More than a few days had drifted by. The encounter with Sylana was still fresh in Lita's mind. She did train, quietly in the garden, brushing through simple skills on a wooden sword. Mostly her mind drifted, thinking about the things her aunt might have hinted at - what if she were able to do far more?
Then one night she received a letter at the mansion addressed to Lita. It was unsealed but she immediately recognized the beautiful script: Sylana.
"Dearest niece,"
it began.
"I hope this reaches you well. I know why your mother is unwilling to let you come into your own, but just know this: someday you will realize your power is not hers to wield; it is yours. And should you ever feel like finding out what lies beneath it, the door will always be open. I will be here, waiting."
She folded the letter and gazed outward, her heart in turmoil. Would she follow her mother's wishes, remaining within the safety of the mansion, or would she dare to seek out Sylana and discover more about her true self?
There was a choice before her, which might determine the fate of her life in ways she did not even yet fathom.
What exactly was Sylana after? Her sudden appearance, cryptic words, and sharp gaze had Lita and Madam Valliere unsettled. While she presented herself as a caring aunt interested in Lita's potential, her underlying intentions were far more complex—and dangerous.
"She is, after all, my sister,"
Sylana had once assured an incredulous listener.
Underneath that cool demeanor and deceptively calculated smile, Sylana hid a plan that she had neither revealed to her sister nor to Lita. A master of dark magic for years now, she had been honing her powers while also manipulating forces beyond those of the natural world.
Even as the Valliere family labored under their own heavy history of power, Sylana had wandered into the realm of the forbidden, sacrificing her morality to grow in strength and influence.
But the real prize lay not so much in building Lita's potential, but in extracting some grand scheme to set herself above her sister in controlling whatever might remain of the Valliere family legacy. In that sense, Lita was but a pawn in Sylana's grand scheme.
Seeing so much latent potential in Lita, Sylana understood that the girl could be used to release an ancient kind of magic that gave control over life and death to its master. She would take control of that raw, unrefined power through Lita and manipulate it to resurrect their forefathers' forgotten powers.
Polar opposite to what Sylana was trying to accomplish, the kind of magic with the awful toll on the practitioner was one such that would require Lita as the gateway to attaining it, and on the successful awakening of Lita's powers, Sylana will spoon off the powers from that girl into her own grasp-thus rendering Lita as just a shadowy shell for Sylana to manipulate. That, to Sylana, was precisely how she would cement her domination over the Valliere legacy, surpassing even her sister.
But the actress needed to wait longer, for she knew her sister, Madam Valliere, was no fool; if she were to move her plans too quickly, there was every chance Madam Valliere might well figure out her deeper motives. For now, she had to stall and sow doubts and curiosity from her sister into the mind of Lita, letting her come willingly—once that girl was ready to break her dependence on her mother's wishes.
Except for the power she possessed, Sylana was a far greater danger due to her resolve and guile. There was a scheme being executed, and she was playing it pretty well, fully aware that, slowly, Lita would walk to her, and by then Sylana would be ready to snatch it all away.
As for the others in the family? Sylana had no intentions of leaving them standing. Madam Valliere was an obstacle to her; she had already wasted her own potential. When Lita's power was accepted and consummated by Sylana, her next target would be her sister, entirely rebuilding the Valliere family in her image—ruthless, powerful, and utterly accepted.
In the dark corners of Sylana's opulent estate, having settled down near the crackling fireplace, her cold fingers traced the rim of her glass while her mind drifted with thoughts of Lita. With a twisted smile on her lips, she envisioned a bright future: standing alone at the helm of the Valliere family, with Lita being nothing but an obedient and powerful protégé.
Sylana's thoughts were effective. Something beyond training Lita must be done. Her sister, Madam Valliere, was too headstrong, too protective, and too much of a controller. As long as she was a part of the picture, Sylana would never be able to fully shape Lita into a weapon for her purposes.
"Mother is always standing in the way,"
Sylana mused, her smile deepening with the furtherance of a dark and malignant plan.
"But I am the elder sister. And that, dear sister, means you cannot disobey me."
Ideas raced through her mind. Killing Madam Valliere would with one stone eliminate an obstruction from her path and also leave her to entirely control the future of Lita. With no mother to oppose her, Sylana could carefully cultivate Lita's powers to develop into the just successor—one loyal to her and to no one else. She could poison Lita's mind with ideas that her mother was weak, terrified of her potential, and that Sylana was the only one that believed in her worth.
When Sylana was able to gain Lita's support, she would fortify her as an unimaginable force. She would teach the girl dark magic, ancient curses and rituals that had been kept safe from the outside world for so many centuries. She could turn Lita into her most magnificent work, her perfect weapon. Together, they would reign above all, and no one—not even the once-feared Valliere family—would dare oppose them.