Rampage, page 20
part #1 of Land of the Elementals Series
She could feel her anger begin to boil over now, and her headache intensified to an almost blinding degree. She knew what it was this time and didn’t try to hold back the torrent building up inside.
“You filthy lying bastard!” she roared, allowing her magic burst free.
There was a boom of displaced air as her power exploded out of her. There was an audible crack as the fine table snapped down the center, and Sylvester was sent flying back into the opposite wall. He slammed into it with a bone snapping crunch and fell in a limp heap on the ground.
She heard the sound of steel scraping against leather as the guards drew their weapons and advanced on her. Her head throbbed in agony as her magic flowed through her, and she screamed in pain and rage, allowing her magic to explode outward and sending the guards flying in all directions.
Karria glared down at the king and queen, who were now looking at her in fear.
How dare they doubt her! How dare that bastard lie about her and to her face, no less! She felt rage like she’d never felt before and thought about all kinds of punishments to unleash on these horrible people. She could tear the entire palace down around them. She had the strength for that. She knew that would show these people what she was made of!
Just as she was preparing to unleash a devastating attack, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked back in confusion to see Kya standing there, a look of concentration on her face.
She was about to brush her off when she felt a calm, soothing presence begin rolling over her in waves. She could feel her anger slowly start to ebb away, the rage leaving her, and the tension in her muscles slackening. She took a deep, shuddering breath, slowly sinking to her knees.
What had she done? Had she really lost control like that? Why had Sylvester betrayed her? And in such a horrible way!
These questions and more whirled through her mind and finally, she just couldn’t take it anymore. She began to cry, burying her face in Kya’s shoulder as wracking sobs overtook her body. Kya, for her part, just sat there with her, patting her back and whispering soothingly into her ear.
“There, there. Calm down. Everything will be fine.”
After what felt like an eternity, Karria began to calm somewhat. Sylvester had been rushed out to see a healer, but the king and queen were still there. Blyss bent down next to her and laid a hand on her shoulder, though it didn’t escape her notice that the room was now lined with grim-faced soldiers.
“We’re sorry we didn’t believe you,” she said, looking into her eyes. “It’s clear that Sylvester was lying to us now, though we couldn’t figure out as to why he was doing so just yet. Kya says that she has the real story and we will get to the bottom of this.”
Alvine bent down as well, though his face looked less apologetic.
“It was very foolish of him to lie about Silver as well. If he was the one who sent you, then he did so for a good reason. One of which is immediately obvious.”
Karria looked up then, her eyes red and puffy.
“What’s wrong with me?” she asked in a frightened voice.
“There’s nothing wrong with you, my dear,” Blyss said quickly.
“You just have very powerful magic and must learn to control it. Even among the elves, who are gifted with a higher affinity than most races, it is very rare to have any at all these days. Only one in every twenty or so were born with the ability to use magic over the last few centuries, and most are very weak or completely useless, never even reaching Tier 3.
“Though I have to admit that I haven’t seen magic that powerful from a Tier 1 Mage in my entire life. In fact, the last person documented with your sort of power lived well over a thousand years ago,” she finished.
“Kya will show you to a room where you can get some sleep,” Alvine said, motioning the guards to stand back, now that she’d calmed down somewhat. “You must be exhausted. We will speak with you more tomorrow. We apologize once again.”
Karria nodded as Kya helped her to her feet and led her out of the throne room.
She kept a steadying hand on her shoulder as she led her to one of the rooms off the main corridor. The room had a large bed in the center with fine drapes hanging off the posts. There was a large desk in one corner and a wardrobe with a mirror on the other side of the room. A pitcher of water and a small bowl of fruit sat on the table, as well as a small vase of flowers. She could also see a small door leading off the room and assumed it to be some sort of washroom.
“Get some rest. I’ll be right next door if you need me,” Kya said with a gentle smile.
“And don’t you worry about Sylvester.” Her face morphed into one of anger here. “I’ll get to the bottom of this, I always do.”
“Thank you,” Karria said, wiping her eyes with corner of one sleeve.
Kya hugged her tightly, then she left the room, closing the door gently behind her.
Karria shuffled over to the large bed and fell into it face first. The sheets were cool against her face, and the bed was soft beneath her. She curled up in a ball and closed her eyes. She began to sob again softly, but no tears came this time.
It appeared she wasn’t even going to be allowed the comfort of tears. She was far away from home with no family to speak of, all alone in a strange city, and the one person she believed she could count on had betrayed her in the worst way possible.
Then she thought of Kya, and what she’d said right before leaving her. The girl was so empathetic to her plight, more so than any normal person should have been. Perhaps it was just a side effect of her magic, but she found that she was quickly warming up to her. Maybe she wasn’t so alone after all.
26
Karria awoke the next morning to a light rapping on her door. Getting groggily out of bed, she shuffled towards it, yawning expansively as she rubbed her eyes. She opened the door to see Kya, holding a small tray in one hand and a bundle of clothes draped over her arm.
“May I come in?” she asked with a bright smile.
Karria just grumbled a little but moved out of the doorway to let her enter. Her head was pounding, and she knew she must be suffering the aftereffects of using too much magic.
Kya set the tray down on the desk then moved over to her bed. She began straightening the covers and then laid the clothes out neatly, smoothing out any creases.
“I don’t know how these will fit you,” she said as Karria walked over. “We didn’t have any extra clothes on hand, but you look to be around my size, so I’ve brought you some of mine. It may be a bit…um, roomy in the chest area, but you should be able use them until we can get the tailors to fit you for your own.”
Karria just nodded, too tired to be insulted at Kya’s remark, and went over to the food tray. She had no idea how this girl could be so chipper this early in the morning.
Lifting a small cup full of – what she assumed to be – tea, she took a sip. She almost gagged as the familiar flavor of medicine entered her mouth.
Kya laughed at her expression and held out a cup of fruit juice. She quickly downed the rest of the medicine, shuddering at the taste. Then she took the proffered cup with a nod of thanks and had soon washed the nasty taste out of her mouth.
“I figured you wouldn’t be feeling too well after using that amount of magic yesterday. So, I stopped by the healer’s this morning to fetch it for you.”
Despite how gross the medicine had tasted, Karria had to admit that she was feeling quite a bit better.
She forced a smile onto her face. “Thank you.”
“Oh, it was no bother at all,” she replied with a bright smile.
Karria noticed then, that despite the early hour, Kya looked as perfect as she had the day before. A bright yellow dress clung to her body, the skirt ending just below her knees. A pair of tight-fitting pants covered her legs. Her hair hung loose down her back, and a small purple flower was tucked behind one ear.
Then Karria looked down at herself. She was still wearing the same clothes she’d had on yesterday. There were grass stains down the front, patches of discoloration and small tears from the weeks of travel. And she didn’t even want to know what her hair looked like.
Kya seemed to know exactly what she was thinking and gave her a knowing smile.
“I’ll leave you to eat and clean up. Just come knock on my door when you’re done.”
She left then, closing the door gently behind her.
Karria could hear her giggling to herself through the door and blushed, remembering that Kya could sense emotions. She sighed to herself — Nothing she could do to hide them now.
Sitting down, she helped herself to the food Kya had brought her. There were eggs, strips of beef, and a small loaf of bread. There was also the pitcher of juice she’d brought along and a small flaky pastry with apples baked into it.
She enjoyed herself immensely, realizing that this was the first good meal she’d eaten in months. Much to her surprise, she finished everything on her plate and was still a bit hungry afterward. Shaking her head, she stood and stripped out of her dirty and travel-worn clothes.
Heading into the small washroom, she could see a tub with two small spouts. Upon further inspection, she found that one of them gave off hot water, just like the one back home. Unlike the one back home, the second spout let out a strange goopy liquid that smelled like flowers and bubbled when it hit the water.
Karria laughed, delighted, and was soon sitting in a full tub of warm water with bubbles thickly coating the surface. She looked around for a moment before finding a bar of soap and proceeded to scrub herself vigorously. When she tired of soaking in the tub, she left the washroom, still drying her hair with an extremely soft towel. She then went over to her bed and riffled through the clothes Kya had left for her. She found a long-toothed comb along with the clothes and proceeded to work all the knots and tangles out of her hair. Finally, after an hour of work, she was done.
She examined herself in the mirror attached to the wardrobe and smiled. She wore a green dress with the skirt stopping just below her knees, and the same tight-fitting pants that Kya had worn underneath. She figured that this must be the elven style, as she’d seen most of the female elves in the city dressed similarly.
Karria found that she preferred this to the long skirts she was used to, even though she knew her mother would most likely disapprove. It was fairly obvious that the dress had been made with the busty elf in mind, but she thought she’d done a good job disguising it by pulling the back of the dress into a bow, gathering up the loose fabric.
She had combed her hair and braided two strands on either side, then tied them behind her hair in place of a band. She turned once, satisfied that she looked presentable and headed out of her room. She knocked on Kya’s door and waited until she was invited in.
Upon entering the room, she could see it was similar to hers, but there were a few personal touches that Karria’s didn’t have. There was a painting of Kya with the king and queen on one wall and a woven tapestry with a colorful bird in flight on another. A few other personal effects dotted the room here and there.
Kya was sitting at her desk, reading a book, but stood up when she walked in.
“I see the clothes fit,” she said with a grin.
“Yes, they fit quite well, thank you,” Karria said, returning the smile, noting that she didn’t mention the obvious for which she was glad.
The two of them sat by Kya’s desk and began talking. Kya asked how she’d slept the previous night and if she found the room satisfactory. Karria told her that everything was amazing, and how nice it felt to be able to take a real bath and dress in clean clothes again.
Finally, with the small talk out of the way, Kya began explaining what she would be doing moving forward.
“I’ve already spoken with Sylvester and gotten the truth out of him,” she began.
Karria stiffened at the mention of Sylvester, but Kya just continued talking.
“In case you were wondering, he has two broken ribs, a broken arm, and three broken toes. He has also bruised the bones in his right leg and left knee.”
Karria was shocked at the extent of the damage but was also oddly satisfied with her work.
“In light of what you did to him, I don’t think any further punishment will be needed to be doled out, do you?” Kya asked, a slanted eyebrow raised, and a small smirk on her face.
“No,” Karria said, a smile twisting her lips as well. “I think he’s suffered enough for now.”
“Good, I thought so as well,” Kya continued with a small laugh. “I’ve already spoken with the king and queen and told them the full story. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find out why he lied about what happened.”
Karria just shrugged at that. It didn’t matter to her why he’d done it. He had, and she wasn’t about to forgive him for it, no matter the reason.
“The king and queen will be meeting with you later today to discuss where you will be living while attending the magic school.” Kya paused here, a pensive look on her face.
“You do want to go to the magic school, don’t you?” She bit her lip nervously.
“Of course I want to go!” Karria burst out and saw the nervous look replaced by a smile. “I don’t have any money, though…”
“Don’t worry about that,” Kya said brightly. “The royal family has money put away for children with magic who can’t afford schooling.”
Karria was surprised to hear this.
“But I’m not an elf,” she protested.
“Even if he’s an ungrateful lying snake, you did save Sylvester’s life,” Kya said. “And the king and queen think it’s worth paying for your schooling for that.”
They were silent for a few minutes as Karria allowed it all to sink in.
She would be going to the magic school, after all! And better yet, the king and queen were going to pay for it. After a few more moments for silence, Karria spoke up again. She was curious as to what she would do until the meeting later that day.
“So, what should I do now?” Karria asked. “You said the meeting wasn’t until later, and I assume that you have school soon?”
Kya shook her head, her long honey-blonde hair swaying with the motion.
“School doesn’t start again for another few days, due to the celebration of the spring moon.”
“Spring moon?” Karria asked in confusion. “The winter moon was still in the sky last I checked, and should still be there for another two months at least.”
Kya laughed upon hearing that, her brilliant smile seeming to light up the room.
“The celebration of the spring moon is observed halfway through the winter. Don’t ask me why,” she said quickly. “Nobody knows what we celebrate it in the middle of the winter. It’s a tradition, so no one really bothers asking.”
Karria nodded at that.
“So, what do you normally do when you’re not in school? Do you have many friends to visit with?”
A pained expression crossed Kya’s face here, and she looked down with saddened eyes.
“I don’t have any friends,” she said quietly. “I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, that I am unusually pretty. I’m not trying to be vain or anything. I just know that it’s true. All the elven males are trying to court me already, even though I’m still a year away from adulthood. And because of that, all of the girls hate and shun me for it.”
Karria was a little taken aback at seeing tears streaking down the elven girl’s face. She was even more surprised to learn that Kya was only a few months older than she was.
“Because of my status as the king and queen’s ward, the other girls cannot harm me physically, but they find other ways to make me miserable.” She was crying hard now, and tears streamed freely down her face.
“They play mean tricks on me, shun me, and keep me from making any friends. The moment anyone new comes to school, they make sure to let them know that being friends with me would not be in their best interest, and they all listen. The boys don’t want to be friends with me, either. Sure, every once in while one of them will speak to me, but they all want the same thing. And as soon as I turn them away, they become just as nasty as the others.”
“Why not speak to the king or queen about this?” Karria asked, outraged that such a kind person could be so cruelly treated just because of her looks.
She also remembered her own thoughts about the girl and inwardly cringed at them. Kya was so nice and sweet, and she had been thinking petty thoughts about her.
“I will not trouble them with such minor problems as people being mean to me,” she said, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. “I also won’t hold it against you if you don’t want to be friends. It’s hard enough starting somewhere new, and I don’t want to make it harder than it has to be.”
Karria moved forward then and wrapped the elf girl up in a hug, much as she had done for her the previous day.
“I don’t care what those other girls say. I will be your friend, no matter what. You’ve been kind to me since the moment I arrived, and I cannot think of a better person to be my new friend.”
Kya froze for a moment. She could feel the truth with her magic, and the sincerity of Karria’s words washed over her in a wave of comfort. She pulled back from the hug, wiping her eyes and sniffing loudly.
“You really mean it, don’t you?” she said with a watery smile.
“Yes, I do!” Karria said, her back straight. “And anyone who tries to mess with you will have me to deal with!”
Kya actually laughed at this.
“If Sylvester is anything to go by, then no one will be bothering me for much longer.”
The two of them laughed together at this and then lapsed into pleasant conversation. Karria asked about what life was like in the royal manor, and Kya asked what it was like living as a human in the Endless Wood.
They soon found they had many things in common, such as a love for the outdoors, a passion for all things sweet, as well as an interest in the latest fashion. They also had a shared tragedy, a loss of family. Kya said that her parents had been killed on the border of the Flatlands by a gang of slavers. A neighbor had been watching her at the time, and she was soon sent off to live here.
