12 years ago...

A small ship docks in the harbor, deep in the night, as the moon is at its highest point. The ship is silent, and no light emanates from the ships interior. A figure steps out from the hull, looking around at his surroundings. The figure is shaded, tall and male in stature and build. Details are hazy because he is encased in shadow. Only his eyes, amber and catlike, are able to be seen. He looks around, apparently observing the surroundings for danger and anything that might had to be dealt with at that moment. When he sees none, he beckons behind him and from the shadows of the hull emerges a small figure. The figure is wearing a hood, so their features are indistinguishable, except for the long, silvery blonde hair that peeked from underneath, and the glowing, dark jade eyes that shined from underneath.

"Is it safe, Vindex?" the figure asks, her voice high and ringing.

"It is M'Lady. But remove not your hood yet. We must get to our temporary residence. We mustn't let anyone see us."

With that, the figure grabs the small, hooded girl and jumps off the ship. As he does, the figure drops three items onto the deck and lands on the pier. He unties the ship and pushes it out to the main water, using his strength to its fullest. The ship doesn't take much effort, being expertly made of thin but very strong and airtight wood harvested from the Island they came from. As the Ship enters the main waters, the items dropped on the deck burst and ignite in a dark green fire, Hellfire. It quickly and hastily burns up the ship, taking everything on it to the watery depths. And so, in five short minutes, the ship is nothing but ashes in the water, leaving the two figures alone on the dock, watching the embers fade away.

"I still do not understand why we did this." the girl asks, sounding almost sad under her hushed tone.

"I have explained, it would be necessary. The boat if left would be unregistered in the docking charts, meaning they would investigate. Now, they would not have found much, but the wood of the boat could be traced back to our Homeland. And so, we had to burn it."

The girl is silent, staring off over the water, but finally sighs.

"Very Well, let us be off Vindex. We have much work to do."

And with that, they make their way to the town outskirts, the place where they would make their home. As they arrive, the sun is coming up, revealing that the male figure is pure Black, a sign of being a Living Dead, and so his skin is charred black, with no sign of life coursing through his veins, but his soul remains intact and inside the once dead mortal. Meanwhile, as they enter the house they purchased and close the door behind them, the girl strips her cloak off, revealing a young, thin girl, with fair white hair and black, soulful eyes. Her pointed ears were pierced with a silver metal, glimmering in the rising sunlight.

She looked around, noticing how bare the place was, but the few items there was enough for a living area. There was nothing personal, at least nothing to the point of pictures or would indicate who exactly was living there. Nothing the place held would tattle on them. They were safe, at the moment.

"... Vindex... Do you think they will find us...?" The young girl turned to her guardian, a hint of fear in her otherwise steady voice. "Do you think the... the Venandi... will find us?"

"I can honestly say that I am uncertain. I do not believe so. Although why they hunt us still I know not. They have chased us since we killed their Mayor. I would think we did them a favor, with how evil that man was. Not that we are any better."

"Not everyone appreciates freedom." the girl says, sitting down.

"But, I do believe we have lost them. We shall stay here for a while, then try to make our way home once more. At least, once we get a bearing on what we are here to do, as well as what will be the best time to strike."

And with that, Vindex and the girl stayed in the shadows of the home.The girl would occasionally make trips into town to purchase things they needed. One day, she overhears something interesting as she purchases some fish.

"Did you hear what happened two days ago?" a woman gasps.

"No, what happened?" her friend asks, intrigued.

Meg turns her attention to the two elderly, gossiping women, hiding her focus.

"Apparently a castle worker was attacked in broad daylight, right here in the town square."

"Oh gods, were they alright?" the shorter one asks

"He was healed by the queen herself, but he'll suffer some damage. That's for sure."

"Do we know what happened?" the shorter one gossips further.

"Not at all. The younger Princess, Regina, saw it happen and blocked all view to protect the worker, as well as kept things hush hush."

"Oh my, that's interesting. So no one knows what really happened?"

"No, but I heard the worker attacked was only a young boy. He was lucky."

"Indeed. I hope the castle takes good care of that boy. A young child doesn't deserve to have that happen."

Meg is shaken at this news, and in a weird way. A Castle worker, almost killed? And a young boy at that? Did the attacker mistake the boy for a prince? Many questions race through Megs mind as she returns home and tells Vindex. Vindex is interested, finding the news strange.

"Would you like me to find out more?" He asks.

"No, I do not think I need you to. We'll surely learn more as time passes."

Within the next week, Meg had gotten sick and was unable to watch the execution, but the next day she returned to market and learned the fate of the attacker.

"That man who attacked the worker was executed. Good riddance. The nerve of attacking a Castle Worker. The criminal deserved what he got. It's only a shame we all didn't get to see it." The fruit merchant told her.

After the execution news and after the excitement faded, she had forgotten all about it. Then, a few years passed by without much issue.

Nine years earlier...

Meg crouched in a field, looking through the flowers. There was a specific flower she needed, and it was hard to differentiate from the yellow flowers normally in the field. Unfortunately, she only had her mother's notes to go off of. She is so busy, she never hears the footsteps approaching her.

"Hey, what are you doing?" a voice startles her.

She starts, turning and launching an Umbra spell. The figure behind her moves slightly and the spell misses. When she is fully turned around, her eyes focus on the young boy before her. He looks about her age. He has long, unkempt, bright blonde hair that frame a small, perfectly fairy like face. His eyes are of two colors; The open skies in one and the fertile fields of grass in the other. He wears a small smile, and looks at Meg curiously. He wears a simple black tunic with brown trousers and moccasins. Around his shoulders is a dark, jade cloak.

"What you looking for?" He asks kindly.

Meg calms down a moment and huffs.

"It's none of your business." she growls.

"Are you looking for anything in specific?" he inquires.

"I already said, it's none of your business." she growls further.

She turns and continues her search, ignoring the boy. There's a deep silence before the boy speaks once more.

"Are you looking for Arria Meldeniras? Cause that's not the place to find it."

Meg stops and turns to look at the boy in angry shock.

"What did you just say?"

"I asked if you were looking for Arria Meldeniras. Unless you just call it Terror Bloom like most."

He sits and grins at the girl who just stares, surprised, before her look turns sour and she crosses her arms.

"How do you know about that sprout?"

"The library at home. It has several books on plants, dangerous and safe. It also indicates how to find it and what it looks like. And you're searching the wrong patch of flowers for it. You'll find it directly on the outer lines of the field. It likes to grow close to trees. You can identify it by a light, lavender ring on the petals. Hard to see unless you look for it."

This boy is strange, Meg thinks to herself.

"What's your name?" She asks cautiously.

"Notus, Notus Roland."

"Well, Novice, it was nice to meet you, but I have to go get those flowers." Her tone was sarcastic and attacking, a tone she learned from her father to make sure those around her knew their place.

She can see a feeling of pain cross his face which makes her happy, and she walks off to the edge of the field. Just as he said they would be, she finds the flowers and begins to pluck them.

"You know, that's a good flower, but if you want something really good, use a mixture of Belladonna and a mushroom called Mulldew. It will kill in five minutes, but makes the victim experience intense, burning pain and cause muscle spasms and loss of motor functions."

Meg freezes, shocked, and looks up to see the boy standing before her.

"Or you could use Nightcaps and the fruit of a Snapvine. If you want it to be quick, a nightcap will do it, but if you want slow and torturous, use that combination. It'll paralyze them, cause them to lose the ability to control their bowels and their breathing, and will cause them to go blind before bleeding from the eyes begins and they suffer a total collapse and die."

Meg can't help but stare at the boy before her in shock. This boy looks so sweet, so innocent, not touched by any darkness, but his knowledge of dangerous and deadly poisons is so in depth that she can't help wonder who this boy is.

"How do you know so much?"

"Oh, I spend a lot of time reading. It's just something I enjoy doing."

"Who are you exactly?" she asks, lost.

"I'm no one really. Unless, you really want to know who I am, if you have the time."

Her curiosity gets the better of her and she nods. They talk and she learns that Notus is the son of the Royal Consort, and she learns of his history. His father was the Royal Mancer to the King, and he tried to take over the Kingdom, and failed. His mother and him were only spared because she was unaware and he was a day old, but his father was executed.

"My mother and I are not looked upon kindly by most of the kingdom, so I have to hide myself when I come into town. We're not very popular, but the people don't want to risk angering the Royal family by speaking bad about us in public."

"And this caused you to read about poisons?"

"Not just poisons, I've read on many things. I'm also a Mancer."

And with that, he shows his gifts, fire and ice, as well as his powers over light.

"You're an Omnimancer?"

"Yeah. Apparently there's very few in the world. I got lucky I guess. But that doesn't matter. So, what business do you have searching for poisons?"

"I plan to kill the Royal Family, and take over to get revenge for my parents."

Meg is purely ready to kill this boy, especially if he shows any signs of being ready to kill her, harm her, or foil her plans. But he just sits there and nods.

"That'll be very difficult. I assume you know a lot about the Royal Family?"

His reaction surprises her but she nods.

"I know enough to know that it will be very difficult. It'll take a lot of time, and a lot more power for me to achieve. I don't plan to use poisons, it's just for other things."

"Well, at least you know. I wish you the best of luck."

"You're not going to stop me?" Meg asks, confused.

"Why would I?" Notus asks, playful.

"Well, you work for the Castle. I would assume you would try and do something to stop my plans."

"Well, I have no love for the Kingdom, and I have no love for the Royal Family. My mother is loyal to the Family, and I have connections to many in the Castle, yes, but I care not for this life. I would join you if I could honestly."

His response is not what she had expected, and Notus can tell, chuckling lightly..

"Not exactly what you had expected to hear, was it? Well, I must be going. Good luck."

He walks away, leaving Meg to her thoughts. As she finishes gathering the flowers and heads home, she decides that this boy could be a good ally, especially since he worked in the castle. The next day, she returns to the field and waits there. Time passes, but Notus does not show. Just as she was ready to leave, Notus appeared from the treeline with a grin.

"I figured you'd be here again. I had a feeling."

"Would you like to join me?" Meg asks, certain.

"I thought you'd never ask honestly. If you like, I can teach you some of my Mancery, and maybe you can teach me some of yours."

And with that, Notus and Meg became good friends.