12. Magdalena

Magda threw herself across her bed and cried into the pillow. She had never cried so violently in her life. Greeting guests at her brother and father’s funeral was worse than anything she had ever endured, and the grief was slowly turning from sadness to anger.

Magda sat up, throwing the pillow across the room and into a portrait on the wall. It swung, but didn’t crash to the ground. She let out a scream, letting the grief consume her as she clenched her hands in anger. All of the sudden, a loud shatter pierced her eardrums. She was aware of the bouquet of poppies on the table that her mom had given her. Thorns had sprung from the vines in all directions, puncturing the glass vase and sending the pieces everywhere.

Odie shot up from his space at the foot of the bed.

Magda screamed again. A burning rage was growing inside of her, and she seized onto violent daydreams of her unleashing wrath on all of the assassins who had killed her family.

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.

Odie whimpered from the half-open doorway and made his way over to Magda.

“Oh, Odie,” said Magda, dropping to her knees and allowing the grief to consume her once more. She hugged the dog tightly, pressing her face up against his soft fur. For a brief moment, Magda felt a sliver of comfort.

Odie perked up and began wagging his tail, whining in excitement before racing back over to the door and letting out a hopeful whimper.

Dagmara was standing in the frame, her eyes red and indicating she had been crying. “Odie, you found the princess.” She validated the dog in his search.

“How is Teos?” Magda asked instantly. Last she heard, it was confirmed he had zowach.

The muscles in Dagmara’s neck constricted. “He’s alright,” she lied before changing the topic. “There’s news on the investigation into your dad and…,” she paused, as if the next words were difficult to say, “...brother’s deaths.”

“What?” asked Magda, standing up.

“It seems as if early leads point to Ilusauri being responsible. The assassins were wearing Ilusaurian uniforms.”

The words cut through Magda like a knife, threatening to break her. She fought back tears as she assessed the situation. If it was true that Ilusauri was behind this, they had to pay. But how could they be sure this was linked to the Mad King of Ilusauri—Claude?

How would she make this decision as a ruler? And how was she going to rule when she knew nothing about being a Guardian? The only option was to speak to another guardian, one who had the same magic as she did, in the land of Flaustra. Which meant sneaking out of the fortress and past her mother.

“I need you to continue the investigation,” said Magda, fighting back tears. “But first, come with me to the Scribestone. I need to send a message.” There was only one person that she trusted to tell her about the ways of the guardians.

“To who?”

“Queen Sanyal.”

A few minutes later, Magda, Dagmara, and Odie entered the royal library. It was a small, circular room that extended up into one of the large towers at the corner of the fortress. All around, bookshelves wrapped along the walls, extending upward to a small window at the top of the tower. In the center, a wide spiral staircase extended along the outside walls, allowing easy reach to access the manuscripts.

In the center of the room, was the Scribestone. It was a large statue of a book that glowed with a hint of iridescent magic. Anyone that wrote a message on the book would be able to send it to one of the three identical statues that lay in the libraries in Flaustra, Celestaire, and Ilusauri.

Magda approached the Scribestone, with Dagmara close behind.

Odie paced across the room, sniffing the ancient scrolls.

“I’m going to send Sanyal a message and ask to meet with her,” said Magda. Quickly, she grabbed a quill pen from a shelf and began writing on the magical stone.

Queen Sanyal,

I must speak with you. Please allow me to come to Flaustra to visit with you and your children. Without my father and Aleksy, I have no idea what it means to be a guardian, or how to use my powers, and I need your guidance.

Sincerely,

Magdalena Krol

Magda finished the letter, and in an instant, the message had sunk into the stone, completely disappearing. Soon, it would reappear on the Scribestone in Flaustra. The message would only appear for the person whom it was addressed to, meaning Magda didn’t have any reason to fear it would be intercepted.

Suddenly, the Scribestone glowed bright.

Words flashed upon the stone:

One message from Claude Mirage, Ilusauri.

Magda gasped. “Claude?”

“The Mad King?” Dagmara echoed.

Odie let out a whimper and padded across the floor to reach Magda’s side. He placed his snout against her knee, and she idly ran her palm against his head.

Magda pressed her other hand to the words, touching her fingerprints to the letter.

Dear Princess,

It has come to my attention that your brother and father were murdered during your coronation ceremony. My heart goes out to you and your kingdom, and I extend my greatest condolences.

I fear that you are unsafe and that these assassins won’t stop until they find you too. Let me offer you a place of refuge in Ilusauri, a chance to rebuild a grieving heart and a broken friendship.

Marry me.

With love,

Claude

Magda’s eyes widened. It had been ages since she had received any communication from Claude, her childhood friend, and his new reputation only made her uneasy. She never wanted to fully believe in the stories—from withholding food from his population, to forcing people out of their homes with no explanation, to having fits of rage or holding public executions—but she had no evidence to believe otherwise.

If what Dagmara said was true, and the Kingdom of Ilusauri really was behind the death of Aleksy and her father, then they had to pay. Nothing in this letter could change that.

But now, the Mad King was asking for her hand in marriage.