Yuuki was happy. She had never been so happy. She felt safe, she felt loved, she felt warm. It was incomparable to the artificial feelings she had been leeching off before, this was true bliss. She felt Alice’s sadness from having been abandoned, she felt her fear of dying, she felt her pain from her still empty stomach. But she also felt hope. She felt all the hope Alice had now because of her. That was the second time Yuuki had cried. Last time it was from pure ecstasy, but this time it was because she was truly happy. She smiled at Alice who had already fallen asleep in her lap and swore that she would never abandon her. When she cut the connection it was also much different. Rather than feeling empty and wanting for more, she still had some remnants of the emotions, slowly fading away like a dream.

--

Alice was surrounded by warmth, she felt so cozy she wanted the moment to last forever. That was until she heard her stomach rumble like an avalanche. Not that she knew what an avalanche was. She then felt something incredibly soft brush against her face. She smelt something mouthwatering and her stomach rumbled again.

“You should eat. You can go back to sleep after that.”

Alice recognized the voice as the pretty white fox lady that spoke weird. She jumped up and rubbed her eyes to make sure it wasn’t just a dream. Sure enough, Alice was sitting upright on the bed and Yuuki was currently standing next to the bed, while holding a plate with meat on it. Still just staring in disbelief that everything that happened last night was real, Alice didn’t even notice being carried to a chair by Yuuki. She looked down and saw the plate in front of her on a table and two strange metal things next to the plate.

“Do you know how to eat with utensils?”

Alice shook her head.

“I’ll teach you.”

The rest of the morning was spent in front of that table. Alice did have some difficulty at first, but she got the hang of it quite fast. Alice was still eating when she heard footsteps get closer.

“Come in, Amanda.”

The maid entered the room and smiled at Alice for a bit. “I came to deliver a letter from your father.”

Alice was just happily eating, not caring for the conversation around her. When she finished her meal and was wiping her face and mouth with the soft white material like Yuuki told her to and looked around. She saw Yuuki sitting on the side of the bed, staring at something white, while a grown up woman in strange clothes was laying behind her, hugging her tail. Feeling left out, Alice ran over to Yuuki and jumped into her lap.

Yuuki had read the letter already, so she incinerated it, as was protocol, and caught Alice in a hug. The three stayed in that position silently for almost half an hour before Yuuki spoke up. “Amanda, would you please leave the two of us alone for a while?”

The maid complied and gave both of them a kiss on the forehead before leaving.

Yuuki pushed Alice away slightly so they could better look at each other. Alice just looked at her with a confused look.

“Alice, I would like to tell you why I originally brought you here.” Alice looked at her, listening closely, so Yuuki continued. “I am unable to feel emotions myself, but I can feel other people’s emotions. I brought you here because you are young and naive and would trust me completely just because I saved you. I made you happy so that I could feel that happiness, but when I did I realized that I used you as a tool and-” Before she could continue Alice cut her off.

“I forgive you.” Alice didn’t know why she understood everything Yuuki was saying and was about to say so clearly, but it didn’t bother her. “You saved my life, you already did more for me than anyone else. I owe that happiness to you. I'll gladly share it with you.”

Yuuki was relieved. When she cut the connection between their emotions last time, it wasn’t complete. She was quite literally unable to complete it. Ever since then, she had been feeling what she could only describe as very faint emotions. It was barely noticeable, but it was still there. She didn’t know their source. Her theory was that they were just simulated emotions with the help of the connection between her and Alice. She even cast a blessing on Alice to make her understand her and make her able to think more rationally before asking for forgiveness. For the first time in a very long time, she had someone she cared for, even a bit, and being accepted by Alice gave her just a small piece of happiness.

--

A week went by and Alice slowly got used to her new life in the mansion. After breakfast, they went outside and played with Yuuki a bit before starting the morning lecture. Alice was slowly but surely learning how to read. After that, she had lunch, and rested a bit in Yuuki’s lap while she was reading some complicated book. The afternoon lecture was basic magic theory and practical training. Alice didn’t have much talent with magic, but, being taught by Yuuki, she didn’t need talent. When too mentally tired for magic, Alice would be taught hand-to-hand combat with ruthless efficiency. At first she didn’t want to test techniques on Yuuki, but it took little convincing before she realized she couldn’t hurt her if she wanted to. Alice took a bath, alone, before dinner. After dinner Alice and Yuuki curled up together in bed until Alice fell asleep. The staff in the mansion all knew about Alice and treated her as if she were Yuuki herself. Amanda in particular doted on her as if she were her own daughter. Alice, being starved for love and affection, quickly became very friendly with everyone in her new home.

Yuuki’s family members were all very busy, and her father wouldn’t come back to the mansion for at least another two months. Helen would send letters every so often, telling her how sorry she is for not being able to come back sooner. And so one week turned into two, two weeks into a month, one month into two. One day, she got a letter from her father telling her to visit him in the capital.

Yuuki did as she was told and went through the teleportation circle that connected the mansion with the intelligence bureau. Normally you’d need to have a mage attune you to the circle and give you access to different destinations, but Yuuki. She walked straight to her father’s office and entered without knocking. The office here was very similar to the office he had in the mansion, except it had even more papers lying everywhere. She saw her father talking to a red skinned man with horns, she quickly recognized the man as a garrut. He looked at Yuuki and turned back to her father.

“Really, Jack? You seriously think this little girl can solve our problems, just like that?” He sounded annoyed.

The older kitsune just sighed and looked at his daughter. “So, here’s the situation. The Curyn dynasty’s second prince turns out to be blessed by the spirits. We don’t know why, or how much power he has, but it barely matters. The country wasn’t terribly stable before this either, but now the noble houses are split 50/50 on which prince they support. The country is far away and not very powerful, so we have almost no agents there. The problem is: surrounding countries are also starting to take sides, and if it goes on, we just might see a massive war of inheritance in a decade or so. This second prince is going to go to a school in Estervale, the ‘capital of magic’. That is where you come in. You will attend the same school and the same class and make sure that when he goes back to his country, he won’t start a bloodbath that gets millions killed.”

Yuuki looked at the desk, seeing multiple pages alongside a fake ID for her. “Any special restrictions?”

“Don’t kill anyone unless necessary, don’t reveal your identity, don’t manipulate more people than you absolutely need to. Everything is on these.” He pointed at one pile of papers.

The garrut spoke up again. “He is blessed by the spirits, he will know what she is right away!”

Yuuki walked over to the desk and picked up all the papers she would need for her mission. “A blessing is only as powerful as its source. It won’t be an issue.” And with that, she disappeared from the room.

The garrut just stared at the air. “Isn’t there a barrier that prevents teleportation like that?” he asked dumbfounded.

“You heard her. Not a problem.”