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Kal and I crouch behind a bush and survey the scene. There's a patch of grass smoking, and several areas have been incinerated by magic. They must have been fighting for a while. But why are they both out here in the first place?

Kal whispers, "The witch looks familiar. Isn't she the one from the alley?"

I nod and reply, "The blonde girl isn't someone I've seen at Alfea, but that's definitely the witch." It's weird that the girl hasn't transformed into a fairy though. Maybe she's exhausted herself? "Is this just a coincidence?"

"I don't know, but we need to help," Kal says. "How do you want to go about this? We can flank her while she's distracted, or you can use your illusion magic. We have the advantage in numbers, and the only disadvantage is that we don't know the extent of her magic."

My eyebrows furrow as I ask, "Would you be alright with that- me using my illusions?"

"I mean," he replies, "it'd be defending someone. Oh- that's not good."

Purple light flashes, and the blonde girl is thrown back again. The brunette floats to the ground and steps toward her.

Kal raises up, but I place my hand on his shoulder. I whisper, "I need to get closer to use my illusion. Can you distract her?"

Kal grins and says, "With my good looks, or my phantomblade?" He pats the hilt at his side.

I elbow him and roll my eyes, but he only grins back. Quietly, we make our way towards them while keeping close to the tree line. Luckily, we have the shade on our side, and the witch's back is to us. She's just a few strides away. A few more feet, and I'll be able to use my illusion.

And then Kal steps on a branch, and it cracks under his weight.

We make eye contact, and Kal mutters a curse.

Purple magic suddenly barrels towards us, and we dive out of the way. The magic slams into the nearest tree, and shards of bark and leaves go flying. By the time I'm back up, Kal's already got his blade drawn. Splinters have embedded themselves in my arms, and my shoulder looks pretty scraped. I ignore it as Kal advances on the witch.

I transform into a fairy. Kal dodges the witch's blasts, but it's only a matter of time before he's hit. But he is right about one thing- we outnumber her, and she can't focus on both of us at the same time.

I'm no good at light magic, and I'll have to get face to face to use any kind of illusion. It requires dark magic to work, though, and I want to keep it at a minimum.

The witch is in the air now, and she shoots at both of us. I close in on her, flying in a zigzag pattern to throw off her aim. The witch uses all her energy on me now as I shoot her back, and Kal uses the opportunity to check on the fairy on the ground.

I wave my hand, forcing a lesser ward around me. Her blasts deflect, and I can't tell if the fear in her eyes is from her remembering me or if she's at her limit. Either way, I keep shooting blasts, guiding her away from Kal and toward the forest. When we defeat her, I can use my magic to see if she's the one that enchanted my book. I mean, how can it not be her?

But then she says a spell I've never heard of, and the ground glows violet. Suddenly I'm falling. My wings are gone, and my clothes pull against my skin. I can't get a hold of my magic- it's like it's disappeared. It's hard not to panic, especially when the ground is coming to meet my face so soon. All I can do is adjust my positioning and hope I don't die.

There's wind whipping at my hair and clothes in one moment, and in the next, I slam against the ground with a deafening crack. For a moment, everything's dark and silent. Then, pain erupts throughout my back, my limbs, my head. The air is knocked out of my lungs. I force my eyes to open, to assess the damage, but everything's a blur, and the sunlight hurts. It's as if someone just painted a landscape and wiped their hand over the entire piece. I try to move, to breathe, but everything hurts.

Finally, there's air, and I slowly gather myself. I force myself up, despite the incredible discomfort of falling what felt like several stories. A painful heat sears my wrist though, and sharp pricks of pain scatter across my back. I'm surrounded by vines and leaves. At least it helped break my fall, but I don't remember it ever being there.

My body's too sluggish, and in my haste, I end up tumbling out of the bush with a grunt. There's a snicker, and I furrow my brows at the sound. Slowly, painfully, I push myself up with my good arm. My breath comes out staggered, and the world sways around me. The back of leg is warm and wet- I must be bleeding.

"What...did you do?" I say. Does my voice sound slurred? It's hard to concentrate, but it's not difficult looking at the fuzzy purple outfit in front of me now. But all I want to do is sleep and forget this is happening.

The witch laughs and replies, "It's rune magic." She gestures to the ground, and I spot wavy, purple lines glowing on grass. "This one binds fairy magic. I placed it for the other girl, but I'll guess you'll have to do instead."

Anger boils in my stomach. I don't really hear all of her words, but I definitely know what tone she's using- it's hateful and condescending, and it reminds me of home. I want her to suffer, I realize, to show her how strong I really am. The darkness inside of me claws its way up to the surface, and for a moment, there is no pain. Show her what you really are, it says. Make her regret ever hurting you.

Her eyes widen as my outfit changes into that of a witch.

It's tempting to hurt her. She is standing in front of me, ready to finish me off. And though my legs are shaking, I manage to use the energy I have left to pull back and punch her in the face. I clip her at her jaw line, just like I want. My knuckles are bright with pain now, but the satisfied feeling of watching the witch fall is enough. But I've used up my adrenaline, and my knees buckle. My magic fades as I collapse.

"I don't need dark magic," I whisper to myself. "I don't need it."

Not now. But you will.