Magic Meets Might

What am I?

"Why do you find me so I interesting? I'm just a normal girl who got beaten up by some mobs," I pleaded. By the glare from the sorcerer, he knew my injuries were not caused by anything natural to the Overworld. "When I'm well enough I'll be out of here and off back home. You'll never have to worry about my wellbeing again!" Wherever that may be.

The sorcerer hadn't mentioned Cassandra Ambrose all morning. I'd been refusing to tell him anything about how I received these injuries. He refused to discharge me from the medical wing.

"I don't know if that is a good idea. River, who are your parents? I'd like a word with them," Seto asked uncertainly.

Something clicked in my head and set gears into motion. I...I don't have any parents.

Memory, please come back! There! A house nested among some oak trees appeared in my mind's eye.

A shed sat next to the house, smaller and more like a club house than anything. The door opened to reveal three swords hanging on the right wall by their leather sheathes. The smallest, sitting all the way at the end, was the one I wore since finding myself in the forest. Two others sat next to it, initialed SA and NA, and beneath the letter, Steve Ambrose and Notch Ambrose.

At the furthest of the line, a peg was nailed in a little apart from the rest. The letters on this one were blurred more but I could make out HA, and no name beneath.

"I...I lived with two brothers! Both are," what- Dead? Alive? The sheathes all looked worn and spider webs laced the last peg. "Both are dead." And the dead can't speak words against the living. "Notch and Steve. Last name, Ambrose."

"Walters?"

My stomach jolted at my mistake. How can my name be Walters if neither had a last name? There's probably some law here against making up a name. I wanted to crawl up in a hole and cry. I don't even know if this is my name, I chose it at random.

"That's what we called ourselves when I was little and we pretended to be magical. Wizards Notch and Steve Walters. Those were their magic names." I lied. "They died when I was 4, 12 years ago." I think I'm 16...I feel 16 so why not pin my age there.

"Why pretend to have magic?"

"Because we thought it was fun to pretend."

"But you. Why did you pretend? Older siblings go with what the younger child says, I get that. But why did you want magic?"

What right did he have to ask about me like this? If the sorcerer were really as clever as legend said, wouldn't he have figured out by now that I'm lost in my head, searching for something familiar?

"To get away from the real world. The real world is no fun!"

"Were you actually pretending though?"

I cringed beneath his gaze. What's wrong with the answers I'm giving? He knows they're all lies. He knows I'm flat out lying to him.

"Of course. I was 4. 4 year old's so stuff like that. How long has it been since you were 4?" I snapped.

"Too long." He laid his hand on my arm gently. "I'm sorry." Pain shot up my side and I winced, shying away from Seto's touch. His face was a mask of concern, then fear.

"River, if you feel well enough, go look in the mirror over there?" he pointed to one hanging across the hall. "You deserve to see this..."

I nodded slowly and swung my legs over the edge of the hospital bed. I tried to put weight on my right leg where the gash began and lurched forward. Fiery agony twisted up my body. Seto was at my side immediately and lifted me up. With his support, I walked up to it and gasped. My eyes glowed purple and blue.

"River, is it possible you weren't pretending?"

"No. I always pretended. This never happened." I doubled over, like someone punched me in the gut, gasping for air. Seto stepped back as the air above and behind me shimmered. Black smoke gathered at my feet and around my hands. It burned. I screamed and the shimmering stopped. The smoke fell to the ground. I had a massive pair of Ender Dragon wings and a tail. My fingernails were elongated and claw-like. I had small fangs. The glow in my eyes lessened and my once curly, flame colored hair was now wavy and coal black. My green eyes took on a purple-grey hue.

"Magnificent," the sorcerer breathed. He reached out a hand to stroke my immense wings.

"Don't touch them. Not now anyway." A silver tear rolled down my face. I dared look back into the mirror. I'm a monster...

Then the bacca entered the room, along with five others. Seeing me, they all unsheathed swords and huddled together. Malice glittered in their eyes and a growl escaped the throat of one with large green headphones. I took a nervous step back, eyes darting around.

"Ok Jerome. What is that and why is it here and Seto? What happened to the girl you mentioned?" one of the boys growled. He had light brown hair and a red checkered jacket. A name clicked into my mind: the Bajancanadian, PVP Master of Minecraftia and holder of the most Survival Games championships.

One of the others studied me, then stepped away from the group. "Mitch, chill. Isn't it obvious? She's an Ender Hybrid."

"Um, Deadlox? Last time we checked, you were the only one and Enderlox was not fun."

"Be quiet Mudkip. I saved us from Sky-Brine. Sky was the one who wasn't fun."

"Shut it Deadlox." Sky said.

What a queer bunch of friends.

"Well we're not here to talk about Enderlox. Seto- who or what is that?"

I almost cried, what horrid creature was I? "That, sir, has a name. I am River Walters." No I'm not, the voice echoed in my head. I'm not River Walters, not matter how much I wanted to be.

"There has been an...ah...accident with some magic. Nothing that can't be reversed." Seto summoned a ball of blue energy and light fell around me.

Pain.

Fire.

Agony.

The spell tore across my body and I collapsed to the ground, shaking. Other then that, I kept my pain a secret. Seto reached out to me and pulled back like I was on fire. I looked up and saw his eyes darken. He felt my same pain, with that one touch. Then it stopped. I sat up, silver tears in my eyes.

"Did I change back?"

"No."

That word shattered my world. "N-n-no? So I'm stuck like this? With the wings and all?"

"Well, to be perfectly honest, you have the most beautiful violet eyes this way," the same one with headphones offered.

"You're not helping Deadlox. Yes River, you are stuck like this. I think you are the only one who can change you back. There is a protection spell that I can only describe as too archaic to break." He sat down and looked me over. "It's advanced." Set waved a hand and a large chart of runes appeared between us.

"Is it like the one the ender dragon put on me?" Deadlox asked, looking at the runes.

"You would think," he muttered, waving the runes around, scrambling and reassembling them in different patterns. "But the origin of the spell is coming from the Nether."

"So what will happen to me?" I asked, clicking my new claws against each other.

"Nothing will change- it seems like the spell has done it's work, transforming you into this. To be honest," he ran his fingers through his hair, "I have no idea how I can help you."

Honesty is overrated. The truth cuts like a knife.

-Moo