Meanwhile, Lageros
~Selene’s Perspective~
THUD!
THUD!
I kick and punch the dummy multiple times, training my technique as I always do when I go home. My hands are wrapped in a thick cloth to prevent wounds and I recall the lessons of my youth that started when I was 15 and got the attention of my teacher.
“Focus. Keep the stance I taught you and fight. Keep your attacks quick and powerful, but do not favor either.”
“Selene,” says someone. “Mom has dinner ready.”
I turn around. Standing at the doorway to the backyard is my younger sister. With her short, brown hair and green eyes, any stranger would be surprised to learn we are siblings. She’s 17, 8 years younger than me and takes after our father, who went missing sailing following her birth.
I smile slightly. She looks better than previous years. Especially since our town knows not to use magic around her out of fear of worsening her condition.
“Alright,” I respond. “Let me take these off first.”
She walks back inside as I unwrap the cloth around my hands. I sigh and walk into the house.
A few minutes later, Dinner, Liannos household
I eat a spoonful of soup as our family of 3 eats together for the first time in months.
Ever since I left home to get a living after the incident 4 years ago, I’ve rarely been home. I always try to, but bounties don’t wait.
“How were your travels this time?” asks my mother.
“They were good,” I respond. “Got some good money out of it.”
“Well,” says mom. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”
I smile.
“Me too.”
“Did you run into Cassius?” asks Pandora.
The mood darkens slightly. Cassius is a sensitive subject in the family. But mom and Pandora were off island during the incident to see a doctor and had no way of knowing what happened until they got back home a week later. Mom knows it’s a sensitive subject but Pandora…
It’s not that she doesn’t care. It’s that she was always attached to Cassius. When she was a kid, before Cassius left, she would cutely follow him around. Now, she’s sick and weak and can’t get close to anyone or anything that emits magic or spirit energy in any way without suffering. Those days where all she would do is go outside and play with me and Cassius are long gone. She can’t help but be concerned about someone she used to follow around all the time, even when she knows what he did.
“No,” I respond. “I didn’t.”
We don’t mention Cassius for the rest of dinner.
After we’ve put the dishes aside to be washed later, mom looks at me.
“When do you leave?” she asks.
“Early tomorrow morning,” I reply. “Probably before the sun rises.”
She nods, as if this was expected.
“Just remember to avoid trouble.”
I smile.
“I’ll do my best.”
–
The next day, Early morning
I walk out of our house and take a deep breath of the cool morning air. I walk along the stone road before taking a right turn to a hill, where the graveyard lies.
I pass through the gate and walk to a singular, lone grave. The words on it shine in the moonlight.
Alina Altia
Teacher of Selene Liannos
Y1754-Y1850
I stand there silently, thinking about my teacher. She taught me everything I know, and helped me awaken my second magic. Without her, I would just be a girl who knows shadow magic.
I pay my respects, turn around, and walk away from the grave in silence. Honestly, I don’t know what to think of her nowadays. On one hand, she was my teacher. But then again…
She was responsible for the incident at Lageros.
I walk, the past whirling in my head, to my ship, ready to begin the hunt.
End of Chapter XII