Rage surged through Ember. How dare Felis touch her father! How dare anyone touch one of her people. Not again, not ever. She ran forward, calling on haste. She sped up and then immediately fell over. Pain racked through her legs, sudden and shocking.

"Ember!" Her brother rushed to her side clutching at her.

Ember gritted her teeth, pushing back the pain. Why didn't haste work? A sinking feeling formed in her stomach. She needed to call Keeper.

The crunch of steps pulled her attention away from her thoughts. Rowan tightened his grip on her arm.

"Did you not use the healer I sent you, Mila?" Lord Felis asked, standing above Ember.

"I did, my Lord," her mother said, her voice polite but strained.

"Then what's wrong with her," Lord Felis said. "Stand up, girl."

Ember's entire body shook with the urge to rip apart the man in front of her. She might have tried but with what happened while using haste she didn't dare. She pushed herself off the ground, trying to climb to her feet on shaky legs.

"Hurry up," Lord Felis demanded.

Before she could do anything, he grabbed her by the hair, yanking her up. Sharp pain throbbed in her scalp and she glared as she looked into Lord Felis's face. A face that some have called beautiful, with features that seemed to be carved from porcelain. He looked younger than his mid-thirties but that was to be expected in those that had been awakened as Seedlings. His green eyes seemed to glint in the sunlight, something that many of the village girls swooned over, but all Ember could see was how calculating they were.

"Let go of my sister!" Rowan demanded, yanking at her arm.

"Please, Lord Felis, my daughter is still recovering."

Lord Felis ignored them both as he stared at Ember's face. "What is wrong with her eye?"

"I've been cursed, my Lord," Ember said and she couldn't help the grin on her face as Lord Felis abruptly let her go.

Released from his grip, Ember found herself yanked back by Rowan causing them both to tumble to the ground.

Ember looked up and watched as Lord Felis walked back to his guards. As he did, he pulled out a handkerchief, wiping off his hand. She couldn't help smirking at the sight. She knew Lord Felis had a well-earned fear of such things.

"Camila, how did your daughter become cursed?"

A guard was beside her mother, blocking her with his arm. It seemed he had stopped her mother from trying to reach them.

"I don't know. We went to see Priest Octorin. He thinks it might have been a Curse Touched."

Lord Felis paled. "We're leaving," he said to the guards before abruptly turning and going to his carriage. "I will be back for payment, Mila."

Only when he stepped into his carriage did his guards let her mother and father go. Ember watched the carriage with narrowed eyes as it drove away. She never forgot to pay her debts.

"Ember! Rowan! Are you both alright?"

Her mother and father rushed over and Ember found herself squeezed between the two. Warmth filled her, easing back some of the anger though only revenge would settle it.

"You're cursed?" Her father asked and his voice was pained as he pulled back to look at her.

Ember nodded. "But Priest Octorin says there is someone who can help us. The curse isn't even active yet."

Her father looked at her mother for confirmation and she nodded. Her father sighed and then scooped Ember up in his arms.

"You should rest. You are still healing."

Ember snuggled into her father's arm. She was really too old to be carried around but she let herself enjoy it this once. Soon enough, she was laid down in the straw mat that was her bed and a fresh blanket was put over her.

"Rest," her father said, brushing her brow. "You are safe now."

Ember wasn't sure if the last words was meant for her or for him, still she nodded and snuggled into her bed. Moments later her door was closed. She listened which wasn't hard to do in the small shack they called their home.

"Why didn't you fight back?" Rowan demanded.

"Sometimes it is best not to fight."

"I hate him! You should have fought! It isn't fair for him to do this to us!"

"Rowan, enough!"

There was the stomp of feet and then the slam of the front door. Ember could imagine what happened. Rowan running away, her father's pained expression. It was the same expression she had seen so many times in her past lives. One filled with the helplessness of not being able to protect the ones he loved.

Ember had no intention to merely sit back helpless though. She would give her family a place to live happily and safely. The first step towards that was to find out just what was going on with her abilities.

"Keeper's Hold."

Immediately, golden cases floated in the air around her.

"Abilities."

The cases shifted and thirty cases hovered in front of her. Of those cases six were empty. That was expected. She could only hold thirty abilities at a time and she always made sure to leave five slots open for temporary abilities. The last slot was for an ability she was still trying to obtain but didn't have the capacity to hold beyond as a temporary ability. Perhaps, in this life she would actually manage to obtain it.

Ember pushed away the wave of greed and focused on the task at hand. She looked at her abilities until she found Haste. In the case was a dim ball of white light that looked like tightly coiled wisps. Next to the ball was a floating paper. She read the paper.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

---

Haste

The ability to move at speeds faster than natural human capability.

Status: Permanent

Capacity: 100%

Requirements: Physical. Physical requirements not met.

Access: 0%

---

The Keeper was a minimalist as usual. Still, it answered her question. Some abilities required her to reach a level of physical fitness to be able to use them. A quick glance at herself was enough to show that she wasn't where she needed to be to access any of her physical abilities. Still, it was strange that the capacity remained 100 percent.

She pondered that. Her ability has always been odd.

"Keeper."

The floating book appeared once more and she turned to the opening pages where her skill laid.

---

Finder's Keeper

The ability to find what you seek and keep what you find.

Status: Akashic Gifted, Permanent

Unlocked

1 - Find inanimate objects

2 - Find unawakened creatures and people

3 - Find knowledge

4 - Find awakened creatures and people

5 - Find abilities

---

When she first received her ability in what she now deemed her prisoner life, she thought it was a useless ability. That was before she discovered that she could unlock levels within it. Even then, it wasn't until her tyrant life that she had truly seen its worth.

Three lives she had lived - a modern life, a prisoner life, and a tyrant life. What type of life would this one be? The question was not as hard as she thought it would be. Both in her prisoner and tyrant life she had lost her family. This time she would make sure to save them and protect them. To do that she would need to recover her strength and not only that. She wanted to get even stronger.

She paused at that thought. Strength was good but her tyrant life taught her that strength alone wasn't enough. What she needed was a way to keep her family safe. Somewhere they could be safe even if she wasn't around them.

A safe place.

That gave her an idea. It would involve some planning, taking knowledge, finding people, but the more she thought about it the more she liked it.

My own kingdom and in the center a place that can't be touched by my enemies.

In some ways it was an impossible dream, especially for someone like her who knew only how to destroy instead of build. Still, it was worth trying. Her family was worth it.

Why stop at family? There are friends I want to protect as well.

Ember shut that thought down. She was getting ahead of herself. Right now, what was important was to find out how weakened she was.

Time to go through her remaining abilities. After going through them, Ember was left with a lackluster conclusion. Of the 24 abilities she had only eight of them she still had access to. Of those eight all of them were weakened except one - Soul Torture.

She grimaced. What kind of person did that make her that the only ability she was completely capable of using was Soul Torture? She rubbed the bridge of her nose. At least it was good for combat though she had never liked using it. It was a last resort because there was no doubt that the ability was pure evil. She knew it wasn't just a personal feeling either. It damaged her soul whenever she used it.

Viera hated that I kept it. Even Tafria would look away the few times I used it.

She frowned at the thought of the pair. One had betrayed her and the other had died for her. It was a reminder of her failures. She wouldn't let that happen again. She shoved the thoughts away and instead focused on what was in front of her.

She had seven other abilities she could use:

1. Stealth

2. Illusions

3. Fire

4. Water

5. Earth

6. Air

7. Sleep

The elemental skills were known growth skills and many Seedlings were blessed with access to them. In the magic schools, it was elemental abilities that were often what was taught. Not that she ever had the opportunity to go to a magic school. They were for nobles and people given the privilege of being recommended by a noble house. Most people who were awakened as a Seedling through touching a sapling were given at least one elemental as well as a second ability.

Stealth was another ability that was not unheard of, though it was monopolized by the noble house of Rakel. There have been times where a few people outside the house had gained the skill. One was a famous thief. It was from him that she gained her stealth ability.

Which brought an interesting thought to mind. She had taken her abilities from several people. Did that mean in this life they would no longer have them or since this was a new life would they regain them again or even gain different abilities?

She couldn't be sure. There were some problematic people she had stolen abilities from. Well, it wasn't anything she needed to dwell on. If she encountered them, she would deal with them then. There were even some she wouldn't mind allowing to keep their abilities if it didn't affect her maintaining the ones she had. The thief had been highly amusing.

Illusion and Sleep were rare abilities. Weak as they were they wouldn't hold up against any Seedling with a very strong soul or mind, but they would still be useful against physical types and unawakened.

In any case, the abilities she had were enough to get her started and were more than most people had access to. Probably only the royals and the high nobles had access to this many and she knew for a fact that none could switch out her skills like she could.

I shouldn't think like that.

She should be focusing on avoiding the nobles not comparing how powerful she was to them. Well, at least until she was ready to fight them. She had no doubts she would run into them eventually. Even she couldn't stay under the radar forever and she had no intention to either.

Now, it was time to start on the first part of her plan. Ember hopped out of her bed, happy to note her legs were already feeling better. She then turned to her bed and focused. It took her at least three minutes before she could complete the illusion, but once it was done in her bed laid a sleeping version of herself.

Much too slow to complete but it worked so that was enough. Now the next part.

Stealth

She felt herself change. It was like she became less herself, less real. She never got used to the feeling of stealth. It always felt like she was losing her place in the world. She waited a moment as her stealth covered her. Then quickly she moved out the door.

While stealth didn't make her invisible, at least not at this level, it did make her less noticeable. Since her parents were not Seedlings it would be even more effective. Leaving the house was easy. Outside she froze. Her father stood in the front yard chopping wood.

She moved quietly passed him. Honestly, she wasn't sure it would work. It would have been better if there were other people around or it was dark. Still, she kept moving, hoping he wouldn't notice her.

Her father grunted. She froze. His forehead was creased and his brown eyes seemed to burn with a harsh light. He wiped his brow and then grabbed another log. He swung his axe. For a moment, Ember paused and watched him. His axe cut into one log after another in a quiet fury. Ember shook herself from her staring and kept moving. Her father never looked her way.

When Ember was far enough away from their house, she started to run. She ran down to the village and as she did she felt something snap. Her body jerked at the sensation and right away she knew that her illusion had fallen away.

That must mean I'm too far away for the illusion to-

Slam! Her thoughts scattered as a body crashed into her. Ember was knocked to the ground and her stealth dropped.

"I'm sorry!" A familiar voice cried out.

Ember turned and for a minute she froze. In front of her was a girl with messy black hair and wide brown eyes. A bruise covered her cheek.

The girl scrambled to her feet, bowing. "Sorry."

"Patricia!" A voice bellowed.

Ember turned and a large man with bloodshot eyes stumbled in their direction.

The girl turned to her with frightened eyes. "Run!"

Ember looked at Patricia and she turned to face the man. She grinned. "I'd rather not."

Time to try some magic.