Chapter 1

One gesture, and purple sparkles danced above her palm. Her eyes, same color as the spell, shone with excitement and almost disbelief at her own magic. Silvana moved her fingers, playing with tiny blobs of light: they jumped over each other, spun in a dreamy waltz, and landed back on the girl’s palm. They were not bright enough to illuminate a somewhat dim shop; their dull reflections could be seen in the silver of figurines and shiny vases. Silvana could afford that – it was a rare occasion that someone wandered into the store. In fact, the business was running so poorly that the owner of the shop, Mrs. Redfield, was giving some stuff away just to get rid of it.

“Take something too, child. You’ve done so much for this store. I want to reward you accordingly,” she said.

And so, Silvana did. She took a ring that caught her eye long time ago and was now caring it under her shirt, on a chain. It would be a nice reminder of these days, once she becomes a true mage.

Ding! Silvana gasped and sprung up, almost hitting her head on the counter. The shopkeeper’s bell took her by surprise. Looks like he didn’t notice, she exhaled in relief and tried fixing her chaotic hair.

“Welcome!” she smiled.

The customer did not answer. In fact, he looked pretty suspicious. Green robes covered his face and whole body.

“I believe you sell rings,” he said in a voice that reminded Silvana of a calm river.

“We do, sir. We also have a wide variety of other goods, such as carpets, medallions, or music boxes. Wish to see them also?”

The man just shook his head and eyed the collection of rings Silvana showed him.

“Do you have more?”

“We do, but I’m not qualified to sell them.”

“I will take all of these then.”

Silvana stared at the impressive bag of coins the customer just placed on the counter and then at the man, with a silent question.

“D-do you want all of them packed individually?”

“Just place them in this bag,” he handed her one.

The customer left right after he received his rings. Silvana could jump out of happiness! As rude as he was, the mysterious man gave hope to resurrect the dying business. She could not wait until she told Mrs. Redfield about it. She would be so happy! Silvana decided not to use her magic in the shop anymore, instead, she took a broom and started sweeping the floor while humming a cheerful song. She had already cleaned all the old figurines, wiped dust off all shelves, and sorted through collectible coins. She had swept too, but a piece or two of dust tended to escape her eye.

Ding! Another customer? Was it a special day for their humble store? However, it was only a postman. Or so you would think. It was a man who brought all Silvana’s hopes and dreams in an envelope!

“Miss Silvana Sanders?” he smiled, already knowing the answer.

She gulped and barely stopped herself from yanking the letter from the postman’s hands. It could, of course, be her parents whom she missed dearly but she was still hoping otherwise.

“How’s business going, Silvana? I’m surprised this shop is still running.”

“It is, in fact, going really well! We might have gotten ourselves a permanent customer,” her smile was tender, but her fingers trembled from anticipation. “And how are you, Emille?”

“I’m okay. But more importantly, you’ve got special mail,” he gave Silvana the letter. “Just don’t forget to tell me what it said after!”

She bobbed and her heart did the same. And although he was a good friend of hers, she could not wait until the end of this conversation. After a couple of minutes – which seemed like an hour – of blankly staring at his face while talking about the rude addressees and new yummies on the market, Emille had finally left, and Silvana had not dared to even peek at the letter before that. Now that she could read the letter without seeming rude, she finally did that. The envelope said:

From: Carleton Ewing

MAGIC HEADQUARTERS, ROOM 205

To: Silvana Sanders

GREENDALE STREET, BUILDING 4, “MRS. REDFIELD’S SHOP OF CURIOUS ANTIQUES”

Silvana exhaled. Three, two, one! She opened the letter and unfolded the paper.

Dear Miss Sanders,

Thank you for your application for a Magic License. We have thoroughly reviewed your candidature and, unfortunately, it has proved to be unsuitable. We hereby inform you that obtaining a Magical License is impossible. Have a wonderful day.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Sincerely,

1. Edwing

Silvana could not believe her eyes! She had to re-read the letter a few times before putting it down on the counter and propping her head with her arm. It could not be that a year worth of her efforts was not enough: not only she was an exemplary citizen, but she also learned about magic as much as she could, and even moved from her small town to the capital! Instead of disappointment, she felt anger, and that surprised her. Silvana grabbed the poor broom once again and started sweeping harder than ever.

“No, no, no,” she mumbled to herself. “That won’t do.”

She surely knew she would apply again and again, until Magic Headquarters approved her. She just needed a plan. Silvana wondered what to do when she swept. She wondered what to do when she counted the profits the shop had made thanks to the mystery customer. She wondered what to do when she closed the shop and was ready to return home. Greendale street was, in the least, not green at all. It zigzagged in askew grey labyrinths of old houses, making it hard for few customers to find their way to the store. It took Silvana some time before she got used to this street and could get to work without getting lost. Now she could do it with her eyes closed! The thoughts still misted her mind, and she did not pay attention to where she was walking at all.

 “Hand us all your money and we will think about not hurting you,” it was the voice from somewhere ahead that jerked Silvana from her grumpy thoughts.

She froze, not knowing what to do, her heart pounding cheetah fast. A couple of timid steps. Silvana saw two figures in robes. Their faces were unrecognizable in the dark, but it was clear they were civilians. A band of bulky men had blocked their path.

“Has the cat got your tongue or something?”

It was obviously their leader who spoke, and even though Silvana, hidden in a dark corner, could not see his expression well, she could almost imagine this nasty smirk on his face. She shivered. The citizens stood still, probably scared to death.

“Are you deaf?” the bandit made a step towards the citizens.

She had to do something, or these people could get hurt! Her legs, almost wooden, refused to cooperate, and it took her great effort to make another step. To leave the safe shadows.

“B-back off, you,” she clenched her fists.

It took the muggers a second to understand what was going on and burst into laughter.

“Are you lost, girl?” the leader almost teared from amusement. “Well, sorry, but this is your unlucky day. Didn’t your mom teach you it is bad to be nosy?”

He got closer to Silvana with every word. She stepped back and barely kept herself from falling. It was hard to breathe. Her tongue was so dry and cement-like, she could not talk. Silvana glimpsed how the figure in robes lifted their hand as if they wanted to do something, but the taller citizen stopped them, and she shifted her gaze back to the bandit. She knew she should not do this. But someone had to save these people and she had to be their savior. A wave of hand and the bandits gasped – purple sparkles danced in front of their leader. The leader’s eyes widened. Seeing that it worked, Silvana stretched her arm closer to the bandit.

“S-she is crazy!” yelled he.

He kept stepping back as Silvana stepped towards him, with the spell above her palm. Step, another one. Until he fell. She still held her hand with the sparkles close to his face.

“Damn,” the bandit cried. “Don’t touch me!”

A sound of footsteps made Silvana look to the side, and the next moment the bandit jumped up and, limping, ran away. A man appeared from the dark: his hand on the hilt of a sword, an open-face helmet on his head, a shield on his back. Silvana did not even notice how he appeared near her. The next thing she felt is a hard grasp on her arm. She tried to tug free, but the clench was too strong. She could still barely breathe, let alone talk.

“What–“Silvana could only say.

“Asks someone who just threatened a human with magic!”

“Sir, you have got it all confused,” the taller citizen came closer to Silvana. “This girl just scared off a dozen of bandits that threatened us.”

To Silvana’s surprise, the civilian’s voice sounded calm, but the realization that all the bandits were long-gone was even more shocking.

“Is that true?” the guard looked at the second person and then at Silvana.

“It is,” the second civilian answered with a sigh.

“In that case, can I see your magic license, miss?”

“I… d-don’t have one, but I applied…” Silvana babbled.

The guard grabbed Silvana’s second arm and cuffed her hands in a mere second. She could not move at all, more from a shock than from the grip and just bluntly stared at the survivors.

“You are under arrest for using magic without a license,” the words thumped hard.

And here it was. Something her parents had warned her of. Oh, how stupid she was for using spells without a permission! She never even realized how risky it was, casting sparkles at daytime in the shop because she always got away with it. How distant it all seemed from her. But now it all had caught up with her, and she felt sorry to her mom and dad whom she had left in her hometown.

“Excuse me, but what permission do you have to arrest my apprentice?” the taller person came even closer and took off his hood. He appeared to be a gray-haired wearing round glasses.

“Mister Young?” the guard’s clench weakened right away. “I’m so sorry, but… she doesn’t even have a license…”

“We were just on our way to get her one. Now, I’ll be quite grateful if you release my apprentice and let us continue to the Magic Headquarters. We’ve had a long journey.”

“O-of course,” the guard got his key and Silvana was finally free. “Have a nice trip. Just try not to use magic again… miss. I could get in trouble for that.”

Mr. Young touched Silvana’s shoulder and nodded his head, signaling her to go. She looked at the guard with disbelief, as if he would grab her again as soon as she turned, but he only bowed with his head.

“I’m sorry, miss.”

Still speechless, she trudged as Mr. Young held her shoulder. His touch was warm and almost calming. He waved his hand and all the streetlights shone.

“Here. This street surely needed some light,” he said.

“So, you’re a mage too?” it was the only thing that came to Silvana’s mind.

Mr. Young smiled and nodded. The second, shorter person in robes turned his head and Silvana could finally catch a glimpse of his face in the lamp light of a nearby shop: a tetchy expression, long nose, fire-red hair. And his eyes. Predatory yellow eyes, that almost shone brighter than the streetlights. The unwelcoming gaze sent chills down Silvana’s spine. She had an urge to run, run fast from this man, down the dark labyrinth of streets. She looked back – the guard had left. Surprisingly, that made her feel insecure.

“Thank you so much,” she stopped. “I have no way to repay you right now, but you can come to the shop of antiques some other day, it’s not far away from here. I will find a way to repay you somehow by then.”

Looking at the younger man, she almost regretted this suggestion.

“No need to thank me just yet,” Mr. Young looked at her. “We’re not there yet.”

“I can perfectly walk home myself,” Silvana made a step back.

“Of course, you can,” Mr. Young laughed. “But tomorrow we’re going to get you a license. Meet you at the central fountain tomorrow, six o’clock in the morning. Deal?”