So, no formal schedule yet, but the chapter every 4 days seems to be a lot more manageable with school and work going on. I will keep to this release schedule for now. It is a lot slower than early on, that bothers me still, but there's not a lot else I can do.

---

Aerien’s POV

 

I woke up on the couch. The old man decided to stay inside, said we are going to be like this a lot from now on so they should get used to me. Also that because I couldn’t use the meditation yet, I shouldn’t have as many problems. I was not sure if I really liked that, but if it means I don’t have to worry about the energy thing then I guess it’s a little better.

 

I got up off the pillow and took a look at Gaerien. She smiled back at me and reached out to be picked up. I paused for a moment. That’s right, I’m big enough to pick her up now, and the old man carried her in here. I looked at my body. I really am big now! It’s just like my body inside my spirit is!

 

Gaerien gives me a disappointed look as she drops her arms, and begins to have a curious look instead. (Oh yeah, you haven’t been out since then, huh?) She says.

 

“Umm… yeah.” I respond, and then slide down off the couch. I walk across the room to a slightly more open area, and then turn around facing the couch and start waving my arms around. This bigger body is a lot more coordinated! I can do almost anything I want!

 

I do a quick cart-wheel in order to test out this new freedom, and my dress falls down in my face, causing my landing to be a little rough.

 

‘Don’t do that.’ That was the old man’s voice speaking from inside of me. He’s just watching this time instead of doing some kind of major change inside our spirit, so he’s able to know about everything I’m doing.

 

‘Why?’ I ask. His response is to push the thoughts into my mind about how certain things are not proper in a dress because of what they will reveal for others to see, as well as the fact that I am no longer wearing that diaper I always had on until now. This caused me to become a bit embarrassed. I placed my hands on the front of my dress and looked over to Gaerien, the only other person in the room who definitely just got an eyeful.

 

‘Get some pants before you do something like that again.’ The old man told me.

 

‘Uhh… yeah. Sorry.’ I said. I was a lot more calm due to my embarrassment as I crossed back to where Gaerien was now. “Umm… sorry about that.” I apologized to her too. She just shook her head and reached her hand out for me. Something I recognized as her having something to say through our mental talk link.

 

‘I am not bothered.’ She said after I took her hand. ‘That is not the sort of thing that is a concern with the age you are now. Actually, in my time, it was customary that children did not even wear clothing at all until they reached the age of 13.’

 

“What!?” I was so surprised by this I said it out loud.

 

‘Yes, that was true in a lot of older cultures.’ The old man said.

 

‘Oh, hey! I can hear him as well when he talks while we’re in contact!’ Gaerien responds excitedly.

 

‘Do not take this to mean you can behave improperly like that.’ The old man said. ‘Even if that sort of thing does happen to be true for this world, you are a princess now. It will not be acceptable for you.’

‘Yes, yes, that’s true.’ Gaerien agreed. ‘If a man were to view the princess in such a state, the punishment would be death by beheading.’

‘WHAAAAT!!!????’ I was starting to panic a little bit at this thought. What does that mean for Rolwen and Levin!?

 

‘Calm down.’ The old man said. ‘That was the policy among her people back on Earth… Whoever they were. Anyway, that does not mean the same policy will be heald here. You really should still be careful though.’

“Mmmmm…” I made a frustrated groan. I’d thought it might be fun to be the one in control with this bigger kid body, but now I was just getting worried and Gaerien and the old man were scolding me like they were my parents. It really wasn’t fair. Their bodies were the same age as mine! The old man and me even shared the same body! And I was bigger than Gaerien now! But they’re still treating me like a little kid. Is there a way to make my mind get older faster like my body did?

 

“Let’s just go.” I said, and then picked up Gaerien.

 

‘Hey! Hold me more gently!’ She immediately complained.

 

‘You have to support her body better than that.’ The old man spoke up. I felt his consciousness coming forward more, and my arms gained his muscle memory of how to hold a baby correctly, automatically cradling and supporting her center of gravity as best my 5 year old equivalent sized body could. After this, his consciousness separated from mine and retreated back into his observation status. ‘Sorry.’ He said. ‘Only did that because it was not fair to Gaerien otherwise. This is how you should hold her.’

I really did not know how to feel exactly about how he had just taken over like that. Well, it wasn’t so much taking over, it is more like we entered our combined consciousness state. I was still fully in control as well. Really, from my perspective, it was just like I suddenly knew more, including how to hold a baby correctly. But still, on the one hand, it was comforting to have the old man helping me like that. On the other hand, he had just told me I was going to be in control for a while and he suddenly jumps in to help. It felt a little… I didn’t really know how to describe it. Well, I did agree that I didn’t want to be accidentally hurting Gaerien, so I decided to just dismiss it.

 

I walked back to the wall that should lead to the hall, and then placed my hand on it. I was really glad now the old man made me practice with that nut while he was creating his spirit, because that made it pretty easy to figure out what to do here now. I already knew how to project my mana and. Then, all I have to do is think about the wall opening. Sprit energy is supposed to be involved in this part, but apparently adding the right amount of spirit energy is as natural as walking or breathing. The mere act of thinking your command of what you want the wall to do gives it the exact right amount of spirit energy.

 

With a groan, the wood of the wall began warping and moving, and it opened into a hall way. Then, I was surprised to see someone standing there who apparently had his back turned until the moment the wall started opening. Of course, this caused him to immediately turn around.

 

The man looked down at me with his large black alien-like eyes, and it caused me to take a step back and feel ashamed as I realized he had probably been standing there for a while. Maybe even the entire time I have been in here. Maybe all of the caretakers felt that, since he was my familiar now, he was the right person who should be waiting for me.

 

“Princess, are you feeling better now?” He asked.

 

“Umm… yeah.” I tell him, burying my face in Gaerien’s shoulder. This whole princess thing is really difficult to wrap my mind around, and a little scary. And, suddenly being called that again just reminds me of the whole situation I’m in now. With just that one word, I was thrown right back into the whole thing.

 

‘Well, it’s not like it’s going to go away.’ The old man admonished me. Yeah. Either way, this is my life now. But still, how exactly am I supposed to be a princess of the fairies?

 

“Hmm?” The changeling man tilts his head and looks at me strangely. “You feel very different from how you did before your highness. Did something happen? It’s like your entire spirit has changed somehow.”

 

‘Wow! He’s sharp!’ Gaerien commented.

 

“Umm… yeah.” I wound up saying. He, however, had a very serious expression as he was looking between my face and Gaerien’s.

 

‘I think you had probably best explain this to me.’ Sagel said over our mental link. ‘By the way, I can hear both of you, whoever you are. I presume one of those voices belonged to the princess’ knight, but I cannot fathom the source of that male voice. I presume you are friends though by how familiar you are acting to the princess.’

 

‘Hahaha!’ The old man laughed. ‘Well, you said you were able to sense how my spirit had changed. Would you believe it if I told you that I am the ‘princess’ you made your contract with in the fey court?’

 

 

-

 

“So, let me get this straight.” Sagel said aloud, sitting on one end of the couch. “The princess’ second spirit, which developed in this new body of hers, is currently the one in control. This is because, for the sake of your cultivation, she needs to become stronger in order to balance out the two spirits that you have?”

 

‘That about sums it up.’ Gaerien, sitting in my lap on the other side of the couch, was the one who decided to respond to that. She seemed to be getting quite the kick out of the fact that her communicating with me allowed Sagel to hear it.

 

‘Now I have a question of my own.’ The old man said. ‘If you can hear us through your familiar link, why did you not hear us before after we had just come out of our meditation?’

 

“Ah, well… I heard you talking with your sister in that way, and I forcibly blocked my connection to you. I felt that… errr… it was you, right?”

 

“I see..” Sagel responded as he seemed to take in that information and reclined back against that comfortable looking cushion. “Well, anyway, I heard the conversation you were having with your sister and decided that was not something I should be listening in on. It takes some effort, but I can disrupt our link.”

 

‘I see.’ The old man said, ‘well… thank you for your prudence. You should thank him too.’

 

“Ah! Yes! Thank you.” I said. I felt completely left out of this entire conversation. It was like the adults were in the room discussing things about me while I was right there. Well, that’s not too far from the truth here, but still, this was really starting to get frustrating.

 

“No problem at all, I will do my best to serve the princess. I only did what was right and appropriate.”

 

“Umm… I have a question.” I said, wanting to have some way of getting into the conversation. “Umm… you said you felt how my spirit had changed. How do me and the old man feel different?”

“Well, let’s see… your spirit from your previous life feels like I am standing next to a powerful river with a heavy massive current. I feel a deep instinctual sense of the danger at being near what is more akin to a merciless force of nature rather than any kind of vicious beast. As for the spirit of this life, well… the river is still there. However, it feels like it has become a lot more distant when you are the one in control.”

 

‘A river, huh?’ Gaerien says. ‘That’s interesting, he has described his cultivation technique as handling energy like a river as well. I guess it’s no surprise it would come off that way.’

 

‘You are connected to me as well’ The old man said. ‘Don’t you feel the same thing?’

 

‘Plumbing.’ The old man said. ‘I suppose the thing you are likely thinking about though are water faucets.’

 

Great. So, Gaerien feels like I am a water faucet to her. 

 

‘Right then,’ The old man cut us off, ‘I think it might be time to get back to the others before this discussion starts to go into a weird direction.’

 

“Ah, yes of course!” Sagel said, springing up from the couch in an instant and then giving an almost butlerly bow. “Right this way prin… err… your highness.” He was looking at me strangely. I guess having two people in the same body, both counting as his princess, one having a male voice if heard via mental contact, must be pretty strange. 

 

I got up from the couch and followed his lead, he lead me out of this side room and he was the one who took up the role of closing the way behind us. ‘By the way, your highness.’ He switched to a mental speech as we were now in the hall and walking. ‘You said that you wish for your spirit of this life to learn the ways of combat and how to protect yourself. May I ask your spirit of the past life if your cultivation demands this be a particular combat style?’

 

‘The style I practice is fairly adaptable. In fact, it prides flexibility and adaptation. However, before my younger half can learn any other form of combat, she must learn the core of the combat style.’ The old man said.

 

‘There is a problem with that last part.’ Gaerien said. ‘His cultivation is currently unbalanced between himself and the kid. Since his cultivation actually feeds off of combat, if he were to spar against you then chances are good it would further increase the older Aerien’s cultivation while leaving the younger further behind.’

‘Hmm…’ Sagel responded. ‘It will have to be placed on hold then I suppose. Would this interest you though your highness?’

 

Once again, I had become a passive bystander in the discussion even when I was supposed to be the one in control. The discussion finally ended when we got to the piece of wall that was supposed to lead to my room now. I almost felt like it would be worse to go in there now though. After all the things that happened with the old man and the people in there, I was going to have to face the fairy ladies now and apologize for what HE did. But wait, he already apologized though. But, they will still probably be afraid of me. Come on, what am I supposed to even do here!?

---

 

"little Aery will proby grow into her own person with new op powers etc that old Aery can't use, while little Aery learns both sides, until insert bad shit goes down cause old Aery to go down or fuse back together at some level of cultivation because of heart demons or the like causing problems in the far future. An example is something like not fully letting go of those last few male aspects. Said male aspects cause some kinda backlash until Aery fully accepts her new self fully or something of the sort? /shrug"

 

        -Roy

---

Yeah, Ok, that one went long. Just the one comment today.