Chapter 19

"Stop the complaining," Kore said as she and Annaliese sat in a used drawing room of the Greylight manor as Minthe got fabric pinned to her by skilled seamstresses. Kore was flickering through a magazine, trying to find a dress she liked in some sort of way.

As the date for the Trial came closer, outfits had to be ordered and made for each person. The Crowns had their own seamstresses that would weave the perfect outfit to their bodies for each and every Solstice. While the rest of her group had their outfits already done, Kore hadn't yet chosen what she would wear. It was a big hassle to choose when she was limited to the colours purple and grey.

As Heir and soon-to-be Crown, she had to wear the colour of her Clan. Blackwood had to wear either dark grey, black or red, while Whitestone had lighter grey, white or blue to choose from. Any shade was allowed.

She just sighed and put the magazine down, letting the seamstresses focus on Minthe's beautiful dress.

Both Kore and Minthe knew that there would be another dress made by the Vallie seamstresses but it wouldn't be by Minthe's choice. This dress, the one Kore was having made for her distant relative, would be the one that Minthe had any verdict over.

After Minthe passed the Trial, she would change into it and then the Summer Solstice festival would begin.

)()()(

Cera and Silas were officially courting in the eyes of the public.

Kore was happy for her cousin, and a little surprised that Cera's wild streak could be tamed by Silas's playboy ways. As long as they were happy, Kore saw no reason for them not to be together. Cera had even spoken of getting Bonded if Silas would agree, but she hadn't asked him of it yet. They were years away from it.

Love was love and finding it was difficult.

)()()(

The early morning of the twenty-second of June came and the Court assembled in the Concave. They gathered in the circular amphitheatre, the dark marble accenting the white, grey, and black of the three Ruling Clans as the members sat in the raised rows. There were splashes of other colours as the other Royal Clans attended the Trial.

Kore stood with the Crowns in the Royal suite, standing at the edge that overlooked the arena in her grey tailcoat lined with dark purple and accented with gold. The two Heirs sat on their couches, silver on their tailcoats with their family colours.

Ruel sat on the Greylight sofa in the middle, dressed in a Greylight tailcoat with bronze instead of gold or silver. He dressed as any personal advisor of a Crown would, wearing the main colours of the Clan he served with bronze as his metal colour. Tsar and Duke sat with him for the moment.

Markus, Wylan and Annaliese were seated near the other Royal Clans, allowed to sit near the Royal suite but not in it. Silas sat with Cera just behind his other Arcane friends, Berket and Usher with their parents on Cera's other side. The Sallows wore the Greylight grey tailcoats with no purple or accent colours, while the Arcanes wore formal outfits for the event.

A raised platform was added to the Royal area, with three thrones sitting there and a set of couple steps leading to the edge where the Crowns were standing.

"Minthe Vallie has claimed to be a Redwater, a Clan we all know to have been killed off hundreds of years ago." Ciel Whitestone called out to the arena, his arms tucked behind him as he stood tall to Kore's left. "Claiming to be a Redwater has always been an offence we have brought to justice, and she has claimed to be a Blood Witch."

Many of the crowd gasped.

"Yes, a Witch capable of Blood Magic has not been seen in centuries since the end of the Redwater Clan," Brona Blackwood stated.

Kore Greylight continued, "Today, we will see what the truth is. Today, Minthe Loset-Vallie will go through the Trial of the Flame. The Trial will begin when the sun rises. We say good luck to her."

Minthe was escorted into the middle of the arena, dressed in a long brown tunic cinched in by a belt, a pair of darker trousers and black boots. Her ginger-brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail, swaying behind her as she walked into the middle with three guards, one from each Ruling Clan.

Right in the middle of the arena was the Flame, a crystal glass several feet tall penetrated the solid marble ground. It stayed up by the golden metal attaching it securely to the ground, the clear crystal allowed a person to see the pure energy of Magic that usually sat dormant in the middle.

The Crowns walked up a couple of steps, getting to the thrones before turning back to the crowd.

The first daylight hit the crystal torch, lighting it as the flames began to grow in it.

"The Trial begins."

The Crowns sat on the thrones. Kore lifted one knee over the other, both of her arms laying on the arms of her throne as she sat up straight. Tsar and Duke came to sit on either side of her legs, menacing as they stared ahead while looking quite not like animals and a lot more like Magic-infused forms.

Minthe looked at the Crowns, seeing Kore's single, stiff nod, and she gulped before turning to the Flame.

Kore taught Minthe everything she could within the time she had, leaving the rest up to the lady. Surprisingly, Minthe wasn't as bad as Kore had first thought. Though a little arrogant and naive of traditions and formalities, Minthe caught on quickly and showed the level of regalness needed within a few weeks. She made mistakes but she was human.

The Greylight Witch just needed to sit back and watch as Minthe took on the Flame.

To state what was classified as worthy of Magic and not was a difficult thing. There was no set thing to say that being a good person made you worthy of your Magic, or being a bad person forced the Flame to take away your Magic.

If anything, it was what the person believed. If they believed that they weren't worthy of their Magic or they had doubts about themselves, the Flame would see straight through it and judge them accordingly.

You never won with the Flame, either you gave up your Magic or died.

There have been very rare instances where a person lived and kept their Magic.

And today would be one of them.

To manipulate and contain the Flame was the only way to win the Trial.

Kore activated her gift, eyes glowing silver only a touch as she stared ahead. Minthe was trying to manipulate the pure Magical fire that came out of the Flame, a fire that was resilient to manipulation of any but those who believed in themselves. Those unworthy would start to become weak the longer they tried to manipulate it, weaker and weaker until they had forfeited their Magic or they died.

Minthe started strong but began to doubt herself quickly, causing the Flame to absorb some of her Magic but that just made her angrier. She gritted her teeth and began to try to get the Flame to bend to her will and Magic, never letting it drain any more of her Magic.

Kore watched her blood slowly begin to boil with anger, rage, and seething disgust at the thought of her Magic being taken. Unlike Kore's mother, Minthe's Magic didn't turn foul within her system, instead, it turned to stone as the rage settled into a sort of numbness that caused her Magic to strike the Flame.

Minthe refused to back down, refused to become a slave to the elders of the family that took her in. She wasn't a pawn, she wasn't to be used to advance their schemes.

Second by second, the huge fire started to shrink as the crowd watched in silence. It took a good five minutes for Minthe to get the flame under her control, and another fifteen to get the flame to sit at the edge of the crystal bowl. Her natural Magic was weak, something even she knew. She was never Magically inclined in the way of the world, unable to do simple spells without tiring herself out but she could do this.

She could and she did.

Minthe collapsed onto her knees as soon as the lid was put onto the bowl, stopping the Flame and her Magic from interacting.

"She had passed the Trial!"

There was a booming applause.

"How the fuck did she pass the trial?" Brona gritted her teeth in anger while Ciel scowled but Kore remained emotionless.

"Does that mean we need to acknowledge her as a Redwater?" Kore asked.

"We can't without the vote of three Crowns, and you won't be a Crown until after your own trial," Ciel said to which Kore just nodded. "We'll just acknowledge her as telling the truth but we need to finetune before we can announce her as a Redwater. We'll say she isn't a Blood Witch for now. We don't want an uproar today."

Brona stood up. "We've got to get ready for the festival. This is done. We can talk later when we're not surrounded by people."

Ciel nodded and left quickly with her.

Ruel came to stand behind Kore, leaning down to speak to her quietly. "What does that mean?"

"They're scheming again," Kore muttered. "They'll try to either marry her off as her adopted family have already tried, or try and make her a Magic resource for whatever they want."

"So the scheming hasn't stopped."

"I doubt it will. I don't want to leave Minthe here while we go back to Japan. Being alone in a foreign country is bad enough without allies."

"If your cousins stay behind, they will be able to keep an eye on her,"

"For them to keep an eye on her, they'll need to know and I rather not tell them."

"Your choice, Kore."

"I hate making decisions."

"I know. Let's go get dressed for the Festival. When does it start?"

"At dusk."

"Plenty of time."

)()()(

"Markus," Annaliese called into Markus's given rooms after knocking at his door. "I think there's something wrong with Kore."

He was at the door within moments, a dark cast of emotions over his face but he did well to hide them. "What do you mean something is wrong with her? She was fine not long ago."

Annaliese contemplated her choices but gave in when Markus raised one eyebrow. "She hasn't left her room since she got back and she won't let us in nor will she reply to us."

"Has Ruel tried yet?"

"He's with Minthe," Annaliese said, watching as Markus started to stalk towards Kore's room. She followed right behind. "Kore told him to keep an eye on her until the festivals begin. Her door is locked and none of us can get in."

"She wants to be left alone then," he said, stopping at her door before knocking. "Kore, are you alright?"

No reply besides the scratching of paws against the wood. The shadow form of Tsar appeared, going under the door and appearing on the other end with a whining yelp of fear.

"Kore, answer me."

There was a faint sneeze and a loud "Fuck off!"

Markus frowned when he heard another sneeze, trying the door handle which just refused to move. If the door refused to move, he would move instead. Being a Vampire had its luxuries, and changing his matter was one. He just stepped through the door, melting through easily without damage to the door or his clothes as he appeared on the other side.

He just watched as the duvet-huddled form of the Witch threw a vase a couple of inches to the side of his head.

"Get out!" she snapped, sneezing before groaning again.

"You're sick," he said, sensing how her own Magic was trying to collect every small remnant of Magic in the air to heal her. It nipped at the edge of his Magic, sensing it but never taking it.

"No shit Sherlock."

He smiled at her sharp response. "And your Magic is trying to regain itself."

"My little plot worked and now I have to suffer the consequences," Kore scowled, curling the dark bedding closer to herself.

"I saw that Minthe Loset-Vallie won her trial," he said, walking closer as he saw Duke curled form around her with Tsar next to her. "And it does seem like you are suffering now."

She just stuck her tongue out at him before wrinkling her nose and sneezing. It wasn't a dainty little kitten sneeze, no, it was a full body, loud, get this illness out of me! sneeze. Markus just thought it suited her better than a dainty one.

She had a feeling that she would crash by some point today and she couldn't. She couldn't crash today, she could have done it yesterday or tomorrow, but today was too important since it was the Solstice and the festivals would begin as soon as the sun properly rose, and she would be expected to be there when it set.

A headache would force itself into her head.

This headache didn't want to leave and she kept getting chills. The headache would lessen after a couple of painkillers but the chills and shivers would stay until she got a fever in the next couple of hours. The Curse was getting worse.

"How long will it take for your Magic to replenish itself?" he asked, sitting at the very edge of the bed so he could gently run his finger through Tsar's dark fur.

She just shrugged. "I'll probably miss some of the festivals but if I show up ill, the other Crowns will know something is wrong with me. Witches rarely get ill, only Magical exhaustions or poisons can get us to become sick."

"You need some sleep," he suggested. "The exhaustion is causing bags under your eyes."

"How attractive," she rolled her eyes, rubbing at them with a hand. She tucked herself back in the little nest of pillows, duvet and beddings she made herself. "You'd better make yourself scarce. I can only keep my Magic under control for so long before it starts to try and take yours."

The tired and gloomy look on her face just made him soften a little more than normal. She stifled a yawn with her hand, almost frowning in confusion as he took her hand before it got tucked back into the nest.

He just held it, turning it over until he saw her palm and traced down one of the creases. He turned it back over to admire her long nails. They were long and coffin in shape, coloured in with a nude pastel purple. The ring and middle finger had a slight golden shimmer to it but it was still the same pastel purple.

He wondered what dress she would wear, what circlet would be in her hair and what style she would wear it. How would she look in her chosen dress? Would the colour compliment her as well as the wine red did in the meeting with the Crowns and her father in Japan? Would she look like a princess or a royal rightfully ruling?

Only a lady or a queen?

A royal or a god?

Common or divine?

He would see when the festivals began.

"Take some of mine," Markus said, still holding her hand and feeling the way her skin felt nice against his. "You need the boost to your system and mine is one of the most Magical around here."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Magic sharing can be dangerous."

"How dangerous can helping you heal be?"

"It's part of the process of Bonding, Markus," she said, her tongue tracing the inside of her teeth for a second as she thought. "If I only take a little, it wouldn't make a difference. Yeah, if you're sure?"

"I'm sure."

He allowed his Magic to release from his body, becoming a heavy silver atmosphere in the room. Kore pushed off the bedding she had on her, sitting in the middle of the room with her hand in his as she closed her eyes and took in the Magic.

It was warm as she absorbed it, familiar and calming. It didn't fight her Magic as she took it, letting it overcome her system with each new pulse of her heartbeat. She came a little more tired as she took in more but Markus encouraged her to take as much as she needed, and she did, taking in more than a normal Witch's Magic level was.

She stopped absorbing so much as her levels raised, yawning a little as she swayed. Markus braced her against his side, not wanting her to fall face first into her bed.

"Are you alright?" he asked her as she leaned into his shoulder, almost nuzzling into it as she sighed in relief.

She hummed in acknowledgement, making a noise of approval at the question. Her own Magic sensed the familiar Magic in his system, craving contact and so her arms went around his waist. She knew she was doing it but she didn't care, especially when his own arms went to move her along the bed a little before he leaned back.

"Just sleep," he said, leaning onto the pillows to get a decent degree of space for her to lay on him. Her head was on his chest as she fell asleep, his hand running down her cheek in comfort. "I'll wake you up with time to spare to get ready for the festivals."

The Magical exhaustion she felt was causing her system to need to be rebooted and the best way would be for her to be ill for whatever time it took for her to reboot. Her Magic wouldn't work well for a little while, and she couldn't will herself to be better when she had this type of illness. It was rare for her to be ill anyway, her Magic always healing her before she could get infected with anything.

He watched her settle in for a recovery sleep, content that she wasn't going to be vulnerable or in danger as she was weak at the moment.

Markus liked the fact that she trusted him enough to fall asleep in his presence, and her weight on him was a comfort that soon lured him into sleep too.

Tsar and Duke just rolled their eyes at their masters before beginning their duties to guard them.

The knocking at the door woke them both up but neither of them acknowledged it, only getting a little closer to each other as they tried to sleep some more.

The knocking came again, along with a desperate plea.

"Your Majesty, please." they said, "There's a small problem with the Vallies."

Kore lifted her head from Markus's chest, just enough to yell and glare at the door. "What's the problem?"

She checked the time on her watch, seeing that it was just turning six in the evening. The festival would begin as soon as the sun set at around half nine, giving them another three and a bit hours until they had to be ready and out.

"Kore, get your ass out and go speak to the Vallie elder." Cera's voice seemed serious, making Kore sit up from where she had quite comfortably been laying. Markus just smiled at her pout as she sat up, his hand at the small of her back where her shirt seemed to rid up in her sleep.

"Why?"

Cera opened the door, poking her head in. "Good, you're decent."

Kore gave her the finger as she felt Markus's fingertips on the skin of her lower back, comforting in the way they just barely grazed her skin and never went any lower or higher than permitted.

"The Vallies are in your office, complaining and shouting."

Kore rubbed a hand down all of her face, waking herself up a little more as she leaned back onto her hands. It made his fingertips touch her back a little more but they didn't comment. "Why are they complaining?"

"They saw Minthe's dress,"

"Shit," Kore muttered, mentally preparing herself for an argument for a second before she started to get out of the bed with a grumble and groan as her back clicked. "Where're my shoes? Oh, fuck this. I'm wearing slippers."

She tucked her feet into a silver pair of sliders with a large amount of dark purple fur at the top. They looked ridiculous but they were comfortable.

Duke threw one look at his master before Markus nodded, the dog suddenly jumping from the bed and trodden after his master's beloved.

Protection detail again, huh.