“You know...I get the feeling you made a home here,” she finally said. “I’m really glad.”
“I have...and I’ve changed.”
“No, you’re still my short little brother,” she smiled as she ruffled his hair.
“I’m basically getting to be your height.”
“Which is why I’m sayin’ it now,” Emily smiled at him. “Thanks, lil bro.”
“You haven’t called me that in so long,” he said. He was admittedly feeling nostalgic and excited about having that pleasant nickname again.
“Well get used to it. I’m calling you that again,” Emily bubbled. “Listen why don’t you stay at my place tonight? I know you have Penny, but I haven’t had the chance for...two years, was it?”
“Sure, but--”
“No buts or butts. Only yes,” she said quickly.
“...Sure,” Chris continued. “but I’m also going to ask you advice. Is that okay?”
“Is someone crushing on Penny?” Emily teased.
Chris began to blush at the thought. He never thought about it before. Emily was very good at reading him. Her lip curled as his expression began to display embarrassment. Chris wasn’t sure how to respond. Penny was only a friend up to this point, and someone he knew here. He wasn’t sure what he felt, but when he thought about having any romantic feelings toward her he almost wanted it to occur.
“Oh my god you look like Tori when she admitted that she liked me!” Emily began to pinch his cheeks.
“Stop--” he whined. “Emily…” he tried. “Don’t start.”
“No now you have to tell me everything!” she declared as she dragged him back toward the city by the arm.
◆◆◆
Emily’s home was closer to the magic schools. It was on the same street and had a view of the administration building where the headmaster and Autumn were. Her house was a tan color with an upstairs and downstairs. The interior was extremely nice. A grandfather clock was ticking beside the door. She had a black sofa and a brown wooden coffee table. There was a game of chess on the coffee table that had not yet been finished. The white pieces were winning, but the queen was gone, the king was in danger, and the black pieces still had their king and queen. This must have been Emily and Victoria’s way of passing the time.
Emily sat on the sofa and put her hands behind her head. She still seemed very off. She wasn’t smiling and she was staring up at the ceiling. Chris sat beside her and lightly shook her.
She smiled at him and nodded. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I zoned out.”
“No, it’s alright...So, you and her lived here together?”
“Yeah...Victoria was here. You see, I was losing to her in a game of chess. She always managed to win. I never saw it coming.”
Chris studied the board, “You left yourself defenseless…”
“I was trying to get her king and queen, but I didn’t notice that she made it so every move I made my pawns couldn’t save them,” Emily explained to him. “Oh yeah...That reminds me…”
She removed a black watch from a black and silver box. He had seen a similar one on Victoria.
“They don’t really use phones here as much so this will help you. They have a really big range and you only have to press the right name,” she began to attach it to his arm.
“Thanks, Em,” he smiled a little.
“Penny has one so until you learn to talk telepathically this should be useful. And I want you to use it if you’re ever in trouble.”
She went silent. Chris looked at her, but she seemed distracted. She was looking at a picture hanging on the wall across from them. It was her and Victoria. Emily was carrying Victoria on her back while Victoria took a picture of them. Victoria had her hair long at that time. She seemed like she was trying not to fall off.
“She told me she might die one day, because she wouldn’t stop until she set everything right. I knew she could die...But it never occurred to me that it would happen so soon,” she said as turned to look at him.
“What was she trying to set right?”
“She wanted to stop her father. He had already done a lot of bad, but once he attacked Japan she knew she had to do something. So, she took Penny here and fought against her own people with her sister,” she began. “She said that when their mother died Chaos was never the same. When she first came here she was treated pretty poorly...I didn’t really know what to think of her and then…”
“Then?” He urged.
“I dunno...One mission went wrong and we were the only survivors from our group and we well...something clicked and I felt...calm despite the worse. I ignored it until she confessed to me. And man did she stutter…”
“She always seemed so confident…”
“That’s her brave face. Deep down she was unsure of herself too, but she was always trying to make things easier for others. She told me that when she met you that you spared Gatchi.”
“Of course, I don’t want to kill. I’ve so far avoided it. It’s not easy when the people I fight are going for the kill,” he admitted. “I’m sorry, but after Tori died, I swear for a moment I--”
“Wanted to kill?”
“Yes…” he summoned his sword. “I tried to kill Vedi. Tori said that if I have to kill then I should, but to spare as many as I could.”
Emily nodded her head and smiled a little, “I won’t be nearly as effective now. With Tori gone my powers will decrease. I’ll have to work harder...If I had two partners like Morgan it would be fine.”
“Decrease?”
“Without your partner your magic powers will begin to become less effective. You’ll have to hone your skills like a Sorcerer to be able to survive without one. Sorcerers work hard so they don’t need partners.”
“Makes sense...I’m sorry I couldn’t save her.”
“You still say sorry too much,” she told him, taking his sword from his hand and holding it in her own before setting it aside.
Should I talk to her about Penny? She might understand, he thought.
“Emily? About Penny? I’m really worried about her.”
“I know you are. I haven’t seen her for a while,” she noted.
“I don’t know why I’m so worried I just feel like I need to be a good friend and partner and…”
“There’s something more isn’t there?”
“Yes,” he nodded his head. “I think I might like her just a tiny bit.”
“I noticed...You need to just keep trying. Penny is stubborn sometimes, but she cares about you,” she began as she wrapped her arm around him. “She’ll listen to you. You’ll know the right time to try again.”
“What about--” he started.
“Your crush?” she said before him.
“Yes…”
“That’ll come...I can’t tell you what to do,” she ruffled his hair. “Penny hasn’t been in any relationships. She was never interested in it.”
That night Chris slept on the sofa. He was having trouble sleeping, because he was worried about Penny. She probably wasn’t sleeping again. She just didn’t listen to him and as her partner he felt responsible, but more than that he just really wanted to see her happy again. It was already rare to see her smile, but now it did not show. He rolled onto his side and placed his arm under his head. He couldn’t stop worrying,
Did she really mean what she said about not wanting to be partners? he wondered. Maybe she was just upset about everything, but maybe she’s mad at me for Tori...Maybe she’ll find another partner…
◆◆◆
Three days passed by and Chris had still not spoken to Penny. She was keeping to herself. He rarely ever saw her move, and he would bring her food, but she never touched it. She drank what he would bring, but nothing more. She just didn’t seem to care about anything.
Megan and Ian had invited Chris to come training with them. He agreed, but only because he wanted to get his mind off of everything. Emily wanted to come watch but she had no time. Without Victoria ther
e was much more work to be done, and until another staff member was added she would have to do double. She seemed like she was in better spirits. They were talking again and so even if things were harder, he knew he had her.
Chris was wearing a white jacket with a red shirt, blue jeans, and red shoes. Megan was wearing a pink long-sleeved, a light pink skirt with a bow on the front, and brown shoes. She was wearing a bracelet on her left arm. She had her hair in a ponytail. She was tapping her foot.
“Ian,” she groaned. “We were supposed to start an hour ago...Where are you?”
Wow she’s mad...I thought those two were getting along by now. I guess not, he thought as he watched her.
Chris could see Ian walking toward them. He was wearing a tank top and torn jeans. His muscles were rather large. He didn’t seem to care that he was late and Megan really seemed like she was going to blow a fuse. She started toward him. This couldn’t end well.
“Where were you, dumbass?!” she demanded. “You’re unimaginably late! I was about to start without you.”
“Hey, I overslept,” he said nonchalantly.
“I woke you up! The whole point of you moving in with me was so we could function as partners! I thought it would be an advantage, but clearly not,” she was yelling rather loud now.
“I fell back asleep. Cut me a break,” he slicked back his hair.
“Ugh. Idiot,” she summoned her sword and relaxed herself. “Let’s get started, Chris?” she called to him. He was looking at the ground, not really paying attention anymore.
“Christopher?”
“Yo, Chris come back to the world of the living!” Ian said. Chris snapped to attention and looked up at them. “You look like hell are you alright?”
Chris nodded and summoned his sword. He wasn’t all there at all. He wasn’t sure how he could fight when his mind was roaming. Not only was his still worried about Penny, but his mind was still giving him images of Victoria’s death. He couldn’t stop himself. He didn’t think he was traumatized, but it was like she was haunting him.
“Are you certain you want to train? You seem pale,” Megan noted. “I also sense that you are trembling.”
“Me?” he was taken aback by this statement. “Yeah I am just a few things on my mind. How could you tell?”
“I utilize Life magic and I practice extensively. I can see your mental state,” she informed him. “And yours is not very good. You’re extremely worried about something and feeling guilty.” Okay the fact that she can read my mental state makes me uncomfortable.
“Let’s begin then,” Megan attacked once.
Chris’s sword flew from his hand and fell to the ground. He looked back at it. He had not been disarmed so easily before. Megan relaxed her arm that was holding the sword. She placed her other hand on her hip.
“My point exactly. You got disarmed in one hit. I barely even struck you.” Ian looked a little confused, but he seemed to be in perfect agreement with her.
“Yeah, Chris you are really acting weird,” he observed. “I really do think you should stop.”
“I can do it.” he insisted.
“No. You’re worried about Penny,” she decided finally. Megan glanced up at Chris and her expression showed that she was sure of that much. “I think you should go help her.”
“She won’t talk, trust me.”
“No Chris, “she smiled. “No one else could do it. She’s my friend, but she won’t even talk to me. You’re the only person she even said a word to. She was mute to the rest of us.”
“Megan?” Ian questioned.
“What?”
“You got all of that from his mental state?” he asked, disbelief in his voice.
“No. His expression and his behavior gives it away more than anything. Mental state can’t tell me all of that, idiot…”
“You think you know everything don’t you?” Ian surrendered.
“I don’t actually,” she shot back. “But I know more than you.” She turned back to see Chris leaving. Megan smiled a little, she seemed proud of herself.
Chris stopped to pick up a box of rice for Penny. She had gotten it for him the second day he was here. He figured she liked it. On the way back to the dorm room he began to ponder what he would say to her. Maybe I can try to convince her to eat, or better yet I could beg her to listen because I care. He wasn’t sure what he could do. He finally decided on a plan and began to walk at a brisk pace.
In his hurry he had forgotten his sword back with Megan and Ian. He summoned it and continued moving. The street that he was taking wasn’t as crowded, because there was a lot of reconstruction going on that way. He made his way passed the administration building, and followed along the path he first took with Penny. He cut across the grass in the park and headed straight for dorm 12,658.
He outstretched his hand to touch the cold doorknob. He felt a slight jolt. Indeed, he was nervous about seeing her. He wanted to help her, but if his plan failed he wasn’t sure what he could do. If Victoria was in position she wouldn’t have hesitated, but he wasn’t her. He had to bring Penny back. He turned the knob and entered.
Penny was no longer under the covers. She was sitting up in her bed against her pillows. She had a book in her lap and she was flipping through it, the cover was purple. Penny glanced up at him and quickly tried to hide her book under the sheets. Chris sat beside her.
“I didn’t expect you to come back so early,” she admitted.
“Well I’m back,” he assured her. He placed her food on the nightstand. “What was that?”
“It’s-- It’s just a photo album….”
“Of you and your sister?” he asked.
“Yes, of course…”
“Can I see?” he extended his hand. She brought it out from under the covers and placed it into his hand.
There were words engraved in golden text: Victoria and Penny’s memories. He felt his heart sink for a moment, but he shook it off and smiled. He turned to the first page. There were a few notes scrawled on it such as: Victoria became a mage; I’m glad but a little jealous, she’s always so busy now, I wish we could be a full family again, and so on.
“So, you kept it like a diary and a photo album?” he wondered aloud.
“Kind of…” she confirmed. “Tori had her own photo book too. It’s identical so we always mixed them up. We had the same pictures and everything,” Penny watched as he flipped the page.
They had many pictures of what appeared to be happier times. He saw a man with short black hair, amber colored eyes, a trimmed cut beard that covered his jawline and around his lips, and a large smile. He was wearing a black and red long-sleeved shirt and grey khakis. To his left was a woman with long and beautiful black hair, brown eyes, and a soft but happy expression. She wore a casual purple dress, and seemed to be attempting to fix her hair before the picture.
The little girl closest to her mother had on a pink polka dot dress. She had her hair in a French braid. She had a very joyous expression and didn’t seem to have a care in the world. Her hand was on her dress, lifting it up slightly as if she was taking a bow. Next to her was a shorter girl who had black hair that fell to her shoulders, a purple and black polka dot dress, and flats. She was hugging the father’s leg and trying to hide from the camera. She was doing a very poor job of avoiding the photo and she had a very shy smile.
“That’s me,” she pointed at the girl trying to hide behind her father’s leg. “I was a little camera- shy...”
“So, the other girl is Tori?” he raised an eyebrow. “Right?”
“Yes,” she cracked a smile. “She loved being on camera. I tried dressing like her in this picture...In a lot of them actually.”
“Penny?” he asked as gentle as he could.
“Yes?” she turned toward him a little more.
“I want to help you...I really care and I hate seeing you like this,” he set her book aside and looked her directly in her eyes. “If you push me away, I’ll always come back.”
&
nbsp; “Chris,” she started. “I’m a Sorcerer.”
“Okay?” he shrugged. “So?”
“I’ll cause you trouble,” she lowered her head. “I’m trouble…”
“Well...” he placed his hand over hers. “I don’t think you’re trouble.” Chris gave her a warm smile.
Penny didn’t say a word as tears began to escape her eyes. They rolled down her face. He reached out to wipe them. Penny lunged forward and hugged his arm. She was crying harder than ever now. She was squeezing him rather hard, but it didn’t hurt. He simply continued his attempts to comfort her. Her tears were getting all over his arm, but he still did not care.
“I wasn’t blaming you, I’m sorry!” she bawled. Chris did not reply, he began to pat her head gently to calm her. He smiled and let her vent. “I hurt everyone…”
“Penny…”
“Yes?” she replied shakily.
“I will never leave you,” he promised. “Not for any reason. Do whatever you want to me and say whatever you want; you’ll still have me.”
“That can’t be true...If you die--” she stammered.
“I won’t die,” he responded immediately. “There are too many people that I have to protect. Emily, Megan, Ian, and so many others…” Chris slipped his hand under her chin and lifted it gently. “Especially you. You’re my partner.”
Penny looked at him in disbelief. She didn’t seem to understand why he was trying so hard. She shook her head and smiled. She hugged his arm gently to her chest and laid on his shoulder. Penny continued to try to wipe her damp face. She took an extended breath before releasing it. She ate the food he had bought for her rather quickly. She must have been very hungry.
“Hey Chris?” Penny asked. She was still sniffling.
“Yes, Penny?” he replied softly.
“Can you tell me about Earth?” she sounded somewhat shy. He agreed, because he figured that it would help her. He talked to her about his home planet.
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