In the glass, Sarah was walking across a field, surrounded by her friends. In the distance, Jon and Karyn were visible, sitting on a wall. Karyn still had red hair.
Then with a wave of Endora’s hand, the glass was clear again.
“Why did you turn it off?” Sarah asked.
“I didn’t turn it off. There just aren’t any sources of magic.” Endora squinted. “No, I’m mistaken. There is one source of magic.”
“My grandfather’s stone.”
Endora nodded. “It’s barely visible, but it’s glowing white, right in the spot where you were sitting.”
A moment later, there was a small flash of color, extending outward from where Jon and Karyn had been. And when it faded, there was a visible patch of yellow heatmap, in the shape of a tree branch.
“That was me,” Jon provided. “I was demonstrating the stone to Karyn, so I changed the color of a branch.”
“Did you change her hair red, too?” Sarah asked.
“No, her hair was originally–”
Jon cut himself off as a larger flash of color appeared on the glass, rushing like coursing water towards the camera’s perspective. Yellow and red and purple swirled together, rolling towards where Sarah and her friends had been walking.
And then it stopped. It crashed into a wall of white, which blocked it from preceding further. Sent it fluming back into itself. Until it disintegrated into nothing.
And, its job done, the wall of white coalesced itself backwards, fading to purple as it formed Sarah’s silhouette.
“Karyn,” Jon continued from where he’d left off. “She originally had red hair, but she wished that she had blonde hair,” Jon decided to omit the part of the wish about breasts, “just like Sarah’s.”
“Well,” Endora sighed, “then that’s certainly what awakened Sarah. Her natural defenses blocked the magic that was intended to copy her. Her body instinctively detected a threat, and her magic awakened to neutralize it.”
“But if Sarah’s magic cancelled out Karyn’s wish, then why did her hair still change color?”
A red spear emerged from the purple silhouette of Sarah still on the glass. It shot, straight and true, right in the direction that the wave of magic had come from. It struck its target. And soon a small yellow silhouette in Karyn’s shape could be seen sitting on something invisible.
“Magical defense,” Endora intoned. “And magical offense. To ensure that whatever attacked would think twice before doing it again.” She turned to Jon, placed a hand on each shoulder. “Young man, it was your magic that awakened my granddaughter. The magic was created by another. And it was wielded by a third. But the magic belonged to you. It had been given to you, and you possess ownership of it. And your magic established a connection between you and Sarah, right at a critical moment in her life. And every action that you have taken since then has served only to strengthen that connection. I cannot pinpoint the exact moment when the two of you became soulmates. But you must believe me that it is true. Resistance will only lead to heartache.”
“Wait, so if anyone else had attacked me with magic, they’d have become my soulmate, instead?” Sarah demanded.
“No,” her grandmother turned to her. “This was a unique circumstance. Your defense spell, cast unconsciously, would have severed any connection’s hope of strengthening. But the connection was with Jon, and the severance was cast against this other girl, this Karyn.”
Jon looked at Sarah, and their eyes met. Sarah’s were pleading, and hopeful, and certain that the person she was looking at was the most important person in the world to her. Jon’s were less sure. Still not fully accepting the situation that he found himself in. But slowly finding himself more convinced.
“So a connection was created between me and Sarah,” Jon whispered. “And a severance was created for Karyn. But who did Karyn sever with?”
“Both of us.” Sarah’s eyes grew wide. “It’s starting to make sense now. I can start to feel my own magic. She hates both of us now. And it’s because of me.”
“It’s because of the both of you,” Endora made a valiant effort at sounding comforting. “But it’s not permanent. The two of you can still save her.”
