The
Truth of Magic
The rain beat viciously down
on the castle walls in the early morning haze. It was not yet dawn
but two figures could be seen through the thick fog. One, slightly
taller than the other stood, gazing lovingly at the other. The man,
of sallow completion and jet-black hair smiled ever-so-gently at the
woman. Their robes billowing around them like a blanket.
"If
he finds out, there will surely be a consequence," the woman's
voice echoed.
"Then he must not find out!" the man
grumbled.
"It is quite obvious what we're doing,"
she responded.
"Yes yes but I refuse to lose you again!"
her lover said, quieter this time.
He took her face in his
hands and kissed the top of her head, which was covered in a graceful
bun. The couple clung to each other as a large gust of wind blew the
rain around them.
"Come, lets go inside," he said,
motioning for her to follow.
"Yes," she responded,
following him inside the large stonewalls.
This is
how it was every day for the past three years. They would rise and
meet in the woods before dawn and then go their separate ways,
exchanging the usual courtesies of being colleagues. They refused to
let anything stand in the way of their love.
One night in late
December, their love for one another would be put the ultimate
test.
The couple sat cuddled by a blazing fire. The
man caressed his lover's cheek as she sat drinking her evening cup of
tea. The firelight cast warm, friendly shadows on the wall opposite
them. They were waiting for the rest of the staff to show up for an
urgent meeting but were not worried when it was just the two of them
even after half and hour had gone by.
However, when the clock
struck the hour, eleven o'clock, a cold, bone-chilling breeze
surrounded the couple. Shuttering, the woman looked over at the wall
and saw not two but three shadows. She slowly turned her gaze and met
a pair of beady, snake-like red eyes.
"Oh-my-god it's
him," she whispered, scared to death.
"Yes i know
that," her lover responded, suddenly wincing in pain.
"What
do we have here?" the intruder hissed maliciously.
"What
do you want," the black haired man questioned standing.
"Don't
be a fool, you know what I want," the snake-like creature
rasped.
The woman reached for her wand but before she could
she screamed.
"Crucio!" the intruder bellowed.
"No!
Leave her out of this!" the sallow-skinned man screamed, his
face going paler than it already was.
His lover lay on the
ground, writhing in pain. The snake-like man laughed and raised his
wand again, this time at his disloyal follower.
"You have
double-crossed me far too many times! Now you shall pay!" he
roared.
"Impedimenta!" he shouted.
His
opponent's wand shot out of his hand and flew across the room,
landing with a dull 'thud'. The woman forced herself to ignore the
pain in order to utter one sentence.
"You don't need a
wand to do magic, it comes from your heart," she gasped.
"Ha!
She doesn't know what she's talking about!" the hideous man
replied, shooting a disgusted look at the elderly woman on the
floor.
"No! You're wrong!" he shouted at this
demonic creature.
With all of his will power and hatred for
the man, he forced the intruder to his knees and then caused his wand
to go shooting out of his hand and into the fireplace. With the wand
burning rapidly, the spell on his lover ceased. She took in several
deep breaths. By now their adversary lay on the ground, crystalline
tears streaming down his face in small tributaries.
"Get
up you pathetic piece of trash and leave! NOW!" her lover
bellowed.
The man resembling the snake disappeared into thin
air upon demand. The younger man, collapsed into his lover's arms,
exhausted from the exertion of energy.
"You're right, I
don't need a wand to do magic," he whispered quietly.
"I
knew you had it in you," she whispered back.
The couple
exited the room, hands firmly clasped. They had proven their love
could withstand all evils, but more importantly had learned the truth
of magic.
