A Prelude in New Orleans

The bar was rowdy which wasn't much of a surprise with it being in the heart of the Arts District, just south of the French Quarter. The music was loud but also seemed to invite you in. The Mardi Gras colors of New Orleans was probably on display in this most vibrant place. It was the brightest and loudest place Freya had ever been to. She glanced over to where Nora was breathing in the atmosphere. While she was indeed the exact image of her ancestor, Freya had come to the conclusion that the seventeen year old heiress was nothing like the evil sorceress that had banished her so long ago.

"What are we doing here?" Freya asked over the music.

"If you want me to break your curse, I will need to tap into a reserve of magic I have avoided for years." Nora pointed out, moving around the mass of bodies in the overly crowded bar.

"That still doesn't explain why you took me and brought me all the way to New Orleans." Freya pointed out.

"There is a Warlock here, that broke the curse of another werewolf years back. So he has some experience there." Nora explained.

"You have to break my curse." Freya reminded her.

"This warlock is the headmaster for a school dealing specifically with children of magic. I ran away from this school when I started getting visions of Evanora." Nora said with a scowl. "Besides being the headmaster of this school he also married the werewolf he saved." Nora said gesturing to a bartender, a burly man with bronze skin, and shaggy hair.

"Meet Hunter. Owner of this establishment." Nora said as she walked over. The man in question looked up as she spoke frowning at the words he could hear over the overly crowded bar, which told Freya that he was most definitely a wolf.

"Hello, Hunter." Nora said.

Hunter glanced at her as he passed a beer to another customer, before coming over. "I don't think I know you." Hunter replied.

"But I know Marcus. Is he around?" Nora asked her tone lowering.

Hunter looked at her cautiously. "Are you a student of his?" Hunter asked.

"Technically former." Nora replied. "I need his help to break a curse on a wolf. I hear he has experience in that area." she said pointedly.

Hunter's eyes went to Freya's. He spent a moment looking at her before he put a thumb upwards. "Up the stairs. Take a left, second door."

"Thank you." Nora said quietly. They walked past the kitchen to the stairs, Nora going left opened the door to a room full of colorful pillows of all different sizes and colors, making the place resemble more an Arabian harem than a room in New Orleans.

"Hello? Marcus?" Nora said walking into the room. Freya followed her cautiously looking at the many different pillows. She sat on a bright purple one, sinking down in the softness.

"Wow, this is really nice," Freya said.

"I'm glad you think so."

Freya looked over surprised that she hadn't heard the man walk in. Marcus the Warlock, was wearing a purple vest, and a silky pants with a silver silk robe thrown over it.

"Now what are you doing here, you're interrupting MasterChef." he drawled.

"Remember me?" Nora said, crossing her arms as Marcus regarded her closely.

"I remember all my students that run from their powers. Finally decided that you need them," he asked.

"She doesn't need them. I do." Freya said from where she sat on the pillow.

"Freya here was the unfortunate recipient of a curse, from one of my ancestors," Nora said.

"Would this be the Evanora you used to have nightmares about?" Marcus inquired.

"That would be correct."

Marcus sighed. "Tell me everything."