It was like any other party. One by one, all the nobles pulled up in their horse-drawn carriages and escorted each other, one boy to one girl, inside to the ballroom. Today, however, was special: it was the last day of the spring season, and the graduation party for all the seniors who will become full-fledged members of nobility.
Prince Gilbert Regalshade, the Second Prince of the Germand Kingdom, was leaning on the railing overlooking the entryway. Dressed in white from head to toe, his golden-blonde hair stood out, as even though everyone was drop-dead gorgeous or handsome, he stood out even more. But, being a year behind all the graduating seniors, he was not looking at anyone with reverence or excitement, but rather looking for a specific person. He finally saw her pull up, without a fiancée, and solemnly walk inside. Gilbert immediately left his place at the railing to go meet her.
However, he was barely to the bottom of the stairs leading from the overlook directly to the ballroom when he heard a shrill voice ring out. “Remilia Stillblade! You should not have come here today!”
On the stage was a man very similar to Gerald. Also dressed in all white, with golden blond hair that sticks out, pointing at the girl that just walked in, this was Gerald’s older brother, Albert Regalshade, the first prince of the Germand Kingdom. Behind Albert was a beautiful girl: with long, lush, black hair, a tall frame and … well endowed assets, she was guaranteed to make any man blush, if only for a second. Her appearance was certainly odd; there was no one like her in the entire bubble.
“I know everything you’ve done to poor Liliana over here! I know about the bullying, the notebook tearing, the water splashing, even the abuse of magic! I know it all!”
Unfortunately, while Albert looked beautiful, inside, he was actually an incredibly stupid man. Unable to master basic magic or other such skills, he has relied solely on the fact that he is, in fact, still the first prince to order everyone around to do the work for him.
And Liliana… well, not much was known about her, as she was the first outsider to set foot in the Aristocratic bubble in well over a thousand years. How she was able to do it, and why, is not known, and will probably never be known. All that we do know is that she apparently walked right into the bubble, which no one should be able to step into or out of, and convince the King to let her into the aristocratic school saying, “I have heard the voice of God. He wants me to attend this school and he has given me the power to do it.” After that, she was enrolled, sheltered by the Stillblade house, and grew closer to the prince.
“I should never have engaged with you lowly mutt to begin with. I will break my engagement right here, right now, and sentence you to house arrest for the crime of bullying Liliana!”
Remilia, on the other hand, was the textbook definition of subpar. Short, underendowed, still wearing the same red frilly dress that she wore when she turned 13, almost three years ago. She had curly brown hair that was nothing like either of her parents with their silver and golden-blonde hair, and a wholly unimpressive face. She was perpetually pale, and her little freckled checks turned deep red whenever she was embarrassed or excited. What really sets her apart, in the worst way possible, is her magic aptitude.
In the kingdom, there are 6 magic attributes that someone can possess, appraised at birth: water, earth, fire, air, light, and darkness. Common folk have no aptitude, while every single noble for the past has had 4 attributes, water, earth, fire, and air. Albert broke that trend by being the first person in a thousand years born with the magic of light, even if he has never used it once before. Gerald was average, not possessing the light attribute, while it seems like Liliana also possesses the 4 core attributes, however she was able to gain it. Remilia, however, was a sad case: she possessed only 3 attributes: earth, fire, and darkness. Because of the taboo nature of darkness magic, along with the fact that she was missing two core attributes, Remilia was shunned by not only her family, the Marquis of Stillblade, but in society as a whole, as she was never invited to parties, never made friends, and was given dirty looks by practically everyone except Gerald. Literally no one can fathom why the King decided to engage Remilia and Albert.
That’s why no one bothered to defend Remilia as she was disengaged, sentenced to house arrest. Eyes wide, mouth slightly open, shaking on her two feet, Remilia looked onwards, clearly scared of the situation, before snapping together. “Yes, Your Highness. I accept.” Then, elegantly, but still shaking with fear, she turned around, and left the venue.
That’s the last time any of them saw Remilia alive.
The next night
Gerald arrived at the Marquis of Stillblade’s mansion, very close to the edge of the bubble. While not visible, the bubble’s presence was felt, albeit only very loosely.
Ever since he became a teenager, Gerald harbored feelings for Remilia. Whether it was her situation, the mystery surrounding her, or her own ineptitude, Gerald saw what no one else could in her, and deeply loved her. Gerald’s plan was to talk with Remilia today, to try to counterattack and assert herself in society, and maybe even let him engage with her.
Carefully optimistic, he stepped into the Marquis’ house and went straight to the drawing room. Both the Marquis and his wife were there, along with Liliana in the corner, not allowed to engage in high-level discussions. They were known as the most beautiful couple in society for their generation, a highly sought-after honor each generation.
“I’m here to speak with Remilia,” Gerald said.
The Marquis and his wife looked at each other for a moment, and then said, “We’d rather you not. That failure of a child is reflecting on her deeds in her room. We don’t want anyone disturbing her.”
Gerald hesitated for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure you want to disobey a royal order?” He generally never threw his position around, but this time he made an exception.
The Marquis shuddered for a bit, then relented. “Go see her. Her room is right down the hall, up the stairs, and to the left.”
Gerald stood up. He muttered under his breath, “Remilia, I’m coming.” As Gerald got to the room, he noticed something off: there was no maids anywhere to be seen. Does Remilia even have a maid? He also noticed that the door was slightly open. As it was the middle of the night, it made sense that there would be no light coming from the room, but as Gerald knew, Remilia never left the door open. Not once has she ever not closed any doors she walks through.
With a tinge of uneasiness and anticipation, Gerald pushed opened the door, and magically turned on the lights.
And instantly gasped.
At first glance, the room looks bare, with no furnishings, no decorations, barely a bed to sleep in. But what really stuck out to Gerald was the incredibly disorganized nature of it all: it was like someone was in a hurry.
Remilia was gone. The window was wide open, curtains reacting to the wind howling outside. But, what really got Gerald’s attention was on the opposite wall.
In big letters was written the word “GOODBYE” in… blood.
That same blood from on the wall was leaving a trail on the floor, indicating that someone had used their blood to paint on the wall and then left the room.
“Remilia!” Gerald shouted as he ran to the small balcony and looked out. The blood trail seemed to lead into the woods surrounding the house, towards the edge of the bubble.
Gerald shouted again, then started to run, screaming, “Remilia is missing! We need to find her!” He threw the whole mansion into an uproar, as a search team was frantically assembled to look for Remilia.
As soon as they set off from the mansion, they all saw a giant beam of white light strike a little away from the edge of the bubble. Somehow, Gerald thought, “That’s Remilia” and started running in that direction.
It almost seemed like he never stopped. He probably never did, as he used the magic of air to accelerate himself through the woods and the magic of earth to clear the path for him. By the time the pillar of light died down, he was well on his way to the source of the light. The blood trail also seemed to lead in that direction, although it became smaller and eventually faded away once the wound sealed up.
After a long period of time, Gerald and the rest of the search party finally arrived at a stone structure. Made of smooth marble, it looked older than the kingdom, and even older than the preceding kingdom, however long ago that was.
Fallen over, chest down, was a small woman. “Remilia!” Gerald shouted, instantly recognizing her back. As he started to run to her, it started to dawn on him. She was not moving, even to breathe. Throwing up the magic of fire to illuminate the surroundings, Gerald choked a scream as the light revealed a gruesome scene.
Remilia was flat on her chest, a large pool of blood emanating from her. A little ways away was a small book, with a creased page that was also covered in blood. As Gerald picked up the limp Remilia and looked at her head-on, his worst fears came to pass.
Remilia’s neck was cut open, fresh blood spilling from the wound. Her lifeless eyes stared into nothingness, while her mouth was closed into a grimace. In her hand she held a small sharp knife, the blade covered in her blood.
Gerald started to cry when he realized that Remilia would never recover from this state.
She had killed herself.
I can't wait to see the Soviet Union!