Magical Misfortunes

My name is Astra. I am the daughter of Starellius Serenco, a mage. In his mind, the greatest that ever was. I am given to understand that if you slay two hundred ogres at one shot, that you are some form of hero. My dad is no hero, trust me. He gets faint at the sight of his own blood. His list of achievements beyond the ogres are linked to others that were with him. This group of "heroes" are nothing more than his weekend drinking buddies who got lucky one night. He met my mother, Lyra, while he was on on of these "Save the world for imminent destruction" missions. My mother tells me that he spent two years courting her before she consented to marry him. She didn't have so much as a pinprick of mage blood in her veins, but he loved her all the same, so they both say. Two more years pass and I come screaming into the world. I am their only child due to the birthing complications. I am sure my father wishes sometimes, as all men do, that I was a son instead of a daughter. So I have been much spoiled while I grew. Any tome of knowledge I wanted, any flower I wanted to pick, it was mine. My father was firmly wrapped around my finger tip. Until I got a boyfriend.

Corenthus and I met while I was selling my fresh caught flowers in town. It was a festival week, so the town was decorated with ribbons and the shouts of laughter rising over the music. I have always been allowed to go to town by myself. I had been doing so since I was six and could ride my own pony. Now I have a lovely mare with a large white blaze. I am wandering now. I was selling my flowers when I met him. He was tall as a mountain and just as wide. He had bright blonde hair and laughing green eyes. He stopped by my flowers and bought all of them. "For my lady love," he had said. I didn't know my heart had plunged to my feet until he presented me with all of the flowers, and asked me to dance. I had never deigned to dance with anyone before at the festival. The boys I had grown up with had already set their caps for other maidens of the village. Besides, I was Starellius' daughter, who would dare his ire to ask me to dance? Corenthus did. He didn't care who I was or that I was the daughter of the great mage. He only cared to swirl me around the wooden dance floor. The stares of the townsfolk as we danced lessened until we were just another young couple among many. When the band took a break, we went to buy some lemoned-water.

That's when everything was ruined. My father shot down out of the sky on a lightning bolt. His face was red as he beheld the man touching his daughter. "Go Home!" He muttered to me, though it wasn't even a command. He had waved his hands and I vanished, reappearing in my room. I stormed down the stairs, tears pooling behind my eyes. "Mother! You won't believe what father has done!" I shouted as my gentle mother came from the hearth-fire to see why I was shouting so. I ran right into her arms and cried out the whole story. "Father is so unfair! I need to go back, maybe Corenthus..." I said. My mother shook her head softly. "Your father is doing what is best for you. You know he has enemies, and he cannot be sure that someone won't try to hurt him through you. This young man may be what he says, but he may not. Your father is like any other father in this land. He doesn't want to admit you have grown into a lovely young woman. You are your father's daughter after all." She said soothingly. When I was calm, she let me leave the house, and I went back to town to find out what had happened.

Father and Corenthus were in a circle of people, staring at each other. I was heartened to see that Corenthus had not left when my father arrived. I pushed my way through the crowd until I was at my father's side. "Can I not choose on my own whom I will pursue? You did. You have mother. Go home, father. Let me enjoy my dance."