Lily Clairmount:
It had been a few days since I'd seen Nathaniel and so when I finally caught sight of Damon I went to ask him about it.
"Damon," I asked tentatively.
Damon was at his desk writing something with an item that was similar to a pen but looked a bit more wavy in shape.
"Yes, Darling sister?"
He hadn't looked up but merely hummed a bit in recognition to my unasked question.
"Where has Nathaniel gone? He's not hurt somewhere, correct?"
There wasn't any reason to feel that Damon had done anything to him but I still held a bit of worry. If I didn't even have an inkling about what Damon did then I'd be a complete idiot. Who wouldn't smell the blood or taste the death that clung to him?
He did scare me sometimes but all the years I've lived here and from the memories I'd received, I knew he wouldn't ever harm me nor Helena.
Currently Helena was playing with Connie's daughter Serena in one of the larger rooms downstairs so I had no worries leaving her alone.
"Hmm? Oh, I forgot to mention it to you," he put down his writing utensil and turned to me with a smile, "Nathaniel is currently establishing a contract with a weapon. He's perfectly fine but it's a rather strong weapon so it has taken a few days. I'm hoping it'll finally end today."
"He's gone without food and water," I asked nervously. Truly, it was a terrifying thing to acknowledge that a child his age was trying to make a contract with a weapon and had gone without food or water.
"I know you're concerned but this is how many people train. He has gone far longer without these things in the past. Plus he's already in the Fifth Star Stage. Your concerns are unnecessary, I assure you."
He held his hand out to me and I reached my hand out to slide into his. His hand tugged me closer to him so he could grasp my other one as well.
"Trust me, he'll make it through this. It's something he wants to do. No matter what, it is his life to decide and we can't change his decisions."
A sigh escaped my lips, "It's all very frustrating though. He's never had anyone care for him and it just feels like too soon for him to be training. I understand the need to control his magic though so I'll not say anything more. Do you know when he may be back?"
"It should be soon. The fact it's lasted this long is surprising but I can guarantee it won't last another day."
I gave him a nod of my head before waving goodbye. Many of the maids and servants seemed to hide into the background when I roamed the halls. It gave me peace though so I wasn't complaining.
My feet carried me upwards to the garden where I could relax and gather magic to me. Celia was watching the girls while Damon and I were busy.
Plants of all shapes and sizes filled the room I stepped into. It was nearly as exuberant as the greenery outside. Whenever I took a step, I allowed my magic to flow into my feet which made closed flowers unfurl as if to embrace me.
In the center of the room was a small clearing with flower petals for flooring; allowing a slight cushion as well as fragrance to permeate this space. Once I sat down I tapped into my Magic and allowed the elements to pulse through me.
After I'd begun to investigate Nature Magic I had realized that the elements I took in had begun leaving Markings on the rest of my body. The only part of my body not covered was my stomach but my back had a swarm of multicolored butterflies that fluttered and shimmered.
Today I was going to push it because I'd finally felt the barrier for the 7th Star Stage just on my fingertips. Four of the elements filtered into me, some faster than others, as I begun to try to break through the barrier into the 7th.
It was painful. A feeling similar to when I had been given Chemo washed through me, nearly making me vomit. This had happened before when I leveled up but this one was more vicious.
The reason why it was happening is because the magic is trying to gather all the bad things within me and in a sense vomit it out. One of the good things about this type of break through though is it only happens in the higher Stages, plus it's not true vomit.
A steady pressure built up and I begun to feel a building knot growing in my chest that steadily moved up my throat. Before I could hold it back, a flash of pain shot through my entire body and my mouth opened in pain. With that one moment a thick liquid substance that instantly turned to a gaseous form exited from within myself.
This was the impurities and general bad stuff that the break through had pulled out of my body. Once I stabilized myself, I checked over my body and was shocked by the new Marking that had shown up. It felt like soon I'd be completely covered.
To be honest though, I found this one rather beautiful and a bit macabre. Black vines with sharp looking thorns encompassed my entire lower stomach, turning itself into a belt. White roses interspersed throughout the vines but I couldn't see what the back looked like. What seemed to be blood dripped off some of the roses and vines but I tried to ignore that.
My finger traced them as a smile graced my lips. Turning my head I could see the newly formed star on my shoulder.
"I see you've broken through," a voice spoke up from the path leading to the door. Damon was standing there with a smile.
"Oh, yes. Why'd you come for a visit? You never usually come up here."
"I was just coming up to find you because Nathaniel has returned. I'd assumed that you would like to know immediately. Though, he is currently resting."
"Thank you. I'll go see him in a few hours."
Damon gave a nod and left. I went back to solidifying the new magic coursing through my body.
A/N: Sorry it's sort of like a filler chapter. It may be annoying but I don't feel it's time to jump into 'exciting' things because none of their relationships have really 'solidified' yet. Thanks for waiting patiently everyone. :)