A Ward's Tale

Chapter 22

Mitchel sits in his room. It has been days since Prince Arthur, Reynolds, and Peter left to find and rescue Clarissa and Mitchel is getting antsy about their return. What if she is changed somehow? What if she is hurt? Or worse, they get there too late and she's dead! The last thought sends a shudder through his body. He doesn't know what he'd do with his life without Rissa there with him.

Mitchel paces his room. He slams his fist into his bed post in frustration. The pain was supposed to clear his head but just made him more frustrated. He falls back onto his bed, grabbing his head.

Why did he not offer to go help? Why is he so afraid? Why is he so weak?

He stands back up, opening his right palm to the ceiling. An orb of fire appears out of nowhere. It flickers in the space above his palm.

"Why can I do this?" He asks himself.

"Do what?" a voice asks from the doorway.

Mitchel jumps and quickly closes his palm to extinguish the flame. The door was closed, he was sure of that. He had closed it coming in because he needed space from everyone.

"Was that fire? Mitchel what were you just doing?" Carea asks, stepping closer to Mitchel. Carea is a fellow servant, she mostly works in the kitchen and tending to Lola. Her golden hair flows freely as she tilts her head. She is off duty, otherwise it would be pulled up.

"Uh, um no, what are you talking about?" Mitchel stutters. He's always been a terrible liar, it's a wonder Rissa and him have not been caught for their secret weapons training.

"Mitchel you are an awful liar. "Carea says, shaking her head. She takes another step inside and closes the door. She smirks then snaps her fingers and the fire from the candles lighting his room flicker out and they are left in darkness.

"Carea?" Mitchel asks, "You have magic?" He is in shock, he would have never guessed. She's not the quietest of the servants but not anyone he would have suspected of magic.

"Yes, I do." Her voice gets closer to him. He feels her walk around him trailing her hand over his arm, then back, then the other arm before coming to a stop on his chest. She snaps her fingers again and the candles flicker to life. Carea is standing in front of him. Her golden hair frames her face gently as she looks up at him with clear blue eyes.

Mitchel's heart is bounding under her hand. How did he not see that? Carea has been working as a servant in the castle alongside him for years and he never would have guessed she was hiding magic. And she's been practicing all this time too, how else would she have been able to control the flames so easily?

"How long have you had magic?" Mitchel asks.

"You are born with it silly." Carea laughs stepping back. "That was so dramatic, whew, even I had chills. Your heart is racing, Mickey. Do I enthrall you?"

Mitchel blinks at her, unsure of how to continue. Does she enthrall him? At that moment, yes. He was the most excited he'd been in who knows how long.

She laughs, "I'm just messing with you, Mitchel. I know you are in love with Clarissa. I was just being dramatic because it was the perfect opportunity. As for how long I knew I had magic, I was a child when my village was attacked. I lived in a magical village so I always knew about magic and was learning it from a young age. When my village was attacked my dad helped in the defense while my mom grabbed me and fled. I never saw him again." She pauses, lost in a memory. "My mom ended up here and we made a life as "normal" peasants."

"Wow, I'm so sorry. That's terrible."

"It's the past. I can't change it." Carea shrugs. She sits on the bed and pats the spot beside her. Mitchel is a bit wary to sit so close when she already made such an advance in the darkness before. What else would she do?

But he was also interested in what she could tell him about magic.

So he sat next to her.

"I can tell you have a lot of questions but first I need to teach you to hide your magical energy. That's how I found you. I can feel the energy inside of you and when you use it, the presence is stronger. In this time and age, that can be very dangerous, especially here. I am not sure how you have gone unnoticed so far. There are magic users who work for the King who track unregistered magic users."

"I--I didn't know that." Mitchel stutters and leans back. He's been careful not to be seen but never thought about magic having a presence that can be felt by other magic users. But that was how Peter found Rissa, wasn't it. He could feel her presence.

"There is a lot you don't know. So we will start here. Lesson one, close your eyes and open your mind to my presence."

Mitchel complies. With his eyes close he concentrates on finding Carea's presence. He "sees" a strong pink aura surrounding a silhouette sitting on the bed next to him. He can't tell anything specific about the silhouette other than it appears feminine.

"I see pink around you," Mitchel says. He reaches out and "looks" down at his own arm and "sees" a faint green aura around it. "I see a faint green around me, what does that mean?"

"The color represents which type of magic you are most capable of welding. I have pink because I am most capable of natural magic. You have green which means you are more capable of healing magic. Robert, one of the physician's assistants, also is green." Carea explains. "Now that you see the aura pull it into you and hide it."

Mitchel opens his eyes and looks at her. "What?" How does he do that? He can barely keep a flame for longer than a minute.

"You need to hide your aura from other magic users in order to retain your "normal" status. If someone, not friendly, were to sense you they could hurt you or get you arrested. Mitchel, the King's men can throw you in the dungeons for just possessing magic, they could consider it a threat to the King."

"Okay, I understand, I guess." Mitchel says and closes his eyes again. He looks toward Carea and watches as her strong pink aura fades then disappears completely. Mitchel looks down at his arm again and focuses on the feeling he got from Carea's aura fading. The faint green fades even more then disappears.

"You did it!" Carea exclaims happily. She claps joyfully as Mitchel opens his eyes and laughs.

"Wow, that felt weird." He looks at his arm. With his other hand he touches his arm looking it over. It doesn't feel any different.

"So why was my aura so faint compared to yours? Because of the differences in magic? Or is it because I am weaker?"

"It is because you are weaker, you are unsure of yourself also. Strength comes from within, once you start learning more and gaining confidence your aura will grow stronger. There are five types of magic; Natural, which gives a pink aura, Light, which gives a yellow aura, Healing, which gives a green aura, Offensive, which gives a red aura, and Defensive, which gives a blue aura. One person will only have one aura all their life. Not to say they can't use other magic, you can, it is just harder to learn. Except the Chosen One, her aura fluctuates between all the types. I know you must know Clarissa is the Chosen One, and if you want to help her, then you must listen to what I teach you."

"How long did you know?" Mitchel turns to face Carea and gets serious. "I want to be able to help her."

"Only since Peter came, that was when her powers really surfaced. Then he taught her to conceal her aura, I couldn't really see that she had multiple colors, but I knew her magic was strong. When she was kidnapped I figured the Seekers must have evidence, that is my proof she is the one." Carea smiles, "I want to help her too, she's always been nice to me and I want to change this world to accept mages again. I don't want to hide myself anymore."

"Then we are on the same side." Mitchel says.

"Yes we are, Mickey!" Carea winks then laughs. She sticks her arm out and Mitchel reaches out and grasps her wrist with his hand and she in turns grabs his wrist and they shake on it. 

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Pronunciation

Carea : Ca - ray