The Princess didn’t know how her Aunt, who historically refused all sorts of nonsense, was with them at the dress shop. The Princess already had a dress for the founding ball chosen, but the Maverick hated it. So they brought the old dress with them and went back to the dress maker. They were given the royal treatment as usual, provided with tea and snacks. The Maverick and her Aunt were looking at the dress she originally picked and the dresses that they wanted her to try on. She was overwhelmed. The Maverick came over to her and dragged her over.

“I just want you to see something, this isn’t the dress I want you to wear, okay?” he said. She nodded and followed along. Before her was a dark green dress with gold accents. It was very much a dress her Aunt would wear. She looked at her almost fearfully.

“It’s just a dress, dear. I think it will be a good experiment,” she said. “Try it on.”

The Princess gulped. A sleek dress more reminiscent of a mage than a princess. She tried it on all the same. She was a little shocked at the way it made her look. Nothing had physically changed, her face was the same, her body was the same, but everything was…different. She came out and the Maverick grinned and her Aunt smirked and raised an eyebrow.

“Is this my little niece?” she said. She twirled her around.

“Do you see it?” the Maverick asked. They led her to the mirror and let her gaze at herself. She felt her cheeks redden, she was almost shy. The way the dress hugged her waist and hips, the long slit that exposed her leg, it made her seem so much more mature, a bit of an edge to her softness. She touched the mirror. She would be read completely differently if she wore more dresses like this. Since it was more akin to mage fashion, maybe people would take her powers more seriously. Also…the silhouette being less frilly would make people who were attracted to her look at her differently as well. Especially her Knight, she knew it.

“Do you like it?” her Aunt asked. The Princess nodded. The dressmaker came over.

“If you like this, then we can make some modifications to your dress,” she offered. “We used to design for your mother and she was always trying to keep her identity as queen and a mage. We can show you some of the designs we used for her and tailor it to your tastes.”

The Princess held her chest. She did remember, though she was small, there were some times when her mother would greet people from the Mage Academy or people who dealt mana stones and she’d wear different outfits. Usually she wore stately outfits with full skirts. But when she dealt with anything involving mages, she dressed more like them, keeping touches from her life as a queen and touches from her life as a mage. It seemed like a good idea.

“Please?” the Princess said. “I’d like to be myself but a little different.”

“Absolutely!” the dressmaker replied.

“And we need to make some adjustments in some trims and colors. I need to compliment my date,” she said.

“Damn right!” he said. “Oh! Before you make any changes I want to offer you a gift, as a friend and ball escort.”

He held up a small rectangular box. She opened it and laughed. It was a pair of mirrored sunglasses, but instead of being sharp like his, they were very round and complemented her softer face and features. She hugged him.

“Thank you so much my friend,” she said.

He laughed and blushed just a little. “Well, don’t think too much of it. You’re just a sweet girl and I’m glad we’re friends and business partners. A-anyway, I gotta go! I want to make sure my outfit is ready too!”

He actually backed off and let her make all the changes she wanted. It wasn’t like she’d never designed her own dress before, but it was the idea that for the first time ever, she’d be actively incorporating something that paid homage to the fact that she wasn’t just a princess, but she was a mage, a powerful one at that. She had to thank her friend for opening up her eyes to this, to find the confidence to step just a little bit out of her comfort zone. Her Aunt was with her every step of the way. The Princess kept looking at her curiously. She knew her Aunt was here for a reason beyond just a dress.

“After this, we should go eat something together,” she said.

Eating was usually their catalyst to talk about something a little more serious. The Princess was a little nervous, but her talks with her Aunt usually went well. The Princess held her Aunt’s hand and they went to the café. They sat down and she didn’t even pretend to look at her menu.

“I can’t find a way to finesse our way into this conversation because it has left me so vexed. When were you going to tell me those daft peacock women were harassing you?” Her Aunt asked. The Princess looked down at the table. “So you were never going to tell me?”

The Princess couldn’t look up. Her Aunt held her hands. “Why not?”

“Bad things happen when I complain. I didn’t want anything to happen to them over something so small.”

“They asked about your business affairs, which could potentially be a governmental issue. They lusted after your Knight and harassed you when you sent him on vacation, they refused to treat you according to your station. Do you think all of those things are little? You’ve been a princess your whole life, you know all of these are not small slights,” her Aunt said.

“Last time someone bullied me, you destroyed their family,” the Princess said.

Her Aunt looked confused. “What do you mean?”

The Princess drew her hands away and hugged herself. She couldn’t let this happen again.

“When I was very small, a month after Mother died, there was a little girl who told me that I was a sorry excuse for a princess because I had no powers and after Father married her mother, I was going to be forgotten. Naturally that upset me, so I told you and Father. Shortly after, half the family was in prison and the other half was exiled,” the Princess said. Her Aunt let out a deep sigh.

“That was unfortunate timing, but we’d been investigating that child’s family for embezzlement and fraud for a few months. Apparently, one of the young widowed daughters believed if she married your Father, she’d be absolved from the whole debacle and wasn’t quiet about talking about it in front of her child. So yes, we were upset that they slighted you and ultimately your mother who had barely been gone more than a few weeks, but they also had years of corruption behind them.”

She came over and kneeled before her niece. “Sweetie, it is true, you can end someone’s political and social life in minutes and it is a power you should use sparingly. However, you can demand respect and you can defend yourself if necessary. You are powerful for more reasons than your station and your level of mana. Never forget that.”

The Princess hugged her Aunt. The last piece was in place, she was ready to face the world now.

His mother stood elegantly adorned in her green and gold gown at the tailor’s shop. She was blushing like a teenage girl, but he expected this. The Knight hugged her shoulders and she smiled. The surge of complicated emotions came again, he couldn’t decipher any of this.

“Aren’t you happy, Ma?” he asked. She held his cheek.

“Of course I am,” she said. His father came out from his dressing room. He was overjoyed with his outfit. He clapped his son on the back.

“I don’t remember if I’ve ever looked this splendid!” he said. “I was happy just finally being able to bake for the village, but to attend the founding ball at the palace? I still can’t believe this is happening!”

“Anything for you two,” he said. His mother still stared at herself forlornly at herself in the mirror. He could sense overwhelming guilt from her as she blinked back tears.

“Mother…” he said softly. His father came to her side.

“Just a moment, Son,” he said. He took his mother aside. The Knight sat on a couch and waited for them. He couldn’t hear them, but he could read them. It was upsetting: his mother was filled with anxiety and guilt, his father less so, but it still tugged at him. He hated to pry, but he was doing everything wrong. No one was happy to matter what he did. They returned and he tried to smile but he couldn’t fully fake it. His mother hugged him.

“We’re so excited to go to the palace with you,” she said. He was about to crack. He had to pull it together. There had to be something that he could do to make them happy. He could feel their guilt, it was so thick he could almost breathe it. There was no out, he couldn’t run to the only person who could comfort him. His mother held his face.

“Sweetie? Are you all right? You’re so pale…” she said.

“I’m a failure,” he said. He said it so quickly and he couldn’t take it back.

“No, you’re not, what would make you think that? We’re so proud of you,” his father said.

“You’re proud of me, but when you see me you both get anxious and guilty. I can feel it, you know I can.”

They looked at each other and their worry magnified. He felt his heart race and his head hurt.

“Why can’t I do anything right?” he said.

“Let’s go home and talk, okay?” his father said. He nodded. Talk. They would talk. Suddenly he couldn’t hear, and his head felt way too light. Was he still breathing? He couldn’t tell. He felt like he couldn’t hold on to the physical world anymore and he was fading away. As the last shred of consciousness slipped away, all he could think about was his Princess.

 When he could finally see and hear again, he was in his room and his mother was stroking his hair. He couldn’t say anything, but she kissed his forehead.

“Just rest. Mommy loves you,” she said. How could she love him? He brought her nothing but sadness. He did manage to fall asleep and even that was not truly restful. The only person he wanted more than anyone to confirm he was not a bad and useless person, was the Princess. But maybe she was upset with him too. His two sisters came in. He heard them speaking in hushed tones. Finally the oldest came over and rested her head and hand on his chest. He felt the infusion of some of her mana and that gave so much relief. While the Princess’s mana was warm and soothing, his sister’s was decidedly cool and refreshing. That was just what he needed to relax and fall asleep.

“We’ll talk in the morning, baby,” his mother said. All he could sense from her was love. Warm, sweet love. He could feel everyone in the house. They were worried, they were anxious but above all those feelings he could feel the care and love, the admiration, the pride. If that was how they truly felt about him, he could finally rest.

He woke up feeling so much lighter. But he was still in his clothes from the day before and he hadn’t washed. Before he could see anyone, he had to wash up and change. What had his sisters done to him? He felt better, he couldn’t sense the dark clouds of sadness and guilt like he did before. He headed to the kitchen and found that there was a whole family council happening without him. Instead of everyone bombarding him with questions (he knew they wanted to) they all looked to his mother as their spokesperson. She came over to him and kissed his cheek.

“Are you feeling better?” she asked.

“A lot better!” he said. “What did you all do?”

“You were suffering from acute empathy. It’s common for empaths under stress. Also you have a lot more mana than when you left, you probably need more training in how to manage your mana. I'm surprised this hasn’t happened sooner, you must have a very powerful mage keeping you sane,” his oldest sister said. “Baby Sister was the one to identify your condition. I have mana, but I’m not empathic so I’d never really looked into anything like this. It’s a good thing she’s been training her empathic powers and figured it out quickly.”

“I have a tutor, we discussed acute empathy. When you’re really stressed out you pick up on a lot more emotions, especially of people you’re close to. Mostly the negative feelings crowd out the rest and it becomes worse and worse until you can almost physically feel it.”

“Yeah…that sounds like what happened. I just don’t understand why you all feel guilty, anxious and worried whenever I come around and that just makes me feel like a failure.”

“Oh…that’s what you’ve been sensing,” his father said. “We just feel like you’re sacrificing so much just for us. You never think about yourself.”

He felt like the veil was lifted and a mystery solved. That was the problem, the source of the guilt and anxiety. How could he think about himself?

“The other kids are not to blame, but your father and I feel like we never allowed you to be a child.”

“I had a great childhood! I was so happy with everyone,” the knight said. “I loved helping out! I wanted to be with my siblings!”

“We know that,” his youngest brother said. “We love being with you, but you really take on too much. Like you are a third parent.”

“You gave up going to school for me,” his youngest sister said. “It’s pure chance that the Princess arrived and gave you the opportunity to finish your education. I’m grateful for your sacrifice, but I wish you didn’t have to. I wish you could have been a little selfish.”

He held out his arms and she ran over to him. His other siblings came over and hugged him.

“Just be happy you idiot!” Oldest Sister said. They didn’t want to release him, but they had to make way for Mom and Dad. So that was the problem. They were just concerned about him being happy.

“I love my family so much,” he whispered. He knew his sister’s mana would fade eventually, but they all had done much to take care of the root problem. They loved him and were proud of him.