《Castlebound》


 Prologue

    ¡°Hello, Aurora,¡± Queen Enndolynn Aster couldn¡¯t help but smile down at her daughter. It had only been a few days but she couldn¡¯t help but marvel that the tiny pink thing wrapped in silken blankets had so recently been living inside of her. A tiny hand squeezed her finger tightly. The baby was silent and watchful, completely unaware of so many things. Was the sun coming in through the two arched the windows too bright for her?


    Hopefully it would be years before she had to explain to the child how much rested on her tiny shoulders. For now, she could just be a child like any other. She smiled ruefully to herself. Any other child would not be greeted by such guests as were about to come. Her heart quickened in her chest as she thought about how many people the young child was about to be exposed to, how much noise. She paced restlessly. The small room was decked in pink ribbons that matched her daughter¡¯s dress and her own. Thick carpets would help soften the footfalls of the guests, but they wouldn¡¯t help with the chatter.


    Hopefully the small confines of the room would.


    The invitations had stated that anyone who had been sick recently was not invited to attend, but she doubted very much that the nobles would follow her wishes in this. The fact that she had been able to carry this child longer than the others, that she had actually given birth to a living child would be enough to bring even nobles from the villages far to the east to celebrate. She knew that the party was important, Stewart had been very clear about that, but she wanted to take the baby and flee to her bedroom. It would be safer for the child, certainly.


    As if thoughts of her husband had summoned him, Stewart entered the room. He was a wiry man, but strong and tall. Handsome despite the years. A small beard framed his mouth. He had always insisted on keeping his cheeks shaved. His stiffly pressed dark blue jacket flared out at the hips and matched his trousers. As his eyes met hers he sighed. ¡°Darling, you have to put the baby down sometimes. How is she going to learn to use her arms and legs if you¡¯re holding her all the time? Besides, the nobles will want to see her face, not just the back of her fuzzy head.¡± He kissed the top of that fuzzy head and laid the baby in her cradle.


    It was tall for a cradle, ornately carved and made of cherry wood. She had preferred this one to the old Rowan wood one her husband had tried to convince her to use. It was easier for her to reach her baby. She was not quite healed yet. Her gown was a neatly tailored light blue that went well with Stewart¡¯s uniform. It flared out from under her breasts, and was one of her favorites in the early stages of pregnancy. Her stomach had not flattened back out yet. Lavina had told her it would take time.


    Stewart took her in his arms and kissed her. ¡°I know you¡¯re worried,¡± he said. ¡°Everything is going to be fine.¡± She took comfort in his touch.


    At the door, Martin cleared his throat. ¡°Your Magesties, your guests are here.¡±


    They stepped away from each other and stood to either side of the cradle. She hoped that the child would not immediately start crying. She had already been awake for too long. She would be hungry soon. Celeste Goddard swept into the room. Endolynn suppressed a stab of guilt as she looked a the woman¡¯s perfect waist and perfect hair.


    ¡°Enndolynn, you look amazing.¡±


    Endolynn tried not to roll her eyes and Celeste hugged her. Of course she didn¡¯t look amazing. Celeste may have been one of her closest friends but she was also a terrible liar and unable to have children of her own. She gasped and cooed over the baby until her husband, William took her arm and moved her forward as he was the one to notice the large crowd of people waiting behind them.


    Endolynn remained watchful. Her daughter still had not cried, but looked up at the myriad of faces that bent to look upon her. The room was small enough, that as she hoped, the nobles moved on, making their way back out to the dining room where refreshments were waiting for them. She smiled to herself and then paused when she heard gasps coming from the doorway. Her heart leapt into her throat as she heard the beating of wings. ¡°Open the windows,¡± she yelled to no one in particular. How had a bird managed to get inside the castle and onto this floor?


    An entire flock of crows swooped into the room. ¡°Open the windows,¡± she shrieked. The birds were beating themselves against the glass, but she refused to leave Aurora¡¯s side. Stewart ran to the window, since everyone else seemed to be waving at the birds, trying to keep them away from their faces. Melissa had one leave droppings down the skirt of her blue dress. She screamed and ran down the hallway. The guards at the doorway came rushing inside, the concern on Derrick¡¯s face plain as he stood close to the child. The other guard hurried towards her husband, drawing his sword. Everyone else was scrambling to get away.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Aurora began to cry. Endolynn almost picked up the child, as much to comfort herself as the child. Panic threatened to overwhelm her as she stood in front of the cradle. This was magic, she knew it, but only one mage was left in the small room. He was a young boy with a pimply face, but instead of running to get his fellows as she almost hoped that he would, he looked at her gravely and nodded. Then he came her way. She wondered what good a mage his age would be able to do. She wished she had the sense to demand that one of the older mages stay in the room at all times, but who could expect something like this?


    Most of the birds had flown out the window, but others circled around the room, seeming unsure where to go. Lavina chased after them with a broom. Stewart seemed completely unaware of the bigger problem now entering the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the navy blue of the mages coming her way. She felt a small amount of relief. Old Reimund appeared in the doorway, but right behind him was a woman all in black.


    She was strikingly beautiful in all black. On her head, she wore a headpiece that looked like two horns reaching to the ceiling. Nobles backed away, clawing at each other to be away from this woman. Her face was pale, making her bright red lips seem that much more bright. Her green eyes danced, enjoying the chaos she had created. She was the well known and ever feared Millicent. No one knew her last name or where she came from.


    Endolynn had never seen her before but certainty flooded through her nonetheless. She gripped the edges of the cradle behind her until her fingers hurt.


    Millicent began tossing a small silver box in her hand. She caught it and threw it, still saying nothing.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Endolynn hated the way her voice shook.


    ¡°I am sorry that I am so difficult to find. I¡¯m sure you would have sent me an invitation if you could have found me.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Endolynn said, hoping to appease the woman in black. Still, she tossed that silver box. It was such a small thing, but it looked to be elaborately carved. Long, elegant fingers curled around the box and Millicent looked at her husband.


    ¡°Good to see you, too,¡± she told him.


    ¡°Endolynn,¡± Stewart¡¯s eyes were as wide as hers must have been. ¡°Take the child and leave.¡±


    ¡°Oops,¡± said Millicent as she threw the small box into the center of the room. That was no accident. She wondered if Millicent were capable of making accidents.


    Reimund had been about to cast a spell. His hands were above his head, wrists together and fingers pulled back he glared and Millicent, his white eyebrows furrowed on concentration. Nothing happened. He stood completely still, mouth open as if he were about to say something.


    She looked around. The young mage, the soldiers, everyone seemed to be unable to move. The noise of so many people chattering had died away. The child continued to wail, but Endolynn didn¡¯t know how to protect her daughter, certainly not by holding her in front of her. Millicent grinned. ¡°I think it¡¯s so much nicer to have some privacy, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Endolynn nodded and watched Millicent warily. Millicent strode towards the child and Stewart ran to block her way. ¡°Don¡¯t make me bind you to the wall, Stewart.¡± All the anger went out of Stewart. His shoulders slumped. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    Millicent tapped a long finger on her lips as if she were considering. ¡°I want to give a gift to the child. It¡¯s why I came.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t hurt the child. Even you should care about her.¡±


    ¡°Even me,¡± you insult me. ¡°Of course I care, but that does not undo what you have done to me. Don¡¯t worry. I will give you time, sixteen years to make things right. You know what you have to do to make things right, don¡¯t you?¡± Millicent was close to Endolynn now. A long finger lifted Endolynn¡¯s chin. ¡°You know, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Endolynn trembled.


    ¡°Good. Make it right, and so will I.¡±


    Endolynn tried to stay between the woman and her child, but Millicent threw her back. Endolynn fell to the ground, her body wrenching in pain.


    Millicent began swirling her hands around one another. A dark cloud formed at their center. Then she leaned over the cradle and said something. Stewart chased after her, out of the room.


    Fearing the worst, Endolynn picked up her child. Tears streamed down the queen¡¯s face as the baby began to cry. Relief flooded her. Millicent hadn¡¯t killed her child. Sixteen years. Surely the mages could do something by then. Suddenly everyone was moving again and yelling to each other, wanting to know what happened. Endolynn hurried away from them, her baby clutched in her arms.

 Chapter 01

    Hailey scurried down the hallway, the floor cold beneath her feet. It was dark in the castle, but on elaborately carved sconces were spheres of magical light. The royal mages made them and sometimes had to make new ones.


    She shivered. She should have thought to put on stockings but then she would probably have slipped. Besides, it wouldn¡¯t be long before she had to dress anyway. She paused at the mirror in the hallway. She usually didn¡¯t care to shove the other maids out of the way to look at herself, but since no one else was up yet, she watched herself.


    Her hair shone in the low light. It was a tangled, blonde mess. Blue eyes stared back at her and her mouth quirked into a smile. Gradually, she began to fade until she couldn¡¯t see at all. She skipped down the hallway until she noticed how much noise her feet made slapping on the stone like that. It was no good being invisible if you couldn¡¯t be quiet, too. She would have to work on that.


    Continuing at a slower pace, she made her way to the kitchen. Everything was in its place. The counters were clear and the dishes were all dried and put away. The kitchen seemed much larger with no-one else in it. Usually it was crowded with people, the cook yelling over the din, telling everyone what he wanted them to do. Now it was silent and still.


    She jumped. Voices of guards echoed down the hallway. They clomped towards the kitchen. Probably they would make their way up the stairs to the knight¡¯s quarters. On a set of shelves in a large bowl were all the scraps of cake that the cook didn¡¯t need. She found a small plate below and piled as many oddly shaped pieces of cake as she could manage on it. Then she hid the cake in the far back of the pantry behind a ceramic jug of oil.


    She grinned to herself. She and Margaret wouldn¡¯t go without cake this year. Maybe they would even have extra. The soldiers paused in the doorway to the kitchen. ¡°I can¡¯t wait for breakfast, George.¡± One of them said. ¡°I¡¯ll just find something to eat. You go ahead.¡±


    Hailey froze in the pantry. She had forgotten to concentrate. She wasn¡¯t invisible anymore. Her heart thumped in her chest, but she forced herself to concentrate. Be invisible, she told herself, holding her hands out in front of her. She breathed a sigh of relief as her hands disappeared. She looked down just to make sure. Yes, she was invisible again.


    ¡°Is someone in there?¡± The guard took a step into the pantry. He was a huge man with wide shoulders and hair so short he looked like he didn¡¯t have any. The light of the rising sun glinted off his head. She crouched into the smallest ball she could manage and tried to maintain concentration. He scratched his head. ¡°Thought for sure I heard someone. Then he rubbed at his face. He must have been up all night.


    Go away, she thought at him. She didn¡¯t want to be caught here with a soldier. Some of them were mean. He didn¡¯t go away. She pretended that she was playing hide and seek with Margaret and made her breaths shallow. Finally, the man found a round of cheese and took it with him back to the kitchen.


    Holding her breath, Hailey snuck past him. She had been close enough to him that she was certain he would sense her. He did. He turned with a cheese knife in his hand and she scurried passed him. A thrill ran through her as she made it out of the kitchen. She stayed invisible all the way back to her quarters. She hurried but didn¡¯t run. Running made her feet slap. Finally, she was back in her room. It was a small room, just large enough for two beds, but she and Margaret had it all to themselves. The sun was just getting up. She pulled herself into her bed as quietly as she could manage and pulled the covers over her. Her legs were frozen. She hadn¡¯t noticed how cold they were. The bed had gone cold, too. She lay still, pretending to be asleep until Margaret sat up. ¡°Get up sleepy head,¡± she said.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Hailey got up and tried to look tired, but she was still excited. That soldier had looked right at her two times and still hadn¡¯t seen her.


    <hr>


    According to Lavina, Margaret had come to the castle soon after Hailey had. The queen had heard about children starving in the snow and had decided to rescue some of them. Hailey didn¡¯t remember very much about those days, but she remembered the way Lavina had taken care of them and that Margaret had quickly become her best friend.


    Margaret eyed her now, her hair standing up in all directions. She had dark skin that never burned no matter how long she stayed outside. Her dark eyes narrowed. ¡°You¡¯ve been up to something,¡± she said, standing in the narrow space between the two beds.


    Hailey grinned. ¡°Just a little something, not anything too big.¡±


    Margaret rolled her eyes. She was older than Hailey and always felt like she had to remind Hailey of the rules. ¡°You are going to get yourself in trouble one of these days sneaking around the castle.¡±


    ¡°Nobody saw me. Besides, it¡¯s sort of our birthday, too.¡±


    That got a grin. Margaret and Hailey never knew when their birthdays were and so they borrowed the princess¡¯s. There was always cake, and excitement. She hugged her best friend. ¡°Happy birthday. You¡¯re fifteen.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re fourteen, and you¡¯re going to make us late.¡± Her words sounded grouchy but there was a smile in her voice. She let go of Hailey and moved to the peg where she had hung her dress, Hailey waited. If they tried to pass at the same time, there wasn¡¯t enough space and so she waited with her feet curled up on her bed.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a busy day,¡± Margaret said, tossing Hailey¡¯s dress to her. It had been hanging on the peg right next to Margaret¡¯s.


    ¡°I know,¡± Hailey said, catching the dress. They turned their backs on each other and pulled off their nightgowns. She pulled on the clean dress. It still smelled like the soap the laundress used. Hailey loved that smell. By the end of today it would smell like various kinds of food.


    ¡°Lavina said that some of the staff aren¡¯t even going to be here.¡± Margaret¡¯s voice was soft with worry.


    ¡°I heard that, too.¡± Hailey had even seen some of them leaving the castle. Some of them pretended that a relative was sick and others believed that something was going to happen to the whole castle, not just the princess on her sixteenth birthday.


    ¡°I think they¡¯re cowards.¡±


    Hailey turned to look at her friend. Margaret was tying a kerchief over her hair. Hailey tied back her blonde hair and then found the kerchief she used for her own hair. ¡°I think everyone¡¯s a little scared. Maybe nothing happens, maybe not.¡± Hailey felt a twinge of guilt as she said those words. She had always seen a dark aura around the princess. It was faint, but it was there. It had been there as long as she could remember, but no one ever talked about it and she hadn¡¯t been brave enough to ask her friend if she could see it too. Margaret might think she was crazy.


    The girls looked at each other. Margaret tugged Hailey¡¯s kerchief a little lower down on her forehead and then nodded.


    She pulled on her boots. ¡°Today will be fine as long as Esmerelda leaves me alone. Maybe she¡¯ll be too busy, like everyone else.¡±


    Margaret gave her a pitying look. ¡°You have to stop reacting to her so much. She picks on you because you¡¯re always taking it so personally.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, mom,¡± Hailey said.


    Margaret rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not your mom and you know I¡¯m right.¡±


    Probably she was, but Hailey didn¡¯t have to tell her that. Margaret would get a big head and start treating her like a child even more. She smiled at her and they hurried out of the room. The hallway was beginning to fill with other maids, getting ready for their own tasks.


    ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll get some cake?¡± Margaret asked.


    Hailey raised an eyebrow. ¡°I know we will.¡± They passed a cluster of maids all vying for a piece of the mirror Hailey had used earlier. Hailey had given up ever using that thing when the other maids were awake. Besides, it was one of Esmerelda¡¯s favorite places to be.


    Margaret laughed. ¡°That¡¯s what you were up to?¡± She shook her head.


    Hailey shrugged. ¡°Maybe. Maybe because there¡¯s less people there will be more cake left.¡±


    Margaret elbowed her ribs and Hailey giggled. ¡°You hid cake somewhere. I know it.¡±

 Chapter 02

    The kitchen was already warmer than the hallways were. Working the kitchen had its advantages. A fire had been lit and bread was rising on the counter. Lavina was braiding a loaf with deft fingers. She was a plain looking but kind woman who had kept watch on Hailey and Margaret when they were too young to help in the kitchen. She didn¡¯t look up as they passed. ¡°You should have been early today. Get some of those dishes washed. Breakfast isn¡¯t ready yet, but you¡¯re already a bit behind.¡±


    The smell of bread already baking and woodsmoke filled the air. Hailey¡¯s stomach grumbled but the bread wasn¡¯t done yet. Esmerelda was not far behind them, and the cook bellowed at her the second he saw her. ¡°Esmerelda, stir this porridge,¡± Bruce said. He was a very large man, who expected the people who worked for him to jump when he told them to. He expected a clean kitchen and hard work, but Hailey always thought of him as fair. He pulled a hat on over his balding head and tied on an apron. He had a large knobby nose.


    ¡°Well Bruce,¡± Lavina said, ¡°do you think we¡¯re cursed today?¡±


    ¡°Bah,¡± He waved a large hand in the air as if there was nothing to worry about. ¡°I was here in the castle when that old witch showed up. She brought in a whole flock of crows, made a big mess of things, but even people who were in the room said she didn¡¯t do much but scare folk. At least, that¡¯s what Martin said. Speaking of Martin, he will want to hear from me. Keep the girls from destroying anything while I¡¯m gone,¡± Bruce said


    Martin was the steward of the castle. He and Bruce worked closely on menus for parties and what ingredients Bruce would need. Both men had busy jobs and relied on the other to make sure the castle ran smoothly, but everyone else reported to the steward as well.


    Esmerelda smirked as she stirred, her long wooden spoon was almost not long enough to keep her fingers from burning. ¡°Are you scared, Lavina?¡±


    Lavina deflected the question. ¡°I¡¯m scared that we¡¯re missing too much staff and that today is going to be a nightmare. I¡¯m scared we won¡¯t be able to produce fast enough for all the nobles coming in.¡±


    ¡°I think that everyone who left this castle is a coward and that anyone who has any sense is here doing their job,¡± Esmerelda said.


    ¡°You¡¯re speaking ill of Beatrice, too, don¡¯t forget.¡± Beatrice had been too worried about this day, about what would happen that she had claimed her father was ill and had left the castle. There was a chance she wouldn¡¯t have her job when she came back, but Beatrice had been determined to get out of the castle. She had hugged them all before she left as if she would never see any of them again.


    Hailey felt the worry at the pit of her stomach grow. Maybe Beatrice was right. She glanced at Margaret, but her friend looked unconcerned. She chided herself. This morning, when she was sneaking around the castle, she should have been gathering things so she could survive if she had to flee the castle instead of stealing cake. She tried to calm herself. Even if something did happen, it was only going to happen to the princess. Hailey didn¡¯t want to see the heir get hurt. The kingdom needed her to succeed her father, but the rest of them should be in no danger. Somehow, the thought did not make her feel any better.


    Esmerelda continued. ¡°If Beatrice comes back, I will expect her to apologize for leaving us. She has definitely made our day harder and there are others who have deserted as well. I think it was selfish of them.¡±


    ¡°Lots of people are afraid of Millicent,¡± said Margaret.


    Esmerelda rolled her eyes. ¡°Millicent hasn¡¯t been seen in sixteen years. If she really had it out for the princess, she would have succeeded by now, don¡¯t you think?¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°What about the mages?¡± Hailey finally chimed in.


    ¡°What about them?¡± Lavina said, pulling fresh loaves out of the oven with a paddle.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, they seem worried.¡±


    ¡°And when had you had time to discuss things with the mages?¡± Esmerelda sneered.


    Hailey didn¡¯t have time to respond.


    ¡°Esmerelda! You¡¯re burning the porridge!¡± Lavina ran forward, towels in her hands. She pulled the huge pot off the oven.


    <hr>


    As Esmerelda had pointed out, the day had been more difficult without Beatrice. Hailey and Margaret had been enlisted in setting out food in the dining room. The constant trips back and forth to the kitchen were tiring and Hailey groaned when she realized that the breakfast dishes would have to wait. She set a stack of bowls into the sink, hoping that they would be easier to clean later.


    Last year, the kitchen staff had been able to bring in servants who worked other parts of the castle, but this year, with the number of people who had fled the castle, no one had anyone to spare. Bruce had come back from his meeting with Martin grumbling and wondering how they were going to manage.


    Hailey stood just inside the dining room. It was as polished and beautiful as Hailey had ever seen it. Despite the fire lit in the fireplace the room was cold. The wooden floor had been polished until you could almost make out your reflection in it. Ribbons were strung on the ceiling and gifts that had come in advance were piling up on a small round table in the center. Every table had been covered in white fabric. Poinsettia and  and sprigs of fir trees were being placed at the center of the tables.


    Esmerelda snuck up behind her and poked her in the ribs. Hailey almost dropped the basket of bread she was carrying when she jumped. She decided to take Margaret¡¯s advice and ignore the other maid.


    Hailey walked to the table and rearranged the bread. Lavina had had it arranged carefully with her long braided loaves in the back. Then she hurried out of the dining room and back into the kitchen. ¡°Run away, coward,¡± Esmerelda whispered as she passed.


    What did she want from her? Did she want Hailey to be distracted and give Esmerelda more work to do? Did she want Hailey to try to hit her? None of that would do any good. Hailey was small even for her age. The best she could do was try not to be alone with her nemisis.


    Bowls of fruits and platters of cheeses were next to go on the tables. All of it had been carefully arranged yesterday. Hailey was tempted to pick up one of the oranges and slip it into her pocket, but Esmerelda was watching her, waiting for her to make a mistake.


    Hailey placed down the last bowl of fruit and hurried back to the kitchen. She had to hurry to get the next stack of bowls cleaned so that they would be ready for the soup. She was glad she had placed so many of them in the water to soak. Margaret was still busy helping Lavina with taking the cake to the dining room and Bruce was in the pantry.


    ¡°Hailey, help me get the poultry dressed and ready to go in the oven,¡± Esmerelda commanded once she saw that Lavina and Bruce were out of earshot.


    She wiped her hands on her towel and took up a spot next to Esmerelda stuffing the birds with a mixture of bread and onions. Bruce would ask her to go back to washing the bowls as soon as he came back into the kitchen, but all of the work needed to be done all at the same time.


    ¡°I feel sorry for you girls sometimes,¡± Lavina said in an almost motherly tone.


    Hailey eyed her suspiciously. Her jaw was already beginning to ache from clenching her teeth. Esmerelda seemed determined to get under her skin today.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know why?¡±


    Hailey shrugged one shoulder, continuing to stuff dressing into the small birds.


    Esmerelda took a breath. ¡°I feel sorry for you because if something really did happen today, you and little Margaret would have nowhere to run. You don¡¯t have any families to care for you and who would need a kitchen maid other than the castle? You couldn¡¯t be a cook in your own right. All you know how to do is wash dishes.¡±


    Bruce cleared his throat as he walked into the kitchen and Esmerelda jumped. ¡°I see you¡¯ve nothing better to do than torment the other girls,¡± he said. ¡°Hailey, get those bowls clean, we¡¯re going to need them soon. Esmerelda, do your own job.¡±


    How long had he been listening to them? Hailey suppressed a small triumphant smile. Esmerelda glared at her. I will make you pay for that, her smile said.

 Chapter 03

    Hailey finally finished all of the breakfast dishes and was set the task of stirring the vegetables for the soup so it didn¡¯t burn. It felt good to have her hands out of the water. She grabbed one of the longer spoons she had just washed and set to work keeping the onions, carrots and celery from burning.


    ¡°I think they are ready,¡± she told him. He came and glanced over her shoulder.


    ¡°Good. Keep stirring. You will have to chop a fresh batch if you burn any of those.¡± Her hands ached at the thought. She had only had to peel the carrots. Bruce was much faster at chopping that she was and she would definitely have a blister by the end of the day. Bruce was taking too long getting the covered pot of stock from the pantry. She added a little water that she had nearby. The pot hissed and steamed. A cloud went up and Bruce came back with a large pot. ¡°What was that?¡± He asked her.


    ¡°The little minx put some water in,¡± Esmerelda told him.


    Bruce looked in the pot that Hailey was stirring. ¡°Probably a good call. We didn¡¯t want it to burn after all.¡± He poured in the chicken stock he had made the day before and dropped in a handful of salt.


    Esmerelda looked frustrated. She clearly had hoped to get Hailey into trouble. Hailey was feeling good about the day, though. So far, she hadn¡¯t spilled anything, dropped any dishes or burnt any food. Hailey thought about the porridge this morning and smiled to herself. Esmerelda could not say the same.


    The familiar ache in Hailey¡¯s feet was back before too long and they hadn¡¯t even made it to lunch yet. The nobles would surely be there soon. Esmerelda disappeared to put on a fresh dress and apron since she would be helping serve the meal to the nobles.


    Hailey put out stacks of clean bowls. ¡°What do you think the princess will be wearing?¡± Margaret asked.


    Hailey smiled, trying to think if she could remember what Aurora¡¯s favorite color was this year. For almost a decade it had been pink. How fun must it be to have dresses made for you like that.


    ¡°Lavender,¡± Margaret said decidedly.


    ¡°Azure,¡± said Hailey, though she thought that Margaret had probably already won that battle.


    ¡°Bruce, do you have any of that cake left?¡± Hailey turned to see a young man standing in the doorway. He was one of the men who had been helping to set the tables. His black and white uniform marked him as one of the ones who would be serving the meal today.


    ¡°After my cake already?¡± Bruce asked him. ¡°Before you¡¯ve even had your midday meal?¡±


    Esmerelda came up behind the young man. ¡°Surely we wouldn¡¯t want Greg too weak to perform his duties.¡±


    Hailey was relieved to see Esmerelda in the new outfit. That meant that she would be out of the kitchen and away from her.


    ¡°I know I¡¯ve got a few scraps around here somewhere,¡± he said. He found the bowl and put a few pieces on a plate for him. Greg ate happily and handing the plate to Hailey, left the kitchen.


    ¡°Hailey, bring the pot over. We should be ready to start spooning it out,¡± Lavina said.


    Hailey picked up the pot and carried it over to the counter. As she was walking, Esmerelda dashed forward. ¡°It looks to heavy for the little girl,¡± she said and then pretended to take some of the weight from Hailey by holding the bottom. She put no pressure on the pot at all.


    ¡°That¡¯s very kind of you,¡± Lavina started.


    Esmerelda began pulling on the pot. ¡°Hurry, Hailey. It¡¯s getting heavy.¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    She didn¡¯t need the reminder. Hailey¡¯s arms were shaking with the effort. The uneven tile that Hailey had tripped on a thousand times was ahead of her, but Hailey concentrated. She just had to make it a little bit farther. ¡°Put it on the counter, and then we can slide it down the counter,¡± Hailey said, feeling her grip begin to slacken.


    ¡°We can carry it that far,¡± Esmerelda said.


    Hailey groaned and tightened her hands around the handles of the pot. Forgetting about that tile, Hailey tripped. She caught her balance before the pot fell, but some of it sloshed over the side, streaming down the front of Esmerelda¡¯s clean dress. A wave of soup came back at Hailey, but she pushed the pot onto the counter. It poured over her arms and hands.


    Esmerelda screamed.


    <hr>


    ¡°Esmerelda are you ok?¡± Lavina was by her side checking for burns. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I tripped,¡± Hailey said lamely.


    Esmerelda played her part well. ¡°I think I¡¯m ok,¡± she said to Lavina, her beautiful brown eyes wide with concern. ¡°Maybe I should go take a cold bath so that I don¡¯t get any blisters, but I don¡¯t want you to suffer. We have so much work to do.¡±


    Lavina fell for the act. ¡°Do you think you could make it to the bath yourself?¡±


    Esmerelda nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sure I could if you can manage here without me for a while.¡±


    Hailey ground her teeth. She wouldn¡¯t have spilled if Esmerelda had let her put down the pan. Lavina frowned at her. ¡°We are short staffed as it is and now Esmerelda will not be able to perform her duties. Get yourself cleaned up as best you can here and then you¡¯re going to have to work on the fireplaces.¡± The look in Lavina¡¯s eyes made Hailey feel sick. ¡°Before you go, clean up this mess. You¡¯ve managed to get soup everywhere.


    Hailey looked down. Soup covered the floor.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky that it is a multiple course meal. If we had only been serving the soup tonight, you would be starting a new batch right now.¡±


    Hailey blinked back tears. She hadn¡¯t meant to drop the soup, hadn¡¯t meant to hurt Esmerelda. She had been doing so well in ignoring her today. From across the kitchen, Margaret was rewashing bowls that had soup slosh over them when Hailey had put the pot down. She gave Hailey a pitying glance, but Hailey didn¡¯t even want to look at Margaret.


    Hailey used a rag to clean the soup off of the counter and then worked on the floor. Why did everyone assume that Esmerelda was perfect. Just because someone looked perfect did not mean they actually were. Hailey cleaned the floor as Margaret brought over the cleaned and dried stack of bowls.


    ¡°The soup is getting cold, and the nobles are waiting,¡± Bruce grumbled. Hailey finished the floor as quickly as she could manage. She didn¡¯t want anyone else to trip and fall.


    As Hailey rinsed out her rag for what felt like the hundredth time, servants all dressed in crisp black with white aprons filed into the room and began taking toys of soup. They balanced them perfectly, making Hailey¡¯s earlier clumsiness look even worse.


    Hailey left the kitchen with an ash bucket, and a small broom and dust pan in tow. At least most of the work was done, but cleaning out the fireplaces and prepping them for the next time a noble was in that room was never a job that Hailey particularly liked. Esmerelda seemed to have a knack for being able to talk to anyone, to convince anyone of what she wanted. Hailey couldn¡¯t help hating her. She knew it was wrong, but this had been the last straw.


    ¡°I hate you, Esmerelda,¡± she mumbled under her breath. She had washed her hands and arms, but the fabric of her dress continued to stick to her skin. She frowned, realizing that ash would soon be sticking to her dress where the soup had spilled. She needed a bath and had no time for one. She carried the ash bucket to the royal quarters, feeling nervous. She didn¡¯t like to be in this area of the castle. The kitchen felt so much more like home to her, even when Esmerelda was taunting her.


    As she swept out the ash in the king and queen¡¯s bedchamber, she realized she had forgotten to bring a stack of logs with her. Sighing heavily, Hailey returned to the kitchen to find the leather strap to carry the wood. She tried not to make eye contact with anyone in the kitchen, but the leather strap was missing. It was usually on a peg outside the kitchen doorway. She poked her head into the kitchen. ¡°Has anyone seen the firewood carrier?¡± she asked.


    Lavina sighed heavily. ¡°We¡¯ve got too much to do in here to be bothered with more of your problems right now, Hailey. You¡¯re a capable girl. Figure it out.¡±


    Hailey walked away. She knew that Lavina had too many things to worry about at the moment, but the words still stung. She hadn¡¯t meant to create such a problem. She should be in there helping. It wasn¡¯t fair. This whole day had gone so terribly wrong that Hailey wanted to crawl back into bed and start over.

 Chapter 04

    Hailey had tried to solve the problem on her own as Lavina suggested, but she had never managed to find the strap. Now carrying firewood up to the third floor, her arms itched. The logs shifted uneasily as she climbed up the narrow staircase. She gripped them against her chest even tighter.


    As she laid the firewood in the fireplace, she looked down at her arms. Little red bumps covered them and she had splinters in several places. The king and queen shared a massive bedroom with a bed large enough for five people. She wondered if they got lost in all of their blankets. Furs lined the floor on either side of the bed. The view from the doorway that led out onto the balcony was breathtaking. The entire city stretched out below, the lake shimmered to the left and to the right, she could almost make out a patchwork of farms.


    Keep moving, Hailey, she thought to herself. She had other rooms to see to. Some of the nobles would be staying in rooms in the castle, the ones who had traveled all the way from Crenalia. Those rooms should have been taken care of, since no one slept in them last night, but she thought she had better check.


    The princess¡¯s room was next. It was all done in shades of pink from the curtains that framed her window to the blankets that covered her large bed to the canopy that framed it. Even the paintings in the room seemed to over use that color. The curtains were closed, and Hailey used her shoulder to push them open a little to let in some light. Her hands were black with soot, but she could barely see what she wad doing. After cleaning out the fireplace, she thought of closing the curtains, but how would she manage without getting them dirty? It would be safer to leave them as they were. Besides, the ladies maid would be up here to prepare everything for the princess before Aurora walked in.


    She opened the door to one of the guest chambers and found dresses all piled up on the large bed. The fireplace didn¡¯t need cleaning, but she placed fresh logs inside and moved on to the next room.


    Maybe when she got done with this floor she would have an opportunity to clean the fireplace in the dining room. Maybe then she would have a chance to see what the princess and the nobles were wearing. She loved looking at the new dresses, even if she would never have one of her own. She tried to imagine how they walked with that many layers of fabric to trip you. They all looked so graceful.


    When Hailey was little, Lavina had told her that they were foolish things to want. ¡°Not useful for anything except looking pretty in.¡± she had told her, but Lavina had been one of the most sensible people Hailey had ever met.


    Hailey was climbing up the steps again with another armful of logs when she heard a noise in the corridor. Who was up here? She glanced around and saw no one. All of the nobles should be downstairs celebrating, anyway. She ducked into an alcove and waited, but whoever was laughing did not get any closer. She ignored it and moved on with her tasks, placing all of the split logs on the grate. Finally done, she headed back to the princess¡¯s room to pick up her bucket of ash.


    The laughing came closer and Hailey groaned. She recognized that laugh. What was Esmerelda doing here? If she found Hailey, she would just make fun of her again. Hailey ducked into the princess¡¯s room and peered around the doorway. Esmerelda was walking with the young man who had come to the kitchen this morning. It took a moment for Hailey to remember his name. Had all of that been a ruse to get out of chores so she could sneak off with Greg? They passed, Esmerelda with a hand on his arm. In her other hand, she carried the leather strap that Hailey had needed to do her job.


    Hailey ground her teeth and balled her hands into fists. She wanted to strangle the older girl, but she knew that if anyone caught her, Esmerelda would claim that she felt bad for Hailey and had come to help. What could she do? She tried to calm her breathing. Nothing right now, but she would come up with something.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    <hr>


    Hailey waited. Had Esmerelda been looking for her or had she just been looking for a private place to go walking with Greg. Either way, she would do what she could not to get caught. Probably the latter, she decided. Her fellow kitchen maid may be nothing but trouble, but Hailey doubted that she spent all of there time coming up with schemes to taunt her. More than likely she just had a talent for getting under Hailey¡¯s skin.


    Esmerelda¡¯s laughter rang out down the corridor. Good, Hailey thought. She should be far enough away. Leaving the princess¡¯s room and even more careful with the heavy bucket of ash.


    She picked up her heavy bucket of ash and headed down the servant¡¯s staircase. On the fourth step down, she paused. She always skipped that step because it creaked so much, but the spiraling wooden staircase could be a slippery. A groove had been worn into the steps. She stepped down, almost missing the fifth step altogether. She gasped, held tight to the bucket of ash and the railing with the other hand. That was a foolish thing to do. Going up the steps was one thing, but tumbling down an entire staircase with a heavy bucket of ash would had left her in bed for days. She could have broken something.


    She tried to slow her breathing, to think of something else. She wondered about the curse. So far, the party had gone of ok, even with the lack of servants. She was certain that if something had happened to the princess, she would have heard shrieks. She passed the doorway to the dining room.


    Laughter and the smells of good food greeted her. Her legs were still shaky from almost falling down the stairs. Her hands and arms were covered in ash. She stepped out of the door and placed her ash in the wooden bucket. The ash would be used later to make soap.


    Heading back to the kitchen, she found the leather strap hanging on the peg where it belonged. She splashed cold water over her hands, getting her sleeves a little wet in the process. At least it got some of the ash and soup out. She grabbed a washcloth, gave a half smile to Margaret, who had been put in charge of turning the spit and headed back upstairs to wipe down anything she had touched, the doorknobs in particular.


    If she hurried, she would still have time to help Margaret with some of the chores and share the cake she had hidden away with her. The thought made her smile. She raced up the stairs that had almost killed her, skipping the fourth one from the top and walked into the guest bedrooms.


    Once she had everything wiped down in there, she finished up with the king and queen¡¯s bed chamber. She found herself thinking about the curse. Maybe Esmerelda was right and there was nothing to worry about, but she couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something might happen. The princess did have that aura after all.


    She heard noises in the hallway and ducked into the princess¡¯s room. She cleaned the doorknob and made sure that nothing else was smudged with soot. How many times was she going to have to hide from Esmerelda?


    The voices were getting closer. They sounded serious now, not the giggles she expected. She glanced around the room. Maybe it wasn¡¯t her enemy but she didn¡¯t want to take any chances. There was nowhere to hide. They curtain still hung half opened but they didn¡¯t reach the floor. Someone would see her feet. She dashed under the bed, hoping that the coverlet would be long enough to hide her. A cold wooden floor pressed against her face and chest. She lay still, hoping not to be discovered.


    She felt foolish all of the sudden. This didn¡¯t have anything to do with her squabble. She should have just ducked out of the room. It wasn¡¯t like she was doing anything she shouldn¡¯t be. She cursed herself for a fool and lay still. Why were there so many people in the princess¡¯s chambers? It didn¡¯t make any sense. Shouldn¡¯t all these people be part of the party? She tried to slow the thumping of her heart. Whatever they were doing in here, they might be hiding from the king and queen. Maybe it was lucky that she was here. She could find out whatever they were planning. She felt a righteous anger burn within her. Whoever these people were, they had no business coming in to the princess¡¯s rooms.

 Chapter 05

    The king smiled at Barinon. ¡°I¡¯m glad you came. I had worried that the mages wouldn¡¯t send anyone despite the princess¡¯s pleas.¡± The king was a tall and thin man, but not frail. His mouth was framed by a brown and gray beard. Barinon genuinely liked him. Everyone had to pretend to like the king, but something about the his straightforward manner or the mischievous glint he got in his eye reminded you that this was not just a king, he was a man who was doing his bed to run an entire kingdom.


    ¡°Thank you for having me, your majesty.¡± Barinon bowed, hoping that he was presentable.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that,¡± the king said. He stood next to him and spoke in a low whisper. ¡°I know yo don¡¯t really want to be here, but you might as well enjoy it. My daughter has spent so much of her life with the mages, that she wanted to have at least one here.¡± He smiled at Aurora with such fondness, it was almost heartbreaking.


    A gray aura hung around the child, reminding Barinon time was running out. He shouldn¡¯t be sitting here, eating cake and making small talk, he should be doing something. Still, he didn¡¯t know what that would be. He rubbed at his eyes. If it were up to him, he would return to his home and collapse on his small bed. No, that wasn¡¯t true. If it were up to him he would still be working on spells. Something had to be able to undo the curse. He hadn¡¯t been getting much sleep lately, none of them had. The closer this day came, the fewer hours of sleep they all got.


    ¡°Get yourself some tea,¡± Barinon. ¡°You look terrible.¡±


    The king was probably right, but Barinon doubted there was enough tea in the world to make him feel truly awake. Still, he walked to the small table at the edge of the room and poured himself a cup of tea. The hot liquid did make him feel more awake and it felt good on his throat. He closed his eyes savoring the slightly bitter flavor.


    Barinon sat at one of the chairs watching the princess chat with her friends. They whispered behind gloved hands, looked around the room and then squealed in delight. Barinon did not see the point to this game and it hurt his head. Even the queen was cringing. The king sat down next to him. ¡°Do you really think that something will happen to my daughter? She has been a healthy, exuberant girl since she was tiny.¡±


    They had been over this before, but Barinon didn¡¯t want to upset the king too badly. ¡°It¡¯s why there are so many of us here. It is better to prepare for the worst and not have anything happen than to ignore it and be caught unawares.¡± All of the mages but Barinon were meeting in the study to discuss last minute options. His stomach twisted at the thought.


    All these years, all the work that had gone in to undoing the princess¡¯s curse and nothing had come of it, but as he watched the princess, he could understand the king¡¯s unconcern. Millicent had said something to the child, a curse was placed on her, a curse that the king himself would not be able to see and nothing had come of it. The princess had not even been sick as often as some of the children he knew.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t think anything is going to happen,¡± the king said. ¡°You worry too much.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just her life that¡¯s at stake here¡­¡±


    The look the king gave him cut him off. ¡°I know. The powers of the heir, the good of the kingdom, the invasion of the fairies. I am the heir, too, you know.¡±


    Barinon did know. He scratched at his cheek and realized he had missed a spot when he had been shaving. He knew that if he weren¡¯t so tired, he wouldn¡¯t even have brought it up. The king, more than anyone knew the risks to the kingdom. He had to get his mind to work clearly again.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Barinon.¡±


    He looked around to see how had been calling his name. Alyssa stood in the doorway motioning for him to follow. She was beautiful despite the new lines around her eyes. She blinked constantly as if that would help her feel more awake. They were all exhausted.


    Barinon stood and swayed for a moment. ¡°I will return.¡± He bowed to the king who shook his head at him.


    ¡°You better and then you better get some sleep.¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Why did you come for me?¡± Berinon asked, though he felt relief at the opportunity to leave the party. The hallways in this place were wide enough for eight men to walk together through them.


    Alyssa looked back at him with dark, sorrowful eyes. She was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She had dark hair and high cheekbones. She walked ahead of him, leading the way. He always thought that the robes of the mages looked better on women than they did on men. They certainly looked better on her. The dark blue contrasted nicely with her coppery skin. It made his skin look pale. Tears were streaming down her face. ¡°Conrad is dead,¡± she said.


    He took her hand in his as they continued to walk. ¡°What happened?¡± She had always been so determined, so in control of herself and her surroundings, that it was almost shocking to see her cry. She scrubbed the tears away. ¡°He tried to cast the death spell on a goat. He said it wrong and now¡­¡±


    Barinon wrapped his arms around her. She trembled against his chest. It was hard to believe that someone as powerful as Conrad could make such an obvious mistake. It was a death spell, after all. You had to be careful with those things.


    ¡°Come on,¡± she said, pulling away from him. ¡°They will be waiting for us.¡± She pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes and blew her nose.


    He shook his head. He was having trouble imagining the community of mages without Conrad. He had been so willing to listen to Barinon¡¯s crazy ideas. Who would he go to with them now? All he felt, knowing that the man was dead, was numbness, an unwillingness to believe Alyssa¡¯s words.


    It suddenly felt a long way to the study and he didn¡¯t want to go, didn¡¯t want to see his friend lying dead on the floor. Alyssa pulled on his hand. He hadn¡¯t realized that he had stopped walking. He swallowed his sorrow and continued.


    The study was one of the more beautiful rooms in the castle. Ornately carved bookshelves filled all of the walls. Not all of the shelves were filled. Even kings didn¡¯t have that many books, but there were more than there were in the mage¡¯s study.


    Today it felt stuffy and confined, though it was large enough for them and many more people to meet. Grimoires were opened on the table and some of the more studious mages were leafing through pages, ignoring everyone else around them. He looked at his friend lying on the ground, a permanent look of surprise on the old man¡¯s face. The goat ¡°baaahed¡± and walked around the room on spindly legs. It was a young thing and everyone was ignoring it and his mentor. Didn¡¯t they care about Conrad at all? But then he remembered. The entire future of the kingdom was at risk, not just one man¡¯s life.


    Alyssa stood net to him, still holding his hand. He hoped he was at least some comfort to her. ¡°Look at what happened to Conrad,¡± Reimund said. He was the oldest mage in the room and the one that everyone generally deferred to. His white beard was tangled and there was a stain down the front of his robe. His voice boomed out over the others. ¡°We are not trying that again.¡±


    ¡°I know, Reimund,¡± Gwendolyn said in her nasal voice. She was a large woman in her forties. ¡°I¡¯m not saying that we should try to cast it on the goat, we should just try to move the spell to the goat.¡±


    ¡°The magic is not going to accept moving the spell to an animal. It will know the difference,¡± Peter said. His young voice did not sound anywhere near as commanding as the other two.


    Gwendolyn turned to stare at him. ¡°The magic doesn¡¯t know anything. That¡¯s like saying that a hammer knows not to try to pound something into water.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong,¡± Peter argued.


    ¡°And you¡¯re a fool,¡± Gwendolyn said.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Reimund roared. ¡°Do you think that this is the best use of what little time she have left? Are we a ragged bunch of children calling insults? We are the best this kingdom has to offer and if we don¡¯t figure this out, no one else will.¡±


    Silence and terror filled the room. They all knew what was at stake. Finally Alyssa spoke beside him. ¡°The problem is that we are back to square one.¡±

 Chapter 06

    Somehow Alyssa¡¯s words brought him out of his sorrow. That and the silence that followed. All of the mages were much more experienced and wise than he was and they were all staring at each other, unsure with how to proceed. He hated the way his voice cracked when he spoke. ¡°I think that maybe at this point, a containment spell will be the best course of action.¡±


    ¡°I disagree,¡± Gwendolyn stated. ¡°We should move the death spell from the princess to the goat. If we can move it from poor Conrad, here. It would be a simple binding spell.¡±


    Peter opened his mouth, but Reimund cut him off. ¡°If it were that simple, I would have taken the death spell from the child myself a long time ago. I¡¯m afraid that it is not that easy. Conrad used a very different spell than the one that now encircles the princess. None of us, despite our best efforts, know the spell that Millicent used.¡±


    Chenric, one of the mages who sat at the table, always had his nose in a book and this meeting was no exception. He was even worse than Barinon in that regard and so when he spoke, it was almost surprising that he had been paying any attention at all. ¡°We should have tracked that witch down ages ago.¡± Chenric stated, looking up from the massive grimoire.


    ¡°How dare you use that word!¡± Gwendolyn looked ready to throw the man across the room.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t call you that,¡± he stated flatly.


    Her eyes narrowed. ¡°Who cares? I find the word itself insulting.¡±


    The argument continued but Barinon ignored the petty insults the mages were throwing at each other now. They were all tired and that made them irritable. He glanced at Reimund who had been the one to put out the last fight. He was sitting with his head in his hands. They all looked so exhausted. Reimund, who had been an old man as long as Berinon could remember, looked like he had aged a decade in the last few days. The closer they had come to this day, the less sleep any of them got. All of them wanted the prestige of being the first mage to figure out how to save the heir, true and none of them wanted to be required to evacuate an entire kingdom. This was their home and if they didn¡¯t get this figured out, a time would come when they would have to leave it.


    Finally he spoke. His voice was loud enough to be heard over the din. ¡°Does anyone have a better idea than the containment spell or trying to move the spell as Gwendolyn suggested?¡± Everyone paused to look at him and he took the opportunity while everyone was listening. ¡°I suggest we vote on it.¡±


    Chenric opened his mouth. ¡°I still think¡­¡±


    Barinon cut him off. ¡°If your suggestion is to go now and see once again if we can find Millicent and bring her back, it is much, much too late for that. We have already hunted for her and we don¡¯t have the time to find her now.¡±


    Chenric¡¯s eyes widened as if he had just come up with the most brilliant idea. Barinon felt his excitement rise. If something in those books, something Chenric had read finally clicked into place for them, maybe they could finally be done with this curse. ¡°Maybe she will come here to see the curse take the princess. Then we can trap her and make her undo the spell.¡±


    Barinon groaned. That was not what he had been hoping for. He doubted Millicent would be anywhere near the castle anytime soon.


    ¡°We cannot put all of our hopes into her showing up.¡± Reimund said.


    Chenric nodded. ¡°But it¡¯s the forbidden magic, the magic we never speak of that holds the key to fixing this. We need to research the forbidden section of the library. I have already started looking over a few volumes but I haven¡¯t been able to find anything yet.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°You put that book back. We can¡¯t use that magic. It is forbidden for a reason!¡± Peter shouted.


    ¡°Do we have much of a choice?¡± Reimund rebutted. ¡°We all, each and every one of us, will need to get to work on this if there is any hope of saving the princess. I think Barinon¡¯s containment spell will be our last resort if we still manage to find nothing.¡±


    <hr>


    The younger mages were sent to retrieve stacks of dusty books from the forbidden section of the library. That included Barinon, Alyssa, Chenric and about eight others. As they hurried down the hallway, Alyssa said, ¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s come down to this. All the work we¡¯ve done has gotten us nowhere and now¡­¡± she trailed off.


    ¡°I know,¡± Barinon said. ¡°I do think the preservation spell would work if we place it inside the death spell, though.¡±


    ¡°Will it fix the problem, though?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s a spell I modified. I haven¡¯t done much testing on it yet because I thought I could come up with something better.¡± He didn¡¯t tell her that the last one had almost destroyed his home. He had really hoped that that one would work, but in casting instead of pulling any spell off of an object, it drew all of the objects it could reach into itself. There was a reason that Conrad had counseled him to always start with the smallest possible version of the spell he could contrive.


    ¡°No one else seems to dissect spells the way you do,¡± she said.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably because everyone else is smart enough not to try something so dangerous. Conrad¡­¡± he couldn¡¯t talk about him anymore. Couldn¡¯t say how much the old mage had meant to him. He had to shut out that sorrow and focus on what needed to be done.


    They entered the mage¡¯s study, which was one of the towers of the castle. Weak light shone down from windows that no one could possibly reach to clean. The inside of this spire was filled with books. The bookshelves had to be rounded on the back but their straight front made the room appear to be an octagon from the inside.


    Two long ladders reached almost all the way to the ceiling. The entire wall was filled with books. There was a descending staircase in the middle of the floor. It was a tight iron spiral. That alone discouraged the older mages from entering this area. Most of them mentored a younger mage and sent him to fetch things. That was what Conrad had done for Berinon. Again, he shoved the thought aside and focused instead on the books.


    Mages loved to argue over who taught which spell the best. For that reason, most of the books had copies of spells they had collected from other grimoires, but most of them held one or two that were unique to that particular book. It made finding the exact spell you were looking for a nightmare. Many of the mages had only learned spells that the others had taught them for that reason. It was too complicated.


    He held his hands over his head, pushed them with palms down to his chest and then turned his palms so they were facing each other. A sphere of light floated above his hands. It was a spell he had done so many times it came out as one fluid movement. They descended the spiral into one of the dustiest parts of the castle.


    The forbidden section was generally locked but it seemed that Chenric hadn¡¯t bothered to lock it again after his last visit here. He was ahead of them all, already researching the forbidden section of the library, looking for clues about what they could do to undo Millicent¡¯s spell. He had to have borrowed the key from Reimund. The door of iron cage in which these books were kept remained opened.


    Alyssa gasped when she noticed. Chenric stepped forward, generally considered one of the experts on the library. He began handing piles of books to everyone. Barinon set his sphere of light on the vacant part of the bookshelf and sneezed when Chenric handed him a pile of books. They were heavy, but he hurried back up the staircase. Their time was running out.


    As he made his way into the hallway, a messenger boy ran ahead of him. He called to the lad, but didn¡¯t get a response. He had a sinking feeling that it wouldn¡¯t have done any good anyway. The boy¡¯s bare feet slapped on the stone and he skidded to a halt in front of the study.


    Barinon¡¯s heart was in his throat. All that arguing had done them no good. They really were out of time. He ran after the boy, the rest of the mages following behind him. He got to the room just in time to hear what the boy had said. ¡°The princess has pricked her finger on a spinny wheel.¡± The boy hadn¡¯t even known what a spinning wheel was. The king had had them all removed from the city. He shook his head. They were definitely out of time.

 Chapter 07

    Hailey wondered again why there were so many people in here. She thought about leaving, just walking out of the way, but she would definitely be in trouble for that, so she stayed, trembling and hiding under the bed. At any moment, someone would spot her, she was sure of it.


    From the robes, she knew that these must be the mages. She could see a man¡¯s boots. Other people were waling around the room. They all seemed to be arguing over something. ¡°Try to move the spell first. If that doesn¡¯t work we¡¯ll try Barinon¡¯s crazy plan. Does anyone disagree?¡± It was a man¡¯s voice, deep and booming.


    ¡°Put her on the bed,¡± someone said.


    Someone was sobbing. ¡°My daughter!¡± The queen cried out.


    ¡°Guards, take her out of here. The mages need to concentrate.¡±


    Hailey could hear the queen wailing for her daughter but her voice moved farther and farther away.


    The bed sagged enough that Hailey was almost smushed. Already the wood floor was digging into her ribs and making her shiver. She slid a little to the right, away from the door, keeping her movements as slight as she could manage. Fortunately, the princess had a very large bed. She could see feet all around the bed. It was as if they were trying to trap her here. Don¡¯t be silly, she chided herself. With all these mages, it had to have something to do with the curse. Someone retreated and they closed the door.


    The curse was worse, thought than being caught under the bed. Lavina might even beat her if she found out, but now that she was pretty sure the princess was up there, having a spell cast on her¡­ it was horrible. She felt bad for the princess, who was only a little older than she was. Despite all of the fancy things the princess had, and the way that everyone wanted to be her friend, the princess had had to live with the knowledge that she probably wouldn¡¯t live past sixteen. It made Hailey feel selfish for hoping that the mages would leave soon so she could sneak out from underneath the bed.


    People were crying now. The sounds woke Hailey from her thoughts. ¡°Reimund, we will miss you if this works,¡± someone said.


    ¡°I¡¯m an old man and I¡¯m the most likely to get this right. You¡¯re just going to have to deal with it. Besides, there¡¯s no time to wait.¡±


    Then there was silence except for the occasional sniffle. Hailey tried to make herself quiet, even her breathing. She could see one man¡¯s foot slide back. The others had stepped away to give him room. He stood like that, in a wide stance for a moment and then slid his foot back. The silence that followed his movements was deafening. She was certain that they could make out her heartbeat. They had to be able to. Someone coughed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that worked,¡± someone said in a timid voice.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would but it was worth the risk.¡±


    ¡°It was very brave of you. The kingdom should know.¡± The timid voice said.


    ¡°First we have to make sure the kingdom survives. Then you can tell them if you want to. Barinon, you¡¯re our last hope. I just hope it¡¯s enough otherwise we need to start making evacuation plans.¡±


    Evacuation? As in the whole city? She shouldn¡¯t be here. Shouldn¡¯t know any of this. Mages were mysterious people. Even the royalty was careful not to upset them. Lavina had told her to always do exactly what the mages told you to do even if it sounded crazy. Fortunately, she hadn¡¯t had to worry about mages much until now.


    She took a deep breath, which picked her up off of the floor a little. She wondered if you could get a bruise from lying on a hard floor like this.


    ¡°Hurry up! It¡¯s going to kill her!¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Hailey clapped a hand over her mouth to suppress a gasp. So the princess wasn¡¯t dead, at least not yet. That¡¯s why they were scrambling to do something. ¡°Remember to put it inside the curse or it won¡¯t do any good.¡±


    A different pair of boots stepped up to where the other mage had been.


    ¡°Right.¡± Again there was silence except that now someone was pacing. This man didn¡¯t move his feet at all. He just stood there, but she could feel something happening. Hair on the back of Hailey¡¯s neck began to rise. The hair on her head pushed up against the underside of the bed. She waited.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Someone asked. After all that silence the voice seemed to be shouting.


    <hr>


    ¡°Barinon did it work?¡±


    Whoever Barinon was, he took his time in responding. ¡°It did work. I can see the spell.¡±


    ¡°But what did it do? She doesn¡¯t seem to be moving.¡± It got very silent. Everyone just stood around the bed. She wasn¡¯t sure what they were waiting for, but she wished they would go away so that she could get out from underneath this bed. Her ribs were beginning to ache so much that it was hard to take more than a shallow breath. She didn¡¯t have room to roll onto her side.


    ¡°No. I saw her breathe.¡± That was a woman¡¯s voice and for a moment Hailey thought she was talking about her. ¡°You did it Barinon. You bought us time.¡±


    Hailey almost sneezed. She clapped her hand over her mouth and nose but a small squeak made it out anyway. No one seemed to notice. She put her hands and elbows flat on the floor and tried to lie on them, but that was uncomfortable, too. Hurry up, she thought at the mages.


    ¡°Your majesty, she is sleeping now. The spell will hold and keep her from dying. It gives us time to hunt down Millicent and undo the spell.¡±


    It must have been the king who responded. His voice sounded like he had been crying. ¡°How long will she sleep? Do you think?¡±


    Someone cleared his throat. ¡°It should last for a hundred years.¡±


    ¡°A hundred years! Are you telling me that I will never see her living again?¡±


    ¡°We wanted to ensure that it lasted as long as the curse did. If the spell wore off before the curse, it could kill the princess anyway.¡±


    The king did not sound mollified. ¡°I know you did your best. I know you wouldn¡¯t hurt her, but I can¡¯t last that long. You are not done with this.¡±


    ¡°I know, your majesty. That¡¯s why Reimund tried to take the curse upon himself first. I will do everything I can to wake her and bring her back to you.¡±


    The king did not respond. She heard someone walking away and then a door slammed. Once the king left the room, the mages seemed to be celebrating and congratulating Barinon.


    ¡°Great job. Don¡¯t anyone argue with him about his crazy meddling with spells.¡±


    Some of them laughed, and they all started talking.


    Hailey relaxed. They would leave soon. If they had come here to cast that spell on the princess and make her sleep instead of die then that would work. She felt an odd sensation as if something was pulling on her. It didn¡¯t hurt, but something was going on. Her skin felt tight and tingly. What was happening? She should leave. She needed to get out from under this bed but now it was too late. She had to wait until they left.


    ¡°Barinon!¡± Some one shouted. ¡°Barinon, it¡¯s growing. Is it supposed to do that?¡± The feet were backing away now. Hailey began to panic. If it was growing was it already touching her? She couldn¡¯t see far enough to know. What if she got the curse on her while she lay here? The thought hadn¡¯t occurred to her until it was too late. If it was growing, it was already too late. Hailey held her breath and waited for something to happen. Nothing did. She was still alive, still breathing and she could still move.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s not supposed to do that. I¡¯ve cast this a hundred times. It¡¯s never done that before. Someone get the king out of here. Find the queen and get them to safety.¡±


    ¡°Can we stop it? Can you make it stop growing?¡±


    ¡°Hold on. I will try.¡± It got quiet again and then the person who had tried, she thought it was Barinon again was panting. ¡°I can¡¯t get it to stop. Can we form a ring?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have time! It¡¯s still growing!¡± Everyone seemed to be panicking. Mages that were on the far side of the room began running for the door. They seemed to give the bed a wide berth.


    ¡°Get out before it traps us!¡± They were all running for the door now, and Hailey could hear their voices fading into the hallway. They stopped there and seemed to regroup.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s getting faster! We need to evacuate the castle.¡±


    Hailey wondered what kind of a spell she was trapped in. The mages ran out the door, shouting commands to each other.


    ¡°Someone get the nobles!¡±


    ¡°What about the lower floors?¡±


    ¡°Grab whoever you can and meet outside the castle. We have to get as many people out as we can.


    ¡°Get the king and queen first. She is the nexus. Run!¡±

 Chapter 08

    "What happened?¡± Alyssa took Barinon¡¯s hand in her own. Hers was soft and small in his, but it comforted to have her close, nonetheless.


    He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. If I can figure out a way to make it stop.¡±


    Mages were shouting in all corners of the castle now. ¡°Get out, get out of the castle!¡±


    He hoped they would listen. He shouted as he and Alyssa fled. At least the king had made it out in time. Everyone else might be stuck sleeping for a hundred years. He rubbed at his head. He knew he should be racing and panicking with everyone else, shouting and telling everyone else what to do, but this was his spell and that put him in charge of stopping it. Even Reimund would defer to Barinon in this instance. The thought made him sick. What had gone wrong? Spells don¡¯t just grow.


    Light blinded him as they stepped outside. He had spent so much time indoors lately. Once they made it out onto the grounds surrounding the castle, Alyssa stood in front of him. ¡°You can¡¯t go back in there. We need you. If you go back in, you¡¯ll just sleep.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± He took her in his arms. ¡°This next part will be dangerous for all of us. We have to contain the spell so it doesn¡¯t just keep growing.¡±


    ¡°Will it stop on it¡¯s own?¡± Her eyes were almost pleading him to say yes, that everything was going to be fine, but he didn¡¯t think so. Maybe he had bound the spell incorrectly. He shoved that thought aside. He had been using that particular spell on an almost constant basis lately.


    He gulped. She deserved the truth. She had to know what was at stake here. ¡°It might just continue and cover the entire earth if we don¡¯t stop it.¡±


    She blinked back tears. He felt his heart wrench. ¡°You have to make it stop, then.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I will do my best.¡± He wasn¡¯t exactly the mage that any of them would have chosen for this job, but he would do whatever it took.


    ¡°Barinon,¡± she said. He looked into her beautiful brown eyes and she pulled him into a kiss. A thrill ran through him. He loved this fierce woman and he was determined to tell her so.


    ¡°Barinon!¡± someone shouted. ¡°Barinon, we have to do this now!¡± It was Reimund and he was right.


    ¡°Alyssa, I love you,¡± he said, ignoring the head of the mages, the spell and the whole world. ¡°If we survive this, will you marry me?¡± The tears came then, streaming down his face, blurring his world.


    ¡°Yes.¡± She hugged him and then let go. He was a fool to have waited so long to ask her. He had always thought that she might say no, that he would ruin what he had with her. She left his side and became part of the circle. The rest of the mages had formed a ring around the entire castle. The castle was in chaos. People were running from the castle, a woman ran past, dragging her son behind her. A soldier ran past her, almost tripping on the child. He stopped at the last minute, moved around the child and ran on.


    ¡°My wife!¡± a man was shouting. ¡°Has anyone seen Ingrede?¡± He was pushed on by the crowd.


    Berinon looked at Alyssa. Terror and determination filled her eyes. They had to stop this now. There was nothing else they could do. He closed his eyes, cleared his mind and pushed all thoughts of people running, of what he and Alyssa had just shared, everything out of his mind. Reaching inside himself, he pulled on his magic. He could sense the spell even with his eyes closed, could see the size of it. This would take so much power to stop. He understood now what they were up against but he still didn¡¯t know what they had done wrong, what he had done wrong.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    He moved his arms out and up, slapping his hands together. He did it again, making sure his movements were correct. The last time, he channelled magic at the spell, focusing on what he wanted it to do. The movements would only do what he wanted if he concentrated and this, this was going to take time. He could feel the link coming in from the other mages, power flowing into him. He felt amazing, invincible. He could do this, he could do anything. He opened his eyes. The spell was larger now than he thought it would be. He wasn¡¯t going to make it. It wouldn¡¯t be enough. They had given their all. They were standing, all of them on the brink and he didn¡¯t have enough magic to make it stop.


    <hr>


    Everything slowed for Barinon. He saw people running and shouting. A girl rand and caught a little boy who was heading for the castle. A man and woman ran but they weren¡¯t fast enough. They fell, the woman fell on top of the man. More and more of them fell. The spell was growing and everything he was throwing at the spell was just not going to be enough. Dispair welled within him. What would happen if he set this free? Would they all die or would the whole world sleep with the princess for a hundred years? He didn¡¯t want to find out. He had to make this work.


    Sweat broke out on his forehead and he began to feel faint. He almost staggered, but he could not allow himself to be weak, could not allow himself to fail. They were all trusting him now. He had to make things right. Then the power stopped. He had nothing left and the other spell continued to grow. He still didn¡¯t know how.


    He glanced at Alyssa. They only had one option left, an option he was not willing to take.


    Do it Berinon. Amidst all the shouting of the people around them, she made her voice heard in his head. You know you need to do this. This is what the kingdom needs. You must save them. I love you.


    He could not stop her. This was her choice, one that she made willingly. His heart felt like it was being ripped out of his chest but he had to focus. She was giving up her life. He had to make it count. Power flowed through him, the last bit of power that had kept the love of his life alive. He gritted his teeth. Tears streamed down his face.


    I love you, she said again and then she fell to the earth. He screamed but he couldn¡¯t stop her actions, could not stop her death. He had to see the spell complete or her sacrifice would be for nothing. He had to focus. More power flowed through him and he knew what that meant. He looked around, still focusing on the spell.


    Save them, Barinon, Reimund said and collapsed on his other side. Short bursts of energy flowed through him and he sent it all to his spell, he gave everything he could, swaying his feet. It was a difficult task in the best of times. If he gave too much of his own power, he would collapse and the containment spell would contain nothing, do nothing.


    He blinked and shook his head. He had to remain conscious, to make the other mages¡¯ sacrifices worth it. Every burst of energy pulled on his heart, threatening to rip it out of his chest. These were his friends, his colleagues, the only people who really understood him. But he could not let that heartache turn to despair. He had to keep going. He was almost there. It was almost enough. The containment spell was finally cresting the other one. He could see it growing. Finally, it was large enough, finally the other spell stopped growing. He had done it. No, he corrected himself. They had done it. He blinked back the tears that were streaming down his face. He needed to see, needed to know that one of them was alive, that he wasn¡¯t the only one left.


    People came to him. A man with wide eyes asking if he could bring his wife out. ¡°Get away from me!¡± Barinon screamed. he looked around the circle of mages. He was the only one, the last one left alone. Every single one of them had all given their lives so that these people could live. He glared at the people around him. It didn¡¯t seem worth it. Everyone he knew, everyone he cared for, was gone. He knelt by Alyssa. Her hand was limp in his but still warm. It felt like hours had passed, but they must not have.


    ¡°Why did you do it?¡± He took her limp body in his arms. She was so beautiful, so smart, so much better in every way. She should have been the one to survive if they had to die. ¡°Why?¡± He shouted at the sky. He had killed them all. He wanted to lie down next to her and die, but he couldn¡¯t do it. He was the last one left and they would need him now. A foolish man who couldn¡¯t appreciate what ha had until it was gone, he was the last mage, the only one.

 Chapter 09

    Hailey pulled herself out from under the bed and sneezed. She forced herself to stand and take in big lungfuls of air. It hurt her ribs, but they were starting to feel better. She could see the spell they were talking about. It was shimmering and dark, like they had mixed something with the princess¡¯s curse, making it look more like a dark soap bubble. She was trapped. Hadn¡¯t they said that the curse had taken place. There was no aura around the princess, just this growing spell. Ever so slowly, it was growing.


    There were still mages in the hallway. One of them told the soldiers to get people out, to hurry. She could hear people shouting in the hallway, but no one was in here. She didn¡¯t know whether or not to feel relieved about that. She turned to look at the princess. She watched for a long moment, unsure if she was dead or not. Then, very slowly, the princess took a breath.


    Shouts were coming from the corridor. Everyone seemed to be afraid of this spell. Would it hurt her to step out of it? Would she die if she touched it? She stood for a moment, uncertain of what to do. The curse could kill her, but if it did, it would kill everyone she knew, too. Were they getting everyone out? She didn¡¯t know, but thinking of Margaret dying because she was too afraid to move spurred her onwards.


    The spell was almost to the doorway now. If she was going to do this, she didn¡¯t want other people watching. She held her hand out and walked to the edge. A tingle ran through her hand as she touched the inside of the spell. It was like trying to push on air. She pulled her hand back. She could still move her fingers. The best thing to do was step through. She took a deep breath and held it as if she was jumping into a cold lake. Her entire body felt tingly, but she was fine. She laughed to herself. She had been so worried that it would kill her and here she was, standing on the outside of the spell.


    The spell brushed against her skin as it grew, reminding her that she needed to get moving. She shuddered and moved to the doorway. That tingly feeling was not one she thought she could ever get used to. She looked back at the princess, seeing her take one more deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to leave you behind,¡± she said, surprised how true those words felt once she said them. Finally, she opened the door into complete chaos. She had not been paying attention to how much confusion was going on outside.


    ¡°You have to go!¡± A woman shouted to Hailey. She had worked in the laundry. She was dragging a man behind her. He was gasping for air. They must have run down the stairs. They ran with a whole crowd of people. Hailey pressed herself against the door, afraid to move, afraid that she would get trampled. The spell was bulging out of the wall now. A man ran straight for the spell. Hailey saw his entire head engulfed by the spell before he collapsed to the ground. She ran towards him, but someone grabbed her from behind.


    <hr>


    ¡°You can¡¯t help him. You have to go!¡± A soldier was shouting in her ear. She could barely hear him over the roar of people. Everyone was screaming for their friends, their husbands and asking if anyone had seen them. The thud of hundreds of footsteps was almost as loud as the shouting. The soldier let go and ran towards the staircase himself.


    ¡°Did anyone warn the kitchens?¡± She shouted after him.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± And then he was lost in the crowd of people running to get out. Everyone from servants to nobility were crowding both the servant¡¯s and the main staircases. Finally putting her feet into motion, she ran down one level to the kitchens. No one down here seemed to know what was going on.


    She followed the flow of people down the main staircase. The servant¡¯s stair with that many people seemed treacherous. A noble woman brushed up against her, forcing her way past. ¡°Let me through!¡± She shouted to the mob, her blonde hair in ringlets. She pushed past Hailey and someone stepped on her dress. She shouted and grabbed at it. The fabric tore but they pressed on, no one seemed willing to slow for anyone they didn¡¯t know.


    The knot of worry that formed in Hailey¡¯s chest began to grow. She had to find her friends. Hailey felt like she was trying to swim in people as she made her way across the stairs to the opposite side. Finally breaking free of the crowd that was pushing on to the next staircase she made her way to the kitchen. ¡°Margaret, Bruce, Lavina!¡± She yelled. Esmerelda¡¯s head popped out of the doorway.


    ¡°Where is everyone?¡± She shouted at her. Esmerelda shook her head. She didn¡¯t seem to know. Hailey grabbed her hand, all of the petty squabbles forgotten. She didn¡¯t want to see anyone trapped in here if she could help it. They hurried to the dining room, but it was empty. Good. Hopefully they were safe.


    Esmerelda let go of her hand but continued by her side. ¡°What¡¯s happening? Why is everyone running?¡±


    ¡°Something went wrong with the spell they put on the princess. It¡¯s growing and if you get caught in it you¡¯ll fall down. I don¡¯t know if it will kill you but it¡¯s dangerous to stay.¡±


    Esmerelda nodded as if that made sense. They hurried down the steps. Ahead of them, she thought she could make out Bruce. Hailey pointed. ¡°I think that¡¯s Bruce!¡± She shouted. As they came down the steps, Hailey could see the man. He was panting and moving slower than everyone else around him. The crowd swarmed around him, moving past him like a stone in a river.


    He paused, gasping for breath. She finally caught up with him and tugged on his sleeve. ¡°Bruce! You can¡¯t stop now!¡±


    She could see the spell behind her, growing at an amazing pace. Had it sped up. ¡°We have to go!¡± He shook his head and waved them on. He wasn¡¯t going to make it.


    ¡°Hailey,¡± Esmerelda shouted. ¡°He¡¯s going to make it out on his own. Come on! We have to find Lavina and Margaret!¡± They ran, then. Hailey looked everywhere for Margaret. Her eyes constantly scanned the crowd. There were too many people. Her eyes constantly roved over the crowd.


    A man stood in one of the hallways looking lost. It was eery seeing one person in an empty space while she was pushed forward by a massive crowd. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± He shouted to no one in particular.


    ¡°Evacuate the castle,¡± Hailey shouted back, but she didn¡¯t know if he heard her.


    ¡°Get out while you can!¡± A man behind her shouted. She hoped he listened. She stepped on something soft and almost tripped. She closed her eyes. There was nothing she could do. The crowd behind her moved faster and faster. She did not look down. She could not. She tried not to think about it, but images of Margaret being trampled by a terrified crowd flashed through her mind. That wasn¡¯t her, she chided herself. She wasn¡¯t the one. It was someone I don¡¯t know. But it was someone. Guilt flooded through her but she shoved it away. She had to focus, had to keep running or she would be trampled, too. She forced herself to keep looking over the crowd, keep moving. She would find them.


    As if her thoughts had summoned them, she saw Lavina and Margaret. Tears streamed down her face. They were going to make it. They would be safe. They were too far ahead of her to shout at, but it didn¡¯t matter. She allowed herself a glance to the side. Where was Esmerelda?

 Chapter 10

    Hailey hurried on. She didn¡¯t have a choice. She wanted to find Esmerelda. Despite everything that she had done to Hailey lately, Esmerelda had once been her friend. She didn¡¯t deserve to be stuck in here like the princess was. She had come with Hailey, had tugged her along when she wanted to stop for Bruce.


    A boy ran through the crowd, pushing and shoving as he went. He was faster than everyone else here. ¡°It¡¯s coming, it¡¯s coming!¡± He kept shouting, adding to the panic. Finally, the crowd made it closer to the doorway. Hailey fought to keep an eye on Margaret and Lavina, but the crowd spread out once it hit the doorway, everyone flowed down the hill, spreading out like a river who had broken free of its bed. A man ran past her, sprinting forward. He was the one Esmerelda was with earlier. Where was Esmerelda? She thought it over and over again as she scanned the crowd. Esmerelda was older and stronger than Hailey was. Surely she could make it out faster. She was probably ahead.


    She glanced back, afraid that she might trip now that the hill was adding speed to her steps. She could see the spell growing. A young mother clutched at a small boy. She ran, the boy bouncing and squirming in her arms.


    The woman tripped and twisted, landing hard on her side. The little boy ran away from her, chasing something, Hailey could not see what. Hailey ran to her, not wanting to see anyone else trampled. The little boy was running back to his mom now, but he was so small someone might not see him until it was too late.


    Distracted by the scene before her, Hailey didn¡¯t see the young man coming her way until he tripped over her, his long limbs colliding with her own. ¡°Watch out!¡± He shouted, but Hailey was already moving away from him.


    ¡°Aaron!¡± She shouted, but the little boy was running the opposite way. The woman limped after him, moving against the crowd.


    Hailey made it to the little boy before his mother did. She scooped him up in her arms and made her way towards her.


    The woman held her arms out but she was limping. ¡°I can carry him. Stay with me.¡± Hailey said.


    The little boy¡¯s mother nodded and limped along with her. Ahead of her, a man beckoned, but he could not move forward past a line of soldiers. They would not let him through no matter how much he screamed at him. Inside the line of soldiers was a few mages. The stood, hands spread out to each other, as if they were trying to reach each other. Most of them had their eyes closed.


    Hailey shook her head. She finally made it to the young mother and grabbed the boy. Without the extra weight, the woman could move faster. She limped as fast as she could go. Hailey stayed beside her, the young boy screaming that he didn¡¯t want to leave. His sweaty little body was heavy in her arms and he kept trying to get away.


    Something was in his tiny fist. He looked around in fright. Hailey doubted that anyone could explain to him exactly what was going on. He was getting heavy in her arms now. She shifted to the opposite hip. The other woman watched her carefully, making sure her child remained in sight. She would get them out of here. She glanced back at the line of soldiers. They were in the way of people trying to get out as they tried to keep people from going back.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    The run was silent, and it felt like it was happening in slow motion. The crowd on the other side of the soldiers were all shouting and crying, asking after people. The mages were concentrating hard now. Someone ran into one of them and fell to the ground, trembling.


    She glanced back. The spell had somehow picked up speed. They weren¡¯t going to make it. People behind her were falling. She could hear them thumping to the ground. ¡°We have to hurry!¡± She yelled to the woman next to her. ¡°It¡¯s almost on top of us!¡±


    ¡°How¡­do¡­you know?¡± The woman gasped every word out one at a time.


    Hailey didn¡¯t have time to answer. If the woman couldn¡¯t see it, she would just have to trust her. She moved the little boy to her other hip again. He was so heavy! He was screaming now. ¡°They¡¯re falling, Mama!¡±


    ¡°Dont¡¯ look back,¡± Hailey said, feeling the hair on the top of her head start to stand on end. They were almost there. The number of people who were making it past the line had slowed. The young mother ran ahead of her, making it out just in time.


    <hr>


    Aaron¡¯s mama fell. ¡°Mama,¡± he shouted, watching the ground rise up, but he did not get hurt. At the last minute, his mama twisted. He had worried that he would smack into the ground. His had loosened its hold on Froggy and Froggy jumped, hopping away from him. People were running all over. They were going to step on Froggy and squish him flat.


    ¡°Aaron!¡± His mother yelled at him.


    ¡°Be right back, mama!¡± He shouted back.


    He didn¡¯t want Froggy to die. People were shouting at him. One man almost stepped right on him, but he jumped out of the way. That was a good trick he learned from Froggy. He saw the frog. He looked scared. He should be. No one was paying any attention to anyone else. People were tripping on each other. He did not have time to watch them. He needed to hurry.


    Froggy was completely still and Aaron snatched him right up. ¡°Don¡¯t do that again,¡± he scolded him. He hurried back to his Mama who was shouting and running after him. Something was wrong with one of her legs. She walked like it hurt her.


    Out of nowhere a crazy looking girl ran right at him. She was pretty but she had black stuff swiped right across her cheek. Maybe she was playing in the ashes. Mama always said that was dangerous.


    The girl carried him to his mama but didn¡¯t give him to her. Instead, she held on tight. He squirmed. He did not know this girl. People began falling down and the girl was running. His mom was running too. He bounced and bounced. Why didn¡¯t she put him down? He could go real fast. His papa told him he was fast. He was even faster than his papa. They had done a race and Aaron won. That meant he was faster. Maybe he was faster than this crazy girl.


    He held his frog, but not too tight. If Froggy got out now, the girl would probably not let him down. She had white hair. Maybe that meant that she was old, but she didn¡¯t look very old. The girl was littler than his mama.


    He looked back. People were falling down all over the place, like they were all tripping over something. He started to feel really scared. He didn¡¯t want to fall down like all those people. He shouted at the girl. ¡°They¡¯re falling down!¡±


    The girl ran faster and his mama ran faster too, even with the hurt leg. His mama kept smiling at him but it was one of those sad kind of smiles that she gave him when his lizard died.


    The girl shouted the same thing that he said and they hurried even faster. People kept falling. He turned. There were a bunch of people trying to hold hands but they were too far apart. They couldn¡¯t reach They looked like they were taking a nap with their hands out like that. Outside of that circle was a bunch of other people. They were all watching the other people fall down.


    All of the sudden Froggy jumped again. Aaron reached out to catch Froggy, but the frog fell like all the people and didn¡¯t move. Something was happening to Aaron¡¯s hand. He screamed. He couldn¡¯t make his fingers work.

 Chapter 11

    The little boy reached behind her. She could feel he spell coming right up behind them. He was screaming now and she didn¡¯t know why. Maybe it was all the fear of the adults that were running away from the castle that had finally caught up with him. The hair on the back of her neck was standing on end. She could feel the massive spell behind her. Maybe that¡¯s why he was screaming, maybe he could feel it too.


    She swerved around the crowd of people that were standing around yelling to each other. Where had the little boy¡¯s mother gone? She kept losing people in this crowd, first Bruce, then Margaret and Lavina¡­ It was too much to try to piece together right now.


    She ran on until she tripped and fell to her knees. Rocks dug into them and she knew they would be bleeding. She hissed in a breath and held the little boy close, knowing that the spell would engulf them both.


    She waited, but nothing happened. The spell had finally stopped growing. She wanted to collapse. She felt like she had been running for days. Her arms felt weak and she put the small boy down before she dropped him, still kneeling on bloodied knees. All around her, the crowd went silent, as if something amazing had just happened. Her ears rang from the sudden silence, but she didn¡¯t want to think about what had caused it.


    Standing was painful. Her knees did not want to straighten. She kept a careful watch on the boy, but he was finally still. She took his hand but he he did not grip her back. Instead, he screamed again, his voice piercing the hush of the crowd. Was there something wrong with his hand? She looked down at him. He seemed to be cradling that hand. She hadn¡¯t fallen on hm and his mother had protected him when she fell. Hailey didn¡¯t have time to think about it. She didn¡¯t know if she could pick the boy up now, even if she wanted to. She took his other hand, and he held hers tightly in his sticky little one. ¡°We need to find your mama,¡± she told him.


    He nodded gravely. He was a beautiful child with tan skin and dark eyes. She did not see the boy¡¯s mother, did not even know her name. If she had been trapped in the spell, what would Hailey do? She didn¡¯t know the first thing about taking care of a small boy like this one. How would Hailey find her if she made it out. She took the boy¡¯s other hand in hers and asked him, ¡°What¡¯s your mama¡¯s name?¡±


    He just looked back at her with beautiful, dark eyes. ¡°Mama,¡± he said, as if his mother could not possibly have another name. She began to push through the crowd, not sure what to cry out. Surely the boy¡¯s mother would still be here somewhere if she made it out of the spell.


    ¡°Aaron? Aaron, where are you?¡± Someone was shouting in the crowd.


    ¡°Is your name Aaron?¡± She asked him.


    For answer he tugged her forward. ¡°Mama! He began shouting.¡±


    It did not take long to find the boy¡¯s mother. Hailey hadn¡¯t noticed how pretty she was in the dash away from the castle. Even sweaty and bedraggled, her coppery skin and dark eyes were so much like her son¡¯s. Hailey hurried to her and she swept her son up into an embrace. ¡°My baby!¡± She said, holding him close.


    The boy pushed away from her. ¡°I¡¯m not a baby,¡± he scolded her.


    She laughed, tears streaming down her face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You¡¯re a big boy.¡±


    Hailey felt awkward watching them. She turned to go. She had her own people to look for. She still worried that Esmerelda hadn¡¯t made it out. She turned to go, but was caught in an embrace.


    ¡°Thank you so much!¡±


    Hailey felt a little guilty when she said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Something happened to his hand when we were running out of the castle. He can¡¯t seem to move it properly.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    The woman just shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± She clutched Hailey¡¯s hand. ¡°You saved his life and probably mine too. If we can do anything for you, anything at all¡­¡±


    Hailey shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s ok. I¡¯m glad you made it. I need to go look for my friends now.¡± It sounded lame, even to her own ears, but it was true. Who else would be looking for Margaret or Esmerelda?


    <hr>


    Hailey was inside a crowd of people but she felt so alone. As people began to trickle away, she began to panic. She didn¡¯t see anyone she knew, not in the crowd and not inside the spell around the castle. She could see it now, stretching like a giant dome over the entire castle. It looked the same, a shimmering soap bubble with just a hint of the dark aura. Did that mean that all these people were dead? A field of green was dotted with so many sleeping forms. Each one of them had struggled to get out of the castle. Was there anyone still inside who hadn¡¯t even known? How many servants had been completely ignored?


    Those thoughts were distractions, though. She needed to find her friends, the only family she had ever known. Surely Lavina and Margaret had made it out. They were ahead of her, but Hailey didn¡¯t see them. She was shouting then, ¡°Lavina! Margaret!¡± But others were shouting too, everyone was looking for someone. She thought she saw Ingrede for a moment, but when she tugged on her sleeve a frowning woman turned on her. She apologized and moved on.


    Bruce would be easy to spot in a crowd, but she was pretty sure Bruce didn¡¯t make it out. ¡°Ingrede?¡± She tried to think of everyone she knew. Surely she would know someone in this crowd. She backed up. If she stood on the hill and looked around, she would be able to see better. As she got closer, she saw the bodies of the mages. There were three near where she stood. A large older woman stared with sightless eyes up at the sky. Several paces from her was an old man with a long beard. His head was turned away from her, but neither one of them seemed to be breathing. These were the most powerful people in the kingdom.


    ¡°Get back!¡± a soldier yelled at her. She glanced up to see him running at her. She stepped back, away from the spell and the mages and the soldier slowed. She glanced back at him and finally saw someone she recognized. Esmerelda lay sprawled in an awkward position on the grass. Could she just leave her there all alone? Wherever Margaret and Lavina were, they were together. Someone shoved at her. ¡°Move, girl!¡±


    Hailey thought over her options. The spell put people to sleep. She had seen what it did to the princess. She didn¡¯t want to live on the streets. She didn¡¯t know anyone who knew where the king and queen had gone. They might not even need kitchen maids now that the castle was uninhabitable. It suddenly occurred to her that she didn¡¯t have a home anymore. Her home had been taken over by a sleeping spell and she would end up on the street begging for food.


    Her other option was to return to the castle and sleep with the others. Besides, as angry as she was with Esmerelda this morning, she used to be one of her best friends. She didn¡¯t want her to wake up alone, not knowing where anyone was. She ran through the spell, feeling that tingle on her skin. She sank down on her knees next to Esmerelda, but she didn¡¯t sleep. What was wrong with her? Why wasn¡¯t she sleeping? Everyone else in this entire spell was sleeping. She just sat there, looking at Esmerelda.


    Then people on the other side of the spell began to notice. At first it was the gasp of one old woman. She looked at Hailey, her eyes widened and then she pointed. T¡°She¡¯s still awake! That girl is still awake.¡±


    The entire crowd seemed to turn as a whole then and look at her. ¡°Bring me back my Rachel!¡± An old man shouted at her. Even from a distance, Hailey could see his red rimmed eyes. ¡°Bring her back!¡±


    Hailey stared at him. How was she supposed to know who this man¡¯s wife was? How could she get her back? Then, without a warning the man ran forward. His wrinkled face frowned in determination. He ran straight for the spell, as if a running start was what was needed to get through. The crowd watched him with baited breath. They were probably hoping to try the same thing if he succeeded. He collapsed on the ground. Skidding to a painful stop on his shoulder.


    The crowd was all staring at her again, wondering why she hadn¡¯t fallen like the man. She was wondering the same thing. ¡°Bring them out, bring them out.¡± It started as a single voice in the crowd, begging her help but soon they were all shouting it, a whole group of people. Hailey made herself invisible. She didn¡¯t know why she remained standing when others did not.


    ¡°Where did she go?¡± Hailey hoped they didn¡¯t follow her. There must be a reason why she wasn¡¯t sleeping like the others, but she didn¡¯t know what it was. She left the crowd there and made her way into the castle. What was she going to do now?

 Chapter 12

    Fifteen years later


    Sun streamed through the window, waking Hailey up. She rubbed at her eyes. She didn¡¯t want to get out of bed yet, but then she remembered. Today was Aaron¡¯s birthday. She sat up and stepped on to the fur. It felt good and warm between her toes. Maybe she shouldn¡¯t have borrowed that from the princess¡¯s room, but it was too late to worry about that now.


    A thrill of excitement ran through here. Aaron was going to love his present. She stepped out of the small room, with Henny tucked under her arm and skipped to the courtyard.


    Once she got to the grass, she put down the chicken. ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful day, she told the bird, but Henny did not respond. The courtyard was a raised platform of stone and dirt. Stone walls kept the dirt from falling to the hill below. The whole city stretched out before her. Shops were close to the castle, most of them with two stories. It was also the most packed part of the city. As she looked further out, the buildings were farther apart from each other. In one corner of the city, she could make out the manor where Aaron had told her the king and queen lived now. Behind the castle was a sparkling blue lake. Ships slowly moved on its surface. She could even see the farms in the distance and the spooky forest where the fairies and the dragon lived. In front of the forest was the shimmer, a wavy, translucent line of magic that kept the magical creatures inside the forest. Trees grew thickly behind it, but none of them grew right into the shimmer.


    She could see people moving around below in the shops that were close to the city. On days like this, when it wasn¡¯t particularly cold, she thought about joining people, moving out to the city. Aaron said that she could find a job. That thought snapped her back into reality. She took a deep breath cool of morning air and hurried back inside. Her bare feet were wet from the dew and they left footprints on the stone.


    She put on her dress. It was getting old. She had worn the same dress for years. Aaron¡¯s mom said that she should have grown out of it by now and that the spell in the castle made her not grow. That was probably true or maybe she was just done growing. She had been smaller than most of the girls her age. She pulled on her boots, which had been muddy and then groaned and took them back off again. She had forgotten that she was walking in mud the last time she wore these. She put them down and went to the dining room in just her stockings.


    Dozens of blanketed people lay on the ground here. Some of them were nobles, mostly the old ones who hadn¡¯t been able to run as fast as the younger ones.


    Just inside the doorway was Bruce. He had chosen to sit down and lean against the wall. She thought that was very smart of him. Many of the people who were here had banged their heads or hurt their shoulders. She picked up her gloves, which she had left hanging on the doorknob. As she pulled them on, she could see her fingertip start to push through the fabric where it had worn. She would need to replace them soon.


    ¡°Good morning, Bruce,¡± She said, then took the blanket and folded it and put it down next to him. The night had not been particularly cold, but no one liked to spend the night without a blanket. She continued to the others. Even with the sun coming through the windows on one wall, it was still not as bright as she would like it to be. The mage light had burned out long ago and she didn¡¯t have enough candles to waste. The decorations from the princess¡¯s party still hung. She had thought about taking them down, but had decided against it. Besides, she didn¡¯t have anywhere left that she could put a ladder. The entire floor was covered in people. Even if she moved them, it was too dangerous. Maybe they liked having the ribbons hanging above them. The wooden floor certainly made a better place to sleep than the stone of the corridors. She had thought about bringing mattresses in here, but it had taken her so long just to get the people inside that she had given up on that.


    She greeted the ones she knew and uncovered all of them, placing their folded blankets in a pile next to the row. Esmerelda seemed to be smiling at her today. ¡°Good morning, Esmerelda,¡± she said. She lay on the ruined linen that Hailey had used to bring her here.


    There were a few people she had known well and several that she remembered the names of, but many of them were strangers to her when the had come here. She paused when she came to the little girl. ¡°I still wish I knew if your mother was in her or even if she¡¯s in this room.¡± The little girl, of course, did not respond. None of them ever did. Still, they were her people and she would do what she could for them.


    She made her way to the princess¡¯s room and uncovered the sleeping girl. She hoped that the princess didn¡¯t mind that she didn¡¯t curtsey. It seemed a silly gesture for a girl that was completely asleep. The princess was beautiful, even prettier than Esmerelda. She had cream colored skin and dark hair and she had the fanciest lavender dress that Hailey had ever seen. The bodice was all covered in pearls and the skirts were full with a layer of sheer fabric over the top.


    ¡°Sleep well,¡± she told the princess, then hurried back to her boots. It was going to be a great day.


    <hr>


    Aaron¡¯s family owned a small house that wasn¡¯t too far from the castle. The streets were dusty now, as if the rain had never come to get mud all over her boots. Then again, she couldn¡¯t remember how many days ago that was. The streets were busy and she kept her head down. She did not like to be noticed.


    Even thought it had been a long time since anyone had recognized her, it was still a risk. Being invisible made people uneasy. If they bumped into her and didn¡¯t see her, some would run off screaming and so she kept to the edges of the crowd and did not look up. She let the curtain of blonde hair hide her face and watched her feet until she came to the edge of a street.


    ¡°You there, watch where you¡¯re going!¡± Someone shouted. It was a coachman. She should have been paying better attention. There was a row of shops on this street. Most of them were white washed or brick. Aaron¡¯s home and the shop where he and his mother sold candles was green.


    The shop was locked and so Hailey went around to the back. Hailey ducked between two buildings. She could smell something awful coming from the back yard. That must be where Aaron was now. Peering around the corner, she spied on him. He was tall, much taller than she was. He was no longer the little boy who would chase her through the streets. He almost looked like a man. With his good hand, he was stirring a large pot that was set on a grate over a fire pit. His other hand was smaller. It had never worked right after the day at the castle, but unless you were staring, you didn¡¯t notice much.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    He was cooking down animal fat to make candles. Hailey didn¡¯t know exactly how that worked, but it smelled awful. The candles had become important now that all the mages were gone except for one.


    She decided it would be fun to sneak up on him. She didn¡¯t make herself invisible. That would be cheating. Instead, she walked quietly up behind him, moving slowly so that her feet didn¡¯t make noise. When she was close enough to touch him, she tapped him on the back and said, ¡°boo!¡±


    Aaron jumped but didn¡¯t laugh the way he used to when he was little. He had a large paddle in his hands that he was using to stir the smelly liquid. He turned and grinned at her. ¡°Hailey!¡± His voice didn¡¯t sound like a little boy¡¯s anymore either.


    ¡°You don¡¯t sound surprised,¡± she chided him.


    He shrugged. ¡°I knew that you were coming and I knew that you would be here any minute now. I was ready.¡± Then he hollered at his mom that he was leaving and they hurried to the castle.


    They hid behind a cart that was parked on the corner of one road and the strip of road that ran in front of the castle where carts came and went. She turned to Aaron. ¡°Once we make it in there, The most important thing, is that you don¡¯t let go of my hand. I¡¯m pretty sure that if you do, you¡¯ll fall asleep and then I don¡¯t know if I can drag you back out or not. This will be dangerous.¡±


    He nodded, excitement plain on his face. This was the first time that they had attempted this.


    People crowded around the outside of the castle even now. A couple of men pulled on a cart that was full of fish. One of the fish fell off the back of the wagon. She grinned and waited. She would snatch that fish up and have it for dinner later if they didn¡¯t park a cart right on top of it.


    Another cart was waiting outside, filled with casks of wine. Amanda was leading it. She was one of the merchants who had actually met Hailey. Her black cat lay curled in a perfect circle on top of one of the barrels. Amanda was nice. She had promised to keep her secret. Still, Hailey didn¡¯t have time to go out and talk to her. She needed to get Aaron into the castle.


    They had to time this correctly since she hadn¡¯t had any luck in turning Aaron invisible. Hailey eyed a pair of guards that walked back and forth in front of the castle. She crouched so that they would not see her. ¡°They have the best job,¡± Aaron sighed. ¡°They have great uniforms and they get to carry swords wherever they go. Sometimes they even get to talk to the king.¡±


    Hailey turned to him, almost annoyed that they missed their chance to run across and now would have to wait for the soldiers to pass the other way. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you wanted to be a soldier.¡±


    He shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m ever going to have the chance to be one.¡± Then she took Aaron¡¯s hand and prepared to dash across the street.


    Barinon poured himself a cup of tea. Then he climbed the small staircase that let out onto the roof. He had insisted on this time to himself. The inside of the manor was so packed with royalty and nobles, merchants and peasants that he had to escape and the roof was the perfect place to do that.


    Even though the life of the only mage in Taivalon was a busy one, it was also important that he take some time out for himself and nothing brought him such joy as his routine with the tea. It would have been nice to be sitting on a balcony, but then people would probably bother him. He watched for the invisible girl, but he did not see her yet. He took a sip. It almost wasn¡¯t the slightly bitter flavor as it was the warmth on his throat that he enjoyed so much. There was just something so relaxing about it. He scratched at his beard, which had gone gray in places.


    Ah, he thought. There she is. The young girl hurried out into the courtyard of the castle, put the chicken down and did not even pause to stroke her feathers. The girl must be in a hurry today. She had not even bothered to go invisible. Well, he would have to wait and see what she was up to. As she went back inside, Barinon eyed one of the spires. If he could just make it into that spire, he could take care of the main problem the kingdom was having, he was sure of it.


    It wasn¡¯t long before he spotted her little invisibility spell hurrying out of the castle. Truly, this was odd behavior even for her. She ducked the soldiers, something she had done before and went running off down the street. Barinon could not see her for a time and so he poured himself another cup and sat, enjoying the sun on his dark skin.


    He searched the sky for the dragon, hoping not to see it. Dealing with such a massive, magical creature seemed too big of a job for one mage. Eventually he might have to go and hunt the thing down. He still hadn¡¯t come up with a complete plan on that, though. He missed his friends, not just for their companionship, but for the way they shared the load of responsibilities. Going after a dragon alone would be foolhardy, he decided for probably the twentieth time.


    As much as he hated to admit it, he was an asset to the kingdom, one they needed to survive and soon he would need to find and train a young mage. He should have been doing that already, but hunting down new mages took time, something he did not have. He had hoped that people would come to the manor with a new generation of mages, but so far not even one had come. Everything was so much simpler when there were other mages. Testing for new mages was something thatGwendolyn did. It was almost all she did as long as he remembered. What he wouldn¡¯t give to hav one of them back.


    He squinted at the spell that surrounded the castle. That spell had given him nothing but grief. Merchants, on the other hand, had found a use for the spell. A ring of carts were pushed into the spell. He found it a little ironic that after the spell had tied itself to the death spell, it had killed all of his friends and now the city was using the spell for what it was originally designed to do; preserve food. It was a bitter thought. He tried not to think of how much he had lost that day, how a mage like himself would not have become royal mage. No, they would have left him testing spells in his little house. It would have been the life he preferred, but he was too old to dwell on that for very long. What could have been was not.


    If he could just manage to get in there, he thought he could manage to save the princess, but he knew he would only make it two steps. Already people had tried. The spell had even killed one man, though Barinon suspected that was due to his age more than anything. The spell put the living to sleep. Only one person made it in or out, the invisible girl.


    And there she was, the invisible girl with a boy in tow. He scratched at his beard. That¡¯s who she went to visit. He was a handsome youth, though still a bit gangly, all elbows and knees and much taller than she was. His dark skin made hers look even more white as she clasped his hand. Barinon should be climbing down from here and opening a portal for a merchant soon, but he was intrigued. Where were they going? They were hiding somewhere nearby. He watched, hoping to catch sight of them again. There they were, dodging the guards. She hadn¡¯t been able to make him invisible and so she stayed visible herself.


    They were headed straight for the castle. He gasped and stood, shattering his teacup and spilling liquid down his robe. He didn¡¯t care. They walked straight into the bubble! He couldn¡¯t believe it. She had taken someone else into the spell. This changes everything!

 Chapter 13

    ¡°Come on.¡± Hailey tugged on Aaron¡¯s hand, trying to convince him to move forward.


    ¡°You realize,¡± he said not hurrying at all, ¡°that no one has been in here for fifteen years.¡±


    Hailey cocked her head at him. ¡°I¡¯ve been here. The sleeping people have been here.


    ¡°You know what I mean. I am the second person to walk these corridors in fifteen years. It¡¯s kind of a big deal.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s kind of dangerous, too, though. You¡¯ll be a sleeping person just like one of them if you let go of my hand.¡±


    He grinned at her. Maybe he was liking this part of his birthday present too much. ¡°Can I sit on the throne while I¡¯m here, too?¡±


    Hailey worried that he was too excited, that he¡¯d want to run all over the castle. Maybe she would forget and try to wipe her sweaty hand off on her dress and then he¡¯d collapse like the others. She would have to try to drag him out, she decided. If his mom had any idea where they were going¡­ Hailey shuddered.


    ¡°What?¡± He asked her.


    ¡°Nothing. The throne room is up a set of stairs. Let¡¯s just see what¡¯s closest. I don¡¯t want to keep you in here for too long. One of us will forget and then if I touch you, you won¡¯t wake back up.¡±


    Aaron rolled his eyes. ¡°You told me this a hundred times. I¡¯ll just scream, I get it. Let¡¯s see something at least.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± She led him down the main staircase. She couldn¡¯t help wishing that he were just a little more worried and less excited.


    ¡°This place is weird. You have to come up that giant hill just to get up here and then you have to go up stairs to go anywhere. Why didn¡¯t they just make it wider?¡±


    Hailey had never thought about it before. The castle was where she grew up. She was used to stairs. Climbing them was just part of living here. ¡°I don¡¯t think the hill was big enough for them to make it wider,¡± she said.


    They passed the kitchen and he paused at the dining room. ¡°I didn¡¯t know there were so many bodies,¡± he said.


    ¡°They¡¯re not bodies,¡± she told him, feeling defensive. These were the people who kept her company most days.


    ¡°Sorry. So many sleeping people. And you dragged them all here by yourself?¡±


    She shrugged and pulled on his hand to continue. ¡°There was no one else.¡±


    He seemed fascinated. He opened his mouth to ask another question and then closed it when he saw the expression on her face. Something about the work that she had done in putting the people here made her feel uneasy. It was a part of her life she had never shared with anyone. Her feelings about that surprised her. She cared more about him than he did about these people and yet, they felt like they needed protecting, even from Aaron.


    The knight¡¯s chambers were closest to the main entrance that she and Aaron had walked through. She had hoped it would be a grand tour. Maybe she could bring him back and take him to the throne room. For now, she just wanted to get his present and get him back out into safety. Aaron paused and looked into the knight¡¯s rooms.


    She turned to him, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Why is there a man on a bed in here? How did you manage?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t. I think he was sick.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s creepy, like he¡¯s going to wake up any moment and wonder why we¡¯re here.¡±


    Hailey knew that feeling, but it was one she had had to overcome. No one ever woke up in this castle. She had decided to leave the sick man alone. He might need his blanket all the time if he was sick, so there was no point coming in here. Besides, other than the princess, he was the only one who got to sleep on a bed.


    They continued down a short hallway. At the end of it was what looked to be a closet, but inside were weapons, hundreds of swords. In one corner, shields were piled up. There were spears and axes and spiky ball things. She didn¡¯t know all of them, but she figured that Aaron would want a sword since that¡¯s what all the soldiers carried the most and that¡¯s what he really wanted, was to be a soldier.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    He looked over the room, his mouth hanging open. It took him a moment and then he said, ¡°Which one can I have?¡±


    Hailey shrugged. ¡°No one is using any of them. You can have whichever one you want. I¡¯m going to switch hands.¡± She stood behind him and took the hand that didn¡¯t work. It was smaller than his other one, but she wanted to give him the chance to touch the swords before he decided and he couldn¡¯t do that without her taking his other hand. She let go of his good hand. Nothing happened.


    She breathed out a sigh of relief. He didn¡¯t seem to share her concern. He was touching all of the swords, trying to make a decision. His brow was furrowed in concentration. Finally he decided, ¡°I will take that one,¡± he said.


    She hadn¡¯t noticed that sword among the others. It had a dragon head on the pommel with tiny rubies for eyes. The scabbard was decorated to look like it was covered in scales. She didn¡¯t know the first thing about swords, but if she had to guess, that one would be considered a masterpiece.


    <hr>


    Aaron had found a sword belt that was the right size and they had managed to get it on him. It was a careful dance of her threading the sword onto the belt and him holding onto one of her arms while she did it. She was terrified that he would let go.


    He stood so close to her as she wrapped the belt around his waist, that it made her uncomfortably aware of how handsome he was. Heat rose in her cheeks and she almost let go of him. She shouldn¡¯t have let herself get so distracted. Once the sword belt was on the sword looked almost too long. Maybe it was one of those swords that soldiers wore on their backs. They didn¡¯t have time to readjust and she didn¡¯t want to try.


    ¡°Can I please see more of the castle?¡± The way that he smiled at her made the heat rise in her cheeks again and she wondered if he noticed.


    Acting like it was a huge bother and that she had other things to do that day, she agreed. He gasped when he saw the throne room. It was a huge room with tables and chairs in the back. The throne itself was a red cushioned, carved monstrosity. It looked like it could fit two people. ¡°Come sit in it with me,¡± he said, giving her the boyish grin that she loved.


    They sat in the throne and made proclamations about how the kingdom was going to be run henceforth. ¡°The king will be hosting a royal ball for anyone who would like to attend. Nobles are not invited,¡± said Aaron.


    ¡°Servants eat first every Tuesday.¡±


    Aaron grinned at her ¡°Why Tuesday?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s never anything fun going on on Tuesdays.¡±


    He looked at the dark floor, the paintings on the walls. ¡°It must be nice to live here.¡±


    ¡°It was,¡± she said. ¡°When it was filled with people, I mean. Now it¡¯s just so big and so quiet. Come on, I have other things to show you.¡± There was a ladies room for seamstresses on this floor. It had three large windows that let in light. In the center of the room was a dress form wearing a light blue dress. Hailey had found it as it was in the center of the room but someone had only starting to stitch the the lace that edged the bottom of the skirt. The skirts were so full that it was going to take forever, but it was coming along nicely and her stitches were getting smaller and less noticeable.


    ¡°Will you wear it when you get done?¡± He asked her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t even know if it fits me, but I learned to stitch and I can even fix some my own things now.¡±


    ¡°You should make a dress just for you,¡± he said.


    ¡°I actually don¡¯t know how. They cut the fabric into pieces and stitch it together. Sewing the lace on seems to be the easy part, but I have learned a lot working on this one. I¡¯ve always thought that tailors had the best jobs.¡±


    In the kitchen, she showed him the vines she was painting around the ceiling. She had sketched them with a pencil and then traced those lines with paint.


    ¡°Those are really good,¡± he told her. ¡°What else have you been working on?¡±


    She had painted birds and trees in the room she had shared with Margaret and Esmerelda but she didn¡¯t want to let him in there. It wouldn¡¯t be proper. She did need to find another room to start in on, soon though. There were several things but nothing else that she could show him. She had learned to cook, a painstaking process to make a meal for just one person but in the castle, things didn¡¯t go bad unless you burned them and so she would cook too much and let it sit until the next day. There were no flies, none that were awake anyway. She could bake bread, and she had discovered a fondness for reading, something she had little time to do since she was little. Now it seemed that she had too much time on her hands.


    ¡°Are you ready to go back?¡± she asked him.


    He nodded, and looked back at the castle with a regretful look. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll bring you back again,¡± she told him.


    He smiled and they walked together out of the castle. Getting out might be as tricky as getting in had been. She really needed to work on making her invisibility bigger so that it would fit him in it. She sighed. It had been nice to have him in the castle. It made it feel so much less lonely.


    They ducked between two carts, one of fish and another of pork. Aaron frowned. ¡°You don¡¯t think anyone saw us go in, do you?¡±


    ¡°No, the streets are too busy. Besides, I comet here all the time and no one sees me.¡±


    He didn¡¯t looked convinced, but they stepped forward anyway with him in the lead. Maybe he was just hoping he would have the opportunity to use his new sword. They ducked under the rope that marked the edge of the spell. Hailey saw an old man with really dark skin. He smiled at her and then someone came up behind her and threw a sack over her head. She tried to pull it off, but her hands got all clumsy.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Aaron shouted.


    Hailey tried to breathe. There was something inside the sack, a smell that was making her dizzy. She stumbled and someone caught her and then she fell asleep.

 Chapter 14

    Hailey gasped awake. She was in a new place, a narrow hallway with a door at one end. The old man she had seen before they put the sack on her head was sitting there looking at her. She was tied to a chair and her neck ached from the way she had been sleeping.


    ¡°Hello,¡± he said to her. He had dark skin, like Margaret¡¯s and had wrinkles around his eyes that crinkled when he smiled. His hair and the small beard he wore were peppered with white.


    Her eyes narrowed. How dare he take her from the castle? She had things to do. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    His voice was patient and he spoke to her like he he was talking to a very small child. ¡°My name is Barinon.¡± He wore one of the old robes that the mages used to wear. She thought that all of them had died. She thought back to that day and could not remember.


    ¡°Can you tell me anything about the princess? You¡¯re the only one who has seen her¡­¡±


    She cut him off. ¡°She¡¯s alive, same as the rest. Still in her bed.¡±


    He was trying to make her trust him and she didn¡¯t know why. Usually when people tried really hard to make your rust them, they were up to no good. She had to remind herself of that.


    He looked worried when he said, ¡°I would like to test what kind of a mage you are.¡±


    That surprised her. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that there were different kinds of mages,¡± she said.


    ¡°There are. At least, we all have affinities to certain kinds of magic when we start out, like the way that you manage to turn invisible.¡±


    She frowned at him. That was not something she had told him. ¡°How did you know I could turn invisible?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen you do it. Usually when you put your chicken out.¡±


    She gasped. ¡°You¡¯ve been spying on me! That¡¯s rude!¡±


    He shrugged one shoulder. ¡°Everyone talked about the girl who remained standing, and then the bodies¡­¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not bodies.¡± She glared at him.


    ¡°Ok the sleeping people on the hill just started to disappear. I would wake up one morning and another would be gone. So I decided to watch. Sure enough, there you were, dragging another one into the castle.¡±


    She had let him talk with that calming voice for too long. She glared at him. ¡°Where is Aaron? What did you do to him?¡±


    ¡°He is safe. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°You put a bag over my head and made me fall asleep. I don¡¯t think I should do anything for you. Then you took my friend away. I need to go back to the castle. I don¡¯t belong here.¡±


    ¡°Calm down.¡±


    Those simple words did nothing to calm her, though. She was angry. She didn¡¯t want to calm down. She struggled against the roped but it did no good.


    ¡°I will let you go, after a little test,¡± he told her.


    ¡°And what if I won¡¯t cooperate?¡±


    He sighed. ¡°Then we will have to try this again and again until you do. Do you want me to tell you what I can really see when you¡¯re invisible?¡±


    She narrowed her eyes, but nodded at him. He didn¡¯t seem likely to let her go for the moment, so why not? He stood and waved his arms around like a crazy person. Then he disappeared.


    Hailey gasped. Where had he gone? But then she could see the spell, a very faint, sort of darkish sphere.


    His voice came from nowhere. ¡°You can see the spell?¡± He asked.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    She could see the spell, and it was amazing. He probably knew lots of spells. It was in her best interest to get away from this man and return to the castle where he couldn¡¯t get her. Whatever he wanted from her, she didn¡¯t have to help.


    ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn, he told her. ¡°I need you to turn invisible.¡±


    She shook her head.


    ¡°The sooner you work with me, the sooner I can send you back to your friend.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Her heart hurt when. She thought about Aaron. His mom was going to be so worried. He would be in big trouble for sure, and the longer he was gone, the more trouble he would be in.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to need you to hold the spell for a while, can you do that?¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Like you don¡¯t know.¡± Then she made herself invisible. Whatever she could do to help Aaron, she would try.


    He pushed and prodded at her spell. It was an odd sensation, like someone was touching her skin, pushing on it but it wasn¡¯t her actual skin. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Just a bit longer.¡± And then he was done. Two guards came to escort her somewhere. ¡°What are you doing? You let Aaron go!¡± But he didn¡¯t seem to be listening to her. Maybe she shouldn¡¯t have held her spell for him. What had he learned? She had a sinking feeling that she had done the wrong thing and he hadn¡¯t even agreed to let Aaron go or her. What would happen to the castle if no one was there to look after it?


    <hr>


    ¡°Wine, Barinon?¡± The king asked. They had agreed to meet in the council room. It was small and may once have been a bedroom but it was conveniently close to his majesty¡¯s rooms. Large padded chairs surrounded a dark table. He missed the library of the castle. Something about having the girl here reminded Barinon how much had been left behind in the mad dash to get everyone out, and how much had been lost.


    Barinon accepted the wine gratefully. The king poured and then handed him a goblet. The wine was dark enough that it looked almost black. It coated his tongue. He loved the dark wines that had been coming to the manor lately. He would have to ask which vineyard they were coming from, but that would be more of a question for the steward when he didn¡¯t have so many other things to worry about.


    ¡°So?¡± The king prodded him, taking one of the large seats. King Theodric was a tall man, though shorter than you originally surmised. It was probably his lean frame that made him look taller. The small beard he wore came to a point and the mustaches curled at the edges.


    Berinon sighed and sat in the chair next to the king¡¯s. ¡°She is going to be more of a handful than I had even suspected.¡±


    ¡°And the little test you did?¡± Theodric seemed almost impatient.


    ¡°She is even stronger than I thought she would be.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t look happy about it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to spend fighting with a child. We need her. She may be able to solve the fifteen year problem, but¡­¡± he paused, taking a deep breath. ¡°¡­but I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m a little worried that she has spent too much time alone and that her mind will never be repaired because of that.¡±


    The king frowned at that. ¡°Of course, she¡¯s spent too much time alone. This will be good for her and good for the kingdom. Our shortage of mages is becoming a crisis. We will take what we can get, and if that means a half crazy girl who should be a woman by now, than it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but when she¡¯s trained¡­¡±


    The king cut him off. ¡°When she¡¯s trained she will be an asset tot he kingdom, one we badly need. Where is she now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m letting her cool off. She wouldn¡¯t quit whining about her friend.¡±


    ¡°You are going to hold on to this friend as well?¡± It wasn¡¯t as much a question as it was a command.


    ¡°Of course. He may be the key to getting her to work with me.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± The king put his hands flat on the table. ¡°I am sure that when she¡¯s around people for long enough, she will come around. She¡¯s still very young, even if she should not be.¡±


    ¡°She is, and I don¡¯t think we can make any headway on getting your daughter free without her. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m doubting it¡¯s the right thing to do, I¡¯m just hoping I¡¯m up to the challenge.¡±


    The king chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s that you are going to have a more difficult job now and won¡¯t have as much time to read.¡±


    That was partly true. He had his doubts about his own abilities and she was going to be a challenge, but having another mage around, unless she was truly unhinged, would be more than an asset to him. It was what he had been hoping for. No one else understood half of the things he wanted to talk about. No one else was excited about spells the way he was.


    ¡°Did she say anything about my daughter?¡±


    ¡°Only that she¡¯s breathing like the others. She has kept watch over all that are in the castle. She told me she needs to return. She has things to do.¡±


    The king nodded. His worry over his daughter would probably not be sated until Barinon had seen her himself. ¡°So what is your next step?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see that we have much time to waste. I will have to take her into the forest to begin her real training as soon as I know she won¡¯t run away from me.¡±


    Barinon had expected the look of concern that flitted across the kings¡¯s face. It wasn¡¯t just that the kingdom would be left vulnerable, if the dragon chose to attack, how would Barinon know to return? It was a risk, but if the girl was ready for it, it was time to take that chance.

 Chapter 15

    The men who had grabbed her and taken her away from the old mage were not nice to her. They walked, dragging her along, each holding and arm. ¡°Barinon told me that he would show me where Aaron was!¡± The one with the bald head and red beard squeezed her arm too tightly. They were bigger than she was and even if she turned invisible, she couldn¡¯t get away from them if they were going to hold on to her like this.


    The man with the blonde hair was shorter but wider than the other man. He let go of Hailey¡¯s arm for a moment and opened a trap door to a dark pit. Hailey couldn¡¯t see the bottom of it. She began to panic. They were going to throw her in there.


    She clung to their arms. ¡°Don¡¯t do this to me!¡± She screamed at them. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything wrong!¡± The one with the bald head tried to lower her into the pit, but she clawed at his arms. She didn¡¯t want to go down there. He looked annoyed and peeled her fingers off his arms. She collapsed in a heap in the ground. The pit was not as deep as it seemed. She thought she might twist an ankle or break something when she fell to the ground, but she landed on her feet.


    ¡°Let me out of here,¡± she commanded but no one came back. No one answered. The trap door closed, leaving them in darkness. Then she heard a voice in the pit with her.


    ¡°Hailey?¡±


    She gasped. ¡°Aaron?¡± So they hadn¡¯t lied about that at least. They had taken her to where Aaron was. ¡°Are you ok? Did they hurt you?¡± She could hear him move around.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just don¡¯t like all this darkness.¡±


    ¡°Me neither. Did they ask you a bunch of questions first or just throw you down here?¡± If she looked up, she could make out a faint outline of the trap door. It wasn¡¯t enough light to see her hand in front of her face and it smelled down here, of wet dirt and human waste. She crinkled her nose.


    ¡°They asked a few questions, like what I was doing in the castle.¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t take away your present did they?¡±


    ¡°No. They just said that I wouldn¡¯t be much of a threat and then they put me down here. You might as well try to find a place that¡¯s sort of comfortable. They might leave us in here for a long time,¡± he said.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°But why?¡± Her voice sounded whiney even to her own ears. ¡°Don¡¯t they put bad people in dungeons? We weren¡¯t doing anything wrong.¡±


    ¡°I suspect it¡¯s because they want to make sure you didn¡¯t go anywhere. You¡¯re the one who can go invisible. I don¡¯t think they want to keep you in here. You know stuff about the castle that they don¡¯t. You¡¯re the only one that can go in and out of there. Maybe they just want to know about their daughter.¡±


    His words made sense when she thought about it. Hopefully he was right and they wouldn¡¯t keep them in here for too long. ¡°Maybe. I¡¯m sorry that you got caught, too, though. It isn¡¯t fair.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ok,¡± he told her. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. Besides, it was an adventure, roaming the halls of the castle. I never thought I¡¯d get the chance to go in there. That was amazing.¡±


    She could hear the smile in his voice. She had forgotten how different the castle must seem to him than it did to her. ¡°Is it selfish of me to be glad you¡¯re here?¡±


    She finally decided to sit next to him. She sat and came down on one of his legs. She was glad that he couldn¡¯t see the heat rising in her cheeks. She moved over and sat next to him.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I¡¯m here, too,¡± he said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want you to be stuck in here all by yourself.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I love about you. You¡¯re such a good friend.¡±


    Aaron didn¡¯t say anything for a long time after that. Hailey started to think that he was upset about something and didn¡¯t want to talk anymore. Maybe he was upset that he had ended up stuck in here but she didn¡¯t like all the silence. It was too much with all the darkness and so she started humming to herself.


    <hr>


    Hailey worried about Henny. She had left the chicken out and it was warmer now, but nights might still be too cold for her all by herself. Most of the time chickens had other chickens to keep them warm. Everyone else would be stuck without blankets, even the princess that they seemed to care so much about. If they really did care about her, they should let them go. She looked over the people in the castle, and now there was no one there. No one would cover them up or sing to them before nighttime.


    Hailey cries. Aaron comforts.


    ¡°We should probably figure out how to get out of here. Could you cut little places out of the wall for us to put our hands and feet?¡± She asked him. She didn¡¯t want to wait for the mage to decide to let her go. What if he took his time? What if he needed something from her? At least she should try to get Aaron out of here. If she could sneak him out, they might let him go.

 Chapter 16

    They had decided that getting Hailey out would be the first step. He made a step with his hands and she stepped into it, and then swung a leg around his shoulders. It was a tricky maneuver.


    ¡°Ow! Are you sure you can¡¯t do anything with magic?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she told him. ¡°The only thing I know how to do is turn invisible.¡±


    ¡°Lot of good that will do us in here,¡± he said, and then grunted as she finally settled herself around his shoulders.


    She waved her arms around in the darkness, but she could not feel the trap door.


    ¡°Do you think you could stand?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± She shifted again to see if she could get a knee up on one of his shoulders. She would have to do this slowly. It was probably a good thing that she was so much smaller than he was now. So much changed on the outside of the castle. He should know that. He lived there, but he seemed to be fine with it. He didn¡¯t even really worry that much about rotting in this dungeon.


    He grunted, but she finally managed to get one knee on his shoulder. Now for the other. It was uncomfortable for her and had to be worse for him but he didn¡¯t complain. Just as she got the other knee up and was ready to try for her feet, the trap door opened. It surprised Aaron, who took a step back. Hailey fell off his shoulders and would¡¯ve hit the floor, but she bounced. In the dim light, she could see a bubble around her, stopping her from cracking her head.


    She stood up, feeling embarrassed that she had just been saved by the very man who had put her in here.


    Barinon cleared his throat and looked down at the two of them as if they were naughty children for trying to escape.


    As if he would have done any different, she thought.


    He lay on his stomach so that he could watch them while he spoke. It was a very undignified position for a mage to be in, but he could see her expression  better. That must have been what he was getting at. He wanted to look at her so he would know if she was lying or not. She was almost offended.


    ¡°I have an offer for you,¡± he said. ¡°I have met with the king and we have come to an agreement. Our kingdom is in desperate need of another mage. There had not been another found in all the time I have been the royal mage.¡±


    ¡°You mean there should be other kids who can do magic?¡±


    ¡°Yes. And usually there are more mages to help track them down. Suffice it to say that you are the first that we have found.¡±


    That surprised her, but she didn¡¯t see how it was her problem. She crossed her arms over her chest. ¡°You said that I could be a mage if I wanted to. What if I don¡¯t want to?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I want to help you. You shoved me down in this pit with my friend. You took me away from people who are relying on me.¡±


    ¡°Has it ever occurred to you what would happen to the kingdom without its mages? Do you know how we trade? How we interact with other kingdoms? What will happen if in a hundred years, your people wake and there is no one else here to take care of them? No city left?¡±


    ¡°Of course there will be a city. There was a city before I was even born and there will be a city long after I die.¡±


    ¡°What if the heir dies? What then? Will the magic recognize the sleeping princess as the heir? You have the opportunity to make a difference, not only for the people sleeping inside that castle, but for the whole kingdom.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Hailey thought about that. When she was young and the queen wanted her to be tutored by the same tutors that taught the princess, they had discussed the powers of the heir, and how the heir kept the whole kingdom safe from the magical creatures that lived in the forest.


    He let the silence stretch out for a ling time, and then he said, ¡°Your people, the people inside the castle will wake hungry and there will be no food, no one to help them survive because the whole kingdom will either have to flee to safety or die. This entire kingdom may not survive without your help.¡±


    <hr>


    She frowned at him. ¡°That¡¯s not fair.¡± She glanced back at Aaron, who was standing there speechless.


    ¡°Are you serious about the threat to the kingdom?¡± He asked the old man.


    Berinon pulled himself up off the floor, groaning. ¡°That is not a good position for a man my age. Yes, the threat to the kingdom is not imminent but it is very real. The heir keeps us all safe and without that protection, the kingdom will fall. It has happened before.¡±


    ¡°You have to help him, Hailey. I don¡¯t see that you can do anything else. The kingdom needs you.¡±


    She looked at her friend aghast. ¡°He¡¯s just saying whatever he can to get me to agree because he knows that if I get out of here, he won¡¯t be able to catch me again.¡±


    ¡°That may be true, but it doesn¡¯t make my words any less so.¡±


    Hailey thought about it, pacing back and forth. She didn¡¯t like the way Barinon and now Aaron were pressuring her to do things she wasn¡¯t certain she wanted to do. Then she grabbed Aaron¡¯s arm pulled on it until he bent low enough for her to whispered in his ear.


    ¡°You think I should trust him?¡±


    He nodded.


    ¡°Ok, so he needs my help. I will agree but before I do, he¡¯s going to have to agree to a few things first. He¡¯s not getting my help for free.¡±


    A light came into Aaron¡¯s eyes and she knew that he understood. They were going to make sure this old man paid for throwing them down in this pit.


    ¡°Fine, I will help you,¡± Hailey said.


    The old man let out a breath as if he as sure she would refuse.


    ¡°But I have some stuff you gotta do for me first.¡±


    Barinon took a deep breath. ¡°And that is?¡±


    ¡°I want a fancy dress, and I get to eat good food, like what the king has.¡±


    ¡°Ok. Anything else?¡±


    ¡°I will be bringing my chicken, Henny to live in my room with me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding. You can¡¯t possibly have a chicken living in the same house as the king and queen of all Taivalon.¡±


    Hailey shrugged. ¡°Chickens are not that big.¡±


    ¡°But they make a horrible mess. You know what, fine. Bring your chicken and we will deal with it. Is that all?¡± The mage was starting to sound impatient.


    ¡°I want to be soldier and I want my sword back,¡± Aaron said.


    ¡°That, too,¡± said Hailey. Aaron had probably asked for the best thing. He would get to do the job he always wanted to do.¡±


    Barinon looked at him for a moment before he realized that Aaron was not joking. ¡°Derrick,¡± he shouted.


    ¡°A bald man with a big red beard came up to the trap door to peer at them. Hailey frowned at him. He was one of the ones who had shoved her in here in the first place. Berinon told him what Aaron had asked for and asked if he thought that it would be possible. Aaron was looking up at the bald man with hope in his eyes. She really hoped that he would get what he wanted, but her neck was starting to hurt.


    Finally, they let Hailey and Aaron out of the pit. They let down a rope ladder, which Hailey climbed up easily. Aaron took his time, having to wedge his bad arm in between the rungs with each step. Hailey blinked at the torches. Mage light was such a better thing to use. It didn¡¯t sputter and you didn¡¯t have to worry about it burning the castle down. That simple thing reminded her what she had signed up to do.


    Maybe she would be able to make mage light in the future. A thrill ran through her with that thought. She hadn¡¯t told the mage how exciting she found the idea of being able to do magic, important magic that saved the kingdom. She had never really worried about what she what she was going to do with the rest of her life. When she was young, she thought she would work the kitchens until she was old. That¡¯s what Lavina did. Maybe she would become the cook¡¯s assistant, but she didn¡¯t think she could ever be head cook. Now she was considering the life of a mage. In all the excitement, she almost forgot about Henny.


    She tugged on Barinon¡¯s sleeve as he led them to the kitchen to get something to eat. ¡°Do you think my chicken will survive if she was outside alone?¡±


    Barinon paused, then said, ¡°It¡¯s a warm night. I think it will be fine.¡±

 Chapter 17

    Aaron had always wanted to be a soldier. It was something he had only told Hailey. His parents would have looked at him sadly then tried to explain how soldier¡¯s needed two arms to fight. Then they would have told him how much better off he was making candles. Hailey was the only one he knew that he could tell his crazy dreams to because she was the only one who did not dismiss them outright or tell him that he shouldn¡¯t get his hopes up.


    And so he had gotten up early and had washed and dressed. They hadn¡¯t given him a soldier¡¯s uniform yet, but he figured that would come soon. The man with the big red beard had agreed, and the mage had given him his sword back.


    He didn¡¯t know how castles worked and so he walked down the corridor, trying to keep out of the way of all of the servants running every which way. He decided that it was best to stay close to a wall. That way, he wasn¡¯t in everyone¡¯s way. As he got closer to the kitchen, he asked one of the maids how he would go about getting breakfast. She had bright brown eyes and crooked teeth. She smiled a lot, so it was hard not to notice.


    ¡°You new to the manor then?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I start training to be a soldier this morning.¡±


    ¡°Well, most of them eat together, but I don¡¯t see any harm eating with the servants especially since you don¡¯t have a uniform yet. It¡¯s that door, over there.


    He passed the kitchen, as the girl had instructed and entered the great hall. It was a large room, with long tables and a raised platform where the king would obviously sit. The tables in one alcove were all filled with servants eating and chatting before they started their morning chores. Many of them eyed him, like they were uncertain what he was doing there, but no one stopped him from ladling out a bowl of porridge for himself.


    He found a place to sit alone in a corner, far away from where the nobles might sit. He watched people coming and going here and wondered where the other soldiers were. Maybe it was just too early. Excitement ran through him at that thought. Today he would finally have the opportunity to train to be a soldier. He was sure it was hard work, but he was ready for it.


    Finishing his breakfast, he set his bowl down next to a pile of dirty ones on a table and made his way to the practice yard. The sun was up, but he couldn¡¯t see it yet. Buildings and trees clogged the horizon. There was no one else here yet. The practice yard was a large grassy area behind the manor. Barinon had told him where it would be the night before and he had promised to be here bright and early.


    He waited. Finally, the bald man with the red beard, Derrick, came strolling into the courtyard. He walked confidently.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± Aaron called to him, relieved that someone was finally here.


    The man frowned at him. ¡°You. What do you think I can do with a one armed soldier? I¡¯m surprised you even got your sword belt on by yourself this morning or did you need help with that?¡±


    Aaron was taken aback. The man had not been kind to him last night, but at least he hadn¡¯t been rude. ¡°I did it myself sir,¡± his voice cracked on this last bit and he blushed.


    Derrick blinked. ¡°You are only here because that addled minded girl wanted you to be,¡± he said. ¡°We will make certain that you decide to quit, because we can¡¯t just kick you out.¡±


    Someone sniggered behind Derrick and Aaron turned to see a few other men watching the exchange. ¡°Men,¡± Derrick said, ¡°form ranks. Boy,¡± and he glared at Aaron. ¡°Stay here and stay out of my way. If I think of something useful for you to do, I¡¯ll let you know.¡±


    Aaron didn¡¯t know what to say. He found a bench against the wall of the manor and sat watching the men. He thought about just turning and going home. No one would say anything. He would never have to face these men again, but then he thought about Hailey, about leaving her here alone with people she didn¡¯t know. She would want him to at least try.


    <hr>


    Hailey woke to a glass of cold water being splashed in her face. For a moment she thought she was drowning and then she looked up to see Barinon standing over her. She had been sleeping in the most comfortable bed she had ever been in. Now, she was sitting up, gasping for air. ¡°What is wrong with you?¡± she asked, wiping water from her face.


    ¡°You slept so long that breakfast is over. We have a long way to go and I don¡¯t want to still be in the forest when the sun sets.¡± He walked out of the room and slammed the door.


    Hailey pulled herself out of her giant bed, trying to decide if she should do something about the wet blanket or not. She didn¡¯t have time. If he was already angry at her for sleeping in, than she would have to hurry. She pulled off her nightgown, which clung to her skin and made her shiver. Why was he being like this? He could have just knocked. She would have gotten up.


    The room she had been given was bigger than anything she had had before. It was like a noblewoman¡¯s room with a couch, a massive four poster bed, and a wardrobe. One corner held a small desk. The dormer window that looked over it would have given plenty of light. She stepped onto the floor but instead of cold stone, a a warm rug met her feet. She even had her own fireplace. It was exciting to have such a place all to her own, even if she didn¡¯t stay here forever. She didn¡¯t want to get up and leave it, but she didn¡¯t want Barinon to be any more upset with her than he already was. She sighed and dressed as quickly as she could manage and hung the wet blanket off the side of the bed. Hopefully it would dry while she was gone.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    When she opened the door, Barinon was standing there with his arms folded, looking frustrated. Instead of the mage¡¯s robes that she had seen him in the night before, he wore a shirt and trousers and good boots. He had said they were going to be walking, and so she wore her maid¡¯s dress and her own pair of sturdy boots.


    He turned and they began walking. They took a large staircase down to the first level. It opened up onto the great hall, where kitchen maids were tasing down tables. Barinon had been right. Breakfast was long over. The smell of fresh baked bread still hung in the air, making Hailey¡¯s stomach clench with hunger. She supposed it was her own fault. She had trouble sleeping in a different bed, nice as it was. She was also used to all the creaks of the old castle and being in a new place unnerved her. She constantly had the feeling that she didn¡¯t belong, but she had agreed to train with Barinon and she would.


    Outside the manor, people worked fields. It was too early for harvesting, but weeding always needed to be done. An old woman nodded to them as they passed. She seemed incapable of standing straight but her hand moved deftly between plants. Already she had a large pile of weeds in her basket. It made Hailey feel even more guilty for sleeping in.


    The city seemed to have built right up to the manor, but to the sides of it were farms and behind it was the practice grounds. What lay beyond that was the shimmer. Trees had been cut to a certain line and a stone wall had been built up behind that line to remind people not to cross the shimmer. It wasn¡¯t safe. An arched doorway was in that wall and Barinon stepped through it, seeming unconcerned. The doorways were in the walls, but in more populous parts of the city, they had gates that were locked. This one didn¡¯t even have a door. The opening gaped at her had she stopped moving.


    Barinon turned back. ¡°You said you would come with me,¡± he reminded her. ¡°I¡¯m a mage. I have defenses against things that live in the forest.¡±


    ¡°But no one goes into the forest. It isn¡¯t safe. At least, not past the shimmer.¡± She couldn¡¯t make her feet move forward.


    He took a deep breath. ¡°For this arrangement to work, you are going to have to trust me. If anyone can protect you from the things in that forest, it¡¯s me. Now come.


    Hailey tried to control her terror and stepped through the doorway.


    <hr>


    Barinon seemed angry with her until now. He paused just outside the doorway. ¡°You see the shimmer, right? Magic is what keeps us safe. It¡¯s what keeps the shimmer intact. Hailey looked up at the shimmer. She had never been this close to it before. It was like a wall reaching up past the trees. Blues and greens intertwined in the translucent wall of magic. It was beautiful, beautiful enough to lure you in, but most people who entered the forest never came out alive. There were legends of those that had, but Hailey didn¡¯t think those stories were real.


    ¡°Take my hand,¡± Barinon offered. She took his large bony hand in her own and held her breath as they stepped through. She didn¡¯t want to breathe in whatever made up the shimmer. As beautiful as it was, it was also something she did not know. They stepped through. Hailey felt a tingle on her skin, more powerful than the one she felt stepping into the spell around the castle.


    There were forests that were safe in Taivalon, forests that bordered the city and separated towns from each other. This was not one of them. This was the magical forest of ***. Everyone knew that the fairy king ruled here and that he punished all who came into his realm.


    She clung to Barinon¡¯s hand as they traveled. The ground was carpeted in a thick layer of pine needles. She could make out a trail, but it was not much more than a deer path. Every once in a while, they would pass a stake that had been pounded into the ground. The top of it had been painted blue. Fir and the massive spruce trees along with the occasional birch all vied for space. It was dark, even though the sun was well up and cooler in the forest but not uncomfortable. Birds sung in the trees and squirrels scampered across branches ahead. Hailey was surprised at that. She thought only magical creatures lived here, not regular animals like birds.


    ¡°What you have heard about this place is true,¡± Barinon said. ¡°The fairies of this forest will attack most people, but those with the spark of magic¡­ well, the fairies cannot do much to us, and so for the most part they leave us alone, though I think you have a little friend.¡± He pointed behind her and Hailey spun to see a naked little man with beautiful wings staring angrily at her. She took a few steps away from him and screamed. These were the being that killed people who ventured into the forest.


    Barinon stopped walking and sighed. ¡°Ignore him, he¡¯s only angry because you aren¡¯t falling prey to his glamours.¡±


    The fairy flew down, picked up a pinecone and threw it at her head. Then he tried to kick her. He was incredibly fast, but it didn¡¯t hurt. She pulled the pinecone out of her hair and he flew off, a faint yellow glow fading into the trees.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t he bother you?¡± Hailey asked, looking around for more of them. If the fairies were nothing to be afraid of, maybe something else was. Then again, if enough of them were throwing things at her, they could do some damage.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already had an argument with one of his kind. They knew from the moment I stepped into this forest that I wasn¡¯t worth bothering with. You are new and so he fully expected to be able to lure you wherever he wanted.¡±


    ¡°So he can¡¯t hurt me?¡±


    ¡°No. Fairies are harmless to mages. There is a good chance when next you come into this forest that they won¡¯t even bother to look at you.¡±


    Hailey felt a little better, but this forest still made her nervous. She glanced behind her as Barinon continued speaking.


    ¡°We have more important things to discuss than the fairies. There is other magic here, magic that you will need if you are going to become a true mage. Magic is what drives our world, what keeps us safe from the fairies, what makes us able to trade with other kingdoms, and what protects us from attacks. It is not often, but on occasion, a magical creature will make it out of the shimmer and then it is the responsibility of the mages to protect the people of the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Like the dragon?¡± Hailey asked.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± he responded.


    She had seen it flying over the castle a few times now. It had breathed fire on the spell and Hailey worried that the whole castle would burn down but nothing happened. It was a terrifying experience. ¡°So if I¡¯m a mage, I would have to fight the dragon?¡± She heard the worry in her own voice. She never wanted to go up against something like that. The thought made her shiver. She missed her castle already. It¡¯s safe walls and the spell that protected it, but he had convinced her that this was the best thing she could do for her people. She would do what she had to to keep them safe, even if the thought scared her.


    Barinon climbed over a tree that had fallen on the path. ¡°If you are a mage, it is your responsibility to protect the people of the kingdom. Once you complete the rite, you will be able to wield magic, and the fairies will cower when you enter.¡±

 Chapter 18

    Hailey¡¯s growling stomach was almost a relief from the other worries that she had. What if they came across wolves or something worse? Barinon walked confidently through the forest, though as if nothing in here could possibly scare him. Hailey hurried to walk beside him so she could see his expressions.


    ¡°Magic is all around us, especially here in the forest. You can think of it like air. It flows through the world. When we draw upon it to create something, we change that magic and use it, but we don¡¯t destroy it. All spells will eventually revert to their original form, which means that the spell will fade over time.


    ¡°What about the spell around the castle?¡± Hailey couldn¡¯t help asking. ¡°How long will the people sleep?¡±


    ¡°A hundred years unless you and I can figure out a way to wake them safely. The death spell was very powerful, but most spells don¡¯t last that long. We were taking a risk. There is still a chance that the preservation spell will dissipate before the death spell does, but it isn¡¯t very likely.¡±


    Hailey stopped walking. ¡°If it goes away before the death spell, won¡¯t that kill everyone?¡±


    Berinon smiled a sad smile but he did not look right at her. ¡°You see now why I need your help? That is only one of the problems that a mage must deal with.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m not a mage yet, which is why we¡¯re going to the well?¡± Hailey found that she was hungry for this knowledge. As long as she could remember, she was the only one who could see the aura around the princess, the spell around the castle. It was exciting to have someone here who could explain things, and help her understand that she wasn¡¯t crazy.


    ¡°What you currently are is a hedge witch. Hedge witches are mages who haven¡¯t taken the rites at the well. They are people with magic, true but they will only have one or two spells at their disposal for their entire life. If you want to have access to more than that, you will have to bind yourself to the river of magic that flows through this world. It is the river that gives all magic to people, but there are only a few wells in the world that can give you this opportunity.


    ¡°We are traveling to the closest one to Taivalon. Once you bind yourself to the river, you will have access to more power, but in doing so, you take on yourself a responsibility to the people of the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯ve already taken care of the people of the kingdom. I¡¯m the only one who looks after the princess.¡±


    A leaf had fallen into his curly black and sliver hair. He brushed it off his head and looked at her with sad eyes. ¡°If you take on this responsibility, you will no longer be able to hide in the white castle, you will have to work to protect all the people of the kingdom. For the most part, that means you will have to be on the outside.¡±


    Barinon was silent for a time. They continued and she realized that this was her choice, a decision that would change the rest of her life. The cool of the morning had long burned off when she saw something in the distance. At first, she thought it was a few particularly large trees, but as they grew closer, she thought it had to be the spires of a castle. They rose darkly against the sky, but the castle must still be far off. She was tired and sweaty now. Her stomach was grumbling and her legs ached. She was pretty sure she had a blister forming on her pinky toe. All she wanted to do was stop and rest, but she also did not want to complain.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    As she walked, she thought about what she was doing. Barinon hadn¡¯t told her last night that she would be making this decision but as she thought on it, she felt her resolve rise within her. She had spent years, doing the best she could for the people inside the castle. If her kingdom needed her to take this on, she would do it.


    She reached out and grabbed Berinon¡¯s hand. He turned to her, a quizzical expression on his dark face. ¡°I will help you,¡± she said, knowing that it would change her life forever.


    <hr>


    A look of surprise flashed across Barinon¡¯s face. Had he expected her not to help him? It seemed unlikely that he would drag her all the way out here if he didn¡¯t think she would follow through. Maybe he had planned to threaten her or Aaron or maybe he just thought he would have to argue with her to get her to agree. Either way, it did not matter. She had decided to trust him and she would. Besides, he had told her that she was the only one who could do this.


    As they walked, Hailey thought about the path she was on. She caught the occasional glimpse of a fairy. Once she thought she had even seen an animal she had never seen before. It had black and white stripes on its face, but when she pointed, it was already gone. The walk became more difficult as she forced herself up a small hill. Her legs no longer wanted to work, but something Barinon had said came to the forefront of her mind. ¡°You said that there are should have been other mages born in the kingdom. Why am I the only one?¡±


    Barinon looked at her for a long moment before responding. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Usually when children are old enough to go to school, they get tested to see if they have magical abilities. It is dangerous to leave them out there with no guidance, but everything is not as it once was. I cannot spend all my time sifting through children in hopes to find one child before her parents realize what is going on, but some should have come to the castle by now. We need more mages than we have so that we can find other mages.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°When I think about what was lost to us¡­ it is better for me not to think about it. I will show you the most basic spell,¡± he told her as he finally stopped walking. She came gratefully to a stop and sat down on a huge stone. It was not comfortable, but it felt amazing to rest her weary legs and feet. ¡°The most basic spell is a binding spell. It can bind one thing to another, or something to a person. He picked up a beech leaf and held it out in front of him. With the other hand, he touched the trunk of a tree. ¡°Colligatio,¡± he said. The dull green leaf flew out of his hand and stuck to the trunk of the fir tree.


    Hailey grinned. That was a trick that could come in handy.


    He performed the spell again with a different leaf. This time he made a hand gesture before he stuck it to the tree. She tried to follow his movements but could not have repeated them she had to. The second leaf was brown. It must have fallen a long time ago because it was almost translucent in places. ¡°What is different between the two bindings?¡±


    Hailey cocked her head. She stood and looked at the leaves. A small breeze sang through the branches and the brownish leaf quivered. ¡°You bound that one in front of the tree, not to it.¡±


    ¡°Very good,¡± he told her. ¡°You must always remember that you can bind things to the air. You have to bind it to something. Each spell has a few components. The binding spell is the simplest because all spells must have a focus or a nexus. That is why the binding spell is also one of the first spells a new mage will learn.¡±


    ¡°What happens if you don¡¯t have a focus?¡± Hailey asked him.


    ¡°A spell that doesn¡¯t have a focus, depending on the spell, will grow.¡± A haunted look crossed Barinon¡¯s face and she knew what he didn¡¯t want to talk about; the spell that had put the whole castle to sleep. A knot formed in the pit of her stomach. She had told him she would help. She had told him she would do what she could, but she could also put the entire kingdom at risk if she wasn¡¯t careful. The magic that the mages had used that day had changed Taivalon forever.

 Chapter 19

    As they climbed upward, the hill became more rocky and heavy shade became less absolute. The climb became steeper and more rocky instead of going around it. Barinon finally stopped and Hailey gasped for breath behind him.


    ¡°Why are we going straight up this hill?¡±


    ¡°Because we need something from the top. Then we will come back down and make our way to the well.¡±


    Her stomach rumbled at the thought. She missed that breakfast now more than ever. Her legs were beginning to shake when she walked. ¡°Is it much further?¡± She asked him. She couldn¡¯t help the whine in her voice. She was going to be unable to move tomorrow. The lack of food and small amounts of water were starting to make her dizzy.


    ¡°It should be a much easier walk after we make it to the top. Going back down is always easier when you¡¯re young,¡± he grumbled.


    She tried not to feel happy about the fact that even he was beginning to feel tired. It was infuriating trying to keep up with his long strides. She didn¡¯t even want to think about what was happening to her pinky toe. It would be one big blister by now.


    She was feeling tired and grouchy but he looked at her with kind eyes and said, ¡°I know you¡¯re tired. I am too, but this is an important part of becoming a mage. The good news is that we won¡¯t have to walk all the way back. I should be able to create a doorway of sorts to get us right back to the manor.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± She had never heard of such a thing.


    He nodded. ¡°By the end of the day, you will be able to create one of your own. Before we go on, I want to be completely honest with you so you know what you are trading. Hedge witches can be very powerful, but they will only ever have one or two spells available to them. They are also not as accurate. Once you bind yourself to the well, there will be infinite possibilities, infinite spells that you could learn, but it does come at a price and there are always responsibilities attached to becoming a mage, responsibilities that the well herself will show you, but you should know that you will be required to put the kingdom¡¯s lives above your own, which means that you will have to be prepared to face any threats that come to the kingdom.¡±


    Hailey gulped. He had said this all before. The fact that he was telling her again made it all seem very important that she understand what she was getting herself into, but he probably didn¡¯t realize that she couldn¡¯t possibly say no. She needed to protect her people. It was what she had set out to do ages ago. She would do it again.


    ¡°Above all, you must protect the heir. If he dies, the entire kingdom except for its mages die alongside him.¡± Berinon groaned and stood. ¡°Are you ready to continue?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°You said that all of people die but not the mages. What happens to them?¡±


    ¡°The forest will overtake the kingdom if the heir dies without someone to pass that magic to. Mages will not be harmed by that, but they may go mad trying to protect everyone in their kingdom or they may flee to another one. It has happened before. You saw the spires of the black castle? That is an entire kingdom that fell. No one could live there now except a mage.¡±


    He left it at that, and they continued up the side of the hill. When he stopped again, she looked up and fear gripped her instantly. Before them stretched the maw of a cave, massive and dark. Trees had been knocked down around the mouth of cave. Trunks were snapped in half, some of them larger around than she was. She looked at Barinon with terror. Something huge lived in that cave, something she did not want to come face to face with.


    Hailey swallowed. ¡°Why are we here?¡± Something large had obviously come this way before.


    Barinon handed her his waterskin. The water felt amazing on her parched throat, but she could not enjoy it. She looked at him until he responded. ¡°The rite you will perform today, the one that will give you access to abilities you cannot even imagine requires a magical sacrifice.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to kill me?¡±


    Barinon looked at her aghast. ¡°Of course not. I don¡¯t know if the lady at the well would accept you as a sacrifice anyway.¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°The lady of the well requires a magical sacrifice, something made of magic or something that is innately magic. In this cave is something she will accept, something she has accepted before.¡±


    Hailey shuddered. ¡°What¡¯s in there?¡±


    ¡°A dragon, Barinon said.¡± Hailey looked at him like he was the craziest person she had ever met.


    ¡°The dragon? The one that keeps breathing fire on the castle?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s the one. It lives here in this cave. I don¡¯t think that if we kill it first, the scale will still count as an offering to The Lady. Remember to use your invisibility if you have to, but don¡¯t until she knows you are there. It might be easier for her to sense you if you are using magic, since she is a creature of magic herself.¡±


    ¡°You mean I have to go in there alone?¡± Her voice was a shrill whisper.


    He nodded and then explained to her exactly what she was looking for. A dragon scale.


    Hailey couldn¡¯t remember feeling this terrified before. She snuck up slowly on the mouth of the cave, coming to it at an angle. Her heart felt like it was beating a million times a minute in an erratic pattern. She was certain that if the dragon didn¡¯t sense her sneaking up on it, it would hear her breathing or the beating of her heart.


    What was she doing here? A long and deep breath came from the mouth of the cave. She wanted to scream and run away, but she had come all this way. Could she really turn back now? Part of her screamed yes. Turn back, don¡¯t let it eat you for some fool quest that the crazy mage wants to send you on. Run back to the castle and be safe. He would probably take her home if she asked him to, right?


    She straightened her shoulders and crept closer, flattening herself agains the wall of the cave. She could do this. Other mages, no she reminded herself, other hedge witches  had done this quest and had somehow survived. Maybe dragons were deep sleepers. As if to answer her thoughts, another deep breath pushed out through the cave. She wrinkled her nose. It smelled like rotting meat. Now that she was close enough she could hear the flies buzzing inside the cave. This was not only going to be the scariest thing that had ever happened to her, it was going to be disgusting as well. She was suddenly glad of her empty stomach.


    She glanced back at Barinon who nodded to her and then turned the corner and stepped into the shadow of the cave. The dragon that stretched out before her was beautiful, all purple and silver scaling. It had stripes down it¡¯s back, each a darker shade of the purple that covered it¡¯s body. The stripe down the back of its spine was darkest. The stripes came to a point at the tip of its tail. Its massive head was spiny and its eyes were closed. It had a long snout and spikes behind its skull. It lay on it¡¯s side, with its tail curled around itself like a cat. One massive wing lay part way open. The other was folded tightly against its body.


    For a moment she forgot herself and just looked in wonder at the amazing beast. Then it snorted, sending hot breath at her and she remembered why she was here. She glanced around the floor of the cave. Her best bet was to find a scale that had fallen from the creature¡¯s body. She did not want to think about what she would have to do if she didn¡¯t find one. A small shudder ran through her and she moved, stepping as quietly as she could and keeping as clear of the creature, as she could manage, she moved along the wall.


    She looked about everywhere. There had to be at least one scale that had fallen, she told herself. It would be like looking for a hair that had fallen off of her head, only bigger, right? The thought calmed her. Of course there would be a scale somewhere in this cave. The cave was surprisingly empty. From the smell, she had expected to see carcasses of wild animals strewn across the floor. She inched farther into the cave, hoping that she would find something. Even in the darkness, the dragon¡¯s scales shimmered. Her heart sunk as she realized that she would have to pry one off the dragon. There was one hanging part way off, as if it were preparing to fall. It was just above its massive back leg. That one was too high for her to reach. Another that seemed that it might fall sometime soon was in the dragon¡¯s tail. Hopefully the dragon would not feel things in its tail as much as it did in the rest of its body. She could do this.


    She took a deep breath and walked closer to the dragon, grabbed the scale and pulled. The scale came loose in her hands. The dragon roared and Hailey went invisible. It thrashed its tail and Hailey was thrown deeper back into the cave. She thought it would turn and eat her then, but the dragon screeched and flew into the sky.

 Chapter 20

    Hailey sat gasping in the back of the cave. She knew she should get up, should run out of there and not stop but she could only stare in fascination. The scale was curved and beautiful. About the size of her open palm, it was a lavender that shimmered silver in the light. If this wasn¡¯t a good enough offering for the lady in the well, than Hailey didn¡¯t know what was.


    Berinon came rushing to the mouth of the cave. ¡°Come on, he said to her, shaking her out of her fear. We have to go.¡±


    And so they hurried out of the cave, making quicker progress down the hill and to the well. Hailey paused when they got close to it. ¡°What am I supposed to do now?¡±


    Barinon squeezed her shoulder. After facing the dragon, though the well didn¡¯t even frighten her. Maybe it should have but she kept glancing up at the sky fearing that she would find the dragon staring down at her, knowing what she had done.


    ¡°Go to the well and call her name, ¡®Sequana.¡¯ She will come to you.


    The well looked like any other that Hailey had seen. A curved wall of smoothed stones created a small circle around the opening in the earth. Two metal archways covered the well, and a small roof of pointed metal must have protected it from leaves. That was the only reason Hailey could think of for a well to have a roof.


    Barinon gestured her forward and Hailey peered over the mouth of the well. She could see nothing but blackness down below. She said, ¡°Sequana.¡±


    A gurgling sound came from the bottom of the well and Hailey jumped back. Barinon stood close by, smiling at her like a proud parent. Hailey took a deep breath. The woman who rose out of the well was not what she had expected. She was completely made of water, or at least she looked to be, and she was naked. About where her thighs should have started, she became more of a snake than anything. She seemed to be attached to the well and yet, she could rise all this way. She grinned at Barinon and winked at him as she twirled above her well.


    ¡°Seqana, it is good to see you. You are lovely as ever.¡±


    The water woman or whatever she was smiled at him. ¡°You leave me a lone for so long, Barinon. How can you call me your friend if you will not even come to visit.¡±


    She sighed and actually pouted at him. ¡°It is only you and the other woman who ever comes and visits me now. She turned to Hailey and grinned a wicked little smile. ¡°Did you bring me a new friend, Barinon? Someone to keep me company.¡±


    Barinon cleared his throat, looking slightly uncomfortable. ¡°Ah no. This is Hailey. If she passes your test, she will be training to be a new mage.¡±


    The woman crossed her watery arms, making her breasts seem all the more obvious. Hailey looked away and tried not to blush. ¡°Are you ready then, little one?¡±


    Hailey glanced at Barinon. Ready for what? He nodded to her and she tried to sound confidant as she told the water woman, ¡°Yes, I am ready.¡± She swallowed. Some of her previous fear returned to her. What was this woman going to do to her? Would it hurt?


    Barinon had said that it was important. He had clearly explained all of the things it could do for her, but he had not told her what exactly the spell did.


    Sequana looked at her seriously. ¡°Once you begin this, there is no going back. This is your last chance.¡±


    Hailey didn¡¯t shrink away. ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± she said again.


    She held out the dragon scale and Sequana took it, turning it over in her hand. Hailey was surprised she could hold anything, even the scale, made of water as she was.


    ¡°You must answer three questions for me. Answer them honestly or I cannot help you.¡±


    Hailey nodded and tried not to feel as tired as she was.


    ¡°How do you come by magic? Which parent was a mage before you?¡± Sequana cocked her head to one side and waited.


    ¡°My parents are dead. I was brought to the castle when I was a young girl.¡±


    Sequana held a finger to her chin. ¡°What are the spells that you can do now?¡±


    Hailey cleared her throat. ¡°There is only the one. I can turn invisible.¡±


    ¡°What is your greatest fear?¡±


    Hailey felt a stab of sorrow, but she answered as honestly as she could manage. ¡°I fear that my friends, the people who I care about will die because I cannot do anything to save them.¡±


    ¡°Ah, but there is a fear worse than that one, is there not?¡±


    Hailey didn¡¯t want to say it, didn¡¯t want to confront what she kept buried. ¡°That no matter what I do, no one will care. I will be alone because I have no family.¡± Tears streamed down Hailey¡¯s face. It was cruel to force her to confront that. She looked down and blinked the tears away.


    Sequana cocked her head to one side. ¡°You did not mean to lie to me, and so I will let it pass.¡± She held a palm over Hailey¡¯s forehead but did not touch her. ¡°There is an ancient magic in you, something very powerful that has not yet reached the surface. ¡°You have much to learn. The most important of which are the things about yourself.¡±


    <hr>


    Then she placed her palm flat on Hailey¡¯s head, fingers tight against the top of her head and Hailey closed her eyes. Magic poured through Hailey. She had never felt that much before. Her body thrummed with it. Sequana¡¯s fingers tightened on her head. Her hand was cold on Hailey¡¯s head.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The woman at the well began to speak. ¡°I see you, you are a baby, small and sleeping. A dark figure is carrying you away. A woman is crying, asking to change her mind.¡±


    ¡°Change who¡¯s mind about what?¡± Hailey asked.


    ¡°Hush,¡± Sequana said. ¡°I will tell you the visions as I see them. I cannot tell you more.¡±


    ¡°You are a small child. A woman is at an orphanage. ¡®No,¡¯ she says. ¡®I need more than just the one. Give me two others.¡¯¡± Hailey reeled at this one. Was she ever in an orphanage? The queen had told her that her parents had died in a fire but that she was the only one to survive. Her thoughts were cut off as Sequana moved on to the next one.


    ¡°You sneak through the castle. You are still small and your friends are trying to steal something.¡± Hailey smiled. She remembered that one at least.


    ¡°You are in the castle, hiding under the bed. The spell shifts and grows, feeding off of your untamed power.¡± She gasped. That was her fault. The spell, what had happened to everyone was because of her power?


    Sequana continued, not waiting for Hailey to gather her thoughts. ¡°You stay in the castle. You wrap a cloth around a man¡¯s head, which is bleeding. You don¡¯t know if he¡¯s still alive but you don¡¯t want him to die.¡± She remembered that too. It was one of the worst days of her life. He had lived. He was still breathing like the rest, and she had changed his bandage, though it didn¡¯t need changing as often as she would have thought.


    ¡°You stayed in the castle, you watched the people sleep and you rescued a cat for a young woman who had a cart full of fish.¡± That was recent. Hailey wondered if Sequana would continue or if she would let go of her head now. She was beginning to feel dizzy. Sequana seemed to be sorting through her memories, but now something shifted. Sequana took a deep breath.


    ¡°You will kill your mother.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Hailey said. She had always wondered who her mother was, had always wanted a family. She didn¡¯t care what this water sprite said, she would not kill her mother.


    Sequana waited.


    ¡°I see a Storm raging around you, trying to deceive you.¡±


    What did that even mean? How could a storm try to deceive her?


    ¡°You hunt. You are far from home and you are huddled in the ruins of a freezing castle. You must kill your prey.¡±


    Sequana stopped telling for a moment, then she said. ¡°You must take on the responsibilities of a mage. You must do everything in your power protect your people from what is to come. I do not give this gift lightly, only to those who are willing to serve.


    ¡°Hailey Rowan, do you bind yourself to this well, to its magic and to the people of Taivalon?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Hailey. She had already been warned, had already decided that this is what she would do. She felt resolve Harden within her. She would learn. She could do this.


    ¡°Then I, Sequana of the Concordance River bind you to this well, to this magic. You will protect those around you to the end of your days.¡±


    Sequana¡¯s grip on Hailey¡¯s head tightened and magic poured into her. She felt that she would burst before it was done. She could not contain it. She gasped and opened her eyes. She could see Sequana pulsing with light. Hailey didn¡¯t dare move.


    Finally Sequana let go. Magic thrummed through Hailey, a power she did not know that a single person could hold. She gasped and almost fell as the water woman¡¯s hand moved away from her. She cocked her head at Hailey as if Hailey was not what she had expected.


    ¡°Thank you, Sequana.¡± Hailey said. She was uncertain if she was truly grateful yet. Her mind was reeling with what had just happened, but she knew that Sequana had shared with her some important things, some of which Hailey should already have known. She clutched at the words that Sequana had given her, trying to remember them all.


    Sequana smiled and was gone.


    Barinon took her arm. ¡°We need to go. Already we have been in this forest for too long.¡±


    Hailey didn¡¯t want to hurry. She wanted to make sure she remembered everything Sequana had said, but Barinon rushed her to a spot near the well, about ten strides away from it.


    ¡°You must bind yourself to this place. I am going to teach you one of the most useful spells in a mage¡¯s repertoire. These can only be cast in certain places. Eventually you will be able to find a lay line and create your own glyph but for now, where we are standing will do. Watch.¡±


    He took a step back from her and moved one arm, almost like he was conducting music. In front of him, a symbol formed, purple and glowing and following the stroke of his arm. She had never seen anything like it. It was a square, made of loops and crossed down the center. Then it dissolved into the air.


    ¡°What did you do?¡±


    ¡°Half of a spell. It has dissipated, the magic returning to its source. Try it with me. Go nice and slow.¡±


    Hailey moved her arm but nothing happened. Barinon didn¡¯t seem to care as long as she was moving her arm correctly.


    ¡°Good, now reach for the magic like you do when you¡¯re turning invisible.¡±


    There was a flood of it for her to draw on now. She pulled on the magic, trying to push it out of her arm. As her arm moved, the magic flickered. Parts of the glyph were visible but not the whole thing.


    ¡°It takes practice,¡± Barinon said. ¡°Constantly feed a trickle of magic into it rather than trying to push magic into the glyph in bursts.¡±


    On her next try, she managed. The glyph shone in front of her and Hailey grinned. She had done something. She still didn¡¯t know what, but it looked good.


    ¡°Watch the loop on the bottom left, he told her. It¡¯s important not to skip any part of it. This time, when you create it, you will say ¡°Ostium.¡±


    She repeated the word several times until he was certain that she got it right. Then she recreated the glyph, careful to keep the trickle of magic going in to it. When the symbol glowed in front of her, she said, ¡°ostium.¡±


    The glyph held for a moment in the air and then it turned and sunk into the ground. It glowed for a moment and then went out. Somehow, Hailey could still sense it even though the ground looked as it always had.


    ¡°Good. That is your portal glyph. The next part is more tricky and I want to get back to the manor. He waved his arms in a circular movement and a shimmering doorway appeared. She could see into the backyard of the manor, ringed in clouds. It was a beautiful, white image. Hailey couldn¡¯t help herself. She tried to walk around the doorway, but no matter how she looked at it, the doorway was the same. The angle stayed the same, no matter how she looked at it.


    Barinon cleared his throat. ¡°I need you to step through. I can¡¯t keep it open for long after I step through it myself.


    Hailey looked at him like he was crazy.


    ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it. Step through.¡±


    Hailey held her breath and stepped through. She could hear the clacking of swords in the distance and the mooing of cattle. She looked around. She was outside the manor. When she looked back, Barinon was stepping through. From this side, she caught a glimpse of the forest and the well. Then, the portal closed behind him.

 Chapter 21

    Barinon and Hailey sat at a table inside the kitchen while the cook, a thin woman with dark eyes and hair scurried about the kitchen. Hailey hadn¡¯t realized how much she had expected all cooks to look a little like Bruce. She piled food on the table. A cold roast roast turkey, bread and jam, cooked carrots and milk. ¡°Thank you, Elsbeth,¡± he told her.


    She nodded and returned to the kitchen to set about her next task. Just watching her made Hailey tired. Her feet still throbbed from the long walk in the forest and she could feel the muscles in her legs start to stiffen. When she climbed off the bench, it was going to require an uncomfortable process, but for now, she let the food distract her. Hailey couldn¡¯t remember a time when she had been this hungry. She ate like a girl who didn¡¯t know when her next meal would be.


    As they ate, Barinon spoke in a low voice. ¡°We are going to have to continue your lesson.¡±


    Hailey groaned over mouthful of bread and raspberry jam. She had tried so hard not to be whiney, not to be a problem for Barinon, but if she were setting the schedule, she would be done for the day. She needed time to accustom herself to her new power. When she thought about it, she could feel the power there, waiting for her, thrumming through her. It had been there before, of course, but there was so much more of it now that it almost distracted her from her meal.


    Already today, she had braved the forest, faced a dragon and survived, talked to the lady at the well, got new powers and set a portal glyph. It was too much to happen all in one day.


    Barinon just smiled. ¡°If there were more mages and more time, then yes. Today your lesson would be over, but there are no more mages and no more time. You will have to learn quickly. There is much the kingdom will need of you and soon. I don¡¯t think we have time to wait.¡±


    When they had had their fill, Hailey stood. She had certainly not gotten that much exercise I a long time. She picked up her plate and fork and looked around. Where did the woman want her to put it. ¡°I will take that, miss.¡± Elsbeth hurried forward and snatched it out of her hands. Then she curtsied to her.


    Hailey thanked her but the woman just shooed her out of the kitchen. ¡°What was that about?¡± Hailey whispered as soon as they were out of earshot.


    ¡°You¡¯re a mage and she is used to cleaning up after people. Didn¡¯t you realize that your status in the household would change?¡±


    ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought about it.¡±


    He shook his head at her. ¡°There have been many hedge witches who went through the whole rite just so that they could raise their status. It didn¡¯t even occur to you.¡±


    Barinon led her back outside. Most of the lands around the Manor were being used for something but the well tended garden that greeted them had Barinon frowning. He showed her how to bind, the way he had done with the leaf. Then he moved on to something more complicated.


    This, he told her summoning a glowing blue sword from mist, is a mage¡¯s weapon, one of them. He practiced the motion with her. He drew one arm back and the other forward. Then he stepped forward, bringing both hands out in front of him. He wrapped his hands around something that wasn¡¯t there. As his hand wrapped around the hilt, a glowing blue sword shone in his hands.


    Hailey gasped. It was beautiful.


    ¡°To keep it there, you must constantly feed magic into it, but unlike another sword, you would be able to throw this one and summon another. It is a handy thing to have in any battle.


    Hailey concentrated. This was much harder than creating a glyph and she could feel the sword draw more magic from within her than anything she had learned yet. She let the magic flow and held in her hands a sword. She looked at it dumbly and then she let go. It disappeared into mist. ¡°Why a sword?¡± She asked him.


    ¡°The dragon may come back. I want you to be ready to face it if it does.¡±


    Hailey nodded, feeling uncertain. Could she actually try to attack the dragon? She could not imagine it. Stealing a scale was dangerous enough. ¡°Do you really think it will come back?¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    A look of uncertainty crossed his face.


    ¡°Keep practicing this one until it feels natural,¡± he told her. ¡°The dragon went the opposite way of the kingdom, towards the dark castle. Hopefully it will be Millicent¡¯s problem.¡±


    Hailey gave him a questioning look.


    ¡°Millicent was the one who had cast the curst on the princess when she was a baby. As far as I know, she lives alone in the dark castle.¡±


    ¡°Was she one of the mages that was there when that kingdom fell?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± His voice was certain. ¡°That kingdom fell long before she would have even been born. Besides, the dragon may have just been hunting for food. It does not come here very often.¡±


    Hailey formed the sword and let it dissolve again.


    ¡°The shimmer should protect the kingdom from the dragon. Hopefully it will not be able to get through. Every few years, I see it flying around our kingdom, but so far the power of the heir has kept it at bay. There is no harm in preparing for something that does not happen. The same is not true of the opposite. When last it actually attacked the kingdom, there were many mages to keep it at bay. Now, there is only you and I and the power of the heir. That is all that protects the kingdom from everything in the forest.¡±


    <hr>


    ¡°Hey, new guy!¡± Aaron rose from his spot on the bench and glanced around to see who was calling to him. It was a pale skinned man who had an arrogance about him that could only mean he had been raised a noble. He even seemed to frown at his fellows condescendingly. He beckoned Aaron over.


    Aaron stood warily. None of the soldiers had taken any notice of him yet today except to ask for water. The practice yard had been full of soldiers, swinging their swords at each other. Now a fine dust had settled in the air. As he walked forward, the other man stretched his neck and waited.


    He handed Aaron a practice swordand then glanced back the way Aaron had come. A couple of women sat watching the noble. ¡°I¡¯m Edward. I figured if you really want to train to be a soldier, someone should help you.¡± Aaron felt his mouth go dry. The michevious glint in the man¡¯s eye did not bode well for him.


    Still, if Aaron was ever going to be a soldier, he would have to get along with these men. He squared his shoulders and said, ¡°Thank you,¡± even though he knew he was about to take a beating. Aaron didn¡¯t have to look around to know that some of the other soldiers had stopped their sparring to watch.


    Edward began slowly. ¡°Here, hold your sword like this.¡± He showed him a proper two handed grip, something Aaron was not capable of.


    He heard chucked all around him. Aaron clutched the sword in one hand and waited.


    ¡°I forgot you are only a one armed peasant. Right, well. One hand, then.¡± Edward took one hand off of his practice sword and took a stance that Aaron had the soldiers take when practicing one handed.


    Aaron held his sword and tried to imitate the other man¡¯s stance. In one motion, Edward knocked the sword out of his hand. Aaron turned to go get it and Edward smacked his backside with the flat of his blade. It stung and Aaron was sure he wouldn¡¯t be sitting right. ¡°Again,¡± said Edward. ¡°You got to keep a better grip on it, and try to block.¡±


    The next few minutes were some of the most humiliating that Aaron had ever had. He was smacked across the ribs, hit in the hand so that he dropped his sword, but Edward seemed to have a fondness for whacking him in the butt. His fellows laughed heartily. The women seemed to think it was funny to a point and then they left the practice grounds. Edward left Aaron in the middle of the field and told him to put his sword away. Then he followed where the women had gone.


    But the soldiers weren¡¯t done with him yet. Aaron glanced around for Derrick and realized that the captain of the guards was nowhere in sight. ¡°Hey, new guy. I have some things to teach you.¡± Aaron didn¡¯t know the names of the soldiers who tormented him after Edward but several of them had wanted to give Aaron a beating when Edward was done with him. Eventually, though they tired of it, but Aaron figured he would have days of this to look forward to. He spent the rest of the day fetching water and watching the other soldiers practice.


    Aaron sat carefully back down on the bench, watching the other soldiers practice their steps. He was sure his entire body was covered in bruises. One man had even managed to trip him. Aaron came down hard on his bad elbow. Even his bad hand, which didn¡¯t feel anything, seemed to have taken a beating today. He wondered if he were just being foolish. Maybe he never would make a good soldier and the chance that Hailey had given him was no chance at all.


    He watched the way they treated each other. Under the banter and the beating they gave each other, there was a real camaraderie. He wanted so badly to fit in, to be part of this, to defend his kingdom. He knew it was a job like many others, but as long as he could remember, this was what he wanted to do.


    He blinked back tears of frustration. He would not give up yet. If they beat him every day, then eventually, he would learn. He watched their stances, the way they held their swords. He couldn¡¯t practice when they were watching, of course. That would just be asking for an extra beating, but he could do this. All he had to do was try.

 Chapter 22

    Hailey¡¯s entire body trembled. After the long hike, practicing spells felt a bit like a break until she began to run low on magic. She stood outside, wishing she had worn a hat. She was sure her face was bright pink. She envied Barinon his darker skin that never burned.


    The cattle watched them warily and moved around their pasture unconcerned with what the humans were doing. The gardens were empty now except for the buzzing of insects. The noise of the city drifted up to her occasionally but it was as if she was in a different place entirely, a town or village. It even smelled different. Mostly of growing things and cow dung.


    Barinon had not relented. After teaching her to create a sword, he had taught her to create a shield. ¡°Again,¡± he said to her. Hailey clapped her hands together and pushed her arms out to the side. A translucent blue bubble formed around her. Barinon whacked it with a stick. The stick bounced and he whacked it again. She put her arms down but continued to feed magic into the spell, something she had learned to do better. Again and again he hit it.


    ¡°You have to keep practicing to the point of exhaustion,¡± Barinon told her. ¡°If you don¡¯t, you will tire to easily. Using magic is like using a muscle. If you don¡¯t practice, you will grow weak.¡±


    He went on about threats to the kingdom, reiterating the responsibility to protect, and the need to be capable of doing so. ¡°When you are too tired to think straight, that¡¯s when the dragon will show up or a mage, or the fairies will invade the borders. You have to have the ability to concentrate, to create spells even when you are exhausted. This is part of being a mage.¡± He whacked her shield again and the stick went straight through, smacking her in the calf.


    She cried out, but he didn¡¯t hit her hard. He knew her shield was beginning to weaken. Hailey knew she was just getting grouchy, but she was starting to wonder if she really wanted to do this anymore. Finally, Barinon called an end to the practice. They ate again, even though it wasn¡¯t dinner time yet.


    ¡°Some of the magical abilities you exhausted will return as you eat. Not only that, but you will feel less tired.¡±


    Hailey gnawed on a piece of cheese and a hard hunk of bread. It felt amazing to have something in her stomach. She would eat dinner, too when it was ready. The smells coming from the kitchen made her wish she could sit down right now and dig in. It had been a long day and the sun was finally beginning to set. Barinon gave her a moment to refresh herself before they met with the king and queen who would be curious to know how things were going for the new mage.


    She wished she didn¡¯t live on on the second floor of the castle. The march from the kitchen to her bedroom seemed endless. She bathed quickly in cold water and changed into a clean dress. Then she ran a brush through her tangled hair. She looked at herself in the mirror. The tiredness that she felt reflected back at her. She felt like she had aged a year in a single day.


    The king and queen were indeed waiting to see her. ¡°What have yo done to the child, Barinon?¡± The king asked, smiling. They entered the council room. It smelled faintly of tobacco and had a large table, around which several chairs were placed. In the back of the room, near a large map of ***name of continent, and an empty fireplace four cushioned chairs were positioned facing each other.


    ¡°Training to become a mage is an exhausting process, your majesty. You cannot expect me to take my time with her, as there is no one else in the entire kingdom to train.¡±


    Hailey tried to look as though she weren¡¯t so exhausted. The queen gave her a pitying look and bade her sit. The taller woman was elegant. Her navy blue dressed matched the suit her husband wore. It was well made but much more simple than what she had seen the queen wear inside the castle. So much of what everyone owned had been left behind in the rush to get out. ¡°Do not mind their banter. They tease each other as often as they can manage. I want yo to know that we appreciate you training with Barinon. The kingdom badly needs another mage.¡±


    The men joined them and they chatted about affairs of the kingdom, which merchants would have the opportunities to trade soon. For the most part, Hailey had a hard time keeping up. Finally, the topic of the princess came up. Finally something that Hailey knew something about.


    The queen looked at Hailey as she spoke. ¡°We were hoping that you would be able to take Barinon to check on her. We have not heard anything about her in such a long time.¡± Hailey could see the anguish of missing her daughter all these years on the queen¡¯s face and felt a stab of guilt. She could have taken them in to see their daughter.


    ¡°Of course. I will take him in tomorrow if that is what you wish,¡± Hailey said.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    The queen smiled. ¡°We do appreciate all you do for Taivalon and the years you have spent watching over my daughter. For now, I think you look like you could use a good night¡¯s sleep,¡± the queen told Hailey.


    Hailey rose with the others, but before she could turn to walk away, the queen cupped Hailey¡¯s face in her hands. I hope that things in the manor will be better for you and I apologize if your life in the castle was not too hard on you.¡±


    For a child the queen had found on the street, Hailey thought she had been treated well and told her so, but she couldn¡¯t help thinking that there was something else the queen meant by that. Hailey was too tired to figure out what that might be.


    <hr>


    Over the course of the next few days, Hailey began to adjust to her new life. She had new dresses, none of which looked like the dresses of a maid and a new pair of boots were being made for her. It was exciting to have new clothes. She spun every morning in front of her mirror, making her skirts twirl around her and wished the she had Margaret with her to share in the joy of new things. She should have asked after her old friend, but part of her was terrified of what she might find. Would Margaret be angry with her for not coming out of the castle? Could they be friends anymore? She supposed she would have to wait to find out. For now, Barinon kept her so busy, she didn¡¯t have time for other people.


    Barinon had been up before her everyday but by the third day, she actually woke before he started pounding on her door. She slept well in the large bed and worked hard until she fell exhausted into it at night. He taught her a couple of new spells, but mostly had her practicing the ones she already knew until she was near exhaustion. Still, it had never been as difficult as that first day when she was still adjusting to the physical rigors of the trip to meet Sequana while learning to cast.


    She had created another glyph outside the manor and ported back to the well. It was exhilarating to be able to go anywhere that fast. She did not see Sequana again, but thought she could hear her humming to herself deep in the well. She returned. ¡°Be careful not to place a glyph anywhere that someone is likely to be,¡± Barinon had told her. ¡°You might send someone into the void.¡±


    When she asked him what that was, he seemed uncertain, but had said there was more about it in one of the books in the mage¡¯s library. He got a far off look on his face when he spoke of the library, like it was something he had been missing for a very long time.


    Today she wore a gray dress. It was mostly boring but she liked the way it flared out at the hip and that it was a little shorter than the others. She was also less likely to trip over this one. It would look better with the new boots when they arrived.


    She stood, sweating and tired. She created the portal again and stepped through. Then, after closing and reopening the portal, she came back. ¡°Shield,¡± he yelled right as she stepped out of her portal. He threw something at her. She accidentally cast her sword and the dirt clod smacked her in the gut.


    ¡°You could have deflected with the sword,¡± he told her. ¡°Learn to improvise when things don¡¯t go the way you expect.¡±


    She nodded but wondered exactly how she was supposed to manage that. Maybe with practice, she told herself. He led her into the great hall where several lanterns were waiting to be filled with light. She almost groaned. Her arms didn¡¯t want to move anymore, but she made them work. She started with her arms out and then brought them close to her in a circling motion. This was one of the spells that had a word attached to it. ¡°Fulgaro,¡± she said, placing the ball of light inside its lantern.


    As she worked, Barinon paced. ¡°You have improved greatly over the last few days. I would like you to take me inside the castle. There is a book in the mage¡¯s library that contains the spell that I need to awake the princess.¡±


    Hailey created another ball of light. ¡°Fulgaro, she said. ¡°You think you can actually do it?¡± She was both excited and worried about what that might mean. ¡°Would everyone wake up if you managed?¡± Will the people even remember me? She thought to herself. She wanted them to be free, didn¡¯t she? That was the whole point of her becoming a mage.


    She created the next ball of light. ¡°Fulgario.¡± She gasped and Barinon turned from his pacing to see a ball of lighting in her hand.


    ¡°What did you do?¡± He asked her, making her jump.


    She was half tempted to just drop the thing, but no it wouldn¡¯t dissolve now, she had said the word of power that would keep the spell in place. Lightning crackled out from the center, hitting the sides of the ball. It was brilliant and flashing and dangerous. Panic ran through her and she looked up at her mentor. ¡°What do I do?¡±


    ¡°Go outside. Get it outside.¡± He opened the door for her and they hurried back out past the garden and the cows.


    ¡°Throw it somewhere,¡± he said. ¡°Make sure it doesn¡¯t touch anything flammable.¡±


    She dropped it on a patch of bare earth and stepped back a few paces. The spell flashed once and was gone, leaving a patch of burned earth and smoke.


    ¡°Remember what you did,¡± Barinon said with wonder in his voice. ¡°I think you created something new.¡±


    ¡°I mispronounced the word,¡± Hailey said, feeling foolish. One little change. What if she had messed up the hand motions along with the word. Suddenly magic seemed much more dangerous and uncontrollable.¡±


    ¡°Barinon, the king would like an audience with you in the study.¡± The young maid that hurried up was panting. She must have been looking all over the place for them. She was a pretty girl that reminded Hailey of Esmerelda.


    ¡°I will be right there,¡± Barinon said. ¡°Get some food, Hailey. You will need your strength to get me into the castle.¡±

 Chapter 23

    Barinon thought over what had just happened with Hailey. The girl was clearly shaken, but he stored her little mishap away. She was more powerful than he had originally surmised and she was learning quickly. As upset as she had been about creating that lightning spell, he could see nothing but possibilities for it. He wondered if it would do any good against the dragon or how accurate it would be. Could you kill a fairy with it?


    Barinon nodded to the two guards that stood outside the room and entered. A soft rug covered a good portion of the floor. He liked the study. The walls were lined with bookshelves, the chairs were comfortable, and the window was nice and large to let in plenty of light. It was probably the books that put him at ease. He always felt more comfortable around them.


    The king stood at the window, looking out over the practice yard. That was the downside of this particular room. The practice yard was noisy and it was too close to the house at all in Barinon¡¯s opinon. Stewart was beginning to show his age. His hair and beard had more white in them than black anymore, but he stood straight and proud. As a king should, he thought.


    He turned and smiled at Barinon. ¡°How is your young prodigy progressing?¡±


    ¡°She is remarkable.¡± Barinon thought about telling him about the lightning spell, but the king¡¯s eyes would glass over as he explained the intricacies of the spell.


    ¡°I am relieved that you are finally training someone. You and I will not last forever.¡±


    Barinon nodded. Finally, the king took a chair and Barinon sat as well. ¡°But you didn¡¯t bring me here do discuss my pupil.¡± He offered Barinon tea, which he knew Barinon would accept.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°Like and old man.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t claim to be old,¡± Barinon said. ¡°It makes me old, too.¡±


    Steward chuckled. ¡°How do you think the young mage sees you.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s thirty one.¡±


    ¡°Does she know that? I think both her mind and body have not realized that yet.¡± The king paused. ¡°You will go with her into the castle soon?¡±


    Barinon sipped his tea it was warm and bitter on his tongue. ¡°It¡¯s our best chance.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t get stuck in there. It makes me nervous.¡±


    ¡°She has done it before, though, and the young man she took with her is now training to be in your guard.¡±


    ¡°I know, but¡­just be careful.¡±


    ¡°I will be. I know the kingdom still needs me and I will not risk myself unnecessarily. You know why I have to go in there, though.¡±


    Instead of answering, the king took a deep breath. He got a far off look in his eyes. ¡°Did you see her, when you were in the forest?¡±


    Barinon shook his head. ¡°The lady at the well has seen her, though.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°When?¡± Stewart¡¯s eyes were almost pleading.


    ¡°Sometime in the last fifteen years.¡±


    The king glared at him. ¡°You give me nothing. You know what may happen.¡±


    ¡°And you know that it would be foolish of me to go and try to hunt down someone who would more than likely want to see me dead. It would be foolish¡­¡±


    The king cut him off. ¡°I understand the risks. I just¡­ If we could contact her, have a back up plan.¡±


    Barinon nodded, but the back up plan made him shudder.


    <hr>


    Hailey had eaten and Barinon had not come back. She left the kitchen and the staff that worked there seemed relieved. It was hard for her not to think of the kitchen as her place to be. There was a bustle and a rhythm to it that she found comforting. She almost wished she could wash some pots while she waited. The cook would have been horrified and so she left, wandering through the castle.


    The spell that she had accidentally created still bothered her. Barinon had warned her to be careful, that the slightest change could change a spell¡¯s makeup, but she had expected that it would just not work, not that it would change into something entirely different. She found herself wandering back to the balcony near her bedroom. She wished that Barinon had told her earlier that they would be going to the castle today.


    She knew the spell had to be undone, but it created a pocket of isolation that she loved. She had her own private little place in the world where no one would come and bother her. When Barinon managed to undo that spell, she realized now that she would miss it. She let her mind and her feet wander and almost didn¡¯t see the maid until she bumped into her.


    ¡°Excuse me, miss.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t looking where I was going.¡±


    The maid curtsied and hurried away. She would never get used to that. She made her way to the balcony. She could see the forest in the distance and the shimmer. She looked down to see the men practicing and tried to spot Aaron.


    He was sitting dejectedly on a bench. ¡°Hey one arm, get me some water.¡± The man who spoke to him had curly brown hair. Hailey could not make out his features clearly.


    Aaron rose stiffly and ladled out water into a large cup and took it over to the man. He seemed to be limping. He handed the man the cup.


    The man smirked at him and then said, ¡°Hey, one arm. You should see if your friend can heal your arm.¡±


    The other men were laughing, but Aaron just stood there until the man threw the cup on the ground. Aaron picked it up and walked away.


    Hailey made herself invisible. No one had spotted her yet, and she didn¡¯t think it would help Aaron¡¯s cause if they did. What had she been thinking? She was so used to Aaron the way he was that it didn¡¯t occur to her that someone would make fun of him. It wasn¡¯t his fault that his arm had been caught in the spell. If she had been a little bit faster. Thoughts of that day and how it had changed so much flooded her mind. Barinon was right. They had to undo the spell and set the people free. It was their responsibility.


    She watched Aaron walk back to the bench where he had been seated. He wasn¡¯t even watching the soldiers anymore. She wished she could go to him, wished she could make things right. She would have to find a time to talk to her friend. He needed someone, but he needed someone who could talk to him without giving more ammunition to the other soldiers.


    None of this had been like she had envisioned it. She had thought that the soldiers would accept him and teach him to use a sword despite the limitation of his left hand. She had thought that learning to do magic would take less work, that she wouldn¡¯t go to her bed exhausted every night.


    Nothing had been like she had imagined it and now that she thought about the things that she had wanted, the things she had asked Barinon for in exchange for her cooperation, she realized how foolish she had been. Being a mage was the right thing to do, but maybe soldiering wasn¡¯t something Aaron would ever do. Maybe she needed to let him know that she wouldn¡¯t hold it against him if he went home. She would like to have him here int he castle with her, but she hadn¡¯t seen him the entire time he was here. She missed him even though she was right there.

 Chapter 24

    Barinon smiled at the look of delight on Hailey¡¯s face. She had been pensive when he met her. He doubted that she was accustomed to change, and things were changing very quickly. Two horses were hitched to the brown carriage. The coachman climbed down and offered Hailey his hand. She shook it and then climbed in herself. She almost tripped over her skirts.


    He smiled at the confused look on the coachman¡¯s face. ¡°She¡¯s never been in a carriage before.¡±


    It was not a long drive and it would have been much easier to travel by portal, but he figured that if she were going to be a royal mage, she would have to be able to get around through normal means as well as magical. He climbed in after her and sat on the seat across from her. The interior of the coach was decorated in pale blue. The small curtains that framed the windows had been tied back to let in the light.


    The carriage lurched into motion and Hailey clutched the seat. She didn¡¯t look nervous though. She grinned at him and then a sadness came over her face. ¡°We will get them out of the spell, won¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the plan. I think I can do it.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Good. I think that will be best.¡± She sounded both hopeful and resigned. ¡°You will have to hold my hand the entire time,¡± she told him. Then she pulled a long glove out of her pocket and put it on. ¡°Then you will be the third person to roam the halls of the castle in fifteen years.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an honor,¡± he told her, eyeing his student. She was a hard worker and she didn¡¯t complain, even when he gave her challenges, but there was something about the castle and her relationship to it that made him a little nervous.


    The ride was not a long one. Barinon stepped out before Hailey could and held out his hand. ¡°Take it, to steady yourself as you climb down. You wouldn¡¯t want to trip.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said. The castle gleamed white in the afternoon sun. It was beautiful but it was the place where his friends had died. He lost a whole community here. He preferred the manor, despite its lack of books.


    She paused before they stepped into the spell and took his hand in her ungloved one. Her hand was small and warm in his. He smiled at her and thought how much Alyssa would have liked her. ¡°Don¡¯t forget not to let go. I don¡¯t know if I could get you out or what would happen to you if I did.¡±


    He nodded gravely and they moved forward. The shimmering spell felt tight on his skin. He pushed down the panic that threatened to overwhelm him. A child¡¯s hand was the only thing that was keeping him from collapsing.


    She took him up the stone stone staircase to the upper courtyard. Then she scooped up a chicken with her gloved hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Chicken,¡± she said. ¡°I will have to leave you inside for maybe a long time.¡±


    Barinon swallowed. She had seemed so sane before but now that she was inside the castle where she had spent so much time, he worried that she was a little unhinged. She had spent the last fifteen years in here alone. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising, and yet¡­ He gasped when he saw all the people. ¡°I had forgotten how many had fallen here.¡±


    ¡°You say that like their dead,¡± Hailey reprimanded him. ¡°When we figure out how to get rid of this spell, they¡¯ll wake up. You¡¯ll see.¡± She placed the chicken down next to one of the servants. ¡°Take good care of her, Mandy¡± she told the woman.


    Barinon tried to still the worry that was creeping through him. At any moment, she could decide that she wanted him to be one of the people that lived here. All she had to do was let go.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    She turned to him. ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    ¡°Fine. Just it has been a long time,¡± he told her.


    She showed him the dining room. It was filled with people and the decorations from the princess¡¯s birthday hung limply, reminding him of a day he¡¯d rather forget. Hailey took a deep breath and then addressed the crowd of sleeping people. ¡°I am back, but I will have to go away again. I am sure you can look after one another for me?¡± She nodded and they moved away as if she had heard a response. She chatted with people as she passed.


    One man had a bandage wrapped around his head. It reminded him of what Sequana had said to her. He wondered if the man still lived or if he was suffering longer in death than any man should have to. He thought about how much had changed, how much he could never put back together. This place haunted him and Hailey felt more like the ghost of the castle than a real person.


    <hr>


    It seemed a lifetime ago that Barinon stood in this room. It was the last place he and ring of ragged, exhausted mages had worked their magic. It was the last place he had been where he had a community and the last time he had been just Barinon, a mage who nobody paid any attention to. It was here that everything had changed.


    Light shone in through a large window on the back wall. Pink curtains and carpets decorated this place. Only a girl would want such a color decorating everything. The king and queen had given the child everything that she wanted, knowing that her life might be torn away from them.


    Hailey held none of the reservations that he did entering this place. She curtsied in the doorway and spoke to her as if the princess were waiting to speak to her. ¡°Hello, Princess Aurora. Your parents have been asking after you. They seem really worried, but I told them that you are fine.¡± As she talked, she moved forward, walking on the plush carpet before the bed. Barinon is here. Isn¡¯t it exciting that you have a new visitor? He really wanted to see you.¡±


    They looked down on the princess. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to talk to the sleeping child, but he wanted to know that she was still alive, wanted to be certain. The princess took a breath. His heart ached for the king and queen and what they had lost. Aurora looked exactly as she had the day of her party, still dressed in her lavender gown, hair still curled. She was so young and so beautiful. Barinon reached out to touch the princess¡¯s hand.


    Hailey used her free hand to swat his away. ¡°If you touch them, they scream,¡± she told him. ¡°I should have told you to bring gloves.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ok,¡± Barinon said, putting his had down. He thought for a moment. ¡°I think it was just your innate magic trying to wake them. The spell is too powerful and that¡¯s why they screamed.¡±


    She looked at him. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡±


    He cleared his throat. ¡°They couldn¡¯t wake up all the way. Your magic was trying to wake them because that¡¯s what you wanted, but it isn¡¯t powerful enough to wake them up. Now that you are in control of your magic, you shouldn¡¯t need the gloves.¡±


    He noted the pink satin blanket carefully folded at the foot of the bed. ¡°You cover her up at night?¡±


    ¡°I did, and I opened the curtains and lit fires in the winter. It was my job to look after them. I was the only one. I¡¯m still the only one.¡± She blinked back tears and he looked away, pretending not to notice. She had lost years taking care of these people. Well, maybe not years, but a normal life. Surely people would have frozen to death without her.


    ¡°It¡¯s an honorable thing, what you did for her, for them.¡±


    Hailey shrugged one shoulder and looked away. He would not press her to talk about things she¡¯d rather not discuss.


    ¡°Thank you for bringing me here,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m going to cast a spell on her now. It¡¯s just a test to see where the bind point is for the castle¡¯s spell.¡±


    Hailey nodded and watched him. She held onto his wrist so he could make the finger movements. The spell glowed before him for a moment and he gasped. A spindle of light reached down from the top of the spell, almost touching the princess¡¯s heart. It wasn¡¯t connected to the princess at all. It was connected to the air, above the princess. That¡¯s why it grew. He knew that might have been the case. He had thought over every possibility he could imagine, tried to understand what had gone wrong, because that would be important in his quest to set things right again.

 Chapter 25

    It occurred to him as he finished the test that people people on the outside of the castle would be surprised to see it light up. Maybe he should have warned the soldiers on the outside so that they could control the panic. He hoped they weren¡¯t panicking. The test was harmless, but now he knew for certain something he had been wondering for ages.


    ¡°Did you see that?¡± He asked her. Hailey nodded solemnly. ¡°So why did the spell grow fifteen years ago when I cast it?¡±


    ¡°Because it was not attached to the princess like it should have been. It was attached no the air above the princess, like the leaf that you bound to the tree.¡±


    She was clever, he would give her that. ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°But why? You bound the spell to the curse, right?¡±


    He nodded.


    ¡°The curse was always attached to the princess or it would have started growing when she was a baby, right? It doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡±


    Barinon took a deep breath and told her about what they had tried in moving the spell from the princess. It hadn¡¯t worked, but it had managed to move just slightly. When they bound the preservation spell to it, it began to grow.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why it didn¡¯t just not work. It should have either moved or not,¡± she said, no longer sounding like the little girl who had brought her in this room. Her bright blue eyes were full of questions. From moment to moment she seemed either a girl or a woman. It was as if being stuck one age for so long had stopped her from being the age that truly belonged with her. Maybe there was no age that truly was hers. She should be older than she was. He found himself wondering at the sacrifice she had made without thought, without complaint. She just rolled up her sleeves and did what she thought had to be done.


    ¡°Barinon?¡± She tugged on his arm.


    ¡°Ah.¡± He had been staring off into the distance. ¡°I¡¯m not certain why it moved. I just know that it did. I think you might be the missing piece of the puzzle,¡± he said. ¡°Where were you when the spell was cast?¡±


    She looked embarrassed. ¡°It wasn¡¯t my fault. I was just trying to hide from Esmerelda. She was being mean that day and¡­¡±


    He cut her off. ¡°What is done is done, Hailey. I just need to know where you were. I¡¯m not angry with you. I just need to know.¡±


    A silence hung between them for a moment. His hand was slick with sweat and he reminded himself once again that he was putting his life in her hand.


    ¡°I was under the bed,¡± she finally said.


    He patted her hand with his free one. ¡°Thank you, Hailey. Now I have something I would like to show you.¡±


    She looked up. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The mage¡¯s library.¡±


    Hailey had almost forgotten about that. She didn¡¯t know what her being under the bed had to do with the spell going wrong, but it probably had something to do with why she was the only one who could come and go without being put to sleep.


    Barinon stood in front of a blank wall. Most of the walls were made of plaster, but this one showed the stone underneath. It was cracked in places, but Hailey could see no sign of a doorway.


    ¡°Hold my wrist,¡± he told her.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    She grabbed on tightly, relieved to be letting go of his sweaty hand. Men sweated too much, she decided. Aaron¡¯s hand had been just as sweaty.


    Barinon pushed the palms of his hands together then pushed one hand away from him, bringing his palms back together and then pushing the other hand the other direction. He ended with his palms back together in front of his chest. It was a simple motion and Hailey thought she could replicate it without difficulty. There was a shifting in the wall, a sliding of stone and the wall slid open.


    Inside was a curved room. They stepped inside and Barinon let go of her hand.


    <hr>


    Hailey gasped, expecting him to crumple to the ground.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± he said craning his neck to look at the books that stretched to the ceiling. ¡°I forgot to tell you that this room has a spell on it that voids all magic.¡±


    ¡°How can a spell void magic?¡±


    ¡°Just for in the room we are in,¡± he said, but he wasn¡¯t really paying attention. There was a gleam in his eyes as he looked at the books and Hailey realized he was probably trying to figure out how many of these they could carry out.


    ¡°Practice opening and closing the door a few times and then I need to teach you the bind spell.¡±


    ¡°But won¡¯t it work in here?¡±


    He sighed. ¡°The room stops magic from the outside from affecting it. That way, all this knowledge is safe. Let¡¯s just say that if the dragon were to breathe fire on the castle, this room would be fine. Closing the doors is the opposite of opening them. Practice,¡± he said, taking a set of steps down into the darkness.


    Hailey did as he bid her. For now, she would have to stop asking so many questions. This place was important to him and he wanted to relish the time he had in it. She opened and closed the door and had to admit that this room was amazing. Light shone down from windows high above, but for the most part, it was dark in here. The windows were so high up that they only managed to cast a gloomy light. She had never seen so many books in her life. A massive ladder on a track ran up the side of a wall. The bookshelves almost reached the ceiling and hey were all full of books. No, she corrected herself, there were a few missing.


    There were mage lanterns hung on either side of the room. Notches had to be cut out or the bookshelves to hold the lantern. Hailey cast her light spell, careful not to get it wrong this time. ¡°Fulgaro,¡± she said, placing light in each lantern, then she followed him down the steps. The stone staircase opened up into a small room. Unlike the shelves above which had somehow managed to curve with the walls, these bookshelves boxed in the room, creating three walls. Many of the books were missing from here, and she opened her mouth to ask if there were some missing, but stopped herself. Instead, she found the single lantern and created magelight.


    Barinon turned to her distractedly and dropped the magelight he was holding. ¡°We are looking for a specific tome that details how the spell was created, then we will separate the spells and¡­well, let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves. First we have to find the book.¡±


    ¡°What is the name of it?¡± Hailey asked.


    ¡°Victor¡¯s Practical Spells,¡± he said.


    That sounded like a boring book to her, especially the practical part, but she looked for it. ¡°Why are there some missing?¡± She asked, finally giving way to curiosity.


    Barinon repsonded, his finger on the spine of a book. His eyes were still skimming the shelves when he said, ¡°I had almost forgotten. Cedric would have had it. In the council room.¡± He looked at her and blinked like he didn¡¯t recognize her.


    ¡°What?¡± She asked him.


    ¡°I just¡­ I ¡­¡± He seemed to be at a complete loss of what to say for a moment and then he continued. ¡°I had totally forgotten that we had moved a bunch of books that day.¡±


    Barinon grabbed a book off the shelves anyway and they hurried, holding hands once again. The council room was not one of the rooms that Hailey ever went in and so everything was covered in a fine layer of dust. Chairs sat unused, and even the table had a thick layer of dust on it. ¡°It¡¯s exactly as we left it,¡± Barinon said distractedly. He handed the book he had been holding to her, and then he grabbed the larger tome from off the table, closing it with a puff of dust. He coughed and then proceeded to scoop up five more of the books from off the table.


    She would have to remember to put the other books back where they belonged once she returned to the castle. They returned to the mage library, and then he sent Hailey to gather a few things that they would need to enhance the spell.


    ¡°Certain herbs will make a spell more powerful. There are other things, like minerals that can work even better, depending on the spell. What we need is rosemary, lots of it and candles,  marigolds and the chicken. Bring the chicken.¡±

 Chapter 26

    Aaron sat on the bench again. He was sore but the bruises were starting to heal. As long as he remained on the bench, as long as he didn¡¯t try to mimic the soldier¡¯s actions, they would leave him alone. Derrick had never given him guard duty, and so he remained at the practice yard, watching and trying to learn.


    Truth be told, he was just about ready to give up on this dream and walk home. He held the sword in his hand, looking at the sparkle of the dragon¡¯s eyes. It was better than watching the disgusted glances the the soldiers were giving him lately. They had stopped tormenting him as often, though Edward never seems to get tired of calling him ¡®one arm.¡¯


    He had two arms, and the one that didn¡¯t word would still be able to hold a shield as long as he could buckle it into place. He could be a good soldier, if anyone would give him half a chance or maybe he was kidding himself. Maybe he wouldn¡¯t amount to anything and he should just go home and help his mother with the candles. This had been a foolish dream.


    He pushed his hair out of his face and looked over the practice yard. He had learned many of the names of the men now, though he avoided speaking to any of them. Donald and Edward were out on the field now. They were pretty closely matched, which is why they sparred together frequently.


    ¡°Still here, huh?¡± Derrick was looking at him with a frown.


    Aaron opened his mouth to tell Derrick that he still wasn¡¯t going to give up, even though that had been what he was considering. The sword in his hand began to vibrate and then it became very hot. Aaron dropped it in the dust.


    Derrick picked it up by the sheath. ¡°Where did you get this?¡± He looked at Aaron with a little respect, and at he blade with awe.


    ¡°Hailey gave it to me,¡± he said. Then he explained to Derrick how they had gone into the castle to retrieve the sword and how he and picked the coolest looking one.


    ¡°You went into the castle, knowing that if she let go, you could be trapped in there forever?¡± Derrick sounded shocked.


    Aaron didn¡¯t have time to respond.


    A terrifying scream cut the air before he could finish his story. Birds took to flight and suddenly the sky was filled with them. What was happening? And what had made that scream?


    ¡°We might need me to have this,¡± Derrick said, keeping the sword. He took his own sword and sheath of his belt. ¡°Keep this until the battle is over.¡±


    Hailey managed to find all of the things on Barinon¡¯s list. She was glad that Henny was still warm. It was strange to have a chicken as one of the ingredients that would boost the spell, but what did she know?


    She stepped through the doorway and Henny began to flap her wings, slapping Hailey in the face with scratchy feathers. She squeaked, trying to break free of Hailey¡¯s grasp. Finally, Hailey let go and the chicken flapped to the ground. Then she pooped on the floor of the mage¡¯s library. Hailey shook her head. ¡°I almost forgot that chickens do that.¡±


    ¡°That is most of what they do,¡± Barinon said, taking the ingredients from Hailey¡¯s arms and placing them in a circle around the floor.


    ¡°You are going to try to kill her, aren¡¯t you?¡± Hailey said, feeling sadness wash over her.


    Barinon sighed. ¡°It¡¯s either the chicken or one of the people that are nearby. I would rather sacrifice your squawking little friend. The death spell is not going to take an already dead thing and transfer properly. It must be something living.¡±


    Hailey nodded. ¡°I understand.¡± She walked over to the chicken to stroke her feathers, but Henny scrambled away from her. She was going to have to get over this. Henny was just a chicken.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he told her. ¡°I know the chicken has been a friend to you.¡± He squeezed her shoulder.


    Hailey blinked back tears. She didn¡¯t know whether she was more upset about the chicken dying or about the fact that the chicken didn¡¯t remember her. ¡°It¡¯s ok.¡± Henny was walking around now, pecking at the floor and pausing to squawk occasionally. She suddenly went very still. There was a loud bang and a crash from outside.


    Aaron stood, watching the sky. Whatever had made that sound, it sounded like it had come from the sky. The soldiers were rushing around, pulling on armor, finding their swords and Derrick was in the middle of them, shouting orders. ¡°Meet in front of the manor,¡± he told the men. He followed. He didn¡¯t have armor yet. They hadn¡¯t even given him a uniform, but he would stand with these men, or at least he would try.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Then he saw it, a massive gray thing with wings like a bat flew through the sky. He clutched the sword that had turned hot in his hand. It was still warm, but it wasn¡¯t as hot as it had been right before the scream. Just the size of the creature alone had him having second thoughts, and then it breathed fire on the city. He couldn¡¯t see where it had hit, but smoke billowed up.


    He moved to the front of the manor, waiting for the other men to get there. Then the dragon circled around and came closer. He watched it fly almost to the manor and then pause and breathe fire again. They were doomed. How could he possibly survive this?


    The fire spread. A house nearby burst into flames. Aaron had no idea a fire could be that large. The flames were almost twice as tall as the house was. Someone came running out of the house. He thought it might be a woman from the screams, but she was covered in flames and it was hard to tell. She began to run down the street, a flaming, terrifying thing and then she collapsed into a heap.


    ¡°Soldier,¡± someone was yelling at him. ¡°We have to go!¡±


    He hadn¡¯t realized that the men had come together until now. He shook his head, trying to clear it. How were they going to be able to do anything against a dragon? And then they were marching forward, into the city, passed burned out buildings. People were in the streets. A man was shouting at his neighbors, trying to stop the fire from spreading. He thought of his parents and hoped they were ok. A little girl stood confused and alone. Unlike the adults around her, who were running and crying, she just stood watching and alone. The soldiers marched past a smoking wreckage of a house. The whole city was in chaos and they were marching right for the dragon. He wondered how they were going to manage to take down such a beast, but they had to try.


    The soldiers were running then and he followed shaking his head to clear it. He watched the sky, trying to gauge where the dragon was. It would have to land eventually, and then hopefully they would be able to do something against it. In front of the soldiers he was running with, a group of archers ran with quivers on their backs. The dragon swooped overhead, threatening to land. The archers aimed and fired.


    <hr>


    Aaron and his fellow soldiers had run across half the city before the dragon landed. The arrows only seemed to distract and enrage the beast, bouncing off of its scaly hide. He ground his teeth. The people of this city were suffering and so far they had been completely useless.


    The beast crouched now, in front of the castle. It seemed even bigger now that it was on the ground. Its giant head swiveled to look at them and they stood. Now that he was closer, he could see that the dragon wasn¡¯t gray, it was silver, a beautiful, dangerous thing with spikes behind its head. It stood on four legs,  with its wings folded up behind it.


    How were they going to manage against such a thing? He hoped that swords would be more effective than the arrows had been. Men showed up with pitchforks, axes, anything they could wield against the dragon. It wouldn¡¯t be just the soldiers fighting then, it would be anyone who wanted to fight. They screamed and charged the dragon, but a swipe of a front leg and five soldiers lay in a crumpled heap.


    A farmer ran forward with his pitchfork and tried to ram it into the soldier¡¯s hide, while another man swung at the head. The pitchfork came away bent and half broken, the farmer was knocked aside. They swarmed then moving as one large group, attacking and swinging. Aaron saw Derrick moving in with the dragon sword and Aaron moved in with his own. The sword shuddered in Aaron¡¯s hands as he struck the dragon, but the sharp steel did not penetrate. It bounced. The vibration made his hand go numb and he dropped it.


    The dragon sword, however pierce the dragon¡¯s side. Blood oozed and the dragon screamed and turned, throwing them all back and lashing out with its tail. He hit the ground hard, but he picked back up his sword and followed.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Hailey asked.


    ¡°We check on the princess, and then we go check,¡± Barinon said. He grabbed her hand and they raced out of the mage¡¯s library. He paused at the doorway for one more glance at the princess.


    Hailey tugged on his arm. They needed to go, needed to know what was going on. Smoke billowed from several places that had been lit on fire. Others had been crushed. He could see men below chasing after the dragon and others who would not rise again. Bodies littered the ground and men were screaming and dying. Taivalon was under attack.


    It didn¡¯t fly straight for the castle as it had before, it had shown its displeasure for having one of its scales taken. The dragon was ignoring the men who were swinging swords at its flanks. Arrows did no damage at all. The dragon took in a breath. Barinon could see orange on its silvery throat as it breathed fire at the spell. Nothing happened. Fire arced in several directions but it didn¡¯t penetrate. Then, surprisingly, it tromped into the spell, shoving and mashing carts of foodstuffs aside.


    ¡°The spell will stop it,¡± Hailey said, her eyes wide.


    But the dragon continued forward, unrelenting. The spell slowed it, but for a creature of magic, like the dragon was, he was relieved it did anything.


    ¡°This is my fault,¡± Hailey said. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t stolen one of its scales, then it wouldn¡¯t be here, it wouldn¡¯t be trying to attack us.¡± She was blinking away tears, trying to put on a brave face.


    ¡°You only did what I told you to do,¡± he said. ¡°If anyone is to blame, it¡¯s me, but now is not the time to worry about it. Now is the time to fix it. We have to focus on one problem at a time. We have to wake the princess before it gets to us.¡±

 Chapter 27

    Hailey and Barinon turned and ran away from the dragon. Hailey hoped that it wouldn¡¯t turn around and attack the soldiers again, but she ran with Barinon right back into the castle.


    ¡°We need a basket,¡± he said.


    ¡°There¡¯s one in the pantry,¡± she panted. They hurried into the kitchen. In the pantry was a basket of potatoes. He dumped it upside down and they turned and hurried out of the kitchen. She was breathing hard now, but Barinon didn¡¯t slow. They ran up the stairs and back into the mage¡¯s library. Hailey¡¯s hand was getting tired from constantly trying to hold onto his.


    ¡°We are so close to finishing the spell,¡± Barinon said. He looked worried, though and Hailey hoped he was right. ¡°We cannot let the curse remain on the princess any longer. We have to do what we can before the dragon comes for us. At least now the dragon won¡¯t be fighting the people.¡±


    She trusted Barinon. He had not been wrong this far and he would do his best. He had said over and over again how important it was for a mage to take care of the people of his kingdom.


    Inside the mage¡¯s library. They placed all of the herbs and candles in a circle and then Hailey put the chicken in the center. She petted it¡¯s feathers one last time, feeling a pang of guilt for what they were about to do. She put the basket over the bird. Henny remained still.


    Then Hailey watched, as Barinon tried to pull the death spell off of the princess. She could see the magic flowing from him, could see the dark magic that encircled the castle, but when he pulled on it, it didn¡¯t move.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°Bok, Bok, Bok,¡± said Henny.


    Hailey lifted the basket, feeling frustrated. ¡°Did we do something wrong?


    Barinon glanced at the spell book, looked across the hallway at the princess¡¯s chambers and sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It shouldn¡¯t be that difficult.¡±


    ¡°Try again. I will join magic with yours. Hopefully it will be enough.¡±


    Barinon closed his eyes. She placed a hand on his back, feeding magic into his spell. She could feel it pouring through him. He moved his arms toward the princess, spoke a word and then pointed his hands at the chicken.


    <hr>


    Again nothing happened. A low grumble came from outside. The dragon was getting closer. She hoped it wasn¡¯t about to breathe fire on her castle.


    ¡°We cannot leave it trapped inside the spell. It will tear the castle apart,¡± Barinon said.


    Hailey nodded. ¡°If I ran away from it, do you think it would follow?¡±


    ¡°No. Too risky. We need to face it together.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to try the spell again?¡± Hailey asked him. They needed to be doing something.¡±


    The dragon screeched. Hailey clapped her hands over her ears.


    ¡°No. We have to get the dragon out of the spell first. I think its changing the spell,¡± Barinon said. ¡°Then we should be able to move the spell off the princess. It should work. It has to.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want me to let it chase me, then what if we shrink the spell. Would you and I be able to do that?¡±


    Barinon¡¯s eyes went wide with excitement. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think of that. Of course.¡± He slapped his head with his palm. Then he returned to his book to glance over the spell.


    Hailey thought about letting Henny go, but she didn¡¯t want to have to track her down later. Everything was so uncertain at the moment.


    Barinon glanced up. ¡°Be ready. As soon as we get the dragon out of the spell, it will be back at full speed and it will attack us.¡±


    Hailey nodded. It seemed their best chance.

 Chapter 28

    ¡°I need another book from the council room,¡± Barinon told her then sent her off to find Spells and Bindings.


    As she hurried down the hall, she couldn¡¯t help but notice the thundering footsteps of the dragon. It was still coming for them and Barinon seemed to be only focused on the one spell. After all that time thinking over what went wrong with the spell when the other mages died, she thought she could understand. Still, she was worried the dragon would get to them before they could finish. Would she and Barinon be able to take on such a creature? She knew she had to focus. She shoved down her worry. They would deal with the dragon when it got to them.


    The corridor was a long one but at the end of it was the council room. She glanced at the table. Another footstep and then a roar. The dragon must be frustrated at being slowed like that.


    The book was in a stack with four others on top of it. She grabbed all five of them and hurried back to the mage¡¯s study.


    ¡°Good. We have to hurry.¡± Another footstep. ¡°It¡¯s getting closer.¡± She thumped the stack of books down on the table. They were heavy.


    ¡°It¡¯s the one on the bottom,¡± she told him.


    As he flipped through the pages of Spells and Bindings he explained what they were about to do. ¡°We have to bind the spell back to the princess where it belongs. If we try to shrink it when it isn¡¯t attached to anything, it may try to grow again. We can¡¯t risk that, so this is where we start.¡±


    ¡°But won¡¯t the dragon mess up that spell, too?¡±


    ¡°No. We were changing too much with the dragon inside the spell. This is just a tiny change, but it will be the difference between having the spell expand as it did before and being able to shrink it. Also, it¡¯s a different type of spell.¡±


    Hailey nodded, hoping he was right.


    <hr>


    Barinon and Hailey moved as quickly as they could manage through the castle and back to the princess¡¯s room. Barinon made a glyph that Hailey had seen in the book. He bound the spell to the princess and she could see it move, see that the princess was at the center of it. For good measure, he ran the test again to make sure that it was bound to her. Hailey clutched at his arm while he moved through the spell.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to need your magic for this one,¡± he told her.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± Hailey said, feeling nothing of the sort.


    The pink room seemed such a strange place to work the magic that would wake almost the entire castle. Hailey found tears coursing down her cheeks as she felt the magic working. This was the last bit of her old life that had still existed and now it would change as quickly as she had when Sequana bound her to the well. Her own magic was flowing into Barinon and from there into the spell. Sweat broke out on his forehead, shining against his dark skin.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Hailey watched the princess as she felt the spell begin to pull inwards. Barinon¡¯s arms remained outstretched as if he were trying to encircle the spell in his arms. He stood like that until his arms began to tremble. Hailey tried to hold up the one that she was grabbing with her hands.


    Screams rang through the castle. It was her people and they were waking up. What she had always feared and desired was happening. She focused on the magic, closing her eyes. They should all be free. Every on of them. Then there was a crash as the dragon smashed its way into the castle. They had to hurry. Finally, she could see the edges of the spell, could see it start to shrink in on itself. The death spell and the preservation spell bound together and finally resting over the princess. A small dome encircled the princess. Then it became even smaller. Hailey wondered if he could shrink it so that it wouldn¡¯t matter anymore, but Barinon stepped back from the spell gasping.


    Her hand fell away from his arm. Anyone could safely enter the castle now, and anyone could leave. People were running and screaming. ¡°We¡¯ve got to get to that dragon before it kills anyone else.


    Esmerelda slept and while she slept, she had more dreams than a person should have any right to. She knew she should wake, but she couldn¡¯t manage it, no matter how much she tried. She remembered someone moving her back inside. The sun had been bright on her eyelids and then she was in the shade of the castle.


    And then she had stayed here. She remembered now, it was a girl who had moved her and covered her up. She had built the fire and uncovered her when it was too hot. Was that Hailey? She thought it was.


    Something was changing now. She began to scream. She was walking from something terrible, something she didn¡¯t want to remember. She gasped and coughed. Everything hurt. She had been lying on the wooden floor in the dying room. She groaned and pulled herself up. There were a hundred people in here, all screaming or sleeping or pulling themselves up. They looked at each other. A man sat across from her. ¡°What happened,¡± he said. His voice was scratchy.


    She just shook her head. They needed water and food. They needed to know what was going on. She knew she had slept for a long time, knew she hadn¡¯t been able to wake, but she didn¡¯t know how long that was. Was Hailey even still alive? Or Margaret or Bruce or any of the people she had known.


    She stood on shaky legs and something huge smashed into the castle. A cloud of dust encircled them and she began to cough. She pulled herself up on stiff legs and hurried to the doorway. The boom, boom, boom of something was coming closer. She looked back at the room of people. They were standing now and coming to the doorway.


    ¡°What is it?¡± A woman asked her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Esmerelda said, and then she saw it, coming down the corridor. It barely fit. She ran to the other side of the room, just as the dragon smashed the wall in. It didn¡¯t fit in the corridor, not really and so now it was smashing the walls in so that it could get where?


    People screamed. They had been living a moment ago and now they were crushed by the stones that made up the walls. She coughed and gasped for air. ¡°I¡¯m getting out of here, she told the people around her. That was a dragon.

 Chapter 29

    Aaron looked down at the men who had fallen. Some of the soldiers knelt next to their friends as if the battle was over. It wasn¡¯t.


    They had watched the dragon go into the spell. It moved slowly at first, as if it were pushing against an incredible force, but then something had changed and it was able to move at a normal pace. It smashed into the castle.


    Hailey¡¯s people, the ones she had cared for for so many years were screaming and running out of the castle in a steady stream. The dragon had disappeared into the castle and the soldiers still stood, dumbstruck as if they didn¡¯t know what to do next. He wasn¡¯t in charge of this. He didn¡¯t know the first thing about dragons. So far, all of their attacks had been useless except for that one hit on the dragon¡¯s flank that Derrick had landed.


    They couldn¡¯t give up now, though. The person who had believed in him the most was in there and so was the dragon. She needed their help


    Derrick moved forward to ask the people what was going on, but even he didn¡¯t move into the spell. But the spell couldn¡¯t be there anymore if the people were running out. Something had changed.


    ¡°Before we go against this thing, there is one more spell I want you to know.¡± Barinon showed her the motions. It was not unlike the light spell. When he was done, he said, ¡°Ignio.¡± He held a ball of fire.


    ¡°If the mage sword doesn¡¯t work, try this one and don¡¯t forget about that lighting one you did. Most important, I think will be your shield. Stay safe. The kingdom needs us both.¡±


    Hailey nodded. She practiced the spell a few times, but she could feel the panic begin to rise within her as she did so. The dragon would be here soon. She could hear its thundering footsteps. Finally, she made the spell. A ball of fire crackled just above her palm.


    ¡°Say Amitto,¡± Barinon told her. ¡°That will undo the spell. There are so many things I have not taught you yet.¡± He sounded frustrated.


    She practiced the spell one more time. She knew it would be difficult to remember the moves and the word when she was facing down the dragon. Then she nodded to her mentor. She was as ready as she could be.


    As she looked at Barinon, the fear that she was feeling was reflected in his eyes and that made her even more afraid. Still, he took a deep breath and said, ¡°let¡¯s do this.¡± Then he ran into the hallway.


    <hr>


    The sounds of smashing walls and thundering footsteps continued. Aaron could not sit by and wait. He had to do what he could for Hailey. The spell that had taken his hand was gone, he was sure of it. Bracing himself, he stepped forward, prepared to fall if he had to, and then he stepped over the ribbon that had marked the edge of the spell for the last fifteen years.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    He remained standing. Gasping, he realized that he had expected to fall, had braced himself for it, but nothing happened. Hope began to spread through his chest. Maybe if the spell was gone, his hand would work again. He concentrated and tried to move his index finger. Nothing happened.


    It doesn¡¯t matter, he told himself. Then he turned back to the soldiers who had not even been watching him.


    ¡°Hey,¡± he shouted. ¡°The spell is gone. It¡¯s safe and we have a dragon to kill!¡±


    They didn¡¯t move. They just stood there in disbelief, blinking at him as if he were a crazy person.


    ¡°You¡¯re trying to trick us. Your little mage friend did something to you and now you can enter,¡± Donald said. The big man was sitting on the ground as if he were having a picnic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool, Donald,¡± said Christian. ¡°His little mage friend is inside the castle right now.¡± But Christian was not relishing the idea of stepping past that ribbon either.


    Derrick shook his head at Aaron. ¡°Soldiers! You heard him, let¡¯s go save our kingdom!¡±


    <hr>


    Hailey walked next to Barinon. Where was it now. From the booming and crashing noises she heard before, she knew it was somewhere inside the castle. Yells were coming from outside. She and Barinon hurried down the steps. ¡°It¡¯s probably on the ground floor,¡± Barinon told her.


    No! She thought. That¡¯s where all of the people are sleeping except they weren¡¯t sleeping now, they were running for their lives. She felt so many things, fear and sorrow that everything would be different now, joy that her people were free, terror that they were running away from a dragon from the moment they woke up and mostly uselessness. Who was she to face off against such a creature. She wasn¡¯t even half way trained.


    She could see her own flaws clearly now. She had been stuck as a young girl, unable to grow up. She had been thinking like one, too, pretending that everything was going to work out and that all of those people would wake happy to see her. Instead, they woke screaming and some of them were dying. There was nothing she could do.


    The smell of blood and vomit came to her as she rounded the corner. As she came down the stairs, she saw all the people that had lined the corridor when she had run out of room in the dining room. They had been stepped on. Some of them had made it out, but many had perished before they even had time to wake.


    Hailey gasped. It was headed back to the dining room. The dragon filled the entire corridor, smashing walls when it turned. It had to walk in a crouch, as the ceilings were not high enough.


    She was glad it was not facing her until it turned into the dining room. It picked up Mandy with one powerful claw, its talons wrapping tightly around her and threw her against the wall. Hailey shielded her, and she bounced off the wall before landing safely back on the floor.


    Before the dragon could turn to face her, Hailey had created her mage¡¯s sword. She threw it at the dragon, hoping to hit it in the flanks.

 Chapter 30

    Aaron ran into the castle. The main entrance had been smashed in. He paused, glancing up at the ceiling. He didn¡¯t want a part of the ceiling to fall on him, but he also couldn¡¯t leave Hailey in there to battle the dragon alone. He hoped that the other men were following but he didn¡¯t want to wait. A cloud of dust hung in the air, making it difficult to see. He coughed and stepped inside. Not too far from the entrance, was the large man that Hailey had pointed out the last time he was here. He couldn¡¯t remember his name, but he had been a cook. His legs been flattened by one of the dragon¡¯s feet. A pool of blood grew beneath him. Aaron called to him, but the man didn¡¯t move and didn¡¯t appear to be breathing. Disgust and fear warred within him. He shoved them both away.


    ¡°Where is it?¡± Derrick shouted from behind him, his voice echoing off of the walls.


    Aaron shrugged. ¡°Follow the screams.¡± Or the destruction, he thought. Other bodies lay with limbs twisted and eyes locked in terror. He could only imagine how terrifying it must have been for these people to wake after sleeping for so long, only to be confronted with a dragon.


    Don¡¯t look, he told himself, but he couldn¡¯t help looking over the bodies. The large doors that opened into the dining room were clearly not big enough for the dragon. One wall had been collapsed in. People were screaming and trying to get away. Some were petrified, unable to move. He wondered if it was just the spell taking time to wear off.


    Hailey and Barinon stood alone against the dragon.


    ¡°Get the other people out,¡± Derrick yelled.


    The soldiers moved towards them, prodding those that were petrified and trying to calm the others. A few of them refused to move even then. Christian picked up a woman and threw her over his shoulder. She had such a look of complete terror on her face that Aaron¡¯s heart twisted in pain for her.


    Aaron had to try to protect Hailey. He charged forward, swinging at the beast with Derrick¡¯s sword. It bounced off, not even creating a scratch on the silvery scales. Again and again, he swung, but to no avail. How was he going to be able to do anything if he couldn¡¯t even pierce its hide? The dragon didn¡¯t seem to notice. Instead, it moved to corner Hailey and Barinon, snapping at it with its jaws.


    Hailey launched a ball of fire at the dragon¡¯s throat and the dragon screamed, staggering back. The sound was deafening. She was amazing. He had never seen anything like it.


    Barinon¡¯s movements were quicker and more practiced. He sliced at it with a glowing blue sword, which puffed into mist as the dragon prepared to breathe fire.


    Flames covered both mages. Aaron gasped. Hailey was completely covered in fire. He was too late. ¡°No!¡± He screamed, but then the fire stopped and both she and Barinon were still standing and unhurt. They were on opposite sides of the dragon now.


    Finally, the other soldiers were attacking. Dozens of arrows were launched at the dragon, but they all bounced off. The dragon turned then, to notice that there were other attackers. As it moved, it lashed its tail and knocked Hailey backward. She fell and slid against the floor.Stolen novel; please report.


    Aaron he ran towards her, his heart in his throat. She had been hit hard.


    <hr>


    Hailey pulled herself to her feet. She was so in over her head. Some of the spells that Barinon was throwing at the dragon, she had never seen before. She was trembling, terrified that the dragon would kill her next. She was backed into the corner but for the moment the dragon only seemed to be paying attention to Barinon.


    Aaron was there, too but his strikes weren¡¯t doing any good. The dragon screeched and Hailey clapped her hands over her ears. What was she doing here? She was just a kitchen maid who took care of the castle when there was no one left. Her spells were harming the beast but they weren¡¯t doing any real damage. Barinon stood alone against the dragon now except for the soldiers.


    Barinon threw a lance of ice at it. A long pole of ice stabbed into the beast¡¯s throat, sizzling as it struck. Hailey tried to move out of the corner, but the dragon¡¯s body had her pinned. She was afraid to move, afraid to draw any attention to herself. All it had to do was slide a little bit closer to her and she would be crushed. She couldn¡¯t stay trapped here. It would kill her for sure.


    If she hadn¡¯t brought Aaron to the castle, then they wouldn¡¯t have gotten caught and she wouldn¡¯t have woken this thing. Life would¡¯ve gone on the way it used to, the way she was accustomed to. Now her people were suffering. The dragon stepped towards her and she was pinned against the wall.


    Pull yourself together, she told herself. Two mages had to be better than one, even if one of them was not even halfway trained. She felt rage building within her. This dragon had come here, had damaged her castle and killed the people she had worked so hard to protect. She had to fight. She couldn¡¯t leave Barinon here alone to battle by himself. She couldn¡¯t let herself be crushed to death. She had promised Barinon that she would help him. She clenched her teeth against the pressure. It leaned into her, making it hard to breathe.


    She focused and drew her mage sword. She couldn¡¯t make the hand movements but the thought about them and moved her arms as much as she could. She envisioned a dagger instead of a sword. Then she stabbed its leg. It moved slightly away. Hailey gasped for air, then she held the blade and raced, ducking all the while underneath the dragon. Blood splashed on her, but she didn¡¯t care.


    The dragon reared and tried to come down on her, smashing its head into the ceiling. Plaster and a cloud of dust reigned down on them. Hailey shielded herself and one of the soldiers nearby. She couldn¡¯t see where Barinon or Aaron were, but the giant silvery beast was easy to pick out. It swatted at Hailey, but the bubble held. One of the soldiers came forward, swinging as word. He was actually able to cut at the beast as if he were holding a mage sword. The others wore looks of defeat. Everything they had thrown at the dragon had not worked so far.


    The dragon ignored the soldier and Barinon, and came at her again. She had been the one to steal its scale, after all. She threw her lightning spell at the beast, which crackled over its hide but did not seem to slow the beast. She launched a fireball and the dragon lunged for her. Had Barinon¡¯s ice spear stopped it from breathing fire?


    She shielded against the dragon¡¯s head, coming to swipe at her. She cringed back, hoping it would hold. It did until the tip of one silvery wing stabbed at her. It broke through her shield, knocking her back. She was starting to run low on magic, but the dragon kept coming after her. Barinon lanced it with ice again, but ignored even that. It was determined to kill the one who had stolen its scale.

 Chapter 31

    The dragon turned from its relentless chasing of Hailey to attack the people who had come to help. A white bearded farmer with a pitch fork charged the beast. Without even a thought it was slapped aside. He cried out before crumpling in a heap. Hailey did not think he would rise again.


    Soldiers charged from every side. One of the smaller men came in from the front, aiming his sword at the giant green eye. He was chomped in two and spat at the other soldiers. The looks of terror on their faces made Hailey all that much more determined to fight. Only the mages didn¡¯t stood a chance against this animal. They would all die and if Hailey didn¡¯t do something about it, it would be her fault.


    But she was so tired. She had thought that being a mage would be easier. She would create portals for the kingdom and maybe learn to heal people. She would do things for the kingdom that weren¡¯t dangerous, but required magic. She had been a fool. No, she had been young and full of a girl¡¯s ideals of how the world should be. Fighting a dragon was not something she had ever wanted to do. Just being near one was terrifying enough.


    Aaron kept hammering away at the beast despite not making any headway. Now that it was injured in a dozen places, he could deepen the wounds. He stabbed into a gash on its hind leg. The dragon turned to him. Hailey held her breath. Her friend was knocked aside. She watched to see him rise. Terror gripped her.


    ¡°Aaron!¡± She screamed. He staggered to his feet. He had a cut on his forehead, but otherwise, he seemed to be ok. She had to stop the dragon from turning to him again. How dare it hurt her friend? How dare it come into her home and hurt her people? She let the anger build within her again. It helped her tired focus on what she had to do.


    Barinon was fighting away at the beast, keeping it¡¯s attention on him. He was using magic to throw things at the dragon, smashing the tables that Hailey had never been able to move into it¡¯s silvery hide.


    She drew her mage sword again, but this time, she imagined it much bigger. Since it didn¡¯t weigh hardly anything to begin with, the much larger blade was still easy enough to hold. Then she came at the beast, slicing into its side and making it turn away from the defenseless people. The larger sword cut deeper, and she couldn¡¯t manage to pull it out. Instead, she let it dissolve into mist. The dragon screamed, letting its frustration known to the world, but she could not pity it. It raised its giant head towards the sky and let out a powerful cry of pain.


    She was tired. Every muscle in her body was exhausted, but as she saw the dragon¡¯s head swivel towards her, she forgot all about that. Panic rose within her. What have I done? She thought. Bright green eyes blinked and narrowed at her. It was an all to human expression.


    Hailey turned and began to run.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    <hr>


    Hailey ran out of the dining room. Behind her, she could hear the dragon. She thought about going out onto the courtyard, but the dragon was faster. If it was following her, at least it wasn¡¯t near her friends. She couldn¡¯t let it hurt Aaron again. She was surprised that he had been able to stand.


    The dragon came closer and closer to Hailey, snapping at her and almost catching her feet. She turned at the staircase and ran up. The dragon followed. She could feel its breath on her ankles. She was going to die.


    She turned at the staircase, knowing it couldn¡¯t follow. Half way up, she realized she should have gone down. She was leading the dragon to the princess¡¯s room. If the heir died, then all this work, the entire reason that Barinon had hunted her down, would be for nothing. She hurried on anyway, knowing that the dragon wouldn¡¯t fit through the staircase.


    She paused for a moment on the third floor, trying to catch her breath. Should she go back down? She could hear the dragon crashing through the corridor below. What if the floor gave way? What if it turned and went back to hurting everyone that she was trying to keep it away from?


    She looked back down the stairs. It wasn¡¯t coming this way. She took two steps down and then a shadow fell across the corridor. At the end was a large window. A moment later, the window and much of the wall smashed inwards. The dragon came for her. Her heart was in her throat. What should she do?


    She prepared a lightning ball while running away from the dragon. Then she threw it behind her, not even checking to make sure it hit. She prepared another one, and turned. The dragon opened its mouth to chomp down on her. She tried to create a shield but it failed. She was going to die. She had led the dragon here, away from everyone else, but after it killed her, it would turn and destroy everyone else.


    She tried again, but she couldn¡¯t manage to get it in place. What was she doing wrong? She knew how to do this! She had done it before. She ran farther down the corridor, away from the chomping jaws. She had to do something. Finally, she created the mage sword. It was small and her hand was trembling.


    Something smashed through the window on the other side. She there where mage sword at the beast but it only made a small cut on the dragon¡¯s nose. She thought that Barinon had stopped the thing from being able to breathe fire. She braced herself for the blow that would kill her, finally getting her shield into place. What was wrong with her? Had she forgotten everything that he had taught her?


    From out of nowhere, Barinon was by her side. He had picked up one of the soldier¡¯s swords and was batting at the dragon pushing it back. Had he flown here? Did mages know how to fly? Hailey stood dumbly. Her mind was not working correctly. She ran to help Barinon, launching lightning spells one after another, but the dragon wasn¡¯t backing away anymore. It was coming back towards her. She backed away, terrified.


    The dragon¡¯s throat was glowing again. The sword would do no good. She was about to be caught on fire. ¡°Shield, Hailey.¡±


    But Hailey couldn¡¯t remember the most important spell that he had taught her. She tried again but nothing happened.


    ¡°Sheild!¡± He screamed. The dragon¡¯s mouth opened.


    She cringed away from the fire that was about to engulf her. She had not gotten her sheild up in time. She was about to die.


    But the fire didn¡¯t burn her. Beside her, Barinon screamed. She knew what had happened then and tears streamed down her face. Why had he done it?

 Chapter 32

    She heard them before she saw them, the rattle of armor and swords. Soldiers were coming up the stairs to face the dragon. The bald man with the sword that actually cut the dragon was ahead of them. The dragon itself was bleeding in a dozen places, but still it would not die. She ignored everything that was going on around her.


    Hailey fell to her knees beside Barinon. His chest was still smoking and his robe had been burned away. His white hair was blackened in places. Tears streamed down her face. She took his good hand and squeezed it. ¡°What do I do? How can I heal you Barinon? Help me learn to heal you.¡± Her voice wouldn¡¯t work right. She was having a hard time speaking over the sobs and he was having trouble speaking over the pain.


    ¡°No, child.¡± He said to her. ¡°I am not long for this world. I go wherever my community of mages have gone.¡± He was smiling as if he were happy to die.


    ¡°No!¡± She yelled at him. ¡°Don¡¯t leave me.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t help it,¡± he said. ¡°I tried not to let that thing kill me but in the end, it was either you or me. I think I made the right choice.


    ¡°No I was the stupid one who couldn¡¯t remember how to make a basic shield.¡±


    She glanced back at the soldiers. They wouldn¡¯t last long agains the dragon, but they were pushing it back, farther away from her and Barinon.


    ¡°I know who you are now. It took me until today to figure it out.¡± He coughed. ¡°Sequana was right. You don¡¯t know who you really are.¡±


    That didn¡¯t make any sense to her, but he was gasping for breath now. ¡°Go¡­ help them¡­ I will give¡­ my last.¡±


    She nodded to him. She knew what he was asking her to do. His last bit of power, all he had left to give would go into the spell she cast next. She had to make this count. She knew it wouldn¡¯t be worth his death. Nothing could be, but she had to try.


    <hr>


    Aaron had been left behind when the soldiers began running into the corridor. ¡°It¡¯s up the stairs!¡± Someone yelled. In all the confusion, Derrick must have lost the dragon blade. It gleamed at him from under a massive chunk of plaster. The dining room was once again filled with bodies, but these ones were dead. He grabbed the sword and limped after his fellows. He would not let Hailey fight the dragon without him.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    He staggered up the stairs. He had come down hard on his right hip and it made it difficult for him to move. At the top of the stairs, he could hear men fighting, screaming dying. He would join anyone who was brave enough to fight the beast. Swords bounced off of its hide. The soldiers had positioned themselves behind the head, fighting agains the chest of the dragon, which filled almost the entire corridor.


    He came in swinging, fighting for all he was worth. He made a long slash down the creature¡¯s neck, and it tried to turn towards him, but its bulk and the ceiling was in the way. He glanced back to see Hailey kneeling over Barinon. Barinon looked like he was dying or maybe he was already dead.


    Hailey clenched her teeth and created a massive glowing blue sword. He wondered if she could have made them for the soldiers and let them do the fighting instead of having to wield it herslelf. He turned back and stabbed at the dragon¡¯s leg. If they could stop it from being able to move, eventually they could kill this thing.


    ¡°Get away!¡± Hailey was screaming at them and Aaron stepped back, creating a space for her to fight.


    He shoved the soldier next to him against the wall and screamed at the others to move. Hailey looked exhausted. She was panting for breath and covered in blood. She screamed and drove the massive sword into the dragon¡¯s right leg.


    A scream echoed Hailey¡¯s but the dragon¡¯s was much louder. It rang through the castle loud enough to make the walls shake. With an effort, Hailey pulled the sword out and prepared to stab again. The dragon limped backwards, holding its injured leg up off the ground. Blood welled and dripped off of the silvery scales. She harried it with blows, slicing at anything she could get. Aaron followed her, afraid to get to close. The dragon continued to limp away, but it was still fast and now Hailey was jogging to keep up.


    She raised her sword one last time, and prepared to slam it into the creature¡¯s neck. He followed her, fear for Hailey running through her. Then the dragon began to slip backwards, falling out of the castle. Hailey almost went with it. She dropped her sword which puffed into mist and began to fall with it.


    Aaron ran forward. She couldn¡¯t have died, could she? Then he saw her hanging on to the edge of the wall. His sword clanged against the floor and he reached down to pull her up, cursing his bad arm for being completely useless. She clawed at him, fighting to stay alive.


    Finally, he pulled her to safety and she collapsed into his arms. She gasped against his chest. He looked out over the city and saw the dragon flying away into the distance. It hadn¡¯t fallen to its death then. He supposed that that would have been too much to ask for.


    She was crying in his arms. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± she told him. ¡°I failed you. I failed the kingdom. I failed Barinon.¡± He held her tight and let her cry.

 Chapter 33

    ¡°Men! Gather your weapons and your armor. If you don¡¯t have any, peel it off of one of the dead.¡±


    Hailey pulled out of Aaron¡¯s embrace. She was grateful for his strength, that he had saved her life, but she still had work to do. One of the spells in the books had directions on how to heal. Aaron limped away. Maybe she could figure out how to heal that, after she practiced on someone who was going to die anyway. She reminded herself of the way the light spell had changed into lighting. Barinon had seemed so excited that she had messed that up.


    She pushed away the sorrow, the ache that he was gone now and set to work. She strode to the library, rubbing the flaking blood off of her arms as she went. She needed the spell book, but she couldn¡¯t remember which one it was. This would take her time.


    One of the men who had come with nothing but a woodsman¡¯s axe was now wearing leather armor over his homespun tunic. He picked up one of the soldier¡¯s swords and tried a few practice swings with it. He was a big dark skinned man. He had managed to survive and Hailey was certain that if he wanted to leave his farm behind and be part of the king¡¯s army, Derrick wouldn¡¯t hesitate to let him in.


    She nodded to him as she passed and strolled into the mages¡¯ library. Inside, she would hopefully find what she was looking for. Pages had been scattered. The chicken had managed to knock over the basket. It lay it¡¯s side. Only feathers and chicken poop remained. She hoped that Henny was still alive somewhere, but knew it was a foolish thing to hope for when her entire world had been turned upside down.


    She couldn¡¯t let herself think about Barinon or all the soldiers who had died. She had to focus on what she could do to save the lives of those who might still be able to live. Many of them lay dying in the dining room. She scooped up one of the books and made her way there, flipping through pages as she went.


    She hoped the dragon didn¡¯t return. She had barely survived and her fingers still hurt from gripping the ledge. If it weren¡¯t for Aaron¡­ She couldn¡¯t think about that right now. The spells on healing were close together. There was one for knitting bones, another for closing a wound, one for healing a cough and then a whole list of other sicknesses and how to heal them. This was going to be much more complicated than she thought.


    Someone coughed. She turned to see a young red haired girl who had been trapped inside the spell. ¡°What are you still doing here?¡± The girl gasped for breath and coughed again. Then she shook her head.


    Hailey figured this was as good a place to start as she could find. The girl was barley able to breathe. Her chest was covered by a large chunk of plaster. Hailey pulled it off of her, but the girl still gasped for air. Then Hailey went through the motions to heal the girl. She could sense what was wrong with her. She cast the spell for coughing on her, hoping it would any good.


    ¡°Te cosine,¡± she said, binding the healing in place.


    She thought she did something wrong. The girl was gasping even louder now, then she began panting for breath and then she was breathing normally again. She pulled herself to her feet and hugged Hailey. ¡°Thank you. I think I¡¯ll be ok now,¡± she said and walked away.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Hailey moved to the next person, who was a soldier who had his leg bitten clean off. He wasn¡¯t breathing. She moved on, trying to find someone she could still heal.


    <hr>


    It was mostly broken bones and deep gashes after that. She worked until Derrick interrupted her.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± He seemed angry that she was healing his men.


    She looked away from the soldier whose leg had just closed. It would take time to heal, but he wouldn¡¯t bleed to death now. ¡°Cosano,¡± she said to the soldier, tying the spell in place.


    ¡°I am healing the soldiers. I thought you would be happy to have your men to bleed to death.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s still too injured to fight. This is a waste of magic. How much do you have left?¡±


    Healing felt natural to Hailey, like this was what magic was meant to do or maybe it was just her magic that was meant to heal. She turned to the captain. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s not like I can measure it in gallons.¡±


    ¡°How many more soldiers could you heal?¡±


    ¡°It depends on the damage.¡± Did he see her as one of his soldiers? Was he going to start bossing her around now? She liked Barinon better.


    ¡°Look, little mage, I don¡¯t know if you noticed this but we didn¡¯t exactly accomplish our goal back there. The dragon still lives and it will be back to kill us all.¡± His face, all the way up to the top of his bald head was red.


    ¡°Are you suggesting that it will be back today? I think we injured it enough that it will not be coming back anytime soon.¡±


    Hailey moved to the next soldier who had a massive cut across his chest. She needed someone to organize these people in order of worst injury. If she had taken an longer to heal the girl, she would be dead by now.


    Derrick grabbed her arm. ¡°It¡¯s not coming back today, you idiot, but it will be back and it will want vengeance. We have to go now while it¡¯s still injured. That¡¯s why it flew away. We had done enough damage that it was going to die.¡±


    ¡°And some of your men are going to die if I don¡¯t see to their injuries. Are you suggesting that I let them lie here and bleed out?¡±


    ¡°Someone had already gone to get a healer. This is war. Men get hurt and die. If you think you can take on the dragon by yourself without the help of Barinon then yes, we should wait for the dragon to come back! But if you had any sense left in that little head of yours, you¡¯d realize that this is our best shot. We don¡¯t know if that thing can heal itself, but we do know that it is injured right now.¡±


    Hailey paused. Maybe he was right. She wouldn¡¯t be able to take that thing by herself. They didn¡¯t need more soldiers, though they needed two more mages. She didn¡¯t tell him that.


    ¡°Aaron, go see if you can find any more swords like the one you have,¡± he turned and shouted.


    Hailey hadn¡¯t even seen Aaron coming up behind them. He glared at the captain, then turned and walked away.


    Derrick turned back to her, waving his finger in her face. ¡°You are going to take orders from me, not the other way around. Yes, you might have a big sword you can throw around but you are nothing more than a fledgling mage who let her mentor die!¡±


    Hailey slapped him. She had never done that to anyone, and her hand still stung from the blow. ¡°If I could change it, I¡¯d be dead right now and you¡¯d be talking to Barinon, but we don¡¯t always get what we want.¡± She turned away from him. She had probably hurt her hand more than she had his face, but she didn¡¯t care right then. She knew it was her fault that Barinon had died, but she wasn¡¯t about to let this fool of a man throw that in her face.


    She ran away from him, away from all of it and towards Aaron. He was rummaging though the weapons when she found him.


    ¡°I should have stayed behind,¡± he said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t have your risking your job for me,¡± she said. ¡°Tell your captain to be ready to go after I take a nap.¡±


    Aaron looked at her blankly. ¡°You can sleep right now?¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t, I won¡¯t have enough energy to fight the dragon. You can wake me, not him.¡±

 Chapter 34

    It seemed she had barely closed her eyes when Aaron knocked softly on the door. She pulled herself up. ¡°I forgot to tell you I need food too,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m still not going to be up to my full strength. It¡¯s not just the magic, it¡¯s that I¡¯m so tired.¡±


    He came and sat next to her on the bed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you got hurt and I haven¡¯t had time to heal you yet.¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I wasn¡¯t hurt that bad. I can still get around.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s my fault that you were in danger in the first place. You could have been home, could have been safe. You didn¡¯t have to get mixed up with this.¡±


    ¡°Hailey, don¡¯t apologize for that. It¡¯s what I always wanted. You somehow managed to give me what I wanted, when everyone else in the world would have told me I was crazy, would have told me that no one would have wanted a one armed soldier.¡±


    It hurt to hear him call himself that and she told him so. ¡°I saw you sitting on the bench and the way they treated you. I never meant for any of this to happen.¡±


    ¡°But it did, and I¡¯m glad. Derrick wants me to go with you. He said that I was the only one fool enough to charge into the spell and he needs those kind of men. I think I finally have a real shot at this Hailey, and it¡¯s because of you. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re sorry and that you messed up because I don¡¯t see it that way.¡±


    ¡°But Barinon¡­¡± her voice broke. Tears streamed down her face again. ¡°He should be the one. He was better at everything than I am.¡±


    He put his good arm around he shoulders. ¡°I still think you¡¯re amazing. You stood against the dragon, you fought hard and you did the most damage to it. It flew away because of what you did with that massive sword thing.¡±


    She shook her head, wiping at her eyes. ¡°That was him too. He was giving me the last bit of his magic so I could cast that spell. He died like all of the other mages, giving all the magic they had and killing themselves in the process.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. You were the one who wielded it, who charged a beast twenty times your size.¡±


    She sniffed. ¡°You did too.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m a lot bigger than you are.¡±


    She laughed at that. Tears spilled over. It was too many emotions all together.


    ¡°I have wasted so much time,¡± she said. ¡°I could have learned from Barinon a lot earlier. Look at this room. I spent months painting these walls. That¡¯s a skill I will probably never use again. It just seems like I have wasted so much time.¡±


    ¡°But you and I could never have been so close if you didn¡¯t stay in the spell.¡±


    She smiled up at him. ¡°That¡¯s true. If I wasted my life, at least I did it getting to know you. You¡¯re one of the best friends I¡¯ve ever had.¡±


    Aaron was silent then for a long moment.


    She looked at him in the late afternoon sunlight. ¡°Are you ok?¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    He just nodded. ¡°We better go,¡± he said. ¡°Derrick will be waiting for us.¡±


    <hr>


    It was only about twenty men that came with them to attack the dragon. One of them was that big farmer she had seen practicing with the sword. Derrick and Aaron held the only two dragon swords that they had managed to find. Archers had come with arrows ready to be set alight. She hoped that those would do more damage than the regular arrows had. Getting through the silvery scales seemed the Mose difficult part of fighting the creature.


    Derrick was giving last minute instructions to his men. Finally he nodded to her. He treated her like someone he had to bring along. Sure, she would do the most damage to the creature, and none of them could get there without her portal, but that didn¡¯t matter in his eyes. She was glad that Aaron didn¡¯t feel the same way she did about the captain. It would have made his job impossible.


    She turned her back on the arrogant man and prepared to create the portal. He had been right about needing to attack now, but he acted like she should know exactly how to deal with a battle when she had never been in one before. She was only days into learning to be a mage. She had to stop obsessing over what he thought about her. It doesn¡¯t matter what he thinks. After this, you can ignore him for the most part, she thought to herself.


    She moved her arms and a shimmering sphere with an image of the well appeared before her. It was ringed in clouds.


    ¡°Woah,¡± one of the men said, but none of them were willing to step through. Aaron walked forward and stepped right through the portal as if he had done it a hundred times. The others followed more reluctantly, eyeing her as if she was planning on letting it drop. Derrick followed his men, not saying a word to her.


    She was the last to step through. She didn¡¯t think you could hold a portal opened after you were on the other side. The portal just slipped out of her grasp and closed itself once she was on the other side.


    ¡°What is this place?¡± one of the soldiers asked, looking around with wide eyes. The others were looking around as well.


    Hailey paused for a moment, trying to decide if this was something Barinon would have wanted her to share. Then she said, ¡°this is the remains of a kingdom who lost their heir. This is why we must protect the heir at all costs.¡±


    The soldiers glanced at each other. ¡°Creeps me out,¡± one muttered under his breath.


    Hailey wished she had created a glyph to the mouth of the cave, but then she didn¡¯t thinks would be coming back here. The hike back up the hill wasn¡¯t as difficult as it was the first time. Maybe that nap actually did some good, she thought.


    They reached the mouth of the cave and Hailey moved forward, a cluster of soldiers at her back. The archers prepared themselves just in case, lighting a torch for every two of them. The arrows themselves were covered in pitch and cloth. They would light quickly and be able to be thrown. Each one of the archers also carried a sword.


    The mouth of the cave was small, but it opened up into a much larger cave. Derrick was right behind her.


    She cast a ball of light. ¡°Fulgario,¡± she said. Then she threw it as far as she could manage. She wasn¡¯t very good at throwing, but the light revealed a huge room just beyond the opening with branching paths. She had never been in a cave before and it was colder than she had thought it would be. It felt good after the hike, but the darkness was going to be a problem.


    ¡°It¡¯s a small cave, is it?¡± Derrick¡¯s voice echoed off the walls of the cave and she shushed him.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was this big. I might point out that there was a freaking dragon in the middle of the mouth of the cave. I was trying to survive. Besides, I¡¯d never seen a dragon before today. I didn¡¯t know they were real.¡±


    ¡°Ya, well pay attention to your surroundings. We need you to be alive and stupid things like getting yourself killed because you didn¡¯t notice the biggest cave in the kingdom is just idoitic.¡±


    Hailey clenched her hands into fists. ¡°I might remind you that you can¡¯t leave this place without my help. You¡¯ll get lost and die, so maybe you should be nice to me for a change.¡±


    Instead of conceding the point to her, he just said, ¡°Don¡¯t waste any more magic on light,¡±

 Chapter 35

    ¡°We take the one on the right,¡± Derrick said, holding his torch ahead of him.


    Hailey was frustrate cheat she trusted his judgement. He was too cocky and full of himself, rude and obnoxious, but when it came right down to it, she would rather have someone who knew their way around a cave lead the party. She followed right behind him, and Aaron pushed his way out of the group of men to stand beside her.


    ¡°Try not to make him angry,¡± Aaron whispered in her ear.


    His voice tickled. ¡°Tell him not to try to make me angry,¡± she whispered back. ¡°I don¡¯t like him.¡±


    Aaron shrugged and his leather armor creaked. ¡°He¡¯s the captain for a reason. He¡¯s a good leader and I trust him.¡±


    Hailey did not say that she trusted him too. Derrick might overhear that and she didn¡¯t want to give him the satisfaction.


    It wasn¡¯t long before the path branched again. Again, Derrick chose the right one.


    The coolness of the cave that felt so good when she stepped into it was now too cold. She had to admit she knew nothing about caves. The torch light was not enough to go by. Her eyes craved even the night sky, which had dozens of stars. The complete blackness, lit only by the flickering glow of torches was making her dizzy. Part of her mind was already screaming to get out.


    ¡°It¡¯s too narrow,¡± she said. ¡°The dragon couldn¡¯t have come this way.¡±


    Derrick turned to her. ¡°And there¡¯s no way of telling if there¡¯s another passageway. That meets up wit this one. We continue. Caves can be confusing and easy to get lost in. For some people it can be difficult tell that they are actually even exist.¡±


    One of the men sniggered behind her and his voice echoed off the walls of the cave, making it sound like they were all laughing at her.


    She gritted her teeth and didn¡¯t say anything to him. Aaron had asked her to be nice and she would try. Several steps forward, the cave began to narrow again and then they would have had to crawl on their bellies to get any further. Hailey hoped that Derrick didn¡¯t climb in there. She would¡¯ve had to follow. He held his torch in the hole. ¡°We can¡¯t go any further this way. We¡¯ll have to turn back and take the second branch. Hailey suppressed a smirk.


    Derrick shoved his way past the soldiers to be at the front of the line and so did Hailey and Aaron. She didn¡¯t want to be in the back when they found the dragon. She didn¡¯t necessarily want the archers behind her either for the same reason. Still, as she was the one who would best be able to hold her own against the dragon, she should be in the front.


    The other pathway was larger, but then, the other one had been before it began to narrow. She imagined them climbing through a narrow passageway.  Why had she worn a dress? She really needed to get a different set of clothes for chasing down dragons, and the royal mage¡¯s robes wouldn¡¯t work for this either.


    The men were silent now, only the creak of armor and the shuffle of steps echoed off of the walls of the cave. Hailey tried not to let her imagination run wild, but she couldn¡¯t help but feel that they were being watched. This was the dragon¡¯s home that they were entering, and dragons were something that none of them knew very much about except for how destructive they could be in a battle.


    To her relief, rather than narrowing, this pathway broadened, opening up into a large room. There was a constant dripping noise coming from above. Her heart quickened in her chest as she realized how vulnerable they were here in the open. Maybe she shouldn¡¯t have been relieved to be in such a large space.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    They continued, the drip, drip, drip getting closer. Then she felt it on her arm. She raised it to look at what had splashed on her. That¡¯s when she realized that she wasn¡¯t looking at water, this was blood.


    <hr>


    Hailey gasped and Derrick turned. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s blood! She showed him her arm.


    ¡°Probably just the dragon¡¯s dinner. There is more than likely a dead sheep up there with its belly ripped open.¡±


    ¡°But where is it coming from?¡±


    Derrick held his torch up. There was a ledge, but they couldn¡¯t¡¯ see what was up there. Then one of the men in the back screamed. They all turned towards the sound.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Derrick sounded angry.


    ¡°Bernie is gone! He was here one moment and gone the next.¡± Hailey couldn¡¯t see the man who was shouting behind them, but she could hear the panic in his voice. She felt the same. If the dragon had taken him, they were in trouble. She wanted to turn around, to return to the mouth of the cave where she knew she would at least see the dragon coming.


    ¡°You ok?¡± Aaron whispered to her.


    Hailey tried to calm herself. There was something about this darkness and the fact that they had no idea where the dragon had gone that was getting the better of her. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she said. But she didn¡¯t feel fine.


    ¡°Hailey!¡± Derrick shouted. ¡°You come in the back with Aaron.¡± If the dragon tries that again, I want to be ready.¡±


    They continued and Hailey and Aaron fell into step behind the other men. She didn¡¯t want to seem cowardly. Now that the dragon knew they were here, surely it would follow them to the mouth of the cave. It seemed foolish to her to continue, but what did she know? She had never even been in a cave before today. Surely Derrick knew what he was doing.


    The large room became smaller again. This constant shifting in sizes and¡­ there was that dripping sound again. It was ahead of them again. How had a creature that size managed to get ahead of the group without them hearing it? Hailey opened her mouth to call out to derrick, to tell him to turn around. Then there was a scream.


    ¡°Keep moving!¡± Derrick screamed, picking up the pace and moving farther into the cave. The dragon picked off a man right in front of her. She thought that maybe the dragon had been aiming for her and missed, or maybe the dragon was going to whittle down their number until it was just her and the dragon. A scaly claw just reached down and grabbed him in a blur. The man didn¡¯t even scream. Hailey felt her heart sink as she realized it had been the farmer she had passed in the hallway earlier that day.


    ¡°Did you see that?¡± She asked Aaron, panting.


    He nodded, looking at her with wide and terrified eyes. It could have just as easily been either one of them. Hailey had half a mind to try to climb up to the ledge the dragon was resting on. It had to be above them. She couldn¡¯t just let the men be picked off one at a time.


    She heard a thump behind her and saw the farmer¡¯s body fall from the ledge. She could see the dragon now that they there far enough away from the ledge. It was huge and she had to admit, beautiful, but it had killed Barinon and she was here to make it pay. She locked eyes with it. The green eyes glowed slightly in the darkness. She backed up, seeing where the dragon would go.


    With a casual grace, the dragon descended the ledge. It was injured and still limping but still somehow graceful. She prepared her mage sword and stood ready to fight.


    The men at the front of the line had continued. ¡°Stop!¡± Aaron yelled at them. ¡°The dragon his here,¡± he said.


    The men turned and the dragon did its best to corner them in the long corridor. It snapped at Hailey and she slashed at it with her sword. They circled each other, their gazes locked on each other. The dragon ignored the men that were lining the wall and preparing to launch arrows at it.


    Flaming arrows flew and the dragon moved. One of them caught on its side. The burning pitch stuck but the dragon scraped its side against the wall of the cave. It came at them then. Derrick stepped forward with the dragon sword, swinging and slicing into the dragon¡¯s side. The dragon screamed, its voice reverberating off the inside of the cave then it swiped at Derrick, slashing him across the chest. ¡°Go,¡± Derrick yelled. ¡°We have to get out of this cave!¡±

 Chapter 36

    Derrick handed Aaron the dragon sword as he passed. ¡°Your turn. Do better than I did.¡± And then he hurried to the front of the group. He stumbled but one of the men caught him. He was losing blood and he continued to lean on the soldier who had caught him. Hailey wanted to tell him to be in the protected middle, calling orders to his men as they went. Taking a chance with getting lost in here was foolish.


    As the men passed, she could see the terror in her eyes. She was certain that it was reflected in her own. She was at the back of the group again, the dragon closing in fast. Aaron remained by her side, dragon sword at the ready.


    Hailey glanced over her shoulder as she ran. The ground was uneven and she tripped, falling forward and catching herself on her palms. They bled, but she didn¡¯t have time to think about that now. She pulled herself up and saw the dragon slash one clawed hand out at Aaron. Hailey shielded him just in time, but the swipe was powerful enough to knock the shield into Hailey. They sprawled on the ground, and Hailey covered them both. The dragon ignored them and continued after the soldiers. Aaron speared it in the backside, but the dragon continued on, dripping blood from several wounds.


    It swiped again and Hailey wasn''t¡¯ close enough to see. She just heard the scream of the man who the dragon had killed.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the mage?¡± Someone shouted.


    ¡°Here!¡± She shouted back. ¡°Coming!¡± But she couldn¡¯t get past the dragon until the cave opened back out into a large room again. She passed another body. She conjured and threw her mage sword at the dragon, but it didn¡¯t even slow it down. She ground her teeth. It was so frustrating not being able to see.


    Finally, the cave widened and she hurried passed the dragon, pausing to shield the man the beast was swiping at. She wondered idly why it hadn¡¯t breathed fire on them and hoped that it didn¡¯t.


    She could do this. She had to protect these men, but feelings of doubt filled her. Derrick had treated her like the inexperienced mage she was. ¡®Couldn¡¯t even protect your mentor,¡¯ rang through her mind. No! She thought. I may not be as good as Barinon but I¡¯m all we have. I can¡¯t give up now.


    All through the large room, she shielded soldier after soldier. The dragon seemed determine to kill them all and deal with Hailey later. She threw lightning, fireballs, anything she could remember at the dragon, trying to get its attention off the soldiers. Nothing was working. She was beginning to tire. She swayed on her feet and almost stumbled. Aaron grabbed her, dropping the dragon sword in the process.


    ¡°You have to stop. You can¡¯t keep casting! If you pass out, we all die.¡± Hailey nodded, but was she supposed to just let the dragon kill everyone?


    Then he shouted at the other soldiers. ¡°Protect the mage! She is running low on magic. If we don¡¯t protect her, not one of us will make it out of here alive and the entire kingdom will fall!¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    They were down to just ten out of the twenty men who had come. He picked up the blade and made sure she was encircled by the other soldiers. He was at her side, casting worried looks her way. Then what she had been fearing happened. The dragon engulfed them in flames. Feeling the heat, she slammed her shield into place but it wasn¡¯t enough to protect everyone. Those at the front of the group who were in front of her were protected when the blast hit, but the men behind her were charred husks when she turned to look back. They collapsed to the ground. At least they hadn¡¯t survived. The pain from that fire would have been too much to bear. The rest of them had no time to pause to mourn the fallen. They continued in a hurrying pack, struggling to make it out before the dragon could breathe fire again.


    <hr>


    Hailey ran out of the cave, disappointed that the sun had set. She craved sunlight and she was exhausted, but she kept running. They were moving by moonlight now. The dragon would still be able to pick them off one at a time if it wanted to. She raced with the men down the hill that had taken them so long to climb, trying to feel for the dragon. She sensed nothing. She grabbed Aaron¡¯s arm and turned to look back. Aaron looked at her but didn¡¯t say anything.


    Behind them was nothing. The moonlight cast a silverly light over the ground and trees. The dragon wasn¡¯t following then? She couldn¡¯t understand why not. It had been picking them off one at a time. She realized her mind had been slowing when she realized it could have taken flight. No one had thought to try to stab its wings, not that they could reach them for the most part. The dragon always kept its wings tucked on its back.


    She had been so foolish to bring these men here to die. They should have left the dragon alone, should have found a better way to attack it before engaging it again. The words that Derrick had thrown at her came back to her then, reminding her that she was a foolish untrained girl trying to do a wise old man¡¯s job.


    Ahead of her, the men turned to look back. The terror on their faces snapped her out of her self doubt. She was all they had. She may not be a match for the dragon, but she had to try to keep these few alive. So many had died today. ¡°Get to the well,¡± she screamed at them. ¡°We have to get away!¡±


    Derrick didn¡¯t argue and she worried that they had lost a capable leader. He was still staggering ahead of her. She didn¡¯t have the time or the energy to heal him, though. She had just enough magic left to open a portal.


    Aaron handed her a strip of dried meat. ¡°Chew on this. We need you to be able to get us out of here.¡±


    It was in his pocket and probably was covered in lint and sweat, but she didn¡¯t argue. She had used enough magic to make her light headed. She was lucky he had come with them. They might have all met their doom if not for him. He kept a close eye on her and she was beginning to appreciate the fact that she couldn¡¯t see everything or do everything by herself.


    The strip of meat wasn¡¯t good. It was gamey and hard to chew, but she ate it anyway, trying not to cough when she swallowed.


    At the well, she created her portal. It seemed to shine out of the darkness, pinpointing their location for the dragon as if it couldn¡¯t find her anyway.


    The men were exhausted. They looked like they would collapse at any moment. ¡°Go,¡± she screamed at them even though they were hurrying through the portal already. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the dragon, coming straight for them. She concentrated on keeping the portal open and didn¡¯t let the dragon distract her. ¡°Go, go go!¡±


    Finally the others were through. The dragon was closing in fast. She glanced back before stepping through her portal and was smashed through her own portal by the dragon.

 Chapter 37

    Hailey had ported to the castle, thinking that that would be the best place to go. She still had men there she needed to tend to when she had any magic left. The moment the men saw the dragon, the ones that were left fled. She didn¡¯t blame them. They had all barely survived. She should have been the only one to stand against the dragon, but she felt hopeless now and frustrated. Aaron didn¡¯t back down, though. He came after the dragon, swinging the sword and cutting into it¡¯s front leg.


    The dragon had many injuries. It was covered in wounds and still it came on, relentlessly charging. ¡°Stay close to me,¡± she told Aaron. ¡°I can shield us both if you stay close.¡±


    He nodded, not looking at her, but keeping his eyes on the beast. When had he learned to fight? Again and again he stabbed and she stayed with him, stabbing at the beast with her own mage sword. She couldn¡¯t risk letting go of it. Her magic was mostly gone and so she held on. If she had to summon another one of these, would she be able to sheild again? It was such a hopeless battle, but she couldn¡¯t let the dragon destroy her city. She braced herself for the fact that she might have to put all of the energy she had left into a single strike, something that would leave her unconscious and vulnerable.


    Aaron raised his sword to strike again, but the dragon saw his charge and backhanded him, throwing him into into the wall that ringed the castle. The sword flew out of his hand and landed on the other side of the wall. Aaron scrambled to his feet and raced to retrieve the blade.


    Hailey turned, feeling very alone. The green eyes stared at her and Hailey didn¡¯t dare look away. She raised her sword, ready to continue the fight, just the two of them. The dragon swiped at her and she took the blow, taking the chance to almost sever one leg. Her sword cut deep into the dragon¡¯s thigh cutting all the way to the bone. If she hadn¡¯t been flying backwards, she thought she could have cut it clean off. It would bleed out now, she hoped. Bleed and go unconscious. She flew back, skidding to a stop.


    The dragon opened its mouth and she dropped her sword and shielded herself against the flames, but its neck had not been glowing. What was it doing now? This was something new, an attack that Hailey had not seen before. The thought frightened her, but then the dragon did something worse.


    It sang. Quieter than it¡¯s piercing cry and more melodic. Suddenly she realized what it was doing. It was casting spell. She could see the magic forming around the beast. The wounds that had been bleeding a moment before closed and healed themselves. How was she going to kill a beast that could heal itself. The task before her seemed that much more impossible all of the sudden. It left Hailey there, turning the direction that Aaron had gone.


    <hr>


    Aaron rounded the corner, holding his blade before him. He was sweaty and dirty and one of the bravest people Hailey had ever met. She looked at him, knowing that he wasn¡¯t just her friend. He cared for her more than that and surprisingly she felt the same way.


    This is a stupid time to be having this realization, she thought to herself. You find out you are in love with a man right before you both die.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Still, the thought sent a thrill through her followed by terror. He had stood by her side through everything, had stayed at the castle when he could have gone safely home, and now he was here, sword raised, determined to take down the dragon. She suddenly realized how much he had done for her. He had always been waiting for her when she left the castle, had always stopped whatever he was doing to spend time with her whenever she deigned to leave the sleeping people behind. She had been a fool not to realize it before. He was not only in love with her, he had been so for a very long time.


    I just need more time with him, she thought. Now that she understood what she had, she was not about to let the dragon take him away from her. She had been the one to wake the beast. She would be the one to kill it or die trying.


    She screamed, summoning her mage blade again and running for the dragon. It turned from Aaron and Hailey stabbed it¡¯s haunches.


    ¡°Go,¡± she screamed to him, aware that she kept repeating herself. ¡°Find safety. I think I know how to kill it!¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    She shook her head and began to run, still clutching her mage sword. The dragon would follow. She knew that now. It was her fault that the dragon was awake. She could fix this.


    Aaron ran after her for a moment but then he slowed. ¡°Magic made this problem. Magic can fix it,¡± he said and then he ran the other way. Relief washed over her. She could do this. She ran back into the castle. Maybe the dragon was beginning to tire. It was having trouble keeping up with her even though it had healed itself.


    She wondered at that. All of the bleeding cuts all over its body did not seem to slow it down, but healing itself did, which meant that it was more suseptible to a magical attack than even the dragon sword.


    Her footsteps echoed off the empty corridors. She kept glancing behind her. Nothing was there. It was dark inside the castle. At any moment the dragon would come down the corridor and catch her.


    As she passed the mage¡¯s library, the dragon smashed through it, raining stone and plaster down on her. It saw her and a gout of flames shot from it¡¯s massive maw. The books were being damaged. Everything that the mages had known was contained in that library. She didn¡¯t have time to think about it. Hailey ran for all she was worth, ducking around the corner as the flames hit. The dragon had been keeping pace with her. She just hadn¡¯t realized it. It screeched in frustration and began to follow.


    She turned to see the faintly glowing green eyes following her. The dragon reached out its head and snapped at her, but she had already made the turn up the staircase and onto the third floor. She had to hurry. She had hoped that she would have more time to work on the spell before the dragon was on top of her. Again, the dragon didn¡¯t try to shove its way up the narrower staircase. It pushed its way back out the wall and then back in again, giving her prescious moments to prepare the spell. She stood outside of the princess¡¯s room, focused on the task at hand. She had only seen Barinon perform the opposite spell once. She raced into the princess¡¯s room, throwing items out of the way.


    The dragon crashed through the wall at the opposite end of the corridor. She snatched up the book that Barinon had been using and tried to enlarge the spell once again. If she could fight it again when she was at full speed and it wasn¡¯t, she might be able to win this fight. She flipped the page and the dragon swiped at her, reaching into the princess¡¯s room with one giant leg.

 Chapter 38

    She had found the spell but not fast enough. She had no time to cast it. The dragon¡¯s claw almost caught her. She couldn¡¯t stay here. If the dragon breathed fire over the princess, then all of this would be for nothing. She tried to memorize the motions to make a spell grow as she threw the book back into the princess¡¯s room and went out to meet the dragon head on.


    Only the spells she had been using came to mind. She knew there was one with frost that Barinon had taught her but she couldn¡¯t remember it. Maybe when she wasn¡¯t so tired, it would come back to her. Besides, she needed to remember the done that would make the spell around the princess expand.


    She summoned her shield and the dragon swatted at it, but she remained anchored to the floor. She had had no time to regain her magic. She was so tired and worried that with her weariness, she would start to forget things, like she had right before Barinon died. Thoughts of self doubt threatened to overwhelm her, but she shoved them back, focusing on Aaron and the trust he had placed in her.


    ¡°Magic made this mess, magic can fix it.¡± She repeated that over and over in her mind. Then she dropped the shield and began to fight. She stabbed at the dragon¡¯s face. It screamed at her and prepared to breathe fire. Hailey ran further down the corridor. What if she put her shield over the dragon instead of herself? She tied the sheild to the dragon¡¯s head.


    The dragon let it¡¯s fire loose, making the darkened hallway flash with orange light. The fire stayed contained in the sheild but it but it didn¡¯t seem to hurt the beast, just make it frustrated. Still, she thought. It was something. She would have to work with that spell and see if she could do something else with it. Then it came to her, she could tie it to the dragon, trapping it where it was. Quickly, she bound her sheild to the floor. The dragon hissed and tried to break free, but its head was caught. Why hadn¡¯t she thought of that before?


    She hurried back to the princess¡¯s room and tried to enlarge the spell that was around the princess. She practiced the hand movements once and then tried to enlarge the spell. It began to grow, but she was quickly running out of magic. She would have to use way more magic than she had left. She dropped the spell just as the dragon broke free of her spell. This time she wasn¡¯t as quick when it swiped at her. Blood began to well around a large gash in her thigh, just above the knee.


    She was going to die. She had not figured out how to defeat the dragon after all. Frustrated tears coursed down her cheeks until she realized she was being foolish. She shielded herself from the dragon¡¯s onslaught and tore off part of her dress where the dragon had cut through the fabric. It came off in a long strip of dirty cloth. It was all she had at the moment. If she bled to death, the dragon would terrorize the countryside. She couldn¡¯t let that happen. She tied the cloth around her leg and then stood, wincing at the pain. Then she drew her mage sword and charged the beast.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    <hr>


    Hailey knew what she had to do now. It was their last hope, but she thought it might work. She tied her shield to the dragon¡¯s head again, knowing she would only have moments to prepare for this. Then she separated the curse from the spell that kept the princess asleep. At the last second she dropped the shield. The dragon pushed through the wall, creating another cloud of dust. Hailey began to wonder how many walls it could knock over before the castle began to crumble. She shoved the thought away and focused on moving the curse.


    Thoughts of Barinon binding the leaf to the tree flooded her mind. She need to make sure she did this right. If she didn¡¯t bind it directly to the dragon, the spell would grow again and no one would be able to help her stop it.


    Sweat beaded on her forehead. The ache in her leg was a dull throb and she couldn¡¯t feel her toes. The curse lifted off of the princess. The dragon burst through her shield, screeching in frustration and lashing out one last time. Hailey couldn¡¯t move. She had maintain focus. She barely had enough magic left to make the spell work and she only got one shot at this.


    The dragon¡¯s claw cut into her side before she got the curse in place. She said the final word, tying the spell to the dragon. The cloudy gray spell settled over the dragon. Hailey held her breath, fearing that she had done something wrong, hoping that it did not grow, but nothing happened. The dragon stilled and was silent.


    Hailey gasped. She had not expected that, but then she didn¡¯t know much about dragons. She collapsed against the wall, near enough to the dragon that if it had survived, she would die instantly. She couldn¡¯t force herself up. She was so tired and she could sleep here. She cast one last spell before she let herself sleep. ¡°Fulgaro,¡± she said, wanting the light incase the curse was not enough. At least she would know before she died.


    She didn¡¯t know if she slept or not or if the dragon was sending her images, but she could see something coming, something terrible. Cold grew over the earth and there was nothing that any one could do to stop it. She saw the fall of the black castle, people running every which way, trying to flee to Taivalon, the nearest city. Mages were grabbing people and shoving them through portals and fairies were working against them, trying to kill the people the mages were trying to save. So many died.


    She saw the dragon, old and dying give its life to a tall and statuesque woman and then it died, living on inside her. Then it wasn¡¯t the dragon anymore. It was the woman and she was taking children away from their homes. They were mages, or at least they would be if the mages ever found them. She didn¡¯t know how many had been taken, but she wished they had been here with her today. Maybe so many would not have died. Other images flashed through her mind but she didn¡¯t understand them, didn¡¯t know if she was loosing too much blood and that¡¯s why she was seeing things in her mind.

 Chapter 39

    Hailey cried. She didn¡¯t know what all of those images meant. Her side hurt and her leg hurt and she didn¡¯t want to do this anymore. She just wanted to live her life simply without things attacking her and killing so many people. Vaguely she realized she should cast a healing on herself, but she was losing blood and she couldn¡¯t think straight. Maybe after she took a nap, then she would have the magic to heal herself. Maybe then things would make sense.


    Someone was coming. She could hear footsteps coming up the stairs. At first she was afraid, but then she remembered that the dragon was dead and it didn¡¯t make footprints. That was people.


    Aaron rounded the corner. He looked really worried. He should have been smiling. She had done it. Seeing him made her feel proud of what she had done, proud and tired and sad. Why was he looking at her like that. He was so beautiful. She wished he would smile. She loved the way his cheeks dimpled when he smiled, but he just looked worried.


    ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    ¡°I think so.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re bleeding.¡± He handed her a chunk of cheese and skin of water. ¡°Here, eat. You are going to need to heal yourself.¡±


    She ate, remembering the spell she had cast on one of the soldiers. Closing his wound. She didn¡¯t have any broken bones, so that was something. She wasn¡¯t sure she remembered that one. ¡°What¡¯s all that noise?¡±


    ¡°The whole city is out there.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± That didn¡¯t make any sense.


    ¡°When mages start throwing magic around, it draws a crowd. You killed the dragon.¡± He put an emphasis on the word killed. ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡±


    Finally, she had enough energy, she could heal herself. She cast, closing the wound in her side and then the one on her leg. When she was done, she was hungry again. Hungry and tired.


    ¡°Did you get a good look at this thing?¡± Aaron said, a little awe in his voice.


    ¡°No.¡±


    He put out a finger to touch her light spell and nothing happened. Then he picked it up and shone the light over the dragon. A layer of crystal had formed over the silvery scales. No that wasn¡¯t right, the dragon itself had crystalized.


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± he said, awe in his voice. Then he returned to her side.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she told him.


    ¡°For what?¡±


    She couldn¡¯t help the tears that spilled out. Even now, he had thought to bring her food so that she could heal herself. She couldn¡¯t make herself speak. Tears just kept coming until she finally croaked out. ¡°For everything.¡± It wasn¡¯t enough. She knew it wasn¡¯t, but he put an arm around her shoulders and held her tight.


    ¡°So are you going to make your adoring fans wait all day?¡±


    She shook her head. It was crazy that they had come here, but she thought she could understand. The city had been crushed and burned in places. They were celebrating the death of the dragon more than anything. They walked out of the castle hand in hand. Aaron was carrying her light, but it wasn¡¯t necessary. The sun was beginning to rise in the distance, casting a pink glow over everything.


    People shouted and cheered for her, all standing far enough away that if the spell was there, they wouldn¡¯t be caught up in it. Some of them even called out her name. She smiled and waved, feeling exhausted.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°She killed it! The dragon is dead,¡± Aaron said and the crowd cheered again.


    She looked back at the castle. It was smashed in in a few places and would need to be repaired. It was her castle, though. She had taken care of it for fifteen years and she could do it again. It would be different now. So much had changed in one day. She was bound to this place but now that the curse was gone, she no longer felt like she was bound by it. For the first time in fifteen years, she looked out over the city without seeing the shimmer of the spell. She could see the balcony where Barinon had sat, watching her put out the chicken and she felt the weight of responsibility on her shoulders. She was the only mage, as he had been and she would do her best to protect the people as he had done.


    <hr>


    Aaron and Hailey moved closer to the group of people. She wanted to tell them that the spell was gone, that they could cross if they wished, but she realized that probably the first people who should have that chance should be the king and queen.


    ¡°How did you do it?¡± A young girl asked her. She couldn¡¯t have been more than twelve, all elbows and knees and much too thin.


    She smiled. Her voice wasn¡¯t going to be loud enough for everyone to hear, but they could figure it out. The people clumped around the girl, all straining to hear Hailey¡¯s words. ¡°I fought that dragon for a long time.¡± She tried to elaborate and then she told them how she pulled the curse off of the princess and put it on the dragon.


    ¡°But won¡¯t that just put it to sleep?¡± A woman asked.


    ¡°The mages tried that already. It didn¡¯t work. They were trying to kill a goat with the curse.¡± The man who said that was someone she recognized. He was older than she remembered, but he was the young man that was with Esmerelda the day that the spell was placed around the castle and everyone was put to sleep. He might have seen them trying it then. He had grown older.


    Hailey couldn¡¯t answer all of their questions. She realized that explaining that the spell hadn¡¯t been bound to the princess correctly and that had changed whether or not she could move it was too complicated to explain and have everyone understand. She should have just told them that she cursed it with a death spell.


    Aaron grinned at her. ¡°You gotta be able to simplify things, and it¡¯s not a very good story, not the way you tell it.¡±


    ¡°You do it then,¡± she told him.


    The crowd moved aside for a carriage. Two soldiers that Hailey didn¡¯t know stepped out. She cringed. Most of the ones she knew were dead now. ¡°We hear that you finally killed the dragon. Is that true?¡±


    The king¡¯s pale blue eyes studied her and she nodded. ¡°And Barinon?¡±


    Her throat instantly clenched in sorrow. She barely managed to make the words come out. ¡°He didn¡¯t make it. I¡¯m sure Derrick will tell you all about it when we find him.¡± She had expected him to come out of the carriage with them, but he had been injured. Hopefully someone was seeing to his wounds.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you are here to see your daughter,¡± she told them.


    ¡°Is that possible?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes, the spell is gone.¡±


    The soldiers were the first to enter the place where the spell had been. The king and queen followed.


    As they walked, Hailey filled them in on all that had happened.


    They paused when they came to Bruce. The queen covered her mouth. ¡°He was Bruce, the cook. I am sorry to see that he died this way.¡±


    Hailey was too. She hadn¡¯t realized that he had died. All of the running through the castle, and she hadn¡¯t come in the main entryway. Memories of running away from him can calling him ¡°the giant¡± flooded her mind. He had always been good to her and her friends and now like so many others, he had died. She couldn¡¯t imagine the terror of finally waking up and then seeing a dragon. Bruce probably didn¡¯t know if the dragon was a dream or not. She blinked back tears. There would be time for them later.


    As they passed so much destruction, the king and queen seemed astounded. ¡°This is going to take time to rebuild. Do you think we can have it done before winter?¡±


    The king shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but we should give the Goddards back their home. We¡¯ve borrowed it for long enough. That is assuming that the rest of the castle still stands.¡±


    They passed the mage¡¯s study without a second glance. Of course they would know it was there, even if they hadn¡¯t been in it. The loss of books would affect her more than it did them. They made their way up the steps slowly. And finally came to the princess¡¯s room. They gasped as they saw the dragon.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know it would do that,¡± she told them, realizing that it may have been a good idea to warn them of the dragon before bringing them up here.


    The king patted her on the soldier, eying the crystalized dragon. ¡°You managed to defeat it. Let us worry bout cleaning up the mess.¡±

 Chapter 40

    The king and queen entered the princess¡¯s room solemnly, then knelt by their daughter¡¯s bedside. Hailey wanted to stay in the hallway and let them have a moment of piece, but it was her job to be here. The soldiers and Aaron stood outside. The room was a disaster. Chunks of stone and plaster littered the floor. A massive piece of stone hung from the ceiling looking like it might fall at any moment. The beautiful room was covered in dust.


    They had to step over part of the wall just to make it to the princess¡¯s bedside. Hailey opened the curtains to the morning light. She blinked. Her eyes felt gritty as if they were filled with sand. She probably looked a sight with dried blood and dust covering her. Her dress was torn, but at the moment none of it mattered.


    They knelt by their daughter¡¯s bedside. ¡°You know, I worried that I would never see her again,¡± the king said. ¡°Thank you for this,¡± he told her. Then he bent to place a kiss on his daughter¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°No!¡± Hailey screamed, probably louder than necessary.


    The guards and Aaron stepped into the room, swords drawn.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said. ¡°If you touch her, you will be put to sleep as well. The magic is still in her skin.¡±


    ¡°But the curse is no longer there?¡± the queen asked. She sounded frustrated. Had Hailey just yelled at the king of Taivalon?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said again. ¡°The spell that holds her asleep is still there, stopping her from aging and keeping her asleep. It¡¯s what protected her from the curse, and I will do everything I can to free her from that spell, too, but things have changed with the spell. It was tied to the curse and I¡¯m not sure what would happen if you came into contact with it. Just don¡¯t touch her until I figure that out.¡±


    The queen began to cry. Her husband wrapped an arm around her shoulders and Hailey gave them a moment, stepping out of the room. They spoke in hushed voices over their daughter. It must be so hard for them to see her like this, Hailey thought. After fifteen years of not being able to see your only child and then you can see her but she¡¯s asleep and you can¡¯t touch her. She thought about how lucky the princess was to have a family, people who cared so much for her that they would do almost anything just to see her. She had always wished for a family, to know who she belonged to and where she had come from.


    Aaron took her hand. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you just yelled at the king,¡± he said.


    Hailey cringed. ¡°I know. It just could have been really bad. The power of the heir might not transfer to his daughter if she¡¯s still trapped. No one knows what would happen but Barinon thought the it wouldn¡¯t transfer to her. If they both ended up asleep under the same spell, I don¡¯t know what would happen.¡±


    ¡°Still, you yelled at the king of Taivalon. You could end up in the dungeon or something.¡±


    She shook her head, refusing to be baited.


    It was a long time before they rose. Finally, the royal couple rose and made their way carefully out of their daughter¡¯s room. ¡°Thank you for this,¡± the king told her.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°I just wish I could have woken her.¡±


    The king cut her off. ¡°Me too, but this is enough for now. Just to see her and to know that she¡¯s alive.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think you can really understand unless you have children.¡±


    The queen¡¯s eyes were still red rimmed but when she spoke, her voice as under control. ¡°We will do our best to find mages from other realms to help you learn what Barinon had intended to teach you.¡±


    Hailey hadn¡¯t thought of that, hadn¡¯t thought farther ahead than dealing with the dragon. ¡°I would appreciate that.¡± Her job would have been difficult enough with Barinon by her side, but trying to fill his shoes without further training would be difficult.


    ¡°We are returning to the manor. I fear it will take some time to have this place put back together. Would you like to come with us?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Hailey said. ¡°I think I will stay a little bit longer.¡±


    They nodded and the soldiers accompanied them to their carriage.


    <hr>


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go?¡± Aaron asked her. ¡°You need rest.¡±


    Hailey shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s the last time the castle will be like this. I used to have this place all to myself and even though I feel like I¡¯m ready to move on, it¡¯s hard letting go. Once everyone returns, it will all change.¡±


    He reached up to touch crystalized scales of the dragon. ¡°How do you think they will manage to get this thing out of here?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe there¡¯s a spell for that.¡±


    They walked down the steps hand in hand. ¡°Your mage library is going to require some fixing.¡±


    ¡°And I don¡¯t even know how to put the spell back that protected it from magic. I have no idea how much was lost when the dragon broke through the wall.¡± Books were strewn everywhere and burned pages littered the ground.


    He took her in his arms and held her close. ¡°It¡¯s going to be drafty in there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve slept under the stars before. I think I can manage. It¡¯s the books that will have to be protected.¡±


    The ladder hung askew, having been knocked from its tracks. She hoped that there was enough there for her to learn from. She shoved those thoughts aside and let herself feel warm and protected in Aaron¡¯s arms. ¡°I feel like I have been trapped here, unable to grow up,¡± she whispered against his chest.


    She felt him shrug. ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s true. You should be much older than I am.¡±


    They stood in silence among the rubble of the castle. She loved the way he made her feel lately. It was like something had woken inside her and along with those feelings came the realization of all the things he had been willing to do for her, all the time he had spent waiting for her to understand.


    She turned her head to look up at him and he smiled down at her. ¡°I sometimes forget how much of a giant you are.¡±


    ¡°Hello?¡± It was a woman¡¯s voice that echoed off the walls.


    Aaron sighed and let go of her.


    Hailey had forgotten about the crowd of people outside the castle. She didn¡¯t know what they should do. Certainly the king and queen wouldn¡¯t want them inside a castle that had taken so much damage. She paused for a moment, unsure of what to do and then she saw the squad of soldiers riding up the main entryway. A little man was with them. He was glancing around in horror.


    Before Hailey could say anything to the woman, she saw the soldiers and ran away.


    Derrick saw them. ¡°Soldier,¡± he shouted to Aaron. ¡°Return to the manor and get some sleep. Mage, I don¡¯t care where you do it, but you sleep too. We have some men back at the manor who need your attention as soon as you are functional.¡±


    She nodded to him, too tired to do anything else. Aaron squeezed her hand and took one of the horses that was offered to him and rode back to the manor. She sighed and slipped into the little room that she had shared with Esmerelda and Margaret all those years ago and closed the shutters. It would probably be the last time she slept in here.

 Epilogue

    It was dark when she stumbled away from the castle. There was something wrong with her leg. She glanced down, lifting her skirt to peer at it. Her thigh was cut and bleeding. It looked like a knife wound with sharp edges, a clean cut. She should probably stitch it up, but this wasn¡¯t her castle and she didn¡¯t know where things were. How had she managed to do that much damage to herself? It seemed like something she would remember.


    Something had happened to this castle, but she wasn¡¯t sure what it was. There was a hole in the wall. She could hear voices coming from behind her, but she didn¡¯t want to talk to anyone just then. She wanted to go home. She looked at the ground. She couldn¡¯t jump without hurting herself.


    She jumped anyway, slowing her fall so that she landed softly on her uninjured leg. The grass was covered in dew and it splashed coldly on her ankles as she walked. The sun was not up yet, but it was starting to turn the sky a gray color.


    Why was she here, though? She couldn¡¯t remember but she did know the way home. She had been this way before. Her leg throbbed in pain. How was she going to make it all the way home she it hurt so much to walk? But then she remembered and the walk didn¡¯t seem as long as it had a moment before.


    People were running toward the white castle. They were making a lot of noise, as if they had come to see a spectacle. Maybe they had done this to her. Anger flashed through her mind and she almost turned to show them that they couldn¡¯t just hurt her like this. They had tried to hurt her, had almost killed her. No, that didn¡¯t make any sense. She didn¡¯t know who exactly had hurt her, but she was sure someone had now. She hadn¡¯t cut her leg. It was someone else. She decided to ignore all the people until she was sure what had happened. Then she would track down whoever had hurt her and make them pay.


    But what had happened? She had memories of screaming and fire, but no, those had to be a dream. Right? It didn¡¯t make any sense. She lived alone. She did not belong here. This place brought her pain. She had to get away. That she remembered for certain. She stepped too hard on her leg and gasped. It throbbed in pain and she almost screamed but then the people would notice her and maybe whoever had tried to kill her would be among them. She held her breath until the throbbing dulled and continued her hobbling walk.


    She found a long stick under one of the trees and carried it in one hand, leaning on it to take some of the weight off of her leg. It wasn¡¯t too long before she found her glyph. Relief welled through her as she created her portal home. There, she would be able to take care of herself and figure out what had happened to her.


    <hr>


    Amberly had a headache. She grabbed a strip of cloth that her mother had kept for bandages and tied it tightly around her head. It probably looked ridiculous, but it made her feel better. ¡°Going out to gather eggs,¡± she shouted to her mother. She didn¡¯t wait for a reply.


    Their house was small and she had to share a room with Carlton. It wasn¡¯t like she spent much time inside. There were chores to do and she was supposed to and ¡®the chickens won¡¯t stop laying just because you feel sick that day.¡¯ Her mother had told told her so many times that Amberly could mimic every word perfectly and make her brother giggle.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    She stepped outside into the cool morning air with the egg basket in her hand. The handle was beginning to fray. Too many trips to the hen house and back.


    She glanced out to the garden and saw her papa bent over his perfect row of potatoes. They wouldn¡¯t be ready yet, but he would be checking for bugs and weeds. From her front door, she could only see three other houses. Her neighbors were up and moving about their chores but they were small in the distance. One of them paused and waved at her and she waved back.


    The chickens crowded the gate when she got near it. ¡°You¡¯ve already been fed,¡± she told them. She shoved her way in, trying to get past them without letting them free. Chasing down chickens was something she had become good at, but it wasn¡¯t something she wanted to do today. One of them pecked at her boot as she slid in and closed the gate behind her. The hens laid everywhere in the enclosure. Many of them laid in the box her papa had built for them, but others laid against the fence, under their roosting pole, anywhere that didn¡¯t make any sense.


    Climbing back to her feet, she let herself out of the pen and headed back to the house. She would need to take the goats to pasture and maybe help her mother churn the butter later. There was always something to be done on a farm. Her thoughts were so full of her morning tasks that she almost didn¡¯t see the woman standing in her yard.


    She gasped. She hadn¡¯t been there a moment before, or maybe she walked up when Amberly was trying to find eggs. Either way, she didn¡¯t know this woman and Amberly was unaccustomed to strangers. ¡°Hello,¡± the woman said. She was tall for a woman with dark hair and white skin. She was very beautiful even if she was wearing boring colors.


    Amberly backed away, keeping the basket in front of her, as if it would protect her from this stranger. She may have been beautiful, but Amberly didn¡¯t know her and something about her made Amberly feel nervous.


    Her heart thumped in her chest. ¡°Who are you?¡± She finally managed to get out.


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t think that matters as much as who you are.¡±


    The woman waved her arms around like she was doing a dance and Amberly watched her, unsure of what to do. Maybe if she called to her parents, they could help her. Suddenly, she didn¡¯t want to call for them. There was nothing wrong here. Her head didn¡¯t hurt anymore. Everything would be fine.


    The stranger held out a hand and Amberly took it. She wondered where she was going. Belatedly, she remembered that she was holding a basket of eggs. How strange. She put down the basket so that the eggs wouldn¡¯t crack and walked with the woman.


    ¡°Amberly, come back!¡± It was her mama, shouting at her for some reason. She glanced back at her mother. She was wearing her blue dress today, the one papa seemed to like. She had her apron on and her hands were dripping something. She looked really worried. ¡°Who is that, Amberly? Come back!¡±


    But Amberly didn¡¯t want to come back. She wanted to go with the pretty lady somewhere. The lady hadn¡¯t said where, she realized, but she was sure it would be fun. It felt like it would be. The lady made something beautiful then. It was a shimmering image of another place. ¡°Go on, said the woman, ¡°step through.¡± Her voice was musical.


    Amberly stepped through and the woman followed her. She glanced back to see a shimmering image of her home. Her mother was running and screaming and crying but Amberly didn¡¯t know why. It was going to be ok. She opened her mouth to tell her so, but then the image started to shrink until there was nothing there, just trees that were bigger than anything she had ever seen before. She forgot about her mother and looked up at the lady, who smiled at her. It was all going to be fine.

 My Thanks!

    Thank you so much for reading my work!


    As a new author, all of your comments, favorites, and shares really give me motivation to keep going! Castlebound was the first bit of my writing that I put out into the world, and that is always scary.


    I loved writing Castlebound, and I hope you enjoyed reading it! If you have any constructive feedback, I would love to hear from you! I know my story needs some work and I fully plan on doing a big revision later based on the feedback I receive. It still has a way to go. Lots edits and cleanups before I am ready to call it complete, but I want to set it aside while I work on something else.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    That something is book two in the series! I¡¯m going to call it Memorybound.


    But first, I have a secret project!


    Before Memorybound, I have to share a short story. It¡¯s called Margaret¡¯s Magic, and it will be coming out soon! I had so much fun writing Hailey as a teenager, I just had to go back and write about her when she was a little girl. Add in a couple mischievous friends and you have a caper bigger than their stomachs!


    Thank you so much for reading my stories! I appreciate all the likes, comments, and favorites! It makes me feel that I¡¯m headed in the right direction, and that is a good place to be!


    Happy Reading!


    Jenna Lynn Badger