Forbidden Magic - Setosolace

Chapter 6

A few months pass before anything else exciting happens. I mean, unless Brice and I catching up and becoming closer as friends counts as exciting, or if my magic getting harder to control counts as well. My feelings for Brice were getting harder to deal with as well. I wanted to tell him, but I was afraid that would push him away. I mean, a master and his slave can't be in a relationship, right? Anyway, I just was happy he was so nice to me. And his words that night. "You weren't treated better before, but now you will. Because I can do that." I remember, a smile appearing on my face.

He really had made everything in my life better. I didn't have to scavenge for food, he brought it to me. I never had to leave his side unless it was to deliver something, but his threat to the other slaves kept them at bay. He gave me extra blankets and added a bookshelf to my room. When I asked why he said he remembered my hobby was reading. I honestly hadn't expected him to remember, but I loved that he did. If his dad ever did anything to me, Brice would retaliate by telling his dad not to mention my name if he wanted Brice to consider any of his advice. Sometimes he even counteracted by telling me all these good things about me and building my self-esteem.

I loved all of this. The only other person that ever did this stuff for me was Rin. Speaking of Rin, I had only gotten to see her a few times before the incident, but now Brice always asks if I want to go visit her when we run out of work. I know I probably should be doing more work, but Brice would not let me. At all. If I demanded he give me work to do, he would tell me to read a book or explain the last book I read to him in full. I thought it was stupid at first, but now that I think about it, I was being more confident with myself with all he was doing or making me do. I was suddenly snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a gentle, but loud knock on the door to my room.

I get up from my bed, setting down the book I had been reading before I subconsciously started thinking about Brice. God, I seriously need to limit how much I was thinking about him. It was like an obsession. I go over to the door and open it to be greeted by Brice in a blue hoodie and black jeans sporting messy hair and a wide smile. That didn't help push him to the back of my head.

"We are taking a day off! Let's go for a walk." He says, walking in after I opened the door more, hands in his hoodie pocket. I tilt my head curiously.

"Seriously?" I ask, looking at him with slightly surprised eyes.

"Yep! It's a little chilly outside, so wear warm clothes under your cloak that you love so much." He says playfully, myself giving him a small huff in reply and rolling my eyes to keep from blushing. I walk over to my closet and open it. Oh yeah, Brice had more clothes made for me because he realized I only ever wore a tattered grey t-shirt and patched up jeans underneath my cloak. I chose a purple hoodie and grey fleece inlined jeans. These were my favorite of all the clothes he had made. These ones were just more me. I knew with the hoodie, I would have to leave my cloak off to keep it from looking like too much. I glance back at Brice and see that he was sitting on my bed, respectfully facing the other way so he couldn't see me. I smile before I change quickly.

Once I was done, I close the closet after grabbing a small bag. I quickly grab a spellbook I had hidden in my closet and wrap my cloak around it. I sigh softly before putting them in the small bag (For anyone wondering, the bag is this world's equivalent to a fanny pack). I smile before I go over to Brice.

"Ready!" I say softly, him looking at me and smiling widely as he nods approvingly of my choice of clothes. He stands up and we leave my room before he starts to lead me out of the giant building. Once out of the building, he leads me towards the town. I was enjoying this time with him a lot. We walked throughout the town until we got to the forest on the other side.

"We are going in there??" I ask softly, having never gone into this forest. Rin always said this was the forest she and Brice found me in.

"Of course. Nervous?" He asks and I nod. He smiles gently. "Don't worry. I'll make sure nothing happens to you." He says softly before we head off into the forest. I had to admit that this was pretty terrifying for me, but I was more than happy to follow him if he wanted me too.

So many questions were going through my head though. Why was I found here? How long was I out here? Didn't my family want me anymore? Was it because I was too small or didn't have my magic yet? Why didn't they come back for me...?

"Seto?" Brice asks softly. "Oh uh... yeah?" I respond, snapping out of my trance. "You spaced out for a moment there. Isn't it beautiful out here? I used to come here all the time with Rin. But then those sorcerers invaded the house and my dad didn't want anyone to go out here anymore." He explains. We talk a little more about the subject and I find out that he didn't see why sorcerers were such a huge problem. He disagreed with his dad's tactics quite a bit, but he had no power to tell him that. We spend a few good hours out there, sitting up against a tree and listening to the sounds of the forest. It felt a little like freedom from expectations.

It was nice.