Mirror, Mirror
The next day, Monstrox waited in his office as Roberto went to go and bring Jestro up for the next lesson. The necromancer whistled as he took out a rather large book and dropped it on his desk beside the staff that Jestro was using along with his own staff. Monstrox planned today's lesson not to be easy, but not too hard. He turned his head as he heard the door open; seeing Roberto leading Jestro inside. Monstrox felt a grin coming on.
"So, Jestro." He walked over and bent down to the boys' level. "How are we today?"
Jestro played with his hood his he nodded.
"I'm good." He replied quietly.
Monstrox nodded as he stood back up.
"I think you're going to like what we're doing today." The necromancer walked over to his desk and picked up his own staff. "Tell me, Jestro. Do you like cooking?"
Jestro was not entirely sure where this was going or what it had to do with learning magic. But he did like to help Moltor and Flama in the kitchen sometimes. The boy just nodded a yes.
"Well today, you're oing to be doing something similar." Monstrox answered.
The necromancer faced his desk again and picked up the book. He walked back to Jestro and told him to hold out his arms; dropping the book into the boys' arms. Jestro kept his strength up; finding it hard to hold the large book.
"This is heavy." Jestro quietly complained. "It's a pretty fat book."
Monstrox raised a brow at the boy.
"It's not fat. It's just got big binding and lots of pages." The necromancer went along with Jestros' little remark before continuing. "If it's really that heavy for ya, put it on the ground and open it up."
Jestro quickly put the book down on the floor and opened its pages. The boy kneeled down as he looked through; tilting his head as he looked at all the images and noticing that they all had similar things on them. They all had pictures of magic items and how to make them.
"Wait, what're we doing?" Jestro asked; stretching his head in confusion.
Monstrox rolled his eyes the other way; not at all surprised that Jestro did not get it.
"Every magic user does this at least once in their life." Monstrox began to explain. "Inside of this book, the pages contain methods and recipes for items with magical properties. Each one different from the last."
Jestro began looking through the pages and its contents as Monstrox continued to explain.
"I want you to pick one the objects in the book and make it with the recipe written in. I will give the ingredients needed, but you will do the rest be your-"
"I wanna make this!"
Monstrox went wide eyed as Jestro interrupted him. The necromancer looked down as Jestro showed him the page with the item he wanted to make. Monstrox raised a brow as the boy had a rather eager smile on his face.
"That was quick." The necromancer thought to himself.
Roberto leaned against a wall as he watched the scene in front of him. Jestro pointed to a picture of a mirror on the page; making Monstrox raise his brow.
"The seeing mirror." He read the title of the object out loud. "An interesting choice for a nine year old to pick."
"I'm seven." Jestro corrected.
"I knew that."
Monstrox walked over to a cabinet in the corner of his office; opening it and taking out a numerous amount of items. Jestro walked over as the necromancer placed them on his desk and pulled up a stool for Jestro to use.
"Everything you need to make the mirror is right here." Monstrox picked up the book and placed it on the desk for Jestro to see. "Follow the instructions and you'll probably be done in two hours tops. I'll be standing right here watching you."
Roberto rolled his eyes the other way as went back to do his own thing. Jestro scratched his head as he read over the instructions; thoroughly reading the bit at the end about casting a spell. Monstrox watched as Jestro started putting the ingredients together. But the necromancer noticed that his eyelids were getting a bit heavy. He leaned his back against a wall as he blinked a few times; mentally scowling himself for barely getting any sleep last night. The necromancer did not think there would be any harm if he just took a brief nap. With that, he did.
"I'm done!"
Monstrox awoke with a jolt as he Jestro call out into his ear. The necromancer looked at the boy with bugged out eyes; slightly unnerved by the eager grin he had on his face. Roberto was watching from his work in progress.
"I'm finished! I made the mirror! Come see!" Jestro jumped up and down as he pointed at the desk.
Monstrox grunted as he got back up from his seat on the floor. The necromancer scratched his nose as he looked down at Jestros' project. The finishing product was a small hand held mirror. The metal rim around the glass was a rather dull grey colour and the glass was not reflective. Monstrox raised his brow before looking down at Jestro.
"You did everything the page said?" He questioned; knowing the boy did not do it properly.
"Yeah." Jestro answered back.
"You mixed the black seeds with the dragon tooth shavings?"
"Yeah."
"You left the reflection stone to dry after you coated it in sea monster spit?"
"Yeah."
Monstrox looked back and forth between the project and Jestro.
"Alright. But what about the incantation?" Monstrox finally asked.
Jestro stopped smiling and looked up at the necromancer with a confused face.
"Huh?" The boy muttered.
"The spell you had to use at the end?" Monstrox clarified. "The book says you have to do it or the object won't be able to do its thing."
Jestro looked at Monstrox with his eyes going wide. Monstrox blinked as the boy looked down at the floor and started making a weird noise. Roberto stopped working and looked at the scene about to unfold.
"Why are you making that noise?" Monstrox questioned.
Jestro looked up at Monstrox. The necromancer looked at the boy as his eyebrows went up; caught off guard by the teary eyes and the sniffling noises he was making. Jestro quickly put his hood over his head.
"I'm sorry, I'll do better! I'm sorry!"
Monstrox just scratched his head in confusion. Why was the kid crying?
"What's the matter?" Monstrox asked; not really sure what to do.
"I didn't mean to fail. Please don't turn me into a newt." Jestro begged as he quietly sobbed.
Monstrox was still confused until Roberto came up and spoke to him.
"I think he's upset because he knows he did it wrong." Roberto clarified.
Monstrox looked down at the panicking boy; still unsure of what to do. But he had to do something.
"Hey, calm down kiddo; you didn't fail at all." Monstrox bent down to Jestros' level.
Jestro looked up at Monstrox; still sobbing but holding back nervous tears.
"Huh?" He muttered with a squeak.
"You haven't failed. You just have to do one more thing then you're done." Monstrox tried to smile as he reassured the boy.
Roberto watched with growing interest as Jestro began to calm down. The boy pulled his hood back and wiped away his snot and tears.
"Just one more thing?" Jestro repeated in question.
"Yeah, that's right." Monstrox gently lead Jestro back to the table and giving the boy his star staff. "Just repeat what the page says at the end and you'll be all done."
As Jestro looked over the incantation, Roberto quickly ran for cover; afraid of what happened last time he was within range of Jestro casting a spell. Monstrox loomed over the boy as he held his staff over the unfinished object and began reciting the words on the page.
"Crafted from stones of the earth, and borrowed from the souls of forgotten creatures, I called upon the forces of magic of all, to see all near and far"
As Jestro recited and repeated the words, a bright yellow and purple aura emulated from his staff. Monstrox watched as the object began to glow. Both the necromancer and the boy covered their eyes as the light blinded them. Roberto stayed behind his statue as the light dimmed down and faded. Jestro and Monstrox opened their eyes and stared the finished object. Lying on the table, there was a mirror with a simplistic white handle and rim around the reflective glass. Monstrox smiled a little as Jest picked up the mirror and looked into it. The boy smiled as he saw himself and the necromancer.
"I did it!" He jumped excitedly.
"Hang on, kiddo." Monstrox put his hand on the boys shoulder. "You gotta make sure it works. Ask it to show you something."
Jestro blinked at the necromancer before turning back to the mirror. He scratched his head as he tried to think of something.
"Ummm. Mirror..."
Jestro smiled as he thought of something. Roberto looked from behind his statue and watched.
"Show me ice cream!"
The boy and the necromancer took a step back as the mirror glowed and their reflections turned into something. Jestro watched in amazement as the mirror turned into a window. But it was not what they expected. The mirror showed Flama in the kitchen going through the freezer. The hotheaded man smiled as he took out a tub of chocolate chip ice cream; grabbing a spoon and digging into the cold confection. Jestro giggled a bit while Monstrox raised a brow at the sight.
"That's funny." Jestro giggled as Roberto came over to look.
Monstrox rolled his eyes the other way and took the mirror from Jestro; making the boy look up at him.
"I just wanna try something." The necromancer reassured before looking in the mirror. "Show me the royal family."
Monstrox watched as the image changed to a husband and a wife playing with their young daughter. Jestro stood on his toes as he heard cheerful laughter coming from the mirror. He could just see the family in the image; able to make out their appearances. The husband was an average built man with a red beard and hair. The wife seemed a bit strong under the fancy dress she was wearing; her dark brown hair tied in a braid across the back of her head. The daughter looked around Jestros' age. She was laughing triumphantly as she played with a wooden toy mace and a wooden toy shield with a dragon head painted on it; her long red hair bouncing in the air as she ran around. Jestro watched in growing while Monstrox and Roberto stared with disgust.
"Who're they?" Jestro asked.
Monstrox and Roberto looked down at the boy.
"They are our enemies, Jestro." Monstrox answered simply. "They have something that we don't and they deny it to us."
"They know nothing of true art!" Roberto blurted out; making Monstrox push him back.
Jestro looked at the pair with confusion.
"They don't look bad." He replied innocently.
"But looks can be deceiving, Jestro." Monstrox continued. "No one is as they seem. They may look like a happy family. Laughing and playing all they like. But deep down, they are monstrous dictators. They are the reason why I'm training you, Jestro. Because one day, we are going to take the throne from them and take back what is ours."
Jestro stared at Monstrox as he tried to process what he just said. The boy played with his sleeves as he looked down at the floor and gently kicked it.
"Can I show everybody the mirror?" Jestro asked in a meek tone.
Roberto raised a brow at Monstrox as he thought about it. The necromancer remembered the one rule he made for Jestro. He was not allowed to tell anyone about the lessons what would happen in them. But Monstrox thought he could make one exception.
"Alright."
Monstrox held the mirror down and pointed the handle at Jestro; silently telling him to take it. Jestro smiled as he took the mirror and ran out of the room with excitable giggles. Roberto watched as Monstrox walked to the door and closed it. The sculptor put his hands to his hips; having questions about what just happened.
"Why would you want to take back the throne?" Roberto questioned; making Monstrox roll his eyes with a grimace. "You never owned it in the first place."
"I know that, Mr literal." Monstrox turned and faced the sculptor. "I was just trying to tell Jestro what the big picture is and what all his training is leading up to. You have a problem with those royals too, remember? They threw you out on your butt."
As Monstrox stopped talking, he noticed that Roberto was giving him a weird look.
"What?" The necromancer asked.
"I couldn't help but notice that you had this look in your eyes when the little jester boy finished his task." The artist began to explain. "You had a look of pride."
Roberto crossed his arms and raised his brow at the necromancer.
"It almost seems as if you're getting attached to him, no?"
Monstrox looked at Roberto like he was insane. Monstrox did not say it; about how happy Jestro looked when he made the enchanted mirror. The sight did make him feel something. Something that felt different and better from bitter anger or vengeance. Could it have been pride. Or even...
No. Monstrox yelled in his mind not to think of anything like that. Jestro was just his (Insurance policy)apprentice and that was it. Monstrox gave Roberto a hard stare.
"Get back to work." He ordered.
Roberto growled a little before doing his orders; leaving him to go back to his work and Monstrox went to make plans for the next lesson. And the next, and the next, and the next.