Barinon thought over what had just happened with Hailey. The girl was clearly shaken, but he stored her little mishap away. She was more powerful than he had originally surmised and she was learning quickly. As upset as she had been about creating that lightning spell, he could see nothing but possibilities for it. He wondered if it would do any good against the dragon or how accurate it would be. Could you kill a fairy with it?

Barinon nodded to the two guards that stood outside the room and entered. A soft rug covered a good portion of the floor. He liked the study. The walls were lined with bookshelves, the chairs were comfortable, and the window was nice and large to let in plenty of light. It was probably the books that put him at ease. He always felt more comfortable around them.

The king stood at the window, looking out over the practice yard. That was the downside of this particular room. The practice yard was noisy and it was too close to the house at all in Barinon’s opinon. Stewart was beginning to show his age. His hair and beard had more white in them than black anymore, but he stood straight and proud. As a king should, he thought.

He turned and smiled at Barinon. “How is your young prodigy progressing?”

“She is remarkable.” Barinon thought about telling him about the lightning spell, but the king’s eyes would glass over as he explained the intricacies of the spell.

“I am relieved that you are finally training someone. You and I will not last forever.”

Barinon nodded. Finally, the king took a chair and Barinon sat as well. “But you didn’t bring me here do discuss my pupil.” He offered Barinon tea, which he knew Barinon would accept.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like and old man.”

“Don’t claim to be old,” Barinon said. “It makes me old, too.”

Steward chuckled. “How do you think the young mage sees you.”

“She’s thirty one.”

“Does she know that? I think both her mind and body have not realized that yet.” The king paused. “You will go with her into the castle soon?”

Barinon sipped his tea it was warm and bitter on his tongue. “It’s our best chance.”

“Please don’t get stuck in there. It makes me nervous.”

“She has done it before, though, and the young man she took with her is now training to be in your guard.”

“I know, but…just be careful.”

“I will be. I know the kingdom still needs me and I will not risk myself unnecessarily. You know why I have to go in there, though.”

Instead of answering, the king took a deep breath. He got a far off look in his eyes. “Did you see her, when you were in the forest?”

Barinon shook his head. “The lady at the well has seen her, though.”

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“When?” Stewart’s eyes were almost pleading.

“Sometime in the last fifteen years.”

The king glared at him. “You give me nothing. You know what may happen.”

“And you know that it would be foolish of me to go and try to hunt down someone who would more than likely want to see me dead. It would be foolish…”

The king cut him off. “I understand the risks. I just… If we could contact her, have a back up plan.”

Barinon nodded, but the back up plan made him shudder.

----------------------------------------

Hailey had eaten and Barinon had not come back. She left the kitchen and the staff that worked there seemed relieved. It was hard for her not to think of the kitchen as her place to be. There was a bustle and a rhythm to it that she found comforting. She almost wished she could wash some pots while she waited. The cook would have been horrified and so she left, wandering through the castle.

The spell that she had accidentally created still bothered her. Barinon had warned her to be careful, that the slightest change could change a spell’s makeup, but she had expected that it would just not work, not that it would change into something entirely different. She found herself wandering back to the balcony near her bedroom. She wished that Barinon had told her earlier that they would be going to the castle today.

She knew the spell had to be undone, but it created a pocket of isolation that she loved. She had her own private little place in the world where no one would come and bother her. When Barinon managed to undo that spell, she realized now that she would miss it. She let her mind and her feet wander and almost didn’t see the maid until she bumped into her.

“Excuse me, miss.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

The maid curtsied and hurried away. She would never get used to that. She made her way to the balcony. She could see the forest in the distance and the shimmer. She looked down to see the men practicing and tried to spot Aaron.

He was sitting dejectedly on a bench. “Hey one arm, get me some water.” The man who spoke to him had curly brown hair. Hailey could not make out his features clearly.

Aaron rose stiffly and ladled out water into a large cup and took it over to the man. He seemed to be limping. He handed the man the cup.

The man smirked at him and then said, “Hey, one arm. You should see if your friend can heal your arm.”

The other men were laughing, but Aaron just stood there until the man threw the cup on the ground. Aaron picked it up and walked away.

Hailey made herself invisible. No one had spotted her yet, and she didn’t think it would help Aaron’s cause if they did. What had she been thinking? She was so used to Aaron the way he was that it didn’t occur to her that someone would make fun of him. It wasn’t his fault that his arm had been caught in the spell. If she had been a little bit faster. Thoughts of that day and how it had changed so much flooded her mind. Barinon was right. They had to undo the spell and set the people free. It was their responsibility.

She watched Aaron walk back to the bench where he had been seated. He wasn’t even watching the soldiers anymore. She wished she could go to him, wished she could make things right. She would have to find a time to talk to her friend. He needed someone, but he needed someone who could talk to him without giving more ammunition to the other soldiers.

None of this had been like she had envisioned it. She had thought that the soldiers would accept him and teach him to use a sword despite the limitation of his left hand. She had thought that learning to do magic would take less work, that she wouldn’t go to her bed exhausted every night.

Nothing had been like she had imagined it and now that she thought about the things that she had wanted, the things she had asked Barinon for in exchange for her cooperation, she realized how foolish she had been. Being a mage was the right thing to do, but maybe soldiering wasn’t something Aaron would ever do. Maybe she needed to let him know that she wouldn’t hold it against him if he went home. She would like to have him here int he castle with her, but she hadn’t seen him the entire time he was here. She missed him even though she was right there.