My longest story (chapter wise) and our masterpiece. Now it's the holidays it might die down a bit, but all should be ok, I have enough stored to 'set things right'.
*We don't own the characters. We own the depressing story we put them in.*
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Chapter ten: The spell is cast
Roger circled the redhead hungrily. He stepped forward tentatively, but jumped back when the redhead's eyes opened wide.
Slowly, stepping carefully, Roger got ready for the kill (metaphorically speaking). He lunged forward and fell onto Cleon.
"Roger," said Alex tiredly, "What on Earth are you trying to do?"
"Oh!" Roger stood up suddenly and straightened his clothes. "Um… I um…"
Alex sighed wearily. "Roger, this boy is an idiot. It's not going to work with him - he'd probably think you were doing his mathematics homework!"
"Well what do you suppose we should do?" Roger whined.
"Hurry up and cast the spell on him?" said Alex, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"But…" Roger glanced nervously in the direction pf the room in which Joren was napping, "Wouldn't he notice?"
Alex sighed exasperatedly. "Then convince him! You're the one who wants it to work so much!"
Roger wanted to point out that Alex was the one who wanted so desperately to get out of the triangle, but that would not have been a smart thing to say when he was in danger of being bested by Thom again. Alex would surely go to Thom if Roger failed to cast the image spell on Cleon.
Roger gulped. Maybe he'd even be excluded out of the square!
He closed his eyes and concentrated hard.
"Reversus Revolvus,
"Returnus Resolvus,
"Illio Allio,
"Reduct Reducio!" he shouted. Wind rushed past and papers flew around. The wind was so strong it ripped off Cleon's shirt.
Alex rolled his eyes. "Roger, let's face it, you're just not as good as Thom."
Roger's spell cleared, leaving a shirtless Cleon shivering on the floor, sucking his thumb.
"Well, I'm sorry!" Roger cried, "It's all about Thom isn't it? Yeah, he's smart, he's a good sorcerer, he's sexy! Why don't you just go sleep with him then?"
As soon as the finished speaking, Roger regretted his words. This is it, he thought, now I'm going to lose Alex! He waited for Alex to blow up.
But "You think Thom is sexy?" was all that Alex said, a smile on his face.
Roger sucked in his cheeks. "No… I think Thom is UGLY!"
Alex raised his eyebrows, the smile still playing across his face.
"So that's that." Said Roger uncomfortably. "This Cleon, why does he behave so inappropriately?"
"I don't know…" Alex looked in Cleon's direction and thought he saw Cleon shrink. "Roger, I think it's working!"
The two of them watched as the big bulky Cleon turned into a much smaller, much prettier boy. And while the boy continued to suck his thumb and utter the odd "husband" and "Wife", Roger thought he looked like a very suitable complement.
"Hullo Merric!" said Roger sweetly, gently tapping 'Merric' on the head.
"But onh wanna be a child!" wailed 'Merric'.
"Hm…" Alex rubbed his chin. "He doesn't seem to have changed in personality."
"The spell only changed physical characteristics!" Roger snapped.
Alex shrugged. "Oh well. Will have to do. All right. Let's go show him to Joren."
Roger glanced at 'Merric'. "Now?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Well…" Roger trailed off. "Shouldn't we, you know, test him out or something first? We wouldn't want to present Joren with a faulty product."
Alex poked 'Merric's' neck. "Ow!" cried 'Merric'.
"He works." Said Alex, "Let's go."
"But…" spluttered Roger.
"What?"
Roger was very tempted to say something irritating, but he threw his arms in front of him and stalked off.
Alex shrugged and followed, leading 'Merric'.
They got to Joren's door and stopped. Roger raised a hand to knock but stopped, blushing.
"You go," he whispered to Alex.
Alex rolled his eyes. "Merric, would you like to knock on the door?"
Cleon started blankly back at him.
Alex sighed. "Rat-a-tat Cleon! Knock on the big brown door!"
Cleon obediently did as he was told.
Alex saw this improvement and tried again.
"Cleon," explained Alex, "We are going to play a role switching game. My name is normally Roger, but today I'm going to be Alex. Got it? I'm Alex now."
Cleon nodded.
"So you're going to be Merric, ok?"
Cleon nodded, and then shook his head. "No!" he exclaimed, "I don't want to be Merric!"
"Why not?" despaired Roger.
"Merric is a baby and he steals all my mice! He says they eat his pants and then he can't wear them!"
Roger thought hard, "Does Merric really do those things?"
Cleon nodded solemnly.
"The point is," Alex interrupted, "We're playing a game and you need a new name. How about Flugent?"
Cleon shook his head. "No."
"Melpomaen then?"
"No."
"Pansy?"
"NO. I don't like that name."
"So what do you want to be called?" asked Roger, exasperated.
Cleon pouted for a second. "You promise you won't laugh?" he asked.
Roger and Alex exchanged glances. "Promise."
"I want to be called Keladry."
Alex raised his eyebrows. "Alright… if that's what you want… Keladry."
Cleon giggled delightedly and clapped his hands.
"At least he's normal, wanting a girl's name," Roger muttered to Alex.
Alex wasn't listening. "Why hasn't Joren opened the door yet?"
Roger frowned. He turned the handle and opened the door to Joren's room and let out a gasp.
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What did he see? What has Joren done this time? Sorry for the cliffie, but you will find out next time.