What If?

Chapter 22

***

Jeana stayed at the bar for a long time, thinking about the Essence.

If I can have Gwen be my successor, then I can attempt to get rid of the woman in red, and the Essence will be safe with Gwen. She thought.

Jeana stumbled up to her room and crashed on her bed.

In the morning, she woke early and flipped through pages of her books about magic. Jeana had never attempted to teach another person magic before. She didn't know how. But she thought browsing through her books would help.

She was flipping through 'Spells, Curses, and Tricks' when she heard a knock at her door. She put the book down and opened the door. 

It was Gwen.

"Good morning." Jeana said.

"Good morning," Gwen replied, "Is it too early to start?"

"Nope! This will be great!" Jeana said.

Jeana gestured to Gwen to come inside. Gwen walked in and waited for Jeana to give her instructions. 

"Gwen," Jeana began, "A big part of leading the Essence is by magic. I feel that is the most important thing I need to teach you right now."

Gwen nodded.

"Have you ever used magic before?" Jeana asked.

"No." Gwen replied. 

Jeana wasn't so sure that Gwen had actually never used magic. She sense her power. There was no way. But she continued.

"Alright. Let's start from the beginning."

*** 

Joyce had lied to Jeana, saying that she had never tried any magic.

She was trying to be cautious, acting as though she was learning for the first time. In a way she was. Jeana was teaching her different magic than Mirabelle had taught her. 

Jeana was teaching her dark magic.

Joyce had a bad feeling about the magic, but thought the more she learned about it, the more likely she could defeat Jeana. It was a risky plan, but this was the edge that Joyce needed in order to figure out how she was going to break the curse.

"Again." Jeana commanded.

Joyce had been demonstrating how to manipulate objects. She was trying to make a feather quill fly around the room and then write 'Gwen' on a piece of parchment on Jeana's desk.

Joyce concentrated her energy and made the quill rise off the desk and made it quiver and fall.

"Hmmm...." Jeana said, "Try collecting more of your energy before you make it float."

Joyce, of course, knew this. But she was trying to make Jeana think she needed practice.

***

Hours passed by and Joyce felt like she hadn't learned anything about dark magic that would help her break the curse.

After practicing a few more tricks, they took a break. Joyce decided to ask Jeana a few questions.

"Jeana, I feel like I have so many weaknesses. I think my concentration is my biggest weakness." She lied, "Do you have any weaknesses with your magic?"

Jeana thought for a moment. 

"Gwen, I'm weak in a lot of things, but you need to turn those weaknesses into strengths."

"How have you turned them into strengths?"

"I've learned to use my anger, one of my biggest weaknesses, and turn it into power. You can work on your concentration and improve it to where you can successfully use it to your advantage."

Joyce thought for a moment. Was Jeana's temper the key to defeating her?