Hellfire Conjourer: Summer 1

SUMMER 1

         So spending the summer at Ruse's house was a very new kind of experience for me/ His house had three bedrooms and two floors. It was bigger then the orphanage I was living at. I stayed in the bedroom next to his. It seemed very empty compared to his, which was full of magical devices, paintings, books and paper work from school.
         I didn't do much the first week of summer, I was too sad about not being able to see Fri, and about the whole freezing Spay in time thing. I also found myself needing sex. I know I didn't think i was that kind of person either, but I kept having dreams about Fri and I missed him. I wanted to hold him tightly among other things.
         I almost cried one night when I woke from a very sensual dream about Ruse. I went shopping with Ruse for food supplies and he promised to teach me to cook, and it wasn't going very well. I burnt the rice balls and didn't cook the meat long enough, it was a real disaster. And that pretty much sums up the first week of summer.
         Now I was bored and decided I was going to Visit the village of Tolsca. Yorkshire was a village where humans and demon half-breeds and lesser demons lived in harmony. It was built around  a giant waterfall, which amazed me when I first laid eyes on it and still did every time I saw it from my window. The town was built across a canyon, a giant natural stone bridge went from one side of the canyon to the other, where the village shops were.
         I stopped in the middle of the bridge to ogle the water fall, which was directly across from it. I could feel sprays of water on my face. I let out a breath and continued to my destination.
         Tolsca was a village in the forest founded by Sprigs and was also Spay's home village. It was secluded and very small, from Ruse's description. I wanted him to come with me, but he was busy doing some school papers or some crap like that.
         I had to admit that I was a little nervous, I wasn't sure how a village of Sprigs would react to a human like me. But I guess if they let Ruse visit so could I. Right? I was nervous because Spay's sister was there and I wasn't sure how she would react to what happened to her brother.
         Ruse told me she was aware of the circumstances from a letter he personally sent her. But I know how people can be when it comes to family. I remember Spay talked about her a lot. He was proud of her accomplishments, apparently she is some kind of White and Deva magic genius. She might even be a challenge for me. And I was no push over when it came to magic.
         Yorkshire was miles behind me now and the sun was beaming in my eyes.          I had asked an old woman for directions to the Village. She just told me to go straight and I would find it, but I was a little skeptical at first, mostly because she was laughing while she explained this to me.
         I had better not get lost or that old woman was going to have some serious problems when I found my way out. Although I had to admit I was enjoying the scenery. The lush green leaves and white wood trees was really refreshing. I listened to the soothing and at times, awkward sounds of the birds. I got lost in a symphony of bird calls and tipped and fell on my face. Or at least that's what I had thought at first.
         I struggled to get up and realized my legs were tied together. I simple spell and I cut the wire that was wrapped around my ankles. I stood up and examined my surroundings. I couldn't see anyone, but that didn't mean no one was there. I know how tricky demons could be, thanks to Spay.
         I closed my eyes and sensed for any signs of life. I could feel a heart beat, thumping at me in waves. I pinpointed the location and sent a stunning spell towards it. A figure leaped into the air and onto a tree before my spell could hit it. I stood face to face with him.
         A human looking monkey Sprig. He had a large round head and large ears. Hair covered his entire body, with the exception of his feet and hands. Only a small portion of his face had no hair so his human features could be seen. His eyes were large and brown and his teeth were slightly sharper then normal. He only stood about four feet tall, much shorter then I.
         "That was a close one." he giggled.
         I rolled my eyes. This is why I hate monkeys, they're so childish.
         "What the hell is up with tying my legs together?" I demanded, but the monkey didn't flinch.
         "I was just following orders. No one goes into the village Tolsca without my permission." he said lowering himself, using his tail as a rope.
         "Who the hell made you the boss?"
         I was really getting tired of this.
         "My father told me to keep watch and only let people in I know. You see my father is the Chief of the village."
         This was just great, why the hell didn't that old fart in the village tell about this policy. Maybe this is why she was laughing.
         "Listen, I am here to see Spay E'tat's sister." I said trying to reach this kid. I am assuming he was a kid, he sounds, acts and looks like one.
         "Oh, you know Spay?" I asked curiously.
         "Yea he was my best friend at school." I admitted. I was never going to admit that again! 
         "Oh you're the Lulo!" he busted out laughing.
         I clenched my fist and turned bright red. Did he write and tell everyone in the village about my personal life!
         "Ok you can come in." he said wiping tears from his eyes.
         Yeah, yeah, yeah...
         I marched forward and passed through what seemed like a wall of icy cold air. I lost my breath from the stabbing coldness and was suddenly looking at a young girl. She had lovely features and nice pink colored eyes. Her long pink hair flowed pass her waist. Her pink cat ears matched her long pink tail. She was shorter then me, but taller then the monkey boy.
         "Welcome. I'm Leona E'tat." she said and curtsied.
         I was taken aback, she looked nothing like her brother. She was really beautiful and didn't look like the rowdy magic master Spay made her out to be in his stories.
         "Uh, Hi I'm Auracle." I said and held out my hand. She grabbed it firmly and shook it.
         She let out a sigh. "Oh I'm glad you not the type that thinks a lady should be so frail." she said and her face changed from innocent to, something else.
         I was confused. "What?"
         "You held out your hand, most guys don't do that here. They think I should be refined and curtsy even though I could kick their asses."
         "Oh." I said still a little lost.
         She sighed and started walking toward the village I hadn't noticed. All the houses and shops were built into the trees, but these trees were huge. I mean HUGE. It was amazing and breath taking and I don't think I had ever seen anything so awesome.
         "Are you coming Lulo?" She asked.
         I placed my attention back to her and nodded. I followed her into the village. There were dozens of Sprigs about. They were all very diverse. I saw a group of bird Sprigs that had large feathers on their arms that hung to the floor. They had beaks but on a general human head with hair and pointy ears.
         Another group of foot high turtle like creatures I assumed were Kappa. They and all the assumed children Sprigs ran around a puddle, splashing and laughing. Leona led me to a large house carved into an even larger tree.
         The house must have had several rooms and at least three floors. It was white, like the tree bark and had curtains over the circular windows. The front entrance was actually double door.
         "This is my lovely home. E'tat manner. My father was very wealthy as one of the founders of the village. My mother was wealthy from birth and left us her inheritance when she died." she explained coolly.
         "I'm sorry." I said, giving her my condolences.
         "It's no problem. Both my parents died when I was still a baby, my brother probably remembers them better then I do."
         And now for the very subject I was trying to ignore.
         "I'm sorry about your brother." I said, the air went still.
         "I know. He'll be fine, it's not like he's dead or anything. I know you'll find a cure... or else."
         The or else part stabbed at me a little, you know how much I hate being threatened, but I decided that I would let it go since she had the right to be vindictive or whatever she was being.
         "Okay." I nodded.
         "Whatever. Why did you come here anyway? Not that I'm not glad to meet the person my brother wrote about so much."
         Wow, he wrote about me a lot! I guess it's not surprising since the monkey and his sister knew about the nickname he gave me.
         "So what did he say in his letters?"
         "Oh not much. You like boys, you like to make him explode and that you're some kind of magical genius."
         Oh how flattering.
         "That's sweet." I said sarcastically.
         "Yes, very." she said with just as much sarcasm. "Well, come on in and I'll make you some lunch with tea and we can talk. I hope you don't mind company my half-sisters joining us."
         "Not at all."

         The scent of steamed vegetables filled the kitchen and dinning room. Fresh bread and some deer meat slices were setup on the dinning table. I set up four plates and glasses ad poured some apple jade tea. It was actually pretty good and was thinking about taking some back to Ruse.
         "So who's your boyfriend." she asked frying something on the skillet.
         I nearly spat out my tea.
         "What?"
         "Don't you know anything? Your boyfriend. Who is it? I know you have one. I'm a priestess by law, and so I can see you are no longer pure."
         "What the hell does that mean?"
         She better not be hinting at what I think she's hinting at.
         "Come on I know you're not stupid, I can see it in your eyes. You're dangerous and I can tell. It's the same look I have only more ferocious."
         "Okay so I have a boyfriend so what?"
         She rolled her eyes. "You keep defending yourself but no one here is going to say anything about you being different. We don't care about that kind of stuff here."
         I was touched. A place where being who I am wasn't going to get me ostracized by the people.
         "Okay." I said giving in. "His name is Fri and he's an elf."
         "Wow! Bagged yourself an elf huh? That's rare, considering its basically a death sentence for a pure blood elf to, well, you know."
         "Yea I know."
         She kept her back turned to me while she cooked.
         "How is he?"
         "You better not mean what I think-"
         "Oh heavens no." she giggled "I mean, is he nice?"
         I sighed. That was a close one. I might have blown her up if she had meant something else.
         "He's really nice. Great smile, smart and handsome. Like most elves, except for the nice part."
         Yea, from what I've heard, most elves are stuck up to humans.
         "The works huh?" she said cheerfully.
         It was rather nice to be able to talk like this without fear of rejection. I also enjoyed bragging about how amazing Fri was.
         "Who's that." asked a dreary voice.
         I looked over and saw a tall girl dressed in a black vest with long sleeves. The vest was over a dark purple shirt and lead down to a black ruffled skirt with long fishnet stockings. She had large platform boots on that went up to her knee. Her long black hair ran straight down and covered half her face. She wore black eyeliner and black lipstick. Her eyes were dark purple.
         She had black gloves that had the fingers missing and long claw/nails like Spay. She had a black tail wit short fur and black ears much like a cats on top of her head.
         "Hi." I waved.
         "Hi." she said annoyed.
         Okay...
         "That's Auracle, Spay's friend." Leona said turing around to reveal she had been frying potatoes and eggs.
         "Just call me Aura." I added.
         "Just peachy." the girl in black said darkly.
         "Don't mind her, she's just cranky in the morning. Her name is Aral, she's my sister."
         "Half-sister. And I am always cranky, it matches the soul the gods gave me." she said glowering at me.
         Great, all I needed was a psycho cat person who would probably off herself at any moment.
         "I can hear that." she snapped.
         I was caught off guard with that one. So she's a mind reader too huh?
         "That's interesting." I said dryly. "I don't care if you can, I'm going to take it back."
         "Fine." she said.
         "Fine." I replied.
         "Fine!"
         "Fine!"
         "Okay, okay stop. We're all fine. Now where's Navee?"
         I was really not liking Aral and I knew she could hear my thoughts so I was being really annoying and calling her names and shouting in my head.
         Aral rolled her eyes and ignored me. "Navee will be down in a minute. She's fixing her roller board."
         I assume that Navee was the other sister.
         "You a genius." Aral whispered sarcastically.
         Okay! I am not liking her in my head.
         "Get used to it. Everybody else does."
         "Whatever."
         Leona served the food on to all the plates and Aral poured the tea and surprisingly she didn't attempt to pour any on me when she served me. I thanked her, but she just went on by.
         That girl needs some serious help. I tried to keep those kind of thoughts and thoughts about Fri from my mind, I really didn't need anyone seeing or hearing any of that.
         "I'm here!" shouted a small voice.
         It was a young girl in a simple white shirt and leggings. She was a little shorter then Leona and had a sense of tom-boyishness. Her hair was fair and brown and so were the cat ears on her head. Her tail was longer then Leona's and Aral's.
         "Hello." I said charmingly.
         "Hey!" she said happily, ‘Who's he?" she added to her sisters.
         "That is Aura, Spay's friend from school."
         "Oh, ha ha. The Lulo?" she said and started laughing.
         That was really getting annoying, but I was surprised that Aral remembered to call me Aura.
         "Okay that's enough, we can laugh at him later. Come eat."
         We all sat and ate quietly. It was a little uncomfortable at first, but Leona started talking about her school and before I knew it I was asking her to teach me White magic.
         You see Una School is primarily a black magic school. I know some white magic spells, like healing and light summoning, but it was no comparison to what Leona could teach me. So we agreed she would teach me white magic and I would teach her black magic.
         Soon Aral was off to work, I guess they all owned the village supply shop and took different shifts. Navee finished he plate first and asked Leona and I to go watch her on her roller board. Leona said ok so I was stuck doing that.
         The roller board was a weird contraction that was a board connected to four wheels, two in front and two in back so that the board could balance. A person stood on it and pushed with their foot to gain speed and balanced on it for transportation.
         But Navee had discovered a new means of usage. She could perform tricks with it apparently and wanted to show us the different moves she made up. So we followed Navee out to a part of the village what was flat with some huge tree roots that weaved in and out of the ground. Villagers apparently used them as benches during their lunch breaks.
         "Okay, are you watching?" Navee asked standing on her board.
         "Yea." Leona replied.
         We watched silently. Navee took off on a short down hill slant and speedily moved towards a tree root. It looked like she was going to run into it. I started to scream watch out, but Leona was one step ahead and told me to hush. Navee somehow leaped into the air with her board and landed on the root and rode down the root to the ground and swerved around and went towars the same root. This time she leaped into the air, flipped her board a few times before landing safely on the other side of the root.
         It was quite fantastic to watch. We watched her do the same thing a few more times. When she was finished Leona praised her on how much better she has gotten since she first started "Boarding" as she called it.
         "So what did you think?" she asked me with a sweaty brow.
         "It was fantastic. I've never seen anything like it."
         "That's good since I'm the first one to do it." she smiled.
         "Let's stop by the shop, then we can go to a clearing and start those magic lessons." Leona smiled.
         I guess I'm not going to get to relax at all this summer.

         The store wasn't very busy, but I guess a small village is never really busy anyway. It was a small place with shelves of magical supplies and food, mainly vegetables and fruit that were prominent in the forest they lived in. Aral was behind the cashiers deck, looking even more depressed then this morning. I guess she hates her job.
         "You got that right." she replied to my thoughts.
         I gave her a smile, and I almost swear I saw he smile back, but It may have been a trick of the light.
         "I need some Miranda's mix and mandrake coral for the spell I'm going to teach him." Leona said, handing over some gold pieces.
         "You know where its at." Aral said with annoyance.
         Leona went and pulled some small glass bottles of the shelves.
         "Do you need anything for what you're going to teach me?"
         I thought it over. I didn't know what spell I was going to teach, but I guess a basic fire ball would be best.
         "Maybe some fire leaves, if you have any." I replied.
         "Well pay up." Aral said dryly.
         I pulled out my wallet and gave her six silver pieces, kind of expensive for fire leaves.
         Anyway fire leaves are used to channel fire elementals a little bit easier so that its easier to perform the spell. Someone like me, a self proclaimed master of magic, could cast the spell by simply saying the name of the spell.
         I looked over the shelves and found the bottle marked as fire leaves. They were in poor shape, hardly dry and crisp, still kind of fresh and lively. I gave the bottle a pathetic look.
         "If you don't like our merchandise you can leave." Aral snapped.
         "Geez, just calm the hell down." I replied.
         I was glad to leave the store. I followed Leona to a clearing, much like the one I used to practice at the school.
         "Come here and sit." she instructed.
         Navee sat behind me and watched with wide open eyes. Leona pulle dout a small clay bowl and stone masher. She grounded up the mandrake coral and poured in the Miranda's mix into it slowly.
         It smelled like honey.
         She made a type of crimson paste and breathed on it releasing some kind of enchantment on it. The paste bubbled and slowly it grew and took the form of a rose. While the rose buds stayed red, the stem solidified and turned green. It smelled like a rose, and looked like a rose, but I wasn't so sure.
         "What is that?"
         She looked at me, "It's a conduit so you can channel the white magics easier. Same thing as the fire leaves you picked up."
         I was shocked. So I guess she is like me when it comes to magic.
         "Most people form rods. I like to make roses, they're prettier." she futher explained.
         Okay? I nodded, letting her know I understood.
         "Just grab it and start channeling the energy radiating off of it."
         I did as she instructed. The energy felt cool and refreshing as it swarmed inside my arm all the way into my stomach. I closed my eyes to better acquaint myself with the energy.
         I imagined white glowing smoke, flowing from around the rose, spreading to my arm and then all around me. I was surrounded by the white aura, which made my hair stand up.
         "Cool." was all I could say.
         I felt Leona smile with amusement.
         "You are adapting to it very quickly. Faster then I did." she said with a hint of envy.
         "Really? So now what?" I asked, intrigued.
         "Now you channel that energy into your fist. It's okay to set the rose down now. When the energy is in your fist open your hand wide and place it on the ground in front of you."
         I listened and did as she said. The aura of white energy flowed easily into my fisted hand and formed a bright ball of light. Mind you I don't know if this is what it really looked like, it's what I saw in my head while my eyes were shut. The ball of light grew warm. I opened my hand wide and firmly placed my palm on the ground.
         I opened my eyes and saw a pulse of white light travel in an arc from me to about ten feet away. Suddenly little vines sprouted from the ground and they soon grew into fully bloomed flowers.
         I was awed and my mouth hung open.
         "It's rude to leave your mouth open like that." she said, "And congrats on using your first resurrection spell."
         My first resurrection spell, I repeated.

         Before leaving the village I had time to show Leona how to use the fireball spell, but she was only able to make a spark, which was good for her first try. She was to practice until the next time I came over, which I wasn't sure when. You see Ruse's birthday was coming up and I needed to find out what I was going to get him for his birthday. Also Fri's birthday was a few weeks away and I needed to get him something I could send him.
         When I got back to Ruse's place, he was sitting by the fireplace reading a book about something really boring to someone my age. He looked up and I noticed he was wearing glasses.
         "Since when do you wear glasses?" I asked cynically.
         "Since always." he chimed. "Only when I read." he added with a smile.
         "Oh okay." I jibed.
         Apparently he was waiting for me before he started dinner because he wanted me to help him cook as part of my training. So I chopped up some vegetables and sliced up some meat and we were eating stir fry in no time. It did taste a little too done and the vegetables were a little hard, but I was a step up from my first meal.
         Ruse complimented me on how he could actually swallow it this time. I gave an awkward laugh, because it was true. I was exhausted from the day and retired early, or earlier then usual.
         I had another unsettling dream about Ruse, only this time he seduced me and I woke up, yearning for Fri's body.
         Oh my god! When I see Fri..., I shuttered at the thoughts I had.
         The next morning I woke early and went to the village shops to see if I could find anything for Ruse's birthday present. I didn't have much money, but I could think of a few ways to earn money. I was skilled in alchemy and transmogrification magic. Well I was skilled in most magics, not including white magic. I would just fix a few things around the village and make a few potions from ingredients in the forest.
         In the third shop I visited I found a really nice pen with was made from white wood by a dwarf. Do you know how good their crafts are? They make the best anything, well mainly the best weaponry. The pin had dwarvish symbols carved into it. The shop owner said they meant "Life, Health and Peace."
         The pen cost twenty gold pieces, which was way more then I had. I knew the pen wouldn't last long there so I had to work fast. I asked him to try to hold onto for me and I would be back later to pick it up. He said he would hold it as long as he didn't get an offer higher then twenty gold pieces.
         I ran into the forest where I remember seeing herbs and plants from my "Everything Alchemical" school book. There was some Spy Root and Pixie Tongue. I know the names of some plants are very weird. The good thing was Pixie tongue was rare to find in full bloom, because they only bloomed for five seconds a day and only lived for three days.
         I was just lucky enough to find one just as it opened. I almost screamed with anticipation. I pulled a small bottle out of my enchanted bag, you know the one I kept the water balloons in. It was the bottle that had the fire leaves in it before I used them yesterday. I place the root in the jar. I could probably make five gold pieces alone with the root, but I had bigger plans for it.
         I just needed to find a few more ingredients and I could make a powerful luck potion that would sell for at least fifteen gold pieces. I still needed dragonsnap, which I knew who to ask for to find and some coconut.
         I quickly made my way to Ruse's house and found him sleeping on the sofa by the fireplace. He looked so peaceful I hated to wake him, but I had to.
         "Old man, get up it's too early to be asleep." I said sardonically.
         Ruse's eyes snapped opened and he leaned close to me as if he was going to kiss me. I pulled away just in time. I fell on my ass and was staring at him like he was out of his mind.
         "I'm, I'm sorry I was dreaming." he said panicky.
         "It's, no problem." I replied hesitantly. "Must've been some dream, huh?" I said jokingly.
         "I guess you could say that." he replied vaguely.
         With this uncomfortable situation out of the way it was time to get to business.
         "Were can I find the nearest dragonsnap?"
         He gave me a surprised look.
         "That's random." he smiled. "I think you can find some about a mile east by a river. Be careful though, I believe there is a family of demon fish somewhere around here."
         Oh really, sounds interesting.
         "Cool, Sounds fun."
         "I doubt they'd be a challenge for you." Ruse added before going back to sleep.
         No duh. Demon fish are weaker then lesser demons. So I traveled east from the village like Ruse said until I heard the crackling of a river. I passed through a small patch of bushes and fell on the river side.
         I looked up and stared directly into a drangonsnap flower.
         Lucky!
         I plucked a few of them and decided it would feel good to rest my feet in the river water and see if I could catch some fish. I took off my shoes and rolled up my leggings and plunged my feet up to my ankles into the water. It was chilly, but it felt good and refreshing.
         I walked around and bit a splashed some water on my face.
         That woke me up!
         I got bored fast and got out of the water to dry off my legs. When I felt the blood lust only a demon could give off. It was coming from down stream and moving fast.
         "So I guess there really were demon fish." I said to myself.
         I readied my hands for attack spells and chanted a barrier in front of me. I could see splashing water moving towards me like an arrow. WhBomb atever was moving that fast hit the barrier I summoned and bounced off of it into a tree.
         It was a demon fish, although not what I expected a demon fish to look like. It had the body of a giant flounder, the size of a horse and the arms and legs of a man. I almost started laughing my ass of right then, but what was even more hilarious, was the way it spoke.
         It's mouth moved like a fish gasping for air, although it didn't seemed to be bothered by the lack of H2O. As it's mouth flapped, a human speaking voice echoed from its mouth. It occasionally gurgled and slurped as it spoke.
         "Who dares tress pass on my territory?" it demanded.
         I rolled my eyes. "I am Aura-"
         "Who dares to tress..." he repeated the same thing over again. But I was pissed, this thing interrupted my monolog and it was going to pay dearly.
         "Explosion!" I chanted and sent the thing flying into the air.
         It flopped sideways as it came crashing down, but before it could hit the ground and sent another spell at it.
         "Bomb Ruke." the blast of concentrated air sent the fish flying all the way back down the river never to be seen again, or so I thought. I went back to my business trying to find the ingredients to make money for Ruse's present.
         

         Night had fallen and the Demon fish Dru'carp had just woken up from his frightening experience with a demon boy he met on the river. It ruthlessly attacked him and sent him flying on his back. Dru'carp's arm was broken and would need some serious magic to heal. With an evil gleam in his eye, Dru'carp was swimming as fast as he could manage with a broken arm to the ocean.
         It would take a few days to get where he was going and even longer to convince he fellow demon kin to attack the village the boy came from. But he knew he could do it, out of all his demon kin, he could guile people with his words the easiest.
         "I'll get you demon boy." he gurgled as he swan at unmatched speed. "You can count on it." he laughed as he swam into an unnoticed rock in the river. It would take him a little bit longer then he expected to exact his revenge.

         I managed to make the potion and sell it to the old geezer for twenty coins. He really wanted the potion, which had slaved over in secrecy for seven hours. When Ruse woke up I convinced him to sleep longer and that I was making dinner.
         So as it brewed I went back to the river and caught some normal fish and quickly made them as Ruse woke for the second time. I bottle the potion and rushed to the store to sell it.
         I got the pen and even had it gift wrapped. I hid it in my enchanted bag and made it home in time to eat with Ruse. I asked me about my day and I brushed off the details and told him I killed a demon fish. He just smiled and looked at his plate nervously until I assured him I wasn't feeding him demon fish fillet.
         We laughed and spoke about what was happening next year at school. I learned we were getting a new swords master and that I was not to curse this one into the insane asylum. I gave him a jittery smile.
         There was also a dance next year to celebrate the seventieth birthday of Porion. I was glad to hear that it was going to be a masquerade, but I was sad to think that me and Fri couldn't dance together. I didn't even know how to dance. I wonder if Fri would teach me, or if he knew how to? Of course he did, he was the kind of person that could dance well.
         I received a letter from Sarah. It was sent in fine black paper and silver ink. It was quite fabulous. She really wanted me to visit her, she felt lonely and wanted someone to talk to.
         I guess she wasn't real close to her family.
         It was quite a ways away, but I wanted to go. Ruse said it would take three days to get there on carriage and it was decided I would leave this weekend. So I really needed to find a gift for Fri and send it before I left. And check up on Leona and her sisters.
         I had a lot to do and I felt a little stressed. I guess I really wasn't going to get a lot of rest this summer.

         The next day was Ruse's Birthday, the fourth day of Midsummer. I had another dream, this time about Fri. It was the first time we ever had sex and I had dreamt it like it just happened. I woke with a smiled and spring in my step.
         "Why are you so chipper?" Ruse asked.
         "No reason. Here." I wavered a little.
         I wasn't used to giving people extravagant presents.
         Ruse slowly opened the untied the bow and took the top off the box. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped.
         "How did you afford this?" he asked amazed.
         Yes I know, I am amazing.
         "I did a few things around the village, nothing vile if that's what you're getting at." I said with a chuckle.
         "Oh." he said playfully. "I love and I promise to give you nothing but good grade with it."
         I felt a slight tinge at my heart. Like all I wanted to do was hug him to death.
         "Well, I have to go now. Going to meet with Leona, Spay's sister, and see how she's doing. I'll be back to make you a cake." I said, but I think I heard him sigh in fear.
         I guess because I never made a cake before. And the first time I ever cooked he almost went into a come. I would be saying this with a smile if it
wasn't true, you know.
         I made my way to the entrance of Tolsca and waited for the monkey boy to try and tie my legs. When he did I sent the net up in flames and bound the boy before he could dodge the spell.
         "Wow you're fast for a human." he giggle and pointed me towards the cold spot where I would be transported to Tolsca.
         I stepped through the cold spot and found an empty town waiting for me. I called out, but no one was there. I did spot a kappa swimming in a pond in the center of town.
         "Hello little fella." I squated.
         "Quack." it replied.
         I gave it a confused look.
         "You don't speak my language do you?"
         The kappa nodded and quacked a few times.
         "BUt you understand me?" I asked.
         It nodded "yes" and swam in a circle. It was so cute in a very annoying way. Kappas always intrigued me. They had indestructible shells, yet they were also very weak. Although I heard you should never get them angry. I wasn't sure why.
         "Can you tell me where everyone is?"
         The kappa nodded and pointed to a small shop. It was Leona and her sisters shop. And from what I could see in the distance, it was crammed full of villagers.
         "Thank you." I said and ran off. I heard the little thing quack in reply.
         When I got to the store I could hear Aral freaking out and screaming. I guess all the thinking villagers in one spot made her telepathic head hurt. I smiled I a little, until she got so pissed she punched and knocked down the entire side of the shop.
         Remind me to stay on her good side, or whatever side she had that wasn't the wall destroying side.
         "You!" she snapped and pointed to me. "Fill in for me. I cant do this."          
         With that she took her leave and marched away. I was confused and everyone looked at me and started asking millions of questions at once. It was too much and I was going to end up blowing up a village full of Springs.
         "We'll help who's next." said Leona.
         I don't know where she came from, but im glad she did. She had Navee with her. Navee signaled me over, so I dashed.
         "I'm going to explain to you how the register works so you can start calling customers over to the other cash register."
         "Um, okay." I said dumbfounded.
         I did not expect this.
         She showed me how to use the register and it was fairly simple. Customer after customer arrived and made orders and purchases. I didn't know where all the stuff they were getting came from. The shop didn't look big enough to carry so much stuff. Also , I had no idea there were so many villagers. I wasn't sure how much time passed. Navee and I switched jobs occasionally.
         She would run the register and I would fetch items. It took me longer because I had no idea where anything was at. So customers often got upset with me and called me names, which almost got them a fireball where the sun doesn't shine.
         Navee had to keep reminding me "the customer is never wrong" and crap like that to keep me form acting on my violent impulses. When there seemed to be less customers I fix the wall Aral broke with a repair spell. I was sweating like Slime Half in salt water. (Salt dissolves them)
         By time we were done most of the shelves were empty.
         "That was stressful." I sighed.
         "No that was just a Midsummer sale." Aral said dryly.
         It was then I noticed a familiar looking cat sitting on her shoulder. It meowed and jumped into my arms.
         "Hi Franky!" I said and rubbed his ear.
         I was to shocked to actually think. I hadn't really seen much of him since after I turned him into the Lady of the Forest's servent. Ruse had told me he sent him to Porion to determine if he was still a threat. Iguess his appearance here meant he was safe. Or he ate Porion and tracked me here.
         I laughed nervously and threw the cat down.
         "Relax. That man Porion sent him to us. He said it was ironic or something." Aral said annoyed.
         I think she's taken a liking to Franky.
         "Whatever!" she replied to my thoughts and stormed out, with Franky in her arms I might add.
         "Yea I guess Porion thinks we should care for him. I don't mind, he's kind of cute." Leona said from behind the other register.
         "That's um, kind of weird. Being that he's the reason I got your brother frozen in time by the goddess." I said, making the air awkward.
         "I can sense a strong air of magic about him." Leona said. "Franky, he's got the power of a goddess flowing inside him."
         I thought about it. He'll come in handy in a pinch, and think he's still in love with me.
         "How far have you gotten on the spell. I haven't had time to cast the resurrection spell you taught me. Although I doubt it's strong enough to bring the recently deceased back to life yet."
         She smiled. "I cast it successfully last night. I'll show you at the clearing. Come on I have to close shop anyway."
         I waited outside with Navee while Leona closed the shop. She exited with a small bag of coins.
         "This is your earnings for today's work. We made a fortune with you help." she said and handed me the bag.
         "How much?" I asked, stunned by the gesture.
         She thought for a moment. "About forty gold pieces." she said casually.
         "Wow! Thanks!" I snapped in excitement.
         "That's a lot of money to you?" Navee asked.
         "Come Navee, not all people are rich like us." Leona said snobbishly. I could tell she did it on purpose to mess with me, but im not sure Navee got the joke.
         I was happy, I could now buy a great gift for Fri. I jumped and skipped merrily on our way to the clearing.
         When we got there she cast the spell immediately and sent a tree up in flames and turned it into ashes soon after.
         Wow!
         "You learned fast, and without a conduit too. That's amazing!"
         "I know I'm amazing." she said boastfully and gave out a laugh the echoe d in the forest.
         Someone's got an ego.
         We sat down and talked some more there and I tried to teach Leona a water summoning spell. It wasn't going to well. And as I tried to show her what to do, I realized the sun was setting and freaked.
         "I need to get home!" I shouted and took off without explanation.
         "Bye?" Leona and Navee shouted as I left them in the dust.
         I trampled through the forest, it was almost night fall and I kept tripping over tree roots and hitting branches. I was getting pissed. I made it back to Yorkshire when the sun was just above the horizon. I ran across the stone bridge and almost broke down the door of Ruse's house.
         I ran into the living room, and I heard someone sighing. I was ready to yell a thousand apologies a minute. But I realized something was off. In fact there was a lot off. I saw Ruse's bare naked ass and he lay on top of a young woman. He was sighing and she was moaning.
         I blushed and quickly hid behind a wall. I could help but feel a slight hurt in my heart. And a slight throb in my pants. I quietly  snuck upstairs into my room. I sat there, stunned at what I saw.
         Everything was blank, all I could see was Ruse's body in my head and his face. And the noises he was making.
         I felt tears run from my eyes. I laid down and fell asleep. I woke an hour later by Ruse knocking on my door.
         "Come in." I said, over my unreasonable emotions.
         Ruse opened the door slowly.
         "I didn't hear you come in." he said.
         "I bet you didn't" I said tantalizingly.
         Ruse blushed hard and knew exactly what I meant.
         "You saw that?" he asked awkwardly.
         "and heard it." I added.
         "I'm sorry. It is my birthday after all and she was kind of my present from Porion."
         That did NOT make me feel any better. I didn't say anything.
         "You aren't upset with me are you?"
         "Why would I be." I snapped.
         "No reason. it's just you seem a little, odd."
         "I'm an odd person." I replied.
         He gave me a sad look. Why does he feel bad, he's the one that slept with some woman of the night and probably got some kind of disease.
         "Nice ass." I said sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood.
         He gave me a smile. "That's more like it." he added.

         I went back to sleep after that. I dreamed that Fri was sleeping with a woman. He face, it was horrible, because he was enjoying it. I woke up sweaty and hyperventilating.
         I went shopping that morning for Fri's present. I was leaving for Sarah's house tomorrow on a rented carriage Ruse got for me. The carriage arrived tomorrow morning and rode the fastest and safest way to Sarah's city, Ithika. I picked out a necklace that was made of silver. The pendant on the necklace was a star with the elfish words for friend on it.
         It was perfect. I had it wrapped and boxed and sent from the store to Fri's village. It would take a week and a half to get there, which was just enough time.
         I walked around the village the rest of the day in a daze. I didn't want to return to Ruse, it felt very awkward now. I didn't know why I was feeling these things for him. I was starting to fear that I liked him. I don't know how I could handle that.
         I loved Fri, but Ruse was always there for me and, even if I did like him I'm with Fri now and he was with a girl. Although Fri said he slept with lots of girls before. What if he was doing the same thing now to keep his family off his case.
         I kicked the dirt in frustration. Then a tiredness hit me like a ton of bricks. I stumbled. I was so tired I fell to my knees. Blackness begun creeping around my sight. The next thing I knew I was face down in the dirt.
         I had a dream. It was vivid. Ruse was holding me and laid me down on the ground. We were alone and he started to unbutton my shirt. I kissed him and slipped my tongue into his mouth. I ripped off his short and unlaced his leggings.
         I laid on top him, out lips meeting and our manhood touching. I sighed in pleasure. This was more vivid then any dream before. Ruse grabbed my ass and squeezed.          
         I sighed again. I let him take me. He was bigger and more experienced then Fri and it felt good to well, you know.
         I woke with a shock and let out a scream. I was panting.
         "What's wrong?" Ruse asked.
         I sighed and looked over, he was nake din bed with me. I screamed and I felt my circlet that Fri gave me throb. I guess it absorbed a lot of energy.
         I ran out of bed and grabbed my leggings. I put them on as I stumbled into the hallway.
         "Wait, Aura." Ruse screamed as he followed me, still naked.
         "Leave me alone. You tricked me!" I snapped. All the doors in the house slammed open and shut. I could hear birds and animals going crazy and villagers screaming.
         Apparently the circlet could only absorb so much.
         "Tricked you? You came onto me!" he yelled.
         "You should have stopped me! I was delirious." I replied.
         I wasn't going to hear reason anyway. I just wanted to get out. So I packed my bags and locked Ruse outside my room. When I exited he was waiting for me to talk.
         "Go away." I snapped.
         He still tried to stop me, but I threw him back using the power I hardly ever used anymore, my mind.
         "Stop, please." he said as I reached for the door.
         I froze and set my bag down. I turned to face him.
         "Listen Ruse. I have to go for a little while. I'll be back. I just have to think this over. I'm, I cant be with you I have someone." I said and left the house.
         I wouldn't have been so upset of I hadn't like what we did so much. It was better then Fri, but not as meaningful. I was a mess of confusion and damned be anyone who angered me now. I got to the carriage station and waited for the carriage. When it arrived I gladly got on and rode away from this confusing place.
         With my sights set on the future. I didn't want to think about what happened, not yet anyway.