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“Xavier?” Icurus called out among the crowd, “where the heck did you go?”
Icurus heard Xavier’s voice in the crowd and pushed his way through the throng of people, fearing his friend might have already gotten into trouble. A circle had formed around Xavier and a blonde, blue-eyed girl who were arguing heatedly.
“Not your grandmother, idiot!” the girl shouted. “I’m talking about your half-siren friend!”
“Why would he use dark magic?” Xavier asked, confused.
The girl grew more furious. “I sensed dark magic from him!” She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “He’s a siren, no doubt he got it from his wretched mother.” She mocked Icurus further, “I hate sirens. They’re just the worst versions of mermaids, freaks of the sea!”
Icurus felt very upset by her words. Xavier clutched his fists tightly. “How dare you say that about him! You look like more of a freak with your freakishly blue eyes!”
The girl was outraged at that comment. Electricity formed on her right hand. Using her two index fingers, she directed lightning towards Xavier. Caught off guard, Xavier didn’t dare move, but Icurus pulled him to safety. The crowd around them gasped. The girl smirked, spotting Icurus among the crowd. “There you are! Mind explaining?” she demanded.
Icurus frowned. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said angrily. “And don’t you dare hurt my best friend!” He added, “Who are you anyway?”
The girl frowned at Icurus. “You don’t know who I am?” she asked in disbelief. “Well, I am Princess Levina from the Queendom of Etheria! The greatest lightning weaver and mage of my time!”
Xavier mocked, “A bit boastful, ain’t she?” Icurus nodded in agreement.
She pointed at Icurus. “You! I sensed dark magic from you!”
“I-” Before Icurus could explain himself, Levina created a lightning whip and struck at him. Icurus dodged it by luck. Growing more irritated by Levina, the fountain exploded before he knew it, spraying water everywhere.
Xavier grabbed Icurus’s arm excitedly. “Create a water whip!” he cheered.
Icurus tilted his head, confused. “Huh?”
“Make a water whip and give her a taste of her own medicine!” Xavier encouraged enthusiastically.
“I don’t think I can do that,” Icurus said, hesitant about the idea.
“You can do it! Maybe if you attack her, you’ll get Edward’s attention!”
Hearing that, Icurus held out his palm. Water droplets gathered, forming a floating ball of water. He still felt reluctant. “Should I really hit her?”
“You’re gay, it doesn’t matter!” Xavier dismissed.
Icurus threw the ball of water, which grew in size as it flew, hitting Levina right in the face. Her fair skin turned red with anger. She used her lightning whip to strike back, but was blocked by Icurus’s water barrier.
Icurus turned the barrier into a whip. He struck, but before his whip could reach her, it froze into ice.
Vinter asked in a cold, icy voice, “What is the meaning of this?” As he approached the two young mages, fog swirled around him.
Levina pouted. “Oh, big brother! I can expl-”
Ariana cut her off, her voice bellowing through the crowd. “I can explain!” Finding the situation very annoying, she began, “Your ‘sister’ was falsely accusing my beloved sister’s handpicked mages of using dark magic, which is not true. We found them at the docks fooling around.” She sighed. “So what I’m saying is, my sister’s idiots could not possibly have the brain capacity to actually do dark magic.” She smiled sweetly at her peer.
Levina wrinkled her nose. “What do you guys know?” she scoffed. “You two can’t even do magic.”
Vinter shook his head in disapproval. “Levina...that was very rude. Besides, they are trained in detecting magic. If anything, Rosabella is better at sensing magic than me.”
“Ha!” Xavier mocked. “Shame on you for not knowing she can detect magic!”
“Well, do you know what magic detection is?” Levina asked him.
Xavier shrugged. “Nope, but I’m doing my job as her subject to support her.”
“I mean, she really is a good princess,” Icurus said. “She helps the people as much as she can. She is very humble and genuinely nice and kindhearted.”
“Exactly!” Xavier cheered. “She is more of a Princess than you!”
“Lis-” Levina began, but her brother stopped her. “Let’s go,” he said. Levina followed her brother but not before shooting a glare at the three.
And then everything went back to normal in the garden.
“Am I a good princess?” Ariana asked the two.
“Not really,” Xavier said.
She shrugged. “Fair enough.”
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ᕯ✵ᕯ✬ᕯ★ᕯ✬ᕯ❂ᕯ
The doors flew open. “You two are here!” Rosabella said in a frustrated tone. Eleanor and Ernesto turned to face her. “Yeah...” Ernesto replied tentatively.
“Why didn’t you go down to the garden when you knew what was happening?” Rosabella asked.
“Hello Bella!” Edward greeted cheerfully. Rosabella sighed. “Hello Edward. How are you?”
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“I’m good,” Edward replied.
Rosabella returned her attention to the twins. “Explain?”
“Levina wouldn’t listen to us, and Vinter was nearby,” Ernesto explained.
Rosabella’s expression darkened as she approached Ernesto and placed a hand on his neck. “These dark veins weren’t here before. Is the curse spreading?” she asked worriedly, stroking the veins with her thumb.
Ernesto gently removed her hand. “Kind of...” he whispered. Rosabella frowned, shaking her head. “ ‘Kind of’ is not a good answer.” She turned to Eleanor. “What about you?”
Eleanor shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t feel anything.”
Rosabella sighed with concern. “You’re not supposed to feel anything - pain, joy, or anything else”
She sat down on the nearest chair. “Come on guys, aren’t you a little worried?”
“Well, to be fair, it’s more of a prophecy than a curse...” Ernesto pointed out.
“And,” Edward chimed in, “the less we panic, the more time we can enjoy!”
“Exactly!” Eleanor clasped her hands lovingly. “Edward doesn’t need to worry too much anyway since his prophecy hasn’t come true yet!”
Ernesto stayed silent, thinking, ‘It did come, he just doesn’t know it yet.’
Edward cheered excitedly, “Yes! And Grandpa told me I’ll be the greatest warrior of my generation! I want to be just like the great Achilles!” He paused, thinking. “Except for the losing your lover part,” he added gingerly.
Rosabella smiled and said, “That sounds great, Edward.” She looked at the twins and asked, “Do you guys want to talk outside?”
Edward returned to the balcony, watching the garden below. His eye caught a particular boy his age with turquoise hair. The boy’s dark skin glowed under the sun, and his smile was as radiant as the sun itself.
ᕯ✵ᕯ✬ᕯ★ᕯ✬ᕯ❂ᕯ
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ᕯ✬ᕯ★ᕯ✬ᕯ
As Rosebella and Ernesto walked down the corridors of the castle, she clasped her hands behind her back while he strolled beside her. “So your new recruit is also a water mage...” Ernesto remarked.
She nodded. “Yes. I heard your recruit is one as well?”
“That’s right. Pyrrhus is a water mage.”
Ernesto gave her a stern look. “You chose that half-siren just to spite me, didn’t you?” he accused.
Rosabella smirked. “Who said I picked him out of spite? I saw talent in the boy.” She stomped on his foot. “Ow!” Ernesto frowned. “You’re being influenced by my deranged sister.”
She fluttered her eyelashes. “Maybe so. But Icurus may prove better than your redheaded mage”
“Oh, come on” Ernesto rolled his eyes. “I called you magicless once!”
“And I still remember it!” She stalked away, fuming.
The word “magicless” had always bothered her, though she hid it well. But it still hurt, especially since her peers all possessed magical gifts - Ernesto and Eleanor both half-fairies with divine blood, Vinter endowed with ice magic by the Norse gods, Jabari’s family gifted with dragon-taming abilities, and Diana blessed with healing magic by her fairy godmother.
She constantly felt the need to prove herself worthy, though deep down she knew she could never match the others. No matter how much she aided the villagers, the people, her subjects, or honed her swordsmanship, without magic she would never be enough.
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ᕯᕯ۞ᕯᕯ
The sun was setting and the garden became less crowded as all the young mages headed to the grand hall, where the results of their testing would be announced. After that, the feast and celebrations would begin.
Ariana grabbed Icurus’s left ear and Xavier’s right, dragging them towards the main gate.
“Ow!” Icurus and Xavier exclaimed in unison.
Ariana let go. “Hurry up! I’ve spent the entire day chaperoning you two!” she said, pointing at them.
“You didn’t have to...” Icurus said, rubbing his ear.
“If I didn’t, you two would definitely cause trouble,” Ariana replied.
As Icurus tried to reason with her, “We wo-“, somebody pushed past him, throwing him off balance. Annoyed, Icurus looked ahead and caught a glimpse of the person - he had red hair, fair skin, golden eyes, and was smirking back at Icurus.
Icurus clenched his fist, but before he could react, Ariana stopped him. “And that’s why I’m chaperoning you,” she said.
****
The grand hall had high ceilings with beautiful chandeliers hanging from them. The floor was black with gold accents, and circular tables were spread out for seating arrangements. The young mages took their seats, anticipation and anxiety building as they awaited their results - this may be their one chance to prove their skills.
Icurus and Xavier were awestruck by the luxuriousness of the place, but Ariana briskly led them to a suitable table before they could properly appreciate their lavish surroundings.
“Now,” she began, taking a seat, “here’s the deal: there are four main mage categories. The highest category is Special Grade, usually announced first since you’re special. Then there’s High Grade Mage, Mid Grade Mage, and Lower Grade Mage...got it?”
The two boys exchanged glances and nodded.
“Since Sister handpicked you both, people expect you to at least be Mid Grade,” she explained.
“So after this...what happens?” Xavier asked.
“You’ll be enrolled in the Enchanted Academy,” Ariana replied wearily. “If you’re High Grade or lower, you live at the school. If you’re Special Grade, you live here in the castle. Your classes depend on your category. That’s the gist of it.”
“Yay, we have to go to school,” Xavier said sarcastically.
Icurus thought for a minute. “We’re...not the best at reading,” he admitted.
“Well, duh! We grew up on the docks...sailing’s more our thing,” Xavier said, gesturing at Icurus. “This guy’s practically half fish.”
“Mind if I sit here?” a boy with chestnut hair and hazel eyes asked. “Alcester? I didn’t know you came,” Ariana said, brightening. “Oh yeah, just got here because of my mom,” he sighed, sitting down.
Icurus remembered Edward saying Ariana, Levina, and Alcester were his friends, but that was six years ago—clearly something had changed.
“I thought you guys were friends,” Icurus finally said.
“Who, me and Levina?” Ariana scoffed. “Oh please, I have better taste in ‘friends.’ Only Edward thinks we’re friends.”
Alcester pursed his lips. “She’s become more distant ever since...”
Ariana interjected, “Ever since her dad died at sea because a siren killed him, she’s become even brattier than usual.”
“Oh...a siren? No wonder she hates me,” Icurus murmured, thinking of his own father’s loss and how he still felt he could’ve done something. Preoccupied, he hadn’t properly mourned. Rosabella said they could find something, anything, about his father.
“I get that you lost your daddy, but that doesn’t mean you can electrocute cats for fun!” Ariana cried.
“That girl electrocutes cats?” Xavier shouted. “She’s insane!”
“Thank you, someone with sense!” she exclaimed.
ᕯᕯ۞ᕯᕯ
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ᕯ✬ᕯ★ᕯ✬ᕯ
The moon shone brightly in the night sky, bathing Rosabella in its soft glow as she sat alone on a bench outside. Her blonde hair and dress seemed to radiate in the moonlight. Though lovely to behold, a sadness weighed on her. She regretted lashing out at Ernesto earlier. Yes, he had been wrong to insult her, but she prided herself on handling conflict maturely. She never would have chosen Icurus out of spite, knowing Ernesto had also chosen a water mage.
With a sigh, Rosabella gazed up at the moon. “I like who I am already...I don’t need magic to be their equal. I just want to be equal as myself...” She twirled a lock of blonde hair, murmuring, “Just simple old me...”
“You already are our equal...”
Rosabella turned, startled. “Ernesto!” She stood quickly. “I’m sorry for how I acted today. I was just-”
“It’s okay,” he said gently. “You were upset.”
Ernesto’s voice softened. “I’m the one who should apologize. I never should have called you that name.” He held out a single pink rose. “It’s not much, but will you accept this as an apology?”
Rosabella smiled and approached him, taking the rose. “Thank you,” she said, breathing in its scent.
“You look beautiful tonight...” Ernesto said, a hint of shyness in his voice.
Rosabella laughed lightly, “Really?”
Ernesto’s eyebrows furrowed, “Do you not believe me?”
“Oh no, I do!” Rosabella reassured. “I just never expected a fairy as stunning as blades forged in divine fire to say something like that to me, a mere mortal,” she said with playful drama.
Ernesto narrowed his eyes, though a smile tugged at his lips. “I am trying to be nice...”
Rosabella giggled, “Oh I know, dear sir, and I do apologize for spoiling your gallant efforts.”
She looped her arm through his. “Come, we should return to the grand hall.”
Ernesto blushed, doing his best to not seem awkward. “Yes, let’s,” he agreed.
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ᕯ✷ᕯ✵ᕯ✷ᕯ
From a fair distance away, Eleanor and Vinter watched the two. Eleanor pouted, “Why can’t we be as adorable as them?”
Vinter sighed, “Perhaps because you have me tied to a chair with magic-repellant handcuffs and were preparing to lock me in your closet...”
Eleanor pondered for a moment. “Hmm, fair point,” she conceded.
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