THE APPRENTICE II

16

"I hate my job."

She stepped over the lone patch of green grass, to the pit of the dimension and watched multiple creatures topple down into blackness. Bony and wrinkly hands dragged them down while she walked around it. Wails and screeches emitted from the hollowness.

"Get out of the damn way!" She yelled out loud as she elbowed the citizens away with more force than necessary. With a golden lasso and shaky limbs, the sorcerer dragged multiple Mindless Ones into the dark dimension and created a portal to drop the rest she couldn't reach back into their homes.

Hazel muttered a spell to close the dark dimension that she memorized by heart and the sliding and gliding of their reality stopped. The pit grew smaller and smaller and a pool of gold replaced it. The entire city grew quiet for a brief moment and the monsters cheered appraisals to her.

"Oh, shut up." She spat and kicked a pile of dirt away. "Your planet sucks, and you're definitely gonna get reported to the council!"

She hurriedly waved her hands into a circle and walked into a land that had blue skies and golden-brown, desert like floors. The change of scenery was almost blissful.

"Tip of the day: careful who you mess with, assholes."

Leaving the planet was one of the most satisfying things she has ever done her entire life. The light from the sun blinded her, especially since she hasn't seen proper sun in days. Pterodactyl-like creatures flew across the blue skies and yellow clouds, towering cactus-like trees were plotted across the place. The air was warm and almost welcoming against her pale skin.

A pride of hybrid-lions just like Icarus flew down curiously at the girl. They circled around her predatorily and she made a passageway for Icarus' corpse before they could pounce. It fell down to the floor and the lion stopped. Their faces relaxed and she pursed her lips.

"It wasn't me who killed him, he almost made it. We were so close, and he could have...he could have survived." She explained to them with a shaky breath. "He was strong. He was the bravest."

The creatures surrounded his body and they roared with pain and grief. She wanted to say more: to say she was sorry and that they were wrong for ever underestimating him, but she knew it wasn't right.
She gazed at the corpse of her friend and the tragedy that was his death. She placed her hand gently on his mane for one last time. The blood from her hands that now had clots marked his fur- a handprint.

As she was about to create a passageway home for herself, golden lights circulated around her feet. Hardwood floors came closer and closer as she travelled down and down. She knew those floors like it was the back of her hand. She knew that smell of incense and floor-wax and the warmth of the New York air.

"Hazel!"

Stephen jogged down the stairs and Wong ran to her from one of the halls. They both had the same expressions: stressed brows, lines on their foreheads, frowned lips yet soft eyes. He wrapped his arms around the girl and held her in his arms. Wong approached the two and hugged her from behind.

Stephen crinkled his eyebrows when he felt how weak she was, it was like she could collapse any second. He pulled away from her and only then noticed how pale her skin was, and how her features started to sulk. What was even more striking was that she had grown a little bit taller. Her jaw and cheekbones were more defined, face more sculpted.

"You...lifted the spell." He concluded in absolute disbelief.

She couldn't bother to confirm his inference; the only thing that could run through her head was how lucky she was to have survived. She was so close to giving up, to never seeing their faces again and to keep fighting was one of the best decisions she's ever made.

"Where were you?" He managed to ignore the shock breathed out with sternness. His heart skipped a beat when they landed on her hands: red, raw, shaking, clearly infected with hints of her ligaments peaking through. "What the hell happened to your hands?!"

The only thing she managed to do was break into sobs after an attempt to explain everything that happened in the past 3 days. The two recognized the look on her face and Stephen pressed her head against his chest.