Chapter 3

The vessel was in a state of unrest as The Lady stormed around angrily. "Where is that brat?!" She asked.

But none of the others would tell her, cowering instead at the question of where Six was. The child terrified them and they didn't want to be near her again.

The Lady continued looking around, seeing the damage and seeing that everyone was working to fix anything that was broken. Everyone scurried out of the way as she walked down the halls. "How soon until everything is fixed?" She asked one of the inhabitants.

"Soon, milady," one of them answered.

She nodded. "As soon as things are secured here, I will go search for that brat," she said.

"Perhaps an inquiry around the areas?" Someone else suggested a bit timidly.

"The girl could have gone anywhere, but someone above surely would have seen her," another inhabitant agreed.

The Lady nodded. "Yes, that will do," she said as she walked back to her area, making sure all was right before she made her plans to go to the surface and ask around for the child. "I'll bring her back here to pay for what she did," she said to herself.

Far away, something glitched like a bad screen on a television and a small boy suddenly appeared, looking at himself to make sure he was in one piece. "It worked," he said in relief.

He had tried traveling back to the past once before, but had unfortunately been unable to escape his future. But now he was certain he could escape it and get to Six.

She was in danger. He knew it. He had heard the uproar from the vessel and knew The Lady would come after Six. "I hope she's somewhere far away," he said as he began moving, avoiding anyone he saw and keeping to the shadows.

Tom hummed as he worked, occasionally stopping when he saw a child look up at him in awe and he performed a magic trick for them, making their eyes go wide with wonder. Many parents already knew him and would smile as they saw him as he walked to his workplace, which was a school for magicians. Going inside, he headed for his first class to teach.

"Alright, students," he said as he arrived and saw they were sitting there, waiting patiently. "What is today's lesson to be? Levitation? Burst magic? Or capture magic?"

The students, ten in total, gathered together to whisper and decide. Tom smiled as he waited patiently. He liked to have the students select what to learn each day. After a bit, one of the girls went up to him and bowed her head respectfully.

"May we learn burst magic, sir?" She asked politely.

"Burst magic it is," he said as they gathered around the table where he set up the lesson. "Now, burst magic is magic that you send out to be a distraction or to call for assistance. As the name implies, it is a very short burst of magic, but you must be careful. Burst magic can get very warm and if you hold it too long, you can get burned by it."

One of the boys winced as he recalled the lesson on fire magic and had held the flame too long, ending up getting burned a little. Tom placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled gently. "I got burned a few times before I got it right," he said truthfully to ease the boy's embarrassment.

"How long can burst magic be held before it gets too hot to hold it?" One girl asked.

"Less that thirty seconds," Tom replied. "So it should never be used carelessly. Remember, you must respect the power you have. Misuse it and not only will it backfire on you, but it will make people think that you are dangerous."

"But aren't we already dangerous with magic, sir?" One boy asked.

Tom was pleased the boy had asked that question. "If we don't use it responsibly, then yes, we can be dangerous. But you all are working to use your magic properly. I've noticed a few times where you've all used your magic to help."

His students looked rather guiltily at each other, but he smiled. "I'm proud of how far you all have come and I can see that you are all using your magic properly," he continued. "I'm not upset at you all for using your magic to help."

"But isn't that against the rules, sir?" One girl said. "The headmistress said we should never use magic outside of the classroom."

Tom sighed and shook his head. "I'll have a talk with her later," he said. "But my biggest rule is to never use your magic for evil or when your mind is not clear. Using magic blindly while your emotions are scattered is never a good thing."

The students nodded understandingly and the lesson continued until the midday bell rang and Tom dismissed them, heading out to talk to the headmistress, but she was out at the moment. "Hmm, I might have to ask Susan for some help on this matter," he told himself.

He exited the building and paused as a lady in a white mask came up to him and she nodded her head to him. "Greetings, sir," she said politely. "I'm looking for a young child. She goes by the name of Six and is a scrawny thing. Have you seen her or heard of her?"

"No, I haven't," he replied truthfully, sensing something he didn't like. "Sorry I can't help you, ma'am."

"It's alright," she said. "Thank you for your time."

She moved away and Tom got a distinct feeling that the lady not all that she appeared. "Something isn't right," he said to himself as he began to walk home, stopping by one of the market stalls to pick up some herbs for Susan. He spotted a young boy looking up longingly at some fruit in the next stall over and smiled, going up to him.

"Hello, little one," he said, making the boy jump a bit and look at him with wide eyes. "Apologies for scaring you. I noticed you looking at the fruit."

The boy looked back at the fruit and then at the magician, taking an unsure step back. Tom smiled. "One moment, young one," he said, using his magic to grab two oranges and two apples, paying the vendor and the fruit floated closer to the boy, who was wide eyed and slowly took the offered fruit, looking up at the man in confusion. "I don't like seeing anyone going hungry," he admitted.

"Thank you, sir," the boy said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

The boy looked scared. "Don't tell that lady where Six is," he said. "She's dangerous. Six escaped her and she wants revenge on her."

"Who is Six?" Tom asked.

"My friend," the boy answered. "I'm looking for her."

"I'm sorry I can't be of more help," Tom said, shaking his head. "But I wish you luck."

"Thank you, sir," the boy said. "And thank you for the fruit."

The magician smiled as the boy scampered off and Tom turned for home, deciding to talk to his wife about what happened.

Susan hummed as she closed up the shop, the day having been productive as she turned to see Dylan and Isabella playing hopscotch with Amy watching and keeping score. "Children!" Susan called out. "Time to come in!"

"Coming, Mommy!" Amy called out.

Dylan looked at Isabella and smiled. "You win," he said, nodding to their scores. "Come on. We can play more tomorrow."

"What other games can we play?" Isabella asked.

"Tag, jump rope, or kick the ball towards a goal," the boy said.

She grinned. "Can we do tag tomorrow?"

"Sure," he said as they followed Amy to the house. Susan smiled as she saw them.

"Goodness, you three are filthy," she said with a smile, seeing as the three had gotten a bit dirty. "Let Ogre rinse you three off with the garden hose before you come in."

"Yes, Mom," Dylan said as Ogre gently rinsed the three off with the water. Amy giggled and Dylan laughed too as the water was a little cold. Isabella let out a small shriek before giggling herself as Ogre made it into a game for them. After they were rinsed off, they went inside and Susan wrapped them up in towels to dry off.

"Alright, why don't you three go get your baths and into pajamas for the night? Your father will be home soon and we'll have dinner."

Isabella lit up at hearing that, looking forward to dinner, which Susan noticed and smiled. "You enjoyed lunch so much that you're looking forward to dinner?" She asked.

The child nodded. "You're a really good cook, Mrs. Witch," she said.

"Thank you, dear," she said with a smile.

As the three were washing up, Tom came in the house and Susan greeted him with a hug and a kiss. "Hi, honey," she said. "The kids are washing up and getting into their pajamas."

He smiled. "How did today go?" He asked.

"Amy and Dylan included Isabella in all the games and she had a wonderful time," Susan said. "So much so that they got all dirty and Ogre had to rinse them off before they came into the house."

He laughed heartily. "That's good to hear," he said. "I actually had a very strange encounter in town. Two, actually."

"What happened?" The witch asked.

"A lady in a white mask came up to me and asked me if I had seen a child named Six. I told her no and left, but then spotted a boy who was hungry, so I gave him some fruit from one of the vendors and he begged me to not tell that lady where Six was. I was puzzled as I don't know who Six is."

Tom noticed his wife hadn't moved and he saw her frozen over the stove, her mouth agape and her eyes wide before she turned to him, her face looking horrified. "My love?" The magician asked in concern.

Susan looked to make sure the children were not nearby and she turned to her husband. "Tom, Isabella's former name was Six," she said.

He froze. "You're joking," he said in horror.

"No," she said. "I at first thought she had told me her age instead of her name, but she told me with a straight face that her name was Six. I told her she deserved a real name and I gave her the name Isabella."

The magician immediately used his magic to secure the house. "One of us will keep an eye on the kids at all times," he said firmly, to which she nodded.

The Lady wasn't going to even come near their daughter.

They would make sure of it.

What do you guys think? :)

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418