So You Might be Soulless

3|| Mutant

Diya unlocked the front door and stepped over the threshold into the house. "I'm home!" She called out, but she wasn't. Not really, anyways.

As usual, she was greeted with silence. Back when Diya had friends, she would often go to their homes. She saw them being showered with affection by loving parents, heard them excitedly chatter about their day and felt envy bubble and boil inside of her.

Why can't I have that? She had thought after a failed attempt at getting close to her parents ended with her being denied dinner, Do I not deserve love? Is it because they're not my real parents? But...Danny is also adopted and his parents love him... What is wrong with me?

But now Diya knew she was luckier than most. At least the Duke and Duchess only neglected her. She knew it could have been a lot worse.

Diya climbed up the stairs and knocked on the study door, entering when she heard a sharp 'come in!'.

"Good evening, Your Excellency," Diya said, suppressing the urge to do a sarcastic curtsey.

"Any name?" Duke Elsher didn't even look up from the paper he was studying. His silver hair was meticulously combed, not a hair out of place, and his dark blue suit was kept impeccably neat.

He didn't even wish me a happy birthday.

"No, Duke, there is no name."

"You can go."

"Thank you," Diya lowered her head in a half-bow, shutting the door behind her with slightly more force than intended.

Exhaling sharply, Diya went to the Duchess's room and repeated the same tiring routine. But to her surprise, the Duchess didn't dismiss her immediately.

"As I am sure you're aware of, the Imperial Family will be hosting a ball in five weeks," Duchess Elsher spoke, each syllable sharp and hard at the edges.

"Yes, I am aware. It is to celebrate the Crown Prince's eighteenth birthday."

"As you are now of age, it is important that you attend."

"I'm sorry, but I do not understand why my presence is required."

"Neither do I. Honestly, who would want a Reject tainting a special event like this?"

Diya felt like she should be hurt, but over the years she had built up such a thick skin that the insult rolled over her like a passing wave.

Duchess Elsher clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, brown eyes sparked with annoyance, "An invitation for you was amongst the ones for me and Duke Elsher. To decline an invite from the Imperial Family would bring shame upon my family, so I decided it would be best for you to go."

Diya thanked the old hag and left, even though she would have rather spent the day safe in her room rather than attend a celebration for some rich kid.

The Crown Prince and his elder brother- the Second Prince- were well-respected in the area, apparently always on the news for saving puppies or something.

But Diya did not have enough time to keep up with such celebrity gossip, not when her dream was so close to her grasp.

A wide smile lifted Diya's lips as she bounded to her room, dropping her heavy bag and flopping on the bed with an excited squeak. She pulled the stack of flyers and an old Communication Orb towards her. Diya picked up the top, well-worn paper, her eyes greedily scanning the words.

The Royal Association for Necromancers (RAN for short) had announced, after many years of silence, that they would be opening their treasury and granting a scholarship to one Necromancer after a close observation of two years. If a Necromancer got in, they would be taught under the very best about the Dark Arts, and would even be granted automatic admission into RAN upon the completion of their studies.