5: A mission

I sat cross legged in front of a beautiful water fountain in the pristine hedge garden I found yesterday, a few mazes away from the rose garden where I ran into my scary uncle Lorcan.

The water fountain and pond I found was spectacular, exactly the type of ridiculously expensive and well made ornament you would expect to find in the mansion of a duke of the Bhaltair empire.

In the middle of a large pond filled with lily pads and tiny silver fish a bronze statue of the fabled 'world tree' was situated in the middle of the fountain. The carved fruit of ornamental tree statue was made of gold that glistened magnificently as the water from the pond tricked down the leaves of the stairs and dropped into the pond.

The reason I came to sit in front of it was not only because of its beauty, but the large pool of water. It was perfect for practising my magic.

I dipped my fingers into the cool water of the pond and made wet marks on my forehead and my neck to make conductors for the magic to easily flow through me.

I stilled, breathed in the fresh air, listened to the nature, and called for the life magic that flowed in everything to flow through me.

It felt like sunlight slowly entering through my fingertips and coursing up my arms to my heart. The pleasant magic seemed happy to dwell in me and danced around my heart, up my neck and to my forehead, using the wet marks I had made on my skin as a guide.

The magic concentrated in my head and slowly awakened the third eye in Seraphine Kantheus.

The egg sized capsule in the brain that housed an individual's magic. This process would occur naturally over many years, but I created this technique to manipulate light magic to do it in an instant. It was a procedure I performed quite frequently on the Belsante nobles' children at the request of their ambitious parents.

Of course such a fantastic method came with a price but considering the benefits, the drowsiness that followed the procedure was something that most were happy to bare.

The third eye inside my head heated up and I was happy to find that it already contained a good amount of magic.

Seraphine's natural magic reserve was quite good but not at the level of the natural capacity of someone like me. She would make a good mage but she wouldn't be exceptional. And if I wanted to gain status in this family, I the illegitimate child had to be exceptional.

I dipped another finger into the pond and painted a water circle on my forehead.

I checked around me to make sure that no one was looking and placed both my hands in the water.

The tiny silver fish in the pond started to gather a little distance around my hands, confused by the strange fleshy object that had intruded into their peaceful sanctuary. It made me apologetic that I was about to ruin their peace.

Although I know knew that Seraphine had magic that I could use, it wasn't enough to thrive in this family so I needed my old magic. Jane Devoe's magic.

I knew I didn't lose it completely. I could still feel it in the air around me. Furthermore the fact that I still had my memories from my other life meant that my magic had travelled with me.

I concentrated with all my might and forced out all the excess magic in my body through my hands, letting it flow into the pond.

The still waters of the pond churned as two different types of magic were being housed in one body of water: Jane Devoe's magic and Seraphine's magic.

The temperature of the water increased from a refreshing coolness to luke warm. I knew it was a good idea to have the two different magics react together in the water first before welcoming them inside my body. They would have caused some damage to my internal meridians if they had met inside me.

I guided the magic around the pond, allowing the flowing water current to convince the two types of magic to merge and become one.

I waited for hours, until the son in the sky moved to right above my head. The water finally stilled and the temperature dropped back down to a refreshing cool. The two magic reserves had successfully bonded.

I took in a deep breath and readied myself before drawing the magic back inside me.

My head ached as the mixed magic filled up Seraphine's third eye. Magic rushed into the egg until it was fully compact and almost leaking with magic.

I wobbly stood up from the pond, my mission was accomplished. With this, I could slowly relearn how to use magic and become someone the Kantheus family could not look down on. However, this procedure meant that my magic would lay dormant for a period of time making me unable to use it. There was no specific amount of time, but generally the stronger the magic, the longer it would take someone to be able to use their magic again.

I was anticipating not being able to use my magic for at least a few months.

I couldn't feel me legs as I walked and the green hedges of the garden merged into an indecipherable clump of colour that I couldn't see through.

The effects of carrying out this procedure at such a young age were worse than I thought.

With the last strength left in my body, I found myself walking towards a shady patch of grass. I collapsed against the hard bark of a tree completely exhausted.

***********

Duke Amaris slapped down the folder of documents on his desk unable to concentrate since hearing Lorcan's words yesterday.

"My I assist in anything, my Lord?" The butler asked from the doorway seeing the master unsettled.

The duke was silent for a moment as he thought over Lorcan's words. That girl spoke for the first time and Lorcan witnessed it. She even knew how to give him a proper greeting.

After she turned two years old and still had not uttered a word, the duke had employed a number of child specialists who were supposed to be experts in bringing out the potential in children. All of them failed in getting the girl to talk. In fact their interference caused the girl to become even more introverted.

Had Elio's child finally gotten over whatever cowardice had possessed her and started to act like a real child of the Kantheus family. The duke needed to find out.

The duke abruptly stood up from his desk and briskly walked out the door.

"Where are you headed, my Lord?" The old butler asked as he followed behind his master.

"I need to see for myself about that child."

Even if she was is second son's daughter, she was still and illegitimate child that happened outside of wedlock, mothered by a woman of unknown origins. That fact alone was enough for the duke to send her to one of the branch families or have her be raised in one of the vacation estates. But Elio's pleading face as he begged the duke to raise her in the main mansion filled his mind whenever he thought about sending her away.

The girl was born with bright blue eyes just like Elio's. Too much like Elio's and often looking at her made the duke uncomfortable. So he gave her a room on the far end of the mansion where the rest of the family hardly ever ventured and where he would not have to see those eyes.

The butler knocked on the door for the Duke, when there was no answer he opened the door.

The duke frowned at the interior of the room. It was practically empty. A bed two chairs and a carpet were all this room had to speak of in terms of furniture. It was fine enough for an illegitimate child but what made the duke frown was the dust.

Dust, marks on the window, an unmade bed, an uncleaned fireplace, even a cobweb or two in the corners of the ceiling. The duke gripped his cane hard enough for the wood to buckle under the pressure.

He remembered what Lorcan told him about the girl roaming around without any shoes on. How dare the servants be so negligent.

The butler immediately bowed to the duke. "Forgive my incompetence, my Lord." He said gravely. "It seems the servants are not taking their duties seriously."

The duke glowered down at the butler, the rage in his eyes made the butler flinch.