It took Abigail three days to fully recover from the fight in the kitchen. She had used more energy than she actually had, and that had made her physically ill. After she cast the Full Heal on the Wizard, she had fallen to the floor and gone immediately to sleep. Rasmodius, whose spine had healed and whose energy had restored, put Abigail in his bed. Since being transformed puts a small amount of stress on the body, Rasmodius spent the nights of Abigail's illness as a cat, in Abigail's box by the cauldron.
On the fourth day, Abigail awoke. She was pale, with dark bags under her eyes. Her lips were cracked. Her hair was matted.
"Good morning, dear," Rasmodius said cheerfully. "Glad to see you awake! How are you feeling?"
"I need an emerald, a Green Algae, and a Largemouth Bass."
"How come?"
She glared. "To make Emerald Soup. One emerald, one Green Algae, one Largemouth Bass, half a cup of Life Elixir per serving, throw in the cauldron for 30 minutes, serve garnished with fish scales or emerald dust. Come on, I'm really hungry! And I know I'll have to cook it, because it's lunchtime, so can I please just get started?"
"Well done!" The Wizard's face lit up. "You chose the best remedy! I'd actually planned on giving you some when you woke up, so I've already mixed it and frozen it. It shouldn't take long to warm up in the cauldron."
"Oh! Thanks. I'm sorry to make you cook two days in a row-"
"Four, actually. You've been asleep for three days." He sat a glass of water and a small bottle of potion down at the table. "Drink up."
"Thank you." She drank the potion first. It made her feel slightly more awake, but she didn't get the telltale warmth of magic in her chest. "Hey, listen…" She looked down at the table. "Sorry I hauled off on you like that. I'm not sure what you were expecting, but I know physical violence was not the answer you were looking for. You were right to make me summon and heal and use up all my magic."
"Abigail, thank you. I was expecting you to use a spell directly on me, some sort of weakening or distracting spell. With the Hex of Permission in place, it would not have worked, of course, but I would have seen your thought process. Removing the Hex of Permission was a delightful surprise, as was turning me into a grub. Removing the Hex of Permission is an exhausting spell, that's probably what did you in."
"Delightful?" Abigail chuckled.
"Yes, absolutely! And while I obviously wasn't prepared for physical violence, and did not appreciate having one of my old bones broken…"
Abigail winced. "Sorry!"
"...your reactions tell me that you're a smart witch who can stand on her own. The absolute last thing I was expecting was to be tripped. And by pinning me down afterward, you not only restricted my movement, you also restricted my transformation options. I could not turn into a smaller animal, you would have smashed me. I could have, and probably should have, teleported away or transformed into something larger. However, you would have used the undoing spell."
"Hell yeah I would have!" She laughed.
He scooped some soup out of the cauldron and set it down in front of her. "Careful, it's hot."
"Thanks."
"Of course. I wouldn't want you to go home in your current state, your parents would think I've been mistreating you!"
"Wait. Go home?"
"Yes. Obviously, your study is not complete. My study is not complete, and I've been a wizard for longer than your mother has been alive. But since you can stand on your own, since you have the wits and the basic magical skills to defend yourself, I will permit you to leave the tower."
"I'll need to put a Charm of Protection on everyone I talk to, and set a Locking Charm on the house at night. Should I put a Hex of Repulsion on my door?"
"Yes, and on your spellbooks."
"Spellbooks?"
"You'll be getting many of them. I've prepared two trunks full. Obviously, you'll be concentrating on defensive and healing spells first. I'd prefer that you learn summoning and teleporting first, but we do not have that luxury."
"That makes sense." Abigail ate a spoonful of soup. "Thanks again for the soup, food always tastes better when someone else makes it."
"Agreed. Cooking is a menial chore. But it is necessary, especially for a novice magic user. The right foods will keep your magic strong and allow you to cast more spells than you would be able to cast if you only ate non-magical foods." Rasmodius took a spoonful of his own soup. "I'd love to see the look on your father's face the first time you use the kitchen stove to make Molten Iridium Soup."
"Me too!" She laughed. "He already gets grossed out when I eat minerals, he's gonna lose his mind once he realizes I can cook with them! I'm not gonna tell him, either, I'll just drop a giant bar of iridium and an amethyst in the soup pot."
Rasmodius cracked a wry smile. "Don't forget the Mutant Bug Meat! He'll be beside himself if he realizes what that is and where it came from."