“Well, clearly, I have no issues wearing the fabulous Fae robes and dresses offered. They are fabulous and fit so well,” I confessed. I wasn’t going to budge on this. I may not be a godling or an angel or fae or whatever there is out there, but even as an immortal, I’m going to enjoy my dresses and robes. I’ve always liked fashion. Yes, I was thrifty about it, but it's not like I was going to change either. These were available. I loved them. I was using them.
“You look radiant and beautiful in the clothes of my people Lady Kendra,” Leona said to my delight. I could already feel myself coloring up. What in the world does she see in me? She was genuine too. Oh, how lucky am I?
“Ha! You both make each other blush rosier than me when I get embarrassed! Seriously you’re both a beautiful couple. Lets toast to Leona and Kendra!” Donavon added while raising up his glass. Words that filled my cheeks with warmth. Oh, and apparently Leona’s. At least it was mutual blushing. I raised my glass proudly.
“I’ll cheer to that,” I said.
We all clinked our glasses together and finished our first round of drinks. Well, we needed refills, and apparently, the coffers weren’t dry. Time to order more drinks. Maybe even something stronger.
“We need refills. Are we going to get hammered or what?” I asked.
“Absolutely! Inebriation is on the agenda! Well deserved in my mind,” Donovan agreed.
Abbadon caught sight of our waiter and othered us another round with a gesture. The waiter gave the nod in understanding and hurried on their way to, I assume, to prepare our second round. Then Abbadon spoke. “It is sometimes challenging to understand your metaphors and idioms. However, I’m slowly comprehending them. To return to the matter, I was speaking about before our next round of spirits is delivered. Void-pouches are like this one right here.” He held up what looked like a tiny coin purse with a drawstring.
“So you’re saying it’s a small clutch or wallet?” I asked.
“No, it’s a void-pouch,” he said. Then he opened the top drawstring of his void-pouch. I watched in aw as he reached inside, his whole arm impossibly disappearing into it. Abbadon then pulled out his armor, sword, belts, and gemstones, displaying them with a thunk on the table.
“Shut the front door. You have a Mary Poppins bag?” Donovan asked. Ha, that was funny, and I laughed out loud. I felt the joyful tears on the edges of my eyes as I laughed at Donovan’s joke. This earned me a wide smile from Donovan and confused looks from Kendra and Abbadon.
“Yay! Someone gets my humor!” Donovan exclaimed and held out his right hand up for a high-five. I slapped his hand and delivered it. What can I say? It was a good joke and a reference. Even if it left our company wondering at our sanity.
“I have not met this tailor, Mary Poppins. She makes void-pouches?” Abbadon asked in confusion.
“I know not of a Lady Poppins,” added Leona.
Of course, this made both Donovan and Iroar in laughter even harder. I was clenching my stomach, and he was leaning back, laughing loudly.
“Are you two unwell?” Leona asked us with mirth. Abbadon just smiled though he looked confused as to why Donovan and I were having a laughing fit.
“We’re fine. Mary Poppins is a fictional character from children’s movies or what you may consider a play. She had a purse that could hold an entire living room inside it. I’m sorry, it’s just a cultural reference of ours that’s pretty common. She doesn’t actually exist or can make void-pouches. At least I don’t think so,” Donovan added, right as our drinks were being delivered.
When the waiter finished delivering our drinks with a smile and collected our previous goblets, we had calmed down a bit. We all offered our gratitude and thanks to our handsome glittery, and muscle covered waiter. He gave Donovan all of us a smile. “It’s a pleasure to serve you all again, especially you, Donovan,” the waiter said. ‘Wait. What?’
“Have we met?” I asked. I was readying myself to use my magic to probe the sparkly muscled waiter who ironically wasn’t wearing a headband with a horn, who exactly he was. Or when and where we had met or been served by him.
Then he interrupted my thoughts before I voiced them. “You don’t recognize me with this form?” he asked with a big toothy smile. His teeth were perfectly white and sparkling. They even matched a twinkle in his eye. That gave me pause. His aura was benevolent and magical. He was no threat, my intuition confirmed.
“Holy Nucking Futs! Quicksilver?” Donovan asked excitedly, clapping his hands! Wait, that name is familiar.
Oh my, how dense am I? A Tavern called The Unicorn’s Bliss. All the glitter and positive vibes. He was our lead escort to Silver Leaf City! “Wow! Quicksilver! I didn’t know you could shift!” I said in true surprise.
“Why yes, Lady Kendra, I can assume this form. We Unicorns are not horses. We were guided to our dwellings and bathing chambers after your group entered the citadel, not a stable. We rather enjoy sleeping on beds and not on the ground. I’m impressed and grateful, Donovan. You recognized me at last. We unicorns were all taking bets in the back on how long it would take for you to figure out why our establishment was called ‘Unicorn’s Bliss.’ I guess we owe Lady Leona some more garments for you, Kendra. As she bet that it would take till the next round of beverages,” Quicksilver added.
Why that little sneaky, sexy, and hot little girlfriend of mine! Bartering for me to get more clothes! I’d have to get her something now that I knew where they were coming from.
“You designed our dresses and tunics?” I asked.
“Yes, of course! Our kind love to create and express ourselves with a variety of trades. Lady Leona was insistent, even though she didn’t need to be that you all have clothing custom made for you to wear by us. She even tried to pay us, but we were honor-bound by all the lovely ‘pettings’ Donovan and you gave us. We do look forward to more of these pettings in the future!” Quicksilver stated matter of factly.
I looked at Donovan. “Death By Hugs?” I asked with a smile. He nodded excitedly. Donovan and I both got up out of our chairs and embraced Quicksilver in a tight hug, which shocked Quicksilver at first, but then he visibly relaxed and hugged us back. We played with his hair and pet his back, lingering for a moment longer. Both of us gave Quicksilver a kiss on opposing cheeks before returning to our seats. Quicksilver blushed furiously, looked down bashfully, and suddenly shook himself out, covering all of us in prismatic glitter!
“Oh, dear! I’m sorry, I got very excited! That was surprising! Thank you!” Quicksilver said.
I looked around our table, and it looked like someone had dumped ten pounds of glitter on all of us. It even got in our drinks! We’d probably be sparkling for days! Donovan and I looked at each other and the serious and confused expression on our glitter-covered friends and laughed!
“Quicksilver! Is all this glitter just an expression of joy? Does this happen to all of you when you’re happy?” Donovan asked while he used his hands to wipe some glitter from Abbadon’s face and tucked his now glittery hair back behind his ears affectionately, erasing the confused look from his face and earning a smile from Abbadon. I did the same to Kendra and followed it with a quick kiss to her lips, letting her know I was happy with her. Sometimes we just have to reassure our intendeds.
“To be honest, no. I’ve never witnessed this much magic dust emitted from our kind. I apologize. I’ll need to get you all new drinks!” Quicksilver said in the afterglow of our hugs. “All beverages for you and your friends will be sponsored by our tavern for as long as you wish this day,” he added.
“Hurray! Thank you so much, Quicksilver!” Donovan added, followed by gratitude from all of us.
“Quicksilver, is Spirit here?” I asked.
“Why yes, she’d been buzzing in mind-speak excitedly waiting for her turn to reveal herself and the others,” Quicksilver replied and looked over to the bar and winked. Then a beautiful petite lady with long flowing white braided hair showed up to our table. She was shorter than me but strong an
d beautiful like Quicksilver. She clearly loved the braids I had given her as the ones she wore looked the same as the ones I had designed in her mane on the journey to the City.
“Hi, Kendra!” Spirit said
“Spirit, you look fabulous! I’m moved. You’ve kept my braids all this time!” I answered sincerely.
“Thank you, Kendra. It’s good to see you! To see all of you! Yes, we unicorns loved your pets and braids. It’s good to see you again!” Spirit replied with enthusiasm.
Next thing we knew, the other unicorns came out to greet us. We all stood up while some appeared with cloths to wipe down our table and swap out our drinks. Then each and every one of us embraced Quicksilver, Spirit, and the other Unicorns. Before we knew it, the whole place was an explosion of glitter.
“Oh my! Sorry about the mess. We don’t usually impart so much magic dust. Certainly never in these quantities. I like this Death by Hugs,” Spirit said!
“I told you it wasn’t my fault, and it was good,” Quicksilver told Spirit and the others.
Looking up at Donovan and glancing around the Tavern, I hugged Donovan and told him, “Well, I guess you got your wish. Death by Hugs is clearly now a thing!”
Donovan smiled. “Yes! I knew it! We totally made it a thing! We’re fifty shades of glittery awesomeness!” Donovan replied, smiling, and both of us jumped up and down in excitement.
It took us a while to get calmed down. Once we went back to our chairs, Donovan snapped his fingers, and all the glitter in the whole besieged tavern was piled into a mound in the center of the room. The unicorns made quick work of cleaning it up and collecting it all into jars topped with corks. Were they keeping it? What was their purpose?
“It would take us eons to make this much magic dust. You've granted us a great boon for our trades! Would you two like a bottle of some for your own use?” Quicksilver asked.
“Yes, please! Even if we have no idea what it does, it will remind us of how happy we are to see you!” I said. This brought smiles to everyone.
We were given two smaller corked bottles of Unicorn Glitter and a fresh round of drinks. Which we drank very quickly to quench our thirst from all the excitement and our reunion with more friends. Donovan ordered us another round. While we waited for it, we were all feeling a slight buzz. Well, visibly, at least it appeared like we were. Whether it was from the alcohol or just the merriment of distraction, we all looked pleased. Even Donovan leaned on Abbadon, mimicking what I was doing with Leona. Oh, how I hoped this day would last, and the fun does not end anytime soon.
“There is something about you two that inspires incredible loyalty and happiness to others,” Abbadon told Donovan and me.
“They certainly do Abbadon,” Leona said.
I think we were just ourselves. Maybe it was because we were younger, considering the longer lives afforded to paranormal beings. Or maybe it was because they were on the Isle of Mu hidden from the world for so long. It could be several things, but yes, now that I thought about it, Donovan and I always worked well together. Even when he’d attend classes at Sacred Sun with Leilah, he would always stay after to tidy up the store before leaving to go home. Guess you never know who is going to make that monumental impact in your life with their kindness.
“Well, here. Kendra, Leona, and Donovan grant me your blessed attention for a moment while I show you the ways to conjure a void-pouch,” Abbadon instructed. This had our enraptured and undivided attention. Donovan, Leona, and I all nodded, eager to learn. “You first need the materials which can be any kind of pliable fabric or material like leather. These are all up to your own preferences,” Abbadon taught us.
Then he pulled out some three pieces of cloth. One was pale blue, one green, and the other white. All the pieces of cloth were the size of napkins and had platinum stitching on them. He then reached over to the center of the table and grabbed one of the bottles of unicorn dust. “May I?” he asked.
The three of us had no idea what to do with the glitter, so we just nodded our agreement.
“The unicorn dust isn’t necessary, but we all have fond memories of our time here. It seems fitting to add it cosmetically,” Abaddon explained.
He then sprinkled a very shy amount of unicorn dust, less than a pinch, on each of the three pieces of cloth.
“Now you simply picture a pouch or bag with infinite space in your mind, visualizing its shape and even all the things you may want it to hold, preserve or store away in it. Keep adding objects to the pouch in your mind. For me, I visualized a void-pouch like my own. Putting all the books and scrolls of the great Library of Alexandria in it. You can easily imagine books, rocks, stones, trees. Then you chant ‘Infinitum Lapides Sacculli’ three times.
Abbadon carefully set the white cloth in front of Donovan, the blue one in front of Leona, and the green one in front of me.
“Now stare at your cloth and do the visualization of how you want it to be shaped and look. Then once its shape is clear in your mind. Fill it up with boundless items of your choosing. Then chant the incantation ‘Infinitum Lapides Sacculli’ thrice.
Donovan immediately moved his gaze to the white cloth before him. Eyes half-lidded in his concentration. Leona placed her hands on each side of the blue cloth and concentrated. Then I did the same. I pictured all of Sacred Sun’s inventory going into a beautiful green little drawstring clutch. Then I pictured the furniture in my home going inside it. I pictured all the plants in the garden shrinking and funneling into the pouch endlessly. When I couldn’t imagine any more things to fill it with, I chanted, “Infinitum Lapides Sacculli, Infinitum Lapides Sacculli, ‘Infinitum Lapides Sacculli,” out loud. This was met with a chorus of the chant from Donovan and Leona.
Three colored puffs of smoke about a foot high appeared at the ending of our incantations where the cloth was. For a moment, I held my breath, thinking I had screwed up the incantation. My Latin isn’t very good. Then the green-colored smoke faded into the ether, and there was a beautiful green drawstring clutch with platinum piping and the shimmer of unicorn glitter on it! I looked at Leona, and hers was a bigger pouch. It looked like a drawstring sack no bigger than a baseball. I glanced at Donovan and just shook my head. Why am I not surprised?
“Seriously, Donovan, you made another murse?” I asked, feigning exasperation.
“You bet your butt, I made a messenger bag. Also, look, it has several pockets on the outside and sides. It has a zippered area on the inside, a back seam with a sturdy industrial button, and this flap is held shut over it with buckles. It is totally a cargo, manly military-grade messenger bag!” Donovan protested.
“Donovan, you do realize you described pretty accurately and in detail, nearly every purse in existence?” I stated.
Donovan turned a bit maroon in his cheeks. Oh, I was just playing. I didn’t intend to put him on the spot or embarrass him. Right when I was about to apologize, he burst out laughing.
“Okay, okay, you’re right! Thinking about it, yeah. I totally described a purse. I still think it’s a manly purse or heck, even murse sounds better. Guilty as charged!” he admitted. Then he raised his hands, and I met his hands with a smile and gave him a high-five.
“We did it!” I squealed excitedly and looked at everyone who was also very pleased with their designs.
“Yes, you all did very well,” Abbadon praised the three of us.
“Thank you for teaching me this magic,” said Leona. Awe, maybe I needed to share some of my magical discoveries with her too. She clearly has the arcane talent with her glamours and Fae blood.
“Thank you very much, Abbadon,” I said.
“You rock! That was epic and awesome! Thank you to Abbadon!” Donovan said excitedly and wrapped his arms around Abbadon, and kissed him quickly on the lips in front of all of us. This had Abbadon blushing and putting his arms around Donovan and holding him in an embrace, unwilling to let the show of affection end quickly. Extending it a bit longer. Donovan stiffened for a barely perceived moment, then
sighed audibly and relaxed into Abbadon’s returning embrace.
I don’t think Donovan even realized what he was doing. Abbadon loosened his arms, giving Donovan the freedom to move away. Donovan turned back to face us and leaned his back on Abbadon instead.
“Our lives are so effing weird,” Donovan said though there wasn’t a sign of unhappiness in it. It was a voice that I knew too well as one that was just surrendering to the present moment.
“Well, my lovely friends. I don’t know about you, but I’m not in a hurry to go back to the Citadel and to leave tomorrow. Let us get some more drinks, and maybe Donovan and I can see which one of us has the powers to get to the ‘Land of Pure Inebriation’ first!” I said.
“Yes! Let's do some shots!” Donovan exclaimed.
“I’m not sure what a shot is. If it is making everyone happy, I gladly agree. I, too, am curious about where this Land of Pure Inebriation resides,” Abbadon said.
Of course, though, it wasn’t Abbadon’s intended effect, Donovan, and I burst out laughing! It looks like we were the only ones clued into the joke. Keeping them clueless was going to drive them crazy.
“There is no Land of Pure Inebriation. There is a famous play, and there's a part in the story where an eccentric man opens a door into a candy factory and invites all to his Land of Pure Imagination. Donovan and I just adjusted the words to match the song in the play to fit our goals, which are basically let’s drink and have a good time,” I explained.
“Ah, now, I understand. That is clever. One day we must watch these plays of yours you two reference,” Abbadon replied.
Sacred Moon: Book 2 Page 3