Reading Minds

Chapter 1 :The Spell

Ruth scrunched another piece of parchment between his fingers into a crinkled up ball and flicked it into Max's fiery red and curly hair. His young student had been asleep in the library for the past hour and was now littered in white bits of paper, until it seemed like oddly shaped pearls were resting all over her hair and dress. At some point, Ruth had an urge to push her forehead off the desk and scold her for dozing off, but was torn between waking her up or enjoying this rare moment of peace and quiet. He had only started setting up two playing cards on Max's head to form a funny princess cone hat when Max jumped awake, startled.

            "I-I'm a-awake!" Max cried out. Her eyes were wide and fearful. She looked like a doe frozen under a bright spotlight.

            "Well, isn't that nice, Madame?" Ruth crossed his arms. He could still see the pink imprint of Max's s shoulder on her cheek and some evidence of drool near her lips.

            "Is Ri-Riftan back? I s-should s-see him before he re-retires. He said he w-would be back e-early today," Max said.

            "Never mind me, who's been slaving away at work while you had your nice afternoon nap. Of course, as the mistress of this house, your priority is your husband and everyone else," Ruth said. He sunk back into his comfy armchair and propped his legs over one of the armrests. "Thank you for honouring me with your presence. I look forward to seeing how your frolics about the castle will bring greater prosperity to Anatol than whatever I can do."

            Max stood straight in her seat, her feelings hurt. "Yo-you are v-very i-important, Ruth. Even more than me."

            "Thank you," Ruth said, ungraciously. "I suppose you don't have time to help me then? Anatol's main defence depends on it. I have to strengthen the barrier between the guild walls every month to ensure the spell doesn't weaken. It might be too early teach you fortifying spells, but I could use your help with ciphering mana from the air. You just have to think about storing energy where you belly button is and I'll hold your hand to take the mana away from you. You'll be recharging my batteries, so to speak."

            "What is a ba-battery?" Max frowned.

            "Nevermind that," Ruth said. He hadn't meant to slip up about future technologies.

            "I-I want to learn more a-advanced m-magic, l-like the f-fortifying spells you mentioned," Max insisted. She leaned forward and ignored a strand of hair falling over her eye. "I w-want to b-be useful here."

            "Please don't rush yourself," Ruth said. He sat more politely in his seat by letting his black robe sleeves billow over the arm rests and planted his feet firmly on the ground. "We only started our magic lessons this week. The oak tree I've tried to heal hasn't even sprouted leaves yet. What is important is that you understand the basics of mana absorption thoroughly. As humans, our bodies are only an instrument to harness and manipulate mana. Without proper control, you may hurt yourself."

            Max bit her lip. "I've o-only been t-transcribing a l-list of materials f-for you t-to buy a l-long-lasting perfume th-this morning."

            "Men only wear cologne, not perfume," Ruth was offended. "And it's an important project. I don't have time to shower every day."

            Max rolled her eyes.

            "Well, what are your priorities, Madame?" Ruth said. "You say you want to be useful. Pray tell, why exactly are you so adamant about learning offence and defence magic? The Remdragon Knights are the best fighters in Whedon. We need a simple healer to augment my abilities, more than anything else."