Silver Silence

It's Leviosa not Leviosar

The wagon dripped along the road like molasses, the horse at its front practically dragging its hooves through the grass between the wagon ruts. Gillian blew a stray straw off her nose, feeling it land in her hair. She debated picking it out, but the sight of the bales of hay she shared the wagon with made her realize it would be pointless. If the straw were a little redder and a little muddier, it would fit right in with her unwashed, unbrushed locks; there was no point in keeping her hair tidy when she worked on a farm, especially when it wasn't even her own family's farm.

"How much longer 'til we're there?" Mirko asked for the twentieth time that hour.

"One minute," Chess said.

"Really?" Mirko perked up, adjusting his position on one of the hay bales. He was the only one who had opted to sit on the hay instead of on the wooden railings of the wagon. A hard seat was better than a prickly one.

"No, dumbass. If we were a minute away we would see something by now." Chess scoffed and stared at the empty horizon in despair.

Their surroundings were as desolate as a prairie could be. Tall grass sprouted in waves where the wagon ruts didn't interrupt it, the occasional rabbit shook the waves or braved the ruts, and a few minutes ago Gillian had seen a hawk swoop down and come up with something furry and frightened twisting in its claws. As much as the hawk needed to eat to live, Gillian pitied its trembling prey. The hawk was too much like a magician, gifted with all the skills necessary to crush those beneath it.

The hawks were precisely the people they were heading to investigate. Fieldtrip number 1 wasn't going as well as Gillian would have hoped – mostly because of their free ride's leisurely pace – but the real adventure would begin once they reached the royal city. Then the Discussion Group could truly expand the breadth of their knowledge and even confirm some of the ideas from their previous meeting. Even after two hours of prickly hay and empty fields, Gillian still felt excitement tugging at her chest.

"Let's go over the plan again," Gillian said, deciding to give her friends some source of entertainment so that they wouldn't flee the next time she mentioned a field trip. "After we get to the city, what are we looking for?"

"People in green robes. The newbies," Sonia said. She was the only member of the Discussion Group who had known what magicians-in-training dressed like in the first place. When the soldiers had come to take her brother, they had described how 'wonderful' his life would be in the royal city in an attempt to stop his crying. It hadn't worked, but the memory had stuck in the minds of Sonia's parents well enough for them to be able to tell her the details.

"Right," Gillian said. "And what do we do once we find them?"

"Split up. Ask them questions, but sound like we're in awe of their glorious life. If they aren't the bragging type, move on to a new target." Chess picked at her teeth with a piece of straw as she spoke. She acted disinterested, but Gillian knew she was excited on the inside. She wouldn't have come with them in the first place otherwise.

"Alright. Now give me a practice conversation. Mirko, you're the magician. Sonia, you're you. Ready, set, go." Gillian clapped on the 'go,' drawing an annoyed glance from the wagon driver, Dolly. She was a quiet woman, but she was friends with Gillian's mother and that was all that mattered when it came to hitching a ride.

Mirko immediately sat up straight, raising his nose into the air and pursing his lips. "Hur dur, I'm better than everyone and I like to dress in silly clothes."