What kind of Magic?

Chapter 1

Princess Langia woke to the sound of someone knocking on her bedchamber door. "Wake up, Your Highness!" Came the voice of her family's servant. Langia sat up in her white bedcovers and brushed some of her bright gold hair out of her face. She stretched and yawned as she struggled out of bed. She opened her golden eyes and pulled aside her curtains of her bed to look at her room.

Everything in her room was either in a shade of white or gold. The walls and floor were a bright white. The floor was made of gold and white tiles in a spiraling pattern. All the furniture was pristine and ornate, made of white wood and decorated with a golden trim. A pedestal stood with a gold tiara within it.

The most elaborate feature in the room was the gold window on one wall. Langia walked now to this window and threw open the gold curtains. The window had a breathtaking view of the kingdom. The morning sun bathed everything in light and made the city shine. The city below was a patchwork quilt of buildings, surrounded by the city wall. The city that will one day be mine. Langia thought. Gilded towers were stationed at intervals along the wall. Beyond the wall were the fields of the farmers, and even farther still was the forest, which was the limit of the kingdom.

Langia took a last, deep breath of the morning air and went to her dresser. She dressed in a long flowing dress that had ruffles around her wrists, taking it out of her dresser. Langia clasped a short cloak embroidered with her family's crest, around her shoulders. She put on her favorite pair of boots (white, knee-length ones), and ran a brush through her waist-length gold hair. Finally, she went to her pedestal and took out her tiara. Langia gently ran a hand over it before taking it out of it's case. She put the tiara on top of her hair, pausing only to check if her tiara was straight in her mirror.

Langia smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She was an average height, but that did not make her look any less impressive. Langia was the daughter of the king and queen of Luminia, and heir to the throne. Everything from her gold hair to her white boots had an air of power. Whether, it was the fact that she was Crown Princess or a high-level white mage, everyone seemed to think of Langia with admiration.

Langia gasped as she realized she had to get to her tutoring session in less than an hour. She ran out of her room and through the palace, to the kitchens to grab some breakfast before her session. Like Langia's room, everything was in the same white and gold colors. And the royal crest shone from many places on the walls.

Langia weaved around servants in the kitchens. "In a rush, Your Highness?" One of them asked.

"I have a tutoring session I have to get to." She laughed as she accepted some toast and fruit that was handed to her.

Halfway through spreading fruit on her toast, Langia was startled by two small arms being flung around her waist. She gasped as she tried not to get fruit all over her dress. She whirled around to see the person the arms belonged to. "Benji!" She cried. "I almost dropped my breakfast."

"Opps! Sorry, Gia." Benji said, using the cute nickname. When Benji was younger, he had trouble saying Langia's name. That was when he started using the easier version. He now used it as a nickname for her. Benji was Langia's younger brother. He was ten, seven years behind Langia. He shared her golden eyes and white magic, although he wasn't nearly as good a mage as Langia.
"It's okay." Langia said, using one hand to ruffle his copper curls, her other hand holding her breakfast. "You just suprised me."

Benji tugged at her skirt. "I just wanted to go play before your session."

Langia looked down at Benji and wondered if his magic involved magical persuasion. "Okay, I have a little time..." She said.

"YAY!" Benji yelled before the words were even out of her mouth. He grabbed her arm and pulled her, with surprising strength for a ten-year-old.

Langia quickly ate her toast as Benji dragged her through the halls. He took her to big doors of the ballroom. The ballroom was only used on special occasions, so it's main purpose was a playroom for Langia and Benji. It was a large circular room, with the familiar gold and white color scheme. The royal crest was tiled on the polished floor. A huge gold chandelier hung from the domed ceiling. There was a large alcove where musicians usually played during occasions.

The ballroom had lots of space for Langia and Benji to play. Langia walked into the middle of the space, and turned to look at Benji. "You ready?" She asked him.

Benji nodded, a big grin on his face.

Langia smiled at him and conjured two baskets, one behind each of them. "How about you go first this time, Benji?" Langia suggested.

Benji's face lit up. "Okay!" He said, and cupped his hands together. Langia saw slivers of light escaping between his fingers. Then, Benji threw his arms up, and the ball of orange light flew into the air. The ball of light zoomed around the room.

"Great job, Benji! Oh! You're getting so much faster at that!" Langia said, throwing some gold lights into the air. This was a game the two of them had invented. The point was to get the other's lights and collect them in their basket. For every one they would get in their basket they had to cast another one. Langia almost always won, but Benji just seemed to enjoy playing it.

Benji now had several orange lights floating in the air. Langia looked at him. "You ready?"

Benji smiled. "Go!" He shouted, and the lights soared all around the room.

Langia instantly pinpointed the nearest orange light. It was some distance away, floating just above her head. She ran and leapt, and captured the light in her hands. She tossed it into her basket, and looked at Benji. He had just grabbed his first light. Langia smiled.

One day, Benji would be in some high rank, with Luminia's army. Everyone in the kingdom of Luminia was born with white magic, whether they're a high-level mage or just know a few tricks. Most people had a light color of hair and eyes. Benji's copper curls were very unique.

They played like that for a few minutes. After a while Langia said "I'm going to have to go soon, so this will be the last round, okay?"

Benji nodded, trying not to look dissapointed. "Okay, then."

They quickly played the last round of their game. Later when they counted points, they found out Langia won.

"Wow, Benji." Langia said, as she looked at the points. "You're getting better at this. I didn't beat you by much." Langia expected an excited response to this but she didn't get one. She turned around to see Benji standing some distance away. She was about to say something about how good he was getting with his magic, when she saw the look on his face.

Langia went and crouched down beside him. "Are you okay, little brother?" She asked.

"I don't know." Benji murmured.

Langia reached out to touch his arm. "Benji! You're burning up!" She started to pick him up. "I'm taking you to our parents."

Benji started to protest. "No, Gia. I'm fine, I promise."

She looked into his cute gold eyes. "Benji, no one has gotten sick in the kingdom. Ever. Something is wrong, and their better suited to fix this." From there she stood up, with Benji in her arms, and took him out of the ballroom, magically shutting the door behind her.