Cloak and Scalpel

ABERLEEN ARC: Trepidation

"Lesley!"

Gusion immediately dropped to his knees, eyes roaming Lesley from head to foot. Lesley twitched on the ground, panting and keening, as the bracelet on her wrist continued to shimmer with a faint blue light.

Aamon had not been bluffing.

"M-m-make it s-stop!"

Gusion swore as he lifted Lesley's wrist. Aamon's talent lay in his deadly shards, and in offensive light magic. But that didn't mean the duke wasn't capable of other forms of enchantment...

A dagger appeared in Gusion's hand. It glowed with light as he suffused it with his own magic. "Try to hold still!" he exclaimed as he brought the tip of the dagger down against the silver bracelet.

Nothing. Not even a crack.

Lesley screamed.

"Dammit, Aamon!" Gusion swore loudly as he tucked his dagger away. His older brother's magic, as expected, was more potent than his own.

"G-gusion!" Lesley cried, clutching his wrist tightly. Sweat dotted her brow. "I-I-it's too-too much!"

"Gusion!"

A familiar voice.

Gusion glanced behind him. There, illuminated by the light of the moon, was none other than his brother, Eren, followed closely by a girl in a violet gown. Her thick ginger curls bounced behind her as she ran.

"Eren!" he said, waving his brother over. "I need your help!"

"M-make it s-stop!" Lesley cried.

"What in the blazes is going on here?" the girl said as she and Eren knelt beside Lesley.

Gusion gestured to Lesley's wrist. "Aamon enchanted that bracelet."

"Enchanted?" the girl said, raising an eyebrow. Her bottle-green eyes were incredulous. "This bracelet is practically cursed. And you're saying the duke did this?"

"You're a Baroque," Gusion said, spying the blue roses the girl wore on each wrist.

"Yes, yes, all that for later," Guinevere said as she bent over Lesley's wrist. "We need to get this off her first."

"Can you do it, Guin?" Eren asked.

"I'll try," Guinevere said. "But I make no promises. Duke Paxley has powerful magic."

"P-please!" Lesley panted as she twitched on the ground. "E-everywhere...hurts!"

Grasping Lesley's wrist in her hand. Guinevere closed her eyes. Violet light flared beneath her fingertips as her magical aura began to rise.

She's strong, Gusion thought, staring at Guin. "Breathe, Lesley."

Lesley's whimpering cries slowly turned into deep pants. "Gu-gusion, I-I can't-" Slowly, the sharpshooter's eye began to close...

"Lesley?" Gusion said. He turned to Guinevere. The bracelet still glowed on Lesley's wrist.

"Blasted!" Guinevere swore as she opened her eyes. "The duke's magic is too strong. I can't dispel the curse. We'll need to take her to the duke. Only he can get rid of that bracelet. I've put her to sleep for now. We need to hurry. Just because she's sleeping, doesn't mean the curse is gone."

Gusion immediately swept Lesley into his arms as Eren picked up her fallen rifle. "Let's go," Gusion said. "I know a secret passage."

Dammit, Aamon, Gusion thought as they ran through the dark mountain forest. Did you have to be so merciless?

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