Wizard's Price

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Part of Rune was worried that Lucia wouldn't appear the next morning. He was rather sure that his lack of reaction to her yesterday would be a sign that she should put some distance between them. He looked long and hard at her cup on his workbench when he entered. Right where she had left it. Still resolutely clay despite all her efforts.

Frowning, he walked over to it and ran his hand over the surface. It was still soft and malleable. The magick was a bit drained so he started re-infusing it for her.

If she came back today.

"My, don't you look unhappy," Chaz said, frowning from his plinth. "What happened to you?"

"Leave the boy alone, Chaz," Sen said from her bed. "Rune has far more important things to do today than deal with your attitude."

"Hm, someone's secretive," Chaz said, looking at Rune. "Well, being the vastly intelligent being that I am, and knowing that only one thing has changed recently in any of our lives, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Lucia is involved somehow."

"Vastly intelligent, and you still don't know how not to stick your spine into other people's business."

"Hush, rodent. I'm deducing."

"Chaz," Rune gave him a look. Then hesitated. Then tried again, "Do you know of any instance of a Wizard of the Tower taking a wife or a mistress."

Chaz let out a cry of surprise and delight. "You're marrying the girl?! Oh, happy day!"

"He is not," Sen sniffed primly as she cleaned her paws. "He's just curious because she brought it up."

"She brought it up?"

"Before she kissed him."

"She kissed him?!"

"Do you two ever mind your own business?" Rune frowned between them. "This must be how it feels to have mother hens hovering over you."

"How did you even see that, rodent?" Chaz asked eagerly.

Sen laughed. "Well, my family lives in the gardens, as you know. And it must have slipped Rune's mind because he let it all happen right out there in the open."

"As though there's anywhere private in this tower," Rune rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "Chaz, just give me the answer I want."

Chaz, snickering, thought for a moment. He ran through a long list of records and journals of the previous wizards. "Well, a few of them took a couple mistresses. None of them got married. As it happens, most people aren't really happy when their lover spends about ninety percent of their time working all the way out here in the middle of nowhere."

"That's what I thought," Rune frowned.

"Oh, Chaz," Sen fluttered her whiskers at him. "Why did you have to tell him that? You've gone and ruined it now!"

"I am honor bound to the truth, Sen," he said. If his nose could be put in the air, it would be. "I cannot speak a lie. Especially not to my current master. Anyway, tell me what happened. And don't leave out a single detail, rodent."

Rune let out a long breath as his familiar proceeded to tell the nosy book everything. His 'private' moment in the garden had been no such thing. He didn't know if he was bothered that they had been watching or relieved that he could hear their opinions. He was probably somewhere between the two feelings equally.

As Sen told Chaz what she had seen in the gardens - emphasizing parts that Rune rather wished she wouldn't - he walked over to his workbench. He pulled one of his potions towards him. It had been seeping all night without heat and was probably done. As he stirred the thickened, dark purple liquid, Chaz and Sen were squealing in equal delight.