[color=gray][center][h2][color=slateblue] Ariella[/color]& [color=00F8FE]Callum[/color][/h2][/center]
[center][h3][color=D2691E]Part 2[/color][/h3][/center]
[color=slateblue]Location:[/color] Secret Location
[color=E77298]Time:[/color] 4pm

[color=00F8FE]“You will no longer have to bend the knee,”[/color] he began to recite from memory part of the Books introduction. For only the second time in his life, Callum did not feel a need to hide this aspect of his life. [color=00F8FE]“But be forewarned my gifts are not free.”[/color] He’d copied every line of this Book dozens of times, careful to burn the evidence each and every time until it lived without form in his own mind. 

[color=00F8FE]“If you are greedy…If you take too much from me, I can guarantee I will take everything from you.”[/color] A warning or a promise, he wondered sometimes about that line. There was much he wished magic would take from him; status, pain, dark impulses, his own life. Very little he wouldn’t offer up to magic if it meant getting what he wanted. It took every bit of will Callum had to not mistreat magic, to only offer his deepest respect and purest intentions and never anything else. The rest of his impulses ran wild, but never this one. [color=00F8FE]“There are things no one, not even a king, has a right to forbid. This more than anything.”[/color] Cal added a voice barely above a whisper as his eyes moved toward the Book. 


Ariella’s eyes widened [i]Make sure you are alone as this is a good way to get executed[/i] He had just finished talking about what his mother had done to someone who was innocent. Would he tell her about the book? Would she be next? Her arms wrapped around her body defensively as she took a few steps back away from him, her eyes fixated on him as the color in his face disappeared.[color=slateblue] ” I-I..I “[/color] She stammered[color=slateblue]  “It's just a book, A silly book” [/color]Her voice was riddled with panic and fear as she tried to find some excuse or reason why she would have it. [color=slateblue] “ Please, Prince Callum...I swear I haven’t done anything but open a few pages” [/color] she lied, but what else was she going to tell him that she had been using this place to practice her skills? That was the first time since the ball she had referred to him as [i]Prince Callum[/i] maybe she had been too comfortable with him. 

As she stepped back further away her foot caught on the hem of her dress tripping her as she fell backward onto her butt. Tears swelled in her eyes from the fear and panic that flooded her. Anyone caught practicing, reading, or even speaking of Magic was punished or killed. He wasn’t just anyone either, he was the PRINCE the one person who could do either of those things if he wished so.[color=slateblue]  “ Please” [/color] her voice cracked as a tear ran down her cheek[color=slateblue]  “ I will just get rid of the book…I-I’ll burn it or..or Bury it …”[/color] she managed to say between her tearful breaths. 

Cal was entirely focused on the Book and the objects around it, taking all of it in, a careful study because seeing another’s approach to the same thing was so unbelievably rare. In his excitement, he missed much of her panicked reaction, only catching some of the words. [color=00F8FE][I]Silly? Why would anyone call it-[/i][/color] His attention shifted, he caught the expression of pure fear. 

[color=00F8FE]“Ari, I am not some sort of witch hunter.”[/color] He spoke softly, kept himself as still as possible, and tried very hard not to reveal how much it stung that she would so quickly think the worst of him. Who wouldn’t, he was, after all a Danrose. [color=00F8FE]“Everything here stays secret, and I would say we share the same crime but magic is far too sacred to deserve to be called a crime. I would rather burn upon my own pyre than send another there. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”[/color]

Ariella sniffed softly as he stood still, clearly seeing how much of a panic she was in. She watched him keep still along with his reassuring soft tone it felt easier to believe him. She was slightly shocked to hear that he too practiced magic. Her body seemed to instantly relax. She felt horrible to think he would ever hurt her, he had given her no reason to believe he was anything like his family but Magic was such a taboo topic she wasn’t sure who she could trust with it but now it seems like she did. She could trust him. 

[color=00F8FE]“Barefoot,”[/color] he wondered out loud, [color=00F8FE]“to better connect you with the earth?”[/color] Whether intentional or not much of magic was divined from intuition and now this practice made sense. 

Ari slowly stood back up, catching herself as she steadied her wobbly footing. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes as he spoke about her connecting to the earth. She took in a sharp breath and slowly nodded[color=slateblue]  “ When I was really young my mother played dress up with me, putting me in all sorts of strange clothing and outfits. I would escape from my nanny and run off into the woods behind our home, Tossing all the clothing I had on me off. It felt like shedding a mask in a way.”[/color]

 Her arms still wrapped around her she gripped onto herself tighter.[color=slateblue]  “When my shoes came off it felt like…” [/color]she paused trying to find the words [color=slateblue] “I was being drawn into the earth yet being recharged at the same time. A flow of happiness, joy…[i]life..[/i]” [/color] she paused as she wiped her eyes again, her breathing slowly steadying but the fear was still written all over her face.[color=slateblue]  “Ever since that day I felt drawn and compelled to continue doing it, like a high that I cannot explain and no one ever seemed to understand. I just grew up being that weird little girl who was barefooted all the time covered in mud but the whole time…I was drawn to that feeling…I don't really know how to explain it”[/color] she said softly still keeping herself at a distance. 

[color=00F8FE]“I would call that strong intuition, it’s how magic guides us, and connects us to it. Almost like magic itself has a way of protecting itself, even in a world where it is forbidden, so that it can never be snuffed out entirely. Magic called to you, deemed you worthy, and that is powerful.”[/color] He offered his own thoughts on how magic worked, he may not feel the call from deep within the earth but he believed it was there too. [color=00F8FE]“I feel it most around water, and sometimes the air, when it is just right.”[/color]    

Ari went from looking distraught to excited as he spoke. Her eyes had dried off the tears and the only thing on her face was a bright smile.[color=slateblue]  “ Yes! That is exactly how it feels. That is why I spend so much of my time out here, at first it was because I just found it to be a safe place where nowhere else felt safe. Then, I found that book… It just showed up one day. I don’t even remember where I was, I just couldn’t keep my eyes off it. I knew it was something special the moment I held it. I didn’t even allow time for my thoughts to sink in, I just took the book and ran here. Since then I’ve just been reading the pages over and over again. I was going to attempt one of them but got too scared. Just afraid I'm not ready or …”[/color] She sucked in her breath and while letting the air escape slowly she shook her head [color=slateblue] “ ..or..That I may become addicted.”[/color]she looked at Cal with a look of seriousness[color=slateblue]  “ I already feel I am…It's all I think about, It's all I want to learn about, and I worry I may lose myself to it.” [/color]

Ari had returned to her position from before, leaning against the pillar of the Gazebo. [color=slateblue] “I’m sorry for my initial reaction as well…” [/color] Her voice softened[color=slateblue]  “I’ve just been so scared of everything I mentioned that the idea of someone who I know wouldn’t bring harm to me could possibly be someone who detests magic. The stories I've read about people turning on their loved ones, their families, and friends…It's just horrible…I just didn’t know who I could trust but maybe that’s why I was drawn to your table at the palace today. Perhaps my Intuition was leading me to you knowing it was safe”[/color] She shrugged her shoulders[color=slateblue]  “Whatever it is “[/color] she smiled [color=slateblue] “ I am happy to have a friend who loves Magic. Have you attempted any of the spells yet?” [/color] 

Callum waited, kept still, and listened. Only after Ari had seemed to regain her composure did he move closer to her and further away from Starcatcher. But he could feel its pull, its magic pleading to make its way back out into the world. [color=00F8FE]“I think magic must be approached with respect, it must work through you and not consume you. That’s the line, and lines like that are hard for me to see.”[/color] He spoke as he walked and eventually rested against the pillar nearest Ari.

[color=00F8FE]“I would think if you were prone to addiction it would show itself in other aspects of your life, so maybe what you feel is simply magic calling out to be expressed. It has a will, just like rivers need to flow, magic needs to be expressed, released back out into the world. Some of us hear that call, a longing for freedom, and it resonates in deep places. You are empathetic, you understand its call for freedom, so magic asks you to listen.”[/color] Callum spoke softly of magic the way some people spoke about a lover. 

[color=00F8FE]“I have tried things from that Book, and from other books as well. Rituals, spells, potions, sometimes they work, sometimes not, but never has it been something I’ve regretted. To practice at all is such a gift but you are right to be cautious. People here have been killed for lesser crimes, and the punishment for this is terrible. Because magic is powerful, and those in power only want their power to remain the only force in this world. I would love nothing more than to see magic disrupt those in power, but few share this sentiment, you are right to be careful about who you share this with, especially around nobility.”[/color] 

Ari listened, completely in awe of his views. She had never heard it put so beautifully before, things started clicking in her mind. So much of what he said lingered in her mind that all she could do was stand there silent. She was so afraid of it because of the draw yet nothing else called her like that. Perhaps her fear was important in the matter.
[color=slateblue] “ Well, you are the only one who knows. I don't really have friends, the only person I would consider that would be Ana but as lovely as she is, she is very flighty and hard to find when you may need a friend. I’ve just gotten used to the silence and loneliness that I seemed to have befriended it.”[/color] she smiled at him softly, making sure he knew that wasn’t meant to be a pitiful statement but rather a truthful one. 

[color=slateblue] “ You know…After our conversation at the Prince's court, I kept feeling like I need to talk to you more. Maybe it was for this reason, it was like leading me to someone who too can help release its power. Perhaps there is something there. “ [/color] she softly shrugged her shoulders [color=slateblue] “ I really did mean that this could be a home to you if you choose.”[/color] she laughed lightly[color=slateblue]  “ I’ll need to clean up my mess but there is lots of room for whatever you may want to stash here. “ [/color]

[color=00F8FE]“I don’t have many friends either, I’ve got Roman, he’s a good guy and I would trust him with just about anything, but sharing this with others puts them in danger just by knowing. I think it would be selfish to drag others into this mess just to ease my loneliness. My family can never know, my brothers are too loyal to our parents. And Ana, I don’t think she would intentionally get either of us hurt but she is [i]flightly[/i], and hard to predict. Edin would love nothing more than an excuse to finally be rid of me.”[/color] Callum said, it seemed there was a lot that drew him to Ari, not just magic, but a shared sense of not belonging in the world they lived in. 

[color=00F8FE]“Maybe it’s as simple as being drawn to someone who shares the same pain. I’ve never really had a place that has felt like a home, but there is something deeply special here, and to have another who understands is a good start.”[/color] Callum found it difficult to think of any place as a home; a word he knew only by its definition and by its absence in his life. A place that was quiet and peaceful where he felt safe enough to be open about all aspects of his life, made it feel like a possibility. Callum said nothing about stashing things here, there was a reason he kept his things hidden in his room despite it being a risk for him; he made an effort to keep everything he had where Riona could have easy access to it as well. But that wasn’t something he could say; other people’s secrets were not his to speak of. 

 Ari nodded with a smile[color=slateblue]  “ It is a very good start. “ [/color] She wasn’t going to pressure Callum on anything, the simple fact that he felt even the slightest amount of connection to the place she held so dearly meant the world. She was so happy she could finally share her true authentic self with someone and felt no sense of judgment but only acceptance. She just hope it lasted. 

[color=slateblue] “ Well, how about I show you around some more? I found some interesting plants and foliage around here. When dried and used as powders in various forms it can add a lot to small consumable drinks for various alignments. Kind of like…natural medicine I guess, just more magically infused. “ [/color] She smiled [color=slateblue]  “Oh! And I’d love to meet with this Roman you speak of. If you trust him as much as you say he certainly must be someone special. “[/color] Ari moved away from the pillar and back down the steps towards the Ravine where she started showing off different types of plants that grew around the water.[/color]