Umbra didn’t spend much time in the fortress now, not since V had left. She wandered the streets half hoping that the daughter of Ma’at would swoop back down and end her, such was her self pity. Her friends face when she had walked away haunted Umbra, with all the time they had spent together nothing had divided them like that. And there was no way to repair their friendship V was long gone through one of the portals.

Umbra hadn’t made any progress at all in her second task and there was only one week left before the final choosing ceremony. She couldn’t make herself care though. Maybe the streets were a fitting place for her, the way she had treated V was horrible.

Umbra sat on one of the benches in the market, watching the people go by, they looked happy, they bartered with the stall owners in loud cheerful voices. Umbra only felt empty V’s leaving had only increased the empty feeling that had started when she had first watched the moon fall under the horizon. It was starting to get dark, I should go.

“Hey, you seem upset.” A charming voice said. Someone had sat down beside her, the fox boy from the tower, what was his name, she couldn’t remember. “Magevaii,” he said in reply to her blank look.

“Yeah, I remember, Umbra, that’s my name I mean.” She blushed. He was really pretty now that she got a closer look at him he had radiant green eyes and symmetrical features. His ears were cute too.

“Funny, that I ran into you I just finished my final task, I was about to go and celebrate. You should come it looks like you need it.” He stood offering her an open hand.

“I guess,” Umbra said hesitating.

“I’ll look after you and we can trade stories of our tasks. It’ll be fun.” His hand was still outstretched. Umbra took it this time, maybe he can fill that empty feeling.

They made their way to one of the taverns closer to the fortress, it was bright and merry raucous laughter filled the air and a bard was playing sitting on a table up the front. No one noticed their entry and Magevaii slipped through crowd pulling Umbra along. There was an empty table slightly hidden at the back. They plopped down. “Wait here I’ll get us drinks. Umbra watched the people around her, how unlike her they were, so happy. She felt even more isolated at the tavern then she had outside.

Thankfully Magevaii returned his sparkling green eyes and fox ears distinctive in the mostly human crowd. He set two round glasses on the table the liquid inside a light honey colour. “What is it,” Umbra asked.

“You don’t know what that is?” he asked surprised. “Maybe I was wrong.” Umbra heard him say under his breath.

“Wrong about what?”

“Your pale features made me think you were of the Yuul, this is mead, a common drink among them,” He said over the bustle of the tavern and leaned back on his seat his eyes thoughtful as they regarded her.

“Who are the Yuul,” Umbra leaned forward feelings of emptiness forgotten in the hopes of information on her possible ancestry. She took a sip of the mead as the fox boy marshalled his thoughts. It was sweet like honey and thicker than water.

“The Yuul were from an isolated border world. They claimed to be descended from a now forgotten Deity of the fallen. There weren’t many of them but each and every one of them was capable of magic and they gave birth to some of the most powerful Favoured of recent history. They are all but extinct now, their power a double-edged sword.”

“How could they go extinct with all that power.”

“Infighting mostly, and Favoured can’t have children their magic renders them sterile. All but a few of the Yuul were Favoured and eventually, those Yuul gave birth to Favoured children. There are probably not even a hundred of them left in the Fabric.”

“And you think l am one of them?” Umbra said her eyes wide and voice excited.

“Thought” he corrected. “Although I suppose it is possible, Master Otaro did pick you for his tasks and you don’t know your background.” Umbra fell back in her seat,

“How do you know all this anyway?”

“My father is the Duke’s historian, I picked up a few things,” He smiled a gorgeous smile. “We should probably head back towards the fortress; it is getting late.” Umbra looked around and nodded the music had died down and most of the crowd had gone home. She stood up too quickly, her head was dizzy and she lost her balance, but he was there his firm warm hands steadying her at the waist. “Oh, you haven’t drunk before have you” Umbra shook her head. “Shouldn’t have given you that much mead,” Umbra noticed her glass was empty.

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Umbra stumbled through the dark streets, leaning heavily against Magevaii’s warm side. She stumbled again, his lightly muscled arm around her waist was distracting.

They made it to the fortress just as the guards were closing the gates.

He led her through the halls of the fortress. “Where are we going,” she said in a drunken drawl. He didn’t reply but continued guiding her pressing his fingers into the small of her back. Umbra could hear a small voice in the back of her head through the drunken haze, it sounded like a warning, Umbra couldn’t tell.

They reached a door, in one of the empty parts of the castle, alarm was finally starting to register with Umbra. He unlocked it with a heavy key and shoved Umbra in slamming the door after him with an ominous boom. Fear was starting to break through Umbra’s drunken stupor, she was alone with a strange boy she did not know. “I want to go back to my room,” Umbra said pleadingly. fear was starting to sober her up.

He just shoved her and she landed heavily on a bed. “No, no” Umbra pleaded desperately completely sober now. He just grinned, but it wasn’t that charming grin she had seen before, it was twisted a repulsive mockery. He tried to grab her but she kicked out at him then rolled off the bed. She could feel something stirring in the emptiness of her being. It was dark and twisted, it was vengeance. He grabbed at her again tearing her dress and holding her down he was so big.

She couldn't think anymore such was her fury. She lashed out at him again except this time deep bloody grooves appeared on his face. A savage grin lit Umbra's face as he let her go in surprise, she shoved him and he fell clean off her. He was on his ass, wounded eyes looking at her as if she had broken some unspoken rule and it only increased Umbra's fury she stood and his eyes met hers. She was death and he had awoken it, and he screamed. Umbra only stepped closer he shook the paralysis off and scrambled to his feet running to the door. Umbra followed after him. A ghostly wraith in a torn white dress.

The fox stumbled through the corridors yelling, screaming for help and Umbra followed. People were starting to wake up. They were in one of the occupied wings of the fortress now. People poked their heads out wondering what was going on. Umbra ignored them and they shrunk back into their rooms when she passed. He was heading towards the courtyard.

She quickened her pace. Nothing mattered anymore except crushing that things skull under her foot grinding it into the stone floor. She knew where to find him.

He was at the back of the courtyard surrounded by guards and curious people, Umbra noticed that he was sobbing with fear even behind the five guards who were trying to understand what happened. Hate was the only emotion she could feel and the blackness twisting inside her. The guards spun around when she had made it about halfway to the fox, her torn dress didn’t hide all that much but no one looked, all they could see was fury and they shrunk back too, she was hatred and she had eyes for no one else except the thing that had done this to her.

He noticed her just after the guards, and all Umbra could hear was a roaring noise, she snarled, he was backing away but he had nowhere to go there was nothing behind him but a wall. Her hands curled into claws and she started sprinting towards him, walking wasn’t fast enough. She leapt and to her satisfaction, he let out a cowardly shriek.

Umbra was inches from the thing and she couldn’t move she tried to scream in frustration and couldn’t her entire body was numb. She strained and pulled to no avail. She could feel a cold pressure, but it didn’t matter the only thing that mattered was stomping that things head in. It looked up at her eyes wide and she wanted to gauge them out. The cowardly creature chose that moment to run. Umbra tried to scream in frustration again. Suddenly she was kneeling her face bent down, still unable to move. She struggled managing to let out a snarl. The bonds pressed against her like that thing’s body, suffocating her under its weight. She struggled until a cold commanding voice rang across the square “STOP!” Even in Umbra’s state she recognised the Duchess’ voice, the silver figure stood in front of her, the cold presence was pressing down on her but it didn’t affect her as it did before, she looked around the Duke stood just behind the Duchess a look of concern on his face. And to the side stood Master Otaro staring at her intently. Everyone else was on the floor shivering barely able to breath, from the Duchess’ presence Umbra noticed.

“What are you?” The Duchess asked her cold voice commanding, her silver eyes burning into Umbra’s head. Umbra didn’t answer she didn’t know how with the Duchess’ eyes on her.

“She is my student,” Master Otaro said coming to her rescue again. The Duchess turned to look at him emotion showing on her cold impassive face for the first time.

“This is your student,” judgment and disbelief coloured her voice “she almost killed the son of our historian.”

“I accept all responsibility and will punish her accordingly” The lady shook her head

“I am afraid that will not be enough, she attempted to murder one of the sons of a well-liked court member, but in concession to you Master Otaro I will not have her executed. forty lashes to be dealt immediately.”

"My intention is only to advise Duchess, but Umbra would not behave like this without some reason," Master Otaro said. A long whip of light formed in the Duchess' hand and fear consumed Umbra.

"It does not matter Master, she attacked a boy under my protection. If he had done something despicable she should've come to me, she took my law into her own hands."

The Duchess ripped off the back of Umbra’s dress. Then lifted her into the air. Not a second passed before the whip fell. Umbra screamed the pain was like nothing she had experienced. It felt like someone had slashed across her back with a sword. The whip fell again and again, and the night dragged on it felt as if forty had come and gone long ago, but the whip continued to fall.

Umbra was dropped from the air her feet crumpling under her, she whimpered it was done and all she could do was fight to stay conscious, the pain overwhelming. She felt hands on her trying to help her up and she lashed out hitting nothing. Then everything went dark.