It was the end of winter, and one could feel the temperature rising with each day. The sun was out longer, but spring was still too shy to make its appearance. Two girls hung out together in their bedroom, they giggled and told each other love stories.

One of them was called Ishtar, and the other Sasha.

Ishtar was exceptionally beautiful. She had long silver hair and red eyes. It was no exaggeration to compare her to a vampire, because her beauty had a terrifying charm to it.

Was she beautiful because she was scary, or was she scary because she was beautiful? No one could tell.

Sasha, on the other hand, looked pure and innocent, even if her smile sometimes hid devilish intentions. Her hair was of a light blue tone, and so were her eyes: a trait common to those of her family.

The Aquinos were a family of water mages that held the title of dukes. In this Empire, three other dukedoms stood out, besides the Aquinos: the Brandts, the Argentines and the Carmellas. These four families had, for a long time now, held more power than royalty.

Sasha was the precious daughter of the Aquinos, but her best friend Ishtar had dubious origins. No one really knew who her parents were, and where she had been born. But Ishtar was powerful all the same. 

That was because she could do something no one else could, Ishtar was able to manipulate two different types of magic at the same time: Light and darkness.

This ability gave her the title of Saintess, and Ishtar was the most beloved woman in the Empire.

She used her powers wisely, and travelled all across the land to heal the common people. This gave her an excellent reputation, and thus allowed her to get away with her weird hobbies.

Both Ishtar and Sasha were teenagers, barely sixteen years old. That is how they looked, at least. They studied at Carmella Academy, a fancy institution for noble children. Ishtar could go to this school because her ability made her nobler than most people.

Ishtar told Sasha about her boyfriend, Gin Argentine, and the things they did together. Sasha’s face blushed as she listened to her friend’s tale. 

Although Sasha was already sixteen and considered of marriageable age in the Empire, she hadn’t a clue about what happened between a man and a woman. She had been terribly sheltered by her family, but her friend’s stories were starting to make up for that.

Suddenly, Ishtar went silent. Her eyes looked bored and distant. Sasha was worried, because she thought her friend had gotten tired of her. Every time something bad happened, Sasha blamed herself.

Ishtar sighed, and said:

‘Say, Sasha, want to do something fun?’

Sasha was a bit sad to hear her friend’s words, because she thought they were already having loads of fun. But she tried hiding her disappointment when she replied:

‘Of course! But what?’

‘Hm… shall we tell each other some stories?’

‘That’ll be so much fun! But Ishtar… I’m afraid I am not as experienced as you, and I don’t have any love stories to share’.

‘Who said anything about love? I’m talking about horror stories! Look at the sky: there’s not a single cloud and the full moon is out! Isn’t it the perfect mood for some horror?’

‘I guess so… I do know some horror stories! Like the Tale of the Man Eating Bread in the graveyard!’

‘The what?’

‘It’s a story about a man who is in the graveyard at midnight. He holds a knife in his hand and he…’

‘Let me guess, he’s just killed someone!’, Ishtar interrupted.

‘No, no, no! He is just spreading butter on the bread!’

‘...’

Ishtar calmly let some air inside her lungs, and slowly let it out. She then said:

‘I have no words, Sasha’.

‘Did you like my story?’, Sasha was smiling as she asked.

‘You're a terrible story teller. Don’t worry though, I’ll tell you some stories, and you see what real horror is like!’

Ishtar let out an evil laugh.