Astrid awoke in the dead of night with burning pain in her chest. She gasped for air as she pushed her blankets off and crawled off of her bed, falling on the floor causing a loud thud. 'Fuck! This body cannot handle this much mana, no wonder she fell into a coma so easily!' Astrid thought as she grabbed her chest and attempted to calm the pain to no avail.
Within a few seconds, maids rushed into the room and called for the guards. They rushed to Astrid and attempted to figure out what was happening. "Hand!" Astrid yelled as she gasped for air. One of the maids offered their hand as she moved Astrid's head into her lap.
Quickly Astrid grabbed hold of her hand and circulated her mana into her. A warm feeling spread in the maid's hand and after a few seconds, Astrid began to catch her breath and the guards entered. She stood up slowly.
"What happened, my lady?" One guard asked.
"Is my father currently asleep?" Astrid asked.
"We sent one of the other maids to get him." One maid said.
"My lady, were you harmed?" A guard asked.
"Stop asking her questions! She is but a child!" A maid yelled.
"Calm down!" Astrid yelled. "I was not attacked or anything like that!" She added with a commanding voice. 'It's been over two thousand years since I have felt that. When your body can no longer contain the mana inside of your body, various things can happen, one of them is a burning sensation and high fever. People often mistake it for being sickly...' Astrid thought.
One of the maids picked up Astrid and placed her on her bed. After a few moments of waiting, Athel arrived in a panic. Upon seeing Astrid sitting calmly, he calmed down.
"Maids, guards, leave." Astrid said. They looked at Athel for orders.
"Do as she says." He said as he walked to her bedside. They left, leaving Astrid and Athel alone. "What happened? Were you attacked?" He asked.
"No, nothing like that." Astrid said.
"Then what happened?" He asked.
"A burning sensation began to swell in my chest and it started to get hard to breathe. I could not yell, so I threw myself off the bed in hopes of calling attention to myself." Astrid explained.
"What happened to the pain?" Athel asked as he began to check her body for swelling.
"I transferred some of my mana into a maid's body." Astrid said.
"How did you-" Athel began asking.
"I read in a book that when you have too much mana in your body, such things could happen, I also read that you could transfer mana with a little bit of focus and physical contact." Astrid interrupted.
"I see. Perhaps it would be best to get you a magic tutor instead of a swordsmanship instructor." Athel said.
"That is a terrible idea. This cannot be solved by simply training my magical control, my body cannot handle the quantity of mana I am producing. I require physical training to strengthen my capacity. This is why the mages who are considered the strongest tend to be in good physical shape." Astrid said.
"I take it you learned that from a book as well." Athel said. Astrid nodded.
"Mana is an energy, if its container is too small or weak and more energy is continuously stuffed into it, the container will begin to break, until eventually, it shatters. If you still cannot understand, think about when you breathe. Your chest expands and if you take in too much air, it feels like your chest is expanding too much and if you were to take in more air, you would burst your insides." Astrid explained.
"I think I understand, what you are saying is, through physical training you can strengthen the container that mana inhabits, yes?" Athel asked. Astrid nodded. "Alright, do you think it will happen again any time soon?" athel asked.
"Well, not within the next week or so, however, having someone or something I can channel mana into whenever would be quite useful." Astrid said.
"Alright, I will look into that, for now, do your best to rest." Athel said as he began to walk to the door. "Goodnight." He said warmly as he left. Astrid laid down and covered up.
'It is strange though. When I entered this body I did not sense very much mana. Perhaps it is because I am used to the average amount of a dragon...' Astrid thought. 'Well, I suppose it is also possible that this body just has an intolerance to mana.' Astrid thought as she turned onto her side and closed her eyes.
In the morning, she had her normal lessons. "Before you leave, I was told to tell you that you will begin your exercise curriculum in three days. Your father seems to be in a rush to get it started." Isaac said.
"I see. Thank you for telling me." Astrid said as she walked to the door.
"And one more thing." Isaac said. Astrid stopped and looked at Isaac. "You will have a physical examination tomorrow, so prepare for that as well." Isaac said. Astrid nodded, then turned around as a maid opened the door.
She ate lunch, then spent her afternoon walking through the garden with Nora. 'It seems my siblings still ignore me.' Astrid thought as a small group of young boys ran past Astrid and Nora, making sure to greet Nora, but ignoring Astrid.
"Are you sure you want to walk through the garden, my lady?" Nora asked.
"Would you look at this exotic flower? It has been taken care of in such an expert way, the pruning has been done masterfully and the flower has properly retained its color for quite some time." Astrid said as she observed an orange flower with five petals
"My lady?" Nora asked. Astrid sighed.
"I have told you previously, have I not? I do not care about what my siblings think of me." Astrid said.
"I know, however, I am worried that it may get to you." Nora said. Astrid sighed.
"The worst that will happen is my anger slips. I wish to raise my standing with them, not because I care about what they think, but because they may hold power in the future, as such, I must ensure they do not think negatively of me." Astrid explained.
"I see. You are quite the forward thinker, my lady." Nora said.
"Well, given my current situation, it is rather necessary." Astrid stated as she continued walking.
"What situation would that be?" Nora asked.
"Oh, sweet Nora, how I love your blissful ignorance." Astrid said as she stopped and turned to face her "Politics are a delicate matter, Nora. If too many people think negatively of me, what happens given my standing and lack of achievements?" Astrid asked.
"Well, I suppose they would try to get rid of you." Nora said.
"Precisely. I wish to prevent that. So, do you understand my current predicament?" Astrid asked.
"But your father would never allow that." Nora said.
"What if he is not around?" Astrid asked. Nora's expression turned dark suddenly.
"I see. So that is what has been on your mind. My apologies for not understanding sooner, my lady." Nora said with a flat tone.
"There is no need to apologize, just try to see a few more variables." Astrid said as she turned around and began walking again.
"Yes, my lady." She said as she followed Astrid. 'It's regrettable that she is forced to grow up so soon... I just want to protect her childhood for a little longer, but I know that is no longer possible...' Nora thought.
The next morning, Astrid was bathed early in the day and dressed in a light dress. Once dressed, she was brought into a room with a counter with various tools on it and a chair. A maid picked up Astrid and sat her in the seat.
A few minutes later, the doctor from when she woke up entered the room. "Hello, Astrid, do you remember me?" He asked. Astrid nodded.
"Yes, you are the doctor who was with my father when I woke up." She said. He nodded.
"Today, we are taking a look at your current health and mana capacity. I was told that you have a good understanding of that, would you like to tell me about it?" He asked.
"No, I would rather get this finished quickly, I have other things I would like to do." Astrid said. The doctor was taken aback for a moment, then cleared his throat.
"Alright, we should be finished in just a few minutes. Is there anything you would like to talk about?" He asked.
"Not at this moment in time, no." Astrid said.
"Well, I guess we should get started." He said. He went through the motions of checking her physical health, then grabbed an orb and a small pedestal. He put the pedestal on the floor, then placed the orb on it.
It is about as tall as Astrid when she is standing. "Alright, for this part, you just have to touch the orb." The doctor said. Astrid promptly stood up and touched the orb. After a few moments, the orb began to glow and increased in intensity over the next few seconds, then faded away.
Once it was back to normal, Astrid took her hand off and the doctor grabbed a piece of parchment, then place it on the orb. After a moment, ink appeared on it given a numerical value to various things. He read the paper.
"Oh my, it is no wonder she passed out so frequently..." He said. He crouched down. "Well, I believe it is time for you to go play." The doctor said with a smile. Astrid walked toward the door and a maid opened it, Astrid promptly left.
The doctor knocked on Athel's study's door. "Come in." He said. The doctor opened the door and entered. "What were the results?" Athel asked as he placed a paper on his desk.
"Fifteen thousand." The doctor said.
"Give me an example of how much that is." Athel said.
"Back when dragons were around, this was the average amount for a young dragon." He said.
"I see. So she does take after her mother in that regard." Athel said. "Well, leave the paper here and keep it a secret." He said as he motioned for the doctor to give him the paper. The doctor promptly handed him the paper, then left. 'I guess I cannot protect her from this game of politics forever... For now, I will focus on raising her, I suppose.' Athel thought.