Alcingeria

Chapter Thirty Nine: Passing The Time

Chapter Thirty Nine Passing The Time:

Wednesday June 30th 1690

"Sir, do you want to take a walk in the garden?" Lawrence asked.

I nodded. I wanted to be somewhere else when those mafia members were killed. I followed Lawrence out the door of the castle and we emerged in the garden. I inhaled the fresh, cool afternoon air. The scent of roses was always noticeable in the castle, but out here it was very present on the air. It was a nice day, the sun was shining brightly and it further enhanced the brilliant colors that the flowers gave the garden. I then heard the sound of a frustrated cry.

"That's not fair, Antoinette!" I heard Tabatha yell.

"All is fair when sparing with magic." I heard a girl's voice respond.

The voices came from around the corner. I walked around the bend in the garden and saw Tabatha and another girl, presumably Antoinette, standing in the clearing that Lawrence and I spared in the other day.

Antoinette was dressed in witch clothes. She also wore a witch hat. Her clothes and hat were brown with gold trim, and she looked about sixteen, maybe fifteen. Her eyes were emerald green like Lawrence's and her shoulder length hair was black like Erin's or Estaire's. Instead of a staff, she held a wand that was just over a foot long. Its shaft was royal blue and a small citrine crystal was mounted at the end of the wand.

Tabatha was doubled over, her hands resting on her knees, her staff was on the ground next to her. When she saw Lawrence and I approaching she scooped up her staff and stood up straight.

"Redmond!" She said in surprise.

"Hi."

"Hello, Redmond." Antoinette said.

I waved at her in response.

"We're just sparing, but Antoinette holds an unfair advantage." Tabatha complained.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Illusion magic."

Tabatha cast a competitive glare at Antoinette. I raised an eyebrow.

"Can she use any other magic types?" I asked.

Tabatha shook her head.

"No." Said the other witch proudly. "I'm a pure illusion magic witch."

My eyes widened. Tabatha had described pure witches to be very powerful. Having one messing with my mind and altering my thoughts didn't appeal to me.

"Observe," she said with a mischievous smile.

She turned to face Tabatha, expertly spinning her wand in her hand. She pointed it at her opponent.

"Ghosts of the Past."

Right after she finished saying the name of the spell, the citrine crystal at the end of Antoinette's wand began to glow. Tabatha's eyes widened and she looked around in a panic.

"No! No! Stop!" She begged.

Her head snapped left and right, looking at things that only she could see.

"Okay, okay." Antoinette said, lowering her wand from her target.

The citrine crystal stopped glowing and Tabatha's fearful look eased. She no longer looked around in panic. She just glared at Antoinette.

"Antoinette...! I hate you!" she yelled.

Tabatha sounded like she was angry, but not fully. It sounded like she was having fun.