I was never like the other children, playing freely in the grass and running with all their vigor under the sun. I was born weak, and I tire easily. As a result, I never had any other boy or girl to play with. You could suppose say that I was lonely, and you would be right. But I was not unhappy, for I had my caretakers and my books with me. And I do not think I would have a lot of friends if I was born as fit as the other children, for I was quite a terribly shy little girl. When Father took me to the villages with him to visit his people, I kept hiding underneath his large coat, blushing whenever a boy or a girl took notice of me. Father said they was curious on who I was, on how they never saw a girl as pretty as I was in their village before. I myself never thought of my looks as pretty. Pretty would be the daughter of the count Father brought home that one day. She had a lovely blonde hair, unlike me whose hair was pitch black. Father simply laughed when I told him that.
The books I read were mainly books of magic. Father said it's queer for a girl as young as I am to read such things, but I could not help it, for they were so fascinating. Father said it was the duty of a noble to study magic, in order to protect the people they ruled. I did not do it out of any sense of duty though, which I do not know whether it's a good thing or not. I suppose you could view me as selfish, and perhaps I am. My caretakers said I was always a good kid, but who could help being a good kid when I was treated so well by them? Perhaps I am secretly a monstrous child inside.
My study of magic has led me to master basic elemental spells like fire, ice, and wind. My tutor said it was the first time she found a seven year old child being able to do that, which made her tell my father that I may be exceptionally gifted in magic. I do not know whether she is right or not. But I do know that I learned them quite easily.
I also like to read traveler books, about the lands and people outside of our kingdom. Apparently, there are many kinds of sentient creatures out there, not just humans. There are elves, dwarfs, half-beasts, goblins, orcs, trolls, etc. I wish one day, I would be able to visit them all, though Father only laughed when I told him this. He said lots of them are hostile to humans, and I would have to be quite a powerful sorceress to be able to sneak to their dwellings.
One day, Father said he was going to the capital in some urgent business, and he bid me farewell with his kisses as usual. I noticed his kind face turned grave as he addressed my caretaker. I wonder what may be wrong.
After he departed, my caretaker told me to stay at home at all times. I do not think that order was necessary, for I never ventured off the castle grounds on my own.
Days passed, and my father has not returned yet. I pay no heed to that fact however, since it was not strange for Father to not return for a few weeks after he was called by the king.
That is, until my caretaker bursts in one day and tells me to pack my things.
"What is the matter, John?" I ask.
"The orcs, miss! The orcs are coming!" he replied, his face red with exhaustion.
Orcs. I know them from the books I've read. They are a brutish race, only valuing strength above all else. They constantly go to war with the other races and among themselves, for war is the favorite pastime. However, they weren't supposed to be any of them anywhere near here. Why did they come so far here where they could have their war with their goblin and elven neighbors?
I ask this to John, and he just stared at me with an incredulous look on his face.
"A-anyway Miss, we're leaving at once! I've already told the maids to pack milady's things but you may want to recheck first."
"Leaving? Why are we leaving, John? Have we not guards who can fight the orcs?"
"T-the guards, miss... well... they're no match for them, miss! There are only twenty of them!"
"And the orcs? How many?"
"H-how many, miss? I... I think I heard there was... ten?"
"We outnumbered them, John. So why are we fleeing? They are the ones who should be running from us."
"T-they are orcs, miss! Each of them has the strength of ten men! And we don't have a magic user with us!"
"But we have. I shall be our magic user."
John fell silent after hearing my exclamation. I think he cannot believe what he just heard.
"Father always said that a noble's duty is to protect their people. And who will protect the villages if not us? And I believe I am proficient enough at magic to fight ten orcs. I just need the guards to protect me while I cast my magic."
I then created a fireball on my right hand, raising it near John to prove that I am as capable as I said I am. Combined with the commanding look I gave him, the look Father taught me to use when I need to order a servant, he relented, saying he shall gather the guards at once.
You may think it is odd for a child like me to be able to do all of this. And I would agree. I never saw myself as an ordinary child. I am a noble, a daughter of a duke. Father said all nobility are soldiers, and a soldier should never be afraid. And there is no reason to be. I already have a plan on how to handle the orcs, thanks to the knowledge from my books.
As Isolde prepared her forces, the orcs arrived at the villages. They began shouting at the villagers, telling them to bring all their valuables to them. When some brave men tried to come after them with their woodaxes and sickles, they simply slaughtered them with their bare hands. They didn't even bother to draw their weapons. Knowing that they stood no chance, the villagers quickly complied with their wishes.
"Eze theze all?" the orc leader said with his brutish accent.
"Y-yes, that is all the jewelry we have! We don't have much here, Sir!" the poor village leader said with his legs trembling.
"Come 'ere yuuman," the orc gestured with his great axe for the old man to come closer.
And when he did, he decapitated him with a single strike.
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"Stupid yuuman. When eye said bring all your valuables, eye meant bring your females too. Young females that is!"
He then let out a loud and terrible laugh, as if he just told the most terrible joke the world had ever heard.
"Uh, boss, we got company." One of his subordinates broke his laugh.
"Wat?”
The subordinate pointed to the hills near the village. There, he saw a squad of uniformed troops, carrying spears and shields with them. And right in the middle of them, a young girl rode on a little white pony.
“What’s theze? An army? Hah, eze the human chief finally sent an army against us? How fitting that such a puny army is led by a puny girl!”
Just like the books said, orcs are truly a terrifying creature to look at. Their height is easily double the height of your average man, and they don’t bother wearing armor like humans do, since they have pride in the thickness of their natural skin. When I dismount from my ride, I don’t even reach above their knees.
“Orcs! I come to challenge your leader to a duel!”
My tiny voice seems so insignificant compared to them, which they know well, leading to them laughing at my exclamation.
“Go home, little girl! We dun wanna fight a youngling who still wets her bed!” one of them says.
I feel my face redden from that insult. I’ll have you know that I haven’t wet my bed since I was five years old.
I stretch my right hand, aiming at the orc that made that remark. Then, with a simple incantation, I conjure a fireball and shoot it straight at his face.
The orc roars as he feels his flesh burning, before he falls to the ground, unconscious.
“Wat de? This girl eze a mage!”
The orcs fall into an uproar. They all draw their weapons while looking straight at me like I am some sort of demon. My guards quickly draw their own blades, preparing themselves to defend me if the orcs decide to attack.
“Very well. You have your duel, little witch.” the orc leader says. I notice the fear and anger in his eyes, and that he has stopped slurring his words. It seems I am finally being taken seriously.
“These are the rules. We stand 20 meters away from each other, while our followers will watch 100 meters away from us. We fight to the death, no begging for mercy. We will see just how useful your trickery will be in an open battlefield.”
I tell my guards to do as he says, ignoring their flabbergasted look in the process. He does the same, and after a few moments, only him and I are standing against each other.
I know this must look like suicide, but I have a plan to win this fight.
“I will let you have the first strike, witch. Hit me with your best spell. I will show you the true strength of an orc who needs no magic like you weak humans.”
The books are right once again. Orcs despise magic as they despise weakness.
I gather all my mana into both of my palms. Then, I begin to shape a fireball in between them. As it grows bigger, I push both of my palms towards my target, holding the fireball in front of them.
The orc leader doesn’t react at all to me charging my magic. Instead, he throws his waraxe to the ground.before closing his eyes.
I have to admit, I am a little irked that he is underestimating my magic like that.
I launch my now massive fireball, almost the size of my own body. Of course, it’s still quite small in the eyes of a huge orc like him but it is the best that I am capable of doing.
And right when it almost hits him, he opens his eyes and punches the thing away from him, just with a single hand.
“Hah, is that it? Is that all you got?”
He sees my expression of weakness, and before I know it, he charges at my position, taking his battle axe with him.
Just as I have foreseen.
I clap my hands together, and before he knows it, a pair of hands made of earth grabs both of his legs, making him lose his balance. And in a split second, I clap my hands once again, creating a stalagmite on the earth underneath him.
And he lands right on top of it. The stalagmite goes straight through his neck, one of the spots of his body not protected by his tough skin.
And thus, it is over.
The silence is deafening as I address the rest of the orcs.
“Your warchief lies dead. As your honor decrees, you shall leave this land at once.”
Looking at the expression of the orcs, you would think they are facing against a wrathful archmage instead of a mere seven year old girl, which quite pleases my vanity, I have to admit.
“R-run! Ze warchief eze dead!”
And with that, they all flee like cats running away from a mad dog.
For the next few hours, I am treated like a goddess.
One of my guards, the tallest one, puts me on his back and parades me around the villages. Every single person I meet thanks me for my actions, from the little kids to the cranky grandpas. I honestly wanted to just go straight home after that but my guards won’t let me. I can only wave my hands and smile as I feel my face turning crimson red. As I’ve told you before, I am a terribly shy child and I am never used to this much attention. The children in particular, would keep asking me to come back and play with them. It seems that after this incident, the villagers would stop thinking of me as that sheltered daughter of their duke and would start viewing me as a ruler they can love and be proud of.
And, when the day is over, I fall asleep as my guards carry me back to the castle. And what a nice dream I have.
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This is just a little one-shot I made as a little test run on writing this kind of MC. Tell me what you think about her. Do you like her? Do you find her cute or endearing? What do you think about her personality?