The Azure Knight

Chapter 5 - edited

Slowly, Sera opened her eyes, but the sunlight that came through the windows beside her made her immediately closed her eyes again. She blinked a few times to adapt with her surroundings.

'Where am I? The bed was nice and soft, just like mine, but this is not home.'

A sweet voice of a woman made her turned around. She looked a woman - with her hair as dark as her black kimono, but her smile was the opposite - leaned towards the door.

"Hello little girl. You slept like a baby since last night."

'So it was just a dream.'

Sera tried to answer the woman, but the sound of her voice was very rough.

"Here." The woman handed her a glass full of water. "You must be very thirsty."

Sera drank it fast and got choked.

"Just take it easy. You'll get choke if you keep drinking like that."

The woman smiled again. She waited patiently for the girl to speak first.

"Who are you?" Sera asked after a while.

"Let us exchange our name. Mine is Vysenna."

"I am Sera, Seraphine. Thank you for your kindness, Ma'am, but I need to go back to the alley. My mom must be worried by now."

Vysenna knelt at the bedside. "Okay. I'll take you there. But first, answer my question. What were you doing there?"

"I was waiting for Marc. He dropped me at the alley and told me to wait there. So I waited for him to come back to pick me up."

Vysenna frowned. "Who is Marc and why did he dropped you there?"

"Marc is the butler at my house. He dropped me there, so he and Mom could go to find a healer house who can cure me."

'A butler? Is she from a noble family?'

"What's your family name, Sera?"

Sera squeezed her hand as she answered the question. "Ignacia."

'Never heard of that.' Vysenna thought. 'Well I'm new in this town anyway. Let's ask the house owner later.'

"Hmm healer you say? Are you sick? Because you don't look sick at all."

"I'm not sick. I am cursed."

***

Vysenna was aghast to hear the words that just came out from the little girl in front of her. "Cursed you said?"

The little girl nodded. "The magician said that I have no magic inside my body because the gods had cursed me."

"Your awakening day was last night. Am I right?" Vysenna guessed.

Sera nodded again. "Can you take me back to the alley now? Marc must be waiting for me now. He will get worry if I had not been there."

Vysenna sighed heavily. After heard the girl story, she was sure that her family had thrown her away, but she had no heart to tell her the truth.

"Listen, Sera. What if Marc is not come back yet and still looking for the healer?"

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment. Sera lowered her head. Her long messy hair had covered her face, so Vysenna couldn't see her clearly.

"Are you saying that Marc couldn't find the healer house?"

"Eh... maybe? I'm not sure."

"Marc will find it soon." Her voice began to break as she cried. "I had to quickly get cured. I need magic to become a knight. I need it, so I can protect my mom."

Vysenna hugged Sera automatically. She hated to see a little girl cry. She kept hugging her as she began to sing a song. It made Sera calmed down and finally fell asleep.

***

"Mom!" Sera shouted.

She was at her parent's bedroom. Her mother was sitting on a chair, next to the window. The wind that blew through the window was making her dress fluttered.

"Mom! Let's go see the roses."

"Are you just returning from your dance lessons?" She said without even saw her daughter.

Sera nodded. "Yes."

"Then you must go to your room and study. Don't do anything aside from study."

"But Mom, I really want to see the roses with you."

"Do what I ordered you to do, Seraphine! Start from now, you have to work hard because you are not a boy. You have to be a great magician soon and I am not allowing you to embarrass the Ignacia family."

"But I don't want to become a magician. I want to be a dancer!"

"Oh... you dare to deny my words? Fine. If you don't want to study now, I'll make sure you'll never dance again."

As she said so, Lady Ignacia knelt in front of her daughter and grabbed Sera's ankle with strength.

"What are you doing, Mom? It's hurt. No!"

"Say it! Say that you will become a magician!"

"I want to become a dancer! I don't want to be a magician."

"Say it, Seraphine!"

"Stop squeezing my leg. It's hurt so much."

Lady Ignacia ignored it and kept squeezing her le, stronger. Sera needed to run away, but she couldn't since her mom held her tightly.

"MOM!" Sera began to cry, scared of her own mother. "Mom, stop it please. I begged you. I will become a magician. I promise. Just stop."

But her mother didn't seem to hear it. She added more strength into her grip until...

Crack!

"Argghhh!!!"

***