MODERN MAGICS. Tianyu (Tony) Zhu

ignored her slight urge to check on the limp cashier, knowing that she did not have the time with him right behind her. In the dim lights, Sapphire could barely make out the handle in front of her that led into the storage room. She gulped as she put her hand on it, this was it, if there were no exits in this room then… she didn’t want to think about what would happen after she was forced back into the Royal House.

      Sapphire gripped the handle and turned it. A bright light shined into her face as the door opened. She braced herself to run for the door, whichever side of the wall it was on. As the door completely opened, Sapphire sprinted into the bright storage room, filled with boxes of shelved goods. But her speed didn’t last, as she stopped in the middle of the room, her heart fell in disbelief and despair as she saw the enclosed concrete walls around her, with no exit in sight. Behind her, she heard the door she closed seconds before being kicked open.

      “Good attempt, but your escape ends here.” The stalker said in his low voice as he too, entered the room, walking closer and closer to Sapphire as she unconsciously backed away in fear, even though she wanted to stand up and face him. It was as if he entirely knew her circumstances, how much better he was compared to her, how the difference between the levels of their experiences would doom her to this situation. Sapphire couldn’t do anything as he came right in front of her, cornering her between two walls, and leveled his blade to her throat.

      Her mind finally unfroze as death was staring at her right in the face and quickly made her realise her stupidity. A million plans of escape flashed through her mind at that very moment, but in the end, none of them could disarm the immediate threat, a mere inch away from ending her life.

      With that, Sapphire slowly held up her hands in surrender, humiliated and defeated.

      “Good.” He said, and turned her around and pushed her front into a wall. Sapphire looked back to see him taking a pair of handcuffs out from his back pocket with his remaining free hand. She could tell they were unusual just by looking at them. An invisible aura surrounded the cuffs, making her want to shrink away by instinct. He took both of Sapphire’s wrists and bound them together behind her back. She yelped as a new sensation coursed through her. An unwelcome and unnatural feeling, as if parts of her brain has just been shut off.

      “Anti-magic equipment.” He said as a response to her gasp, “To make sure you won’t try anything.”

      He finally lifted his hand off of Sapphire’s back, only to yank her by the chains of the cuffs back to the entrance, where he had her wait as he lifted the shutters that he had closed just a few moments ago.

      “Act natural, unless you want your name ruined even more in the media.” He whispered and picked up Sapphire’s torn jacket from the ground, which he draped over her shoulders to hide her handcuffs.

      The sound of rain against the umbrellas and the chatters in the streets resumed immediately as he lifted the shutters.

      “Would you please,” He gestured for Sapphire to go out as he held the metal gate on his shoulder. She ducked under his arm and walked out into the streets again. The thought of escape briefly flashed through Sapphire’s head again before she put it away, realising how stupid that would be under her conditions.

      As they passed by the entrance of the grocery store, he picked up an umbrella from a stand and ripped its price tag off. Opening the umbrella, the stalker guided me into the crowd, seamlessly blending into the scene.

      Chapter 2.5

      “You can let go now,” Sapphire shifted away from the stalker’s hand, which was bound in handcuffs, as they walked down the dirty sidewalk.

      “I’m afraid not,” He responded as he strengthened his grip, “You have caused me and the Anaroths a fair amount of trouble. Would be a shame for you to get away now, wouldn’t it?”

      They made another turn, the walls now dimly lit with the dark blue lights of the arcane filled lamps in the distance, spread throughout the perimeters of the dirty harbor.

      “Good,” Sapphire retorted, “Any amount of trouble I cause for them is a payback for what they’ve done to me.”

      “Why do you hate them so much? What have they even done?” He asked. Sapphire blinked and looked back at him in confusion. He curtly returned the same gaze.

      “Was that supposed to be a joke?”

      “Not at all, I’m more of a distant relative than family you see,” He said, “I rarely visit the Royal House, never been a fan of that place. I just owe them a favor, that’s why I agreed to this in the first place.” He took a look at Sapphire, “Though they’ve never bothered to mention you or your name at all the few times I’ve met them prior to this assignment.”

      “Can’t imagine why.” Sapphire sighed. Of course they wouldn’t mention an outcast who would bring shame among their bloodline, why would they?

      They walked for a few more blocks without talking, now pacing along the harbor as the moon slowly hid itself behind the dark clouds. The tiny hint of sunlight became visible on the horizon as night slowly turned to dawn. It was around then that Sapphire had finally realised that the gash on her forehead was still bleeding. She tried to cover the wound with her hood, but was immediately restrained by her bound hands.

      “Something wrong?” The stalker asked, noticing her cut-off movements.

      “I feel like I’m gonna pass out, thanks to you.” She protested, raising up her head and bringing attention to her wound.

      It was true. Though she didn’t notice it before, each step was heavier and slower than the last. Sapphire could feel her head becoming lighter as she climbed those steps just a minute ago.

      “Oh,” He frowned, “That is a problem.”

      “Yes, thank you. For that amazing and helpful comment,” She replied crankily in a monotone voice.

      After another dizzy flight of stairs up, they finally arrived at the Portal Central.

      “Can you tell me now?” He asked Sapphire while they walked over to the giant building that towered over them.

      “What?”

      “Why you hate the Anaroths so much.”

      “Why do you want to know?”

      “I still am an older sibling of your’s, you know,” He said, “I should have a right.”

      She sighed, “Fine, let’s start with the easiest one.”

      “And that is?” He said, expectantly.

      She stared at his hair. It took a second for him to realise that she was eyeing it, he held his hair in his hands, still unsure of what she meant. The stalker thought long and hard before the dots connected in his head. He took one more glance at his pure white hair, then walked ahead and peered into Sapphire’s hood, looking at her dirty blonde hair.

      “Oh.” He said, “You’re not pureblood.”

      “My siblings never let me hear the end of it.” She sighed helplessly, “For some reason the stupid hair color matters to them so much.” Though it barely affected the amount of magic her vessels were able to produce, it caused an outrage within the family and sent out a wave of drama around the Royal House.

      “You can’t be the head’s son, right? Who’re your parents?” He asked while tapping on the screen, ordering the tickets.

      “Aidan.” His fingers froze the moment that name came out of Sapphire’s mouth and his eyes subtly widened. It was a reasonable reaction. Everyone knew of the story of the infamous Aidan Anaroth. He was the oldest son of the previous generation of Anaroths and he was to be the heir to the head of the bloodline. But despite that, he secretly fell in love with a Lesser - a lowly Sorcerer.

      When the family eventually found out, he was stripped of his powers as a part of the Anaroths and was exiled from the family. After which, the next offspring in line