The Wizards Assistant closed

"...What do you mean?" I asked, not really understanding.

"its like the idiom... Curiosity killed the cat? i was always curious... its how i mastered magic... but everynow and then... something bad would happen to someone close to me, till no one remained... thats why i only pursue new magic when i am alone.... so i dont cause harm to anyone... and eventually, when i send you back, if thats what you want, ill move away from here, go to a forest in the mountians far from here, and i will build a home for myself, and write the tomes of magic that i promised the Order... and maybe a dog or cat to keep my company... i wont take another apprentice... and if i get the chance, or things get to dangerous, ill send you home..." i said simply looking away for a moment, and nodded "after all, i was wrong to take you from your world... no matter how much i needed it..." i said, hiding my emotions, and blinked tiredly, a slight light in my eyes showing a glimmer of memories coming through, and i sighed a bit, "for example, my third student... was from your world... he wanted to stay, and asked many questions... one of which i didnt know... as a teacher, it was my duty to learn and teach him the awnsers he sought.... i did so, and he attempted it himself, and it destroyed him... it was one mispronounced sylable..." i said simply, my blond hair falling in front of my face "but anyways, what do you want to do today? cook? draw? read? im afraid im horrible at sleepovers..." i chuckled lightly, having completely forgotten what i was sad about, and a slight green glow emitted from my ring, where my Artriarc was stored

I bit my lip, not knowing what to say. I cant just leave you here!, I felt like saying, but held back. "...Um...I guess for the sleepover, we can...toast...oh wait, marshmallows probably dont exist here... how about we draw? Until we come up with something?"

"we could do that, and tell horror stories while the other eats..."

"Horror stories? I dont know any, unless you count extreme stalker stories as horror stories..." I laughed meekly.

"well, i have my fair share of those, so lead away..." i said, summoning some paper and ink for us to use to draw

"You tell one first," I said, before noting the utensils we would use. "Um...how do you use this?" I asked, pointing at the ink bottle.

"like this..." i said, demonstrateing for her as i began to write down the stories beginning "long ago, there was a small child... she, like her ancetors before her, were granted with strange powers and looks... she looked very exotic to the town, causing the men around her, young and old, to desire the young maiden of only 17... advance after advance, she turned them down, only interested in her pursuit of knowledge... the one young man that was to shy to make advances, helped her at the library, and soon, she found herself having to defend the poor boy from the town... she took his hand one day after using her powers in public for the first time to protect him, and healed him... abashed and embaressed about having to be protected, he was silent... she guided him to a place she would disappear to, a secret room hidden in the library, and showed him that she had been living a quiet life here, closer to him, in order to be nearby if he needed her... would you like me to continue?"

"Yes, its a very pretty story," I said, as I drew a fish.

"Over the Years... they grew closer and closer, while the world around them continued to exile them. eventually, she shyly confessed her love for him, and he for her. they went to the outskirts of town, and farther, to the tree where they had first met as Kids... they smiled at each other, and they decided that is where they would build their home and live togeather... with her powers, and his design skill, they quickly built a home, adding more and more every day, a study and library for her, and a laboratory and kitchen for him, as she was the scholar, and he the cook. as time grew, so did their adoration for eachother, until they finally married and had several children... one fateful night, trying to shop for groceries, a man followed her home, entranced by her, having just come into town, and was enraged to find she was spoken for, and vowed that she would be his... he waited till she had gone out again, this time to gather materials to sew cloths for her newborn children, and he snuck in, attempting to kill the husband she now loved so much... when she returned, she found the house in shambles, her baby girl and boy crying in their crib as the husband defended them from the furious suitor... with a blast of magic, she killed him, ending the fools life in a way that made him suffer, with a spell forbidden by the order of magic she had helped found. she then relized her husband was wounded, and though she did all she could for the poor man, he died a few years later due to the inability to move around properly, as one man after another heard of her beauty, and slowly, she lost one after another of those she loved, and she grew colder and colder toward those who approached her, in the end, leaving the beautiful home she had built and loved for years, protected by a magical enchantment that killed or maimed those who attempted to enter despite the warnings, and she died in the forest far away... there, she was revived by one of her students that had stumbled apon her in the woods, and she awoke, to find the student dead, but with no memory of the student, and found she had a new body and age...." i said simply, my eyes closed as i told the story in a strange voice, as if i were speaking to one that was younger and precious to me

I realized I had started sniffling. Such a cute little story became so sad so fast. "What happened to her kids? Did they die too?"

".... one lost a leg, the boy, and he took his fathers place at the library with the assistance of the magic powers he had been given, along with the wooden leg... the daughter, stayed with her mother for awhile, and left after finding a boy... to this day, its unknown where she went..."

Right now I was merely pouting to keep myself from crying.

"...." I nodded and set the pages I had written to the side, waiting for her to calm down, teary eyed myself

"Thats...not fair," I said, rubbing my cheeks, much like a squirrel, to distract myself from crying. "Why couldn't they let them be happy?"

"i dont know... i believe something similar happened to me in my first life... all i remember was a bakery..."

"Then thats not fair to you..."

"no, my story was different, i know that... id rather not know the details... anyways, your turn..."

"...Are you sure? Its not as interesting as yours..." I said, now shy.

"you never know, some people are scared of simple things..."

"Okay then... There used to be a really sweet young lady- whom Ill call Tara to avoid confusion- and people spoke well of her and she was always protected by her brothers, so no one in her town bothered her. However, people started hearing stories of beautiful young girls who would disappear, and days later, their mangled bodies appeared on the outskirts of their villages and towns; however, they also noted the girls acting strangely before their disappearances. This, nonetheless, scared Tara. One day, a girl in her town disappeared, and despite their search efforts, she couldn't be found until after her young body were left, mangled, in the outskirts of town..."

"wow, thats... pretty creepy..." i said, shivering a little as the fresh bread finished, and i got up, starting to make stew as a small snack for the story telling

"...Youre not saying that out of pity, are you?" I asked, pausing the story midway.

"no, its actually pretty good!" i said with a smile over my shoulder, nodding at her to continue

"...After that, Tara's town called for an emergency meeting. They wanted the end the killings, and a few were eager to recieve a reward that had been offered yet not many knew about. But they needed to set a trap- and they planned to use Tara as bait. Her brothers protested, but they ignored them, eventually kidnapping her and placing her in the forest, seemingly alone, as they hid, ready to capture the murderer. They had tied Tara's leg to a rather long length of rope, so she was terrified as she knew she couldn't run away. The hours of the night dragged on slowly, and she flinched at every noise, scared to near death. That was when she heard a blood curdling shriek from one of the men- then another, and another. Then an eerie silence followed. She then tried desperately to free herself, as she feel the threat nearing her, a feeling of harrowing suspense causing her to struggle more with the rope. The last thing she remembered from that night was a cold, non-human like hand covering her mouth, somehow causing her to lose consciousness, most surely of fright. However, when she woke up, she was back in her bed, her eldest brother waiting for her to wake up. She was later told she had been left at their doorstep, with terrible injuries; her right cheek had been gashed open, and she had had a message cut into her torso- a miracle she had survived, they said. Tara believed that too, until they told her what had been written. Its not her time yet. After that, for many years, she refused to leave her home, her brothers taking care of her, especially her eldest brother; had she not become paranoid she wouldve noticed the sudden increase of attention she was recieving from him, as he was the most laid back in her protection. However, her second brother did notice. Soon after he was found, beheaded and tongue cut out. The townspeople, believing Tara was cursed and would cause the death of her family, was chased out. She ran into the forest, stopping at the place where she had been tied at to be used as bait. Its not her time yet. She froze, unable to move, as she heard that frase over and over. She heard someone coming, and she turned, seeing her eldest brother. However, instead of comfort, she felt a chilling fear run down her spine. 'Youre not my brother, are you? You killed him like you did my other brother.' Her 'brother' grinned maliciously, changing into his true form: an enormous, terrifying creature that was so horrifying to look at it almost didnt seem real. However, Tara was tired. Tired of being scared. Scared of her own demise. To the point she wasnt willing to put up with it anymore. 'Just get it over with quickly,' She whispered. The creature grinned again, 'Thats what they all say.'"