Echoing Voices

The blue-haired princess looked back and forth between her mother and the couple laying on the lounge. Alissa knew this spell was dangerous, she also knew that what she had done could have tremendous consequences. The empress walked closer to her daughter looking regretfully upon the children.

Suddenly a young, small slender man ran into the room in such a hurry. His royal purple hair fell awkwardly onto his face, his brilliant golden orange eyes hidden behind a large pair of black glasses. The man bent over with his hands on his knees holding him up as he was catching his breath.

"Your majesty, I received your urgent summons." His heavy breathing at slowed down. The young man was dressed in a white and gold suit with blue rose in his jacket pocket. The rose symbolised their status as a mage, both the empress and the princess had a one as well, the young man and the empress' were both blue symbolising their immense power and that they were high up in the magic council, the princess' rose was white indicating that she was still in training.

Every mage had a rose, the rose was like a physical form of their life force, the flower would not die until the mage did. The colour of the rose would help others to indicate their status, there were five colours of a living rose; white for trainees, pink for graduates, red for teachers, purple for the exceptionally gifted and blue for those with immense power and knowledge and lastly when a mage dies their rose will turn black. Of course, the colour of the rose is determined by the strength of the mage and not their position, for instants whilst the princess' rose in white, the tips of the petal is a like light shade of blue, indicating that while she is indeed a trainee, she will become an extremely powerful mage.

"Lord Aiden, it's too late. She has already cast the spell." Empress Olivia looked anxiously at the young man standing before him, despite the blue rose in this pocket he was no older than heiress lying unconsciously beside her son. "Can you think of anything to help them live through this?"

"Hmm..." The young lord walked quietly towards the couple, placing both hands on their foreheads. "If my reading is correct they stand a strong chance..." He was a about to continue when he suddenly heard their voices in his head. 'I promised you, I promised you forever', although Aiden had only ever met Lady Ellsie once he knew that was her voice, 'I will find you every time,' the prince's voice echoed in his head. Aiden took an unsettling step back, looking at the peaceful pair in fear.

"Lord Aiden is something the matter?" The princess stepped out from behind her mother, looking anxiously at the man, while she believed that Lucian and Ellsie's connection was strong enough to perform such a spell, could she have read wrong?

"You! Princess! Did you know this?" Aiden's calm and rational demeanour had abruptly changed to a fanatic and distressed mein. Running towards the princess in uncertainty, Aiden briskly grabbed her shoulder, kneeling down to look Alissa in the eye. "How did you know this?" The calm and intuitive man she'd always known, had been replaced with a crazed feral.

"W... what are you talking about?" Alissa hid behind her mother. Aiden seemed to return to his senses when he saw the fear on his princess' face.

"Aiden what are you talking about?" The empress looked furiously at the young mage standing before her.

"My apologies your majesty, your highness," Aiden offered a bow, having realise just how uncivilised he had behavioured. "But Empress Olivia, please take a look this," he was no longer talking to her as the empress, but as a mage. Aiden placed one hand on Ellsie's forehead and extended his other out to the empress, she took his hand a place her other on the prince's forehead. Seconds later she stumbled back in shock, Aiden put his hand out to catch her.

"This... This is not possible!" She looked at him in a dazed. " This... is this the reason behind her return?"

"It's the only reason I can think of."

"Is something wrong Mother?" Olivia and Aiden had almost completely forgotten that Alissa was still in the room. "Did I do something wrong?" That seemed like a stupid question, she knew she wasn't supposed to cast that spell, but this was something different entirely. The empress turned to look at her daughter wide eyed.

"How did you know that their connection could withstand this spell?" Olivia calmly knelt down to meet her daughter's gaze. "You know how dangerous this spell is, so what made you think that Lucian and Ellsie could withstand its power?"

"I... I" Alissa hesitated, was she allowed to say such a thing. What it she read it wrong? But that was impossible, in all her years of being alive, never had she read auras wrong, all the other mages had praised her for such an ability. "I can see it!" She blurted out in fear.

"What?" Aiden and Olivia replied simultaneously, they looked at each other and then at the princess. "Honey, what do you mean you get see it?"

"The chain, can't you see it? Or is that not what the chain is for?" Alissa became scared. While she had always had a mature and sophisticated demeanour around mortals, she was nothing more than a promising novice to other mages.

"Chain?" Aiden looked quite perplexed. The empress was deep in thought. Chain? She had heard of this mention before but where? The empress snapped her fingers and a old maroon book appeared in her hands. "Empress Olivia what is that?"

"This is an old book handed down by my family for generations." She opened the book, quickly flipping through the pages. The pages started running out and just when the empress was about to give up, she saw it, a picture of a chain between to people. "The connection of the chain. Very few mages can see the chain of connection. While the exact reason for the chain is unknown it's believed to exist for several reasons, depending on the aura of the chain. It's also important to note that very few people have this chain. It's believe that this chain will attach itself to two souls who are bound by fate, meaning two people who have been cursed another example are soul mates. While its been believed for centuries that soul mates are a concept created by humans, however a connecting chain with a warm, happy and loving aura may actual be an indication that it may be a real."