Cleo prayed to Serapis that her friend was okay. It had been weeks and she worried about Maddie every day. She had even fallen behind in her studies, a fact that would have shocked her under any other circumstances. Corentin and Severus knew about Maddie’s mission, while her other teachers were given to understand that something had happened to Maddie and so cut her friends some slack. Slack which, to Cleo’s displeasure, Gaius did not seem to need.

She was walking down the hall to Maddie’s bedroom, checking for the millionth time to see if Maddie had returned when she heard a loud crash and a yell. She broke into a run. In a moment she was slamming through the door.

What she found would have been comical if Cleo had not been so focused on her friend. Maddie was laying on the floor, the remains of a small table underneath her. A small clay vase had been flung to the side and smashed against the wall. Cleo rushed to Maddie’s side. The girl was trembling and trying to catch her breath, which seemed like it wouldn't come.

“Maddie! What happened?”

“He knows,” she gasped out. “Sword. Too small.”

Cleo’s brow wrinkled at this group of non sequiturs. She cradled Maddie’s face and stroked her hair, which was coming out of the messy braid she usually kept it in. By the time Gaius rushed into the room with Elouan and another student behind him, Maddie had calmed down enough to speak. She was still shaking but her breathing was close to normal.

“What happened?!” Gaius asked.

“Tereus found out that it was a ruse. I managed to escape, but I couldn’t take the sword.”

Elouan paled. “Then he has a divine weapon.”

“No. No, I…”

Elouan snapped into action. He ordered the other student and Gaius to lift Maddie onto the bed and wrapped a blanket tightly around her. Cleo sat down and continued to soothe her. Elouan ordered the student out and the door closed. They all waited patiently for Maddie to continue.

“I somehow locked the sword to myself, so Tereus can’t use it. But it’s still at his house.”

Gaius swore in british, earning a disapproving look from Elouan and blushes from Cleo and Maddie.

“We need that sword! It’s our most powerful weapon against Tereus!”

Cleo fixed Gaius with a glare. “We have our friend back, unhurt, and you worry about a weapon our enemy can’t use? The sword can wait until another day.”

Gaius backed down at her harsh words. “You’re right. I was so focused on our mission.”

He went to Maddie and gave her a big hug, which she leaned into. He felt Cleo’s hands on his arm as she joined. Surrounded, protected by her closest friends, Maddie swooned. Gaius and Cleo lay her down on the bed as Elouan placed another blanket over her. As he dimmed the lights and they all left, Maddie slipped into slumber, a smile on her face.

Before Maddie woke up, the jumble of thoughts, feelings, and sensations started to coalesce into a relatively clear set of memories. She opened her eyes to find her best friend by her side.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Cleo’s smile was as wide as Maddie had ever seen.

“Is it morning?”

“Well, closer to afternoon, but who wants to argue?”

“You do, probably. Or Gaius, if he was here.”

“Oh! That reminds me!” She went to the table -- which had been replaced, to Maddie’s relief -- and picked up a piece of polished metal. Closing her eyes, she concentrated for a moment and the metal began to glow. Gaius’s face appeared on the reflection.

“Cleo! What’s going on?”

“She’s awake.”

The reflection in the polished metal started to shake as Gaius evidently started to run.

“Calm down! Calm down! She’s fine! Slow down, you’re going to get hurt!!”

With a crash the image in the mirror stabilized. It showed the ceiling as it slid down the hallway.

“Gaius!” the girls shouted together.

The mirror moved and Gaius’s face reappeared.

“I’m okay. Nothing hurt but my pride.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Oof, hope that’s not a mortal wound. Your pride is your biggest organ,” Cleo retorted.

“Ha ha. Funny. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

The image cut off and the polished metal glowed softly for a few seconds and then faded. Cleo sat down on the bed and gave Maddie a hug that lasted until Gaius arrived. They broke it off and Maddie stood up and gave him a big hug.

“Maddie, I’m…I’m really happy you're okay. Tereus didn’t try to hurt you in any way?”

“No, he was almost…nice to me. But I think he saw through me the whole time.”

“So, did you learn anything?” Cleo asked, taking a seat on one of the chairs.

“I did, actually. He taught me a lot. Magic doesn’t need resonance. You can use willpower to use it.”

“That is one way to do it,” said a voice from the doorway. Corentin stood there, his usual jovial smile ever-present, if possibly a little strained. His wispy brown-white hair stood up on his round head and the white robe could not hide his chubby frame.

Maddie’s head snapped up when she heard him speak. She started to shuffle back in the bed until she was pressed against the wall.

“What are you doing here? I don’t want you here,” she whispered.

Shock passed across Corentin’s face before it fell. “I’m sorry, I just--”

“--No.”

Corentin staggered as if he had been hit. “Madeleine, I’m sorry if--”

“--NO. I don’t want to see you again. Ever!”

He slowly backed out of the room, then still in shock he turned and walked down the hallway.

Gaius got up and closed the door.

“What was that?”

“He started this whole thing. He pulled my magic out of me before I was ready. He should have known better! He’s supposed to be my teacher! He’s supposed to be an expert! He started this! HE BETRAYED ME!”

She was standing and shouting by the end. Cleo rushed to comfort her but Maddie elbowed her aside. She started pacing, but when she got to Gaius he reached out his arm and put it around her shoulder. She violently shrugged it off.

Cleo motioned to Gaius that they should both sit down while their friend paced and ranted.

“It’s all his fault! He pushed and pushed until I ran to Tereus to get away. I wanted someone I could trust! And then he lied to me. He showed me terrible things. He tried to turn me against you! He made me so scared!”

She collapsed to her knees, tears streaming. The next things she said were said in a whisper.

“I believed him. I was so gullible, so naive, so trusting.

“So stupid.”

She dissolved into tears. Cleo took the opportunity to comfort her while Gaius stayed in his chair, clearly uncomfortable and at a loss.

After a few long minutes Maddie’s tears dried up. She leaned back against the bedframe and sighed.

“I don’t want that traitor teaching me magic. He…”

She put her head in her hands. “No, he didn’t. Tereus did. I did. I should have listened. I listened to all the wrong people. And so many people could get hurt”

She leaned on the bed and pushed herself to her feet.

“I’ll work with him, if I have to. But I’m not going to forgive him. I’m never going to forgive him.”

She looked her friends straight in the eyes. “I need a break. I need air and I need out of this stupid room.”

She walked to the door. Cleo hurried after her and Gaius started to stand up.

“Alone.” And she left the room.

After she was gone, Gaius turned to Cleo. “Our friend has grown quite a spine.”

Cleo looked at him askance. “You would too if you went through that much trauma. That’s what you do with trauma, you either adapt or it kills you.”

Gaius winced. “I guess you’re right.”

As Maddie got near the exit to the building, she felt a cold chill. The lights in the hall seemed dim, as if they were going to go out. She opened the door and saw blackness.

The clouds had returned. Thick black clouds pushed down on the Academy grounds. She felt the same pressure that had almost knocked her down last time, but she was able to keep herself from faltering. She looked up at the clouds and saw the roiling inkiness in sharp detail. They seemed closer, as if they were only cubits above her.

Then the thunder. Louder and longer this time, it seemed to Maddie. She flinched slightly when it started but kept her feet. She looked over at the grove, surprised to see no Druids battling the storm. Maddie took a few steps forward, waiting for the next part: the wind.

It started seconds after the thunder had passed. Instead of blowing through the grove, it seemed to come straight for Maddie. Her hair blew back, separating from its braid and blowing around her face. But the brunt of the wind seemed to go around her. She could feel where it split in front of her and where it came together behind her, blowing through the open doorway and into the hallway. She could hear the creaking of wood and then the cracking as the door she had come through started to come apart. Crashes came from inside the building, signaling that the same thing was happening inside.

All of a sudden the wind reversed. It split around her once again but before it was past it hit her like a shove. She stumbled forward slightly but the wind was gone, rushing up into the sky. She watched circles form in the clouds as the wind returned to its home. Once again the clouds started to rise until they were nothing more than wisps of smoke that revealed a depressing grey sky. Maddie stood for a while longer watching the clouds and picking out their shapes even as they seemed to be one formless grey mass. She let out a deep, deep breath and a small smile came to her lips. Everything was going to be okay from here on out.

She turned back to the building. The broken pieces of the door lay on the ground. She turned away, deciding to stay outside on the grounds for a little while longer.