I pulled out my saw and began the laborious task of slicing through wooden planks, putting my body weight into it. I welcomed the familiar ache in my shoulder as I sank into the rhythm, the grating sound of shredding wood strangely soothing.
At least this part of my day would be somewhat manageable.
CHAPTER 3
Fiella
After the rudebut alarmingly handsomevampire left the shop looking dejected, my thoughts were conflicted. The man was impolite, absolutely, but I knew how irritable thirst could make a vampire. I had felt the same way many times. Many, many unfortunate times. That was no excuse to be rude, though.
I hadn’t seen the man before–I would surely remember a face like that. Those moody eyes and strong jaw would be hard to forget.What in the realms is he was doing in Moonvale?
I tugged on a strand of my blue hair, idly twirling it around my fingers. The side effects of the thirst tonics weren’tthatbad, he was just being a pansy.
I shoved the nameless stranger from my mind.
I pulled my breakfast pastries from my satchel, tossed one over to Kizzi, and dug into the other. Raspberry scones today. Delicious. She missed the scone and it plopped to the floor before she managed to pick it up, but luckily it had been wrapped in parchment.
I ignored her withering glare as I licked the sweet berry glaze from my lips.
I planted myself at a work bench and kicked my feet up, trying my best to contain my crumbs and avoid touching anything that could be poisonous.
“So, Kiz,” I said around a mouthful of scone. “What’s new? Besides the whole sprite fiasco thing, anyway.” I swallowed, washing the bite down with a mouthful of tea. The perfect combination.
“Nothing much different than yesterday, to be fair,” she answered, her own cheeks also full of pastry. She caught a berry before it could fall to the floor, tilting her head back and dropping it into her mouth. “All I’ve done since I spoke to you last was experiment with new ingredients for skin illuminating potions for a few hours and then catch some sleep. Oh, and I left out a very nice offering to the sprites too. Maybe they will appreciate the knitted socks.”
“Ugh, how boring!” I joked. We spoke constantly, but we told each othereverything, no matter how dull. “Let me tell you about the new book I started last night, then.” I waggled my eyebrows mischievously.
“Yesssssss you know I love hearing about those masterpieces. Please tell me it’s a raunchy one.” She sat up straighter.
I rolled my eyes. “Kizzi, what kind of lady do you think I am? Of course it’s a raunchy one.”
She snorted. “Right, we’re the fairest ladies of them all. Now spill.”
So I did. I told her about the elf maiden, and how she was trapped at the top of a magical tower with no way to escape. I told her about the handsome orc soldier who had come to save her. Kizzi’s jaw dropped further and further the more I spoke, and I hadn’t gotten to any of thereallynaughty bits yet.
“He didwhatto her?!” Kizzi exclaimed, looking equal parts intrigued and horrified when I told her what the soldier haddone to the maiden when she tried to run away from his clutches.
“You heard me right,” I responded sagely.
She shivered. “Go on, then.”
I decided it was time to hold the theatrics and head on my way when a customer walked in, asking about a tooth whitening polish and interrupting my sordid tale.
I stood up with a huff, brushing the unavoidable crumbs from my lap and grabbing my satchel from where it had settled on the ground.
“Alright Kiz, I better head to the shop. To the moons!” I called out as I headed to the door.
“Yeah, yeah, sure, to the suns, Fi,” Kizzi responded distractedly, having already moved on to grabbing the ingredients she needed for her customer’s purchase.
The phrases had been our signature salutation since we had been littles, when we used to insist that we loved each other to the moons and back and argue over whether the suns or the moons were farther away. The phrases had shortened over time, but they had stuck.
Whether Kizzi liked it or not, she was stuck with me forever. That’s what best friends were for!
My shop was only a short distance from Kizzi’s, and the walk flew by. I hardly even had time to register that it was cold enough to make me shiver, and that abnormally few folk were out and about. It felt like only seconds had passed before I arrived at my destination.
Taking in the wood and brick of my shop building brought a smile to my face. My cottage was my home, but my shop was my haven. My paradise.
I spent more time in my shop than I did in my cottage. I even purchased a bed for the lofted area above my shop so I could sneak away for naps during slow days.
