No, Clara didn’t know about it. Not a single thing about the problems this empire was facing. But there was one thing she understood. Right now, she was one of those who belong in the attuneless population, considering her inability to wield this body’s attribute.“Can I also have those marbles, Neith?” The two girls looked at her like she had said something unbefitting. A rift of confusion danced in their eyes. “Uh, first day jitters. Just like everybody else.” The side of her lips quivered from the forced smile. Holly did mention it was forbidden in the placement exam, but Clara would surely find a way to get past that hurdle.“Neith, can I?” she repeated when no one made a move.It was Neith who was first to recover. “O-Of course, Your Highness. I just happen to have the right one just for you. Although I think you’re strong enough on your own. Just a minute while I get it.”Neith disappeared behind the curtain that was beside the shelf. When she came back, she looked at Clara, her
The sun had kissed the horizon and the sky was tinged with a scarlet pigment. It went down and down until a soft glowing light brushed the atmosphere.Twilight was a foreshadow of the inevitable rising of the sun. And it only reminded Clara of the danger that would chase her even in a completely different identity.“The portals from the north, east, and west had all been checked. No malice was detected,” Maxwell informed first thing he arrived. Prince Alexander, Holly, Maxwell, and Clara were gathered in the academy’s open grass field. Even Willow was summoned from the Groven House. And the growing tension was thick.“And the south?” Alex enquired, a grim expression manifested on his face.“It hasn’t been opened since this morning, but I still checked. And I’m positive there’s no trace of energy from a suspicious entity,” said Maxwell, his stance guarded. He was stiff and very unlike the loud and fluid-as-a-water version of himself.Alex turned around, ever so slowly, taking away Clar
“Witch,” Willow called.“Can you stop calling me a witch? I am not.”Willow released a small wisp of sigh. “The Zephyrian council wouldn’t hold their tongue for too long. It’s only a matter of time before they bombard you with so many questions. How are you going to deal with that?”“Can’t you do something about it, Willow?” She tried to give the air spirit a puppy look even though she knew there wasn’t any soft spot in the Familiar’s heart.“Don’t try that on me. What happened to Princess Ariah isn’t something simple. They’ve been investigating the accident ever since, and now that they know she’s awake, they’ll be extracting answers from you in no time. The king and queen and the council had been generous to give you time when they thought you couldn’t remember.”She sighed. “Then I’ll just keep on pretending not to remember.”“And how long will you keep doing that? For all I know, they’re finding ways to help you remember. A divine healer will be coming from the south to treat you.”
A morning unlike all others.Emi rested under the shade of a mushroom, her bright blue eyes turning their gaze to the palace servants who each carried a harvest basket. If this was like any normal day in the castle, their laughs and jokes would shower the garden as the trees gift them with fruits in delight. Her skin that was naturally green turned blue, expressing her somber mood. And the little fairy’s perky pointed ears drooped to the sides of her head.She closed her eyes, drawing a shaky breath. Even nature had gotten silent this time. Their songs and melody turned into hushes of melancholy.Emi welcomed the cool and damp air, her face in the open and her delicate, transparent wings shivered. She could hear the silent cries of the trees, the flowers’ silent prayers which echoed the same wishes by the people of this kingdom.But when others saw gloom, she saw the world in silver blues. When there was freezing rain kissing the earth and grass, she saw coldness that brought her to a
Maxwell looked at the prince, prompting him to continue. Alex raised an eyebrow in question then he simply shrugged before busying his eyes as if inspecting the whole place.“That’s what the initial investigation reported,” Maxwell answered in the prince’s stead.“And any student from here can actually pull that off?” Clara asked.“Actually, I…” Holly interrupted, wanting to say something. But she stopped herself, biting her lip. “Never mind. You’re probably right.”“Well, since that case is sort of closed... for now, on to a more important topic—the placement exam.” Maxwell nipped over to Holly and pulled her up by the arm from her seat. “Come on, Miss Vanders.”“Hey! Let go of me, twerp.” The pair exited the hall, their pointless bicker drowning behind the double doors.Then, someone’s hand obscured Clara’s view. Looking at its owner, Prince Alexander was looking somewhere else, refusing to face her.“What?” she asked. He whipped his head with a creased forehead, visibly annoyed.“Wh
An impressive two-story A-frame cabin stood alone at the end of a gravel path. It had been built away from the greenhouse, in the middle of a shady pocket of redwoods, so its steep, triangular roof and the vast open lawn in front of it were covered with a blanket of fallen needles. There was a nice grassy patch with some picnic tables, but the main attraction was the cabin itself. More than half of it looked like it was made of glass, all wide, tinted windows, and open sliding doors.Clara, Alex, and Maxwell neared the grounds. Students huddled together in a circle around a huge floating diamond crystal, carved with intricacy and a lot of jagged corners. Bright energy was encased inside, it pulsed as if breathing in air. And in every beat was a wave of gentle push like how the sea wave gently lapped the shore.Next to Clara, a girl squealed. As she squeezed her friend by the shoulder and rambled words in a whisper, Clara traced the girl’s line of sight where she spotted an older man ne
Professor Mabel’s gray hair shone brightly in the sunshine. Indeed she was old and Clara thought she might be weaker. Her age was surplus and people at her age generally began to wither. Wrinkles invaded her face with a few teeth on her mouth. But no, the beauty of her youth was left in wonder. There was something with the way she walked, confident and strong, that made her appear younger than her age.“What’s the point of hitting the diamond crystal? And with that?” Clara asked Alex beside her, she could feel her heart race and her palms grew damp.Alex sighed. “It feels like I’m really showing a new seedling around.” He pointed at the object floating in the center of the lawn, exactly where Professor Rhyb stood. “That huge floating crystal in the middle, it’s actually an energy meter. Each power varies in strength. It always is, depending on the user’s core. And that crystal meter will glow in every power that hits. The amount of glow depends on the intensity of the power; hence, the
Clara knew the sun had gone behind the clouds. She could look up and see it for herself, but she couldn’t. And for some reason, she had to squint her eyes to see through the thick cloud of smoke that covered the lawn. The green grass had mixed with the billows of smoke, turning it into a shade of gray. A hollow ringing noise filled up her ears, and her knees began to tremble.Right after she fired that shot of moon magic, a loud ringing of an explosion resonated. A beastly tremor had knocked them off their feet. The crystal meter crumbled into nothing, not a sliver of sign it had been there.The silence screamed through every crevice it could find, freezing the breath they held in an attempt to digest the scene which unfolded. No one dared to ask a question. All they could ever do at the moment was to gape and purely wonder.Her fingers recovered and found their senses. It twitched and clutched tightly the damp grass below, collecting earth under her nails. Then her whole arms found th