Chapter Text
Morning walks were meant to center oneself and enjoy the scenery or whatever else around that was calming. Morning Walks were certainly not meant to have young mages discovering someone laying in the grass bleeding out. Especially not when said person found was supposed to be a healing mage, yet was laying out in the damp, dew covered grass, face down in it and bleeding at an alarming rate. MORNING WALKS were supposed to be peaceful. Unfortunately for the young Mage, Mara, this morning was anything but peaceful.
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Pain wasn’t the first thing you expected while waking up, but life seemed to really want to mock you today. A quiet groan, which sounded much louder to you in the silence, escaped your lips as your eyes slowly opened. Adjusting to the light slowly, you tried to recognize the room you were in. None of it looked even remotely familiar. The bed was colored in soft grays and blues. The walls were lined with bookshelves, knickknacks and books tucked away neatly on the shelves. A desk sat in front of a window, neat and orderly. A laptop sat on it with a notepad and pen nearby. Who’s room was this?
A creak of a door had you quickly snapping your attention to the sole door of the room. A familiar figure walked in, a frown set on her lips. Oh it’s just Mara, your childhood friend and one of your best friends. Although, having her brown hair pulled into a high pony tail with hairs framing her face was a first. “Oh my god, Mara! Where-“ you began, only for your friend to hiss in annoyance. “We’re not friendly, don’t call my name like we are.” Mara snapped, her brown eyes glaring harshly at you. You blinked in surprise at her reaction. “Very funny, seriously though where are we?” A brief look of confusion flashed across her face before settling back into a frown. “Seeing as we’re not close, I know you haven’t seen my home before, where we are. Since like I said, we aren’t friends.” She snapped, her brow twitching slightly in her annoyance.
Something was really, really wrong. Mara was never one to talk to you like this, even if you did piss her off. Why was she acting like you both hadn’t grown up together? She was one of your best friends after all. “What the fuck are you talking about, Mara?” Her lips pulled back into a sneer. There was a slight pressure around you as an orange scimitar appeared, pointing at you. “I said-“
“Holy shit! Why is there a floating sword!? Why is it orange!?” You screamed, crawling further back onto the bed. Mara stood straight, watching you with furrowed brows. Why did she look so confused? Why wasn’t she freaking out over the literal floating sword!? Finally she broke the tension, “Did Mage Bella scramble your memories again?” She let out a deep sigh and the orange sword was gone. What the actual fuck was happening? “That explains why you think we’re friends. She must have messed with your soul and head too much.” Her hands moved to her face and she groaned deeply. She moved to slowly rub her temples as you watched with growing concern and confusion. What the hell did she mean by mage?
“Well, whatever. Summon your soul so I can see what the damage is.” She huffed, moving her hand in a motion of ‘hurry up’. Now you were completely confused. “Dude what the fuck are you talking about? ‘Summon my soul’?? This isn’t some fantasy game where it just appears, let alone exists.” You scoffed. This was all too weird now, waking up in a strange room, one of your best friends acting like an acquaintance at best, and then her asking to see your soul? Was this some weird elaborate prank or something? “Oh my god, if she somehow fucked up your ability to use magic I’m gonna beat the shit out of her. That could start a war if she did that.” Okay you had just about enough.
“Okay, the jokes done, you got me. Can we go find Kyle and Devon to watch Owl House or some shit? This is just getting annoying- also how the hell would you have even roped Bella into this? Did you guys add each other on discord or something?” You hadn’t meant for your words to come out so irritated, but at this point you were. Mara had simply watched you with an absolutely baffled expression. “Oh my god, it’s even worse than I thought. Come here.” She mumbled, rushing to your side and grabbing your bicep. “What the- Mara what’re you-“ Your words were cut off as she ignored you, placing her hand just above your sternum. “Little touchy aren’t we- hhhk! What the fuck was that!?” You were quickly cut off as she slowly pulled her hand back, causing a strange, dull tug in your chest that knocked the breath from your lungs.
Her eyes widened, from shock or horror you weren’t entirely sure. “Why didn’t your soul come out..? It’s almost like…” She paused and narrowed her eyes, tilting her head as if listening for something. Your heart was racing as you tried to make sense of the situation. Nothing seemed to make sense. Everything seemed wrong. Her eyes widened and she was shoving herself away from you, the orange sword from before appearing in her hand as others surrounded you. They were all pointed at you. “Holy-“
“Who are you!? Talk fast, you’re impersonating a Royal Mage Apprentice!” She snapped. Her gaze was hardened and angry. It looked like she would have no problem slicing you open with these weird magically floating orange swords. “M-Mara what the fuck are you talking about!? What are these-“ A panicked gasp left you as your lungs squeezed painfully. A panic attack was the last thing you needed right now. “Royal Mages!? What the fuck even is that!?” You cried, trying to ignore the lump forming in your throat. A beat of silence, aside from your panicked breaths, passed over the room. “Let’s see what our Judge has to say.” She hissed. She waved a hand and one of the swords near you whirled around, cracking the hilt against your temple.
Everything fell to black.