Page 57 of Charmed

Her tone was filled with too much certainty for me to even hope of wriggling out of her nosy inquiries so easily. “It’s not what you’re undoubtedly imagining. I was only thinking of my apprentice and wondering how she’s faring in my absence.” Though the words weren’t a lie, they felt like one all the same.

Xander’s eyebrows rose. “Yourapprentice? When did you get one of those?”

“A few weeks before the competition. There were some complications with her being cursed and turning into a frog that has me worried…”

“You’ve fallen in love with afrog?”

Despite knowing the emotion had been fabricated by magic, my pulse quickened at the wordlove. “She happened to be a frog when I was affected by the love potion, yes. Otherwise our relationship is a typical one between a master and apprentice.”

Yet I couldn’t deny that it now felt like so muchmore. If I didn’t know any better, my interest in her was deeper than even in magic. How could our relationship change so suddenly after a mere few weeks of her being a frog? Could a love spell even create such depth of feeling that seemed much more than simple infatuation?

Xander stared at me a long moment before nodding to himself. “Falling for your apprentice sounds much less complicated that the ordeal we endured.”

“I haven’t—” I sputtered, shifting in my chair as I couldn’t seem to find a comfortable position. “I don’tlove her. We’re friends, which is very different than love.”

Though friendship could easily serve as a stepping stone to something much deeper, a possibility I’d never considered until my frog companion had transformed into someone eligible to court. My heart gave a rather peculiar lurch, a longing similar to my desire for a position on the council. I shook my head to dismiss the errant thought, inwardly cursing that wretched brew.

“It’s inappropriate for a master to fall in love with his pupil.”

Xander shrugged. “Perhaps, but far less complicated than two enemies in line for their own crowns losing their hearts to one another.” His hand laced through Taryn’s and she returned his squeeze.

“I don’t love her.” My voice hitched defensively, betraying me. “Perhaps I miss her,” I amended. “But I’m not interested in marriage. The only thing I care about is magic and winning this competition.”

Reaffirming the words I’d spoken confidently many times before did very little to quell my escalating confusion, especially when I noticed that the aversion I used to feel towards marriage had disappeared…as if Maeve herself had cast a spell across the distance separating us.

My heart gave another peculiar twitch, tempting me to craft a potion to dispel the perplexing fog muddling my thoughts if I had the time. My dream had always been—and always would be—magic. While it had been something easy to lose myself to in the past, now I found myself repeatedly distracted from it.

Xander and Taryn regarded me with matching narrow-eyed looks, clearly disbelieving my declarations.

“Fine,” I sighed. “There was a…complication.”

Taryn’s eyes sparkled. “Do tell.”

I frowned at her misguided enthusiasm. “One of the tasks for the competition was to create a potion. I chose a healing potion and my apprentice and I worked on it together; somehow we made a mistake and instead crafted a love potion. I unwisely handled the potion when trying to find where I went wrong and apparently fell under its spell, which is rather inconvenient considering the circumstances.”

Xander and Taryn exchanged a glance. “I’m not well versed on potions,” Xander finally said, his words slow and careful. “But while I know from experience that a curse is often effective from the merest touch, it was my understanding that spells such as love have to be performed with great precision in order to work properly; you yourself once told me that true love cannot be fabricated through magic.”

“Clearly not,” I snapped, my annoyance at the situation sharpening my words.

Instead of appearing offended, Taryn merely smiled. “You and your apprentice collaborated on this potion, and somehow as you worked together the properties changed from healing to love?”

I bridled at her insinuation. “It was a mere error in application of magical theory, one I do not currently have time to discuss…though I plan to make a thorough examination of the problem later.”

I forced myself to once more focus on the task at hand. Xander and Taryn were gracious enough to drop the subject and instead asked me other questions about the competition as we took our tea. I hastily gulped my drink and ate the accompanying delicacies, anxious to continue my quest. Sensing my urgency, the royal couple courteously abandoned their own tea to lead me deeper into the castle.

I followed them down a wide, richly ornamented hall garnished with large portraits and huge bouquets of flowers. From here we turned into a less ornate hallway, and then again into one that was devoid of decoration and slightly dusty in the corners, lit only by the torch Xander carried.

We finally came to a locked door, which Xander opened to reveal a large chamber filled with generations of acquired relics, arranged on tidy rows of pedestals. An aura emanated from each relic, brighter than the flickering sconces lining the walls and the natural light tumbling through the floor-length windows. Despite my distraction with Maeve and my concerns about the competition, I couldn’t contain my feeling of awe in the presence of so much magic, pieces that had changed the courses of nations.

My spirits lifted a bit as I gazed on the scores of relics, each one a testimony of magical triumph over a curse. I couldn’t help envisioning Maeve’s astonished delight were she with me, sharing this experience. Her eagerness to learn anything magical would savor every moment of this visit…and I would savor every moment with her beside me.

Shaking my head to dispel the errant thought, I squared my shoulders and walked towards the nearest shelf. I’d accomplished the first step of this quest, and now only needed to choose my relic, discern and break its curse, and cast a new spell. It would doubtless be a challenge, but it was time to see just what my powers could do.

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Next Chronicle

I walked up and down the rows, listening to Xander and Taryn’s explanations about each piece’s history as well as the magic surrounding each of them as best as I could midst my continual distraction. There were dozens, a testament to Analasia’s long-standing tradition that, similar to Meridia, the kingdom had upheld for the future ruler to prove themselves through acquiring one of the ancient relics.

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