"WHAT THE hell happened here?" Ariscon's glacial tone resonated upon seeing the commotion.

The ladies herding together visibly flinched on his arrival. It was not even several minutes before he went out with Gustavious but something already transpired.

"I-I-I d-don't know. I was talking with Yasmin and Stella then s-she f-fainted..."

Faylinn rambled but his focus remained on the person lying on her lap. His eyes glinted with certain emotions when he was reminded of the previous incident. He knelt and slipped his hands on Elise's neck and legs as his crimson irises were cast with deep shadows of anxiety.

He pulled her close to his chest, not minding the weight as he observed the unconscious woman. Her make-up hid everything but the trickling sweat sliding down her chin showed her discomfort. He rose and marched to the exit while the on-lookers strew away.

"W-will she be fine?" Faylinn mumbled, matching his hurried footfalls. "How can her elemental flow disappear just like that? Is she—"

The sudden information made him stiff causing him to pause in his tracks.

"What is it, Eldest Brother?" Faylinn asked who also halted her steps.

He veered to his sister, his intent gaze burning her face while he thought of countless excuses. Faylinn was a Sage knight who could wield both magic and weapons. Her proficiency in spells was almost on par with S-class mage, making her sensitive to elemental flow if she focused. 

Nonetheless, no one else was yet aware of Elise's secret. Albeit it would be revealed, it was better to come from her mouth than be accidentally discovered.

"Brother?"

"Are you the only one who touched her? What happened there?" he inquired.

"I don't know. She just fainted then Sapphire caught her and I asked for Gerald to call for a Healer."

"Good. Don't mention anything more about the elemental flow. You can go back to your—"

"Aricson, what's going on?" Orin appeared with Gerald behind him.

Among all the Healers Gerald could bring, he brought his uncle. Aricson inwardly groaned and could not certainly blame Gerald. Orin was their family's Healer but since he was his uncle, he would not be able to hide Elise's circumstances anymore.

Granted that was the case, the very first step was not letting his uncle examine Elise.

"It's alright, Uncle. I'll handle this. Hadrien can assist me while you entertain the guests," he said.

"No. Hadrien is still a student. I'll call Brennan to accommodate—"

"Brennan is indeed capable but you know his situation right now. He changes his mood like how he changes his clothes," he reasoned.

Their eyes met and it was as if no one wanted to yield but Orin surrendered in the end.

"I understand. I'll get Hadrien," Orin said and swiveled on his feet.

His looks swept to the remaining two. "You two can go back as well."

"But, Brother—"

"Don't make me repeat things twice, Faylinn. Due to this incident, I'll need you to explain this to our guests. Better spread that she was drunk than alert strangers. Assist her well, Gerald."

Without waiting further, he turned his back on them and carried her all the way to her room.

IT ONLY took a couple of minutes after Arcison laid Elise on her bed when Hadrien entered the chamber.

"What's wrong, Eldest Brother? Uncle told me something happened to Elise."

Even with the dim light of the lamp, Hadrien's face flushed with apparent concern.

"Check her," he said.

Hadrien nodded and walked towards the bed. He took her arm and positioned his two fingers on her wrist before he called the spirits. "Lithine."

Streaks of light illuminated the room in a second. It bent and connected until it formed a circle with floating symbols on it. As his brother performed a spell, Aricson made an orb and ordered the maidservants to come.

Several minutes later, the light dispersed and Hadrien faced him.

"What is it? Is it critical?"

Apprising Hadrien's grim expression, it didn't seem to be good. His younger brother was a prodigy and student of Gustavious even before he went to the academy. Presuming Hadrien could not solve it, he had no choice but to ask for his uncle or call the Lord of the Medical City himself. 

"She is poisoned, Eldest Bro—"

"Salve!" he cut off after the word 'poison' registered in his mind. 

Not even a minute passed before a thin ghastly man came rushing from the door. The emissary knight was tasked to follow Elise for tonight and he should be doing his job competently.

"Explain."

"There was nothing suspicious, sire. Everything she ate and drank was given to others as well and she was the only one who was poisoned."

His brows knitted together. 'What could have happened?'

"Get Sapphire and Lirius to investigate this further."

"Yes, sire." Salve bowed and left with haste.

"Eldest Brother, I think the poison must be very potent to seal her elemental flow. I cannot even sense it no matter what I do," Hadrien spoke as he tried to read Elise's pulse again.

Yet all at once, everything began to make sense. Aricson opened her mouth and her tongue was tinted with purple. It was a residue of the Vermeil Wine. A beverage specifically served for Enchanters but it was poison for Mundrans.

The majority of the guests invited today were Enchanters and the Mundrans stayed clear of it due to its toxic factors but Elise probably had no idea about it. 'How the hell did I forget to warn her?'

"Hadrien, go make some cure for Mundrans who drank the Vermeil wine."

His younger sibling only frowned, obviously asking why.

"Just do it."

"I understand," he said.

The two of them left the room while the maidservants went inside. Hadrien walked ahead while he guarded the door. His shoulder finally slumped as he let out the breath he was holding all this time.

He should have paid more attention. His biggest mistake was not telling her about it first and acting like a dimwit who paraded her at the party. He was not even able to catch her discomfort earlier.

"Brother!" Erkhan's shout pulled him away from the surging regrets.

"What are you doing here?"

"I heard from Faylinn that Elise fainted. I thought someone just got drunk, I did not expect it to be her. Why did she faint? Is she alright now?" Apprehensiveness laced his voice.

This libertine brother of his had always been caring to women. However, it was superficial most of the time yet his complex expression at the moment told him otherwise.

"Have you fallen in love with her?"

"Are you insane?!" Erkhan's eyes almost bulged out as he screamed.

"Lower your voice and..." His eyes squinted at him. "Will you dare to repeat that?"

"I dare not!" He shook his head ferociously before he explained, "Eldest Brother, as much as I love women, I respect our brotherhood. I will never provoke you in my lifetime and snatch a woman from you. It's already considered the greatest blessing in our clan to have a woman on your side. I'm sure Brother Brennan can now be relieved from the task of producing the heir—"

"Leave now." His voice lowered a few octaves after his brother's rubbish.

Erkhan quickly straightened his back. "Kidding aside, Brother. What exactly happened?"

"It's nothing serious. You can head back downstairs."

Erkhan was about to reply but the door opened, revealing a pair of maidservants.

"Sire, Lord Fifth." The two women greeted.

"Lead Erkhan back to the hall," he ordered and closed the door.

The soft glow from the window seeped inside. The warmth from the lit candles cast vividness on the pale woman lying peacefully on the bed. It was almost the same vision he saw when she first arrived here and she dozed off in his bed.

When sleeping, her countenance was akin to a gentle person but when she was awake, she was the most brazen he had encountered. Saying their names without their titles were the most natural thing to her yet he could see that she was also trying to blend in and conform to the rules of his world.

His fingers moved and brushed those ebony strands. Contrary to his siblings' beliefs, he had been attracted to women before but not as much as Elise who made him defy his principles.

One more year and he was ready to marry any woman who was best suited to be the Rainha and lead their clan but then she came. All the things he wanted in his future wife-to-be could not be found in Elise. What he required was Emperor's Lineage to fortify their family and most importantly, a Barrier mage who could help him manage their legacy.

It was his greatest concern. There was no one in the family who was a Barrier mage when the purpose of their clan was to be the shield of the land of Humana. After the whole Flamion almost went extinct, he and his siblings were taught the family's barrier spells but mages and knights had different scopes. That went the same with the different kinds of mages. As an Attacker mage, his expertise lay on offensive spells and it was difficult to switch in between a spell that attacked and one that protected.

Nevertheless, he had no qualms when he was asked to pick. He was willing to pay the price, even at the cost of exhausting his elemental flow. His parents had shown him what it was to be with someone they cared and now that he experienced the same thing, he would not let go...

'Stop, she wants to go back.' The rationality finally returned. He could not be selfish.

A light rap disturbed his thoughts. Thinking it was Hadrien, he opened the door. It was indeed Hadrien but Gavirien and Caian were behind him.

"Good evening, Eldest Brother," the other two greeted as he gestured for them to go in.

There was only a single-seater couch and the three of them remained standing while Hadrien fed the concoction to Elise.

"Did you just arrive?" he asked Caian.

"Yes, Brother. Faylinn told me you are here."

"How about you?"

"I only accompanied Elder Brother. I'm afraid he'll even get lost inside the castle."

Caian immediately smacked Gavirien's head. "Are you thinking I'm such an idiot that I cannot find my way here?"

"But, Brother, you did get lost on the West Wing last time!"

"Quiet down," he reproached. "What do you want?"

He could already guess why they presented themselves here. On occasions that there was not a mishap, there was no doubt they would have flown without any permission. Caian had already explained last time that he had a request from their grandmother while Gavirien was, by all odds, hurrying to escape back to his academy before Dryann could discover.

Among his siblings, they were the current problematic ones. It used to be Erkhan and Brennan. The former pair loved to play with women while the other two loved to do things their own way without waiting for approval.

"I have to go back."

"I'll go with Elder Brother."

They answered simultaneously.

"I knew it! Last time you made me send you to the North—"

"Brother!" Gavirien quickly covered Caian's mouth.

"Let go of your older brother, Gavin. As for you, Caian, you'll stay here until the party ends. You just came back and you're rushing out again?"

"I already greeted Dryann..."

He sent him a glare and he did not try to continue his statement before his head was directed to the other one.

"Gavin, if you want to go back, ask Gerald for the carriage. He will send you back to where he fetched you earlier."

"Thanks, Eldest Brother!" The youth hugged him in an instant.

He sighed and ruffled his dark blue hair inherited from the Enmirch Royal Family which reminded him of something. "How was it there?"

"Same as rumors," he replied nonchalantly.

Unlike other academies, the Northern Academy was well-known for its harsh method. There, the students had to rely on themselves. It's not the worst school but it welcomed all the worst students. It was not only about the skills but also the lineage that mattered. He just sighed, still wondering what had gotten in his brother's mind to act as an illegitimate child.

"Just be prepared for Dryann's wrath, alright?"

"Of course, Eldest Brother. I'll make sure not to get caught up in her magic."

"Not just you... but all of us," he clarified with a sigh.

He had seven siblings to please but it was undeniable that he was biased when it came to their youngest pair. He glanced towards Caian.

"You too. Amuse your sister as much as possible. She knows you're the one who took away Gavin last time."

Caian's face immediately paled but Gavirien already dragged him out. He shut the door close and turned to Hadrien who had already finished feeding Elise, looking at him with perplexity.

"Did Gavin go to Northern Academy?"

He inclined his head. He had no need to explain further since Hadrien would probably keep his mouth closed for his twin.

"Elise might run a fever tonight, so please let some maidservants stay with her, Brother."

"Alright. You can rest now. Thank you, Little Eight."

"It's nothing, Eldest Brother. Good night."

"Good night."

The door closed but he did not ask for any maidservants. He reclined his body on the armchair and checked on Elise from time to time.

An hour had almost passed and there was another knock on the door. A slight gap opened and Brennan signaled him to come outside.

Brennan was standing at the far end of the corridor, appearing like a silhouette from the lack of brightness. As he drew closer, his twin was crossing his arms as those identical features of his were scowling at him.

"How brash. You zoomed out and left me there. You know I hate these kinds of events," he complained.

He patted his shoulder. "Thanks, Brother."

"Anyway, how is she?"

"She's recovering."

"I see. Lord Gustavious sends his apologies by the way. He would like to continue your discussion the next day so just send him an orb or a missive. I don't understand why he would apologize when it was you who left him crudely."

"Alright. I'll do it first thing in the morning. Don't worry, it will not affect your marriage with Arllian."

"Seriously... I do think you will be married first than me," he remarked.

"It's because you keep delaying it. You've been going out for almost a decade."

Brennan just laughed and returned to his usual mien. "But are you sure about her, though?"

There was no response. Aricson was certain of his decision to pursue her but Elise was not. The ambiguity was there but that was it. He was not ignorant of how Elise built walls on her side. He wanted to accept it, he truly did, but the greediness in him would not. 

That dark emotion only grew deeper as time went by, even to the point of refusing her questions about the prophecy. He did not even try to look at it since it was proof that she was from a different world. If only she was an ordinary Mundran or from another race, it would have been easier to deal with than a person who did not belong here.

"Honestly... There is something strange about her that made me feel hostile but according to our siblings and the servants, there is nothing suspicious about her. I might just be overthinking with the lack of sleep."

"Did it get worse?" he queried at the mention of his sleeping problems.

According to the servants, Brennan had extreme mood swings and it could only be caused by it. 

"Yeah, it was just a week and the pill had lost its effect again. Even Lord Gustavious has no solution to cure me."

"Maybe Elise will have a cure," he suggested.

"You're trusting her too much," Brennan grumbled.

"Brothers?"

Both their heads turned to Dryann who was standing in front of Elise's chamber.

"What brought you here? Is the party over?" Brennan questioned as they approached her.

"Just passing by."

He glanced at the tray she was holding which contained a glass of medicinal pills and water. Indeed, honesty was never his sister's virtue.

The corner of his lips tugged in an unnoticeable manner as he queried, "Have you grown fond of Elise?"

"What?! How can I? She likes to test my patience. She has that aura that exudes as if she is all the goodness in the world and I'm irritated just looking at her," she ranted, her cheeks puffing with denial.

"You put the right words in my mouth, Sister," Brennan agreed. "It's like she has some kind of filter that makes me annoyed but the others don't have the same problem. Everyone here admires her, especially that strict Gerald."

Arcison just nodded. He was merely asking about what she thought of Elise seeing that she was even willing to bring medicine to her but he did not expect such answers that made him ponder. Those words were almost similar to what Exel said yesterday.

The two were still bickering and he raised his hand. "Stop. You're the host of tonight's banquet, Dryann. You have to go back and send the guest to Flamion's Heritage. Go and help her, Brennan."

After his siblings, Orin and Gerald followed. Salve and other knights also visited after he dismissed their investigation. When everyone finally left him alone, it was already past midnight.

He took the towel from Elise's forehead and soaked it in the basin and placed it back again. He sat back, his eyes losing focus as he was left in a trance, recalling his earlier conversations.

First, Exel, now it was Brennan and his sister. He didn't hear any complaints from others but those three were among his trusted people. They wouldn't lie about something like that. 'Is there really something off about her?'

While he was tangled with bewilderment, Elise tossed and the blanket lowered. He reached out, covering her properly, but froze midway. His gaze was fixed on the mark on her arm which was discernable from the sheer white fabric of her nightgown's sleeves.

'The being has descended, bringing the moon and the sun.'  For some reason, the prophecy from the last summit echoed in his mind yet it was almost a whisper caressing his ears.

'A mark on her upper right arm almost looking like a sun.'

'The hilt shone like a glistening moon.'

'I could not sense any elemental flow in her body.'

'Everyone who saw her was singing praises about her.'

Memories after memories crashed into his brain until it all pieced together.

'It can't be...'

The chair rattled as he crossed the distance between the bed and the door. He dashed to his study and went right to his drawer. He grabbed the crumpled paper hidden in the farthest corner. It was the prophecies from yesterday.

He opened another drawer where the missive from the Association was. The letter contained the full prophecy of the Oracle. He compared it with the latest two as more flashbacks popped into his mind while he deciphered all the information.

Remembering her birthmark and the sword she brought, he went daze after reading Elise's prophecy.

"Bearer of fate..." he mumbled in the air.

His premonition had become real and this only pertained to one thing. No wonder she was chased by the Abyss Faction. He was already aware that this was no simple issue based on the truth that she was not part of this world. 

A being bearing a sun-shaped mark and a sword artifact that resembled the moon. She had no elemental flow that was why she was disdained by spirits but everyone who encountered her felt comfortable around her, as though they were charmed...

He hurried back to her chambers with the prophecies in hand and called the spirits of fire as soon as he entered. "Ferios." 

The blazing fire enveloped her body as he cast the spell to detect a charm. He almost scoffed to himself for his lack of foresight. He inspected her body for a curse previously but he never imagined that she could have a charm.

As the ring of flames settled down, it descended on her arm. The sun-shaped birthmark glowed in deep red revealing an answer he preferred not to know.

'Elise is the Harbinger of the prophecy.'

༻❁༺

U n S c e n e s

Q: What's the worst gift you received from Rei Aricson?

Faylinn: Is it bad to say 'all'? They are better off locked away. I mean, I adore my oldest brother but just thinking about his presents gives me shudders.

Erkhan: Come on. It is nothing compared to the stack of towels with my name stitched on it. That was so childish! Oh wait, Elder Sis had received explicit planters that are shaped like----

Dryann: Shut up!

Hadrien: It's a s-stone bust of t-the first m-medical s-s-saint for me.

Gavirien: Ah yes, I remember that! But mine's probably the worst. He gave me pills that can make me grow taller but it was so useless. I can even testify that it stopped my height instead.

Caian: Just accept you're the shortest, Gavin. Yours is way better than being given a fertility charm just because I complained I never have a lover. He should be the one using it, not me.

Brennan: At least you guys have one. Aricson never gave me since we have the same birthdays.

(￢_￢;)