All across the realms of the Clover Kingdom, there are many sayings; each different depending on the realm or even the town or village.
From the Noble Realm: Success only comes from power, and power is our birthright.
From the Common Realm: Good things come to those who work hard.
And from the Forsaken Realm: We can't put faith in others. We can only put faith in ourselves.
Hage has its own saying.
When the first snow falls, death comes to the edge of the world, where the demon bones lay.
Death always comes with the first snowfall. And it does not leave until the first thaw. No one leaves their homes when the first snow falls. Not unless a curse of death is wished upon their entire household.
The first snow fell the night Yuno went to deliver the note for Father. It was merciless.
Asta didn't care. She had to find Yuno. Death wouldn't take her sister. Death wouldn't take her. Not right now.
Which is why, when Asta comes up to the scene of some–some meanie holding Yuno's special necklace and Yuno covered in dirt and blood, she sprints forward with the intention to beat him up!
"Yuno!" Asta feels the scream rip through her throat as she tries to tackle the man back. She scrunches up her nose at the awful smell that always surrounds the house Sister Lily doesn't let them near, but keeps her hands wrapped around the man.
Her cry echoes sharply across the empty street as she's thrown back against the wall. Asta's head throbs from where it hit the stone wall with a crack before she stands up.
"Who the hell are you, brat?!" The man slurs out his shout, still tightly gripping the necklace.
She races forward, fury etched into her face, and grapples the man's waist again. "Th-that necklace is Yuno's! Give‒give it back!"
"Brat! Get the hell off of me!" Asta bites her tongue to keep herself from crying out when the man slams his fist against her head, making her slam into the ground. A ringing fills her ears as Asta struggles to stand up.
"A-Asta!" Yuno reaches forward, but Asta was already racing forward again, only to be kicked in the stomach. She coughs up bile and holds her stomach when she collapses to the ground.
"S-stop it! It–it's just a necklace! Asta!" Yuno shouts loudly with tears falling down her bloodied cheeks in rivers.
Asta glares up at the man with a darkness no child should have, slowly standing up once more. "I-I'm not done yet! Give‒give Yuno her necklace back!"
Asta continues to run forward, only to be kicked or punched into the snow covered dirt. Blood dripped from her mouth and nose and her left eye was swelling shut, but she still stood up to get that necklace back.
"STOP IT! JUST STOP IT! PLEASE!" Yuno screams, the wind kicking up with the force of a maelstrom. The man is pushed back by the wind, involuntarily releasing the necklace.
Asta continues her stumbling sprint and tackles the man to the ground and attacks him with punches and nails to the face. "Don't take Yuno's necklace! Yuno's necklace is Yuno's! And don't you ever try to take anything else that isn't yours to begin with!"
"G-get the hell off of you, you fucking hellspawn!" The man screeches before he roughly throws the six year old girl off of him. Her head slams into the stone wall once more with a loud crack and she falls limp.
"Asta!" Yuno cries out before stumbling forward towards her sister. "Asta, Asta, Asta, Asta! W-wake up! Wake up!"
Asta sluggishly blinks her eyes open, dazed and losing coherency. "Yu–no... Y-Y'no..."
Yuno weeps with relief, wheezing for breath and her own eyesight going spotty.
"As–ta! As... As-ta–" Her gag cuts herself off before Yuno hunches over with a heave.
"Damn hellspawn...! This ain't worth it..." The man sneers, spitting on the two girls before he sluggishly walks away.
Asta looks down at Yuno, not really bothered by the bile covering her legs and the ground around them. She reaches up a hand and accidentally slaps Yuno's head in her attempt to pet her hair.
"'kay. 'm... okay..." Asta widens her mouth with a scrunched up expression, not really liking how her words weren't being spoken correctly.
"A-Asta–y-you–you–Asta!" Yuno sobs through her heaves and gags. She lifts her head up and wraps her freezing arms around Asta.
"Y-you–you–died! C-could've died! You–you–" Yuno releases her hug, barely even seeing past the white spots in her sight "–s-sorry. I–I... couldn't–"
"Don' worry... Don' worry 'bout it... T-told ya. Got your back," Asta speaks a bit more clearly with a dazed grin.
Yuno cries even harder with a rapid shake of her head. "S-sorry, sorry, sorry! I–my–my fault. I-I couldn't–I can't–"
"This 's nothin'!" Asta grins even wider with her eyelids fluttering. "'m gonna be th' Wiz-Wizard King!"
Yuno continues to heave for breath as she stares at her sister. Asta sluggishly reaches up and grabs Yuno's face, wiping away the tears.
"G-gonna be Wizard King... a-an' protect y-you an–an' ev'ryone at th-the church... M-make ya happy! G-give nicer things!" Asta squishes Yuno's face and laughs. "G-gonna prove–prove... stuff... Prove t-to everyone..."
Asta leans her head back and stares up at the heavy snowfall. She licks her lips as her eyes close.
"P-prove... prove–ev'n–even if your poor 'r 'n orphan... prove w-we can be Wizard–Wizard King! Or–or–or the other!" Asta suddenly lifts her hands like she was cheering for someone. She wretches at the sudden movement and hunches over herself to throw up.
"We–we can?" Yuno asks through her calming tears and her sharp intakes of breath.
"Yeah!" Asta cheers as she slowly sits back up. She haphazardly wipes the bile off of her chin before she moves to lean her side against the wall.
"C-can we really?"
"A-anyone can! 'cause–'cause–if they try hard 'nough!" Asta tries to stand with the support of the wall, but simply collapses forward into the snow.
"Any-anyone?" Yuno looks down at Asta with wide eyes.
"Me–me 'r ev'n you! Y-Y'no!" Asta exclaims, trying to smile brightly from where she lay in the snow. The world was spinning too fast for her to even move. She's really tired.
Yuno stares at her with tearful eyes before she furiously rubs them with the torn sleeve of her shirt. She continues to take in sharp breaths from her sobbing, but when she lowers her arm, the tears are gone.
"I-I'll–I won't cry! Never–never again! Maybe I–no! I-I..." Yuno shakily stumbles to her feet, almost falling from how stuffy her head feels. "I will... I'll become–become the Wizard King! I'll become the Wizard King too! I'll... I'll become stronger, a-and protect you–and protect every-everyone else! I'm–I'm gonna make everyone happy! So we can have n-nicer things!"
Asta blinks her eyes open, not even realizing she had closed them. She laughs into the snow and doesn't notice how it gets into her mouth and nose.
"Y-you gonna too? Th-that means... Yuno... You're my rival!"
"Asta, you're–you're my rival!"
Asta laughs into the quickly thickening snow and shakily holds up her hand. Yuno collapses back to her knees when she reaches out. They both giggle as they grab each other's wrists.
Yuno falls into the snow next to Asta, out like a light. Asta continues to giggle through her dizziness as the edges of her vision turns black.
"Damn brats." The crunching of snow fades into the background before a blurred silhouette of black and fiery red walks closer. Asta's body finally gives out from the severe beating it went through as the silhouette crouches down where the necklace had fallen.
"How are you going to become the Wizard King if you pass out in the snow and die? Idiots," The woman who watched the entire incident and the promise stands back up while inspecting the necklace.
A wild grin grows on her face before she looks at the little brats who shouldn't have that much determination in them this young.
They have more grit than her foolish younger brothers combined. Hah! This is gonna get interesting!
Mereoleona Vermillion reaches down and easily lifts the two girls by the collars of their shirts. She roughly throws them over one shoulder and starts to walk through the empty street, leaving the bloodstained snow behind.
In one universe, Asta and Yuno–brothers, best friends, rivals–are raised in a run down church at the edge of the world. One is a blessing and the pride of the church, a prodigy in magic and fated for immense greatness. The other is a gift from God cursed with no mana, damned to be worthy of nothing in a society built around magic, only having sheer grit, stubbornness, and years of training as his weapon against fate's derision of him.
In this universe, Asta and Yuno–sisters, best friends, rivals–are raised in a run down church at the edge of the world, until a traveler happens across the fateful night that has paved their way to greatness. One is a blessing, the sensitive and gentle Moon, bright and quiet and powerful, a prodigy in magic and fated to be great. The other is a gift from God, the bright burning Sun, exuberant and loud and ferocious, cursed with no mana and damned to be worthy of nothing in a society built around magic, only having undying determination, ferocity, and years of training as her weapon against fate's disdain for her.
The Sun and The Moon. The Blessing and The Gift. Fate's Favorite and Fate's Abandoned.
Mereoleona Vermillion, eldest of House Vermillion and named the Uncrowned Undefeated Lioness, sees their potential during that fateful night where a promise is made. Not one to ignore entertainment or the possibility to get stronger, Mereoleona takes the two girls in.
Either they'll go farther than anyone else, or they'll die. There isn't anything else to it. She's interested enough to see it through.
She is not their mother. And she will not be proud if one of the little shits manages to actually become the Wizard King. No, she doesn't believe they will, either!
The sun shone high in the sky, unusually hot for an early spring day. Boiling water shot up from the shattered ground in the form of geysers. Heavy winds sprayed the water across the boulders and charred ground.
Loud battle cries and the sound of falling boulders echo across the vast expanse of the shattered land. A large boulder is suddenly lifted by the wind and thrown completely across the area, only for a geyser to erupt and shatter the boulder to pieces.
As the geyser dies down, a silver and black blur jumps over and falls towards the shattered land. A tanned fist punches into the ground and completely shatters it for a few meters. A black blur flies back with the help of the wind before the crumbling ground could take them with it.
A 15 year old teenager stands up from the beginning of the horrific show of strength. Emerald eyes are dark with ferocious determination and a wild grin is plastered on a tanned face. Small scars littered it along with the freckles splattered across a sharp jaw. Silver hair made almost white from constant exposure to sunlight, wild, untamed, and covered in dirt and blood, fell out of its braid and past broad shoulders.
Her training tunic was already torn to shreds, barely covering her chest, and her blue skirt barely stays on her hips, torn from her left leg and almost sliced open at the seam. Her wrists down to her knuckles were wrapped in white bandages and she had forgone her boots, revealing the white bandages wrapped around her heel and ankles.
"You really think that's gonna stop me?!" She shouts aggressively, punching her fists together. Asta grins and crouches before she leaps towards her opponent.
The wind suddenly kicks up before throwing Asta back, making her slam through two boulders. Another 15 year old girl grins quietly at the usage of her wind magic.
Bright gold eyes gleamed in violent glee and her pale face took a slightly unhinged expression. No freckles blemished her face, but scars still stood out in white lines across her high cheekbones and her delicate neck. Black hair, wild and windswept and messy, fell down to her mid-back, a few strands coiling outwards like snakes. The gold necklace with a bright blue stone pendant hung off of her neck and moved wildly by the heavy winds.
She wore no shirt and only a dirty wrap around her chest and her pants had been torn at the sides from her hips. Bandages wrapped around her abs and her wrists down to her knuckles. She also had forgone her boots and revealed the bandages wrapped around her own heels and ankles.
"I think that's going to." The quiet, unhinged grin grows just a bit more wide before Yuno leaps back into the air, avoiding the eruption of the geyser she stood on top of.
"YOU FUCKING SHITHEAD!" Asta screams from where she landed. Yuno rolls her eyes before she uses the wind to make her fly up into the air. She easily spots the almost white hair of her sister and drops down, gracefully landing on her feet.
"Why the fuck did ya do that?!" Asta grabs the front of Yuno's wrap and pulls her down to be eye level. "You threw me at an erupting geyser that almost melted my skin off, shithead!"
"You dropped me down a geyser about to erupt, to wake me up, asshole," Yuno retorts with a small sneer as she steps forward to tower over Asta.
They glare at each other, just one step away from ripping each other's throats out.
"Hey, you shitheads! What the hell are you two doing?!" The roar is their only warning before two fire lion paws grip both of their heads. The lion paws turn to reveal the ferocious woman and her expression of pure death.
Asta and Yuno brighten immediately at the sight, both wearing equally wide grins. "Ma!"
Mereoleona growls and slams the two girls into the ground, making it crack underneath the force. She holds up a hand and clenches it in a fist.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that, you brats?!" Mereoleona roars before she lifts the children she adopted back up. "Now, I won't ask again. What the hell are you two doing?"
"Training," Yuno states shortly. Mereoleona glares at her, making the teenager avert her gaze with a shrug.
"We got bored while waiting for you to come back! We just got some good training in!" Asta agrees with her sister with a ferocious grin. "Did ya see that last move of mine? I totally had her!"
"As if," Yuno scoffs with her own grin. "I won by throwing you out."
"Really? You wanna have another go? We didn't end our little match!" Asta asks excitedly. She would have moved closer if she could, but the lion paw is still grabbing her head.
"If either of you speak another word, I'll throw you both into the Ultime Underground Cave for a week!" Mereoleona starts to tighten her grip around the teenagers' heads to prove she was serious. She's always serious.
Asta and Yuno wisely keep their mouths shut, but they continue to glare at each other. Mereoleona glances between the two before nodding her head with a grin.
"Good!" She sets them down and her fire magic recedes. "Get cleaned up. We're leaving."
Asta and Yuno blink in surprise. They've only been here for seven months. Since they started traveling with Mereoleona, they've stayed in each Grand Magic Zone they come across for at least a year.
"Ma, we've only been here for seven months," Asta voices their thoughts and confusion.
Mereoleona grins wildly and places her hands on her hips. "Don't tell me you forgot what's going to happen in a few weeks? I didn't raise you two shits to be idiots!"
There shouldn't be anything happening this year... well except their grimoire choosing ceremony and the–
Yuno straightens up with wide eyes and an excited smile. She looks over at Asta as she realizes too.
Their grimoires!
"We'll be ready in less than ten minutes!" Asta sprints past with a bark of laughter, quickly followed by Yuno. Before they could get very far, Mereoleona grabs their heads with her magic once more.
"Too late, shitheads! We're going now!" Mereoleona crouches down before suddenly leaping into the air. Asta and Yuno laugh in glee, too used to their adopted mother's quick changing mind to even be surprised, let alone terrified.
Mereoleona drops the two teenagers and focuses her magic below her feet to start flying southwest. Asta quickly flips in the air to fall above Yuno as the wind mage focuses her magic around her.
Asta lands on Yuno's back and wraps her arms around her neck before Yuno follows the fiery woman. A matching grin grows on both of their faces before Yuno speeds up enough to create a loud boom.
Mereoleona's laughter gets lost in the wind before she speeds up, easily flying past Yuno. The teenager narrows her eyes and follows through with the race, Asta cheering from her back.
She'll win this time.
"Not fast enough, shithead." Mereoleona stands proudly over the heaving form of Yuno, grinning ferociously with her arms crossed. Yuno gives her a half-hearted glare before collapsing onto her back. Her magic is fried.
Asta rocks back and forth from her cross-legged position on the crumbling stone wall. "Idiot, you haven't beaten Ma before. Why'd you think you would this time?"
"You're always on my back, bitch," Yuno snarks out, none of her attitude exhausted. The magic exhaustion simply fueled it more.
"Ma sometimes carries me–an' our things when ya race. She still wins every time," Asta points out with an eye roll.
Yuno growls under her breath and flicks her fingers towards the silver haired teenager. Asta yelps loudly when a strong breeze forcefully throws her off of the wall.
"Alright. That's enough, you brats!" Mereoleona grabs their heads with her lion paws, already walking down the dirt road. "I've got business to attend to in the damn capital. So, I'm leaving you with Sister and Father Orsi."
"You're going to the capital?" Asta asks with wide eyes. Even a blind man could see Mereoleona's hatred for the Royal Capital.
"Too much politics and not enough fighting," is what she always claimed... but Asta's pretty sure she started to get worried of what the Royal Capital could do to her and Yuno after Mereoleona took them in.
They know it's one of the reasons why their adopted mother is holding off on announcing the nine year old adoption until they turn 18 years of age. There's a lot less things the royals and nobles could fiddle with to make Asta and Yuno puppets. If they can get past their fists, that is.
"Some of your family is getting their grimoires at the same time. It's a stupid party that I normally don't attend, but one of them will need my support... those idiots," Mereoleona hisses the last part, clearly angry at the one thing she doesn't mention much to Asta or Yuno.
Their cousins in House Silva. Or at least, one cousin in particular. But, they have yet to learn their name.
"I'll be back before the week is over. So, you better have some training or you both are spending two months in the Ultime Underground Cave," Mereoleona states with a bloodthirsty grin before she stops before the closed doors of the only church in Hage, and at one point, the only home Asta and Yuno had ever known.
Mereoleona kicks open the doors–careful not to use her usual strength against the old wood–and steps through. "Oi! I'm here to drop off some brats!"
"Lady Leona!" The familiar squeal of Recca echoes through the empty church before a young girl runs over and wraps her arms around the fiery woman's waist.
Her curly mess of red hair bounces as she looks up with a bright grin. Three sets of footsteps echo through the church before three children run out of the backroom of the church.
"Lady Leona! Lady Leona!" The youngest boy, Hollo, shouts brightly, stumbling over his feet to race over.
"Children! Don't run in the church!" Sister Lily is quick to follow the children, coming out from the kitchen. Her smile is happy and pleasant despite her admonishment.
"There's too many of you brats," Mereoleona states, pretending that she isn't patting each of their heads when they run up to her.
"Lady Mereoleona, it hasn't even been a year yet! It's good to see you," Sister Lily greets cheerfully before the fiery woman drops the two teenagers she had carried over. Her blue eyes blink, taking in Yuno's and Asta's state of appearance.
"I see that you rushed to get over here, Lady Mereoleona." Sister Lily gives the older woman a slight look before smiling at the two teenagers. "It's good to see you two, Asta, Yuno. How have your travels been?"
"It's good to see you, Sister!" Asta runs over to give the Sister a large hug.
"Same as always. We had traveled to the Ultime-Volcano Mountain Trail and a strong Grand Magic Zone northeast of here," Yuno answers quietly, giving Sister Lily a side hug before walking further into the church.
"Lady Leona! Are you staying?!" Recca asks excitedly with her hands clasped in front of her chest.
Mereoleona laughs and roughly pats Recca's head. "Nah. The Grimoire Acceptance Ceremony is this week and I've got somewhere else to be, brat."
"You're getting your grimoires this week?!" The eldest boy, Nash, exclaims, turning to stare at Asta with stars in his eyes. He quickly turns his head with a bright red blush, dampening his excitement. Asta grins widely and places her hands on her hip with a laugh of her own.
"You bet! Well–Yuno, that little sh–jerk will get one at least," Asta states with a shrug. She isn't really jealous or anything, but it's common knowledge in her small family that she may never get a grimoire with her disability.
"Don't be a fool like your uncles, brat! Giving up on the impossible, hah!" Mereoleona grips Asta's head with her magic. "You'll get a grimoire. I took you in!"
"Big Sis Asta will get a grimoire! I know it!" Aruru, the youngest girl, shouts her agreement with her hands in the air.
"Grimoire! Grimoire!" Hollo repeats loudly, following his foster sister.
"Where's Father?" Asta asks instead of answering the cheers and reassurances.
"He had to go talk with the mayor. He'll be home by dinner. Will you be staying the night?" Sister Lily answers, pointing her question towards Mereoleona.
"Please? Lady Leona, will you stay? Please? We haven't seen you in forever!" Recca pleads with wide eyes. The other children voice their pleas afterwards, four children staring up at her with pleading eyes.
Mereoleona leans back before her face pinches slightly. She sighs softly and shakes her head with a grin.
"You brats are gettin' really bold. Someone's gotta teach you some lessons in manners!" Mereoleona states as if she's the perfect person to say that. "Fine. I'll stay the night. But don't expect me to tell you all any stories until you finish your chores!"
As the children rush to complete their chores, Mereoleona drops Asta onto her feet. "Go and get cleaned up, brat. And I expect you and Yuno to not get into any fights. Unless someone deserves an ass–"
"Lady Mereoleona!" Sister Lily admonishes sternly, not fazed at all that she's scolding a royal.
"Unless someone deserves a... butt-whooping," Mereoleona corrects her vocabulary and glares down at the silver haired teenager. "You better understand me shi–brat. Or you and Yuno will spend two weeks in the Endless Whirlpool Lake."
Asta nods her head with an eye roll and a hidden smile. She turns around with a wave of her hand as she runs further into the church.
"Got it, Ma! Me and Yuno'll help out once we get cleaned up, Sister," Asta calls over her shoulder.
"I told you already, shit–" Sister Lily coughs loudly, her glare becoming even more stern. Mereoleona scowls and takes a deep breath, mentally filtering her words.
"You brats know better than to call me that!" Mereoleona shouts back, only receiving a muffled cackle from Asta.
Asta remembers the first night Mereoleona mentioned how the stars don't shine bright in the Royal Capital. Asta can't imagine not knowing about how bright the night sky is.
And traveling around the kingdom, and the Neutral Zone... the night sky always looks different. It's beautiful and it always calms Asta's racing thoughts when she can't stop them.
She lowers her head to rest her chin on her knees. It's chilly for a spring night, but spending seven months in a constantly boiling and humid zone like the geyser zone has made her senses a bit skewed.
The Grimoire Acceptance Ceremony is this week. She's not going to get a grimoire.
Asta sighs quietly and continues to gaze up at the stars.
She's not upset about it. Nor is she jealous. She's just... accepted the fact. No amount of Mereoleona's training has woken up some innate part of her soul or sleeping mana. None of the mana soaked in the Grand Magic Zones she's lived in has altered her mana, only making her more resilient to it.
She is not getting a grimoire... because she has no mana for one to choose. She'll be the only human being in the entire world to not get a grimoire.
"You're brooding." Asta has long since lost the ability to be physically startled by those who sneak up behind her. She turns her head as she breaks out of her thoughts.
Yuno stood behind her, barefoot and wrapped tightly in a wool blanket. Her gold eyes glow beneath the moonlight, shining with worry.
"I don't brood," Asta drags out the word before facing forward again. "I'm just gazing up at the night sky."
Yuno huffs loudly, but stays silent. Minutes pass with Asta not turning around again before Yuno finally walks over to sit next to her.
"You'll get a grimoire. I know you will," Yuno declares with a kind of confidence Asta always admires.
Asta smiles, cold and wry. She lifts her head to gaze straight up.
"A grimoire can't be chosen if a person doesn't have mana or magic. That's the rule this world is built on," Asta calmly recites one of the few books she forces herself to read entirely once upon a time.
Books are hard to read; well, words are. They get jumbled and sometimes they swim and the letters always get switched. Maybe, if Asta could read without spending almost an hour on a single page, she might enjoy books like Yuno does. Well, maybe not. Yuno is a nerd for books.
"But, there hasn't been anyone else like you. How can the rule apply or not if we don't truly know what will happen?" Yuno retorts with a small look pointed towards Asta. Asta doesn't look her way, but frowns all the same.
"Exactly. There's no one else with this disability except me," Asta sighs softly before a small smile grows on her face.
She finally turns to face her sister and best friend and rival and grins. "With or without a grimoire, with or without a way around my disability... I'll still become the Wizard King."
"As if. You'll never become the Wizard King," Yuno grins back with a burning determination, "because I'll be the Wizard King."
Asta can't help, but laugh quietly. Yuno devolves into her own quiet chuckling. One of them will become the Wizard King. No matter what.
They don't notice the two women silently closing the church door, their unspoken worries eased for the time being.
Mereoleona leaves before the sun could even peek over the horizon; without fanfare and without notice. No one is too upset or shocked when they finally wake up to silence instead of the loud snores of the fiery woman.
It's only been three years since she last visited the Royal Capital. Nowhere near the previous ten years–the year Noelle turned six did not count, because that foolish brother of hers needed a lesson in childcare and Mereoleona only stayed for the day–after she forced her foolish brother's hand to train their even more foolish youngest brother.
But, Asta had gotten her first period and Mereoleona was not equipped or had any knowledge with it besides her own experience and what her old mentor, Theresa, had punched into her head. Despite Owen's confusion at being questioned–and kidnapped by the lioness–she had gotten the answers she needed... and then had to be forced to visit her brothers and the rest of her family because someone, she has still yet to figure out, had snitched that she was in the capital.
Mereoleona wished it was longer since she last visited. She doesn't want to be questioned or forced into any parties. Her girls will need more training in the six months leading up to the Magic Knights Entrance Exam, and she's already going to waste two of those months by staying in Hage.
"It's Lady Mereoleona!"
"The lioness is back in the Royal Capital!"
"Do you think she's here for the Grimoire Acceptance Ceremony?"
"Maybe she's been ordered to return!"
The rapid whispers of the medical staff make Mereoleona's blood pressure rise in her irritation. It's one of the reasons she despises the capital so much. Rumors and talking.
Things should be dealt with by actions! Rumors simply infest the minds of the gullible and the weak and leave no room for growth for the strong. If something has to be defended with words over actions, then it doesn't deserve to be defended. But, she keeps those thoughts to herself.
Mereoleona ignores the excited whispers that surround her as she kicks open the doors to the main medical ward. "Healer Owen! I've got some questions!"
A ferocious grin grows on the fiery woman's face as she sees the healers cower in fear. Owen pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs heavily.
"Lady Mereoleona. I would appreciate it if you don't shout in my medical ward," Owen says in lieu of a greeting.
Mereoleona simply grins before she stalks forward. She creates the fire lion paws and grabs Owen's head without stopping.
"H-Healer Owen..." One of the junior healers trails off nervously, taking a step forward.
"Come get me if an emergency arises," Owen says before Mereoleona takes him through a side entrance into another medical wing. Mereoleona stays silent as she marches down the barely familiar hallway.
She only took the time to commit the direction to Owen's office to memory the last time she came around. When her girls are finally allowed to be publicly known as Vermillions, Mereoleona won't accept anything less than the best for their medical check-ups.
"I take it this isn't a medical visit?" Owen is the first to speak up once they reach his office. Mereoleona releases him from her grip as she opens the door, walking in without a word.
No. It isn't. Not for her, anyway. She knows Grand Magic Zones are dangerous for even mages like her, but she uses the unnatural concentrations of natural mana to strengthen her own and increase her ability to live and survive in them. But, she started to travel around for Grand Magic Zones after her mana matured and she had been accepted by a grimoire.
Owen sighs quietly, but walks in afterwards, closing the door behind him. He walks over to his desk and sits down, taking off his glasses and waits for Mereoleona to speak first. He's dealt with Mereoleona's fierce and bullheaded violence when it comes to her own medical needs and problems enough to know she has to speak first or know one can get her to stay down for any kind of healing.
Mereoleona crosses her arms and stands in the middle of the room. "What can Grand Magic Zones do to a child's mana?"
Owen raises an eyebrow at the question, but doesn't voice his thoughts. He doesn't bother to ask questions unless it's dire when it comes to the eldest Vermillion.
"If they are born and raised in a Grand Magic Zone, like the Underwater Temple, they may have a unique magic attribute or a predisposition to a magic form that may help the child's survival in that kind of environment," Owen answers simply.
"I know that!" Mereoleona snaps. "I'm talking about a child born in a place with no unusual mana or strong concentrations of mana that travels through Grand Magic Zones and has been living in them for–let's say a decade!"
"Well, I suppose it may affect their developing mana, but I would have to see the child to get an accurate hypothesis. Most children that live in Grand Magic Zones are born there, Lady Mereoleona."
Mereoleona grunts at the answer, scowling as she thinks. Owen blinks before frowning himself.
"It may be possible for constant exposure to high concentrations of mana to create problems in children that aren't born in Grand Magic Zones. But, I haven't heard of any children being spotted traveling through Grand Magic Zones," Owen clarifies with a narrowed gaze. "Have you come across a child that lives in a Grand Magic Zone, but had not been born there?"
Mereoleona stays silent, appearing like she's lost in thought.
Owen sighs and tries again. "Is this the same child that caused you to interrogate me questions about a woman's puberty?"
"...a different one. That... child... does not have magic, but still travels through Grand Magic Zones as well," Mereoleona speaks quietly and carefully, glancing off to the side to glare at something non-existent.
Owen raises an eyebrow. No magic? He's never heard of such a thing.
"Do these children have names? I'm assuming you know them quite well, Lady Mereoleona," Owen asks professionally, only to raise his hands at the downright terrifying glare Mereoleona aims at him.
"Like it or not, Lady Mereoleona, but you knew what you were doing three years ago by coming here and asking me about teenage puberty. I need names for their files," Owen continues, unperturbed by the ferocious and deadly nature of the woman in front of him.
Nothing will ever be as terrifying or as horrifying as the Five Years of Frozen Hell back when Mereoleona had first started her period and subsequently gone through puberty. It was only Owen himself that hadn't retired after those five years and it's only Owen himself that Mereoleona will ever go to for anything medical related.
It's almost worth the amount of burns scars he has. Almost, but not quite.
Mereoleona sighs quietly, her shoulders sagging in her silent and begrudging defeat. No one besides Sister Theresa Rapual and Owen can get her to do or say anything against her own wishes and views. Though, it takes quite a bit of concussive-inducing hits to the head and enough sedatives to knock out a horse to get her to simply comply.
That is worth the burn scars Owen received from the lioness.
"They're both fifteen. Got it?" Mereoleona hisses with an almost feral snarl. "I don't want any information public until those two shitheads reached the proper age of eighteen!"
Owen blinks before his mouth opens. That was not what he was expecting.
"They are your–"
"I only took them in! I have no children! Those little shitheads aren't mine!" Mereoleona interrupts with vehement denial.
It takes every single speck of self-control Owen has learned over the decades of being a healer to not laugh or even crack a smile.
"You're waiting until they are 18 years of age... you're going to introduce them as Vermillions when there is no chance of anyone attempting to manipulate them into marriage," Owen thinks with an involuntary twitch of his lips. "You may deny it, but it's clear you are their mother. You've grown, Lady Mereoleona."
"Patient confidentiality is my number one priority. I swear no information will be leaked from me, Lady Mereoleona," Owen speaks up with a gentle smile.
Mereoleona huffs loudly with a scowl. "Their names are As–"
The office door is slammed open so hard, it cracks the wall. A young man with the same shade of vermillion hair as Mereoleona stood in the entrance with wide eyes and an even wider grin.
"Big Sis! You truly have retur–" Mereoleona uses one of her lion paws to throw her youngest brother, Leopold Vermillion, through the wall across from the office.
"DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW TO KNOCK, YOU FOOLISH IDIOT?!" Mereoleona stalks out of the office with her magic flaring all around her. "That fool must be severely lacking as your teacher if you don't even know to keep your voice down in the Medical Ward!"
Owen sighs heavily and glances over at his almost obliterated wall, and the charred doorway into his office. Sometimes, he wishes for the cold and arrogant Silvas over the Vermillions passion and impulsiveness. At least they know that destroying his property is going to waste time... for the entirely wrong reasons, but still.
"SISTER!" Owen pinches the bridge of his nose at the loud shout from the always passionate and honorable captain of the Crimson Lion Kings.
"What are you doing in the Medical Ward? Have you been injured?" Fuegoleon Vermillion asks loudly as he steps into view from the doorway.
"Are you insulting me?! I wouldn't get injured so easily in the three years since I've seen you, you fool! No wonder this idiot has no manners with you talking to me like that!" Mereoleona snarls back before she uses her magic to grab Fuegoleon's head.
She turns around with a growl and momentarily catches Owen's eyes. Her snarl softens into a hard expression before she inclines her head.
Owen gives the same goodbye with an exasperated smile. Looks like they'll be discussing this at a later time. Which means probably in a year or two.
Yuno tugs at the high collar of the blouse she was forced to wear for this event. A somewhat ruffled Asta stood next to her with too much smugness for what she did to her. She deserves the scratches Yuno gave her in her attempt to escape.
Asta wore a simple dark blue sundress, slightly dirtied from her scuffle with Yuno, and a gold sash wrapped around her waist.
"I'm going to fucking kill you," Yuno growls under her breath, only making Asta grin widely.
"This is a big event. So, we need to look nice," Asta points out quietly, giving Yuno a once over.
She wore a high-collared blouse with lantern sleeves, a thin black belt, and a dark blue skirt that ended just above her knees. It was uncomfortable and she kept trying to put her hands in non-existent pockets. Her hair had thankfully been left alone to be as messy and untamable as it usually is.
"I have a nice pair of pants for things like this, you shithead!" Yuno hisses before Asta waves her hand with a cheerful smile.
"Not anymore!" Asta sings before conveniently being called on by Sister Lily.
"You little–" Yuno tries to grab Asta's messed up braid, but she simply twirls out of reach. Yuno growls again, almost sounding animalistic, before she pulls at her collar again.
"Do you know who they are?"
"They're with Sister and Father... they wouldn't take in children this old!"
Yuno rolls her eyes at the whispers and the stares. A loud bark of laugh catches Yuno's attention and she spots Asta with her head thrown back and Sister Lily giggling behind her hand.
"Stupid bitch." Yuno sighs quietly, a small smile growing on her face. She shakes her head with a silent huff and looks around the grimoire tower.
It was filled with way too many people, but there wasn't much that could be done. This is the only grimoire tower in the vicinity of three villages. A cloaked figure standing against the farthest wall immediately catches Yuno's attention.
"Why do you have your hood up indoors?" Yuno frowns thoughtfully as the cloaked figure turns his head to face her direction. She continues staring, not one to back down from something as simple as getting caught.
"Welcome, young men and women," The sudden announcement immediately grabs Yuno's attention. She faces forward and looks up at where an elderly mage hovered over them.
"You will begin a new journey today. I wish you all faith, hope, and love." The mage stands on the podium overlooking the entire floor. "I am the master of this grimoire tower. We've never had a Wizard King from this area nor anyone who's actually achieved greatness in the Magic Knights."
"No one's tried hard enough to achieve anything," Yuno silently retorts.
"I sincerely hope that one of you will become the Wizard King someday. No, really! Seriously!" Yuno raises an eyebrow at how desperate the elderly mage sounded.
The mage clears his throat and continues his supposedly inspiring speech, "Now it's time for the awarding... of the grimoires!"
Yuno stares up at the flying grimoires filling the air. She straightens her back and clenches her hands next to her sides. She has strong magic. A lot stronger than what a peasant is meant to have. But... will it truly be strong? Or is she simply skilled with an average amount of magic?
Yuno glances over at her sister. Asta stares up at the grimoires with her hands clasped tightly in front of her, no expression on her face and her jaw clenched.
"Asta will get a grimoire. I know it. She'll get a grimoire... because she is my rival!" Yuno thinks‒prays, hopes‒for her sister.
Exclamations and cheers and cries ring out through the entire tower as the grimoires choose their wielders. Yuno relaxes her hands and blinks when she feels a strong tug in her chest.
"We'll be taking the Magic Knights' entrance exam in six months," Yuno side-eyes the boy who said that and the boy standing next to him. Nice clothes, loose hair, clean hands. Commoners or nobles then.
"We'll be sure to get in!" The other commoner declares loudly. Yuno raises an eyebrow before rolling her eyes. They wouldn't even last in a fight without magic if they went up against Yuno, or Asta.
"Good, good." The elderly mage nods his head, clearly pleased. "I look forward to it."
"I knew it... there is no grimoire for me..." Yuno snaps her head to the right at the soft mumble. Gold eyes grow wide in shock at the acceptance and the devastation plastered on Asta's face. There was no grimoire around her. There was nothing around her.
"Asta will get a grimoire. Asta has to get a grimoire. She's my sister!" Yuno stares at Asta in disbelief and horror. They are sisters. Asta has to get a grimoire. Yuno is never wrong. Asta‒
"But, she isn't your sister by blood. You were simply abandoned on the same day." Yuno turns her head and ignores the wind's whispers.
Yuno almost stumbles forward when something tugs at her chest again. A gasp leaves her mouth before a bright and warm light envelopes her. A grimoire‒her grimoire appears in front of her.
Something fits inside her and her magic buzzes in her veins. The wind around her billows and twirls, dancing to a song only Yuno can hear. The song of air and the wind. Yuno doesn't even hear what is spoken around her as she raises her hand.
The grimoire‒the four-leaf grimoire falls into her hand, humming with the same song the wind sings. Yuno turns the grimoire over and stares at the four-leaf.
She straightens her back and faces the shocked crowd. "I'm going to become the Wizard King."
The entire crowd bursts into cheers. It doesn't matter that none of them know who she is. It doesn't matter that she looks like she could kill them with a snap of her fingers. It doesn't matter that she's dressed nicer than even the commoners. Yuno is clearly a peasant, and she has a four-leaf clover.
"Yuno..." The black haired teenager glances to her right. Asta had walked up to her, facing the opposite direction. She had a smile on her face, but she doesn't look at her sister.
"I'll be the one to become the Wizard King. With or without a grimoire." Asta finally turns to stare up at Yuno. "I'll bash your head in if you even think otherwise!"
"Not possible. You are sorely mistaken if you think you can hit me so easily," Yuno retorts with a grin. Maybe she really was wrong about Asta getting a grimoire... but Yuno knows something as minor as this won't bring her down. Not one bit.
Yuno brushes past Asta and walks out of the grimoire tower. The first step to becoming the Wizard King is finished... now it's time to train to become a Magic Knight.
"I knew it. I knew I wouldn't get a grimoire..." but I still couldn't help, but hope for one... like some kind of fucking idiot!
Asta impales her fist through a large oak tree. Her teeth grit together as she forces her fist out to punch the tree again. Stupid, stupid, stupid! She's so stupid!
"This won't be the end for me! It won't! I clawed my way to be as strong as Ma... so, you can't make me just give up now!" Asta roars loudly up at the sky.
She releases a battle cry before spinning on one foot, completely tearing the great oak tree she had punched out from the ground. It flies through the air and slams into another tree, splitting in half.
Asta's about to leap towards her next tree victim when a loud, piercing scream cuts through the evening silence of the forest. Asta spins towards the direction of the sound, her eyes narrowed.
That... that was near the grimoire tower. Asta crouches before leaping forward. Her foot barely lands on the tree branch before she leaps again.
"I know Yuno noticed him... the man with his hood up... he better not be causing any trouble!" Asta speeds up her leaping through the trees. She may not be a citizen of Hage anymore... this is still her first home, and the home of the children at the church.
"Get these chains off of me so I can beat your ass, you motherfucker!" Yuno growls before she forcefully takes another step despite the chains wrapped tightly around her waist and arms. She ignores how the chains are slowly sucking away her mana and ignores how they tighten to the point of cutting into her skin.
She is such an idiot! She knew this man was bad news the moment she noticed his hidden figure in the tower. Damn it! She had let her guard down because of those damn commoner brats! And if Mereoleona finds out... damn it! Yuno did not want to train in the Ultime Underground Cave!
"To think a little bitch like you has a four-leaf. Unfortunately for you, your legend is going to end before it even begins." The thief whose name Yuno doesn't even remember holds up Yuno's grimoire like it was a prize. "Oh? That pendant of yours looks like it's worth something too..."
Yuno growls loudly and tries to surge forward, only for the chains to pull tight. She gasps for air that she cannot get and thrashes against the chains. If she can just move her wrist, she'll be able to beat this guy's ass!
"I guess I'll be taking that too... while you die by my chains‒"
A black and silver blur slams right into the thief's side, making him fly into the stone wall of the path. Yuno grins through her gasps for air as Asta stands where the thief once stood.
"What the hell are you doing?! I'm gonna beat your ass so hard, you'll be crying for your own mother!" Asta shouts loudly with her fist raised at the promise.
"As‒ta." Yuno blinks away the blurriness in her vision and tries to take another step forward. Asta snaps her head in Yuno's direction, her emerald eyes blinking rapidly at what she sees.
"Yuno!" Asta races over. "Holy shit‒Ma's gonna kill you!"
Asta lifts her foot high in the air and slams the heel of her foot against one of the chains protruding from the ground. It shatters easily under the strength of her kick, loosening up just enough for Yuno to take in a gulp of air.
"Y-you don't say?!" Yuno exclaims in between her pants. Asta gives her a look while she raises her foot to shatter the next chain.
"You..."
Yuno's eyes widen as the wind interrupts its song to screech in warning. "Asta, move!"
Asta spins around with her foot kicked out and manages to block one of the chains attacking her. The other three slam into her and make her fly back into the opposite wall. One of the sharp ends slices through Yuno's cheek.
"You little bitch! Who the hell do you think you are?!" The thief screeches in his fury, stepping away from the wall he had been thrown into. Blood dripped down his face and more chains appeared around him.
"The bitch that's gonna break your fuckin' skull!" Asta widens her stance, not even phased by the surprise attack. "What the fuck are you doing to my stupid sister?!"
"Stupid?! You're the stupid one, bitch!" Yuno exclaims loudly, surging towards the silver haired teenager in a failed attempt to attack her. She hisses through her teeth and glares down at the chains still restraining her. Damn thief!
"I'm going to kill you. I may have been expelled from the Magic Knights... but I was still one once! My chains can't feel any magic power from you... a magicless bitch like you can't get away with this scratch!" The thief's grimoire glows behind him, turning to a different page.
Asta leaps forward with her fist raised and a feral grin on her face. "Good! I've been itching for a fight like this!"
"Iron Chain Magic: Dance of the Pitless Viper!" Iron chains snake in the air and surround Asta. Two pierce through her shoulder and thigh while three more simply slice through her skin.
Asta releases a battle cry as she continues to sprint towards the thief. The chains dig deeper and go completely ignored by the teenager.
"Are you even human, you little bitch?! Stay down!" The thief sneers, roughly taking out the chain still lodged in Asta's thigh to wrap it around the leg.
"Asta!" Yuno screams as the thief simply lifts the chains and swings them through the wall, taking Asta with them. The chain impaled in her shoulder is ripped out by the force, making Asta choke on air before she is thrown into the ground. She doesn't move.
Asta stares up at the sky with her chest heaving. The sky was turning a deep purple. The firefly dandelion fluff will start to glow soon from the sunset.
"Asta..." Get up. Get up! This isn't the end for you, so get up, Asta!
"Damn... I'm so used to fighting against fire and wind magic," Asta starts with a low voice and slow movements to sit up, "that I've forgotten that people have different types of magic."
Asta chuckles wetly before spitting out blood. Her chuckle grows into a laugh as she stumbles onto her feet.
The teenager's shadow lengthens as the sun sets lower, forming shapes and figures of hell and of devils. The thief takes a step back in an attempt to avoid touching the shadow.
"You‒what the hell are you? You shouldn't be moving! I'm stronger than you! I'm better than you!" The thief scrambles back even more, only to trip and fall from one of his own chains protruding from the ground.
Asta's head slowly raises and emerald green eyes glow in an unnatural glow from the setting sun behind her. A grin has split her face in half and reveals bloodied teeth and a split lip.
"I ain't done yet. Don't you ever think that I'm done. I told you before... Yuno. I'm gonna bash your head in if you even think of anyone other than me becoming the Wizard King!" Asta declares in a gleeful tone.
Yuno grins back‒the burning in the back of her throat isn't real‒just as ferociously become a bark of laughter leaves her mouth. "And I told you before, you bitch. That's. Not. Possible! Becuase, I'm going to become the Wizard King!"
Asta's grin becomes impossibly wider... and then she brings her attention to the thief. "Now... time to deal with you..."
The shadows laugh and a hellish light explodes from Asta. A grimoire appears.
Mereoleona whips around with wide eyes. Glass shatters behind her and exclamations of shock echo throughout the ballroom. Mereoleona ignores it as she takes a step towards the door.
"Sister! Is everything alright?!"
She takes another step, starting to speed up her walking.
"L-Lady Mereoleona?"
Mereoleona starts to run, slamming open the ballroom doors.
"Mereoleona, what are you doing?!"
Mereoleona breaks into a dead sprint, unbothered by her tight dress and the heels her brother forced her to wear.
She doesn't bother to sprint through the maze of halls in the Vermillion Residence. She fires a fireball at one of the windows and jumps through. She kicks off her heels and ignores how the bottom of her dress catches on fire as she starts to fly south.
That couldn't have been a fluke. She felt something. Something has happened. Something has happened to her girls.
Hey! Hope you all like the new story! Now, I know. It's a bit of an interesting scenario... but what if this actually happened?! God, the possibilities! I had to write it! And I'm a little bit under 10,000 words for the first chapter... hm. Well, more content for you all!
I don't know how heavy I will be with the canon divergence... but Mereoleona did raise Asta and Yuno for nine years‒and raised them in all kinds of Grand Magic Zones so... yeah. Most likely hella overpowered.
But‒and hear me out‒two women that are hella overpowered. I think it's a win-win!
Anyways, lol, I hope you all enjoy the story as it progresses! Bye.
WhovianWhoudini