𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐧 | 𝐭.𝐦.𝐫

𝟎𝟑

Arcturus stared between the tiny crack of the door at the tiny form engulfed by the armchair, with her head buried in a tome three times its size. Gone was the charming persona the child donned when they first met, lost in focus in pursuit of knowledge. It was by then he should've realized something was inexplicably different about Aster. Not entirely wrong, but certainly not like an average child.

It was strange for both Aster and Arcturus to get used to living with each other after years of getting on by themselves.

Arcturus was sure it would be a breeze raising a single child. He had done so with many himself from his large family before, why would it be different now?

It would seem Aster had proven him wrong for another time.

He had hired a governess, vowed to secrecy of course, for her to cover etiquette and how a proper scion of a noble house should act. She took to those lessons like a duck to water. She made him proud of how fast she would learn, more than he thought a six-year-old could. And she was only starting.

She listened intently, hanging onto her governess's words like they were gospel, devouring every lesson as if starved. It was a new world. Her world. Hers for the taking. She didn't want to be anything but the best of them.

It pleased him that she at least valued education.

They would have meals together, be it in the dining hall, the garden, or the conservatory. The young girl wouldn't speak much, preferring to eat in silence, and that was how both preferred it, relishing in each other's company instead.

And all would have been fine if she wasn't only so strange as much as she was genius.

It came to him in a moment while they were playing chess in his study.

She would look at the air strangely every time they had lessons, where she would perform little bouts of magic. A flick of a finger, a pull of the hand, and a candle would light, a book would come to her.

Aster is six, and he could already see her having perfect control of her magic, albeit it was little things. He didn't exactly want her doing big destructive magic. Not yet, anyway. Black Castle was warded to its teeth and has stood for centuries, but he didn't want to take chances on just what Aster can do. The glint of the heirship rings on her little fingers reminded him just enough.

Aster found Arcturus strange. Or maybe he wasn't, and she was the strange one. Yes, it was most definitely her. She hadn't exactly had the best representation of family shown to her yet. And to be suddenly shunned into a world of magic where she had a semblance of a proper family, it took time to get used to.

Even her governess agreed with her when they gossiped about it in between lessons during tea breaks. The lady told her maybe it was just the Black Madness then she made her swear to never mention it in front of him.

Aster, in a bout of curiosity, asked him during a game of chess. It was where she found him most logical. Not wanting to lose to a child made one like that.

"Grandpapa?" She asked him.

"Yes, little one?" He replied to her, not even raising his head to look at her from the board.

"What's the Black Madness?"

"You heard that from your governess, did you now?"

Aster only gave him a shrug before moving a piece.

Arcturus heaved a big sigh and rested his head on his hand.

"As a Black myself, I would prefer to chalk it up as nothing more than a rumour. But, I know why. Being pureblooded in this small country, one can only marry into another pureblood family so much before we run out of new blood. We have always been called mad for our genius hundreds of years ago. It was only in the more recent generation where incest became rampant and that was how the public thought to explain it. The initial madness along with the inbreeding did not make for a savoury mix. And thus, see how our family has stood its last stand.