Chapter 81: 080 The Doctor’s Last Present

The mood of the room did not permit further engagement in useful discussion after Donovan's cringeworthy monologue, something he very quickly began to regret. He did not get the chance to ask Len about his spear, or more specifically the material that it was made of. Titanyana, the only person he could count on to enforce his training regimen on the others, was now left completely in the dark about the limits he wanted to set up.

It was a classical case of taking a short term gain in exchange for a long term loss.

However, Donovan was not as upset as he probably could have been. Embarrassing though his speech may have been to perform, he had not lied. Additionally, he had some confidence that this fact remained hidden, so he could play it off as a bit of teasing should he be interrogated about it. He had gotten good at maintaining a poker face after all, perhaps a bit too good.

Should Diana have seen through his bluff, revealing his thoughts to her, she would no doubt return the blow with some cheek reddening remark. Diana was the better orator of the two of them, and she had proven far more capable of toying with him. If he was being honest, the fact he had succeeded in his gambit was a surprise to him. Diana was expressive around him, sure, but she could keep a lid on her emotions better than he could, that was her job.

As Len finished his sandwich, face still a light pink, he bid the three remaining at the table a god night before skittering off back to wherever his room was. Titanyana followed soon after, obviously still uncomfortable with what had transpired. Only he and Diana were left in the end, the few bits of food left on her plate illuminated by the gradually dimming candles on the lantern above.

"Are you finished with your dinner?"

Diana's face was still a bright red, though she had moved her hands away after she was certain Titanyana had left. She was averting her eyes from Donovan's persistent gaze, though she was not directing them towards the plate. She was shrinking away from him, trying to curl up into a ball to get the burning sensation of his attention to go away. 

"Y-yeah..." Diana's voice was quiet, with a high pitch. "L-let's go to bed..."

The Barracks staff moved to clear the plates on the table in silence as the two of them got up to leave. Donovan had thought it somewhat inane that Len and Titanyana hadn't bothered taken their stuff over to the kitchen, but this wasn't the sort of military academy he was used to. The quality of the food should have been a pretty good indicator of that.

"Aren't you going to take a bath, Diana?"

"N-no. I-I don't think I'm in need of one at the m-, at the moment..." She bowed her head and grabbed the front of her dress. "C-could you carry me up the stairs? I-I rolled my ankle on my tour of campus today." She lifted it up a bit, and sure enough there was a slight bruise about her foot. 

"I guess you weren't kidding about your bad day, were you?"

Diana shook her head side to side, squeezing Don's hand. "Can we talk about it tonight? A-actually, there's something else I want to do too." She mumbled some more stuff under her breath, a violent red returning to her face.

Donovan decided to pounce on this moment of distraction to do exactly as she asked, if not in the way she wanted. Sweeping her up in a bridal carry, he watched in real time as what little composure she had left crumbled away. For a moment her arms flailed about, unprepared for what was happening, before being brought close to her chest. Her heart was beating like crazy, Don could feel it through her clothes, as she tensed up. Diana looked to him, ashamed of her display.

"...meanie."

- - - - -

Diana was caught up in a whirlwind of emotion and guilt. At this point she was fully aware she had crossed the line from coquettish teasing into full on sexual manipulation. Upon hearing the news that she would not be living in the dormitories, combined with a discovery she had made earlier in the day, her first thought was that she was finally going to have some privacy with Donovan. ARC and Mercedes were nice to be around, and she certainly didn't have much issue sharing her secrets and vulnerabilities with them, but the type of privacy she required meant they couldn't be present.

At least not if she wanted to be somewhat comfortable with her actions.

Diana's grandfather, Doctor Helmsguard, ever the 'thoughtful' and 'insightful' individual, had slipped a few things into her luggage which she hadn't noticed until she cleared it all out. Two envelopes, a little box, and a noticeably larger box.

The envelopes were addressed to her and Donovan respectively. Diana opened her letter once she saw it, when her tea spilled on the ferry and she had to rummage for a replacement outfit. 

- - - - -

- To my sweet little moon goddess - 

There comes a time in almost every father's life when it comes time to give away their daughter's hand in marriage, and while I sadly cannot claim to be the brave and charming bastard that was your father, I feel I can certainly claim to have done a satisfactory job in his place. You are as radiant an angel as your mother and your grandmother before her, and it brings me great pain that I am once again forced to say goodbye.

I curse the heavens for subjecting me to what no man should be forced to go through. Were it just my wife, I could have persevered. I grieved my daughter, your mother, with a broken heart. But to steal my granddaughter from me in my dying days? Prevent me from watching her final spurts of growth as I draw my final breaths? It is only through suffering at its hands that one learns that the universe is callous.

And yet despite being aware of this undesirable trait, I must move on. Reality does not alter its machinations solely because you know it to be unfeeling. I must leave you, not alone, but without the emotional anchor I feel myself to be in your life. In my stead I have supplied you a guardian, a lover, a husband.

You are reading story Dead Star Dockyards at novel35.com

Donovan, for all his flaws, is just as robust and reliable as I am. He is young, and largely ignorant to the ways of the world, though I feel you will have prioritized beating such pleasantries into him. Should you ever find yourself in distress, be it physical, emotional, or mental, trust that you can turn to him to find safety. I have little doubt that should you find yourself in danger, he will rush to your aid.

However I must warn you of the monster I have forced him to become. Should you truly find danger, he will not come to your side a knight in shining armor, but a beast most grotesque and violent. When it comes time to act, he will be calm, calculating, and callous, his priorities focused on completing his objectives in the most effective and efficient manner possible. His easily approachable and jovial personality, the one I have most frequently know him to use, is naught but a façade, a coping mechanism he uses to better blend in with what is seen as acceptable in society. That isn't to say he is without emotions, in fact I firmly believe he will come to love you in the ways you wish for him to, perhaps even more.

This talk of love brings me to the purpose of this letter, a subject I know that neither of you have experience with. Intimate sexual relations with the opposite sex. Let me warn you right now, Diana, the information you have learned from textbooks is different from how reality often plays out. That said, I regret to inform you that it is you who will have to take the lead with intercourse. Donovan is just as pure as the day he left the vat, his knowledge of reproduction purely in the theoretical, so it will be important that you make a good impression on him in that field. This is something you should do as soon as you find the chance to, and I have supplied you with a large number of consumable contraceptive devices so that you may proceed without risking your early stage plans.

I love you, Diana, as every father loves their daughter and every grandfather loves their granddaughter, and I hope that I will forever remain in your heart as you do in mine, but it's time to say goodbye.

Granddaddy dearest - Draco Helmsguard

P . S . - If Donovan ever asks, you are to tell him he has my permission for your hand in marriage. That ceremony seemed to be one he showed genuine interest in, though I do not know if he still retains that spark. In the same vein, those boxes are my final gift to him. Make sure he receives them.

- - - - -

As Diana was carried up the stairs and into the bedroom, she could not help but wonder if Donovan knew more about her plans for the night than she was letting on. His actions seemed to conform to her desires way too well, from the cheesy serenade over dinner (something she positively adored in spite of the embarrassing situation), to his innocent doting on her, to his spontaneous yet entirely appropriate situationally bridal carry.

If Diana didn't know that he was more of a virgin than olive oil, she would have taken him for a playboy. 

"Y-you can put me down now!"

She knew her face betrayed her emotions, and that her stuttering ruined any image of composure that she may have been trying to keep up. 

"I need to change into my pajamas."

Diana justified her little outburst, childish, but endearing.

The very first thing she did upon regaining control was remove her shoes. She wasn't going to clean herself tonight, so she was insecure that sweaty feet might be a turn off to Donovan. Other than that, she disrobed very quickly, quietly slipping on a set of black lingerie before covering it with a thinner than normal nightgown. Silk, imitation though it may be, was what she envisioned as proper attire for 'night time activities'.

Donovan was far more nonchalant about all this. It took him longer to get out of his uniform, sure, but he clearly wasn't intentionally slowing down to savor the moment. Donovan was clueless as to Diana's intentions, even though he may have seemed to have seen right through her earlier. 

Seeing an opportunity, Donovan's back being turned for what would presumably be some amount of time, she got to work making the physical preparations. She slipped the envelope with his name and the pair of smaller boxes onto the bedside table, ever so slightly out of his sight. From the large box left to her in her luggage, she took a few condoms. From now on, she was preparing herself mentally and waiting for the right moment.

She turned around in time to see Donovan's bare back. She hadn't exactly paid much attention to it in recent days, it being something of a frequent sight. But now, contextualized by the act she was about to commit, she couldn't help but notice how broad his shoulders looked. He was far more toned now than when she first saw him lying unconscious on the Oberlux medical bay bed. He was stronger, larger, he was exactly what she wanted.

Subconsciously, she began to throw insults at her grandfather, surely he had manipulated her in some way. He had done it before, but she could never bring herself to hate him for it. In this moment, she was working on instinct. The only thing she could hear was the beating of her heart.

- - - - -

Donovan struggled to take off his pants, his body sore from the beating Titanyana dished out earlier in the day. He understood the fact that there were changes to his body, but soreness after strenuous exercise seemed to be a constant. Now naked save his underpants, he was preparing to put on his sleeping pants when he was suddenly hugged from behind.

The soft, smooth, and delicate textures wrapping around from underneath his arms told him it was Diana, but he had no idea why she was hugging him.

"...that's enough Donny..."

He words were spoken softly, but they raged like a waterfall in Donovan's ears.