Saving Grace

[Demeter]

Flora sat on her bed, her head buried in a book of long forgotten magic - whether it was dark or light, she couldn't tell. Magic was magic - it was only dark or light if the person casting it was dark or light, at least, according to that professor who's lecture she attended during the summer said. She had managed to find it in the restricted section of the library, and she had snuck it out, careful to keep it out of the sight of the other girls.

She had spent every waking moment while not in class studying the tome, hoping to be able to find a spell, anything, anything at all that could help the trapped professor. She had been the one that discovered that he was trapped so she viewed it as part of her responsiblity to help get him out. Besides, somehow she doubted that the others would believe her.

She glanced up at the mirror that hung on the wall opposite her bed. Every now and again, she swore she caught a glimpse of the cursed professor. She sighed quietly and returned to her research.

There, on the bottom of the page, a spell... She didn't think it could remove him - but... it could enable him to speak to her, so she could better help him. But the cost... She didn't want to think about it... But... he did mean so much to her. She nodded to herself. Perhaps, perhaps the cost would only be temporary. Surely it wouldn't be permanent....

She rose from her bed and took her place in front of the mirror. "From the land beyond beyond... from the world past hope and fear... I grant thee, oh trapped one, the gift of speech. Let it aid thee in thy quest for freedom," she chanted quietly, channeling her magic to cast the spell.

She dropped bonelessly to the ground after the completion of the spell and lay there, seemingly asleep.

-

Several long moments later, Flora stirred. She lost track of time from when she had cast the spell until now. It must be late... It was rather dark out. "Professor?" she called, her voice quivering a bit, hoping he could hear her, and answer.

OOC: Tag Lenwë

_{OOC: The price Flora paid to cast the spell is that she's now blind. I don't know how long the blindness will last - but it should make things interesting}

[Palladium]

Palladium lifted his head, his ears alert. He could have sworn that someone had called out to him. Tentatively, the professor stood from his seated position against a wall. The voice sounded very much like Flora, but he couldn't be sure; after all, he was almost positive that Stormy by now had realized that Flora was special to him. So then, what would stop her from impersonating Flora to toy with his mind?

Still, that voice . . .

It seemed to echo throughout his prison; there was no way to get to it, Palladium thought, feeling himself growing frustrated. The voice was . . . everywhere. Furrowing his brow, Palladium called out, in hopes of being able to trace where the voice was coming from, "Flora?"

[Demeter]

A smile appeared on her face as she could hear quite clearly the professor's voice. The spell had worked! "It worked!" she cried happily. "Well, at least we can talk now. Maybe together we can figure out how to get you out of there." She didn't dare ask him what time it was due to the fact that it was dark and she wasn't sure how late it was. She didn't know how time functioned in that mirror and the last thing she wanted to do was insult him by asking.

It was so dark out... so very dark... But.. as she trained herself to listen, several birds that only came out during the daylit hours were still singing. Suddenly, she knew. It didn't take, what did Bloom say, a rocket scientist (whatever that was, she thought and decided to ask Bloom later to tell her what one was), to figure out what was wrong.

"Professor?" she asked, her voice quivering. "Where are you? I... can't see you..." Her voice was shaking badly by the time she made that admission. The fact that she couldn't see frightened her. She only hoped that it wasn't a thing that would last forever - she didn't know how she could continue at Alfea if she couldn't see. And she didn't know how she could face her friends - knowing that the spell she cast possibly broke hundreds of rules - and knowing that she was now... blind.

[Palladium]

Hearing Flora's voice again, Palladium narrowed his eyes, his expression clearly revealing his intense concentration. Nodding his head slowly, he straightened; he was fairly certain that her voice was coming from his left.

Turning, Palladium cast a last glance around him, noticing how everything seemed to be bathed in a faint blue light. It was almost pretty, he thought dryly. Shaking his head clear of his meandering thoughts, he made a mental note to himself that at the present moment he was standing in what appeared to be the central room. That is, this was the place from which all the corridors branched off from.

Taking a deep breath, Palladium walked toward the corridor that had been on his left, hoping that he had chosen the right path. After all, each corridor had so many doors lining both sides of it that a man could go on opening them endlessly.

Some moments later, Palladium stamped his foot in frustration. It was useless. There was no possible way that he would ever find the door that lead to Flora's mirror. Sitting down, the professor expelled his breath. He was losing hope. It was as simple as that.

But he had to keep trying. Getting to his feet, he resumed opening and closing doors, hoping beyond hope that the next door he opened would take him to Flora. After many times of thinking this very thought, Palladium finally caught his break. When he opened this particular door, he immediately sensed Flora's presence, which sent a wave of relief coursing through his body.

Approaching the mirror that was positioned on the wall opposite the door, Palladium asked tentatively, wondering if Flora was still there, "Flora?"

His mind was filled with questions, and he crossed his fingers that she would respond. Of course, his main question at this particular moment was how exactly she had made it so that they could communicate verbally with one another.

[Demeter]

"Professor? Where are you? I can't see you," she repeated as she crawled in the direction she assumed he was coming from - the mirror opposite her bed. "It's so dark. I'm scared." Right now, she would give everything to have him out of the mirror and holding her, trying to chase away the darkness. She was trembling uncontrollably. "I'm scared."

[Palladium]

Palladium frowned, as he looked out through the mirror at Flora. Something wasn't right. In fact, something was dreadfully wrong.

"Flora? Flora, why do you say that it is dark?" Palladium's asked, his voice clearly concerned. Gently he continued, "Did you cast a spell of some sort that allows us to communicate? Flora, you have to tell me what you did; it's the only way I can help you."

The professor didn't want to say anything that would frighten Flora even more than she obviously was, but instinctively he knew that whatever she had done was a large mistake. A very large mistake.

[Demeter]

She wordlessly nodded. "I found a book in the library. I had glanced at it and it looked promising so I took it with me. There was a spell... I thought it might work, thought it might allow us to communicate so we could work together to get you out of there," she said, her voice shaking and quivering badly. "It was supposed to give whoever was trapped the ability to communicate so those on the outside could help. Oh, God, it said that a price had to be paid in exchange for the spell to work... And it's so dark, Professor... I can't see..."

[Palladium]

"What book, Flora? What was the title of the book?" Palladium's voice became urgent as he felt an intense dread creep over his body. He didn't want to acknowledge it, but his intuition was speaking very loudly - and it was not saying pleasant things. Pushing aside his thoughts, he continued, "Or perhaps better yet, you can recite a part of the spell to me; maybe I will recognize it-" Palladium cut off his sentence as it hit him. Watching Flora, he could see something was vastly different about her. It was her eyes. Usually, they were so alive . . . but now . . . they were empty and unseeing. Flora was blind.

[Demeter]

Flora nodded. "It was... From the land beyond beyond... from the world past hope and fear..." she said, her voice breaking a bit as she recited the opening to the incantation she worked to allow them to communicate. She started to silently cry, tears running down her tanned cheeks. "I really messed up this time, didn't I?" she asked, her voice breaking again.

[Palladium]

"Flora," Palladium replied sternly, his voice devoid of any signs of affection, "how did you manage to obtain the book from which that spell is taken?"

He knew the spell all right. He knew exactly what spell Flora had begun to recite. And he also knew that it was incredibly dangerous. In fact, it was forgotten magic to most - the most dangerous kind of magic there is. The only reason why he himself recognized the spell was because he had devoted a good portion of his childhood to the study of spells. But how Flora managed to stumble upon it was beyond him . . .

And what was even worse was that he could not help her. At least, not when he was locked in this mirror prison - he simply didn't have the resources he needed, namely his books. Of course, he couldn't tell her that . . . he would simply have to figure out a solution. Somehow.

[Demeter]

"I think it was in the border between the restricted section and the normal section," she said, trying to remember. "There was just something about that book that seemed to call to me. I don't know." Her voice was breaking terribly as she spoke. "I was only trying to help. I mean, I found you so it was my responsiblity to get you out of there. I couldn't tell the others - they'd think I was crazy. I just wanted to help," she sobbed.

[Palladium]

Cursing under his breath, he shook his head. "Flora, I do not wish to worry or frighten you, but this is a serious matter. You see, that spell is from an old, old book - a book of virtually forgotten magic. Normally, only those who actively seek out that kind of magic will find it - obviously that was not the case with you. However, with such magic comes many dangers. Mind you, all magic has the same potential to be dangerous . . . but forgotten magic is much more . . . fragile. Because very few persons actually know about it . . . well, simply put, it is difficult - sometimes impossible - to reverse spells."

Sighing, Palladium continued, "The spell you choose to cast is a particularly tricky one. It is deceiving in its simplicity. After all, in order to cast it, all one must do is recite a few lines of words. However, as you mentioned, this spell has a price. This price varies - sometimes those who cast the spell lose their hearing, their ability to display emotions - some even lose their ability to walk. Others . . ." Palladium paused, "others lose their sight." Quietly, he continued, "I believe in your situation, this is the price we are dealing with."

"I don't mean to scare you Flora or to make you feel as though you've committed an unforgivable act, but I must confess to you one thing. There is no way I can hide this; you must know: I cannot help you. Not now. Not when I am trapped here. However, I do know someone who can help . . . normally I would suggest that you call for Ms. Faragonda . . . but even this magic is something she will not be all that familiar with. Instead, I must ask that you send for someone - a friend of mine, Cora Tselios. She lives in my home realm, Athryell. Somehow Flora, you must find a way to bring her here. Her knowledge of magic is vast; I have faith that if anyone can help you, it is her."

OOC: Cora was getting oh-so-lonely in Athryell, so I've decided to bring her out to play

[Demeter]

Flora nodded. "Well... I was going to go home for Christmas, and Mother did mention in a recent letter that she was going to Athryell to restock on supplies. Perhaps I can convince her to take me with her," she said.

She had finally managed to reach the mirror and she slowly stood, placing her hands on the wall and walking up until she was standing up straight. Her now sightless green eyes stared in the direction he was standing, but she didn't see him. "Do you think she can help me?" she asked quietly.

[Palladium]

Palladium closed his eyes, his throat constricting; he had never expected that Flora would be the one to discover him, but she had . . . and now she was hurt. He knew logically that it was not his fault, but still, he couldn't help but feel responsible. He couldn't help but wish that he could somehow make this all better. He wanted to comfort her, but it was obvious that he couldn't.

Opening his eyes, he blinked back the stinging of his suppressed tears and cleared his throat. "Yes . . . yes, I do believe that Cora will be able to help you. She is very smart - smarter than me in many respects. So I urge you to find her and tell her that I, Lenwë, sent you to her. That should be enough of a reason for her to help you."

[Demeter]

"I will," she said, her voice shaking. "I just don't know what I'm going to do if she can't help me. What if this is permanent? What if I can't ever see again? I'm useless, utterly useless. I can't help the others and what good am I if the witches attack? I can't see which way the attacks are coming from so I can't defend myself."