This choice: Go with Amanda Chamberlain • Go Back...Chapter #80The Princess Who Was, and Would Be, Queen by: rugal b.   "Hopefully Frank's right and his idea to get her out here actually works., you say as you pace around the ballroom-cum-workshop impatiently.
"You need to stop stressing yourself, child," Kali states in a rather soothing tone, "Jonathan is such a natural charmer that I am sure all will go well, even with Frank as the one running him." She snickers a little at that last bit.
You really hope she's right. Frank's idea was simple enough: head out to Hannah's house and try and get her to come here to the Straussler Estate to discuss her and Jordan's relationship and maybe just enjoy a nice, friendly day at his place as perhaps she would need a little bit of relaxation instead of the drama her life has become. According to him if he could get Hannah to come, then her sister would definitely want to tag along as Jonathan has been over to Hannah's before during times where her and Jordan's relationship is going good, and he notices the way Amanda looks at him. A kid with a crush, he had called her.
So at the moment you're leaving things in his hands and hoping he doesn't drop it all which, to be honest, has left you more than a little anxious.
"There is one thing, however, and I can not believe I forgot to mention this," Kali says after a moment.
You turn your attention to her direction, "Forgot to mention what," you snap.
"Ousiarchs are generally tied to personalities," she explains, "Though there are very, very few people in this world who have the right combination of factors needed to tie them to the planets, communicate with them and use their gifts it might not be too far fetched an idea to say that even the less inclined would still gravitate towards certain pairs via their own personalities."
"So what are you saying," you ask, narrowing your eyes.
"Think of when you became Chelsea. It was because you thought she would be a good fit, correct," she says thoughtfully continuing only when you give an affirmative response, "Chelsea is a leader, someone who commands respect. She is also someone able to control the emotions of others, knowing what buttons to push to get the desired response. Were she a more inclined person she would almost certainly have been a candidate for Glundandra and Eldibria."
"I'm still not following you."
Kali smiles and you're not sure if it's a genuine one or one masking frustration with you, "The Stellae find a person's ousiarchs through a horoscope. Remember the one I performed on you when you were impersonating Melody?" You nod and she continues, "There is the possibility that others such as Nash or... Charles," you note the pause there, "might want to test you as well. With a Glundandran that would actually almost be a certainty in order to make sure they are one hundred percent correct. If this Amanda's horoscope does not match the ousiarchs we've presented..."
You finish her thought for her, "Then they'd know something's up, our cover would be blown and we'd have the full weight of the Stellae and maybe the Akshardam and Sages bearing down on us. Fuck, why didn't you mention this earlier," you explode before composing yourself. "We've already decided on this girl, there has to be something we can do," you bite your lip nervously, "Would there be a way to use her imago without integrating her mental imago completely?"
"Come again," asks Kali.
You continue chewing on your lip and pacing, "When I became Chelsea my mental imago and hers combined to become one," you explain, "But think about a mask: when you put it on you're not merging with someone's mental imago. It's there, all around you so that you can use it without being overpowered by it. So what if I found a way to do that, having Amanda's physical and mental imago without merging the mental one with my own? It's there to use, like a mask, but it would still be my-slash-Chelsea's personality running it. Do you think that'd mean the horoscope would still come out as 'correct' without necessarily having to find the right person?"
Kali looks thoughtful, "If you can figure out how to do it that might be a solution."
Decided on your course of action you then head over to the materials stored in the ballroom. You'll need to bring Chelsea back as is and since you'll still be needing her mind yourself you realize that you'll need to make a copy of your own to give the new new Chelsea. You sit down, back against a wall, and darkness comes as you press the band to your forehead.
* * * * *
"Kali, I'm going to need you to pull a bit of double duty here," you say from Jon's, really Frank's, body, "You'll have to get stuff as I need it but I'll also need you to reapply the powder to Hannah whenever she seems to start coming to if you need to. About every twenty to thirty minutes maybe."
She nods and you take take a look at the sprawled forms of Amanda Chamberlain, her sister Hannah and Chelsea Cooper. Frank's plan had been a success, shockingly, and when both girls stepped into the ballroom they were immediately hit with the powder.
Taking another short look, you steel yourself, sit down and concentrate. Amanda's imago goes into a mask and her anima and essentia into bottles leaving only her substantia behind. You then move the necessary pieces around ending with placing your body onto the "operating table and stripping away the physical imago into another mask. Both masks have voodoo dolls inside and you grasp them.
The act of giving yourself Amanda's physical imago is easy so you get that out of the way first. You now bring up both her mental imago and your own. You see how brightly your own imago shines, and proceed to think of her the masks, her own mental imago surrounding or hanging over you like an apple tree whose fruit you can pick at will. You bring it around your own and it wants to merge but you push it back, away from your own mental imago and towards your substantia.
In short order it's clinging to the substantia. As a bonus you add Amanda's essentia your ever growing mix of them; more essentia of course means more golems to control.
You wave your hand and leap from Jon's body back into your own. You wake up and groggily tell Kali to bring Amanda's clothes over, getting dressed as quickly as possible. But did it work? You concentrate, review your thought processes. They seem like the ones you've been having since becoming Chelsea with no further influence. You shift focus a little more and Amanda's memories come to you, including the way she jumped at the chance to see Jonathan's mansion earlier today.
"So did it work," Jon asks, slightly groggy but seemingly not as worn out as previous operations. He's still able to function anyway.
"I think so but should probably check," you say, taken aback at how, well, small and childish your voice sounds. Everything seems bigger really. "Frank, watch over Hannah, powder if she stirs. Kali, give me one of those horoscopes."
They both nod and Kali exits the ballroom, re-entering a few minutes later with a pen and a notepad. "Are you on your Glundandran and Eldibria set," she asks and you confirm that you are. "Alright, remember don't think. Just answer."
The questions fly fast. They start out mundane, asking of friends and family and the like, but eventually take a turn for the bizarre and nonsensical. "Which is a better instrument, a trumpet or a dog," is one. "What weighs more, sound or light," is another. After a few moments these questions end and Kali puts the pen down.
"Well," you ask expectantly.
Kali looks at it, then you, then smiles. "Glundandra and Eldibria. It worked," she states proudly.
You smile back, a smug smile of victory. "Naturally," you state proudly as you flick back a bit of wavy, light brown hair.
You were Will Prescott, an outcast dweeb who stumbled onto a magic book who became an apprentice to a dark magician and managed to outwit two hunters. You were Chelsea Cooper, the most popular person at Westside High. Now with Chelsea and Will as the engine, you are Amanda Chamberlain. You are a Glundandran and an Eldibrian. When you eventually leave with Kali you will be the princess of the Stellae Errantes. In time you will be their queen.  You have the following choice: 1. Continue |
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