Some days, it just felt like the whole world was against her. Rowena was nine and already considered the brightest child of her age. But she had the misfortune to be born a girl, in a world where women were just simply not supposed to be smart. She was better than all the other boys of her age, especially in academics, but they were the ones who went to school without anyone asking questions. She improved her education by sneaking into the school and self teaching before she was eight.
Finally, enough arguments with her parents had made them give her a chance by passing a test. The test was meant to be impossible, but she had passed it with a perfect score after nights of studying. But that had gotten her only a year of education. Despite always answering every question correct, finishing every exercise before her fellow boy classmates, she was still not good enough. She was nine, now considered too old for education, so her parents wanted to force her to quit. Life was so unfair.
"Hey Ro. I heard the news, " Came a soft voice from behind her. Rowena was currently sitting near a pond sulking. She didn't even need to turn around to know who he was.
"It's just so unfair Evan! I've done everything the best I can, and no one cares. They still want to throw me out of school for something that wasn't my fault. Why can't they see me as who I really am? Why do even my own parents see nothing but the supposed weaknesses of my gender? Am I really this unimportant, for something that happened when I was born?" Tears started to come to Rowena's eyes as she talked. She hated crying in front of most people, even her family. But Evan had always been different. He had moved into their village a few years ago, and he had been her friend ever since he came. He was mature beyond his years. She could see that, the second she saw him. There was just simply something about him, something that calmed her down, something about him that always understood her. He agreed with her views as well, believed that women could be as smart and strong as men. Once, Rowena had asked Evan why he thought this way. He had told her his mother had been the strongest, bravest, and most intelligent person he had known. She had always insisted that women and men were equal, and being such a good example, he had always believed his mother was the one who was right, not the outside world.
"They don't understand. Your parents think they are doing the best for you. But I know you, and you don't give up. You'll find a way to succeed, I'm certain." Evan answered. She smiled and felt determination start to replace her despair. Time to stop moping and find a way past his new problem.
Nine was the age the school started teaching magic. Rowena supposed that was probably the reason her parents had stopped her from going to school. It wasn't ladylike or very becoming for a woman to become powerful in any way, even magically. Fine, she thought to herself, I'll train on my own, and end up better than the rest of you. It had been very obvious Rowena was magical since she let loose random bursts of magic all the time. The first time she had done magic was when she was five. She had made the door to her room disappear after her parents locked her in it.
She waited until nightfall when she had finished all her work and her mother thought she was sleeping, then snuck out to the woods to start practicing. Rowena had also stolen her father's wand (he was out drinking and wouldn't realize for some time his wand was missing). Evan had lent her his textbook, and she had read through and memorized every word in the first chapter. She flipped open the book anyway, bringing the lantern she carried with her close to the pages and looked carefully at the first spell. It was a simple spell for light, the incantation was Lumos. She visualized light, saw the spell in her mind. She imagined light on the tip of her wand, and commanded for her magic to obey her wish.
"Lumos!" She said, clear and confident, her voice ringing out across the woods. The tip of her wand brightened, and illuminated her surroundings. Her excitement at completing her first spell made the spell start running out of control, and the light grew bright red and hot. She quickly dropped the wand, and stumbled backwards.
"Hell, " she muttered as the light went out around her. She'd also managed to step on the lantern she brought with her and put out the light. After crawling on the ground for some time, she managed to find the wand again.
"Lumos!" Rowena said, much more calmly this time. She found the broken lantern on the ground, but her foot had completely crushed it. She would have to find her way home using the new spell she had learned. The light at the tip of her wand was nowhere near steady, and it took a great deal of concentration to keep the spell going. Thankfully, the walk out of the woods was short, and once she was on open ground, she could find the way home by starlight.
When Rowena returned back home, she saw that her father had already returned and was out drunk on his bed. She returned the wand to his bedside, feeling a pang of loss at letting it go. Her mind still buzzing with magic, she went to sleep.