Chapter 37

Twisted Fate

Katarina was rarely in the place where she should be.

From the day she opened her eyes, the burden of being born in the house of de Florencio had sought to hush her young mind from dreaming. Her grandmother, the current head at the time, dictated her every action. They jailed her in solitary as though pinning her wings before she could even fly. That, perhaps, taught her how to be outspoken and wild.

Because Katarina refused to be controlled.

She won’t be silenced.

However, her early rebellious behavior also claimed her tiny space in that home as she became a stranger to her own family. They alienated her. They acted as if she wasn’t there. Silence then accompanied most of her days, only disturbed by the occasional visit of her grandmother’s older sister, Croatia.

Many thought that like Croatia, Katarina would grow up without any magical power. After all, although it was known that the members of their house awakened later than most people, it was almost unheard of that someone remained unawakened when they turned seven.

But Katarina didn’t give up. She used an enchanted staff and her freedom to her advantage. For most, wands were merely tools, but for enchanters like the house of de Florencio, they were the extension of their magical prowess. As such, her mother had enchanted the staff with a unique ability when she received it on her fifth birthday. It could turn itself into a quill when the owner willed it. Whenever it transformed, a special enchantment also took effect where the intensity of tremors in her hands indicated the difference between the owner and the medium’s flow of mana.

Katarina practiced writing every day and trained her body with only Croatia by her side, ignoring the occasional whispers of contempt behind her back. Sometimes, she would even sneak into her grandmother’s study, and took some books of spells for her to read.

Then everything began to change by midnight of her tenth birthday. As Katarina buried herself under the sheets while scribbling with her tamed quill, a strange warmness dawned upon her chest. The sensation streamed to her head, arms, and feet, leaving a quick and faint reddish glow on their tracks.

“I have awakened!” She shouted in excitement as she ran through the dark corridors of their castle. “I have awakened!”

Her high pitched voice echoed through, waking everyone in the castle, including her whole family and the servants. Thus, her grandmother chastised Katarina later that night. Still, out of all the people in the castle, no one had congratulated her - neither for her birthday nor her awakening - except for Croatia who visited her the next morning.

Normally, high-ranking nobles would hire a private instructor to train their children, yet her family decided to send her away. But Katarina didn’t lose heart. After all, that place had always been foreign to her as if she was never truly there.

A couple of days after her birthday, she traveled to the Kingdom of Grail to learn the ways of magic. However, before the end of her first year in the Academy of Sorcery, news of her mother’s passing reached her ears. Even though her mother distanced herself from her, she was still the one who taught her how to read and write among many things. Yet, she wasn’t allowed to go home.

‘Why was I here again?’ The same thought played at the back of her mind as Katarina deluged herself in her studies to forget her longingness. Then soon afterward, during one of her classes, Katarina discovered her gift - the power to infuse spells with enchantments. Once her grandmother heard of it, she was immediately called back home where she continued her education directly under her supervision.

It’s truly fascinating how a single event in her life changes everything. From being a total outcast to being a lass at the limelight. The same people who doubted her awakening now became the same people who believed that she’d be the next head. Of course, the turn of events didn’t sit well with her eldest sister. She made her life harder because of her insecurity, though Katarina couldn’t blame her. And so, a week before her sixteenth birthday, she ran away from home with Croatia’s help to become a full-pledge adventurer.

Katarina understood that the house of de Florencio wasn’t the place she was supposed to be. Still, the question, ‘Why was I here again?’ had never left her mind. Where was she supposed to be when the Great War began, or when the Civil War happened, or when Vlanca rampaged during Dilunelle, or now that Daedalus infiltrated her home? Where was she?

Katarina was rarely in the place where she should be...

“Can you slow down a little bit, human?” The kordoza that carried Vlanca spoke, dragging Katarina’s mind back in her old body. “You’re flying way too fast!”

“Silence, Kahesa!” Katarina answered sharply. “I have no time to hold back. Because I’m warning you…” She glanced behind, her eyes squinted slightly, showing a promise of a one-sided bloodbath. “If something happens to Arthur, I’ll search every corner of this island to purge all of your kind.”

“Oh?” Kahesa scoffed in reflex, unable to suppress the pride she had been holding on. “Will you?”

Without slowing down, Katarina began her chant and pointed her staff behind her. After declaring the name of the spell, countless numbers of small fireballs emerged behind her. “Stop provoking me…” One by one, they darted towards Kahesa like a barrage of bullets, barely missing the queen. “You won’t see the end of it…”

Kahesa couldn’t speak as she looked away. As hot as the attack looked, she sensed a cold sensation running from her abdomen up to her head and six feet. “Scary, this old hag is far too scary,” she whispered to herself.

Upon hearing this, Vlanca twitched at her seat at the queen's upper thorax, her hands unconsciously gripping the crevice between the kordoza’s head and thorax with utmost power.

“That hurts! Oi, demon girl, that hurts!”

Vlanca immediately realized her blunder and loosened her grip. “Sorry… sorry… I’m really sorry...” she said while blushing.

“You’re lucky, you impertinent fool!” She declared like a kid who bullied another kid because she knew she couldn’t beat an adult. “You know, I would have killed you already if not for this old woman.”

“I’m really sorry, your highness… I didn’t mean to-”

“Do not scare her, Kahesa.” Katarina sent another glare that only the Kordoza’Pareo could send shivers down Kahesa’s body. “Remember that I still haven’t forgiven you for torturing my granddaughter...”

Granddaughter? A demon and a human? Is that a joke? Kahesa thought as she avoided her gaze. Her body trembled in annoyance, humiliation, and above all... fear.

“What are you trying to do Kahesa? Are you trying to shake off the girl and kill her?”

Kahesa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “No… no… You’re mistaken, human. I am only a little tired because my mana was almost running out.”

The old woman clicked her tongue, and then soon enough, the kordoza felt a surge of mana flowing into her.

“What is this?”

“I gave you enough mana. Now, you can keep up with me…” Katarina said one last time before speeding up and left her in the dust. Filled with pride and energy, Kahesa used her wind magic and accelerated after the old woman, closing the distance between them in no time.