I Don't Want This Kind of Magic

Mitsu sighed in relief as he plopped back down at the edge of the lake for lunch. "Please hurry," he said weakly as Amber swept the skirt of her robe underneath her and sat down across from him.

"Give me a minute," Amber said as she loosened the string around the fabric bag. Amber poked her head inside as if to survey what they had, before nodding to herself. "Yup, looks like there's plenty."

Mitsu watched with bated breath as Amber pulled out a piece of golden bread and handed it to him along with a handful of berries and a mouth-watering amount of dried meat.

Mitsu was practically shaking with hunger as he took his first bite of the honeyed bread. He moaned in bliss, the taste and the relief of finally filling his empty stomach both equally sweet. As he continued to practically inhale the rest of his food, Amber was nibbling on a piece of dried meat, seemingly opting to enjoy eating at a slower pace.

By the time she had eaten just one strip of dried meat, Mitsu was looking down at his crumb-ridden hands, his entire portion devoured in a matter of minutes.

"Bees above, if you were this hungry, you should have said something sooner!"

"I know," Mitsu said mournfully. He hadn't truly realized how hungry he was until the food was waved right under his nose. "I just thought I should wait until we arrived at the inn first."

Amber pressed the food bag to his chest, and Mitsu made a confused noise. "Don't look so devastated!" she said, looking as if she was trying not to choke as she laughed at him. "There's still plenty of food if you want some."

Mitsu was rightfully embarrassed by his shamelessness, but when he was hungry, it seemed all decorum went out the window. "Thanks," he said sheepishly.

They sat and ate together in good spirits until Mitsu's hunger pangs had finally abated, which meant the entire bag of food rations was now completely gone. Amber shook the empty bag out as if trying to convince him of that fact, and Mitsu wondered just how greedy he looked in her eyes for her to feel like she had to do that. "That was fun," Amber said around a yawn, a hand going up to rub the sleepy tears from her eyes. "But we better get back on the road if we want to get to the inn before nightfall."

"We can get there a bit late, can't we?" Amber had been driving the wagon for hours, and the fatigue was obvious in the way she almost seemed to sway with the breeze. "You look like you could use a nap."

Amber looked at him skeptically. "I'd love to rest but…I don't think you'd survive staying out here that much longer."

Mitsu frowned. "Why not?"

Amber reached over and took his arm gently. "You have a sunburn. Didn't you notice?"

Mitsu looked down at his arm and realized that she was right; his pale skin had transformed into something red and angry, from his shoulders all the way down to his arms. He looked down at his sculpted stomach, and it was also beginning to turn red too. It could have been avoided somewhat if he had still had his shirt or winter coat on him, but for some reason when he'd been transported here, they'd mysteriously disappeared.

"Hold on," Amber said. "I've got something that can help."

Mitsu watched as she retreated back to the wagon and tried to resist the urge to press his fingers into his reddened and tender skin. Now that she had pointed it out, he could feel the heat radiating off of him.

Mitsu scooped some water up from the lake and tried to cool his skin down as he waited for her to return, but it only offered a temporary reprieve. It was rather annoying to deal with, but while sunburns were unpleasant, he wasn't sure Amber would have been willing to travel with him if he had been transported pantless instead.

"I'm back!" Amber called, catching Mitsu's attention.

"Welcome back," Mitsu said. "I tried to cool my skin off with some water, but it's not doing much."

"Don't worry," she said as she knelt next to him, a jar of honey in hand. "Honey is a catalyst for magic. Once I cast my magic on you, it'll be like it was never there."

Mitsu stilled at her words. He was a connoisseur of all sorts of myths and folklore, but magic? Real magic? Mitsu had no expectations that it could be true.

Amber twisted the cap off the honey and tilted it downward, causing it to pool toward the lip of the jar. "Let's see…do you want me to start with your arms or your shoulders first?" While she didn't ask about his stomach, he still noticed the way she glanced down at his glistening abs before flitting her gaze back upward again.

"Neither!"

Amber's brow furrowed in confusion at his outburst.

Mitsu moved away hesitantly and cradled his arm close. "Neither," he said more quietly. "To be honest, I'd rather not have anything to do with magic." Not anymore.

Amber's lips twisted into a frown. "Why not?"

Mitsu breathed out slowly, unable and unwilling to answer. He wanted to tell her why he didn't believe in it, why he didn't trust it, why he never wanted to hear the word again, but it didn't feel right. He was still getting to know her, and Mitsu couldn't pour out all his suffering to her without the words getting stuck in his throat.

"Mitsu. Mitsu, look at me."

He did.

She placed a hand over his larger one. "It's okay if you don't trust magic," she said. "But can you trust me instead?"

As Mitsu looked into Amber's earnest eyes, he wanted to.

"I can't," are the words that come out of his mouth anyways.

Despite his words, Amber didn't look deterred at all. "I don't know what magic was like in your world, Mitsu, but it's different here. I promise."

She sounded so confident and warm, but Mitsu's stubbornness was a troublesome thing.

"I'm really fine," Mitsu said quietly after a long pause. "Let's just keep moving."

What Mitsu failed to realize as he said those words was that he and Amber were more alike than he'd expected—which meant she was just as stubborn as he was.

Mitsu didn't have time to do anything but yelp as Amber slathered a glob of honey on his arm. "Hey, I said I don't—"

Amber hovered her hand over his arm and said, "Watch."

Mitsu's jaw clicked shut, and despite his irritation with her and the trepidation still clinging to his heart, he did.

A glow began emanating from the honey, and the sensation made his arm tingle like a sour piece of candy melting on his tongue. The feeling only lasted for a moment as the honey gradually eroded and faded away to glowing particles of dust.

Mitsu brushed his fingers along his arm in disbelief. All the previous red and irritated skin had been soothed away like it had never been there. He looked up at Amber almost helplessly, at a loss for what to say.

Amber pulled her hands away from his arm and looked at him confidently, not a hint of shame for ignoring his wishes on her face. "I don't break my promises," she said, "so even if it's just a little, I want you to trust me."

A lump lodged itself in Mitsu's throat. After all his searching, after all this time, it was only after meeting Amber that someone had finally been able to prove it: magic was real.

"…Okay."