Inherent Fate Read online

  Crisanta Knight: Inherent Fate

  © 2017 Geanna Culbertson. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopying, or recording, except for the inclusion in a review, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Published in the United States by BQB Publishing

  (an imprint of Boutique of Quality Books Publishing Company)

  www.bqbpublishing.com

  978-1-945448-06-5 (p)

  978-1-945448-07-2 (e)

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2017939420

  Book design by Robin Krauss, www.bookformatters.com

  Cover concept by Geanna Culbertson

  Cover design by Ellis Dixon, www.ellisdixon.com

  First editor: Pearlie Tan

  Second editor: Olivia Swenson

  Books in The Crisanta Knight Series

  Crisanta Knight: Protagonist Bound

  Book One (2016)

  Crisanta Knight: The Severance Game

  Book Two (2016)

  Crisanta Knight: Inherent Fate

  Book Three (2017)

  Crisanta Knight: The Liar, The Witch, & The Wormhole

  Book Four (2018)

  Dedicated To:

  This book, like everything I shall ever accomplish, is dedicated to my mom and dad. You are my heroes, my coaches, my best friends, and I am thankful for you every day for more reasons than there are words in this book.

  Special Thanks To:

  Terri Leidich & BQB Publishing

  Of all the Inherent Fates out there that could have been my path, I am so glad each day that my choices led me to you. To be a part of the BQB family and under your guidance is an unparalleled blessing. And I have no doubt that together we are going to go very far and achieve something great.

  Pearlie Tan

  I know I tell you you’re awesome all the time. But for the sake of consistency, I’ll say it again. You’re awesome, Pearlie! Thanks for pushing me to be the best writer I can be!

  Olivia Swenson

  Thank you for keeping me sharp and helping Book Three be the best that it can be.

  Alexa Carter

  Because she’s awesome.

  I also want to thank Gallien Culbertson, Ian Culbertson, the Fine Family, Girls on the Run Los Angeles, John Daly, Ellis Dixon, Kathie Bennett, the SMB team, Erin McCarthy, George Wissa, and everyone else out there who’s supported me on this journey thus far!

  Bonus Dedication

  Since this is going to be an eight-book series, each book will issue a bonus dedication to individuals who have significantly impacted my life or this series in some way.

  For this third book, I want to honor someone special who is gone, but never forgotten—Ana Gamboa. This woman was my aunt. She was also a beloved mother, sister, wife, friend, grandmother, and godmother who brought joy and warmth to all those around her. She was taken from us far too soon and nothing and no one can ever make that right. But we carry her with us every day and try to do goodness in her name. We remember her laughter, her kindness, and the light she brought into the world. And we promise to always carry her spirit forward.

  PROLOGUE

  This is a story about character.

  In the enchanted realm of Book, the word “character” is commonly used to describe people. It helps classify us into groups and stereotypes. As in, “what type of character are you?” A main character? An ensemble character? A villainous character?

  What is less normal in my world is placing emphasis on the other definition of the word “character.” The meaning that pertains to the unique moral, mental, and emotional attitudes that make an individual something more than a group or a stereotype.

  My story is about this kind of character. Or rather, the forging of it.

  Unfortunately, Book is not a place where taking charge of one’s character is encouraged. In fact, those in command of my realm have consistently done everything in their power to make sure my character is out of my control.

  Book is controlled by several entities—the Fairy Godmothers (headed by the Godmother Supreme, Lena Lenore), the rulers and ambassadors of each kingdom, and the Author. While I have issues with all three, the Author has the greatest impact on our lives.

  The Author is a prophet who lives in an off-limits part of Book called the Indexlands. By writing protagonist books that are sent to the Fairy Godmothers, she decides who in the realm is meant to be a protagonist and who is meant to be a “common” ensemble character. If you are one of the latter, you’re not expected—nor allowed—to reach for the extraordinary. Meanwhile, if you’re assigned to be a main character you attend one of our realm’s two private schools—Lady Agnue’s School for Princesses & Other Female Protagonists or Lord Channing’s School for Princes & Other Young Heroes.

  To some, a protagonist private school might seem like a sweet deal. But like all good things, the main character role comes with a cost. As the daughter of Cinderella, I have been paying that cost since before I could say “glass slipper.”

  Whether you’re a hero, princess, or any other type of protagonist, as a main character you’re expected to live up to your traditional archetype. For a princess, that means pretty dresses, delicate, damsel behavior, and a fate that places more emphasis on your future prince charming than your own ambitions.

  Lady Agnue’s and Lord Channing’s hammer these roles into their students from the moment we walk through their gilded entrances. However, the brainwashing starts sooner for some than for others. According to custom, all princes and princesses are supposed to be protagonists—our protagonist books appear when we’re born. Because of this, all princes and princesses start school at the age of ten. “Common protagonists” (protagonists without a royal pedigree) start school when/if their protagonist books emerge, usually in childhood or early puberty. For example, my friend Blue (the younger sister of the famous Red from Little Red Riding Hood) enrolled at Lady Agnue’s when her book appeared at the age of twelve.

  That’s how the Author lets our realm know which children will be main characters. She creates actual books with people’s names on them (i.e. Hansel & Gretel, Snow White, etc.). She keeps one copy for herself to continuously fill in with our stories and futures and teleports a second copy to the most high-level and powerful Fairy Godmothers, the Scribes, to share with the realm and the schools.

  We have no say in what the Author will pen for our fates and are bound by her words. This always begins with a prologue prophecy.

  A prologue prophecy is a summary of a protagonist’s fate presented in the form of vague, rhyming lines that appear in our books, which often read like riddles. Sadly, when my prologue prophecy appeared it was not vague, and the only riddle was how I would get out of it.

  My prologue prophecy dictated quite plainly that I would become a typical damsel princess who would marry Chance Darling—a prince who attended Lord Channing’s and who was as handsome as he was obnoxious (very on both counts).

  I was already pretty gung-ho against living a life bound by the Author’s chains, but something snapped inside of me when I was told my prologue prophecy. It awoke the boldest, bravest, and arguably craziest part of my spirit that believed I did not have to accept limits just because someone more powerful said so.

  I convinced my friends of the same thing. All of them except for SJ (daughter of Snow White) had already received their prologue prophecies, and while I didn’t know exactly what was written for my friends, I knew none of them were happy with their fates.

/>   And so—as the story goes—our adventure began. We all wanted to take back our lives, so we left our schools to find the Author and get her to change the fates she’d written for us.

  In order to reach the Author we would have to break the powerful In and Out Spell that protected the Indexlands. This type of spell keeps people—and sometimes creatures—from crossing through the borders that the spell protects. There are four In and Out Spells in Book. The first is the powerful version that protects the Author’s domain. A way stronger one encompasses all of Book, separating us from other realms. And there are two slightly weaker versions—one over Lady Agnue’s, and one over the antagonist-only kingdom of Alderon.

  Alderon’s In and Out Spell, though, is a little different from the others. It is only half an In and Out Spell, meaning you can cross in, but you can’t get out. The reason for this is that every time monsters or antagonists are captured, they are transported to Alderon to serve an indefinite sentence—ridding our realm of their evil once and for all. Or at least that’s what’s supposed to happen. Recently I’ve found some “holes” in this idea . . .

  Like the others, that mighty In and Out Spell around the Indexlands was cast long ago through the combined strength of many Fairy Godmothers. As a result, Godmothers were the only ones who knew how to break it.

  That’s where Emma (my mother’s former Fairy Godmother and my own regular godmother) came into play. Long expelled from the Fairy Godmother Agency for going against Lena Lenore’s rigid rules and beliefs, Emma had been living in exile for a decade when we found her. She told us that the secret to breaking the In and Out Spell was combining three ingredients—a Quill with the Might of Twenty-Six Swords (Something Strong), the Heart of the Lost Princess (Something Pure), and a Mysterious Flower Beneath the Valley of Strife (Something One of a Kind).

  To this end, we’d acquired the quill that our realm’s twenty-six ambassadors used to sign their biannual treaty to fulfill our “Something Strong.” Then we’d travelled to Earth to find Ashlyn—the long-lost daughter of the Little Mermaid—for our “Something Pure,” which turned out to be a heart-shaped locket that held a picture of her husband and children.

  Now all we had to find was “Something One of a Kind.” This would be difficult, not just because of the shenanigans involved with obtaining the Mysterious Flower Beneath the Valley of Strife, but because of me. To be specific, the many entities trying to kill me.

  I’d almost been destroyed so many times in the last few weeks that I’d lost count. Yes, some of these cases had been the result of run-ins with monsters, like this one dragon that had been stalking us since Century City. But the majority of my mortal peril had been at the hand of a boy called Arian.

  I’d first run into Arian in Century City. It was there that he introduced himself as the head of a team of antagonists who hunted down protagonists with prologue prophecies that posed a threat to his people.

  In Arian’s secret bunker beneath the Capitol Building we’d discovered files on many protagonists, some of whom we knew. My friends Blue and Jason (the younger brother to Jack from Jack & the Beanstalk), and Daniel (the fifth member of our group) had files that labeled them each as a “possible threat.” SJ, meanwhile, didn’t have a file at all, whereas our friend Mark had one marked “threat neutralized,” which had us very worried.

  The other important folder we’d found had been labeled “Priority Elimination.” There were three names in that folder. The first was Paige Tomkins—a former Fairy Godmother and friend of Emma’s who’d gone missing long ago. The second was a girl named Natalie Poole. Natalie was from Earth and, along with Arian, was a recurring character in my dreams of the future.

  Did I mention I have dreams of the future? Well, I do. Don’t know why. But it’s been happening since I was little and lately they’ve been getting stronger.

  I’d foreseen Natalie happy during her younger years, but miserable in her teens. Recently I’d learned that this misery was the result of Arian’s plotting. The antagonists aimed to open something called the Eternity Gate on Natalie’s twenty-first birthday by manipulating her relationship with the boy she was destined to love, Ryan Jackson. I wish I could tell you more, but past that I had more questions than answers regarding Natalie.

  Back to Arian’s bunker, the last name on the “Priority Elimination” list was mine. I guess that explains why I’d nearly been killed so many times recently. Arian and his goons had been trying to off me since we left Lady Agnue’s because he claimed my prologue prophecy was not what it seemed.

  This was inconvenient, naturally. But the aspect that got under my skin the most was how much danger it brought to my friends. I wasn’t sure what I hated more, putting them in peril or the fact that I couldn’t protect them despite all the advantages at my disposal.

  When I was younger, Emma had imbued me with a spark of Fairy Godmother magic that was supposed to develop into a unique power. I had a trusty magic wand that was enchanted to transform into any weapon I willed it into. And I trained myself to have combat skills that would make Mulan feel self-conscious.

  Alas, while I had magic, I didn’t know what my power was or how to operate it, making it useless to me. My wand was awesome and versatile, but one weapon against the dozen or more belonging to the men Arian kept sending after me did not yield the best odds. And although I could fight, these skills didn’t make me invincible or keep me out of harm’s way.

  Past all that, I think my greatest strength that had yet to make a difference in my fight against villainy was my character.

  Up ’til now I’d let the greater world dictate and dampen it. Despite my desire and efforts to forge my own path, I’d allowed the world to convince me that I had no control over who I was. As a result, I’d spent a lot of time feeling insecure, denying my fears, and pushing away my friends to an extent that hindered us all.

  But I was determined to change that.

  Although the Author, my school, and the realm’s higher-ups may have had an influence on my life, when it came to me they didn’t get a vote. At the end of the day their opinions did not define me. I did.

  This was a great revelation, and one I needed to have. Nevertheless, I was not at peace yet. For I was now experiencing an unexpected slew of indecisiveness in regards to one question.

  How exactly did I define myself?

  I definitely wanted to be a great hero and a great princess—that desire had burned inside of me for so long it was a wonder my heart wasn’t charred—but I didn’t fit with our realm’s traditional definition of either archetype.

  Princesses were supposed to be elegant ladies who got swept off their feet at balls, wore glittering jewels, and embodied the softhearted, merciful air that women are conventionally expected to emulate. Meanwhile, heroes were unshakable warriors known for their fearlessness, physical strength, and lack of weakness.

  I was not on board with either definition. Jewels were great, but I didn’t wish to have a demure, ladylike personality that sparkled less than they did. And fighting off foes with impervious physical strength sounded awesome, but that wasn’t me either. I loved combat and wanted to be strong enough to defeat my enemies. But I’d learned that ignoring weaknesses and carrying on like you were invincible was as reckless as it was idiotic.

  No, as it stood, neither of those roles suited me. Which brings us to where I am now. As I prepared to face the obstacles ahead, I understood that I lacked the ability to do the one thing I’d been fighting my entire life to do. I couldn’t answer the question bouncing around inside my head:

  Who the heck am I?

  CONTENTS

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER 1: THE SURVEY

  CHAPTER 2: MY FAIRY GODMOTHER TEACHES ME HOW TO ACCESSORIZE

  CHAPTER 3: STILTDEGARTH

  CHAPTER 4: FAITH

  CHAPTER 5: KIDNAPPED BY A LOBSTER

  CHAPTER 6: WORST TEA PARTY EVER

  CHAPTER 7: MAGIC, MOONLIGHT, & SELF-INDUCED INJURIES

  CHAP
TER 8: THE WARNING

  CHAPTER 9: CAKE FOR BREAKFAST

  CHAPTER 10: HANN. MÜNDEN

  CHAPTER 11: CONFRONTED

  CHAPTER 12: SLEEPWALKERS

  CHAPTER 13: FAMILY REUNION

  CHAPTER 14: DIAMONDS

  CHAPTER 15: I MAKE FRIENDS WITH A LAWN CHAIR

  CHAPTER 16: THE TEST

  CHAPTER 17: ANTAGONIZING ANTAGONISTS: PART 1

  CHAPTER 18: ANTAGONIZING ANTAGONISTS: PART 2

  CHAPTER 19: MY BEST FRIEND IS A THIEF . . . YAY!

  CHAPTER 20: REMEMBERING THE DRAGON

  CHAPTER 21: POWER

  CHAPTER 22: DREAMS COME TRUE

  CHAPTER 23: LIZA

  CHAPTER 24: ENOUGH EXPOSITION TO LAST A LIFETIME

  CHAPTER 25: MY CHOICE

  CHAPTER 26: THE DEATH OF CRISANTA KNIGHT

  CHAPTER 27: DRESSED TO KILL

  CHAPTER 28: SOMETHING NEW

  CHAPTER 29: MY NEW BEGINNING

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  it the deck!” I yelled, pushing Daniel out of the way.

  Shield, I commanded my wand.

  My trusty weapon expanded in the blink of an eye. Daniel and I crashed onto the purple carpet as

  I raised my shield to shelter us from the splattering explosion.

  We’d been trapped in Aladdin’s genie lamp for a few hours and had been desperately trying to figure out how to escape. Evidently the thing wasn’t only for capturing genies. When the lid was open, the lamp locked onto the nearest magical creature within fifteen feet and then absorbed it (and anyone holding on to it) inside.

  In this particular case the magical creature had been me and the person I’d dragged down was Daniel, who’d tried to save me.

  After poking around inside, Daniel had found a journal that the genie used to catalogue his ideas for escape. Since then we’d been ardently going through one idea after another trying to bust out.

  So far we’d been unsuccessful, but we were not about to give up. The genie lamp was in Arian’s possession and it was only a matter of time before he arrived in Alderon and delivered me to Nadia, queen of the antagonists.