The Hidden World

Chapter 5: Rest and Recuperation

"Don't go standing in the doorway, now. Take a seat," the mysterious woman said with a courteous smile. At the very least, that's how Sarah interpreted her expression. There was something very ambiguous about the woman, her whole presence seemed, for a lack of a better word, fabricated. "Uh, sure," Sarah responded, closing the door behind herself. For now, she felt that there was no immediate threat to her life. That being said, the same atmosphere of dread she had felt back at Edmund's place was still present. "I don't believe we've been introduced yet, though we did meet briefly. You may call me Helena." Sarah observed 'Helena', sitting on the couch. The most noticeable thing was, unsurprisingly, the way she dressed. The Victorian dress was extraordinarily beautiful and didn't seem particularly old. Upon further examination, Sarah noted that Helena was extraordinarily beautiful herself, though in an uncanny way: she looked just like a model's photo in a magazine, or in other words airbrushed to oblivion. Yet, something about her made Sarah worried, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"You're with Edmund, correct? Might I ask you why you are here?" Sarah said, breaking the silence. Helena's smile widened, though in a somewhat unnatural manner. "Indeed, I am 'with' Edmund. When I first saw you, I became interested and kept a close eye on your progress. And, I must say, I'm quite impressed. That being said, I'm here to give you a fair warning." Sarah straightened her back. This wasn't the first time she had been warned about the world of magic, but the absurdity of the whole scenario somehow made her convinced that she should listen closely. "You have been told that this world of ours is dangerous, and that is true. However, the dangers have increased just now. A certain person has nearly grasped a certain power, which means that this city has just become a very dangerous place for anyone who would oppose them."

Sarah squinted her eyes. What was this woman trying to say in such a cryptic way? Before she could retort, however, Helena continued. "I do apologize for being vague, but as soon as you know about the situation, you will most likely become a target. So, you have three options: you can forget all you've seen and become a normal person. You can also move to another city, preferably far away from here. Your last option is, of course, staying here. This would mean that you will have to embrace you magehood and make choices that will potentially kill you." Sarah took a deep breath. Of course, she was afraid of death. But as she had become more and more knowledgeable of mana, she had also become more confident. "I recall my grandfather saying that adversities only exist to be conquered. I will stay and make those choices!" Sarah proclaimed. Helena's smile turned into a rather unpleasant grin as she started to laugh, and the air in the room felt different. Sarah finally realized why Helena made her uneasy: her expressions were good, and if you were to look at a photo of her, you would see nothing wrong. But when you saw her in nature, it was obvious that something was awry. All of her movements seemed rehearsed, not natural. It was as if something was wearing the skin of a human and pretending to be one.

When she was done laughing, Helena adopted the pleasant smile she usually wore. "An excellent response, just like I expected. I clearly made the right choice. Now then..." Helen rose from sofa and walked to the exit. "Now that you have shown you resolve, I'll let you in on something. The 'person' I mentioned is known as 'the Witch' and runs a criminal organization in this very city. I predict that you will soon cross paths with her and then you will know more." She opened the door and was about to leave when she suddenly turned around. "Oh, and by the way... I seem to remember that you haven't yet come up with your own magic. I recommend that you think about things you feel strongly about and work it from there." With that she left the room closing the door. Sarah was left dumbfounded. Helena's laugh and the realization that had come with had left Sarah unable to respond to anything Helena had said after that. "What was any of that supposed to mean? These people just love mysteries, I swear..." Suddenly the door opened, but as soon as Sarah turned around, she realized that it was just Nick, her manager. "What the hell....? There was a huge spider on the door handle! First that customer and now this," he said, swiping the spider's remains of with a tissue. "Can this day get any worse?" he muttered to himself. "For me, at least, that is quite possible," Sarah thought to herself as she saw a new text message from Jasmine.

Sarah knocked on the door. The apartment building Jasmine lived in was far from the most glamorous thing Sarah had seen. Most lights in the hallway where either outright broken or flashing and the carpets were covered in mysterious stains the origin of which Sarah didn't really want to know. The name on the front of the door stated that the apartment belonged to a 'Ms Doe', as Jasmine had written in her text. After snorting at the joke Sarah's thoughts shifted to more serious ones. "I wonder what danger I'm going to have to face today", Sarah thought as the door swung open. Jasmine, looking somewhat dishevelled, greeted Sarah. "Oh, welcome. Do come in. Leave your coat at the door." Much to Sarah's relief, the inside of the small one room apartment was in fairly good repair and clean, to boot. The walls were lined with action movie and anime posters. One drawer even had a replica katana on top of it. Sarah wasn't particularly surprised about the décor: it seemed to fit Jasmine to a T. "So, why did you call me here on such short notice?" Sarah asked, fearing the worst. "Ah, yes. We have quite a difficult mission ahead of us," Jasmine responded as the doorbell rang.

Jasmine threw Sarah a beer can as they both sat down to eat the pizzas that had arrived. "Yeah, sorry to give you a scare, couldn't resist the urge," Jasmine said, opening her can. "That death hound wasn't supposed t be there and neither were the cronies. So, I felt that you could use some R 'n R for a change. This is also my way of apologizing," she added in an uncharacteristically apologetic way. Sarah was relieved, after all her bruises were still very sore. "Yeah, fair enough. And it's fine, it's not like I got hurt or anything," Sarah replied. For a moment there was silence as the women concentrated on the food. "Incidentally, how well do you know Edmund?" Sarah asked while taking a small break. Jasmine took a sip from her drink and thought for a while. "It's been, what... three years since I met him? At the time we happened to both accept the same job, and I incinerated him by mistake," she laughed. "Oh, don't look so shocked. I thought he was an enemy, and he didn't really get hurt anyway. We sorted it out soon, and we've been amiable ever since. But I can't say I really know him, I just use, um, work with him sometimes," she added, giving Sarah a wink. "I see. The reason I asked was that the woman he is sometimes with, the one with the dress, came to my workplace today." Sarah saw that Jasmine looked rather in thought. "Yeah, that case... Really, I cannot figure her out. I haven't even spoken with her, either. It seems like she isn't even human, you know," Jasmine said, laughing, but became serious when she saw Sarah's expression. "No way, right?"

After the movie ended, Jasmine got up and stretched her back. "That was alright. Though when you have seen a guy conjure flies and then attack you with them, these sorts of illusions really lose their effect to a degree. No offense," Jasmine said, looking at Sarah apologetically. "No worries, I understand the sentiment." Sarah looked at the credits with glazed eyes. "Hey, do you think that it would be possible to recreate magic tricks with my magic?" "Like sawing people in half? Yeah, that is quite possible, though somewhat limited in scope, I would argue," Jasmine responded, having started to clear the table. "No, not that way. But I think that I have an idea. I'll run it with Ernie, perhaps this could be the spark that I was missing." Sarah helped Jasmine clean up, then put on her coat and prepared to leave. "Thanks for all this, Jasmine. It was a nice change of pace." Jasmine looked somewhat awkward when she responded. "No need to thank me. Look, I... You might've guessed but my childhood is kind of... messed up. And this job doesn't really get you any friends either." She rubbed her temples. "Damn it... I'm not used to this sort of thing. What I'm trying to say is thank you for agreeing to this. For hanging out with me." Jasmine looked away, and Sarah was taken aback. This was a side of the always so energetic Jasmine she hadn't seen before. "Don't worry, I had fun. Let's do this again someday," Sarah said, smiling. Jasmine looked at her, surprised, but was soon back to her usual self. "Sure thing. I'll be sure to make you a fighting game aficionado." The women made their goodbyes, and Sarah exited the dingy building. She had only on thought in her mind now: there was a possibility that she could finally use her very own magic.