Chapter Twenty Three
After a very awkward and mostly silent meal, the mages, Justin and Maggie, returned to the library to formalize the plans for taming the unicorns.
As soon as everyone was seated around the large table, Art sagged back into his seat and let the stress of the meal with the king roll off of him. He kept his opinions about the encounter to himself to spare the princess any harsh words about her father, but it was evident that today had not been one of the best for the head mage.
The other mages sat quietly and waited for Art to collect himself as Justin and Maggie kept their hands in their lap and their eyes downcast, only peaking at them through their lashes. It was a pathetic picture for anyone who would have looked in.
"I don't know about you, but I think we all could use some tea and cakes." Maggie's words came out overly cheerful, and in the loud silence, caused Philip to jump in his seat. "I am sorry, your majesty," he said. "I was lost in thought, and your words caught me off guard." Maggie was able to keep from smiling, but Justin could see her eyes crinkling at the corners. As Philip continued, Maggie pulled even the laugh lines into order. "Yes, I think tea and cakes would do us all a world of good. I will call the servant in and have them bring some at once."
Eager to leave the room, Philip nearly ran to the door and stepped outside to have one of the guards retrieve a servant.
"So, please fill me in on what you have discussed." Her words didn't seem to be addressed to anyone in particular, but Justin felt the need to respond. "The mages have filled me in on the immediate needs of the king. For some reason, he is focused on making sure that the mated pairs of unicorns conceive and deliver healthy babies. As it stands, they are not behaving as they should because, frankly, they are being held prisoner. Who would want to perform for a crowd in a cell?"
Maggie nodded and then said. "I agree that my father's tactics aren't the best to get the results that we want, but what do you propose we do?" Philip sat back down as she finished her question and took up where Justin had left off. "Your Highness, Justin proposes we give them more room to run and be free, while still keeping them contained, and we use you to get close to them to see how the pregnancy is progressing. They will need to explicitly trust you before they allow you to help with the delivery, which you may need to do if things don't go according to plan."
Maggie blanched at the idea of having to help deliver a unicorn. She slowly rose from her seat as though she were about to flee. Justin reached out and put his hand on hers to help settle her nerves. "Don't worry, that is the absolute worst-case scenario that we do not expect to happen, but if it does, I am sure the mages will find someway to make sure you have help and are well aware of what to do." He looked over at Art and gave him a pointed look. "Isn't that right?"
Art smiled and nodded once, although he did not look as confident as Justin would have liked. "Yes, Justin, we will do everything we can to make sure that the entire ordeal goes smoothly for you, Princess Magdalin, and of course, the unicorns and the foal.
Maggie sat back down and folded her arms in her lap. She still looked uneasy, but at least she didn't look scared. "Very well. So what do we do first?" Justin beamed at her and then looked Art full in the face and said. "First, we must create a new home for the unicorns. Since time is of the essence, I suggest we use magic. I might also suggest that this could be another lesson for me as I observe the spells."
"You're learning magic?" Maggie's unease was completely gone, replaced by confusion. "Yes, the mages have agreed to me being an apprentice of sorts while I am here. Oaklie spoke before Justin could say more. "Might I suggest that you do more than observe Master White? If you are really serious about learning magic, then I see no reason why you can't participate." Justin could almost perceive a challenge in Oaklie's eyes. He felt sure that all of the mages would be judging how he responded to Oaklie's statement to see whether or not he was serious about being a mage.
"I would love that, Oaklie." Justin's words came out more assured than he actually felt. But he had said them and he did mean them so there was nothing left for him to do, but follow through.
"Good." That one word spoke volumes to Justin. He could tell that Art approved, and for some reason, that approval meant more to him than he would have ever thought possible. "Now," said Art, "I suggest we draw up plans for what we want the new space for the unicorns to look like. I just need my parchment." Art lifted his hand beside his head and pulled a scroll of parchment out of thin air, and set it on top of the table. "Where did that come from?" Justin realized as soon as he asked the question that it was a dumb one. Of course, Art had used magic to get the parchment, but he had not heard or seen anything out of the ordinary. Other than lifting his hand, nothing seemed off.
Art chuckled at the surprise in Justin's voice. "Oh, I have a chest of odds and ends that I keep in, what would you call it... I guess you would call it a different plane of existence. To access it all, I have to do is state what I need and place my left hand parallel to my left ear, and what I requested, if it has already been put in the chest, will appear. It is a very simple spell that you should have no trouble learning. However, for some magicians, putting items into the chest for the first time can be much harder." Art looked off into the distance deep in thought before he continued. "In fact, there was one magician who was so terrible at his craft that he tried to send a cloak into the chest and wound up sending himself. It took a full 2 days to find him and bring him back. He decided he didn't want to perform magic after that. He never would tell us what happened to him when he was gone.
Justin froze at his words, but quickly schooled his features before Maggie or Art saw. He had only thought of magic as fun and exciting. He had never thought that it could potentially be dangerous to him or someone he cared about. He looked sideways at Maggie as she bent over the table, eagerly discussing the royal grounds available for the project with Art.
Justin's thoughts began to race, while his face remained calm. "What have I gotten myself into?"