Ch 5: Real Magic

Samrah followed Anne towards a heavy looking carriage. It also had glass walls on it and it seems to only fit five people. He didn't mention much about it but only appreciated the fine work. The shape, the color, and it's made out of metal! He knocked on the back of the carriage, or rather, car, and it made some thumping sound. Anne looked back as she was fishing for something in her bag and just said, "Hey, stop that..." Samrah looked a bit embarrassed. "Apologies... it's just strange to see so much metal on a carriage. And its wheels too, this whole thing seems too heavy for a horse to pull..." He said as he squatted down and inspected the wheels. It was made of hard material, he felt that it would be light, but at the same time it looked like a heavy mass of some soft rock. He didn't quite understand it, was it leather? "Alright, stop flirting with my car and get on the other side." Anne said and pointed to the other side, Samrah didn't understand what she meant and pulled a door to open the car and she got inside... He then realized it and then walked around the other side of the car, he saw a handle, pulled it but he almost thought he broke it when one side of it detached and opened the door... "Umm... I think I might've broken something again..." He said getting Anne's attention. he let go of the handle and it immediately reattached itself to the door. "Oh wait, never mind, it comes back."

Samrah finally entered the car and sat on the soft leather, no, it seems to be uh, hard cotton? He took his staff with him and it sort of had a hard time fitting inside due to its length. He placed it at the bottom corner of where his feet were under some sort of cabinet and it went over his shoulder and to the back. He looked at the various levers and buttons in front of the car and looked confused. "Wow... you're doing great. Act any more clueless than you already are and you might win a Darwin's Award..." Anne said as she stuck a piece of metal, a key rather into a hole right next to the circular handle, she turned it and the carriage started vibrating. Samrah was shocked and held on for dear life, grabbing the chair and his staff at the same time. "There's an earthquake!!" He tried to get out of the car but seems to be having trouble fumbling about on the weird handle. Something clicked and he saw some sort of a pin insert itself further into the door and when he pulled the handle, the door doesn't open. He looked at Anne nervously and saw her looking back with an 'are you serious?' look. He took a little more care and realized that, just the car was vibrating, everything else outside looked fine. He calmed down quickly and gave a nervous and sheepish grin towards Anne...

"I apologize... it's just that, earthquakes never ended well..." Samrah commented as he tried to get comfortable. Anne only shook her head and grinned and she pulled on the lever a couple of times and stepped on something beneath her feet, the car began to move backwards and Samrah once again held on for dear life. "What is happening!?" He looked back, an expression of genuine fear and confusion plastered on his face. Anne chuckled and finally the car was facing the road. She purposefully went turbo and just simply stepped on the gas and the car zoomed into the street and along it. She looked at Samrah who is still having the time of his life, and not in a good way, he looked absolutely stupid and actually scared as she drove faster than she usually does. "What contraption is this!? It's moving by itself!" He commented as he looked around for some sort of **** pushing or pulling it.

"Oh my god you're actually sweating? This can't get any more real..." Anne looked amused but at the same time in disbelief. "This is very much different from flying! In the ground, going this fast, we're bound to hit something whereas in the air there's nothing to hit!" Anne then simply slowed down a bit, she started driving at her usual speed at 60 mph and Samrah visibly calmed down but was still wary. She still didn't know why he was keeping this up, she first thought this was all some little prank just for some entertainment, and even at first she thought there was a hidden camera, but now she thinks there's something really wrong, Samrah held tight to his staff with a hand but the other hand holds on to the chair, though loosely. Another minute passed before Samrah began to speak... "What engineering is this? I've been **** to ask but, I am just curious as to how it works. This thing must cost a fortune. Anne though, didn't reply. She just looked at him as he looked around the trees and sometimes at the car itself, he even opened up the drawer in front of him, curious to see what's inside it. She shook her head and immediately parked the car to the side, as they stop fully, Anne looked at Samrah who was slightly nervous, feeling the tension a bit.

"Alright, just out with it. What's your deal? Is this like your full time job? Are you like, acting to promote some movie because I might want to watch it. Yeah, or are you really just some delusional fuck who loves to waste other people's time?" Anne looked pissed, her mouth slightly agape, her hand in a frozen gesture at Samrah for him to answer. Samrah sighed as he looked admittedly tired yet eager to talk. He looked at her but then she quickly interrupted before he could say anything. "You're a really handsome guy, such a pretty boy, you seem to be in good under all that nonsense robe, you could easily pass up for a model, an amazing paying job. But you're wasting your time, and other people's time by doing this... and yes I did ask you if this is like, a part of your job or something but, I don't want to believe that either. Seriously, please tell me, what, is wrong, with you?" She asked. This time though he looked her in the eye a little bit more remorsefully.

"You said that magic doesn't exist. That I'm not a real elf? That I'm delusional. But the truth is, all I am is lost. One moment I was saving my world, my family, and then the next I woke up in a container, imprisoned, then chased, and when I escaped it was when I ran into Steve the, store guy. That's my side... but there's one thing that I want to ask the most... how long has passed since then and where am I?" Anne was inspecting him carefully, no shed of expression gave out that he was lying at all. That he know it's the truth... now there's only one thing to confirm. "It's one thing or another. Either you need to go to the hospital and be rehabilitated, or you really are what you say... and there's only one way you can prove it. Do some magic that I won't be able to deny... and none of those tricks I see on YouTube." Anne challenged him and Samrah closed his eyes to channel his magic inside to see if they have come back, it seems that the potion the al-... the store guy gave him worked! He has a small amount of mana within him now, though it might be enough for something to leave an impression. He held out his hand and decided to create his favorite and iconic spell. The holy fire... but first he needs to do something.

"I'll show you my favorite spell. To be honest I'm quite known for it. I invented this after all, it's called a holy fire. But, to better see its effects, it's better if you have a wound." He said and Anne looked slightly suspicious. "Um, I do have one but it's just a bruise on my foot. I got it from walking around too much on heels." Anne said, acting slightly tame at the fact that he's actually going along with this. Was she going to be proven wrong? He's not just going to summon up some cards or think of what she's thinking? Samrah gestured for her to show her foot and she reluctantly complied, taking her sneakers, placing her leg on top of her other knee as if sitting half-cross legged and showing him the top of her ankle, indeed it was quite discolored, it was slightly blue and black. He took the foot in his hand and showed her his palms. It starts to glow, and just that was enough to elicit a reaction from Anne, then soon he mustered up a good amount of his mana and his palms started to burn a bright blue and white flame. Anne instinctively reeled back. "W-What the, what the hell!?" She looked fearfully at him as she nearly hugged the door behind her.

He gestured at her to calm down "Hey, hey... it's alright... it will not harm you. This type of fire only burns the impurities and negativity of anything it touches. It is especially made to burn the dark energies and creatures of our enemies and even..." Samrah stopped as he carefully took back her bruised foot and slowly, he cupped the Anne's bruise and the fire seemingly deflected from her skin but she felt warm, and especially hot where her bruise is. "Oh my god... oh my god... oh my god." She saw the fire lick the bruise on her ankle and it was undoubtedly becoming better. She felt the wound burn, though it wasn't a painful burn. She felt her bruise seep in the flames and as she closed her eyes, the heat slowly subsided. Samrah let go of her foot and Anne looked much to her disbelief. The bruise on her ankle has simply disappeared. Unable to believe it, she started panicking, she opened the door and she quickly got out, Samrah tried to open his door too and he found that he was once again able to open it. He got out and went to Anne, she was holding her head between her clasped hands as she tries to comprehend what happened. She looked at her foot again and mumbled something incomprehensible.

"Anne? Are you alright?" Anne looked in shock at Samrah, a mixture of fear and amazement apparent in her eyes as she stepped back from him but refrained from running. "I don't, I don't understand... it's a bruise! How did it just disappear like that!? It's a bruise! No magic can do that, no magic can!" She looked at Samrah who in turn held her shoulders in place, she shook in place, terrified but at the same time curious as well. "I, I don't get it... that flame healed me?" She asked. "Yes, it did... my flame heals most injuries. But it will completely purge anything that is entirely unholy." She started fanning herself, she looked for something around her, got out of Samrah's hands and picked up a rock, she puts it down and looks for another, finally finding a sharp one. "This... I'm gonna cut myself with this, and you better heal me! That thing could've been just changing colors, you're just fooling me! I'll seriously cut myself." She said as she aims the rock on her forearm. The sharp side poking at her skin.

"I'd much prefer you didn't do that, but if it's what I need to do to convince you, then so be it." Samrah said and placed his staff simply on the ground, it was standing up on its own despite the uneven terrain. Anne looked intently at her forearm and in one stroke she sliced her forearm. A bright red streak appears from her forearm and it quickly started to leak some blood. Samrah smiled at it as he inspects her blood... "You're pretty healthy. That's for sure... May I?" He said as he placed a finger right beneath her wound and his finger was simply engulfed in the same flames as earlier and he began to run the fire across her wound slowly. The flames all seemed attracted to the cut as they seem to float float towards it, his finger leaves a trail of burning white and blue flame on her wound which made it look like it was burning, but Anne looked in awe as the heat gave her a much better feeling than getting scorched up... it's as if the warmth was relaxing her, calming her, she felt wonderful.

"It... it feels strange... this, this is magic?" Anne looked towards Samrah softly, almost apologetically. "This, is a type of magic. One that can only be learned by the highest priests, and maybe sometimes the high priests themselves. When I invented this magic, I wanted to teach this to others, though it turns out there are limits to who can learn it. People who have a certain mindset, a certain magical alignment among other variables." Samrah explained to her about his magic but Anne was no longer staring at her healing wound, she was staring at him as he closes up the cut. Boy was she wrong about him... but who can blame her? Or Steve? She tried to muster up the courage as she looks back down to her forearm, half of the red streak already gone and returned to what her normal skin would look like...

"This is taking a lot longer than it used to... I guess this is an effect of my currently weak magic. The potion Steve gave me helped but, it might not be enough yet, I could usually heal a cut like this in a second..." Samrah chuckled at himself as he continues to focus on the wound already completely sealed up. Anne though finally said... "Hey... I'm..." Didn't continue at first, but now that she got Samrah's attention, she just had to continue. "I'm sorry... for being rude to you. I just... I never would've thought that, you're an actual mage from some fantasy land and that you were telling the truth...". Samrah didn't completely understand it yet, but from what he has heard, what he is, isn't normal anymore. In fact, it seems he's the embodiment of impossibility. Magic, elven heritage, some far off land they've never heard of... it's strange... no, he's strange. And he could understand what she meant...

"To be honest, I should thank you. If it weren't for you or Steve, I'd be wondering around aimlessly. With you two, I'd not have realized such an important fact, about the things you said to me. And even despite me, being overbearing for you, you still tried to help me. I do not usually meet people like you Anne. If you were to somehow gain a magical alignment I might teach you my favorite spell." Samrah chuckled at the thought and she joined in with a soft giggle... Anne smiled, but was still slightly wary. But she knew she could trust him... after all, if he knew a healing spell, he probably knows a more destructive one right? And he could've hurt her if he wanted... even without magic he would easily have his way with her... as she thinks that, she realized what she just thought about and her cheeks blushed. She didn't mean it that way but it somehow ended up being sexual. She did her best to hide her blush behind her neck length hair, but Samrah wasn't even looking. He was finishing up the healing of her wound. He let go of her arm and Anne inspected it, a single dot of her wound was still burning with the light blue flame but then it quickly dissipated and it was as if the wound was never even there. In fact, the surrounding area of where it was seemed even cleaner and smoother than the rest of her arm, she was more than amazed. She looked back at Samrah with a delighted grin.

"Thanks..." Anne simply expressed her gratitude towards him and he gave a curt bow. Anne stared at him, she did realize this before, but he truly was one hell of a guy. He looked perfect, not a single flaw on his face, his hair seems like it'll feel like silk, and his emerald green eyes looked like complete gems, and she could only imagine what his body is like... she thought that maybe, she can apologize in a slightly different way? A way to get to know him better and a way for him to forgive her? But at the same time, she'd also get what she wants and be able to get a peek at what he is underneath, and maybe even more... Samrah was non the wiser with what she's thinking about so he gestured back at the car. "Should we, continue on the road to the city?" Samrah said, snapping Anne back to reality. She quickly gave a nod trying to act calm, though it was slightly hard to with the revelation she was just a part of. Samrah went to the other side of the car again and fumbled a bit before he got it open, he entered the car and so did she. This time though, she didn't feel it necessary to lock the doors anymore so she left the pin on the doors up. She started the engines again to which, Samrah was starting to get used to but it was still surprising him slightly. She giggled at the fact and began to drive...

"Ah wait!" Samrah said and Anne put on the breaks immediately wondering what was wrong. "I forgot my staff..." Anne looked back at the side walk and yeah, he did leave his staff standing there... "I'll go get it." Anne said and went out the door to get it, she didn't hear what Samrah said since she was slightly excited at the thought of touching a real staff, it seemed like the real deal when it actually broke the tiles and that time on the road where he thumped it to the street. She quickly grabbed it but, found that she was unable to even jerk it. She blinked and pulled again, still unsuccessful. She looked at Samrah grinning at her outside the car. "I was trying to tell you that you won't be able to pick it up since I planted it on the ground..." Samrah said as he raised up his hand and the staff quickly unrooted itself from the ground and flew straight to his palm. She was even more awestruck now, seeing two magic in the same couple of minutes, it was a lot to take in. "It's a simple spell... especially if you are attached to the object in a mental way." Samrah said as she just blinked there and walked back towards the car, they got in once again but Anne didn't run the vehicle just yet... "This... is one hell of an evening..." She commented... "Ha, I can say the same Anne... waking up to a new and strange world isn't exactly what I'd call something I happen to everyday." At that, Anne recomposed herself and they began driving to the city...