Chapter 1: 001 Deal With The Devil
"Kill the dog."
Willa froze where she was as she heard this cold order.
She turned and followed the voice into the alley on her left hand, only to see four boys surrounding a yellow dog. They look no more than 18 years old.
One of them was on the ground.
"No!" The boy on the ground cried out with disbelief in his voice, "He didn't do anything!"
"The stupid dog scared our boss John--" One of the boys smirked and was hit on the head by the boy standing in the middle before he could finish his sentence.
"What do you mean scared?! I wasn't scared! Idiot!" Then the boy turned to the dog with an evil smile: "The dog offended me, so I want it dead. Reasonable, right?"
Willa could hear the evilness in his vicious voice. She sighed and hesitated.
She cannot cause a scene right now. She had a bigger thing to worry about --
"Kill it!" John demanded suddenly and the two boys on his sides moved right at the second.
"Run! Yeller! Run!!" The boy on the ground yelled but the dog won't move away from his side.
Willa sighed and started walking towards them.
"Or," John said with a vicious smile, "I'll settle for a leg of yours. Would you like that instead, Max?"
Max froze at his words with Yeller held tight in his arms in fear.
Willa stopped where she was, watching the four boys again in silence. But this time, she was spotted.
"Hey! Who are you?!" John yelled at Willa demandingly, "This is not your business, go away!"
"Please help!" Max cried at Willa, "Please!"
"She's a girl, who looks younger than you by the way," John laughed coldly at Max, "I thought you are practicing magic. Where is your magic now?!"
The sarcasm in his voice made Max's ears turned red.
"Why aren't you running?!" Willa suddenly burst out with a stern tone, and before any of the boys could understand her, the yellow dog jumped out of Max's arms and ran out of the alley.
"Leave that stupid dog!" John yelled but the other two boys already sprinted out of the alley.
"Who, who are you?" John demanded at Willa, but this time with less confidence in his voice.
"Need not to know." Willa smiled and left the alley, "Aren't you going after the dog? I thought you want his head."
John hesitated before he shook his head and slowly backed down from Max.
Willa nodded with an innocent look and disappeared from the entrance of the alley like she was never there, leaving only Max froze on the ground, shocked.
It took Max a long time before he finally made to his shabby cabin. He had been living here since his parents died when he was five, and the cabin was all that they left for him.
Well, the cabin and Yeller.
And now all he had was the cabin because he couldn't find Yeller anywhere.
"Max, is it?"
Max jumped at the voice came from the back of his little cabin, only to see Willa coming out of the shadow. He wanted to just turn and run but that was when he saw--
Yeller was right beside her, shaking his tails at him.
"Yeller!" Yeller jumped into Max's arms and he cried with happy tears, forgetting his questions towards the girl.
"Don't think they will leave you alone though." The girl said quietly, "What's your plan?"
Max shook his head resignedly.
"He said you are practicing magic?" Willa nodded as if understanding his sigh, "Are you a student at the village's magic school?"
"Our village doesn't have a magic school." Max sighed again, "I have attended the school in the county for like a month, but I couldn't afford it for too long."
"So what's your magic level now?" Willa asked.
"Not even reaching level one yet. I'm just a normal human being, with no magic in me." Max shook his head, "I have tried, I really did. I used what they taught me at school for like years now, but nothing magical ever happened..."
"I see." Willa took a step closer, "I think we can help each other."
"How?" Max rose his head with confusion all over his face.
"Well, I can protect you from the bad boys for a month," Willa smiled and held out her hand, "And in return, I want to borrow your life stone."
"What for?" Max shook his head with a vigilant look, "Life stone is given by the Shrine only as our proof of identity, nothing more! Are you a criminal?"
"I have my own reason." Willa shrugged, "It's not your first time to lend your life stone though, is it? I thought it's a common source of income for villages like yours."
"Are you a Magician then? Like... I don't know, Medivh?" Max asked in shaking.
"I'm not a Magician, and Medivh is from myths." Willa burst into laughter, "But Enchanters, on the other hand, are real. As you already know, you have been to the school before."
"You, you are an enchanter?!" Max yelled with admire.
"Stop it, I'm only a level one enchanter. But yeah, I think I can still help you." Willa waved her hand, "So do we have a deal or not?"
"Well..." Max thought for a second, "I can lend you my life stone for a month, but I don't' want protection."
"What do you want then?"
"I want a thousand dollars instead." Max said with his hand held out to her and Willa laughed with disbelief.
"What for?" She shook her head with disappointment.
"It's ten months' worth of school, and I know I'll be able to reach level one this time!" Max said with his hand still held out, "Otherwise I cannot let you have my life stone."
"I don't have that kind of money." Willa shrugged, "I guess I'll find someone else then."
Max waited for a second and realized Willa meant her words, "Wait! Okay fine, how about just 100?"
Willa stopped and turned to look at him, not smiling anymore: "Do you even know what enchanters are?"
"They are students of Magicians and they can be a Magician one day if they are powerful enough! Who doesn't want to be a Magician?!"
Willa sighed and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Max ran and jumped in front of her again, "Please! I really do want to be a good enchanter! I beg you! I never had the fair chance like every other to attend the school properly--"
"Attending the school doesn't necessarily mean that you get to be an enchanter. It's still about what you choose and what you do." Willa looked into his eyes.
"I know, I know!" Max opened his arms to block Willa from leaving, "I just had enough of people bullying me...Please..."
Willa thought for a second and nodded: "I don't have money. But if you want, I can teach you to reach level one. After that you are on your own."
"Sure thing!" Max nodded like crazy and opened the door for Willa in frantic excitement, "So long as I get to reach level one. You can have my home as your own, Miss...?"
"Just call me Willa."