The next night, Lukas paced in his room. He was anxiously waiting for Elysia. He couldn’t stop thinking about something she’d said the previous night. She had said that he was great, like a big brother. Did that mean…did she not feel the same about him as he did about her? He sighed, tried to sit down, but was instantly on his feet again pacing again. He had to know how she felt about him.

He cared about her. The time they’ve spent together hasn’t been much, but he already knew he liked her, wanted to be more than her friend. He didn’t know if it could work between them, but he knew he wanted to try. But how did she feel?

He wanted to stop pacing, so he decided to call her, to see if she was coming tonight or if something had occurred to stop her from coming. He stood still and closed his eyes, thinking of her, calling her name.

Elysia was finishing her supper in her little cottage when she heard his call. She closed her eyes to respond. “Hello, Lukas. I was going to call you soon. I’m not quite ready, but I will be arriving soon…that is, if you still want to help me.”

“Oh, yes. I’m sorry. I was afraid something had happened. Forgive me for interrupting. You are coming soon, then.”

“Yes. I will see you soon. Goodbye.” She opened her eyes as he said goodbye. She smiled. He was worried about her. Or he had other plans and she was delaying him and he was angry with her for this. Her smile faded. Yes, that was a possibility.

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. She didn’t want to think of this now. She didn’t want to feel this way. She hated feeling confused, it threw off her powers. She finished her supper and stood, but sat back down instantly. The pain hit her like a knife. No, no, no. Not tonight. How could she teleport all night with this pain? She had to make a potion, a remedy for this. Damn this problem, why didn’t she remember that this was starting tonight? She stood, trying to ignore the pain, as she went to get the ingredients for her remedy. It didn’t take her very long to make it and drink it all. She waited a moment, and the pain went away. It seemed the remedy worked. She smiled, then closed her eyes to teleport to Lukas’s room.

She arrived, and fell into the chair behind her. Once she was in his room, discomfort hit her. The remedy stopped the full pain from coming back, but it still wasn’t very comfortable. She sat with her eyes closed, and heard Lukas scream for a moment, before he said, “Oh. Forgive me, I’m still not used to that.” She opened her eyes as he spoke. “It is fine. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“Are you all right, Elysia? You look as though you’re in pain.”

“No. I used a remedy to get rid of the pain. But there is still a little discomfort…I couldn’t stop that.”

“Pain? Were you injured?”

“No. It’s a natural occurrence, if you understand.”

“Oh.” Realization spread across his face. “If you do not want to practice tonight, I understand.”

“No, no. I am fine, we can still work tonight.”

He nodded. “Well, if you ever need to stop, tell me.”

She smiled. He truly was concerned about her. “I will. Shall we begin?”

“Yes. Let me just call Graymore. He is to help us tonight.” Lukas stood and went to his door. He opened it slightly, and whispered for Graymore. An older appeared in the doorway. He had dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, and he had sweet brown eyes. He bowed, saying, “Milady. It is an honor to meet you. The master has told me all about you and you’re charge.”

“Graymore is my personal guard, and I trust him with my life. He has agreed to help teach you to teleport.”

Elysia looked at Graymore. “Are you magical, sir?”

“My mother was a witch. She passed her magic on to me.”

“As was my mother, and my father.” She looked away from them, remembering. Her mother and father had been healers, traveling to different villages to help. When she had come of age, Elysia had stayed in this town, choosing to be a protector instead of a healer. She had kept in touch with her parents, but she hadn’t heard from them in months. She was worried about them, wondering what had happened. She had tried to use magic, but she couldn’t find them. Something, or someone, was blocking her from finding them.

“Elysia? Elysia, what’s wrong?” Lukas was asking, his voice pulling her from her thoughts. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m sorry. Please, can we begin?”

“When you are ready, milady.” She nodded and stood. “I will teleport with Master Lukas. Find us and teleport to us.” She nodded again, and Graymore took Lukas’s hand. In an instant, they were gone. She closed her eyes, and concentrated, focusing her energy on Lukas and Graymore. It took her a minute, but finally she found them and teleported. The discomfort came back, but she ignored it. She opened her eyes and saw Graymore and Lukas. “Well done, though it took you longer than it should have.”

“I know. Can we try again?” Graymore nodded, and he and Lukas were gone again. This time when she focused, it only took half a minute to find them and teleport. But the discomfort was stronger than before. She doubled over in pain, and Lukas was at her side in an instant. “We can stop.”

“No. I only need a minute. I’ll be fine.” She stood and smiled at him, but kept her hand on his shoulder, waiting for the pain to recede before letting go. He didn’t object. He supported her and smiled back, wanting to comfort her as much as possible. Graymore waited patiently, watching how Lukas and Elysia interacted, noticing how they cared for each other.

Elysia took her hand off his shoulder after another minute and stood upright. “It is gone.”

“Do you wish to continue?” Graymore asked.

“I think we should stop for tonight,” Lukas said, taking Elysia’s hand gently. “I believe you should go get some rest.”

Elysia wanted to keep going, but she knew Lukas was right. But she still said, “No, I am fine. We can continue.”

“I believe you will have it perfect soon,” Graymore said. “Only a couple more times and you will have mastered it.”

I hope he is right, Elysia thought. Lukas let go of her hand and went back to Graymore, watching Elysia. They continued the lessons until midnight, when Elysia could teleport in five seconds. “Excellent work, miss. I believe next lesson will be to teleport with others. But for tonight, I believe some rest is needed.”

Elysia nodded and looked around. They were close to her cottage. She didn’t want to teleport again, the pain had gotten worse every time she had improved. “Thank you for your help, Graymore. And you, as well, Lukas. I will walk home from here, it isn’t far.”

“Please allow me to accompany you,” Lukas said. “I want to be sure you get home safely.” Elysia smiled and nodded, and Lukas walked beside her to her cottage. Graymore followed them from a distance.

Once safely at the cottage, Elysia thanked them again. “When will our next lesson be?”

“When you are ready, miss,” Graymore said.

“I will be out with Isabel tomorrow. Will you be able to make it? We could continue then. I will be feeling better.”

“I cannot come tomorrow. My parents said I can go out the day after tomorrow. I can bring Graymore, if he doesn’t mind, and we can practice then, if you like.”

“It would not be a problem, sir,” Graymore said.

“Isabel will be happy to see you again. We have both missed you. And I’m sure she would be glad to have Graymore as a new friend. The day after tomorrow will be perfect. I shall see you both then. Good night.”

“Good night, miss.”

“Good night, Elysia.” Lukas and Graymore were about to teleport back to the castle when Lukas’s voice came through the black. “Elysia?”

She turned to look at them, her door open enough to see them. “Yes?”

“Congratulations.” Lukas smiled at her. She smiled back. “Thank you, Lukas.” They teleported away, and she went in her cottage.

In the east, the evil witch Narin was listening to a messenger sent from her spies in Surra. They told her the witch was almost ready.

Narin smiled and called upon her guards. “We shall move against Surra soon. Be prepared.” They nodded, and followed her commands.

Alyssa and Isabella finished the chapter, and Isabella looked confused. “What’s wrong with Elysia?”

Alyssa knew, but she didn’t know how to tell her little sister. “You’ll know in a few years.”

“But- ”

“Trust me, you’ll know in a few years. Should we keep reading?”

“Yes. I want to see the part where Lukas and Elysia get together.”

Alyssa looked sideways at Isabella. Alyssa felt like she knew what was going to happen, not just with Lukas and Elysia, but everything. But she didn’t know…did she?