To Perfect a Spell

 “You’ve got this Ella. You must concentrate.” Peter Leeway grinned encouragingly at his struggling friend. “Easy for you to say!” Ella sighed and dropped down onto the grass, exasperated. “Magic comes easy to you. Everything comes easy to you.” The spell Ella had been trying to cast was one called Substitutionary Replacement. It was where one could swap their location with an inanimate object instantly. Peter leaned off the oak tree he had been relaxing against and moved to sit next to Ella on the grass. He placed his wand delicately into its case and slipped it into his backpack. “That is not entirely true, Ella. I find it taxing to be… well, normal.” Ella didn’t answer, but she knew what he meant. It was hard to be unusual in a world that didn’t easily accept the fantastic or unbelievable. “What would our classmates say if they knew you were a wizard?” Ella blurted out without thinking. Quickly she tried to rephrase it, but she felt that only made it worse. “Ella.” Peter fidgeted with his watch. “I am aware that it may be difficult for your people to accept that there is a parallel realm, but there is. Our school believes I am simply a strange foster boy that moved here from England twenty-six fortnights ago…that is, a year ago.” Ella nodded. She had thought that too, until recently. “If they discovered that I am a wizard from another realm…” Peter shrugged. “…They simply wouldn’t believe it.” Ella fingered her delicate wand that she had just been practicing with. She couldn’t imagine not believing in magic, but until Peter came along, she knew she wouldn’t have. Ella had always been logical, scientific, and calculated. “Magic makes this world run.” Peter whispered as he lifted his head to allow the wind to pull at his long hair. “Really? Give me one example.” Ella asked, her blue eyes sparkling. Peter nodded. “Airplanes fly because of magic. They disguise it as science, but I know better.” Ella nodded. It was strange that she accepted that so easily today. “Now, then,” Peter took out a notebook and scrawled some assignments onto it. “I need you to master that spell.” Ella groaned dramatically. “I’ll never be able to!” Peter smiled distantly but continued writing. He lifted his head and met her gaze; his deep brown eyes shining with a strange wisdom. Ella shifted uncomfortably under his stare. “Don’t say that, Ella. You can master it. ‘Believe in yourself,’ as they say.” Peter handed her the paper and stood up to stretch. He turned to go, but before he did, he reminded her, “I teach you spells because your ancestry can handle it. There are wizards known as dark wizards—malicious wizards—who would take advantage of that and use your skills for evil.” Ella raised an eyebrow, curious. “What kind of evil?” Peter held her gaze for a long moment, his brown eyes flickering strangely. He always paused between his answers. “There is a spell like the one I’m teaching you. It’s called ‘Substitutionary Sacrifice.’” Ella leaned forwards in curiosity. “And it’s… evil?” Peter paused before explaining, “It can be. It’s where a more experienced Wizard can cause a less experienced Wizard to die for him. You replace his life with yours.” Peter’s voice had become low and solemn; it unnerved Ella. “I’ll master the spell, Peter.” Ella mumbled as she tightened her grip on her wand. Peter nodded and walked off into the afternoon sunset, leaving Ella to her thoughts and her assignment. She lifted her wand apprehensively and mumbled the spell’s incantation. Suddenly she felt her body tense and felt tingles all over, like pins and needles. It was working! She could do this! Exhausted, she fell to the ground in a heap of exasperated frustration. Close, but not close enough. Ella continued to practice the spell all evening, and when at last she fell asleep that night, she dreamt of success. She arose early in the morning and practiced until the afternoon. Hurrying to their meeting spot under the twisted oak tree, she continued to go over the spell as she waited for her mentor. Over and over, she practiced. Her head began to feel strange and she thought the world was spinning. She sat down on the ground to regain her composure a bit, but her head still felt like it was going to explode. “Peter…” Ella mumbled once she noticed the figure of her friend approaching. She closed her eyes against the feeling of vertigo she was experiencing. After what felt like forever, she opened them and stated excitedly, “I’ve been practicing…” she trailed off once she noticed his expression; dark and somewhat frightened. “…What’s wrong?” Ella lowered her wand and studied his face for answers. Peter kept glancing over his shoulder nervously, as if looking for something or someone. “Ella…” he hesitated as he searched for the right words. “Someone from my realm is here. A dark Wizard.” Ella drew a sharp breath. “What do you mean— “I mean there’s someone after me… well, us.” Peter interrupted her question. He sighed and composed himself. “Some Wizards do not like me. They do not approve of me being here, in your world.” Ella thought for a moment; some things he said now didn’t seem to add up with things he had said before. “Are they trying to bring you back to your realm?” She asked apprehensively; Peter shook his head. “Not quite.” He placed down his backpack and rummaged around inside for his wand case. When at last he found it, he took out the wand and spun it around in his hands anxiously. “Ella,” He looked at her seriously, but his eyes held a darkness to them that unsettled her. “Be prepared to fight to the death.” Startled, Ella’s grip on her wand tightened and she stood in shock. Had she heard him correctly? A fight to the death? “Peter…” She faltered at his anxious and yet determined expression. He was serious. She took a courageous breath and added, “…I’ll do my best.” Peter nodded and braced himself as the late afternoon wind began to blow suddenly. Soon, two average looking people sauntered toward them from the woods, an expression of resigned determination on their downcast faces. Ella didn’t really understand what was going on, but she knew she would be fighting with Peter. That gave her some hope. “Did you master the spell?” Peter asked under his breath as the two came closer. Ella shrugged and answered, “I think so.” Peter nodded, but he didn’t look to assured of her ability. Ella raised her wand nervously and studied the people approaching. One was a tall, clean-shaven man with wispy blonde hair and freckles. The other, a woman, was short of stature and she wore her hair in two, long brunette braids that trailed down her back. They each had a wand, and a strange wisdom about them; Ella understood their wizardly authority. “Peter Leeway.” The man spoke in a deep voice. He had unrolled a parchment and began reading dramatically. “Peter Leeway, son of Horris Leeway, third wizard of the embassy; we are here on orders to execute you for the repeated practice of unauthorized wizardry.” The speaker tucked the scroll away and raised his wand defensively. He started to chant a spell and the women joined him. They spoke softly at first, but soon the incantation became deafening. “Ella!” Peter demanded frantically. “Cast the spell!” Ella didn’t seem to understand why, but she began the motions and words to the spell she had been practicing. Suddenly the chanting of the opposing wizards stopped, and the woman shouted to Ella, “Please, human child, do not continue!” Ella stopped, again, startled, and confused. “Do not sacrifice yourself for a dark wizard.” Ella blinked and turned to Peter, who was so riled up he barely even resembled himself. “Peter…? Dark wizard?” Ella stared at her friend and then back to the speaker that had stopped her from finishing the spell. “What do you mean?” She asked fearfully. “That spell you were casting; it’s ‘Substitutionary Sacrifice’!” The speaker blurted out. “Were you unaware?” Ella’s pulse pounded in her ears as she began to process this information. Peter was… a dark wizard? He had been lying to her all this time? Had he just been training her for the moment his life was threatened? Hurt, angry, and stunned, Ella dropped her wand to the ground and crushed it under her foot. “I can’t believe you’d use me like that!” Ella growled at Peter, her blue eyes aflame with anger and agony. “How dare you?!” Her eyes filled with tears at the world around her seemed to slow and blur. All she could see was Peter’s face; she could just make out his words which were quiet and almost gentle. “Ella, wake up… wake up…” Suddenly Ella’s eyes flew open and she sat up on the grass under the twisted oak tree. Peter knelt over her; his deep brown eyes soft with concern. “You attempted the spell one too many times— you lost consciousness.” He smiled kindly as the sun began to set behind him, framing his silhouette in a warm glow. A rush of relief washed over Ella and she sat up and dried her tears. She did feel exhausted. Magic was difficult for humans, indeed. Peter eyed her curiously. “You were weeping, so I assume you were dreaming.” Ella blinked and shrugged. “It felt so real.” Peter nodded and leaned back against the tree; he raised his head in the breeze and allowed the wind to tug on his hair. He thought for a moment before asking, “Care to tell me about it?”