[b]Chen![/b]

+I kind of think you can't have dreams without studying the dreams of other people,+ thought Jessic in the cold light of one early morning, breathing in the steam of her hot chocolate. +In a way, I don't think you can even be a proper person without it. Civilization is dreams layered on top of dreams going back thousands of years, and it's an inheritance and a treasure. This is a world with demons and machines and dragons,+ she ruffled her wings, +but all of them become human when they decide to lay claim to that inheritance of human stories. The more steeped in that tradition they become the better they are able to contribute to it, and when they do they're enriching humanity as a whole. That's what I think a Princess is, Chen... it's about being an artist, and part of being an artist is studying art.+

[b]Rose![/b]

The Countess snaps her fingers, and immediately her handmaidens are by her side. She turns away from Rose to single handmaiden Thian out.

"You," said the Countess to Thian, "have failed me. I instructed you to train this girl properly, and here she is calling me a liar. Here she is [i]contradicting[/i] me. Here she is, so uncertain in herself that she is rating the words of a [i]fox[/i] above mine."

She gestured again, imperious. Her will was clear - and in moments, Rose was unchained from the wall and Thian was bound and gagged in her place, blushing and squirming as it was always a handmaiden's right to do.

"It seems as though I have to take care of this personally," said Countess Keron with a sigh. She held out her right hand and without speaking her handmaidens knew to place her armoured metal gauntlet upon it, pulling the straps tight. The Countess flexed her fingers experimentally - and then grabbed Rose by the throat and lifted her off the floor and pushed her firmly against the wall. Little crackles of electricity ran through that gauntlet, causing sharp little jolts of static force to play across Rose's skin and through her hair.

"Listen to me," she said. "You are a bad girl when your [i]mistress[/i] says so. You are a good girl when your [i]mistress[/i] says so. You only have one job and it is to [i]serve your mistress[/i]. If you are such a scatterbrained little mess that any passing fox can usurp your mistress' authority then she hasn't made herself clear. Your mistress commands your obedience not because she is strong, for she knows that you could overcome her in battle if you so chose. She does not command your obedience with code phrases or mind control or threats, those simply paper over weaknesses. Your mistress commands your obedience because she is [i]correct[/i]. She knows your place and she knows hers. You serve because it is the right thing to do, for you and for her. And the [i]definition[/i] of being a bad girl is someone who acts incorrectly, such as by serving unworthy mistresses. Am I clear?"

[b]Yue![/b]

It turns out that there's one thing harder than training to fight as a wolf: training to fight [i]against[/i] a wolf. When a big canine sprints across the battlefield right in a devastatingly straight line and your instincts are torn between 'what a cute doggo!' and 'run for it!!', knowing what to do with a blade is less important than having experience with dogs. And you learn something from that as well, Yue - decisiveness is more important than opposable thumbs.

You bowl her over before she works through her lizard brain instincts, and before you know what's happening a bell has been rung and there's a round of applause from the stands and someone on the side unfurls a banner underneath your name with a score of 1 - the first round to you. Are there rounds? Hyra didn't say - maybe she didn't know the Sky Castle rules, maybe she didn't think it was important. But it seems the right thing in the circumstances to let Tianic get to her feet sporting a massive blush and brushing sand out of her battle dress. When she sets herself again it's with a fierce determination, the sting of humiliation cutting through the fog of her nerves. [i]T-that was a fluke,[/i] you can almost hear her telling herself. [i]Get it together![/i]

This time when she sets her stance she's filled with a maiden's determination. This time will be a real fight. She has someone she can't let down too.

[Roll to Fight!]