Chapter 2: The Trial

Nothing really much to say. Enjoy! This story is not technically incest! Are you wondering what that means?

My little sister was reading the first chapter last night and she was like begging for more. XD. It really warms my heart. And speaking of happiness, here are replies for reviews:

Scorpius: Thanks for reviewing! And don't worry I overuse CAPSLOCK too! XD

iloveugiohGX93: Glad you like it!

I think it's moving too fast, but *sigh*. I guess it will slow down later.

Anyways, I'm just happy that I managed to post more than 5k words in a matter of two days! Whoo! Go me!

Commencing chapter 2! (Now it's like the Hunger Games… *sigh*)

…

"Ok so, this is our 100th Draft and-" the Princess was cut off as a servant raced into the room, all the attention shifting.

"Princess!" The servant kneeled in front of her. "We found this in the will of Queen Rilliane! It's addressed to the 100th Draft!" She held up a piece of old parchment as murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Miku furrowed her eyebrows, delicately plucking the letter from her grasp. She unfolded it. "Silence please!" The crowd silenced as their princess scanned through the words.

"To all participating in the 100th Draft," Miku read, "I am Queen Rilliane, the first Royal who started the Draft to increase the population. I bet the population has grown quite a bit. We started out with only 20 witches. You should have at least 1,000 right? However, more witches cause useless abilities since no two witches can have the same ability at the same time. Some probably don't even have abilities. To increase the power of the future witches, I send you on a trip. I bet many have started to wander to the west of Magia. If it is not completely explored yet, I order the explorers to back off. Place all humans and witches in the Draft at the edge of the western side of Magia. If the princess," A bead of sweat ran down Miku's face, "If the princess or queen doesn't have a warlock yet, she shall go with them. If the witches can't govern themselves for a year, so be it. The strong will survive the Draft. You shall be placed at the western side of Magia and try to survive for a year. Try to make it back to the cities. You'll be safe if you do. No one is to help you. At the end of the year, all alive shall return. Think I'm too evil? Oh, I am. There was a reason I was called Mad Queen Rilliane. I have sort of a logical reason though this time, but it's also for my own entertainment in death. Oh well. Good luck. You'll need it. Queen Rilliane, Insanity Goddess of Magia. She had the ability to drive people insane." Miku whispered the last sentence shakily.

There was total silence.

"WHAT?!" A witch screeched suddenly.

"NO!"

"I don't want to die!"

"OHIME-SAMA, DO SOMETHING!"

"I-" Miku opened her mouth.

The letter in her hands began glowing, engulfing them all in the same light that engulfed the men before. They tunneled through the darkness.

…

"So," Gumi trembled. The Draft members were now at the safe base on the western side of the island. The safe base lasted for a month and will not work for another month after that. It was a house the size of the palace surrounded by lush grass and a fence. But who knew what was beyond the fence. "We are on the west side of the island. Most of us amateur witches. With no clue of how to get food or what to do." She buried her face in her hands. "We're going to die."

"We have to protect the humans, too." Neru added. "They don't have magic."

"LISTEN UP!" Miku's voice suddenly washed over the crowd. She looked shaken but nevertheless took control. Rin observed her face, concluding that the princess knew that they couldn't afford to be panicked in a situation like this. "Humans! Go inside!" They obeyed, not knowing what to do.

"How many of you have abilities?" Miku asked them. "If you do, stand over there." ¾ of the witches moved to the place she pointed. She scrutinized Rin's group, "Roughly 50 don't. Hm… How many of you are Nobles? Step forward."

Rin was curious. Most of the time, Goddesses hid their statuses. Suddenly, the crowd on the side of people with abilities rippled. A lone figure walked out, pink hair floating behind her.

"No way... " Gumi's voice echoed from the ability crowd.

"LUKA!" Rin, Neru, and Haku all exclaimed, Haku being loud for once.

Luka turned towards the crowd. "I'm sorry for hiding myself. I pretended to be an orphanage staff with the ability of speed. I actually am a Goddess by talent. My real ability is the ability to briefly manipulate time. I can stop it for under a minute. That's why everyone thinks that I am fast."

Miku smiled. "I didn't notice you in there Luka Megurine, Goddess of Time."

Luka inclined her head respectfully. "It's good to see you, Miku Hatsune, Elemental Princess of Wind."

Miku turned serious. "Now. Since you are a Goddess, Luka, can you train the witches with abilities? I'll take the ones without them and let them talk to the humans and see if anything sparks."

"Of course, Your Highness." Luka curtsied. "Come along now, ladies." She led them to the backyard.

"I can't believe it!" Neru gaped as they followed Miku inside the house. "Luka is a Noble! A Goddess! And we didn't know!"

Rin sighed, wondering why Luka kept it from them. After revealing that she was a Noble, she talked so… elegantly. Regally.

She was startled out of her thoughts when Miku led them into the room where the men were. The witches glanced around warily until the princess spoke, "These women will be staying in this room with you for the next couple of hours. Please treat them kindly and with respect." Miku gave a small bow before retreating out of the room.

There was a total awkward silence.

"There's sake in the closet." A Japanese native offered lamely, trying to break the tension.

Neru and Rin stiffened as Haku's eyes began to gleam. Yes, little shy Haku. Loved sake.

She lunged for the closet, Neru and Rin failing to stop her.

And then chaos descended.

…

Rin stood to the side warily, watching the scene unfold. Haku was on a table, for once not shy, singing her heart out. Of course, drunk. She was also quick at picking out who she liked. She was singing with Kiyoteru and they already seemed to be attached. Why can't everything just be as easy as that? Neru was drunk too. She was singing on Haku's other side, occasionally banging the table like a drum.

And this is why Rin stayed away from alcohol.

Most of the boys were looking on. Some were cheering. Some looked awkward. The few that got lucky were talking with some witches. Rin slowly inched towards the door. Suddenly she bumped into someone. "Sorry!" They both apologize simultaneously. Rin found herself gazing into cerulean orbs.

"You trying to sneak out too?" The boy asked.

Rin nodded. "Yeah. I'm Rin. You?"

"Hatsune Len." He replied.

"Hatsune?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm the princess's adoptive brother." He mumbled.

Her eyes widened. Even if he wasn't magical, he still belonged to a royal family. "I apologize for my rudeness Hatsune-sama." She bowed.

"No no don't!" He exclaimed. "I'm not royalty!"

"Alright jeez." She giggled at his furious retort. "No need to get fired up." She then glanced at the slightly ajar door. "Shall we?" She found herself completely at ease with him.

"Why don't we?" He agreed as they exited quietly.

…

"Len?" Len turned to spot his best friend Rei approach him.

"Oh hey Rei." Len yawned. He was lucky someone he knew came along.

"Why are you so tired?" Rei frowned.

"I was talking to a girl all night." He smiled as he remembered his casual, comfortable conversations with Rin last night after they escaped from the discord.

"And doing what else?"

"If you're implying what I think you are implying I'll kill you."

"Mou."

"Don't think I didn't see you with what's-her-name? Neru?"

"S-shut up!" Len laughed at Rei's expression.

"Are you hungry?" Len asked him. His embarrassed expression turned into a frown.

"Now that you mention it, there's no food here." He pondered thoughtfully. "They probably wanted to make it harder for the residents. Or they ran out of food when this place was first built."

"You're taking this quite calmly." Len commented casually.

Rei's expression became alarmed. "Can I tell you something?" He whispered frantically. "I just have to tell someone before I go crazy."

Len, surprised by Rei's attitude, agreed. "What is it?" He asked.

Rei took a deep breath. He glanced around before muttering, "My mother is a witch."

"Oh." Len replied. "My mother is a witch too. I didn't know that you were adopted."

"No. I wasn't." Rei shook his head. "My biological mother is a witch."

"Wha-" Len was taken aback.

"I'm only a hybrid!" Rei assured him. "It's just that I was born of a human father. They kept it a secret, but apparently - though it's very rare - hybrids can be male. It's a miniscule chance, like 0.001%. It has only happened once before mother told me. Look." He showed Len his hand, where a broken heart birthmark was. "This is the mark of a hybrid."

Len glanced at his own hand, with complete pale skin. Where had he seen that mark before? "That was on the back of Rin's hand!" He realized.

"She's a hybrid too then." Rei nodded. "That's the whole reason I took this calmly. When I was drafted, I knew what this was. Mother had explained to me the process. I have a twin sister; she's a hybrid and was left in Magia. I don't know where she is. I, however, was taken along with Mom when she left. No one knew that I was a hybrid. I was male. Mom told them that she found me washed up on the shore, which was unlikely, but the guards had no choice but to believe her."

Len took a minute to process this. "But then. Aren't you already a warlock?"

"No." Rei shook his head. "Since I'm male, I only have magic running through my veins, a very small amount at that. Most of it is locked. All this means that it'll be easier for me to learn magic if I become a warlock and I might be able to do really simple spells. I already know a couple. Mom taught me Barrier and Emit."

"Oh." Len couldn't think of anything to say. His best friend had been in on all of this too.

"Anyway." Rei smiled, "Thanks for listening. I just had to tell-"

A female screech ripped through the air. Exchanging glances, Rei and Len dashed outside.

…

Rin stumbled back in horror, letting out a screech. Kami-sama.

A man that didn't want to participate in the Draft just decided to… die. He walked out of the gates, no protection at all. And… waited.

Rin had spotted him first. She had wondered what he was doing. But then he walked out of the gates. She immediately raced after him, suspecting that he didn't know the dangers of the western half of Magia.

Immediately though, a falcon materialized in air. It wasn't a normal falcon. It was grotesque. Rin recognized it, however. The Osore Falcon. It was a dangerous predatory bird, only able to be beaten by specific types of abilities. It had cawed madly, and devoured the easy prey in one gulp. His blood sprayed across the lush grass, dying it crimson. Splattering across Rin.

Rin felt like vomiting. It was one of the most disgusting sights to see. The meal of an Osore Falcon.

The falcon raised its head, blood still spattered across its feathers. The gleam in its eyes landed on Rin. It cawed once more, trying to break through the barrier. Rin stood in shock, frozen.

"Rin!"

Strong arms wrapped around her. She buried her face in his chest instinctively, trying to burn the memory out of her eyes. No.

"Shougai!" A voice cried. A masculine voice. Wha- Rin jerked her head up in curiosity.

A boy with black hair and gold eyes stood in front of her. He looked oddly like Rui. His arms were crossed as he repeated the incantation. "Shougai!"

Rin blinked. How did he know magic? The arms around her tightened. She glanced up cautiously and almost fainted.

It was Len. His arms wrapped tightly around her, trying to shield her from the view of the mangled corpse. A faint blush dusted her cheeks. "Len." She whispered.

"Don't look." He ordered, his voice full of concern. She nodded, once again burying her head in his chest, with a bit of hesitation. Wait. Why was she blushing?

The falcon cawed again. It glared disapprovingly at the male in front of it as he reinforced the safety barrier. His magic was weak, but it would ensure the fact that the falcon would be kept out. Only amateurs used incantations. Most didn't because then the opponent would know the spell. However, incantations did slightly strengthen the power of a spell. The falcon arrogantly flipped its head and dematerialized. One of an Osore Falcon's abilities were to materialize and dematerialize. They could hear the flaps of its wings as it flew away.

The boy casting the spell panted. Rin gently untangled herself from Len's arms. Normally, she would just ask who he is out of curiousity, but he did try to save her.

"Arigatou." She gave the boy a small bow.

He glanced up. "No problem. I'm Rei." He held out his left hand as he used his right hand to push himself off the ground.

Rin stared. That mark. "You're a hybrid?!" She blurted.

Rei, realizing his mistake, drew his hand back. "Yeah." He muttered sheepishly. "I'm one of the only male hybrids there ever has been."

Rin realized her rudeness. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to pry. I'm Rin."

"Kagene Rei." He smiled.

"Kagene?" Rin asked. "I had a friend named Kagene Rui."

Surprise flashed in his eyes. "You did?"

"Yeah."

"That was my twin's name!"

"Huh?" Rin blinked. "Really?" She inspected him closer. "You do look a lot like her!"

"Is she here?" Rei asked hopefully.

"No." Rin sighed softly. "Sorry. She couldn't figure out the teleportation spell."

"Oh." Rei looked disappointed.

"Um…" Len started. "I hate to interrupt, but I'm still here?"

"Oh!" Rin exclaimed. "Yes! Thanks so much, Len." She added, a light blush dusting her cheeks once more.

"No problem." He chuckled.

A warm feeling spread throughout Rin's chest. Suddenly a voice broke the silence.

"Rin-san!" Princess Miku called, running over. Miku was truly a kind princess. She didn't care much of statuses, she was generally kind to everyone, but scary sometimes too. "Is that blood?!" The Wind Elemental exclaimed.

"Um, yeah." Rin said awkwardly.

"What happened?!" Miku asked.

"Um." Rin caught Rei's eyes, knowing not to share his secret. "A man decided to commit suicide. An Osore Falcon ate him, and some of the blood spattered on me. The falcon left afterwards though, Your Highness."

"Oh, Kami." Miku stared at the gates, a faraway look in her eyes. "Suicide…"

Rin nodded, her heart constricting. What possessed him to go so far?

"Onee-san?" Len asked gently. He found it strange to call her that, but she had insisted.

"What?!" Rin whispered softly, shocked.

"Adopted." Miku, Len, and Rei replied in unison.

"I need to think." Miku said after a while. "We have to start training though. The men should be trained in hand to hand combat and we'll see if we can make some quickly into warlocks after a month's time. The witches should train more magic and figure out abilities."

She stood. "We'll ensure that we can fight for ourselves!"

Rin, Len, and Rei all exchanged glances. "Hai, Ohime-sama!" Rei replied dutifully, Len with an optimistic tone, Rin a little subdued.

…

End Chapter 2! Yep I'm still going strong with long chapters. For now. Please don't expect it, it takes a looooot of writing and a lot out of me.

Please Read and Review.

~Hana