Episode One

“Again! I missed it again!” shouted a woman. She dug her brown boot-covered heel into the ground. However, a soft chuckle followed her words.

“Sabrina, you’re getting too anxious. Evia’s not coming back for another few weeks.” The voice belonged to a man with a white robe wrapped around him. He sat on top of the small garden wall the family had once placed to prevent smaller animals from getting into it. He had a very gentle face with short brown hair and a shaggy short beard. He didn’t have a mustache on his face but the beard made him look older than what he really was. He chuckled at the brunette before him who was getting in position to attack the dummy target again.

However, upon hearing the name ‘Evia’ made the woman get angrier, and she seemed to ignore him. She positioned her hands where her left was in front of her right. Her feet were staggered and placed slightly wider than her hips. Her green eyes were narrowed with concentration - or it could’ve been focused anger - and muttered an incantation of her own creation. From what Ezax had taught her, incantations are a wizard’s own creation. Once the incantation had been uttered, a fireball formed in the palm of her left hand and shot out to the target.

This time, it successfully hit. A smile crept on her lips that developed to almost a scowl but she knew she was happy. When she faced Estax, the man sitting, she gave him a bigger smile with her eyes closed. She placed her hands on her hips. The dummy was set ablaze for a short moment before it put itself off. The dummy seemed to be enchanted somehow.

Estax clapped softly and chuckled more. “All I ever have to mention is your sister, don’t I?”

Sabrina’s smile dropped and the wind blew through her medium-brown hair. She slowly opened her eyes but kept her hands on her hips. She seemed to twist her painted lips into an angry look and glowered towards Estax.

“Estax, do you have to bring her up every time? Do you not value your life? You know I’m sick of hearing about her - do you think I don’t recall she’s supposed to do this very important prophecy? I’ve only heard about it my entire life, you know!”

If Estax didn’t know Sabrina for as long as he did, he probably would've been worried about his position. However, being her older cousin and her trainer, all he did in response was laugh a bit more heartily. He knew she wasn’t going to do anything - she would expose her secret training for the rest of their family and that’s a conversation Sabrina made it clear she was never ready to do.

“Hey, stop laughing! I’m serious!” But Estax knew she wasn’t so he kept laughing. She growled slightly and fell to the grassy ground. Her outfit was some old clothes she had that still fit her. Old robes that had burned holes in them and other torn places. She knew that on top of her forbidden battle magic, she would also be reprimanded for wearing such torn clothes ‘for a lady of her status’. However, she only got angrier.

“Okay, okay,” Estax finally stopped laughing and actually stood up from his place. “Let’s call it a day for now. We actually may need to cut down the time from now on since everyone is preparing for Evia’s return as it is. It’s getting a bit risky.”

Sabrina looked up and changed her angry face to a more sorrowful face. “Do you know if she’s visiting this time or if she’s staying? Is Zekon returning with her?” Supposedly, Evia had finished her training with someone she had grown up to believe was a cousin. Her sorrowful expression turned back to anger. There was no one reason to feel betrayed - Zekon being a demon didn’t sit well with her. And apparently, her older family knew about it - and never bothered to let Sabrina in.

“Hm, supposedly, the two are coming back for a celebration and then they’re heading out for the capital. I think they have to get clearance with the Shields of the Orbs first in Fayglen first but most likely, Evia wants to come home first. It has been quite a while since she’s seen us, you know. Oh, we also received a letter from her actually with your name on it.”

Envy, that familiar feeling, crept up through Sabrina’s heart as Estax explained her sister's itinerary. Betrayal from an early age from her own parents, Sabrina was forced to be a witch instead of the wizard she was supposed to be. Evia had to spend more time at that academy of hers for longer than most people were supposed to - and it cost them a pretty penny for the extra board and fees. She knew it wasn’t Evia’s fault she was destined to be the one to save this country but did Sabrina had to be born in the same era as her? Or even if she had to be born in the same era, couldn’t she have been born into a different family? Maybe they would have their destinies cross after all but…

“Sabrina, here, read the letter.” Estax was suddenly close to her and handed her the sealed envelope. Sabrina looked up and then took the letter. She inspected it and, sure enough, her name was written in the familiar script and had Evia’s own seal on the back. Every time she saw that seal, she couldn’t help but flinch angrily at it. She opened it quickly to discard it as quickly as she could.

Once the letter was out, she opened it up and read it.

Dearest Sabrina,

By the time you receive this letter, I will be on my way back home from training. I’m sure Mother and Father already told you, but I am now an officiated Warlock. I know that finding out Zekon is a demon was a big shock to you - I understand it’s frustrating to have all these secrets kept from you but I want you to know that it was a shock to me too! Oh, but it’s still our dear Zekon that we grew and love! Don’t worry, dear sister! I’m in good hands! Please trust Zekon!

I am excited to see your bright face when I come home! I have a special announcement to make at the celebration so it would mean a lot to me if you attended this time. I know every time I come home, Mother and Father spare no expense on celebrating my arrival and I know you always disappear. I want you there this time. It’s very important to me that you are.

I want you to be there for me when I come home.

Evia

Every line, every dotted i’s and crossed t’s only made Sabrina angry and more envious. What announcement could Evia even make that she didn’t already know? And how come she’s a warlock? Did the prophecy even call for her to be a warlock? Was trusting Zekon really the issue? No, it was the fact that Zekon lied about who they were. That’s what hurt Sabrina but, as usual, Evia didn’t see that. She just heard, probably from Mother, about how upset she was. Sabrina never wrote a letter to Evia, even once, not since they were children at least.

However, the line, “I want you to be there for me when I come home,” caught her by surprise. It was rare enough that her older sister ever asked her of anything. She always wanted Sabrina to follow her dreams of being the ‘best healing witch’ she could but that’s something their Mother lied about as well. Sabrina never wanted to be a healing witch. She wanted to be a wizard. Maybe go as far as becoming a Shield of the Orb, even, but just being able to destroy the monsters that plagued this country with her own magic… instead of being behind the sidelines.

She sighed as she stood up from her place. She wiped off the excess grass - her older cousin waited for her and never said anything more as he understood the situation a bit more - and started to walk to the house. She crumpled up the letter but, instead of throwing it aside as she would usually do, she kept it in her hand as she made haste to her room. Even though Estax had done his best to cover up the fact they were always together in secret, she didn't want to slip up now and get caught by a maid or butler of the house.

She would always resent the fact that her parents could pay for maids and butlers but couldn’t afford to send her to wizarding school and that’s something she could never hide.

.x.

After she had washed up and changed into her usual outfit - a light red smock that she bought with her own earnings as a healing witch, she made sure to hide her previous outfit. She slipped on a comfortable pair of flat shoes in case she needed to do some more herb collecting. Her traditional witch’s hat was on a rack by the entrance of the foyer.

She was fairly decent as a witch for as much she hated the trade itself. Her mother had personally trained her from a young age and while her true passion lies in the art of fighting, it was something for her to earn money from.

From what she had learned, she had quite an advantage - most witches her age would already have a storefront and would start thinking about marriage and settling down but, while her parents wanted her to settle down with someone, she always had the excuse of her craft - if she were to leave, how would anyone help out around the Bellerose estate? Her mother was aging and she was the only other Bellerose in the estate in name.

Her younger brothers had found work, as they were non-magical humans themselves, around town as laborers and working in a tavern. She hardly saw them at home as they decided to stay in Fayglen instead of having to commute a half-day’s trip from the estate but they did make an effort to come home on their days off and spend their vacations there. In other words, Sabrina was the only child in the Bellerose main family branch that still lived with her parents.

In this part of the country, it might have been the best bet as the Bellerose estate was quite far away from Fayglen and with her parents aging, they need someone to be able to withstand the travel to and from town with ease. Sabrina would go with the servants that were somehow still employed and sold both hers and her mother’s wares. Her father couldn’t do much in the way of business anymore as he recently retired and planned to live off of his earnings but it was her mother’s insistence that she continue the witch tradition.

However, on this day, she would usually hunt for herbs but because her sister is coming back in a few weeks, she would probably have to talk to her parents about anything specific before she went out.

While she made her way to her mother’s library, she looked at the dummy that was transformed into a strange plant - where she was earlier. Estax’s specialty was illusion magic so for the fact that he could turn that dummy to a plant, however strange it was, and Sabrina could finally find some solace. Even though Estax had only come to the Bellerose estate after his parents were murdered by bandits, he never once judged her for wanting to be a battlemage, rather battle witch, and even taught her quite a few spells.

Her still wet hair blew in the cool summer air and she felt a bit strange relief. She had placed her sister’s letter away for the first time that wasn’t the trash can. It was placed on her desk where she usually kept her own stationery. She had no intention to answer the letter but she started to reflect on the letter even more so.

She was more curious about what she wanted to announce. Sabrina knew it wouldn’t be a lover or anything of the sort. She was loyal to their parents’ advice. She had a prophecy to fulfill after all, and Evia had always been the more dutiful one while Sabrina had always been the more rebellious one of the two. Sabrina wished she had a chance to carve her own destiny instead of falling in line with the destiny her parents, especially her mother, forced onto her.

But before Sabrina could consider her destiny and the letter further, she heard her mother call for her. Thinking of the demon, Sabrina thought to herself as she answered the call and started to jog down the hallway to her, I need to find a way to get out of here… There’s just no way am I meant to be an errand girl who calls herself a witch! There’s just no way!

To Be Continued…