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Page 43<br />
When Black Peter made his way through the crowd one night to tell Noel that he<br />
found something special, Noel was intrigued. He was willing to try anything, anything new,<br />
anything different.<br />
The moment the doors opened, Noel felt something cold blow through the court. He<br />
felt for one brief moment like he could not breathe. He felt, for just that moment, that he<br />
should rise and run, a feeling he had never felt in all his years as a warrior.<br />
Then that feeling passed, and a Magician came walking slowly into the hall. Calm.<br />
With a reserve that caused everyone to fall silent as he passed.<br />
Behind him, the doors blew closed on their own.<br />
The Magician stopped in front of Noel, standing in the dead center of the court, and<br />
took a moment to consider the aging king. He was tall, so thin he seemed to made of angles,<br />
head shaved smooth with eyes of pure black. He cocked his head, a hawk looking at a<br />
mouse, and then, making a decision, threw open his cloak.<br />
Everyone in the court flinched back, not sure what to expect.<br />
The Magician raised one empty hand, presented it to Noel so the king could see it was<br />
empty. Then he snapped his fingers, causing a single silk scarf to appear. It stood on his<br />
palm, supported somehow, and then he twisted his hand and the scarf turned to a flame that<br />
danced across the back.<br />
The flame turned to a snake, which curled around his wrist for a moment before the<br />
Magician threw it to the ground, where it split immediately into a dozen snakes that all<br />
began to crawl towards the crowd, pushing everyone even further back.<br />
Now Noel paid attention. This was something he had not seen before. He had seen<br />
plenty of tricks, enough to know that what he was seeing was different.<br />
Each of the snakes targeted a different Royal Wife, crawling directly to them before<br />
turning into a flower that rose just high enough for each of the wives to pick. As Greta<br />
picked her flower, it erupted into a flutter of butterflies around her.<br />
As waves of applause began to swell, even Noel found himself joining in. These were<br />
miracles, nothing less.
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