NOVEL WEB Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Hey Soul Sister 2
2 Days Ago
Entering dungeons always brings challenges. The monsters that attack you on the way to take on the boss, and the bosses themselves, are just a few of the problems. Dungeons can vary by size and difficulty in respect to the accumulation of sins in a defined space. Which means some expeditions take longer to finish than others. Dangers like forests full of deformed corpses, hallways the stretch for miles with rooms filled with traps, clouds as big as islands that contain killer birds that can attack from all directions; not to mention the need for food, rest, and protection from the elements.
It was the last dungeon the three of them went on before leaving for Echo Creek. The dungeon was very big, as expected when the source of sins came from the compound of a major cartel boss during a gathering of their associates, and the three adventurers had been exploring for, from their experience, six days. Taking the form of a giant series of underground tunnels with no light sources, the group had taken camp at a junction in the tunnels. Three tents circled around a campfire, Martha was taking her watch shift when she left to take a whizz.
Returning back to the campsite, the one-eyed woman decided to have a little fun. "AMBUSH!" She yelled, making a joke. "GET UP! IT'S AN AMBUSH!"
Running out of her tent, Jill had her magical, recurved bow ready. Looking around, the woman only saw Martha laughing. "Damnit!" She wiped her face. "You trying to get me to kill you!?"
"Come on! It's a joke!" The other woman tried to defend.
"Try it next time when a real ambush comes." Jill toke a seat at the fire, having a cigarette. "As long as I'm up, what's for breakfast?"
"Whip somethin' up and tell me." Martha retorted. "It's your turn to cook. I made dinner, you make breakfast."
"You made instant ramen with chicken broth. I'd hardly call that dinner."
"The arrangement is you take breakfast, Linky has lunch, and I finish with dinner."
Signing in defeat, Jill grabs the cast iron pan before pulling a bag of oatmeal and distilled water out her inventory.
"Is everyone up?" Lincoln asked, now awake. "Eat well, I can sense the dungeon boss is close."
"Finally, how much longer?" Martha asked, pulling out her double-headed axe.
"I'd say couple miles ahead." The designated leader looked towards the source of energy he'd been sensing. "I have an announcement. After this, we have to go to California."
"California?" Jill questioned. "Any particular reason?"
"There's someone I have to see. Someone who might help me return to how I was." Lincoln sat down.
"What's wrong with how you are now?" The demonic teacher asked, worried.
"Although I can look human, I'm still a demon." The boy looked down. "If I return home as I am now, I'd be an outcast to my home. I'm not even sure I still age anymore."
"Uh huh." Martha agreed. "Compared to us, you got the short end of the stick. You'll be a kid for the rest of your after life."
Jill threw a rock at the other woman's head. "Don't listen to her. I know your family will love you all the same."
"I... don't doubt they'll love me. I... can't be with them like this. I need to return to how I was."
Tea at the Diaz house was surprisingly pleasant despite the unorthodox arrival of Stolas. Sitting in the living room, Angie and her husband, Rafael Diaz, provided tea and cookies for their guests. As they all drank their tea, Stolas exchanged pleasantries with the human couple, complimenting them on their wonderful hospitality. While Angie engaged in conversation with everyone else; Rafael pleaded with the Goetia prince to paint a portrait of him.
Her parents focusing on the grown-ups, the little Mariposa kept waddling towards Octavia. Not scared, so much as uncomfortable, around small children, the owl teen kept trying to move away from her. Eventually, Lincoln just picked the toddler up and carried her.
"Big Birdie!" Mariposa reached for her.
"There's nothing to be scared of." He spoke to Octavia. "She won't hurt you."
"I'm not scared." She rebuffed. "I'm just aware of how ridiculous infants can be. Always putting things in their mouths, crying at random, and always sh-" Via caught her self about to cuss in front of the little one. "Pooping themselves. Why anyone want to be around them is beyond my understanding."
Looking down at the carefree little girl, the white-haired boy tickled her cheek. "You're an only child. Of course you don't understand."
At the front door, a teenage blonde girl entered along with a boy with a red hoodie.
She said. "Their new album is amazing! I really love the song-" The girl paused when she saw that the Diaz family had guests. "Hi, New Friends!"
"Star, Marco, we're glad you're back!" Angie hugged her son and his girlfriend. "These are our guests. First, we have Prince Stolas."
"Charmed." The Prince stopped posing to bow.
"Huh!" Star gasped, elated. "You're a prince? I used to be a princess!"
"Amazing outfit!" Marco praised the demon's wardrobe. "I especially love the cape."
"You certainly have good taste." Stolas accepted the compliment.
"Next, these are Martha and Jill." The Diaz matriarch introduced, the two Pawns waving. "Over there with Mariposa is Stolas' daughter, Octavia. As well as Lincoln, he told us you two were friends."
Moving in closer, both Marco and Star looked at the younger boy with unease. Picking up on their unease, Link handed over Mariposa, then covered his eyes.
"Recognize me now?" He smiled brightly.
Recognition stuck the two. "It's... LINCOLN!" Star ran up and hugged the boy. "I missed you so much!"
"Me too!" Marco joined, teary-eyed. "When we got word you were dead, we just... WE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"
"I missed you guys too." The boy was honest, he missed his friends.
"Wait, is this... him?" Rafael walked up. "But I heard he was killed by monsters."
"Technically, it was my Vice-Principal. And the 'monsters' you heard of are demons." Lincoln corrected. "But... I did die, I suppose." Link revealed his Sinner form. "I became this, and now I'm back to find a way to become as I was."
"Is this her?" Jill asked, pointing to Star as everyone else joining the conversation. "The girl you came to see?"
"No." The devil-tailed boy shook his head. "Star Butterfly, Marco Diaz, I came here because I need your help... I need you to take me to Queen Eclipsa."
The two shared a silent look, then shook their heads. "Anything for an old friend." Marco smiled, pulling out his dimensional scissors.
2 Days Ago
"Jill, your three and five! Martha, six!" Lincoln informed his teammates, firing at a horde of giant rats using Hustle and Bustle.
Ambushing the group, monster worms attacked from alternating angles. Jill shot two of them with her bow while Martha decapitated three in one swing of her axe. As they continued fighting their way towards the boss, Mac appeared before the group leader.
"Keep it up! Just a little more and their numbers are finished!" The tiny imp encouraged.
Fatigue from extended magic use was weighing on the boy, Lincoln changed skins to his imp form. Rejuvenated, he resumes firing at the rats until they are wiped out. With a moment to rest, Lincoln put his gakuran into Inventory and equipped his imp sized clothes.
"I swear, I will never get used to that." Jill went up to the husk of skin that used to be Lincoln. "Does it hurt when you do that?"
"Oh, it does." He admitted. "It's removing your own skin like peeling a orange."
"How come your clothes don't turn with you?" Martha asked, poking at the skin.
"It's not like 'shapeshifting' per say, as more 'metamorphize'. Think of like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly; but instead of a cocoon, the caterpillar shedding its skin like a snake to become a butterfly."
"Wow, I may never look at butterflies the same way again." As the one-eyed woman continued messing with the skin, it soon disintegrated. "Why does it do that?"
"The skin becomes dead flesh. I either have to use it to perform magic, or it becomes energy dispersing around us." Lincoln explained. "There is one cool thing though, watch this!" Jumping into the air, the imp turned into a rabbit, scampered along before turning into a snake, then into a crow, and finally returned into a imp. "I'm not sure how, but when I turn into animals I don't have to shed my skin."
"Interesting." Jill pondered. "It may have to do with brain architecture."
"You lost me." Martha shook her head.
"I mean, humans have a more refined network of brain cells then most animals. I hypothesize that if need to change into a creature of inferior brain architecture, you don't have to take on a different skin."
"Well, la dee da, how did you get so clever?"
Jill stared at the other adult. "I have a Master's Degree. I needed to go to college to become a state certified educator."
As his teammates continued their squabble, Imp Lincoln projected a field of mana like a sonar towards the Boss. "It seems there's no more threats for a while. If we continue pace, we should be at the Boss in a few hours."
Mewni, an alternate dimension from Earth, that is inhabited by numerous intelligent species. The dominant, in their own view, species are mewmans; similar to humans, but with more varieties of hair and eye colors, slightly stronger and faster, and have a greater sense of community. Although Mewni is large, much is unknown outside of the Mewni Continent. Although many areas are not as 'advanced' as Earth, there are many sovereignties with histories that stretches back hundreds of years. One of the most respected and powerful is the Butterfly Kingdom, a matriarchy that is widely regarded as the capital of the continent.
A dimensional portal opening at Butterfly Castle, Star and Marco bring Lincoln and his group to the throne room. While his friends are taken in by the castle, Lincoln was bewildered by sudden form he was now taking. He looked like his human self, but was noticeably taller and had more defined features.
"What's up with you?" Marco asked, the first to noticed his friend's change.
"I think... I've aged?" The white-haired boy felt his clothes constricting. "It's like when I first returned to Earth, I took on a human form."
"Hmm... I think I get it!" Star inferred. "When you got to Hell you took on a demon form. When you got to Earth, you take a human form. On Mewni, you take a mewman form."
"That still doesn't explain why he looks older." Octavia compared their heights.
"He is older." Joining the group with a short, bearded man, a tall woman with long, light-blue hair done in a braid spoke.
"Hi Mom and Dad!" Star waved towards her parents, Moon and River Butterfly. "Look, it's Lincoln!"
"How do you do old boy!?" River reached up to slap him on the back. "Always a pleasure to have you!"
"Good to see you, Mr. Butterfly." Link pleasantly greeted the robust gentleman, then coldly stared at Star's mother. "Moon."
"Hello, Lincoln." The blue-haired woman looked away. "As I was saying, you are, in fact, older. Despite our numerous similarities with humans, one of the key differences is that mewmans age a different rate. To give an example, where humans typically begin adolescence at age 12, a mewman starts at age 9."
"By that logic..." Jill tried to do the math. "Lincoln, whose aged for about eleven years... as a mewman he'd be in his early to mid-teens."
"We are about the same height." Marco got side-by-side with his friend.
"As intriguing as all this is, it still doesn't explain why we're here." Octavia spoke, annoyed by all the travel.
Lincoln walked up to Moon. "Lady Butterfly, I am here to see Queen Eclipsa."
Although the two said no further words to each other, the look between them displayed a full conversation without speech. "She is at the Monster Temple, Globgor is having a meeting with local monster leaders and Eclipsa joined her husband."
Bowing his head slightly, Lincoln thanked her. "Looks like we have a little farther to go."
"I'll take you, but before anything else." Marco gestured to his friend's ill-fitting clothes. "You're gonna need some different clothes."
2 Days Ago
"Holy Shit!" Martha barely had time to react as the giant fox bit off her head, causing her being to burst into pixels of rainbow light.
"Dammit, Again!" Firing arrows that ended up bouncing off the monster's hide, Jill cussed. "How long for her respawn!?"
Lincoln, still as an imp, kept firing but the fox was too strong. "A couple minutes!? It varies!" The boy tried to get in closure to attack with his knife, but he was barely strong enough to give the beast a scratch.
Jill tried to bring more arrows out her inventory, but it was empty. "I'm out!" Lacking options, she uses her less effective magic firearms. "If this keeps up, we're all gonna be dinner!"
"Dinner? I got an idea!" Flawlessly changing outfits as he changed skins into his Sinner form, the boy used telekinesis to throw his shed skin into the fox's mouth "Bang!"
Detonating, the empty husk became an explosive. Once the dust settled, the monster fox was alive but greatly injured. The only one able to fight effectively, Lincoln rushes towards the beast and roundhouse kick it in the neck. He then fishes the monster off by firing directly into it's jaw. The battle over, Link falls to the ground as Jill rushes over to hold him up.
"Good work, Lincoln." The teacher slowly lowered him to sit.
Respawning beside the King, Martha looked around and saw the aftermath. "Shit, I died again."
Soon, the monster fox, the creature guarding the door to the Dungeon Boss, turns to ash and leaves behind its drops: A glass orb, and a pile of coins. Lincoln collected the coins in his Bank, then picked up the orb.
"What do you make of this, Mac?" He asked his tiny guide.
"It's a Power Orb. If you break it in your hands, you'll get another power." The little imp spoke. "Apparently, this one is called... [Occult Feeding]."
"Sounds sketchy." Jill remarked. "What does it do?"
"Simply put, it allows you to replenish exhausted stamina and energy by metabolizing." Mac explained. "Like, if you were in a drawn out battle, one would be able to replenish themselves by consuming the organic tissue of supernatural creatures or mana-enriched foods."
Without hesitation, Lincoln broke the orb in his hand and a wave of magic washed over him. "There, that should come in handy."
"Are you seriously okay with that?" Martha voiced the concerns she and Jill shared. "I've eaten humans, so it's not place to judge what you put in your body. Just make sure you clean it off first."
Jill smacked her teammate in the back of the head. "Lincoln, are sure you want to do this?"
"Since going to Hell, I've eaten roadkill. I'll find a way to manage." He looked towards the giant bolder that sealed off the Boss' room. "Let's take a rest, we'll challenge the Boss once we're recharged."
Walking down the halls to rejoin everyone in the throne room, Lincoln had changed into a plain black t-shirt and jeans that Marco got from Earth.
"Oh, you look so handsome!" Jill pinched Lincoln's cheek. "Good eye, Mr. Diaz."
"I wish I could take credit for this. It's the beauty of simplicity."
While he, his friend, and his Pawn walked down the halls, Lincoln couldn't fight the uneasy feeling of something else was in the castle. "Marco, this is going to sound odd, but is this castle... haunted?
"No, I don't think it is." The Latino boy chuckled. "But there is much I don't know about this place. Like some of these portraits."
As they walked, the group noticed numerous portraits that lined the hall to the throne room. All of them were of girls, and each of them was holding the Butterfly family wand. From that detail alone, it was clear these were queens of long past.
"Most of them look like Star." Jill noticed. "How long has her family been in power?"
"Nobody is certain." Marco admitted. "Apparently, a lot of records were lost or destroyed, but the Butterfly Kingdom has been here for hundreds of years."
While the other two talked, Lincoln turned around and caught sight of something moving away.
"Is something wrong?"
"No." The white-haired boy answered. "Just a feeling."
At Monster Temple, Queen Eclipsa walks out of the meeting with her husband and daughter, Meteora. Although it took a lot of diplomacy, the assembly were able to reach a collective agreement for sake of maintaining peace in the kingdom. Although she carried herself with confidence, Eclipsa couldn't fight the ominous feeling growing in her stomach. Globgor saw how conflicted his queen was, so he decided to lighten the mood.
"Dear, we have a problem!" Catching her attention, the size-shifter had turned himself to the height of a doll and was being carried by their toddler daughter. "Our baby girl is growing to fast!" This got a tiny smile from Eclipsa. "We have to call someone! If she gets any bigger, we'll need to expand the castle!"
The Queen burst with laughter. "Thank you, Globby." Eclipsa reached down to pick them both up, then kissed her husband on the cheek. "I needed that."
A portal appearing the royal family, passing through was the always welcomed Star and Marco, followed by Moon and River, a familiar lad with white hair, two owl-like beings, and two blonde women.
"Isn't this a lovely surprise, Star and Marco." Eclipsa greeted the couple. "But who are your friends?"
"Allow me to introduce us, Your Highness." Stolas stepped forward and bowed. "I am Prince Stolas of the Ars Goetia. This is my daughter, Octavia. Here is Lincoln Loud and his subordinates, Jill and Martha."
"Lincoln... it that you!?" Eclipsa realized what was so familiar about the boy. "What's happened to you?"
"That's gonna be a long story." He scratched the back of his head.
"We have plenty of time." The Queen smiled.
"Snakes... WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE SNAKES!?"
The boss was not what he expected. Instead of one singular entity, the boss was a literal snake pit. After they opened the door, the three adventurers walked inside with the anticipation of an attack. What they got was the floor breaking apart, then plummeting into a deep hole filled with venomous snakes as big as bridges. Martha got eaten in ten minutes, and Jill got a nasty bite and fell to the ground, then eaten. His team indisposed, Lincoln was left to deal with the giant snakes.
"WE HAVE GOT TO GET MORE TEAMMATES!"
Ducking and dodging their venomous bites, the King was able to get to the wall and began climbing up. Grateful for Carmilla's training, he was able to reach a hole up the wall to rest and form a plan.
"They don't attack if you reach a certain distance." Analyzing the snakes, Lincoln took not of everything he saw. "From how they move, they're not acting independently. They're cooperating, no... they wait until you get close enough to reach you." He kept making observations, until he realized something was a miss. "A while as passed, we're are those two?"
On closer consideration, an induction occurred. "This is either very smart, or very dumb."
Seeing no other options, the devil-tailed boy jumped back into the snake pit. When the first serpent tried to bite him, Lincoln jumped into its mouth and forced himself down it's throat. It was strangely painless, like the snake had no concept of digestion. Continuing down the snake, Link found himself in a giant cave. It was completely illuminated by a giant ball of fire levitating above. Occupying the secret room was a large, step pyramid that nearly touched the fire.
"I guess the snakes were just an entrance." He walked towards the pyramid.
"Get Down!"
Taking the advice, Lincoln dropped to the ground and avoided a beam of greenish light. Looking towards the source of the beam, he saw a stone statue that stood at the top of the pyramid. Around the statue's neck was a necklace of giant beads; and according to Link's magic sense, those beads contained the souls his team was looking for.
"If you get too close, that happens." The voice, revealed to be Martha, pointed to a statue she was hiding behind; a petrified Jill.
Narrowing his gaze, Lincoln performed some mental math of how far the necklace was, how much time for the beam to fire, and how fast he'd need to go to reach it. "This is gonna be close." Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Lincoln charged towards the top of the pyramid as speeds Martha had never seen the boy reach before. As his foot made contact with the first stair, the statue locked its beam on him; before the blast could make contact, Lincoln disappeared like he did against Carmilla. He didn't vanish, just shifted from one side to the next so fast it was as though he teleported.
Step by step he made his way up those stairs, but the closer Link got to the statue the harder it became to avoid the petrification beams. Just as he had reached the top of the stairs, the statue turned its head to fire at the boy just a few inches ahead. Seeing his opportunity, Lincoln did a front flip over the statue before it could turn him to stone. Mid-air, he grabbed the beaded necklace and yanked it off the statue.
Like flipping a switch, the giant fire ball dimmed as the statue depowered. Down below, Jill returned to her previous state before running off to vomit out of plain view. Smiling in triumph, Lincoln broke to beads to release the trapped souls. As they flew away, the pyramid lowered until it was just a raised platform. Before the party of three, a storm of coins gently rained down as three treasure boxes manifested; each box going to one of the group.
"Might still be a trap." Jill spoke, skeptical. "I say we all open on three. One..."
"Two." Martha followed.
"Three." Lincoln finished, and they opened the chests.
Inside the teacher's chest, a piece of paper with a picture of a crossbow on it; Martha's chest contained a piece of paper but with a picture of snake similar to the one on her eye patch; and Lincoln's, like the other two, was a piece of paper with what he now knew as a voodoo sigil.
"Paper!?" Martha was angry. "All this shit for a piece of paper!"
"Easy, easy." Mac appeared. "Let me explain. These papers are 'Full Upgrade Tickets'. To make it simple, it upgrades one designated aspect to it's highest possible form."
"A crossbow?" Jill had an idea and pulled out her bow; sensing the designated aspect, the ticket and the bow became a rainbow of pixels as they merged. When it was over, a mighty crossbow made of red tinted, black metal appeared. "Holy Shit."
"Cool, am I right?" The imp sprite complimented before explain. "Your new weapon can now deal sick damage. This crossbow can fire bolts at rapid succession, if you have a high amount, and the range of damage increases in relation to how much danger you're in."
"Where have you been all my life?" An elated Jill admired her upgrade.
"It is a killer crossbow." Lincoln agreed.
"Be aware, it won't curb stop. It still does the damage of a crossbow, but now you can pierce just about anything." Mac clarified.
"Me next!" Martha removed her eye patch, causing the ticket yo upgrade her magic eye. When it was done, her magic eye matched her real one.
"Oh~ That just made your petrification eye on par with that statue! You can use it at will, anything in your line of sight quickly becomes stone, and you can undo it if you wish! But using it will deplete your stamina."
"Ah, Hell Yeah!" The taller blonde cheered. "I am looking forward to usin' this bitch!"
"Keep your patch on." Lincoln recommended. "Until you get used to it. What about me, Mac?"
The tiny imp floated over and inspected the ticket before them. "Damn! This is to upgrade your blood powers!" They danced in the air. "Those sigils your uncle manifests, those are tied to voodoo. Same as yours!"
"Really?" All this time, Lincoln never made the connection.
"Not so much to a specific Loa, or spirit, but a connection to their realm. After you burn this, you can manifest more power from the Loa your blood draws power from!"
Not wasting time, Lincoln lit the paper using a simple fire spell. The smoke encircled the boy, transporting his being someplace else. He wasn't sure, the last thing he remembered was going someplace and then he woke up to find himself flat on his back with Martha and Jill surrounding him. When their leader came to, Martha propped his head up.
"What happened?" She soothed. "You were out of it for a while."
"I... I don't know."
"Come on, Lincoln." Jill helped him up. "I think it's time we get out of her, and you to get some rest."
Sitting in a parlor in another section of the temple, everyone listened to Lincoln story of how he died and got sent to Hell. He did, however, cut out sensitive details, primarily IMP and the dungeons. After he finished explaining everything, the young man stopped to eat one of the corn muffins. Taking a moment to process everything the child just said, Star was the first ask a question.
"You said you use magic now. What's your favorite spell!?" Her eyes sparkled.
"It's not flashy, but I like using my silk spell." Doing the 'thwip' gesture, a stand of magic string shot from his wrist and Lincoln pulled in a loose rock from the corner.
"That is awesome." Marco agreed.
"Magic is actually why I wanted to come here." Link turned to face Eclipsa. "Queen Eclipsa, you are one of the most powerful magic users I know. To accomplish my goals and reuniting with the people I love, I need to become stronger." He bowed to a perfect ninety degrees. "Please, would you teach me how to us Butterfly magic?"
The queen took a sip of tea. "I always believed knowledge is treasure. All knowledge is good knowledge; but now I know that not all knowledge should be given." She raised the boy's head to meet her eyes. "If you want me to teach you, I would be greatly pleased. But remember, what you learn can be dangerous. Use it wisely."
"Thank you, Queen Eclipsa!" Lincoln bowed again.
After the two of them agreed to become student and teacher, Eclipsa took Lincoln back to Butterfly Castle while Marco returned home with Star and Lincoln's Pawns. Before they left, the King piece made of list of tasks for Martha and Jill to do while he's gone. He also provided them with a list of names and contact information to people who can help them. Waiting for her student in the castle garden, the Queen was reading through the Book of Spells when Lincoln rushed in with Stolas and Octavia following.
"Okay, Queen Teacher, I'm ready to learn!" He pumped his fists into the air.
"Hold on a second." Stolas felt something was missing. "You can't learn dressed like that." With a wave of the owl demon's hand, Lincoln's clothing transformed into something more regal; a simple white dress shirt, burgundy trousers, dark boots with silver buckles, and a short, orange cape that covered the boy's upper body. "Is it too much, I may have gone a little overboard."
Lincoln inspected his outfit. "I may make a few alterations down the line. Thank you, Magister Stolas."
"Just don't blame my dad if you get beat up for that look." Octavia joked.
"While you're here, Stolas, perhaps you could help me?" Eclipsa asked the demonic being. "I've been having trouble forming a lesson plan."
"Oh, I would be delighted!" He clapped. "First, we should make sure the boy has a firm grasp on the local language!"
"Traditionally, High Mewman is taught for learning magic, but Low Mewman is the most widely known language." Eclipsa mused. "I'll gather some books, follow me to the Library. Lincoln, why don't you work on some of the beginner spells I wrote down."
As the adults left, Lincoln was left to practice the basics while Octavia listened to music. It was a strenuous exercise, but after a few successful attempts, Link wanted more challenging spells. Bored, he started a conversation with the owl teen.
"Octavia, when did you start learning magic?"
This caught the demon royal off-guard. "I didn't, not really. When your father is a demon prince, you don't have much incentive to learning much."
"What was it like growing up with a wizard for a dad?" Lincoln always liked the though of being a boy wizard.
"Guess like it would be growing up with a politician dad, or a dad whose important." She wasn't as happy to the idea. "They have work that takes up a lot of time. You see them now and again. Then, the times you do see them they try to compensate with flashy, over the top gifts or trips."
Lincoln's concentration faltered for a moment. "Octavia... do you ever wish... that life could go back to how it was? You know, when life wasn't so complicated. When some days you could lose yourself in a small task; drawing, gaming, or just being outside. You have no worries and can just lose yourself in the moment and before you know it a full day went by, but to you it felt like minutes."
A tear found its way to Via's face; trying to be strong, she wiped it away. "That's the problem with happy times. Once their over, you're just left with a bunch of shit."
Watching as the teenager walked away, Lincoln regretted saying something that might have been painful for her. Taking a seat at the steps of the stone pavilion, he looked back on his family and friends. Alone in the quiet garden, the Man with the Plan felt great unease, No matter how loud or chaotic his old life could get, he always felt worried when things were quiet. His silence was killed when he heard the sound of humming from the other side.
"Hello?" He called, finding a woman with reddish hair and blue eyes doing embroidery by herself. "Sorry, I did mean to disturb you."
She looked up, not scared by deeply surprised. "It's alright. I'm a little happy to have someone to talk to. I don't think I've had a conversation in... I don't know how long."
From the woman's clothing, Lincoln assumed she was a regular woman who snuck into the garden. "That's a beautiful design. My sisters, a few of them, are big into fashion."
"Thank you, my daughter is the one who inspired me to take it up." She looked away. "I haven't seen her in a long time either."
Lincoln looked down. "I've be separated from my mother for a little while. It wasn't my choice, but I can't return until I... until I'm sure my family can accept me." He was brutally honest.
The woman moved in closer and gave a comforting sympathetic smile. "I see you're a student of magic. My daughter is one as well."
"She is?" Lincoln was under the assumption that there was only a handful of people who could use magic in the kingdom. "
"I must be blunt, she can be imaginative, but when it comes to magic she can be too rigid. Do you like magic?"
"Very much! Ever since I was real young I wanted to be a magician. I learned some close-up tricks, but it doesn't compare." A small look of hope came to Lincoln's face. "I hope I can become a great magician like my Uncle and teachers one day."
"Funny, you seem to be one to me." She finished her embroidery. "I hope I can show this to Urania one day."
"I'm certain she'd be happy to see you." He encouraged. "My name is Lincoln, sorry for the late introduction. Maybe one day, she could teach me a thing or two for my spellbook."
"It may happen. Urania started a book herself, it used to be her grandmother's recordkeeping book, but she began writing her little spells in it!" The woman laughed. "It was around that time we stopped speaking. She and her grandmother got into an argument and she stormed out... I never got a chance to apologize for not sticking up for her."
"I'm sure she forgives you." Lincoln comforted. "No matter how much people argue... I think when people truly love each other, they can forgive anything with time and effort. Just be there when she needs you, Ms... how careless! I forgot to ask your name!" He scratched his head.
"Hmph, Darlene." Darlene left the pavilion. "I think you will be with your family again one day. Just remember, parents don't want their children to be perfect. We're just scaredwe won't be perfect for them."
"Thank you." The white-haired boy turned around but turned back a second later. "Oh, do you know..." Without a sound, she was gone. "I guess I'm not the only one good at disappearing acts."