Stardust And Shadows

Chapter 1

In a quaint, cobblestone village nestled amidst verdant hills, young Felix found himself bored to death.

Like always, the people of the village along with the Sun and carried on with their lifes. They did the same thing they did yesterday and the day before. What baffled him was that they found joy in this repeated circle of mediocrity.

Well, that was going a bit too far.

It was not that he hated his life and he didn't hate the mediocrity either. It was that it got annoyingly tedious when there was nothing new that ever happened in this corner of the world.

The last exciting thing he could recount happening was when Old Jeoff thought he hunted a Great Wolf but it turned out to be just a coyote. But, that guy still hung that fleece on his wall insisting it was a indeed a Great Wolf.

His train of thought broke off when he heard someone open the door.

"Here you are!" Fern sighed.

"Here I am." He muttered back lazily, not making the effort to turn to look at her. He already knew that she was sporting that 'disappointed' look on her face.

"Didn't I tell you to tend to plants?"

"Done that."

"Did you sweep the-"

"Yep."

"What about cleaning the atti-"

"Done."

"Oh." He heard the annoyance from earlier leave her voice. "Then, um, you shouldn't be sleeping around like that. You are growing child-"

"I am eighteen."

"Still a child in my books." She stressed. " You should be outside. Go hang out with your friends."

Finally, he turned around to look at her. "You know I have no friends."

Her face was a mixture of surprise and confusion. "No friends?" She repeated. "Are you sure? Have you checked under your bed? Sometimes they hide there, you know."
Felix rolled his eyes, but a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Well, if you don't find any there, I suppose we could conjure some up. How about a friendly ogre? They make great listeners but terrible snack thieves."

"Haha" He laughed sarcastically.

She sat down beside him. "You can't just lie around all day."

"Watch me."

As Felix sank deeper into the well-worn cushions of the old armchair, Fern's patience wore thinner than the tattered quilt draped over its back. She stood up, arms crossed, her foot tapping a relentless rhythm on the wooden floor. “Felix, you’re starting to blend into that chair,” she snapped, exasperation creeping into her voice. “Why don’t you go outside and remind the sunshine what you look like?”

Felix grunted noncommittally.

She threw her hands up in exasperation. “Honestly, if you don’t go out soon, I might just enchant the door to fling you out! Fresh air won’t kill you!"

His disinterested eyes looked at her. "First of all, your witch powers deal in making potions, door enchantment spells are out of your range."

He did not miss her nose flaring in annoyance.

"Second of all, the outside is full of germs, it could kill me, yes."

Fern finally had enough. With a resolute gleam in her eye, she declared. "That's it, Felix. Enough is enough," she declared, her tone leaving no room for argument. Felix looked up, bewildered, as she firmly pulled him to his feet and guided him towards the door. "Out you go. I don’t care if you find a dragon to slay or a rock to befriend, but you’re not spending another evening turning into part of the furniture." She opened the door and ushered him out with a gentle but decisive push. “And don’t come back until you’ve at least tried to enjoy the fresh air!”