Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a peaceful fall afternoon in the small village. The sun was starting to set, the air was crisp, the leaves crunched underfoot.

And Jane Byers was running for her very life.

She laughed as she looked over her shoulder, barely spotting Will's boot disappearing into his fort. She huffed at him. He had to know by now that was the first place Jonathan would look.

Her eyes darted in front of her as she kept running, her pace slowing now as Jonathan's voice got fainter behind her. She still had a few seconds before he started looking, and knew that unlike Will he wouldn't peek.

She stopped in front of a large oak tree, frowning critically at it. The top branches she could see looked sturdy enough, so she swung her legs over the lowest branches and started climbing.

She was pretty far along when she heard footsteps approaching. Her heart beat a little quicker. If she was found before Will, she would have to sweep that night, so she reached for the branch above her.

Then there was a sharp crack and the branch fell away from under her feet.

She quickly thrust out her arm and closed her eyes, concentrating. The air seemed a little thicker around her, as if it was water. Her stomach swooped like she missed a step on the stairs, and she opened her eyes to see the ground gently meet her feet.

She smiled automatically and turned to see who had made the footsteps, expecting one of her brothers. She was most certainly not expecting to see a tall, pale, unfamiliar man.

"Who are you?" She blurted. She couldn't remember seeing him before, so maybe a merchant or a bard?

Whoever it was, it was someone she didn't know, who had just seen her use magic.

The stranger smiled. "Don't be scared," he said, as if he had heard her, but didn't answer her question.

Then he took a step closer, and his fingers twitched. She reflexively tried to take a step back, only to find she couldn't move.

She struggled, her heart beating faster the closer the stranger got. He studied her with his pale eyes.

"I'm like you."

Then his fingers twitched again.

Jane felt strangely weightless, like she was floating, and when her eyes darted down, she saw it was because she was.

"Who are you?" She couldn't help but repeat, because how was he doing that? How did he have so much control? Why wasn't he afraid of using his magic in front of other people?

A faint smile crossed his face before he flicked his fingers again and she was once more lowered to the ground.

"My name is Henry Creel," he said, holding out a pale hand. "And I am a teacher to those promising enough."

She stared at his hand, arguing with herself, before she decided. Pushing her shoulders back, she grabbed his hand and shook.

"Jane Byers," she responded before she let go. "Would you teach me?"

**********

"Lesson one," Henry said, ducking beneath a branch as he led her along an unfamiliar path. "Emotions make your magic stronger."

"I already knew that," Jane informed him, too short at eleven years old to need to duck too.

Henry glanced back and Jane saw another faint smile. "Yes, but do you know how to use that information to your advantage?"

She fell silent, and the smile grew a bit bigger before he turned his head forward again.

"Sometimes you feel them naturally, but you can also use a certain memory to remind yourself of a time when you felt angry or scared. Your magic will try to protect you and become stronger."

Jane plucked a flower, absently twirling it. She supposed it was nice to know the reason behind it, but Will had figured out that emotions and magic influenced each other years ago.

Henry's gaze landed on her again, and perhaps he could tell she was losing interest. "I'm sure it isn't new to you, but I can teach you much more than that. For example, how to more effectively hide your magic."

She felt her cheeks grow warm with embarrassment and opened her mouth to defend herself, but found there was nothing to say.

The faint smile was back. "Of course, this time was alright because it was only me that found you, but the villagers won't be very understanding. Trust me, I know."

"How do you know?" Jane asked curiously. "Have they discovered you use magic?"

The path they were walking on came to an abrupt end and opened up into a clearing. It was large enough for a small cottage and a tiny little vegetable garden.

"Here we are," Henry said instead of answering. "If you want me to reveal my secrets," here he waved his hands at her, making her giggle, "meet me here two hours after sunrise tomorrow. You can tell your parents someone has offered you an apprenticeship if they ask."

"So am I your apprentice?" Jane asked, her voice a little more hopeful than she meant for it to be. "Because everyone else I've asked said no."

Henry tapped a pale finger against his lips thoughtfully, considering her. "Think of it as a trial," he said finally.

She couldn't stop the large grin curving her mouth. Her mother had been telling her and Will for weeks to start looking for apprenticeships, and it was true that nobody seemed to be offering one.

"Thank you," she said, shoulders slumping a touch in relief. "I'll see you here two hours after sunrise, Mr. Creel!"

"Please, just Henry," he said with a small laugh, "Mr. Creel was my father."

Jane couldn't help but notice his small flinch at the words.

**********

"Jane!" Will yelled as loud as he could, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Jane! We give up! Where are you?"

"Hell of a hiding spot she's found," Jonathan muttered, glaring around at the trees.

Will nodded. He had never liked playing hide and seek, so when Jonathan had found him and expressed his disappointment at the obvious place, he only offered a shrug.

"Almost as good as that time she climbed onto the roof," he agreed.

"Please, nothing could be better than the roof," Jonathan said, grinning. Then he paused and considered. "Well, actually, the time she lowered herself into the well came close."

"Yes, I wonder how she accomplished that," Will said dryly, thrusting out his arm pointedly, smiling when Jonathan laughed.

The smile fell as he looked around again. It was getting close to dinner time, when their mother would be home. The last thing Will wanted was for Joyce to have to look for her daughter after a long day of working in the fields.

"Jane!" He called again, bringing his hands back to his mouth. "If you come out now I'll do the sweeping for you!"

"You'll have to do that anyway," Jonathan pointed out, "I found you before her."

Will swatted his arm without looking. "Shh," he hissed. "Maybe she forgot."

Then there was a faint sound of leaves crunching that grew steadily louder. They both turned to see their sister running towards them, waving and grinning.

"Will! Did I hear you're going to sacrifice yourself for me?"

"Told you," Will whispered to Jonathan, before raising his voice again.

"Janie!" The twins ran to hug each other, Will picking Jane up and twirling her around. "Where did you hide this time? We've even looked on the roof," he asked, half joking and half curious.

Jane's gaze switched to Jonathan and back again, so quick Will almost missed it. "Oh, just in a tree. I'm surprised you guys couldn't find me, I'm not invisible," she teased.

Will shot her a look that he knew asked, tell me later?

Jane's returning one said, of course. You already know I tell you everything.

"Well, now that we've agreed on Will doing the sweeping, let's go start dinner," Jonathan said, glancing at the sun, which was about to set. "Mom's going to be home soon."

Jane looked at the sun too. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, "I didn't realize it was so late."

"Hey, it's fine," Jonathan said, his voice softening as he put his arm around her and the three of them started walking home. "We'll just make something quick. And we'll make Will milk the goat tonight."

"You're going to what?" Will said, whipping around to face him. "But Lady hates me and you both know it!"

Jane giggled. "Just use your magic to calm her down."

"Obviously," Jonathan chimed in so they said it in unison.

Will groaned even as Jonathan put his other arm around him.

**********

Once night had settled in the Byers cottage and Will could hear Jonathan and Joyce breathing deeply, clearly asleep, he snuck across the bedroom the family shared and climbed into Jane's bed.

"Make room," he whispered, nudging her with his elbow. She moved closer to the wall and settled the blanket over their heads to muffle the sound of their voices.

"You didn't actually hide in a tree today," Will said, more of a statement than a question.

"Well, I did at first," Jane said, tracing a small rip in the mattress with her finger. "But then I fell out. I'm fine," she added quickly as Will opened his mouth, and then shut it again, "but I used my magic to slow my fall, and a stranger saw me."

"What?" Will demanded in a strangled whisper. "Did they hurt you? Did they tell anyone?"

"No, no, I'm fine," she repeated, "he showed me he had magic too. He said his name was Henry Creel, and then he told me all the stuff about emotions we already knew, and then he…" here she frowned, like she was weighing her words. "He offered me an apprenticeship."

Will stared at her. She rushed to continue.

"He's a wizard, or at least I think he must be, and I know that we're supposed to keep our magic hidden, but he can teach me how to do that too, and just think how much more I can learn about magic and then tell you, and I thought we were the only ones who were magical but if he is too then maybe there are more, and it's really the only way I'm going to get an apprenticeship, and you're not saying anything, please say something?"

Will just blinked. He didn't think he could do anything else.

He cleared his throat. "Did you… did you accept it?"

She nodded, still watching him closely.

He nodded back. "Alright," he said slowly, "that's good. It's good that you got an apprenticeship, and it's amazing that you found someone else with magic. Just, uh. Maybe… I'm not sure if we should really trust him yet?"

"That's the thing, though, isn't it?" Jane said frustratedly, "he's the only other person with magic, so it's not as if I have any other options."

Will could feel his face soften. "I know," he whispered back, taking her hand, "I'm just worried about you."

"Oh!" Jane exclaimed suddenly, straightening up. "Do you want me to ask him if you can be his apprentice too?"

Will hesitated. He didn't want Henry Creel to back out if he heard that the magical girl had a magical twin brother, and they both wanted him to train them, except neither of them quite had full control of their powers yet and mishaps happened more than any of them wanted.

"Nah," he answered, smiling at her. "I'm this close to convincing Mr. Sinclair to take me on as an apprentice physician, anyway."

He pinched together two fingers and his smile became a little more real when she laughed quietly.

"If you say so," she teased. "Good night, Will."

"Good night, Jane," he whispered back, climbing out of the bed.

**********

I'm going to die here, Princess Nancy thought.

She had already done everything in her power to stay awake as her tutor droned on and on about which fork was right to use where. Now she was in a stupor, gazing out the window as subtly as she could.

If only she was taking one of the lessons she actually enjoyed, or better yet, talking to one of the tutors who was actually interesting. Florence, who taught her history lessons, had once managed to make Nancy invested in the background of one of her chairs. This woman, however, was like a personification of the color grey.

Suddenly a flash of light from outside her window caught her eye. Looking down into the courtyard, she could see Sir Stephen fencing with his new squire. Dustin? Something like that.

She sighed quietly and leaned back in her seat, looking at the tutor again. Unfortunately, this time the woman noticed and looked out the window too.

She huffed. "Princess, I understand young love can be distracting, but the queen has asked me to teach you this before the banquet next week."

Embarrassment heated Nancy's cheeks. "Sorry," she said quietly. It wasn't worth trying to correct her at this point.

The tutor wasn't the only one in the castle who was convinced Nancy was infatuated with Sir Stephen. And they might have been right a few months ago, but they weren't anymore.

Which was a huge problem, because Nancy was betrothed to him.

She wasn't stupid, she had seen the way her parents acted towards each other. The things they said when they thought nobody else could hear. The glares exchanged over a silent dinner table as servants looked uneasily at one another and Nancy started down at her plate.

She knew all too well what a loveless marriage looked like already.

**********

Henry Creel watched the girl leave and smiled. At last, he had found someone else like him.

His father just hadn't understood the way magic made life worth living, made it different from the mundane everyday existence of the other villagers. Victor hadn't listened when Henry told him that if they could only show the kingdom how strong magic made you, everyone would be too afraid to touch them and they would be safe, would be free to use their magic, to truly understand it and embrace it. After Henry had taken care of him, he had revealed his magic to the village.

They hadn’t reacted well. He ended up taking care of them too.

If Jane was revealed now, who knew how the village would react. But if she proved herself after the two weeks…

He had plans for her.

The sound of sniffing caught his attention and he turned his head to see a rabbit chewing on one of his carrots.

He frowned. How bothersome. He tilted his head.

The way the rabbit's bones snapped as he called on his magic to lift it up wouldn't affect the taste, he knew.

Rabbit stew for dinner tonight. Maybe there would be some left over for Jane the next day.

Chapter Text

Two hours after sunrise the next day found Jane standing in the clearing, debating whether or not to knock on the front door.

Joyce had been ecstatic when she had heard about the apprenticeship that morning over breakfast, practically spilling her porridge in her hurry to give Jane a hug.

"Oh honey!" Joyce said, squeezing her. "That's amazing! Who are you apprenticed to?"

Jane and Will exchanged worried glances. They hadn't thought about that. Shit.

"Oh, um…" Jane's gaze landed on the handcrafted table. Perfect.

"A carpenter, actually," she said, looking back at her mother with the most innocent expression possible. "He lives in the woods. I don't know if you know him? Henry Creel?"

Joyce's eyes turned glassy as she thought. "No, I don't think I've heard of him." Then she looked back at Jane and smiled, focusing on her again. "Congratulations, honey. This is fantastic!"

Jane looked at Will again. His face clearly said, "good save."

The last thing they wanted to do was worry Joyce about magic when she was already working so hard.

Which was why, of course, Jane was standing in front of a wizard's door with her hand lifted to knock.

She sighed at herself and lowered her arm. Maybe Henry wasn't home. Maybe he wasn't serious about the apprenticeship, or had forgotten, or something. She was just about to turn around and go back home when the door opened.

"Jane," Henry said, again with the faint smile. "You came. How lovely."

"Was I not supposed to?" She couldn't help but ask, scared she had somehow misunderstood.

"You were," he said, a little more gently, and Jane noticed his face looked somehow kinder than before. "I invited you, after all."

"Come in," he added, stepping aside and waving her in. "I was just preparing your first lesson."

The first thing Jane noticed when she entered was the candles. They were everywhere, giving the room a warm glow, and she gasped as she noticed some were even floating.

There was a cauldron in the fireplace, and Jane took a step closer to see something yellow bubble inside it. The steam from the cauldron drifted to the ceiling, where she noticed skinned animals and herbs hung. She realized distantly that the animals were strange shapes, like they had been twisted around. Next to the fireplace was a small table with two chairs, and next to the table was another door. It was open a crack, revealing a glimpse of what Jane assumed was Henry's bedroom.

She supposed it was what she should have expected, going into a wizard's cottage.

"It's amazing," she said, breathing in the scent of woodsmoke.

"I'm glad you think so," Henry replied, pulling out one of the chairs and sitting down. Jane joined him at the table and watched as he opened the book lying there. He had taken off the simple brown cloak he was wearing yesterday to reveal a billowing white shirt, of which he rolled up the sleeves.

"Lesson two," he said, flipping another page to a list written in neat handwriting.

"The different types of magic," Jane read, leaning over to see the title. She studied the words for a minute.

"You and I both have what's called telekinesis," Henry began, tapping on the page. Next to his finger was a small doodle of a hand with tiny waves coming off it. "That means we have the power to manipulate objects with our minds."

"Like I did yesterday when I fell," Jane supplied helpfully.

Henry nodded, then continued. "People like us, who use telekinesis, are called wizards."

He moved his finger to another spot on the page, tracing a drawing of a tiny bandaged arm. "One of the other types is healing magic. Those who have it are called clerics. They're only really useful in times of war and sickness."

Jane frowned. She knew that wasn't true, because Will was helpful all the time. He could calm anyone down with a touch, slowing down their heartbeat and making them feel relaxed. She couldn't remember how many times he had healed her scraped hands and knees from falling. Once he had even grown back the tip of Jonathan's finger when he cut it chopping firewood. That was part of the reason Will was trying so hard to be Mr. Sinclair's apprentice, because he knew how much he could help the village as a physician.

Then Henry's finger was moving again, this time over to a drawing of a glass bottle filled with green liquid. "Then there are witches."

He frowned slightly as he continued. "Anyone can become a witch with enough practice, which is why they're so common. They make potions and charms, and can cast spells, but only if they read them out loud, which is rather inconvenient."

Then he took his finger from the page and flipped the book shut with a thunk. "There are other types of magic, but you won't find anyone who uses them in this kingdom. Trust me, I've looked."

He pushed his chair back and stood up. "Witches are lucky. They don't have to hide themselves away, forced to use their magic only when they're alone. People think witches are useful."

He took the book and walked over to a shelf on the other side of the room. Jane watched him as he went, twisting around in her seat.

"People think healers are useful too, of course, but they're often worked to exhaustion, so it's safer if they stay hidden just like wizards. Wizards are often thought of as dangerous, you know."

Here he slammed the book on the shelf with rather more force than was necessary, and Jane couldn't stop herself from flinching.

"We have to stop ourselves from using our gifts, from truly reaching our full potential, just to make the weak villagers feel better about themselves, feel safe. But we shouldn't have to! We should be free to use our magic, and if that makes us dangerous, then let's show them we're dangerous!"

Jane found herself on her feet, facing Henry, both of their chests heaving with deep breaths. She could see her chair lying on its side in the corner of her eye. There was a wild, frenzied sort of look in Henry's eye.

Then he seemed to come back to himself. He blinked, and the look was gone.

"My apologies, Jane," he said. "I was ranting. It simply reminded me of an argument I used to have with my father."

She swallowed thickly. "That's alright," she said in a weak voice. She felt somehow it would be a bad idea to do anything else.

They studied each other for a long moment. "I think just that lesson is enough for today," Henry finally said. Then the faint smile was back and the tension dissipated.

"You know, if you're really going to be my apprentice, you're going to need to help with chores," he teased. "Why don't we go and weed the vegetables?"

Jane wrinkled her nose. "Nooo," she sighed, admittedly a little shakily. "I thought this was going to be fun."

Henry laughed and ruffled her hair as they stepped outside.

**********

That evening when Jane came home for dinner, she saw Will sitting on the front step, absently plucking the petals off a daisy. He sat up a little straighter as he spotted her returning.

"You're back!" He called out, grinning as he waved at her.

She could feel a returning smile spreading across her face even as she replied, "Where's Jonathan? Shouldn't you be helping with dinner?"

Will stood up and brushed his leggings and tunic off before giving her a hug. "He's been worried about you all day, Janie. He's forced me to starve here waiting for you to come back while he gets to stay inside and cook."

"So I've been gone for a day and you've already gotten lazy?" Jane teased, poking his ribs as she passed by him and entered the cottage.

Will rubbed his side and rolled his eyes as he came in behind her and kicked the door shut behind him. "Hardly," he snorted, then raised his voice to make sure Jonathan could hear. "Someone that I won't name made me do all your chores for you!"

"That's why he's my favorite brother," Jane grinned as she stepped into the kitchen and into Jonathan's waiting arms. He smiled back down at her.

"Hey, Jane," he said once she had let him go. "How was your first day as an apprentice?"

"I managed not to cut my finger off when I was chopping wood," Jane said innocently. "It was easier than you made me think."

"Yeah, yeah," Jonathan replied fondly, passing her the bowls and spoons. She looked behind him to see the cauldron in the fireplace full of some kind of stew. "Did you and Henry make any cool furniture?"

"No, not yet," she said lightly as she set the dishes on the table, Will helping her put them in the right places. "He just taught me the basics today."

"Yeah, I remember when Hopper took me on as an apprentice," Jonathan said absently, giving the stew a stir and sniffing it critically, adding a few more herbs. "It took forever for him just to let me shoot a bow, and even longer for us to actually go hunting."

"How is Hopper anyway?" Will chimed in, "I haven't seen him around for a few days."

"He's doing fine," Joyce's voice drifted into the kitchen as they heard the front door open, "and Jane, he has something he wanted me to give you!"

Jane poked her head around the corner and gasped when she saw it. "My own axe?"

Joyce shut the door behind her, holding it up with a little smile on her face. "You know Hop, he thinks gifts should be useful. Said something about paying the blacksmith double to get it so quickly, but how he wanted you to have it as soon as he heard."

Jane gave her a wide smile back before letting herself be pulled into a hug, both of them careful of the blade. "I love it," she said, and if her voice was a little wobbly, nobody mentioned it. "I'll make sure to thank him the next time I see him."

She swiped a hand quickly over her eyes before stepping away and taking the axe, grinning at it. It was well balanced, and had a good weight to it, perfect for chopping wood.

"Dinner's ready!" Came Jonathan's voice from the kitchen, and the family sat down to eat. Jane set her new axe carefully by the door before she joined them.

**********

Steve pushed the door of the shop open, startling a little when he heard a tinkling noise. He looked up to see a flash of silver.

"Hey Rob, why'd you hang a bell over the door?" He wondered aloud, once he had puzzled out what it was.

"Tells me when people come in," came a muffled voice from further inside. "Lets me see if it's a cute girl before I greet them. Gives me time to freshen up, y'know?"

Steve wandered over to the backroom, spotting the source of the voice. A head of messy short blonde hair was hunched over a book, but turned to face him as he entered.

Robin looked him up and down pointedly. "Which you are most definitely not," she continued, then smirked. "How may I help you, Sir Stephen?"

"I told you not to call me that," Steve sighed, rolling his eyes, then looked her up and down too. "Woah, nice witch robes."

"Thanks," Robin said, standing up from her desk and twirling around. Her dark green cloak snapped open with the movement, revealing a white tunic, leather pants, and black boots underneath. She had tied the look together with the belt with the gold buckle Steve had given her for her last birthday. "I even found a pointy hat, but it's itchy so I've decided to only wear it around customers."

"Speaking of which, has anyone bought anything yet?" Steve asked. "I know it's only your first day, but everyone up at the castle has been talking about your store since, like, you started building it."

"You mean since I made Keith build it," Robin corrected. "He did a piss poor job, by the way. I'm basically holding this whole place together with magic."

Steve shrugged. "It looks cool. All crooked and everything." He raised his eyebrows at her. "Looks pretty witchy. Careful, you don't want people spreading rumors." He grinned when she laughed.

"Thanks," she said, still giggling a little. "And to answer your question, it's actually not going too bad." She threw an exaggerated look over her shoulder before turning around again and whispering to him loudly, "I've sold so many love potions I'm almost out."

He snorted and pushed her shoulder, making her laugh again. "I'm not surprised," he said, with another shrug. "Sometimes I practice next to the servants when they lay out the laundry in the sun, and you'd be surprised at the kind of shit I overhear."

"Language, Stephen!" Robin said, bringing a hand to her chest and giving him a scandalized look. "You have a squire now! A mere child! We don't want him overhearing such foul words!"

"Yeah, yeah," Steve said, bored. Ever since he had become Dustin's mentor, she had started bugging him about his (admittedly unsavory at times) language, despite not even meeting him yet. Then he shifted his feet and became a little more serious. "That's, uh. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What, about your squire?" Robin said, shooting him a curious look. She had gone back to poring over the book, but now she shut it and leaned over, patting the spare cushion next to her desk. "I thought everything was fine with him?"

Steve threw himself down with a sigh, kicking his feet up onto her desk and barely twitching when she pushed them right back off, glaring at him. "No, it's not about him," he said slowly. "It's about love."

**********

Robin Buckley was a lot of things. Some of those things were:

-distracted easily

-adventurous

-rather inclined to ramble

But right now, she was very, very confused.

Sir Stephen Harrington was just about the luckiest person she had ever met. He was betrothed to the princess, for god's sake. Given that Robin lived in the village right next to the castle, she had seen Princess Nancy a few times in passing. And while Robin did tend to think just about every girl who was friendly to her was the prettiest person she had ever seen, anyone could tell that the princess really was gorgeous. Not to mention that, at least from what Robin could remember observing last year before she got busy with building her shop, the princess was head over heels for Steve, just like Steve seemed to be crazy over her right back.

But now Steve was sitting on the cushion next to her, looking rather like a kicked puppy with perfectly styled hair, asking to talk about love.

Robin felt her eyebrows draw together. "Did something happen with Nancy? I thought both of you were happy being betrothed."

Steve picked up a quill from her desk and started fiddling with it, avoiding her gaze. "Well, we were," he started, slightly quieter than before, which reminded Robin to look over her shoulder into the shop. Nobody was there, luckily. "Just, I don't…I don't know. I mean, she's a great person, and I love being around her, I just…"

He took a deep breath. "I don't know if I love her anymore."

Robin wasn't really sure how to react. She decided to go with "oh."

Steve huffed out a quiet laugh. "Yeah, oh. Which really sucks, because the king decided we're getting married when we’re both twenty-one. So in…"

He started counting on his fingers, but Robin rolled her eyes and cut in. "In three years."

"Yeah," Steve said, snapping his fingers. "Three years. And I just can't see myself falling in love with her again. I guess I just don't know what to do," he finished quietly.

"I think you should go talk to her," Robin offered after a moment, kicking his foot gently. "The key to any kind of relationship is communication, even friendship. And you do want to be friends with the princess," she added, raising her eyebrows at him. "She's going to be the queen one day, after all."

Steve snorted and kicked her back. "You might actually be right, for once," he finally said.

Robin gasped at him. "For once? You should know by now I'm always right."

Steve raised an eyebrow at her. "One word: Vickie."

Robin groaned loudly over Steve's laughter. "No! I thought we agreed not to bring her up when I give you girl advice!"

Steve raised his hands in mock surrender, still laughing.

**********

Jane fell into a routine with her new apprenticeship surprisingly fast. Two hours after sunrise each morning Henry would open the door to his cottage and invite her in. Jane was a bit wary after his outburst the first morning, but it didn't happen again. If anything, he seemed calmer and calmer each day. Every time he taught her a different lesson. Lesson seven, about magical creatures like dragons and trolls, had been her favorite so far.

After the lesson he would find a chore for them to do. Jane had dragged her feet a bit at first, but they turned out to be rather fun. She and Henry would chat while they did something like peeling potatoes or sweeping, until it was time for the midday meal. Often they had stew, but once he had surprised her with a loaf of fresh bread and a small jar of honey.

"I went to the baker's this morning," he explained, his faint smile wider than usual as Jane grinned back at him.

Sometimes they would do more chores after they ate, but more often they would take a walk through the forest together. Henry would point out the different plants, guiding her away from the poisonous ones.

"Leave gathering poison ivy to the witches, please, Jane," he said once with a raised eyebrow after she had almost fallen in a patch before he pulled her back.

When it was late and time for dinner, they would say their goodbyes and she would go back home where Will was waiting for her, sitting on the front step. The best part of Jane's day was always, always watching his face light up as he spotted her, closely followed by his hug as a way of saying hello.

Jonathan, Will and Jane couldn't help but notice that Joyce was inviting Hopper over for dinner more often than not these days. The three siblings would exchange knowing glances as Hopper's hands would "accidentally" brush Joyce's as he passed her a bowl of stew, or the way Joyce would laugh so hard she cried at a story Hopper told.

Later in the night, when the others were sleeping, Will would sneak over and Jane would throw the blanket over them both like she always did. She would tell him everything Henry had taught her that day. Lesson number five had been his theory on how healing magic worked, and the twins stayed up into the early hours of the morning as Will asked Jane over and over to repeat everything as he carefully wrote it down.

"Wait, wait, wait," he said, the quill scratching as he furiously scribbled everything down, "you said he thinks my magic can affect people's brains?"

"That's what he taught me," Jane said, fighting to keep her eyes open. "He said something about how clerics can heal people's minds? I think. I'm sorry, Will, I don't remember everything."

"No, no," he said, looking up to smile reassuringly at her, then frowned as he realized how tired she looked. "We can go to bed, if you want," he offered.

"No, don't worry. I'm good to keep going," Jane was quick to say, and now it was her turn to smile reassuringly.

The grin she got in return was more than enough to remind her why she was willing to do much more than lose sleep for her brother.

It had been over a week, more than halfway through the trial period, since Henry's offer when the routine changed. Today he was already waiting outside when Jane arrived.

"I thought it was time we practiced," he said as both a way of greeting and explanation when he saw her.

"Practiced how?" Jane asked curiously, studying the two sacks of potatoes he had set out, one bigger than the other.

"Remember my first lesson?" Henry asked, watching her make her way over the clearing to stand next to him.

"You told me 'emotions make your magic stronger,'" she answered.

"That's right. I also told you that you can call on certain memories in order to feel angry or scared. So," he waved a hand at the potato sacks, "today I thought we could practice thinking of a memory, then lifting the potatoes into the air. They should be heavy enough for it to be a challenge for you."

"I think I can do that," Jane said slowly, thinking. She had been strong enough to slow her fall from the tree because she was scared, so maybe it wouldn't be too much of a leap for her to do this too.

"I know you can," Henry replied, giving her an encouraging smile. Jane unconsciously stood a little taller. "I'll go first, to demonstrate."

"I'm thinking of a time when I was being chased by a bear, and I was scared," he continued, taking a small step forward to a line drawn in the dirt Jane hadn't seen before.

She felt her jaw go slack. "Did you pick up a whole bear with your magic?"

Henry just gave her one of his faint smiles over his shoulder before turning back around. "Using that memory, my magic is reacting by becoming stronger," he said. He held his arm out. "Now I can call on it, and…"

The larger potato sack was suddenly thrust into the air. Jane gasped, impressed, and clapped.

Henry grinned at her, then took a step back from the line. He waved her forward. "Now you try."

She moved up to the line, taking the time to line her feet up perfectly with it. Then she closed her eyes.

A time when she felt angry or scared. She thought back to a few years ago, when she and Will had gone to the marketplace to buy food. She came out of the bakery to find Will, lying on the ground with his arm shielding his face, flinching back. Standing above him was Troy, a child slightly older than the twins and much bigger, with his fist raised. Jane pushed back the rest of the memory, how she had seriously thought for a moment that the village finding out about her powers would be worth it for Troy to leave Will alone. How she had instead spotted Hopper chatting with Mr. Sinclair and ran to get him. How Troy went pale and ran away when he saw Hop storming toward him, glaring. How quiet Will was on the walk back home, how Jane had needed to bandage him up because his powers didn't work when he tried to use them on himself.

Instead she focused on that hot, twisted feeling of pure rage that clogged her throat and stung her eyes as she had watched her twin brother flinch back from the bigger boy. Jane felt her magic flood through her, from her heart to her fingertips, and opened her eyes, focusing on the sack of potatoes. She thrust her arm out and screamed, a sound that forced its way up her throat and bubbled through her lips as the sack was launched into the air.

She lost concentration and took a step back, surprised. The sack landed with a dull thunk.

"I did it," she said numbly. Then she grinned. "Henry! I did it!"

She turned to see him smiling the widest she had ever seen at her. "You did it," he confirmed, reaching out and ruffling her hair.

Then Jane felt something trickling down her face. She touched her hand to her upper lip and felt something hot and sticky. The scent of copper filled her nose. She pulled her fingers back to see red liquid.

"Ah," Henry said, wincing in unison with her. "Sometimes if we overextend our powers, we get nosebleeds. It's just something you learn to live with."

"Oh," she said.

"But Jane! You did it!" Henry said, grinning at her again, and she grinned back, because she had just lifted a heavy sack into the air, and who cared about a tiny little nosebleed, anyway?

Chapter Text

For Jane, waiting to tell Will what had happened for the entire rest of the day was torture. She was practically bouncing with excitement when their mother and Jonathan were finally asleep and Will could sneak over.

"Alright, what happened today?" He asked, watching her throw the blankets over them with a bemused smile on his face. "Did you overthrow the king or something?"

The words burst out of her in a rush. "Henry taught me to think of a memory of a time when I felt angry or scared to make my magic stronger, and it worked! I lifted a potato sack into the air!”

Will grinned at her. “What did those potatoes ever do to you?”

Jane shoved his shoulder and whispered furiously, “That’s not the point. The point is that I can control my magic now!”

Will laughed, leaning forward and pulling her into a hug. “I know, I know. I’m proud of you, really.” Jane hugged him back.

“Besides, Henry’s made me peel potatoes twice in the last four days, so. They weren’t exactly innocent.”

“You said you remembered a time when you felt angry or scared?” Will said once they had let go, reaching over to pull out his journal and quill, poised to write. Jane hesitated.

She didn’t really want to tell him what she had thought about. Everyone in their family knew what it meant when Will was especially quiet or explained away a new bruise by saying he tripped, but ever since the day at the bakery Troy hadn’t been caught. As much as Hopper and Jonathan might have wanted to, they couldn’t exactly attack a thirteen year old boy, and Jane and Will were too small at eleven to do any real damage. “Yeah, I just thought of that time Hopper took us to the quarry,” she said, as nonchalantly as she could, shrugging. Will was too absorbed in scribbling down everything she said to hear any undertones. “Remember? How you almost fell off the cliff?”

Will glanced up at her for a quick second, brown eyes flashing in the dark as he grinned. “I remember. When he told mom, she went ballistic.” The twins laughed quietly as Will started absently drawing beside his neat handwriting.

“I went into town today,” he whispered, breaking the silence. Jane looked up from the page to him, curious. “There was a bard there. Edward, I think was his name? He was singing something, and his voice was really good.”

“Oh?” Jane asked, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as the drawing took the shape of a mandolin.

“If Henry lets you, tomorrow you should go out and listen to him. You won’t believe it if I just tell you about it,” he continued as he added more details. “Anyway, that wasn’t even the important part. There was this group of kids already listening when I got there, so I was sort of standing a little further off, right?”

“Right,” Jane agreed, watching the neat flicks of ink turn into strings.

“So he finished the song, and the kids were clapping, and then one of them asked if he knew any songs about magic.” A few strokes of the quill turned into decorative carvings. “He said he didn’t, but he did know about a magic shop that had just opened up, pretty much right next to the castle.” Jane didn’t say anything, for once unsure of what her brother was going to say. “I had to leave then, because,” a strange expression crossed his face, unreadable in the moonlight, but Jane could guess which child might have showed up, “well. It was almost time for lunch. But I was thinking…”

A few finishing touches of shading and the mandolin was finished. Will put the journal aside and turned to face her. “Maybe I could get an apprenticeship there. At the magic shop. Somehow.”

Jane slowly lifted an eyebrow at him. He huffed at her and it was his turn to shove at her shoulder. “I know what you’re going to say, you know. Maybe a traveling bard isn’t the best place to get reliable information, but it’s worth a try, isn’t it? Besides,” his voice got even softer, “if I go, it’ll be less for Mom and Jonathan to worry about.”

Will looked too serious, so Jane shrugged to get his attention again. “You’re right, it could be worth a try,” she said, matching his volume. “Just, maybe it shouldn’t be your first choice?”

“I know,” he sighed, looking down at his hands to avoid her eyes. Then he seemed to take a deep breath, to straighten his shoulders and pull himself up. He grinned at her. “But just imagine how cool working in a witch’s shop would be!”

“I wouldn’t know,” Jane grinned back, “I’m only a wizard’s apprentice.”

He laughed and swung his feet off the bed. “Good night, Janie.”

**********

It was Jane’s fourteenth lesson with Henry, two weeks since he offered her an apprenticeship, when absolutely everything went wrong.

She didn’t know that in the morning, of course. She had woken up to the sounds of birds chirping and Jonathan making breakfast, Joyce already off working and Will outside milking the goat. She had done all her morning chores like she normally did, and set off into the woods so she would make it there on time.

It was two hours after sunrise that day when she should have taken off running home and never looked back. Henry was waiting for her outside again, wearing his normal cloak and holding a book. It wasn’t one that she recognized. This one had a faint red tint to the leather, and if Jane didn’t know better, she would have said it had a slight glow.

“Hello, Jane,” he said. He didn’t greet her with a smile like he normally did. “Today I thought we’d try something a little different.”

“Different how?” she asked, eyeing the book. When she looked at it, it seemed to somehow blur at the edges, like it was unnatural, like she shouldn't be able to see it.

“This is the end of the trial period,” he said instead of answering, hiding the book a little further back in a fold of his cloak. He raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at her, pinning her down with his gaze until she felt like she couldn’t have moved if she needed to run for her life. “I need to absolutely know, once and for all, that I can trust you.”

“Of course you can trust me,” Jane frowned, “I’m your apprentice.”

Henry studied her for a long moment, and Jane was reminded of their first meeting. Just like Jane had done that day, he seemed to come to a decision. He pushed his shoulders back and waved his hand to let her know to follow.

“Come with me,” he said, before turning and walking off deeper into the woods. Jane threw one last glance over her shoulder at the peaceful sunlit clearing, before running after him into the shadows.

**********

Normally when Henry and Jane went on walks, they would talk about whatever topic caught their interest. Sometimes it was which birdsong they thought was prettiest, or one day might find them discussing what herb smelled the best and which ones really belonged in rabbit stew. But today both of them were quiet.

It wasn’t a comfortable, companionable silence. It felt cold and awkward, but Jane didn’t know how to break it. Henry felt different today, striding through the forest with purposeful steps that made Jane trot to keep up. She kept glancing up at him, and he was staring straight forward with his eyebrows knitted together. It made an uneasy sort of feeling settle itself in her stomach, which clearly made her imagination spiral out of control, because she kept thinking the trees here looked dead, and once or twice even thought that she could see vines twisting and moving around.

Suddenly Henry came to an abrupt stop, and Jane tripped over her feet a bit so she wouldn’t slam into him. She looked out from behind his back, but what she saw didn’t make any sense. They were in front of a massive tree, as wide around as two Hoppers and reaching up, up into the forest canopy. In the tree itself was a thick gash of glowing red, like a window, but a layer of some kind of mucus stopped Jane from seeing inside. The same vines that Jane thought were her imagination snaked out of the window, reaching toward her and swaying, almost like snakes. The smell of smoke, copper, and rotten eggs crashed into her nose.

“What…what is that?” Jane asked once she found her voice. When she looked up at Henry, she was shocked to see him grinning. How could anybody look at this hellish monstrosity and smile?

“That,” he answered, his voice dripping with satisfaction, “is a portal.” He held up the book. Jane could see, now that it was dimmer, it really was glowing red.

“Remember I told you anybody can become a witch? The same is true for a mage.” Henry opened the book, started flipping pages. “Mages are often thought of as evil…” He spat the word out as if it tasted sour. “But we’re not, really. Most of what we do is just summoning portals.”

“Portals to where?” Jane demanded. She tried to take a step back and found she was frozen again.

Henry seemed to have found the page he was looking for. His smile grew a little wider, a little more deranged, and then he started to read out of the book. It seemed to be in a different language, full of guttural sounds and hisses like a snake. He was completely focused, a wild look in his eyes, reflecting the red glow.

Suddenly a dark shape appeared on the other side of the mucus. A bump appeared, then another, like a creature on the other side had put its hands on the barrier and was pushing. There was a wet stretching sound, like the mucus was pulling thinner and thinner, when it suddenly gave out and whatever was on the other side pushed through.

The creature was shaped like a wolf, or at least, a wolf that had grown to be the size of a bear and had been starved to the point of ribs poking through its coat. Its lips were curled in a snarl, revealing rows of sharp yellow teeth, dripping with drool. It tossed its head as if it was a horse with an invisible halter on, and seemed somehow reluctant when it padded towards Henry. The grin on his face only grew sharper as he buried his hand in its black fur. While the creature snapped its teeth and flashed its red eyes warningly, it didn’t attack.

“This is a hellhound,” he explained, answering Jane's unanswered question. “Beautiful creatures, aren’t they?”

“What are you doing?” she asked, horrified, as the creature growled at her. “Why did you bring that thing here?”

“Remember what I said, about wizards being forced to keep their magic hidden?” Henry questioned her, calm even with a monster next to him. “I told you that we should show the villagers we’re dangerous.” He flipped another few pages.

All Jane could do was watch as he read out another spell in the vicious, animalistic language. Suddenly she felt dizzy as the world started to spin around her. Colors seemed to blend together, trees and vines swirling into one, the sound of the hellhounds’ confusing whining filling her ears. She felt herself falling, down, down, down, past where she thought the ground was supposed to be.

Just when she thought she was about to throw up, the falling came to a sudden end and she knocked her knees against cobblestones. Looking up, she realized she was in a dimly lit alleyway in the village. Beyond the two shops they were sandwiched between, she could see the village square. A bard sat on the fountain, singing to a group of children. Mothers walked past, balancing their babies in one arm as they carried baskets of groceries in the other. Merchants called to one another from across their stands, comparing the quality of their goods. And right across from the alley, where Jane was frozen with a wizard who she now knew to be evil and a monster that was snarling, barely controlled, were three people. Will, Jonathan, and Hopper.

"Right now, we're very dangerous," Henry finished, the wild look on his face growing more intense.