If Wishes Came True

Piratewench5309

Disclaimer: So they're not mine. I'll get over it eventually I swear. I'm not an addict, I can stop anytime!

Chapter 10: Discoveries

December, 14, 468 H. E.

Gray Palace, Rajmuat, Copper Isles

10:00 A.M.

After spending the last twelve and a half hours by Senna's bedside, waiting for her to awake, Taybur was starting to get a little edgy. It didn't help that the duke from Tyra, Seiko, was still there. He didn't like the man at all and his presence, even without the aid of a prominent crisis, put Taybur on edge.

Taybur stood, leaning against a wall near to Senna's bed and occasionally letting his glance wander from her to the window. Seiko, small and dark, sat in a luxurious chair across the room. Numair, the only magic user in the room, had taken up a stool and the task of trying to nurse Senna back to health, or at the very least, back to consciousness.

He had spent the first eight hours glancing constantly from her to his books and back again. This confused Taybur to no end because it was reputed that Numair was one of the best mages around. Surely he wouldn't need to consult a manual on something as simple as a girl fainting. But Taybur was not an expert on these things so he did not interfere. He and Seiko allowed Numair to continue with his quiet consulting. Eventually Numair heaved a deep sigh, set the book down and walked into Senna's attached bathroom. He briefly used the washing basin to splash some water on his face and hands and wake himself up a bit. After drying himself off, he walked back to the bed and began pulling materials out of the pouch hanging at his waist. He sprinkled a circle of some small particles around the bed, allowing a small break for himself to walk in. Taybur had finally had enough at this point and decided to speak up.

"Excuse me for asking, but what exactly are you doing Mr. Goldeneye?" Taybur asked. He decided to be polite since he was positive that this man could boil him into oblivion if he wanted to.

"Just wait, I will be done soon." The man had replied, obviously too stressed out to hazard a long explanation.

With that he stepped inside, closed the circle and said a word beyond Taybur's comprehension. Immediately a flare of black fire sprang up and engulfed the circle surrounding Numair and Senna in a dome of fire. Taybur and Seiko seeing this, panicked. Seiko leaped out of his seat, his curly and tousled black hair flinging drops of sweat around the room. His crystal blue eyes were traced with worry and fear. Taybur expressed similar sentiment, leaping forward and drawing his sword. He tried to attack the circle with his sword but was only flung back in the opposite direction. It registered in his mind that the dome had been cool to the touch. He calmed down a bit and looked inside the circle. Both Numair and Senna seemed alright so he calmed down and sat slumped in the nearby vanity chair.

Taybur watched as Seiko paced back in forth with anxious worry, stopping every once in a while to glance at Senna through that black veil. His anxiousness started to make Taybur angrier and angrier, what right did this Tyran lord have to be worried about his Senna. Well, she's not quite my Senna. But she is under my watch, by both Ally and the Queen now so, I am her protector. Either way Seiko was starting to drive him insane with the swishing of his robes every time he passed. Finally Taybur could handle no more and stood as Seiko passed him. On the return trip, he firmly grasped Seiko's shoulder in his steely hands and guided him gently but surely into the chair that he had so infuriatingly vacated. Seiko took this hint and sat, not wanting to worry about anything else but Senna. After a few minutes, Seiko got up again, not without a few dangerous glances from Taybur, took up Numair's book and sat back down. Thus occupying himself, he ceased to bother Taybur who found distraction among his own thoughts.

Hours went on like this, four more to be exact. Thankfully Taybur was one who could withdraw easily from the world around him. Otherwise watching the glowing black dome glitter ominously would have surely driven him mad.

It took Taybur a few minutes to realize the dome was gone at first; he had been so wholly enveloped in his thoughts that he could not recall a specific place in time where Numair had taken down the dome and cleaned up the circle. He found this of no consequence however, he was just happy the monstrous thing was gone. Numair had finished with his work and was in the privy, washing up once more. Seiko was at Senna's bedside, looking over her, which infuriated him to no end, and as he stood up, Ally, Nomru and the Queen all entered the room. They were followed by a gaggle of servants who carried cushioned stools and they all took a seat around Senna's bed. Taybur and Seiko joined them as Numair took his place at the foot of Senna's bed. Numair slumped against the bed looking tousled, disheveled and generally exhausted as he readied to spout his findings.

"The good news is that Senna is in no way sick. The bad news is that I only have a very limited knowledge of what is "wrong" with her. Well not exactly, I know what happened…" Numair took a breath. This was harder to explain than it was to understand. "Senna has an extremely rare form of the gift called the Speech. It is similar to both the Gift and the Sight in that one who possesses it can see magic around them, and conduct their own magic. However, it is a much more complicated, and as a result much more encompassing, form of magic. One wields it by convincing someone or something, through either common language or another form of magical language, that they are or are not whatever the wielder wants them to be. As you can imagine this is a very difficult form of magic to master. Which brings us to Senna. You see, Senna has the ability to wield this magic. What happened in that ballroom is that she used the magic, apparently without knowing it and with no prior knowledge of her ability, to cast an enchantment over two hundred people. Naturally without experience the enchantment did not hold long and it completely exhausted her, mentally and physically. Thus her fainting spell was really nothing to worry about. The greater problem is how she used such a mass of raw magic without knowing she even possessed it and how she will learn to harness this magic." Numair sighed. He this was a much more complicated task than he could even begin to convey and yet he knew exactly what their response would be.

The first one to pipe up and say something was Taybur, "So, basically you're saying she's alright. Better than alright even, she has the gift."

"Yes she's alright," Numair began, a little frustrated "but she has such a rare form of the gift that there are perhaps one to ten people born with it every fifty years and therefore little to know information is known about it."

Seiko spoke up "Isn't there a mage that has some information on this? I mean it exists so there must be someone who specializes in it right? We are at a mage conference."

Numair shook his head angrily, "There is no specialist Lord Seiko." At least none that I know of he added mentally.

"Forgive me for saying so Numair," Ally chimed in "but isn't it the responsibility of the mage that finds a gift to train the student?"

Numair sighed. He had known it was coming. "Yes Ally, it is. Which means I will be here for a while since I will have to teach this girl."

"It seems appropriate," The Queen added, "You are the best mage I know of. Perhaps, to waylay future problems such as this you will document your work with her and publish it? It would be an unparalleled contribution to my conference and I would be more than happy to fund the publishing." It was more of a decree than a request.

Numair was earnestly surprised. He had, of course, planned on documenting his work, but the Queen offering to publish it, out of her own purse? It was something he could only hope for. He bowed to her in acquiescence. "I would be more than happy to your majesty."

At this point, the heretofore-silent Nomru spoke up, "Please, allow me to help with the fees. I feel I have been rather, absent, in my niece's dealings of late. I should have recognized this problem." He bowed his head a little in apparent shame.

Numair was quick to comfort, "Don't be silly duke, you could not have recognized such a thing on your own, much less in daily acquaintance. It took me a diligent twelve hours of work, digging and searching that is, to locate the source of the problem."

"Still though, I feel no little discomfort about this. I feel obligated to help in whatever way I can." Numair inclined his head to the duke in understanding and acceptance.

"So it is settled then, I will have myself a student." At this, Senna stirred from her sleep, looking briefly around the room. A look of pure confusion settled around her features like the blankets she was so tightly coddled in. Her eyes passed the room settling briefly on each face, identifying them as friends. So she was not in a hostile environment at least, that was something. For some reason her eyes stayed when they landed on Numair and she felt something strongly familiar about him that she couldn't quite place her finger on. Of course she had met him at dinner, but that wasn't it. She only searched her mind for a few more moments before Numair opened his mouth to speak.

"Welcome back to the world of the living mageling." He said with a smile.

………….

AN: Ahh, doesn't it feel good to get a chapter done? Yes it does. tosses hair about in a refreshingly fresh way Alright so now for ther reviews…

Luna y sol: Thanks! I really don't think that well of myself as far as updating goes, but so long as you're happy!

Trickster-812: Hi! Thanks, of course I'll keep writing, at least until I finish this story (and then probably until I finish the "wishes" series.

Sunrose Angel: thanks! I'm glad you like it. Millions? That's a lot… ; p

Amaya: Hooray! I'ts always wonderful to be a favorite! I'm glad you checked out the song I wasn't sure anyone would. A lot of times I catch my errors right after I post, but I'm too lazy to edit and repost, besides that would take time away from me writing the next chapter! ­