hey! this is my first multi-chapter story i hope that you will like this. this story has lain in my head for sometime now and finally wrote it out. it is inspired by the song You and I by IU. I am looking forward to constructive comments. thank you!
1) Dreams and an unusual customer
A boy's face suddenly appeared in her vision. A shower of fallen leaves came seemingly out of nowhere. She laughs as she spins around to face the by. Like a game of tag, both of them raced back and forth as laughter filled the air. The time around them seemed to stop as they continue with their playful manner. Just as she manage to catch up with the boy, as she extends her hand toward the boy's shoulder.
A girl of seventeen woke up with a start as she had unknowingly extended her hands in front of her. She found herself recalling that realistic dream of hers. It was almost as if the boy as close enough to touch.
"It is that same dream again…" she muttered as she mused over the dream.
This same dream had been repeating itself again and again for many nights in a row. She had never once saw the face of that boy clearly. It was a rather strange feeling. She was sure that the place in her dream was not one that she was familiar with. However, it was the presence of that boy who was oddly familiar. It was almost as if that boy was someone who she knew and someone whom she was really close with.
She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts, messing up her blonde hair. That is not possible!? People say that dreams are often a result of thoughts in the day but this dream was on a whole new level. The dream was too real almost as if it was an alternate reality. There are others who as that dreams are reflection of the future. If that is so, does this boy lie in her future?
"Rin! Get down here this very instant!" a loud voice boomed through the closed doors of her bedroom. Rin was jolted out of her thoughts as she hastily got out of bed. In the midst of trying to get herself fixed for breakfast, she took a glance at the clock on her table. Her turquoise eyes widened in shock; it was already 8 in the morning and she might be late for her appointment!
After making sure that her work uniform is properly worn, she tossed a cloak over her shoulders. Before stepping out of her room, she stood in front of her full-length mirror to survey herself. "Ah!" she gave a small gasp as she rushed to her drawer and pulled out a white ribbon. Since she was working today, she fixed the ribbon at the back of her head instead of on top of her head. "RIN!" the same voice shouted with a hint of frustration. "Alright, mum! I'm coming!" she shouted back.
Rin made a mad rush down to the stairs to the dinning area only to be greeted by the furious face of her mother. "Your customer is to reach here by 9! You only have 1 hour to prepare for that complicated charm. You better not skip your breakfast again." Mrs. Kagami fussed. Rin quickly tucked herself at the dinning table as her mother placed her breakfast of toast and milk in front of her. "Don't worry, I'll eat." She playfully stuck her tongue out as her mother made a stern face. Deciding that it is best to follow her mother's wishes, Rin began to gobble down her breakfast.
"Oh, seems like you will need some help huh?" a voice teased as footsteps could be heard making their way down. A few moments later, an older girl with long blonde hair fashioned in a lone side ponytail appeared in front of the dinning table. "Ah! Good morning Neru." Mrs Kagami greeted without looking up from her housework. Neru took a seat opposite her sister and greeted good-naturedly, "Morning, mom!" Turning her attention back to a younger blonde, " So… do you need the help?" she questioned as she watched her sister gobble down the food at the speed of light.
Rin was nodding her head furiously, she said with her mouth still stuffed with food, "I need all the help that I can get! Please!" Neru chuckled as she dug into her own breakfast. "You are so lucky that I have time before my work starts. Seriously, what has gotten into you recently? You were messy but not this messy." That comment earned her a glare from Rin, which she dismissed with a teasing chuckle.
Rin gave a mental sigh. It was not like she did not know that recently her rhythm of life is totally messed up. Her father runs this small business of casting spells for the local community. Magic runs in the blood of the family. Her father was a reputable caster, which cause customers to come from as far as the next few towns. Her sister on the other hand works in the current magic council as an intelligence agent. On the other hand, Rin was still in school and helped out at her father's shop that is conveniently located as a separated compartment to their house, making their house something like a shop house. With her father's reputation, it was not surprising that the workload at the shop is backbreaking. Up till now, Rin had absolutely no problem with juggling her double roles. But due to that reoccurring dream of that boy, her life had been thrown into the messy off beat.
Swallowing down the last of her breakfast, Rin made her way to the room next door that led to the workbench. That day's spell will require much energy and there was a certain risk to this spell. She would need to make sure there is enough protection for both herself and the coming customer. It was the first time that she was going to cast such a complicated spell. Just one mistake and the spell might back fire and engulf her.
As she started to look through the drawers for the supplies needed for today's work, Neru finished her breakfast and joined her at the workbench. "So, tell me, what kind of job do we have today?" Rin took a piece of chalk from the drawer and begin to put markings on the floor, infusing a bit of her magic in the markings as she drew. "Today, we have something special. The customer wants us to help with a case of familiar induced madness." Familiars are very strong guardian spirits with a physical form. They are loyal and unlikely to betray their owners unless the owners broke the contract between them. When that happens, it might cause the familiar to become savage beasts and attack their owners without mercy.
Neru scoffed, "Familiar induced madness? Isn't that rather normal if they don't contract between master and familiar?" "Don't interrupt me, I was getting to the weird part! And no he didn't betray the contract." Rin said, blowing her fringe out of her eyes in irritation. "That familiar caused a physical wound! It was a huge gash on his back. And that was when it already passed on into the realm of dreams." After hearing that, Neru's expression changed into a rather serious one. "The realm of dreams? Did I hear wrong? How is that possible?" Neru questioned with a hint of disbelief.
The realm of dreams is where most of the spirits and magical creatures live in. This includes those who had passed away in this dimension and other mystical creatures. Energy and creatures from that realm are collectively known as the dreams. Some of them have alternative physical form, which allows them to interact with our world physically, however that is only possible for a very high classed and strong creatures. Hence most of the time, happenings and attacks from that realm cannot affect this world physically though mental damage is highly likely.
"I'm not lying!" Rin protested when she caught Neru's disbelieving look. "And by the looks of it, he was not lying too. I was wondering if you could shed some light on this matter actually, since you have more experience." Neru adopted a thoughtful expression. She was not one to believe in strange occurrences such as this. As an intelligence agent of the magic council, there is little that she had not seen before. But a customer is a customer, they have to do whatever that they ask for. "I have never met this kind of case before. Since you said so, I'll just believe you. So what are you planning to do?"
"He wanted us to give him some protection, just in case his familiar comes back to haunt him. I'm planning to give him a strong ward, that kind that is like a tattoo on his body so that he would be protected in every situation." Rin explained as she tossed a piece of chalk to Neru. "Help me add some finishing touches, would you? You know make it stronger or something." Rin said pleadingly as she stepped back from the magic circle that she had just drawn. "Fine." Neru agreed, as it was her turn to kneel next to the circle adding stroke and runes. "I think it would be better if you giving him something to protect his physical body, just in case the next attack is another physical one instead of a mental one."
"Oh that is a good idea!" Rin commented happily as she placed four candles around the circle in a square formation. "Should I help you get the ingredients ready?" Neru shook her head, "It's ok. I can settle that myself later since ward tattooing will take sometime. I'll brew the potion when you do your charm. Besides the customer might be coming anytime soon. You should get ready." Just as those words left her mouth, erratic knocks could be heard at the door. "Talk about good timing!" Rin grinned. "Coming!" she called as she made her way to the door.
Neru heard the door swing open and her sister gave a suppressed gasp. She managed to finish the last stroke on the circle before turning to face the customer. Neru almost dropped the chalk in shock. The man's eyes were slit-like and his iris flickered and changed colour. She barely managed to contain her gasp. This was not a good sign; the dreams are almost pushing this man beyond the tipping point.