Messenger Owl

Holiday break. The vacation away from the academy that everyone had been waiting for had finally come around again. After a long, eventful evening at the Yule Ball, the students eagerly returned to their dorms to finish off any packing they had started. Sigmund dragged himself over to his side of the room, plopping down onto his velvet tufted desk chair and quickly folding his arms as Kyle entered the room behind him. The evening had been an embarrassing one for the sorcerer and he blamed the conjurer for the outcome, entirely.

"Sublöd zauberer..." Sigmund harshly scoffed under his breath, turning his back on Kyle when the comment's tone caught his attention. Kyle's brows furrowed as Sigmund angrily pulled off the jacket of his suit and tossed it aside.

"Excuse me? What's with you?"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Sigmund shouted suddenly, leaning over his desk, balling up his fists and resting them at his temples. "You ruined my evening!"

"What? How exactly did I ruin your night?"

"I'M SO MAD, I COULD JUST-AHHHH! DU DUMM, HÄSSLICH ZAUBERER!"

"Hey! H-hold on...DID YOU JUST CALL ME DUMB?!" Kyle jumped back when Sigmund abruptly stood up from his desk, fists glowing red with fire and expression brimming with anger.

"OF ALL THE WITCHES AT HALFMOON, YOU HAD TO CHOOSE THE ONE I WAS TRYING TO IMPRESS!"

"Sigmund, please! I-I didn't know! I didn't m-mean anything! What does it even matter?!"

"YOU MADE ME THE LAUGHING STOCK OF ALL MY FRIENDS! ALL OF ACADEMIA EVEN! I'LL BURN EVERY STRAND OF HAIR OFF YOUR BIG HEAD AND MAKE YOU THE JOKE INSTEAD!"

"SIGMUND STOP!"

As Sigmund raised his hands above his head and the flames grew, a light-hearted chime rang out suddenly in the room and caught the attention of the boys. It had come from the window and at it's ledge, a white owl was perched. They paused, eying the bird for a moment before Sigmund's hands blew out.

"Oh, hallo little one..." Sigmund spoke gently to the bird as if he hadn't been enraged before. He had a soft spot for animals. As Kyle straightened out, Sigmund forcefully zapped him with the tip of his finger to Kyle's neck, sending Kyle tumbling backwards in an instant.

"OUCH! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

Ignoring him, Sigmund approached the bird at the window. The chime had come from a tiny, golden bell that was attached to the owl's leg. Around it's neck, was a red ribbon and attached to the ribbon was a rolled piece of paper. Carefully, Sigmund removed the ribbon and paper from the owl, gave it a gentle pet and walked the letter over to his desk. Kyle gasped.

"H-hey! That letter is probably for me, not you!"

"Well, it should've been for me!" Sigmund spat back as he unrolled the paper. To his surprise, not only was the letter written on sparkling stationary paper, but it was also fragrant and smelled lightly of vanilla. The sorcerer couldn't help but swoon. The letter had surely come from no one other than Erin the Enchantress. Resting his head in his hand, Sigmund read through the contents of the letter while Kyle, after collecting himself, read from over his shoulder.

Hi,

I've never written a letter like this before, so I'm really excited to send this to you. A little scared, but still excited! For starters, I just want to thank you for a wonderful evening. I had such a fun time just speaking with you. Your commentary is always so hilarious and witty! You never fail to get a laugh out of me! You also have wonderful taste in food. I really enjoyed the bit you shared with me over dinner. If Wellington is truly your favorite, I'll teach myself to make it so I can surprise you one day!

Speaking of surprises, more than anything, I was pleasantly surprised by your waltz! Kyle, believe me when I say, you're an incredible dancer! I think that dance will live on in my memory through this entire winter vacation. Truly, you've made me the happiest witch! Thank you for dancing with me.

I'm putting my home info on the back of this letter, so please save it and send me yours too! I'll be sure to send you a holiday card as soon as I'm back in New York!

xo

-E

Sigmund's ears were practically billowing with smoke. If looks could kill, the piercing glance the blonde shot back to the red head would've instantly taken him out. Kyle's face paled as Sigmund turned his back on him again. Sigmund pulled a sticky note from his desk drawer, conjured a quill feather and quickly jotted down the enchantress's home info. When he had finished, he stood up once more, walked the letter over and shoved it against Kyle's chest harshly.

"S-Sigmund-"

"Nein." Sigmund practically growled, turning back to his desk. Again, he conjured a few things quickly. A luxurious piece of silver stationary paper, a wax burner with a candle already lit beneath it and a fresh pot of ink for his quill feather. As he began to scribble his own letter, Kyle looked down at the sparkly paper. Erin's penmanship was lovely. Although the sorcerer had soured the vibe in the room, Kyle couldn't help but feel a little giddy about the situation. He'd never received a secret letter from another school and certainly never received one from a girl.

Sigmund seemed to get a stack of fan mail every other day of the week. Majority of the time, he didn't even read a quarter of the letters that came through the door. There were times he didn't even glance at them. Same with any gifts he'd receive from his growing number of sponsored brands. He'd open a package and end up giving whatever was inside away to his friends. For once, Kyle felt like the special one. Taking a seat at the desk on his side of the room, he pulled a piece of paper of his own though not nearly as fancy. He rummaged through the drawer of his desk till he found a pen and instantly started his letter back to her.

On the other side of the coin, Sigmund was kind of crushed. The one person he actually wanted to hear from hadn't sent a letter to him. Reflecting on how the evening had gone at the Yule Ball, Sigmund slowly realized his faults in certain areas, which he NEVER did. Maybe, just maybe, he'd been a little pushy at times. And maybe, just maybe, he'd been a tad overbearing. It took a lot to admit to it, but impressing Erin had mattered more than his ego, even though his ego was definitely bruised after tonight. At first, he had only wanted to get to know the witch because of their joint popularity, but like everyone else after meeting her, he'd become fully and faithfully entranced. Possibly the first time ever. He was almost positive her magic had nothing to do with it.

The room had gone silent as the boys worked on their notes. Glancing over, Kyle took notice on the concentrated expression against Sigmund's brows. At times, his expression had looked saddened, then suddenly enraged, but instantly softened out again. And it wasn't just his face, it was also how forceful the scribbles of the quill feather became. Like the crescendo of a classical ballad, the sorcerer seemed to be writing with great passion all of a sudden. He wondered why Sigmund seemed to be so enraged and serious at the moment. Meanwhile, the wizard couldn't seem to find it within himself to write much.

"...what on Earth are you writing?" Kyle finally asked, a question that snapped the the focus off of the sorcerer from his letter. Sigmund looked back, flashing Kyle a nasty look.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Why are you acting so mysterious? You look as if you're writing an essay, is all. The owl can only carry so much weight, you know. Hehe..."

"Oh! You think you're so funny! Well, this isn't a joke to me and you don't need to know what I'm writing!"

"...Seriously?"

"SERIOUSLY!"

Kyle was surprised by Sigmund's tone. For once, it actually sounded like he wasn't being carefree about something. To the wizard, everything for Sigmund always seemed to be a constant joke or good time. Kyle had expected a sarcastic comment or a snarky insult out of him, but he hadn't even budged about this, even after being questioned and teased. The conjurer watched as Sigmund tucked his letter away into a tiny envelope and carefully sealed the lip of it with an emerald colored wax and personal seal. Kyle's own letter hadn't been put together as nicely, he opted to just fold the paper over in half and send it off that way.

Sigmund conjured his own ribbon, matte black, and carefully secured his letter to the owl, making sure it wasn't on too tight. He dared to send it away without Kyle's contribution, but he paused, knowing it would only make him out to be in bad character.

"Well then, hurry up!" Sigmund groaned, ushering Kyle to the window. "Put your letter on the bird! She's probably waiting!"

"O-oh, right!" Kyle coughed, quickly rising to his feet from his desk. He reused the ribbon that Erin had sent her letter with and once it was secure, Sigmund propped the owl to his forearm before sending it away with a light bounce. The boys watched out the window of the chamber as the wide winged, white owl seemed to vanish into the cold darkness of the night. When it was finally out of view, Sigmund let out a deep sigh, leaning over the windowsill in thought. Kyle turned to his luggage and continued the packing he'd already started before the ball.

"...are you truly going to keep what you wrote a secret?" Kyle asked, folding a couple sweaters. Sigmund balled up his fist in annoyance, glancing over his shoulder towards Kyle's side of the room.

"Why do you care so much?!"

"N-no, seriously Sigmund. I'm actually curious about why you're being so serious. I won't tease you this time, I swear!" Sigmund's stern demeanor seemed to soften again and his brows, the main indicator that gave away his thoughts at the moment, clearly looked worried.

"...you promise you won't tease me, right?" Sigmund asked. Kyle quickly nodded his head.

"I promise! I swear, I won't."

"I, erm—I well..." Sigmund cleared his throat and opted to turn back to the window to speak. He couldn't find it in himself to tell Kyle a secret straight to his face. He felt stupid even telling Kyle his business, but he definitely couldn't tell any of his friends knowing how they felt about Erin. They'd definitely tease him about his feelings, even though they liked her too. Kyle seemed like the safest option.

"...I wrote an apology letter to her. You know, for tonight. I felt like I was bothering her."

"Oh." Kyle responded, rather shocked. Sigmund? Apologizing?

"Ja. I didn't want to bother her, I just wanted to impress her because...well...I...I have a crush on her."

"Oh!"

"Is that all you can say? Oh, oh, oh?"

"Sorry! I just wasn't expecting that level of honesty, is all!"

"Ugh..." Sigmund sighed as he leaned over the windowsill, burying his head into folded arms. "It's not like it matters anyway. She likes you and hates me."

"Hate is a strong word, Sigmund."

"It's also a strong energy, and I felt that energy when I waltzed with her. She doesn't want anything to do with me, so I thought I would apologize and leave you two alone."

"Okay, listen..." Standing from his seat at his desk, Kyle joined Sigmund at the windowsill and sat in the window seat, catching his gaze. "If you think I know what I'm doing right now, you're mistaken."

"What are you talking about?"

"With Erin. If you think I'm purposefully trying to sabotage you or something, I'm not! The entire evening was all by complete chance! I didn't ask to dance, I didn't know we'd be table neighbors and I certainly didn't think she was going to kiss me!"

"But you woo'd her all night..." Sigmund scoffed.

"HOW?!" Kyle gasped.

"You shared your meal with her..."

"She asked to try it and offered hers as well! I was just being nice!"

"Well...you gave her my rose and danced with her away from everyone to be alone. How do you explain that?"

"When she asked me to dance, I was so scared I'd embarrass myself that I went off in hiding! She was upset when she found me and I felt terrible. I wasn't trying to ruin your evening, Sigmund. Especially after you actually tried to make mine decent loaning your suit to me. Honest!"

Sigmund glanced over at the wizard. He looked sincere about what he was saying and he knew Kyle was pretty easy to read, so he took his word for it. It only made him feel more depressed and again, a deep sigh escaped him as he turned away once more.

"Well then...I-I apologize...for accusing you..."

"O-oh?! Did you just say sorry to me?"

"Don't push it, Constipator. I'm emotional..."

"Sorry..."

The boys sat in silence for a moment, Kyle fiddling with his fingers and Sigmund burying his head in his arms again.

"I did more than apologize..." Sigmund continued. "I actually told her how I felt about her. I told her the secret too, not just you."

"Oh..."

"Will you STOP with the oh?!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Kyle chuckled awkwardly. "Well, now I can understand the emotions, I guess. Nervous?"

"No...yes. I think I made a fool of myself tonight."

"When don't you make a fool of yourself?"

"Can't you be serious for two seconds? Please?! Gott..."

"Sorry. It's difficult with you. In all honesty though, it's just your character I think, with the way you act."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, you like all the attention all the time. The glitz and glamour. All eyes on you. It's even in the way you dress, your wardrobe is shocking!"

"I see..." Sigmund sighed. "It's not really my character...it's a character I play. I know it's hard to believe, but sometimes I have trouble finding balance between work and real life."

Sigmund's blue eyes peered out into the night and up at the moon. As a cold breeze passed through the open chamber window, a sight in the empty sky caught the sorcerer's eye suddenly and propped him up in an instant with a gasp.

"The owl!" Sigmund breathed, changing Kyle's glance towards the window. Eagerly reaching his arm out, the owl fluttered to a stop and landed gently on Sigmund's forearm once again with the soft chime of it's golden bell. The black and red ribbons that had once been around the neck of the bird was replaced with a draw string pouch. Sigmund smiled faintly, he found the bag to be much more humane than the ribbon.

Carefully, he set the bird down on the ledge of the windowsill and removed the pouch from around it's neck. He held out the bag to Kyle, who raised a brow in question.

"You should open it..." Sigmund spoke. "I ruined it for you before."

"Hardly." Kyle shrugged, taking the woven bag from his hands. He untied the knot Erin had made and opened it, pulling two tightly folded pieces of paper from inside. On the back of one paper, a 'K' and on the other, an 'S'. Kyle held out the 'S' letter to Sigmund, who snatched it away in an instant and quickly scrambled to unfold it at his desk. Kyle's brows furrowed, but he kept his comments to himself and unfolded his own paper, sitting at the windowsill.

Sigmund's eyes quickly scanned over the letter, desperate to know what Erin thought of his confession. Beneath his leather gloves, his palms had began to sweat, fearful of the answer beneath the enchantress's beautiful penmanship.

S,

I wasn't expecting a letter from you, but regardless, I'm pleasantly surprised by your openness and I thank you for writing to me. I, too, must apologize to you. Please, forgive me for the way I acted during our dance at the ball. I didn't think about how it would've been perceived to our peers and looking back, I'm sure I must've embarrassed you. I'm sorry.

I must admit, you were right with what you wrote in your letter. I, indeed, believed that you only wanted to speak with me because of my status. Though I am an enchantress, I can honestly say I don't enjoy much attention, nor do I enjoy attracting it. Kinda the whole purpose of my study. Ironic, isn't it? I'm personally surprised that as a celebrity, you're not very fond of the attention yourself. We have that in common.

It's refreshing to see another side of you, even if it's only through writing. I wish I saw this side of you at the Yule ball. I wish you'd express yourself this way around others. I know what's expected of us both as top students, but we don't have to feed into it for the sake of our peers. I'm happy to hear from you when you're honest, Sigmund, and I acknowledge your feelings. I don't take them lightly. Next time we meet, let's talk.

-E

Sigmund's eyes seemed to sparkle down at the letter. He'd expected a flat out rejection from the witch, but she wanted to meet again. And she wanted to talk! Face quickly burning in a blush, Sigmund finally smiled for the first time since the night began. Kyle glanced over from his suitcase, which he had finished packing by the time Sigmund had finished reading over the letter for the third time.

"Good news, I'm guessing?" Kyle smirked, knowingly. Sigmund jumped and rose to his feet quickly, walking himself over to his luggage to start packing.

"H-huh? Oh, erm—..."

"You sound like me now. Oh, oh, oh!"

"Shut up!"

"And your face is all red! Oooo~! Let me see your letter!"

"N-NO!"

"C'mon! You've got to let me see it after the conversation we just had!"

"No way! Forget what I told you, you know nothing!"

Sigmund folded the letter back up and let it poof away before Kyle had time to snatch it from him. The wizard laughed and went back for his suitcase, which he struggled for a moment to lift from his bed, but managed. With a snap of his fingers, he had changed out of his borrowed suit and back into his normal, striped pullover and jeans.

"Guess it couldn't have been that good then since you aren't eager to share." Kyle laughed to himself, heading towards the door. "Too bad..."

"Hm? Leaving already?"

"Yup! Midnight train! My family only buys me midnight tickets since they're the cheapest. They couldn't be bothered with a morning trip charge. They don't care that much." Sigmund frowned as Kyle opened the door to their room. He didn't know much about Kyle's family, he never spoke about them. Whenever he did though, they always sounded dreadful.

"Ah...well then...Happy Holidays to you, Kyle."

"And to you too, Sigmund. See you soon!"

"Ja! See you!"

Watching Kyle close the door behind him, Sigmund finally settled down. He conjured up the letter once more and read over it again, a toothy smile reappearing on his face once again. With the owl still at the window, the sorcerer figured he'd send one more letter, adding his own home information to it as well this time.

E,

Thank you for returning my letter, you didn't have to do that, but you did and I appreciate you for it. It's made my dark night much brighter. I can hardly wait to see you again, in fact, I already have a surprise in mind for you when we do meet again. Not over the top, I promise.

On the topic of promises, I want to make a few more of my own, to you. I promise I won't cause so much attention next time we meet, if possible (considering the obvious). I didn't want to embarrass you and I didn't consider your feelings. You don't have to apologize for what happened at the ball. It was my fault, entirely. I'm sorry, Erin.

I promise I'll be kinder to your company. Not sure if Meghan filled you in...but I did get into a bit of a spat with her when you vanished from the ballroom. Sorry (she started with me though!)

And most importantly, I promise to be more like myself around you. I'm a country kid and I don't really like to let people know that. There's a lot of kinfolk at these schools that don't really understand what it's like to be not so well off, so I don't share that. I'll take what you said into consideration, you know, about not worrying about expectations. I'll try, but give me time. Okay?

Anyhow, thank you, again, for writing back to me. And thank you for honoring my feelings. Expect a surprise from me soon!

-S