Quick Note: I've decided the official theme song for Marelda and Luca is "Kids Again" by Artist and Poet. Check it out on youtube or something!

thanks to ejwalker for pointing out that I put the Halfling chapter here instead of this one (again—whoops)

Chapter 19

Marelda's POV

"I think that a carbuncle would totally cream a wing rabbit. I mean, they're so timid. Carbuncles have no hesitation," Luca reasoned.

"Yeah, but can carbuncles become invisible? And slip in and out of faery lands? I don't think so," I replied. We'd been debating this for almost half an hour.

"All it would take is one hit from a carbuncle and the wing rabbit would be down."

"That would imply that it could catch the rabbit. They're not nearly as fast."

He opened his mouth to reply, but then stopped. I looked at him curiously.

"Selene?" he said. I followed his look to see a skipping girl with blondish hair even shorter than mine. At the sound of Luca's voice she paused, then turned around with a smile.

"Luca, hey! How've you been?"

"You're back! How long have you been back?" Luca was incredibly excited all of a sudden, but I was surprised.

I never interacted with Selene pre-disappearance, but she looks very different than how I remembered her. Her hair, for one, was much shorter, and less blonde. It almost looked a bit reddish-bronzish sheen where the light hit. And her skin was much paler than the tan she used to have, and she looked thinner, too, like she'd gone months without eating enough. It was actually kind of scary, because last time I saw her (even if it was unknowingly), she was in the peak of health. Now she looked almost sickly in comparison, despite her bright smile and the excitement in her eyes.

"A week, though I can't blame anyone for not knowing," Selene laughed. "I've been holed up in the prefect's office playing catch-up since last Tuesday. Who's this?"

I snapped out of my observation. "I'm Marelda, his buddy."

Her eyes widened, then she made an incredulous noise. "Just how many of my friends got buddied while I was away? First Elias, now Luca. Who's next, Amelia?" She shook her head, smiling before holding out her hand to me. "But it's nice to meet you, Marelda. I've seen you around, but never really bothered talking to you." I shook her hand.

"Can't blame you, bella has a talent for giving off an unapproachable aura," Luca teased.

I flicked his ear, causing him to let out a dramatic whine. "Ignore him. He's a tosser."

Selene laughed. "I like you already. Your bluntness is the exact needed thing for this silver-tongued boy."

"But, all teasing aside because you two are mean, I really need to talk to you about something, Selene," Luca said. And people said I had no tact. Give the girl some breathing room, Luca.

"Hmm, do you think we could meet tomorrow? I promised Philyra I'd teach her to to make cherry pie cookies," she said. "We could do a lunch thing, now that I'm all caught up with school." Philyra? Who's that?

Luca opened his mouth to say something, but I quickly cut him off. "That should work. Are you okay with meeting at the Featherly Flour, say, eleven?"

She smiled. "Sure am. They've got the best donuts in town."

I returned her smile. "Great. See you then." Grabbing Luca's arm, I pulled him away down the hall. Once we were out of earshot, Luca started whining.

"Why did you do that? I was about to tell her about everything!"

"Because," I said. "It would be less believable to just blurt out you think she's your cousin and that her late mother was a princess. It would be more believable to do it calmly, in a nice setting. Preferably with notes. Besides, now we've got some time to gather your notes together."

He paused. "This is why you're my buddy."

"Pardon?"

"It just clicked. This is why you're my buddy. You keep me from rushing into things with a half-baked idea. You make me wait, and plan, and finish forming the idea into something that makes sense to other people, therefore making everything a whole lot easier for everyone, myself included."

I just stared at him, unsure of how to reply.

But he just smiled. Not a large one—a small, but genuinely happy, one.

"Thanks, Marelda." Huh. He actually used my name.

"No problem," I said, keeping my surprise out of my voice. "After all, if you make a mess I'm the one who has to clean it up."

He laughed. "That is true. Now, let's go get everything together."

Luca's POV

I was incredibly excited to meet with Selene. We had so much to tell her. Marelda and I had spent all evening nicely compiling my notes into a sensible order. It hadn't actually needed as much time as we spent at it, but we kept up that carbuncle/wing rabbit debate. Neither of us have yielded yet.

A carbuncle would win. I have no doubt of that.

Now, it was shortly before eleven, and Marelda and I were waiting at the cafe for Selene, tucked into a booth in the corner. Marelda's hair was still damp from her post-training shower. Speaking of that…

I waved my wand, drying it. Marelda looked at me and nodded her thanks.

A few minutes later, nervousness set in and I started going over my notes, again. Selene was uncharacteristically late. This waiting thing was making me highly anxious. Marelda promptly took the papers, silently telling me to calm down and relax.

And then, fifteen minutes after eleven, Selene showed up, staggering into the cafe like she'd run all the way from the Academy. And she probably did. Spotting us, she dashed over, sliding into the opposite seat. She looked a mess, hat shoved haphazardly on her head, coat buttons wrong.

"I am so sorry I'm late. It's no excuse, but I was up late and kept asleep by certain people, which I will explain." She said breathlessly.

I laughed. "Not a problem. I'm the one with the least right to get upset about it."

"Tell me about it." Marelda nudged my side. "Though, I must admit he's doing better."

Selene grinned. "So I've heard from a little Kittycat."

"Yeah, she's a talkative one. Not sure I'd trust her with too many secrets." I admitted. "Too nice, in addition. But how's it been with you?"

Snorting, she answered, "Oh, like you don't know, Mr. Eavesdropper. It's common knowledge you know all the gossip, no matter if it took place under lock and spell."

I shrugged, smiling. "I like knowing things. Fight me."

"Need I remind you that I managed to take you out with a single blow? I highly doubt you'd beat Selene." Marelda sounded very smug, very smug.

"Wait, what? I want to hear this." Selene looked on the verge of giggles.

"He was doing his usual 'I don't need anybody' act when we were first buddied, made up some crap about how the headmaster should undo it to spare us both the trouble. Needless to say, when he sauntered out, I followed. And ended up slugging him in the face when he said something particularly stupid. I didn't intend to knock him out, but I underestimated how physically pathetic he is."

"I take offense to that," I pouted.

"Good. Maybe you'll start working out or something. You're really not physically strong at all," Marelda smirked at me, brow raised.

"I mean, really, Luca, I suppose it's no wonder you almost always wriggled out of participating in the practical magic days when we had to do things that required some physical strength." Selene input.

I crossed my arms. "I am being double teamed and it is unfair."

"Life's not fair, kiddo." Selene smiled. "Learn it now or it'll make you."

"Well, I'm going to order food. Because if I'm going to have to deal with bullies I at least want to eat first." I waved a waitress over, and we all ordered. Selene ordered a crap ton, more than she would have eaten before the whole incident. She looked like she needed it, too. She was scary thin, in comparison to how she used to be.

"Now," I said once we were given our food. I waved my wand once as I spoke, putting up a muffling spell that would prevent most eavesdroppers. "For the real reason I wanted to meet with you, Selene."

I pulled my compiled notes from my bag as the same time Selene pulled the bulges out of her coat pockets. They were some sort of bags, and one had a bunch of folder paper inside, the other three (what I assumed were) journals.

"Yeah, I kinda know part of the reason." She inhaled, then launched into the tale that explained why she was late—a dead brother's spirit pulling her spirit into the spirit world for a dream-like visit, then meeting her late aunt who accidentally let it spill that she and I were cousins. If anything, it saved me some explaining and convincing, and completely dissipate any doubts I might have had.

And my extensive questioning about the dream/spirit visit thing was completely necessary for the whole investigation and was not at all to satisfy my personal curiosity.

Marelda just seemed confused and didn't look nearly as curious about all of it as I felt.

"I think that I'm going to stick to the physical, more solid aspects of magic," she commented at one point.

Next, we began discussing what we knew. We started with what Selene knew.

"All I grew up knowing about my mom's past is that she eloped from Myula to Terra with Randy, the father of all my brothers. I was always told it was because her family didn't approve of him, but I'm pretty sure no one knew about him. I'm not sure though. Well, I think Lia, my mom's sister, knew about him eventually, but I think she might have been the only one. I haven't gotten through the first journal, and haven't even started the letters. They're all from Lia, except for the last one, which I noticed when I was organizing them chronologically."

"Who's it from?" I asked.

"Believe it or not, Professor Conrad Schuyler. But I don't think he was a professor then. Hmm, where is it?" She dug through the letters in the bag, pulling out one that was only a single sheet of paper. "Here is is. It was the last letter my mother received."

She smoothed it out, then started to read it aloud.

The Falle Her0:

Chapter 16: The way I've got Luca and Marelda set up in my head is that, while they argue a lot, Marelda also does her best to make sure they're resolved sooner than later (while Luca would just avoid it if left alone), because that's just the sort of straightforward person she is. And yeah, if you think that was a lot of information, here's some more in this chapter, with more to follow in the next. Things are happening.

Chapter 17: Yeah, they're still figuring out the friendship thing and how the caveats of that work, but they're getting there! And I really like Dessa and Helice, too. We'll be seeing more of them in Warrior, likely, and definitely some of them in Halfling (seeing as they'll be in Selene's class and all for half the day). And, as Luca works on the path to healing, he'll start opening up more and more. Like us real (if we are real, that is) people.

Chapter 18: Honestly I do, too. Don't tell any of my other characters that, while I love them all, Luca and Marelda are probably my favorites anymore. And yes, Luca will find what he needs, even if it's not particularly what he thought he wanted.