Page 86 of Charmed

Despite the pain brought by lost love, I could never regret our time together. My own magical knowledge had not only increased, but my relationship with Alden had deepened…a change more precious than anything.

Worry marred Mother’s brow as she watched me before it seemed she couldn’t bear my melancholy a moment longer. “No more cleaning.” She wrestled the wriggly broom I’d managed to wrangle into submission from my grip. “You need to do something for yourself. Perhaps you should go into town?” At my hesitation, she handed me a basket of eggs. “If you insist on being productive, trade these for some milk. I’d rather you do a menial chore if it’ll get you out of the house rather than remain cooped up as you have been.”

I gratefully accepted the diversion…only to pause in the doorway to glance back at Corbin, who’d been well enough these past several days to be out of bed near the hearth. He had been the biggest change in my absence away from home. Though he still suffered from his chronic condition, he’d grown so much these past several months, causing me to realize he wasn’t as helpless as I often feared.

I deliberated a moment before settling on my decision. “Would my favorite helper like to accompany me?”

His gaze snapped up, eyes bright with the prospect. “Really? I can go on my own adventure?”

Guilt twinged my breast that for all the care I’d tried to render him, I’d failed to help him experience life beyond the mementos and stories I brought back for him.

“Of course. We’ll go on one together.” I noticed Mother’s hesitation. “I’ll carry him on my back if he grows too tired.”

She deliberated a moment longer, but he looked so enthralled by the prospect of getting out of the house that her resistance softened enough for her to nod her permission.

The late afternoon sunlight seemed extra bright and cheery with Corbin experiencing it with me. He clung to my hand and swung our arms back and forth as we slowly ambled up the path, his eyes wide with wonder as he took in the canopy of branches above us and the golden light creating dancing patterns against the leaves.

After a moment, his interest shifted from all the new sights and sounds to studying my face with a thoughtful pucker, dark eyes wide and searching.

“Did you forget something from your time with Mr. Wizard?”

My heart lurched at the mention of Alden, but I kept my expression impassive as I peered curiously at him. “What makes you think I’ve forgotten something?”

“Perhaps notforgotten, but you have the same look I do when I’ve lost my favorite toy.”

My heart swelled. Corbin possessed the unique ability to see beyond his own circumstances to those of others, even pains that I did my best to keep hidden.

He was still awaiting an answer, his look too earnest for me to have any hope of dodging his curiosity. “I miss my magic studies.” It was a safer admission than confessing I missed the one who’d first brought my powers to life more than anything else.

He tilted his head. “Then perhaps we can perform magic together. I can help you, just as you always help me.” He smiled his charming grin, and I missed the way his tongue no longer stuck between the gap that his teeth now evenly filled it.

His sweet offer stoked my previously weakening resolve. If I couldn’t have Alden, I could at least keep the magic he helped me discover a part of my life. It was time to move forward with the purpose I’d begun to nourish while using my powers to help the villagers in the hamlet—to look outside my brother’s needs to those that existed all around me.

I knelt before Corbin and carefully cradled his hands. “Would you like to become my apprentice for a new game?”

Enthusiasm brightened his dear features. “An apprentice like you? Will I be able to learn magic too?”

“Perhaps not, but you can assist me with my own.”

Wonder lit his expression at the prospect. “Can I have robes to match Mr. Wizard’s? And my own wand?”

Wands were only found within storybooks and hadn’t actually been part of my own magical training, but I wanted nothing to dim his bright smile.

I tapped my chin in thought as I cast my gaze along the path until I found a stick strewn on the side. I broke off the loose leaves and small twigs to smooth it out before summoning a bit of light magic to fuse on the end.

I handed it to Corbin. “Now you’re my official apprentice. While in town we can barter for some fabric so I can make you your own robes to wear when we get home.”

He accepted his new wand with wide-eyed reverence. For a moment he could only stare before he eagerly met my gaze. “What magic should we perform first?”

I gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Let’s see if we can find the perfect spells to perform together.”

As he trailed after me through the village. I noticed new details about the neighbors I’d known my entire life, as if seeing them for the first time. The powers I’d fought to suppress roused, ready to be of service. Though I still only possessed the knowledge for a handful of spells, my training had granted me enough to provide small bits of service. When I returned home, I resolved to sort through the applicants and finally decide on a new apprenticeship so that with time I could learn more.

Corbin’s own experiences caused him to understand others’ suffering in a way deeper than I ever could, granting him ideas for how to alleviate some of their discomfort. He noticed that a widow’s crooked back made it difficult for her to carry her full milk pail, so I enchanted it with a bit of wind magic to allow it to float alongside her. For an elderly blacksmith with arthritis in his joints, we conjured a flame that never went out so he had light to work by as daylight continued to shorten. For several farmers, we enchanted their chicken coops to keep out the foxes and their fields to better yield a good harvest.

Like from my time in the hamlet, each act of service brought a smile to my neighbor’s faces. For each trick, I created the illusion that Corbin was performing the spell by having him wave his magic want at each person we helped; warmth swelled at his deepening joy, dispelling much of the darkness created by my missing Alden.

We would have lingered longer, but Corbin began to tire, so I carried him on my back for the journey home, the jars of milk we’d traded our eggs for following gently behind.

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