《The Groundsman》


 Chapter 1 - Groundsman Wanted

    Music pounding in his ears, Cuff pushed open the heavy wooden door, the loud creaking going unnoticed thanks to the music in his ears.


    "Wow," he whispers to himself, looking around as chills run along his skin. The great wooden door gave way to a large circular shaped room, a massive vaulted ceiling with old, imposing, art looks down on him. The one odd thing about the impressive room was that there was nobody else there, Cuff thought to himself. He turned in circles, wondering where to go for there were doors leading off every which way in the circular room. Until, from the corner of his eye, he catches sight of a small sign at the back of the room - although a circular room hardly has a "back" and "front", right? - which reads "Groundsman job interview, this way" and an arrow pointing to the left.


    He slowly takes his earbuds out of his ears and walks towards the five doors on the left wall - but really, is it okay to call the left wall its own wall? I mean it''s all one continous wall - with the pounding music gone he''s exposed to the sounds of the place, or rather lack of. There''s an all encompassing silence, despite the fact that Cuff is a mere ten meters away from a main road, where traffic is roaring by. In the almost ominous silence Cuff continues walking, dispelling it in an instant, as his formal black shoes clack against the marble floor, leather satchel bounces against his grey jeans and the straps slides against his wine coloured blazer; such delicate noises creating such a racket as he promptly arrives at the most top-left door which simply reads "This Door" and shrugs, grabbing at the handle and swinging the door open with far more force than intended, and then freezing.


    Inside, a man sits behind a desk, relaxed, a smile blooming on his face. His black suit, black shirt and black tie contrast greatly with his milk bottle face. He simply sits there smiling, nodding occasionally, a quill in his right hand scratches noisily at some paper on his desk


    Cuff finally comes to his wits, "Ah I''m so sorry, I thought there would be another door, and maybe a long hall and more doors, so very sorry I must be in the wrong place, sorry," he blabbers, looking down and stumbling backwards.


    "Wait." The man raises his left hand, right hand still scribbling and scratching at the paper, still smiling, he motions toward the dark wooden seat opposite the dark wooden desk. "You''re in the right place," he says without a trace of change on his face, the bizarre smile still there.


    The clock on the wall ticks, creeping towards noon. Light filters through the old windows, catching on the heavy air and giving the room a divine feel, the art ordaining the walls further exaggerating the magical quality in the air. Curiously, most of the paintings are a depiction of magic in some form, some are simple and benign whilst others have a dark, demonic, atmosphere to them.


    The floors in the room are wooden; the creaky kind. It''s an odd design choice in contrast to the marble, but apt. The room itself feels like a piece of time, stilled and sealed away from the rest of the world.


    "So, Cuff," the man clad in black leans forward, "how did you find the place?"


    "Well, it''s beautiful," Cuff replied, sitting very straight and still. "I like the style a lot, the paintings suit the title of the school perfectly." Cuff smirked, "I actually recognise that one," he points toward a particular painting, where an elderly man with gray hair is seemingly conjuring a flame, or masterpiece paintings from the flame with a wand. A child is leaning against one of his legs, while an owl is perched on the edge of a beautiful globe piece of furniture.


    "The Conjurer, by Nathaniel Hone. It''s my favourite painting actually." Cuff smiles.


    "Very good," the suited man claps. "Truth be told my brother painted that, he''ll be pleased you like it, but that''s not what I meant," he frowns, leaning back. "I was wondering quite literally, how you found this place. See the name of the institute should be taken quite literally, so you see.." he trailed off, then clapped his hands again. "Well it doesn''t particularly matter, you''re here and that''s that."


    Cuff opened his mouth and paused, frowning, "The Institute for Magical Persons?" Cuff raised an eyebrow.


    "Yes, yes. Well let''s get on with it. My name is Nathaniel, it''s a pleasure. Now I''ve looked through your cv and, well, yes," he grimaced. "The most important thing is that you mentioned you''re a quick learner. So I''m quite pleased, have you any questions?" He asked, eyes wandering towards the roof.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Uhm," Cuff paused, taken aback. Was he implying I had the job? "I was wondering what my exact duties would be as a groundsman?" He asked, wondering if that made him seem like he hadn''t prepared sufficiently.


    "Well that hardly matters, does it?" Nathaniel smiled back at him.


    "Well, yes, I imagine it does," Cuff replied, taken aback.


    "No, no, it really doesn''t," he smiled again, "now with all the questions out of the way, the salary will be €30,000, non-negotiable, there are room for pay-rises and whatnot, but that''s not really important either is it," he smiled again.


    Cuff raised a hand, "Uhm."


    "Ah perfect, here you go," Nathaniel exclaimed, as he placed the quill in Cuff''s hand, "sign here please," he smiled, as he shook his hand and pulled a piece of paper from seemingly nowhere. "No need to read it really, it''s just your contract," Nathaniel smiled, stepping back to give Cuff room to sign.


    Cuff was lost, he looked at his right hand, holding the quill. He paused and slowly began to feel a drag on his hand. He pulled against it, but it slowly strengthened. The quill was being pulled toward the page, bit by bit. Cuff couldn''t stop it, he start trying to open his fingers but found they were glued to the quill. He yanked as hard as he could, but the quill slowly hit the page and began copying out his signature; so flawlessly done it was as if he himself had done it.


    As soon as he finished the final stroke the quill dropped from his hand onto the floor, he finally managed to free his hand from the ghastly thing. The contract exploded into green flames on the desk and Cuff leapt back in fright.


    "What the fu-" He shouted, jumping back again as Nathaniel leapt between him and the table.


    "Nothing to worry about," he smiled at him.


    The fire, glowing every shade from deep green to a light emerald green, grew stronger and the light from it more intense, until all of a sudden it popped and suddenly went out.


    Cuff peeked forward, an odd symbol had burned into the table, not at all in the shape of the paper.


    A deep dong rung out. The clock hit noon and a screeching owl leapt off from a beam high above, the window opening for it as it flew out of the room.


    Nathaniel turned around smiling, only to find Cuff plastered against the wall, clearly frightened.


    "Ah Cuff, Cuff, relax there''s nothing to worry about. You''ll get used to this place quickly. Now allow me to formally welcome you to The Institute for Magical Persons, Groundsman," he waved his hand, and candles scattered around the room lit up. "Seeing as your name is Cuff, I think I''ll call you Link. Cuff Link," he burst out laughing.


    Cuff merely stared, wide eyed around at the candles that had puffed into existence. One thing he hadn''t seen before were the hulking books scattered all around the room that were now visible. The walls weren''t actually walls, it was a library. This private study was plastered in books. His heart was beating so fast he thought it''d explode, it was like he''d just fallen into a dream. Actually maybe that was it, a groundsman job in a magical school where he earned 30k a year? It''s clearly a dream. Only a dream could do this, which sadly meant he was still without a job. But at least he wasn''t going insane.


    He felt much better.


    "Come Link, I''ll show you your quarters and then I must really be on my way. Things to do, demons to enslave, you know what they say," Nathaniel winked and leapt forward, straight through the door.


    Cuff rolled his eyes, and went to follow, leaping straight into the door. "Motherfu-" he shouted, crouched over holding his head, wasn''t this a dream??


    The door opened and Nathaniel poked his head through, "What''s wrong with you, why would you go leaping into doors like that. Is there something wrong with your brain? Now come on, I''m in a rush."


    Cuff got up and followed, opening and closing the door this time, and proceeded to follow Nathaniel through a twist of so many doors and passageways he couldn''t remember it at all, until eventually he came to two large, wooden, double doors. Above them read ''Groundsman Quarters'' in large stone letters.


    "Well, here''s the key, best of luck with everything. You don''t need to do anything until tomorrow, so I would just familiarise yourself with your lodgings and somebody will come get you tomorrow, probably. Any important questions? On a tight schedule here," he smiled.


    "Well, I was wondering if you had a map or something? I''ve no idea how I got here, and it''s only noon so I might want to go for some fresh air or get used to the grounds." Cuff asked, nervously linking and unlinking his fingers.


    Nathaniel smiled, "Nothing important, perfect. Well. Bye!" He waved and hopped backwards, and then broke apart, like tiny dust particles and dispersed.


    Cuff had started raising his hand, but dropped it. Sighing he turned around and put the key in the door, grunting he shifted the key in the lock and with a grinding sound and a clunk the lock opened. He took a deep breath and began pushing the doors open, "it''s just a dream," he kept repeating under his breath.


    "It''s just a..."

 Chapter 2 - Pixie dust

    "It''s just a..." Cuff trailed off as he opened the heavy wooden door, which creaked as it swung open. Inside the room several small, green faces stared up at him. Crinkled and creased like a bunched up packet of crisps.


    "Dream," Cuff finished, mouth hanging open in shock.


    "Dweam?" The little green mouths questioned?


    To which Cuff answered by screaming, which was in turn answered by many shrill screams. A wailing cacophony of sound until the door shut with a deep boom.


    Cuff''s chest heaved heavily and with a deep breath he swung the door open once more.


    His jaw dropped, eyes roamed all around the room. He took a step in, his floor clacking off the ground and echoing about the hollow, empty, room.


    "Indeed, a dream," Cuff said out loud to himself. Taking a deep breath in relief, he takes a proper look around the room. The room is entirely bare, bar a set of drawers in the left corner, and an incredibly ornate fireplace directly in front of him. The brown wooden floors and honey orange and soft red walls give the room a cosy feel.


    Cuff cocks his head to one side, listening intently, but hears nothing at all. The room is dead silent. He notices a door to his direct left, in the bottom left corner of the room, and another to his right, but there''s no sound at all from either.


    Sighing, he drops his satchel on the floor. He stands for a moment, deliberating, until eventually with another sigh he closes the entrance to his quarters.


    "Just a dream," he whispers to himself as he walks slowly to the door on his right, his shoes clacking on the wood, cutting through the silence like a marching band in a library. He encloses his hand slowly around the circular doorknob, twisting right he holds his breath, and pushes the door open. To his joy, and slight dismay, the room is entirely empty. Deep red paint covers the walls and the wood is a shade darker, but other than that there is nothing to see. Leaving the door open he approaches the final unopened door, this time with confidence and speed.


    Grabbing the doorknob firmly he twists it and nothing happens. Frowning he tries again, but harder, and again nothing happens.


    "Right, probably locked," he facepalms, taking out the key. He hadn''t bothered looking too closely earlier, but realised the key was curiosly hefty. He hadn''t remembered it weighing so much earlier, but it felt natural lying in his hand. The key''s blade was simple with an ornate handle. Silvery black in colour and boasting an incredibly detailed owl in the centre of the handle. It was so detailed Cuff spent several minutes staring at it, tracing the lines with his eyes, before realising he''d been standing at the door staring at a key for the last few minutes.


    Shake his head he inserted the key slowly into the lock, worried of damaging it incase it wasn''t the right key. His worries were unfounded however, as it slotted in with a clunk. He opened the lock and pushed the heavy door open quickly, dragging his feet to stop it from smashing into the wall; these doors were surprisingly easy to push open.


    "Oh!" Cuff exclaimed, for inside was a kitchen. A bright yellow paint on the walls gave the room a nice shine, complemented by the wide window, which stretched halfway around the room. The room wasn''t particularly big, but it wasn''t small either, just big enough, is what Cuff thought. With no sight of anything abnormal Cuff went back into the main room, wondering what the point of this dream was.


    After double checking everything was still in his satchel he glanced about.


    "Hmm," he rubbed his chin, "it feels like something''s missing." Walking about the room, his shoes clicking and clacking as he does, he trails his hands on the walls, crouching every now and then, humming and muttering to himself. "Something is definitely missing," he mutters, walking into the deep-red walled room that is completely bare. "Yep, something is definitely missing from here," he muses. "But what should every house have that this doesn''t?" He questions the air. Walking back into the kitchen he pauses in the doorway, nodding his head. As he walks back into the main room he pauses, "Ah, my key," he says to himself, retrieving it from the lock of the kitchen and then walking into the bare room again, muttering and shaking his head.


    Standing in the centre of the main room, eyes closed and arms outstretched is Cuff. He drops his arms to the side with a plop, and sighs, "it''s hopeless," he says out loud. Grumbling, he walks over to the drawers and pulls the top left one open. Despite how faded it looks with age the drawer slides open satisfyingly, exposing a small plastic bag of blue powder, almost shiny enough to look like glitter but clearly still a blue powder. He flips it over to the other side and sees a little sticker of a little blue fairy looking thing. Shrugging he unseals the bag, and as he opens it blue smokes poofs up, shimmering and dancing about in the air. Eyebrows raised Cuff smears some on his finger and sniffs it.


    "Wow," he croaks. It smells amazing. Like blooming flowers, the bursting juice of fruit as you bite into it, the smell of honey and maple in the air, freshly cut grass. Gentle, powerful scents drift into his nose, changing one into another. It''s so amazing, he sniffs harder and harder at his finger, until eventually he sticks his nose into the opening of the bag, breathing deeply. The room starts colouring strangely, flowers bloom up around his now bare feet. The flowers burst between his toes and fruits dangle in front of his face, bursting into vibrant colours, and into his nose with delicious smells. Underneath it all is an earthy, flowery smell. He can hear the merry buzz of bees as they jump from flower to flower. The bag of blue powder is gone from his hand. His arms unknowingly filled with fruits, all kinds of animals flock around him, waiting their turn for a bite of fruit from him. A beautiful white deer clops slowly towards him, head dipped shyly. As Cuff offers an apple to it, it slowly lifts its head, a wild smile filled with cruel teeth open as it jumps forward to take its bite, its skin dripping off and eyes shining black. The world around cuff bleeds and darkness gathers around him as he starts falling.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    "A piano!" Cuff shouts out loud.


    Three old faces peer down at him, confusion clear in their eyes. The man in the middle of the three of them looks suspiciously like the man from the painting Cuff recognised previously - Nathaniel Hone''s The Conjurer. That same man tugged at his beard, looked left and right and then opened his mouth.


    "Pixie dust on school grounds? I hope you can explain this, groundsman," he said, sternly yet gently.


    "Pixie dust? Pixies like Fairies?" Cuff questioned.


    "Oh, I can''t believe this. Racism towards Pixies in this day an'' age," the woman on the left said, clutching at the hem of her dress and tugging. "Disgraceful," she spat, "I can''t believe the old mans'' being replaced by this," she said as she turned to the man in the middle.


    "Indeed, headmaster, this is really too audacious. I mean honestly I''m not the biggest fan of pixies but this is a bit much," the man on the right said, his chubby cheeks wobbling as he spoke.


    "Bin it Frank, I''ll bet my toes you''ve never even met a pixie," the woman snapped at Frank.


    "Now now, Hilde, I''m on your side here," Frank raised his hands.


    "Bahh, crock of shit, I nev-" Hilde began.


    "Alright you two, enough." The headmaster said. "Now, young man, an explanation," the headmaster turned toward Cuff once more.


    Silence fell in the room once more. The clock ticked, there was a faint scratching coming from behind the three as Cuff tried to digest what was going on.


    "Pixie dust? I have no idea what''s going on. Is that code for something? How do you even get pixie dust," Cuff rambled, words jumbling and running off his tongue. Light seemed to dawn in the three''s eyes until the final line came out of Cuff''s mouth.


    "That''s it!" Hilde shouted, raising her hand.


    "Out!" The headmaster waved, the other two froze, and after a moment Hilde''s arm dropped by her side, and without another word stormed out, slamming the door behind her.


    Frank looked at Cuff as though he were an alien, nodded at the headmaster and left too, closing the door quietly behind him.


    "Something here is clearly not right. Sit," the headmaster waved to the chair opposite the desk, walking to the window and peering out while he pondered.


    It was now that Cuff realised the scratching noise was coming from the same quill as before, only this time the quill was writing on paper without the assistance of anybody. Some papers lifted off the desk, floating across the room to the headmaster, who grunted after glancing at each, after which they floated back to the table, gently landing upon it.


    Cuff looked around him in awe, "this is some dream," he muttered to himself.


    The headmaster turned, chuckling. "This is no dream, my boy," shaking his head.


    "Right, of course it isn''t," Cuff rolled his eyes.


    The movement didn''t go unnoticed by the headmaster, who started walking towards cuff, frowning. With the flick of his hand a stick appeared in it. It was beautifully made, expertly crafted, with a detailed handle.


    "This is a wand," the headmaster said, as though reading Cuff''s thoughts. "And this, is your contract," he drew the wand across the table, and as he did a black piece of paper drew up, with the word GRONDSMAN in block capitals across the top.


    "You read this right?" the headmaster continued, but stopped when he saw Cuff shake his head.


    "What? You didn''t read your contract?" the headmaster''s jaw dropped.


    "Uh, it''s not that important.. right?" Cuff asked sheepishly.


    The headmaster dragged his hand along his face, "oh dear," he said, and sat down with a thump, the contract fizzling into green embers as he placed his wand on the table.


    "And Nathaniel found you from where?" he questioned, staring intently at Cuff.


    "Uhm, well he didn''t? I mean I kind of walked into the room, I guess I found him really?" Cuff, replied with uncertainty. He didn''t like where this was going.


    "No, my boy, I mean where did you study magic before?" the headmaster questioned, leaning in now, tugging furiously at his beard.


    "Well, nowhere," Cuff replied, linking and unlinking his fingers repeatedly.


    "Merlin''s beard," the headmaster muttered as he stood, grabbing his wand.


    "Nathaniel! Nathaniel the Lesser you answer immediately," his voice thundered, echoing against the walls. The candles fluttered out and silence reigned over the room. Cuff felt goosebumps rising along his skin in droves. A pressure built in his chest like no other.


    "Nathaniel!" The headmaster bellowed a final time, lightning danced along his body as his hair and clothes lifted with power. The candles relit and spewed flames viciously, loose papers flying around the room. His hand with the wand shook, and in a spew of paper and flame he disappeared. There was silence and then a pop rang out and Cuff almost blew off the chair, papers and books flew away from where the headmaster had been standing.


    A laugh rang out through the school and then there was silence.


    The clock ticked and the papers settled, and Cuff muttered to himself,


    "This is no dream, this is a nightmare."

 Chapter 3 - Youre a wizard

    Cuff nervously tapped his legs and glanced around. Papers were strewn across the floor, some tomes were lying flat, having fallen from pecarious perches. The clock ticked, and ticked. Through the window Cuff could see an inky black sky, must be night he thought, as he glanced toward the clock. The moment his vision rested on the clock pain ripped through his eyes, across his head. He shouted, falling to the ground with his head in his hands, twisting madly with the pain.


    It tore along the top of his skull in pulses, like a rivulet of pain, seeping into his neck and running along his spine. He grasped madly at the top of his spine, almost as if he wanted to tear it out.


    And just as quickly as it started, it stopped. Cuff lay panting on the floor, confused. He slowly got up and looked around, double-checking there as nothing about attacking him. After reaffirming it was just him in the room he decided to leave, he needed help, or answers. Both actually, definitely both. Thinking back to the pain he just felt he began to think maybe he wasn''t dreaming. Like what any human does in a situation where it doesn''t understand what is happening he tried to rationalise. So, as he walked out of the door he thought on the one hand, raising his right hand, magic is real. And on the other - he closed the door behind him - and raised his left hand, I''m going insane. And it was as he walked through random corridors, in the pitch of the night, with hands waving backward and forward, shoes clacking on the ground, that he realised his satchel was no longer banging off of his leg. He looked around to get his bearings. He was in a large wooden corridor, there was two suits of armor to his right, and on the left was a locked door. There was nothing else along the corridor, other than art running periodically along the left wall, and two suits of knights on the right. Behind him the corridor ran on and on for an age, and in front of him it opened out into a large room.


    "Yep, no idea where I am. Fu-" Cuff cut off, a scream ripping through the night silence in its place. He collapsed onto the knights, knocking them off their stand as he curled up in pain, metal showering around him.


    Cuff''s eyes fluttered open to the bright sun, streaming through his bedside window. The smell of unvarnished wood hit his nose, pine and grass, with the slightest hint of flowers. Lots of flowers. Dreamy. It must''ve all been a dream, or nightmare. At least it was all back to normal now.


    Until the stench of smoke and tobacco washed over him.


    "Well, you''re not dead," a gruff voice announced.


    Cuff''s eyes shot open, beside him in a chair that was previously in his apartment sat the headmaster from his dream; although it was clear it wasn''t a dream now. Cuff couldn''t believe it. Thinking back about what had transpired yesterday really made him doubt if he was sane.


    "Ah, hello Headmaster. And, well, naturally?" Cuff responded, shaking his head. At least the pain was gone, "also I think I should tell you, I keep feeling a horrific pain in my pain. It''s happened twice now." Cuff said to the headmaster.


    "Mhm, well you see it''s not all that natural you''re not dead, also you can call me Nathaniel in private," the headmaster started, raising his hand and twirling it. A little figure of flame popped up, mimicing the action of splashing some powder on its face, "had a non-magical person taken pixie dust instead of you, they''d have died." The flame figure, dramatically fell down onto an imaginary floor and then poofed into dust.


    "Oh," Cuff said, lying onto his back and staring up at the ceiling. He had nearly died. He felt an odd empty sensation deep inside him. And then realised he''d just seen a dancing figure made of flame, magic, in front of his very eyes. Yet he felt so empty. Cuff turned back to face Nathaniel as he began to speak.


    "The pain you''re feeling is as a result of taking the pixie dust, and you should be feeling a terrible sense of loss, loss of yourself to be exact," and once again a figure of flame appeared in Nathaniel''s hand, first splashing some fiery dust onto its face and then spazzing in pain.


    "I see," Cuff replied hollowly.


    "You should be over the worst of it soon anyhow, but I have something that will help." As Nathaniel finished his sentence two mugs came floating in from the neighbouring room. The smell of coffee permeated the air, almost as soon as the mugs flew through the door.


    Grasping the mug that stopped in front of him Cuff gasped inadvertently," Coffee!" He exclaimed.


    "I see you have a keen eye. Indeed, coffee should help almost immediately," Nathaniel nodded.


    Cuff gingerly sipped at the coffee, and then took a mouthful. It was so fresh he could hardly believe it, he was debating asking what beans there was when he realised something. A non-magical person would die if took pixie dust?


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.Cuff turned to Nathaniel, who had a smile stretched from ear to ear, Cuff swore he heard him murmur, "coffee, my only love."


    "You said a non-magical person would die if they took pixie dust?" Cuff asked, eyebrows raised.


    "Quite," Nathaniel replied, sipping his coffee.


    "So, I''m a ''magical person'', then?" Cuff asked, mimicing quotation marks, a wry smile on his face. There was silence for a moment, and then a ticking clock filled in the void. The sunlight streamed into the room, giving it an orange glow as the yellow light clashed with the red paint. The smell of coffee and smoke drifting through the room, combined with the wooden floor it felt so peaceful. Nathaniel looked up solemnly, staring straight at Cuff.


    "You''re a wizard, hairy," and then almost immediately burst out laughing. "My apologies, I''ve always wanted to say that to someone, but the effect is generally lost on the students," he chuckled once more, standing and walking to the window. Cuff shook his head, the old man couldn''t even get the quote right. He felt like headbutting the wall; on the bright side the coffee had begun to make him feel human again.


    "Jokes aside, you are indeed a magical person, or you would have died from the pixie dust, so congratulations," Nathaniel said, still staring out the window. He began to stroke his beard with his left hand while he tapped his pipe off the window.


    "There are a few small issues, however, we''ll leave those for later," he mused, turning around to face Cuff, who was mid-stretch. "Cuff," Nathaniel took a few steps closer, tapping the pipe off his lip now.


    "Yes?" Cuff answered, eyes wandering around the room nervously.


    He rested the pipe on his lip, "don''t give your key to anybody, and don''t lose it. Keep it on you, always, although that won''t be too hard to do," he began tapping the pipe on his lip again, turning slightly. Frowning, he asked, "may I see it?"


    "Uhm, sure," Cuff fumbled with the key in his pocket, holding his palm open for Nathaniel.


    The key was black now, while the owl had rubies for eyes. "It''s changed," Cuff exclaimed.


    "Mhm, that might happen a lot, no need to worry," Nathaniel said, as he poked at the key with his wand, which had appeared out of seemingly nowhere. His wand was a pale wooden colour, almost white but not quite. It was slender and long, only slightly thicker at the bottom where the handle was seperated from the rest by a little circlet.


    "How interesting," Nathaniel commented, "it seems there''s something else I owe you later," he mused. He straightened up and tapped his pipe with his wand, spreading smoke through the air while he muttered.


    "Well-" he began, but was cutoff by a thump at the window. "That damnable owl," he frowned, walking over where an owl was plastered against the window. He tapped at the window with his pipe, spilling tobacco everywhere, "I know you can tell when they''re open and not you fool," he shouted at the owl, stuck to the window. He turned back around to face Cuff.


    "Well, now I really must be off, it seems there''s a few things I must attend to. Stop by my study later, there are some things I''ve to inform you of, and something I believe I should give you, till then," he smiled, as he tapped his pipe with his wand. As the sound of the tap ran through the room his body folded in on itself, space warping, and then with a snapping sound he was gone.


    Cuff lay back on his bed and let out a deep breath. This was insane. All he''d wanted was a job, and now he was in a magical school, apparently a wizard, and suffering the godawful after affects of some magical drug. Well at least he actually had a job, that was good! Positive thinking. And he could do magic now, or well maybe someone would teach him how to, that was also pretty cool. He downed the rest of his coffee and rolled out of bed, spying his satchel in the corner of the room as he did. He looked around and realise he was in his quarters, still in the same clothes as yesterday, or at least he assumed that was yesterday. But there definitely wasn''t a bed here yesterday, or his wardrobe that looked suspiciously identical to the one from his apartment, and the same with his bed. Frowning, he walked into the main room, only to find his beloved Schteinway baby grand piano in front of him, alongside some chairs and other piecse of furniture from his apartment. Definitely need to add this to his checklist of stuff to ask the headmaster later. Curiously enough he didn''t feel hungry at all, maybe something to do with the pixie dust he thought. Stretching, he figured he mght as well play the piano just a little bit, no harm right. Anyway, he had no idea what to do at the moment, other than to go to the headmaster''s study at some point, but he seemed pretty busy so.


    Outside in the hallway someone clicked along the wooden floor. Red hair bouncing, a stark contrast to the black clothes she was wearing. As she drew close to the doors the twinkle of piano floated toward her. She recognised this, it was Debussy! Reflets dans l''eau, such a beautiful piece. She paused outside the door, leaning gently against them as she listened. And there she stayed, eyes closed, head hung back. As the piece ended on its final gentle, quiet notes, like the ripples of water dying out, she sighed and raised her hand.

 Chapter 4 - The Owl Wand and Key

    Cuff looked up from his hands as the final notes slowly died. Lifting his hands he let out a deep breath, it''d been some time since he''d played like that. He stretched his hands up to the ceiling, the tendons and ligaments tight after being worked. He really liked reflets dans l''eau, the ending was so fitting, the slow dying ripples of music acting like the dying ripples of water from a splash. So fitting, he mused in his head. Now if only I could play it less sloppy. His thoughts were interrupted by light knocking at the door. Confused, he walked over to open it, wondering if the headmaster had finished whatever it was he had needed to do. Surprise was apparent on Cuff''s face when he opened the door. A beautiful red-headed girl looked up at him curiously, she was slim and yet still the tiniest bit chubby. There was the shortest moment of silence before Cuff came to.


    "Uhm, hello! How can I help you?" Cuff awkwardly asked, hands half raised, unsure. His heart couldn''t help but jump a little when he looked at her again; her eyes seem to tear at him inside and pull him in.


    "Was that you playing the piano?" She ignored his greeting, peeking past his shoulder into the room.


    "Well, it wouldn''t be anyone else would it!" He chuckled, scratching his head and fidgeting.


    "Interesting," she put her hand to her chin, "so you''re the new groundsman," she narrowed her eyes. And then completely changed, jumping a tad, and almost shouting, "I''m Lilith, you''re good at piano so I think I like you. You''re in my good books for now anyway," she winked.


    "Now come on, the headmaster realised you wouldn''t know your way around and told me to show you around," she turned around and started skipping a little. It made for a truly curious sight, such a bubbly personality, yet such dark clothing and demeanour. If she never spoke it wouldn''t be hard to mistake her for a demon.


    "Anyway," she broke Cuff''s thoughts, "down this hall leads to the main hall. So it''s pretty easy to get to your room and the headmasters. The rest of the school can be tricky, but I''ll show you the stairs, the rest you can figure out. I''m sure you''ll be fine," she smiled at him and chuckled a little.


    "I see," Cuff said absentminded.


    "Oi," she frowned and pouted, "say thanks properly, I''m doing so much for you, you know."


    "Well, thanks. But honestly, you sound like a child right now," Cuff snorted.


    "Well, maybe I am," she raised her eyebrows, cocking her head, then turned with a huff and continued stomping down to the main hall in silence.


    Cuff ignored her, looking at the art on the walls. It almost felt like a huge story, in some parts it looked like there was a war, other parts had what looked like a teacher teaching a classroom, and it went on and on. It reminded Cuff of the caveman drawings that were occasionally found.


    Eventually the hall came to an end, as did the silence.


    "We''re here," Lilith turned to Cuff, waving her hands.


    "Never would''ve guessed," Cuff replied drily.


    "Pfft, listen punk," her face scrunching up in anger, "you better start being nicer to me, or else," she said, waving her hands in an incredibly unthreatening looking manner.


    Cuff burst out laughing, "it''s hard to take you serious when you just look cute when you''re angry," Cuff said, resisting the urge to poke her cheek.


    "Cute? I am not cute! I''m incredibly dangerous!" She shouted, lifting her hands and trying to roar like a lion.


    One look almost had Cuff rolling on the floor with laughter.


    "I honestly can''t take it, stop, stop please," he giggled at the "scary lion."


    "Huff," she said, huffing. "I''m getting food, go talk to the old donkey," she said, looking truly annoyed. Space wrapped around her, and in a bang she disappeared.


    "When do I get to learn that," Cuff muttered under his breath. Shrugging, he turned around to face the headmaster''s study. Taking a deep breath he knocked. There was no reply. Frowning, he knocked harder. He glanced around as he waited, but still nothing. Maybe the old guy is hard of hearing he thought? Although that couldn''t be right, he had been talking to him fine earlier.


    He decided to knock once more, even harder, the knocks ringing out and echoing loudly in the hall.


    "Hey, what''s with all the racket, yeah?" A bald man emerged from one of the doors into the main hall, walking towards Cuff. "You, what''s the racket, yeah?" He shouted at Cuff.


    "Sorry, I was just knocking for the headmaster," Cuff stammered, "I''m new. I''m sorry," he half bowed.


    "Yeah, well. Keep the racket down, yeah? You can go into the study if he''s not there, yeah. He should''ve said this to you, yeah?" The bald man huffed and turned and left. Cuff stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. Right, the headmaster did mention he could go in, didn''t he? Shrugging he turned around a tentatively opened the door and stepped in.


    Inside, the room was a glow with deep blue candlelight. Cuff chuckled to himself at the changing candle flames, although he supposed if he could do that he would too. He walked towards the dark desk looking at the green imprint, which he now realised was his contract. He realised it looked somewhat like an owl with its wings raised, as if it were about to take flight. Odd how there seem to suddenly be owls everywhere, although he supposed it had kind of always been like that with him. He always liked Owls, quite a lot in fact; and they always seemed to appear everywhere he went. He never really thought anything of it before, but now it seemed somewhat suspicious. Although everything did seem a bit suspicious, or ridiculous, or amazing. I guess it depends which way you view it. He was now supposedly a magical person; a wizard. He''d always wished magic had been real, and now here he was. Some twenty odd years old and it turned out magic truly was real. And yet, nothing felt like anything.


    Cuff slunk into the chair, staring at the green mark. A magical contract of employment, or chaining him to this place. Again a matter of perspective he supposed. But it was hard to look at it in either view, because none of it simply felt real. It felt so dead and fake. He felt so dead, so empty inside. And he knew it wasn''t an effect of the pixie dust anymore, the coffee had fixed that and he felt lively and awake; but so grim inside. What was he even doing with his life. A mediocre composer, eking out a living doing pitiful freelance piano work, wherever he could get it. Applying for any which job, painfully holding onto them for months at a time and then desperately writing music, which completely flopped. He had essentially completely alienated himself from his friends and family. He was only living in the building he was living in because the landlord was an old lady who takes great pity on him.


    It was the gentle plop of a tear that woke Cuff from his depressive thoughts. He was crying. One tear drop dripping at a time, splashing onto the wooden floor, turning one small spot at a time slightly darker. It reminded Cuff of his life darkening one step at a time. Only tiny little bits at a time, but they add up, at least they did for cuff.


    The sharp screech of an owl tore through the air. Cuff, startled, whipped his head up at the window, to find the owl that had plastered itself into the window before sitting just outside the opening window. It screeched once more, a terrifying rending sound slicing into his ears, and then turned as it flapped its wings and took off into the grey sky. It was only now he realised how little light had been pouring into the room from the window. The skies were a deep grey, warning of rains to come. He took a deep breath and wiped the rest of the tears from his face. He might not know what he was going to do with his life, but he wasn''t going to give up at it yet. Feeling a little better he stood up, curious about the tomes that lined the walls of the room.


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!There was a huge variety among them. Some being records of the school, that supposedly stretched back to the 18th century, others being tomes of magic. There were books on elementary magic, advanced magics, the history of wands, how to use a wand, the basics of magic, and so much more. Some were published from even before the earliest records of the school, and others were much more recent. It was incredibly fascinating. He was incredibly tempted to take one and glance through it, but restrained himself. He couldn''t help, however, stroking the spines of the tomes; they were so incredibly satisfying to touch, a feeling of mystery emanating from each and every single ones.


    "I think," a voice sagely voice sounded from behind Cuff, "a healthy appreciation for knowledge, and books in general, is a quality most admirable in the young," the voice continued. Cuff turned around, toward the voice. The headmaster, Nathaniel, stood there, his pipe in his hand, tapping off his lip. "Knowledge is power, as they say. Although I have more than a few issues with that statement, but that''s best left for another time," he added, striding to his desk.


    "Sorry I didn''t hear you open the door," Cuff said to him.


    "Not a worry," Nathaniel answered, smiling, "I didn''t come through the door you see, "he said with a wink. "Now, I''m sure you have questions, and I have some things to explain and give you and I''m still in a bit of a hurry, so please take a seat," he said, as he tapped his pipe off his lip and wandered to the window. Cuff sat, staring at him intently. Nathaniel simply stood there, staring at the window, puffing on his pipe occasionally. After an exceptionally large puff of smoke he took a deep breath, and to Cuff''s surprise, began humming. He hummed and puff, and puffed and hummed, until eventually the fidgeting Cuff cleared his throat, "Headmaster?"


    "Ah yes, yes, apologies. The mind wanders," he chuckled, tapping his pipe against his cheek. He took a deep breath and let it out, and in that instant it felt like the air got a bit heavier, and it got a bit harder to breathe. There was complete silence, and it seemed as though even the clock couldn''t be heard, ticking as it always could. And yet, slowly, the pitter patter of rain began on the old windows, tapping away.


    "Cuff, a magical contract is a bit different to a non-magical, as you might expect," Nathaniel began, a grave touch to his voice. "Nobody can invalidate the contract, unless the two original signers come to an explicit agreement to do so, and you can be guaranteed Nathaniel won''t be willing. Not me of course, I mean the other fool," Nathaniel shook his head. The grave and scholarly air he gave off was at last fitting for the title of headmaster, Cuff thought as he listened closely.


    "A magical contract is binding, and there is no other way out until the conditions have been completed; as such people would ordinarily not sign one unless it had very loose specifications, and ones that were achievable, of course. Otherwise one might be signing themselves into a lifetime of slavery, for which I''m sorry," Nathaniel stared Cuff hard in the eyes. With a wave of hand the burning green contract appeared, the owl dragging off the table and sitting at the head.


    "It states here, that you must fulfil your duties as the groundsman, until the contract is void, or otherwise destroyed. This refers to you and Nathaniel agreeing to void the contract, however in the next section it is stated that neither original party may come to a mutual agreement to void the contract. So this is not a possibility, ever." Nathaniel paused, allowing Cuff to digest the implications.


    "So.. I''m a slave for life?" Cuff asked, not sure what to feel.


    "No, no. Fortunately a magical contract must always contain a method to render the contract obsolete, they can not be enacted otherwise, which is quite fortunate," Nathaniel said as he fiddled with a drawer in his desk. "And for you, this method is to become powerful enough, magically, to destroy the contract yourself, with no help whatsoever," Nathaniel paused with his fiddling for a moment, staring Cuff in the eye with his eyebrows slightly raised.


    "And I''m guessing that won''t be easy," Cuff said, feeling the emptiness inside him grow.


    "Well, no, and for that I''m very sorry. I''m at least partially to blame for this, so I''ll do my best to assist you however I can." Nathaniel said, feeling somewhat guilty. He began fiddling again with the drawer. Cuff looked around, unsure what to do. Even more unsure than before. It looks like there wouldn''t be any life planning today, or for the foreseeable future.


    "Blasted drawer," Nathaniel growled, heaving until finally the drawer flew open, the headmaster almost tumbling to the ground after it.


    "Now, with the explaining done I have some good news. There''s something here I have to give you, but first; Cuff, I understand how you feel. What you need is a goal right now, even more than you ever have before," the headmaster stood, lifting a box as he did. "Magic can be a fickle thing. It''s important it doesn''t consume you. I know a bit of your life from before, you didn''t think your furniture from your apartment appeared here by magic, did you?" The headmaster walked to a pedastal and pulled out his wand from seemingly nowhere. As always, Cuff was intrigued. The headmaster waved his wand lightly, and a gentle light floated toward the box. Just before it hit the wood it exploded in a shower of light, over an almost transparent sphere surrounding the box. As the light died down Cuff saw the headmaster nod in satisfaction, a smile on his face.


    "This is an opportunity Cuff, to change your life. There is far more to the world than you realise. The question is, will you take this step willingly, or unwillingly. And so, my final gift to you," he lifted the box and placed it on the desk, the opening clasp facing Cuff.


    Cuff stared at the clasp, and the little owl that acted as the clasp stared back, green gems for eyes. It reminded Cuff of the key, which he felt compelled to take out.


    Nathaniel merely stood, watching, saying nothing.


    Cuff looked at the key, and then at the clasp. He felt torn, but at the same time he didn''t have much of a choice did he? He had risen to every challenge in life before, why couldn''t he rise to this. He thought about magic, about real magic. He could almost imagine the power flowing through his veins, about the hidden world out there. With a deep breath he reached forward with his right hand, flicking open the clasp; his left hand clenched tightly around the owl key. Inside the box was a wand, not too unlike Nathaniel''s one. The main difference being the colour. For this wand was a deep deep brown, maybe even black. But Cuff had never heard of a tree with black branches. Cuff lifted the wand out of the box carefully, tilting it and examining it closely. He gasped as he saw the handle.


    "Indeed, I think there''s more to this," Nathaniel muttered over his shoulder.


    "The Owl Wand to match the Owl Key." He walked over to the window. The rain hammered it violently, creating a constant din in the study. After a moment he turned back to Cuff, who had put the key away and was getting a feel for the wand.


    "There''ll be a note in your room when you return, I''ve said everything I had meant to, and given you what I think you deserve. I hope you can put some thought into what I''ve told you, and this chance you have. At any rate, the time is getting on and I still have things to do," he smirked.


    "Ah right, you''ll need to get familiar with the library and the librarians. They''ll help you get the books you need. And Cuff," he said, looking straight into his eyes, "magic is not a toy, it''s not a trivial thing to fool around with. Under no circumstances should you ''borrow'' books from the library other than what the librarians give you, at least for the time being. Do you understand?" He asked, with raised eyebrows.


    "I understand," Cuff nodded solemnly.


    "Well, goodbye." Nathaniel smiled, disappearing in a smatter of dust, the candles dimming and beginning to go out as he did.

 Chapter 5 - Without a doubt a genius

    All of the candles spluttered green and then went out. Smoke drifted into the dim room, lit faintly by moonlight trapped behind clouds. The splatter of rain on the window was a comforting sound. The smell of smoke a comforting smell. The feel of the wand in his hand a strangely comforting feeling.


    Cuff stood in the centre of the room, and took a deep breath. Letting it out he looked at the black wand in his hand, wondering what to do. Shrugging he decided to wave it, which did absolutely nothing. "Right," he muttered, frowning hard. Magic couldn''t be so simple. He focused on the wand, his whole face scrunching up, and waved the wand again. Absolutely nothing happened.


    "Hocus pocus," he yelled, waving it again. To which nothing also happened.


    After thinking about it, Cuff felt a little stupid standing in the dark waving a stick around and thus decided to make a quick getaway.


    He turned around and walked quickly into the door.


    In the long wooden corridor between the main hall and the groundsman''s quarters Cuff walked, rubbing his head as he did. Vague mutterings of stupid magic could he heard as he did.


    Further down the hall a certain figure cloaked in a black suit spotted Cuff. He paused, and turned to go back the way he came, but paused. He stood, one eyebrow raised as he saw Cuff rubbing his head. As Cuff edged closer he started to frown even more, undecided on whether he should leave or not.


    Cuff very nearly didn''t see him, with his hand on his face, but only very nearly.


    "You!" Cuff almost shouted when he saw him.


    "Me!" Nathaniel mimiced back. Chuckling he pointed at Cuff''s head, "What''s happened here, Cufflink?"


    "Nothing," Cuff muttered, staring at Nathaniel. Pointing at Nathaniel, who merely raises his eyebrows he angrily says, "you tricked me."


    Nathaniel guffaws, "you''ve only realised this now?" And bursts out laughing, "Little mister Link, I can''t believe you''re The Owl. Without a doubt, you''re a genius," he laughs more, slapping his leg.


    "Honestly, I can''t believe I got this lucky," he laughs. "How about this, as an apology I''ll answer any three questions you have," Nathaniel smiles.


    "And how do I know you''ll answer honestly? Considering before, this is pointless," Cuff replied and made to continue walking.


    "No, no, wait," Nathaniel put his hand out. "I swear I will answer your three questions honestly," he says as he draws his right hand across the back of his left. A glowing pentagram comes to life where his hand passes, with three fire lines floating in the air above it.


    Cuff stares, amazed. But then again, he thinks, I know nothing about magic. This could just be a fancy lightshow. Oh well, better than nothing.


    "Fine," Cuff scowls and stares at Nathaniel.


    "If this is a school, why is there almost nobody here? Where are the students," Cuff asks, waving his wand, which is still in his right hand.


    Nathaniel''s jaw drops and then almost immediately after he begins to giggle. The giggle eventually turns into rolling laughter that echoes down the hallway, getting louder and louder as it does. The laughter begins to hurt Cuff''s ears it''s so loud, and then he gets chilling goosebumps, as a deep, gravelly undertone joins in. It''s like a demon has joined in. His ears pulse in pain, when suddenly the demonic laugh cuts off. Cuff looks up suddenly, finding Nathaniel staring at him; one of his eyes pure black, wreathed in horror. A mouth far bigger than any man''s mouth opens wide with teeth so long and sharp they belong in a horror movie.


    "You idiot!" The mouth screams at him.


    "Just kidding," Nathaniel giggles, looking human again. The horrific creature is gone, the trickster back. "There''s nobody here because school hasn''t started yet. Term begins in ten days, on the first of September. Enjoy the time off while you have it, although I suppose you''ll probably be kept busy," he smiles at Cuff and stretches. "Next."


    Cuff stills. His entire body is covered in sweat. Surely he doesn''t have to be afraid in the school right? But regardless of how he tries to rationalise it, he''s afraid. Very afraid. His left hand is clenched so tightly into a fist he can feel his nails digging into his palm, and he''s genuinely surprised the wand hasn''t snapped in his right yet, considering how tight he''s holding it. He looks down at it, but it''s the same as always.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    "I promised three answers, so ask," Nathaniel cuts through his thoughts, raising his left hand, which shows the pentagram still glowing an eerie red. Two lines sit above it now.


    Cuff swallows hard and looks at the wand in his hand again, and then back at Nathaniel.


    "How do I use my wand?" He asks, and immediately after wonders if he even wants to learn from this demon of a person, but at least maybe if he knew magic he could defend himself from him? Maybe?


    Nathaniel chuckles at him again, but that''s all.


    "I can''t teach you that. In fact nobody really can, but I suppose technically the librarians will show you, and or my brother," Nathaniel answers with a bored expression and lifts his right hand, conjuring up a ball of flame and bouncing it around. On his left hand there''s only one mark left.


    Well that explains why the headmaster told me to get familiar with the librarians, Cuff thinks back to earlier in the study. Now what to ask as a final question. Cuff scratches at his head. The problem is Cuff knows absolutely nothing. When you know nothing everything is a question, but most are ones that will obviously be revealed in due time. Asking something like, where''s the nearest bathroom would be a stupid waste. He might as well ask something related to his post, so what to ask...


    "I''m not really sure what to ask, but I suppose this is better than nothing," Cuff begins, holding the wand by each end with each hand and continues, "where is the previous groundsman?" He looks up.


    Nathaniel twitches and then snorts. Shaking his head slightly he paces in a circle, the flame squished out in his hand. He turns and looks at Cuff, smiling strangely.


    "The previous groundsman is in the school. Well, we never set out the rules did we? Always watch your wording, little Cufflink," he winks with a grimace, and then takes a step backward, through a burning, inky black portal, that disappears as quickly as it appeared.


    In another part of the school


    A fire burns hot in an ornate fireplace. A low table stands in front of it, two mugs sitting on it. A wide cream sofa faces the fire, with two men seated on it. One is rather pudgy, and one is rather old.


    "Well, Nathaniel, what do you think?" The pudgy man asks the headmaster.


    "Well, I think, he is without a doubt a genius," Nathaniel nods at the pudgy man. "You could hardly expect ''The'' Owl to be anything less, could you?" He raises an eyebrow at the pudgy man.


    "Of course not, of course not," the pudgy man chuckles, and then slaps his leg. "He just struck me as so, well, unimpressive," he chuckles again, sipping at his mug. "But of course, if you say so it must be true," he nods.


    Nathaniel merely grunts.


    "And the cabinet?" he nods towards the same cabinet that was in Cuff''s room, from which the pixie dust came from.


    "It''s definitely Isaac''s," the pudgy man says, placing his mug down, "speaking of which, is there any progress on where he is? This reeks of your brother''s doing," he says.


    "Quite," Nathaniel frowns, "no progress I''m afraid. And if it is Nathaniel''s doing then Isaac should be quite safe. He might be a little, well insane, but he''s quite alright really," the headmaster nodded. "I''m more worried it might not be Nathaniel''s doing, although the two of them were somewhat close so it could be a truly ill-mannered prank, but I''m not sure," he mused, tugging at his beard. "At any rate I''ll continue looking for our groundsman, no need to worry. But our new groundsman happens to be Owl, as a result of losing our old one, interesting," Nathaniel said, as he rose from his seat. "It was nice, Frank," he says, nodding toward Frank, "excellent gloop as always," Nathaniel smiles, and then drifts apart.


    At the entrance to the groundsman''s quarters


    Cuff''s floors tap on the wood as he approaches the doors to his quarters, waving his wand about as he does. With a sigh he fishes out his key. The lock opens with a satisfying clunk and he swings the door open, and freezes. In front of him three little, green, crinkled, faces stare back up at him and not in sync at all bow and say "mastah." Cuff simply stares at them, his jaw open, unsure of what to do. The three rise back up and stand staring back. Cuff stares longer, and longer, until finally the three start wailing and screeching, running around the room with their arms in the air.


    "Mistaaaaake," they scream, running in circles, waving their arms wildly until all three run into each other at the same time, bouncing off each other with a thud and landing on their bums. Cuff slaps his face and sighs, walking in and closing the door. Better to figure this out and get it over with, this is life now after all, right? He thinks.

 Chapter 6 - Goblins and a Library

    "So you''re telling me you''re all Goblins, and the servants of the previous groundsman?" Cuff asked the three little green goblins, who were all sitting on a couch in front of him. He himself was sitting on a chair facing them, twirling his wand around periodically as he spoke.


    "Yes, yes," the three of them rasped together, nodding their heads over and over.


    "And you do, more or less, all of the housekeeping here?" Cuff asked, which was answered by more nodding. He sighed. He didn''t really feel like he needed a bunch of housekeepers, but the thought of sending them off made him feel terrible, and they seemed to enjoy it here? At least everytime they told him they were the servants for this place they seemed cheery and happy.


    "I cook!" One of them had exclaimed when he asked.


    "I clean!" Another chimed in.


    "Yes!" The last one joined in. This one was clearly a lot more confused by everything, seemingly just doing whatever it''s friends told it to.


    He sighed again, deciding for now to just accept it. On the bright side he would have some little helpers for home, it could be a lot worse.


    "In that case, you can carry on the same way you did for the previous groundsman. However I have one rule, you can''t go into my bedroom, touch anything in it or tamper with anything in there in any way. Okay?" Cuff sat straight, wondering if they would take it seriously.


    The three goblins glanced up at him and then began nodding.


    "Yes," they said, nodding more and more, "yes, yes, yes, off course, mastah," they said. Cuff had to stop himself from laughing at the mistake; they were such cute little things, really.


    Standing up Cuff wandered over to his piano, tapping occasionally on the upper range, lost in thought.


    The three goblins muttered between each other and then hopped off the couch together, wandering over to Cuff. They looked at each other, and then the tallest one - tallest by the slightest amount - tugged on Cuff''s cuff, who snapped out of his thinking and glanced down.


    "I cook!" The goblin exclaimed.


    "Yes, I know you''re the cook!" Cuff smiled back at it.


    "No, I do cook!" The goblin exclaimed, miming frying something on an invisible pan. "You eat!" It exclaimed, jabbing at Cuff''s stomach.


    "Ahh," Cuff nodded, understanding now. He patted his belly, and realised he was actually quite hungry. It''s almost like the goblin knew, or maybe it did? "Ok," Cuff nodded, it should be fine if they used to cook for the last groundsman.


    "Yeeeeee," the goblin jumped, turning around to the other two and yelping at them. The three of them ran in circles yelping before making toward the kitchen.


    "Wait," Cuff turns to the three, "what are your names?"


    "Me One!" The tallest exclaims.


    "Me Two!" The not dopey one follows.


    "Me Three!" The dopey one adds.


    Cuff stared at them, shocked.


    "One, Two, and Three?" He looked at them, flabbergasted.


    "Yes," two of them exclaimed. "Yes!" The silly one followed after. Cuff shook his head, half snorting.


    "Who named you all?" Cuff asked in disbelief.


    "Old mastah!" They all chortled. Cuff looked at the three little green goblins. He could barely believe the old groundsman was this lazy. Well, Cuff was definitely a lazy namer, but this was extreme.


    "Would you all like proper names?" Cuff asked, after some thought.


    "Yes! Name, names!" The three chortled together. While they were screaming Cuff began to think about potential names. It felt like naming a piece of music almost, it wasn''t something that could be rushed, and it had to fit. This would take time.


    "I need to think about the perfect name for each of you," Cuff said, raising his hands, "so I''ll give your name as soon as I think of it, okay?" Cuff asked.


    "Yes, yes, yes. Very good. Name!" The goblins exclaimed and then ran into the kitchen shouting name and cook repeatedly. Cuff shook his head, smiling. As soon as the door to the kitchen shut there was silence.


    The pitter patter of rain could just barely be heard breaking the silence, from the small windows on either side of the fire place. Not much light came in through the windows, the world outside a wash of gloomy greys. Cuff stood alone again; alone with his thoughts. He could feel his thoughts slinking back to the depressive, and shook his head.


    "Now to find that task list," he mutters to himself, wandering around the room. After looking around the entire room he eventually spotted the edge of it tucked under the opened lid of the piano. Rolling his eyes he picked it up.


    Groundsman''s tasklist:


    Find library (map on backside)


    And that was all. Cuff snorted, this was hardly for real. Find the library. The old man had been too lazy to even write in ''the''. Flipping the paper over to the other side he found his map, if it could even be described as a map. The words West and East were written on either side of the paper. There was a circle beneath West, with "You''re here" written in the circle. There was a straight line into another circle, which was unmarked. Cuff figured it was safe to presume this was the main hall. Continuing straight on was the word East with another circle, with "Library" inside. Hardly a map, although if those really were the directions then that was fair enough, Cuff figured.


    Cuff tapped the fingers of his right hand, his wand tucked under his thumb, his chin resting on his left palm. He was humming, wondering what to do in the meantime. There wasn''t really anything else to do though, was there? His rumbling stomach told him there was eating, but that was a given. The faintest whiff of something delicious was seeping out of the kitchen, and Cuff realised he was becoming increasingly hungry by the second. He was just glad that the three goblins seemed to be good cooks, he wouldn''t have had the heart to fire any of them but he couldn''t subject himself to eating disgusting food either.


    Cuff''s musings were broken by the opening of the kitchen door and two of the goblins coming out with plates and a glass of water. Behind them there was the sound of a lot of crashing around, and definitely something breaking. One of the two goblins snuck back to the door and closed it, shutting out the cacophony of sounds. They placed the plates of food on the table by the fire, and one of them lit the fire after. Cuff was guessing that one was Two, One was standing by the table waiting for him. What to name them he wondered, as he walked to the table. The plates had on them, what he guessed to be, a roast turkey and ham, covered in gravy. On the other plate was a pile of mashed potato and vegetables. It looked and smelled mouthwateringly good. Cuff''s stomach rumbled loudly at the food as he sat down at the table, the two goblins smiling at him repeatedly.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings."Aren''t you guys going to join me?" Cuff asked them. It was only fair, they had cooked the food after all.


    The goblins looked at each other, horrified.


    "We eat that?" One said, looking disgusted and afraid. Cuff was taken aback. Was it horrendously disgusting? It smelled so good though.


    "Yes?" He replied, unsure. To which the goblins answered with a variety of noises. Fake-spitting and blowing disgusted rasberries at Cuff.


    "Goblins," he said, pointing at himself and his friend, "eat magic," he smiled. "Not," he stopped and made retching noises, "that," he finished, pointing at Cuff''s food.


    Cuff chuckled, although he was also mildly disgusted at their very enthusiastic acting. His belly rumbled again and he shrugged, picking up his cutlery. No harm in at least trying it.


    And so two pairs of eyes found themselves trained on Cuff''s fork, a small cut of ham and turkey on it, although he couldn''t see his fork once it went too close to his mouth.


    The two goblins stared eagerly, wondering if their new master would enjoy their cooking too.


    As Cuff''s mouth closed around the fork one of the goblins leaned a little too far over in anticipation, falling flat on his face, just as Cuff''s eyes lit up.


    "This is amazing. Wow," he almost shouted at the goblins, Two eagerly picking himself off the floor as his master praised him. Cuff began shoveling food into himself with gusto, murmering with each bite how good the food was. The goblins started waving their arms around in excitement, dancing together. The two huge plates of food are almost entirely gone, when Cuff decides to pile the remaining mash and veg onto the other plate. He takes a huge chunk of food, and partway into eating it starts to cough, holding his throat. He grabs at the water and downs the whole thing in one.


    Sighing deeply he exclaims, "whew, a bit got stuck there. Even the water is so delicious, this is amazing," and then faceplants into the remaining of his food, unmoving. The goblins continue their hectic dance while Cuff lays there, unmoving.


    Not long after the kitchen door opens, and the final goblin comes in, covered in flour. It trudges over to the other two goblins, who stop their dancing for a moment. The three look at each other and then begin their dance again with their new member, arms flailing madly in the air.


    Cuff sat up with a start. Looking around he spotted his three new friends asleep on the couch by the fire, which was smouldering embers. Bits of food flopped off his face onto the plate as he looked around, disoriented.


    "What," he drawled. He moved to stand up, his legs gave out under him, and flopped onto the ground instead. The noise startled the goblins, who perked their heads up.


    "Mastah!" They shouted, jumping off the couch and running over to Cuff. They pulled and prodded him into a sitting position, looking at him. The glaze from his eyes faded bit by bit as he looked at the three of them. It was a strange experience being eye level with the three of them.


    "What happened?" Cuff asked, looking at the three lazily.


    "You sleep," the tallest pointed at him.


    "Yes," Cuff rolled his eyes, "but how, I mean why was I asleep," he frowned at them.


    "Sleep drink!" The three exclaimed together, out of sync.


    Cuff pinched his nose, taking deep breaths. He wiped a piece of mash off his cheek and sighed.


    "From now on, ask me once before you go to do anything like that, if I say it''s okay to do that one time then it''s okay to do from now on. The rule of not going near my bedroom still stands, and you can clean up but everything else ask once the first time you do it, okay?" Cuff looked at the three of them carefully. They all nodded their heads, making various noises. Cuff sighed again and looked around, frowning.


    "And where do I wash myself?" He asked them. The three merely pointed towards his bedroom in response and then jumped up and began cleaning the plates and fireplace.


    Cuff got up and picked up his wand off the floor, where it had evidently slid from his hand when he fell asleep. After checking his key was still in his pocket he went into his room. He noticed another door almost immediately, directly in front of him. It was painted almost the exact same colour as the rest of the room, interestingly enough. The handle was a circular knob the same colour as the rest of the door. Opening it he found a walk-in shower, toilet, and sink with a mirror above it. He checked the mirror first, and was deeply surprised. He looked a lot healthier than he had in a while, despite the fact that by his counting he had only had one meal in the last two or three days? How long had he been here again? He shook his head and decided to keep himself busy. He didn''t want to fall back into bad thoughts.


    After showering he picked up his satchel from his room, pocketed his key, and picked up his wand. Walking into the sitting room he spotted his task list on the piano and grabbed it. None of the goblins were anywhere to be seen, and the kitchen door was open, so he figured it was safe to assume they had gone off to do their own thing. He tentatively opened his main door, half expecting someone to be there, but there was nobody. After locking the door securely he started the long walk to the main hall. The halls were as always, dead quiet and completely empty. Assuming he''d been out for the night it must be nine days until school begins. He was rather looking forward to that beginning, because he felt like he was somewhat in limbo as it were.


    After arriving at the main hall he continued straight on, exactly as the map detailed. A cursory glance showed nobody was about, which was somewhat disappointing. The emptiness was really getting to Cuff. It was so empty and left far too much time for him to ponder about himself and what he felt was his pointless life. Although it was easy enough to get distracted in the school. After passing through the door from the main hall, and entering what he though of as the east wing of the school, everything turned to marble. Interesting really, the west wing was wooden and the east was marble. The hall would branch off left and right periodically, swirling off to somewhere unknown. There were signs up at every turn off; Potions I, Potions II, Potions III, History I, History II, History III, and many more subjects, each with three different rooms.


    After passing five or six subjects worth of rooms Cuff arrived at the entrance to the library. The hall opened up much wider for a few metres, until it ended with two massive, hulking, wooden doors.


    Above the doors, on a black plaque in ornate writing simply reads:


    "Library"

 Chapter 7 - Books and Magic

    Cuff stands, staring up at the plaque, tapping his wand against his leg. The massive wooden doors stand imposingly in front of him. Chills ran along his back. There was something so mysterious and attractive about architecture like this; almost as if it were built for gods rather than humans. With a deep breath he walked forward, placing his hand firmly on the plate for pushing the door open. With a sharp exhale he heaved against the door quickly and firmly, and almost fell flat on his face when the door swang open with ease, not a sound coming from its hinges as it swung open. A soft whoosh blew through the air as it opened. Cuff looked, wide eyed into library, this blissful moment of almost complete silence, rows and rows of books looking down on him. Ornate pillars reach up to the ceiling of the library, like ancient trees grasping at the sky. The only noise comes from the gentle whooshing of the door as it opens, and then a massive boom when said door smashes into the metal door stopper. The great boom tears through the silence and echoes through the library, wobbling in pitch as it echoes around. The noise is so loud it hurts Cuff''s ears and shocks him so much he slams his hands over his ears. After what feels like an age the sound dies down and Cuff drops his hands from his ears, only to find a grey haired man standing in front of him. He peers at Cuff through glasses sitting so far down his nose it must be incredibly uncomfortable.


    "The new groundsman, I take it," he looks at Cuff through his low glasses and then straightens.


    "Welcome to the library, my name is Fern," he nodded at Cuff, and raised his hand, wisps of blue flowing out and then bursting like fireworks. Although there was no heat, and only the gentlest of humming in the air.


    "A magical greeting," he smiled at Cuff, "and judging by your reaction it''s the first time you''ve seen it."


    Cuff was staring at the wisps of magic drifting off in the air, wide eyed. He couldn''t deny that magic could be intensely beautiful; it had such a curious pulling quality in the depths of his body. It was like his soul was spasming in delight. Realising he was standing, staring at Fern''s hand he straightened up.


    "Yes," Cuff nodded, astounded, "also my name is Cuff," he continued and raised his hand as if to mimic Fern, but nothing happened.


    Snorting in response Fern turned to a desk to his left. It was set like hotel''s reception desk. It had two tiers, the higher one on the side Fern and Cuff were at, the lower side on the other side. This would be where the librarians would do work of some kind, Cuff figured. There was an array of stuff on the other side, including a variety of inks and what looked like book stampers to him; which made sense, it was a library after all.


    "A groundsman without magic is like a tree without leaves," Fern sighed, picking up a silver bell sitting on the desk and ringing it.


    "I''m sorry, what?" Cuff asked, half turning his head.


    "You know, it''s a simile," Fern replied.


    "Yes, but I don''t quite understand," Cuff replied confused.


    "Bah, never mind," Fern waved his hands, "I''ll be back in a few minutes, I thought I had the books ready but maybe not," he frowned and rushed off around a corner, out of sight.


    Cuff scratched his head and then glanced around in awe. The library was absolutely huge. It stretched all the way up to the ceiling, which was awfully high. He''d hate to be the person that had to get on the ladder to get any of the books from up there. He hummed to himself as he looked about, the wooden looked old and faded, the gilding about the library looked dim, it all clearly indicated the passage of time. The library had to be incredibly old. Some of the items on the higher shelves looked little more than old pieces of parchment strung together with string. The archaic feeling emanating from the books and tomes gave Cuff the chills. He was so lost in thought he completely failed to notice anybody approach him, until there was a slamming sound on the desk behind him.


    "Wha!" He jumped, turning around. In front of him stood another goblin. However, covering his green skin was a full suit, tailored to size. He wore a little black hat and a monocle over his left eye. He had black suit shoes to match, and a chequered black and white bow tie.


    "How cute!" Cuff couldn''t help exclaim, bending over slightly.


    "Please," it drawled, "don''t hector me. Yes, how funny, don''t hector Hector," Hector said, in a rather nasally voice. "My master''s excellent sense of humour displays itself once more," it drawled again, breathing on its monocle and polishing it with a cloth it pulled from a suit pocket.


    "Ah, I''m sorry! I meant no offence. So you''re Hector?" Cuff asked, hands half raised in apology.


    "Clearly," Hector snorted.


    Almost running around the corner came Fern.


    "Ah excellent, you''ve sorted it out Hector?" He asked and then turned to Cuff without waiting for an answer, "I had a gander for the other librarians and anything useful I could find, but there wasn''t really anything," he shrugged, smiling, "I see you''ve met Hector."


    "Yes Master, you brought the wrong edition for ''Controlling Magic''. You had the second edition instead of the third; I''ve fixed this horrid mistake. Although perhaps this one might benefit more from the magic for imbeciles book," Hector snorted, nodding at Cuff.


    Cuff''s jaw dropped. He thought this little guy was cute; what an ass.


    "Now, now, Hector, be nice. This is our new groundsman," Fern frowned at Hector, although his rebuke was rather half-hearted. "Now!" he clapped his hands, turning to face Cuff, "we can begin your magic tuition. The hope is to get you to a point in which you can self-study, at which point you should be able to take care of more or less all your groundsman duties and work on magic, if you wish to improve past that point. And by that point I mean the point at which you will be after we finish learning. At any case, we''ll be working on control, and I ask you to not try any magic unless you''re supervised, until we''ve finished magic control training! Any questions?" He smiled at Cuff expectantly, rubbing his hands together as he does.


    Cuff scratches his chin while he thinks, eyes floating towards the ceiling. Learn magic control, can''t really do anything before that. Work on magic alone after if I want, I guess I don''t have any questions do I.


    "I suppose I don''t have any," Cuff shrugged.


    "Excellent. Ah, I''m excited. I suppose this is what it''s like to give a dog a bone," he half opened his mouth expectantly at Cuff, who opened his, raising his hand slightly.


    "That''s not even a simile, you realise that?" He says, his mouth still open in confusion.


    "Yes, well, I wouldn''t really expect you''d understand it," Fern shook his head and turned to the books. "Now we have two books here, the first is what we''ll be using until we''re about half way through. At that point we''ll begin the other book and do them together," Fern said, his hand pointing at the books in order. Cuff peered at the titles, the first one they''d be using was ''Controlling Magic'' and the second was ''Forming Magic''.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation."Today what I want you to do is read the first chapter of this," Fern said, pointing at Controlling Magic, "and we''ll work through that. The books are laid out in a pretty self explanatory way. Each chapter has an exercise to master, you''re not to move on to the next chapter until you''re extremely comfortable with the previous. Spellbooks are different, where you can decide what you want to work on when, but for now you need to obey this rule carefully. Magic isn''t a toy," Fern looked at Cuff, sternly. "Now off you go," he smiled, dropping the books into Cuff''s arms and shooing him toward the tables on the other side of the hall. There was a group of six tables, large enough to seat about ten people, five on each side.


    The library narrows slightly into a corridor, where it disappears around a corner. Cuff glanced down, wondering what exactly was around the corner, before plonking down on one of the benches at a table, slamming the books down onto the table slightly harder than intended, creating an echoing boom around the library. He placed his wand on the table by the books, only realising he''d been carrying it this whole time just there.


    He turns around only to find Hector is standing a short distance away, staring at him; Fern is nowhere to be seen. Hector fishes into his pocket and pulls out a beautiful golden pocket watch.


    "That''s a beautiful pocket watch," Cuff nods at Hector, who scoffs at him.


    "Indeed my timepiece is quite the wonder," he nods repeatedly. "Now hurry and begin. I wish to see how long it''ll take your puny brain to comprehend this," he stares down at his pocket watch, ignoring Cuff''s reaction. Frowning, Cuff turns to the book and opens it and begins to read.


    The foremost few pages simply indicate the changes between the editions. Not overly bothered about that Cuff skips to the preface, which reads as such:


    Magic should never be taken lightly, under any circumstance, by any race.


    Failure to control magic you seek to manipulate may result in injury and or death.


    A dire warning: Your magic will seek to consume you initially, take great care.


    A beginning practitioner should always have guidance from a learned practitioner.


    Cuff could only think about how real magic felt a lot different to what he''d seen in animated movies growing up. It felt scary, dangerous, and he supposed that actually made it feel real.


    Turning to the first chapter he began to read. It informed him how there was magic inside him, and all around him. Magic inside is what they would seek to use and control, for non-native magic is extremely dangerous to all but the most potent of magic users. Using the magic inside him would obviously use it up, it wasn''t unlimited. However his body would naturally pull it in from all around him, and through a magical phenomena still being studied, it would make it its own and store it, building up his magic stores again for usage.


    The aim of this chapter, it read, is to be able to call forth our magic. We won''t do anything with it, merely call it forth and become extremely practiced at that. It''s important to only pull the tiniest amounts up through our body initially, take great care and remain aware of yourself.


    Cuff finished the final few words and then stared off into space, thinking over what he had just read. Interesting, the first chapter seemed simple enough. He glanced around and saw Hector, still no Fern.


    "I finished the first chapter Hector," Cuff said.


    "Oh how interesting, Hector thinks you might not be as braindead as you first seemed," the goblin spoke brightly, walking over and peering at the book, nodding after seeing he was on the final page of the first chapter. "We''ll see shortly if you took any of it in," the goblin smiled.


    "Ah, I was actually wondering when in the book I''ll learn to use this?" Cuff asked, waving his wand.


    Hector almost burst into laughter, stifling it.


    "Learn to use a wand, now?" He snorted, shaking his little green head and saying nothing else. He put his pocket watch away and turned around, just as Fern came barreling around the corner down the hall.


    "Finished the first chapter I see," he beamed. "Now let''s begin, we don''t have all the time in the world. I want you to simply try to pull forth your magic as the book said to," he said, sitting down opposite Cuff, moving the books to the side, leaving his wand in front of him.


    "Okay," Cuff nodded, thinking back to what the book said. To close his eyes, hold himself in a natural, neutral position. To focus deep inside himself, to feel for something. There would be something lingering inside him, it would be up to him to find it and drag it up and spread it through his body. He tried to focus, envisioning diving deeper and deeper into "himself" and suddenly he felt it. A spark, a something, deep inside. Like an ancient creature, waiting to burst out, but trapped in chains. He tore at it and tried to imagine grasping around it and wrenching it up and out.


    "STOP!" Fern yelled at Cuff. Cuff''s eyes opened in an instant and he heaved breaths, he could feel the presence of something in the air, humming all around him. The lightest glint of blue along Fern''s fingers indicated he had something to do with it.


    "Could you not feel yourself losing control? The magic pulling at you instead of you pulling at it? You almost lost control," Fern said, dead serious. His face was grim.


    "No. How could you tell?" Cuff asked, staring at him.


    "Just look at yourself," Fern said, pointing at Cuff''s hand.


    Cuff looked down, gasping when he saw his hand. Where his veins were was glowing a burning bright blue. He could vaguely feel it, tearing through his veins and burning hot. A comfortable hot. The air around his hand hummed ever so slightly. He pulled his sleeve up, seeing his vein running into his arms were also blue. His mouth opened even wider as he saw his arms; the veins there also burning a strong, bright, blue. Suddenly he felt his back go cold, and became a little light-headed. Had he kept pulling at the magic inside him what would''ve happened. Would he have kept glowing brighter, like a little human torch. Or, more likely considering the warnings from the book and people, could he have died? Just like that?


    "Magic requires your absolute, full attention. All the time. Maybe that''s a bit more obvious now. This is why we learn to control our magic when it''s formless, before anything else at all. Even the weakest form of magic is incredibly potent," Fern nodded at Cuff, and waiting a moment.


    "We''ll take a short break, because although you might not feel like you need one you certainly do," he said, standing up and motioning Cuff to follow him.


    Cuff stood, his vision blurring as he did, his body swaying. Placing his hand onto the table to steady himself he waited until his vision cleared, and took a few unsteady steps.


    "After effect of overexerting your body with magic, it''ll slowly go over time. Had we continued you might''ve blacked out," he chuckled at Cuff,"or died," he said, and continued walking down the corridor.


    Cuff followed slowly, looking down at his hands, his right sleeve pulled up to his elbow. His veins pulsed bright blue still, his magic running hotly through his body. Or at least that''s what he assumed was happening. It was slowly receding, dying down in intensity; although it was very gradual. It was as he stared at his hands, the air around them humming from the magic, that he heard Fern say:


    "It''s time you met Isaac. The Great Demon that lives in this library."

 Chapter 8 - Isaac

    At the very end of the library, there was a wall. No bookcases lined this wall; instead there stood a pair of gates embedded in it. The black metal contrasted starkly to the gentle white sheen of the wall.


    Cuff stood, eyes wide open, staring at the pair of ornate gates.


    Fern turned to face him, grinning at his face.


    "It really is quite the sight," he said, walking towards Cuff. "Behind these gates, is a demon," he said, his face beginning to turn serious. "It''s important you remember this; You can not, ever, trust a demon," he said, staring into Cuff''s eyes.


    "Ok," Cuff answered, looking away. "But why?"


    Fern resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Because it''s a Demon. Look, I know you didn''t grow up with a magical background, but you''ve heard of the stories of Demons. Well Demons really are like that; except much worse. The reason I''m stressing this now, so imperatively, is because Isaac seems incredibly amiable, to a degree," he turned toward the gate, "it''s what they do, it''s how they work, and the moment you show weakness they will tear you apart," he continued, growing agitated and louder with each word.


    Running his hair and taking a few deep breaths he turned toward Cuff again.


    "Sorry, but some of us know this from personal experience," he started at the bookcases on the far wall, growing pensive.


    "You''ve met Lilith?" he asked, still staring at the bookcases.


    "Yes, why?" Cuff answered.


    "Her entire village was destroyed by Demons," he said, staring at the bookcases still, silence reigning.


    Cuff looked down at his hand, still pulsing a gentle blue, a slight chill running down his back. Everything destroyed. He could hear it, he could hear the screams. The noises -


    "Cuff?"


    Cuff looked up to find Fern staring at him strangely.


    "So you''ll remember, to never trust a Demon?" Fern asked, staring into his eyes.


    "Yes," Cuff nodded, staring back.


    After a moment Fern nodded and sighed, walking toward the gate. "You know if it were up to me this wouldn''t be happening, but seeing as it is we might as well get on with it," he said, and placed his hand over the center of the gate and closed his eyes. There was silence for a moment, and then a blast of air pushed Cuff''s hair back. Something in the air shimmered, pulsing slightly, and then suddenly exploded into colour. A wall of symbols and colour adorned the air in front of Fern, whose hand glowed blue, becoming brighter and brighter until suddenly the wall of colour shattered and dissipated. Fern turned to Cuff as he opened the gate, "a simple barrier to prevent anyone who shouldn''t be here from getting here."


    Cuff nodded, amazed. Goosebumps running along his skin. He still couldn''t get over the fact that magic was well and truly real; and how beautiful it was to see.


    The two walked through the open gates into the room that lay beyond. The gates clang shut behind them, as their footsteps stopped. Cuff was surprised to find the room was relatively small, and effectively a mini library. The small square room was covered in books, from head to toe.


    "It''s like a personal study," Cuff muttered, looking around.


    "It is a personal study," a voice echoed out in front of him, dark smoke slowly taking a humanoid shape. It floated in front of Cuff, like the shadow of a person. Wisps of black smoke drift about.


    "Welcome brother. Fern," it turns to Fern and nods.


    Fern rolls his eyes at the smokey person, "still one for dramatics I see," he says, walking about and looking at the spines of the books.


    "When you''re bound to one place for eternity you''re forced to find ways to entertain yourself," the voices echoes around the room, drifting over to Fern.


    "Oh? I thought knowledge was enough?" Fern said, eyes drifting over to Cuff, who was trailing after Isaac.


    "It is, and more. That said, knowledge is not the only interesting thing in this world," Isaac said, turning to Cuff.


    "How impolite of me to not introduce myself," the voice echoed around the room, the shadowy figure floating higher.


    The room began to grow dark, and the shadows length. The large candle in the center of the room went out, the smoke rising and swirling around at the ceiling, flowing faster and faster. A voice boomed all about.


    "The Great Demon, Isaac, greets Groundskeeper Cuff," the smoke at the top swirled into a dense ball, and then exploded out into colour. Isaac descended slowly toward Cuff. Fern, next to the bookcases snorted.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings."Stupid theatrics," he said.


    Isaac ignoring Fern looks straight at Cuff. "Or should I call you Owl? Or maybe brother?" It said, floating inches from Cuff.


    Cuff was awed when the colours exploded out. To date that was definitely the most impressive looking greeting he''d seen, even if it was a bit flashy. His awe faded quickly as he saw Isaac float toward him though, and dropped completely at its chilling voice. He tried to take a step back, but knocked his foot into a chair instead, flailed his arms as he lost his balance backwards. Just managing to recover, until his right foot slipped and he fell forward straight into Isaac, and through him.


    A deep chuckled echoed throughout the room, "well, never mind that. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Isaac said, reforming on the other side of the room, the candles bursting back into light.


    Cuff stumbled back onto his feet, muttering under his breath, while Fern nodded at him.


    "For you to meet our new Groundsman, of course," Fern said.


    "That is all? A bit disappointing," the voice echoes around, "but at least he will be better than that old fool," Isaac continues.


    "I thought you liked him?" Fern asked, eyebrows raised, taking a quick glance at his pocketwatch.


    "I do, but he is still an old fool," Isaac snorted and then turned to Cuff. "I will be seeing you again soon, mister groundsman."


    Cuff turned to Fern, "we''re leaving?" He asked, still peering at the ghastly Isaac from the corner of his eyes.


    "Indeed we are," he turned to Isaac, "it was interesting, as always." Fern opened his mouth to say something else, but a blue glow to his left caused him pause.


    And then a terrifying scream tore through the room.


    Formless power pushed everything back from Cuff, as he fell to his knees clutching at his heart. His body pulsing blue, his heart an eerie green.


    "Cuff!" Fern ran toward him, the blue and green spashing against a barrier pushed out in front of him.


    Cuff screamed again, more blue and green roiling out from him.


    Slowly silence began to fall over the room. A deep, dark, mist slowly fell from the sky toward Cuff.


    Fern paused his advance and looked toward Isaac, whose body was flared out, wisps of black fluttering around him.


    Fern''s brows furrowed as he watched the black mist push the blue and green back toward Cuff, and slowly calm it.


    "Very interesting," Isaac''s voice chuckled, bouncing around the room, as Cuff''s body hit the floor, his veins pulsing blue. No more green could be seen, and no more screams could be heard.


    Fern walked over and wrapped Cuff in a gentle blue glow and walked out of the room, looking back at Isaac. He remained at the back of the room, his body calm now.


    "Thank you," Fern said, his voice deadpan.


    Only silence answered him as he left the study, closing the gates and erecting the barrier again. He glanced at Cuff, who looked as though he were peacefully asleep. Fern sighed and muttered, his body flashing blue for a moment, and then suddenly there was a gate in front of them. Shaking his head he stepped through with Cuff in tow.


    "And, where is he now?" Nathaniel asked, standing in his office. In front of him stood Fern, looking exasperated.


    "He''s in the hospital ward. Now, will you answer me? Why did Cuff need to meet Isaac so soon?" Fern asked, frustration seeping through his voice.


    Nathaniel looked at him, and then looked away.


    "Why!" Fern shouted.


    "Because he can change," Nathaniel sighed.


    "No," Fern shook his head, "I doubt that. Your plan is already failing, his magic.. He''s already becoming Unhinged and it''s been a day? Two?" Fern said aggressively.


    "People can change," Nathaniel lifted his hand.


    "He''s not a person," Fern slammed his fists on the table.


    Nathaniel sighed, scratching at his forehead. "Listen, Cuff can change. The child grew up lonely, people instictively unable to accept him. You''re falling ploy to exactly what you shouldn''t be! You''re an archmage, merlin''s beard! When is the last time you were as worked up as this?" Nathaniel said, growing somewhat agitated.


    Fern took a few deep breaths and calmed down.


    "Fine. Fine." He shook his head, sitting down. "You know, it was Isaac stopped and settled him," he said, a book drifting his way from a shelf.


    "Hmm? Isaac?" Nathaniel muttered, his pipe in his mouth as he stared out the window.


    "Strange," he frowned, pulling on his pipe. He glanced at the paintings adorning the wall, lost in thought.


    The pitter patter of rain slowly began to pick up, low candlelight casting a gentle glow throughout the room. The headmaster stood frowning hard at a painting on the wall. Fern sat relaxed, focused on the book in his lap.


    The tense feeling in the room washed away with the sound of the rain.


    Until a certain owl crashed into the window face first.


    "Stupid Owl," the headmaster scowled as he stalked to the window, scowl deepening as he saw the stamp left on the letter in the claws of the owl.

 Chapter 9 - Black Magic

    Cream walls illuminated with bright sunshine. Bed after bed after bed lined up on either side of the cream walls. High up on the walls were tall daylighting windows, letting the sunlight shine into the room comfortably. The scent of lavender hung heavy in the air.


    And to this Cuff awoke, groaning.


    A white apron moved into view as boots thudded on the tiled floor. A navy dress covered the arms, and when Cuff finally moved his stiff neck he was rather shocked at who he found. Because it was Hilde, standing broad and looking somewhat sad.


    And then he immediately groaned as a deep burning pain flared across his chest. He moved to look down, shifting the duvet back, but was stopped by Hilde. He struggled against her, but he felt so weak; he knew he wouldn''t be able to budge her.


    His face shifted in pain as he pushed against her harder, and almost threw the duvet as he heard her sigh and stop restraining him.


    Across his chest, snaking out from his heart were his veins which glowed emerald green. It slowly led into the blue Cuff was now familiar with; the glow of magic.


    "What," he groaned, still in pain but feeling it fade slowly.


    Hilde sighed again from the side.


    "You know, they never did explain you had no magical background so I''m sorry for getting so angry the other day," she said, "but you''re also the first person I''ve seen with so much magic naturally, not even the headmaster could compare. Which is why you''re in so much pain, dear," she looked at him, and he finally looked away from his chest.


    "Your body couldn''t handle the amount of magic and is having trouble adjusting to it, you see," she said.


    Cuff looked back down at his chest and she continued after a moment, giving him some time to digest everything.


    "As your body adjusts over the next few days you''ll find it won''t hurt anymore, but you need to only use the smallest amounts and slowly build up, dear. Tugging at all your magic like you did is dangerous regardless of who you are," she smiled at him but, Cuff noted, she seemed sad. She looked as though she''d found out someone was dying, and Cuff''s heart clenched at the thought but he shook off the feeling.


    "Wait I''m going to continue my magic lessons? Would my body not adjust even if I did nothing? It seems a bit illogical to continue it straight away," Cuff asked, frowning.


    "No I''m afraid not. Maybe over a very long period of time, but your magic will still continue growing, so the growing pains will follow," she said, grimacing. "Your body needs to have magic pushed through it every which way, and in the process something happens which we still don''t quite understand, but I guess the best theory is your body becomes a bit magical," she shrugged, looking up at the sun shining in through the windows.


    Cuff followed her gaze, feeling like this is the first good weather he had seen since he''d come to the school. He felt such a strong urge to breathe in some fresh air, and was about to ask but Hilde continued on again.


    "The quicker you learn control the quicker the pain will go and your body will adjust, and then even as your magic continues to grow you won''t have any issues," she said.


    "Ah, you said I had the most magic you''ve seen for the stage I''m at?" he wondered aloud.


    "Yes! What I mean by this is, for someone at your age with absolutely no training this is an astounding amount to have. As you use your magic and push yourself the amount you can hold will grow, and at your age, despite being an accomplished Magician, the headmaster had less than you have now... But you haven''t even begun your training; well only just," she said excitedly.


    Cuff stared at the wall thinking over what she said. Seeing the blue and green pulsing through his veins from the corner of his eyes; it was like he was made for magic. And then chuckled to himself as he thought of the line again, because he quite literally was made to use magic.


    "Oh? Feeling a bit better are we?" She smiled at him gently. His mind couldn''t help but think back to his grandparents, long gone now. That gentle smile, the crease at the eyes. The feeling inside like someone could look past your silly young flaws and simply wanted you to be happy and healthy.


    Despite his first meeting with her, Cuff felt comfortable with Hilde. For a change he didn''t feel like he was being kept at arms length.


    Thinking over her words again he realised something.


    "Does that mean that the younger someone begins learning to control their magic the better off they''ll be?" Cuff asked her.


    "No not really. It should make sense but it doesn''t, everyone ultimately learns at their own pace and some people peak earlier with their magic growth than others. In terms of formed magic and spells, then yes I guess so," she answered.


    But her answer brought more questions to mind about what formed magic and spells were.


    He glanced up at the sunrays, and opened his mouth.


    "I would like some fresh air, if that''s okay," he said, a burning desire to breathe in some fresh air resurfacing. He could always ask more questions outside. He simply felt such a desperate desire to feel some sun on his skin. He couldn''t even recall the last time he really felt it, seeing as he spent most of his time before coming to the school cooped up inside at the piano.


    "Of course dear," Hilde said, nodding. Worry writ on her face as she noticed his irregular breathing.


    "You better lean on me, don''t want to push yourself too much too soon," she smiled gently at him.


    Awkwardly, very awkwardly, Cuff made it out of bed and gasped as his feet touched the cold tiles.


    Slow steady steps, the slap of his feet and the thud of her boots, until they were before the doors that led to the rooftop garden.


    Standing before the doors a feeling of dread began to settle in. Cuff could feel it getting harder to breathe, and the desire for a breath of fresh air grew and grew. He pushed forward his hand, veins still glowing a dim blue, and threw the doors open. The feeling of dread became heavier and heavier, and as he passed through the threshold of the doors he found he could barely breath. He was struggling, wheezing, gasping for air. He could hear noise, but couldn''t make out what it was. He could feel his vision dimming, feel himself struggling to breathe properly, trying to cling to that faint feeling of heat on his skin, and then he could tell he was on his knees. He could feel himself being shifted, dragged, and his mind became clearer and his breathing less laboured.


    Stolen story; please report.As they crossed the doorway that marked Cuff as being in the school the stifling feeling lifted and he could think. It was then he realised he was flopped on his back on the floor, Hilde to his side.


    "What, just why. Why?" She said to someone, and as Cuff craned his head he saw the familiar robes of the headmaster.


    "The contract," he said to her while staring at Cuff; "you can leave," he said to her without looking at her.


    "It''s just not right," she croaked out as she half ran out of the room.


    Cuff lay on the floor, staring up at the sunlight shining through the high windows. He heard the headmaster make his way nearby, and plonk down onto a bed and sigh.


    And this feeling of dread sank into the depths of his stomach. He could feel himself struggling not to break and cry.


    "I.. I can''t even step outside?" Cuff asked, struggling to keep his voice even.


    "I''m sorry, Cuff," Nathaniel sighed. "However I promise I will have this resolved within a year," he said gruffly. Cuff could hear some shuffling and the signature wooden tap from Nathaniel''s pipe.


    And then it registered.


    "A whole year," Cuff whispered to himself. He kept hearing the now familiar tapping to his side, the smell of tobacco slowly overpowering the stench of lavendar, and simply stared at the ceiling.


    Cuff suddenly sat up and looked down, the soft duvet flipping off him. He was in a bed again. To the side he heard an all too familiar tapping.


    "Good to see you are awake, although you did not sleep for long ,really," Nathaniel murmured from the side.


    Cuff vaguely remembered crawling into a bed now. He stretched, the sleep cleared his head a lot. He would just focus on magic, this is basically an adventure he''d always wanted wasn''t it. Except he didn''t really know any magic yet, and he was trapped inside a school.


    Sighing Cuff got out of bed, his clothes had never been removed so there was no need to change or get anything.


    "Wait, where''s my wand?" he asked, his heart clenching. He stuck his hand into his pocket and was glad to find his key was still there.


    "Unfortunately, I do not know," Nathaniel shook his head. Cuff started to search around, when Nathaniel stood.


    "Fortunately, I do know how to find it. Simply focus hard on the thought of it, the look of it, the feel of it, and demand it appear in front of you," Nathaniel smiled, "like this."


    A moment later magic flowed in the air, like little bits of glowing blue dust. It congealed in front of the headmaster loosely in the shape of his wand. He simply reached out and grabbed at the mass of magic, the wand materialising from the magic cloud as he did.


    Cuff stood, eyes wide in amazement.


    "Go on then," Nathaniel nodded at Cuff, eyeing him expectantly.


    Cuff took a deep breath and thought hard of his wand, the black colour, the feel of the wood in his hand. He focused hard on it and demanded in his mind it appear, and he felt the tiniest bit of magic flow through him, felt the air simmer. Green motes gathered together and Cuff couldn''t help but smirk, but stayed focused nonetheless. And then after a few seconds he could feel it deep down, a call to grab at the magic.


    And so he did. The green congealed and became denser, and as he grasped at it the wand came to be.


    "Fantastic," Nathaniel muttered from the side, smiling, but then frowned at the green magic. He puffed at his pipe and began tapping it off his face.


    Cuff stood marveling at his wand, and the slightest green glow in his veins. The sight accompanied a euphoric rush, it reminded him of directly after he''d taken the pixie dust and for a moment he tensed up. But when nothing horrific happened he relaxed again and enjoyed the feeling. After a time he noticed he couldn''t hear the tapping of a pipe, nor could he smell the tobacco Nathaniel smoked and looked about.


    Nobody was in sight. Cuff did catch sight of a white slip on the bed he had slept in, though, and checked it.


    Go to the library.


    Nathaniel the Elder


    Was all it read. Cuff resisted the urge to roll his eyes and sighed. He didn''t have anything else to do, although he was a bit apprehensive. He was loathe to feel the pain of losing control of his magic, but then again, he thought as he lifted his hand, he definitely wanted to feel the rush of using magic. And so with his mind made up he took purposeful steps out the door of the hospital ward, his shoes clacking hollowly around him as he strode through the hallways of the school alone.


    It was after some time of wandering around that Cuff found himself staring at a huge tapestry in an alcove in a hall; completely lost. The tapestry was like some of the huge paintings he''d seen in the art galleries in the city. It depicted some epic battle, awash with shimmering colours and incredible details.


    It wasn''t until a hand snaked its way onto his shoulder that he realised someone else was there, and shouted in fright as he spun around. The cold hand dropped back, the black suit looking intimidating under the cold smile that hung on his face.


    "Well, well, imagine bumping into you here," Nathaniel the Younger said. The black of his pupils leaking into his iris made Cuff''s skin crawl. It felt as though the black was crawling out of his eyes, towards Cuff. His veins gave off the faintest tinge of black. Black magic.


    "What I wonder, is whether were you so engrossed in that there, or were you simply ignoring me," he smiled, such a terrible, cruel smile. He reached out toward Cuff, a gloomy black gathering around his hand. Cuff''s heart leapt as he stumbled back, and tripped as he lost his footing, landing on his bottom.


    His eyes widened as he saw the marbled walls being replaced by black walls, ever so close. Low gloomy lighting reflected against a myriad of symbols drawn out everywhere there was space. They glowed the slightest hint of blue where the light hit. Cuff scrambled backwards until his back hit the wall, eyes trained forward where a grinning Nathaniel was walking forward. He stepped forward and as he did the school that was behind him vanished, replaced by the gloomy black that surrounded Cuff. It almost looked like a cave. Very faintly Cuff could see black motes drifting off. Black coloured magic he thought again.


    Another step forward and Nathaniel was directly in front of him, a cocky grin on his face, his eyes crawling black.


    "Care for a chat?" He grinned.

 Chapter 10 - Unhinged

    Cuff''s hands ran around the wall behind him. The cold from the wall seeped into his back, through his clothes. In front of him a deep inky black rolled furiously around Nathaniel, like curtains from a theatre. The man himself stood there, his eyes bleeding black magic. The sight of him set Cuff on edge, his stomach sank and he felt an empty sick feeling settle in his stomach. He tried to settle his breathing and look down on the floor.


    And it almost began to work until Nathaniel began to speak.


    "Cuff, you silly little thing," the words echoed around, and with every word spoken Cuff felt his gut tighten. He didn''t sound like Nathaniel; the voice was so cruel, so beautifully cruel and horrifying.


    "You, they trick you, they imprison you," Nathaniel stated, taking a step closer to Cuff.


    "Me, I only want to make things clear, let you understand," he stood tall, smirking arrogantly. He waited, waited for a response that never came. Cuff half-stood, frozen against the cave wall.


    "Well?" Nathaniel asked, his jaw clenching and visage tightening.


    "Yes," was all that Cuff could stutter out.


    Nathaniel heaved a breath through his nose, turning and rolling his eyes. The inky black parted as Nathaniel walked to the cave wall. He raised his hand ever so slowly, turning his head to Cuff as he did, smiling like he was looking at some hopeless cornered prey. His finger tapped the wall and black symbols ran across the room, shuddering and writhing like they had a pathetic life of their own.


    "You, your contract was drawn up by the headmaster," Nathaniel smiled cruelly.


    "The pathetic groundsman was imprisoned here by the headmaster too," Nathaniel waved his hand, revealing a person lounging on the ground. The old groundsman looked up, his dismal face drooping into a grimace. Just barely registering a nod. He grunts for good measure, and goes back to staring at the cave wall.


    "You see, you see! The pathetic old man has been lying to you, over and over. He wanted you in the school, he wanted you under his thumb. He, he, he will cage you. He will use you. He will break you," Nathaniel rambled, walking backward and forward.


    He turned from Cuff and walked to the other end of the cave a few meters away. For just a moment it felt as though time stopped, in the midst of Nathaniel''s rambles. He could see it, the darkness surrounding Nathaniel swirl, wings unfurl, and a torturous face smile at him.


    And for a moment Cuff felt like he was staring at Evil itself; terror incarnate.


    And then everything continued, and Nathaniel was rambling about the headmaster, about the school, and Cuff was shaking, he could feel tears stream onto his cheeks. He''d never felt fear like this.


    He desperately wanted to leave, to get as far away as possible.


    "So, so, so, my little link. My missing link. Will you be my eyes, my ears? And in return I can give you your freedom, I can give you power, I can give you everything," Nathaniel stared at Cuff, waiting.


    Cuff merely nodded his head dumbly, frozen with fear.


    "Well, well no matter, it is not long before you join us," Nathaniel smiled, and lifted his arm.


    Cuff stared, stared at the approaching arm. A single finger lifted, pointed at him. Black ran through Nathaniel''s veins, a shroud of terrible magic around his hand as it paused, inches from his chest.


    "My gift to you, little one," he said, the voice echoed around, and then he jabbed his finger forward.


    A blast of green spread out through the cave and there was a moment of silence. And then Cuff''s voice tore through the cave, bouncing off the walls. His haggard screams echoed and overlapped as he scrambled on the floor, a floor of green light swirling around him and through his veins.


    And as suddenly as it began the green light disappeared, the screaming stopped and the echoes died down, and he lay on the floor panting. He struggled to his knees, and then to his feet, weak but not in pain; though he was very confused.


    He took a struggling step forward, and walked straight through a gate Nathaniel conjured.


    "Trust nobody, little one," the cruel voice echoed in his ears, and then he was in front of the library. And over his shoulder he saw the gate fade out into black dust and caught a last glimpse of the previous groundsman.


    ''The headmaster'' rang out in his head as the gate drifted apart, almost like a whisper but it echoed and echoed and Cuff knew in his heart that it was the previous groundsman who''d said it.


    He turned to face the library, and as he did one of the doors began to open, just a tad. A little green face popped through, a scowl on its face.


    "You''re late," Hector growled at him, and pushed the door open more.


    "Get in, now" the little goblin said to him, and turned and began to walk away.


    ¡°Wait! I need-¡°


    ¡°You need to get in, now,¡± the goblin growled at him, and continued on again. Cuff sighed and hurried after him, the library door closing noisily after him of its own accord.


    ¡°Where is Fern?¡± Cuff asked, and sighed almost immediately as he spotted him at a table with someone else.


    ¡°There,¡± Hector pointed to Fern, knowing well Cuff had spotted him. Cuff ground his teeth and resisted the urge to sigh.


    He lengthened his stride, his heart beat rising as he tried to organise his thoughts to explain what had happened. But he simply couldn¡¯t get his thoughts together. As he reached the table they both looked up and Fern flinched. The other one stared straight at Cuff and pointed at the ground.


    ¡°Sit,¡± she said sternly to Cuff, who stopped and stood with his jaw open. He turned to Fern only to find Fern was looking at the woman, frantically motioning toward her.


    ¡°Sit¡± she said again, and Cuff found himself sinking to the ground against his will.


    ¡°Wait, what the hell?¡± Cuff questioned aloud, ¡°I need to see the headmaster,¡± he turned to Fern and the woman, trying to push off the ground and stand up.


    ¡°No, you need to learn to control your magic,¡± the woman said, sweeping her blonde hair aside, ¡°the sooner the better,¡± she continued, as she took a step toward Cuff, who was still straining against the ground.


    ¡°No, no, I really need to speak to-¡±


    ¡°Silence,¡± she cut him off, and heard Fern sighing to the side.


    Cuff continued speaking, and then turned to shouting, but no sound came out.


    ¡°Hello, my name is Daisy, and I will be your magic instructor from here out - courtesy of the headmaster,¡± she smiled sarcastically, her blonde hair drifting over her bright blue eyes. Eyes so bright blue they looked inhuman. She looked at Cuff blankly, while he strained against the ground and shouted nothingness, his eyes overflowing with green magic. She stared into those eyes and almost flinched a second time. The headmaster¡¯s demand this time was simply ridiculous, you can¡¯t force something to be human. She shook her head and organised her thoughts, taking a deep breath and then raising her hands. The air shimmered in a dome shape around Cuff, ever so faintly one could see a persistent barrier there.


    ¡°By the time you leave the library today you will be able to control your unformed magic, adequately,¡± she said sternly, ¡°you can start practicing now, as you did before. Focus on your magic in you and work on communicating movement to the blue magic, ignore anything else,¡± she said and then began tapping at the shimmering air, her fingertip a glaring blue brightness as she tapped and drew on the barrier.


    ¡°Hey idiot, help,¡± she glanced at Fern.


    ¡°I told you not to call me idiot,¡± he grumbled at her, but still trod over and began to wave his finger over the barrier.


    Meanwhile Cuff, sat inside, had finally stopped trying to stand up. His shouting hadn¡¯t stopped, but no sound came out still.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. By the time half the shield was inscribed with symbols Daisy stopped and stared at Cuff, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°We do this the easy way or the hard way,¡± she said and raised a finger.


    ¡°The easy way is you settle down and start practicing,¡± she said and raised a second finger, ¡°and the second way would be me forcing you to settle and practice,¡± she continued and paused.


    Cuff stopped trying to shout and sat there for a few moments. The only sound was the wispy drag of Fern¡¯s magic on the air as he continued inscribing symbols.


    Daisy stared at him, and slowly dropped her arm, and as she did Cuff started to stare at the floor, his eyebrows furrowed. After a moment he closed his eyes and Daisy grunted and smirked. She raised her hand as magic began swirling around it, when Cuff¡¯s eyes snapped open and he began shouting again.


    ¡°Be still. Another idiot,¡± she said, rolling her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re going to focus on gaining control over your unformed magic, you may leave when you¡¯re done,¡± she said as magic swirled around her, swirling more and more aggressively.


    ¡°Focus,¡± she said, and there was a blast of air as the magic flashed.


    Cuff sat inside the shield and as the blast of magic flashed outside the shield he felt his neck snap forward and his brain, his brain felt nothing like it ever had before. The moment his thoughts started wandering he found them focusing back on magic. The more he tried to think about his situation, the headmaster, and everything that was going on the harder his mind forced itself back on track to magic. His head slowly grew painful, and he could feel himself grimace.


    ¡°Fight it enough and you¡¯ll end up with the headache of a lifetime, choice is yours,¡± the woman shrugged from outside and continued drawing out symbols on the barrier.


    Cuff tried to roar in frustration but couldn¡¯t. His mind snapped itself back in onto magic, thinking about it. He delved into his body, to wherever his magic lay and he pulled at it all and tried to throw it out at the hateful woman. He opened his eyes as he pushed his magic outward from him, and found her staring back.


    She snorted and he felt all the magic around and building up inside him fizzle away. His body burned, but he couldn¡¯t even gasp in pain.


    ¡°Try that again and I won¡¯t help you, and you¡¯ll probably die,¡± she smirked at him.


    ¡°Only help I¡¯ll give you, aim for whatever blue magic you have inside you and pull at it, ignore the rest of your magic because it¡¯ll turn blue over time anyway,¡± she said and then continued drawing on the barrier, her and Fern had almost linked up their symbols now.


    Cuff stared at her for a moment but found his attention snapping back to his magic, to unformed magic. He felt himself being dragged into his body, his magic flowing around him. It ran green everywhere, through him. He had to search, but he found it; the smallest blue seed of magic. Where everything was blue before it was green now. Why, why he wanted to wonder, but his mind wouldn¡¯t let him. His mind burned, and his veins did too. The back of his eyes felt like they were in so much pain they¡¯d melt in their sockets. He grabbed at the blue seed before his mind could burn more, and pulled it up. His attention snapped back into reality, and he opened his hand to find it glowing the dimmest bit blue, amidst a sea of green. He focused on the blue, focused on passing it to his other hand. He couldn¡¯t force it into the air though. So he pushed it through his body, labouring under the mental strain, yet any time his mind wandered he found it snapping back onto the blue seed.


    And so slowly, ever slowly, the blue seed of magic passed through his veins, growing slightly as it did. A tail gradually dragging behind it as it moved, until it was in the palm of his left hand, glowing a gentle blue. And so like that Cuff forced the blue magic through his body, over and over, he was pretty sure he had seen mention of this in his ¡°Controlling Magic¡± book.


    Over time it became easier and easier, and flowed faster and faster. His magic was less a seed and now a boulder, crashing through the green magic and pulling it with it. Growing and growing, as was his control. He could feel it. And then suddenly, the idea popped into his head to split the magic, and so he did immediately. One ball of blue in his right hand, one in his left. He stared at them, and shook his right hand, letting the magic wink out as he did.


    He stared at the magic in his left hand and willed it to push into the air. Slowly, he could feel the magic building in his palm, pushing against something. It grew in intensity, and grew until finally he felt it break through and his magic flood into the air, crashing against the barrier that rippled gently, blue shattering across its rigid form.


    And then pain took over Cuff, as his head exploded with pain like he¡¯d never felt before. If someone could feel what a bullet to the brain was like before they died from it, it would feel like this he wagered.


    Slowly as he came to his senses and the pain started to ebb, pulsating in the back of his skull, he heard clapping. He glanced up and found Daisy clapping down at him, beaming sarcastically.


    ¡°Honestly though, well done! I mean I did most of your work for you but still,¡± she smiled.


    Cuff roared and sprinted towards her, straight into the shield and fell onto the ground, groaning with his head in his hands.


    ¡°Idiot,¡± she said, and tapped the top of the barrier, the symbols across it losing their lustre as she did.


    ¡°You should be thanking me, not acting like a child,¡± she said standing tall above him.


    ¡°Why, dear god why, would I ever thank you,¡± he groaned, slowly getting up.


    ¡°Because you were becoming unhinged,¡± she flicked her wrist, a snap of blue.


    ¡°What, are you calling me a door or something?¡± he shouted angrily, standing up fully, wincing at his head and body.


    Daisy almost keeled over laughing, even slapping her knee for exaggeration.


    ¡°An unhinged is what we call someone who has lost control over their magic. Unhinged are well known to have green magic, it coincides just a little too strongly with yourself lately, no?¡± She smiled to him, clapping her hands.


    ¡°You called, lady,¡± Hector appeared from seemingly nowhere.


    ¡°Yes Hector, show our guest out, I believe he said something about seeing the headmaster¡± she said and turned from them both to Fern, who was reading something at the table next to them.


    ¡°Come,¡± Hector grunted at Cuff and dragged him to the door. The door opened as they approached, Cuff occasionally glanced over his shoulder at the two librarians, visibly angry.


    ¡°You know the way from here,¡± the little goblin said, pushing him out the door.


    ¡°Wait, who the hell is she, what¡¯s going on,¡± Cuff yelled at the goblin.


    ¡°That is Daisy, your new magic teacher,¡± the goblin sighed, ¡°you may find yourself confused for a short while, a side effect of the training,¡± it coughed at the end and then nodded and closed the door.


    Cuff took a few steps back and slumped against the hallway, looking at the library door and the hall to the headmaster''s study. He glanced up at the tapestry that lined the hall and shuddered, because on it lay the face of a horrific demon, attacking many mages shooting spells at it. Cuff started walking quickly towards the headmaster after glancing around. The whole damn tapestry ran from his quarters to the library and the one spot he had to see had to remind him of that horrific moment. He found his skin crawling as he thought back to the moment Nathaniel was walking from him and time felt like it froze. That horrifying image, like every nightmarish monster that¡¯d ever entered his head combined together. He felt his eyes water and the skin at the back of his neck crawl as he thought back to it, and started quickening his pace.


    His feet began pounding the carpeted stone as he started running, pushing his sore body quicker and quicker, as he tried to outrun the nightmarish visions in his head.


    And so when Cuff suddenly arrived at the headmaster¡¯s door he wasn¡¯t sure what to do. He found himself second guessing if he should go in, but it was so hard to think through the agonising pain in his head from magic lesson. On the one hand the headmaster seemed a lot more reliable than Nathaniel the younger. But then he also locked away the old groundsman and imprisoned Cuff here for some reason.


    And it was as he thought about the old groundsman he remembered his final words before, to see the headmaster and made his decision. Taking a deep breath he placed his hands on the door and pushed.