[X] Briefly visit the princess and let her know that you're sorry for not attending your playdate.
[X] Visit your guards in the infirmary. You need to know if they're going to be okay.
[X] Go to the infirmary to heal up your wounds. You're not sure if those blades were poisoned or not...
"Your highness, may I know where the princess is? I would like to apologize for missing our playdate."
"There's no need for that, Louise. I'm sure that once I explain the situation to my daughter, she will understand."
"I would still like to apologize. I made a commitment with the princess, one that I broke. I would like to let her know myself. I-if that's okay, I mean."
The Queen gave you a soft smile. "That's quite alright, Louise."
The Queen led you to where Princess Henrietta was, which turned out to be the infirmary.
"My daughter has recently been through a small ordeal. Her pet cat became injured a few weeks ago, with wounds that were rather fatal. By the time my daughter managed to get the poor thing to the healers, it died from blood loss. She's been rather distraught from it and has refused to leave her room for some time. It was only when my husband offered to let her learn some healing spells that she seemed to cheer up. She's spent the last few weeks up until now learning from the healers in the infirmary."
Walking into the infirmary you immediately spot the princess next to a healer, watching as he heals one of your guards. You gather your courage and walk over.
"Excuse me, Princess?"
"Ye--" she turns, only to stop short once she sees you. Her eyes widen and her hand flies to her mouth.
You wince a bit. "If it's not too much trouble, I wanted to--"
"Oh my goodness, you need to sit down!" she grabs your arm and starts to drag you to a bed. You're too shocked by her sudden behavior to protest and the healer is too busy healing the guard to pay attention to you. The Queen, meanwhile, looks like she wants to laugh. "You look hurt! You're even bleeding! Why are you walking, you need to rest up and --"
The princess continues to talk to you like this even as she shoves you down onto the bed. A small tub of water is on a little stand by your bedside and you watch as she casts a spell. The water rises in the air and begins to mechanically clean your wounds while the princess unwraps your bandages. You want to protest -- say that you're not worth it, that she's a princess for Founder's sake -- but you're too tongue tied to say anything. So you just lay there as the princess chants a spell over your prone form.
The water really is soothing on your wounds. The aches and pains that you gathered throughout the day are lessened with each moment that the water goes its magic. You watch as the numerous scratched along your arms and chest start to slowly heal. You almost feel like crying with relief.
"There!" The princess looked satisfied. "Miss Susan, can you make sure that I didn't miss anything?" She turned to another healer, who had just walked into the room. The healer -- Susan -- walked over and chanted a spell, waving her wand over your prone form.
"You did very well, your highness." the healer looks at you. "Miss, what is your name?"
"Ah, Louise. Louise Vallière."
"Well, the princess has managed to heal most of your wounds. And while they weren't serious, there were numerous enough to have caused a significant amount of blood loss. Any more than that, and you might have lost a lot of blood. What exactly were you doing?"
"I was on my way to attend Princess Henrietta's playdate when my company was attacked by an orc raid. My guards were heavily wounded and were unable to help the villagers during the attack. I took it upon myself to defend them and I ended up taking a lot of damage in doing so. " You bow your head towards the princess. "I am deeply sorry for missing my appointment your highness. If there's anything I can do to make up for it --"
"Nonsense!" The princess clasped her hands in front of her. "You've been through so much, you don't have to apologize to me."
"I do, princess. I made a commitment and then I broke it. I--" You stop short. The princess takes your hand in her's and gives it a reassuring squeeze.
"It's nothing that we can't do later. We can always have another playdate. Right, mother?" She turn to the Queen, who up until this point has been silently watching.
The Queen nods. "Yes. We would love to have you over again, Louise. I'll make sure to talk with your mother about scheduling another playdate in the future."
You look down at the princess's hand, before tentatively squeezing back. "Thank you, your highness."
She smiles at you. "You're welcome, Louise."
You start to sit up and turn to Healer Susan. "Do you know how my guards have been doing? They just came in, and I would like to know if they're okay."
"Ah yes, the ones attacked by orcs. They're none worse for wear, though a few need to stay in for a few more days for treatment. Some of them were poisoned, nothing too bad since the rest of the healers were able to flush most of it out of their bodies. They'll be up on their feet in no time."
You sigh in relief. "That's good to hear." You have a sudden thought. "Can you tell one of the guards, a man named Williams, that I'm sorry for causing him to worry?" At her raised eyebrows, you clarify. "When I helped the villagers against the orcs, I ended up leaving him and his men alone. He was rather worried for my welfare when I came back. I just want him to know that I apologize for making him so concerned."
"I'll make sure to tell him that."
You say goodbye to the princess and walk back to your rooms with the Queen. There are so many things you should ask her, so many things you should do. But right now, you just wanted to sleep. The Queen seems to recognize this, and stays silent during your walk through the castle halls. Once you reach your rooms, she tells you goodbye and leaves.
The second your eyes meet the bed, it's as though your limbs weigh thousands of pounds. You don't even bother undressing or taking a bath; you just collapse onto the bed and fall to sleep.
*******************************************
You wake up from a nightmare. In it, you were too late. The villagers and your guards all fell under the path of the orcs while you watched, helpless. Their dead faces seemed to mix in with the corpses you saw during your fight; all you could see was their dead eyes staring up at you. Asking you why. Why did you fail them?
You find yourself crying when you wake up. It was not a pleasant night.[X] First things first, bath, clothes, breakfast and -- if nothing comes up -- find a sufficiently spacious and secluded space to get a feel for your daily ability.
[X] Examine it from multiple angles, but don't lose your surroundings (monitor time and if someone detected you).
[X] Return to the castle and inquire where can you meet Princess Henrietta?
-[X] If it's possible to meet Princess Henrietta, have a mini-playdate, if she asks what happened in the village, explain the noble neglect and as much (non-traumatising) information about how you helped the village. (and if Princess inquires further, and promises to keep it a secret, explain what you know about your... *unique* condition. Emphasise that only you and Henrietta are allowed to know about this, no one, NO ONE else)
A bath would do you good. You're still covered in blood and filth from yesterday and while the healing from before did manage to heal you of most aches, you still felt a little sore from all that running you did. A glance outside the window showed that it was still fairly dark out; not quite dawn yet. You barely got any sleep, but at least you can have some time to relax in the bath. After that you would need to get dressed and attend breakfast, maybe find a quiet place to practice the new ability you gained for the day.
You sit up and try to get up from your comfortable bed... only to fall flat on your face. You completely lost your balance, your legs seemingly falling underneath you for no real reason. You pull yourself up with a groan and see something out of the corner of your eye. You turn, only to freeze at the sight of your arm.
Scales. Smooth scales cover your right arm, starting at your shoulder and trailing down towards your hands. The scales are slowly transforming the rest of your arm, trailing both down towards your still human hands and up past your shoulder. You can feel your skin harden and can see your hand as it lengthens, the tips turning into sharp claws. You jerk towards your left arm and feel like throwing up; the left one is almost completely transformed, your hand turning into sharp claws as you watch. You scramble backwards, thrusting your arms as far away from you as possible.
You can feel as the scales spread to the rest of your body, your legs lengthening along with your arms. Against your will your jaw stretches and your eyes start to burn. You lurch to your feet, stumbling and hitting the nightstand. It crashes to the gourd, but you could hardly care.
The mirror. You need to get to your mirror.
In your haste you fumble with the knob of the door, forgetting to turn it in your panic. You pull and the door rips off its hinges, crashing into the bed. You're too frantic to care, stumbling into the bathroom and half collapsing against the sink. You look at your reflection, barely noticing the fact that you are somehow tall enough to reach the mirror without using a stool. You're eyes widen and you feel as though you're going to be sick once you take in the creature in front of you.
Your entire face is covered in scales, from the top of your head down towards your neck and disappearing underneath your shirt. Your nose as lengthened, forming into a snout that exhales smoke with every breath. Your teeth have grown long, almost two inches, and are now razor sharp. You open your mouth and look at your tongue; it's lengthened along with the rest of your body. It's now long enough to touch your chin and forked to the point where it looks as sharp as your teeth. Bone like extrusions extend from the top of your head, forming into spikes that are growing even as you look at them. And your eyes... they're now completely orange. With a single black slit, right in the middle.
You're trembling as you raise a hand towards the mirror. You can barely recognize yourself and yet you know that this is you. That this is what you now look like. You press your hand on the mirror and it cracks, the shattered mirror making your image even more distorted than before. You take a single step back, holding your head in your hands and shaking as you collapse on the floor.
This cannot be happening. Not now. Not here.
Then, just when things seems as though they cannot get any worse... they do.
Knock knock knock.
"Lady Vallière? Is something wrong? I heard some noises. Are you alright?" The door knob starts to turn.[X] Hide in the bathroom and pretend that you're busy with something.
-[X] Calm down and attempt to force your self back into human form.
You hide in the bathroom and try to calm your raging heartbeat. You pray to Brimir that the maid just leaves. "I'm busy! Go away!"
Your Roll: 92. Doesn't suspect a thing .
"Are you sure you don't need some help, my lady? I heard a loud noise..."
"I'm fine!"
There's a pause, before the maid answers. "If you're sure, my lady. Sorry for bothering you." You hear her close the door, the sound of her footsteps fading in the distance. You sag a bit in relief before focusing on your sudden transformation.
A sudden rush of information fills your mind, much like when you used Speed Strike. You freeze for a moment as your mind struggles to absorb the sudden rush of information. Knowledge about the power you're given, its possible capabilities, as well as the many others with the same ability as you -- you know it all. The ability you've received is quite possibly the most powerful ability you have ever had.
You have gained Primordial Dragon Physiology as a power. You are the ancestor of all dragons and can use all of their abilities.
And even as you realize this, you can feel the rush of power flowing around you. You can feel the air surrounding your form, the earth beneath your feet, the fire in your breath, and the water in your veins. You can feel a deep emptiness within you, an empty void that promises to utterly destroy everything you aim it towards. You close your eyes under the weight of it all and you can feel the spirits, feel the very world around you respond to your whim. There is strength in your limbs, strength in your magic and strength in your mind and you know without a doubt that there are few that can stand in your way. All your life you felt helpless, useless because of your inability to do magic, but in this moment you are powerful. You could do anything and for a moment you have to resist the urge to cackle like a madwoman.
There are so anythings you could do. Get rid of the orcs, destroy Tristain's enemies, set Eleanor's hair on fire... the possibilities are endless.
But first, you needed to turn human again. Most dragons are rather large and since you are a primordial dragon, chances are that you're bigger than the norm. You do not want to break the castle on accident; your mother would kill you, dragon abilities or no.
So you concentrate. You concentrate on being human, on your human hands and body. You think about your smooth skin, your long hair, and your short stature. You think about your fingers and how they don't have claws. You think about what your face and body looks like and concentrate on that idea.
Your Roll: 95 + 5(Control [Superpower Wiki]) = 100. Back to normal.
You feel your body start to changed you open your eyes. Your body is shrinking the scales retracting and revealing smooth skin. Your snout sinks in on itself, turning into a regal human face even as your teeth go back to their normal size and sharpness. You look down to find the claws disappearing along with most of your scales. In seconds you're back to normal, leaving only tattered clothing and a partially destroyed bathroom.
What do you want to do next?
What do you do?
You sit up in your bed. What do you do?