“You seem to be under the impression that I don't have any left.” I said as I looked at their shocked faces. “I had enough for four vials and a little bit left over, since the pot was very small and I didn't have a lot of ingredients left. I used one on myself right away. I used a quarter of one to mix with the little bit and gave it to someone to test if he would grow his hand back. He did.”

“Oh, my.” The queen whispered and her eyes went right to her daughter's missing arm.

“I used another one and the three-quarter full one on Alex and Donna respectively, which left me with just one.” I said and looked at Ellen. “It's up to you if you want to use it.”

Ellen looked at her sister, who nodded. “Rose told me how unreasonable I was when dealing with you.”

“You needed someone else to tell you that?” I asked. “I thought it was pretty clear.”

“Shut up and let me speak.” Ellen said and I nodded slightly. “You don't know what you did to me... what your abandonment did to me.” She said and her face went red. “You left me. You were my savior, my kingdom's savior, and you left me right after a major battle.” She turned away to stare out the window. “It hurt me so much that you went behind my back and ran away from me like a coward.”

“You were going to get me killed for no reason.” I said and she flinched. “My usefulness was over. We couldn't get more supplies and potion ingredients because of my injuries and you kept me right there at the new front. I could barely walk straight and you still had me working all day and kept me under constant observation until late at night when I went to bed, just to make sure I wasn't slacking off.”

Ellen's face went red again. “That wasn't... it doesn't matter now. What's done is done.” She said and turned back to look at her father. “Take the potion to the potioneers and have them pull it apart and try to recreate it.”

I chuckled and everyone looked at me. “Do you really think normal potioneers are going to be able to pull apart a one of a kind potion that's never been brewed before? Do you really believe that they can recreate the recipe and proper procedures to make it again without knowing what the ingredients are?” I asked and doubt appeared on their faces. “Plus, you don't want to break the agreement. The penalties are very severe for the king if you do.”

“What?” Ellen asked, surprised.

“He's right.” Rose said and gave me a thoughtful look. “I assumed they put those penalties in it to ensure you would make the potion as quickly as possible. I never thought they could be applied to father as well.”

The king sighed. “Ellen, drink it.”

“What? No, I... I want to take the chance that...”

“Hold her.” The king ordered and two of the uniformed men took firm and gentle hold of the princess. He stood as he picked up the vial and walked over to her. “This has cost me a very large political bargaining chip. I hope you appreciate it as much as David is going to appreciate what being a full Lord is going to mean.”

“N-no, I... I don't want...” Ellen started to say and the king grabbed her mouth, held it open, and nodded to the man on her side without an arm. He clamped Ellen's nose closed and the king poured in the potion and held her mouth closed. Ellen struggled with it for about ten seconds, then she swallowed it all.

A moment later, the two men and the king released her.

Ellen took in a deep breath and glared at her father. “You bastard.”

“I love you, too.” The king said and cupped the side of her face. “You're strong. You've always been strong. Now you'll have your full body back.”

“Don't expect me to thank you.” Ellen said and then coughed as she hunched slightly in pain.

“You need to get her sequestered immediately.” I said and stood. “If you're smart, do what Donna and Alex did.”

“I was planning to.” The king said and nodded to the two men, who carefully picked the princess up and carried her from the room. “Grace.”

The queen stood immediately. “Rose, attend me.”

“What about David?” Rose asked as she stood.

“I'll have a maid take him to his room to change, then he can leave.” The king said and looked at me. “I'll give you my thanks the next time I see you.”

I gave him a royal bow and stood up again. “Your highness.”

The king nodded to me and left the room, then the queen left. Rose turned to me and the conflict was clear on her face.

“The academy goes on break for a week for the king's birthday.” I said and she smiled.

“I'll see you then.” Rose said and glanced at the two men and the maid still in the room, then she leaned in to kiss my cheek. “Thank you for healing my sister.”

“She might die if she's not strong enough.” I said.

“Oh, don't worry about that.” Rose said with a big smile. “She's going to fight hard to get through this, I guarantee it.”

“Why would you guarantee it?” I asked.

“Because.” Rose walked over to the open door and looked back at me. “She can't punch you in the face properly with only one arm.” She said with a laugh. “Or hug you. What she wants to do to you changes every day.”

“What? Hug me?” I asked, confused. “What for?”

Rose laughed again. “I knew you were completely clueless.” She said as she gave me a wave and left.

“My lord, right this way.” The maid said and I picked up the box with the ceremonial short sword in it.

The two men in uniforms walked behind us as I followed the maid back to the guest rooms. They waited outside while I was quickly changed into a nice suit and the ceremonial short sword was added to the scabbard underneath and the belt was secured around my waist. The royal crest was emblazoned on the handle, the blade, and even the scabbard.

It was only a short sword, so it wouldn't be too cumbersome to walk around with it on. If necessary, I could add a tie to the bottom of the scabbard and secure it to my thigh. I left it as it was for now and my maids and I were escorted through the castle and back to the apparently hidden staircase. The maid left then and the two men in uniforms led us down to the building beside the castle.

“There's a carriage waiting for you.” One of the men said and opened the front door for us. “Have a good day.”

I nodded to him and we left the building. The plain carriage was only ten feet away and the coachman opened the door for us. I helped the maids climb in and Sara sat with Hope on the backwards facing seat. Tabitha looked very happy when I sat beside her and the carriage took off.

I asked the driver to drop Sara and Tabitha off at the Henrietta Longshore Estate and he diverted his path in that direction. “Please tell Helena I would have come inside to see her if I had a teacher with me. I doubt I would get away with visiting alone, even after visiting the king and his family.”

Both Sara and Tabitha nodded in understanding, so I took out the documents to show them why I had been brought to the palace. Hope, Sara, and Tabitha all stared at them.

“They... they gave you the marsh.” Sara whispered. “Oh, my god. They gave you the whole marsh.”

“I also have the full title of Lord.” I said and pointed to the second document. “It's not a baron title, or a count or viscount title, or anything like that.” I pointed to the third document. “That's a full pardon for all crimes that may have been committed by me, including the supposed crimes I was accused of today.”

“D-David.” Hope whispered as tears came to her eyes and the other two maids were close to crying, too. “Oh, David.”

“We're here, my lord.” The driver called out and the carriage came to a stop.

I stepped out when the door opened and helped Sara and Tabitha climb out. “Let Helena know. I'll write her a letter tonight and I'll give it to you tomorrow to give to her.”

“Yes, my lord.” Sara said, her face tearful and happy. “She'll know as soon as we step through the door.”

That made me smile and the two maids walked very quickly to the gate. The guards there opened it for them and closed it behind them. I stepped back into the carriage and we drove off to go to the academy. I remembered this ride from the first time I took it and it was just as long and as quick as I remembered. Hope had moved from her seat to sit beside me and hugged my arm.

“You're a lord.” Hope said. “A real lord. It's not just the honorary title people say to you when they greet you, either.”

“I was going to become one when I married Helena anyway, so it's not that big of an event.”

“That's almost three years away.” Hope said. “You would be on shaky ground politically going anywhere or doing anything, since you were only a student.” She rested her head on my shoulder. “Now? You're an actual lord. No one can do or say anything against your upbringing.”

“Unless they're idiots.” I corrected and she laughed.

“Okay, I have to agree with that.” Hope said and went quiet for the rest of the ride.

We entered the academy gates and just for fun, I flashed the Lord title document at the guard. He took in a startled breath and nearly fell backwards. He even watched us as the carriage drove across the campus until we were out of his sight.

“He didn't close the gate! Ha ha!” Hope laughed and I had to laugh a little, too.

We were dropped off at the dorm mansion, which for some reason, didn't surprise the driver at how nice it looked. I asked how much the ride was and he waved me away. I took out a gold coin and he snapped the reins on the horses to get the carriage moving without taking the money. I put the coin away and motioned to take the bag from Hope, since I was already carrying the empty sword box.

Hope shook her head and we went in through the open doors that the guards held for us. “Can your bath wait until morning? All of this excitement has exhausted me.”

“Oh, no. My primary maid is shirking her duties.” I said and did a very good impression of a chicken when I clicked my tongue at her. “Whatever will I do?”

Hope let out another laugh and then rolled her eyes. “I'm still helping you change, I just don't think I'll last much longer than that.” She said and took my hand as we went up the stairs.

Soon, we were both in our night clothes and tucked into bed. Hope didn't say anything as she cuddled my arm and quickly fell asleep. The documents, the short sword, and my bandoleer were inside my personal vault and my knife was under my pillow. I closed my eyes and went into the same restful and vigilant state that let me stay alert and sleep at the same time.

I had missed that feeling a lot and let myself enjoy being back at my peak. I really had let myself be too relaxed while going to classes and that wouldn't do. Not at all. My skills would need to be honed with use, not sitting idly. That thought made me smile, especially since I had to start on those potions for Mage Marks.

I thought over what I needed to do and decided. I would get up extra early and get at least two batches done, as well as the crate of healing potions for Vanessa. I had missed my chance to do it because I was at the castle and dealing with the royal family. It was well after curfew and I wouldn't be able to deliver them, even if I had them ready.

I pushed all those thoughts out of my head and rested for almost six hours and it seemed to pass by in an instant. I climbed out of bed and changed into casual clothes, then went to work. Since I had plenty of time before I had to bathe and get ready for classes, I did what Gary used to complain about and worked my ass off. I still didn't really understand the reference, and it didn't really matter. I had applied it properly and that's what counted.

It actually took me half as long as brewing the cleaning potions to bottle and crate them up. I was really glad for the deliveries that came right to the dorm mansion, if only for that reason. I actually managed four full brewing sessions, minus one lone pot for the healing potion at the start, and I ended up with nearly 1,700 cleaning potions in 47 crates and one crate of healing potion for Vanessa.

I was going to give them all to her, because she wouldn't get away with only drinking a quarter dose of the weaker versions. I would tell her that she should drink the whole vial instead of trying to parse them out into the three-quarter doses that she would need. It would just be a time consumer if she did and she only had the one full crate of her own potions to use with them, anyway.

Hope came to get me when it was time for breakfast and I put the crate of healing potions beside the front door to take with me. We ate the delicious food and left the dining room to go upstairs for my bath. I was undressed and the water set, then she almost sighed in relief when Sara and Tabitha showed up. Both women gave her playful taps on the head, as if they were petting her, then they shooed her out of the bathroom when she finally laughed.

I was bathed and dried, the ritual performed twice because of my official title, or so they claimed. I was brought out of the bathroom to be dressed and my academy uniform was applied. I retrieved my new ceremonial short sword, my bandoleer, and my documents. I needed to treat the papers to preserve them and make them last a long time.

That reminded me to write a quick letter to Helena and I sat down at my desk and did so. My writing was fairly fast and concise, so I quickly finished recounting the events at the castle and gave the letter to Sara. When I stood up, my hand banged the scabbard and almost knocked it off of the table. Tabitha picked it up for me and gave it a brief hug. I mentioned adding the tie to keep the short sword close to my thigh and all three women shook their heads.

“It needs to be seen, my lord.” Sara said. “No one will notice if its tucked to your leg like your old clothes and the knife sheath you had sewn into them.”

“But, that was the point. No one really paid attention to see where I had it.” I said.

“This is exactly the opposite of what you want to do.” Tabitha said and she and Sara put the sword's belt around my hips. “Unlike your knife, which is a formidable weapon and should be kept hidden, people need to see this weapon and the royal crest placed on it.”

“It shows that the king himself has approved of you.” Sara said, her voice full of pride. “Hope, his enchanting things.”

“Right here.” Hope said and handed me the small pack with my tools and some wildwood pieces that I had cut into appropriate sizes and pre-carved to preserve their magic potential. “I won't tell you to take it easy on the teachers, not after everything that's happened.”

“Are you sure? I don't want to shock them. Again.” I said and that made all three of my maids laugh.

“H-have fun, my lord.” Sara said and the three of them walked me to the front door. I picked up the crate of healing potions and the maids waved to me as I walked towards the academy's main campus.