Bonjour, mes amis! This is my first Septimus fanfiction, so I'm feeling really excited right now! Though, I'm sure I'd feel even happier if I wasn't so ill... But meh, that's life. I've been working on the outline for this since the beginning of June, finishing the editing completely in September, so I figured it's high time I kicked my butt into gear and finally wrote it. I have two plot lines worked out, one pretty long and one shorter. I'll choose between the two as I go, but remember, it's up to everyone here to decide for me completely. You are the readers, after all... So, I hope you all enjoy! :) If there are any errors, please tell me; I'd like to make this as accurate as it can be. And this takes place after Darke if you didn't know.
This story's also Sep and Marcia centered. No romance; it just focuses on their relationship as characters. I hope nobody minds. I just find Marcia so facinating...
Disclaimer: I don't own Septimus Heap. That privilege belongs solely to the wonderful Angie Sage. I'm just playing around with her toys in her Magykal sandbox.
Happy birthday, Septimus! (and Jenna, too, of course)
Bright spring sunlight, its first appearance so far that year, shone down on the still frosted Castle around midday. It melted the millions of minute glittering crystals coating shop signs and motionless flags, left over from the now passing winter. Damp walkways revealed remnants of the presence of snow that only the previous night had been heaped up on street corners. With relieved smiles, everyone packed away their winter garments and unearthed their spring ones at the sight of the blazing sun. Gardening tools were gathered with light hearts, perhaps not to be used that day, for all were still wary of a recurrence of that deep chill, but in hopes of colorful blossoms soon to come. It was a fresh beginning, and everyone went off to accomplish their daily tasks with a smile and more than one laugh.
Maybe it could even be a sign that the lingering traces of Darkenesse from the ExtraOrdinary Apprentice's Darke Week were soon to disappear. All of the Castle Safety Committees had been hounding the ExtraOrdinary Wizard about what she was doing to counter the leftover Darke Magyk, but had unfortunately come up empty; their ExtraOrdinary, when asked a direct question about it, always gave a vague answer. It caused many people to be more than a bit uneasy with the unwanted ignorance and made them close their shutters and bolt their doors with more vigor than usual. They had every intention of continuing to do so until peace could reign once again in their hearts.
But such was the wonderful effect of spring. With a bounce in their step and a smile on their face, the Castle inhabitants went about their lives with fresh hope. Madam Overstrand would find an answer, no doubt. Even if most people avoided her in fear of provoking her temper, no one could deny she had a brilliant mind, especially when they saw the Wizard Tower that sunny day.
The tower was a tall, proud spire rising up from the cluttered and hectic streets and alleys surrounding it. White and pristine, it reflected the spring light within the stone and made it shine with a magnificent sheen. On warm days like this one, the purple haze surrounding it made the edges of the tower shimmer as though it was a massive mirage, leaving people with dazed smiles and eyes aching from the glare. And it was this purple shimmer that drew onlookers' attention. It was deeper than usual, particularly so at the top of the tower, around the ExtraOrdinary Wizard's rooms. Deep, serious Magyk was being performed up there.
Everyone's smile grew wider. Yes, their ExtraOrdinary Wizard would work out the dilemma with the Darke Magyk with no trouble at all. The Castle was in good hands.
Marcia, however, was not currently working on the Castle's latest problem. Instead, the cause of the deep purple haze around the Wizard Tower was her Apprentice's training. Keeping him inside when the spring sun steadily beckoned him was a challenge, but Marcia, as usual, got what she wanted, much to Septimus's dismay.
The light teasingly peeked in through a small window high up on the wall of a virtually empty room. The room branched off from Marcia's sitting room through a small inconspicuous door that she made an effort to conceal through her furniture layout. She most certainly didn't want any of her guests venturing into the bare practice room, meant solely for learning dangerous spells, thinking it was a bathroom or something. It was always awkward to explain why it wasn't decorated.
The stone walls were enchanted with strong defensive Magyk to keep any wayward spells from wreaking havoc through the rest of the Tower. There was a single wooden table against a wall, nestled beneath the only window, and an uncomfortable chair that lacked, much to an occupant's dismay, a cushion to ease the pain. That was why Marcia stood off to the side, quietly studying her Apprentice as he worked on their latest Magykal topic.
"Try again," Marcia encouraged when Septimus's spell fizzled out again. "This kind of Magyk is extremely difficult. Both Alther and I had problems with it."
Septimus cast a doubtful glance in her direction, but diligently took a deep breath and focused once more.
For this lesson, Marcia and Septimus agreed on a topic that filled even skilled Wizards like Marcia with a bit of apprehension. They were instilling Magykal properties into regular objects. It wasn't the simple kinds of enchantments that Marcia was already proficient with, such as adding working feet to a table or free thinking arms to a coat rack. It wasn't turning a piece of toast or a pebble into a Charm, either. It was sticking a spell, which already had its own Charm, into another object so that it kept all of the spell's abilities without the need for reciting the incantation. It was a complicated branch of Magyk called Transfusion.
It was a grueling business. Most of the time, the spells would struggle; they already had a home, so why were they being forced into another one at the same time? It required the upmost concentration and an advanced command of Magyk for a Wizard to perform it correctly. Even Marcia, the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, came across bumps in her own performance, and these complications were so frequent that she, along with every other Wizard, tended to keep her distance from it.
Marcia had every hope for Septimus, though. His Magykal skill was already so great that he'd broken through the preconceived limits of some Magyk already, such as with his substantial Projections, even though he'd only just barely reached the halfway point in his Apprenticeship.
Marcia focused her attention once more on her Apprentice as he tried to merge an elementary level Fyre spell, which he could probably cast in his sleep, into a spoon from the kitchen. His green eyes were flashing from the high level Magyk, and a deep purple haze even started to shimmer around him. That, in addition to the soupy quality of the air, gave Marcia a shock as even she felt affected by his abilities. The fine hairs on the back of her neck tingled, and the stray sparks of Magykal energy jumping around her cloak made her give a delighted shiver. She watched with rapt attention as he seemed to revel in the deepening purple glimmer. Where most Wizards would grow tired from working with so much power, Septimus appeared to grow more at ease.
'This must be one of the gifts of the seventh of the seventh,' Marcia mused. Even she was impressed by his display. Only on rare occasions did she ever have her Apprentice use Magyk that was complex enough to create a misty aura, and so she took advantage of the opportunity by watching his performance with an approving, sharp eye.
A wide smile broke out on her face as a bright orange flame burst to life in front of him. Brow furrowed in concentration, he directed the Fyre towards the spoon. Perhaps giving him a metal object wasn't the best idea for his first Transfusion seeing as it would take forever to get the melted silver out of the wooden table (not that she particularly cared for the hideous old rickety thing), but Marcia wanted to see if he had the ability to complete it without letting the spell harm the object. She heard him take a deep breath before mentally coaxing the fire into the spoon. It gave its characteristic struggle, but gave way to Septimus's commands easier than Marcia expected. Two fascinated pairs of brilliant green eyes watched with rapt attention as the fire slid smoothly into the spoon.
Septimus let out a deep, exhausted breath and let his shoulders slump. Marcia strolled over to the spoon and gingerly picked it up. It was cool to the touch.
"Well done, Septimus," she said, passing him the spoon. He hesitantly took it and gazed at it confusedly.
"So, now what do I do with it?" he asked. Marcia took it back and pointed the end of it at the lone candle on the windowsill. A small burst of flame jumped from the spoon over to the wick, and it lighted harmlessly.
"Picture in your head what you want the spell to do, and it will do so, provided the conditions are right."
"What conditions?"
"If you could do the spell normally, then it will work with this, too," Marcia elaborated.
Septimus gazed at the innocent little spoon, intrigued with the concept of a spell's power actually existing within its rounded metal.
"Now," continued Marcia, clasping her hands loudly, "I want you to spend the next couple of hours up in your room, studying. In the meantime, I must go to another dreadful meeting with the Safety Committees."
Septimus sighed, but he didn't complain, as usual. Though he desperately wanted to get out into the sunlight, Marcia always knew best in anything related to his Magyk lessons. If she said to keep going, then he would force a smile and do so.
Truthfully, he wanted to get in all the Transfusion practice he could. Marcia's birthday was coming up in a few months, and until a week ago, he hadn't the faintest idea what to get her. Her birthday always crept up on him ridiculously fast, so he'd learned his lesson and thought through her present in advance. Flowers from the Palace garden were pathetic, especially when they still had dirt dangling from the stems. It also gave him both a disappointed Marcia and an irritated Sarah. It was worth it if he put thought into it and actually produced something he knew his tutor would like.
Early the previous week, Septimus and Marcia spent a few hours in the Pyramid Library prepping him for his Transfusion lesson, which they agreed would be the next object they'd tackle in his education. Like with his Darke Week, sometimes it was best to just get the difficult stuff over with. They'd been pouring over dusty old volumes, most not even opened since Marcia had been Alther's Apprentice and was studying for the test herself. Septimus was reading through a very thick tome with the tiniest print possible when he heard Marcia heave a disappointed sigh.
"What's wrong?" he'd asked, turning gratefully away from the old book. She had been browsing through a much used old spell book, looking for a simple one they could use in their Transfusion exercises. She strode over to the table and placed the book in front of Septimus. She pointed to a page that had a very long incantation for a spell that was extremely effective at warding off the Darke. It had an empty Charm pocket.
"It's just a pity that there are no Charms left, that's all. It would be most helpful right now."
"Yeah, it would be," he agreed, turning his head to peer out of the nearby purple window. The Castle appeared picturesque in the dim winter sunlight with the weak rays glinting off of the numerous buildings, some decaying and others pristine, and glared in the reflections from the glass windows. To anyone, all would appear to be perfect, but to a trained eye like Septimus's or Marcia's, there was a murky quality to the air that most certainly wasn't from the excess fumes swirling out of the food shops below. It was Magykal, malevolent, and set Septimus and Marcia on edge.
As they both gazed pensively out the window, Septimus was struck with a brilliant idea. If he was lucky, perhaps the Trader's Market would have one of those Charms Marcia wanted when it opened in a few days. The event always brought the most exotic objects the world had to offer, so a rare Charm wasn't quite so rare to come by. And maybe, what with him learning about Transfusion, he could transfer the spell into a convenient object for Marcia, seeing as the spell's incantation was long and complex. To be suddenly struck with such an idea put a smile on Septimus's face for the rest of the study session, thoroughly confusing Marcia, who knew of Septimus's not-so-secret desire to be out with his friends that day.
So, that was how it came to be a week later, with Septimus practicing his Transfusion in the tiny, dismal practice room. Under Marcia's watchful and helpful eye, he'd had many small successes that day after she returned from her committee meeting, but was nowhere near skilled enough to transfuse the complicated spell into something, hopefully, crafted well enough to contain it seeing as a kitchen spoon wouldn't be up to the challenge.
Knowing that he wouldn't be able to master that branch of Magyk in time at Marcia's rate, Septimus started pouring over any text he could find on the subject in the Pyramid Library that night. This continued for several days, until Marcia was finally overcome with suspicion.
"Just what do you think you're doing up here again, Septimus?" she demanded one afternoon. She'd just stormed up from her office, put on edge by the eerie silence blanketing her rooms which was usually filled with the sounds of Septimus tinkering with something, and now confronted her Apprentice, who had been sitting on the floor of the library, practically hidden behind towers of yellowed books. He looked up when she came in, his emerald eyes startled and his hair twisted around in tight curls, which he always did when he was deeply concentrating. Pleased to see that he was absorbed in old Transfusion books, Marcia was partly saddened to be tearing him away from them, but was still too overcome with curiosity to feel truly guilty.
"I'm just studying," he replied innocently as she strolled over. She picked up one of the heavy tomes, realizing it was an extremely advanced Transfusion book. Even she had not attempted to go this deeply into the subject. If Septimus was expecting her exam to be this complicated, perhaps she'd better straighten this out before she embarrassed herself with her own ineptitude at the subject. She knew what was required of an ExtraOrdinary Wizard to know about Transfusion, no more and no less.
"Um, Septimus," she began hesitantly, "you know you only need to study the textbooks I've provided you with, right? There's no need to learn so much about it."
He looked crestfallen. "Well, I want to learn more. It's so complicated, like a whole new area of Magyk I'd never even touched before. I'd like to discover more of it."
Marcia was moved by his ambition. She remembered being just like that when she was Alther's Apprentice. This branch of studying never intrigued her very much, but she could recall burying herself in further study of other kinds of Magyk, like Transfiguration and Magykal Theory.
"That's all very well, Septimus," she replied. "But are you sure this is a subject you'd like to advance in? Everyone else, including myself, finds it tedious, though definitely necessary to a Magykal education. Besides, weren't you interested in Arcane Magyk and the Artes of Fortification?"
Septimus nodded. "I still am. But, you see, I don't like that I'm not that good at Transfusion. Just being proficient with it doesn't make me feel very secure. I mean what if I desperately need it in a tight situation, and I'm not able to do it? I'd rather make sure I understand all I can about it now, rather than wait for it to be too late."
"I hope you're not planning another one of your life threatening adventures, Septimus," she warned, narrowing her eyes. "You certainly sound like you're predicting some upcoming danger."
"No, not at all," he replied quickly, his eyes widening with alarm. "I just want to be my best at it." And while that may be true, Septimus's main objective still involved Marcia's present.
Marcia held her frown for a few seconds before breaking into a wide smile. "Alright, Septimus, I have no objections to your studying; I admire your determination. Just don't let it distract you from your other studies. I still need all of your attention with current topics after this exam."
"Okay," Septimus smiled. "I promise."
"Good," she nodded, turning to glide back down to her rooms below. Septimus was left alone in the library, lighting a lone candle when dusk drew in. It wasn't until Marcia called him down to supper that he extracted himself from the old volumes, and coughed out the dust that had settled in his mouth. He quickly replaced the books on their shaky shelves, but kept a few open on the floor; he'd take them down to his room later.
He snatched up his candle and made the trek downstairs. He'd advanced so deeply into the books that even if Marcia looked at the text, it would all appear as incomprehensible as an alien tongue. In fact, the words weren't even recognizable as Septimus's native language anymore.
Yet, it still wasn't enough for him.
*yawn* I feel so sickly. Plus, I have swimming tomorrow in the disgusting pool. And who decided it would be a good idea to have swimming class when it's so ridiculously cold out, anyway? I also have a Chemistry test, too. Meh, I give up; I'm gonna go to bed... Well, anywhozit, this chapter's sort of a prologue in a way. (the chapter seemed longer in Microsoft Word...) The Transfusion will come into play later, but as of right now, this is just me adjusting to the characters. The plot starts unfurling next chapter. Expect an update within a few days, dear readers. I hope you liked it!
And I also feel like mentioning that this is my comfort story, like chocolate ice cream or something. It's fun to write, while my other stories are a bit more challenging. Sure, this one has a serious tone, but it's been really easy working everything out. With that said, I'd say expect quick updates for this one while I slowly and methodically work through my other fics. Just a fair warning...
And happy birthday again, Sep! I'd sing for everyone here, but your ears would bleed and implode, which I'm told is extremely painful. Really.