Different Worlds

Magic Training

I collapsed onto the grass and wiped the beads of sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand. Whew! Magic training was more draining than taking a two hour aerobics class! Jarvis was trying to get me to tap into the deep magic that was apparently buried deep within me. I didn't fully understand him, but he'd said that thought the magic I had used to release Daniel was indeed powerful, there was more magic inside of me that would kill the magic I had used with ease. To put it in a way that I could understand, I had managed to pull Daniel out - so what? Netiri would have been able to do it too, since she was the one that had put him in there. That kind of magic - though it was already more powerful than what Jarvis had, was only at Netiri's level. I needed to get higher so that I would be able to defeat her and break her spells. To be able to gain access to this deep magic - it was going to take a lot more effort than I had expended to release Daniel - a lot more.

"Again!" Jarvis barked the order at me, and I bristled. The sun was high in the sky, and we had been going at it since it was low. I was starving, I was tired, and I was sick of this Jarvis treating me as though I were only ten years old.

"I need a break." I looked back at him, and I kenw there was a challenge in my eyes. If he tried to make me continue at the moment, I would probably go crazy. Luckily, he seemed to sense this, and he deferred to me with poor grace.

"Fine! But you'll never be ready if you don't push yourself!" He stalked away in a huff, and I resisted the urge to throw my hand at him and let the beams throw him into the air.

"You don't look too happy," Devon commented as he came up to me.

"I'm so tired," I complained. "I'm hungry and I'm angry. I want to get something to eat, then I want to go to sleep - and possibly not wake up."

Devon offered me his hand with a grin, and I took it and let him pull me to my feet. "Not having a fun day, huh?"

"That's an understatement!" I retorted. "I swear, if I have to see this Jarvis one more time today, I'll probably try and send him to where Daniel was."

"It can't have been that bad."

"Are you kidding?" I had to try and get control of my voice before I started screeching. "I don't know if I can do this. The way Jarvis is pushing me - I can't handle it. I'm about to crack - I swear it!"

"He's just trying to help you get ready in time. We don't know what's coming or how soon, but you can bet anything that Netiri's got her eye on you all the time. There is no doubt that is would already know where we are again, and she's probably about to send her soldiers after us again, if she hasn't decided to come herself. We're on the clock, and Jarvis knows this. That's why he's pushing you so hard."

I groaned to myself. When he put it that way, I knew he was right. We had a limited time before Netiri finally caught up to us.

"Fine!" I pouted, feeling like a petulant child. "First, I really need something to eat, then I guess it's back to work."

Devon smiled as he led me inside the castle to find some food.

*****

"You need to dig deeper. Reach deep down as far as you can and let it out."

I was really beginning to find Jarvis' voice quite annoying. But then I thought of what Devon had said, and I took a deep breath and tried to do what Jarvis told me to do. It wasn't easy. Trying to concentrate, I dug down as deep as I could. I could feel the magic I had used to free Daniel respond, but apparently I had had to go deeper. There was just one problem. I didn't think I could get any deeper. I was positive I was as deep as was possible. I opened my eyes to see Jarvis watching me with a frown on his face.

"You didn't dig deep enough!"

"I can't go any deeper! There isn't anywhere else to go!"

"You didn't even try!"

As I looked into Jarvis' accusing face, I felt something inside me snap. I'm not accustomed to losing my temper. I've maybe lost it properly about two or three times in my life, but I knew that I was about to lose it again.

"How dare you accuse me of not even trying! Do you think I'm doing this to humour you? I have been expending every ounce of strength I have to try and do what you're telling me, but what you're asking is impossible! I have gone asfar and as deep as I possibly can! If I could go deeper, then don't you think I would? Do you think I'm refusing just to annoy you? I know that this isn't a game, and I know that I'm Nardema's best hope of winning! I'm trying, I really am. But I can't do what's impossible."

During my little outburst, Jacek and Devon had come running over, while everyone else looked on from a distance. Jacek and Devon looked back and forth between our angry faces.

"So you're just going to quit?" Jarvis spat at me, his face red with anger. "Is that what you do? When something gets too hard, you just quit! What I am asking you to do is far from impossible! I told you when we started this morning that it would require all of your strength, and that you would possibly have to call on some reserve strength. I told you that it would be the most exhausting thing you would ever do. I didn't lie to you - I only told you the absolute truth. Now, if you want to turn tail and run - do it now! Do it before I waste any more of my time on you!"

We stood there glowering at each other, both our faces red with anger. Then Jacek stepped in between us.

"You both need to calm down." He spoke in a calm, steady voice, and it seemed to drain away some of the anger in the atmosphere. He turned to me. "Maybe you both need to stop today and resume again first thing tomorrow morning. Give yourself some time to recover." Then he turned to Jarvis. "Neither of you can work when you're angry. And remember, Jarvis, that Sienna isn't used to our ways. I know that the way you are training Sienna is the way you have trained all the apprentices that have come to you to learn, but Sienna isn't like them. She needs more time to rest than they did. She is human, after all."

I watched as Jarvis took a deep breath, and some of the redness from his face began to disappear.

"You are right, Jacek." He looked over at me. "I'm sorry for speaking to you in such a way. I keep forgetting that a human needs more rest than what the rest of us in Nardema require. Will you be sufficiently rested to begin again first thing in the morning?"

This time it was my turn to take a deep breath. I could tell that it had taken a lot for him to apologize. My guess is that he had rarely apologized to anyone in his life - if ever. It seemed ironic that for such a powerful sorcerer, the hardest thing he had to face was saying two insignificant words.

"Yes, I will be. And I'm sorry too."

Jarvis nodded stiffly. "In that case, I'll leave you to it." He gave Jacek a stiff nod before walking off. I turned to face Jacek, feeling slightly ashamed of the way I had acted.

"I'm sorry, Jacek." I could feel my face colouring again, this time with embarressment. "I didn't mean to -"

"It's okay, Sienna," he cut in, smiling. "I've actually known Jarvis for a long time. He's never been the easiest person to work with. But he has a good heart, and he means well." After a slight pause, he added, "he apologized though. For him to do that, it shows how much he respects you. You may not realize it, but he respects you a great deal." Still smiling, he walked off.

"So, round two tomorrow," Devon said. "Good luck."

"Yeah," I muttered. "I'm going to need it."