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Amities, RogueStar
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The Mage Magnus looked at his fingertips, seeing the sparks of power that occasionally danced up and down his long, slender digits. He had never dreamt of power like this - of the ability to shape earth and stars to his own image - the ability to create and to destroy. To all intents and purposes, he was a god. An aching sensation in the center of his chest, however, told him that he was not alone. That something was using him as hermit crab does a shell, a means of moving safely in the world, before discarding him. The god of Earth\Sky, sent by the original Avatar to beyond the ether to spend his life in lonely exile, was with him. Magnus rubbed the aching spot on his chest, trying to massage the pain away. It was no use. A knock came on the door of his private study and he opened it, trying to keep the agony from his face. A page bowed obsequiously - curled, blond hair almost touching the floor. His cheeks were amazingly rouged and his eyes shaded with kohl in the fashion of most fops. Dressed in the heraldic colors of Salem - the red and green - he was a picture to behold.
"My lord, my lady wishes an audience with you."
‘Sabrina? What could she want?' he thought suspiciously, but said, "Certainly, I will come to her chambers immediately."
Since learning of his reluctant fiancée's true nature, the Mage had been wary of her. If she truly was the Great Sorceress, her power was far greater than his. A thought then struck him and a smile spread across his face, like oil across water, merely skimming the surface. He was imbued with the powers of a god and more than a match for any sorceress, however powerful.
The Mage walked the steps to her room, deep in thought. Instead of having Sabrina taken to the village like originally planned, Paris had recommended that she be ‘imprisoned' in the tower - although, her imprisonment was less severe than the name implied. She had freedom of the castle and the surrounding gardens, but could not return to the village. Strangely enough, Sabrina had preferred to be cloistered in her room - only coming out for meals and the occasionally stroll around the gardens. The Mage opened the small wooden door, stooping to enter the room. His fiancée was sitting sedately on a chaise longue, embroidering tiny roses onto her train. Her eyes, however, were anything but calm. They flickered around the room, like a pair of impatient butterflies, and held a sad confirmation that what she sought was many leagues hence. They were rimmed with red and swollen, although the Mage could see that she had attempted to cover that fact with make-up.
"Have you got Remy duMelas?" she asked without preamble or greeting.
"Unfortunately no, my love. I sent a league of elite praetorian guards after him, but he defeated them."
Her eyes betrayed her triumph for all her tone was sad, "What a pity - Ah hoped ta deal with him mahself."
‘Liar,' the Mage thought, but said, "Have you tried the pearl necklace which I sent you?"
Sabrina looked suspiciously at him, "Sorry, mah liege, th' clasp was weak an' it broke."
She handed him the loose pearls mixed with dust and cobwebs.
"Never mind - a magic spell shall remedy this," he said between gritted teeth, "Let that which was broke be whole, let composite pieces come together, let the old be new. Niojer. Wener. Etelpmoc."
The pearls shimmered in his chemical-stained hands, coming together in a shower of sparks and light. A glittering conflagration that lit up her face and was echoed in her eyes. Magnus handed the completed necklace to her.
"Try it on - they say that every woman needs one pearl necklace."
"Ah always thought it was diamonds," Sabrina took it gingerly.
"Diamonds. Pearls. They are much the same thing. Try them on."
"Hmmm . . . . maybe later - this dress doesn't suit pearls," she gestured at the shimmering, silver fabric that fell in waves over her chaise longue.
"That does not matter, my love. I only wish to see them on your beautiful neck."
Sabrina hesitated, looking out of the window at the blue sky, broken only by clouds. A firefly flicker buzzed through the air towards her - shifting colors as it did so.
"I could not find him - he was too far in the earth for me to go," the flicker settled on her shoulder, revealing itself to be a perfectly formed woman in miniature. Her wings were dusted with silver and as she flapped them, dust settled on Sabrina's shoulder.
"He?" The Mage asked, "My love, about whom could she be talking?"
"Mah father," Sabrina lied desperately, "He was in the mines workin' an' Ah was worried about him."
"Your father? I thought it was Remy leBeau for whom you were looking?" the faerie blurted.
"Remy leBeau . . . ." The Mage looked amused, "I thought you wished him killed."
Sabrina's eyes narrowed, "Ah do. Ah sent Fixx's helper ta find him foh you."
"No . . . ." The faerie shook her silver-haired head, "You said to tell him that you loved him and that you were doing everything in your power to stop the Mage."
"So, my traitorous sweetheart, did you truly believe that I thought that you had fallen in love with me? For which kind of fool do you take me?"
"Ah . . . ."
"Be quiet, woman. Do you think that I love you?"
"Why else would you kidnap me an' force me ta marry y'all?"
He clasped her chin with a cold hand, forcing her face closer to his.
"Because your power called to me. The instant I saw you I knew that you controlled power beyond my wildest fantasies. A power which I could wield if you were mine."
"You must be mistaken? Ah'm nobody. A weaver's daughter. A citizen . . . a . . . ."
"You do not know, then," he released her face.
"Ah know that th' man Ah'm marryin' is th' Avatar. Ah know that you stole his whole life away an' ever since, he's been lookin' foh revenge," she stood, dislodging the faerie, "Ah pity you when he finds you."
"Save your pity for the leBeau. I have made a pact with the mighty god of Earth\Sky. He has imbued me with his powers, in return for my service. For you, my love."
"Why would a god want me?"
The Mage smiled thinly, "Ask your lover. Ask the Avatar."
He stepped closer to her, putting an arm around her waist and drawing her to him. Slowly and cruelly, he placed his lips on top of hers and kissed her. A kiss of possession rather than passion. A kiss to brand her as his. Sabrina struggled in his embrace, like a bird does against the bars of a cage, trying to break free. The Mage's eyes gleamed silver - the malice and eternal impassiveness of a god reflected in his handsome face.
"I am looking forward to our wedding day, Sabrina. Once I've slipped my ring on your finger, you'll be mine and everything that you bring with you."
With this final taunt, he exited the room, closing the door softly behind him. Sabrina felt her knees give out underneath her and she collapsed onto the chaise longue in tears of shame and supressed fear.
"Don't worry," the tiny faerie stroked her face, wiped her tears with silken hands, "Don't worry."
"Ah feel so dirty," she wiped her lips as if that could erase the memory of his touch, "So ...so ... ashamed. Ah can't be his wife. Ah won't."
"What does he mean by the power that you control?"
"Ah don't know, sugah. Wish Ah did, ‘cause Ah'd like ta . . . ta disintegrate that . . . that pig," she went to the window, eyes flickering towards the broad road that led to the castle.
Banners were being strung from tree to tree along with bunting and ribbons. It was the road that she would ride to the cathedral where she would be made the Mage's wife.
"You did the right thing by refusing his necklace."
"Why?"
"It is tainted with a love charm. It would cause your mind to be clouded and you to fall in love with him," the sprite said, "By the way, I did fly all the way to Phoenix's cave . . . ."
"Have a sweetmeat," she replied automatically, "Ah've been meanin' ta ask you - why would you betray Fixx?"
"Fixx? You think that any of us sprites really obey her?" the faerie pouted,
"We do what she says because she gives us sweetmeats."
"Ah thought she was the daughter o' th Faerie Queen?"
"Ha! Not all of us are loyal to Titania. I serve whichever master or mistress can benefit me the most. Sometimes it is Fixx, sometimes someone else," the faerie broke off a chunk of a lemon candy and placed it in her mouth, "These are . . . mffmmm . . . really good."
"Thank th' Mage," Sabrina said abstractedly, "Ah would rest easier knowin' that Remy is safe."
"I'm sure he is. He's the Avatar - isn't he?"
Sabrina smiled grimly, "Let's hope so, sugah. For both our sakes."

~~~

The transition between loci was as sudden as it was strange. Remy leBeau, the Avatar of legend, looked up from where he was slumped on the floor.
"I'm gettin' a sense o' deja-vu here, ‘Ro."
Silence answered his comment.
"Ororo?"
The Avatar looked around the landscape - it was alien and completely deserted. The Phoenix had transported him here alone to face whatever challenges that this strange realm might bring. Slowly, Remy clambered to his feet. The sand of this other world shimmered between violet and blue and was seemingly furrowed with winds for all the air was still. A perfect gray sky stretched off as far as the eye could see, broken only by the candy-cotton puffs of clouds and the green of lofty mountains. Instinctively, Remy clutched the little dagger that he had by his side and said a prayer to the god of War\Peace. He wished instantly that he had kept the soldier's sword instead of planting it in the soil as a reminder to any other foolhardy troops. Where was the M'Kraan crystal that would lead him to the other dimension where the armor and sword were kept? He dusted off his black leggings and surveyed the surrounding landscape. There were no
landmarks whereby position could be told nor any sun or stars to determine direction. Suddenly, the sand before him shifted and writhed and emerald coils pushed their way through it, like deadly buds. A stench of decomposing meat and hot iron filled the air and he involuntarily gagged, covering his face with a fold of shirt. Before him, a dragon hovered. Its gem-like, multi-faceted eyes watched him from garnet depths and its wings blotted out the gray sky. A voice like the booming of thunder spoke:
"You disturb the sleep of Fin Fang Foom, foolish mortal? It has been too long since I tasted fresh human meat. Explain yourself or I shall give in to my baser instincts and devour you."
Remy cleared his throat of the dust and bile and stated simply, "I am de Avatar."
"An Avatar? Fin Fang Foom believes that you are simply a thief, come to steal the most precious treasure in all realities. Where is your proof, ‘Avatar'?'
"Here," he touched the astral scar on his cheek.
The Dragon lent closer and it took all of Remy's self-control to keep from fainting from the stench.
"My lord . . . I did not recognize you. Forgive this humble creature. Fin Fang Foom doubted your validity and deserves death."
"Ya simply were doin' ya job. As am I."
"Must I take you to the Crystal Keeper? To Jahf?"
"Please."
The Dragon bowed into the dust, lowering its back for the Avatar to mount. Remy climbed on to the serpentine coils, settling between two jagged spikes and holding on to another. The reek of meat and metal was overpowering but he focused his mind elsewhere and held on tight. The great wings beat, causing a sand storm, and Fin Fang Foom rose into the air. The earth spiralled beneath them as they ascended, becoming smaller until even the mountains seemed smaller than the ridges on the Dragon's back.
‘T'ink happy thoughts. T'ink happy thoughts,' the Avatar repeated to himself silently, like a mantra.
As always, his mind went back to Sabrina. The day she had worn that dress of fire-shot silk with white roses in her hair and had looked more goddess than human woman. As if ichor ran through her veins instead of red blood. If the legends were to be believed, and right now he placed great stock in their veracity, she was the Great Sorceress. But . . . as he had said to Phoenix . . .she was so little, barely up to his shoulders. So human in the way she laughed and the sweet, soft scent of her hair. Yet . . . she held power equal to his. It was a humbling thought. He had planned to ride in on his white horse - well, Horse of Another Color - and save the damsel-in-distress. Now, to discover that said damsel was easily the most powerful sorceress alive . . . it made the whole process a farce. Her green eyes appeared before him with the same look of desperation that she had had in her small cottage when she had pleaded with him to find the Horse of Another Color. She needed his help then and, in all probability, still did. Remy gritted his teeth as the Dragon came in to land . . . .

To be continued. . .

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