Chapter 13: A Wizard's Dream.
A long time ago, among people there were wizards; at first glance there was no difference between them, but wizards were special — people capable of using a force unknown to humanity that allowed them to achieve great feats a common person could only dream of, called magic.
Wizards could control elements, speak with animals, alter reality as they wished. For many, that power was a blessing that would bring a new world to humanity. But others saw magic as a curse that would condemn the world to chaos.
Those with influence who wanted that power selfishly spread these ideas to ordinary people, causing fear and contempt toward wizards, beginning the hunt and capture of them.
When wizards saw they were no longer welcome among people, they decided to hide so they would never be found by humans again.
"Nowadays people only remember wizards as fantasy tales and not as part of the world's history," Lux finished narrating. The place fell silent; the two teenagers said nothing. One of them was waiting for some reaction, while the girl didn't respond.
Bianca is stunned — the information Lux had just dropped on her was pretty shocking. Not only because of the incredible things wizards could do with magic, but also because of people's selfishness in wanting that magic for themselves. She felt sick, and her stomach churned at every thought.
Still, something in that story felt familiar, as if she had heard those same words before; maybe they resembled the history books that spoke about hatred and selfishness born from superstitions that explained human behavior in different eras against what's different.
Bianca clenched her fist in frustration. "So… the wizards stopped using magic in front of people because they were afraid of them?" Bianca asked, her sad voice leaving the room in silence. "…It's not fair," she finished, looking into the eyes of the brown-haired boy in front of her, who only looked at her with understanding.
"I understand that feeling of yours…" the boy said with a faint smile appearing on his face. "…Like you, many wizards feel it wasn't fair. In that time, wizards were peaceful and kind to people; they helped many when humans faced problems they couldn't handle by themselves." He closed his eyes a little as his soft voice took on a cheerful tone. "They were more than allies… they were friends," his yellow eyes shone in that room.
"After all that conflict, wizards ended up with emotional and conflicting wounds; some were confused, others were afraid of what humans were doing, but others developed a feeling that surpassed confusion and fear by far: hatred." Lux's voice sounded somewhat sad, the corners of his lips dropped but he remained firm.
Bianca understood that feeling — hatred is the strongest emotion someone can have; she knows it well because she hated herself for a long time. Although people admired her as someone intelligent and strong above all, she was nothing more than a scared girl afraid of people discovering the real person behind the mask that hid her true personality; she couldn't forgive herself and from there came her own hatred.
"Wizards who felt a deep grudge passed those feelings to their children, and today many of them who keep that grudge are willing to take revenge and become hostile wizards who try to cause trouble in your society." Lux told her. Bianca listened to every word carefully, remembering the monster from the other day.
Was it a wizard who turned hostile?
She had to ask him.
"So… the thing that attacked the girl and me yesterday — was it a hostile wizard? Did it want revenge in its own way?" she asked with sadness and frustration; she had almost died that day saving the girl, and was very lucky to survive. If Lux hadn't arrived at the end, she wouldn't be alive.
"Yeah." Lux turned his gaze to the ceiling, thoughtful. "But normally our bodies don't deform like that… it must have suffered a lot."
"Wait a second…" Bianca stopped the boy's thoughts. "…you said wizards are capable of anything, right? Then shouldn't they have dominated the world long ago?" she asked doubtfully, from what she'd heard from Lux they were beings powerful enough to shape reality — she had witnessed the tornado the boy in front of her could make just by pointing his wand. In that case, a military army couldn't stand against a magical being.
"Well, that has a simple answer. In ancient times, when nobles or people of great prestige despised wizards, they created an organization of knights trained with the determination to give their lives for a cause — they watch, control, capture and make wizards like me disappear: the wizard hunters." He said simply, a fact that sounded obvious to him. "When wizards began to hide, people started to forget them. Except for the hunters who are still active but remain in the shadows to act when a magical being appears and finish the job without calling attention, hiding our existence in society and keeping wizards relegated to the winds of fantasy. Didn't you find it strange that what happened yesterday, no one made a big deal out of it?"
Bianca hadn't thought about it — people would probably assume normal things: an accident, a natural phenomenon, instead of it being the result of a battle involving magic, much less that an organization would hide the true reason what happened. It all sounded so surreal and yet so familiar.
"When I met you the other day, I felt a hunch; your expression, your character, your eyes showed me someone who would fight for justice. And I wasn't wrong." Lux said again. "You defended an innocent person without hesitation, even when disadvantaged you stood up to your opponent; although I was surprised that guy threw you against a house — you came out unhurt! Humans are more resilient than I imagined!" he admitted, amazed, happy about the girl with black hair and pink streaks' feat.
"We really aren't…" Bianca laughed nervously at Lux's joy, she didn't want another misunderstanding. She raised her left hand toward Lux. "I survived thanks to this ring," she said. "It started to glow and suddenly I felt renewed, energized, stronger; the wounds I had disappeared and I was able to face him… at first I doubted it was real — my whole life I wanted to believe magic was real." Bianca murmured with some doubt, showing her ring with the yellow crystal. "…I was wondering if you know what it is." She looked into the boy's eyes; she could feel Lux's fixed gaze on her hand, watching intensely — his stare embarrassed her and it seemed like he was going to pull the ring off her finger.
"No idea." Lux denied simply. Bianca's only chance to know what she had vanished with those words; she had been waiting to ask all day and this is how it turned out — the wait was in vain.
"I've never heard of an object that grants magic to an ordinary person. That's interesting!" Lux exclaimed happily; it was the first time he'd heard of anything like it. "Can you use it? Will you let me see how it works in action, please?" The brown-haired boy seemed like a child at that point; his insistence overwhelmed her. It was a rather childish reaction compared to a few seconds ago; the only other time he had gotten serious was when he spoke about a miracle. A miracle that Bianca still didn't know about.
"By the way, Lux… earlier you mentioned a miracle, what was that about?" Bianca wanted to know the truth about the boy's intentions. He had been a mystery since she met him.
"My miracle?" The boy pointed at himself, getting a nod from the pink-eyed girl.
Lux calmed himself; he wanted to answer as clearly as possible. He inhaled deeply and began to speak. "Like you, after hearing the story of the wizards and how they ended up hiding, I got very sad and frustrated. It was only because of the negative feelings on both sides that it ended sadly." Lux sounded sad; his words were direct as he raised his closed hands. "I dreamed that wizards could also be happy, but not at the expense of taking away humans like you of their happiness." One day an idea occurred to me, an extremely crazy one — so crazy that if it were completed, it would be a real miracle, Lux said, his voice gaining strength and confidence. "I want to create a world where humans and wizards can coexist without fear, hatred, or resentment; a world where we can show our true selves without fear." Lux interlaced his hands firmly to emphasize his point.
Bianca felt confused and impressed; it was a very beautiful dream but he was right — it would be crazy, if not impossible, to achieve it; people don't change overnight; it requires a lot of time.
He's the same age as her and has that desire?
Without a doubt it was a miracle.
"And do you know where to start?" Bianca asked, trying to see the boy's motivation; her pink eyes fixed on his yellow ones.
"First of all, I need people willing to help me — people with strong will, people with a sparkle in their eyes who can see that the world has hope to be better. Eyes are the window to the soul, and when I saw yours, Bianca, I knew you would be the right person to help me with my miracle." Lux finished explaining with a wide smile.
Bianca could not believe it; now everything made sense. From the first moment, he had been watching her — observing her actions and emotions.
Was that also why he told her the truth?
Did he trust her?
"I don't know if I'm a good choice, I really don't have the skills for that." Bianca confessed, trying to make Lux change his mind about her; she didn't feel capable of doing something like that.
"You don't have to worry — the more people, the stronger we'll be to change the world." Lux didn't back down; he had a hunch about her and he wasn't going to give up easily. "When you saw magic you didn't freak out — you're perfect for this. If you can't stand, I'll be there to support you and walk with you." He held out his hand; his smile was so bright it almost dazzled her.
Bianca hesitated — shaking his hand would be the turning point toward a life full of dangers; it wouldn't be a calm path, it would be thorny and both of them knew it. She looked back at her ring. Memories of her mother made her doubt more.
Did her mother know what the ring was capable of and give it to her?
Did she know she would use it?
She had many questions.
"I'll accept, but on one condition… in exchange for helping you with your dream, I want you to help me learn to use magic like you. If I can learn to control the ring's power, you'll have an ally as strong or stronger than you." She proposed; it was a deal where both benefited, there were no flaws and the task of each was clear to achieve their goals.
"Alright, it's a deal!" he answered happily. The two teenagers stared at each other; the pink and yellow eyes met, they clasped hands, sealing their mutual help agreement.
A loud sound pulled them out of the trance.
Recess was over and they had to go back to classes. "Wait, Lux!" Bianca exclaimed. They were barely leaving the storeroom where they had been; Bianca grabbed Lux by the sleeve to stop him. "No one must know about this, you hear?" To Lux it sounded confusing, but for Bianca it was a safeguard — it would be a headache to try to explain why it's a bad idea for anyone else to know about wizards and magic right now.
"No one must find out that Bianca?" Bianca was startled by none other than Zelena, who appeared behind her like a cat; if she weren't her friend, Bianca would have punched her out cold.
"You're welcome!" Bianca answered automatically, trying to avoid the subject.
Sadly for Bianca, Zelena was known as the school gossip detective.
"Let's see… you and the new boy came out of a dark room, you told Lux not to tell anyone and you got nervous when you realized I heard you." Zelena's words were accurate; if she put that effort into paying attention in class instead of gossip, Bianca would be proud of her. "Ahhhh!" Zelena's eyes opened wide and her mouth let out an inaudible gasp while trying to hide it with her hand, putting together all the threads of thought — Bianca didn't like where this was going.
Zelena has already discovered it.
"Guys! Bianca and the new boy were kissing in the storeroom in the dark!" Zelena shouted at the top of her lungs.
Or maybe not.
To Bianca's misfortune, Zelena was so imaginative she could say anything, but this was a worse scenario than she had imagined.
"No! You're wrong! Lux, tell her it's not true!" Bianca shouted worriedly; her face turned red and her mouth trembled with embarrassment. Lux only watched the interaction without wanting to say anything, without wanting to help Bianca clear things up. She had only one word to describe him.
Traitor!
Zelena ran through the school corridors shouting the most important gossip in the school without stopping. Bianca ran after her to stop her — and if necessary, silence her.
—--
Elsewhere.
"So Thomas died? What a shame, but at least now I know where my ring is." An elegant, soft voice was heard in the place, a joyful smile appearing in the shadows.
It's only a matter of time to see how things end.
The End.
Here is!
Tell me, what do you think of the chapter?
What are you hoping to see next?