Disclaimer: Own? Me? Nahhh…
A/N: Just thought I'd mention… if you want a short piece, or one that is fast-paced, or even one that is updated often, I'd scurry off now while you still can. Perhaps my worst habit as an author is that I am very bad at… summarizing things, skipping parts you probably don't need to hear or don't care about, or getting too detailed too often. Also, as I said, I'm delving into unexplored territory for me, here, so if the magic bits get confusing, well, give me a few chapters to sort it all out, and then feel free to say, "Hey! Your story doesn't make any sense!" At which point I'll try to figure out how logical I can even manage to make magic, and probably laugh myself to death trying.
Ah well.
Ever yours,
~Menzosarres.
Chapter III
The next time Drea woke, she was alone, but she could hear voices somewhere beyond. For a lingering moment, she kept her eyes tightly closed, feeling the warmth of the blanket and smelling the clean scent of the land and praying that she would open her eyes in her small bedroom, window cracked to let in the dawn light, her father and mother talking softly in the kitchen below. But the blanket was far too soft, the light came from no window, and there were three distinct voices beyond her tent, none belonging to her parents. Blinking against tears, she ran her mind through the last things she could remember. Merciless killing. Míren. Magic.
She rose tentatively but found no lingering pain. Clutching the robe tightly about her waist, Drea found that it hung all the way to her ankles. She made for the flap that marked the tent's opening, but a hand appeared from the other side, followed quickly by the form of Nigel Kipling.
"Ah, excellent, you're awake. She was beginning to worry," he said.
"How long have I been sleeping, sir?" Drea asked, staring with new suspicion at Nigel's hairless scalp.
"Almost two days now, but that's to be expected."
Now that she knew he was traveling with a mage, a Great Mage, she wondered if he was one as well. But without the grey hair that most mages of his age would wear proudly, she couldn't be sure if Nigel was merely a bald man, or a mage with something to hide.
Drea could count off everything she knew about mages on one hand, but identifying them was one of those few things she did know. Depending on how powerful a mage was, and how often they used magic, a mage's hair would begin turning grey after the first thirty or forty years of his or her life. The shade depended upon how much of what type of magic they used. She understood that there was light magic and dark magic—though not called by those names—and that the color had little to do with the purpose and more to do with where the magic came from. Beyond this, her father, mother, and Ms. Clara had refused any further inquiries. She knew that Míren's hair was silver, though, because she could use some pure form of magic in a way others could not.
Even in her Refuge, certain magelaws went unbroken. The elderly of her town continued to harvest berries to dye the natural grey out of their hair, as most of that generation had lived in the cities where impersonating a mage was a high crime. She had never heard of a mage impersonating a commoner, though, by shaving their head. The hair was a mark of pride, a sign of status and power.
"Are you—I mean…" she dared not finish the question, afraid to voice insult.
With uncanny perception, Nigel answered her unspoken query. "Yes, I am a mage." He ran a hand across his scalp wistfully before explaining further. "I'd been on my way to negotiate with your father, though, before all this… unfortunate business. I was part of an envoy from the crown; Míren wanted me to be her eyes in these negotiations, and I did not wish to be turned away on sight, so… Off with my hair," he finished, jokingly mournful. He was a friendly sort of man, and clearly trying to make her feel at ease, in his own odd way. Still, Drea was trying not to feel dismayed at being so surrounded by magekind.
"Negotiations?" she asked.
Nigel sighed. "Yes. There had been some… unpleasant circumstances in these parts lately." Nigel looked uncomfortable, and Drea recognized it as the look of someone who knew something they didn't want to tell her. She had seen if often enough from her parents.
"Unpleasant?"
He sidestepped. "We can talk later. Míren told me to bring you once you wakened. She is not the sort of person that it's best to keep waiting, I assure you."
Drea, also already rather afraid of doing anything to anger the Silver Mage, let her questions slide in favor of slipping on a pair of soft, fur-lined leather shoes and following Nigel from the tent into a clearing.
There were three other tents beside her own, each simple in construction, yet more functional than any her father's hunting parties had carried. They surrounded a fire-pit filled with a crackling blaze, fighting off the autumn chill.
Seated on a blanket-draped log by the fire were two women: Míren, wrapped in some sort of dark fur that made her pale skin glow as thought the fire lit her from within, and a young redhead, whose hair bore the unmistakable sheen of someone who had shared ancestry with a creature of fire magic, to vibrant to be purely human. This was the other sort of magic, one that the many magical creatures of this realm had by nature, and which humans could acquire by… interbreeding. Drea shuddered. Three magic-users in one place. Though she had been taught to identify them in all their forms just to keep away from them, she had never actually met so much as a hedgewitch. Now, here she was, meeting three in a matter of days and selling her soul into the hands of the worst of them all.
Míren glanced up at her and Nigel's approach, face impassive. She gave Nigel a brisk nod before turning her gaze upon Drea. The younger woman wondered if there would someday come a time when those eyes did not feel like a physical presence of their own. "I trust you are feeling better, Drea?" Míren asked, voice soft, yet carrying.
Drea nodded, feeling too far out of her element; uncomfortable, on edge, and shy. She caught the gaze of the blazing red-head and twitched back a step at the disdain, even fury, in her eyes. She blinked, wondering what she could have done to so insult the younger mage.
Míren saw Drea's shifted attention and introduced the other woman. "This is my assistant, Emelise."
Despite the look in the 'assistant's' eyes, Drea kept her manners. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Emelise sniffed and said rather sarcastically, "Likewise, I'm sure." She had the accent of the highlands, an accent Drea was familiar with. Ms. Clara had been from the highlands.
Without so much as a polite excuse, Emelise stood and strode away from the fire, disappearing into the mouth of one of the tents.
Nigel leaned over and whispered in Drea's ear, "Em's all huff and no puff... she'll warm up to you soon enough."
Míren seemed not to notice the exchange. She was staring intently at Drea, and it made her feel rather uncomfortable. She fidgeted with the tie of the robe.
"We'll be setting off for Nor'Argaelton at midday."
The capital. Drea felt a seed of excitement growing within her at the thought. She had been trapped within the Refuge so long, and, as any child, she had often dreamed of seeing what lay beyond. She had always respected what her parents had told her, always accepted that the rest of the world was a cruel place, always accepted that her safety depended on them. Now, though she swore not to allow herself to be entranced by magic, she at least had the excuse of these mages to see more of the realm, and learn all she could in the process.
"It should take three days, Goddess permitting. Do you ride?"
Again, Drea nodded. Her father hadn't wanted her to learn, but Nate had taught her when they were children, and she always felt at home in their small stables.
Míren's lips quirked in a ghost of a smile, but it was gone before Drea could even be sure she had seen it. "You're awfully quiet this morning. That's a change. Last we talked, you were quite the... spitfire."
Drea recalled her wild accusations, her fury. But she had said her piece, and she had agreed to travel with this woman, so she would do her best to keep both her promise... and the peace.
She did not reply.
"Come, sit; you must be cold."
Drea met Míren's eyes for a moment, still surprised at the thoughtfulness this mage continued to show towards her. Though her winter-blue eyes did not reflect any seeming of emotion, her words were kind.
Drea took the seat that Emelise had vacated while Nigel squatted across from them, pulling a flask from within his coat and drinking.
All three were silent for a time, Drea drinking in the warmth of the flames, Míren lost somewhere in her own thoughts. Finally, Míren spoke once more. "Is there anything you need before we depart?"
Drea hesitated. There were many ways she would have liked to answer that question. My freedom. My life back. My magic bound. Instead, falling back on a contrite, well-mannered upbringing, she started, "Please, ma'am..." She had been downright rude to Míren before, and thought that could be forgiven considering the circumstance, but Drea had been brought up to call those above her by 'sir' and 'ma'am,' so it couldn't hurt to start over. "...If I might have some water to… clean myself." Though the robe was warm and clean, not to mention softer than anything she had touched in her life, her skin felt filthy beneath it, and just feeling the dust between her fingertips brought back the feeling of the cellar.
Míren looked immediately angered, and Drea felt herself cringe back before realizing it was not directed at her. "Do you mean to tell me," she began, addressing Nigel, "that no one gave her so much as a damp cloth?"
Nigel gulped. "An oversight, I'm sure. You did say you wished to see her as soon as she regained consciousness…" he trailed off as her scowl deepened.
"I'm quite aware. However, I would have thought a touch of common sense would not be beyond you. Has she eaten?"
Nigel winced, giving Míren all the answer she needed.
"Have Emelise bring something to the clearing, as well as some clothes; I will take Drea to the river myself, since it appears I cannot get even a scrap of competence today. Follow me."
It took Drea a moment to realize that the last part of Míren's set of orders was directed at her. By then, the silver-haired mage was already halfway to the tree line, dark fur coat flaring out behind her dramatically. Drea gave Nigel a half-panicked, half apologetic glance before following after her.
Drea felt distinctly awkward tromping through the woods in nothing but a robe and the shoes on her feet, but there was a clear path, albeit a narrow one. They walked in silence, passing through a smaller clearing that immediately gave Drea her sense of direction back. She halted in her tracks one she realized where Míren was taking her. "Wait!" she called. "I can't… I can't go here."
Míren looked vaguely annoyed. "I'm afraid that, due to the quick departure we made from the city, we're a bit short on rinsing water, but the pool here will easily do in a pinch."
"N-no, you don't understand, ma'am. We're nearing the Elian River."
Now the mage looked exasperated. "And?"
Drea tried to keep her voice steady, with little success. "T-there are monsters in that river. My father made sure no one ever goes there."
Now, Míren looked confused. "Monsters? Hardly. Perhaps a few dryads in the southern delta, but this portion of the Elian is far from the northern sea. There's absolutely nothing here."
"But…" Drea started, only to be cut off.
"Enough of this nonsense. If you want to bathe, this is the last bit of water within a day's ride. There are no monsters in the Elian. Also, don't call me 'ma'am'. I have a name – use it. That's all."
With that, the woman headed off between the trees once more, and, rather shell-shocked, Drea followed, too scared to stay in this part of the forest alone.
They emerged before a pool at the base of a waterfall that originated somewhere in the cliffs above, too far for Drea to pick out. She had heard of the Elian cliffs, the Elian falls. This was their border. If one climbed the cliffs, they would be in giant territory. No one went there. She glanced nervously at the water. The pool was clear, aside from the froth where the waterfall entered, and she could see the pebbled bottom no more than four or five feet down. Why had her father warned her away from here for so long? A monster would hardly fit in this river, she realized.
Cautiously, Drea stepped onto the nearest mossy boulder ringing the pool. Everything seemed stunningly… vibrant, here. The sun pierced through the shade of the leaves, casting a reflection of the autumn reds, oranges, browns, and golds onto the glassy surface of the pool. She felt an odd… disorientation, a strange sense that everything around her was more important, more alive, than anyplace she had been before. The air felt far warmer against her skin than the weather warranted, and the water looked almost frightfully inviting.
A single jewel-toned dragonfly settled gently on the water, each of its tiny legs creating small dimples in the pristine surface. Drea couldn't seem to draw her eyes away, finding this tiny creature's effect on the pool fascinating.
She was no longer aware of Míren's eyes on her back, watching as she stretched out a tentative hand to dip her fingertips into the water. She was very aware, however, of the shimmering shadow that emerged from beneath the waterfall at her touch and made a beeline for the shore where she knelt.
Drea knew she should be frightened – that shadow was larger than any mere fish – but she felt calm, and she did not draw her fingers back. Even when the shadow was near enough for her to make out its human-like form, even when snowmelt-cold fingertips touched hers, still Drea did not pull back.
She found herself face to face with the most curious creature she had ever seen. She had skin as clear as the water of the pool, warping the colors that Drea could see through her into a murky autumn rainbow that formed a parody of a woman's body. It was definitely a her, as the translucent body wore no clothing, though anything below the waist was indistinguishable from the water in which she stood. She had lips as white as sea foam, eyes a shade between white and pink and shining like pearls, hair that sprouted clear from her head, but darkened to a gleaming gold where the ends hung beneath her water-hewn breasts. For all that she appeared to have been sculpted from the stream itself; her hand felt as solid as Drea's own where it rested in her grip.
The creature smiled warmly, and Drea could not help the corners of her lips turning up in answer.
"I expected you some time ago," she spoke. Her voice was two-toned, a breathy, beautiful chime underlain with a powerful, deep echo.
Drea's voice was barely a whisper when she replied, "Have we... met?"
The creature smiled again. "Met? Yes. You might say that."
"I feel it... I feel we must've but... when? How?" Drea had all but forgotten Míren's presence. "What are you?"
"A dryad." It was Míren who had spoken, voice disdainful, leaving the shadows of the tree line and approaching the pool. "This explains quite a few small mysteries. I had so wondered where your water magic came from, as I was unaware that you had any inhuman ancestry. Still, I, too, would like to know the 'when' and the 'how'."
The dryad's expression had gone wary at the other woman's approach, but she did not flee. "You, I have not met," she said, "though I know of you, Míren of Clarkeminster." Her grip had tightened around Drea's fingers, as though ready to flee at any moment and take the younger woman with her.
Míren inclined her head and did not approach any further. "Then you have me at an advantage, as I do not even know your name."
The fingers loosened, apparently deciding that Míren was not a threat... for now.
"You could not say it if I did tell you, but you may call me Vae," though she answered Míren's words, she was clearly speaking to Drea. "As for your other questions... I met you just as you were meeting yourself."
Drea blinked at the odd words.
"Though I suppose it was not a meeting in the most traditional sense, as you were rather busy being born."
Drea's eyebrows rose.
The dryad cocked her head with a motion too fluid to belong to anything human. "I've kept my eye on you as best I could, but your family did make things difficult for me."
"I don't understand," Drea murmured.
A second chilly hand closed overtop Drea's, completely enclosing her own. "I felt responsible for you, I suppose." The two-toned voice seemed to echo in Drea's head, making it difficult to discern the mood of the words
"Why?"
The dryad nodded towards their joined hands, and Drea found herself once more staring at the gleaming blue dewdrops of magic clinging to her fingertips... and to Vae's. She gasped aloud as she realized that she was seeing two separate magics, her own and that of the dryad's, but that they were a perfect match. None of the lightning, none of the volatile white she had summoned before was here now, only this sheen of blue. Vae pulled away and the magic rolled from Drea's fingers like droplets off a leaf, dripping down onto the surface of the pool as nothing more than raindrops. Shaken, she drew her hand away.
Vae slid lower into the water, but continued to smile at Drea. "Come into the water and let me tell you a story," she said, voice growing lyrical, the two tones weaving about each other; hypnotic, tugging at Drea's will. She could feel the draw. The water suddenly looked so very… inviting. Clear, and fresh and—
"Vae," Míren said sharply from somewhere behind Drea as she saw the younger girl leaning forward. "Stop that."
Drea heard Míren's voice as though she were already underwater. She found her hands unfastening the tie that held the robe shut.
"Drea!" Míren said, voice still quiet, but with a tone of warning that made Drea hesitate with the robe half off her shoulders.
"Relax, Silver Mage, I mean your new acquisition no harm. Both her body and mind could use the cleansing of running water. This little mage has never been into a place where the water is free… and you, Silver Mage, know little of waterbound magic. I will answer all the questions you have, both of you. Drea," she continued in that alluring voice, saying her name for the first time. "Come into the water."
The robe pooled on the bank as she stood, placing one foot onto a rock just below the surface. At though from a great distance, she heard a sharp intake of breath from behind her, but with the dryad's voice coaxing her forward, she felt no shame at her state of undress. She knew the water should be cold, nearly freezing, but first her foot, then her legs, then waist, chest, and shoulders were completely submerged, and the pool felt just as warm as her body, softer than the robe, and more alive than the birds singing above them. She could feel where the current was strongest, the river flowing along the rocks at the bottom even as it let the surface stand still, pristine save the ripples she was making. She could feel the eddies her ankles made in this current, feel the river letting her in, feel it accepting her presence.
Eyes open, she let her head slip beneath the surface.
It was beautiful. The water was like liquid light, lifting her, holding her, cleaning the dirt from her body and freeing some burden from the darkest corner of her mind. She knew this was magic, some strange, wild magic she knew little about, but Míren's words echoed in her head. It isn't something to fear, it's something to revel in. Still, this magic was… missing something. The euphoria she had felt the last time she felt her power was… distant, and there was an odd feeling of something trickling away from her, like water through a sieve.
After some immeasurable moment, her head broke the surface once more with a gasp, lungs telling her that, no matter how much 'waterbound' magic she had, she was not a fish. Vae was smiling that white-lipped smile from a few feet away, while Míren had come to stand just beside the water's edge, looking worried.
Whatever spell Vae's voice had cast over her was fading, and suddenly Drea realized that she was as naked as the dryad and her hair was not quite so strategically placed, nor was her lower body quite so see-through. Blushing but unwilling to leave the water, she maneuvered awkwardly over to where the foam of the waterfall would keep her decent. Vae laughed, a sound oddly grating now that her voice had lost its spellbinding quality.
Drea wanted to be angry at the dryad for whatever she had done, but she doubted she ever would have gotten in the water without it, and it just felt so wonderful to be clean again, that she couldn't hold a grudge. "I believe you promised us an explanation, did you not?" Míren asked impatiently.
Vae's face disappeared underwater for a moment and Drea caught a glimpse two oddly shaped feet flashing above the surface before the dryad reappeared in front of Míren. Míren did not react but Drea jumped, startled enough for them both.
"That I did. You may get a bit uncomfortable standing there, though; it's a bit of a long story. I don't suppose you'd care to join us?"
"Don't even try it," Míren replied.
She shrugged in another of those inhumanly fluid movements. "Very well."
And so she began.
"I cannot tell you what your mother was doing this far beyond your Refuge, nor can I say what you were doing being born so far before your due. But here she was, and there you were, and I was here as well. I am not a dryad who would usually reside in this sort of river; rather, my home is in the southern sea. But I do like to explore, and I had never been to this close to the falls before. Two days before your mother arrived, however, I was... injured. I'm not sure how to explain beyond that to one who is not of my kind, but sufficed to say I was dying.
"Then three women appeared: two companions and one heavily pregnant, screaming, crying woman. They wanted her to keep going, to get her home, but she couldn't. So they took her to the pool, set her down in the shallows. Even you land-bound humans know that water is good for some things. And so you were born.
"I was hidden where you found me today, that shallow cave behind the falls. There was very little of me left, I was fading away into the water. But I heard you crying with that weak little voice, and I felt the magic inside of you, and I knew I could save myself. How much do you know of your own magic?"
It took Drea a moment to respond, as Vae's voice had captured all of her attention. "Very little, and I'm beginning to think perhaps none at all."
"Hmm. Human magic is limited only by the person whose hands are wielding it. The elemental magic of my people, or any creature, as you so call us, be they firebound, earthbound, or windbound, is more limited in some ways, but more powerful in others. While a mage might take months to reroute a river... pulling and tugging on their dichotomy of life magic and its backlash, you or I could just... ask it to move. But beyond the water, I have little power, and I must be within the water to even exist. However all waterbound beings have one other gift. We may... move magic. Just as a stream may borrow a boulder from the bank and put it back somewhere downriver, I can borrow the life magic of a mage, so long as I put some of my own magic back to take its place."
"I thought it must have been something like that," Míren interrupted. Speaking almost to herself, she mused, "And, since you were a newborn, you were purely life magic. So she took enough of that to heal her, and replaced it with waterbound magic. Of course, this must have jumpstarted your dormant magic. Without it, you would have been born as just another void..."
Drea did her best to wrap her mind around all she was hearing. "So... I have half of both?" she asked, not sure who she was addressing the question to.
"Not exactly—"
"Actually—" both started at the same time.
Míren shot a glare at Vae before continuing. "No. Borrowing some of your innate magic did nothing to your real power. You can use as much magic as you wish, but it will always replenish itself with time. In essence, she simply added waterbound magic to what was already within you. Not as powerful as a dryad's, or a selkie's or even a sprite's, not on its own but..." A strange look appeared in the Silver Mage's eyes. She looked almost... hungry. "... when paired with your own… "
Vae nodded her agreement. "Now, usually I could borrow a bit of magic from a common mage and their humanity would immediately reject the water magic. That is what we do. But since you were so young, and since I had to take so much to heal myself, your body didn't have the strength to reject it, so it used it instead."
Míren's eyes widened. "I'd always wondered why you lure mages into your rivers and oceans. You don't want to kill us, exactly. You just drain the magic from us for your own use, like a parasite."
"Yes, though often the drowning is an unfortunate side effect. You were wise not to come into my pool. While I would hardly harm one of my own..." she shrugged and dipped below the surface, popping up on the far side. "...your magic would be too tasty to resist."
At that point, everything was beginning to make a bit too much sense to Drea, and she was starting to believe that her father may have been right about one thing... there was a monster in the Elian. Vae had seemed so... if not human, than at least civilized. She spoke like a human, but her words revealed the reason why so many people feared the creatures of the realm. Trying not to move too abruptly, she set out for the bank where she had dropped her robe, propelling herself awkwardly from rock to rock with all but her head beneath the surface.
"Going so soon?" Vae inquired, the higher part of her voice falsely light while the lower growled a warning. "You really should stay awhile."
Drea stiffened. The voice had gone silky and mesmerizing once again. She tried not to let it affect her, but the water seemed to be getting harder and harder to push through.
"See, I've been getting rather lonely out here, ever since your father found out that your mother had seen a dryad at your birth and had the river dammed up before it could reach his safe little Refuge."
The pearly eyes had darkened to a color more closely resembling an oyster shell, the gold of the hair was tarnishing to a green as deep as strands of kelp, and the white lips were drawing back to reveal needle-sharp teeth; still water-like in color, but with a brittleness too them, like shards of ice. Drea saw the change with her eyes, but her mind was still fighting through the honey-sweet tone of her words.
"You should stay a time. I could teach you anything you ever wanted to know."
Drea wasn't moving towards the bank any longer. She couldn't pull herself farther away from Vae, could only fight not to go towards her.
"What do you want from me?" she managed to gasp out.
Vae had drawn closer. She tilted up Drea's chin with one ice-cold finger. "You are a pretty thing," she said, not giving an answer.
Drea jerked her chin away. The touch felt wrong, even if the water was telling her everything was alright.
Suddenly, Vae drew back, hissing with a dreadful clash of her two voices. With no warning, she disappeared beneath the waterfall, into the cave, leaving a dazed Drea to scramble onto the nearest bank, trembling. Before she could even stand, Míren was there with her robe, wrapping it around her like a blanket and holding on to her shaking shoulders with a reassuringly human warmth and protective strength.
Opening her eyes, she caught sight of Emelise at the edge of the clearing, looking confused. "What did I miss? This place is a bloody swamp of water magic." She sniffed with clear distaste, like a cat perched at the edge of a bathing tub.
When she received only a blank stare from Drea she turned her glance to Míren. "Leave the things and return to camp. That's all."
She set down the basket of food and clothes Nigel had sent for them and left with nothing more than a parting glare at Drea and the words, "Yes, Míren."
"W-what just happened?" Drea squeaked.
Míren dropped her hands from the younger mage's shoulders with a sigh. Drea immediately missed the contact, but she pushed such thoughts from her mind and drew the robe on properly. "Come. We should get a bit away from here. I'll explain as we go."
Míren started off into the trees again, leaving Drea to grab the basket and follow.
"I almost had to do something idiotic, then," Míren started. "I have no idea how my sort of magic would have reacted when Vae tried to take it for her own, which is what surely would have happened had I tried to take you from her. But Emelise has nothing if not peculiarly good timing. In most circumstances, a dryad would not fear a fire-mage, especially one so weak as Emelise, but as she is trapped in a river whose bed is run through with veins of coal she had good reason to flee. One small forest fire could send this entire stream underground." Realizing Vae's predicament, Drea felt almost sorry for her, almost guilty, as it was her own fault that she had been dammed in with no hope of returning to the sea. But remembering her callous remark about drowning people, she pushed aside her pity.
"I still don't understand... what did she want with me?"
Míren halted a few paces ahead and turned to face Drea with an unreadable expression. "You are unique, do you understand that? There are going to be many in this realm who will want you, for many reasons. Most of them will not be honorable ones," she said, as though she were... admitting something. She turned and began walking again. "In this case, it is fairly clear why she wanted you. You would have been an inexhaustible source of life magic for her. Because you had water magic within you, she could draw from you again and again, and use that power how she would."
"But... why did she need it? Can't she just... reroute the river, like she said?"
Míren scoffed. "Hardly. That was nothing more than a bluff, and I wondered at the time why she said it. With your power, though, she could have easily broken down your father's dam. She took some from you already, while you were in the waterfall. I suppose she did us both a favor, as it should be easier for you to control your power these next few days."
Drea stopped, and Míren walked a few more paces before she noticed the younger woman was no longer just behind her. She turned to face Drea once more, and was met with pleading eyes. "Can't you see? I can't live like this. I can't control this, I don't want to! I'm a danger to myself, to people around me, even to you! Please, just make it stop! I know I said I wouldn't ask but please, please, I don't want this! Just bind it, take it away from me!"
Drea knew she was crying, and she didn't want to, but she couldn't help it. Míren walked up to her and placed a finger under her chin, lifting it so that Drea would meet her eyes. It was a parody of the ice-cold touch of the dryad, but where the dryad's touch had seemed wrong, this touch was warm and soft while commanding all the same, and it made Drea feel more herself.
"You are not a danger to me, and you never will be. I can protect myself. All I want is to give you the same. Have patience, and you will soon have control, and once you have control—" Míren's eyes darkened. "—I doubt you will be asking me to bind you again. No matter how much fear you felt today, I saw your joy when you first went into the pool. You're learning already what... pleasure... magic can bring."
With that, the Silver Mage lowered her hand and resumed her walk through the trees.
