Daddy's little girl.
I had been trying to fall asleep for hours, but so far without any luck. The only thing I'd accomplished was tossing and turning, counting sheep and hoping I would eventually drift off. But no. I gave up, tossed my covers off in a huff, swung my legs off the bed and sighed loudly, wondering what the hell was wrong with me.
"It's early, Daria and I can hear you moving around. It's very distracting," the deep voice of my partner and friend, Bruce, muttered from the corner of the room. Maybe I should have taken a sleeping potion, then this wouldn't have been an issue. A pair of yellow eyes were staring at me in the gloomy darkness. Bruce was awake because of me and he wasn't happy about it. I flopped back down on the bed, feeling restless.
"This is the third night in a row. I don't know why I keep waking up like that," I complained, massaging my neck. Moments later, I felt a heavy weight on my bed. Bruce had jumped up and laid down beside me, so I ran my hand over his soft fur, feeling instantly calm.
"Maybe there's something on your mind," he said. He was spot on, there was a lot on my mind. The truth was, I hated my life. I was a maid, people didn't respect me, and my magic was never going to develop. Because of my reputation no one was willing to teach me.
Bruce was a wild black panther. He stayed with me in the castle where I lived and worked. I'd been here since I was twelve years old, since my father decided he was done taking care of me.
"No, I think I'll go to the kitchen and get some water," I muttered and then got up. I quickly put some clothes over my pyjamas. I didn't want anyone to see me walking about the castle in only my sleeping attire. My chamber was basic and small because I was no one important. King Thomas took me in when my father disappeared almost nine years ago. I had no one and I guessed the king must have felt sorry for me. Bruce was a present from my terrible father. One day he came home with a tiny baby panther and told me it was an early birthday present. Everything was all right up until the point when we both learnt that Bruce could talk, and he wasn't just an ordinary animal.
"You go, but I'm staying here. I need my beauty sleep," Bruce said and then yawned loudly, revealing his giant teeth.
I rolled my eyes and left the chamber, closing the door behind me. The corridor was dark, and there were no guards around, luckily for me. Dim candles were lighting the stairs further down. The castle was immersed with silence. I shouldn't have been surprised that everyone was fast asleep except me. I headed down, yawning and smoothing my dark brown hair. Bruce hated when I interrupted his routine. Lately I just wasn't able to sleep through the whole night—something was wrong. On top of everything, I had to be up at six in the morning and I had no energy. It was a vicious cycle.
There was slight tension in my neck. I wished someone would give me a massage. I wasn't supposed to wander around the castle this time of night, but right now I didn't care about the rules. No one was awake; therefore, I wasn't going to get caught. Maybe it was the fact that I had to be on my own for a bit. I spent all day long with other maids and my horrible boss. They always complained that they had too much work, that it was too cold or too hot. I needed to catch a break at some point.
Once I was on the lowest floor I headed straight to the kitchen and was just about to push the door open when I heard laughter inside. My stomach contracted with unease. I was ready to head back to my chamber, but the tiny voice in my head reminded me that I wasn't a coward. I recognised that stupid voice. The young mages—the students of King Thomas—liked hanging out in the staff quarters late at night. They couldn't be bothered about the rules. I pushed the door open, sensing a buzzing sensation in the back of my neck. My inner energy reminded me that I too was a mage.
Three pair of eyes found me instantly and I felt vulnerable, somehow small. Stanley, Marco and Natasha were sitting around a small table playing cards; they were drinking wine. Stanley must have stolen it from the kitchen cellar. I hated each one of them with a passion.
"Well, well, well… who do we have here—the maid. Just in time. Now you can clean up the mess in here." Natasha laughed, sounding drunk. She was blond and very tall, she didn't look like a typical mage. Some people gossiped that her father was a human, but I didn't think it was possible. I thought it best to ignore their remarks, especially considering how everyone in town loved to talk.
I opened the cupboard and took out a glass. The buzzing at the nape of my neck intensified. I had no idea what was wrong with me lately. I had magic inside of me, but no one had ever taught me how to use it. Most young mages couldn't create any sort of spells until they found a mentor.
Seconds later, Stanley purposely pushed a can of peanuts off the table creating a mess on the floor. Marco and Natasha laughed.
"It's time to fulfil your duties, Daria. Clean this mess up and serve us some more wine. You should be used to it by now," Stanley said with that mocking tone of voice. I clenched my fists and continued to ignore him. He hated when I pretended he wasn't even there; it wound him up even more.
I went to the sink and filled the glass with water. I just had to get out of here and back upstairs, but for some reason I couldn't move.
Stanley approached me, and I didn't have to look at him to know he was pissed.
"I said, clean this shit up," he snapped and a few dishes vibrated. It felt like the floor was moving now too. Maybe this had something to do with the way he manifested his energy. I had sensed it, and I was slightly jealous that they knew what they were doing.
"She's ignoring you, Stan. I think you should teach her a lesson," Natasha said, and I finally lifted my gaze at the boy standing in front of me.
Stanley was a huge lad; he'd just turned eighteen and he had typical Warlon features: wide jaw, blue eyes and blond hair. Every three years, King Thomas announced that he was willing to take three youngsters from Warlon Kingdom and become their mentor. Over a hundred teenagers applied, but the king only selected a few. Stanley, Marco and Natasha became the newest apprentices of the king. Stanley was the worst, he was arrogant, and he enjoyed bulling everyone around, especially people whose magic wasn't refined yet. He loved making me feel as if I was beneath him.
The corner of his lips lifted in a smile and then he reached out with his hand, creating a ball of purple light around it. He stared at me intensely and I felt warmth moving through my body.
"You're just like your loser father—weak and fucking stupid. Thomas should have never taken you in after what Remigius did to him," Stanley whispered, leaning over me, and showing me his magic. It was amazing, but he didn't deserve to have it. That boy was very skilled, and it wasn't fair. I wanted to become a full mage one day, too. "He only allowed you to stay here out of pity, he knew you were never going to be good enough to be anything else but a maid. I won't repeat myself again. Clean the floor. This is what you're here for."
I couldn't allow him to see that his words were getting to me, but deep down my anger was burning me from the inside out. I wasn't scared of him. He too had to obey the rules of the castle. My skin started buzzing and crackling. A wave of magic pounded through me and my breathing became laboured.
He was partly right. Everyone knew my father, and they knew what he had done. I couldn't change the fact that people recognised me. I was the daughter of the town's biggest womaniser—the man who betrayed his king and ran away with his second wife. I'd been marked and even though I fought hard to prove to everyone that I was nothing like Remigius, no one cared.
I slowly walked towards the table where Natasha and Marco were giggling, staring at me. Peanuts were scattered everywhere now, and it was going to take me a while to clean the entire kitchen.
"That's a good, stupid maid." Stanley added. "She does what's expected of her. You will die serving others."
Fury rushed through my veins, so potent that I thought I was going to explode at any second. My skin zoomed with electricity. My father shouldn't have done what he did, but it was in the past. I was just so fed up being judged for his actions.
"Shut up, Stanley, just shut your mouth!" I snapped at him, breathing hard.
Then something strange happened; the red wine inside the bottle started bubbling. No one noticed it, not even Natasha. I didn't move or touch the peanuts, but deep inside I was shaking. Even the air seemed thicker; I was burning up, like I had a fever. The magic swirling around Stanley's hand was slowly fading.
Then Marco pushed me down, and I bumped my head on the table.
"Clean this shit!" he shouted at me and in the same exact moment, the bottle of wine exploded. Natasha screamed, covering her face with her hands.
I glanced up, seeing where small shards of glass must have hit her and Stanley. They were standing the closest. Stanley's face was sprayed with wine, and blood was dripping down his face. He was looking around disoriented and he seemed scared. The wind picked up too, which was strange because all the doors and windows were shut.
"What's going on? Who's doing this? Show yourself?" he demanded, sounding scared. I was charged with buzzing waves of magic. I had a feeling the bottle exploded because of me. Was it possible that my anger channelled the energy inside of me?
Seconds later all the doors and windows opened, and the wind began blowing everything around. Even pots and pans were falling from the cupboards. Natasha was screaming.
"Let's get out of here!" Stanley shouted and then he looked at me. His eyes widened further and that's when I noticed my hands were covered with flames. A new source of energy slapped me in the back of my head. I must have passed out for good few moments, because when I finally came around, the kitchen was in a havoc. It was painful to look at. On top of that, Stanley was lying unconscious on the floor. His companions had left him and ran away.
Magic crawled over my spine; I could still sense it. I wasn't planning to stay here and take blame for what happened. Clarissa would take a cut of my wages, or worse. Besides, she would obviously blame me for everything. I stormed out of the kitchen and ran upstairs, staring at my hands.
I'd lost control. It was my magic that made the bottle of wine explode, but I still couldn't quite believe that my energy was so powerful. I didn't know what I was doing and without training all my skills were useless. Once on the second floor, I hid behind a pillar when I saw Clarissa in the corridor. She was waking up some of the guards to check out the noise. She must have heard the loud banging downstairs.
By the time I reached my chamber everything stopped sparkling, but my heart was hammering loudly in my chest.
I shut the door behind me and for a second, I stood in the darkness feeling overwhelmed. Was it really possible that I shattered the bottle of wine? I was truly in shock.
"What happened?" Bruce asked. I thought he would be fast asleep, but obviously that was wishful thinking. I stripped back into my pyjamas and crawled beneath the covers. I was going to be in so much trouble tomorrow. Natasha and Marco were probably going to tell everyone about what happened, but they couldn't prove anything. No one saw me in the corridors and I would deny everything.
"The students were in the kitchen. Stanley, as usual, started insulting me. Something happened there, Bruce; there was a bottle of wine on the table. I snapped it or something, because it suddenly exploded," I explained, feeling scared. The king wouldn't hesitate to throw me out. He didn't even have to keep me at work.
Bruce's golden eyes were staring at me. He was still only an animal, but a very intelligent one.
"Your magic was released through anger. I think you need to find a mentor as soon as possible," he said after a moment.
This was bad news. Bruce knew no one in that damn town would ever be willing to train me. I was doomed.
"And what if I can't find anyone to train me?" I whispered, wondering why the hell I needed to go downstairs in the first place. I could have done without the damn water. What a mess. Obviously, nothing good came out of it.
"It seems you're going to become a full mage whether you like it or not. I've only heard about this kind of thing once before," he added.
"Where?" I asked.
"Your father wasn't trained either, but he became a full mage anyway. He studied the craft until the king accepted him into his circle."
My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe Bruce hadn't told me this before. I always thought my father had a mentor like everyone else, but we'd never really talked about him—not since he left.
Now it looked like I would have to revisit the past after all.
