Tangled By Fate

Veronica woke up early as usual. For two days, she woke up in the empty bed. This morning, she was gifted with her husband's presence.

Arthur was used to waking up earlier than she was sleeping soundly next to her. Veronica's head was placed on his chest. She carefully moved her head and looked at him.

His raven hair was spread all over the pillow. His lips were pressed in a thin line.

'I could stare at this face for eternity without getting bored,' Veronica thought. She recalled last night's event and remembered how sweetly he sang a lullaby to her. Her face bloomed with a smile. She couldn't stop herself from kissing his face.

From a far distance, Arthur sensed something soft touching his cheek. It was slightly wet too. It felt familiar like he was waiting for it. He opened his eyes, and the pair of golden orbs met the pair of emerald gems.

"Good morning, did you sleep well?" Veronica who never asked this before asked him.

Arthur was in a daze. He wasn't expecting a warm greeting from his wife who decided to be less intimate with him. Not Long after, he blinked before touching her face.

"It's a good morning indeed," he stated in his mind. I slept well. What about you?"

"Yeah, me too. Thanks to your lullaby, I had a good dream," Arthur told her. The back of his fingers brushed over her face. "What's your plan for today?"

"I'll take lessons from Roxana, spar with Ironin, and then Ovior will teach me about Magic Tower history."

"It sounds like a lot of work. Don't you want to take a break?"

"No, I want to meet up with Merlin. Ironin told me he would come here in the evening. I want to ask him about Science."

Relieved that she wouldn't step out of the tower day, Arthur fondly responded, "Very well. If you want to go somewhere, let me know."

"All right." Veronica pressed her chin on his chest and asked him, "You always think about my boredom. What about your work?"

"But I don't care about them. I only care about you. I will only think about you," Arthur stated as if it was an obvious fact.

Veronica thought that her heart was going to explode. Blood suddenly rushed to her face. She lowered her head to hide her bashful smile. Her nose was pressed against his skin.

Arthur's heart skipped a bit. He could feel her warm breaths as if softly inhaled and exhaled. His arm around her back automatically tightened.

"!!!" All of a sudden, Veronica gasped and raised her head. Her face was entirely red. Her emerald jewels were accusing him of something.

Arthur could guess what made her react like that. "I'll take a bath first." Arthur got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom.

Veronica covered her head with the comforter. 'How can he poke me like that? It's morning at that. Always so horny!' She wanted to scold him but only smiled foolishly.

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"Have you read the history of the Dark Magic?" Ovior abruptly asked a question.

'We were studying about the Great War. Why did he suddenly ask about the Dark Magic? Is it related to the war somehow?' Veronica wondered.

"I don't know much about the Dark Magic. All I know is that it is bad magic, using for bad reasons," she answered him.

'No matter how experienced she becomes, she is still as innocent as ever,' Ovior thought. "I'll brief you about Dark Magic today."

He cleared his throat and continued, "You have seen how hard it was to breathe when Dark Magic swarmed in the tower. It created lots of disturbance in our daily life. Negative thoughts, sinful thoughts filled her mind. We lost peace of our minds. 

"Black Magic has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes; or magic associated with the devil or other evil spirits. It is also sometimes referred to as the 'left-hand path'."

"What's a left-hand path?" Veronica inquired.

 "Left-hand path is magic used for selfish reasons. Black magic's right-hand path counterpart being benevolent white magic, good magic."

"There is something like White Magic!" Veronica was surprised. "What's that?!"

Ovior fixed his golden framed spectacles and described, "White magic has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for selfless purposes. Practitioners of white magic have been given titles such as wise men or women, healers, white witches, or wizards.

"Many of these people claimed to have the ability to do such things because of knowledge or power that was passed on to them through hereditary lines, or by some event later in their lives. White magic was practiced through healing, blessing, charms, incantations, prayers, and songs.

"With respect to the philosophy of left-hand path and right-hand path, white magic is the benevolent counterpart of malicious black magic. Like its counterpart white magic, the origins of black magic can be traced to the primitive, ritualistic worship of spirits as outlined in the book I wrote, 'Magic which is Forbidden'.

"Unlike white magic, in which Place sees parallels with primitive shamanistic efforts to achieve closeness with spiritual beings, the rituals that developed into modern black magic were designed to invoke those same spirits to produce beneficial outcomes for the practitioner.

"Place also provides a broad modern definition of both black and white magic, preferring instead to refer to them as "high magic" or white, and "low magic" or black based primarily on the intentions of the practitioner employing them.

"I acknowledge, though, that this broader definition such as – "high" and "low" – suffers from prejudices because good-intentioned folk magic may be considered "low" while ceremonial magic involving expensive or exclusive components may be considered by some as "high magic", regardless of intent. Any more questions about white magic, Veronica?"

'So much to learn. I've never thought such a thing existed,' Veronica thought.

She put her thoughts into words, "I'm curious. If a person selflessly harmed someone for someone else using magic, will it be White Magic? And if a person selfishly did something good to someone else using magic like punishing bad guys, will it be Dark Magic?"

Ovior stared at her for a while and then stated, "Remember, Veronica, the tower has forbidden both Dark and White Magic. No matter how much you compare them, they are forbidden. Either way, the user of Dark and White Magic will be punished once captured red-handed."

"But why?" Veronica was confused. "Even if they were used for good, they shouldn't be punished."

"That's because to gain that power the witch or the wizard has to sell their soul to the Devil himself. That magic will be naturally attached to them till they die which makes them blinded by greed," Ovior patiently explained.

He added, "For us, we have to study and practice every day to control our mana. Once we forget what we learned, all magic we learned is meaningless. Manifesting power naturally with hard work is an honest job we are proud to learn."

Veronica understood what he wanted to say. "I see. So, it's forbidden for a good reason. But people still choose that road because it's easy to get that power."

"Veronica, the wrong path is always the easiest," Ovior advised her.

"Yes, I'll keep that in my mind." She couldn't take it anymore and asked her mind, "But why are you teaching me all these things, Ovior?"

"I know you have enough on your plate, however, I wish you can keep an eye on your husband. Selling his soul to the devil isn't the best thing to happen to a human; especially not for a powerful ruler," Ovior warned her. "I couldn't stop him. But I hope you can."

Later, Veronica asked Merlin, "What's White Magic and how is it different from the Black Magic?"

"That's an interesting question, Veronica. The books and practices of the purveyors of white Witchcraft are examined alongside other popular Witches oriented toward consumerism. 

"White Witchcraft is also compared to traditional Witchcraft. I argue that white Witchcraft is a marketing label for a type of Witchcraft consistent with consumer Capitalism. 

"White Witchcraft emphasizes growth and success, eliding the understanding of loss, death, and the dark that is found in traditional Witchcraft. 

"White Witchcraft also celebrates individual pleasure and instrumental self-gratification at the expense of locating individuals in ecological and human networks of relationships. 

"Consumer-oriented Witchcraft has popularized and facilitated the growth of Witchcraft, but consumer capitalism has also shaped Witchcraft to be consistent with consumer values and ethics. 

"The purveyors of white Witchcraft do not challenge or question the goals and values of consumer capitalism, but explicitly celebrate them. 

"The mass media and consumerism are central sites of the ethical struggle for contemporary Witches..."

Merlin loved teaching people. Once someone asked him something, he would start saying everything he knew about that topic. 

For Veronica, it was the first time experiencing this.. 'I think I learned more than I wanted. Should I tell him to stop?' she pondered