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Zack's horrified gasp makes both of his friends stop to stare at him. He yanks his hood over his head and ducks back around the corner.
"What's wrong, what is it?" Milo asks, baffled. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary in the inn, just a few patrons.
Zack's breathing is short and strangled. "My teachers are here." He gasps, clenching his fists. "The woman in blue with the curly hair, and the woman in red with the grey hair."
Melissa peeks around the corner and easily spots the women Zack means. They are sitting at a table near the front door, seemingly just chatting and eating. But Melissa is sure that they glance at the doorway she is looking through a few times.
"What are they doing here?! We're miles away from Hollowbreach!" Zack exclaims, panic hitting them. Just a glance reminds him of everything they did, all of the fear and pain that marred his childhood. If they knew what he has been doing... gods, he'd be lucky to survive the punishment.
"Come on. Let's go back upstairs." Milo takes his hand and squeezes it gently.
Back in their room, they try to discuss the situation. "It might just be a coincidence. I mean, this is a pretty big city. They probably don’t even know that you’re here.” Milo comforts Zack. His friend looks rattled, sitting on the bed and hugging his arms. Considering what he said about his so called ‘teachers’, considering the horrific scarring on his back… no wonder.
Zack shakes his head. “They looked at me, I’m sure. Oh gods, they’re going to kill me.” His hand drifts to his back. He lightly touches the scarring, then winces and yanks his hand away. “They always knew when I misbehaved, they’ll know, they’re gonna…” He trails, panic mixing with resignation. He is used to this.
“Whoa, hey.” Milo takes his hand. “They’re not going to get anywhere near you, ok? We won’t let them.” He moves his thumb in a circle on Zack’s hand, just trying to calm him down.
“We need to do something about them.” Melissa says, expression dark. “We can’t let them hurt anyone else.”
“You can’t kill them.” Zack says hurriedly. “They’re good people, they’re nice.”
Milo and Melissa stare at him like he sprouted an extra head. “Nice? Zack, they basically tortured you!” Melissa exclaims. “You’re terrified of them!”
Zack’s free hand drifts to his back again. “They were reforming me- they thought that they were doing the right thing.” He corrects, remembering that he isn’t supposed to think like that anymore. “And they kept me safe. If I hadn’t had them, I would’ve been arrested and burned.”
“They could’ve kept you safe without hurting you.” Milo says, squeezing his hand tightly.
“They were… they were nice. They were good.” Zack insists, head spinning.
“If they’re nice, why are you so scared of them?” Melissa points out.
“They hurt me.” Zack says quietly, scrunching in on himself like a piece of paper. “They hurt me and were mean to me and they made me hate myself.” He sighs, wrapping his free arm around himself. “But they really were good people who wanted to help me, even if they did it the wrong way.”
Milo and Melissa look at each other. “Let’s come back to that.” Milo says, knowing how difficult it must be for Zack to overcome his childhood. “You said that they always knew when you ‘misbehaved’?”
“Yeah. They’d know if I healed myself, even if they couldn’t see.” Zack mumbles, squeezing Milo’s hand back. “I dunno if they could sense it, or…”
“Sounds like divination.” Melissa remarks. “Maybe one of them is a divination mage?”
Zack shakes his head roughly. “No, they couldn’t be. They hate mages and magic, they definitely couldn’t be mages.”
“Some mages do stuff like that.” Milo says. “For money, as a way to hide, because of self loathing, just because they enjoy hurting people… not all mages are good.”
“But even if they were mages, Sally and Penelope wouldn’t use magic.” Zack is sure. “Not even if it would help them. I mean, when I healed Sally…” He trails, a frown falling over his face like a dark cloud.
“You healed Sally?” Melissa interrupts.
“She got hit by a cart. I could feel that she was gonna die, and I didn’t want her to die.” Zack explains softly. “So I healed her. And she was so angry.”
“Angry? You saved her life!”
“With magic. And she hates magic. She said it was just as bad as hurting her, and she hurt me. A lot.” He shudders at the memory. “That’s one the worst punishments I’ve ever had, I had to pretend to be sick that week because I just couldn’t go out, it was so sore…” He winces, his back twinging at the memory.
When he looks up, he sees Milo’s expression is uncharacteristically angry. “She hurt you for saving her life?!”
“She must’ve been scared, she thinks that magic is evil. She told me that using my magic on people could corrupt then, she was just scared of that.” Zack defends her. Even though she hurt him so much, he somehow can’t let his friends insult her. She was a good person. She cared about him. Right?
“Zack, no. That’s not an excuse.” Milo squeezes his hand tightly. “She was horrible to you, and she should never have done that. Even if she really was scared-“ And Milo doesn’t believe that for one second. “-she had no right to be cruel to you. She wasn’t a good person, she wasn’t a good teacher. She doesn’t deserve you defending her. You’re so kind to everyone, but she doesn’t deserve that.”
Zack scrunches up more, and more, until he is a little ball of fear and Milo’s heart is emulating the scrunching. Milo puts a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, you’re ok. We’ll get out of here, and she won’t hurt you again. I promise.”
“I’ll go see if they’re still there.” Melissa stands. “I’ll come get you if the coast is clear. And if it isn’t, we’ll head out the window.”
Melissa leaves. She leaves for a long time. A suspiciously long time. “She got into trouble.” Zack eventually guesses. “We need to go help her!”
Milo hesitates, but nods. “Ok, come on.” They leave the room and head downstairs. Everything seems normal, there are no signs of a fight or struggle. “I wonde-“
Zack never gets to find out what Milo was wondering, because a door slams open and an arm yanks him inside. “Mil-“
Before Zack can finish his own sentence, he is yanked into a different room. He tumbles to the floor, crashing into a bed as he does so. He looks up, and his eyes widen in fear. “Teacher?” He stutters.
Sally smiles down at him, the edges of her eyes crinkling. “Zack! How have you been?”
Zack shrinks down, shuffling backwards until he meets the wall. And now he is cornered, between the bed and the wooden cupboard. Sally’s eyes flare, a warning that he knows too well. “Do you run away from me, Zack?”
“No, teacher.” He mumbles, lowering his head as he freezes in place. He feels so small, so young.
“Thank you.” Sally says. “Looks like you’ve lost your manners since I last saw you, and I don’t like that. Those mages you were prancing around with must be bad influences, and I really don’t like that.”
“Please don’t hurt them.” Zack mumbles. He should fight back, he should be as brave and clever and resourceful as Milo and Melissa always are. But right now, huddled at the feet of his teacher, he is having trouble doing anything aside from trembling and complying. He can’t ignore the voice in his head saying that Sally should do whatever she wants to him, that he deserves it. He shouldn’t think like that anymore. Around her, he can’t help it.
“And why shouldn’t I? They’re wicked, nasty little mages, just like you.” Sally reminds him. “We were doing such a good job of reforming you, and then they came along and ruined all of our hard work. Look at you!” She gestures at him, and he flinches. Shame burns in him. No, he isn’t supposed to feel ashamed!
“They’re not wicked. And neither am I.” He manages in a small, shaking voice. “I’m not bad. I never have been. You shouldn’t have hurt me.”
Sally raises an eyebrow. “Talking back? Telling me what to do? Lying? Oh, this won’t do at all. Those two really did corrupt you.” She sighs, shaking her head. Zack presses his back against the wall, trembling. Sally shaking her head is never a good sign. “I should toss you right to the mage hunters and let them handle you the way all mages should be handled. But I’m nice, aren’t I?”
“Yes, teacher.”
“So I’m going to keep you hidden, and work on fixing all of the damage that those mages did. Isn’t that kind of me?”
“It is, teacher.”
She picks up something with her gloved hand. A poker stolen from the inn, Zack realises with dread. He is fully shaking now, he knows how bad this is going to be. He used his magic multiple times. He talked back.
He can’t even think about escaping. All thoughts of bravery and fighting have been driven from him, replaced by years of pain and fear. He is cornered. He can’t get away.
“Lie down on your stomach.” Sally orders, a familiar order. One that he follows. As soon as he does it, panic really hits him. He always avoids lying on his stomach, it reminds him too much of the pain. It makes him feel like pain is coming. And pain is coming.
He tries to anticipate the first blow. He still cries out, searing pain radiating through him. His back throbs, feeling like it is on fire. And there is an ache in his back from the blunt trauma. He whimpers, automatically trying to muffle his sounds of pain. His eyes are already pricking with tears. He can’t go back to this. He knows that he doesn’t want to, that he doesn’t deserve it. But it’s like the fight has drained out of him.
The poker is finally lifted off of his skin and he nearly sobs with relief. But he knows that it is coming back. He closes his eyes, trying to go limp and just suffer through the punishment.
“Get away from him!”
Zack looks up, shocked, when he hears the door slam open. Something knocks Sally out of the way. Not something, someone. Milo, looking more upset than Zack has ever seen him. Milo plants himself in front of Zack, arms spread wide. A shield shimmers in the air in front of him. “Did she hurt you?” Milo asks, glancing back at him. His eyes widen in horror as a glance at his friend’s back answers his question.
Zack answers anyway with a little nod, picking himself up and crouching against the wall instead. He wraps his arms around himself, shaking as he stares up at Milo, between him and his teacher. Protecting him. His shirt rubs against the new burn and stings. His back throbs. At least the bruises start to fade away.
“Healing yourself? Naughty, bad mage.” Sally picks herself up, glaring at Milo, then smirking at Zack.
Zack’s eyes widen. “How did you know?” The bruises were on his back, hidden from her view, she had no way of finding that out!
“You’re a mage, aren’t you?” Milo accuses. “A divination mage. You’re not just a horrible person, you’re also a hypocrite. You use your magic all the time, and you use it to hurt Zack for using his magic.”
“Smart.” Sally concedes. Zack is sure that the world stops around him. “You’re very intelligent, kiddo. But you’re also very annoying. How about you get out of my way and let me finish my job? Maybe then I’ll keep you and the little firestarter alive, rather than handing you over. I could help you too.”
“If you want to get to him, you’ll have to go through me.” Milo grits his teeth. “And I’m not letting you through.”
Sally hesitates. Zack stares. The expression on her face is alien, confusing. She doesn’t look calm, or confident, or powerful. She looks, for a just a moment, like she doesn’t know what to do. The expression disappears in mere seconds, but is burned into Zack’s head. It makes him feel strange. Maybe… less helpless.
“Well, take him if you want! You’re not gaining much.” She teases, and Zack shrinks back. Milo shoots an encouraging smile back at him before returning to scowling at his teacher. “And we’ll be back to collect him when the time is right.”
She turns on her heel to leave. Milo immediately drops to the ground to look at Zack. “Zack! Zack, are you alright?! I’m so sorry, she managed to get us in iron and we had to escape.”
“I’m ok.” Zack says, eyes still caught on the now empty doorway. “I’ve… I’ve had worse.”
Milo hugs him. He freezes, then relaxes in his hold. Milo is careful not to touch his back, and he is grateful for that. “She really is a mage?” He says in a small voice.
“Mm.” Milo holds him gently. Zack rests his head on his friend’s shoulder.
“Then she… why did she…” He buries his face in Milo’s shoulder, upset rising in his throat and burning in his eyes.
“She’s horrible.” Milo murmurs, softly. Gently.
This time, no words of defence leap to Zack’s mouth. This time, all he can do is sit and think about everything. The web of rules and fears and beliefs is knotting together and untangling at the same time, as he is forced to accept that his teachers were never nice. That they never cared. That they only wanted to hurt him.
The door slams open again, and Zack flinches, expecting Sally to be back to finish what she started. But instead Melissa is standing there, bruises and cuts decorating her face and arms. She immediately rushes over. “She got away, I’m sorry. Zack? You’re ok, right?” She looks worried, checking him over for injuries.
“I’m alright.” He manages a smile. “I’m ok.”
Melissa engulfs him in a hug too. He closes his eyes and breathes shakily. He is in pain, a searing pain in his back that throbs through his whole body. He is frightened, half expecting his teachers to appear and start again. He is confused, not done handling his confused web of feelings about his teachers, about his whole childhood.
But for now he relaxes in his friends’ hugs and just tries to breath.