Awaken

“And what do you do when you get to the end of the aisle, miss?” I asked Aina who was preparing for her debut as an official princess.

“Curtsey. Then I…” she stared at me nervously waiting for me to clue her in.

“Then you jump, and swan dive into the crowd and let the people body surf you around, obviously.” We laughed and she slumped exhausted from going over what is expected of her in tomorrow’s ceremony.

“Charra! I need to get this down! I’m going to be so embarrassed if I mess this up. Not to mention father will completely disown me, my abilities will never be awakened, and the nation will fail because their new leader can’t seem to get down where she’s supposed to walk during the processional!”

“Slow down. Breathe. And remember, the last nation only fell just shy of 250 years ago. We’re kinda due for a societal collapse.” We laughed again.

This was the easy part of my servitude. I loved to make her happy. I always seemed to forget that I was the help when it is just she and I.

“You’re going to get it. I will walk through and show you exactly what to do.” I pulled my friend off to the side and ran to the beginning of the aisle on the stage.

“FROM THE TOP”, I yelled back at her, and she giggled.

The throne room was being prepared for tomorrow’s ceremony. Other Dwindlings, like myself, were setting up the room for Aina to be coronated as a princess. During this ceremony, she will present herself to the people of our nation- Hellebor. She will then be the next person in line to rule the nation. Once her elitist father and mother croak- the Emperor and Empress.

Aina’s family tree stems from The Original Six. The Original Six were 6 people who woke up one day with special abilities, right before the world collapsed. There was a lot that caused the world to end. Corrupt politicians, Economic and Ecological downfall, widespread disease, Arms race—you name it. Very little of the population survived with The Original Six. The people without abilities who survived appointed The Six as deities, and de-facto rulers. Once The Six were appointed to power, they had no issue creating a world where people like them were on top and the powerless were on the bottom. People with abilities derived from someone with The Original Six ancestry are called Calibers. People like me, without abilities, are called Dwindlings. The class of Caliber depends on their class in society. You have your low class, who often slum it with us Dwindlings. Next is the middle class, which is majority of the population. Upper Class has some serious magic. Then there are the Royals. The Royals have the purest bloodline and can master multiple elements of magic- Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. To master 2-3 elements is common among Royals. To master all 5 is rare, unless you are our Emperor Mikael. There is only one being besides out Emperor who wielded the power Mikael wields, and he was one of the original 6.

My girl Aina is a master of 4 elements-Earth, Air, Fire and Water magic. Her confidence in her ability to lead is tied to the idea she will never match her father and be an adequate leader. As the first Empress of Hellebor, it is obvious she’s badass. If only she can get down where she needs to walk for this ceremony.

“I start from the beginning of the catwalk, not smiling and pointing my chin upwards and forward as if the world is beneath me. Then I float effortlessly.” I walk towards where Aina is standing at the end of the stage. She snickers.

“I curtsey to my people once I’ve reached the end, then I curtsey the emperor and his beloved wifey.” I stop to salute Aina and turn to curtsey the empty Royal chairs behind me.

“I address the emperor with my right hand raised,

‘Emperor Mikael-Here I am. Blood, Body and Soul.

When the Nation frets, may I bleed

When the Nation is in need, may I deliver my body

When the Nation is in want of love, may I give over my soul.

Hellebor, you are my home!’

“Then the crowd goes wild!” I run around the rounded stage with my arms stretched out like a bird. When I get to Aina, I see her face red with uncontrollable laughter.

“See? Not too bad”

“Yeah, I’ll have to do it just like that. Victory lap and all.”, she calmed a bit.

“You’re just wrapped up in unmeasurable expectations. No one is hoping you will be your father. Just be you!” Aina relaxed a bit and pulled me in for an embrace.

“It’s too bad we aren’t sisters. I could really use you in my family.”

“Well, it’s a good thing your family has servants, or where would you be?” I laughed.

“Do you ever wonder about them? Your family?” Aina asked. She was so caring and considerate. At times, I even had my doubts at her ability to be a stone cold leader.

“You know my parents died. It’s just too bad I’ll never know what they look like. They were so poor; they didn’t leave me anything to remember them by.”

I have been told my mother died in childbirth and my father died shortly after of a broken heart. I have no memory of either of them. I’ve lived in this palace the entirety of my life. I cleaned, cooked, and served. When I was 7, I was called into Aina’s quarters and was told I was her personal servant. My heart sank at the thought of serving someone awful. I had heard the worst stories from other servants. Once everyone left the room, Aina offered me her doll and said, “I have no brothers or sisters. Do you want to be mine?”. Since then, we have been thick as thieves. I think of myself as her guardian. I protect her from the ins and outs of her dull royal life. Her parents are emotionally removed from her. She sees her parents less and less as she has gotten older. Sometimes we can go a week without hearing from either of them. Aina tells herself her parents are busy running the nation. I know she is hurt from the disconnect. So, I make up for it by being silly to make her laugh. It’s the least I can do, she is the only love I know.

“Are you done now trying to perfect this routine? You’ve got some magic to practice, and I have some chores to get done.” We left the ceremonial room, and I caught a glance of another Dwindling staring at me over her glasses. “Creepy.” I whispered to myself.

We made it back to her room and Aina began to mess with her books while I organized her laundry and prepared her clothes for the next day’s festivities.

“I think I need to hem up the bottom of this dress a little. I’m going to track down a needle and thread” I yelled over my shoulder as I left her room with her dress in hand. I was studying the material wondering what stitch would hold when I ran into something seriously solid! I looked up to find the woman from the ceremonial hall wide eyed staring back at me.

“I’ve been looking for you.” She croaked at me.

“Oh really?” I asked trying to slip away from her. I had things to do!

“You don’t know who you are, but things have to change!” the woman grabbed my free hand and placed something cold and metal inside of my grasp.

“Open this and remember who you are!” She yelled at me.

I opened my hand and studied the locket she placed in my hand.

“What is this? Are you crazy?” the lady was gone.

I tried opening the silver heart shaped locket, but it wouldn’t open. I placed it in my pocket for another time and continued my search for a needle and thread.

“You want to hear something crazy?” I threw the locket at Aina who was laid out on a couch in her room reading a book.

“What’s this? Looks old, but pretty.”

“Some old crone gave it to me and raved about me not knowing who I was. Then she disappeared!”

“You know, if you stole this, I can’t help you.” Aina laughed.

“What? No! This lady gave it to me and disappeared!” I repeated. Shocked at the only person I have loved accusing me of theft.

“Come on. A Dwindling doing magic?” Aina laughed again.

“I am serious! And she obviously wasn’t a Dwindling if she ‘magically’ disappeared”

“Charra! Quit…” At the mention of my name, the locket in Aina’s hands opened. A bright light blew through the room. Then my world went dark.

“Char. Charra! Wake up!” I woke up to Aina sitting over me, shaking me awake. My head was throbbing. It was worse than a hangover from hell.

“The hell? Why are you sitting on me?” I asked her sleepily. Still trying to sort out how I ended up on the ground knocked out with no warning.

“You were right, there is magic in this locket! You need to get up we need to take you to the emperor!”

“Whoa, slow down. Why do I need to see that guy? Can I attempt to stand first?”

“Do you remember anything? “She panicked.

“I remember you accusing me of robbery!” I shoved her off me. “Some ‘sister’.”

“Look I’m sorry, but we have no time. I need to take you to him.”

“Aina, we hardly talk to the man. Why do we need to go to him?”

“LOOK AT YOUR HANDS!” she yelled hysterically. At this point she was almost in tears.

I looked down and saw fire. Fire was dancing in my palm. I lifted my hand, and the fire began to dance around my hand in a circular motion. Like a freight train, memories slammed into my head. Memories from my childhood playing with my parents! I could see their faces! I felt multiple avenues of love outside of the one I had known with Aina. My mother and father. Our community. We lived outside of Hellebor. We practiced our magic. We were free.

As the memories began to settle, a boom entered the room. The emperor with a dozen guards rushed into the room.

“Grab her.” The emperor said plainly. “Get away from her Aina, she is the enemy.” He turned to Aina and began to explain. I could hear everyone yelling, I could feel everyone tugging. With all the excitement, I could feel my energy reach a climax. I could only think of squeezing my eyes shut to calm everything down. When I opened my eyes, I was in a completely different room with a new crowd of people silently staring at me.

“Welcome Empress Charra to the Revolution. We’ve been waiting for you to awaken.” An older man peered into my vision, smiling.

“Revolution?... Empress Charra...Am I the bad guy?