Hood Part 1

Magic Lessons

"All set," Robin announced the next morning.

I'd checked her left hand multiple times but there was never any ring. That loosened the tight ball in my gut until I saw a glint at her throat when she leaned over to pick something up. She was wearing the ring on a piece of string like a necklace! The fist in my stomach clenched even tighter than before.

"Great," I said. "Let's get out of here."

We said goodbye to everyone and started on our journey.

"Which way do we go?" asked Robin from up ahead.

"Just go due south until we make camp," was Sapphire reply. Then she fell back to walk alongside me. "There's something troubling you. I can tell. There is something you wish to ask me?"

I nodded toward Robin.

"I see. Well let's fix that. Fiogip!" She whispered. "Now she can't hear us."

"Won't she get suspicious?"

"No. Somehow the spell affects the mind and causes it to never become conscious of its lack of hearing ability."

"That's very interesting."

"What did you want to ask me?"

"Well, I um, I guess I thought both your being a woman and your knowledge of magic, you might be able to help me with a problem."

"And that is?"

"Why do I hear a little voice in the back of my head?"

"A voice?"

"Yes."

"Well, who does the voice belong to?"

"Myself."

"Phillip, that's your conscience."

"My what?"

"Your conscience. It's the little voice in the back of your head that tells you what's right."

"But that's not what the voice is telling me!"

"Then what does the voice tell you?"

"It argues with my conscience. Asks me questions about what I feel."

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think you might be suffering from mixed feelings. You feel two completely opposite feelings about the same thing. Think both parts of the argument are your conscience and you just can't figure out which to listen to. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless one side is your head and the other side is your heart. You should probably know which it is by what it's saying. Now I understand the, I can help because I'm a girl part, but why did you come to for magic talent?"

"I want to make my heart shut up."

"So that's what you believe it is? Your heart arguing with your head?"

"Yes, because it makes sense in the way you've explained it and I need it to shut up so I can complete this job and go back to my life!"

I internally groaned that I'd let that slip.

"I'm not even going to ask what that means, considering I'm fairly certain you don't want to talk about it. There's not much I can do here, but when we get to my kingdom I have supplies for potions and where my spell books are I might be able to help. Though think carefully before you decide on magic as the solution. Maybe you should try something more mundane than magic."

"Like what?"

"Listen to the voice."

"All it does is ask questions! It doesn't give me orders!"