1 Once Upon A Time

"Once upon a time, there were two kingdoms..."

Flip...

"Fae Meija, the kingdom of magic. And Orelonde, A kingdom of no names."

Flip...

... The two ruling kingdoms fought each other many times. The Orelonde had no chance of winning against the more powerful Fae Meija. In order to make peace, the King of Orelonde offered his only daughter as a wife to the second Prince of Fae Meija. Through this arrangement, the second Prince had to give half his power to the Princess. As peace befell the lands of Orelonde and Fae Meija, more half-magic people came to be.

Orelonde soon became depleted in it's non-magic people's, the anxiety of Orelonde's King grew. One day in the dead of night, the Orelonde's King killed the second prince and his own daughter through a fit of jealousy and fear when he heard the false news that not a single non-magic person existed anymore.

The death of the Princess and Prince rang through the halls of every castle and home. Upon hearing the news of his son dead, the king of Fae Meija set out for war one last time. He took every last bit of the Orelonde Kingdom and it's non-magic people's. Standing on top of the burning massacre of people, the King of Fae Mejia last words rang out to his army...

"'May all Magic-less people suffer! And may every persons of magic live for eternity in the light that is forever Fae Meija!'" The young boy exclaimed.

"But, what happens if we don't have any magic Fredrick?" the little girl said.

"Well... I suppose..." Fredrick's ginger eyebrows knitted together. "You know what Lilian, let's not worry about that. I'm sure our magic will come through just like all the others. Even if we don't have any powers, I'm sure Mother and Father will help us find a way."

"But Fredrick, your turning ten in three more moons. I'm turning ten tomorrow, if I don't have any magic powers by the next moon... Then I could be thrown out! Or better yet killed!"

Lilian's voice began to show itself. She was only ever this vocal with Fredrick, but this was her first time really showing him she was anxious. Fredrick may have been younger than her, but he was still taller and more reliable. She didn't trust the adults around her, so naturally, she became attached to the boy.

"Lilian no one is going to throw you out! Even if they tried I wouldn't let them... It's a small chance anyway. People haven't heard or seen of anyone without magic in over a hundred years. You'll be fine Lilian! I'm sure of it... Even if you didn't have magic, we'd still love you just the same." Fredrick smiled. Trying to comfort his only sister was hard, she was so pessimistic sometimes.

After hearing his words Lilian felt a warmth in her chest that seemed to calm her. "I'm still worried, but you're right. No point in getting panicked when I have you by my side. Thank you, Fredrick." Saying that as they gave each other a hug they both felt like a weight lifted from them.

By the morning Lilian was ten years old, this was a very big deal. The age of ten is when most kids start to develop their spellbinding, which can also be referred to as magic or sorcery. And most kids would get their magic in a week or two of being of age. This also meant finding an element to integrate with. Lilian had a gut feeling something would go wrong, but she decided to brush it off for today.

A big feast and a beautifully-monstrous cake was awaiting Lilian that afternoon. Musicians would be playing in the dance hall and many friends of Lilian's parents would be arriving. The Maids and Servants alike all seemed very excited for the young Misses birthday. They even spent hours picking out a dress for her to wear to tonight's dance. Lilian's parents seemed to be especially doting as well. Even if she were just an adopted child, they still treated her as their own.

Most people of their social status would treat such children as not really being apart of their society. Because of this stigma, Lilian would get distained looks from adults whenever she went out to gala's and dance events of the like.

Since Lilian was also the adopted daughter of a high classed Duke, other aristocrat kids around her would get jealous and bully her. They would especially attack her for her white hair and how freakishly long it was for her age. Luckily, she had Fredrick there with her to give her strength and comfort.

Today was different though, everyone seemed to be friendly. People overall minded their own business. Dresses and suits danced throughout the night like blooming flowers. Laughing of families could be heard through the hall as if it was meant to be there. That day, it didn't feel like it was just a celebration for her, but for everyone else as well. It made Lilian happy.

As it was getting colder with each passing day Lilian tried to do everything she could to awaken her Mana, but to no avail.

(Fire)Ember? Nope.

(Water)Aqua? Definitely not!

(Ice)Glacia? Haha, as if.

(Air)Aeolus? Nope.

(Rock)Terra? Nope.

(Electric)Raiden? Nope.

(Plants)Dendra? Not. At. All...

Not a single Magic Element pertained to her. Not a single one. Lilian couldn't believe it, she tried everything. From talking to people who already had their magic to doing things that associated with an element she was trying to find, none of them worked. She had a week left before anything would be considered wrong with her and more snow was already falling.

What if this was it? What if she was going to be the first person without magic, in over a hundred years? Lilian was getting desperate. Fredrick couldn't help her, that's just how it is when you have to find your element. Not to mention he was busy training and learning since he was the heir of the house hold.

Lilian could tell her progress wasn't making it. Her parents seemed anxious for her. Not to mention the maids and servants all seemed to be talking about it.

"You don't think she could be non-magic do you?" one would start.

"I would hope not, it would be a pity, if the Duke and Mistress find out she has no mana she'll be lucky to be alive by mid Winter." after those two, every one of the servants and maids started talking about it.

Lilian couldn't help but be bothered by what they had to say. What ten year old wouldn't? After everything she went through just staying here in the first place... No, this wouldn't stop her, she wouldn't let Fredrick's reassurance go to waste nor would she leave him by himself. Her always nonchalant expression would have said otherwise, but she was determined to find her element.

Three days had past since then, it will have only been four more days until Lilian was considered non-magic. She sat in bed late that night contemplating what she would do if she really did end up being non-magic. Lilian, for the first time in her years being at the manor, began to tear. "Please, please almighty gods of the elements. I just ask for your guidance to help me. All I want is to live here, with Fredrick, and Mother, and Father. So please, just this once, it's all I ask." her clasped hands slightly shook with her quietly weeping face. There isn't a fire, or person, to comfort her. Just the soothing touch of her blanket, and the cold pillow wet from her stained cheeks. Eventually, she fell deep into sleep...

...It was bright and cold, but for some reason, it was comfortable. 'ahh this must be a dream' Lilian thought. Lilian waited in her dream, she felt as if she had sunken deeper into an ocean of water, breathing freely. As she got deeper, things became darker. 'where am I?' she thought. "Lilian..." a faint voice called out...

"Lilian!" Lilian jolted awake to here a familiar voice calling her. "Come on, get up! come look! you've gotta come see this!" Fredrick was seemingly jumping up and down with excitement to show his sister something amazing. "What? H-hold on give me a moment I have to put some clothes on." she could barely hold herself up let alone get dressed with the sleepy state she was in. All Lilian was able to put on was her big fuzzy coat and some slippers over her night gown. None the less Fredrick went ahead and started to drag her along to the icy woods outside the manor.

It was an awful long walk, almost three and a half hours on foot when taking breaks and playing here and there. By the time her and Fredrick got there, the sun was already halfway up in the sky.

Lilian couldn't believe her eyes. "Wooaahhh!" there it was, a deep blood-red flower that glowed with a red warmth. It stood prim and proud in the middle of Winter's snow.

"I've never seen such a flower before Fredrick." He smiled, he knew this would help Lilian get her mind off things. Nothing interested Lilian more than things being where they shouldn't have been. She loved the mystery the flower had.

Lilian began a barrage attack on Fredrick with all the questions she could think to ask about the flower. "Why is this flowering in winter? Is it a magic flower? Is it rare? Could it be used for anything? Is there a way for us to keep it...?"

Fredrick's head could barely keep up with all her constant questioning. He honestly didn't know anything about it himself either. He just saw it on his way back from visiting the nearby village and thought it was something odd that Lilian would take an interest in. At least his guess was right, she's definitely taken an interest in the flower.

"Well, I'm not too sure myself, I only just saw the flower last night. And it isn't in any books I've read either. Anyway we probably shouldn't touch it, it could be dangerous."

Fredrick knew a lot about the land at the manor and sat in thought at Lilian's questions. He told her the manor once belonged to a very powerful magician in the field of botany and life, Dendra. What's more disturbing though was the fact the magician went missing. No files on what he was working on or anything, absolutely nothing. If it was possible, then this flower could've been the work of said magician. But then that would mean they would've been as powerful as the current King if not more.

This area of land, or better known as Ordelion, is especially known for its absolutely horrible freezing temperatures despite it's location on the hemisphere. And it's said it was because the king from the Ancient Era himself froze the land over. The only time it's ever really considered to be warm is the late spring. The time that is believed to be when the Princess and Prince got married from that legend. But that's just some old folklore so that kind of explanation shouldn't be true...

"Hey Fredrick, you don't think, that maybe, we could find a way to keep it right?" Lilian said, turning her head upward to face Fredrick's suddenly unknitted face. "Huh? oh, well... maybe... it might not be pick-able though, some flowers are poisonous, the both of us should research it first." Fredrick said. Hearing that made Lilian's lips widen, a very rare sight to see. She almost never smiled ever since she came to the manor, not even around Fredrick.

"W-well we should probably h-head back now." Fredrick had to turned on his heel fully ready to march back. The big fuzzy coat she'd been wearing made her look so squeezable, she was just too adorable like this. "I-I'm sure M-m-mother and Father will worry about us being out here like this, s-so-"

Fredrick suddenly felt a sense of warmth wrap around his back and waist. "Thank you, Fredrick. I really don't know what I would do without you" Lilian's little voice could barely be heard over Fredrick's loud heartbeats but none the less he was glad, "That's what I'm here for. I'm just happy to see you being more yourself."

"Huh? what do you mean?" Lilian said. "Well, you just haven't seemed as energetic as you usually are these past couple of weeks, so... I'm just glad your okay."

Fredrick was getting stiff from the cold. As much as he wanted the affection to last, they needed to get home because it was below temperature for even animals to be outside.

"umm, well let's get going then, I'm freezing my butt off out here!" Fredrick said cheekily. "yeah well maybe you wouldn't have been so cold if we actually got ready like I wanted to!" Lilian and Fredrick began a playful bickering on the way home. But they were sure to get a scolding when they got back for not having an adult with them.

Night began to fall on the Manor and stars glittered the freezing space above. Lilian couldn't sleep, her thoughts were blazing and the bed just didn't seem comfortable. She needed to find a way to make her Mana appear but, nothing was working. Lilian painfully thought away about whether if her magic would ever even show itself.

She begins thinking of the glowing red flower Fredrick showed her earlier that day... "He said it was probably the doing of that powerful magician... " Lilian thought for a while. "Maybe!" she gasped with an obvious idea. Perhaps the flower could help her? But Fredrick did say it could be poisonous... Even so, it's better to try than not at all. If there was even a small chance she could summon just a little bit of magic with that flower... Then maybe she would be able to stay with Fredrick just a bit longer.

It was late, but Lilian didn't waste any time getting ready. She put on her warmest set of clothes and grabbed a bag and a jar to possibly put the flower in. As Lilian snuck out of the balcony of her window she hesitated and looked down. It's not like it was that tall up, and there were bushes underneath, but still, it's not a nice experience falling either way.

It was super quiet, not a sound of wind or anything could be heard. Lilian could feel the freezing snow beneath her become icy as she made it further and further away from the manor.

Looking back over the hill Lilian arrived at, she could get a perfect view of the manor's garden. It really was beautiful, big tress with drooping ice, frozen red berry bushes, and hedge art that seemed like statues of the God's. She couldn't stand it if she really had to say goodbye to this place, let alone the room she's gotten use to calling home.

As Lilian continued walking, the starry night sky seemed to become darker, and snow began falling. Lilian was barely able to see her breath in the dark. At this rate she could've been lost but she just kept walking straight.

After what seemed like endless hours of walking Lilian finally made it. She saw the red glow of the flower and immediately ran to it. As she looked at the flower she wondered, how would she extract it? Lilian had to think fast otherwise her limbs could freeze off by the time she got back. What if it needed the cold to survive? What if it withered as soon as she picked it? Thinking on and on in the middle of the snow she quickly realized she should have just researched it like Fredrick said! But there was no going back now, she had traveled all this way... She couldn't just go back empty handed, the journey would've been for nothing!

Quickly thinking back to what Fredrick said earlier that day, if this was really the work of a magician then just maybe, she could be able to extract the flower with magic while keeping it in its current state! But... Lilian didn't have any magic scrolls with her and she didn't even have her Mana yet. In order to extract the flower she would have to use a life spell, but life spells were the most complicated ones to write and required Mana to activate.

Lilian's brain started to shuffle under the pressure. She could feel her limbs numbing and it was getting harder to breathe. Everything slowed down, Lilian stretched her hand towards the flower. She suddenly felt her eyes flutter and everything became dark...