When Merlin returned home two hours later after enjoying a lovely three course meal at the newly opened restaurant, he could hear the sound of rummaging around upstairs. Instantly on high alert, Merlin creeped up the stairs, his wand ready in case he needed to defend himself with a magic spell. What he saw before him was not something he expected, but was immediately relieved.
Jaden was in his study, standing in front of the bookcase with a pile of books next to her on the small desk. It seems she hadn't heard Merlin come through the front door, or even as he crept his way up the stairs. He stood in the doorway of the study, watching her for a moment, wondering what exactly she was up to. When it was clear she wasn't going to notice him anytime soon, Merlin coughed deliberately, causing the mage to turn around in fright. "Ah, Jaden, there you are! I'm conducting a study of the magic in the village…and I could use your assistance. What do you say?"
Slightly confused as to why she wasn't getting a scolding from breaking into his house, Jaden blinked at him. "Sure, why not."
Merlin clapped his hands together. "Marvellous! Now, to assist me, you must first hone your own magical skills. Tell me, what do you want most from magic?"
Jaden smirked at this, knowing the answer as clear as day. "To become more powerful!"
"Yes, yes… WHAT!? No, no, no!" Merlin's revulsion was evident. "Power is never an end in itself. You must reflect on what you wish to do with magical power. We shall begin by gathering dream shards. They're a potent material used to craft many magical items. You'll find them trapped inside of Night Thorns."
"Hmm, what do I wish to do with magical power? Good question. For now, it's pulling harmless pranks; which is why I'm here." Jaden didn't see any point in hiding the fact as to why she was actually here anymore, he was bound to ask eventually.
Merlin seemed unfazed. "Has anyone ever told you it's wrong to break into someone else's house?" He asked her with disapproval.
"I didn't break into your house, you left the door unlocked." Jaden replied, defending herself.
The wizard sighed and walked up to Jaden, picking up one of the books she was studying and scanned the page she was on. He was silent for several seconds before saying, "You know, if you wanted to learn more about magic, you could have just asked." He said kindly.
Jaden scoffed. "And suffer through more lectures? No thanks. Besides, I'm not the best student."
"You're doing fine so far. A little overconfident perhaps…and stubborn." He added that last part after a brief pause.
"You mean I haven't annoyed you enough? Better step up my game, huh? And overconfident? Ha, I wish. Just a little something called acting. I seriously doubt that I can save the valley…" Jaden trailed off.
Merlin placed a comforting hand on Jaden's shoulder. "I have faith in you, Jaden. Look at what you've already accomplished in the short amount of time you've been here."
Jaden sighed and slammed the book she was reading shut. "As I've said before, doing other people's dirty work is a great distraction. I will do whatever it takes to save this valley, I can promise you that. I'm not the type of person who sits around while people are suffering if I can do something to help. I'm just afraid of what the cost will be." She said regretfully.
Merlin gestured to the book in his hand. "Was there something in particular you were looking for? Maybe I can help." He asked inquisitively.
"Oh, I already found what I was looking for." Jaden dismissed him. "I got curious and started reading more than I intended. It's fascinating how you and I-" She cut herself short when she realised her mistake, hastily trying to fix it, "uh, I mean you and my former mentor have different views on what is considered forbidden magic."
Merlin's interest picked up a notch. "Oh? You didn't share the same views as your former mentor?" He asked, noticing her slip up.
"Not exactly…" She then shook her head, inwardly cursing herself for her error. This was not something she wanted to talk about, not with anyone and especially not with this wizard she only just met a little over three weeks ago. "Uh, you know I should get going before I spill anymore personal stuff." She told him before hurrying out of the house, texting Goofy to tell him to meet at her house. She had done what she came for, feeling the small weight of the nasty potion in her pocket.
Watching her go, Merlin huffed to himself and started to clean up the mess that Jaden had left in her wake. It would have annoyed him greatly if it wasn't for the fact that he was starting to take a liking to the mischief-making mage.
When Jaden got back to her own house, she saw Goofy was already waiting outside eagerly for Jaden.
"Oh boy, just imagine what we can cook with all those great ingredients. Let's make something everybody'll love." Goofy said, acting much more like his old self again.
Jaden, needing something light-hearted to do after her run-in with Merlin and spilling her secrets, was glad of the much needed diversion. "A challenge, I love it!"
The pair entered Jaden's house with Goofy taking a seat by the kitchen counter whilst Jaden prepared the cooking.
Goofy took the time to scan the house from his seat and was surprised to find that the house looked much nicer since the fire incident. It was also a really aesthetically pleasing looking home despite the fact Jaden hardly spent any time in it. "Gawrsh, Jaden, you sure do a lot of work around the village. I'd love to help out more, is there anything I can do?" Goofy requested.
"How about cooking?" Jaden asked.
"Aw, I'm a great cook! Folks especially love my meatballs and how I serve 'em. I whack 'em towards you with a ping-pong paddle so you can catch 'em in a bowl! Pretty fun, huh?" Goofy laughed at the memory.
Jaden however, looked unsure. "Right…how about building things?"
"I'm great at construction work! Hammering and sawing and pouring cement are my specialties. Though I outta tell you: there've been a few accidents on some of the jobs I've worked on." Goofy said, this fact apparently not alarming him whatsoever.
Then you're not very good at construction work then, are you? Jaden decided to keep that sarcastic comment to herself, not wanting to upset him. "How many accidents?" She questioned cautiously, not knowing if she wanted to know the answer to that.
Goofy was silent for a moment, appearing to do quick maths in his head whilst occasionally counting on his fingers. "Five hundred and thirty six. What're the odds right?" He grinned at her widely with his buck-toothed smile.
Jaden wasn't quite sure how to reply to that. "Uh…right. Maybe cleaning then?"
"Sure, I'm real good at cleaning. Oh, expect for the time the vacuum escaped and got the cat. And the time I accidentally set the windows on fire by exploding a broom." Goofy continued to laugh at his many mistakes.
I wonder what Disney movie that fuck-up is from. Jaden wondered, promising herself to find out as soon as she was awake from this strange place. "How did you manage that? Wait, maybe it's best if I don't know," She raised her hand as Goofy was about to speak, "you know what, never mind."
Goofy looked somewhat disappointed that he wouldn't be able to tell that tale. "Are you sure? Well, let me know if you think of something I could help with."
A few hours later and Jaden was done with the meals. She made sure to add the potion she stole from Merlin's house into Goofy's meal whilst he was distracted with looking at a framed picture of a hill covered in flowers on the wall. Placing the meal into a plastic container, she handed it over to Goofy, who thanked her before leaving the house.
Jaden smirked mischievously to herself as Goofy shut the door behind him. It didn't matter just how nice that meal tasted at the end of the day, that potion would do its job of ensuring that Goofy's head was stuck down a toilet brining it all back up.
Glancing over at the dirty dishes by the sink, Jaden spun towards the door, deciding that they can wait until tomorrow. She still had one more task she had promised to do before the day was up and that was making Mickey's birdhouse. Shutting the back door behind her, she went over to the crafting station located in her garden and got to work on building the birdhouse.
When Jaden was finally done, it was late in the evening, the moon high in the sky. Thankfully the moon's light was bright enough for Jaden to see what she was doing without any setbacks.
Picking up her creation, she was hoping to just drop it off at Mickey's doorstep and head straight back home, but picked the wrong time as Mickey was returning home at that moment.
He saw the birdhouse and smiled broadly. "Gosh, that birdhouse looks so good. I kinda wish I was a bird! Ha-ha! It sure is exciting to think that everybody's starting to come back. But there's actually somebody in particular that I'm especially waiting for…my sweetheart, Minnie." Mickey looked down at the ground, his ears drooping in sorrow. "I was hoping to find her again when you opened the meadow, but she wasn't there. Maybe if you bring the village back to what it was, she can come back…" Mickey's voice broke as he attempted to stop the oncoming tears.
Jaden, not wanting to upset him further, was vague on her comment. "I've been wondering where she was."
"Me too! She disappeared and I don't know how to find her. But now that you're here, I bet that together we can get her back! There's something magical about you, Jaden. I can't help but be hopeful when your around." Mickey was quick on the compliment, to which Jaden didn't know how to respond. She couldn't promise Mickey that she'd find Minnie and get his hopes crushed, so the best thing for her to do was just stand in silence and hope that he'd drop it. She may be destined to be the saviour of this valley, but she wasn't a miracle worker.
The pair said their good nights to each other and as Jaden watched Mickey take his birdhouse and enter his home, Jaden returned to hers, getting undressed quickly and got herself into her warm, inviting bed, snuggling herself into her duvet like a cocoon. Today had been a very long day of endless chores and she was glad to finally get some sleep. She stared up at the ceiling and wondered briefly what tomorrow would bring, surely nothing crazy right?
If only she knew the half of it.
