The "Lab"—formerly the castle's abandoned root cellar—was hotter than a furnace.
Taylor had been boiling the wall-scrapings (calcium nitrate) with wood ash for six hours. The chemical process required constant heat to trigger the double displacement reaction that would create potassium nitrate.
It also required Taylor to suffer.
"It is... so hot," Taylor panted.
She had shed her heavy noble dress hours ago. Now, she was wearing only a thin, white chemise and her trousers. The chemise, soaked through with sweat, clung to her skin like a second layer, turning translucent in the damp air. It outlined the curve of her waist and the swell of her chest—a fact that was not lost on her assistant.
"My Lady..." Luna whimpered from the corner.
Luna was fanning Taylor with a large palm leaf. But Luna wasn't looking at the fire. She was staring at Taylor's glistening neck, where a single drop of sweat was rolling slowly, agonizingly, down into her cleavage.
"Luna, the temperature," Taylor snapped, wiping her forehead with her arm. "Is it crystallizing?"
"I... I am crystallizing!" Luna squeaked, her face bright red. "I mean... the pot! Yes! White crystals!"
Taylor leaned over the cauldron. The heat flushed her cheeks a deep pink. She grabbed the ladle, her muscles straining, the thin fabric of her shirt stretching tight across her back.
"Perfect," Taylor whispered.
She poured the liquid onto a cooling tray. As it hit the cold metal, white crystals began to form. **Saltpeter.**
"We have the oxidizer," Taylor grinned, turning to Luna.
The movement sent a spray of sweat droplets flying. Luna looked like she had just been blessed by holy water. She swayed on her feet.
"My Lady is so... shiny," Luna murmured, her eyes swirling. "Can I... dry you off?"
"Not yet," Taylor said, unaware of the maid's internal meltdown. "Now, we mix. Grind the charcoal. Grind the sulfur. And pray we don't blow the castle up."
***
[The Mixing Phase]
Grinding black powder was dirty work.
By the time they finished, Taylor looked like a coal miner who had been dipped in oil. Her hands were black, her face was smudged, and her white shirt was now a clinging, grey mess that left very little to the imagination.
"Done," Taylor gasped, dropping the pestle.
On the table sat a small pile of fine, black powder.
"Is that it?" a voice asked from the shadows.
Taylor jumped. **Violet** was sitting on top of a barrel in the corner. She was swinging her legs, eating an apple.
"Violet!" Taylor hissed. "How long have you been there?"
"Long enough to see you bend over," Violet said, taking a crunchy bite. She licked her lips. "You have a very nice shape, Big Sister. Like a vase. A sweaty, dirty vase."
Violet hopped down. She walked over to Taylor. She reached out a finger and wiped a smudge of soot from Taylor's cheek. Then, she put the soot-covered finger in her mouth and sucked it.
"Tastes like fire," Violet whispered, her blue eyes dark and hooded.
"Don't eat the gunpowder, Violet!" Taylor scolded, slapping her hand away. "This is dangerous! It explodes!"
"Explode?" Violet tilted her head. She stepped closer, invading Taylor's personal space. She pressed her chest against Taylor's arm. "Like my heart when I see you?"
"That's arrhythmia," Taylor said, trying to step back, but bumping into the table. "You need a doctor."
"I need a bath," Violet corrected. She looked Taylor up and down, her gaze lingering on the damp fabric clinging to Taylor's thighs. "And so do you. You're filthy."
"I'll help!" Luna shouted, suddenly materializing between them with a bucket of water and a sponge. "I have the sponge! I have the soap! I will purify the Lady!"
"No one is purifying anyone!" Taylor shouted. "We are testing the powder first! To the courtyard!"
***
[The Test]
It was midnight. The courtyard was empty.
Taylor placed a small pinch of the black powder on a flat stone. She didn't want a bomb. She just wanted a sizzle.
"Stand back," Taylor ordered.
Luna and Violet stood behind a stone pillar. Luna was holding Taylor's spare cloak, ready to wrap her up. Violet was just watching, her eyes glowing in the dark.
Taylor lit a match. She dropped it.
*FZZZZT!*
A brilliant flash of white-orange light illuminated the courtyard. A puff of thick, white smoke mushroomed into the air. The smell of sulfur—rotten eggs and hellfire—filled the night.
"It works," Taylor whispered, her face illuminated by the dying sparks.
It burned fast. It burned hot. It was high-quality Black Powder.
"Pretty," Violet cooed, stepping out from the pillar. "Like a firework."
"Like a weapon," Taylor corrected.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the courtyard. The cold night air hit Taylor's damp, sweat-soaked clothes.
"Achoo!"
Taylor sneezed, wrapping her arms around herself. The adrenaline faded, and she realized she was standing outside in winter in a wet, see-through shirt.
"My Lady!" Luna screamed, charging forward with the cloak. "You will catch a cold! Or pneumonia! Or death!"
She wrapped the heavy wool cloak around Taylor, pulling her into a tight embrace. Luna rubbed Taylor's arms vigorously to warm her up.
"You're freezing!" Luna cried. "You're shaking! I must transfer my body heat!"
"That's not medically necessary!" Taylor protested, but she didn't push Luna away. The maid was warm. And soft.
"Let me help," Violet said.
She didn't ask. She just slid under the cloak too.
Now Taylor was a sandwich. Luna on the front, hugging her waist. Violet on the back, wrapping her arms around Taylor's neck and resting her chin on Taylor's shoulder.
"So warm," Violet purred, blowing gently on Taylor's ear. "You smell like gunpowder and lavender. Dangerous."
"I can't... move..." Taylor wheezed. "You guys... are heavy."
"Shh," Violet whispered, her hand drifting dangerously low on Taylor's stomach. "Just let us warm you up. It's for survival."
[System Alert]
[Status: Ecchi Overload]
[Dignity: -50]
[Gunpowder: +100]
From the shadows of the castle wall, high above, a figure watched.
They saw the flash of the explosion. They saw the three girls huddled together under the cloak.
The figure lowered their binoculars (another item that shouldn't exist).
"Gunpowder," the figure whispered. "Clever girl. But can you shoot before I pull the trigger?"
The figure turned away, vanishing into the night.
Down in the courtyard, Taylor finally managed to wiggle free from her sister and maid.
"Okay! That's enough bonding!" Taylor declared, her face burning red. "Bedtime! Everyone to their own beds! Alone!"
"Aww," Luna and Violet said in unison.
Taylor marched back to the castle, clutching the cloak tight. She had the powder. She had the weapon.
But as she walked, she couldn't shake the feeling of Violet's breath on her neck.
*Dangerous,* Violet had said.
Taylor looked at her black-stained hands.
*She has no idea.*
[Ding!]
[Blueprint Unlocked: The Bamboo Grenade]
[Quest Updated: Survive the Festival of Lights]