“So you’re telling me that The Enchantress thinks you stole the thing that gives her power and is trying to capture you to take you back to the Citadel?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“Then why did my parents kick me out of the palace? Were they lying when they said she was going to turn the kingdom against them?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know why she does anything or what she hopes to accomplish. All I know is that she wants power and respect for herself.”
“Then why did she go after the kid. Does he have some sort of power she can use or something?”
“No.” I say, “I don’t.”
Everyone turns to look at me. I gulp.
“Didn’t you say that she came to your village shortly before you were chased out?” Jessica asks.
“I don’t know. All I remember is the local kids ganging up on me and saying a strange woman came to town asking about me.”
“Did you see her?”
“No.” I say, holding back tears. “They tried to beat me up, so I asked Colonel Jones for help, and he came and beat them up. Then later that night, Papa said the Great warrior had been stolen and tried to take him away from me. Then he kicked me out.”
The others look confused. Johnathon walks up to me and says, “Michael, who is this Great Warrior? Who is Colonel Jones?”
Everyone is staring at me. I’m scared.
“My Papa said that long ago, when the first Artifacts were being made, A mage gave us an Idol that could be used to summon the Great Warrior. The mage said that as long as we paid our respects to the Citadel, we would be protected.”
Jessica nods, “That’s sounds like something We’d do.”
“Did you steal it?” Johnathon asks, in the same tone Papa used whenever he was about to yell at me.
“I’ve never even seen it.” I yell, and then burst into tears.
Johnathon looks at me and says, “Alright then. Can you tell me who Colonel Jones is then?”
I pull him from my pocket. “He doesn’t look like much, but when you’re in trouble he’ll come to you and save you.” I say.
Johnathon reaches out, but then Julia stops him, saying, “Don’t touch that, Johnathon. It may have been a kid’s toy at some point, but it looks like it’s absorbed enough magic to become dangerous.”
Johnathon turns to her. “It’s an Artifact.”
“I don’t think so. But it isn’t to far away from being one.” She kneels down to look at Colonel Jones more closely, “I wonder if that mage came to warn about unstable magic being used in the area. I don’t know why they didn’t think to track where the magic was coming from.”
“If they were from the citadel, they may not have thought of that.” Jessica says, “Artifacts didn’t catch on in the Citadel the way they did everywhere else. Anything that made it there was old and horribly out of date. It could also be that they knew someone was doing unregulated magic and didn’t think it posed much of a problem. Items at the Citadel become infused with magic all the time. Unless they blow up, nobody cares.”
Everyone looks at her. “You’re saying the citadel has Unregistered Artifacts?” Julia says.
“I suppose you could say that. We bribe off any government inspectors who come by and we denature everything once someone dies or leaves, so it’s no big deal.”
“It’s a very big deal.” Rachel says, “People get killed when they deal with unregistered artifacts. Sometimes without even touching them.”
“Does that an anyway justify kicking someone who made one without meaning to out from his village?” Jessica says, looking at me.
The group goes silent. “Look, I realize what he did was dangerous, but young mages put people in danger all the time. You don’t punish them for it, you keep them under watchful eyes and teach them how to use their powers safely.”
“Nobody learns magic on their own. Everyone has to learn it from watching somebody else.” Julia says.
Jessica glares at her. “Not if they’re naturally gifted. Some people have so much magic, it can go off and hurt others. If you don’t teach them how to control their powers, you’re dooming them and anyone who goes near them. Since nobody thought to do that in Michael’s case, he put his power towards this.” She says, pointing at Colonel Jones. “The only thing to do now is for someone to teach him how not to do powers, then he can go back to his family once his action figure has been denatured.”
I sniffle, “What if the other kids try to hurt me?”
“I’m sure whoever decides to teach you can show you some basic spells to throw them off. You won’t need his help anymore.” Jessica says.
“Who’s going to teach him?” Johnathon says, “I don’t think anyone in the palace would, and most people don’t know how to perform magic.”
“We’ll find someone in the Citadel to do it. After all, they are the one’s who provided the Idol in his village. If they won’t help, then I’ll teach him.” Jessica says.
“Are you heading back to the Citadel then?” Zac says.
Jessica looks at him. “Not until I know why The Enchantress is trying to take me back.”
Zac shakes his head. “Why offer if you won’t actually help?”
“I’m going to help.” Jessica says, “But The Enchantress is dangerous. I’ve been on her bad side my entire life. I fully expected her to welcome me the same way Johnathon’s parents welcomed him. I have no idea why she wants me back so badly, and I don’t want to go near her until I figure out why.”
“And how are you going to figure that out?” Zac Asks.
“I don’t know.” Jessica admits.
“We have experts back home.” Julia says, “Maybe they can help.”
Jessica looks at Julia and says, “Do you think they can teach Michael how to do magic?”
“Probably not. They should be able to determine if he can control himself or not and come up for a plan if he can’t.”
Jessica looks at me, “What do you think Michael?”
“I don’t care. I just want to go home.”
“Then it’s settled. Our next stop is Brook’s Hallow.”
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