"What was that about?" Adi sat the tray with the soup on the bed, over Damia's lap.
"I'd say 'guess,' but you never will. He asked how I was doing, and when I said we'd be able to return to our roles, you as head servant, and me as maid, he said no. Our titles are being restored Adi! Isn't it great!"
Adi stood in disbelief, with a thousand thoughts racing through his mind, but he only found one to be important. "Our titles were revoked as punishments by the King. Granted, you were being punished for being born unable to harness your powers to shift, but that makes this even more suspicious. The King would never truly restore you without some kind of underlying reason."
"Yes, I know you're right Adi," Damia's delight from earlier had come crashing down just as fast as it had shot up. "But don't you think maybe he's changed his mind since I saved the kingdom from the ogres' attack?"
Adi took the seat next to Damia's bed. "No. I don't think he would change so easily. When the late Queen was around, he barely spent any time with you. Do you have any memories of him taking some time to play with you, or ask about your lessons? Once she passed, not only did he not spend time with you, he dismissed all of your instructors, had all of your personal guard reassigned, and assigned you to maid duties. Keep in mind that the only reason I could stay was because of the blood oath the King and late Queen signed to make me your companion. As long as I do not violate anything in the oath, it remains in effect and were he to get rid of me without a violation, it would also mean his death. He's never once been a benevolent king to either of us. Why would he be one now?"
Damia hadn't considered any of this. Everything Adi mentioned was true, but these were thoughts she fought desperately to forget and she didn't want the reminder now. Thinking about the past always brought her great sorrow, but something was different this time. The sorrow was there, but there was also something else trying to creep up within her. Something dark and sinister was taking hold of her heart the longer she thought of the King's cruelty to them.
She had to distract her mind.
"Fine, we'll just have to be cautious then. Regardless, Prince Elric also mentioned that he'll be overseeing my training with Grandmaster Niklaus. At the very least, I'll acquire the skills I'll need to defend myself in the event of another attack. And..." Damia's smile spread wide across her face, "as my companion, you get to attend with me. Maybe the grandmaster will even teach you a few moves!"
Adi couldn't help but laugh. After seeing her unconscious for three days, it was such a pleasant sight to see her so animated now.
"Yeah, sure. You forget, you're the only one that slacked off in completing your daily responsibilties as a maid. I was diligent in my work daily and during my free time, I would train with the knights and mages. Why else do you think they would let me on the battlefield against the ogres?"
"Adi! Just how many secrets are you keeping from me exactly! Next you'll tell me that Adi isn't even your real name." Damia crossed her arms and started pouting. The friend she had known for all her life suddenly didn't seem as familiar to her.
"Actually, it is... sort of."
Damia's jaw dropped. "What do you mean, 'sort of?'"
"I've never mentioned it to anyone because it's never come up, but Adi is actually short for Adam. The late Queen spoke to me about the name my mother had picked out for me. But calling me Adam wouldn't work for her plans to make me your companion so as far as everyone else was concerned, my name is Adi."
"Adam..." Damia whispered the name and it felt right. Adi was still Adi, but knowing that Adi was also Adam somehow made her feel as though she just needed to get to know a different side of her friend, as opposed to getting to know a different person all together.
"So then, now that I know all of this, do I call you Adi or do I call you Adam?"
Adi laughed. "Just call me Adi. No need to change anything. I'm pretty sure you're the only one that didn't figure it out before now."
Damia's face soured, but she had nothing clever to say. He had won that round.
"Fine, Adiii" adding emphasis to his name. "Everything will stay the same. But all this discussion reminded me of another matter. What came over you when you were speaking with Marquis Xerxes? You told him so much about you... me... it was like you couldn't help yourself."
Scrunching his face, Adi recalled the interaction with the Marquis. He remembered the conversation and he remember feeling compelled to say everything he said, exactly like Damia described.
"I... I don't really know. I had been looking at you and I hadn't regarded him much since he had entered the room, but then he asked about how you didn't know and I faced him that time. As soon as I faced him, is when the flood gates opened. I didn't intend to, but it all just came out."
"That's a problem. Or at least it could become one. No one outside of the castle walls is supposed to know that I've been treated as a maid all this time, but in your discussion with the Marquis, you brought up the fact that I wasn't assigned any guards which would never be the case for a princess. It would be even more unlikely for a powerless princess, which you also mentioned. Since he didn't question you on those matters, maybe the Marquis didn't catch on to what you were saying, but we should prepare a response either way."
"Oh wow, you're right. I didn't even realize I brought any of that up. But now that you mention it, this also makes me wonder if the Marquis' presence played a role in the King deciding to restore our titles. Did the prince mention anything about the restoration having an expiration date?"
"No. He just said that we should resume our roles now that my powers have awakened."
"Well, it would make sense that we be demoted again once the Marquis leaves. Either way, we'll have our titles during his stay which might make him forget I mentioned anything. And since you're staying in Prince Elric's apartments, he won't note your missing guards."
Damia nodded in agreement.
"Alright Adi, I'm all done with this soup now. I think I'll get some rest so we can start our training tomorrow. Will you be waking me up in the morning?"
"Sure. Just keep in mind that I won't be head servant anymore, and as 'companion' I'm not bound by the rules of a lady-in-waiting."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh nothing, just a statement..."
Adi gave Damia a cheeky smile as he took the tray and bowl from her lap and walked out of her room.
"He's up to something, I just know it."
Shifting down in the bed, Damia pulled the covers up to her chin and covered her face with a pillow. "Oh... I'm going to seriously regret asking him to wake me up in the morning, aren't I?"