"GO AND CATCH A FALLING STAR,
GET WITH CHILD A MANDRAKE ROOT.
TELL ME WHERE ALL THE PAST YEARS ARE,
OR WHO CLEFT THE DEVIL'S FOOT.

TEACH ME TO HEAR THE MERMAID'S SINGING,
OR TO KEEP OFF ENVY'S STINGING,
AND FIND
WHAT WIND
SERVES TO ADVANCE AN HONEST MIND."

DECIDE WHAT THIS IS ABOUT.
WRITE A SECOND VERSE YOURSELF.

"please tell me that your 'what the fuck' was a good 'what the fuck'," jisung groaned.

changbin narrowed his eyes at him. "when is 'what the fuck' ever used in a good way?" he snapped. "this spell... it's extremely advanced. you need to decipher the lines first and then gather the correct ingredients to make it. according to the note at the bottom, you can even add a second verse if you'd like. that would make the spell all the more powerful." he rubbed his chin in thought. "i'll have to think about this some more. why would that wizard give you a spell like this anyway?"

changbin was no idiot. he knew by the way that the trio's eyes darted back and forth that they were lying to him. however, as long as their little fib could earn him a day of freedom— and maybe a second chance to escape the castle— he couldn't care less.

"well... he couldn't solve it himself, so he asked for our help!" the baker piped up. changbin decided it wasn't worth his time to try and remember his name.

"so he gave a complicated spell to a baker, a tailor, and a demon— all who can't do magic?"

it went silent and changbin had to force a smug grin down. caught. "well, it doesn't matter, does it?" the tailor— seungmin— asked. "all we have to do is figure out what each line means and collect the ingredients the spell calls for. hyunjin will be the one actually casting the spell."

"yes, yes. i was just messing with you." changbin abruptly slammed the book shut, causing the others to jump. "have any of you solved any of the lines yet?"

the baker— minsung? no, i'm getting that confused with jisung— nodded. "it's not much, but we've figured out that we need a child to retrieve us a mandrake root and some way to bottle up a siren's song. both of those are difficult enough, though; where in the world are we supposed to get a mandrake root?"

"did somebody say mandrake root?" chan asked, popping his head through the doorway. changbin's face soured. there are too many people here for my liking. when the pale kid with dimples appeared next to chan, he nearly screamed in frustration. why does everyone have to be in my room?

"we're trying to decipher a spell and we need a mandrake root. sorry if we disturbed you," jisung apologized sheepishly. "i know you two like to have some alone time after... uh... yeah."

what about my alone time? "no worries, mate," chan responded. "jeongin got hungry so we were about to head downstairs for a bite to eat when we overheard your conversation. we can help you if you'd like."

the baker arched an eyebrow. "unless you can pull a mandrake out of thin air, i don't—" chan zipped away and returned with a mandrake root in hand. "what the hell?"

"a while back," chan explained, "i was doing jeongin's laundry when this fell out of his pocket. i took it to hyunjin and he told me what it was. i don't know what it's used for— other than smelling absolutely horrid— but if you need it, you can have it. neither of us needs it."

changbin scoffed. "it's useless. we need to get a mandrake root from a child, not some half-blood who is well out of that age range. now, get out of my room!"

"wait!" everyone's eyes shifted to the boy who accompanied chan. he shrank back slightly when he noticed this, inching behind chan almost defensively. "um... well, before i came here, i used to live with a warlock. he's the one who cursed me." his voice wobbled a bit and changbin scrunched up his nose. pathetic. "he would sometimes feed me this— mandrake, you call it?— and it would make me feel good. before he abandoned me, i stole a piece from his lair. it was a long time ago, back when i could still be considered a child." he tilted his head to the side. "does that count? i kept it with me for a while, but i first took it when i was very young."

"that should work!" jisung exclaimed excitedly. he reached out to take the root but his hand was slapped away by the baker. "ow! what?"

"don't touch it! what if you burn it to bits?" he hissed, causing the demon to roll his eyes.

"and what if you accidentally put it in a cake?"

"oh, please! i'm not that idiotic!"

"it sure seems that way—"

"i'll take it." seungmin plucked the mandrake out of chan's hand and quickly pocketed it before anyone could protest. "now that we've got one ingredient, where are we going to find the others?"

it was then that felix burst into the room. "come outside! hyunjin and i found a merman!"

...you've got to be fucking kidding.

to changbin's relief, everyone quickly stampeded out of the room, a voice yelling, "grab the magic conch! grab the magic conch!" changbin exhaled in relief and sank further into his springy mattress, glad to finally have some peace and quiet. the things i do to escape, he thought, closing his eyes.

about twenty seconds passed before an awkward cough caused his eyes to fly open once more.

"uh... morning, changbin!" it was felix, who had remained at the doorway after everyone had left.

changbin didn't respond, choosing instead to shoot him a glare which caused the young wizard to wilt. why the hell is he still here? shouldn't he be out catching mermen with the rest of them? it wasn't that the warlock hated the freckled boy— well, maybe he did— it was just that his presence was teetering on the edge of being unbearable. despite being an adult he still acted like a child and hadn't an ounce of maturity in him. not only that, but he was always smiling and for some reason that made changbin's frown deepen. someone like that surely hadn't experienced all of the hardships the world had to offer.

"...what do you want?" he finally spat. he was tired of dealing with people. he had had more social interaction in the last hour than he had had in years.

if it were possible for someone to wilt even further, felix would've right then and there. "i... i'm really sorry! please forgive me!" suddenly he was kneeling on the floor face-down in a prayer-like position. "i know you're probably really mad at me, but i promise it won't happen again!"

what? "i haven't the faintest clue what you're talking about."

felix lifted his face from the floor, a hopeful look on his face. "so you didn't notice that i never brought you your breakfast this morning? ah— drat!" he smacked his forehead on the ground. "now you know!"

changbin rubbed his temples in annoyance. "i could care less that you forgot my breakfast," he seethed. "what i do care about is the fact that you're still in my room. get out!"

"wait! i brought you food, though!" felix reached down and picked up a silver tray that held a few small muffins, a bowl of fruit, and a small blue object that looked like a crystal. he held it out to him with a grin. "i figured that you hadn't eaten yet since you're a bit antisocial, but i suppose you proved that last bit to be false! when i arrived, it was like a party up here!"

changbin was about to say that no, he wasn't hungry and no, it most definitely was not a party when his stomach growled embarrassingly loud. he was quick to send felix a sharp look when the apprentice snorted and reluctantly held out his hands to receive the platter. "don't think you're getting any thanks for this," he said. felix shrugged.

"i didn't expect one, anyway."

the wizard plopped himself onto changbin's bed without his permission and inched towards him. the warlock tensed as he came closer and was about to tell him off when felix broke off a small piece of each food item and popped it into his mouth. changbin watched with narrowed eyes as the boy chewed and swallowed, then opened his mouth with an "ah" revealing that there was no food left.

when he had first become a prisoner in hyunjin's castle, changbin hadn't eaten anything in fear that it was poisoned. chan, his original "caretaker" (if one could even call it that) never bothered with small talk and simply left his meals in his room for him three times a day. felix, on the other hand, insisted on meaningless chit-chat; in the process, he had found out that changbin refused to eat, and thus a new tradition was born: before every meal, felix would eat a piece of changbin's food to prove it wasn't poisoned, and then warlock would eat.

after completing his inspection, changbin relaxed and quickly wolfed down the food. as he ate, the boy next to him stayed silent, which was very uncharacteristic of him to do. changbin didn't think much of it, though, and finished his meal in silence.

felix finally opened his mouth as soon as he took his last bite. honestly, he should've seen it coming. "so, today you're going to begin training me, right?"

shit. changbin had almost forgotten the deal the two had made. thinking back on it, it was idiotic of him to accept something that would not only require lots of effort but also more hours spent around the apprentice. nevertheless, he had agreed and had gained a bit more freedom than before, so it wasn't complete rubbish.

"i suppose," he replied without much vigor. "although i can't imagine that hyunjin would approve of us casting cur— spells in the castle."

"i know! don't worry, i know the perfect place." before he could object, felix grabbed changbin by the arm and yanked him out of his room and all the way down the staircase. the warlock was so caught off guard by the sudden contact that he hadn't even realized they had made it to the door until he saw jisung standing there, pouting.

"what's wrong, sung?" felix asked, spinning the multi-coloured wheel. "aren't you supposed to be merman-hunting with the others?"

"hyunjin said i wasn't allowed to leave," the demon grumbled. "i have to stay and open the door when they come back. it's not fair!"

"nice, nice." it was clear that felix wasn't paying attention to his friend's ramblings. the wheel landed on a lavender sliver and felix pushed the door open to reveal...nothing but grass. "well, we've got to go. see you, mate!" he quickly tugged changbin outside despite jisung's protests, the door clicking shut behind them. turning around, changbin found that the castle had somehow transformed into a tree trunk that stood upright, a shabby wooden door attached to it.

the two of them were standing in a field that stretched as far as the eye could see. stalks of wheat grew sporadically in small clumps and a light breeze blew by that caused them all to ripple in a hypnotic fashion. near them were a few small hills; atop one was a gigantic cedar tree, its branches reaching outwards as if it were trying to feel as much of the air as possible. it was quite grand, especially for a mere tree, and changbin couldn't help but let his gaze drift towards it. other than that, though, the place they were in was relatively empty. it was the perfect place to go to if you intended on making a mess without fear— or if you are a wizard that is dreadful at using magic, changbin added in his head.

"this is the field of falling stars," felix explained. "hyunjin used to take me here whenever he would train me. it's open and empty so i can make as much of a mess as i want!"

my thoughts exactly, changbin thought with a nod. "good, because the things i'm going to teach you will require a lot of trial and error. your muscles will ache. your limits will be tested. you'll want to quit, but i won't allow it." he lifted his chin. "this is your final warning. are you sure you want to become the apprentice of seo changbin, warlock of darkness?"

in all honestly, changbin expected him to turn tail and return to the castle. what he didn't expect was for felix to hold his head high and shout, "yes, master!"

"then let's begin. also, don't call me master."

"yes, bin!"

"...never mind, master is fine."