by Tesha Geddes
“Great!” Erica said. “Let’s go get our textbooks, come back and drop them off, then we can take the bus downtown and do some window shopping.”
Kaida agreed, feeling a little off-balance at being so casually invited to hang out.
❀
“I wonder what that was used for,” Erica said, pointing to a strange metal object in the window display of the antique shop they were standing in front of.
“Not a clue,” Kaida said, peering at the object, then she caught sight of the price tag and let out a low whistle. “$1600? That’d better be some fancy magical gadget to be worth so much.”
“Maybe its value is more in its history than its material or function,” Erica suggested.
Kaida agreed and they moved on. The next store sold exotic houseplants, most of which had magical properties. One of the plants in the window display caught Erica’s eye, so they went inside to get a closer look.
“Kaida!” a familiar voice exclaimed.
Kaida panicked at being recognized and almost bolted for the door before she realised she knew the voice.
“Oh, Celicia, it’s just you,” Kaida said, relieved.
Celicia regarded her with a slightly worried frown before her expression smoothed over into the smile she normally wore.
“Yep! Just me,” she said with a smile. “How can I help you two today?”
That was when Kaida noticed the other girl was wearing an apron with the store’s logo emblazoned on the front and a nametag.
“Oh, this is my roommate, Erica, and we’re just looking,” Kaida said.
“Actually, I was wondering if you could tell me more about the plant in the window, the one with the blue flowers that look like they’re moving,” Erica said, gesturing to the window display.
“Oh, the Dancing Bluebells,” Celicia said as she picked up the pot. “This is a magic-sensitive plant — the more magic present around it, the more the flowers dance. This variety has been specifically bred to thrive indoors.”
While Celicia and Erica continued to discuss the plant, Kaida wandered the rest of the small shop. Plants covered every available surface of the floor-to-ceiling shelves. Some, like the Dancing Bluebells, moved of their own accord, but most were still. Remembering the conversation she had with Sen last night, she could easily imagine most of these plants in her imaginary cottage garden. One plant in particular caught her eye. It was a small tree that, pot included, was her height. The leaves were every color of fall, and the branches formed a perfect sphere that perched delicately on top of a bronze-colored trunk. Kaida reached out to gently brush a few of the leaves. The moment she did, she felt the plant tug at her magic, and a little of it slipped out of her and into the tree.
The tree began to glow, and buds formed, growing bigger with every passing second. The buds bloomed into large, golden, six-petaled, lily-like flowers. The glow receded from the tree and concentrated in the flowers. There were probably two dozen flowers all over the tree.
“I can’t believe it!” a voice exclaimed loudly behind her.
Kaida jumped and whirled around.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!” she apologized, terrified she had done something terribly wrong.
The voice belonged to a middle-aged woman with brown hair tied back in a low ponytail, and a weather-lined face. Judging by her apron and name tag, she was Celicia’s boss.
“What are you apologizing for?” the woman, whose name tag read “Joan”, asked incredulously. “Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get a Sunstar tree to bloom? The flowers are worth a fortune. I need to hurry and harvest these before they die.” She hurried behind the counter and began pulling out various objects. “Celicia!” she shouted. “I need your help for a minute.”
Celicia hurried over to the counter with Erica close on her heels.
“Look! The Sunstar tree bloomed!” the woman exclaimed. “I need your help harvesting the flowers. Each flower has to go in its own container and be completely submerged in the magic-preserving solution.”
Joan carefully snipped each flower from the tree and placed them in their own containers. Then, Celicia poured the clear magic-preserving solution over them before sealing the lid on top. In the end, Joan was short four containers.
“Oh well,” Joan said as she surveyed the twenty containers on the counter. “We’ll let the rest go to seed, and then plant them.”
Kaida and Erica stood off to the side, utterly bewildered.
“What just happened?” Erica whispered to her.
“I’m not sure,” Kaida replied quietly. “All I did was touch the tree, and it pulled some magic from me. Then suddenly it was blooming.”
“It pulled magic from you?” Erica asked.
“Watch this,” Joan said, motioning for Kaida and Erica to be quiet.
Kaida watched as the flowers wilted and shriveled, only to be replaced by a long, amber seedpod. The seedpod swelled as the seeds within grew. Joan caught the seedpods as they fell.
“You,” Joan said, turning to Kaida. “I know you’re the reason the tree blossomed. You and your friend can pick any plant in the store, and it’s yours. No charge.”
Kaida was floored by the generous offer. Plants and dragons didn’t usually go together, but she’d always wanted a luscious garden.
“I’ll take this,” Erica said quickly, raising the pot of Dancing Bluebells she still held.
Kaida shifted uncomfortably — she couldn’t ask for what she wanted… it was too much.
She didn’t need to though, because Joan gave her a knowing smile and said, “You want one of the Sunstar seeds.”
Kaida nodded and said, “But I can pick something else.”
“No need,” Joan said with a smile as she cracked open one of the seedpods and dumped all four seeds into Kaida’s hand. “These are yours.”
The moment the seeds touched Kaida’s hand, they tugged at her magic and swelled, splitting open as the plants grew. Roots grew and poured over the side of her hand as the delicate tendrils that would become trunks shot up and twined together.
Joan swore loudly and said, “Quick! Put it on the counter!”
Kaida hurriedly deposited the trees on the counter. They continued to grow, though at a much slower rate.
“Celicia, please go get one of the white clay five-gallon planters with gold leafing from the back, and some potting soil, rocks, and magic compost,” Joan said as she examined the sapling. She looked at Kaida and said, “Change of plans. Looks like you’re getting a sapling — a unique one at that. These four stalks have fused together into a single plant. We’re going to pot it so it doesn’t die. I’ll also print off a care guide for your Sunstar tree, and your friend’s Dancing Bluebells as well. In exchange for the nice planter and a box of magical fertilizer, I’d like you to touch a few of the other Sunstar seeds for me and make them grow.”
Kaida nodded, still trying to wrap her head around what just happened. Joan hummed to herself as she printed off the care guides for their plants. By the time she was done, Celicia had returned with the planter and other supplies. A few short minutes later Joan had Kaida’s new sapling planted. Kaida loved the planter — it was white clay that looked like it had been broken and the cracks repaired with gold.
Once she was done planting Kaida’s sapling, Joan pulled out four one-gallon pots and prepared them for the seeds. One by one, she handed Kaida the seeds and then dug a hole so Kaida could plant the growing sapling. She was glad when she finished the last one because she was beginning to feel weak.
“That should do it,” Joan said as she dusted her hands off. “And Kaida, come back any time.”
Kaida glanced over at Erica and knew she was wondering the same thing… how were they going to get the tree back to campus? They’d ridden the bus here, and she didn’t think the bus driver wanted them bringing a sapling onto the bus. Not to mention, she wasn’t even sure they’d be able to lift it.
“Um, how are we going to get that back to campus
?” Erica asked.
The sapling had continued to grow, the trunks twisting around each other, separating at the top. Instead of one globe-like canopy, it had four distinct globes. It was already half Kaida’s height. She was afraid to touch it again. Who knew how much bigger it would get if she did.
As if sensing her worries, Joan said, “The planter is charmed not to let anything in it grow over five feet tall. However, I would advise against planting it outside in the future, as Sunstars have a tendency to leech magic from the ground to fuel their growth, and while they’re still growing, they won’t bloom.”
“That takes care of one problem,” Erica said, “but I’m still not sure how we’re going to get that tree back to campus.”
“Sen is going to pick me up after work,” Celicia said with a grin. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind dropping your tree off for you.”
“If it’s no trouble for him, I’d appreciate it,” Kaida said, feeling a blush creep up her face.
Erica raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
“Great!” Celicia exclaimed. “I’ll give you my number and you can text me the details.”
“Oh,” Kaida said and shifted uncomfortably.
“Kaida’s phone isn’t working,” Erica said, coming to her rescue, “so we’ll use mine.”
They exchanged numbers and Erica texted Celicia the address.
“Harbinger Dorm,” Celicia read. “Who came up with this name? Oof, third floor. Better Sen than me. Alright, I’m off at six, so we’ll probably see you around 6:30 if that’s alright.”
Kaida nodded and she and Erica left the shop. Luckily, there was a bus stop close by, and they only had to wait a few minutes for the bus.
“I love how we went window shopping and ended up with a rare magical tree, for free,” Erica chuckled. “We should hang out more frequently.”
“We’ve known each other less than twenty-four hours and we’ve already had breakfast together and gone window shopping together,” Kaida reminded her.
“True,” Erica said as they boarded the bus. “By the way, who’s Sen?”
Chapter 6
When they returned to campus, they found that another one of their roommates had moved in. This left just one roommate to go. Kaida couldn’t help but glance at some of the bins still in the living room. Shoes. Three of the bins were filled with shoes.
“That’s a lot of shoes,” Erica muttered.
Kaida nodded in agreement.
“Hi!” a perky voice greeted them from the hallway.
The new arrival was tall with dark brown skin, chocolate brown eyes flecked with gold, and coily black hair that spread around her like a halo.
“You must be my roommates!” she exclaimed. “I’m Tanya. If you can’t tell, I love shoes and all things fashion. I’m a tree nymph and a vegetarian, and my favorite color is pink.”
“Erica, boar shifter, omnivore, purple,” Erica replied.
“Um, Kaida, omnivore, blue,” Kaida said, following suit.
Tanya glanced at her, clearly wondering why she hadn’t identified her species but was too polite to ask.
“Would either of you be willing to help me move some of these boxes to my room?” Tanya asked.
Kaida nodded, stunned at her new roommate’s confidence.
“Sure,” Erica replied, before holding up her flowerpot. “Just let me go put Donald in my room.”
“You named a flowerpot Donald?” Kaida asked.
“It seemed appropriate,” Erica said as she walked to her room.
They spent the next half hour helping Tanya move boxes around, and even unpack a bit. The bins of shoes got shoved under the bed — there was no way they were all going to fit in the closet. Tanya’s toiletries and makeup took up half the shelves in the bathroom.
“I didn’t realize how much I had,” Tanya said with a grimace. “If it’s going to be a problem, just let me know and I can keep some of them in my room.”
“We’ll see when our last roommate arrives how much space we each need,” Erica said.
“Sounds great!” Tanya said. “Now, what time does the student cafeteria open? I’m starving.”
Erica checked her phone. “It should have opened by now. Let’s go — I’m down for an early dinner.”
Kaida nodded in agreement and the three of them left to get food. Though it wasn’t packed, there was still a surprising number of students in the cafeteria. The three of them sat together and chatted, getting to know each other. Tanya talked a lot about her hometown, funny stories with her friends, and sibling hijinks. Though Tanya dominated the conversation, Erica still managed to slip in a few stories of her own. Kaida, however, deflected all questions about her past. If Tanya noticed, she was too polite to say anything. Erica’s phone buzzed as they were finishing up.
“Perfect timing,” Erica said. “They’re on their way with the tree.”
“You’re getting a tree delivered?” Tanya asked incredulously. “To our dorm?”
“It’s a long story,” Kaida replied, feeling weary.
Being around Tanya, even for a short time, was exhausting. As nice as she was, it was like Tanya sucked the energy right out of her… not that she would ever tell her new roommate that. When they got back to the dorm, Kaida stopped short.
“Um…” she said, looking around her. “Where are we going to put the tree? I don’t think it’ll fit in any of our rooms.”
“Hmmm,” Erica said. “If we push the couch over a few feet, we should be able to fit it in the corner by the window.”
“Is that alright with you?” Kaida asked their new roommate.
“As long as it’s pretty,” Tanya said with a wink.
They had just finished moving the couch when there was a loud knock on their door. Kaida opened the door to reveal Sen, Celicia, and her fully-grown five-foot-tall Sunstar tree.
“Wow,” she breathed out. “It kept growing.”
“Yeah,” Celicia said. “Joan was beside herself with excitement. You must have given the seeds a large dose of magic to fuel this kind of growth. Even her seeds are mostly grown now — she had to re-pot them after you left. Normally these trees take decades to reach maturity.”
“Holy mother of trees!” Tanya exclaimed. “Is that a Sunstar tree? How did you manage to get one? Those things are soooo rare! I’ve only ever seen a picture of one. Why does it have four distinct canopies?”
“It’s the most incredible story ever!” Celicia said enthusiastically as she walked in. She sat on the couch with Tanya and animatedly began to tell the story of Kaida’s Sunstar tree.
Sen shook his head at his sister and asked Kaida, “Where would you like me to put it?”
“Just right there in the corner,” she replied. “And thank you.”
“My pleasure,” Sen said as he lifted the heavy planter with ease. “Celicia told me about what happened in the store — that was pretty amazing. Now I see why you wanted that garden. Did you have a nice garden back home?”
“Um, no, I lived in the middle of a desert,” Kaida replied.
“Oh, well, you have a natural green thumb,” Sen said as he patted the tree.
“To be honest, I didn’t do anything,” Kaida said. “All I did was touch the plant, and it drew the magic right out of me.”
“Hmm,” Sen said thoughtfully as he looked at the already large tree. “That could be problematic. You might want to try putting a barrier around your magic before you touch the tree. Of course, you know more about your magic and how it works than I do — shifters don’t have magic. Except for dragons, but they only have breath weapons, they can’t do any additional magic.”
Kaida grimaced internally — his throwaway comment was just another reminder of how different she was from all the other dragons.
“And now I’m babbling,” Sen muttered, noticing Kaida’s silence.
Luckily, Celicia chimed in and she and Sen stayed for a few minutes before leaving. Of course, it was mostly Celicia and Tanya doing the chatting.
/>
“It was good seeing you again,” Sen said to Kaida as he and his sister left.
“Sooo,” Tanya said with a sly grin once Sen had closed the door behind him, “who was that hottie, and what’s the story with you two?”
For the second time that day, Kaida found herself telling the story of how she met Sen and Celicia.
“Giiiirl,” Tanya said when she had finished. “Do you mean to tell me that you’ve been here for not even two full days, and not only have you been to a pack party, but you also have a hunky wolf shifter drooling all over you? Not to mention managing to acquire a rare and expensive magical tree for free.”