forum The Apothecary, the Fairy, and the Elite (Closed)

Started December 28, 2022 by @emilyevewrites group

tune

Lavendar could only look up and smile at the fairy in front of her. "Th- Thanks." She said breathlessly.

Suddenly, three sharp knocks were heard at the door. A masculine voice called out from outside the cottage, "Hortus? Celosia Hortus? Are you home?"

Startled, Lavendar quickly got up, "Oh sh*t, it's my tutor. I forgot he was going to come over today." She frantically brushed off the skirt of her dress, "Here, stay here. Don't move." Lavi ordered Farah before running to the door, visibly shaking.

Her hand could barely turn the handle as the opened the door, "Professor Sanguis! I meant to tell you. I don't think I can attend this session today."

A stern pale face met her at the door. The Professor's naturally scarlet eyes peered out through his round glasses and studied Lavendar's face, "Celosia Hortus, I cannot allow you to miss yet another session. You have not attended the last two sessions, and I am certain you know it is unacceptable to not attend them.

"Yes, Sanguis." Lavi attempted to keep a serious face.

Professor Sanguis suddenly lifted an eyebrow, then lifted one finger as if realizing something. "Wait, I sense something… magic."

The young lady laughed nervously, "Oh, that? I was just practicing, that's all."

"Hortus," the Professor's red eyes narrowed, and his already soft voice darkened, "I know the difference between Elitist magic and foreign magic, and this…" His nose twitched, "This is foreign."

He paused briefly, lifted his hand and silently entered the room, removing his hood, but leaving his black cloak on. Lavendar knew better than to stop him from entering, especially if his hand was lifted. She could only watch in terror as the Professor's carefully scanned the room with his powerfully refined senses, only found in high Elitists.

The Professor opened his pale hand, a blood red flame emanating from his palm. He gazed into the flame, secretly summoning any magic-doer in her home. "Veni foras, consellosus," he whispered into the flame.

Farah kindly returned the smile. "Of course," she murmured, speaking just as gently as she'd been before. She parted her lips to say something else when the knocks came and Lavendar shot to her feet.

"Tutor?" she asked, but the other woman was already out of the room. The fairy slowly got to her feet and crept to the edge of the room. Farah snuck a quick peek and felt chills rush down her spine as she saw the professor's pale face and scarlet red eyes. She quickly ducked back and prayed the conversation would be over soon.

But as the pair continued talking, the direction of their conversation only worried Farah more. He knew she was here. Her magic had given her away. He could sense it just as she could sense the arrival of his magic when he stepped into the house. His magic was foreign to her… Elitist magic, he'd called it. The fairy stiffened.

Farah suddenly felt his magic as he called to it. It wrapped around her, nearly suffocating her as it compelled her to stumble her way into the living room. Her spilled soup from earlier was still on the floor, but Farah paid it no mind. She was regaining herself, attempting to at least, and narrowed her eyes at Sanguis. She wanted to speak but found no words to say.

Professor Sanguis grinned maliciously at Farah as she stumbled into the room, "Ah, tis a young… mind fairy, I presume."

He quickly scanned her, then gazed into her eyes. Retaining his steady gaze on the fairy, he talked to Lavendar, "Celosia, tell me the truth, do not lie to me…" The Professor turned to his student, "She is a victim, is she not?"

Lavi started to stammer inaudibly, however, Sanguis turned to Farah before the student could answer, "What is your name and where are you from, young lady?"

Farah's lip curled, and she narrowed her eyes while her fingers curled into fists. "And tis an old, arrogant prick, I presume," she spat back. A flicker of weakness showed on her face as she put too much weight on her still-healing ankle, but it was quickly gone.

"Why should I tell you?" she demanded. "You've kept my friend enslaved to your wicked duties, against her will. I owe you nothing, and neither does she."

Amused, Sanguis lifted an eyebrow and chuckled at the fairy's take on his words, "Yes, a young mind fairy who still needs to learn her manners." He muttered.

"Now, young lady. I'm afraid that you still have not learned how to respond to a magician in higher rank; when you are asked a question, you answer." Sanguis tightly curled the fingers of his lifted hand into fist, lifting her a few inches from the ground and choking her.

His eyes glistened, he had stopped physically aging at thirty-six years old, however he had been practicing with the Elite for almost eighty years. "Do not make me force this out of you, so, I ask you again, what is your name and where are you from, young lady?" The Professor asked between clenched teeth.

Farah’s eyes narrowed furiously. She was practically trembling with anger as Sanguis told her off. Her lips parted to speak, but before she could, the fairy felt the wicked magic wrap around her again, simultaneously raising her up and suffocating her.

Her eyes widened, and she gasped for breath that wouldn’t come. “F-Fa-” she sputtered out, but with the invisible force still choking her, she couldn’t say more than the first syllable of her name.

"Yes, keep going…" Sanguis said, unclenching his fist, dropping Farah and letting her breathe.

Farah landed with more weight on her bad ankle than she should've. She winced and cried out, nearly collapsing to the ground. She managed to keep herself from doing so before coughing desperately to get air back into her lungs, the stitches in her side still singing with pain.

Once she regained herself, still breathing a bit heavily, the young fairy straightened and glared back at Sanguis. "Farah," she said shortly. "My name is Farah."

The professor chuckled subtly, "Well, Farah. I am Professor Erik Sanguis, valued knowledge bestower of the Elite," the bloody glow in his eyes returned as he carefully extracted information from her mind, in a way that would add to her physical pain. "Mentis ad mentem."

"So," he continued, still reading her mind, "you are from Solaria, are you not, darling?"

(Np, I got you! :))

Farah continued to glare until a new kind of pain racked her body. She cried out and winced, clutching her head and trying to throw up her mental defenses before this wicked man could venture through her mind any further. "Get out of my head!" Farah demanded, trying to repress memories that were beginning to surface. Memories of another person piercing her mind. A person she'd been close with, her mentor, who had betrayed her trust. It was part of the reason Farah had ended up at Lavandar's cottage as wounded as she'd been. Aster Dell… Farah didn't want to think about Aster Dell.

@broken-hearted-phantom

His advanced magic pierced through her mental defenses, allowing his mind to leech on each of her thoughts and memories. Names of places and persons she knew flashed through Sanguis' mind. The professor muttered each name under his breath as he analyzed each one, then as quickly as his magic latched onto her mind, he retracted the spell.

"Well," Without taking an eye off of the fairy, Sanguis let out a sigh, "That is quite the new friend you've got there, Hortus." Lavendar made no remark, frozen in terror of the imminent consequences.

"Very well then," Erik diverted his attention toward Farah, "young warrior and mind fairy, Farah, from Solaria… as you may know, your new little friend, Hortus Celosia, is a faithful student and apprentice of the Organization of the Elite Sorcerers and Witches, meaning she has signed a contract stating that she will serve us dutifully for six years for money and necessities in return. If she does not fulfill the contract, she will be punished rightfully. Do you understand?"

Farah winced, feeling his unwanted presence in her head and seeing everything he saw. Her friends… Saul. Ben. Rose. Luna. Her family… Castian, her father. Illiana, her mother. Her enemies… Rosalind. Andreas. The places she loved… Her family's home. Alfea. The places she hated… Blackwoods. Maravet Falls. Aster Dell.

Glimpses of her life flashed before her, each one freely available to the intruder, Sanguis. Tears began to sting the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them away, refusing to let this wicked man see what he likely wanted from her. Weakness. Groveling. Begging for mercy. Farah wouldn't have it.

Thankfully, the spell retracted. As soon as his presence was gone, Farah slammed up her mental defenses so Sanguis couldn't penetrate them again. She'd allowed herself to become vulnerable. She wouldn't let it happen again.

The fairy spared a brief glance at Lavendar. The other girl was terrified. Farah's resolve set then and there – she would help Lavendar with her situation and do whatever was in her power to help her escape this prison of a house.

When she focused in on the man's words again, he was explaining Lavendar's debt. But it made Farah's jaw clench whenever he referred to her as "Celosia" or "Hortus".

"Yes," Farah sneered. "I understand your wicked trap. But what I don't understand is why you're here. What has she done wrong? If she's broken your sacred contract, what is her punishment?"

"Ah, that is where you come in. Anyone who enters her garden, excluding the Elite, are required to be killed and brought back to us. Now, young lady, you entered her garden and as you may have already inferred by now, she has broken the contract and will therefore be sentenced to the death penalty or tortured, whichever seems fit to the council, and you shall be dealt with accordingly as well."
He re-adjusted his glasses and let the flame return to the palm of his hand. "Preferably right now."

The more Sanguis explained Lavendar's situation, the more Farah's hatred for the Elite grew. But she forced her magic down. It would do her no good at the moment. Besides, she was already working on devising a plan. And even if it didn't work out fell for Farah, she was determined to make the best out of it for Lavendar.

Her gaze immediately locked on the flame hovering over his skin before meeting his own again. The blood-red color of his eyes unsettled her, but Farah was determined not to back down now.

"How exactly do you plan on dealing with me?" she asked, her own brown eyes narrowing. "If I am a victim of your wicked deal, and my life is ended at L- Celosia's hands, wouldn't that make her free of her sentence for breaking your contract?"

Sanguis tilted his head, "Well, if she had killed you, then yes. In fact… it is not too late, but if she decides not to… the Elite will have you killed anyway."

"So, Hortus," He turned his gaze toward the frozen apprentice, "it is not too late… you may end the victim's life now and save yourself or follow through with the consequences… it is your decision to make."

Wide-eyed, Lavendar's eyes darts from the fairy to her tutor. Hot tears slipped down her face as she felt pins and needles in her nose and cheeks. Farah had saved her life… she couldn't end her now. She just couldn't.

Farah couldn’t help the feeling of relief sweep through her. She had feared Sanguis would say the opposite, but the fairy could still help Lavendar. She had just a bit more time to do so.

Once Sanguis finished speaking, Farah trailed her gaze to Lavendar’s trembling form. Her eyes softened. The poor girl. It had Farah wondering how she’d agreed to this arrangement. Had she been tricked? Forced? Given no other choice?

“It’s alright,” Farah urged. “Go on. Really.” She called to her magic and her eyes changed color. Visibly, she summoned a knife through the air, but she also accessed her telepathic abilities to send a message into Lavendar’s mind.

Trust me.

(Hey, sorry I haven't replied in so long. (TwT)> I've been heck busy since I came back from my trip. Also, sorry if this is pretty mediocre, I did this in a bit of a rush. (O-O "))

Lavendar drew in a shuddering breath as the knife landed in her hands. She hadn't noticed the dry blood stains on her palms until she actually gazed down at them. I- I can't… I can't do this… I- The fairy's message pierced through her mind, forcing her to sharply lift her gaze and almost blankly stare into Farah's eyes for a solid moment.

"Well, Hortus?" Sanguis emanated a crimson flame out of his hand, allowing it to swirl between his fingers. "Have you made a decision, or shall We make it for you?" He clenched his hand into a fist after those words were spoken, the flame dissolving into ashes. His eyes shimmered as his expression gave a hint of a condescending grin.

Trembling, Lavi's hand grasped the blade's handle and hesitantly took a few steps closer to the fairy, her eyes becoming more and more blinded by her tears. Once she reached her victim, Lavendar managed to choke out a soft, "I- I'm so sorry… I really am…"

She positioned the blade at Farah's heart, half blinded by her tears, before lifting it a few inches up. After stabbing the blade into the fairy's chest thrice for good measure, the apothecary staggered a few steps back.

Everything… all at once. The stained knife fell out of the equally stained hand as Lavendar stared blankly at the bloodied victim, the tears streaming like never before. Everything… repulsed… terrified… everything.

The professor walked over to vaguely examine the victim, then nodded, "Well done, Hortus. Well done."

(No, you're fine bestie! I get it, trust me. Glad you're back! :))

Farah's eyes stayed illuminated with her magic, even as the knife settled in Lavendar's hands. She inhaled steadily as the other woman stared at her, but Farah didn't break eye contact. She needed her to know that this was all part of the plan. Everything would be okay… hopefully. But Farah's gaze stayed firm anyway. She didn't want Lavendar or Sanguis sensing her doubt.

The fairy's eyes narrowed sharply at Sanguis. "You won't be making decisions for her much longer," Farah snarled. "I assure you of that." His grin only enraged her further.

As Lavendar stepped forward, Farah's expression softened. The girl looked so defeated that Farah's own heart ached. She wished that she could truly comfort this girl, but she knew that it would look suspicious. Being someone who was about to die, Farah was remarkably calm. She prayed the wicked man behind her friend would only interpret it as accepting her end.

"I know, darling," Farah murmured back. "It will be alright." Her eyes were still silver-blue as the blade was buried in her chest. White hot pain seared through her, and Farah's entire body tensed. She accepted the second and final blow without a cry of pain. She didn't want Lavendar to be more worked up than she already was. It would only break the girl more, and Farah wanted to spare her any unnecessary pain.

As the life was leaving her body and she crumpled to the floor, Farah called to her magic again. She accessed an undetectable aspect of magic that she had only ever read about before. It wasn't a kind of magic to be practiced regularly. It was for a life-or-death situation, like this. Her soul reached out for the closest living plant to her body and created a resurrection plant.

Farah's mind and spirit were imprinted in the plant. Her shell of a body fell to the ground, but the fairy woman was not dead. She only hoped that her magic would be strong enough still to reach out to Lavendar after the professor had left. She wouldn't chance Lavendar's survival by reaching out when Sanguis was still near the cottage. Her magical essence might attract him back if he was too close.

Everything, nothing, blurs, blood, a dead friend… Lavendar's shaking intensified with each agonizing breath she took. It was all so quick, her eyes as the last strands of life left the victim's body. The victim, not a friend… just a victim…just a victim…

Sanguis knelt next to her and felt for any traces of a pulse. Feeling none, he stood up and placed his hands behind his back. He turned to look at his shaking apprentice who had fallen to her knees, staring at the corpse in front of her.

The professor sighed and shook his head, "Oh, Celosia… this is why I taught you to kill them before they enter your home." He hesitantly reached out his hand to gently place on her shoulder, but instantly drew it back to where it was before. "You'll grow accustomed to it eventually."

Tonight… behind the cottage. Lavendar's eyes fell on the blade she had used to murder the victim. I'll place the notes on my doorstep… then with the same knife…

Meanwhile, the professor had been using his magic to collect every single drop of spilled blood on the floor into a small flask for him to study, given that it was fairy's blood. After he had finished, a red aura surrounded the body as Sanguis caused the corpse to levitate from the ground and slowly dissolve, starting the process of teleporting it to the Elite.