Sleeping Beauty [WMMAP Fanfiction]

Chapter Eight: Boy in Training

No one could tell them what was wrong with Athanasia. It stressed them out greatly, until a young child with ruby eyes came along, saying he could help.

He was an odd child with sparkly eyes. Yet, when Alice looked him in the eye, she felt that he was piercing her with his gaze alone.

"Excuse me, but I am a humble magician in training," he whispered meekly, hidden in big robes. "My name is Lucas. I may be able to heal the princess for you."

They didn't have any other option as no one else could do anything, so they let him in to see the princess.

Alice stayed outside the room the whole time, listening in. When she could hear the faint noise of Felix telling Claude to calm down, she hit her fist against the door as more of a warning than anything.

Claude stormed out of the room. Felix stayed inside, while Claude said to leave him be. Alice wasn't sure what was happening, even as Felix came out too.

"What happened?" she asked quietly. The kid didn't come out being taken to the dungeons yet.

"He said that Raven could help stabilize the princess's magic." Felix held up a hand, starting to raise a finger each. "His majesty tried killing Raven because it was also the cause of it. The princess should wake up soon. The princess isn't crying. And... he wants to see you in a separate room, when we mentioned you were involved."

"You want me to play doctor with a little kid?"

"Yup! Come on, to your room!!"

When Lucas looked out the door, he witnessed the sight of deadpanning Alice digging her heels into the ground, but being pushed on the shoulders by Felix. Her heels dragged, but slid across the floor in squeaks as Felix pushed her consistently with the flowery face of a grinning child's.

That's the girl, Lucas thought, stepping out and closing the door behind him to follow. He already stabilized the princess for now, so she'd wake up eventually.

Alice was sat down in a plain wooden chair, pulled out by Felix. She was still a bit confused how everything went by faster than she would expect.

"Okay," Lucas didn't sit down on the stool given to him, but he was definitely the height of Athanasia. His hair was the same length as hers as well, maybe even longer. He tried reaching her face and failed. "Can you lie down on that bed over there? It's easier to reach."

So when Alice was on her bed, definitely bothered by being watched by some kid, Lucas had a hand over her face with magic circles. Alice just glanced to Felix on her left because she didn't want to stare at a child's palm.

It was like a cold wind telling her to calm down. She closed her eyes with a sigh.

She could see it behind closed eyelids. A silver stream of steam mixing carefully with a light blue one. There was a golden one too. And a pink one. It felt that fingers were prodding at them, when the pink one disappeared. Then, a red one appeared in rising waves.

Her eyes snapped open. She was sweating, she realized. The child continued to stare at her, and Felix was gone from her side.

Lucas withdrew his hand. Alice sat up, and saw Felix wasn't in the room at all.

"I sent out the other knight," Lucas mumbled. His eyes naturally glistened as he always looked on the verge of tears with how wet his eyes were.

"Why'd you do that?"

"Because this is a sensitive subject," he whispered in a soft voice, looking shy as he hid behind his own sleeve. "And you're old enough that you can make the choice of telling others. But I'd rather not."