Crystal Corde

Magic

"Raven! No! I'll help you, so don't go!" I start to walk in the direction she went. Two arms then wrap around my stomach and pull me back, stopping me from following her. "No! Let me go! I have to help Rae!" I yell, choking back some tears.

"No. It'd be pointless to follow her now. If we go after her we'd both wind up dead!" She yells in my ear as I continue to try and get out of her grasp. "I'm out of magic energy and you don't know how to use magic! It would be pointless, ok!"

"No! Rae is running right to the enemy!" I yell, tears forming in my eyes

Ari grabs me tighter, "no, Lux, we need to do as she says and get out of here quickly!" I keep struggling trying to get free to stop Rae from doing something stupid. "God damn it Lux!" Ari grunts before chanting something and then forcefully closing my eyes.

I feel my body be picked up and then Ari begins to run. I've lost the ability to control my body, maybe it's some kind of magic that Ari used?

My mind then begins to drift into a deep sleep, realizing that my body feels exhausted. In the darkness of sleep I suddenly see a light and I follow it, the brightness waning and changing with every step. Suddenly I hear a voice behind me and I turn around to face a wide and vast field of flowers.

"Addie!" I hear a warm voice call. I start to walk to it not knowing what awaits me. I then begin to hear more voices call my name, and I can distinguish five voices in total. All of them sound young, warm, and... familiar in a way. I smile and laugh, spinning and falling down into the flowers.

Then out of nowhere I hear Raven's voice call out my name in desperation and I jolt awake. A sharp pain plagues my head and I begin to rub my temples. I take in my surroundings and realize that I'm in a thickly wooded area, confusing me for a second. Then I remember everything since I came to this world.

"Ah!" I hear Ari say, "you're up!" Tears well up in my eyes and silently stream out.

"Rae... she's..." I silently say, not wanting it to be true.

"Hey, hey," Ari says to console me, "don't worry, Raven is strong and tough! Plus I'm sure that Glaide won't kill her."

"Glaide?"

"Ah he's... the one who has taken control of our country. But you're really the rightful heir to the throne, ok?"

"Oh," I say, my tears finally beginning to stop.

"Well come on let's get you cleaned up, follow me."

I stand and follow Ari to a small tent. "It's not much but it's what I had on hand," she says, lifting the flap of the tent for me.

I crouch and walk in, surprised by what now surrounds me. I see a small living space with a couch to the side and a fireplace in front of me. On either side of the fireplace are doors, both made of a dark colored wood. "What..." I whisper in shock, "magic?"

"Oh! Right you don't have your memories... umm so this is a form of magic to make certain things have a larger space in them, it's called spacial magic and it's the same magic used on these bags we carry around. It's actually quite difficult magic so not many people have objects that have spacial magic," Ari explains.

"Alright," I simply say, feeling that if I say more I might begin to cry again.

"Hey why don't you wash up and then we'll talk? And I'll set clothes out for you, ok?" Ari says in a motherly tone. "Just go through the door on the right and then there's a bathroom in there for you to clean up in."

I nod and without another word I go into the room which turns out to be a bedroom. I then enter the bathroom and am glad to see the bath tub. Once I get it working, the tub quickly fills to a certain water level and stops on its own. I don't question it and get in, taking in the relaxing warmth.