Alex paced the library, alone now. It was almost as though she were in a stranger's body. She was in possession of herself, for, what two days now? And it still felt unnatural. She walked over to the glass window, staring outside, but seeing nothing. Seven years. Nearly a decade of her life wasted, in mindless servitude. A small smile touched her lips, thinking of what she'd done.

The kingdom of Nightsheria had been gaining too much power, and much too quickly. Fragmented memories rushed to her, especially in the night, of the horror the world was facing. No one wanted to cross Rayleigh. They knew exactly what was coming for them. It sickened Alex to realise the villages and towns she would have put her head on a block for had now banned her from entering for life. But that had all been part of the plan right?

Diaspro and Rayleigh were cunning enough, Alex would give them that, but they were beyond predictable. They wanted to tarnish Alex's image throughout the continent, because they knew she was the only one, all those years ago, who could have put a premature end to their ruling. She had practically grown up in the villages and towns as a child. The people knew and respected her, because they had understood she was different from her father, and family. They would have supported her, had she desired to usurp the throne.

It had never been her intention. Politics and the idea of running a kingdom had, in short, bored her to the point of tears. Alex would have been content with managing the kingdom from the side lines, picking up the slack where necessary, and preventing monopolism. To her, that didn't seem like much to ask for. Her only deal breaker had been for Rayleigh and Diaspro to try to bond more with their people. To see them as they were, humans, not as pawns that would be knocked over in order to reach a goal.

Naturally, the deal breaker hadn't set in well with her father or her cousin. And she was living proof of that. Alex turned and walked over to the mirror between two of the floor to ceiling bookcases, but rather than looking in the glass, she studied the ornate gold flashing on the border. She swallowed, and coughed; even after so long, she could still feel the burn of the spiked liquid Diaspro had made her drink. Alex lifted her gaze to the mirror, and breathed out in relief.

She hadn't changed that much; she couldn't remember the last time she had looked in a mirror, but from her memories, she was still rather the same. They had probably used a spell, Alex realised. Her hair looked the same as it had seven years ago; wavy, falling to her waist, raven-feather black. She was thinner than she had been, but not as much as she would have suspected; had they fed her or used another spell? Her skin definitely paler though; not chalk white, but close to. Fair enough; she hadn't seen sunlight for seven years. Lips trembling, Alex lifted her gaze to study her eyes. They were the same ice blue, shot through with grey. Unnatural eyes, almost ethereal. But definitely not demon.

Alex turned away from the mirror, and walked over to the bookcases on the southern wall; Black Magic and the Occult. She had been a bit worried, truth be told, of the aftereffects of all the dark spells that she'd had to cast, and those were the ones she remembered. She felt a surge of inward anger at the memories. To her, magic was the root of all evil.

Her mother, Grace Nightshade, had died in childbirth. She had not lived long enough to even see her own daughter. There were scant pictures of her in the palace, but Alex had managed to salvage a few, in her youth. It had worried young Alex how dissimilar she and her mother were in features. Her mother's hair had tumbled loose, past her shoulders. Often, people had compared the fiery colour to her disposition; like a flame, forever alight, perhaps flickering in the wind, but using it as fuel. Their eyes at least, had been alike; but even that was a problem. Alex had icy eyes, that pierced, penetrated and overall intimidated, whereas her mother's eyes, a just a shade darker, had been several degrees warmer. No one could have ever compared them to ice.

Alex often wondered what could have happened that day, ten years ago, the day she had turned twelve. Birthdays had never been a cause for celebration for her; the king always kept her at an arm's length but especially on that day. Indiscreet palace staff had whispered about that it was because it was the anniversary of his wife's death, but even at such a tender age, Alex had known that was a lie. The king hadn't cared for Grace at all. His attempts at wiping her existence away from the castle had been a part of his plot for total dominance. What stood out to Alex as particularly stupid on his part, was the fact that, by tradition, women lead the kingdom of Nightsheria. He was the first ever king to rule alone. Of course people would never forget Grace. But then, she was starting to realise her father's less than impressive intelligence.

The person she had been warier of was her cousin, Diaspro. With her honey blonde curls and dazzling emerald eyes, she was much more popular than she should have been. Even as a child, Diaspro had a talent for manipulating. She was two years younger than Alex, but age hardly mattered. Where people kept a distance from Alex due to her eyes, her position as princess and her overall rather haughty disposition, they flocked to Diaspro, full of bubbly smiles and pretty mannerisms. Alex had long since stopped trying to warn people of the hints of Diaspro's truer nature, that it seemed only she saw. Even the king was enraptured by her. Alex had truly thought she'd been going mad.

Until that day, her twelfth birthday. As per usual, she had sequestered herself in a disused room, her mother's picture hidden in the recesses of her coat. When she was sure she was alone, she would take it out and stare at it, and wonder how life would have been different, if her mother was around. She had no friends, and no one to trust. Her head had jolted up when the door opened. The person entering had not even bothered trying to sneak in; no, they flung the door wide open, and strode in purposefully. Alex's back had been to the door, and she turned around, blinking in surprise.

The intruder had been no monster, unless monsters often took the guise of young women. She had brown hair, but as the dim light of the candles tossed shadows, it caused flames to dance on her hair, making it appear red. Her eyes though, were what relaxed Alex, which was a bit ironic truth be told. Because those were her eyes. Every bit as frosty cold. The woman sat on the chair next to Alex's, the picture of sophistication. Alex had given the woman a most indiscreet once-over: she had been dressed casually enough, all neutral colours, white top, beige trousers. Interesting. It was a surprise to see a woman wear pants in the castle. What had caught Alex's attention though, was the charm bracelet the woman was wearing. The silver charms had dangled from the chain, bouncing against the woman's wrist. There had been twelve in all. Each charm represented one of the Zodiac signs Alex had read about.

"Well, now, you're Grace's kid huh?"

Alex had tilted her head upwards to meet the woman's gaze. She wasn't a tall person, but then, Alex was a bit short for her age. Seeing the candle's flame reflected in the ice had given the woman's eyes the impression of melting.

"I am," Alex whispered, clutching the picture of her mother.

The woman's eyes had flickered to the picture, then back to Alex. She had sighed and leaned back on the couch.

"I'm Tamarya. Aunt Tamarya to you. I'm Grace's sister. I've been out of the country for almost twelve years. I just got back."

"Where were you?"

Alex's voice was soft, even in the afternoon quiet. Somehow, this woman commandeered discipline. Where Alex would have made some smart remark to anyone else, she felt the innate urge to treat this woman with respect.

"Travelling. Researching some things. Training."

Alex nodded and swallowed, waiting for Tamarya to continue. When she didn't, Alex began fiddling with the picture again, uncomfortable in the silence.

"I saw you watching my charm bracelet earlier, kid."

"It isn't a normal charm bracelet, is it?"

Tamarya smiled for the first time, and the action did wonders to change her face. She looked much more approachable, and warmer.

"You're a smart one aren't you? No, it isn't a normal charm bracelet. I use magic in my line of work. I'm a spell-caster, more specifically a magician. They use items to help me when they use magic. In my case, I use my bracelet."

"What do you do?"

"I can use the power of the spirits imbibed in the constellations to grant me power."

Alex had frowned, trying to understand what Tamarya had meant.

"It's like this: you know spirits exist right? There are twelve special spirits that chose to imbibe their power into certain constellations. Using this bracelet, I can call upon those spirits to help me in battle."

"But then, any magician can do that?"

"No," Tamarya had replied, shaking her head, "My bracelet is quite rare. I got some of my charms from my mother, but the rest I found on my own. They're the only ones of its kind. As far as I know, I'm the only person to have ever collected all twelve of the charms."

Alex's eyes had widened.

"Your mother...then she used them as well? But... if your mother used magic, and you do...then, did my mother use magic as well?"

Tamarya's eyebrows lifted.

"You really are quick. Yes, she did. But no, she didn't use Zodiac magic. She wasn't a magician."

"What was she then?"

"An enchantress," Tamarya had breathed, looking reverent even from just the word. "A pure magic caster, untouched by darkness. They're the strongest a person could be, discounting all of the dark magic users who have alliances with demons."

Alex had been silent for a moment drinking it all in. Her mother...had been that powerful? But...

"Let me be straight with you, kid. I didn't come here for nothing. I came to check out Grace's kid and see which side of the families you took by more. And lucky me, it seems like you took more by my side, now didn't you? Dark times are coming," Tamarya had said, levelling her gaze at Alex. "And believe me when I say I don't think anyone could be powerful enough to stop it but an enchantress. And you have the potential, kid. I can see it in you. You want to fight back don't you? I told myself the day I left this forsaken castle I was never coming back. But I'm making an exception. Are you with me?"

There had been so many questions racing through Alex's head, so many worries, so many concerns. But not once had she feel conflicted in her answer.

"Yes."

Tamarya had breathed out, smiling at her again.

"Did you know that we see the stars as they once were and not as they really are?"

When Alex's brows had furrowed, Tamarya explicated.

"Stars are light years away from where we live. Distance, not time. They're so far away, it takes a long time for the light to reach us and touch our skies. Looking up at the sky is like taking a look into the past. We aren't seeing the current stars. We're seeing the stars that have long since passed, and we're waiting on the new ones. I'm telling you this because I want you to let go of your past. Of the loneliness, the sadness, the bitterness. Oh, yes, I know," Tamarya had said, smiling. "We've all been there kid. Don't let it consume you. Look up at the night sky and think to yourself 'I want to see myself as I really am, and not who I used to be'. Don't try to live in the past. Live in the now, and try to let go of the hatred that's gnawing away at your heart. Dark emotions and enchantresses don't sit well. You need to be able to do that, if you're ever to become an enchantress."

Alex had nodded, feeling lighter inside than ever before.

"There's just one thing," she said.

Tamarya had inclined her head in response.

"My name isn't kid. I'm Alex Nightshade."

Alex looked up at the shelves, shaking off the memories. All of these books she'd read with Aunt Tam... it felt like centuries ago. She was doing her best. Alex took down one of the heavy tomes and crossed the room, over to the benches and tables, but as she set down the book, something glinting off the mirror caught her eye. Puzzled, she walked over, peering at the reflection. Probably the light dancing off some gilded cover. She made to turn away. Then she stopped, and jerked her body around. She stared at her reflection, her mouth opened in a soundless scream. She swallowed and drew closer, wiping at the reflection, hoping more than anything it was a speck on the mirror, dirt, dust, something. It was not. Moving her shaking hands from her reflection, Alex forced herself to look into the mirror.

Her eyes. She'd always disliked them, to an extent. The unnatural tone of blue had dealt more than her fair share of pain her way, but she'd grown to tolerate them. Now, rather than her heart beating as though it were trying to destroy the walls of a cage she'd trapped it in, it seemed as though it had ceased to work altogether. Alex felt numb. Now she knew why she'd felt so out-of-touch with herself. Raising a trembling hand, Alex drew her thumb across her left, then her right eye, closing them, hoping that when she next looked in the mirror, the image would change. Alex slowly opened her eyes.

Glittering obsidian smirked back at her, taunting her.

Oh, this means trouble. 

(A bit of backstory into Alex! I'm sorry this took so very long.. Please, if you're reading, tell me what you think, any comments, views, what you did or didn't like... thank you <3 Amaris)