Breaking the Spell: A Diamond Castle Fanfiction

Chapter 4: The Seer

One night, while Lyra was sleeping, she was awoken by some sort of spiritual pull, as if someone was calling to her, beckoning her to follow them. A faint whisper made its way to Lyra's ears, telling her to come forward. Lyra thought she could see a blue light in front of her, and she slowly got out of bed in order to pursue it. It moved away from her, and she followed at once, desperately wanting to figure out where it was leading her. She pursued it all the way down the stairs and out of the castle. As the whisper grew slightly louder and the light moved more quickly, she broke out into a run, chasing it into the forest and growing out of breath. Eventually it took the form of a small bird and as it came to a stop, so did Lyra. The bird-like light landed on the shoulder of a young girl of about ten. Lyra approached her carefully, and she turned around to face the apprentice with a soft smile. "I'm glad to see you've finally found me...Lyra."

"How...how do you know my name?" Lyra asked.

"I'm a Seer," replied the young child. "And there's a reason I have summoned you here tonight. It concerns Lydia, the former Muse of Music."

"What about her?" Lyra questioned.

"The spell she's under...there is a way to free her."

"Please, tell me what I have to do," Lyra said. "But first, may I ask your name?"

"I can't answer either of those things," replied the Seer. "I never give my name to anyone."

"Then why am I here?"

"Because you only need to know that it is possible. And that something good will come out of it. Please just trust that I'm right." She must have seen the slight disappointment in Lyra's eyes, because she reached forward and took the young woman's hand gently. "Don't worry, Lyra. You'll figure it out. I know it."

"But I don't--" Lyra's sentence was cut off by a bright light surrounding the girl, and as she disappeared, Lyra called out to her. "Wait, come back!" Lyra reached out, just as the light disappeared with the Seer. Lyra lowered her arm once more. "Please...help me..."

She suddenly realized that she was alone. She needed to figure out her way back to the Castle, as she had depended solely on the small blue light that guided her to where she was now. She began walking in a random direction, in hopes that it was the right one. It was chilly outside, and Lyra was dressed only in a nightdress with short sleeves, so she was rather cold and wanted to return to the Castle where she could resume sleeping.

Soon, after quite a bit of walking, Lyra grew ever more exhausted and sat beneath a tree, her back leaning against the trunk. She sighed deeply, already feeling her eyelids growing heavy with drowsiness. Maybe the muses will find me out here, she thought just before drifting off.

A voice woke her once again, but this time it came from Phaedra, who was walking toward the apprentice to wake her. Lyra slowly opened her eyes and she saw Phaedra and Dori next to her. Melody must have stayed behind. "Phaedra?" Lyra rubbed her eyes sleepily. "When did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago," said Phaedra. "What were you doing all the way out here?"

"I was..." Lyra didn't know what to tell her. "I thought I heard someone."

"I see." Dori seemed suspicious of this answer, like she knew Lyra had left something out. But she didn't question it, nor did Phaedra. They simply led their young apprentice back to the Diamond Castle, where they decided to let Lyra have a 'day off', so to speak, since she had been gone half the night.

Lyra chose to take this time to research the magic that resided in the instruments and find out anything she could. She was in the middle of reading a book on that very subject, when Melody poked her head in the doorway of the library. "Hi, Lyra. What are you up to?"

"Just doing a bit of research," replied Lyra, not looking up from her book. Melody sat down beside her and picked up one of the books in the nearby pile. "Interesting."

"It is, actually," said Lyra. "I like learning about these things."

"So do I," said Melody. "it's been a little bit since I looked at some of these, though, I'll admit that."

"You must have read quite a few of them..." Lyra said thoughtfully. "Do you know if there's anything about how to break a spell that was cast by one of the muses?"

Melody looked suspicious. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious," Lyra replied.

Melody relaxed a bit, believing her. "I think you have to play the instrument you would normally play--so the flute for me, the piano for you, etcetera--while thinking of the person who's under the spell. I don't know whether or not there's a specific song for it, though."

"I see," Lyra smiled, her eyes bright. "Thank you, Melody." She then closed the book she was reading and walked out of the library. Now that her question was finally answered, she could break the spell Lydia was under whenever she wished. She felt she should wait until dark, when everyone was asleep. She walked down the hallway, brushing her dark brown hair out of her amber eyes, in a much better mood than she had been prior to her conversation with Melody. Now the only question remaining was, what would happen when the spell was broken?

Later that night, Lyra laid awake in her bed, waiting until she knew the others were asleep. And when she did, she made her way silently to the music room and sat down at the piano, glancing at Lydia. "You'll be free soon."

Lyra took a deep breath and her fingers began to drift over the keys. She played somewhat quietly, so as to not awaken the Muses, and she thought of Lydia, of the dream she'd had about her, of the spell, and of how she wished it to be broken.

Nearby, the statue of Lydia began to crack, the stone slowly dissipating until it was completely gone. Now that Lydia could breathe freely and normally again, she took a deep breath, as if she had been deprived of oxygen completely. She heard a piano, and she looked in the direction of where the sound was coming from. Her eyes landed on the young girl sitting there, playing beautifully, the moonlight shining through the windows casting a hauntingly angelic glow around her. Lydia took a step toward the girl, who must have heard her breathe earlier, because she had stood up and turned around to face the former muse.

When Lyra saw Lydia, she couldn't help but be overjoyed by what she'd accomplished.

She's even more beautiful than I thought, Lyra thought. "Lydia?" she asked, just above a whisper, in a somewhat hesitant tone.

"I'm free."