Lucy opened her eyes to the unfamiliar ceiling of the gaudy carriage she was still stuck in.

“Papaaa, please PLEASE tell me we are close to the gates.”  She said in the most annoying voice she could muster.  Her greasy hair along with her newly aching muscles from her nap made her miss the bathhouses of the city.

“Oh, my little ray of sunshine, every day I am surer you are a test from the heavens.” Her father, Raynell said with a smirk from the front of the carriage.  “I said sundown earlier did I not?  Have you lost your ability to look outside and think for yourself?”  Peeking out to the front of the carriage she turned towards her father with only one thought coming to the surface of her mind.

“asshole”

Time seemed to stop as she realized what she had said.  Sweat starting to from at her brow, she had to save the situation.

“is what I would call you if you weren’t the best!” she said with a slap on the wood moving to the front beside her father, faking the brightest smile she could improvise at the time.

Heavens above this is what I get for hanging around Gavin and his group of ruffians!  If I ever see them again, I’ll make sure to REALLY give them a piece of my mind.  Hang them by their feet and feed them to th….

“Lucy”

I'm dead

“EEK, I’m sorry Papa!”  She stammered out as fast as possible.  Retreating to the edge away from her father, she knew the argument was coming now.  She needed to change the discussion as fast as possible to avoid snacking on soap. Luckily there was something plaguing her mind this entire ride.

“I heard Kamille say it at dinner and was thinking about it and it just slipped out please I’m sorry I didn’t mean to say it it just slipped pl…”

 “trying to shift blame to your mother now?”  He glared down at her “Lucy you’re already 12 you shouldn’t be cursing, especially at me. I think I’ll need to have a discussion with these new friends you’ve been hanging around.  I wonder in the heavens made you want to hang around such poor company as the street rats you’ve adopted.” 

Lucy knew what the word ‘discussion’ meant for her.  Whenever papa didn’t agree with her choice of friends, he would have a talk with them and whatever form of guardian they have and persuade them to stay away from her.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Hah!  Like that’ll matter once I’m in Vresea!  You don’t know anything about them anyway!  They’re better company than whatever you and the new ‘mom’ can find for me!  Especially that woman!  Why are you even acting like she’s a part of the family!  She treats me like some bothersome insect she wants out of her life!”

And there it was.  Soap averted for the time being.  Was this better?  She didn’t know, but she wanted to have this kind of discussion before she left anyway.

“Kamille is the one who has allowed you to stay in Vresea and learn magic in the first place!  She jumped through many hoops once she realized you had the potential! Not many Mages take young ladies as their apprentices, isn’t this what you’ve always wanted?”

That was partly true.  She did desperately want to learn magic.  Ever since she found out her birthmother could but never had the opportunity to learn.  But to learn like this?

“I want to learn magic but not to be sent away like some pest!  She only jumped through so many hoops so she could get rid of me!”

“You always begged Cecelia to let you learn magic!  Now that you get the chance you have the audacity complain?  I don’t understand!  I even asked you if you were sure about this decision before leaving!  Do you change your mind now?  I WILL turn this carriage right around and we can get right back to the mansion!”

“NO.  You’re missing the point!  I want to learn magic and still feel welcome by my own family.”  She could now feel the tears forming at the edge of her vision now. 

“At least Cecelia treated me as her own.”  The argument died down as the waterworks began.  Her hands tightened around her dress as she tried to pull back the tears that had escaped.  Her father went silent, as the trot of the horses covered the sobbing next to him.

After finding the right words, Raynell slowed the horses to a stop.  Looking at his sobbing daughter, he almost broke down.  She was difficult to handle at times, wanted to act more like her mother than he wanted.  Was it a mistake to let her learn magic?  No, he wanted her to be free, not constrained to nobility like her step-siblings. 

“You know I want the best for you my little sunshine, and I understand Kamille treats you differently than your step siblings.  I am not blind.  However, she does try.  She comes from a house that treats commoners as lesser, so it is hard for her to accept you as my true blood.  I have had talks with her before about this fact.”

The sniffling next to him died as he waited to start again.

“But you should never feel not welcome in your own family’s home.  We all care about you, even Kamille.”

“I can always write to you right?” Were the only words Lucy could say in the moment.

“And I’ll always write back.”

Spoiler: Spoiler

 Hey everyone thank you for reading!  Let me know if I made any mistakes.  Later chapters will most likely be longer but I felt that this was a good point to stop on the introduction.  Lemme know what you think!