“Lien and I are getting married.”
Asti's jaw dropped. What? Had her mother gone insane? What was she thinking? Asti looked around the dinner table, to see her sisters who had reacted the same way she did with this news. Her mother frowned. “Aren't you girls happy for your mother? Aren't you?”
Asti felt sick to the stomach; she had no appetite to continue her meal. She chased her peas around on her plate with her fork.
“What's wrong?” Her mother's smile faded, and turned into a scowl. “My daughters ought to be happy for me!”
“Of course we are, Mother,” Asti, the eldest sister, forced out. Her sisters nodded stiffly. “But the thing is Mother...doesn't Lien have a child?”
“Yes, and his child, Kor, will be living with us,” the woman said, beaming. “Won't the people of Jerome be so happy to hear their queen has finally found her match?”
“Yes, Mother,” the daughters said in unison.
“Good,” the Queen said, nodding in approval. “Lien and his son must be treated with respect, understood?”
Asti made some sort of grunting sound; the second oldest sister, Jilia, shot her a disapproving look. Lien wasn't
exactly a great man. Years ago, the Queen's older sister had relied on his guidance, since she had absolutely no confidence at all in her ruling. Lien had been a very, very, close friend to her. So basically Lien made all the decisions, while the Queen carried out his orders. Now, Asti wasn't ready to respect the man who led Jerome into the Varsterian War (which Jerome had barely won less than a year ago), nearly broke the country into two sides, and almost left Jerome bankrupt before he retired. And because of this, she wasn't ready to respect his son, who had very likely inherited his low thinking power.
“Kor and Lien are coming for tea next week, so all of you can meet your future brother,” the Queen said smugly. “I am sure my girls are very much looking forward to it.”
She thought wrong. Asti was dreading that day.
The next morning Asti woke up just after the sun had risen. She quickly got dressed in her trousers and white shirt, then slipped over it her favorite purple robe, which would keep her warm in the frigid weather. She pulled the hood over her face.
Asti quietly opened her window, to see a rope leading from her windowsill to the ground. “Jerr did it right,” she said to herself, satisfied.
She slipped a knapsack filled with pens, paper, books, and various scrolls onto her back, and slid down the rope. With three tugs, the rope was unattached, and Asti slipped it into her knapsack.
She crept along the side of the castle wall, towards the stables. She swiftly mounted a plain brown mare, and rode off towards the forest.
“Asti! Right over here!”
Asti held a candle out in front of her, squinting. She smiled to see a familiar face. There he was.
“Jerr!” Asti grinned, and jumped on her older brother, the Prince. “I never thought we’d have another lesson. I’ve been practicing so much while you were gone. In fact, I learned a new spell.”
“Aha! Really?” Jerr said. “Well, let’s see it! Get out your books…”
“No, I memorized it,” Asti said, still smiling. “No need for a book.”
Jerr raised his eyebrows.
Asti blew out the candle. “It is the Summoning Light spell. It can get quite blinding…here, I’ll face a tree…there.”
She let out a deep breath.
She waved her hands over each other then around in a circle, chanting under her breath. Slowly she pushed her hands out away from her, as if there were some force repelling her. Then…
Jerr jumped. A ray of blinding light shot out of Asti’s hands. Asti, jaw clenched, concentrated was trying in vain to control the spell. At last, the light started to dim and fade. Asti made the light brighter, then dimmer again, satisfied that she could now control the spell. Jerr nodded, impressed. Finally, the light vanished.
“Good job,” Jerr said. “That was very well done. As you became more focused, you were able to master the spell. I think you are already surpassing me in magic; you are getting very, very, good.”
Asti’s hands felt tingly. She was both mentally and physically exerted. “Really? Thank you, brother but are you sure very good magicians feel this way after casting a single spell?”
“Tired, hmm?” Jerr cocked his head. “Yes, that is what powerful spells do to you I am afraid. It is normal. Let’s take a quick break; and then we’ll get back to work. I think…I just think that there’s a spell I can show you that you don’t know yet.”
“That would be great,” Asti laughed.
