Project for a Pen-Pal

2.2K 107 12
                                    

I stood in my room glaring at my collection of toys and plush animals.

What to pack?

I may have been thirty when I died, but being doted on allowed me to regress a little and indulge my inner child. I allowed my parents to spoil me with toys and dolls. I picked a black plush dog my father had bought me on my second birthday. Another was a plush dolphin he had given me after a particularly long business trip. I put both in a case, along with my music box.

By the end I had filled the case with all the gifts my family had given me. I really didn't need the dresses and jewelry.

Mother had not come back from wherever she went to after tea with Ayla. I don't know if she went to confront father or verify Ayla's report. Either way I don't think she will want to stay in this house. I was going with her.

Father and Orion had eachother, and Mother had Grandmother and Ron. But a daughter needs her mother, and I didn't want her to forget about me... or Papa.

But letters and packages to and from grandmothers place take a while to arrive. My grandmother usually responds to my letters the same day, but unless she uses her familiar, it could take a month to receive a response. I had an idea and ran to the teleportation circle. I copied the symbols as carefully as I could on a piece of paper. I had to be sure that every line was exact.

I stole some soul gems from father's desk and grabbed matching boxes from another part of the house. I worked hard recreating the teleportation circle onto both boxes with the soul gems.

Soulgems are Crystal's that can hold magical energy. Like a battery. You can use them to power runes and intricate spells. A novice mage can hold a soul gem and feed it magical energy until their mana runs out, then save the them for a rainy day. They are very valuable, not just to mages but also for common folk who can use them for basic wand spells. Lighting fires, cleaning water, basic defense spells. Also as conduits for complicated spell constructs or machines.

Most houses have fire wicks with minor soul gems and fire runes embedded. It doesn't provide much more than a spark or small flame. They
often pass from one generation to the next. The only places that develop these runes are the mage guild and dwarven kingdoms.

Since my grandfather was once the head of the magic guild, finding a greater soulgem was simple enough. I ground a piece of the soul gem and mixed it with kraken ink I found in my father's desk. I carved, inked and burned the inside of both boxes, until I was sure that the designs were perfect.

I decided to test the effects by taking one box to Orions room and the other to mine. Orion and Adros looked sufficiently confused, until I started to explain.

My magic, like most children my age in the kingdom, was sealed away to avoid any accidents. Considering the "blessings" from the dryad and sea empress, I had more mana than most. Some could leak through the seals, but I still had not trained on how to use it.

Orion and Adros had one of their seals removed, which allowed them to practice small spells.

"Mama is probably going to go to Grandmother's house and I have to go with her." Orion looked scared and I focused on the box in front of us.

"I don't know how long she'll be mad and hurt by Daddy, but I still want to talk to everyone. So ..."

Adros opened the box in front of me and studied the symbols. "This probably won't work, teleportation spells require a lot of magical energy and concentration. The palace has three mages dedicated to just the teleportation room."

"I still want to try." I said tearing a sheet of paper and drawing a simple cat. I put the drawing in the box and told Orion to feed the stone. And light shone inside the box. I ran to my room and only found half of the picture. I brought it and the box back to the room with some confusion.

Both boys observed my drawing, Orion seemed confused, Adros had his thinking face on.

"I'm assuming you copied the runes in your teleportation room."

I nodded and watched him study my work. He sniffed the ink.

"Kraken ink... interesting. Bring it please." His sharp silver eyes focused on the box in front of him.

I ran back to my room and brought all my tools. Orion started to scold me for grabbing such expensive items and using a sharp instrument. Adros simply went to work. He started altering the symbols and adding more to them.

"You had the right idea, but the magic was muddled. Look here." Adros pointed to the extra symbols he added to the two boxes.

"Transport circles go from point A to point B. It's why the palace had several. Each one has a specific destination. The other half of your drawing was in your transport room." He held up the other half. It was frayed and slightly singed at the edges. "Because the magic is tied to specific symbols it split. The best way to make a transport circle is to have two mages making the circle simultaneously. Had you attempted this with a living creature the results would have been messy." I cringed at the thought.

"This is a very dangerous form of magic. It's forbidden to copy or replicate without permission from the crown or the guild. Luckily I'm a prince and this is technically a small scale project that I can approve." He ruffled my hair.

"Let's try again."

I drew a bird this time and handed it to Orion and Adros before taking the other box to my room. It glowed and I found my drawing. I ran back and hugged them both.

"Now I can write letters to Ori every day."

Orion smiled and hugged me back.

"She might not leave." He said stroking my back.

I hugged him tighter. "Hopefully"

Mother arrived that night, she ignored my father, packed a few things and loaded me onto a horse. I clutched the transport box to my chest. Mother made a camp that night and made me a quick meal before sending me to bed on a pile of leaves.

My box glowed and I found a note from Orion. It was a drawing of a heart.

)O(
Sorry about the delay. I really wanted to update with a drawing but my depression seems to be peaking.
So instead here's a pic of my dog sleeping in my sock bin.
If you like the story please vote and comment.

Am I a Villainess?Where stories live. Discover now