The Royal Series 0 - A Royal Archive

A Little Faith: Chapter 1

March 22nd, 2115

† Serafina †

"While you are here, you will be of use to the convent," the Sister said, as she led Serafina inside the gates and towards the large wooden door ahead.

It looked so foreboding; all white stone and dark wood. She was not at all sure she wanted to spend the year here, but had no choice. She had failed the summer school she had been sent to, not far from here, though she had not known when she entered that it was a fail or succeed situation. Perhaps if she had known she might have made more of an effort.

Her father claimed it was obvious, lecturing her endlessly about it;

"How could you fail at such a school? It is a place of magic, where the only failure is not trying!" he had raged at her, while pacing restlessly. "I cannot understand what you were thinking nor why you seem to consider magic such a poison. It is part of who you are. It comes from within you. And treating Jaycob like a criminal for being better at wielding his magic than you are is ridiculous when you put absolutely no effort in."

Serafina supposed he had a point about that last part. She had hated Jaycob for a long time because of his ability to use magic so effortlessly. And, truthfully, being incapable of doing much more than lighting a candle, and even that was enough effort to make her sweat, she had not been able to understand her brother nor how he was capable of such deeds as he had managed, without some unholy influence.

"Are you listening to me, girl?" the Sister demanded, with a snap of her tone that brought Serafina up short.

Dang! She had not been paying attention, again.

"Yes, Sister. I merely thought that I was not meant to reply," she lied, recalling the rules she had been presented with when Aunt Sienna dropped her at the gates just an hour ago. "You said that I was sworn to a vow of silence, unless within lessons, so I presumed that it would be disrespectful to reply to you." She added a brief and shaky curtsey for good measure, hoping that would appease the horrid woman.

Serafina may not have liked the prophetess, who was an ugly hag with bad teeth, but at least she did not pretend to be pious while chaining a supposed student to irrational rules. Why should she be subjected to the same vows of poverty and silence as the Sisters when she was here to learn from their resident witch?

"You have a disrespectful tongue on you, young lady," the Sister replied, earning a glare from Serafina. "I am sure that Sister Margaret will deal with that while you reside with us. She is the most gifted warlock of this country and will teach you magic even the most adept warlocks of the world cannot master. I suggest you be more grateful," she warned, scowling at her as though she was worth nothing.

It only served to remind her of what her papa had said before she departed on her trip here to Spain, with Aunt Sienna and Uncle Lindley;

"You are a princess here, little one, but you will not be treated as such where you are going," he had warned softly. "Your title will mean nothing once you are amongst a school of struggling witches. You will merely be the same as they are; an apprentice and someone who cannot follow rules. The Sisters will not be overly kind to you because of your title. Remember that, and remember to respect the Sisters the way you respect your father and I. No other advice I can give you will be more valuable than that," he had promised.

Taking a deep breath, Serafina fought to think that he was right. She had not much respect for her father, true, because he had been nothing but Jaycob's greatest defender his entire life. Whenever Jaycob's magic raged out of control, whenever it hurt someone in their family or caused havoc, their father was always the first to stand by him, promising that it was not his fault.