Magi : The Kingdom of Magic

Chapter 1

Death.. it was something she didn't understand at the time…

'' Maayan , stop crying. '' A middle-aged man stood by a casket that was being brought into the earth, a little hand holding his. Sobs escaped the little girl , who couldn't still her cries even when he said so '' But..b-but Father , why are they burying mommy? She promised to play with me today, she can't do that if she's under the ground..''

The man sighed. His long dark hair that was put into a high ponytail swished slightly at the movement. '' I know she did. But she won't be able to keep that promise, your mother returned back to the flow of the world '' He smiled a bit at her , though it was sad '' So don't cry , we're warriors Maayan we can't let ourselves be put down by emotions. Your mother would want you to be strong too so don't cry''

Maayan gulped and wiped away the snot forming under her nose along with her tears and nodded '' Okay, I need to be strong for mommy right?'' she looked up at her father who nodded '' I can do that, I'll make mommy proud. I'll be the greatest warrior ever'' Maayan proclaimed , her father shaking his head a bit at her '' You're going to need a lot of work for that, but I'll help '' He ruffled her hair gently and took her hand , dragging her away from the grave. Maayan glanced at it one more time before following her father. It would be a long time before she would be able to achieve that dream but as she grew older it came closer and closer.

.. 6 years later ..

'' General Barak , are you sure it's a good decision? I mean she just recently passed the test and I do-''

'' I don't belive I've asked for your opinion , she passed the test in front of the king and me. That's good enough, she should be fine , protecting the princess is a high honor'' Barak narrowed his icy eyes at the Partevian soldier who dared question his teachings or his daughter. The soldier didn't dare to say anything more and the general walked away, his long hair flowing behind him. He walked up to his daughter who was getting congratulated by her friends and smiled '' Don't celebrate just yet Maayan ''

The blue haired girl looked up and grinned '' hehe I know , I'm just happy you know. I didn't think my skills were so impressive.. does that mean I get one of those now?'' she asked pointing to a mark her father had on his neck. It was some kind of symbol , tattooed on his skin. It signified a certain thing in their family of spear wielders. A time where the warrior truly accomplished something. Barak nodded '' Yes, have you already decided where you want it?''

Maayan nodded '' Yes… on my cheek, like mother '' she touched her left cheek absentmindedly at the thought and smiled . Her father didn't seem surprised and only chuckled '' Alright, go on then.'' he petted her head and Maayan knew that he was proud of her, though this was the only time after 6 years of pure torture with training. She took a breath and closed her eyes as the tattoo artist began to carve the design she chose into her cheek. It took about an hour before it was complete and it hurt , but Maayan didn't cry at the pain at all. The mark was shaped almost like a lightning bolt and was blue in color just like her hair. The pain was something she's gotten used to during her training. Her tolerance of it became very high because of that so she did not feel anything but a sting.

'' Use this ointment to make it heal properly'' said the woman who did her tattoo and Maayan nodded , wincing a bit. Her new tattoo was covered with a gauze to keep the skin from peeling. It'd take a while before she could take it off but she felt proud of herself. She's come this far…Maayan took the ointment and smiled at her father before running down the hall, where the celebration for her becoming a great soldier of Partevia took place.

However, she didn't stay long. After drinking a glass, Maayan turned to concentrate on what her new job is going to be. Her eyes traveled to the princess standing in the crowd. She smiled and approached her '' Guess , we're stuck together after all princess, I can boast to Dragul now ''

'' Maayan '' The princess greeted her and gave her a quick hug '' Oh come on, don't be so mean to him. Plus he'll be promoted soon since he'll be conquering that dungeon ''

The blue haired spear wielder frowned at that '' The dungeon huh… So the King is really serious about it'' Maayan didn't completely like the idea..Partevia in the latest years had been sinking as a country…only the rich had ever been in a good position. She bit her lip, remembering when she was sent out to scout for soldiers. There was this naive disposition to her back then but when she saw what it really meant she started questioning whatever her father said was good about Partevia.

'' Hey , Dragul is going tomorrow right?''

'' Yes, why?''

'' Well , Just wanted to wish him luck you know'' Maayan shrugged and smiled before making an excuse , sneaking away , back to the home she shared with her father. She quickly packed some things and sighed…She took a deep breath

'' You're doing the right thing Maayan… This country won't go anywhere unless you do something. '' She told herself before standing up determined. Her messy blue hair moved over her face and she brushed it away with a huff and then took down the gauze covering the mark on her cheek, despite being told not to for several days.

'' I better go now''

..

The next morning when the dungeon was left alone and Dragul had already left, Maayan sneaked over and dived inside. She was probably about 15 minutes behind them so she needed to speed up. The dungeon sucked her in and she was surprised and in awe, at the world, she saw before her , but soon she was back on solid ground.

'' Okay… need to focus'' Maayan scolded herself and ran forward, it didn't take long to reach the tressure room , oddly enough the creatures had been slain, though she doubted Dragul could have done this alone after seeing how many soldiers died. She scrunched her eyebrows a bit as she rounded the corner.

'' Who's going to be king?'' a booming voice asked and Maayan steeled her nerves and ran forward

'' That would be me! '' she called out at the same time as Dragul and another boy she did not recognize or know. He seemed to be around her age and had long violet hair. She somewhat remembered Dragul talking about someone like that when he came back from his scouting one day, but she couldn't recall the name.

Silence followed after her outburst and all eyes were on her.

'' Maayan, what are you doing here?'' Dragul growled , surprised. She wasn't supposed to be here, She wasn't even supposed to know.. and why would she want the metal vessel anyway…

'' I came to stop you from making Partevia worse… and before you say something, I don't care if you think this makes me a trator..but I'm not going to turn a blind eye on what's happening Dragul!'' She took a defensive stance but blinked when her hand was suddenly taken away from her, only to find it in another.

'' Ah, I wasn't aware that Partevia had such wonderful warriors. Beauty and strength alike '' the violet haired boy was suddenly in front of her, gripping her hand gently as he smiled charmingly. It was as if some kind of aura surrounded him and Maayan made a face, the feeling in her gut telling her to not go anywhere near this boy.

'' I'm Sinbad, and you my lady are ? …''

Maayan frowned and pulled her hand away from him '' I , first of all , am not a lady. Second of all it's none of your business '' she said in a monotone. She always got like this when someone got remotely too close to her.. especially if it was a stranger.

Sinbad on the other hand, looked surprised before he smiled '' Well , in any case, it's nice to-Whoa!'' he didn't finish his sentence as Dragul attacked him while he was talking.

'' Who's turning a blind eye? This is exactly why we need that artifact..How dare you turn your back on your duty'' The young general yelled at Maayan who was growing angrier by the second..and although she did not know Sinbad, she did know that the Djinn would be better in his hands than in the King's.

'' I am not turning my back on anything…'' she hoped she didn't at least. There was still doubt in her mind about what she was doing, but Maayan felt like it was the right thing to do, no matter the consequences. Even if her father would be disappointed..this was for the good of the country .

'' You heard her '' Sinbad said , adding oil to the fire. Maayan didn't interfere.. she would do so only if Dragul happened to win, but it looked like that wouldn't be the case. Sinbad won over him easily and to be honest she was impressed.

'' Not bad, for a commoner '' she said , trying not to look too impressed, but he saw her looking at him in that moment and knew it was just an act to stay aloof

Sinbad grinned '' You totally though I was cool just now ''

Maayan flushed involuntarily '' I did not! You're delusional.. anyway..'' she walked over to the unconscious Dragul and sighed

'' Wait..you're going back with him? You do know you'll be treated as a traitor..'' He stared at her , his eyes searching hers and she had to look away from the golden intensity of them.

'' Well , I haven't though about the consequences yet or rather I don't care what it takes , but…wish me luck I guess. '' Maayan shrugged and smiled as the dungeon disappear, having been conquered and now she had to face the decisions she made…and she knew that they would come at a hefty price.