Mixing Magic [Draft 2]: Chapter 3.2

A/N: For those new, Ayda is a fairy and Madeline is a human from our world, and they're traveling together to a center of learning to see if the scholars there can get Madeline home.

Nikka sat on the river Sia, which wound its way east until it joined with the Lemari River, and at that junction was where Moonwater, capital of Arvania, lay. Along the river Sia, from far beyond Nikka to the gates of Moonwater, ran a well-traveled road.

The road that Ayda and Madeline were not going to take.

“For two reasons,” Ayda explained to Madeline as they set off, heading almost directly east to parallel the road. “First, you’ll draw attention on the road, and I don’t have a cloak big enough for you to wear and cover the fact you’re not a dryad. Second, I got seen as I was leaving. My sister woke up, though I flew away before she could stop me. That means we’ve lost our lead, and they might already be scouting out the road for me.”

“Though the forest all the way there? Are you sure?” Madeline asked, pushing aside a low-hanging branch. “We’ll be so much faster on the road.”

Madeline had a point — food was a problem, and going off-road might take them three days instead of two.

“The forest turns into grassland,” said Ayda. “We usually camp at the edge on the first day. I guess there’s not much point in staying off the road in the grasslands, since you can see for miles. It would draw more attention than staying on the road. But I honestly don’t know how people will react to seeing you walking down the road.”

“We need a cloak,” Madeline agreed. “I don’t want trouble.”

“There’s a Big Folk town on the edge of the forest,” Ayda said. “I have a little bit of money — I’ll buy you one there.”

“You can carry something like that?” Madeline asked.

“Sure, as long as it’s a light cloak. It’ll be awkward, but I’ll manage.”

Near Nikka, the land surrounding the river Sia was, thank the stars, largely flat, and so as long as Ayda and Madeline paralleled the road, it was fairly easy going. An hour in, however, Ayda’s pack, which she wasn’t used to having to carry while flying, began to weigh her down.

“Here,” Madeline said, looking up at her as Ayda landed briefly on the branch to rest her wings. “Give me your pack — it’ll fit around my arm, and I’m not carrying anything.”

After a moment, Ayda agreed, flying down to land on Madeline’s outstretched hand. It was the first time she had done so, but Madeline’s hand stayed firm and steady as Ayda took off her pack and handed it to the girl. Madeline pulled it onto her wrist, taking care not to break the straps, and it sat there like an odd wristguard.

“Sit on my shoulder so we can keep going while you rest,” Madeline offered, brushing back her hair.

Ayda looked at Madeline, who was waiting expectantly, then at her shoulder, then back again. She had never done something like that before, and didn’t think she’d ever seen another fairy do it either. But she shrugged and flew up, turning and settling down carefully. If she reached up, she could just tug on Madeline’s earlobe.

“Ready?” Madeline said, her voice booming in Ayda’s ears.

“I think so,” Ayda said, and Madeline took a step forward. Ayda seized Madeline’s shirt as the world lurched beneath her, but as Madeline took another step and another, Ayda began to grow used to her gait, and soon she was laughing with delight. It was like riding a very large squirrel. Madeline glanced at Ayda and grinned.

-

But soon the landscape changed, the river beginning to wind through long hills. The road followed closely in the valley, but Ayda and Madeline had to go up and over many an edge of a hill, and soon Ayda left Madeline’s shoulder and was flying again, scouting ahead and keeping an eye out for any unpleasant plants or wildlife, calling back to Madeline and showing her the areas she should skirt.

And as they hiked, Madeline continued to impress Ayda, selecting a sturdy hiking stick as soon as she found one, and quickly learning which plants to avoid. When Ayda complimented her, she only shrugged, saying “I’ve always liked hiking.”

Their only barrier was water — food Ayda managed to scavenge, enough for her and, between it and what was in the pack, enough for Madeline. But the girl constantly needed water, and so they took to crossing the road whenever they could and hiking along the river when there was enough cover, or when nobody was in sight.

Near noon, they were struggling up another hill when Ayda spotted a large boysenberry bush and suggested they stop for a rest. Madeline gratefully agreed, sinking down on a fallen log. Ayda landed on the bush and began to pick the berries, using her magic to tell which were safest and sweetest, as well as to protect the bush from pain.

“Why do you keep doing that?” Madeline asked.

“Doing what?”

“Every time you go to pick a berry, you put your hand on the twig for a moment. Is it like a prayer?”

Ayda laughed. “No, it’s my magic. I’m using it to make sure the berries I pick are good.”

“So you do have magic here!” Madeline exclaimed. “How does it work?”

“It’s mostly intuitive, but every species’ magic is different,” said Ayda. “So that’s sort of a long question. But for fairies like me, we follow the elemental patterns — each fairy is either water, earth, fire, or air. It’s usually hereditary.”

“I’m guessing you’re an Earth fairy?” Madeline said. “What are the other sorts of things you can do? Are there rules?”

Ayda nodded. “No formal rules. Don’t go against nature — we aren’t powerful enough for that anyway. Don’t harm plants. Keep it simple. Fairy magic is for smaller things. I can help a plant grow over time in an exact formation — my family does that a lot for clients — or ripen fruit more quickly, or make medicines last longer. Most of it is just redirecting energy, so you have to know your strength and the things Earth energy can do. It’s nothing too flashy — we’re not dryads.”

“And the other fairies?”

“More of the same. Water fairies can’t stop the rain, but they can get water out of cloth, or tell if a well is clean. Air fairies can twist air currents around them. And fire fairies are always wanted in the forges — some of them can control the heat of a fire exactly.”

“I wish I could do that,” Madeline said enviously.

“What’s wrong with your own magic?” Ayda asked, tossing Madeline another berry.

She caught it neatly. “I don’t have any,” she said, matter-of-fact.

Ayda was sure she had heard wrong. “What do you mean you don’t have any? Did you use it all up?” That happened sometimes if people overextended themselves.

Madeline shook her head. “Ayda, nobody in my world has magic.”

“That can’t be right,” Ayda insisted. “Everybody in the Three Kingdoms does.”

She closed her eyes and concentrated. Madeline did have magic; she could feel it, small and strange to her magical sense, but it was there.

“I think if everybody in my world had magic, we would know,” Madeline pointed out.

This didn’t make any sense. Was Madeline lying to her? “Madeline, I can feel your magic. It’s definitely there.”

Had she felt it when she first met Madeline in the forest? Ayda didn’t remember noticing either an absence of magic, or this new, strange type of magic.

Madeline looked down at herself reflexively. “You’re telling me I have magic. That it’s in me, right now.”

Ayda nodded.

Madeline closed her eyes. “What does it feel like?”

Ayda was at a loss for words. How could she describe the sensation of magic? “It’s like… it’s like when you catch a flicker of movement out of the corner of your eye. Sort of. But for your own magic…” How could you not feel it?

Madeline stayed very still for a moment. “I think I felt something,” she said at last, opening her eyes. “But I don’t know. If I do have magic, then what can I do with it?” She was fingering her necklace again.

“It should be intuitive, at least to some degree,” Ayda said. “I’m sorry, Madeline, but I have no idea what human magic might do.”

“One more thing to ask at Crescent Moon,” Madeline said, echoing Ayda’s own thoughts.

They ate in silence for a minute, Madeline helping to pick the berries now.

“What’s the charm on your necklace?” Ayda finally asked.

“Oh, this?” Madeline said, pulling it out from under her shirt. She held it tenderly, and Ayda flew over to get a closer look at it. It was made of silver, in the shape of a bird, wings outstretched.

“It’s an eagle,” Madeline said. “My… dad gave it to me a few days ago. His parents were raised Cherokee. They left with my dad when he was little, but they passed this down to him.”

Ayda didn’t know the significance of the bird, but the necklace was clearly important to Madeline. “It’s beautiful,” she said, running her fingers over the detailed pendant. When she let go, Madeline smiled and tucked it back in her shirt, out of sight next to her heart.

-

The attack came when they were only a mile away from the edge of the forest.

The light was fading fast, and they had just reached the bottom of a long gully. Some rustle of leaves, or gleam of fur in the poor light, must have alerted Ayda, for she spun around.

An enormous shadow burst out of a nearby bush, arcing through the air towards her. Ayda barely had time to register that it was a Shade before a huge paw batted at her and brought her crashing down to earth. Ayda hit the ground hard, her wings crumpling underneath her while her mind still fought to catch up. What in the Elementals’ name was a Shade doing in the forests here, and why was he attacking her?

She struggled to breathe under the weight of his heavy paw and the stink of his breath, her vision blurring as she gasped. Suddenly the weight was lifted, and as Ayda rolled onto her side the Shade bounded towards Madeline, who in turn was backing away slowly, her eyes wide and terrified.

And yet, it wasn’t a Shade, or if it was, it was unlike any Ayda had seen. He was lanky and four-legged, with no wings, but large horns that curled from behind his ears. All normal variation for a Shade. But his magic felt wrong. And his eyes — when he pinned her down, they had been red.

Ayda lay there, frozen, her breath coming in ragged gasps. “Run, Madeline” she tried to shout, but it came out as a strangled squeak. She knew she needed to do something, twist sunlight to try to burn him maybe, but her mind was cloudy and her whole back burned with an intensity she hadn’t thought possible. Through the haze of pain, one thought pierced her mind. Why hasn’t he pounced yet?

Madeline, still edging backwards, tripped over a tree root. The Shade leapt forward. A scream —Madeline’s or Ayda’s own she could not tell — pierced the air, followed by a loud crack! A whimper as the Shade reeled back, a thud as he hit the earth and ran away, then the only sound in Ayda’s ears was her own rapid breath.

A minute later, Madeline loomed over Ayda, and a soft, warm hand curled around her and lifted her gently. She could feel the girl’s still-thudding heartbeat pounding in time with her own.

“Are you okay?” Madeline asked, peering down at her.

Ayda pushed herself to a sitting position. “Fine. Just winded.”

“What was that thing?”

“A Shade, I think. But he had red eyes, and his magic felt twisted,” Ayda shuddered. “Something’s very wrong. He attacked like an animal. How did you chase him away?”

Madeline frowned. “I’m not sure,” she said. “I fell, and he was coming right at me. I grabbed a stick and tried to block him. Something rushed up through my arm and into the stick. And the Shade bounced back as soon as he hit it, like it was a force field or something. Then he ran off, scared.”

“That has to be your magic,” Ayda interrupted, gingerly stretching out her wings and giving them a few hesitant flaps. “Can you still feel it?”

Madeline nodded, her face pale. “It’s like a bonfire inside me, Ayda — I’m scared to try anything.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Ayda reassured her. She couldn’t imagine being uncomfortable with her own magic, but maybe if Madeline really hadn’t had it before she came here…

“What kind of magic do you think I have?” she asked.

“I told you, I really don’t know,” Ayda said. “It seems to have centered on the stick, so it could be nature-related. But I don’t know of any similar magic to what you did.”

The pain in Ayda’s back was fading, though her wings still hurt and she was going to have a mass of bruises tomorrow. “We should get out of here before he comes back.”

“And let’s stick close to the road for a while,” Madeline agreed.

Ayda’s wings still ached, so she rode on Madeline’s shoulder again. She could tell Madeline was exhausted from this first use of her magic, but the pace she set for herself was relentless, and Ayda found herself wishing Madeline could go even faster. She only felt slightly more safe when they were walking a stone’s throw from the road again. She couldn’t help but remember the rumors she and her mother had laughed at only yesterday. Why had the Shade attacked them? Maybe there was truth to the gossip after all.

“These woods have never been dangerous,” Ayda said to herself. “Never.” But it was a vain repetition, and she knew it.