Witch Bewitched (COMPLETE)

Chapter 45

A loud crash. Cold water splattered over Misa's uniform. Black spots danced in her vision, and an intense wave of painful nausea threatened to release the contents of her stomach.

"Mikim, are you okay?" Raki's hand brushed over her back. It took a moment for Misa to find her bearings. Her head pounded, throbbing like it would explode at any second. Her eyes finally focused on the overturned bucket in front of her, dispelling the spots that had clouded over them.

Cold, hard wood pressed into her palm as Misa attempted to get up, but her wobbly knees sent her crashing back to the ground. What was happening to her? She had been mopping the floor one moment, then kneeling on the ground the next.

A wild tingle erupted in her gut, cluing her in on what was happening. It was the magic. Something wasn't right. Her body was weakening under its influence.

"Mikim," Raki called again. She wrapped her arms around Misa's shoulders to help her stand.

"I-I'm fine." Misa took in a breath. She reached for a nearby table, and with the support of it and Raki, she managed to steady herself. "I just need a moment to-" Misa gasped as a pulse of magic exploded within her, ripping through her until it escaped the confines of her body. She could practically see a white circle of pure energy rippling away from her.

"Mikim!"

Misa's legs felt like they were made of lead. She couldn't sense anything other than the powerful magic that was pouring out of her. She had to leave. She had to get out of there before someone found out.

The magic suddenly stopped its course, giving Misa a moment to breathe. Then, it all rushed back, wave after merciless wave, crashing into Misa with so much intensity that her vision blackened once more. Agony tore through Misa's gut. Fire poured into her veins. The blood pounding against her ears drowned away a cry that pierced through her throat.

Misa hunched over with her arms pressing against her stomach, trying in vain to stop the inexorable river of painful magic from flowing into her. Tears and black spots of agony misted her sight. She took one step forward and couldn't hold her balance.

Misa was vaguely aware of a panicked yell for help echoing from beside her. Through the magic that demanded her attention, she could feel someone holding her up, practically dragging her feet across the floor. The brightness from the other side of a door blinded her, and before she could process much more, a final stab, a twisted agony that slashed through her body, gave her to the darkness that numbed her anguish.

A dull throb was the first thing Misa felt when her consciousness returned. With a groan, she moved her hand to rub her forehead. She opened her eyes, then immediately squinted when the obnoxious sunlight spat needles into them.

"Misa!" A familiar voice pierced her ears.

Misa winced, but she welcomed the shadow Torren cast when he leaned over her with worry lining his forehead.

"Torren?" Misa croaked. Her throat grated with dryness, and she heaved a cough. "What happened?"

"Mikim." Raki appeared in Misa's vision, next to Torren. Relief was all too evident in her grin. "Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

"Raki..." Misa rubbed her eyes. She pushed herself up and found that she was sitting on a small white cot. The room she was in was relatively small, most of the space filled with three other cots, a desk, a chair, and a massive cabinet that Misa could only assume held medical supplies.

"You're in the infirmary," Torren said, confirming Misa's thoughts.

A bout of dizziness washed over her, and Misa pressed her palm against her temple to quell it. "What's wrong with me?"

"The doctor isn't sure," Raki said. "He says there's nothing abnormal he could find."

"From your symptoms, he thinks you're just exhausted," Torren elaborated. "Nothing too serious."

"Oh." Misa's shoulders slumped. She knew very well that the reason she fainted had nothing to do with exhaustion, and it was an issue the doctor couldn't solve with conventional medicine.

"Well, now that I know you're okay, I feel much better returning to work." Torren smiled. "Rest a while. You seem to need it."

"I should go, too," Raki said. "I'm not exempt from today's training like you are."

Misa nodded, but her mind was occupied with bigger problems than rest. If her magic was going to be more of a problem than simply residing within her, then she was in more trouble than she initially thought. At the very least, there were two people she could trust with this information. "Actually, Torren. I need to talk to you."

Raki took this as a cue to leave. Torren must have sensed how serious Misa was. He waited for Raki to shut the infirmary door before addressing Misa.

"What is it?" The sobriety in him was unfamiliar, and it somehow added a weight to the load Misa was carrying on her shoulders.

"It wasn't exhaustion," Misa said, looking down at her hands as if they were the cause of her deterioration. "We need to talk about this with the captain. Do you think we could go see him right now?"

"Of course," a voice sounded from the door. Misa nearly fell off the bed but managed to keep still from the sheer will of trying not to look like a fool. Royle stalked towards them, somewhat more distant than usual. Misa suspected it had to do with Torren being in the room with them, and a trickle of disappointment dampened her mood. Did he not want anyone to know how close they really were?

"Royle," Torren greeted. "What brings you to the infirmary? Doctor Levey just left for lunch."

"I'm aware. I told him to take an extra hour off. I came because I heard Mikim was in here."

Torren's brows shot up. He gave Misa an inquisitive glance. "I see. I suppose it makes sense. She is your responsibility, after all."

"That's right," Royle agreed. A little too quickly. Misa wasn't the only one to notice. Torren's brows climbed even higher, as impossible as it should have been.

"Ah." A small grin spread over Torren's cheeks. "Of course. You wouldn't want anything happening to her, isn't that right? She's much too valuable. Much too...precious."

"Um..." Misa cut into their conversation, well aware of how flushed her face must have been. It didn't help that they both towered over her like the trees in Misa's dreams, and Torren's teasing made her feel much more uncomfortable than it should have. "The reason I wanted to talk to both of you is...well, I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I think my body is having trouble adjusting to Tika's magic."

"What do you mean?" Torren cöcked his head. "You haven't had this problem before. You weren't even aware that you were a witch."

Right. Misa had forgotten that Torren had no idea what had happened in Harthem aside from the fact that Misa succeeded in her mission, and he was probably too busy spending time with his family on Dailib to notice both she and the captain was missing.

"It's complicated," Misa explained. She clutched the blanket under her. "Tika the witch passed away two days ago. In the process, she gave me the rest of her magic."

"And for some reason, her magic is too much for you to handle," Royle added. "This has complicated things even more. If you can't get Tika's magic under control, it could escalate into a dangerous situation. Not only would you be more susceptible to getting caught, but it might also tamper with your lifespan. Finding a witch to train you may be the only way for you to get it under control."

"No, Royle. We talked about this. I said I'll think about it. I never agreed to learn how to use Tika's magic."

"That was before it deteriorated your health. I'm talking about your wellbeing, Misa, not your role in defeating Nisha. If we don't find a way to keep it under control, you might get hurt by it. Or worse. If learning how to become a witch is the only way to keep you alive, then I truly think you should do it. You don't have to use it until you choose to."

"Wait!" Torren waved his hands in front of him. "Hold on just a minute, here. Can someone explain to me what's going on? Tika's dead? So, Misa has even more magic than before? And since when were you two on a first-name basis? I thought you hated each other. What in the world happened without me? What else do I not know?"

Groaning, Misa covered her face. "I'm sorry, Torren. So much happened all at once. Everything just blew up right in my face, and the most I could do was try to stay afloat and survive. I don't even know where to start."

"Well, then." Torren turned to Royle. "Captain? Care to explain? I was under the impression that I was to be kept in the loop."

"That can wait. For now, we need to find a way to prevent this from happening again. The next time Misa faints, she might not wake up for several hours. Then, she won't wake up for half a day. It could eventually extend to a day, a week, a month. If she doesn't learn to control her magic, it will literally drain her energy. It makes her body weaker until the only thing left is a husk that barely breathes."

"Like Tika," Misa breathed. She could still vividly see the witch tucked under a massive blanket, so frail and skinny that Misa had thought her pale skin was bone. Tika didn't look like a living being. "Husk" was the perfect word for it. She was nothing but a shell of a person when she died.

"Okay, fine," Torren said, pulling off his cap and running his fingers through his hair. "Let's forget about the fact that you didn't tell me any of this before. We need to get Misa a teacher. How?"

Misa touched her wrist. Rithian immediately flooded her mind.

You will always come back to me, she had claimed. It was terrifying to think how true that statement might be. Misa never wanted to see Rithian again, and she loathed the fact that the witch might be her only chance of survival.

"That is an issue," Royle replied. "The closest city that harbours witches we can readily connect with is Harthem. My request to move there has yet to be processed, and even after the two weeks it takes for it to be reviewed, there's a chance it will be rejected. This is an impossible situation."

"Then let me take her there." Torren had no hint of jest. Misa had never seen him so serious.

"You would abandon your position to take her to Harthem?"

"She's my friend, Royle. You might not be able to because you're the captain, but you could easily find a replacement for me. If I have to choose between my job and my friend's life, then it's not a difficult choice to make."

"No!" Misa jumped off the bed. The dizziness blackened her vision, and her knees were still weak. She wobbled and would have stumbled forward if Royle hadn't caught her shoulders. She waited for her sight to clear, shaking her head until she could see again. "I won't let you do that, Torren. I refuse to be the reason you quit. You worked so hard to get where you are, and you were so excited to be promoted. It's your dream. I can't take that away from you."

"Misa-"

But Misa wasn't going to let him try to convince her. Not when he had finally achieved his dream. Misa knew how it felt like to have it snatched away, to have it so far from her reach that it hurt to even think about it. She never wanted to be the reason for someone to go through that. "No, Torren. I refuse. I won't go to Harthem with you. You can quit your job and go there yourself, but I won't go with you if it means you give up everything because of me."

"Maybe I won't have to." Torren looked to Royle. "If I apply for a leave of absence, how long would it take to have it approved?"

"A few days, perhaps." Royle rubbed his chin. "If I give my approval, it should take less than that. But if Misa is to remain a cadet, it will be difficult to send both of you."

"I don't want to be a cadet," Misa said. "I never wanted to be. It was only out of obligation that I got in the purgehouse. I can go with Torren, Royle. I don't need to be a cadet to go this time."

Royle squeezed Misa's shoulder with the one hand that remained there. "You don't understand. There's a reason you must remain a cadet."

"What? What is it, Royle?" Misa blew up. She pulled away from his grip and faced him, eyes blazing with a fire that hadn't been ignited for a long time. She couldn't take it anymore. It seemed to her that Royle was continuously coming up with excuses as to why something wouldn't work. Did he need so much control that he would poke holes in everyone else's plans but his?

"You've been saying it's complicated since the moment we returned to Giligha, but I don't understand why. Isn't it simple? I could go to Harthem with Torren, learn how to suppress the magic in me, and keep an eye on Nisha at the same time. Why do I need to be involved with the purgehouse when getting as far from it as possible will make things so much easier? Explain that to me because all I hear from you is, 'Everything you say is a bad idea.' You said I don't understand, so make me understand."

"I..." Something flickered in Royle's eyes, but he looked away before Misa could decipher it. "You will remain a cadet until I decide when it's okay for you to quit. We made a bargain, Misa Carpenter, and if we're going to continue through with it, you will stay in the purgehouse. If not, you're more than welcome to return to your family."

"I-I can't believe you!" Misa's hand itched to slap the truth out of him. A sickening epiphany sank into her like a knife. "You're just like my father."

She let the words hang in the air, and each passing moment strengthened her conviction. As much as she wished for it not to be, she couldn't help the familiar suffocation of being trapped against her will from arising once more.

"I thought you took me away so I could be free, but you're no different." Misa let out a sigh of disbelief. How could she have been so stupid? "You're trapping me here, where I'm no better than a servant, making me work for something I don't even want. Someone else could be taking my place. Someone who wants to become a purgehouse officer, but you're stopping them from doing so because you want to keep me where I don't belong? I can't believe you, Royle. I-"

A wave of magic sent Misa teetering. Her stomach churned, and she was about to give into the nausea that urged her to release her breakfast.

"Misa." Royle went to catch her, but Misa stepped away from him, holding up a hand to keep him at bay.

"No." Misa didn't pull away when Torren kept her steady from behind. "No, Royle. I can't. You know how much I can't stand being trapped in a place that I can never escape. You know how much it hurt for me to disown my parents for doing so. You were there. So why? Why are you putting me back into a cage? Why are you trying to take the freedom you've given to me? I understood why I had to remain a cadet when we first started our bargain, but now? Now, when we could benefit so much more by not staying here...you expect me to blindly follow your orders?"

Misa had had enough. She managed to gather enough strength to step away from Torren's support. She couldn't look at the captain when she was so confused. Not when he reminded her so much of the man who took everything away from her.

The collar of her uniform choked her, reminding her that she was still a cadet in the purgehouse. Reminding her of the cruel fate she would have to face.

"I should go now," Misa said, keeping her voice cold, calm, and emotionless. "Lieutenant Hunter won't be happy about my tardiness, and I'm already ten minutes late."

"Wait, Misa," Torren called from behind. "You need rest. Raki would have told Calden about your condition. He'll understand."

Misa was already at the door when she heard Royle's murmur, "Let her go, Lieutenant. Let her go."

It was enough. Misa stepped through the threshold, ready for another afternoon to waste on something she never loved.