Oops

[Lucinda Noru]

It was sometime in the wee early hours of the day, which most people still consider night. The fire in the hearth had subsided to dimly glowing embers as a certain young princess slept soundly in her chambers. She twitched and turned in her sleep, sighing occasionally as she dreamed. This night, Lucinda was having a particularly lucid dream, causing her to toss amongst her sheets, tangling herself in her night gown and covers. 

In her dream, the young princess was running, lost in the forever forest. She could hear something crashing through the brush behind her, but hadn't seen it yet. It sounded like multiple somethings but all she ever saw were numerous red eyes and giant gnashing teeth, chittering in delight at her fear. Lucinda didn't have her bow or sword and she wasn't skilled enough in her training to defend herself. The princess was helpless, terrified. She risked a glance behind her and tripped on a tree root, falling to the damp earth, dirt digging under her nails. She cried out in pain, whimpering aloud in her sleep, and tried to quickly get back on her feet. In reality, she'd twisted her ankle in her covers so much that it was actually painful, pulled out at an awkward angle. Behind her, the things that had been chasing her revealed themselves to be novites, their mouths grinning full of sharp teeth. Lucinda didn't like spiders at the best of times, but here in the middle of the forest, lost and helpless and on the menu, she panicked, activating her ring in her sleep.


The portal opened underneath her, dropping her onto the couch in the Headmaster's Terrace. Despite her sudden relocation, Lucinda didn't wake up but was now thrashing in her cocoon of sheets and nightgown, crying and whimpering in her nightmare. 

[Deleted]

Adrain meanwhile was asleep in his bed, at least at first like most normal people. The presence of the Fruit of Time had greatly reduced his need for sleep, but it was still healthy for him to do so. The large tiger had slept at the foot of his bed unaroused by any events that may have been occurring in the area. The small tingle of teleportation that was loosely linked to the same magic from the fruit of time in principle caused it to stir within him, drawing him to an awakened state.

The mage yawns, wearing only a pair of pants to bed and standing up. He realizes momentarily that Lucinda had teleported here and became alarmed since that could have meant she was in a sort of trouble. Taking no time, he quickly used a self heating spell and teleported himself to the terrace, a pair of shadow blades manifesting in his hands since the potential of a threat was greater than zero. As he cautiously approached, looking around, he dispelled the blades upon seeing no threat and then walked to where Lucinda's teleport was linked to. She was apparently wrapped up in a blanket, intertwined with her nightgown and flailing about as if she had a nightmare.

He sighed and chuckled softly, not having considered that she could activate the ring in her sleep and then thought how to best handle this. Her foot seemed to be wrapped up too much and if she flailed too much out of control it could cause damage. It was still coldish outside so throwing a spray of water might make her sick.

Deciding to just be more assertive about it, he approached her and picked her up in a princess carry ironically enough, taking care to try to keep her ankle from twisting too much before he could unwrap it and then squeezed her, caressing her back to wake her up smoothly hopefully.

[Lucinda Noru]

The young princess was still tossing about, the large spiders in her dreams toying with her as they slowly closed in, red eyes gleaming in the dim forest. She was unaware of Adrain's arrival or that had she had caused him to worry for her safety. Suddenly, one of the larger spiders yanked her up and Lucinda panicked, beating on its leg. In realty this transferred to Adrain's exposed chest as the terrified girl lashed out.

She could feel Adrain working to unwrap her foot and it confused her dreamy mind. Why would a spider unwrap her foot? Then the back rubbing started and Lucinda paused in her dream, finally waking up instead. Her eyes fluttered for a moment before opening slowly, fixing on Adrain's face. She gave him a sleepy smile before it dawned on her and her eyes widened. "Adrain? What are you doing in my room???" she asked, surprised, flushing as she squirmed in her blankets. "What? why?" she muttered, finally looking around and pausing again. "I'm at the arch?" Lucinda questioned. The poor young princess was clearly quite confused.

[Deleted]

Adrain gasped slightly as one of Lucinda's flailing punches managed to mildly wind the mage. He knew she didn't mean it, but still evoked a need for the mage to recover his breath mildly with a few sharp breaths. When Lucinda finally started to rouse with a soft smile before the shock of his presence and following confusion set in, he couldn't help but to laugh a little.

"I'm afraid that you seem to have activated the teleportation ring in your sleep. I found you here flailing about as though you were terrified of something, a nightmare I assume." he says, finishing with unwrapping Lucinda's ankle before then leaning back and giving Lucinda the space to adjust herself since she was no longer flailing around and in risk of harming herself.

"I sensed something here which woke me, and thus I came thinking there might have been some sort of emergency, but at least I find a beautiful princess without too much worry." he states, raising his hand as he conjures a ball of heat to make certain Lucinda wouldn't freeze.

"Now that you're here though getting you back would be a little troublesome at this hour since the teleport only works one way due to the wards at the castle. I suppose the option of staying here under the pretense of training could be said, worst case scenario."

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda's face turned a lovely shade of almost red as Adrain explained what had he thought had happened and, really, given her current location there wasn't any other logical explanation. "Oh, Adrain, I'm so sorry! I didn't hurt you did I? I was having an awful nightmare. I was dreaming that I was being chased in the Forever Forest by a bunch of novites. It as awful. I was entirely powerless to protect myself," Lucinda explained, shuddering at the thought. That was one of the worst dreams she'd ever had.

As Adrain continued, Lucinda's flush lingered, managing to only get slightly worse. Her expression was a mix of mortified and apologetic. "Oh no, you mean I woke you? I'm sorry! I really didn't mean for this to happen. I guess I'm going to start taking the ring off before I go to bed. Although, are you not glad that it was just an accident and not a real emergency?" the princess said, trying for the 'bright side of things' approach. As she talked, Lucinda worked to untangle herself from her covers. After a few moments, she was successful and pushed the bedding off to reveal her nightgown which was sky blue in color with long sleeves and made of flannel. It hung around her knees and appeared to be a size too large, very cozy. It was still fairly cold though, and she shivered a little before Adrain conjured the ball of heat. "Thank you," she said, the words sounded quite loaded with emotion.

Adrain made a rather good point about getting her back. This was going to be all kinds of hard to explain. It was not an appropriate time of night for her to be away from the castle. If her handmaiden woke up, or her house dragon, they were going to be worried when she wasn't there. Even if she did return, what of her bedding? The princess sighed, rubbing her temples lightly. "This is not going to be easy to explain at all. Nobody knows where I am. If any of the servants find me and my bedcovers missing, they're going to panic. I'm not even sure how to get these back without arousing suspicion. Perhaps we could send a note to my handmaiden or Aria explaining that I'm here for training?" she suggested, worried, and piggy backing off his idea.

[Deleted]

"No, not at all." Adrain says in response to Lucinda's inquiry as to whether she had hurt him. There were a few light jabs to his torso, but nothing that he could call 'being hurt'. When Lucinda mentioned that she was being chased by novites and had no way to defend herself, Adrain rose a brow.

"Well, I can teach you the Frozen Barrier technique which encases you in ice making a mundane creature unable to really do anything to you, and then teach you had to detonate it in a small bomb releasing ice shrapnel everywhere." he says, thinking of a practical approach to the problem to alleviate Lucinda's concerns by addressing the root problem that she felt in that she could not defend herself.

"It's alright that you woke me, I'd rather be certain you're alright than trying to ignore an event and finding out something unpleasant later. I'm used to having limited sleep in any case. It's sort of an attribute Shadow users tend to have that the feel more alive in the darkness." he states with a small shrug, waving off the embarrassment that she woke him.

When Lucinda mentioned possibly sending a note to Aria, he shrugged. "Well the other option would be to try to sneak you back in with a clever use of invisibility, or at the very least get you to the gardens so you can sell it off as taking a walk in the middle of the night, though I suppose I would have to get you a more appropriate outfit for such a story. I'd prefer not to do too much sneaking around, after what apparently has gone down with Roland and how he handled his situation, well, lets say I'm using that as a cautionary tale with regards to what we hope to have" he says with a warm, assuring smile to the princess.

"I question the wisdom of involving Aria...I may have supposedly known her before, but my gut feeling says it's not as cut and dry as her covering for you in this instance."

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda sighed in obvious relief as Adrain assured her that she hadn't hurt him. She wasn't exactly sure how much thrashing about she'd done but her ankle was throbbing. She reached down to inspect it, winching a little as she turned it. "I am glad you're not hurt. It seems as if I am not quite as lucky. I haven't had a nightmare that bad in quite a while, though," Lucinda said, frowning a little.

Adrain's offer to teach her a new spell intrigued her. She listened intently as he described it, a thoughtful look on her face. "That certainly would be helpful. I'd appreciate it. I'm fairly proficient with my bow but I've never used it for combat and my sword training kind of fell short with everything that's been going on," she explained, agreeing with his idea. It wasn't like she carried her bow or her short sword around with her after all. Being able to create an ice barrier wouldn't require any weapons and so was more practical.

Lucinda gave the mage another sheepish smile as he insisted that it was ok she had woken him. She felt worse though as he mentioned that he regularly got limited sleep due to his nature. "That's very unfortunate. I didn't realize that your elemental attunement affected you so much and I mean that in both a personal and general sense for magic users," Lucinda said, sounding somehow both apologetic and yet fascinated by this new information.

Adrain's next comments were all good points but Lucinda frowned, thinking. She was well aware of the situation with Roland, whom she was also unhappy with because of the barrier around the castle being most inconvenient now. Still, the way he and Lady Aveline ran off was most unbecoming of both their stations. "You have a very good point. It would not do well to arouse suspicion, which means that I need to get back as soon as possible. I don't have my cloak with me but the garden stroll idea is probably our best chance. Although, as you pointed out, my clothing is highly inappropriate outside of my bedchamber," she said, blushing a little. "Roland and Lady Aveline did not handle their situation well at all. I agree that we should be careful and try to do this properly," Lucinda added, reaching for one of Adrain's hands and returning his smile.

The young princess frowned a little at the mage's warning concerning Aria, but she nodded her head nonetheless. "Perhaps you are right. In any case, I believe between the two of us, we can figure out a plan to get me back safely. We're both quite smart, after all," she said, smiling a little. "I'll have to leave my bedding here, I'm afraid. There's no way I can think of to sneak that back into the castle also. Unless, perhaps...what about sleepwalking?" Lucinda asked, musing.

[Deleted]

"Well, it'd take a little more than a flailing princess to hurt me." he teases, then looking at the ankle. He wanted to comfort her, but not certain he should touch or rub the ankle right now. When she brought up the various way to fight, he nodded at her assumptions and conclusions.

"Archery is a fine art and the foundation of mundane warfare, but it requires preparation and a calm hand to be effective. I did give you that bracelet, but that's more for a followup attack after distancing yourself. Swordplay can be helpful, as a water natural you can conjure spikes and blades of ice to improvise if you need." Adrain says, holding his hand up as a jagged, frozen broadsword manifests in the air for a moment before it disappears.

"But I find that using magic for shock and awe usually makes people retreat. Fire and lightning typically work best, but jagged ice spikes erupting in their general direction from the ground works well."

When Lucinda apologized about the magical nature of influence, Adrain laughed slightly. "Well, it's really not a problem, more time to work and think of ways to spoil a princess." he states, then nodding when Lucinda got a bit more serious about the whole issue of a pending courtship.

"Ah and I wanted to take you to the ARC for another surprise night." he teases, caressing Lucinda's face momentarily, obviously not that serious about it. When she mentioned the whole issue with her clothing, he thought for a moment.

"Well you haven't stayed at my place enough to start leaving clothes so I can't really help you there." he says, once more obviously teasing. He thinks once more. The bedding comment was a shrug, that can be dealt with later with a package or something or another. Sleepwalking, probably not the best idea.

"If they think you sleepwalk, then that could cause a host of other problems. Do you have a balcony to your chamber and does your chamber stay occupied by servants at night?"

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda giggled a little at Adrain's teasing. "I would certainly hope so, otherwise this relationship might not work out so well," she said, teasing him back. She followed his gaze as he looked at her ankle and sighed, smiling wryly."Who else do you could possibly twist their ankle this bad in just their bedsheets? I hope I can walk on it otherwise it might be hard to explain," the princess said, musing. She didn't really want to try at the moment.

She listened as Adrain discussed what seemed to be the pros and cons of archery and how she could use her element in an offensive or just defensive way. "I'm actually very good with archery so having a calm hand isn't an issue. I've even been practicing a bit with the bracelet you gave me, which I love by the way. However, you're correct in that it requires a distance and certainly won't help in most situations. I need to find someone to teach more swordwork, I suppose, if I can use ice to mimic that it might come in handy," she said, watching in awe as Adrain summoned the frozen blade. "Though, I do like the sound of more defensive. I would certainly think twice if I had a bunch of ice spikes coming in my direction," she added, laughing a little.

When the archmage insisted that not sleeping wasn't a problem and suggested things he could do with the extra time, the princess blushed a little and shook her head. "Well, if you say so. This seems to be familiar to you, after all, so who am I to question it," she said, giving in on that point. Her blush deepened with his next remark, though she leaned into his touch anyway, snuggling into his chest and wishing she had something to prop her ankle on. "Of course, I would have to ruin your plan by showing up with a sore ankle," she replied, also teasing. In truth, she knew that probably wouldn't happen again at least not until the real thing, if she got that lucky. First though, Adrain would have to get past her brother and Uncle Noku. That was daunting enough as it were.

When Adrain mentioned that she hadn't left clothes here, Lucinda laughed. It was obvious he was still teasing her but right now that would have come in extremely handy. "Perhaps I should have. It would certainly make things easier right now. You are right about the sleepwalking, though. I did not think of that," she said, agreeing with him. When he continued with his questions, she shook her head. "No, sadly, I don't have a balcony but I also do not have servants that stay in my quarters. Roland's barrier makes things difficult. I never did much care for him," Lucinda answered, frowning slightly and sighing. She continued to try and think, absently playing with some of Adrain's hair. "If only I could get in touch with Ally. I still have Uncle Noku's gift to me in the box. Surely she could fly it out here with no problem. It isn't heavy at all," the princess suggested, turning her head around to look up at him.

[Deleted]

Adrain when Lucinda mentioned having issues with walking, Adrain seemed to be in a deeper bit of thought. He was weighing his options and what to do here, when he then moved to where Lucinda's twisted ankle was and held his hands over it. He took a deep breath, as if to indicate reservation about this.

"Well we can't have you hobble around...don't ask how this works, it's hard to explain." he states as his eyes begin to radiate intense purple light as spheres of energy manifest around his hands. Lucinda's ankle would feel as if it were being pulled in a strange way almost reversing the sequence of events from the time leading up the the ankle twist. A short time later, the light would fade, and the pain in Lucinda's ankle would be gone, causing Adrain to sort of stagger back and sit, his hands' skin cracked and bleeding. The cracks would go up his arm getting less intense until stabilizing around his upper arm. He scoffs and then sighs a little as he begins to wrap a string of cloth nearby around the worst bleeding.

He was slightly oblivious to what Lucinda was talking about with Archery and Swordplay from his head being dizzy from using the previous spell but cued in at the last moment. "Well I can teach you those spells for sure at a more appropriate time. They are a little more advanced but I don't really see that being too much of a problem since you are stubborn enough to work on it."

Turning the subject back to getting Lucinda home, when she mentioned Ally and trying to use a gift of some sort, he rose a brow.

"What gift is that exactly?" he says, curious. While waiting for a response, he thought of the options to mind to get Lucinda home.

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda watched curiously as the headmaster examined her ankle, giving him a concerned look when she noticed the breath he took. That look only deepened with Adrain's words. "Adrain...?" she questioned, sounding worried. But there wasn't much time for protest as the mage's eyes began to glow more intensely than she'd yet to see in their short time together. Lucinda's own eyes widened in surprise as the spell took hold, creating strange and uncomfortable feelings in her ankle, and causing her wince a little.

When it was done, the young princess gasped as she noticed the blood and cracks in Adrain's skin. Her eyes traced them up both arms, one hand covering her mouth and a very regretful look in her eyes. "I'm so sorry! Why would you do that if it hurt you? I would've healed over time. Are you ok?" Lucinda asked, very obviously concerned. "Here, let me help," she offered, moving to sit next to him. She removed the sheets that had been using to cover herself, offering them to him to tear into strips and revealing her night gown. It was a simple, wool gown of high quality and dyed royal blue. The hem line was short, barely brushing her thighs and top was low cut. It wasn't meant for people to see, after all.

Lucinda just nodded in agreement when Adrain mentioned teaching her those spells later, smiling a little as continued working. When he asked about the gift, she grinned and blushed lightly. "It's nothing that would really help that much. It's a beautiful gown with matching accessories which would only help half the problem, really," she explained, waving a hand at her gown to make her point.

[Deleted]

Adrain waves off tearing up her sheet as he leans back. "This, this isn't any worse than having cracking skin in the winter really. I tend to heal fast enough. If it's too bad, I will take a potion of some sort. That said, I didn't think the backlash of it would be that bad for that effect." he says, smiling to attempt to calm down his frantic little princess. During this, his eyes couldn't help but to admire Lucinda's body even now when she revealed a bit more from unbundling on the blanket. Not that he hadn't seen it before, but maybe the gesture would make Lucinda believe he was alright enough to feel mildly horny.

When Lucinda identified the nature of the gift, he just nodded. "I could probably just get you a neutral robe or something that you can pass off as a night thing, worst case." he says in response to the comment about the gown, then thinking of the way to handle Lucinda's teleport issue once more.

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda was still worried, she chewed on her bottom lip as Adrain waved her off. His explanation helped a little, especially when he mentioned that he healed fast enough, though now she was a bit curious as to why it was worse than he expected. She didn't ask though and it only reflected in her eyes for a brief moment, before they followed the archmage's gaze to her exposed gown.

A deep flush presented itself on the princess's cheeks as she realized he was preoccupied with checking her out. This was probably the most revealing thing she'd ever worn around him, in actual reality. She wasn't counting their time in the ARC device at the moment. "You can't be feeling too bad if you're that distracted with me," Lucinda said, unknowingly following exactly where Adrain was leading her. She donned a thoughtful expression for a moment before giving him a smile that was both shy and confident, somehow. "I should probably reward you, for fixing my ankle, especially since it hurt you. Not to mention, this situation I've gotten you in by teleporting here in the middle of the night," she said, in a tone that was most unusual for her.

Lucinda looked Adrain over, appreciatively, not bothering to hide it as her eyes traced over his exposed chest and down to his pants. His pale hair almost glowed in the moonlight and she couldn't quite help herself with him looking at her that way. She had almost forgotten that had a problem at hand to solve when he spoke. She looked at him, confused for a moment before nodding. "That's true. There's still getting me back as the biggest issue," she agreed, sighing and looking at him apologetically.