Chapter 3
"Right, so speaking of magic, let's get down to business," the witch said with a more serious look on her face.
"So you can tell me why my wristband is the way it is? Like it is really magic?"
"May I see it?" Luna said as she held a hand out. "So I may be sure."
Roxas shook his head. "I can't take it off. And if someone tries to, some strange magic stuff happens."
"I understand Roxas, just hold out your arm. I won't try and take it, okay?"
Roxas did as she said and slowly held out his arm. Now that he did, Luna gently placed his wrist in one hand while the other rested above it. With her eyes being closed, she started to chant something softly, words too hard to understand. She continued her words and some unknown force felt as though it was bearing down upon them in the room in a few short moments.
Axel and Roxas had no idea what was going on, but they could feel it. Axel felt his son grip his hand a little harder. Even as weird as it was, the spiky redhead was determined to see it through so that he could get some answers, so that they all could get some answers.
The phenomenon only lasted for a couple of more minutes, before the immense pressure slowly started to fade away. Luna soon quit her chanting and then opening her eyes back up. She wore a look of surprise on her face, as well as awe.
"This wristband…" she mumbled in a hushed voice. Her pale fingers ran over both sides of it, taking in how intricate it looked. She almost seemed like she was in a trance for a while, her focus on it never wavering in the slightest.
"Are you okay?" Axel questioned.
She snapped her attention up at the sound of another voice. "My apologies, I was lost in the moment. It's just…" she fell silent again as her gaze shifted back to the piece of jewelry on the boy's wrist.
"I would recognize the makeup of this magic that made the spell anywhere. It was my mother's," she bluntly stated.
"Huh?! Well, what does that mean then?" Axel spoke, confused.
"It's just, there's nothing much left of my mother. She died about 8 years ago now and entrusted all this to me. It's just probably… one of the last things she managed to do is all…"
Her mother meant a lot to her. She usually didn't talk about such things, especially with strangers, but seeing her mother's magic remnants again made her forget about all that. Sighing deeply she focused on the magic energy that was surrounding the wristband once more. Magic that had surely once belonged to her mother still remained, powerful and strong as ever.
"I'm sorry…" Roxas muttered.
"Oh there is nothing to be sorry about dear, my mother loved her job and I am very happy to see some of her work again," Luna replied, her voice gentle and soothing.
"So what exactly is this 'work' of hers anyway?" Axel asked.
"It's a very strong protection spell. The type that won't let any harm come to you."
"Won't let any harm come to me?" Roxas asked.
Luna nodded. "Correct. It is that powerful."
"But why do I have it?"
"I wouldn't know the exactness of that part I'm afraid. I would have to find my mother's old work books that are logged with every magic work she did for someone. But that shouldn't take long, just a bit of searching. But I can tell this," Luna said as she leaned forward closer to Roxas. "There was a reason that someone wanted a protection spell over you and you can see it has worked well."
"So… I can't ever take it off?" Roxas then asked.
"Oh no it is very possible to do so, all I need to do is add to the spell with another on top of it, but that would come at the risk of you being without the protection."
Axel hummed softly. "I am guessing you are probably going to say that it isn't a safe choice then, right?"
Luna looked to Axel, understanding his worry and concern. "In the end it is up to Roxas as it is a spell for him and his wristband."
"Up to me?" Roxas questioned, slightly unsure of what he had heard.
"Yes. It doesn't have to be right now, but if you ever want that extra spell you, may come and talk to me."
"Umm, okay then I guess. Maybe for now… I keep it. It hasn't done anything bad," Roxas replied.
"Well, let's just think about this for a moment. Why does he need that then? I know what you said Luna, but still. Just seems very… odd," Axel rebutted, still unsure of the situation.
Luna straightened up her posture. Looking far more serious than before. "As I said, without the files from my mother I do not know the 'why' of this spell. The only thing we know is that Roxas needed a protection spell and that is it."
Axel let out a sigh. "All right, fine. I just… wanted to figure out something more. I'm glad for what you've told us. I'm grateful. Just worried for my son is all…"
"It's okay dad," Roxas began as he turned back to look at his father. "If it protects me, that means I can't get hurt then right? So you shouldn't have to worry."
"Sir, I understand that you may have concerns. Wanting to make sure your child is safe is completely reasonable, and the realm of magic is quite vast. But I assure you, that you can trust my mother's magic."
"Yeah yeah I get it," Axel said as he scratched the back of his head. "Just a lot to take in all at once."
"I know," Luna stated simply. "Besides, your son is right. This magic spell is powerful, so he will be protected with it anyways. I can probably guess that he's never gotten hurt before doing anything has he?"
"Well yeah… never a scratch on him. So I guess there's really some truth to all this…"
"Exactly. Now, I think that will just about wrap things up here," she stated as she arose from her chair. "Please wait for me here for a moment. There's something that I need to get for you before you go."
Earlier
Namine had grabbed Sora and Vanitas's hands and they watched everything around them fade away into a bright white. When the light faded the boys saw that they were now in a completely different location that before.
"Woah! Where are we?" Sora asked with awe in his voice.
"We are in my playroom!" Namine exclaimed. "Now we can have fun while my mom does all the important talking to your brother."
"You… You just made us come here?" Vanitas asked in disbelief. "How!?"
"Well, that should be obvious, silly. My magic powers of course," Namine simply said as she contained a giggle.
Sora's eyes widened with amazement. "So you really can do cool magic? Like what you'd read in storybooks or see in cartoons?"
Namine grinned widely. "I guess you could say it's like that. But I don't know a lot of magic yet. Mom still knows a lot more than me."
"It's still really cool though. I wish that I could do something like that!" Sora excitedly said.
Namine couldn't help but grin at his positivity. The boy seemed to be entranced by almost anything that seemed "cool" to him. It was a stark contrast to his brother.
"Eh, it wasn't that impressive…" Vanitas sneered, still not impressed.
"Aw come on Vani, I know you thought it was cool!" Sora exclaimed as he frowned slightly at his brother's disinterest.
Vanitas grumbled something while crossing his arms. "Whatever. Still wasn't that cool."
"I can do other cool things though! I can show you!" Namine replied cheerfully. "Let me show you!"
Namine went over to a table and picked up a white notebook. She smiled proudly as she showed it to the boys. "This is my sketchbook, and these are some of my sketches." she began flipping through the pages, showing pictures of people and various other things. Eventually she stopped on a piece that had little sketches of people with wings.
"These are my fairy drawings. Now watch this!"
Smiling widely she raised one hand over the paper and the images began to glow. Before the boy's eyes they saw the images beginning to dance around the paper.
"Wow! That's so cool!" Sora exclaimed. "See Vani? That's so cool she can make her drawings do that!"
Vanitas looked at the drawings that had suddenly come to life. Despite how he tried to appear, he couldn't fake the expression that his face was giving. He was amazed at what he was seeing as his eyes grew slightly wide. It was hard to deny that it was magic that he was seeing.
"Wow…" he uttered very quietly.
"Huh? What was that Vani?" Sora asked.
Namine almost chuckled. "It seems that you must like them then."
Vanitas snapped out of his apparent trance. "Wait what? I mean, it's not super impressive…" he trailed off as he quickly turned his face away, embarrassment showing. "I guess it's kinda neat…" he once again uttered in a hushed voice.
"I knew it! Vani does like the magic," Sora exclaimed.
"So what?!" Vanitas yelled suddenly as he turned towards them, his emotions overcoming him. He didn't know why he had screamed since he wasn't mad. Embarrassment rose on his face again and he turned his body back around.
Namine laughed. "That's all right Vanitas. Maybe you'll come around to see more magic again. I'd like to show you more once I get to learn even cooler spells."
Vanitas only half turned around. "You'd… wanna show me more?"
"Maybe, yeah. But I guess that depends if you guys come back or not."
"Why wouldn't we come back," Sora questioned.
"Well, you're only here because of the meeting with the others and my mother. Once that's done, there might not be a reason to come back."
"But, what if we… ahh nevermind," Vanitas cut himself off before he could finish, but hung his head slightly.
Sora smiled and seemed to be bouncing with enthusiasm. "I bet if we both talk to our parents we could come back more! I know dad would probably let us come back to visit. Plus we're now friends with a witch, and that is the coolest thing ever."
"Yeah…" Vanitas added softly. He then glanced at Namine's sketchbook again that still had her drawings dancing around. "So um… what else can you do?"
"Oh! I got a lot of other things! I'll show you!" Namine said, sounding rather proud that she was getting a chance to show off some of her skills.
The three had no idea how much time had passed but soon enough Luna was knocking at the door to Namine's room. "Were you three having fun?"
Currently Namine had convinced the boys to join her in a mini tea party, but really it was just lemonade since none of the kids actually liked tea. Though of course it wasn't an ordinary tea party… everything from the chairs to the tea pot was floating.
They all looked to the side to see Naminè's mother Luna standing in the doorway.
"I guess that answers my question," she commented as she waved her hand slightly.
With that simple gesture, all of the items in the air, as well as the children, came gently floating down towards the floor. There was a look of excitement on the faces of Namine and Sora, while Vanitas seemed indifferent in the matter. Neither of the boys however chose to speak in that moment, slightly intimidated by Luna.
Namine quickly strode over to her mother. "Yeah we were having fun. They seemed to be interested in what I could do. Plus it gave me some good practice in front of others too."
Luna smiled. "But let's not get carried away, okay? Don't want you burning out your magic so quickly in one session, all right?"
"Right! I know mom!"
Luna smiled before placing a hand on top of her daughter's head. She then looked over to the two boys. "Your father is waiting for you downstairs."
Sora started to frown slightly. "Aw. We gotta go already?"
"I'm afraid so, we have already finished the meeting with your brother."
Quickly Sora thought to ask another question. "Did you ever find out why his armband has magic?"
"Yes, but I think that is something you should talk with your own brother for," Luna replied.
"Ah all right," Sora simply said.
"Naminè, I… it was um… fun," Vanitas admitted with a flushed face.
She nodded. "Maybe it can happen again someday."
Luna gave Naminè a side glance, but didn't say anything to her daughter.
The boys bid their farewells and left the room of their newfound friend. They hurried down the stairs and right away saw Roxas and their father standing at that same table, waiting for them. Axel smiled at them and placed a hand on each of their heads once they were standing right in front of him.
"So you boys have fun?"
"Uh-huh! We had a lot of fun. Namine showed us more of her magic! We had a floating tea party!" Sora explained hastily but excitedly.
"Wow, sounds like a real blast, but it's time to head on home how."
"Yeah, that does sound neat," Roxas uttered.
"So what's the word with you then?" Vanitas directed towards his younger brother.
"Not now," Axel stated. "We'll talk once we're back."
The family started to walk towards the front of the house where Luna was waiting for them. She opened the door before handing a small sphere to Roxas. "This is a calling orb. If there is anything you need, or anything I discover I can easily reach you this way. If there is ever the need to call me, all you must do is hold the orb and say my name. Understand?"
Roxas took the clear glass orb and held it in his hands. Slowly he nodded before placing it into his pocket. "Okay I understand, thank you!"
Now that it was out of the way, Luna said her farewells to the boys, with Namine right besides her. All of the boys waved back as they left the house, heading back out to head home after quite the intriguing day.
Hope that you all enjoyed that little adventure there! We wanted to spread things out and expand on the story as much as we could. Trying to get things out sooner since May is almost over! Haha. Thanks for all the feedback, and we will see you the next time!