A Different Kind of Magic

Mock Fights and Searching Flights

Afternoon light poured over the large courtyard, situated in front of White Castle. There was a nice breeze blowing, hinting at the upcoming fall.

Snow stood on the balcony that overlooked the courtyard. This is the second day that she watched as Idena and Merlin sparred. The princess chuckled to herself at their playful insults. It made her happy to see that Merlin was getting along with another girl. When Snow turned him down, she was afraid of how he would take the news, but Merlin seemed to be handling it well. She walked back inside, happy for the both of them.

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"So, what do you want to do tomorrow?" Idena turned her head to look at the boy beside her. Merlin was sprawled out in the grass, next to an upright Idena. They were both worn out from their match.
"Want to go another round?" He propped himself up on his elbows. The girl shrugged in response. Then, his eyes lit up, and Merlin sat up, looking at her. "What if we spar, with magic?" Idena turned to him, with a smirk on her face.
"You are so on."
"Good."

The two got up and headed inside. They chatted idly, until they reached Merlin's room.
"Looks like this is your stop." Idena gestured to his door.
"Yeah." Merlin made no move towards it.
"Goodnight, Merlin." The girl started to walk off towards her own room, but she was stopped by Merlin's hand on her wrist. Idena was pulled into a hug, surprised. He whispered in her ear.
"Thank you."
"What for?" Idena pulled back slightly, so she could see Merlin's face.
"For saving my life, for being my friend, being my creepy stalker," He chuckled at the reference to their previous conversation. "For everything. Thank you, Idena."
"Any time, Merlin, any time."

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"Why are there so many rules?!" Merlin complained.
"It was your idea to have a magic duel. I'm just trying to make sure we don't end up killing each other."
"Fine. Whatever. Are you done?"
"Yes." Idena rolled her eyes.

The wizard and the princess stood about twenty feet apart, staring at each other. Waving her hand around, Idena summoned her staff.
"Hey, that's not fair! How come you get a weapon?!" Merlin exclaimed.
"It helps me channel my magic, just like what your talismans do for you."
"Fine. I guess that's allowed."

The two magicians began to circle each other. Merlin had his arms outstretched, each hand holding card, while Idena kept both of her hands on the staff.

Lightning shot out from one of Merlin's card, which the girl quickly blocked. Then, Idena shot a green blast of light, that the wizard deflected. It went back and forth, with Merlin making contact with Idena, while she had yet to tap him.

Merlin laughed after stopping another one of Idena's attempts.
"You know, I thought you would be a lot better at this than me." He was giving her a hard time.
"In my defense, I've only had these powers for two and a half years, and you've had them for what? Your entire life."
"Wait, really? I thought people were just born with it."
"Maybe I was. I've never been entirely sure about that part."
"What do you mean?" Instead of answering Merlin's question, Idena used his distraction to
tap him, with her magic.

Aiming for his chest, she intended to make light contact, but accidentally hit him a little harder. He stumbled backwards, now pressing a hand to his chest.
"Sorry." She ran up to him. "I hit your wound, didn't I?" Merlin nodded.

After helping him inside, Idena had Merlin sit down on the edge of his mattress. She started to unbutton the front of his shirt. The wizard's face heated up, almost instantly.
"What are you doing?" He placed a hand on hers.
"I need to see your scar. It could be bad."
"Then let me do it." Merlin gently moved her hands away from him, and unbuttoned his own shirt. She blushed slightly, and turned away.

The scar was now clearly visible on his chest. What had been a pale, thin line, was now swollen and red.
"I'm sorry, Merlin. Didn't mean to hit you that hard."
"It's alright." The boy smiled at her. Idena gently put her hand to the scar. He grimaced in pain. But, when she went to remove her hand, Merlin stopped her, by putting his hands on top of her's. Her cheeks reddened a little at his movement. Merlin noticed this, and hurried to rectify his actions. "Your hands are cold. It feels good."
"Oh." Pulling her hand out of Merlin's grasp, Idena lightly pushed him back on his bed, and once again pressed her hand to his chest, except this time, it was glowing.
"What are you going to do?"
"Heal it." She shrugged.

But before she had the chance to do so, a bird flew into the window. Idena stood up abruptly. There, sitting on the window sill was the same bird that she had released the other day. The girl opened the window, and the bird flew in, landing on her arm. Merlin tried to sit up, but Idena pushed him back down again.
"I'll be right back, Merlin. Don't go anywhere."

She walked out of the room, with her bird friend following close behind. Idena returned shortly with a map of Fairy Tale Island and some ice. She gave the ice to Merlin, and helped prop him up. The girl then rolled the map out on the floor. She put a hand on her feathered companion, and just sat there. After what seemed like an eternity to Merlin, she finally removed her hand, and leaned over the map. Idena started muttering to herself.

"You started there, so that would be... and here is where... which means that had to be... Aha!"
Merlin sat there in confusion, having absolutely no idea what she was doing. Idena sat back revealing the map, but this time it had a shimmering green line across its surface.
"What was that?" The wizard asked.
"I scanned the bird's memories of what it flew over while following the magic trail, and I used that information to figure out where the spell came from."
"Oh." Merlin wasn't sure what else to say.

"I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?" Idena looked up at the wizard, from her seat on the floor.
"Good news." He said, without hesitation.
"The rest of the F7 should be back by tomorrow morning, so we'll be able to head out soon, to find the magic source. And, I have a map to lead us there. The bad news is that the magic didn't originate on Fairy Tale Island."
"What?!"
"The magic came from a small island off the coast."