"YOU are Alnwick? Like the same name as the town?" Morgiannas eyes widened.
He gave a forced chuckle. "Yes, after all it was named after me." He bowed, his emaciated body still moving gracefully.
"If you were here when the town was formed then does that mean you are a magical beast?" She stretched her neck to get a better view of him. She hadn't seen it before she was looking for it, but he did seem like more than his humanoid shape.
"I have been unable to shift in almost a decade, but I am a Phoenix. I am tied to the man who calls himself the mayor, as I have always been. When he started messing with black magic it destroyed his ability to use natural magic. His mana is gone and therefore my supply is also gone. I am ashamed that I was unable to protect the town." He hung his head afraid to meet her eyes and see disappointment. She had been the first to offer him comfort or sympathy in years.
"What if I could help you break your tie with the mayor? Would you help me then? I could supply you with mana, or even allow you to be free." Her words caused his head to snap up in her direction.
"You are but a child, how could you have enough mana to supply to me?" He did not mean offense but was genuinely interested in her answer.
She giggled a real laugh the bell-like sound bouncing off the rocks and making music to his ears. "I am currently in a pact with a dragon... and if I'm being honest I have surprising magical abilities. I promise you I would be able to afford the mana." She never broke eye contact, showing the truth in her statement.
"How would you break the tie to the mayor then?" She saw his hands twitch as if he wanted to reach out and cut the ropes.
She twisted her hand so that the palm was facing him. The rope cut into her and she could feel that the skin had broken and spilt her blood. "Place your palm on mine." Most of her magic had been blocked by the ropes that bound her, but she should be able to muster enough to show him how serious she was. "When I met the dragon I told you about. He was cursed and chained inside a cave. I posses light magic and was able to break the bonds that had held him for centuries." As she finished speaking she let what energy she had accumulated flow through her hand.
It felt warm and happy. Like a summer day with clear skies and the perfect breeze. "It will be okay, I promise. He got the jump on me earlier but I will be able to stop him. With your help and my friends."
He was nodding his head as she spoke. He knew she was strong just by that show of magic. Though not a lot she was still able to form something. Nobody had ever been able to do any magic before once the ropes were on them. He had once tried to release someone, but in the end they were not strong enough to stand the ropes being broken and the backlash ripped their soul apart. Then the mayor beat him for ruining the ceremony.
"I can feel that you are strong. These ropes do more than just bind the person wearing them, they tether to their very soul. If the person is not strong enough when they are removed they will have a fate worse than death. That is why I did not try to help you sooner." He once again looked down in shame, he had seen many people laying where she is now and could not help them.
Morgianna felt her heart break for him. To love something and be unable to help it until it was too late. "We do not have a lot of time before he returns, and if he gets ahold of my friend I fear we will too late."
He nodded producing a knife that was solid black with flecks that looked like stars dancing below the surface. "Are you ready? The pain will seem unbearable, but I have faith if someone will survive it will be you." He did not wait for her response and brought the blade down on the rope.
He didn't try to cut it, only laid the tip against it. She closed her eyes braced herself for the inevitable but felt nothing. Opening her eyes she was about to ask what went wrong when it felt like her whole body caught on fire. It started at her toes and quickly spread upwards to her head in a matter of seconds. She tried to grit her teeth to quell the screams she wanted to unleash.
For fear of her biting her tongue off Alnwick moved quickly and ripped his belt off. He pulled her mouth open and slid the leather between her teeth in a matter of seconds. He had never worn one until the recent years when he began wasting away but he was glad for that fact now.
He reached out and brushed his hand over her long black hair. He told her she would make it, and he hoped that was true.
It felt like hours of her boiling from the inside out when suddenly it felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured on her. She gasped a shaky breath her body sore as if it had been bent in ways that nobody should bend. She reached out without opening her eyes her hands shaking. She felt a warm hand in hers and squeezed in relief. She survived and she could already feel her magic building back up.
Morgianna opened her eyes and peered around her. Flexing her fingers she sat up and started thinking of a plan. If the Mayor returned too quickly she would not have the capacity to fight him. However with the rope off she should be able to contact Fafnir through the bond and buy some time.
'Fafnir? Listen if you can hear me, don't say anything out loud, act normal.'
'Where the hell are you?!? This crazy mayor is telling me you are in the forest?' Fafnirs voice would sound calm to anybody else, but after knowing him for a couple of years she could detect the panic.
'The Mayor is kind of the bad guy here. So keep up with what I am going to say. He is why I was kidnapped, and no I do not want you to rush here. I have a plan but I need you to keep him distracted until I tell you I am ready, can you do that?' She spoke slowly so that he wouldn't hear how tired and sore she still was.
She heard him scoff in her mind. 'Like it would be difficult to distract this blueberry. Just give me a heads up and I'll find your location.'
She cut the conversation and felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Deep in thought over her next course of action and idea struck her.
Turning to Alnwick excitement clearly visible she began to talk quickly. "You have lived around here for a long time, so you would know all the other magical beasts right? Do you think you could gather them?"
Alnwick was confused about why she would want them to be gathered. "I could.. but I don't see what good it would do you. They are lower levels and cannot be understood by humans."
She smiled a toothy smile her eyes almost closing. "That won't be a problem for me, let me show you just how cool I am. You get them here and I will work my magic!" She winked which looked strange since she was obviously a child to him.
"I will need a boost in mana to achieve that, now would be a good time to break my ball and chain to Fernheim." He tried to not get his hopes up, after all just because she survived the release of the tether doesn't mean she can do everything.
"Shit." His head snapped in her direction when she uttered that word. "Oops, sorry. I forgot, come on over and I'll get right to that, but you need to decide if you want to be in a pact with me or be free. That will tell me what process I need to work through. The severing of all bindings or the forming of new."
He hadn't been free since he was a babe. He had been tied to the town since he was young and tricked by the first settlers on this land. It wasn't all bad, but these last few years made him wary of being tied to someone else.
"Before I make up my mind, why should I form a bond or pact with you? What assurances could you give me that you will not use me for the wrong reasons?" He squared his shoulders ready for all the fake assurances and reasons she would probably spout. After all a child would not know the darkness that dwells in man.
She laughed so hard she was gasping for breath. She reigned it in before wiping away an escaped tear and looking at Alnwick who stared shocked by her reaction.
"In this world there is no guarantee. For all you know I will die tomorrow and none of this conversation will matter. If you want promises of a perfect future in which everything will be fine... do not look to me. The only thing I can promise you is that I would be able to supply you with mana and that I would try to keep you safe. The keyword is try because while I am powerful, this body is not quite up to par with where I need it to be. Reasons for joining me would be friendship and a chance to make the world a better place by getting rid of men like the mayor. One at a time." She looked into his eyes and put her hand out as if in offering.
He looked at her hand and back to her eyes. Emotions were swirling inside of him. She was unlike any child he had ever met. She looked to be under 10 years old but spoke as if she had lived far beyond her years and that made him nervous.
He let out a sigh and placed his larger hand in hers. With strength he would not have imagined her having she yanked him towards her. "This might hurt, I wont be sure until I'm in the process of untangling the bond inside. Just know that you are not at risk of dying as long as you hold on. Listen to my heartbeat if it helps." She guided him to sit down on the slab of stone she had been lying on earlier.
She pushed his shoulders until he was flat and still holding his hand moved to stand near his head.
Closing her eyes she pushed a small amount of light magic down her arm and into their conjoined hands. She sent out feelers to see where she needed to send her light as once she started it would be more painful to search then.
He watched her face as he felt her magic probing throughout him. It felt warmer than it had earlier but was not unbearable. He would have thought with all the bindings off of her, her magic would be much stronger and tried not to let his disappointment show.
Unbeknownst to him, she could feel his disappointment as she searched within him and smirked. He had no idea what he was in store for.