Avornia

Chapter 1: Inside the Castle

The sun was bright, and the drapes were barely covering the window. My bed was messy and smelled like afternoon tea. I was sitting painting the Royal Garden, one of my favorite places to have lunch. The olive-colored paint was all over my once clean hands and was even on my bed robes. The painting was almost finished, I just needed to varnish it over after the paint dries to maintain its color. I've been painting for as long as I can remember, I think it's been around seven years since I first picked up my first paintbrush. My father doesn't approve of my painting, he quite frankly hates my paintings. I remember I once tried to show him my favorite art piece that I made when I was fourteen, and he locked it away because apparently, "It was disgraceful to the Icarius family name." It's always been like this, ever since mom died giving birth to me. From what I'm told, she was a lovely woman who looks exactly like me. I am constantly reminded of how much I look like her, it is getting a bit tiring especially since my father doesn't like that I look almost identical to her.

My painting featured the garden's flowers, and a woman basking in the smell of a dahlia flower, my mother's favorite flower. The woman had long black hair that was as dark as my father's eye bags, and eyes that were as light as my step-mother's brain. The painting was a representation of my family because I hate my step-mother so much. So much to the point, I dedicated a painting to how much I hate her. Her disgusting personality, her sickening perfume, and her gender-stereotypical brain were almost unbearable. I once tried to take sword fighting lessons but I wasn't allowed to because it was too "manly" according to my step-mother. At this point, I want to just call her by her name, Ora but I know my father would never allow it. My step-mother is my mother's sister. Yes, my father married my mother's sister, I can't believe it either. They married when I was seven and Ora already had a child, Thalia. She takes after Ora a lot and I kind of feel bad for her. Thalia has the same blond hair that reaches down mid-back, with her hazel eyes, and naturally rosy cheeks are almost identical. To be honest, I don't blame her for being cruel and rude towards me, it literally isn't her fault. I mean, she grew up with Ora, the definition of self-absorbed. She probably is just rude to me so she can get her mother's attention.

As I was waiting for the painting to dry, I decided to put on my outfit for the day, especially since today was the day I was going to go to Avornia's Academy of Alchemy and Warriors. Crazy right? Avornia is a prestigious academy, only children of nobles and kings can attend. Mainly because of safety reasons, not a lot of common people can get their hands on alchemy in the first place. Avornia is located in a neutral zone near the center of Zodia. It's immune to attacks and intruders thanks to the alchemy cast on it for centuries. The glorious and wonderful alchemy. That's why I am going to Avornia, to become an alchemist, it's been one of my dreams ever since I was little. Thalia tends to want to be better at everything so she is also going to study to be an alchemist in Avornia.

Anyways, I walked over to my closet, which had cream color doors with a gold intricate frame. I opened the door and the closet had many racks of dresses and heels. I then remembered Avornia has a uniform, so I couldn't put on any of my favorite dresses for the occasion. The uniform consisted of a black blazer, a gray skirt that reaches above the knees, a white button-up long-sleeved shirt, black ankle-high socks I then put on the uniform and it took a while to get all the pieces together. Then I grabbed my favorite perfume and sprayed it on myself. Next, I grabbed a comb and some hair products and brushed out my hair as best as I could. My ginger hair is very silky and smooth and I would like to keep it that way. I stood in front of the mirror to make sure everything looked alright. "I guess I'm all set and ready to head downstairs, this is going to be fun." The closet doors opened suddenly and I turned around to see who it was. It was the maid Natalie. "Young mistress Celestia, Mistress Ora is waiting to see you," She says with a soft voice. Natalie had straight black hair with tired owl-like blue eyes. She had gray bags and thin pink lips, that were almost as thin as thread. Natalie is nice, she is probably the nicest person I know. I like to consider her my family because she's the only one who's been there for me since I was a small child. I nodded and smiled as a response. Natalie smiled back. Her complexion always worries me, she is very pale and she always looks very stressed. Natalie then left my room and as the door shut, I took a deep sigh and opened my closet doors to leave. I noticed she took my luggage which was sitting on the floor and probably took it downstairs with her. "Oh yeah! I need to check on my painting," I whispered to myself. I checked over to my painting easel to see if the paint was dry. Paint got on my finger so that means it's still wet. Damn. That means I don't have the time to varnish it, but once I come back from Avornia after my first year, then I'll do it.