Two
2175 Words
There are four types of elemental magic; red for fire based magic, blue for water based magic, green for earth based magic and yellow for air based magic.
Enid settled in with Racheal in the abandoned temple on the hills like she had been part of the scene all along.
Racheal realized that Enid was not an ordinary child.
She never cried and she always seemed to stare at the most trivial things with such awe and wonderment that Racheal wondered if Enid could see what she couldn't.
As soon as she was able to crawl, she would go to the small stale pond behind the temple and stare into the water.
Green algae completely veiled the surface of the pond.
Underneath it though was a considerable school of fish and tadpoles.
No matter how many times Racheal dragged her away from the pond, she always went back.
Enid went from crawling to walking to calling out Racheal's name in a flash.
Her asphalt black hair grew longer and wilder and her crystal green eyes shone even brighter.
As Enid grew, living became tougher and when she was six years old, Racheal decided to go back to the kingdom to look for a job.
It was a windy morning when Racheal put on her only coat, tied up her hair and put on some cashew nuts in her pocket.
She walked out and sighted Enid digging out some grass in front of the temple.
"What're you doing, lass?"
"Digging." Enid simply replied not even sparing a glance. Racheal knew better than to push the matter further.
"I'll be gone for quite some time. Promise me you won't go close to the pond."
Enid abruptly stopped digging and shook her head.
"You're not going to promise?" Racheal asked puzzled.
"You know I'm gonna go there anyways so why are you asking me to promise?"
Racheal stared at the child in exasperation; she never lied but she was too stubborn to do anything other than what she wanted to.
"Fine, just don't fall in. I'm going to look for a job."
Enid nodded and continued digging but soon paused and stared at Racheal who was still looking at her and smiled.
"You'll get one today, just go with the flow." She said wiggling her hands
"Are you psychic now?" Racheal asked her.
She had eventually gone to the enchanted springs and dipped Enid in when she was two.
She almost lost a grip on the girl and let her fall into the water when the springs turned black.
It was a colour that the spring never turned to.
It was worse than the spring remaining clear.
"No, there's no magic for that. I just had a feeling."
And for the thousandth time, Racheal wondered if the child was actually six years old.
She shook her head and headed out of the temple into the kingdom.
...
Manderin was a boisterous, happy, kingdom.
Although it was only surrounded by smaller clans and no major kingdom, it was blessed with abundant natural resources and a good water supply.
It was a self sufficient kingdom.
The vitality did not rub off on Racheal though, she always felt queasy when when she came down from the hill.
She was never able to get used to the shock on people's faces when she told them that she had no magic.
Most people tried to hide their repulsion but she was not always fortunate.
She vividly remembered one time when a woman chased her out of her stall and proceeded chant blessed prayers all over it.
Racheal took a deep breath.
"Let's get this over with."
She walked all the way to the central court.
It was far busier because of it's proximity to the palace.
If she had any chances of getting work, it was in here.
...
The central court was filled with people from all over the kingdom who came to trade goods.
Anything anyone could ever want was here; even the shadier things.
Racheal walked around looking for a wanted sign around.
She found one not long after and walked up to the vendor selling fruit without thinking; mostly because she did not want to convince herself to abandon the search and go home.
"Hei, you're looking for help aren't ya?" She asked the overweight man, fanning himself comically while yelling at the top of his voice on the quality of his fruit.
"That's right, you want the job?" He asked.
Racheal nodded deeply.
"What's your magic affinity?" He asked, his attention focused on swatting the flies away from his fruit.
Racheal gulped, it was the moment of truth.
"I don't have any magic. "She struggled to say out loud.
The man stopped swatting abruptly and turned to Rachel.
"What?"
Racheal already knew how it would play out.
She had seen it in the man's eyes.
"I don't have any magic"she said in dejection.
...
It was already evening when Rachael got to the gate of the palace.
She had lost track of the time as she went from vendor to vendor trying to find work to no avail.
She was about to turn back when she saw a notice on a board near the notice.
It was a wanted poster;a maid was needed for the third child of the king.
Racheal smiled sarcastically.
"One more rejection is just what I need." She said as she walked up to one of the guards in front of the gates.
"Uh, I'm here cuz of the notice;I want the job"
The guard looked down at her then signalled someone on the otherside of the gate.
A petite woman with a stern face in a long blue dress walked up to her and sized her up.
"You do know you are going to be placed under the third child, that's the second prince right?"
The woman spoke like Rachel had a death wish.
"Um,yes?" She answered confused.
She wondered why they had not asked her of her magic affinity yet.
"Alright then,follow me."
The woman walked briskly through the gates, past the crowd of people doing one thing or the other in the court yard and into the huge marble white palace.
Racheal struggled to keep up with her quick steps mostly because she was surprised they let her in.
"The prince will still have to access you but he'll probably hire you since no one else will take the job." The woman said.
Racheal began to feel wary.
Why would no one else want the job.
The deeper they got into the palace,the fewer people Racheal saw.
The woman abruptly turned left from the corridor and ascended a flight of stairs.
"Hei,what's the hurry,slow down a bit." Racheal was now jogging to keep up.
"Unlike you,I have other things to do and I want to get this over with."
If this prince is a r****t or something, I am going to punch him and run,Racheal thought preparing for the worst.
The woman finally stopped in front of a door at the top of the stairs.
She suddenly looked paler as she knocked twice on the door.
There was a timid "Come in" at the other end.
The woman opened the door and went in.
Racheal hesitated a bit then followed suit.
"Good evening my prince. This woman is interested in the job." She said after bowing.
Racheal was mildly surprised.
She was not expecting a frail looking boy to be the prince everyone seemed to be anxious about.
He had long black hair that grazed his shoulders.
He was as white as sheets and was painfully thin.
His light blue eyes were the only lively thing about him.
Racheal glanced at the woman who looked really uncomfortable, like she was going to pass out.
"You may leave now,Alice."
"Thank you my prince." The woman bowed again and bolted.
Racheal stood and looked around awkwardly.
The room was bare except for the shelf of books beside the large open window on the other side of the room.
She had expected that a prince's room would be more flamboyant.
"You don't have any magic, do you?"
Racheal turned to the prince in shock.
"How did you know?"
"Well most people with mediocre magic would be gasping for air right about now, and even people with a really high magical affinity would be uncomfortable, but you're just fine so I assumed it was because you couldn't feel anything...guess I was right." He smiled nervously.
"Feel what?" Racheal asked not understanding.
"Well, the magical pressure I emit." The prince struggled to sit up.
He offered Racheal a seat that was beside his bed.
After a bit of contemplation, Racheal sat down, waiting for the prince to explain further.
"See, magic emits a force called pressure. The higher the magic affinity, the stronger the pressure. Most people born with magic have the innate ability to control that pressure but I was born without the ability to do so plus I was born with quite a bit of magic so most people are uncomfortable near me."
Racheal thought about it for a while and sighed.
"I guess even people with magic have their own problems. So what do I do to get the job?"
He looked amused.
"Oh, you're hired. I couldn't ask for a better maid."
"That's it?"
"I don't really have a choice, I'm Micah Belltower; second prince of Manderin."
For a moment, Racheal forgot that she was before royalty.
"Uh, I'm Racheal, I don't really have a family or clan." She said bowing.
"You should meet Alice to put you through your job. You'll have about a day to move into the palace."
"Pack?" Racheal asked surprised.
She forgot about Enid, in the midst of all the intensity.
She looked out, the sun was down and the lanterns were already lit.
"I have a kid, I can't live here."
"Oh that's fine, if you can cope then you can live here with the child."
Racheal sighed and massaged her temples.
"She's a..special child. You wouldn't want her here, I have to go." She said turning around to leave.
"What do you mean special child?" Micah struggled to get off the bed, he wobbled and almost fell when Rachael ran to him and held him up.
"Let's just say if people are wary of you, they'll be freaked out by her."
Micah's eyes shone in expectation.
He had always been interested in people that deviated from the usual magic capacities and capabilities.
"I'd like to meet her...if you decide that the job is for you, a place is always vacant."
Racheal put Micah back to bed and then left.
The job was tempting but the only reason why she wanted the job anyway was to take care of Enid.
She hurried back down and out of the palace as quickly as she could.
...
When Rachael got home, the moon was already high up in the sky.
She couldn't stop thinking of all the things that could've happened to Enid while she was gone.
"Enid! Enid, where are you?!" She ran to the stale pond but Enid wasn't at her usual spot.
"Why are you yelling Racheal?" Enid was suddenly behind her, rubbing her eyes.
She looked drowsy.
Racheal kneeled and hugged her.
"Sorry I was away for so long."
Enid stared at her unaffected.
"You got the job right?"
"Yeah.. but I don't think I'll take it." Racheal smilled feeling a little foolish for worrying so much.
She let Enid go.
"Why not? You've wanted a job for so long."
"Yeah but they want me to live there."
Enid stared at her blankly not understanding what the problem was.
"I can't stay there, I have to take care of you."
"I'm not allowed to come along?" Enid asked visibly upset.
The only thing that made Enid emotional was going into town.
Apart from Racheal, Enid had not met any other person.
She always looked perplexed when Rachael told her that there were thousands of people in Manderin.
"I want to come along too! Please Racheal!"
"Hmm, what about your little pond and your koi fish?"
"I'll come take care of them sometimes, I promise Racheal!"
Enid was on the verge of tears.
Racheal knew it meant a lot to Enid but she wouldn't know what to do if people found out about her magic.
"Enid..."
"Yes!" She answered eagerly
"You know your magic is different right?"
"Yes..."
"If you want to come along then you'll have to hide that, can you do that?"
Enid nodded even before Racheal finished her sentence.
Racheal knew however that it was not that easy, her magic had not even begin to manifest.
She took a deep breath and patted her head.
"Alright, we're getting out of this hell hole."
"Yesss!!!! I'm going to see thousands of people!" Enid yelled running into the temple probably to pack her one other dress and sandals.
Elemental magic is the most common type of magic with 71% of humans with elemental magic.
- Writer
