Gun Princess Royale: Awakening the Princess, Book One

by Albert Ruckholdt

Homeroom ended on the hour, and an electronic chime that sounded throughout the school indicated the commencement of classes.

  I took the neural headset wirelessly docked to my intelli-desk and slipped it on my head, making sure the ends of the headband touched my temples, just behind the sphenoid bone. Once resting comfortably, I powered up the device, and after a minute or so, I felt its effect upon my mind as it became pleasantly clear.

  Able to think better, I realized with cold detachment that Miss Marisol had not glanced at me when I replied to my name during roll-call, yet she had done so for everyone else.

  I wondered what to make of that.

  - IV -

  The neural-aid wasn’t a brainwashing device – as far as anyone in authority or otherwise was willing to admit – but a means to focus attention on the class being taught by inducing brainwaves that kept the mind alert, limiting the likelihood of daydreaming and helping it maintain a steady level of concentration.

  Its effect wasn’t the same on every student. Some were more receptive than others, indicating their minds were more adaptive. The degree of adaptability was one of a number of indicators demonstrating how well and how far the bootstrapping process could be performed upon a developing teenage mind. In other words, the mind’s compliancy would influence whether it could be forcibly bootstrapped to the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, or Delta level.

  Some minds and brains were like rocks, and no matter how you tried to work them they would always be rocks. Others were more like clay, and the quality of that clay helped determine how far they could be bootstrapped. But the question that followed was whether the upgrade would actually hold. That is, was it temporary or permanent? This was because some brains demonstrated not plasticity, but elasticity, and after a while they snapped back into their original shape and improvements through bootstrapping were lost.

  All the students of One-Cee had demonstrated their brains were sufficiently malleable to qualify for the Delta Tier. Some of my classmates had received notice they could move higher to the Gamma Tier. However, it wouldn’t be until the final year of secondary education that we would receive the gifts bestowed upon us by the gods of science.

  - V -

  While wearing the mental pacifier, I lacked the impetus to jump tracks or occupy more than one line of focus in my head. It wasn’t that I couldn’t multi-task while under the influence of the device, but rather that my focus gravitated on the lesson as though it was a black hole and all other considerations were insignificant celestial bodies tossed about in its tidal wake. In other words, my mind simply wasn’t allowed to ‘wander’. Thus I saved ruminating my situation to the interval between classes.

  At Telos Academy, the students rarely changed rooms for the next lecture. It was the teachers that did all the walking. On the occasions we did move about it was usually down to the labs situated on the ground floor for practical lectures on chemistry, physics, and home economics. I really shouldn’t call the home economic kitchens a lab, but in truth, some of what was produced there by the student body – mainly the guys – did warrant further scientific investigation, required good ventilation, a working fire suppression system, and an excellent disposal service as at times it was simply not safe for human consumption.

  So while waiting for the next teacher to arrive, my thoughts fell into a Mobius Strip where they vacillated between jumping and not jumping down the proverbial rabbit hole and crossing the great gender divide.

  I sat at my intelli-desk behind Tobias, and stared out the window to my left, again wishing I’d had a better view of the harbor, but the enormous clubroom building with its avant-garde permaglass façade stood in the way. I could still see the seagulls in the distance far beyond it. And I could picture a dismal outcome if I was caught cross-dressing as a female student. In other words, a fate worse than cosplaying as Silver Blue awaited me. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I was more frightened of not knowing the truth of what transpired last Friday evening, than being caught cross-dressing as a girl.

  It was something I did not believe I could shelve or put aside.

  That said, it didn’t stop me from thinking of alternative approaches to the problem.

  One of those was the idea of confronting Valjean directly, though once again I found it inconceivable that she would know about The Game and my apparent death. Thus, I was convinced Valjean had not left the note and girl school uniform in my shoe locker, and though the smoking gun pointed at the Newspaper Club, I was equally uncommitted to the idea that Irene Casquada was the mastermind. No matter how I approached the problem, the only apparent way to resolve it was to face Anonymous at lunch on the rooftop courtyard.

  - VI -

  When the lunchtime bell sounded, the chimes rang loud enough throughout the Academy’s corridors and classrooms to attract the attention of the students and teachers alike. I finished writing up the notes I was entering in my intelli-desk, and slipped the neural-aid off my head, hanging it away in its docking station beside the desk. Grabbing my carry-bag, I ignored Tobias’ attempt to call out to me, and hurried out of the classroom with the nearest of the boys’ toilets as my destination. However, I stopped after taking a few steps down the corridor and reconsidered my decision. I could get into the bathroom without drawing attention, but once I changed into a girl’s uniform, getting out unscathed would be unlikely.

  I turned around and saw the girls running toward me, including Shirohime. The sight of her stirred faintly resentful feelings that I half-heartedly pushed aside.

  “Damn it, you’re fast,” Felicia complained.

  “I didn’t think I was,” I admitted, then quickly said, “Do you know where I can get changed—?”

  “Without getting assaulted?” Angela completed for me. I nodded and she said, “Follow me.”

  To my surprise, I was led to the girls’ toilets on the ground floor.

  Angela explained, “It’s not used that much compared to those on the floors above. Wait here. I’ll check inside and let you know if the coast is clear.”

  After Felicia and Angela disappeared into the toilet, I was kept company by Shirohime who made no effort to hide her displeasure. Sporting a noticeable sullen pout on her full lips, she stood with her arms crossed under her bust, leaning her back against the wall beside the toilet’s entrance. I chose to wait a few feet away from her for the girls to return, hoping they would be back soon.

  Without preamble, Shirohime released an exasperated sigh and then asked, “So you’re really going through with this?”

  I didn’t feel like answering her so I just shrugged, but was then surprised to see Tobias hurrying toward us. Naturally, Shirohime perked up and wiped the pout off her lips.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked him. “Aren’t you supposed to be having lunch with Valjean?”

  “Huh? No, I wasn’t. I have no plans with her.”

  “Oh, really?”

  Tobias scowled at me. “I came to talk some sense into you.” He pointed at my carry-bag but actually meant the contents inside. “This is nuts. You realize that don’t you?”

  “Maybe I do, but I’m going to learn who ratted me out and….” I trailed away before I could reveal anything about my fears revolving around The Game.

  “Is it really that important to you?” he asked openly.

  “It is.” More—far more—than you can imagine. That’s what I wanted to tell him but I couldn’t.

  Tobias exhaled loudly, and turned to Shirohime who was gazing at him dreamily. “Can’t you do something about this?”

  She blinked and her eyes widened for a heartbeat before she meekly asked, “What would you like me to say?”

  Tobias hesitated, maybe caught off guard by her docile response, and after a moment his shoulders fell without giving her an answer.

  Shirohime took a deep breath, then stepped closer to him until they were barely inches apart. When she spoke, her tone was unexpectedly conciliatory. “I doubt you and I could convince him to
abandon his quest,” she said. “So I’m going to see that he stays clear of trouble as much as possible.”

  Tobias regarded her as though seeing her for the first time. “Why?”

  “Because I’m Class Rep. It’s my duty to do so.” Shirohime smiled faintly yet intimately at him. “As his friend, won’t you do the same?”

  It was an act, it simply had to be, yet it robbed him of his breath.

  I turned away, feeling darkness knife through me. Averting my gaze even further, I squeezed my eyes shut.

  Shirohime had stolen the wind out of his protest, and he whispered in defeat, “This is crazy. This is nuts.”

  Folding my arms tightly about my chest, I whispered to myself, “Thanks for your support,” and opened my eyes abruptly when I heard the toilet door swing open in time to see Felicia and Angela reappear.

  The girls signaled me it was all-clear to enter the toilets.

  Feeling like I was fleeing from Tobias and Shirohime, I hurried after the two girls and walked into the one place a high school boy never should, feeling as though the floor would suddenly open up and swallow me whole for trespassing on forbidden ground. However, after safely traversing the anteroom, I entered a large room with a half dozen toilet stalls to the right, and a row of waist high washbasins to the left, mounted under a mirror that spanned the width of the room and touched the ceiling.

  Having expected her to wait outside with Tobias, I was startled to discover Shirohime had followed me into the toilets, but then I noticed that was she flushed and breathing erratically.

  Angela sounded reluctant when she asked, “Are you all right?”

  Shirohime shook her head weakly. “Not really. I think I’m on fire and my heart won’t slow down.” She started fanning her face with one hand and patting her voluptuous chest with the other.

  I palmed my face, unable to look at her, but Angela spared me with a tap on my shoulder.

  She pointed to a stall. “Quickly. Get changed.” Then she hesitated before asking, “Will you need help?”

  In abrupt discomfit after realizing what she was asking, I quickly assured her, “No, no. I’ll be fine.”

  Angela’s eyebrows rose slightly as though giving me an opportunity to either explain or change my mind.

  I cringed before revealing, “The girls of the Cosplay Club taught me what I needed to know…about dressing up as a girl.”

  Her eyebrows rose a little higher before coming back down. “Oh. I see….”

  Thankfully she made no further comment, and ducking my head while embarrassed, I walked into the stall and then locked the door behind me.

  Why do I keep having to reveal more and more of my embarrassing past?

  Changing out of my clothes was the easy part. Changing into the girl’s uniform was problematic because a nervous tension gripped me, making my hands tremble so much I could barely hold onto the clothes. The dress was a one-piece designed to resemble a pleated orange skirt with a white blouse with its tails hanging out in a triangular pattern. I won’t deny that I found it cute on the girls, especially since the dress followed their slender, shapely contours like a second skin. However, at the prospect of wearing it myself, I started to hyper-ventilate and my legs turned rubbery. With them unable to support my weight, I had to sit down on the toilet seat.

  “This will not do. This will not do at all.”

  Upon hearing the male voice in my ears, the one I believed belonged to the ghost, my heart jumped into my throat in a single bound. However, like an obese Santa Clause stuck in a chimney, my heart found itself wedged and thus cut off my voice. I couldn’t scream or yell out in panic even if I’d wanted to…and I truly wanted to.

  “Calm down, Princess. You’re getting your panties in a bunch.”

  I swallowed, hoping to dislodge the lump in my throat but to no avail. My heart was well and truly trapped there, and I could hear a loud pounding in my ears.

  “Very well, let us see what we can do. Ah, this should help.”

  Oddly, I felt my terror begin to ease down to the norms of an anxiety attack. I could breathe slightly easier, and my heart slipped down my throat and back into my chest, where it still beat madly, but at least it wasn’t choking me anymore.

  “A little more should help, though this is the limit of what is safe to try with that body.”

  Taking long, deep breaths, I felt my heart slowly calm down though my body still trembled and my legs felt watery.

  A knocking on the stall door startled me.

  “Hey, girl. You good in there?” Felicia asked.

  I had to swallow a number of times to clear my throat, and even then I could only croak out a reply. “Ye—yes. I’m almost done.”

  The ghost chuckled. “Well, Princess. Shall we get started?”

  Shiver after shiver ran down my body as cold sweat trickled down my skin. I whispered softly, barely audible to my ears, “Who…what…are you…?”

  “I will explain later. For now, rest assured I am not here to harm you, but to guide you.”

  Feeling a little more composed, and slightly more in control, I frowned weakly. “…guide me…?”

  “Yes, Princess. You see, you and I have a long journey ahead of us. A very important journey and it is my duty to help you along the way.”

  My frown deepened as worry crept into the mix of my emotions. “What journey?”

  “The journey to reclaim what was taken from you as a consequence of your untimely demise.”

  A cold wind blew through me depriving me of heat and strength. “The Game….”

  “Yes, Princess. I indeed refer to your time in The Game.”

  I swallowed and sucked in air. “Did I…did I die?”

  “Yes, my dear. You died.”

  I didn’t notice I was clutching the dress to my bare chest like I would a pillow. “Then…are you…from the Afterlife? Are you like a spirit…or a ghost…or a guardian angel?”

  “Hmm? Oh, no. I am most certainly none of the above.”

  The knocking on the stall door again startled me, and Felicia’s worried voice reached my ears. “Ronin, come on. That’s it—I’m climbing in.”

  “No, I’m fine,” I replied hastily and stood up, surprised to learn my legs could once again support my weight. “I’m fine. Give me a minute or two.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I nodded fervently. “I’m fine. I’m fine.”

  The ghost sounded relieved. “Very good. I see you have regained your determination. Onward march. Tally ho!”

  I arranged the female uniform on the toilet seat, then hurriedly put on the underwear. “I’m not doing this because I want to,” I hissed softly. “But I’m going to find out the truth.” I suddenly realized how obtuse I was being. “Wait…you said I died…that means you know the truth—you know the truth about The Game.”

  The ghost hummed softly in my ears. “I know some of what happened. However, there are elements of the situation that I’m not aware of since I wasn’t directly involved in those events.”

  “Does that mean you have an answer?”

  “I may have an answer. It depends on the question.”

  I frowned while staring at the closed door. “So I should go ahead with this?”

  “The other party may know more than I do. From that point of view, it would wise to continue.” After a pause, the ghost added, “I am curious too. The fact that someone in this academy approached you covertly with knowledge of The Game is intriguing.”

  My frown deepened. “Why is that?”

  “Because nobody in this school should know about it. Unless….”

  “Unless what?”

  “Hmm…there is insufficient data for me to formulate an appropriate theory. To that, please proceed in your venture. I will support you in my capacity as your guide, confidant, and companion.”

  I cocked my head while staring at the door. “My what?”

  “You should hurry. Your companions are growing impatient with concern.”


  I looked down at the underwear in my hands, and then swallowed hard before putting it on. To my sheer dismay, the underwear was both comfortable and fit me well, just as Angela had suspected. Though the bra was heavily padded, there was still some emptiness within the cups because I lacked breasts. Despite appearances, I truly wasn’t a girl.

  “I’m going to be sick,” I muttered while putting on the bra that I quickly hooked up while wearing it backwards, then spun it round before slipping my arms through the straps. “I’m really going to be sick.”

  I wasn’t lying. The nauseous sensation in my stomach was threatening to boil over like an overheated cauldron full of toxic and explosive ingredients that didn’t mix well.

  “I may be able to help,” the ghost remarked, “though I would prefer you managed your emotions on your own.”

  Slipping the dress over my head, I wriggled into it. To my dismay, Angela’s prediction was right on the money. The dress fit me well and felt comfortable at the shoulders, hips, and waist as though it had been tailored for me.

  “This isn’t right,” I complained under my breath. “This isn’t right. This isn’t right.”

  Putting on the white ankle high socks came next, and then I slipped my small feet back into my shoes. Remembering to transfer my phone out of the trousers and into a dress skirt pocket, I bundled up my male uniform, placed it into my carry-bag, then turned around to open the door. However, I froze with my hand on the latch as terror struck me like lightning, turning my body rigid.

  The ghost spoke softly into my ears. “Princess, this is not the be all, end all, of your world.”

  I managed to clear my throat on my fourth attempt but my chest felt like it was wrapped in bands of steel, a clear sign of another imminent panic attack.

  “…easy…for you…to say….”

  “Ronin, come on!” Felicia snapped impatiently. “Stop hiding in there, girl.”

  Then Angela cut in as though pushing Felicia aside. “Ronin, are you all right?”

  A few more breaths granted me the strength to stutter, “I—I coming out!”