A Book of One-Shots

Zoeycast - All Grown Up - Angst

He sat down in one of the many hard metal folding chairs that had been set up for the special ceremony. There were already quite a few people there, the seats being taken up quickly. Rythian glanced at the stage set up, and strained to see what was written on a poster up there. Sighing, he reached into his shirt pocket - a deep, royal purple dress shirt he hadn’t worn in ages - and pulled out his glasses. While doing so, something crinkled against his fingers. After putting on his glasses, he reached back in and pulled out a sheet of folded up paper. He carefully opened it, and felt a sense of sorrow drape over him. It was Zoey’s drawing of him - well, Rythian the mage. He sighed and stared at the sloppy red crayon writing:

“To Ryth from ZOEY”

He wondered if she still had Teep stowed away somewhere. Or if she still wore the “flying ring” he had given her. Slow applause drew his attention as he came back to reality, realizing all the the seats were filled, and the ceremony was beginning. He watched as each student walked across the stage after their name had been called, accepting their diploma and standing for a moment to wave and have pictures taken.

When Zoey’s name was called, his heart fluttered and he watched her stride across the stage. Her long red hair swept down past her shoulders to her waist. She walked with confidence, taking the diploma and smiling the bright smile he had once known so well. When she stood at the edge of the stage, her eyes dashed over the crowd, and for a moment, her gaze met his. He tentatively raised one hand and waved slightly. She waved back, though she looked confused, and then her eyes fell on her parents. She bobbed up and down and waved excitedly, like she was five again.

When the ceremony ended, Rythian made his way through the crowd and leaned against one of the trees nearby, watching the throng of people slowly dissipate. He glimpsed Zoey, walking through the crowd, seeming lost. She spotted him, and was about to walk over, when her father and mother appeared, sweeping her into a hug. For a moment, he thought of going up to her, saying hello. He shook his head and left.

~

“Mom?”

“Yes?”

“What’s… ‘Yogtowers’?”

It was scrawled hastily in blue crayon on the side of the box. It must have been from when she was younger, but she couldn’t remember anything relating to the name.

“It’s a large company on the other side of town.”

“Then why is it written on this box?”

Zoey’s mother walked over and inspected the box. “Before you started school, your father and I didn’t have a means to take care of you during the day what with both of us working. So you stayed there with Rythian, a good friend of your father’s.”

Zoey chewed on her lip, mulling over the information. None of it triggered any memories, and she felt lost scrambling for them. She finally just opened the box, and found a green plush dinosaur staring back at her.

“...Teep.” She murmured, a smile tugging at her lips. She sat the dinosaur down next to the box, and began pulling everything out of it.

“Hon, you’re supposed to be putting things away, not getting them all out.”

“This is important!” She was determined to trigger her memories, no matter how far they were buried within her conscious. There were mostly yellowed pages with crayon drawings in them. Minty, Ravs, Xephos, Honeydew, Ridgedog, Lalna, Sjin, Sips, Nilesy… there were so many. She finally found one that had her and Teep on it, standing next to man with a purple mask and magic around him.

“That’s him,” she whispered, smiling. “Where’s Yogtowers?”

~

She arrived a few minutes later, parking in front of the large skyscraper. “Yogtowers” was in big letters on the front. She smiled, thinking it’s still as large to her now as it was when she was five. She walked up to the big glass doors and pulled on the cool metal handle. A blast of cool air washed over her as she stepped into the quiet lobby. A woman with blonde hair looked up from her desk. Upon seeing Zoey, she stood quickly, a grin spreading across her face.

“Zoey! What are you doing here?” She came around the desk and embraced her. “It’s been so long.”

“It’s good to see you, Minty,” she smiled in return, happy the memories were there. “I came to see Rythian.”

Minty’s face fell. “Oh,” she whispered softly. “You haven’t heard, have you?”

Zoey began to panic. “Heard what?” she stared at Minty. “Minty, where’s Rythian?”

“Zoey, Rythian’s gone.”

“Gone where?”

“He’s dead, Zoey.”

She could feel tears welling in her eyes. “What?” She shook her head. “But, I just remembered. I just found everything. He can’t be gone.” The tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. “He’s an Endermage,” she whispered desperately. “He can’t die.” She bolted up the stairs.

“Zoey!” Minty cried out. “Zoey, where are you going?”

Her shoes pounded against the stone stairs as she made her way up the building. She passed a janitor’s room and Nilesy walked out, startled by the weeping girl. “Zoey?” She kept running. “Zoey what’s wrong?”

She got to one of the floors and walked down the hallway, wiping her tears away with her sleeve. Her feet seemed to be guiding her somewhere, though she didn’t know exactly where. She found herself standing before one of the rooms. She tried the door, but it wouldn’t open.

“It’s magic, Zoey,” his voice echoed in her mind.

She pressed the gem of her flying ring to the door and it made a slight ‘ding’ sound before unlocking. With shaking hands, she pushed open the door and entered the room.

Inside was Rythian’s office. She found nothing of interest in the beginning, but then saw the little mini-fridge in the corner, where drawings of Blackrock were tacked up. She sat down in the chair behind his desk. On it sat a single, folded up page. Carefully opening it, she found it to be the one portrait she hadn’t had in her box. The Endermage. Her protector, her teacher. Her friend.

She covered her mouth, fresh tears stinging her eyes.

“Rythian,” she whispered, finding it hard to breathe. “Rythian, you can’t go, you still have to teach me magic,” she buried her face in her hands. “I’m still your apprentice.”