"I wish," he looked up at the sky, and said it out loud to be sure it would work. "I wish the baby was gone. I wish that I hadn't done this to the princess."
Hans looked down at his fists and waited for some sign that his wish would come true, but he neither saw nor heard anything, and the only feeling that he could decipher was the doubt that he could wish the problems he'd given to her away.
Hans resumed his pacing. How could he have done this? He looked out beyond the hedges and stopped pacing again, standing still like a stag when he senses danger. The book was close by. If he hurried, he knew could get there tonight. He looked at the hedges as though he could see straight through to the forest outside and made his decision.
A door appeared in the midst of the hedges, and Hans' face twitched a little at the sight. This terrible power is going to ruin peoples' lives if I cannot get it under control. He had made sure to camouflage the door in the hedges so that it would not be noticed by anyone else, hoping that this decision would not come back to haunt him, but He wanted to slip in and out of the castle grounds without being noticed, and the quickest way for him to do that was through the hedge wall.
Hans made a careful study of the empty gardens, looking for anyone who might be lurking in the shadows. He noticed no one, and, with another quick glance over his shoulder, shuffled through the door.
He hobbled as quickly as his uneven legs would carry him, his impediment making his gait resemble more of a pathetic skip than a jog, but Hans hardly noticed his deformity's peculiarities anymore, living in their reality without much outward scrutiny had softened the usually sharp contrast his problems had with regular people.
Hans covered ground quickly, his breath wheezing in and out as he tried to run until he stumbled into his sanctuary. Hans stood panting and gasping, trying to draw air into his oxygen-starved lungs when a voice caused his him to rear up in horror.
"So," the smooth, cultured voice intoned, "You are the one who has awakened his inner magic."
Hans stood, frozen, his breath stopped up in his chest as the man materialized from the shadows. Lord Heinrich smiled slightly at Hans' utter astonishment and made a slight, mocking bow. He gestured at the book, laying untouched on the mossy log and said, "I set a barrier to alert me of your presence some time ago and wondered that no one had come for the book. What took you so long to retrieve it?"
Hans gaped at the titled lord and could not answer as his body rebelled against him. Hans shook his head, trying to catch his breath so that he might reply or ask what this Earl knew of magic.
Lord Heinrich gestured again at the log, "Please, sit and rest. There is much we must discuss."
Hans complied without thought and asked the question that burned in his mind, "What do you know of my magic?"
Lord Heinrich waved his hand, and the book jumped up at his silent call, landing in his outstretched hand. "I know a great deal, Hans. The real questions is, are you willing to learn what you must?"
Hans looked up at the man and gave him a barely perceptible nod.
"Good," Lord Heinrich said smiling. He opened the book as he spoke, and as the Earl told the story of the origin of magic, translucent, moving pictures hovered above the book like smoke above a fire. When he finished the brief history which was as shrouded in mystery and hypothesis as Hans' own new "gift," Lord Heinrich asked, "How far have you gone in your training?"
"Hans ducked his head and whispered, "My lord, I have not been trained. Master Friedrich… well, he didn't seem in much of a mind to teach me much of anything." Hans met the Earl's eyes, knowing he must confess his sin, "I stole that book from the master and was seeking an opportunity to learn how I might control my powers before returning it. I had every intention of returning it." Despite his best attempts not to, Hans couldn't keep the defensive tone from leaking into his voice.
"You need not trouble yourself," Lord Heinrich waved a dismissive hand, "Friedrich stole the book from my father years ago which is the reason his was discharged as the court magician. You see, my father cursed the book so that the thief, whomever it might turn out to be, would be unable to perform magic. When Friedrich's magical ability ceased suddenly, the King discharged him, and the rest is as you might imagine."
Hans stared up at the Earl, trying to discern the truth. How could he be sure that the man was telling the truth? What he said made sense, particularly the part about Master Friedrich losing his position, and had Hans ever seen the master perform any magic at all? Hans was disposed to believe him, and having made up his mind, he nodded as though in answer to a question, "So you mean to teach me, Lord Heinrich?"
The Earl nodded slowly, "Do you imagine that I am put off by your deformity? Such things are inconsequential. I am ready to begin your training as soon as is possible." Lord Heinrich snapped the book closed, and as it closed, the book dematerialized from sight. Before his own encounter with magic, Hans might have been impressed, but he was fairly certain he could affect a disappearance that at least looked as good as the Earl's demonstration if not exactly the same, even with his basic understanding of magic.
"You will meet me here after your duties are completed each day until I deem it necessary to meet less often. Can you agree to that?"
Hans hesitated briefly, and the sound of Cordelia's tight voice filled his head. He had to make things right, and what better way to fight magic than with magic? He nodded decisively, "I agree."
"Good," he said absently, turning his back as though to walk away. Without even the hint of a movement, the forest began to whirl and melt together blurring together like different colors being mixed on a palette. "Until tomorrow," came the Earl's voice from the whirlpool of colors that was twisting tighter and tighter until it felt like the scenery would crash onto Hans when there was a sudden pause. Hans caught his breath at the stillness, but almost as suddenly as the pause occurred, the whirlpool reversed as the colors and images swirling around him began to run in the opposite direction as if going out from him. Suddenly the world snapped back into focus, and Hans found himself clutching the stone bench in the middle of the gardens. He took several deep breaths, trying to steady his nerves. The spell Lord Heinrich had worked had been so different from the one Hans had used before the master had nearly beat him to death that Hans hadn't even know what was going before it had enveloped him. Hans looked up at the covered windows, hoping no one had seen his rather unusual entrance into the gardens, and seeing no one, Hans pulled himself painfully to his feet and hobbled into the castle.