02: The Sole-Wielders

Branches Of Sunshire

Chapter 2 - The Sole-Wielders

The moon cast down on Ashley as they squirmed and stumbled over bouts of laughter.

Nari: “Sole-wielders from Sunshire?!”

She hissed, dropping her feather and stumbling back.

Ashley: “Y-yes…”

They panted between shortened breaths.

Nari: “That’s not possible.”

She gaped at them.

Ashley: “Huh?”

They tilted their head.

Suddenly, the rusty door swung open as Madelyn merrily skipped into the room, humming a tune. Nari’s face twisted as she turned on her heel to face her.

Nari: “What are you doing here?! I told you to watch Juniper!”

She huffed, putting her hands on her hips.

Madelyn: “I did!”

She shrugged. Nari clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes.

Nari: “Go back and watch her!”

She pointed at the door. Madelyn swung her gaze down at Ashley as they twitched and giggled.

Ashley: “H-Hellohohohohoho!”

Madelyn smirked at Nari.

Madelyn: “Ooh, you used your kinky potion for some fun time, huh?”

She teased and nudged Nari.

Nari: “Kink?! It’s NOT a kink!”

She threw her arms up. Ashley giggled in the background as the potion tickled them.

Madelyn: “Dude, your potion is literally called ticklemore!”

She chuckled, holding up the half-empty potion bottle with a cursive font that read ‘Ticklemore.’

Nari: “I was merely gathering information, and I have some shocking revelations to share with you!”

She protested, snatching the bottle off her.

Madelyn: “Yeah, they’re sole-wielders! Juniper’s feet already told us that!”

She chuckled. Nari pouted.

Ashley: “Wow! She could tell that from her feet?!”

They gasped between laughter. Nari twisted her mouth.

Nari: “All the more reason to get them out of our house!”

She frowned. Ashley knit their eyebrows.

Ashley: “W-what? W-why is thahahahahat? It’s our house too!”

They gasped and twitched between laughter.

Nari: “Because you can’t be trusted, and it’s NOT your house!”

She narrowed her eyes at Ashley. Ashley knit their eyebrows.

Psychedelic music blared from upstairs with stomping footsteps.

Nari: “What IS she doing?!”

She gaped up at the ceiling towards the music.

Madelyn: “Sounds like she’s having a party!”

She laughed. Ashley beamed.

Ashley: “Ooh, let’s party!”

Nari twisted her mouth.

Nari: “Absolutely not!”

She turned on her heel, heading towards the door.

Nari: “Stay here and watch that one!”

She warned Madelyn and marched back up the stairs.

Madelyn swung her gaze to Ashley and scurried over to them when she was out of sight.

Madelyn: “Come along with me, pretty kitty!”

She beamed as she released Ashley from their stocks and bonds. Ashley sighed with relief, eager to leave the dark and cold room.

Ashley: “Where are we going?”

They smiled, scooping up their cat from the chair with them.

Madelyn: “Let’s go party!”

She beamed and led them up the stairs.

Ashley: “Yay!”

They chirped and followed her.

~

They emerged from the dark basement into the stairwell. Ashley sighed with relief as they reached the bright, warm house. The music grew louder as they neared the dining room, where they saw Juniper dancing and pouring Blake some tea from a kitschy teapot while he was tied to a chair in daisy chains. Blake looked like he would rather be anywhere else. Nari marched up to them, turning off the stereo.

Nari: “What are you doing, Juniper?!”

She threw her arms up.

Juniper: “We’re having a tea party!”

She smiled as she held up the teapot.

Nari: “...What?! Why would you do that?!”

She snapped.

Juniper: “Because you told me to watch him? And then I got bored and wanted to do something fun with him!”

She laughed and sat down at the table with Blake. Nari rubbed her temples.

Nari: “That’s not what I meant!”

Ashley: “OOH! Tea! I’ll bake some cookies!”

They beamed and scurried in the kitchen. They all turned to them.

Nari: “What are you doing here?!”

She groused at Ashley and swung her gaze to Madelyn.

Madelyn: “What?”

She laughed and sat down at the table.

Nari: “This is why I told you to watch Juniper!”

She hissed at Madelyn.

Nari: “But I can’t trust you either.”

She shook her head. Madelyn pouted.

Ashley emerged from the kitchen, mixing cookie batter in a bowl. They smiled up at the sparkling chandelier hanging from the ceiling above them.

Ashley: “Ooh, thanks for lighting up the house, Blake!”

They smiled at him.

Blake: “I didn’t do anything.”

He glanced down at his bonds with bitterness and looked up at the lights with curiosity. Ashley knit their eyebrows and reached out to him.

Nari: “AH-AH!”

She waved her finger at them.

Ashley: “If you didn’t do it and I didn’t… who did?”

They pondered.

Madelyn: “Electricity?”

She laughed with amusement and intrigue.

Ashley: “...Who’s that? OH? You mean like lightning?”

They tilted their head and clapped their hands together. Madelyn gaped at them and laughed.

Nari: “I take it they didn't have electricity in Sunshire?”

She enquired. Blake frowned.

Ashley: “No?! How does it work?!”

They asked. Nari paused. How does electricity work without Majique? She pondered.

Nari: “I don’t know, it’s an invention of the commonfolk.”

She explained with bitterness in her tone as she spoke the word ‘commonfolk’. Blake and Ashley paused.

Ashley: “Commonfolk?”

They titled their head.

Juniper: “People with no majique! 85.9% of the world population!”

She explained, feeling the earth with her feet.

Blake: “People like our father…”

He muttered.

Madelyn: “Oh, come on, as if THIS isn’t majique-cool!”

Ashley’s eyes widened with curiosity as Madelyn skipped through the archway over to the strange-looking box they had never seen before. At the press of a button, the screen came to life, making their jaw drop. The screen displayed close-up shots of food on a sparkly purple background.

Blake: “What is that?!”

He leaned closer to it with curiosity. Ashley poked the screen with their fingertips.

Ashley: “Ooh, did you cast a delicious vision from the future in frozen water?”

They asked Nari.

Nari: “I didn’t cast THAT! That’s a television! It’s a common folk invention!”

She groused.

Ashley: “Tell a vision? Oh, what visions does it tell?”

They smiled.

Nari: “Nothing insightful, that’s for sure.”

She twisted her mouth. Ashley shifted their gaze to the man on the television presenting the plates of food. He was dressed in a purple paisley suit with black gloves. He wore rectangle-framed glasses and wore his long black hair in a ponytail. His hair sparkled blue in the light, and his violet eyes twinkled at the viewer.

Lazaros: “I am Lazaros Katsaros, the Kitchen Magician! Today I will be cooking chicken chow mein!”

He spread his arms, presenting the ingredients before him. His smile spread to show his even white teeth. Ashley’s eyes lit up with joy.

Ashley: “Ooh, a kitchen magician?!”

They beamed. Nari rolled her eyes and turned off the TV.

Nari: “Ugh, enough of that nonsense!”

Ashley: “Aww, I wanted some chicken chow mein!”

They pouted.

Nari picked up the tea and threw it towards Blake. Blake froze, and Ashley gasped. She waved her staff, freezing the tea water into ice shards, slicing away at his bonds, cutting him free.

Nari: “It’s time for the Sole-Wielders to leave.”

She folded her arms across her chest, locking her gaze onto them. Ashley knit their eyebrows, and Blake glared at her. Juniper and Madelyn exchanged a look.

Blake: “We are NOT Sole-Wielders, and it’s time for YOU to leave!”

He fired back, pointing at the three women. Ashley pursed their lips. Nari narrowed her glare onto Blake.

Nari: “You cannot kick us out of what we legally own. Juniper is the legal owner of this house!”

She laughed. Juniper smiled and waved.

Juniper: “That’s right! My parents binded it to me!”

She declared.

Nari: “Furthermore, I wouldn’t spite us by kicking us out. It seems you don’t want it getting out that you’re sole wielders. No one has seen a Sole-Wielder since the 1960s, so I wonder how the Sortilege community would react knowing Sole-Wielders are still out there?”

She stroked her chin and smirked at them. Ashley tilted their head, and their eyebrows rose surprisingly. There’s no other sole wielders?! They gasped.

Blake: “...Are you threatening us?!”

He glared at her, standing in front of Ashley protectively.

Nari: “You threatened us. Do unto others as they do unto you!”

She waved her finger at him.

Blake: “My father owned this house, and we're his children, so it's bound to us!”

He protested.

Ashley: “Aww, I say they stay! We’re children of the sun, and it’s our duty to spread light as the Sunshire way!”

They pleaded with Blake. Blake gaped at them.

Blake: “WHAT?! We can’t co-exist with outsiders! You know that!”

He countered.

Nari: “Us? Outsiders? You are the outsiders. You clearly have no clue how the world works. We’re the ones who should be telling you to get out of our house!”

She laughed bitterly and folded her arms across her chest. Ashley knit their eyebrows, and Blake glared at her.

Madelyn: “Actually, that’s up to Juniper!”

They all turned to Juniper.

Juniper: “The land doesn’t belong to us. We all belong to the land.”

She hummed softly, stroking her feet against the floor.

Juniper: “We are all connected like the roots of a tree, yet we live as if we are separate. We should all live together as one!”

She beamed, linking her hands with Blake and Nari, who stood on either side of her. Blake and Nari both frowned and groaned.

Ashley: “Wow… you’re so wise! Let’s form a circle!”

They beamed, linking their hands with Nari’s and Madelyn’s hands.

Madelyn: “Okay, that settles it then! We’re roomies!”

She exclaimed, linking her hand with Blake’s and Ashley’s, completing the circle. Blake pulled away from the circle.

Blake: “No! I’m NOT doing this!”

He protested and stormed out of the room. Ashley knit their eyebrows.

Ashley: “...Blake?!”

They cried.

Nari: “Nor am I!”

She huffed and sauntered out of the room in the opposite direction to Blake. Ashley sighed and bowed their head.

Juniper: “Oh dear!”

She cupped her mouth.

Madelyn: “Well, that was awkward.”

She remarked.

Juniper: “Oh no, he’s not going to burn stuff, is he?”

She grabbed Ashley’s shoulders with a worried look on her face. Ashley froze.

Ashley: “...N-No? Why would he do that?!”

They gasped. Madelyn quirked an eyebrow at them.

Madelyn: “Umm, because he’s a pissed-off Sole-wielder!”

She exclaimed, rising from her seat. Ashley tilted their head in confusion.

Ashley: “What?! We don’t cast fire!”

They gaped at them. Juniper and Madelyn gaped back at Ashley and turned to each other.

Madelyn: “...What do you mean you don’t cast fire?!”

She asked slowly, locking her gaze on Ashley.

Ashley: “We cast light and warmth, not fire!”

They explained, turning their backs to the moon and facing the wall sconce. The light from the sconce dimmed as they absorbed its light to summon their staff into their hands. A golden sunflower sat perched at the top of it. It had green leaves at the base and the tip, and red velvet at the centre of the wooden handle. Ashley waved their staff over their sun-shaped cookies, casting a warm golden light around them that made the cookies rise and harden.

Madelyn’s eyebrows rose with intrigue.

Madelyn: “Oooh!”

Juniper felt at ease and smiled again.

Nari lurked behind the corner, narrowing her cold violet gaze on Ashley and watching them closely.

Juniper: “Wow, how did you do that without an oven?”

She gasped.

Ashley: “A what?”

They tilted their head. Madelyn gaped at them. How do they not know what an oven or a businessman is?! She pondered.

Madelyn: “THAT thing!”

She laughed and pointed at the green iron oven with the stove top. Ashley tilted their head as they observed it.

Juniper: “...Why would Sole-Wielders need ovens if they can bake with their hands?”

She stroked her chin, looking up at the ceiling. Madelyn laughed.

Madelyn: “Touché!”

She took a bite out of the cookie and smiled at Ashley.

Madelyn: “DAMN, that's tasty!”

Ashley smiled like a kitten.

Ashley: “Thank you! I made them with love and light!”

They beamed. Madelyn and Juniper smiled at Ashley as they ate cookies together.

Juniper: “Aww, how cute!”

Madelyn petted Ashley’s head like a cat. Ashley purred.

Nari: “Aww, how cute…”

She cooed sardonically, stepping out from the corner. They all turned to her.

Nari: “Until they unleash their fire!”

She dramatically hissed at Ashley. Ashley knit their eyebrows, and the tufts of their hair flopped down like a cornered cat.

Ashley: “We don’t wield fire!”

They reiterated. Juniper and Madelyn exchanged looks.

Nari: “Right, whatever.”

Nari narrowed her eyes at Ashley disbelievingly. Ashley tilted their head.

Ashley: “I never knew of a sole-wielder who could wield fire… in fact, I never knew of any other types of Sortileges before!”

They explained, stroking their chin.

Juniper: “Yes, you have, you know us!”

She spread her arms out, gesturing to herself, Madelyn, and Nari. Ashley smiled a bit.

Ashley: “OH! What kind of Sortileges are you?”

They chirped.

Madelyn: “Guess!”

She winked at Ashley, holding her staff beside her.

Ashley: “Hmmm… you do Majique with flowers, so you’re a flower-wielder?”

Ashley smiled at her, touching her flower crown.

Madelyn: “Ooh, you’re sooo close! But think bigger!”

She clasped her hands together and spread them out.

Madelyn: “What powers the flowers, Ashley?”

She quizzed them.

Ashley: “Uhh, photosynthesis from the sun? I can’t do that right now because the sun isn’t out!”

They gestured to the moon out the window.

Madelyn: “...You can grow plants, huh?”

She gaped at them and smirked.

Juniper: “Oh, how did you bake cookies when the sun is asleep then?”

She asked them.

Ashley: “Oh, I used the last bit of energy I absorbed from the sun’s light today! Donut worry! I can recharge again when the sun comes up again tomorrow!”

They explained, waving their hands. Nari’s eyebrows rose.

Nari: “So, you’re powerless at night, huh?”

She smirked, stroking her chin.

Ashley: “You don't need power at night! Night is for rest!”

They smiled. Nari shook her head and stood under the moonlight casting through the window.

Nari: “Not for me it is, for I am a Hivernal-Wielder. I am one with the winter, the moon, and the ocean!”

She explained, dramatically holding out her staff to Ashley’s face. Ashley swallowed hard and recoiled as the room temperature dropped.

Madelyn: “I think you’re scaring them, Nari!”

She interjected. Ashley shivered.

Suddenly, her staff was knocked to the floor as Blake barged into the room, grabbing Ashley and pulling them away from her.

Blake: “Stay AWAY from them!”

He hissed and glared at her, standing protectively in front of Ashley.

Nari: “No need to be so dramatic! I wasn’t going to do anything.”

She laughed and waved her hand.

Blake: “Right, I’m the one being dramatic. Come on, let’s go to bed.”

He grabbed Ashley’s arm, ushering them to the stairs.

Madelyn: “Okay, let’s go!”

She followed them up the stairs.

Blake: “What? Not YOU!”

He turned to her and glared.

Madelyn: “Why not?”

She pouted.

Ashley: “Yeah, Blake, why not?”

They frowned.

Blake: “Because I don’t trust THEM!”

He glared at the three women.

Ashley: “Well, I trust them, Blake!”

They exclaimed. Blake turned to Ashley to gape at them.

Blake: “What?! She JUST threatened you!”

He pointed at Nari. Nari scoffed.

Ashley: “She wasn’t threatening me, she was just showing off her cool moves!”

They declared.

Nari: “...Was that supposed to be a pun?”

She groused.

Blake: “Did you forget how they… tortured us?!”

He folded his arms across his chest.

Ashley: “Tickling isn’t torture!”

They gasped. Blake frowned.

Blake: “It is to me.”

He reddened and groused between clenched teeth.

Ashley: “Laughter is medicine for the soul!”

They smiled, spreading their arms out. Blake groaned and twisted his mouth.

Blake: “You may live in denial, but I live in reality.”

He shook his head. Ashley bowed their head.

Nari interjected with a laugh.

Nari: “Oh, please!”

She waved her hand.

Nari: “You haven’t the faintest idea of reality.”

She laughed at Blake.

Nari: “And we don’t trust you.”

She folded her arms across her chest. Ashley knit their eyebrows.

Juniper: “I do!”

She smiled.

Nari: “You trust everyone, Juniper. Even those idiots next door!”

She rolled her eyes. Madelyn groused and poked her tongue out.

Madelyn: “Aww, come on! How could you not trust someone who looks like a cat and bakes cookies? Can we keep them?”

She pleaded with her, petting Ashley’s head like a cat. Ashley tilted their head, glancing up at Nari with their big doe eyes.

Nari: “You speak of them as if they are a cat.”

She folded her arms across her chest and shook her head.

Ashley: “Meow!”

They chirped. Blake twisted his mouth and shook his head.

Blake: “We are not pets!”

He hissed and folded his arms across his chest.

Nari: “That’s right! They’re sole-wielders!”

She fixed her gaze on them.

Ashley: “What’s so bad about Sole-Wielders?”

They knit their eyebrows. Blake drew a long breath.

Blake: “It doesn’t matter, because we aren’t.”

He declared.

Madelyn: “That’s not what we saw! Ashley baked cookies with heat majique, and Juniper’s feet don’t lie!”

She laughed. Blake paused and turned to Ashley. Ashley shifted their eyes and bowed their head.

Blake: “I told you not to mess with that stuff!”

He scolded them. Ashley knit their eyebrows.

Ashley: “B-But, Blake, it’s harmless!”

They pleaded in a tiny voice.

Blake: “It’s NOT harmless!”

He urged them. Nari’s eyebrows rose surprisingly.

Nari: “For once, you are right about something.”

She folded her arms across her chest.

Madelyn: “See! You agree on something! We’re making progress!”

She smiled at Nari and Blake, standing between them. Ashley bowed their head.

Ashley: “Oh, uh, is there anything else you can agree on?”

They forced a hopeful smile. Nari swung her gaze to Ashley.

Nari: “I doubt that. We're from very different worlds.”

She stated.

Nari: “Why don’t you just go back to Sunshire?”

She waved her hand at them. Ashley and Blake exchanged a look.

Blake: “Because there’s nothing to go back to.”

He said in a low voice, firmly gripping the banister. Ashley bowed their head and embraced themself. Madelyn focused her gaze on them with curiosity.

Madelyn: “What happened?”

She pressed them gently.

Ashley: “There was a fire…”

They said softly as they embraced themself. Blake bowed his head.

Nari: “Oh, I thought Sole-Wielders didn’t cast fire?”

She reiterated Ashley’s words. Ashley tilted their head. Blake paused.

Ashley: “We don’t! It wasn’t a Sole-Wielder!”

They countered, shaking their head.

Juniper: “Then what started the fire?”

She asked. Ashley paused and pondered.

Ashley: “...We don’t know. We just woke up, and everything was burning…”

Their soft voice cracked as they spoke, and they buried their head into their hands. Nari froze.

Blake: “You don’t need to say anything more.”

He assured Ashley, placing his hand on their shoulder.

Blake: “Look, it’s been an arduous journey for us… We need some rest.”

He interjected, flicking his gaze towards the hallway of bedrooms. Ashley soberly nodded.

Ashley: “We’ve been walking through the bush for days and sleeping on the ground!”

They cried.

Juniper: “Oh, that is quite the journey, I bet you learned a lot from the earth!”

She smiled and waved her hands.

Madelyn: “Oh no! You poor things! Come on, I’ll get your beds set up!”

She exclaimed, taking their hands and leading them over to a door with colourful beads and googly eyes on the doorknob.

Nari: “WHAT?!”

~

Madelyn twisted the doorknob, leading them into a room resembling a daydream. Ashley’s eyes widened with a gasp as they drank in the colourful decorations and twinkling fairylights across the canopy bed by the bay window and stone fireplace.

Ashley: “O-Oh wow… Did you paint this?!”

They marveled at the hand-painted forest mural on the purple walls, which made the room feel like it was in the middle of a cartoon forest. Painted Wisteria stretched across the tops of the walls, with petals flowing in the breeze across the painting. At the base of the wall were hand-painted mushrooms. The sun was painted in the corner of the room, with a pair of sunglasses stuck onto it and a smiley face.

Madelyn: “Yep! I sure did!”

She smiled.

Ashley: “It’s beautiful!”

They beamed with delight.

Blake: “You don’t have to pretend to be nice anymore, Ashley. We’re not in Sunshire anymore.”

He groused at the sun wearing sunglasses.

Ashley: “I’m not pretending, Blake!”

They knit their eyebrows. Madelyn jumped onto the canopy bed, landing amongst her pile of cushions and pillows.

Madelyn: “You can stay in my room!”

She smiled at them, handing them a stuffed duck plush. Ashley’s eyes brightened with a smile.

Nari: “NO!”

She interjected with a huff.

Blake: “No! We will have our own rooms!”

He said firmly, folding his arms across his chest.

Juniper: “Okay, come with me!”

She smiled, taking Ashley and Blake’s hands and leading them out of the room and down the hall.

Blake: “HEY!”

He protested.

Nari: “JUNIPER!”

She protested and stamped her heel.

Madelyn: “Chill, Nari! It’ll be fine!”

She waved her hand.

Nari: “How can you be ‘chill’ about strangers in our home?”

She huffed. Madelyn frowned at her and shook her head.

Madelyn: “Well… I was once a stranger in this home.”

She laughed. Nari’s expression softened.

Madelyn: “And you were cold to me when Juniper brought me here, too, but then you got to know me, and I became your favourite person in the whole world!”

She teased, draping her arm around her with a grin. Nari pouted and pulled away from her arm.

Nari: “That’s different. You’re not a Sole-Wielder.”

She stated.

Nari: “We can’t let them stay here with us.”

She added. Madelyn flopped onto the bed.

Madelyn: “Why not? It’s their house, too, and it's not every day that Sole-Wielders rock up on your doorstep! I mean… aren’t you even curious about them and the ancient ways?!”

She countered, lying on her stomach, kicking her feet up, and gazing up at Nari.

Nari: "Curiosity can be a dangerous thing.”

She warned, folding her arms across her chest.

Madelyn: “That’s what makes it exciting!”

She exclaimed, locking her gaze on Ashley and Blake through the doorway as they entered the bedroom across the hall with Juniper.

Nari: “Perhaps.”

She leaned against the doorframe, narrowing her skeptical gaze on them.

~

Juniper led Ashley and Blake into the bedroom across the hallway. Their footsteps echoed across the wooden floorboards and bounced off the empty walls of the vacant room. There was a stone fireplace in the corner of the room. The window looked out onto the neighbour’s messy backyard, obscured by a tall elm tree.

Juniper: “Ta-Da! You can stay in here!”

She exclaimed, holding her arms out.

Blake: “Isn’t there anything we can sleep on?”

He asked. Madelyn entered the room, gripping a pile of flowers in her arms.

Madelyn: “There you go!”

She exclaimed, dumping the flowers down onto the floor.

Blake: “Flowers? Really?”

He gaped at her.

Madelyn: “Hold your horses!”

She poked her tongue out at him and waved her staff over the flowers, taking a deep breath as the flowers changed form into a pile of soft cushions and bedding. Ashley’s jaw dropped.

Ashley: “OH WOW! That’s amazing! Thank you!”

They beamed.

Blake: “...Thanks.”

He mumbled a quick thank you.

Ashley: “OH! I think I know what kind of Sortilege you are now! You work with flowers and air, so you’re Spring!”

They exclaimed. Madelyn smiled and nodded.

Madelyn: “Yes, that’s right! I’m a Vernal-Wielder!”

She spun around on her heel and bowed.

Juniper knelt to place her hand on the wooden floorboards beneath the cushions, waving her staff over them. The wood spawned wooden branches that formed into two bed frames around the cushions.

Juniper: “Do you know what I am?”

She winked at them. Blake gaped at her woodwork and ran his fingertips across it.

Ashley: “Hmm, you’re not a Sole-Wielder or a hivernal-Wielder, that’s for sure, haha!”

They chuckled.

Ashley: “Let’s see… you’re focused on the ground, and you like mushrooms, and they come out in Autumn!”

They pondered, gesturing to the mushroom print on Juniper’s blouse.

Nari: “She’s a Harvestial-Wielder.”

She interjected, leaning against the doorframe.

Nari: “There are four types of Majique, representing each season, element, and cardinal direction.”

She added. Ashley’s eyes widened with amazement.

Ashley: “WOW! Really?!”

They paused, looking deep in thought as they processed it.

Nari: “Seems they didn’t teach you anything in Sunshire.”

She shook her head. Blake pursed his lips.

Blake: “I guess not…”

He groused under his breath with bitterness in his tone.

Ashley: “That’s not true! We learned a lot of stuff!”

They exclaimed.

Ashley: “We learned how to be a community, light up the room, and use the sun’s majique to grow our food and cook our food with our warmth, and eat it together as one!”

They beamed, gazing up at the ceiling as they reminisced.

Nari: “...Sounds like a cult.”

She twisted her mouth. Ashley and Blake paused.

Ashley: “A cult? Oh, no! It was not a cult!”

They laughed and waved their hands. Nari narrowed her gaze on their robes and laughed.

Nari: “Sure.”

She said skeptically. Blake drew a breath.

Blake: “Anyway, Ashley and I need to rest now!”

He waved them off, ushering them out the door.

Madelyn: “Okay, nighty-night!”

She waved at them.

Ashley: “Nighty-night!”

They beamed as they climbed into their bed. Blake closed the door behind them and sighed.

Ashley: “Wow… I can’t believe there are other Sortileges out there!”

They mused, stroking the soft pillow Madelyn wielded for them. Blake wordlessly climbed into the bed beside Ashley.

Ashley: “And moving pictures and lights without majique!”

They beamed with wonder.

Ashley: “There’s a whole world out there we never knew…”

They mused, gazing out the window with awe and excitement.

Blake: “Yeah…”

He grimaced.