Floating Stars

Chapter 14: Magic Lessons

The bright, white light that filled True's palm filled Astrid's eyes. She couldn't look away from its glory. She tried her hardest to listen to him as he began to explain what aspect of light magic he was going to show her that day.

It never crossed her mind that she could learn about light magic until True offered to teach her a couple of months back. He noticed that she had a strange fascination in it. The simplest spells that most Natanstrelleans took for granted filled her with so much wonder. Her wide-eyed reaction to how easy it was for him to cut down and chop up trees for firewood broke his heart.

"Okay, Astrid, today I'm going to show you how to manipulate water," True announced, shaking Astrid out of her trance.

"Oh, that's why you took me to the lake, I was wondering," Astrid said with a beaming smile.

True returned her smile and placed his light orb onto her outstretched hand. As soon as she felt its warmth against her skin her heart raced. She could never calm the butterflies in her stomach during light magic lessons with True. It always felt as if she was doing something forbidden, that if she got caught she would be in a lot of trouble.

But who was going to catch her? Only True and Naomi knew where she was and both of them decided that it was important for her to learn the art that held Natanstrelle's society together.

"Okay," True whispered in her ear as he took up his place behind her.

He caressed the tops of her arms, then manoeuvred her so that she faced the lake.

"Now, focus on the water," he breathed. "Listen to its song, smell its fragrance," he let his instructions sink in for a few seconds then continued, "Now, hold the orb steady in your left hand. Can you feel the light?"

Astrid nodded, too scared to speak in case hearing her own voice would shatter her concentration.

"Good, now hold out your right hand." He lifted her right arm by the elbow, so that it stretched from her body at a ninety degree angle. "Reach out and touch the water in your mind."

Astrid scrunched her eyes shut as she concentrated hard on following True's directions. In the darkness she managed to feel the heat in her left hand and the cold, waving wetness in her right. A satisfied smile played on her lips.

"Got it?" True asked. Astrid nodded again. "Now, imagine the water in your right hand is an orb just like the light in your left hand."

Astrid shaped a small ball out of the blue, calm water that she felt in her hand. Her fingers moving in time with her thoughts, moulding an invisible orb in the air in front of her.

"Now bring your hand into your chest," True instructed, staring at the movement of her delicate fingers. Astrid gracefully brought her right hand in towards her heart, bending her elbow with great control.

"See, you did it."

Astrid opened her eyes to see what True was talking about, and there she saw above the lake, a tiny ball of water hovering in mid-air. Tiny drops of water fell down to the surface of the lake only to bounce back up to the orb again with silent grace.

"You're incredible at that, when I made my first water ball it turned into a tiny rainfall after only a few seconds. You've kept yours together for a couple of minutes now," True gushed by her side.

"What now?" Astrid asked, her left hand still kept the light orb steady and her right fist still pressed into her chest.

"Now you can move the orb anywhere you like, keep your right hand on your chest and imagine the orb flying where you want it to go." As soon as True finished his sentence, he saw the small ball of water begin to dance in circles and figures of eight above the lake.