Mia's Magic, Chapter 1 Mia's Magic: Chapter 1

Written by diamondgirl
PROLOGUE

The stars were the only witnesses to the wizard pact made that night. Morgan and Jared would not be able to stay together much longer, and so they made a wizard pact that, if in their next lives they could find each other, they would seek the other out. The stars were the only witnesses to this vow, and stars cannot speak of what they've seen.

CHAPTER 1
Laying in bed, Mia felt the memories come back to her once again. The images and words from another lifetime a thousand years ago, the memories of Morgan the sorceress. It had been years since the first memory returned. Mia had only been thirteen when she began remembering in her dreams, and she never told anyone, not even Grandfather. Not even Ryo, whom she cared for more than anyone else. Knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep for a long while, Mia pulled on her bathrobe and quietly went downstairs to fix herself a cup of tea. As the water heated, Mia found her mind drifting to the most recent memory, in which she made a pact with the sorcerer Jared to find him in her next lifetime. "Are you sending me the memories, Jared?" Mia asked the air. "After all these centuries, are you coming for me?"
* * * * * * *
When Ryo came downstairs the next morning, he found Mia asleep on the couch. It had been five years since the Dynasty had tried to take over Earth, and the guys, after moving around the country some, lived with Mia again. Now Ryo had a job at the zoo, and Mia was working as a college professor. For the past month, though, Ryo had frequently found Mia asleep on the couch. He'd asked her about it, but Mia always told him that she was probably sleepwalking. Knowing it was better to let her sleep, Ryo quietly walked into the kitchen, where Cye was already fixing breakfast. "You're up early," Ryo said as he pulled the orange juice from the fridge. "So are you," Cye replied as he mixed the pancake batter. "Well, I was up earlier than either of you, so there," Mia said, walking into the kitchen. "You actually admit to being awake when you came downstairs, Mia?" Ryo asked, looking at her with a concerned look on his face. "Yeah, I had a dream early this morning and came downstairs, okay? I can't help it." Mia dropped two slices of bread into the toaster, then poured herself a bowl of Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch. _Mia seems pretty detached this morning,_ Ryo thought as he watched her butter the toast distractedly. _Her mind is somewhere else entirely. I hope everything's okay._
* * * * * * *
Jared watched the scene in his scrying bowl quietly, not wishing to let Morgan know that she was being watched. It had taken eleven years to track her down, eleven years that Jared had spent pinpointing the location of his beloved. Only a month ago he had finally found her, now living in Japan as Mia Koji, a college professor of mythology. The image suddenly vanished, and Jared knew she was blocking him. _Soon, Morgan, I will come to you,_ Jared thought, smiling._ Then we will be united for eternity, my love._
* * * * * * *
"I'm heading out, guys!" Mia announced as she opened the front door. She still couldn't get over the violated feeling she had, the feeling that Jared had been watching her shower a half-hour ago. "Where ya goin'?" Rowen asked, the nearest to her. "I'll be out in the woods. If you need me for anything, just yell. Otherwise, don't expect me home until dark." "Dark? Aren't you going to take any lunch with you?" "I'll manage, Rowen," Mia said, and was out of there before the young man could say another word. Sighing, Rowen climbed onto the roof with the book he was reading. Ryo certainly hadn't been the only one to notice Mia's recent unusual behavior. All of the guys were starting to worry about her, and with good reason. Mia almost always seemed distracted, and was spending a lot of time by herself. She didn't talk to any of them as much as she used to, and she wouldn't tell anyone what was wrong. "What's going on with you, Mia?" Rowen wondered, looking to the woods.
* * * * * * *
_I have to get as far from the house as possible,_ Mia thought as she walked through the forest. _If Jared comes for me today, I don't want to put the guys in danger. I've been training for three months, I should be strong enough to face him in a one-on-one battle, but I won't risk the lives of my friends._ At last Mia reached the area where she trained. Sharp stones littered the ground, and except for those, a few jagged stumps, and some rotting logs, the area was clear. Shedding her jacket, Mia started her warm-ups as the spring sun began to warm the earth. Then she practiced her kicks and punches on the tallest tree stump in the clearing. A bolt of lightning had struck during a thunderstorm one night years ago, causing the tree to snap like a twig ten feet above the ground and making it perfect for Mia's punching bag. After about an hour of this, Mia switched to magical training. She tried every spell she remembered, starting with the basics and working her way up to the most powerful spell she could manage. Mia avoided curses, though. If it came up that the only way to defeat Jared was to curse him, Mia would deal with the situation then. Now, she just needed to be able to take care of herself and, if need be, her friends. Mia lost track of the time as she trained, and before she knew it the stars had come out. _Whoa, I'd better get back,_ she thought, and, scooping up her jacket, began to walk back towards the house. Mia had been walking for about ten minutes when she realized someone was nearby. She couldn't tell who it was, though, because the person was standing perfectly still as well. "Who are you?" Mia demanded, her voice full of the confidence that comes from knowing how powerful you are. "Mia, is that you?" the other person called, and Mia recognized who it was. "Yuli, what are you doing out here?" Mia asked, making her way over to the sixteen-year-old boy. "When you didn't come back at twilight, we all came to look for you," Yuli explained. White Blaze was next to him, ready to protect the boy from anything. "I just lost track of time," Mia said, and turned back to the house. "Come on, let's head back. White Blaze, you round up the others, okay?" The tiger seemed to understand her, and left to track down the former Ronin Warriors. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Mia?" Yuli wondered. "After all, it's pretty easy to get lost out here, especially for us." "Don't worry, Yuli. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, and you're no problem whatsoever. Now let's get moving, kiddo!" Mia began to walk again, and Yuli found he had to run to catch up with her. _Well, that's just weird. Suddenly I'm having trouble keeping up with Mia, and I've always been faster than her,_ Yuli thought. _Maybe I should add that to the list of changes in Mia._ "Oh, what a beautiful scene," a new, masculine voice said. "A boy and woman, brother and sister in all but blood, walking through the moonlit woods. Really, I'm touched." Mia stopped walking, and Yuli almost ran into her stiffened body. "And now I suppose you want me to show myself, Morgan," the voice continued. "Very well, I will comply, my love." Suddenly a man appeared out of nowhere, right in front of Mia. "Go back to the house," Mia said, extending an arm in front of the boy. He began to obey, but was stopped by a powerful force. "I'm afraid not, Morgan," the man said, and Yuli was dropped to the ground. "You're going to come with me. If you refuse in any way, this boy will pay the price." "Don't touch him, Jared! The boy has done nothing to you!" Mia growled. "All I ask, Morgan, is that you come with me. The boy doesn't even need to be harmed at all!" the man Mia had called Jared said, gesturing to Yuli. "I will never come with you, Jared. I'm not Morgan anymore, I'm Mia!" "I doubt Mia could do magic, my love!" Jared shot back, and suddenly a pain shot through Yuli's stomach. "No, Yuli!" Mia cried, trying to run to his side. Jared aimed a hand at her, and she flew into a tree trunk. "Mia, don't worry about me!" Yuli gasped. "Just get out of here, go get the guys!" "No, Yuli, they aren't strong enough to defeat Jared," Mia replied, much to Yuli's shock. Then she pointed at the boy and spoke something he recognized from his French class. "Á maison," Mia muttered, and suddenly Yuli found himself on the kitchen floor, surrounded by the Ronin Warriors and White Blaze. "What's going on? How did we get here?" Kento demanded, confused. "It's Mia," Yuli gasped, still clutching his stomach in pain. "A guy appeared in the woods, and he wanted Mia to go with him. Mia called him Jared, and he kept calling her Morgan." "So how did we get here?" Sage asked. "Well, Mia pointed at me and said á maison, and then I was here with you guys." "What does 'á maison' mean, though?" "It's French. It means 'to home.' I think Mia was the one who sent us all here. That's why Jared was calling her Morgan, Mia must be a witch or something!" "Witch or not, we have to help her!" Ryo said, and was out the door before anyone could stop him. Sage stayed behind as the others went after him, afraid for their friend. "Come on, Yuli, let's get you to your room," the blond man said, scooping the weakened boy up in his arms. "You don't look so good. What did Jared do to you?" "I'm not sure. All I know is that I didn't have much control of my body. I tried to get back here to the house like Mia told me, but I couldn't. When Mia told Jared that she wasn't Morgan anymore and wouldn't go with him, it felt like he'd kicked me real hard in the gut." "Weird. Well, I think I'll go help the guys find Mia again. You gonna be okay?" "I'll be fine, Sage. But Mia said you guys aren't strong enough to fight Jared. Mia said only she could fight him, and I have the feeling she might be telling the truth."
* * * * * * *
Mia flipped backwards, just avoiding a powerful bolt of magic. All her training was starting to prove valuable as she maneuvered away from Jared and his dark magic. She had to lead him away from the house, so that the guys would all be safe. Jared was winded, so Mia took this opportunity to strike. "Dormir ," Mia hissed. The spell immediately took effect, and as Jared started to get drowsy he transported back to wherever he'd come from. Mia immediately latched onto his magical signature, and began to trace him back to his home when four men and a tiger burst through the surrounding foliage. "Mia, are you okay?" Ryo asked when he saw her standing alone. "Guys, be quiet," Mia replied, losing Jared's signal. "Mia--" Ryo began, but was promptly cut off. "Fermes tu bouche !" Mia commanded. Immediately, everyone shut their mouths and Mia again focused on Jared. Unfortunately, she had lost him. "Damn it!" she hissed, spinning to face her friends. "You fools! You were all supposed to stay in the house! I could have found out where Jared is hiding if you hadn't come crashing through the woods looking for me! Je romps le charme silence !" "What are you talking about, Mia?" Rowen demanded the instant he could speak again. "And what's with the French?" "There will be plenty of time for that later! Come on, we have to get back to the house. Jared's asleep right now, but it's only temporary. Right now it's important that we get home so I can cast the necessary protection spells over the house." Mia began to walk back to the house, and the Ronins and White Blaze followed in silence. Mia was obviously in a mood right now, and it was even worse than the usual moods {Y'all know what I mean ^_~}. On the way back, they ran into Sage, who had come to help them. A hurried telepathic explanation from Ryo caused him to remain silent, and soon they were all back inside. Entering the living room, Mia collapsed on the couch, finally feeling the effects of the battle with Jared. Her body ached everywhere, and Mia knew she hadn't felt this tired in a thousand years. Everyone but Cye sat down as well, scattered around the living room. Cye went into the kitchen, where he got to work on a fresh pot of tea. "Ryo, will you go tell Cye what to put in the tea?" Mia asked, her voice as tired as the rest of her. "Sure, what do you want me to tell him?" "Tell him to reach into the cabinet next to the refrigerator and pull out the dark Assam pekoe tea leaves, belladonna, and powdered reserpine root. Make sure he only puts three and a half belladonna leaves in, and a level teaspoon of reserpine. And also tell him not to forget the milk and sugar!" Ryo quickly committed the list to memory, and went in to tell Cye what to do. "Come in here to get away from the banshee?" Cye asked when he saw Ryo. "Actually, I cam in here to tell you Mia's specific ingredients for the tea," Ryo replied. "She said there's some Assam pekoe tea in the cabinet by the fridge, and to use that. You're also supposed to use three and a half belladonna leaves, a level teaspoon of powdered reserpine root, milk, and sugar." As Ryo recited the list, Cye went to the specified cabinet and began to pull out various labeled jars. "Belladonna leaves, check. Powdered reserpine root, check. Erythrina seeds? Why does she need these? And wormseed oil, and . . . ground dragon scales? Where on Earth did Mia get this stuff?" "I have no idea," Ryo replied. "Maybe you can ask her later. Right now, though, I don't think Mia's in the mood for any annoyances, so we should probably be really nice to her." The two men sat in silence until the tea was ready, then took the teapot and a cup in to Mia. "It's about time," Mia grumbled when Cye handed her the teacup. "Any first-level magic-user could have fixed this stuff faster. However, you are forgiven, Cye, since you're not used to the common healing recipes." Mia filled her cup with the steaming brown liquid, then sat back as she took a sip. The tea immediately began to take effect, soothing Mia's pains more effectively than a hot bath. "Ooh, that's the stuff. I'll be sleeping easy tonight." Mia quietly finished the pot of tea, reading the leaves after every cup. In the last cup of tea, the leaves predicted that relationships would soon be tried. Mia pondered over it for a few moments, but by then her brain was too tired, so she ignored the guys' questions and went straight to bed.
* * * * * * *
When Mia woke up the next morning, she realized she hadn't dreamed the night before. That was most likely a good sign, though not necessarily. The woman pulled her bathrobe on and went downstairs, knowing that soon she would be revealing her past to the five young men she'd known for years.

Hey everybody!  Thanks for reading, but I need more reviews! Also, from now on all French will be written like "~this~" and all heavy-duty spells will be written like "-this-".


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