“It’s your fault. You dumb… pet!”
Lisa awoke to Liri’s voice inches from her head. She was unsure how much time had passed, but the groggy feeling told her not enough time had passed as Liri went on…
“How could you do this to me?”
“HEEEYYYY WAKE UP.”
“Are you ignoring me?”
“If I was, it’s not working, you annoying twerp,” Lisa finally managed to spit out.
“Are you mocking me? What’s a twerp? Is that a human thing? Well, you’re dumb too then…” Liri sounded a bit lost in how angry she should be about the comment.
You need to learn more insults, princess.
“So what’s my fault, princess, that you woke me?”
“You sealed my mana!” Liri’s voice squeaked higher, almost cute.
Really? And how did that happen? I literally just went to sleep….
“Okay. So mind explaining how I sealed a powerful fairy’s mana?”
“It seems, human, that since I bonded with you, I tied my mana to you,” Liri huffed out the words as if all was explained.
“And?”
“Aaannnd,” Liri mocked back before raising her voice, “YOU SEALED MINE WITH YOUR MANA…”
“Okay. One, runt. Stop yelling in my face. Two, I did not choose to do anything. I just need time. I’ll get you your mana back. Calm down.”
“It’s not like it will kill you,” Lisa said, wiping the sleep from her eyes now that she’d gotten Liri to stop yelling.
Yet a panic flowed through her.
Will it kill the fairy? She is pure mana. Did I seal her fate…
Only now did Lisa wish she could see—a world of darkness all she knew. Was Liri crawling on the floor, desperate for mana, yelling as much as she could between breaths because she couldn’t really breathe? Could she get her dad back to save her?
Lisa could feel the bond, and it seemed Liri could still fly. The bond was swirling around. In fact, it still felt strong. She could feel the fairy’s annoyance but no sense of dying.
“It’s good you’re taking this seriously, Lisa. You do owe me for my new delays. I will forgive you since I too can sense your fear and know you’re listening to me.”
“Sorry I yelled. You’re a good pet.”
What is with this kid’s 180-degree mood swings…
Also, if she’s not dying, thank god, why is she so pissy…
“Well, now that we’ve worked that out, are you going to explain why you woke me up yelling versus waiting to talk to me?”
“Dad’s already mad at me, and I’ve got to deal with other humans for this lake,” Liri’s voice sounded strained, but she ended it there even as Lisa waited for more.
“And?”
“And what? I can’t finish building this lake power source. We already had this talk. Were you ignoring me after all?”
Did we? Too much has happened in one day to be sure, and she doesn’t explain things worth a damn…
“Let’s pretend you did,” Lisa tried, carefully.
“I DID,” Liri quickly yelled back, sending a jolt of anger through their bond.
“OK. Stop yelling. You’re literally feet away, and I’ve got sensitive hearing, princess…”
“Sorry. I’m upset, and you’re not listening to me.”
“I’m listening, but I’m slow, remember? And blind. So I gotta make sure I know things. I need time. I came from a world with no magic, and now you just assume I know everything.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Liri replied carefully.
Wow, really it does? I never would have guessed…
“Very well. I swear to think twice and speak more calmly, lest I regret having a pet.”
What?! Regret… you dumb kid, that’s your takeaway….
“Thank you… princess,” Lisa said as coldly as she could muster, with a face that said she would kill Liri if she thought she could get away with it.
“Well, at least you know my suffering. It will have to be enough. I’ll leave you be while I tend the well. I’ll try and ruminate on getting you some form of mana later.”
Lisa shook her head.
Run in here yelling, and after you’ve said your piece, flee first chance you get, eh? Whatever. I’m hungry anyway….
———
Lisa took the time in silence to practice using the ring once more. There were many random items to sort through, but she focused on the mundane foods. She was surprised to find that even in this new world filled with magic, it seemed they had some form of manufacturing—not just the medieval things from stories. She found jars and covered bowls, similar to her modern world in shape and feel.
It took a bit of experimenting with careful smells and gentle tasting to confirm what she was getting. There was no braille to read, but the tastes seemed to be the common foods she expected to find.
Her current meal was a pudding-type paste with a cinnamon and banana-like taste.
That reminds me, where will I go to the bathroom… Ugh, it is the woods. Wonder if there are bathroom products in that ring. If not, I’ll need to get them….
Despite those thoughts, Lisa focused her mind and sought Liri. She could still feel her loneliness in the bond despite the bravado of being some big bad princess.
Lisa gently tapped her way deeper to the back where the main well was. She felt she was getting close to Liri when a voice spoke, confirming it.
“Come to throw more things at me? You sealed my power, so not like I can do much to resist,” Liri’s voice was low and sounded defeated.
“It was just a grape. Don’t be so melodramatic. And I thought we were past this.”
“At my peak, I could stop a blast from a peak human mage with my mana shield, or reverse a phoenix flame to burn them despite being made of flames. Now I can’t stop a mere pet from assaulting me with food.”
Some of that stuff did sound impressive if true….
“Well, that’s why I’m here—to make amends and help you get your power back while learning magic. We won’t be weak forever, so it’ll be okay.”
“No, it won’t,” Liri’s voice kept pouting.
“You mind telling me why?”
Liri said nothing, and the silence stretched. Lisa was unsure why she was taking this so hard. There had to be more than just a petty fight.
She did say she wasted her mana summoning me. And needing to upgrade this lake? What else… I guess her dad trusting her? That seems lame for her pain.
Yet even with those thoughts swirling, Lisa knew she wanted approval too. So she decided to assume it was Liri wanting to grow up and be seen, and the sealing of her magic stopped that.
Worse.
It made it so every action Liri could take was bound by Lisa’s whims, and Lisa had already proven she didn’t want that power….
Do I?
Even with no sight, Lisa looked at her hand, feeling her fingers brushing her palm. She tried willing mana, power, anything to happen and drew a blank…
Guess desire alone is not enough.
Or maybe it is. And I don’t desire it enough….
“I will help you, Liri, and pass the test. If you want, next time you confront anybody, just have me there to help you. It’ll explain the delays and help us move forward.”
“Maybe,” Liri’s voice was still low, but at least she was listening.
We’re both trapped, it seems. Just wish magic was more like my music.
Maybe?
Lisa started humming a tune, a soft one reminding her of one of her sadder songs when she lost her parents but needed to move forward to fight the darkness that held her so close.
Lo ree no ra~ so lee ro lee~
She tried to mimic the sound her violin played, the rhythm and flow. It was off and wasn’t the same, but she tried to make a song anyway to comfort herself and Liri.
Do raaa leee~ Liri’s voice added in, momentarily stunning Lisa to silence before she found her voice to try again.
They both slowly synced their voices and sang. Lisa wasn’t sure if Liri was using the bond to feel the rhythm of the words or just understood her grief and was able to match the song.
But both found peace in that song.
———
The rest of the day was a pleasant one, and this new life wasn’t so bad. That was till Lisa got to the part where Liri was trying to teach her mana in any form…
Poorly.
“You really are a dumb human, aren’t you? Making me repeat myself to no results,” Liri’s voice sounded exasperated.
“I told you, you little spoiled brat, it’s not like that,” Lisa tried, defending her pride from the mockery.
“Form. A. Shell. Of some form. How hard is that to do?”
They both got to this point when they agreed Lisa’s barrier to using her mana was all mental block, hence blocking Liri’s mana the same way. So the first step was limiting the power flow into a shell to make it exist once more in a smaller-scale form.
Easy, right?
Well, it seemed it wasn’t, and Liri refused to believe it wasn’t just stupidity from Lisa….
“I would love to draw a circle to show you magic, but you let your sight fail you, so now I’ve got to use only our bond to send you anything, you dumb pet…”
“Maybe if you learned how to speak, I would listen to your voice versus hearing annoying squeaking.”
“YOU’RE ANNOYING. And my voice doesn’t squeak….”
Then why is your voice breaking just to give that speech….
Lisa ignored the rant that followed and tried to do as Liri had asked—form a bubble, a jar, something inside.
I think the issue is the mana and me are one. So I need to limit it to feel it more. Maybe like a case for my violin?
Could that work?
She tried picturing herself as the music, the endless flow of music being free. Then she imagined a case around it—solid, protective, containing—to hold the music secure till she needed it.
A solid lump seemed to form in her stomach, reminding her of period cramps, and for a moment she wasn’t sure if it wasn’t just that….
Yet it felt solid, like a rock in her belly—hard and unyielding. She hated it. Even the mana in her veins seemed to want to reject it. In fact, it was the first time she really felt the mana versus the vagueness before.
“By the LIGHT, you did IT!” Liri’s voice randomly spiked, hurting Lisa’s ears.
“Why does it feel like I ate a lump of stone…”
“How should I know? Humans are stupid. Mana should be free-flowing, but they need those inner wells to draw from, so here we are.”
Lisa rubbed her stomach as she half-heartedly listened to Liri retort, focused more on hoping to settle the cramped, bloated feeling in her stomach, when she heard Liri’s voice once more.
“Hmmm, I see,” Liri’s voice sounded analytical for a change, versus the usual carefree or bratty tone.
“You made it solid. The mana can’t fill it or break down into the core. You’ve got to hollow it out first.”
Why is using mana so hard? The stories always made it sound easy….
Lisa tried focusing on the lump. Mentally striking it did nothing….
So she tried hollowing it out. Picturing a mana drill slowly carving into the lump that was her mana jar. The mana did seem to drill away with her will, and it started to form a small hole but did not go very deep.
A bit of dizziness hit her, so she stopped. Even forcing the mana to do that much was draining.
Yet hope bloomed in Lisa’s chest as the hole did start to fill with what felt like pure mana that stayed, versus what was in her veins. A small amount—a thimble or so? But it was mana she felt more confident using.
Can I use that differently than the mana in my body? Would it be less of a struggle? Maybe. Could it… give me mana sight?
Do I want to see…
Lisa pondered those thoughts briefly.
No. But maybe. Mana sight could be something different, and it could help teach me a better understanding of mana if I can maybe see it.
Lisa wasn’t sure what she wanted. The thought of mana was still a foreign thing, but to help Liri, she needed to understand mana since the fairy couldn’t help with the way she tried teaching. This would be a compromise.
Lisa willed the mana from the small pool, hoping for the best. She focused on the idea of mana flowing to her eyes—mana sight—unsure if it was that easy…
The mana flowed from the small drilled spot back into her veins toward her eyes. It was only then she felt and noticed a difference, and why the mana was so hard to use.
The mana in her veins and body wasn’t mana, per se. It was literally her body being remade by mana. This bit of other mana she had made was different. It flowed within her veins instead of being fused with her flesh.
As the mana finally reached her eyes, for a very brief second, a sea of color flowed into a form and she could see what she assumed was Liri as Lisa tried to focus.
And Lisa screamed as it felt like her eyes became twin flames forcing the darkness back and making her collapse.88Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRum9o0m7GO
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