ASTORIA WALKED THROUGH THE SAND in a village in the the Redlands. The hot red desert was most definitely not Astoria's ideal place to be, but Caspian told her to go for their cause. She searched the tents for a yellow one, and when she found it, she buzzed with excitement.

Entering the tent, she was welcomed by the scent of jasmine. It was much cooler inside. The tent was full of random things: a pearl necklace, a wooden toy elephant, a decorative red and gold carpet. A cat purred by the foot of a table the enchantress sat on. Her back faced Astoria.

"Good afternoon, Miss Amin," Astoria said, stepping closer to the table, "I'm sorry to bother you without an appointment. Dr. Auden Oberlin sent me to you."

The woman turned around and nodded. Her ebony hair matched Astoria's. The enchantress had bright emerald eyes that captivated the lady.

"Did he?" she said. "Because I made it very clear I didn't want him or his lackeys coming by here again."

Astoria realized she made a mistake by mentioning the doctor. He had, in fact, not sent her this way. Caspian found the enchantress through his mother.

"I'm here to learn about magic," Astoria said, "and it has nothing to do with Auden, I promise. I just hope you'll have me, Leya."

Leya furrowed her eyebrows. "No. I don't trust you... or Auden."

"I only said his name because I thought the two of you were on good terms," Astoria explained, "I just want to learn your art. Everyone praises you."

Leya was well-known in the Redlands to harbor more magic than most. People visited her from all over to learn and to get her help. She was known to deny teaching. But Astoria vowed Caspian she wouldn't come back unless she had Leya's magic. If Auden Oberlin could do it, so could she.

"Why would I teach you?" the enchantress asked, now sitting on a wood chair. "You must know that I don't usually teach."

"I hoped you would see that I'm different," Astoria said, "I don't have magic of my own. Everyone else that's come to you had some magic, right? Don't you want to see if you can teach me, a woman with no magic?"

"Ah," Leya said, "but if there is no potential in you, then what is the worth?"

"Except there is," Astoria started, "My grandmother is Astoria Wu. I was named after her. I've never practiced magic and barely ever saw it because she died before I was born. Teach me."

Leya's emerald eyes glistened. Astoria gained her attention using the name of her grandmother, a mage as famous as Leya.

"Twenty-four hours," Leya said, "to see if you're worth it."

Astoria nodded. She had to be worth it for the reprisal. She began her training with the crown prince's glory on her mind.

• • •

FORTY-EIGHT HOURS LATER, ASTORIA FINALLY LEARNED THE BASICS. Leya began by explaining to her what magic was (she still didn't fully understand it), its history (who knew that magic originated from the women of the Redlands?), and how to harness it from the Earth. Astoria couldn't believe it at first — magic came from the Earth — but when she saw Leya perform a spell, Astoria began to come to terms with it.

Leya taught Astoria the art of focusing. An enchantress who can't focus, Leya had said, isn't an enchantress at all. Astoria learned that focusing only came from within, although she felt like she knew that. She had trouble focusing — her mind kept wandering to getting back to Lehua with Leya's magic.

Later, the enchantress took Astoria into the red desert and forced Astoria to sink her arms deep into the sand. The sun heated her pale skin and dark hair. Sweat glistened on her forehead. Astoria begged Leya to let her move her arms away from the scalding sand. Leya only forced Astoria to hold her arms down longer.

"What was that for?" Astoria remembered asking between gulps of cool water.

"To teach you a lesson," Leya answered, "Imagine this pain, only worse, if you use the magic I teach you for something terrible."

A shiver crept down Astoria's spine. "I wouldn't."

Lies, she told herself.

Leya smiled. "Good. Now let me teach you how to harness the Earth's energy."

•   •   •

ANOTHER DAY PASSED when Astoria finally felt ready to slip away from Leya's tent. She learned to focus, to feel the Earth's energy in her, to harness the magic the Earth offered. She performed some spells with the enchantress, who oh-so-kindly called Astoria an enchantress too.

Astoria left a note for Leya. She didn't want to leave the mage on a bad note; she couldn't afford Leya coming after her. It read: Thank you for trying. I hope I was worth it.

As she flipped open the exit of the yellow tent, Astoria took a final look behind her. She remembered thinking how the random knickknacks inside were strange. Now that she knew the stories behind many of them, Astoria almost wished she could stay to hear more.

But the glorious crown prince needed her.

Long live Caspian Stone, she thought as she walked through the desert with the two moons staring down at her.