"There is a time for departure, even when there is no certain place to go."
The entire process only took a couple of seconds as the boy stared long and hard at the necklace, everyone else silent with some of them holding their breaths while he did his business.
How fortunate Ivy felt to have a classmate with the tremendous gift of seeing inscribed names. She made a mental note in her head to thank him afterward. But, the people that surrounded her seemed to think differently. With half of her concentration on the boy and the other half on the crowd, Ivy's ears could pick up some of the things they were saying. No doubt the boy could, as well. They were speaking so audibly, after all.
"Is this boy serious? Is he really going against the queen? Does he not fear her?"
"It appears Ivy's foolishness is spreading. Now, this boy has caught it."
"Imagine just how stupid he's going to look once Queen Matilda's name shows up on that Amulet. I can't wait. Everyone's going to mock him for the rest of his life."
"He'd be locked up, as well. You think the Royals will take this lightly? Definitely not!"
The boy eventually glanced up, drawing Ivy's attention away from the crowd. His eyes shifted from the queen to the young girl, the Golden Amulet clutched in his raised hand.
"Engraved on this is the name: Ivy Pearls!"
It grew silent immediately. Aside from Ivy, who appeared relieved and was doing a little dance in her head, everyone else conveyed looks of terror and bewilderment. A series of wrathful shouts echoed from the Holders, this time, a multitude of them throwing fists and screaming for the boy to give them the truth.
And the truth, he delivered.
As proof to back up what he'd said, the boy erased the name's invisibility on the pendant and showed it around for every eye to settle on. Sure enough, it was Ivy's name printed on it.
Ivy already knew this, of course. This was precisely what she'd needed the man's help for. The man she'd made a deal with also possessed this incredible ability. He was intended to prove Ivy's innocence in return for what he'd always longed for. Freedom.
"It's impossible to fake an engraved name. Every single one of you is aware of that fact," the boy added. "This Amulet belongs to Ivy Pearls, whether you like it or not."
Thank you. Ivy breathed out, all her worries making an exit. Her scheme was back on track. Thank you so much! She could feel her shoulders finally relax as she faced the Royals. Both King Titus and Prince Tobias shared the same mystified expression. Queen Matilda, on the other hand, could only stare at the ground with a look of shame and fright while shouts of outrage echoed in the background.
You must be wondering how this is all possible. Ivy studied the woman's face. Are you wondering how a Powerless being like me met your sister and got ahold of the most powerful Amulet to ever exist? Oh, Matilda! She shook her head as a small smile danced freely on her lips.
You know exactly how it's possible. Your courageous sister never died when you and your loathsome mother believed she did after she fled.
Your sister never gave up.
TWENTY-ONE YEARS AGO
13TH JUNE, 1982
Provided that she found a way out of her prison, would anyone believe her if she made a claim she was being scourged in her own household?
As the question echoed in her head and a weary sigh left her dry mouth, an adolescent child gradually sat up from a mattress hardly spacious enough for her entire body. The smell of the filthy sheets shot through her nostrils, in an instant, leaving the girl in a slight daze while she pondered over the last time she'd been permitted to leave the squalid bedroom.
Her despondent eyes then rushed down to the dark purple bruises that scattered all over her legs, a memory of her father slapping his leather belt against her skin racing through her head. The pain was absolute — for the longest time as she stared at the plain white wall, it was the only thing she could concentrate on.
She could still recall how tiring the first seven years of her life had been — the feeling of living in complete terror, wondering when or if her Amulet was ever going to appear. A multitude of people declared day after day that Amulets not only gave powers but, guaranteed freedom. She yearned for that more than anything.
Freedom was all anyone ever wanted.
So, why then had the constant fear carried on even after her Amulet materialized?
The child's eyes scanned the room she was trapped in — besides the mattress and two small buckets, it was left empty. Hearing her stomach grumble caused her head to snap over to the gap at the bottom of the door. Oh, how much it pained her to not know how much time had passed or whether it was day or nighttime. Shouldn't breakfast had arrived by now?
As if on cue, the knob twisted suddenly and the door slightly opened, the familiar face of a woman the child hadn't seen in such a long time poking through the small space. For a moment, the girl held hope, clutching onto her torn-apart clothes with gleaming eyes while silently begging the woman to utter some good news.
"The family meeting is about to begin."
Instead, her body went cold with dread, frightened to the straps of her dirty, brown shoes. Had she been foolish to believe she could ever be loved? To believe her family would show mercy and change their wicked way of thinking? The girl slowly shook her head with watery eyes, her uneasy heart lurching.
She forced her frail body out of the bedroom, soaking in the sunlight that poured through several windows and breathing in the fresh air. The news her mother had brought forth to her may have been disappointing, but, at least, she got to leave her bedroom of death for a while.
Inside the wide hall, the rest of her family were seated on the same sofa — a wrathful man whom, no matter how hard she attempted, could never be seen as a father in her eyes. Upon catching sight of the precious pendant that gracefully hung around the child's neck, the man's hands fisted, his terrifying glaring dark brown eyes boring straight into hers. This necklace was the only thing beautiful about her.
Seated beside him was the child's younger half-sister. The young girl appeared almost as furious as her father, but, unlike the man, she was more upset and terrified of her unfortunate fate. Their mother slowly sat down beside the youngest, her hands resting on her lap with a disheartened look in her eyes.
All three of them had a reason for these feelings that bloomed within them — all of these reasons having something to do with the child's Amulet.
"Are you still going to refuse our request?" the woman began, striving to look as serene as possible, yet, failing miserably. "How can you willingly choose to mess up your sister's life? She doesn't deserve any of this. Have a heart."
She's not the one who's locked up most of the time, the child wanted to shoot back, regardless, stopped herself from doing so. However, as though her mother had read her mind, the woman spoke up again.
"You know the deal. You pass that Amulet down to your sister and you'll get your freedom back."
"Except, I won't really have my freedom back, now, will I?" the girl's lips quivered as she responded. "That's not a very good deal."
She'd been handed two choices — choices that were equally as bad as each other. Either she took her own valuable Amulet, passed it on to her half-sister, and finally left her prison, or she refused and continued to rot in the room.
But, Amulets defined freedom. She knew it. Everyone knew it. As soon as she changed her name on the pendant to her sister's, her family was sure to kick her out. How then was she going to survive the outside world with no Amulet? She would be more tormented than she had been the last several years.
"Listen to me, you foolish girl!" her father barked, rising from his seat. The child could already see the man's hands going down to his belt. "Your sister deserves this Amulet more than you do. Look at you. You're never going to accomplish anything great in this kingdom. It's best you save us all the humiliation and hand it over. Recite the phrase. Do it now!"
Funny how you're expecting me to fix the mistake you made. The girl suppressed the urge to blurt the words out. You're the one who slept with a Powerless woman and gave birth to that devil of a sister. She glanced over at her mother. Despite the betrayal she'd encountered, the woman appeared calmer than the other two.
Sleeping with a Powerless woman — or, more like forcing the woman into it — was her father's secret shame. If word about what he'd done was to ever get out, every little good thing in his life would vanish into thin air. Nobody respected a man who got himself romantically involved with the loathed creatures, especially when it led to a child — at least, not anymore. It must have pained her younger sister to understand that she was only a result of something that should never have occurred.
In spite of the fact the child's mother was humiliated and furious at the fact her spouse had betrayed her trust by going off with another woman — even worse, a Powerless one, — she'd grown to love their mistake of a daughter, possibly much more than her actual mother. Then again, the woman their father had slept with was never given a choice to keep the child that'd come out of her own stomach.
"Listen carefully. Please." Her mother exhaled sharply, losing her calm as seconds passed. "Don't do this to your sister. Please, for the love of God, don't do this to your sister, Adora!"
"She is not my sister! She's just a Powerless mistake," Adora insisted through gritted teeth, her hand flying up to her Amulet as though afraid they were going to forcefully yank it away from her. Even if they did, however, there was no way they'd be able to access the powers the Amulet held. "And, what about me? Am I still not your child? What's special about her?"
"She's capable of becoming something extraordinary in life," said the woman, placing a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "Your sister could be Queen of Albagard, in fact. She's already got the looks and the manners. All she needs now is an Amulet to make her perfect."
"You, on the other hand, are just. . . you," her sister snickered. "A very dirty rat. Nobody in this world would want you around them."
What did her half-sister have that she didn't? Yes, she looked like a rag now, but, her sister would too if she was trapped inside a reeking room most of the time and could only take one bath once every two weeks. Presently, the younger was clothed in riches, her dark hair tied into a neat bun with a red bow on the side.
When her father took a threatening step toward her, Adora took a terrified one back, preparing her teetering legs to scramble off in case the man was planning on trying another painful tactic. Woefully, her bruised legs were too mulish to run fast, and when her father picked up this fact, he didn't hesitate to dash forward. The middle-aged Holder grabbed ahold of her hair, tugging it with force and grinning like a bedlamite upon listening to his daughter wail in pain.
"How could you be so selfish?!" her father hissed in her ear, disregarding the stream of tears that stained the child's cheeks. "How could you be willing to put every life in this kingdom in danger all because you don't want to give that Amulet up? You're clearly not fit to be a Royal, so, hand the necklace over to someone who is."
In danger? What danger?
This wasn't the first time this topic of danger had been brought up. They always spoke of how the kingdom would be at great risk if her pendant ended up in the wrong hands. Adora frequently questioned it, yet, no one was willing to clarify further. She was beginning to think her family was only saying such things to scare her into giving up the Amulet. As if her prison and harsh penalties weren't enough.
What was so special about her Amulet, anyway?
Her half-sister wasn't sure what the threat meant either, but, the girl couldn't care less about anybody's lives aside from her own. Her goal was only centred around having the Amulet in her possession — to be seen as someone much greater than any Holder.
If they're all this desperate, then, my Amulet must be worth a lot more than I think.
"You know what?" Adora's face trembled in an attempt to keep herself from breaking into tears all over again. Crying wasn't going to do a single thing to get her out of this situation. "I wish you'd just die already!" she spat at the man, the sudden brazen behaviour leaving all three of them stunned. "Just get out of my life!"
One thing, for certain, Adora had grown out of her deluded phase. Her prison had helped with that. The wrath and egocentrism coming from the same people who dwelled under the same roof as her was as clear as spring water.
Her father raised his arm, prepared to give Adora the biggest slap of her life. Yet, something else stopped him from doing so.
"Father, watch out!"
The sudden scream coming from his younger daughter brought the man's attention away from Adora, allowing the child to slip away from his grasp while she still could. Even the woman's mouth was wide agape, pointing to something in the air. Regardless, before the man could gaze up to see what had brought forth the abrupt terror, he felt his entire body crushed by a heavy item, in a matter of seconds.
Adora's hand flew to her mouth, the colour draining from her bewildered face. On top of her father was a heavy brass chandelier that'd snapped out of nowhere. Throughout several years of their lives, this chandelier had always been around in the hall, and such a horrifying thing had never occurred.
At first, it was silent. Complete silent. When her mother and sister set their eyes on the blood that pooled out of the man's body, eventually soaking in what had just transpired, the two of them let out the loudest shriek — so audible that Adora was certain even the people on the other side of the kingdom could hear them.
"Y-you k-killed him!" the youngest spluttered, her chest heaving up and down as she breathed in an unstable manner. Telling from the look on her face, it appeared as though the girl was about to faint soon.
"N-no, how you say such a thing?"
"Yes, of course, you did!" her mother insisted. "You wished death upon your own father."
"I-I didn't know it would happ—"
"Nonsense!" the woman cut her off once again. "You know what the Golden Amulet is capable of and you used it against your father. You monster. You absolute monster! Do you still have the audacity to wonder why we never give you the time of day? Adora, you monster!"
Adora shook her head in denial. She hadn't done this. Her Amulet hadn't done this. It was just plain terrible luck. The man had been standing in the wrong spot at the wrong time. No matter how much Adora tried to feel horrible for the man's unexpected death, she couldn't. Such a wicked man did not deserve her pity.
The child spun around and raced to her bedroom. Now, the room sounded much safer than any other place she could think of. Regardless of her lack of pity, she couldn't help but believe she'd just ruined any chance she had at obtaining her freedom.
"Adora, you can't hide from what you've just done!" her mother called out from the other side of the locked door. "You will be reported to the Royals and be severely punished for this cruelty. The Royals will not have mercy."
"How can you have remorse for the same man who betrayed your trust?" Adora shot back at the woman, attempting to appear as tranquil as possible. On the inside was a different story, unfortunately. She was sure to be executed for this crime, especially seeing as her father was a bit well-known. The man was loved by many. This was one of the many reasons she frequently doubted anyone would believe her if she claimed her father was a ruthless man.
"What he did is nothing compared to what you've just done!" her mother urged, banging a fist against the door. "Come out now!"
A whimper left Adora's mouth as she stared down at the necklace still hung around her neck. After finally sucking in a breath and taking a few seconds to gather herself together, she called out to the woman again. "How about we make a new deal, Mother?"
There was a small pause on the other side. Adora could tell her mother was thinking about it. She knew deep inside that the woman never really cared for her husband, especially after he'd gone off to sleep with another woman.
"What are you thinking?"
Adora lifted the Amulet over her head and held it close to her chest, hugging it as if it were a child she was about to give up. "You make sure everyone understands that Father's death was an accident and I. . ." Her heart hammered as she tightly shut her eyes. "I'll hand the Amulet over to Matilda."
Matilda.
Matilda.
Matilda.
This was a name that was going to haunt her for the rest of her years in this world.
No matter how hard she tried to deny it now, she knew it couldn't have been an accident. How could the chandelier have fallen just seconds after she wished death upon her father? This Amulet she possessed was so much more than she thought, and if this truly was the case, then, her parents had been correct from the very beginning. Such a powerful pendant could not end up in the hands of a cruel individual. There was just so much they could do with it to harm the world even more.
She wasn't good enough to be the Holder of this Amulet.
But, wait! Her eyes expanded once she eventually comprehended what she'd just done. Her mother and sister were cruel people. There was so much harm they could do to this kingdom only. She couldn't hand over the pendant.
"I agree with your terms," the woman responded. "Recite the phrase to change your engraved name to Matilda's and I'll make sure nobody finds out what you did. Come out."
Adora couldn't. She'd just created the worst deal ever. Neither of those two out there truly cared about putting her behind bars. It was just her father, after all. They couldn't care less about him — not even Matilda, in spite of the fact the man had treated her like nothing but a princess ever since she was born.
"One out of ten wishes used."
In utter astonishment, Adora gazed down at the Amulet again. Had it just spoken?
"W-wishes?" she mumbled. "Is that the power this Amulet gives? Ten wishes?"
"Yes. Ten Wishes is part of the powers the Golden Amulet grants. One out of ten wishes used."
Was this really happening?
"Adora, why are you still in there?" her mother demanded in a rough tone, pounding yet another fist against the door. "I already accepted your terms. Just hand the Amulet over and you can go about your own way. We won't ever trouble you again."
For the millionth time, the adolescent child feared for her life. Her eyes shut with terror, pondering over her options. There were only two, at the moment. Give the Amulet up, or continue risking her life for a necklace she didn't understand, in the slightest. The former sounded like the most reasonable thing to do.
Adora sat down on her stained mattress while her fingers gently caressed an invisible framed picture she used to keep in her previous bedroom before she'd turned the age of eight. It was a picture of her and her younger sister — someone she'd believed she could count on as a friend many years back.
Matilda had clearly proven her wrong. She was just as acquisitive as the rest of them.
"I can ask for ten wishes, correct?" she queried, her question directed at the pendant.
"Correction: you can ask for nine wishes."
"Right." Anybody would have felt like an idiot, sitting there and talking to an item as if it was human. Adora had often heard of Holders who grew obsessed with their Amulets to the point where the pendants were their only friends. They would speak to it every day, but, of course, none of them ever expected it to speak back.
"I wish for there to be world peace," the child uttered almost immediately.
"I'm sorry. That wish is undoable. The Golden Amulet only accepts simple wishes."
"I wish for all Holders to stop being so brutal to the Powerless beings," she tried again.
"I'm sorry. That wish is undoable. The Golden Amulet only accepts simple wishes."
"Then. . . I wish for my mother and sister to stop behaving so wickedly."
"I'm sorry. That wish is undoable. The Golden Amulet only accepts simple wishes."
Frustration stabbed Adora's heart, her eyes glaring at the item. But, when she finally took a minute to think about it, she understood why such wishes were deemed impossible.
Her father's death could have easily been passed off as an accident — it was an incident that could have happened anytime even before she made the wish. On the other hand, Holders changing their cruel ways was going to take years before becoming a reality. Perhaps, even never.
Adora's body abruptly bolted up from the mattress seconds later with broadened eyes as soon as something excellent sparked inside her head. A plan — a better plan, she believed.
She stared down at her necklace. I know what to do. I know how to make them leave me alone.
"I wish to create a replica of the Golden Amulet."
"Your wish is my command. . . But, Adora, do understand that the replica of the Golden Amulet will only be a fake. The replica will not possess the powers of the real Amulet. In fact, it will not possess a single power, at all."
"Don't worry. That's exactly what I want." Adora made a fist, staring at nothing in particular. This time, the sigh that left her mouth was out of relief. "This is how they'll finally leave me be."
The jubilation she brought upon her mother and sister once they heard for the second time that she was giving up the Amulet was just as Adora anticipated. She informed them that she'd already recited the Amulet transfer phrase in her room and it was, indeed, Matilda's name engraved on the pendant now. Adora waited for any sort of appreciation from either of them, though, never received it. Both mother and sister were too filled with triumph that Adora entirely slipped their minds.
"You're free to leave, Adora," her mother said. "See? I'm keeping my part of the deal as promised. I'll call the Royals right away and inform them of the unfortunate accident."
But, Adora didn't believe her words, and she had every right not to. Now that they had the Golden Amulet — or, at least, thought they did — what was stopping them from finishing her off?
Nonetheless, a few minutes after Adora had left the household and her mother was going from door to door, shouting with crocodile tears that her husband had just passed, Matilda began to grow suspicious.
As the man's body was inspected by professionals the Royals had sent over, Matilda stared at her mother with puzzlement. "I've been trying to get this Amulet to work, but it's not. Am I doing it wrong?"
Her mother chuckled, too elated and oblivious to the fake replica in front of her. "No, child. You just need more practice. It is the Golden Amulet, after all. Mayhap, it works differently from the rest. It'll take a while to get used to."
"Should it be taking this much time just to use a power? A seven-year-old I know was able to use her Amulet's powers as soon as it appeared. Did Adora trick us?"
"Matilda, it's only been a few minutes. Be more patient!" the woman snapped, taking her daughter back with surprise. "Think of the many things you could do with this Amulet. You could achieve many, many great things."
"Such as becoming a queen?"
"Precisely." Her mother nodded with eagerness. "Make sure it's hidden well. I only want people to know you possess the Golden Amulet after you've finally unlocked its powers." Right then and there, she praised herself for making sure not a single soul outside of the family had found out Adora was gifted with the Amulet first.
"Oh, this is so exciting!" Matilda tried not to come off as giddy in front of the men that dealt with her father's body. She wouldn't want to appear as a suspect in their eyes.
One of the men confronted them minutes later. "Yes, it definitely seems it was an accident," he informed. "The chandelier couldn't have been cut. It snapped on its own."
"Of course, it did!" the woman wailed. "I watched it happen with my own two eyes." She couldn't admit what had truly transpired, no matter how much she wished to. First of all, the chandelier was so high up. The men would have undoubtedly questioned how such a young child like Adora could have reached it. And she most definitely couldn't let them know it was the use of an Amulet's power, especially at this moment.
"We did find something underneath his body," the man added before ushering for a second adept holding onto a paper to join them. "It was a piece of paper," he carried on. "A letter, to be precise. It's not written in your husband's handwriting, ma'am, but it is addressed to you and your daughter. We went over it first, and you might want to read it yourselves."
The second man passed the paper he was holding over to the woman. "So. . . What's this about the Golden Amulet?"
The both of them went cold with dread at the question. Matilda opened her mouth, ready to tell the men that they had no idea what they were talking about. Yet, only a squeak managed to leave her mouth. After finally unfolding all sides of the paper, her mother gradually ran through every printed word.
"I know about my Amulet being a one-of-a-kind as you like to call it. You didn't want to tell me about how special it was because you believed I didn't deserve to know. You thought I wasn't worthy of having it in my possession, just like I'm not worthy enough to be your daughter and sister.
"Had you done enough study, you would know I can create replicas of Amulets. A fake necklace in the hands of a fake family. Perfect match, if I do say so myself. I'm relieved you fell for it long enough for me to escape your clutches.
"It may not seem like it in your eyes, but I believe I made the right choice. There was no way I was going to allow such a selfish daughter of a heartless mother to be in control of the powerful Golden Amulet. In time, you'll understand.
"By the time you're reading this, I'll already be long gone, but I do hope that one day, you realize what you've done wrong and make up for your faults. Every single one of them."
——Adora
