By My Side | The Arcana: A mystic Romance

13:Magic Shop

The stars seemed to dance merrily as night fell. The streets were bustling with life, as usual, and there was a light breeze tonight. How pleasant it was when compared to other nights. Haya found herself wondering just how she didn't catch a cold after falling asleep outside. Those five cups of tea must have worked overtime.

There was a click as Asra unlocked the door, the protection spell going out with a strong, white light. Compared to when she cast it, this was stark in contrast; a reminder of why she needed his help. They entered, and her gaze shot around the room immediately in search of intruders. Asra missed this as he immediately started rummaging behind the counter. Once she was absolutely that no convicted murderer would pop out, she went up the stairs into the living area. She was tired, and a bit hungry after walking the length of the palace grounds and then the long road that led into the city. A cup of tea and some pumpkin bread would be nice.

She cleaned out the ashes in the stove and packed in fresh would, before looking around for their companion who lit their fires. They didn't use matches, and the didn't use magic. Magic had shown both she and Asra just what it meant to wield fire, and frankly, the were humbled. A constant, glaring reminder would always be there in the form of the burnt wall behind the stove.

"Where is that calamander?", she asked. Almost immediately the little fellow appear from behind to stove and climbed up the front before disappearing under the wood.  Then, the stove burst to life with soft, orange flames.

She prepared the kettle and went to sit down, immediately falling asleep by mistake.

When she awoke, it was because Asra was called her frantically. Panicked, her eyes shot open and she looked around. When she found his gaze, he looked almost unsettled as her held her shoulders. She looked around, searching for anything that might have caused this, but there was nothing.

"What's wrong?", she asked, sitting up. He searched her face, then took her hands and studied them. He felt her forehead for her temperature. She felt a headache coming on.

"What did you dream about?", he asked as he moved away and poured her a cup of tea. She blinked. She didn't remember having a dream at all. She could only remember falling asleep, and the darkness that followed. She shook head as she accepted the tea.

"Nothing."

He paused, looking down in thought. Was it a bad thing that she didn't dream?

"You were shaking.", Asra said,voice going soft and gentle. She blinked.

"Shaking?"

He nodded as she headed for the stairs. With a pause, he looked at her meaningfully over his shoulder.

"And murmuring. Come on.", he said before leaving the room. She eyed her tea, confused, and rose to follow. He went into the back, and she paused briefly, wondering why it seemed like they were about to have a reading.

When she sat down, something cold slithered over her foot. She perked up, eyes wide, before looking under the table. When Asra laughed, she rose to find his familiar resting on his shoulders. When did...

No... Why didn't she notice the snake before? Was she hiding somewhere the whole time?

"Focus.", Asra said suddenly, tapping a deck of cards she hadn't noticed before. She really was out of it, she thought as she took a sip from her tea. She watched as he shuffled the deck with expert ease, occasionally removing one and placing it on the table. Soon the cards were laid out in a very specific pattern, ready for an in depth reading.

To the left were three cards, in the centre of the table were eight, and to the right were four. To say she knew exactly what kind of reading this was going to be, would be a lie. She looked up at her teacher, to find him staring at her intently, looking for something in her expression. When he didn't find what he was looking for, he looked a the cards and said, "Let's start."

She blinked, taking another sip before setting her cup aside. She picked up the first card from the left and flipped, then averted her gaze to avoid seeing it.

"Oh."

She blinked, her gaze shooting to meet his at the sound of his surprise. He sighed, this was definitely going to be a long session.

"Flip the rest of them.", he said. She felt a dull throb in her temples immediately, but ignored it and followed his instructions.

She was immediately thrust into a completely different place, Asra seemingly a mountain away from where she was now perched on a small hill. She looked around, confused, and blinking rapidly. Then, she heard Asra speak, but she didn't understand what he was saying. She looked at him to find his purple gaze boring into her soul. Something tugged at her from behind, like string do to a puppet. She looked back to see a dark mist rise behind her, filling her with dread and uncertainty.

Then, an uncanny, thin hand appeared, open wide as it reached for something. Her eyes widened as the hand balled into a fist, and grasped a thin string that she didn't notice before. Haya was pulled again, but this time she tried to resist even if to no avail.

"Open your eyes, Haya!", Asra called urgently. She wasn't sure from where, but she did exactly that, and the little trance disappeared with the final snap of roped pulled taut. She was disoriented immediately, but she noticed Asra had a hand on hers, and was looking at her like he saw her die. She looked at the table, her vision blurring slightly. What was that? What had happened just now?

"Not again, Haya.", Asra said softly from beside her, placing a hand on her forehead. She blinked as she felt a dull pain course through her temples.

"What do mean by that?", she asked, straining her neck to look at him. As if her question hurt him, he grimaced. This confused her, but before she could question him, he quickly rose and grabbed her cup of tea from the table. He gave it to her and moved back into his seat. What did he mean? She didn't remember ever going through this before.

"Never mind.", Asra said. Haya took in a deep breath as she wondered what she was going through. Asra was making her worry, too. Clearly, she didn't remember ever having gone through this because of her bad memory. The concoction that she wanted to give Nadia was meant to retrieve her own memories, but every time she put if to use she suffered from all sorts of illnesses. The fever was a recurring one among those. It was for this very reason that Asra was reluctant to let her prepare his concoction for the countess; there was no knowing just what would happen to the woman. However, after having spent so much time with her, Haya was certain that there were two major differences between the two of them. Nadia was troubled by a past that haunted her, one that she couldn't recall. When she was ill, it was because she could remember but always forgot afterwards. As for Haya, she was always facing issues without recalling anything at all.

The differences were subtle, but they could make the biggest changes when taken advantage of. As such, she made a decision. She would convince Asra to let her do this. Speaking of Asra, when her gaze lifted to look at him, he was studying the cards on the table thoughtfully.

"Are we going ahead with the reading?", she asked. If she reacted with a trance then it meant there was something she was meant to know. However, Asra wouldn't have brought her back if it had happened the way it was meant to. It would be unwise to not go on, at this point.

When Asra nodded, she couldn't help the slight dread that beagn to gnaw at her stomach.

"Now or never, I geuss."