The Mage Queen Book 1: The Princess
The Runaway

Anastacia gulped.

She didn’t expect them to replace her that fast. The princess froze. Did her spell wear off? She frantically dug through her bag and noticed that one of the crystals was missing! Anxiety filled her as she dumped things onto the floor until she noticed crystalline dust on her fingertips. Her heart stopped.

“Someone broke my spell already!?” Anastacia whispered in horror.

The boy blinked. “Your... spell?”

Anastacia nodded. “Yes, my illusion spell. They do not know I am out here.”

“Who doesn’t know you’re out here?”

Before Anastacia could answer his question, she winced when a shrieking voice pierced the air.

“Anastacia, you come out right now or I will track you. Find you, and drag you back! I give you the Oddisea guarantee!”

Anastacia’s blood ran cold at the sound of the name. Her head twitched and weakly looked behind her, shuddering. The crowd drew back in horror when a familiar pale, petite girl with glowing ice-blue eyes suddenly drew out an abyss black death scythe that stood triple her height. Instead of a dress, the petite girl had body-fitting, black armor with a tattered red trail. Her bladed gauntlets and pauldrons gleamed under the sunlight, showing the terrified expressions of the people on its metallic surface.

The boy gulped. “What did you do to her?”

Anastacia shook her head. “Nothing at all! But please" —she grabbed both his hands— "you have to hide me!"

"You didn't fight with her, did you?"

"No, no! I shall explain later! But I am in dire need of your assistance!"

Anastacia stared hard at the perplexed boy's face. A lump formed in her throat but she forced it down. If he could not hide her, she would have to run. She glanced back at a furious Erkalla and shivered at the sight of the Death Scythe. The grinding and growling of the gears on the scythe's beard made her shudder. The last thing she wanted to be was on the wrong end of Erkalla's scythe. She turned back to the boy.

"Please, I beg of you! Hide me," she pleaded again.

The boy, though he had a bewildered expression, nodded stiffly. "C-come with me."

The boy grabbed her hand and dragged her into the alleyway, away from the main street. Anastacia dared not to look back. One moment of hesitation meant a higher risk of Erkalla replaceing her. Although Erkalla and she had a good relationship, that didn't stop the former from disciplining her. When Erkalla brought out her scythe, it meant two things: she meant business and she was taking no prisoners.

"Where are we going?" Anastacia kept glancing back.

"Somewhere away from her! You don't have to tell me twice how dangerous she is!"

"You know her?"

"Who doesn't know the story of the Corpse Queen?"

Anastacia shivered. "Th-the Corpse Queen?"

"It was said that in every battle she joined, she always ended the battle with her making a throne out of the general's bones. Then, she places that throne on a pile of corpses of all the people she's killed!"

Anastacia paled. She had heard stories. But that was new. Even among the soldiers of Xychosia, they knew not to make an enemy out of her. She once heard during their training: if you hear the name Odissea, consider the battle lost. Run.

She couldn't believe she was putting that command to use.

The combination of alleyways accompanied by the putrid smell of garbage made her head spin. She fought the urge to throw up and the strain in her legs. Her calves burned. She winced at the blisters forming on her toes and the balls of her feet. She felt something sticky and stinging from the back of her ankle the more she ran. Muddy water splashed against her cloak and light yellow dress. The sweat pouring down her face made her black tresses cling to her red cheeks. She hated running. But also refused to end up on the wrong end of Erkalla's death scythe.

"Apologies, ma'am," the young boy suddenly said.

Puzzled, Anastacia looked at the wired gate in front of her.

"We will have to climb."

Climb? How do they do that? "What? I have never engaged—"

"Less talking, more climbing, please! Just grab hold onto the holes in the gate!"

Anastacia gulped and stuck her hands into the holes of the wired gate. With a sharp exhale, she began to climb. The gate rattled beneath her weight and her eyes widened when she heard a soft sizzling noise. She saw the young boy beside her, hissing.

"What happened!?" Anastacia never met anyone allergic to metal before!

"I'm fine," Rowen reassured with a disgruntled snort. "It doesn't hurt too much..."

Anastacia nodded and continued to climb. When she reached the top, she saw soldiers suddenly turn in the alleyway. She gasped as they hollered down the alleyway.

"I found the kid! He even has an accomplice!"

Anastacia paled. Accomplice? Her? What for? She snapped her head towards him and the boy shook his head.

"I didn't steal anything! That Diedrich man is just mean!" protested the boy.

Anastacia groaned. She asked for help from a suspect! The princess looked towards the clocktower, sighing. It had only been thirty minutes since she had left the castle. And within those thirty minutes, everything went topsy turvy. Erkalla declared a witch hunt on her, she enlisted the help of a suspect — could her day not get any worse? Suddenly, a tree shot out from the ground and elevated her onto the roof of the building.

"Where did that—" she gawked. Trees didn't grow that fast!

The boy grabbed her hand. "Come on!"

Anastacia let the boy drag her along across the rooftops. She yelped and dodged under the hanging laundry lines. Anastacia nearly tripped on her feet but gathered herself. She glanced back a few times. Did Erkalla not see the tree that suddenly sprouted in the middle of the alleyway?

She then turned to the boy dragging her along. How did he make a tree that big? Plant magic needed a catalyst oftentimes. She didn't see any plants in the alleyway. Not even a patch of algae.

"How did you—" asked Anastacia.

Suddenly, a black claw swiped the boy and slammed him against a water tank. A chill ran up Anastacia's spine. She weakly turned around and found Erkalla smirking behind her. The petite woman's death scythe growled to life. A black aura cloaked the blade as Erkalla advanced towards her.

"I got to admit." Erkalla clicked her tongue. "Your illusion spells are getting better."

Anastacia backed up. "Let the boy go."

"Not until you come back with me."

She couldn't. "I can't," she said with a shake of her head. "I need to know."

"Need to? Sofiene is gone."

Anastacia bit her lip. She heard that line so many times. But it didn't make sense. And the more she thought about it, the more she felt her body heat up. Her chest tightened. Her heart thundered against her rib cage. Blood rushed and boiled inside her. She had enough of everyone's excuses!

"You will move out of my way, Erkalla," Anastacia repeated. "I shan't ask you twice."

Erkalla glared. "Make me."

Tears threatened to spill out of Anastacia's eyes. She didn't want to. But she wanted answers. Her lower lip quivered as she pulled out a crystal from her bag. But the moment she looked up, Erkalla had already closed in the gap between them. The boy lay flat on the ground while Erkalla's scythe remained an inch away from her neck.

"Too slow," Erkalla mocked.

Anastacia's eyes widened when the scythe went swinging towards her. Her body froze. Her feet remained cemented to the ground. Even with her mind screaming at her to move, nothing moved. Her arms trembled and her fingers locked their grip on the crystal. She couldn't believe it! Erkalla was going to kill her!

As the scythe approached, time appeared to slow down. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. Her hairs stood up on their ends. Every fiber that was once frozen suddenly ignited. Something inside her began to boil. Her once tightened throat loosened and her hands began to burn. She brought her hands up to defend herself only for a bright white light to flash and fill her sight. Everything faded into white. She couldn't see where everyone was. But her heart sank when she heard Erkalla's pained cries.

"It hurts! It hurts!" Erkalla screamed.

Guilt flooded her mind. She tried to replace her hands but the light blinded her. She tried to reach out for something. Anything to give her an idea of where she stood. But when she stepped forward, her heart suddenly tightened. She gripped her chest and let out a dry cough. The light slowly dimmed and when it did, she saw blood on her palms.

"B-blood?" Her vision suddenly started to swirl. "When—"

Her body teetered over and she fell back with a loud thump. She stared straight up at the grey skies as voices began to echo all around her. Her vision blurred and details faded into colors. Eventually...

Everything went black.