Aquie: "Yen, would you like to accompany us to the palace tea party?"

Aquie, her older sister, asked with worry, brushing her silky maroon hair and checking on how she looked in the mirror, emerald eyes beaming with hope.

Yen was quite the shy girl, so she would try her best to avoid anyone or join in social events. She heard about the different controversies and scandals happening through the conversations of her parents, and she decided she didn't want anything to do with it. She was only 12 years old.

Yen: "I supposed attending wouldn't be a bad idea."

She was scared of regretting her decision but watching as her older sister seemed much more relieved, she just decided that a little sacrifice wouldn't hurt at all.

Yen: "I shall prepare then, before we are late."

Aquie: "Yes, please hurry."

She headed out the door and with her lady-in-waiting and 2 other servants beside her.

Yen: "Kayla, please prepare my clothes for the tea party. The one I have on at the moment is too.. gauche."

She was wearing a plain pink dress. It didn't seem suitable for a tea party held by the Princess.

Kayla: "Yes, my lady!"

She entered her room and her dress was already brought in. It was a beautiful shade of red, ruffled till her knees. It was sparkling with glitter and gems, and her servants were proud of giving her the dress.

She proceeded to change and the maids hurriedly brushed her hair, the same color as that of her sister but her hair was medium and wavy, not long and straight. Her hair was tied in a halo braid and it quite complemented her looks well.

She headed down to the carriage, which quite took a while as the mansion was quite big. She entered and sat, opposite to where her sister sat.

Yen: "Marione won't come?"

Aquie: "She's quite engrossed in magic, so it's best to leave her be."

Yen: "I see.."

Yen: 'Marione has always been busy.. What a large obsession on magic'

Silence overlapped the carriage until they had soon arrived in the Imperial Palace. Three people were waiting at the gate. One was wearing such a fancy dress while the other two seemed to be her servants.

Aquie curtsied at the person, and it urged Yenn to follow.

Aquie: "Blessings to the light of the Lidonia Empire."

Dianna: "It's great to see you once again, Aquie. Who is this, if I may ask?"

Aquie: "This is the third child of our family, Yen. She never attended any events yet so I am glad she was able to join me in this tea party."

Dianna: "I see.. There were a few other children a while back, who wished to explore around the palace, so she could talk to them."

With that, Yen was led to the eastern part of the garden. She was quite amazed with the large space, but she was also quite curious about who the other children were.

She spotted 3 boys her age, chatting away for the day and she figured that these were the children.

Yen: 'This is going to be quite awkward.. All of them are boys.'

Yen: "Hello. It's nice to meet you.."

Rui: "WAHH! Finally, a girl! It's nice to meet you too!"

Haru: "Please, allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Haru of the Osrine House."

Sei: "I am Seiru of the Osrine House. You can call me Sei."

Rui: "And I am Arui of the Devoz House, but you can call me Rui."

Yen: "I am Yen of the Ceresé House, pleased to meet you."

Sei: "From my knowledge, the Ceresés are the ones closest to the Imperial family, is that right?"

Yen: "Oh yes! My older sister is good friends with the Prince and Princess, so the rest of the family are on highly good terms with the Imperial family."

Rui: "Amazing! To be friends with members of the Imperial family must have been quite hard to achieve!"

Yen: "Yes, that's right. And by the way, Are Sei and Haru siblings, perhaps?"

Haru: "We are cousins but we often see each other, so many would assume we are siblings."

Rui: "Right, continuing our conversation, the Osrine family quite lives up quite a name on itself."

Sei: "Members of this family are often members of the royal guard, so it's not quite surprising. Like how the Devoz house with their festival plans or the Ceresé family with their magic.

Silence overfilled the garden, with all 4 children lost in thought

Yen: 'Right. The four most known families were the Osrines, who most members were part of the royal guard. The Devozes, having the largest contribution to the empire's festivals. The Garces, with their large sense of justice and making things right. and the Ceresés, whom most were born gifted magicians but all members had to have at least an average amount of magic.'

Sei: "About magic, Yenn, how big is your level of magic?"

Yen: "M-me?!"

Sei nodded as three of the boys stared at her in curiosity. It made her quite embarrassed but it would continue on if she didn't show or tell them anything.

Yen: "I only have a bit over average, so I can only do things like this.."

She lifts her hand up and some leaves on the floor fly in the air. Wherever she directs her hand, the leaves follow. She did this for at least 10 seconds so as to end the showcase once and for all, she closes and opens her hand quickly, spreading the leaves on the air.

She didn't think that much of her skills, as this is only the most simple trick any family member could do, but to others, it was quite a scene. Being able to use magic seemed like a cheat or a cool move to do.

Rui: "WOAHH.. That's so cool!"

Sei: "I agree. Being able to witness it myself seems better than just hearing about it."

Yen blushed at both compliments. It was normal to receive compliments from being able to use magic, but she could never stop getting used to it.

Yen: "Thank you.."

Haru: "But it seems like you didn't use all your strength.."

This shocked her.

Yen: "H-how did you know..?"

Haru: "You don't seem at all exhausted. You're only sweating on your face."

Yen: 'Ah..'

Yen: 'So he has seen this at least once, maybe from Marione. Yes, most likely..'

Haru: "I've heard from my father that Marione, who I assume is your sister, has made quite a spectacular performance as a gift for the Prince's birthday a week ago. Something that had to do with floating droplets of water in the air. He mentioned she was tired after 4 hours of magic tricks just to entertain those curious."

Marione had tried to make the atmosphere a little bit better after a small quarrel from immature dukes fighting over something as simple as a robbery. Each were accusing each other and were gradually getting louder, to such a point that the Imperial family had to get involved. The Emperor had them arrested for disrespecting the Imperial family.

The whole mood of the ballroom had been negative. Many were whispering amongst each other, and others were still thinking about what both Dukes had to say to each other. Marione hated the mood and she wanted to fix it by making the air a bit more fresh, to ease people a bit and giving off a much better view by letting droplets of water hang around the people.

For her, it was a simple trick with a little help with illusion magic and nature's magic. Yen had watched it on the balcony, admiring the sight, and slowly but surely, many of the people in the ballroom had slowly forgotten what had happened. It was life saving for the Prince as to not have his birthday ruined to shreds.

Yen: "What you have said was true. I just wanted to consume energy."

Haru: "I see."

Rui: "Can you stop acting like adults? It's making me a little less carefree and more nervous."

Sei: "Yes, let's change the subject.."

____________________

Dianna: "It seems they are enjoying themselves"

The rest of the girls were having their tea party on a table not quite far from the children. Aquie sipped her tea in satisfaction as Yen communicating well with others had eased her worry. Showing too much magic could consume all her energy, but she knew it was to gain friends, so she paid no heed to it.

Aquie: "I was quite worried she'd act like such a loner but it's eased me quite a lot to see her socialize."

Syria: "She's quite a cute kid, she reminds me of you. It makes me wonder what she'd look like once she's grown up."

Lidia: "Maybe she'd be with my little Rui. I would love to see that happen someday!"

Octavia: "Or little Haru or Sei, they're both quite the gentlemen at such a young age. They'd know how to treat her right."

Aquie: "They're still quite young, we don't need to fantasize about it, but hopefully they don't grow immature. That's the only thing I'm hoping for."

Dianna: "That's one thing I can agree on."

Lidia: "Let's change the subject."

Octavia: "About little Marione.."

____________________

The afternoon had ended swiftly and smoothly as the sun was starting to set.

Dianna: "Are you sure you don't want to have dinner with us? It is quite a journey home."

Aquie: "As much as I want to accept your request, your highness, I wish not to worry my parents about my younger sister's safety. Therefore, I hope to see you next time when we have the chance."

Dianna: "Make sure to bring that little sister of yours to my next invitation. Don't forget Marione. She shouldn't shut herself in her room and I have yet to thank her for her deeds last week. Brother was quite stressed at that time."

Aquie: "Of course, your highness."

Both girls of Ceresé had bid Roxanne farewell and headed in the carriage.

Aquie: "You seemed to have enjoyed your stay."

Yen: "I was quite nervous at first, since I don't know how to socialize.. But they seemed like good people. We even became friends!"

Aquie: "I'm glad you came then."

Yen: "Thank you for inviting me.."

Aquie: "I just wanted you to socialize. Sitting in the mansion all day won't do you any good."

She paused for a moment, then continued on.

Aquie: "But you showed too much of your magic this afternoon."

Yen flinched.

Yen: 'So she saw me.. Maybe even the others with her did..'

Aquie: "You're all huffing in here, immediately drink some water and eat a lot once we arrive back home."

Yen: "Yes.."

Maybe she used too much magic. Her skin seemed quite pale from almost overexerting herself. She even felt so drained that she might pass out at any moment. She would be much more careful next time.

They shortly arrived earlier than expected and were able to arrive in time for dinner with their family.

Mrs. Ceresé: "Yen, you were with Aquie? Thank goodness.."

She gestured to them to sit.

Yen: "Yes, mother. I tried socializing while Aquie was having a tea party with the Princess."

This left Mr. and Mrs. Ceresé shocked.

Mrs. Ceresé: 'My daughter? Yenn? Is socializing..?'

As they sat down, Yen noticed the female with buttermilk hair and scarlet red eyes, quite content as she ate a mouthful of steak as she just listened to the conversation. It was Marione, whom she hadn't seen all day, except for breakfast.

Yen: "Marione, why didn't you come? The Princess was expecting you."

Marione: "The Princess was expecting me? What an honor! But I was busy all day reading books in my room like always."

Mr. Ceresé sighs at the statement.

Mr. Ceresé: "Magic is essential, but you should go out in the sun too."

Marione: "Only when I have time to. I've almost mastered the concept of life and death and it's only a matter of time before I do spirit magic."

Aquie: "That's already for adults, please cool yourself.."

The sudden troubled expression of hers turned into a smirk.

Aquie: "Unless.. You already considered yourself an old woman."

Marione: "A-Aquie-!"

Marione stood up, both in surprise and embarrassment. Her composure seemed even worse. Yenn was shocked as the one she thought of as a reckless, calm magician could have been bothered by simple words of her older sibling.

Aquie giggled at the sight and both parents were stunned at the reaction.

Yenn: "Your complexion.. You're getting redder and redder.."

Marione realized this and took some deep breaths before sitting down and eating in silence.

Mr. Ceresé: "Do not try something foolish now, Marione. I can't risk any dangers happening to Aquie."

Marione: "Of course. Why would I even.. I am no fool, father. Please show some faith in me, would you?"

The room felt gloomy from her disappointed tone. Mrs. Ceresé decided to make the mood better by talking.

Mrs. Ceresé: "So, you are almost at the end of all the magic lessons from those books?"

Marione: "Yes mother. I just need to master a few more spells in the books and I'll be free from workload."

Yen decided to just stay silent. She didn't know that much from the conversation, so it was best to keep her mouth shut.

Yen: 'Marione is already at that stage? How shocking..'

The art of life and death was something that couldn't be mastered easily. If Marione was almost done with that, she just needed to master spirit magic and divinity magic, which only at least 2 of our family members of the entire bloodline could have mastered.

Marione: "By the way, Aquie.."

Aquie: "..?"

Marione: "Could we go to the Imperial Library next time?"

Aquie: "Hm? Why so?"

She hesitated for a moment. She knew what she would say next would cause misunderstandings so she let out an awkward and small smile.

Marione: "To read about black magic.."

The entire table fell silent. Everyone, most especially Mr. and Mrs. Ceresé looked as white as a sheet of paper.

Mrs. Ceresé: 'M-my daughter? Black magic?!'

Yen: 'Is she trying to master that too?! Isn't it common sense to know it's illegal?'

Aquie: "I know high level magicians are able to endure the effects of black magic, but you should still know it's illegal. Is this some new way for you to show off?"

Aquie tried to compose herself.

Aquie: 'She must be going insane!'

Marione: "Ah, no no, I don't mean it like that."

Aquie: "Hmm? Then I will allow you to clarify your words."

Marione cleared her throat.

Marione: "I just want to read its spells, and I don't plan on using it at all. I just wish to help the empire in case there would be someone who started using black magic. I would be able to know who has black magic, which spell, and more. I would be able to detect it better that way.

She stayed calm all the way. It did make sense because the more you know about black magic, the more you'll be able to spot those using it. Though she was full of doubt by the sudden mention of black magic, Yen decided to put some faith in her.

Yen: "I believe her. Why would she use black magic when she's like me, who hates criminal acts."

Marione: "Exactly!"

Another wave of silence came. Both parents were skeptical but they knew the silence would have been bad since the question still hasn't been answered.

Mr. Ceresé: "I'll leave the answer to you, Aquie."

Aquie: "Alright then, I shall ask permission from the Imperial Palace. The Princess did say she wanted to see Marione so this might be the right opportunity."

Marione: "Thank you."

She wiped the napkin on her mouth and stood up.

Marione: "Then I shall take my leave."

She left the room.

Yen: "I shall also take my leave. I am quite full."

Yen left the room and hurried along to catch up with Marione.

Yen: "Marione, hey! Please, wait up!"

They decided to talk in Yen's room. Marione was quite curious as to why she was called upon so she decided to just accept the request.

Yen: "You can practice magic here as you please. I have some questions to ask."

Marione: "Oh, sure. Ask anything but it depends on the question."

Yen: 'I knew she'd say that.'

Marione sat on the couch and teleported a book in her hands and started reading it while lying on the couch. She was serious, but Yen knew that what she would be asking for would interest her and her love for magic.

Yen: "Can dreams.. Be somewhat of a prophecy?"

Marione flinched. She took a look at Yen in shock as she sat up and straighter than ever.

Marione: "Yes. Why do you ask?"

Yen: "I had a dream. Where I was attacked by this.. weird looking creature and woke up once I supposedly had 'died'."

Marione: "What did the 'weird looking creature' look like?"

Yen: "A taupe colored eagle with a large looking devil's tail?"

Right. That was the scariest thing she has ever seen her whole life. It ate everyone on her surroundings until she was the last one standing.

Marione: "And what did you feel when you woke up?"

Yen: "Eh? Nothing. Is there a need to?"

Marione got up and hit the book on Yen's forehead with a quick tap. It left a pinkish mark from the impact.

Yen: "O-ow! What was that for!"

Marione: "That isn't a prophetic dream, you idiot! If you don't feel any emotions after a dream, then you literally thought of that before you slept!

She then mumbled.

Marione: "Making me worry about the Empire's danger over nothing.."

She teleported out of the room, pissed off. But the teleportation left out blue specks of glowing dust, which amazed Yen as the power of teleportation was just beautiful.

The pain she felt on her forehead still ached as ever. She didn't want to rub on it as it hurts so much, but she didn't want a bruise.

Yen: "Kayla! Please get some ice!"

Kayla: "Yes, my lady!"