Hello again. I publishe this stoy one day later than I usually do because the internett was down yesterday so I couldn't do it then, but I hope you still want to read it. This is the third story of my mini series Enchanted days. If you haven't read "TV Trouble" and "The Sloth" yet then please do it and let me know : )

Disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H.

The Illusionist (or Community Sercice)

Taranee was going to entertain during some summer festivities in Heatherfield Park. Well, technically, she wanted to get some extra credits for school and therefor volunteered to do some sort of community service this summer for people in Heatherfield. Luckily, she was entirely free to choose the topic herself. Usually, she would have put up a dance show, as she loved dancing, but not this time. Her partners from the dance school were already busy with some other things, just like her fellow W.I.T.C.H. friends, leaving Taranee alone. In other words, she had to go solo. But dancing never looked good without at least one partner, therefore she had to come up with something else. It was Peter, her brother, who came up with the idea; "Why don't you do a magic show? You and your friends always seem to do odd things, why not impress others with some tricks?" Okay, maybe they had been a bit sloppy around her brother. Peter was also Cornelia's boyfriend and always the observant one, but little idea had he, that those "odd" things he may have seen, was the real thing! Being a guardian meant strange things happened on regular basis, the greatest performance of all was therefore to pretend it only was tricks and illusions.

Not really knowing anything at all about magical "tricks" and illusions, she had bought a book about magic for dummies. Luckily, Irma and Hay Lin also knew some tricks she could use, not counting Irma's make-the-cookie-disappear (permanently) act. Hay Lin knew how to make a colorful handkerchief vanish from your hand. Irma had shown her a few simple card tricks and the famous "how to pull a rabbit out of a hat!" That had surprised Hay Lin and Taranee greatly. Secretly, Taranee found the whole thing quite amusing. Here she was, one of the most powerful magical beings in the universe, trying to learn how to make an illusion look like real magic! Unfortunately, even if real magic came easy to her, illusions didn't. After practicing intensely the last week, she was still struggling with the simplest things. Right now she was practicing to stage her greatest and final act, she was going to make somebody disappear from a closed cabinet. The book told how it was done and that she needed somebody who would "randomly volunteer". Not so easy when she was alone, perhaps she would have to do it herself and found herself wondering if the whole thing was a good idea after all.

The cabinet was an old one Peter had given her, he had also helped her make the fake walls and hinges that was required for it to work. Quite happy with the work they had done, the fire witch tried several scenarios with it to see which would be the best. Because she was to perform on an outdoor stage, her options were somewhat limited so she settled for one of the easiest ones and hoped nobody would see through it.

The day came with a beautiful outdoor weather and a lot of people who would like nothing more than enjoy it. Taranee was eating breakfast with her family when her mother asked. "Today is your big day. How do our magician feel?"

Said "magician" felt a short moment of pure panic before she was able to comprehend what her mother meant. "I feel nervous mom. I don't think I am ready for this. I am able to do the tricks, but I don't know if they will fool anybody."

"Don't worry about that," her mother replied encouragingly, "you were quiet convincing when you showed us last night. People will love it and they know you are an amateur, just give them a smile. And remember what they say if something goes wrong," ,he gave her daughter a knowing smile. "The show must go on! So go on stage and give them your best."

"Are any of you coming to watch?" Taranee asked.

"I'm sorry dear, we can't. Your father must attend an important meeting and I am going to watch over some teenagers who are going to do some real community service at the docks."

"Anybody I know?" Taranee asked.

"From the name list I remember Uriah Duhn and his gang is going to be there."

"They volunteered for that? The fire guardian asked surprised.

"Of course not. Unlike you, they have a court order."

"Ahh."

The park was filled with stands that sold everything from sweets to Heatherfield souvenirs. The stage was set up in the middle of the park behind the fountain but between some old oak trees that gave the whole thing a beautiful frame.

Taranee felt nervous, but told herself that everything would be alright. She had practiced a lot and her numbers wasn't all that difficult, she only hoped she didn't screw up in front of the audience. And that the butterflies in her stomach stayed calm enough to not give her an involuntarily flight. She had not signed up levitation on her performance list. Her costume was of Hay Lin's design, but resembled a classical magician outfit. The top hat was of real silk, the dress was black except from the bottom which was decorated with yellow and orange flames just as the robe. The black robe was actually Will's, she had told it was an old monk robe, it was really large so Hay Lin had to adjust much on it to make it fit properly. Irma had had offered herself to sew some magic pockets into it, but Taranee had insisted that everything was too be real fake.

Right now, she was waiting for her turn, she was the fifth in line and the two girls who was juggling on the stage was the last ones before her. After some minutes she heard people applaud and the two girls returned full of sweat, but with smiles on their faces.

"Alright Taranee. You can do this," the fire guardian thought for herself as she walked up the ladder that would take her to the stage. "You have been in front of an audience before, it's going to be alright."

She entered the stage and presented herself to the audience while two other people behind her brought up the equipment for the show. She was only doing a few numbers so she hadn't much stuff that was needed. People gave her an applaud and she started with her first trick.

It was the number with three cups and three balls.

She placed the cups up side down on a bench and one ball on top on each one. Then she took up one of the ball and made it "vanish" in her hand. She then lifted the cup and there it was. The procedure was repeated with the other cups but with some variations. One time the balls grew bigger when they appeared again, the next time she made all three of them appear under the same cup when she lifted it. She finished the trick without a flaw, but when people applauded her, an unwelcomed voice rang through.

"Buuhh. That's the cheapest trick in the book!"

Taranee lifted her head and felt a dread when she spotted Uriah in the crowd close to the stage.

"You just put the ball under the cup when you lift them." He shouted, revealing the trick.

Of course that idiot of an imp hadn't gone to the community service he was assigned to. Taranee decided to ignore him and carried on with her next trick.

She was speaking lightly about how stressful a magicians life could be and how it often could manifest in a indigestion. But not of that sort you would have a doctor to cure. Illustrating that, she pretended she was on the verge to throw up, but out of her mouth came a whole stack of cards instead.

People was laughing and applauded, but once again, Uriah shouted. "She was holding the cards in her hands the entire time. They were never in her mouth at all."

By now, the people closest to the orange haired teenager began to murmur and told him to back off if he didn't like the show. Uriah however, was unconcerned as always.

Taranee suppressed her growing irritation and tried instead to play along.

"Why Uriah, you hurt me," she tried with a voice full of sorrow, "you think I am standing here trying to fool you?" And as she said that, she made a handkerchief suddenly appear in her hand and pretended to blow her nose in it. Having done so, she stuffed the handkerchief in her closed fist and opened it again to reveal it was gone.

Some people laughed and other clapped their hands, but Uriah, well he was Uriah.

"Humph, you use a fake thumb to hide the handkerchief inside and wave with your hand so nobody shall see it."

The fire witch was fast losing her patient with the teenager who wasn't even supposed to be there in the first place. "You listen up Uriah, I know you weren't supposed to be here today. If you don't like my performance, why don't you leave, I know your comrades are waiting for you at the docks."

"No way I am going to hang around there today, it is more fun being here revealing your fake tricks."

"Magic is supposed to be illusion," Taranee said angrily, "everyone knows it is a trick. What amaze people is how it was done and that in a way which looks impossible to the eye."

"Your tricks are cheap anyway," he said grumpy." I know how all of them are done."

Taranee barked an unamused laugher. "No wonder you do, you must have tried everyone to get away from the community service you were signed up for today. Perhaps you could teach me?"

A spontaneous laughter erupted from people around, and now it was Uriah's turn to be angry. "No way I would teach a kid like you, you have no talent at all. Do you have anything left?"

"I am going to perform a disappearing number," Taranee said and turned back to the audience.

"For the last number, I am going to disappear from a closed cabinet," she repeated and pushed the cabinet to the front of the stage and opened the doors so people could see inside. "As you can see it is empty, and the feet are tens centimeters high so you can see under it. I turn it around, and you see there are nothing on the back. I'm going to go inside and close the door after me. But before that, could one of you come up here and help me. All you have to do is to wait five seconds after I have entered and closed the doors. Then you can open them.

Several people raised their hands, volunteering to help her. But before she could pick one, Uriah plowed himself through the crowd and entered the stage.

"I will do it," he said. "But first I will have a look at the cabinet. On real performances you are allowed to look at the stuff to see if there hidden hatches and fake locks." Before Taranee could stop him, Uriah walked straight over to the cabinet and began to inspect it. Loud.

"Hmm," he said and knocked on the wooden frame. "This one sounds hollow…, and this one is loose," "accidently" tearing off a plank.

Taranee was seething. "Why don't you do us all a favor and go hiding under the rock from where you came?"

"Hey, I am doing you a favor her. I am just telling you that if you want a future in magic, you have to do better than this."

The audience were booing and somebody shouted, telling him to find the rock already.

Taranee, closed her eyes counted to ten as she tried to think of something. That bully had destroyed her entire show, if she only could give him a lesson. Then the idea struck.

"Okay Uriah, I give up," she said, trying to smile and not to grin. "The cabinet is rigged, see." And to the astonishment of Uriah and the audience, she opened the fake walls and revealed some hidden hinges and some loose planks. "When closing the doors, I would have opened this hinge and put this loose plank in front of me in the back of the cabinet such when the door opened again, I would appear to have vanished. But since you seem so critical of all this, perhaps you would allow me to do the last number somewhat differently."

"What do you mean?" Uriah said and crossed his arms.

"Just wait a moment," Taranee said and rushed of the stage and came back half a minute later with a tall barstool.

"Here," she said, "sit upon this and I will make you disappear instead of me. Then you can try to figure out which trick I used."

Uriah was caught off guard by this, and without thinking, he went to the tall chair. He inspected it and the floor it stood on, but when he couldn't find anything he jumped up on it.

"Alright, I haven't seen anything suspicious about it so far, what are you going to do?"

"I want you to stand straight up on it so you are as far away from the floor and anything else as possible."

Uriah stood up on the seat. "What now?"

"I am going to make you disappear," said Taranee and grinned like a maniac.

Uriah didn't have time to respond as Taranee took of her magician robe and threw it over him, covering the teenager completely. Only the tall legs of the chair was visible from under it.

Taranee kept the end of the robe in a firm grasp.

"Hey, what's the meaning of this?" the bully yelled from under the ancient robe.

"Abracadabra" Taranee shouted and pulled the robe off.

The people on the ground below her gasped.

Uriah was gone! The impromptu performance, and from the top of a chair with no seemingly way to escape made people dazzled by her skills. The applause was deafening.

After the applause had died and Taranee began taking away her stuff, one from her audience suddenly asked.

"Excuse me, but are you not going to make the boy appear again?"

Taranee smiled and said, "I only said I was going to make him disappear, not make him reappear again." And before he got time to ask her again, she jumped off the stage and disappeared herself.

Secretly, just when Taranee had said her magical word, she used her REAL magical powers to teleport him away. Nobody from the audience needed to know this. To them it was only an illusion, a great one but still an illusion. And if Uriah tried to tell anyone it was not, well… who would believe him?

She had done much for the community service today.

Three kilometers away at the docks, a loud scramble was heard from inside one of the containers that stored the garbage teenagers from the community service collected. One of the guards went over to it, opened the lid and looked inside.

"So there you are Uriah, trying to sneak away from your community service are you? I must say that your choice of hiding spot stinks just as much as you! "

Uriah let out a colorful answer that did not fit with the rating of this story.

End.

It was perhaps not the funniest story I have written, but it sure was one of the hardest. Please review and let me know what you think : )