The Bane of Light

Terms and Conditions

"You are shaking fist and trembling teeth. I know: You did not mean to be cruel. That does not mean you were kind" - Venetta Octavia, The Burning

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The next few days were peaceful. Quiet even. Daphne had dealt with the publicity crisis with my father, by throwing another Fontaine in the spotlight. It was the typical move. It was always Bunny though, who accepted the attention. It was always her who was on the front pages right after a scandal. She liked to pretend she was doing a good deed, by accepting the spotlight so that it would shine away from our problematic family. She believed herself quite the martyr with honorable intentions, besides a social climber with a desperation for recognition.

So, you could imagine my surprise, when I walked out of my dorm on a completely average Tuesday morning, only to find my face plastered onto the covers of all the magazines.  It was not Bunny who was on the front pages this time around, but me. It was me. I was shoved under the magnifying glass of the entire magical community. But I was not informed of this. I was not stupid enough to expect a call from my mother, though I was well aware this was her doing. I had simply not received a call at all. Not from Daphne, not from socialite Bunny, who was most likely bitter from loosing her spotlight. I had learned of it, from complete strangers.

Everyone was whispering. They were watching me with furtive glances that they assumed I did not notice. I had pulled down my cream, uniform skirt, and inspected my maroon crew neck for stains.When I found nothing out of the ordinary in my appearance, I got the dreaded sensation of something being horribly wrong. Everyone was staring at me, and they were doing it openly too, which meant it was so widespread that they no longer feared being singled out.

A pit had sunk into my stomach, anxiety rattling my chest. My hands felt clammy as everyone continued looking at me. They would not stop staring. Finally after the prolongated stretch of silence, I stormed up to a random ninth year girl. Obviously not expecting to be singled out by me, she let out a small shriek of surprise.

Not bothering with her, I ripped out the magazine from her hands. She had done an adequate job hiding it behind her binder, but I saw the sheeny pages peaking over the top. Yanking the pages from her grip, I flipped over the cover.

My jaw instantly dropped in disbelief. I quickly stormed out of the hallway to a secluded section, making sure I was completely alone before having a panic attack over this. I flipped over the page, allowing the words to sink in. My face was not on the cover of the magazine, the picture having been taken from the back, but someones face most definitely visible. Paris was on the front page cover, his face clear as day, as he held me in the middle of the shopping district. Bloody fireflies.

I instantly recognized the captured moment.  It was from when I ran into him, and he grabbed me from falling. They had captured that split second as he stared down at me, my slender arms in his grip. You could see my white hair streaming down my back, and the bones protruding out of my spine where the charmeuse vest did not cover it. Big, ugly words were plastered above the image, taking up half the page.

"Eulalia-the Bane and Paris Arobynn- Heir to the Light of Araw. An Unlikely Couple We Never Saw Coming!" 

White, hot rage filled me at the sight of those black letters. They were bold and audacious, as if they were announcing the irrefutable truth. I ground my teeth at the nerve of them. Rolling the magazine up into my hand, the material crinkled under my clenched fists. I was going to kill everyone.

'Calm yourself' My shadows hissed against my consciousness, slithering around me in reaction to my flare of emotion. They guzzled my anger, but it kept swelling up, like a flood that refused to drain. Their efforts, though recognizably zealous, were fruitless. My shadows could do nothing now to tamper my rage. I stormed down the corridor towards where I knew the culprit was.