Stolen by the Rebel King
Chapter 71: Back to Basics

Chapter 71: Back to Basics

Despite Atticus’s wishes for Daphne to have a good rest, the latter found herself plagued by her imagination as she slept. Eugene’s true character, Maisie going missing, Atticus’s behavior... Daphne’s mind helpfully conjured all sorts of terrible scenarios that left her unable to truly sleep.

Daphne could only stare blearily at the ceiling, feeling more exhausted than before.

When the first rays of sunlight finally streamed through her window, she decided enough was enough.

She couldn’t wallow in her guilt, not when she could actually do something that made a difference. Maisie should have been the one to help her get ready, but...

Daphne took a deep breath and began to prepare herself for the day. She dressed herself and combed her hair, finally putting on the earrings that Atticus had given her.

She would get Maisie back, no matter what it took.

***

"Good morning," Daphne murmured as she watched Jonah sleepily munch on bread. To her surprise, Atticus wasn’t there. There was only Jonah, who looked as alert as she felt.

His breakfast looked pathetic, almost pitiable. There was just a slice of bread with some fruit jam and a small slab of butter. Even then, he was chewing it like it was the toughest mouthful of steak ever cooked. His eyes lazily drifted over to her, his head bobbing up and down in a form of acknowledgment.

"Morning," he replied after finally swallowing the food in his mouth. Then, he asked, "Bad night?" Jonah wore a wry smile, taking note of the dark circles underneath her eyes.

"You can say that. Where’s Atticus?" Daphne asked.

"He’ll be up later. I’m letting him sleep in for now," Jonah replied through a mouthful of food. When he noticed Daphne’s subtle sneer of envy, he explained, "He was working through the night."

Daphne felt more guilty. This was all her fault.

"Hey, don’t blame yourself," Jonah said as he watched Daphne’s face fall. "It’s not your fault you were a good person and Eugene Attonson was a piece of shit."

"I still played a part in creating this mess," Daphne said sadly as the servants hurriedly gathered a plate of food for her to eat. The wondrous meal they placed in front of her would’ve made her salivate any other day, but right now, it just looked unappetizing. "And now everyone has suffered because of me."

"We are suffering because of Attonson," Jonah corrected grimly. "But we’ll catch him. For now, let’s focus on training you in time for the royal hunt."

Daphne nodded and ate her food in silence. When they were done, she followed Jonah to another empty courtyard for her lessons. To her surprise, snow was piled all around the area, almost up to her waist. If not for the fact that there was a path helpfully left for her to walk, she would have to wade in the snow.

"We prepared this area specifically for you," Jonah said cheerfully.

The small piece of malachite that had been tied to his belt glowed a bright green, dangling as he moved. In a flash, several vines were lowered from the trees nearby, some even creeping through the snow and across the ground to create steps for Jonah to get to the top of the snowbank. Once he had taken the step, the vines behind him would creep away, creating a platform in front so that the road wouldn’t end and he would be able to walk on top of the snow without sinking through.

Daphne’s mouth fell open, watching the effortless display of magic. She hadn’t known that Jonah was capable of such feats as well, but now that she thought about it, it wouldn’t be too strange, considering how he was Atticus’s right-hand man and the head of the royal cavalry.

"What do you think?" Jonah asked.

"It’s... cold." Her eyes darted back and forth from the crystal that pulsed like a heart that was beating to the vines under Jonah’s feet. "Is this supposed to help?" Daphne asked warily. She didn’t want to destroy the castle the same way she destroyed the hovel she was held captive.

Jonah laughed. "Actually, yes! We should all thank our lucky stars that your powers manifested in the middle of winter. We managed to get enough snow here to act as a buffer. If anything goes wrong, we’ll simply be drenched to the bone, and everyone gets a lot of water for scrubbing and a nice hot shower to combat the winter chill."

Oh. That was convenient indeed.

"And I’ll be here to make sure that nothing goes wrong," Jonah added.

"You can do pyromancy as well?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Not quite," came his reply. "But there are a couple of things I can do to make sure you don’t set all of us on fire. You’ll be fine, Your Highness. We’ll take things slow. Besides, Atticus will be here soon."

"Oh." Upon hearing Atticus’s name, it felt as though a huge rock had been lifted from Daphne’s chest. "That’s good." If there was anyone that could prevent a disaster from happening, Atticus would be the one.

"But first, we need to see how far you are along with regard to control and general understanding," Jonah said. "What do you know about your powers? Or just crystal talismans in general?"

"The basics," Daphne said. She furrowed her eyebrows, deep in thought. "I know that royalty is able to perform magic. And as you all have explained, it could sometimes extend to nobility," she looked pointedly at Jonah, "and even commoners. Magic is unstable and cannot be properly used without the help of a magical conduit. That’s where crystals come into play."

Jonah nodded. "Simply explained, yes. You’ve had a clear quartz necklace previously, yes?"

"A gift," Daphne answered, "from my sister."

"Stones in general have a field of magic that they’re best used for," Jonah explained. "For example," he gestured to Daphne’s earrings, "garnet and sunstones are good for magic related to fire and heat. Aquamarine and larimar are often used for hydromancy and cryomancy. Take for example, Atticus’s obsidian ring. What do you think it’s for?"

Daphne frowned, remembering the displays of magic he had done with that signature ring of his. "He is able to control and move physical objects with just a wave of his hand, not even needing to touch it."

"That’s right," Jonah said. "Telekinesis. Although, the strength and power level displayed will also depend on two factors― the quality of that piece of crystal as well as the user’s general magical aptitude. If a user has low magical aptitude, even the best piece of crystal could only warrant a small amount of magic. In your case, the best way to measure would be how big the flame generated could be, as well as your stamina before you aren’t able to generate any more. Likewise, if the crystal is unsuitable, only small amounts of magic would be generated, or none at all. Instead of conjuring a huge fire, you might only be able to make a flame as big as that on a candle."

"So," Daphne’s eyebrows furrowed together as the puzzle pieces started to slot into place, "you’re saying that the stone I had... It was nothing more than an accessory?"

"Yes," Jonah affirmed. "That clear quartz is unsuitable for you and your ability. Besides, clear quartz is generally used for amplification, typically for voices and sounds. It isn’t regarded as a ’specialty stone’ and pretty much anyone can use it as long as it’s imbued with magic and programmed to perform upon receiving some form of a trigger. It’s also used as a distress call of sorts, which would be completely unrelated to your type of magic."

"Atticus destroyed it," Daphne murmured. "He said it was a piece of glass."

"It might as well have been." Jonah snorted. "Be it glass or actual clear quartz, it would’ve been as useful to you as a stick would be for a swordsman in the middle of battle. The best thing you could’ve done was to rip it off your neck and chuck it at someone’s head."

"Then how come I wasn’t able to perform magic as a child when I was tested?" Daphne asked.

Jonah could only shrug. "No one knows for certain. It could’ve just been that you were a late bloomer. Or the stone that was used for your test didn’t work for you. Just because both garnets and sunstones can be used for pyromancy does not mean that you are able to generate fire with both. You could work well with garnets but the sunstone might not answer your call."

Daphne’s hand reached up to touch the earrings that were dangling, the warmth of it still lingering despite it having been days since it was activated. They had just been returned to her and now that they were back, she sorely felt the loss of them having even been gone at all.

"They form a bond," Jonah suddenly said. As though he was reading her thoughts, he continued to explain, "If the crystal works well with its owner, a bond will be formed. It will be nearly impossible to lose it. One way or another, it will come back to you, so you will never have to worry about it being stolen. That is... unless the owner dies or willingly gives it up."

"Is there anything else I need to know?" Daphne asked. Her earrings started to glow, slowly increasing in intensity. She could feel her fists heat up, a familiar tingling warmth crawling up her skin.

"Not for now."

"Great." Daphne grinned. "Then let’s begin."