The black blood of the creature coated her white leather as she violently pulled her golden dagger out of the beast’s mouth, its body collapsing onto the cobblestone. Aurelia quickly climbed down the ladder of the guard post, her heart attempting to calm from the adrenaline of the moments before.
She stopped as she turned to face the wreckage, her eyes widening as the reality of the attack sunk in. The main square looked like the setting of a massacre – the monster’s tail had caused damage to almost every shop along the main square, its blood staining the beautiful pale stone that Calathis was made of.
Aurelia turned towards the Calathis gate, a large gaping hole protruding from the stone.
“How on earth did it get here?” Aurelia asked Clodovea as she ran to the warrior, surveying the scene around her. She looked down and winced at the beautiful golden dress she had been wearing. From both healing Calandra and the wreckage that now pooled in the square, her dress now faded to black, stained by the night’s events.
Clodovea shook her head grimly. “I have no idea.” Her gaze returned to the empty guardspost, her eyes filled with sadness from the loss of two of her warriors.
Had it known that most of the city would be at the castle tonight?
“I think that’s a question I should be asking you.” A voice said coldly behind her. Aurelia froze at the familiar voice and reluctantly turned to face her grandmother.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Elowyn hissed as more Royal Guards appeared, magically traveling through light like Rehema had always talked about as advanced solar magic. They surrounded the scene, quickly spreading outwards to begin to heal the wounded. “You could have been killed.”
Clodovea stepped forward and shook her head. “No, your Majesty.” She looked proudly towards Aurelia. “There weren’t enough guards down here to fight a thing of that size. She went up to the guards post and shot an arrow through its head. Without her, we wouldn’t have been able to hold it off.”
Elowyn’s gaze panned back to Aurelia, blazing anger still within them. “We will talk about this later. Dinvera,” She turned towards the warrior next to her, Elowyn’s voice as cold as ice, “Take her up to the castle. Now.”
Dinevra stepped forward and bowed before her queen, undeterred by her anger. “Yes, your Majesty. Come now, Aurelia.” She lightly took Aurelia’s arm, moving her away from Elowyn and back towards the castle.
Aurelia paused, turning back to look at the two friends she had made. Brina, her champagne dress stained entirely by the creature’s blood, held Calandra up, still pale and covered in blood, her body still weak from the attack. They stood unwavering as they observed the scene. Aurelia’s heart cracked at the sight of them, and she pulled out of Dinevra’s arms, walking quickly towards the two of them.
Calandra’s eyes widened as Aurelia approached them, no longer unaware of her identity as the princess of Calathis.
Gingerly, Aurelia stepped in front of them, clasping her hands as she ignored Dinevra’s protests. "Do you have anywhere else to go?” Aurelia asked gently.
Brina looked hesitantly down at Calandra’s head upon her shoulder, pausing before she shook her head. “We are from a village far in the country,” She replied gently.
“Why don’t you come with me?” Aurelia offered, raising her hand towards them. “For rest, food, and a warm bath. It will do you wonders.” Her voice faltered, hesitating as the two women considered her offer.
Calandra looked to Brina for a moment before she nodded eagerly, a smile warming her pale, worn expression. “Yes. That would be lovely. Thank you.”
“Very well,” Aurelia said, a smile forming on her face. “Come with us.”
She returned to Dinevra with the pair of them in tow, turning back to her grandmother to wave farewell.
She watched as Elowyn turned towards the rest of the Royal Guards and began discussing in more detail what had happened. Grimly, she nodded her head towards Clodovea and Aurelia just barely heard her murmur, “It’s time to call the Council.”
“Who is the Council?” Aurelia asked Dinevra as they climbed the steep staircase to the castle, Brina and Calandra behind them. They moved slowly, and every odd sound made the four of them jump, their nerves frayed from the events that had happened.
Dinevra paused for a moment, continuing to climb the stairs, before finally answering, “The Council is a way of peacekeeping on the Continent. Each kingdom has both their king and queen sworn in when they ascend the throne. All decisions regarding anything more than one’s kingdom, must consult with the Council and all parties must agree upon it. Think of it as a balance of power. It keeps people in line.”
“Hmm,” Aurelia responded as she pondered Dinevra’s words, her heart heavy from all that had transpired.
The group of them remained quiet once they arrived at the castle doors and began the trek to Aurelia’s bedroom. If her grandmother was meeting with the other kingdoms regarding Damaris, it couldn’t mean anything good. War without magic was gruesome. She could only imagine what war would be like with magic at everyone’s disposal.
“Your room, my ladies,” Dinevra announced to the three of them once they crossed the bridge to Aurelia’s tower, opening the door for them to enter. “I will bid you goodnight.”
“Thank you, Dinevra,” Aurelia said softly, and nodded her thanks as she shut the door behind them. Immediately, Aurelia went to turn the lock to give herself a small bit of peace, though it would do little to hold off anything with magic.
“Here,” Aurelia said gently, turning to her two guests, leading Calandra to the bathing room. “Run a bath. We’ll see about getting you a healer in the morning.” Aurelia quickly went to her closet and pulled out a few nightgowns for her new guests.
Calandra smiled gratefully, taking one of the nightgowns from Aurelia’s hands. “Thank you.” She turned towards the bath but paused, spinning around to face Aurelia once more. “Whatever magic you conjured saved me.” She whispered softly, her eyes filling with tears. “Thank you.” She suddenly embraced Aurelia, squeezing her tightly, before just as quickly letting her go, disappearing into the bathing room.
Brina and Aurelia settled on the floor, their clothes much too dirty and torn to lay on the bed while waiting for her. Aurelia’s smile faded as the reality of the day hit her, emitting a deep sigh.
“Brina...” She said softly. “Where did you learn to fight like you did today?”
Brina’s lips perked up into a smile. “I’m actually training to become a warrior. Well, training myself to be inducted into the warrior training program at the castle, anyway. Calandra and I are from a small village north of here, and it was always our dream as children to come here to study – her magic, me as a warrior. We visit as often as we can afford.”
“You taught yourself?” Aurelia asked incredulously, looking over at the woman lying next to her. She would’ve never guessed – Brina had looked so powerful, so fearless, and was at least as talented as the trained warriors of the Calathian Royal Guard.
Brina shrugged. “More or less. My elder brothers were never particularly kind, either.”
Aurelia sighed again, biting her lip as they stared up at her ceiling from the bedroom floor as the weight of the day hit them.
“The way I felt today...I don’t want to feel like it ever again.” Aurelia said gently, her voice melting into the quiet that enveloped them. There was no doubt in her mind that without her saviors, she would’ve been dead. The fear she had felt had never completely gone away – slowly it gnawed at her, fraying her nerves, eating her alive.
Brina frowned. “Like what?”
Aurelia fell silent for a moment. “Hopeless.”
“Why are you—“
“ I’m defenseless.” Aurelia answered immediately. “And I absolutely despise that.” Aurelia turned on her side, meeting Brina’s gaze. “You must teach me. Everything you know. And then the three of us, we must train more, under Clodovea and Rehema. Together, we will never be unprepared for what will come.” Aurelia went silent for a moment, her mind returning to the words her grandmother left unspoken. “No matter what might come.”
“We must what?” Calandra asked softly, her voice soft and velvety as she stood in the doorway. Her golden locks hung to her waist in wet curls, donned in one of Aurelia’s nightgowns.
“Become strong,” Aurelia said, turning to Calandra. “Train and learn from the best. It does not take a mind reader to realize that the worst is yet to come. We must be ready for it.”
Calandra nodded, her eyes heavy from exhaustion. “Very well.”
Brina shrugged as she stood to take her turn in the bathroom. “I would never pass up an opportunity to work under such masters of magic and swordcraft.” She shut the door, refilling the bathtub once more.
Calandra gingerly made her way to the bed. “Do you mind if we share?” She asked gently. “I don’t want to be alone.”
“Not at all,” Aurelia whispered. “Not at all.”
After they had washed away all of the blood and dirt from the night, the three of them blissfully fell asleep, side by side.
The next morning, Aurelia began what had become her daily routine with two girls in tow. She had never had sisters, but she imagined that if she would have, it would’ve been just like this.
Aurelia found that she loved every moment of it. Brina and Calandra had jumped at the opportunity to stay in Calathis to improve their magic and battle craft, their lifelong dream to live in the city of their kingdom, and as such, Aurelia was no longer alone in her quest for power in battle and magic.
Despite the dark cloud that had formed above Calathis, everyone welcomed the two newcomers with open arms, a warm distraction from the uncertain days ahead.
Aurelia found herself busier than ever, the need for stronger knowledge and craft growing every passing day. Every moment of stillness she found the fear of her weakness sitting on her shoulders like heavy weights, and thus in every free moment, she dove into more books, learning all she could muster of the Continent.
Battle training moved to practicing weaponry and drastically increasing strength and endurance training, the three women fighting with a renewed sense of purpose. Aurelia, Brina, and Calandra found themselves spending hours fencing each other and throwing daggers at moving targets, after running up and down the Calathis mountaintop until Clodovea finally said they could stop. It was no longer a question of if, but when danger would surround them once more.
That afternoon, the three of them spent hours practicing using solar magic to heal and to teleport from one place to another at the speed of light. Rehema no longer filled her lessons with jokes and ease, but instead emphasized the seriousness that now blanketed every conversation after the village attack. She was no longer dressed to perfection with her classic curled hair, but instead dark circles lined underneath her eyes, her hair pulled back in a small bun at the nape of her neck. Though Aurelia would never comment on it, she couldn’t help but notice the toll the attacks were taking on the kingdom.
By the time they finished, the farthest any of them could teleport was about ten feet, but it was teleportation nonetheless. Solar magic teleportation had limits, and thus an individual could only teleport in tandem with the strength of their magic, but it was something they could grow with practice. In the coming days, Rehema had announced grimly, they would begin learning how to wield fire as an undefeatable weapon.
After Rehema announced the end of their lesson for the day, the girls made their way to the library and settled into a group of armchairs near the windows.
Brina yawned. “I think I’m ready for a nap,”
Calandra nodded in agreement, resting her head on Brina’s shoulder.
Aurelia turned to pick up a book that she had left the day before, her heart heavy from the evening before, unable to think of anything but the terror of the creatures of Damaris. She inwardly sighed, overwhelmed from everything that was left to discover and all the questions that remained unanswered. The attacks would keep coming, and as far as she could tell, no one had a solution to stop the monsters of the night.
Nesrin bustled in moments later, visibly stressed. “I’m so sorry, Aurelia,” She said as she caught her breath. “It’s lovely to meet you both, Brina and Calandra, but I won’t be able to work with you today. Queen Elowyn has called an emergency advisory meeting—“
“It has to do with the attack, doesn’t it?” Aurelia asked, her eyes wide. “Did they find out? What happened?” She persisted with her questions despite Nesrin’s hesitation, desperate for more information than the small pieces she was given.
Nesrin gave Aurelia a knowing look. “You know your grandmother doesn’t want you to worry about that—“
“Which is extremely stupid,” Aurelia finished.
Nesrin shrugged, sighing deeply. “Right now, the priority for you is practicing and improving your magic.”
She looked over to Brina and Calandra. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She began making her way to the library doors, but paused and turned back. “Use this time wisely,” She called before the doors shut behind her.
Calandra’s eyebrows furrowed at Nesrin’s words, biting her lip.
“You know, Aurelia,” She began as she popped onto her feet, beginning to browse the shelves. “We don’t have to be at the advisory meeting to get the information we are looking for.”
Aurelia raised her eyebrows, pushing away the frustration that remained from her grandmother blocking her out. “What do you propose?”
Calandra began climbing one of the ladders up the shelves of books. “We need to learn more about how Damaris is doing this, right? Then we need to find everything we can about lunar magic – and not just what people say. My parents refused to talk about their magic when I was a child. There’s got to be something that we’re all missing.”
Brina pulled a leftover piece of bread from lunch to munch and nodded her agreement.
Aurelia stood and followed Calandra, climbing a shelf on the opposite side. Together the three of them began poring over the shelves and shelves of books, eager to find another hidden copy like what Aurelia had found over the history of Damaris. It made no sense that the creatures had suddenly been able to work through the powerful enchantments that protected the city. There had to be something about lunar magic that they were missing – and that they had to prepare for.
“Well, there’s a general History of Magic here,” Brina called from the far side of the room.
Calandra winced from her position high up on one of the ladders. “I’m not sure that will have all we are looking for....”
“Well....there’s a small book over here....Damaris: A Kingdom of Moonlight?” Aurelia offered.
Calandra sighed. “Those will just have to do. For now.”
They quickly gathered back around the armchairs, skimming whatever information they could find. “Here.” Aurelia pointed her finger towards one line in the book. “Lunar magic is the form of magic based around the moon – which includes blood magic.”
“Blood magic,” Brina said grimly. “Some of the most gruesome magic I’ve ever heard of. A sacrifice of blood must be paid for every enchantment – usually very deadly and the most gruesome of spells.”
Aurelia frowned, trying to make sense of their words. “Is that how he’s created these creatures?”
Calandra shook her head. “Even blood magic has its limits. These creatures are a phenomenon...but it is definitely a form of lunar magic. The creatures only attack when the sun fades.”
The three continued to browse through any books they could find with even a sentence regarding lunar magic for hours to no avail, everything else in the books repeating what they already knew. Damaris remained much of a mystery, the books refusing to utter the truth of the darkness of their magic.
They were finally forced to abandon their books when Ilaria was sent to retrieve them for dinner, much more annoyed than usual, Aurelia presumed, because of her friends that now accompanied her.
“Darlings!” Elowyn called as they entered the magnificent dining room, a large smile settled upon her face. She was dressed in another luxurious gown, this one a ruby red, her crown of the solar kingdom resting upon her bun of snow white hair. The dining room felt almost too beautiful to eat in – large windows littered the opal walls, fresh flowers in china vases, with lovely, gold-embroidered paintings of the goddess of the sun. Tall candelabras lined the oak dining table, a white tablecloth embroidered with small suns beneath large trays of food.
The smell of delicious food wafted through the air and Aurelia’s stomach grumbled in response. They joined her at the table, enamored by the table filled with all sorts of food.
“You’re just in time,” Elowyn announced as they got seated. “I’ve heard back from the Council. In three weeks time, we are to meet in Oceria as it is currently believed that they are the most equipped to handle....extra security measures.”
Aurelia raised her eyebrows, processing the information. Oceria– the kingdom of the seafolk. Not only did they practice water-based magic, but they had an entire underwater kingdom adjacent to the one on land.
“And I’m taking you with me.” Elowyn’s gaze rested on Aurelia. “After last night, though impressive, I will not be letting you out of my sight. Nor will Brina and Calandra. I will not take any chances with you and Damaris.”
She took another bite off of her plate. “This is what we have been anxiously awaiting for. The war we had predicted is finally coming.” Elowyn paused, her words sinking in, the heavy meaning of her words not lost upon her.
“By the time we leave for Oceria, you must be absolutely prepared to face whatever comes our way.” She made eye contact with Aurelia and she stilled, a tendril of fear snaking up her spine.
It was then that she realized that the Council meeting for Oceria was no longer to keep peace – but to prepare for the inevitable.
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