Spelled

Chapter Three

Willa's POV:

Blankly, I stared at the computer screen in front of me, not even knowing what to say. I had just gotten an email from my boss, saying that I was fired. I let my mouth fall slightly open, flabbergasted. What? Why? I had been winning my cases. I hadn't lost a case in months. People requested me to be their lawyer. I had a WAITING list. What had I done wrong?

My arms went limp, allowing my laptop to fall off of my lap and beside me on the couch. Tears started to slip down my cheeks. My dog, Cookie, must have noticed that I was upset because she jumped up onto my lap and started licking my face, as if to say, "I don't know what happened, but I'm sorry. I am here. Please stop crying." When Cookie licked my eyelid, despite the circumstances, I laughed. I whispered, "Thanks, Cookie. You know what would make my day a lot better though?" Cookie paused and looked into my eyes as if she had heard me, "If you told me you had a secret job that made lots of money." Cookie cocked her head to the side, as if to say, "I'm sorry. I don't speak human. But I can lick you some more!"

We sat on the couch for a few more minutes as I mulled over what had happened in my head over and over again. Suddenly, Cookie started to become more bitey than licky. "Okay, okay," I said in almost defeat, "You're hungry. I get it. It's six o'clock," I set Cookie on the floor, and stood up, "Come on. You get to pick your own food tonight, how's that sound?" I made my way to the kitchen and grabbed the three different types of dog food out of the cabinet.

"Alright, pup," I set them all on the counter and placed my hand on my hips, "You can dine on turkey, chicken breast, or bacon. Which will it be?" I moved them all to the floor. Cookie trotted over to the turkey one and pushed it over with her head. She sat down and looked up at me expectantly.

"Turkey it is," I put away the other two before I picked up the turkey food and poured it into her kibble bowl. While Cookie was occupied with that, I put away the turkey bag and filled up her water bowl. Typically, I would start making my own dinner at this point, but I had lost my appetite, so I sat down next to Cookie and started to stroke her back.

"What are we gonna do, Cookie? We live in the First Province. You've got to be wealthy to stay here. King Turner won't stand for peasants in his kingdom. No body is gonna help us. We're completely alone in this world."