Fiivon

Mary spotted three human-like figures in the distance. She hid behind a tree and removed the binoculars from her pocket. Through its lenses, she saw three people. One was an older, bearded man who was carrying a twisted staff adorned with a large, misty crystal which he used as a cane. Another was a woman with long, pointed ears who lazily carried an ornate, carved stick of some sort in one hand and carried her blonde hair in the other. She wore a disgusted, arrogant look on her face as though she wasn’t supposed to be there. The third was inexperienced and looked much younger. He carried a carved stick in one hand and a machete in the other which he used to hack away at the diseased foliage before the others would move forward. The old man looked in Mary's direction with an investigative look on his face. He knows someone is here. Mary returned the binoculars to her pocket as she crept forward.

“Uggggh, can’t you like, go any faster this place is so gross.” The woman with pointy ears twirled her hair while she tapped her foot.

“We’d be done sooner if you helped.” The boy mumbled.

“Ha! What was that? You can’t even speak loud enough for my superior ears to hear.” She wiggled her ears.

“I said we’d be done sooner if you... helped me… out.”

“And why should I of all people do that? It’s your fault you never bothered to learn any magic that would speed things up, and now we are stuck dealing with your incompetent stupidity.”

“I was hoping giving him some hands-on experience would help him learn, but it seems I was mistaken.” The old man shook his head and stroked his beard. “Perhaps I chose poorly with this one.”

“Well… maybe it’s my master's—” The old man struck the boy hard enough to knock him over.

“Your insubordination knows no bounds does it.” The old man scowled making the wrinkles on his face more apparent.

“Surely you would have learned better by now, how many times has he hit you? You can’t even compare to the likes of me who always does things perfectly.” The woman flipped her hair back.

“It’s okay, I am sure you will be able to learn eventually.” Mary reached her hand out to the boy. “What is your name?”

“Don’t answer her boy, she’s one of the faded.” The old man raised his staff. Two beams of yellow light snaked around his arm before crystalizing on the staff.

Mary drew her favored sidearm and pointed it at the man’s staff. Click Oh. Right. I did not have time to reload it before I died. She holstered her gun. Yellow beams unfurled from the crystals and shot towards Mary. She grasped another sidearm while the beams wrapped around her but she wasn’t able to remove it from its home. She tried to speak, but her mouth wouldn’t open. Her legs were rooted to the ground. Even her eyes were forcibly fixed in front of her.

“You, boy. Put the collar on her.”

The boy fumbled for the collar.

“Looking for this.” The woman grinned and sighed excessively and twirled the collar in her hand. “Honestly, can you do even a single thing right? I know I’m great at everything but I should not have been able to steal something so important from you so easily. Perhaps we should tell this unfortunate girl your name is Failure.” She placed the collar around Mary’s neck while sticking her tongue out at ‘Failure.’ Once clasped, a now connected orb emitted a white aura. The woman yawned as though the work she had done was tiring. “Aaany second now.”

The trio waited.

The woman twirled her hair. "Isn't this taking too long, maybe Failure over here damaged it." She kicked him.

'Failure' watched the ground as he grabbed his side.

"Interesting." The old man stroked his beard. “She must just have a soul without color. I’ll release my spell, but be ready. I’ve never seen this happen before.” He struck his staff against the ground. The yellow beams erupted into a mist before disappearing entirely.

BANG

Mary's arm was outstretched and her handgun fired before any of the three could stop her. A yellow and blue magical barrier erupted from the old mans robes, though it did nothing to stop the bullet from piercing his head between his temples and exiting from the other side. His corpse fell to the ground.

'Failure' fell back onto the ground and watched in horror.

“You… How dare you! Now how am I supposed to learn the magic that was supposed to cement myself as a magical superstar.” The woman flipped her hair as she drew her wand back. Fire began to form at its tip.

“I do not make the same mistake twice.” The tone of her voice and facial expression remained unchanged from when she tried to help ‘Failure’ up. She holstered her gun and drew one of her many knives as she dashed towards the woman. Fire is easy to deal with. Mary's grey eyes tracked the woman's every movement.

“You.. uggggh! This will make you take me seriously." She snapped her wand at Mary who twisted and crouched in response. A ball of fire struck Mary’s coat. The woman’s eyes widened in shock as Mary snapped through the fiery dispersion unharmed. The woman froze. Mary was now in striking distance.

"Fire was never going to work." Mary drove her reverse gripped knife into the woman’s skull. Aided by gravity, Mary unsheathed her knife from the woman’s head and swung its blade against the air to remove any residual blood. ““I am sorry Lena. My life was in danger and I will not allow myself to die again, for your sake.” Her voice was remorseful, but ‘Failure’ could tell it wasn't out of consideration for his fallen companions. She turned toward ‘failure.’

He scooched back and brandished his worn machete. Dirt covered his clothes. “P..please d..don’t come any closer.”

Mary stopped. “It is okay. They can not hurt you anymore. They will not be able to hurt anyone anymore.” Mary unsuccessfully pulled at the collar around her neck. “You never told me your name and I would like to know what it is."

“It’s Fiivon.” His arms slumped to his side and he looked dejected.

“Fiivon is an interesting name, My name is Mary.”

“We…we apprentices aren’t supposed to name ourselves until our master recognizes us.” He glanced towards the bodies before he snapped his head back in the direction of Mary’s feet.

“I do not like that rule. If you want to be called Fiivon. I will call you Fiivon."

"Thank you miss."

"Would you be willing to help me get this off?”

"O..of course." He cautiously walked behind Mary and held onto the collar. The orb dimmed and the collar popped off. He handed it to Mary, a look of disappointment in his face. "I don't know where you were going miss, but can I go with you?"

"I am on my way to Jesperville, will you guide me there?” I would not have any problems finding my way there but he needs to feel useful. “In exchange, I do not mind helping you out until we part ways.”

Fiivon’s face lit up. “Of course I’ll show you the way, we were on our way over there anyway. Also, I know you’re one of the faded, but would you be willing to take me on as an apprentice?”

“No.” Fiivon was distraught. Mary picked up the staff. She mimicked the way the old man struck it against the ground to no effect then lifted it up. Fiivon flinched. Mary carefully placed it against each of Fiivon’s shoulders. “I now dub you Fiivon, my student.”

Fiivon’s face lit up. “Thank you miss. I will do my best.”

He isn’t Lena but it will be nice to have someone to talk to. The two continued their journey towards Jesperville.

———————————————————————————————————————

“Lena, dinner’s ready. It’s your favorite." Lena’s mom knocked on her door before entering after she received no response. Lena sobbed into Mary’s now tear-soaked pillow. Her mom brushed her hand against Lena’s back. “She did her best. Mary wouldn’t have done what she did if she didn’t think it was necessary. She’s a hero. I know you’re sad, we all are. Not a day goes by where I don't wish I was there instead of her. Sometimes, it is better to be sad together, but I won’t force anything on you. We all heal in our own ways.”

“Stop acting like she’s dead!” Lena continued sobbing. “She wouldn’t die! She can’t die! I’ll find her and prove it to you and dad and everyone else! She never breaks her promises!”

Lena’s mom rubbed her back some more and sighed. “We would all like it better if things worked that way…” She sat for a bit, as tears built up in her eyes. “I will support you as long as you avoid doing anything dangerous.” She stood up. “I’ll be back with your dinner.”