<< 18 hours earlier >>

A painful impact jolts my body and wakes me with a start, moments before my head whacks against something hard and unyielding. Even though my brain feels like scrambled eggs, my instincts kick in almost immediately and I roll backward to avoid another strike. The sound of something hard hitting the spot where my head was just a moment ago reaches my ears. Seems like I managed to... The back of my head slams against an obstacle, leaving me sprawled awkwardly across the floor with an aching skull, ringing ears, and blurry vision.

“Unbelievable!” a harsh feminine voice spits out with disdain, “How many years have you been sleeping in this room? And your reaction is still that pathetic?! Can’t even remember where the walls are?! A blindfolded toddler could do better!” A shadow looms above me, its arms crossed on its chest as its mouth twists into an angry scowl.

I rub at my temples, trying to massage the pain away, then blink repeatedly to clear the fog clouding my mind and sight. “Hello, Mother...” I grumble through clenched teeth. Slowly but surely, the world around me gains definition. I look down at my hip where I was first struck. A red outline of a combat boot sole remains imprinted into my skin, blood seeping from the broken capillaries underneath. A dull ache resonates from the wound. “Thank you for the wake-up call, I guess.” I glance back at my mother, who greets me with a glare of utter contempt.

“You are a hundred years too young to speak to me in that tone,” she snaps at me, “Are you gonna spend the whole day on the ground? Get up already.” I reluctantly climb back to my feet, keeping my mouth shut this time. If there is anything I learned about this woman in my eighteen years of life, is that I should always pick my battles. Especially with her. She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration. “Seriously, even that useless brother of yours handles himself better. He might be worthless as a warrior, but even he can tell left from right! It’s like you just forgot everything that was taught to you.”

I groan and try to shake my head, but stop immediately as the world keeps spinning around me, threatening to send me tumbling back to the ground. Thankfully, my headache abates enough after a few deep breaths, allowing my senses to stabilize and restore. “I’m sorry, Mother. I...”

She doesn’t let me finish the sentence, cutting me off with an annoyed huff. “Sorry? Will sorry save you from the fangs of an ambushing predator? Will you say sorry to the blade that cuts open your throat?” My mother takes a few steps closer, her hands reaching for me and grabbing my collar in a vice grip, almost strangling me. “Sorry is nothing more than an empty word thrown by the incompetent to mask their lack of skill and training. It won’t bring back the dead nor make your failures vanish. It is nothing but an insult to those who are gone and a slap to the faces of those who remain to witness your mistakes!“ With that, she releases her grasp on me and turns away, her posture stiff, fists clenched and trembling.

“Aelara, dear, don’t be so hard on...” The figure of my father clad in his golden-embroidered robes appears from the doorway behind my mother, though one glance from her is enough to silence him mid-sentence.

“Shut it!” she snarls at him, pointing a finger straight at his chest, “I let you have it your way with our son and what do we have to show for it? A disgraceful wimp of a scholar who does nothing but bury his face in books all day. Your benevolence and sympathy brought nothing but disappointment on top of shame.” My father tries to talk back, but he doesn’t even get a syllable out before my mother continues to rant. “No! No excuses! We’ve talked about this, Faelon!”

She turns back to me again, her face back to her usual fake smile that never reaches her eyes. “You are gonna awaken today. The ceremony is prepared, and the sacrifice is being escorted to the altar as we speak. All in accordance with the will of the Hunt, of course.” Her cold hand caresses my cheek, the icy sensation sending chills down my spine. “My beloved daughter. You are going to fulfill your duty, and finally bring pride to the family.” Her last few words drip with venom as she glares daggers at me.

I nod obediently. It’s hard to understand why she acts like this. I’m not like my brother. Since as far as I can remember, it’s always been my dream to serve the Hunt like my mother, to honor our ancestors by taking part in the greatest tradition of our people. But ever since he returned from the awakening with a non-combat class, she started treating me as if I was another him in the making. “I will do better! I will prove my worth to you and the Hunt!” There is nothing else to do but assure her of my willingness to serve.

Her cold eyes assess me, judging me silently, searching for any sign of hesitation. Seemingly satisfied by what she finds, she nods once, and for the first time in ages, a genuine smile blooms on her lips. It disappears instantly, though, as she speaks again, her stern tone back in full force. “Prepare yourself. And get that useless brother of yours out of his study, too,“ she spins around and walks out of the room, shoving past my father, who is still standing there awkwardly.

After my mother is out of hearing range, Father gives me a weak smile, though it looks more sad than comforting. “Please, Alice, don’t let your mother’s harsh words discourage you. No matter the result of today, you are still our little girl, our pride and joy,“ he comes over and wraps me in his warm embrace.

“Dad, stop it... She is going to come back and skin us alive if she hears you saying such things,” I mumble into his shoulder.

He chuckles and strokes my hair affectionately, then lets me go to look me in the eye. “She cares, you know it. She is just so afraid of losing another one of you. You two are all that we have left. Once she sees you become a great warrior, she will be back to normal. Just... give it some time, alright?” He flashes me an encouraging smile before adding, “Now, get going. Awakening is the most important moment of every elf’s life, and I bet you’re as excited as we were for our ceremonies.” With a last pat on the back, my father leaves, closing the door behind himself.

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Finally, alone, I walk up to my bed, flopping onto it face down with a heavy sigh. Is getting enough sleep really too much to ask for on the day of my awakening? A yawn escapes my lips as I rub my sore sides and back, stretching sore muscles. A quick glance at my side reveals the beginnings of a bruise where my mother kicked me earlier, and the spot is painful to touch. Wonderful. Thank you, mother, for the birthday gift...

I’m so tempted to go back to sleep right now. But if I did, there is no chance in hell I will ever hear the end of it... Forget about waking me up by kicking me in the side, it’d be a miracle if she didn’t throw me out the window instead. With an exhausted moan, I sit back up and inspect my clothing. At least nothing got torn in the brief melee from before. Eh, time to get moving... I better find my brother before mother cuts me out of the family tree...

I rise from the bed with a groan and drag my feet towards the door leading out of the room. Why does she always have to be so harsh on me? I did nothing wrong! I worked so hard, trained relentlessly, and practiced every single day ever since I was big enough to hold a weapon... It is not fair. Ugh, I can already guess the answer to that question. ‘It’s not enough to do your best. Only results matter in the end. Our graveyard is full of warriors who tried their best.’ or something like that. The usual drill.

I know father is probably right, and she really means well, but it hurts... I never met my older brothers. They died on the hunt, victims of nature. Mother rarely ever talks about them, but father mentions them sometimes. Living in their shadow since the day I was born, knowing that I’ll never be able to replace them in my parent’s hearts… But it isn’t their fault either. It’s just how life goes. I try not to dwell on those feelings too much. But days like today make it difficult to suppress them. I just hope this time is going to be different... I hope it will go according to plan for once.

It WILL go according to the plan! Happy thoughts! Optimistic attitude! Keep thinking positively! I repeat to myself. Yes, today is the big day, after all. The one I have waited my whole life for. Finally, I am going to get my class, and become a true adult member of our society. Maybe even have access to real magic for the first time. A smile tugs at the corner of my lips as excitement bubbles up inside my heart. This is going to be awesome!

After passing through a short hallway and descending a flight of stairs, I reach my brother’s bedroom door and knock on it twice. No response. Is he busy? Too bad. What kind of sister would I be if that was enough to stop me? With a twist of the doorknob, I invite myself into his chamber, finding myself looking at a disaster zone of plants, herbs, dried leaves, flowers, and earth scattered around in haphazard piles. In the middle of all this, my brother sits at a desk, pressing a small pouch of herbs to his cheek, hissing in discomfort, a familiar imprint of a shoe visible on the side of his head. Seems like our mother did not skip him this morning either.

“How is my favorite disgrace of a brother doing?” I can’t stop myself from teasing him when I see that stupid face of his, “Didn’t pass mom’s morning exam I see.” I chuckle lightly as he sends an annoyed look in my direction.

“Oh, shut up...” Nael groans as he throws the bag of crushed herbs at me. I catch it out of the air and quickly press it to the bruise on my hip, the cold compress bringing immediate relief. “I’m glad your awakening is today, because I’d probably go insane if I had to wait another week with her yelling at me for no reason every few hours.” He closes his eyes and massages his forehead while shaking his head, grimacing a bit in pain from his own injury. “Anyway, congrats, Alice. Happy birthday, I suppose.”

I grin widely and hug him from behind, surprising him by squeezing with all my strength. “Thank you!” I exclaim with excitement. It’s nice to have someone that’s actually happy for you once in a while. “I can’t wait to see what awaits me after the awakening! The more I think about it, the more pumped up I get! Today is the day I finally get my class! Who knows, maybe I will awaken something cool, just like dad? Wouldn’t that be nice?!”

My brother lets out a defeated sigh and frees himself from my embrace, giving me a warm smile. “Don’t get your hopes too high. I can see you dreaming of glory and fame, but who knows, maybe you’ll awaken a merchant or something,” he laughs at me, teasing me with his comment. I know it’s just a joke, but I can’t help but shudder at the idea of being stuck in a dusty shop selling cheap stuff to others all day. If I even survived the wrath of my mother long enough to actually open a store. I swear, if I ended up with a merchant class, I wouldn’t even live to see the sunset of my awakening day.

“Ahh, shut it you... I know it won’t be something that ridiculous, I would never choose it. Speaking of, how many choices do you think I will get? I heard dad had over twelve options to pick from.” My eyes widen at the prospect. Twelve! I heard that this is very rare, even for someone like my father, who was a prodigy from a young age.

“Eh, probably one or two, maybe three if you are lucky,” my brother answers, waving dismissively.

I punch him in the shoulder, pouting in disappointment. “Hey! Don’t ruin my mood! You had ten if I remember correctly and there is no way I am worse than you!” I stick out my tongue at him as a childlike gesture of victory. It earns me a pillow in the face, followed by a minor scuffle that ends with him sitting on top of me, pinning me to the ground.

“There, there, poor, innocent little Alice. Even such a disgrace of a scholar like me can easily beat you in a fight!” He cackles in delight as I struggle desperately, thrashing about underneath him.

“Just wait until I unlock my class, damn it. I will be stronger than you in no time and then we will see how you fare!” I gasp out through gritted teeth, vainly attempting to free myself. I hate the limits put on us before the awakening ceremony! Even Nael, despite having such a pitiful class, can defeat me without breaking a sweat. He isn’t even fit or strong, spending all day researching, and yet this ‘brute‘ is holding me down effortlessly! It is infuriating! I swear, if I ever find whoever created those rules, I am going to kick their asses!

My brother laughs some more, releasing me from his grasp and gets up from the ground. He looks down at me and gives me a wide smirk. “Yes, yes, you’ll be an awesome warrior like mother. We are gonna paint the trees red with blood and take the heads of beasts to hang from our house for all to see!” He draws an imaginary line across his throat with a finger. I give him a thumbs up in appreciation as I roll off the floor and stand up, dusting off my clothes. It feels good to share a laugh once in a while with someone who understands you and shares your circumstances.

“Anyway, is everything prepared?” I ask, remembering why I came to bother him in the first place.

My brother nods in response. “Yeah, it’s ready. I spent most of last week working on it. It may be my first time, but it turned out pretty well, if I say so myself.” He pats a large jute bag that rests against his desk. “Even added some fragrant herbs to make it more bearable for you. I wish there was someone to do that for me back then...” His expression darkens, memories of the unpleasant experience no doubt flooding into his mind.