Rob X Punzel ~ Forty-Two!

As it turned out, all she had to do was wait. 

Soon, a set of palace servants rushed in, carrying not only enough food to be technically qualified as a feast, but tables and a chair for her to sit in that was not a throne. Goldie couldn't be too certain, but they’d seemed at least slightly aghast at her presumption at sitting in the chair that must be for the prince. “Probably think I'm going to be a princess soon, so they’re holding their tongues. That’s a nice little benefit. Huh. Is this what it feels like to have power in this kingdom?”

A thick blanket was draped across her, and Goldie nearly took a swing at the person who had silently moved to wrap her up. Only as her skin rubbed against the incredibly soft material did she pause, slowly settling back into her chair. Soon she had eaten her fill, and still there was no hint that the royal family was making their way over. 

Turning to the guard who had arrived first, the young lady voiced her thoughts aloud for the first time. “Just to make sure I’m reading the situation correctly: no one was supposed to be able to get through that metal door, right? The fact that I did so is probably throwing a wrench into things?”

“I can't imagine why you would think something like that,” the guard replied loudly while simultaneously nodding with large, unmistakable motions. “There's absolutely no reason to think the queen went out of her way to make an unwinnable scenario. Certainly not for her own entertainment or that of the noble spectators.”

Goldie tapped her fingers on the table in front of her, trying to understand what sort of deeper meaning there possibly could be to this situation. “A whole lot of people died even before entering the tower, then there was an eighty-percent failure rate… there's not going to be many women left in the capital, are there?”

She picked up her cup, swirling the liquid inside as she stared into it, “No marriageable partners means lots of frustrated citizens and nobles. That turns into brawls, as I've already seen. Hot-tempered young men join areas where they can fight… is this some kind of backward recruiting effort for the kingdom's military?”

“Certainly not,” the guard replied, though he lifted his hand and seesawed it back and forth to show that he didn't have a good enough understanding to know for sure.

“Well, that's good.” Goldie played along with her new favorite royal guard. “Any idea when I might expect visitors?”

The man straightened, tugging on his uniform before proudly replying, “The royal family will join you when possible. Their schedules are, hopefully understandably, quite complicated. The queen is managing the affairs of state, the prince is undergoing intensive training, and the king is… well, the king has been unwell. Therefore, it is uncertain when all three of them might be able to join together and meet with you.”

Goldie frowned at that information. “Sounds like a fairly typical power play to me, but… you think I'll have time for a bath and a nap?”

“The servants are currently carting a bathtub in here; they will set up privacy curtains in the corner over there.” For the first time, he shifted uncomfortably. “The delay could be… rather significant. I recommend settling in for some intensive relaxation. You've certainly earned it after your efforts in the tower.”

“Eh, can't argue with that.” She had certainly fought tooth and nail, bleeding every step of the way to climb to the pinnacle of the tower. Even if it hadn't been her original goal, she was starting to come around to the idea of being the person in charge for once. Many of the institutions of the capital city could use some careful inspection, and the first thing she would change was the attitude toward charity. “Thanks for the help.”

“Absolutely. Please feel free to ask anything you would like to know, and I will give you the best information available.” This time he nodded along with his words, his words and actions matching up for the first time. “It's important that someone with your newfound status is treated with all due respect and given anything she needs to succeed in the near future.”

“Any chance of some accelerated healing?” She tilted her head hopefully as she waited for an answer, but by the grimace on the guard's face, it wasn't going to be happening anytime soon.

“Unfortunately, most of the healers are tending to those who have been gravely wounded in the towers and failed out of the earliest floors.” His face twitched slightly, as though he were biting back some particularly poignant words as he continued, “on an unrelated note, the alchemist guild has recently placed an embargo on trade in the capital city, though I am uncertain as to the exact details. Unfortunately, that means any stockpiled healing potions must remain as such, unless you were to become more than a princess candidate or we were given permission from the crown.”

Just then, a large claw-footed tub was wheeled in, followed by no less than thirty servants hauling buckets of hot water. Goldie stood and slowly started making her way across the room.

“Thanks for the information. I’d ask more questions, but it looks like I've got a hot date.” She took tiny steps, making it to the tub only after it had been set in place, filled with water, and fully surrounded by the privacy screens. When she arrived, she found two female attendants standing next to the tub, waiting to assist her in climbing into and out of the water. “Good thing I started walking when I did, otherwise I'd be having a cold bath!”

“As you say,” came the demure reply. Goldie rolled her eyes at their lack of response, but she certainly wasn't above allowing them to help her get undressed and settled in the steaming water.

She was literally itching to feel something other than dried blood and sweat on her skin, to the point she nearly drowned as she pushed herself in too eagerly. Only her hair fluffing up around her head and pulling a bubble of air with it allowed her to last long enough for the servants to pull her up into a sitting position after she slid away from them and couldn’t force her body back into position thanks to her broken ribs. Goldie looked at them sheepishly. “That was a little deeper than I thought it would be.”

Steam rose around her, clouding the air with warmth as the heat sank into her bones. Already, the surface of the water was tinged with red, with particles floating away from her and turning the bathwater into a filthy broth. 

The duo of attendants pulled out cloths, oils, and all manner of sweet-smelling shampoos and conditioners. For the next hour, they worked the various products into her skin, from the bottom of her feet to the ends of her immensely long hair. For the first time in days, her hair started growing only at the normal rate, instead of the massively increased volume it managed when she was in stressful situations.

Finally, after the bath had long since become cold, they stepped away and patiently waited for instructions. Goldie was half-asleep by this point, but wasn't yet ready to exit. “I think I'm good here for a few minutes. I'll call you back if I need anything, but I’d appreciate some privacy.”

They curtsied and stepped away without a word, leaving the potential princess to sigh in delight at the first safe privacy she’d been able to enjoy in what seemed like weeks. “Only thing that would make this better is if the water was hot again. But I don't… hmm. Actually…”

Swiping the empty air with her index finger, she began scrolling through the options for modifiers that her various classes and skills provided, pausing when she arrived at Elemental Infusion. “I have a Minimal rank magical fire immunity. How can I express that externally? I certainly don't want to pump magical fire into myself, now do I? I could just use it like I would in combat, but I don’t want to light the entirety of my hair on fire like that. Eh, I’ve got time. Let's see if I can't figure out the Akashic Interface version.”

With the modifier selected, Goldie eventually worked out that she needed to swipe with her middle finger in order to select a sub-list item. From there, she selected the magical fire, and started moving her hand in any way she thought could be considered an outward expression. “Push? No. Other hand, starting as closed, then opening? No.”

After several attempts, the glowing script on her arm faded away, and Goldie realized she had a specific time frame in which she needed to complete each of the motions. Instead of being upset by this fact, she distractedly shifted in place and started again. “Good to know. Now I’ve just got to work out exactly how long that is. If it can be measured, it can be improved, so every little bit of information helps.”

Eventually, Goldie grew annoyed and simply dropped her hand forward with the index and middle finger up, as if she were pointing at something with both fingers. She felt a familiar tingle in her mind, the system attempting to discern if she’d intended to use her skill. Excitedly, she vehemently agreed, and a spark flashed at the tip of her fingers, gathering into a small, seething sphere of twisting flame. 

The plasmatic orb pulsed with a dull, crimson light that seemed to siphon away the surrounding shadows, releasing a dull roar as the air directly adjacent to its surface was consumed. Heat radiated off of it, enough to warm her even through the chilled water of the tub. 

Frankly, she was shocked at how potent the flames were, but after a moment of consideration, it seemed appropriate. “The skill does specifically say it’s an ‘elemental’ version of whatever I'm using. I wonder if that means it is simply a more potent version of what we otherwise use, like a primordial magical flame?”

That didn't seem quite right, but she didn't know enough about magic to know for certain. Letting go of deep thoughts, she instead dragged her fingers downward. To her relief, the flame followed the gesture, until it touched the surface of the water and instantly vaporized the liquid. A wash of heat radiated out, rapidly increasing the temperature of the water. Goldie planned to keep it in place until the bathwater was fully reheated, but to her surprise, the flame winked out only moments later. 

“What the-? Oh. Right, I can only do that for ten seconds per minute.” Even with as little time as the flame and water had been interacting, the massive bath had significantly warmed up. “I'm glad I didn't try using my hair for that; I might’ve accidentally boiled myself alive. Not to mention, that's at Minimal rank… imagine how potent that fire will be if I manage to achieve Perfection with that immunity.”

She reheated the bathtub once more, soaking for a long while before calling the attendants over to help her get out of the iron construct. They dressed her in new clothes–fancy, magical articles befitting a princess of the kingdom. They felt wonderful against her skin, drying her off better than any towel could. “Your bed is ready… princess?” 

“Just Gold—erm. Just R. Punzel for now, thank you.” Her casual tone calmed the wild-eyed servants enough for them to breathe after the unintentional faux pas, but she halted before following after them. “I'll be just a moment; please go ahead.”

Once she was alone, she turned back to the cooling bath water and began quickly swiping at the air, feeling like the conductor of a fancy orchestra as her fingers danced around. A split second after she finished the somatic casting, a ball of magical flame appeared at the tips of her fingers once more, and she aimed it into the tub. “Okay, how do I make this go forward on its own? If I plunge it into the water from above, I'm going to get some nasty steam burns. Let's try…”

She simply pushed forward as if to drive her fingers into a target, and the ball of flame moved with her, continuing on even after she pulled back. Goldie watched it move slowly through the air, only after a full second and a half of hang time sliding slowly into the surface of the sludge she had left in the tub.

Kkssss! The water, remnants of the hygiene products, and remainder of the filth in the tub popped and hissed until the ball was fully submerged. A huge pillar of steam roiled into the air, and Goldie looked on, entranced by the actual magic she was performing—magic that didn't technically rely on her hair anymore.

“Next step is figuring out how to use the powers my magical items have in them.” She stepped away from the tub, ignoring the maids' concerned glances as she exited the privacy curtains. A bright smile lingered on her face as she recalled the missed opportunities she’d faced simply because she lacked combat skills. “Joke's on them now, isn't it? Not only will I become the princess soon, but I'll also be able to use any magic out there as if it's my own. Well… with a little more practice, that is...”

After having the serving staff remove the mattress from the bed frame they had hauled in—so she didn’t need to further abuse her broken ribs by actually climbing—Goldie slid into the bed and pulled her blanket over her head to look at the notification waiting for her.

Skill increase! Akashic Interface [Level 2 (Limited) → Level 3 (Rudimentary)]!

Requirement to advance to level 4: Activate the magical effects of an Artifact to have it fulfill the Artifact’s intended purpose 10 times. 0/10.

“Mmm.” Goldie sleepily thought over the requirement, already starting to drift away as she sank into the mattress. “I'm guessing if I use a sword’s magic, I need to use it to fell an enemy. I wonder if there's anything out there that just wants me to use it to help people fall asleep. Magical pillow? You know what, I bet princesses get magical pillows. Yeah.”

Then her eyes fully closed, and she slipped into her dreams.