by Sarah Noffke
Many of the students pulled out the hardback books from their robes. Paris had hers, along with Magical Plants, pressed to her chest. The rustling made Moira glance over in their direction. As though she finally realized she was in the company of others, she plunged under the water, taking the rump roast with her.
“For today’s lesson,” Hemingway continued. “I want you to review the section on Happily Ever After College in Magical Creatures. It is quite small, but Bermuda was allowed entrance to the Enchanted Grounds to catalog a few of our rare and exotic species. Feel free to take a leisurely walk around the grounds and through the Bewilder Forest, searching for some of the animals listed in this section. I’d like a full written report on the animals you discover by our next class.”
With the mermaid gone and the new assignment given, the students broke out into excited chatter.
“Oh, and feel free to go near the lake,” Hemingway offered. “Moira has gotten her meat and won’t be hungry for a day or so, although I think she’d have to be starving to bite one of you fairies.”
Many giggled before moving off, having taken the hint from Hemingway that the assignment portion of the class was to begin.
Paris was about to stride in the direction of the Bewilder Forest. Most weren’t making a beeline for it, probably due to its sinister appearance even during the day.
“Oh, Paris,” Hemingway said behind her, making her pause.
She turned to face him with a questioning look.
“Would you mind lending me a moment of your time?” he asked sincerely. “There’s something related to today’s subject that I’d like to discuss with you.”
Chapter Eleven
“When were you going to tell me that Moira would fancy eating me?” Paris asked, pretending to be offended.
Hemingway hazarded a smile at her. “If I’d ever seen you venture down to Mirror Lake, I would have, but honestly, she’s pretty tame and probably wouldn’t want a halfling. I’m guessing you’re still too sweet for her.”
Paris pointed at the bite on his arm. “Seems like she’s as tame as a wild lion, biting you, fairy.”
His eyes darted to the ground. “Yeah, well, it’s a risk that goes with the job. Anyway, I hoped you’d read some of the book I gave you, Magical Creatures.”
“In all my spare time,” Paris joked.
“Yeah, I heard you’re working a mission.” He looked impressed. “That’s pretty unheard of for a first-year…or a second-year, even.”
“I fell into the whole thing by sticking my nose into things and making bold suggestions when the headmistress was desperate,” Paris remarked.
Hemingway laughed. “That seems like your style. Anyway, I hoped that you’d read a certain chapter.”
“Oh,” Paris said with surprise, cracking open the book to look for the table of contents. “Is there one on halflings? I didn’t think to look.”
“No, and I think that’s probably because there’s little known about you,” Hemingway answered. “I bet that Bermuda Laurens would love to talk to you for research purposes.”
Paris did a poor job of hiding her groan. “Like a lab rat?”
He shook his head. “Like someone who is unique and extraordinary.”
She instantly felt bad for her remark. “Yeah, well…”
“I’m sure it’s not easy being the topic of so many people’s interest,” he consoled. “Anyway, I hoped that you’d read the chapter on animals that can talk.”
“Oh. No, I haven’t.” Paris scanned the table of contents, looking for it.
He shrugged. “Well, there isn’t much to it. Mostly Bermuda states that they’re a rarity and usually a result of unique circumstances. However, I wanted to point it out since I learned about your little friend.”
“Faraday is rare and not only because he can talk,” Paris stated. “He fixed my phone this morning and drafted plans for hacking into a news site.”
Hemingway’s eyes widened. “Wow, I heard he had done some pretty impressive stuff during his adventure in the Serenity Garden, but I had no idea he was quite that tech-savvy. That affirms what I thought.”
“Which is?”
“Well, I understand that he’s your friend, but it might be worth learning more about him. Has he explained why he can talk?”
“He said it was a part of a spell. Apparently, he was a smart squirrel that followed professors at the university around,” Paris stated. “He’s always been curious about things.”
Hemingway raised an eyebrow at this. “A spell shouldn’t be able to do that. I’ve known a lot of animals, and even the most intelligent can’t master talking.”
Paris pointed at the lake. “It sounds like Moira can talk.”
“She’s not a rodent.” He gave her a sympathetic look. “I don’t mean to sound skeptical, but talking animals are a cause for question. Maybe the way that Faraday achieved the ability is innocent, but he also could be a result of strange magic.”
“Headmistress Starr and Mae Ling didn’t seem concerned,” Paris argued, suddenly feeling very defensive.
“The headmistress tends to be very open about things and doesn’t usually consider the negative aspects related to things.” He shrugged. “She’s wonderful in many ways but a bit naïve when it comes to real-world perspectives. I think it’s a result of only studying love. Fairies tend to see only the good in things.”
Paris laughed. “Which is why I’m considered the Negative Nancy at this place.”
“I wouldn’t say that since your thinking landed a mission in your first year,” Hemingway pointed out. “Anyway, I thought that investigating why Faraday can talk and his background wouldn’t be such a bad idea.”
“Wait, why are you paranoid, fairy?” Paris challenged with a grin.
He shrugged. “My experience with animals and on the grounds of Happily Ever After College gives me a different perspective. Again, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with Faraday, but a talking squirrel is a very curious thing. I think looking into things could be worth your efforts.”
“Well, I’m not sure what he’ll tell me that he hasn’t already.”
Hemingway nodded. “I don’t think he’ll offer any more information. From the little Bermuda Laurens wrote on the subject, she stated that talking animals are usually very mysterious and tend to be secretive.”
“I wonder why,” Paris mused.
“I’ve never met one or had the opportunity to figure that out. My guess would be that illegal magic, or something very powerful made them the way they are, and they don’t want the wrath of the House of Fourteen coming after them. Still, that’s only a guess.”
“Well, since we’ve both concluded that Faraday probably isn’t going to indulge me with his life story, any other ideas for how I’ll figure out something about the talking squirrel?” Paris asked.
Hemingway pointed at the book still open in her hands. “I’m in favor of going straight to the source to get information.”
Paris glanced down at the book. “You mean the author of Magical Creatures? Bermuda Laurens?”
He nodded with a grin. “She’s an expert on magical creatures so if anyone has insights, it will be her.”
“How do you propose I get this famous author and expert to talk to me? Do you think she has a website?”
Hemingway shook his head. “I thought about that, and it doesn’t appear as though she does. I’ve studied her book extensively but not until I thought that you should contact her did I comb through the entire contents.”
“You discovered her home phone number then?” Paris joked.
He grinned. “No, I remembered that a covert way of learning about an author is to read the acknowledgments in their book. It tells you personal details that can help you track them down.”
“Wow, you’re a regular Sherlock Holmes,” Paris remarked.
“I don’t know about that, but when I read Bermuda Laurens’ acknowledgments page, I found something of interest pertaining to you.�
� Hemingway pointed at the book in her hands. “Check it out.”
Paris flipped to the back, thinking that was most likely where she’d find it. Her eyes scanned down the long list of names Bermuda Laurens had mentioned, thanking various people for discoveries or help.
Her eyes landed on a name, and her heart leapt. It read, “Thank you to Liv Beaufont, who despite being a magician and a total thorn in my side, has somehow managed to aid my research with her investigations as a Warrior for the House of Fourteen.”
Paris glanced up in surprise.
“Keep reading,” Hemingway encouraged.
She continued to scan the rest of the page, her eyes finding another familiar name. It read, “Thank you to Sophia Beaufont, who is singularly responsible for stopping the extinction of dragons. Without you, the section on the new generation of dragons in this book would be empty.”
Again, Paris jerked her head up. “My aunt! Sophia has to know Bermuda Laurens. You think she’ll introduce me,” she guessed.
He nodded victoriously. “I don’t see why not. It’s worth a shot.”
“You think Bermuda will help me with information about Faraday?” Paris asked.
“With a name like Bermuda, how could she not be helpful?”
“Okay, well, I was planning to see Sophia tonight, so I can ask her about Bermuda then,” Paris stated. “Maybe Bermuda Laurens can make you and I both more at ease about this Faraday situation, although I think even if his background isn’t sketchy, that doesn’t mean he’ll stay out of trouble.”
Hemingway laughed. “Yeah, breaking into the Serenity Garden on a Tuesday was pretty bold. He’s a curious little guy.”
“Yeah and he’s probably going to get himself into trouble again tonight.”
Hemingway arched a curious eyebrow at her. “Oh? What’s he got planned?”
“Well, if something is off-limits, he has to know why.”
Hemingway’s eyes widened suddenly. “He’s not thinking of going into the Bewilder Forest, is he?”
“Yeah, he is,” Paris stated. “Why? Can you tell me why it’s off-limits at night? If so, I can pass along the information and keep him from getting his tail chomped off by the Sasquatch you’re hiding in there or whatever it is.”
Hemingway’s expression stayed serious. “I can’t tell you. You have to stop him. No good can come of anyone going into the Bewilder Forest at night. There’s a reason that it’s off-limits then.”
“So you do know, but you’re not going to tell me?”
“I can’t,” he urged. “Faraday. You have to stop him. He can’t go into the forest tonight or any other night.”
Paris’ heartbeat suddenly thumped. “I don’t know where he is or how to stop him. Usually, I only see him at night and in the morning.”
“Hmmm,” Hemingway mused, obviously flustered. “I’ll see if Casanova knows his whereabouts.”
“Funny how you’re all concerned about my talking squirrel so you’re going to ask the talking tattle cat about it,” Paris joked.
Hemingway shook his head. “Casanova can’t talk freely. He can only relate information if someone is doing something wrong. Since Faraday isn’t technically supposed to be here at the college, the cat can tattle on him.”
“So Casanova doesn’t go on about his favorite music then?” Paris joked.
Hemingway flashed her an amused look. “Faraday does? Seriously, that’s not even remotely normal for a squirrel. You find the strangest friends.”
“I’m not sure you should be surprised by that at this point,” Paris offered.
Hemingway winked at her with a playful look in his blue eyes. “Honestly, I suspect you’ll continue to surprise me for a long time to come.”
Chapter Twelve
Paris kept running her eyes over her mother’s name in Bermuda’s book. For some reason, it made Liv Beaufont feel closer, like if she was mentioned in an acknowledgment that she had just been in her dimension.
Paris’ mother sounded like a pain in the ass. Maybe that’s what everyone meant when they said that she was a lot like Liv Beaufont. Paris was self-aware enough to know she was a royal annoyance to most she came in contact with. Usually, she prided herself on that since she mostly annoyed bullies who deserved her wrath.
Flipping through Magical Creatures instantly enthralled Paris with all of the information. The book was relatively compact but seemed to go on and on. Paris suspected that a spell was on the pages to make all the details fit in such a small space.
Randomly she paused on a page about mermaids, reading much of the information that Hemingway had told them that afternoon. Continuing flipping, she found the section on talking animals, but again Hemingway had already summarized its contents.
Paris halted at the sight of a picture of one of the strangest creatures she’d laid eyes on. It was a lion with a goat’s head on its back and a snake for a tail. For a moment, Paris thought that this section had to be about mythical creatures but the first line she read informed her otherwise:
“The chimera has long roamed the planet but is rarely seen. Incredibly powerful, these magical animals can take the form of any animal they choose. They’re known to shrink their incredible size to fit in a very tiny space. The reason for this is that they’ve long been protectors of special beings, but it’s believed they do their best job protecting when unnoticed by a potential threat.”
That was fascinating, although she didn’t know why. She continued to flip through the book, finding the section on fairies, which described them as “having their head in the clouds most of the time” and “ignoring logic and critical thinking since emotions ruled them.”
That seemed about right to Paris. She instantly wondered if the section on magicians said the opposite. No sooner did she have that thought than she immediately turned to the chapter on magicians.
Not only did the book have a compacting spell on it, but it appeared to know what Paris was looking for and delivered it.
“Should I be offended that you’re studying for another class when in mine?” Chef Ash asked, striding over to her workstation in the demo kitchen.
Paris closed the book and blushed. “I’m sorry. That’s rude of me. I was fascinated by some new information I’ve learned on magical creatures.”
“I can completely understand,” he said good-naturedly. “I’ve always been ruled by too many interests. I think that’s a good thing. You’re curious, and your passion for learning is refreshing.”
Paris glanced around at the class where most were working on dosing their dishes with cannabis. That was today’s lesson, which Paris hadn’t completely understood and was afraid she’d get high and miss her meeting that night.
“Refreshing?” Paris asked. “Do fairies not like to learn?”
“They do,” he replied. “But there’s less of a hunger for it. Fairies learn for the purpose of manifesting love and romance usually. It’s a means to an end. Magicians, I’ve learned, want knowledge because they crave it. In that way, it is the end for them.”
“I bet this section was about to tell me that.” Paris indicated the page she’d paused upon about magicians.
“Probably.” Chef Ash tapped on the other book beside Paris. “Now, maybe your interests will lead you over to Magical Cooking and Baking. I hear there’s some fascinating information in there too.”
Paris smiled. “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand today’s lesson. Why are we cooking with cannabis? Does getting high promote romance for two people?”
“Hopefully, if the love is real, the romance makes two people high,” Chef Ash answered. “Honestly, my lessons aren’t always about creating matches. I think food nurtures our body, mind, and soul. It has so many different ways that it can heal or make people feel different states of being. Getting high on food can have its purposes, and that’s why I’ve found that a chapter on proper dosing is important. You can make a man euphoric with the right amount of cannabis, and you can also make him crazy. So it’s importa
nt to practice it.”
Paris looked around the room, noticing many of the students giggling as they took bites of their creations. Some looked ready to fall asleep in their chowders or prepared to eat all of the potatoes laced with saffron-scented cannabis oil.
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense, but can I have someone else sample my dish?” Paris asked. “I have an important meeting tonight and need my wits about me. I didn’t want to have a family reunion and finally learn about my parents while thinking my face was melting or a salt shaker told the best jokes.”
Chef Ash laughed. “Yeah, I can understand that. Most of these students will probably be frolicking around the Enchanted Grounds or lying on the floor in the conservatory after today’s lesson.”
Paris sighed. “Oh, to have such luxuries. Alas, I have genealogy lessons.”
He shook his head at her. “We both know you wouldn’t do well with free time.”
“You know me well already,” Paris said.
Chef Ash patted her on the arm. “Don’t worry about today’s lesson. You can learn about cannabis dosing another time. Or never. Honestly, this is a throwaway lesson, but I taught it to give me extra time to come up with the construction plans you have for me for the Amelia and Grayson mission.”
Paris beamed. “I’m so glad you’re working hard on it. That’s wonderful.”
“What’s wonderful is to be using my talents for something that I think can bring love to others.” Chef Ash sighed. “I love what we do here at Happily Ever After College, but if I’m honest, it’s been a long time since we’ve brought love to others.”
Chapter Thirteen
Paris hurried back to her room after her last class but didn’t find Faraday. She worried like crazy about him going into Bewilder Forest after Bewilder’s warning, but she didn’t know how to prevent it.