Chapter 845: Choice Of The Past
It ended up turning into a big incident.
Lucielle's slaughter of the ones who enslaved her ended up blowing up more than she-or anyone else would have thought.
The number of people she killed was fifteen, and she was barely even ten years old.
She also burned down the building where their business was being run, freeing all of the slaves that they held captive-one among them being her sister.
No, they weren't related by blood.
However, after spending so much time together in captivity, the both of them ended up developing a strong bond. The girl would constantly protect Lucielle from the rest of the stronger slaves, and she comforted her when things seemed hopeless.
Anytime Lucielle starved, her big sis would come and share some of her rations.
Whenever her anger reached the precipice and she wanted to lash out, her sister was the only one who could calm her down.
Whatever punishment she suffered... it was only lessened because of the existence of that girl who suffered with her.
"Her name was Aisha... and she was the only one I truly cared about in the whole world." Releasing all of the slaves was only a direct consequence of her sister's emancipation. Unlike Lucielle at the time, Aisha was very empathetic, and she strongly believed in the great responsibility that accompanied power.
"If we are not to become like them... we need to be better!"
Those were her constant words.
In any case, Magic was what granted Lucielle her freedom-as well as what she had craved since the moment she was first whisked into slavery.
... Power!
She finally had power!
"After that, it wasn't very long for the Kingdom to take notice of me. They tracked me down... caught me when I was stealing food with Magic, and... well..."
"They arrested you?"
"No... but they nearly did. But, all of them were stopped by the man who would end up becoming my mentor in Magic-Philius."
Philius was everything Lucielle wasn't: he was an old man who had dedicated himself to the art of Magic, having no talent in the art whatsoever.
After hearing the news about what a single child did with Magic, he embarked on a mission to find her... and after just a few days, he was successful. The guards that caught Lucielle stealing were his entourage, and after they brought her to him... he was willing to forgive her transgressions under one condition.
"Be my disciple!"
That was his offer to her.
"At the time, I couldn't understand it." Lucielle interrupted the story with a slight smirk. "What I had done was deserving of death, you know?"
Back then, the law regarding slavery and its enforcement was very strict.
A slave who killed their Master had to be killed as well. Slaves had no human rights
whatsoever, and so crimes committed by them were even more damning.
Yet... everything could be washed away if she agreed to this man's sole request.
"I should have just accepted the request and changed everything about my life forever, but... I guess I was still very stubborn then. Stubborn and proud."
Lucielle decided to fight the old man, and the guards, so she could guarantee her freedom.
"It was a fight I will never forget. I was able to knock back the guards, but my main target was the old man."
She thought that if she caught the frail old man-someone who resembled some rich noble- she could take him as a hostage and bargain a much better deal.
Unfortunately, things didn't work as planned.
"One flick of his finger-that was all it took for him to win."
Lucielle's whole body became paralyzed, and within a split-second, she was surrounded by the same guards she had pushed away.
Her small, kneeling frame was overwhelmed by the number of adversaries towering above her. It was clearly over for her.
She was going to die.
But-
"P-PLEASE FORGIVE MY SISTER!"
-As she always did, Aisha came to save her.
Aisha cried and begged until her voice became hoarse, all so that Lucielle's life would be spared.
Thankfully, the old man listened.
Of course, the only way she could be spared was for her to accept his initial offer.
Lucielle had to agree.
"But only if Aisha comes with me. I'm not going anywhere without her!" It felt like a foolish thing for a kid with no rights and no choice to do, but this was a stubborn brat through and
through.
She wasn't going anywhere unless her big sister came with her.
"Fair enough." Fortunately, the old man Philius agreed. "The two of you will return with me to the Royal Palace."
It was only at this point that the two girls realized just how grand the scale of their invitation was. Before they would even be able to realize it... they were going to be thrust into a whole
new world.
*************
"Aisha became a Warrior, since she had no talent in Magic."
Lucielle's smile and excitement had long fizzled out at this point. She had returned to her stoic, slightly tense tone.
"She trained to be a member of the Royal Knights, working to her bones every day, just so she could justify staying in the palace and being as close to me as possible." A sad smile played once again on her face.
"While she did all of this, I lived the most comfortable and sheltered life while training under Philius. It wasn't all bed and roses, of course. There was a lot of pressure and expectation placed on me... especially when the war with the Dragons began."
She explained how, due to her innate talent, she was constantly made to study and come up with her own Spells, Magic Theories, and research-new ways to combat the growing threats of the Dragons.
Lucielle never had a normal childhood, and she never got the chance to live normally even as
she grew older.
She was only a child when the Dragons attacked, and at that point her fate was sealed.
"My life was Magic."
*
[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
I hope you enjoyed the backstory. Don't worry... we'll get to the main story soon enough.