Chapter 1: Early childhood

   Ever since I was born I knew that I was different. I could not fly like others and I always feel ill very easily. My parents barely visited me, letting one of the maids take care of me. 

   She looked old and always had an angry face when looking at me, but she was the one that was always teaching me how to use the spoon, toilet and how to read. 

   Some time after my third birthday, which I spent alone in my room, as the rest of the family attended some kind of ceremony, my nanny took me outside to the playground. 

   As I approached the boys and girls playing tag, both on ground and in the air and joined in, running away from the tag with a smile on my face. For the first time I felt happy, but as I got tagged and I couldn't tag them back, they found out I could not fly and started yelling and scanding "Flightless! Freak!"

   Looking around I saw that the adults were looking at me, as if I had done something bad and angry, I felt my tears coming out and I ran away crying. 

   As I ran towards the closest alley, where I had hidden behind a dumpster and cried for a while as silently as I could. Why was I different? Why did nobody like me? 

   As I stood up from behind the dumpster I heard the voice of my nanny saying "You done? We need to get back to the palace and I really don't want to haul crying brat back there. Why do they bother with you, I don't know, but at least they pay well".

   After going back I was punished with a forbidding of going into the playground anymore until I was ten, due to unsightly behavior such as crying publicly, while being the first princess of warrior culture was one of the biggest shames, especially during the war, that we had with citadel. 

   Halfway to my fifth birthday I heard the news that my mother, the queen, was pregnant with a child, after seeing her with a bloated stomach and asking "Mother why is your stomach so big?" 

   "Well Komand'r, my stomach is big because I am pregnant and in around three months I will give birth to your baby sibling. Now I need to go and rest on the plaza". 

   With these words her mother Luand'r continued her way through the palace leaving me alone. 

   Will my new sibling be treated the same way as me? Or will it take everything that I have and replace me? I hope that one day I will be happy, as even my black hair is seen as a bad omen. 

   Going back to my room I sat and started practicing my mathematics, since one day with physics it could help me make something that could allow me to fly like others. Maybe then they will at least respect me. 

   As three months went fast I was called with the rest of the family to the nursery to meet my to be born younger sister. 

   Arriving there I saw my father already holding my mother's hand gently, as the nurse was kneeling on one leg between mother's legs and assisting in the birth process. 

   The sun was lighting everything up, so the UV rays would help in recovery and recovering strength, between pushes. 

   "It is almost there. One more push and your daughter is out. Keep going my queen". 

   "You heard that wife. One more push and we will have our beautiful daughter Koriand'r in your hands". 

   "Ahhh!" 

   "She's out! Look she even has a couple auburn hairs on top of her head". The nurse said, giving the bloodied loudly crying child to my mother, while she was watching in the background. 

   "Hello little Koriand'r." my father said while smiling all the time and watching his new daughter. 

   The nurse ushered me outside while saying loudly "The child should rest now with her parents" and when we passed the doors she added silently so only I could hear this "and we don't want your curse to affect princess Koriand'r". 

   Sadly going back to my room I realized what I saw from my parents to my new sister is a love. Something I never had shown to me. 

   Within an hour the birth of a new princess was announced publicly and people celebrated. Unlike when I have my birthday anniversary, where they mourn. I hate it. 

   Couple of days passed with my parents taking care of Koriand'r and working, while I was learning more. At least my room was far away enough that I didn't even hear my sister crying either night or day. Also my meals were delivered to my room, so I didn't have to walk more than half of the palace to reach the dinner, where my family ate everyday. At least the library was close, just two floors under my room in the same tower. 

   I barely interacted with my family for the next five years, where they pulled all their attention and love on my sister. I started to really hate my sister, since she was given everything that was denied to me. During one of the lessons I also managed to find out why people hate me. It is all the Citadel empire's fault. They attacked and executed the whole city in my name, when I was just born and we Tamarians prioritize hearts more than facts and logic. Ever since that I decided to start reading military books and found out a really amazing thing. Genius tacticians were always respected and wanted. 

You are reading story The surviving Blackfire at novel35.com

   After inheriting the throne as the great tactician, people would respect me, without rebellions taking place to place my younger sister there. Our society respects skill, despite being a peaceful culture, due to our warrior heritage. 

   One day my sister found me on the way to the library, flew to me and asked "who are you?" 

   "I am your older sister Komand'r. Now go back to your parents Koriand'r." I made a shoing motion with my hand as I continued my way there to read more about famous generals as it became my hobby in free time. 

   Despite my attempts at getting her away, she just annoyingly continued to fly next to me while asking more questions and attempting to find answers. 

   "If you are my sister, then why have I never seen you before? Are you a loner perhaps? Also you must be living very far from my parents and me since I explored that part of the palace and I didn't find you. Also why don't you just fly like me? It is faster than walking". 

   As she continued mumbling, I ignored her and later when I reached the library, I closed the doors behind me, literally in front of my sister, which caused her to crash into them. For good measure I flipped the lock, so I would not get interrupted while reading. 

   At the age of ten I finally went to school, however I didn't have a good time there as others were making fun of me for being flightless, black hail and in addition the actions of Capital in the past. Despite everything thrown at me I still attended and learned more, while also still going to the library at the palace to further my education. 

   Koriand'r continued acting like a spoiled princess, whose parents loved more than anything. With the time going my hatred towards her grew more and more, as I could barely look at her and sometimes I wished to destroy her naive smile with pure violence. 

   During the combat practice at school I was able to score tenth place in the class of thirty, despite being a so called bookworm, but I understood that I need to learn a proper martial art and build up my strength and flexibility more if I want to keep my rank, or score higher and be able to get into military school at age of fifteen. 

   This was the only way for me to build the respect of the society, by proving to them that I am not their oppressor, but defender and maybe one day a hero. 

   Searching the library for the martial arts manuals, I managed to find a couple of the old, civil war era arts and started reading them, while taking notes. I decided to do my best to combine them and eliminate any weak points, but scored a problem really fast with all of them. They were made for Tamaraneans who could fly, but luckily also contained some on ground moves. Combining everything with all the types of exercises for either strength, stamina and flexibility took me a lot of time, but with the help of additional biology and medical books I managed to finally make my own routine. Now I only need to find a way to take up the sky. 

   Koriand'r tried to visit me at least once a day, but I managed to mostly evade her, or either completely ignore her, which caused her to lower her visits to once in a week. I don't even know why she does that. 

   I hope that she finally learns that I don't want to see her and will leave me alone. 

   Two years later, after weeks of work and pulling all nighter at the last day inside the library I managed to finally design the prototype of an anti-gravitybelt that would allow me to finally. Since it was a day off I decided to celebrate, by sleeping it off, without spending my time on either learning, or practicing. Also my training paid off with me in the first place in class and letting me skip a grade. My other classmates were muttering that I must have been tutored and trained, since my parents were the rulers of Tamareans. 

   After designing the belt, it took me another month to design propulsor units that could be easily hidden inside clothes and anti-gravitybelt and link them wirelessly together. 

   Getting the resources was easy, as I just asked the maid to deliver the required materials to the one of the many unused workshops inside the palace, where I spent another week learning how to operate the machines. 

   After a week of assembling, redrawing plans and producing parts I have managed to finish the belt with a couple of propulsors, which after a short test to check if they are working, by transferring my body energy to them, in which they passed. After the tests were done, I attached them at the bottom of my boots and two on my back.

   As for the belt I used one of the metal bars as a testing base, where I attached it to the piece and launched the anti-gravityeffect. 

   After a while, after seeing that nothing was happening, I decided to lift and poke the bar lightly and with a smile on my face I observed as it moved slowly, without stopping and falling down to the closest wall, where it hit and hugged the wall, after sliding for a second. 

   After a moment I ran towards it and placed the bar on the ground and immediately wore the belt on myself. It was small and light, as I designed it, but I finally could learn to fly. Looking towards the window, I approached it, opened and looked outside. There were only a couple of guards manning the defensive positions, most of them looking away. 

   Without thinking I started climbing and then I stood up on the window frame, looking down to the ground that was six floors away and jumped. 

   Enjoying the free fall I turned the anti-gravitybelt on with just a small energy push, which started a passive device energy drain, that was regenerated almost instantly by the midday daylight and then took to the skies by flying up with the propulsors. None of the guards manning the positions moved, some of the watching ones even grimaced. 

   Flying for the first time in my life felt liberating and I laughed, while doing stunts. The cold air gently touches my orange skin, the sun fills me with UV lights, the view of the city that lies under me. I felt something wet flowing down my face and I stopped, reaching my arms to inspect the wetness. I concluded that somehow I was crying, but I didn't know why. 

   Looking around and not seeing anybody, with the only wind roaring in my ears I understood why I am crying. I might have taken the skies but nobody was there for me. I was alone.