fandomania | The Adventure continues... (Reply)

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Our hatchlings:

I had a moment of triumph two weeks later. The day was hot, being at the end of summer, and my children had wanted to spend a day frolicking in the lake, to keep cool and to have fun. Donal and Izshaq were watching and playing with the children, while Orlando and I sat in the gazebo, doing the lesson that Orlando had prepared for me that day.

It was a very frustrating lesson that required both concentration and precision; writing down the incantation on a piece of paper, which was then to be burned with the proper words spoken over the burning. I was trying very hard to write the words correctly, because if I didn’t, either the spell would fail or it would go wrong. My previous eight attempts ended in failure. But Orlando wouldn’t let me stop. I had to keep doing it until I succeeded. While writing the incantation for the ninth time, I managed to dip my pen into the ink too deeply without paying attention and dripped some ink onto the edge of the paper. I became exasperated and despairing. I grabbed the ink blotter to absorb the majority of the spill, but I still had a smudge. When I looked through my writing box, I couldn’t find my paper scraper, to remove the dregs of the ink. I looked everywhere for it, but when I couldn’t find it, I remembered that I had left it on the writing table in my sitting room. Angry with myself, I said out loud, “I wish that I had my paper scraper.” Then, right before my eyes, it materialized. I turned to Orlando, who was reading from a large tome in between my attempts, and said, “Thank you, Orlando.”

He looked up from his book and said, “Thanks for what?”

“For retrieving my paper scraper.”

Confused, Orlando replied, “I did?”

“Yes, you did.” I told him what had happened.

“I am sorry, little one, but I didn’t. I have been concentrating on my reading so much, that I didn’t hear you say anything.” A happy look came over his face. “No, my dear, I think that you did this all by yourself. Very good!”

“But I wasn’t trying to retrieve this. I don’t know what I did!”

“Think back. Think about how you were feeling and what you felt. Have you done that?” I nodded. “Good now try to retrieve your hair brush. Think about where you last saw it and repeat everything you did before.”

I repeated what I did, and this time I asked for my hair brush. As before, the hair brush appeared before my eyes.

“Very good, little one! This may not have been your lesson, but it is an achievement.

“So let us set aside the lesson for the moment and concentrate on this thing that you have just managed to make work. First off, you have to learn the rules concerning retrieval and teleportation of items. Turn to page 56 in your text book. And read to the end of the chapter.”

I did as he instructed. But the dry words left me confused and uninformed as ever. I told Orlando this.

“Essentially, these rules are guidelines as to what you can retrieve. You may retrieve or send anything that belongs to you. If you try to use this power to retrieve anything that isn’t yours, you may only do so with permission of its owner. You might succeed without said permission, but you will in essence you have stolen someone’s property. They may never know that you have done this but karmic-wise, you will be adding black marks to your soul. This will eventually harm you and change the person who you are. So don’t ever do this. Stealing something back from someone who stole the item in the first place is only acceptable if you are returning the item to its rightful owner. Otherwise, don’t do it.

“The other alternative is to create the item from whole materials. You can take energy and create the item you need, but then you have to add permanence, otherwise the item will disappear back to its original form when your attention is elsewhere. This may be okay for a paper scraper or a hair brush. But for food, this is a problem. While you can make an apple look like an apple and, if you are very good, you can make it even taste like an apple, but if you should eat said apple, or even a bushel of said apples, you would still remain as hungry as you were before, because the apples weren’t real.”

“Okay. I think I understand. But what would happen if you were trapped in a cave and couldn’t get out. Would it be okay to retrieve stolen food in order to save your own life?”

“If you have tried all the alternatives to escape, maybe. But if you wish to avoid karmic payback, you would have to repay the owner when you were free. However, if you could bring in food, then you should be able to send yourself out. Or move whatever that blocks you in. Theft should always be the last resort.”

Under Orlando’s watchful eye, I spent time retrieving and returning the hair brush. Getting bored with doing it over and over again to the same place, I started getting playful. I even sent it to the top of Orlando’s head. He was not amused. I was just about to send it elsewhere when I began to feel so tired, so hungry, so hot all at the same time. Before I knew it, everything started to spin and I fainted.

When I came too, I was lying on the gazebo floor. To my right side Fiorenzia was kneeling. She was humming as she examined me. On my left side, knelt Orlando and Donal. They were arguing vociferously.

“All this magic nonsense is harming Patra. She comes back from her lessons with you exhausted. She shouldn’t be wasting her time and energy trying to be something she is not. She has more important things to do than to run about and chase pipedreams.”

“How can you say that Donal? She is what she is. It is her choice so pursue her destiny in this fashion. I have not forced her to do anything she doesn’t want to do. Can you say the same? Are you not trying to force her into a destiny of *your* own choosing? I am just trying to make sure that when she does use her magic, she does so in a controlled and safe manner. The last time she did so, she almost killed herself. That is why she had her miscarriage. That is what *I* am trying to do to protect her. What have *you* been doing to protect her? Where is that bracelet we spent so much time finding for her? Hmm? Even Piatrus is wearing that stone to keep from having any children with that harlot of his. Where is yours? Hmm? You need to look to your own actions and motives before you start accusing others. In my opinion, you are harming Patra more than you are helping her. You are keeping Patra burdened by constant motherhood so that she can do nothing else with her life.”

I began to sob loudly.

“Will the two of you just shut up!” exclaimed Fiorenzia. She reached down and held me in her arms to console me. “Take your arguments elsewhere, but not in front of Patra! She has gone through enough already. You are just upsetting her more. Orlando, as much as I love you, you can be blind as a bat sometimes. You sat next to Patra and never paid attention to how much energy she was expending. You should have stopped her before she over did. You both have not been thinking about Patra. But then neither has she. After examining her, I find that she is suffering from malnutrition, because she hasn’t been eating enough. She has, once again, been allowed to run down her powers to dangerous levels. And, from the tiny spark of life I have detected inside her, she may be a week or two pregnant. All I can say to the two of you is ‘Shame! Shame on you two!’

“If you two really want the best for Patra, you are going to have to help her and not stress her out any more. You are going to have to stop arguing and start working together. You, Orlando, are ordered not to give her any more magic assignments until she is well rested and her powers are back to proper levels. You may give her reading assignments but nothing more. And when you do give her a magic assignment, you are to monitor her at all times, so that you can help her channel her powers better. You, Donal, are to help your wife more with the children. You need to keep your pants fastened better, keep control over your passions and, when you can’t, make sure she is protected. It is moot now, but you need to keep the barn locked at all times, not after the horse has already escaped. And you, young lady, if you wish to keep this baby, you need to take better care of yourself. This baby will not survive long if your body isn’t given the proper nutrition it needs. Have I made myself clear?”

I heard several “yes, ma’am”s. And I nodded my head in agreement.

“I am hereby ordering for Patra one week free from any stressors, duties or burdens. While I know it is useless to keep her in bed all that time, I want her to do nothing more than take life easy and to eat at least three good meals a day. Is this understood?” I heard several “yes, ma’am”s. And I nodded my head in agreement.

“Donal, carry your wife back to the house. Izshaq, Orlando and I will take care of the children.”