Crisanta Knight: Eternity's End

CHAPTER 1 THE AWAKENING-4

“Having feelings doesn’t make me a hothead, Blue,” I said to my friend; then I pivoted to Girtha. “And making mistakes in the past doesn’t mean I’ll make them in the future. I can control myself and be diplomatic. Again, these peace talks were my idea.”

My friends didn’t look convinced.

“You wouldn’t want to go anyway . . .” Divya tried to placate me. “You have a lot going on with readjusting to school and your magic . . .” She took a nervous sip from her glass. “You should be glad you don’t have to get up at three in the morning to attend diplomacy meetings.”

“But I—”

A mighty toll rang from the stage and we all looked to the small glass bell that had produced the sound. Conversations ceased across the room as the doors to the banquet hall closed and Lady Agnue rose to her feet.

“Welcome back, ladies,” she said with more solemnity than I remembered from previous start-of-term addresses. “I only have a few announcements before we begin dinner. The first ball of the semester will be one week from Saturday. Due to increased demand, practice time in our new Twenty-Three Skidd arena and riding the Pegasi will now require advance sign-up. Please see our stable master, Madame Bronch, for details. First-year students, we hope you are making yourself at home. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to visit my office. Following the many requests and petition by the Accessories Club last semester, the school staff has decided to bring back Tiara Tuesdays. Lastly . . .” Lady Agnue stole a glance in my direction.

“I realize there have been a lot of rumors and uncertainty regarding the commons rebellion, the antagonists in Alderon, and the involvement of some of our students in dealing with both. As your headmistress, I want to address this directly, as protecting you starts with sharing knowledge of what is really going on.”

She took a breath. “The commons rebellion is nearing a peaceful conclusion thanks to the support of our government, the wisdom of our Fairy Godmothers, and the brave, continuous efforts of current students SJ Kaplan, Divya Patel, Marie Sinclaire, Javier Marcos, and Jason Sharp, as well as alumni Pietro Knight and Gordon Sinclaire. You should show them great respect as they balance their schoolwork with brokering this revolutionary peace treaty. In regards to the increased antagonist activity, that is the reason for the new security measures we are implementing across campus, including adjustments to the In and Out Spell, additional guards, and other precautionary changes.”

The banquet hall was still. Not even the candles seemed to flicker as the seriousness of the headmistress’s message soaked into our souls and the walls.

“Additionally, it is my duty to tell you that the whispers you may have heard about Shadow Guardians being able to cross In and Out Spells, villains trying to break out of Alderon, and a larger plot to overthrow protagonists are not rumors; these are real threats. I am sorry for the weight this understanding will cause you, and that you cannot simply be unburdened children the way you used to be. But the world has changed. And while I encourage you to concentrate on your classes and try to embrace the new school year, I would not be doing my job if I did not make you aware of the people out there who mean you harm. So be safe. Be smart. And make good choices. Thank you, and enjoy your supper.”

The room remained quiet as Lady Agnue sat down. Then the doors opened dramatically and the kitchen staff began pushing in carts of lavish food. The rich smells were a welcome distraction from the serious talk, and the spirit of the room began to slowly pick up as people were served. Even with a plate of stuffed pork chops in front of me though, I couldn’t lift my enthusiasm.

I was both super proud and surprised at how much Lady Agnue had changed over the last year. I had never associated our headmistress with transparency and caring, so this speech showed an impressive change of perspective. That being said, she hadn’t mentioned me in her address. Like my friends, Lady Agnue had acted like I had nothing to do with the peace talks. I wasn’t the attention craving type, but between the peace talks and the fact that I was kind of important when it came to the antagonists, I would’ve thought I’d get some sort of shout out.

“So . . .” Girtha said as my friends started eating. “Anyone want to lend me a tiara for Tuesday?”

I was lying on my canopy bed reading over my class schedule when our bedroom door opened and SJ stepped in. The clock on my nightstand showed thirty minutes to midnight.

“Where have you been?” I asked, folding my schedule and sitting up.

“I had additional business after the peace talks,” SJ said as she closed the door. She strode across the room to her desk and slipped off her shoulder bag. “When I returned to campus I had to meet with Lady Agnue in regards to tomorrow’s classes.”

“By ‘additional business,’ do you mean meeting with Lenore?” I asked, standing.

SJ paused before turning to face me, big gray eyes blinking in surprise. “Blue told you?”

“I durgh waaff anyfing to do wiff dis . . .” Blue’s garbled voice was followed by the sound of a spit, and then she poked her head out of our adjoined bathroom, toothbrush in hand. “SJ, you should have been upfront with her. I didn’t spill the details, but you need to before this gets awkward. I’ll give you some privacy. Nine out of ten dentists say I need to spend more time flossing anyway.”

She shut the door to our bathroom, leaving me and my other best friend alone.

SJ (aka Snow White Jr.) had dark-night hair and delicate features like her royal mother. As she’d come into her own, I felt like they’d taken on more sharpness though. Her perfect posture accentuated her exceptional height. She always held her chin up, proud and noble.

SJ sighed. “I wanted to tell you, Crisa, but with everything you have just been through, I was not sure how you would react to more people planning your future. Please know that when I agreed to this, I was thinking of both of us, but you first. I thought you would prefer this outcome and I wanted to accommodate that.”

I stared at her. “What are you talking about?”

“I know you hate the idea of those genie cuffs enslaving you to the Godmother Supreme for the rest of your life. I found an alternative. The Godmother Supreme has been impressed by my work at the peace talks. During the summer, she proposed a mentorship. She wants to help refine my leadership skills and mold me into a stronger future ruler for this realm.”

My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. “And you said yes?”

“Actually, I said no. Until she adjusted the offer. The other higherups in Book trust her completely and that is why she was chosen to govern your genie sentence. However, she said if I become someone she trusts completely, she would pass that duty on to me.”

“You mean she would give you my genie bottle?”

SJ nodded. “I thought you would prefer that option. I am your best friend and I know you as well as anyone. I care about what your magic does to you, not just what your magic can do. Plus, I have seen enough of your power to understand when you need to be controlled.”

I leaned against the post of SJ’s bed, arms crossed.

“You are upset,” SJ said.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. You are a better option than Lenore; that’s true. But, SJ, do you really think I need to be controlled?”

She paused a little too long.

“Crisa—”

“My problem with the genie cuffs was never just about reporting to Lenore,” I interrupted. “It was about being controlled in general. After all the good I’ve done for this realm, it’s insulting that people don’t trust me. You talk as if it’s necessary to keep me on a leash.”

SJ sat on the edge of her bed and looked up at me. “I love you and I do trust you, Crisa, but it would be irresponsible of me to ignore what you are and what you can be. There always needs to be a countermeasure for the bold and the new.”

“There’s a lot of hypocrisy in that statement, SJ. If you trusted me, you wouldn’t be angling to take the lamp for yourself. You would release me.”

Her eyes narrowed in confusion. “How do you mean?”

“She’s talking about the genie master freedom clause,” Blue said as she stepped out of the bathroom. “Sorry, I just need to get my hairbrush then I’m going back into hiding.”

“No, stay.” I turned to readdress SJ and clarify. “People who are genie masters can grant genies their freedom, typically using one of their three wishes to set the genie free. It was on our Aladdin test first year. I am not a genie, so with no wishes to grant, these cuffs bind me to serve the owner of my bottle indefinitely unless that person just lets me go. I never considered that Lenore might do this, but you could. You can earn the lamp from her and then free me from these things permanently.” I held my wrists up, the cuffs reflecting the glow of our bedroom.

SJ didn’t say anything as Blue and I stared at her.

“Maybe,” she said eventually.

“Maybe?” I echoed.

“Please do not be mad at me, Crisa. There is no harm in having a safety net. It is no different than when you play Twenty-Three Skidd and they raise an actual net over the arena. You may not ever fall from your Pegasus, but having it there is a good idea just in case.”

I ground my teeth together, feeling so many things—offended, resentful, embarrassed, sorrowful, ashamed, and most of all hurt.

“You think there’s a chance I’ll lose, don’t you?” I asked after a moment of painful reflection. “To my magic, I mean.”

“Honestly, Crisa? Yes. Just like there is a chance that the peace talks could fail or the antagonists could win or our dangerous adventures will get us all killed one day.”

“SJ—” Blue stepped forward.

“I do not want bad things to happen,” SJ said firmly, rising. “I always try to maintain optimism that our plans will work out because I have faith in us and the universe. But bad things happen all the time, despite our best efforts and what is fair. Just look at you.” She gestured earnestly. “None of us could have foreseen that you would be captured and tortured. If there were any kind of safety net I could have implemented to prevent that, I would have. The genie lamp and those cuffs can intervene if your magic tries to corrupt you. I am grateful for that extra layer of precaution. Given any opportunity to protect you, and everyone else, I will take it.”

I glanced at Blue. “Do you agree with her?”

“It’s not the worst point, Crisa,” Blue replied carefully. “I mean, we still don’t really know how all that magic inside of you is going to manifest. I’m not saying you’re going to go all evil-crazy, but you have had magical outbursts before. Having a failsafe for those kinds of incidents could be a good thing. Right? Then you wouldn’t have to worry about losing control and making a mistake because there’s a way to stop you.”

My eyes fell to the wooden floor.

“Tell me that there is not the smallest part of you that worries that your magic has evolved beyond your control,” SJ said. “Tell me that and I will believe you.”

My eyes stayed on the floorboards.

The face I thought I had been putting on for my friends—that I was still in control, that I was fine—hadn’t fooled them. They thought I was too volatile to attend the peace talks and too unstable to be in charge of my own magical well-being. They thought I was a liability.

In a word, that sucked. In a more eloquent word, that felt discouraging. How was I supposed to have faith in the heroic version of my prophecy and retain the belief that I could stop the antagonists if the people I was closest to were worrying about how to stop me? It wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair. I’d only ever tried to be good; yet twists of fate had put me in bad positions and made me into someone people feared.

I couldn’t tell SJ I wasn’t afraid of my potential. I was an emotional, powerful person, which made me a wildcard, and more unstable than others. I didn’t want to pretend like I wasn’t. Sure it would have been easier, but that wasn’t my style or my truth. So the only way forward for me was to find a way to deal with my instability and power on my terms while convincing my friends that they didn’t need to dwell on my fractured reputation.

I may not have been last-semester Crisa, but there was no reason this-semester Crisa couldn’t be just as strong and inspire the people who used to count on her. How hard could it really be to step back into my old life once I got my routine going? I at least deserved the benefit of the doubt from the people who had known me the longest as I tried.

Sigh.

I wasn’t getting that from them now, and I needed to forgive them for it. People, even those closest to you, couldn’t see into your soul. They could only see the actions you take and the choices you make. In a sense, the Crisa who’d returned to campus was starting with a clean slate because she had yet to properly prove herself. I would have to instill renewed faith in my friends and in myself. Show them that I was still the epic hero I used to be.

“Life doesn’t come with a safety net,” I finally said to SJ and Blue, looking up. “Or an instruction manual. I am afraid of making mistakes and not being strong enough to live up to the good inside me, but I am not going to lead with fear. I’ve been through a lot and I am sure I still have plenty of struggles on my path, but I’ll prove myself in spite of it all. I’m still the hero you’ve come to know, and given time, I’ll show that there’s no reason to doubt me.”

My eyes fell to SJ. “I am not mad at you. Keep your mentorship. If it works out, you can keep the genie lamp too. You won’t need to use it. I don’t plan on faltering.”

With that, I nodded to my friends then moved past them toward the bathroom. “Excuse me, I need to wash up and get a good night’s sleep for tomorrow. Senior year and the world are calling.”