Chapter 33: You Raised Me Right

                                    

                                          
Amber, Mavis, Lily, and the two castle guards helped bring the unresponsive Balfort back to his bedroom inside Ladair Castle, with a doctor also being contacted to analyze the vampire lord's condition once he had been safely placed into the bed.
"I'll go alert Theo. Agnes's steward, too," Amber said. "No doubt he'll be in a hurry to bring Agnes over as well. Mavis, can you stay and keep an eye on him until the medic gets here?"
"Yes, Mother," the princess replied. Once Amber had left, the guards looked to Mavis for orders. "You both may go as well," she instructed. "My greatest thanks to you for bringing this to our attention."
Though she kept a collective composure, as soon as her mother and the two troops had exited the room, Mavis's knees buckled underneath her and she threw herself over Balfort's still body, sobbing hysterically and soaking his outfit with the tears, though the result wasn't obvious due to the incredibly dark coloration of the lord's ensemble. Meanwhile, Lily, realizing that this was a matter that solely concerned the royal family—of which she was not a part of—opted to quietly slip away and give Mavis some time alone with her father.
You have to pull through.....you just have to..... Mavis pleaded internally. Please.....I am not ready to do this without you. You have taught me so much, but I still feel unprepared.
As she gripped her father tightly, she flashed back to a few important moments in her past that had led her to become the aspiring leader and peacemaker she currently was. The three core memories which came to her mind had all taken place in the three months between her official transition and Theo's birthday. 
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-Flashback #1-
Balfort breathed a sigh of contentment and pride as he finished preparing the Ladair Castle's dining hall for breakfast alongside his wife. Everyone else was present; himself, Amber, Theo, Agnes's steward, and Agnes herself. There was only one person missing. 
Making his way towards the second-floor stairwell of the keep, he stopped at the base of the stairs and looked upward, addressing his child by her new name. "Oh, Mavis!" he called. "It's time for breakfast!"
This wasn't just any dusk; this was the first night after Mavis's Visage Eve ceremony. In other words, it was her first full night under her new identity; Mavis Ladair, the Crown Princess of the Vermillion Enclave. 
Of course, she had not begun acting as a superhero yet, instead remaining focused solely on benefiting from Balfort's mentorship to prepare for the day she would become the queen. Thus, back then, she still dressed in regular clothes, opting to arrive for breakfast that dusk in a dark, short-sleeved dress and sleek, glossy, black, knee-high boots with laces.
"Good evening, Father," she said happily. "I am proud to say I got a good day's sleep."
"Sounds wonderful. And you are looking good, dear daughter," Balfort greeted endearingly, having been quick to adapt to his child's transformation. "Come.....the others are waiting for you."
He led her into the dining hall, where Amber, Theo, Agnes, and Agnes's steward all looked at Mavis the moment she came in. Of course, everyone opted to celebrate her rather than deride her.....unlike a few undesirable and disapproving families from the human world. 
"Hey, there's our Crown Princess!" Theo cheered. "Proud of you, sis. If this is what makes you happy, I'm behind you 100%!"
"As if you couldn't get any more radiant," Amber complimented. "It warms my heart to see you chasing down your true self."