"Magic. Magic.", Arnik repeated the words quietly to himself over and over again behind the big sofa he was hiding. He was in total awe, he has never heard or seen anything like it in all of his very young life.
"Magic", Eissa had repeated to herself as if she was in sync with Arnik's thoughts. No wonder her father had acted dumb when she asked what the new tutor was going to teach. She had thought it was boring maths or geography or something just as boring and difficult. But magic, this was so much fun!
"I've got to warn you though, magic isn't all about daisy flowers and sunny beautiful mornings. There are theoretical aspects to it. And just like any good tutor who knows his onions, we're going to start with its history."
Arnik readjusted on the ledge where he was perched, trying to find a comfortable spot because it seemed he had found where to spend the next couple of hours.
"Some schools of thought would refer to magic as an illusion. Do you know what an illusion is?" The tutor had asked with some measure of amusement which he couldn't keep out of his tone.
"Uhm, things that look like they are there but aren't really there?" Eissa replied.
Arnik scratched his mop of curly dark hair, he wasn't sure he was following but he was determined to keep learning. He was fairly certain that the tutor would further explain whether Eissa was right or wrong. He was that precocious.
The short man pulled at his even shorter beard. "Hmmm. You did try. An illusion is an idea that something is not what it seems to be. That's what some people think magic is, a trick. But it is more than that. Magic is an art."
So for the next couple of hours, the short man showed how dramatic he could be. He taught as if the entire lake was filled with children around Eissa's age instead of just one child or two if he included Arnik who listened with rapt attention. The tutor made notes out of the big books he had brought with him and handed some of them to Eissa. Sometimes he asked her to read some of it loudly, other times he asked her to read it in her head. Arnik wished he could see what it was, not as if he could read whole sentences though. He should get going soon, his father come back to check up on him.
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As he plotted how best to silently escape, the tutor shut one of the big books with a loud bang and said to Eissa with a flourish, "That's where we end for today, young miss. Find the time to read that chapter in the book concerning the History of Magic. We will see each other again soon."
"Yes, sir. Thank you."
The short man, Arnik must have missed when he gave his name to Eissa, touched the tip of his top hat in salute to Eissa as he went out through the door.
Eissa had gotten up from the grass surrounding the lake where she had sat all through the class, she grabbed the book that the short man had left for her and made her way back to the main building.
By the time Arnik was ten years old and could read and understand whole sentences written in big books, he decided to befriend one of the many servants that were in charge of maintaining Mr. Frost's library. He assisted the servant in dusting the books and when he had earned the servant's trust, he started leaving Arnik to dust and clean the library all by himself while he attended to other duties.
This allowed the young Arnik to leisurely peruse Mr. Frost's library collection and find books on magic. He had started with "The History of Magic in Lidurnia; An Insight of Elders" because he still remembered from years ago that Eissa's magic instructor had said histories were a good place to start when you wanted to learn about a subject.
He recalled the day he had been so engrossed in his digestion of a magic-related book that he did not hear Mr. Frost come in.
He must have stood watching Arnik for a while because he finally cleared his throat to announce his presence to the young lad. Arnik jumped out of his chair as soon as he saw his master.
"What do you have there, young man?" There was a gentle smile on his face as usual.
"I-I–"
Mr. Frost asked again, "Speak up young man!"
"I was just dusting the books, sir", responded a trembling Arnik.
"It looked like you were doing a lot more than dusting. You should know that entry into the library is restricted. Where is the servant in charge anyway?" Mr. Frost turned around to scan the library room as he asked, with a smile still plastered on his face.
The library was a beautiful big room that had windows placed in strategic angles to let glorious light and air into the room. The windows had a screen to keep out insects that might fly in and damage the books. It was rumored that Mr. Gale Frost’s private collection had over ten thousand books, the biggest in the city of Lidurnia. Arnik would agree, there were literally books everywhere he turned to look on so many subjects and not only magic, although books on magic were his primary interest.
"He was—he was called away by the grounds master", stuttered Arnik.
"I'm going to let you off the hook this time. But I do not promise to act this way next time should I catch you snooping around. Do I make myself clear?" He asked in a gentle yet authoritative tone
"Yes, sir. I'm quite sorry, sir."
"Good, now run along young one."
Arnik had scrambled away as fast as his little legs could carry him. But that was the day he knew reading about magic in Mr. Frost's library was just not going to cut it.
That night, for the first time, his father told him they could not afford to send him to the Apprentice School of Mages and young Arnik tasted heartbreak for the first time too.