Chapter 1.11: History of Dark magic

The book felt heavy as she saw its title. Written in gold read 'History and Remnants of the Great War'. She didn't know much about the wars in this world. The author skimmed over them when explaining the lord of the world. But now she had all of it in her grasp, which was exhilarating. Leila walked over to a nearby table and sat down. When she opened the book a cloud of dust flew into the air.

She coughed and wiped at her eyes as they began to water. The book must have been untouched for years with how caked it was in grime. She was relieved the pages were clean as she flipped to the glossary. The text was written in cursive but she could make out most of what it said. There were chapters on colonization, royal lineages, etc. She found herself engrossed by how much there was to learn. But she took a moment to stop and flip to what she had to read first.

'The great sorceress,' Leila was met with a beautiful painting when she started the chapter. A woman was shown with long green hair that was drawn with watercolors. Her eyes were sad, having no color besides white under thick black eyelashes. She smiled but there was no joy in her expression. Leila saw something written underneath it and looked closer at its small print.

'Third Princess Minerva's self-portrait. Six years before the war,' On the page beside it was another portrait. The princess was noticeably older in this one with her hair cut just below her chin. Her eyes were closed as she kneeled, her head bowed in prayer. The world behind her was bright orange and yellow. It was in flames. 'Third Princess Minvera at war grounds. Three years at war.'

She was just seeing someone so peaceful in the chaos left Leila with a weird feeling. She wondered just how bad the war had gotten to the point that royals suffered too. Curious, she flipped to the next page and was met with the actual writing. The paragraphs were thick and intimidating with the sheer amount of information they held. She trucked through, sitting for what felt like hours reading. The story it told was enthralling and she was shocked by how long the war went on.

According to the book, the war went on for ten years. There were brief periods of peace but something always happened to disrupt it. Originally a civil war started by a depression the conflict spiraled out of control and into multiple nations. The wealthy managed to escape for the first few years however after two years they weren't safe. Hundreds of thousands died or went missing. Or worse, young adults were kidnapped by depraved soldiers for sexual use.

It wasn't too different from the wars in real life. She was shown pictures of the dead, palaces alight, and mass graves. It was horrible and made her nauseous. Nations became so desperate they searched far and wide for powerful magic users to end it all. One of them was the third princess, the daughter of a smaller monarchy who many saw as a puppet nation. She was eager to help, being an expert magic user who excelled despite being a teen. This bright-eyed naivety was her downfall and the beginning of a great tragedy.

'Wielding purple magic that produced flames the princess fought a losing battle. Countless friends from childhood and lovers died around her. With every loss, she left more of herself on the battlefield. Before she knew it, everything had been stolen from her. Her mind was in tatters the longer she lived.'

The next two pages were a spread of absolute decay. Purple eyes peered through flames drawn with what felt like charcoal. The eyes looked vacant, seeing everything there was to see. Bodies lay beneath them with purple smoke floating above their corpses. Her ears rang as her chest tightened. She traced the flames with her fingers feeling entranced. It was like someone was squeezing her throat as she watched the eyes. The color in them was so powerful. It was maddening. Her hand stopped and she slammed the book shut, shaking.

"What the hell was that?" Leila whispered as she instinctively pushed the book away. She hadn't expected the contents to affect her so deeply.

But it wasn't that. It was like the pages were whispering to her in the back of her mind. The longer she thought about the eyes the more she heard them. Her body was caked in sweat as hurried to put the book away. It only took a mere moment for whatever that was to take hold of her. Was this the pull of mind magic? She wasn't too sure but she decided to go back to studying at a later time. The book slid back into place and she relaxed.

It was time to leave anyway, Jisu would be looking for her frantically. And if the maid were seen by her brother her day would be ruined. The man couldn't see her cut just yet. If he did, everything could be ruined. Leila had to be the one to openly display it before his eyes. That way he truly believed his little sister had gone mad at his meager rejection. The teen turned and walked back to the room's entrance. Her arms throbbed as she did and she rubbed at it from habit. The teenager knew the reveal could go wrong but she was ready.

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Her plan was simple. She would go into his bedroom late at night and hug him. That way he could have a full view of her now sore arm. The guilt would consume him like before and she would play into his desire to please their parents. She imagined the scene repeatedly in her head as she came to a stop. Sweating, she opened the library door and looked around. No servants were in the halls and she couldn't hear Jisu calling for her. Perfect, all she had to do was get back to her room.

'I'll throw myself at him,' She thought while walking as softly as possible down the hall. 'I'll throw in some crocodile tears to blind him.'

The teenager's fantasies were interrupted by the sound of a door closing. Immediately she froze and looked to see who it was. And when she caught their eye she felt her expression shift. The tension in her body dissipated as she turned fully to meet them. Her dress felt cool against her warm skin as she watched them smile at her. This wasn't a planned meeting but Leila welcomed it. Anyone was better than fake smiles of Alek. Even if that person was the woman causing so much chaos.

"Mother," The teenager still found the word unnatural to say. She watched the woman come closer with her smile having blossomed. "I thought you'd be busy with work?"

Cleo's mother was an absolute beast. The woman was as cunning and cold as the book described. She aged gracefully, her face being that of a twenty-year-old's, not a middle-aged woman. The first time they met the teen stared at her in wonder. It was easy to see how she could manipulate so many. Her eyes weren't jade-like Cleo and Alek's but soft honey. They were cool, with a sheen over them that took the girl's breath away. Someone with her beauty and connections could be unstoppable.

The women's heeled boots echoed in the large house endlessly. Her hand reached out to grab the teenager's and felt smooth. "I heard about Alek's cruel behavior towards you. I'm sorry." She held Leila's hand tightly and moved to place it against her cheek. It offered no warmth.

'What?' Leila kept her face neutral but inside she was screaming. A guard must have overheard their argument and alerted her. There was no way she could tip-toe around this. The woman was so close, she felt like she was going to collapse.

"Oh," The teenager pretended to be embarrassed from getting caught and pouted. It was better to roll over in front of an apex predator. "It wasn't anything out of the ordinary for him. I shouldn't have been bothering him during training anyway."

The woman's long feathered earrings shook as she disagreed. She looked as if she wanted to roll her eyes. "Honey, what have I told you about coddling your brother? I see the way he has maimed you."

Chills went down her spine at the dark glimmer that overtook the woman's gaze. While the teenager hated Alek and his spineless behavior she didn't want him dead. That would mean these past few weeks had been useless in getting her revenge. She looked at her arm and quickly looked away. The bleeding had started again without her noticing. The entire sleeve was darkened with splotches of blood. If she let Alek take the blame for this he might never fall into her lap. But she was unsure what would happen if she didn't.

"I understand you have developed an infatuation with him," Her mother continued with her voice growing more serious. She was looking right into her eyes as she leaned closer. "But he's abused the sliver of power it gave. I won't let him get away with harming you. He'll learn his lesson."

Leila wanted to say she was shocked the woman noticed her behavior. But she knew she'd been getting sloppy recently and it was bound to happen. She was confused why the woman hadn't stepped in earlier. She hated Alek, she hated all her kids beside Cleo after the death of her other daughter. The teenager assumed she'd be frothing at the mouth knowing what she was doing. But the calm look on her face told her the woman didn't care.

With this in mind, she chose her words very carefully. There was no point in denying her actions. She could, however, minimize them in a way that wouldn't be too incriminating. The woman thought she was lovesick and desperate for Alek's attention. This was still in her favor.

"I hurt myself, mother. Because Alek rejected me and I felt like it would punish him." She whispered. It wasn't like she was lying but she needed the bastard alive and well for the time being.

"I understand. Still, he is at fault like always," The woman let go of her hand and pulled the teenager into her arms. With a hug, she caged the girl in her grasp and sat her chin atop her head. "And that is why Mother will take care of him for you."

Leila felt a deep satisfaction in the woman's words at first. The man wanted her dead so a little beating wouldn't annoy her. She wouldn't allow Alek to be hurt too badly, he needed to desire her after all. But she had saved him from death and that was a mercy she had never afforded Cleo.