The Protagonist System

57 Waterworks

Tabitha was sleeping on her dragon's back when I returned to her. I was tempted to scare her for falling asleep and saw the dragon's half-lidded eye watching me. I gave Sylphid a little wave and pointed to her side. She nodded slightly and I climbed under the giant blanket and settled down against her warm belly. I closed my eyes and let myself go to sleep. We could worry about flying back in the morning.

Not surprisingly, I woke up just before the crack of dawn. I also found that Tabitha had somehow moved from the back of her dragon familiar to be cuddled up to my side. I wasn't stupid enough to assume she would be as open to a mutual exchange as Louise was, so I only kept her hugged to my side and didn't try to do anything untoward with her.

An hour later, Tabitha woke up and blushed at being cuddled up to my side. I gave her as warm and inviting of a smile as I could and she seemed to relax and sighed as she hugged me close.

“You don't get to do anything like this at all, do you?” I asked her and she shook her head. “Is that by choice or because of the social-political situation you're in?”

“Yes.” Tabitha said and her blush didn't lessen.

“I won't judge you, Tabitha. If you want to tell me all about it, I won't comment or say anything about it until you want me to.” I reassured her and she lifted her head to give me a pointed look, then she sighed and settled back against my side.

For the next hour, Tabitha told me who she really was, a princess of the Gallia Kingdom, and her uncle had killed her father and made her mother go crazy by drinking a potion that was intended for her. You see, it should have killed her and it would have, if Tabitha had drunk it. Since it was her mother, all it did was give the poor woman schizophrenia and made her think she was a child again.

I didn't tell her that I knew she had a twin sister that had been recruited by the church and made into a nun to keep her safe. Unfortunately, they were utilizing her powers for their schemes and to keep others in line.

After hearing about Tabitha's life and problems first-hand, I promised to do something about it. Tabitha gave me a surprised look and I looked deep into her eyes and dared her to refute my pledge. She gazed into my eyes and shivered, then she nodded and cuddled back into my side.

“I'll leave it all to you.” Tabitha said and a slight flash of light encompassed us. She jerked slightly and lifted her head to look at me. “What just happened?”

“I believe you just offloaded your entire kingdom's problems onto me.” I said with a smile. The Karma points were going to be phenomenal when I completed my very first system given quest.

Tabitha sighed and ducked her head into my chest.

I held her close. “It's all right, Princess Charlotte. I'll deal with it. I promise.”

Tabitha sighed with relief and hugged me tighter. Surprisingly, she didn't react to me using her real name. “I'm hungry.”

“Then we need to find a nice tavern for breakfast.” I said and reached into Tabitha's bag and pulled out a big fat pig. Sylphid drooled and scarfed it down in seconds with a satisfied growl.

Both Tabitha and I chuckled at her reaction and Sylphid knelt to let us climb up onto her back. We flew off through the sky towards Tabitha's home country and were soon in a tavern and enjoying a great breakfast. Tabitha was quiet, her revealing all of her problems earlier being the limit of her need to talk, and that was okay.

I filled the silence with my own adventures for the last three weeks, leaving out the details for the beheadings of the Tristain Traitors. I chuckled slightly at inadvertently naming a sports team for their country and it made Tabitha smile when I mentioned it.

We left the tavern and stopped several times to rest before we reached the right region where the problems of flooding were reported. Some of it was pretty bad with half of a village up to the windows in water. It didn't take us long after that to trace it back to the main lake where a very irate water spirit was searching for her lost heirloom.

Tabitha had told me her mission was to stop the flooding by any means possible and she was going to freeze the elemental. I stopped her and approached the angry water spirit and held up the enchanted ring. I offered to trade it back to her if she recalled all of the water she had flooded the region with first.

The spirit raised its hands and all of the water rushed back by us and into the large lake. I thanked her for being so efficient and handed over the ring. She took it reverently, gave me a nod, and a wave of water came out of the lake, engulfed her, and the wave went back to the lake.

“That's it?” Tabitha asked, a little stunned that it had been that easy.

“That's it.” I said and took her hand. “Let's get the leaders of the village to sign the order and we can go cash in your payday.”

Tabitha looked down at our hands and back at my face. “Mine? You were why it undid everything.”

I shrugged and we walked back over to Sylphid.

“You don't want any of it?” Tabitha asked as I helped her climb up onto her dragon's back.

“If it makes you feel better about it, you can give me a third of it. One third for you getting the mission, one third for Sylphid for flying us here, and one third for me for being the eye candy.” I said, because I had changed my armor's color back to the original orange-yellowish color.

Sylphid barked a laugh and Tabitha smiled at me.

“Yes, it's totally worth it. I look awesome!” I said and posed for her.

Tabitha chuckled and Sylphid moved a wing and smacked my on the back of the head.

“Ow!” I said and rubbed it. “You're lucky I left off my helmet!”

The dragon barked another laugh and nodded at her back. I climbed up and we were off towards the village to let them know there would be no more flooding, had them sign the order of protection, and flew off towards the capital city.

*

The King of Gallia was both happy and vexed by his niece. She had completed the nearly impossible task several weeks before he expected her to, and that was after him sending some of his best troops to deal with the problem. He completely ignored the armored fool posing and spouting weird lines about valor and honor.

He accepted the order and confirmed that it was actually signed by the village elder, then grudgingly approved the payout for the mission. He knew it would come right back into the coffers, because of her having to buy food for her dragon familiar.

As soon as Tabitha took the approval from his hand, he felt a sting across his neck. He reached up and touched the spot, only to see blood on his fingertips. His eyes widened as the armored fool told him he was an evil man and needed to go meet the brother he had murdered. The throne room tilted and flipped around and he stared up at the ceiling before everything faded to black.

*

Tabitha stared at her uncle's decapitated head and didn't know what to say. It had happened so fast that she hadn't seen Saito move. In fact, she hadn't heard his sword leave its sheath or return to it. She turned to look and saw his happy smile.

“Let's go gather that money up and visit your mother.” Saito said and waved his hand over the body and head. They dissolved away into nothing and Tabitha couldn't stop her shiver at both the displayed power and him saving her from her uncle's tyranny.

Tabitha voluntarily took his hand this time and Saito's happy smile went wider, which made the quiet girl blush at how such a simple thing made the handsome dark-haired boy happier. That was when she realized it had been the first time she had initiated any kind of physical contact since her father died. She almost fainted at that realization and she suddenly found herself cradled in Saito's strong arms.

“Don't worry, I've got you.” Saito said and they were suddenly partway across the castle and she handed the payout approval to the clerk in charge of the castle's coffers.

The money was handed over without question and Tabitha put it into a side pouch of her bag. It would keep her and Syphid in food for the next six months and she was extremely pleased by that.

“Where are your mother's rooms?” Saito asked.

Tabitha told him and they walked at a normal pace to get there. Apparently, he wasn't in a rush to put her down, which put the blush right back on her face.

“You can't blame me for abusing the excuse to cuddle you.” Saito said, as if he could read her thoughts and was answering them. “Well, maybe you can. I'm definitely pushing things and I really shouldn't.”

Tabitha lifted her head to look at his face. “Why?”

“I apparently have a problem with resisting cute girls, as in, I usually can't.” Saito admitted and Tabitha blushed again. “Yes, that means this morning was a struggle with you cuddled up to me.

“I'm sorry.” Tabitha said.

“I'm not.” Saito said and Tabitha was surprised. “Nothing has to happen. I just seem to be put into situations where if there is a cute girl around, I have to cuddle her and have to resist doing more than that.”

Tabitha thought about that and nodded. “Louise does seem a lot more relaxed.”

Saito laughed. “I'm not revealing what we do, in case it's a noble no-no.”

Tabitha tilted her head slightly and understood. “You're doing something sexual with her.”

Saito stumbled and caught himself before either of them fell. “She's still a virgin!”

Tabitha tilted her head the other way and understood again. “Louise is only using her mouth and hands.”

Saito opened his mouth to tell her he did as well, then gave her the same look back. “You've seen your roommate Kirche doing that?”

Tabitha nodded. “Not a lot of places for privacy at the academy.”

Saito looked thoughtful and then smiled. “Would it surprise you that I use my mouth on her, too?”

Tabitha was going to ask if he meant on her breasts, then she realized what he really meant. She blushed deeply and ducked her head down, because those thoughts were not good thoughts to have before visiting her mother.

Saito took in a breath through his nose and stopped walking. “My apologies, Princess Charlotte. I didn't mean to imply...”

Tabitha reached up and put a finger over his lips. “I know we can't. Louise is your partner and you have some leeway there.”

Saito sighed. “I also have two contracted mistresses.”

Tabitha blushed again. “I can't sign. I would lose my status as the elder daughter.”

Saito stiffened slightly. “You can't possibly mean...”

“My sister and I live vicariously through each other.” Tabitha said, revealing that she knew about her twin, and pointed to a door down the hallway. “My mother is through there.”

Saito nodded and shelved the conversation for now. He needed to cure the Queen of her ailments and then heal her. After killing the evil king and completing the restoration of the proper royal family of Gallia, his Karma points from that and from saving everyone from the world war that Albion would have started, was going to give him thousands of points.

Tabitha's mother was in a sad state when they entered the room. She was as thin as a rail and dishevelled to the point of not bathing for weeks. The nurse at the woman's side looked lost and forlorn, which told Saito all he needed to know about the woman's emotional state.

“Gooooooood moooorning, Duchess d'Orléans!” Saito shouted outrageously.

Both Tabitha and the nurse had their mouths drop open at his shout.

“Don't you worry about a thing! The hero of the day has arrived!” Saito said and posed.

To Tabitha's and the nurse's surprise, the usually distracted and incoherent woman turned her head to look at him. The small doll in her hands was hugged and she gave Saito the same tilted head look that Tabitha had earlier.

“I see you noticed my awesome armor! Isn't it eye-catching?” Saito asked and walked over to the bed.

The nurse didn't try to stop him, because he had somehow gained her patient's attention and was keeping it!

“I designed it that way on purpose. Everyone that looks at me will see the hearth that carries an eternal flame. Home is where the heart is and the fire will always warm you.” Saito said and knelt beside the bed.

“Ch-Charlotte.” The duchess whispered and indicated the small doll on her lap.

“Hello there, Princess Charlotte! Your best friend Tabitha brought me here to save your mother! Isn't that great?” Saito asked the doll. “It's just going to take a few minutes and everything will be fine!”

Tabitha and the nurse watched as Saito took the woman's hands and held them. A second later, he leaned down and kissed the woman's forehead. A bright glow covered her head and then the glow spread over her entire body. To their shock, the duchess seemed to expand and her thinness disappeared as she returned to a very healthy state. Even her hair went from unwashed to perfect.

“There we go, Princess Charlotte! I told you that it would be fine. The duchess is all better now.” Saito said and let the woman's hands go.

The shock on their faces made Saito laugh.

“Go ahead and check her. She's just in shock right now and will start talking once she realizes she's okay.” Saito said and stepped back, bowed to the duchess, and left the room.

It took the three females in the room several minutes to realize they could move and talk.

The nurse was the first to cast a diagnostic spell and she gasped. “It's true! She's fine!”

Tabitha started crying and dropped her staff and her bag, walked over to her mother and saw similar tears on her face. She dropped to her knees and hugged the woman she believed would never be cured and her mother hugged her back.

“My precious Charlotte.” The duchess whispered and Tabitha cried and cried.

*

I stood just outside the door and listened to the mother and daughter reuniting after years apart. I stopped a passing castle attendant and asked her where the monastery was. She told me and I asked her to prepare the proper clothing for the duchess.

She gave me an incredulous look and I briefly opened the room's door to show her. She gasped and stared, then she ran down the hallway screaming that the duchess was cured.

I chuckled and summoned Tabitha's bag before I shut the door, put up a privacy spell, and teleported to where Sylphid waited for us outside. “Tabitha's going to be busy for a while. Do you want to help me bring her twin sister here for a full family reunion?”

Sylphid gave me a pointed look and I chuckled. I pulled a cow out of Tabitha's bag and the dragon happily ate it. When she was done, she knelt to let me climb onto her back. I told her how to get to the monastery and we took off at her fastest speed.

It shouldn't take us long to return and I would witness another daughter's reunion with her long-lost mother, after I removed the brainwashing and healed Josette of everything the church did to her.

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