Chapter Three

The more time she spent with Robyn, the more Amberly believed her to be a real person. Someone who lived in her world, who may have just happened to glance upon the mirror without realizing the consequences, falling victim to its power. Maybe she was a prisoner here. Maybe they all were. It was theories like these that made her want to find out more about these people, to truly see if they were real or not. If they were in fact real, maybe she could save them. Maybe Ambrose could find a way to free them from this prison and bring them home.

Amberly sat nervously in a cushioned chair that had been cold against her legs the moment they touched the leather. Looking around the shop they had visited after the clothing store, she did not recognize it. It was not a shop they had in Wizard City and it was probably for good reason. Robyn had said that this was necessary, that doing this was like a law around here. Amberly still could not understand how getting a tattoo could possibly be something that was mandatory but if it helped her to fit in, she was all for it.

She knew that she had to be brave, to endure the pain for as long as she needed to. Blending in was the most important thing to do right now and she refused to fail this mission because of cowardice. "Will it hurt?"

Robyn laughed. "Of course it will," she said bluntly. "But it won't last very long."

Amberly tried to relax, tried to settle her nerves before the artist returned from the back room. She's never gotten a tattoo before and had no idea what kind of pain she'd be in for; although, she hoped it would be a bit less traumatic if it's done by magic instead of an actual needle. Wouldn't that be something?

Amberly felt her stomach tighten when the artist came back into the room, holding nothing but a strip of paper. It was a stencil, about as long as her hand with green markings on it. Beautiful swirls and leaves, like the stem of a flower but without the flower. She remembered what Robyn had told her, that every Wizard from the same school of magic had the same tattoo, placed in the same spot as everyone else. She assumed it was a way to distinguish who belonged to which class of magic. Although she couldn't choose her design, she quite liked what it turned out to be.

The artist sat down beside Amberly and adjusted her chair, leaning her back a bit farther so she'd be able to access her right shoulder more conveniently. She placed the stencil in the designated spot and pressed down hard, she then cupped her palms over the area and closed her eyes. Amberly watched in wonder as a bright white light began to pour out from under the artist's hands, then the pain started. She didn't scream but she wanted to, she couldn't fully understand what this pain felt like, it was as if someone or something heavy was pressing against her shoulder, like her bones were about to be crushed. She squeezed her eyes shut and grunted, tightening her grip on the edge of her seat, and breathing intensely just wanting it to stop. A few moments later, the pain was gone.

Her heart was pounding so fast she thought it could be heard by everyone in the room, she looked over at the woman beside her who was removing the stencil from her skin gently. What was left behind was the beautiful green stemmed tattoo she had seen on the paper except now, it was on her skin. Amberly's breathing began to slow down as the pain began to dissipate, she was glad it was finally over and after paying for the service, she hurried out of the shop, never wishing to return.

Behind her was laughter, it was sudden and made her stop in a haste to see where it was coming from. Robyn was bent over, holding her stomach with tears flowing from her eyes. She could not understand what could possibly be so funny.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh," Robyn apologized. "I've just never seen such low tolerance to pain before. It shouldn't have been that painful."

"I've experienced a significant amount of pain in my time as a Wizard but I've never felt anything like that." Amberly admitted. "That was unnatural."

"Well at least it came out looking great! And you can still see it with your new top!" Robyn pointed out as she admired her new tattoo. When she saw that Amberly was looking down and reaching for the area, she stopped her right away. "Don't touch it! You'll ruin the healing process!"

Amberly sighed, throwing her arm back down at her side. "So what now?"

"Well, how long were you planning to stay?"

Amberly shrugged as she thought about her mission. "Not sure, couple of days? Maybe more."

"Well, you're going to need a place to sleep right?" Robyn smiled as she took the lead, guiding her in the direction of another shop, one that sold spaces for Wizards to live within their Territories. "Fair warning though, we don't get a lot of visitors here so I can't guarantee that there will be anything available."

The two walked up to the front desk and waited for the woman to return from the back, once she did, she barely showed any emotion or interest in the two girls who had been so patient.

"You got any beds available?" Robyn said quickly, as if she were in a hurry.

The woman checked her binder thoroughly without saying a word, deciding only to speak once she found the answer to the Wizard's question. "As a matter of fact, we do. Number 221."

Robyn turned to Amberly with a smirk. "Well, aren't you lucky."

Amberly smiled. "That's great, how much?"

"That would be 40 gold coins," the woman answered.

Amberly's smile instantly transformed into a frown, she wasn't sure if she had heard her correctly. "Wait, what? That's it?"

"That's actually one of the more expensive prices," Robyn pointed out, still leaning against the counter casually.

Although Amberly was still confused, she decided to pay the price so the awkward silence that she was in could end. She then followed Robyn out of the shop after receiving the key to her new place. Still, even after trying to avoid the conversation, she just couldn't stop herself from thinking what little logic this mirror world possessed. Outfits in her world were well over 1,300 gold coins and the castles were at least 100,000, so why is everything here so cheap?

"Where do you guys get your money from?" She asked Robyn as she continued to follow her back into The Commons.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't have monsters here to collect it from, so do you have jobs or something? Do you earn it through labor?"

"You're confusing me again," Robyn replied as they entered the street that Amberly knew as Unicorn Way. She turned back to her and noticed the troubling look on her face, she sighed in annoyance. "I don't know, we just have it. Why does it matter where it comes from?"

Amberly was unable to find any of her words, as they walked along the familiar street, all she could do was stare. Without the monsters wandering around, it was just a street but somehow it felt strange to her, seeing it so empty. Although, most of the monsters throughout the spiral stopped terrorizing the innocent once Malistaire was defeated, some do still linger from time to time. Nowadays, the new Wizards use them as practice when they are beginning to learn about the art of dueling.

"Here we are! Home sweet home!" Robyn said gleefully as they reached their destination.
As they had traveled down the street, Amberly noticed that she was being taken to one of the small buildings that she's seen for so many years in her own world but never ventured into. These must be where all of the Wizards of Life live. I guess castles aren't a thing in this mirrored world, she thought. Inside was pretty much what she would have expected it to look like, a small den area on the bottom floor, a dining area around the corner beside a kitchen and the bedroom being upstairs. It was quite small but all that she needed for the time being.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your stay here," Robyn continued. "For however long that may be."

Amberly suddenly felt nervous when her first real encounter began heading for the door, she still had so many questions. What if no one else would be as kind as her or as willing to help her with her investigation. She knew she needed more time with Robyn. "Wait!"

Robyn stopped just before exiting, turning to the strange girl she had helped get situated for most of the day.

"I'm starving," Amberly said with a chuckle. "Do you happen to know a good place for me to get some food?"

After a long moment of silence, Robyn sighed as she shrugged her shoulders. "Oh what the hell, I could use a drink. Come with me."

Amberly smiled and then hurried after her as the left Unicorn Way, heading back through The Commons. She was then brought to another stage of silence as they entered Ravenwood. It was so sad to see how it looked, without any trees surrounding the perimeter, especially without Bartleby. Every building that used to contain the five schools of magic in her own world were still there; however, there were several other buildings which took the place of the school trees. The large chasm where the Death School used to be was also no longer there, the land was whole all the way around. And in the center, a huge tower took the place of Bartleby.

They continued down the street and entered a random building, it wasn't until they stepped inside that Amberly figured out what it was. A bar? She thought, looking around at the scattered tables and many random Wizards drinking and eating. She noticed instantly that no one of different schools were together, they only communicated with "their own kind". She sat down silently at the bar with Robyn as she got the attention of the man who served everyone in the room.

"Zander! My man! Two rounds over here!" She bellowed with a grin, looking over at Amberly who was as silent as ever. She had almost forgotten the main reason for them going there and it wasn't for her to drink. "Oh! And one of those delicious burgers as well!"

Amberly chuckled. "Do you come here often?"

"Best joint in town!" Robyn answered just as two beers were placed in front of them. She held hers up to cheers with Amberly before drinking.

Amberly wasn't much of a beer drinker herself, she usually preferred something a bit stronger but forced herself to drink what was given to her out of respect. She looked around the room, wishing to see more of the Wizards in this world and how they interact with each other. It still shocked her that no mixed schools ever spoke to each other. "Why is everyone so divided here? Why can't anyone talk to whoever they want?"

"Dunno," Robyn said instantly, still gulping down her first beer. "It's always been that way. The Wizards here get along best with people in their own Territory, everyone else is just too different. We all pretty much hate each other."

"Seriously?" Amberly said, she couldn't believe what she was being told and once again, could not understand why it was like this here. She really hoped she could fix these issues, maybe bring everyone together. She kept observing the room as her food was placed down in front of her, she took a fry without even looking at the plate just as her eyes caught a figure in the corner of the room. She couldn't see the face that was well hidden behind a black hood and although the cloak they wore covered their body, based on the shape, she assumed it was a boy. He sat alone in the corner, not to far from where she was sitting. He had a single drink in front of him and sat ever so stilly. She didn't want to seem creepy by staring so she turned back around to begin eating her food. She was in fact starving after not eating for the entire day which had been quite busy and eventful for her.

It didn't take long for her to finish her food, she even gulped down the rest of her beer. She felt her stomach was well satisfied after a meal like that, the burger was indeed one of the best she's ever had. "Thank you," she said towards Robyn. "I really needed this."

"You and me both."

It was in that moment that Zander had placed down two more beers directly in front of them.

"We didn't order these," Robyn pointed out.

Zander used his head to direct his response to something behind them. "Courtesy of those two gentleman in the back booth."

The girls glanced over their shoulders at the two boys who were watching them with creepy smiles on their faces. Each wore green outfits which indicated them being from the same Territory as them.

Robyn turned back around and began drinking her new beer.

"That was nice of them," Amberly said as she took a sip but knew she'd never be able to finish the whole thing.

"Don't look at them."

"What?" She asked Robyn with a chuckle. "Why not?"

"You cannot trust anyone here," Robyn said seriously. "They only bought these because they want something from us and it's not anything good."

"What do you think they want?" Amberly asked, glancing over to peek at them. They were gossiping with each other but keeping their eyes in her direction, she almost felt disgusted by how they looked at her. As she began to turn back around, her eyes caught the dark figure in the corner. His head was turned towards her now, he too was watching her.

"One of two things," Robyn said. "To get into our pants, or our Surge."

"Surge? What is that?" Amberly asked curiously.

Robyn looked at her with her eye brows lowered, checking to see if she was being serious or not. "Our magic."

"Wait, you have magic?" Amberly said almost too loudly. Without schools to teach magic in this world, both she and Ambrose had thought that these Wizards may not even have magic so hearing this for the first time got her very excited.

"Wow, you are all kinds of stupid." Robyn said stiffly. "We're Wizards, of course we have magic."

"Sorry, I was confused about something," Amberly said in embarrassment. "So tell me about the Surge."

"I'm not sure what your magic is like but Surge is just what ours is called," Robyn explained. "And those two, among several others, are obsessed with it."

"What do you mean?" Amberly asked.

Robyn sighed as she took another sip of her beer. "Some people are just addicted to the power of the Surge, what they have isn't enough to quench their thirst for it so they absorb it from other Wizards in their Territory."

"They can steal our magic?!" Amberly said in shock but was careful enough to keep her voice down to a whisper.

"It's not like stealing," Robyn assured. "It's more like borrowing. They can't diminish any of the magic that you currently possess, they just drink a small portion of it so they can enjoy the feeling of having that extra power pulsing within them. And once they have too much, the magic bursts out in a powerful blast that gets them high as hell." She paused, realizing that Amberly wasn't speaking out of pure shock from this kind of information but it didn't stop her from continuing. "Not everyone can handle that kind of power though, I hear it's painful."

This was way more than Amberly could have expected, Wizards who can actually take her magic to become more powerful. She couldn't even believe it to be possible but hoped that she'd be immune since she doesn't have the same kind of magic as everyone else here. Once again, she became lost in her head and the sudden touch of her arms made her jump in a flash, her heart pounding faster than it was before.

"It's been a long time since we've seen such beautiful young girls drinking alone at a bar this late at night, this much be our lucky day."

The male's voice came from behind her, the one who had grabbed both of her arms and broke her from her wandering mind. Spinning around in her chair, Amberly saw both the boys who had bought them beers now standing beside them. This made her more fearful and more worried than ever. She shook her body free from the grasp that the blonde-haired boy had on her arms but wasn't able to find any words to say back to them.

"Get the hell away from us," Robyn said courageously with an angry scowl frozen on her face.
The boys began to laugh at her bravery but did not move an inch. The brown haired one decided to speak up as a strong grin emerged on his face. "Why don't you make us?"

"Yeah, show us your Surge and we'll leave you alone," said the blonde one as he placed his left hand around Amberly's waist.

Amberly clenched her jaw as anger rose within her. In a quick movement, she reached for the boy's arm, removed it from her lower back and twisted it in a way that caused the boy agonizing pain. Seeing him whimper put a smile on her face. "Why don't you keep your hands to yourself, unless you want me to break all of your fingers."

The boy pulled away in a flash of rage and prepared to return with a strike of his own, but something had stopped him.

"Hey!" Zander shouted over the chaos. "Not in my bar! Take it outside Reed!"

Reed growled in frustration as he straightened his posture, brushed her golden locks from his eyes and glared at Amberly with intensity. "I'll see you soon bitch."

The girls remained silent as Reed and his friend exited the bar. Amberly noticed that hardly anyone had looked up from their conversations, hardly anyone cared that two girls were about to be attacked by these abusive boys. Apart from Zander, only one seemed concerned. Amberly stared at the hooded figure in the corner who was now standing from his seat, it looked as if he had been ready to charge in order to protect her and Robyn. This intrigued Amberly and made her unable to take her eyes off of him as he sat back down in his chair.

"I don't know about you but I've had enough excitement for one day."

Amberly turned towards Robyn who was getting up from where she was sat.

"If I were you, I'd probably head back to your room. You're not equip to handle guys like Reed by yourself," Robyn said as if she were worried about her.

Amberly smiled. "I can handle more than you think."

Robyn nodded. "If you say so," she said as she began to walk away but stopped before getting too far. Turning back, she began to speak again. "Look, if you're not too busy tomorrow afternoon, the Light Wizards are having a party in the main tower at noon if you'd like to come."

Amberly smiled. "A party in the middle of the day?"

Robyn chuckled then spoke honestly. "We're not really night people."

Amberly thought about what she had referred Life Wizards as. Did she say Light Wizards or was that all in my head? She asked herself. When she realized that she was taking too long to answer, she quickly pushed the thought aside. "I'd love to, it'll give me a chance to meet new people."

"Great, I'll come by to get you when it's time. Have a good night." Robyn said nothing more as she turned and walked out.

Amberly sighed, turning back to her empty plate and nearly full beer she almost felt sick to her stomach. The experience she had with those two boys had did a number on her and all she wanted to do was lay down, she knew she was losing what was left of her energy. She paid her tab and headed for the door, taking a quick peek at the hooded figure as she walked out. He was still watching her.

Reaching her room, she hurried out of her new outfit and into something more comfortable and less revealing. She pulled out the iPhone from her backpack which she had been carrying around all day and dialed Ambrose. She knew that she wouldn't be able to go to bed until she did her briefing, after all, he had requested that she called him each night to inform him of everything she had learned.

When Ambrose answered the call, his face looked extremely alarmed. Actually, there were several emotions coming from his facial expression. "Amberly!? Is that you?"

Amberly rubbed her eyes, feeling the sleepiness begin to creep up on her. "Yes, Headmaster. It's me. I'm sorry it's so late, it's been a crazy day."

"Amberly! I told you to call me every day! Where have you been!?" Ambrose said loudly, trying not to lose his cool.

"What are you talking about?" Amberly asked in confusion. "I did, it's only been one day."

"Oh no," Ambrose said in horror. "Oh no, I never thought this could happen."

"What? What's going on?"

"Amberly, you didn't leave Wizard City this morning as you might assume," he said more calmly, hoping not to completely freak her out. "You've been gone for a full week."