THE THIRD MAGE

"But they are better, unlike me who doesn"t even have a tiny bit of magic," Denaire thought while looking for the best spot to watch the happenings in the Magoria.

She was mesmerized of it all. The power that comes with the magic, the opportunity to serve for the kingdom, or just the thought of having an easy life, of decent work. Well, servants" work is also decent, but sometimes they were taken advantage of by the upper cla.s.s. Some of the no-mage were being hara.s.sed and forced into slavery. It was a good thing that Denaire was hired by the royal court, and as such, she was sure that no one would dare to defile her. It is against the laws. Or so she thought. That was a close call for her earlier. Good thing she thought of the best excuse to escape.

And then a name rang out through the hall, "Princess Samarra."

A hush fell down inside the castle as soon as it was heard. Their excitement made them all silent. All talks ceased and all eyes were directed to the Princess as she went down from the dais and made her way to the crystal ball.

All held their breaths, waiting for that one glorious moment. The Princess inhaled once, and then twice before putting her hands on the ball.

And then a white falcon flew up from the ball, encircling the whole a.s.sembly. Everyone waited, and waited for a second one. But as the white falcon vanished, everyone"s eyes looked down.

The scholar awkwardly proclaimed, "n.o.ble." And Queen Iris" cries reverberated inside the hall.

The Princess was demoted to a n.o.ble. She was a princess no more.

***

After the Magoria, all no-mage serving the royal court was called by the royal family. They were huddled at the garden of the Dream Castle waiting for them to arrive.

Lyra inched closer to Denaire, clutching her empty container of food. "What do you think would they want us to do now?"

Denaire thought for a bit. "I don"t know Lyra. Maybe they"re looking for someone to serve Princess Samarra - Oh! It"s Lady Samarra now."

"Oh, I never thought of that. But that maybe true. The Lady would be living outside the palace now, away from her family."

And they both fell silent. They thought about their own families.

Lyra"s parents were both no-mage. Her two elder brothers were promoted to middle cla.s.s, while she, as the third child, remained as a no-mage. She thought of how lucky she is for being with her family, even if her two brothers forgot about their existence.

Denaire"s family was from the middle cla.s.s, a family of musicians. When she had the capacity to understand the world, her parents explained her fate. They promised to still watch for her when the time comes. And they never failed. Sometimes they visit her in her hut in the no-mage district. They sometimes bring her food, clothes, and other necessities. Her elder brothers, Dior and Damien, would sing to her at the glen outside her tiny home. She thought of how lucky she is, that even if she were a cla.s.s lower from her family, they still take care of her. But sometimes, she misses them, when she sleeps at night alone and only the sound of the crickets accompany her to sleep.

They were pulled back to reality when the trumpet sounded. "Is that really necessary?" Denaire thought.

The royal family approached them. The Queen at the front, followed by the King who was carrying Lady Samarra, and Prince Amon following him closely behind.

They all knelt down, a sign of allegiance to the King.

"Rise." The King said.

The Queen immediately addressed them, "Do you know why you were called here today?"

All of the others shook their heads, but Lyra nudged Denaire, which didn"t escape from the Queen"s observant eyes.

"Speak girl," the Queen haughtily demanded.

Denaire looked nervously at Lyra. But Lyra just encouraged her to speak.

She bowed and said, "Uh, Your Majesty, my friend and I talked about this gathering earlier. I thought that you have called us to choose who among us would serve the Princess as soon as she leaves the palace."

The Queen said, "Look at me."

Denaire slowly raised her head to meet the Queen"s face. She swallowed to contain her fear.

"What is your name?"

"Denaire, Your Majesty."

"Denaire." The Queen held her chin with her fingers, as if thinking. She then looked at the King, and they both nodded, as if in agreement.

"Denaire, where were you a.s.signed before?"

"Uhm, at the Royal Kitchen, Your Majesty."

"I want you to be with my Princess at the house we"ve bought for her."

"Your Majesty?"

"Yes, you"re hearing right. I find you a good company for my baby. I think you"re smart and reliable. Please take care of my baby."

Denaire backed a step from shock. "Your Majesty, don"t think so highly of me. I am but a lowly servant. But I shall serve the Princess with all my life. I will not fail you."

As if on cue, the Princess hopped down from the King"s arms. "Mama, will you not see me again?"

The Queen knelt down to reach her daughter"s height. "No my darling. Your father and I and your brother will visit you many, many times. Denaire here will be with you when you wait for us to arrive."

"I will be good Mama, I will wait for you."

The Queen hugged her, and even when not looking, Denaire knew the Queen was talking to her. "No longer a Princess. It"s Lady, Lady Samarra now."

***

As her companions were called by their superiors, Denaire sat alone at the garden watching the colors of the flowers enhanced by the sunset. She could barely hear the laughter coming from Prince Amon and Lady Samarra just by the rose bushes. The King and Queen were on a heated discussion at the gazebo. Denaire couldn"t make out what they were talking, but she could feel their intense aura from here.

"Magic and their magnificence." Denaire scoffed inwardly.

Just then, Lady Samarra stood in front of her. "Hi. You are Denaire, right?"

Denaire stood up and bowed. "At your service, my Lady."

Lady Samarra giggled. "Don"t be so formal. I just want you to become my play mate. My brother there is such a cheat."

Denaire peered over the Lady"s shoulder. She noticed Prince Amon sprinkling the flowers with his own magic. She looked back at Lady Samarra.

"You see, I told him that we"d go race towards the well," she pointed at the well at their far right. "Get some water, and water the roses. You see, those roses magically swell when they are watered. And so I challenged him that whoever of us had the most number of swelled roses, would give the other a gift."

"But he"s cheating." Denaire observed.

Lady Samarra stomped her feet in anger, her cheeks red and puffed. "Yes. He just wait, I would probably have my magic in a year or two, and I would be the best air magician ever."

Denaire smiled, "No doubt you will be."

"You think?"

"Uh-huh. My Mama used to tell me that whatever you put your heart into, you would surely achieve it."

"I want to meet your Mama too, Denaire."

Denaire laughed. "Well, maybe one of these days."

Lady Samarra beamed at her. "Well, I guess I won"t be very sad away from my family so much."

Denaire replied consolingly, "You know the first nights I was away from my family, I couldn"t sleep. I was used to hearing my Mama sing for me to sleep. It was so sad that I want to go run and sleep with my Mama. But the fear of the dark put me back to bed. And so each and every night I struggled, until I could sleep very good."

Lady Samarra"s mouth quivered. Denaire panicked that she let the Lady cry.

"My Lady, what I"m saying is, the first time would be really hard. But eventually you"d get used to it. And I promise you, I will be there for you whenever you needed someone to lean on. I"ll do my best to make you feel alright." Denaire raised her right hand like making an oath.

Fortunately, Lady Samarra smiled. "I"ll hold onto that promise Denaire."

"I won"t fail, my Lady."

Then they heard a boy"s angry voice, "What are you two talking about? Are you talking about me?"

Denaire and Lady Samarra turned to him, a frown on their faces. "What? Am I both disturbing you two? And you, no-mage, don"t look at your Prince that way. Show more respect."

Lady Samarra snapped and she punched the Prince with all the strength her cute stubby fingers could give. "You don"t have the right to talk to her that way. She"s mine! And when you talk bad about her, you"re talking bad about me!"

Prince Amon was agitated. He didn"t want to see her beloved sister angry at him. "I"m sorry baby. I didn"t mean it. It was just a joke. I promise."

"You better! Or I will bite you!"

"Yes yes sister. I promise."

Denaire watched as the two bickered while thinking about her own brothers.

"I wish I could see them soon." Denaire said as she continued watching the siblings.