All she knew about death was that it was unforgiving.
Her mother died during childbirth, so she never really had any memories of her, and didn’t think much about her absence. But she was five years old when her father died. He caught some rare disease in the cornfields, and one morning he just didn’t get up from bed.
“Laila, you should be an obedient girl, listen to your grandma and grandpa, okay?”
At the moment she had not understood he would fall asleep and never wake up again.
Her grandfather had been a knight once, when he was young. He’d survived the continental war, but his leg got severely hurt and Earl Valverde sent him home some meager silver coins. He wasn’t able to find a job afterwards and that was why, after
Nothing ever changed in Alvor, except that it was more prosperous and magnificent every time one came back to take a look, and when he visited these lands Miros had to acknowledge Ivar’s ability to choose his people. According to his mother, it wasn’t always like this. During the times before the war, long before he or Saray were born, this was considered the wasteland of the two kingdoms, which was one of the reasons that made it a frequent hiding spot for magical beings who were unlucky enough to be born outside of the limits of Raeden.“Lord Miros, this is a surprise.”His brother’s right-hand man was waiting at the gates of the palace. If it really was a surprise, then Jean’s inexpressive face certainly didn’t reveal it. He’d been like that ever since they were children.
At first, she had not thought much of it. Ivar killed them and she felt relieved. Why should she feel sorry towards the people who had wanted to cause her harm? It was only as the days passed by that the image was imprinted in her mind, and the gravity of it sank in. No one deserved to die in such a horrific way. If she did not care about this, did it make her the same kind of person as her father? Her father, who would have let her burn alive… There was also the fact that she was able to take away that sorcerer’s magic. During the first days, Elena was able to feel it, different from her own and tingling through her body. Later, it just became a part of what was already hers. It scared her to know what it meant that she could steal the magic residing in other living beings. Neither Ivar nor Miros could provide an answer for that phenomenon, and when sh
Elena recognized Cain as one of the knights who guarded them in their trip to Alvor. A handsome young man, who couldn’t be more than thirty-years-old, with tanned skin and dark brown hair. But half of his face was marred with an unnatural black that seemed to be spreading from his chest to the rest of the body. “The blade cut isn’t deep at all, so he probably did not worry about it at first. But it was poisoned, and this poison isn’t common at all.” Miros explained to her. It was only the two of them and the unconscious Cain in the room, as the doctor had just left saying there wasn’t much he could do for this patient, and the twins were waiting anxiously outside the room. “I want to help, but I don’t know how I could be of use... you know I haven’t learned much about healing yet.”
Miros made her practice with a junco that had a broken wing, but when the bird started to make a strange noise and move awkwardly on the bench, Elena stopped.“I don’t think I should be practicing on living creatures yet.”It was cruel. She was starting to reconsider her opinion of this young man, and understood how someone of his age could be in charge of overseeing the academies of the empire.“You’re not going to make progress with dolls, so just do your best if you don’t want to hurt this little one” Her brother-in-law was firm in this teaching method. “It’s not only the intention, and it’s not only that your magic has to flow from your core to your hands to the person you intend to heal. You have to be careful not to infuse the other with too muc
Elena thought it was impressive how quickly Princess Tiana’s countenance changed from the entitled smirk to an uneasy look in her pale face. “I’m afraid I have no idea what you are talking about, Ivar.” “You don’t? Didn’t Sir Abelon arrive with you today?” Now, judging by the short moment of disbelief that flashed through Tiana’s eyes, right before she settled on anger, and how calm Ivar appeared to be considering that a man from the princess' side was caught on the very first day, another suspicion rose in Elena’s mind. “Jean found him snooping around his office. I was forced to cut his hands and tongue.” He didn’t blink when he revealed this violent punishment, and it still sent shivers down to her spine.
Elena only left Lapis’ room after Laila and the twins assured her that they would take care of the child’s safety. Just in case. If it came down to it, and something like the ambush were to happen inside the palace, Elena trusted Laila and Lapis could run away unscathed. Both of them were so young, and their presence there in Alvor was all her responsibility.After walking into the hall arm in arm with Ivar, her fears slowly started to seem like just a product of her previous anxiety in regards to the banquet. This was her first appearance in front of the nobility of Alvor, and what if she didn’t live up to the expectations?But just minutes after they welcomed the princess and the musicians started playing, Miss Blanc came to ask her about the grand banquets in the south. Were there any differences?
News about Crown Princess’ fall spreaded fast, thanks to all the attendees of the banquet. It wasn’t long before letters from her family and former acquaintances arrived, as everyone wanted to know more about that piece of news. Ivar humiliated Tiana in such a way that no one would doubt who held more power between the two of them, it was the same as saying that the Duke of Alba’s status was superior to the heir of the Emperor. Former heir, if things went the way Miros and Ivar expected.Elena did not know how to feel about the whole thing. The princess was her enemy, someone who had tried to kill her way before they met face to face. She was also paying for her actions, according to Ivar she’d been negotiating the support of the King of the Diamond Islands in exchange of the resources from the forests in the continent. People who came from Raeden carried a long-term hatred for the
The thing Elena couldn’t understand was how even the people from the Diamond Islands knew about magic and fairies to the point of risking their diplomatic relations with the Empire just to get their hands on part of that. Elena was sure not even most nobles in Vallas (including her father) knew about the existence of these creatures.“It’s an old thing. The people from the islands value the riches from the continent. Back during the times of the first arrival, they even shipped sorcerers and presented them to the court of the King Midas as ‘saints’. The same logic could be applied to everything else. They only left when they were forced to do so, and after having pillaged all that they could.”“How do you know so much about this?”There wasn’t much about it in hi
Raeden looked like a land of fairytales (although, to be fair, all stories of fantasy and magic had come to be true after she met Ivar). It was summer here, but a thin layer of snow covered the ground all the way to Jade City. She could see it all from above, the magnificent views that changed first when they crossed Eir until they landed at their destination, and for the first time she thought about how frustrating it could be for him to ride on a carriage when he could always do this instead. People looked in awe when they landed, but few of them seemed to be afraid. Elena couldn’t help but ask why. “Some people tell stories around here. Their parents must have seen it during the war.” Here, it didn’t matter if he wasn’t really the brother of the Emperor and the Gr
Her father had lost his mind. What did he think would be the result of this? He kept repeating that they couldn’t win, that he wouldn’t let them win, but the commotion was enough to have Danna come into the room, and she grabbed Enmanuel from the behind, pulling him away from Elena and sending him flying towards the room's desk.“Your Grace! Are you okay?”“I'm fine, Danna, don't worry.” Elena swallowed with difficulty, feeling her throat sore. Free to think and use her magic properly, she grew vines that imprisoned her father. She tolerated him for too long. “Call the others and take him to the cell for criminals. He can stay the night there.”“You can't treat me like a mere commoner.”She strode towards him an
Pregnant…“Congratulations, my lady!” Mariela clapped her hands in excitement. “Congratulations, Your Grace!”They kept staring at each other in silence, just waiting until they were left alone in the room.Something like that should be impossible for them, and yet, it wasn’t. Elena wasn’t really human, but the vessel of the Emerald Heart, and someone who could already use the Gift of Life in extraordinary ways in spite of lacking experience and control over her magic.Viviana Lagrave was convinced her son was only born because Elena pitied her and felt sad for the kind of treatment she received as a wife who couldn’t bear a male heir. It seemed far-fetched considering that Elena was only a child and unaware of her powers
Two doctors arrived in the morning, quickly installing themselves in the house that Elena had been staying at those days, and with help of the Black Knights, the place became ready to attend to people in no time. Neither Laila nor Mariela seemed to be really surprised seeing that their mistress and the duke had reconciled and came back with linked arms to tell them of their intention to fix the county.“We’ll open an academy here soon, Miros will work on it so that in the future we can send doctors and sorcerers to the small villages too.”“But for the moment, this is already a great relief to the people who couldn’t get medical assistance after doctor Marin left.”They were at the entrance of the house, ready to leave, when the men from the manor came to see what all the fuss was
There was only one doctor in town, the same who attended the Valverde family, so it was a risky move as her father would learn about it and probably hand her to Ivar. But Mariela (who insisted on Elena staying in the house, her eyes would give her away immediately) came back from the Doctor Marin’s house with the news he’d left town weeks ago.“I went to the apothecary to get something for Laila’s fever, and it seems it’s a very contagious flu. Everyone is getting sick, but there’s no one to treat them. Doctor Marin left because the Earl hadn't been paying him for months, and there were many other lords in the region asking for doctors too.”Her father was a stingy pig.“He can’t be so deep into debt that he can’t pay the only doctor available in town
“Lady Elena, do you really think the Duke would try to hurt you?”Laila voiced this question when they were peeling apples for the afternoon snack, sitting near to the attic windows of the abandoned house they decided to turn into their temporary hiding place. It was quite convenient that Elena was able to grow most things they ate or used to cook, because it wasn’t as if they could go out of town freely these days. The black nights were still looking for them in the streets, knowing that they couldn’t make it very far in just a few hours.Eventually, however, they would give up and look elsewhere.“We’ve only known each other for a few months, Laila. Exactly the same time I’ve known Ivar. Maybe I’m not the one who knows him the best, I couldn’t, in such a
In hindsight, Vivian should have known it from the moment the midwife exclaimed it was a girl. She couldn’t get pregnant before Elena, in the same way she couldn’t carry any of her pregnancies later, as if the whole purpose of having the girl was to continue hiding the Heart.When Milan was conceived, however, she knew that much like her mother before her, her daughter could access that magic. It was because of her misery and Elena feeling sad for her that made it happen.But should she be happy about it?“My mother and her mother before then, for hundreds of years, they lived that kind of life. Do you think I would have been anything else than a slave if they thought I had magic too? My father, the very generous, kind-hearted Baron de Lagos, would have kept me prisoner the rest of my life. The wor
It was bound to be the talk of the town when the daughter of the Earl came back home less than a year after the wedding.“As expected, you are useless. Couldn’t you at least satisfy your husband? You have no shame coming back to this house alone!”“You are reading too much into this, father.” Elena breathed in deep and managed to keep her calm. “I just wanted to make sure my brother didn’t come home alone, and since I have the time to spare, why wouldn’t I accompany him? I didn’t know I’m not allowed to visit this house anymore.”Enmanuel Valderde glared at her, his frown deepening as he tried to find the mistake in her words.He couldn’t come up with anything, and that was the end of it. She instruc
Given that it had come to this point, Ivar decided it was useless to keep hiding the truth.“Come with me,” he said, seeing that Elena wouldn’t move or say anything in response.But she still followed him to his office, walking down the stairs that led to the underground springs.“Why are we here?”“It’s the only place inside that palace that’s spacious enough. So you can see with your own eyes what I really am.”Elena barely had time to grasp what was happening in front of her, as he changed into a large, two-winged black creature so frightening that her trembling legs did not want to move when all she wanted was to step back. Just his head was the size of her whole body.