"Eavesdropping? Not a great quality for a prince." Laura snarled slightly. Sebastian flinched back.
"I wasn't eavesdropping." He responded. Laura narrowed her eyes. Over the course of her lifetime, she had learned to read people, and that included princes. Something was wrong, probably parents, if she had learned anything.
"Really?" Agatha asked. "Because the way you were standing there sure seemed like you were."
Sebastian snarled slightly, turning to stalk out of the library, before Laura reached out with her magic, tugging him back to the table.
"How much did you hear?" She demanded, standing up out of her chair, not frightened despite the evident size difference.
"Enough to know that you're both crazy." He responded, trying to tug himself out of her grip.
Laura pulled his collar down to her face. "You ever tell anyone what you heard and I will end you."
Sebastian yanked out of her grip and stormed off, and Laura turned, sitting back at the table.
"You're remarkably good at frightening people."
Laura laughed. "I know."
"That magic? How did you do that?"
"Ever heard the saying, 'faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust'?"
Agatha nodded.
"It's more like will power, spite, and a little bit of pixie dust. You have to ask the magic to do your bidding. I've always been good at elemental magic, although I favour fire. I can still perform magic without the pixie dust, but it's not as strong. Pixie dust acts as an amplifier, and it takes the brute force of the magic, that's why this-" she tapped a finger on her necklace. "-is the most precious thing I own."
"You'll understand more when they unlock your fingers tomorrow."
Agatha pointed on the scene in the book. "You told me that there was a war between good and evil?"
"Yes," Laura swallowed. "About 200 years ago, there was a war between the two schoolmasters, who were twin brothers. Nobody knows who won, but good has been on a 200-year winning streak."
"So love must be the answer to the riddle."
Laura shrugged. "Just get Tedros to kiss Sophie, and you should go home."
"That's not going to be easy."
"Fairy tales never are."
"Oh my Merlin," Laura muttered. "What is she doing now?"
Agatha leaned over, the two of them watching as Sophie carried an arrow. "She is convinced that she can win over Tedros with a love potion."
"What!" Laura shouted, then lowered her voice as she noticed people staring at her. "That's not going to work. It has to be true love, and you can't manufacture true love. It has to be real, and a love potion is cheating."
Laura moved forward, trying to intervene, but Sebastian stepped in front of her. The gleam in his eyes was different than usual.
"Move." She ordered.
"I don't take orders from Twilight Children." He hurled it like a slur.
Laura rolled her eyes, and hooked her leg under his, knocking him flat on his butt. "You've made that obvious."
"Laura and Sebastian." Laura had to refrain from groaning as Yuba approached them. "Fighting again? You two clearly don't learn. Dish duty, three months."
"Three months!" Sebastian cried, standing up. "It wasn't my fault-" He started.
"That's dishes for both schools now. Meet in the kitchen at eight." Yuba stalked away.
Laura groaned, momentarily forgetting that she was trying to get to Sophie. "Great, just great."
"You are going to pay for this," Sebastian hissed.
Laura held up her flaming hand. "You really want to test me?"
Yuba shrieked Sophie, causing both of them to look over at the commotion.
"A love potion! That's even worse. I'll let the wolves deal with you."
A wolf stalked over and grabbed Sophie, pulling her along by her hair, much to her chagrin.
Laura turned back to Agatha. "I'm sorry."
"I don't need the key to unlock my finger. I already have magic."
Laura huffed, crossing her arms and sticking her fingers in her armpits to avoid the person with the key.
"You do, so you don't have to draw from that pixie dust on your neck."
"It doesn't work like that. Unlocking your finger just opens your soul to the magic. You still draw from pixie dust. It's the only way to get magic. I already have magic."
The man snarled at Laura. "Give me your finger."
"No. I am already the most powerful sorcerer here. Even if you unlock all these people's fingers, they will never even come near to me and my power. They are all drawing from a communal source. I don't need my finger unlocked." She almost growled the last bit.
"Your loss."
Laura looked down the line, where Sebastian was getting his finger unlocked. It glowed a dim blue, before fading.
He looked over and snarled. Laura rolled her eyes, not excited about dishes at all.
Laura walked into the kitchen, only to find Sebastian already there.
"Took you bloody long enough."
Laura huffed, rolling her eyes. "You wash, I'll dry."
"Why are you drying?"
In a mocking tone, she held up her hand, pale blue fire tips echoing like fingernails. "Because I don't need a towel."
Sebastian couldn't seem to come up with an argument to that and instead resorted to plunging his hands into the water. Laura grabbed the first plate and using her other elemental magic to assist her, she held it in the air, flame drying it, and floating it onto a neat stack.
They worked in silence until Laura had the nerve to ask. "Why are you attacking Neverland?"
Sebastian let out an annoyed huff. "Because we want to rid the world of your kind. Twilight Children, magic users, people who walk with pixies. We are looking for the source to squash it."
"You didn't even know we lived on the island" Laura responded. "And you are still attacking children."
"You're attacking solders with families."
"I didn't say they deserved to die. They were attacking, and I was defending. It's simple, I was only doing my duty as A Twilight Child."
Sebastian scrubbed a stubborn scrap of food off. "That's ridiculous."
"No, what is ridiculous is you trying to justify killing children." Her voice was calm, but her blood was boiling.
"Magic deserves to rot in hell. We don't need it anymore." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else. "That is why I am never using the stupid finger glow."
"You sound like a poster boy for your parents." Laura scoffed.
She knew she had hit a weak point when she brought up his parents. The way his gaze darkened indicated enough. He turned to face her.
"I am not some poster boy for my parents, and I will never use magic!" He shouted the last bit and clenched his fists.
An explosion sounded, and the two of them shot backwards, staring at the sink. Water had flown upwards, so cold that it had frozen halfway up, creating an ice sculpture.
Laura began laughing as Sebastian's face paled.
"I can't believe it. You're a water magician!"