The Warlock and The Apprentice

"(mouthing) Don't worry, I'll find another way."

"Who am I kidding. I got nothing without her. Still, no point of grieving. Now lets what i need to do." said Lucas in his head. But luck wasn't on his side that day. The wagon he was on was delivering wheat to the capital's bakery, thus it was heavily guarded leaving Lucas with no escape. "Well this is certainly interesting. Why would a pile of wheat be so heavily guarded?" The wagon went under bridges, crossing townhouses. Some buildings were intact but others were ruined with some villagers living in it. It had looked like the village was torn apart to serve as a military center.

"Did you see those 2 kids that jumped off the wall?" said one of the soldiers.

"I'm sure they'll be taken care of. Just focus on delivery and make sure nothing goes wrong and maybe we'll get a promotion." said the other.

"What can go wrong with a wagon full of wheat?" Lucas wondered. Before the wagon could leave the village settlement, a commotion could be heard. "They raised the price of wheat again!" said one of the villagers. "How are we supposed to eat? It was hard enough before!" said another. "Everyone look! The delivery wagon!"

Lucas could feel the wagon rumbling as all the villagers rushed at the wagon like a stampede. "Give us wheat!" "How are we supposed to feed our children!"

The soldiers around the village and the wagon quickly rushed in and kept them from getting the wheat by arranging their shields to make a wall. "Move faster you fools!" exclaimed the village guards as he tried to stop the villagers.

But their efforts were wasted as the some of the villagers managed to break through, making a breach in their wall of shields. Lucas could feel his cover getting thinner as the villagers grabbed the wheat. "Oh shit, thats not good." Lucas tried to sink himself deeper as he felt the wheat above him getting thinner. Suddenly a scream was heard. One of the villagers was mysteriously stabbed. All the villagers instantly backed away. Lucas sighed as the wagon started moving again. "Kk, my luck isn't all that bad yet, considering I've been sent back in time, separated from my sister and managed to land in a wheat wagon that's wanted by everyone." As soon as he said it, his bad luck came back to haunt him. The wagon stumbled upon a sharp pebble right before reaching the capital gates, causing one of the wagon's wheel to break. The wagon tipped over, spilling the remaining wheat with Lucas in it. Whispers could be heard from the crowd.

"Is that a boy in the wheat?" "How did he get in there?" "Is he your child?"

"Men! Are you blind? Arrest him! How did he even get in there without any of you fools noticing?" said the royal guard captain. "Sir! Wh- What a coincidence seeing you here." said one of the guards. "You all are hopeless. You, boy! (pointing at Lucas) Come with me."

The captain grabbed Lucas and handcuffed him. "Here have this. (Gives Lucas bread) I don't know how stupid you have to be to rob wheat by hiding in it, but I won't judge."

A group of guards escorted him to a long hallway that led to a big hall, with a bunch of seats occupied by citizens with handcuffs on them. "Where am I?" asked Lucas. "The Royal Court. Don't worry, as long as you did nothing other than petty crime, you'll just be sentenced to community service. The court is currently busy. In a few minutes a secretary should come and ask you questions." The captain then left, going back to his post.

"I'm in so much trouble...." said Lucas

"Y- you're from a what?" said Helix. Jessica had realised of what she had said and quickly took back her words. "(nervous chuckle) Ehehe, that was just a joke. My father was a clockmaker, so he used to tell me various stories and jokes of travelling through time." lied Jessica. "Oooowkay? (Nervous laughter) I'm gonna quickly walk around. Got some things to figure out." said Helix as he slowly backed away. "(sighs) Phew, that was close. That lie surprisingly went well. I wished Lucas saw that (chuckles). He would've been impressed. I really need to start thinking about what to say." said to herself. She gazed around the town. Some parts of it looked so beautiful, but some, lets say, ruined the view of the city. "I wonder what happened to this city." said Jessica. "Hey, ummm, wait. I just realised. I never got your name." said Helix. "Oh right, sorry. My name is Jessica Owlivia." "Oh, beautiful name. Uh Jess, do you mind if I leave you here for awhile? I've got some things I need to do, umm. Is it ok?" "Umm, ok? Can't I come along?" asked Jessica. "No!"

Jessica was surprised by his response. His face blushed as he realized his response. "Sorry, bad habit. I can't take you there and I can't tell why. I'm sorry. Can you wait here for me?" said Helix. "(In her thoughts) Well, I have no other choice do I? I have nowhere to go. But he's acting oddly. Is this what he normally does?" "Hello? Jessica?" said Helix. "Oh, right. Yeah, I'll wait for you here." said Jessica. "Thanks. I promise I'll explain sometime."

"If he wasn't so handsome, I would've strangled him. (sigh) How long am I supposed to wait here?" said Jessica.

Every step Helix took, he looked around to make sure no one saw him. "(Frustrated) How'd I forget. He's definetely gonna kill me now... Come on, pick up the pace Helix, maybe he won't kill you." Soon he arrived at a mysterious tower that was leaning into the city. The pavement in front of the building was ruined and on the bottom of the building, was a door with a unique emblem. It was had gold linings, with an eye in the middle. Below the emblem was written: "Not everything is what it seems."

Helix approached the emblem and said a specific phrase. "But beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Suddenly, the eye in the emblem glowed and casted a purple aura around Helix. "There's no turning back. Breathe Helix. Breathe..." said Helix to himself. As soon as he blinked, his eyes opened to a room full of rows and rows of bookshelves. Purple crystals lit up the room along with blue stalagmites that hanged from the ceiling, glowing brightly. There was cauldrons, potions and scrolls on the edge of the room, with an old looking man brewing some potions. The man had a hood over his head, very long robes that flowed all the way like a dress and in his hand was a metal staff that encased a purple orb on the tip of the staff. But the most noticeable was his eyes. It was purple and glowed ominously.

"Late again. Do you really want to be one of my potion ingredients? I am running low on human fingers." said the old man. "No, I'm sorry sir." said Helix as he kneeled. "What the hell are you doing. Get up. Besides I can't find another apprentice so I have no choice but to spare you."

"(smiles) So, what are we doing here today?" asked Helix. "Today you'll learn how to brew an identity potion. It's important for a warlock to learn this as we're being hunted down. Brewing one is difficult as it requires a lot of ingredients. But the most difficult part is gathering 1 of the ingredients, which is a strand of hair of the person you want to transform into."

"A strand of hair? I can use yours right for the lesson?" asked Helix. "Mine? Hell no. My hair is the most precious thing next to my face. Go find a strand of hair. I'm gonna go find something to eat."

"Eat? It's past lunch sir."

"You talk too much. Go find that hair first. (opens wardrobe) Hmmm, now lets see. Which robe is the best to suit the colors of that ugly royal court. Can't wait. The day I've been waiting for is coming."

"Jessica! Do you mind if take a strand of your hair?" said Helix. "(looks around) Where did she go?"

"He said there was a library. Where is it?" Jessica walked around, looking for the Library Of Life, but it was nowhere in sight. "(sigh) Where the hell are you Lucas. I can't do this alone. Why did you have to turn on that goddamn machine."

"Jessica! There, (pants) phew, huh, you are. What are you doing here?" asked Helix. "I'm looking for the library you told me about but it seems like it doesn't exist mate." Helix was confused as he was staring at the library. "What are you, (pants) huh, talking about? It's right there." pointed Helix as he bended over his knees to catch some breath. "What? What do you mean-"

"Can we talk about this, phew, later? I'm in a rush currently and I need a strand of your hair." said Helix. "Hair? I'll give it to you on one term. You tell me exactly where the library is." said Jessica. "It's right there! (Looks at clueless Jessica) I'll take you there later when I'm done!"

"Aight, we got a deal." said Jessica as she pulls of one of her long hairs. As soon as the hair was on Helix's palm, he clenched his fist and dashed back to the mysterious tower as fast as he could.

"The library is here? Hmm. Wait a minute, why did he ask for my hair?" said Jessica to herself after realizing the odd request from Helix.

Meanwhile

"Ahh, the royal hall. The smell of crime files, lies and tears. I miss this place." The mysterious man roamed around the hall and approached a stressed and worried Lucas. "Good day sir, how may I help you?" said the man. "Oh, you're one of the secretaries aren't you."

"Me, a secretary? I'd rather die." said the man as he chuckled. "If you're not a secretary, who are you?" "(shakes hand) My name is Maxim Delacroix, nice to meet you. And you are?"

"Lucas, Lucas Owlivia. Do I know you?" said Lucas. "I don't think so." said Maxim. "Then why are you here?"

"Oh I was here to look for food but I was looking at you and felt bad." said Maxim. "Oh, uhh, yeah I got a lot of things in my head." said Lucas awkwardly. "(In his thoughts) Who the hell is this guy? Why is he looking for food in a courthouse? Man, this guy is hella strange."

"Royal Hall has the best canteen, none will ever beat it. And, about strange, that's who I am. Good luck on your trial Lucas." said Maxim.

"Wait, how did you kno-" said Lucas. "Never ask me a how do I know question kid. I know everything. Also, goodluck, your trial will be prosecuted by one of the most ambitious prosecutors." said Maxim as he left the hall. Lucas instantly got off his seat and ran to follow him, but by the time he turned to the hallway, the man had already disappeared, with a piece of paper lying on where he was. "Not everything is what it seems."

"What an odd person. Not everything is what it seems?" said Lucas.

"(panting) Huhhh, hoo, sir? I've got the hair." said Helix. "Took you long enough. Here's the potions book, figure out how to brew it." said Maxim. "Aren't you going to teach me?" asked Helix. Maxim held out a plate full of cheese, grapes and olives. "Nah, I have more important things to do." said Maxim as he dropped some grapes into his mouth. "Yeah right." mumbled Helix as he began to study the book. "I'm sorry kid. You're gonna have to face some hard times soon. I wish I could be there for you." said Maxim to himself as he watched Helix who was trying to brew a potion that was practically impossible. Suddenly the cauldron Helix was using started bubbling and it suddenly exploded. "(chuckles) Silly kid. Here let me help you. So first you add..." explained Maxim.

"Kk, you're almost done. Now add the hair and leave it under the moonlight for a week and by then it should be ready. Not bad kid, you learned how to brew an identity potion." said Maxim. "Phew, that was exhausting. Wait what time is it?" said Helix. "Its near night kid."

"Oh dear! I left my friend there alone for such a long time. I got to go! Thank you sir!" said Helix as he quickly rushed out of the tower. "That kid (smiles), I told him to call me Max. (sigh) If only I had more time. But I made a promise. I'm sorry kid, you're about to be on your own now."