Emily watches with wide eyes as Blue slowly rips and tears his way free, twisting his body this way and that like a cat stuck in a sack. He swipes his claws through the air, tearing them through the canvas like butter.

  Slowly but surely, he starts to rise up, screeching in anger and fear as he goes. Canvas tears and stretches around him, as he shakily gets up onto his knees, his long neck stretched outwards and his keen, predatory eyes staring out at nothing.

  The crowd that was slowly forming around them takes a frightened step back, an instinctual part of them warning them to keep away from the danger.

  All except for the gangly man, who watches Blue slowly rise up with a twinkle in his eye, his amused grin not once faltering.

  “Fascinating…”

  Another soldier runs up towards the gangly man, with close-cropped brown hair and a neat, perfectly ironed uniform. He comes to a stop next to him, letting out a huff of breath, as he stares at Blue with a look of surprise and dread.

  “Sir, I rushed up the moment I heard the commotion.” He says, his voice crisp and to the point. He glances at the gangly man, before looking back at Blue, his hand hovering over his sword handle. “What… Is that thing?”

  “I’m not sure, I’ve never seen anything like it.” He replies, as Blue lets out another screech, straining against the last of the canvas that holds him back.

  “What do you want us to do with it?”

  The gangly man watches Blue for a moment, inspecting the creature from head to toe. Blue swipes his claws once again, tearing through the fabric some more and rising up by another inch.

  He waves a hand nonchalantly.

  “Kill it.”

  The soldier pulls out his sword without hesitation, and Emily feels her heart drop.

  “No! Don’t you dare hurt him!”

  The soldier looks back at Emily, his eyebrow cocked in curiosity and his footsteps pausing. He glances back at the gangly man, waiting to see what he says.

  “You have your orders, Sir Michael. Kill it.”

  “Don’t! He’s just scared! Leave him alone!”

  Sir Michael looks at Emily for a moment, his face set but his eyes burning with pity, before he turns back and continues slowly approaching the trapped creature.

  Emily feels sweat drip down her brow, as she tries to come up with a way to stop them. For a moment, she considers blasting everyone away, giving Blue enough time to escape and run away again.

  But as she looks around, she spots the crowd of people clustering closer and closer in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the action, effectively blocking any escape the ostrich could have had. The noise of them grows, as people murmur and whisper to each other.

  She racks her head for another solution, feeling the clock tick down as Sir Michael continues his approach, his every step careful and deliberate as he sizes up his opponent. She tries to grasp for anything that could help. Any strategy. Any spell. Any bit of information that could save Blue and prevent Emily from having to hurt anyone else.

  I’ve never met an Archmage that wasn’t so full of it, it was leaking out of their ears.

  With a start, Emily realizes what she needs to do. She just really hopes that she can pull it off.

  Emily points her hand back at the gangly man, the glow surrounding it bright and steady. “That’s my ostrich. You’ll not harm a feather on him!”

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  The crowd goes quiet, as they all collectively hold their breath, the men and women in the army well-versed with the tell-tale glow of magic. Even Sir Michael halts his steps, unsure as to what to do.

  All the while, the Commander’s grin stays plastered on his face.

  “Are you threatening me?” he asks, his voice tinged with amusement but underlaid with a warning tone that sets Emily’s heart pounding.

  “No, I’m ordering you.” Emily replies, as she slowly gets to her feet, her hand remaining pointed towards him as she does. “Nobody’s hurting my ostrich. Just let him free himself, and we can all go about our day like nothing happened.”

  The Commander’s smile falls, as his eyes drill a hole through Emily. “You’re sorely mistaken if you think you can order me around, little mageling”. He glances at Blue out of the corner of his eyes, and then back to Emily. “And if you think that I’ll allow a wild animal to rampage through my camp, then you’re clearly in need of some education.”

  He glances back at Sir Michael, nodding his head. “Kill it, before it escapes.”

  Emily grits her teeth and points her hand up, unleashing a thin blast of wind that shoots past the top of the Commander’s head and into the distance with a mighty “Whoomph.” Sir Michael halts his step midway, and the Commander’s face sets into a grim line, as Emily points her hand back to him.

  “Next one won’t miss.” she says coldly, as she tries her hardest to hide the fact that her knees are shaking.

  The Commander tilts his head slightly to Emily. “I apologize, Archmage, for mistaking you for a Mageling.”

  He gestures towards Blue, who’s straining against the last few threads with all of his might.

  “But no matter which Family you may come from, and no matter how powerful your magic might be, I am still the Commander of this army. You fall under my command. And that thing right there is a danger to my men. So unless you prove to me that it can be contained before it breaks free and wreaks further havoc on my camp, we’ll have to put it down like the wild animal that it –”

  “Excuse me, sorry, let me just…”

  A sudden voice breaks the tension, belonging to a reedy young man as he nervously approaches Blue with a sack in his hands. He runs a hand through his shaggy blonde hair, as he hunches over and falls into himself as all eyes lock onto him, watching his every movement with disbelief. He’s tall but awkward, as if he grew suddenly and all at once. And yet, he still continues his approach, his footsteps confident as he gets closer and closer to Blue.

  “S-sorry to interrupt, Commander… Archmage… I just thought I’d…”

  He reaches the dangerous animal’s head, Blue’s eyes swiveling in their sockets and locking on to the fresh new meat approaching him. He opens his beak wide and lets out a screech, his pupils narrowing to pinpricks as he reaches out towards the young man with his front claws, his limbs still restrained by the canvas.

  Without hesitation, the young man opens up the sack and swiftly pulls it over Blue’s head, covering it completely and tugging it down firmly over his neck.

  “There. That should do it.”

  Blue stops straining against his restraints immediately, his butt slumping down onto the ground with his legs tucked underneath him. His long neck and head rests on the ground in front of him, his breathing going from hurried and panicked panting to smooth, calm and controlled.

  The young man places his hands on his hips, looking down at Blue with a happy, confident smile. “See? Works every time. Whenever they get a little antsy, you just gotta put a sack over their head and they calm… Right… Down…”

  He notices the silence surrounding him, and sensing the tension, he looks up to find both Emily and the Commander staring straight at him, their jaws hanging open in disbelief. The young man feels self-conscious underneath their stares, and he shrinks into himself again, rubbing the back of his head shyly.

  “My… My knight owns a few ostriches himself, and I used to manage them before… Before he made me his squire.”

  The Commander recovers first, his grin returning once again. He points to the young man, as he straightens his back and lets go of some of the nervous tension in his shoulders.

  “You, there, squire. Are you busy with your duties to your knight?”

  The young man snaps to attention, giving the Commander a crisp salute.”Not at the moment, sir! We got separated when we –”

  “Good.” The commander interrupts, as he nods his head. “You’re in charge of the ostrich. Make sure it doesn’t harm my men or my equipment. And get the Archmage set up once you’ve done that.”

  The young man gulps nervously, eyeing Emily, before nodding and saluting the Commander again. “As you wish, Commander!”

  The Commander rounds on Emily once again, his smile not quite reaching his eyes anymore.

  “And as for you, Archmage… Meet me in the command tent once you’re situated.”

  He glances towards Blue, his eyes appreciatively taking in the creature from top to bottom once again, before he looks back at Emily.

  “We’ll go over where you and your… Ostrich, will fit in. And what assignments will be yours.”