Nychta - The Bloodrose Kingdom

Chapter 10 - The Final Test

It jumped, readying itself to pounce on me. It was capable of jumping to heights taller than me, and so I chose to lay on the ground instead. With a quick twist, I put my body sideways, dodging the fire.

It landed heavily on the forest floor, making it vibrate in complaint. I tried to stand up, but my body was too shocked to move quickly.

I analyzed its features. Swirls of fire and smoke painted its body, which was continuously warping because of the cool forest air. It looked at me after regaining its balance, readying itself to pounce again.

But this time, I was prepared.

Another tug at the trigger behind my mind gave me a power close to the one I had back in the alchemist’s hut. It was the claws and the shadows, which embraced me through every features of mine. I was turning into another beast, but one who was stronger than this fire wolf. It trickled through every pore, every limb, and every sense I had. It made me stronger, like cool soft metal was being my armor. My fingers lengthened in size, claws forming at my nails. I did not dare to think of my form, only to focus on the fight and nothing else.

As if time had stopped, my gaze lingered as everything else slowed down in motion. I looked at the wolf’s features. It torso looked very durable, given the mix of hardened coal in it, from whatever ability that Drew had. Its tail was a sharpened part, but it was still made of fire, making it much more dangerous.

But its head was different.

It was basically like a wolf’s head, but only made of fire and with eyes so black that it likened to my power. I instinctively chose this as a target.

Speeding time again, I garnered all my strength and ran to the dog.

In one swift motion, I poured my power to its head, not minding the fact that it was made of fire. I put every ounce of effort as I drilled my way to its jaw, which was the first thing I thought that was most weak in it.

I was right. The dog recoiled to his back, a whimper forming in its throat.

“Bad dog!” I shouted as I went back to my fighting stance, claws ready to shred its fiery throat.

The dog growled from its position, scratching the ground. It was feral and ferocious, ready to shred every part of me. I growled back in return, a cold and steel-like voice coming from me. It was the sound of the darkness, the sound of the voice that was in me. I was like an animal now, a beast that so lived so deep within me finally waking up.

I did not wait for the wolf’s return, for I ran up to its position. I had my fists from the side again, readying my claws to scratch its throat.

But the dog had learned my trick, and instead aimed for my hands.

I thanked the Creator for the darkness that embraced me, for my hands would’ve turned into a literal bloody mess if it wasn’t for it. It gnawed through the dark material coating my hands, skillfully dodging the claws. It was trying to dismember my hand from my body, which caused immense pain. I let out a loud scream in reply.

Focus! The voice reminded me, bringing me back to my senses.

I let out my other fist, aiming for its eyes instead. In an abrupt manner, my claws gouged itself into the wolf’s eyes, fire that represented blood swishing out from inside it. It felt soft to claw, easy to destroy. I brought the claws out, remnants of the fiery blood still on my claws. It disappeared after the darkness swallowed it, proving that it was a much stronger element.

The wolf was now shaking its head, its eyes not working. It was biting at every direction, eager to dismember everything in its side. It was trying to still catch me, trying to continue its earlier efforts. I landed flat on my back, my body not being able to take the recoil from the earlier deed.

But the wolf’s ears were still working, and so it knew that I had surrendered myself to the ground. It made its way towards me.

I had poured a lot of effort into gouging its eyes, and so I felt weaker than before. I wasn’t able to quickly dodge, and so I brought my elbows in front of me, shielding myself from the wolf.

But it did not easily budge. In one swift motion, it latched itself into my elbow, trying to take it apart from my body. My whole body moved at that, the wolf’s force being too strong for me to resist.

I screamed in despair, trying to make the wolf latch off. I took my feet, both of them trying to kick the wolf, to no avail. My knee was too far to reach it, with the wolf’s feet only reaching up to my groin. I tried to flay my body to my sides, but I felt myself losing breath at every moment. It was a wolf of fire, after all, and tendrils of smoke came from it, causing me to lose sight and breath at every moving moment.

I should’ve just clawed at every part of its head earlier. I shouldn’t have lay on the ground, where I was most vulnerable. I was blaming myself, while at the same time, calling to that voice deep within me. What did it know that I didn’t? What help can it give to me right now? I called it desperately, asking for whatever help it can give.

Just focus! It replied back, a seemingly empty and shallow advice. But I took whatever advice that it can give and tried to focus again on the scenario.

I was still shielding myself, my power being able to avoid the wolf’s teeth from reaching my bare flesh. By my right, I was able to see Drew using his palms in front of him, focusing on the wolf. Rosemary was on his side, now standing up from her earlier position. It seemed liked a game for her, seeing her happy face and applauding hands. It was a game for her, but it was a matter of life and death for me.

As a last resort, I looked at the wolf again. I tried to read its head, the black swirls of his eyes pulsating with a feral fury. It was both an element and a creature, existing somewhere in the spectrum of true life and pure element.

I used my knowledge instead. I used every ounce of information I can gather back from my days in the library. No amount of physical power can match the knowledge you can get from books, and so I tried to remember everything.

Books of History, Books of Medicine, and finally, Books of Elements!

I remembered, there were the two primary elements, Light and Dark, and the secondary elements Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. There was a relationship for each of them, both compliments and contrasts forming between them.

Earth was against Air. Air was against Water. Water… was against Fire!

But how could I conjure it from my current position? How can I conjure water, when darkness was what I can control?

But despair lead me to do whatever I can. I’ve called a huge explosion of darkness back in the Gray Forest. I used a huge and powerful combination of darkness and wind to sucker punch the commander. I called the darkness to be an armor and weapon back in the alchemist’s hut and now. I haven’t known the my full potential, and yet, I was already thinking about the limits.

And so I called for the trigger in the back of my mind again. I controlled darkness, but there was no signs that told me that it was impossible to garner water too. And so I wished for it, called for using the gem in my forehead.

In an instant, a dark light came from it, signifying my use of it.

A gush of dark water, with a blackness so pure came from my hands. It was a miracle, another feat that I did not know I can do. My hands vibrated as gushes of water came from it, making me try hard to aim it to the wolf.

And I succeeded. With immense amounts of effort, I aimed my hands towards the wolf.

It did the trick, seeing how the fire immediately extinguished from it. The sound of rain meeting coal was heard. It gave off a satisfying hiss, soothing my soul and bringing life back to me. I had been so stressed, so eager to defend myself from the wolf that I had almost forgot the gem that was on me. It was definitely of a powerful variety, and now, I had wielded it as if I was born with it.

I made silent laugh of frenzy.

The wolf gave its last whimpers, before totally embraced and extinguished by the black water. In return, charred coals of an unknown material and dampness went to my clothes, landing on top of the leather armor I wore for today. My short pants had black streaks on it, shaped like paws which came from the wolf.

I breathed a full one, finally able to do so. I lay flatly on the ground, exhausted from the ordeal that just happened.

I heard the stomps of boots on soft grass. I was supposed to stand up and be courteous again, but the weight of exhaustion kept me pressed on the ground.

The smell of roses embraced my nose. A shade covered me from the gentle ray of the sun.

“It’s over now,” Rosemary says, her mother-like voice back again. She transitions to another character whenever we talked about serious matters, but I wish that she was only like this. This was a person I looked up to, a person I had always dreamt of.

“Is it?” I asked as the black tendrils of power disappeared slowly. It was if a thick layer of armor was removed, making my flesh feel the curls of the grass underneath me. The sky above, which I directly looked at, was a combination of clouds and the sun hiding behind one. It was Autumn, the cool air of it blowing through the forest, rusting the leaves and cooling me.

“You know, the Divination is much harder than you think. Nothing can prepare you for it. I’m just giving you whatever I can,” she says.

If having me chased by fireballs and by a fire wolf was her ide

a of preparation, it was certain that the Divination was of a much more difficult and hard variety.

She offers her hand, which I gladly take. It was soft, for she barely did any physical work in her life time, it seemed. All locked up in a library with no one to talk to but scholars and the books. We walked back to the library, with her dismissing Drew. He looked at me with a proud gaze, tilting his head in acknowledgement of my power. I replied with a nod too, to give praise to his powers which almost killed me.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

The next days was hell.

In my sixteen years of existence, it seems that I had never known true pain until now. Our tests became more and more intense in the forest, with Rosemary seemingly calling every possible powerful gem-holder she knew.

Ourelia of the Vines made me hate trees. She bended the roots and the leaves to her will, subjecting me to hours of trying to make my claws scratch through each and every strand of plant. Her tests left a sting in my legs, when a certain root strangled it too much, and also a hatred for the forest. Not to mention, a hatred towards Ourelia, who seemed to enjoy what she did.

On another day, Mystria of the Ice was called, a particularly calm and serene woman. She was also of age, but she seemed very young as she called her powers to challenge me. She made ice appear in the middle of the forest, chunks and blocks of ice chasing me as I ran from it. Whenever it hit me, both the impact of the ice and the sting from it made my eyes to tear up with pain, the darkness that I had manipulated trying its best to find a remedy for it. In the end, I had used a black type of fire, another unknown power. It ended with Mystria comforting me, to which I took a mental note to never underestimate nice people.

But this day was different. Today was the day when I was to be challenged by Rosemary herself. She had shown me her tricks, her book levitation, her knowledge, and her charm for other people. However, this was still not enough to explain everything, from how she got her power and to how she had this much influence in the kingdom. It was the day of revelation.

We were both sitting on intricately-carved wooden chairs on the library’s large terrace. Flowers decorated its white ledges, giving off healthy and natural vibe. The calm sun gave light to our mini tea party, reflecting off from the tiny porcelain cups we were now holding. It was all in fine class, never cheap when it came to Rosemary.

The table was set up with pastries and sweets. Cakes of different assortments and colors, mostly pink, lined up in a delectable fashion, urging my appetite. I swallowed hard, avoiding the temptation.

But the real test here, was the gown I was wearing.

I had never worn one, and Rosemary chose the most difficult of all to wear.

It was a pink gown that was skin-tight in the upper torso and flowy down below. It had lines that defined my body, with curls that ended in the middle of my breasts. The gown covered up to my forearms, with my hands wearing white and soft gloves. The lower part was made of a pink silk fabric, its smooth texture adorned with a couple of heart-shaped decorations. If it wasn’t for the set-up, I might’ve been called a princess… or a bimbo by some.

“Now, you need to know that a queen doesn’t only thrive in her powers. A queen has charm, and it is the hardest to learn out of all,” Rosemary says. She was wearing a simple white gown in the likes of mine, except for the intense colors and the gaudy decorations.

I was crossing my hands, waiting for the whole thing to be finished. She brings out her hand, her fingers flicking my forearm.

“A queen does not cross her arms, except for negotiations or if needed be,” she says.

“But the situation is a negotiation right now, isn’t it?” I say, a tone of mock present in my voice.

She clucks her tongue in disapproval, but regains her positive image in an instant.

“For a girl raised to be a thief, it seems that you have positive table manners. Where did you get them?” she says, and then takes a sip from her cup. She raises her eyebrows in favor of the flavor of the tea, which I have prepared for her.

“Books. You’ll never know what a girl alone in a library can do with imagination and knowledge,” I say.

I quickly regret the sound of what I just said. It seems that Rosemary catches my mistake as well, given the slight smirk she had in the side of her lip.

She raises her chin this time.

“We all know how worthless table manners are, and all of this fanciness. The real deal here, is how you make a negotiation,” she says, her tone suddenly shifting into a serious one.

She places her elbow in the table, her head nestling on her hand.

“You know, I wasn’t much of anybody when I was younger. I lived in a town just like you, Aquavois, which was also a rural town. I was raised by two peasants who herded sheep and goat in a farmhouse for a living,” she says, her eyes suddenly focusing on nothing as she remembers herself back then.

Now this was interesting.

I mimicked her action, also placing my elbow on the table. I was devising a plan on my own, already one step ahead of her. I slipped a knife from the side of my pocket, the sound barely being concealed by her talking.

“A barn girl is raised to be a barn woman, but I chose to be different. I decided to move into Bloodrose without a single in thing mind but to be one of the Illuminae. I never sold my body, never stole. I used my knowledge and only it alone, relying on whatever power had been present in my gem,”

Slowly, I took hold of the knife.

“It was the gift of knowledge. Abstract in form but powerful with proper use. I had knowledge, but the thing I had to work hard on was wisdom. For knowledge without wisdom was nothing, and I wasn’t letting it go to waste. I used every ounce of charm I had to convince people, to climb the ranks up,”

“And had it been an easy job?” I interrupted.

“No, of course not. I ate threats for breakfast, worked every ounce I had. I scouted each and every part of the palace, finding a suitable position to take over. Some were killed in the process, of course,” she says with no remorse.

I gripped the knife tighter, my hands moving in a fast pace beneath the table.

“It was Duncess of the Vision who took the position of the librarian at first. She became my friend, through my thorough efforts of befriending her ofcourse. Was quite a woman of sass and pride.”

“And then?”

There was a pause before she spoke again.

“And then I killed her. Slice her throat with a rusty dagger of her own property. I was a stormy night, actually, when I did it. It gave an evil vibe to the whole scene, imprinting it on my memory. Queen Sara of Fury gave me the spot almost instantly, but the scene was forever in my mind. It was the peak of my greed, the day when I killed a friend, right on the day when she was supposed to give me the position herself. It was written in a scroll she was about to give me, but I killed her first before she could even do the deed. I would never forgive myself for it,” she says, teary eyed.

It was the moment like these when people looked vulnerable. Times when they confess what they did, to give you a piece of them. I looked hard on her, tried to share a little bit of the pain she was feeling.

But this was not a friendly game, and so I did my plan.

In an instant, I brought a red, chunky flesh of the apple I skillfully sliced while she was talking.

A flash of surprise became present in her face, her eyes widening.

“H-how did you?” she says.

I smiled in return.

“You were sloppy,” I replied. I stood up from my seat, the sound of the chair dragging against the rocky ground. I looked deeply to her eyes, a face of victory plastered on my face.

“Rosemary of the Books. You can stop with the sad story, already. I know it pains you to hide the fact that you were the daughter of Queen Sara herself, a piece from the twin she gave birth to. Always overshadowed by Ida, who became Queen Ida of the Storm later on, you began to look for any position to give you some of the power that was always taken from you,” I say, my voice a cold and bitter reminder that there was someone still more powerful than Rosemary.

“Now, you really killed Duncess, didn’t you? Forged a scroll to make it look as if she was going to give you her position after, right? It went very smoothly, I admit. Smooth, except for the part where you wrote everything in your diary.” I say.

I took the diary from behind my skirt, an old piece of parchments that was barely held intact by an aging spine. I took it when I was able to sneak by her room in one night.

“And I, as a thief, used every ounce of mischief I still had. Negotiations were never my deal, and I always had an advantage over those I made one with.”

Rosemary smirks from her seat, her eyes sparkling at the ingenuity I had just shown.

“Now, Madame Rosemary, convince me to give you this piece of apple.”