The Flame Witch
During the war between Ceoli and Klen, which lasted almost 3 years, Klen emerged victorious, with two outstanding warriors, Prince Ethan and the young Duke Caesar. After the defeat of Ceoli, the only survivor of the royal family was Martina Bennett, the princess, who was forced to flee the battlefield. Upon returning to Ceoli, her mother and sisters had already been stripped of everything, forced to leave the kingdom, as Ceoli had now become part of Klen. When Martina met her mother, instead of being happy to see her daughter alive, she blamed her for not protecting her husband and son, wishing it had been her who hadn't returned. But the former queen took advantage of her return and, still using the contacts she had left, sent her south to the empire of Nulem, to be one of the emperor's many concubines, so that she would receive enough money to survive for a few years, regardless of the emperor's bad reputation and the fact that, being several concubines, they all saw each other as rivals. Martina refused to live as a mere concubine, but there was nothing she could do. Upon arriving at the palace, she only saw the emperor on the day she married him as a concubine, spent their wedding night, and never saw him again. Her stay in that place did not last long. Having lost her will to fight, no matter how much she tried to defend herself from the abuses of the other concubines, she always ended up losing because, being the daughter of a fallen king, no one defended her, while the emperor was oblivious to everything that happened in the concubine's palace, as he was more attentive to his duties with his empire. The concubines, on the other hand, were only princesses or nobles from other countries, accepted only for political reasons, and because of this, the emperor did not pay attention to them, visiting each of them only once a month, having dinner with them, and then leaving them without spending the night with them, as the last thing he wanted was to have children with them.
As the years passed, Martina felt finished, her life no longer had meaning. Her father and brothers always belittled her, and even her mother sent her to a horrible place just to obtain a good life for herself.
If only she could improve her life, if only she had a chance, she would change everything. Those were her last words before throwing herself from the palace roof. Of course, the fall caused her serious injuries. She was lying in a pool of blood and could not move. Her vision was getting heavier, she could barely see blurry people crowding around her, surely laughing at her miserable death. A ridiculous end for a woman who was always fierce and wanted to demonstrate her worth beyond just being another woman in the crowd, and so, she took her last breath.
"Your Highness... for the gods, get out... help... the princess is drowning."
She heard voices, without opening her eyes. She felt like she was having trouble breathing, because her nostrils were full of, blood? No, that was different, it was, water? Suddenly, a woman with black hair burst out of a bathtub, took a deep breath, and looked around confused. The place seemed familiar to her. She looked down, her feet were underwater inside a large white bathtub. The bathroom was the same color, with gold details, even the window and door frames looked like they had those details. This was her bathroom when she lived in the palace.
"Your Highness, are you alright?" the young woman asked.
The young maid placed a bathrobe over her shoulders. Martina, still confused, just put on the robe, while observing the maid. It was Anne, her maid while she lived in the palace. Was she dreaming? No, it was impossible, since she had just taken her own life.
"Your Highness, come, we must dry your hair, you must go down to dinner with your mother."
"My mother? Is she here?"
"Of course, you seem very distracted today, Your Highness."
Martina sat in front of her dressing table and saw her face. She looked a little different, because the last time she saw herself in the mirror, she looked emaciated.
"Anne, what is the date today?" she asked, not taking her eyes off herself in the mirror.
"It is the 14th of the fifth month, of the year 1800. I don't know why you ask, you are certainly acting very strange today."
Martina remained silent. They were just a few days away from starting the first invasion. The dinner that night was to celebrate the departure of the king and the crown prince, who would both emerge triumphant in their first attack, and then threaten Klen, but that is where they would not be victorious and would lose everything. Martina did not know how, but she had gone back in time.
Upon going down to dinner, everything was exactly as she remembered it. Her father and brothers speaking arrogantly about their plans, her mother supporting everything, while the king directed cruel words at her, regretting that she was a woman and had inherited magical gifts. For her father the king, it was unfair that a woman possessed great power when she was just useless. Martina remained silent, but realized that those words did not affect her as before, that now they were insignificant words, coming from the mouth of a king who would soon lose the war he himself provoked.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye, just as it happened in her previous life. They had won the first invasion. She joined the troops in the squad of mages at the suggestion of her teacher, but although she showed her skills in magic, her father continued to despise her, although now, it was no longer important to her, she was no longer seeking his acceptance, she only wanted one thing, and that was to survive and change the destiny she once had.
Finally, the war against Klen began, but there was a big difference, as she heard that Klen was taking precautions, and the spy informed the king that Klen was planning to set traps on the borders, which forced them to advance before they put their plan into action. Martina decided to ignore that change, assuming it was normal for certain things to change when she went back in time.
And so, after learning that her brother would be the one to lead the squad of mages, Martina went far away from the camp, but something crossed her path and she fell off her horse.
Martina stood up, seeing that person. They had a white cloak that did not reveal their face. Martina prepared to attack, but her body froze.
"Relax, I'm just here to offer you something you want..." the person gently stroked her cheek.
"Who are you? Why would I accept what you offer me?"
"Because it is what you want most. I offer you the crown of Ceoli, you just have to help me."
"How do I know you're telling me the truth?"
"Because I know what it is like to be despised, I know what is happening to you, the king thinks you are useless, but you are not, you have great power. I will make you queen if you help me, you just have to keep this with you until I tell you to break it."
They handed her a small sphere of white crystal. When Martina held it in her hands, she felt a great energy coming from the object.
"This is... what great power..."
"You cannot use it, it only works if it is broken, but it is not a power that you can control. You decide what you will do. If you do not break it at my signal, I will know that I cannot count on you..."
And so she saw that person disappear. She observed that crystal throughout the night, knowing what she had to do if she wanted to change her destiny, and during the battle, she broke the crystal, seeing an enormous dark beast appear before the army, and several small ones came to attack them, eating those they caught. The shadows ignored her. After the retreat, her brother was wounded and died shortly after. She saw that person again.
As she entered the dark forest, that person appeared before her again, and she was surrounded by shadows.
"You have done well, Martina Bennett, continue like this and I will let you live. It will be up to you later to obtain what you want."
"How do I know you won't kill me too? I have betrayed my family..."
"They have betrayed you from the moment they despised you, you know that. I have only offered you a change, one where you can move the pieces in your favor."
From the hand of that person came a small flame that floated until it was in front of Martina. She raised her hands while the flame floated over her palms.
"I am Evelyn Caruso, the witch of the shadows, and I make a pact with you, Martina Bennett. I name you, the witch of fire."
Upon saying this, the flame entered Martina's chest and she could feel it burning inside her body. She fell to the floor screaming in pain for a few minutes until she could stand up again.
"Forge your new destiny very well."
After that person left, she felt her body warm, she felt an energy running through her body. She knew that her magic had changed, now, she was a witch, a being more powerful than any mage, her magic had no limits, she could destroy her father's army herself, but no, she would not do it, she would let Klen humiliate him, strip him of everything, and take his head as a prize.
Everything continued its course. The only one she saved and sent away was the oldest mage, her teacher, the only one who treated her well and never belittled her for being a woman. Shortly after that, the camp was attacked and she left, after seeing her father captured by that witch who gave her her power, although she didn't know how everything had changed, everything was now in her favor and that was what mattered. Martina moved away from the battlefield, staying in a town near the border. Shortly after, she learned that her other brother had taken the crown and brought his troops to the battlefield, but he could do little. In a matter of days, Klen devastated the army of Ceoli and took the kingdom.
"The queen and the two princesses were stripped of everything and sent to the western border."
"Princess Martina, they say she died on the battlefield."
"I heard she had talent in magic, but it seems it wasn't enough."
"Now we are part of Klen and they won't kill anyone, if you think about it, we will be better off now."
"It's true, the late king was leading us to ruin because of his ambition."
Martina left that bar and got on her horse, she must go to the Western border, this time she has enough power to change her destiny and for that she needs her mother.
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