I clenched one fist, running the fingers of my other hand through my hair, teasing at the strands in a desperate attempt to keep myself calm. To keep myself thinking. To keep planning. There had to be a way out of this.
Except I wasn’t even sure what ‘this’ I should focus on getting out of first! ‘This’ body? It wasn’t mine - it should have felt off. Too small, too thin, too delicate to fit me. I was a man trapped in a form three sizes too small, and the fact that it didn’t feel off at all only made me worry more. Maybe the demon had messed with my mind, or something…
Then there was ‘this’ world. A world I had written. A world I had created - or not, according to the demon, but if the details were close enough then I wasn’t sure it really mattered. It was a world I knew like the back of my hand… is what I wished I could say. In truth, I’d never actually done a deep dive into the geopolitics. I’d never even bothered to create a proper map of the kingdom the story took place in, let alone the ones surrounding it, or the world as a whole. All I really knew about it was that it was a land of magic and monsters, where the lucky few could be born with powers beyond even the command of magic the nobility were known for.
I had no idea how I could possibly deal with the ‘wrong body’ or ‘world’ issue, short of summoning a demon of my own. Something I wasn’t even sure how to do, short of reverse engineering Amelia’s work, and considering how those efforts went for her… Yeah, no.
Which left ‘this’ situation - the circumstances I’d written myself into. Amelia had pissed off everyone of any importance, turned what was meant to be one of the sweetest girls in the world against her through repeated bullying and even assassination, and even lost the support of her own father… and tomorrow, I was going to be arrested, thrown in prison, and eventually executed.
An obvious issue I needed to get out of. Except I had no idea how - I mean, the inability to escape was exactly what drove Amelia into making a literal deal with the devil in the first place!
…Well, that and my bad writing, maybe. If I’d just come up with something - anything - other than demon summoning, I wouldn’t have been dragged into this mess to begin with!
“Ugh…” I took a deep breath, twisting the ends of my hair about my fingers and trying hard to calm down.
Then I paused. “Wasn’t… playing with her hair one of Amelia’s tendencies…?” It certainly hadn’t been one of mine. I hadn’t even had hair long enough to play with, in my own body, considering it had been… Well, male. Masculine, even. With short hair, and pecs, and no tits, and… Why was I so at home in Amelia’s body? Why didn’t it feel more wrong? Was it a result of whatever magic the demon had done to me to put me in this form?
“I… I need to get out of here,” I decided, heading towards the stairs and out of the basement. Up above was the ‘room’ I’d been assigned at the academy - though, really, it was more like a house all of my own, staffed by my one and only loyal maid Clara.
The maid who was currently standing at the top of the stairs, with a candle in hand.
“Mistress?” she asked, her worry written across her brow. “Are you alright?”
“Of course I am,” I replied, stiffening my back and speaking as haughtily as I could manage. I… I couldn't afford to be caught out here. Clara was loyal, but she was loyal to Amelia - the real Amelia, not her creator. If she found out I was a fraud, there was no telling what she’d do.
“Glad to hear, Mistress,” Clara said, nodding.
I wanted to snort, to dismiss it as a lie, but… it wasn’t. I didn’t know how I could tell, but she actually was glad that I was fine. Or glad that Amelia was fine, at the very least… hard to believe, considering Amelia’s true nature, but there it was.
“I need to go for a walk,” I said, instead.
“I’ll prepare our winter outfits, Mistress,” Clara replied, curtsying.
I held up a hand to stop her before she could rush off. “No need! I’ll… I’ll be fine on my own.”
“Then at least let me prepare your winter outfit, Mistress,” Clara replied, wringing her hands.
I glared at her, and she took half a step back before straightening her spine. “Please, Mistress. If I don’t, you’ll catch a cold.”
“...Fine,” I muttered, turning my head away from her. I didn’t want her to see my expression. I was afraid the guilt would be written too clearly across my face. All this concern, all this warmth - it wasn’t for me. It was for Amelia. Amelia, whose soul had been stolen away by a demon and stuffed who knows where…
“Of course, Mistress,” Clara replied, unaware of my thoughts as she scurried off. I waited until I heard her going up the stairs before making for the door myself, opening it up and slipping outside.
The longer I remained, the more chances Clara would have to see through me. It was better I get on with my escape, rather than be suffocated by her misplaced worries.
Unfortunately, I soon realized I had no idea where I was going. I’d never bothered to make up a map of the academy, after all, and the place was huge - big enough to give the daughter of a duke her own villa. Not to mention the arrangements made for the prince, or even the lesser nobility.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have ditched the road leading out from my estate? But it was all but certain that the roads were being watched. The prince had plenty of evidence on his side - not to mention the king, and even Amelia’s own father. Quite frankly, the only reason Amelia wasn’t already arrested was because of her magic. Everybody knew that shadow magic was stronger in the dark. They were waiting for daylight.
Unfortunately, Amelia spent all her mana during the demon summoning ritual, and it would take time for me to get it back. Not that I even knew how to use it properly… I hoped it would be instinctual, but I’d never really detailed the magic system either.
I was starting to notice a pattern with that, actually… From an outside perspective, it probably felt like I’d just half-assed the book, but honestly that sort of thing just wasn’t what I was good at. In fact, I wasn’t sure there was any part of writing I was particularly ‘good’ at but so far I’d managed to gather an audience just by throwing words at a page as best I could.
Usually, that felt like enough. Right now, lost in an academy of my own making? I felt like a fraud.
That feeling lingered, even as I walked aimlessly through the academy grounds. Somehow, no matter how far I walked, I didn’t come across another road. Maybe I was just walking around in circles, never knowing it thanks to the dark.
That, or I’d fallen into some sort of trap…
“I know you’re out there!” I called out on a hunch.
“Really?” a voice answered, sounding doubtful. “Because you’re pretty unguarded, Lady Amelia…”
“Bridgette!?” I demanded, spinning around to face the voice. “So you’re the one who’s been making me walk in circles!”
“....No?” A strong wind blew past me, forcing me to close my eyes. When I opened them, I found a girl came into view. A blonde, with short cropped hair tucked into a metal helm. Despite armoring her extremities in metal gauntlets, bracers, greaves and sabatons, her torso was covered by nothing more than simple leather. She was a knight in training, learning how to better use her powers to serve the crown here at the royal academy.
“I don’t think I can even do that?”
Not a lie - not that I needed my strange powers to confirm it. I’d written Bridgette, after all. She focused on wind magic, not illusions.
“So… I wasn’t walking in circles?”
“No, you were. It was kinda funny to watch. Have you never been outside by yourself, Lady Amelia?”
“I’m… used to more light at night,” I muttered, unable to muster a polite smile for the girl who’d likely been tasked to watch me. “How is it that you were even able to track me at any distance?”
“With a night vision potion, of course!” Bridgette replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m surprised you didn’t take one yourself, Lady Amelia. Even if you don’t have any in stock, they’re not that difficult to make!”
“Says the natural-born genius,” I muttered under my breath.
That’s right. Those were the specs I’d given her. Though easily mistaken for an idiot, she was actually a natural talent capable of mastering pretty much anything she tried. From alchemy to magic, she never failed to master whatever managed to catch her eye - but, by contrast, if a thing failed to interest her she’d never learn it no matter what.
“You know I can hear you, right?” Bridgette asked, tilting her head to the side. “Like, really easily! My wind magic brings me whispers all the time.”
“...Right…” I’d written that, too, hadn’t I? It wasn’t even something she could control if memory served. “Well. Is there anything you need me from me, Miss Bridgette?”
“Oh, hey, you went back to calling me Miss!” Bridgette pointed out. “Like you usually do… Huh. Funny that I didn’t even notice you weren’t doing it before. Usually hearing someone like you be so casual with me would totally creep me out!”
“Yes, well, if you’re so creeped out by me, perhaps it would pay for you to leave?” I suggested, doing my best to imitate Amelia’s way of speaking. It was easier than I thought it would be - but then, I’d written quite a bit of dialogue for her, hadn’t I? Indeed, it felt somehow right to speak as she did. Better to speak like a refined lady in her college years than a random thirty something dude.
“No can do, Lady Amelia. The prince himself asked me to keep an eye on you and keep you from getting into trouble!”
“Keep me out of trouble?” I demanded, crossing my arms in front of my chest. Which was a whole thing, actually, with big boobs now in the way, but I tried not to think about that. “Or keep me from escaping?”
“I don’t know what you mean, Lady Amelia!” Bridgette replied. “Escape from what?”
I opened my mouth to retort, only to pause. She was telling the truth. She didn’t know anything about me escaping… Had they not told her the plan? Or was the idiot just not good enough at picking up on subtext? I mean, obviously keeping me out of trouble was just an excuse, but…
“If you insist on keeping me out of trouble, then you can join me,” I declared, trying to sound as imperious as possible. As if this was already set in stone by the heavens above, and I was merely affirming it for mortal ears. “I want to rent a carriage.”
“Rent a carriage?” Bridgette asked. “For when?”
“For tonight,” I replied. “Right now. I want to see the nearest town.”
“You want to go out on the town?” Bridgette asked. “On a school night?”
“We’re academy students, are we not?” I reminded her. “Certainly we’re old enough to do simple things like this, school night or no. And besides, don’t you want to get into a little trouble now and again?”
“But my job is to keep you out of trouble!” she pointed out.
“Then you better keep close to me, don’t you think?” I replied, a forced smile on my lips.
This wasn’t going to work.
There was no way this was going to work.
It was so stupid an idea, only a writer like me could come up with it…
Yet wasn’t Bridgette too a character I’d come up with? Regardless of what the demon had to say on the matter…
Maybe that’s why, after a brief hesitation, Bridgette nodded.
“Great!” I replied, grabbing her gauntleted hand before she could object, and pulling her off in a random direction. “Onward to adventure, then!”
“The carriages are the other way!” Bridgette protested.
“Then lead the way!” I replied, giving her my best scornful look.
It was best to stay in character as Amelia for the moment, after all. Which meant never, ever admitting to a mistake.
Thankfully, Bridgette merely frowned at my slip-up before beginning to lead me in the proper direction.
Perfect. Step one of my plan was almost complete. Now I just needed to finalize my escape… and, of course, figure out how to ditch the tag along.