Eva spent the night tossing and turning, the events of the evening replaying every time she closed her eyes. Even though she was clean and back in her bed, the putrid smell of her attacker still clung to her. She still felt his cracked lips and slimy tongue tickling her skin and being pressed against her lips. She couldn’t see them anymore, but she still felt the dozens of cuts he made both with magic and a red-hot dagger. She could still see his green eyes watching her as she struggled and hear his crackling laugh as she cried and tried to pull away from the knife as it bit into her. His whispers, taunting her to protect herself with magic and describing what he was planning, rang in her ears through the silence.

*~*~*

When morning arrived, a cheerful Eva bounced into the kitchen, ready to start the day. As she helped Radin prepare breakfast for the household, Eva hummed to herself, smiling as she worked.

A little while later, a sleepy Sirah walked in, ready to help Radin. She shot the man a questioning look when she saw the cheery Eva sitting at the table. Instead of one of the normal skirts that she had been given, Eva was now wearing a pair of leather pants she had fished out of the closet that were too small for any of the men in the household. Radin just shrugged, also unsure of her behavior.

“Good morning, Sirah!” Eva greeted the older woman, “How is Mila doing this morning? Is she ok? We really had a bit of a scare last night, I imagine she must be shaken!”

Narrowing her eyes, Sirah sat down at the table opposite Eva. “Yes, Lord Edan said you are both to be allowed to rest for a couple days to recover from the events.”

Not acknowledging any suggestions that she take the day off, Eva continued on with the routine she had established over the two months that she had lived there, taking on the work Mila would normally do as well as her own. Any time someone looked, a pleasant smile covered her face and a quiet humming could be heard.

Later that morning, Eva was in a clean, empty stall in the stables hunched over an open barrel full of clothes to be washed. Believing that she was alone while doing this, Eva let the tears roll down her cheeks as she poured her fear and anger into her actions. At the sound of a footstep behind her, Eva stiffened and quickly wiped away the tears.

“Eva,” Edan said when he saw her stiffen and wipe at her face. “Are you ok this morning?”

Not trusting her voice, Eva closed her eyes and took a deep breath before nodding without turning to face him. She flinched when he reached up and touched her shoulder, but had managed to regain her composure enough to turn to him with the pleasant smile pasted back on her face. As the tears threatened to spill over again, Eva quickly turned back to the task at hand, using that to hide her turmoil.

“Eva.” He said again, “Do you understand the significance of what happened last night? What it means for you?”

Still unable to speak, Eva looked at him in disbelief. ‘Do I understand what happened?’

“Those men were talking about having a girl with magic. You were able to get through a barrier spell,” Edan explained, “They were talking about you.” When Eva didn’t respond, he pressed on, “Eva, you have magic!”

“If I had magic, why couldn’t I stop him?” Eva dropped the clothes she had been scrubbing and turned on the man next to her, yelling, “If I had magic, why couldn’t I protect myself? He kept taunting me to use magic to do just that! But I couldn’t!”

Eva turned back to the laundry as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. Grabbing the first item she could, she furiously scrubbed at it until Edan grabbed her arms and pulled her to him. Giving her the time she needed, he just stood there and held her until she was done crying. At that point, she pulled away, again wiping the tears from her face.

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“I’m sorry, My Lord.”

“Don’t be sorry, Eva,” he pulled her chin up until their eyes met. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know he did that to you. But because of that, it doesn’t mean you don’t have magic. It just means that you haven’t learned to use it. You do have magic, and I will teach you how to use it.”

As Edan took Eva back into the house and led her to the study, Sirah quietly went out to finish the laundry that had been started. Once in the study, Edan activated a barrier to prevent magic from escaping and causing damage to anyone or anything outside the room.

*~*~*

The first lesson in magic was for Eva to find the source of hers inside herself. She tried sitting in the large chair first, but couldn’t get comfortable enough to concentrate on her task. She then situated herself on the floor, legs crossed, back against the wall. Once she was ready, Edan’s soft, deep voice guided her down the paths within her own mind until she was standing in a room with nothing but a well in the center.

The well appeared to be made from old stones. It had an old, wooden cover over it with tendrils of light reaching through and up. Drawn to the well, Eva stuck her hand in one of the tendrils of light - it was warm to the touch, like warm water flowing gently over her hand. The urge to remove the wooden cover overwhelmed her and she pried at its edges. Slowly, after what seemed like eternity, the first board came loose. She pulled it off and worked on the others, continuing until the entire cover was gone and the energy flowed freely from the well. The light shot straight up, lighting up the entire room. Spinning around in wonder, Eva saw bubbles with her memories floating around.

As the energy from the well burst up, Eva could feel it flowing all through her, a release of pent up power both letting her go and filling her up. A sense of empowerment and peace washed over her, wiping away the turmoil and doubt that had been battering at her all morning.

Eva opened her eyes to see Edan smiling at her. "So you found the source of your power. Now it’s time to contain it so you don't hurt anyone or cause damage."

Pausing only for lunch, Edan spent the day guiding Eva, teaching her the basics of controlling her magic. By the time Sirah announced dinner, Eva was exhausted but could at least prevent her magic from lashing out. Satisfied at her level of control, they followed Sirah to the kitchen and ate with the household.

*~*~*

It had been three days since that night he had taken two girls captive only to have lost them a few short hours later. The sweet taste of the girl had not been enough, he needed more! But he had been instructed to leave her for now, though he had no idea why - the man that rescued them was powerful, much stronger than he; he must now be teaching the girl about her magic.

The mage sat on the ground at the designated meeting place, grumbling to himself when a hooded figure appeared out of the darkness. "The masters have looked in on the girl and she now belongs to them. You are only to bring her to them when the time comes," A voice rolled out from under the hood. The voice was neither feminine nor masculine, there was no way to tell who the person standing in front of him was.

"Use this when the time comes, but do not let it touch your skin, it prevents whoever is touching it from working magic," a gloved hand appeared from under the cloak, holding a length of rope. "Watch, but do not act until instructed. Do you understand, Ordu?"

Glaring at the figure, Ordu grunted, unhappy that he was no longer going to be able to have another taste of the girl. Accepting the grunt as his agreement, the figure turned and disappeared into the night, back towards the house the girl was being kept.

Thoughts of the little magic girl haunted his dreams, keeping him from sleeping more than an hour or two at a time. The memory of her soft skin and feminine scent gnawed at his sanity.

"I saw her first! How dare they keep her from me!" Ordu said to himself as he paced his camp three days after his meeting with the hooded figure. "But the masters want her for themselves," he had been arguing with himself for days. "But I must have her for myself! She's mine! If only I could catch her alone."

Growling, he pulled out a small mirror and used his magic to look in on the girl, again. This time he widened his view so he could see the entire room she was in. An older man with grey hair bustled about a kitchen, preparing food for the day. The girl sat on a stool, cleaning vegetables for use and placing them in a pile on the table next to her. A strand of her long, soft hair fell into her face and she brushed it out of the way.

"Eva," a man walked into the kitchen. He seemed familiar, but Ordu couldn't put a name to the face. "I need to go into town today. You have the afternoon to yourself."

Ordu excitedly dropped the mirror in his hands, this was his chance! The girl, Eva, was his and no one could take her from him.