Marked: Part 2; The Wronged

Chapter 48

"I've never seen this style before."

"I sure hope not." Jero paused. "It's mine, I made it myself back when I was young."

"Really?"

"Yes, it was right after I met Unora. We devised I needed something to be able to spot danger. But you can easily use it to look at the stars."

"You met Unora?"

"Yes, some time ago." She laughed. "I remember my brother, he yelled at me for the longest time. He was right after all, you know. Never should have trusted her, but you know, she was just so nice to me and I didn't think of the consequences when I shook her hand."

"Brother? What's your name then? It can't be Jero can it?"

"No, but I can't release that information to you. I can't even say it."

"Oh, so she put that spell on you."

"Yes, but haven't you ever asked your mom and dad about their family?"

"No, why?"

"Did you know your father had two siblings? And your mom, her birth name isn't Cristel?"

"What!? Really?"

Jero nodded her head. "Yes, you should ask them these things." Jero stopped a moment and looked down to her knees. "This isn't who I am Amilia. And I want to go back to my old life, but I know that will never happen, and tried to get past those thoughts..." Jero took her hand and placed it on Amilia's cheek. She stroked her with her thumb. "But, I, I can't, and seeing you, here, everyday. Just like I was. It breaks my heart, and I can't do anything about it. I have to stay here and watch her tourture you, and I have to teach you, and I have to obey her." She stopped again. "I never was apart of your life, and I, I," it was silent for a little while. They looked to the sky and to the ground. Jero put her hands to her lap. "I wanted to be. But that all was taken from me, and you." She said, looking to her. "I'm sorry for that, I didn't know Nsefen, and I barely know you. If I was there, you would have known about your parents, I would have taken care of you after Cristel fled."

"I don't understand."

"I- I'm sorry, I can't say. I just wish I could have been there for you, more than I was, more than I can."

"You're his sister, aren't you?"

Jero looked to Amilia, who was looking to the ground. Jero shook her head. Amilia asked but one question. "What is the name of Hix's sister?"

"Her name was Ebi."

"So that's it is it? Aunt Ebi?" Amilia opened the collapsible spyglass and looked up to the stars. "What did Ebi do?"

"Hm?"

"What led Ebi to make a deal with the great Unora?"

"Oh," Jero laughed, "that." She paused. "Circumstances."

"Uh huh, like what?"

"Well she had always been interested in magic, and wanted to learn it so. But her brother got antsy with the way everyone was treated by the marked and all. Ebi stayed in her marked form most of the time, but Yxeyhfkx refused to. He stayed in his chelanama form. He was very unsteady. But who could blame him? At the time the marked were biased people. No unpure was allowed inside important buildings, such as that council hall you go into all the time. They did not deal with other kingdoms other than the marked ones, which were mostly colonies governed by placed representatives. Yxeyhfkx had never been into one before. And to tell you he was one of the first unpures to be placed with a pure master. She didn't mind of course, to her a person was a person. But to tell you the truth, he wasn't the problem, Yrmkff (yer-kif) was. The eldest child of the house. Yxeyhfkx, ironic as it is, was the youngest child. It went Yrmkff, Ebaline, Yxeyhfkx. You see, Yrmkff, started the war. That's when he appointed me to be his magical attendant, with the little bit of spells I knew. As the months dragged on things got worse and worse, and soon, they lost their parents. On the punishment of treason. They did not partake in the war, or even talked to their children on the war front. But they were executed for what their children had started- a war for equality. And one day Yrmkff was badly injured they all thought he was going to leave them those days, but he pulled through. He couldn't fight as well now, and turned charge over to his brother, Yxeyhfkx. Who took the war to a new extent, making it more violent. But he achieved many feets his brother couldn't. He took many capitals and explored many buildings he had not been in before. His master of which retreated to another capital, she was scared to death of what he had become. Ebi went to the outskirts of the Market, she had already known Unora, they were acquainted for many years. You could say they were good friends. The spells she had learnt were from Unora, and they had helped her so much. But Ebi needed more than the spells she had to help her brothers. So she went to her friend Unora, asking for help. Unora descended her wildly exaggerated stairs and simply told her that it takes years of discipline to master all of magic. And take into account that Unora is hundreds of years old, so she has had decades to perfect her technique. But Ebi needed them now. Unora proposed a deal to her, one that she did not think about. Unora told her that she would give her the power to do any spell that she herself had mastered and in exchange all Ebi would have to do is owe her a favour. She never said what favour, and that was the catch. Now,on a completely unrelated note, being banished to another realm was partially Ebi's fault, but it was either banishment or death, so I suppose she chose best. And, well, that's the storey of it all."

"Uh, oh, I'm, so sorry, I never realized."

"Oh, hogwash, it's fine. Though can I not talk about myself in third person? It's quite unnerving you know."

Amilia laughed. "Yes of course."