As her eyes adjusted to the light Merlynn’s vision eased into the familiarity of her bedroom. She heaved a sigh then scrunched herself deeper into her blankets hiding from the chill air. She then looked around for Nickolas when she noticed the shower running along with the scents of mind and tobacco rolling on the air. With a quick glance at her clock, she heaved another sigh, but one in relief as the clock read ten minutes past seven in the morning.

Merlynn rolled over swaddling herself, burying her face in her pillow when the shower suddenly stopped. A few moments later Nickolas emerged shirtless still slightly damp, patting his hair dry with a towel. “Mmph!” Merlynn grunted in delight as she watched a few beads of water stream down his chest. “Seems someone awoke in a better mood.” Nickolas chuckled as he hung his towel to dry. He then walked over to Merlynn as she rose from the bed still clinging onto her blankets. She stared at him with lustful eyes slowly propping ripples of blanket revealing more of her lightly tanned skin. As he approached her, she slowly closed them puckering her lips slightly when he noticed a deeper emotion buried in her desire. “I meant what I said. This has to be the end, I’m sorry, Lynn.” He apologized as he pulled his clothes on. “I know you want more…” He gulped hard, “I’m sorry Lynn, my feelings haven’t changed.” Nickolas barely squeezed out. “It bothers me to no end that I cave when ever you touch me. I’ve often wondered if it’s some sort of spell you’ve put on me but I know better than that. Your too hard headed for shortcuts, even in the most simplest of things.” Nickolas added wiping away Merlynn’s tears before they could form. “It’s okay Nickolas I wish things were different, but I understand that trying to coerce you into a relationship won’t bring either of us happiness.” Merlynn spoke in a somber tone tugging tighter on her blanket. “I wish things were different too.” Nickolas . Nickolas drew close to her pulling her to him in a tight caring hug. “I do care for you Lynn, that will never change but it’s for best we don’t try, we will only end up hurting each other.” Upon releasing from one another Merlynn fixed her gaze on his. She responded with a forced smile. “Bugger, I forgot; I’ve got to meet up with the others.” Nickolas cursed with a distant stare. “I do still have time for this though.” Nickolas cheerfully said in a smile disappearing as Merlynn fought against a yawn. Before Merlynn could finish her yawn, he had returned with a warm bag of breakfast. “Take care of yourself Lynn, and remember if you ever need me just give me the signal and I’ll be there in the Nick of Time.” Nickolas joked fighting back tears of his own as he turned over the bag of food and disappeared once more.

Merlynn sat for a moment in silence then shook herself awake. With a few quick slaps to her face, she leapt up out of bed and began her morning routine albeit earlier than she normally would. She ran a quick shower washing the night’s sweat off, then spent nearly twenty minutes brushing her hair and applying her basic makeup along with her favorite rouge. She then went to her closet adorning herself with a pair of well-worn blue jeans and calf high boots with an inch-thick heel. Finally, she pulled a red wool sweater over her torso with a low neckline, tugging her hat snuggly over her head. After looking herself over in the mirror she adjusts the size of her hat then finished off her look with a few enchanted accessories, three rings and a simple jade amulet. Before leaving the room, she checked each item to make sure each was charged. After assuring herself they were exceptional she grabbed the bag of food and strode towards the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen she began setting out eggs and sausages, setting the oven to heat as she briskly strode by. She then opened the bag she was given to find two of her favorite things, a sausage everything bagel with cream cheese and a hazelnut Café americano. She shuddered slightly taking a bite from her food then melted in bliss with each further bite. She continued preparations for breakfast taking bites of bagel and sips of coffee, laying out pancake mix, skillets, and canned biscuits. Merlynn grinned as she greased each pan lining two with bacon and sausage links. The meat sizzles and crackled to life as she placed her biscuits in the oven and started another pan for pancakes. As her coffee neared its bitter end Merlynn coaxed their percolator to life with a fresh batch of a premium ground. Merlynn pulled off the first round of bacon and sausages starting the next and siphoning off the grease into a cast iron pot which she quickly whisked in flour and milk till it was a nice thick gravy. By the second round of glorious bacon and glorious percolated black gold the heavenly scents wafted through the air all but carrying the glorious Gloria and Abbey to the small kitchen table. Merlynn turned with empty plates in hand not expecting the girls to be up yet.

“Good morning…heh…girls.” Merlynn struggled to hold in her laughter as she looked both girls over. There they sat half asleep still in pajamas, both suffering from a wicked case of bed hair and a serious hangover syndrome on autopilot, solely being driven by their stomachs. Gloria grunted in retort to her mother’s snickering then slowly began to droop as she fought sleep. “Food…” Abbey croaked sounding as if she just crossed a desert in desperate need of water. “Here girls.” Merlynn said with a smile as she sat down two ceramic mugs in front of them, one reading forgiveness is divine while the other read this asshole with a crude arrow drawn on it. As the girls grasped a mug Merlynn filled each with chocolate milk then proceeded to finish setting the table. Both girls sat in silence as they sipped on their milk. “Now after Y’all eat we will have that talk and I’ll explain everything.” Merlynn spoke as she dished out food onto each plate. “Good morning, Master Merlynn.” A throaty yawn entered the kitchen scratching his backside. “Morning Hiro! Take a seat I made you a plate as well.” Merlynn replied in a chipper tone. “Good morning, Gloria, Abbey, I hope you both slept well.” Hiro greeted the girls as he sat at the table to which the girls replied with throaty hisses. After sitting down Hiro’s plate Merlynn cracked the window lighting a cigarette and began cleaning up.

Gloria, Abbey, and Hiro ate in silence as they awoke fully, that is until Hiro started questioning them about everything on his plate. Apparently, Morgana never cooked for him, let alone fed him decent meals. “Photosynthesize! She SAID!” Hiro shouted as their conversation became livelier with laughter. Merlynn smiled shedding a small tear as she finished the dishes. With a fresh round of coffee for everyone, Merlynn joined them at the table waiting for them to clean their plates then return. “I’m unsure where exactly to begin so please bear with me.” Merlynn spoke aloud as she focused intently on her cup of coffee. “How about what’s got you so bothered Mom? No deviations or half-truths, the full truth and nothing but it.” Gloria affirmed as she took her place at the table. She noisily supped at her coffee while Abbey and Hiro took their seats, with Hiro helping himself to a glass of chocolate milk. “Honestly it’s Morgana.” Merlynn blurted out snapping her vision to meet Gloria’s as they swelled with pain. Gloria quivered a little in sympathy then hardened herself. “What’s wrong with Auntie Morgan?” Gloria asked fearing illness or worse. “Gloria, her health isn’t the issue…” Merlynn stumbled in her answer, her wavering eyes desperately searching for a way to explain it, to explain everything. “Morgana is an evil bitch up to some foul scheme that she’s been plotting for longer than I can remember now.” Hiro interjected sending Gloria into a rage. “The fuck did you say!” Gloria screamed reaching over the table wrenching Hiro by the collar of his shirt.

“Sit.” Merlynn spoke aloud filling her voice with will empowering her suggestion. Gloria and Hiro sat post haste then started yelling at one another after failed attempts by both to lunge at the other. “You have no right to talk about her like that! She made you! She’s practically your mother! YOUR MOTHER!” Gloria screamed as she gave up trying to move. “Like hell I do! She may have made me, but I didn’t ask to be born to a psychopath that sees me as utility first then a living being when she remembers halfway through her deadly experiments!” Hiro retorted with anger of his own. “Enough!” Merlynn shouted filling her words with power once again. As the words left Merlynn’s lips both Gloria and Hiro fell silent despite their best efforts to not be. Even Abbey fell victim to the spell as she attempted to speak only to find no words, at which she cast Merlynn an accusatory glare. After taking the moment of awkward silence to sup some coffee Merlynn cleared her throat then spoke. “it’s too damn early for all this screaming. When you two decide, you can speak to one another like rational adults you may speak, but only then.” The trio crossed their arms and silently huffed all for their own reasons.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Now, Gloria what Hiro says is true, but not so neatly put. Also, Hiro, Gloria is correct, you shouldn’t speak of her in such a way. Yes, it’s true Morgana has machinations in play that I can’t even fathom. I may be the more magical of us two, but Morgana isn’t without ability, by far. As I was coming into my magic, Morgana’s intellect tripled daily it felt and she would have visions at night. I remember laying in my bed across from hers watching her eyes fade away then return in a bright golden glow. She would murmur things that I couldn’t understand then, let alone remember now. We grew apart over the years as we searched for who we were, but never once was there a hint of evil in all the times we had come together since. Until these past few years where our meetings have been colder, and more precise. Then came the day of the meteor where I saw a side of my sister I hadn’t seen since we were little.” Merlynn spoke aloud as she wandered the room pacing here and there lighting a smoke in between. As Merlynn paused drawing in a deep drag Abbey’s voice suddenly chimed in. “Uhhh Meteor I don’t remember a meteor landing around here.” Shocked by the sound of her own voice, Abbey recoiled with a meek squeak. Gloria leaned over with a tablet she removed from a bag that was in her seat prior,, pulling up the news report for the day of the meteor. “Oh… that’s why. I was still off worl-, I mean out of town during that.” Abbey slumped back into her chair sullen in her pained past. Everyone paused for a moment looking at Abbey in surprise. It was unlike her to hide something or lie, however before anyone could ask her about it she apologized and urged Merlynn to continue. Setting down a now empty cup Merlynn continued despite wanting to know what Abbey was hiding.

“That same day Morgana created a Scholar’s Stone.” Merlynn spoke, her words not wavering. Hiro and Gloria stared in disbelief yet couldn’t argue with the certainty of Merlynn’s face. “What is so sus about some School Stone?” Abbey asked in pure confusion. “It’s an extremely rare and taboo alchemical material capable of transmuting anything into damn near anything else.” Hiro stammered slightly as he answered. “Yeah, okay so what, does it cost an arm and a leg?” Abbey asked with a wicked grin.

“This is serious Abs. Like deadly serious. To make one of these ‘stones’ it takes extremely potent magic and in Earth’s case…” Gloria trailed off as Merlynn picked up from there.

“Our planet doesn’t naturally produce enough magic energy to forge one of those stones outright. Most of the magical energy, which is known as a Mana Field, or mana for short, that the Earth produces is managed and governed by those whose very beings depend on it, such as Fey creatures. Let me put it this way. Let’s say the Earth naturally produces ten magic points for its total Mana Field. The Fey through use, or growth in some cases, burn through eight magic points daily leaving two points unused. These remaining two points are considered wild mana and are pretty much up for grabs to a degree. Between the relatively low amount of humans that can attune, and non-Fey creatures such as Vampires the wild mana can be used freely until they too are spent. With each new day that total renews however, if any of the wild mana were to go unspent from the previous night it doesn’t add to the new total.

Anyone technically can use mana if properly trained or naturally gifted but that sort of thing fell out of practice long ago and natural born gift is even rarer. However, Living beings, sentient or not, produces mana naturally too, this number is considerably lower where the average person would produce one point. Through practice this number can be raised.” Merlynn answered returning to the kitchen for a final cup of joe. As she poured her coffee, she could hear Hiro making a percolating noise as he processed the information. “So, wait given all that, how did she create the stone?” Hiro asked his head steaming from the heavy information. “The meteor played a big role in it I’m sure, although it still wasn’t enough. It may have come from a mana rich world or absorbed mana by another means but, she still had to compensate the missing energy with the essence of the customers who died that day when it decimated that coffee shop. Human essence or any living essence for that fact is technically considered a source of mana to many cultures and to many more sects of magic.” Merlynn added returning to her seat and adjusting herself to a crossed leg position.

Hiro’s jaw dropped as he grasped the depth of Merlynn’s words. “Okay last question how many magic points do you produce and can you tap into wild mana.” Hiro asked propping his arm on the table. “Currently let’s say produce four points. I myself am a special case being the reincarnation of Merlin however, I am still limited to the reserves I have. I exchange or expend my own energy to cast most spells with some requiring more than others, tapping into wild mana is easy for me but those spells require more time and incantation to cast plus require more focus. The Earth’s Mana Field can’t be truly depleted, heavily in part by the Fey and their nurturing, unless a spell were to be cast that would cost a detrimental amount such as a World Spell which would affect the entire planet and every living thing on it. So using and example creating a Scholar Stone solely using Earth’s Mana Field would cost Morgana twenty points and would most definitely classify as a World Spell. Morgana knows this as well as I do. Our teacher wouldn’t have it any other way, rest his soul.” Merlynn answered in nearly an Irritated rehearsed tone as if she’s had to repeat it all her life. “What would happen if the entire Mana Field would be depleted?” Hiro asked in timid worry. “The world, and life on it would wither and die.” Merlynn answered solemnly.

“Wait what about those Elementals you summon? I noticed you had to chant to summon them, but it didn’t take too long that I noticed. Abbey asked recalling the fight with the Goos. “Ahh those are another exception. With them I only expend a miniscule amount of my own mana and upon speaking their summoning chant they heed my call and appear to assist me, but each one requires me to make a contract with them before I can call upon them. Their contracts vary drastically from each other so adding one to my repertoire can be a harrowing task at times. Lastly, they on most cases can only be called on once a day to sometimes longer for the bigger ones as you referred to them earlier.” Merlynn stopped suddenly as she realized she was damn near quoting grimoires she studied long ago.

“Wow…damn Lynn, I didn’t realize you were such a badass. Wait then what about the flare gun and enchanted gear!?” Abbey asked slapping the table for answers. After everyone busted out in laughter Merlynn waved her hand dismissing her questions. “I’ll tell ya another time Abbey. For now, I want to discuss about how to move forward.” Merlynn giggled then cleared her throat. “Morgana. We go after Morgana now before she gets time to enact her next plan.” Gloria barked slamming a fist into her other hand. “I agree with her. If we go to her now, we may be able to stop Morgana before she does something worse.” Hiro concurred as he rose from his seat.

“I for one think it’s a bad idea. Seeing her last night settles that notion for me. I feel I should resume with my plans to go off world.” Merlynn interjected. “We can’t leave! Who knows what Morgana will do with that stone if we don’t stop her!” Gloria exclaimed with tinted anger. “That’s the thing though. I feel like I’m being goaded into a trap, to rush in guns blazing. Don’t get me wrong that’s totally my style normally but I feel there’s something more going on. Morgana isn’t the type to wait of she’s got all her eggs in a basket. She’s patient and calculated, I know she still has the stone I can feel it in my gut.” Merlynn affirmed crossing her arms.

“We won’t know until we try, she may be ready, and she might be setting us up for failure but sitting around or going on vacation doesn’t seem like it’s gonna get us anywhere.” Gloria grunted crossing her arms tightly imitating her mother with an added glare. “Glory, I’m not going there to relax, going there lets me practice magic without worry and it exponentially increases my own mana reserves with each visit seeing how I don’t have to worry about hurting their planets Mana Field, but fine if you want to try so bad, we can go try, but bet warned this won’t be easy.” Merlynn answered raising from her seat then headed towards her bedroom. “Everyone get ready…were about to make a house call.” Merlynn finished as she stood from the table and walked to her room closing her bedroom door behind her.