The Love Potion Thief

Lief twirled the wineglass, staring at the red fluid inside. He had never been fond of beetroot, and this particular beetroot tea had just cost him decades of hearts. He brought the wineglass closer to his nose, smelling honey and a hint of vanilla. This is it. This must be it. He tipped the wineglass into his mouth.

“Wait,” Cheddar called, making Lief stop. “Are you sure about this, Human? Remember that love potion over hundreds of years ago—” He stopped and covered his mouth with paw, his eyes avoiding Lief’s sharp look. “Yeah, I’m not supposed to remind you. But—”

Lief ignored Cheddar’s protests and drank the tea. There it was. The familiar burning sensation as the tea trickled into his throat. His limbs stiffened, and he let out a soft groan. For a moment, he just remained still on the chair, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. Then, the sounds came. The thumping filled his ears. His hand felt for his chest. His heart…His heart was really beating.

***

The potion worked. Lief should be happy, if not for the bigger problems he had now.

“So thirty seconds.” Cheddar paced on the dining table. “Your heart beat for thirty seconds.”

Lief pressed his hand on his chest, which housed his heart that was, as usual, not beating. “That was longer than the last time. I’m not really sure how long my heart beat last time, but I don’t think it even lasted twenty seconds.”

“Still, you lost decades worth of hearts,” Cheddar continued, stopping to grab a piece of cheese from his hair, “for your heart to beat for a measly thirty seconds.” He popped the cheese into his mouth. “Not to mention, you have taken quite a risk. Are you even a hundred percent sure you weren’t seen? Much worse—” He paused to swallow. “You don’t have any more of the potion. And how do you plan to get more? Plus, this is just a trial potion. When will she complete the real one, if she ever will in this lifetime. And if she does, how do you plan on acquiring it?”

Lief facepalmed. He didn’t know which was more annoying, realizing the multitude of problems staring him in the face, or the fact that a talking cat was relaying everything to his face.

For now, Lief just had to steal more of Aine’s love potion. But he could not keep on using the same trick, or else he’d eventually run out of hearts. Things were becoming more complicated.

***

Aine crossed her arms, pacing back and forth in her workshop as she recalled the details of that day. She chuckled. “Did he just…” She smirked. Then paused. Then chuckled again. He definitely did something to her. “Did he cast a spell on me? He did, didn’t he? Before that, he got past my magic circles. And he can appear and disappear anytime.” Aine laughed. “So does that make him…a wizard?” She clapped her hands.

Then Aine stopped pacing, frowning. But he stole her love potion-laced tea. She clicked her tongue. “How dare he?” Did he know it was love potion? Aine huffed. “Doesn’t matter. He’s still a thief. That punk!” Aine started pacing again. “But he’s a wizard.” She smiled. “Still a thief. But then again…” She smirked. She was being stalked by a wizard, who was now stealing her potions. What could be more amusing? Aine laughed. “I really have to catch him.”

Then there was a knock on the door, and Mila’s voice called from the outside, “Miss, it’s time.”

That morning, Lady Odette had scheduled another date. It appeared Lady Odette didn’t have any difficulties this time. Atlas Lorelle had proven to be quite the character until the very end. He told people the date was a failure because he fell asleep. He took all the blame and even went around telling everyone the Dariens were lovely people. Thanks to that, those rumors about Aine and the Darien house had quieted for the meantime.

Aine took the path in the garden to get to the greenhouse. As she was walking, she suddenly heard the sound of fabric tearing. It was coming from the bag hung on her shoulder.

“What?” Aine was shocked to see a huge tear at the bottom of her bag, splitting the magic circle she painted into two. The contents of her bag fell—her notebook, the canteen, and the glass tubes she always carried. Luckily, the many hems of her balloon dress caught the falling tubes, cushioning them, preventing them from breaking. She knelt to pick up the glass tubes. Some had already rolled over the ground.

One particular tube which contained clear liquid was rolling faster than the rest.

Brows furrowed, Aine stared at the tube, which was rolling nonstop, faster and faster, heading away from her.

Aine stood and stepped onto the rolling glass tube to stop it. Even under her foot, the tube was still squirming, trying to run free. It’s him again, isn’t it? Aine looked around. She caught a glimpse of the back of a cloaked figure standing under the shade of a tall pine tree.

Aine saw the canteen inches away from her. She picked up the glass tube, clenching her hand tighter to prevent the tube from escaping. She then grabbed the canteen, which was filled with tomato juice. She dashed toward the tree and threw the canteen at the figure as hard as she could.

She struck something. She was sure. “That’s for stealing from me,” she grumbled. She heard a low groan, then the familiar sound of hands clapping. She moved closer to the tree, but as she had expected, no one was there, only a trail of fluttering hearts.

So…she thought. At least that means he has a solid body. She smiled, watching the hearts disappear. “Interesting…”

Aine turned to the glass tube in her hands, which had stopped squirming. She shook the tube, and the liquid inside sparkled. The love potion again?