Young Writers Society

Author's Note: After some super helpful reviews on my last chapter segment, I'm going to retcon Aspen's initial reaction to the revelation that they're not getting home any time soon. In the old version, she cried softer than Cass did, but still ended up crying. This time around, she was more solemn than anything else, and wasn't offered a hand by Lira because she didn't seem visibly upset like Cass did.

To clear up something I should have mentioned in the last chapter: the building they're currently in is best described as a palace. I should have called it that from the beginning but I blanked out and could only think of calling it a really big mansion.

I apologize for how little I focused on the grief that Cass felt. I really needed to move the story along, and I'll definitely pace things better in the next draft so she can have more time to deal with not getting home anytime soon. (Although they'll definitely be plenty of moments in the future where she feels homesick!)

And, as a final note, let's pretend that they never corrected Lira on them not being from Kansas. (This idea was thanks to @BlueAfrica!)

Words: 1,994

What Happened Last: Lira, noticing how heartbroken Cass was by the revelation that she couldn't easily return back to Earth, invited both Cass and Aspen to come to her bedroom. Because, as she put it, she has some of the best pillows to cry into in the entire mayoral palace.

Chapter 5

Cass' grief still remained as they walked to Lira's room, but the combination of the beautiful sights and Aspen briefly slipping her hand in to her own helped to push some of it back. She knew that the only way she would truly move past it was by returning home, so she settled with the little that she could do in the meantime - focus on everything but her memories of what she had left behind on Earth. She knew it wasn't the best way to deal with the situation, but it was the only thing she could think of.

After walking for several more minutes, they finally arrived at Lira's room. Lira was the first to enter, quickly followed by Aspen. Cass went to follow as well, but then saw what her room actually looked like.

Lira's room was massive.

Even though this was to be expected, given the size of the palace it was in, Cass still came a sudden stop in the doorway. Any lingering feelings of grief were temporarily forgotten as she stared at the expansive bedroom before her. The walls themselves remained mostly unadorned. The only notable things about them were the scenic pictures depicted in the wallpaper, and the portrait of a young woman with strikingly similar features to Lira hanging near the head of the bed. Besides those designs, the room lacked any of the decorations she might have expected from a place like this. There were some pieces of furniture present in the room - a simple bed, a dresser, a bookcase, a desk, a coat rack and a nightstand - but none were especially fancy.

There was, however, a fountain tucked into the corner of the room closest to Lira's bed.

It was this fountain that captured Cass' attention as she finally began to enter the room. It was the sort of thing she would have never expected in someone's bedroom, even someone with apparently as much money as Lira had. Any fountain would have likely achieved this same effect.

But what made it perhaps even more shocking was its beauty. Rey itself was a very beautiful place, but this fountain was especially pleasant to look at it. Exquisite designs were carved into each individual stone block, and the material itself was a stunning marble-esque rock. The waters spurting up from its center were perfectly clear. When Cass slowly approached it to get a closer look at the miraculous piece of furniture - if it could be called that - she noticed a cheerful little gurgle accompanying the steady flow of water.

If Lira noticed her reaction, she didn't comment on it. She just hung her cloak up on the metal coat rack near her dresser, then walked over to where Cass and Aspen were both gawking at the fountain and the room it was in. She gave them an almost amused smile before sitting down on the fountain's stone rim. One arm hung loosely behind her. It traced little circles and arcs in the surface of the water, a gentle warmth filling the room as the rest of the fountain's surface started to replicate the same designs that she had just traced.

Cass started at the now swirling waters. She knew this world had magic, and had seen it in use several times since they had arrived. But while it was one thing to acknowledge its existence, it was another thing to see it in action. She could almost always explain any phenomena back on Earth. Cass suspected that magic would never cease to amaze her no matter how many times she saw magic in action.

A brief, hesitant look in Aspen's direction showed that she was just as impressed by the magical feat as she was - her lips had dropped down to form a perfect "o", and her eyes were wide with surprise and joy.

She turned back to Lira and the fountain. The swirling patterns had disappointingly stilled, and she had ceased running her hand through the water's surface. Even the room returned to its original temperature, the warmth that had accompanied the sight having suddenly disappeared. And, most important of all, there was the look that Lira was giving them. It wasn't the same type of look that her boyfriend had given Cass earlier, or the look that Mr. Ream had given when he realized that they were wearing the missing lockets - it was a look of confusion.

"Does Kansas not have a lot of water users?" she questioned.

There was a loud creaking noise as Aspen threw herself down onto Lira's bed. After a moment of hesitation, Cass sat farther down on the bed. Grabbing one of the pillows and holding it close, Aspen said, "Try any users."

Cass opened her mouth to explain that they weren't from Kansas, but fell silent when she saw that Aspen was looking in her direction. Thankfully, the look wasn't the fearful one she had received earlier; it was a downright mischievous one. She was clearly get a kick out of the misunderstanding that had resulted from her earlier reference.

Lira blinked. "What do you mean?"

"We don't have magic," Aspen said.

Now it was Lira doing the staring. "You don't have magic?"

Aspen nodded. "Yup. We don't have any magic back in good old Kansas."

Lira suddenly got to her feet.

"You have to have magic," Lira insisted. "No matter where you go in Partex, everyone has it. Even the stories from the other regions involve magic of some kind. A world couldn't function without it! We need magic for everything. If you don't have it, how do you grow your crops? Power your homes? Clean your clothing?"

Cass grabbed a pillow from the head of the bed and clutched it to her chest. She was starting to get the idea that this world was even more different than she had initially expected. Lira made it sound like magic truly was the key to her society functioning. If Cass asked about other things that technology had made possible, she was sure Lira would tell her that the technology used had a magical counterpart.

"Our world came up with devices that took care of that for us," she quietly explained. She held the pillow a little closer, her voice becoming slightly muffled by it being in front of her lips.

Lira ran her fingers through her hair, and somehow managed to look even more shocked than Cass had been when she had first seen magic being used. "So you don't know anything about magic?"

"I mean, we know that you can do it," Aspen said. "But that's about it."

A moment passed.

"This is crazy," Lira finally concluded. She slowly sat down on the end of the bed, now right beside Cass, and stared at the two of them with wide brown eyes. "That means you didn't grow up with your magic, doesn't it?"

Cass looked down at her hands, then back up at Lira. "...We have magic?"

"Oh gods," Lira muttered. "You don't know anything about yourselves, do you?"

She held out her hand, a tendril of water beginning to form off the very tip of her right pointer finger. It slowly grew outwards like it had back in the courtyard. It started by moving only forward, the water sparkling in the light of the floating lantern in the middle of the room. Then it abruptly turned downwards, taking yet another new turn as it darted beneath her bed. When it reemerged after several seconds of moving things around, it was with a small box. Lira grabbed the box from the water and placed it in her lap, the water disappearing the moment its job had been completed.

She popped open the box.

Aspen and Cass peered inside at its contents. Cass wasn't really sure why Lira had brought it out, but they must have held some sort of significance to the conversation. But no matter how hard she looked through the contents - an old scrapbook, a bracelet, a small stuffed animal that vaguely resembled a bear, and a black spherical device that looked like a magic eight ball - she couldn't find something that look remotely magical.

Lira grabbed the black ball out of the box.

She gently placed the box behind her, then held the ball up. "This is how kids learn what their magic is here," she said. "It tells you what your magic is, and then it does a little display for it. I'll show you." She gave it a little tap, and the small monitor in the very center sprung to life. She rested the ball in both of her hands. Nearly a minute passed before there was any sort of reaction - the screen began to glow, and arcs of water suddenly burst forward from the depths of the little ball.

Cass sprung back in surprise, nearly bumping into Aspen in the process. "This is what happens if you have specific magic. It shows you what your type is. If I had general magic, then it would probably show a series of simple spells - I never got to meet any kids who had that type of magic growing up." Upon seeing their looks of confusion, she added, "Specific magic is elemental stuff. Water, fire, air - those all are different types of it, and there's even more than that. General magic users are spellcasters. They're the ones who design most of the devices that we use, since their magic works better over the long term."

The display suddenly disappeared.

Lira held the ball out to them.

When Cass didn't make a move for it, Aspen took it. She rested it in her hands like Lira had done. She stared intently down at the ball, growing noticeably more impatient the longer the ball went without a reaction. And then, just when she looked like she was about the hand the ball back, the monitor sprung to life once more. This time, however, it wasn't just the monitor glowing - the entire ball was alight. Cass glanced up at Aspen's face. She was positively beaming at the sight.

"That's my magic?" she asked quietly, peering down at the screen. "Light magic?"

Lira was grinning. "It is. I-I haven't seen light magic in years." There was an almost sorrowful tone to her voice, despite her expression, but Cass didn't want to intrude into the life of someone she barely knew. "Cass, you should try it."

Aspen eagerly thrust the ball in her direction. "Go on, Cassie! I bet your magic's going to be even cooler than mine."

Cass hesitantly grabbed the ball.

She copied what she had seen Lira and Aspen do. She gently cradled the ball in her hands, taking great care to assure that she didn't damage what she guessed was one of Lira's prized possessions. She hadn't realized how nerve-wracking it was to wait for a response. Aspen's had certainly come faster than hers, and Lira's as well. Suddenly terrified by the prospect of not having any magic at all, Cass felt the ball begin the shake in her trembling hands. "What-what if I don't have magic?" she whispered, looking up at Lira. "Will it tell me?"

Lira shook her head, her gaze focused solely on the ball. Her brows were furrowed, and her mouth was drawn into a single thin line. "Everyone has magic. It's probably just because this is so old-"

"Your face says otherwise," Aspen interrupted. "What's the real reason it isn't working?"

Lira took a deep breath. "I don't want to jump to conclusions."

"Well, jump to them-"

The screen suddenly started to light up.

There was no glowing ball, or beautiful arcs of water. Nothing burst into flames. There was no series of spells. The only indicator that it had worked was that little screen. Her grip on the ball tightened. She stared down at the letters that were beginning to scroll across it in a small, sprawling cursive font.

D A R K N E S S