.A Spark From Before.

-10-

I didn't understand the sudden panic of the people as I tied the fabric around my head to leave the house.

Everyone amassed themselves outside, everyone whispering.

"This is too early." Skarla whispered next to me, her face morphed with worry. "We are not ready for the harvest."

"What is going on?" I asked her, feeling the need to protect her, gods I knew she reminded me of someone when I first woke up, she might be of royal blood.

"They usually come get the half of our harvest for the Capitol but it is too early, the wheat is not yet ready to be harvested."

"Hey, if needed I can do something." I said, grabbing and giving her hand a squeeze.

I tapped my heel against the ground, I prefer channeling my magic through my arms and hands, much more elegant but I learnt to do it with other parts of my body in case my hands and arms are restrained.... An elemental mage needs to be able to nurture a field with their magic.

My magic snaked through the cracks in the ground, seeping deep under ground, around the house, touching the roots of the plants.

Soon a huge caravan of carts pulled up with others riding on horses not attached to them.

All wore dark blue and black clothes, most of their faces veiled with a black cloth and it had six red eyes drawn on it, a sword on their side, the air around these veiled riders on horse back rippled with magic.... And yet I knew I had been right, I could take them on since they haven't fought against an elemental in centuries.

"Dovas of Livert." The veiled figure that rode in the very front spoke, dark metal gauntlets shining with the spikes on them, their chest-plate same metal.... They even gave up the insignia.

I clasped my hand over the insignia on my leather upper corset and discreetly singed the thread on it, pulling it off and pocketing it.

The veiled man hopped off the horse.

"I am here." The man Skala presented to me the second day I spent said, we had lied and said I was a friend of her father as he had been a traveling merchant in his youth.

"We have come to collect our dues."

"Sire, I worry the harvest is not read--" I flinched when he backhanded the village leader across the face, the spikes on his gauntlet lacerating his face.

"You do not speak back to us!" He said.

I pushed away from Skarla, passing like two people to step out of the mob, reaching to help up the man, how can no one even help him?

"Are you alright?" I asked, dusting off his shoulder as I checked his bleeding face as he looked horrified.

I saw him glance over my shoulder and I ducked, seeing a black mass move towards me.

I kicked one of my legs out under me and between the wide apart stance that the veiled man had.

I shoved on my leg in front to make myself stand up straight and body-check him.

I glared at this 'Elite' who easily lost their balance and fell over on his ass with a gasp.

"How dare you?!" He yelled, his comrades lifting their arms.

I looked around at the people and then at Skarla, who shook her head at me, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, letting the shapeless magic they brought forth whip across my face and throw me to the ground.

"Learn your place peasant trash!" The main guy kicked me in the ribs. "GET TO THE FIELDS NOW!!! AS CONTRIBUTION WE WILL GLADLY TAKE TWO THIRDS OF YOUR YIELD!!!"

"That was stupid." I pushed Skarla's hand away from my face as she tried wiping the blood from the slashed open cheek I had.

"What is stupid is that you let yourself be bossed around like that." I hissed in anger. "I will get back on the throne and right their wrongs." I promised to whoever was listening.

"Yeah but you can't act like this, we are all in danger, we'd all be convicted of treason and executed... So please let things happen while they are here, we'll think of something when they are gone."

I wanted to argue but she was pleading with me so I sighed heavily, not adding onto it.

"Thanks for the plants." She whispered after a while of heavy silence. "There is no other way that they would have grown fully in one day."

"You sounded so worried about them coming but the plants not being ready, I couldn't help it.... But they even lost the training to detect when someone uses elemental magic or I would be found out... I am superior to them."

"Just don't act out please, just me living risks us yearly."

"Yeah I know, the hair."

"Not only that, at least four times a year they come to test my family since generations."

"Test what?" I asked, worried.

"If we developed magical abilities or not, executing us on the spot if we do... Mom says I had a sister I never met, she was taken away long ago, she'd be twenty-five nowadays."

"I am so sorry, I'll bring peace back I promise." I said, giving her shoulder a squeeze, now is even more reason to tell her about her family's past Viola.

"Thanks." She clasped her hand on it. "I don't remember her but since then my dad says mom has always feared if I show any magic."

I guess that's the Wither Away reason, she must have thought like I did and not done it with her first daughter and when the barest of magic was detected she was taken away.

I sighed through my nose, I fear the worst.