Crowned 7 - Facing the Music.

 

Elvira let go of the utensils and immediately ran up to Clary’s side for washing her hands.

Clary, numbed to a stand-still, let herself be pushed to the side while Elvira washed her hands.

“We must go,” Yuna declared, only for Clary to shake her head vehemently.

“I—I don’t think I can go…” Clary whispered, her gaze stuck on the vegetables in front.

“It’s all right, you don’t have to force yourself…” Elvira whispered while patting Clary’s back, “You don’t have to go.”

“B-but, Lira…” Clary sniffled, brows joined together and lips in an upside-down frown.

“Not everyone has to be brave, not at the cost of yourself,” Elvira smiled.

Yuna nodded as she hastened towards the door, “It’s alright Clary, we understand. Let’s go, Elvi.”

Elvira left one last reassuring pat on Clary’s back before jogging out of the kitchen. Clary stared at their backs before nodding to herself, “I’ll manage their chores here,” she said, flaring her nostrils. She wanted to go…she wanted to help Lira, but her body stiffened at the thought of being near to any of Helif’s parties.

The mere word shot her seven years back, when she was the newest collection in Helif’s basement. She remembered his leering gaze running over her body as he brandished her in front of a table full of grinning men and women.

A band of musicians played slow music behind her as she was forced to step on the table, clad in a short frilly dress and serve the nobility all night long. Glass after glass of burning liquids were poured down her throat until she was delirious enough to forget all sense. She did not know what happened to her as the lazy piano keys turned into chirping of the morning birds.

All she remembered was waking up on the table, unclothed and hurting all over.

Clary clenched her teeth as she went back to washing the vegetables, praying in her heart that Lira would not have to face the same fate as Yuna and her.

In the hallway, Elvira said, “I will go outside, you should alert the head butler.”

“The head butler? Even the laundry maid could care less when it comes to people like us,” Yuna scoffed.

Elvira could only grit her teeth in agreement.

“I’ll distract them, you search for Lira and run, yeah?” Elvira proposed.

Yuna sighed as she nodded. Ever since Elvira had arrived, five years ago, she had been taking the falls for Clary and Yuna. Every time the Count would want to corner Clary or Yuna, Elvira would jump in, get hit or be horribly degraded as distraction.

A while ago, Yuna had confronted Elvira about it, only to receive the reply, “I don’t mind, I have nothing to lose anyway.”

When she saw Elvira running out of the glass doors, leading to the Garden and Gazebo, without looking left or right to care for what’s coming – Yuna could only clench her teeth.

Elvira wasn’t brave, she realised, Elvira just did not consider herself as a person worth consideration.

Her hasty steps over the grass were a stark comparison to Yuna’s careful ones. She ran boldly, shoulders squared and head held high while Yuna crouched behind tall grass, shoulders curled and keen eyes stalking the shadows of the night.

 Elvira scowled as spotted Lira standing beside a grinning Count Amaria. He had his hand over the small of Lira’s back, fingers gently caressing her squirming waist. He was about to introduce Lira to the party in the Gazebo, when Elvira jumped in.

“Milord! You haven’t introduced me to your friends!” she grinned and lodged herself under Count Amaria’s arm, elbowing Lira out of her way, “Why are you wasting your time on new scum when you can have all of experienced me?” she giggled, fanning her face.

“Ugh, this girl!” Count Amaria scowled as he pushed her out of his arms, “Don’t you know your place?!”

“I do, master,” Elvira grinned and dropped to his feet. “Won’t you keep me for your friends, master?” she faked a mewl, fluttering her eyes at the grinning crowd. Thankfully, she had chosen to wear a high-collared, full sleeved servant outfit with her uniform stockings and shoes.

“No—get away, you’re hideous,” Count Amaria bellowed and tip-toed to look for Lira. “Where’s the pretty one gone?”

Unbeknownst to him, Yuna had carried Lira inside.

“Why look for the pretty one? She’ll cry and whine, be reluctant all night long,” Elvira jumped up to stand in the Count’s face. “I’m better,” she winked and walked up to a guest, “I can be very entertaining,” she whispered as she ran a hand over the guest’s chest, nearing his abdomen, she said, “You can test me.”

“I like this one!”

“Yeah, she seems fun!”

“Forcing isn’t enjoyable. She’s so willing, she’d do it all sober.”

Elvira winked at the guest who praised her.

Count Amaria sighed as he took a seat at the head of the table, “You folks do not understand,” he pressed his lips in a line, “She’s hideous all over.”

Elvira merely blinked flirtatiously.

“It’s okay, I like her face. She could do it all clothed, wouldn’t you, slave?”

Elvira fluttered her eyes and acted coy, “Why not? My bite grooves will only stimulate you.”

“Bite marks!” a guest exclaimed, leaning onto the table, he urged, “Show us.”

“They’re…” Elvira giggled, “They’re quite harsh.”

The crowd roared into laughter while Count Amaria rolled his eyes.

“Kinky lass.”

“How harsh?”

“Show me all of your marks, slave.”

Elvira obliged as she slowly rolled her sleeves. The slow piano and saxophone took over the silence as a dozen of depraved gazes waited for her to expose herself.

As soon as both her sleeves were above her elbows, Elvira raised her hands for all to see.

Instantly, the men began coughing, whispering and evading gazes.

“They’re not bad, just Kindler bites. You know them? Creatures of the dark! Their bite spreads their cause but somehow, I survived!” Elvira grinned.

The piano and the saxophone escalated into a giddy pace as people began shuffling backwards.

“Don’t back away, my saliva only hurts on a full moon,” she bluffed.

Instantly, everyone’s heads flipped to look at the two moons in the sky. One of them was a full moon and the other a crescent.

“G-um, just serve us drinks. Be—”

“Better yet, leave us be. We had something important to discuss tonight, did we not, Count Amaria?”

“Indeed, we did,” the Count sighed as he glared at the back of Elvira’s head, “The Northern Plains have been subjuga—why are you still here? Leave.”

“Yes, Milord!” Elvira exclaimed, a little too happily. She was about to run away when a cold voice halted her.

“Hold up, I can still entertain you all with her. Since she interrupted us, she has to pay a price.”

Elvira gulped, clenching her jaw, she turned back to face Count Amaria. His dark eyes caught a glint of the lanterns and gleamed deviously.

For as long as his soiree lasted, Elvira’s screams were the supporting vocals to their background music. Right outside the gazebo, Count Amaria had Elvira kneeled over the prickly grass while one of the guards lashed her back.

Guests drank, shouted, sang and were eventually taken away by their servants. Count Amaria too was taken inside, before his drunk mumbling could ruin public relations or reveal national secrets. All the while, Elvira laid on the damp grass, pricking and soothing her gashed back. The lasting notes of the music were heavy companionship along with the stars and the two moons.

The universe was so silent…or maybe it was screaming, like her, and nobody was paying attention.

The next day, the sun would rise and everything would stay the same. Her smiling face, the sparkling pond, the jumping fishes, the breezy garden, they would all stay the same.

“Some days…I’m grateful my scars exist.” Elvira informed the sky. A smile graced her face which eventually turned into a grin as she spotted her birth star twinkling. “Ah…Mirai, you cheeky traitor.”

“Elvi? Is that you?”

Elvira sat up and winced at the suddenness of her own actions. She groaned before replying, “Ye-ah, I’m here, Clary, it’s all clear.”

The girl jumped out of distant bushes, her blonde head glowing under moonlight. She ran up to Elvira’s side with a box of medicines in her hand.

“Was I that loud?” Elvira grimaced.

Clary rolled her eyes as she kneeled beside her friend, “I’m sure the entire empire heard it.”

Elvira seethed as Clary unzipped her dress and pulled the fabric off her body.

“Do you have any sense of self-preservation?” Clary scoffed sternly.

“My apologies, your highness, I shall do better next time,” Elvira joked.

“Wrong answer!” Clary exclaimed at the bloody sight of Elvira’s back, “There should be no next time!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…”

Clary applied ointment over Elvira’s scarred back, cringing and wincing every time Elvira did.

“Does it hurt a lot?” she asked, apologetically.

“Surprisingly, not so much,” Elvira grinned.

 

Because, a continent away, a blue-eyed boy writhed in pain.

“Is it hurting still?” the boy beside him asked.

The boy in bed shot up and scowled, his face shadowed by the darkness of the room, “It freaking feels like I was lashed!”

Crowned 4 - Petty Villainy

 

CHAPTER 4

Elvira blinked at the hand held out – was she supposed to take it? Clap against it? Or run away from it? Why would someone be kind to her for no apparent reason?

The last time people chose kindness with her, she hurt them for not keeping up with their expectations. What did these two expect from her? She had nothing on herself except for a torn dress, a broken stick and a crushed piece of paper.

“W-with you?” Elvira asked, “What do you do?”

Kaeo shrugged and Kairo waved a hand in her face, feigning nonchalance.

“Not to brag or anything…” Kairo started.

“But we’re sort of big…” Kaeo continued.

“We’re going to conquer the world, you see.”

“We are super villains!” Kaeo exclaimed.

“Not really!” Kairo rushed to explain, “Super villains have a territory to rule. We do not have that—”

“--we’re working on that.” Kaeo interrupted.

“We will be super villains, one day. We’re just villains for now, umm—petty villains.”

A smile broke onto Elvira’s face. She nodded in understanding. They were being kind to her because they were societal rejects as well – probably because their brain wasn’t in the right place.

“Linch killing villains?” Elvira asked, amused.

“Oh that? That was for research purposes,” Kaeo shrugged, pointing his free hand back at the Linch Cliff.

“What research?” Elvira urged, concluding their lack of normalcy.

“The world conquering kind,” Kairo whispered, jade eyes narrowed with conspiracy.

“Are you sure you should be telling me that?” Elvira exhaled, exasperated. She took off her hand from her neck and let go of the stick, quite instinctively.

“Of course, you don’t seem harmful.” Kaeo said as he stepped forward and patted her back (since she did not take his hand).

Elvira scoffed. “You’re awfully trustworthy for being villains.” She had read stories; textbook villains did not work like that.

“She called us awful,” Kairo whispered and shared a fist-bump with Kaeo.

“Don’t worry, if you ever seem threatening, we’ll kill you instantly,” Kaeo grinned.

So…the reason they chose to be kind was because she had no magic. “Ha…” Elvira scoffed, “How reassuring.”

“We look out for our underlings.” Kaeo stated, in a business-like tone.

“Not that we have any.” Kairo urged to add.

“Doesn’t mean we won’t have any.” Kaeo snapped.

Kairo nodded, “True that.”

“Unless, you become our first!” Kaeo proposed.

There was an eager earnestness in his eyes that set Elvira’s heart aflutter. Startled by his kindness, Elvira looked away. The tips of her ears were beginning to blush but her stomach beat them to attention. It produced the most strangled cry for food that Elvira had to physically strangle its non-existent throat.

“Oh—I’m sorry,” she mumbled, embarrassed.

“Nothing to apologise for, let’s go!”

Kairo nodded and with a snap of his fingers a brilliant magic circle appeared underneath the three. It dazzled under the sun, captivating Elvira’s attention, and before she knew it, they were standing in the middle of a busy bazar. Her eyes widened at the sudden change and her hands rushed to cover her flaws but with another snap of Kairo’s fingers, the three of them were dressed in black overalls with matching black hats and ginger hair.

“Isn’t he so useful?” Kaeo grinned, ruffling Kairo’s hair.

“He is overtiming with this magic,” Elvira scoffed as she looked down to observe her clothes. She had a black turtleneck on which was long enough to cover her neck and thin enough to survive the vengeful afternoon sun. Her legs were clad in loose black pants and comfortable heeled shoes. “Your spells are to die for…” Elvira mumbled, mesmerised by the details.

“Kairo is brilliant. Maybe one of the reasons why he isn’t able to ascend to Class SS is because I keep using him like that,” Kaeo grinned.

“Yeah, Enhancer Types are usually inherently selfish,” Elvira snorted.

“It’s okay, Kae will pay me with his life,” Kairo grinned back.

Elvira was taken aback by the nonchalance of the promise. “Where are we?” she asked, looking around at the bustling square. Even in the harshest of afternoons, people were buzzing with life. The streets were lined with shops and stalls, while adults and children alike clamoured for new products and bargained for the old.

“D’amar Square,” Kairo replied.

“They have the best noodles.” Kaeo informed.

“What…what continent are we on?” Elvira asked, frowning at the bright sun and dry wind threatening to suck the non-existent moisture out of her.

“Kalmia, land of the shapeshifters.”

Suddenly, the bright grinning faces made sense.

Kaeo led them across the street and inside a small, dimly lit, restaurant. The interior was cold and damp, walls a dark brown in colour and furniture made out of hardwood wood. The spicy scent of well-made noodles held a chokehold on every nook and cranny.

They took a seat in a farther corner, Elvira with her back towards the wall and the brothers facing her.

“Umm…I must confess…” Elvira hesitated as she began, “I don’t have money.” She whispered.

Kaeo and Kairo leaned in as they whispered in sync, “It’s okay, neither do we. But villains don’t have to pay. Watch and learn.”

Kaeo leaned back and called, “Lizzy, get me three large bowls with extra toppings!”

“They’re all Lizard-folk shapeshifters,” Kairo explained.

“Wouldn’t they be weary of us…? We’re different than them.” Elvira said, biting on her lower lip with hesitation.

“They won’t know. Illusion spells are rare to master and Kairo has perfected them.” Kaeo stated, fanning hands around his brother’s face.

“Wah…you are all amazing…” Elvira grinned, putting two thumbs up in their faces. She wished she was half as excellent as them…but all she could do was be a freeloader to them. She did not want that. “Is there something I can do? To help?” Elvira asked, leaning over the table.

“Of course, you’re our first recruit in the World Domination plan! You’ll be working plenty from now on, so eat a lot first,” Kaeo said.

Elvira sniffled.

A red haired and thin-yellow-eyed woman placed three bowls of noodles on the table before walking away.

 “Hold up now,” Kairo said. With his fingers, he drew a line on the table, connecting the three bowls. The line left a faint green glow. In the centre, Kairo drew a circle and started drawing symbols around it. As soon as he was done, the lines glowed a brilliant green before disappearing. “A simple illusion spell, the bowls will appear filled as long as we’re here. They don’t take money unless we eat,” Kairo explained.

“And they ask foreigners to pay at service,” Kaeo pointed out.

Sure enough, Elvira saw the waitress counting coins a few tables away while the food bowls were balanced on a tray in her hand, steaming hot.

“Can you not create an illusion of money, instead?” Elvira asked, frowning.

“I can, but it would disappear too quickly. The duration of the spell in codependent to its intensity and the range of the caster.” Upon seeing Elvira’s stupefied look, Kairo chuckled before elaborating, “For example, I’m here and I create an illusion of a pebble then it will disappear as soon as I am out of range, which for it would be the door of this place. How do you calculate range? It is the density of the created object multiplied by the mass. In simpler terms, big objects have a larger range and duration in comparison to smaller objects.”

“Let’s just eat,” Kaeo said.

“Yeah, you do you,” Elvira sniffled and shoved a bite in her mouth—like the starved woman she was. It had been so long since she had eaten…she felt bliss capture her soul as she scarfed down the rich broth with thick noodles, each bite more fulfilling than the last.

“Spells are an intricate art…and science,” Kairo sighed, staring at the two hungry souls beside him, “You’ll never understand.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don’t want to,” Kaeo mumbled in-between bites.

As soon as they were done eating, the trio got up and left the restaurant, as stealthily as they had arrived.

“So, how long will the illusion last?” Elvira asked.

“For about ten stris,” Kairo replied, “We can be out of the Square by then.”

“Thank you for the meal…” Elvira said before a burp escaped her mouth, “This was so good…ugh! Ah-ha! Now that we’re done with petty villainy, what are we doing next?”

Kairo and Kaeo narrowed their eyes at her, expressing disappointment.

“What?” Elvira asked, eyes widened.

“Is there somewhere you have to go?”

“Oh! That reminds me!” Elvira rummaged her pockets and was surprised to find the piece of paper in them. Again, surprised by the finesse of Kairo’s magic, she took out the paper and showed it to them, “Here, do you know where this is? It was taped to my thigh; I found it after I woke up.”

“Hmm… Dowdry Lane, never heard of it…”

“FX83551…is it an address or a code?”

“All I know is that the handwriting is similar to my bestfriend’s, back home.”

“It’s alright, once we take over the world, we will have all the resources to find your pretty little lane!” Kaeo exclaimed.

“Wah…you have too many things on your agenda.” Elvira scoffed.

“Pfft…what do you mean? We only have two things on our agenda!” Kairo exclaimed.

“Yeah, see,” Kaeo held up a finger, “World Domination,” Then he held up another, “Find Dowdry Lane.”

“Easy!”

“How kind,” Elvira pressed her lips in a smile.

“Okay, now that you’re with us, we’ll let you in on our research secret,” Kaeo began.

They were walking amidst the crowd, barely keeping track of each other by their striking hair colours.

“Are you sure it’s the right time and place?”

“There’s a time for everything if you make it—”

Suddenly, the bustling street darkened and the glaring sun disappeared into a haze.

“W-w-what’s happening…?” Elvira stuttered, frowning at the skies above.

People began disappearing from her vision until all she could see were Kairo and Kaeo closing in. Was it one of their villain tricks? Elvira stood corrected as she spotted the harsh frown on Kaeo’s forehead and the panic surging Kairo’s eyes.

“Remember how we’re not super villains?” Kaeo began.

“That’s because there’s someone above us, the one with territory.” Kairo continued.

“The real super villain.”

“Stay behind, it is a trap.”

Kairo pulled Elvira behind him as Kaeo stood in front of her, with his back to her face. They were trapped in a cage of darkness and Elvira could barely even see her hand. Yet, she could feel the warmth exuding the two bodies she was trapped in between.

“Can you see it?” Kairo asked.

“Yes, but—”

“Don’t worry, leave them to me. Take her and run.”

“W-w-what are you talking about? What is there? What is happening?” Elvira stuttered.

Kaeo turned to face her and Elvira squirmed upon sighting his glowing sapphire eyes. He was an Enhancer Type mage so it made sense that he could enhance his vision to see all that Elvira could not. “Don’t worry, do you mind?” he asked, eyes wandering over Elvira’s scared face.

Odd gurgling noises birthed around them.

“Mi-mind what?” Elvira asked, hoping he wouldn’t sacrifice her.

“This.” Kaeo wrapped an arm around her waist, picked her up and flung her over his shoulder. “I’m counting on you, Kai.” He shouted as he began running with a yelping Elvira on him.

“Always,” Kairo said. He raised a hand and a magic circle appeared over it, enlarging until it covered the darkness and illuminated it a brilliant familiar green.

Hanging and bouncing, all Elvira could see was the green spell interacting with the darkness, eliciting fiery embers and disgruntled cries in their path. Her eyes widened in realisation as she caught sight of a thin, sharp claw-like hand being burned by Kairo’s spell.

“They’re Kindlers, creatures of the darkness. The darker it gets, the stronger they become. Their bite spreads their cause. But, but, they cannot survive under sunlight or moonlight, which is just reflected sunlight—so, they are either found in the depths of oceans or underground or within dense forests. It’s impossible to see Kindlers on land, in broad daylight, unless someone had been harbouring them in an illusion of absolute darkness.” Elvira said, remembering the textbook pages of her Creatures of God Book II, ed. 12.

“Brilliant, you win a back-pat!” Kaeo grinned and patted Elvira’s back, “They’re his favourite pets. Perfect minions of death.”

“His?”

“Yeah, our father’s.”

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.

The You in Me: 6 - Trust.

 

CHAPTER 5

In her dream, the world was simpler. She was a teenager living at the periphery like all humans, trying to make ends meet, trying to find value in life. She was plain yet dreamed of fame every night she went to bed. Though, when the morning sun would dawn on her window the dream would dissipate and she would come to a realisation, “I am good for nothing.”

The sun was bright and its rays were scorching, burning holes through the tree leaves guarding her window pane. Cicadas were set to world domination with the sheer collective force of their chorusing. The rays were getting hotter by the second when she sat up in her bed and held her face in her hands, unable to face herself. Then, the might of a singular sunbeam melted the window glass only to penetrate inside and light her house on fire.

Flames engulfed her.

She was outside, suddenly, running and screaming for her parents.

“Ma! Papa! Where are you?”

Her vision was red and her senses hot, tall skyscrapers crumbled to dust before her. She climbed the debris, desperate in her efforts to dig into it and find something…or was it someone? In her subconscious, she knew the rest of the neighbourhood would be safe. Still, her hands clawed into the broken glass, sharp iron beams and chalky cement – where were her parents? They were nowhere to be found. She screamed and screamed her mother’s name as the flames took down her town and memories. They drew closer with every breath she took, lusting for the oxygen within her. The fire was there to burn her, but somehow, it wasn’t touching her.

“What is the cost of one kind deed?”

The sentence echoed in her head, over and over. Suddenly, there was a mirror in front of her and she couldn’t avoid facing herself this time. Seraphina Dysis. The skin was melting off her face and body, leaving a bony skeleton and piercing grey eyes bleeding in the consequence of kindness.

“If you continue like this, it’ll only bring your ruination.”

It was her mother’s voice this time, echoing through the fire. Suddenly, the flames were smoke and the smoke clustered in the sky as clouds and a new day dawned.

An electric current shot through her body and Seraphina was jolted awake.

“Ah, Dread Dysis,” the matron called, flipped through the many pages on her notepad, and scratched her name off. “You will find your items inside your drawer. The classes commence in ten so I’d recommend you make haste.” The old lady, tall and skeletal, white as bone itself, passed a smile to Seraphina and walked away to zap the student on the next bed.

The ravenette, still in the midst of deciphering dream from reality couldn’t help but gasp at the heavenly white aesthetic of the infirmary. “Am I dead?” she whispered to herself as she scrutinized her arms and legs for burn scars. She found none. She flipped her head to the bedside table and shoved her face in the mirror. It reflected a perfect glass skin, sharp scarlet eyes and shiny raven hair. Seraphina pinched her cheeks and ruffled her hair to confirm reality from illusion again.

“You’re not gone yet? You could miss your chance if someone steals your seat, Dread Dysis,” the bony matron commented, voice nasally and crisp.

Ah, yes, the Choosing Ceremony. She was going to hug Ahren…only to be tasered in the back?

Et tu, Ahren?

Seraphina shook her head in exasperation. Her trust, yet again, was too easily earned with simple acts of kindness. Maybe this was what her dream was alluding to.

She pulled the bedside drawer open and found a glossy black bag inside. Its handles were intricately carved as golden vines spreading into the bag’s fabric on the front. Her jaw dropped in awe as she carefully picked up the bag and placed it on the bed, handling it with only her index fingers and thumbs to avoid leaving any dirty fingerprints of her hands.

Seraphina searched high and low to find a zip or a buckle on the bag but to no avail. Instead, she just sat straight for a good minute and stared at its glossy finish, then realising that time was running out, she cradled the bag in her arms like a million-dollar child and jumped off the bed. She had seven minutes to navigate her way to the first class – whatever it may be, she wondered as she shoved her feet in her shoes, careful not to crush the heels.

There must be someone around, Seraphina thought, who could help her.

The ravenette circled the bed and pulled away the white curtains separating her from the person beside. The fluid motion of her hand led to reveal a face likely to help her with her demise instead. Soft dark hair ruffled out of their style and piercing golden eyes narrowed at her with obvious grudge, greeted her sight. Instantly, Seraphina pulled the curtain back in its place.

“You saw nothing,” she said and fled out of her curtain containment. She may not know where to go, but she did know not to interact with a true Astherian without magic constraints around him. No matter how appealing even as a dread.

Just as Seraphina was about to step out of the infirmary, a hand grabbed her by the shoulder and twisted her to face its owner. The said owner had the curtsey to lower his neck from the clouds to meet her eyes; pinned against the infirmary wall, caged in between Kaizer’s arms, the ravenette gulped.

“That would be impossible, I see everything. I have six eyes,” Kaizer deadpanned. On cue, the tiny iridescent crystals embedded above his brows blinked open and golden irises meandered in the small space they were provided with.

“That’s…” Seraphina sucked in a breath, “truly creepy,” she breathed out and bent under his arm to walk out of his armed-cage. Only for him to push his palm against her forehead and bring her back in, against the wall.

“I can see things before they happen,” he stated, pointing at his eyes, looking dead on the inside.

“Well then, can your eyes see how late we will be if we don’t get going right this instant?!” Seraphina exhaled, frowning at his dead-faced persistence.

“But I cannot see why I don’t want to kill you…” his words dragged to a whisper.

Seraphina raised her brows in exasperation, “Why thank you? For being a decent hero?!”

“It goes against my basic principles…” he leaned in, close enough for their noses to be inches apart.

“I t-think the professor c-can refresh that when he’s, uh, dishing out our punishment!” Seraphina pressed a hand against his chest and pushed him away.

Kaizer sucked in a sharp breath and took several steps away from her; his brows joined together in a frown, as if repulsed. Though, his words seemed to betray his actions as he whispered, “Our sounds nice.”

Blood rushed to Seraphina’s face as she kicked the infirmary door open and stormed into the hallway. “What the heck is his deal?! If he doesn’t want to kill me, he’ll jump me instead?! Can’t he just stay away?!” she fanned her face with both her hands, consequently her bag fell to the marbled floor. “Dammit!” she cursed and bent down to pick it up, instinctively, by its golden handle.

The bag clicked open upon her touch.

“Ah, you figured it out,” a dead gasp birthed itself above her ear, warm breath fanned her nape. Seraphina felt an overwhelming presence shadow over her, so close to her back that she could feel the warmth trapped in between their bodies.

“What is wrong with you?! Are you following me?” Seraphina snapped and jumped several steps away from Kaizer, lest she’d do something unreasonable as lean into the warmth. Oh, the horror!

“Being choked by a microphone wire does things to you,” he shrugged, nonchalant.

Though, before Seraphina could fathom a response, a string of violin notes resonated through the wooden walls, slowly but aggressively building up into a crescendo.

“That’d be the warning music,” Kaizer pointed his finger at the sky-high ceilings vibrating the music through the ancient castle.

“You folks surely have a thing for dramatics,” Seraphina rolled her eyes and pulled out a map from the bag. The sheer thickness of its folds indicated her probable failure, so, taking a hint, she tucked it back inside her bag and faced Kaizer.

His lower lip curved into the tiniest of smiles as he held out a hand for her to take. The music was building up faster, every note louder than the last. Hesitantly, Seraphina placed her hand over his, avoiding eye contact.

“I meant the bag; it’d have your teleportation device…but this is okay as well,” Kaizer winked. Flustered, Seraphina was about to snatch her hand away when his slender fingers held onto her hand, encasing it.

The last memory Seraphina held of someone holding her hand with such firmness was her with mother, when Seraphina was a toddler in human kindergarten and was being bullied for crying too much. She missed her home, her dolls, her story books and her puzzle pieces that she had to leave behind in order to attend school – a place feted with snobbish kids who never asked her to play with. The loneliness led to tears, the tears were an excuse for the mockeries and the bullies – a symbol of weakness which she wielding everyday until her mother would come to pick her up, at the end of the day. She’d hold her hand with firmness and reaffirmation; and she wouldn’t let go until they were home.

There was a warm attachment Seraphina associated with handholding and to share such a moment with an Astherian who should hate her mere existence was appalling.

“Let’s go,” he whispered.

Seraphina did not know where, but she followed anyway. It’s almost as if she was compelled to. One step turned into golden leap and suddenly the hallways around them phased away and she found herself at the foot of what seemed like an empty battle ground. Surprised, Seraphina turned to look for Kaizer only to find him no one behind her.

So much for trusting a person again.