LOVE & MAGIC

Chapter Six: Is not Unusual

It wasn't a wonder that a week after my little encounter – up close and personal – with the river, my brother showed up at the Windam Palace. As it was expected he asked for audience with Christopher, you know protocol, and as he waited he ran into Carla and Carla took him to the library, where I had been hiding from Chris. He tried to apologize, I said, "Ok, sure, whatever" and asked to be transferred back to the common guard but he wouldn't let me so I started to take sick days.

I was perfectly okay, mind you. I was going to get a little scar but it was hidden in my hair so I wasn't even mad about that, but I had been taking seven consecutive days of sickness and I know it was pushing it but I didn't care, I wanted to be back in the common guard. I need to be back in the common guard and far away from Chris as soon as possible.

Is not that I didn't like him, or that I was mad at him for being a jerk. That was the problem, that I wasn't mad and that I did like him. I had taken an oath of never falling in love again, that night when I had heard of my sister's engagement to the man I had loved for the past two years. I couldn't risk my heart again, there would be nothing left of me and I knew it, that's why I took that oath. But Chris was too good looking for his own good… true, he exasperated me but he also made me laugh and I knew for a fact that wasn't a good combination.

In fact that had been the combination that had spelled my doom with Adam: Cute, good looking, funny and exasperating. I wasn't willing to take risks.

"Oh, Kaz, I was worried sick about you!" Marco said throwing his arms around me.

"Ok, ok, just easy with the squeeze," I said.

He didn't hear, whoever, "I just had this really bad feeling in my gut and I knew I had to come here to see you."

"I'm fine, bro, really." I said, speaking pass my lack of air.

"Why do you sound so funny?"

"Mm… I think she needs some air." Carla said. Marco turned to look at her as if she was nuts but then turned back to me and let me go.

"Thank goodness," I said rubbing my ribcage. Just then I looked at him, Marco hadn't change one single bit, I hadn't seen him in two months and I had missed him dearly. Just then it occurred to me, "How did you recognized me?"

"Oh," he said blinking. "Well, Jadzia said that I probably would. She said that there is no magic that can fool love so, since I love the real person, I would be able to see you, the real you, always even when my level of magic is down in the negative side of the charts."

Carla started to laugh again, "You have no idea how funny it was. Because to me you look like guy…"

"Oh, speaking of which. I talked to Jadzia, she said that the constant use of magic might be taking a toll on you, so she gave me this," he pulled out of his pocket another pendant –this one was blue, the one hanging from my neck was light green – she said this one will keep up the magic indefinitely so you wouldn't have to use so much of your own energy. If you want to look like yourself just take the pendant off."

After he had safely tucked the green pendant in his pocket, we started to chat. True to my word I was making and effort for Carla and Marco to hook up, though I didn't need to strain myself hard, those two liked the looks of each other almost immediately. Marco was telling Carla all sorts of embarrassing stories about our childhood – like my secret passion for fishing.

"Oh, man, that was fun!" I said laughing. And then added with a bit of a sigh, "I miss wearing skirts,"

"Um, Kaze, do I need to remind you that you used to hide under my bed each time mom wanted you to don a skirt?"

I blinked, trust Marco to remember that kind of thing, "I'll rephrase that. I miss the option of wearing a skirt. Men's clothing is quite monochromatic," I said pointing to my outfit, which was black trousers and white shirt. The same thing I'd been wearing everyday for the past couple of months.

"I guess." He said with a shrug. Marco never worries about his looks but he looks fine most of the time, he has this really green eyes and dark hair though not as dark as mine, isn't exactly quite light as Emily's.

"Prince Marco," Christopher called walking in the library. "A pleasure as always,"

"Is nice to see you well, your majesty," Marco said lapsing back to the formal detached tone of a future monarch.

"As well as one can be," he said pleasantly. Though they got along, they had never been what you could call chummy. "To what do I owe your visit?"

"My sister, actually." Marco had already informed me what he was going to say so I wouldn't look too surprised to hear.

"Emma?" Chris asked looking perplexed. It was common knowledge back home that Emily had had a crush on Chris when she was fifteen or so.

"Emily, that's my older sister but I wasn't talking about her. The problem is Kaze actually, she ran away a few weeks ago."

"What happened?" I asked fake surprised.

"Well, she didn't take the news of her upcoming nuptials too well," Marco said looking all concerned, he liked drama that was for sure. "My father sent me to ask you and your guards that if you see her please let us know. But, on a more personal note, please don't."

"What do you mean?" Chris asked.

"Well, see, the night father told her she had to marry Lord Melnick, Kaze just got up and said something about that she wouldn't do it and after that no one has seen her."

"Lord Melnick, EW!!!" Carla said emphatically, "No wonder why she ran away, I would have ran too, and twice as fast."

"Those are exactly my feelings on the subject," Marco said with a smile in Carla's direction, I tell you, I was already hearing wedding bells for those two, it might seem rushed but I know my brother. "That's why, if you see her, please don't send her home."

"I don't think she'll come this way," I said with a smile, "you know how Kaz feels about…" I looked to Chris.

"You're probably right, Kyle." Marco said, "But you never know, twisted little mind that one had,"

"Yeah, true."

"Hey! I know," Carla chimed in suddenly, after a moment of silence, Chris looked rather meditative, "Let's throw a ball," she winked in my direction and I swear I saw the little engrains of her brain working, Carla had told me she had wanted to dance with my brother since that time like three or four years ago than she had first seen him.

"What?!" Chris asked surprised.

"Yeah, it's the protocol, Christopher. When a ruler of another country comes to visit you ought to throw a ball, is what it's done."

"But his sister is missing, I don't think Marco wants to attend a ball, he must be worried."

"About Kaze?" Marco asked amused, "Nah, she is a tough cookie, I'm sure she is fine," he said throwing me a meaningful look, I could see in his eyes that he was proud of me, "she is, let say, resourceful."

"Okay, then is settled!" Carla said, "Come, Marco, I'll show you your room, then grams and I will get into preparing that ball."

Marco and Carla went away chatting merrily.

Chris slumped into a chair near mine, I was pretending to read this book called "Meditations of a perturbed mind", real cool book.

"Why so glum, chum?" I asked after a while in which Chris looked rather depressed.

"Suddenly decided to talk to me again?" he asked sarcastically.

"Well… I'll shut up then," I said looking back to my book.

"Is just that I don't think this ball thing is a good idea?"

I digested this, "Funny I thought you would like dances, isn't that the place where guys like you pick up girls?"

"Guys like me?"

"You know, the 'I'll-bed-anyone-with-breasts' kind."

"Au contraire of what people think, I'm not like that," he said sounding really hurt. "I just don't like dances, ok?"

"Why? Have two left foots?"

"No, dancing is ok. What I can't put up with is with the singing part."

"Singing part?"

"Of course, you know what kind of Balls Carla likes? Masquerades. And you know what you're supposed to do in a Masquerade ball?"

"Oh," I did know this, "The guests have to sing, right?"

"Yeah. So does the host."

"Talk about embarrassing." I said. "Thank God I'm taking a sick night too," I said calmly turning the page of my book and ignoring him.

"Yeah, talk about embarrassing."

End of Chapter Six.

…

This one was just a little filler for the dance coming in the next chapter.

Gotta go now. Sister is kicking me out of the chair.

Thanks for reading everyone!

Little tease from the next chapter?

I told Chris my name was Kaz, only that I said it as if it was spelled Cass... let him believe my name was Cassandra, is not like he would ever see me again. I couldn't take risks. It was bad enough I though he was attractive; I couldn't take the risk of falling in love.

I had made an oath. And oaths aren't a something to be toyed with when you have magic like I do for your magic will hold you to your oaths; first it will go against you till you almost die then against what you love the most because everyone know you never go for death when you can go for pain.

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Thanks! :D

Lots of love

Alex.