Chapter II : Only one year left for change fate

The little girl raised her head after a moment of hesitation, her gaze falling on a young boy, despite his mature expression, his rounded face still showing the features of childhood.

He held a candle in his left hand, gently stroking the top of the child's head with his other hand.

The faint glow he wore revealed his appearance, he was rather tall, being at least a head and a half higher than the little girl, he had light brown hair that fell softly over his forehead, his eyes were a blue pure and intense azure, reminiscent of the brilliant glow of a lake of fresh water under the scorching summer sun.

The young guy did not appear to be much older than her, yet on his youthful face was a palpable concern, far too great for a being his age.

"Lyah, are you okay? I heard you scream and now you're crying… what happened? Did you have a nightmare?" He looked distraught.

His voice was slow, almost languid despite the urgency and the distress that showed through it, he had never seen his little sister let go to tears since she was little, she was a calm child and she knew how to contain herself.

Seeing such a scene left an odd impression on him as if the moment had come from a strange dream, he was paralyzed.

Though, in front of the child's tearful face, he finally shook himself, delicately placing the candle on the floor to hug the little girl.

It was a light touch, yet he was sweating with tenderness and kindness, the good feelings he felt for his youngest and only sister.

"Is that you Elder Brother Morgan…?" She started to sob again.

The last time she had seen him there, he took the head of the duchy after his father's death, no longer later, the Duke Morgan Nicolas Roselia had been tortured and then executed, his children and his wife sold as slaves, under cover of false accusations of treason.

He had died for his sister's honor, seeing him now was doing Astellyah a lot of good, who clinging to him as if he was going to disappear at any moment, continued her sobs that never seemed to end, finally, curled up in her brother's arms, she finally felt safe.

Since she was six or seven the young boy next to her must have been eleven or twelve, he was five years older and had always been a model for her.

"Elder Brother Morgan? Are you mad at me? Did I do something you didn't like? "

With her voice still tied with emotion, she answered him gently in shaking her little head, she was so happy to see him, nevertheless, growing up, he had not been especially close, so she vowed to correct that since the future duke had remained faithful to his blood until the end, he was truly a dream elder.

"I'm so glad to see you again ... if you knew how much I missed you ..."

She drew on her last strength to offer him a thin smile, once again sinking into unconsciousness, her last moments of lucidity making her pray that this was not a dream.

The little girl woke up because of the change in light and the murmurs that filled the room, in front of her a few maids were busy chatting in low voices, cleaning the place, and glancing at each other in perplexity.

Sometimes their eyes fell on the child, before returning to their gossip with even more fervor.

The youngest of the duchy finally got up, annoyed by so much noise but she stopped suddenly as if frozen.

Before her eyes stood a youthful woman who must have been in her mid-twenties, she had black hair and hazel eyes, dressed in Roselia's maid uniform, she was busy polishing the furniture while whispering what was probably rumors and other nastiness against the young child.

"Miss, is something bothering you?" A familiar voice asked.

The one who spoke was a juvenile maid named Ella, she was in her late teens, a fairly short woman, somewhat stocky, with a round face full of freckles. She had short dark hair that was almost olive and gray eyes.

She was not really very pretty but had a certain charm, moreover, she was a straightforward and honest person, a trustworthy person who was added to the long list of those who lost their lives through her fault...

"It's okay Ella, help me dress up instead."

The maid nodded, giving directions to the other employees, her gray gaze fixed on her mistress, she seemed burned with questioning, yet she remained silent.

"Shall I tell the Duke and Duchess that you will join them for lunch?"

Lyah frowned at her question, what time was it? She seemed to have missed breakfast, moreover, it was unlike her to sleep so late, maybe that was why the other servants and Ella were wondering.

It was rather curious from such a routine child as she was, they must have thought to themselves that the lady was ill, especially when a quick glance in the mirror told her that she had fat purplish circles under her eyes, reminding her with horror of the very recent period of her persecution and then of her death.

"Yes, then please do that." Her voice was much more hushed than she would have liked.

"It's a quarter to twelve, Miss, sure, I'm going right away." The teenager replied.

She bowed, quickly leaving the room, Astellyah not unhappy that she had an answer to her unspoke question.

She let the other servants take care of her, lost in thought, it was only when she was finished that she woke up, taking the time to gauge her reflection.

Her hair was tied in a loose braid that ended in a sky blue ribbon, she wore a ruffled dress in the same color, and light brown boots without any jewelry other than a choker made with satin of a color similar to her clothes and garnished with a single azure stone.

Somewhat simple clothes which remained quite luxurious, making her more like the daughter of a baron rather than that of a duke, however, she did not care, these clothes suiting her perfectly and were usual since the servants did not seem to be to surprise.

She was then escorted through the long hallways, she was lost in her thoughts again, she had to know the exact date, maybe if her awful sister wasn't here yet, she could make sure she never comes and so her whole family would stay alive.

The only regret would then be losing Eugene, who would never be one of them but he would stay alive, which is undeniably a good thing for him.

A weak murmur interrupted her share of questions, a sound between a groan of agony and a growl of frustration, she wanted to find the origin but no one in her escort seemed to care and without her having the knowledge time to understand it, she had already descended the long steps of the staircase of the first floor and crossed the large door which led to the terrace behind the estate.

Things then moved quickly and she found herself at the table with her two parents and two brothers in a somewhat strange atmosphere.

At first in a peculiar silence, the conversation resumed and Astellyah let herself be forgotten, listening with interest to what was being said.

"It is rather worrying that such acts are committed without justice being done, we are talking about innocent lives here, commoners or not, a life remains a life." Grumbled the Duke.

"No one is safe, maybe we should get out of the capital for a while honey, what do you think? "

"Leaving the capital ... all four? " She intervenes without realizing it.

"You don't have to worry sweetie, you'll be fine." Her mother said reassuringly, mistaking her words.

She wasn't worried, in fact, she was just making sure there were only four at the moment. The events they were talking about vaguely told her something but at the time she was young and had not recorded the information, moreover, they had avoided talking about it in her presence, which did not make it easy for her, she needed a more precise time indicator.

"We will protect you!" Morgan intervenes, giving him a strange look.

"Yes, we will protect you!" Said her second brother at echoed.

Time passed rather quickly when she returned to her senses, she was enjoying a raspberry tart, she was slightly out of touch with the world, which was not very good when the goal was to learn more.

As connected to her thoughts, the new conversation made her smile, she had her time reference.

"The Countess of Pevrish will be the organizer of the Wisps Celebration, it is a great honor, we are obliged to give her the support she asks of us. "

She smirked, the Wisps Celebration was a big annual ceremony where the magic of light was honored, however, this session was the last that the young woman had known, or to be exact that she had not known since she was ill, she had not attended the festivities, which had probably saved her life.

This event signaled the start of the Great Magic Terror, a dark period in which magicians were feared and hated.

During the festival, a terrorist group with ominous and ancient magic wreaked havoc, the Empress even lost her life there.

Since all of this had taken place on August 18 in the year of her sixth birthday, she had exactly one year left before her half-sister arrived.

With the atrocious carnage not facilitating her plans, she had three months to prevent this catastrophe, by some unknown means.

May had to have at least forty days for all she had to accomplish, how could she go about preventing such an act let alone without any mention of her time travel?

First, she had to remember exactly how the day would unfold, something rather difficult since this celebration had become taboo and she had heard very little about it afterward.

Things were shaping up to be more complex than expected.