-24-

"When was I supposed to learn about this Mysty?!" I jumped as I heard Em yell, not in anger but more in frustration and worry.

"About?" I asked, sitting at the dinning table in our home, a chef coming each night to cook for us after dinner was served for the queen and her family, this was the end of my break day.

"How could you not tell me you almost died.... Twice!!"

"Oh that."

"Yeah 'oh that'."

"Well." I laced my fingers together, my gloves having been replaced and were the exactly same as the old ones I had, my hands having healed up without scars thanks to the elves. "You never asked."

"Fuck your bullshit, you tell me about this!"

"Oh dear! Language Emersme!" My hand rested on my chest in shock at his choice of words before sighing and standing up. "I apologies for my lack of informing you."

"I could have lost a sister, I deserve to know, we aren't supposed to make preference between all of us but loosing you would be the greatest loss of the queendom."

"A bit of an exaggeration."

"If the word of the silver dragon's death got out how long do you think those fearful because of Belladonna and you would stay away?"

"Any death of a mage can tip the balance of power in favor of another.... And I do not wish to lose my family."

"Right, sorry but it was needed."

"I know but be careful."

"I'll be I'll be."

I had avoided the rest, I knew they all worried for me, Amalia got off easy with the head injury.

In my room I sighed and got rid on my clothes and put on loose black trousers and tunic, one sleeve or pant leg could fit two of the limbs in it but at least the waist and torso weren't as loose and I wouldn't end up naked in the night if I moved around.

I laid down and Nix came to curl up into my side before I pulled the blanket over me, she liked sleeping under it.

The next day I was the first awake, I felt their magic all dormant so I gathered my clothes in my arms as I headed out of my room and went down the stairs and with a wave of my arm the stone wall shifted, revealing a hidden room, it was hidden for a few preference reason.

The first reason was the aesthetic of the room and if a room led to the bathroom from the living room it wouldn't be pleasant sight for possible guests.

A second was the first to open to door would be the only one able to open it while in use so no one could walk in on me, for privacy purposes so a man couldn't walk in on a woman using it.

The stone wall closed behind me and I sighed, staring into the forever steamy room and dropped my clothes for the day on the bench in the room next to the towels prepared on it.

I disrobed and turned to the bath, it was fed by a never ending magic waterfall, the water warm but not too much, enough to steam the air up.

I looked over myself and sighed, yet another secret that wasn't truly one.

In my home village you'd get your feats inked under your skin, also called tattoos by my people, it could take up days to finish a single one, many people working on one with bone carved thin and dipped into the black ink.

My feats? many even for my young age of six at the time, a mage already a small innate grasp on some powers they are born with. Even if it was in fear I had killed the monster that terrified the village and I realized that day I was not just with weirdly colored hair and eyes but with magic too, the rough shape of the monster etched on my upper chest.

This is the depiction of one of the artists of me this time facing another monster (just go with it) and this time because I was already self sacrificial at the time, yeah.... So young and already more worried about the other's survival since I was the one with magic to use... In that village one death was catastrophic already we were such a small community.

My left arm was covered to, rough flowy spiky lines showing the time I willed a field of dead wheat to flourish right in front of the peoples eyes because the fear of winter and starvation was near, the plants growing and the earth wet instead of frozen, this being a rendition of thorned plants that flowed like water.

I am surprised no one actually brought them up, not the elves that treated me and saw them nor the princess when she stayed in the room with me.

I could make them vanish with an easy magic spell but I didn't do it, people didn't even question the black lines I had on one arm visible since my undershirt reached mid upper arm and bracers stopped a little in front of my elbow.

"Tho I tend to intimidate people, maybe they just don't dare to ask or care, I've been here for thirteen years after all." I told myself, the 'little' bath pond wasn't too deep, standing like I am I stood with the water until my waist.

I stood under the waterfall and let it just wash over me as I laid my forehead against the wall behind it.

I didn't like the idea of needing to help whoever the princess liked get through the trails of the tournament.

And this weird feeling that fills me thinking of it whenever I think of the Highness for too long, is it also part of her powers?

I sighed and leaned back enough to have the water to hit me right in the face, washing all my hair back slick and stuck to my head making it look much thinner then the bushy spiky it usually is.

I leaned my head back on the wall with a sigh and stared at the water dripping down from my braid into the water below as I wondered what to do.