Chapter II

“I told you already, haven’t I?”,

Clementine playfully sang, as she perched herself a top the tree branch, grinning mischievously at the fuming prince who kept on throwing some small pebbles out of pure frustration. Aethan had just came back from his ‘talk’ with his father- and unfortunately enough, the emperor have merely dismissed his proposal, claiming that the royal magician was a much more adequate instructor than the other three.

“Besides, even if he’d accept your offer or whatever you call that- the rest of the magicians wouldn’t agree with your terms in hand”, she added, hopping down from her location, only to land perfectly on the ground. Sitting beside him, Clementine then reached up to pat his hair, teasing and soothing him at the same time, whilst her soft hand ran smoothly on his silky strands. “Come to think of it! Brix is a cute and intelligent boy!”,

“What are you implying?”, Aethan hissed, swatting away her hand from the top of his head. He turned to face her, intently staring as if gauging her expression by means of piercing her soul. “He’s nothing but a sore-eye. An annoying mortal who thinks high of himself”,

‘Speaking of yourself, are we?’ she thought, shaking her head with a sigh. Both siblings have never been in good terms with each other or rather it was actually just Aethan. If she remembers it right, their sibling squabble started when the first prince was made aware that Brixton is only a product of an affair. The emperor, his father, have mistakenly deflowered a handmaid who works in the castle out of grief and longing for his late mother. The crowned prince is known to treasure his family, finding them the most important and closest to his life. But seeing as his father cheated to his deceased wife, his mother- Aethan soon found himself severing their connections, and his fury solely dedicated to his father’s wrong doings, had been directed to his younger half-sibling. Eversince then, whenever Brixton would be in his line of vision, the prince would always seethe in anger, and it’d be Clementine’s job to avert his attention from his ever so harmless brother, that merely craves for his acceptance and love.

“Why can’t you just accept the fact that, Brixton. . .is your brother?”, The mage asked, ignoring the way he clenched both his hands into fists, as he gripped on the fabric of his pants, whilst his obsidian hues now glaring dangerously sharp at his friend’s sitting silhouette from beside. “He did nothing wrong. It was never his fault”,

“He’s a pest in this household. Both him and that poor excuse of a servant. His mother had been the reason whereas my family was torn into shreds. It’d only be appropriate for me to loathe his presence”, was his reply, ruffling his matcha colored hair in frustration as he mentally envisioned both servant and son in mind. Aethan then stared at her, brows furrowed, scowling at the way she sighed at the thought that occurred within the depths of her mind.

“You need to forgive at some point, Aethan. Life filled with hatred would only result to no good”, she reached out to place a hand on his shoulder, letting it rest there for a moment, whilst she returned to focus her gaze on his pair of onyx optics with her own silver ones. Clementine then gave him a small smile, before retracting her hand back to lay it on her lap.

Both of them sat there in silence after that short conversation that they had recently. Basking in the cool wisps of zephyr that plays a noiseless hymn that calmed the tension between the magician and the prince. It was just them, the flowers, the grasses, the wind, the skies. . .just the two of them, underneath the bright sunlight that was filtered by the tree wherein they situated themselves below.

Although, everything that they shared were short-lived, seeing as someone have decided to interrupt the two of them from their reverie. Hearing the thundering footsteps from the distance, Clementine immediately wasted no time to stand up, inwardly sighing as she turned to face the perpetrator of the disturbance, bowing gently at the presence of the sole princess from the lands of Ellysia- Isabelle. It seems like her cold had already broken down, watching as her petite figure bounced with energy and mirth at the sight of the crowned prince.

“Oh! Good day, Miss Clementine!”, Isabelle chirped, granting the magician a slight wave of her hand, while tackling the prince from behind, which made the latter grunt from the sudden pressure on his back. It didn’t bothered him at the slightest though, in fact – the sight of the princess had only made him a blushing ripe tomato.

“Good day to you too, Princess Isabelle”, the magician responded curtly, pursing her lips whilst she averted her attention elsewhere. Here she goes, the ever so bright Princess of Ellysia, whom Aethan sees as his Juliet. Clementine mentally cringed at that, awkwardness suddenly rising up and through her veins. Being with the two royals was never a good news to begin with, and their silly oblivious flirting would’ve seriously made her throw out the contains within her stomach.

So instead of staying with the two, Clementine decided to just magically disappear from their sight, not that they’d mind of course. Choosing to reappear herself inside the comforts of her tower, where she immediately went to prepare herself some tea to calm her nerves. With the help of magic and her manipulation, serving the tea for herself did not take much longer than the usual average preparation. Ah, magic is sure useful.

Situating herself on the window sill, a hot cup of chamomile tea in hand- Clementine soon found her mind filled with various thoughts alike. As if it was a raging water fall which currents came crashing down in a peaceful lake, filling it with endless crystalline water that never overflows. Her lips touched the rims of glass, breath gently blowing the steaming hot drink before taking a subtle sip. An afternoon teatime break, after a very not-so-tiring day.

“How fortunate of you. Enjoying your break with no distractions”, That being said, as the voice of someone awfully familiar resonated throughout her private room- Clementine had almost spit out the contents of tea from her mouth due to her surprise. Placing the ware gently on a nearby table, the silver-eyed lass then glared at the certain direction, wherein a cloak figure of a young man stood with a smug look visibly plastered on his visage.

“Yo, long time no see, Clementine”, the lad cheekily greeted, unveiling his hood to reveal a patch of grey hair and those familiar teasing green orbs, that never failed to annoy her even without given effort.

“What are you doing here? Out of all the places, Alejandro?”, She hissed, rolling both her silver-optics as she crossed her arms, raising a brow at the figure, who now floated next to her, much to her irritation.

“No reason. Just a simple visit. Life in the castle sure is boring, so I made a special decision to see you”, Aljendro- the fourth magician, the one who swore loyalty to aid the kingdom of Sappherinne- replied, situating himself next to her with a slight scoff, grumbling at the thought of something that occurred in his head.

“I can live my whole life without your annoying face, Alejandro. And I mean it”, Clementine spat, grumbling incoherent nothings as she stood up from her sitting position, both hands now situated on either side of her hips, leaning forward as if scrutinizing the lad before her. “In addition to that. You wouldn’t waste a quarter of your prowess just to visit me here in Celeste. What do you want?”,

“You wound me. Is it bad to visit a childhood friend of mine?”, He chuckled.

“I know you long enough to read your existence alike that of a book. Now, spit it out, or else I would blast you from this tower and back to yours”,

“Feisty, ain’t ya?”, Alejandro scoffed, irritation now clearly seen on his face. However, his annoyance was soon replaced with absolute seriousness. Frowning at the thought, the magician that came from the land of Sappherine crossed his arms, eyes now focused on the ground as he dug his knowledge, “I just wanted to see if you’re doing well. . . It’s been years since you’ve- you know?”,

“I’m doing well, of course. Celeste has been very welcoming and at peace. Although, there are some slight discomforts- but it’s still bearable”, The mage shrugged, pursing her lips as she averted her gaze outside the window, observing the vast greeneries up ahead. For a second, she longed to go back- to return to the land wherein she was born. However, the young magician could’ve only imagine the wrath of her family once she goes back, hence the reason she rather chose to stay in Celeste. “How are they. . .?”,

“They’re alright. But your mother- she’s been really worried, day and night. She wishes for you to come back, especially on her birthday “, he stated, gazing at her silhouette, who continued to observe the horizon and beyond. With a sigh he shook his head, closing his eyes as he thought of something he rather not want to reveal.

. . .

The sound of sword clashing against sword in rhythm to that of pants and gasps for air had reached her ears from the short distance where she stood, watching as the youngest Celeste wield his weapon against his trainer in the courtyard. Apparently, the mage had been called by a servant after her heartfelt conversation with the warlock from Sappherine, urgently informing her that the youngest prince, Brixton- wanted her to teach him magic after his training. She complied nonetheless, and it is only a minute or two before their session would end.

Just as anticipated, the sword training came into a halt, to which resulted the prince to fall on the ground as he tried to catch as much oxygen as possible. The skills that he had showed a while ago was pretty splendid, smooth and flawless- an opposite to his older brother’s rough and stubborn ways. This made the young mage applaud, grinning while approaching the worn out prince that scrambled to sit up at the sight of her.

“Marvelous work, your highness”, she complimented, poking him on his forehead with a finger as a form of greeting. The two have always treated themselves as siblings, with Brixton thinking of her as an older sister and Clementine as her younger brother. They were close to some extent, and whenever the crowned prince Aethan was busy with responsibilities, the mage would be then mostly found beside the amber haired male.

“Big sister Clementine! You came!”, The child giddily exclaimed, onyx optics now sparkling in delight. He immediately launching forth to give her a huge embrace while giggling as he nuzzled and inhaled her welcoming scent.

“Of course, I will. Who told you that I won’t?”, She giggled, ruffling his silky locks with her dainty fingers. Clementine then gently pushed him back, snapping her fingers to magically produce a glass of cold water for the boy to drink, which he gladly accepted. “You’re exhausted for today. I think it’s best if we reschedule our session”, the mage added, as she observed him from head to toe with concern. He would probably give in during the first minutes of their lecture, and as much as she wanted to teach him, she concluded that it’d be best if he rest.

“I can still do it! I’m not that tired!”, Whined the child, giving her his infamous puppy-doe eyes that would’ve melt any single person- except for her, of course. Such charms would only be futile against her. She’s no easy opponent, as what Aethan would always comment, whenever he’d ask her for something that she’d refuse to do for him.

“No. Come on, let’s go. If you behave well, then I’ll certainly spend the whole day with you tomorrow”,

“Really? Is it a promise?”,

“Yes, it’s a promise. Now let’s go”,

He reminds her of someone. Although she vaguely remembers her memories of the past. But the feeling was there. The warmth and the fuzzy feeling of joy, whenever she’s with the young prince. As the two of them walked hand and hand alongside each other, talking about things that piqued their interest in general, commenting and giving opinions about the most random of things as they conversed, not minding the fact that someone has been keeping an eye on them, as their silhouettes grew faint with every step that they made.