Esmeralda; Beginnings

Chapter 7

In Esmeralda's dreams, she heard voices. "You lied to us." 

"I did not." It was her father's voice, speaking sharply and impatiently, "As far as I know, she had no ability. Leave her out of this."

"It is not our choice. But our lady has decreed it."

The voice grew faint as stirred and a pain in her arm woke her. She opened her eyes and saw the black arm. The events from the day before came back to her thick and fast. But somehow, what had happened when she was caught in the thick of the spell was fuzzy. 

"Esmeralda." 

She turned and saw Master Emeric seated by her bed side. She sat up but her whole body felt battered, "Sir-" 

"You deliberately disobeyed me," he told her. He didn't look angry or upset. His face was stoney, without any emotion. She had never seen him in such a way before. 

"Sir-" 

"I told you- do not attempt such a spell. But you went to do it anyway. In result, you corrupted the balance of magic in the entire region and almost killed yourself. Gods above, woman- you did kill yourself. How you managed to start your own heart beat again-" now he was starting to look angry. 

"It was safe. I knew I wouldn't die," she said. She unbuttoned her shirt and showed, drawn right over her heart, a magic charm written in blood. 

He looked at it, "What charm is that?" He had never seen something like that before. 

"One of my own," she explained, "If my heart stopped, it would send a jolt to start the beating again." 

Master Emeric buried his face in his hands. 

"Sir…" 

"Curse you, woman," he muttered before looking at her again, "Do you ever even think of others?" he demanded, "Did it even occur to you how it felt for me to hold your dead body last night?" 

Esmeralda looked at him, "I'm sorry…" 

He got to his feet and made to leave. He stopped at the door, "Make yourself presentable. The high masters wish to see you." 

She nodded, "Yes, Master Emeric." 

He shut the door after him and she stretched her legs. 

Slipping out of bed, she put on her dress uniform and washed up before braiding her hair. The simple tasks became so much easier with her new hand. It was still numb as she learned to control it once more. 

She pulled on a pair of black kid gloves to hide the black hand and went to the parlour where Master Emeric was waiting. He took her to the high masters, neither speaking. She couldn't even bring herself to look at him. 

When they arrived, Esmeralda had to go see the masters on her own. They sat there, in black robes lined with gold. She knelt down before them. And they watched her before the head of their council spoke, "Rise, Esmeralda Brooker." 

She obeyed, getting back to her feet to look at them. 

"You broke a severe law last night. Creating an arm like that… it is not something the university condones." 

Esmeralda looked at them, ready for this, "I looked through the archives, milord. The only reason why the law was created was due to the fact that such a spell meant death for the caster. There was no punishment for breaking this law." 

There was a murmur as the high masters whispered among themselves. "She's right," she heard someone say. 

"Esmeralda," said the head once more, causing silence to fall, "What made you so sure you would not be counted as dead?"