Pinky Promise

The moment they stepped into the town, the rain vanished, and the air became muggy and hot. Stormhaven was far more prosperous than Star’s End. They passed a blacksmith, a greengrocer, a baker, and a fishmonger, who bowed at the prince as he walked by.

“You have no idea what a terrible state Stormhaven was in before I got here. The townspeople were being positively pelted by snowstorms.” Snow spoke without looking at them, brushing a hand through his golden hair. “You come from Star’s End, you say? In that case, it must have been something like your town.”

Nestor interjected, “Star’s End is great! It’s got loads of sheep.”

Snow White curled his lip. “Charming. Perhaps I’ll pay it a visit.”

Airi didn’t say anything, but she knew Nestor was thinking what she was thinking: it’s a good thing the Wrath Mountains stand between this man and Star’s End.

“Well, you’ve come at a pleasant time of the year.” Snow paused dramatically. “What am I saying? All times of the year are pleasant here.” It was almost comical, the way he praised himself.

They reached the bell tower in the center of the town square. Airi saw a staircase that wound up to the top. “You live here?”

“It was the only building that suited me,” Snow said. “So I had them convert the base of the tower into a home for me. Every morning, I ascend to the top of the tower and cast the spell that protects Stormhaven from storms."

"Whoa! What kind of spell is that?" Nestor asked, eyes sparkling. "Did you write it?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Barrier magic has been around for a thousand years. But it's a difficult spell, to be sure. It requires a high amount of mana to even attempt."

"How much mana?" Nestor asked. He'd obviously asked out of curiosity, but Snow seemed to interpret it as a challenge.

"Far too much mana for you," Snow scoffed. "Tell you what, little boy. I'll demonstrate the spell to you tomorrow morning. Tonight, you two can sleep in my closet." He smiled as if he'd just solved world hunger.

The next morning, the long climb to the top of the bell tower was actually pleasant, because Snow became so out of breath that he could no longer praise himself. They had to stop several times.

“Don’t you climb these stairs every day?” Airi smirked.

“I—prefer—to use—more sophisticated—methods of travel,” the prince panted. “But...” He looked at Nestor. “I—suppose—you don’t know the levitation—spell, do you?”

Nestor shook his head, but the prince’s words had given Airi an idea. The levitation spell would be a useful one for Nestor to learn, if she could convince the prince to give them the spellbook.

“Oh, no,” Airi said. “My little brother wouldn’t know such a hard spell. He’s not really a mage, but he likes to pretend to be one! It’s just so amazing to finally meet a great mage like yourself.”

Nestor stared at Airi with confusion in his eyes, but she ignored him, noticing the prince’s smile widen. “We didn’t even know there was a levitation spell!” she said in an adorable chirp.

“Of course there is,” Snow said, reaching into his robes for a pale blue book: Tale of Flight, 126th Edition.

“Wow, it's so pretty!" Airi didn't have to feign her admiration; the book was clearly well-made, with iridescent birds winging across the cover. "It must be very precious to you. Is it one of your favorite spells?"

"This?" The prince scoffed. "Hardly. I used to have a jeweled copy in Magisbury. As a matter of fact, you can keep this one." He tossed it to Airi as they emerged at the top of the bell tower.

Even though they were this high up, this early in the morning, there wasn't a single breath of wind, only unending sunshine. Below, Airi saw red-roofed houses topped with old weathervanes; none of them were moving.

Snow positioned himself at the center of the tower. "Watch," he said, pulling out a book titled Wolf at the Door.

Overhead, clouds billowed over the invisible dome. Airi watched birds soar in the sky, ducking in and out of clouds. She hadn't seen a single bird in Stormhaven.

When Snow finished casting the spell, there was a brief, blinding flash of light, which dispersed in all directions.

"Pure mana," he said smugly. "That's why this is my favorite spell. The mage with the most mana casts the strongest barrier. Well, little boy? Do you think you could do the same?"

Nestor was uncharacteristically quiet. "No."

After descending the bell tower, Airi and Nestor strolled through the streets of Stormhaven.

“How about that, huh?” Airi pulled out Tale of Flight and grinned at Nestor.  “Aren’t you excited to learn the levitation spell?”

Nestor gazed at his feet. His eyes were brimming with tears.

“Nestor, what’s wrong?” Airi felt a pang of worry. Was he homesick?

“What do you mean, what’s wrong?” Nestor said incredulously. “You said I wasn’t... I wasn’t a real mage! And before, you said that you believed in me! You liar!” Fat tears rolled down his cheeks.

It was funny. In all her life, Airi had never been called a liar. The word filled her with a dull shock. She watched, petrified, as Nestor wept by her side.

“No, no, no,” she tried to explain. “I mean, yes, I did lie, but it was a lie for the prince, to get him to give us the spell, see? I do believe in you. I meant it.” Yet the word kept echoing in her head: liar, liar, liar.

Nestor only stared at her in disappointment. Without his cheerful rambling, it was too quiet. Airi tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t respond, no matter what she said.

“Nestor, isn’t that a cool house over there?” she asked.

“Hey, don’t those fruits look good?” she tried.

Finally, Airi stopped him in his tracks and turned him around to face her. Her stomach was filled with an unpleasant, prickly feeling, almost like mana fever. “Nestor. Look. I’m sorry, okay?”

He tilted his head and said nothing.

“I... I guess I shouldn’t have said that you weren’t a real mage? If that’s what you’re angry about,” she said.

Nestor still didn’t respond. Hadn’t Airi apologized? This was so annoying. If only she had mana of her own, she wouldn’t have to rely on someone else.

She tried to think of what else she could possibly say.

“Look. Nestor. Please don’t be mad anymore.” She hadn’t meant to say the ‘please,’ it had just slipped out. She really didn’t like to beg. “I... I... look, I promise not to lie to you anymore. Not ever again. Okay?”

There was another agonizing silence, and Nestor finally opened his mouth. “You promise?” he said.

“I promise,” said Airi. “Pinky promise.”

“What’s a pinky promise?” Nestor asked.

“I’ll show you! Hold out your hand.” Airi looped her pinky around Nestor’s. “That’s a pinky promise. But if I promise not to lie to you, can you promise me one thing?”

“Okay,” said Nestor. He didn’t even know what she was about to ask him to promise! He had no survival instincts.

“Promise me that you’ll listen to what I say.”

“Okay. I pinky promise.”

Airi smiled in relief, and Nestor smiled back, the last of his tears fading, and just like that, they were friends again.