When Your Feathers Flutter Down to Me

Chapter Four: The Princess And Insults

Elisia grimaced. Truthfully, she had never done well with pain. Even just a paper cut was enough to make her loudly complain. To feel searing pain every time someone called her a princess (or if she did it herself by force of habit), it was practically too much.

The best way to describe the pain a branding spell caused was as follows: Imagine a bright-red and orange metal rod, nearly at the point of melting. Then, imagine placing that rod on your skin. That pain alone would be enough to cause a fair amount of damage. Now, take that pain and multiply it by a factor of three. That was how much pain the branding spell caused when its conditions were broken.

Luckily, the pain was usually brief, as it was meant to be a reminder more than a constant punishment. However, with how customizable the branding spell was, it was possible to make those "reminders" much worse. For instance, the one determining the conditions could make it so each time a condition is broken, the intensity of the pain increases. Similarly, the length of time the pain occurred could be set as well. Rather than just a few seconds like Elisia's, it could be minutes, or even hours. The only downside for the one in control was that if the time was set for too long, the spell would burn out completely and cause the release of the one branded.

Regardless, for one who did poorly with pain like Elisia, even just a few seconds was excruciating. To know that now everyone in the village (all people who hated her), could now cause her pain at will without even having to lay a hand on her, was terrifying.

"Did you know this would happen father?" she thought angrily. "Just how much did you want me to suffer?"

"I'm informing you of this," Gorose continued, "because as of right now, keeping you in this cell is rather pointless. With a broken gate and roof, plus your magic capabilities, I doubt you could be kept in here for long."

The thought of escape crossed Elisia's mind. Could she escape? To answer that question, Gorose went on. "So, for the time being, we have decided to allow you to wander within the village until the cell is fixed. This should only take a day or two, but during that time, you will be escorted at all hours. For sleep, you will stay in my house."

"They're going to let me wander?" Elisia repeated to herself. Truly, it seemed like a perfect opportunity. "Even if I can't leave this territory, there's no reason for me to be at the bottom of the barrel like this. As soon as they let me out of here, I'll start establishing my new reign."

She couldn't stop a smirk from coming to her face. It was true that her use of magic would have to be minimal, but a minimal display should be all it would take to convince the others just how superior she was to them. "Those idiots will come to know the power of a princess," she thought, then immediately twisted in agony. "Guh..." she let out, feeling the recoil of her branding spell.

Witnessing all of this, Gorose sighed. "I do hope you won't underestimate our village, Elisia," he warned. Elisia looked at him, a bit startled.

"Did I say my plan out loud?" she wondered, but she was sure that wasn't the case.

"Why do you look so alarmed?" Gorose asked, sounding confident. "Do you really believe you're hiding your true intentions with that smirk on your face?"

"Ah..." Elisia let out.

"I do not wish to fight with you," Gorose said sternly. "But, if you insist on creating a battle between human and not, then I will give you a battle." With those words, Elisia could feel the air around Gorose change. What power it was he possessed, she had no idea, but it was clear that he had a lot of it. Over the course of the last week or so, Elisia's survival instincts had been getting sharpened by leaps and bounds due to the extreme conditions. Now, they were kicking in again, telling her to not start a fight.