WHITE DARKNESS - BLACK MAGIC SAGA - BOOK 1

SNOWFLAKE

By the third Saturday of December, everyone was getting ready to go to Ayrith Village for the weekend. Cold was even stronger than the last week, and the snow was already embracing streets and grass all over the country. It had been odd news hearing this winter would be one of the coldest, and not only in Eskarya, but the whole continent next to Nishmad, the Arabic continent. Lucky ones Aetoys for having the Delside Ocean.

“Why did you take so long?” Lhu asked her best friend as she linked her arms to walk together, something they did most of the time. Leevanna’s idea. It was for both of them to have some physical touch without invading the jade-eyed’s. Leevanna still wasn’t a fan of someone invading her personal space.

“Yeah, where were you?” frowned Thea as Freya helped her to get inside the carriage in which the girls will go.

“A girl has to be pretty at all times,” the white-haired said with a smile. It was at that moment that the Asteria brothers passed by their side, and one of them winked an eye in Lhu’s direction, and her reaction was something that made Leevanna explode in laughter.

“Oh, shut up,” said Lhu covering her bright red face.

Freya rolled her eyes playfully, “I can’t believe you actually kissed him last year,” she said. “He’s a Faris, bleh,” and she shuddered at the memory of that.

Lhu’s face went even redder, making Leevanna hold her stomach of the laughter. “I wasn’t that bad,” she whispered against her hands.

“Don’t tell me you like him,” Freya’s eyes went wide.

“She sure does,” Leevanna smiled before also entering the carriage.

“You what?!” exclaimed Thea before the door closed and the carriage started to go.

Leevanna was in a good mood. She hadn’t had any nightmares all that month, just escapes in the middle of the night to read a book or two. Lhu had prohibited to her to go to the Attlely Lake in the middle of the night, so she hadn’t gone since November, and also because it was already frozen, and she couldn’t swim in it. But she had ice-skated.

As soon as they arrived in the small village, the group of girls were devoted to buy sweets and some clothes for their trips to the village. And they talk and talk all that time, laughing and smiling as they gossip about the things that are happening currently at Eskarya. Leevanna considered Lhu the only best friend she had, she understood her and had always kept her secrets from the moment they met. Lhu knew so many things about her and she was not afraid of her — Leevanna was incredibly grateful for that. It had taken months for her to start trusting Lhu without any type of filter, but she had succeeded. Lhu was part of the three selected people Leevanna could fully trust and let her weaknesses confront the world.

And Lhu did not judge her. Not a single bad look for expressing her weird thoughts. Not a single reproach. Not a single tear or shocked gasp. Not a single pity-look. Just a reassuring smile in a way to tell her that she would be there for her always, that she would never go anywhere, that she would never abandon her. Leevanna loved Lhu with all her heart, but she would not tell her. At least until she is totally prepared to say it.

She was never going to say it out loud being honest, she wasn’t prepared, and she didn’t think she would be able to say ‘I love you’ out loud to someone — or herself — ever, and that was definitely the fault of her parents and the way she had been raised — traumatised. She had not been raised for her parents, she had been and is still being traumatised and mentally and physically abused. She had been raised for someone else, someone who really cared and cares about her. But she tried to show she cared about her in her way.

Leevanna loved and cared in a different kind of way. She thought that ‘love’ was another strong word… But not strong enough. She didn’t believe that the forces of love and the magic of the rainbow could against evil, that only happened in fairy tales with princesses who find their Prince Charming and live a delightful life with butterflies and their Fairy Godmother. In real life, the cruel world, you were alone and the one with the most power always wins.

Or at least that was how she saw it.

Power was the strongest word for her. She loved that word. It meant the ability to do something or act in a particular way, a faculty or quality. The capacity to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the curse of events.

Control things. Emotions.

With Thea and Freya was a bit different, but they still were part of her most intimate circle. Even if those two were a pair that sticked like gum, just as Lhu and Leevanna, still, the two pairs complimented each other well. Leevanna knew the two would understand her fears and traumas, but she also knew that Thea wouldn’t look at her the same way, and Freya could never fully understand why and how all had happened. They just wouldn’t understand fully, and not because they didn’t want to, but it was due to their education and upbringing. They’d had each other since they were toddlers, just like Lhu and the rest of the group, Leevanna was the only outsider that had joined them later on.

Thea was sweet and kind, and somehow knew the boundaries Leevanna wasn’t ready to cross, so she asked, not directly, but with her actions. Thea was cautions and thought first before doing. She was the sunshine, the little joy everyone needed. On the other hand, Freya was more impulsive, reserved and most of the time ambitious, but deep inside she was insecure sometimes, and it was difficult for her to understand someone else’s emotions. She was contrary to Thea, but Freya would always make sure that no one hurt the sunshine.

“There you are my gorgeous ladies!”

The voice of Rhazel make the group of girls turn around to meet the usual three musketeers.

“Finally, someone can hold my shopping bags,” said Freya giving them to Vailant, who was a in need of hands by the quantity of them.

“I swear I don’t know how you can shop so much; I just buy one thing and I’m happy,” Mason rolled his eyes as Thea took his hand as well as Rhazel’s to jump over a mountain of snow that was close, using them as a kind of swing all the times she wanted.

“Watch out with her,” said Freya as her eyes bore into the scene in front of her. Leevanna’s eyes glanced at Freya, who walked closely to the trio in front of her, guarding her best friend in case she fell. And she thought of something, still, she didn’t say anything. She was good at observing though, so she just smiled.

“Where is your cousin?” asked Rhaz, quickly smirking at Mason, but Leevanna didn’t notice that.

“Surely Esme is with Jia and Isobel,” Leevanna responded as she made some snowflakes that fell over Thea making her giggle.

Freya, by her side, smiled hearing her best friend, but when she saw that Leevanna was smiling downwards to her, she stopped and rolled her eyes.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she chuckled and gave her a snowflake that had the shape of a sun carved in the middle to then be decorated by various forms and was a bit tinnier than the others, but this one was crystalised, making it able to last forever, even if the enchantress who had produced it died. Leevanna had learnt various spells and conjurations that summer, and even if the first snowflake wasn’t mostly shaped, surely this one was as pretty as a sunset. “You can make it a necklace.”

And Freya’s face acquired a rosy tone.

“Shut it.”

“Well, where do we go?” said Mason as he unwrapped a candy and took it to his mouth.

“Shadow Shack?” taunted Eisdrache, making Rhazel shudder at the comment. “Or y’all are cunts?”

“f*****g hell,” whined Rhaz, “you know that s**t makes me terrified because of what happened there.”

“So you a cunt, my dear mate,” mocked Mason as he passed an arm around Rhazel’s shoulders, who quickly shrugged him off with a whining sound. “C’mon, surely you already forgot about it,” Mason chuckled.

“Of course not!” Rhaz pushed him away. “You bastards.”

Five years ago, when they were first-years, Eisdrache and Mason next to Freya had played a prank on Rhaz, taking him to the Shadow Shack on a village trip, and left him there alone while pretending to be ghosts that were haunting him. Rhaz had a thing with ghosts, and knowing that, those three had pointed blank range.

Poor Rhazel had gotten out after Leevanna heard screams as she was wandering around the shack. Crying and screaming his lungs out he had been left traumatised since there.

And perhaps the fear of ghosts didn’t just come because of a childish belief, because to add a cherry on top, there was a legend about Shadow Shack.

It went saying that many centuries ago a daughter of the Abolition and a knight from the army had had an affair and lived in hiding every night at half-past eleven; when the King found out thanks to a maid that was covering the girl, he sent the two traitors to die in that same house setting it on fire. Now, the terrifying part came when the shack and the bodies never burned, why so? Because it was said that their pure love protected them from the rage of the King.

When his majesty and the rest of the people found out, the King entered the shack after his servant used his magic to extinguish the fire and executed the lovers. A tragedy, really, because the two bodies had been buried outside the shack. The ending of all of it? It was said the shack was cursed and anyone who dared to enter with no love in their heart would die burned alive as the two lovers once had been tried to be killed.

“Leave him alone, Vailant,” growled Leevanna half-way the shack, stepping in between Eisdrache, who was making ghost-like sounds, and Rhaz, taking the second’s arm to then drag him with her and Lhu. “Stop being such a pain in the f*****g arse.”

Rhazel started walking right by her side, scared at the thoughts of his worst nightmares breathing on the shell of his ear. Leevanna was like a barrier between everyone, if she said something, nobody would protest.

“He knows is a joke,” he said, stopping his little taunting.

“You and your joke can go to shite, Vailant,” and Leevanna’s eyes became ice when he looked at her.

“Just stop it,” huffed Freya, pushing Eisdrache away from Leevanna so nobody would start a fight. “You sure are a pain in the arse sometimes.”

“Shut up,” growled Eisdrache.

As the group of teenagers arrived at the shack, Leevanna gave Rhazel her earmuffs, that would help him block the unwanted sounds but hear the voices of their friends. “Thank you, Leev,” he smiled, and she nodded with the same gesture.

“If he keeps bothering you, throw him a snowball and I will follow,” she said and he nodded and laughed, placing an arm around her shoulders so they could walk together.

Eisdrache saw the two of them laughing and walking side by side, and wondered if his recent little dispute with Vaughan would mean that they would go as how they were before. It was at that moment that a group of girls and boys from House Faris came into view. “Oh, for f**k’s sake,” Thea whined and rolled her eyes. “I can’t handle this today.”

The group was formed by Rhett Lynch, Harlee Leighton, Dexter Madden, Beatrix Black and Sam Gallanger. The first one was the one who spoke and said, “What are you doing here?” rage in his words. Madden stood behind him.

“Ah, this is a public space?” frowned Freya standing in front of Thea, who was near Lynch. “I could ask you the same but I’m not daft,” this made Mason snicker. Rhett started walking towards her, malicious intentions written all over his face, but this did not scare Freya, who just raised an eyebrow and put up a shield between them. She was quick to defend herself, and the magical shield made Rhett Lynch step back.

“Well, well. Look who’s here,” Eisdrache said as he walked among his friends, placing himself at the front of all of them. “Are you mad with us because I decided to expose your little girlfriend in Kiss Life with Lenira Akeets?” he snarled. “Oh, wait, she wasn’t your girlfriend right? Because she was fancying and wetting herself all over thoughts of me.”

Lynch turned as red as the same colour says, letting go of Gallanger’s arm, but it wasn’t him who spoke, instead, Harlee Leighton responded, “Shut your mouth, Vailant.” Even though she was putting on a strong persona, Eisdrache could see she was scared of the flames reflecting on his eyes.

“Shut that mouth of yours, Leighton,” Leevanna warned, standing a few steps in front of Vailant with an arrogant tone. “Because I can easily take care of it.”

The girl went pale at the threat, reminding herself the incident last year, when Leevanna had ‘taught her a lesson,’ leaving her without mouth for a full day after the white-haired witch heard the Faris girl talk about something Leevanna had done.

“And I thought that House Faris was supposed to be the friendly one,” she mocked. “You know… The pupils” —she made quotes in the air— “of this school and the f*****g royalty here,” Leevanna laughed, remarking the difference between people like her and the rest, the ones who captured and tortured people who opposed their beliefs.

Even if part of the royalty or the descendants of great warriors and Gods, you weren’t something to respect if your beliefs aren’t aligned with the one’s of the emperor Osnos. Hybrids were higher in rank that the ones with white and platinum hair, and for the government it seemed to be in all right bloody senses. Many wealthy families had to even pay tributes to the families who weren’t as “fortunate,” as the council put it. For example, the Vaughans paid retributions in money and lands to certain families who weren’t royalty or were poor.

Nicholas Vaughan wasn’t fond to the idea, to keep it clear, he blamed Leevanna for being born, because with each birthday, the number of small families would ‘steal,’ as he said, their wealth.

But of course, he couldn’t inform his distress to the council, he would be imprisoned, and his family left to whiter without any hope of keeping even a small pot. He wasn’t the only one tough, who believed this, all royal families thought the same, just that they couldn’t state it.

“I guess you got confused with House Vasilka, sweetheart,” sighed Thea. “We are the one who are taught manners. What do you say?” she asked her friends, who nodded at her words.

“At this point, I’m friendlier. And they call me Ice Queen!” and Leevanna could be the same or crueller than anyone else.

“Not friendly at all this four,” Mason said to the white-haired one referring to the ginger and the other girl before laughing. “I think it’s time we teach the this three how to behave,” suggested the boy looking at the five who were accompanying him.

“Behave is something you should learn first!” Dexter Madden threatened, standing in front of Rhett Lynch in a defensive pose.

The whole Vasilka group snickered. “What?!” exclaimed Sam Gallanger. “What are you lot laughing about?!”

“I laugh because I can,” said Leevanna with her hands on her pockets. “And because it is so funny to watch this… enchanter… threat to well when he can’t even copy my Divining Projection in class,” and quickly her eyes flickered against Madden, who suddenly fell on his arse with a thump. But then, she was hit by an icy sparkle who left her on her four. Her eyes went to Rhett Lynch as soon as she could, eyes icy and icicles going to him.

“Ow, you filthy little—”

And boom.

Vailant’s eyes were flames, still burning after the attack was done. No woman, no enchantress, should be called names. Not even Vaughan… Except it was him who called her those names of course.

Still, Vailant’s arms went by his sides, his palms upwards and revealing two orbs of fire, ready to continue defending… defending what exactly? Vaughan’s honour? Of course not. Then what on earth—

He swayed to his right side when an ice floe passed by him. There was just one person in the whole group who was a Khione, but then there was no time for him to reprimand the stupid witch she was for almost killing him, because Madden had used, tried to at least, his element to block the attack, but instead now everyone was covering themselves to avoid being stained by the explosion of dirt that the wizard had provoked. It just kept going, dirt and tiny rocks mixed with snow flying everywhere from the depths of the ground.

“Just stop it!” growled Mason, covering Lhu with his arms, who was trying to use her ability with wind to dismiss the dirt to the sides, but even her strength wasn’t useful. “Madden, do something, don’t just stand there!” Freya was covering Thea with her whole body, spreading a shield around both of them to avoid getting even more stained.

“I don’t know how to stop it!” exclaimed the wizard, trying to manoeuvre his hands into an incantation. It wasn’t effective.

“For f**k’s sake, you moronic imbecile,” Leevanna gritted her teeth, her body being covered by Rhaz, who was trying to expand his shield to Eisdrache, however the dirt didn’t let him see clearly. Leevanna could see he was fighting against the mix of snow and rocks flying in his direction, being part of the Agni wasn’t as handy right now. Leevanna merged her magic with Rhaz’s, trying as much to expand the protection, nonetheless, dirt kept coming to her, and every time she tried to complete the incantation, something was thrown at her. It was just at that moment that an enormous rock left the ground, shaking most of it due to its size.

And it was going straight to Vailant.

“Eisdrache!” shouted Lhu, Vailant turned to her and the to the rock, realising what would happen, but it was too late to even breathe, because it was too close, and the explosion could already be heard.

But it didn’t come.

Nothing came.

Silence.

And when Vailant opened his eyes, he just saw a figure in front of him, her body so close to him that he could smell the aroma of rage inside of her.

Leevanna f*****g Vaughan.

She, with her icy aura emanating from her in a mesmerizing sparkle of light, bejewelled with ice and the flaming rage of her soul, was standing in front of him, the rock almost colliding with her nose, but she pushed it away so gracefully to then freeze it and destroy it so easily. The rain of dirt was frozen in time, the little particles of mud now were snowflakes colling to the ground. “f*****g learn to control your element, Madden, somebody could have been killed today,” her voice cryptical, none an inch of emotion in it, cold and calculating. “If you don’t know how to utilize shielding and defensive elemental magic just don’t.”

Rhett Lynch stepped forward, “And who are you to even speak to him, filthy woman.”

“Stop it, Rhett,” said Harlee Leighton grabbing his arm to pull him away. “She is right, somebody could’ve been seriously injured.”

“Good then,” he growled, his coffee eyes locked into Vailant, who was being hugged by Lhu and Thea to check if he was okay, but he wasn’t exactly giving them an answer, just staring at Vaughan as she smothered the sleeves of her coat. “The world would be better with them dead.”

“Rhett! “ reprimanded Leighton in a cry.

Rhazel stormed towards Lynch, grabbing the collar of his coat and breathing furiously. “You say something like that again, I dare you, and I f*****g will gouge your insides with my own fingers to give the rest of your house to eat.”

“Rhaz, I think he understands, it’s better if we just go,” said Freya, calm and centred, completely antagonising her feisty personality, but right now she knew better than to cause another fight between the two groups.

Rhazel followed her instruction and just released Lynch with a soft push, being taller than the boy gave him some advantage. The Vasilka group left the place peacefully, without saying another word but hearing the slurs and curses of the ginger. Freya was calming Rhaz with soothing words, caressing his arm with her hands up and down. Thea and Lhu were hugging each other while Mason walked right behind them, protectively. Vailant and Vaughan were behind everyone, then first mentioned a bit further back, just a few inches.

It wasn’t fair, Leevanna knew it wasn’t, the fact they had to be the ones to leave the place even when they got there first. It was completely unfair how they were treated. Thea had just made a comment, nothing more, and it had been a complete and solid catastrophe. But what had her mind spinning around was the sense of adrenaline she had felt when Vailant was exposed to being hit by the rock. She just didn’t understand why she had liberated herself from Rhazel’s shield to go and stand in front of her academic rival and save him from a certain dead. Perhaps it had been Lhu’s scream what had trigged her reaction, nothing more. Having the thought of Lhu suffering the death of someone important to her wasn’t something she planned on living, so it had to be just that.

She hadn’t saved Vailant, she had saved Lhu from suffering.

Yes, that was all.