INTERLUDE
I KNOW WHO I AM
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I always thought that the life we live will always remains the same, no matter what happens or how much time passes.
That I could always keep smiling and do whatever I wanted to.
But, happiness and precious things…. eventually falls apart.
"Princess I have prepared the clothes your father has sent for you, His highness has asked you to see him after you have finished." Spoke one of the servants as they would have set aside my clothes just outside the bath.
I opened the door since ,I was almost done with my bathing and stepped forward into a beautiful big room filled with abundant sunlight as it shed its light upon the huge bed and the decorative ornaments that adorned the room befitting of the status of a princess.
"Please inform him that I will be there soon. And thank you for…." Before I could finish the sentence… the maid let out a surprised terrified sound on seeing me upfront and close; as if she had seen an undead ghost.
"Hannnn… will do… princess. I will be taking my leave now." Saying that in a hurried manner, she quickly left the room as if she was running to save her life from something terrific and vicious enough to take her life.
The big room was empty again and it alone sheltered me in the rightmost top isolated corner of the Royal Palace.
And the dangerous thing she was running from was I…. the second princess of Ascalon – the great kingdom of elves, Regis Ascalon.
The room was more than spacious enough to hold an entire feast for any celebratory occasion and yet I have been standing alone there, left alone to do whatever I pleased as long as I didn't bother others.
Even this room, was still not as simple as it looked like. Everything in this room is specifically of non-magical origin. The furniture, the decorative curtains, the glass wares and all other items were all handcrafted and not made magically as they are manufactured. Not because they become expensive or rare, but rather it's unique to a monster like me, at least that's what they call me – because I always end up destroying whatever I touch as long it has magic in it.
But it had not always been like this, I too once was living happily and smiling among my family members as they equally loved me back but after that accident everything changed. I had to live apart from others not because I wanted or was forced to but because I had to.
I was born with strong magical energy and had great aptitude for magic as well as for combat among all my siblings. We used to play, eat, sleep and do everything together like a normal family would spend their time with their children…
But things do not always remains the same and the sole reason being because I was labeled different from others. But who decided that. It was not me, and yet slowly everyone seemed to be so far and distant. Even though I know my family members deeply care about me I just couldn't seem to get closer to them, not when I have this devastating power.
My magic attribute was not yet determined and when I was nine years old, I went with father on a simple monster extermination expedition along with my other siblings. It was just going to be a simple test for our practical skills and learn about the present dangers that surrounded our kingdom isolated in the northern west part of the Demon Continent.
Everything was going well until then as I had already scored against two red-wolf monster with my arrows that would chase down their enemies relentlessly unless they made a hit on their target. But then unexpectedly a giant red wolf shot out from one of the trees and pounced on me knocking me from the horse's mount, pinned under its powerful legs, I was unable to move.
Father in turn jumped from his horse and running towards me he tried to push away the monster and knock it off. There was no time left to chant a magic spell or take aim and shoot. All that mattered to him was saving me and he didn't wanted to injure me in the attack, how so ever. But its sturdiness somehow proved to even overpower him. There was not even a second left in which it would have torn or crushed my head in rage.
My mind was drawing a blank and in that moment as a reflex and naturally a power sprouted in me from deep within as naturally as it could have been with me since my birth.
My hands moved forward on its to grab something intangible, only to make the slightest of contact with the monster's body. The next thing I knew I was drenched in its blood but that was not the only thing I had destroyed as I saw the monster's body twist devastatingly in agony like a spinning top, crushing all its bones and blood vessels with the pressure of being tormented and its body compressed into a savage lump of meat.
But that was not the only terrific scene I saw that day. Father who was also in contact with the wolf as he was pushing it with his hands had his left arm missing as a red blood fountain spurted out of the missing part of the arm.
I was screaming and crying and yet father who had a pained look on his face was smiling at me even just for a bit to tell me everything was fine.
But that was the day when I lost my innocence, the affection I wanted as their kid and not some cursed foreign monster and the normal treatment as a fellow being. It was ascertained that I had an abnormally high affinity for destructive wind magic and on top of it a special skill ─ AERTORN SPIN.
No one could find out how the skill worked because whatever I touched made up of magical constitution would compress and twist in itself. No matter how many times I tried to suppress it, I destroyed everything of creation and turned it into pure disaster. And that would include life itself which brims with magic and life force.
Had it not been for my status as a royal and my family's intervention I might not have even being living a proper life of a normal being and I have always been grateful to them for looking after me.
With no hope I was shunned and closed in this part of the mansion and everything surrounding me was designed specifically so that I wouldn't end up destroying it.
All beauty and fun faded away as soon as I touched something and hurting my own family terrified me more than anything. That's why I decided to stay in this place and keep on learning more and more about myself so that one day I could climb out of this hell-hole and be with my family again.
Slowly I started venturing inside the castle trying to do and help things in my own way while continuing my magic and combat training. There were obviously people afraid of me, those who despised me while some who sympathized with me, visualizing me as an unfortunate being but none treated me like their brethren – all because I was different.
Because of my excessive wind affinity all my other magic became almost negligent and I was rendered unable to use wood magic. As an ill fated elf who was deprived of the touch of the nature – I was left miserable to live the life of the black sheep of the family.
I wanted to sleep close to my family, tucked in between them listening to bed-time stories, but all I got was a huge cold empty bed…. All because I can't even hug my own even for once. Even the food made for me is tasteless, since the products were grown naturally without using magic for cultivating lands and germinating the seeds. When I was a kid, all I did was hold the bed sheet tight while I had to cry alone on thunderstorm nights as the lightning tormented me.
But in all this time I have grown and learnt in my own special way; that crying or blaming it all on my fate won't work. If I want people to accept me then first I need to accept myself.
I wanted to be strong so I could protect the things that were dear to me.
So, that I could finally obtain the things back which I lost a long time ago and are dear to me.
I don't want to lose anymore because of my weakness or lesser understanding of my own powers.
And for that purpose I have to venture to the outside world and find out what really I am capable of… and only then maybe I will be finally able to understand what I can truly do with this power.
After wearing the dress that father had specially sent for me; which he does occasionally and seeing that the room was typically filled with all types of gifts sent by him. But they seem pretty useless to me and I am really not into wearing such grand sophisticated dresses, because it's difficult to move around in them and it takes an awful lot of time to put it on.
Huhhhh! But since he went to the trouble of sending me one and meeting me, I can't seem to prepare myself to break his heart. It's not like someone will walk up to me and help me put it on, but rather I have to do most of the work myself too. I have even refused for the workers to clean my room and took it on myself to do it on a daily basis.
I glanced out of the window and beyond the small garden where a huge vine tree seems to be growing, beyond it expanded a massive vast blue sky. And beyond the walls of the royal palace was the capital city Ascal.
But the palace administration has been in chaos because some days ago the sky had turned red, with raining stars that almost flooded the sky and the massive tremors that devastated the capital city. It was reported to be a monster whose origins were unspecified even on the magical radar and from what I have heard just by the magical output its threat rating went beyond any monster registered in the information directory list and even the machine seemed to be reported inefficient in predicting its true power level .
I wonder whether such kind of monster even exists, because then not even the army would stand a chance and if it really does then why did it disappear so suddenly.
Knock. Knock. Two maids entered my room.
"Princess Regis, we have come to escort you to your highness." said one of the maids.
"I don't need an escort to see my father now, do I?" I said in a bitter tone.
"I am sorry princess, but it's the code of protection to keep his highness safe." The other maid really didn't care what she had to offer me in answer.
So, they really think I am that dangerous to harm my own family.
"So be it. Take me to him."
I followed them hastily, trying my best to escape from the gazes of the guards, other workers and officials in the castle.
Finally reaching father's office, where he usually worked and performed all his kingly duties, I stepped in while the other two maids still followed me to the inside.
"You are finally here my sweet girl. You two can leave us father and daughter alone now." The man sitting on the chair in front of the desk with a golden plate label stamped with the royal family's emblem and the right to the throne, while the crown was frivolously thrown on the table's edge as if he didn't care much about it, he stepped out of his chair to come closer to me.
Even though he knew I am afraid to come close to anyone, he tries his best that I am not left alone. The two maids had already left my side and I could finally find myself some place to relax and demand father that he allows me to go outside the elven kingdom.
"Father… I…"
"Now, now you have only just arrived and you look so wonderful in that dress, how about I ask the chefs to make something exclusively sweet for this occasion and we can enjoy it with some tea and talk." Pushing one of the chairs in front as he beckoned me to take a seat.
"Father before that I want you to give me permission to go and travel outside the kingdom." I said in a desperate manner before he makes me to forget what I was here for.
"Huhhhh….. Regis, we have been over this before, but I still think you are too young and immature to leave all on your own. Stay for a few more years, train as you have been meticulously doing all along and then we will see to your request. Is that okay with you?" Father tried to force out his way by sweet-talking to me but this time I was not falling for it.
"No. It's not! I have to go and see for myself what I can do and find out…. That…." Then I realized that even though I have been wanting to go, I really don't know what's out there, what I truly wanted or how I might end up and do outside the kingdom and beyond my family's reach. But, "I have already made up my mind, and you cannot stop me this time." I really said out loud what I was thinking, while father for a second there stood motionless as I might have heard him whispering my name.
Suddenly fast-paced footsteps were heard in the corridor as a man and a soldier in silver armour entered the room.
"Your majesty, its bad news the forest spiritual magical device has spotted an intruder within our kingdom's borders and is squandering around our royal capital. But somehow our magic radar has failed to detect whether it's a monster or another living being. I am afraid to say, but with the increasing events of dragon invasions and the harm caused to the tree of Genesis…."
"Greatttt." Father tried to endlessly stretch the word as he signaled the official knight commander and the administrative officer towards me.
"Princess…Regis. I beg your pardon your highness to not watch my tongue and speak without your permission." Both of them stood with their head down, waiting for further orders by father.
Well he did really a blunder; to spill all the chaos in front of me since this news might have been kept a state secret from the start as the nature of the content made it sound like. The more the disclosure, the rumours are bound to spread. But it's not like father is going to punish him for that, but now that I know I have a rare chance to prove myself.
The dragon island has been the home for the dragons after the Four Great Spirits and the Black Dragon God made it a sanctuary for all the other dragons to live a peaceful life after the Great War and exist without being hunted because of their ruthless anger which they might show in discomfort. Even then this kingdom has done its best to keep the dragon island a secret from the rest of the world and also act as its benefactor. In return they provide assistance in keeping the tree of Genesis, which is said to be one of the blessings of the four Great Spirit and the Tree of Life from the realm of Gods, safe from the dangerous monsters which we cannot handle by ourselves.
If for some reason, there is a single harm to the tree of Genesis it might as well be the end of this kingdom, since the entire capital city is built inside a huge evergreen forest.
"Father let me handle the intruder let me prove myself that I am not that immature girl you still think. And if that's not enough I will fix all the other problems that worries you." Saying that I already left the room to make preparations and see that there are no threats that jeopardizes the safety of my kingdom and my family.
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