I wake up. I had a weird dream. And now my headache is gone.

My headache had gotten so bad that I had it even in my dream. It was a strange dream. I was playing a board game composed of a meter-wide block of wood which was riddled with holes. Some of the holes had pegs inserted inside of them. My task as the player was to pull out a peg from one of the holes and insert it into another. But whenever I tried to bring the peg near another hole, my hand would be pushed away, as if by some invisible force. And every time that happened, my headache would become intensely painful, as if I was struggling to grasp some idea distant from my mind.

I glance at the sandstone rock sitting on the nightstand next to my bed. I recited my very first spell on that rock for a few hours yesterday. The spell was much shorter than the chapters I had recited previously, perhaps twenty pages long, and thus reading those few pages over and over made me feel like I was slowly dying inside. Every time I would finish the spell, I would quickly lay my hand upon the rock, to see if the temperature of the rock changed.

After a few hours of drudgery and concentration-induced headaches, I felt a small cramp in my left calf. I then stopped reading the spell the moment I finished my sentence. I am not certain whether that cramp in my calf was really caused by the spell. Maybe the pain was just a figment of my imagination. Maybe I let all that fear-mongering in the safety portion of the textbook get to my head. Maybe I could have recited the spell for just a few more hours.

I could never tell for certain if the rock felt any warmer. I want so badly to believe that it did.


After breakfast, Kenneth leaves me alone again, and I resume reciting the spell. The headache I get is less painful than it was yesterday; maybe I am starting to get used to this intense level of concentration.

But then, after only an hour of recital, I feel the same small cramp in my left calf.

Maybe I am not sitting in this chair correctly. I straighten my legs and continue reciting the spell. A few minutes pass, and the pain in my calf grows stronger.

Maybe I should stop.

I finish my sentence and pull my eyes away from the page.

Even so, I find it suspicious that I feel the pain in the same place that I did yesterday. Maybe I slept in a funny position these past few nights. Maybe if I ask Kenneth about it, he will reassure me that there is nothing to worry about, and I can continue reciting the spell as before.

I slide out of my chair and land my feet on the ground. I should ask him, just to be safe.

I walk up to the door to Kenneth's study and knock.

"Just a few minutes," calls Kenneth's muffled voice from the other side of the door.

"Every time you say that, you take way too long," I insist. "Can you please answer my question? It is really important, and I promise it will only take a moment."

"No. It can wait."

I sigh deeply.

"Also, can you please not pick your skin while you're waiting? It's really gross."

"I do not pick my skin!" I insist.


Kenneth finally steps out of the door, holding a stack of books in his arms. "So? What was your question?"

"I am trying to figure out why my leg was hurting while I was reciting the spell, even though I had only been reciting the spell for an hour," I explain.

"Of course it did," Kenneth responds objectively. "Your mana pool drained quite a while ago. It wasn't finished regenerating from yesterday."

"Is there any way you could fix it?" I ask. "Maybe you could cast a spell on me? Or give me a potion?"

Kenneth smiles and rolls his eyes. "Oh Iris, it really does not work that way!"

Kenneth's unnatural smile irks me. "Why are you smiling at me like that all of a sudden? What is so funny?"

"Oh nothing, really." Kenneth's smile grows wider. "You just have a lot to learn. Go play outside or something. You need a break."

"But I just started an hour ago!" I argue.

"Go play outside, Iris. That's an order." Kenneth is still smiling at me. He is mocking me, isn't he?

I drag my feet to the front door and slowly open it. As I walk through the door and into the open air, I grip the doorknob tightly, only letting go of it long after the door has closed.

Kenneth reminded me of my parents. He made me feel like a child. I hate him for that.

...but I also miss my parents.

I look up at the low-floating sun glowing just above the trees. It is still morning.

I turn my head right, looking at the faint path snaking southward between the trees.

I could run away. I could go home. I could see my parents again. I could see my friends. It would only take a day's journey if I start now. I would just have to follow the trail to Britwal City, and from there it's only a few hour's walk to my home town of Maplefall.

I may never be able to learn magic again if I leave... but I also have to punish Kenneth for treating me so dismissively.

I was already at my wit's end. All those days I spent studying intensely from the textbook, and where was Kenneth all that time, except in his study? Why didn't he teach me anything? Why did he put so many barriers in my way, giving me only a month to finish the textbook, forcing me to continue re-reading chapters well after I had memorized them? The reason is because I am not really Kenneth's apprentice. Kenneth brought me here solely to mock me. I lose nothing if I run away now.

I turn toward the house again and open the front door slowly, peeking in to make sure that Kenneth is not watching. Then I enter the foyer, close the door behind me, and walk into the kitchen, where I make plans for my departure.


Maybe I took a wrong turn.

I turn back upon the forest path yet again, searching left and right. My legs are sore and burning.

Hanging against my hip is a makeshift bag I created by tying a blanket in a knot. With every other step, the weight of the bottled water inside of the bag bobs against my side.

When the sun is well overhead, I pause to sit and eat the lunch of melon and bread in my bag. Then I stand up, brush the dry autumn leaves off of my legs, and begin walking again.

I could have sworn that Britwal City was to the south, but perhaps I was mistaken. I have no choice but to return to Kenneth's house to avoid getting stranded in the dark.

I turn back once again and continue walking.

Surely Kenneth's house must be just around the next bend in the forest. Why does it feel like I have been walking for too long? Did I miss some other intersecting trail?

Pine trees become replaced with unfamiliar birch. The sky dims. I can no longer see the forest path.

I hear cracking joints and smacking lips.

The undead are beginning to spawn.

I hear rapid footsteps and sliding pebbles behind me. My heart begins to knock hard against my chest. I sprint into the slope of a hill and climb through the brush, looking for some place to hide... a cave, an indentation in a tree, a burrow... anything!

A weight slams into my back and pins me down into the ground. A twig scratches against my cheek. I hear heavy, distorted breathing. A rancid flesh smell makes me want to gag, but I cannot, as my lungs are compressed too much to breathe deeply.

Something cold grabs my arm. I feel myself dragged against the dirt. The weight of the zombie falls off of me. I feel myself being lifted. I look up toward my new captor and see a skeleton wearing leather armor. I kick the skeleton as hard as I can, but I feel as if I am attempting to kick against a solid wall. The skeleton pulls me firmly against its side.

"Let me go! Help me! Someone help me!" I yell hopelessly into the forest.

Then I scream.

"I am not here to kill you," the skeleton says calmly. "I am here to help you. Just close your eyes. Everything is going to be alright."

I close my eyes. But then I scream again.

The skeleton begins to run. I wonder whether or not I am going to die.


I see a light. A door opens. I hear boot footsteps as I stare at a wood ceiling. I fall onto a sofa.

The face of a woman wearing a leather chestplate leans over me. Her hair is caramel brown.

It is as if there was a discontinuity of reality. What was the skeleton I saw earlier? Was this woman the skeleton?

She smiles. "Are you alright, kiddo?"

"Where are we?" I ask.

"This is my house," she answers.

"Yes, but WHERE are we? Are we near Britwal?" I ask. "And what happened to the skeleton?"

"Britwal is eight hours from here, but now is really not a good time to be outside. Please calm down." There is a worried look in the woman's face. "What's your name?"

"Iris." I answer.

"Are you hurt, Iris?" the woman asks.

I survey my body. With the exception of a scratch on my cheek from when the zombie knocked me to the ground, I feel no pain.

"No, I am fine," I answer.

"Where are your parents?" she continues. "Are they down in Britwal?"

"No, they live in Maplefall," I correct her.

"Oh, Notch! All the way in Maplefall? How in the world did you get here?"

Suddenly a gleam of curiosity shines in her eyes. She looks at me funny. Then her brows rise in surprise.

"Don't tell me you're Forthright's new apprentice!" She blurts out.

"You mean Kenneth Forthright?" I ask. How did she guess I was Kenneth's apprentice?

"Yes, Kenneth Forthright!" The woman's eyes grow wide. "What the heck is he doing with a young kid like you? And what were you doing out here so late?"

"I was trying to walk home to my parents, but I took a wrong turn," I admit frankly. "How did you know I was Kenneth's apprentice? Did you turn into a skeleton?"

The woman smiles and sits down on the couch near my feet. "It's not every day I see a little kid running around with their mana pool completely drained. And yes, I can turn into a skeleton. Pretty neat, huh? I'm sorry that I scared you."

"It is alright. I have a thick skin," I reply.

The woman chuckles. "I am pretty sure that's not what 'thick skin' means, but close enough."

"How do you know Kenneth?" I ask.

"Kenneth and I are colleagues," she replies. "We study alternate dimensions together. Pretty cool stuff. I'd love to talk about it, but it's getting pretty late, and a girl like you really ought to be getting some shut-eye by now. Have you had dinner yet?"

"No," I answer. Suddenly I become conscious of a gnawing emptiness in my stomach. I have not eaten since early in the afternoon.


It is morning again. I stand in front of the door to Kenneth's house. The woman who transformed into a skeleton last night, Sarah, is standing behind me.

I knock on the door. A few moments pass in silence. I knock on the door again, and wait.

The door opens inward. Kenneth's face pokes out. His eyes widen in surprise.

"Gods..." Kenneth speaks with a sigh. "You're alive."

Kenneth opens the door all the way. As I step into the foyer, I feel the warm indoor air surround me again. I take off my shoes.

"So you DO know her!" Sarah remarks.

"Sarah, where did you find her?" Kenneth asks, his voice serious, almost accusatory.

"I ran into her last night when a zombie was just about to eat her brains. She was about thirty minutes south from my house. You should be grateful I was there to save her. What were you even thinking? You can't just let a little girl walk back to her parent's house all by herself!"

"Please stop calling me a little girl," I insist.

"I don't remember authorizing her to go back to her parents," Kenneth counters. He turns to face me. "Iris, you've made a promise that you cannot break. You're my apprentice now. You can't just visit your parents whenever you want. You need to stay here and study."

"I do not have to be your apprentice any more if I do not want to!" I fight back. "Especially if my master refuses to teach me!"

Something grotesque happens to Kenneth's face. It is an emotion that I have never seen before.

"Kenneth, don't do it," Sarah orders.

The grotesque look in Kenneth's face vanishes.

"I'm sorry," Kenneth says. His pupils sink down in shame. "I got carried away."