Sorcery, Schemes and Skelt: The Kinowenn Chronicles Vol II Read online

  Chapter 3

  Lucy enjoyed supper and went to her room afterwards to read. Normally, she would have gone to the room they usually studied in. However, she knew Maya was shopping and Gavin was trying to make plans with a pretty girl Lucy hadn’t met. She didn’t want to be in the room alone. Since she wasn’t sure if being there with Justin would be better or worse than being there alone, she chose to study in her room. No awkwardness there. She did have a lot of reading to do. She wasn’t intentionally avoiding Justin. If she wanted to do that, she would have gone shopping with Maya.

  Lucy decided to read about people and places of Kinowenn first. She was going to read her assignments chronologically according to her Schedule, but then she would be reading a lot of violence right after eating which seemed counter-productive. People and places were safe. She finished reading that and went on to battle magic tactics. They were fascinating. The author did in fact have a sense of humor. She was on the last page of her assignment when there was a knock on her door.

  “Come in,” she said without looking up.

  Justin entered on quiet feet. He tended not to make a lot of noise. Lucy wondered if that was a natural or learned trait. Gavin was only quiet when circumstances dictated. Otherwise, he tramped around.

  “Last paragraph,” Lucy said and went on reading. She wanted to finish the assignment, but she didn’t want Justin to think she was ignoring him.

  Justin nodded, even though she wasn’t looking at him and ran his fingers through his reddish hair. He quietly sat down on the foot of her bed, leaning his back against the wall. When Lucy finished reading, she closed her book, looked up at him, and smiled.

  “Hello,” she said shyly.

  “You weren’t in the study room,” commented Justin.

  “I had a ton of reading to do.” Lucy tried to make it sound truthful, which it was, as opposed to evasive, even though it was that too.

  “How’s it coming?”

  “I’m about half done,” Lucy replied. “I hope I don’t have to fight an epic battle before finishing the class or I’m sure to do something the author considers stupid. He covers a lot of what not to do. I hope he covers some to-dos as well. Sadly enough, even after taking the class, the odds are good that I’ll do something foolish.”

  “The value of education,” smirked Justin.

  “I’m starting to feel like most of the stuff taught here is useful information, but no match for experience. I think I would need to be in many battles before I figure out the best way to use my skills to help. I’m not sure I want to be in that many battles.”

  Justin nodded in understanding and agreement. “Well, if you are half done, that means you have time to go on a ride with me.”

  “Not necessarily,” replied Lucy.

  “Sure, you can do the other half of your reading tomorrow.”

  A ride sounded fun. Lucy hated putting off homework though. She liked to get everything done and then enjoy her well-earned free time. Besides, she wasn’t avoiding Justin, but that didn’t mean she wanted to sit down and talk to him seriously about anything. She had a feeling that her grace period of ignoring that rather fantastic kiss was about up.

  “Let’s put it this way,” started Justin, “I’d like to go for a ride and I’d like to spend time with you. I can tell you which of those activities is my top priority. So, if you prefer, we can stay here...alone...on your bed...ok, I think we should stay here.” Justin grinned at her and winked.

  Lucy glared at him before reaching for her boots and pulling them on. Justin sighed in a forlorn way. Lucy knew he was mostly teasing, but she also knew he was partly serious. She wasn’t sure if that scared or excited her. They went to the stables and Lucy greeted Ash, who was happy to see her. They set a leisurely pace, following the trails in the woods. They didn’t say anything for a while. Finally, Justin ran his fingers through his hair and broke the silence.

  “So, are we going to talk about this at all? Are you going to pretend it didn’t happen? Should I take this as a form of rejection? You need to give me something to work with besides shy, nervous silence,” Justin said with a smile though he ran his fingers through his hair again.

  “Well, I feel shy and nervous so you’re stuck there.” Lucy sighed and started again, “Honestly? I’m still trying to work out how I feel and think, much less what I want to say.”

  “It seems fairly simple to me. I like you. I think you like me. What’s the problem?”

  “It’s way more complicated than that. How does dating work around here? Is there a coffee shop where we sit across the table from each other and stare into each other’s eyes while our coffee cools and the other costumers lose their appetites? At the same time, the way I feel about you is way past casual dating. So, what’s the next step? We’re too close and involved to be casual, but I’m not sure I’m ready to be serious.”

  “First of all, I think there was an ‘I like you, too’ implied somewhere. That’s good. Secondly, I don’t like coffee and neither do you. Thirdly, why do we have to define anything at all? Serious. Casual. As long as we’re happy who cares?”

  “But we work together. Sort of. You shouldn’t date people you work with. What about Gavin and Maya? Won’t things be weird?”

  “Lucy, I think I should point out most of the school, including Maya and Gavin, think we are sleeping together. The idea of us dating would not be surprising to anyone. You can talk to Maya about it all if you want to. I don’t know what this has to do with working together.”

  “How can it not affect working together? Dating always changes things.”

  “Everything changes things. At this point, pretending we don’t have feelings for each other will change things too. Why worry about that right now? We’re going to be at school for a while. Isn’t now a better time to try something, where we have space if things become awkward, rather than sleeping in the same tent pretending that we don’t have feelings for each other?”

  Lucy shrugged.

  Justin sighed, “Lucy, I’m not asking you to marry me… yet,” he winked. “I’m asking you to hold hands while we walk to class together. I’m not asking you to yell down the halls that you have a boyfriend, but I’d like to cuddle up with you on a sofa in the study room when we read our homework. I’m not asking to go back to your room and have sex, though I’m interested if you’re offering,” he added with another wink, “but I’d like the occasional good night kiss.”

  “I think I can work within those parameters,” replied Lucy with a smile. Despite her misgivings, it did feel good to talk about it a little. It also felt good to know that Justin seemed serious, but was not going to push her.

  They rode in comfortable silence for a while. Finally, after much thought, Lucy said, “It sometimes all feels weird. We went on a quest and we’ve been through so much together. I’ve killed people and I’m not sure how to deal with that. We sort of even saved the day, just like people do in books. My story even ended with a beautiful kiss from a fantastic guy. I’m not sure what to do now. What happens after the kiss? What do the heroes do the next day? Do they go back to normalcy? What is that exactly, anyway? How do you go back to doing the same things when you feel so different? I’m at a bit of a loss.”

  Justin laughed, “I guess we’ll have to do the next part without instructions. It should make for an amusing adventure.”

  “Adventure? It’s going to make for an amusing tomorrow!” She laughed as well. “It does help that I feel safe here,” added Lucy as an afterthought.

  “I’m glad you feel safe here. Safe is always a good place to start with coping. I think from now on, you will always be in a state of emotional flux. Being who you are will put you in situations requiring you to act in ways that will change who you are and your perceptions of things. With your power, choosing not to act will have almost as many consequences as acting. You will not be able to make continual visits to Kinowenn and maintain perpetual neutrality. I’d get used to feeling different if I were you,” J
ustin smiled.

  Lucy smiled back. The sentiment may not be entirely comforting, but it was honest.

  They reached the stables, unsaddled the horses, brushed them down, and went back to the school. They held hands as they walked down the halls. Lucy liked that. When they reached her door, Lucy opened it and walked in. She politely asked the moonstones to light and they did. Moonstones were another part of the school that she adjusted to automatically. Justin waited in the doorway with an eyebrow raised.

  “Aren’t you coming in?” asked Lucy confused.

  “Are you inviting me in?” asked Justin looking very confused himself.

  Lucy laughed, “You left your stuff here when we decided to go for a ride. Remember?” she pointed to his bag, lying on the floor next to her bed.

  Justin laughed and walked in to grab it.

  “This was the kind of thing I was worried about,” said Lucy. “I don’t want things to be awkward every time you are in my room.”

  Justin laughed again and ran his fingers through his hair. “There have been plenty of awkward moments in both of our rooms. Your obliviousness does not negate their existence.”

  Lucy thought about that for a moment remembering the many times one or the other of them had not been, what one would consider, properly clothed. Justin showing up shirtless when she had been attacked. Justin waking her up every now and then while she was still in skimpy pajamas. Justin answering his door shirtless again when she knocked. Then, there was that whole horse jumping, naked in the bathtub incident.

  “You have a point,” Lucy acknowledged. “But none of that felt awkward at the time. It always felt right that you were there.”

  “We will simply have to make out all over the school until that feels right too. It will take time and effort. I’m willing to commit to that. Maybe we should get started now.”

  Lucy laughed and pushed him out the door.

  “Goodnight Justin.”

  “Goodnight.”

  Chapter 4

  The next day was less awkward than Lucy expected. She fretted over her appearance and then decided that Justin could deal with however she looked. He claimed to like her for who she was. Well, who she was included leggings, a blue tunic, braided hair, and no make-up. Besides, if she dressed up, people would notice. Worse still, Justin would notice, guess it was on his account, and be amused. See, thought Lucy, this is complicated. But it really wasn’t.

  Breakfast was normal. Gavin worked his way through more sausage than any one man should eat in a week and didn’t notice, or didn’t care, when Justin kissed Lucy good morning on the cheek. Maya winked at Lucy and then went on to talk about all the clothes she bought last night and what she found that Lucy would like and should get. When Gavin finished his mountain of scrambled eggs, the sequel to the sausage, he was more concerned with discussing the upcoming school archery tournament. He teased Lucy about entering. Anyone who had seen Lucy with a bow and arrows, knew she had no business being anywhere near them, much less entering a tournament. Gavin liked tournaments and challenges of any kind. If he won, he knew his training was where it should be. If he lost, he knew he had to work harder.

  Justin didn’t like tournaments. He thought they were a good way to call attention to yourself and put a target on your back. It was better for survival in general to keep your abilities under wraps. It was always interesting to see how different people viewed different situations. Obviously, Gavin saw a target on the back as more of a badge of honor. He was willing to earn the target, and maintain the challenges and respect that went with it. Lucy agreed with Justin on this one. She would rather avoid the fanfare, the recognition, and the target. Her general personality lent itself towards survival.

  Walking to class holding hands was pleasant too. Lucy had Orin right away in the morning. Weapons and a workout. She couldn’t deny the need to stay in shape and improve her skills and reflexes. However, that was where the awkward moments happened. She still had her weapons class with Chloe, Philip, Grant, and Darren (among others). Chloe and Grant were pleasant enough, but Darren wasn’t too pleased.

  “I can’t claim to be surprised, but I don’t have to like it,” declared Darren with a frown.

  “No, you don’t have to like it. Does that mean we can’t be friends?”

  “We never were friends. I liked you and you didn’t notice. That’s not a friendship. I was willing to be patient and keep trying, but if you’ve made a choice, there’s no point.”

  That hurt, but Lucy didn’t have a chance to respond for Orin had them running. Besides, Darren did have a point. She had hurt his feelings even if she didn’t mean to. She would never feel that way about him and it would only make things awkward if he only felt that way about her. On the up side, at least she no longer had to worry about giving him the wrong impression about anything.

  Today, Orin decided that hurdle training was vital to their existence. You never knew when you were suddenly going to have to jump over something. Lucy couldn’t argue with the logic, but that didn’t mean she was going to enjoy it. Hurdles were tiring. Then, they did some hand to hand sparing. Darren and Lucy were not partners. The front of Lucy’s thighs ached by the end of class. On a positive note her sparring partner had not laid a hit on her. She was improving and Justin wouldn’t have to do any healing. That thought boosted her confidence.

  Lunch was normal. Horsemanship was normal. Lucy and Ash had a lovely conversation as always. Every time Lucy had a conversation with Ash, she remembered that she needed to visit the creature infirmary and try to talk to other animals as well. In between conversations with Ash, she got too busy. Supper was normal. After supper, they went to the study room. Lucy sat on the couch and pulled out her book on bones and blood. Justin sat next to her reading his battle magic assignment. Maya sat in a chair with a book while Gavin did coin exercises to improve his dexterity. Gavin preferred classes that were more physically demanding and less heavy on the reading load. Later, Lucy and Justin left together, but that was normal too. Lucy began to wonder what she had been worrying about. Then, they reached her door. She was suddenly very aware of Justin, not nervous or scared, just very aware. He smelled so good!

  “Goodnight,” said Justin.

  “Don’t I get a kiss?” asked Lucy, a little surprised.

  “I’m going to go out on a limb here and point out the obvious. You can kiss me anytime you want.”

  “I can?” asked Lucy partially teasing. It actually hadn’t occurred to her to initiate a kiss.

  “Please do,” replied Justin with a grin. “In fact, I should point out that it is your turn.”

  “Well, if it’s my turn,” said Lucy with a smile as she put her hand on his cheek and leaned up to kiss him gently. “Goodnight Justin.”

  Lucy slept well that night.

  Chapter 5

  Things followed that routine for a few weeks. Lucy kept busy with classes, homework, the apothecary with Ted, and Justin. It didn’t seem to make much difference that they were dating. Maya’s only response when Lucy got around to discussing it with her was, “About time.” Lucy was back to feeling like classes were normal. She stopped jumping at noises or movements behind her. She was sleeping better. She wasn’t too stir-crazy yet to go on another quest. She knew she had a lot to learn and she was enjoying learning.

  Spending a couple days a week working with Ted in the apothecary helped keep life interesting. Lucy liked the apothecary. She wasn’t exactly sure how big it was; it was hard to judge a space when every square inch of it was filled. The walls were lined with shelves and the shelves were filled with jars, bottles, and boxes. The containers were filled with everything a person could think of to put in a potion, use in a spell, and some more items besides. She was surrounded by horns, dust, scales, talons, eyes, fur, shells, teeth, leaves, mushrooms, flowers (fresh and dried), roots, grasses, bugs, and things she didn’t even have names for. It smelled like cinnamon and sage, an odd, though not unpleasant, combination of scents.

 
; Lucy hadn’t seen the back room. She wasn’t sure anyone had ever been there besides Ted. Thadorius Etherald Delterianus the third, or Ted, was a short older gentleman. He was balding on top with tufts of uncombed white hair sticking out on the sides. His wire rimmed glasses were almost always askew. Perhaps this is what caused him to blink often, or perhaps it was a tic. He was an interesting mixture of intense, precise, kind, and decidedly odd.

  “You’re late,” said Ted accusatorily.

  “I know. I’m sorry. Only by a minute,” replied Lucy. Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.

  “Only a minute? Only a minute? One minute can make all the difference in the world depending on who and what you are and what you are doing. To a fruit fly, that’s 1 of only 1440 minutes of its entire life. If you brew a potion one minute too long it can explode; one minute too few and it may be impotent. One second can be the difference between winning and losing a race. A minute then, is so much more important. The world can change in a minute. One minute you are alive. The next, dead. One minute you are suddenly in love. Well, not always suddenly, love can sneak up on you,” Ted wandered out of the room still talking.

  Lucy couldn’t catch any of the words, but she assumed it was more of the same. Instead, she focused on cleaning the room, hoping she would be forgiven. As she finished cleaning the room, a customer walked in. Lucy didn’t recognize her. She could be a student, a teacher Lucy hadn’t had, or a spouse of a teacher. She was older than Lucy, perhaps fifty, with long black hair, rosy cheeks, rounded features and frame, and a smile that made Lucy think of her grandmother.

  “Hello,” Lucy greeted her.

  “Hello,” the woman replied. “Do you have any ticha dust?”

  “Certainly,” said Lucy. She walked to the appropriate shelf and selected the blue glass jar. “How much do you need?”

  “Three tablespoons should be enough for a while.”