"You ought to learn how to keep your hands where they belong," Young-Alistair said with a sneer, stepping into the gloomy dungeons. His path was lit up using the fire in his hands, ever at the ready to hurl out at any who dared to oppose him. "Don’t go touching things that aren’t yours, Daphne."
He, too, had grown up a little more. Alistair was taller and stockier, and the effects of his no-doubt grueling training had already co into effect. If it weren’t for the fact that the boy in question was Alistair of all people, Daphne would’ve even felt pity for the poor boy who had his childhood ripped away from him at such a young age.
"Nereus isn’t yours," Young-Daphne sharply quipped back. She held no fear for her older brother, imdiately standing to her full height as she glared at the slightly older boy.
"Father gave him to ," Alistair retorted, narrowing his eyes.
"He isn’t Father’s either," Daphne said.
"Don’t make laugh!" It seed like Alistair had his cockiness even since his younger days. "Everything under the sun belongs to Father! He is the king."
"Of Reaweth," Daphne reminded him. "Not of other kingdoms. Not of other creatures."
She then pointed to Nereus, who had huddled back into a ball in fright. His entire little body was trembling terribly badly, shaking as though he had been hurled into the coldest regions up north.
She continued, "If he is a kelpie, then he isn’t human. That ans that he isn’t Father’s to give."
"No wonder Alistair hated as a child, and even now." Watching this, the grown version of Daphne mused. "I must’ve been a pain in the behind for him."
"You are a princess," Alistair growled. "I am a prince. Eventually, you will be wed off sowhere else while this kingdom will be mine. Everything that is in Reaweth’s land will be mine!"
With a ferocious roar that should’ve never erged from a child’s mouth, Alistair sent a rush of flas straight for Daphne. Hours of training between now and the scene at the ballroom had already honed his magical capabilities far beyond a small fla. He was perfectly capable of shooting out fireballs that could easily injure, leaving Daphne no other choice than to dodge out of the way.
The little girl scread in terror, instinctively jumping to one side to avoid her brother’s attempts at her life. However, even though it was her body’s natural reaction to move away, her mind was determined to stay. She gave one look at Nereus — who was tucked away into the furthest corner of the cell away from the fire — and bolted back.
Young-Daphne stood between Alistair and the cell that he was quickly approaching, no doubt to bring Nereus out to parade around like an animal once more.
"I won’t let you hurt him!" she declared, her eyebrows furrowed and eyes hard set.
Her tenacity — sothing which was admirable in a child — only made Alistair laugh.
"And what are you going to do about it, Daphne?" Alistair taunted, smirking. "You’re already nearly six years old and yet, you still have no magical affinity. I heard Mother and Father talking. You’ve failed again, haven’t you?"
Daphne’s expression faltered. That only boosted Alistair’s confidence as he took another step forward. The flas around them flickered, fueled by the wooden furniture and tapestries that Alistair had set on fire.
"Shut up," she said.
For a child, it couldn’t have been easy to have her failures rubbed so blatantly in her face. What ca to her brother as naturally as breathing was an impossible task for Daphne. Alistair was right. In fact, she had just failed another test earlier today, which was what led her to Nereus’s cell.
"Maybe you’re not even Father’s daughter," Alistair said. His lips crooked to form a shape between a smirk and a sneer, continuously advancing towards Daphne. "You don’t even look like him anyway."
"I look like Mother," Daphne defended. "Everyone always said that I look just like Mother―"
"You act like that’s such a great thing," Alistair said, laughing mockingly. "Leonora and Silas look like Father as well, and they’re still babies. You see, Daphne, you’re the only one that looks like Mother. What does that make you?"
Young-Daphne’s back was now plastered against the tal bars, the steel digging painfully into her back. Yet, she only wished that it could swallow her whole and let her through to the other side so that she could be with her friend. She didn’t want to stay here for a second longer― not with this beast that claid himself as her older brother.
"You’re the odd one out," Alistair continued. He grinned, a look that was too sinister for a young boy. "You’re not one of us."
"Shut up!" Daphne scread. "I am! I am Reaweth’s princess! I am your sister!"
"I have no sister that can’t use magic," Alistair countered. "It won’t be long now before Silas and Leonora get their powers. You’ll be the only one that is weak and useless still. Just a normal, pathetic, ordinary human."
Without warning, a huge ball of fire hurtled through the air, landing on the steel bars right next to Young-Daphne’s face. She was imdiately pulled from her tears as she gasped in horror, falling to the ground in fear. The tal turned red-hot before eventually lting, a good portion of it dripping to the floor before the flas cooled down.
An idea struck Daphne. If only she could summon flas to burn the bars down. She turned around and grabbed hold of the tal rods, squeezing her eyes shut and concentrating hard.
Daphne had thought about agitating Alistair into continuously blasting the cell but she couldn’t risk harming Nereus inside. He was already too weak from the lack of water. One more hit and it could cost him his life.
Alistair imdiately caught onto what Daphne was thinking. He barked out in laughter, holding his stomach as he guffawed loudly to the point where it echoed around the dungeons.
"It’s useless, Daphne. You can’t even conjure a fla and now you want to lt tal? Be a little more realistic!"
He gleefully raised his hand, flas sparking in his palm as he grinned.
"Maybe I need to show you how it’s done," he said.
Before Young-Daphne could react, he aid his palm directly at her before shooting, sending the ball of fire straight toward the helpless girl.
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