Ding! Ding! Ding!

The bell across the lake rung. The sweet sound of the chiming bell awakened the eerie silent forest. Rusty, the deer, the self - appointed guardian of the bell gave her a look of acknowledgment.

This lady shall pass.

Mia ran to the front window to see the visitor on the other side of the lake. A lady stood on the pier, accompanied by Rusty. Mia sighed in sympathy when the lady almost fell on the pier.

“We have a guest,” Mia said. She reached for her cloak and covered her face with a red wooden mask.

“A sense of mystery is one of the best qualities a sorcerer should have,” Edgar reminded her during of one their learning session. "Always put your mask on when you receive visitors. Don't risk yourself being recognize as a sorcerer's apprentice when you're outside."

Her train of thought brought her back into one of the most important scrolls written in the history of magic.

"... There was a time when magic stood above all. Sorcerers and sorceresses were respected, honored, and distinguished throughout the Kingdom of Agrierd. Never once they were feared.

 

For thousands of years, the Kingdom of Agrierd stood unshakable. Supported by the Pillars of Magic, the Kingdom and Magic co-exist in harmony.

 

The long-lasting harmonious relationship, however, shattered by the rise of the Dark Night. He was the wicked sorcerer in history and the trusted advisor of the King of Agrierd. He abused his power and use it against his kind and the Kingdom or Agrierd.

 

The Pillar of Magic that had supported the Kingdom of Agried for thousand of years crumbled. The prosperous and powerful Kingdom of Agrierd lost its glory.

 

The years of suffering and wars only come to its end when the brave and chivalrous knight, Sir Severin Saint-Claire, later known as the 103rd King of Agrierd put a brave fight and ended the suffering that killed hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. With his bravery, he put a fierce fight against the Dark Night, the darkest of the dark magic user ever alive.

 

With the fall of the Dark Night and the rise of the new King of Agrierd, the existence of the sorcerers and sorceresses were on put on stake. There was no more glory left for them, only death awaited those who carry the blood of their kind.

 

Hunted, tortured and killed for greed that wasn't theirs.

No more sorcerer or sorceress stood by the King, for they were soon replaced by High Priest."

"Foolish priest, they only knew how to read the stars and planets," Mia muttered the word Edgar had said almost every day.

They stood by the window and watched as the lady entered the boat. The boat rowed itself to the other side. The water rippled where the boat passed. The yellow leaves dance in the autumn wind. The lady pulled her cloak closer and covered herself from the chill breeze.

Thud!

The boat thudded against the pier. Mia reminded herself to enchant the boat. The spell had almost worn out, it trembled and swayed across the lake, as if threatening to throw the lady out.

The lady stepped out and breathe a sigh of relief. Her bony fingers ran through the veil on her face that covered her identity. She was inches away from the dragon-shaped door handle when the rusty door hinges opened with a creak. A hideous looking wooden mask buried in a black cloak appeared before her.

“How can I help you?” Mia said in a hoarse, manly voice.

“Is Edgar the Great around?” The lady spoke, her voice was sweet and soft. She was one of Edgar's customers, one of the many who dares to approach.

“Edgar the Great is out. How can I help you?” Mia asked again.

“I want to buy a Charm Potion.” She said.

“Please wait.” Mia closed the door and stormed to the shelf. She rummaged the entire shelves, up and down, left and right, until she found a potion in a red bottle. She ran back to the front door to entertain her customer.

Creak!

The door creaked open, the shocked lady tripped when she stepped on her long cloak.

“That would be five gold,” Mia said as she passed her the Charm Potion.

The lady took five gold from her bag and kept the bottle of potion. As if threatened by the sorceress, she ran towards the boat.

Ah, she fell again. What a clumsy lady, Mia shook her head.

“Why are they afraid of us?” Mia asked Oyen. Like the other eight hours of his day, he licked his shiny furs. If she had never seen another cat before, she would have suspected that Oyen picked up the habit of brushing his hair from Edgar.

“Perhaps, they’re afraid of being turn into toads or flies.” Oyen lazily answered. He didn’t have the time for chit chat. His furs have to be shiny for his date.

“We don’t turn people to toads or flies.” Said Mia. She leaned against the door and sighed. She had a pink blouse to turn white. Her eyes moved to the wide wooden desk under the stair. Stacks of books, scrolls, and orb arranged on the desk. It was her study desk.

“You turned Edgar into a goat last week,” Mocked Oyen.

“Accident. It was purely an accident.” A wicked grin appeared in Mia’s face, she let out a big giggle.

It was, of course, another accident that fell on the poor master who was on the brink of giving up on passing down his legacy.

Funny, Mia thought. He had threatened to leave her for ten years.

She had inflicted more damages than the number of Edgar’s black hair – His hair was black ten years ago. Yet, under constant abuse from Mia, it had turned silver-white. Poor Edgar was a fine young man, he was only twenty-six.

Yet, despite all their arguments, Edgar never gave up on her.

Sure, once in a while, he threw tantrums, kicked her out to the woodshed, and starved her for days. He knew Baddie was sneaking foods for her behind his back.

***

“Mia, I’m home,” Said Edgar in his usual charming voice.

He was as handsome as he was when he left this morning, as mysterious he could be under his pretentious cloak. Edgar looked around the room and nodded in satisfaction. His cottage was still safe, all in one piece.

“Welcome home, Master,” Mia grinned with a wide smile.

Mia walked over to Edgar and took his cloak and staff. She wrapped the cloak around the human-size Sir Skeleton who stood next to the stairs. Sir Skeleton took the staff and hugged it with both of his hands.

Where did Edgar found such a skeleton? Mia used to wonder.

But sorcerer and sorceress didn't wonder, they dug up the truth. Coincidentally, it was Sir Skeleton's grave she dug. He shared the same last name as them. He too was a Dandregon. A great master to Edgar, such a nice man he was.

Mia made sure that every bone on his body shines bright. She had spent more time polishing his bones than she did on her wand, mana, and skills.

“When are you going to teach me how to perform Apeaructos, Master?” Said Mia excitedly as she walked to the dining table.

Edgar cast a spell and lit the dangling chandelier hanged at the center of their living room. Dozens of skulls glowed and light illuminate through the hole where their eyes used to be. Mia loathed those skulls. They were too chatty and they scolded her too often.

But what she loathed the most was that Shrieking Stone Lady locked inside a cage. She shrieked too much at the sight of a spider and mourned all day when she missed Edgar. A lady I used to court, Edgar once told her. How she ended up turned into a stone? Mia didn’t want to know.

She pitied the dozen of stone statues she had destroyed in an accident long ago. If only she knew... They were once his lover… She doesn't want to think about it...

“You can’t even move a thing, now you’re dreaming of teleporting? Perhaps, it's better for you to start running now. It would be faster. Much, much, much faster.” Edgar emphasized on the word ‘much’. His eyes widened when he saw the foods on the table. He walked over and poked the food inside the pot. “Cabbage again? What? Are we poor?”

“Preposterous! Edgar Dendragon the Great is such a wealthy sorcerer!” Mia said as she pulled a chair for him and sat on the other chair. “I will go to the town to buy groceries tomorrow.”

Edgar gave her a nod and started digging in.

Mia, on the other hand, bombarded him with a ton of questions about spells and enchantments. Edgar answered diligently like a proud master he was. The thought that the hopeless apprentice did her homework today drew a smile on his face. Ah, he worried too much about her.

She was spoil to the core, pampered, and mischievous. None of his days passed peacefully since the day he brought her back. But then, she was his apprentice after all. He gambled all his life and career on her.

When in fact, Mia was merely avoiding the topic she dreaded the most – Has she turned the blouse white yet?

No, of course, she did not.

Well, she tried, didn’t she? But the potion goes wrong, and the pink blouse turned to ash. Burned by a bottle of potion she thought was a bleaching solution.

Hey, at least, she didn’t burn down the cottage, she told herself over and over again the whole day.

She shoved down the food down her throat. She was eager to leave the dining table before Edgar noticed something was off.

The first thing she has to do tomorrow was to annoy Mr. Bowman, the tailor at Bowman Scissor, and get a new blouse for Edgar. The second is to stroll around the market. She too had enough cabbages, carrots, and potatoes for three days in a row.

Thus, as early as dawn, Mia escaped to the town and left a note to Edgar;

Dearest Master Edgar the Great,

I’m out to the town with Oyen. Please prepare your breakfast on your own.

Your lovely apprentice.

P/s I accidentally burned your blouse. I’ll get you a new one.

“MIA!!!!”

The whole cottage shivered in fear with the roar of the raging sorcerer. Fire soared high from the chimney. The plates and mugs trembled with fear and hid inside the closet. The carpet crept on the floor, sneaking away from his stomping feet. The grandfather clock played dead on the wall, his hands stopped ticking.

“Fuhhhh… lucky we run away in time,” Mia said to Oyen as they strolled around the town with a basket of cookies and sweets.

It was her well-planned strategy. She will let him burst in anger when she was away. Worse come to worst, she had to listen to his hour-long preached. Ah, poor Baddie was probably crying under the bed at this moment.

As the blue sky turned to pink and golden orange, Mia came out from her hiding place. She rang the bell, and the boat rowed over to fetch Mia and Oyen. 

Her lips trembled as she forced a smile at the stoic sorcerer leaned against the door frame. He had staff in his hand and an evil smirk on his face. The smile of the devil.