"Do you think that it's worse this time than it was last time?"
"It probably is."
"What are we going to do about this? Last time she was only after me, but now it looks like she's going to go after everyone."
"We just have to be able to resist her approaches."
"And how do you think that's going to play out? It was already extremely hard for me to resist if you guys didn't come banging on the door."
"He's right. We shouldn't deny the fact that we want what the Young Lady is giving us. However, we should be knowledgeable that this is only because of the side effects. Viola would never actively do this on her own volition."
"None of this clearly answers what we should do in the case that we are cornered by Lady Viola."
"Don't give in. No matter what happens. Don't give in. If we can do that, then we can have all we want when this whole ordeal is over."
The guys split up from the front of the car and enter inside so that we can head off to school. Delic gets in the driver seat with Xander next to him in the passenger seat. Michael and Isaac sit on either side of me in the middle row while Alex watches everything from the back. The ride is quiet for the most part aside from the small conversations everyone has about the Winter Festival.
Without warning, I slide my hand over Michael's and Isaac's thighs. I don't turn to look at them, but a smirk does showcase itself. I can feel their thighs tense up from the feathery sensation of my light fingers. They can't move because then I would see them trying to alert the others. They try to act casual to remove my hand, but I just ever so lightly tighten my grip on them which makes them tense up even more.
'I could move my hand closer if you want,' I suggest to the two beside me.
Michael and Isaac give each other a side glance before looking down at my hand that is slowly sliding up their thighs. They can't talk to each other since they aren't linked together, so the two guys can't come up with a plan to stop me.
"Have you been working on the ice sculptures for our class, Lady Viola?" Isaac asks, grabbing my paused hand from his thigh. His face is soaked in sweat from self-control.
"We were so excited that you agreed to help us out," Michael adds, grabbing my other hand forcing a smile to hide his embarrassment.
They think that they're slick trying to distract me with a question so that I would loosen my grip. I'll give them that one since that was pretty smart of them to come up with.
"I can't say that it will be perfect, but I think my ice sculpting skills are now good enough for your class to use without embarrassing myself," I respond innocently, smiling at the two next to me.
'Don't think I'm not aware of what you're doing. I'll stop for now since you manage to free yourself,' I tell Michael and Isaac as they let go of my hands.
With that being said, Michael and Isaac slouch in their seats relieved that they managed to escape one of potentially many death flags for the day.
"Are you going to be getting the script for your class's play today?" Delic asks as he looks through the rearview mirror.
"I'm not really sure. They said that it should be ready sometime soon, so I might get it today or tomorrow," I reply, leaning over the console to prop my head next to Delic and Xander.
"Master, that's dangerous. Can you please sit back in your seat before you get hurt?" Xander requests glancing down at me.
"Fine," I groan as I sit down in my seat crossing my arms.
After another five or six minutes, we make it to the front of the school where Delic always drops us off. Michael exits the car first before holding a hand out to help me get out. I take a step from the car and accidently slip on the edge of the sidewalk. Michael catches me from under my arms as he lifts me up.
"Are you okay, Lady Viola?! Is your ankle hurt?" Michael holds me over one arm as he examines my ankle with his free hand. By this time, we have caught a lot of attention from the students arriving at school since Michael refuses to put me down on the notion that my ankle might be injured.
'Are you fine with all of the attention you're bringing to yourself?' I ask Michael as we walk through the grand hall.
'I'm fine as long as you're safe. I don't mind being stared at since I got a lot of even worse stares back in the Sky District.'
That's right. Michael was convicted of abandoning his partner. Anyone who didn't know what was really going on would avoid and criticize someone like that. I may not be in my right mind, but I am at least aware of my surroundings.
'Since you don't mind, that means I have full liberty to do whatever I want since you can't make a scene at school,' I taunt as I gently graze the tips of my fingers on the back of his neck.
'You can't do much since you know that you can't ruin your image as the Student Council President.' Michael glances up at me with a smug smirk knowing full well that he pulled one over my taunt.
'Hm. Smart kids like you are no fun to tease.'
'I will admit that you did get me this morning during your bath; however, I will be the one to push first if the opportunity arises.'
The kid's cocky. As if he will be able to dominate me. I will be having him kissing my feet by the end of the day.
We didn't have another run in with Nakir this morning like we had been the past two days, so we were able to get to class earlier than usual. That doesn't mean that he didn't see us, though. I was being carried high enough that I could see the end of the grand hall over everyone's head, so there's no way he wasn't able to find me.
"This is where my journey with you ends for the morning, my Lady," Michael jokes as he sets me down at my desk. He kneels down to check my ankle. "It doesn't look like it's broken or sprained. You should be okay to walk on it, but just in case, I will cast my light magic on it."
"Why didn't you do that in the first place?" I ask, staring down at him.
Michael glances up at me with such an innocent look in his eyes. "Then I wouldn't have been able to carry you like Isaac did yesterday."
I sigh in defeat and let Michael continue with his light magic. "Just enough to where it won't affect my day. I don't need you using up an unnecessary amount of your life force for something as small as a bruised ankle."
"I'd give my whole life if that meant that you will be able to live another day, my Lady," Michael responds without looking up from my ankle.
I chuckle a bit until I notice something shaking in the corner of my eye. I look over to find Alex holding Xander back from attacking Michael which makes me laugh even more.
"That should be fine, but if it starts to hurt, don't hesitate to call me over," Michael says standing up from the floor. "We'll see you during lunch like usual?"
"Yes, yes, lunch like usual," Xander replies, shoving Michael out the door. "Isaac, please drag this fallen angel to class before he's late."
Isaac takes Michael's arm and begins walking away while saying his goodbyes. Xander claps his hands together as if he's removing dust from his hands.
"Um, g-good morning to the snow's descendant," one of my male classmates greets trembling a bit. His slightly disheveled blonde hair covers his wandering green eyes.
I turn around in my seat to find the leader of our class's play production standing next to my desk. "Good morning to you, too" I reply with a soft smile. "Is there something that you need?"
The boy begins to hold out a small booklet. "The script for the play is ready, so I thought that I should give you a copy first before the class since you are the main lead."
Taking the booklet, I flip through the first few pages to give the impression that I'm looking over it. The leader of our class comes from a rising family in the theater industry. He has spent a lot of time scriptwriting, so I'm pretty sure that whatever he writes will be satisfactory.
"Thank you for handing me a copy of the script," I say after setting the booklet down. "I'll be sure to work hard to give your script a worthy performance."
A puff of smoke rises from his head. "No- no problem, your eminence. I should be thanking you for accepting the role of the female lead even though you didn't volunteer for it."
"That was to be expected since I was overwhelmingly nominated for the spot," I laugh. "The class did that to ensure that your play would have a lasting impression and garner lots of ticket sales."
"Then, I should take my leave," the boy stammers as he backs away from my desk. He bumps into some of the other classmates before finally making it back to his desk.
"You sure do have a way with words," Xander comments, rocking his chair back and forth.
I turn back around to face the twins. "I have confidence in my classmates' efforts. They have to show their families the results of their studies in and out of home. I'm not worried about anything."
"So what is your role about anyways?" Alex asks as he takes the booklet from my desk.
"It's a combination of Cinderella and Snow White," I begin to explain leaning over Xander's desk. "I'm the poor adopted daughter of a noble family that they took in as a show of charity to boost their image. I sneak out of the house with the help of a fairy godmother the night that a ball in the royal castle was being held. I end up dancing with the seven princes of the kingdom but have to leave before midnight accidentally leaving behind a bracelet that was given to me by the fairy godmother.
"The seven princes who are completely enamored by my character's beauty start a competition to see who would be the first to find me and make me their princess since they are fighting over who would marry my character. Long story short, one of the princes finds me since my character is the only one that could describe the bracelet that she dropped. My character lives happily ever after."
"Well, then it's only right that Alex and I play two of the princes since we are the Young Lady's knight in shining armor," Xander responds with a mischievous smile.
"Oh yeah?" I twist Xander's tie around my palm and jerk him closer to my face. "Try to come find me and win against the other guys who are after me." My glowing sapphire eyes hypnotize Xander's mind. I bring him closer to me until Alex breaks his older brother's concentration by cutting our eye contact using the booklet he still had in his hand.
"My Lady, please remember that we are in school," Alex mentions with a conflicted smile. "You must uphold your image while within the school's walls."
"Tsk." I let go of Xander's tie and sit back in my chair. "You guys really are pushing the 'image' agenda on me," I sigh side glancing at Alex who is fixing his brother's tie.
"We are just doing our job," Alex answers before sitting down in his chair. "You're the one who is trying to step into troubled water. In order to prevent you from going too far, we must be pushy at times."
They can be too serious sometimes. I'm just joking around.
-Do you really think that you're just joking?-
Am I hearing voices again? My head doesn't hurt like last time though.
-Have you ever thought that you aren't joking?-
Who are you?
-Who am I? I am you, of course!-
What do you mean that you are me?
-I might be what you call your deeper consciousness where you store all of your hidden desires.-
So? Why are you popping up in my head now of all times?
-I just had a little help from the aphrodisiacal effects in order to come to the front of your mind.-
Why were the aphrodisiacal effects the things that helped you to the front?
-Because the desires that reside in your deeper consciousness stem from your intense love for the people around you.-
So are you saying that the things that the side effects are making me do is something that I actually want to do with the others?
-Ding! Ding! You catch on fast.-
That's ridiculous. I have never once thought about kissing Xander or Michael before.
-Really? So you're going to deny what you did to Xander a few nights ago? You wanted to kiss Xander to make sure that you were actually awake. Right?-
Well, yeah, I did that. That doesn't mean that I wanted to kiss him out of desire, though.
-Your deeper desire is what made you bring him that close to you before reason took over. The reason for the kiss is what made you stop; however, it wasn't a conscious decision. Deep down, you knew that you wanted to kiss him.-
If that's your reason for Xander, then what about Michael? I haven't even attempted to kiss him.
-So you aren't going to deny the one for Xander? Hm! See how honest you actually are when you're under the aphrodisiacal effects? Well, for Michael, you might have not actively kissed him, but you did accept his hug when he first joined.-
Okay? It was a hug. What did that have to do with his or my love?
-Michael hugged you first to comfort you. You had the option to just stand there or throw him off, but you decided to turn around and embrace him back. That was your deeper desire for affectionate physical contact taking over. Your sadness and tears were what kept you from actually going any further.
-You dragged Michael into the tub with you and wrapped your arms around him in an embracing hug. Your deeper desire in your deeper consciousness was seeping out which made you do that. It remembered what Michael had done to you and what you did to him. It was just taking the next step that would have happened if sadness wasn't in the way.-
I couldn't come up with a way to refute my deeper consciousness's explanations. It all sounded correct.
-Now, can you really say that you're just joking with them?-
Then, what about the others? Are they safe from my aphrodisiacal effects?
-Ha? No way! You have several counts of deeper desire on Delic, so he is definitely not safe. You attacked Alex several times the last time you were affected by the ritual, but the deeper desires weren't strong enough to beat logic and reason. Now that the aphrodisiacal effects are stronger, he is not safe anymore compared to last time. All of the times that you washed and medicated Isaac's back, you may not have loved him wholeheartedly back then, but your deeper desires wanted to embrace him. It wanted to take away his pain in other ways than just bandaging. Compared to the others, Isaac is probably the safest, but that doesn't mean that you aren't aiming for him either.-
So what are you saying that I should do?
-Let your deeper desires take over. You will still have a bit of logic and reason, but just enough to get by without getting in too much trouble. The others will be more than happy to have you shower them in your love and affection.-
No way! I won't pressure them with any of my deeper desires.
-It's not pressure if they are accepting it.-
Out of nowhere, I felt a warmth take over. I look around, but no one is touching me.
What's happening?
-I'm just giving you a little extra push.-