Second half of "What?" A fantasy in two parts

Part Two of “You want Me To Do What?”

Before I get to t he story:

A Happy Fourth of July to all those who read this and who live in America, or celebrate her anyway. Obviously not a perfect country but still over all one that learns from her mistakes and her people are willing to share, with a great economy, and the freedom to be a totally a Christian and any other religion.
Again too late I thought of doing a story for the holiday. I have a serious of stories for different holidays but not this one. So it would have had to be a new one, but I could have done it if I thought of it in time.


But here be dragons at least one. And a brave, unsure of herself female hero who learns something about herself. 2,692 words here today.

Here is a bit from part one to help you catch up.


When she saw her mentor in the door of her house, she knew he wasn’t there for a social visit. He had come sometimes for a social call but not this time. By the look on his face she knew it was something she wasn’t going to like. Donna hadn’t expected him to suggest that she come here though.
He had said, “I need you to do something. You’re not going to like it, but you’re the only one that can pull it off.”


She looked at him, a bad feeling growing in her stomach because of his words and tone of his voice. Donna had done many things she didn’t want to do to save her small nation. Gone undercover, spied with a partner, took part in a couple of magic duels, dealt with giant mice and that horde of bugs last week. That mission still sent shivers down her back. But now it was almost time for her to marry. She needed a break and rest.
Samuel said, “Most of your features show that some of your ancestors probably were Easterners. Along with that your knowledge of dragons and the Eastern Magic Code, your ability, and experience you could pass for an Easterner wizard. Your red hair could be a problem but there are ways to hide that.”
Even before Samuel finished Donna had stared at him; she couldn’t believe what he wanted her to do. He knew her background. A corner of her mind said that it was logical. There were dragons on the same mountain, as the school. The students had to learn how to communicate with them as part of their practice. The dragons of the mountain and the Teachers had made a pact, generations ago, that bound the dragons to deal with the students as their boss.
“Tell me what I need to do,” She had finally said.
After Samuel left she had sat on her bed trembling with the thought of pretending to be one them. She had some bad memories of being treated as dog, by Easterners. For some reason they thought she was a half breed and therefore deserved to be treated as a dog. She had had to spend almost a year with them. They fed her scraps and made her sleep on the floor, as well as beat her and forcing her to work for them. Finally her mother and father had found her, rescuing her.
In one way it was good that she had been a child. If she had been a few years older they would done other things to her and used her in ways that made her shudder to think of. Of course she might have been old enough to fight back and maybe even use her magic, but that would have gotten her killed, probably. She still didn’t know why they had kidnapped her and treated her like that, when she came up to them to ask if they were related. After her rescue she ran or hid from anyone who looked Eastern and had nightmares for years. One reason she had set out to learn the Eastern Magic Code was to see if she could figure out why they had done that to her, and to be able to defend herself if any one of them tried it again. She had studied dragons because she was fascinated by them.
Her memories stopped when she reached the school. She made sure she looked haughty and went in. She was half way across the common area when her worst fears came true. One of the officers in the Eastern army came up to her. She thought he was suspicious and wanted to see some proof of her identity but his smile showed her what he wanted.
“There you are, lovely one. I thought we could go up to my room and practice---your exercises.”
She tried to brush pass him, as she said, “Later I got...”
That was all she got out as he grabbed her, putting one arm around her.
 He said, “You can finish what you’re doing after we practice together.”
The way he said together made her feel dirty. She froze for half a heartbeat, wanted to flee, but that would not fit with who she was pretending to be. Her breath came hard, sweat formed on her forehead, her heart beat too fast.
He started to slip a hand inside her robe. Donna could smell his sweat with something extra that would be produced by his arousal. She swallowed the excess siliva that formed. Instead of slapping him and running which was her instinctive response she said, “I said later.” with all the haughtiness and anger she could muster. The anger wasn’t faked.
He smiled and said “I know how you students want it.”
Donna knew she couldn’t fight him and without her bracelet she didn’t have her usual weapons to stop him. He tried to kiss her, expecting her to react like any usual Easterner magic student would, by kissing back.
Instead she slipped her hand through the opening of her robe, beating his hand away as she did. She moved her hand faster than she thought she was able to and found one of the small charms she had made just for this occasion.
Donna slipped it off and threw it on the floor right under his feet. She started speaking Words.
The round piece of bark broke open on the floor releasing a lightly colored smoke. It spiraled upward caressing his legs and going up under the bottom of his uniform.
A second later, as he pressed his lips against hers and slipping his hand through the opening of her robe, he froze. Than he stepped backwards looking like he was puzzled. He yelped and started reaching for his legs to scratch the intense itch he had all of a sudden.
That gave her the opening she needed, finishing her recitation she moved her right hand around, as if she was wrapping something around him. He jerked up, looking at her with a panicked expression. She pulled on the invisible something in her hand and he slipped to the floor, falling on one side, with his hands tightly bound to his sides. She pulled again and he grunted as a long, coiling dent appeared in his chest armor, as if something heavy was squeezing him. He grunted out a curse and maybe a short scream.
She snarled, not all faked, “I said later! I got something to finish first before pleasure.”
Donna let go of what was in her hand and walked off.
“Damn officers, they don’t know their place,” she mumbled loud enough for those who had witnessed the confrontation to hear.
She finished with a particularly nasty Eastern insult. Some of those around her smiled and by the expression on the faces of other students, they thought he got what he deserved.
Some probably were thinking she should have squeezed even harder, she thought. I didn’t wanted to hurt him, not badly, that Power Word will keep him until it wears off in a few minutes. I used a weaker Power phrase on purpose.
As she walked out of the room, she saw he was squirming trying to find relief from the itching. That would stop before the Word let go of him.
Donna made it back to her room without further difficulty.
Once in the room she made sure the door was secure. Not so much because she was afraid that someone would want to finish what the officer started, but so no one could walk in while she opened her special small chest. It was locked with more than a physical lock. She had placed a black dress over it but she depended on a Power Word on it that wouldn’t let anyone, except her, see it. There was a second one that would keep it shut even if the lock was broken.
She picked it up with one hand and slowly opened it. Inside, along with pieces of jewelry, was her two must precious items. Her bracelet and her engagement ring. She picked that up first luxuriating in its feel. Rather had spent time designing it and making it just right and she could feel his love flowing from it. It was beautiful, with two doves touching a diamond between their beaks. The doves sliver in color and there were white and gold streaks throughout the band. The diamond shone with a brilliance that still surprised her.
She didn’t know how he got white and yellow gold to bend together with the Power metal like that but she was happy with the result. She treasured it more than the necklace he had given her the first time he had come by to introduce himself. He had made that too. She had known he was a special person to be able to make something like that, and because he had known what to give her. She adored opals. Both the opals, and the amethyst, set in Power metal made it just right for someone with her abilities. For the Power metal enhanced a Power welders abilities.
Placing the ring on her finger Donna looked at her bracelet. She shook her head, it, the necklace and other rings would have to wait. Easterners had engagement rings so no one who might see it would think it funny she was wearing it. The other jewelry would have to wait. Besides from her reaction when that officer tried to grab her she realized she had become too dependent on the bracelet.
She pulled off the robe and untied the belt as fast as her hands would move. Once it was off she held the belt with one hand deciding what to do with it. Keeping it would be best in case she had need of it again. Donna hurriedly packed it and the robe in the pack with her dirty clothes in it. She next dressed in traveling clothes; undergarments, brown pants and a light yellow loose fitting tunic. Lastly a hooded jacket whose hood would hide her hair.
She looked at her self in the mirror and nodded. This outfit was a design that anyone might wear.
After that was done she finished packing and stepped to the door. Oops, she forgot one thing. Hurriedly unpacking she found the black, gray and brown headband, that was as wide as her little finger was long. It was the headband that signified that she was a student of Eastern Powercasting. Making sure the Powercasting symbol was on the front she put it around her forehead.
Once that was done she stepped out of the room and collapsed all the Power wards she had placed around the room, she left. Donna walked confidently through the halls and down the stairs. Once in the common area again she said to the person behind a counter that she was done with her room. He nodded and she turned heading through the main door. As she did, she tried to look like she was all Powerful and she could do whatever she wanted.
Donna mused that Rather would be surprised, if he was to see her now with that expression on her face, along with her walk. He thought she needed more of an aura of confidence, than she usually displayed.
She found the stables and got her horse. It had been well taken care of and all she had to do was saddle it. The stable
hands could do that, but she didn’t want to wait. She could do it faster and be out of there sooner.
Once on the road she kept up her haughty stance, until she was halfway down the mountain. Once she thought she was beyond where anyone might be watching her, she relaxed. Stopping she took her chest out of the saddlebag. Opening it she placed the necklace around her neck and the bracelet on her right wrist. She added her other rings and than made a clicking noise with her mouth to urge the horse to start moving again. The horse was soon traveling at a half gallop.
On the way she thought about how she had been right for this trip after all. Even though she took a chance using the bark bead as a talisman she knew that it was unlikely that anyone would look for the bead. If anyone happened to find the tiny pieces of what was left of it, and checked it over, they would find traces of Hedge witch Power, not Northern Power. She didn’t worry about the other Power she used either. If anyone tested the residue of the Power, she had used on the officer, they would find what they expected: Eastern Magic as the bases. The same went with the demonstration of her Power she used to get in. Donna had used Eastern Power Words for both.
She was one of the few of her colleagues, who studied more than one type of Power. Now though she had to get going if she was going to make the rendezvous with the dragon and a day after that with her fiancé.
It would be good to have the dragon bones with the magic they contained. They would help her side, but they were not the reason she had taken the chance of coming here. It was the second thing, she had mentioned in an off handed way, that had brought her to this place. The humans she had mentioned, who would be coming over the pass, were coming to attack her people. There were no armies or mages, nor any other Power wielders, who were in the right position to stop them. Not that it mattered even if the army was in the right place. Her people were too few to have an army large enough to stop the one headed their way. With a few good mages, if they were able to hit the invaders in the right place, at the right moment, they might be able to do them significant damage thereby stopping them. But that would leave her nation open to an attack by the Easterners. The army however wasn’t in the right place. They were marching at full speed for the invaders because they weren’t going to give up without a fight. They would get there, however, after the invaders had come through the pass, and after they had a chance to rest up.
Her mentor had come up with the plan to use a dragon to decimate the invaders, while they were coming through the pass. He told her about the bones in the small cave just under the level of the lava in the Crag volcano. He had known about them for years but hadn’t had the ability to get to them. Now the level of the lava had gone down and if it continued going down, the cave would become accessible. But a dragon could get them. The bones were to be the excuse to get the dragon at the right place and time. Her partner would make sure the invaders attacked the dragon. He was good at making people do what he wanted without using any traceable Power words to convince them.
As she rode on she smiled happy to have beaten her fears and disgust, while at the same time she had been able to do something that would save her people. Not a bad three day trip.

The End