“Bullseye again! Oh my god, I’m so good at this.”

Hazel had been athletic in her previous life; she had played volleyball in high school as well as rock-climbed with her family a few times a year.

Given this background, she had expected to pick up archery with relative ease, but the natural talent she displayed surprised even her. She had understood the arms and body placements with an outstanding speed. Her body almost moved on its own as if taking a position it was already accustomed to.

Although she had struggled with her precision at first, after a few weeks of consistent training, her aim was as good as Haron’s.

The only difference was that Haron had been practicing for at least 3 years whereas she only started a couple months ago, with a sore arm.

Elias had been the most surprised by her talent. He had expected her to give up after a few unsuccessful tries, to grow tired of being repeated the same instructions without ever managing to understand them.

The daughter he knew had been quick-tempered despite her frail body, she lashed out  at her maids when displeased and had a distaste for what she considered menial activities.

As he watched her from the sidelines, he could not help but think of how much she had changed since she woke up. How bizarre her manners and speech patterns had become. How much her interests differed.

Safe for her features that mirrored her brother’s, she was unrecognizable.

For those who had not known her before, it was hard to believe the energetic girl shooting arrows in front of him was once a feeble prim and proper lady who clung to her mother’s skirt.

It is almost like… she is a different person altogether.

He shook his head as though to physically dispel this ridiculous train of thoughts.

I should not let the servant’s rambles get to me.

It was a rumor that had started among the maids stationed in Hazel’s quarter, it quickly spread all around the estate and finally reached his ears.

At first, they had suggested that the child’s soul had reached Pradma Hafta’s Sea of Souls while a demon had taken dominion over her body.

As Hazel interacted with more servants, the demon turned into an angel. The servants welcomed the change of personality with a sigh of relief. Some of them were even as bold as to say that whichever creature took over the young lady’s body, it did not matter, it was for the best.

As much as he wanted to deny these rumors, part of him could understand why the servants would think that way.

Even he, who had never been close to her in the past, could see that she treated them better.

He wasn't complaining either.

His daughter had always been distant from him, she seemed to fear him and preferred sticking closely to her mother despite the harsh treatment she got from her.

As she grew, Hazel’s interests and overall behaviour mimicked her mother’s more and more, and her desire to be recognised and praised by her role model grew as well. She would follow her mother around until Maeve snapped and sent her away.

As thoughts about his wife passed through his mind, Elias sighed.

She is probably the happiest with this change…

His eyes fell back on his daughter. With her outfit, long black hair tied up in a ponytail and bow in hand, she looked like a miniature version of her mother when he met her.

The passing years had almost made him forget how incredibly strong, fearless and utterly… breath-taking Maeve was with a weapon in hand.

He reminisced the first time he tried to talk to her.

She had been shooting arrows – much like her daughter was now – and had seemed to be solely focused on that task.

He had gathered his resolve and had walked past the other students straight to her, each step he took, the part of him that wanted to turn around and walk away had grown smaller and smaller.

It wasn’t that he had feared rejection, back then, women always tried to gain his favor. His status as the next duke of Zahar as well as his appearance used to draw flocks of ladies aiming for a position at his side.

His hesitation had been due to the reactions she elicited in him. Just watching her was enough to make his heart run wild. Back then, he could barely imagine what being close to her, touching her hand or… holding her in his arm without feeling flustered to the point of dizziness.

She had not spared him a glance and yet he had already been at her mercy.

He had not spoken a word to her but everything about her, her face, her hair, her voice heard from afar… her entire presence occupied his every thought.

He had approached her with the intention of relieving himself from the torture she had unknowingly put him through.

He had thought that if he talked to her, he would lose interest and regain control over his mind.

How wrong he had been.

As he had approached her, he had been lost in his thought, his gaze fixed on her but not really seeing anything. What had brought him back to reality had been Maeve’s bow smacking him square in the face and almost making him lose his balance.

A smile spread on Elias face as he thought bask to his young foolish self. He rubbed his jaw as though to ease the pain he felt over 10 years ago.

For such a flimsy bow, it did hurt quite a bit.

He chuckled to himself remembering her beautiful face displaying a mixture of worry and panic. He remembered how much she had apologized after that incident, something she would never do today.

I guess we both changed a lot.

Another heavy sigh escaped his lips.

Although a smile was still stretching his lips, it appeared much sadder than it had been a few second ago.

 

“Dad? Are you alright?”

Elias suddenly opened the eyes he didn’t realize he had closed and came face to face with his two children’s questioning looks.

“Ah… yes. I am fine.”

Elias straightened his stance, erasing the treacherous smile that had sprouted on his face earlier.

“What do you want?”, he asked.

Hazel’s questioning expression quickly turned turned into a satisfied smirk as she remembered the reason why she approached the duke.

“I have come to collect on your promise.”

“I do not—”

“You can’t go back on your word. You promised to allow me to learn swordsmanship if I did well.”

Elias noted that she tended to interrupt him a lot more lately. Something she wouldn't even have dreamed of doing before.

Before he could speak again, hazel grabbed an awkward Haron, shoving him in front of him.

“Haron is my witness. Right? Right Haron?”

“Uh… ye—ss?”

The boy replied hesitantly, suddenly feeling out of place in the argument that opposed his father and his sister. He thought of taking several steps back, or simply extracting himself from the hazardous situation but Hazel would not let go of her hold on him.

“Tell him!”, she urged him, tightening her grip.

“Umm… she got 10 bullseyes in a row… and Sir Kabal said her stance was really good—”

“See! See! I have mastered the bow.”

Seeing what she assumed was Elias’ incredulous expression, Hazel’s smirk widened into a smug, self-satisfied grin.

“Bet you thought I wouldn’t take you seriously.”

He did. He had thought she would give up after a week. She had persevered and what’s more, had showed great talent.

Elias didn’t know whether to be proud or dissatisfied.

He didn’t want her to be anywhere near weapons, willingly or otherwise.

But at the same time, her natural talent reminded him of her mother. A part of him didn’t want to stifle that part of her as he felt he had done with Maeve.

Elias was conflicted. The only reply he could think of was:

“I will think about it.”

“But that wasn’t what you promised!” the little girl exclaimed, seemingly offended by his dismissal. “How can you go back on a promised you made in front of Pradma Hazn?”

“You are quite brazen today”, Elias chastised while he internally chuckled.

“Well, one of us has to make sure the deal is upheld.” His daughter shrugged as though she was saying something extremely obvious.

“It is my decision to make.” He countered calmly.

“Dad, I am only saying that because I’m worried about your reputation. I do not want you to be known as someone who cannot even keep his promise to his own daughter.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Hazel met his pointed gaze with her own unflinching one. She showed no sign of backing down and even crossed her arms to emphasize her intention not to budge.

In the middle of this psychological battle, stood an uneasy Haron. He had nothing to do with their feud and wanted to remove himself from the ordeal as soon as possible but he didn’t even dare move a toe, for fear of attracting their attention.

Fear kept him from moving but it was surprise that made him pay close attention to their conversation.

He had rarely seen his father this amused and… chipper. It wasn’t even a word he thought he would ever associate with his father.

“You are not going to let this go, are you?”

“Nope.”

“…”

“…”

After what felt like minutes of heavy tense silence, the duke relented.

“Fine.”

Before he could continue his sentence, Hazel was already jumping up and down, celebrating her victory.

“But.” He added. “But first, you will have to physically prepare yourself. Cinder and Kabal will supervise your exercise set.”

Hazel immediately stopped her victory dance. She paused for a few seconds, considering the condition he added to the deal. She seemed dissatisfied but she begrudgingly agreed, extending her hand toward the duke.

“deal.”

“deal.”

Although he had lost this battle, Elias couldn’t keep the corner of his lips from rising as he shook her tiny hand.

His daughter that had been terrified of him a year ago stood up to him and stubbornly bossed him and her brother around.

Does that mean she is growing up?

The small adorable child that he had held in his arms not to long ago was now a 9-year-old young lady, ready to assert her will on every person in her vicinity.

As much as it amused him, it also saddened him to think that she would soon reach an age when she didn’t need him anymore; an age when she would leave Zahar to marry into a family that didn’t deserve her.

It made him want to lock her in her quarters for the rest of her life and murder any man who dared try and take her away.

Before he could convince himself to proceed with that plan, he stopped his somber train of thought and returned to his study.

 

***************

 

“My Lord, this is a letter from the imperial palace.”

Allen, Elias' aide, unfolded the overly decorated letter and place it on the table in front of him.

Just looking at the golden contours, the imperial seal embedded on the side of the paper and the intertwined moon and sun made his face contort into a grimace of both disgust and anger.

He really didn’t have the time nor the energy to deal with the antics of the Emperor.

“What does he want again?”

“His majesty the Emperor demands that you pledge allegiance to him… again.”

The duke clicked his tongue and responded without removing his eyes from the documents laid directly in front of him.

“How impatient of him. Tell him I will think about it.”

“My Lord, it is something that must be done eventually…”

It was quite unorthodox for a noble, especially one as high-ranked as the duke, not to officially pledge allegiance to the Emperor.

When the newest Emperor was crowned 7 years ago, all the nobles houses of Prath bowed to him or sent him a formal letter in which they renewed their allegiance to the imperial power. All of them, except for the new duke of Zahar.

He had used the pretexts of his father’s death to postpone it as long as possible, but it had been a decade now and the  Emperor was starting to get impatient.

Elias knew it would be wiser to give him what he wanted but seeing that idiotic man seethe and squirm, unable to actually do anything about it, gave him great pleasure.

If it were anyone else, they would have been stripped of their title and punished for treason, but this was the Vedar family. Their roots in Prath stretched as far as the imperial family’s and their influence made it so some people, especially in the South, called them ‘the second imperial family’.

The Empire was able to expand its territory thanks to the Vedars' military power and resources. The difficult conquest of the Lubella Kingdom had showed how crucial the dukedom was to the Empire.

Although it had made him feel good at the time, Elias could now recognise that he had been stupid. He had openly showed his animosity to the Empire by withholding his troops.

He was no longer that rage-filled young man who had been ready to cut the Emperor’s head at the slightest remark.

He had changed. He had become much wiser since then.

He still wanted to avenge his family, but he understood that he could achieve much more by appearing subservient than by defying every order he was given.

If he had continued on that path, the imperial family would have pushed back.

What Emperor would accept that such a powerful rival remained outside his control?

He had to lie low for the moment. No matter how much he wanted to run his sword through every single member of that wretched family.

“...”

“With all due respect you grace, even if you do not accept his demands now, it is unlikely you would be able to keep doing so when the engagement between the young miss and the crown prince is confirmed.”

Elias’ irritation grew as he heard these words.

What irritated him the most was not the wilful Emperor demanding that he bowed to him, but the fact that Allen’s words reminded him of his own hypocrisy. He would put his child in danger to exact his revenge. As much as he tried to convince himself that she would be better protected as the future Empress than as a mere magicless duke’s daughter, he knew that were they to fail, she would be the first victim of the Emperor’s retaliation.

Allen is speaking the truth. I have to be careful. I cannot keep opposing the imperial family so openly if I want our plan to succeed.

As much as it displeased him, he had to give up one of his last means to oppose the people he hated.

“Fine. Give him what he wants. I will leave it to you, I fear my words might lack… sincerity.”

“I will get to it right away.”

Allen bowed and started heading toward the door when the duke called him.

“Allen.”

“Yes, my Lord?”

“Can I assume you took care of the pests?”

Allen grinned. His cheerful  expression in stark contrast with the sinister content of his reply.

“Of course, my Lord. The mercenaries we hired are systematically targeting their warehouses and merchants. Their territories are mostly isolated from trade routes, and their wealth is greatly depleted. If this goes on, they would either starve with their people or suffer a riot.”

“The second option would be much more satisfying.” The duke remarked with a smirk. “Pay a few people to agitate the crowds. And send a few of our men too.”

“Is it wise my Lord?  They could be identified and lead back to us.”

One again, Allen helped control his worst instincts.

Despite their weakened state at the moment, Count Menaget and his collaborators had connections and strong ties to the current Empress, attacking them directly would lead to an unwanted confrontation with the imperial family. He couldn’t slay them as he wanted without the Emperor taking notice and growing suspicious of his intentions. He had to act discreetly if he wanted to maintain the acquiescent image he was trying to create.

“Tell them to lay low. They should pose as commoners, wait for an insurrection, and bring me the counts and their families. Alive. I want to punish them myself.”

“Understood my Lord.”

Allen then exited the study, leaving a satisfied Elias behind him. The prospect of the counts' demise and subsequent death lifted his mood considerably.

He was more willing to pledge allegiance to that joke of an Emperor if it meant he could destroy one of the Empire’s coin wells.

Let us take down one of the Emperor’s dog.

 

---

 

“Hey Haron, what was I like before I di— fell ill?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know… I guess I am a little curious. Did I get along with everyone?”

Haron wondered how he should answer her question. He hesitated between telling her the truth and lying to her face.

The doctor had advised them to tell her about her past to help her remember; he had told them that the more she interacted with things she was familiar with the more likely she was to regain her memories and revert back to her old self.

He didn’t want her to revert back to her old self.

Nobody wanted that.

Not even their mother. Despite her perpetual scorn, she seemed to dislike Hazel less in the latest months.

More than anyone, he didn’t want her to remember anything.

Before her accident, he would never have imagined that they could be this close. Hazel used to avoid the training court like the plague. She never would have wasted her energy on what she used to consider ‘boorish, ill-mannered activities’.

Despite his numerous attempts at hanging out with her, she had always refused his company and had seemed to prefer avoiding him as much as she could.

He could not help but be secretly happy that she lost her memory.

It was shameful to think that way.

After all, it was his fault she fell ill in the first place. Had he known how to control his magic, she would not have fell or lost her memories.

Still, the benefits gained from her condition far outweighed his guilt.

“You were… pretty much the same.” He lied.

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“I wasn’t spoiled, arrogant or mean?” she questioned, her brows furrowed.

“Nope. Not at all.” He lied again.

“That’s weird.” Hazel seemed lost in her thoughts.

“Is it?”

“Everyone seemed so surprised by how much I have changed that I thought I must have been completely different.”

Haron observed her, hoping that she bought his lie. She seemed pensive but it didn’t look like she doubted his words. Haron internally let out a sigh of relief.

“Did we really get along?” Hazel asked, pointing to him then to her.

Haron placed his gaze anywhere but on hers.

It wasn’t that they didn’t get along before. It was more like their interactions were mostly… always initiated… forced by him and Hazel went along with it because she was dragged.

“We did…” He replied.

“Then why did you say my accident was your fault?”

Haron froze.

He hadn’t expected her to remember his admission of guilt. He had wanted her to completely forget about his meltdown.

Hazel noticed his discomfort and gently placed her hand on his clenched fist.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Haron took a good long look at her worried face.

If I tell her she will never look at me like this. She will hate me.

“…”

She is giving me a way out; I would be mad if I did not take it. Right?

“…”

He stayed silent, taking the time to consider his options.

It was finally Hazel who put an end to the awkward conversation:

“Let’s talk about something else, okay.”

“Hmm”

If he could, he would never tell her. Ever.

 

***************

**Flashback**

 

“Haze, what are you doing?”

“Ouch!”

Haron had suddenly appeared next to her. Startled, her needle missed the handkerchief she was embroidering and planted itself deeply in her thumb. He hadn’t been particularly loud but his sudden appearance was unexpected and unwanted enough to cause her to make such a mistakes.

Hazel sighed, placing her now blood-stained embroidery set on the table and turning an exasperated glare to her twin brother.

“What do you want.”

He gave her a toothy grin, invading her space further.

“Since you are not busy, you can come with me. I have something great to show you.” Haron suggested, ignoring the waves of annoyance she sent his way.

Before she could refuse, he roughly grabbed her hand dragging her to the training court as she vehemently protested behind him.

“Let go of me! I do not want to go to that filthy place.”

“But I cannot show it to you here. I might burn the house down.”

“I have no interesting whatever you want to show me. Leave me alone.”

“You will like it. I promise.”

“Your promise means nothing to me.”

When they reached the courtyard, Haron finally let her go.

“what could possibly be so important that you needed to bother me in the middle of the day?”

“Take a step back first.” He pushed her gently and took a few steps back himself. “Look at this.”

Blades of fire rose from under Haron’s feet and quickly engulfed his entire body. The flames slashed the air around him, exuding intense waves of heat. The fire whirlpool seemed to grow second after second, swirling around him like a flaming forcefield.

“Is this not great!?” Haron shouting from inside the whirlpool. “If you want, I will teach it to you as soon as you have your awakening.”

Hazel, who at first had stepped back and cowered away when the flames had grown bigger and bigger, extended her hand toward the flames. She looked like she was in a state of trance.

As she approached closer to the whirlpool, Haron grew worried for her safety. Hazel still hadn’t awakened; he didn’t know if she had any resistance to haftan fire. She could get seriously hurt.

He tried to dispel the flames before she could touch them but he still lacked control. He was starting to panic, which made the flame even bigger and hotter, thus worsening the situation.

“Stay away Haze!” He screamed, tears teasing the corners of his eyes.

She kept stepping forward, ignoring – or rather not hearing his plea.

He closed his eyes, both waiting for the impact and hoping for his magic to disappear. Tears were now flowing from his closed eyes down his cheeks.

“Please …” he pleaded softly as he sobbed.

 

All of a sudden, he felt his magic evaporate from around him, almost as if being sucked away.

His eyes shot open right away and fell on Hazel, who was writhing on the floor of the court, in pain.

“Haze! I am so sorry…” he fell on the floor and held his sister in his arms. She let out a pained cry, her tear-stained eyes fluttering shut.

“Wake up”, he shook her roughly without success. “please… I am so sorry… do not leave me Haze…” He cried and screamed as he hugged her motionless body.

“Ugh…” Hazel groaned, half awake. “We can play later… I am… tired.”

“Do not close your eyes. You might not wake up.” He rose to his feet and used all the strength his small body possessed to put her on his back and carry her back to the mansion.

“…I will…” she replied before losing consciousness.

A few servants noticed them and rushed to help him.

 

She stayed unconscious for 2 weeks.

At first, she was overtaken by an intense fever, her body burned so much than it was a surprise that her flesh did not melt. After a few days, her temperature kept rising to the point it could no longer be mistaken for a fever.

Since he was barred from her quarters and his parents refused to tell him anything,  Haron had listened to the servants’ whispers and gossip. Some said that she had awakened, others suggested that she was too weak, and she would die in the process.

He also heard one of her personal maids say that her condition was abnormal, that with her rising temperature, her entire body started to exude such heat that no one could stay in her room without sweating profusely and suffocating. Then, without a warning, her temperature fell below that of a live human. It decreased lower and lower until her body was as cold as a corpse. Similarly, the room temperature mirrored her own, keeping people from approaching her.

After 2 weeks, they said she was dead, that she had stopped breathing and her body had become lethargic and cold as ice.

He didn’t even get to see her…

He kept telling himself that these were merely rumors, stories invented by the servants.

She couldn’t be dead. She couldn’t.

He would have to see it for himself.

Yes.

He couldn’t believe anything they said without seeing for himself.

 

3 days later, she woke up.

She wasn't burned or crippled. She was healthier, albeit without her memory.

What else could it be if not a gift from the goddesses? It was a sign that they should forget about the past .

Telling her would only bring out unneeded bad memories. They were better of not thinking about it at all.