The Maiden Army
T HE - M A I D E N - A R M YTHE TASKThe Sorcerer | Write about your character discovering they have magic. What sort of magic is it? How will they use this magic?Today was the final day of the nine auspicious testing days for women. Every sixteen year old girl had already been in the encampment for eight days, being tested in every way possible, being provoked in every way possible, just to let out even a bit of magic. And today, they would all meet in the large stadium where every girl who'd been drafted into the Maiden Army by Duchess-General Genevieve Laurent would be announced.
"Aren't you beyond excited?" Gabby's high pitched trill of a voice had been at it since eight this morning, expressing her excitement for today in the only way she knew how-- chattering. The outside world of Lyssea wasn't kind to sparkle girls, or even presumed Maidens. If a girl was too pretty for her own good and still not drafted? Well, there wouldn't be a single offer for her hand in marriage and there would be plenty of gossip. But it seemed that no one else was afraid of today's verdict, only me.
Finally, finally, after enduring three hours of endless chatter, the girls were herded from their luxurious tents to the stadium. While I'd chosen the most practical of my clothing choices-- a beige tunic and black leather leggings-- it seemed that none of the other girls had the same idea. Each and every one was dressed prim and proper in the finest available to them. Even calm Dahlia was in a sapphire blue gown that changed from its rich color into white by the bottom in a stunning ombré. Her usually neatly coiled hair had been coiffed into a magnificent braided crown-like hairstyle. Though the girl didn't need a single pinch of makeup, I was pretty sure there was glitter around her eyes.
"Why so fancy?" My speech still hadn't changed into the eloquent flow that Maidens were supposed to have, keeping its country slang. Still, my accent wasn't the odd one at the camp. Dahlia's rich Northern accent was beautiful, and very unique.
Dahlia laughed, hooking her arm with mine. We were complete opposites in every way that had to do with looks, but in just eight days, we'd grown closer than I'd thought possible. "It's just tradition." She shrugged, decidedly leaving out why she knew about testing traditions and everything there was to know about sparkles.
With Gabby, our threesome was complete, and we made our way to the stands, sitting down somewhere in the center as many other girls filed in. Within thirty minutes, every space was taken up and the platform down below was occupied by the familiar figure who'd guided our testing for the past few days.
Duchess-General Genevieve Laurent was exactly what one would expect to see when first having heard her title. She was a petite woman, smaller than most of the girls here, with wrinkles, as well as a few scars, marring her face. Along with those few imperfections, she had the build and muscle of a royal guard, and the hard set to her mouth indicated to anyone that messing with her was a fatal mistake. But even with all of that... roughness to her, Laurent was a woman who had grace as she walked and spoke like a princess. She had more manners that anyone that I'd ever met before, and was the most beautiful middle-aged woman I'd ever encountered.
When she deemed everyone ready, the duchess-general cleared her throat and began to speak. She had a certain aura around her that all the hundreds of girls present fell silent the minute they saw her mouth moving.
"Our testing has finally come to an end. Many of you have powers you could never have imagined, and many others have always felt the magic inside you calling. And the rest of you, unfortunately, will never have the chance to experience what it is like to carry the honor of being a Maiden." Laurent paused, and I wondered whether she knew how every villager hated the Maiden Army, calling them sparkles and many other words that shouldn't ever be repeated. "From today, many of you will be considered a Maiden."
I took a deep breath in. Through all eight days of testing, not a single lick of magic had shown up in me, even though many of the testers, Maidens who've been around beautiful women for all their lives, have told me that I'm probably the most beautiful out of the entire year, meaning I'll have the most powerful magic. I'm glad they were wrong though. My entire life, people have been telling me that I'll be a sparkle, but maybe they were all wrong. Maybe I'm not good enough for magic, so instead of getting drafted into the army, I'll get to go home. Back to Mama and Papa.
The duchess-general began stating a long list of names, and the girls cheered after each one, like they'd been told. When Dahlia's name and Gabby's names were read off, I joined in the cheering and clapping, waving goodbye to my friends as they made their ways down to the platform where they would be given their next set of instructions by senior Maidens.
As she read off the last name on the list, Genevieve Laurent's gaze swept across the stadium, and for one chilling moment, I felt like she locked eyes with me. I took another deep breath. I don't want to be a Maiden. I'm not. I'm not. But even as the mantra went on in my head, I knew who she was talking about when Laurent went on with her speech.
"This year, there was something special that we haven't seen in ages. I wasn't even convinced that speakers were real until I met this Maiden in person. Please welcome Irène Auguste, to the special ranks of the Maiden Army."
What's a speaker? And I didn't have any magic! I'm sure the duchess-general is wrong. But even with that thought running in my head, I got up and walked down to the platform to stand next to Dahlia and Gabby. I didn't understand this, I didn't have magic, but deep in my bones, I knew that there was no way that this was a mistake. I was a destined Maiden from the beginning, and I was fated to live the life of a sparkle.
1,051 words
☽ Ophelia Lynn Northwell | i have a whole universe in my mind | Aurélie Nathalie Duval ☾
The Maiden Army
T H E - M A I D E N - A R M YTHE TASKThe Wizard | Write about a centre of learning in your setting. Is it used regularly? Do people enjoy going there?After a day of riding on the carriage train, a day of travel and close quarters, they were finally here. In Tvilla, the City of Dreams. Where fortunes were made and fame was gained, where love was found and luck was lost, where promises are met and secrets are kept. The most advanced city in all of Lyssea, and the most beautiful city in the world.
The new Maidens were allowed to look at none of the wonders of Tvilla. Instead, we were taken straight on the main road, straight to the palace, the black curtains on our carriages pulled tight so that our faces weren't seen by the commoners. It was said by all that the famous glass palace of Tvilla enchanted even those who hated magic, but when we were finally let out of the carriages, the palace looked more like a plaything than a stable structure.
With sloping walls and lofty spires, the palace was definitely a sight to behold, but not so much so that I'd want to live there forever. Yet, even so, that was my fate. "So you're telling me that an entire wing of this palace is dedicated to the Maiden Army?" My voice, like many of the other girls, was filled with the questioning tone.
Dahlia nodded. "Yes. A whole section of it is blocked off from the palace commons, just like a whole section is blocked off, just for royalty. There are thousands upon thousands of large, luxurious rooms for each and every Maiden, along with top-notch training facilities, labs, a cafeteria, among other things."
I'd learned not to ask the Northern girl where she got her information on all things Maiden Army from, though I still did occasionally wonder. I knew Dahlia was smart, but this information wasn't publicly released anywhere.
"I've heard that the men's barracks are here on the palace grounds." Gabby added, her eyes shining with excitement, just like they had been for the past nine days. Sometimes I wondered whether excited was the only look the girl possessed. "And, that they're as luxurious as a horse stable when compared to the Maiden Army quarters."
Similar pieces of gossip were being circulated among the other groups of girls as Duchess-General Genevieve Laurent led us up the palace steps and through the massive doors. The palace guards, men who would always be considered inferior to the Maiden Army's magically gifted soldiers, didn't even blink at the dozens of girls being led inside like cows.
Once inside the sprawling structure of the beautifully built palace, the duchess-general was joined by two other important figures. The man was large, with a jovial face but a hardened exterior. He wore animal furs over his jerkin and a white undershirt. And the woman was thin and tall, her face full of sharp angles and a cruel sort of beauty. The roles were made clear by the emerald-encrusted crowns which they wore on their heads. King Raphael Dumas raised his arms to the newest drafted Maidens, the look on his face unchanged, but the glint in his eye sinister.
"Out of all the women in Lyssea, you all are the most lucky. To have a future in which you are guaranteed to honor your nation and serve your people with the gifts that you have been given. Thank you for your services, thank you for your dedication, thank you." Something about the words told me that the speech had been practised, if not said to other Maidens, many times. After his short speech, Duchess-General Genevieve Laurent continued, giving the girls a quick tour as she went by describing the important spaces of the palace. The Great Hall-- where all the girls' initiations as well as other palace-run events would be held-- was that way. The Maiden cafeteria-- nicknamed the "mess" by many and the place where every sparkle got her food-- was this way. And, most importantly, the training areas-- where every new recruit Maiden would spend two months, training her gifts and honing them for war-- was right here.
When the view of the massive hall came up, everyone stopped and stared. So many women were down there, even now, pracitising away, their bodies and magic getting ready for a battle that no one knew when would come. Looking at all the fighting gear and special equipment, I could see why many of the girls thought it was an honor to be a Maiden, even though the outside world didn't agree. Because our there, a woman was a housewife, a servant girl, or, at most, a governess. Nothing more. But in here? In this glass palace, living next to royalty? It didn't matter what the commoners believed, these women were given the best of the best, more luxury than most of them had ever seen in their entire lives. Even this training room, this school for learning the arts of the deadly, was shiny and brand new, every thing replaced when even a single dent was made.
And, despite myself, even I felt a shred of pride in my soul for everything that I represented now. Power, discipline, magic.
857 words
☽ Ophelia Lynn Northwell | i have a whole universe in my mind | Aurélie Nathalie Duval ☾
The Maiden Army
T H E - M A I D E N - A R M YTHE TASKThe Barbarian | Write about an incident that would anger your character. Why would this make them angry? How do they deal with that anger?
Every Maiden had been assigned a slot in the giant room which had been affectionately nicknamed by the sparkles as the Messenger. Some were in places of more convenience, closer to the door or to a hallway, others were farther away, next to bathrooms or next to the slots of their enemies. But every slot was the same, a little area for correspondence addressed to the Maidens to be received.
I had gotten lucky with my assignment. Placed two spots above Dahlia's and eight spots left to Gabby's, mine was in the perfect place to speak to my closest Maiden friends. Having been here for just over a month, we'd all slid into the routine of the Academy, and today was our day to check the Messenger.
Gabby came from a well-known family in Rhesen, but even she hadn't fared well in childhood. Having parents who believed completely in the sparkle nonsense that fed many of the commoner towns, they spoke to their daughter only when it was required and gave her none of the comforts that they themselves enjoyed. However, she still came out to become a sweet girl with a taste for justice. Dahlia on the other hand received letters from her family almost every week, all of them from her younger brother and single mother, each one containing plenty of questions. Still, the careful way in which the girl opened them suggested that she, too, hadn't had the most normal childhood home life. I, on the other hand, found a surprise in my slot every time I checked. From long letters signed by Papa to baked goods courtesy of Mama, and even a dress that Mama had stitched for me. After realising how lucky I was, I felt like hiding my surprises from my friends, so as not to evoke their jealousy.
"Mistress Gaia has already taught me so much," Gabby was saying as we neared our separate slots, but my mind was elsewhere as it always seemed to be these past few days. Unlike Gabby, I wasn't having much luck with my own Maiden instructor, though Mistress Marceline thought otherwise. No, my thoughts weren't of my magical studies, they were of the sweet-faced noble boy who Dahlia and I had encountered on our little picnic excursion.
Sensing my mind's wandering state, Dahlia turned to me with a mischievous smile, eyes sparkling. "What are you thinking about, Irène? Or, should I say who?" Her voice was completely innocent as she said it, but I knew she could practically see the images of him flashing in my mind.
Gabby perked up, her eyes picking up the same glint. "Irène? You have a special someone back home?" Her voice was sing-songy, and I narrowed my eyes, though my mouth curved up in a little smile.
"No," I answered truthfully. "No special anyones." The boy's face, his melted caramel skin and dark brown eyes, flashed again. He wasn't handsome, per say, but his features weren't ugly, more plain in their beauty. One couldn't find his real looks if they weren't looking. And I looked. She shushed the thought.
The girls opened up each of their respective slots. Gabby's eyes searching for a familial letter, Dahlia's for some shred of real affection, and mine for... I didn't really know what I was looking for. But the pale silken envelope, better quality than my businessman father could afford, was not it. Looking up, I saw that Gabby held the same envelope in her own hands. I turned to Dahlia, finding that she held a similar one, though her's was a blood red, not pale white.
"Wha-" I picked it up, turning it over. "Dahlia? What could this be?"
The girl, who I considered at this point to be the expert in all things Maiden, shrugged, the motion as elegant as her features. But something about the set of her full lips told me otherwise. She knew.
Gabby ripped open the letter. She'd never showed any restraint in her excitement. I watched as her eyes scanned the page eagerly, then she looked up with a smile. "It's good news. Very good news. Go on, read it, Irène."
I nodded, though something in my stomach rolled. This didn't feel good. I opened my own envelope and read its contents. And when I was done, it didn't feel like good news. I felt anger in the pit of my stomach. The same anger I'd been feeling for this entire month, at different points of time, but this time was strongest.
"It's mandatory? Competing is mandatory?" I bit out.
Dahlia, who'd by then already opened her own envelope, shook her head. "I don't have to. I'm..." She paused. "A distant relative of the royal bloodline. I can't. But you and Gabby can. Imagine-"
The anger in my stomach only grew. She didn't get it. Dahlia didn't get it. "They're even choosing who we can marry? It's not enough that I'll never see my parents ever again, but they must take away this too. I don't want the prince's hand in marriage. It doesn't matter if I'm the strongest or not. I don't want to." The boy's face was still in my mind.
Dahlia looked at me with an expression I couldn't decipher. Her dark eyes blinked, and she hesitated for just a moment before sighing. "I know, Irène, I know."
894 words
☽ Ophelia Lynn Northwell | i have a whole universe in my mind | Aurélie Nathalie Duval ☾
The Maiden Army
T H E - M A I D E N - A R M YTHE TASKThe Druid | Write about an animal/from the perspective of an animal that passes through your setting. Is it local to this area?
in the perspective of a crow that lives on a tree in the royal palace gardens
This is the third time I've seen them two here, up in my home. Usually, I'd squawk at them until they leave-- I do have little baby birds to protect from harm, you know-- but something about these two tells me that no matter how loud I squawked, or how close I got to them, they wouldn't notice anything but each other's eyes.
That's all they've been doing the past two visits, and this one seems much the same. They're speaking, in low voices that I don't understand, but they're eyes don't leave each other. Brown eyes meet grey ones, and they don't leave. It's like they're both entranced in each other, and they don't even notice anything else.
I watch, my wings spread wide to cover up my nest from view. The last thing I need is for my little chicks to come to harm, but watching them is more for my entertainment. They are what those humans call "lovebirds," I can tell. It is in the way that their hands find each other without them meaning to, and the way their shoulders brush, intentionally but they'll never admit it. The way they keep their eyes locked, and the way they keep coming here, to the solitude of my tree, to meet.
Today, I take the selfish risk and fly down to a lower branch, hiding in the black shadows created by the leaves to watch intently as the humans discussed whatever it was.
But something is off today. The girl's eyes are no longer just full of hidden love, but also hurt and anger. She is scared, I can tell. Scared of something that has to do with the boy. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me that you're not who you said you are? I-I would've understood." There was a pause, a sniffle. "You said... you said you loved me."
Interesting. I cocked my head to the side. The boy is desperate. He will do anything for the girl, he will do anything to get to her. Anything to keep her. "I was scared. No one wants a boy like me. Nicolas is the boy I want to be, the one who you deserve. Prince Lyam? I am nothing but a coward, but that part is true. I love you."
The girl wants nothing more than to lean into his shoulder, to cry and scream and laugh and love. There is so much that she wants to do with the boy, see with him. But she knows that he is right. Would she have fallen in love with him had he told her who he was? Not Nicolas, the advisor's youngest son, but Prince Lyam of Lyssea. I step closer, waiting, just like the boy for the girl's answer.
Neither of us has to wait long. She takes a breath and begins. "I love you, too. I'm telling my heart, no, don't do it, but it wants to trust you and I can't do anything now. Because I love you, Nicolas or Lyam or whoever you are. So I will win this competition or whatever it is, I will do whatever it takes, and I will win your hand in marriage. Because I want nothing more than to be yours."
I flew back up to my nest as the two young people kissed, their hands entwined once more. I knew it would all work out. Those two had love in their eyes from the first moment. I just hoped that after the
girl won whatever this competition was, both of them would leave me and my tree alone.
604 words
☽ Ophelia Lynn Northwell | i have a whole universe in my mind | Aurélie Nathalie Duval ☾
The Maiden Army
T H E - M A I D E N - A R M YTHE TASKThe Bard | Write about a performance that occurs in your setting. Are performances common to see? Are the performers local to the area, or have they travelled to perform here?
"I want to show you something."
That's what Lyam said the night before, his eyes sparkling. He'd never looked so excited in all the weeks that I've known him, and I couldn't suppress my own answering bubbles of glee even if I wanted to. I was never a romantic, never enjoyed those sob-story romance novels Papa managed to find for Mama instead of flower bouquets. I'd always considered myself independent, able to survive on my own, yet something about Lyam, from the moment I first met him, made me love him, from head to toe.
"Dress nice," He'd said. "Meet me by our lemon tree."
After the entirety of my room-- consisting of Dahlia and Gabby-- was out cold, I peeled my eyes open and climbed out of bed. I'd picked an outfit earlier in the day, Dahlia's eyes scrutinising my every move, though she didn't deign to comment. The dress was the fanciest one provided by the Maiden Army, which, honestly, wasn't much at all compared to what Lyam must believe was "nice." A tight fitting black bodice with a full black skirt, which somehow managed to hug my hips, that ended with tips of white lace. The sleeves were long and made of the most comfortable satin, while the neckline and back dropped lower than I'd known was possible. I felt exposed in that dress, and yet, after applying some of Gabby's shimmering dark powder to my eyes, some rouge to my lips and cheeks, and other cosmetics, I looked like a real damsel. Like a mysterious girl, a girl deserving of a court behind her and a royal for a husband.
Taking a deep breath, I'd started for the lemon tree Lyam and I had deemed ours. It was a beautiful thing, quite large for its species bearing almost no fruit. It was hard to even believe that it was, indeed, a lemon tree unless, like Lyam and I, one had made the painstaking journey to the top of the plant and enjoyed some of the sweetest lemons to have ever existed. The tree was a sight to behold every day that I made the journey there, but today... today it was beautiful for a different reason altogether.
Lyam stood in front of the tree wearing a tailcoat black as midnight with an almost transparent white undershirt and shining black boots. His hair, often left messy, had been combed back for tonight, though his eyes were still wild as he took in my own appearance.
"Irène..." His voice was thick, and when I neared him, his hands wound around my waist, pulling me closer until our foreheads met. Lyam's eyes danced, wild and untamed, the only part of him that was allowed to be so. "Irène, I know everyone's told you this before, but you are the most beautiful woman in the world." His grin was downright devilish, and it sent the most lovely chills down my back. "And I'm glad that you're mine."
He bent forward, only just an inch was between us now, and yet it felt like too much. I could feel his breath on my mouth, hot. He took me in for a second more before plunging right into my mouth, his kiss the strongest I'd been given yet. And when he pulled back, that fire in his eyes only deepened, only grew.
"I love you too, Lyam." My face beamed. Everyone saw a fragile girl in my face, saw a girl who could break beyond recognition, who could shatter. But that was not the girl who I was. And only few saw that. Mama, Dahlia, Gabby, and now, Lyam. I was stronger than most realised, than most would ever know. "Now, where are we going?"
Sheepishly, the crowned prince let go of my waist, though his hands snaked down my arm and twined into mine. I let his larger fingers into the gaps of my own, loving the feel of those soft fingers, untouched by the outside world. This Lyam was mine. He was ignorant and an idiot, he was kind and supportive, and he was mine.
"Come on, Irène. Let's go." We walked through the royal gardens. Once, the hum of the insects, and quiet bustling of the ever-working servants of the palace, all of it would've bugged me. I would never have taken this boy, this boy that I loved, in my arms and kissed him. But since then I've realised many things. If you leave the world alone, in this magical time called midnight, then it will leave you alone right back.
"Where are we going?" I didn't mind the surprise. I didn't mind the not-knowing. But I loved hearing him talk, my Lyam. I loved watching his lips move, watching the starlight glint off his perfect brown eyes.
The prince's answering smile lit up his whole face, just for a second. "Shhh, it's a surprise." We neared the end of the gardens, where one of five guard gates to the outside world was present. Here, a uniformed man greeted us with a knowing smirk, his eyes going first to our entwined fingers, then to our blushing red cheeks.
"Your Highness, the carriage has been siphoned. It is here, ready." The man's voice, if not his hooded face, was easily recognisable as Éliott's, the one palace guard who I'd managed to acquaint myself with.
--
After a mostly silent ride, Lyam and I exited the carriage in front of what looked like a fine establishment, though the words on the sign were peeling. "A theater?" My questioning glance was only met with another "shhhhh" from Lyam.
We walked through the ornate doors, and we found ourselves in a box seat. "This is my all-time favourite play. It's the one thing I got in my fancy life that you didn't in yours. The one superior thing." He winked, and a laugh escaped my lips, which he in turn captured with his own.
Eventually, it began, and we fell back into our comfortable silence. I was never one for silences, finding the need always to fill in the gaps, but with Lyam, it's different. I know we are both in the same world, and that we are together. He won't drift away from me, no matter how long we are silent.
The play is, as Lyam said, beautiful. About a girl driven from her village because of war, then captured by the enemy forces. As a prisoner, she is forced to work as a servant girl to the enemy queen, but is shown kindness by the prince. As the girl tries to talk the prince into helping save her people and herself, she finds herself falling in love with him. During one particularly steamy scene, all the lovers in the room kissed along with the couple onstage, including Lyam and I. And then, tearfully, we watched as the girl and the prince's romance was found out by the queen, and the girl was locked up in a faraway tower unknown to the prince. But then, the prince avenged his lover by betraying his country and saving her people and combining their kingdoms because the foreign king and queen were dead. In the last scene, the prince at last finds his love, and asks the girl to marry him.
By the end, I'm in tears, and I'm leaning into Lyam. "Do you think that'll happen to us?" That's my fear, why it's always been so hard for me to give out my love. What if we're ripped apart, like that girl and her prince?
Something in Lyam's wild eyes changes for a moment, flashes. I watch him as he leans closer, kissing my forehead quickly before pulling back to study my face, assessing my fear.
"No. You will win, Irène. With everything I have, everything I am, I know it. Deep down. You will win and then we will be together. For real."
1321 words
☽ Ophelia Lynn Northwell | i have a whole universe in my mind | Aurélie Nathalie Duval ☾