Chapter 21: A Discovery of Magic

  Julien

  “So we are going to have to talk about this,” Carlouse had begun, then he paused and looked down at Julien who was still in his brown robe before standing up.

  “We’ll talk after you’ve had a chance to finally get out of those scratchy robes.” A thousand worries prickled at the back of him mind but he also looked down. He had to agree, even with the blanket have covering him. The feeling of being naked under the robes was feeling particularly exposing with his mother looking at him. His squad mates filed out of the room and his mother stepped forward. In her hands she held a folded bundle.

  The worry in her eyes was nearly palpable but she seemed to be holding herself in check.

  “Go across the hall and you can use the room to get changed. This room is… Unsuitable.”

  “I’m sorry mother I don’t know what happened I…” she quieted him with a raised hand.

  “I know it’s not your fault though it will probably take weeks to fix this damage I’m just glad you are safe.” She turned toward the door to leave.

  “Now get dressed!” She commanded over her shoulder. “Then we need to figure this out before you blow up the entire palace.”

  Julien waited for a couple of minutes before he crossed the hall to the other room. He opened the door a went inside closing it tightly behind him. He went to the bed and placed the bundle a top it. It was a pair of dark blue trousers with white lining. A white under tunic and a deep royal blue vest with gold tracing. On the back of the vest stitched in gold was his symbol of the Royal family, his family. A winged lion standing upright on a golden field. In its left hand it held a crown and in its right a lightning bolt.

  Just looking at the symbol brought feeling he had thought buried to the forefront. Growing up he had hated that symbol. Well perhaps hate was too strong a word. The symbol had been on all he wore.

  In a time where the walls of the palace had felt like a prison that symbol seemed to tell him that the family owned him. That he was nothing more than what he could provide to others. His parents had never said such a thing but the mind of a child make strange connections between dislikes and their surroundings. It didn’t help that his father seemed singularly focused on advancing the kingdom. He sighed as he slipped out of the robe he had been wearing. A bath would have to wait.

  It took him no more than ten minutes to get dressed but when he descended the stairs to the main dining area of his mother’s apartments he saw that every one was gathered sitting in seat around a table. His father looking tired but well dressed in fine blue and gold doublet and trousers, sat at the head of the table. Uncle Darius sat for his right and his mother to his left. His mother had changed to. She now wore a light blue dress with white embroidery.

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  Altaya was seated next to her father, they both now looked completely different from each other where as before she had been the spitting image of her sire. She word the black and gold jacket and pants

  with the black under tunic that the Academy always provided and her father wore a richly tailored doublet and trousers with a deep violet cloak thrown over his broad shoulders. A silver pommeled longsword was strapped to his side. The rest were also in their academy outfits except for Katrina who wore a simple light brown and green dress with simple knee high leather boots.

  Julien wondered briefly why she was the only one in a dress but decided they had more important things to discuss.

  “So, does anyone care to explain what happened to the wall of my palace?” The King asked in a cool tone. Julien took his seat but he could tell his father wasn’t really angry just confused and obviously tired.

  “I just spent the last half of my day trying to convince the city that we are not under attack. So please tell me what actually happened.” At first no one said anything and Julien couldn’t blame them. They didn’t know what had happened not really.

  Surprisingly it was Carlouse who spoke first. “Your Majesty, we don’t really have any definitive answers.” When Darien began to frown he continued. “What I can tell you is what we strongly suspect.” His father nodded then seemed to consider something.

  “You’re Carlouse right?” When his friend nodded the king waved for him to continue.

  “There’s no other way to say this so I’m just going to be straightforward with you. We believe Julien, well all of us actually just awakened a type of Magic.” There was stunned silence for a moment in the dining room. The stunned looks of the Royal knights told Julie. The thought of it being magic hadn’t even crossed their minds.

  “That’s impossible,” his father spluttered. For the first time Julien saw his father at an utter loss for words. He saw many emotions playing behind his father’s eyes. Fear, envy, and lastly Hope.

  “What makes you think it was magic?” Altaya’s father Peter called. He was looking down at his daughter when he asked the question a look of shock, and fear across his face.

  “Two things,” Carlouse continued. “First, we all saw the same things this morning. Threads of many different colors filling our visions along with the feeling that we could manipulate them. At the same time a feeling like being connected to everything around us at once filled our minds. It’s what caused us to freak out.” He looked around the the rest of them as if to confirm his words. Julien found himself nodding along with the others.

  “The rest of us were still under ground and closer to help each other. However Julien had stayed up here last night,” Altaya added.

  “Not to mention when I then rushed up stairs I saw Julien just as he released a what I can only describe as a compact ball of air at the wall.”

  “I’m not the only one to see it either the two guards behind you escorted me up and were nearby when it happened. I don’t know what they saw but…” Carlouse trailed off as the king raised a finger before looking behind him quizzically at the guards.

  Julien worried about what his father would think. Would he believe them? Did he believe it? Something extraordinary had happened, but magic? No human had ever had magic before. Not in the entire history of Eden. Then again was he human anymore? That thought made him freeze. What if the change to their bodies was more than changes to their physical bodies? What if their very souls had changed?

  At the guards nod his father got quiet. He sat in his chair his eyes distant for a long time before standing up, he turned to the guards. “Summon Doctor Petra!” He ordered.