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If only she had the courage to summon all of the magic from the earth and tear down the houses and families of the killers.
Technically she could do just that. She did have Soul magic which could control the earth.
Magda thought back to the coronation, and Queen Sanyal’s invitation to come to Flaustra. She had to find out the story behind her birth, and why she was different from Aleksy. It wouldn’t be long before the entire castle would find out that she wielded earth magic and not water. When the royal court found out she wasn’t a Guardian of Life, and no other Guardians of Life remained alive, she had no idea what they would do to her. She had to leave Azurem as soon as she could.
Magda got up and marched out of her bedroom and into the parlor. Her mother sat on a chair, her head in her hands.
“Mom, I need you to be honest with me,” said Magda.
“What?” Bernadette asked, looking up to reveal red, watery eyes.
There was no more time for lies, so Magda blurted out, “Was dad my real father?”
“How can you say that? At a time like this!”
“Please…,” said Magda, “I need to know.”
“Oh, sweetheart, of course he was,” said Bernadette. “Why would you ever think otherwise?”
Suddenly the question seemed ridiculous, and Magda felt horrible for even asking it. She didn’t want to burden her mother with any more grief today. She couldn’t let her mother know that she wasn’t a Life Guardian, not while the kingdom was still in chaos. Her mother had to believe Magda could continue the Life Guardian lineage and that their entire livelihood in the fortress wasn’t in jeopardy. So she said, “Because I’m different from them. I deserve to know what they were going to tell me after the ceremony. Please tell me what the guardians have always known.”
Bernadette wiped the tears from her eyes and patted the seat next to her. Magda crossed to her mother and sat down, before the queen explained:
“Those secrets were part of what your father was allowed to tell you once you became a guardian,” she explained. “He was looking forward to this day so much, so that he could tell you the full story.”
“But what does that mean?” asked Magda.
“I’m not a guardian myself. Your father and brother would have told you everything. I’m so sorry, Magda, but there are forces of magic in our universe that no one fully understands.” Bernadette reached out to touch her daughter.
“Then how am I supposed to know how to be a guardian?!” exclaimed Magda. What was worse, she didn’t have water magic at all, she had earth magic.
“That is not our main concern,” said Bernadette, “My concern is that whoever killed Bogdan and Aleksy might come after you. You’re not to leave the fortress until we get to the bottom of this.”
“Do you know who the assassins were?”
“No. I’m told they were dressed in Ilusaurian attire, but the mask they wore had the symbol of the First Prince on it.”
“The First Prince? The character from the legends I was told as a child?” asked Magda. “Wasn’t he the one who tried to kill his siblings outside of the trials to ensure he kept the magic? The stories say he was destroyed.”
“Yes, but it’s more than a legend, Magda,” Bernadette spoke. “I don’t know why his symbol has resurfaced now.”
“I thought the First Prince was a fairytale, to teach guardians the importance and rules of trials, and that only one sibling may be the guardian of the generation.” said Magda. “You’re saying the First Prince was real?”
“I’m not a guardian, so I don’t have the answers.”
“Then I have to talk to the remaining ones. Guardian Sora, Princess Kiran, or Queen Sanyal.” Or dare she say it—her childhood friend—King Claude Mirage.
“That won’t happen as I’ve told all the knights that you are not allowed to leave this fortress—or the royal wing for that matter. Not until we get to the bottom of this.”
Magda let out a huff. She wasn’t going to be able to help anyone being stuck in the fortress. She had to find out why her family was targeted, and she had to understand the secrets that her brother and father held so close.
Magda walked out of the parlor, heading to her father’s office. She didn’t care that her mother saw where she was headed. If there was anything that her father had been keeping from her, surely he would have written it down in his endless notebooks. She crossed the royal hallway and banged the door open to her parents’ room.
Like Magda, they had a parlor area, and a string of consecutive rooms led to a study and finally to their bedroom. Magda marched into the study, going right to her father’s large mahogany desk that took up the majority of the space.
She sifted through the papers on the tabletop, before opening the drawers on either side of the desk. Magda tore through scrolls, ledgers, and notebooks, skimming for any mention of ancient magic, the guardians, or their family history, but she couldn’t find a single mention of any of those topics. All her father had kept in his records was notes after meeting with nobles, maps, ledgers, and battle plans. Nothing seemed at all significant to Magda.
Afterward, she went to the bookshelves, flipping through every book to see if there was a scribble or note inside. The books were in pristine shape, as if her father had never read them at all, but rather they had been mere displays.
