In the Shadow of the Night

Magic

We walked as fast as we could as the thunder and rain surrounded us. Daniel was experienced in these parts and hardly stumbled, that wasn't the case for me. I wasn't used to this terrain and Daniel often had to steady or catch me. The rain chilled us to the bone but it did not matter, we would be in way more trouble if the queen caught up to us.

Slowly the darkness lifted and the light of day started showing itself. It was still coming down hard but at least we could see a bit more. As we stopped to take a small pause Daniel pulled out the map and started studying it. "We have to options" He said thinking out loud. "We can cross the river here but with this much rain it has probably become to wide to pass. We could also go through the ogre territory and cross the river there. There are paths that are safe..." He mumbled as he continued tracing his fingers over the map. I watched him as he concentrated, his face filled with lines.

His eyes looked old and I wondered how they had come to be that way. Deep in thought I didn't notice he had caught my eye. "Why are you staring" He asked shyly. My cheeks flushed red and I stared at the ground. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude" I said. Daniel smiled "It's okay, now I think we best take our chances and head towards the ogre woods, the queen will be less likely to follow us there." He folded the map "Yeah dead persons are harder to follow" I said. I had survived one ogre and was not looking forward to testing my luck again. Daniel grabbed my hand "It's okay, we'll be fine" he comforted. I sighed in reply and got my stuff together.

We walked through the rain for what seemed like hours, the light of day did make the road a bit easier but I still slipped and stumbled.... A lot.... "Daniel, can I ask you something" I said and he looked at me and flashed his kind smile "Ask away, I won't stop you" He said. I tripped over another dead root but he caught me by the arm "Just try not to get hurt doing so" He laughed and my cheeks flushed bright red again. "How did you meet Abe, if you don't mind my curiosity" I asked. He gazed up at the sky as if remembering something. "My parents... they were very hard on me, they loved me to the best of their capabilities... It's just..." He answered. I saw an intense pain on his face "It's okay, you don't have to tell me" I whispered. "No I want to, it's just hard you know" he continued "My parent just had limited capabilities in the area of love" he said looking down. "Abe found out through the village council, he talked to my parents and when he offered me a free apprenticeship they were more than happy to accept."

I looked at his face, I couldn't imagine anyone could hurt someone with such kindness and compassion. People had often hurt me but I was nothing more than an orphan. The rain slowed to a drizzle and finally it stopped. We found a slightly dry area to sit down and dry our stuff. After collecting some dry wood I looked at Daniel expecting him to get out some kindling. He looked at me and smiled "go ahead Aislin, make a fire" he suggested and I looked at him like he had gone mad. Sure I did dod it once but that was an accident, all my magic was usually an accident.

He grabbed my hands "do you feel the magic flowing within you" he asked "focus Aislin, feel it coursing through your veins, feel the warmth deep inside you." I took a deep breath and focussed. I felt the warmth, it moved through my whole body. "Okay you are doing awesome! Close your eyes, now imagine the fire, smell the burning wood, feel the warmth and open your hands" He said. I did as he asked. "Open your eyes" He smiled. I opened my eyes and in my hands were flames burning. Daniel put his hands underneath mine and guided me towards the wood. They caught fire immediately and the warmth washed over me.

I laughed "I can't believe I actually did that" a big smile was on my face. It had been a long time since I felt this happy. I took of the cloak and hung it out to dry. I sat back down, Daniel opened his bag, grabbed two pieces of bread and handed one of them to me. I ate it fast, not that I needed to I was just used to doing it like that. Daniel laughed "slow down, you'll choke if you eat like that." I stuck out my tongue and we both laughed as we joked around. Being around Daniel made all my fears and worries go away, it felt as natural as breathing.