It was nearly evening when Mother decided to visit my quarters. I say, that's a little too late even for her. I have already dressed out of the lovely dress which I have worn from the party, and I'm glad I have. It's just such a shame that something as beautiful as that one gown was spoiled by the malice of a supposedly peaceful afternoon that I would have spent alone.
I was now seated in front of my vanity, pretending to tend to my hair as that was how Marina usually spend her time in her room. Some said it was because of her narcissistic tendencies. Rumors no doubt. I'm quite sure that Marina is in fact no narcissist, spending her time watching herself in the mirror only to scorn her face every second.
The reason? I don't really know.
Mother sat by my bed, just beside where I was sitting. She looked bewildered, aware that things went the wrong way for her and especially for me and Father. He wasn't there, but those ladies might as well curse him at his face with their gossip.
I pretended I didn't notice her in a way that shows how much I am pretending that I haven't noticed her. I just can't bear to look at how she's still wearing the elegant gown that marked her belongingness to the noble society. It makes me uneasy just by looking at it.
"I know you upset, Marina," she said. Obviously! Why wouldn't I be? "But I just thought you could've held it in before you marched out like that. I heard from the maids that you weren't really having a headache. You were just faking it. If they would've known that, they would've—"
"Why does it matter, Mother?" I asked.
She was shocked, but quickly caught herself up as she looked at me in a worried way. "Marina, you could've tarnished our name back there! You could've shamed us in front of every high ranking family in the kingdom."
"But have I really? I thought it was already blemished as it is. Or perhaps you were more worried about your own family?" My mouth couldn't stop. It just blabbered the things I couldn't, like Marina herself had the chance to speak her mind. Maybe, she was thinking the same things as I am. How different she is from the world her Mother knew. "You know I have never been a noble no matter how much of your blood I have. I may have been born and raised with luxury, but that doesn't mean I know what it takes to be one. Even how I act doesn't count be as one. And what's more, those people, I don't even know their names!"
I was fuming so much that I couldn't stop myself. I have been sitting here all day, wondering how things work in here. How things were like for Marina herself to be stuck in this walls all her life, not knowing anything about the harsh society. Because even if she hasn't faced them yet, she has already been under the unfair influence of the kingdom's noble circle. Then quite as suddenly, she's out with the very things that mocked her behind back. Who mocked me behind my back.
Mother looked appalled by my outbursts. "That is not how a Lady should present herself! You are not to talk back to me like that, Marina!"
Silence loomed between us. I averted my gaze away from her and continued brushing my hair. Mother sighed, perhaps realizing that it wasn't exactly my fault that I didn't know how to be a lady. I was never taught to be one. Besides, I was meant to be a mage. It's in my blood.
But I guess even that was out of the question. Who would believe that a sickly girl, one who was said to be spoiled rotten, doted so much that she never knew danger, could surpass her father from being the greatest archimage for the queen?
No, that was before I came into the picture. Now that I'm here, I'm quite sure Marina has a fighting chance.
As that thought crossed my mind, a voice suddenly echoed inside my head as if to taunt me. 'Why do you wish to fight this time around? Why now?' I ignored it, placing my brush over the vanity and choosing to stand up as I did.
"Where are you going?" Mother asked. "It's not appropriate for a Lady to go out at this hours." Again with being a lady.
"But we haven't had supper yet, have we Mother?" I said.
Truly, I come to have a liking to Marina's parents who only wished the best for her. But right now, I hated how she's taking the pressure of the noble ladies from before. She needs to get a grip.
"I just wish to have a talk with Father, Mother. I'm sure he'd be delighted to have my company this evening." With that, I was off without a second glance given to her.
As I walked out, I realized how out of character I was being. It's not so often that you hear anyone change personalities with just a good night's sleep. Okay, maybe it wasn't a 'good night's sleep'. I was poisoned after all. Would a near death situation be enough for an excuse?
"Why the hurry, dear?"
I looked up from my fidgeting hands. "Oh, Father!" I exclaimed, my face brightening. "I was just out to see you. I—"
"You've gone to the library, haven't you child?" I didn't answer, only stood with face getting serious. He only sighed and asked for me in a somber tone. "Walk with me, Marina. It looks like we have a lot of talking to do."
.
.
.
.
The air in the rose garden's of our mansion was chilly, with the night breeze blowing making me feel so widely awake and refreshed. Something about the place felt so rejuvenating. It's like that feeling I've got when I was in our library.
Is this, mana?
"That's right," Father said, as if to answer the question in my head. "And it's not just any mana. It's from the ancient water dwellings that render great importance to our bloodline. It's the very reason I've accepted the offer of her royal highness to live in this place. If not for that fact, we wouldn't have lived in such a luxurious place such as this."
Father lead me towards a secluded little hut at the back forest that ran along the edges of our gardens. I once wondered why there were no walls in this part of the manor, but now I finally understand the reason.
Fireflies I have never seen before, glowing in different colors flew high and about the unkept grass and across the mossy trail, all the way to the door of the little dwelling that was made out of dried oak wood. Along its handle was the same kind of seal engravings that I have seen written on the one by the library.
This one is sealed as well.
Without much of a hesitation, Father draw a pinch of red liquid from a very small vial hung around his neck like a necklace, dropping it on the letters that glowed slightly before the door clicked open. I had a vague feeling that that the liquid was no ordinary potion and it had something to do with how I got to enter the enchanted library.
Before I could ask however, he was already inside and so I had no choice but to follow and sit in front of him in a wooden stool.
The little house was simple with no more than a single small table, three wooden stools and a shelf filled with different bottles in all shapes in sizes. There was no bed, only a hanging hammock fit for one person. It's humble space was so different from the comforts of the luxury I have been accustomed to. A commoner's home, that's what it seemed like. But strangely, I felt more at home inside than any room in the mansion. It feels so familiar.
"Have I been here before?" I asked. It was a strange question for myself for I haven't been in a place where I wasn't supposed to exist in.
Father smiled. "You have," he said. "You've been here once back when you were little. You played a lot with the pixies and spirits outside that I had to drag you home when it got dark. That was before you—"
"I got sick?" I asked again. He nodded.
The conversation suddenly taking a gloomy turn, Father's face reverted to that of pain into serious business. We were here not because of the memories, that much I was sure. Whatever it is he has to say, it had something to do with the talking book in the library and what I have to understand. Because if I don't, I seriously don't know what happens next.
"You've met the great Mika, I reckon?" he started.
"Mika? Is that his name?" Huh. The talking binder never told me he had a name. "Who is he really? He just appeared out of nowhere and talked about all this stuff. I mean, are all of those things really true?"
I already knew the answer before anyone could give it to me, but some things just don't make sense even if it's the truth. That's why, I need to hear it from him directly.
Father looked at me grimly, his eyes showing the gravity of our situation. The past of our family, and the future that I hope won't make it as bad as I think it is ought to be.
"All of it is true," he started. "No matter how much we wish it isn't, it's all true. He told you, didn't he? How things today aren't like what happened in the past. Our roots have been mangled and destroyed and only this single line from our family is yet to fully disappear."
"I assumed you already heard it, but the sorcerer Mika might have talked in riddles so I would like to explain," he said and I nodded, eager to understand the things I don't. "Before the royal family took hold of the kingdom of Aquaris, our people was supposed to be a tribe of those who had the affinity to water. Our ancestors lived peacefully beneath the depths of the lake that once existed here in this very lands. We were blessed by the goddess of the lake and that's why our blood is recognized with the ability to wield it and make it as a part of our own."
"But then, land settlers came. Those who called themselves the children of the sun. Our lands were flourishing, unlike theirs so they tried to take it away. They had no power, but the corruption didn't hold out well with the blessings of the lake. It dried up before anyone could do anything, leaving us exposed and under the role of the land dwellers who are, as what you might gave guessed, the aristocrats of today."
"But doesn't make sense!" I yelled. "How come they get to rule and not us? How come we are the commoner's eventhough magical affinity is deserving of what nobility should be?"
Father sighed. He put his hands together and stared longingly outside the window as if remembering a distant past. "It isn't like that, my dear," he said.
"What do you mean, Father?" I asked. I was just too frustrated. Why would out ancestors give in to this treatment when they had the power back then?
"Magic and mana has once been deemed evil back in the day. It's different now, but before our family, the Asturias, finally proved the importance of it, other small mages were looked down upon and outnumbered. Our family was only slightly different for we had the strongest control over water and so the royal family found it useful for their political affairs to have some sort of protection. With that and the blessing of the lake vanishing, magic slowly faded away as well."
"And that's why you chose this place as home for its presence of mana. To have our magic be strong even through it."
He smiled. "That is right."
"But why are you telling me this now?" I asked.
Father stood up and so I followed along. He grabbed me by the shoulders with both hands and stared directly into my eyes. His gaze was too powerful that I thought I would break by its weight. Something tells me that I have to carry a lot more of that heaviness, and unfortunately, I would be all alone again.
"It is time, Marina. You are the next Asturias that would hold that power and that responsibility. You will soon have the duty of protecting the nobility as per the oath to the crown. But you must never forget what you have learned today."
All I could do was stand in my place and try my best not to flinch and show how much those words scared me. It was too much. Marina, that frail little girl from the story, had she been able to carry this? What's to say that I could if she didn't?
There's a tiny voice in my head that faltered as I acted tough and proud. That voice was mocking me, asking me the true thoughts that rang in my head.
'Why should you accept this, Marina? You can always just give up. Turn back. Do what you had for a second time.'
Why should I, indeed.
—
[ FINISHING THE STORY - blue ]