FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF FANTASILIA SERIES
𝘈𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘦-𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘺. 𝘈 𝘵𝘺𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯. 𝘈 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳.
Xanthiene Vivenca's life drones on in a cycle of finding her next meal, ensuring...
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Xanthy eyed the ceiling of this new room. The woman had led her up two flights of stairs and turned a corner. This was the second door to the left corridor. That way, she knew where to run in case she was about to be butchered for her organs.
"I am Vikara Sandiega," the woman closed the door and twisted the key slotted to its metal lock. The gears shut with a finality that dried Xanthy's mouth up. "What is your name?"
"X-Xanthy," she blurted. Her palms felt clammy. "Xanthiene."
Vikara strode towards a square, wooden table pushed against the wall. "Family name?" she pulled a chair and gestured for Xanthy to take the other. "Please," she said with a smile.
Xanthy edged to her seat and propped her hands on the table. "Uh, I have no family," she said, fighting the urge to blurt out Vivenca. "So, no family name."
Vikara raised an eyebrow and propped her chin on twined hands. "How much do you remember from your childhood?" she asked.
"Why should I tell you?" Xanthy narrowed her eyes.
"Because," Vikara tapped the table with a finger. Nails rapped against the wood. "I am the only one that can help you deal with this."
Xanthy cocked her head to the side. "With what?" she scoffed. "I am fine without your help, lady."
"Two incidents in a row does not scream independence to me," VIkara's hands went back to being twined atop the table.
"I was learning magic which you now prohibited me to do," Xanthy waved her hand in exasperation. "I followed that. What more can you ask of me?"
"Well, what do you call that blast you sent Count Travis's way?" VIkara argued. "That does not sound like 'following' to me."
"It was an accident," Xanthy sighed. "The darkness was not supposed to stand in the way."
"Darkness?"
"Every time I feel something needs to be done, it appears," Xanthy blurted. "Then, when I came to, the damage was already done."
"What kind of damage?" Vikara asked.
"What is it to you?" Xanthy snapped. When Vikara didn't answer, Xanthy wrinkled her nose. "Well, houses were blown to bits, Counts get thrown down their asses, and people lose their heads."
Vikara breathed a curse. "It's more serious than I thought," she said. "You could've killed people. Or worse, lead people to you."
Xanthy shook her head. Why was leading people to her worse than actually killing them? "Do you know something?"
Vikara blinked and then shook her head. "Well, to fully understand your situation, we need to start at the beginning," she said. "How is your knowledge regarding the realms?"
Xanthy rolled her eyes. "I have spent my entire life planting ajilte to survive. Of course, I know stuff regarding the realms," she grunted. "No."
Vikara groaned and massaged the bridge of her nose. "Gods help me that the Virtakios is actually this thick."
