《The Heroes' Story After Saving the World》 Entry regulations for Dragons I¡¯ve written countless pages, rewritten, torn out, tried to save what was valuable and given up a lot over the years. I still have quite a bit to go, though. I¡¯ve fought battles and wars and raised children and, just earlier this morning, I think I found the first gray hair on my head. I am getting old, but I do not plan on dying any time soon. Not before I have written down this story. My story.
I think it appropriate to start with the reason I write this. The inciting incident, that led me to purchasing first a notebook and a quill, then gathering up a bunch of loose paper to take notes, because I wanted this notebook to be perfect, then looking if I couldn¡¯t have someone invent typewriters or any quicker way to write anything down. I could use magic to make the quill move, and I do that to take notes, but it feels ... impersonal. Even if I don¡¯t have the quill write down my exact thoughts though, I get distracted easily. I apologize. I work for what could best be described as a fantasy immigration department. Particularly, my job is to control entry and customs. That mostly consists of adequately preparing people of races other than human for life in a human city. Up until a couple years ago, my job also consisted of negotiating peace treaties with the other races or people from other nations, but this is rarely an issue nowadays. The nations we have already formed a pact with meet up once a year to renegotiate, if there is any need for that, but that is about it. It is a pretty relaxed job. But also a pretty exciting one, as I get to meet all different kinds of people every day. You know what, I am going to tell you what a typical workday looks like for me. I know that back in my old world traveling from one country to another is roughly the same for everyone. Living in a fantasy world however is so much more fun, because humans are not the only ones traveling. For example, what do you do about dragons the size of houses? And what do you do when that dragon has been in deep slumber for a couple centuries and thus has no way of knowing the laws in place? That¡¯s what happened a couple weeks ago, and it was disastrous. It was during the late morning. I had just gotten into the routine of waving through elves, vampires, lesser dragons, spirits, elementals, etc. Explaining to the new ones how to behave in the city and what spots best accommodated for their needs. (Vampires for example, just like it was said in my old world, preferred to stay out of sunlight, so I recommended them hotels made specifically for nocturnal creatures, and gave them the quick guide for the newly built caves district.) ¡°First time in the city?¡± I asked the vampire girl before me. For such an occasion we would move to a separate darkened room. The vampire girl had taken the same midi-dragon-carriage as every other passenger. The way transport works was that the kingdom erected hubs all over the continent, in which dragons can land to pick up passengers, then fly to the next hub. Passengers get out, passengers get in, rinse and repeat. It¡¯s more like a train than a plane though, despite the flying. Maybe one day I can get flight attendants arranged, if we someday manage to do long-distance flights. But since we only established this system few years ago, it is still rather rudimentary. ¡°Yes, it is my first time,¡± the girl in front of me replied. ¡°Alright. May you please fill in this form?¡± I asked while getting out a stack of papers clipped together from under my desk. ¡°Um ...¡± The girl looked at the form with hesitation. ¡°Actually, I, uh, can¡¯t read your script.¡± She must be young then, I figured. Most likely she grew up during the time period when the races were still waging war with each other. Those vampires who were more than a thousand years old still knew the time when the races used to mingle with each other, and animosity was a matter of being a good person and not where you were born. Most of those vampires used to be able to read human script but as the races drifted apart from one another, people stopped teaching their children the language of the other races. Considering this, it was amazing how fluent her speech was, though that might simply have been translation magic at work. ¡°No worries, we can go through this form together one by one,¡± I offered, adding forms in multiple languages to my long check list of things to help improve our service. ¡°Sadly, we haven¡¯t managed to get a hold of a vampire translator yet. So, if you know anyone who would be willing to help out, that would be much appreciated.¡± ¡°Of course. I might be able to ask my teacher, but despite knowing the language he doesn¡¯t seem to be all too interested in his own work. He only was willing to teach me for an extraordinary sum of money, as well as special blood deliveries.¡± ¡°Is that why you are here?¡± I asked. I wasn¡¯t too surprised to hear this. Most vampires have a very lackadaisical attitude about anything really. I guess being alive for a couple thousand years really does a number on you. In fact, vampires were one of the species least likely to visit the city. I don¡¯t really expect it to change any time soon. But this is sadly also the reason why vampiric accommodation is still lacking in some departments. ¡°Oh no, I am here to visit an old friend of mine. She has been living in the city for a couple dozen years, and as soon as the message of the city opening its gates to everyone started spreading, she sent me a letter, asking me to visit her. So, I started learning the human language and now I am here.¡± ¡°That is quite impressive!¡± ¡°Thank you, but I still haven¡¯t quite gotten the hang of it. Reading is so hard! Why do you have so many letters! And why can one letter be a different sound totally at random!¡± I let out a chuckle. ¡°That reminds me of when I started learning the human language. It was also quite the chore but after a couple years when I realized I¡¯ve read a newspaper without having to ask my wife for help I felt very accomplished.¡± ¡°Wait, are you not human?¡± ¡°Oh, I am, but where I come from, I speak a different language.¡± ¡°Well, then how did you do it?¡± ¡°Well, living in a human city for one helped a lot, but I also went to school to learn. Took me a long, long time, but after a while I managed.¡± I should maybe add that what I am telling her does not 100% refer to learning the language of this world. When I first arrived here, I already spoke the human language, so I only needed to learn the script. What was hard though was learning English back in my old world. I do not know how the inventor of this language thought it was a good idea to only have 26 letters, but then have like twice as many sounds. But moving to England for college proved ¨C surprise ¨C very beneficial for learning that country¡¯s language. ¡°You know, in my daughters¡¯ school I saw a poster for language classes for adults a while ago,¡± I added. ¡°If you plan on staying in the city for a while, you might want to check this class out. If you are serious about this language, and getting around the city on your own, I think you should take classes.¡± The vampire girl contemplated this idea for a bit, scratching her chin. ¡°Well, I was planning on staying for a few months, and since my friend has work to do anyway, I think I¡¯d find some time to spare.¡± ¡°Great! If you want, you could come back to my office tomorrow and I can gather all the information you need. I guess money shouldn¡¯t be an issue? Sadly, adult schooling is rather pricy.¡± ¡°That really is not a problem.¡± ¡°Great. Anyway, let¡¯s move on to the form now.¡± ¡°Oh dear, I am so sorry for keeping you from doing your job.¡± She held a hand in front of her mouth as an apologetic gesture. She seemed unusually humble for a vampire. ¡°Hahah, no need to apologize. Getting to know the people is half the fun of the job. Now then ...¡± I dipped the quill that had already dried into the ink once more. ¡°May I ask you for your name?¡± Kind of weird to be asking for someone¡¯s name this late into the conversation, but alas ... ¡°Babylonia.¡± That certainly was a name. I made the quill write down the name by itself and proceeded to ask her the remaining questions. Standard stuff like date of birth, place of birth, expected stay, planned residence in the city et cetera. The fun part came on the second page. ¡°Are you shape-shifting during your stay in the city?¡± ¡°Shape-shifting?¡± She asked rather dumbfounded. ¡°I had heard shape-shifting falls under identity theft and is therefore illegal ...¡± ¡°Oh, that is true for most human cities. We have special exceptions however, if, say, you are a dragon and thus would not be able to live among humans due to your size, or if you as a vampire have a fear of frightening people due to your appearance.¡± The bat-like wings on her back twitched at this comment and she self-consciously reached for her hair to touch the long horns protruding from her head. ¡°Well ... that makes sense ...¡± ¡°There is no need to hide your appearance, however you should expect people to be uneasy around your true form,¡± I said. Maybe it was a bit too matter-of-fact, but that was the truth. ¡°So, you think I should shape-shift into a more human form?¡± ¡°That is up to you!¡± I objected without a second of hesitation. ¡°You know, the more people appear in their actual form, the more people will get used to this sight. So actually, I would prefer you to go out in your usual form. This city has only been welcoming vampires for a few years, you know?¡± ¡°That is true. I always forget how differently you humans experience time ... Alright then, I will go out in my usual form.¡± ¡°Great!¡± I checked NO for the shape-shifting question and skipped to the end of the form. ¡°Well, then I would just need you to sign this form, and you are done.¡± ¡°Is it okay if I write my name in vampire script?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s your signature. Most of the human ones are unreadable anyways.¡± She chuckled. ¡°That goes for vampire ones as well,¡± she commented as she fished the quill out of the air and wrote her name in fancy serifs onto the paper. ¡°Great, any more questions then?¡± I already told her about the cave district, and the usual stuff about where best to go as a vampire. ¡°No, that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Great, then I will get you some information for a language school by tomorrow.¡± ¡°That is much appreciated.¡± What I was doing was honestly stretching what my actual job was, but I felt a deep sense of satisfaction knowing these people felt safe and welcome in our city. ¡°By the way, on the way out you will come across a couple of shops. Since you are a vampire, you might want to pick a sunhat especially made for nocturnal creatures.¡± ¡°A sunhat?¡± ¡°It has a wide brim, specifically made to protect you from the sun. It¡¯s nice if you want to go out and explore the city during daytime.¡± Yes, I am recommending the over-priced souvenir shop our hub has to offer. But she can afford it. ¡°Thank you for the tip. I am looking forward to exploring the city!¡± She said as she rose from her seat. ¡°Have a nice stay, and until tomorrow.¡± ¡°Until tomorrow!¡± Babylonia left the room after saying goodbye. ¡°Well then ...¡± I took out a paperweight and wrote the words ¡°language school¡± on it, before placing it in the top right corner of the desk, together with Babylonia¡¯s entry form. The paper weights were actually post-it notes with a gravity spell on them. Quite handy. Just as I was about to leave the office to welcome the next traveler the sirens went off. I let them blare for a couple seconds before figuring it most likely wasn¡¯t a misfire. I looked at my old armor standing against a wall in my office, promptly deciding against wearing it for the occasion. If the threat was big enough to warrant the sirens it would wipe me out in one fell swoop anyway. And I wanted to make my intent of communicating instead of fighting clear by wearing casual clothes. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I ran out of my office, where my co-workers/subordinates were directing the newly-arrived towards the nearest shelter. I plucked one Garrett from among them and asked him what was going on. ¡°Unauthorized flying object nearing our city. Looks like a Giant Dragon.¡± We classified dragons into three different size categories. Mini-Dragons, Midi-Dragons, and Giant Dragons. Mini-Dragons ranged anywhere from palm-sized to human-sized, Midi-Dragons went up to the size of a house and also were the ones we were hiring to fly in visitors. Giant Dragons were everything above that. Most of them needed their own mountain for housing. Treasure and everything. So yeah, Giant Dragon, most likely very dangerous, but also thankfully you can talk with them. If they don¡¯t read your attempts at catching their attention as a declaration of war. ¡°Have you readied the Midi-Dragon fleet?¡± Having fellow dragons under our command usually was the best way to make clear there wasn¡¯t any hostility towards the Giant. ¡°Just a minute before the alarm a carrier landed. He is already in position.¡± ¡°Great.¡± I ran towards the gate. (Yes, I adopted that terminology from my old world.) The dragon in question was already waiting for me. ¡°Hey, how¡¯s it going?¡± I asked. You gotta do some small talk to ensure you are good with your team after all. That¡¯s one thing I learned from real life and playing Dragon Age. ¡°Tired from the flights but that should be a piece of cake.¡± I took a look through the gate to see a murky shape in the distance. The Giant most likely wouldn¡¯t pass the city border for another minute. I could see the now mostly empty streets from above. Thankfully, the people had gotten used to the alarm by now. I still remember the despair during the first siren some time after the war had ended. People thought it was over, and then it seemed like the war would just start anew. I approached the Midi-Dragon, who lifted me onto his back using one of his hands. I laid down on my stomach and dug my fingers into his scales because there really was no other way of holding onto him. I could have grabbed onto the horns of his head, but that wasn¡¯t an option for what we were going to do. ¡°Good to go?¡± He asked me. ¡°Ready for take-off,¡± I replied. Using all four of his limbs the dragon took a leap ahead and after a short fall the flap of his wings made him surpass the height of our hub. I was pressed against his back the entire time due to physics. I tried to look past the Midi-Dragon¡¯s head to see how far away the Giant Dragon was, but I couldn¡¯t really tell. ¡°How far away is he?¡± I shouted against the wind. ¡°About to cross the city border I think,¡± he growled back. ¡°Send him a signal!¡± The Midi-Dragon halted in mid-air, threw his head back and sent a white flame into the air above us. The dragons¡¯ equivalent of a white flag and also the reason I couldn¡¯t hold onto his horns. The dragon stopped the fire and now looked ahead, slowly ascending up and down with the beating of his wings. I tried sitting up and after a wobbly step I managed to maintain my balance standing on the dragon¡¯s back. That was quite frankly one of the most fun parts of my job. I looked ahead and saw the black Giant Dragon much, much closer to us than imagined. Oh no, he was way bigger than I would have thought. ¡°Should I make another fire?¡± The Midi-Dragon asked me. ¡°No, let¡¯s first try approaching him.¡± The Giant Dragon seemed to guess our intent. So, shortly after we started moving towards him, he also just hovered in mid-air. I had my hands clasped together above my head and after separating them a white banner of light appeared in between of them. This was the human white flag, I guess. Like that, we got closer to the dragon and came to a halt just meters from his face. Which, mind you, was as big as the Midi-Dragon I was standing on. ¡°ARE YOU THE LEADER OF THIS HUMAN SETTLEMENT?!¡± He growled with a bass that hopefully didn¡¯t make any of the older buildings in the city collapse. The wind from his breath made me lose my foothold, and I landed on my stomach again, grabbing onto the Midi-Dragon¡¯s scales as to not fall off. ¡°Yes, I am! But please, could you talk more quietly, you almost blew me off here!¡± I shouted back, caring more about my survival than etiquette. ¡°Apologies, human master, I have switched to telepathy. I was in such a long slumber that I haven¡¯t regained proper control over my voice yet.¡± ¡°Apologies accepted,¡± I said in an exasperated sigh. I crawled upwards a bit, until I managed to stand up again. ¡°So, you said you just woke up?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been in a very long slumber, I couldn¡¯t tell you for how long though. I have to say it is quite the surprise though, having a human trying to talk to me. Those in my time would either wet themselves trying to escape or break their weapons on my hard scales.¡± ¡°I do not intend to do either, that¡¯s for sure.¡± I managed to squeeze out a chuckle. I mean, that wasn¡¯t the first Giant Dragon I met. Though, sadly, he might be one of the first to not be slain by my hand. ¡°Say, how about I put you up to speed? A lot has changed even over the past few years.¡± ¡°That would be appreciated, I feel like I slept through something very big.¡± How big that thing the Giant Dragon slept through really was, he couldn¡¯t know at the moment. ¡°Let¡¯s meet again in a couple minutes on the field outside of the city. It¡¯s in the direction you came from. There we should be able to talk undisturbed.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting,¡± the dragon said, as he turned around and flew off. I ordered the Midi-Dragon to turn around and fly back to the hub. As soon as we landed, I noticed the sirens have already been turned off. ¡°I assume everything is fine?¡± Garrett asked me. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s just another case of a dragon sleeping through major historical events¡±, I chuckled. ¡°I am going to grab the entry form for him and then meet him outside the city to explain what happened over the last couple years.¡±
¡°So, there has been a decade-long war? And I slept through all of it?¡± ¡°Yes, there was, and yes, apparently you did.¡± ¡°Such a shame.¡± He looked really upset about having missed ... a war. Yeah, I don¡¯t get it either. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it wasn¡¯t anything special. You barely missed anything of significance, ahahah.¡± I tried to console him, I guess. Dragons really are a completely different breed. ¡°So, what exactly happened for there to be war?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly. The war was already going on when I was ... born. And it wasn¡¯t really a war per se, it was just lots and lots of animosity between the people of all the races.¡± ¡°But surely you must have heard about the final battle that ended the war then!¡± The black dragon laid in front of me, his snout placed on his front paws- I mean hands! He sure had an attitude like a dog though. Thankfully, he didn¡¯t wag his tail, or he might have wiped out the entire species of trees growing nearby. As for me, I was sitting on top of the Midi-Dragon, who decided to take a nap on top of a mountain, so that we could talk properly. Anyway, I felt like some sort of storyteller. ¡°There wasn¡¯t a final battle.¡± The black dragon¡¯s eyes widened at that revelation. ¡°What do you mean! What kind of a war was it then, that it could be resolved without a final fight!¡± ¡°The war was ended peacefully through means of diplomacy by the human princess Zenia and her knight Jordan!¡± I tried to make this sound as epic and heroic as possible, simply because the dragon brought such an excitement with him, that I wanted him to be satisfied! I had almost as much fun as telling bedtime stories to my kids. ¡°Hahaha,¡± the black dragon gave off a bellowing laugh at this. He was still using telepathy for communication, but his facial expressions always fit whatever he said. In other words: I got a genuine laugh from him. ¡°Humans talking for once, instead of trying to murder whatever appears to be different from them. Interesting.¡± Sadly, what he said was true for this world as well. I was telling the truth about not knowing what had started this war, by the way. Through my daughters going to school, I¡¯ve come to known what is said to the people about the war, but speaking from my own experience I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if that was all a bunch of crap. But repairing dozens of damaged relationships between nations and species was probably the best outcome for everyone. ¡°Well, of course we are not on good terms with everyone. But we¡¯ve gotten far enough, that our city is now known as the melting pot of the world. A place where everyone is welcome.¡± I decided to spread my arms in a grand gesture. ¡°Except I am too big for your tiny human houses, hahahah,¡± the dragon laughed again. ¡°Yeah, that is a problem, but it is also the reason why most of the bigger species shape-shift into something smaller. You¡¯d be surprised at how many dragons actually live in the city.¡± ¡°Shape-shifting magic? Boy, if anyone would have thought about that during my times, that sure would¡¯ve lead to less crisp humans, hahahah.¡± Yeah, I don¡¯t know what to make of his sense of humor either. ¡°Well, I am sure that a visit in the city would be quite the change of pace for you, right? I assume this must be the longest conversation you have ever had with a human.¡± ¡°Indeed. I tend not to associate too much with humans, they tend to die on me too quickly ... That reminds me however of a couple of my vampire and witch friends ... I wonder if they are still around.¡± ¡°I could help you find them,¡± I offered. ¡°There are a few witches and vampires in our city. If you tell me their names I could see whether they are here, or have visited our city at some point.¡± ¡°Such a curious city ...¡± ¡°But for that I¡¯d need to ask you to shape-shift into a smaller form. It doesn¡¯t even need to be human if you want people to still recognize you as a dragon.¡± ¡°I actually used to shape-shift into a human-like shape back in the day, so let me just-¡± As he said that he rose onto all fours. As he closed his eyes and let out a loud and warm huff through his nose, he very quickly began to shrink. As he got smaller his hands left the ground, his claws became more delicate, and his wings took on a smaller form reminiscent of elf wings, though still as scaly as his dragon self. He sprouted jet-black hair on his head, and most of the scales disappeared, save for some spots, in which a human would usually have body hair. And no, I don¡¯t mean his pubes. ... At least not only. As his transformation neared its end, I jogged and slid down the hill. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re hot,¡± I said, coming to a halt in front of him. ¡°And I am not saying that because you can breathe fire.¡± ¡°Hahah, you got the humor of a dragon, my friend!¡± He exclaimed, this time with his actual voice. Or rather his human voice. While he appeared very mature, his voice had a youthful and pleasant ring to it. So, while his humanoid form very much had the same aura as his dragon form, his demeanor was almost the opposite. ¡°Well then, before we head on to the city: May I get your name for the papers?¡± I asked, bringing out the form, quill and ink from my leather bag, having it float in front of us. ¡°My name is Crimson.¡± I know, an unfitting name for a black dragon. ¡°They called me that after all the blood my dying enemies left on my scales.¡± Don¡¯t worry! He¡¯s a good guy!
After the paperwork was done, we flew back to the city. Me of course on the Midi-Dragon¡¯s back, Crimson using his own wings. We landed in the hub, where I was immediately greeted by Garrett, who was just helping out another group of passengers arriving. ¡°Ah, you are back! I assume this is ...¡± He gave Crimson a quick glance. ¡°Yep, this is Crimson. He will be staying in our city for some time.¡± ¡°Welcome.¡± ¡°Th- thank you!¡± Crimson didn¡¯t quite know what to do with himself. I guess he wasn¡¯t really used to being treated that way. ¡°Oh! My! God!¡± Suddenly we were greeted by loud fangirlish screams. It was a woman maybe in her late-twenties, who had just gotten out of her carriage. She was wearing odd, possibly fancy clothing consisting of a sunhat and a wide dress and blouse with a black tie. Quite frankly it reminded me of some old-fashioned dolls. Behind her she dragged a huge suitcase, one that easily could fit another human inside. ¡°Are you that huge black dragon that we saw on our flight?!¡± She seemed awfully excited, but it was a different kind of excited than the other passengers exhibited, when they realized it really was that big, scary dragon from earlier. I could hear some gasps and noticed a few people taking a couple steps back. ¡°Well-spotted! Indeed! It is I!¡± That dragon could barely make all that ego fit in his human form. ¡°And you!¡± It was my turn it seemed. ¡°You flew on the back of another dragon to save your people?!¡± ¡°That ... kind of is what I did!¡± I still didn¡¯t know how to handle praise. It just seemed so misplaced when directed at me. Back at my old job it was nothing unusual for me to get praised by a lot of different kinds of people, but I always felt undeserving, because in the end I only did it for my own selfish reasons. I mean, even in this case, a Giant Dragon destroying the city would have really inconvenienced me. ¡°I need to know everything about it! Are you free for an interview?¡± She asked me and I noticed her already taking out a fancy fountain pen and a notebook out of a tiny purse, that honestly seemed as if it was made to just store these two items and nothing else. ¡°I ... sure! We just need you to fill in your entry form ma¡¯am?¡± This whole situation really caught me off-guard. I had nothing like this happen to me before! Usually, I was the one doing the interviews ... ¡°Oh, of course.¡± It suddenly became awfully silent. She really had enough energy to make it seem like we were in a room full of people despite it only being the three of us at this point. She made some tiny hand motion, and I realized I should now do the talking. ¡°Oh, follow me, please! My office is this way,¡± I said and pointed towards my door. I fished for one of my coworkers/subordinates and asked them to guide Crimson towards the exit. ¡°Oh, and if you ever have any questions, do not hesitate to visit me in my office,¡± I offered Crimson, just after the woman had entered my room. I know at this point it seems like a generic phrase I say to everyone, like small talk with a Walmart employee, but I genuinely meant it. Maybe it is just me living out my god-complex, playing a real-life city builder or something. ... I¡¯m joking. ... No, but honestly, it feels so great and satisfying to be creating something! ... Anyway, I¡¯ll shut up now and get back to the story. ¡°So, your first time in the city?¡± I asked the woman who had already made herself comfortable in the chair in front of me. ¡°Yes,¡± she answered plainly. ¡°Then we will have to fill in your first entry form,¡± I said fishing for said form. ¡°Your name?¡± ¡°Martina. My name is Martina.¡± ¡°Occupation?¡± I don¡¯t know why I was filling the form in for her, considering she appeared to be human. Maybe it was being confronted with so many different species that couldn¡¯t write human script that day. ¡°Author.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I uttered before writing it down. ¡°Well, now you wanting to interview me makes much more sense. Is it for a book?¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± she answered and as if she just remembered again, she took out her fountain pen and notebook. Interestingly she did not seem to use any magic for writing, instead just placing the notebook in front of her. ¡°Ever since the war ended I have been traveling around, visiting different nations, living with different species, noting down every experience. Of course, spicing it up a bit.¡± ¡°Oh really, have I maybe heard of your books?¡± ¡°Maybe! One is called ¡®Fantastic Restaurant Guide.¡¯ Mostly it¡¯s just about where to find the best food in which city, the other one is called ¡®Chronicles of a Traveler.¡¯¡± ¡°Oh, I heard of that last one!¡± I haven¡¯t really gotten around to reading any books over the last years, but every time I came near a bookstore ¡®Chronicles of a Traveler¡¯ was on display, front and center. Apparently, it just is what it says in its title: A guy traveling through our world and talking about various experiences. ¡°Wait a minute, isn¡¯t the author a man? Martin Colt or something like that? And the protagonist too!¡± ¡°Yeah, well, according to my publisher people prefer these kinds of books written by a man starring a man ...¡± ¡°Oh crap, that is so sad.¡± ¡°Eh well, maybe I owe my success to that.¡± ¡°I wish I could console you in any way, but I haven¡¯t gotten around to reading the book, so I¡¯d need to lie, hahaha.¡± ¡°Oh, would you like a copy?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± She was already rummaging about her human-sized suitcase and fished out a copy of her book. ¡°Here you go.¡± ¡°Um, I feel bad about this.¡± ¡°Oh no, don¡¯t! After all, I wrote this book for people to read. Traveling around the world, taking in all these different experiences and impressions is fun, but what really got me going was telling these stories to my friends and family at home. And now, not only those close to me can take in these little pieces of our huge world.¡± What Martina said struck a chord with me. I too, every day when I get home and eat dinner with my family, I tell them about all those weird and wonderful people I met. ¡°I- thank you, I¡¯ll make sure to read this book. Who knows, maybe one day you¡¯ll read one of mine.¡± ¡°I will be looking forward to it.¡± She gave me a gentle smile. ¡°Now, may I ask you for your name?¡± She added. ¡°Jordan.¡±
It was an unusually busy day. I met an unlettered vampire, an unworldly dragon, and a famous author. This would be quite the story to tell my family. And in that moment, it hit me. The sun had already begun to set, so I knew I had to hurry up. I started jogging down the stairs from my office, onto the ground floor of our hub. It was sort of like a shopping mall, with all sorts of different stores. Thankfully the stationary store that supplied us with paper, quills, and ink was still open. I bought a notebook and I decided to just this once be a bit extra and also purchase a fountain pen with it. I arrived at home a lot giddier than people might expect. And also, maybe, a couple minutes earlier than usual, since I was occasionally skipping along the road. ¡°Daddy¡¯s home!¡± I could hear my youngest daughter Sana shout when I was just passing through our gate. The door opened and all my kids came running into the yard. My wife Zenia was just standing in the doorway. ¡°Daddy, today I learned the Ah in Sana! I can now almost spell my name!¡± ¡°Really, maybe you should become a teacher then!¡± I shared my daughter¡¯s excitement, thinking of Babylonia for a second. After adhering to our family¡¯s ¡®entry regulations,¡¯ consisting of giving every single one of my family members a kiss and having dinner, I decided to stay up a bit after putting the kids to sleep. I sat in an armchair in our living room, spreading the freshly bought notebook in front of me and taking the quill into my hand. The truth is I had always wanted to be an author in my old life, but I never managed to do that. Not until now. And I want to tell people my story. Instead, I stared blankly at the page for a couple of minutes. ¡°Oh no,¡± I merely uttered. It seems I wasn¡¯t prepared for the true enemy that was already lying in wait. ¡°Writer¡¯s block!¡± Zenias Day Off So, I have been thinking and came to a conclusion. Firstly, I love my wife with all my heart. Secondly, I most likely won¡¯t be able to write a story about me, without shutting up about her, without writing hers too. That thought hit me when I got woken up by the first rays of sunlight, and she was cuddling close to me, laying her head on my shoulder. She is probably the strongest woman in the kingdom and that is not only because of her royal status. I might come back to telling her heroic tales at some point, but for now I think we should focus on the present. You could say we¡¯ve retired young. We did our service for the kingdom and after that we became parents. So, we decided to take a step back from our previous adventures and settled for a boring city life. I still work for the government, though Zenia, as someone who was literally born part of the government went for a much-needed break. Which is what she does most of the days when I am at work and the children at school. I remember the first months after moving here. I immediately took on another job for the government. Not like I had to provide for our family, her dad got us covered (god forbid anyone ever sees what I write about the king) but I needed something to do. And, as you might already know, my current job also has its fair share of interesting happenings and surprises. Zenia, on the other hand, really did not know what to do with herself alone, and it took me a while to work it out. Most of the time she spent alone at home and didn¡¯t have much to do. She tried reading, she tried cooking, but all that felt empty. That¡¯s what she told me. Now, proceeding, I don¡¯t want to make it sound like being a mother is a woman¡¯s sole purpose, but in Zenia¡¯s case it gave her a purpose for the time being. And through our kids she got to know other people, mostly parents, but that gave her a reason to do anything, really. And when everyone was grown up (which means ready to go to school on their own) she found herself alone again. Though, this time it was more like ... she earned her free time. A couple hours every day. Turns out work-life balance really is important, but it goes both ways. You only learn to appreciate the time you have for yourself when it¡¯s not the only thing you have going on in your life. Or something. God, here I am once more wasting all that precious paper. I was going to tell a different story, but what I¡¯ve said thus far is sort of related to what is to come. Okay, look, basically my wife has an exhibition coming and I am excited, and maybe I also just want to promote it? (To whom though, no-one¡¯s ever going to read this, hahaha.) So, there it is, that¡¯s what my wife ended up doing in her free time most of the time. (I¡¯m a terrible writer, I¡¯ll never get published at this rate.) To be honest, I¡¯ve never actually ... seen her paint. Paint anything other than our walls, that is. I just know where she stores some of her brushes and paint, and she occasionally does come home with paint-splatters on her clothes. Though that may well be the blood of her enemies. She usually paints at a certain cafe, and, actually, I think it is about time I introduce one of our closest friends and most powerful allies.
Despite this being an enormous city, bustling with all kinds of folks, Zenia regularly found herself alone walking through the streets. When the kids were off to school, she took her morning walk enjoying the first warm sunrays, usually taking detours but always arriving at the same spot: Jeanne¡®s Witcheria. When she first opened her store, we really weren¡¯t convinced by the name but I guess the store really features whatever you¡¯d need from a witch. Mainly the witch herself, Jeanne. She was an old (literally, she¡¯s a few centuries old) friend of mine and Zenia. We¡¯ve fought together in the war and stayed close friends since. To answer the question of what exactly a ¡°Witcheria¡° is, it¡¯s Jeanne¡¯s very own store for every service she can provide, and every product she takes pleasure in creating. Of course, that includes potions and herbal medicine, but herbs can also be used for making tea. So, her store doubles as a cute little cafe, where Zenia likes to spend her days off. After all, what¡¯s better than drinking some tea and enjoying the company of your best friends while doing some painting on the side? Well, I could think of a few things but this is about my wife after all. ... If I ever happen to get a day off maybe I should join her for once. Anyway. After being out and about for some time she reached the Witcheria and pushed the door open. It was still rather early in the morning. Unless you had children and were jobless (like Zenia) you¡¯d never go to a cafe at this hour. Needless to say, the main area was mostly empty, safe for two guests sitting at separate tables and one person at the counter who seemed to be buying some medicine. Zenia took her usual place in the back corner near the counter. She sat at a squared table, her back to the wall. She didn¡¯t like having her back exposed to the entire room. This way she had everything happening in the cafe within her field of view. Also, she was close to the counter which allowed her for some casual conversation with Jeanne, who¡¯d be brewing potions or tea. Jeanne was standing behind the counter, finishing up her customer¡¯s order, before turning to greet Zenia. Her big hat swayed around a bit, and it was somewhat of a marvel it didn¡¯t fall off her head. Zenia eagerly awaited that day ... ¡°Hey there, darling,¡± Jeanne¡¯s deep, yet cheerful, voice greeted Zenia. ¡°What can I get for you?¡± ¡°I have made a resolution!¡± Zenia announced. Jeanne responded with a blank stare, and waited for Zenia to elaborate. ¡°I will try the entire menu from start to finish.¡± Jeanne fished the menu out of thin air and gave it a brief glance. ¡°Hmm,¡± she pondered. ¡°I don¡¯t actually think we have ever sold every single item on the menu.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you... cut down a bit from the menu then?¡± Zenia questioned. ¡°I mean, I have no experience working a cafe, but don¡¯t you have a stock of unnecessary ingredients then?¡± ¡°Not really, most of the herbs used for my teas can also be used for potions. Or just sold separately.¡± Indeed, Jeanne had an entire shelf with herbs gathered in preserving jars behind her counter. ¡°Anyway, could I get the menu, please?¡± Zenia stretched out her hand as she politely asked for the menu. ¡°There you go...¡± ¡°So, the first thing would be ... Black Tea.¡± Zenia was a bit disappointed, as it was probably the most common brew in the entire kingdom. It wasn¡¯t an herbal tea though, like in my world, instead it was made from a dark kind of berry common to this area, which, when squeezed released a very thick, almost syrup like, juice. It had a nice sweet and sour taste, that people from other regions (or other worlds) needed to get used to at first. (Why am I explaining this, like I¡¯d explain it to an otherworldler? As far as I know I am the only one of my kind ...) ¡°A cup of Black Tea coming right up!¡± Jeanne exclaimed, turning on a heel and taking the menu with her. Zenia put her tote bag onto her lap and produced a few sheets and a pencil from it. Barely another minute later her tea had arrived. Magic was frequently used to heat things up, so service in most restaurants and the like was fairly quick. Though there are some purists who believe food and beverages heated up by magic don¡¯t have such a refined taste as using actual fire. I guess it¡¯s similar to microwave food, now that I think of it. Jeanne placed the steaming cup of tea in the middle of the table, in front of Zenia¡¯s sheets. A thick mist came from the cup, almost as if someone had put a smoke machine inside it. It gave off a witchy flair. That was Jeanne¡¯s special way of brewing tea. If the internet existed in this world no doubt would this be an Instagram hotspot. ¡°There you go,¡± Jeanne whispered, as she carefully put the cup down. Zenia immediately went for her pencil and put the first couple of strokes down. She always used her beverage or food for a quick warm up sketch. Jeanne was hesitant to interrupt Zenia, as she knew you shouldn¡¯t disturb an artist at work, but after some quick consideration she went for it anyway. ¡°Say, I¡¯ve been thinking. What do you do with your sketches?¡± ¡°I mostly stow them away somewhere at home. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been thinking about putting a bit more... effort into decorating this cafe.¡± Jeanne already put plenty of effort into her cafe. Mostly shelves with jars of herbs, similar to the one behind the counter. There were also potted herbs, that she grew herself, as well as some flowers and vines, that stretched across the walls. It felt like a greenhouse sometimes. Bright and full of (plant)life. There was not a single spot she didn¡¯t tend to. Even if you were the only guest, the room didn¡¯t feel empty at all. ¡°Oh? What have you been thinking?¡± ¡°Well, without beating around the bush, I¡¯ve been thinking about putting up some of your paintings up in my cafe!¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Well, I¡¯d be honored!¡± Zenia replied with a smile. ¡°Although... I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m not sure I am good enough.¡± Zenia looked back down at the rough outline of the cup on her sheet. ¡°Pah, nonsense. You¡¯ve been here almost every day for the past few months painting. Actually, you should ask me to put up some of your stuff around here,¡± Jeanne retorted with a mischievous grin. ¡°I¡¯m just joking. I would of course actually buy them off of you, what do you say?¡± ¡°Oh no, I couldn¡¯t possibly ask that of a friend.¡± ¡°Pah, friend or not, your effort can¡¯t go without any return. Actually, for us witches it is almost unthinkable not to pay for any piece of art made. Unlike with you humans ...¡± It was true, that most human artists barely made anything from their craft, even in this world. ¡°Well, think about it,¡± Jeanne said, after Zenia had stared at her sketch papers for a few seconds, deep in thought. ¡°In the meantime, how about you enjoy that tea?¡± With that, Zenia went back to her sketching. It was just a warm-up sketch, so it took her no more than a quarter of an hour. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t just sketch the same boring beverages every day. I¡¯ve snuck into her study once and peeked at her drawings. Some were of people, some of the plants, and some of the odd stray animal that would walk into the cafe. By the time Zenia came to a finish, the mist around her Black tea had already mostly dissipated. Not before she managed to draw it, of course. She lay her pencil beside the sheet and took a good look at it. Nothing special, but she was happy with the result. Cracking her knuckles she stretched a bit on her chair, before finally taking the warm mug into her hands. ¡°You know, you are supposed to drink it hot. You better not complain afterwards, if it has a nasty taste to it,¡± Jeanne called from behind the counter. ¡°Don¡¯t call me out like that!¡± Zenia said in a way that implied friendly bickering. Zenia took a sip from her mug. ¡°Oh no. How terrible. I have never tasted a beverage this awful.¡± Needless to say, she was dripping with sarcasm. ¡°Tch, idiot,¡± Jeanne replied. Any outsider watching would either think they were the biggest archenemies or an old married couple. Or both. ¡°Anyway, time to get to the real deal!¡± Zenia said after taking a pause for a few minutes. She stood up, stretched again, and went to Jeanne behind the counter. She was just brewing up some tea for another guest. It gave off a harsh yet sweet odor. ¡°Need any help?¡± Jeanne asked. ¡°Thanks, but I got this,¡± Zenia answered back, as she opened a door leading to a storage room. A few minutes later, Zenia had transformed her corner of the cafe into an atelier. Little cups were all over the table, with Zenia¡¯s tea hidden somewhere in between. A canvas stand was placed next to it, of course with the canvas leaning against it. Its top half was covered in various shades of blue, while the bottom half had mostly greenish and beige colors. Zenia was glad to finally start the actual process of painting. For a few days before, she only did rough pencil sketches on the canvas and mixed together colors with the help of Jeanne. Jeanne really is a genius when it comes to the various uses of herbs, plants, berries, you name it. Jeanne is responsible for supplying Zenia with her paint. Even more of a reason for her to reject monetary compensation for her work. Since she had painted her base before, she needed to do new sketches for some of the details. Rather important details, as she had to sketch the two protagonists of the piece up in the sky. It was two dragons, so that was quite the challenge. Zenia hadn¡¯t had a chance to paint any dragons yet. Most she knew were Midi-Dragons as they were most commonly used for transportation, but she never got to do a full painting of one After bringing out the canvas and putting it on a stand she pulled out a few sheets from her bag. They were sketches she did over the past few days. When Zenia told me a few days ago that she would accompany me to my job I thought it weird. Of course, she would not sit by my desk all day, not to mention I¡¯d move around the office a lot, and also deal with lots of sensitive information. No, in reality she wanted to come with to do sketches of the dragons at the hub. It was certainly an odd sight and I had to comfort some of the arriving guests that she wasn¡¯t in fact a profiler or anything of the sorts. In any case, the sketches she pulled out were those from that very day. She spread them out on the table next to the canvas and took a good look at them. She had drawn a bunch of dragons from a variety of angles. The real issue was that she had to draw them mid-flight. She had done a bunch of rough sketches of dragons spreading their wings, but of course she couldn¡¯t just go and ask them to stay in that pose for a few minutes. Those dragons were there to do their job. Using a pencil, she started by drawing the torso of the smaller one, leaving the wings out for now. She had to get the size right before going on to the bigger one. The bigger dragon¡¯s head would be as big as the smaller dragon and thus had to be much more detailed than the smaller. She ruffled through her sketches, putting the ones with close-ups of dragon faces on top. Cracking her fingers, she got to work.
By the time she had finished the sketches it was about to become afternoon. While sketching the dragon¡¯s face, Zenia had realized that she¡¯d need to do a few more sketches of the dragons faces and the patterns of their scales. She did not expect painting a dragon to be this hard. Other animals and non-humanoids were no problem at this point, but dragons were a whole different beast. Zenia let herself fall onto a chair. Moving her arms around a bit she did a couple stretches. Drawing also was hard work. The toll it takes on the body is underestimated by many. Just as she finished her stretches, Zenia witnessed Jeanne putting a plate of steaming food on the table in front of her. ¡°I didn¡¯t order anything?¡± Zenia asked in confusion. ¡°No, but you still need to eat. And I figured I¡¯d just start handing you the entire menu over your next couple visits. Oh, and don¡¯t you think it¡¯s for free.¡± ¡°Of course not. Thank you.¡± ¡°You need to eat if you want to work. Take care of yourself a bit.¡± Just as Zenia was about to start eating the unfamiliar rice dish, she noticed an odd figure hiding behind Jeanne and peering at the canvas. ¡°And who might you be?¡± Zenia asked as if she didn¡¯t have a clue already. In response the figure¡¯s wings contracted, and it seemed almost like a shiver went through her horns. ¡°Oh, sorry about that,¡± Jeanne replied in her stead. ¡°I am assuming this is the mystery girlfriend I¡¯ve heard so much about?¡± Zenia asked teasingly. ¡°M¨¹steri girlfriend?¡± The mystery girlfriend replied with a heavy accent. Jeanne¡¯s entire body stiffened and in a manner akin to a stroke stammered: ¡°Mystery uhhhh ... well??? ¡­ Babylonia!¡± Jeanne burst into a pile of awkwardness and introduced her girlfriend (subject to change). ¡°Mhm! Babylonia, me!¡± Babylonia agreed, momentarily forgetting everything she learned about the human language over the past years. ¡°Alright. My name is Zenia,¡± she introduced herself. ¡°She is Jordan¡¯s wife,¡± Jeanne added. ¡°He met Babylonia when she first entered the city,¡± she then explained to Zenia. ¡°Ah! Nice to meet you. And please give your husband my thanks for suggesting I take the language course. It has been such a help.¡± Babylonia tried her best to speak as perfectly as possible, after her little blunder just now. ¡°Of course. So, you are still learning our language?¡± Zenia asked. ¡°Yes, I just came back from school. Say, can you tell me, what it says on here?¡± Babylonia asked, pointing at the canvas. For her bigger paintings Zenia had adopted the quirk of drawing a frame onto the canvas, featuring the title of the work on the bottom. ¡°Oh that, that is the title of my painting. What part of it do you have trouble understanding?¡± ¡°That very first word. I¡¯m not sure about it, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve read it anywhere before?¡± ¡°Ohhh, that¡¯s the name of my husband,¡± Zenia exclaimed with a small chuckle. ¡°Ah, Jordan and the Dragon. Now I understand, thank you. Wow, I really need to get a hang of human names ...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, even we sometimes get them wrong,¡± Zenia tried to console her, looking to Jeanne for approval. ¡°Yes, just watch me taking orders,¡± Jeanne confirmed. ¡°Best is to ask the person about how their name is written or pronounced. It is common courtesy.¡± ¡°Hm, your name I know, Jeanne!¡± Babylonia exclaimed, though I don¡¯t really know if that¡¯s something to be proud of, in particular. ¡°Heheh, you sure do ¡­¡± Jeanne replied fondly. ¡°Anyway Babi-chan, let¡¯s leave Zenia to eat in peace now, ¡®kay?¡± ¡°Wow, you sure are a different person around your mystery girlfriend.¡± ¡°Shush!¡± ¡°What does that mean, m¨¹steri girlfriend?¡± ¡°Enjoy your meal!¡± And with that, Jeanne took Babylonia and unloaded her behind the counter. ¡°Now then ¡­¡± Zenia took place at her table once more. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s some amazing work here!¡± Just as Zenia was about to take a bite of the piping hot, unfamiliar rice dish, she was interrupted again. This time by a shout of excitement. She turned around to the source: A small, oddly clothed woman, like a doll, was admiring the unfinished painting on the canvas. ¡°Oh, um, sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to disrupt your break.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re painting the incident with that dragon a few days ago, aren¡¯t you?¡± the woman inquired. ¡°I am! How did you guess?¡± Zenia got up from her seat and now stood next to the woman. ¡°Incidentally, I happened to arrive in the city just as all this transpired. And I even got to talk to Crimson the dragon and Jordan the hero!¡± No, I am not exaggerating. This was her actual reaction. At least according to Zenia. ¡°Oh, he is my husband.¡± ¡°The dragon?¡± ¡°No, the Jordan.¡± ¡°I jest.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°In any case, you don¡¯t happen to be putting your drawings up for sale?¡± ¡°I am!¡± Zenia tried to hide her excitement, but that was the first time anyone seemed to be calling dibs on an unfinished drawing. ¡°In fact, I am preparing an exhibition, this here being the center piece.¡± ¡°My name is Martina. Would you care to show me some of your other pieces? I don¡¯t mean to pry into what you¡¯re working on for the exhibition for free, but I might have a business proposal that might interest you.¡± At Martina¡¯s behest Zenia led her behind the counter to the storage room. Not only did Zenia store her utensils here, her finished paintings also found a temporary home in the back room. ¡°Ahhh, these are splendid,¡± Martina looked at them one by one with growing satisfaction. ¡°Thank you,¡± Zenia wasn¡¯t sure how to properly react to her compliments. Instead, she tried to follow the scripts that have been hammered into her head as a child. She realized that planning an exhibition may go over her head. If she didn¡¯t know how to properly react to just Martina seeing her paintings, what would it be like, if there was a room full of people in a room full of her art? ¡°Ooh, and what are those?¡± Martina asked, as she approached a bundle of papers laying on a shelf. Zenia wasn¡¯t quite sure what she left there herself, so she also took an inquisitive look. ¡°Ah, of course, those are my warm-up sketches,¡± she then explained. ¡°I spend most of my time painting in this cafe, and as a warm-up I sketch whatever food or beverage I order. Some of them I¡¯ve even colored for fun.¡± ¡°Excellent!¡± Martina exclaimed once more, going through all of the sketches one by one. ¡°In any case, you said you had an offer to make?¡± Zenia couldn¡¯t take it any longer. Having Martina go through all of her drawings like that felt as if she was being put on trial. ¡°Of course, right. What would you think about providing me with illustrations for my books? I¡¯m an author, you see, and I¡¯ve been looking for something to help upvalue my books a bit.¡± ¡°Sure, but why me?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s hard to find someone with such a passion and dedication for the arts. Really, your output seems unmatched. Most people can only afford to paint on the side, so I don¡¯t think contracting them would prove to be fruitful ...¡± ¡°I understand ...¡± ¡°Also, I just so happen to be writing something about the dragon incident, and the detail of your dragon painting is simply unmatched!¡± ¡°Oh why, thank you. Well, certainly, I am intrigued...¡± ¡°Do you plan on selling any of your paintings during your exhibition?¡± ¡°Oh I... didn¡¯t actually think of that. I mean, it¡¯s worth considering.¡± ¡°Well, how about during the exhibition, you reveal the dragon painting as a centerpiece and I also announce my acquisition of the painting, as well as our future partnership?¡± ¡°Woah there, lady. Don¡¯t talk about owning something before buying it! I will consider your offer, but I¡¯d still need some time to reconsider. And, also, a proper contract would be in order.¡± ¡°Well then, how about we meet in another couple days, to negotiate terms? A week should give us enough time to figure out what we each want out of this partnership.¡± ¡°Alright, sounds fair enough.¡± ¡°I assume I¡¯ll find you in this very establishment?¡± ¡°You assumed correctly.¡± ¡°Great, until next week.¡± And with a firm handshake the two parted ways.
By the time Zenia returned to her table, her food had gotten cold.
That evening, when I returned from work, Zenia almost immediately fell into my arms. ¡°Today was exhausting,¡± she muttered. She told me what happened during the day later when we were both sitting in bed. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re becoming a businesswoman,¡± I commented. To get so many offers in one day ... maybe that could be me someday. ¡°God, that makes me so happy. And also, I feel honored to be the subject of the centerpiece of your exhibition.¡± ¡°If only you knew how many sketches of you I¡¯ve done in secret,¡± she teased. I kissed her on her forehead in response, my arm wrapped around her shoulders. Waking up and falling asleep next to her was truly the best. How My Daughter Changed Schools and Became the Target of an Assassination - Part 1 ¡°¡­ Do you know about the Seven School Mysteries? Did you hear the story?¡± ¡°Mysteries?¡± ¡°Yeah. I heard from some upperclassman about it, who is friends with my brother. They say that every year, weird things start to happen at our school since a few decades ago.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°For example, occasionally an additional set of stairs seems to appear randomly inside the school building, despite you being on the highest floor. Or a student enrolling in school, only to then disappear the year after. Some people did some digging on these ghost students as they call them and later found out: They were dead all along.¡± ¡°What the heck?¡± ¡°Yeah. Weird things like these have kept happening at this school for decades, but people have started to notice a pattern. Every year, the mystery changes. They rotate and after seven years, they repeat.¡± ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s why it¡¯s called the Seven School Mysteries.¡± ¡°No shit, dingus.¡± ¡°So, do you know what¡¯s we¡¯re in for this year?¡± ¡°I think we will have one additional student for this year...¡±
Looking through what I¡¯ve written so far, I realize I am not a good writer. Like what was that awkward ending of the previous chapter? Or the way, I included my name in the first chapter? I mean, certainly that¡¯s better than simply outright saying ¡°Hi, my name is Jordan,¡± but oof. It¡¯s rough. I mean, in the end it¡¯s all about practice, right? So, I¡¯ll just have to keep doing what I¡¯m doing. One thing I¡¯ve realized in my old life when it comes to writing is that your writing is always better when you have fun doing it. When it comes to university for example, my best papers were the ones that featured a topic I was interested in. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Which is why I¡¯ve written about my job, my wife. So, I figured, family comes next. Specifically, the kids. Let me introduce them to you. I have three daughters. From the youngest to the oldest they are Sana, Zora, and Latvia. Yes, I know what you are thinking. Why on earth would we name our child after a country? To be fair, Zenia came up with the name, and I thought it sounded good. Only years later did it occur to me, that it is the English name for a country. Again, I am not a native speaker, and I¡¯ve been in this world for a few years at this point. Anyway, after that shocking realization I started calling her by the nickname of Via. (Which means road in the Romanic languages but just leave me alone.) (Why am I writing this down anyway, no one speaks English in this world? God, no one will ever want to publish my book, if it¡¯s full of unintelligible gibberish like this.) IN ANY CASE, which has become my catchphrase now apparently, my oldest daughter Via has now changed schools. Nothing unusual, this city follows a three-school-system similar to that found in many countries of my old world. Meaning, elementary, middle, and high school. When we moved from the nobles¡¯ district to the inner city that of course meant that our children had to change schools as well. For Sana, that wasn¡¯t much of a problem, as she only started school after our move. Zora also just moved up to middle school. For Via, moving schools came with a whole slew of mostly administrative problems. Because she was about to finish her second to last year in middle school when we were about to move, it was hard for us to have her move to a school where she could immediately be moved to the final year. Curriculums were simply too different between our royal school and a commoner school, it appears. Also, it seems to be common for most people to finish education after middle school, so Via would be thrown directly into her final exams. In the end, we managed to get Via enrolled with a bit of help from granddad. ¡°Can you believe I am worried about our oldest daughter attending a new school?¡± Zenia asked me one evening. Sana and Zora had already started school earlier and it went off without a hitch. ¡°But when it comes to Latvia... I have so many worries. What if she doesn¡¯t manage to get in with those people? I mean, she joins the class during their final year, and she¡¯ll be busy with exams anyway. Maybe we should have arranged for her to remain a student in the nobles¡¯ district or something. She¡¯d get a better education and would have stayed with her friends.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that,¡± I tried to console her. ¡°I get it, her circumstances are out of the ordinary. But I believe she¡¯ll manage. I mean yeah, getting familiar with the curriculum will take a bit of time, but she is an A-student. At least when it comes to things unrelated to magic. And maybe she¡¯ll join a study group or something. The royal academy was no place for her anyways, it was too focused on magical prowess, which she... is lacking.¡± ¡°You remain awfully optimistic as usual. Even though I can tell you¡¯re grasping at straws.¡± Okay, obviously I was a bit worried as well. But I could not have predicted what the actual issue with her new school would be. How My Daughter Changed Schools and Became the Target of an Assassination - Part 2 ¡°Hey, have you heard about that new student coming to our school?¡± ¡°Right, my mom¡¯s part of the school board, she was there for the whole process.¡± ¡°Wait, is it true then? What they say about her?¡± ¡°About that whole situation!¡± ¡°Wait, what are you two talking about?¡± ¡°So, we¡¯re getting a new classmate?¡± ¡°Classmate?! She¡¯s joining our class?¡± ¡°So, I¡¯ve heard. Anyway, what I also heard from my mom, is that she must be royalty.¡± ¡°Exactly, they say that the king himself ordered her to be allowed to enroll in our school!¡± ¡°THE-! Are you kidding me?¡± ¡°Why on earth would the king have her enroll? Unless she¡¯s royalty...¡± ¡°Why would she go to a commoner school though? Unless she got kicked out, or her family has been disgraced and had to move.¡± ¡°The king wouldn¡¯t back them up in that case though.¡± ¡°True.¡± ¡°Her father didn¡¯t look much like a royal too.¡± ¡°You saw him?¡± ¡°Yes, I was waiting to pick my mother up the other day-¡± ¡°Oh my god, I think that¡¯s her...¡±
Okay Via, just like you practiced. Straight back, looking straight ahead, hands in front carrying your bag. Whenever Via got nervous about a situation, she¡¯d repeat the code of conduct she had learned all her life. It was all about appearing dignified. Despite looking straight ahead and above the heads of most students ¨C apart from being among the oldest students, she was also rather tall for her age ¨C she couldn¡¯t help but notice the gazes of her fellow students. She repeated the mantra in her head, as she walked towards the door of the main school building. Straight back. My back is straight enough, right? Straight ahead, hands in front- god I hope my hair isn¡¯t messed up. I didn¡¯t put the uniform on wrong, did I? She so desperately wanted to steal a proper glance at the other students to check for their looks and behavior, but she was stuck in her state of dignity. She couldn¡¯t just drop her fa?ade. What would become of her, if she decided to throw away what she learned all her life? Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Somehow, she made it into the building without tripping over the small step in front of the door.
¡°Wah, that must be her, without a doubt!¡± ¡°That elegance!¡± ¡°She really doesn¡¯t look like she belongs here.¡± ¡°She¡¯s so tall! Are you sure she isn¡¯t older than us?¡± ¡°Really gives you some perspective on what people from the other city are like.¡± ¡°Her magic must be through the roof, there¡¯s no way. Her hair is such a nice silver, I¡¯ve never seen anything like that before.¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just a really well-done dye-job?¡± ¡°No way in hell, idiot.¡± ¡°Speaking of idiots, I can already see the guys popping some boners from afar.¡± ¡°Thanks, I did not want to hear that.¡± ¡°Wanna bet she gets approached by at least one of them by the end of today?¡± ¡°Nah, there¡¯s going to be at least two or three.¡± ¡°If she rejects one of them, it¡¯s gonna spread like wildfire though.¡± ¡°Yeah, but some idiot won¡®t let himself be discouraged by that, because he¡¯s not like the other guys.¡± ¡°Well, she sure isn¡¯t like the other girls.¡± ¡°Maybe she¡¯s lesbian.¡± ¡°Would be good for you, eh?¡± ¡°Nah, she¡¯s not my type. And seeing her all high and mighty like that... I don¡¯t think she¡¯d even say hello to me, when we meet in the corridor or something...¡±
Via took deep breaths, as she straightened her back while sitting on the toilet lid. She couldn¡¯t remember the way she took to get to the toilets at all. She asked a teacher, she thought. Or possibly a student? Oh, for the love of the gods, please don¡¯t let that be true. She blacked out completely after entering the school building and was now trying to calm her anxiety. There wasn¡¯t much that could go wrong anymore. After leaving the toilet, she¡¯d go straight to her classroom, and sit in class for the day. She wouldn¡¯t have to talk to anyone, and people would be too busy studying to pay her any attention anyway. She¡¯d manage, she always has. Standing up, she took another few deep breaths, taking comfort in the feeling of her chest expanding. She was alive. Taking her bag with her, she exited the cabin to wash her hands and face. Her perfect mirror face looked back at her. Not a strand of hair out of place. She let a little cackle slip, smiling at her image. She got it. ¡°Heh.¡± ... That wasn¡¯t Via¡¯s voice. She turned to her right and there stood a girl. She was a bit shorter than Via, and had a cute pixie cut that was maybe a bit overgrown. Her hair color was difficult for Via to define. It reminded her of her own, but a bit duller. Maybe it was closer to gray? She couldn¡¯t possibly possess that much magic. Maybe she dyed it or had some rare disorder. Maybe her ancestry had something to do with the magic folk? ¡°Hi, are you okay? You¡¯ve been staring at me.¡± ¡°Oh, I apologize so very much.¡± Via almost jumped into a slight apologetic bow. ¡°Geez, you really are a royal, aren¡¯t you?¡± the girl commented, her voice deep and relaxed. In an instant Via grew incredibly self-conscious again. The difference in their mannerisms was too obvious. ¡°Take it easy, it¡¯s your first day here, right? There¡¯s been lots of talk surrounding you, but just don¡¯t try to pay too much attention to that. The gossip will go down eventually.¡± Via took another look at the mirror. She really was standing out a lot. ¡°Do you already know, which class you¡¯re in?¡± the girl asked casually, while washing her hands. ¡°I think, class 3-3?¡± ¡°Oh cool, we¡¯re in the same class then.¡± Cool? ¡°My name¡¯s Alberta, most people just call me Alba, though.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Latvia. Via for short.¡± ¡°Nice. See you around then.¡± Alba raised her hand as she walked past Via and left through the door. Via was too flabbergasted to say anything in response. Making sure Alba was a considerable distance away from her, Via followed her. She didn¡¯t know where the classroom was yet, but she didn¡¯t want to make things to awkward. How My Daughter Changed Schools and Became the Target of an Assassination - Part 3 Class went on without a hitch. Most of it was organizational stuff. ¡°See you,¡± Alba said, as she passed Via¡¯s desk, while leaving the classroom. ¡°Uh, bye,¡± Via answered, again taken off guard by the girl.
¡°Did you just say goodbye to the new girl?¡± ¡°Gutsy move.¡± ¡°Eh, she seems nice, I met her in the restroom earlier.¡± ¡°Royals use the restroom?¡± ¡°Oh, come on, now you¡¯re exaggerating.¡± ¡°She was ... overly formal. I didn¡¯t really know how to act around her, hahah. I was so casual compared to her.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s to be expected considering the difference in status.¡± ¡°Her name¡¯s Latvia, by the way.¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s an unusual name.¡± ¡°Her nickname¡¯s Via. That¡¯s all I know.¡± ¡°Ooh, already calling her by a nickname.¡± ¡°Not really. I doubt we¡¯ll be calling each other in any way.¡±
¡°Hey, have you noticed ... Alba and Latvia are kind of on friendly terms, I guess? I don¡¯t really know what to call it.¡± ¡°They sure have been saying hello and goodbye to each other every day for the past weeks.¡± ¡°Yeah, isn¡¯t that about it?¡± ¡°I guess. Latvia isn¡¯t really talking to anyone else now, is she?¡± ¡°Yeah, she always seems so distant.¡± ¡°I talked to some of the guys. They won¡¯t dare approach her, because of her status and the way she always seems so uninterested in the others.¡± ¡°Woah, that¡¯s crazy, I thought for sure, someone would approach her.¡± ¡°Well, Alba has been.¡± ¡°Right, others have started to take note of that as well.¡± ¡°I mean, it sure is brave. Makes one wonder if there¡¯s something else going on between the two of them.¡±
Weeks have gone by, and I still haven¡¯t made any friends. Via had accepted her situation. There wasn¡¯t really that much she could do about it. She had hoped that maybe Alba could become her first friend, but apart from their almost-daily greetings nothing really happened. Via wasn¡¯t entirely sure what could have happened. Maybe getting invited for lunch? Alba¡¯s friends seemed to be kind of suspicious about Via, however. She overheard them talking about her every now and then. Well, it didn¡¯t matter too much anyway. She was in her final school year, which meant another fresh start in a couple of months anyway. ¡°Latvia,¡± the teacher called out to her, suddenly. ¡°Yes?¡± she answered a bit too quickly, afraid she¡¯d gotten lost in thoughts and didn¡¯t pay attention. ¡°Could you take these sheets to Alba¡¯s house and let her know about the group assignment?¡± ¡°Um, sure,¡± Via replied, as she accepted the sheets. Looking a couple of rows ahead she¡¯d noticed Alba was missing. ¡°She is at home sick, it seems,¡± the teacher explained. ¡°You know her address, right?¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°No, I don¡¯t ...¡± ¡°Oh, my mistake. Come to my desk after class and I¡¯ll tell you.¡± Right, life in the inner city is different from the noble¡¯s district ...
Via went about her task, after a quick detour home. She didn¡¯t want to worry us by taking unusually long to return home, I guess. Convenient ways of delivering messages didn¡¯t really exist in the inner city. Obviously, you didn¡¯t have smartphones and the internet. The best way to deliver messages was the postal services, but there also was a profession called messenger if you lived in the noble¡¯s district. For some reason we didn¡¯t have that in the inner city, maybe because the job was very difficult. It was easier to deliver messages across the rather small noble¡¯s district, compared to the vast inner city. Of course, messengers were mostly underway by foot, so it wasn¡¯t the most pleasant job on top of that. Via was taken aback a bit, having been tasked to deliver the schoolwork to Alba¡¯s. Back at her old school, when someone was sick, they¡¯d just send a messenger. ¡°That must be it,¡± Via muttered, as she glanced between the address description provided by the teacher and the house she was standing in front of. It was a multi-story building meant to house multiple families at once. These had become common in the city after the war ended and the population started growing again. Needless to say, it was a comparatively new building. Via searched for the family name on a panel next to the door and after another second of hesitation pressed the button. Via was curious what the mechanism behind that thing was, as she had never encountered such a panel before. Needless to say, multi-family houses did not exist in the noble¡¯s district and afterwards we moved into a single-family home. ¡°Yes?¡± An elderly woman opened the door and greeted Via. ¡°Um, hello. I am a classmate of Alberta¡¯s,¡± Via repeated the sentence she¡¯d learned on her way here. ¡°I have come to bring her some papers from school.¡± ¡°Ah, of course. Alba your friend is here!¡± Friend? ¡°Come on in, I¡¯ll bring you to her room.¡± Her room?! ¡°Thank you very much,¡± she replied too quietly to be heard. Via was led upstairs where she was already expected by Alba, wearing a sleeveless shirt and some shorts. She might as well have been wearing just her underwear. Via did not know where best to look. ¡°Hi there, come on in,¡± Alba invited Via without much hesitation and the girls entered her room. Alba looked Via up and down and remarked, ¡°So weird to not see you wearing the school uniform.¡± Some unspoken expectation seemed to hang in the air. Via had changed out of her uniform into some more casual attire. Since coming here, she had experimented with clothing deemed ... indecent for the noble¡¯s district. By all means, she wasn¡¯t dressing immodestly, however a woman wearing pants was considered indecent. Pants were reserved for women of the working class, after all. Her pants were held up by suspenders over her shoulders under which she wore a button-up with a floral pattern. Via¡¯s clothes were undoubtedly a bit flashier than Alba¡¯s, although improper by royal standards. ¡°So, what brings you here?¡± Alba asked. ¡°Right, I was tasked with bringing you some of our schoolwork,¡± Via said, as she handed a few sheets to Alba. ¡°Yay, schoolwork. Nothing better to do when you¡¯re sick ... Don¡¯t worry I¡¯m not contagious, I just got my period, and the cramps were too bad to get up in time. So, I just stayed home.¡± Alba shuffled through the papers, skimming them with disinterest. ¡°Ah, that reminds me, there is this group assignment we have to do. It requires three to four people, I think the details are on one of the sheets?¡± Via said, as she glanced onto the papers. ¡°Yep, there it is,¡± Alba said, putting the right paper on top. ¡°You already in a group?¡± ¡°No not yet, I-¡± Via hesitated. She couldn¡¯t really tell her no one wanted her in their group. Or that she made no effort to be included for that matter. She¡¯d seem like a total loser. ¡°We haven¡¯t decided on groups yet.¡± ¡°You can join me and my friends if you want,¡± Alba said nonchalantly. Is this one of those cases, where people offer you something with the expectation, that you say no? ¡°So?¡±, Alba asked once more. ¡°I- I¡¯d be happy to,¡± ¡°Great, because I hate doing presentations, and the more people in our group, the less I have to talk.¡± ¡°Hahah, I get that feeling. I always freeze up when I have to talk in front of other people.¡± ¡°Or when talking to people in general?¡± Alba remarked. Oh no, she saw right through me. ¡°Yes ...¡± Via admitted. ¡°It has always been like this. But after changing schools, it has become worse. I¡¯m bad with new environments. And I-¡± Via wanted to add, that she was insecure about her behavior. Having grown up in the noble¡¯s district and being thrown into this new environment. Everyone behaved so differently. She didn¡¯t have any scripts on which she could rely. But she couldn¡¯t dump that all on this girl she barely knew. ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t imagine how different the noble society must be from us commoners,¡± Alba replied, as she looked around her small room. It was just big enough for her bed a wardrobe, and the bit of floor they were standing on. ¡°Yeah, I feel very out of place ... But I¡¯m glad we¡¯re friends!¡± Via suddenly blurted out. She didn¡¯t want to sound like she was looking down on her. Feeling out of place, because her room was so small, or something. ¡°Friends?¡± Alba opened her eyes up wide in surprise, so unlike her usual cool gaze. ¡°Uhhh,¡± Via began to panic even more. ¡°In any case, I am looking forward to working our group together and get soon well!¡± Hastily she rummaged through her bag, as if she was packing her stuff, and left through the door, marching ahead her limbs as stiff as a puppet¡¯s. At least her back was straight, and her gaze fixed at an imaginary point ahead of her. How My Daughter Changed Schools and Became the Target of an Assassination - Part 4 ¡°So, how was the sick visit?¡± ¡°Short and sweet, rather pragmatic ... she left immediately after giving me my stuff.¡± ¡°Short and sweet... Albaaaa, you¡¯re blushingggg.¡± ¡°No, I am not, I¡¯m just still a bit feverish.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t happen to do anything about the group assignment?¡± ¡°No? I took a look at the sheets Vi- Latvia gave to me, but I didn¡¯t feel like it.¡± ¡°Well, today¡¯s the first session anyway, I guess we¡¯re all in a group together?¡± ¡°Course we are!¡± ¡°... I invited her to our group.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± ¡°Her? As in the lady?¡± ¡°You can call her by her name, you know? At least I think she wouldn¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Why¡¯d you invite her?¡± ¡°Well, she came to my place to bring me the stuff, and she didn¡¯t seem to have found a group yet, so... I don¡¯t know, just didn¡¯t want her to be alone, or something.¡± ¡°Hm, she doesn¡¯t seem to have any friends, now that you mention it.¡± ¡°Huh, and why do you think that would be?¡± ¡°Jeez, Alba, I didn¡¯t know you cared so much. You were in on the gossip from the beginning.¡± ¡°Well, I talked to her a bit and she¡¯s nice. A bit lost, maybe. But not the high-and-mighty princess you make her out to be. Although she sure looks like one.¡± ¡°And walks like one.¡± ¡°And talks like one.¡± ¡°Okay, point taken. Still, it would be too awkward to just rescind my offer.¡± And maybe you¡¯ll see. She is quite awesome, actually...
Group work was awkward. It mostly consisted of attempts at communication made by glances between the girls and every now and then someone saying something vaguely related to the work they were supposed to do. The girls were situated in the courtyard. It was rather warm outside which provided a nice change of pace from sitting on the wooden classroom benches. The girls, except for Via and Alba were Alba¡¯s two friends. One of them was fairly tall, and had her hair dyed blond, with curls, while the other was wearing a short black bob, and a pair of glasses. ¡°Uhhh, I don¡¯t wanna do a presentation,¡± Alba exclaimed all of a sudden. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Via chuckled. ¡°Well, I can take on a bigger part of it, if you don¡¯t want to be talking so long.¡± ¡°You¡¯d do that?¡± ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t mind. I¡¯ve been speaking, presenting in front of people for as long as I can think.¡± ¡°Figures,¡± the blonde one said. Even though I turn into a puddle, whenever I talk to you girls. She hadn¡¯t even asked them for their names and surely it was too late by now. ¡°You know, you are different from what everyone made you out to be,¡± the blonde said. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Via asked. ¡°Well, all the gossip about you. I mean it¡¯s mostly died down, but before you actually came to our school the gossip mill was working overtime.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Via didn¡¯t really know what to say. She was curious to ask of course. But just hearing the innocent chatter on the hallways was enough to send her thoughts spiraling. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s take this moment to get these rumors out of the way,¡± Alba declared. Via turned to her friend(tbd) with a nervous squeak. ¡°Okay, great,¡± the glasses-girl said. ¡°Your hair color, I¡¯ve been dying to know whether it¡¯s natural or not.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, it is. The royal family hails from the elves after all. Of course, the magic has weakened over the last few centuries, but magic still runs through my blood. My mom¡¯s hair is red, however.¡± ¡°Cool! I dyed my hair once, but it came out like a wet mop, so I just keep it blonde nowadays,¡± the blond friend said, as she fiddled with her curls. ¡°What about you getting into our school? Most of the people say, you got here because of the king¡¯s order,¡± the glasses-girl asked. ¡°That¡¯s true, I think? I mean, the king is my grandfather, so of course he had to ensure I got the proper education.¡± ¡°Huh, so there¡¯s no drama attached to it,¡± blonde girl tried to dig a big deeper. ¡°Drama?¡± ¡°Nevermind.¡± ¡°So, the rumors are all true?¡± asked glasses-girl. ¡°I suppose?¡± ¡°How anticlimactic,¡± blonde girl answered in disappointment. ¡°Turns out, there is nothing bad about those rumors after all,¡± glasses-girl added. ¡°Yeah, kinda funny how rumors themselves are kinda bad, but now that they¡¯re proven not to be true, it¡¯s kind of like ¡°and what about it?¡±¡± Alba summarized the girls¡¯ findings. Her friends looked at her with a flabbergasted expression, before bursting into laughter. ¡°Hahah, what¡¯s with you Alba, always saying things that are so out of place.¡± ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t be me, if I weren¡¯t out of place,¡± Alba looked at Via, a smug expression on her face. For the first time in a while, Via felt comfortable.
¡°Well, now that we got all that cleared up, it¡¯s time to gossip.¡± ¡°Shoot.¡± ¡°What gossip, though? I thought we were over Latvia, no offense.¡± ¡°None taken.¡± ¡°That¡¯s kind of the point. Notice, how no one has really talked about the school mysteries yet?¡± ¡°School mysteries?¡± ¡°This conversation feels kind of familiar.¡± ¡°To break it down for you: This school is kind of cursed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a way to put it.¡± ¡°Every year, there is some strange occurrence happening at our school.¡± ¡°It¡¯s something different every year, but it always repeats in a cycle of seven.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why they usually call it the seven school mysteries.¡± ¡°The Seven School Mysteries? Why does it all sound so dangerous?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, usually it isn¡¯t. I don¡¯t think anyone has ever... died from one or anything.¡± ¡°Unless! Our memories get erased, whenever something happened to a student...¡± ¡°Wow, now you¡¯re having me scared...¡± ¡°So, do you perhaps know what it is for this school year?¡± ¡°Rumor has it, that this year, we will have an additional student.¡± ¡°So, nothing to really keep an eye out for.¡± ¡°Nothing we really can keep an eye out for ...¡± ¡°Usually, that additional student just disappears after the end of the school year.¡± ¡°And when trying to contact them, there have been several reports of them having died many years ago.¡± ¡°Waaaah! That¡¯s so creepy!¡± ¡°So, what if we tried to find out who that student was before then?¡± ¡°What? What kind of a suggestion is that?!¡± ¡°An awesome one actually? Has the School Mystery Club never tried this before?¡± ¡°Mystery Club?¡± ¡°They¡¯re a school club opened specifically to research the school mysteries.¡± ¡°Have they actually found anything out though?¡± ¡°Well, it was them who coined the term, because they also found out about the cycle.¡± ¡°That was decades ago. I haven¡¯t really heard about anything they¡¯ve done since we started school here.¡± ¡°What if we did the research ourselves then? Call it, the Secret Mystery Club.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure. As if we don¡¯t have better things to do.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t. That¡¯s why our prime characteristic is gossiping.¡± ¡°Got me there...¡± How My Daughter Changed Schools and Became the Target of an Assassination - Part 5 Via did not exactly know why she made that suggestion in the first place. She was intrigued by the whole thing, without a doubt, but she also knew that matters like these were best left alone. Maybe it was just an excuse to spend some more time with these girls. That was how you made friends after all, right? Meddling with the supernatural. Strengthening your bond by overcoming adversities together. That¡¯s how it went in her novels at least. The Mystery Club was located on the second floor of the main building. The area surrounding the room seemed more well-kept than many of the others. After all, the school had a genuine interest in keeping up the club. ¡°What are we doing up here?¡± Via found herself asking, despite somehow also being the reason for finding herself in this situation. ¡°You said we¡¯re going to solve the mystery, so we¡¯re here to do just that,¡± the blonde girl explained. ¡°If we wanna do the research, then where best to start, then with what the mystery club has already found out?¡± Alba explained. ¡°Okay, but do we just go in, or ...:¡± Via didn¡¯t even finish her sentence, as one of the girls had already opened the door, which gave in to the force with a loud creak. ¡°My grandma always says something about staring into the darkness and the darkness staring back ...¡± glasses-girl said. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m getting the vibes of an occult club, more than that of a mystery club,¡± Alba said, as she took the first steps into the room. The other girls followed, and Via shut the door behind her. With the snip of her finger Alba cast an illumination spell and lit the room. A few desks and chairs were gathered in the middle of the room, almost making it seem like a conference room. The walls were lined with shelves filled with books and folders. Windows spanned across the wall opposite from the door but were partially covered by even more bookshelves. The shutters were closed, not allowing a single ray of sunlight through. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m not reading all that,¡± blonde girl immediately said upon seeing all the bookshelves lined up. ¡°You can¡¯t tell me that¡¯s all just on the seven mysteries, right?¡± glasses-girl commented. Alba who was already a few steps ahead held one of the books in her hands and said: ¡°Nope, seems those books are all about magic studies. Maybe they¡¯re trying to figure out the magic behind those mysteries?¡± ¡°Do you think these occurrences could have a magical origin?¡± Via, who had approached Alba, asked. ¡°Magical ghosts? I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve never heard of it. But what do I know, I¡¯m no expert on magic,¡± Alba answered, as she put back the book she was holding. ¡°I mean, what else should it be except for magic? What kind of forces are there, that could make undead people or additional staircases or ...¡± ¡°Oh my god, girls, you need to look at this.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The blonde girl was interrupted by glasses-girl. The group gathered around her and looked at the open folder she had spread out on the table in front of her. ¡°That¡¯s ...¡± ¡°Me?¡± Via exclaimed. The folder in front of her was full of candid pictures of Via, as well as countless pages of writing. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± A male voice startled the girls. They faced the door in an instant, where the silhouette of a young man turned on the lights. He was small, around the same height as Alba, wearing big round glasses, that seemed to hide his entire face. ¡°Who are you?¡± Alba¡¯s blonde friend asked, as she and the other went between Via and the guy. ¡°Name¡¯s Maverick, and I am the leader of the occult club. I¡¯ve been trying to figure out what¡¯s behind the seven mysteries and I think I am about to have a huge breakthrough.¡± ¡°Huh, and what¡¯s Via got to do with this? Stalker!¡± ¡°Say, have you ever wondered: What happens when you try to kill a ghost?¡± A tingling went up Via¡¯s spine at those words. There was no doubt: this man wanted to kill her. ¡°Not with us, ya dingus! Let¡¯s whoop his ass, Barb,¡± the blonde girl said, placing her bag on the floor. ¡°Got it, Namina,¡± Barb said, as she took of her glasses and handed them to Alba. Via would make sure not to forget their names this time. Alba folded the glasses and hung them onto her collar, as she simultaneously grabbed Via¡¯s hand. Via was startled by this sudden move and looked down at Alba in surprise. ¡°We¡¯re gonna make a run for it,¡± Alba whispered with a stern expression. ¡°We are?¡± Via thought she was perfectly capable of defending herself, if only she had a weapon. ¡°I¡¯ve been preparing for this a looooong time. Don¡¯t think, just because you outnumber me, you¡¯d be able to stop me,¡± Maverick boasted, suddenly procuring a knife out of nowhere. ¡°Hope the knife¡¯s not all you got on you. NOW!¡± Barb jumped in front of Namina, who ducked under her, so they could simultaneously cast spells at their assailant. Before he could make a move Namina sent Maverick flying against the bookshelves behind him, while Barb let the wooden planks below him rot away in seconds. In that same instant Alba tore Via away from the spot she was standing in and ran toward the door. Maverick lost his footing and almost fell towards the lower floor, where a group of shocked students stared at the hole that had just opened in the ceiling. ¡°And my goal for this school year was to not get detention again!¡± Namina complained, as she and Barb ran after Alba and Via. Via was too busy running to think about ... what to think. Her head was a mess. You couldn¡¯t blame her really. She was trying to survive her first assassination attempt after all. In a way she was thankful for Alba to just drag her along the hallway like this. Via herself, without a doubt would have gotten lost in an instant and gotten captured shortly after. Via looked behind herself, being relieved to see Namina and Barb running after them. ¡°Alba! Where are we going?!¡±, Namina called after them. ¡°I don¡¯t know! Just away from here! Outside!¡± The girls quickly descended the stairs, only to nearly bump into each other on the landing, as they saw Maverick approaching from below. ¡°Crap,¡± Alba cursed and turned around on the spot, still holding Via¡¯s hand. Namina rummaged through her bag, for something to use as a weapon. Grabbing a book from it, she threw it at Maverick in an exaggerated motion, akin to a baseball pitcher. She hit him in the head with the corner of the book, cracking his glasses. ¡°OW! Are you insane?! You could¡¯ve seriously hurt me!¡± ¡°Huh, you are trying to murder my friend and you¡¯re worried about getting hurt? What kind of nut-jobs are there at this school! Does the staff not worry about their reputation?!¡± Namina retorted. ¡°Well, you are a student here, so...¡± Barb commented. ¡°Huh, true. Anyway, you¡¯d better stand down. There¡¯s a lot more, where that came from,¡± Namina said, readying another book. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to throw these books around in anger, and boy, are you giving me an opportunity.¡±
¡°What do we do now?¡±, Via asked Alba. The two girls were upstairs again. ¡°This is the only stairway down. So, either we rely on Namina and Barb to hold the fort, or we ... I don¡¯t know, jump out the window or something.¡± ¡°That does not sound like a good idea.¡± ¡°Never said it was.¡± ¡°Oh right! We can use the hole in the floor Barb made to descend!¡± ¡°Great, let¡¯s go!¡± Alba grabbed Via¡¯s hand again. Via hadn¡¯t realized she¡¯d let go of her hand, so she was startled for a second and stood still. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Alba asked. ¡°Oh, that.¡± And quickly let go of her hand. ¡°Sorry.¡± And quickly turned around. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine,¡± Via said quietly, glad Alba couldn¡¯t see her face right now. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± How My Daughter Changed Schools and Became the Target of an Assassination - Final Part The girls peered down the hole in the ground. This time there weren¡¯t any confused students looking back. ¡°Hello?¡± Alba called into the room below. ¡°Hi?¡± A male student came over and looked upward. ¡°Um, could you ... maybe help us down? I don¡¯t know, pull over a chair or a table or something, that we can step on?¡± ¡°Uhhhh ... sure ...¡± ¡°Thaaaaaaaanks,¡± Alba answered and then stood around awkwardly, spinning her upper body a bit. They heard something scraping across the floor and strained panting, as a table slowly got pushed into their view. ¡°Alright, you can try to come down now.¡± ¡°Thanks again!¡± Without any hesitation Alba crouched and leapt down. With a thud she landed on the wooden table and turned around to face Via, who was hesitant to jump down like her friend. Come on Via, it¡¯s not that different from training back in the royal district. Alba reached out her hand to her friend. Maybe, just a bit different. Without hesitating this time, she jumped down as well. ¡°Soo, this guy was crazy, he had a knife! What¡¯s going on?¡± the guy who pushed over the table asked. ¡°Oh, you know, just trying to murder my friend,¡± Alba explained casually. ¡°Your friend?¡± he glanced at Via, who had just gotten up, and jumped down from the table. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re that royal girl. Guess you¡¯re used to stuff like this.¡± ¡°No, not really,¡± Via answered awkwardly, while Alba shot him a glare. ¡°Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have said that ...¡± he apologized. ¡°Stop making things awkward and help us. You can all do magic of some sorts, right?¡± Alba asked into the room. Besides the guy, there was also another group of five students present. ¡°Yeah, of course, but ... we¡¯re all still first years.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. There is power in strength or something like that. We need to stop this maniac and get out of here ASAP. Do you know if there are still any teachers present?¡± ¡°Maybe there¡¯s still someone in the staff room ...¡± ¡°Okay. Then we need to find them, before anyone gets hurt.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Via looked at Alba in awe. Just like that she had commanded this group of students to help them out. She didn¡¯t know she had it in her. ¡°You coming?¡± Alba asked. ¡°We¡¯re trying to protect you after all.¡± ¡°Oh, of course!¡± Via quickly collected herself and left the room with the group.
Where Via and Alba left them, there stood Barb and Namina, determined as ever to protect their friends. ¡°You know, they won¡¯t be able to escape?¡± Maverick taunted them. ¡°The only way to escape is via the stairs you¡¯re blocking or jumping through the window. Though I suppose,¡± he said, as he took a few steps backwards, ¡°a new path had opened, that will lead them to the hallway directly behind me.¡± Maverick of course was referring to the hole in the floor that the girls before him had made. Namina cursed under her breath, as she realized she and Barb had accidentally trapped the others. But she wasn¡¯t going to let him off the hook this easily. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°One move, and you are a dead man,¡± she threatened him. ¡°Nuh-uh. Your friend is the one who¡¯s dead. And she will be once more. Once I do this!¡± He thrust his hand in front of him. ¡°Forget it, idiot!¡± A voice came from behind Maverick. It was Alba, leading the group of students, as well as Via. ¡°You made it!¡± Namina shouted, with Barb sighing in relief. Alba shot them a thumbs up. ¡°Too late,¡± Maverick said casually, as he vanished into thin air. ¡°But thank you for making this easy for me.¡± His voice rang out from behind, barely leaving anyone with enough time to turn around. Least of all ... ¡°Via!¡± Alba exclaimed, as she witnessed her friend being gripped around her waist by Maverick. Everyone froze, unsure what to do. Via however ... Her magic aptitude was low. There was no beating around the bush. Even if an outsider might think otherwise, especially looking at her hair. Her magic hair, that she inherited from her mother. That was all she got from her mother though. Via had the power, but she didn¡¯t know how to use it. She was even weaker than her father, who couldn¡¯t wield any magic to begin with. But... Okay, Via, just how you practiced... Wide stance, place one foot behind the enemy. Grab his legs... and push my hips forward! THUD! That was the sound of a man being thrown onto his back. The group gasped in awe, as Via turned around to face Maverick, who was gasping for air on the floor. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me.¡± By the time Maverick managed to recover from the throw, he was surrounded by the group of ten or so students and backed into the corner of the hallway. ¡°What are we going to do with him now?¡± Namina asked Barbara. ¡°I¡¯d say call the teachers if there is still someone on the campus,¡± she answered. ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± A random girl from the group offered, immediately running off to the opposite direction. Maverick cursed something not quite PG-13 under his breath, as he tried to stand up. ¡°I¡¯ll say it just once more: one wrong move and you¡¯re dead,¡± Namina threatened him once more. ¡°Try me,¡± he said, as he clumsily lunged at Via once more in desperation. ¡°How stupid are you!¡± Namina shouted, as she and the rest of the group propelled him against the opposite wall. But the force of more than half a dozen juvenile magicians pushing the teen against a wooden wall was too much for the wall to withstand. With a terrific crack Maverick broke through the wooden wall, plummeting to the ground three floors below, wooden splinters raining down all around him. ¡°Shit!¡± Alba cursed and ran after him, followed by Via. The two looked through the hole in the wall, as the others followed them to inspect the damage they¡¯d done. Below lay Maverick, with pieces of wood sticking out his torso, the grass slowly turning red around him. Via held her hand in front of her mouth in disbelief. ¡°We¡¯re here, what¡¯s going on?!¡± The girl from before as well as two teachers came running towards the group. ¡°Um, it was self-defense,¡± Namina said. She was probably the only one to still keep a cool head, while the adrenaline rush got to the others. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°This guy, Maverick, he attacked Via, so we pushed him away! We didn¡¯t think this would happen ...¡± The teachers walked past her towards the hole in the wall. ¡°Where is he then?¡± ¡°What?¡± Via asked. As she looked back at the ground, there was merely a bloodstain left on the grass.
I think, there is barely a need to explain what happened. Maverick did not in fact flee. Considering the injuries, he sustained that would have been almost impossible. As Via, Alba, Barbara and Namina came to know later on, Maverick had been dead for almost a year. That¡¯s what the teachers found out, after trying to contact him, considering he tried to murder a fellow student. The whole thing was quickly let go, as there was no threat to go after anymore. The school¡¯s Mystery Club was shut down after the incident and forming of a similar group was prohibited by the staff. An incident of this kind should not be repeated. And thus, the nature of the Seven Mysteries should forever remain a mystery ...
¡°Well, how are y¡¯all holding up?¡± Namina asked. ¡°Eh, I¡¯m fine,¡± answered Alba. ¡°Hm, I didn¡¯t expect that school, of all places, would be, where I first become the target of an assassination attempt,¡± was Via¡¯s response. ¡°Wow, you are handling this scarily well,¡± said Namina. ¡°I¡¯m used to people dying around me, I guess...¡± ¡°Yeah, my father was a soldier... obviously, he didn¡¯t make it. Must be harder for you though, considering you were in the middle of it all,¡± Barbara commented. ¡°Kind of a shame they shut down the club,¡± Namina said. ¡°What, you thinking about actually doing an extracurricular activity for once?¡± Alba teased. ¡°Oh, stop it. I know, it¡¯s kind of messed up to be saying this after what happened, but this all was really exciting! I wanna know what¡¯s up with these other mysteries!¡± ¡°Same here,¡± Barbara added. ¡°You do know that this is the first time, that a mystery has been...solved, so to speak?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true I guess,¡± Alba agreed. ¡°So, what if we tried solving the others?¡± Namina proposed excitedly. ¡°This is our last year of school! Let¡¯s make it exciting!¡± ¡°What is the next one, actually?¡± Via asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Namina said. ¡°They haven¡¯t cleared the old Mystery Club room yet. But it probably won¡¯t be long until then,¡± Barb explained. ¡°So, what do you say?¡± Namina asked. ¡°Break into the club room and get ahold of all the material the club gathered on the mystery over the years?¡± Alba summed up their proposal. ¡°Sounds good. What do you say?¡± Alba looked at Via expectantly. Via took a look at the group in surprise. Without much hesitation however, she said: ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The Matter of Reparation - Part 1 I have to address a very specific pet peeve, that I think not many can relate to. It¡¯s at the end of Sonic Adventure, when the city lays in shambles and Tails exclaims: ¡°All¡¯s well, that ends well, right?¡± Excuse me, what exactly ended well? The city? Well, I guess! It¡¯s this blatant disregard for collateral damage that I have been reminded of a lot lately. Specifically, since a certain dragon had multiple buildings collapse with his magnificent roar. Through the magic of actual magic no one died in this attack. But many were left injured and/or homeless. Some businesses had to start over completely. People lost their means of existence. The city, of course, was not prepared for a catastrophe of this magnitude. Having emerged from an ongoing war just a decade prior, we found ourselves still in the middle of a rebuilding phase. I had to walk through the rubble every day, just to get to work. As I accidentally kicked away a pebble that was laying in my path I halted and sighed. I thought I was over my guilt complex, but I wasn¡¯t sure when the last time was something went wrong to this scale. I breathed in and I breathed out. I didn¡¯t try to delude myself that this wasn¡¯t my fault somehow, but I had to accept the present. Only then could I work on making things better. And making things better shall be today¡¯s job! ¡°He¡¯s ... late,¡± I muttered to myself. I shouldn¡¯t have been surprised by that, considering he had a couple of centuries to catch up on. But I was sure hoping he¡¯d get over his childish sense of discovery soon enough, so that we could get rid of the mess he made. So, because I haven¡¯t gotten over my guilt complex quite yet, I decided to take on another job for the city, namely, the rebuilding of said city. Of course, I wasn¡¯t going to sully my own hands doing the dirty work of a plebeian! ... I am sorry, I seem to have gotten carried away by the prospect of becoming a famous author known for my extravagant word choice, which even rivals that of a thesaurus. In any case, as I stood there pondering my own (literary) past, present and future ... he! finally arrived! The magnificent dragon, asleep for a thousand years; it needed but a single yawn escaping his jaws to have towers topple, bridges break and a hero hurry to save his city. His name reminiscent of the blood his enemies left on his scales: Crimson. ¡°Hey, wassuuuuup!¡± ¡°Where the heck did you learn to speak like that!?¡± Crimson the dragon, having turned into his admittedly hunky human form landed before me, blowing up dust in the vicinity. Audible gasps (and some coughs) escaped from onlookers still trying to salvage anything from the rubble. I could only hope they didn¡¯t immediately realize the resemblance between this brash human and the disastrous dragon. ¡°You ... look different from before,¡± I commented his appearance as he folded in his wings. After arriving to the city, he briefly turned into his human form. While both were undeniably attractive, his old form was rather bland. Previously sporting unruly long, black hair, the same color as his scales in dragon form, his hair now has been cut down, turned crimson-red and styled upwards, reminiscent of flames. He also seemed to wear makeup now, his eyes being accentuated by some form of red eyeliner. His whole look seemed to scream red. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Yeah, you know, after spending some time in the city, I met a few people and decided for a bit of a ¡°glow up,¡± as they say,¡± he explained. ¡°I think the colors suit my name.¡± ¡°That is without a doubt. Why are you bare-chested though?¡± I asked without missing a beat. His outfit was...let¡¯s call it unconventional. It would fit right into a certain district of the city, however. Indeed, his upper half was left completely naked, not that I minded in particular. He wore some low-rise black pants with straps lurking out from underneath and having a tight grip just above his hips. On one hand I honestly wanted to cover him up, on the other hand I really did not mind the sight. I hope Zenia never gets to read this. ¡°In any case, let¡¯s make that a problem of future us. Glad you could come!¡± ¡°Of course! I realize I might have, err, gotten carried away a bit,¡± he said as he examined the destruction he caused. ¡°To put it mildly ...¡± The way he looked at our surroundings at the moment was almost comical. I sighed. ¡°I¡¯m going to be real with you. The city really has no desire to pick up the pieces after you. However, someone needs to coordinate this whole clean-up campaign, which is why I am here.¡± I paused and turned towards one of the broken-down buildings near us. ¡°Apart from getting rid of all the rubble, we need to remove the foundations of some of the buildings that have been damaged too badly. The owners have tried to salvage as much as they could, but there may have been some oversights, considering they can¡¯t exactly just move an entire block of concrete on their own.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± I just looked at Crimson, absolutely bewildered. ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. I¡¯m not that out of touch. You humans have always been weak.¡± I hoped that his poor sense of humor would be all that was going to annoy me with him. Don¡¯t need no butterfingers working on these buildings. ¡°Well then, I think we should just get started.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± He let out a motivated shout and upon jumping into the air turned into a gigantic black dragon. ¡°Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wait, what are you doing?!¡± His giant shadow engulfed the entire street, probably almost this whole district, in darkness. ¡°What, I just thought it would be easier to do the job this way,¡± he communicated telepathically. ¡°Get down here, in your human form, now!¡± I sounded like a mother reprimanding her child. Crimson followed suit and landed in front of me in his human form. ¡°Now, I know, it would go muuuuuch faster, if you just used your dragon form, but look around you.¡± I gestured towards the people, cowering in fear. ¡°These people are traumatized because of you. You can¡¯t just turn into a dragon again and expect everyone to just go about their day, like you didn¡¯t just blow their homes to smithereens.¡± Besides, having him painstakingly gather each and every pebble by hand may give him some time to reflect and learn from his mistakes. Not that I was going to say that out loud. ¡°Besides, you are too big for your own good. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if on the way to our city, you accidentally blew off a mountaintop with your tail.¡± ¡°That is true ...¡± he answered sheepishly after a small pause. I sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll manage somehow, but for now you¡¯ll need to get used to your human form. Think you can move that block of concrete over there?¡± I said. Without hesitation he went over, and lifted it, as if he were just picking up a book. ¡°Be careful to not accidentally hit anyone with it,¡± I said, as I watched him lift the block above his head. ¡°What do you want me to do with it?¡± he asked, as he heaved the block up and down, like a dumbbell. ¡°Right, just outside of the city we have a recycling site for those bigger stones. There they crush the blocks using magic and mix the dust together with water, to produce new concrete.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I just do that here?¡± This dragon keeps bewildering me. ¡°What do you mean? Can you crush stone with your ... muscles?¡± To demonstrate, he knelt down, still lifting that concrete block with a single arm and picked up a stone the size of his palm. Without hesitation he threw it into his mouth and, in a single bite, crushed the stone to pieces. He continued chewing on it for a bit, before swallowing the stony mush. ¡°Ah, sorry, should I have spat it out for recycling?¡± ¡°N-no its fine. You can ... eat the smaller ones I guess.¡± What did I just witness. ¡°Ahh great, they taste much better now, than they used to before I went to sleep!¡± This whole exchange was too much for me to really comment on what he said. The Matter of Reparation - Part 2 The cleaning process went ahead at an incredibly fast pace. Crimson zipped between our construction site and the outskirts of the city in almost no time, only stopping to occasionally feast on some of the smaller stones laying around. By smaller stones I mean some being the size of his own head. The passing onlookers sprouted faces of shock and surprise alike. Despite some people being obviously scared at this blatant display of power by the dragon I felt a general aura of satisfaction arise from the crowd, at seeing their former homes removed from their sight at last. By the time most of the rubble had been cleared it was already past noon. Only the foundations of some of the houses remained, though they would need to be examined separately, in order to see how they should be dealt with. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough,¡± I called out to Crimson, who had just landed at the construction site once more. ¡°We¡¯re going to take a break for now.¡± I had not realized it, but the midday sun had slowly taken its toll on me. No doubt this dragon would have no problem with staying in the sun at all. Not to mention he¡¯d spent the entire morning flying around anyway. Ahhh, what I¡¯d do for a fresh breeze. Without properly motioning for Crimson to follow me I took a few steps away from the building site and progressed towards some unharmed building in search of a cool shadowy place to rest. As for what I had done the entire time, besides directing Crimson towards the blocks that needed to be removed, I had to assure passersby that everything was fully under control. ¡°Yes, that is a dragon turned into a human. Yes, he works for me.¡± Besides that, I also erected a small fence consisting of a couple wooden stakes and rope to deter people from getting too close to the ruins. I let myself fall against the cool wall of one of the buildings and slid down towards the ground. I massaged my temples and realized how hot my face had gotten. ¡°Whoa there, are you alright?¡± Crimson squatted down next to me concernedly. ¡°Yeah, just seem to have gotten too much sun ...¡± I tried to slowly steady my breathing while desperately seeking out a cold surface to cool off. ¡°You got any water with you?¡± he asked. ¡°Drank it all away already.¡± ¡°Give me your bottle then, I¡¯ll fill it up for you. And also, I might drop by a certain witch¡¯s house. She, without a doubt, should have something for your little sunstroke here...¡± He politely reached out his hand, and as my hand hovered over the empty bottle that was tied onto my belt, I stopped for a second. ¡°A witch?¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Yeah, she has this funky little cafe, with an incredibly stupid name.¡± ¡°Jeanne¡¯s Witcheria?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the one! Speaking of which, I think I can see her walking down the street towards us.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I tilted my head in the direction Crimson was looking. Before I could properly make out the shape of Jeanne down the street my sight was blocked by swaying red hair and concerned brown eyes. ¡°Jordan, are you okay?¡± my wife asked me. ¡°Hi Zenia.¡± Jeanne caught up to us and I acknowledged her with a slight nod. ¡°Jordan, darling, are you alright?¡± ¡°He seems to have gotten a sun stroke or something from working,¡± Crimson replied. Zenia put her palm on my forehead, brushing my locks upward. ¡°Oh my, you are hot.¡± ¡°Heheh,¡± I replied. ¡°Oh, you dork,¡± Zenia replied in a stern manner, yet with a smile on her face. I leaned forward and gave her a small peck on the lips. ¡°I was about to go to your store, to ask for some medicine. You don¡¯t have any with you, I reckon?¡± Crimson asked. Jeanne looked at him a tad confused. Then she muttered: ¡°That aura, is that you Crimson?¡± ¡°Ah, right, I look a bit different from last time! Yeah, it¡¯s me! How do you like the look?¡± he asked as he stood up. ¡°It¡¯s a bit...revealing, yes, but it suits you, without a doubt,¡± she replied. ¡°Anyway, about that medicine. No, I don¡¯t have any on me, but Babylonia is still at the Witcheria, she should know which one it is. She¡¯s been helping me out with the store a bit, and lately we¡¯ve had to produce a ton of cooling lotion.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be back in a few!¡± Crimson exclaimed as he took off. ¡°Ah! Now I forgot to give him his lunch ...¡± Jeanne said, looking at the basket she carried on one arm dejectedly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that,¡± I said, ¡°he¡¯s had plenty of rocks to eat.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been giving him rocks to eat?¡± Zenia questioned in a confused manner. I didn¡¯t blame her, I had the same reaction just a few hours earlier, after all. ¡°Well, apparently they, and I quote ?taste much better now, than they used to before I went to sleep.¡® That being said, I wouldn¡¯t mind a bite or two.¡± ¡°Good thing I also brought a blanket with me!¡± Jeanne said excitedly. ¡°She¡¯s really been in the mood for a picnic as of late,¡± Zenia explained. ¡°This isn¡¯t a fitting site for having a picnic, though, is it?¡± I gestured towards the ruins a few meters from us. Not to mention, I had sunken down onto the hard stone floor in search of a shadow. ¡°That¡¯s true, but you also need to stay out of the sun,¡± Zenia responded. ¡°Good thing I also brought a parasol with me!¡± Jeanne again, said excitedly and pulled out a parasol from the basket. It was much bigger than her and she was already tall. I had no idea how she fit that thing in there. Magic. Probably. ¡°She brought the parasol for her vampire girlfriend,¡± Zenia explained. ¡°Right, you mentioned someone¡¯s name just now, I didn¡¯t really catch it though,¡± I responded to that, while I tried standing up. I felt a bit dizzy. I guess my bloodstream didn¡¯t really enjoy the movement. I stretched my hands out to both sides while I waited for the static to subside. I felt Zenia¡¯s arm wrap around my waist and let myself comfortably lean into her. ¡°She¡¯s talking about Babylonia, her girlfriend,¡± Zenia said mockingly. ¡°She¡¯s not my girlfriend!¡± Jeanne said in a high-pitched squeak, so different from her usual self. An aura of maturity surrounded her usually, but now she seemed a bit like a high school girl, in denial of her crush. ¡°We¡¯re still...working on the logistics...¡± she then added. Then something clicked into place in my head. ¡°Wait, did you just say, Babylonia? Vampire, tall and slender, pink hair, doesn¡¯t do much to cover herself up?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly her,¡± Jeanne confirmed. ¡°Oh, I completely forgot. When I first met her a while ago, she asked me to give you her thanks for helping her out when she first came to the city,¡± Zenia then told me. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t do much, except my job and giving her some pamphlets,¡± I deflected. ¡°But I do remember her saying something about wanting to visit a friend. Guess that was you.¡± ¡°How do you know each other, though?¡± Zenia asked. ¡°That ... is a story for another time,¡± Jeanne answered cheekily. ¡°Come on now, let¡¯s look for a nice shadowy spot, so we can get to picnicking. Your lunch break doesn¡¯t go on forever.¡± ¡°I am my own boss. I take breaks whenever!¡± I called out to her, as she excitedly skipped ahead. The Matter of Reparation - Part 3 We found a nice spot not too far from our make-shift construction site. Just a random patch of grass that had been left untouched by city administration with a handful of trees planted, making this the ideal spot to cool off in the shadows. We weren¡¯t the only ones around. Some distance from us were a couple, also picnicking, and a handful of teenagers lounging around and playing cards or something like that. We had already sat down on the picnic blanket Jeanne had brought along, and put up the parasol as well. Jeanne was just about to take out the food from her basket. ¡°Alright, before we start eating, I have one condition,¡± she announced. ¡°Oh boy, here we go again,¡± Zenia said, certainly already exasperated with what Jeanne was about to say. I looked at my wife quizzically. ¡°Remember how she made me paint her food once? Bet she wants you to write about it,¡± she joked. ¡°None of this. You¡¯re wrong. I was just going to say: Enjoy!¡± As she said that she pulled out a plate with some sort of meat dish from her basket. I wasn¡¯t going to question how the food was in perfect shape after being carried around in the basket so long with other food and a parasol. Magic. ¡°Wow, how generous of you, to not expect something in return,¡± Zenia mocked her friend. ¡°Oh, I lied about that. I am kind of using you as taste testers.¡± ¡°Why, you fear the food has been poisoned?¡± I jabbed at her. ¡°That¡¯s my line, as royalty,¡± Zenia interjected, nonetheless taking the plate from Jeanne¡¯s hand. ¡°Very funny, you two,¡± the witch responded, as she reached for another plate with a completely different dish, handing it to me. ¡°I always do some experimenting in the kitchen and every now and then something worthy of being put on the menu might pop up.¡± She explained. ¡°So, the food might actually be poisoned,¡± Zenia concluded. ¡°I don¡¯t know, it might happen that a potion falls into the pot without me noticing,¡± Jeanne added. The two women looked at each other, clearly trying not to let their smirk show on their faces. ¡°I¡¯m just going to eat,¡± I said after watching them for a few seconds. I was hungry. ¡°Wait!¡± Jeanne exclaimed. ¡°First, tell me how you like the arrangement.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really hungry though ...¡± ¡°Then starve.¡± Now Jeanne and I engaged in a staring duel. After a few seconds I looked down on my dish. ¡°I mean ... it doesn¡¯t look bad.¡± The plate consisted of a red slosh on one side and potato-like vegetables on the other. ¡°It¡¯s kind of basic. What is it?¡± ¡°So, you know, how sometimes you have mashed vegetables as a side dish together with meat?¡± Jeanne asked us. She gestured around a bit as if she had just made the discovery of the century. ¡°Sure?¡± I answered after side-glancing at Zenia a bit. ¡°I say, why not do it the other way around!¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°You mean ...?¡± I looked back at the red stuff on my plate. ¡°Exactly. This is meat puree!¡± ¡°You must have put some dedication into getting meat to have a consistency like that,¡± commented Zenia. ¡°This meat is beyond minced ...¡± I said, as I let the red mass wobble around on the plate for a bit. ¡°Do you have a ... spoon? How are you meant to eat this ...¡± That last part I said to myself, rather than anyone in particular. Jeanne handed me a spoon from the basket. I stabbed the meat puree with the spoon. ¡°Wow, it has a very ... soft consistency. Almost fluid.¡± I was really apprehensive at putting this stuff in my mouth. How was it going to taste? The color made it look uncooked. I wasn¡¯t sure I wouldn¡¯t get salmonella afterwards. But boy did I need to eat something. ¡°Well, here goes nothing,¡± I said and put the spoon in my mouth. I chewed, or at least tried to, and swallowed. After that: silence. Mostly driven by hunger I put another spoonful in my mouth. I sighed. ¡°Was that I good sigh?¡± Zenia asked Jeanne hesitantly. ¡°What are you asking me?¡± she responded. ¡°You¡¯re married to him.¡± Zenia looked back at me. ¡°It certainly tastes like meat.¡± I gave my verdict. ¡°I don¡¯t really know what more to say. The consistency is off-putting, for sure. But it could do well with those meat-freaks that claim they would drink meat if it were possible. Maybe rebrand it that way?¡± I suggested. Jeanne sighed in response, but ultimately said: ¡°That is feedback I can work with, I guess.¡± ¡°There you are!¡± A female voice from outside my field of view shouted. We collectively turned towards its direction, which just so happened to be the same direction we came from earlier. ¡°Babi-chan!¡± Jeanne exclaimed at the sight of her girlfriend. That nickname though ... It confused me a bit, because Babi- Babylonia seemed a bit too mature for a name like that. Babylonia was followed by Crimson. Seeing them side by side like that, they seemed to be a good match for each other. At least visually. That red and pink hair. Those lascivious outfits. It made me reconsider this world I was brought to, just a bit. Jeanne jumped up to greet her girlfriend, only to be ignored by her. ¡°Where¡¯s the patient!?¡± she asked into the group. Now that I thought about it, I could perfectly picture her in a nurse outfit. Maybe I should fly that idea by her if she decided to take on some work in the city. ¡°Hello, it¡¯s me, I¡¯m the patient,¡± I responded with a subtle wave. ¡°I brought the medicine!¡± Babylonia exclaimed, thrusting forward her hands in which she held two flasks with ocean-blue potions inside. ¡°Right, I completely forgot about that,¡± I admitted. ¡°I kind of feel better now, actually.¡± Disappointed, Babylonia let her hands sink. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean the symptoms won¡¯t come back later,¡± Jeanne interjected, having snuck up behind Babylonia, a hand on her shoulder. ¡°I bet if you get right back to work, you will probably spend the whole night throwing up. And you wouldn¡¯t want to do that to my food, right?¡± I wasn¡¯t quite sure whether Jeanne was serious, but that made her all the more terrifying. Unsure of what to do, I looked back at Babylonia. With a smile already on her face, she sank down on her knees to my level and opened one of the flasks. ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t know how to use this,¡± she then admitted and looked at Jeanne for help. ¡°Don¡¯t I have to drink it?¡± I asked. ¡°Nope, bad idea,¡± Jeanne responded. ¡°It¡¯s not exactly digestible. It¡¯s more of a salve than anything else. Just put it on your forehead, temples, and your neck. You should experience a chilling sensation for a couple seconds, but then it¡¯ll be awfully nice, and in, say, half an hour you should feel your head clear up.¡± ¡°Let me help you,¡± Babylonia offered, putting some of the potion on her palm and handing me the flask, before going around me and carefully applying the salve to my neck. I put some on my forehead and temples as well. Jeanne¡¯s description of its effects was spot-on. It felt as if all my blood were drained from my head, and I felt myself getting goosebumps all over. After a bit my face seemed to get really warm, but I guess that was just relative, because shortly after that I felt normal again. I huffed loudly. ¡°That was something.¡± ¡°Do you feel any better?¡± Babylonia asked with concern. ¡°I don¡¯t think it works that quickly.¡± I chuckled. ¡°You should rest a bit before going back to work. To see if the salve actually works,¡± said Jeanne. ¡°Maybe then you¡¯ll appreciate my cooking a bit more.¡± ¡°Oooh, you cooked?¡± Crimson asked. He had watched that whole affair from the side. He had been unusually quiet this whole time... ¡°Yes, you want to try?¡± Jeanne was excited at the idea of having someone voluntarily want to try her cooking. She took my plate, that I had set down beside me and handed it to Crimson. ¡°It¡¯s meat, but I made it puree,¡± she explained, this time with far less fanfare than the last time. I guess she tried to sell me the food earlier, because I didn¡¯t appear convinced at first, unlike him. ¡°Wow, drinkable meat? That¡¯s a great idea!¡± Crimson responded. Jeanne turned towards me with a smug, triumphant smile. I simply waved my hand in defeat. The Matter of Reparation - Final Part After another taste test by Babylonia and Crimson the girls left and Crimson and I had to get back to work. The salve seemed to have done its work. I could move without a problem, but I tried to avoid the sun. No need to repeat all that stress. By the time it was evening Crimson had cleared all the rubble. It was an odd sight for sure, a fallow area in the middle of a city densely packed with buildings. Soon, the rebuilding would begin. Crimson and I took a good look at the fruit of our labor, when I noticed Crimson once more acting a bit awkward and aloof. Where did his usual loud and boastful energy go? I was just about to ask him if he was doing well, but then he said: ¡°Sorry for all that chaos ...¡± The way he said it didn¡¯t really suit him. Neither with how he usually acted, nor with his rowdy-like appearance. ¡°Huh? Oh, you mean because of the buildings?¡± I asked. That was weird. I mean, it was great that he apologized. I never expected it from him though and never asked for it either. ¡°Oh, yeah, completely forgot about the buildings. No, I meant just now, with you over-heating and everything...¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°That¡¯s...cute? Not really your fault though...¡± He let out a soft growl. ¡°Ugh, it is though. I should have looked out for you more. Not to mention, we were out here because of me knocking over a few buildings by accident. I¡¯m the exact opposite of cautious. And I¡¯m sorry I¡¯ve been a bother to you so far. I promise, I¡¯ll do better in the future.¡± I smiled at Crimson. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re doing better already. You helped with the rebuilding project, and you flew to get me that potion. You know when you mess up, and you¡¯re doing your best to repair the damage. I mean, boy, it would have been baaaaad if someone had been buried by the rubble ... sorry, too soon.¡± I¡¯m not sure if Crimson was biting his lips to hide a chuckle, or because he cringed so hard at my bad joke. I sighed. At heart Crimson was a good guy, so of course I did not want to be too hard on him. He had already made some friends as well. But the scale of his ¡°accidents¡± was too grand to just gloss over. ¡°Thank you for saying that,¡± Crimson responded. ¡°You have a good heart, and always see good in people. No wonder you get along so well with everyone. I hope that one day people forget about the monster that destroyed their houses and...start seeing me as their friend.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you have plenty of friends already,¡± I said. ¡°Guess that means you¡¯ll stick around for a while?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind...?¡± Crimson asked sheepishly. ¡°The city is open to anyone. I think Babylonia and Jeanne especially wouldn¡¯t mind your presence. And, tomorrow, we¡¯ll start reconstructing these buildings, so if the city can profit from the power of a dragon like you, I¡®m sure they wouldn¡¯t say no.¡± ¡°How very shrewd...¡± ¡°Can I expect you tomorrow at the same time then?¡± ¡°Naturally I¡¯ll be there to help!¡± ¡°Sounds great!¡± I gave Crimson my hand, which he took for an energetic handshake. The first of many to come for sure. The Story of the Witch and the Vampire - Part 1 Jeanne and Babylonia were dating. That was a truth obvious to anyone but them. At this point they have been living together for a few weeks and Babylonia has been regularly helping out with Jeanne¡¯s store, while learning her way around the city. Of course, it struck everyone as odd how those two came to be an item. Or even to know each other. Vampires are still a rare sight in the city, considering the living conditions are less than optimal for nocturnal creatures who are very sensitive to the sun. As Babylonia told me, when she first arrived in the city, she and Jeanne were old acquaintances. Though that begged the question of how far back they went exactly. Vampires and witches alike had an impossibly long lifespan. So, their perception of ¡°old¡± may also differ. And, on top of that, vampires didn¡¯t exactly have the best relationship with humans. Even after the treaty from around a decade ago. So, one day, when Jeanne invited us for dinner ¨C calling it Jeanne¡¯s Tasteria, because of course she would have us taste-test new dishes she created ¨C I decided to finally breach the topic. ¡°So, how¡¯d you two meet?¡± I asked, like a parent their child and partner. At least in this world the reply couldn¡¯t be an awkward ¡°through a dating app¡±, right? Though, in a fashion reminiscent of just that, Jeanne seemed to choke on her black tea. ¡°Oh, come on, you two,¡± Zenia chimed in. ¡°You have to admit, your relationship is unique in a lot of ways.¡± Crimson had also been invited and was seated at the head of the table, in between us two pairs. He just looked back and forth between us, a bit irritated. ¡°Well ...¡± Jeanne replied. If you could call it a reply. She gave her vampire girlfriend a quick side-glance. ¡°It was a whole thing,¡± Babylonia replied on the other hand, without explaining anything at all. ¡°How long have you known each other?¡± I asked them. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Maybe ... 20 years or something?¡± Babylonia answered and looked at Jeanne quizzically. ¡°Something like that,¡± she muttered. ¡°That¡¯s not too long ago,¡± Crimson chimed in, to which Babylonia nodded. ¡°Coming from someone who took a nap for a millennium, that must be true,¡± I teased him. ¡°I wonder though, how ... did it happen?¡± Zenia asked. ¡°Human-vampire relations really weren¡¯t the best at the time. And, no offense Babylonia, but nocturnal creatures usually keep to themselves, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°That is true,¡± Babylonia replied. ¡°Though, we didn¡¯t meet in any conventional way. It was ... more of a chance meeting.¡± ¡°Accidental meeting would be more fitting ...¡± Jeanne said with a wry grin. ¡°That is true ...¡± And so, the both of them told us the story of how they met.
When Jeanne arrived at the desert library, she was awestruck at the sheer amount of knowledge bundled in one place. And it was all accessible to the public! If they were able to ¡­ access it, that is. Of course, coming from a human city on the other end of the continent, one had to take on quite the journey to even reach the desert edge. So, unless you were familiar with the desert or were capable of flight you were unlikely to ever set foot in this library. It wasn¡¯t even Jeanne¡¯s first visit to the library. But every time she returned, it seemed to become all the grander. As Jeanne pondered this, she became increasingly aware of her privilege. Thus, she took a dignified first step into the library. As dignified as her outfit made possible at least. Instead of covering her entire body in loose linen to shield it from the sun, she opted for her witch-hat with the broadest brim imaginable. Her arms and legs were exposed below a cheongsam-style dress. She didn¡¯t plan on spending any time in the actual desert, after all. In fact, she flew the entire way there. The library was comprised of a main building in the center of it all, called the Citadel. It was constructed of well-polished sandstone, in a generally light color. The main building towered over her, many times her size, housing at least ten floors. Strewn around the Citadel were sets of smaller buildings, some of them consisting of but a single floor. These smaller buildings were all at a lower level than the Citadel and from above, where she stood, Jeanne could see people bustling about, or just relaxing in the shadows of a building. A figure descended from the stairs to the Citadel. ¡°Raju!¡± Jeanne exclaimed. ¡°Jeanne!¡± Raju exclaimed. ¡°Beautiful as all those years ago.¡± ¡°Why thank you. You...have matured.¡± ¡°How very nice and considerate of you,¡± he replied in a sarcastic tone, scratching his gray beard. Last Jeanne had seen Raju the Bookkeeper, was a few decades ago. He, a mortal human, had aged considerably since then. Raju halted in front of Jeanne. Despite standing two steps above her on the stairs he still could not match her height. ¡°Shall we?¡± he asked her, holding out a hand. ¡°Naturally,¡± she replied, taking his hand and ascending the stairs to the citadel. The Story of the Witch and the Vampire - Part 2 ¡°That should be all,¡± Raju said, as he patted a large stack of books. Jeanne had followed the Bookkeeper into the citadel, where he presented a collection of books on a table to the witch. The two were surrounded by walls of bookshelves with spiraling staircases and platforms every now and then. The orange sun shone through a glass dome in the ceiling, pleasantly illuminating the interior of the citadel. Jeanne eyed the books, tracing a finger along their spines, before opening a sachet attached to a belt on her hip. ¡°Yes, that is indeed it. The king has another order however.¡± From her sachet she fished a bunch of scrolls and handed them over to Raju. ¡°Have your scribes copy these into a bound book in chronological order. They are expected to be finished in two weeks¡¯ time.¡± While Raju was looking through some of the contents, Jeanne put the books into her sachet one by one. From the outside the small bag looked like it could barely house more than a pebble. Though if she wanted to, Jeanne could absolutely put a house in it. ¡°Should be completely doable in that time frame,¡± Raju commented the papers and threw them all in a chute, that had suddenly opened up in the floor. ¡°If that is everything, I would like to accompany you outside,¡± he then offered. ¡°Oh, no need to,¡± Jeanne replied. ¡°Since I am already here at the library, I figured I¡¯d take a look at some of your books here. Can¡¯t go to a library without looking at a few books now, can I?¡± ¡°That¡¯s fair. Well, you have been here enough times already to find your way around.¡± ¡°Indeed. So, if you¡¯ll excuse me ...¡± With that the two bade each other farewell. While Raju descended some stairs not too far away, Jeanne made her way upwards one of the spiral staircases. Now that her job was done, why shouldn¡¯t she look at some books after all? The scribes of the Citadel were ever busy copying books, or compiling new-found knowledge into thick leather-bound tomes, so each visit yielded the possibility of Jeanne coming across a new spell or a new way to put her herbs to use. Cookbooks were also to be found occasionally and Jeanne was longing for the day she could put her cooking skills to good and regular use. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Maybe she should also become head cook for the king. She chuckled at that thought as she pulled out a book from the shelf in front of her. She opened a random page but didn¡¯t get far into inspecting its contents, as a dull pain connected with her skull and her hat was blown onto the floor. ¡°Ouch!¡± Covering her head and taking a few steps back she looked up. A book had hit her square in the head and the perpetrator was still floating several feet above her. It was a young woman with long pinkish hair and a set of dark wings on her back, that held her afloat. ¡°Oh my God, I am so sorry,¡± she apologized as she rapidly flew downwards. Her landing brought up a gust of wind, that blew Jeanne¡¯s hat even further away. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± she asked. ¡°Wait, do you even understand me? I could use some translation magic-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I am familiar with the vampiric language,¡± Jeanne interrupted her. While she couldn¡¯t mimic the accent quite perfectly ¨C she struggled a bit to roll the ¡°r¡± ¨C she had the vocabulary of a scholar. That is without a doubt to be attributed to her being very well-read. ¡°Oh, you speak my language?¡± the vampire asked in surprise. ¡°Well, yes, being a nigh-immortal witch gives me a lot of free-time to study one language or another. Really expands your dating pool...¡± Without giving her a second glance, Jeanne turned around to fetch her hat from the floor, leaving behind a momentarily petrified vampire. ¡°Wait, please,¡± the vampire suddenly jolted up and ran ahead. The vampire picked up Jeanne¡¯s hat and held it out to her with stretched-out arms. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry I dropped that book onto you. I am a bit clumsy at times. You shouldn¡¯t be picking up my mess,¡± she explained. Jeanne reached for the hat, putting it on top of her head. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind picking you up for a drink however.¡±
¡°Ahahahah,¡± Crimson burst into a high-pitched laughter holding his stomach. I also had to hold back my laughter. ¡°Okay, hold on,¡± I interjected in-between breaths. ¡°No way you were that smooth, Jeanne.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know. That seems very much in line with how I know her,¡± Zenia commented. ¡°I mean yes, she knows how to flirt her way through enemy lines, but this is ridiculous. She just met her!¡± I vehemently objected. ¡°How do you think we met?¡± Crimson asked, still cackling to himself. ¡°So? I already thought she was cute back then,¡± Jeanne explained. ¡°Not that she has changed much in the past few decades.¡± Jeanne glanced at her partner; her chin propped onto her hand. Babylonia¡¯s usually pale skin had turned a bit red in that moment. ¡°I can tell she is just as embarrassed now, as she was all those years ago ...¡± Jeanne added, causing Babylonia¡¯s blood pressure to rise even more. ¡°See?¡± Zenia snarked at me. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s leave it at that for now.¡± The Story of the Witch and the Vampire - Part 3 Picking up for a drink she did. Of course ,the library did not only house thousands of books and documents, but also a few dozen scholars. That in turn meant that the library also had to provide them with meals and beverages. Jeanne led Babylonia outside. The two had exchanged pleasantries by then and knew each other¡¯s names. Some of the buildings surrounding the Citadel were small restaurants. Each of them served cuisine from a different part of the world, ensuring everyone felt at home visiting the library. Some of them also featured take-away windows for those who were in a hurry to get back to work. Although it was frowned upon to bring any beverages near the often very rare documents. ¡°So, what could possibly bring a vampire to the hot desert?¡± Jeanne asked Babylonia as she brought her a cup of hot bean tea. The beverage wasn¡¯t common in the kingdom, as the climate did not allow the beans to grow there. Importing them from the desert was also too expensive for anyone to seriously consider. Though the rich elite occasionally boasted their wealth by offering some of it to their guests. The king, however, would like to see that money be invested in arms rather than beans. Babylonia sat at a table in the shadow of the building, crossing her legs. The book she had dropped on Jeanne earlier lay on the table. It was a thick tome with a noticeable imprint on its leather cover. The vampire patted the book in response to the witch¡¯s question. ¡°Books of course.¡± ¡°For your own enjoyment or are you the designated gopher?¡± Babylonia sighed. ¡°Both. I needed to fetch some books for my master, but since I¡¯m already here, why wouldn¡¯t I also look at some books for myself?¡± ¡°Hah, a fellow woman of culture, I see.¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Babylonia chuckled at that comment. ¡°So, what interests you?¡± Jeanne asked. ¡°I always look for some new recipes to try out ...¡± ¡°A witch and a cook. Interesting.¡± She took a sip from her beverage. ¡°Well, I am rather interested in learning about other cultures.¡± ¡°Huh, consider me surprised. I thought vampires didn¡¯t really mesh with ... anyone other than their own kind.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Considering we need to avoid the sun and drink blood ... Anyway, having visited the library a few times got me interested. I mean, all that knowledge ... and the different foods!¡± ¡°I get it!¡± Jeanne agreed. ¡°Food truly is a gateway to different cultures.¡± ¡°Sadly, I never get to visit parts of the world outside the library. And I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll happen any time soon.¡± Babylonia looked down at the contents of her cup. She did not need to elaborate for Jeanne to understand. ¡°Well, what is that book you got here?¡± Jeanne tried changing topics, referring to the tome laying in between them. Babylonia perked up. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know actually. I just took it with me by accident.¡± She stuttered the last couple of words, her pale complexion turning rose. Jeanne smiled at her quizzically. She reached out for the book, and with just the tips of her finger dragged it towards her. ¡°We should put that book back where it came from then,¡± Jeanne suggested. ¡°Right!¡± Babylonia exclaimed. Jeanne put her cup on the table and grabbed the book with both of her hands. She flipped it around, seeing if it was anything of interest for her. Babylonia leaned forward to have a look as well. Jeanne traced the imprints on the cover before deciding to open it up. A shiver went down her spine and she dropped the book back on the table. The imprint started glowing blue all of a sudden. Glowing books were never a good thing. Jeanne did not get a good look at the contents as a bright light emanated from the inside and a low rumbling echoed through the entire library. Muffled shouts from scholars and workers all around followed the rumbling. ¡°What is that?¡± Jeanne asked, while shielding her eyes from dust and sand being blown around. ¡°Oh no,¡± Babylonia exclaimed. ¡°That was a tome of spells!¡± She pointed at the book on the table. ¡°It must have drained some of your magic to activate! You must be insanely powerful for this to be possible.¡± ¡°Well, I am a witch. Magic is kind of my thing!¡± Jeanne shouted over the sound of chairs and tables clattering and falling over. Cracks formed on the floor with the tome at their center. They spread around until the point they reached exactly two meters from the book. Then they would go on to fuse together, forming a perfect circle around the book, with Jeanne and Babylonia inside. When they noticed this, it was already too late. The floor below them broke down and they disappeared into a dark, dark hole. The Story of the Witch and the Vampire - Part 4 Jeanne woke up with the worst headache of her very long life. It was dark all around and there seemed to be no source of light whatsoever. Right, she had fallen into a hole. Was she underground? She realized she was laying on her stomach on harsh, cold stone. She turned around and tried sitting upright, before conjuring up some light. More stone. Yep, definitely underground. Wait, where was that other girl? She looked all over and spotted her few steps away. Jeanne tried standing up but was assaulted by sharp pain as soon as she put some strength into her legs. She pointed the light downwards and saw several cuts along her legs. The blood had already started coagulating, so she must have been out for quite some time. She would need to pour some potions into her wounds, or she¡¯d risk an infection. She reached into her pouch and pulled out a few vials of translucent liquid with a blue hue. She opened the first one and poured the contents over her right leg. Jeanne let out a strained hum as the fluid seeped into her wounds. She remained on the floor tugging the fabric of her clothes to counteract the pain. She broke into a sweat and groaned and writhed in pain, as the potion cleared her bloodstream. It was like pouring pure alcohol into an open wound. When the pain subsided, Jeanne lay flat on her back. She didn¡¯t care that the hard, uneven stone beneath her wasn¡¯t comfortable. She just needed to get a good breath. And some rest. ... Babylonia! She snapped upwards, her mind clearing in an instant, when she remembered there was someone else with her in the cave. She staggered forward, the orb of light she had summoned earlier following her. ¡°Hey, are you awake?¡± Jeanne called out to the vampire girl, as she fell to her knees next to her. But only the lonely echo from the narrow cave walls responded. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Jeanne wished she had read up on some vampire biology, then she would be able to safely treat her. She had no idea what effect her potions had on a vampire¡¯s body. She could try giving Babylonia some of her blood, but she had no idea if that would work. Did vampires need a certain blood group? What would happen if she gave her some of her witchy blood instead of that of a human? Not to mention, some of the potion might still be coursing through her veins. How did she manage to learn vampire language but not know anything about vampires themselves? Stupid people and their stupid conflicts. Jeanne sighed in exasperation. At least the girl was still breathing. ... ¡°Crap,¡± Jeanne muttered as she realized the best course of action. She had to get them both out of here.
I looked at Jeanne in front of me with wide eyes. ¡°Look, I really don¡¯t want to interrupt you,¡± I interrupted her, ¡°but I was expecting more of a... meet-cute kind of story, than whatever this is.¡± ¡°Well, when we first met, I tried to kill you, so...¡± Zenia interjected, awkwardly brushing some of her red hair behind her ear. Jeanne shrugged with one shoulder and stood up from her seat. In response to Zenia, I said: ¡°I retract my statement, you two have met in a totally normal manner, common to... this day and age I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m talking about ..¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it gets even better,¡± Babylonia assured me. Jeanne handed her a wine glass, to which she thanked her. ¡°I thought you were out cold?¡± I questioned, also receiving a glass of wine. Babylonia made an indistinct noise, to which Jeanne took the reins once more. ¡°Before I continue telling our story, I think we should get back to the real reason we are all here today. Can¡¯t believe you just let me steal the spotlight from you like that, Gentlemen!¡± Jeanne raised her glass. Zenia, who was sitting next to me, turned towards me, sliding back in her chair a bit, as if to shine the spotlight on me. Babylonia held her the stem of the wine glass with both of her hands, awkwardly eyeing the red liquid inside. Crimson held his glass at the bowl, as if it was a beer mug. I just smiled awkwardly, because this felt as if they were about to sing me happy birthday. Thank God that song did not exist in this world. ... Yet. ¡°Congratulations on finishing the clean-up, wooo!¡± Jeanne shouted excitedly and took a big sip from her glass. ¡°Oh, I was expecting a speech or something,¡± Zenia said. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m bad at those,¡± Jeanne said, as she sat down next to Babylonia, casually sipping her wine. Indeed, Crimson and I finished the clean-up just a couple of days ago. (Though, we all know Crimson did most of the work. As he did most of damage in the first place.) ¡°I feel bad about celebrating something that was completely avoidable in the first place...¡± Crimson acknowledged. At least he seemed to be working on his self-awareness. ¡°Of course. But now that you are... out of probation, so to speak, the real fun begins!¡± Jeanne was overly enthusiastic to celebrate this occasion. ¡°You mean, now he can work for you full-time, without pay,¡± Babylonia corrected her. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get back to the story. It only gets crazier from here.¡± The Story of the Witch and the Vampire - Part 5 Jeanne regularly changed Babylonia¡¯s mode of transportation as she trudged through the cave system. Carrying her on her back, carrying her in front of her like a baby, carrying her like a princess, briefly pondering whether not to just drag her across the ground like a dead corpse. Not that she had seen any alive ones at any point. The exertion had gotten to her. Surely some scholars argued that vampires were dead corpses, she thought. Then she realized that food, sunlight and some sleep were in order. Not that any of it was at her disposal. She considered eating some cave bats, if she ever came across them. Babylonia wouldn¡¯t mind her eating some bats for sure. After all she was starving to death. Wait, no. Vampires turning into bats is just a racist stereotype because they started predominantly living underground or in caves due to their reaction to sunlight. She sighed and looked at a wall. Or maybe the ceiling. It was all pitch-black, so it was hard to tell. I need to touch some grass. At this point Jeanne had run out of synonyms for thinking about things, so let¡¯s just say her mind now mostly consisted of a spreadsheet listing different drugs and detailing the ways they might help her. Sometimes this help came in the form of death. At some point she had gotten back up, the girl hanging around her shoulders. Levitation spells were not an option. The corridors were too narrow, she¡¯d most likely bang Babylonia against the cave walls until she might as well leave her behind. That¡¯s what you get for flirting with a vampire girl, Jeanne. What do I tell the king if I ever get us out of here ... As she made another step forward, she realized something had changed. She felt a tingling just above her neck and went from exhausted to alert. The aura in what seemed to be a new cave section was drastically different from before. Have I accidentally stepped into a spell? Jeanne decided to venture ahead, nonetheless. Was there any other option, really? As she took her steps ahead, she realized, that the aura she perceived kept changing. The oppressive force of the surrounding cave walls seemed to lessen and as she went further and further ahead, she realized why. Moonlight. Far above a crack several feet above her head floated a silver sphere lighting up the vast cave Jeanne found herself in, after wandering through narrow corridors for what must undoubtedly have been hours. ¡°Finally!!!¡± Her shout ricocheted off the walls disappearing into the many holes and cracks surrounding her. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Her shout immediately elicited a response from deeper within the caves and when Jeanne noticed the voices and footsteps from further inside it was already too late. She found herself surrounded by a dozen people. They didn¡¯t come armed, for they did not need arms. Their bodies under the moonlight passed as powerful weapons themselves. ¡°You have trespassed into the territory of the Vampire Kingdom! Surrender yourself to us!¡± A woman, undoubtedly their leader, shouted at her. Jeanne clenched her jaw and steadily breathed in and out. She really wasn¡¯t in the mood for this kind of bullshit. Especially since she was weakened and clearly outnumbered, she wouldn¡¯t be able to make a run for it. She noticed a slight commotion coming from the vampires opposite of their leader. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that the master¡¯s pupil?¡± someone pointed out. They were talking about Babylonia on Jeanne¡¯s back. ¡°Hand her over at once!¡± The leader now commanded her after confirming it for herself. If the group wasn¡¯t alert already, they sure were now. Some widened their stance, made themselves bigger, appearing more threatening. ¡°Okay, okay, okay, before this all turns into a classic case of big damn misunderstanding, would y¡¯all please let me explain myself?¡± Jeanne asked into the group. She noticed her filter had turned off. She would never actually speak like this. Thankfully there wasn¡¯t a mirror around to confirm she probably looked like she sounded. ¡°Y- you speak our language?¡± the leader asked in surprise. ¡°If you thought I didn¡¯t speak your language, why did you talk to me in it in the first place!? What¡¯s with you people! Some weird spell from a book this klutz here dropped on my head made the ground open up beneath us, we were trapped underground, and I tried my best to carry her all the way on my back to safety and now you are accusing me of kidnapping or what!?¡± Had she not had Babylonia on her back she would have gotten up to that leader and pointed an accusatory finger at her. ¡°And let me guess, as punishment for entering your kingdom, which mind you, is very poorly signposted, you won¡¯t be allowing me to leave your kingdom! Is that correct. What a backwards logic!¡± At several points during Jeanne¡¯s tirade the leader of the group tried to interject but did not find any occasion to properly do so. As Jeanne was about to dish out some insults, laughter echoed throughout the cavern and Jeanne almost lost her balance. Babylonia, who had been on Jeanne¡¯s back the entire time, arms slung over her shoulders, had seemingly awoken from her slumber. She bent backwards, her hair falling to the ground, as Jeanne desperately tried not to drop her. After regaining some control over her body, her laughing fit subsiding, the vampire put her palms on the ground and freed herself from the witch¡¯s grasp. After holding herself upright in a handstand her feet hit the ground, while Jeanne stumbled away, after getting rid of the load on her back. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, I just couldn¡¯t hold it any longer.¡± Babylonia wiped away a tear from her cheeks. All eyes were on her, their owners equally baffled. ¡°Who knew you had such a temper, my dearest witch. So contrary to your earlier demeanor.¡± ¡°What can I say, I contain multitudes, my dearest vampire.¡± Jeanne decided to just play along. Even though she wasn¡¯t sure where this was going. ¡°I am sorry, my brethren,¡± she addressed her fellow vampires, ¡°this here girl belongs with me.¡± Girl? ¡°All she said is true. A rogue spell left us injured and without knowing any better she decided to take me back to our kingdom, hoping that a life saved would be considered mitigating circumstances for trespassing.¡± That left everyone speechless. ¡°Well?¡± Babylonia pressed on, this time not as gentle as before. The group of vampires answered with a wave of murmurs that could generally be interpreted positively. ¡°Then leave this poor girl alone already! My ...¡± Girl!? The air in the room immediately lost its tension, as everyone relaxed their bodies. Some moved to leave the cave. Their leader however went to address Babylonia directly. ¡°Won¡¯t you be coming with us? Your master is concerned.¡± ¡°And concerned he shall stay. I need to bring my friend back to the surface first. And clean up the mess at the library ...¡± The Story of the Witch and the Vampire - Final Part ¡°Woohoo! I love this!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re so ecstatic. You¡¯re a vampire! You can fly on your own for heaven¡¯s sake ...¡± Outside of the cave, Jeanne and Babylonia made their way back to the library. Jeanne offered to take Babylonia on her staff and the two flew above the drylands, making their way back to the desert. ¡°Why am I the one to fly anyway! I carried you on my back, barefoot, and got attacked by vampires for it!¡± Jeanne complained. ¡°Ohhh, cut it out. All¡¯s well that ends well, isn¡¯t it? Though I made a mental note, that despite your largely pleasant demeanor you can be rather short-tempered.¡± ¡°And I made a note, that you are not just a klutz but outright malicious at times. Heartless! I carried you all the way because I thought you were unconscious! Not just taking a nap ... You wouldn¡¯t have done the same for me, I bet ...¡± ¡°That¡¯s ... not true. But I guess I left a poor first impression ...¡± ¡°Ya think!?¡± ¡°Sorry, I ... I¡¯d like to pay you back somehow, but ... there¡¯s only so much time left until I have to return to my people for a while ...¡± Babylonia, who had her gaze fixed on Jeanne¡¯s neck the entire time, looked at the descending moon. ¡°But for what it¡¯s worth, that was the most fun I had in a while,¡± she added, intending this to be her good-bye. Jeanne however had other plans. ¡°Tell you what. If this world ever returns to normal. If there¡¯s ever a place besides the library, where we can be together like this, different species just enjoying themselves together, we will meet there.¡± Babylonia looked back up in surprise. In her hundreds of years, this is the first time this happened. No, that wasn¡¯t true. It felt like the first time someone meant it. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Will there ever be a place like that?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to believe so. I met this guy not too long ago. He¡¯s a bit lost sometimes, but he¡¯s got his heart in the right place. And it¡¯s infectious. I think he can be the one to make it happen. I think he can put an end to this war, or whatever you want to call it. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen worse.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m a vampire. Sometimes I think we are the scum of the world. They treat us that way at least.¡± ¡°If that were true, would you be sitting next to me right now?¡± Jeanne had her staff slow down, slowly coming to a halt. They had just about reached the edge of the desert. She adjusted her position, so her legs were dangling off one side and now she faced Babylonia. Her pale face seemed to emit a faint glow in the moonlight. ¡°You¡¯re ... different,¡± Babylonia tried to disagree. ¡°You¡¯re a witch, you have this incredible lifespan in common with us vampires.¡± ¡°If only you knew how many humans have told me how close I am to them,¡± she retorted with a smug expression followed by realization. ¡°Maybe I am the bridge between the peoples...¡± Babylonia chuckled. ¡°Come visit me in the city sometime,¡± Jeanne then suddenly proposed. ¡°It may take a couple decades, but we know we both have time, and I truly want you to see what people are capable of if given the right circumstances and enough time. Most of my life I¡¯ve just been wandering around, offering my services to people, mostly aristocrats, because I didn¡¯t know better, and now I am reveling in my freedom and beginning to truly understand what I want from my life. I think you and I are similar in that regard. So, I am hoping you¡¯ll give it a shot with me.¡± After finishing her rant Jeanne realized she had heated up considerably. Despite the cool night air, she felt warm. And maybe sweaty. But she tried to ignore it for the time. Worse yet, Babylonia started laughing. ¡°Oh, Jeanne, you are such a blabbermouth. And you have the audacity to call someone else¡¯s ¡°heart¡± infectious. You¡¯ll work on that self-reflection, alright?¡± She held her stomach with both hands and somehow managed not to fall off the broom. ¡°Really, I haven¡¯t had so much fun in a while.¡± Jeanne¡¯s entire face was red. Not because she had exhausted herself, but because she was embarrassed. ¡°Well then, what is it you want from your life?¡± Babylonia asked her, after having calmed down enough. ¡°...¡± Jeanne held her breath. ¡°Don¡¯t laugh.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I want to open a cafe.¡± ¡°A witch and a cook. We went over this already. Suits you.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°Well ... I really like books ... but working in a cafe should work out for starters.¡± ¡°How about a book cafe?¡± ¡°The dream.¡± How It All Began - Part 1 These past weeks and months for me have been full of introductions. I guess due to my work I have a sort of predisposition to meeting new people, but it¡¯s rare for them to stick around. And they keep coming faster than I can write about them. However, I realized, despite all this I should now finally take the time to formally introduce myself. This collection of texts started out as something resembling diary entries. Though that isn¡¯t entirely true either. In any case, now it has become a collection of lots of different people¡¯s stories. And despite what the very first couple of sentences suggest the very first words I wrote to help manifest me writing, this isn¡¯t really my story, is it? It¡¯s been Babylonia¡¯s story, Crimson¡¯s story, Zenia¡¯s story, Via¡¯s story, Jeanne¡¯s story... There wasn¡¯t much room left for me. So bear with me, because I am going to tell you the very first of our stories. The story of how it all began.
Ah shit. My body was hurting all over. All I remembered was a loud crash. And that¡¯s what my surroundings looked like as well. I found myself in an unfamiliar building, or rather the remains thereof. Maybe a stable? Sitting in a corner, leaning against a wall, my legs stretched out. Wooden splinters and rubble all around. A gray cloud blocked out what was in front of me, only letting a few rays of sunlight through. The high-pitched noise that seemingly had been there all along slowly crescendoed as my vision became wobbly. I felt like I had to get up or I would pass out any moment. I stood up and, as if I had just woken up, stumbled towards the light, rubbing my eyes. I noticed my shirt scratching my chest uncomfortably and upon looking down realized it had torn just below my right armpit. My jeans didn¡¯t fare any better, though I guess that has been trendy for a while now. The cloud of dust had slowly begun to subside, though walking straight through it still caused me to have a coughing fit. My mouth dried out in an instant. The high-pitched noise had quieted down, but I could still barely hear my own cough. Which is probably why I also couldn¡¯t hear the angry voice shouting at me to halt. It really was by chance that I happened to open my eyes just before walking into the blade that was pointed at me. As soon as I realized that the tip of a sword was being pointed at my throat I choked, stumbled backwards, and landed on my butt. I felt wetness on my behind. Don¡¯t worry, it was just snow. I was outside and the lady in front of me was still shouting. ¡°Do you have a death wish!?¡± The blade was now pointed downward but still mere inches away from my throat. I couldn¡¯t make out the words clearly, but that must have been what she said. Her red hair graciously flowed down her back, ending just above her hips. A light headband prevented it from falling over her face. Her round cheeks and the tip of her nose were rose-colored. Despite her mature and confident body language it made her seem a bit childish, but nonetheless dangerous. ¡°You know, you shouldn¡¯t just point a blade at someone like this. You could hurt someone!¡± I really didn¡¯t know what prompted me to react to this situation like that. But can you blame me? Have you ever had someone point a blade at you? How would you react? To be fair, I did use humor as a coping mechanism, but I guess she didn¡¯t think it funny. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Well, that is the damn point,¡± she spat at me, slapping the underside of my chin with her blade. The cold steel stung against my warm skin. ¡°Language, Zenia,¡± a voice reminded her from a few meters away. Zenia did not let me out of her sight, though she shifted in response to being called. A man stepped next to her, clad in the same fur-coated garment that she was wearing. A sword was attached to his hip. His arms remained hidden under the cloak. ¡°Sirius,¡± she regarded him in a cold tone. ¡°I found an intruder.¡± Sirius¡® eyes were half-closed in a fairly relaxed manner. Or maybe that simply was how his eyes were shaped. In any case, he was looking at the destroyed building behind me. ¡°So that was what that noise was about.¡± Among the two, Zenia¡¯s response was without a doubt the more appropriate one. Though I¡¯d rather she not point her sword at me. My eyes darted between the two. The ringing in my ears was almost gone, so I could finally understand what was being said. What was going on? In what universe do people still carry swords with them? Why is it snowing all of a sudden? Why are there two white people in front of me? Have I been suddenly teleported to Russia or something? I finally found the mental energy to properly question my circumstances. After picking a fight with the lady pointing a sword at me. Maybe I did have a death wish. Sirius slowly let his eyes wander towards me. If his eyes were half-open due to relaxation before, his eyes were now half-open in an ice-cold glare. ¡°A vampire. Just get rid of him Zenia.¡± Sirius¡® deep voice seemed to reverberate through me as he said that. I barely managed to gasp as the cold of winter slowly crept up to me. Zenia rapidly turned around to face him. ¡°What? But he¡¯s not a vampire! He just talked to me in our language!¡± Then she quickly turned back to me. ¡°Say something!¡± ¡°Y- yeah, you gotta listen to her ... and me! Also ... a vampire? Really?¡± Sirius proceeded to stare at me listlessly for a few seconds. ¡°I can¡¯t understand a word this thing is saying. Just look at him Zenia. This unnaturally pale complexion, the bags under his eyes. He¡¯s probably just able to stay outside because it¡¯s so cloudy today.¡± He clicked his tongue and crouched down on my level. ¡°Or possibly ... he¡¯s an incubus and has managed to charm you! That must be it!¡± He rapidly kicked himself off the ground. I gave off an embarrassing noise. His sudden change of mannerisms startled me. ¡°Finish him off! Now!¡± he shouted. I just looked at her pleadingly. What more was I supposed to do in this situation anyway. Zenia lowered her sword. The motion almost imperceptible. Her wavering only apparent to me, who was looking directly in her eyes. I wouldn¡¯t hold it against her if she decided to kill me anyway. Maybe that would be for the best. I guess, that would make her life easier, wouldn¡¯t it. It would trouble her a lot if I stayed alive, no? God, I really do have a death wish. I don¡¯t even know this woman. I sighed and stood up. Slumped over, dragging my limbs along with me. I didn¡¯t have the strength to use my arms like a normal human being, or maybe I just didn¡¯t want to waste what little energy I had left on unnecessary bullshit like this. Sirius stood motionless, pressing his lips tightly together, waiting for Zenia to make her step. Zenia on the other hand inhaled sharply, as her blade followed me at the height of my neck. I looked her in the eye and said: ¡°Kill me.¡± Zenia took a step back, retracted her sword and jumped forward to deliver the blow. I was prepared to feel the blade pierce through my heart and come out the other side. I was prepared for the pain, the cold blade, the warm blood ... if that would even be close to what being stabbed felt like. Instead, it was a literal blow. I flew back through the hole in the building where I came from, taking a couple wooden beams with me. I saw the stony exterior of the building crumbling in front of me, raising dust to hide everything from my view once more. It was as if someone had hit a rewind button. My back collided with a stone wall behind me, robbing me of air to breathe. When I regained control of my body, air in my lungs and tears out of my eyes, I realized it was a clean shot through that stable. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you!?¡± I heard a shout from the other side of the rubble. Even though it sounded so much unlike the man I had just met, it was without a doubt Sirius talking. ¡°Relax, we¡¯d have to tear down this building eventually. Thought I¡¯d save everyone the trouble,¡± Zenia responded. ¡°We still could have salvaged some of it you know. And now we¡¯ll have to pick out the corpse somehow,¡± Sirius replied, much more composed. I couldn¡¯t believe it. Did they seriously think I was dead? I mean, I couldn¡¯t believe I was alive either. This ... was sobering. I could just run back into Zenia¡¯s blade. But ... something was holding me back. ¡°Let¡¯s leave that to someone else. I think moving some stones could be good muscle training for the soldiers,¡± Zenia said rather coldly. I heard the snow crunch beneath her feet as she stepped away. Sirius followed her shortly, after a quick ¡°agreed.¡± ¡°Besides, we should get dressed for the masquerade ball ¡­¡± And thus, I was presented with a small opportunity to get the heck out of there. How It All Began - Part 2 My thoughts and behavior might strike you as odd, after everything you have read about me before. I wasn¡¯t in a good place when I came to this world, really. It took a lot of years and the magic of hindsight to fully realize that and come to terms with it. I don¡¯t want to go into the details of my life before I came to this world. I don¡¯t think you¡¯d appreciate the boringness of day-to-day life in a world that is so out of reach. Although life in my old world definitely informed life in this world. I can¡¯t even properly remember the things that transpired before my arrival to this world. Everything became a blur, not because it¡¯s been so long, but because I¡¯d rather forget. Before Zenia, there was another woman. Back then, when I met Zenia under the circumstances described above, I didn¡¯t bat an eyelid, because I didn¡¯t realize the difference between the two. And yes, by that I mean, that that woman would have absolutely pointed a knife at me. But Zenia let me go. ... I¡¯m sorry, if you expected a fun adventure, as I first arrived in this new world. I must have forgotten all that came with me all those years ago. Being torn away from all you¡¯ve known before like that really must do a number on you. Of course, life-altering events like these happened all the time in my old world. Didn¡¯t think mine would involve swords and sorcery. But I think that this was just what I needed. What had saved me. Before I came to this world, I most likely had a fight with Her. Decided to get drunk, let myself get run over by a car. God, this entire last page is a disjointed nightmare. Like my previous relationship. There I go, I can at least joke about this. Let¡¯s move on to marginally more pleasant matters.
After Zenia and Sirius left I waited a few more minutes. I couldn¡¯t endure the biting cold much longer, however, and so, what to me felt like minutes, might have been mere seconds. I stealthily tried to check my surroundings but wasn¡¯t really sure what to make of them. For one, there was a gigantic house some distance away from me. Behind me was a stone wall that stretched around the entire premises. If it wasn¡¯t for the modern architecture of the building in the middle, I would have said I was on the grounds of a castle. That would explain the stables in front, and why Zenia and Sirius attacked me with swords. The main building however was much more akin to a mansion than to a castle. Its function seemed to be to show off prestige, rather than to ward off intruders. Like me. I had to get out of here. The wall behind me was too big to climb, so I decided to stick to it. Surely, there would be an exit at some point. And if anyone approached me, I¡¯d just have to dive into the snow. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. How pleasant. For the most part, I could consider myself lucky. Despite it appearing to be midday, I couldn¡¯t even spot anyone moving behind the windows of the mansion. It seemed the cold of winter deterred the habitants of this mansion from going outside. Which made me wonder what the role of the two people from before was in this whole thing. The swords, the pelts, the Victorian-era building. The ... way I was blown through that stable. I couldn¡¯t make any sense of it yet. Before I knew what was happening, my spiraling thoughts had sent my limbs into autopilot. When I regained proper consciousness, I was quite the ways away from the stable and spotted what looked like a metal gate. Instinctively, I ducked into the snow and surveyed my surroundings once more. Though, if someone had spotted me, I¡¯d have realized that by now. I was able to see the entrance to the mansion. It appeared unguarded and so I was tempted to make my way inside. I really needed to warm up. I could not know whether there were any guards on the other side, however, so I was reluctant at first. Thankfully, I had an idea. If I wasn¡¯t mistaken, castles or fortresses sometimes had hollowed out walls that you could walk inside of. Even if it wasn¡¯t warm inside, I could at least get a good view of my surroundings from on top of the walls. Though if there was a guard post, would it be unattended? Only one way to find out. I leaned forward, trying to look along the wall for an opening of whatever sort. There only seemed to be a metal gate leading to the outside world. I carefully moved through the snow towards the gate. The snow was a few centimeters high but had been considerably piled up next to the path leading from a metal gate to the building. I sighed as I pondered whether I should jump over the pile, but I decided to just bite the bullet and thrust my leg into the snow. The cold enveloped my leg up to the knee and I quickly twisted my body to get to the other side, almost falling over as I tried to free my leg from the snow. Of course, snow had gotten into my shoe. Still, I walked over to the metal gate and was pleasantly surprised to find a door in the archway next to it. It was a light metal door, the edges of which were covered in rust. It was bedecked with the occasional indent, as if someone had punched into it. Despite its firm appearance I was able to open it with ease. Inside was a set of stairs leading upwards. They had a steep incline and none of the stone steps were even. Stories of the ¡°Victorian Death Stairs¡± quickly flared up in my mind. That would explain the dents in the metal door at least. A passage at the top of the stairs led me outside again. I poked my head through the opening. The coast was clear, and I crawled outside. There wasn¡¯t much space up here. Maybe two people would be able to comfortably stand next to each other. Three, and they¡¯d be bumping into each other for sure. Despite the top of the wall being covered in snow I decided to lay low first so I couldn¡¯t be spotted. However, both sides of the wall had battlements spread along the edges. I needed to stand up to be able to see anything. I crouch-walked over to the battlement facing away from the mansion. I grabbed onto its edges and pulled myself up. Two possible explanations for what I was seeing began fighting for dominance: I was in Europe. Or I was in medieval Europe. Victorian Death Stairs. I- needed to process what I was seeing for just a bit. It was snowing. Everything was covered in white. That was a moderately regular sight at least. As I was awe-struck at a scenery so surreal, I wondered if it was a painting, something brushed my hair. A gust of wind blew me back and had me guessing were above and below was. To make this endeavor even harder for me, what I saw was ... a woman flying over the wall on a broom. My eyes followed her as I staggered backwards. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve ever seen what a woman sitting on a broom looked like from below, but...I¡¯m just going to leave that to your imagination. As I staggered backwards, I noticed her getting further away from the ground. Oh no. It wasn¡¯t her that was getting away from the ground. It was me that was getting closer to it. How It All Began - Part 3 A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. How It All Began - Part 4 Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. and my brother. What would we gain from that? It would just be a meaningless confrontation that would resolve nothing.¡± How It All Began - Part 5 Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. How It All Began - Part 6 If it hasn¡¯t been made clear before, Zenia was decidedly taking the lead. As we walked to the ballroom, I kept wondering if that was how women felt most of the time. Not taking the lead, of course, but being dragged along as an appendage. Thinking back, my experience with the one woman in my old life was different. Maybe it stood out to me now, because Zenia in every way defied my expectations. Wow, social biases sure did a number on me. It felt oddly reassuring, though, having her be so determined in what she was doing. Because even if I didn¡¯t lack determination, I still lacked the confidence to pull through. Her determination was uplifting, however. And when we entered that ballroom, I felt as if I was supposed be here all along. By her side. The double doors leading to the ballroom reached to the ceiling a couple feet above our head. They were guarded by two gentlemen who opened the doors with such timing that we didn¡¯t need to stop in our stride. The two men were both clad in suits similar to mine, though they filled them up much better than me. Their eyes were covered with plain white masks the shape of some canine. The sight of Zenia and her brother holding me at gunpoint (swordpoint?) now seemed more distant than ever. Festive music could be heard escaping from behind the doors. When the doors were opened it was as if the sound broke out with a stream of warm air. Mixed together were the scents of sweets and alcohol and good mood. Zenia led me inside. We entered the room in an elevated position, a wide set of stairs leading to the main area. We all know that scene in some movie when the princess is presented to the guests at a ball. To me this was that moment. We descended the stairs to the ground. I kept my eyes fixed at a certain spot in front of me. I wasn¡¯t sure if Zenia was doing the same or not, but that did not matter. For the time being I was just an accessory to her. She may have been greeting and smiling at the people around us. To me that did not matter. I had no connection to these people anyway. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Only when we reached ground level did the people begin to move into my field of view. A few dozen people wearing white canine masks scurried around carrying trays with small canap¨¦s or glasses of beverages spanning a wide array of colors. Most guests seem to have come in pairs of two, with an odd triad as well as singles alone and happy in between. It was a mixed crowd, though every one of them exuded elegance. Suddenly remembering why I was here, I quickly scanned the room beneath my mask. Zenia¡¯s brother was nowhere to be found. I noticed a slight pull on my arm and realized Zenia was trying to pull me a certain direction. As I slowly turned left, I noticed at the far end of the room a tall armchair. Though ¡°throne¡± would be the more appropriate term, I guess. I always imagined thrones were made of solid gold, or at least some other sort of precious metal. If I looked closely this one seemed to also be mostly made of solid metal but varnished with comfy cushions on the seat and the backrest. Of course, a throne could not simply be left standing empty in the middle of the room, which was why an elderly man was sitting in it. He wore an extravagant coat over a suit, with the coattail resting comfortably on the stone floor to his feet. He did not wear a full-blown crown. However his short hair, which had a couple of stylish gray streaks on the sides, was adorned by an unobtrusive golden diadem, the tips of which just about grazed his eyebrows and rested on his cheekbones. Its purpose, I assumed, was to meet the requirements for a masquerade ball while also making him easily identifiable. ¡°That is my father,¡± Zenia muttered as we continued our stride towards the throne. ¡°I will curtsy in front of him, you will kneel behind me. Then I will take the left seat. You will stand behind me.¡± Those sounded like clear instructions to me, but of course I remained cautious. As we neared the step elevating the throne and the seats next to it, I let myself fall behind. After walking onto the stage, Zenia stopped, her heels mere centimeters away from the edge. She was about the same height as me now. Placing her left foot in front of her right, she tucked on her dress and lowered her head. Trying not to fall over in my rush I fell to my right knee and looked to the floor. As I lowered my body, my eyes passed the exposed ankles in her shoes. She didn¡¯t properly think that through, did she? I could only hope the mask did its job of covering my face, because it was turning beet-red. Although my complexion didn¡¯t allow it to show properly. Through the blood rushing through my ears, I could hear Zenia curtly say ¡°Father,¡± after which she concluded her gesture, promptly marching towards her designated seat. Barely able to catch up I shot upward and jumped up the step to follow her. I tried telling myself that I probably did not look as disheveled as I felt in that moment, but still, I did not dare look in her father¡¯s direction. Only after I placed myself behind Zenia¡¯s seat did it occur to me, that she was talking about her father¡¯s left, not our left and I was thankful for my brain in that moment to just not think. I became hyperconscious of my breathing for a second. I tried focusing on the conversation in front of me. How It All Began - Part 7 If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°And is that you next to Sirius!?¡± realized dreaded, that it was almost my time to shine. ¡°I¡¯d like to chew the two of them out.¡± How It All Began - Part 8 Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. instructed of an intruder on our grounds!?¡± Their father now failed to entirely speak in a hushed voice, instead putting emphasis on random words. ¡°I thought nothing could ever escape our security system.¡± that happen.¡± Zenia was without a doubt enjoying extorting her brother. ¡°Maybe, because our ¡°incubus¡± was the type of intruder you wouldn¡¯t want anyone to find out about.¡± How It All Began - Part 9 If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. How It All Began - Final Part My introduction was regarded with heavy silence. ¡°Let¡¯s talk somewhere else,¡± the king grunted in response. ¡°Forgive me, for declining, but I¡¯d rather not,¡± I answered. ¡°See, your son tried to kill me earlier, so as a precaution I¡¯d like to keep this conversation here. In front of witnesses. Just in case anything happens.¡± ¡°I have never seen this man in my life!¡± Sirius exclaimed, without even being prompted to explain himself. ¡°Then pray tell, why did you have that reaction just now, when Jordan took his mask off?¡± Zenia asked, an annoyed sigh accompanying her question. It was enough to shut him up. ¡°Please show your son some mercy. His behavior merely stems from the fact that I decided to cast an illusion upon his gaze. Consider it payback for what transpired earlier today.¡± Don¡¯t even think I¡¯m saying this for Sirius. I am only asking ¡°for his mercy¡± to feign servility in front of the king. ¡°An illusion, you say?¡± he questioned. Now that I think of it, maybe we should have charmed his majesty as well. Although, the damage would have been bigger if he reacted similarly to his son. ¡°Cut me some slack. I barely got enough power to keep up our telepathy and dozens of illusions for just one person,¡± Jeanne complained at my fleeting thoughts. ¡°Sorry! I simply have no concept of magic, because, you know, otherworlder...¡± ¡°Cut it out! Do you know how hard it is to keep my facade already, with just seeing my brother¡¯s disgruntled face?¡± Even through telepathic communication I felt Zenia¡¯s urge to let out a chuckle. I cleared my throat (mentally(?)) and turned my attention back to the king. ¡°Yes, I let all the guests appear in my image to him. It was quite a sight to behold, if I dare say so myself.¡± Internally, I talked in a British accent for some reason. ¡°Really? Could you show some proof of that? I think someone like you could prove to be a valuable asset ...¡± That last part he muttered to himself in a way that implied I was to accidentally overhear it. As I was about to answer, Zenia spoke up in my stead. ¡°I am afraid, that he can¡¯t,¡± Zenia said. ¡°And why is that?¡± The King questioned. ¡°Because he answers to me only,¡± Zenia replied. ¡°Zenia?¡± ¡°We forged a bonding contract, so that he can only use his magic on my command,¡± she explained. I was left wondering if I missed some form of telepathic message, because this was the first I heard about it. ¡°Without me giving an explicit order, he will not be able to cast a spell under any circumstances. But, if you so desire, I will allow him to show his power.¡± She reached her hand out to me, as if I were to take it, and then demanded: ¡°Show my father the powerful illusion you used to disconcert my brother.¡± I nodded, still in my kneeling position. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Show him Jeanne!¡± Zenia and I thought at the same time, simply hoping for everything to go well. I could not see behind me, but the king¡¯s shocked gasp told me Jeanne did the demand justice. ¡°And without even lifting a finger ...¡± the king muttered, as Sirius sunk deeper into his seat in exasperation. But, as if affected by a sudden epiphany the king almost snapped: ¡°Enough!¡± Though he managed to remain calm and composed until just a moment prior, his face was now angry red and, though still seated, his body was tense as if he was about to catapult himself away from here, or explode resisting this very urge. ¡°Indeed, you are proving yourself to be an incredibly valuable asset. But tell me why you had to forge a binding contract with my daughter.¡± Zenia scoffed. Her father seemed to realize the end goal behind our charade but still fought nail and tooth to have his daughter involved in the war. Zenia and Jeanne looked at me, expecting me to come up with some sort of excuse. ¡°See, I wasn¡¯t left much of a choice,¡± I began, as I picked my own brain for any reason why a seemingly powerful mage would forge a binding contract (whatever that was) with some lowly human (I assumed that was the sort of relationship expected for us). ¡°It was extortion,¡± I finally answered. Zenia¡¯s eyes went wide, and though I couldn¡¯t see Jeanne¡¯s face behind her mask I felt her cringe. ¡°I have to admit,¡± I continued, ¡°your daughter dealt me a hefty blow, that left me severely injured. I think she waited for her brother to leave, before approaching me again, threatening to cut my throat, before I could cast a healing spell, unless we would forge a contract. I must admit, both your children are very cunning. Though calling me an incubus was the most idiotic attempt at murder I¡¯ve ever witnessed.¡± Throughout my explanation Zenia¡¯s head took on various shades of red and now she desperately tried to hide her face from her father. Sirius¡® mouth stood agape, while his father was more apt at hiding his shock. After a few seconds of silence, during which I just looked at the royal family quizzically, the king started trembling all of a sudden. ¡°Oh boy, I hope that wasn¡¯t a mistake,¡± I thought to myself, and waited for his eventual reaction. A hearty laugh escaped his mouth and left everyone in shock. His majesty drew in the attention of the crowd, and I felt like someone from the string section just played a false note. I held my breath, as I waited for the laughter to subside, my heart rate accelerating. ¡°Very cunning children indeed,¡± he murmured as he looked fondly at his daughter. ¡°You are very serious about this, aren¡¯t you?¡± He asked. ¡°Yes father,¡± Zenia confirmed, smiling at her father as well. ¡°I¡¯ve known about your experiments for a while and figured they were one of the reasons you wouldn¡¯t allow me to join you at all. But I know the truth now, so don¡¯t be mistaken. I¡¯m not on your side.¡± Her smile faded in an instant. Her expression replaced with fierce determination. ¡°I¡¯m on the side of ending this war. And Jordan is there to make sure of it.¡± Saying that she stood up from her seat and walked towards me. She prompted me to stand up, telepathically. We hooked arms and made our way through the crowd. Zenia breathed heavily, as we left the room.
I tried figuring out a more pleasant way to tell this chapter of my story. I¡¯m almost out of paper... I guess I¡¯ll use the remaining space to quickly tie up some loose ends. I was appointed Royal Magician by the king, a position that seemed like it should have been taken by Jeanne. Zenia would still have to prove her combat skills in front of the so-called Overseeing General, who was highest of rank in the royal army. After that, she would be allowed to join the war with me by her side. And so I began living my life between castle grounds and battlefields. Truth is, there isn¡¯t really an end to it. I went from a punching bag in one world, to a useless tool in another. Ending this war would take us more than a decade. Through all the ups and downs. The deception you witnessed just now didn¡¯t even crack the surface of what Zenia had to go through to forge the life we are living right now. I struggle to put a pleasant end to this. I could make a metaphor about life with the way this ends. But we never know when it does. So, all I can do is ... write. As long as I breathe, I will be writing. Writing down my story. Our story.