The Secrets of Arcana

Julian

God how I wish to have Luka's stamina.

We've been sparring ever since we returned to the castle.

That was FIVE HOURS AGO!

Ada has been in and out. Since she is a noble she has other responsibilities. For example, training with the guard.

That's right, little Ada is one hell of a fighter.

Not just hand-to-hand either, if you give her a bow and a quiver full of arrows, she will never miss a target.

Luka and I never stand a chance against her. I've gotten close, but Luka is too love-struck to keep his guard up.

But he'll never admit that.

Speaking of Luka, he has been complaining about the race the whole time as well. Which might be what's fueling him now that I think about it. Anger can be a major energy boost for some people.

And Luka is always angry.

When he first came to Ignis and started living in the castle he didn't open up about anything. He would just hide in his room. No one knows what he was doing but everyone agreed it would be better to leave him be. Eventually he opened up to me and Ada and explained his whole story.

And it was way worse than I expected.

He originally was from Lymphia, his parents being peasants who lived at the edge of the kingdom.

At one point the rebel attacks started up again, and everything started to go downhill.

Every few years, small groups of people get the guts to try and take down the systems that were created. They'll attack the peasants of every kingdom, not just Lymphia or Ignis, and they'd burn homes down and kill anyone in sight.

And when Luka was only four, he and his family were victims of the attacks.

His childhood home was burned to the ground. He somehow woke up before his parents and couldn't get to them as he ran out the house. He assumed his screams would've woken them up and they would eventually have met him outside.

But they never made it out.

Luka never returned to Lymphia after the attack. At the young age of five he had somehow made his way to Ignis. My father took pity and allowed him to live in the castle for the rest of his life.

Now, today Luka trains with the Royal Guard when he can, and he is basically my right-hand man. He always has and always will stick by my side.

I really wanted to quit, or at least take a small break from sparring. Because I am exhausted.

But I don't see that happening any time soon.

"How much longer are you two going to do this?" Ada asks, bringing my thoughts into the world.

Luka slows down a little bit, but is still throwing punches, "Whenever His Royal Highness decides to give up."

I scoff and sweep my leg at his, "That's not happening."

Ada rolls her eyes and leans back against a wall, "Then how about you make this more entertaining?"

"You don't mean?" Luka darts his eyes towards Ada, who just nods, "How would that be fair?"

She smirks and shrugs, "It won't, but I'm bored and you two aren't quitting so make it interesting."

I laugh a little bit and take a step away from Luka.

You can tell by now that we don't really live in your "average" sort of world. It's more...magical. You could probably have figured that out from the dragons, but there's also other forms.

There's a few types of magic; dark, light, neutral. They frequently overlap, like the dragons cross between neutral and dark. But then there are darker sources. Like the Sirens. Heartbroken, vengeful women who died at sea, who were cursed to become these evil, terrifying creatures who lure sailors to their deaths.

And then there is the light magic. The fairies, phoenix's, and unicorns.

Humans can have magic too, which tends to be more neutral. Typically they harvest and use it with some sort of item. But for those who are born with it, you don't need anything at all.

That's the case for me. The Ignisian royal family tends to at least have magical items every generation. But I'm the first in the family to actually be born with it.

I've been training all my life to learn how to control my abilities. They can be dangerous and devastating if used by the wrong hands.

So, I hide them from most people. But there are still some who do know about them.

Like Luka and Ada.

"So, are we going to entertain her or not?" I ask with a slight smirk.

Luka doesn't even hesitate before nodding and taking a step back.

I can see Ada get a little excited out of the corner of my eye as I get into a fighting position, my hands in tight fists.

Luka prepares himself and then gets into a fighting position.

We start throwing small kicks and punches at each other. I didn't want to use my powers just yet, mainly because I'm exhausted and they're harder to control when I'm tired.

But I know Ada wants to be entertained.

While Luka is still throwing punches my way, I start to focus on my hands and the heat in the room. I purposefully keep my private sparring room on the hotter side, so it's easier to summon my powers.

I continue to dodge Luka's attempts at hurting me until I can feel my hands start to heat up.

Time for some real fun.

I let them heat up a little more before I start to actually throw intentional punches. Right as my fist makes contact with Luka's face, he hisses through clenched teeth.

"Agh- great, thanks a lot Ada! You just needed entertainment!"

As another punch meets his face I see a smirk on Ada's face.

"Oh please, you've been at this for hours! I think I deserve a little something! Besides, you know you love me."

Gag.

Every time one of my hands touches Luka, he gets burnt. Not majorly, of course, this is all fun and games, but just enough to hurt like hell.

This continues for a little while longer before I decide to make this even better.

I focus even more and I start to get almost unbearably hot. And as I sweep Luka's feet out from under him, I roll a little further away.

I feel a tug in my stomach and my hand is on fire- literally.

I manipulate the flames into a sphere and as I go to throw it-

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A servant walks in.

"I have a message from the King, Your Highness."

Oh boy.