The Cursed One ✔ - Book One of the Phoenix Trilogy

Three ~ It's Time

The year 2016
PHOENICIAN REALM

"It's time. Again, we need to follow the pull to find our subordinate. I hope we'll have a great find this year," a woman said, hidden beneath a hooded red silk cloak long enough to cover her up to her chin. However, it was magically enhanced, which enabled her to see through the fabric without compromising her identity. The cloaks were their academy's uniform for masters and mistresses. It only varied in their colours of ranks.

She was standing in an open-air circular hall tower located in the middle of a palace ground, North of Phoenicia, overlooking the expansive forests. Each open window was draped with white sheer curtains that made a dance-like motion from the blowing winds.

"Okay then, just go on ahead of me. I still have to settle some things at the academy before going. I cannot believe I feel the pull towards the Human Realm this time," answered the man who stood beside her. His profile was also hidden beneath the same magically enhanced cloak, only his was blue in hue. His fatherly voice was full of uncertainty.

"Are you serious?" the woman gasped. "We haven't had a human as a subordinate for as long as I can remember. That can't be true. They're... Weak!" A hint of disgust was laced on her soft voice.

"Vulca!" The resonating voice of the man spooked some birds on nearby trees. "My, my, my, how humble you've become, my apprentice. You forget that you were once my subordinate? And you would not be here now, if not for me. A weak human, you say?"

Lord Ronheild Daqarqum was disappointed but only as the Headmaster of Phoenician Academy. On the other hand, he was amused as a friend and impressed as the king of Phoenicia—not everyone had the audacity to talk to him the way Vulca always did.

"I'm sorry. I mean, my apologies, Master, er, should I address you now as Your Majesty instead? She was glad that her flushed face was covered. Her voice was full of remorse.

How could I be so tactless? She silently reprimanded herself over and over again.

"You know that, don't you? I don't want to disrespect you," she casually added in an attempt to hide her embarrassment, once again forgetting proper decorum.

Lord Ronheild cleared his throat after her statement. It was his usual way of reminding her of the proper language etiquette practised in the academy, although technically, they weren't inside its premises at the moment. If he wasn't burdened with a lot of pressure recently, he could have had a good laugh over Vulca's clumsiness. If it was up to him, the woman's shortcomings were never a concern; however, the academy was set to certain and strict rules. A master or mistress should be a perfect role model for the subordinates. Plain and simple.

It was based on the same principle that he often wondered how his quirky apprentice even made it to the academy's curriculum. She was a great warrior, but she still had a lot to learn on how to control her temperamental and crude personality. The woman was a walking and living disaster wherever she went, even long before their academy times together. An ironic smile formed on his lips upon remembering their past. It all seemed a very long time ago.

Those were the days... He silently mused to himself.

"Oh! Please, do excuse my insolence, Master. I did not mean any disrespect nor to be rude. I'm afraid I used a rather inappropriate word to express myself. I stand to be corrected," Vulca's voice drastically pulled him back to reality. She blabbered away without noticing how she startled the man beside her after blurting out her speech in one breath, not without rolling her eyes though. She secretly smirked, thankful for the useful advantages of having a veiled face.