Book 1- The Ark of Time

Chapter 3

He stared into the distance, "There is someone of nobility in the family." Horatia flinched when the man called her by her nickname, a name that she had almost forgotten.
"Who is it?" The man's eyes met her own.
"That... I don't think you are ready for yet." Her father gazed at empty space; the tranquillity that resided in his eyes calling for something.
"But... I would like to know why you are asking such a question?" Horatia looked down at her feet, which she now noticed were shaking. Could she really tell her father?
'Can you trust him?' That woke her up, wrapping her in a comfortable blanket that concealed her in warmth.
It felt like her chains were melted away, yet posed something else: could she? Her brows furrowed, why would she have to consider this at all? He was the only one who was always by her side, nudging her forward. 'I... Think so.'
Unbearable silence buzzed within the confines of her mind, 'Then tell him, but if you hesitate, it's best to keep it secret.'
Horatia turned to look at her father, "I-I... " The painful feeling flooding into her stomach, clouding her conscious. Every moment she scrunched her nose in the presence of nobles came back to her. Was this really, okay? "I just... wanted to ask, I've just been thinking about it for a while." The man watched with his brows furrowed and his eyes squinted at her, but it warped into a smile, "Okay then." He patted her shoulder with fondness in his eyes.

Horatia paced back and forth her room, muttering to herself as the boy watched. "I'm of noble blood? At this point you might as well say my mum is alive and I would believe it..." The girl couldn't stop, her thoughts wavering over every memory, every second of scorn.
"Horatia." She only continued, "Horatia, you need to calm down."
"How do I calm down?!" She stopped pacing and looked at him, her eyes widening when she realised, "I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to yell at you... You have nothing to do with this..."
Ruleum walked up to her and grasped her shoulder, "You're not the only one freaking out right now, okay? It's a shock to both of us." She turned around, brushing the boy's hands away from her, "I understand how you feel-"
In the moment, she did not know what had happened, her hands had moved by themselves, "Shut up!" She grabbed him by the collar, "What do you know?!" Ruleum only blinked at her, unmoving; "You don't even know me, and you're claiming that you understand? You don't!" Do you have any idea how it feels when you find out that you are the one thing you've hated your entire life?!"

A knock cut through the tense atmosphere, "Horatia? Are you talking to someone?" The door opened, and Ruleum had already jumped to it to hide behind it.
"Uh, no sorry... I was just annoyed at something I remembered I had to do." Her breath hitched, and her father closed the door in silence.
"Wow, you're strong." He shifted his weight forward, "I did not expect that."
"Can you leave?" She laid down on her bed, "Sorry... I didn't mean to... I just... can't talk right now..."
Ruleum looked at her, "Okay. Don't stay up too late, it's bad for you."

Her eyes stinged in the darkness of her eyelids, and in the dark, she dozed off, her mind clear in the storm. It was dark for a while, until a blurry image formed, but she could just about make it out. A woman, with blood red eyes and long, blonde hair. She blinked, and the picture cleared. The woman disappeared as soon as she appeared, and after that, the shadowing light of early dawn seeped through Horatia's window, illuminating the dark room. Her eyes fluttered open as a stream of light blushed over her eyelids, her red orbs turning orange in the early light. She slowly sat up, a dreadful feeling in her stomach, "When did I fall asleep?" The girl looked out her window and noticed that the sun was barely up, "And why did I wake up so early?" Horatia stood up and walked over to her desk, her hands prickled over the wood grains, before caressing the rough fabric of the red book, "I've barely studied..." She picked it up and opened it up to a long set of instructions. "What is this nonsense?" She shut the book close and placed it back down, "Never mind, it's never happening." The girl headed to the kitchen to make food, busying herself with work instead of focusing on the spell book. Horatia's father had already left for work, and she was alone in the house while she ate, her eyes lingering on the red cover.

Before long, she gave in to the temptation, "It's worth a try I guess." The girl tried to concentrate on every emotion she had, closing her eyes and visualising it at her fingertips, but she felt nothing. "Of course, it wouldn't work... Is this book even authentic?" Her hands fell to her sides, "What am I doing?" Horatia let out a huff but closed her eyes again and thought about the most painful memory she had. Suddenly, a warm feeling began to choke her, the strange sensation was strangling her, catching the brunette off guard. Brushing off the experience, Horatia started again, but this time, she was ready for the warmth. As it stabbed through her, the girl read the passage out loud, "Concentrate emotion to your fingertips until you feel a warmth from inside, then put your dominant hand in front of you and relax your other hand. While visualising time stopping around you, move you hand across your chest and stop before the hand goes beyond the other arm." Horatia did so, the world around her was quiet, but she wasn't sure if it was because it was early or it actually worked, so the girl looked down at the page once again. "To continue the timeline, move your dominant hand back to it's original position before the visualisation." The girl moved her hands back, but was not sure if it had worked, so she repeated the process several times, getting quicker every time.