A/N: Did you guys miss us? Well, we missed you! Okay, here it is. The very last installment of the 'Time' Series! Thank you so much for sticking with it! This can be read as a stand-alone story, but it is WAY more fun if you at least read, 'Get outta here, Greenhorn!'. *wink wink* Anyways, on with the first chapter!
Hayner - 1910
The world stopped spinning finally, and it was all I could do not to throw up. "Bloody hell," I mumbled, trying to blink the black spots out of my vision, feeling like I'd been hit by a ton of bricks. Rubbing the back of my head, I winced as I felt a rather large goose egg telling me I'd landed against something hard. I looked up from my spot on the ground and noticed a large brick building and as I sat up from where I'd been laying, I felt a disturbing sense of vertigo. Where in the hell was I?
The last thing I remember was a rather strange girl talking really fast at me, but then I couldn't really recall anything after that. Feeling slightly nauseous again as I stood up, I leaned against the rough brick building not able to stand on my own yet. There were no buildings this tall in my village and I figured that the girl had been bait and I'd been jumped and left for dead. I quickly checked my pockets and was puzzled to learn that I still had my wallet on me, filled with my last week's paycheck from the factory. Goddamn place had basically broken my arm twice and I wasn't about to sit there and take it. But there weren't a whole lot of options. I'd been thinking of heading into London to try and find work. It seemed like the only place that wouldn't kill me for just working. Then, that girl…
Wiping my eyes, I took a step forward, every movement of my feet getting easier as I felt my limbs and stomach settle. I came to the end of the alley I'd woken up in, and my eyes got wide as I stared out into the street that was suddenly in front of me.
"What in the bloody hell is this?" I choked out as I took in cars, carriages and people bustling about in front of me. It couldn't be real. I took a step forward in the mess and felt a body slam into mine, followed by a man with a strange accent telling me to get out of the way. It didn't take long for me to retreat back into the alley, shuddering as the weather around me was chilly and I tried to understand just where in the hell I was.
I watched as a newsboy traveled along the sidewalk, shouting out headlines about crime and using names I wasn't familiar with to describe locations. And then one word stood out among all the others as he passed less than two meters in front of me.
"Two cents a copy! Get your Chicago Tribune here! Mayor Considers Reelection! Chicago Tribune! Two cents a copy!"
I felt the blood drain from my face and I stumbled back, slumping to the ground and leaning my head back against the same building that I had a feeling had given me my goose egg earlier and tried to come to terms with the fact that I was suddenly halfway around the world. It shouldn't, couldn't be possible!
"Bollocks," I said weakly, feeling as if this whole thing was somehow my fault, although I couldn't see how. Had I been kidnapped? Drugged? Was my memory still intact? I quickly named my parents, two older siblings and all my nieces and nephews. Nope. Still got my memory, so how in the hell was I here in Chicago, in America, when I know I'd woken up in my hometown in the countryside of England that very morning?
I took a deep breath and realized that the first thing I needed to do was figure out exactly where in Chicago I was, and how much it was going to take to get back to England. Because I was going back. Er, somehow. Taking my courage in my hands again, I felt steadier and tried not to stand out as I fell into the flow of the foot traffic around me, marveling at how much bigger everything was here.
The buildings were so tall and crowded together, a bit like England, but they were newer. Everyone seemed to be in such a rush all of the time, the street covered in cars and carriages each one honking and trying to go faster. The women were as rude as the men sometimes, some even outright glared at me as they passed. For some reason, I avoided the police on their horses, each one looking like they'd hope to arrest me as I glanced their way.
Ducking into what appeared to be some sort of deli, I bumped into a large guy standing in front of the counter.
"Sorry." I mumbled and took a step back, realizing only too late exactly what I'd interrupted. Another guy was holding a revolver and pointing it at the trembling shop keeper while another man stood next to him. Dressed in dark suits with their hats low over their eyes, I took a second to marvele that they had the balls to do some sort of hold-up in broad bloody daylight with police on every street corner. The one I'd bumped into didn't give me a chance to get past that thought as he cracked his knuckles ominously and stepped into my personal space.
"Better get out of here, boy. If you know what's good for ya." Original. I caught the owner's eye and sighed, knowing that this probably wasn't going to end well if I left. Cracking my head first left and then right, I settled into a brawler's stance and smirked.
"How about you and your mates piss off instead?" God could only mess with me once every day, right? So, somehow this should end peacefully.
I dodged the punch he immediately threw at me, ducking under it and stepping forward, adding my body's momentum behind my fist, thinking I was pretty much a dead man before my fist slammed into his gut. I was rewarded with a quiet crack and I wondered how many ribs I'd broken, right before his foot connected with my knee, dropping me to the floor as he fell backwards into the guy holding the gun.
BANG!
The gun went off as he fell forward into the counter and I grinned in satisfaction as the owner slammed a bottle against his head, knocking him out. There wasn't much the chance to enjoy the odds being better, as the other man suddenly jumped into the action. I was down on one knee and my eyes widened as I saw his boot come up and I managed to miss getting hit in my face, which he had been trying for, instead grunting as it slammed into my shoulder, throwing me backwards into the bench behind me.
"Bollocks!" I heard myself shout, my vision grey as my head connected with the wall. I scrambled to my feet, off balance, but launching myself at the bastard in front of me.
"Shit!" He groaned and folded to the ground as I rammed my knee into his crotch, not above fighting dirty when it was two against one. Again, I barely had time to gloat before the one guy who'd knocked me to the ground first had his arm around my throat and was basically lifting me by my neck. I choked and scraped, trying anything to get his arm off of my windpipe before I lost consciousness. I finally jerked my head back, hearing the satisfying crunch of a lucky nose break. Swearing and finally dropping me, I fell to my hands and knees, sputtering and coughing, trying to get my breath back. A useless gesture as a boot connected with my ribs and I blacked out as something slammed into the back of my head, knocking me to the ground.
Seifer - Outer realm
"No!" Rai shouted, "The Merlin and Madame Minx duel as shown through the Disney movie 'The Sword in the Stone', wasn't fake, it truly happened. Disney just deleted the blood and made Merlin wear blue-"
"Which is an outrage," Fuu interrupted, giving the entire class a stern glance while sitting on the edge of her table, "We all know Merlin earned the color white over the hard years of training to become the mighty wizard he is now known as."
"White isn't a color." I reminded, leading Rai to snicker and Fuu to smack my upper arm.
"It is in our world, Seifer, and you know it." Fuu pointed out.
"Whatever!" Rai cut in, "They made Madame Minx wear pink! I swear, of all the scandalous things, that is probably the most horrid in the entire universe. She probably rolled over in her grave when they drew her wearing pink. She hated pink. Our history teacher says so."
I groaned, pushing off my desk. "And we all must remember that non magic folk have no idea that Madame Minx actually existed, so would you all shut up and stop arguing? There are shows on television at the moment that say Merlin was a teenager who befriended Arthur at a young age and another that says Merlin is a man in his early thirties having an intimate relationship with Igraine, Arthur's mother," I shook my head, knowing just as well as my classmates how ridiculous all that was. "I need to take a leak."
Rolling my eyes I stomped my way out of the classroom, wanting to punch HBO in their faces for their ridiculous depictions on vampires too while I was on the subject of idiotic television shows. Sex with a vampire? Those creatures didn't have blood running in their systems. How could they possibly get it up if an erection requires blood?
Nearly four years in this school and going on my fifth. A couple of more months, exams and then I was done and could scratch out the 'apprentice' part of my title 'apprentice sorcerer'. Luckily in this last year we could do most of our classes through correspondence as we were responsible enough to take on minor magic tasks.
Usually love potions, charms and performing magical unions. The occasional curse and other minor body modifications. The princess and the frog? That prince was definitely not the only man out there in the world turned frog in need of a kiss.
Making my way quickly through the hallway, I stepped into the boy's bathroom, pulling down my zipper as I walked over to the pissing pot, relieving myself and sighing contently as peeing was just awesome.
"Hello Seifer." Opening one eye, I looked to my right and then nodded at Larxene, returning my attention to my business.
"Late, no?" I pointed out, seeing as class had already happened.
"Nice dick."
"Thanks."
"Sure. So, you remember how you owe me?" She wanted me to pay her back now? Right before exams? Sighing, I tucked my cock back into my boxers, zipped up and then turned to give her my attention. "Aren't you going to wash your hands?" Rolling my eyes, I moved over to the sink, and then did wash my hands.
"What do you want?"
"Nothing major, shouldn't take long. I cursed someone, there was a side effect, I handled that, but I granted the side effect a favor, and that is to have his friend moved to America before the first world war starts." Drying my hands off on a towel, I frowned over at Larxene.
"The 1900's? What the hell are you doing in that time period? It's too far back, we aren't allowed to poke in that territory yet." I reminded.
She waved that off flippantly, "What's done is done. All I'm asking is that you go poof into 1910, fetch the boy out of Chicago and drop him off in Tennessee where he is supposed to be. There's a ranch there owned by a Leon and Cloud. Cloud is not my ancestor, but he was related to one of them, so there's a blood thing going on there and I know he'll take care of the kid."
Thinking it over, I knew I would be dabbling in a time period I wasn't exactly allowed to go in yet, but... "So I poof to 1910 Chicago, pick up the kid, drop him off in Tennessee at a Ranch where a Cloud and a Leon will take him off my hands?"
Smiling, she nodded. "Exactly that, sweetcheeks. Now, Imma need you to make a witch's promise as this boy means a lot to the side effect in the curse I placed upon another person. I know your temper and I know your lack of patience, so the promise is needed. It's important you get him to that ranch and I don't want you to have the option to bail somewhere in the middle of the trip."
"I would never do that."
"Sarcasm ahoy," She muttered.
Grinning, I then rolled my eyes, lifted my left palm and snapped my fingers with my right, letting the short knife fall into the palm. "I promise I won't bail on the kid." Cutting a quick cross into my left palm, I threw the short knife across the room, the thing vanishing into thin air along its flight. "Witch's promise." I declared, the blood from my wound seeping back into the cut, my words healing the skin, not leaving a scar, trace or any kind of mark. "You happy? Can I do this now real quick? Because I got some things to take care off later this afternoon."
She saluted me, "Right-o. Same for me. Enchanted dream catcher to deliver in Africa, love potion in Spain, a troll set loose somewhere on a Dutch beach that I need to catch..."
I narrowed my eyes on her. "Those are my tasks."
A sheepish look appeared on her face now. "Yeah... combining them with mine? I got plenty to do today, so I gotta run."
"Larxene! Why the hell are you taking on my tasks?"
"Because I'm not sure you'll be back on time!" She said back cheerily, snapping her fingers, poofing away and leaving a faint trace of lavender smell hanging in the boy's bathroom after her. Regretting the witch's promise already, I growled in annoyance, reaching up to pull the small crystal pendant from around my neck. Twisting it around my middle finger, I let the pendant hang down from it, hovering over my right palm that I'd stuck a few inches under the crystal.
I breathed deeply and tried to ease down my irritated nerves. Ordering the crystal to tell me, "Where the fuck is Larxene's lost boy located?" I waited for a moment, listening carefully to its clear hum and then rolled my eyes. "Yes I know he's in Chicago, but where?"
An irritated hum responded in return, clearly not liking my frustration, but it told me the exact location anyways. "Thank you," I muttered out, returning the pendant around my neck, snapping my fingers, and poofing off to nineteen fucking ten to find me a kid stuck somewhere in an ally that was placed in a neighborhood he shouldn't be in. If I was lucky, he might already be dead and I could return to my own damn business, like troll catching. I'd really been looking forward to that.
It was only a couple of seconds later that I breathed in the chilly air of Chicago 1910, the sky dark, moon out and the street at the end of the ally I was standing in busy off people, despite the late hour. Squinting my eyes in that direction, I checked out the fashion, registered, snapped my fingers and then grimaced down at the monkey suit I was now wearing.
They were much too fashionable back in this time period. I was going to miss my jeans and hoody. Tugging on the vest and wrinkling my nose down at the shoes, I turned in the opposite direction of the ally, my eyes blinking as I saw the boy I'd been looking for.
Grimacing at the state of him, I quickly ran my way to him, crouching down and scanning him over. Shit. When I said I wanted him dead I hadn't actually been serious. Quickly pressing my fingertips against his throat to find a pulse, I sighed in relief as I found one, my facial expression permanently engraved into the grimace as the wounds, bruises and cuts he was sporting must be real painful.
Actually, I was kind of surprised he was still breathing. Scratching my head, I figured I could poof him out of here, but humans weren't really used to that kind of travel and it messed with their systems some. Nothing major, but certainly not something this kid could handle right now. I'm pretty sure it would kill him.
I had about four poofs left for the following two weeks, two transportation spells and then the rest of my traveling had to be done by shape shifting or traveling illegally which although not against school rules, was sort of frowned upon as we didn't want to poke human laws, possibly giving them reason to fault us in possible future debates when magical society decided to out themselves to the universe. I sincerely hoped I was long dead by then, because that was a war that made me tired just trying to think about it.
Pursing my lips, I carefully slid my arms underneath his neck and his knees, lifting him off the ground and up into my arms. "Dead weight, ugh..." I grumbled, holding him closer to me so I was sure he wouldn't drop out of my arms.
Freeing my fingers somewhat under his knees, I managed to snap my fingers with a bit of difficulty, glad the map appeared before my face. "Light up the buildings that contain safe witch covens." The map did so instantly. "Which one is closest?" I asked. One building remained lit on the map and I nodded in thanks, the map disappearing back in the air with a puff of smoke. The nearest witch coven appeared to be just about a block from here. Sighing at the situation I found myself to be in, I shifted him so I was holding him securely before starting to make my way out of the ally, into the street and quickly rushed my way to safe harbor in the coven closest by.
Hayner
I slowly regained consciousness, amazingly without pain, and I blinked one eye open, squinting at the light hanging from the ceiling. What happened? Oh yeah...those arseholes had gotten in a few lucky hits or something. Slowly opening my other eye, my vision still a bit blurry, I noticed that I was lying in a bed against a stone wall in a small room, plants hanging and growing all around me.
There was a large window at the foot of my bed and it was dark outside and I could see the moon. It reminded me of an indoor garden that many rich people had, but these plants did not look like they were for decoration or to really eat either. A large bush with bright purple flowers hovered about a half meter from my head and I could smell a faint earthy aroma from it. Feeling a little faint, I slowly sat up and tried to access my injuries.
"What the..." My fingers gingerly tested my side where I'd gotten kicked and I felt no pain. Touching the back of my head, I felt no bump. How long had I been out? Glancing down at my chest, I did notice a faint bruising color where I'd been kicked, but there was no pain to go along with it. I blinked. Where were my clothes? Pushing the blankets away for a moment, I checked. Yup. No pants. "Bugger." I muttered and pulled the blanket back up to cover me. Again, where the hell was I?
"Hello? Is there anybody here? Where the hell are my clothes?" I was looking towards the door on the wall opposite the window, resolving that if there was no answer, I'd just have to wrap the blanket around me and run.
"If you intend on running away, at least find clothes before getting out of the building. Walking in the streets of Chicago with only a blanket to cover up your willy, will probably lead to another beating," Came a voice first before a body went along with it, appearing in the doorframe.
Scowling, I made sure I was covered, squinting as I tried to see him better. My vision seemed slightly blurry still for some reason. "Well if you have them, give them back! Where the hell am I? Who the bloody hell are you? How long have I been here?"
I heard fingers snap and then, "There. You're dressed again. I only removed them so I could take care of your wounds better. You're in the witch's coven called 'Laluna', it's a safe harbor. I brought you here when I located you in an ally in a rather poor state. I am Seifer, a sorcerer, colleague to Larxene, the witch who somehow had you land in Chicago."
I looked down and saw that I was indeed dressed and I sighed, rubbing my eyes so I could get a better look at him. Tall, probably a few centimeters taller than me, with white blonde hair. Icy blue eyes seemed to see right through me, and I immediately wondered about the scar on his face. Slanted down between his eyes and across the bridge of his nose, I figured he was lucky it hadn't blinded him.
"Larxene? She was the one who did this?" The name sort of rang a bell...
"Oh good, you're not unfamiliar to witchcraft then." He seemed relieved by this. "And yeah, Larxene is part of who did this, from your thoughts I can discern it wasn't her fault entirely since you didn't repeat the spell exactly as she wanted you too." He stepped closer to the bed, reaching out with a hand and offering me a drink of which the liquid was pink. "That'll help refasten the loose tooth in the bottom back row."
Nodding, and a bit wary as he could read my thoughts, I took the drink and swallowed it down, grimacing as the taste was quite sweet, like pure sugar. Wincing as I felt my teeth realign, I quickly thought of only a blank wall, imagining that he could not see past that into my brain. I didn't trust him, or that Larxene person. Handing back the cup, I threw off the blanket and set my feet on the ground.
"Why the hell did she want to take me to Tennessee in the first place? I didn't want to go there."
"I can only catch certain part of your thoughts and from there I can pretty much put together what it is you are thinking. Spend enough time with me and you'll automatically learn how to stop me from getting inside your head." He took the cup, putting it on the side table beside the bed. "If it makes you feel better, your thoughts really don't interest me. And she wanted you in Tennessee for your own safety. I am going to bring you there and since I made a witch's promise, I don't have a choice but to make that happen, so I'm afraid you can't run away." He pursed his lips, "Not until I get you there anyway, if you wanna run after I dropped you off at the ranch, then that's your business."
"Bugger that," I scowled and got to my feet, only feeling slightly achy, as though I'd been sleeping for longer than I should have. "You can piss off now, thanks. I don't need some sorcerer mucking about in my life." Taking a step forward, I pushed past him, intent on leaving and never looking back. "And you can tell 'Larxene' that I still don't see why I have to go to bloody Tennessee! Safe, my arse!"
"Alright," He agreed easily. "There was a side effect to the spell she cast on you though. Since you changed the words, things didn't go as planned. You attract trouble. Literally. So I suggest you be careful." He then moved over to the bed, starting to make it up and cleaning the pots and plants randomly placed onto the side table. "Since I'm bound to my witch's promise, Imma have to be patient and sit here until you agree to come with me. So until then."
"I'll keep that in mind, Seifer." I called back over my shoulder. Attract trouble, my arse. What a stupid way to try and get me to follow him. I wasn't going to fall for that; it didn't make sense to me. Why were they trying to keep me safe? And what were they trying to keep me safe from? Larxene hadn't answered my questions when I'd asked, which of course only made me more annoyed, thus prompting my detour to Chicago. Not that I'd really wanted to be here, but it was better than just following along like a dog, obediently sitting when told to sit.
Making my way outside of the weird house or coven thing, I checked my pockets and smiled. At least he hadn't robbed me after getting me naked.
A couple of hours later
"Bloody fucking hell!" I wiped the blood from my mouth, spitting out the excess onto the sidewalk and I stomped my way back to that stupid damn building that I was sure I'd seen the last of. This was ridiculous. I'd been sure he was lying or trying to trick me when he's said something stupid about attracting trouble. Blowing him off, I'd gone my way hoping to grab a quick drink before finding a place to sleep for the night.
The first time some random guy had picked a fight and I'd knocked him down, I'd written it off to the fact that I'd been rather pushy in asking for a drink. The second guy, he was the first guy's friend and he'd gotten in a lucky punch against my face, giving me what was probably a rather spectacular shiner before I'd knocked him down. I'd left that place, crossing the street and barely dodging a speeding carriage, which then splashed mud all over my witch-cleaned clothes.
The following four fights had been just as ridiculous and I'd tried avoiding people in hopes that it would alleviate the issue. Nope. I'd stumbled down a dark alley and, of course, had interrupted another robbery in progress and while I'd managed to avoid getting punched by that guy, the poor chap I'd saved had been so nervous and so drunk that he'd thrown up all over my pants. At that point, I was starting to believe that maybe Seifer wasn't blowing smoke. But I wanted some bloody answers. Finally spotting the street I needed, I glared at the front door, closing the distance and trying not to attract any attention. Glancing around quickly, I grimaced at the smell of my clothes and the blood covering everything. Whatever.
He could snap his bloody fingers and fix everything once I was inside. Pushing the door open, I called, "Seifer? Are you in here, you stupid arse?"
I blinked as I was bitch slapped across the face. "Don't you dare call Master Almasy a stupid arse! He has knowledge from the future! He could teach you many a thing!" A chambermaid spat at me, sniffing up her nose and then sassily marching her arse back deeper into the building.
"Bugger!" I yelped, rubbing my cheek and glaring at her back as I followed her inside. Stupid Seifer and his wench. Not only was he cursing me, he was gonna have his cheap whore slap me around. I hope he got stuck in some stupid demon dimension the next time he poofed, or whatever.
"Demon dimensions are actually quite nice. Very pleasant creatures, not at all what they are made out to be," I swiveled my head to the left, glaring at Seifer. "Easy there. I didn't curse you and neither is she my wench, she was just affected by the side effect I told you about. Again, I want to point out, had you repeated Larxene's words exactly, you wouldn't have gotten the trouble attracting side effect."
He lifted a finger before I could speak, "And. You could have just NOT repeated her words at all if you didn't want to go anywhere, yet you did, didn't you? So." His jaw was locked and he did not look happy. "Stop blaming me for every little thing that has gone wrong today because it is not my fault, you get me, you annoying pain in the fucking backside?"
Feeling my blood boil, I clenched my fists so I wouldn't give into the desire to hit him. "So, get rid of the side effects already! Wave your magic wand or sprinkle your fairy dust and let me go!"
"You think it's that easy? By going out today you only made it more complicated. Don't you dare tell me I shouldn't have let you gone out. Would you have let me stop you? No you wouldn't have, I would have ended up spitting out teeth, so shut your trap and follow me upstairs so we can stop making these nice customers severely uncomfortable. Gods!" He threw his hands up in the air, clearly fuming as whirled around and stomped off to the stairs that led back to the room I'd woken up in earlier this morning.
'You are such an arse.' I thought as hard as I could, figuring he was listening to me as he stomped away. Either way, I wanted to know what was going on. Why I needed to be safe and who was the one wanting to keep me safe. I'd never even met Larxene before, so was it her idea or was someone paying her. Leading me into the back room, I glanced at the bed and again at the flower hovering above it. That smell was still lingering.
"Stop calling me that or I may just start believing you are fixating on my ass and then I may start thinking you have an interest in it," he said as he sat down onto the bed, waving his hand in the air and that same movement led the door to slam shut all by itself. "If you have questions, I'm allowing you to ask me them now. One by one please."
Feeling my face heat up at that thought, I quickly spat out my first question, hoping he wasn't listening to my thoughts, only my words. "Why are you guys trying to keep me safe?" That was the big one. Why?
He frowned. "I don't actually know. Larxene didn't take the time to explain." I opened my mouth to protest but he slapped a hand over my lips. "Ah ah! Gods your temper is worse than mine. I'll contact her, just give me a minute." Grumbling he fished a bag from underneath the bed and then started digging through it until he found what he was looking for. It was a... Well, I didn't know.
Pressing the rectangular shaped item to his ear, he waited a moment. "Larxene? Why does Hayner need to be kept safe?" He nodded, humming and muttering an 'yes, okay' in response before dropping the item over his shoulder onto the bed. He turned to look at me. "Do you have anything to say before I launch myself into the explanation?"
My fingers grasped at his wrist and I wrenched my face away from his hand. "Don't touch me like that," I snapped, my face was still burning and I glared at him in what I hope was a threatening way. Nobody was allowed to touch me like that. Wiping my sleeve across my face, I nodded. "Go ahead."
"Oh, don't be such a baby," he scoffed, "Sora, a friend of yours apparently, is the one who asked Larxene to keep you safe from a world war that is to break out in 1914. Although America will not be unaffected, it won't be as touched as England will. This Sora person knew you'd try and be a hero, and he wanted to prevent your death as he was rather certain you'd get yourself killed." From his facial expression I could tell he thought Sora was right about the 'me getting myself killed' department.
I blinked. "Sora? Sora Kinsley? He did that for me?" My mind wandered to the friend I'd had in my hometown. One of my only friends and while I'd been away working in the factory, he'd been run out of town for, er, something. Nobody had really told me why, but I had a pretty good idea. Licking my lips, I looked at Seifer and asked, "But why Tennessee? And where is Sora?"
"Larxene knew only of two people who would be willing to take you in and take care of you, get you settled, without issue whatsoever. They happen to be in Tennessee; so that's why Tennessee. As for Sora? He's in 2011. Larxene cursed a certain Reno by flinging him back into time, 1910 to be exact and as a side effect to the curse, Sora Kinsley got flung into the future, 2011. After Reno broke the curse, both he and Sora decided to both remain in the time periods they landed in." Seifer shrugged as if these were the most normal topic conversations to be talking about. Probably was normal for him.
"Would I have really died?" I whispered out, afraid of what he might answer.
He shook his head. "Nothing is written in stone, so I don't know the answer to this. You could have, like many did during that war." Sitting up he reached for the plants hanging above the bed, plucking off some leaves from it. "I'm going to apply these to the bruising around your eye." He warned before pressing the leaves against my skin gently. "Any more questions?" He murmured, his eyes focused on the bruising.
I tried not to flinch away, not used to having anyone that close to me for any reason. "So, who am I supposed to go to in Tennessee? And when I get there, the little side effects thing is gone forever, right?" Murmuring and trying not to stare at him, I tucked my hands into my pockets.
His other hand grasped my chin carefully, keeping my face still as he continued to press the leaves around my eye. "I'll make sure the side effect is long gone before we get there. Leon and Cloud are the names of the people who will offer you a place to stay. Cowboys. They own a ranch. One is a pianist and the other is a marshal." His eyes focused onto mine for a moment, looking at me curiously. "They're open minded." His fingers slipped from my chin and he pulled away with his other hand as well. "I guess I'm sorry for touching you. But it shouldn't hurt anymore now, try it."
"Open minded?" I said cautiously, trying very hard not to think of anything specifically. Flowers, yes, the pain was no longer there and I was counting the petals on the other flowers that were on the plant.
He nodded, the leaf resting in the center of his palm and he was staring intently at it, holding his hand out before him. "They like men. They're a couple." He said absently, his eyes flashing a bright blue right before the leaf in his palm started growing... roots? I blinked as the leaf turned into a flower of its own, nestled in Seifer's hand. "Get me a pot."
"Um, yeah." Quickly looking around, I saw some at the foot of the bed and moved to grab one. Already half full of dirt, I walked back and stared at the growing plant in Seifer's hand. My eyes were entranced and I didn't even blink for fear of missing something else that he might do. Then his words slowly penetrated my brain. "They're a couple? Really?"
He chuckled softly, placing the plant gently into the pot I was holding. "Yeah." Tucking some dirt over the roots, he then took the pot from my hands, but didn't move it away completely. "Take a leaf between your fingers, rub it gently and thank nature for allowing it to heal you. I know it sounds ridiculous, just do it, I wanna see if this is going to work." His voice was thoughtful, but almost hesitant as though he wasn't sure I would actually do what he said.
Quirking my eyebrow, I did as he asked, reaching down and using my thumb and forefinger to touch a leaf and rub it gently. "Thank you." I whispered, blushing as I felt the smoothness of the leaf between my fingers. I gasped in shock as the buds that had been closed only a moment before, opened right before my eyes, the colors bright and mesmerizing as each petal stretched to its fullest.
"Bloody hell," I choked out, shaking in shock and feeling the blood drain from my face.
Seifer grunted. "I knew it. You reek of magic." Placing the pot onto the side table, he looked at me. "Now I'm not only bound by witch's promise, but you've become my 'bloody' apprentice until I can find a way to kick you into magic school."
Stepping back at his words, my eyes frantically darted around the room in fear. "What? Wait, I'm what? A sorcerer?" This was not possible and now would be an excellent time to wake up from this dream.
"Not yet." Seifer clipped out, pushing me back on the bed. "It's a title you earn. Right now you only have a connection to magic and if you want it, then I can teach you how to use this connection for healing purpose. Once you master that, you can go further into other types. It's up to you, no one is forcing you." He shrugged, "If you don't want me to teach you and ignore the connection? You can just as easily do that."
Shaking my head, I tried to organize my thoughts, still trying to actually believe his words. Well, if I did have a connection, then he would know right? And if that connection was real, I should probably do something with it, right? Looking at him, I nodded slowly. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but yeah. Teach me." I stood up and stuck my hand out offering to shake on it.
He did not look pleased. "Yes, alright." Reluctant much? He placed his hand into mine though, shaking it. "But don't toy with the magic, okay? It's not a game. You can't start growing trees willy-nilly. I know they give us oxygen, but making them pop up randomly anywhere raises questions and much like 'liking men', it's not something people dance a happy dance for. You're more likely to get beaten and then get dragged off to a mental institution."
Rolling my eyes, I dropped his hand. "Fine, whatever you say, master."
"Don't call me master." He clipped out. "It has me picturing you in leather clothing and then me bending you over to pound and spank you hard." Taking the pot from the side table, he pushed it into my hands. "It's yours now. Take care of it. We still have to travel to Tennessee even if you'll most likely come back with me to the magic school once we get there. A witch's promise can't be broken, and I specifically stated I'd bring you to Tennessee, so Tennessee it shall be." Giving me a curt nod, he then marched out of the bedroom. "Food! Come on! I can tell you're hungry!"
"Leather clothing?" I squeaked, glad that he couldn't see the blush and shock that was on my face. Patting my chest and trying to restart my heart, I licked my lips and spun around to follow.
Seifer - the following day
Looking over my shoulder quickly to see if Hayner was keeping up, I rolled my eyes and shook my head in amusement as he was walking after me fast, potted plant in his hands, big wide eyes darting all over the place as Chicago was most likely quite a bit bigger than his small village in England.
He had magic. Of course he did. This trip couldn't have been a simple pick up and drop off, no, it had to become complicated. And because of the stupid witch's promise, we were now forced to travel all the way to Tennessee before being able to poof our 'arses' back to the magic realm. I only had one poof left, having used one of the remaining two for the following two weeks to get Hayner two of the first books I'd gotten when I'd started out with sorcery, hoping to keep him occupied as he seemed very energetic and I was afraid I wouldn't always have the energy to keep him entertained by myself.
I'd used the crystal this morning to tell me where we had to head out first to make our way to Tennessee, since this time period didn't offer GPS. Nashville would be our first go-to point, it being about a 2-3 day train ride to get there. Really, because I had all the time in the world and definitely enjoyed babysitting noob sorcerers? I didn't owe Larxene anymore, the witch owed me.
Slowing my pace as I walked up towards the train stations entrance, I pondered over how I would get us train tickets without having any money on me. "Did Larxene happen to give you some money?" I asked Hayner, stopping in my tracks, waiting for him before opening the large door and gesturing for him to step inside the station.
"Um, well. I think there is some in my wallet. I checked after you gave me back my clothes." Shoving his plant into my hands, he dug around his clothes and came up with a small brown wallet. Grabbing the plant back as though he hated the idea of me holding it, he shoved the small leather square into my hands. "Everything I've got is in there." He smiled softly down at the plant, holding it close to his chest.
God, he was ridiculously cute. Another thing I was disliking very much about him right now. "Come on, silly creature." I muttered, nudging him to start walking again as I scanned the inside of his wallet. That wasn't going to be enough... "Alright, what I'm about to do isn't something that is technically right. We're allowed to use it only if we can't find any other way around it." I stated clearly before walking up to the lobby, pushing the money towards the clerk behind the counter. "Two tickets to Nashville, please." I muttered out, stepping aside so Hayner could stand beside me.
The guy looked at the money and frowned. "But Sir, you've not given enou-"
Waving my hand gently before his face, I smirked as his eyes glazed, "Yes. It's more than enough." I assured, glad the guy didn't question it and started getting us those tickets. Peeking at Hayner, I tried to gauge his reaction. "If you were living in 2011 I'd tell you that was very Jedi-mind-trick of me and you'd laugh and this would be very funny."
He tilted his head to the side and sent me a look as though I had two heads. "You are very strange. Are all of your kind this strange?" Shaking his head, he adjusted his hand around his plant pot. "I suppose that I'll learn about Jedi-mind-tricks in the future, so I'll hold onto my laugh for now."
"Yes, you do that. You don't want to risk getting sucked into the dark side." I smiled at the clerk, taking the tickets and then nodded at Hayner for him to follow me to the right platform. I settled in a quick pace and luckily the platform wasn't that far off and even better, the train was already there, letting passengers get inside.
Looking over my shoulder, I didn't agree with the pace Hayner was walking at, so I turned around, grabbed his hand, whirled back around and then dragged him along with me, practically running towards the train. Getting out of Chicago is what I wanted. Being on the train would be tediously long, but at least we'd be going somewhere. I let go of his hand when he started pulling it out, shrugging and stepping up into the train, scanning my eyes over the area until I found a spot that pleased me. Sighing in content, I walked over to it, sat my ass down and sunk back into the comfortable seat.
'Why did he grab my hand and run?' Hayner's voice buzzed into my mind, informing me I'd accidentally tapped into his thoughts. 'I wasn't going any slower than he was. Bloody hell, makes me think of the spanking he spoke about. Stop it, Hayner. Can't think about things like that. He's my master now.' Glancing over in surprise, I saw Hayner sit across from me and simply stare outside the window watching the hustle and bustle of people in the station.
Pursing my lips, I tried to figure out a way to mention just one part of that thought without poking the other half. "You're categorized in the working station, right?" I asked. "I'm not sure how it works," Lies. I did, but I didn't want to make him uncomfortable and let him know I'd heard the first part of his thought in any way. "Since the time I was born in we don't have stations. We're all relatively equal."
Although I knew about the station system in this time period, I'd forgotten that Hayner might see me as his master. I'd just thought he'd been joking when he'd mentioned it last time. But he seemed pretty serious when he'd thought it just now. I needed to let him know I wasn't his master and that we were at the same level.
His eyes narrowed as his face turned red again. "Are you listening to my thoughts? Bugger off." 'That's exactly what I don't need. Him poking me about my tastes. Think of something else.' Sighing in defeat, he closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, I'm working class. And it doesn't matter about your birth station. You are obviously a master in your craft."
"I don't judge." I told him honestly, hoping that might appease his mind some on my having heard certain parts. "As for being a master in my craft. I am mastering the craft, but haven't yet mastered it completely. I'm in my last year, but still have to go through the exams before I'll be able to scratch the 'apprentice' from my 'apprentice sorcerer' title."
Pointing at the plant he was still clutching, I gave him a tentative smile. "I can allow myself to teach you about healing magics because that is something I have mastered. But I'm not a full sorcerer yet. Just see me as a friend who's willing to share knowledge on something." I offered flippantly, not comfortable with the whole 'master' idea.
"You mean you aren't a master sorcerer? What about Larxene? Is she a master?" His voice was shocked at that and he was giving me a look of disbelief. 'Is that why I'm cursed? Holy hell.'
"Larxene is an apprentice like I am, and neither I nor she cursed you. You pulled that stunt all by yourself by saying 'Chicago' instead of 'Tennessee'..." I growled out, hoping he'd finally get that and engrave it into his mind.
"Er, sorry." Shutting his mouth with a snap, and leaning back into his seat, he sighed. 'I can't afford to have him mad at me.' There was a pause and then a quiet thought, so quiet I almost didn't hear it. 'I really don't want him mad at me.' And then finally, silence. "I just didn't like being pushed around, alright? And hey, at least now I know I have magic." He grinned.
"Yes, very exciting." I mumbled, looking around to see if anyone was near and when the coast was clear I snapped my fingers, grinning back as the two heavy books thudded down onto the small table between our seats, the dust flying off them. "Happy learning."
'Bugger. How do I tell him I can't read? He'll think I'm stupid, and then what?' His thoughts were back, loudly bouncing around my skull. "Um, yeah. Sure. I'll start right away." His voice was falsely cheerful and he reached out to gently open the top book, licking his lips nervously.
Sighing heavily, I sat up and smacked my palm on top of the book. "Wait. What am I thinking? You can't read this." Pulling the book out from under his nose, I settled it onto my lap. "It's Latin. We learn it first year at magic school, sorry about that. Err, okay, lemme see..." Detaching my eyes from his face I looked down at the book, pretending to be translating.
"I can't read anyways." Soft brown eyes met mine as I looked up in surprise at his words. Shrugging his shoulders, he went back to looking out the window. "I'm hoping you don't think me stupid, but I bet that you'd be able to figure the truth out with a simple listening in on my thoughts." Sighing, he shook his head. "I guess I'll just have to be completely honest. All the time. Bollocks."
Closing the book, I sneezed when the dust hit my nostrils. Grimacing, I wrinkled my nose and set the thing back down on the table. "Reading ones thoughts is basic magic also. It's hard to tap into though, but I'm willing to let you try it out on me so we're somewhat even. The main thing about it is, you shouldn't be thinking yourself. If your thoughts are occupied, there's no space for someone else's to come in. So, try to clear you mind as best you can and then carefully try to figure out what I'm thinking from my facial expressions. After that you should get the occasional word or feeling."
I started singing the alphabet song in my head over and over again, letting him stare at me to his heart's content, hoping he'd get a small hit.
"Okay!" Enthusiastically leaning forward and setting his plant next to him on the seat, he took a deep breath and stared at me. After a couple of minutes, he tilted his head to the side, scrunching up his nose and blinked. "Are you singing something? Wait...Q? What?"
I grinned, "The alphabet song. Nice going. If you managed this quickly, you probably tapped into thoughts before without really realizing it. Now try and get a whole sentence." Having fun, I sat up and stared right back at him, not caring what he may hear as I let my eyes take him in appreciatively. That may help him get less nervous around me when it came to his 'tastes' as he so delicately put it.
His forehead wrinkled and once again, his face turned a little red. Licking his lips, he seem to concentrate even harder. "Um, did you just think something about my...ass? Hey!" Pulling his arms up, he covered his chest, shaking his head in disbelief. "No! No, you may not do that with your mouth! Seifer!" Glancing around at the other passengers, who were ignoring us, he turned back to glare at me. "Hey. Are you thinking that stuff on purpose? Or are you just testing me?"
I snickered. "I'm telling you that I like men, figured that may make you more comfortable on the whole 'having different tastes' thing. Or you know, the spanking, pounding and leather." He lifted the plant, ready to throw it at my head. "Be nice!" I laughed. "He's your friend, put him down."
His face completely red by now, he sat back, hugging the plant protectively against his chest, he shook his head. "You're serious? You are of that persuasion?" 'Bloody hell. This is too perfect, right?'
"I love me some ass." I agreed, trying to keep my voice level as I wasn't quite sure how to react to his thought. Perfect? I suppose viewing over the situation we found ourselves in, he wasn't all that wrong thinking of it like that. But less than an hour ago I'd thought him the royal pain in my backside. A cute one, granted, but a pain. Yet, I did find it strangely endearing he couldn't read, and in a very out of character move for me, I'd actually pretended not to hear that thought and faked the books being Latin so he could take his time to tell me about the whole not reading thing. He was also sorta funny...
I cleared my throat as a uniformed man walked by and I handed him the tickets so he could check our seats. Giving me a nod, I wished him a fine day and then continued to frown out of the train window, staring at the landscape rushing by.
'So, can you hear my thoughts still? Can we talk like this?' Glancing at him, I could tell he was concentrating on sending me those thoughts.
I rolled my eyes, smirking. 'Yeah, I can hear you.' I threw at his forehead. 'It's the whole point of us being able to read thoughts in the first place; monitoring what the humans think and making sure they don't figure out our secret and being able to talk about magic with one another while them not hearing.' He probably didn't catch everything of it, more a version of it as if passing on a static radio channel.
'Good. Because I'm hungry. What's for dinner?' Smirking at me for just a second, he went back to holding the plant pot on his lap and smiling as he stared out the window as the train moved down the track.
'You.' When his cheeks turned red again, I snickered, settling comfortably into the chair. 'Nap first and then I'll find us something to eat.' I tuned him out, it being hard as he was a loud thinker, but I didn't mind so much as he was just enjoying the scenery and his previously angry mind was a lot calmer now, just excited with the new things he'd learned and had to absorb. It was a warm feeling he managed to push back into me, making it easy for me to fall asleep peacefully.
A/N: Next chapter will be up in about a week:D Reviews make us very happy!