THE APPRENTICE II

29

The sky was clear and sunny, the rays of heat burning on Stephen's skin that was exposed from the sleeveless training shirt that he was wearing. He had his forearm on Hazel's neck, was on one knee, and slowly took some pressure off. He squinted his eyes at her and tilted his head with suspicion.

"You've been distracted." He concluded and sat down beside her. She rose and sat to catch some air. She slid her knees up and put each of her arms on top of the caps. He took notice of her silence. "What have you been up to?,"

"Nothing." She answered and stood with a grunt. She approached the stone bench where their jugs of water and face towels were. She picked up a towel, he reached his hand out thinking she'd toss him one. Instead, she buried her face in it. He scoffed and appeared before her, right as she finished wiping her face.

"I was only suggesting it. It was a theory." He referred to the discussion they had about her species. She gave an insincere and slow nod and he rolled his eyes. "You don't need to...to project on me. You're being immature about this,"

"I'm not being immature! I'm not." She corrected the volume of her voice and exhaled sharply. He went silent and crossed his arms. He knew her like the back of his hand. If he were to stay silent for just long enough, she'd be compelled to speak in 3, 2,1... "You don't know everything."

"Ah, there it is." He threw his arms up and there was a triumphant look on his face. "If I had nickel every time someone said that,"

"Well maybe it's because it's true." She took a sip out of her jug. He scoffed once again. "Whatever, I can't get anywhere with you,"

"You can't get anywhere with me? I can't get anywhere with you!" He pointed and put a finger on her chest. She slapped his finger off. "Passive aggressive,"

"You mumbling that makes you passive aggressive." She countered.

This happened far too frequently. Their constant bickering was the equivalent of having a fly stuck in his ear. Wong took a deep breath in an effort to maintain his patience, but they wouldn't quit. He growled and stomped to them.

"Will you two stop fighting?! You're supposed to be spiritual beings, for Pete's sake!" He stomped his foot on the ground. The two stopped momentarily.

"Who's Pete?" Hazel quipped with slight monotony. Stephen put a hand on his face and shook his head.

"Hazel, you are on thin ice, young lady!" Wong gritted his teeth and pointed. She fought back the laugh that was starting to surface, but the smirk on her face was growing. "Your behavior has been outright reckless and unacceptable!"

Hazel gasped and repeatedly ran her hand on one side of her neck to signify his silence. He promised not to tell Stephen about her brawl with the prince of Pentadilune, so long as she promised to apologize the next time they met. However, his temper got the best of him. It was about time he found out about it and disciplined her.

"What's this then?" He put a hand on his hips. The cloak flew to her and wrapped itself around her shoulders, sensing her panic. She shut her eyes and threw her head back, cringing. "Wong?,"

"Hazel?,"

"Nothing." She shook her head and looked at her master. "As I was saying, I forgive you,"

"Forgive me? Okay, first of all, nothing to apologize for, we'll talk about this later." He put a finger up in the air. She began to make a portal. He grabbed the back of her shirt. "Ah ah ah, not so fast. Wong, tell me,"

"Wong, the deal!" She reminded with a certain danger in her voice. He looked in between the two.

"This is an order as the Sorcerer Supreme,"

"Technically, you're the stand-in Supreme, it isn't official yet." She held a finger up and pointed it to him. "Plus, that's power-tripping, you're abusing your power, fascist"

"Yeah? Well either way, you're my apprentice, smart-ass. I have the right to know about your business. In fact, you're not supposed to be denying any of my requests." He let go of the fabric and let her feet touch the ground. "So who's going to tell me?,"

"Hazel brawled with the prince of Pentadilune." Wong reported. Hazel shot him a nasty look and he gave a huff. Stephen's eyes flashed with shock, then he smirked in fury.

"Oh, you are in so much trouble." He was so livid that he didn't even raise his voice. The cloak embraced her. He turned to Wong. "Leave us."

"Okay okay, give me two seconds to explain before you go off." She held her palms out. "It was a friendly bet and he started it! We're...acquaintances! It wasn't that bad, it was all in good fun!"

He breathed deeply to calm himself down. He weighed the pieces of information that he received and clicked his tongue. He placed his hands on hips again and put his weight on one leg. She currently isn't in the best mental condition, that's a given. However, was she pushing it too far? Yes, she's his apprentice, he's the master. What about how he's feeling? Is he not allowed to get angry? What she did was reckless and undiplomatic, he would have never gotten away with that.

"You are to spend the next 2 weeks in the sanctum and monastery only. You and I will be training rigorously and brush up on every single thing I've taught you in terms of conduct." His voice was firm and commanding. His eyebrows met and he huffed audibly. Hazel never even noticed the cracks forming on her body. He shut his eyes and shook his head. "I'm angry."

She frowned. The heat was rising inside her, but that didn't matter. She just wanted things to be better.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think it was that serious. I didn't think it'd make you this angry,"

"Well, it did. Do you know how unprofessional that is? I didn't train you to be a liability." He concluded. Maybe that was a little too harsh— what's done is done. He approached the bench parallel to hers in order to distance himself and wipe off. "Careless. That was careless, Hazel, and immature, too."

Hazel clenched her fists; he hates her. He hates her, but he's just too kind to say it to her face. Maybe it's because she might not be human—no, that can't be right, surely he's gotten used to other species by now. Maybe it's just her— it's both. He said he loves her and cares...but what if he's lying? What if he's just being nice? Maybe he's been wanting to replace her for the longest time. She should leave, if not for eternity then until she finds out what exactly she is so she could come forward and clean. She managed to convince herself to see these things as facts. The thoughts in her head only got darker and darker, like an internal whirlwind.

Stephen poured the bottle of water on himself to cool down, then ruffled the towel into his hair. There was a popping and sizzling noise that came from behind him, and he turned to see what it was all about. He found Hazel staring into space while the cracks inside her grew brighter and brighter. Light seeped out of her. This time, however, the concrete below her started to break, too.

After the feeling of his blood leaving his body settled down, he took slow and quiet steps.

"Hazel?" He softly called, and she snapped out of her zoning out. His eyes pointed to the floor. "I want you to look at what's happening."

She followed his gaze and finally took notice of the floor. Her contempt grew stronger, and so did the light.