Flower Crown

The next morning, the aroma of fresh bread led Airi and Nestor to a bakery. The shelves were stocked with steaming loaves: cheese, garlic, cranberry. Airi’s mouth watered as she walked up to the front counter.

“Excuse me. Could we buy some bread?”

“Do you have any money?” The baker looked at them doubtfully. The dress Airi had stolen from Nestor’s mother looked more gray than white at this point.

“Money?” Airi thought of her pillowcase full of yen back at home. Of course. Even in a fantasy world, you needed money. In their rush to leave Star’s End, she hadn’t considered that fact.

“That glove looks valuable,” said the baker, eyeing Airi’s sparkling blue glove.

Airi hid her hand behind her back. “Oh, this...” How was she supposed to explain that it wouldn’t come off? “I can’t sell this. It’s precious to me.”

“Then I can't serve you. You’re not from Stormhaven, are you? I’ve never seen you before.”

Airi ushered Nestor out of the store.

Airi and Nestor sat under a tree in the town square, resting. The sun beat down, hot and humid.

She followed Nestor's gaze to the edge of the square: a group of children swinging empty wooden pails. A girl carrying her pail with both hands trailed at the back of the group. As they watched, she tripped, and the pail clattered across the cobblestones.

"They must be going to the river to fetch water," Nestor said. "Mom makes me do that too. Maybe I can help them!"

Nestor ran to the girl, who had knelt to pick up her pail. As Airi and the other children watched, Nestor read River Runs Away. A ball of water splashed into the empty pail, filling it to the brim.

"Whoa!"

"How'd he do that?"

"He's a mage, like His Royal Highness!"

“Well, I’m studying,” Nestor said modestly. The children jumped up and down.

"Can you do that for me, too?"

"Me, too!"

"Sure!" Nestor replied happily. He cast River Runs Away over and over, filling their pails with fresh water. Airi groaned internally. This was a waste of mana and time, when they could be looking for food.

The little girl, the first one Nestor had helped, kept thanking him shyly. “Wow. You must have lots of mana,” she said. She looked at Airi with starry eyes. “Are you a mage too?”

“No,” Airi said glumly.

“I’m Rebecca. We're gonna go play Wolf at the Door after this. Want to play with us?"

Airi sat on the side, watching Nestor play with the children in the town square. They were playing some sort of tag around a tree trunk.

"Okay, you be the wolf this time, Nestor!" Rebecca cried. Grinning, Nestor stood on one side of the tree trunk, and all the other children gathered on the other side, giggling.

Nestor knocked on the tree trunk and said in a growly voice, "Grrrrr! I'm the big bad wolf! Let me in!"

"No way!" the children yelled back. "You're a wolf!" Airi tapped her foot impatiently on the ground.

Nestor knocked again. This time, he changed his voice to a sweet, high-pitched one: "Hello, dear?" There was an explosion of laughter. "It's Mom! Please let me in!"

"Are you sure it's you, Mom?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes, of course, dear!" Another chorus of laughter.

"Okay, you can come in!" Rebecca shouted. Instantly, Nestor darted towards the children, who scattered, shrieking. He tagged them out, one by one.

"Nestor wins!" Rebecca placed a flower crown on Nestor's head. Nestor ran back to Airi, his face aglow.

The scolding words were on Airi's tongue. You shouldn't have agreed to help everyone. Logically, it was a waste of time, after all—they hadn't gotten a new spell, or money, or anything useful. But looking at the flower crown on Nestor's head, an image of flower-shaped hairclips surfaced in Airi's mind. She smiled back at him and patted his head.

"Good job."

When the other children had gone home, Rebecca approached. "Do you want to come to my house for dinner? My mom doesn’t like visitors, but if you’re a mage, it should be okay.”

When they got to Rebecca’s house, Rebecca ran up the steps and banged on the door.

“Mom! Guess what! I met a real mage!”

“What nonsense are you speaking now?” said the brown-haired woman who had opened the door. She saw Airi and Nestor and started to close the door. “Come in quickly, Rebecca. Those children are lying to you.”

“No, Mom! He’s a real mage. Watch, he can do magic!”

Nestor looked flustered. “Huh?”

Rebecca elbowed him. “Quick, do the spell!”

Nestor summoned up the ball of water. It was far bigger than before, the size of a basketball rather than a baseball. The fight with the slimes had definitely improved his skills.

Rebecca’s mother blinked. “Oh, well... come in! Rebecca’s friends are always welcome,” she said, as if she hadn’t tried to shut the door in their faces a few minutes ago.

Rebecca led them to the dining room. While Rebecca’s mother poured milk, Airi, Nestor, and Rebecca sat at the table. A kettle boiled on the stove and a clock ticked softly. Airi didn’t remember her own house feeling this cozy.

“You two must be the children everyone’s been talking about,” Rebecca’s mother said as she buttered toast. “The Master Mage himself came to let you in, I heard.”

“Did you really come from beyond the Wrath Mountains?” asked Rebecca.

“Mm-hm!”

“What’s it like over there?”

“It’s the best!” said Nestor, finishing his toast. “I’m gonna go back once I learn more spells.” He wiped his hands on the tablecloth, and Rebecca’s mother frowned.

In between gulps of milk, Nestor told Rebecca about Star’s End. This left Airi and Rebecca’s mother to talk to each other. But Airi didn’t like Rebecca’s mother, and she didn’t think Rebecca’s mother liked her either.

“What a nice house,” Airi said.

“Thank you.”

Rebecca’s mother cleared her throat, Airi picked at her glove, and they both looked at Rebecca and Nestor, who were chatting away.

“Wow,” Rebecca was saying. “So the fallen stars turn into crystals?”

“Huge crystals! There’s a green one called Habiros and a black one called Xyrphos,” Nestor said, listing them on his fingers. “And Anthestos—that’s the closest one to the village! It’s white and it’s surrounded by flowers. My dad took me there once.”

Airi wondered about Nestor’s father. She hadn’t seen him a single time, and Nestor’s mother had never mentioned him, either.

“Mom, can we go to Star’s End and see the fallen stars?” Rebecca begged.

“Rebecca,” her mother chided, “you know it’s impossible to cross the mountains.” She turned to Nestor. “So, is the newly fallen star there, too? That blue one?”

“You saw it, too?”

“Oh, the whole town saw it,” Rebecca’s mother said. “We were terribly spooked at first, but the Master Mage said it was normal for a star to fall once every hundred years.”

When Airi and Nestor finished their breakfast, Rebecca followed them to the front door. “Are you coming back tomorrow?” she asked.

“Rebecca, I’m sure they have a long journey ahead. You said you were going to Magisbury, didn’t you?” said Rebecca’s mother.

“Magisbury? But that’s all the way at the end of the river!” Rebecca said. “I don’t think I’d be able to walk that far.”

Rebecca’s mother pursed her lips. “How old are you two?”

“Six!”

“Fifteen.”

“Mere children,” muttered Rebecca’s mother. “Your mother just let you run off into the mountains?”

A shadow flitted across Nestor’s eyes. “My mom said to get out,” he said.

Airi thought she saw sympathy in Rebecca’s mother’s eyes. “Terrible parenting. No common decency out there. You know, your clothes are awfully dirty. We’ve got a bathtub, and Rebecca’s got some clothes that might fit you, Nestor—”

“I don’t wanna wear a dress,” Nestor said quickly.

For the first time, Rebecca’s mother smiled. “She’s got pants and shirts, too. Don’t worry.”

An hour later, Airi emerged from Rebecca’s bedroom in a plain white dress, her hair brushed and scented with lily soap. Nestor waited for her at the table, dressed in his own set of clean clothes. (Their old rags had been repurposed into cleaning cloths for Rebecca’s mother.)

Rebecca’s mother even packed them a basket of bread, cheese, and fruit for their journey. “Now, listen well,” she said, placing one hand on Nestor’s shoulder and one on Airi’s. “Once you’re out of Stormhaven, follow the river and you won’t get lost.”

She handed Airi the basket of food. “Safe travels. Take care of your brother,” she said sternly, but her eyes were friendly.

By the time they stepped out the door, Airi’s feelings towards Rebecca's mother had softened considerably. It was odd, how people all seemed the same until you got to know them a little better.