Only after hours of celebration was I finally able to pry myself away from the overjoyed family. With a sigh, I collapsed onto the soft bed that was so familiar, yet completely foreign.

“I hear you prattling on in my head. Stop it.”

'What do we do now?'

“I need my Chronicle. Without it, it will be much more difficult for our minds to finish merging. Only once I have that will I be able to return to my full strength.”

'The king…'

“That’s right he will have it.”

'He will kill you… again.'

A light green flame played across my fingers. I stared up at the ceiling. The flames moved through intricate patterns, one after another. “I don’t have the power to face him directly. Even if I gave everything I have, controlling thirteen soldiers is the most I can do right now.”

'He can kill those with a flick of his finger.'

“I doubt I have any allies left after all that happened back then.”

'Do not drag my family into your game.'

“In that case, the only good option I can think of is to go old school. It has been a long time since I had to use infiltration and secrecy to achieve my goals.” I clenched my fist, grasping at the flames floating in the air. They dissipated into nothing as the room grew dim. “First thing I need is information on what has happened these last fifty or so years. Your memories are incredibly useless in this area. You barely ever left this room.”

'I was sick for a long time.'

Jumping up from the bed, I made my way out of the bedroom. I shut the door gently, careful not to draw any attention from my overzealous family members. I could hear my parents downstairs. They were cleaning dishes from the dinner party earlier. Walking quietly, I made my way to a large double door at the end of the hall.

'I am not supposed to be in here.'

Ignoring the protest, I entered the study. A gas lamp hung on the wall. A flickering flame lit the dim room. The last rays of evening light poured through a window overhead. Together, they illuminated a large desk covered in papers. A small bookshelf stood nearby. Only a handful of books rested on it.

Despite the printing press being introduced to this realm hundreds of years ago, books were still a rare commodity. They were expensive, and rarely detailed anything other than religious text, history, or famous legends. Luckily, history was exactly what I was looking for.

Standing on my tiptoes, I reached as far as I could. I tried hopping up but that did not work either. A curse of resentment escaped my lips. I realized I was too short to reach the books.

He did it on purpose after my brother damaged one of them when he was little.

With the sound of wood scraping across the floor, I pulled a chair in front of the bookshelf. Climbing on top of it I was finally able to reach the book I wanted.

“What are you doing?”

The voice rang out in the dim room, startling me. I nearly lost my balance on the chair when a pair of hands steadied me.

“Charly! You scared me half to death! How are you so quiet?”

With embarrassing ease, my brother lifted me up in the air. He set me down firmly on the ground, before moving the chair back to its designated place. “I am surprised to see you in here. Normally you fall asleep whenever books are brought up.”

I turned my head, remembering the shame in some of my childish behavior. “Dad was telling me about the king earlier today. I wanted to know more.”

Charly smiled brightly. He grabbed a book from the shelf. “I am happy you are finally taking an interest. Come on, I will read it for you. Maybe you will not fall asleep this time.”

I followed him back to my room. He lifted me onto the bed before sitting beside me. He flipped the pages of the book, quickly reaching the part of the book he was looking for.

“Years ago, when the king was just a child, he met a powerful sorceress…”