Impending Problems

Days passed by, and Lief found himself stuck on the same question. What the hell am I doing?

It was not just on her birthday. Instead of meeting on Sundays as initially agreed, he had been appearing in her workshop on weekdays. And although he responded regularly to the Book’s summons, he could not find the right words to write. He found himself merely writing one-liners that did not make sense—Well, they made sense, but in a way, they did not. She is quirky. She is always lively. She is happy. She is pretty. There was definitely no sense in writing those.

Lief heaved a heavy sigh, running his fingers through his hair. Then he ruffled his hair, a part of him wanting to pull his hair hard. Would that wake him up from whatever it was he was doing?

He sighed again. Then, realizing a pair of big, round, orange eyes was eyeing him keenly, Lief flinched.

Cheddar knew. Of course, he did. He was his familiar. Lief stretched his feet on the table, trying to act as normal and as nonchalant as possible, while he desperately avoided Cheddar’s gaze. But Cheddar was never one to give up easily. The cat leapt to the table and sat on Lief’s legs, his eyes never leaving Lief.

“So…” Cheddar breathed. “Seems like someone had been using hearts quite liberally.”

Lief cleared his throat, but did not respond.

“I suppose…it’s for the sake of the one true love potion?”

“Yeah,” Lief managed weakly. “I mean, what else?”

Cheddar hissed, causing Lief to back away a little. “And here I thought you only had to be careful Love don’t find out. You—” Cheddar showed his claws, and Lief backed away further. “So what do you intend to do now, Human?”

“I—” Lief sighed. “I’m not even sure what I’m currently doing.”

“Well, you better start making sure, before Love catches on.”

***

It was another day, and Aine asked Lief to accompany her to purchase ingredients for her potions.

The musty air welcomed Aine and Lief as they pushed open the door of the Midnight Haze—one of Aine Darien’s favorite stops in the business district. Fake cobwebs intertwined with real cobwebs hung in the ceiling and corners of the store. The fireplace at the center burned brightly, but the place remained cold. The fireplace was the only source of light as the windows were bolted shut. Black wooden cabinets covered the walls of the store, but the cabinets were all empty.

Beside the fireplace was an empty black wooden counter. And standing behind the counter was a young woman with curly blonde hair, wearing a pink, frilly, long dress—a bizarre pop of color in that otherwise dreary place.

Aine walked toward the counter.

“Good day, Miss Darien,” the young woman said, “And sir.” She gestured toward Lief, who was a few paces behind Aine. “What can I help you with today?”

“Can I ask for a paper to write on?” Aine said, and the woman handed her a paper and a pen.

Lief watched as Aine scribbled on the paper. After Aine had finished writing, she handed the paper to the blonde woman, who nodded, then quickly disappeared through a door in the corner.

Aine then turned to Lief. “So what do you think of this place?”

“Am I supposed to say gorgeous?”

Aine giggled. “I do find it gorgeous.”

“It’s just empty.”

“You have to see their wares.”

Then the blonde woman came back, carrying two crates filled with bottles and plants. She placed the crates on the counter, then disappeared again, only to return after a few minutes with another set of crates. She swiftly went back and forth ten more times, until a pile of crates, stashed on top of each other, was already on the counter. The stash of crates towered in front of Aine.

Seriously? Are all these for her potions? Lief stared at the crates.

“Thank you,” Aine said to the blonde woman, peeking through the crates which had become a barrier between her and the blonde woman, completely blocking the latter from view.

“Any time, Miss Darien. You know you are—”

Suddenly, the crates shook. Bottles and potted plants began to fall off the crates. Aine attempted to move back, but she misstepped, stumbling and falling to her knees on the ground. The blonde woman screamed as more bottles were falling.

As the bottles and other wares began to fall, Lief clapped his hands to make sure they did not hit Aine. But nothing was happening. The bottles were going to fall on her head. Lief clapped again, but no hearts appeared. He clapped again and again, but nothing.

Before he knew it, Lief darted toward Aine, pushed her to the floor, and covered her with his body.

***

As Aine looked up, she saw multiple bottles and some pots about to fall on her.

And then she heard the clapping of hands. Then, she felt her body suddenly pressed onto the ground. Lief pinned her down as the bottles were about to fall on them…or rather on him.

“Hold on,” she muttered. “I can handle this.” Lief was still pushing her shoulders down. “I said, I can handle this.” She kicked Lief’s stomach to get him off her. Swiftly, she kicked the bottles that were about an inch away from her head. The bottles flew to the cabinets, shattering.

Lief was still reeling on the ground, clutching his stomach, when Aine stood. “I told you I can handle it,” she said, flipping her hair.

“You didn’t have to kick me though,” Lief said as he pushed himself to stand while groaning in pain.

“You were on the way. You know, I may not be able to handle wolves and burly men, but I can handle bottles.”

“Well, good to know,” Lief breathed.

“Are you okay, Miss Darien?” the blonde woman called, and Aine approached the counter to speak to her.

***

While the two ladies were talking, Lief stared at his hands. There was no way he had already run out of hearts. He did use some, but earned quite a lot in his last story, and it hadn’t even been a year. What is going on?