Sable

The magic came easily. It flowed from her chest, down her arm, and to her fingertips. The warmth of it felt tingly. It was controlling it that was the difficult part. Was that what the training was for? She had all this power, she could feel it pulsing strongly through her, but there was no telling what it would do.

"Aim at the flower pot," Lucca instructed. "Knock it off the end table, like you did with my men."

"Easier said than done," Sable said. She pushed forward, but the magic sparked, and when the blast hit the pot all it did was make the flowers bloom rapidly. Sable frowned.

"You have to concentrate," Lucca reminded her. "Your powers are greatly affected by your emotions, and your intent. Make sure you want to push the pot over."

"I do want to!" Sable exclaimed.

She pushed another wave forward and that time the flower pot was sent flying across the room. Her eyes lit up and widened, and she brought her hands up to cover her mouth.

"Oh!" she said. She looked over to Lucca. "That was amazing! You made me angry, and I-"

"That's bad," Lucca shook his head. "When you attack with anger, you leave yourself open- vulnerable. You need to focus more."

"Oh, come on," Sable groaned. She dropped her arms and slumped forward a little. "I knocked over the flower pot like you asked. Give me a break, this is only the first lesson."

Lucca regarded her carefully for a moment, his arms crossed over his chest. A smile bloomed on his face.

"Only the first lesson," he agreed. "I'm glad you're taking an interest in practising."

"Of course!" Sable said. She balle dher hands into loose fists and held them up slightly. "I have magical powers, and rather than cursing my life and wishing you had never kidnapped me-"

"Abducted; you are an adult," Lucca interrupted her.

"Whatever," Sable continued. "Instead of crying over spilled milk, I'm going to make good use of this time. You're going to help me become a master of my powers. Got it?"

"Of course," Lucca grinned. He chuckled and brought a hand up to cover his smile. Sable couldn't fight the grin on her face in response to his reaction.

"Okay, cool," Sable held her hands up. "What do I knock over next?"

"Now you're going to try and mend the pot back together, actually," Lucca said.

"Oh." Sable looked down at her hands. Was that something she could do? "How?"

"Concentrate; think; focus," Lucca explained. "Remember your intent. You need to intend to mend the pot back together."

"I- well, okay," Sable sighed.

She walked over to the pot, peering down at it. She lifted her hand and stared at it. Could she really put the pot back together with just a wave of her hand? It seemed like an impossible thing to do, but she had been thrown into a new world discovering she had the magical powers of a goddess. She was the reincarnation of that goddess.

She faced her palms toward the shattered pot and pile of dirt and flowers. Golden light- different from before- flowed down to her fingertips. Suddenly she felt awful for breaking the pot, the excitement from pushing it over fading completely.

Golden tendrils of light rolled off her skin and crept toward the flower pot. A gasp escaped her as she watched the light touch the dirt and broken pieces of clay. The light swirled, glittering and raising up the smashed pot. The broken pieces all swirled together and then with a loud crack flew back together as if nothing had ever happened.

Sable's jaw fell open as she watched the pot float back over and onto the end table. She heard clapping and turned to see Lucca applauding her.

"Well done," Lucca said, grinning. "You did far better than I expected."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Sable asked. She rolled her eyes at him.

"You can take it however you like," Lucca said, walking over to her. "You're going to be practising that all week. But for now I think we should take a break. Maybe eat a little? How much magical energy you have depends on how much you've eaten. You've lost weight since coming here; I don't know if you've noticed. With more practise you'll be able to better control your expenditure."

"Oh," Sable said. She glanced down at her hands and turned her palms up to face her. Golden light no longer rolled off her fingertips. She actually felt a little light headed.

"What are we having?" she asked and looked up at him.

"Come with me," Lucca grinned wider.

"Okay." Sable nodded.

She followed him out of the room and down the hall. He lead her down the stairs and around until they enetered a rather large kitchen. Sable wondered briefly how they managed to bring carts full of food up the stairs.

There along one of the island counters rested a buffet of dessert items. There were all sorts of different cakes, cookies, tortes, pies, and tarts. Sable's eyes widened and her mouth watered.

"Tell me that's what you wanted to show me," Sable demanded. "Please tell me that's what we're eating right now."

"Of course," Lucca laughed. IT was different to his chuckles; deep and full of amusement. "I had it all specially prepared for after today's training. Don't misunderstand; we're not finished for today. But a quick dessert break sounded like an excellent idea."

"I'll die happily of diabetes," Sable said. She dashed over to the counter and bit into a strawberry tart. "Wow!"

"I'm glad it's to your liking," Lucca said.

"Don't get too excited yet," Sable told him. "I have to sample everything and make sure I like it all."

She took a bite out of everything that had been laid out on the table. There wasn't a thing that she disliked, but she wasn't a picky eater; especially when it came to dessert. She felt full; there had been a very large variety of desserts. She patted her stomach and sighed in satisfaction.

"Are you going to eat anything?" she asked Lucca.

Lucca rested his chin in his palm and stared at her. The look he gave her unsettled her, and she remembered what he had said before.

"I'm not on the menu," she informed him. He chuckled.

"No, of course not," he agreed. "I have no intention on feeding off of you."

"Then stop looking at me, please," Sable asked.

"Of course," Lucca said. He looked away from her.

There was a moment of silence. Sable stared down at her feet from the stool she sat on. She swayed one back and forth slowly, nibbling on her lip.

"You're so much different from her," Lucca whispered. Sable looked up at him.

"Well, I am actually a completely different person," she nodded. "Except the looks. We look the exact same."

"You do," he sighed. "It's so strange... surreal. But it is refreshing. She was so- serious all the time; there was no room to enjoy things. Not after everything that had happened."

"I see," Sable looked back down at her hands. She curled her fingers up. A different her... She had only met Inara that once in her dream, though she felt her with her all the time. Would her personality rub off on Sable?

"You have a light about you that hasn't died yet," Lucca continued. "Even with everything that has happened to you. I beg of you: don't let that light die out." Lucca reached over to her and touched her shoulder.

"Oh, okay," Sable said, shrugging off his hand. "Again, I'm not her; and I have boundaries. Don't touch me unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Of course," Lucca nodded. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Sable shook her head. "I'm just- well, you're the man who abducted me. I'm taking things rather well, I think- besides trying to escape multiple times and failing- but you're still that guy. I don't want to be on friendly terms with you. I don't like you, but you're teaching me to better myself. That's all this is."

"Of course." Lucca dropped his gaze.

Sable bit her lip and stared at him. Then she shook her head; she shouldn't feel sorry for him. They'd both just have to get over it.