Determined to take control of their fates, Arjen and Arien escape Derolina Castle at the age of sixteen after their cruel mother dies. They adopt new names and find a home in the city of Aramore, while the Emperor of Yuriana searches for his missing...
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The sunlight streamed through the sheer window curtains and illuminated the room. It touched the two chairs around a small table that had been draped with a white lace tablecloth. A round mirror above a fireplace hearth gleamed, and various knicknacks of glass, ceramic, and painted wood on the mantle sparkled. As the light brushed across an iron stove in a corner, it highlighted a collection of paper posters on the wall illustrated with flowers gardens. On the other side of the room, the sun drenched an assortment of books filling a short bookcase, with titles on magic, history, philosophy, science, and fiction.
The light's pleasant warmth washed over Arien as she stood at a long table situated against the wall. She hunched over a book and made hand motions in the air. Bowls, bags of baking ingredients, and cooking implements covered the table. Flour and other dry ingredients dusted its surface. To one side, on a plate, sat a two-tiered cake with white frosting. A sweet, fragrant aroma filled the air.
"I think I got it," she mumbled. She had been practicing for an hour to memorize the spell. It was an unusually complex one to produce such simple results, but she had found it intriguing and liked the idea. She faced the cake and formed a thought in her mind of exactly what she wanted to do. She muttered a few strange words she had learned from the spell book, waved her arms in the appropriate movements, and felt her mana shift toward the cake.
She realized her mistake too late. Her vision filled with purple, glittery dust. She backed away from the table, coughing and wiping at her face. She sneezed three times in quick succession and looked back at the disaster she had created. The cake was covered in shimmery purple frosting like she had wanted, but so were the walls, the floor, the table, and herself.
"What did I do wrong?" she said plaintively as she examined her now-purple dress. Were one of her motions slightly off? But she had practiced so hard! With time running out, however, she would have to deal with the mess later. She grabbed up the cake on its plate and hurried out the door.
Outside, a girl the same age as Arien stood beside the bookshop door. She leaned against the wall, twirling her light blue hair absently. When Arien emerged from the shop, the girl brightened.
"Nellie!" she said. "Is it done—oh! It's so pretty!" She stopped and stared at her. "Whoa, what happened to you?"
"It's okay, Mona, I'll get cleaned up," said Arien. "Hurry and take this to the table. Daniel will be back any minute!" She turned and raced back into the shop. "Oh, and be careful with the cake. I put magic on it."
Mona's excited voice echoed back. "Ahh! That's so cool!"
Arien ran back to the apartment and washed her face and hands. She then went for her wardrobe in the bedroom, which was filled with dresses, skirts, blouses, shoes, and other sundries. She changed out of her dress and into a new one. It would've taken too long for her to wash her hair, so she decided to leave the purple glitter for now.
In the tiny kitchen she grabbed up a pie server and was on her way to the door when she saw the handle jiggle. She quickly hid the pie server behind her back.
