Chapter Four Hundred and Thirty-Two — Friends Like These
Chapter Four Hundred and Thirty-Two — Friends Like These Booksie guided us to the sitting room in the back of the shop, a space where a few seats were tucked in between towering pillars of books. “Please, everybun, have a seat. I’ll go get the kettle,” Booksie said. She puttered around for a moment, making sure that we were all comfy and fetching lap blankets from a chest off to one side.Then Booksie hurried off and I heard some clinking and clanking deeper in the shop. “She seems okay,” I said.“I suppose,” Amaryllis said.Booksie had a lot of nervous energy, but she didn’t seem hurt or anything. I didn’t get the feeling that she was upset or anything, just a little... maybe overwhelmed? Stressed? Maybe coming here wasn’t the best idea, if it added even more stress to her situation.Then again, a good friend should visit their friends, especially when those friends are going through something stressful! No matter how it had gone down, getting proposed to and getting married had to be very stressful.Booksie reappeared, carrying a steaming kettle and a tray covered in mugs. She set them down, then ran off only to return with a small box. “These are teas from out west. From Inkborough in Pyrowalk.”“Oh, that’s far,” I said. “Are they known for their tea?”“Hmm? No, not in particular, but it does taste a little different. I don’t know how it compares to some of the better teas you can buy, but it always tasted like home to me.” Booksie poured us each a mug, then noticed that she’d forgotten the cream and honey, and she ran off again.It took a little while before we were all settled with warm mugs in hand and the room slowly filling with the scent of an unfamiliar tea.Inkthistle tea, usable as a weak muscle relaxant, brewed by an amateur.The tea wasn’t bad, though I did add a dab of honey, since it was a smidge bitter. “Did you want to talk about it?” I asked.Booksie sighed over her mug, sending the rising plume of steam over it away. “I guess I should.”“You don’t have to,” I hurried to say.“Oh, I want to,” Booksie said. “It’s sad, but I haven’t made a single proper friend since we last saw each other.” She lowered her mug. “I have so many rants saved up.”“Oh. in that case, rant away!” I said.Booksie took a deep breath. “Right... I’ve been looking forward to this for a while.”“Mhm,” I said with a nod.Booksie blinked. “I don’t know where to start,” she said.I giggled, and Awen joined it more quietly. It was a bit of a funny problem to have. “How about whatever’s annoying you the most?”Booksie let out a long sigh. “I’ve been trying to talk with people, but lately it’s been so much harder. The only people that will talk to me are politicians. Do you have any idea how hard it is to talk to a diplomat?”“No?” I asked.Amaryllis snorted. “Yes,” she said.I looked at her for an explanation, and Amaryllis rolled her eyes.“Diplomats have a lot of social skills. Yes, a little like your Friendmaking or whatever, but they're specialised toward that field, so they have a lot more of those skills, and they're usually stronger. Give them two minutes to talk and you’ll feel like they’re your best friend ever. It ... usually wears off a few minutes later.”“It leaves me feeling dirty,” Booksie said. “I’ve talked to diplomats from Deepmarsh and the Harpy Mountains. They’re about the only people that will talk to me, but all they want is endless placating nothingness. As if I have any sway on what Rhawr’s family will do. The only other person I’ve talked to lately who hasn’t been obviously two-faced is Cholondee.”“She’s nice,” I said. “She saved us from pirates a few days ago.”“Ah, that was you?” Booksie asked. “She’d mentioned something about pirates. I’m glad you made it over. Are you okay?”“Yup! A few scuffs and scratches, but no injuries, and nothing we can’t fix!”“Good, good,” Booksie said. “Cholondee has been nice. We’ve been shopping together, and I helped her with her bookkeeping, since she asked. She even paid me for it, which let me tell you, is quite something when it comes to dragons.”“Dragons don’t pay well?” I asked.“They have a saying, ‘family is family, but gold is shiny.’ It tells you a lot about them, I think,” Booksie said. “Anyway. Half the shops along the street have vacated, though none of them say it’s my fault. I barely get any customers anymore.”“Oh no, that’s awful. Is the business okay?” I asked. I recalled her having a bit of difficulty with that.“The city refused my property tax payments,” she said. “The landlord that owned this building gave it to me, as an early wedding gift. So my upkeep has never been lower.”“That’s... nice?”“I’m not going to complain about it, much, but it’s still frustrating. It was a little weird before Rhawr popped the question, but ever since then... urgh.”“How did that happen, anyway? I wasn’t even sure if you two were really dating,” Amaryllis asked.It was a little rude to just poke at the big question, but I had to admit that I was really-really curious too.Booksie melted into her seat, cheeks turning more and more red and she pouted and refused to meet anyone’s eyes. She mumbled something, but even with my added ears, I didn’t catch it. She noticed that, then straightened a little. “It was an accident,” she said.“A dragon accidentally proposed?” Amaryllis asked.“A little.”“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay,” I said.Booksie sighed. “It’s going to come up eventually anyway. See, we were reading together. We... do that, in the backyard. I have some blankets, and Rhawr likes it when I sit on him and read.” She cleared her throat. The blush had returned. “We were reading something a little romantic, and we were both talking about the story. It’s nice? Rhawr has... opinions about things, of course, and so do I, and often our reading time turns into long talks about whatever we’re reading.”Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.“That sounds nice,” I said encouragingly.“Well, yes, it is. In any case, we were reading about a proposal, and one thing led to another, and I said yes.”Booksie was still not meeting our eyes, and I was worried that with the amount of blood in her face at the moment, there might not be enough for the rest of her.“I still don’t see how that was an accident,” Amaryllis said.“He didn’t mean to!” Booksie said. “But I went and said yes! And I didn’t mean to either! I wasn’t thinking!” Booksie set her mug down, picked up a book, then started to clonk her head against it. “It was an accident!”“Ah, couldn’t you just, uh, talk about it?” I asked.“Dragons don’t undo what they say! They’re too proud! And I... maybe I don’t want to correct him.”“So you want to get married?”“Yes! No! I don’t know!” Booksie kicked her legs out against the edge of her sofa, like a kid throwing a tantrum. “The last couple of weeks have been nothing but preparations and politics and... and dresses.”“Dresses are nice,” I said.“I know!” Booksie cried. “My wedding dress is beautiful.”“Awa, that doesn’t seem, um, like something to cry about?” Awen said.“It’s too pretty for me,” Booksie complained. “I’m just a bookstore bun. At best I should marry a librarian or another shopkeeper. Maybe a cobbler, not a dragon! The dress looks like something a princess would wear.”“I think every girl wants to look like a princess on the day she gets married,” I said. “It’s not that bad, is it? Everybun should be allowed to look pretty, especially on their wedding day.”Booksie sniffed. “Rhawr’s mom took over an island to the south and gave it to me. So technically I’m now a princess. A pitiful princess that rules over an island with some turtles on it.”“That’s one way to become noble,” Amaryllis said. “Try not to make soup out of all of your subjects.”“It’s because of some silly dragon tradition. Do you have any idea how complicated wedding organisation is? Dragon weddings are even more complicated, especially since I had to insist that no one eat the guests!”“This might not be a good time to mention it,” I said. “But one of the reasons we came was to warn you that there might be a small attack on the day of your wedding. Or maybe an assassination attempt by some very mean, no-good people that want to start a big war.”Booksie stared at me. She leaned forward, putting the book she’d used to smack herself on the head down, then she picked up a cushion. After mashing her face into it, she started to scream.I stood and scooted over to the sofa she was on, squeezing in next to her for sidehugs and backrubs. “Hey, hey, it’s not that bad. We’re here to help! Amaryllis can take care of the political people, and Awen can maybe check out the venue, and I’ll clean things up and we’ll figure it all out together, okay?”Booksie muffled a final scream into the cushion before pulling away, her hair was tousled, her eyes were red, and her ears were wilted. She looked at me, then at Amaryllis, and finally at Awen. “You're here to help?”“Of course,” Amaryllis said, setting down her cup of tea. “We've got your back, Booksie. And if some villains try to sabotage your wedding, well, they'll have to get through us first.”I eyed Amaryllis for a moment. That was very supportive of her. Suspiciously so. Usually Amaryllis complained a lot more before helping a friend out anyway.Awen was nodding next to her, adding her silent support to what Amaryllis had said.Booksie seemed to take a deep breath, visibly steeling herself. “Well, if I am going to go through with this marriage to a dragon and an accidental princesshood of... of Turtle Island, then I suppose it's a comfort to know I'm not doing it alone. I don’t think I’ve ever missed home as much as I do now.”“You're definitely not alone,” I assured her, giving her one last comforting squeeze before letting go. “Do you have any family in Pyrowalk?”“None that I’d want to see here,” she said with a sigh. “Rhawr offered to fly anyone over. Whether they want to come or not. But I’d really rather not have family tied to chairs watching me. Plus, it’s far. There are other dragons with territory between here and there, and that would complicate things.”“That’s... nice of him,” I said.Booksie frowned, then looked at me. “Who are these assassins you mentioned?”“Ah, that one’s complicated,” I said. “We learned about them in the Snowlands. They’re probably working for Rainnewt. He’s a big mean riftwalker that’s trying to make a big mess of things. They were trying to ship weapons to here, but I think we foiled their plans a little bit.”“That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t play it safe,” Amaryllis said.Booksie nodded. “It might be for the best. Cholondee really wanted to help, but... well, she’s learning how to control the mob, I don’t know if I want her working on wedding planning. But security? I think she can manage that.”I wasn’t sure how to feel about the mob, the dragon-controlled mob, being in charge of security. After a bit of thought, I decided to feel safe about it. It was better than nothing, and it was nice that Cholondee wanted to help.Brooksie looked around at us, her eyes moist. "Thank you, everybun, you're the best friends I could possibly ask for." her face took on newfound determination. "Together, I think we can turn this accidental wedding into a happily ever after."
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Chapter Four Hundred and Thirty-Three — Uncertainty Principle
Chapter Four Hundred and Thirty-Three — Uncertainty Principle “So, was there anything you wanted to do?” Booksie asked.I tilted my head to the side. “What we want to do? I think we should be concerned about what you want to do,” I said.Booksie shook her head, and I was very envious of how stable her ears were. How did she stop them from flopping around? “No. You don’t understand how much time I have on my hands. Most of the wedding planning is done. All I need to do is show up every so often to veto whatever ideas are going too far. Other than that, I just need to show up on the day of the wedding looking pretty.”“That shouldn’t be hard,” I said. “You’re very pretty already, and I’m sure you’ll be even prettier in your dress.”Booksie smiled. “Thanks. I’d like to think that I’m not vain, but I suppose I am a little bit?” She giggled. “Ah, but yes, what are you up to? Did you really come all the way here just to foil assassins?”“And to see you,” I said. “Two of my friends are getting married! I don’t want to miss their big day.”“I’ll make sure your crew have front-row seats, then,” Booksie said. “Besides, you’re all a good deal braver than all of the politicians and such that want to show up. You can set the example by not screaming and fainting at the first sight of a dragon.”“I think we can manage that!” I said. “If you want, I think we were planning on doing a bit of shopping? Awen wanted to look at parts for the Beaver, and I don’t think any of us have clothes for the wedding.”“We have our formalwear from that ball back in Sylphfree,” Awen said.“Oh, yeah! But I kinda still want to go shopping,” I admitted. It would be nice to hang out with Booksie too. I had the impression that she’d been spending a lot of time in her bookshop, which was entirely fair, but it was probably not too healthy to spend so much time cooped up. Going out and having a bit of fun would be good for her.“I can show you the shop where I got my dress,” Booksie said. “In fact, the dress is still there now. I don’t have a place to put it in here that won’t get it covered in book dust.”“Did you need help with the dusting?” I asked. Back in Pecorina's bookshop, she had requested that I avoid throwing around Cleaning magic, since she was worried her old or enchanted books might not take kindly to it. However, I was pretty sure I could still clean Booksie's store if I avoided any vulnerable books. My Cleaning skill helped with my aim, so at S-rank it was easy to guide the magic around things I wanted to avoid, provided I knew they were there.“I should be fine,” Booksie said. She bounced to her feet, then adjusted her skirts. “Shall we?”I laughed and stood up, then there was a bit of bustle as we gathered up the tea cups and kettle and put them away in the back. There was a teeny-tiny apartment stuffed in a corner of the shop behind a closed-off section. It was made smaller by the stacks of unsold books crowded inside-just enough room for a little kitchen and a bed next to a washroom.“It’s not exactly nice,” Booksie said. “But it’s this or I cut into my floorspace. Well, I suppose I could rent more space, but my budget is tight enough as it is, and I like not having to walk to work every morning.”“It’s fine,” I said. I plucked the kettle from her hand then used a few points of magic to wipe it clean. Now that we were alone-Awen and Amaryllis were at the front of the shop, checking out some books-I thought that maybe I could ask Booksie how she felt a little more privately. “Are you really okay?” I asked.Booksie smiled. It was a small, reserved smile. “Yes, I think I’m okay. It’s a lot though. A lot of stress, a lot of wondering how things will work out. Just... a lot. And I’m trying really hard not to be taken in by anything... extraneous.”“Extraneous?” I asked.Booksie leaned a hip against the counter next to her skin and crossed her arms. “It’s... urgh. I like Rhawrexdee. I think I love him, even. He’s kind, and likes a lot of the same things I do. We have different opinions on things, but that only leads to great discussions, and... and it’s nice when I’m with him.”I nodded. That was good. I didn’t know much about romance, but that seemed like a good foundation for a relationship.“But...” she began.“But?”Booksie sighed. “I’ve spoken to some people who implied that the only reason I’m with him at all is because of all the advantages it brings.”“Advantages?” I asked.“Broccoli, he’s a dragon. And while that does bring its own heap of complications, there’s no doubting that it also brings some good. If I marry him, I won’t ever have to worry about money, or petty thieves. He offered to help me level-up so I'd be safer and invited me to go hunting with him some day. Do you have any idea how quickly you can level when you’re literally being carried by a dragon?”“Uh, I hadn’t thought of that. Do dragons care about levels and such?”“Not as much as others,” Booksie said. “Even a level one dragon is still a dragon. But that’s besides the point. I’m worried. I don’t want to love Rhawr for what he has and what he can give me, I want to love him because he’s him.”I wrapped Booksie in a hug, because that seemed like the right thing to do. “Do you love him because he’s him? It sounds like it to me?”“I do,” she muttered into my shoulder. “But I’m still worried anyway. He’s offering so much, and all I have is a mouldy old bookshop.”“You have more than a 'mouldy old bookshop,' Booksie. You have your intellect, your love for life, your zest for discovery and your passion for books,” I said, as I continued to hold her in the hug.This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.Booksie let out a soft chuckle, “You always have a way with words, Broccoli.”“And you always have a way with dragons. And, most importantly, with people. I've never seen Rhawrexdee as happy as he is when he's with you. I don’t think that love is a transaction, you know? It's not about what he can offer you materially or what you can offer him. It's about two people who resonate with each other in a very special way.”Booksie pulled out of the hug, and I was happy to see that she was smiling. “Thank you,” she said.“No problem! I’m happy when my friends are happy, so I want you to be the happiest Booksie you can be!”Booksie laughed, then gave my cheek a quick peck. “You’re sweet. I’m happy you’re a bun now too. You’re giving the entire species a good name. Now... shall we go shopping and look at pretty dresses and... airship parts? Oh, I know this place that you’ll love. They even have a section dedicated to enchanted fabrics!”“That sounds perfect,” I said, eager to immerse myself in a little retail therapy and more eager to see Booksie genuinely happy.We joined Awen and Amaryllis at the front of the store. Booksie started telling Amaryllis about the fabric place while she locked up the shop. With a final flip of the Closed/Open sign, we bundled out of the store.“I never asked,” Booksie said. “But do you know Port Royal well? I recall when we met you were new to the city.”“I’ve been here and there, but I only spent a couple of days here,” I said. “Amaryllis might have been here longer, and Awen... did we only stop by once?”Awen nodded. “We came with Rhawrexdee,” she said. “We didn’t spend all that much time here.”“So yeah, I guess we really don’t know the city that well,” I said.“Well, that’s unfortunate. I can’t say that I’m exactly well-travelled, but I’ve been around, and of all the cities I have visited, Port Royal remains my favourite.” Booksie led us back towards the main street, then she turned in a direction I was pretty sure would lead us toward the nicer parts of the city, if I remembered right.“Is it the bookshops?” I asked, grinning.Booksie laughed. “No! There’s a couple of nice ones around, but there aren’t that many here. Otherwise I wouldn't’ have tried to open my own. It’s the atmosphere. The energy. Port Royal has room for all sorts, including lost little buns with big dreams. There’s a lot of stuff going on under the surface too, of course. Politics and magic and so much drama.”“Port Royal is a popular destination for harpies leaving home for the first time,” Amaryllis said. “The weather’s not too warm since we’re relatively high up, but the air is thicker than up in our mountains. It’s good to get acclimatised to something other than the Harpy Mountains. And the locals aren’t disagreeable.”“The food is great too,” Booksie said. “Oh! I have about seven places to show you for food. There’s a few great grenoil places, of course, but there’s an authentic Pyrowalkian place too, and a shop run by this retired fisherman from Mattergrove that imports fish over and it’s delicious.”“Can buns eat fish?” I asked.“We really shouldn’t, but it’s worth the stomach ache!” Booksie said.I laughed. I could imagine someone eating something that their tummy didn’t like just because it tasted too good to pass up.“There’s this dessert place I’ll have to take you all to after shopping. It’s heaven, especially if you’re a fan of sweets.”“Count me in,” I said, my ears twitching in delight. “If it’s sugary, I’m there. Oh! We need to invite Caprica too! She loves sweets!”“Caprica?” Booksie asked.I clapped my hands together in excitement, then realized how embarrassing that was and stopped, then realized that I didn’t care and clapped some more. “She’s one of the newer members of the crew! Well, technically she’s a stowaway that was kinda unofficially promoted to crewmate, I guess.”“A stowaway! That’s exciting. How did she get onboard?”“It’s a whole story, with pirates and princesses and a big battle,” I said. “Caprica’s the princess in the story.”“She’s a princess? Like, not of some island with turtles on it?” Booksie asked.I laughed. “No, she’s a princess of Sylphfree. They really like sweet foods.”Booksie’s eyebrows shot up and her ears flicked in surprise. “A princess?”“They need the sugar, their metabolism runs hotter than most others,” Amaryllis explained. “And Broccoli, do keep it down. Caprica is supposed to be keeping a low profile. Even if she constantly ignores that fact herself.”“Oh, right. Got a little too excited there,” I said, lowering my voice. “Sorry, Amaryllis. But, yes, Caprica's from Sylphfree, and I think she'd love the dessert place.”Booksie chuckled. “Well, I’d be thrilled to meet her. But why is she stowing away? A princess doesn’t seem like the type to run from home without good reason.”“That’s part of the whole big story part! I think she just wanted to go on a big adventure. And she’s also, uh... maybe trying to have the boy she loves come and rescue her?”Booksie blinked. “Well, that’s something. I suspect this Caprica friend of yours has the same problem as Rhawrexdee.”“Huh?” I asked.“He sometimes has a hard time telling what’s true or not from the romance novels he has read.” Booksie shook her head. “It can be funny, though. Or embarrassing!”My gossip senses tingled, but I resisted asking about that. “Caprica’s nice. I think you might like her! And if we’re hanging out, then you’ll definitely meet. Oh, and Calamity too. He’s nice. And the rest of the crew. They’re also all nice!”Booksie nodded, eyes twinkling. “It sounds like a nice crew.”“It is!” I agreed. “Now, where’s that shop you were talking about?”
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