Magic Trouble
Even lighting a simple fire in the hearth exhausted me, and such a small act of magic should have been nothing. I leaned against the stone mantle and sighed. My head swam, and I knew I was dangerously close to using up my store of magic. In order to replenish it, I needed sleep, and that, too, was difficult. Everything had become difficult since coming to the Dancing Bear Inn.
I lay myself on my narrow bed and stared at the exposed beams on the ceiling. One of them was cracking, reminding me too much of myself. Where is Finbar?, I wondered. My roommate provided the only bright spot in my stay here. Unable to afford the rates on a room in a safe inn by ourselves, we had discovered each other in the tavern downstairs, both needing a place. So, we had booked a double room while Finbar looked for employment and I waited to meet up with one of the Masters of my craft.
No doubt Master Harrison would find it unseemly for a mage such as myself to share a room with another, but I would rather not have all my belongings stolen in the middle of the night at one of the cheaper places. Besides, Finbar wasn't a woman, so there was no danger I would break my vow of celibacy and thus lose all my power. Surely my Master would understand that.
I heard the door open, and my roommate entered, looking rather downbeat. His blond hair hung in front of his brown eyes, which had lost their usual magnetic sparkle. Finbar's fair skin was even paler than usual. Clearly, he had been unable to find work. Though I were really too dizzy to be up and about, I got off my bed and walked over to him.
I asked, “No work?”
He sighed. “As usual. This city is a nightmare.”
I wanted to comfort him and say it wasn't that bad here, but all I could manage was, “Yes, it really is. I think there's bad luck in the air.”
Finbar agreed, “There may well be. Pardon me, but you don't exactly look well.”
I asked, “Do I really look that bad?”
He nodded. “You look like you're inches from death. I don't know how you're still standing, but I don't want you to die.”
Laughing, I said, “You would be out a roommate, then.”
Finbar's expression is funny. “That's not what I mean.”
I assure him, “I am not likely to die.”
Too astute, he tells me, “You might if you keep practicing magic. I notice there's a fire going in the hearth, without any wood.”
I did not want to think about how my magic seemed to be trying to kill me, especially not with Master Harrison arriving soon. It was my bad fortune to make it to the city far earlier than he did. The atmosphere here did something. Only a few things could interfere with magic. Bad luck hovering in a city was one of them, as was malicious interference by another mage. I had sensed no evil upon my arrival, so I didn't think it was a deliberate attack The third possibility, that romantic feeling prevented my magic from working, was too absurd even to consider. I didn't know any local women.
I mumbled, somewhat embarrassed, “There wasn't any wood, and it was getting cold.”
Finbar chided, “That's not worth killing yourself over. There are other ways to get warm.” He paused. “You could have asked the innkeeper for another blanket.”
Feeling oddly uncomfortable, I stared at the ground. “I was hoping my magic would start working properly again. It has to at some point.”
It had to, right?
My roommate said, “I don't know much about magic, but it doesn't seem worth it to me if it nearly kills you. And the celibacy, I could never handle that.”
Celibacy was easy when it meant power. Besides, I had never grown so attached to any specific woman to find the idea of going without female companionship unmanageable.
I asked Finbar, “Do you have someone?” I don't see why I should care if my roommate does, but I felt compelled to ask. Perhaps the bad air in the city was affecting my judgment as well as my magic.
He shakes his head. “Nope, not for some time. I'm picky with who I like.”
I said, “Are you, now? Well, you're certainly attractive, so I would think you could have your choice of people.”
Finbar blushed, which to me was just silly because I was simply stating a fact. Suddenly, I felt too lightheaded to stand, so I went to lie down on my bed. My roommate followed me and knelt by my bedside.
He remarked, “You really do look terrible.”
I joked, “I tell you you're attractive and you repay me by saying I look terrible?”
He replied brightly, “Oh you're quite handsome, you just look terrible right now because of your stupid magic.”
I objected, “My magic isn't stupid!”
Finbar answered, “Not stupid? So that's why you're lying in bed looking like Death's next victim.”
I sighed. “Maybe I just caught some kind of fever.” That was a lie; a fever wouldn't make my power nearly unusable.
My roommate pressed his hand to my forehead, and I felt my cheeks grow hot at the physical contact. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to deal with Finbar's brown ones, which had regained their sparkle and were staring at me strangely. Finbar said, “You don't have any kind of fever. I think I might know what's wrong with you.” He removed his hand, but he didn't stop with the strange gaze.
“Oh?” I wondered.
Finbar wouldn't stop looking at me. “It's not the air in the city. Now that I think about it, I've seen mages doing their magic perfectly easily while searching for a job. Nobody's having problems like you are. It's something specific to you.”
I avoided his gaze. “And what could that possibly be? I'm sure nobody's attacking me.”
He said, “You're missing something very obvious.”
I laughed. “Missing something? The only other 'obvious' reason I would be so magically distressed is if I developed feelings for someone. And I don't even know anybody here where that could happen.”
Finbar gave me this look like I was missing something extremely obvious. I honestly had no idea why he was looking at me like that, though, apparently, I really should have known. The only person I had spent any significant time with in this city was Finbar himself, and the idea I would fall in love with my roommate was absurd. Completely. Absolutely. For one thing, no matter how beautiful he was, Finbar wasn't even the right gender. I didn't find men attractive. That was impossible, even when they had an lovely personality to match their lovely appearance.
My roommate raised an eyebrow. “You don't know anyone?”
I choked on my next words. “O-nly y-you.”
He said nothing. I stared at the ceiling, concentrating on that cracked beam again. It truly was cracking like me. I felt my cheeks burn. As impossible as it should have been, I had, in fact, fallen in love with Finbar. Badly, if the sorry state of my magical abilities were any indication. A fire should not have nearly killed me. If I had any sense, I would pack my things and leave immediately, the danger of staying elsewhere be damned. I didn't know how much sense I had, though. As much as I wanted to retain my power, a part of me didn't care. A part of me wanted Finbar more than my magic, and that scared me. Even if I had developed feelings, I shouldn't be thinking of acting on them, but I was.
Finally, I returned Finbar's gaze. It really was hard to look away from those magnetic brown eyes. This time, I didn't want to. I had no idea what I should do, because these feelings were dangerous for my magic and, as the minutes went by, I found myself caring less and less.
Finbar chuckled. “I see you figured it out. Took you long enough.” He looked suddenly shy and awkward. “So...you going to go pack your things and leave? Kick me out? Or maybe you've realized magic isn't worth killing yourself over? Because, Breccan, I really like you, too. And I don't want to see you hurt yourself like this. If that means I have to leave, I will. But I don't want to. And I don't think you want me to.”
I didn't want him to go. I said, hardly believing my own words, “I don't want you to leave. Even if it means losing my magic.”
My roommate didn't say anything in response. Instead, he lay his head on my chest and put his arm around my shoulder. I embraced him in return. Warmth flooded my entire body. It was like the sensation of using magic, only a hundred times more intense. I had never felt anything like that before. All worries over losing my power disappeared in that moment and for the first time in a long while, I was truly happy.
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written for 500themes prompt #463 - "Dear Heart"
I lay myself on my narrow bed and stared at the exposed beams on the ceiling. One of them was cracking, reminding me too much of myself. Where is Finbar?, I wondered. My roommate provided the only bright spot in my stay here. Unable to afford the rates on a room in a safe inn by ourselves, we had discovered each other in the tavern downstairs, both needing a place. So, we had booked a double room while Finbar looked for employment and I waited to meet up with one of the Masters of my craft.
No doubt Master Harrison would find it unseemly for a mage such as myself to share a room with another, but I would rather not have all my belongings stolen in the middle of the night at one of the cheaper places. Besides, Finbar wasn't a woman, so there was no danger I would break my vow of celibacy and thus lose all my power. Surely my Master would understand that.
I heard the door open, and my roommate entered, looking rather downbeat. His blond hair hung in front of his brown eyes, which had lost their usual magnetic sparkle. Finbar's fair skin was even paler than usual. Clearly, he had been unable to find work. Though I were really too dizzy to be up and about, I got off my bed and walked over to him.
I asked, “No work?”
He sighed. “As usual. This city is a nightmare.”
I wanted to comfort him and say it wasn't that bad here, but all I could manage was, “Yes, it really is. I think there's bad luck in the air.”
Finbar agreed, “There may well be. Pardon me, but you don't exactly look well.”
I asked, “Do I really look that bad?”
He nodded. “You look like you're inches from death. I don't know how you're still standing, but I don't want you to die.”
Laughing, I said, “You would be out a roommate, then.”
Finbar's expression is funny. “That's not what I mean.”
I assure him, “I am not likely to die.”
Too astute, he tells me, “You might if you keep practicing magic. I notice there's a fire going in the hearth, without any wood.”
I did not want to think about how my magic seemed to be trying to kill me, especially not with Master Harrison arriving soon. It was my bad fortune to make it to the city far earlier than he did. The atmosphere here did something. Only a few things could interfere with magic. Bad luck hovering in a city was one of them, as was malicious interference by another mage. I had sensed no evil upon my arrival, so I didn't think it was a deliberate attack The third possibility, that romantic feeling prevented my magic from working, was too absurd even to consider. I didn't know any local women.
I mumbled, somewhat embarrassed, “There wasn't any wood, and it was getting cold.”
Finbar chided, “That's not worth killing yourself over. There are other ways to get warm.” He paused. “You could have asked the innkeeper for another blanket.”
Feeling oddly uncomfortable, I stared at the ground. “I was hoping my magic would start working properly again. It has to at some point.”
It had to, right?
My roommate said, “I don't know much about magic, but it doesn't seem worth it to me if it nearly kills you. And the celibacy, I could never handle that.”
Celibacy was easy when it meant power. Besides, I had never grown so attached to any specific woman to find the idea of going without female companionship unmanageable.
I asked Finbar, “Do you have someone?” I don't see why I should care if my roommate does, but I felt compelled to ask. Perhaps the bad air in the city was affecting my judgment as well as my magic.
He shakes his head. “Nope, not for some time. I'm picky with who I like.”
I said, “Are you, now? Well, you're certainly attractive, so I would think you could have your choice of people.”
Finbar blushed, which to me was just silly because I was simply stating a fact. Suddenly, I felt too lightheaded to stand, so I went to lie down on my bed. My roommate followed me and knelt by my bedside.
He remarked, “You really do look terrible.”
I joked, “I tell you you're attractive and you repay me by saying I look terrible?”
He replied brightly, “Oh you're quite handsome, you just look terrible right now because of your stupid magic.”
I objected, “My magic isn't stupid!”
Finbar answered, “Not stupid? So that's why you're lying in bed looking like Death's next victim.”
I sighed. “Maybe I just caught some kind of fever.” That was a lie; a fever wouldn't make my power nearly unusable.
My roommate pressed his hand to my forehead, and I felt my cheeks grow hot at the physical contact. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to deal with Finbar's brown ones, which had regained their sparkle and were staring at me strangely. Finbar said, “You don't have any kind of fever. I think I might know what's wrong with you.” He removed his hand, but he didn't stop with the strange gaze.
“Oh?” I wondered.
Finbar wouldn't stop looking at me. “It's not the air in the city. Now that I think about it, I've seen mages doing their magic perfectly easily while searching for a job. Nobody's having problems like you are. It's something specific to you.”
I avoided his gaze. “And what could that possibly be? I'm sure nobody's attacking me.”
He said, “You're missing something very obvious.”
I laughed. “Missing something? The only other 'obvious' reason I would be so magically distressed is if I developed feelings for someone. And I don't even know anybody here where that could happen.”
Finbar gave me this look like I was missing something extremely obvious. I honestly had no idea why he was looking at me like that, though, apparently, I really should have known. The only person I had spent any significant time with in this city was Finbar himself, and the idea I would fall in love with my roommate was absurd. Completely. Absolutely. For one thing, no matter how beautiful he was, Finbar wasn't even the right gender. I didn't find men attractive. That was impossible, even when they had an lovely personality to match their lovely appearance.
My roommate raised an eyebrow. “You don't know anyone?”
I choked on my next words. “O-nly y-you.”
He said nothing. I stared at the ceiling, concentrating on that cracked beam again. It truly was cracking like me. I felt my cheeks burn. As impossible as it should have been, I had, in fact, fallen in love with Finbar. Badly, if the sorry state of my magical abilities were any indication. A fire should not have nearly killed me. If I had any sense, I would pack my things and leave immediately, the danger of staying elsewhere be damned. I didn't know how much sense I had, though. As much as I wanted to retain my power, a part of me didn't care. A part of me wanted Finbar more than my magic, and that scared me. Even if I had developed feelings, I shouldn't be thinking of acting on them, but I was.
Finally, I returned Finbar's gaze. It really was hard to look away from those magnetic brown eyes. This time, I didn't want to. I had no idea what I should do, because these feelings were dangerous for my magic and, as the minutes went by, I found myself caring less and less.
Finbar chuckled. “I see you figured it out. Took you long enough.” He looked suddenly shy and awkward. “So...you going to go pack your things and leave? Kick me out? Or maybe you've realized magic isn't worth killing yourself over? Because, Breccan, I really like you, too. And I don't want to see you hurt yourself like this. If that means I have to leave, I will. But I don't want to. And I don't think you want me to.”
I didn't want him to go. I said, hardly believing my own words, “I don't want you to leave. Even if it means losing my magic.”
My roommate didn't say anything in response. Instead, he lay his head on my chest and put his arm around my shoulder. I embraced him in return. Warmth flooded my entire body. It was like the sensation of using magic, only a hundred times more intense. I had never felt anything like that before. All worries over losing my power disappeared in that moment and for the first time in a long while, I was truly happy.
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written for 500themes prompt #463 - "Dear Heart"