5. Esther
ESTHER
The Fates kind of seem like assholes, if that really was who entered the room. I’ve never thought highly of any type of god, especially ones who snicker when possessing one of my friends.
Afterward, we didn’t speak of it. Selena pretended like nothing had happened, and I didn’t further inquire if she heard what was said. If she had, she didn’t bring it up. But it left me with the sense of an omen hanging over my head for the rest of the day.
They will die. Who? Who will die? Blaze? I would do anything to prevent that. Master Kain? Selena? Those I house with? Grimace? Who are they?
The marking at my throat burns, as if he is reminding me he’s still with me. Thankfully it does add to my relief.
And yet selfishly, it’s the mention of being unbound that scares me the most. I vaguely recall the pain when I was five, in the aftermath of my ancestors—those who bound me— being killed, and my magic trying to eat me from the inside out.
Only those who unlock every element are able to unbind themselves and remain powerful enough to keep the madness and chaos at bay, but the conditions for an omni greer to unlock each element differs from the next.
I have no idea how to unbind mine, element by element, which is why I’ve mostly studied water, trying to figure out how I can master and unlock it.
And that’s taken years. Years, it would seem, the Fates don’t want me to have.
For two short months, I studied the element of fire with Dahlia when I was ten. I have a taste for the chaotic element, but Master Kain decided it best I conquer one before the next. I suspect there were other reasons involved, but none that he disclosed with me.
Every element is different. The moment I link with an element, it presents to me like old living texts in my mind, with a language I don’t yet understand or know how to wield.
I imagine these are the chants that ordinary greers must learn over time.
The frustration builds inside me, so desperately wanting to control this magic that licks at me, power hungry and unfulfilled.
None of that knowledge helps me now, as I’m dressed like a doll for an announcement that I’m well aware may create an internal political war.
I wish I understood what Master Kain was thinking.
I’ve heard of Great War stories when he was in his prime, but all of that is different from the man who all but raised me.
My skin feels raw from how vigorously Selena scrubbed it.
My hair bounces with a rare lightness after all the oil and dirt was stripped from it using a special lotion.
It’s coiled in a tight bun with a white-and-silver hairpiece that has a winged tip to bind it.
Selena made a point that the hairpiece had a sharp end.
I wanted to change into my usual attire that I felt more comfortable in.
Unsurprisingly, I couldn’t find anything of the sort in my new room.
Selena sarcastically mocked that such clothing would not suffice for a young lady such as myself.
Instead, she dressed me in a tight corset that dared break my ribcage, perhaps much to her liking, and in a green silk dress that flows to the floor.
Such finery could only be found in foreign markets.
And its length is so overbearing I’d trip in it if not for the heels.
For all the years of grueling training, both in combat and in magic, nothing has prepared me for the instability of a heel. I immediately hate them.
As we walk down the castle’s hallway, I wish I had more than a sharp hairpin and the hidden blade held by the leather garter at my thigh.
It still doesn’t feel like enough when entering the same room as Master Kain’s cousin.
Dahlia is distasteful and rash. She serves out punishments, often unwarranted, and I can’t help but feel like I’ve been dressed up as a pretty target.
When we round the corner, Barbados stands tall outside the wooden doors, wearing his blue encrusted armor with the wolf emblem, very different from the casual appearance he had on this morning.
I narrow my eyes as we come to a stop in front of him. “Did you know about this?”
His features shift subtly, but I see the way his lips turn downward. “Had I told you, it would’ve been harder to drag you here. Besides, I follow the orders of our king, and so do you.”
I glare at him for added effect, even when I know he’s right. “You owe me candied apples at the upcoming festival for this.”
He hides a smirk as he and Selena briefly offer one another a courteous nod.
I look forward, an impending dread coming over me.
Walking into this room is accepting that I’ll never come out the same.
I want to run. Then again, I could never do that to Master Kain.
I owe him at least this, and if he still agrees to let me join the military, then won’t that be good enough? I’ll just make sure I’m never here.
“From here or there,” Selena says, pulling me out of my thoughts and encouraging me to pull my shoulders back.
The old saying from here or there derived from loved ones bidding their husbands and friends good luck in old wars.
There, being God’s Gate, on the edge of the sea, furthest east is where it’s suspected the deceased souls go to rest. I don’t know what I believe in or where those souls go, but since it’s said that everything that wanders in there alive never returns, I’m not so curious to find out myself.
I look back at the doors, embracing the old saying.
“Don’t bend inward. Show them your force. ”
Barbados nods once again before opening the door.
I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this, especially if others start treating me differently.
I’ve been around and inside the castle ever since I was a child; it’s not unknown that I’m favored for reasons we can’t disclose. But this will change all of that.
The dining hall is lit by candlelight, the grand chandelier always drawing one’s attention up when walking into the room.
Blue and silver with an embroidered wolf’s emblem; the colors of Caldom Kingdom adorn the room proudly.
Fresh flowers, enchanted by an earthy green, and a luminous glow from the petals in large floor-to-hip vases on either side of the entry.
Blue glowing butterflies flutter around them, drawn by the scent.
Blaze stands behind Master Kain, unmoving, his leather mask covering the lower half of his face, with the leather hood hiding most of his ash-blond hair.
His gaze shifts ever so slightly upon my arrival. I feel it drifting down my attire, a hot flush coming over me, feeling exposed in such a fine dress.
At the other end of the table, Dahlia sits beneath the colorful floor-to-ceiling windows with detailed artwork of Neina poised saint-like as she looks down on the dinner, offering a prayer for the feast.
As if looking down on an unfitting greer, Dahlia scoffs as I enter, always insulted by my presence.
I recognize the two heavily armed soldiers standing behind her, both of whom stood close to the greer I’d picked a fight with last night.
I search the room, looking for the third, the one whose throat I put my blade to. But he isn’t here.
“Such finery on a commoner, as if she were a doll. How disgusting,” Dahlia grits through a clenched jaw, her disdain obvious.
She brings the wine to her downturned lips.
Her black hair has more streaks of gray than when I saw her last. While the hollows of her cheeks and collarbone are further sunken.
She wears a fine leather dress that splits on both sides of the hip, more battle-ready than dinner attire.
Red feathers poke from her leather-bound shoulders.
Perched on her shoulder is her beast. A valther—a large black birdlike beast with a long neck and red beady eyes that sees more than it should and always reports back to her.
The markings of her beast contract cover her eyes like a mask stretching from ear to ear.
“I’d advise against insulting my people if you want this dinner to be pleasant,” Master Kain says. “Come, Esther, you’re to sit beside me.”
It strikes me then what’s different about Dahlia: it’s the sword at her side that glows with a red hue.
Surely not? A randor blade? I exchange a glance with Blaze, who has most likely already noticed. It’s hard not to. Selena follows me closely, pulling out my chair, and once I sit she stands behind me.
The randor blade illuminates with a dark red atop the sheath, the rest of the sword hidden within.
Their cultivation is considered taboo, yet Dahlia isn’t even trying to hide it.
It’s the killing of another greer, harvesting their magic into a blade.
It’s said that randor blades trap the soul of the living, the greer never finding solace in the afterlife.
Although not illegal in all lands, it’s a mark of a greer who has allowed herself to walk the dark path in the vein of the god, Felia.
“Care to explain why we’re not sharing this dinner in privacy, cousin?” Dahlia asks impatiently, cutting through her bleeding meat.
Selena begins to serve me a plate of various meats and vegetables; the table is overwhelming with its selection. I don’t dare argue with her that I can do it myself. Instead, for the first time in history, I remain quiet, like the little doll that Master Kain has propped me up to be.
“I appreciate your visit,” Master Kain begins as he looks up from his own meal.
Selena places the plate in front of me and lightly taps the bottom of a specific fork, indicating it’s the right one to use. Then she steps back, standing at the wall, hands placed in front of her.
“But I have an announcement, one that is in my right to make. Esther will become my legitimate daughter.”
The peas that were supposed to be greedily taken in by Dahlia’s lips fall and bounce back onto her plate as her scowl deepens. “What did you just say?”