Lark felt as if a weight had been lifted off him. He could not believe that the curse was finally broken. It was a dream come true when he had given up hundreds of years ago.
A few things that seemed out of place crossed his mind but he pushed them aside.
Lynn’s father had not made an appearance since he had met her. It was strange considering what he knew about the curse and his previous experience.
Lynn had seemed to be much more relaxed about what he had told her. He guessed though that everyone was different and that it was more difficult for people in today’s day and age to believe in magic.
Lynn didn’t look anything like Erin. Sasha looked more like Erin than Lynn did.
But who knew how the universe worked? Justin had not looked the same as Eugene despite Emma looking exactly like Erin. Emma’s mother had also not looked like Loren, Erin’s mother.
If he expected everything to be the same, he would most likely drive himself insane. The next few days were like paradise as they reveled in their newfound freedom. At least he did. Lynn seemed amused by his happiness as if he were a small child that found wonder in almost everything. She could not understand and simply never would. He could not expect her to.
But then the wonder began to wane and while Lark was still extremely happy, things became more normal between them. Lynn had however moved into his bedroom now and they slept together every night. Lark treated Lynn like gold and she did not complain. It all made her more confident that he wouldn’t be looking to find fault with her.
Lynn found it easier to search the house from top to bottom. She was however becoming increasingly frustrated as she did not find a single thing that was a clue as to where Lark had hidden his store of magical knowledge.
She sat studying him one night on the sofa as they watched television. Lark realized she was studying him and turned his attention to her.
“What?” he asked curiously.
“I was just thinking…” Lynn replied.
“Thinking what?”
“Well, if you were cursed and all and you lived in the witch’s house, you had access to her spells and potions.”
“I did,” Lark confirmed.
“Did you ever learn any of her magic?”
“You have no idea how much of it I learned. I read everything she had and studied it. I needed to find a way to end the curse. I became the only male witch I have ever heard of.”
“So then, if you wanted to turn a non-believer like me into a believer…” Lynn said letting the thought trail off.
“…I could do some magic for you?” Lark said finishing her thought.
“That was my thought exactly,” Lynn smiled.
“I could,” Lark smiled.
“Show me,” Lynn said.
“Let me think,” Lark said. He thought for a while and then said, “Ah! I know!” He uttered some words Lynn did not understand and two cups of steaming hot chocolate appeared on the table before them.
“Oh c’mon! That must be the oldest trick in the book,” Lynn said.
“It’s not good enough for you?” Lark asked.
“It’s so easy it’s almost lazy,” Lynn smiled.
“Okay,” Lark replied. He uttered more words and in the next moment, Lynn screamed as she found herself rising off the sofa and then flying around the room as if she were riding on an invisible magic carpet.
“How’s that?” Lark asked as he watched her spinning around and around.
“Put me down before I spew all over the living room!” Lynn cried.
Lark smiled and let her return to the sofa.
“Now do you believe me?” Lark asked.
Lynn nodded breathlessly. “I do.” She caught her breath and then said, “So you can make life very easy for yourself.”
“That’s not what it’s about,” Lark said.
“Okay, okay,” Lynn said feigning disappointment. She waited a while longer and then eventually asked the burning question. “Did you keep all the witch’s knowledge?”
“I did. And I gathered so much more over the years too,” Lark said.
“Could you teach me?” Lynn asked.
Lark looked at her sharply. “Why?” he asked.
“Because I’m curious. I’d like to be able to do what you just did.”
“I guess I could teach you,” Lark replied. “But you have to promise to keep it secret. It’s not something you go showing the whole world. The people just wouldn’t understand and when people don’t understand things they tend to get scared and turn on you.”
“That’s a bit pessimistic don’t you think?” Lynn said.
Lark shook his head. “No. I’m talking from experience.”
“When can we start? Or can I start reading myself?”
“We can start tomorrow,” Lark said.
“That would be great, thank you,” Lynn said.
They retired to bed soon after and Lynn hardly slept as she thought about discovering where Lark hid his knowledge.
If Lynn had hoped that Lark would reveal where he hid his books and scrolls she was very wrong. Having practiced magic for hundreds of years, Lark knew much of it and was able to teach Lynn the basics of magic straight from memory.
She hid her frustration and pretended to struggle with things she already knew. Despite pretending to struggle she was on the whole still a fast learner and they progressed quickly through the lessons and concepts Lark taught her.
Lynn decided if he wasn’t going to show her where he kept his knowledge immediately, she would pretend to progress quickly through what he was able to teach her from memory so he would eventually run out of things he could recall and have to start referring to the books at which point she would find out where he kept them.
This too proved to be a disappointment since when the time came for Lark to start referring to books for her lessons, he simply pulled books off the shelves in his study and seemed to read from them.
She knew this was impossible as she had been through every book on every shelf in his office and there wasn’t a single book on magic on any of the shelves. Lark had to be lying to her. Was he testing her she wondered? Had he somehow realized what she was trying to get from him? She didn’t think so and tried a different tack.
When her latest lesson was over, she asked Lark to give her the book he had used for the lesson. He obliged and she opened it. She read a few lines and she realized it was a fiction novel. She closed the book and looked at the cover. It was a mystery novel. How appropriate she thought.
“You’re not teaching me from this book are you?” Lynn asked surprised.
“I am,” Lark smiled.
“Liar,” Lynn said feigning disappointment.
“I assure you I am teaching you from that book,” Lark replied.
“It’s not even a book about magic,” Lynn protested.
“Perhaps it looks like that to you but to me, it looks very different.”
“Why? What do you mean?”
“Because all of my books are protected by spells that ensure only I can read the books. If anyone else reads them they will read like works of fiction.”
Lynn nodded. “Well can you tell me how to read the real words in there?” she asked.
“I’m sure I could but you don’t need to know just yet,” Lark replied.
Lynn bit her tongue. She did not want to say something she might regret. She was impatient and rightly so. Time was running out to get to understand the books and how to access them even though Lynn had no idea that time was running out.