Silverton's Journey

Chapter 13

Isabella went out of the log cabin at night to meet with her friend after listing out what they needed to buy. Ophelia, while waiting for her to return, continued reading the Foretelling of Destruction. The book seemed boring since most of the first parts were all about history. Why would there be so much history in a book of prediction? She opened the book to know her destiny, not history. She did not notice falling asleep with the book on her face.

When it was morning, Ophelia woke up to find her books back in her tote bag. Isabella was sitting beside her, waiting. She said, "Get up, hurry. I'm hungry. You sure read some weird books. I kept all of them in place, so you have to make something better today."

Ophelia took some of the ingredients and went to cook out in the woods. Isabella followed her and crouched beside her after starting the fire. Ophelia asked, "Don't you cook? You don't even have a stove at home."

"No... I mostly cook with magic... and buy food when I have enough money." Isabella was hesitant in answering.

"How do you earn? I thought you lived here secretly."

"You're right, but sometimes I get to perform in various circuses and theatres and stuff... most of which are illegal. But they do pay well..."

As she stirred the porridge in the pot, Ophelia stated, "It must be hard for humans living here."

Isabella yawned. "Now that you're living with me, you have to do something to earn too, you know. Do whatever you want, just don't get caught by the king's guards."

Ophelia asked with sparkling eyes, "Can you teach me magic?"

"I can send you to the magic school where my friend studies," replied Isabella, rolling her eyes.

"Why would you send me to a place where even you don't dare going? This isn't fair!"

Isabella laughed. "You are my servant. I can send you wherever I want."

"Then pay me!" demanded Ophelia with a pout.

Isabella's laugh faded away; she was slightly astonished. She smirked and said, "You used my own words against me. Interesting..."

When Ophelia was done with the porridge, she collected a bunch of berries from Isabella's so-called garden and served breakfast inside the log cabin. This time, Isabella finished her bowl of porridge as if she were getting late for work. Ophelia was even more surprised to see her ask with shining eyes, "Can I get more?"

Ophelia passed her days in Isabella's log cabin, spending most of her time reading and thinking about how she could work to earn. She had no choice but to work wherever Isabella did. Isabella was happy to hear it from her and eventually agreed to teach her magic.

It was on a day warmer than usual when Isabelle took Ophelia out in her garden to begin. She said, "You just don't learn magic and use it like that; you need to awaken the magic inside you. Every creature is born with it and everyone is capable of using it, but you need to allow the magic to take over your soul. Once you have awakened it, there is no going back."

"Isabella, you make it sound scary. It's not like that, right?" asked Ophelia with a doubtful voice.

"Magic is not bad, as long as you use it correctly. Since everything comes with a cost, magic does too. Do you still want to do it?"

Ophelia took a deep breath and clenched her fists. When she nodded, Isabella smirked. "So, let's begin. Repeat after me:

Invoco te magicam in corde meo, ut surgas."

Ophelia remained silent, not being able to catch any of that. Isabella sighed seeing the confusion on her face. She said, "Let's do this word by word. Are you okay with that?"

"What kind of spell is this? I don't understand anything."

"That's because it's the language of the dead. Listen carefully."

The two girls chanted the spell repeatedly until Ophelia was able to do it on her own. Isabella asked her to do it one more time. Ophelia took a deep breath and said, "Invoco te magicam in corde meo, ut surgas."

As soon as the words left her lips, her vision became blank. After seeing a flashing light in front of her eyes, she felt as if she were taken into a void place. There was no air to breathe, no light to see, and no voice to hear. It was the last thing she remembered.

When Ophelia woke up, she found herself on the bed inside the log cabin. She found Isabella sitting beside her, reading the Foretelling of Destruction. Ophelia gasped and jumped up.

"Hey, take it easy. You've just woken up," said Isabella as she kept the book down.

Ophelia took sharp breaths. "What happened to me?"

"I forgot to tell you about it before. That spell would make you unconscious for a while. Happens to everyone," said Isabella with no concern.

Ophelia rested against the wall and sighed. Hugging the pillow, she said, "What's next?"

Isabella poked her on her arm and chuckled. "Judging by how weak you look, I think you should rest for a while. I've never heard of anyone staying unconscious for two days."

"Two days!" shrieked Ophelia as her face turned pale. She remained silent for a while and stared blankly at the floor.

"You're lucky it was only for two days. I was in a blackout for five days when I chanted the spell. Well, I wouldn't teach you any more spells in those days, so it doesn't really matter. Now you can just do the basics, like levitating objects, reading minds, starting fires, and little things. You don't need to learn anything extra for these."

Ophelia's eyes sparkled with excitement. She grinned and exclaimed, "Reading minds too? Tell me how to do it!"

Isabella grunted and rolled her eyes. "Keep it down, will you? I won't tell you anything tonight."

"It's night..."

The next day, Isabella did not take her out. She cooked the food with her magic which made Ophelia feel nauseous. Ophelia wondered how she could eat food like that almost every day. Everything she cooked tasted the same as if they were all made from paper.

The two of them ate in silence, and when they were done, they sat on the little bed. "It tasted terrible, Isabella. You should really learn how to cook," said Ophelia with a frown.

Isabella looked frustrated; she had her head buried in her hands. She mumbled, "Where do I even start?"

Ophelia sat closer to her and placed her hand on Isabella's shoulder. She smiled and said, "I can teach you."

"Hey, don't touch me!" Isabella looked at her while trying her best to suppress her laughter.

Ophelia chuckled and said, "Come on, are you allergic to touches? Is this something that happens to witches?"

"Of course, not. I just don't like being touched."

The brunette pretended as if she did not listen. She wrapped her arms around Isabella which made her shriek. Ophelia laughed wholeheartedly while Isabella glared at her.

She heard Isabella's voice saying, Why is she like this? I don't even want to learn how to cook.

But Isabella's lips were not moving.