Chapter 14

Unorthodox Consultations

Witch

The morning after our mushroom excursion Luke showed up on my door step looking like total shit. He had dark circles under his eyes and his bandana was sloppy, even worse than the time I'd tied it for him. "Good morning, Princess!" He'd said cheerily, his tone terribly mismatched with his body language as he presented me with a Fugue Mushroom, glittering softly with magic and the dew of the early morning. The blue haired boy just looked so uncomfortably stressed, his muscles straining as though rebelling against his actions.

"… Good morning." I said with one brown quirked. "I was going to tell you today's task was to get a mushroom, since you didn't actually do that yesterday, but you seem to have beat me to the idea… Thank you." The tension drained out of his body at those two little words. It was… odd, to say the least. "Why don't you come inside." I said simply, taking the fungus from his hand before turning on my heel and going back to sit at the small table in my living room. My pot of hot tea was still half full and I snapped my fingers to call another cup over before sitting down. I heard Luke shut the door behind himself but I kept my back to him as I filled the second cup, not turning to him until he'd settled across from me. I wasn't a morning person, but Luke looked much worse off than me on even my worst of days. I slid the cup of tea towards him. "Another mushroom search was all I had planned for today, but I might as well get some conversation out of your visit."

He took a slow sip of the tea and tried to hide his confused look into the depths of the cup. I let out a little snort of laughter; he probably wasn't familiar with the flavor of nettle tea. Luke threw me a furtive glance at that and took another sip, rubbing at the dark circles under his eyes and letting his gaze roam over the things I'd left out on the table. If it had been Gale, I might have moved to snap my journal shut and hide it away the small stack of books, but I knew Luke didn't have half a chance of deciphering the magic language it was all written in.

"So what's got you looking like a drowned cat?" My tone was flippant and my expression disinterested, but I was showing concern in my own way. That's what friends did, I recalled from a distant past. Were we friends? The internal question unsettled me a little bit, given that I'd been trying to get the kid to leave me alone, but I ultimately ignored it. We certainly weren't friends if I didn't want us to be.

He chuckled quietly, staring down into his teacup instead of meeting my eyes. "Got a little rowdy at the bar last night is all." He said softly. I couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at that.

"And?" I prompted imperiously. There was no way I was about to believe that this was just a hangover. I'd been around for a long time, and something more than drinking had definitely happened.

Luke shrugged, still not meeting my eyes. "Sometimes I just feel like people don't like me." He looked almost like he was braced to be scolded, which somewhere in the back of my mind was a pleasing reinforcement of my recent efforts.

I really couldn't help but scoff. "Big whoop." My tone was acid. I didn't exactly specialize in staying on people's good sides myself and neither was I fond of sympathizing with spineless fools.

His eyes finally met mine, crinkled in a mixture of irritation and confusion. "People that I want to like me." He spat. "They just like other people better." Something in his eyes was accusatory, and that made me uncomfortable. I couldn't read that implication, but my first instinct was that his eyes were saying I'd never wanted someone to like me. Which really was the farthest thing from the truth, since I'd spent the better part of my lifetime trying to get people to like me.

The corners of my mouth pulled down slightly and I took another sip from my teacup. "You can't please everyone. Oftentimes not even the people that you wish you could. That's just life, and I've learned it the hard way. They don't like you? Well screw them; they don't know what they're missing." I almost regretted phrasing it like that, since it made it sound like I liked Luke when really I was just talking about myself, but whatever; I was the Witch Princess, unapologetically. My statement stood firm.

Luke gave me a weak smile and the conversation turned to lighter subjects. We discussed the changing of the seasons and our preferences for different types of trees in the forest. I found it interesting that we both favored the ancient oaks that grew more towards the center of the forest, though for different reasons. I actually caught myself giving Luke a small, genuine smile when he left my cottage.

My good mood lasted well through the morning but thoughts of Luke's odd mood clung to me burs on one's socks; I could ignore them for now but I'd have to meticulously pick them off later. Kasey dropped by for a short visit and surprised me by actually having blackberry juice when I demanded it. He told me that there was a wedding due to happen in the next few months, one of the boys from the mines having proposed the previous night. That explained Luke's horrendous hangover but I still felt like there was more to know. I foraged for magic ingredients through the twilight and took off towards town when dusk finally fell over the land.

When I reached the faded wooden door of Gale's house I didn't bother to knock; I walked right in. It was an overcast night and there were hardly any stars to be seen so he was sitting at his desk, sketching casting circles and pointedly ignoring me. "Knucklebones." I said sternly, slapping a roll of parchment down in front of him and crossing my arms. "Dragon knucklebones, specifically, are better for fortune telling than constellations. They are naturally imbued with magic and astrology is still an imperfect art. I'll wait for your formal response; now let's get over this little squabble for a few spare moments, shall we?" The Wizard finished his flourish and gently set his quill down before rotating in his chair and raising an eyebrow at me.

"To what do I owe the… pleasure of your intrusion?" He asked simply, sliding easily in the old language. It sounded so much more natural to my ears than the modern tongue and I resisted the urge to smile. Gale was the only person I could speak this language with, aside from the gods. I scrunched up my nose and tapped my foot.

"I have need of your counsel on the subject of a human's heart. I have acquired something of an indentured servant and he appears to be having some sort of social problem I wish to know more about. He is not particularly… articulate." I explained as I started to wander around Gale's room, strolling alongside his bookshelves and running my fingers down the spines of the tomes that I didn't recognize.

Gale let out a small sigh and his chair scraped along the stone floor as he stood. "Princess, you are always making such mischief… What do you offer in exchange?" His hard-soled boots snapped against the stone and were promptly silenced as he stepped onto the thick carpet in the center of the room and approached his crystal ball.

"This brat makes his own fair share of mischief as well." I let out a little snort of laughter as I rounded on the Wizard and placed my hands on my hips. "I offer you a Fugue Mushroom, the magical ingredient that grows exclusively in my forest." The declaration of ownership was clear, a statement that I knew he'd been sneaking around taking my mushrooms and that I wasn't all too tolerant of it.

"Very well." Gale gave me a terse nod and raised his hands to hover over his implement. "Into whose heart do you wish me to gaze?"

"Luke. Tell me what has him confused and unhappy."

The crystal ball lit under the Wizards hand and he gazed at the glowing orb intensely. "There are… feelings of confusion about his place." Gale always speaks slowly and precisely when giving a reading, carefully choosing the words to articulate what he finds without revealing too much. "Socially he feels… that he is not first in any person's heart. He is confident, but… lately feels that others do not see his greatness… In particular he feels… Competition with the one sent by the Goddess."

I felt like he wasn't telling me the whole story but his face was stone and I couldn't read anything into it. He always was better than me at the ethical aspect of magic, no wonder master had willed him the crystal ball and not me. I dared not ask for more information, knowing that it would either end with a lecture on our responsibilities in dealing with mortal hearts or getting kicked out of his house for the umpteenth time. "And your counsel, Wizard?" I asked, keeping my voice level.

He hummed and allowed the crystal ball to fall dark. "Perhaps you should consult your own heart… For this one… actions will speak much louder than words."

"Hm." I quirked an eyebrow at Gale before pulling out the promised mushroom and dropping it into his hand. I didn't waste any time standing around or trying to start up a conversation, I wasn't in the mood. I swept out of the room and headed back towards the forest, my mind storming with my predicament. Luke didn't feel like he was first in anyone's heart but I certainly wasn't going to do something ridiculous like make it seem like he came first in mine. We are not friends. I reminded myself sternly.

Author's Note: I like to imagine both the Witch and Wizard are rather mired in the academia of magic. They don't really have much else to do with all that time they spend alone. Having drawn out arguments about magical theory with full-blown research papers and all is a concept I just can't let go of. I'm not really sure about how I feel about this chapter as a whole, I may come back to change some things about it.

Things should return to two chapters a week Thursday updates after this unless I hit another roadblock. Would you guys want me to switch to uploading the chapters on separate days (like Tuesday, Thursday) or is doing two at a time like I have been ok?

Thanks for reading! Please review!