Hot Springs Brigade!

Aura entered her bedroom, a chamber no less grander than the one back home in Nymphea if not even more so. A deluxe king-sized bed with prima-Felucian cotton, silken sheets, Orcus-threaded carpets and curtains, and a firestone-lit hearth kept the room warm. Her personal bathroom was a miniature bathhouse, because of course, who can live without one? 

This… this was the royal life. 

She set down her stuff and jumped onto the large bed, making a mess of the neatly pleated bed sheets and fluffed pillows. 

"Uh… uhm…"

"Uwah— intruder?!" Aura was surprised to see another person in the room. She raised her hand ready to incant a spell when she saw it was just a child. A light elven boy with dirty blonde hair and even dirtier clothes was huddled up at the corner.

"W-wait, I was instructed to clean the room for the Guild Master!" He dropped to his knees, shielding his face..

She quickly got out of the bed, brushed the wrinkles from her dress, and cleared her throat. "Perhaps announce yourself if someone enters the room."

"Yes, ma'am. I'm terribly sorry… I'll be on my way…"

"Stop." Aura ordered, "Present yourself to your Guild Master."

The boy lets go of the doorknob and stood in front of Aura with his head down. He was short. Even Aura stood a head taller than him. He reminded her of Piper when the girl was brought to her almost a decade ago.

"Does the child have no name to give?"

"El… Elric, ma'am! My name is Elric. I applied to work here as a floor sweeper."

"Your complexion tells me you are not Cassun-born?"

"No, ma'am. I hail from the isles of Felucia."

"Are your parents aware you work here?"

"No, ma'am… they died in a shipwreck a few weeks ago…"

Aura's firm facade softened as soon as she heard the tragic news. She knelt down to be eye-level with him, but he turned his face to wipe away tears. 

She grabbed his face, licked her handkerchief, and started wiping the smudges from his face. The boy was submissive enough to accept this from her, or perhaps he was too in shock by this kindness to react.

"Hmmm." Aura looked at herself, and then at the boy's still dirty appearance. "I have decided. We shall take a bath to wash off this filth."

"Ehh?"

⚔ ⚔ ⚔

"Ah… it is not the Royal Cassun springs, but this shall suffice."

The baths were fashioned of marble and porcelain, water poured out from a bowl held by a statue of Aura's likeness. A number of enchanted light gems dimly illuminated the small room to be easy on weary eyes.

Aura had the elven boy sitting between her legs and held him against her chest. She could see his knife-long ears had turned red long before they entered the waters. Of course he would be embarrassed. He bathes alongside none other than Princess Aurora herself.

Her eyes glanced down the protruding spine of his back. She was surprised to see how emaciated his body was when she striped him. It was hard to tell underneath the baggy clothes, but now that they were bare she saw clearly how underfed he has been.

"What say you, boy? Is this not to your liking?"

"Y-yes ma'am… it is…" He sank a little into the water and blew bubbles out to hide his embarrassment.

"Hmmm. I do not think I like ma'am. Try, My Lady."

"M-my Lady… Aura."

A fire ignited in her heart. It might be that Elric was exceptionally shy, but teasing him brought as much joy as teasing Deena.

"Not quite. Mistress."

"Mistress Aura?"

"How about My Revered Lady, Treasured of the Sun and Moon, Her Highness, Aurora!"

"Do I really have to say that?"

"I jest. You shall simply call me Mistress." She pinched his ear, making him squeal and recoil. He tucked his hands between his legs like a puppy would their tail. "Tell me about the state of Felucia."

His head seemed to lower even more. "The crops just wouldn't grow. My family barely survived on a single loaf of bread a day."

"You survived nonetheless." She said, hoping to ease his anxious recollection.

"Some of us did. My grandparents were the first to go. One day they just didn't wake up. Then a week after we buried them, Papa found the neighbors digging up their graves in our backyard."

Aura wrapped her arms around his tiny frame to steady his trembling body. "Go on, boy."

"The neighbors… they wanted to… "

"Tell me of how you left."

"Mama and Papa said we needed to leave. Papa found a grumpy-looking dwarf who promised to take us to Cassun, but we had to give him all the coins we had."

Aura surmised that it was on that dwarf's ship that Elric lost his parents on. A terrible voyage with vain hopes, ended in tragedy. 

"I know the rest, boy. You did well to come here on your own strength."

She heard him sniffling. Though she could not see his face, it pained her no less to hear it. And yet, there was no better remedy for heartache than tears.

After he had his fill of crying, Aura helped him out of the baths and dried him off. There would be no more use of his flea-ridden clothes, so she tossed them into the bin, and dug into her own wardrobe for fresh clothes.

Aura found a simple brown tunic and a pair of white woolen pants. They did fit a little too large on him, but he'd grow into it eventually.

There was still plenty of time before the scheduled meeting. She watched the boy examine his new clothes with glee. He even sniffed at it, then blushed upon realizing he was being watched.

"Kishishishishi! Oh, worry not. A young boy your age finds stimulation in the tiniest of things. Does my scent fill you with euphoria?" She teased.

Elric covered his face with his hands and shook his head.

"Instead of sweeping floors, how would you like to be my personal servant? You shall be paid more handsomely, given three square meals a day. The only stipulation is that you must sleep in my quarters."

He peeked an eye out between his fingers and nodded.

"I must hear it."

"Y-yes, Mistress. I would like to be your servant!"

"Very well! As Guild Master, I have declared it so and it is so." A subtle smile finally appeared on his gloomy face. This was Aura's joy as Princess. "You must be famished working all day. Let us dine downstairs, yes?"

"Yes, Mistress!"

⚔ ⚔ ⚔

Aura returned upstairs after having dinner with Elric and several other guild members. Her fledglings were quick to receive him as well. It was refreshing to see his spirits raised after a nice warm meal, but she sensed there was lingering survivor's guilt without his parents' presence.

If time truly healed all wounds, she hoped the gods would be merciful and allowed him to reconcile guilt with a newfound purpose— serving her, of course! 

Until then...

"Uncle should be with Mayor Beurich at his manor. I shall send a courier to inform them I have arrived." As Aura reached for the doorknob she noticed she was still wearing the Royal Cassun outfit. She turned back to the room and threw open the doors of her walk-in closet.

There were racks upon racks of different dresses and apparel to suit every occasion there was. But for Guild Master Aura… what exactly screamed guild master?

Aura discarded dress after dress until she found a grey and blue waistcoat woven over a direwolf pelt. She paired it up with a white collared shirt underneath, and black leather pants accompanied by snowfox skin sash.

"Humu…" She looked into a mirror, impressed with her choice. "An appearance more befitting an adventurer than a Guild Master. It shall have to suffice."

Content with her new look, Aura made her way outside and found Vic waiting for her on the other side.

"Spiffy." Vic remarked. 

"That word does not suit your vocabulary." She looked down the hall, and then back to Vic. "Did you find your room?"

"I did. A bit too much furniture for my taste. Picked up Deena's gift and went on a hunt with the kid."

"Itsuki? It seems you are quite taken with him?"

Vic shrugged. "I like seeing him succeed."

"You are more of a mother to him than I am to the guild. And I am the Guild Master!"

"Relax. He quit the Royal Cassun to join your guild, after all. So, where to? Beurich's?"

"No, we shall conduct the meeting here." Aura snapped her finger. Hastened footsteps clamoured upstairs and young Elric appeared before them. "Send word to Mayor Beurich that Princess Guild Master Aurora, Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild, also known as Guild Master Aura shall receive him and his guests at the Adventurer's Guild."

The boy flustered. "Princess Aurora, Guild Adventurer of the Master's Guild…Aura...?"

Aura facepalmed.

Vic knelt down, gave him a gold coin and said, "The Princess has arrived. Please meet at the Guild Hall."

"Yes, Mistress." The boy nodded and took off.

"Employing children? I suppose you always had a soft spot for kids." Vic said.

"Elric is his name. He hails from Felucia. Poor boy lost his parents to a storm on the way to Cassun."

"I feel like I'm hearing that story a lot."

"Dreams of a better life are paved on treacherous roads. In their case, the dreadful seas. We were receiving many refugees from Orcus and the Gilded Peaks, now they are pouring in from Felucia and Grennadier." Aura sighed. A comforting weight fell upon her head. She looked up to see Vic rubbing a hand into her hair.

"That's what we're here to figure out."