Betrothal's Price

Chapter 4: The Source

Liam sat in the tall grass, holding as many Luxs as possible. The shimmer of their luminescence lit the meadow a radiant Tyrian purple with crimson ombre hues twirling inside. He almost wished he could run through the meadow to awaken all of them, but he was enjoying the feeling of, now, a single Lux smooth around his palm.

Feeling the exuding magic shed right from the Lux as it rolled to the edges of his palms, Liam let his fingers play with it. His eyebrows knit as he struggled to puzzle it.

Isla played with a few wisping Luxs, and sat across from Liam then looked at him, piecing together what he might've been thinking. "What started your thought process?" She asked with curiosity.

Reality reswept Liam and he turned to her, "Oh! I just.. I just don't understand how every Silvestrian creature from Luxs to giant griffins are just dripping in magic."

Isla crossed her legs and lent her weight through her ground-beared arms behind her. "I don't know. Maybe because we know or believe in things, humans don't. You know all animals, even 'regular' ones, have their own magical abilities. You just don't see it." She said with a "matter-of-fact" voice. "We've been blessed with these abilities, since the beginnin' of our existence."

Liam scooted his behind closer to face her more properly, looking at her with intrigue. "How come only few humans get magic?"

Isla tilted her head to the side, "Since the last time we talked about this, I've done some discovering, but haven't gotten to explain to you. It's because so few humans understand that you don't get magic; You use it. All magic doesn't come from us. It all comes from a bigger omniscient source, one of which you'll have to know and understand, before you can learn to use magic."

"How come humans weren't born with the ability to do magic? Not that I'm complaining."

"Silvestrians aren't exactly just able to do magic the second they're born. It's more that we're taught to know and understand the Source from the moment we can comprehend. Humans could likely do the same thing, in fact, they did at the start of existence. But so many strayed from the Source for other purposes, so they stopped being able to perform such miracles. Silvestrians are indeed still understandin' of the Source, but our problem is a different one. But the main thing is we're not perfect, unfortunately. We're no better than any humans. It's just our belief and faith in the Source that blesses us in that way."

"So what is the Source?"

"The Source is the one and only omniscient bein' that existed before the beginning of time."

"What can I do to learn the Source?" Liam's green eyes glittered with curiosity, his intrigued smile contagious.

Isla chuckled, and nodded.

~*~

Isla spent the next couple weeks trying to help Liam get through the loss of his mother and deciphering Liam's questions about the Source. By the end of it, Liam was moving on from the loss of his mom. He didn't lose Kalani's memory, but he held it with the strength and willingness to go on unknowingly with more help. Liam hadn't quite acquired the ability to use magic, much to Isla's expectancy, but much to her shock, he'd reached farther than most did in so little time.

As they parted at the end of Summer, Liam put his arms around Isla, embracing her tightly and surprising her. "Thank you." He whispered in her ear, which sent a shiver down her spine, but Isla hugged him back.

"You're welcome, but I didn't have that much to do with it." Isla whispered back.

"Yeah, right!" Liam pulled away and openly told her aloud.

Isla shook her head. "Whatever, Scarf boy."

~*~

The next summer, they went to the Petran WinterLodge, but they seemed to return to their bickering, at least it outwardly seemed that way. Truthfully their bickering was now more like back and forth banter between them. Liam hadn't minded it too much, though she still could get on his last nerve, which he wasn't so crazy about. But the actual arguing was more lighthearted, and their more serious arguments didn't last long.

After two more years, Isla didn't show for the next year and little information was granted even to King Henry. The only thing known was that something had come up that was far too important to skip out. They would come next year.

The pact was not broken; It was just delayed by a year...

... Then by another year.

Liam didn't understand. He missed her.