Entrancing
Summary: When Sofia, Amber, and Calista all appear to be under the spell of an enchanting guitarist, Cedric, Desmond, and Angel team up to break the musical enchantment. However, things aren't always what they seem.
Disclaimer: I only own Angel. Any other OC that appears in this story belongs to MarionetteJ2X.
A/N: Time for some investigation. :D Let's drop in on a meeting with the guys to see what they come up with. 😉
Chapter 5: Meeting of the Minds
It was really early the next morning. Cedric had hardly slept through the night. He tossed and turned, his mind plagued with images of the three girls and their repeated statements from yesterday.
"The musician… His guitar and his singing… So beautiful… So handsome… He'll sweep you away…"
He wouldn't discount the power of music over anyone, but especially the fact that Amber was so enamored with this strange guitarist despite being engaged to Desmond was what really set off alarms in his mind. Obviously, something wasn't right. Appreciating music was one thing; being completely zoned out and unfocused on the world around them was another.
He now sat at his desk, his plume fiercely scratching at a piece of parchment before him. He'd written possible scenarios, reasonings, plots—anything that could explain the girls' dilemma. In the end, he growled and balled it up, tossing it over his shoulder and beating his head against the wooden surface in anguish.
"I fail to see how giving yourself a headache is going to help you solve this mystery."
Cedric sat up and glared at the snarky raven, who was smirking at him. "I don't need commentary from a creature who's attacked and devoured a live rodent before." He stood up, brushing out his robe as he ambled toward the door.
"That was one time, and it was stress-eating. I thought I explained that—and why am I trying to clarify this for you, anyway? You want to talk about shocking food intake? Let's talk about how many Fly Cakes you scarfed down a few months ago when you returned from your little pirate trip."
"I had an excuse! Pirates don't exactly eat the most delicious meals!" He placed his hand on the doorknob before looking back at the bird. "I'll be back later. Try not to get into trouble."
"Heh… No more than usual, anyway."
Cedric rolled his eyes before leaving.
Angel had crept out of his temporary room and made his way to Calista's room. After knocking a few times and hearing nothing, he sighed and told himself, "I hope she will not be angry with me for doing this…" Quietly, he pushed her door open and walked inside. There was a lamp still glowing by her bed, and the young girl was still fast asleep. The boy sighed in mild relief and sat next to her, gently trailing his fingers through her hair. "My Chante, I want you back to normal…" As he pulled his hand away, he frowned at a glimmering substance on his fingers. It felt familiar… It looked familiar too. Yet something was…so very wrong about it. "Is it possible…?" He stood up and quickly exited his friend's room as she continued to sleep.
Meanwhile, Desmond had also made a similar trek to Amber's room. He'd stayed in a guest room the previous night (something he'd been doing more and more often, considering the distance from his own kingdom to hers), and like Cedric, he hadn't gotten much sleep. The fact that his fiancée was gushing over another guy obviously didn't sit well with him. He wasn't exactly the type to get jealous or to be insecure about things like that, but Amber had certainly never shown interest in other guys as long as they'd been together. For something like that to change so suddenly had floored him.
He knew something was wrong—off. Maybe a spell? Maybe pure delusion? Whatever it was, he didn't like it at all. He knocked softly on Amber's door and waited a few minutes. No one ever responded, just as in the case with Calista. A little concerned, he opened the princess's door and smiled in relief at what he saw.
Amber was fast asleep, her hair twisted into a curled, slightly tangled mess across her pillow. She wasn't exactly the most graceful of sleepers, as evidenced by her foot sticking out of the covers and her mouth hanging open. Still, to him, she was… "Beautiful."
Desmond stood next to her bed and carefully moved her leg back under the covers before readjusting her blankets so that she'd be more comfortable. He glanced out the window and noticed that through the blanket of night, a little bit of light was starting to emerge. It was still early, but it would be sunny soon enough.
"Desmond?"
The blonde turned upon hearing his name and blinked as he saw Angel standing at the door, a finger over his lips to keep him quiet. Curious, he followed the boy as he beckoned him away.
Meanwhile, Amber never made a sound.
"Did you figure out anything?" Desmond asked as they walked down the stairs together.
"Maybe," he replied thoughtfully, "but I would like to get Mr. Cedric's opinion on it."
"I guess it's to the tower then." Seeing the younger boy nod, the prince continued talking as they changed their path, "It's not like Amber to go mad over some random musician simply because of his music. At least, not now, since we're older. I'm sure she had crushes or infatuations when we were younger, but…we're getting married, you know?"
Angel nodded. "I know. And Calista is most certainly not like that. She cares more about her studies than about…that sort of thing. I should know." He blushed a bit as Desmond raised his eyebrows toward him in curiosity. "N-Never mind that. As I said, I might have discovered something important that could answer our questions."
"I hope you're right, Angel."
They hurried along the path that led to Cedric's tower, and up the stairs they went. When they arrived, the door was already unlocked, and they walked inside. However, Cedric wasn't there. Wormwood was, but he was sleeping.
"Where is he?" Angel wondered as he and Desmond walked inside, looking around.
"So, the girls are acting weird, Mr. Cedric is missing…" Desmond sighed as he shut the door behind them. "I really have a bad feeling that I just can't explain."
"As do I. And I wish I could explain my discovery to you, but… No offense, but you are not as familiar with magic as Mr. Cedric is…"
"It's fine. If it's something that can help us get Amber, Sofia, and Calista back to normal, then I'm all for it." He sighed, placing his hands on his hips. "But we're not making any headway here. We need to find him ourselves."
"Right."
As soon as Desmond grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, he was greeted with a startled yell, which he (and soon Angel) both mimicked unintentionally. He blinked when a gloved hand covered his mouth before a quick "SHUSH!" came from the cloaked figure before him. As the hand fell, the prince asked, "Mr. Cedric? Is that you?"
"Get inside, quickly, before the guards come rushing up here!" Cedric ordered, pushing both Desmond and Angel back into the workshop. He removed the black cloak and tossed it onto the table. "What in Merlin's name are you two doing up here so early?"
"Looking for you," Angel responded. "Where have you been?"
"And why were you wearing that cloak?" the prince added.
"Well, for one, I was trying to be inconspicuous… And obviously, I've got to work on that." He folded his arms as he shut the door with his foot. "And secondly, it was a bit windy and chilly when I left this morning. I was attempting to investigate around the village and see if I could find any trace of this 'musician' the girls were talking about. I was unsuccessful."
"Angel said he may have a theory." Desmond turned to the youngest member present. "Right?"
"Um…" Well, he did have some information, but he felt he should probably preface his explanation before he went into details. "Yes, but… Before you get angry with me, Mr. Cedric, let me explain. I went to check on Calista this morning."
Cedric frowned in confusion.
"I knocked on her door, yet she did not answer. So, I quietly walked inside—only to check on her and see if she was all right."
The sorcerer blinked once before nodding for him to continue.
"While I was there, I found…what might have been traces of magic on her. However, it was not her magic, nor mine, nor anyone else's here."
"And how would you know the difference, Angel?" Cedric asked simply, curious as to his answer.
"Because this magic felt far more sinister and powerful than ours. Mine is from my tribe, which is very spirit-based and coated in ancestral roots." To prove his point, he turned his hand palm up and produced a steady stream of blue-hued magic, which swirled around lightly before disappearing. "And your magic, a sorcerer's magic, may go either way. As yours is light-based, your magic has a specific feeling to it: powerful but non-threatening. The magic on Calista was…" He shook his head. "It felt heavy and tainted."
"We need to get to the bottom of this," Desmond declared firmly. "The girls are safe here. But we need to find this musician they were talking about before something bad happens." He turned to Angel. "What could happen if this 'tainted magic' gets to them?" He frowned as the Native boy lowered his head, clenching his fists. He glanced toward Cedric. "Are you in?"
"Are you kidding?" He wielded his wand. "Of course I am. No one gets away with tainting my partner—er…" He waved his free hand in aggravation as he sputtered, "I mean, with whatever spell or curse or whatever is on her—on all of them —we must put an end to it." He then scowled. "And so help me, if anyone dares to hurt Sofia…"
"We will not let any harm come to any of them," Angel assured him gently. "We will figure out what is going on." He clasped his hands behind his back. "Where did they last see this man, I wonder?"
"The bazaar, I'm sure," Desmond told him. "I heard that it's come back around, and anyone trying to gain recognition for his or her craft or talent always starts there."
"Then so shall we," Cedric told them seriously.
To be continued…
Next chapter: Turn of Events