The Magicians' Realm Chapter 12: Bee Charming, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Chapter 12, everybody! In which we learn how Skulduggery and Idgy meet, spot a Mark Twain quote, and see a bit of the surroundings of Delvaire….In an interesting side note, the Giant Mountains are a reference to one of my college buddy's characters, and would have had giants appear later, but the way the story is developing seems to be dummying the reference out. Ah, well—it's still interesting(ish).

And by the by, Hotel Transylvania 2 was funny and entertaining, but I highly recommend seeing The Intern—great movie. :D

Angiembabe, thanks for the review! Yeah! Go Teana! Tell that manager! Pff—to be honest, Teana walking out has shades of my Mom in it—she's walked out of more than one job saying she didn't need it. XD Yeah, that was a little speedy for those two—I chalk it up to them only knowing about love through sappy movies and books. Their relationship will get a bit more realistic once the glow wears off.

Luckycat, thanks for the review! Awesome, thank you! I'm glad you like it (and hope you get your login working soon)! Ah, you make me blush. :D Yes, success! :D Thanks again, and I hope to continue to please! :D

References:

Original characters + setting © Kineil D. Wicks (myself, not the girl in the story)

Teana leaned against the windowsill in as little as she could manage.

It was hot—hot enough to fry an egg—and she was leaning against her windowsill in a light gauzy dress. Which, she had to admit, was still too much. Still, there was enough of a breeze to make things tolerable.

Not for the first time, she wished there was a tree next to her apartment. There was a small pecan tree next to the building, but it wouldn't be tall enough to shade her room for quite some time. Maybe if she asked Yami to charm it….

She scolded herself for considering it. She was still convinced she was a passing fancy for him, no matter what he had done for her over the past week—she had the feeling he'd break his own back if she asked. She fingered the teardrop necklace, which she hadn't taken off since the Ball. She didn't know why—maybe because it was the nicest thing she had ever owned.

"Hey, hot stuff!"

Teana recognized that voice, playful tinged with some sarcasm, and looked down to see who she expected to see—Kineil.

She was standing next to the pecan tree, suit jacket gone, but with the tie, suspenders, and shirt still there, but highly loosened. Her pants were rolled up to her knees and her hat was tilted back, revealing her Jessy-cat grin.

Standing next to her and holding a picnic basket was a woman Teana recognized as Skulduggery's wife, Eugina—Idgy. She was dressed in a woman's blouse and shorts, and was smiling up at her.

"We're going to have a picnic," she said, with a voice as pleasant as her husband's. "Want to come?"

Teana wasted no time. "I'll be right down!"

*/*\*

"I've never been to the Eastern hills before."

"You're missing an interesting piece of land," Yami observed as they walked up the hill. "It's pretty much all field as far as the eye can see."

Anzu glanced at Kels, who nodded. She gave a little shrug and focused on climbing.

The hill was nowhere as steep as the Giant Mountains to the west, but it was steeper than what she was used to. They trudged on in silence before something occurred to Anzu.

"Why do they call them the Giant Mountains?" Anzu asked, wondering—it had been one of those names she had always taken for granted in geography class.

"Because giants live there," Jonouchi called from behind, not missing a beat.

Anzu turned, startled, and nearly fell. "Really?"

"That's the rumor," Yami called back, already at the top of the hill. He turned to address them before continuing on. "Giants supposedly live in the mountains. No one's ever seen them, of course, but then again, no one goes up to the mountains."

"No one with any sense, at least," Kels said as she reached the top.

Anzu turned when they crested the hill to observe Delvaire in the bright morning sun. The clock merrily bonged the quarter hour, the ringing shaking the late summer air.

"Enjoying the view?" Yami asked, returning to the top of the hill when he realized she wasn't following.

"It's very pretty," she answered, turning her head slightly to see him. He looked almost regal, like a king surveying his land with pride—in himself as much as in his land.

"Thanks for bringing me, by the way," she added as they turned to continue on their way.

"It was nothing," Yami said, doffing his hat and throwing it up in the air. When it reached its peak, it morphed into the black-feathered Horus, who flew off with a gleeful whoop.

Anzu kept a neutral face. Horus had startled her this morning when Yami had sent him up to tap on her bedroom window. The fact that he didn't really resemble any bird she knew of didn't help matters.

"What kind of bird is Horus, anyway?" she asked.

"The kind that comes from a hat," Yami replied promptly. When he noticed her expression he continued, "I'm not sure, actually—I'd say an eagle, except for the ear tufts."

Anzu shrugged, allowing him to drop the subject. They crested the next hill, and the sight she saw caused her to gasp.

Towards the south she could see the river, and how the hills gently flattened out to meet it. To the west and north were hills, as far as she could see, with occasional copses of trees to break it up. Further to the northwest, she could see a line of straight, limbless trees. Too straight to be trees, as a matter of fact….

Yami nudged her, prompting her to bring down her hands from shielding her eyes. "See that line of poles over there? That's where we're headed."

"Those are poles?" she asked. "Who puts poles in the middle of nowhere?"

"Well," Yami said, as they set off again. "No one knows for sure. Some think that another civilization from years ago placed them there—although for what point or purpose, no one knows."

"I think it might have something to do with electricity," Honda opined.

"Honda, with you, everything has to do with electricity," Jonouchi responded.

*\*/*

An hour later, they were lounging beneath a huge oak tree in the middle of a field. The sun was high overhead, but the shade of the tree blocked it, and the only sounds they heard besides themselves were the trickles of the ever-present river and the buzzing of bees nearby.

Kineil was stretched out on the blanket, warding off ants occasionally with a well-placed glare. Teana resolved to ask her how she did that—she had a few people she'd like to glare away sometime.

Mrs. Pleasant stood up and stretched.

"Do you like honey?" she asked.

"Well sure," Teana said, unsure of what to do with the sudden question. "Doesn't everyone?"

"Perfect!" she bent down and picked up a jar. "I'll be back."

And she strode off to an old stump, where the buzzing was originating.

Teana and Kineil sat up, watching her walk towards the stump, through the cloud of bees, muttering something below her breath.

"What is she doing?" Teana asked quietly.

"Bee charming," Kineil told her. "She's great at this—watch her."

Mrs. Pleasant reached into the stump, still muttering, and pulled out a hunk of honeycomb, dripping with honey. She gently placed it in the jar and walked back to them, the bees that had landed on her slowly dispersing back to their nest.

"That's amazing," Teana said when she had returned, awe tingeing her voice. "How did you do that?"

"I just talk to them, is all," Mrs. Pleasant said, sitting down. "Here, try some."

Teana stuck a finger in, lacking a butter knife, and tasted it. "It tastes amazing!"

"I think it must be what angels eat," Mrs. Pleasant said, reclining as Kineil helped herself.

"That and watermelon," Kineil told her. She passed the jar back to Teana, fingers still in her mouth.

"You know, that's how I met Skulduggery," Mrs. Pleasant told them.

Teana paused, hand half in the jar. "Really?"

Mrs. Pleasant nodded. "I was charming bees for honey, much like I did there, when he happened by. It was a bigger nest than that one, and I was covered in bees. He thought I was in trouble and went charging in to save me. We came out of the swarm, him covered in stings and me without a mark." She laughed. "I healed up his stings all right, but we were both stung with something that doesn't go away that easily, and we were married a year later."

Teana hugged her knees. "That's beautiful."

"Yes, wonderful. Very mushy," Kineil said around a mouthful of honey. "To be quite honest, I'm glad it's you and not me."

"You'll find someone someday," Mrs. Pleasant chided.

"I hope not," Kineil snapped back. "I'm not looking, so I won't be doing any finding, either."

"I wasn't looking when I met Skul."

"Miss Wicks, I believe you're ahead of your time," Teana said.

"That's my problem," Kineil said, tilting her head towards the sky.

Teana followed the track of a passing cloud. "What do you think the future will be like?" she wondered aloud.

"There will still be bees," Mrs. Pleasant said. "I think that the future might be better, but I have a hard time believing that things will be better than they are now."

Teana turned to her. "How so?"

"This is a wonderful day," she told Teana. "I'm out on a picnic, knowing my boys are by the river—claiming they're fishing, but probably knee-deep in mud, searching for crabs—I'm sitting with friends, enjoying fresh honey from the comb. This is a good day, and I like to think that there will always be good days in the future, like there always will be bees."

"And honey," Kineil interjected, smiling.

Teana leaned back and soaked that in, enjoying the company.