Chapter Text
Once upon a time, in a kingdom not too far away, there was a prince and his sister the princess. They were an usual pair, the brother obsessed with monsters and the sister’s mind lost with her head in the clouds. Despite their oddities, they were a close knit pair, often playing together in nature or observing local fauna from afar in the castle garden. However this peace was not to last. The prince was soon crowned king, his sister became his closest advisor, and his reign would be short lived.
As king the boy would soon banish the reckless killing of monsters, leading a hefty amount of villages to be invaded. The citizens were restless; they couldn't understand the choice the king had made. Even his own servants begged him to reconsider the law he had made. But the king refused, he saw no need for the monsters to be killed for simply living. Because of this the citizens suffered, losing farmlands, homes, and families to the monsters. Rumors even spread how the king had lost his humanity and he had become a monster himself. This all came to a climax at the night of the winter moon ball. A mad magician, hearing tales of this treacherous king, forced his way into the castle to face him. With his spell book in hand he cast a curse upon the monstrous king.
“Until you can learn what it means to have humanity, you will lose everything that makes you human.”
With that, he cast his spell, however the king's sister, in a moment, pushed her beloved brother out of the way, taking the spell herself. Turning her into a horrible monster the world has never seen. Enraged, the king grabbed his sword and aimed to behead the magician. The magician, in fear for his life, cast a spell upon the king, putting him in a seemingly endless sleep. The castle guests made a quick escape as the guards and knights surrounded the magician. He cursed them all with his terrifying power, until the castle was silent and still. With no one left to stop the intruder, he cast one final spell to preserve the damage done and keep as many people out as possible. This castle deserved to be kept in the darkness. Forever.
It was an average day for Marcille, the village she was in was peaceful, and calm, with little to do other than chores and reading. Not that she was complaining. She loved her quiet life. She loved finding novels to read at the local bazaar, she loved attending to her cute chickens, and she enjoyed every minute she spent studying her spells. Sure she didn't have as many friends as she'd like, and she missed her family dearly, but that didn't make her routine any less fulfilling. She learned how to enjoy herself among her stories and the little moments that brought her happiness. Like finding the next book in a series she loved, or finding new recipes that used juicy vegetables she had in her garden. A content smile graced her face as her fingers feathered over the spines of a few books. Her eyes glanced over the titles available, medical to fictional, mathematics to historical, she browsed over the books until her hand bumped into someone else's. It was rare to encounter anyone in the bookstore, let alone someone with a similar taste in novels as her. Blue eyes met onyx, and the shock caused Marcille to jump back a few inches.
“Captain Mithrun!” She said, doing her best to put on a look that didn't scream that he scared the daylights out of her. The elf didn't seem to acknowledge she was even there, his hand still hovering over the title she had reached for. “Did you have an interest in that book as well..?” Marcille asked tentatively. The captain robotically pulled the book from the shelf and opened it to flip through the pages. Marcille contemplated leaving with how the captain was reading. But just as she turned to leave he spoke up.
“This is a strange book to have an interest in.” He commented, closing the book and holding it up for her to read. ‘Demons, Devils, and Myths’ was a new book that was recently published. It covered different mythology on powerful demons and the dark magic they could cast. Marcille chuckled, rubbing her arm.
“That's true, but don't scary stories like that give you a rush?” She asked. The captain stared, silver hair strands falling in front of his eyes. Or well, eye. He lost his right eye while in a battle. He never spoke of that battle but there were rumors. Some say he fought a thousand men and lived. Some say that he got caught a terminal disease but his sheer will fought it back. But Marcille didn't believe any of those, she thinks the reason he lost his eye was for fighting a lion. The scar that stretched from his brow to his cheek was all the proof she needed.
“I never took you for a fan of thriller novels.” He said, placing the book back on the shelf. Marcille eyed the book, and she made a mental note to come back for it later.
“I suppose Pattadol is running ragged looking for you huh?” Marcille asked, shifting the subject. Mithrun stared at the shelf a second longer before responding.
“I think not. I left my second in command in charge, she should be keeping Pattadol busy.” He responded nonchalantly. Marcille was familiar with his second in command. A tall elf with dark skin and flowing silver hair. She and Pattadol often gave her snide looks whenever they passed her in town. Being the only half elf in town, she always got these looks, it wasn't anything new, but it was never a good feeling. She tried to make herself scarce anytime she caught sight of the Canaries in general. “But that being said, my walk should be finishing up soon.” He passed by her but stopped a few steps away.
“Captain Mithrun..?” Marcille asked. The captain slightly turned for his good eye to watch her.
“We've been finding quite a few merchants carrying contraband recently.” His tone was flat but his eyes, his eyes were stern and hard. Marcille furrowed her brows.
“Oh, I'll be sure to report anything if I find it.” She responded. Mithrun nodded and turned away again.
“It'd be a shame to find a black magic caster in our village. I don't enjoy executions.” He stated, leaving Marcille’s sight and the bookstore. Marcille gulped and leaned against the solid wall next to the bookshelves. She hugged herself and let out a shaky breath. Did she look suspicious? Was her face as neutral as she could make it? She tucked some of her golden strands behind her ear and stood back on her own feet. She made sure not to run, but she made a swift walk back to her home at the edge of town.
The sun was beginning to set by the time she got home, she herded her chickens back into their coop and locked the door to her house. She drew the curtains closed, making sure nothing outside could peek in. Only when she was sure there were no open windows did she step into her study room. Her staff, ambrosia rested against the wall near her desk. She grabbed it, walked to the center of the room, and said a quick chant.
“Uig Imatrop.” The floor beneath her creaked, transporting her from the cozy study she knew to a hidden nook just under her home. With another wave of her staff, small balls of light filled the nook. Marcille looked over the items she kept stashed away there. Books on black magic, spell sigils outlawed by the Canaries and the queen they answered to, and of course her own studies on black magic, stored away on a narrow shelf. Filled with notes and observations of the magic she studied. She knew it was illegal and she knew the consequences, but she couldn't stop now. She felt that she was close to a breakthrough, she just needed a few hundred more years and she'd have it. She took a deep breath and picked up a stack of papers. She read through a few of her hastily written notes, sighing heavily at the mess of research, she gathered what she could in a quick attempt at organization. With a final look at the nook, she exited the room, sealing it back into the floor. Like it never happened. She walked to her room, sluggish after the busy day, her bare feet lazily smacking against the wooden floors. As she passed her kitchen her stomach grumbled, she debated whipping up something to eat really quick. Only to remember…
“Oh dammit.” She lightly smacked her palm against her forehead. She forgot to buy food. That had been the only reason she went into town, her crops weren't gonna yield anything until a week from now. She groaned and dragged herself to her room, deciding she'll just have to go back to town tomorrow to get supplies. After she changed her clothes into her sleeping gown, she tucked herself into bed and fell asleep soundly.
“She has a hidden study under her home. She used the incantation ‘Uig Imatrop’ to open the floor to get in. Inside is roughly ten books of contraband, five journals of banned research, and multiple handmade sigils of dark magic.” Pattadol translated, her familiar, a small fairy the size of her palm, sat on her shoulder after relaying the information it witnessed.
“See? Told ya!” Cithis said with a grin. “If you drop the punishment for black magic she'd panic and check her stash. And with the fairy you planted on her, of course we'd catch her red handed.” Mithrun sat at the head of the table, listening to his squad argue on what to do about the black magic user in their village.
“Could she join the Canaries?”
“That half-elf? No way, she doesn't have anything other than the knowledge of black magic.”
“Then we'll have to execute her.”
“Under what jurisdiction? This village isn't even a part of our kingdom yet.”
“If we arrest her she'll run.”
“She can't run if we don't give her any room to breathe.”
Mithrun stood, silencing the room. They all waited patiently for his verdict.
“Black magic users can't be allowed to roam free. She needs to be under supervision. We'll put her under arrest and let the Queen sentence her.” There were a few whispers around the room, some disappointed but none disagreeing.
“Then it's settled!” Cithis chimed with a smile. “Tomorrow morning, we will arrest Marcille Donato.”