Weilding Magic

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

Bubbles, how exhausted I felt.

I sighed and sunk deeper in my warm copper tub. The water soothed my aching muscles. After my whining in the factory, Burk thought I needed a day without work. A day where I could finally rest. I welcomed it. I felt like we had been running from one place to the next for months. I didn’t mind it though. It was a summer I would never forget.

I stared at the ceiling that was filled with lines of copper pipes, bringing in the hot and cold water and admired the tiny patches of moss hiding in any damp nook and cranny. It was so wonderous how nature and machinery interweaved together creating this beautiful new harmony of life. I breathed in the quietness of the moment and breathed out, releasing my powers.

Purple bubbles formed on the waters and like clouds, they floated around me, shimmering with hidden tiny stars. I hummed a melody Chi taught me during our work on the farm. The bubbles dancing with every tune.

“Tia! Tia!” Anna’s voice burst into my room, cutting my calming thoughts. Fear rushed through my heart, making me jump up. Water spilled over the ceramic tub and into the stone floor with a soft splash.

I ran out of the washroom. My robe flew and covered my body. In my room, I found Anna standing by the table. Her face, framed by her golden long curls, was totally stunned.

“Bubbles, Anna. What’s wrong?” I said urging her to speak. She was wearing her pink dress with her cloak, so she must have come from outside the castle.

“Is it Rhein? Has something happened?” I said, losing my patience. “For bubble’s sake, Anna! Speak!”

“I … I have been promised,” she said so softly as if she didn’t believe a word she was saying.

I frowned in confusion as she held out a golden coin. I squinted at it, wondering what was so special about it, before noticing that it wasn’t like the coins we normally use to buy things. It was still made with gold, but unlike the normal gear symbol embossed on it, this coin had a carving of a flaming sun with a tiny carved heart in its center.

“I have been promised,” Anna repeated, waiting for me to react and I was so confused. Was I supposed to be happy, sad, angry or what?

“What does that mean?” I asked, my voice failing to conceal how irritated I was getting. My heart was still recovering from the fright of her shouting calls.

“Dryx and I are getting married!” she exclaimed.

I blinked, not fully comprehending what she was saying, but with another blink, it hit me.

I squealed and Anna squealed as I threw my arms around her.

“Hexing cauldrons, Anna!” I said letting her go. “You scared the bubbles out of me.”

“Oh, don’t be dramatic. How else could I have reacted? You have no idea how much it took of me to hold my excitement from the market until I saw you.”

I rolled my eyes. I’m the one who’s dramatic?

“So, what’s with the coin?”

“Oh, didn’t you use them where you used to live?”

I shook my head. People rarely got married there.

“This is a promise coin,” she explained, handing the coin to me. “When a man wishes to marry a woman, he offers her a specially designed coin, just for her. If she accepts the coin, it means she will marry him. If she doesn’t, well it’ll be an awkward day for the guy. The coin can be made with any metal, but what matter is the symbol carved in it.”

“Oh, interesting,” I said admiring the details.

“Maybe one day, soon, you will get yours,” she winked and, again, it took me a moment to understand what she meant.

This time, I was the one who was stunned, as I shoved the coin back at her. How silly of her to even suggest it. Marriage? Me?

“I bet his majesty will make you the most wonderful coin,” Anna said with a twinkle in her eyes that made me extremely uncomfortable.

“You know what? I am very hungry. Let’s go find something to eat,” I said and before Anna could add another preposterous suggestion, I wielded my powers. A gust of sparkling wind twirled around me, replacing the robe with my green cotton dress.

“You are so going to make my wedding dress,” Anna said as we left my room.

“Oh, bubbles yes!” I exclaimed, excitedly. I would make her the most wonderfully magical wedding dress ever made.

“But don’t you think, the three dots will be upset?” I added as we climbed down the tower. “I mean, it is their profession and you are their loyal customer.”

“Well, we can figure something out,” said Anna, who was pursing her lips in thought. “Perhaps, you can work with them. They can …” she stopped and wrinkled her nose, “what is that smell?”

I sniffed and gagged. A vile smell burned my nostrils as we entered the workshop.

“By the mountain! Burk!” Anna gasped at the sight of him, standing in the middle of the workshop, drenched in mud. A puddle of more mud, rocks and dried leaves drowned his feet and the carpet.

“Ah, do not worry, my dear. Just another day in the life of the court’s magician,” he said in his theatrical tone while spreading his arms wide, splashing the place with mud.

“Be careful, Burk,” I said as I was hit by the splatter.

“Ah, sorry child. May I ask for your quick assistance?” he said, apologetically.

“Of course,” I raised both my hands, my palms directed at Burk and released my powers. The light from my hand latched onto the mud, taking it all from his body and the floor and creating a ball of brownish goo that floated above us. When the last dot of mud was removed and squished into the ball, I beckoned it to move.

Anna, understanding what I was doing, ran and opened the door just before the ball of goo shot out of it, heading to the courtyard where I allowed it to flop.

Burk would still need a bath, but when I dropped my hands, he was back to normal. Well, as normal as Burk could be.

“What happened?” I asked. I knew he was working on the farm that day, but from what I understood from him, it was just a normal spell checkup. He assured me that it would not require my help. Clearly, he was wrong.

“An unexpected surge in the mountain’s magic led to a small mud slide. I managed to stop it, but somehow I was transferred here.” Burk blinked and looked around us as if he wanted to make sure that he was truly with us at the workshop.

“Is something wrong with the magic? Is it the farm?” I asked, frowning.

“Is it an attack?” Anna said, which was her new response whenever something went wrong in the city during the summer. Even if it was just a small accident, she would jump to the conclusion that it was an attack. No matter how much I assured her that Thaiba, the neighboring city that literally tried to kill the King and invade the city last spring, were not capable of doing anything to hurt us anymore.

“It is just an anomaly. Nothing to worry about. It has happened before,” Burk said waving his hand, dismissing our concerns. Yet, living with this eccentric wizard for the past few months had taught me the signs of his true reactions, no matter how subtle. From what I could tell from the soft crease in his eyes, this specific anomaly did not happen very often.

“So, what were you two ladies talking about?” he said with his widest smile.

“How Tia is going to make my wedding dress,” Anna said, taking the opportunity to show her coin again. Her fear of an attack replaced with the delight of seeing Burk’s joyful surprised face.

“A wedding! Oh, how wonderful!” Burk said, taking Anna’s arm in his, “You must tell me all about it.”

He led her to the dining table, as Anna described how Dryx took her to a beautifully secluded garden and presented her with the coin.

I stared at them as Anna continued discussing the poem Dryx wrote her. I began to feel a whisper of dread rising in the back of my mind.

Something was wrong, I could feel it, but I didn’t know what. I shrugged. Until I figured it out, we had a wedding to plan.