Many said that she was a prodigy in magic.
All spells were easy for her. From creating fireballs to large draconic illusions to scare away her enemies, no spell was too complicated for her. Many of her peers would admire or admonish her. She didn’t care; for her, magic was her sole reason for her being. It was either she mastered every form of magic or nothing at all.
She was Princess Anastacia, the firstborn of King Sophis and Queen Tricia.
As a princess, she had everything. Finest threads, shoes, food, and everything was in her grasp. Yet, none sparked joy. None of the things provided to her in the palace made her happy. The only place she found solace was in the library where it contained books filled with knowledge and magic. From little balls of light to raining fireballs, she immersed herself in all forms of magic and made it her life’s mission to master every form of magic.
It was only a week until she heard that her parents requested Grand Sorcerer Chiron to become her mentor. Her heart leaped at the news. To be taught by someone the Sofienians revered with blind faith elated her! As she counted the days, Princess Anastacia buried herself in more books to prepare for the sorcerer’s arrival.
When he arrived, she expected a sorcerer adorned in golden robes. However, her bubble popped at the sight of an old man in tattered robes. She scoffed at the sight of him only to realize her fatal mistake when something suddenly began to weigh heavily on her back. As if a boulder dropped on her back, he forced her to bow down to him. She never thought she could suffer such humiliation as his words echoed in her mind.
It is those who don’t look like much who may offer the most.
His words echoed again in her mind as she faced off her replacement. As she summoned thorn-shaped shadows, her substitute unleashed orbs of light to counter. Their spells clashed and her shadows dissipated into dust while the orbs of light flew towards her. She summoned shields but the orbs shattered them and disappeared. Her eyes widened as her counterpart launched white chains towards her which she destroyed with her black doves. When she looked into her counterpart's grey eyes, her blood chilled. The same feeling dropped onto her shoulders and nearly caused her knees to buckle.
"Is something wrong, Your Highness?" a cold voice asked.
She bristled when she raised her head to look at the one who replaced her. Her blood boiled at what happened. How easy was it for her parents to replace her? As if she were nothing but a broken toy that lost its novelty, they cast her aside. Her mana sparked and black tentacles sprouted from the ground. She shot the black tentacles towards Anastacia, narrowing her eyes.
The only thing wrong here is you, she growled in her mind. With every wave of her hand, the black tentacles pinned down the white spear-tipped chains. Once the chains were pinned, she launched her black doves towards Anastacia. Her eyes widened in delight as the black familiars crashed into her doppelganger. She smirked and pulled her shadow tentacles away, wiping the sweat off her brow.
"There's the difference between you and me," she scoffed and flipped her hair. "You barely had any instruction from Grand Sorcerer Chiron whereas I studied directly under him."
Princess Anastacia chuckled when she heard a loud thud with Anastacia's two companions thrown onto the ground. She raised an eyebrow at the sound of their groans. Such ruffians, she scowled at the sight of their beaten and bruised bodies. The golem trudged towards her and grabbed the smaller unconscious body.
"Sister, will he do?" They asked.
She leaned closer to get a better look at the small body. His scrawny body turned her off but she felt something pulsing inside him. She cupped his chin and felt a warmth pulse in her palm. Her eyes widened and looked at the green aura swirling at her fingertips. The princess took one more look at the unconscious small body before nodding.
"He's young but it'll be alright. He'll serve as a decent shell," she mused.
"And his companion?"
She paused for a moment. With her foot, she lifted the pirate's chin to see his face. She shuddered and dropped his face back onto the ground. She scoffed and pulled out her handkerchief to wipe the tip of her ballet flats.
"He'll be our catalyst for the summon."
The golem nodded and before he could drag their bodies away, white chains shot through his body. He shrieked in pain as the scent of burning rotted flesh assailed her nose. Horrified, Princess Anastacia gasped and snapped her head towards the source only to see her doppelganger standing and her black doves turned completely white. They beat their wings before forming a "v" formation and shrieked. She froze. How did she survive let alone take control of them? However, she regained her composure and smirked.
"You learned."
Anastacia glared. "Let go of Rowen and Marick."
Ah so those are their names, Princess Anastacia thought. "You care for these ruffians?"
"A princess cares for her people."
"Do you?"
Anastacia clenched her fists tighter, causing the chains to constrict and sear the eldritch golem's skin. Their pained howls filled the room but Princess Anastacia paid no heed. Her stance relaxed and nothing inside her twinged. Chuckling, she shook her head.
"Go ahead. Can you do it?"
Her doppelganger remained eerily silent.
Even with the golem's agonized cries filling the air, she refused to budge. Would her replacement kill her brothers? She glanced at them as the chains constricted tighter, forcing blood and pus out of their pores. Her nose wrinkled at the putrid smell as one of the pustules on their backs exploded, fouling the air with the smell of rotten eggs. Steaming pus splattered on the ground, making her withdraw in disgust.
"At least I would grant them the mercy of a quick, painless death," Princess Anastacia scoffed. "Are they not your people?"
Saying yes would have given the princess control.
Anastacia's eyes rolled towards Marick's and Rowen's unconscious bodies. Relief filled her as their chests slowly rose up and down. But fury still rushed through her veins when she saw the bruises and swollen marks decorating their bodies. Their clothes, now in tatters, barely covered the damage inflicted. She turned back to Princess Anastacia who remained stoic throughout the entire stalemate.
"Do you not care for your brothers?" Anastacia asked.
The princess remained silent.
Horror and disgust sank into Anastacia's stomach. The princess betrayed no emotion on her face even as she tightened the chains. Anastacia winced as her brothers' guttural and agonized cries grew louder as the chains crushed them. Bile built up in her throat as she eventually let them go, causing the chains to dissipate. She then threw up when the smell of their burned, rotting flesh invaded her nostrils. She coughed and gasped, wearily staring at her vomit when amused laughter filled her ears.
"They're not your brothers. Why spare them?" Princess Anastacia raised an eyebrow. "At best, they just have their faces."
Anastacia glared. "They still are" — tears formed in her eyes — "how could you ignore their crying in pain?"
"I just do."
"What?"
She shrugged before summoning shadows around her. "People truly baffle me sometimes. They say that they care for people. Yet, what does it mean to care?"
Anastacia gawked. How could the princess not feel anything for her brothers? She wasn't related to them by blood yet, she refused to torture them. On the other hand, their blood-related sister didn't seem to mind that their guts and pus splattered on the floor. She even goaded her. Unless, she planned to bluff her into thinking that she didn't care.
"It seems mother and father didn't train you well enough for political intrigue." Princess Anastacia folded her arms, smirking. "Thank you," — she ripped the necklace off Anastacia's neck — "I'll be taking my place now."
Anastacia's eyes widened when she saw the Sofienian royal pendant in the princess' hands. "Wait! You can't just —!"
The princess put it on and the pendant let out a soft hum and enveloped her body in a purple aura. Anastacia gasped at the sight but when the light died down, the princess didn't look any different. She exhaled sharply before looking down on her.
"There's also something you need to return to me" — she snapped her fingers — "My knight."
Anastacia blinked. "Your knight? But I didn't —"
"Your Grace." A familiar voice made Anastacia's blood run cold.
She slowly turned her head and looked in horror at a petite strawberry blonde-haired woman in full jet-black armor. In one hand, she wielded her death scythe with its bloodstained golden gears. Her ice-blue eyes shimmered with mana and her greaves and gauntlets suddenly sprouted spikes. The petite woman strode past her before bending the knee to Princess Anastacia. Her heart dropped when the princess extended her hand, allowing the petite woman to kiss her hand and press her forehead against it. The princess smiled in delight.
"Welcome back, Lady Erkalla," she said.
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