A Gentleman's Curse

Arc 2 Chapter 8: Advanced Sadist

Damien opened his eyes slowly, squinting at light peeking through the curtains and blinding him. Someone had forgotten to close them fully, again.

Looking at you, Lexi.

He smiled slightly and shrugged it off. That's just who she was.

He began his morning stretch while laying down, lifting his arms up out of her wings while shivering slightly. The morning air wasn't all that brisk but it was still cold enough to be noticeable. It was truly difficult to warm a house this large completely, so they'd taken to starting a fire in their room at night before sleeping. Even that couldn't keep away winter's bite completely though.

He smacked his lips together as his eyes focused themselves and instantly became aware of the small headache he had. They'd stayed up later than usual having a grand time last night and it marked the first day he'd actually gotten drunk in this world. Like any usual first time, he imbued way too much of the mana-infused beer. Then, he realized that the light on his eyes was the sun and his mind instantly became wide awake as his body went rigid.

"...Lexi, get up."

...

"Lexi, Kastra."

"Just a few more minutes."

"Please."

He jumped out from the comfort of the bed and ripped the covers off the two, throwing them off the bed and rushing to the window to open the blinds.

"The sun is UP. We need to get ready now!" he said with impatience and anxiety in his voice.

They'd slept in.

Looking down to his ring, he checked and was relieved to see they weren't late yet, but they were definitely pushing it. Ten minutes to get up, get ready, and sprint across campus to the arena for Advanced Combat. Unfortunately, it was across campus and a thirty-minute walk and around quite the number of structures. They'd be sprinting, and even then might not make it.

"It's not THAT late..."

When Alexa still didn't seem to register the problem, he grabbed her by her leg and dragged her to the edge of the bed.

"He-Hey! Stop it!"

"Get up!" he said, letting go and running into the bathroom to rinse his face.
Looking in the mirror showed hair that was a mess and scraggly stubble he'd been trying to grow into a beard all over his face. It looked horrible.

Thinking quickly, he willed mana into a piece of ice with a razor's edge and shaved his face.

He gave his hair a quick rinse and sprinted out to see Alexa had finally rolled out of bed and was in her bra and underwear. Kastra was currently changing her clothes. Ignoring the eye-candy, he stood next to her and Kastra threw on his uniform for the day.

"Why are you being so casual about this?? We need to get going," he said, turning aside to look at her sleepy ruby red eyes.

"We can leave in a few more minutes, I want to do my hair," Alexa replied.

"We'll be late! It's a thirty-minute walk. It'll take at least eight to sprint the whole way!" he said, already edging for the door.

"Yeah but it's a two-minute flight, just let me bring you," she said back, unconcerned.

His mind blanked out.

"That's right... Those aren't just blankets, are they?" he said absently, receiving a glare from her.

"Only you would think they're blankets," she responded.

"He doesn't think mine are blankets," Kastra said, looking back at her wings.