The Past Is Prologue
Chapter 27: Team Magic
I was born the year Shuriki took over Avalor so I never knew anything else. My parents raised me on stories of the old days: parandas, Carnival, dances, royal wizards. I didn't quite believe them, but they were lovely stories. So when I had children of my own I passed the same stories on to them. Never did I suspect that my own daughter would one day be apprenticed to the Royal Wizard of Avalor. – Gabriela Herrera, farmer. A People's History of the Reign of Queen Shuriki, compiled by Professor Catalina de Torres
Olivia unhitched her mule from the cart as she always did and settled Benito Burro in a spare stall by the guard barracks. She walked through the courtyard to the front door, only to be stopped by Armando. "Can I help you, señorita?"
Surprised and a little hurt, the young apprentice replied, "Armando, it's me, Olivia!"
"Oh, so it is! You look different. Did you do something to your hair?"
"Mateo's waiting for me. I'm allowed to be here. Can I come in?"
"Yes, of course, Olivia." The chief of the palace stepped aside and Olivia grumped past him. Normally, she was politer than that, especially to grown-ups, but she was in a foul mood. She'd spent the last week grounded at home, not even sure she'd be allowed to continue to study magic. The day after she'd returned to Avalor City Mateo and the Queen had come in the royal carriage to pay their respects to Olivia's parents. They'd apologized for not taking better care of Olivia (like it was their fault!) and said they hoped Olivia could continue her studies with Mateo; however, that was entirely up to the apprentice's parents. They, in turn, make it clear that they didn't blame Elena or the royal wizard for their daughter's "poor judgment and behavior," but would be deciding Olivia's future as a family and would need a week to talk things over. Elena and Mateo said they understood, and made it clear to Olivia that they would abide by her parents' wishes.
So, other than to attend César's funeral (which made her feel horrible since she should have been able to protect him, even if General Núñez said it was not her fault) Olivia stayed home. In Avalor, children attended school until they were fifteen, but didn't reach their majority until they turned twenty. Some attended preparatoria if they planned to go to university, while others obtained apprenticeships or worked in family businesses. Lucas was already working on the farm, and Olivia simply upped the number of lessons she was already taking with Mateo. Sometimes she would attend a class at the Science Academy, and once she went on an archeological dig with Professor Mendoza and Chancellor Naomi, but most of her days were spent in the magical workshop or the no-longer-secret biblioteca compiled by Mateo's grandfather.
Until recently, that is, when Olivia found herself grounded. There had been so many conversations – with the whole family, with her parents, with her mother alone, with her father, with her brother. Even Señor Whiskers meowed disapprovingly at her.
At last her parents relented and said that if she agreed to do what Mateo said and to not run off without permission again she could go back to study at the palace. But her mother, who had always made her wizard robes before, refused to make her a new one to replace the robe she'd lost in Nueva Vista. "If you want to wear wizard robes, learn to sew them yourself." So Olivia had to go to the palace wearing her mostly unused huipil and skirt. She also tried braiding her hair since pigtails didn't really seem to match the outfit, but she wasn't very good at it and her hair was sticking out all over the place. She really didn't look like herself at all, which was why Armando hadn't recognized her.
Mateo had sent a message inviting all his apprentices to his quarters that afternoon, rather than the workshop. Olivia didn't know what that was about; it certainly wasn't for a lesson. She was grateful Mateo still wanted to teach her at all, but she was nervous as she approached the open door.
She knocked timidly but there was no answer. Mateo must be in the (no longer) secret biblioteca. Olivia went into the circular chamber and looked around.
The place was clean but hardly neat. There were piles of books stacked here and there, and notes everywhere. In contrast, various potions lined shelves along the walls, each in its own specific place. The door to the spiral staircase leading to the magical library was open, so Olivia's guess was probably correct. The young apprentice took a deep breath. It smelled of ink and paper and lemons and cinnamon and palo santo, the scent of magic. The scent of Olivia's soul.
Her eyes were drawn as always to the most striking feature of the room – the giant glass bowl of the magical fish shifters. They were living animals, not illusions, but no one knew where they came from, or how they could shape-shift at will from one type of fish to another. Mateo had confessed to her that sometimes he would find himself hypnotized by them, and Olivia could see why. Armando had once told her that on occasion the evil queen Shuriki would take the fish food from the servant assigned to clean the unused wizard quarters and feed the fish herself. He'd said the sorceress always seemed calmer afterwards. Olivia had a hard time imagining the wicked queen doing anything as mundane as feeding fish.
"Hey, chica!" a voice from behind startled her. She turned to greet Carla Delgado, who playfully tugged her braid. "You dropped this." She placed Olivia's hair ribbon in her hand.
"Thanks, Car – wait a minute. Did you just steal that?" It was typical of her fellow apprentice to play pranks on her.
Carla laughed as Olivia hastily retied the ribbon around her braid. She took the younger girl by the shoulders and spun her around. "I love the outfit. You look so cute!"
"My mom said if I want to wear wizard robes again I have to sew them myself," Olivia grumbled.
"Why do you always wear wizard robes anyway? You don't need them to practice magic. You look much nicer this way." Carla was always fashionably dressed. At the moment she wore a red dress with yellow accents. She almost never wore her apprentice robe.
"It's how I show that I'm studying to be a wizard," Olivia explained, again. It was an old argument between them, and she didn't think she'd convince Carla.
"Hey, while we're waiting, wanna play 'guess the fish'?" Olivia could tell Carla was trying to distract her, to cheer her up. "Guess the fish" was a game Mateo had come up with to help his first apprentice recognize patterns. The game was simple. You had to predict which fish would turn next, and what it would turn into. When the newly-released-from- the-dungeon Delgados had first been placed under Mateo's tutelage, Olivia had taken it upon herself to teach the game to them in turn. Victor later told her it was the first thing anyone had done to make them feel welcome.
"I'm not really in the mood, Carla," the young woman demurred.
"The blue fish will shift to green with purple polka dots in three-two-one…there it goes." Both apprentices turned to see their teacher Mateo, followed by Victor, come up the spiral staircase in the middle of the chamber.
"You know the rules, Metate," Carla said, hands on hips. For some reason Olivia couldn't figure out, she liked saying Mateo's name weird. "You go last." Since Mateo got to see the fish shifters all the time he had an advantage.
"Surely we have more important things to discuss than childish games," Victor cut in smoothly.
"I changed my mind," Olivia declared. "Best two out of three?"
"You're on," Carla said, and they and Mateo had a rousing match of "Guess the fish" while Victor fumed in the background.
Game finally over, Mateo motioned for all of them to have a seat on the circular covered benches. He had arranged quite the spread on the wooden table for his apprentices. There was lemonade and tea to drink, empanadas, candied orange peels, sliced mangos, cookies, cupcakes, and nuts. The royal wizard clearly wanted them to be comfortable. But Olivia didn't have much of an appetite. She knew her master well enough to suspect he was trying to soften some sort of blow.
As Olivia settled herself, Carla flopped down beside her. "Out with it, Matato. We know you called us her to discuss the problem of the two magical screw-ups."
"Three," Olivia and Victor corrected at the same time, and then glared at each other.
"Four," Mateo responded mildly. Victor sighed.
"And yet," he pointed out, "You only hold the parole for two of us."
"I have never treated you or Carla like that," Mateo responded hotly.
"And don't think that's gone unnoticed – by the General or the Queen," the ex-malvago returned. He shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, Mateo. I am more grateful than you can know for you kindness to me and my daughter. But the shadow of the dungeon remains."
"No, it doesn't, papa!" Carla protested.
"Victor, I promise you Elena does not see it that way," the royal wizard said earnestly. Neither does Naomi." Olivia wasn't entirely sure what they were talking about. The Delgados had been pardoned, so why was Victor worried?
"Then what is the purpose of this little soirée? For I doubt you've called us here to run magical drills." He had a point. None of them wore robes. Victor and Carla were in street clothes, as always. Olivia wore an embroidered huipil and skirt, and even Mateo wore a shirt, vest and trousers. Olivia always felt that her teacher looked wrong when he wasn't wearing a wizard robe. She'd told him that once, and he'd just smiled and told her there was a time and a place for everything. The food also indicated that no magic would be performed. Spells and edibles didn't mix. Whatever this was, it wasn't a lesson.
The royal wizard paused, choosing his words carefully. "I think we can all agree that this was not the finest hour for any of us. I'd like to discuss what happened, and how we can keep it from happening again. He gestured to the table. "But also, it's been a while since the four of us just socialized. Please, eat."
To be polite, Olivia poured herself a cup of tea and nibbled on a cookie. The rest followed suit but none of them seemed to have much of an appetite.
No one made small talk. At last Mateo sighed and began. "It has been, um, brought to my attention that we wizard types have lately, um, exceeded our authority, I guess. So how can we…?"
"How can we know not to exceed our authority if we don't know what our authority is?" Olivia interrupted.
"Easy," Victor returned. "Don't stow away on boats. Don't steal boats. And above all," he looked directly at Mateo, "don't trust Ash. Problem solved."
"And don't attack your fellow apprentices," Mateo added quietly.
Victor scowled and looked down. How did Mateo know about that? "I didn't tell him," she hastened to assure Victor. She would never rat out the Delgados. They were her co-apprentices, after all.
"I know you didn't," Victor muttered, not looking at her.
"And that's also a problem," Mateo interjected, "but we'll deal with that later."
"Wait – whadd'ya mean – attack fellow apprentices?" Carla demanded. No one answered her, though Mateo was clearly waiting for either Olivia or Victor to answer. "Hold on – he was looking at you when he said that." She turned to glare at her father. "I know you didn't attack me – Did you attack Olivia?" When he didn't answer, she punched him in the shoulder. "What is wrong with you? Attacking sweet little Olivia? How could you? "
"Hey, I'm not that little!" Olivia protested.
"It was just a practice duel," Victor said at the same time. "Like you and I have with the guards all the time."
"Esteban seemed to think it was serious enough to bring the matter to my attention," Mateo pointed out.
"Well, if Esteban said…" Victor scoffed.
"Rico and Antonia also felt you went too far," the young wizard continued.
"Hold on," Olivia broke in. She wasn't a fan of the elder Delgado at the moment, but fair is fair. "It was a practice duel. Señor Delgado won, even if it was just 'cause he got the drop on me. If I'd been ready, I would have beat him. I'm not a little kid anymore. I'm old enough to do the same drills everyone else gets to, to fight my own enemies…"
"I'm not your enemy. You think I'm your enemy?" Victor sounded perplexed and a little hurt.
"It kind of felt like it back on Esteban's ship," Olivia muttered.
"Nonsense! I was only teaching you a lesson," the ex-malvago said dismissively. "The very sort of lesson you've been pestering Mateo about for years."
No, what Olivia wanted to learn was defensive magic spells, not the feeling of being stabbed in the back. She never realized how much Victor Delgado must resent her, and still didn't know why.
"We have strict rules in place for magical practice combat drills," Mateo said sharply, "to ensure the safety of all involved. Lt. Villalobos told me you ignored them all, putting Olivia in danger…"
"I would never…" Victor sputtered. Then he shook his head. "I am sorry, Mateo. It will never happen again. You are right that Olivia is simply too young to master combat magic."
"I am not!" Olivia snapped. "I just want the same opportunity to prove myself like the rest of you have, to prove that I can be a wizard!"
"Why do you need to prove that, Olivia?" Mateo asked. "You are already studying magic. Why isn't that enough?"
"What's the point of learning magic if I can't actually help people with it?"
"I would also like to know how long this apprenticeship will last. When will I finally be considered a wizard?" Victor added.
"I…guess I never really considered that," Mateo answered. "I was never taught; Elena bestowed my titles on me when I had served Avalor in some way. I'm still a student. The problem may be that you're all stuck with me as a teacher, and I'm just not very good. I'm sorry."
He looked so forlorn that Olivia had to speak up. "That's not true! You're the best magic teacher – "
"That you've ever had?" Mateo answered wryly. He was technically, the only magic teacher Olivia had ever had, since Queen Shuriki had banned magic, forcing Mateo to study in secret.
"Stop that, Mateo de Alva!" Carla scolded. "You're a great teacher, and an even better wizard! It's not your fault you got stuck with three terrible apprentices." The royal wizard cracked a smile at that.
Victor leaned forward. "Listen to me, mijo," he said earnestly. "I have known or worked with the greatest wizards this side of the Everrealm. Alacazar, Shuriki, Ash, Zopilote, Fiero. None of them could accomplish what you have, my boy. Only you managed to not only teach yourself magic, but to excel at it, to have the power to defeat even the Four Shadows of the Night! All without the benefit of a teacher. No one else could accomplish that. Not even your grandfather."
The young royal wizard seemed taken aback. Olivia thought about Victor's words for a moment. "It's true," she piped up. "I could never have done what you did, learning magic with books alone. Magic isn't just words and a tamborita. You have to know how to pronounce the spell, and how to strike the drum, and how to focus your intention. I couldn't have learned magic on my own like that, even if I had a wizard grandfather who left his books behind."
Mateo smiled at his oldest and youngest apprentice. "You could have, if you had to. I'm just glad you never had to."
He closed his eyes for a moment, overcome with emotion. When he opened them again, he spoke quietly. "Thank you all for your kind words. I don't deserve them, but it means more to me than you'll ever know. I've tried to give each of you what you needed – Olivia, a chance to learn magic safely; Victor, guidance to help you on your quest to be a good wizard; and Carla, well, independence. But I've failed you all. So where do we go from here?"
"You haven't failed me!" Olivia said hotly. "But – I guess what I want is to know I'm doing well; to see what I'm achieving."
"I would like that, too," mused Victor. "Some sort of benchmark."
Mateo nodded slowly. "Of course, I never had anything like that myself, but there must have been a way to measure a wizard's progress in the old days. I'll see if I can find guidance in my grandfather's biblioteca.
"What about you, Carla? What made you run away like that?"
"I just wanted something of my own!" the young woman exclaimed in frustration.
"How do you mean?" Mateo asked.
Carla began fidgeting with her spoon. She looked guiltily at her father. "Carla?" Victor asked.
"It's okay, Carla," Mateo told her gently. "What is it you want?"
She let out a sigh. "It's just that you, and papa, and Olivia are all following your dreams. You all love magic, so you want to spend your life practicing it. But it's not my dream."
Olivia gasped. Carla was good at magic. How could she not love it? She stole a glance at Victor, who seemed perplexed. Mateo, however, maintained his equanimity. "Then what is your dream? What makes you happy?"
"I'm glad we're not bad guys anymore. Don't get me wrong," she hastened to explain. "I still want to serve Avalor. But…"
"Go on," the royal wizard prompted.
"Well, the time I felt most challenged, most alive was when…" she broke off.
"Yes?"
"Well, when I was a spy in the palace," she let out in a rush.
Mateo gave a surprised laugh and Victor snorted. "Too bad Avalor doesn't use spies," Carla's father scoffed.
"Maybe they should, though," Olivia mused. Her three companions looked at her in shock. "Well, think about it. No one was prepared for Duke Cristóbal to break out of the tower, or for him to join forces with Fiero and A- ah, Javier." She thought it best not to bring up Ash, but she could tell no one missed her slip. "The only reason Queen Elena knows that Count Cantú betrayed her is that I was captured by Fiero. There's gotta be a better way to get information."
"Thank you," Carla said, gesturing expansively. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. If I'd been on the case, Queen Elena might have had a better idea what was going on in Nueva Vista."
"I don't think there's a job opening for spy," Mateo said dubiously.
"Well, maybe there should be," Carla responded with some heat."You know I'm good. When I was Rita you all were clueless," she smirked. Mateo just shook his head.
"Querida, we've put all that behind us," Victor told his daughter. "We're law-abiding citizens now."
"But if I was spying for Elena, I'd still be law-abiding!"
"What Carla's talking about isn't that much different than what the guards do," Olivia mused. "They look for bad guys too. She'd just be sneakier about it." Mateo, Victor, and Carla all looked at her like she'd just sprouted jaquin wings. "What?"
"I'm trying to imagine my Carla in the guard," Victor chortled.
Mateo snickered. "Obeying orders."
"Wearing a uniform," Victor added.
"Doing push-ups!" Mateo dissolved into laughter, joined by Victor. Olivia rolled her eyes, while Carla looked affronted.
"It's not that funny," she snapped. "Anyway, if guards are allowed to use tamboritas and cast spells, I don't see why I couldn't use my unique talents to sniff out traitors and plots."
"I'll admit I like the idea of you being Gabe's problem and not mine," the royal wizard grinned. Carla stuck her tongue out at him.
"Actually, Gabe, Naomi, and Elena are in the council chamber right now going over the defense of the palace," Mateo said. "It's the perfect opportunity to pitch this idea to them, if you're really serious."
"I'm as serious as I ever am," Carla answered, which wasn't really an answer since Carla was rarely serious.
"All right. No time like the present. Let's go run your idea by them." The wizard turned to Olivia. "Did you want to stay and do research in the biblioteca? I can leave it open for you."
"Yes, please." She hadn't been down there in weeks, and had a lot to catch up on.
"I promise you both," Mateo said, looking at Olivia and Victor, "I will look into setting up official benchmarks for you, even though you're all more advanced than I was when I became royal wizard." Carla and Mateo stood up and headed for the door. "Coming, Victor?"
"I want no part in this scheme," he demurred. "Actually, Mateo, I was wondering if I could spend a few hours in the biblioteca…"
"We'll arrange a time for tomorrow," Mateo broke in. Olivia knew that Mateo insisted on being present when Victor or Carla was in the magical library because, as he once told her, his grandfather had collected many dangerous tomes and the last thing either Delgado needed was temptation. He would do what he could to clear their path to redemption. But she began to wonder if Victor chafed against the restriction as Olivia herself chafed at Mateo's protectiveness of her. "In the meantime," the royal wizard continued, "I believe you'll find this book interesting." He picked one off the shelf and handed it to his eldest apprentice. Victor took it and pressed his lips together. It was clear he wasn't happy. Mateo and Carla left.
Instead of leaving as Olivia expected, Victor sat back down, pulled his spectacles from his pocket and put them on, and began to leaf through the book his teacher had given him, albeit with bad grace. Olivia was itching to go down the spiral staircase into the magical biblioteca, but it seemed rude to do so while her fellow apprentice was forbidden. So she busied herself with cleaning up the dishes left on the table.
"You do realize that Queen Elena employs servants to take care of that sort of thing, don't you?" Victor remarked caustically without looking up from his book.
"You do know that Mateo usually cleans up his own messes to spare the servants extra work, don't you?" Olivia snapped back. He glared up at her, and she glared back. It was time they got a few things settled.
They were both startled by a knock on the door. "Come in," they said at the same time, and then shot each other a dirty look.
Rafa de Alva, the mother of the royal wizard of Avalor, strode in. "Olivia, querida, so good to see you again!" Then more coldly, "Señor Delgado."
"Señora de Alva!" Suddenly all smiles, Victor swept her a courtly bow.
"Is Mateo here?" Señora de Alva asked Olivia, deliberately ignoring Victor.
"No, but he should be back shortly, or at least in an hour. Would you like to wait? I was cleaning up here, but could pour you some tea if you like." Olivia thought it was the polite thing to do.
"Thank you, no. I will wait, however. It will give us the chance to talk. Oh, but your braid's come undone. Why don't I fix it for you?" Without giving the girl a chance to answer, she said, "Señor Delgado, why don't you make yourself useful and clean this up?" She then swept Olivia to a window alcove, leaving a fuming Victor in her wake. However, he did, grudgingly, start to tidy the area.
As soon as Señora de Alva got her hands in Olivia's hair, she said, "Now about that little stunt you pulled…"
"My parents already yelled at me for that," the apprentice wizard hastily assured her. That wasn't exactly true. Her parents hadn't yelled – they'd just told her they were very, very, very, very, very, very, very disappointed in her. But that was bad enough.
"Good," replied Señora de Alva. "Then you're used to it by now." Her hands were gentle but her tongue was not as she told Olivia in no uncertain terms how her behavior was completely unacceptable, all while braiding the girl's hair. It was reckless, irresponsible, and entirely unlike the thoughtful young woman Señora de Alva had gotten to know. She could have been killed! Why, Olivia's parents must have been beside themselves! And to worry poor Mateo like that. Olivia thought Mateo's mom was harsher on her than her own mom had been. To make matters worse, Victor kept occasionally barking out a laugh at a particularly sharp remonstrance by Señora de Alva.
The apprentice wizard had learned long ago it was best to listen to her mentor's mother, who was, after all, usually right. So she simply said, "I know I was wrong and I promise not to do it ever again."
"I know you won't," Señora de Alva said, patting her shoulder. "You're a clever girl who learns from her mistakes. Now, what would you think about looping this braid?"
Victor sauntered over. "Rafa, I wondered if I might have a word with you."
"I'm right here," she responded coolly. "What do you want?" She didn't even look up.
Victor seemed irritated for a moment; clearly he'd expected Sra. de Alva to drop what she was doing and give her complete attention to him. But he recovered quickly. "I have a question I'd like to ask you."
After a moment, Sra. de Alva simply said, "Well? Are you going to ask it?"
Putting on his most charming smile, Victor asked, "May I escort you to Julio and Paloma's wedding?"
At this, Sra. de Alva's head snapped up in shock. Olivia choked back a laugh. Did Victor just ask Mateo's mom out? On a date?
Victor's prospective date managed to stammer out, "Surely you can't be serious!"
"And why not? It wouldn't be the first time."
Hold up. Victor Delgado and Rafa de Alva used to be an item?! Olivia could scarcely believe her ears.
Apparently neither could Rafa de Alva. "I beg your pardon?"
"I was your escort for your quinceañera."
"Oh, that. Only because our fathers made us."
Victor waved that away as if it were of no consequence. "Still, your first dance as a young woman was with me. You know I can be a charming companion."
"You weren't charming back then," Sra. de Alva said cuttingly. "You ignored me for most of the evening, and I wound up leaving my own party to play dominos with Isa and Misa in the library."
Victor chuckled. "You were quite immature back then as I recall."
"Who is Misa?" Olivia wanted to know.
"Hush," the two adults said at the same time. They'd both seemed to forget she was even there.
Truth be told, Olivia was shocked to realize that Victor and Mateo's mom had any sort of a past. And she was starting to suspect that she'd had the only drama-free quinceañera in the history of Avalor.
Sra. de Alva went back to fixing Olivia's hair. "Why would you even seek out my company? You used to call me 'the meddlesome maiden.'"
"We were children then," Victor protested.
"Now you call me 'the meddlesome matron.'" She fixed him with a look. "A word of advice – if you didn't want me to know, you shouldn't have used that nickname with my son."
She patted Olivia on the shoulder. "All finished." Then she said to Victor, "Anyway, I already have an escort for the wedding."
"Who?" Victor asked, surprised.
"Pablo Agama."
"The explorer?"
"His brother." Mateo's mom gathered up her things. "If Mateo returns, tell him I'll be back in a bit. I have a new recipe that Cook simply must learn." She swept out of the room without looking back.
Both apprentices just stared at the door for a moment. "Well?" he snapped. "Didn't you want to go down to the biblioteca? I wouldn't think Mateo's best apprentice would skip such an opportunity."
"That is it!" Olivia exploded. "Just what is your problem with me, Victor?" She was through "Sr. Delgado"-ing him.
"Who said I have a problem with you?"
"Oh, I don't know. Nearly drowning me in the ocean? Calling me a fool? Accusing me of sharing magical secrets with a notorious malvaga? Being disappointed I escaped from Fiero?"
"Hey, that's not true!" Victor protested.
"But you are angry at me."
"I was," Victor sighed.
"Why? Just because I disobeyed Mateo?" Olivia didn't get it.
"Because Mateo favors you! You have access to the biblioteca whenever you want, you get extra lessons…"
"You're the one Mateo takes out into the field, not me," Olivia interrupted. "You're the one he trusts…"
"No one trusts me," her fellow apprentice stated bitterly. He slumped back down on the divan.
"That's not true," she said as she sat down beside him. "Lots of people trust you…" Olivia paused as Victor raised an eyebrow. "Well, some people trust you."
"Do you?"
"I used to, before all this. I thought we were all on the same team. Team Magic. You, me, Mateo, Carla." Victor smiled briefly. "But ever since Nueva Vista you can't stand me anymore." Olivia realized that she wasn't just angry; she was also hurt.
"It's not that," the man shook his head. "On Esteban's ship I was angry at Esteban, at Carla, at Mateo – and at you for being better at magic than I am."
"But I've been studying longer!" Olivia answered. "It stands to reason that I'd know more than – wait, are you jealous of me?"
"Of course," the ex-malvago said in faint surprise. "I'd have thought that was obvious."
"But there are so few wizards in Avalor! Shouldn't we just all learn from each other? It's not a competition!"
"Since childhood I've seen everything as a competition. Old habits can be very hard to break." Victor looked at her sideways. "And then you came back defending Ash."
She responded severely. "Would you have been happier if Fiero had…had won?"
"No, of course not!" he said adamantly. "And…I was wrong to blame you for being deceived by Ash. She is a truly evil woman, and you've had no experience with evil."
Olivia was about to retort that Victor was wrong about Ash, even though she knew he wouldn't listen. A sudden thought came to her – if she knew she couldn't convince him, why start up the argument again?
Olivia, who always said the first thought that came to mind, held her tongue for once. Was this growing up? "Agree to disagree."
Despite himself, Victor gave her a half smile.
"For now." He seemed to be considering his words as he plucked a cookie from the pile of dishes on the table and popped it in his mouth. Victor didn't usually hesitate. His fellow apprentice wondered what was on his mind. "You know that Mateo is concerned about us fighting."
"Well, sure. Like I said, there are so few of us wizards, and we're stronger together. It doesn't look good for the royal wizard's apprentices to be squabbling among themselves."
"No, I mean when we're no longer apprentices," the ex-malvago said quietly. "Like Fiero and Alacazar."
"But they were enemies!" Olivia protested.
"They were once the best of friends, until ambition came between them."
Olivia furrowed her brow in consternation. She'd heard so many stories of Mateo's kindly grandfather, some from Mateo and even more from Elena, who'd known him for longer. And she'd had the misfortune of spending time in the evil Fiero's company. How could they ever have been friends?
"Their battle caused a great deal of destruction in Avalor. You can understand how Mateo would not wish a repeat performance."
"But…they hated each other. Our bickering isn't the same thing at all."
"I happen to agree with you…now. But you're not that much younger than I was when I helped Shuriki invade Avalor. In the coming years if – when – you see me as a threat and have the power to do something about it, will you?"
"You make it sound like I'm going to turn into a malvago," Olivia snickered. Then she realized Victor wasn't laughing. "You really think I could be a malvago?" She asked, stunned.
"As I said to Mateo earlier, I have known the greatest wizards of our time. Ash, for all her faults, is perhaps one of the most powerful. No other wizard I know can not just memorize spells, but create completely new ones. She is seemingly unbound by the rules of magic that govern the rest of us. And so, my dear, are you."
"I follow the rules of magic! I just like understanding how they work, and that lets me do more stuff," the apprentice wizard insisted. "That doesn't make me evil!"
"No, but it's why I fear you."
"But I'm not scary!" Was she?
"You are far more powerful than you realize." The way Victor said it didn't sound flattering. "One of the most powerful wizards I know, in fact. But your youth blinds…"Victor broke off as if he'd said too much, but Olivia could guess the rest of the thought.
"I don't mean to be scary," she said in a small voice. "You really worry I'll turn evil?"
Her fellow apprentice looked at her for a moment. "No," he said finally. "I don't. It's like you told Mateo earlier. You don't see the use of having magic if you can't help people. That is what makes you different than Ash. I'm sorry I didn't see it before.
"Do you think you can learn to trust me again?"
"Of course," Olivia said promptly. "We wizards have to stick together." She held out her hand and he shook it. "Just don't attack without warning again."
"I'll see what I can do," Victor replied drily. "And, please, don't go behind Mateo's back again."
"I'll see what I can do," she repeated, and Victor laughed and shook his head. Picking up his book, he rose to leave, when something else occurred to Olivia.
"Who was Misa?"
Victor was startled for a moment, and then said, "Oh, right. Melisa. She was the daughter of King Raúl's Chancellor María Soñadora. Misa and Princess Isabel were inseparable back in those days, and sometimes Rafa would play with them, though she was a few years older." Olivia was taken aback by that. It was hard to remember that fifteen-year-old Isabel was born over fifty years ago and was only still a teenager now because she'd been trapped in a magical painting for decades. She never talked about her pre-painting childhood. It was really weird to imagine her playing as a child with Mateo's mom, though. But weird was part of magic after all, so Olivia just shrugged it off and went down the stairs to the biblioteca.
AN: A story cannot contain a song, of course. But if you would like one, imagine this: a rumba sung by Mateo, alone in the magical library, to the portrait of his grandfather, entitled "Ayúdame, abuelo." He wants to do right by his apprentices, but fears he lacks the wisdom. He asks his grandfather what he would have done.