For the Guild

by J E Mueller

  “Basically. Sure, right now it wouldn’t be terrible, but I’d hate to adjust and have to go back.”

  “Mind if I asked how you feel about being next in line?”

  “Nah, it’s a pretty common question.” I could only laugh. It seemed like everyone wanted to know that. What did it even matter? “It’s really meh. Sure, I have a small choice in it all. I could just say no, and it could either go to a close relative, or possibly if I have kids it could go to them, but really, at this point and already being so involved, it would seem stupid to give it up. Too many would just muck it up with power hungry claws instead of doing the right thing. Which is always subjective, but that’s another conversation entirely.”

  Cat nodded and we walked in silence for a little bit more. “That does make sense.” She seemed distracted by her own thoughts. “I wonder how things would change if someone else ruled. Sure, there’s some figurehead things that wouldn’t seem like a big change at first, but there could be a lot...”

  “Thankfully it’s not something to worry about.”

  “True, but it’s almost too amusing thinking of how subtly things could be before they were in a downward spiral into a dystopian style narrative where not even friendship or true love could really save the day.”

  “That could be scary. Let’s not think of that.” I laughed.

  “Oh come on, don’t you ever wonder about what ifs?” She glanced over at me, a curious look in her eyes.

  “Sure, usually more on the realistic side, though.”

  “Okay, fine. Like what?”

  I thought for a moment. I saw we were getting close to a little park that was nestled somewhere in the neighborhood. “Well, my mom has been going on and on about this ball. It’ll probably be fun on some levels, but what if it’s just a disaster? I’m expected to entertain and dance with most everyone, no surprises there, but what if there are people I don’t want to dance with? What if I can’t get away from the same couple of people? What if my mother takes that the wrong way?” Now that last one would be a real ‘headdesk’ sort of moment.

  “Oh, yeah, I could see that happening.” Cat mused. “My step-sister is that type too. I know she and her friends have been going on nonstop about the ball. Though they hate the theme. They’d probably literally die if they knew I knew you. I won’t bother telling them, that’ll be too much of an earful and I wouldn’t subject you to them.”

  “I appreciate it, though it seems I’ll have to deal with them all soon enough anyway.” I couldn’t help but sigh.

  “Maybe there’s a way around it? Think your mom would let you dance with a few friends? Or would that be too obviously against her plans?”

  While I loved the idea, it was too obvious. “Yeah, she won’t go for that. Maybe here and there, but that’s about it.”

  Cat nodded. “I could be extra sneaky.” Her eyes were twinkling with delight.

  “Oh, and how so?”

  “You see, I am good with this thing called enchantments, and I could make something that would be similar to your glasses but work instead for cosplay.”

  “Mother would kill me.” I laughed, genuinely amused by the idea. “That would be a great backup plan. Deal with some of the overly hyped ‘I get to dance with the Prince’ people then have a break with the same couple that won’t be tiring and annoying.”

  “See? It’s a solid plan. Maybe not the most perfect, but it’ll help.”

  I liked the plan, I really did. “What would you need for it?”

  “I’ll have to check at home and see what I have to work with.” She shrugged. “I’ve got so many random things just laying around, I’m sure I’ve got something that would be a good start, at least.”

  “And you’re sure you’re not coming?” It would be nice having a few more people I actually cared about there.

  “If it were possible to have less interest in this event than you, I would be winning.”

  “I’m glad we’re both one for extravagant events.” I stopped at the park bench and sat down. “So, enough of my nonsense. What’s bothering you?”

  Cat’s smile quickly vanished as she sat down next to me on the bench. “Just family drama, honestly. I’ve been saving to leave and that’ll solve a lot of the issues. Sometimes it’s better to just get away. I work with them, and live with them, and just get way too much time with them. Melanie, my step-sister, is just driving me up the wall. I had to put a trap on my closet since she can’t figure out this cosplay stuff herself. She wants to just steal mine, and I spent ages working on all of those costumes. I am not going to let her ruin them.”

  “Ouch, yeah family drama is not fun, but hey, if you’re close to getting out, it’ll be pretty good soon.” I tried to sound reassuring.

  “I don’t know how close I am. Ideally, finding something different for a work situation would be best, but we’ll just have to see how things go. I’ve applied for a few things, and there’s some great internships out there so… Yeah.” She shrugged. “Enough about my nonsense.”

  “Well, we can’t both be done with nonsense. That’ll ruin the conversation.” I joked.

  Cat’s smile turned to a mischievous smirk. “Oh, I think it can.” She stood up and cleared her throat. “Last one to the swings has to grind for Galexia gems.” With that, she took off before I could fully process what she said and run after her.

  “No fair!” I scolded when I caught up. Of course, she won and was happily sitting on a swing.

  “All is fair in guild and war.” She shook her head happily from side to side as her swing slowly swung higher.

  “Ugh.” I groaned dramatically and slumped into the swing next to her. “You’re ridiculous.”

  “Good. A little fun never hurts.” She seemed much too amused with herself. As she developed some momentum, steadily swinging higher, I kicked at the mulch.

  “Meh meh meh.” Was the best I could think of to mock her with. Not that I could really blame her. Something bigger seemed to be going on with her family situation and the more I learned about it, the more I was worried about her.

  “Are you sure that’s all that’s bothering you?” I doubted she would tell me more.

  “Currently, that’s the biggest thing.” She admitted. “I made about eight cosplays all by myself, and a few more with help from friends. All of the material I bought and even my step mom thinks I should just let Melanie use one and who cares if it gets destroyed. Dad is only siding with me because I did make them, but he hardly ever stands up for me on it. He’s even mentioned to me quietly just to let her borrow one, it’ll make everyone happy. I guess I’m just not a person worth considering anymore.” Cat jumped off the swing, landing a few feet in front of where I was still sitting. “I don’t want to hate them, but heavens are they making it hard anymore.”

  It sounded like this wasn’t the first time she had been made to give up something. I wasn’t sure what to say. Instead, I got up and gave her a hug. “Sorry all that’s going on.” I whispered before letting her go.

  “Me too.” She sighed. “It’ll all be over soon, so whatever. It’s just so frustrating.”

  “I wish I knew how to help.”

  “I don’t think you can trade in sisters.” Cat gave a tired smirk as she rubbed her arm. “But since that’s not an option guess I’ll just spend some good free time locked away in my room, guarding my treasures while grinding levels.”

  “That actually doesn’t sound horrible.” I laughed a little. “Just tiring. Maybe you could move your stuff to a friend’s until this all blows over?” I noticed the spot she was rubbing was waxy and blueish. “Is your arm okay?”

  “Oh yeah,” She stopped rubbing at it. “Just irritated. Someone’s ice spell got a little too close. I have healing gel on it.” She shrugged. “It’ll be gone in another day or two. No big. Anyway, I’ve considered it, but my options are slim with so many friends moving away recently. Normally I’d ask James for silly family things, but I know if Auntie sees my stuff, she’ll
tell my step-mom, and actually probably just give them to my mom which is not worth the bloodbath that’ll cause. I will not just let them ruin my stuff.”

  I could see her frustration building again, but at least I had an answer to this one. “I’m guessing you can’t just make something to make them all look different.”

  “Correct. If she picked up a dress to ‘borrow’ and put it on, she’d see what it actually is. So that ruins that.”

  Nodding, I continued. “I had a feeling that was the case. So, I’ve got no issues holding on to them. No one goes through my stuff, and since my mother wants me to build good adult habits, I handle all my own laundry and whatnot. So it’ll be a non-issue.”

  Cat looked at me, surprised. “I can’t ask you that. There’s no reason to pull you into my family drama.”

  “And you’re not. I’m merely looking after something that they have no way of finding out I have. You can say whatever you want on your end. Heck, even the truth and they still wouldn’t believe you.”

  At the thought, Cat laughed. “Well, to be fair, why should anyone believe me? Who just casually hangs out with the prince?” She laughed for a moment more before nodding. “Fine, I guess there really isn’t any harm in it. We’ll have to –” Cat stopped talking as her phone chimed a few times. After a quick glance she laughed at it. “My cousin is worried I kidnapped the prince.”

  “Hm? How late is it?” I glanced at my phone and noticed it was on silent. There were three messages from James. The first asking where I was. The second asking if I was dead. The third asking if my phone was dead. “I guess they finally noticed.”

  “I told him if he paid my ransom I’d give you back.” Cat smirked as her phone went off. “Oh look, they don’t want you back. Oh well. I didn’t know kidnapping royalty was so easy.”

  “Funny.” I shook my head. “Ready to head back, then?”

  “Yeah, I guess we should. I’ve no idea what to do with someone after I’ve stolen them away.”

  “So you can imagine dystopian worlds, but you can’t imagine what to do in one? I’m sure kidnapping is just the thing that would go on in one.”

  Cat raised an eyebrow at me and started to lead the way back. “Well, I suppose there’s all the normal slave labor. Or just leave you tied up, but that’s boring and overdone.”

  “Is your next thing going to be mining for Galexia gems?” Rare in game, item grinding was annoying, but they were worth a lot.

  “Of course. Now since it’s a newer game, it’s not an overused subject for someone who has been kidnapped.” Cat smirked happily.

  “Gamers are the worst.” I laughed. “Oh no, I have to play a game over and over until I find the things... Like I wouldn’t already be doing that anyway.”

  “But you wouldn’t be able to pick the armor enhancements. The character build would still be mine, and mine alone.” She did her best to give an evil laugh.

  “Uh huh. I’m so scared.”

  Cat gave a playful shove. “Fear me!” She demanded.

  I raised an eyebrow at her. “I tell you what. We’ll settle this like reasonable adults.”

  “How?”

  “A fight to the death of course. Player versus player. The winner is the scariest.”

  “YES!” She shrieked. “Death match!”

  “Okay, you’re a little too excited about this.” I laughed.

  “I’ve got pent up family issues to fuel me. This fight is mine!” She gave a fist pump.

  “Maybe you’re right, but your anger could blind you and I could still win.”

  We were still joking and laughing when we got back to the group. Eogan had turned on a movie and they were all playing cards.

  “Where’d you sneak off to?” James asked curiously.

  “Just went for a walk.” I shrugged.

  “Found the park,” Cat replied a little more excitedly.

  James just shook his head. “We just ordered a couple of pizzas. Toppings are a surprise since you vanished.”

  “Could have texted sooner.” Cat sighed, grabbing an empty seat at the table.

  “Nah, there’s no fun in that.” James shrugged, still giving me a look I couldn’t exactly figure out.

  “So, what are we playing?” Cat asked, ready to get into the game.

  Kedar jumped in to explain the rules of what they picked out, and quickly we were sucked into the adventure. It was another two hours or so later before we all agreed it was time to head out. On the way to the door, James slowed me down.

  “Do you have a thing for my cousin?” He asked quietly.

  I was surprised by the question. I hadn’t thought of it. “I don’t know. Something seemed to be on her mind so I suggested a walk. That’s all.”

  James nodded, seeming satisfied. “That’s cool. She’s got a lot going on right now.”

  “Sure sounds like it. I didn’t know your extended family had so much going on.” I shrugged it off.

  “Yeah, Aunt Sasha is a bit out there, but she’s my mom’s only sister so, whatever. Who knows what the next thing will be. Hopefully nothing worthwhile, but it wouldn’t be the first time.”

  That wasn’t a reassuring comment, but we were already at the cars.

  “Noted.” I waved to the others, not wanting anyone to overhear the conversation.

  5

  It was three days later when I met Catara at a coffee shop. She had a bag at her side that looked like a small gym duffel bag. I knew better than to trust that illusion. Cat had mentioned the amount of cosplays she had, and there was no reasonable way they could fit in there. So, the question was simple. Was the bag enchanted to look smaller, or was it bigger on the inside?

  I sat down at the table across from her and smiled. “That’s a cute bag.”

  She smirked. “And you’re wondering how it works, aren’t you?”

  “Of course.” I wasn’t going to lie. Over the last couple of days she had shown me a few projects she had been working on while we were both online. It was pretty neat to see how she took rocks, gems, plants, and other odds and ends and made them enhance something beyond what I thought would be possible for those ingredients.

  “This is a pretty old bag, and I really should strip the magic and redo the enchantment, but that would take a lot of work.” Cat gently gave her bag a pat. “It was my first try at enhancing size. It’s not a huge improvement, but it gets the job done wonderfully.” She beamed with pride.

  “That’s awesome.” It really was.

  “Thanks. I hope to do a few more interesting projects like that again, but I really don’t have the time or room for it. It takes so much magic and thankfully I don’t have much trouble with accidentally mis-spelling anymore, but my family gives me grief for those projects.” Cat shook her head. “You should get some coffee. That’s the whole point of meeting at a coffee shop,” she teased.

  I could see it was a way to drop the family subject. There was a lot more to this matter than she was letting on, but it seemed stress was making her want to talk about it more. She had a need to vent. I got up and walked over to the register and ordered a drink.

  Could I do something to help? What would help? What would be an acceptable way to help? It clicked and I waited for my coffee to be done before going back to the table to sit.

  “Are you free this afternoon?” It was after two, but I had no idea if she was just on a break.

  “Yeah?” She shrugged. “Why?”

  “I’ve got an idea, and you can completely say no, but I know you’ve been stressed because of family nonsense and I think I have a great temporary solution.”

  Cat raised an eyebrow. “Okay... go on?”

  “Puppies.” I said simply.

  “Puppies.” Cat repeated back and when I nodded, she nodded back. “Okay, what about puppies?”

  “My giant dogs had a litter of puppies about five months back. Sure, they aren’t tiny tiny but they’d still be cute and fun to play with.”

  Cat nodded slowly. It didn�
��t seem like she liked the idea. At all. I couldn’t help but feel defeated.

  “Puppies?” She asked again after a moment.

  “Yes.” I wasn’t sure what more to say.

  “I can’t imagine such a big dog as a puppy. Can I really meet them?”

  My worry eased. “Yeah, of course.”

  “All right. Let’s do that.” She smiled.

  I wish I knew what she had been thinking, but shrugged it off. “Shall we go, then?”

  “You can just have random nobody’s show up to hang out with dogs?” Cat seemed more surprised than anything.

  “If you’re my friend, are you really a nobody?” I smirked.

  “Are we talking guild stats or real world stats, because I could say a few things.” She smirked back.

  Sighing, I got up, “Come on. Everyone’s a critic.”

  The drive home wasn’t long, and I mentally wondered if I should have given someone a heads up. It was too late to really do anything. I pulled into my normal spot. Two of the older mastiffs rushed up to the car since they were outside and I hadn’t shut the garage yet.

  “Looks like Olmi and Aggo want to say hi.” I smiled. They were both at my door, tails franticly wagging, Olmi drooling her greeting onto the window.

  “They’re huge,” Cat said in surprise. “Like, I knew they were big dogs, but I’ve never actually been around big, big dogs.”

  Laughing I got out of the car. “Come on. They’re giant babies. Come say hi. Though warning, they all pretty much drool.”

  Cat laughed hesitantly but opened her door and carefully got out.

  I happily rubbed Aggo’s back while Olmi ran off to grab a toy. Turning to the backseat, I grabbed Cat’s bag. For something so small, it was surprisingly heavy. I guess the enchantment didn’t do much for weight.

  I heard Cat give a surprise squeak and saw Olmi offering her a well drooled-on tennis ball. Hesitantly, Cat took the ball from the dog and gave it a good throw. With an excited bark that startled Cat back a step, Olmi dashed off after it.

  “Come on.” I waved for Cat to follow me inside as I shut the car door.

  Olmi was already dashing back. “Your dog is really excited.” Cat seemed to hesitate. “She could knock me over without trying.”