by J E Mueller
“Probably. Don’t worry, I’ll be here while all this nonsense is going on. Us tough girls have to stick together right?” I assured her.
“Yeah! You should stay forever! Or maybe I can travel with you in a few years?” She asked excitedly.
I smiled at her. “Maybe. Never know what the future will bring right?” Maybe in a few years that would be fun. She had some good skills, and hopefully by then I’d have better control over my curse. Things were going in the right direction overall there.
Aiko shook her head, exasperated. “Last night she didn’t want to step foot from here, and now she wants to go adventuring. This child. Let’s go, kids. Now.”
“I’d say things are going well.” Juni laughed, “Good night.”
After they had left, Lee took a moment to join me on the sofa. “So…”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Just because I can’t magically kill you doesn’t mean I can’t strangle you for whatever you're about to say.”
Juni just laughed. “You had better mind your manners Lee. I’m on her side.”
“Betrayed, by my own mother!” he gasped dramatically.
I laughed, “Best mother award goes to…”
“Funny. Funny.” Lee shook his head. “Either way, I think Tella’s right. Stay through the cold season. If you hate it so much you can go anywhere else, but you’ve got to admit, it’s nice here. The people here grow on you.”
I started taking the ribbons out of my hair. “If you’re alive by the end of this invasion nonsense I may consider it. If not, I’ll be on the run from Juni.”
Juni laughed while getting up. “He probably had it coming. Good night, kids.”
“Nevermind, then. I’ll stay and take over your room instead of running,” I teased.
“Betrayed again.” He sighed. “Night mother, sweet dreams. Remember, I’m still the best kid you’ve ever had!”
Juni laughed as she left. “Love you too, baby boy.”
I yawned. “Does this mean I can finally sleep? Wait, no one ever said how things went today.”
“We’re avoiding giving out too many details around Tella, but well enough. They were pushed back, but now the mob is angry and mostly drunk. There will be more days like this so it’s just a matter of responding as soon as they are gutsy enough to try and gain more ground. We need to keep them back until help arrives.”
“Is it going to be possible?” I asked wondering if my guesses earlier had been incorrect.
“Yeah, as long as they don’t pull something crazy, we’ve got this,” Lee replied, but without his usual confidence.
“What’s bugging you?” I asked, not wanting to dance around it.
“We’ve got a group that’s more than one hundred ten percent against us in the woods nearby, slowly pulling out all the stops to come at us. They are getting angrier and drunker. There’s really no telling what kind of bad idea is going to be seen as a brilliant plan and turn the tides in their favor. There are just too many possibilities. We would need someone to tell us their magic visions of the future at all hours, and no one has the strength or power to do that. It makes a lot of us nervous. But we’ll keep doing what we’re doing and hope for the best.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“It’s not your fault.” He shrugged, trying to be more nonchalant.
“Still, it’s the town you love. You’ve grown up here and it means a lot to you. You love the people here. It sucks that this is going on and I’m sorry for it.”
“Thanks,” he said, then suddenly hugged me.
I froze but let it happen.
He released me after a moment. “I’ll never remember you have a bubble.”
“It’s healthy. Some personal space is nice,” I replied a bit sarcastically.
“Like this?” He leaned against me.
“Haha…” I eyed him wearily.
“Or this?” Lee sprawled out on top of me as much as possible so I shoved him off the sofa.
He laughed and rejoined me, this time staying in his own spot.
“You’re ridiculous,” I told him.
“And wonderful. Don’t forget that part.”
“Wouldn’t go that far.” I yawned and stretched.
“Can I ask you something?”
“That didn’t sound like much of a question.” I pointed out.
“Anyway… Does my joking around actually bother you?” He was suddenly serious.
It surprised me that he asked, but I did give it a moment's thought. “No, not really. Giving me more warning about physical interactions would be nice, but I guess that ruins the moment of a hug.”
Lee laughed. “I’m going to hug you now.” He promptly did.
“You’re still ridiculous. I’m going to bed.” I laughed at him.
Lee let go. “See you in the morning, then.”
I nodded and went to go sleep.
Chapter 18
During that week I fell into routine. Most of my time was spent with Tella, my new little shadow. I didn’t mind her company, and she took great care to respect my space and remember her own gloves so that she could have fun with my hair and actively interact with me. It was actually kind of fun to have a friend who could touch me safely.
Lee spent a lot of his time helping around town, and I hardly saw him until it had been eight days since the riders had left. Anticipation hung thickly in the air. The riders could return with news at any time.
With all that was going on, there hadn’t actually been time to make more progress with my magic. Much to my surprise, I was feeling more and more like bringing it up. One night when everyone else was heading to bed, I mentioned it to Lee.
“So, there's been no time to practice my magic at all.” I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it, but I felt the urge to try something and have some form of control over it again.
Lee nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that, but there isn’t really a great time except at night. If you want we can use this time to try more.”
I hesitated, considering it in more detail. “I don’t think I’ll ever one hundred percent believe I can’t kill you.”
“Aside from me not dying when you touch me, I can’t really prove that to you.” He shook his head and used his own magic for a moment. “But it looks like I’ll live again tonight, so the coast is clear.”
“I don’t even know where to begin,” I replied.
“Well, you can start by trying to command your magic away from the spot of contact,” Lee said, getting up.
I did the same and took off my gloves. “I don’t see this working.”
Lee shrugged. “Then we will try a hundred times just to be sure and move on to the next thing if it really isn’t working.” He radiated confidence.
“Your optimism needs to be more contagious.” I sighed and offered him my hand.
He took it in his and I could feel my magic bursting with glee to meet his and attack. Over and over I tried commanding it away and pushing against it, but it wasn’t enough.
“We need a different tactic.” Lee said, thinking out loud. “I wonder if instead I used my magic to push against yours if it would recced.”
We tried it and at first it seemed like it would work, but again mine burst through. We tried again and again but every time it seemed like it was about to work it would fail. We tried with all his elemental magic until I felt dizzy.
I stumbled for a moment. “I guess we should stop for now.” He said holding my arm carefully.
My vision blurred. My magic had never felt attacked before, and it was surprisingly tiring. I felt as if I had been running for miles after going without sleep for several days. Everything started to spin.
Lee moved me over to the sofa. “That’s an interesting reaction. We’ll have to ask Lela about that later.”
I nodded and the motion made me feel sick. “I think I’ll sleep this off.” I tried getting up but fell back down.
“You can stay here.” He went and grabbed a blanket a
nd my pillow.
“I don’t like this. Everything feels wrong. I don’t normally feel sick,” I admitted as he made the sofa more comfortable for me.
“It’ll be all right. Get some rest and you’ll be back to your normal self in the morning,” he assured me.
“I’d better be normal tomorrow.” I kept my eyes closed in an effort to block the dizziness.
“Want me to stay out here with you?” he asked.
I didn’t know what to say as my head spun, “I don’t know.”
He didn’t say anything else and soon I drifted off. There was no doubt in my mind that he did end up staying with me, at least for a while.
When morning finally came and I awoke I wasn’t feeling normal yet, but better than the night before. The dizziness was gone and my stomach felt close to how it usually did. I could hear Lee and Juni speaking softly in the kitchen and took note of the blanket draped over the nearby chair. I got up carefully and joined them.
“You’re looking better,” Lee said happily as I entered the kitchen.
“Eh.” I shrugged and took a seat. “Almost feeling better.”
“What’s still wrong?” He asked surprised.
“Drained and I don’t know…. It’s hard to put my finger on. Just not completely better.”
Juni interrupted our conversation by handing me a plate. “Let’s see if some food does the trick. Can’t hurt, anyway.”
“Thank you,” I replied, hoping it would settle my stomach.
“Lela might have some more answers for you. I’ll make time to stop by and ask,” Lee added taking a plate for himself.
“Just be careful with your practicing,” Juni warned. “Take small steps, and don’t overwork yourselves. A long day isn’t always best for these things.”
“Yes, Mother. We’ll be careful,” Lee agreed between bites of his own food.
By the time evening swept in I was feeling pretty tired. It was almost an unpleasant sight to see Lela standing outside talking with Lee.
“What’s the word?” I asked through a yawn.
“Lela thinks our magic is not compatible in the way we were using it.” Lee explained.
Lela nodded. “In the long run it has a very slim possibility of working well, and at that, it still gives no true control of the magic at hand. It’s just fighting, which will not go far. One side or the other will eventually win. At the least I can see it knocking Key out, and at the most I can see it being your death. You need to stop using it to combat one another,” she told Lee sternly.
“Well, that’s a bummer. It can’t even be used to bring her magic’s effects down a notch so she can interact normally?” Lee questioned.
“No.” She shook her head. “It will just slowly drain both of you. It’s too high of a risk.” Lela turned to me. “Having control is within your power, you just have to find the right way to exercise it and it will for it to work for you. You are as fierce as the power within you. Don’t let your fire outshine you and tell you otherwise.”
Lela made it sound like my magic was its own entity. Maybe it was.
“Thanks for your help and advice, Lela,” Lee said. “Mother said she would love to have you over for dinner.”
“Thank you, but I’ll decline. I’ve got a few other matters to take care of this evening and Aggie is having some troubles understanding a vision she had,” Lela replied.
“That’s unusual for her. Is she okay?” Lee asked, surprised.
“It’s not as uncommon as one would think, but yes she is well. Sometimes just talking it out with another is all you need to see the story clearly. Sometimes someone else is able to point out things you overlooked. Have a good evening.”
“Well, that’s kind of fun,” I said, watching her go.
“What do you mean?” Lee asked me, confused.
“Well, we know it doesn't work, but better yet now you can’t say I can’t kill you.” I replied slyly. Now he couldn’t flaunt that my curse couldn’t kill him. It wasn’t so much of a good thing as a way to bring his ego back in check.
“Ugh, and I thought we were getting somewhere on that.” Lee grumbled, “Maybe you’ll forget over dinner.”
“Doubtful,” I replied heading inside. “Any other news today?”
“Yes, actually,” He replied following me inside and into the kitchen. “A scout was sent ahead. Our pleas have been heard and aid is on it’s way. In theory they should be here tomorrow or the next day, but they could be delayed if they meet our enemies in the forest, which still helps our cause.”
“That’s fantastic,” I replied amazed. “I’m surprised they heard us out so quickly and took action.”
Lee hung his head for a moment. “We’re actually not the first to bring this to their attention. We’re the first that they could respond to before the village was destroyed. That’s why the mob is so adamant about staying. We’re the first to keep them at bay.”
“What? I thought this was the only magic village?” I cried, each word raising in volume.
“No. We were the first. There are others that followed our lead and others that have mostly magic users as well with other normal people living in peace together. Two of these towns are now completely gone.” Lee replied, emotion deep within his words.
“That’s… awful.” I took a seat and noticed Juni was already making dinner.
“People always have a hard time understanding and accepting differences,” Juni added. “Sadly, I don’t ever see it ending. Hopefully it can be lessened, though.”
“It’s a good thing our kingdom supports us.” Lee sighed with a bit of relief, taking a seat for himself, “That does make things a little better. We can at least get aid.”
“I’m surprised they still do,” I mumbled.
“What do you mean by that?”Juni asked, taken aback, “Why wouldn’t our own kingdom support us?”
I looked at Lee. “You never told her?”
“Your past is yours. I wouldn’t betray that trust. I just said you had a really difficult past and probably wouldn’t open up much about it,” Lee explained and shrugged at his mother.
I thought for a moment. “She can know,” I decided, and filled her in on the what had happened. It was a more abridged version, but with the added context it did make sense why I questioned how the kingdom still supported magic. I had given them first hand experience of how magic can be bad.
“That makes more sense…” Juni nodded, letting things slide into place. “That would explain why you were so eager to leave. While it’s unlikely any of your family would show up here, you didn’t want to take any risks. Too hard to tell how they’d react to you, but from how I see it, and with this whole situation as added support, they’d probably be happy to see you.”
“Accepting someone and being happy to see someone are two very different things,” I replied. “Either way, I don’t want to even think about seeing them until things are fixed. If there really is a cure and I was meant to see them, then it’ll happen.”
Juni nodded. I could see she had more to say, but was kind enough not to.
“Mother?” Lee asked. “I’d like to revoke my nomination of world’s most stubborn person.”
I laughed. “No, you still have the title.”
Juni smiled. “That is tough. But I gave you that title when you were six, and I see no reason why I should change my mind now. You can both share the title instead.”
That night we actually got to bed early. The smell of rain hung in the sky, but even though the sky had darkened no storm came. I fell asleep quickly but awoke suddenly from a terrible dream. That was when I first heard the shouting. Grabbing my pack, I rushed outside, ready for action. The far side of the village was under attack. Arrows covered in fire rained down upon the village. People who couldn’t help headed my way.
I didn’t wait. I ran towards the fire to see what I could do. The first group in need of aid was collecting buckets of water. I grabbed one and joined in to help put out what flames I coul
d. Lee showed up, gasping and scared.
“Go help someone else!” I shouted at him. “I’m fine.”
He wanted to say something but thought better of it and was off again.
We managed to put some of the fires out, but it seemed to slowly spread the moment we began making progress. Most of the inner village was made out of stone and tiles so they would be safe, so, we did our best to minimize the damage to the rest.
After what felt close to an hour the sound of combat and the tingle of magic became present.
Something in my gut told me I was needed elsewhere and I searched for Lee’s magic. My instincts took over and I was able to find his signature without much issue. I could see his magic was currently in use and I was able to slowly make my way towards him. The closer I got, the thicker the fighting got. I remembered that I had my sword in my pack. Quickly removing it, I jumped in where I could to help. I was able to help give others a chance to use their magic while I distracted our opponents.
Twice I was disarmed and had to use my curse to save someone. A life for a life, but I didn’t linger on this.
Finally I saw him. He was surrounded. I dashed and dodged to reach Lee and saw him take a terrible hit on his side. Watching him fall spurred the adrenaline in me and I was able to block what would have otherwise been a fatal hit. At this point, my gloves were off, lost somewhere in my need to defend others, but I had extras.
I parried against the next hit, but the following thrust almost made me trip over Lee. I barely kept my footing. Lee struggled to regain his feet and our enemies took notice. It became obvious they had the advantage.
We were surrounded. It was clear that our magic wasn’t meant for this and they were ready to take full advantage of it. My moves slowly turned into flails and I lost my sword. Panicking, I looked at Lee just as someone raised a sword towards him.
My heart was pounding. The desperation inside me was rising. There was no way I’d go down without aiding my friend.
Screaming, I could feel the fire inside building to a crescendo. I didn’t hold it back and pushed it from my core, through my finger tips and out into the air in a circle around me. The grass picked up some of the flames and the wind from the nearing storm swirled around me turning the fire into a shield. My anger and fear pushed the fire further out and latched onto those closest to me. Excited, the fire grabbed at them greedily. Their screams barely reached my ears before they collapsed to the ground. Any remaining attackers took off into the distance.