The Daughter of Darkness and Light

“Poor dear. She barely touched her food. I wonder how much longer until she finds out,” one of the maids muses as she gathers up the dishes. 

“If she hasn’t figured it out by now she never will. Just look at her!” A second adds. “But the Queen is set on keeping her in the dark for as long as she can.” 

“And when she does find out there won’t be much reason for her to stay here.”

“A good thing too. Then maybe the King will be able to relax for once.” The two laugh and continue to gossip as they clean. 

A knot forms in my stomach as I hide behind the wall that opens to the dining room. There the maids go blabbing about me again; they’re never exactly “quiet” when they are. How could anyone believe these lies about my heritage? I can't. There’s no way it's true. 

That's what I keep telling myself; I repeat the words over and over in my head as I climb the stairs.  Over the years the rumors have spread like a plague. All anyone in the kingdom ever talks about is me, the Queen’s youngest daughter. Nothing was supposed to leave the palace; not a soul was supposed to know I existed. But somehow breath of me got out, someone couldn’t keep the secret to themselves, and I’ve been confined to the castle ever since. My parents couldn’t risk it; things would grow worse if people’s suspicions were proven true. One look at me and everyone would know. 

Even my own family questions who I am. My father can’t stand the sight of me at times. He regards my older sister, Corinth, with love and affection. To him, she’s the perfect daughter: the well-rounded, well-read, scholarly, eldest child. Many days she roams the streets mingling with her subjects, as she likes to call them. She’s not that much older than me, but she’s already eyeing our mother’s crown.

Father doesn’t scold her for it, though. He’s so proud of his daughter. How she’s already on her way to becoming a remarkable queen. How she’s so beautiful and talented and everything a ruler should be: poised, elegant, and confident. It’s like my mother doesn’t exist. But then again, neither do I, in their eyes. 

And Corinth, the sister who was my best friend, now turns me away as if I’m a stranger. We used play together in the playroom all those years ago; we used to do everything together. The two of us were practically twins, inseparable. Both of us have shining white hair and sparkling gold eyes; we look like mini versions of our mother. That was until black streaks appeared in mine a few years ago, contrasting the pure white. Soon after, flecks of ruby plagued my pure, gleaming, golden eyes. No wonder the whisperers say I’m a monster; one look sends people running.

 Once this happened, my father starting separating us. I now play alone; not even the servants go near me. I always wait for Corinth to come back. I believe that somehow she’ll get a moment to sneak off and see me, that I might be able to have a fragment of what we used to share together. However, she’s never come; not one knock at my door.

When she lays eyes upon me, a disgusted look paints her face. Being in the same room as me is a sin; she’ll do whatever it takes to avoid me. At meals, she is civil for our parents’ sake, but when we’re alone, her inner beast comes out. The other day she yelled at me for helping out one of the cooks in the kitchen, screeching about how I’d give the entire castle my “disease.”

I don't understand how her and Father believe all those nasty rumors. There's no way I'm the daughter of the two most powerful people in the universe, the daughter of the King of Darkness and the Queen of Light. A being able to manipulate the elements that created the world and made life. It's unheard of. Souls of angels can’t have both; my mother told me herself.

I feel like she’s the only one who sees me for who I really am. When Father and Corinth avoid me, she comforts me. She makes me feel like I’m not alone, like I’m not a stranger in my own home. But she’s never allowed me to be seen outside the palace. I’m not permitted to walk the streets with her, Father, or Corinth. She claims it’s because I’m not old enough yet, which is a lie; Corinth has been seen in public since she was born. Deep down, I know she believes what they do: That I’m a monster on the inside, that there’s darkness in my heart.

Yet, I haven't shown a single sign of having any powers. Corinth said hers appeared around my age, eight-years-old. I must be a later bloomer, then, because during lessons I haven’t been able to manipulate anything, neither darkness nor light. Maybe I'll get lucky and have neither; the throwaway child who has no powers. Yeah, that could be me. Then nobody would have anything to be paranoid about.  

I don’t know why these rumors bug me so much. Gavreel and Roselyn Anora, the King and Queen of Light, are my parents; the purest and divine angels in the universe. Neither of them has any darkness in their hearts. So, I, Hannatine Anora, shouldn't either. Right?

I stop in front of the library instead of heading down the hall toward my room. I thought I heard Corinth tell Father she was going to catch up on her reading before Maion’s lessons. The oak doors are intimidating; my heart slams against my chest as I take a step forward. Please don’t push me away. 

Knock, knock. "Corinth?"

She groans from the other side. "What?" she snaps, clearly annoyed. 

"Can I come in?" I ask. My hand trembles as it hovers over the golden knob. 

She’s silent for a moment. "You have one minute, and one minute only. You hear me?" 

My heart is filled with joy as I push the doors open. I haven’t gotten to talk to her much between my studies. I hardly see her at all and we live in the same palace. Maybe after all this time, we can reconnect; we can be a family once again. It’ll be like before all the nasty rumors spread, before anything was wrong with me.

 Corinth is sitting in one of the plush white armchairs in the center of the room, the fireplace crackling behind her. A thick leather book with silver text covers her face. 

Her golden eyes pierce mine as she peers over the pages. "Didn't I tell you not to go near me, Hannatine?" 

My hands tremble as I shut the door behind me. I take a couple steps toward her, making sure not to get too close. "I-I thought you only did that for Father’s sake." 

She closes the book, sending dust particles into the air. Her gaze is cold and her body is rigid. "Number one, he's not your Father. He’s mine. And two, he's told me about you, who you really are." 

I can feel my heart shattering; I can barely breathe. “I-I’m your sister. It’s me, Hannatine,” I stammer.

She sneers and flares her nostrils. “Barely.”

"What about the old days? We used to do everything together." I frown. ”Remember? We used to play with dolls in the playroom. We used to…do everything together…” 

"That was before father informed me of your tainted blood," she snaps. 

"It's not!" I argue. I’m tired of him and everyone else I meet saying that; I’m as much of a princess as she is. All people ever do is hide me away and talk behind my back.

"Oh really?" she says, standing up.

I can’t help but flinch; the look in her eyes is menacing. 

"Then why are there black streaks in your hair?" 

My face turns red with embarrassment. "I-I don't know..."

"Exactly.” Her words are cold and sharp, piercing my chest. She sets the book down on the round table next to her and walks past me. “That proves your soul is impure.”  

"Hey! Where are you going?" I turn to face her.

Corinth doesn't bother to look back at me. "To study with Maion. I have a lot of lessons to catch up on, being the future Queen and all. Besides, the library's ruined now that you’re here." 

"Corinth!" I cry. I grab her wrist before she can take another step. "Please, don't go. You’re all I have. You’re my big sister. I need you." 

Her eyes are daggers; they stab my chest, piercing my heart. A disgusted, horrified look paints her face. "Don't you touch me, you mutt!" she screeches as she yanks her arm out of my grasp, giving me one last death stare before attempting to leaving again. 

"Why won't you listen to me?" I slam my foot on the ground as hard as I can. 

Darkness splatters across the floor, staining the white carpet. I now stand in the center of a black abstract sun. My legs are completely black, the bottom of my skirt too. Even my fingers have globs of dark aura on them. My skin is tingling. A thousand tiny needles pinch my nerves. Where...where did this come from?

 Some darkness reaches Corinth. Her shoes and the back of her legs are painted black and a few specs land in her hair and on her clothes. She turns toward me slowly. Her eyes are wide with horror and shock. A moment later they're as sharp as knives again.

 "I knew it!” she shrieks. “Look at what you did!" She gestures to the mess I made. "Father is right: you do have darkness in your heart. Daddy!"  With that, she leaves, slamming the door behind her, leaving me alone with my “mess.” 

I can hear her scream for our parents as she barrels down the hall. I peer down at the floor. It’s as if I spilled black paint everywhere. My hands are still gleaming with darkness. Tiny black sparkles escape my fingertips and evaporate into the air. I try desperately to wipe them on my skirt; I have to get rid of them somehow. But all that does is leave a dark smudge on the white fabric. It’s not going away… 

Please. . .someone. . .please, help me turn this curse off. . .

Tears swell behind my eyes as I sink to the floor. What's going on? Why is there…darkness coming from my hands? Why is this happening? I'm not evil, I swear. I’m an angel; I’m like Corinth, right? We’re sisters, we have the same mother… 

Worried voices and running feet echo from down the hall. Mother, father, and Maion are all probably on their way to see me, to see that the kingdom's suspicions are true. That I do have darkness in my heart. I am the King of Darkness' daughter.