Soul of a Human

After the new living arrangements were finalized and Dino had left, the girls wanted to have some girl talk to lay the ground rules for their room sharing. This fit Mor well because he also needed to talk with somebody, and Orth was perfect for that. The two groups split up and went to their respective rooms.

Mor sat on his bed while Orth took a chair for himself, questioningly looking at his friend.

"So, you wanted to talk with me?" He asked, and Mor nodded.

"Yes, I need your help. Yesterday, I used my newest technique to break a blockade the Shadow-kin inflicted on me, and well… My magic isn't regenerating right now, so I can't even manually try to fill it." Mor began his explanation.

"Are you mental?! Why did you do that?" Orth admonished his friend.

"I had no choice if I wanted to go after Tiara!" Mor defended himself.

"And why didn't you tell Dino about that? Don't you think he might have wanted to know that?" Orth grumbled. I mean, if that's the case, how do you plan on keeping your promise and protecting Tiara?!"

"That's the point. I believe it will just take a bit of time to regenerate again, like the first time, and this time, I didn't overdo it. There was no blood, no hurt; I just broke the blockade and then ended it." Mor tried to calm his friend, "Meaning that this is temporary".

°Probably.° The human added.

"You're an idiot!" Orth said, exasperated.

"So you would like Tiara locked into some room to keep her safe? She's our friend, and I want to respect her wishes," Mor countered.

"Better locked up and safe than dead." Orth retorted.

"I just need you to take over until my power regenerates, maybe three days!" Mor stated. "And she will be perfectly safe with us protecting her! At least we're her friends and not some faceless guards."

Orth let out a deep sigh. "I don't know why I'm even listening to you. All those heroics must have gotten to your head! Listen to yourself."

"That's not true! I want to help you all. You are the only true friends I have here…" Mor said sadly, making Orth sigh again.

"This wouldn't have ended your friendship with Tiara. She would have been secure for a bit until Dino found out what was happening, and then she would have been returned here," he said.

"But you should have seen her pleading eyes. I couldn't do that to her." Mor said dejectedly.

"I get it, but still, that was stupid," Orth said, then grumbled something before speaking up again. "Fine! I will do it, but you will promise me something!"

Mor nodded, thankfully.

"Never use that technique again!" Orth demanded.

°Hard ask… But what if we need it again to remove a blockade?° The human put forward.

"I promise." Mor agreed, ignoring the human's demur.

Orth nodded, and the boys started talking about the shocking happenings of the last days, including Mor's almost-deathly mistake and the intrusion of the Shadow-kin. Speaking about all of this helped Mor process some of it better, and in the end, he felt like a load was off his chest and mind.

…..

At the same time, in the girls' room, Clare switched into her older sister mode again, making the two other girls sit before her, looking down at them with crossed arms.

"Clare? What are you doing?" Saphine asked.

"Yes, I don't understand this," Tiara added.

"We're about to live together for the foreseeable future, so I want some things cleared up. First, as I think you don't know, Tiara, I'm in a relationship with Orth," Clare began.

"I had guessed…" Tiara answered, but Clare's stern gaze silenced further comments.

"But right now, it's not about me. It's about you, Saphine. You try to deny or hide it, but you were instantly jealous of Tiara and her closeness to Mor!" Clare continued, and Saphine protested!

"I'm not. I don't care about him like that. He's a commoner!"

This made Clare sigh.

"That's what I'm saying…"

"Wait? You're in love with Mor?" Tiara asked.

"No! I'm not!" Saphine denied.

"Right… That's why you look like you want to drown every girl who looks at him." Clare stated.

"Stop that interrogation right now!" Saphine demanded. "I know my feelings best, and I am not in love with the commoner! It wouldn't work. My father would not accept him!"

"And?" Tiara said. "I think being with Mor would be great. I mean, what awaits us as noble girls? We're supposed to get a "powerful" husband and then make an heir, but there's no freedom and often no love!"

"How could you even think like that?" Saphine asked. "This is our duty as nobles! If we don't give our family an heir, who would lead the next generation of commoners?"

"Why do we even need nobles? Dino explained that he wants to give selected commoners a voice in making laws." Tiara countered.

"That will never work. Commoners aren't intelligent enough for that." Saphine stood her ground.

"I can just say that both my older sisters were married off and are unhappy. There is no love in their bonding, but they endure because it's their duty. Really, before I'm subjected to such a future, I would rather throw away my noble title and status and marry a commoner!" Tiara said.

"You're insane!" Saphine stated.

"She's right! I told you this after you lectured me about my relationship with Orth. We love each other, which will overcome every difference in status!" Clare interjected.

"That's naive! You're lying to yourself. Orth will be bonded to another strong earth affinity girl, and you will be pushed aside, and he won't have a say in that. This will be the decision of Lord Obsidian!" Saphine tried to make her friend see reason again.

"Then you don't have to be jealous of the girls talking to Mor." Clare countered.

"I'm not!" Saphine protested.

"Don't you find it very attractive how he can simply go above and beyond to help any of us? I wasn't with you when the fire-demon thing went down or when you went to save Clare. I only know those things from your accounts, but how he behaved yesterday, facing down the Shadow-kin to rescue me…" Tiara shivered at the memory of Mor crashing down in front of the Shadow-kin and challenging it for her freedom.

"No," Saphine stated, and Clare let out a sigh.

"Well, I do, and I want to get to know him better. Staying at his side might even promise a more interesting life. He's smart, strong, and interesting. So if you don't want him, I will make him look my way!" Tiara suddenly said.

"You're the princess. You can't bond with a commoner!" Saphine protested.

"Why are you so focused on that whole status thing?" Clare asked.

"Because it's one of our oldest traditions, you can't go against that without destroying our Soul-kin culture!" Saphine continued.

"My brother will support my decision, I'm sure of that, and he's the crown prince," Tiara stated. "We can't live shackled to outdated traditions! We need to look into the future and the possibilities of our kin and for our happiness."

Saphine let out an annoyed shout. "You can't, it's not fair!"

"So you do like him." Clare pushed further.

"Yes! Are you happy now? And you keep your hands off him!" Saphine growled. "I just can't afford to accept it because I know my father would be against it. He had already chosen a future husband for me!"

"I only hear excuses," Tiara said. "It's simple. If you want him, make him look your way, and we will be rivals!"

Saphine let out a deep sigh, then gathered her confidence and nodded.

"You're right. I love him, and I won't let you beat me…" she said, then added, almost whispering, "Thank you both for making me say it out loud. Letting out those feelings felt good."

Tiara and Clare smiled at her friend. "Now that this is done and we're seeing eye to eye… I'm getting the left bed!" Clare stated, and after a short surprise break, a giggling and innocent fight broke out about who gets what bed and has to do which chores.

At the same time, Mor felt he was in deep trouble, but he couldn't explain why.