Victor by Katie Spellman (ebook reader macos .txt) 📖

Among girls and frills, I sat waiting for my mother to come out of the room where the nursemaids told the parents if their child was a Victor or not. Victors were children born with specialties that the normal citizens didn’t have. At this moment they were checking the daughters of any higher up parents at the age of 2 through 6. Being the daughter of the Leader of the House of Lords made no exception to me if I were a Victor. The law was that any Victors had to go to the king or queen to be of use to them, kind of like tools. The specialties that some are born with can be of use of the king or queen and some have no use to them and are shunned. Looking around the room I noticed how much I stood out among the frills. My dress I wore was a mint green but was silk with no frills or bows, or whatever the girls in the room wore. From the moment I took a foot into the waiting room I realized that the girls were used to being dressed up and beautified. It annoyed me, but I knew that there was nothing I could do about it. For a five year old I was told that I acted to mature for my age. Never complaining or arguing, but I had a thing in my mind that always stopped me from saying any of those types of words in the end I still thought them. One by one the mothers started to come out, most with a relief sigh and calm look, but 3 out of the 37 mothers were devastated. Those three had Victors, and my mother was one of them. She looked at me for a second fighting herself from tears or from anger, maybe even annoyance of this burden. She got on her knees in front of me while biting her lip.

“Do you know, what your specialty is,” she asked as calm and softly as she could. Tears wield up in her eyes as I found that I could also cry knowing that I was different in more than just one way.

“I…don’t,” I answered with deep breathes to quickly stop crying, because my tears weren’t needed. My mother responded by her hands finding her temples and rubbing them continuously as it would give her a small amount of peace. Her expression soon turned emotionless.

“We need to go home to your father, then start finding out your specialty.” Nothing more was said after that until we reached my father. The Leader of the House of Lords was used to hiding his emotions, even at home where we were. I honestly couldn’t tell if I was loved by my father because of his emotionless mask, but after my mother told him the news I started to believe he did love me.

“Kathryn is it true,” he croaked, his lament was louder than the words he asked. I couldn’t look my father in the eyes because if he knew the answer I feared he would have a hard time getting his emotionless mask back which I preferred at the moment. I’d rather not know his emotions than see him hurt.

“Yes, Father, I’m sorry,” I replied while adverting my eyes to anything that wasn’t my father or mother. I didn’t want this, but then again any Victor didn’t want this. We all sat down in the living room where the servants started gathering after my father called them. It was unusual, his behavior, he would never call his servants into the living room, on occasions one or two them could enter because he wanted to have a beverage or something. After a few seconds of thinking I realized why he called them into the living room, it was so he could explain to them about me being a Victor, but not knowing my specialty. He would probably order them to find out what it is. And he did, after all that was in the mansion gathered he said the words I knew would come out of his mouth. The servants whispered around, anything having to do with Victors came out of their mouths. For some odd reason every one of the servants that have talked to me have liked me. I hadn’t known if it was because of my personality or my position, but today, like how I found out about my father loving me, I soon discovered that they did like me for who I was and they were sorry that I was a Victor leaving them to go to the castle soon.

“Please do not harm my daughter while doing so,” my mother added soon after the whispers died down and they were listening. I couldn’t even comprehend it myself, what specialty could I possibly have. The servants tried everything to bring out my specialty. Things like putting me on a horse, some Victors can manage anything as long as it has to do with animals, but that was ruled off, then they tried giving me a knife and food. The chef nearly choked on the food, it was an obvious no, after that mistake they decided not to try anything out on the servants or anything living. They took me to the range were archers practiced and guards learnt how to shoot. They gave me the bow and arrow and told me to shoot, and I did, but it shot pass the dummy and by chance pinned a guard to the wall behind the targets. The servants who were involved in taken me there were all dumbfounded, and then one spoke up.

“Maybe her specialty is being prone to mistakes.” Everyone smiled and laughed releasing the heavy atmosphere of almost injuring someone.

“I wish she could shot a bow and arrow correct at the target and not the guards,” Hilda said, striking my mind somehow. I took another arrow and aimed thinking of her statement, letting the weird energy inside of me flow I release the arrow sending it flying into the middle of the target dummy. They all turned to me astonished, and mostly confused.
After another day of simple things and packing, the specialty I had became clear. I could grant wishes that were humanly possible. My mother was relieved to hear my specialty was something that wouldn’t cause harm to anyone or myself. But at that time neither my mother nor I knew that my specialty would be manipulated into something that would be scarier than the king himself.

Thirteen years later.

Every wish I was ever told grant has been humanly possible, and because it’s my specialty I can’t refuse to grant any of those wishes. This wish I’m going to grant is one of those I wish I didn’t have to. The king turned me into his collector, in a sort of way. If he needs someone to pay back money they didn’t pay he sends me, and since he wished for me to kill a few people I have a rumor going around I’m a Victor with the specialty to kill, knowing my specialty none of the payments are refused once I get there. Right now I was on my way to Lord Sander who had forgotten to pay the king for some unknown reason; it was the Kings wish that I would hurt him if he admitted to not paying it for any reason. Personally I had no reason to hurt him and hoped I wouldn’t have to, but it was the Kings wish, something I couldn’t him but grant.

“Lady Kathryn is something bothering you,” Mark, another Victor who came with me on missions, asked while starring at my tight and painful grip on the horses reins. To carry out the Kings wishes I went through a lot of training, such as horse riding. Refocusing on the path, I simply nodded his question away. Although we have always gone on these missions together I still haven’t fully came to trust Mark, and it was because he agreed with the King. Mark is the King’s nephew who was born as a Victor with the specialty of being able to tell if someone can lie or tell the truth. Looking at the path once again I noticed the mansion noting that we were almost there.

“A few more minutes of riding then we should get off and walk to the mansion,” I stated without any emotion or thoughts with it. No matter how much I want to disobey and not grant this wish, I have to it’s my specialty, and if I don’t be useful to the King he will kill me, somehow. Getting off the horse I named Mandy, I started walking to the mansion straight for the door instead of the weird sneaky ways people usually get into the house when they’re Victors. Mark knocked on the door then it creaked open very cautiously. With the door open both Mark and I followed Lord Sander into the house. Once we were in his living room my eyes opened in surprise. The two people I long to see most, but knew I also shouldn’t see most, sat before me on Lord Sander’s couch. My eyes blurred, but I didn’t cry. I was the Heartless Lady Kathryn, I couldn’t.

“Why,” I cried, happy to see that they were well, but horrified that they also would have to see what the king made me become. My eyebrows squinted as I frowned. The misery was readable on my pale face.

“I didn’t pay on purpose so I could reunite you and your parents Lady Kathryn,” Lord Sander explained with this hopeful light in his voice. The exact thing I didn’t want to hear. It only broke me down, now I have to hurt him, and I would hate it even more so then I did before all because he did a good deed.

“You still need to pay and Lady Kathryn has to inflict pain on you, no matter the reason,” Mark said matter-of-factly. My eyes burned and my heart felt as if it was being pulled and ripped, all of this was because he was such an admirable person. Lord Sander gathered the money he needed to pay the fee and handed it to Mark. My eyes shifted from my parents to Lord Sander then to Mark.

“Mark will you excuse us for a moment, I will grant the wish the king told me, without a second thought but will you leave,” I insisted, with my own motive that wasn’t going to be told to the king. Mark was at a higher status than me, but he still listened to me and left. My parents stood up at the exact same moment as the door shut. They made their way to me even knowing how many people I killed and how much shame I put on my name because of obeying the king. Their hugs slowly melted the large amount of ice that slowly grew cold surrounding my heart and thoughts.

“Lady Kathryn, you still have to punish me, I will not make you go back on your word,” Lord Sander said while holding out a knife that would cut anything. Without a word I shook my head and smiled at him, giving him my thanks.

“Kathryn, just know we love you no matter what you’ve done or who you’ve killed,” my mother acknowledged me, with a