Breaking the Spell: A Diamond Castle Fanfiction

Chapter 5: Broken

Lyra didn't know what to say. She wanted to hear Lydia's side of things, but at the same time, she thought she should be cautious. It was Lydia who finally broke the silence. "Are you the one who broke the spell?"

Lyra took a moment before answering her question. "Yes, I am."

Lydia was glad Lyra had broken the spell, yet she was virtually powerless, her flute having been given to Melody. She paid little attention to that for the moment, and instead focused on the young girl in front of her. She noticed, upon being freed, that Slyder was nowhere to be seen. He must have flown away. That, or he had already been gone when he was still under the spell. Maybe the muses moved him somewhere else. "Well...I suppose it would be a lie if I told you I wasn't grateful," said Lydia. "What's your name?"

"Lyra," she said.

"Tell me, what made you choose to free me?" Lydia asked, walking toward Lyra.

"I just...I wanted to hear your side of the story," Lyra explained truthfully. "I knew there had to be something that pushed you, something that made you snap...I figured there must have been a good reason for you to have turned on the others."

"You were correct," Lydia replied. "There was a reason."

"What happened?" asked Lyra.

"You wouldn't understand," said Lydia. "So why should I waste my time trying to explain it to you?" Without discussing it further, she began walking away from the apprentice.

"Lydia," Lyra's voice stopped her in her tracks. "You can tell me."

Lydia hesitated. She still didn't trust Lyra. She felt that the young girl might tell one of the muses--particularly Phaedra--if she knew the reason why Lydia had done what she did. And she couldn't have that. After a moment, she sighed. "Let's just say it has something to do with Phaedra, and leave it at that."

Although she didn't trust the girl, Lydia felt somehow drawn to her, just as Lyra had been drawn to the idea of breaking the spell. She felt as if something was compelling her to explain everything, like a spiritual pull toward the young girl before her. But she continued to fight it, and she walked over to the balcony and whistled. She waited until Slyder flew inside and landed beside her. Before Slyder took off, she turned to Lyra. "I'm sure we'll meet again."

As Lydia disappeared from sight, Lyra felt some sort of emptiness she couldn't explain. It was as if she needed Lydia to be there with her. Once again she felt her heart beating slightly faster than normal, and she brought her hand to her chest, holding it there and staring out at the approaching dawn, for what seemed like eternity, until she felt a light tap on her shoulder.

"Lyra? What are you doing up so early?" asked Melody. She noticed something missing. "And where are Lydia and Slyder?"

"She's gone," Lyra replied, just above a whisper, in a sort of sad, distant tone she couldn't explain. "I don't think she's coming back."

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know," said Lyra. She closed her amber eyes, and lowered her head, avoiding Melody's gaze. She knew she would be in trouble soon.

"Did you...did you free her?" Melody asked, sounding concerned. Lyra gave no reply, afraid of the consequences of her actions. Melody took that as a 'yes'. "You freed her."

"I'm sorry," whispered Lyra. "I had to."

"What's going on?" asked Dori sleepily, as she walked toward them while rubbing her eyes.

"Lyra seems to have freed Lydia."

"You what?!" Dori turned to Lyra. After hearing that, she seemed much more awake now. And she was furious with her.

"I just needed to know the whole story," Lyra tried to defend herself.

"Don't you realize what you've done? There's a reason she was to remain in that state!"

"She doesn't have her flute; it was given to Melody!" Lyra protested, emphasizing each word. "She's powerless now!"

"She has a point," muttered Melody. 'It's not like she can cast any harmful spells on anyone."

With that last statement, Dori seemed to relax a little. "Fine. but at the very least, we should figure out where she is. Lyra, since you're the one who broke the spell in the first place, maybe you could go try and find her. I'd start with her cave if I were you."

"Okay," Lyra replied quietly, before walking away. She didn't need to be lectured anymore. She just needed to find Lydia. She was glad Dori had instructed her to do so. She didn't know how long it would take, and it was getting close to winter, so she prepared for the cold weather in case it happened to snow. Before she left, Dori and Phaedra gave Lyra the directions to Lydia's cave.

"Phaedra, how will I defend myself if I don't have an instrument that I can, you know, carry around? I don't really know how to fight physically, so I need an instrument or something."

Phaedra thought for a moment, then handed Lyra something. It was a type of gauntlet made of leather and silver that looked to have magical properties, if the bright blue gem in the center was any indication. "Here," said Phaedra. "This is a magic gauntlet you can use. We usually have them if one of the Muses plays an instrument that isn't portable. That way they at least have some form of magic they can use to defend themselves against harmful spells. The colour of the gem in the center can change depending on what spell you wish to cast."

"How can I learn more about gauntlets?" asked Lyra. "Are there any books on the subject?"

"Yes," said Dori, handing Lyra a somewhat thick, dark blue book that looked quite old, and had a faded sun design on the cover. "This will explain everything. It even has a list of spells that can be cast."

"Thank you," said Lyra, taking the book from her hands and putting the gauntlet on her left arm. At the moment, the gem was a neutral blue colour. Lyra waved goodbye to the muses as she exited the Diamond Castle, to begin searching for the former muse.