The King's Beloved

Once, in the history of Magi, there lived a very powerful sorceress - too powerful she was the first woman instated as a Judge. But even though she was compelling, her love and reverence for the king and queen of that time was still very deep. She wished to protect them in all possible ways she could think of. And from that same love, she thought of creating something that will prevent bad things from happening to her beloved king and queen.

First, she tried creating a "barrier charm", a charm that would block all physical or magical attacks - but this charm only lasted for so long. It didn't work on everyone. The king was too powerful for it to work properly, so his spiritual energy kept on countering the charm.

The next thing she tried was a "spiritual summon", a creature with the ability to protect its master. But this same creation was too weak compared to the king and was not worthy of protecting him. One after another, she continued trying all ways possible that she could think of, but all was naught.

The king and queen were very pleased with her intentions but told her not to bother anymore and rest assured that they would be fine. But the kind sorceress didn't stop. Alas! She thought...

"What if ...instead of creating something that will protect the king….. what if I create something that can read people's hearts and their minds? If I know what they're thinking then definitely, I will be able to prevent disaster before it happens!"

And so, she created the "Pandora's Charm" - a spell that will reveal the deepest and darkest secrets of the heart and mind. She first started it at a banquet held at the king's Grand Palace, telling people it was a spell to change hair color. Most magi believed her since she was a Judge so they let her cast the spell on them. To some, it was fine, showing the different colors of the rainbow until… the charm accidentally got casted to the wrong person - someone who didn't agree to changing his hair color.

It was none other than the current king's father. The kind sorceress was playing with a fellow Judge that time and accidentally bounced the charm to him. As soon as it reached his head, the man's hair grew into a dark black color. This alerted the kind sorceress and immediately, she reported it to the king.

"Amare," the kind king called her. "The man you mentioned is my very own brother. It is impossible for him to wish for my destruction. He is a very wise man - full of honor. He will not betray me. There must be a mistake," he insisted.

The kind sorceress "Amare", replied, "But my charms don't lie, your highness. Dark black color means death itself, either the wearer saw death, experienced it, or killed someone! And my charm is directed to you, your highness. So the color will change according to a person's true feelings towards you. It means he wishes to...," she hesitated a bit but continued either way, "...to...kill you."

The queen gasped in disbelief. Her eyes, teary. "My king, I understand he is your brother.. But...we should not ignore what Amare speaks of."

"That's why he didn't agree to me changing his hair color - he knew! He knew there was more to it," Amare continued.

The king felt contradicted. He trusted both Amare and "Sanguis", his brother.

"Then, what do you suggest that I should do to my brother?"

Amare felt the king's heart break by saying this as his face furrowed in torment.

To soothe him, she replied, "Innocent until proven guilty, your highness.

I'll just monitor him and if he does something he shouldn't, then I'll carry out my duty of protecting you both".

After the conversation with the king, Amare started wide-casting her Pandora's charm. Each and every Magi's hair had been enchanted with the charm. And this time, the charm she casted was an "Everlasting Pandora's charm" - a charm that will pass itself generations to generations. And so, everyone's hair color changed according to their feelings towards the king who sat on the throne. One after another, green-haired, dark-haired, grayish-haired magi revealed themselves. Amare strictly monitored everyone belonging to the latter category.

Aside from the hair color, she also wide-casted the Everlasting Pandora's charm to all the seeds that produced fiber which was where their clothes were made from. She did this as a countermeasure just in case there would be someone who'd put a countercurse on her charms. Since plants have weaker spiritual capacity and can only accommodate one charm or curse casted on it, this charm was weaker than the one cast on one's hair. It can only discern what's inside the deepest part of one's heart and not directly the motives they have for the king.

Still, it was an everlasting charm that up to this very day, this charm she created years ago, continued to work and revealed what's inside a person's heart.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

Everyone's hand chorused in an applause as they congratulated Rania's performance. It was truly a splendid one, but what's more intriguing was her dress changing to "white".

Seeing as everyone was astonished including the king, the stunning man with long, straight, light blue hair and a pair of light blue eyes, sitting on the right hand side of the king, stood up and spoke. He wore white long sleeved shirt, topped with a pastel blue blazer that had white golden intricate designs at the collar, hems, and cuffs. On his left chest rested a glistening brooch made of blue gems and silver metal designed to form a moon. His voice, gentle and kind, yet mysterious. This same man was the one who spoke with the king about the meaning of a black Pandora's dress.

"Purity," he started, "..that is what your dress color signifies."

The crowd looked at the man's direction, waiting for what he would say next to get answers from what they just witnessed.

Slowly walking towards Rania, he continued, "For us Magi, our hair has been cursed by Pandora's charm, the same as the dress you humans are wearing right now. Hence, the reason why all of us have different hair color even though we belong to the same race."

Rania gazed at him as he spoke.

"The moment we are born, our hair turns to pure white, since a baby is the purest of all.

Then as we grow older, that white changes accordingly to what our hearts inhibited, especially towards the king.

And in the whole history of Magi, there was never...ever...an adult whose hair didn't change and kept it white.

Yet, here we are seeing a human in pure, bright, white dress."

He was now in front of Rania. He raised his hands a bit and touched the chiffon cloth covering her dress' skirt, trying to feel the magic casted on its fabric. Convinced it was a real Pandora's dress, he continued his speech.

"I am known as the wisest Judge and yet, I do not understand ...How? How can someone who suffered so much, be as pure as white?"

"A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials," Rania answered. "You say it is impossible for someone to achieve purity in adulthood but I say, it is only a matter of choice. Just as everything depends on our choices, so as our heart and soul."

The man's eyes enlarged and his mouth gaped in astonishment with her words.

"If I choose to be pure, then I am pure!

If I choose to be strong, then I am strong!

All are but choices and it is up to ourselves to decide."

The crowd grew mixed emotions as they heard her speech. Some were amazed, some were aggravated by her lack of respect from her speech, some were curious as to what will happen to her, some agreed with her logic and some did not, some were apathetic, and some were proud, being Azalea as the latter. They started murmuring to each other.

"Woman," the king finally spoke. "What is your name?"

Rania turned her head to look directly at the king, which was yet again, another behaviour considered insolent by the Magi. Staring at the king's eyes, she answered him.

"I am Rania from the house of Pémptos."

Unbothered by her so-called disrespect, the king muttered, "I see…".

He was caught in a daze as she stared at him, as if… bewitched by her. Who can blame him? For Rania was very beautiful at that moment. With all the darkness gone from her.

Breaking her eye contact, Rania bid her farewell.

"I believe I have performed my duty for tonight. If you'll excuse me".

And with this, she turned her back to the king and walked away towards the door, and out of everyone's sight.

"Clavis," the king called the light blue haired man.

"Yes, your highness," he answered.

"What should we reward the woman who entertained me the most tonight?"

Clavis thought for a moment, then answered, "Let her be given everything a woman desires, your majesty."

"Then it shall," the king decided.

Not long afterwards, the king and his Judges went on their way to rest. The party still continued for the generals and nobles to socialize and enjoy themselves.

[Music Recommendation: "Somnus" by Yoko Shimomura (instrumental only) - available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this scene ~

Meanwhile...

Amidst the cold weather and bustling noises that could be heard from the great hall, a young man could be seen sleeping outside, in the pavilion. Sitting on the soft couch with his wrist supporting his head, he laid asleep.

This young man had glossy, rosy, white skin that reflected under the moonlight. Wearing a princely outfit of blue and silver, surrounded by numerous white and blue roses, he shined. His black yet silky hair shone bright like crystals. It was as if seeing a perfect picture depicting a sleeping prince under the night sky. A very beautiful sight indeed.

Despite the fact that the view was outstanding, it was such a shame that this man's face was obstructed by his mask. Yes, he wore a plain, white mask on his face, not letting a glimpse of any of his facial features. Making anyone unable to tell whether his face was as beautiful as the scenery or that of a scary, horrid beast.

As Rania headed towards Pémptos palace, she passed by the pavilion and saw the sleeping man. She walked past the man, then suddenly halted, turned back, and walked towards him.

"How can someone sleep in this place? It's freezing cold out here," she thought to herself as she debated within her if she should show kindness to an enemy's race or not.

Not letting rationale cloud her heart's judgement, Rania approached the man quietly. As she drew near, she removed the white cloak she was wearing and gently, covered the man's arms and body with it.

"Hmm..this should do it. Now, you won't feel cold anymore," she whispered a little cheerfully to herself.

After that, she went on her way and continued walking towards their palace.

Unbeknownst to her, the man she helped was never asleep.

The moment she left, he opened his eyes to reveal a very beautiful and bright aquamarine color.

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