She shifted out of bed and stretched as the cool air caressed her bare skin. Today was another lovely day judging by the calm morning light streaming through the window. Already her mind was considering her itinerary. She had a meeting with Aceri, several disgruntled noblemen to deal with, and an execution to attend. The execution being the main cause of the disgruntled noblemen. They never take kindly to one of their own being handed the death penalty, but her hands were tied. The man killed his own daughter just because he disapproved of her life choices. A few of them did accuse her of ordering his execution solely because it benefits her politically.

It wasn’t entirely false either. His death would be to her political benefit as he was the leader of the opposition, the man most opposed to her sitting on the throne, and who most opposed her faith. Something that did in fact weigh into her decision, but that wasn’t unusual. They were wrong about it being her only motivation though. She would have much rather converted the man. Brought him into the Church of the Dragon, but alas that was not to be. Not after he killed his own daughter. There was no way she would allow someone who could kill their own blood to live. Doing so would make her look weak. Hence her hands were tied. A princess recently ascended to the throne could not afford to look weak. Doing so would only incite rebellion, but she knew that killing him would also incite rebellion. Only on a smaller scale from a handful of nobles.

She headed towards the baths to start her day. It was of no real matter. Their rebelling now would only allow her to solidify her position on the throne. Not that it needed much solidifying. Her only remaining rival for the throne had disappeared. Where he had gone, she knew not, but she suspected he had fled the empire. If that was indeed the case, that meant there was no one left but her with a legal claim to the throne. What all of this meant was that a single murder would allow her to sweep away the entirety of her opposition in one move. She would be able to move forward with her reforms and expand her church without opposition. At least in the Empire. In the vassal states her opposition would remain unaffected. She just hated the fact that the death of an innocent believer had to happen for this.

The princess stepped into Aceri’s chamber. She had already finished her bath and done her hair, but as was the norm for a member of the Church of the Dragon she wore no clothes. This was especially true among the priestesses of the order, and since she was not just a princess, but also the High Priestess, there was no way she would ever wear a thing.

Aceri turned to look at her, giving the Crown Princess a view of her form. Aceri was a large powerful female dragon. As always the princess admired her beauty. The gorgeous green, and silver scale patterns, the large powerful wings. Each wing was covered with lovely scales, they reflected the early morning sun like jewels. Behind Aceri, a long majestic tail swung lazily. It was covered with solid dark and light green scales with a long streak of silver down the middle. Her appearance was truly divine, like all dragons.

Aceri was the first to speak, “Something troubling you?

She felt honored that Aceri would deem to notice that, and much less care. Happily she relayed her current problems. It took her a few minutes to get everything she wanted to relay across. The entire time, Aceri just listened silently without interjecting. 

She was silent a moment after she finished, then quietly the large dragon asked, “Tell me. How long ago did this young girl die?”

“Almost five days ago, why?”

The dragon seemed to shrink in on itself. Her tone changed as she said, “I see. That will make things difficult.”

“Make things difficult? Make what difficult?”

“Resurrection, what else?”

She stared at the dragon feeling incredulous, “That’s impossible. It takes a highly skilled mage or several weaker mages to resurrect someone. Something that must be done within four hours of death.” The princess knew well about resurrection after all. It was something she had been taught as part of her education. In fact she knew enough about healing magic to do it herself.

“For you maybe. Not so for me. Four days is the limit for resurrection among those of us at the top. At least with normal healing magic. The why of it has to do with the soul. However there is still a way to resurrect that girl. It unfortunately involves a mixture of soul and blood magic though. I guess it’s a good thing you plan to execute her murderer. He would make an ideal sacrifice for that girl’s resurrection.”

She didn’t know what to say. Until Aceri mentioned, “I’m just not sure it’s a good idea to do it.”

Curious, she inquired “why not?”

“The soul. Hers has only a tenuous connection with her corporeal body now, and in a couple of days it will be impossible to resurrect her by any means. We do have a choice now. Either we resurrect her or we allow her to move on to her next life.”

The Princess nodded. That did seem to sum things up. She also noticed the implications of reviving the poor girl. It would represent a miracle, and those could easily lead to others converting. The Church of the Dragon did have an interesting time recruiting. Their dress code had mixed results, and then there was the fact that they were female supremacists. A factor that left them with a rather mixed standing among men. They were a bit more popular among girls, but the whole no clothes thing was not always well received. Despite their difficulties, the church had swelled its ranks over the last few years. It was now the third largest faith in the Empire, and the largest faith in the Capital. The Princess planned to use the throne to expand her church’s reach, and a resurrection like this would do much for that idea.

Aceri, who must have been reading her thoughts, said, “It would, but there are the moral implications. Not to mention, she will not be exactly the same after being resurrected. I can’t say why, but trust me, she would awaken a changed girl if we do this. Normally I would not bother. As it is rarely worth it to resurrect someone who has been dead this long already.”

The princess shifted her stance and sighed. It was tempting. “Then perhaps, we should find some other way to bring her back.”

The dragon lit up. She started asking questions about the girl’s female family members. After a few minutes, she said, “I can bring her back in another fashion. The Skylord’s have a ritual of rebirth that they can use to cheat death. That ritual can be adapted to bring her back. Just not in the same fashion as a resurrection. This would be a rebirth. Her soul could be guided to her sister or that one cousin you mentioned, and through one of them, she would be reborn. Naturally, she would be a baby, but her memories would be intact. Not to mention she would regain her previous skills and levels as she matures.”

The princess sighed. That was an interesting possibility. She thought putting the girl in her sister’s womb would be strange, but her mother was not an option. Not given her condition. That poor girl’s mother had died four years ago in an accident. Although that was only the official narrative. It was widely believed that the accident was actually staged, but since her father had many enemies they knew not who had done that. Honestly this wasn’t a decision she wanted to make. Her instinct was to delegate the decision, to the only person she felt was qualified. “I’ll talk to her sister then. It should be her choice.”

Aceri nodded, “That is a choice I can respect.”

“I’ll talk to her after the execution then. She glanced over at the light. I’m late to it anyway.”

Aceri shook her head. “Better to talk to her before the execution. It would be better.”

The Princess nodded, and left the temple. She knew just where to go to find the young woman she needed to talk to.

He glanced at the mortal that was soon to die. A mortal he was patron of, and then glanced over at the goddess behind him. She had light red hair that was braided into tails with black ribbons. Today she had gone with a black and white theme. Her style changed little, but the goddess in question often changed color themes, and occasionally went nude. She had on a short frilly top that only covered half her breasts, and her nipples constantly threatened to show themselves. A thigh-length skirt covered her pussy, but he knew she had nothing under it.

He sighed, “If you want him that bad, then I guess I have no choice but to agree to your proposal. His soul is yours to do with as you please.”

The princess stepped onto the stage. Outwardly, she was giving the pre-execution speech, but inwardly she was observing the audience. She could see the disapproval in the opposition. They did not approve of her choices and felt threatened by her. Not that she blamed them, they neither like her church, nor her agenda. Not to mention they were forming ranks in opposition of her and her supporters.

She ignored them, her mind was actually thinking about what would soon happen. The princess had already spoken with the sister about what Aceri had offered. Of the options available, she had strangely picked the rebirth option. Even more strange, at least to the princess, was that she wanted to carry her reborn sister herself. It was kind of odd to think about.

She pushed those thoughts aside, and finished her little speech. The words were nothing more than the formalities that meant nothing, and then she signaled to the executioner. The condemned noble in question was tied between two posts. A pair of glowing blue gems were placed at neck height.

With her signal, the executioner sent a pulse of mana into the construct. The glow intensified, as the condemned man cursed her with his last breath. Midword he fell silent as a wide beam of blue light cut through his neck. The man’s head rolled off his shoulders, leaving his now headless body still standing there. For a moment or two it continued to stand, before it slumped in the ropes. It was done.