by Robin Wirth
your energy for tomorrow. Don’t forget,
Lancelet Jones is waiting.”
“Don’t remind me,” she said, sighing.
“Do I detect a note of distress in your
tone?” Penelope wanted to know.
“He barely spoke to me when he
received me just now,” Felicity complained. “If
that’s how he intends to begin, I don’t know how
we’re going to get on at all.”
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“Definitely smitten, then, my dear,” she
chuckled. “You mark my words.”
“Don’t be silly,” said Felicity, blushing.
“There’s no way Master Lancelot Jones would
be interested in me. No, I’m sure that his only
interest will be that of a mentor to his new
charge. But don’t worry, I’m resigned to that
being the case. His grumpy greetings and bouts
of silence won’t frighten me.”
“Very well, then let us go over to my
rooms and I’ll feed you something,” she
suggested. “I know you can’t have brought
along any food either, so tonight you will dine
with me. However, once my particular friend
arrives, we’ll have to call it a night, if you take
my meaning.”
Felicity chuckled. “I believe I do, Miss
Penelope. It must be wonderful, having such a
one as he.”
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“Don’t worry,” she grinned. “I’m sure it
won’t be too long before you also find your
Prince Charming.”
“Oh no, I’m in no hurry,” she shrugged.
“I’m actually looking forward to experiencing a
little time on my own.”
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FOURTEEN
The next morning Felicity awoke with a
start, and realized with a sinking feeling that she
had no timepiece to inform her when she should
leave for work. She bit off two of her fingernails
worrying about it as she flew, and she was
highly likely to bite off a third by the time she
reached the little watch shop just down the street
from her new home.
She had to wait for the owner to flip the
sign at precisely nine before she could buy
anything, so she hurriedly picked out a small
hour-glass on a necklace, and then she used her
wand to quickly make her way to the museum,
biting her bottom lip the whole way there.
“You’re late, Felicity,” Lancelot said
with a raised brow as she hurried down the long
stretch of bookshelves towards the other end,
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where he stood waiting for her. “It’s not
something I would have expected, coming from
you.”
“When I woke, I realized there was no
timekeeper to tell me when to get here, so I went
and got something to make sure it doesn’t
happen again,” she explained as she used her
wand to cross the remaining distance and began
to walk briskly beside him. She pulled on the
chain of her necklace and briefly showed him
her hourglass.
“Good thinking,” he conceded as he
patted her on a shoulder. “Come, my dear, I’ll
show you the first task that desperately needs to
be tackled.”
When Lancelot’s hand gently slid down
her back and around her elbow to turn her in the
right direction, it was almost as though an
electric shock passed between them. Felicity had
to hold her breath to keep from gasping in
surprise.
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She really needed to stop having such a
strong reaction every time Lance came near her,
Felicity thought. When she went home tonight,
she would try not to think of him at all—though
she doubted that would work. But there had to
be something she could do to stem the tide of
emotions he was evoking in her now, if she
could only figure out what might work.
As the two of them traversed down one
long row until it came to another intersection,
and then another, they walked in an amiable
silence. Lance dropped his hand at one point, but
when they made another turn, he put it back
again.
“Here we are at last. The unfiled
section,” he said as they came to a stop beside
what amounted to a solid wall of books. “I
thought for today I’d just start you out on the
books, since there are so many of them.”
“That, Master Jones, is a gross
understatement,” Felicity pointed out.
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Lancelot eyed the mountain of books
with a dubious look, then shrugged. “I’ve been
amassing them quite regularly for years. It’s no
surprise there are so many. You need not look so
overwhelmed, Felicity, I promise you I don’t
expect this task to be finished by tomorrow.”
Felicity blushed under his scrutiny,
which was now directed at her. The wizard
seemed to have read the expression on her face
like an open book, yet at that moment his own
face showed no discernible emotion at all.
“Very well, then,” she said with all the
bravado she could muster. “Show me how your
system is set up, and we’ll go from there.”
“There’s no real system to it, other than
alpha-numerical, my dear. I simply put them in
order by title, so I could find them again later,”
he said with a shrug. “There were just so many
of them I had no time to get creative.”
“Master Jones, you must be joking.
There is always time to get creative,” Felicity
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admonished him. “We ought to reorder them
into types as well as spellings. It would be much
quicker.”
“And you’re not at all daunted by that
idea, I take it?” Lancelot asked with a smirk.
“Should I be?”
“With that pile, most definitely,” he said,
eyeing it again with disdain. “I know I’ve never
gotten around to doing it.”
“Well, that’s why you need an assistant,
sir,” she reminded him. “Don’t you worry, I’ll
have this place whipped into shape in no time.”
“All right, but mind you stay in this
section, and don’t go wandering about the place
till I’ve shown you the danger zones,” he said.
“And while you do that, I’ll go make us some
lunch. I’ve a feeling you didn’t remember to
pack that, either.”
Felicity shrugged in response. She had
already started to pile some of the books into
alphabetical order with rapid flicks of her wand.
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Lancelot watched her for a moment, and
speculated on how well she might do in a duel
with such excellent hand to eye coordination.
And, consi
dering the line of work she’d just
entered into, those were skills she was certain to
need. He fully intended to begin training her
fighting skills, but not until she was more
familiar with the museum first.
“I’ll see you later, then,” he said dryly,
and slowly walked back the way they had come.
Felicity was startled to discover three
hours had gone by when he returned with a tray
of food. She smiled in thanks as Lance conjured
a couple of chairs and a small table for the two
of them to use.
“Normally I like to have lunch in the
break room, but you seemed like you were so
intent on your little chore that I decided not to
disturb you,” he said as they ate their
sandwiches. “You did hear me when I
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mentioned this job doesn’t need to be done by
tomorrow, I trust?”
“Yes, I heard you,” she said with a blush.
“I just seem to get my focus on doing something,
and it takes off whether I want it to or not. I think
it’s the inventor in me.”
“I thought the inventor in your family
was your Aunt Beatrix,” he chuckled.
“Well, yes,” said Felicity with a smile.
“But she did raise me, you know?”
“Yes, so I had heard.”
“Believe me, Lance, she definitely
rubbed off,” Felicity assured him. “I invent
things all the time.”
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FIFTEEN
A bit later in the afternoon, Lancelot
disturbed Felicity and her book pile a second
time. She glanced at him inquisitively when he
arrived, and he said, “I've another task I need
some help with, if you can manage to tear
yourself away from here.”
Smirking wryly, Felicity replied, “I can
try.”
“Come with me, then,” he said, taking
her hand. “You can't really alphabetize the
things in this wing, yet still they must be
organized. These are the artifact rooms, and they
will prove much more of a challenge to you.
Some of these items cannot be placed anywhere
near each other, or the properties of one might
well combine with the other in powerful and as
yet unknown ways. It's not something it would
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be wise to experiment with, so for the sake of
safety I shall need to remain here with you.
Perhaps together we'll figure something out.”
They had entered one large, well-lit
room as he was speaking, and Felicity stopped
short in awe as she looked around. Objects of
every size and description were piled in various
areas, she assumed by magical type. There were
wands and talismans and hats and cloaks and
very ancient-looking books and who even knew
what else. Much of the wall space was covered
with lockers and vaults where the various items
were meant to be housed.
“I can see why you neglected the books,
with all of this stuff just laying around,” she
replied. “We ought to be dealing with these
things immediately.”
“Don't look so worried, Felicity,” he
chuckled. “The nastiest toys have been dealt
with as they arrived. Most of what's left here has
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been deemed somewhat benign. Though you
must still have a care.”
Felicity nodded, and she stepped forward
to examine some of the items in the closet pile.
Before she knew it, several hours had gone by,
and now she and Lance were both looking tired
and sweaty thanks to all their activity as they
moved things around. She was startled to realize
the windows no longer let in any daylight.
Lance caught at her elbow before she
tried to pick out yet another item to archive. “I've
kept you longer than I'd intended, my dear. I
believe we should call it a night. And I insist on
seeing you home this time. If there are to be any
troublemakers about, they usually show up after
dark.”
“Troublemakers?” Felicity smirked.
“You mean someone would dare to cause
trouble for the famous Lancelot Jones? I'm quite
shocked, sir. I didn't think it was possible.”
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He caught her chin in his hand and gave
her face a little squeeze. “What you must think
of me,” he said, grinning. “I am not
invulnerable, Miss Lake. But I confess, I try to
be.”
Felicity blushed and looked away. “I
didn't mean it quite that way. I know better than
to think all the gossip is to be believed.”
“Come along, then,” he said, raising his
wand and bringing her back to the secret wall,
which they soon passed through. It didn't take
much longer before they'd popped back over to
the apartments where she now lived, though he
had to stop near the entrance gate since he had
no idea which rooms were now hers.
“I believe I can safely leave you here, if
you'd like,” he said, smiling. “Pray tell, which of
the units is yours, so that I might see to the task
more properly in future?”
“Unit Nine,” she supplied.
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“And have you remembered to stock
your larder yet, my dear?” he asked with
concern. “I do not think you had the time.”
“I haven't,” she admitted, blushing.
“Perhaps I have one more task before we
end this night,” he replied. “I shall return
directly with a few supplies. And don't give me
that look, either. You're my responsibility, and I
shall be obliged to do the thing right. Though,
you may come along if you'd like.”
A brisk wind kicked up around them, and
Lancelot’s face fell. Abruptly, he looked
worriedly up at the sky, and then he grasped
Felicity by her shoulders and quickly opened the
gate, setting her inside.
“I fear my plans tonight keep changing
rapidly,” he said with a sigh. “Go into your
rooms and remain there, Miss Lake. I’ve a
couple of other issues to address, and I shall tend
to your food supply as soon as I may, but it’s no
longer safe for you outside tonight.”
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“What’s happening, Lance?” she asked
him with a worried frown.
“Don’t concern yourself, Felicity,” he
insisted, giving her hand a little squeeze.
“Please, just get safely inside. The less I fear for
you, the easier I’ll be able to deal with the
situation. Everything will be taken care of, you
may rest assured. I’ll return with your supplies
within the hour, all right?”
“Fine,” Felicity sighed. She turned and
&nbs
p; hurried inside, but not without realizing a
sensation of foreboding that tingled all down her
spine at the thought that Lancelot could be in
danger. She didn’t know why, but she couldn’t
shake it as she shut her door.
When she had gone to work that
morning, she had left her old school bag sitting
by the fireplace, and inside the book that had
called to her remained. Looking over at the bag
now, she saw that it had begun to glow from
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something within, and Felicity didn’t need to
think too hard to figure out the cause.
“What on earth,” she grumbled, stepping
over to peer inside. She tugged out the small,
reddish tome and saw that it wasn’t the whole
book shining, but only the etching of the
dragon’s eye at its center.
“I know you wish to tell me something,”
she said with a sigh. “I just wish I knew what it
was.”
She brought the book with her to the
couch and cracked it open, more than willing to
learn about the magic and lore of dragons for a
time. The pages felt smooth and warm, and she
was drawn in, almost mesmerized, until finally
she began to doze.
When she awakened, Lance was
kneeling by her side. “Felicity? Hey, Felicity?”
he whispered near her ear. “Your meal has
arrived.”
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But when she barely stirred, Lance stood
up and sighed. Brushing her hair out of her face,
he whispered, “Have a good night.”
When she finally awakened, hours later,
she discovered that her book had fallen onto the
floor, and now a little table was sitting beside the
sofa. On it, she found a piece of chocolate pie.
“How did he know?” she whispered with
a contented sigh.