Spell Bound 1

"Get up," he said and ran his fingers over my eyelids, pushing them up.
"What?" I asked wondering what would happen if I bit one of those fingers.
"Someone's at the door," he told me. Sure enough I heard a knock. What time is it? The window held bursting rays of sunlight. I sighed, so the shop was open. Why did we have to live right above it?
"You get it!" I snapped at him. Not really expecting him to get up. Just nursing the hope that I could sleep a little longer.
"Who's the wizard in this room?"
"You are," I grumbled.
"And who is his apprentice?"
"..." I could run my own magic shop.
"The one who answers the door when the wizard tells them to is?" I glared at him, but it was no use trying to stay angry with him when you were staring into his big gold eyes.
"Fine," I said and got up. Keeping my head turned away from him. "Where are my clothes?"
He shrugged. His room was a mess, and he refused to clean it. I had tried to make him, but it never worked. I suspected this was him trying to get me to clean in for him.
"Kaynin, I won't clean your room no matter what I lose in it," I snapped at him again and grabbed some of his clothes that I found on the floor. I tugged them on as I ran down the stairs.
Enik greeted me by rubbing against my legs. The black fox was big for his species and almost pushed me off balance.
"Down boy." He nudged me with his cold pink nose as an apology. Foxes were the best familiars in my opinoin. They were tough but not too big. They couldn't win a fight with a bear, but you can take them places you can't take a bear. Or any other large animal for that matter. Kaynin thinks birds are better because they can fly. He perfers his golden eagle. But she has a nasty temper and I'm the one who has to clean up after her. Enik doesn't poop in the house.
I opened the door to see a girl, with curly red hair and pink dress, standing there waiting for me.
"Hello Maggie. What brings you here today?" The little girl was one of our most reliable customers. Every month she buys a protection charm for her father's fishing boat. She had already gotten her charm last week though, I didn't know why she was here.
"My sister's getting married and mom wanted to know if you or Mr. Kaynin would be able to give a blessing." Business was good in little superstitious villages like this one. They never do anything without consulting an oracle or fortune teller first, and never have a cerimony without a priest/priestess or sorcerer/sorceress to bless it. But having a witch or warlock at an event like this one would end very badly. It made me happy to know I had earned the trust of the community. Which was good. I mean, I had never done a dark magic spell in my life and hadn't gotten my powers by making a deal with any sort of evil spirit. I was born this way, with Enik at my side. I was probably the seventh child of the seventh child, and that was why I was abandoned. But Kaynin picked me up soon after. I had no right to complain. My life wasn't all that bad.
"Is it today?" I asked her. She nodded.
"Mmhmm. Sasha said she would rather have you there."
"Ok." I said excited. It was like I was a kid again and Kaynin was letting me make a potion for the first time. (Which hadn't gone well....) But I was sure this time would be different. I had seen Kaynin give blessings at weddings a hundred times. It was easy.
A good luck spell and all the happy thoughts you can muster. At the end of the wedding the bride and groom give you a small gift as a thank you. Never money. It's bad luck for the new couple to give away money at the beginning of their marriage.
"I'll be right back." I told her and ran back up the stairs. In my room I found a dress. It was dark blue with shimmering silver stars embroidered onto the hem of the skirt, sleeves, and collar. It was what I wore to the last wedding Kaynin and I had gone to. So I guessed it was a good pick. I couldn't find anything else that looked like it would be acceptable at a wedding....
I ran into Kaynin's room to tell him where I was going.
"I'm going to-"
"I know." He had pants on, but he hadn't bothered to put a shirt on. He yawned and stretched at the same time, making himself seem rather cat-like. "So Sasha's finally over me."
I sighed. I should have expected that, I was pretty sure he had a relationship with ever young looking woman in town.
"Is there anyone in this town you haven't womanized?"
"The men, the girls under 20, the women over 40," he answered honestly.
My mouth was agape. I hadn't expected that many. He sure was a busy guy.
"I'm not talking to you," I told him as I ran back down the stairs.
"Remember, happy thoughts!" He yelled at me as I contemplated strangleing him. Enik growled, still at my feet. And I remebered our empathy link. If I could concentrait on his emotion emotions at the wedding maybe I could manage 'happy thoughts'.
"Alright Maggie, let's go." She ran off like only a little girl can. Quickly and without moving her arms, ok, barely moving her arms. Kids run funny. I ran after her, unsure where the wedding was. But then I saw the big white tent in the middle of a feild of wildflowers. If I had to bet, I'd put my money on the wedding being there.
Maggie ran under the tent and disapered in the crowd of people. Enik hopped onto my shoulders and wrapped his tail around my neck. He didn't like walking under the feet of crowds. He learned his lesson after being stepped on more than once.
'Lots of people' He thought to me and sniffed the air.
"I know, just be careful." I told him, hoping no one would hear me, and stroked his ink black fur. "Where oh where is the bride-to-be?" I sang to myself and moved on the fringed of the group. Trying to make it to where I thought was the front of the tent. That's when I was ambushed by a pack of girls. All of them under 40. Most of them over 20. They made me blush as I thought about what Kaynin had probably done with most of them. I was pretty sure that the group thought that just because I was a girl they could make me their friend. And because I was a sorceress I'd be a good friend to have. I disliked them already.
"Solene! I didn't know you were going to be here." Said a nameless girl.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm here to bless the wedding." I informed them, not that they needed to know.
"Oh really? Kaynin lets you do things like this be yourself?" said one of the more nasty nameless girls. Well, I'm sure they all have names. I had just never taken the time to commit them to memory. This was the first time I was seeing a lot of them. I don't exactly go out much. If they had never bought a spell, potion, or charm I had probably never met them.
"Be quiet. No need to be mean to the poor girl just because you couldn't keep your man," said one of the older women. I had no doubt she was talking about Kaynin. I decided if I would remember any of their names it would be her's. "Don't mind her, honey. We just wanted to talk to you." Ok, I could talk to them.
"Yeah, aren't weddings great?" Asked one of the younger ones.
Blakka, blakka, blakka. They jabbered about guys and weddings and babies. All things I wasn't interested in at the moment. I liked Kaynin. But he wasn't the kind of guy to tie himself down. Making me his apprentice was the most commitment he could muster. I was sure of it. He's like a cat in moreways than one. He's independent and doesn't show his affection unless it's night and you're in bed. But apparently, the girls didn't know that.
"I always had a crush on Kaynin. What's it like living with him?"
"Like... the truth?" I asked her. I didn't feel comfortable giving her the real version. "Of course!" She was only a teenager, still love-drunk and delusional about romance. I'm a teenager too, but I'm mature for my age. Very mature.
"Like an arrogant wizard bossing me around all the time. Threatening to terminate my apprentaceship. Testing spells on me and giving me charmed jewelery in the guise of affection. He's a devious old man who uses spells to look young. I've known him since I was a child. He hasn't aged a year." Most of what I said was only half-true. He'd only given me one charmed necklace, and only used spells on me while training me. He had never threatened to terminate my apprenticship, he insinuated it a lot, but never threatened. He did age maybe a year or two. When I met him he looked like a teenager, and now he looked like an adult. So maybe a spell to slow his aging, not stop it. Stopping the aging process would reek of dark magic. But simply being a seventh child of a seventh slowed your aging process a little.
"Does he ever take girls to his house while your there?" Asked one of the bolder ones.
I gave up and decided to tell them the truth. "He has the desency to go to the woman's house. No one has ever seen the upstairs of the shop other than me and him." That's what I assumed at least. Many times he had spent nights out and only came home late in the morning. I could see a lot of the younger ones give up on him, and the ones that have husbands. Great, less for me to worry about.
Just then Enik hopped off my shoulders and ran toward home.
"Where's he going?" Asked one of the girls. I shrugged.
"Wherever he wants. Enik's a wild animal, not a pet."
The music started playing then, for which I was thankful, and everyone took their seats. I watched the ceramony in silence. While trying my best to think happy thoughts.
After it was over I thought about leaving before I saw the new couple. But I knew I couldn't. So I waited on the periferary. Trying not to draw attention to myself.
I was happy when I spotted Eik loping back to me.
"Hey Enik," I greeted him cheerfully as he hopped back onto my shoulders. I reached up to pet him, but instead he dropped something in my open hand.
It was a simple charm, beads and string with a subtle spell woven in. It was the kind that you hung over your bed, like a dream catcher.
'The Protector wants you to give this to the Sasha.' Enik understands the human language and can send me a strange accented version of it. But he doesn't understand names yet. He even refers to himself as 'the Enik' sometimes.
"Hmm." I nodded. I would look like a weirdo if I started talking to my fox.
Sasha eventually found me. She was grinning like a drunken school boy. Good, I thought to myself, I hope you stay this happy.
"Thank you for coming and not - not bringing him. I guess you understand." She said sounding unsure of herself. "Anyway, thanks." She thanked me again and held out a small package. It was about the size of my palm and an inch in height. It was daintily wrapped. I almost felt bad opening it. But that was the nature of presents.
It was a blue headband with a darker blue ribbon attached to it. I put it on. It went well with me blue/purple/black hair. Kaynin had dyed it for me recently.
"Thanks." I said and smiled. Trying all the harder to think happy thoughts for her. "Kaynin wanted me to give you this. A present for the bride." I placed the charm in her hand, and she held it close. She blushed.
"Tell him... it's pretty."
"It's a charm," I explained to her. "You hang it over your bed."
"Oh, thanks. Tell him, thanks." She said and ran back to her groom.
I watched for a second. They were completely infatuated with eachother. Stay that way. I thought hard, trying to put power into the words.
An arm wrapped around me and I was going to slap whoever it belonged to. But Enik told me it was Kaynin. I turned, and sure enough, it was his golden shimmering eyes I were staring into.
"Are you done cursing the wedding?"
"What? I wasn't-!"
"Your jealous feelings can't be good for any marriage." I sighed. I knew it. I messed up. "It's ok. I fixed it." He told me.