A Ward's Tale

Chapter 13

I fall onto the bed exhausted. The tests the Master has had me doing are draining me. Every day I think I'm going to explode or fall out dead, but somehow, I survive and live another day. I am starting to realize I am stronger than I think. I rub my eyes, glad that they have decided to not blindfold me any longer.

I lay curled up and pull at my necklace to look at the emerald gem. I wonder what my mother would do in this situation. Did she have magic? Would she have been able to hold off the attackers? Would she have gotten caught in the first place? I grasp the pendant and hold it close. Is Peter on his way to save me? Can he even find me?

All that ever goes through my head now are questions I don't have answers to. It is driving me crazy.

The door opens again and I almost cringe, afraid of another test so soon. I haven't eaten in hours and don't think I could get up if I wanted. I just want to curl up and sleep.

The Master walks in. I haven't seen much of him since our first meeting a few days ago. He mostly lets his men do the testing and will occasionally drop in to throw in a few words or spells. From his few spells I can tell he's very powerful.

"Get up." He demands. I do as he says knowing that if I don't he can make me. It takes all of me to stand.

"It's time for a special test."

I take a deep breath but try to show no emotion as I follow the Master out of my room. We walk down a short hall and enter a room on the left, the room all my tests have been in. It is plain white all around; the floor, walls, and ceiling. It has nothing inside.

"What will I be doing this time?" I groan. Too fast the Master reaches out and snatches my necklace away. I feel the instant the chain breaks as power surges through me. The buildup of days of magic use without taking it off. I try to contain the magic but it is too strong and bursts outward. The power knocks the Master off his feet and into the wall behind him.

I fall to my knees feeling weaker than I ever have felt. I look over at the Master who lies in a heap, his body is partially uncovered from the cloak. Something is strange about it as I fall to my side unable to stay up. The Master rises and the cloak wraps around him hiding his body once again.

"Good, very good. That is what I was looking for." The Master says greedily as my eyes close and I drift into the dark abyss. My necklace dangles in his gloved hand.

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I wake up in panic and reach for my necklace. It's there. It is still around my neck, unbroken. Was that all just a dream? I sit up. It can't have just been a dream. I stretch but don't feel tired or drained. I don't know what to think. How am I so refreshed?

I get up and pace some. When I become too frustrated about my situation, I practice some of the simple spells Peter taught me to get my mind off things. I work on my shield and make it expand in a sphere around me. Right now I can do half a sphere but it's small, only room for one and only protects the front. If I want to protect anyone else around me I have to make it bigger and stronger.

After a couple of hours of practicing I realize that they haven't come in for me for more testing. I walk towards the door, careful not to touch the handle and listen. I don't hear anything and huff.

What is going on? For days, they have been testing me for hours on end and multiple times a day. Why is today different?

Unless that dream wasn't really a dream but reality and they have all the evidence they need.

Hours later and they still haven't come for me. I sit on the bed as my anxiety increases. I grab my necklace then remember the way my power exploded out when it was ripped off. Could I use that to my advantage in escaping? The next time they come for me I could drop my necklace and release the energy blast.

Then I remembered the crumpled body of the Master, how strange it looked for a grown man. I wasn't able to see clearly because my vision was blurred but it looked as if the Master had a very feminine physique. The pants leg had slid up in my energy blast so I saw his bare leg which was too thin and feminine to be a man's.

The way the Master always hides behind a mask and cloak had struck me as strange but this could explain why he hides! He is actually a she! Women are not typically seen as powerful leaders so she hides that part of her in order to gain a following. As a woman, no matter how strong she is, the men would look past her. As a powerful masked figure with a male voice she can rise to power quickly considering her strength.

As I am lost in thought the door swings open startling me. I look up to see the Master standing in the doorway. The mask looms at me daring me to question it.

"It's time to move." The Master states. With a flip of his/her wrist the blindfold is over my eyes and my wrists are bound by magic.