Fire & Water

           Lu paced across the floor of her room. There was no doubt she would pass tonight’s Final Trials, but would she rank First Mage? Either way, tomorrow she would be finished at the Middington Academy of Magic, and never have to suffer Endora’s cruel bullying again. The only downside to not becoming First Mage tonight was that Endora would, if she herself did not. That would just be wrong. Bullying aside, they vied for first place in everything. It was true that they had different elemental affinities – her own was water and Endora’s was fire – but in everything else they were almost equally matched.

           A gentle knocking startled her from her thoughts. Lu crossed the room and opened the door to Judge Abigail.

           “You are ready?”

           “Yes,” Lu replied, blushing.

           Judge Abigail smiled warmly. “You will be fine. Keep your wits about you, and don’t let her get under your skin. Let’s go!”

           The opening formalities over with, Lu and Endora faced each other. The Headmistress offered them both a smile.  “May the elements bend to your will.”

           “Good luck, Ulalume,” hissed Endora, lacing the name with venom. “You’re going to need it.”

           Lu had still not figured out how the hateful girl had found out her full name. Lu never used it. Before Lu could form a suitably caustic response, Judge Abigail was gently tugging her arm. Lu looked into her mentor’s face. She did not see pity or worry, but confidence.

           For a class of twelve students, Final Trials took six evenings. Each evening two potential graduates, starting with the lowest ranked, would enter one of two foyers in the Trial Hall. Both foyers led to a large central chamber. There, both candidates would complete their remaining Trials, helping, hindering, or ignoring each other. There were no rules. A committee of judges watched them, through magical means, of course. Although it wasn’t always the first candidate out who scored best, that was usually the case. Unconventional solutions could be awarded extra points.

           Lu shook her head to clear it. They had arrived at Lu’s door. Lu placed her hand on the hand-shaped impression. The door opened and the Trial Hall whispered into her mind, “Welcome, Ulalume.”

           Lu walked slowly down the foyer. Creatures from her own nightmares leapt at her from the walls. The Trial Hall scolded her and told her she wasn’t good enough, in Endora’s voice, no less. No matter what terror or argument the Trial Hall threw at her, Lu kept moving forward. As she progressed, a feeling of oppression and melancholy grew within her. It was the Trial Hall, she knew, making sure her path was not taken lightly. She wanted this and would not be persuaded to turn back. When Lu placed her hand on the appropriate impression in the door at the far end of the foyer, the heavy feelings lifted.

           “Well done,” whispered the Trial Hall. “You have passed the first of the Final Trials.”

           Lu looked around the square, central chamber. Endora had not yet arrived. No matter, she would soon enough. The center of the room was filled with a three-dimensional maze encased in glass. Around the periphery of the room there were two potion making stations, two stacks of chests, two piles of gold coins, and two bookcases. In fact, if there had been a line dividing the room diagonally, the two halves would be duplicates of each other. Lu squinted. There was a faint shimmer in the air, going from corner to corner. Lu walked toward it, one hand outstretched. It was solid and smooth, and presumably magical. The surface of the barrier glowed slightly where her hand touched it. Suddenly Endora burst into the room, making Lu jump. Lu looked at her nemesis. Endora’s face was ashen.

           “Nothing to see here!” shouted Endora. The barrier was not soundproof, then.

           As Lu turned to walk away, a wave of air knocked her over. She hit the floor hard, scraping her hands on the rough stone as she tried to break her fall. So, it was not a barrier to magic, either.

           “Biggest mistake a person can make,” said Endora, laughing, “is not knowing when a fight has begun. You’re going to lose, Outhouse.”

           Lu ignored her and picked herself up off the floor.

           “Ach! Te wee shite!”

           Lu looked around but could see no one.

           “Over here, between te bookcase and me gold.”

           Lu walked to said pile of gold and looked around it. There on the floor sat a little man in a red jacket and knee-length breeches. His legs were clad in black hose and on his feet were fancy buckled shoes. His beard was long, and reddish-brown.  He held a pipe in his mouth and wire spectacles sat on his nose. He was resting his back against the bookcase.

           “Hello,” said Lu. “My name is Lu.”

           “Oi’m Seamus,” said the little man. “DUCK!”

           Lu heard Endora shriek and was pulled to the floor by Seamus, just in time to narrowly miss being hit by a small fireball. The bookcase burst into flames as Lu and Seamus scrambled out of the way. Lu summoned some water and put out the flames. “I hope I don’t need any of those books.”

           Lu could feel the mirth of the Trial Hall. At least someone was having a good time.

           “Oi believe she troyed ta open yer door. ‘Tis a bit shocking – lit’rally,” said Seamus.

           “How …” replied Lu. “So, my door is on her side of the barrier and her door is on my side of the barrier?”

           “That’s it, lass,” said Seamus. “Oi suggest you keep yer head low, but feel free ta look around.” With that, Seamus nodded at the maze and blew a smoke ring.

           Lu studied the maze. At the center there were two keys suspended in mid-air. Right in front of her there was a small door. She tried to open it but could not. It had no latch or keyhole. Below the door there was a slot, perhaps for a coin. Lu looked at Seamus. “You said that was your gold?”

           “Yes, lass.”

           “Are you a leprechaun?’ asked Lu.

           “Yes, lass.”

           “It’s a large pile, Seamus.”

           “’Tis that.”

           “Could you spare one gold piece?” asked Lu.

           “No, lass,” Seamus replied, as he blew another smoke ring.

           Lu thought not. If what she knew of leprechauns were true, he only cared about gold and gemstones – and shoes, oddly. The right potion might make him forget about his gold, but then fey creatures were often immune to charms and potions.

           “ACH, NO!”  The sounds of an altercation immediately followed the loud bellow. Curious, Lu considered looking over the maze she was still crouched beside, but then decided to focus on her own problem.

           “That’d be me brodder,” said Seamus, “Liam. She’ll no find it easy ta get a gold piece from him.”

           Two peas in a pod, thought Lu. Her second affinity, after water, was earth. Lu sidled close to the pile of gold. She had an idea.

           “Don’t you be touching me treasure, lass!” warned Seamus.

           “Just looking,” replied Lu.

           “YOU CHEEKY BUGGER!” Liam’s plaintive cry was loud. Seamus dropped his pipe and jumped to his feet, concern etched on his face.

           Lu seized the opportunity that Liam’s distraction provided and drew on the power of the earth. Transmuting the gold to copper would make it worthless to Seamus. It would take only a few seconds.

           “Oi hate ta see a brodder taken advantage of,” muttered Seamus, before settling back down on the floor and picking up his pipe. “Good ting Oi can’t see over tis maze.”

           “I think one of your coins is not gold,” said Lu, casually.

           “Catch yourself on!” said Seamus. He stood up again and followed Lu’s gaze. He carefully picked up the dark coin and sniffed it. He rubbed it between his fingers and tried to polish it on his jacket. “You did tis, lass.”

           “I did,” admitted Lu.

           “Oi would have traded a piece fer yer firstborn choild,” moaned Seamus. “You only had ta ask. You didn’t have ta destroy it.”

           “It’s still worth something to me,” said Lu. “I will gladly take it off your hands.”

           “’Tis yers,” said Seamus, tossing her the coin.

           “Well done,” whispered the Trial Hall. “You have passed the second of the Final Trials.”

           Lu dropped the coin into the slot with confidence and the small door to the maze opened. She would have to risk standing up to navigate the maze. Endora had already conjured a little man made of fire to run through the narrow passages. She would reach the keys first!

           Inspired by Endora’s fire-man, Lu conjured a little puddle of water with fingers. It flowed quickly through the maze, but not quickly enough to beat fire-man to the keys, as Lu had anticipated. What Lu had not anticipated was fire-man grabbing both keys. Lu hurried her puddle-hand to catch up with Endora’s fire-man. It seemed to be taking all of Endora’s concentration to carry both keys and navigate the maze. Lu caught her by surprise when her puddle-hand, doubled now in size, swamped the fire-man and snuffed him out.

           “I thought I smelled the stench of a latrine,” Endora shouted. Lu ignored her. Endora would have to start again.

           The puddle-hand grabbed a key and Lu made it flow back through the maze. She had to pause its progress twice, while avoiding fireballs.

           “Well done,” whispered the Trial Hall. “You have passed the third of the Final Trials.”

           Lu examined the key. It was a simple skeleton key, a little melted around the edges. Hopefully it still worked. She looked around the room. Aside from the ruined bookcase, still smoldering, and Seamus’ gold, there were only two significant things left – the potions bench and the stack of chests. The chests had locks, as well as the cabinet beside the potions bench. The cabinet turned out to be unlocked. That left the chests.

           As Lu studied the chests, her nose started to itch. Her instincts were good when it came to detecting magic, but she would need to cast a spell, one for each chest, to determine which ones were not booby-trapped or not a chest at all. None of the chests were very large. If they were mimics, hopefully they would be the kind that could be reasoned with.

           “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!” Endora’s scream echoed through the chamber. Lu turned to see Endora with her fingers in her mouth. Her key would have been hot. Poor girl, thought Lu, every time Endora has conjured water, it has never been cold. Lu smiled.

           Another fireball came careening toward Lu. She dodged it – mostly. The tip of one ear burned and the stink of singed hair filled Lu’s nostrils. She held some cold water over her ear as she silently cursed Endora. Lu crouched down and turned to observe the commotion behind her. Endora’s fireball had hit the chests and two of them were thrashing each other with their pseudopods – mimics! Interestingly, only one of the other chests was burning. Lu slipped the key into her pocket and doused the fire with water. It sizzled and sputtered but went out, with little obvious damage to the chest. Now, how to get the real chests away from the mimics? Had she read somewhere that alcohol affected them? Giving them a wide berth, she dashed to the potions bench.

           Lu looked at the cabinet full of various liquids, powders, and other odd bits – a fireball here could be very dangerous. She glanced over to see what Endora was doing. Endora was busy setting fire to her own chests, but in a much more controlled way. If you were not apt at detecting magic, this worked just as well. Lu uncorked a few bottles, sniff-testing each one. Alcohol on the third try!

           Lu rushed back to the mimics, who were still thrashing each other. She cleared her throat. No reaction. She had the presence of mind to crouch down before yelling, “Hey! Mimics!” Still no reaction. Lu doused them with water and that got their attention.

           “You guys want to make a trade? I have some happy juice.” Lu held up the bottle and waggled it in front of them. “I will give you the happy juice in exchange for the three chests. It’s a good deal! Yes?”

           The mimics seemed to be considering her offer. At least Lu assumed that was what they were doing. Nothing happened for a minute. Then one mimic held out a pseudopod. Lu cautiously left the bottle with it and retrieved the chests. She took them over to Seamus and his gold pile.

           “If you need more gold,” said Seamus sulkily, “ferget it.”

           “I came for the company,” said Lu, smiling.

           “Hmmmmmph.”

           So much for making up, thought Lu. She looked at the two chests that had not burned. They were protected by magical wards. Hopefully it was nothing too complicated. They had practiced only the most basic spells in school. It took three attempts, but Lu dispelled the magic on both chests. Now to try the key. It opened all three chests. The slightly scorched one was empty. Of the other two, one held a single gold coin, and one held a silver orb and a page of instructions written in draconic, the language of dragons – and of magic.

           “Well done,” whispered the Trial Hall. “You have passed the fourth of the Final Trials.”

           “Seamus.”

           “Yes, lass.”

           “I pay my debts,” Lu said as she tossed him the gold coin.

           Seamus caught it in the air, sniffed it, and polished it on his jacket. “Tank you, lass.”

           “No worries,” said Lu. “Friends?”

           “Oi guess,” grumbled Seamus.

           Now, to muddle through the draconic text. Ten minutes later Lu was still reading it; not because it was long, but because her grasp of draconic was subpar. She sighed.

           “What’s wrong, lass?” asked Seamus.

           “It’s a riddle and I’m not sure I’ve got it right,” said Lu.

           “Pass it ta me,” said Seamus. “What do you tink it says?”

           “It is easier to dissolve a trial than it is for a sooty gourd, or maybe a cat, to pass through a hollow moon.”

           While Seamus had a good laugh, Lu noticed that the other side of the room was unusually quiet. Endora must be working on the riddle, too. Endora was no better at draconic than she was.

           “Mostly right, lass,” said Seamus, “It says: ‘Tis easier ta solve a troial than ‘tis for a black cat ta pass troo a lunar eclipse. You’ve translated hollow moon correctly, but it means an eclipse.”

           Lu frowned.

           “Tink, lass,” said Seamus. “You’ve come too far ta give up now.”

           Seamus was right, of course. Lu knew the expression was referring to moonlight strengthening a shapeshifter. But what did it mean for her Trial? The orb was made of silver. Silver was the metal associated with moonlight. Metamorphosis was a basic skill that had not yet been tested. If the orb was manipulated to be a ring of silver and she turned herself into a black cat, and then walked through the ring … was that it? Endora was very good at metamorphosis. Lu would need to work fast.

           Lu had just walked through her silver ring when she heard the Trial Hall again. “Well done, Ulalume. You have passed the Final Trials.”

           Suddenly pain seared through Lu’s hip. She instantly returned to human form and found herself unable to move her right leg. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she looked up to see Endora standing over her.

           “I have waited a long time for this, Outhouse,” gloated Endora. “You will never be second to my first again.”

           Endora stepped back a few paces and let loose a huge fireball. Lu could feel the heat, but it never hit her.

           “You owe me again, lass,” called Seamus.

           Endora screamed in frustration, readying a second fireball.

           “Oi wouldn’t do that if Oi were you,” said Seamus as he stood beside Lu, lying disabled on the floor. “See where yer first one went.”

           Endora looked around the room. “No! NO! Put out the fire, Outhouse! It’s consuming my door.”

           “No,” Lu said, between sobs. Her hip was throbbing.

           “No?” repeated Endora. “You are in no position to refuse me.”

           “You are in no position to do anything about it,” replied Lu, regaining some self-control. “You can’t get out of here without me. Mine is the only door left and you need my hand, living, to open it.”

           “We shall see,” spat Endora as she stalked away.

           “What is she doing?” asked Lu.

           “’Tis te strangest ting, lass,” replied Seamus. “Oi believe she’s troying ta conjer water but failing mis’rably.”

           “We’re both exhausted,” said Lu.

           Endora returned. She took a deep breath, ready to flog Lu with her words again.

           “Call me Outhouse again and we will both be found, waiting to be let out,” warned Lu.

           “Fine, Ulalume,” smirked Endora. “We shall go out together.”

           “She doesn’t deserve it, lass,” said Seamus.

           “She finished the Trials, too,” said Lu, wincing at her pain. At first, she had thought it must be broken, but the pain was less now. However, she still could not move it. “She has earned it as much as I have.”

           “Oi didn’t say she hadn’t earned it,” said Seamus.

           Endora helped her up and together they plodded to Lu’s exit door. Lu placed her hand in the impression and the door opened. Lu leaned against the door frame and Endora let her go, as the surprised faces of their classmates registered what they were seeing – Lu and Endora working together. As the applause subsided, Lu pushed Endora back into the Trial Hall with a wall of water.

           “Actually, the biggest mistake a person can make,” said Lu, as the door closed, “is believing a fight is over, before it is.”