Thief's Magician (on hold)

Chapter 11

Leon is quite reluctant to step inside the magician guild, sure that their Sentinel will leap out and arrest him under the charges of kidnapping and stealing from the magician vaults. Noel tugs him still and he follows her like a drugged person, only resisting a bit but not much. He kept to her side, warily watching the magician surrounding, imagining he is in Noel shoes, trying to gauge how she felt surrounded with so many fakeness in her past life and to compare it with what she had these past days, or more accurately, months. Lord Owen pause in front of a large door and Leon heard Noel pressing her whimper to near squeak.

"What is it? If you don't want to go in there, just say the words and I'll bring you out." She shook her head; determine to face whatever is troubling her behind the large door. Squeezing his hand for assurance, she lifts her chin up and stood a little taller and straighter, like a queen ready to meet her subjects, emitting all the confidence her body possessed. Lord Owen push the door open and he step in, bidding them to enter. Noel turn her gazes at Leon and then hung her head in guilt.

"It is better if you wait outside." He tilts her chin up and smirks at her worried frown.

"Have you no faith in me?"

"But-"

"When I say I'd accompany you, I meant to go through it to the end. Now quit worrying like a prune-old-governess and let us get this over with, yes?" She gave him a wavering smile and nods her head. He does have his own doubt, and he wonder if he should be worried as she is if he step inside the room. From the outside, the room beyond the door look normal to him and he didn't want to think what will happen if he step inside. 'Let's throw caution to the wind and be done with it. If anything happens, just act on my whim.' With the thought planted in his mind, Leon urges Noel inside and quickly assaulted with bright light. He felt Noel's little hand slipping away from him and he try to grab it blindly for he couldn't open his eyes against the white light.

When he could open his eyes, the wide light has fade away and Noel is not by his side, or that he could recognize the room anymore. He knew it is not what he saw outside just now and he also knew something is not right in the air. He could see a mosquito flying in slow motion, counted each of its flapping wings and he could grab it in his finger and put it in the air again, defying the gravity. When he turns around him, everything else is defying the law of the earth, floating like a balloon, a ball bouncing tirelessly against the floor.

He looks to his silver ring and will it to form into a dagger. It obeys without so much trouble and he concluded that he is not affected by what is happening around him. He took a step forward and the scene change into a beautiful garden. The scene hit him with a wave of pang, and he cursed whatever brought it to him. In front of him, a white table laid with sumptuous snack beckons him to come but he ignores it and looks around warily. What he expected to see is not there and he frown as his old tutor voice echoed in his mind, 'Whatever you see sometimes is just what you wanted to see. Open your mind and heart, but close your eyes so that the fakeness is gone and truth came.' Grimly he follows the instruction and when next he opens his eyes, the garden is afire and the table overturned just like that day.

He turns away and thought of Noel, wondering how she fared inside this cursed room. 'She knows this will happen, at least I should be worrying about her sanity, if I ever get out from this place. And if I meet that old wretch, I'm going to punch him in the gut.' He get himself out of the garden maze he knew by heart and came to face a large dragon, its massive wing gilded with silver and its claw covered in blood, its large moth green glaring at him. He knew this dragon and frown in annoyance.

"So they send you." The dragon snorted, breathing out fire and then flap its wing. "Do you see her? I bet she is frightened right now, and we don't want that, right?" The dragon seems to roll its eyes and then lower down, inviting him for ride on its back. Thinking the irony of it, Leon climb up and it flew up, giving Leon a wide range of view. The scene had change again, this time it is a somber wasteland, the land of the south, the Dragon Land, bordering the Fairy Land.