I woke up as the sun hit my eyes. I groaned and wrapped my covers over my head which gets pulled down. “Ten more minutes,” I grumbled and placed a pillow over my head. But that also disappeared from my tired eyes. I had enough of it and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

  “Are you ready for today, Milady?” AJ’s voice echoed in my ear.

  I yawned. Slowly opening my eyes, I found the curtains pulled back, revealing the bright sunshine of Neverland. My blanket and pillow were on the floor. AJ sat at my bedside, eyes on me. Ah, whatever… I plopped back on my bed and curled into a ball.

  AJ sighed and wrapped his arms behind my back and the back of my knees. I yelped from his touch and kicked, nearly hitting his face.

  “Wh-What are you doing?” I stuttered as I was lifted off my bed bridal style.

  “Taking you to eat,” he simply said, carrying me out the door.

  “I can walk by myself!” I was blushing. This was the first time I have been carried by a guy like this. Strangely I was enjoying it. I felt his muscles flex around me. But I couldn’t show him I was enjoying it; it would be strange!

  AJ didn’t say anything and continued to carry me.

  I didn’t argue with him, allowing him to take me away. It didn’t matter anymore, anyways.

  As we were walking down the hallway, I noticed how empty the place was. Where was everyone? “What time is it?” I assumed everyone is asleep.

  “Twelve in the afternoon, Milady.”

  My eyes widened. “What?!”

  “I didn’t wake you up this morning because you seemed tired. Don’t worry, nothing has happened during your slumber,” AJ reassured.

  I bit my lip. That must’ve been the longest time I have slept in years! I have never been this tired before. “Where’s Rima?” I asked, remembering she was also stuck here.

  “She’s with Master Dongho at this moment. I believe they’re in the garden.”

  Even Dongho has taken an interest in her. I’m jealous.

  “We’re here,” AJ announced as we were in the kitchen. He set me down gently and started cooking.

  I stepped behind him as he used his magic to crack eggs, place flour, and all these other stuff at once. “What are you making?” I asked, curiously.

  “Pancakes. We stocked on new materials yesterday, so we now have eggs.” He paused. “Magic is like cooking. Beginners need a recipe book to make what they want, but as time passes by, there’s no longer a need to use it.”

  I was so engulfed by his magic ability of controlling more than one item at once, I hadn’t notice he was staring at me until I looked at him. I blushed and lowered my head.

  “So for today we’ll start with the basics,” AJ continued, mixing the batter.

  I nodded.

  “Okay. Just sit tight while I make it. Then we’ll eat and start training.”

~*~

  After we ate, AJ led me to another room, bigger than the throne room. There were many stained glass windows surrounding the whole area, allowing light of different colors to pass through. The tiles were made of white marble and in the center of all that was a podium holding a single book. It was peaceful and quiet like a sanctuary.

  “This is where we’ll have our training,” AJ announced, stepping closer to the podium.

  “Here?” My eyes wandered. “But it’s so quiet.”

  He chuckled. “It has to be. You’ll need a lot of concentration since you’re a beginner, Milady. This is also where I’ve trained when I arrived here.”

  “Who taught you?”

  “Myself.” AJ made a sly grin and flipped through the pages of the book. “Let’s start at the beginner’s spells. Hmm…” He pressed a finger to his lips as he skimmed the pages.

  I came up to him, looking over his shoulders. There were spells like a Remembrance Spell, a Forgetting Spell, Invisibility, Levitation, and much more. I wanted to try all of them, but I wasn’t ready.

  Finally, AJ found a spell for me. He put a finger on it. “Aha! This one will be easy!” He was pointing to a spell that was titled “Keen Eyes.”

  It didn’t seem so hard. I read the spell a couple of times in my head before saying it out loud.

My eyes are shrouded

My sight is doubted

Let light shine before my eyes

To better see what lies

  The moment I said the last verse, a bright light flashed before my eyes. A stinging sensation came afterwards, causing me to close them and groan. I wanted to scratch them, but I resisted the urge. And when I opened them, I saw no difference.

  “What is the spell supposed to do?” I asked, half complaining half questioning.

  AJ didn’t say a word and threw a punch at me.

  I saw it when he raised his fist and took a step back.

  He does it a couple of times and added a kick once in a while. And every time I would read it and weave. Satisfied, AJ stopped, breathing steadily in through his nose and out his mouth.

  “Good,” he stated, “It seems to be working.”

  “Really? Am I going to be like this forever?” I liked the thought. I mean who wouldn’t want sight like a hawk?

  He shook his head. “Sadly, no. It’ll only work for an hour before it wears off.”

  “Oh.” I was slightly disappointed.

  “Next is going to be tougher,” AJ paused, searching through the book. “This will require deep concentration. I believe the easy spells are too easy for you.”

  “But can I try them?” I suggested. They could be useful in the future.

  AJ pursed his lips. “There’s a lot, but I’ll go over the important ones.” He flipped to the very beginning and began teaching me until we saw all the important spells.

  From the beginner’s section, I had learned not only keen sight but how to speak to animals, learn to levitate an inch off the ground (the higher level is for moderate and expert mages), quick movements, and much more I can not remember.

  “Now time to work on concentration.” AJ announced, flipping the pages once again.

  “What?!” I exclaimed, hearing random noises from the Keen Hearing spell. Apparently every spell lasted for one hour and an hour hasn’t passed.

  AJ sighed. “I’ll reverse all the spells.” He simply pointed at me and everything returned to normal.

  I gave a sigh of relief as I no longer heard the sounds and my feet met the marbled floors.

  AJ dropped the book off the podium and stepped a few feet away. He motioned me to come to him. “I want you to try to pick the book up and place it back on the podium, Milady,” he ordered. “You’ll need a lot of concentration.

  My face lit. “Like Star Wars?”

  “Like what?”

  “Star War. ‘May the force be with you.’ Yoda? R2D2? No?” Oh right! He wasn’t around when that came out. “Never mind.” I flapped my hands. “Let’s continue.”

  AJ shrugged. “Okay, no concentrate. Imagine the moving.”

  I focused on the book with my hands out like they did in Star Wars. I squinted my eyes and crinkled my nose. I imagined the book moving, but it doesn’t. I gave up quickly, heaving a puff of air. This wasn’t working. I don’t think I’m fit to be a magician.

  A hand was placed on top of mine as AJ stepped closer to me, his chest against my back. I blushed from the sudden touch and rhythm of his chest rising and falling.

  “Concentrate,” he whispered in my ear. He pulled my hand back up and entwined his fingers on mine from behind. “Erase everything on your mind and only think of the book. Clear your mind of your surroundings. Feel nothing, hear nothing, smell nothing, see nothing except for the book.”

  I listened to his words and took a deep breath. “I can do this,” I muttered to myself before flinging my eyes open. Immediately the book flew to the side away from the podium and straight towards the door.

  At that moment, Dongho was entering the room. Upon seeing the book flying towards his face, he ducked, causing Kevin to get the full impact. There was a loud thunk as it slammed against his head and a loud thud as it hit the ground.

  Dongho glanced at his brother and laughed hysterically, clutching his stomach.

  Kevin glared as a bump formed on his forehead. In one quick movement, he punched Dongho in the stomach and strode toward AJ and me.

  Dongho doubled over and coughed. “That was mean!”

  “That was mean when you laughed at me.” Kevin simply said. He turned his attention to us who were still in the same position. “I see the training is going well.”

  AJ took a couple of steps away from me and bowed, “She’s learning quickly. She definitely has talent for magic, but there is still room for improvement.”

  Dongho stood beside Kevin when he recovered and snorted, “Obviously.”

  I glared. Rude much?

  Kevin ignored his comment and smiled. “I guess magic is your thing, but we still want you to train with Kiseop and my mother. It’s better to learn more than one thing.” He came up and pecked my hand. “Maybe soon you can rule this Kingdom."

  I blushed and was lost for words.

  Dongho snorted and rolled his eyes.

  I sneered at him. Wait a minute, I remembered something. “Weren’t you with Rima?” I spat. Why did he have to be with Kevin if he’s going to be rude?

  “I was… until a servant took her away for lunch.” His eyes drifted. “She’s a nice girl, but there’s something off about her.”

  “Off?” I asked, offended. How could he call my best friend off? Sure she’s very bipolar, but isn’t that normal?

  He tapped his chin. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because she came from Earth during the New Age. People are strange now.”

  Speak for yourself… I snorted.

  Kevin exchanged glances from me to Dongho. There was tension between us as we had a stare down. I couldn’t stand this boy since day one! He’s always acting like a smart !

  Kevin acted, clearing his throat. “We actually came here to announce something.”

  Dongho shifted his gaze to the side and crossed his arms over his chest.

  I glared at him for a moment before changing my gaze to Kevin.

  AJ waited patiently for Kevin to speak.

  “The wall has opened.”

  My eyes widened. “Wait, what do you mean?” I panicked. Isn’t this too soon? I haven’t finished my training and yet the wall has opened!

  “The crack expanded over night. No one knows how, but they do know it wasn’t caused by nature. There’s a threat inside the Kingdom. Kevin explained.

  “Was there no one guarding the wall?” AJ asked.

  “There were many, but we found all of them unconscious. They’re awake now but have forgotten last night’s events. This enemy is a magician. I know for sure. However we don’t have a clue who it is.”

  Two will betray.

  That phrase repeated in my head several times. I turned to AJ. But it couldn’t be him. He’s too loyal to the throne or so I believe.

  “It’s not AJ if that’s what you’re thinking,” Dongho read my thoughts, not literally of course. “He may be a mage, but he hasn’t reached that level. There are quite a few who are in this Kingdom, but we don’t have time to go around and investigate. We’ll have to repair that wall as much as we can before the siege.”

  I nodded.

  “With that said, we’ll be leaving,” Kevin announced, turning on his heels. “We’ll see you at supper.” He saluted and left.

  Dongho stared at the book in the doorway. It rose from the ground steadily and slowly floated back on top of the podium. He smirked and left without a word.

  “Show off,” I commented, making a face.

  AJ chuckled. “Master Dongho sure is, isn’t he?” He opened the book to a random page. “I also taught him these things. He was a fast learner like you, but he couldn’t do the advanced spells. Maybe you can.”

  My face lit. Beating Dongho at something would be great! At least I could rub it in his face!

  A grin formed on AJ’s lips. “But first, you need to learn the intermediate spells.”