Another day, another dollar.
The bright rays of the sun filled my vision as I walked up the stairs, out of the portal in the ground. My clothes were a little moist from my sweat given the lack of an airflow down in her secret lair, but Layla fixed that quickly by casting something on me again, cleaning and drying my clothes at the same time. Last night before we both slept, she couldn't stop talking about all the new spells, magic eyes and techniques she had learnt over the past century, mentioning some bizarre magical names that I couldn't remember. Well, today I was set to learn some more of them. Hopefully, I don't take forever just to learn, like yesterday. Also, I should learn whatever spell she just cast. It would be so good for laundry.
The two of us headed back to that garden for practice. I could foresee our daily routine now: wake up, train, eat, train, eat again, train, sleep. Rinse and repeat.
"All right Mister G, today we'll start with some basic anti-magic." She swivelled on her heel and faced me. "Like this!"
She pointed her index finger at me, creating a magic circle. Immediately after, a translucent, light yellowish dome materialised around me. It was made up of many tiny rectangles, some white, some yellow, very much like windows.
"So! This is essentially a magic barrier. Depending on your magic strength, it can pretty much block or absorb any magic spells thrown at you. For example,"
Layla then cast the fireball spell,
"W-W-Whoa! Wait!" My hands instinctively raised to shield my face. But the speeding fireball did not reach me, instead only bursting into tiny sparkles upon coming into contact with the dome-like shield. I took a peek from behind my hands. Oh.
"Hey! Are you saying you don't trust me?" Her brows furrowed.
"N-no, I just... I'm not used to it! I forgot everything, remember?"
"Hahaha! Just kidding! Relax! Anyway, remember G, this barrier only blocks spells of similar magic strength. If someone with vastly superior strength casts a spell, it will go through the barrier easily."
"Hmm, so this anti-magic barrier is not that good?"
"No! It is good. It takes a really, really big difference between the two to be able to overcome it. Well, of course there are also many ways around this barrier, but just remember that it is a great basic defence for direct combat!"
"Oooo, that's interesting." I started to wonder what indirect combat was. Perhaps things like telepathic attacks?
"Yep. Magic has evolved so much over the last 100 years, G. Even young students now could hold their own against you."
"Huh?" I shot her a confused look. That wasn’t the first time she had alluded to my strength.
"Well, you were pretty damn strong back then, G. But! That's a story for another time. Come, I'll teach you how to cast this barrier."
And so I spent the rest of the morning learning several simple defence spells. I still had some trouble with the technical details, but overall, it went more smoothly than yesterday. Now, I had offensive and defensive magic spells in my arsenal, and to be honest, I was itching to try them out in a real battle. I glanced at Layla, who was just swiping some dirt off her dress after our training session.
"Hey Layla, wanna have a friendly match?"
She stopped and looked me in the eye. Then a second later, her lips bubbled with giggles.
"Haha! Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I want to test my skills."
"Hmm." She folded her arms and pondered. "Nah!"
"Huh, why not?"
"You haven't learnt enough yet. If we fight, it'll be like an adult fighting a toddler, you see."
Ouch. So that’s how far below her I am.
"Couldn't you have put it in a nicer way?"
"Well, the truth hurts G. Have you ever heard of that saying before?"
Maybe I had, maybe I hadn't. How was I supposed to remember with no memories?
"Don't look so sad. I'm sure you'll learn them all in no time. For now, let's--"
Her expression suddenly turned serious as her gaze shifted skyward. Both her eyes emitted a light blue glow for a moment, as if she was scanning or searching for something. It must be those 'magic eyes' she mentioned last night. Fascinating! I wonder what those eyes do. Perhaps they were some sort of magic particle detector?
"What's wrong?" I asked, looking up in the sky to see if there was anything my normal eyes could detect.
Her gaze shifted downward, scanning the area around us before the blue glow in her eyes faded. "Nothing! I thought I sensed something and had to check to be sure. But all is good!"
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"Ooo, okay. Were those magic eyes you just used?"
"Yep. The one I just used helps you detect traces of magic particles to see if someone is nearby. I'll teach you about them someday. Come, let's go eat!"
She grabbed my hand and started skipping away, pulling me along. Oh, man. This still feels weird. I get that we were lovers, but... I still didn't see her that way. I have to admit that she was growing on me. The way she spoke, the beauty she possessed, and that smile she wore; I could see why someone would have romantic feelings for her.
As we walked back to her secret lair, I looked around this lifeless place. Other than her footsteps and mine, there were no other sounds, no other people present. In fact, I had not seen anyone else since yesterday. Layla had mentioned that Jay... Javen, was it? He had sent her here for safety. But wouldn't it make sense for there to be several others also? Surely there had to be other important persons, like state lords, her family members or some other Royalty as well. How was it that she and I were the only ones here? No matter how hard I tried to reason with myself, I just couldn't come up with a logical answer.
Back in the underground lair, I sat at the dining table and waited as Layla went to cook something up. Looking around, I just truly realised how nice this lair was. The furniture here was made with great craftsmanship. Gazing into each one, the details and design on each of them seemed to be well-planned and executed. My fingertips brushed the smooth surface of the wooden dining table, appreciating its sturdy craftsmanship. Her bed, too, was incredibly soft, like lying on a cloud of marshmallows.
Layla returned with two plates of spaghetti. Its aroma instantly filled my nose.
"Sorry for the wait, Mister G!" she said with a playful smile, roleplaying a servant as she set the dishes down with a graceful flourish.
"Mmm, wow." I complimented her as I took a spoonful of it. The tangy sauce was perfectly seasoned with a hint of basil and oregano, mingled with the creamy, melted cheese, which added a velvety texture. She really is a good cook!
"Hehe, glad you like it." She also started to eat her fill.
"Layla." My words were muffled by the food in my mouth. "Are we the only ones in this palace?"
For a brief moment, she chewed slower, before quickly resuming her speed and replying: "Other than the guards outside, yeah."
"Why? Where are the others?"
"They... are at other places. Javen thought it would be best to split us up. It's complicated. Other than the war, the country has had issues on its own."
It still doesn’t make sense. That means Javen needs more resources to defend each location; doesn't that make things riskier actually? Something is off here, but maybe that's just how things are. Who am I to judge?
"It must be tough being a King, huh. To have to take care of so many people." I remarked, grabbing another spoonful off of my plate.
"I don't know. Maybe. The past few years, Javen really has been working his butt off. He reformed the government, changed some policies, and actually made this place so much better than it was a hundred years ago."
"That must be nice. You should bring me around the city when this whole stuff is over. Maybe I’ll regain my memories.”
"Of course!"
After a hearty lunch, it was back to business again. I found myself standing in the garden, under the scorching sun, my clothes slightly drenched just from the short walk to here. Sigh, this lady really doesn’t give breaks at all. At this rate, I might just die again overexerting myself.
"Don't look so gloomy would ya, G. Tough times call for tough men."
"Okay okay." I sighed once more. I was only 20 right? I wouldn't call myself a man, yet. But anyway, we were now revising everything that she had taught me since yesterday, along with some additional offensive but simple magic spells.
"Yep, that's it. Make sure to stay focused, or not those barriers will break," she casually said as a magic cannon shot a barrage of fireballs while she simultaneously shot balls of lightning at me through her fingers, like a gun. It was tough, I had to keep recasting the anti-magic barrier due to how strong those damn lightning balls were. My heart was racing and I was panting just by continuously casting the barrier, with no room to do anything else. Imagine if I had a friendly battle with her earlier in the morning—I would have been wrecked in seconds. Look at how easy it was for her -- just pointing her fingers and decimating my barriers effortlessly. I have to ask her to teach me that lightning stuff someday.
"All right!" A wave of her hand and the cannon disappeared. Her fingers also stopped shooting lightning. I heaved a sigh of relief -- any longer and I really would have died for real.
"You okay?" With a big smile, she approached and patted my back lightly, congratulating me for surviving. "You did great!"
"Y...yeah. T....th...thanks." My words were nothing more than mutters between my rapid breaths.
"Haha, let's take a break t--"
All of a sudden, a magic circle appeared under Layla's feet, and a golden cylinder cage enveloped her. A booming voice from above followed, drawing both our gazes skyward.
"Your Majesty. We are here on His Majesty’s orders to bring you back. Please do not resist!" One of the five armoured guards floating in the sky announced, his voice authoritative and resolute. Their presence was imposing, each clad in gleaming armour that reflected the light, making them appear almost otherworldly.
I looked back at Layla, who had her eyes widened. Your Majesty?
"Shit! No!" She immediately destroyed the magic cage using her red-glowing eyes. Afterwards, she tried to cast something large above them, but the guards were much faster and they quickly scurried away from it. Black chains abruptly shot up from the ground beneath Layla, grabbing hold of all of Layla’s limbs, restricting her movements. The spell above the guards broke, and Layla was brought to her knees.
"HEY!" I shouted and tried to throw
"Who's that? Restrain him!" The leader spoke.
I immediately cast the anti-magic barrier that I had learnt and prepared for another cast. But black chains shot up from the ground from inside my barrier, binding both my arms and legs like what it did to Layla. I was brought to my knees, physically and magically immobilised. Looking over at Layla, an electric field and another barrier slowly covered her being. The guards then slowly descended from the sky and stood before us, casting a bubble around us each.
"Layla? What's going on?" I shouted, the panic rising in my voice.
However, her eyes were shut tightly, her teeth clenched, and her body shaking mildly. All that came out of her lips were grunts, no thanks to the merciless assault of the electric field encasing her. Sparks crackled around her, and the golden cage seemed to hum with a relentless, oppressive energy. She was in immense pain, struggling against the magical restraints with every ounce of her strength.
"W-why are you doing this?!" I directed my confusion to the guards. My question fell on deaf ears.
The leader approached Layla and inspected the restraints on her. "Are they both secure?"
"Yes, sir."
His gaze then went toward me briefly.
"Good. Let's go."