She felt a hand on her forehead and someone holding her hand. The dream she had was vanishing, but she could still see the contour of it. It was soft, like a green forest, and it felt important. She didn’t want to let it go, still, she felt the wakening world coming closer, the dream now just a faint memory, a loss that left an empty feeling.

“Sasha?” Ivy’s voice sounded worried, the hand squeezing hers too clingy.

The memories of what happened came back and she groaned. She had failed. Not only had she not been able to save her sister, but she had also gotten captured and lost her power.

“Where am I?”

“At my home, in our finest guest room”, a male voice answered and Sasha’s eyes shot wide open. There were two people in the room, sitting on the big double bed she was laying in.

“Elias?”

She pushed his hand aside, angry at seeing him, and angry at herself for not noticing the hand on her forehead being far too big for being Ivy’s. She sat up and studied her surroundings, trying to catch her thoughts.

It was a beautiful room, with a fireplace and several big windows towards a garden. Opposite to the bed where she laid there was an exact copy, with canopy and yellow linens.

“How do you feel?” Ivy asked.

“I feel. I feel weak”, Sasha confessed. Just getting to sit up had cost her.

“That’s expected”, Elias said. “My mother gave you back the magic she took, and she forced some more upon you. I hadn’t expected you to wake up until later.”

“She did what?”

“You feel pain?” Elias asked. His hand brushing her forehead.

“Yeah, my head feels like a balloon.” She probably had a fever.

“You shouldn’t have run away from me”, he sighed. “I could have kept you out of this had you let me.”

Elias took a glass of water and passed it to her.

“Why is she still hurt?” Ivy insisted. “I thought you healed her?”

“It is the extra magic speaking. It will subside, but it will not go away completely until she learns to master it.”

Elias rose from the bed, passing back and forth in the room. Sasha squeezed her sister’s hand. It was a mess, and she couldn’t even get her things together and start thinking of how to solve it. Her head throbbed.

“I can smoothen the edges sister”, Ivy said.

“Not now”, Sasha whispered. She squeezed her sister’s hand hard. “What has she done to you?” Sasha could coop with the pain, what she couldn’t coop with was the uncertainty. Sasha didn’t want to know, and still, she had to. Her sister had been all alone in the lion’s den.

“Nothing. The queen has been nice. That is until I saw what she did to you.”

“Mother adores your sister”, Elias interrupted. “Ivy is an exact copy of herself, minus the magic. My mother thinks she has gotten a puppy”, there was distaste colouring his voice. “You are pretty lucky not being gifted with magic.”

“Well, things are not always what they seem to be, are they Elias?” Ivy said. Sasha flinched. Her sister never talked about her ability. Hinting at it now was beyond stupid.

Elias looked Ivy square in the eyes.

“I will lift your deepest suffer if you help my sister with the pain to come”, Ivy said.

“You know nothing about my suffer”, Elias said.

“I know all about it. By all means, I am the firstborn after all.” Ivy had the look of a queen. She had always had, the frail and the almighty at the same.

“Then how will you do what I can’t?” Elias insisted.

It must be bothering him if he was willing to listen to Ivy. Sasha looked dumbstruck. She didn’t recognise the cocky knight in front of her.

“I will not, but I will guide the events if you follow my directions. If not, you will lose her”, Ivy said and pointed towards Sasha.

“Me?” Sasha said, now even more confused.

“And why would I care about Sasha?”

“Yeah, why would you?” Sasha agreed.

Ivy giggled.

“You don’t, but when you lose her at the market place it will drive you nuts.”

Elias looked away from Ivy, searching for something in Sasha’s eyes. She knew that look and she nodded. Of course, her sister was crazy. He should pay no attention to what she was talking about. And later, she would reprimand Ivy for letting her tongue loose amongst enemies.

“Mind if I have a world with your sister alone?” Elias asked Ivy in a gentle voice. “You might want to bring her some soup, getting her to recover faster.”

“Not at all”, Ivy said and to Sasha’s utter disbelief left her alone.

“I hate you. All of this, it is your doing.”

“It hurt, doesn’t it?” Elias put his hand on her forehead. It felt as soft as a cold blanket and she sighed. “You’re such a whining little princess you know.”

Sasha knocked his hand away. The pain was immediately tenfold.

“I should have known you never traded the orb.”

Sasha looked away. So he had seen. She wished he had not.

“You will take it back?”

“I will, eventually”, Elias said and put his hand back on her forehead, he sighed. Sasha didn’t care, his hand was a blessing. “I would prefer if you just gave it back.”

She laughed out loud. That for sure was not going to happen.

“But until then, I will train you”, Elias said.

“You will train me?”

“Yes, my mother wishes you to learn to use the magic she has forced upon you. And I think I can form you to a real good knight.”

“And you will just do all of this because she asks?”

“No, I will do it because you need it. You’re a spoiled brat, misusing your magic. You badly need the teaching Sasha!”

Elias's voice was angry and the hand on her forehead went stiff. There were no soft strokes, just his hard hand, laying there, taking away the edges of her pain. She exhaled. Finally, she recognised the man in front of her.

“You are a healer.”

“Yes, I am”, Elias answered. “Glad you noticed.”

“But how?”

“You ask too many questions”, Elias said and through his fingertips, the magic started to flow.

This time there was no pain, there was just this familiar magic, and she gulped, swallowing what he gave, feeling the familiar feeling of the magic she had lost. To her disbelief, Elias gave back her magic.

“This is enough for this time. You will get no more until you master this one.”

“This! It is just baby magic. I am as weak as a five-year-old!”

“You are mature as a five-year-old. Quite fitting”, Elias said. “Starting by master what you should have already learned is the first step. And princess, a thank you wouldn’t be too much to ask.”

Sasha knew she was being ungrateful. She was weak as a toddler, not only in body but in magic. He had no reason to give back anything, especially since she had not. She really ought to thank him.

“Bastard”, she said. She was spoiled. She wanted it all, the mighty and the glory, all the magic that she had lost, all the magic that was stolen.

“Indeed”, said Elias. “Just a small thank you would have been enough.”

He bent down and placed a kiss as light as feathers on her lips. She wanted to cry.

“This is entirely your fault”, Elias said and he took his hand away. There were sparks of green in the yellow eyes.

Sasha sobbed. The pain stabbed her. She longed for his healing.

“Please Elias.”

“Please what?”

Sasha laid her hand around his neck and pulled him down to her. She had to have it rough, not soft, not gentle, not as feathers.

He pulled his lips away, the oath on his lips one she never heard before.

“I hate you”, she said.

“I know”, he answered. “You keep saying so.”

And he left the room.