Yay…the second chapter. (enthused battle cry)
Chapter Two: Midsummer's Day
Numair's Tower. Now the home of his family. 14 years later on Midsummer's day, Tortall.
An unusual wake up call surged through Romeli's ears. Funny, she thought. She never heard bells wake her up before. She stepped out of bed and went to her dressing room. Romeli matured very fast for her thirteen years of living in Tortall. Her emerald green hair was a little shorter then her shoulders and slightly flipped out at the end. In her green hair, were darker emerald strands that were sprinkled with glitter.
Her lips were a deep crimson even without the lip rouge that the court girls fell victim to. Her nose was perfect in every way and she even had a smooth chin frame. Her eyes that changed from emerald green to ocean blue every five seconds caught everyone's attention and made their attention hold. They were as deadly as a basilisk's in a way, but you could still see the softness behind the wall of color.
Her mother Daine, told her that when someone stared into her eyes, and she stared back, it was like falling into a hole of never ending color while still being conscious of the surroundings. Her long black lashes and perfect black brows made her eyes even more venomous. She had a lightly shaped body and her bosom was of a proportional size. She was tall for her age, five feet, nine inches.
Even without interacting with other teenagers her age, Romeli always knew she was different. She could feel it inside whenever her parents stole an interested look in her. Numair had insisted that she was from a far away land, a fact she would have believed if George had not insisted that that was not the case. No, she was something more. She just didn't know what.
Her green hair and eyes separated her from the natural tones of her parents, but that was not the only detail about her that designated her uniqueness. On her dark cream skin was a tattoo that appeared five years ago on her hipbone. It had the same color as her dark strands of hair. The design was a wolf howling. Its eyes were filled with shiny emerald ink. When her parents first saw it, they exploded, assuming the worst. Their child had been corrupted by bad influences and recklessness. She had been promptly grounded for her boldness until they finally comprehended that it had just appeared out of no where. With the confusion sorted out, Romeli was released from her punishment and was treated like it was her birthday for a week.
She quickly slipped into one of her favorite outfits. A skintight green shirt with a neck line that made a wide V. There were ties that ran up the center of her shirt. Her pants were a stiff black silk. After she clumsily ran a brush through her hair, she went downstairs to the dining room.
Romeli's father, Numair, used to live in a tower a couple days ride from Pirate's Swoop. When they met Daine, she soon moved in so she could learn more about Wild Magic. After the Immortal's War they got married and had Laloria. That was when they thought the tower would be too small. With the help of many carpenters and mages, they started to tear down and rebuild. When Laloria was three, they finished a beautiful garden mansion decorated with plants, fountains, and stone. They named the home The Tower in honor of its predecessor.
The dining room held an open atmosphere with only three walls to its name. Where a fourth wall should have been was the open air of the garden, allowing birds of multiple species to flutter in and out as desired. Multiple reptiles and amphibians resided in a pond none too far from the dining table. One of the walls was a big water wall with a gap in the center to walk through to get to the kitchen. The other two walls had doors to sitting rooms or hallways. The dining room itself had a slightly long glass table with eight wicker chairs around it.
Romeli sat at one of the chairs and chose an apple from a basket on the table. The minute she was done, her adoptive mother Daine walked in.
"Romeli, do you hear those bells?" she inquired seriously. Her face was so pale that Romeli thought she didn't get a minute of sleep last night.
"Only the Gods can't Ma," She replied sarcastically. Who's she fooling? she thought. "Someone hit your head last night?"
"Only Numair, and that was an accident. I slept fine. Seriously Romeli, do you know what those bells mean?" Daine asked sitting in a chair across from her daughter.
"No," Romeli answered playing along with her mother's act.
"Those bells, Romeli, mean that war is declared between one of our rival countries."
This time it was Romeli's turn to flush. War? There had already been two wars under the name of King Jonothan III and his Queen Thayet. The Immortals War, when Daine was only about eighteen, was a war between the steelwing named Ozorne with his immortals and mages, against Tortall. It was an easy win for Tortall with the help of the dragon Skysong and her grandparents Diamondflame and Wingstar. (Romeli never met Skysong since the young dragon now resided in the Divine Realms). The second war was between Scarnra and Tortall, held during the time of Lady Keladry of Mindelan, the second lady knight in a century. This war was harder to win, but it ended just before her adoptive sister Laloria was born. Laloria was now twenty-three and commander of one of the Rider groups.
"War? With whom?" Romeli asked.
"Numair is finding out right—."
At that very moment a very tall man walked in. His long black hair was tied sloppily back in a ponytail. You could see dark gray streaks in his hair. His kind face had a few deep lines. He wore a navy blue robe with black breeches and a blue cotton shirt. His face was as pale as Daine's.
"Scanra! Why Scanra!? Of all the places in the world it had to be Scanra!" he exclaimed, furious.
Scanra, with King Maggur as ruler, had been doing quite well since the last war. Even though they lost, they were subject to flourishing winters. The country in itself had a high reputation when it came to warrior strength and defense.
On the other hand, Tortall's border patrol numbers were also depleted due to the country's now high population of immortals. The country had also fallen victim to a mysterious plant virus that swept across the majority of the country. Romeli assisted the plants by their house with her powers, but wasn't able to help the places out of her healing radius.
Numair had trained all of her known powers except for Wild Magic. She was trained in her power over plants and her undying Gift. He was very fascinated with the plant part and studied all night when they commenced training three years ago. She and Numair discovered that she could give plants the nutrients that they need, make them grow faster, see if they are growing in the right place, and make them attack people like enemies. She could not talk to plants like she could with wild magic however. Instead, she would look into the their system to see how they grow and how she could help them.
Her Gift was also unique because it had all three types. Physical, light, and healing. The color was emerald that slightly sparkled in the sunlight . Even though her Gift couldn't run out, Numair gave her plenty of breaks. Just because her powers never drained didn't mean her strength and endurance didn't.
Daine started to train her in Wild Magic four years ago. Waiting any longer would have been disastrous, considering Romeli was more wild then human. They discovered that she already had a two- hundred-mile radius—one hundred more miles then Daine. Romeli, so far, could talk to animals telepathically and aloud in their animal language, transform into animals, teach animals,and even magically persuade, heal, and transform into them She could also enter an animal's minds. Everything she learned still needed practice to be nearly as good as Daine, but she was catching up quickly.
"Well this is a great Midsummer's Day present," Romeli sulked.
"Oh yeah! Midsummer's day!" Diane exclaimed dumbfounded. "Romeli, we have a surprise for you."
Daine and Numair walked out of the dining room with Romeli in pursuit. Her eyes danced with curiosity. Once they reached outside, Romeli herself was dancing in curiosity.
"Dad, you know I hate surprises. Tell me now please," Romeli begged staring into her father's eyes, trapping them in her gaze.
"Not the eye thing again." Romeli looked down. "Much better. No I can't tell you because we are already here," he said tweaking her perfect nose.
Sure enough, the three of them stood in front of the stables. Daine opened the stable doors. The structure could hold twenty horses. They had five in all, not including a beautiful horse in one of the stalls that Romeli did not recognize.
The mare was darker then ebony had a long black mane that blew in the wind from the windows. Her tail swished happily. She wore a green blanket trimmed with gold. Beside her was the tack that she needed along with new brushes. The saddle and reins were just as black and shiny as the horse.
"Horse Lords! Ma? Da? Is she for me?" Romeli asked tears springing to her eyes in happiness.
Both of her parents nodded. She ran over to the mare and hugged her around the neck, digging her face into her mane. She smelled of maple, pine trees, and a hint of roses.
You don't look like a two-legger, the intelligent mare pointed out.
I don't think I am. I always feel different around them. Except for my mom and dad, they're different too, Romeli confessed.
Your mother is among the People too, the mare said. But she does not have eyes of chaos or green hair.
Romeli wanted to change such an uncomfortable subject. Do you have a name hoofed-sister?
Yes. It is not in the language of two-leggers though, said the proud mare resetting her hoofs in a more comfortable position.
I understand all animal languages, Romeli stated shyly, trying not to boast. In reply to what she said, the horse said a collection of neighs and snorts. That means Shadowdancer. A fitting name for a horse like you.
I appreciate the compliment, now let's on a ride! I want to fly in the wind! Romeli laughed and quickly brushed down Shadowdancer before putting on her tack.
Once she told her parents where she was going, and had taken Shadowdancer for a walk for a little bit, she stopped by a tree and took off Shadowdancer's tack. She then spotted something shimmering by the oak tree. Picking it up, her eyes grew wide-eyed before dropping it in amazement.
Truthfully, that has yet to be your worst cliffhanger.
As I have nothing else to say, I will leave you with these wise words.
Maple syrup.