"...what I'm trying to tell you, majesty, is that yes, what the Princess has is definitely magic," William Tamra told the king quietly.
"I don't doubt your expertise," King Alexander von Fenelle responded. "After all, that is why I asked you to talk to my daughter, and find out what... that thing she can do, is. But are you certain?"
"Yeah," Will answered. He wasn't insulted by the question; he'd been in an advisory position to the Head of Military for long enough to know better. "Seven years, to be exact. Trust me, when you've been in the army for that long, you can recognize magic when you see it. And I'm telling you: that's magic alright."
"I see," the king said slowly. "Forgive me, this is just a great shock; it hardly seems possible. My own daughter possessing something that only Mauvorian army-slaves have."
"I'm as amazed as you are, majesty. Magic isn't something natural--" Will started to say, quickly realizing the error in his words. "Er, I mean, I don't mean it like that. I'm not saying your daughter is unnatural at all, majesty, I just..."
"Ease up," he told him, smiling. "I know you're not being insulting. Go on."
Will sighed with relief. "Well, it's not something that any human can use, even with training. In the army-- in the magic divisions, anyway-- they put something into your blood, once every half a year or so... and that's how we're able to use magic."
"I see," the king said, nodding, starting to become alarmed at his own thoughts. "Do... you think she could have gotten whatever that is into her, somehow? Could she have been poisoned?"
"Majesty... I may know about the Mauvorian army than anyone else in the country, but I certainly don't understand their sciences," he replied. "I can't be certain, but I don't think so. You said you'd been suspicious of something unusual with her since she was four years old, right?"
Alexander nodded.
"Well, that was nearly five years ago... I don't think the Mauvorian's chemicals stay in your body that long. I wasn't able to use it long after I deserted... even only a year after them putting whatever-it-is into my body, I couldn't use magic any more," Will explained. "And she doesn't use it like the soldiers do, we had-- well, it's very hard to explain, majesty. But she doesn't have words or images or anything come into her head, not even when she made that fire appear."
"Curious... curious indeed, although that's a bit of a relief. I only have two more questions for you, Will," the king said after thinking for another moment. "Do you think that this magic is at all dangering my daughter?"
"I don't think so. Well, I mean-- magic can be dangerous, of course, that's why their army uses it; but I don't think she'll injure herself just by having it," Will said carefully, not wanting to mislead the king. "It's... it's a lot like a sharpened knife... or a candle. Very useful, but if you're not careful and you don't know what you're doing, you can hurt yourself."
"I see," he said, nodding again. "Alexandra's a curious little girl, she's going to continue to play around with this... magic, I'm sure. And if she can do it safely, I don't see any reason why she shouldn't, either. Can you teach her how to use it properly?"
"Majesty, with the way it's looking with the possibility of war..."
"I know, I know," the king said with a sigh. "But I know that if I were in her position, I'd want to learn all about using magic, too... and I don't want the chance of a war from preventing her from using something that incredible. So long as it doesn't interfere with your important other duties, however, could you?"
Will thought about it for a minute.
"If your majesty wants, certainly. I don't know how much I can teach her, but I can most certainly try," he said, reluctantly.
"Go talk to Lady Isabella Frei. She's been close to Alexandra since she was a baby, and she's been teaching her all the important academics for years now. See if you can't figure something out. You're dismissed," he ordered. "And I thank you very much, Will."
***
In the years after that conversation, it had become well known across the country that the young Princess Alexandra von Fenelle had magic powers. Like any other member of the royal family, there were many rumours circling about, about her, and even at only 11 years old, she'd become a bit of a legend in both Fenelle and Mauvoria; although in the latter country, she'd managed to get the title of "Witch Princess," a title which managed to offend nearly every Fenellian.
Had she been born in less interesting times, she might have become famous for her seemingly unnatural powers alone, or even more might have taken an interest in her. But while she was well known throughout both countries, there was surprisingly little interest in her. Not too many Fenellians found themselves able to care about an 11-year-old princess, when a great number of the population found themselves fighting in a very bloody war. Already, the Kingdom of Fenelle had lost two cities near their eastern border, and was trying hard to hold against an invasion off the coast to the south-west.
"...and so as you can see, the sum of the angles of a triangle will always equal 180. That should help you solve the question I just gave you," Lady Isabella Frei explained.
Princess Alexandra just sighed as she sat at her table in the library.
"Why are you teaching me this?" the little girl asked.
"We've been over this many times. You're not only a noble, but you're the Princess. One day you'll become the Queen-- it's important that you can understand mathematics properly. An uneducated woman has no place in the court; is that what you'd rather become? I wish you'd put as much dedication into all the other important subjects as you do your magic."
"But I won't," she said softly.
"Not with that attitude you won't," Isabella said, annoyed.
"It's not attitude!" Alexandra protested. "We're not going to win the war. They're gonna come... and they're gonna destroy Fenelle, like those other cities..."
"That's nonsense," the older woman told her. She walked over, putting her hand on the princess's shoulder, trying to comfort her. "We're not going to lose the war. Why would you say that?"
"That's what Mum said. That's why she was tellin' you how to escape here, when they came..."
"What?" Isabella asked, taken back by Alexandra's words. She started to respond "That's not tr--" but then stopped, realizing that if Alex had heard their conversation, lying would do no good.
"How did you hear that?" she asked.
"It's true, though, isn't it?"
Isabella paused for a moment, then sighed. "Yes... she did tell me how. But how did you manage to eavesdrop on us? That shouldn't be possible..."
Alexandra sighed, shaking her head. She stood up, taking out a broom that she'd hidden under the table, and took a few steps back. The princess put her arm out away from her, making a few gestures with her other hand, faintly glowing cirles appearing in the air and along her arms. She started to fade a bit, and in an instant, a familiar looking short young woman with black hair and a servant's uniform was standing in her place.
She curtsied and picked up the broom, pretending to sweep with exaggerated movements. Isabella stared and realized she'd recognized the face; it was that of the maid who'd happened to be in the room while she was talking with the queen the other day.
"All right, Alex! That's quite enough," she said harshly.
Alexandra snapped her fingers, and immediately appeared again as the short, cute 11-year-old princess with blonde hair in nobles' clothes and plenty of jewlery. She giggled just a bit, momentarily too proud of herself to think of the gloomy subject that had prompted it in the first place.
"That's... morally questionable," Isabella said dryly. "Does that servant even know that you're pretending to be her?"
"So's lying to me!" she sharply replied, all happiness leaving her voice. "And of course she knows. She thought it was quite funny, too, I might add; don't get her in trouble, though, it's not her fault."
Isabella sighed, shaking her head. She couldn't believe that she was being preached to by the young princess. "How long have you been able to do that?"
"A while," the little girl told her. "But don't change the subject! You lied to me, saying we weren't going to lose the war..."
"We won't. The queen was telling me to leave the city with you only in case they do make it here... just so we're prepared for any possibility. We're not going to lose the war," Isabella said, trying to smile reassuringly.
"Please don't lie to me ever again. Okay?" she looked up at her older teacher, hoping that she'd listen.
Isabella crouched down, hugging Alex.
"Okay," she said, smiling warmly. "I promise you, I won't."
***
But mere weeks later, the Kingdom of Fenelle was all but completely taken over. Only one city of the small country was left, the capital; Fenelle itself. The walled off city was huge normally, most of the population had already lived there; but it was even more crowded than it'd ever been, with all of the army that remained staying in the city, waiting for the Mauvorian siege to arrive. On foot, it'd take the army a week to arrive; and after that, they'd find out if they could keep them out.
Princess Alexandra was in the library, studying a large book on geometry, and for the obvious reasons, was in an awfully unhappy mood.
"Isabella..." she started to say. "Oh, never mind."
"What is it?" Isabella asked, sitting across from the princess at her desk, looking up from her own book.
"Never mind, it's a kinda stupid question..."
"No such thing," she replied, smiling. "Come on, what is it?"
"Why haven't we surrendered yet?" Alex asked bluntly.
Isabella sighed, and put down her book. "I don't know, Alex. I'm not in a position to find out any more about the war than you are... your parents don't talk to me about that sort of thing, and I don't blame them.
"Besides," she added. "Can't you just spy around? You seem to be good enough at eavesdropping..."
"Nope. They don't let servants or anything into those kinds of meetings... and Dad's caught on to me doing that."
"Serves you right," Isabella said, with a bit of a grin.
Nearly ten minutes later, their attention would be caught by a loud rumble outside, the room shaking with it.
"What was that?" Princess Alex demanded to know.
"How should I know?"
It was quiet for half a minute. Then another loud rumble was heard, the room shaking even more violently this time.
Alexandra stood up. "I'm going to go see what's going on," she announced, and she ran out the door, into the hallway and onto a nearby balcony.
"Oh my god!" she yelled out. "Isabella! Come here, right now!"
Isabella ran out as quickly as she could, looking out at the city alongside Alex.
"What is it--," she started to ask. Then she looked up. "Oh my god."
A giant sleek metal machine was flying overhead, passing over the city. After a few more seconds, a large object was seen falling from its bottom. It exploded as it hit the city, destroying a couple buildings and causing the city to rumble.
"What is that thing?" Alex asked.
"I...I don't know... I have never heard of a flying machine like that in all my life..." Isabella told her, alarmed. "But... look at the bottom!"
As it flew near the palace, Alexandra saw the giant flag painted onto the bottom of it; the colours of Mauvoria.
"My god..."
Another thing dropped from the flying machine, taking out what both of them recognized as a barracks, exploding dangerously close to the palace. It seemed to shake more violently that time.
"Holy..." Isabella muttered. "Princess, we need to get out of here."
"Yeah!" Alexandra nodded.
Isabella grabbed Alexandra by the wrist-- something which would have annoyed her, if not for the fact that bombs were falling around them-- and pulled her off, running down the hallway.
It wasn't until they got off the balcony that they realized the sense of panic; royal guards were running down the hall, yelling at eachother, confused and trying to mobilize.
"Where are we going? What about Mum and Dad?" Alex asked, worriedly, as she ran behind Isabella.
"We're going to find them now," Isabella answered.
They kept running down the hallway, off to find the king and queen. They'd been running for a couple minutes when there was yet another explosion-- this time, though, it came from a room just off of the hallway ahead of them, replacing part of the hall a long way down with a massive hole.
"Oh shit," Isabella cursed, pointing out the obvious. "This is bad. This is really bad."
Shortly after, another explosion could be heard nearby, smashing through part of a wall. Isabella tried to cover Alex's eyes as shrapnel flew from the wall, impaling one of the running soldiers.
"Oh my god!" Alexandra shrieked.
"Come on..." Isabella pulled on Alex's wrist, turning the way they came from. "We both need to get out of the palace, now!"
"What about Mum and Dad?!" Alexandra demanded.
"Come on!" Isabella ordered, pulling harder on the princess's wrist. "They'll be safe, they're probably already evacuating the palace. But we need to go!"
"Alright," she reluctantly said, softly. She turned around, and the two ran back down the hallway, where they came from. As they ran, more explosions could be heard.
When they arrived at the library again, Isabella stopped.
"Wait," she said, and darted onto the balcony with Alex in tow.
When they looked outside, and back at the palace, neither could believe their eyes. Much of the city was ablaze, with chaos in the streets, soldiers desperately running through the city in confusion. From what she could see of the once magnificent palace, that she had lived in for her entire life, it had been hit many times. She could see fires, and entire sections of the building had been demolished. The whole building couldn't be seen from that balcony, but enough of it to frighten Alex.
The princess just stood there, her jaw wide open, unable to say anything.
"We..." Isabella started to stammer. "We need to keep going."
Another explosion confirmed the urgency.
Isabella pulled Alex after her, and the two started running again, the older lady taking lead. They darted quickly past the scrambling-- some wounded by shrapnel-- soldiers, hurrying for their lives. Alex wasn't sure when she was lead into that corridor, but she found herself running through one that she didn't recognize.
"Isabella! Where are we?" Alex asked, even more scared by not knowing where she was.
"It's an emergency passageway that leads under the palace, and goes out into the city. Only a few people know that they're there, because-- well, they're meant for this, getting the royal family out of the palace, if this ever happens," Isabella tried to explain.
"Oh," she said. "Are Mum and Dad--"
"They're probably using another one right now. Don't worry about them."
They continued to run, every half a minute or so, another rumble being heard. Eventually, they made it to a sudden stop, a ladder leading upwards.
"That leads to inside the city. Come on," Isabella motioned, letting go off Alex's wrist so she could climb up.
Alex scrambled up the ladder behind her, finding herself behind a surviving barracks when she got to the top. Isabella grabbed her wrist again, and they ran through the back door of the barracks.
The building seemed to be completely empty. They ran through it, escaping into the city street. Isabella looked around, trying to orient herself. After a brief moment, she started to run off again, Alex right behind her.
They kept running, making turns every so often. They'd been running for nearly twenty minutes.
"Isabella..." the frightened princess started to say. "There hasn't been any of those explosions in a while, has there?"
"No," she replied. She hadn't thought of it, but she realized that Alex was right. "There haven't been..."
And after running for a few more minutes, they found out why.
Alex couldn't help but stare up in the air as the ran; and she saw water pouring out of the flying machine, dousing one of the fires in the city. She didn't realize why it could possibly be doing that, until seeing a few moments later, a number of people falling from the bottom of it, giant white parachutes expanding as they fell.
"Isabella!" she yelled. "Look!"
"Oh no..." Isabella muttered in fright as she saw them falling.
They did the only thing that they could do; keep running. And while they ran, the flying machine continued to circle around the city, now dropping soldiers all over the parts of the city that weren't burning.
After running for a while, they turned a corner; only to finally see several of the soldiers who had dropped from the flying machine. Isabella tried to run back the other way, but it was too late; the soldiers noticed.
"Hey, isn't that the princess?" one of them asked.
"It's Princess Von Fenelle! Get her!" another yelled.
"Hide!" Isabella barely managed to choke out, running back down the street, ducking inside the first door she could find.
The soldiers quickly ran after them, turning around the corner, not seeing them in the street.
"Where the hell are they?"
"Come on!" one of the other soldiers yelled, "They can't have gone far! Look in those houses!"
The two looked around the empty house for somewhere to hide. It was an abandoned, already damaged by the fire before it had been doused, and had only a single floor; with just the one door.
"N-nowhere to go..." Isabella said, trembling.
"What do we do?!" Alexandra asked frantically.
Just then, one of the soldiers burst through the door, immediately noticing them.
"I found her!" he shouted back. The other four soldiers rushed in, standing across from the two.
"It's over, Princess... you're going to have to come with us, now," a soldier announced.
"N-no..." Alex stammered.
"Come on. Don't make this any more difficult."
"NO!" Alexandra screamed as loudly as she could. Just then, her arm flew out to the side, and she waved to the ceiling with her other hand, her wrist glowing.
When the large circle appeared on the ceiling, all the soldiers knew immediately just what it was-- they recognized it right away as magic. They didn't get much time to question how the princess could have been using it, however, since barely two seconds later, the roof collapsed on top of them.
"Isabella!" she yelled. "Come on!"
Isabella shook her head in amazement, coming to her senses.
The two ran past the soldiers lying under the collapsed roof, Isabella completely speechless. They went around the corner they were originally trying to go past, and kept running; this time, making sure there weren't any soldiers nearby.
They ran and ran for a long time; Alexandra didn't know long she'd been running for, when she realized that she'd been seperated from Isabella. The moment she noticed, she stopped in her tracks.
Oh my god, she thought, what do I do? I don't know what to do!
After pausing for a moment, she decided to turn back and find her.
"Isabella!" she yelled, "Isabella! Where are you? Isabella!"
She ran back, trying to retrace her steps, yelling Isabella's name.
She didn't manage to find Isabella, nor did Isabella manage to find her. The only people she did manage to find were more Mauvorian soldiers-- and this time, when she ran across them, she stopped dead in her tracks.
When the enemy soldiers bound her hands and dragged her off, she was too exhausted to fight back too exhausted to kick and struggle, too exhausted to use her magic; too exhausted to do anything but cry. And she did. She cried, and cried. She didn't know where the soldiers were taking her, but somewhere along the way, she passed out.
When 11-year-old Princess Alexandra von Fenelle finally woke up, she was all alone in a dirty cell, with bars on the door.