Fate.
What exactly is that?
A question that has been pondered for many generations.
Was it something you scripted with your own hands, something you had full control of?
Or was your life already decided before you even took your first breath?
If it was the latter, could you blame Sabrina Page for the actions she took now.
Couldn't you say that she was just the victim of bad writing from the one in charge of fate?
After all, there's only so much a child can handle.
…....
7 years ago
"Dark magic, that's a rare one, and a high level magic, at that. That's my daughter." Luina smiled and laughed, a weak one with a cough, another painful reminder that her mother was closer to death than she looked.
After being exposed to the gas when fighting the dragon, although she didn't die, her health began to deteriorate slowly, a curse that couldn't be cured by the best healing mages in the kingdom.
Sabrina, instead of smiling and laughing like she should have, after all it was her birthday, gently escorted her mother home, her face twisted in pain and determination.
"Don't worry mother, I'll find a way to heal you, I promise." Sabrina swore with conviction.
"That's my girl, don't work yourself too hard for me, okay?"
Silently, the two walked home, not because they had nothing to say to themselves, they were a thousand things that Luina wanted to say to her daughter but couldn't.
The same went for Sabrina, trying to preserve her mother's strength, already feeling bad that her mother in her state, had to escort her for her awakening.
She was supposed to stay at home for her own health, but she decided to still come, arguing that she couldn't still be alive and miss her daughter's awakening.
Being a single mother after the untimely death of her husband, she had swore that she would fight to make sure that she would be there for her daughter until she was grown enough to survive on her own and for that reason, she continued to inwardly fight the curse, although it would have been way easier and less painful for her to just pass on.
….…..
Few months later.
"Arrggh, it's useless." Sabrina screamed as she threw the orb in her hands away in frustration towards a heap of other broken orbs.
"So there's nothing strong for me to transfer the curse to."
Apparently the curse was specifically targeting her mother, the one that took part in the death of it's master, so it was impossible to pass the curse to another person or to herself, an attempt she had tried before.
This meant the only way forward was to trick the curse.
By transferring it to an orb infused with her mothers blood, she could make it think it was still attached to Luina.
A small plate with a few drops of blood lay still on a flat white plate, along with needles, seals, bandages and other instruments.
Sabrina rested back on her chair and pinched the bridge of her nose and picked up a strand of her hair, that had fallen on the table.
It was white.
Her hair was naturally lavender.
She stood up and left the room and went to the kitchen.
After preparing her mother's food, she went up to her mother breathing heavily, her body looking pale.
Hurrying to her mother's side, she sat and tapped her mother lightly to inform her of her presence.
"Food is ready, take your…" Before she could continue, her mother had turned and was hugging her tightly.
"Sabrina, why are you doing this to me? Do you want me to die of sorrow?" Luina cried as she looked her daughter in the eye.
"I don't understand mother, have I done any wrong?" Sabrina asked, inwardly cursing herself for doing something that would make her mother cry.
"Sabrina." she started slowly as she pulled a mirror by her side. "Look at your face, your eyes, your body, your hair. Sabrina, your scalp is already becoming white."
She stared in the mirror and thought, "Who is that? That can't be me right?"
The young girl couldn't even recognize herself. Stress and isolation had reduced her to a shell of the beautiful young lady she once was.
Seeing the surprise in her daughter's eyes broke her heart even more and she held her daughter and they both cried.
That evening, a young muscular man with slightly green hair and emerald eyes came to visit.
They sat on the balcony, away from the ears of Sabrina and spoke with one another.
"It's been a while, Luke. How's the family?" Luina sipped her tea slowly.
"They're fine, but that's not what's important, how are you holding up?" Luke said as he sat next to his master, his eyes full of regret.
"Just fine. I can still give you an ass whooping to prove it." Luina laughed but then turned serious and abruptly said.
"I want to die."
Immediately the words came out, Luke turned sharply and faced Luina.
"What are you saying Luina…"
"You've seen my daughter Luke." Luina interjected. "You'd think she's also sick with how she looks. I'm hoping my death allows her to focus her attention and magic in something else more beneficial to her."
Luke remained silent because it was true, that was the first thing that he noticed immediately she had opened the door for him.
He already knew Sabrina for long and the change from when she got her powers to now was drastic.
"You know I'm right, that's why you can't respond. Luke I'm going to stop fighting the curse. It hurts a lot but seeing my daughter suffer each passing day is worse, a thousand times worse." Luina sighed as she looked at the sky.
It was already getting dark, with the moon nowhere in sight. It was going to be a dark night. The winds blew mildly, trees danced gently as leaves and flowers closed, having obtained the nutrition for the night.
"It's going to be a very still night, don't you think?" Luina laughed.
Luke looked at her and nodded, a crooked smile on his face.
"Luke."
"Yes?" Tears were welling up in the man's eyes as he already knew the question coming next.
"Take care of Sabrina for me, will you?" Luina begged with a smile.
The first tear dropped as he held his master's hand "I promise."
That night, the winds blew the hardest it had in a long time and the Strongest Wind Mage, former captain of the royal knights, mother of Sabrina Page, Luina page died that night.
….….
A week later.
"Sabrina everything is going to be fine, your mother was a strong woman, the strongest I ever met, and so are you. Everything's going to be okay. Trust me Sabrina."
"I tried everything but I couldn't save her. Uncle Luke, why?"
"I don't know. There's a lot of things I don't know, but I know that I'm always here for you, no matter what."
"Thank you, Uncle Luke. Thank you for always being there for my mother."
Luke paused as the past began to resurface.
If he was always there for Luina Page, none of this would be happening.
Sabrina and Myra could have been friends. A lot of things would have changed.
Kneeling down, he placed his two hands on Sabrina's shoulders and looking her directly in their eyes, both their eyes red from crying, he told her.
"If you ever need any help, any at all, call me. I'll be there immediately. Promise me, Sabrina, that you'll depend on me."
Looking directly into Luke's eyes, the only fatherly figure she had since she was small, she smiled a little.
"I will." Sabrina nodded.
It would have all ended and Sabrina would have been able to live a normal live but fate decided that it had not messed up her life enough.
…....
A year later
"We are here to pronounce judgement on Sabrina Page for indulging in forbidden dark arts, that is necromancy, in an attempt to bring back the dead."
It was a rainy autumn day, the temperature was cool, a slight drizzle watered the land.
"Originally, the sentence for this crime is execution but since her mother served the kingdom well as a knight, coupled with the intercession of the strongest knight, Luke Reginald and the various inventions and artifacts that she has created which have benefited the kingdom, we have decided to reduce her sentence.
The king clenched his teeth as he was about to give out the verdict.
The night she was arrested, Luke had begged the king for over an hour straight to reduce the verdict or even forgive her, however this was the lowest he could reduce it to, as necromancy was forbidden and stigmatized by everyone.
"From this moment henceforth, Sabrina Page is no longer a citizen of Avarice. Forever." The king said with a sigh.
As she heard the decree, every single piece of her life that she had managed to pick back up shattered into a million pieces.
Sabrina didn't move.
For a moment, she couldn't.
'Exile, huh. Is that even better? I wonder why I didn't receive the death penalty.'
Turning to her left she locked eyes with Luke, standing next to the king, his eyes moist, the sadness as clear as day written on his face.
It was in that moment she realized why she had not received the death penalty.
"I'm sorry for disappointing you, Luke." Sabrina whispered as she looked away in shame.
That day, she left Avarice escorted by a knight, never to be seen again
Luke had pleaded once again to be her escort but it was disallowed.
Entering the forest slightly optimistic to complete her work, she was met with monsters bearing the form of men.
She was destroyed. Mentally, spiritually and physically and headed into darkness.
She changed her appearance, her voice, her mentality, everything and selling her conscience and memory for power, she took up the work of a diviner, plotting revenge against the whole of Avarice.
The flames covering her vision parted for a few seconds and she saw Jayden Reginald, looking at her in surprise.
He looked kind of familiar, like a father figure she knew once.
Again, her plan had failed and she was paying the ultimate price for failure. Death.
She had escaped it once before but now it had her by the neck.
There was nothing anyone could do now, but Sabrina wasn't just anyone.
"I'd be damned if I die without putting up a fight." Sabrina swore as behind the tempest of flames, a quick flash of purple sparked.