Raizia was growing inpatient.

She had let Aris leave the night before under the assumption that he would come back the following morning. However, it was now late afternoon, and the soldier was nowhere to be seen.

What's the point of binding someone into your service if you can't even get them to show up on time, she thought to herself bitterly as she ran a brush through her hair. Her reflection in the old brass mirror stared back at her: long raven hair, pale skin, eyes as dark as coal... But despite her scowl, there was something about her appearance that seemed lighter.

After her second death, she couldn't tolerate being around anyone for too long. She much preferred being alone. Yet here she was, waiting for Aris to show up on her doorstep like a lonely puppy.

As if hearing her thoughts, there was a rap on her door.

Quickly, Raizia set down the brush, rushed to open the door, and there stood Aris. He looked like a dark shadow blocking out the summer sunlight. He was using his palm to rub his eye, and his tunic was noticeably wrinkled.

Raizia immediately could tell why he was late. She smirked. "Someone was having fun last night, it seems."

"Fun might not be the best word," Aris said, stepping inside. "It was more like 'required alcohol consumption.'"

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"Tell that to my headache."

Raizia laughed, opened up a cabinet, and pulled out a glass jar. Inside was a collection of dried weeds. She plucked one out and tossed it to Aris. "Here. Eat that."

Aris stared at the dried plant like it was poison. "You want me to eat that?"

"It's great for hangovers," Raizia explained. Not that I've had one in a while. She couldn't remember the last time she had gone to a tavern for a drink. It was definitely before her second death, that was for sure.

Aris looked at the weed incredulously, then nibbled the edge of it like a timid rabbit. As he munched, he gazed around the small apartment. "So... how are you feeling? After the... thing yesterday."

"You mean the stabbing?" Raizia lifted the bottom of her shirt, revealing the scar on her abdomen. "I'm fine. A touch woozy if I stand up too quickly, but nothing too bad. Actually, I'm glad you finally showed up, because I want to start doing some things."

"More laundry?" Aris asked. "Dishes?"

Raizia laughed. "No. Magick."

Aris raised an eyebrow. "Magick? To do what, exactly?"

"To do whatever we want. That's the point of magick." She held up a finger. "But to start, I'd like to light the fireplace."

Aris didn't move. He just continued to nibble the herb Raizia had given him.

Raizia stared at him, eyebrows wrinkled. "You don't seem that excited. I feel like any other mundane in your situation would die for the chance to use magick--no pun intended."

Aris' couldn't seem to meet Raizia's gaze; his eyes instead trailed around the room, flitting from one object to the next. "It just seems... trivial. Why do you need to summon a fire when we can light one ourselves? You have plenty of matches."

"Because it's summer and real fires are hot," Raizia said. "And also, Zaidi told me I need to practice." She gestured to her hand. "I can't cast by myself anymore. I need your help. So we should practice."

Aris shifted on his feet. "Can't I just do your laundry again?"

"You did my laundry yesterday. Every single piece. I won't need anything washed for weeks. Now come on, this won't be that bad. We did it yesterday, and that was when I was half-dead. You did great. This time will be easier."

Aris sighed, finished the herb, and rubbed his eyes. "Fine. Tell me what to do."

Raizia grinned. "Excellent."

She went up to the soldier. She had never taught anyone how to cast anything. It was odd to be the teacher now instead of the user. She directed Aris to stand facing the empty fireplace. Then she asked if he was right-handed or left.

"Right," he said.

"Of course," she whispered. Then, in her head, she tried to reverse all the steps needed to cast, mirroring them so a right-y could perform them. "Okay. You're a right-y so that means this is your casting hand, the hand which guides your—or rather, my—magick.

"The core of magick is setting an intention: determining what exactly you want to accomplish. All the chants and the hand symbols do is help guideyour magick to more efficiently get what you want. You don't have to learn the chants or the symbols—some people are able to cast with brute will alone—but knowing the symbols and the chants make things much easier. Which is why it's important to practice."

She lifted her right hand, drawing a symbol in the air. "That's the symbol you should use when summoning a heatless flame. Try it."

Aris copied her symbol, hand clumsily flailing in the air.

Raizia had to stop herself from smacking herself. "No, like this." She drew it again, and again, yet Aris failed to copy it.

Finally, Raizia went behind Aris and grabbed his arm. "Like this!" she said, guiding his arm through the motions. She could feel the tendons in arm quiver as she moved him. He looked down at her, apparently startled by her touch, but he didn't pull away. Slowly but surely, he let her guide him, until after a few minutes, he was able to draw the symbol on his own without her help.

Finally, Aris' arm fell to his side. "And the incantation?" he asked.

Raizia shook her head. "I heard your pronunciation in the graveyard. You're awful at it. Teaching you the ancient tongue will take far too much time. I think hand symbols will be good enough with you—plus fire is a basic enough spell."

"Okay," Aris said, staring at the fireplace. He looked nervous, shifting his weight. "Now what?"

"Now we try to summon a flame. Together." Raizia stood to his left and took off her gloves. Then, taking her right hand, she held his left hand, fingers interlocking. She noted that his palm was cool and clammy. She squeezed his hand, trying to pass along some reassurance, but he seemed frozen.

"Okay," she said. "Stare at the fireplace, draw the symbol in the air, and think about a fire."

Aris took a deep breath. For a long time he didn't move. But then, he seemed to gather his resolve. He reached out and drew the symbol in the air. As he did, Raizia focused, drawing on her magick. It welled up inside her chest, like a great wave, and then flowed down through her right arm. She felt Aris' hand tense as the power poured into him, and then he actually jumped when a blue ball of flame flew out of him palm and landed as a sputtering fire in the fireplace.

"Yes!" Raizia said, letting go of his hand. "We did it! Summoning fire? Check!"

The corners of Aris' lips turned upwards in the mockery of a smile, but the emotion didn't meet his eyes.

Raizia put her hands on her hips, her mood suddenly dampened by Aris' apparent displeasure. "What's wrong?" she demanded.

Aris was caught off-guard by her question. "Nothin—"

"Don't lie to me," Raizia said. Then, realizing that came out harsher than she had intended, she revised, "You don't have to lie to me, or be afraid to speak freely. You know I can't blast you to smithereens without your help."

This drew a small smile from Aris' lips, but he remained silent for a bit longer, before finally saying, "I grew up in a very religious household."

"Ah," Raizia said with a nod. "So I take it you weren't around very many sorcerers."

He nodded. "I was taught that dark magick corrupts."

"And you think lighting a fire is dark magick?"

"No!" Aris said, an indignant blush creeping up on his cheeks. "Not the fire, per se. But the... the..."

"But the caster," Raizia said, staring at him. "You mean, because it's me. A necromancer."

Aris didn't admit it out loud, but Raizia could tell from his expression that she had guessed correctly.

Normally this sort of conversation would annoy Raizia, remind her of all the people that hated her for no reason other than the magick she had been born with, and she would have snapped. But for some reason, she didn't feel angry. She could see the tortured look in Aris' eyes, the look of someone struggling with something they had thought to be true their whole lives, and was possibly realizing just now that it was a lie.

"Do you think I'm evil?" Raizia asked simply.

Aris' eyes widened at the question. "No!" he said quickly, and then, seeing Raizia stare at him even more, mumbled, "I don't know."

"If you think necromancy is evil, then why did you come to me after your mother's death?"

"I... I was desperate."

"Or maybe," Raizia postulated, "you don't actually think necromancy is wrong. You loved your mother and you wanted to talk to her one more time. I don't think there's anything wrong with that." She looked down at her hands. "To be honest, the distinction between light and dark magick is all made up. Magick isn't inherently good or bad. Spells can't be classified that way. Any spell can become good or bad depending how you use it. And I like to think that, on the whole, I use my magick for good—despite what the priests say." She looked at him. "So don't worry about incurring the wrath of the gods because you lit a fire with me. Just...enjoy it. Magick is a gift."

Aris was silent for a while after Raizia's speech. He took a seat, and stared at his hand for a while. Raizia was just beginning to feel self-conscious about everything she had said when Aris finally looked up at her. "Thanks," he said. "I'm sorry for being so... weird about this."

"It's fine," Raizia said. "I'm sorry I didn't realize you were raised to be so fearful of magick. Is there... some sort of magick you'd like to try? Something you've always wished you could do? I don't want to force you into casting things you don't want to, but we do have to keep practicing if I ever want to be able to cast on my own again."

Aris looked thoughtful. Finally he said, "I've always been fascinated by healers. Medics with the gift to heal wounds and save lives."

"You did a pretty good job healing me the other day," Raizia said. "Is that something you'd like to practice more of? Is there something you want to heal?"

Raizia already had something in mind. She had seen Aris' scar the day before, the twisted, jagged, raised slash on his shoulder. She knew she didn't have the healing skill to make it go away completely, but with enough concentration, she had a feeling they could lighten the scar, make it less noticeable.

However, Aris shook his head. "No, nothing I want to heal right now. It's just something that fascinates me." He looked at Raizia. "I'll defer to you. What do you want to practice next?"

"Oh," Raizia said, surprised by his response. "Okay then. Hostess choice. Um... let's try a little bit of levitation then. I'll show you the symbol..."

Happy Saturday! A little bit of flirting, a little bit of magick... Let me know what you think! I'm sorry this came out a little later than usual--my schedule is absolutely crazy but I'll keep doing my best to post one chapter a week! 

Hope you all are having an amazing day!

- Bdicocco