SPELL BOUND TO MY ENEMY

CHAPTER 4: COMBAT

ARLA’S POV:

I should have kept my mouth shut.

That was the first thought that came to mind when I woke up the next morning.

It’s been two weeks since I “challenged” Tave Oakley.

And those two weeks felt like two years with how much he made it unbearable for me.

The bullying continued and matter of fact, even became worse.

I’d open my note to see it torn and “powerless” written in bold on all the pages.

Things would miss from my locker.

I would “accidentally” trip while walking

Embarrassing pictures of me sent to everyone in school from an unknown number.

But I know who it was.

Thankfully I had perfected the act of disappearing.

Well not literally disappearing, that would require magic.

Instead I learned which hallways were less crowded and which dining hall seats gave me the best chance to eat without being subjected to humiliation.

I sat alone, as usual in the library.

My head buried in a book, while waiting for or the professor to arrive so this lesson could begin. Isabel wasn’t with me because she doesn’t offer this course.

“You’re sitting on my seat”

I look up from my book, Tave stood directly in front of me.

“Your name isn’t on it”. I replied, going back to the book I was reading.

“There should be” he added.

“Well there isn’t” I replied, not taking my eyes off the pages of the book.

He closes the book. “Find another seat”

“You find another seat”

His eyes widened a bit, before he went back to normal, flashing me a smile.

“Brave are we?”

I rolled my eyes at him, not sparing him an answer.

He pulls out the chair beside me and sits.

“What are you reading?” He asks, stretching his neck to look at the title of the book in front to me.

“None of your business”

He takes his eyes off the book, landing them on me. “Magical origins”

“Yes?”

“Why?”

I looked at him, what a silly question.

“Because it’s interesting”

“But you don’t have magic. So why study it? Matter of fact, why offer this course?”

I opened the book closed in front of me before replying. “Not having magic doesn’t stop me from reading about it”

Before he could reply, the professor steps in.

Everyone immediately composed themselves.

Professor Kael was one of Emerson most loved professors.

He taught Magical Origins and was younger than most professors.

Magical Origins was one of my favorites courses. It was one of those classes that didn’t make me feel so powerless. All we had to do was just learn.

Learn about different types of magic and how they manifested. There was no show of power whatsoever.

“Good afternoon everyone” he shot us a warm smile

Everyone greeted him.

His eyes darted round the classroom till it landed on me.

“Princess Arla”

Then on Tave.

“Tave”

“Professor” Tave and I responded.

“Studying together?”

“Yes”

“No” We spoke at the same time

I shot Tave a glare and he simply smiled at me. A smile I knew was far from genuine.

Professor Kael began the lesson.

“Magic isn’t just about power”

He spoke

“It’s connection, history and identity”

He paced slowly

“Every ability you have has an origin”

He looked at me

“Even the ones that might appear absent”

I looked down. Somehow in every class, there was always some sort of motivational talk from each lesson directed at me.

I hated it.

“Today we will discuss about magical inheritance”

Students began taking notes, the sounds of pens scribbling on books filling the room.

I took notes too.

For the next one hour, Professor Kael explained how magical abilities are passed down.

There was Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Healing, Shape shifting, Casting of spells and so many more.

Thousands of magical abilities existed. And apparently there were also some that somehow disappeared.

Abilities that were considered dangerous centuries ago.

Causing the bearers of such abilities to be hunted to protect others.

I raised a hand.

“Yes, princess?” Professor Kael spoke

“Why were they hunted?”

The room became quiet, I could feel Professor Kael mood change.

“Fear”

“Fear?” I questioned.

“Those abilities were different from what they were used to, and people destroy what they do not understand”

I nodded and raised my hand to signify I had another question.

He nods his head as a go ahead

“Examples of those abilities are?”

Professor Kael stared at me, then the stare vanished, replaced by his usual typical warm smile.

“That’ll be a lesson for another class Arla. But perhaps you could research it yourself”

I nodded. “Okay”

Then he continued teaching.

The next class was the Magical Combat class.

It was the last class for the day and I was so thankful, I needed this day to be over with already.

By the time I had walked into the class, I was already exhausted.

The training hall was enormous, with students scattered around, practicing their abilities.

A gust of wind pushed someone stumbling back.

Some turned invisible and his opponent couldn’t tell where he was.

Fire exploded from someone’s arm as he shot fire balls at the other.

I lump grew in my throat. This was going to be humiliating.

Our instructor called for everyone’s attention and spoke. “Today you’d learn about defense combat”

I heaved a sigh of relief.

Not so bad, maybe I could survive this.

The instructor began calling names.

“Marcus and Daniel”

“Tobias and Vae”

“Tave and Arla”

My stomach dropped.

Tave looked at me from across the room. A sickening smile on his face.

The instructor gestures for us to step into the arena.

“Remember this is training, no intentional injuries”

Tave glanced at me.

I’m sure that instruction entered his right ear and flew out of the left.

“Begin!”

Tave moved instantly, a powerful gust of wind shot at me.

I barely moved out of the way. The force throwing me off my feet.

The class erupted in laughter.

My cheeks reddened.

“Again!” The instructor called

I pushed myself up.

Another blast.

I ducked.

Then Another.

I was pushed backwards.

“Come on Arla! Try your best to defend!”

The instructor called out.

Tave smirked at me.

“Yes Arla, defend yourself”

I glared at him.

“She can’t even defend herself”

I heard someone whisper

Defend myself with what?

I had nothing.

Tave lifted his hand again.

A sudden gust of wind coming right at me,

I didn’t feel like I could dodge it, so I used my hand to shield my face, preparing for impact.

Except as the wind got closer. The weaker it became.

Tave’s eyes widened.

He noticed it too.

He lowered his hand, the arrogant smile on his face was no longer there.

The instructor frowned

“what are you doing?! Why’d you stop?!”

Tave didn’t answer, instead he just stared at me.

I looked down at my hands. No glow, no sensation.

So what exactly just happened?

Or maybe I was overthinking it.

Nothing happened.

Tave flexed his fingers and looked at me again.

His eyes narrowed.

I couldn’t explain why, but the look in his eyes sent a chill down my spine.

And I was left standing there wondering if what I thought just happened actually happened or was just a figment of my imagination.