Displaced

Chapter 58

"Oh, hello Marcus! Are you here for your treat?" Mrs. Araun asked as Arlette walked into the baker's tiny store. Every year, the old woman would celebrate the Festival of the Seven Saviors by making honey buds, a special sweet roll shaped like a flower bud just starting to bloom and covered in honey, and giving one for free to every child in the village.

"Yes please!" Arlette said, her voice coming out sounding like that of a young boy instead of a young girl. She did her best to tamp down her giddiness, her mouth watering at the thought of two honey buds in a single day. She wanted to cackle at her own brilliance.

Honey buds were without a doubt the most delicious food the children ever got to eat, and every child in Nordhom wished that they weren't limited to only one. Well now Arlette had a way to get more. She'd already picked up her own honey bud a little while ago and scarfed it down. Now, under the guise of "Marcus", she was about to get her second.

Marcus was a boy who, like her, was five years of age. He lived in a small house near the center of the village, as opposed to her family's cottage on the outskirts, and had a similar size as she did. That meant that he was the perfect person to be the subject of her new technique, the illusion disguise! Mwahaha! Her disguise was perfect! The honey bud would be hers!

Even though she'd been able to make illusions for almost a year now, it had taken her this long to realize that she could be inside the illusions she created. That meant that she could cloak herself in an illusion to hide or pretend to be somebody else! Hiding inside a fake rock or something was easy because it never moved. A disguise, however, was a different story. It wasn't as simple as just realizing she could do it; actually creating the disguise, making it look and sound real, and keeping it in sync with her real body turned out to be incredibly difficult. Even after days of practicing with Peko out in the woods, she had to maintain her focus on it at all times while avoiding any overly-complex movements and she could only keep it up for a little while before exhausting herself. Just long enough to, say, pretend to be another kid and get another of these wondrous treats.

"Here you go, dearie," the elderly woman said, handing her the precious dessert. "Be careful, it's hot."

Arlette eagerly grasped the honey bud, wincing slightly at its heat and redoubling her focus so as not to drop the disguise from the slight pain coming from her fingertips. A little pain was worth it for a second honey bud. "Thank you very m-"

"Missus Araun, could I have a honey... huh?" a familiar voice said behind her. Arlette turned around and froze in fear. Standing behind her was the real Marcus, looking very confused to find that he was already here. The two stood stiff and stared at each other for a moment as Arlette desperately tried to think of a way out of this predicament.

"Arlette Faredin, is that you?" Mrs. Araun asked accusingly.

"Eep!" Arlette jumped at the sound of scorn and displeasure in the old woman's voice. Time to get out of there! Quickly Arlette sprinted past the still-confused Marcus and out the door, her disguise falling away as she ran.

"Arlette, get back here right now, you little scoundrel!" the old woman hollered from the bakery doorway.

Arlette ignored her and kept running. She ducked into a nearby alley where her friend was hiding.

"You got a honey bud, so it looks like your plan worked," Peko observed as he quickly caught up with her fleeing form. "So why is she yelling at you?"

"Because Marcus is a dumb idiot!" Arlette replied between huffs.

Together, the pair ran into the woods outside the town until the small clump of buildings vanished behind the tree line and Arlette felt safe enough to stop. Quickly she began stuffing pieces of the treat into her mouth like a rodent, warily glancing back towards the village in search of pursuers.