The Price of Magic

Chapter III

“And you have no idea who she was?”

            Sir Matthew shook his head. “No, it’s bothering me. I can’t figure it out. She told me her name, but I can’t go around the entire kingdom searching for girls called Clara. Prince Simeon would think I’ve gone mad.”

            Prince David X, who had recently arrived from a neighboring kingdom, was in Arcadia with the interest of marrying Prince Simeon’s sister, Dame Rose. He had become acquainted with Sir Matthew the same day the Prince had tried to execute Clara. Prince David admired the bravery of Sir Matthew in his disobedience of Simeon’s orders.

“I suppose that’s true,” David said. “Then again, if Simeon thinks you’re mad he might relieve you of your duties and you’ll have more time to search for this Clara person.”

            Sir Matthew laughed. “True!” Before he could say anything more, the ground suddenly began rumbling.

            “Does this happen often?” Prince David asked, clinging to the wall of the castle for support.

            “No, not usually!” Sir Matthew replied, stumbling a little as he searched for something to hang on to.

            The ground stopped shaking almost as quickly as it had started. Matthew and David looked at each other in confusion.

            “What was that?” Prince David asked.

            “I’ve no idea,” Sir Matthew replied. He bent down and felt the dirt under their feet. “It’s…warm…”

            “What’s warm? The dirt?”

            Sir Matthew straightened up again and nodded. “That’s a bit odd. Why’s the ground warm?”

            “Magic?” David suggested.

            Matthew shook his head. “I doubt it. No one would dare try magic here again, especially after yesterday.”

            “You can’t be too sure of that,” David said.

***

            “Clara, I have some suspicions I’d like to share with you,” Christopher said, taking a seat on her bed.

            “What is it now, Christopher?” Clara mumbled, still half asleep.

            “Come on now, wake up.” Christopher gave her shoulder a rough nudge, then proceeded to throw a bucket of cold water on her.

            Clara all but leaped out of the bed, gasping from the cold. She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and glared at Christopher. “Why would you do that?!”

            He smiled and shrugged. “You’d have to get up one way or another, so I chose the easy way.”

            “Okay. Don’t ever do that again.” Clara sighed. “What is so important that you have to tell me?”

            “Well, I was going through some old books, and I found something that might lead us somewhere,” Christopher said. “I think I know what it was that destroyed your village.”

            “Okay, what is it?”

            “Dragons.”

            Clara blinked. “Sorry?”

            “That’s right,” Christopher said. “Dragons.”

            “But they don’t…exist,” Clara said.