Soul of a Human

Mor rushed along the hallways, the piece of paper in his hand, heading to the headmaster's office. When he reached the door, he knocked, and after a short wait, headmaster Amethyne opened, looking surprised at the interruption.

"Mister Agaton, perfect timing. I was about to call you." The headmaster greeted the boy, opening the office door completely.

Mor nodded and entered. He instantly noticed the second figure, even though it was messier and less regal than usual, less prince and more concerned brother.

"Dino! How are you here?" Mor said, surprised.

"Hello, Mor! Master Amethyne had informed me about the nightly happenings, so I rushed here." The prince explained, then came to Mor and put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Good job protecting Tiara and against a Shadow-kin. I'm impressed."

Mor nodded and then remembered why he had come here in the first place. "Right! Shadow-kin, one of them left this paper in my room while it was locked!" he said, half panicking.

Dino looked questioning and then took the piece of paper from Mor, reading the simple message and nodding.

"I see your problem, but this isn't too bad. This means the Shadow-kin acknowledge you as a serious opponent, and unless someone orders them, they will try to evade you. I can't say why, but it seems to be their twisted understanding of honor." Dino explained.

"How do you know this?" Mor asked.

"Because I wear the title killer of shadows for a reason," Dino said, and Mor shuddered at the coldness in his voice.

"I'm more interested in why they wanted my sister. This would mean someone might want to kidnap her to pressure me into something… Too bad you killed it, though I couldn't expect an adolescent Soul-kin to overpower and capture a Shadow-kin." Dino continued.

"I'm sorry." Mor apologized.

"No, no. Your decision was perfect. I would rather have a mystery on my hands than a missing sister." Dino deflected, and like on cue, there was another knock on the door, and without waiting, Tiara entered.

"You called me brother?" she asked, then gave Mor a bright smile. "Hi, Mor. It's good to see you."

"How are you?" Mor asked the girl.

"Fine, I'm still a bit shaken. But spending the night with Clare and chatting about everything helped immensely," Tiara said.

Dino nodded at the interaction, then got to the point.

"Tiara, I want you to return to the palace. I can't expect the school to defend you against a Shadow-kin." Dino declared.

"I don't want to!" Tiara protested, Mor, looking uncomfortable at the ensuing argument.

"I think I should leave and let you discuss this privately." He offered, but both Diamond siblings shut him down.

"No, you will stay. This affects you directly." Dino stated.

°Well, he is right. You are Tiara's protector. Depending on the argument, you might need to give consent to a compromise, like Tiara moving in with you or something like that, ° the human said with a chuckle.

°As if! Neither Tiara nor Dino would expect me to live with a girl, whether we're friends or not.° Mor argued.

And like the interruption never happened, Dino returned to the argument with his sister. "How do you think I could guarantee your safety without dragging many guards here and interrupting the school's normal operation?" He asked.

"I don't know, but that's why you are the crown prince. I'm just the useless little princess who knows nothing and only gets told half-truths," Tiara countered.

Dino gave Mor a stern look at that exclamation.

"Did you tell her?" He growled.

"Yes, I thought if I had to protect her, she needed as much truth as possible to trust me and follow my lead. Also, I can't hide some things while protecting her, so coming clear from the start seemed the best option." Mor explained, but this made Dino more angry.

"Don't you think I had my reasons to keep those things from her? She's only fifteen and doesn't have to see the dirty things of rulership yet!" Dino rounded on Mor, making the boy flinch but hold his ground.

"And I'm only sixteen." He answered.

"And that gives you the right to decide over my head?" Dino asked incredulously.

"No, the fact YOU made me her bodyguard did." Mor countered.

"The boy is right," the headmaster added. I can see you love your sister dearly, but you can't shelter her from her own life and destiny."

And this made Dino reflect and deflate a bit.

"I guess you are right… Still, I don't have to like it," he said.

"I know you want to keep me safe, but how will I ever face my future if you don't let me experience things? Right now, I have to live without a maid, and it's hard but somehow rewarding." Tiara tried to convince her brother.

"You won, but still. You're coming home with me." Dino stated.

"No," Tiara said again.

"Tiara, don't be stubborn now. Think about the other students. This Shadow-kin is after you for some reason, and until we find out why that is, I need to keep you safe." Dino tried again.

"Then better find out fast because I won't leave. I finally have found friends to talk to!" Tiara complained.

"And you can do that, you know how!" Dino countered.

"It's not the same!" Tiara continued.

"Also, the only problems are the nights. While there are lessons, there are too many people around me to make me an easy target, and the rest of the day, I'm staying with Mor, Clare, Saphine, and Orth. Then the solution should be easy! I'm sharing a room with Mor. He's my bodyguard, after all!"

Mor looked shocked at that revelation and wanted to protest as he noticed Dino putting thought into it.

°I'm a fucking fortune teller! Told ya!° The human said, laughing.

"I can't allow that." The headmaster came to Mor's rescue.

"But why?" Tiara asked, and the headmaster gave her an incredulous look.

"Because I can't allow a male and female student to share a room. No matter how different their status is."

"He does have a point," Dino said, and Tiara looked to Mor for support, but Mor simply avoided eye contact, acting like he didn't see her pleading gaze.

Tiara felt slightly hurt, but after reflecting for a moment, she could understand Mor's reaction.

"Then how about I share with Clare?" Tiara asked, and Dino thought for a second.

"If she's ok with it, I will allow that, but she isn't an established fighter, like Mor…" Dino said, contemplating. "If the headmaster and the others allow, we do the following. First, you share a room with Miss Celestine AND Miss Sapphire, and Mor's and Mister Obsidian's rooms will be directly adjacent."

The headmaster thought about it, nodded, and said, "This would be possible if everyone else agreed."

Tiara looked pleadingly at Mor, who sighed and gave his consent.

°Three girls in one room could be messy.° The human said, but Mor chose to ignore that.

After that was decided, the other students were called and informed of Dino's demands, and to no one's surprise, Saphine was the one who fought the idea the most. However, because Clare, Orth, and Mor had agreed, she reluctantly did.

"But I'm not her maid! She needs to keep her part of the room clean herself," Saphine demanded, extracting that promise from Tiara.

Then, it was time to put the plan into motion. The headmaster went above and beyond by situating the five students close to the teachers' dorms and setting up special runes as additional protection. When Mor asked him what those runes would do, the headmaster explained that they would alarm him and the two boys if someone other than the three girls entered the room.

"When do we learn to use those?" Mor asked, interested.

"Next year." The headmaster answered.

°Those things look handy. If we could imbue a weapon with some effects, that would be great.° The human mused, and Mor agreed.

°Wait! We should get a weapon again! Before we forget, ° he said, and both decided to replace the baton they had last year, even without the special crystals. They thought about getting a bigger weapon for a second, but it would be impractical because it would be hard to hide inside the robes and maybe make other students uneasy.

With that as the last part of the protective corridor, Dino inspected the defenses and wasn't entirely sure if it was the best option. Still, if he wanted to stop patronizing his sister and let her experience some freedom, it might be an acceptable one. Still, before he left, Dino once again wanted to talk to Mor, unnecessarily reminding the boy of his duty and how much Tiara meant to him and getting an assurance that Mor would do anything in his power to protect the princess.