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

Zack Hartwell sat alone in his room, holding the dagger Vessria had given him. The golden scabbard shone in the moonlight. Honey would be back momentarily. She was most likely brushing her teeth and giggling about the foam around her mouth.

“It gets stronger the more people love you…”

He didn’t know exactly what she meant. If people cared about him, the dagger got stronger? What would such a thing look like?

Zack unsheathed the blade.

It glowed a bright white, flaming energy flickering around the edges. Zack had to shield his eyes momentarily as he stared into it. Shapes seemed to dance within those flames.

Faces.

Friends who had embraced him as a stranger.

A rich boy who was trying to be better.

A teacher who saw his potential.

Neighbors who welcomed him home.

Insane potion makers.

Free spirited warriors.

A wizard and his daughter, both looking for happiness.

A girl who loved him like he was her whole world.

She was not the brightest part of the flame.

These were the people who currently held him somewhere in their heart. Burning brightest from the tip was a woman whose prayers he could practically hear, asking the universe and whatever controlled it to comfort her son and let him know she would be with him again someday.

“Sweetheart?”

The knife went back into the scabbard.

Zack was on his feet in seconds, wrapping his arms around her. He held her tightly. He refused to let her see him cry.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Zack.”

“I need you.”

“I…”

Silence.

“I’m not strong. I’m stupid and brave and willing to die for you. But I need you to be strong. Because there are some nights I can’t stand this.”

“I know, sweetheart.”

“I love you.”

They held each other in the dark.

Time ceased to matter.

*

“Wonderful flowering!” Chistos said as he wandered the dance floor with Gardener. The pointy eared groundskeeper looked with pride upon the flower covered vines wrapping around the gym.

“Your daughter helped. She may actually want to give up being a doctor. She has an impressive green thumb.”

“Oi! Knife ear! Get your elf butt over to the punch bowl! Someone may spike it, and I want to know when, hear!” Blarth yelled across the gym, startling several students.

“Of all the teachers to bring to VanVeer’s as a chaperone, why him?” Gardener asked.

“He owes me a favor.”

“He keeps calling me an elf. Demons aren’t elves. Might as well call him a goat.”

Chistos laughed. Across the gym, his daughter held Baltz’s hand as they awkwardly danced, her midnight blue dress swishing around.

“Are you having a good time?” Baltz asked.

“For the fifth time, yes.”

“I am trying.”

“I know.”

“You look amazing.”

“Keep saying those sweet things.”

“The flowers are beautiful.”.

“There we are.”

“Where are the heroes, anyways?”

Chista gave him a soft smirk, a wave of her blue hair falling over her right eye.

“He said he owed her something special. Something private.”

“Private?” Baltz asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Please. It’s probably incomprehensibly sweet.”

“Like you?”

She stepped back a bit, honestly a little surprised.

“Zack is helping me with being romantic. And…friendly.”

Chista pulled him in tighter.

“It’s working. You asshole.”

*

“Are you sure you can do all this?” Zack asked, the brisk wind causing him to shiver briefly.

“I’ve been practicing a lot of spells outside of my dog form. I think I can hold this long enough. But sweetheart, it would be easier to do this inside with the others.”

“Don’t care. Hard things are worthwhile things. Besides, I promised you a dance under the stars.”

Honey smiled. Her gold dress flowed over her, giving her the figure of an immaculate statue of beauty itself. The Allheims had made sure her face and hair gave a hint of the woman waiting for Zack years after this night.

His left arm went around her waist. His right gently clasped her hand.

“Wait, need to make sure, which one taught you to dance? Vessria or Isadora?”

“Izzy,” Honey said with a giggle.

“Good. Me too. It was like dancing with a hairy slab of meat, but still ensured it wouldn’t devolve into some weird kind of twerking.”

“Twerking?”

“It’s like when a girl bounces her butt…you know, maybe we should save it for later,” Zack said with a quick kiss.

In the snow on the roof of the VanVeer Academy, they began to dance.

The cold was kept away from them. Two glowing red orbs swirled gently at their sides, warming them. The wind still blew Honey’s hair, and she shivered as Zack gently brushed it from her eyes as they swayed.

“Ready?”

She nodded.

They rose.

The magical platform Honey conjured underneath them gently lifted into the air. The stars grew ever so much closer, but they only saw them reflected in each other’s eyes. From their platform in the sky the city stretched outward. The Academy below them, and the University in the distance. Twigbert’s colorful leaves seemed to wave at them. The great bell glowed in the moonlight, and beyond the walls was the forest which had welcomed them.

“The New Dawn is coming. Do you think anything will try to kill us next year?” Honey asked.

“I kinda hope so. If I played it safe, I wouldn’t have you in my arms.”

Honey settled into her boy’s grasp.

“I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you too, my perfect, silly girl.”

They danced.

The stars approved.