Chapter 1: Can't be killed...

The hallway was dimly lit.

The tightly shut sandalwood windows did not let even a ray of light slip into the corridor. Thus, the golden curtains glittered only when the flames of about a dozen candles flickered occasionally. The stillness of the room was uncanny.

Josephine glanced at the empty crib in front of her as two large silver drops slid down her pale cheeks. Her misty blue eyes were blank, as if they had no reason to see the world anymore.

"My Lady!!"

A voice accompanied with panicking footsteps echoed through the hall.

"Vordemum took the little princess!"

Josephine did not reply. The maid continued to stutter in her panic, "He...He st..stole the baby wh...when everyone was focussed on the battle. His Majesty is badly wounded, he cannot make it to the palace. I heard that Grandmaster Deleph has intervened. He carried His Majesty away using a space warp. He sent word through a raven. My Lady! You have to leave as well... Leave before Vordemum can enter the palace."

Josephine did not budge.

"My Lady?!"

"So we lost the battle?"

"Yes, how could we win against a traitor like the second prin...I mean against Vordemum."

"Is His Majesty alive?"

"Yes yes!! Grandmaster Deleph saved him just in time. There's is another space warp at the end of the hall. My Lady, we have to leave!"

Josephine sighed as she glanced at the empty crib once more. "Someone had predicted that this girl will change the fate of Kodesh. Seems that she is too short lived to do so." The quiver in her voice was faint, but still the maid couldn't help shivering.

"Lets go."

With that, Queen Josephine stood up, her long golden hair falling tenderly across her slender shoulders, her long gown swishing past the floor as she headed to meet her husband.

Kodesh was lost to Vordemum, the rebel prince. There was nothing more they could call their own in this land, except the newborn, who had been kidnapped by the villainous prince.

Before entering the glowing array that would magically transport her and her maid, Josephine glanced back one last time. She had spent all her life here-- all the happy times of her childhood, her tender love for Prince Patros, her marriage with her beloved man, the birth of her child-- all the memories came flooding back to her, painting a thousand colours on the blank canvas of her mind. A weak smile crept onto her pale lips. Maybe her life hadn't been that bad. It was perhaps better to leave this place before something worse happened. But her child? How can a mother live without her child? Her eyes stilled, and her gaze grew dark. If there was ever a chance, she would revenge her little one's death.

"Where are we supposed to go?" She asked, turning to her maid.

"The Realm of Mortals."

"Umm... good choice."

There was no need to say anymore. Magenta, her maid, knew well that the Realm of Mortals was the best place to conceal oneself. It was so vast, with hundreds of thousands of small and big kingdoms, all teeming with people of different origins, creeds and conditions. It was nearly impossible to locate somebody who wants to hide there. So, naturally, that would be the most suitable choice for the king and queen.

In a flash, the queen stepped into the blazing array alongwith her, and in the blink of an eye, the array vanished.

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Karlos sat on the golden throne, staring at the sleeping baby in his arms. A malicious smile lingered on his thin lips.

'Change the fate of Kodesh?!' He grimaced.

"Little one, can you change even your own fate?"

The sleeping baby paid no heed.

"Are you sure you want to kill her? After all, if you bring her up as your own, she might never know who she really is, and end up being faithful to you, Prince Karlos." A certain courtier, who had defected to the side of the rebel prince, suggested.

"Naive!!" Karlos declared in a loud voice.

"Have you not heard of Her Highness Kodesha, huh? One girl lived, and the whole Realm of Magic was upturned. This brat is even predicted to be significant to our land, so obviously if she lives, things might get unfavourable later on. Besides, as long as grandmaster Deleph, that old cunning man, is out there, my regime is never safe. My brother and sister-in-law have escaped. What an ill omen! Send troops out to hunt them down. Keep searching, even if you have to interfere in the workings of the Realm of Mortals, still, do not stop till you have their corpses!"

"As you command, Prince!"

A group of army generals immediately departed.

Karlos smirked as his eyes landed on the peacefully sleeping little child. Her glowing face was calm like the surface of a lake on a windless day. There was no sign of the least bit of alarm on her little body. Karlos pulled out his golden dagger. This was the bloodline of his brother. If he had to establish his supremacy, he would have to eradicate the very memory of his elder sibling, and wipe off even his name from the history of Kodesh. Sacrificing this child would merely be his first step.

With a resolute grip on the holy of the sharp dagger, and a malicious smile on his lips, Karlos stabbed through the heart of the little baby.

Blood spurted out.

But ...

The child did not scream out in pain as it should have. Instead, it only opened its large eyes to look up at her attacker.

Karlos suddenly shuddered, his body numbing from the shock. The girl did not have large dark eyes. Instead, they were an unusual shade of purple, just like her hair.

Purple!

For some unknown reason, Karlos had always hated this particular colour, to the extent of being somewhat scared of it. As two deep pools of purple gazed up at him, his hands faltered. He immediately tried to pull the dagger out. But... What was this?!

The dagger just wouldn't come out of the little body of the child! It seemed as if it was stuck right in!

Before Karlos could make sense of what was happening, he felt his wrist go weak. His entire hand started to throb vigorously, and every bit of strength began to drain away.

"What the hell?! My..."

Before he could finish, there was a might twang!!!

Something hit him right on his forehead!

Karlos was shocked, to say the least.

When he looked again, The dagger was no more inside the girl's body, but had somehow been forced out by some mysterious power, and had hit him right on his forehead, leading to a deep gash.

"Prince Karlos!!"

A unanimous uproar rose from his followers, many of whom bolted forward at the sight.

"Stop!" Karlos commanded, wiping the trickling blood off his brow. How strange! The wound on the child's body had disappeared completely! There was just a long scar on her white belly!

As for his dagger, it had been a magical weapon of highest grade, but now, it had been rendered utterly useless, as if something had sucked away all its powers.

"This child is bewitched!" Someone shouted.

"Throw her away, prince, else she might cast a curse on you!" Another panicked voice exclaimed.

"Right, such a sight! It didn't die even on being stabbed. Rather, the Prince was injured! This... is purely evil magic!"

"Shut up!" Karlos slammed the throne as he stood up. "Burn this child!"

For a moment, the courtroom stilled on hearing this command. But who dared to defy? The child was taken and a large fore was lit.

Unknown to them, many miles away, in the Forest of Darkness lay a cave-- the Cave of Seals. A pair of red eyes shone there-- like a set of rubies in the pitch darkness.

A clear, smooth voice echoed. "Good! That's very good! My Purple Crystal has appeared in Kodesh! Grandmaster Deleph, can you hear me?"

There was a strange magnetic element in this voice. It was that of a female, but much refined and pleasing to the ears. The moment the question left her lips, a glow was formed in the cave.

"How did you know I was here?" A deep but somehow cracked voice resounded. It was clearly the voice of an old man. Though he did not appear, his words could be heard clearly.

"Isn't that obvious, grandmaster?" The female spoke again. " After what happened, wouldn't you ask my opinion on finding a hiding place for the king and queen?"

"Even after so many years, yours sharpness hasn't decreased," the old man smiled.

"I will take that as a compliment," the girl seems to chuckle. "Grandmaster, my Purple Crystal has appeared in Kodesh. That kid, what is her name?"

"Ella, that's what Queen Josephine, her mother, fondly calls her."

"Good, they want to burn her dead. Do me a favour, grandmaster. Take that child away to the Realm of Mortals, okay? Keep her with yourself, find a hiding place for the two of you, and rear her up...."

"Stop right there!" the old man objected, clearly irritated at the request. "Kodesha, stop these foolish plays, okay? I am a grandmaster, and you want me to sneak into the Realm of Mortals and rear a child?! How ridiculous! I can save her, no bothers. I can also hand her to her parents, but I cannot hide away with the child myself!"

"Tsk," Kodesha smiled. "You don't seem to have understood that the essence of my purple crystal lies within her. If I want to break free of this Thunder Summon Seal, I need 100% of my power. At present, I have only 60% on average. I will need a few more years before I can accumulate 80%. But the remaining 20% will always be with Ella. If she grows up with her parents, she will never know who she is, as her parents have to keep hiding themselves. They cannot take the risk of bringing her to the Forest of Darkness. Only you can do that, grandmaster! If she doesn't come, I cannot break free! Don't tell me you would like to see me stuck here forever!"

She must have made a pitiable face, but in the inky darkness, that could not be discerned. But her sulky voice was enough to move the old man.

"Ah, okay okay. Since you can't come out without her, and her parents cannot bring her to you, I will take this on myself. All for you! All for your stupid sake! I really hate myself at times to be helping someone as dumb as you are, Kodesha!"

"Dumb?!"

"What else?! Who other than a completely dumb person would summon the Thunder Seal?"

"That's in the past," Kodesha mumbled loudly enough for the grandmaster to catch her words.

"Fine!" Deleph sighed. "I will do according to your wishes."