If I'm being honest with myself I think what made me a history buff and also bisexual was them
One of those shows nobody has ever heard of that shaped me into the person I am today, I weep every day that I will never be able to see the Hanging Gardens of Babylon simply because I have the episode where they go back in time to see them and end up having to flood the things themselves seared into my brain for all eternity, every single time I have ever mentioned the wonders of the ancient world I have the scene of Semiramis pulling a lever and flooding the gardens playing on a loop behind my eyes every single time. I think about the weird future relative genderbend thing they randomly threw at us one episode like a sexually confusing ball of accidentally queercoded baby dykes when I try to sleep at night. The fact that this show doesn't have twenty seasons worth of content is my villain origin story. I would watch these six fuck up history every second of every day if they'd only made this show in perpetuity. These six ran a goddamn marathon, so PragerU's Leo and Laya could limp like mobsters blew out their kneecaps
"Thanks, grandad!" Freddi smiles happily and Sam's mind blanks.
"Wait, what?" Sam asks as it reboots. He feels foreign in his own body, somehow. Like when they first learned the girls were their granddaughters.
Their granddaughters. Sam runs his hands through his hair, scratching along his scalp.
Freddi's eyes widen. Thinking about it, looking at them now, her eyes are definitely his. The brown is deeper, darker than Fred's lighter brown. It's his brown. "Oh! Uh. Sam."
"No." Sam points at her, semi-desperately. "You called me grandad. Why did you call me grandad?"
"You heard wrong?" Freddi says, which might be more convincing if it didn't come out as a question. Sam's mind races. If it's Fred and his kids or grandkids who got married, Freddi probably wouldn't be trying to hide it. But the alternative- That means-
But Fred and him couldn't!
"Tell me Samantha and you are sisters."
"Well…" Freddi looks away.
"Cousins? Our kids got married?" Sam tries.
"Uh…" Freddi kicks her toe at the ground. Sam slowly topples to his knees. He always did think Freddi acted more like him, and Samantha acted more like Fred.
"Huh. Okay. This is fine. Perfectly fine! I'm just destined to marry one of my best friends and have kids with him, that's all," Sam whispers to himself, voice a little thin.
"Do you… not like Fred?" Fredi asks hesitantly.
"No, Fred's fine," Sam says, brain still on future. Somehow, this is harder to wrap around than the initial grandkid realization. Maybe this is why they never told them. "Fred's great. I'm just dealing with the knowledge that the best friend I like might actually have a crush on me one day and if I mess anything up I could lose the both of you, but other than that Fred's awesome!"
The Palace of Versailles was beyond magnificent. It was a nearly ninety million (yes, million) square feet estate covered in gardens, winding walkways, and topiary, with the main attraction the palace itself, a towering presence of marble white and cream that glowed in the night brighter than the hundreds of candles lighting up the night.
The soft winter breeze carried the fragrance of flowers through the night air. The din of excitable chatter nearly drowned out the airy sounds of several flutes, harpsichords, and violas.
It would have left Anthony breathless… if he had been there on holiday.
He imagined Isadora would’ve adored the palace, trying to capture every pond, fountain, garden, and tree to recreate later in her artwork. She’d ask a dozen questions and inexplicably have a dozen more answers. She’d love it so much she’d beg to stay for just a few more minutes and, of course, Anthony would give in.
He sighed and placed his mask on his face. He couldn’t afford to get distracted with thoughts of his daughter, not when he was purposely heading into a trap. He had to be alert. Focused.
Anthony was glad he warped close to the entrance, and even happier he was hidden behind a large yew tree. The estate was positively crowded with hundreds of gilded carriages and thousands of guests dressed to the teeth made their way inside. Women dressed in big baroque dresses decked with ribbons and bows. Meanwhile the men looked almost as extravagant, wearing every color under the sun. Many of them wore masks similar to Anthony’s, allowing them to enter without invitation.
With a snap of his fingers, his outfit changed to match that of the aristocratic party guests. Green mist shimmered around his form and when it vanished he wore a green frock made of silk and velvet with gold embellishments. White breeches, black boots, and a jabot-- fluffy white neckwear-- completed the look, and with his green and gold domino mask, he blended in with the crowd.
Anthony recognized when and where he was: The Yew Ball. The celebration of the marriage between the Dauphin of France, Louis Ferdinand de France, the son of King Louis the XV, and the Infanta of Spain, Maria Teresa Rafaela. Many of the guests were looking for the king for even a simple glimpse of His Majesty, but Anthony had a different target he was hunting down.
Mad Jack had to be here. Even if this were a trap (and it absolutely was) and he did not need to be there, he’d still be here. The man couldn’t help himself. He had this deep psychological urge to gloat even at the cost of his goals. It was infuriating but could work to Anthony’s advantage.
The Warp Wizard made his way through crowded courtyards, making polite and short conversations to not stand out. His eyes scanned every masked face and accessed everybody for a familiar lanky build, but there was no sign of Jack.
Past fountains and Roman-styled statues, he came across the ballroom, a wide open space situated outside surrounded by fountains and beautifully shaped hedges. Couples waltzed along to the lovely music while others socialized on the sidelines. Anthony scanned the dance floor when he saw “her.”
Across the dance floor was a woman with an oversized white powdered wig and an unbelievably big and bright green dress. She stood out like a broken arm.
Anthony ignored his years of training to blend in and go unnoticed. He stormed across the ballroom to reach her, blind to the strange looks from the other guests. As if sensing Anthony’s presence, the bearer of the bad wig turned around, a wicked grin under his mustache and a mean gleam behind a monocle.
“I’ll be damned.” Mad Jack snapped his fan shut with a dramatic flourish. “Look who the cat dragged in. It’s Anthony the Steadfast.”
“You look ridiculous.”
Jack laughed, like anything in this situation was funny. “Is that any way to talk to a lady?”
“Don’t play games. Why did you bring me here?”
He had the nerve to tut-tut-tut at him, waggling his finger like a disappointed guidance counselor. “So impatient. Why don’t you ask me to dance first?”
Anthony could arrest him now. Send him to Em and be done. But he needed answers and playing along with this silly game might be the only way he might ever understand what this nutter was up to.
He held out his hand and grimaced when Jack placed his gloved hand in his. The two of them glided to the dance floor, falling into the practiced waltz they’ve done a dozen times back in their academy days.
“You’re looking well,” Jack said.
Anthony snorted. “Like you ever cared for my well-being.”
“You got me there. Never could stand your meatheadedness.”
He’s been called much worse. As Anthony rolled his eyes, he caught a glimpse of something resting against Jack’s collarbone. It was a necklace of pure gold, two bands coiled around each other like serpents.
The madman noticed what Anthony was looking at and smiled. “Lovely, is it not? A perfect copy of the Necklace of Harmonia. I took it off the hands of a witch who was squandering its power.”
Jack was a thief. That was nothing new, he always had sticky fingers even when they were young. At first, it was endearing, but then he started taking historical artifacts. Important items that always got him in trouble, and for what?
“What do you want, Jack?”
“What do I want? As if anyone has ever given a flying fury about what I wanted. If they had then we wouldn't be here now, would we?”
Anthony could never comprehend the sheer entitlement of this manbaby. Ever since they met, it was all about what the universe owed to him, what he deserved. Like a disease, it’s only gotten worse with age.
“I suppose,” he mused, “that’s not entirely true. Dulari cared, once. That is before you and my simpleton of a brother corrupted her with your utter incompetence and softness.”
“You do not get to talk about her that way! Not after the way you treated her.”
“She didn’t do anything she didn’t want to do.”
Anthony stopped dead midstep. His jaw was tight. He clenched Jack’s hands in a death grip with his, and he briefly imagined them around his neck.
Jack’s smirk widened. “Uh-uh-uh. Remember the Academy’s golden rule: Don’t cause a scene~”
Anthony dropped Jack’s hands and sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t want to fight you. That gets us nowhere. Just tell me what you want with Isadora.”
“What makes you think I want—”
“For once in your life tell me the truth! I know what you’re up to, so why don’t you just admit it.”
A bluff. He still had no clue what the maniac was up to, but he hoped this would catch him off guard.
Apparently, it worked. Jack’s playful features morphed into shock before he quickly reclaimed his demeanor. “What does it matter? With those little earrings, I can’t get near her, anyway. Sounds like you’ve already solved the problem.”
Anthony’s heart skipped. Time slowed around them. “You’ve been around her?”
“I’ve had some run-ins, nothing you need to worry your empty little head about. But I must say, you ought to be ashamed. You stifled Isadora’s potential, fed her with half-truths and lies. She’s weak, nowhere near as powerful as Dulari, but for my purposes, she’s the best bet. If she doesn’t survive the process, then it’s no fault of mine, now is it?”
A chill swept through the ball. The horror of what he said hit Anthony like a crashing wave. Rage took hold of Anthony. In a blink, his fist, glowing green with magic, slammed into Jack’s face. The man flew past the dance floor, past hedges and shrieking guests, crashing through a gilded window.
Anthony summoned his wand. With a wave, he vanished and reappeared near where his fist carried Jack off to: The Hall of Mirrors.
He yelled for the few remaining guests to flee, and thankfully they listened. Hundreds of people poured out of the hall past statues and mirrors until the two of them were left alone.
He pointed his wand at Jack and raised him above the rubble and glass. The wig disappeared in the flight. His dress was in tatters revealing his suit underneath because of course, he was wearing his suit under the dress.
Manic laughter erupted from Jack’s upturned lips, speckled with red.
The blood in Antony’s veins boiled. “She is not your damned battery!”
Jack shot his hand forward. Anthony dodged out of the way of the cane sword that whizzed by, the tip barely slicing through the sleeve of his suit and grazing his arm. He winced in pain, dropping Jack in the process. Jack landed with a crouch and shot a bolt of magic at the chandelier overhead. Crystal shards as sharp as daggers plummeted down over Anthony. He would have been skewered if he hadn’t jumped out of the way, skidding ungracefully in shoes not meant for combat.
The chandelier exploded in a plume of shredded crystals. Quartz shrapnel splintered in every direction. Anthony whipped his wand like a lasso and caught the crystals overhead, hurling them back at Jack. He dodged; hardwood and dirt erupted where he once stood. He vanished in the cloud of debris.
Fire from the candles spread throughout the room, coating the room in red and orange light. Air burned in Anthony’s lungs. The flames reached high above them, licking at the marble walls and painted ceiling.
Anthony wiped at the beads of sweat forming on his brow. Cautiously, he approached where Jack lay, a pair of magic-proof handcuffs appearing in his hands in a flash of green.
“I’m finally taking you in, Mad Jack. Under Em’s authority, you are—“
Sharp pain flared from his shoulder blade. The fez-wearing man from the diner stood behind him, pulling the blade from his back, a wicked grin under lifeless eyes.
Another stab at Anthony’s side brought him to his knees. His vision doubled and blurred. He struggled to keep balance on his knees. Poison, he thought groggily. The blade was poisoned. The warmth of blood bloomed from his wounds soaking his clothes and staining the floor.
From the dust clouds, Jack emerged. Hate radiated throughout his body. He stalked towards his fallen ex-friend brandishing his sword.
“Finally, I can be rid of at least one thorn in my side.” He raised his sword, primed to rend Anthony’s head from his body weakened. “But fear not, old friend. Isadora will be in capable hands, at last.”
He swung. But the blade never touched his neck.
A flash of green as bright as the sun slammed Jack like a freight train. A blur of purple rushed past, but Anthony didn’t have the strength to follow it. His magic fizzled in and out as he tried miserably to heal his wounds. Behind him, Jack and a familiar voice shouted back and forth. Swords clashed and magic blazed. A flash of golden light seized the room, then… nothing. Silence. He couldn’t distinguish the roar of the fire and his blood rushing through his ears.
A moment passed before the sounds of footsteps quickly approached from behind. Anthony tensed.
“Anthony! Oh, dear. You’re hurt! Can you move?”
“… Joe?”
Joe the Magnificent stood before him. His purple suit was torn and his mustache was smoldering. Joe tried to help him stand, stopping when Anthony grunted in pain and nearly collapsed.
Joe frowned and fished out his pocket watch from his breast pocket. “Please hold on, my friend!”
Somewhere between bleeding out and warping, Anthony passed out, his thoughts on his daughter, her sweet face clear in his mind as everything else faded away.
Hey, so my personal YouTube channel got disabled recently and that sucked. I never mentioned it before because I didn’t know how, but my channel was Animefan764, where all the Time Warp Trio episodes where uploaded. All the episodes are gone, including nearly 15 years of videos and playlist. I lost a lot of channels I was subbed to. I’ll probably post the episodes again on a different account. I thought I didn’t have to worry since I had them up on my channel for four years. I made a video for my grandmother’s funeral twelve years ago that was on my account but thankfully my mom had it saved elsewhere. I’ll try to get my account back but I have no hope of getting it back, honestly. I’ll add a pic of part of the email for proof. So yeah, that was my Tuesday. How was yours?
I still have the episodes on my computer. I’ll try and upload them again, but with how quickly I was struck I’m not sure how long they’ll stay up. I’ll have to do some fancy editing but my computer struggles to run adobe premiere.
Hey, so my personal YouTube channel got disabled recently and that sucked. I never mentioned it before because I didn’t know how, but my channel was Animefan764, where all the Time Warp Trio episodes where uploaded. All the episodes are gone, including nearly 15 years of videos and playlist. I lost a lot of channels I was subbed to. I’ll probably post the episodes again on a different account. I thought I didn’t have to worry since I had them up on my channel for four years. I made a video for my grandmother’s funeral twelve years ago that was on my account but thankfully my mom had it saved elsewhere. I’ll try to get my account back but I have no hope of getting it back, honestly. I’ll add a pic of part of the email for proof. So yeah, that was my Tuesday. How was yours?
What I’d give for one of the Cinderella remakes to go into how when you’re in an isolated and abusive situation, sometimes you need to be saved and you’re not weak if you can’t escape by yourself
I’ve never been a fan of bad faith reinterpretations of fairy tales, especially ones which flatten the originals into “princesses is saved by a prince and nothing else”, to then go #girlboss. The princess can save herself because she’s a strong female character! (Implying if you’re in a bad situation, it’s because you’re not strong enough to get out)
Also the concept of the Prince over the course of like… a couple hours hanging out with Cinderella going from ‘Haha nice I really like you’ to ‘oh fuck i can tell from context clues alone that your home situation is FUCKED UP’ it’s good shit ‘I have just met you but ON GOD I’m gonna get you out of there beautiful mystery woman’ cinderella makes desperately yelling into the night ‘how can I find you again!??!’ when she’s taking off that much more poignant really
He’s been trained to read the room. To read the context clues. To read politics and scheming and planning and people. He’s a Prince, it’s either that or accidentally drink poison by age 15. And he reads her and …
She’s impossibly wealthy. The dress isn’t a fabric he can recognize, but it’s beaded with cut diamonds, faintly milky opals that shimmer with a rainbow, little pale aquamarines, and somewhere are little bells gently ringing with each step - he’s a Prince and he can’t afford to dress like that. The slippers ring too … there is nothing like that crafted by the hands of humans. That’s fairy stuff. She has an in with them that eclipses royal politics. She is powerful in the Old Ways.
All this wraps around the poorest woman he’s ever seen in his entire life, and he’s seen some very, very, poor people in his time.
Poor in money, but poor in “oh you poor thing!” as well. This is someone who has been robbed blind. This is someone who carried themselves waiting for the lash, for a browbeating, for harsh, cruel, abrupt, punishment.
He expects her to be haughty, or hard, or meek or… something else… but she’s just nice. She’s just … nice.
The rigid posture comes out of his back, his tongue unsticks. She’s like sitting by the embers of a low, calm, fire. He feels warmed and rested simply speaking to her. He wonders if it’s magic, and it might be, but if it is it is magic that is her own.
And that terrifies him, because he’s trained to see these things and he knows someone with a cruel hand is waiting to douse her, and snuff her, and beat the last glimmer out of her shining eyes - eyes that put that dress to shame and and and and… she’s gone.
Oh god, she’s gone. It will be all over her sweet, kind, warm face that she transgressed and … oh god they’ll kill her, whoever they are. This will embarrass them and if there’s anything he knows, it’s that you don’t humiliate someone who has power over you and walk away unscathed.
And all he has is a fairy slipper that will only ever fit her foot (it’s not merely shoe size, it’s a kind of spiritual fit as well), and the vain hope that he can keep such a bright light from burning out. It doesn’t even touch his heart that what he’s feeling is a kind of pure philia, not until it enraptures him soul to bones, all at once. Oh god, oh no, oh shit… he’s reached well above his station, but…he can try to be good and worthy.
The way he sees it, sometimes even the strongest people can be brought low and need just… a little help. She had enough in her to do whatever she had to do to free herself of those evil relations if she had to, but she shouldn’t have to. There’s no glory in blood. Sometimes it’s okay for the ending to be happily ever after.
Heyo! I don't know if you take art requests, but I would love to see some art of Izzy and the boys in their Valentine's Day outfits. And maybe Cas too?
Oh yeah! I’d love to, I’ve actually started sketches of them but I’ve been super busy. One of these days I’ll get some free time to work on it.
Summary: Another summer at Horae Manor begins, but before Joe and Tessa get the chance to train, they are sent out on a mission to explore the magic capital of the universe, Mancika. Rumors of illegal magic conversion spread throughout the city, and Joe and Tessa need to locate those responsible. But after the events of last summer, Joe isn't eager to work with his Aether partner, and the two are struggling more with each other than with their enemies.
A/N: Kind of short, but I figured it was better to post something rather than nothing. Hope you enjoy!
Read on AO3
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“How am I expected to maintain the balance of the universe with her? She's rude, loud, and impossibly stubborn. We've yet to find a single issue we agree on, and every time we're in the same room, a fight ensues. Surely, the All Father made a mistake with us.” - Excerpt from the journals of Isadora Amana, Fiftieth Warp Wizard
As soon as Rowena and Cassius disappear, the burden of leadership falls on Tessa and me.
“So, what is our plan, leaders?” Four pairs of skeptical eyes stare us down.
“It’s simple. We’re splitting up,” Tessa says. “We’ll cover more ground that way, and it will allow us to make the most of our short time here.”
“Seems logical.” Everyone nods, but Arwen narrows her eyes. “What’s the trick?”
“Why does there have to be a trick?”
“Because you always have a trick up your sleeve.”
“Seems easy enough to me.” Fred puts his hands behind his hand. “So, how are we splitting? Boys and girls? Oh! Let’s make it a competition to see who can be the best secret spy!”
Sam sighs. “How would we measure that?”
“Whoever goes the longest without getting arrested?”
“We’re not doing boys and girls anyway,” Tessa cuts back in. “Ro and Cas really want us to work on our team-building, so Joe and I are going together. “
Fred smirks. I roll my eyes before he does anything else, knowing exactly what he’s about to say.
But Arwen beats him to it. “You two are going off alone? Why? So you don’t have witnesses around when you inevitably kill each other?”
“No.” Tessa scowls. “We need to focus on our mission, and there are lots of wizardy things we need to discuss.”
“Wizardy things?”
“Yes, wizardy things.”
Arwen shrugs. “Whatever. June and I will do just fine by ourselves.”
“You and June aren’t going together.”
“What?” Arwen drops her crossed arms. “Please tell me you’re not sending us off with the two of them.” She unceremoniously flips a hand toward Fred and Sam, who both frown in response.
“Of course not,” Tessa says and Arwen sighs with relief. “Two groups would be way too inefficient. We’re only sending you off with one of them, but we’ll let you pick which one.”
“How benevolent of you,” Arwen growls.
I stay silent. Tessa and I did not discuss this, but at the same time, I don’t disagree with her. Everyone needs to learn to get along. That won’t happen if we keep to the same groups every time. And three groups is more efficient than two, but this kind of feels like we’re forcing it on them. Which only goes to show how bad our relationships are.
“Oh! Dibs on Arwen.” Fred raises his hand like we’re picking science lab partners in school.
“You can’t just call dibs on a person,” Sam says, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“You want her?”
“Well, no, but that’s not the point.”
“No one’s calling dibs on me!” Arwen snaps, throwing a glare at Fred and Sam, who both stumble back. "Splitting up doesn't make sense at all. Yes, we'd cover more areas, but we're all in unfamiliar territory, and you," she pauses and points to Tessa, "are the only one who has any sense of direction here. Everyone else will just get lost."
Tessa spreads her arms wide. "It's a giant floating castle in the sky. You literally can't miss it. If you get lost here, even I can't help you."
“What if we all just go by ourselves?” Juniper speaks out.
Everyone stares at her, making her flinch back and hide behind her hair. “I’m just saying. If no one wants to group up.”
“You saw that explosion earlier, right? You want to go off alone in a city like this?”
June lifts her shoulders. “I’m not scared.”
“No one is going off alone in a foreign and potentially dangerous city.” Tessa runs a hand over her face. She glances at me out of the corner of her eye. “A little help here?”
I don’t know what she wants me to say. Dividing everyone up like this isn’t my idea, but I guess showing a united front couldn’t hurt. I fumble for the right words to say. “Look, we all need to learn how to get along. Especially after what happened last summer. We can’t do that if we always group up with the same people. Focus on the greater purpose here, guys. Ro and Cas are trusting us to search Mancika for clues about the Time Decay. This is important.” I stress my last sentence. My friends may not understand the whole truth of what’s happening, but that’s no excuse for them to slough it off.
Arwen huffs, blowing a tuft of hair out of her face. “Fine. I guess I’ll go with the idiot.”
“Hey!” Fred whines.
“Interesting that you assumed I meant you.”
“You didn’t?”
“No, I did.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. I guess that’s better than nothing. At this point, I’ll take what I can get.
Tessa nods and throws me a thankful smile. “Right. What he said. Now let’s figure out who’s going where.” She points over the wall. “Mancika is divided into nine districts. One for each magic type. So each group should take three districts. Obviously, Joe and I will go to the Time and Space sections, and if I remember the map correctly, the Element district is next to Space, so we’ll also take that area.
“That leaves Mind, Body-”
“There’s body magic? Is that like super strength and speed? I want to go there! I bet those dudes have a killer workout plan.” Fred flexes his arms.
“Not even close.”
“Sorry, dudes and chicks.”
“That’s not-” Tessa looks to the sky and lets out a sad sigh. “Whatever. You and Arwen can check out the Mind, Body, and Nature sections. Which means Sam and June are going to the Creation, Life, and Death districts.”
“I’m sorry, Death?” Sam’s eyes widen. “No, thank you. Can we switch?”
“I’m still willing to go it alone.” Juniper volunteers.
“Oh, come on, Juney. This will be a great opportunity to work on your socialization skills and make a new friend.”
“I have you and Arwen. I don’t need any more friends.”
Tessa and Arwen roll their eyes. “You’ll be fine.”
“Any other questions, comments, or complaints?” Everyone raises their hands, and Tessa folds her arms across her chest. “I don’t want to hear the complaints.” All the hands fall back down. “Good. Then we should probably get going.”
I stare at each of my friends in turn, feeling like I should say something inspiring or at least hopeful. That’s what good leaders did, right? I can’t just stand here and let Tessa do all the talking.
Unfortunately, my mind comes up blank. The best I can come up with is a boring, “Good luck, guys. Stay safe. We’ll be back here before you know it.”
With a chorus of mumbles and halfhearted ‘goodbyes’, we are ready to begin our mission.
After a beat of awkward silence, Sam clears his throat. “How exactly do we get down to the city from here?”
“Well, I could tear us all down,” Tessa purses her lips, “but without knowing the layout of the city, we could end up someplace we don’t want to be.”
“Like a mafia boss’ bathroom.” Arwen smirks. “While he’s using it.”
“That happened one time!”
The light catches something in the corner of my eye. It takes me a moment to process what I just saw, but then everything clicks. “How about those?” I point to a row of boats docked in the pond.
Each boat is uniquely painted with a different color and pattern, but their shape is the same – long, narrow, with tall points on either end. They remind me of those fancy boats with the singers in Italy.
“You want to go for a boat ride?” Fred peers at the boats with obvious confusion on his face. “You know you can do that back home in Central Park, right?”
“And how is that supposed to help us get down?” Sam lifts one eyebrow at me.
“Because the boats are obviously magic. Or at least the drivers are. Just watch.” I gesture again to the boats, only mildly annoyed that my friends think I’m stupid.
A couple walks towards the boats, aiming for one decorated with purple and black swirls. As soon as they get seated, the boat pulls away, floating to the edge. When it reaches the waterfall, the boat doesn’t tip over. It goes until the back of the boat is just barely touching the pond. The pilot spreads their arms, keeping their palms flat, and the boat slowly drops out of view.
“See? Magic boats.” I smile. “The perfect way to descend into a magic city.”
“It’s perfect!” Tessa latches on to my arm, already dragging me away. “Let’s get going. We should start with the Time district.”
“What about us?” Arwen calls out after her.
“Start at the Body and Creation districts,” she responds without looking back. “Then work your way around.”
Tessa drags me all the way to a shining black boat. The boat is covered with a bunch of shapes and symbols I don’t recognize, and one that I do. A skull stares at me with its hollow eyes. I try not to look at it and convince myself it’s just a boat. Riding in this one doesn’t mean anything about the future of our mission.
Still, I’m relieved when she pulls me into a bright green boat with hourglasses and numbers on it instead.
“Straight down to Time please.” Tessa seats herself at the front of the boat, already leaning over the side to get a better look at the city below.
The pilot nods and waits for me to get in.
The seats are so small and close together that my only options are to squeeze in next to Tessa or take the seat directly across from her and have our legs bump into each other for the whole ride. I choose the latter, not trusting myself to sit right next to her.
As I step into the boat, I get a glimpse of the water and notice that the boat isn’t actually touching it. I wonder how far off the ground the boat can fly? Or rather, how high can the magic make it go?
Speaking of which, what kind of magic is making the boat move in the first place? Air magic? Our pilot, a silent woman with long golden hair, flicks her wrist at the dock and launches our boat toward the waterfall. The wind whips Tessa’s hair into my face. Definitely air magic.
“Sorry,” Tessa says as she tucks her long hair into the back of her jacket.
As our boat nears the waterfall, I half-expect it to lurch forward, dumping us out miles in the air. But our boat smoothly transitions from water to air with no sudden drops. A breath I didn’t realize I was holding escapes my lips.
We slowly begin our descent, the city of Mancika growing closer and closer beneath us. For the first time, I get a good grasp of just how big this place really is. How are the six of us supposed to search this entire city? Even with splitting into three groups, the task seems impossible.
No, I can’t start thinking like that. Our mission is too important to fail. The fate of the entire universe rests on my and Tessa’s shoulders. Especially since our friends don’t know the whole truth. Tessa and I have to work hard to learn everything we can about the time decay, and hopefully, a way to stop it. And if we’re really lucky, reverse it.
Tessa does not seem as bothered about it all as I am. She’s practically hanging out of the boat. I ignore the impulse to reach out and pull her back into her seat. She can handle herself.
I turn my attention back to the city. At the rate we’re descending, we’ll be on the ground in just a couple of minutes. This far up, it’s easy to see the invisible lines that divide the different sections. Each area has its own scenery and aesthetic based on its assigned magic. I can’t pick out the details from this height, but I’d give just about anything to be able to explore the city freely with no impending doom hanging over my head. Maybe I’ll get a chance to come back later this summer.
Our boat gently touches down at the bottom of the waterfall. It takes me a moment to realize why we’re not getting wet, until I look up and see a bubble of air around us, deflecting the spray.
I take another look at our pilot. Her eyes are closed, and her face is relaxed like she doesn’t have to put in any effort to fly the boat and protect us from the waterfall at the same time.
Tessa and I have a long way to go with our magic.
My chest tightens as we move away from the waterfall and continue around a small river underneath the citadel. We briefly follow the circle before pulling up to a long wooden dock.
Tessa jumps out of the boat in a flash, rocking it violently as she does so and earning a glare from the pilot. But she’s oblivious to it all, already moving into the city.
I offer a small smile in apology and quickly follow my partner onto the dock.
No turning back now. We’ve got a universe to save.
