Forgotten Magic

Chapter 36

"Please no..." I muttered, dropping onto a twin bed in a corner of the caravan. I covered my face in my hands and sighed.

And I could tell Nickolas was right next to me when he muttered, "I hate this as much as you probably do."

I fall back on the flimsy mattress. "I can't believe I agreed to this."

"Oh, come on," Rapunzel insisted. "It'll be fun!"

"I wouldn't call this 'fun', princess," I whispered when Nickolas had left the caravan. "Do you realize who you've just stuck me with?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine!" The princess dragged me upright by my shoulders. Her face was right in mine. "Maybe you two will become friends!"

"Somehow I doubt it," I say as I watch Nickolas and Cassandra arguing outside.

. . .

For another week, I'm stuck in the room again, wondering how on earth I was going to survive who knows how long with Nickolas Chance. Anyone else would've been fine. Pete. Stan. Anyone but him.

In the end, I found myself dreading the day we'd leave Corona. A lot more than I had when I first found out.

And then the day came when we would depart.

"Hey." Nickolas opened the door. "We're leaving in a few hours. The princess was thinking you'd want to get some stuff from your house."

I think about this. Just for a second. "Okay. Sure. I'll go."

"Alright then. Come on."

I hadn't realized returning to the place I'd last seen Varian would mean spending more time with him...Oh well...

. . .

For some reason, I'd expected to have to push open the front door to a gloomy house. I'd forgotten about the automaton smashing through the front of the building.

I made my way up the stairs and to my room. It was caked in dust and untidiness. Nickolas sort of stood by the doorway as I pulled out my cloak and a couple sets of clothes. They were mostly dresses-it wasn't 'proper' of ladies to wander around in a shirt and pants, so I only two of each from when I was twelve. Still, I pulled them out.

After pinning on my cloak and stuffing my clothes in a bag, I glance at Nickolas. Then, I duck under my bed and pull out my journal. Before the guard could notice the leather-bound notebook, I shoved it into the bag. Then I sling the thing over my shoulder and walk out of my room and down the hall, stopping in front of Quirin's bedroom.

That's when I noticed Nickolas had disappeared.

To be honest, I didn't really care where he went. So I pushed my way into Mr. Habile's bedroom and to the desk. After a long pause, I pull open the smallest drawer and took out my mom's letters.

I sifted through them, wondering if I should bring my mother's words with me. I didn't know if I wanted to risk it. But then I found myself reading over the last letter. The one from 'Dan'. The one that made me think of looking for my mom.

April 23rd

Kir,

I don't have much time, so take me seriously. I can't provide for Annie anymore and I'm sending her away. I don't know where she's going to go and whether-

"What are you doing?"

I jump, turning on my heels like I'd been caught in the middle of a crime scene with a knife. "Um, nothing!"

Nickolas rolled his eyes. "I don't think robbing a dead person is a good idea."

"I-he gave them to me," I explained hurriedly. Then I wonder why I'm explaining all this to him. "Quirin's not dead. He's just-"

"You really believe what that psycho says?" he asked, smiling a bit.

"I-he's not a psycho. And...I don't know." I avert my eyes stupidly.

"Whatever. Are you done? They're expecting us in about half an hour." He glances at the clock on the wall.

"Can I get some of Varian's alchemy stuff?" I ask quickly. "And his books?"

"Robbing a convict now, huh?" he asks. "Well, I don't see why not. Just tell me what you take."

"Okay." I pass him and find Varian's lab. It was ruined. Completely. There was a massive hole in the ground and one of the tables was broken inwards. I approach a bookshelf in the corner and scan the spines. There!

I jump up and pull out a thick maroon book. Ancient languages. The one Varian referenced when he showed me how to translate the scroll.

"Whoa..." Nickolas had followed me, and was now in the doorway of Varian's lab. "So this is where it happened, huh?" And then he gets a good look at the amber slab in the center and falls quiet.

"Yup." I glanced at him and said, "Oh...you uh..."

He shook his head and turned to me. "So what do you need to take?"

"These are the raccoon traps that were always around the village," I say, holding up a few balls. "And this is the neutralizer for that." I set aside a salt shaker as I went through one of his shelves. "Where is...Oh!" I grab a small box of little vials. "Raw ingredients. I can't make anything dangerous with it."

I grab a few other things, showing them to Nickolas and then placing the objects in a bag on the table. The final thing I grabbed was some of Varian's notes. I quietly said goodbye to Quirin. And then I left.

. . .

And we were off. I didn't even get to say goodbye to the room I'd been living in. It had been plain and boring, and had all around felt as bad as a prison cell.

The first day outside Corona was filled with yelling and confusion. First there was the problem of where to sleep. We had three girls and four guys. The girls could fit comfortably in our side of the caravan. Rapunzel took the top bunk, Cassandra took the bottom, and I had the one across the room from them.

Meanwhile, the boys had the same set up. And a hammock that hung down from the roof. As far as I knew, Nickolas had the top bunk and one of Eugene's old friends took the bottom. There was also a pub thug, who took the bed across from them. And Eugene was forced into the hammock from the ceiling.

Mostly, Cass and Nickolas argued about the route we were taking. Cassandra was tight on keeping to the rocks. Meanwhile the guard wanted to avoid thieves and make sure they had shelter during the night.

It was all a headache. How much Nickolas yelled. How much Cass shouted right back. And how much everyone else started yelling too. And it was all because I was there.