Crowned - 15 | Crash Course

 

Kairo led them to the laboratory on the west end of the Helmire Castle. It was a black tiled tower on the outside, standing upright at an awkward angle to give an illusion of a natural hilltop. 

Kairo led Elvira and a reluctantly dragging Kaeo to the ground floor room, the doors of which opened when he pressed his right palm over it.

A dimly lit room greeted their sight. Elvira felt a chill run down her spine and covered her chest to rub her hands over her arms. The walls were lined with wooden shelves which displayed strange organs floating in bubbling glass jars. Thin white smoke lurked around the shelves, as if guarding the objects at display.

From the farther right, Kairo picked up a mauve vial and held it out for them.

“Do you remember this?”

Elvira nodded, recognising the vial’s contents instantly. “Linch blood,” she stated.

“Indeed!” Kairo exclaimed, “It’s for the research we were supposed to do five years ago! I halted it so that we could complete it together,” he chirped, grinning ear to ear.

Kaeo rolled his eyes, “So that is your research error that you have been droning about for the past years?” he threw a disgusted look at Elvira.

Kairo’s grin turned sheepish. Elvira glared at him.

“What if I were dead and gone for good?” Elvira asked, “Would you just shut the project down?”

“What! No! of course not! We did this because I knew you were alive,” Kairo reassured as he took the vial and led them out of the first room and into a second room on the ground floor.

“So, what’s it about?” Elvira asked.

The new room seemed mediocre with its plain white walls and the floor covered with elongated tables and wooden chairs as its dominant aesthetic. Kairo placed the vial on the first table in front of the door and banged a hand over its top. Instantly, a three-dimensional projection appeared over it.

“Linchs may be E tier Creatures but they are classified under LLL by size. Their sheer mass and ability to utilise the poison they consume make them a predatory species. I want to combine their genes with that of a dragon and create a blood sucking, poison consuming, lethal, end-of-the-world-harbinger dragon!”

“To conquer the world,” Kaeo added.

Brows raised, nostrils flared and mouth pinched on both ends, Elvira uttered, “Obviously.”

“Nothing makes conquering territories easier than a dragon’s invasion!”

There was an ecstatic glint in his green eyes that made him look like a perfect villain as he spread his arms in front of a holographic projection of a dragon over the tabletop.

“And pray tell, how would you acquire the dragon gene considering they have been extinct for about—four centuries and counting, now?!” Elvira demanded, trying to make sense of the idealistic plan.

“Where do you think you can find a dragon skull?” Kairo countered.

“The black market…”

“That’s not how villains work!” Kaeo snapped at Elvira’s reply.

“At the Church Dianthia, of course, those who protect Virae’s direct bloodline more than their own flesh and blood!” Kairo supplied.

Elvira’s brows threatened to jump off her forehead and walk away. “What do you mean a skull; how do you know that it is not the skull?!” she intentionally lowered her voice to a whisper as she shouted.

“Well, who’s to say that your Church is safekeeping the real religious artifact – unless we prove it otherwise?” Kairo giggled.

“Having the skull’s genes would be better though, naturally,” Kaeo supplied.

Elvira’s brain wandered off to history classes back in school.

The skull in question would be the head of the first dragon on their planet Wreath. There was a time when shadow-Earth only harboured two species, the originals being the Dracionious, or Dragon-kind and other being Dinorious, or the Dinosaurs, who were warped onto Wreath after a meteor hit the real-Earth.

The sudden appearance of the Dinorious species was considered as an Act of God, obligated by the Stars, and suddenly, the dominant Dracioniouses not only had competition but also a war of resources at hand. Every giant creature took immense space and Wreath could only host so many.

Amongst the angry dragon-kind, there was one dragon who was able to transform into a human owning to his patience, high affinity to magic and insane spell-crafting skills. He was Virae, the first mage on Wreath who was later worshiped by the Dianthia supporters.

During the Great Evolution Era (F526 – F528) Virae taught the transformation spell to his fellow dragon-kind because he found it more convenient to live as a human. Suddenly, tables were turned and once again, the Dracioniouses had an upper hand when it came to lasting survival. They fell into a leisurely life, calling themselves Blossoms, and discovered the pursuit of sexual pleasures.

Thereafter followed the Sin Era (F527 – F777) until the great curse Morana, created by Virae, wiped the majority of the Dinorious population. The genocide was frowned upon by the Stars and the Heaven. Instead of the curse affecting the rest of the Dinorious population and killing them off, it caused mutations amongst them, altering them and birthing into existences a myriad of Creatures, who were now known as Creatures of God.

The Church of Melantha supported the Creatures and their rights whereas the Church of Dianthia worked in line with Virae’s principals of eradicating all Oddities and establishing Blossoms' sovereignty over Wreath.

It was just a part of Wreath’s extensive history which Kairo lent in order to conquer the world.

“But if we’re caught…” Elvira said through gritted teeth.

“Then we don’t have to go into an elaborate monologue to reveal all our plans, okay?” Kaeo snorted.

Elvira rolled her eyes at his lack of seriousness. Kairo was not proposing just petty villainy anymore, no, he was proposing global religious artifact theft! Elvira wanted to be of help, truly, but at what stake? She never had any qualms about religion or the politics of her world. She could care less since she was rejected by the very people who birthed and raised her. Still...

“How are we getting in?” Elvira asked, licking her lips.

“Now we’re talking!” Kairo exclaimed and clapped his hands. As he separated them, a sheet of paper appeared between his fingers. He held onto it by its corners and Elvira squinted at the blue lines and realised it was a map.

“Where did you get a map of the greatest Church in the world?” Elvira sniffled with admiration.

“I punched it out of saint,” Kaeo stated.

“Diabolical.” Elvira seethed.

“He was drinking at a pub and harassing the barmaid, I didn’t even have to try hard,” Kaeo scoffed.

“Are you defending yourself so I don’t judge you?” Elvira snorted, a laugh edging on her face.

“No, I am stating facts!” Kaeo snapped.

“Let us focus on the task at hand, shall we?” Kairo clapped, “Burn the image into your brain!”

Elvira nodded aggressively and stared at the blueprint, not understanding a thing. Her nose whiffed a burning stench and before Elvira could realise, the paper held between Kairo’s fingers burst into flames and ashes.

“I – I couldn’t even look at it!” Elvira complained.

“Don’t worry,” a jade magic circle appeared over Kairo’s hands which he flicked over in Elvira and Kaeo’s direction, “Your mind will remember it when you’re there.” He explained.

“What?!” Elvira cried.

“Or, just eat this ash if you don’t trust Kai’s magic and the map will appear before your eyes.” Kaeo supplied.

“Are you trying to kill me again?!” Elvira snapped.

“Oh my, was it so obvious?” Kaeo drawled.

“Elvi, don’t worry, that is exactly how the spell works. The ash isn’t harmful at all!” Kairo clarified before Elvira could jump on Kaeo and start pulling his hair.

“Okay,” Elvira nodded. Somehow, Kairo was naturally trustworthy.

“What! You trust him with the same thing and not me?!” Kaeo exclaimed, eyes widened with surprise.

“He’s better than you,” Elvira shrugged.

Kairo flicked his finger and created a wall in between them before Kaeo could lunge at Elvira and indirectly harm himself.

“Now, you must know that Dianthia is a Church so, obviously, it is surrounded by Holy Grounds. There are anti-teleportation wards so we cannot have an easy entry and only natural magic would work within the grounds. Which means no deceptive magic like illusions or creation magic like this wall would work there. The grounds are blessed with divine magic so, spells which have a cause-and-effect relationship with nature would be our only escape.”

Elvira raised her hand.

“Yes?” Kaeo asked, containing a genuine smile at her scholarly antics.

“What is divine magic? Aren’t there only four types?”

“Ah, to work at a church or any holy place you have to pass an exam full of ethics and religious morals and stuff. If you pass, you are hired and taught the Divine Script, it’s a dead hidden language unlike the usual spell writing languages like the Conjuror Runic I use and the Stryn Script used by Alchemy Type Mages. Spells are written in order to satisfy a need, right? That need, depending on the recipient, changes the medium, which is the language.”

Elvira nodded, frowning.

“Like the shape-shifters of Kalmia, they are able do it so easily because they have their own Beast-Script spells. Languages are passed down only to those with abilities,” Kaeo clenched his teeth as he peeked over the wall to mock Elvira.

“No wonder I did not know about them,” Elvira huffed and shoved a middle finger in Kaeo’s face.

“Yeah, the more languages you know, the more powerful of a mage you become! Conjuror Runic lends magic from the world and uses it for a cause. Stryn Script lends magic from the mage and uses it in a cause. That’s the main difference between the two basic ones.” Kairo explained further.

“For example, creating a sword out of thin air would require a Conjuror Runic based spell and crafting a sword and then giving it the ability to throw fire, water or air blasts would require a Stryn Script spell,” Kaeo dumbed it down.

“What is this? A heist plan of the villains or a crash-course in theories of magic?” Elvira scoffed. Though her face feigned nonchalance, her eyes sparkled with gratefulness.

“Right! Now, how do we get inside?” Kairo asked.

“We blast the grounds, send in the troops and steal that head like it always belonged to us.” Kaeo grinned.

Crowned - 13 | A Drain Chain

 

CHAPTER 13

“Do you mind?” Kaeo snapped.

“Yes!” Elvira snapped back, scowling, “Death does not solve anything. Death is cowardly and a means of escape. Let him live,” Elvira spat, “He’ll live with his scars, right here, with his collection of oddities, wondering every day if today would be any better!”

“Well said, child,” the throned Count agreed. “This lad here began poisoning me as soon as he was out of school because I had planned to leave my title and estate to a better successor.”

Countess merely clenched her eyes close and looked away.

“Pfft—I st-til lilived as nobility, y-you will be nothing m-more than a c-curse.” Helif stuttered.

Elvira kicked him in the face and attained a sense of peace.

Kaeo hated that he enjoyed the way Helif rolled after Elvira’s blow. His head hit the elevated platform’s edge and he passed out. The magic circle disappeared from Kaeo’s knuckles and left behind a bloody sight. He would have to ask Kairo to heal him, considering someone else was siphoning the majority of his power so that ancient dead folks could punish their children. 

He walked away, scowling.

“Elvira.”

The girl looked up and smiled at Clary’s acknowledgement.

“I’m glad that you’re okay.”

“Elvira.” Clary repeated, stepping closer.

Elvira frowned as she realised that Clary’s eyes had changed into a murky grey, similar to how Kaeo’s eyes had changed to a deep amethyst.

“Clary, are feeling better now?” Elvira asked. She turned to face Yuna and Lira but, suddenly, she felt Clary grab her waist and pull her in a hug.

“I—thank you, I just wanted to say that.” She sounded so much like the Clary Elvira used to know. Though, there was something foreign in this new Clary’s touch. Something consuming.

“Elvira.”

The girl looked up and found the Count and Countess staring hungrily at her.

“So, that is what your name is. El. Vi. Ra.”

The Count enunciated as he got off his chair and stepped down. Clary did not let go of her as the old Count kneeled in front of her and held out a hand.

“May I?” he asked.

Elvira wanted to step back but his beady eyes rendered her stiff and immobile.

“Allow me,” the Countess said, suddenly appearing in front of Elvira. She grabbed a hold of her hand and placed it over her husband’s palm. 

Elvira felt lightheaded. She was surrounded by dead people, she realised, stuck in a siphoning hand-sandwich.

The Countess did not let go as her husband pulled Elvira’s hand to place a kiss.

Whispers birthed around the hall.

Elvira caught the scandalised gazes of Yuna and Lira.

Her world felt blurry.

She wanted to get rid of them. Their touch clawed at her skin. Jitters ran over her body. Her feet felt cold and her palms turned clammy.

She wanted to take a step back but she couldn’t.

She felt dizzy.

And suddenly, darkness consumed her.

. . .

“Elvi, wake up, it’s time for papa and I to leave.”

Her eyes fluttered open, reluctantly. A heaviness levied them, hindering her comprehension. Yet, she could recognise the bright yellow and blue accented walls even with the faintest of glimpses.

“Don’t go anywhere, don’t invite anyone inside, you know the rules.”

Elvira got up and held her throbbing head in her hands. The heaviness wanted to weigh it down until her forehead was on the ground, yet, Elvira persisted and stood up. Her room was a mess of chrysanthemums, crumpled pages and pencil shavings. She walked past her desk, over which a paper fluttered owing to the open window behind her. There were only two sentences on the page and they were titled, ‘An Obituary.’

She dragged her feet out of her room and into an unending hallway. It was tinged an unappetizing blue, a hue of gloom with a depth of silence.

Instead of seeing her parents’ back, it was Zinna who was standing at the end of the long hallway.

Elvira gasped as she held out a hand, in order to run and reach her. But, every step she took, the hallway seemed to be pushing her farther away. The distance between them kept growing and suddenly, Zinna turned.

Her warm brown eyes glowed scarlet.

Her mouth opened into an ear-piercing scream and threads of darkness connected her jaws.

“Zi-zinnie…”

The walls of Elvira’s house disappeared. Suddenly, they were in an open field. The wind whipped past them. Predatory birds shrieked overhead.

Elvira lost her balance, terrified out of her wits. She fell over a bump in the ground. Slowly, she turned to see what she fell on. It was a grave with the epitaph reading: Here lies, the boy you killed.

The winds carried his voice. A plea. A call. A message. A warning.

Horror blinded Elvira and birthed a screech out of her. Her body shivered violently until a jade magic circle appeared over her head and pulled her out of the haze.

Once again, Elvira opened her eyes. This time, instead of her childhood home, she was in the confines of Kaeo’s living chamber. Her ears rang and her head throbbed to her heart’s beating.

Kairo was sitting by her side and his mouth seemed to be moving but Elvira couldn’t grasp a word.

In a deafened haze, Elvira turned her head. Beside her laid Kaeo, passed out or dead to the world. She did not know.

She knew nothing anymore.

Nothing made sense.

Where was she?

Who was she?

What was she?

What happened to Kaeo, Clary, the Count and the Countess?

What happened to her?

“Elvi…are you okay? Are you feeling better now?”

Her ears caught sound again. Like a flabbergasted chick out of an egg, Elvira faced Kairo.

“You passed out at the Count’s Estate. I think I have figured it out, a part of your magic. I know it is still a theory but, hear me out. Your magic, it reincarnates at its own will, right? I don’t know how or why but what I know is that, when you bring back someone with a lower power level than yours, they seem to siphon the magic out of you. Considering they need an immense stock to sustain in the living realm. You are their anchor, so of course they will drain from you! But, if you bring back someone with a higher power level than yours, you get to feed off their power! Like Kaeo, you made him your anchor—well, now four people are draining his power, BUT, we got to know something new!” Kairo ranted like an excited child.

Elvira tried to sit up but failed.

“Don’t get up, you should rest and eat. You cannot keep siphoning off Kae,” Kairo said and picked up a plate full of fruits from the bedside table. Observing Elvira’s guilty look, he elaborated, “Don’t feel guilty though, even with four people draining him, he’ll live. Because, in actuality, he is draining from whatever your magic source is.”

“It’s a drain chain,” Elvira croaked out.

“Yeah, but don’t worry, I will do more research in time.” He passed her the fresh fruits.

“What about everyone else?”

“The other not-so-dead people? They’re back at the Estate. If you want to keep them alive then you should stabilize Kaeo’s power first. Marry him and half of this will be solved instantly.”

Elvira scowled at Kairo’s straight face. “What’s a marriage going to do?” she spat and instantly regretted it she felt the muscles in her stomach pull.

“Everything!” Kairo replied, ecstatic, “We did not know you were alive or where your body went but Kaeo said that he could feel you. He insisted that all the random pain he felt was a share of yours. Then, on the day you used your magic, Kaeo got glimpses of the burning estate and I was able to come and get you. If you marry him, this one-sided bond will merge when you Stars align. You have a shadow star and he has a noon star so I believe that it will help solve a lot of problems.”

“You…believe?”

“Well, it would be strange if I had experience, right?”

Elvira did not have the energy to scoff at Kairo’s snarky retort.

“Why did you take so long…when your father trapped you in the dark illusion realm, what happened?”

Kairo’s face hardened and she felt a shift in the air around them. He stood up and took a step back, “Consider my words, I have priorities as well. Remember, I am your friend, Elvira, not theirs. If they begin to take a toll on my brother, I will not hesitate.”

Elvira clenched her jaw. Her gaze hardened as she nodded.

This.

This was a testament of how less she knew about them.

Kairo walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Elvira held her head again, spiralling.

“I managed to escape the Count and somehow, I’m trapped again, this time by familiar faces. It’s like childhood all over again.”

Crowned - 14 | An Identity Crisis

 

Helmire Castle was built on top of the Northern Hills of Kalmia, bordering the submerged continent of the Narkissa on two sides. Their natural crescent shape moulded the castle’s territory, giving Helmire height and security from all directions. The elevation of the black peaks veiled the castle towers, embracing them as one of their own.

Nature was never an antagonist to magic.

Tough the land was dry and unhabitable by Kalmia’s Creatures, mages from Lunaria had transformed Helmire into grounds of scenic beauty which rivalled that of tourist hotspots of the world, like Matholia and Willow.

As per usual, Elvira sneaked out of prying eyes and found the sloping gardens a perfect place for private respite. There, surrounded by flowers, she sat cross-legged, and pointed a finger on a wilted flower in her lap.

“Alive!”

“Live!”

“GROWWWW!”

“RE! BIRTH!”

“BLOOOOOOM!”

“Thrive?”

She exclaimed, for the nth time but the wilted flower remained unmoving and unbothered by her flashy hand movements and tonal-shift advances. Sighing, a recent habit she had acquired, Elvira flopped backwards and rested her head amidst the flowers.

“I really, really, don’t think I have powers. It’s not working, no matter how hard I try, nothing happens,” she huffed to the birds and the bees, “I have never had so much free time on my hands. Now that I don’t have to slave away at the Count’s Estate, life is so much easier!”

She inhaled a breath of fragrant fresh air.

“I’m so useless,” she grumbled, instantly grounding herself.

Maybe Kairo was avoiding her, maybe she was avoiding Kairo, but it had been two weeks ever since their last conversation. Though, whatever the deal was with Kairo, Elvira knew that she was purposefully avoiding all of Kaeo. She did not know how to face him or Clary or any of the other dead people. Formerly dead people.

“At least being trapped by familiar people doesn’t involve doing chores…”

Elvira raised her hands up at the sky and chanted, “Magic Reincarnation, go, go, go!”

Obviously, nothing happened.

Elvira sighed again as her hands fell back on the flower grass. “This is so bad, I’m essentially worthless, why am I even here?” she got up with an ambition to charge inside and make demands for her freedom.

Almost immediately, realisation washed over her like a cold shower.

“Where would I go? I know nothing, I have no connections, no—well, I have friends but they’re all busy. The Count and Countess would begin paying them from the next month so they’re working hard. They’ll be financially independent soon and here I am,” she fell back into the grass, “Absolutely lost in life with a promising yet absent power,” she glared at her hands, “Can you be good at anything?”

She was allegedly good at something but she had never witnessed her own abilities first-hand, only the harsh consequences they brought along.  

“Elvira!” a voice called out.

Elvira groaned out loud and curled up into a ball, hoping the person would walk past her.

“Elvira! I see you there! Quit floundering with the flowers and make some use for yourself! Come, have tea with me!”

Elvira would rather eat Linch dung but she did not voice her avoidant dreams. Instead, she clawed up and forced her face into a smile, “Wilhelma!” she exclaimed, “Fancy seeing you so early!”

“Early? Girl, it is ten in the morning! It might be early for jobless folks like you but I, an employed person, just got off morning duty. Come along now, I’ll treat you to tea!” the tall girl exclaimed.

Wilhelma was considerably taller than Elvira and held a more poised sense of self. Her shoulders were always squared and chin held up high. Even with the harshest of comments, the smile never slipped off her lips. Her dark hair was always in a loose bun, so meticulously pinned that not a strand escaped from her head by the end of the day. She had a pair of dewy siren eyes which she used to convey her displeasure in order to not inconvenience her mouth.

“Treat me, you shall,” Elvira mumbled as she dragged her feet behind Wilhelma.

“Mhm, we’re drinking Hibiscus today,” Wilhelma replied, airily.

“I don’t even like tea,” Elvira grumbled.

“Nonsense! All ladies like tea! That is not how you will wed Kaeo! I’m going to end up grabbing him!”

“Please, make haste, the floor is all yours,” Elvira huffed.

“I would never do that to a friend…”

She had no idea how or why Wilhelma had decided to latch onto her, but this misfortune happened a week ago. She had been having an identity crisis amidst the flowers when the pretty girl showed up and offered her a sweet drink.

Elvira, having never had an overthought human interaction before, simply considered it a kind gesture and drank a sip.

Though, instead of watering the seeds of friendship with that drink, Wilhelma held out a hand and demanded compensation. Elvira, not having a morsel in her name, declared so.

Henceforth, they Wilhelma had established an uncanny sort of claim on Elvira’s time and presence. To a distant viewer, the girls drinking tea together, choosing clothes, running in the garden, petting creatures, would all look like acts of friendship.

But to Elvira’s distaste, it was hours of, “Oh, isn’t the tea marvellous? I know you do not like it, worry not, you shall develop the taste soon!” or, “Oh my! You’re horrible at coordinating an outfit! With that sack of a dress on you, do you think you will reach any man’s bed? Don’t worry, I’m here to guide you!” or else, “STOP RUNNING AWAY! ONE BITE FROM THE PAIX BEE AND YOUR INTERNAL INJURIES WILL BE HEALED, TRUST ME! IT ALSO MAKES YOUR CHEST BIGGER IF BITTEN IN THE RIGHT SPOT!” or maybe, “Yes please, wash the Hornstriders tonight, I’m so exhausted by chasing after you all afternoon. Won’t you help a friend out? You’re the kindest!”

Friend.

Elvira scoffed.

“…but if you take too much time, who knows, he’ll just end up in my bed instead!” Wilhelma giggled at whatever wild imagery her head conjured.

“I hope he does,” Elvira grumbled. “It’s not like I have known him for fifty years,” she scoffed, “five hours, give or take, at best.”

“It’s seldom about time and more about the hows, the whys, the whats and the what’s nexts!”

Elvira rolled her eyes. She wished she could straight up reject Wilhelma’s advances and walk away, but to her dismay, she had few hiding places and too much time with too less work to be excused for.

The only perk of being by Wilhelma’s side was facing the other residents of Helmire. Each and every recruit was an exceptional mage or entity, personally recruited by either Kairo or Kaeo for this elaborate mission to take over the world.

They were all useful minions and she was a useless burden they decided to weigh upon them, one unfortunate afternoon. A liability which roamed with freewill in a heaven of their creation.

“Ugh, I hate this,” Elvira mumbled. Having too much time on her hands had made her an overthinking mess of insecurities.

“Hate what? Tea time? I told you that you will develop the taste soon enough. It is refinement, trust me,” Wilhelma waved a hand in Elvira’s face and led her inside the gleaming black castle.

Misfortune tipped the balance of her life, once again, as they bumped into Kairo by the door.

“Oh, Sire Kairen! Sire Helmire! Hello! Pleasant day, is it not? What are you doing up so early?” Wilhelma exclaimed, going out of her way to demand a greeting.

Elvira rolled her eyes and slipped past Wilhelma in order to avoid brewing awkwardness in their morning greetings. The last push she needed to spiral was Kairo urging marriage. Her face wore a scowl, unintentionally so, as she sped past the greeting people in the hallway. She did not understand what ticked her off but she did not wait to comprehend either.

In her haste to escape, Elvira bumped into a person. Their papers flew out of their hands and fluttered up in the air. She burst in to a flurry of apologies as the person shrugged her off and waved their hand to gather the dropped material.

The exchange could have settled as yet another embarrassing memory to cringe over at 3 A.M. but fate had Kaeo witness the whole shenanigan and pursue a snide remark, “Is it too hard to watch where you are going or do I have to lend you my sight now?”

“It was an accident,” Elvira grumbled, “And it’s not like I want to siphon your magic off of you, okay? You don’t have to whine about it every time you meet my eye.”

“Kairo insists I marry you when I could easily have your pretty little head off your shoulders and up on my display wall.”

“Aw, you find my head pretty?” Elvira scoffed and fanned her hands around her face, “Obsessed with me, even when I'm dead? Sounds a bit loony.”

 Kaeo shrugged, leaning against a wall. His face exuded all the leisure a person could aspire to achieve.

“You should feel blessed that killing you would kill me.”

“Wow, makes me wanna slit my wrist and see what happens next,” Elvira rolled her eyes.

Though she had said the words with much nonchalance, Kaeo’s face darkened at the prospect. She was quick to recognise the hardness in his jaw and corrected herself, “My bad, I love my life too much to waste it over the likes to you.”

“Said the one who brought me back from the dead.” Kaeo scoffed.

“I did it for the Kaeo I liked,” Elvira said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Oh! You like me?” Kaeo mocked, throwing his head back in disbelief.

“What! No! not at all! the old you, who doesn’t exist anymore! the nicer person! I liked him, like I like Kairo, of course, like nor—”

“Oh, you like me?” Kairo whispered from behind her, scaring her enough to jump away. “Is that why you have been avoiding marriage with my brother? Why did I never consider this?” he wondered in a serious conspirative tone.

“You like my brother now? After all the leaching you’ve done with me? You want to marry my brother?!” Kaeo bellowed.

“Elvira, if you want to, I can—”

“NO! I DON’T LIKE EITHER OF YOU!” Elvira shouted before any misunderstandings could prosper.

“Is it me who you like?” Wilhelma jumped into perspective, grinning ear to ear as she pointed a finger at her face.

Elvira sighed, emotionally and physically exhausted by the exchange. “I’d like my magic if I can find it,” she grumbled to no one in particular.

Suddenly, Kairo perked up, his jade eyes glinting as he exclaimed, “I have an idea! Let’s go on a mission together, for old time’s sake!”

Crowned 3 - meeting the villains.

 

CHAPTER 3

Elvira, covered in mud, Linch dung and blood, ran across the forest floor like a fly trying to escape a spiderweb. More than a dozen Linchs used more than a million of their legs to chase her, wreaking havoc on the forest floor.

The ground trembled beneath her feet. The trees shook, the berries fell, some Linchs sprouted wings and began buzzing behind her.

“This is an evolutionary crimeeeeeee!!!” Elvira cried as she propelled herself forward with no regard for safety or a sense of direction in tow. Panic surged within her being; her feet felt like molten sticks detached from her body but supportive nonetheless.

All she did was run towards the blue in the sky, hoping it would lead her to the edge.

And to her surprise, it did. Lead her. To the edge of a CLIFF.

Even if she were to jump, the ones with the wings would catch her. Still, she couldn’t die being Linch food—just because she had no magic to her fate did not mean that she would die such a horrible death! Being drained out of her blood, no less. No.

Elvira shivered as she sped forward. The edge of the cliff was in sight. And so was the rocky terrain, not too distant, of another cliff. It was Amoris’ land and she would be illegally crossing borders if she jumped.

“I will deal with jail if I live to tell the tale!” Elvira coaxed herself.

The creatures were catching up. Her hands and feet got clammy, nonetheless, she tightened her grip around the wood and paper. One jump and she could live to see another day. One jump and maybe she could see Zinna again. This couldn’t be how she would end. So, Elvira took a leap of faith – quite literally.

Though, just as she flung up in the air, her breath hitched as two shooting stars zoomed past her side – one blue and the other green. Were they people? Mages?

Elvira couldn’t spare a thought as she lunged at the rocky cliff and grabbed a hold of its edge before she could fall to her death. Small rocks fell from where her hand had grabbed the coarse stones. She heard the rocks knock against cold hard ground and shatter.

Elvira gulped.

She did not have the gall to look down.

Her left hand was already hurting. She couldn’t propel herself upwards without using both hands.

But she could only hold on for so long.

The flying Linchs should have gotten her by now…what happened?

Reluctantly, Elvira turned her head.

Elvira gasped as what her peripherals witnessed amazed her senses beyond belief.

The shooting stars hadn’t been an illusion of near death and extreme dehydration — no, they had been actual people! Two mages, sweeping and slashing the Linchs like they were big bags of hay tied together. In mere seconds, the army of Linchs following her had been wiped out. The duo stood in mauve remains as wind fluttered past their blue and green robes.

“Did you get them all?” one of them asked as he superficially dusted his blue clothes.

“Uh-hm, there should have been twenty but I only have nineteen samples.” The other replied as he looked up and turned to spot Elvira hanging off the Amoris cliff. “Ah, there’s our twentieth.” He stated.

“A little help…please?” Elvira called out.

“Why not?” the mage in blue grinned. He tipped himself off the edge of Linch Cliff and floated over the gap, upside down, like a feather. His dark hair caught the sun and shadowed his sapphire blue eyes, which stared directly in Elvira’s dull auburn gaze. There was no magic circle around him, neither did his full rosy limps seem to be chanting a spell.  With practiced elegance, he landed on the Amoris Cliff.

“Woahhh…” Elvira gasped, “Enhancer Type?”

“Induced, Class Double S!” he replied, thick dark brows raised and mouth in a grin.

“No way! That’s so cool! I have only ever met a S before! My father is Enhancer Type, Induced, Class S.”

“Wha!” the blue mage gasped, “Where does he induce it?”

“Strength, mostly,” Elvira grinned.

“Cannot say the same about you.” The other mage whispered right behind Elvira’s ear.

“ARAHHA!”

Caught off-guard, Elvira let go of the cliff and fell. She yelped, expecting to fall into the abyss and be impaled by dry, hard, rocks. But she was quite surprised when her feet touched a solid ground. Gasping, Elvira looked down as found herself standing on a brilliant green magic circle, pressed against its owner. She turned to glare at him.

“That was vile!” Elvira snapped.

“Look brother, she complimented us!” he laughed, blonde hair catching the sun in an iridescent halo.

“Ha-ha! You’re so funny,” the blue mage grinned, eyes brightened by the comedy of Elvira’s life and death.

Elvira sucked in a harsh breath, processing his jade eyes and amusing gaze piercing through her skull.

“If you’re done resting on me, may we get the Linch blood off you?” the green mage asked. He had a thin mouth and a triangular face with sharper features, in comparison of his brother’s more rounded features.

Elvira blinked and jolted out of his personal space. “What? Blood? Yes-yes, yes please!” she replied, partially flustered and partially grateful.

The mage nodded and with a snap of his fingers a green magic circle appeared over Elvira’s head. She was captivated by the purity in its colour and the clarity of the symbols revolving around the circle. It gently passed over her body, elevating her of all the mud, dirt, moss, Linch dung and blood. As the circle reached the bottom of her feet, it disappeared and a mauve vial appeared in the mage’s hand.

“Conjuror Type?”

“Spells, Class S. Kairo.”

“Kairo?” Elvira blinked as the magic circle levitated underneath her.

“That’s my name.”

“And I’m Kaeo!” the blue mage grinned as he helped Elvira off the magic circle and grimaced at the sight of her gashed hand. He looked up at Kairo and the green mage nodded.

“I’m Elvira!” she introduced with a smile on her face before jumping off the circle and landing on Amoris’ territory.

Kaeo smiled back while Kairo took a hold of Elvira’s left hand and placed a magic circle over it.

“Why were you banished?” Kairo asked as the open gashes on her hand began closing up.

“Huh? Banished?” Elvira turned to face him.

“You have the mark on your neck. You didn’t know?” Kaeo asked, pointing at his neck.

“Oh…I didn’t know they marked me…”

“It’s seal,” Kairo observed, eyes narrowed at the brown brandishing engulfing her slender neck, “Created by some Soirse. You know them?”

Instinctively, Elvira detached her hand from Kairo’s magic circle and placed it over her neck. She felt a pang in her chest which she exhaled momentarily. To think her family would go through such lengths to get rid of her…Elvira took a step back and curled in her shoulders. Her eyes evaded theirs and she chose to stare at the dry, barren ground. Had she been wrong about the forest—did they jump continents and Land in Kalmia?

“It’s okay, Kai can hide it for you and we can go eat something good!” Kaeo exclaimed as he took a step towards her and patted her back.

Elvira looked up to face him. He had a kind smile which birthed dimples beside his pouty lips.

They would abandon her once they get to know why she was banished. Elvira decided to get done with it, sooner rather than later.

She huffed, mouth easing into a smile as she explained, “heh…actually, I was shunned for not having an ability. I’m cursed, apparently…so, I don’t think you people should be hanging around with me…” she grinned sheepishly.

She took another step back; hand still placed over the seal. “Bu-t, thank you for helping me, I’ll be fine, so before something bad happens to you, please leave,” she said.

Kairo scoffed. Kaeo snorted. Then, together, they burst into a howling laughter.

“C-cursed? Being cursed for not having an ability! Have you heard of this before, brother?”

“Nu-uh, never ever.”

“Oddity? Yes, but calling it Cursed is insanity!”

“Have you never been out of your town?”

Elvira looked at them, eyes narrowed with strange confusion.

“Just because a group of people reject you doesn’t mean you’re cursed. It just means that you haven’t found your right ones,” Kaeo shrugged and held out a hand for her to take, “Do you want to be with us instead?”

Crowned 2 - left to die.

 

CHAPTER 2

 

“Mhm…arrgh…”

Elvira’s eyes blinked in an attempt to open. The sudden light was blinding so she placed a hand over her eyes. The action birthed instant regret as a goop of mud landed on her face. Her left hand stung and the pain shot through her entire arm.

“Arff-argh-thoo-thoo!”

Elvira spat the gross wetness from her mouth and forced herself to get up. She opened her eyes and confirmed her surroundings to be the Humid Linch forest in the East. Her torso was soaked in mud and quite possibly Linch dung, she guessed from the stench of it. Her head and feet were relatively dry, covered only in dirt and moss.

She grimaced as she looked around to spot a giant tree with a hollow bark behind her.

“Ha--!” Elvira scoffed, “How kind of them to provide me with a new home,” she scoffed again, exasperation dripping off her frowning face. “In a Linch forest, no less, three towns away from home!” she grumbled to herself as she stood up.

All she had on was the white ceremonial dress and the excuse of a tree-house. “Not a single penny, nothing, pfft,” Elvira spat again, blowing the mud off her lips. She looked around at the short bushes, prickly vines, blue berries and lilac flowers around her.

“Perfect place they picked,” she snorted, “Not a single thing that isn’t poisonous! Well, the mud isn’t, yet—but who knows?!” she exclaimed to the bushes and the bees, whosoever was listening.

Linches were giant creatures with cylindrical body shapes and an inflated middle abdomen. They were characteristic for their more-than-a-thousand mini tentacle-like feet which possessed enough suction to suck the living juice out of anything that came in contact with it. They thrived on Purbush Berries and their poison, which made their skin equally venomous. They had a soft sheen of hair over their skin, both of which were lethal.

“One touch and you’re dead,” Elvira giggled to herself. “What am I supposed to do now?” she grinned at the flowers. “Why am I behaving like this?” she giggled again, “Zinna must have given me a big boost. Ahahahahaha.”

She stopped talking and her face fell. Carefully, Elvira got up. Her stiff limbs ached with every step she took towards the hollow tree-trunk. Only to find it empty and narrow enough to only let her stand and move her arms.

“What was I expecting even…?”

She picked up a thick branch from the foot of the tree and inspected it. Though, before she could draw a conclusion—her ears picked up the subtle rustling of mud and leaves. Her academy teacher’s words resonated in her head. She remembered her class, the small muddy glass bowl everyone was given and the angry little Linch inside it.

“Linches want to be as stealthy as snakes but the sheer number of their so-called feet affects their mobility, quite a lot. Remember to never come in direct skin contact with a Linch or you will die before you could even call for death. Now, you see that thin membrane below its head and over its body? That is the only weak point of a Linch. This right here—hey! Pay attention! This, this is the vessel that can burst—”

The crawling closed in.

Goosebumps travelled all over Elvira’s body.

She struck the stick against the bark of the tree and created a, albeit weak, lance for herself.

“Distance, distance, I must maintain distance…”

She looked around in order to determine the direction of its location. Her left hand was still covered in mud, which was seeping through the open gashes from last night. If Elvira did not find a water source as soon as possible—she would have to lose a hand.

She needed to escape fast but the only way out of the Linch Forest of the East was the Linch cliff. Beyond it, Elvira closed her eyes to imagine the world map, “Come on…what’s beyond Linch Cliff? I know there’s Amoris Town but what’s in between? Forest? What forest? Marshes?”

Leaves rustled.

Elvira put her right leg out and leaned slightly, readying the makeshift lance.

“What am I doing…I should be running away?” she mumbled to herself, head jerking per second in all four directions, “But mother did not raise a quitter…” she whispered, subconsciously enough.

Then, Elvira grimaced, halted her fighting stance and got back into talking position, as if explaining to herself, “No girl, mother raised no one.”

The words were confirmation enough for Elvira to nod and shrug. “True that,” she mumbled.

“Are…you talking to yourself?”

“AAAAAHHH!” Elvira screamed, jumped to switch her stance, slipped over a wet leaf and fell face-first into the mud-dung puddle again.

“Woah, woah, easy there!”

Elvira jolted to a stand, her wooden lance wielded as a sword. She looked around only to find a Linch nearing her.

“AAAAH WHY ARE YOU TALKING?!”

“What do you mean talking?” the creature stopped and stared at Elvira with big beady eyes.

“This—words, what?! I am talking to a CREATURE! Bug-Insect Creature—Linchs cannot talk!” Elvira shouted and grabbed the end of the wood lance with both of her hands.

“Oh! come on, sweets, all creatures talk!”

Elvira grimaced. Her brows mushed, eyes crinkled, nostrils flared and lips flattened to a line.

“Please do not call me sweets,” Elvira gagged, “Knowing that you could literally consume me any moment does not help your case.”

“But mages are desserts,” the Linch replied in a matter-of-fact-tone. It began crawling again.

“The Linchs I saw in class did not talk! You cannot talk! I’ve never read about it!” Elvira exclaimed, backing off into more mud puddles.

“Way to deny reality and awful that you’re getting reality checks from the lowest ranked creature out there…but yes, all creatures, who are naturally bred, can talk.”

“Wow…this is a real low for me.” Elvira dragged out in a breath.

“But hopefully a pleasant meal for me!” the creature exclaimed and pounced at its prey.

“NOO! I WON’T DIE BEING YOUR FOOD!”

Elvira shouted and ran all the way back into the hollow tree.

“Why run when you cannot hide, sweets?” the Linch sang. It had a deep voice with a resounding baritone to it.

“Come on, think about it…what was the weak point of Linchs? We covered it last year, I should remember this…”

The creepy crawling neared with every second Elvira spent thinking. The hollow was small enough for someone with Elvira’s lanky limbs to hide.

“Come out, sweets!”

Suddenly, its forebody was grasping at the edge of Elvira’s skirt, pulling it outside. Its middle abdomen was too big to enter the hollow so it resorted to dragging Elvira out.

Though, his tugs snapped just the right memory.

When the creature recoiled with every pull, the thin membrane hidden between his forebody and middle abdomen would show up.

“Just a little touch would be enough!” the creature sang.

“Just a little touch, yes,” Elvira sang back and stabbed the wooden lance right into his weak-spot.

Mauve fluid oozed out as the creature burst open, its body scattering around the forest floor in hundreds of bite-sized pieces.

“Argh…gross!” Elvira moaned as she placed the wood lance right before the edge of the cloth that Linch had died grasping. Then, she pulled her dress from behind it. What could have been a perfect horizontal tear suddenly ran all the way up to her waist, vertically.

Elvira yelped as she let go of the fabric before it could cross all of her thigh. Though, instead of catching a glance of her pale skin, Elvira spotted a piece of paper taped over her right thigh. She ripped it off, owing to surprise—and instantly regretted it because of the pain.

The paper read: Meet me at Dowdry Lane, FX83551

“Huh? 83551? Zinna? It’s her handwriting.”

Elvira mumbled as she stepped out of the hollow. As if on cue, a blob of mauve fluid dropped from the tree and drenched her in Linch blood.

“Arrghhh, CoMe On!” Elvira stomped as she marched out with the stick in one hand and the paper in another, her white dress-skirt now flailing like a flag of defeat. She tried to wipe the fluid off of her but the more it came in contact with its kind, the more it kept sticking into each other.

“There was something about these…the Linch blood…I remember…what was it?”

She marched past a cluster of dense Purbush Berries.

“Umm…it isn’t deathly, I know that, but…”

She turned back after reaching a rock wall. The deeper she walked into the forest, the more it rustled, as if trying to communicate with her presence.

“What was it?”

Beady eyes glinted behind a tree as they caught the sun.

“Where even is Dowdry Lane? Is it in a town? A city? Who stuck the note?”

Leaves rustled behind her, as if crunching notes of doom in her behest.

“Note? Oh! I remember!” Elvira’s face perked up, “It was in the upper left side of the textbook, in a yellow box reading note to remember! Linch blood attracts other Linchs and in mourning they consume the remanent of the dead Linch in order to immortalise the memory of the lost!” she clapped.

“Well done, sweets.” Another deep voice complimented.

The non-existent colour drained from Elvira’s being. Hair stood up on her face as her eyes widened in the horror the realisation had created.

Elvira did not turn.

Elvira bloody ran.