Authors' Note:
The last chapter was a bit short, so I apologize for that. In terms of areas, there's not a lot to do in the swamp, and they barely passed through the mountains. But on the bright side, this is the chapter we finally get to introduce a new member of the party! Yay!
-Tangent
The trio stood there, dumbfounded as the witch cackled even louder at the sight of them, clutching her sides. Bogwood was a small village, with barely two dozen houses from what they could see of it. Several people, almost all of them female, were walking back and forth along the path, but few of them payed any attention to the three strangers. They were all dressed in dark robes and pointed hats, and most hair seemed to be brown or dyed various shades of green.
"Excuse me, ma'am." Ean said, and the witch subsided slightly.
"Yes, yes, what is it?"
"We've come here to seek out Hepititus. Do you know where she is?" At the mention of the fairy, the witch grinned toothily.
"Aren't they always?" She pointed to a hut nearby, one that sat near the edge of the town. "She lives there. But let me tell you, she's been in an awful mood lately. And even on a good day…" The witch shook her head. "Be prepared for the worst."
"Thank you." Ean said. "If I may ask, what else is there to do here?" The woman shrugged.
"I'm not sure, but an elf as pretty as you?" A sly smile crossed her face. "I'm sure there are some who have… suggestions." At this, Ean's face turned bright red, as did Iya's. This was not lost on the witch, who looked between them and cackled again.
"Ooh, your girlfriend seems none too happy with that." Without another word, Ean turned and walked away from the witch, who was laughing once again. Iya and Rye followed, and Iya looked at Ean with a trace of concern.
Did it really bother him that much? She was upset too, but Ean's reaction was slightly out of character for someone so calm. In front of her, he let out a deep sigh.
"Sorry. I just… am not in the mood for this right now." Indeed, all three of them were quite dirty. In his mind, however, Ean was still mentally panicking.
Why does that make me so awkward?
"I understand." Iya said quietly, the blush still obvious on her cheeks. They stepped up to the house of the nymph of wickedness, and Ean knocked on the black door. The hut itself seemed rather ordinary, made out of dark wood and dull stone. The door swung open, and Ean jerked back in surprise. In front of them was a witch wearing black robes which matched her long, dark hair. Her hat was also black, with a green ribbon tied around it.
"What…" She said quietly. "Do you want?" He voice was quiet and menacing, and Ean instantly knew that she was dangerous in the extreme. Iya stepped forward.
"I am Iya Tiki, and my spirit was stolen by the Snow Queen. I've come to request your blessing, Hepititus." The nymph looked at her in disdain.
"And? How is that my problem?" Iya stepped back slightly.
"I…"
"You come to my doorstep, bothering me, and all you want is my blessing? Just a small thing?" Her voice was extremely sarcastic. "How about… NO." She went to slam the door, but Ean decided to do something quite foolish. He stuck his foot into the door, preventing her from closing it. Her green eyes flashed angrily, and Ean spoke:
"You will not help us?" The nymph looked him up and down slowly.
"Am I supposed to be scared, Ean Okho? You're nothing compared to me. I owe this girl nothing, and after this insult, I should turn all of you into frogs!" She raised her hands, but Ean was not done.
"Is there anything we can do to convince you?" The witch paused, her hands halfway up, and she seemed to think for a moment.
"Find me a casting agent."
"…What?" Rye asked blankly.
"A. Casting. Agent. From Bogwood. Do that, and I may just reconsider. Now get out." Hepititus slammed the door in their faces, and Iya shuddered.
"She's awful." Her voice was barely a whisper. "So much hatred…" Ean wanted to reach out to her, but something stopped him from doing so. "If I can't get her blessing from her, then I don't know what I'm going to do."
"We will get it, one way or another." Rye said firmly. "Don't get discouraged." Iya closed her eyes, let out a deep breath, and straightened up.
"Okay. Let's go to the inn and find out about the casting agent we need. Then we can look around." The others nodded, and they set off towards the center of the village, crossing over a wooden bridge that led towards the square. Here, there were several large houses, all constructed of the same wood and stone. Some were larger than others, with multiple floors and windows on the outside.
"Is that a school?" Rye asked, pointing to where several girls and boys dressed in robes were filing into a building, supervised by a warlock wearing green.
"Must be." Ean said. "Let me ask the spirits." Concentrating on the small pocket with the red eyes in the back of his mind, he heard Vincent speak once again.
"Ugh, this place? I can't remember much, but I have a strong feeling of dislike."
"I do as well." Amari said. "Something to do with our curse, maybe? Witches do like their curses."
"Yes, I was planning to ask around about that. But what do you know about the town?"
"They do have a school here, for their children. It's how they train new witches and warlocks, but most go out into the world when they become adults."
"Nothing about a casting agent, though?"
"Nope. That must be a new concept."
"I see. Well, thank you, both of you."
"Be careful, Ean."
Focusing back on the normal world, Ean found that Iya was standing next to him.
"Anything?"
"Not really, no. Where's Rye?" Iya pointed across the square, to a dilapidated building with a sign out front that read The Crooked Wart.
"Lovely." He said with a grin. "Hopefully they have hot water, yeah?"
"I'm hoping so. I guess I could heat some, but I might burn the inn down." She smiled then, a genuine smile that made Ean's heart give a sudden twinge. He was saved by Rye, who returned and informed them that he had secured two rooms in the inn.
"Iya, you'll have your own." She nodded her thanks, and Rye turned to them and whispered.
"The innkeeper, who appears to be a nicer witch than most, told me that we should watch our belongings here. This isn't the most reputable area, obviously."
"That makes sense, I suppose. We can take turns watching our stuff while the others bathe." Ean said. They headed into the inn, which was only marginally less dirty than the swamp itself. Still, it was far better than nothing, as Iya pointed out. The beds were clean, at least. There also was a bath, and all of them immediately cleaned up, washing the dried slime from their arms and legs, a unique sensation that Rye said felt like "shedding skin."
While Iya was bathing, Ean went to speak to the innkeeper about a "casting agent."
"Oh, you don't know?" She asked in a rough voice. "Bogwood is home to the biggest acting agency in the Land of Man. It's also the only one, but…"
"You.. are actors?" Ean said, confused.
"We're still witches, but we need careers, kid! The acting agency lets us travel outside of Bogwood without being shunned by the other witches. It's all part of an agreement." Ean was still quite confused, but he thought he got the idea.
"So the witches signed an agreement with the rest of the world to be nice, essentially? And you need to be certified as an 'actor' to leave?"
"Yes, there you go!" The elderly woman said. "It keeps them and us safe."
"Nobody ever leaves without permission?"
"Some do." said the witch, and here she lowered her voice. "But they are usually up to no good. And you probably know about Hepatitis." She looked a little bit scared, and Ean stepped closer.
"Did she leave without… you know…"
"Well, as far as I know, the agreement was around long after she did the bad things she did, but nowadays she doesn't leave the village anyways, so…"
"What did she do?" The elf asked curiously, but the woman shook her head.
"Some things are best left unsaid, kid." Ean was frustrated that she wouldn't say more, but he knew she wouldn't say anything else.
"That's okay. Say, where can I find a casting agent?" The witch looked at him suspiciously, but she answered.
"In the building across the way, the big one. That's the casting office. There's a stage out front, and you should speak to Tilda."
"I understand. Thank you, ma'am." Ean said, and the witch smiled crookedly at him.
"Any time, dearie…" Ean rejoined the others, where he updated them on the situation.
"So we speak to Tilda, and go from there?" Rye said with a frown. "I suppose it's better than nothing. We should probably head over there now." It was late afternoon, and Ean did not want to wait until tomorrow to find out what they needed. Iya, who had dressed in her second set of traveling clothes, nodded.
"Let's go, then." They exited the inn, grasping their backpacks firmly as they strode across the marshy square. The building in question was long and rectangular, with several witches waiting outside the door, in some sort of line. Iya, however, had no such reservations, and strode straight into the building, eliciting glares from the other women.
"What? The door is there for a reason." She said quietly as they looked around the office. It was divided into several sections, with a corridor leading to a door, another leading to a café of sorts, and a third leading off to the right.
"Who should we ask?" Ean said, but he was cut off by a loud giggle from the café, and all of them turned to look. A red-haired warlock was sitting at a table with 3 or 4 other witches, all of whom were staring at him rapturously.
"Wow." Rye said. "Is he the only available guy in the village?" The man had fine features, with a prominent chin and jaw, and he wore a suit of black cloth, with a red cape upon his back. He seemed to notice them looking at him, and his eyebrows rose on his forehead. Leading the way, Ean strode over to him, standing at the other end of the table.
"Run along, ladies. I'll deal with you later." The man said in a deep, rich voice. After they had gone, giggling the whole way, he turned to them, eyes glancing over each of them. He seemed to think, then spoke:
"Are you travelers?"
"We are." Ean confirmed. "We're looking for Tilda." The warlock gestured at the door at the end of the middle corridor.
"She's in her office, but be warned: It might be hard to get to her." He leaned back in his chair, still staring at them.
"A song mage?" He said curiously, pointing to Iya.
"How do you-"
"I study a lot of magic." He said with a grin. "But I suppose I should introduce myself." Rising to his feet, he offered a hand to Ean. "I'm Gavin, and I'd be delighted if you'd permit me to accompany you on your journey." There was silence.
"Er… No offense, but…" Ean floundered around for a moment, before finding the right words. "We just met, Gavin. I think it's a bit soon to be asking such a big question. Besides, how do you know we're going anywhere?" The warlock shrugged and smiled.
"Oh, my travels have taken me lots of places, studying magic and history. I even read a prophecy a few years ago, something about two elves, one of which was a song mage…" Iya paled.
"You know?"
"Oh, I didn't mean to sound so creepy." Gavin said. "But I do know what you're trying to do, miss. I'm just offering my help." Doing his best to steer the conversation away from the topic, Ean gestured towards the office.
"Well, we will think about it, Gavin. Nice meeting you." Gavin waved as they strode away, towards the closed door at the end of the hallway. Ean knocked on the door, and a voice came from within.
"We're closed."
"Your sign says otherwise." Ean called.
"Nobody's here!"
"I can clearly hear you talking!"
"That's not me!" Ean thought for a moment.
"Well, I'll go back to Hepititus and tell her you refused to help, then. Have a good day!" He turned away, but there came footsteps as the door was flung open, revealing a tired looking witch.
"Wait, wait! I can… help…"
"We need a casting agent for Hepititus." Ean said, and Tilda's jaw dropped.
"You… you what? She wants a casting agent?"
"That's what she said." Tilda's face fell, and she clutched at her forehead.
"Oh, man… And we just ran out of actor's cards, too…"
"Actor's cards?" Iya inquired, and Tilda nodded.
"Yes. There are casting agents, but they will only approve you if you have an actor's card from Bogwood."
"And where will we get one?" Tilda shrugged.
"I honestly don't know. Maybe try to get one from one of the other witches in town?"
"You must know more than that." Ean pressed her. "Who would have one?"
"Hmmmm…" Tilda was lost in thought. "There's a girl named Gretel who lives on the north side of town. I think she has one, but her grades were too poor, and her mom took it away from her. Check it with her, maybe?" Ean sighed.
"That's fine, I guess. See you later." She nodded and retreated back into her office, locking the door behind her. The trio stared at each other for a moment.
"Great. Now we've got another item to find." Rye said, and Iya grimaced.
"We can't get discouraged, guys. We'll check with Gretel tomorrow, but I'm quite tired from today. How does morning sound to continue this?" Iya nodded reluctantly, and they set off through the town once more, returning to the inn. They locked their gear securely in their rooms while Iya and Rye retired for the night. Ean, however, could not sleep, and he stepped outside to get some fresh air, bringing his weapons with him, just in case. The half of the moon he could see gleamed brightly in the darkness, along with the stars that spread out across the entire sky. Funnily enough, the stars were the same as the ones back home.
"I just can't help thinking that we're missing something important here." Amari said, and Ean listened quietly.
"You mean Hepititus?"
"Of course. She's the nymph of wickedness, but I don't see why she needs a casting agent. Can't she just leave anyways? She's easily the most powerful of the nymphs, just short of the Oracle."
"I don't know. Kid?" Ean glanced at Vincent's eyes.
"I don't know either, but we have to get Iya's spirit back. We have to, or…" He trailed off, looking at the sky. That wasn't the only thing bothering him, but he could not voice it.
"… I see." Amari said with a faint smile. "You really think that highly of her?"
"Don't listen to my thoughts!" Ean said, and she chuckled.
He sensed a noise, and he spun on his heels, claws lashing out at the approaching shape.
"Whoa!" Gavin said, toppling backwards onto the ground. "Sorry about that."
"Me too." Ean muttered, pulling the warlock to his feet. "What do you need?"
"I came to look for you, actually." Gavin said. "Perhaps we can talk. I'm sure you have questions, so I'll answer them within reason."
"I suppose that is fine." Ean said. "But why me?"
"Well, you're the leader, aren't you? Even Iya listens to you." Gavin said with a smile.
"I'm not sure about that." Ean said with a slight smile. "So, who are you really?"
"I'm Gavin Morven, a warlock. This is not my original home, but I moved here a few decades ago."
"A few… a few decades?!" Ean spluttered.
"Oh, yes. I still recall speaking to Rhen Pendragon, one of the first Queens of Thais. I lived in a different community of witches back then."
"So how old are you?" Ean asked, his mind reeling.
"About 220 years old, give or take. I've lost count." Gavin grinned at his reaction. "It's my magic that gives me longevity. It's different from yours."
"Your magic?"
"Yes. I practice dark magic as a form of spellwork. It's quite versatile, I think." The elf stared at the man standing next to him.
"Why do you want to come with us?" The warlock was silent for a moment.
"Who knows where human impulses come from? I feel as though I should, like you'll need my help." He hesitated for a moment. "I… received a vision a few weeks ago, from an elderly woman saying you would be coming." Ean was surprised to hear this.
"Really?"
"Indeed. That's how I knew, because the only other time was…" Gavin trailed off, and Ean did not press him. He wanted to consult the others, but he knew that this was a personal decision for him as the leader.
"Any thoughts, you two?" Vincent was quiet for a moment.
"I think you should take him."
"Really?"
"He seems genuine, and he's certainly powerful. Just be wary, yeah?"
"I hate to say I, but I agree with Vincent."
"What do you mean, you-" Ean cut off the voices in his head as his gaze returned to Gavin, who was looking out over the swamp.
"I like it here, but it's time for me to move on." Gavin said quietly, and Ean made up his mind.
"Alright, you can come with us." The man's head snapped up, and he was too surprised to speak as Ean grinned at him.
Iya was somewhat understanding of Ean's decision, but Rye was flat-out opposed.
"Are you mad?" He demanded of Ean, which was quite out of character for him. "You want to let an ancient warlock with unknown powers travel with us?"
"Yes." Ean said. "He had a vision, Rye, of the Oracle. What else could that mean?"
"I… I don't know! What if he's making it up?" The elf looked at the green-haired man, thoughts racing through his mind.
"Look, I get that you don't trust him. Neither do I, not completely. But he should come with us, and he already said he wants to leave the town for some reason or another. Besides, if the enemies are really getting more powerful, we're going to need more people in the party." Rye sighed.
"Maybe you're right. I just don't-"
"You don't like it because he's a warlock and uses dark magic. In most cases, I'd agree with you." Ean replied, cutting him off. "But he seems a lot more… mellow, I guess." Admitting defeat, Rye gave him a faint smile.
"You're the boss, sir." Ean chuckled.
"Not yet, but maybe soon. Let's go meet up with them, yeah?" They made their way down the stairs of the inn, into the bar where Iya was talking to Gavin about something magic-related.
"And that's how the song mages originated." Gavin finished, and Iya thanked him for the information. She smiled at Ean as they came closer.
"Gavin was giving me a history lesson." The words struck a chord in Ean's mind, and he stopped, thinking hard.
"Wait a minute… history! Gavin, are you the warlock we're searching for?" Iya's eyes widened.
"The clockmaker?" Rifling through her pack, she pulled out the scroll given to them by the clockmaker's daughter. Gavin's eyes widened.
"Is that…" She handed it to him. He opened it, eyes flicking over the contents.
"Can you read it?" The warlock chuckled.
"Yes, I can… the crazy old fool…" He trailed off, evidently lost in memory. Blinking twice, he rolled up the scroll and placed it in a pouch under his cloak.
"Thank you for bringing this to me. I'll study it more later."
"It was our pleasure." Ean said. "You did some work with the clockmaker?"
"I did, about 30 years ago. We were researching some other things as well, and that's how we found this. I guess he managed to interpret it after all. He was a good man, for the few humans I've interacted with."
"I see." Ean said. "Well, we are going to seek out a girl named Gretel. You know her?"
"I do, vaguely. She's a bit young to be talking to people, but she's quite bright. I heard from the school professor that she gets top grades in her classes." They left the inn once more, Gavin in tow. On the way, Iya also asked him about the strange wand they had found.
"Oh, I recognize that! It's Calliope's Wand, an artifact that supposedly has the ability to cast love spells upon the people of the caster's choice."
"W-What?" Iya said, startle. "What should we do with it?"
"It belongs to Hilda, a witch in the village. I think she'd like to have it back." Gavin replied, and Iya looked relieved.
"Do the love spells really work?" asked Rye curiously.
"I- No, not in the sense of true love. I think the wand just brings feelings that were already present to the surface."
"Hmmm…" Rye trailed off, an odd look on his face. Gavin pointed to a nearby house.
"This is where Gretel lives." The house was much the same as all the others, with a small sig out front that had the address written on it. They knocked upon the door, and an elderly witch answered.
"Can I help you?"
"Is Gretel here?" Ean asked, and the woman nodded. "We need to speak to her about a casting agent." The witch frowned.
"Why? You aren't-"
"Please, ma'am. It is important." With a sigh, she called the girl's name over her shoulder, and a small lady with brown hair appeared from behind her, looking at the strangers.
"Are you Gretel?" The girl nodded, stepping outside and closing the door.
"What do you need?"
"You have an actor's card." Ean said. "And we need one. Since you have no need of yours anymore, we…"
"No!" shrieked the girl. "It's mine! I earned it! It's that thieving Mimpsey Mara that stole my report card!"
"Um… What?" Ean said, confused. Gretel seemed to calm down slightly, and she explained:
"I always get good grades, but my report card vanished and was replaced by another one with failing marks. There's this girl, Mimpsey Mara, who has been going around and bragging about how she's such a young actor and got such good grades, but I know she took mine!" She stamped her foot. Ean looked at the others, then knelt down in front of her.
"What if we could get it back?"
"You would do that?"
"We still need an actor's card, and this Mimpsey doesn't sound like she'll give us hers, so…" Gretel thought about it for a moment.
"I never really wanted the card, anyways. I just want to prove that I got good grades in my classes!"
"How would we prove she stole it?" Rye asked with a sly grin.
"I'm not sure. Talk to my professor, maybe? Nobody else seems to listen to me."
"Professor Drake?" Gavin inquired, and the girl nodded. "I think he'll listen to me if I ask him."
"Well, we'll get right on that, Gretel. Thank you for your information." Ean said as he rose from the ground and turned to the others. "Gavin, you know the way to the school?" The warlock nodded.
"I do, but knowing the professor, he'll be caught up in some experiment involving swamp slime. Luckily, I have some in my house, so we should stop by there. It's right next to Hilda's, so we can give her the wand.
"Sounds good." Ean said, and they set off through the town once more, retracing their steps past the inn and to the east, where Gavin led them to a small shack near the edge of town.
"It's not much, but it's comfortable enough. Be right back." He vanished inside the shack, and a woman swooned behind them.
"He's so… dreamy." The trio looked at her, slightly confused.
"Are you Hilda?" Rye asked her, and when she nodded, he extended the wand to her. She gasped.
"My wand! I thought I'd lost it in the swamp!" She snatched it from Rye. "And now I can make Gavin fall in love with me."
"What?" Iya said, aghast. "You'd force him to do that?"
"Why, of course!"
"I think I have a better idea." Rye said. He whispered into Hilda's ear, and a slow smile spread across her face.
"Now that, I can do." She suddenly pointed her wand at Ean and Iya, who were standing close by. They blinked, and a pink light shone from the end of the wand, hitting both of them before it vanished.
Ean blinked once, twice. Something had happened, hadn't it? Where was he again? Turning his head, his eyes fell upon the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her long, light blue hair fell a little below her shoulder, and it seemed to shine in the sunlight. Her wide eyes glistened with some hidden emotion as she stared back at him, her mouth parted slightly. It made him want to…
"Iya…" His voice was quiet, and she shivered slightly at hearing her name.
"Ean?" It was a request, but no less soft for the tone of her voice. He leaned in closer, pulling her chin up with his hand slightly. It was going to be…
"What is going on?" A voice said, and the spell broke. Gavin had emerged from his house, clutching a bottle of something. With a start, Ean realized how close he was to Iya, their lips almost touching. He staggered back, and she did the same, sheer panic in her eyes now.
"What…" Rye was chuckling slightly.
"You two okay?" Neither Ean or Iya could speak, and her whole face had turned a lovely shade of pink.
Don't think about that right now.
"What was that?" Ean said, and he turned to Hilda. "Did you do that?" She smiled coyly. Gavin was looking at all of them, very confused.
"Hilda…" He said finally, a warning tone in his voice. "Did you cast a spell of them?"
"Only a little one, Gavin." She said in a simpering voice. "I was saving the rest for y-"
"I don't care. You crossed the line with that one." He said, a very slight tinge of anger in his voice. "I should-"
"Gavin." Iya's voice was so quiet, Ean barely caught it. "Please." She had masked her emotions once more, but the elf thought he saw a flash of terrible pain on the elf's face before she turned away, striding towards the inn.
"Oh, damn." Rye said. Ean turned to him.
"Why?" Rye looked guilty now, and he looked down at his feet.
"I shouldn't have told her to do that. I just thought…" He gestured at thin air, and Ean thought he understood. At least, now he thought he did.
"You were trying to help." Rye grimaced.
"I thought it would, when Gavin talked about the dormant feelings." Ean put a hand on his shoulder.
"I believe you, Rye. We'll deal with that later, okay? Right now, I think you should go apologize to Iya. Gavin and I will find something else to do, and we'll be back by lunchtime. Sound good?" The man nodded, and turned, following the path Iya had taken. Gavin let out a low sigh.
"Let's go, Ean." They strode away from Hilda, and she called after them:
"Gavin! What about me?" The warlock stopped.
"After that, Hilda, any trace feelings I had for you are gone. Sorry, but your magic won't work on me anymore." The two left the witch standing there, an expression of heartbreak on her face.
"What now?" Ean finally asked, and Gavin shrugged.
"Iya should come with us to the professor, so we should find something else to do? Anything you need done while you're here?" Ean pulled out his notebook.
"Oh… There's a petrified child in Thais. Do you know how to make a cure?"
"I don't, but there is somebody in the village who could. Her name's Helga. Shall we go?"
"Sure." Ean said, and they set off across the village, his mind racing.
As it happened to turn out, Helga could not make a softening cream without a specific type of frog found only within the swamps. As such, Ean and Gavin had ventured back out into the swamps to find it, which was much easier with Gavin's knowledge of the area.
Ean slashed through one flying frog and turned to see how Gavin was faring. Around the warlock lay dead or dying frogs, some flailing blindly in the grip of some curse. As he watched, Gavin roasted one enemy and sent a bolt of lightning coursing through the air to slay the last one, which dropped instantly.
"Wow." Was all he could say as they continued onwards. Gavin looked at him with a faint smile.
"It's different from song magic, isn't it? I discovered a lot of these spells through research, and I'm always looking to find more of them."
"How many do you have currently."
"Around 10, I think. Most of them inflict status effects on enemies, like sending to sleep or blinding them, but some have decent power too." When they arrived in the area with the frog they began searching for one of the creatures among the bushes and mud.
"It has to have warts, right?" Ean asked, and Gavin nodded. Several minutes later, Ean managed to catch the one they needed, a frog covered in greasy warts.
"Gross." They began walking back through the swamp to the village. Gavin was thinking about something, and Ean knew it was only a matter of time before he asked. He had his own problems to think about.
"Something on your mind, kid?" Vincent asked. Ean was startled. He had not realized he had been communicating his thoughts to the beast spirits.
"I guess so. You saw?"
"We did."
"…And?"
"What more is there to say about it? What comes next is up to you."
"I…" Vincent's tone changed suddenly.
"Listen, Ean. Regardless of what you want, you hurt her by pulling away from her earlier."
"What was I supposed to do?"
"I'm not saying there was a better choice, but she's hurting all the same. You have to do your best to help her out, or else neither of you is going to survive this quest."
"My feelings can't be that bad, can they?"
"No, but you need to be on the same page as her. If she can't trust you, then who?"
Ean jerked back to the real world, where Gavin was staring at him.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I just… spaced out for a moment." He chose not to tell Gavin about the transfigurines just yet. "Anyways, you say something?"
"Yeah. What are you going to do?"
"About Iya?" Gavin nodded.
"I really don't know. I never would have done that without the spell on me. And now she's hurt because she thinks it meant I'm pushing her away." The warlock nodded again.
"That is all true. But where do you go from here?"
"I… I'll have to talk with her when we return to Thais. But for now, Rye will help her calm down. Knowing her, she'll want to pretend it didn't happen."
"That's a decent plan. But a word of warning, Ean…" He turned and looked at the warlock, who had an expression of slight pain on his face. "Try not to lose her, okay? Even I can see how valuable your friendship is to both of you." He spoke as though from experience, but Ean did not question him.
Rye found her sitting on a bench overlooking the swamp, her eyes dull.
"Do you wish me to leave?"
"No." The words came out of her mouth flat and empty, but he sat down next to her.
"I'm so sorry." He said. "I didn't think-"
"It is not your fault, Rye." She said. "It is mine, for allowing that to happen. For allowing my weakness to show…" She shuddered slightly, and Rye saw a fresh tear slide down her cheeks. And then he understood what she meant.
"Your feelings were real." He almost whispered, and she nodded slowly.
"Always." She said, and the pain in that one word was so immense that he almost backed away.
"I… do not understand. Why does that hurt you?" He asked gently. "From what I can see, he returns-"
"He doesn't." Iya said harshly. "He can't feel the same for me."
"Why?"
"I am broken." The words fell from her lips before she could stop them. There was a reason she had tried to find the nymph of love first, a reason why she sought the return of that part of her spirit more than any other. But Rye could not understand that. "I am without love, Rye. Without it, we cannot…" She was shaking now, whether from sadness or anger he could not tell.
"Iya… Are you really without love?" The elf hesitated.
"I feel my own emotions inside of me, but I cannot feel his. I used to know how he felt, every day, but now I understand nothing. Whether that is because of my missing pieces or the Queen erasing my memory, I do not know."
"We will fix it, Iya. I promise. Does he know?" She shook her head.
"I could never tell him…" And suddenly she was angry. "That witch! Why must she be so spiteful? Why must I regain the part of my nature that makes me angry and irrational? Just being close to her makes me feel so…." Rye knew she was talking about Hepatitis.
"Nobody is without flaws, Iya. You can only be whole by regaining all of your spirit."
"I know, but…" She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "I don't like it."
"Nobody does. But that's part of being mortal, I guess." Iya opened her eyes again, looking at the green-haired man.
"What should I do?"
"Tell him." Rye said promptly. "You'll feel better when you do. After that, you two have to make your own decision."
"What if he hates me for it?" She asked quietly. "What if he leaves me?" And in those sentences, Rye could see the insecurities within the elf. She was fearful that Ean would no longer travel with her when he found out the truth, but more importantly, that he would no longer trust her.
"He could never." He said, looking her in the eyes. "Never." His strength gave her strength, and she nodded.
"Okay." Rye pointed to the inn nearby.
"They'll be back soon, so let's get some lunch."
"I am in agreement with that." Iya said, standing up from her spot. "And…"
"Yes?" Rye inquired, looking at her.
"Thank you."