective on things that I lack.¡±


    Lia was speechless. What was happening to Ludwig of all people?


    ¡°Please. If you have any more insight, or any ideas, tell me.¡±


    There was nothing she could do, for now. No new ideas. But she wanted to avoid that future as much as he did, so she refrained from giving a snippy answer. Instead she lowered her gaze. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    ¡°Please do. I¡¯ll start evacuating non-essential personnel.¡± With that, he turned around, and Lia sat on one of the chairs, hiding her face in her hands. What should she do now? Somehow having Ludwig count on her made her only feel more pressure.


    ¡°Dad ¡­ What should I do now?¡± Lia suddenly jumped up. ¡°Dad!¡± She had totally forgotten about her parents. She ran out of the room and down the stairs, hoping to catch them before they left.

 Part Two — Casted Shadows

    Her parents had already left when she returned to the meeting room. Sighing, she turned around and almost walked into Eclaire and Robert.


    ¡°I ¡­ Is ¡­ How?¡± Rudehair stammered. Lia understood. She had been steamrolled. First when she learned that Lia was an omni-donar and now again as Orphelia has proven to be a princess. And yet she didn¡¯t even know half of it.


    ¡°I guess what Eclaire is trying to ask is: Did you know?¡±


    Lia sighed and closed her eyes. ¡°Will it change anything, if I did?¡±


    ¡°I guess it doesn¡¯t.¡± Robert shook his head. ¡°We¡¯re just stumped. First there was your little big secret, and now Orphelia turns out to be a princess.¡±


    ¡°How? Why?¡± Eclaire stuttered.


    ¡°Why has she kept this a secret?¡± Robert helpfully translated.


    The questions were getting on her nerves, but she took a deep breath and still answered with asw sweet a smile she could muster: ¡°Maybe it was because she wanted to make some real friends and not just ones that would be nice to her because of her status?¡±


    ¡°Ouch.¡± Robert winked at her, while Eclaire stared. It seemed like the impera was outraged and stunned at the same time. ¡°How are you holding up in all of this? I guess, if not the surprise, then all the changes must be pretty jarring.¡±


    ¡°To be honest,¡± Lia sighed and looked down, ¡°having to keep secrets all the time isn¡¯t fun. Especially if you need some advice regarding those.¡±


    ¡°There are still things we don¡¯t know?¡± Eclair¡¯s voice was so high-pitched that her shout cam out as a whisper.


    Pressing her lips together, Lia considered whether she could trust these two enough to tell them about her problems, and about the tenth color. Especially with Eclaire she had gotten off of the wrong foot.


    ¡°Is it on the same magnitude as you having all the colors?¡± Robert asked in a whisper.


    Lia shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s much worse.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s better if you don¡¯t tell us.¡± Robert shook his head. ¡°Personally, I don¡¯t want to get involved into these political games.¡±


    Eclaire sighed. Her complexion had visibly cooled. ¡°I guess ¡­ I ¡­¡± she mumbled something, then balled her fists. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my past behavior! You can come to me, if you need help!¡± The impera almost shouted at her, the head beet red once more, turned, and ran. Stunned, Lia watched as the impera retreated.


    ¡°Well, I guess we¡¯ll see you in class after everything has calmed down.¡± Robert made a gesture similar to a salute and walked away himself.


    Lia kept standing a while longer in front of the visitor room, then walked slowly back, contemplating the two imperi. Could they help her? Part of her still thought that they wouldn¡¯t be interested in the fate of the station¡¯s donar, but then again ¡­ maybe it was another case of someone having a perspective different from hers. And Eclaire had offered.


    When she was back at the central well, she decided to take Eclaire¡¯s offer. She didn¡¯t want to have any regrets, if the future they were headed to came to pass.


    The imperi¡¯s dormitory wasn¡¯t much larger than that of the donar, but it looked fancier. When she stepped inside to find Eclaire, some imperi looked at her strangely. Some even whispered that she now thought of herself as being better than them. She tried to ignore them, but had to ask someone for directions. It took her several tries before someone told her where to knock.


    Eclaire stared at her when she opened the door. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d come,¡± she whispered. Then she stepped aside. ¡°Please come in.¡±


    Lia nodded and followed her invitation. Eclaire¡¯s room wasn¡¯t bigger than her old one, in facht it was the same size. It was just that Eclaire had the room to herself.


    ¡°Please, sit,¡± Eclaire offered, and Lia took one of the chairs near Eclair¡¯s desk. The red-haired girl took the other seat and waited.


    Lia sighed, and opened her mouth to ask Eclaire whether she knew of the tenth color, but then thought better of it. Eclaire deserved to know what she was getting into. ¡°What I am about to tell you is top secret. I don¡¯t know how far the royal family will go to enforce it, but ¡­ I guess, if I tell you, you have to promise me not to tell anyone else.¡± There was a moment of silence while Eclaire thought about what she said. ¡°Will you still help me?¡±


    Eclaire took a moment longer to answer. ¡°I offered to help you. I am not going back on my word. And I will keep quiet about it.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be easy,¡± Lia said, then smiled at Eclaire. ¡°Thank you.¡± After that she launched into her explanation, told Eclaire about the tenth color and the visions of the future she had seen and heard of. The impera¡¯s eyes widened with every revelation, and she even held her hands in front of her mouth, after she heard of what would happen to every donar that was left on the station.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°So far it seems that the vaccination is to blame.¡±


    Eclaire was silent. Then, in a low voice, she asked: ¡°Is that true?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be this desperate, if it wasn¡¯t.¡± Sighing, Lia leaned back in the chair and looked at the ceiling. ¡°Ludwig is at wit¡¯s end, and I don¡¯t know what to do, either.¡±


    Eclaire raised her fist to her lips and closed her eyes. ¡°The vaccination alone can¡¯t be the reason,¡± she finally said. ¡°Ludwig had said that they all turn into zombies at the same time. Considering that they couldn¡¯t have gotten the vaccination at the same time, and that there have to be slight variations between each donar ¨C especially taking into account the varying sizes of their mana pools, that doesn¡¯t make sense. There has to be something that will trigger all of it.¡±


    That made Lia look at the impera. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    Eclaire shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t be sure of anything. But that would make sense. If the king is really the culprit behind all of this, then he might be the one triggering it when he comes to the station. The only question remains: To what end? There are aspects of the station¡¯s operation that won¡¯t work without donar.¡±


    ¡°Then ¡­ it¡¯s an accident. Something he didn¡¯t take into account.¡±


    ¡°Or someone,¡± Eclaire countered. ¡°I can imagine that the former queen isn¡¯t happy that she had to abdicate.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Lia shook her head. ¡°She¡¯s been working on preventing this for far longer than Ludwig has.¡±


    ¡°So you met her?¡±


    Lia sighed. ¡°It¡¯s another one of those secrets, but she¡¯s also a member of the pirates ¡­¡±


    ¡°The pirates who have been terrorizing the empire for years now. Can you really trust her?¡±


    ¡°She has shared a vision with me.¡± Her voice became weak.


    ¡°Let me guess: Using spirit magic. Since she is controlling the magic, she could influence what you see. Maybe part of it was true, while others were manipulated. As the queen she¡¯s probably got a lot of experience using those magics.¡± Eclaire¡¯s gaze bored into her, and Lia gulped. The impera was right: All of this could¡¯ve been an elaborate plot by the former queen.


    ¡°Then ¡­ what should I do? What should we do?¡±


    Eclaire lowered her fist and sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m as stumped as you are.¡± She grabbed her fist with her other hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t help you, even though I promised, I would.¡±


    Lia felt a bit disappointed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It was a long shot anyway.¡± She rose from her seat and walked to the door. There she stopped. ¡°And thank you. For listening.¡±


    When she walked out of Eclaire¡¯s room, it felt as if they had formed a bond of some kind. Not yet friendship, but they surely had overcome their former hostilities.


    ***


    The bodyguards let her in without a fuss. The principal and Doctor Deimos had both left. Orphelia was still in the armchair, eyes closed, breathing peacefully. Her arms were wrapped in bandages, but whatever Miss Joy had done brought her friend some relief.


    Lia contemplated bringing Orphelia upstairs, but she probably wouldn¡¯t be able to carry her friend without reduced gravity. She carefully walked up the stairs and into Orphelia¡¯s room, grabbed a blanket and brought it back down to cover the girl¡¯s sleeping form.


    Orphelia stirred and opened her eyes. ¡°Oh. You¡¯re back,¡± she mumbled sleepily.


    ¡°Yes. I know it¡¯s late. Let¡¯s go to bed.¡±


    Orphelia looked away shortly, then back into her eyes. ¡°Can I sleep next to you?¡±


    ¡°I ¡­¡± Lia faltered, gulped and nodded. ¡°Sure? Why not?¡± She was still concerned about her friend. Whatever the former queen had told her in private, it had changed her. She needed to ask what had happened, but it felt wrong doing it at this moment.


    ¡°Lia,¡± Orphelia mumbled and stood, then hugged her. ¡°I ¡­ I¡¯m afraid.¡±


    ¡°Why are you afraid?¡± She reciprocated the hug and waited for Orphelia to answer.


    ¡°The future.¡± The girl shivered and held her tighter. ¡°Lillian told me that I have a choice to make. A terrible choice.¡±


    ¡°What kind of choice?¡± Lia tried to keep her voice calm, but she was sure her anxiety, fear, and anger were audible.


    Her friend didn¡¯t answer, so she asked again, even less able to stay calm. ¡°What choice?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Orphelia sobbed. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Lia almost screamed. Her friend was suffering before her ¨C in her very arms ¨C and she was unable to do anything.


    Orphelia hugged her even tighter, clearly distressed. Lia¡¯s anger abated slightly. ¡°Why not?¡± she asked again, in a calmer voice.


    ¡°If you know, you¡¯ll act on it,¡± she started, confusing her. ¡°And then, he¡¯ll win.¡± Orphelia interrupted her thoughts.


    ¡°What?¡± She gulped, and a shiver ran down her spine. Who was ¡®he¡¯? Amir?


    ¡°I won¡¯t let him win!¡± Orphelia declared in a whisper. ¡°I won¡¯t let him get you.¡±


    ¡°Who is he?¡± she tried again, but her friend kept quiet. The only reaction to her repeated question was a tight squeeze. Several minutes after that, Orphelia was grabbed by exhaustion and fell asleep. Lia pulled her over to the couch and laid down on it, with her. She didn¡¯t want to leave her friend alone, not at this time, not like this.


    It took her some time to wrap them in the blanket, Orphelia sleeping half on her. Lia couldn¡¯t find sleep. She stared at the ceiling, her thoughts circling around what had been said, like birds of prey. But they didn¡¯t find any prey. She only noticed that she had fallen asleep when she stood at the gate once more.


    Right next to her was Orphelia, her body caught in black mist that reached up to her neck. She looked around frantically and shouted for help, but didn¡¯t seem to see her. Lia wanted to reach out but there was an invisible wall between them, like a glass pane that had no end.


    Then she saw something move in the sea of dark mist that was cut off by the glass. She followed the disturbances of the darkness with her eyes. Swirling clouds of black circled around her friend.


    Then she looked back up. The desperation on her face was heart-wrenching. ¡°Orphelia,¡± she said and touched the glass. ¡°I¡¯m here. Tell me how to help you.¡±


    The movements in the mist stopped. Lia¡¯s eyes darted to the floor and looked around. What was that? Something crashed against the glass, mouth open, showing sharp teeth. A black snake stumbled to the floor, and curled up. Then it raised its head and hissed at her strangely. Almost as if it wanted to communicate with her, but she couldn¡¯t understand anything.


    When Lia didn¡¯t react, the snake crashed into the glass again, pushing her out of the dream. Just when she awoke, a thought struck her. ¡°Is that ¡­ him?¡± she asked herself, but didn¡¯t get an answer.

 Part Two — Falling Darkness

    The next morning, Miss Joy and a horde of other people stormed into the room. The medical impera looked at the princess¡¯ arms, and applied some kind of gel, while Lia was whisked off into another room.


    It felt as if they did everything with her, or rather to her: Bathing, fitting for new clothes, a new hairdo, make-up, exercises in walking with a straight back. Then they rehearsed what she had to do during the ceremony, how to curtsy, how to kneel on one knee and how to recite her pledge of loyalty.


    When they sat down for lunch ¨C which was brought to Orphelia¡¯s home ¨C she was told how to dine, that she could only take small bites of food, and that she had to make sure that she was always spotless. The worst of it was, that after the lunch, she was still hungry. So it was with a growling stomach that they moved to the starcedral and rehearsed the ceremony together, with the principal acting as the stand-in king, and even though there was a donar behind Mister Rose all the time, Lia was sure that he wasn¡¯t touching the principal at all.


    Lia¡¯s head spun when she could finally sit down opposite of her friend. With her hair still tied into a bun at the back of her head, she had problems to relax.


    ¡°I wonder if living like a royal is always this ¡­ stressful,¡± Orphelia remarked. She had her hands folded in her lap and stared down in front of her.


    ¡°I for one just wanted to be a mage. Just a mage. Not a royal.¡± Lia stared up at the ceiling, and sighed. She hadn¡¯t had any time to think about who ¡®he¡¯ was. She also had no idea why ¡®he¡¯ wanted her. Sure, she had a lot of mana, but that was it. There were others with a lot of mana as well.


    Just as she lowered her gaze, Orphelia stood. ¡°I think I¡¯ll retire early today. I still have to recover, and I need to be at my best during the ceremony.¡±


    Lia stood as well. ¡°Do you want to sleep next to me again?¡±


    Orphelia shook her head. ¡°No.¡± That stung. ¡°And forget everything I told you, yesterday.¡± Her friend immediately turned and walked up the stairs.


    ¡°You can¡¯t just expect me to forget that,¡± Lia protested, but didn¡¯t move. ¡°Who is ¡®he¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Please, Lia. Just forget. It¡¯s ¡­ for the best. Trust me.¡± Orphelia ran up the stairs and a moment later she heard a door slam.


    That just didn¡¯t make any sense. Her friend didn¡¯t make any sense. Frustrated, she ruffled her own hair and ruined her hairdo, then she sunk back on the sofa, feeling exhausted.


    She looked at the door, wondering, whether Ludwig had found out anything new. She had to gather all her strength just to stand, but from there her feet found their way automatically. Past the bodyguards and the central well, to the door in a building that led to the corridors behind the illusion. Then she knocked at the fourth door without even having to count.


    Ludwig looked terrible when he opened the door. They stared at each other for a moment, then both blurted at the same time: ¡°Do you have something new?¡± Then they sighed.


    ¡°Come on in,¡± he offered after a moment. ¡°Let¡¯s exchange what we do have.¡±


    They sat at the same table and on the same chairs, but this time he poured her a cup of tea.


    ¡°Okay, here is what I do have,¡± Ludwig said as he sat down opposite her with his own cup. ¡°I got ahold of the ¡®vaccine¡¯. It was cleverly made, a strand of MRNA, modified so that you¡¯d get the usual symptoms of vaccination. Then I had Ms. Joy take a blood sample of Mr. Leda. We couldn¡¯t find anything amiss, but we also didn¡¯t find any new antibodies. So I requested a database sample of his biometric data. Miss Joy protested highly, but complied after being confronted with the evidence.¡±


    The technical terms made her head spin, but she nodded anyways.


    ¡°His DNA was modified slightly, incorporating a few thousand new base-pairs. But I have no idea what their purpose is, nor can it easily be reversed.¡± He held the cup with both hands and sighed.


    ¡°The former queen apparently told Orphelia that she¡¯ll have a choice to make. She didn¡¯t tell me why, only that she didn¡¯t want ¡®him¡¯ to win, to ¡­ get me.¡± She felt her cheeks heat up.


    ¡°Him?¡± Ludwig tapped against his forehead. ¡°Then Amir might really be the problem. But the only ones that could take him out of the picture are the pirates ¡­¡±


    ¡°So we can only hope on them doing anything?¡±


    ¡°As far as we know ¡­¡± Ludwig took a sip of the tea. ¡°I don¡¯t like depending on others like this.¡±


    ¡°Do you think the former queen will act?¡± Lia drank from her cup as well. The tea was hot and had a slight sweet taste.


    ¡°Only if it helps further her own goals, which we don¡¯t know.¡± He stared at his cup of tea for a moment. ¡°Keep an eye on Orphelia. Maybe you can get her to tell you more about the queen¡¯s plans, and about that choice she has to make.¡±


    Nodding, she took another sip of the tea. ¡°I plan to. Though I won¡¯t pressure her. I don¡¯t think that will help ¡­¡±


    ¡°You might have to pressure her.¡± Ludwig looked her straight in the eyes. ¡°Especially if it involves you. You have a right to know.¡±


    Lia sighed. Ludwig was right ¨C she had a right to know. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±


    ***


    Lia saw Orphelia again, the next day. Her friend had locked the door the night before and Lia hadn¡¯t had another chance to speak with her. At the breakfast table, they looked at each other while they were ¨C again ¨C fussed about by other people. Her friend looked a bit as if her eyes were puffy and reddened. She had to ask her, had to help her somehow ¡­


    After breakfast, she was pulled away to put her into the new clothes that had somehow been made over night, and when she returned to the main room, looking prim and proper, the king sat opposite of Orphelia on the couch.


    With a strange fluttery feeling, she walked to Orphelia¡¯s armchair and stopped slightly behind, but next to her.


    ¡°Please introduce me to your lovely donar,¡± the king said with a smile. His cold eyes took her in, mustering her from top to bottom.


    ¡°This is Lia. Lia Selena Eo, my personal donar,¡± Orphelia said. She could hear the cold friendliness in the soon-to-be princess¡¯ voice.


    ¡°Lovely. Two names of a moon, in a way. May I ask which elements she can supply?¡±


    ¡°You may.¡± Orphelia turned slightly toward her. ¡°Though I am sure you already know.¡±


    ¡°I only know the official four elements, but I heard rumors.¡± Amir leaned forward, hiding part of his face behind his folded hands. Lia thought she detected the hint of a smile. ¡°Care to enlighten me, whether they¡¯re true?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say that I chose her for several reasons.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± He leaned back on the couch again. ¡°How¡¯s my sister, Lillian doing, nowadays?¡±


    The sudden topic change caught Lia off-guard. Why would Amir ask them about his sister?


    ¡°So you did meet her,¡± he said, and his gaze wandered to Lia. ¡°It¡¯s impressive how good you can hide your emotions, princess,¡± he almost spat the title, the way he pronounced it, ¡°but your donar can¡¯t.¡± Crossing his legs, he smiled. ¡°Things will be interesting, after you¡¯re part of the royal family. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have lots of time to talk.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see. After all you¡¯d want your new sister to complete her education, wouldn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I am sure I can arrange for some private tutors. A regal princess shouldn¡¯t need to associate herself with commoners.¡±


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    ¡°But isn¡¯t it important to know the perspectives of your people as well?¡±


    Amir was saved from answering as the principal walked in. He was huffing, even if he stood upright. ¡°King Amir!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°If I had known you¡¯d come early ¡­¡±


    ¡°Then you would¡¯ve organized some parade, with half the station and all your staff greeting me, I am sure.¡± He waved him off. ¡°No, I wanted to greet my soon-to-be sister in private.¡± He looked back from the principal to Orphelia. ¡°And I wanted to participate in the rehearsal. After all, I have an important part to play as well.¡±


    ¡°I, uh, of course, my liege.¡± While the principal patted his head with a handkerchief, the admiral slinked in behind him.


    ¡°I also want to see whether this princess is worthy of the royal family,¡± Amir said a bit louder than before, almost growling in the admiral¡¯s direction.


    ¡°She completed the necessary tests, demonstrating mastery over five elements ¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes. Half the rainbow. I think the people deserve to see the full rainbow, especially without her collapsing like she did after that test.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be unreasonable,¡± the principal said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not unreasonable. She already has a personal donar, after all, so that should be child¡¯s play.¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t¨C¡± The principal was interrupted as Orphelia raised her hand.


    ¡°I think we can grant the king¡¯s request.¡±


    Lia gulped. Had Orphelia recovered enough to be able to do this during the rehearsal and the actual ceremony? She was supposed to have a large mana pool, but her mana seemed to fluctuate rather often ¨C or she practiced with magic more often than Lia knew.


    Amir grinned. ¡°You portray a royal very well. I am looking forward to you becoming my sister.¡± Then he turned back to the principal. ¡°When is the next rehearsal?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re currently preparing the starcedral. It should be ready shortly.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go there, observe the rest of the preparations and get this rehearsal over with.¡± He rose and clearly expected everyone to follow him. Orphelia took a deep breath and rose from her chair. "Oh, and Admiral Horologii? Please leave immediately and find those pesky pirates. Can''t have them running around during the ceremony."


    Lia kept close to her friend, walking even before the principal in line to the starcedral. The actual ceremony was tomorrow. She was running out of time to find solutions, and she couldn¡¯t count on Lillian to intervene ¨C Amir was already here. She pressed her lips together, wondering what to do, while the admiral left to do his duty.


    ***


    The starcedral was ready when they arrived. Benches had been placed to the left and the right of the aisle they were supposed to walk along. Amir stood at the end, looking around like a small child.


    Orphelia¡¯s uncle arrived as well and looked as puzzled as they did, when he saw the king. His confusion soon vanished, and he seemed to glare at Amir. Lia blinked as a memory slowly trickled into her mind.


    The music started and all three of them walked down the aisle toward Amir. Who had once visited Orphelia¡¯s family. Which was the reason why her friend had wanted to keep her sudden ascension to a princess hidden.


    The rows of artful benches passed by, and another starchip fell into place. Amir had started out as just an impero, but had also suddenly ascended to being a prince and then quickly to being the king. Which was before his official announcement.


    They were half-way there, and the mana-tax fell into place. What if Amir had found a way to remotely connect to donar? Not just one, but several? What if that had been what the ¡®vaccination¡¯ had been for? It would enable him to impose this mana-tax. It wasn¡¯t an afterthought to his apotheosis, it was a requirement!


    ¡°A new princess approaches the central point of our empire: the royal family,¡± Amir intoned, his voice carried well through the hall and echoed back at them. ¡°Here and now she will prove that she belongs among the central stars of our galaxy!¡±


    Only a few steps separated them from the king. An important question surfaced in Lia¡¯s mind. Why would he wait until the ceremony to start something he had already started?


    ¡°Lia,¡± Orphelia interrupted her thoughts with a whisper. ¡°Whatever happens. Don¡¯t touch me!¡±


    ¡°Contrary to what everyone might think, it is the darkness that holds us together. It creates gravity and keeps all the stars in the galaxy in line. A black hole might be terrifying and all-consuming, not even allowing light to escape, but without it, all it¡¯s stars would have drifted apart already.¡± A dark sphere bloomed above Amir, and Lia felt the pull, how she was drawn upwards and toward it. ¡°Now, come, little star, show your worth!¡±


    A light bloomed above Orphelia, holding its own right above her. ¡°Light is creation, light is what gives all of us life,¡± she answered, ¡°but every sun has its own gravity!¡± The light turned dark and into its own sphere of darkness. Lia¡¯s robes were slightly pulled upward.


    Amir¡¯s sphere vanished and gravity returned to normal as Orphelia¡¯s sphere vanished as well. Sweat glistened on her forehead. That must have cost her a significant amount of strength.


    ¡°I acknowledge the fire of a star within you. But the light of a true star can be separated into all the colors of the rainbow.¡± Light bloomed behind Amir, coloring the starcedral from red on their left over yellow, green and blue to purple on the right. ¡°Magic has its own colors, but even those can be broken apart.¡± He materialized a flame, a ball of water, a rock and a swirling ball of air that was only visible because it distorted the light.


    ¡°My light,¡± Orphelia said, and Lia was bathed in colored light as well. It was probably an illusion. ¡°¡­ is not inferior to yours!¡± The same four spheres of elements appeared before Orphelia. She had never done that and yet the mimicked the king perfectly. Lia stared, knowing that her friend had had to use light and darkness to create matter and then the lower colors to control them. She looked at the princess in admiration, only to notice that she looked extremely pale.


    Amir dismissed his spheres and grinned. He was clearly enjoying this.


    Lia gulped and reached out to Orphelia, but stopped herself. She would catch her, if she collapsed from this.


    ¡°Between the lower colors and the higher elements, life blooms, and innovation is born.¡± Amir reached into the pockets of his jacket. There were two seeds on his left hand and a ring of metal to his right, with an LED atop it. One seed sprouted, and the LED shown for a while. ¡°Are you capable of leading life and spur innovation?¡±


    The other seed sprouted. The LED shone brighter, and something cold brushed her feet. Lia looked down. There was black mist on the floor. Black mist was falling off of Orphelia.


    ¡°Of course I can,¡± she whispered and her voice turned rough. Then she started laughing madly, which sent shivers down her spine. Gravity around Orphelia lessened and the girl started hovering above them. Lia wanted to reach out, but she heard her friend in her mind shout at her: ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± The dream with the black snake jumping at her was briefly in her mind and she stumbled back, falling onto her behind.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Amir made a few steps back as well, then he caught himself and pointed at Orphelia. ¡°You¡¯re not welcome in the royal family. I¡¯ll ¡­ stop ¡­ you?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s it, young Amir? Are you missing your mana?¡± The way Orphelia cackled, in that raspy deep and high-pitched voice ¡­ It made Lia realize that whatever was turning the donar all into zombies was happening now. Not tomorrow at the official ceremony, it was now!


    ¡°Now, where is it ¡­?¡± her friend looked around, right above where she was. ¡°Where is the true source?¡± Gravity spun around and Orphelia flew down the aisle and to the door.


    The door flew open. Ludwig looked perplexed at the girl speeding past him. ¡°By the stars ¡­ I¡¯m too late.¡±


    ¡°What is it? What happened?¡± the principal demanded.


    ¡°It¡¯s the triggering event,¡± Ludwig said and gulped audibly. ¡°I thought it was tomorrow until I suddenly realized that all the benches had always been empty in my vision, and when I heard that Amir arrived today already ¡­¡± His eyes became wide, then he ran to Lia and grabbed her arm. ¡°We can still stop the worst from happening!¡±


    ¡°What? How, why?¡± She stumbled as she was pulled up and along. ¡°Can we save her?¡±


    Ludwig didn¡¯t answer as he pulled her out of the starcedral. They passed a donar at the central well. A stream of water shot past them, leaving a mark in the opposite wall. Her fellow student growled. ¡°You won¡¯t stop our master!¡±


    Stunned, she allowed Ludwig to pull her along, down the main path to the test building and the academy gates on the other side. He dodged several more donar, who tried to attack them only to realize that their element wasn¡¯t anywhere close.


    One of the elevator tubes had been opened as if it was naturally growing outward. Suddenly, Ludwig stopped and started to carry her. ¡°I need darkness mana, now!¡± She obeyed without thinking and provided the strand to him. Gravity went haywire around them and Ludwig jumped into the opening.


    They fell. Lia screamed, clinging to Ludwig while pushing even more darkness mana into him. She only calmed when they slowed down. The sudden change in Momentum almost made her black out and Ludwig even had to land, his knees bending.


    Orphelia hovered over everyone. People ran in all directions. Some donar grabbed other donar and pulled them toward her friend. The black mist touched him. ¡°No, you¡¯re not it, either.¡± The donar rose and suddenly worked with his captors, trying to get another donar.


    ¡°Why are you not here?¡± Orphelia floated through the floor of the station and toward the teleporter. ¡°I¡¯ll find you ¡­¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t let her leave the station,¡± Ludwig whispered, and suddenly, everything inside of Lia dropped into a black hole.


    She gulped. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Her voice was far higher than it should be.


    Ludwig started forward. ¡°Stop her.¡±


    Orphelia reached the teleporter. Crystals around it began to glow, space began to distort.


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll need all your darkness mana.¡± Ludwig sidestepped several donar that turned around and grunted. A few stones flew past her and one even drew blood. He ducked and stopped, his hand raised. The distortion on the teleporter changed, and Orphelia, who had been unaffected before, was pulled into two directions at once.


    ¡°You¡¯re killing her!¡± Lia protested and stopped the flow of mana.


    ¡°I have to!¡± Ludwig growled. ¡°Look at her. That isn¡¯t Orphelia anymore! That¡¯s something else, that¡¯s brainwashing all the donar here! If it gets somewhere, anywhere else, we may lose all donar! Do you really want to put the lives of thousands above one that isn¡¯t even your friend anymore?¡±


    Orphelia turned around inside the teleporter. Her face was pale, her eyes completely black, exuding more black mist. ¡°There you are,¡± she hissed. It hissed. Suddenly Orphelia had more in common with the black snake in her dreams than with her friend.


    She pushed her mana into Ludwig, crying and screaming. She closed her eyes and heard something rip. When she opened her eyes again, there was black mist everywhere. There was only one light left, a bright, warm, pulsing light, shining above the teleporter.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± whispered Orphelia¡¯s voice in her ear. ¡°I hope my choice was correct.¡± The light started to fade. Lia raised her and and tried to reach for her friend. ¡°Let me give you one last gift ¡­¡±


    A shock ran through her, and as she cried toward the stars, she didn¡¯t notice the creaking of a door opening.

 Part Three — Despair

    After what had happened, everything fell away. Only a part of her recognized that Ludwig brought her away from the scene and back to the broken elevator. He said something to her, shouted at her even, but she didn¡¯t react. She couldn¡¯t. Her mind was elsewhere, wondering where they had gone wrong.


    There was some kind of shock and then they floated up the elevator tube. She felt how she got lighter in Ludwig¡¯s arms. Gravity was gone. She stared at the tube¡¯s segments slowly passing by, and the donar below milling around. They had stopped to move, to act according to some unknown force¡¯s wish. For all she knew they were really mindless ¡­ just like zombies. The future they had fought so hard to avert had come to pass.


    Ludwig murmured something else as they arrived at the academy level. He pushed himself off of the tube¡¯s wall and through the hole, grabbing the upper rim of it to somehow arrest their further ascent. Everything here reminded her of Lilian¡¯s vision.


    Some donar were milling about in the front of the academy, probably the ones that had followed them out when Ludwig pursued Orphelia. The face of her sadly smiling friend appeared before her, and Lia started to sob. She buried her face in Ludwig¡¯s black robes and cried. She cried and cried and didn¡¯t notice or hear what was happening around her.


    When her tears dried, and she stopped sobbing, she wasn¡¯t in Ludwig¡¯s arms anymore. Instead, she was floating somewhere in the dark. Part of her hoped that when she turned around, Orphelia would be there, smiling and then embracing her. Her mind just didn¡¯t want to accept that she was gone. It rather wanted this to be an elaborate prank.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± a familiar voice asked in an unfamiliar tone. ¡°What happened?¡± Was that Eclaire?


    Lia shook her head. She didn¡¯t want to answer. It felt like a betrayal, as if it would really become reality, if she spoke of what happened.


    ¡°Mister van Ragd?¡± Eclaire raised her voice, but spoke away from her. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really know,¡± came his voice. It sounded distant. ¡°I think it¡¯s some kind of mind-magic field that¡¯s affecting every donar that¡¯s been vaccinated. It was interrupted when I ¡­ destroyed its focal point. But then it also expanded uncontrollably and affected almost every donar, which explains why gravity has vanished.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡± There was a bit of heat in her voice. ¡°What happened with Lia? Why is she like this?¡±


    ¡°I ¡­ I don¡¯t want to talk about it.¡± Ludwig¡¯s voice faded as if he turned away from them. He couldn¡¯t even acknowledge what he had done. A bit of anger flared in Lia, but she felt too drained for it to become a raging fire.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Robert¡¯s question was met with silence. ¡°Please. Someone! Tell me!¡±


    ¡°Mister van Ragd.¡± Eclaire sounded calm and collected. ¡°You¡¯re our teacher. You should know what to do.¡± Her plea was also met with silence for a moment.


    ¡°Mister van Ragd!¡± Her school mate¡¯s voice got louder, bordering on sounding shrill.


    ¡°I ¡­¡± Finally, Ludwig spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do. I haven¡¯t known for weeks. And now ¡­ Now I have to assume that most of the donar on the station are zombies ¡­¡±


    ¡°Get your priorities straight!¡± Eclaire almost shouted and Lia looked up at the red head. ¡°You¡¯re not here to solve the problem. You¡¯re here to protect and guide us! That¡¯s what being a teacher means.¡±


    Lia saw Ludwig out of the corner of her eyes. He was staring at Eclaire with an open mouth.


    The girl turned around and looked at Lia. Eclaire put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer. ¡°What happened?¡± she asked again, this time far more gently. Then she added: ¡°What happened to you?¡±


    Lia still didn¡¯t answer. She had no idea how.


    ¡°What happened to your eyes?¡±


    Eclaire¡¯s question made her blink. As far as she was concerned, nothing had happened to her. She could still see everything as she had done before. Then she remembered a scene where she had seen herself, her eyes changed, little stars shining out of irises the color of space. It had been in the queen¡¯s vision. Something the queen hadn¡¯t wanted her to see. A vision Lilian had cut short.


    Slowly her fleet of thoughts began to dock at the same station. She still didn¡¯t know what choice Orphelia had to make, but it had resulted in this mess. And the former queen had known. She probably had even steered everything into this direction, working toward this outcome for years.


    Her anger began to flare once more. That was when Eclaire of all people embraced her in a hug.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened, but please don¡¯t become one of them as well,¡± the impera said into her ear.


    Lia was stunned, and her anger retreated to the back of her mind, stewing there. She slowly raised her arms and pulled Eclaire gently off of her. ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± she answered and forced a slight smile onto her lips.


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    ¡°I think it¡¯s best to try to get off the station,¡± Ludwig finally announced. ¡°You¡¯re right, I ¡­ we can¡¯t do anything here.¡± He sighed. ¡°We should also find the principal and impera Joy.¡±


    ¡°We should go out there and search for others?¡± Robert¡¯s voice sounded like a squeak.


    ¡°I have to.¡± Ludwig looked at the student in question. ¡°Miss Eclaire is right. I and the other teachers are responsible for you all. We need to get everyone we can to safety, and we have one advantage, many of the others don¡¯t have: We still have a donar in her right mind.¡±


    Lia felt everyone¡¯s gaze settle on her, while she stared at Ludwig.


    ¡°Do you really want to continue to use my mana, after what you¡¯ve done?¡± she hissed at him, and he flinched.


    ¡°As I told you before, we didn¡¯t have any other choice.¡± He didn¡¯t met her gaze. ¡°And you agreed with me. Otherwise you wouldn¡¯t have supplied me with mana, isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    Lia averted her gaze. He was right. She couldn¡¯t just lay all the blame at his feet, some of it did belong to her. Seeing that black snake from her dreams, and how it wanted to strike at her, to get her, had made her panic.


    ¡°I promise to try and not kill anyone we come across.¡±


    Lia noticed out of the corner of her eyes that Ludwig floated toward her. She didn¡¯t look at him. Part of her still resented him for forcing her into that situation.


    ¡°Please. We need to help everyone.¡± He laid his hands onto her right arm. ¡°Right now, we¡¯re the only ones that can.¡±


    When she still didn¡¯t react, Eclaire spoke up from her other side. ¡°Lia.¡±


    She slowly raised her head and looked at the redhead, who was biting her lower lip.


    ¡°I know that we haven¡¯t started off on a good relationship. And I know that saying sorry when we need you doesn¡¯t seem very genuine. But not everyone, not every impero, has treated you badly. Will you at least help them? Will you help Robert?¡± Eclaire gestured at their class mate, and Lia stared at the frightened looking boy. Were some of his hairs singed?


    Robert looked at her. His eyes were wide open, and his mouth seemed to form the word ¡°Please.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t protect them without your help,¡± Ludwig admitted and held his hand out to her. ¡°So, please ¡­ trust me?¡±


    Lia stared at the offered appendage, her thoughts battling one another in her head. Finally, rationality won out and she took the hand. ¡°But only until they are safe,¡± she whispered.


    ¡°I¡¯m not asking for more.¡± There was a slight smile on his lips. He looked somewhat relieved. Had she ever seen him smile? She wasn¡¯t really sure.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡± Eclaire pushed herself toward the door. Lia looked around and noticed that they were in Eclaire¡¯s room, which was probably a good idea. There wouldn¡¯t be too many donar in the imperi¡¯s dormitory.


    ¡°Wait. Lia and I should take the lead.¡± Ludwig somehow pushed himself forward and dragged her along. ¡°I know where the maintenance shafts are. The probability to meet a donar there is lower than on the rest of the station.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Eclaire agreed, and opened the door. Ludwig pushed himself toward it, stopped at the frame and looked outside. Then he pulled her along an through.


    It was eerily quiet as the floated through the corridor of the dormitory. They stopped at a door that was not the entrance, and Ludwig allowed a device to scan his retina. It opened upward with a hiss and Ludwig checked the corridor before floating inside.


    Lia recognized the ring-corridor that led to Miss Joy¡¯s office as well as Ludwig¡¯s room.


    The situation reminded her of the vision that had confirmed her suspicion that the vaccine was to blame, only that they had been alone. But if the situation was still similar, then they should hit some patrolling zombies soon enough.


    They kept moving through the corridors, with Ludwig pausing at every intersection. He was probably drawing from the countless times he had seen this happen. Then, he stopped and pressed himself against a wall, and opened the door with the help of a panel. He almost pushed Lia inside and gestured the rest to follow before quickly following himself.


    Out of the shadow of the room, they noticed two donar pass. Probably station personnel. Something about them was strange, but Lia couldn¡¯t make out, what exactly. After they passed, the door hissed shut, and Ludwig turned around, sighing.


    ¡°Are they supposed to roam like that?¡± Eclaire¡¯s voice was just a whisper. ¡°When some of the donar turned, they attacked us, but none of the moved from where they were.¡±


    Both Lia and Ludwig looked at the impera, then at themselves. Lia felt a shiver run down her spine. ¡°They¡¯re regaining sentience?¡± she whispered.


    ¡°Then ¡­ whatever we did down there ¡­ only disrupted whatever had taken control of Orphelia.¡± Ludwig had become pale.


    ¡°Speaking of which ¡­ where is Orphelia?¡±


    Eclaire¡¯s question felt like a stab into Lia¡¯s heart.


    ¡°I,¡± Ludwig started, then gulped audibly. ¡°She ¡­ didn¡¯t make it.¡± He turned around, not facing anyone in the room. ¡°Whatever got a hold of the donar, got to her first. I ¡­ we couldn¡¯t save her ¡­¡±


    Lia could almost feel the horror on Eclaire¡¯s face. She put the clues together and stared at them with wide open eyes. Robert didn¡¯t seem to notice anything.


    ¡°Come. Let me get you to the docks. After that I will try to find the rest of the people that are still sane. Maybe Miss Joy can find a way to reverse all of this ¡­¡±


    Ludwig floated to the door and opened it. Lia didn¡¯t look at Eclaire either. She felt guilty. Her mana had been responsible for ending her friend¡¯s life. She followed Ludwig silently and suddenly heard Ludwig speak: ¡°Lillian Saggitarius. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you again.¡±


    Lia looked up. There she was. There was the former queen and the rest of the pirate captain¡¯s.


    When Lillian¡¯s eyes met hers, and Lia saw that same sadness she had seen just before they departed EDEN. Once again, one thought came to the forefront of her mind: The former queen knew. She knew and even steered everything in this direction.


    ¡°Lia,¡± the queen greeted her, ¡°before you do anything, please hear me out.¡±


    ¡°You knew!¡± she accused the former queen openly. ¡°You knew!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did,¡± she admitted. ¡°I knew and I sought this outcome, because the alternatives would have been much, much worse.¡± Lillian¡¯s expression was open, sad and full of hope. ¡°So, before you blast me with fire or a beam of light, let me explain.¡±


    ¡°Yes, please do explain,¡± Eclaire demanded and hugged Lia from behind. The winter and the fall captain agreed with her class mate.


    Lia¡¯s mind hung on a few other words the former queen had spoken. ¡°Before I blast you?¡± A cloud of confusion cooled her anger down. A part of her realized, that the spring captain still knew things that they didn¡¯t. Things they might need to resolve part of this situation.


    ¡°Will you hear me out?¡± the former queen asked. Lia couldn¡¯t quite pin her tone down, but it sounded like hope, as if something had changed in an unexpected way.


    Once again, Lia found herself simply nodding toward Lillian¡¯s request, hoping that she wouldn¡¯t regret it once more.

 Part Three — The best possible Timeline?

    They retreated back into the room they¡¯d just been in. Lia floated next to Eclaire, the former queen and the three captains floated opposite of her. Ludwig was off to the side, as if he was miming an arbitrator. Lia had crossed her arms and waited for Lillian to speak.


    ¡°It¡¯s a strange feeling going through something you couldn¡¯t rehearse beforehand.¡± Lillian didn¡¯t meet her eyes and fidgeted slightly with her hands in her lap.


    ¡°Just stay with the truth,¡± Lia advised.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I haven¡¯t told the truth before.¡± Lillian pointedly looked to the side. ¡°I¡¯ve just omitted certain parts.¡±


    ¡°Like the thing about Orphelia.¡± Lia growled slightly, and she had the impression that it got a bit warmer. Her anger probably increased her heart rate.


    ¡°Yes. Like that.¡± Lillian sighed, and looked Lia in the eyes. ¡°Let me start there then.¡± She wetted her lips. ¡°When I met you on EDEN, I had the possibility to guide you two in two directions.¡± She lowered her gaze. ¡°You know the first outcome.¡±


    Lia didn¡¯t need to prompt her, as Lillian took a deep breath and continued: ¡°The other would¡¯ve been to sacrifice you. I could¡¯ve told you that, after Orphelia became possessed, you could¡¯ve taken her place.¡±


    So there had been a way to save her friend. It made her only angrier.


    ¡°Don¡¯t hate me for it, before you know the result of that timeline.¡± Lillian looked very uncomfortable, and was clutching her hand so tightly, that Lia could see the veins. ¡°I have seen the possessed you in that timeline. I have seen Orphelia standing mindlessly next to you. It was as if you were the queen of a hive mind. Not even one donar had their own will.¡± The woman looked as if a shiver had run down her spine. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen that future ¡­ but the outcome was even worse.¡±


    Lia could see it in Lillian¡¯s eyes. She was telling the truth. If her friend wasn¡¯t herself anymore, it was the same as being dead. But ¡­


    ¡°We could¡¯ve stayed on EDEN. You could¡¯ve told them about the hyperspace locator sooner.¡± Lia glared at Ludwig for a moment, and then back at Lillian.


    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t have changed much. First off, it would¡¯ve started a war. The empire against the pirates. While that was going on, the strange disease would¡¯ve spread over the empire and then triggered at a later date. Orphelia would¡¯ve been possessed, and this time, we would¡¯ve been the one killing her.¡± Lillian shook her head. ¡°And with millions more donar, the empire would still be controlled by a hive mind, and the pirates would¡¯ve been the resistance.¡±


    Lia looked away from Lillian, feeling slightly bad. ¡°So you chose the lesser of all evils.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen a single future with a happy end. And in all of them, I was dead by now.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me anything?¡± Omor asked reproachfully.


    Lillian let out a shuddering breath. It looked as if her whole body was shaking. ¡°Because you couldn¡¯t have changed anything. I¡¯ve chosen this path, and I am determined to see it to the end.¡± She once again held her hands. ¡°Those prepared to condemn others to death need to be prepared to be condemned themselves.¡±


    ¡°But you could¡¯ve run. Left the empire behind.¡±


    ¡°It would¡¯ve worked, for a few years ¡­ But he¡¯d always come for me.¡±


    ¡°He.¡± Lia looked back at Lillian. ¡°Is that your brother? Amir?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m here to find out. It could be him, but ¡­ it also doesn¡¯t feel quite like him.¡± Lillian shook her head. ¡°Anyways, whatever is responsible right now, should be vulnerable.¡±


    ¡°You said before that Amir is a central node of a network.¡± The fall captain leaned forward. ¡°Then all we have to do is remove him?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I hope.¡± Lillian nodded, then turned back to Lia. ¡°One more thing. It seems you haven¡¯t realized it yet, maybe you never had in all the timelines I met you like this, but you¡¯re a princess now. Both donar and impera.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Lia stared at Lillian with wide eyes.


    ¡°I think that it¡¯s related to how Orphelia died in this timeline, as its the only one where it happens. I ¡­ hope it¡¯s a good sign.¡±


    Suddenly, Lia felt cold inside. She had been jealous of her friend, but now that she was gone, she was given this gift? Was the universe mocking her? She didn¡¯t want to have it at all, if she could have her friend back.


    The rest of her anger turned into sadness, and she cried. She noticed Eclaire¡¯s hug, but it didn¡¯t help. Right now, she would¡¯ve torn the universe apart, or turned the clock way back, if she could. But even though she was suddenly given the means she¡¯d always wished for, they were totally meaningless.


    ¡°We should find Amir then.¡± Ludwig¡¯s voice cut through the silence and her wail. ¡°He¡¯s the source of it all, seeing how he had this ¡®vaccine¡¯ made and distributed on the station.¡± He made a small pause. ¡°But I don¡¯t think that removing him will do much good. Like you, I have explored different timelines. Removing Orphelia hadn¡¯t worked, and removing Amir hadn¡¯t worked either. It is possible that removing both will work, but I wouldn¡¯t count on it.¡±


    Ludwig was in on it. He had explored what killing her friend would accomplish. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t want her to join his visions. Lia wanted to hit him with her fists, but Eclaire held her in place. The room quickly became unbearably hot.


    ¡°Lia, calm your emotions,¡± Ludwig said. ¡°Please.¡±


    ¡°You wanted to kill her,¡± she accused him.


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    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. I explored what would happen and if I had to. But it wouldn¡¯t have changed anything.¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°I had and still have a responsibility to all my students, and I tried every avenue to protect as many of them as possible.¡±


    ¡°Lia, please calm down.¡± Eclaire pleaded in her ear. ¡°Harming him won¡¯t change anything. And I really believe that he didn¡¯t want to do that. He might¡¯ve looked down on Donar, maybe he still does, but I don¡¯t think he¡¯d harm them. Has he ever harmed you?¡±


    Lia stopped for a moment to think. She had blasted him twice, almost costing him his life. And yet he hadn¡¯t retaliated. He hadn¡¯t even made her life in school harder. Maybe Eclaire was right?


    Her anger cooled slightly, and with it, the temperature in the room sank as well.


    ¡°Is that normal?¡± The fall captain whispered somewhere to the side. She didn¡¯t hear or see the answer, but heard an ¡°oh¡± as a reply to that.


    ¡°So Amir used a vaccine to turn the donar?¡± As Lia turned to Lillian, the woman rubbed her chin.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°No. As I¡¯ve told you before, this is really the first time I could talk to all of you. And no one suspected that this was even possible.¡±


    ¡°It still doesn¡¯t explain why Orphelia was affected.¡± Lia sighed and looked at Eclaire¡¯s arm still around her. ¡°She also never got the vaccine.¡±


    ¡°Then the only one that does know, is Amir,¡± Omor concluded. ¡°We should find him as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°We left him in the starcedral, before ¡­¡± Ludwig trailed off. ¡°I guess we should look there.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± The winter captain¡¯s voice was ice cold. Maybe she hadn¡¯t even felt the warmth of Lia¡¯s anger.


    There was a small pause, where Ludwig looked around. ¡°We should stick together. I need to keep an eye on my students.¡±


    ¡°Then come on. We don¡¯t have any more time to lose.¡± The winter captain opened the door and looked outside.


    ¡°Lia, can you move by yourself?¡± Eclaire¡¯s whisper was soft.


    Wiping the tears from her eyes, Lia nodded, and followed Ludwig outside. Moving Robert seemed to be an even bigger problem, but Eclaire did her best encouraging him to follow. At the thought of having to stay there, alone, he quickly caught up to the rest.


    The four captains led them through the corridors and outside. The artificial sky had disappeared, and thick metal beams obstructed the view on the opaque crystal that filtered the light of the stars shining down on them.


    Hiding between the flower beds, they noticed that the zombie-donar had very much taken up patrolling the area. ¡°That doesn¡¯t look good,¡± Omor whispered from a flower bed further down.


    Lia looked at him for a moment, then back at the zombies. Something in the back of her mind noticed something strange, but it was hard to concentrate.


    They moved on. Ducking into small alleys here and between the flower beds there. When they finally arrived at the starcedral, it was mostly empty. The principal sat in one of the pews, and Miss Joy knelt next to Amir, who laid on the ground and stared at the ceiling.


    The captains approached him carefully.


    ¡°Ah Ludwig. Do you know what has happened?¡± The principal looked at him, then at the pirates. ¡°Lillian Saggitarius.¡± He gasped and bowed, then seemed to recognize the other three with them.


    ¡°Mister Rose.¡± Lillian smiled. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in a long time.¡±


    ¡°Not since your graduation. Why are you here?¡±


    Lillian¡¯s gaze clearly found Amir. ¡°I need to look after my brother. Is he conscious?¡±


    The principal looked at the medical impera who shook her head.


    Lia ignored all that and walked toward Amir. The burning hatred inside of her was flaring up again. He was responsible for what has happened. Without him ¡­


    ¡°Hey, you,¡± the principal addressed her suddenly. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to ¡­ approach the king?¡± His tone suddenly changed as she glared at him.


    ¡°By law and customs, she has every right,¡± Lillian said, then walked past the principal as well.


    Amir laid on the floor, black colored eyes staring emptily toward the ceiling. ¡°You and your stupid plan to ascend,¡± Lia whispered, but didn¡¯t get an answer. The way he didn¡¯t move at all almost cooled her anger down, and allowed her sadness to take over once more. She couldn¡¯t even make him pay.


    ¡°Lia?¡± Miss Joy looked at her. ¡°What happened to you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know ¡­¡± Fighting back her own tears, she looked at her hands again. Slowly she could see the magic outside her body, a faint white glow that turned to orange flames before disappearing. ¡°I never wanted this ¡­¡±


    ¡°What happened to him?¡± Lillian asked and pointed to Amir.


    The medical impera shook her head. ¡°I have no idea. He doesn¡¯t have any external injuries and no obvious signs of poisoning. I couldn¡¯t do a magical examination thus far, because no donar is answering me, and the ones I¡¯ve seen are acting strange. Lia here is the only one that seems ¡­ kind-of normal?¡±


    Lillian shook her head. ¡°She¡¯s not just a donar anymore, but ¡­¡± The former queen knelt next to her. ¡°Would you be willing to give Miss Joy some life Mana? Maybe if we get him to talk, we can save the others.¡±


    ¡°If we get him to wake up,¡± she answered, ¡°then I¡¯m going to make him pay.¡± Her sadness and her anger were battling inside of her. She pushed both of those feelings aside and gritted her teeth. ¡°After he told us what he knows.¡±


    She offered her left hand to Miss Joy, who hesitated to take it. It was almost as if she was reluctant to help Amir. Or to touch her.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have any time to lose. Whatever has posessed all those donar is regaining its control.¡± Omor walked up next to them. ¡°Do it now or be rid of him.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Miss Joy looked up at the summer captain.


    ¡°If he¡¯s really like a second control node, then we have to get rid of him now.¡± The winter captain drew the fall captain¡¯s blade.


    ¡°Information first.¡± Lillian held the white-haired donar back.


    ¡°Normally, I¡¯d throw you all out before tending to the patient, even you,¡± Miss Joy gave Lia a pointed look. But since I am starved for options, you have to do. The rest, step back.¡±


    Miss Joy took her hand, then touched Amir, but not without keeping an eye on Lia.


    This time, Lia could see the strands of mana she was giving to Miss Joy be drawn along her body, like small greenish line that grew over her skin, disappeared under her blouse before reappearing on her other arm. Then they connected her with Amir, and Lia followed all the little greenish glowing veins as they explored the king¡¯s body, up to his head.


    When they retreated, Miss Joy shook her head again. ¡°No internal injuries either. I guess it¡¯s something mind related.¡± She looked at Lia. ¡°I¡¯m no expert on that, but I can at least try to find out what the problem is. If you need to fix it, you need an expert on that.¡± Miss Joy looked at the former queen, who didn¡¯t answer. ¡°Lia, if you would?¡±


    Lia changed the color she was giving to Miss Joy and saw a yellow mist extend along her arm and over her clothes. Once again it reached Amir and when it reached his head, she had the impression that her magic fought against another, gray film.


    Suddenly, Amir shot up, hissing like the snake in Lia¡¯s nightmares. Instinctively, she reached out with her right hand and shoved all her mana against him, converting it to mind mana and overwhelming the strange smoke that had taken hold of him.


    ¡°No!¡± Miss Joy cried and let go of her hand.


    Lia lowered her hands, breathing heavily and shaking with her whole body.


    ¡°What happened?¡± The fall captain was prying his saber out of the winter captain¡¯s hands and was now staring at Amir. The blackness had vanished from his eyes.


    ¡°She ¡­ she ¡­ just wiped his mind,¡± Miss Joy explained and stared at Lia. ¡°H¡­ how?¡±


    ¡°As I said, she¡¯s not just a donar anymore.¡± Lillian sighed. ¡°So much for trying to get information out of him.¡±


    ¡°At least he¡¯s not a central node anymore. Maybe this will turn the donar back to normal?¡± Omor tried to put a hopeful tone to his voice, but he clearly didn¡¯t believe it either.


    And Lia ¡­ Lia was now convinced that something else had taken control of Orphelia, and of Amir. That it was it¡¯s fault. She had no idea, what it was, but she knew that she was afraid of it. Of a darkness hidden within the magic itself. Then she had a sudden epiphany, and knew his name.


    ¡°Fornax.¡±

 Part Three — The True Cause

    ¡°Fornax?¡± Lillian grabbed Lia¡¯s shoulder and turned her around. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Lia didn¡¯t look up from her hands, the image of the snake still in her mind. ¡°It was in her magic,¡± she whispered. ¡°A black smoke, a black snake ¡­¡± She had seen it all the time in her dreams.


    ¡°That¡¯s not possible!¡±


    ¡°It is ¡­¡± The thought made her feel cold and her magic reacted to it. The light of her own magic vanished and was replaced by something dark. ¡°Think about it. The eleventh element is supposed to be magic itself, and Fornax tried to reach it. He failed, yes, but what if he also succeeded somewhat?¡±


    Her theory was met with silence. When she looked up, she saw into pale faces. Only Ludwig narrowed his eyes. He saw first at her, then at the others. Miss Joy just seemed confused. The pirate captains all knew of Fornax, and the principal knew, too, apparently. Only Ludwig, Miss Joy, and her fellow students were out of the loop.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen that thing,¡± the fall captain finally said. ¡°There¡¯s no way we can win against that!¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to defeat it,¡± Lillian finally said. She was rubbing her chin, squinted slightly and stared at a point they couldn¡¯t see. ¡°At least not in the classical sense. We have to disrupt its access to the affected donar.¡±


    ¡°And how do we do that?¡± The winter captain had an icy cold look, but her voice was laced with curiosity.


    Lillian turned to Ludwig. ¡°You said, this is because of that vaccine, correct?¡± Lia¡¯s teacher nodded. ¡°Then we need to develop a counter-vaccine.¡±


    ¡°Creating a vaccine takes months,¡± Miss Joy interjected. ¡°Do we have enough time for that?¡±


    ¡°Depends. First we need to scout what the affected donar are doing now. Summer, Winter, could you check?¡±


    The two captains nodded and left.


    ¡°We should also get one of the scientists that created the original vaccine. They should be able to help us reverse its effects.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve put some research into it,¡± Miss Joy answered and finally stood. Amir was still laying there, staring blankly upwards. ¡°A Doctor Robert Deimos is credited with having done the groundwork.¡±


    ¡°Orphelia¡¯s uncle?¡± Lia stared at the medical impera. ¡°He was here.¡±


    ¡°I think he still hasn¡¯t left the station.¡± The principal looked grim.


    The former queen ¨C or was she now the real queen again? ¨C turned to Mister Rose. ¡°Then we need to talk to him. Can you lead us to him?¡± The man gave only a nod as an answer.


    Lia didn¡¯t know what to think. Was Orphelia¡¯s uncle really involved in all of this? She looked back to Amir, as if he could give her an answer. A shiver ran down her spine. What had she done? What had she done ¡­ ?


    ¡°Those donar are still affected.¡± She heard Omor¡¯s voice while staring at the king. Or the former king. She had been angry at him. But she hadn¡¯t wanted to ¡­ to ¡­ The rate of her breathing increased. Amir was still breathing, but ¡­ had she destroyed his mind?


    ¡°They seem a bit more disorganized now, but still attack everything on sight.¡± The winter captain sighed. ¡°I guess it is only a matter of time before they¡¯re back to patrolling once more ¡­ And we have no idea what the next stage is ¡­¡±


    ¡°Especially if Fornax is involved.¡± Omor finished the sentence.


    Lia didn¡¯t understand why they were this calm. She had somehow killed the former king ¡­


    ¡°Then we don¡¯t have any time to lose,¡± the queen said. ¡°Please lead the way.¡±


    Someone touched her shoulders, and when she turned, she looked at Eclaire. The girl shook slightly, but nodded at her and followed the others out of the starcedral. Lia needed all her strength to not collapse at that moment. She had killed two people in one day!


    She didn¡¯t even notice how they moved through the outside area and back into the corridors of the station itself. She simply functioned, and from what she could tell, Eclaire wasn¡¯t that much better.


    After some time, they arrived at a door, and after pressing a button, knocking and then opening it with some kind of code, they stepped into the room Orphelia¡¯s uncle had been given.


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    She saw the man floating in the room, unresponsive. His fingers and lips were unnaturally blue, and when miss Joy floated toward him, and shook her head a moment later, Lia knew what happened. Seeing the third death on one day overwhelmed her and the world around her faded to black.


    * * *


    When she came to, she was wrapped in a blanket. Eclaire floated next to her, sleeping soundly. Robert was wasn¡¯t there anymore. Other than that, she couldn¡¯t see much, as it was dark around her.


    She sighed and closed her eyes, only to see red spots in front of her eyes. And then the blank stare of Amir. Immediately she felt cold again. She just couldn¡¯t shake the image. Why had she access to that vile magic? It was heavily regulated for a reason. Maybe it had been better, if she had no magic at all, not even mana. But she had it, and now she had everything.


    ¡°Why?¡± she whispered to herself. ¡°Orphelia, why?¡± she asked again, but never got an answer.


    Again she started to cry. ¡°I miss you,¡± she whispered. ¡°Please, come back.¡± How was she supposed to manage all of this on her own? When the pirates had taken them, Orphelia had been there with her, making it all bearable. But now ¡­ now she was ¡­ all alone.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting worse.¡± The words floated toward her from a doorway. A moment later, light shone into the room. ¡°And we have no idea how much longer the reactor or the life support systems last.¡±


    Lia unwrapped and pushed herself toward the doorway. Her mind needed to be busy, or she¡¯d see all those deaths again.


    Lillian and the other pirate captains were floating in the room, with Ludwig and the principal next to them.


    ¡°Ah, M¡­ Princess Eo.¡± The Principal had sweat glistening on his forehead.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Lia asked and pushed herself closer to them, stopping at the table.


    ¡°Doctor Robert Deimos is dead,¡± Lillian answered. ¡°And he was indeed responsible for the vaccine.¡±


    ¡°He left a note.¡± Ludwig sighed and tapped at his forehead. ¡°The reason why Orphelia was affected was because she got the vaccine first. Or rather the retrovirus. Amir had gone to Doctor Deimos years ago, and convinced him to craft a bridge between him and Orphelia, which he managed to do. He introduced some of Amir¡¯s cells into her body, and had the retrovirus suppress her immune response to them. That made it like she was always touching him, but over the years, she also got his powers to control magic herself.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure we should tell her?¡± Lillian asked and looked between Lia and Ludwig.


    ¡°She, out of all people, has the right to know.¡± Ludwig shook his head. ¡°Anyways, when Amir finally ascended to the throne, he demanded more of the ¡®vaccine¡¯ from Robert, and, still hoping that their family, their whole moon would be treated better, he obliged.¡±


    ¡°But when nothing happened and he saw, how his work changed Orphelia, he couldn¡¯t live with his conscience anymore, and took his life,¡± finished Omor the story.


    ¡°Miss Joy is trying to create an anti-vaccine, but since she doesn¡¯t have any experience in this field, and we have no gravity, the chances are rather slim.¡± Lillian shook her head.


    ¡°We managed to evacuate some of the station¡¯s personnel. Robert has left with one of the ships. Eclaire demanded to stay with you.¡±


    Lia nodded slightly and shut her eyes right for a moment, holding back her tears. Neither Orphelia nor her uncle had deserved any of this. The blame was Amir¡¯s. ¡°What do we do now?¡± she asked with a shaking voice.


    Ludwig, the principal and the four captains all shook their head. ¡°We have no idea. But we noticed that the affected donar started to patrol again. We fear that Fornax is establishing control of them.¡±


    ¡°We could wait a few days and try to negotiate,¡± Lillian suggested, then quickly held a hand up. ¡°But I fear all Fornax seeks is to dominate everything. Our second option is to exterminate all affected donar.¡±


    Lia stared with wide eyes at them. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡±


    Lillian shook her head. ¡°There is one more thing I want to try. But ¡­ I need your help.¡± The queen looked at her.


    ¡°What ¡­¡± Lia gulped. ¡°What do you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°I want to use soul magic to free the donar. Which in and of itself won¡¯t be easy and will probably take a lot of mana.¡± Lillian took a deep breath and waited for an answer.


    ¡°But we¡¯d also need to find a lone donar, or we¡¯d have to overwhelm a group, in order to get one. It¡¯s all immensely dangerous,¡± Omor cautioned.


    ¡°There is a possibility to heal them?¡± Lia felt slightly better at that.


    ¡°It¡¯s at least something we can try before we take ¡­ more drastic measures.¡± Lillian sighed and shook her head. ¡°My own soul mana pool isn¡¯t large enough. I tried before and didn¡¯t have enough power. Winter could help me,¡± she looked at the white-haired woman, ¡°but her mana pool is smaller than mine, and I¡¯d need more than double. Your ¡­ records show that you have a lot of mana to spare, probably even more than I. Which means you¡¯re the only one I can ask.¡±


    Lia grabbed her other arm and bored her fingers into it. She still wasn¡¯t sure whether she could trust Lillian, but, ¡°as long we can save them, we should try.¡± She bit her lower lip and looked to the side. ¡°I should also learn how to control my magic ¡­ I ¡­ don¡¯t want to keep killing people accidentally.¡± Tears streamed down her face, and she saw Amir¡¯s expressionless face again. So much for keeping her mind busy to chase those images away.


    When Lillian of all people embraced her and held her close to her body, her thoughts halted for a moment. What was happening here?


    ¡°You¡¯ve somehow been dragged into all of this,¡± she whispered. ¡°I struggled when I was suddenly supposed to be queen. I had to make so many decisions where my heart wanted to do something else, but where my mind knew that I had to do something different. As a queen you¡¯re supposed to sacrifice the few for the greater good of the empire.¡± She lowered her voice even further. ¡°It never sat right with me.¡±


    ¡°I ¡­ I don¡¯t want to sacrifice anyone,¡± she answered, sobbing. ¡°I don¡¯t want to lose anyone.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Lillian answered and stroked over her hair as if she¡¯d suddenly become her mother. ¡°I know. But you are a princess now. You have the right to take the throne.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want it. I don¡¯t even want my magic anymore. I ¡­ I want ¡­ Orphelia back.¡± Her voice got smaller the further she got.


    ¡°If we can, we¡¯ll make Fornax pay,¡± the queen whispered. ¡°I¡¯m sure that we can do it. Together!¡±


    Somehow, Lillian had made her nod for the third time. Was she just this persuasive? Or was she using magic on her? Honestly, Lia didn¡¯t care right now, because Lillian had managed to soothe the pain of her heavily injured heart.

 Part Three — Turning Point

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 Part Three — Escape from the Station

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 Part Three — Escalation

    The admiral¡¯s eyes stared down at them as they walked onto the bridge.


    ¡°The leaders of the pirates,¡± the man¡¯s projection behind the windows said. ¡°Why am I not surprised and yet have to wonder what your goals are?¡± Then his eyes suddenly narrowed. ¡°Lillian Saggitarius?¡± The pitch of his voice rose suddenly.


    ¡°Admiral Horologii.¡± Lillian nodded slghtly and gave him a smile. ¡°I guess you were still trying to find the pirates on my brother¡¯s orders?¡±


    ¡°Why are you with them?¡± The admiral¡¯s voice normalized and his gaze settled mostly on Lillian. He also looked for a moment at Lia, but didn¡¯t comment on her presence.


    ¡°The pirates have reacted to the distress call send out by the Crystal Citadel.¡± Lillian sighed and gave the admiral time to register those words, not saying anything about her involvement with the group. When she continued, it was on the topic at hand: ¡°The situation on the station is dire. A ¡­ foreign presence has taken control of most of the donar, who at first became mindless and aggressive, but are now learning to work together. We¡¯ve barely made it to this ship to take shelter.¡±


    ¡°Where are the king and the new princess?¡± The admiral¡¯s gaze moved from Lillian toward Lia.


    Lia gulped and froze. It felt as if she was responsible for both of their demises.


    ¡°Orphelia is no more.¡± Ludwig stepped forward and in front of Lia. ¡°She was the infection point that created all those zombies in the first place. I fear King Amir had been affected as well.¡±


    ¡°What happened to Amir?¡±


    ¡°His mind has been wiped,¡± Lillian supplied with a sigh. ¡°Amir is gone, as well.¡±


    ¡°His mind is ¡­ gone?¡± The admiral stared with wide open eyes. ¡°How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°He was ¡­ infected as well ¡­ and startled the new queen.¡± Lillian took a deep breath and shook her head.


    ¡°New queen?¡± The Admiral closed his eyes for a moment. ¡°Queen ¡­ Lillian. I have a hard time believing all you¡¯re saying. In the last few days the empire has been shook several times, and you¡¯ve always been in the center of it all.¡± The admiral stopped for a moment. ¡°You¡¯ve steered or even engineered the events, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°As queen I have done everything in my power to protect the citizens of the empire, as is my duty.¡± Lillian shook her head. ¡°As I told our new queen before: I have determined this to be the best possible outcome.¡±


    Which was something Lia still wasn¡¯t sure of, couldn¡¯t be sure of.


    ¡°I guess you¡¯ll have to discuss this with the council at a later date.¡± The admiral grumbled slightly. ¡°Now what¡¯s the problem with a bunch of donar having become aggressive? Station security should be able to detain them one by one.¡±


    ¡°Then you didn¡¯t get the part of the message where all the donar are using magic as if they¡¯re royals?¡± Omor raised an eyebrow. ¡°Seems as if your intelligence network is lacking.¡±


    ¡°The distress message only mentioned that all the donar had become brainless zombies, that the station is without gravity and that those donar had started attacking people.¡± The admiral stared at the pirate. ¡°There was nothing in there to assume that they¡¯ve suddenly gained the ability to use magic like a royal.¡±


    ¡°The summer captain has seen the future of the station,¡± Lillian said. ¡°He knew.¡±


    ¡°That was the donar¡¯s work next to you, wasn¡¯t it?¡± He took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment and then looked back at Lillian. ¡°The council will have many questions for you.¡±


    The former queen only gave a slight smile in answer.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have my men come up with a plan on how to reclaim the station.¡±


    ¡°We can heal the affected donar,¡± Lia quickly interjected. The admiral didn¡¯t know and she feared that they¡¯d plan on killing everyone on the station.


    ¡°I see. I¡¯ll have them include that information in their planning.¡± He still had cold eyes when he looked at her. ¡°I guess you¡¯re now assigned to the new queen? Or are you assigned to the former one?¡± The admiral¡¯s eyes moved from her back to Lillian.


    ¡°Neither of those,¡± the former queen answered with an almost predatory smile, ¡°she is the new queen.¡±


    ¡°I ¡­ But ¡­¡± The admiral stuttered a bit more, his eyes moving from Lillian to Lia and back. ¡°That ¡­ explains a lot.¡± He finally admitted with a sigh. ¡°The empire wouldn¡¯t have moved to reclaim just two donar, even if they¡¯re already special. And of course a princess wouldn¡¯t just have a random donar as her companion and friend.¡± He looked at Lillian again. ¡°Congratulations on faking their backgrounds this thoroughly. Even Amir didn¡¯t suspect two hidden heirs.¡±


    Lia wondered whether she should tell him the truth, but Lillian¡¯s hand on her shoulder stopped her from saying anything. Not even Ludwig or the principal dared correct the misconception.


    ¡°Very well, Lia Saggitarius, we¡¯ll keep your wish to save all of the donar in mind.¡± He inclined his head in a nod. ¡°We¡¯ll dock next to the Lagrange and will coordinate our efforts with that of the pirates.¡± He didn¡¯t sound very happy at that.


    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing you should know.¡± The principal stepped forward. ¡°The freed donar retain their ability to use magic freely. Some might help us, others want to leave, especially since my staff, the pirate, and the former queen theorize that these donar can be reinfected.¡±


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    ¡°Thank you, we¡¯ll take that into consideration.¡±


    Just as the admiral wanted to say something else, a man ran onto the bridge. ¡°The two prisoners are waking up and we¡¯re having trouble keeping them unconscious,¡± he shouted.


    ¡°Admiral, the queen and I have to look after those two donar we managed to snatch.¡± Lillian turned around, and Lia quickly bowed to the hologram of the bearded man, before following the former queen. If the admiral gave any answer, she didn¡¯t hear it.


    ¡°Do you have to call me queen in front of everyone?¡± Lia asked as they were somewhat alone in the corridors of the ship.


    ¡°It¡¯s necessary that the important people know of your status. It will open a few doors that had been closed to you before, and maybe you¡¯ll be able to change things, I have been unable to.¡±


    ¡°What things? And why should I be able to succeed where you didn¡¯t?¡±


    Lillian stopped and looked her in the eyes. ¡°The magic in the royal family has been declining for years. Some kings and queens didn¡¯t have access to all elements as imperi, others didn¡¯t have all mana pools. The council sees this as a flaw, and a reason to question many of my decisions. They even pushed me to abdicated when Amir suddenly showed complete competency in both regards.¡± Lillian turned away again. ¡°It¡¯s why he could push a lot more decisions through than I could. At least I couldn¡¯t do it without ruffling the council¡¯s feathers and them starting a civil war, because I wasn¡¯t a ¡®true queen¡¯, and that there wasn¡¯t one for years, and that they should rule ¡­¡± Lillian trailed off, then started to walk again. ¡°Come, we need to do what we can.¡±


    Lia blinked, then followed her quietly. What she had heard made her want the job of queen even less than before, but ¡­ Would she really get the chance to alter how the empire worked?


    A strong gust of wind cut her thoughts short. Lillian pulled her down and metal rang above her. Lia looked up and saw a deep scratch in the corridor.


    ¡°We have to hurry.¡± Lillian got back up and Lia could see the telltale lights of using magic.


    The two donar were still where they had left them, the girl just staring at them, while the boy was using his magic, creating little crescents of what looked like compressed air that he pushed toward Lillian, who quickly dismantled his magic. She wasn¡¯t quite sure how he made air into an attack that cut scratch metal, but she was glad that Lillian could deal with it.


    ¡°We have to start with him. She,¡± Lillian looked at the girl, ¡°doesn¡¯t seem to be dangerous. Probably pure fire donar. Can¡¯t do anything without a flame.¡±


    Lillian bowed down to touch the donar, and when Lia saw her spirit magic attack Fornax¡¯s mind control, she stepped forward and supplied her own mana to the former queen. Once again she observed how Lillian pushed back against the darkness, isolating little spikes that seemed to be stuck in the donar¡¯s mind and pulling them out one by one. With every spike she removed, the eyes of the donar changed from staring, to wondering to sleepy. Finally he slumped against the wall.


    The former queen straightened and looked at the girl. ¡°Do you think you have enough ¡­¡±


    ¡°Found you,¡± the girl suddenly said, her eyes staring at Lia.


    Lillian looked at Lia, then quickly went to the girl and started at freeing her. Lia still stood there, feeling a shiver run down her spine.


    ¡°Lia, you need to help me. I can¡¯t do this alone.¡±


    On Lillian¡¯s urging, she stepped to the former queen and helped her with her mana, but her mind wasn¡¯t on learning how to remove the infection, the ¡­ curse ¡­ It was on what the girl had said. Fornax was looking for her. But why?


    ¡°Can you keep an eye on them?¡± Lillian asked into the corridors, and the maintenance workers and Eclaire appeared from around a corner. ¡°They should be back to normal now.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± one of the maintenance workers asked.


    ¡°Yes. It has worked before.¡± The former queen sighed and turned around. ¡°We should get back to the bridge. I am interested in what Arthur and the others have come up with.¡±


    Lia still stood there and looked at the girl that had just said those fatal two words.


    She didn¡¯t know how long she stood there before Eclaire put an arm around her. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s him,¡± she whispered. A part of her recognized that she used the same words as her friend. Orphelia had figured out a lot more than she thought. Why hadn¡¯t she told her?


    ¡°Who are you talking about?¡± Eclaire sounded curious, worried, and maybe a bit caring.


    ¡°Him ¡­ Fornax ¡­ He wants me.¡± A shiver ran over her spine, just before the whole ground lurched.


    Lillian was next to her and pulled her toward the bridge. ¡°You¡¯re needed.¡±


    Eclaire took her hand and followed them this time. She didn¡¯t let go, even when they arrived on the bridge.


    ¡°Look to the left,¡± Lillian whispered into her ear, and Lia turned around. There was a hole where the entrance to the dock should have been. Donar stood at the edge, looking at their ship that apparently moved away from the station.


    ¡°How do they survive?¡± someone on the bridge whispered.


    ¡°Magic,¡± came the answer from someone else.


    ¡°Why are they doing this?¡± the first voice whispered.


    Lia stared at the donar that for now clung to the outside of the station, as if she were looking at ants climbing the stalk of a plant. They wanted her. Fornax wanted her. But why?


    Then she saw some of her classmates at the entrance, followed by Mister Leda, the one who taught her how to regulate her mana flow. They all looked at the Lagrange, but it felt as if they were all looking directly at her.


    ¡°It seems as if there was a change in their behavior.¡± Lia heard the admiral speak, but didn¡¯t turn to look at where his hologram was now projected. ¡°Any idea why?¡±


    ¡°They want the queen,¡± Lillian said. ¡°Fornax wants the queen, and he¡¯s using all those donar like disposable drones.¡±


    ¡°Fornax?¡± There was both surprise and anger in the admiral¡¯s voice. ¡°Well, I suggest, we retreat from the station for now, wait until those ¡®drones¡¯ run out of air or resources.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Lia¡¯s heart skipped a beat and then another one.


    Eclaire squeezed her hand. ¡°So you want her legacy to be a few dozen dead donar, including her class mates?¡±


    ¡°This doesn¡¯t concern you. You shouldn¡¯t even be here, Information about Fornax is classified ¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care. Those donar out there don¡¯t care. But you can¡¯t just throw one group of people repeatedly into a black hole and expect there to be no backlash.¡± Eclaire¡¯s hand shook.


    Lia slowly turned away from outside to look at the red-haired impera. Why was Eclaire so emotional, why was she ¡­ on her side?


    ¡°He can¡¯t have the queen,¡± the admiral responded. ¡°She¡¯s the lifeblood of the empire, we can¡¯t lose her!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying you should sacrifice her.¡± Eclaire shook her head. ¡°But she and your spare queen are able to free those donar. You can win this. You just have to find a way.¡±


    ¡°All those donar have turned into powerful mages ¡­¡±


    ¡°So what? Doesn¡¯t the empire have a powerful fleet? Where¡¯s the real problem saving those people?¡±


    Lia looked up from Eclaire and toward the admiral. ¡°Answer her,¡± she said calmly. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear the answer as well.¡±


    Lia could see the admiral gritting his teeth. ¡°It¡¯s a cost-benefit analysis. We¡¯d have to mobilize at least half the fleet in order to separate all of those donar. Especially factoring in that they can be reinfected, meaning that we¡¯d only spend resources. Especially since you can¡¯t guarantee that they won¡¯t be reinfected by Fornax, can you?¡± There was a small pause, before he continued. ¡°Meaning this would just be a temporary fix.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know this,¡± Eclaire hissed instead of Lia, expressing Lia¡¯s sentiment.


    ¡°As long as Fornax exists, that is a reasonable assumption. He somehow got access to a king and a princess. We can¡¯t allow him to the same or something similar to the queen.¡± The admiral stared Eclaire down.


    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Ludwig added. ¡°I have seen what happens, if he gets access to you, Lia. It is the end of free will.¡±


    ¡°Then ¡­¡± Lia looked at Ludwig, to the admiral and back to her teacher, ¡°we have no other choice but to destroy Fornax.¡±

 Part Three — Looking into the Void

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 Part Three — Preparations

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 Part Three — Flickering Light

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 Part Three — Where she belongs

    ¡°Good,¡± the man told her as she managed to move her body with the help of her magic. She didn¡¯t feel anything from it, didn¡¯t even remember that it was hers, but the man before her insisted that it was. What was his name again? She wasn¡¯t quite sure, and had problems remembering ¡­


    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough for now, Ludwig,¡± another man said, joining the first. ¡°She will need a lot more time to recover who she was, if that¡¯s even possible.¡±


    The first man moved next to her and supported her body. Others could just use it naturally, but she just couldn¡¯t. She didn¡¯t even know how.


    ¡°The queen is trying to restore her spirit, but she says that there is only this much she can do.¡± Ludwig sighed. ¡°I wonder if there¡¯s anything I could¡¯ve done differently ¡­¡±


    The other man shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think there was. I have seen her in the end. It was as if she was both a goddess and a frightened little child at the same time. I guess it was fated that both of them would collide at some point.¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°That we could even recover as much of her as we did is a little miracle.¡±


    Ludwig helped her walk to what they called a door.


    ¡°Do you think she¡¯s ready to meet her friends and parents?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a matter of whether she¡¯s ready to meet them, Roger. It¡¯s more a matter of whether they¡¯re ready to meet her like this.¡±


    Roger stopped for a moment and sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t think parents will ever ready to see their child like this. But maybe it¡¯s just a tiny little bit better than not seeing her at all.¡±


    ¡°I trust your judgment in that.¡±


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    ¡°It¡¯s not my judgment,¡± Roger replied with a shrug. ¡°I think the queen is hoping that seeing her parents or her friends will allow her spirit to recover at least somewhat.¡±


    ¡°Do you think it will work?¡± Ludwig stopped with her and looked at the other man. This gave her time to wonder what friends or parents were.


    Roger shrugged again. ¡°There¡¯s a chance. Considering that she has access to all the resources of her former position once again, and that she was pretty confident in her decision, tells me that it might be enough to ignite some form of agency in her again.¡±


    Ludwig sighed. ¡°I wonder if she¡¯s doing this to help her, or to slight the council.¡±


    ¡°Maybe both. Having a mindless goddess on hand could allow the council to push some nasty agendas forward.


    They entered another room. A man and a woman stood there, and she had the strange feeling that she had seen them once before. But how? One of the men that she had met, after she¡¯d been recovered from the core of a dead planet had told her that she was a descended goddess. She still had no clue what that term meant. Apparently the one they called queen had pushed them to allow her to see some people she was supposed to know. There even had been a big fight. Lia didn¡¯t like fights and had pushed both of them apart using her magic ¡­


    ¡°Lia ¡­ is that you?¡± The female woman walked toward her, her hands shaking and half hiding her face. The man followed her and hugged her all of a sudden. It was a familiar and nostalgic feeling. Water formed around her vision, and she had no idea why.


    A word came unbidden to mind, a word that she broadcasted using her magic.


    Dad?


    The pair didn¡¯t move, but Ludwig moved next to her. He pulled her out of the man¡¯s embrace and looked her in the eyes. ¡°Say that again!¡±


    She had no idea what he wanted of her.


    ¡°What did she say?¡± the pair demanded. ¡°And when?¡±


    ¡°She used magic to speak in our minds. It was a single word: Dad.¡± Ludwig didn¡¯t look away from her, and kept staring into her eyes.


    ¡°Oh, Lia.¡± The man wrestled her out of Ludwig¡¯s grasp, and hugged her once more. There was Liquid forming in his eyes as well, as was in the woman¡¯s next to him. ¡°Welcome back!¡±


    She had no idea why, but those words made her feel ¡­ content. Like she really had returned to where she belonged. Like she was ¡­ home.


    She used her magic to move the arms of her body and put them awkwardly around his back. Whoever she was ¡­ she knew that she now was where she belonged.


    THE END