Hello. I'm taking advantage of a holiday to finish the chapter in my head.
Taming a Tiger is still on hold, sorry. Thank you for reading this
chapter. Finished in one day.
................
"You mean....you mean....you're....." Sanosuke sputtered, looking in disbelief.
"You're really a wizard?" Yahiko finished, eyes moving back and forth from Kaoru to Kenshin.
The fiery haired wizard nodded, as he slowly extracted the arrow from the younger magician's shoulder. He placed it to one side of the makeshift bed, took up a glistening piece of cloth from inside his garments, and began to stanch the bleeding.
"But....pal....why...why didn't you tell us?" Sanosuke asked. "And I've known you for YEARS!"
"Too much trouble for everybody," he answered. "Please get me a bucket of water."
The young stableman complied, and fetched the water. Meanwhile, the wizard tapped the cloth, releasing pinches of magic dust into it and through to the wound. "It's too strong! It will take everything I have to undo this!" he murmured.
Sanosuke returned with the water, Yahiko still gaping anxiously at his palefaced hag. "If...If you're a wizard, ol' pal, what the heck are you doing here with us? Why aren't you at the palace or something?"
"Too complicated, Sano." He took the bucket from him, and quickly washed the cloth in the water. The water almost immediately turned black. "The poison is too strong, alright. Sano, throw this out on the street. Not on any plants; they will die in an instant. And...and...." He faltered and swayed. "And....get another bucket of water, hurry, please." He faced away from Kaoru and coughed.
As Sanosuke went out again, Yahiko looked at Kenshin with concern. He quickly inspected his hands and noted a small wound. "I got nicked by the arrow," he explained with a faint smile, as he tapped again at the cloth and continued stanching the wound, wavering somewhat. "There is a special poison ivy that magicians know about, my little friend, the most powerful of its kind. It grows best in Lord Shishio's territory." He lost his grip on the cloth, coughed, and panted. "So it is truly he who is trying to invade the prince's domains." With difficulty, he placed the cloth back over Kaoru's shoulder and continued tapping.
When Sanosuke returned, he carefully lowered the bucket before speaking. "Um...pal...you alright? Your hair....is acting weird."
Indeed, the wizard's hair was going through all the possible shades of red, staying faded orange or auburn for minutes on end. Still, he wrung the cloth into the bucket of water, panted and coughed, and placed the cloth over her shoulder. "Just one more time, and.... the poison ....will be all gone. I...will not....let her....die....on my word of honor....I...will not....let her die."
He gave the cloth a few more taps, before he collapsed over the hay.
...........
"You have done a good job cleaning this place up, Megumi," his majesty praised the current palace magician with a caress to her hair. "When Kaoru was around, bottles were all over the floor, and broken wands scattered throughout the room."
"She was a rookie," she batted her eyes at the prince, and stroked his chin. "I'm more than a professional."
"That's what I like to hear," he replied, and landed a kiss to her forehead.
The snow prince had begged her to take him to her magician's quarters, eyes full of expectation of a pleasant evening away from the princess and other prying eyes. So far, Megumi had not favored him with an evening of full pleasure, even if he knew she was fully capable of doing so.
In the magician's quarters, everything was organized and impeccable. Bottles to one wall, potions being made classified by type on a table, books on another wall. Even her bedroom was clean...and inviting.
Despite Megumi's discreet efforts, the prince, Eyes of Malice firmly perched over his nose, could not be stayed. Something drastic had to happen to make him stop.
Fortunately for her, something drastic did happen.
From the corner of her eye, from the middle of her bookshelf, Megumi noted the consistent, unrelenting flashing of a particular book. It was rather thick, somewhat worn, but otherwise ordinary. But the flashing sent waves of concern over the magician.
"Something the matter, my dear?" he asked with a purr and a hand at her waist.
She wrenched herself free of the snow prince. "Forgive me, your highness, but there is a high-level emergency of the magician's guild. I really must go."
His eyes glistened with evil longing. "I won't let you." He grabbed her and held her with an iron grip.
Her eyes remained on the book, now flashing faster than before. She made up her mind. "I don't care what Aoshi does to me."
She placed a hand over his forehead. "My sincerest apologies, your highness." She chanted.
"Forgetful Slumber" sent the prince to the floor in a deep sleep. She placed a hand over his heart. "Temporary Overwrite: May you someday remember the goodness of your heart." Another spell brought him to her bed. "I will be back in a few hours, your majesty. But right now, if my hunch is correct, the fiery-haired wizard is in deep trouble....that heartless fiend Aoshi...."
She grabbed the flashing book and teleported out of the magician's quarters.
She materialized just outside the royal stables, and checked her book, still blinking furiously. She flipped through the pages in haste.
The book was her copy of the official magician directory, and it was starting to make drastic changes to all lists. Flipping to the end of the directory, she gasped. A name blinked in and out of the obituary section. Kenshin. In the other pages, his name was also fading from the top of the lists.
If there was a change due to promotion or demotion, the directory glowed at the particular section affected. A warm glow signified a happy change in the listings. However, if changes are because of an impending human loss to the guild, the book gave out warning flashes. If it was in the power of any guild member to alter a magician's fate, a flashing directory was a perfect time to do so.
"I hope I'm not too late!" Megumi prayed, as she opened the stable gates.
...........
Kaoru slowly thawed out of the Deep Freeze spell. She had faith in the wizard, and fully expected to be alive. As she wiggled her toes and checked her shoulder, she thanked her good fortune in meeting him. She thanked his kindness, when she saw the cloth over her wounded shoulder.
But where was he? And why had she managed to thaw out of the spell by herself? It was a cardinal rule: spells stayed in place unless a stronger one countered it, or something bad happened to the spellcaster. Did that mean......
She looked down to the floor beside the bed. She found the hair of her wizard a very pale auburn, and the wizard himself lifeless beside a beautiful woman holding his hand.
"Who...who are you?" she asked the woman peering anxiously over him.
"Your replacement," she answered with haughty eyes. "It's good you're finally awake. Help me."
"My...my....replacement?!" Kaoru's jaw dropped. Then she shook her head. Personal matters later. "Um..um....how....do I help you?"
"I'm better than you, that's clear, but even at my level I don't know the ultimate recovery spell. That is the only thing that will save him now."
"He managed to get rid of all the poison in your system," Sanosuke explained from beside them, "but he got some into himself, and it acted faster on him than it did on you."
In the middle of her shock, Kaoru suddenly felt like she was no longer in control of herself. And not because of her shock.
"Ultimate...recovery....is different for all magicians..." she began to drone without knowing why. "Because...everyone......has different....life experiences.....do you understand.....Megumi, milady?"
Kaoru regained a little control. "Your name is Megumi?" she asked the magician.
"Yes.....but this is the first time we have met, right?" Megumi confirmed.
Kaoru fell again into a trance. "Recovery spell.....combination of words.....cannot....do it alone.....too long ago.....cannot remember them....."
Megumi looked down at Kenshin, whose condition had not changed. "Transference?" she asked, as she looked up at the entranced Kaoru. "In his condition? Astounding!"
"Tomoe....Tomoe......" Kaoru droned.
"But that hag's name is Kaoru!" Yahiko interrupted, pointing at the hag.
"That would mean....." Megumi fumbled around the wizard's clothes. "Where is it? The blue stone? Where is it?"
"Left...pocket......milady.....please.....hurry....." Kaoru answered.
Megumi quickly took out the sapphire from the pocket, and looked at it well. The woman of the stone eventually appeared. "So your name is Tomoe," she addressed the stone. She chanted. "Resurface the memories." She then placed the stone into his hand and held it tight. She addressed Kaoru, entranced or not did not matter. "Give me the words as they come." Kaoru nodded.
The words came slowly, but earnestly.
"White plums.......spring morning......summer afternoon........long silk hair, beside me..."
"Good....good, keep going, Kaoru," Megumi encouraged.
"These....are the words.....that bring me....to life."
Megumi peered down at the stone, and saw the pretty smiling face of the woman inside. Then the woman disappeared.
But Kaoru was still droning.
"Cherry blossoms......summer day.....faith in what used to be......"
Megumi looked down again at the stone. Seeing no change in the stone, she looked up at Kaoru, and saw a slight smile form in the wizard's face. She understood.
"Trust in what I always will be.......these.....are the words......that bring me to life."
With that, Kaoru was released from the trance, and the wizard's hair turned another shade lighter.
Megumi spoke. "Waste no time, Kaoru. We're losing him quickly. Come down here, and hold the hand with the stone in it. Now repeat after me."
"Alright," she answered.
"White plums, spring morning, summer afternoon, she with long silk hair beside me: these are the words that bring me to life. Cherry blossoms, summer day, her faith in what used to be me, her trust in what I always will be: these are the words that bring me to life."
A magic she did not know she had began to flow, from Kaoru to Kenshin, from the blue stone to the wizard. "Keep fighting, great wizard. You have to," she cheered him on, and continued chanting.
As the words continued, as the energy flowed on, the color began to return to his hair and cheeks. Soon enough, his eyes fluttered open, and he began to mutter for himself.
"Of love and of trust, no magic has stronger power. These are the words that bring me to life."
He reached for the cloth, still on Kaoru's shoulder, and held it over his hand. "Poison Healing." He held it over his hands for five minutes, until the cloth was soaked in a black substance. He weakly waved a hand, and made the cloth disappear. The last of the poison had been removed.
He smiled at Megumi and Kaoru, and bowed. "I thank you both, kind ladies. I owe you my life."
"Thank you as well," Kaoru beamed back.
"What?! No thanks for the guy who went to fetch water back and forth and got worried sick about my ol' pal?!" Sanosuke protested.
"Of course, you have my thanks, Sano!" Kenshin chuckled.
Kaoru weakly looked into Kenshin's eyes. "You thought of me before you considered yourself." She leaned on his shoulder. "You have a very kind heart, great wizard." She closed her eyes, and fell asleep.
Megumi turned her back on them. "I used to look up to Aoshi that way," she sighed. She rose to depart.
"Do not lose faith in him, milady," Kenshin replied. "He has not forgotten the past entirely. Thank you for all your help."
"There is only one way you can thank me, great wizard," she said with clenched fist. "Destroy the Eyes of Malice."
He gaped.
"Swear to me you will do it!"
"Milady?"
"Swear! Or I will regret coming here!"
He lowered his head. "I promise."
"Good enough." She waved a hand, and dematerialized.
............
"Why can't you be as wonderful in bed as she, weasel?" the snow prince sneered at the princess the next morning.
"Is that what you did at her quarters last night, Eni-chan?" Misao asked with terror. "What exactly did you do?"
He cocked the evil spectacles well over his eyes. "You know what? I can't remember! But it doesn't matter, especially to you." He then walked away laughing at her ashen face. "Megumi was great...better than you ever will be!"
Misao cried, and gritted her teeth at the palace magician standing a few feet away.
"We did nothing last night, believe me, your highness," Megumi said. "I made up a story for him to tell. Hard as it might be to believe, I am on YOUR side."
"LIAR! USER! You horrible vixen!" Misao screamed through the tears. "How could you possibly help my side?"
"I just did; that's why I was away," the magician ran her fingers through her hair.
"You just did!" Misao laughed with sarcasm full in her tone. "You?! Don't tell me you found the antidote to the Eyes of Malice, because that's the only way you could help right now! Don't tell me you just found the wizard of kind heart and fiery hair!"
Megumi just looked her in the eyes for a few moments, then tossed her head. "You have no idea."
...............
My thanks for JML, CatH, AsianBaka, and Trupana (twice!) for the kind reviews. I'm so glad people still read Fire and Magic after SUCH a long time. Thanks again, and see you next time.
................
"You mean....you mean....you're....." Sanosuke sputtered, looking in disbelief.
"You're really a wizard?" Yahiko finished, eyes moving back and forth from Kaoru to Kenshin.
The fiery haired wizard nodded, as he slowly extracted the arrow from the younger magician's shoulder. He placed it to one side of the makeshift bed, took up a glistening piece of cloth from inside his garments, and began to stanch the bleeding.
"But....pal....why...why didn't you tell us?" Sanosuke asked. "And I've known you for YEARS!"
"Too much trouble for everybody," he answered. "Please get me a bucket of water."
The young stableman complied, and fetched the water. Meanwhile, the wizard tapped the cloth, releasing pinches of magic dust into it and through to the wound. "It's too strong! It will take everything I have to undo this!" he murmured.
Sanosuke returned with the water, Yahiko still gaping anxiously at his palefaced hag. "If...If you're a wizard, ol' pal, what the heck are you doing here with us? Why aren't you at the palace or something?"
"Too complicated, Sano." He took the bucket from him, and quickly washed the cloth in the water. The water almost immediately turned black. "The poison is too strong, alright. Sano, throw this out on the street. Not on any plants; they will die in an instant. And...and...." He faltered and swayed. "And....get another bucket of water, hurry, please." He faced away from Kaoru and coughed.
As Sanosuke went out again, Yahiko looked at Kenshin with concern. He quickly inspected his hands and noted a small wound. "I got nicked by the arrow," he explained with a faint smile, as he tapped again at the cloth and continued stanching the wound, wavering somewhat. "There is a special poison ivy that magicians know about, my little friend, the most powerful of its kind. It grows best in Lord Shishio's territory." He lost his grip on the cloth, coughed, and panted. "So it is truly he who is trying to invade the prince's domains." With difficulty, he placed the cloth back over Kaoru's shoulder and continued tapping.
When Sanosuke returned, he carefully lowered the bucket before speaking. "Um...pal...you alright? Your hair....is acting weird."
Indeed, the wizard's hair was going through all the possible shades of red, staying faded orange or auburn for minutes on end. Still, he wrung the cloth into the bucket of water, panted and coughed, and placed the cloth over her shoulder. "Just one more time, and.... the poison ....will be all gone. I...will not....let her....die....on my word of honor....I...will not....let her die."
He gave the cloth a few more taps, before he collapsed over the hay.
...........
"You have done a good job cleaning this place up, Megumi," his majesty praised the current palace magician with a caress to her hair. "When Kaoru was around, bottles were all over the floor, and broken wands scattered throughout the room."
"She was a rookie," she batted her eyes at the prince, and stroked his chin. "I'm more than a professional."
"That's what I like to hear," he replied, and landed a kiss to her forehead.
The snow prince had begged her to take him to her magician's quarters, eyes full of expectation of a pleasant evening away from the princess and other prying eyes. So far, Megumi had not favored him with an evening of full pleasure, even if he knew she was fully capable of doing so.
In the magician's quarters, everything was organized and impeccable. Bottles to one wall, potions being made classified by type on a table, books on another wall. Even her bedroom was clean...and inviting.
Despite Megumi's discreet efforts, the prince, Eyes of Malice firmly perched over his nose, could not be stayed. Something drastic had to happen to make him stop.
Fortunately for her, something drastic did happen.
From the corner of her eye, from the middle of her bookshelf, Megumi noted the consistent, unrelenting flashing of a particular book. It was rather thick, somewhat worn, but otherwise ordinary. But the flashing sent waves of concern over the magician.
"Something the matter, my dear?" he asked with a purr and a hand at her waist.
She wrenched herself free of the snow prince. "Forgive me, your highness, but there is a high-level emergency of the magician's guild. I really must go."
His eyes glistened with evil longing. "I won't let you." He grabbed her and held her with an iron grip.
Her eyes remained on the book, now flashing faster than before. She made up her mind. "I don't care what Aoshi does to me."
She placed a hand over his forehead. "My sincerest apologies, your highness." She chanted.
"Forgetful Slumber" sent the prince to the floor in a deep sleep. She placed a hand over his heart. "Temporary Overwrite: May you someday remember the goodness of your heart." Another spell brought him to her bed. "I will be back in a few hours, your majesty. But right now, if my hunch is correct, the fiery-haired wizard is in deep trouble....that heartless fiend Aoshi...."
She grabbed the flashing book and teleported out of the magician's quarters.
She materialized just outside the royal stables, and checked her book, still blinking furiously. She flipped through the pages in haste.
The book was her copy of the official magician directory, and it was starting to make drastic changes to all lists. Flipping to the end of the directory, she gasped. A name blinked in and out of the obituary section. Kenshin. In the other pages, his name was also fading from the top of the lists.
If there was a change due to promotion or demotion, the directory glowed at the particular section affected. A warm glow signified a happy change in the listings. However, if changes are because of an impending human loss to the guild, the book gave out warning flashes. If it was in the power of any guild member to alter a magician's fate, a flashing directory was a perfect time to do so.
"I hope I'm not too late!" Megumi prayed, as she opened the stable gates.
...........
Kaoru slowly thawed out of the Deep Freeze spell. She had faith in the wizard, and fully expected to be alive. As she wiggled her toes and checked her shoulder, she thanked her good fortune in meeting him. She thanked his kindness, when she saw the cloth over her wounded shoulder.
But where was he? And why had she managed to thaw out of the spell by herself? It was a cardinal rule: spells stayed in place unless a stronger one countered it, or something bad happened to the spellcaster. Did that mean......
She looked down to the floor beside the bed. She found the hair of her wizard a very pale auburn, and the wizard himself lifeless beside a beautiful woman holding his hand.
"Who...who are you?" she asked the woman peering anxiously over him.
"Your replacement," she answered with haughty eyes. "It's good you're finally awake. Help me."
"My...my....replacement?!" Kaoru's jaw dropped. Then she shook her head. Personal matters later. "Um..um....how....do I help you?"
"I'm better than you, that's clear, but even at my level I don't know the ultimate recovery spell. That is the only thing that will save him now."
"He managed to get rid of all the poison in your system," Sanosuke explained from beside them, "but he got some into himself, and it acted faster on him than it did on you."
In the middle of her shock, Kaoru suddenly felt like she was no longer in control of herself. And not because of her shock.
"Ultimate...recovery....is different for all magicians..." she began to drone without knowing why. "Because...everyone......has different....life experiences.....do you understand.....Megumi, milady?"
Kaoru regained a little control. "Your name is Megumi?" she asked the magician.
"Yes.....but this is the first time we have met, right?" Megumi confirmed.
Kaoru fell again into a trance. "Recovery spell.....combination of words.....cannot....do it alone.....too long ago.....cannot remember them....."
Megumi looked down at Kenshin, whose condition had not changed. "Transference?" she asked, as she looked up at the entranced Kaoru. "In his condition? Astounding!"
"Tomoe....Tomoe......" Kaoru droned.
"But that hag's name is Kaoru!" Yahiko interrupted, pointing at the hag.
"That would mean....." Megumi fumbled around the wizard's clothes. "Where is it? The blue stone? Where is it?"
"Left...pocket......milady.....please.....hurry....." Kaoru answered.
Megumi quickly took out the sapphire from the pocket, and looked at it well. The woman of the stone eventually appeared. "So your name is Tomoe," she addressed the stone. She chanted. "Resurface the memories." She then placed the stone into his hand and held it tight. She addressed Kaoru, entranced or not did not matter. "Give me the words as they come." Kaoru nodded.
The words came slowly, but earnestly.
"White plums.......spring morning......summer afternoon........long silk hair, beside me..."
"Good....good, keep going, Kaoru," Megumi encouraged.
"These....are the words.....that bring me....to life."
Megumi peered down at the stone, and saw the pretty smiling face of the woman inside. Then the woman disappeared.
But Kaoru was still droning.
"Cherry blossoms......summer day.....faith in what used to be......"
Megumi looked down again at the stone. Seeing no change in the stone, she looked up at Kaoru, and saw a slight smile form in the wizard's face. She understood.
"Trust in what I always will be.......these.....are the words......that bring me to life."
With that, Kaoru was released from the trance, and the wizard's hair turned another shade lighter.
Megumi spoke. "Waste no time, Kaoru. We're losing him quickly. Come down here, and hold the hand with the stone in it. Now repeat after me."
"Alright," she answered.
"White plums, spring morning, summer afternoon, she with long silk hair beside me: these are the words that bring me to life. Cherry blossoms, summer day, her faith in what used to be me, her trust in what I always will be: these are the words that bring me to life."
A magic she did not know she had began to flow, from Kaoru to Kenshin, from the blue stone to the wizard. "Keep fighting, great wizard. You have to," she cheered him on, and continued chanting.
As the words continued, as the energy flowed on, the color began to return to his hair and cheeks. Soon enough, his eyes fluttered open, and he began to mutter for himself.
"Of love and of trust, no magic has stronger power. These are the words that bring me to life."
He reached for the cloth, still on Kaoru's shoulder, and held it over his hand. "Poison Healing." He held it over his hands for five minutes, until the cloth was soaked in a black substance. He weakly waved a hand, and made the cloth disappear. The last of the poison had been removed.
He smiled at Megumi and Kaoru, and bowed. "I thank you both, kind ladies. I owe you my life."
"Thank you as well," Kaoru beamed back.
"What?! No thanks for the guy who went to fetch water back and forth and got worried sick about my ol' pal?!" Sanosuke protested.
"Of course, you have my thanks, Sano!" Kenshin chuckled.
Kaoru weakly looked into Kenshin's eyes. "You thought of me before you considered yourself." She leaned on his shoulder. "You have a very kind heart, great wizard." She closed her eyes, and fell asleep.
Megumi turned her back on them. "I used to look up to Aoshi that way," she sighed. She rose to depart.
"Do not lose faith in him, milady," Kenshin replied. "He has not forgotten the past entirely. Thank you for all your help."
"There is only one way you can thank me, great wizard," she said with clenched fist. "Destroy the Eyes of Malice."
He gaped.
"Swear to me you will do it!"
"Milady?"
"Swear! Or I will regret coming here!"
He lowered his head. "I promise."
"Good enough." She waved a hand, and dematerialized.
............
"Why can't you be as wonderful in bed as she, weasel?" the snow prince sneered at the princess the next morning.
"Is that what you did at her quarters last night, Eni-chan?" Misao asked with terror. "What exactly did you do?"
He cocked the evil spectacles well over his eyes. "You know what? I can't remember! But it doesn't matter, especially to you." He then walked away laughing at her ashen face. "Megumi was great...better than you ever will be!"
Misao cried, and gritted her teeth at the palace magician standing a few feet away.
"We did nothing last night, believe me, your highness," Megumi said. "I made up a story for him to tell. Hard as it might be to believe, I am on YOUR side."
"LIAR! USER! You horrible vixen!" Misao screamed through the tears. "How could you possibly help my side?"
"I just did; that's why I was away," the magician ran her fingers through her hair.
"You just did!" Misao laughed with sarcasm full in her tone. "You?! Don't tell me you found the antidote to the Eyes of Malice, because that's the only way you could help right now! Don't tell me you just found the wizard of kind heart and fiery hair!"
Megumi just looked her in the eyes for a few moments, then tossed her head. "You have no idea."
...............
My thanks for JML, CatH, AsianBaka, and Trupana (twice!) for the kind reviews. I'm so glad people still read Fire and Magic after SUCH a long time. Thanks again, and see you next time.