WHITE DARKNESS - BLACK MAGIC SAGA - BOOK 1

FLAMES THAT ROT

Leevanna gulped, all eyes were on her.

“Could you care to explain, Miss Vaughan, what on earth were you doing a few minutes ago?” asked headmistress Harmony Armstrong clearly distressed by all of this, not much harmony on her voice either way.

She remained silent for a second.

“Duelling.”

All professors present in that small room looked at each other before starting to speak all at once.

When she had won the duelling against Vailant, the jury had stood up from their chairs, everyone was muttering around her, and Vailant seemed about to launch himself against her and start throwing punches left, right and centre. Then Sthepon Reeves had dragged her down the platform by the arm with all the rest of professor following them. They had ended up in a kind of sacristy that was behind the professor’s table, where they would hold small meetings before lunch to elaborate the schedule of the day.

“Are you mad, girl?” growled Sthepon Reeves with a hand over his forehead. “It was in the rules that you couldn’t set foot on that platform!”

Leevanna just looked at him.

“Because I’m a woman?”

“No!” he huffed. “Not because of your s*x… Because your family won’t allow it.”

“How did you even do so, girl?” asked Aftan Alexus, a small book of the rules of the tournament between his hands.

Knowing that she couldn’t just shrug, she decided for the truth, “I used a legal combination of the Audire charm and the Mentis Unspeakable to persuade the three judges of letting a boy use the sabre mask in all duels, so I wouldn’t reveal my identity. And each time I won, I set the Differfusio charm to make all ears and eyes don’t pay attention. I stole this clothes from Mason, he doesn’t have anything to do with this though.”

“Miss Vaughan…” breathed the headmistress. “We spoke with the families before all of this… Yours, well, your father, was the first one who didn’t want any royal linage participating. Female specially.”

“But that’s not fair!” Leevanna exploded, then she sighed. “You should have asked us, after that, not take a decision based on the misogyny of royalty. I wasn’t the only one who wanted to be on that platform! Half female population of my house, if not all, wanted a in on all of this.”

“Miss Vaughan, please understand that you and the rest of your housemates are underage, we had to make a decision based on your parents—”

“Oh, so all the underage boys can compete but us, women, can’t?” she laughed bitterly. “They are royal linage too if you haven’t noticed… They are underage too. Just like me, just like the rest of my house. Why is it fair for them to compete against each other but not against women? House Faris women were allowed to participate in this… Women, like me. They are out there fighting and why? Because the army does not discriminate if you are men or women. This is not about us being underage, is about the chauvinist belief royalty has about women and their so-called duties. And you certainly didn’t ask us because you also live by the regime which says women are less than men.”

Silence.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five seconds.

“She is right,” came a voice behind all the professors, who turned to look at the woman who was speaking.

Angelice Laverne.

“The army does not discriminate in genre, nor in age, even less in linage,” she continued saying. “Or I am wrong, general Tauris?”

“Not at all, Miss Laverne.”

She nodded. “It is true we lie under a chauvinist control,” her eyes flickered. “And the help the army is in need of, is people like her… Who are capable and willing to break the rules and break them again to make new ones just to break them once more.”

“But—”

“What she did was wrong, yes,” Angelice interrupted Harmony. “But that doesn’t mean her performance was impeccable, and that is what war needs right now. People who aren’t afraid of it.”

“And what do you suggest we do?” asked Aftan Alexus, his eyes never leaving his lover. He was attentive with each word she pronounced.

“General Tauris,” she called. Leevanna was holding her breath.

This was taking a toll on her.

“Is Miss Leevanna fit for the Tournament and in case she wins, fit for the army?”

“Yes, a strategist like her could help us create disguises for the war and win battles. Still a bit more of training does no wrong.”

“Let’s get to an accord then,” she smirked. “Miss Vaughan’s participation in the Paragon Tournament will be decided the rest of the school, teachers included. If she is voted yes to stay, we will not say a word of her, she will remain hidden until the time is appropriate to break the news. She won’t be able to participate in photos or interviews. Miss Vaughan do you understand you won’t be able to talk about this with anyone outside the school?”

“Yes.”

“Sthepon,” Angelice turned her head to the side, “you’re her legal guardian here at Gleaxsiara, and since she is not of age, I ask you now if you’re on board with this situation?”

Leevanna’s godfather looked at Angelice for a moment, and then to his goddaughter, his eyes narrowed, but he ended up nodding, “Yes, I agree.”

Leevanna’s eyes shone in hope, and when they returned to see Angelice, there was a glow of complicity between the two.

Angelice clapped her hands once. “Settled then. The verdict will be given the next Saturday.”

Leevanna smiled.

But that smile didn’t last much longer.

Because when she left that little room, everyone started looking at her, and even if she kept her head high at all moments, she felt tiny among all of them. Tiny as ant, minuscule as a dust particle. When the whispering and murmuring started, she felt her breathing become elaborated, almost scarce at the thought of it.

Someone stopped her for moving, and when she looked up to see who it was, she was relieved it was Sthepon and not any other professor. At that same instant, headmistress Armstrong started speaking once she had settled behind the usual podium.

“I know you all are wondering what is going to happen next,” the whisperings suddenly stopped. “After a deliberation, us professor and the representants of the jury have reached an accord you must be here to listen…” her hands clasped by her belly. “Miss Leevanna Vaughan’s participation in the Paragon Tournament will be subjected to your verdict… On Saturday of the next week you will be all called to be here and decide whether she is fit to continue, if she deserves to continue, or not… With that said, you can all continue with your activities of the day… The selected champions for the Tournament will be given on Monday first hour. Thank you.”

She couldn’t look anyone in the eyes, not even her friend group which was a few metres away from her. She knew Lhu would be disappointed, one for not telling her and two for breaking the rules in such manner knowing it would put Leevanna at risk.

And the thing was that Leevanna had been fine keeping her head down for years and years, not making so much of a scene for the rest to see, she was fine with just existing… However, the Paragon Tournament had awoken something inside of her, some forbidden rage she had dormant. It was strange, how it felt, she means, how it stuck to her bones and whispered in her ear.

She hadn’t been paying attention to the start of the duels, House Faris didn’t exactly interested her, but then it was House Vasilka’s turn, and oh she watched them vigorously.

Her plan had gone to perfection.

Being bitchy all day for Lhu to see, saying she would go to her room and letting Esmeray check on two times so they would believe her. The spell she had created a few weeks ago hadn’t been so difficult to put on use and a quick charm to her hair for a few hours until she had the mask off was enough.

Now, the thing was, how was she going to survive this week?

She certainly didn’t have a plan for that, nor for how people would react or vote.

She certainly couldn’t go charming everyone to vote yes for her to participate, that would be cheating. Well — yes she had cheated to enter the duels, but messing with people’s mind to be on her side was different. She wanted them to have her own opinion about her. And she just hoped it would be good.

Instead of going straight to her dorm and wait for her friends there, she decided to hide outside the castle for the rest of the day. There was no classes left for her to attend and she certainly wasn’t hungry. So, knowing she would have to hide somewhere at some point, she headed to a hidden corner of the Gleaxsiara chateau. It was on the middle of the castle, the Lookout Tower. Heading to the last floor, she then started going up the two floors of stairs to reach her hidden place. She had left a small bag full of sweets and some sandwiches, a coat, books and water yesterday when she knew she would put her plan to action.

This was the perfect spot. Going to the library would be too much risk, just like the Attlely Lake.

Taking one of her books out of the bag, she started reading while remembering Lhu’s words each time she refused to eat: ‘You can’t do that your body, Leev, it is your temple, what keeps you strong. Please at least a bite.’

So, huffing, she took out of her sandwiches.

The hours passed and passed like they were nothing, she didn’t feel them, however, then came the sunset, and, leaving her book aside, she sat near the railings and contemplated the captivated experience that connected her to nature and let her experience the beauty of the world around her.

The sky started to transform into a masterpiece of colours and patterns bit by bit. The sun, in its final descent towards the horizon, bathed the world in a warm golden light, and the first thing that she noticed was the gradual dimming of the daylight as the sunrays became more diffused. The sky became a canvas, painted with a myriad of hues.

Initially there is a soft palette of pale oranges and gentle pinks, creating a tranquil atmosphere. As the time passed, the colours intensified into dark reds and wishful orange yellowish. The sky started to transition into deeper shades as the sun took on a fiery red hue, casting long shadows of the threes and silhouetting objects in its path. The light reflecting into the autumn leaves. The world seems to slow down, and a sense of calm and tranquillity envelops the scene. As the sun nears the horizon, it often appears larger, creating a breathtaking visual effect. The colours in the sky become more intense, with shades of crimson, purple, and gold blending together in a breathtaking display.

The clouds catch fire and reflect the sun’s radiance, adding depth and texture to the spectacle. The air was cooler and refreshing, and Leevanna started to notice the sounds of nature, such as birds returning to their nests and the gentle rustling of leaves. It is as if the world was holding its breath, anticipating the grand finale.

The sun dips below the horizon, leaving behind a fleeting afterglow. The sky continued to chance, evolving into a tapestry of twilight colours, from deep purples and turquoises to dusky dark oranges. The first stars twinkling, gradually revealing themselves.

Watching the sunset for Leevanna wasn’t just a visual experience but a multisensorial journey that evoked deep emotion within her. It was a reminder of how beautiful the world could be, a moment to pause, appreciate and find solace in the simplest things such as this.

Accommodating all her things, she started descending the stairs to finally go to her common room.

When she arrives, almost everyone is there, she is received by glances and some whispers, but before her eyes can catch something else, she is pulled by the hair and thrown to the floor with so much rage. There was an audible collective gasp.

Anger.

What is anger?

How does someone describe anger?

That feeling when you want to destroy everything in your path, take it out on anything that crosses your sight. If it’s a person that made you angry then you want to hurt them or never see them again or blame yourself and start hurting yourself. It is a big adrenaline rush, a negative kind that climbs your insides, poisons your soul and burns every flower on a garden where the happiness rains and the hope shines. When you feel your face heating up and all your muscles in your face moving in the middle of your face and grind your teeth or start screaming. Anger makes us do actions and say things we wouldn’t if we think with our head cold. That is anger.

Fire. It puts things out of control. Makes you see enemies when they are just shadows. Revolves your mind and plays with it, wrapping your thoughts and controlling them like puppets. Fire destroys everything. Suffocates you until you die because of asphyxiation and the sound of screams of implores faded away with black smoke in your lungs. Fire doesn’t let you think.

It embraces you in the shadows of despair and breaths that don’t exist, implores that take your life away, wounds that don’t heal even with time. In a world where the landscapes are skies and rivers of anger, Hate is the king that isn’t going to stop being a tyrant and the oblivion is the only way to escape in a hope of forgiveness. The fire is the air, has no mercy and its price is so high that you prefer to let it wrap you in death. Fire could be beautiful, its flames dancing and illuminating your oath when monsters lurk. But careful because fire can burn the wood you use as a torch. It laughs at you until it reaches your skin, and your eyes are wide open.

Nobody is safe from it.

Fire is no ally.

Her head turns, eyes reflecting ice.

Vailant.

He is looking down at her, just like she had been doing when she won the duelling between the two.

Before she could say anything, he crouched down a bit and yanked her from the hair again. “Who do you f*****g think you are?” his words spitting venom. “Who do you f*****g think you are?!” and he was so enraged. She could feel the tears accumulating in her eyes due to the pain his grip was causing. “You had NO right! No f*****g right to do what you did!”

Leevanna tried to say something, but he was just shaking her by the hair, making her look directly into her eyes. She could see the flames within him, they were right there, burning her body like nothing else. It was a suffocating experience. The fire was creeping up her flesh, tearing it apart. She wanted to scream. She was burning. She could feel the flames gliding up her body.

He grabbed her hair even tighter, from the scalp, and made her stood up just a split of a second to then throw her against a shelf that was near. Leevanna fell to the floor, her head beating just like her rushed heart. There was a scream of his given name, a horrified one, almost so worried for both of them. But she couldn’t hear anything, blood was pooling inside her head, inside her ears and mouth, she wanted to vomit. She tried to stand up, tried to lean against the shelf to respond the attack, however she was just yanked again, this time a hand was around her neck. There was a face near her, she could barely see, there was so much pain within her, so much fire everywhere. She could feel her mind exploding into pieces.

“I hope you rot in my flames,” and with that whisper against her mouth, she heard someone screaming in pain. She couldn’t quite recognise the voice. Why was someone screaming so loudly?

She felt so lightheaded. There was whispers, somebody threw her again to the floor, letting her there as two figures tried to stop that somebody from continuing their attack.

There was someone still screaming, crying, begging.

And it took her a moment, but she realised that she was that someone who was screaming her lungs out. And she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see, she couldn’t move. There was so much fire around her, so much rage consuming her.

There was a call for help, she could hear, yet she couldn’t see.

Doors bursting open.

Her body is exploding, withering to pieces.

And then… Black.

Just black.

There was a girl, dark curls adorning her face. She was smiling, Dreamily. Innocent. As if there was no wrong in the world. Leevanna tried to catch her hand, to hold her once more, to feel and her beg for forgiveness, but she just couldn’t reach her, she can’t hold her. There is so much blurriness, so much blood and tears. She can’t do anything.

She is never able to do anything…

Leevanna woke up hours later, a gauze was being smothered over her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open, like two butterflies trying to set free. She tried to say something, but was quickly hushed by the voice of an older woman, “Sh, Leevanna, I’m Madam Pamela, do you know where you are?” When her vision wasn’t blurry anymore, her eyes started wandering through the place. The infirmary. She nodded. “Do you know why are you here?”

And this time she didn’t know what to say.

There was images of it, yes, a bit distorted. She knew who had attacked her, what had he done to her. Not everything was there though. She didn’t exactly remember how she had reached the hospital wing in such state. So she denied with her head. Madame Pamela looked at her for a second, and quickly casted a diagnose charm next to her to look for possible head injuries.

But Leevanna knew there would not be any.

She just didn’t want to say what had happened.

The healer looked at her again.

“Leev,” she said. “I know you remember what happened,” and Leevanna felt tiny. “Mr Vailant is in detention right now for what he did to you,” she frowned looking away, “elemental magic should not be used in such horrendous way against another person.”

A second passed.

Leevanna didn’t say anything.

“Your friends are here to see you; do you want me to let them in?” Madame Pamela asked with all the serenity in the world, full of tenderness and a smile across her face. This time she shook her head lightly. She didn’t want to see anyone right now. “Okay, I will let them know. If you need anything just call me, I will be around, alright?”

Leevanna nodded, her throat was dry, so once the healer left the place, she grabbed the cup of water next to her bed and drank from it all at once. It all felt like she had been in the desert for years.

The curtains around her were closed for privacy, and Leevanna thanked the gods for that, because when her hands caught the small mirror there was next to her, she almost started screaming. Her face was red, all of her body was red and inflamed, she was scarred and there was blisters all over her.

A lump in her throat formed and she started crying unconsolably. Her arms were also scarred, just like her legs and chest, all of her was maimed. Part of her hair was burned, she was a f*****g, bloody mess And she felt hopeless. She felt horrid. A monster.

Madame Pamela, who has just returned from outside, rushed to her side when she heard the gutted and devasted cries from the girl, and quickly snatched the mirror away. “Oh dear, you weren’t supposed to look…” and Leevanna cried harder between the healers arms. “I swear I will make you look just the same, sweetling… I swear you will be even prettier… Everything will be okay…”

However, nothing would look the same as before.

Three days passed, and with the begs of Leevanna everywhere, Madame Pamela had worked day and night with salves, creams, potions and more to heal Leevanna’s skin. There would be scarring on her chest, yes, a few stretch marks left forever and part of her vision that would return eventually, nonetheless, by the fourth day in the afternoon, Leevanna was ready to go. She hadn’t dare to see any of her friends, not only because of her appearance, but because she knew they wouldn’t look at her the same for what she had done.

In the morning, she would leave as early as possible, and eat breakfast alone in the kitchens with the staff before going to the library until her classes started. She would seat at the back, in a corner where no one could see her, and she would be the first one to leave the classroom to then go to her hidden corner in the chateau to read and do her homework. Then, for dinner she would eat again with the staff, and return to her dorm when Lhu was already sleeping profoundly.

She had been excused of some classes… The ones where Vailant would be.

And she was grateful for that, she still had nightmares about his final words to her, how he said them, like a thorned kiss so close to her soul that it burned her.

I hope you rot in my flames.

She just couldn’t see him.

Not after what he had done to her.

Though, there was one day she couldn’t avoid seeing him.

On Friday, the day before her verdict would be given, she had skipped classes to help the staff of the institute reaccommodate the Vasilka common room. She had been having fun with the maids and half-elves, laughing about stories they shared. Most maids were slaves, most of them were also women, and this just infuriated Leevanna, but she couldn’t say much. Her day had been alright until the doors burst open with all the students arriving from their different classes. Her immediate reaction was cover her face with hood of her Capulet coat.

“Detention must suck, huh?” she head Rhazel’s voice, something different inside of it, and her body tensed.

Fuck.

“Don’t even mention it,” he growled in response. “Two more days and it is f*****g over. I can’t stand it anymore.”

“Well, if you hadn’t been such an imbecile brute—”

“Freya, I’m not in the f*****g mood,” he growled again. “And who f*****g ordered to change all the furniture—? Hey, you, maid,” and Leevanna lost her breathing when she realised his voice was in her direction. She didn’t turn around. She could feel him getting closer. “Oi, I’m bloody speaking to you, who ordered—”

And when his hand brushed her shoulder, she flinched and jumped away from him, head low, and it was the moment the hood fell back, revealing who she was.

Murmurs again.

She was f*****g tired of it. Honestly.

“W-W-We a-are — we have o-orders f-from—” her breathing was rushed; she felt her throat dry and eyes full of tears, burning. “We h-have to ch-change it, I-I’m sorry.”

“Leev…”

“Please d-don’t,” she interrupted whoever that was and put on the hood on again.

A maid got closer to her, signalling a couch that was near them, asking for them to remove it. Leevanna nodded and two half-elves started to lift it, that until he spoke again.

“You cannot change it, it is mine.”

The half-elves and the maid looked at her. She was at the border of a collapse right there and there.

“A-As I s-said—”

“With all that stuttering I can’t f*****g comprehend you.”

“Eisdrache!”

“What?” he frowned. It had been Mason who had reprimanded him. “I can’t understand her. Speak clearly. Or is it that the flames got your tongue?”

And Leevanna just wanted to cry.

She knows he is possessive about things, that he was the one buying said armchair from Rooms and Rods, but it is not her fault the staff has said to change it because it has more than three years there and the leather is starting to darken by the use.

But she can’t say anything.

“Now you can’t hear me?”

She was just so tired.

“Are you deaf Vaughan?” he mocked. “I’m sure my element is powerful, but I didn’t know it would leave you this… useless.”

And she has had enough.

“No.”

“What did you say?”

“No!”

And finally, her skin feels icy again, she feels relieved in her atmosphere of coldness.

“I-I’m not useless, n-nor is just element s-so powerful,” she growled. Tears running down her eyes as she looks directly into his eyes. His expression changes. “The s-staff has been informed t-this armchair here h-has to go; I’m just helping. So if you could just f**k off.”

“And what are you going to do if I don’t want to f**k off?”

And a lamp explodes.

It draws all the attention of the people in the place to them.

“A little lamp? That is all?”

“f*****g sh-shut y-your mouth.”

“Sorry darling, I can’t hear you.”

A second.

And then she can’t handle it anymore.

“Shut. The f**k. Up!”

She is trembling, tears running down her cheeks. She can’t handle it. She can’t be near him.

There is a pause.

“Mr Vailant, could you care to explain what are you doing near Miss Vaughan if you have it prohibited?” the voice of Sthepon Reeves snaps both of them out of their senses. But the air isn’t breathable for her again. She is drowning in her tears. She can’t escape. She can’t do anything.

She is never able to do anything.

He has turned his attention to the professor too.

“I was just asking why my armchair has to go,” he said nonchalantly.

Leevanna just wanted to hide somewhere and cry. She turns her head again, and it must be her now crystallised gates of soul because Sthepon Reeves sighs.

“Miss Vaughan, please follow me,” says the Brews’ Master. “And Mr Vailant, your mother is waiting for you in my classroom. Go ahead.”

The jade-eyed is the first one who starts walking, arms around her body tightly.

He follows the path once both are already far away passing a hand through his hair before huffing.