Perusing the details of the house once again, I knew I would like it here, that is, if Peter and his wife would have me. They were yet to broach the issue. Hopefully, they would quell my curiosity after dinner.“Here, Maya. I think this is the last serving. I pray it will be enough to quell your hunger which is quite understandable. You haven’t really eaten solid food for more than three months. Every meal was squeezed to its liquid form and transfused into your system.” Laura said as she dropped a plate of mac in front of me.The smell dispelled my regret of raiding their pot. But still, I attempted to sound sympathetic over the issue. “I am sorry...” But Laura wouldn’t have any of it to my relief. “Don’t worry, Maya. Just eat on.” She said, before turning and walking to her seat. Turning aside, I caught Diana wink at me. I smiled then. She seemed to know that I was anything but sorry. The girl knew a lot more than her age. I wondered who her teacher was, or if there was a school
Although I was curious about the queen, I didn’t want to go to her yet; I didn't want to stay with her. I was already familiar with my saviors and wanted to stay with them for now whilst plotting my revenge.“You know what, Maya, I think you should stay here for now. But if the queen takes note of your presence, or if the villagers think it necessary to let the queen know of your presence-then whatever her decision concerning you, we will have to abide by that, no matter what we want. Do you understand?'' Laura asked after stating her decision on the matter, and immediately I nodded my head robotically, holding the smile threatening to break out on my lips.Diana would love this.“Thank you very much, Laura. I appreciate the goodwill that you and your family have bestowed on me. I thank you so much. Peter too.” I said, my mouth and words full of appreciation, a clear reflection of the gratitude that abided in my soul and heart. I was so happy. Now, I could have a stable environment to
Who opened the window? Where is this blinding light streaming from? Is it morning already? Does morning come too early over here? I cussed, turning on the bed to the other side, signing contentedly when I was blessed with a non-light zone. I hugged the pillow tighter to myself, and would have continued to sleep if a certain thought hadn't been chosen at that particular second in the time continuum to filter into my mind. The thought that I had proposed before I went to sleep last night; to be awake before everyone in the family, so that I could start cleaning the surroundings. This way, they would know, especially Laura, that I was more than appreciative to them for taking me in. With that remembrance came an instant jerking up from the bed, and a sharp flinging of the soft pink pillow to the side.“Oh no..” I muttered, irritated with myself, irritated with my keen love for sleep, when I saw that the side of the bed where Diana had slept in last night was empty. The young girl had
As I toweled myself dry, I gritted my teeth in anger and retribution as I beheld the scars on my body; scars that had been left behind by Adam and his brothers. They weren’t much, thanks to the wonderful medicines of Peter, but they were present on my skin, a reminder of what I had gone through. Oh yes, I liked it to an extent. It would help me remember the atrocity the triplets had committed against me. It would help me never to forget their acts of wickedness. It would help me never to forgive them for their inhuman betrayal.When I was done with drying myself up, I took up the clothes that Diana had left at the bed; and starting with the pants, which were black and stretchy, I got dressed. They were okay. The big cloak—or was it a sweater? I was not sure—was okay. Good I had gotten used to wearing oversized shirts when I had been bullied at the pack. Who would have believed that after the torment that Adam and his brother had put me through then, that I had still gone ahead to
“Here goes nothing.” I mused to myself, touching intermittently, the oversized sweater I was wearing. This was the first time after all I would be going out without a bra and panties. And I needed it to be not so obvious. Not that I could change anything with this touching here and there, not that there was anything to see. The sweater was big enough to hide my breasts and long enough to cover my buttocks region. I doubted I would be tried for offensive dressing on the first day. Wheew. I couldn’t wait to go shopping. Does the community have a mall? I had seen the clothes that Peter and his family wore, and although they were quite good, they were not in the league of the Dolce and Gabbana collections. I hadn’t seen their entire wardrobe, but at least I had seen Diana’s. Did the villagers make their own cloth? If that was so, they would just be taking my measurements, right? And if that was so, then I wouldn’t be seeing the clothes for a week. No. Hopefully no.I remembered Dia
The meeting ground was just as Laura had described. A hall tastefully designed. Even the chairs were intricately patterned beautifully. This community was really creative. I thought as I let my eyes wander through the entirety of the very large hall. It was even bigger than the hall back at home that had been used for my sendforth party. Remembering that hall brought a bitter taste to my mouth and heart, such that I tuned off my admiration antenna, and let Laura lead me to one of the seats. It was then that I became aware of the glances thrown in my direction from left, right and center. Of course, everyone knew everyone here. I wasn’t inclusive.“It's okay, Maya. They don’t bite. They are just not used to seeing new faces.” Laura mentioned, as she pulled my hand so that I could sit my buttocks on my seat. The many stares had me petrified at the spot. I hadn’t experienced that before. For a moment, I thought that some unseen force had kept me at attention to allow the members of t
I was more involved with my thoughts than with what the Queen was talking about. My mind kept thinking back, to many events, trying to point out if there had been a time when I had shown an indication that I had a magic trait. But no matter how much I tried, nothing came up. There was no pointer. There had been no event to indicate it. The only time I had felt different was during and after sex with Adam, after he had marked me. That had been when my sensors had gotten sharper and keener. But that's all. Could it be that sex with Adam had triggered something that had laid hidden with me? “Maya, you should listen to the queen before she calls you out. She knows that you are distracted.” Laura said, shocking me for the third time since we entered this hall. The queen knew I wasn't listening? Could she read my thoughts too? I wondered, hoping it was not so. I might die if that was so. Okay, an exaggeration. But I wouldn’t be happy. Maya, focus still, unless you want to be called ou
We were currently standing outside the Queen’s private meeting hall. According to Laura, it's a place where the queen meets people privately, away from the eyes of the others. It was different from her private office which was located in the palace; someplace I was yet to see, someplace I was curious to see. I have been asking myself, since the meeting had been over fifteen minutes ago, this particular question- If the hall had been so carefully designed, then how would the palace be? “You can come in now.” A lady said to us, gesturing that we come in after she opened the door. It turned out that the queen was available to see us. It turned out that when she had said that Laura should bring her family, that had included me. I had tried to wait back in the hall, till the queen was done meeting with Laura and Peter, but Laura had touched my shoulder, and told me that I was part of her family; that she was sure that the queen wanted to see me too. It was probably to know who I was a
I can't believe myself. I can't believe what I had done, when I had opened my eyes and saw the classroom free of smoke, free from the flames I had conjured mere minutes ago. I had jumped on Raul. It was supposed to be a thank you hug, you know, coming from a place of excitement, of happiness that I had finally mastered how to control my magic to some extent, but the hug ended up being the ones couple shared after being apart for probably a year. I had hugged him quite alright, but my legs had moved, of their accord. They had jumped and plastered themselves around his waist. They were still there. Around his waist. My mind was in shambles, especially since Raul had managed to catch me with all precision, still held me now, and showed no signs of letting go. Don't I weigh anything? I retrieved my head from the crook of his neck which scented of masculinity. This contact needed to end now. "Ehmm.." I muttered now, looking into his face, which although wasn't red as mine, showed the
Raul and I stayed cocooned in a comfortable silence for a long while, a privy truce already happening between us. I didn’t see him as the enemy anymore. However, I was still working on separating him from the Queen in my equation of retribution. “How long are we going to stay here? Aren’t we returning to class?” I asked after sometime, my back already yelling in pain for reclining against the hard wall for a long period of time. Raul shrugged his shoulders at my question. “It’s not like there will be any class going on. Do you see any professor around? I bet the students are huddled in their classes, wondering what next would go wrong with..” “With me, you mean….” Raul gave me an apologetic look, but it was all right. It was understandable. Since we have been here, no students have come close, no teachers too. The fire was still burning. I was sure it had ventured into the other classes. Weren’t they coming to stop it? “You know you are the only one that can quench that fire….”
What have I done?Panic swept through the magic room like a tidal wave, mingling with the smell of smoke and the sound of screams.My heart sank as I realized the magnitude of what I had unleashed. I had wanted to prove myself, to show my mastery over the elements, but now, all I felt was guilt and remorse.As chaos erupted around me, I knew that I would carry the weight of this moment with me for quite a long time. For in my quest for power, I had unleashed a force beyond my control, leaving destruction in its wake. And now, I could only watch helplessly as the flames consumed everything in their path.The flames. They held me captive. They had me frozen in the midst of the ensuing chaos. They had my heart sinking into the depths of sorrow. The flames, born of my own magic gone awry, danced voraciously across the classroom. Smoke choked the air, thick and suffocating, as desks and books became engulfed in a raging inferno. The screams of my classmates pierced the cacophony of destru
As I caught sight of Sinclair standing by the door of my classroom, a flutter of nervous anticipation stirred within me. The time for my magic classes had finally come, and despite my excitement, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of apprehension. The time has come.Mr. Lethon must have sent him. I thought, checking the time on my wrist watch. It was exactly the time for my magic class. Sinclair was quite punctual.Since I had decided to cut him some slack for not doing anything about Levina's bullying, we have exchanged words here and there—greetings especially—but it has not been like the same. Probably, because I have been avoiding him really. I'm not sure why. I think I just didn't want to talk to him, not that freely as before, at least not yet. However, he was here to pick me up.I looked at Professor Bulock talking about some impossible theory of magic, and almost called him to the fact that his time was gone. But that would be falling under his radar again. I was tired of that
As Diana and I walked hand in hand to school, chattering like monkeys, a sense of elation bubbled up inside me, replacing the feeling of shame that had subsided a little after Laura's words of encouragement.The Queen had fulfilled her side of the bargain, as she had promised us. She had moved the children's classes back to the general school, and she hadn't disturbed me since then. And even though the weight of her last words had never left me, I couldn't help but feel relief and gratitude, walking to school like this, hand in hand with Diana. It was pure bliss.As we walked, Diana regaled me with tales of spells and enchantments, her enthusiasm quite infectious. I knew that it was because I had just shown her, though messy, that I was good enough to be filled in with magic spells. We exchanged knowledge eagerly—I told her about the book I had stolen from the library, and what I had learnt from them—each revelation sparking a lively conversation that danced between us like fireflies
Finally, It was Friday. A sense of anticipation coursed through my veins like an electric current as I ruminated on what it entailed for me. Magic classes.Today marked the beginning of my journey, officially, into the world of magic—a world I had longed to explore ever since my encounter with the vision of the community's first queen. For two days, I had immersed myself in the ancient magic books, devouring their contents with an insatiable hunger for knowledge. With each page I turned, I had delved deeper into the mysteries of magic, learning the intricacies of summoning and controlling magical creatures, as well as the secrets of casting spells both simple and complex. Though I had practiced in secret, hidden away from prying eyes, my determination never wavered. And now, as I sat at the breakfast table with my family, my newfound skills lay dormant, waiting to be unleashed."Well, how are you feeling, Maya? Seeing that today would be your first time learning magic?" I shrugged
I suddenly found myself standing in a vast, lush forest bathed in the golden light of a setting sun. Ancient trees towered overhead, their branches adorned with shimmering leaves that seemed to glow with an ethereal energy. Birds chirped melodiously in the canopy above, their songs blending harmoniously with the rustling of leaves.In the distance, I saw figures moving through the forest with purpose. Without much ado, I walked toward them, pausing when I noticed that I was literally gliding on the air. My feet weren’t touching the grassy ground. I opened my mouth to gasp in surprise, but air didn’t ooze out of my mouth, neither did a sound come out.I couldn’t talk here? If that was so, then I hoped that I couldn’t be seen.As I approached the figures, I realized they were villagers clad in simple yet elegant garments, their faces painted with elaborate colorful patterns. They spoke in a language that echoed with ancient wisdom, their voices carrying a solemn reverence.Among them
As the minutes ticked by, as I neared home, my thoughts circled back to the Queen’s cryptic demeanor, to her parting words. Consequences. What plans did she have in motion? How would she retaliate against our interference? The uncertainty gnawed at me, yet I clung to the conviction that our actions had been necessary, a pivotal moment in our struggle for autonomy and justice within the community that was ruled by the Queen.With a deep breath, I gathered my composure and turned aside to gaze at Peter. He too, seemed lost in thoughts. There was a slight frown on his face, and I couldn’t help but wonder what had brought about the frown. The promise of the consequences?I sighed softly, and turned away, resolving to face whatever consequences awaited us with courage and determination, which was fortified by the unwavering bond of family and the conviction that we had taken a stand for what was right."I won't let her hurt my family," I whispered to myself a second later, my voice a quie
As Peter and I entered the Queen's personal office, I was immediately struck by the air of elegance and authority that permeated the room. Whilst on our way here, Peter had clarified that the room where I had once had a personal meeting with the Queen, wasn't actually hers, but Duke's. It all made sense now. The difference was clear.The walls of this office were adorned with rich tapestries depicting scenes of royal lineage, while intricate carvings lined the wooden furniture, each piece a testament to the skilled craftsmanship of the community's artisans.At the center of the room stood a grand desk, its polished surface gleaming in the soft light that filtered in through the tall windows. Behind the desk sat the Queen herself, a regal figure dressed in flowing robes of deep crimson. I and Peter bowed, and greeted.Beside her stood her brother, Hendel, his expression stoic yet filled with an undeniable sense of pride.But it was her two children who caught my attention. Duke and Ra