“AHHHH!”
“Just a little bit more Madam! Just push a bit more!” screamed a woman in servant clothes.
The 3rd Mistress of the Krom family was giving birth to a child, and next to him was a handsome man with fierce brown eyes and short brown hair. A long scar ran across his left cheek, making him intimidating.
“WAHHHH!”
The baby was finally born after many hours. It was a boy.
“As we planned, his name shall be Ceres,” said the boy’s father James.
The 3rd Mistress Michelle wore a large smile on her face as she caressed the small boy’s body after he was wrapped in warm cloth.
However, due to their happiness, they didn’t realize that their baby’s hair was black and that he had ghostly dark blue eyes.
Running sounds could be heard throughout the manor. Soon, two boys and one girl rushed into the room. One of the boys was around 6 years old, and was the oldest out of the three. He had the red hair of his mother and orange eyes. The girl was also about 6 years old and she had long beautiful red hair and red eyes. The youngest of the three, the last boy, was 5 years old and had brown eyes.
“Karl, Shira, Colm, come here and greet your baby brother,” said James.
Karl, Shira, and Colm walked towards Ceres and looked down at him with beady eyes. Karl had the most excitement in his eyes, as this baby brother of his was from the same mother. Shira looked at Ceres with loving eyes and rubbed Ceres’ cheeks.
“So cute! I love him already!” squealed Shira. Everyone in the room laughed except for Colm.
He looked at Ceres with eyes of disgust and thought, “Disturbance to peace at home!”
Ceres looked at the three but made no noise. He just looked at them with his ghostly dark blue eyes.
Soon, Colm pointed at Ceres with a look of confusion on his face.
“Hey Father, how come he has black hair? I’ve never seen hair like that before!” stated Colm.
Michelle and James slowly looked down at Ceres and found that Ceres indeed had black hair. The two looked at each other in confusion and then reverted their eyes back to Ceres.
“I… We don’t know why Ceres has black hair Colm. However, you will not treat him differently because of hair color.” commanded James.
“Yes Father…” said Colm.
James looked at the nearby clock and saw that it was nearly noon.
“Alright kids. It’s almost noon, meaning it’s almost time for your guys’ lessons!”
“Can’t we skip it for today Father?” questioned Karl.
“Yeah! Why don’t we celebrate instead?” asked Shira.
“Your magic lessons and studies will define your growth and status as a magician! Now go get ready!” commanded James.
“Yes father.” grumbled the three. They slowly walked out of the room with heads limped over, showing their disappointment.
James then turned to the servant that had been with Michelle during labor, and told her to spread the word to the entire manor that his son was now born. He also told her to go to the kitchen and tell them to prepare a feast.
*****
2 years passed since Ceres’ birth and celebratory feast. Unlike his siblings, he was not yet required to have a tutor to teach him magic and other things in the world.
Ever since a few months ago when Ceres could finally walk, he would always explore the manor and eventually go to the backyard. He would sit on a large rock that he deemed his and stare off into the horizon for multiple hours. Occasionally, black crows would flock Ceres and he’d play with them until they flew away for the day. However, no other type of bird would get near Ceres. Whenever he approached them on his own accord, they’d fly away. Only crows seemed to like going near Ceres.
Seeing how only crows would be near Ceres, a rumor began to spread that Ceres was a child of misfortune. Thus, the servants and maids of the manor started to avoid Ceres because they didn’t want bad luck. Eventually, the rumors got so bad that even the 2nd Mistress changed her attitude towards Ceres.
One day, when Ceres was about to do his daily routine, his father picked him up and took him out of the manor.
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Michelle and James entered a carriage and took off into the city streets. They turned on many corners and passed by many houses and manors until they reached a grand marble building.
The couple took Ceres into the building and spoke with the mages there. Soon after, they were taken to a huge dome with five mages sitting in a semi-circle. They sat around a large crystal floating in the air that emitted a yellow light and was known as the “Mage’s Holy Crystal.”
With it, people could measure their abilities to control magic, their elemental affinities, and weapon affinities.
Michelle and James carried Ceres to the stone and put his hand onto the crystal.
Letters began to form in the air until it formed words.
It said:
Ceres Krom
The couple looked at the five magicians in confusion and asked them why only Ceres’ name appeared. The five magicians sighed and shook their head.
“He has no talent in magic. In other words, his mana pool is so small that it can’t even control the slightest of mana in the world,” said one of the magicians.
The couple stood there blankly until Michelle collapsed onto her knees, hugged Celes tightly, and started crying. James formed tears into his eyes, and eventually began to cry as well. They both hugged their son and weeped for what was to come for him.
On the trip back home, James discussed matters with Michelle.
“It’s okay Ceres. Even if you can’t use magic, you can live the rest of your life in luxury. We will provide for you,” said James softly. He and Michelle continued to pat Ceres’ head until they reached their manor.
When they entered the manor, a small water drop flew at Ceres. However, Michelle flipped her hand and the water drop fell to the floor.
“Who dares?!”
A small figure could be seen scurrying around the second floor, making it obvious that it was Colm.
“Colm! Get back here right this instant!” yelled James. The other wives of James ran out of their respective rooms and went to James with concerned looks.
“What is wrong James?” asked the 1st Mistress.
“What happened?” questioned the 2nd Mistress.
“Why are you yelling?” asked the 4th Mistress gently.
“Calm down James!” said the 5th Mistress.
James’ face was full of anger, but it soon disappeared. He looked at the 4 mistresses that came out of their rooms with a fierce face.
“Colm shot water at Ceres! Sarah, is this how you rose our child while I was busy with work?” questioned James.
The 2nd Mistress tilted her head downwards in shame and said, “He meant no harm I’m sure.”
“No harm my ass! He tried to fire magic at a 2 year old baby!”
“So? What’s the big deal? He can only control a water droplet anyways.”
“Ceres is manaless! And none of you shall tell this to anyone!”
The faces of the other 4 mistresses turned to shock as James told them Ceres’ circumstances. They all looked sorrowfully at Michelle and then at Ceres. It was truly sad that one of the children in the manor could not use magic.
However, Colm, who was still hiding nearby, heard the conversation between his father and the mistresses, and dashed into his room with a mischievous smile on his face..
The next morning, everyone who worked and lived at the manor knew of Ceres’ disability to control mana.
When Ceres left his mother’s room to head to the backyard, all the servants looked at him in a different way. Some were full of concern, and others were of disgust. Despite that, Ceres ignored their gazes and continued to slowly walk to the backyard.
He walked outside, sat on his rock, picked up a crow onto his lap, and stared off into the horizon for the rest of the day.
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Finals is done, so I guess I'll be spending a bit more time on this.