Maya and Irene were taking a stroll in the dead garden of their home. It was their favourite place to hang out when they were both kids, until they started drifting apart slowly because of their parents.
"What do you want to talk to me about?" Maya asked coldly.
"I just wanted us to talk… as sisters," Irene said.
"Sisters?"
Irene then stopped walking and said,
"Look Maya, I'm really sorry. It wasn't my intention to take your son away from you."
"It wasn't your fault?!!!. If you hadn't been so slow and had given birth on time, would Mother and Father have insisted I give you my son?"
"That was in the past. Once everything is sorted, you'll have your son back."
"Irene, you say it as though it's a very simple thing to do. He grew up with you and regards you as his mother. Then suddenly, I would just show up in his life and announce myself as his mother? It would take time for all that to sink in."
"What do you want me to do?" Irene asked, her voice slowly breaking. She missed the sisterly bond she and Maya once shared.
Maya used her magic and teleported them to the Arrow Room. She took the bow and arrow, aiming at the bullseye.
"There's nothing you can do. Despite being the Queen, you still have to succumb to Dad and Mom's every command. So I'd just advise you to be quick and put my son on the throne. After his coronation as king, we just need his blood. Not much , just 10 drops. Five for Elira, five for Maeron. And after we awaken them, I'm done with this family. I'm going to let my son know who his real mother is. I may not be a good mother, but I truly care about him. And we are all bound to blood by this goal. So if I don't achieve this, there is no way I can be a mother to him."
After Maya had said all that, she released the arrow , and it struck the bullseye, dead center.
"As expected" Irene said in her mind. If there was one weapon apart from magic her sister knew how to use, it was a bow and arrow. She would always catch her target, and she was sure Roshan got that from his mother.
Maya turned to leave when Irene grabbed her hand and asked,
"Can I at least see him?"
"Your lover?" Maya asked knowing well who she was referring to.
Irene nodded her head.
Maya paused.
"Go and ask Mother. She has the keys to where he's locked in the basement."
"Please sister, you and I both know Mother's not going to allow me to see him."
Maya looked deep into Irene's eyes. For a moment, she felt pity for her younger sister.
"Fine. But I'm only giving you one hour. After that, I will teleport you back to my room, and then we go to Duskhelm."
"Thank you very much, sister."
With a wave of Maya's hand, Irene suddenly disappeared, and Maya teleported to her room as well.
Up in the windows of the house, their mother Louise was watching them. She knew Irene wouldn't be able to resist seeing him, but she wasn't worried. Once Maya went to Duskhelm Kingdom with Irene, everything would be ready.
*********
Ellie was back in her kingdom, smiling to herself. She was very happy about the fact that soon, Roshan would belong to her. All she needed to do was wait. Once Aralyn's wedding took place, the spell would begin to take effect , and Roshan would fall madly in love with her.
She was heading to the library to learn, as she did every day. Magic fascinated her, not just how it worked, but how it could be used, shaped, and controlled especially her magic. She had recently asked the servant to buy ten new books from the market, books filled with knowledge, or so the seller claimed. She heard they had already been dropped off in the library.
On her way there, she passed her brother Dorian, locked in sword practice with their father. She gave them a polite greeting and continued on. She assumed her mother was tending to the plants in the garden, as usual.
When Ellie reached the library, she headed straight for the long wooden table stacked with ten books, just as she had requested. Eagerly, she approached them, hands brushing the covers.
"Okay," she murmured. "Which book shall I read first?"
She began picking them up one by one, reading the titles, until her eyes landed on one peculiar volume. The leather was old and cracked, the ink slightly faded. The title read:
"Elira and Maeron: The Great Dread."
Ellie frowned, irritation creeping into her voice.
"What is this?" she said, displeased. "How is this book supposed to help me perfect my magic?"
She almost tossed it aside but decided to flip through the pages instead. Something about the book called to her.
Ellie had always been sharp, intelligent beyond her years. At age five, she already knew most of the realm's legends by heart. And yet… she had never heard of Elira and Maeron. This title didn't show up in any archives, scrolls, or lesson books.
Was this just another fantasy book written for entertainment?
Or was it something else entirely, something hidden, something ancient?
Her fingers lingered on the pages.
She began to read.
Ellie sat down and said, "I could do with a little entertainment at the moment". She then opened the first page and began to read.
"Elira and Maeron were lovers, but their story is a tragic one. Elira is a pure witch from the Darkspire family, while Maeron was part demon, part witch. Elira was once a naive girl. She had magic, but then she couldn't use magic as her own magic failed her. Her parent died in the hand of a rival, but then she didn't know anything about where she came from, as her parents never told her anything. So a woman who had two daughters and was in need of a slave took Elira in and started treating her like a slave and told Elira she should be grateful because if not for her, she might have died. The maltreatment continued until one day she couldn't take it anymore and ran away. While on the street, all hope was lost. She fainted. Meanwhile, Maeron was passing by and he saw her. He noticed the amount of witch energy she had in her, pure, untouched, and he decided to take her to his home and used herbs to treat her. When Elira woke up, she thought she had died, but then she saw Maeron looking at her. "You are awake", he said. "Where am I?" Elira asked. She was scared because Maeron wasn't someone that was handsome. He had scars all over his body, in his face especially, though the scars fit him. He still looked like a beast. "Do not be scared", Maeron assured her. "I'm your new guardian and I will help you learn magic."
"Magic!" Elira muttered. She closed her eyes gritting her teeth and said, "I don't have magic. I'm just a useless witch with no power."
Maeron came closer to her, lifting her chin up.
"Whoever told you that doesn't know what they are saying. In fact, you can be one of the greatest witch ever known."
Elira looked at him. Her eyes could not lie. She was excited. If what he said was true, she would have power.
Power to uncover her origins.
Power to find out why her parents were killed.
Maeron and Elira started practicing magic together, and Maeron discovered Elira had mind magic.
Elira who was reading this book, suddenly understood why this book was bought.
So, this Elira had mind magic. The same as mine. Interesting.
Elira continued reading.
When Elira found out her magic was only mind magic, she was sad. Maeron noticed the change in Elira and asked her why she was sad. Elira didn't hide anything from him and told him the reason.
Maeron laughed at that and told her,
"You don't know anything, Eli," as that was the nickname he usually called her. "Mind magic is one of the strongest magic a witch can have. The ability to read minds, to manipulate minds. You also have psychic ability. Every mind witch has this power. You just have to tap into it and stop thinking small."
Maeron continued to help Elira, and over the time they spent together, they both fell in love with each other.
That even Maeron who saved her, forgot the reason why he did.
He wanted to use her magic to bring dread upon the realm of the mortals because of what they did to his family.
His mother, a half-witch, half-demon, fell in love with a mortal,
A taboo to the demon realm
But she was just so head over heels.
She decided to go to the human realm to stay. Years later of the happy marriage, the humans came one night when no one suspected and put the house on fire. No one was able to escape as it was something that happened suddenly and unexpectedly. His mother, father, and baby sister, he remembered their screams of agony. Only he was able to escape as his mother used her last magic to save him but made him promise to avenge their death. And that was what he planned to do. He planned to avenge their death by causing havoc in the human realm.
He decided to tell Elira the reason why he saved her because he didn't want that to be a bigger issue that would affect them later on. When he confessed to her, Elira told him she knew all along but was it waiting for him to tell her?
Elira promised to help Maeron unleash dread on the human realm. Maeron helped Elira to unravel the mystery surrounding her life but he was only able to find out about the people linked to why her family were killed. The mystery around her origin still remained unknown. Maeron and Elira found out that it was humans who were linked to her parents' mysterious death. So they both had a common enemy, humans. Elira and Maeron both set out on a journey to go to the human realm."
Ellie was too engrossed in the book. She didn't even notice when her mother entered the library.
Lucy called Ellie again for the second time.
"Ellie?"
"Yes, mom," Ellie said.
It felt as though the book hooked her, but she snapped out of it when she felt her mother's presence.
"The tailor and painter are here already."
Oh, Ellie had totally forgotten. The tailor brought the clothes they were going to wear so that the painter would do a family portrait for them, while the tailor was also going to measure them for the clothes they were to wear to Princess Aralyn's marriage, which they had been invited to.
"I will be there soon, mother. I just want to pack this books to my room."
Lucy looked at her daughter and said,
"Alright, don't just take too long. I won't come to call you next time. Instead, I will use my vines to bring you."
"Haha, okay mother."
*******
In Duskhelm Kingdom, Pearl and Paulina were inside Aralyn's room packing all her things. Very soon, their dear Aralyn was going to go to her husband's house and they might not be with her began to sink in.
Pearl then said, "I'm really going to miss Princess if she leaves. I wish I could go with her."
"Me too," Paulina said.
"Can't we ask Princess Aralyn if we can go with her?"
"It's very rare for the servants to leave the castle just because their mistress is leaving. "I don't think you should ask her."
"Okay, but I will pack some of my clothes just in case, you should too. We never know what might happen."
Paulina brought out a box. It was Aralyn's mother that gave it to her, saying when Aralyn was getting married, she should give it to her. Paulina had never opened the box.
"I guess this is the time the late Queen Amanda was talking about." she said in her mind.
"Pearl."
"Yes?"
"I had a vision."
"About what?"
"I had a vision that Princess Aralyn is going to try to escape and she was successful in it, but fell into the wrong hands. I think it's best if she just accepts her fate and gets married, I won't allow her to escape. We must try at all costs, because if she does, it will be a serious problem for her."
"Okay," Pearl said. "We won't allow her to escape."