A Trial Of Emperors and Empresses

Chapter 4 - Amaryllis

The doors to the house burst open as guards came rushing in.

"Freeze!" One commanded and each of them did. Amaryllis stood, paralyzed with fear as the guards dragged her away.
***
"Come here, child." The Great Mother Vira said. Amaryllis stepped forward, scared.

"Now shoot." Vira instructed. Amaryllis raised her arms, which were buzzing with energy and let it free. Lighting fried the whole of the room, but Vira seems pleased and calm.

"You are powerful. You could be a great Supreme Sorceress one day. We will train you for a future so bright you will go blind."
***
The monarchy has fallen. Amaryllis stood in front of the mirror, shaking. The energy hummed through her and threatened to unleash itself. Her hair stood wild and all over her face when the guards burst through the door again. They grabbed her, dragging her away from her bright and glorious further and back to the poor, sad, life she had led before.

***

The fanfare blew across the entire land of the South. Children and citizens flooding the streets to sign up for the draw. Amaryllis was one of them.

In her amethyst knee length dress and long, painted nails, she waited patiently in the Sun.

The long line finally grew smaller and Amaryllis reached the front.

"Amaryllis Van Gulierro. 17. 96 Largorian Street." Amaryllis handed them her ID. After inspection it, the attendant handed it back to her.

Amaryllis wrote her name on the slip of paper he had handed her and touched it with her right index, closing her eyes. Smiling, she dropped in into the jar.

***

"Did you sign up?" Amaryllis's mother asked anxiously. Amaryllis nodded. They both wanted her to enter but for different reasons.

If Amaryllis was Empress, she could lift the family from poverty. They would be rich beyond their wildest dreams. But, Amaryllis thought with sparkling eyes, it was also an opportunity to get back the glory that was stolen from her.

The magic coursed through her, the steady pulse growing quicker with excitement. Amaryllis sipped the jasmine tea to calm it down.

***

"Mom?" Amaryllis called, coming down the stairs of their small house. It had been a week from the entry and her mother had grown more and more distant.

Now, she sat at the wooden table, tears staining her face and staring into the dim fire.

"Sit down, Amara. I have something to tell you."

Amaryllis did as she was told and sat down on one of the stools.

"Gave you ever wondered why you have magic?" Her mother asked.

Amaryllis shook her head. Magic was genetic, but it could still skip generations. She had always assumed that her ancestors had magic.

"Well neither did anybody else. I was so relieved. The day the soldiers came to our house to take you away, I feared more than I ever had before. I thought someone would question the origins of your magical ability. But nobody did. And I am grateful for that. It helped me keep this secret for as long as I did."