A Borrowed Gift
Welcome to the Advent Calendar Story Train, where you can read through 24 stories under the theme Surprise.
The fairy who cursed Siduenya was diabolical. Not only was Siduenya barred from using her magic for her own ends, but the curse could only be reversed by someone who did something for Siduenya without being asked or feeling obligated.
If that ever happened, Siduenya would lose her magic forever because her “savior” would get her magic.
Siduenya figured that was the price for pissing off an edict fairy. They used their magic to infuse natural law. It was the silliest waste of magic she’d ever heard. If laws are natural, why do they need magical assistance? But the point was moot—Siduenya was stuck with a curse that she neither wanted nor wanted lifted. Now that same fairy taught curse lore at the Lyceum.
All of this rattled around in Siduenya’s head the morning Violeta knocked on her door. She had to give the girl credit—Siduenya had the most forbidding door she could devise. It was painted a gruesome red reminiscent of blood and looked perpetually moist. The knocker was a human skull with preserved eyes and a few strands of hair still clinging to the scalp. Its loosened jaw had to be moved to knock to avoid touching the menacing door. Violeta overcame what most people avoided in order to speak to Siduenya.
Violeta entered the house with brisk efficiency. Siduenya laughed aloud when she saw Violeta’s reaction to the sumptuous surroundings that greeted her.
“Were you expecting a torture chamber?” asked Siduenya.
“Frankly, yes,” replied Violeta, her voice high and reedy.
Siduenya gave her an appraising look. Violeta’s clothes were well-made, and her mud-spattered boots were functional rather than fashionable. Definitely Lyceum.
“And you came anyway? Desperate or brownnoser?” asked Siduenya. Her smile was out of practice and Violeta recoiled at Siduenya’s attempts.
“It’s not what I want—it’s what you want. I’m here to help,” said Violeta, holding out her hand to shake.
Siduenya threw her hands up in frustration and said rude words under her breath.
“Leave. I am not in the mood for one of Ametrine’s pets,” said Siduenya, shooing Violeta toward the door. A few years after Ametrine cast her curse, she started sending her most promising students to Siduenya to lift it as an extra credit assignment. At first, it was laughable and Siduenya indulged the students’ feeble attempts to break the unbreakable curse. But several decades later, it had ceased to be cute and became a constant reminder of what she’d lost. It’s what led to her using inventive door décor.
Violeta sidestepped Siduenya’s attempts to eject her.
“I know you don’t want the curse broken. Nobody wants to lose their magic. And you can’t use it for yourself. You’re like a genie without a lamp. What if I could change that?”
“You already lost, kid. Anything you do now is colored by obligation to your teacher or by my implicit desire, which may as well be a request. Now if you don’t mind—”
“You’re wrong. You don’t want the curse and you don’t want to lose your magic therefore negating your request. I have no obligations, which makes me a neutral party. So, I ask you, what’s the answer worth?”
Siduenya frowned. Violeta certainly had a new take on her predicament, but she sounded like one of those damned edict fairies with her “negating this” and “neutral party” that.
Was it possible? Siduenya saw the curse like a room with no doors, but maybe it was more like a jigsaw puzzle. Did Violeta have the missing piece? What wouldn’t Siduenya pay to get the answer? She saw warning signs everywhere, and deliberately tamped down her enthusiasm.
“The real question is—what’s it worth to you?” asked Siduenya. She offered Violeta a seat, who took it, gratefully. The walk to Siduenya’s house was neither short nor easy.
“I’m under a curse. I want it lifted and I need you,” said Violeta.
“Only the person who put the curse on you can lift it—trust me, I know,” muttered Siduenya.
“Actually, only the object of the curse can lift the curse, so I know this will work,” replied Violeta. “You lift my curse and it’ll lift yours.”
“None of this makes sense. I can’t lift curses. If I could, I would have lifted my own years ago.”
“Maybe. Tell me—is there anything about Ametrine you like?” asked Violeta.
“No! She ruined my life. If your idea is ‘forgiveness’, you’re wasting my time,” Siduenya yelled. Her small hope was shrinking. She stood, ready to throw Violeta out, forcibly, if necessary.
“No. That wouldn’t work,” Violeta said, quickly. “Ametrine must be cursed with your magic in order to lift my curse and then I can lift yours without your powers being lost.”
“What?” asked Siduenya, puzzled by the double-talk.
“I have the exact wording written down.” Violeta removed a slip of paper from her pocket.
Siduenya snatched the paper. What she read was not a curse, but a transfer spell. It seeped into her fingers, spreading throughout her body.
“What have you done?” Siduenya pulled Violeta from the chair, pushing her toward the door. But it was already too late—the paper had been enchanted. Her powers were leaving her.
“I need to borrow your magic. It’s the only way. My curse can only be lifted with borrowed magic,” she said, escaping Siduenya’s grasp.
Violeta erected an invisible wall blocking a powerless Siduenya out. Infused with the older bruja’s magic, Violeta began her spell.
“I curse you, Ametrine, with stolen magic, for someone to take your magic until it is freely returned,” she said, her voice reverberating. Siduenya didn’t doubt the echo made it all the way to the Lyceum. The walls of Siduenya’s house thrummed. With the last word spoken, Violeta disappeared.
Siduenya howled, bereft of her magic. Her anger shook the walls and cracked the ceiling. When the torrent passed, Siduenya surveyed the wreckage and gasped. She realized she’d done it with magic. But not her own.
Fairy magic.
Suddenly, she knew what Violeta had done. A slow smile crept across her face. Perhaps it was time for Siduenya to take a class at the Lyceum.
Thank you for reading today’s story. The next one will be available to read on December 11th, titled “Motherhood". This link will be active tomorrow when the post goes live.
If you missed yesterday’s you can go and read it here.