From Fish to Friend – By Kristen Elizabeth #3
Avylerie blushes and her pointed ears twitch. “Well, I still needed to thank you. I figured bringing out some more experienced coven members would be a good idea.”
Niko flashes her that brilliant grin, “I can say that you’ve already helped me. I’m back in my true form.”
“But for how long? And how did it happen?”
Niko shrugs nonchalantly, “Not sure. But I am sure that your coven can help. You brought your Wizard here – that is big power.”
Avylerie turns her head to stare at the group leading the way back home. “He is very powerful. Wizard Drak can do just about anything with magic.”
The doors to the coven entrance creak open.
At this time of night, a majority of the members are in bed for the evening.
There are a few members in the main area milling about, and their attention is on Niko once he enters.
“Guardian,” Wizard Drak states, “please have some food and drink brought for our guest. And retrieve Warlock Ardus from the library – we will need him to assist with our guest.”
Guardian, a small male elf with electric blue hair, nods and races off to do as he was told.
Wizard Drak waves to a table and chairs, signaling Niko to take a seat.
Ardus comes running into the main area in a flurry.
He stands ramrod straight in front of Wizard Drak. “You have requested my presence, sir?”
Wizard Drak smiles at the nervous elf. “Ardus, please join us. Niko,” he gestures to the man sitting, “helped Avylerie while out on her journey. He was cursed as a fish and when we returned after the Half-Blood Suns ritual, he was back in his true form. Have you heard of such a thing?”
Ardus pushes his glasses up his nose. He purses his lips in concentration. “There isn’t anything that I am inherently familiar with, but that does not mean there is no such thing. I can look through the texts.”
Wizard Drak turns his attention to Niko once more. “Why don’t you tell us of how the curse came about?”
Niko’s calm demeanor shifts, a distant look coming to his eye, “It was a long time ago. I was happy in my life. I had a home, my parents and siblings, friends…it was all a dream to me. I had a friend, Maybel, that was well-versed in magic. She could do so much with it, but she had moments of anger that caused her to lash out. I never once thought that she would lash out at me. I was at home chopping wood for the fire when she came up to me. She asked if we could speak, that she needed to tell me something serious.” Niko pauses and sighs heavily, “I should have seen it coming, but I was na?ve then. Maybel had confessed her feelings for me – she loved me more than anything. I loved her too, but not in the same way. She didn’t like that. ”
He shakes his head. “She started to yell; she was so angry. I tried to calm her down, but it wasn’t enough.
She spoke something that I couldn’t understand, and the next thing I knew, I was flopping on the ground.
I was a fish. She realized what she’d done, but she had no remorse.
‘Only I shall ever love you. If it isn’t me, it’s no one.
’ So, she brought me to water, and I had to learn to survive as a fish. She cursed me. Love cursed me.”
“I don’t think that’s true!” Avylerie exclaims. “Love didn’t curse you. That wasn’t love. It sounds like obsession.”
Wizard Drak rubs his bearded chin thoughtfully. “Avylerie may have a point. Typically, magic that touches on love does not produce the outcome that you had faced. Ardus, isn’t there a transformation spell from Warlock Crespin’s research novel?”
Ardus pushes his glasses against his nose. “Wizard Drak, I do believe the spell you are thinking of is a good start, however it pertains to objects, not people or animals.”
“Could there be something in the Old Texts?” Avylerie questions.
Wizard Drak eyes Avylerie carefully. “The Old Texts? What do you mean, Avylerie?”
Avylerie smiles sheepishly at Wizard Drak. “I may have done some research of my own before. I know, I know, I really should have asked but I couldn’t sleep, and it was late at night…” her explanation trails off slowly as she examines the expression on Wizard Drak’s face.
He stands tall, his face etched in a small stern frown.
“Got it, we will discuss that later. But I did come across something that could be useful? A spell that used emotion to essentially transform their feelings into a physical representation of their affection. I didn’t really understand the translation well, but I got the gist of it.
” Avylerie wrings her hands nervously, pointed ears going red at the tips in embarrassment.
Ardus looks from Avylerie to Wizard Drak and opens his mouth, but Wizard Drak puts up a hand to silence him.
“Ardus, she will need to learn to not handle things on her own. Consequences can be dealt with later, but for now we must focus on aiding Niko. I will look over the Old Texts. Ardus, you can start with Wizard Crespin’s research. ”
Guardian comes back out with a small tray of dried fruit, bread, and water.
He sets the tray down in front of Niko, who nods his thanks to the young elf.
Wizard Drak and Ardus retreat to the library, leaving only Niko and Avylerie in the common area.
“I’m so sorry,” Avylerie murmurs to Niko, “that you had to endure such a thing. Magic shouldn’t be used for negativity – it should help us further the world into a better place. ”
Niko smiles at Avylerie. “I like the sound of that. Maybel was misguided in her use, but I always admired her dedication to the craft. I had no such inkling into magic. I was more practical in my approach to things back then.”
“Well, considering you were chopping wood by hand when there’s a perfectly good spell for that, I can believe it.” Avylerie laughs at her own attempt at humor.
Niko’s eyes sparkle as Avylerie’s head tips back with glee. He grabs the bread roll and tears a chunk off. “Would you like some?”
Avylerie shakes her head no. “I ate after we performed the Half-Blood Suns Arrival ceremony. It’s a big affair – I can tell you about it another time.”
Niko pops the chunk of bread into his mouth and hums at the taste of honey and wheat melting on his tongue.
He takes a sip of water, a droplet escaping and running down the corner of his mouth.
Avylerie stares at the runaway droplet – down beyond Niko’s lips, down his neck, down into his Adam’s apple bobbing as he drinks.
Avylerie shakes her head lightly to clear her thoughts.
“I can show you to a guest room. You’re probably exhausted after the transformation back, and we can actually get you clothes.
No offense to Wizard Drak’s robe, but I’m sure you’d like pants. ”
Niko chuckles at Avylerie’s rambling. “Pants would be good. Lead the way.”
Niko trails behind Avylerie as she guides him through the halls.
She stops at a plain wooden door and opens it up.
The room is very similar to Avylerie’s quarters.
Sparsely decorated, only the basic furniture provided.
Resting atop the bed is a pair of pants and a linen shirt.
“So, I shall see you in the morning?” Niko asks.
Avylerie smiles at him, eyes alight with friendship. “Of course! I can show you around the grounds. We can make a day of it.”
“Sounds like a plan. Goodnight, Avy.”
“Goodnight Niko.”
Avylerie wakes with the sunrise. Golden light peeks through the drapes, illuminating her room in a hazy glow.
Her mind is slowly playing back the excitement of yesterday – her failure of a spell, falling into the river, meeting Niko as a fish, seeing Niko as a man – so much had occurred in such a small amount of time.
She washes her face and dresses at record speed.
Avylerie wants to see Niko again as soon as possible.
The pull to go to him is strong, but why?
They only met yesterday, they barely know each other, and yet…
A quick knock breaks Avylerie from her daydream. “Who is it?”
“Ardus.”
“Come in!”
Ardus opens the door and pokes his head inside. “Your presence is requested by Wizard Drak.” His smile shows his nervousness.
“Don’t go getting all weird on me, Ardus.” Avylerie scolds playfully.
“It’s kind of important that we hurry,” Ardus whisper-shouts, “your magic attempt yesterday brought new revelations.”
Avylerie raises an eyebrow in question. Her magic attempt created something? Is it a good something or a bad something? She grimaces at Ardus. “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”
“You will be if we don’t get moving!”
The pair of elves travel quickly to Wizard Drak. He is at the crater created by Avylerie’s magical mishap. “Ah,” he says as the pair come through the trees, “here is our young prodigy now. Avylerie, please come here.”
Avylerie stands next to Wizard Drak and peers into the crater. Among the dirt are blooms of blue – flowers that were not in the clearing yesterday. “Do you know what these are?” Wizard Drak asks.
Avylerie shakes her head. “I’ve never seen a flower like this. Have you?”
“In books, but never in person. They are called Midnight Blue. The flowers only bloom in certain conditions and are extremely rare – even more rare than rubision. According to the texts, midnight blue flowers can break any curse.”
“Any curse?” Avylerie feel hope dance in her heart. “Even one that possibly went wrong and cursed someone into a fish?”
Wizard Drak smiles warmly at Avylerie. “Precisely. Would you like to know the conditions for such a rare flower?”
“Will it have any bearing on helping Niko? Knowing what brought them here?”
Wizard Drak contemplates her question for a moment. “No, it does not.”
“Perhaps another time then? All I know is that what I wanted to happen didn’t, but we got something so much better!” Avylerie bends down to stroke at the velvet soft petals.