Trust in Magic

Chapter 4- the First Lesson

Alexia pulled Zafrir into the kitchen and shut the door behind them. She lit the candles in the room, then stood with her back to Zafrir, taking a few deep breaths. After she had calmed herself slightly, she walked to one of the cupboards and fumbled through it, trying to find the first aid kit. It's no use, she thought bitterly. I can't see anything through these tears. She sniffled and tried to rub her eyes dry, but gave up soon after, as her tears kept coming. Zafrir was watching her from behind. He slowly walked up to her and turned her to face him. He flinched slightly as Alexia's teary eyes met his. "Why do you never tell me the truth?" Alexia asked, dejectedly. Zafrir reached forward to hold Alexia's face in his warm palms and gave her a sad smile. "Don't cry," He pleaded.
    "And why not?" Alexia asked, frustration making her voice rise. "How about you stop being so difficult. Then I wouldn't have any reason to cry."
    "I'd stop being difficult if you'd stop treating me like a child," Zafrir retorted, his face turning into a frown that mirrored Alexia's. "I'm two years older than you, yet you always scold me whenever I risk my life."
    "Wouldn't you do the same if it were the other way round? It's frustrating to never be able to return your favours! Why do you never let me know when you need help?"
     Zafrir was silent. Alexia turned away from Zafrir and continued looking for the first aid kit. Her tears had stopped and she found it without further problems. After cleaning Zafrir's wound, she applied a herbal paste to it and bound it in fresh bandages.
    "You know..." Alexia started again. "If you make a wall around yourself, people will find it hard to trust you."
    Zafrir humphed. "You're one to talk. You pretend you're made of stone when you're around these Apprentices, but-"
    "I wasn't talking about the Apprentices."
    Zafrir hesitated. "I know you trust me. What are you trying to get at?"
    Alexia sighed. "I do trust you. But I'd prefer it if you would talk to me. I'm sorry I couldn't heal you- I don't have enough stamina left." Alexia closed the conversation.
    "No problem," Zafrir said. "I can hardly feel it anyways. But speaking of healing, how's your leg?"
    Alexia rubbed her hip experimentally. "It's better, thanks to you."
    "I'll heal it a little more," Zafrir offered, but Alexia shook her head. "I'll be alright. But this also brings us to the topic I wanted to discuss with you... Something's strange. First the Amarok that attacked the temple, then the landslide. Somebody clearly wants us dead."
    Zafrir didn't reply for a while. "I agree," He finally said. "But at the moment we don't have enough clues to be able to suspect anyone. As hard as it seems, we'll have to wait for whoever is behind this to make a mistake."
     Alexia's eyes narrowed. You know exactly who's doing this... she grumbled. Then she shook her head and yawned. "It's getting late," She said. "I'm going to sleep." She knew Zafrir wouldn't tell her his suspicions unless he wanted to.
    "Goodnight," Zafrir said softly, as she left the kitchen. "I'll stay downstairs a while longer."

***

The next day, Caitlyn was the first to wake up. She could smell somebody cooking downstairs, and the thought of food made her stomach rumble. The drama of last night had vanquished any thoughts of supper from her head at the time, but now she was fully aware of the fact that she was famished. She slowly turned in her bed to peer at Alexia's mattress. It was empty. Caitlyn let out a sigh of relief. Alexia was nice, but very difficult to read- you never knew what she was thinking. Frankly, she scared Caitlyn. Caitlyn got out of bed and walked over to the small dressing table positioned in a corner of the room, where she knew she would find a mirror. After making sure she looked presentable, she opened her bedroom door to find Leigh and Allan also leaving their room. What perfect timing, Caitlyn thought, her heart sinking. Then she drew a sneer onto her face.
    "Good morning," she said shortly.
    "Mornin'," replied Leigh. Allan grunted. As they got downstairs, the unmistakable smell of frying onions hit them. Alexia was sitting at a small desk, writing a letter but got up as she saw her Apprentices enter. 
    "Please sit down," she smiled, pointing to the oak table at the side of the room. "I apologise for last night- Zafrir and I shouldn't have argued in front of you and I can't believe I forgot about dinner."
    "Oh, don't worry," Allan said. "I wasn't thinking about dinner at the time either, to be honest."
    "Well, Zafrir will be done with cooking breakfast any moment now." With that, Alexia rushed into the kitchen. She came back a few moments later with plates, stacked with scrambled eggs, fried onions, a few rashers of bacon and thick slices of dark brown bread. Usually, Caitlyn would have turned down any meal presented so chaotically but today, her stomach won over her head. She gratefully accepted the food and cleared her plate as fast as Leigh and Allan did. Only when she leaned back in her chair with a sigh did she notice Allan had been watching her. He was looking at her with an expression of shock. During all the other meals he had shared with Caitlyn, she had picked at her food prudishly, only ever eating half of what was on her plate. Without intending to, Allan started to smile. Caitlyn, realising Allan was grinning at her, blushed and quickly turned away. She couldn't believe she had forgotten her manners. Had she even chewed the food? She had eaten so quickly, she could hardly remember if she had liked the taste of it.
    "Did it taste good?" Allan asked, still grinning, as if he had read her mind. To Caitlyn's relief, Zafrir walked into the living room at that moment, saving her from making an embarrassing answer. Zafrir's amber eyes flickered over the empty plates in front of the Apprentices and he smiled shrewdly. "I see everyone was hungry," he noted. "Even you, Caitlyn?" Caitlyn opened her  mouth to answer, but stopped halfway as she realised Zafrir was shirtless. A good deal of his body was hidden by the bandages that covered his shoulder wound, but Caitlyn's face grew hot again as her eyes ran over the length of Zafrir's body. Then she averted her gaze, cursing the part of her that appreciated the lean muscle and tanned skin which seemed to be the sole makeup of Zafrir. "Yeah. No dinner," She mumbled. Zafrir laughed, then seated himself opposite the Apprentices. "There's no shame in being hungry," Zafrir said kindly. The statement was so contrary to his normally haughty personality that Caitlyn's gaze rose to meet Zafrir's in confusion, just in time to see a shadow darken his bright eyes. The shadow dispersed almost as soon as it had come, but Caitlyn was sure it had been there. She was also sure that Zafrir knew she had seen it. But Zafrir's stare didn't waver from hers, nor did it betray any sign of vulnerability. If anything, he looked curious, as if he was wondering how much of himself Caitlyn would unravel. Unnerved, Caitlyn's eyes fled from his. As she broke eye contact with him, he turned back to the other Apprentices. They seemed not to have noticed the short moment of tension between Caitlyn and him.
    "When are our lessons starting?" Leigh asked bluntly, as he noticed Zafrir looking at him.
    "Maybe you should ask your master that," Zafrir remarked.
    "Oh yeah, I keep forgetting you're also an Apprentice. I mean you're the oldest out of all of us, right?" Allan sighed at Leigh's slightly offensive remark. Caitlyn couldn't help but feel jealous of the two- they had met only a few days ago, but already seemed to be best friends.
    "You're lessons are starting today," Alexia interjected. "In fact- as you've all finished your breakfast- they'll be starting as soon as you manage to dress yourselves."
    "Brilliant!" Leigh grinned, rising from his chair in a flash. "I'm first in the bathroom!" With that, he turned and raced towards the stairs.
    "You might need your backpack," Zafrir called after him dryly. Leigh clattered to a halt, grabbed his backpack from the pile next to the door and continued his sprint to the bathroom. Allan shook his head and followed, a little less energetically. Caitlyn sighed as she watched them go. Yes, she was definitely jealous. Then she realised she was now alone at the table with Zafrir and Alexia.
    "I'm going to get changed too," She muttered awkwardly as she got up and collected her backpack.