Tiny Magisphere

Osric thumps down the stairs, magic book under his arm. He leaps over the last four steps, landing off-balance, stumbling forward. He grabs the front door handle to steady himself.

"Dear, can you do your magic in the backyard, please?" Catalina asks him from the kitchen.

"Ugh..." he breathes out, turning on his heel.

What does it matter if people see my red eyes? He shakes his head, heading to the back door.

"I don't wanna!" Elayne shouts, sitting in a dining chair.

Helen wraps a black handkerchief around her head, covering her ears.

"Sweetie, our master has been kind enough to let us sleep inside. The least you can do is help him with his magic research," she says, tying the handkerchief behind her hair.

"I don't wanna help him!" Elayne objects.

"Sweetie, you have to. You're his slave now."

"I don't wanna be a slave!"

Helen’s hand gracefully moves from her head to her neck. "This collar around your neck says otherwise," she says bluntly, gently resting it back on her collarbones.

Geez, why'd she say it like that? Making me sound like the villain. Osric watches, his hand on the the back door.

"You can cook, right? Could you prepare some sandwiches with the leftovers? I'm heading into town to buy you two nightgowns," Catalina asks Helen, striding out of the kitchen.

"No, you don't have to." Helen shakes her head.

"It's no problem. If you're sleeping in that room, you should have some nightgowns." Catalina heads out before Helen can argue.

Osric is blinded by the morning sun as he steps out into the spacious, fenced backyard. He trots toward the stone well. Behind the well, two plowed gardens. Green cabbage sprouts evenly spaced in the first, taller green stalks sticking out of the second one. He hops up onto the well, paging through h book.

The back door swings open. The metal handle clinks against the stone wall. Elayne steps out, slamming it shut.

"I'll only be your assi—stan, a—sissy—ant... your assi—"

"Assistant," he interrupts, deadpan, still thumbing through pages.

She stomps her foot on the grass. "Whatever!"

Plopping her hands on her hips and leaning in, she says, "I’ll help you if you show me how to do that big fireball."

"You want me to teach you magic?" He pulls his head away. "I don't know if you can learn magic."

"Why not!" She yells, spit flying out of her mouth.

He wipes his face on his cloak.

"Here, look at this," he says, stopping on a page.

Elayne hops up onto the well beside him.

He points at a diagram of human organs. "There — you see that circular thing in his stomach next to the liver?"

"That's called a magisphere. It's an organ that humans have, it allows them to absorb and store mana. A little bit ago I learned that beastkin can't use magic. So I did some research, and beastkin don't have this organ."

Elayne leans in, squinting at the page.

“Do you get it?” he asks.

“What?” she tilts her head.

“Basically, I don’t think you can use magic. But we should test it — maybe you can, since you’re half human. There’s nothing in here about half-beastkin, considering they’re taboo and all.”

"Show me how to do the fireball!" She hops down from the well, spreading her legs and thrusting her palm out, ready.

"Okay, first of all, don't point it at the house. Turn around."

She turns around.

"Okay, now what?" she asks in anticipation. Her tail pops out of her pants and starts wagging.

"Put your tail back in your pants. We can't have people seeing it." He grabs her tail.

She reaches around, flailing her arm, and smacks him on the shoulder. "Don't touch my tail!"

Osric throws his hands up. Yeah, that's right. She "hates humans" and doesn't want them touching her. It seems like that only applies to me, though. He thinks, watching Elayne stuff her tail back in her pants.

"You know what? I think we should start with a simpler spell. This one creates a wall of flame in front of you — It's a defensive spell." He grabs the book and flips through more pages. 

"Okay. First, you have to channel the mana into your hand," he explains.

She turns to him with a frown. "Just tell me what to say!"

"I will, I will. This is the first step."

"Imagine the mana flowing from your belly into your hand."

"Okay! I got it!" she shouts, bouncing from side to side on her toes.

She definitely doesn’t have it, he thinks, stroking his eyebrows.

“Alright, keep still and read this line.” He taps at a line in the book.

Elayne stares blankly at the page…

“What does that say?” she blurts out after a long pause.

“You can’t read?”

“Hmph.” She pouts, turning away. “I don’t need to read,” she snarks.

“What does it say?” she asks again.

Osric sighs. “Say this: Divine wisdom, let this flame be our barrier, ignis Murmum.”

“Divine wisdom, let this flame be our barrier, ignis Murmum!” she chants.

A small flame sputters into existence at her feet. It grows wider, almost the length of her body.

Oh! She actually did it! Osric’s jaw drops.

The flame grows, rising taller — then suddenly disappears with a poof.

Elayne collapses to the grass.

Uh-oh.

>>>

Osric kneels over Elayne, still passed out in the grass.

She should be waking up soon… probably. Osric pokes her cheek.

She groans in her sleep, rolling her head away. He pokes her again.

Her eyes shoot open.

“Good morning, sunshine!” Osric greets her.

She springs up — forehead colliding with Osric’s.

“Ow!” He recoils, falling onto his butt.

“Where am I?” she demands, jumping to her feet, her head jerking around.

Her breathing quickens, getting shallower, panicked.

“You’re at your new home, relax!” Osric shouts, scrambling up.

He carefully steps toward her, arms raised in a calming gesture, bracing himself for a potential attack.

"You're alright, see?" He tries to look into her darting eyes, wrestling his hands onto her shoulders.

Her head stops jerking, and her breathing slows. Her sour expression returns as her eyes land on Osric's. 

"Oof!" Osric folds over, clutching his his.

Her hand balled in a fist, making him painfully aware of why stomach hurts.

"Why was I on the ground? What did you do to me?" she screams.

Osric straightens himself, coughing.

"You used up all your mana and fainted. You were out for—" He glances at the stone sundial by the well. "For maybe an hour."

The anger leaves her face, replaced by confusion, her eyes narrow.

“According to the book,” he says, scooping it up. “When all the mana is expended from your magisphere, you faint until it absorbs enough mana to function again.”

"What does that mean?" she asks.

"It means you do have a magisphere — but it's really tiny, so you faint after one spell... I think."

"So I can't do the fireball?"

"No."

"I'm done then." She storms to the door.

"Hey, wait!" He rushes after her.

He steps up the stairs, reaching for the handle — but it's too late, she slams the door in his face.

>>>

Osric stumbles down the dark hallway. In a half-asleep stupor, he bumps into the wall.

Man, maybe I should tell them about indoor plumbing, so I don’t have to pee outside in the middle of the night, he thinks.

“And then I woke up on the ground. I couldn’t remember where I was. I didn’t like it.”

Elayne’s voice drifts through the bedroom door. He stops, pressing his ear against the wall to listen.

“Yes, it’s very scary to not remember where you are when you wake up,” Helen replies.

“When I got up, I really wanted to see Papa… Is he really gone?” Elayne asks, her voice trembling.

“Yes, sweet. You can’t see him anymore, but he’s still there, watching over you.”

Muffled, tearful sniffles reach the wall first, then Elayne’s shrill sobs pierce his ear.

He pries his ear off the wall, forcing himself to walk away. This isn’t something I should be listen in on, he thinks, each creak of the stairs making him grimace, hoping they don’t hear.