A Boy, a Dog Girl and a Daughter, Doughnut, Dagger and Dance: Part One

The city was recovering.

Bell’s South made it through what they would come to call the Night of Madness with surprisingly few casualties. The guards had been alerted to expect some kind of mass attack, armed with an antidote for a disease they weren’t aware of. It all worked, however, and the dawn broke with a few fires, blessedly few bodies and a great many headaches.

Nobody knew who started the madness. Nobody would know. Chistos pulled many strings he had access to in order to keep it silent. The knowledge of a living demon from the time of Akla-Hest would do nobody any good, he reasoned. The powers in government agreed, though hesitantly.

Chistos assured them he knew what he was doing.

“I have no idea what to do with you.”

Chistos stared across the table in the dank dungeon of Bell’s South's prison. The Fallen Doctor sat before him, hands shackled to the table, feet likewise to the floor.

“Kill me.”

Chistos laughed bitterly at the Doctor’s words.

“Trust me, many here would if they could. I’m not so influential as to keep someone like you from the gallows. The crimes of Skabbart alone make you worthy of death. But Savy and I both examined you. A regular execution would do little to you, wouldn’t it?”

The Doctor looked away. Chistos leaned in closer.

“Who are you?”

“Between the Doctor and Skabbart…both. Neither. I don’t know.”

Chistos settled back into his chair, smiling lightly.

“Lucky for you, I have a soft spot for people who don’t know who they are. But let’s quit pretending. Those shackles are doing nothing, are they?”

The steel shackles on the Doctor’s hands and feet melted away into pools of molten slag.

“I was not pretending.”

“Why did you let us shackle you then?”

“I am waiting.”

“For what?”

“A reason not to ring the bell and fulfill my mission.”

“Why didn’t you?”

Silence.

“Why didn’t you?”

“Who are the boy and the dog girl to you?”

“My children.”

“They’re not.”

“Not biologically. Why do you ask?”

Silence for several long moments.

“The dog girl could have killed me. I felt it. I’ve felt power like hers before.”

“And yet?”

“And yet…she would give it all up for her boy. I have no right to kill such things.”

Chistos stood, walking to the door of the cell.

“Come.”

The Doctor tilted his head slightly in confusion.

“Come on! It isn’t like you couldn’t walk out of here if you wanted to. I’ve been put in charge of you. I want to show you something.”

The Doctor stood reluctantly, following Chistos out of his cell. The guards outside immediately pulled their guns, magic infused bullets chambered by nervous fingers.

“Relax, gentlemen. I am simply taking my new acquaintance for a stroll. Now, let’s get you some decent clothes.”

Chistos led the Doctor down the hall as the two guards lowered their guns.

“I’m transferring to a non-magical city,” the younger guard said.

“I’m so tired of this wizard crap,” the older guard agreed.

*

“Father? Who is…”

Chista gasped when she realized who her father was leading towards her, hooded and head down but still recognizable to her.

“I know what I’m doing. I simply wanted to show him what you did. Here. This is what I wanted you to see.”

The Doctor looked up.

The tree grew tall and wide, planted in the university courtyard, in full bloom despite the frosty winter chill and deep snow. Leaves of many colors danced in the wind, large and waving, as if greeting the old demon man.

“Who did this?”

“My daughter.”

The Doctor looked at the girl, shocked.

“Yes…Skabbart saw…but he didn’t know. Do you know what you did? What this is?”

“Um…Twigbert?” Chista asked, looking uncomfortable.

“It is a soul tree. These are…I have only seen one in person. My love, she…but how did you do this? According to the thief, you are a failed wizard.”

“The thing about the rankings is, they measure a person at one point in their lives,” Chistos said, placing a hand on the Doctor’s shoulder. “It is all about potential. I have always seen potential in my daughter. And I see potential in you to find what you lost. She wants to be a doctor, you know.”

“You?” The Doctor walked over to her, leaning so he was face to face with her. “Are you having trouble visualizing all the parts of a body? Is this why you started with a plant?”

“Kind of,” Chista sighed. “I’ve been trying to do something similar since the competition, but…I mean, I’m keeping the plants I have healthy, but nothing like this.”

“Oh, you won’t be able to do this again. Soul trees are born when they are needed. But the fact you could do it…”

“Do I take it you’re interested?” Chistos asked, stroking his beard.

“I…I have no right to call myself a doctor. Or to be a teacher. I have too much to atone for…”

Chistos placed a hand on Twigbert, the bark smooth and warm.

“We could use a groundskeeper. And my daughter could use a tutor.”

“You want me to learn magic from a genocidal maniac?” Chista said with an incredulous laugh.

“No, I want a maniac to learn humanity from my daughter. Acceptable, mister…”

“Gardener,” he said, looking up, smiling, embracing his new name and role.