Althea falls in love

Lacy brought me the right clothes to wear in training. But they were freaking uncomfortable! Especially the corsets with their tight strings.

"Why do I have to wear a corset when I am going to disguise as a man?" I said frustratingly,"Get me some bandages and men's clothes, Lacy, oh and bring me some scissors." It would be a pity to cut this beautiful long hair but, desperate times call for desperate measures. At least I could I sell it on the market for a few gold coins.

The bandage was easily wrapped around. The reason being me as flat as a board. The menswear was much more comfortable and easy to move around. I told Lacy to cut my hair. She started snipping and it reminded me back to the dream where they were snipping threads. I had questions regarding that I got the feeling that sometimes it's better not knowing. As each strand fell, I felt as if Artemis was no longer herself and I was no longer me. We were both. After few moments, she brought me a mirror to look at. It was cleanly cut and the only reflection on the mirror was a young boy with hair like the midnight sky and wolf grey eyes.....

Father dropped his sword when he saw me, " Is that you Arty? " but no one could mistake those inherent eyes of the Kratiste bloodline. He began teaching me the basics, which to my horror, was not mentioned in the book. There were five types of affinity- water, air, fire , earth and blood. The blood affinity was very uncommon and it was a rare trait even in nobles. Currently there were no people in the kingdom with the blood affinity, because they were considered monsters who could kill anyone within arm's reach. I didn't know Artemis's affinity,neither her father's.

"Try to close your eyes and breathe slowly. Your affinity's color will appear in your mind."

Curious about the Archduke's affinity, I asked what his affinity was. Suddenly the air level dropped, my breathing became shallow and I could see father amidst the wind. "It's air." I guessed. He chuckled, "Now do the test as I said. I think you have the air too." I closed my eyes and did as he said. All I could see was black, but immediately without warning, my heart started beating faster, and I could see dark red. It didn't take a long time guess what I was. It was blood.

I kept it a secret from father, explaining that I saw fire, he told me, " I can't teach you about affinity. It's something you train yourself. Now let's start sword practice. Dual wielding is hard so I will begin with a single sword." And for the rest of the day, we practiced until I was dog tired and couldn't stand up anymore. That was the best night of sleep I ever had.

I set off the library to dig out information about the blood affinity. Not just any library, I went to the Royal library since it had the oldest records of the kingdoms in the empire. I just had to be careful not to run into any of the princes or princesses, Father had already given me the royal pass under the pretext of studying.

I entered the palace. Only two words were sufficient to describe it - regal and gorgeous. Intricate designs covered the pillars that supported the patterned chandelier ridden ceiling. Crystals emitted light from the chandeliers, filling the entire hallway with a glow. They didn't need electricity. I didn't go near the gardens as they were the resting grounds for the royals. Amazed by everything around me, I stumbled upon someone in a daze. I could straight away recognize the ebony hair, pearl white skin and grass green eyes that reminded you emeralds. It was the Second Princess Althea, born from the same mother as the Second Prince. She was the same age as me way more beautiful, the kind of beauty,where it feel ethereal just standing next to her.

" I'm sorry, your highness. I was in a daze and recklessly stumbled onto you", I bowed. She said nothing, just stared at me for a minute or so, then dashed across. I noticed her cheeks flushed as she went away. Oh no. She didn't know I was a girl, I was in a boy's attire. Was she angry because I interrupted her walk? I didn't know.

Althea was flustered by the boy she met. He was good-looking enough to be called a national treasure. He had delicate features, long eyelashes, snow white skin and lips that were tinted red. She blushed again when she was reminded of the lucid scene. "I wish I could see him again", she thought.

I entered the library. It was mostly empty except a few officials here and there. The librarian asked for the pass. I handed it over and he exclaimed," Oh. The child of House Kratiste! I never knew he had a son. Name please?"

"Artemis Kratiste. First born son of Archduke Aries Kratiste." I ventured into historical section. The library was endless, row after row, shelf after shelf, all that could seen was a massive sea of books. I searched the entire row but I found nothing. At the last attempt, I found a few records of the power of blood. The blood descendants could manipulate the blood in any creature's body, even his own. These were the exact reasons they were monsters. Killing people was as easy as breathing air. That's why they were feared and wiped of their existence. In simple words, it would be lethal if used. I wanted to test my affinity but that would be risky so I decided to use it on myself.

I went home for the first test. Artemis, I hope you have a good body....otherwise, I am gonna die from blood loss.