A bell tinged as Harmoni and Fleck went inside. There was a faint yellow glowing orb hanging in the middle of the room.

Well, that explained how it was so bright in here. Harmoni had yet to see any electric lights on this planet.

The elf at the store front set down the book he was reading. “Ah. Another student, yes? What can I help you with?”

He was speaking in Standard. It was a Standard with an odd accent Harmoni couldn't quite figure out, but she knew what he was saying.

Harmoni shuffled her feet, hands behind her back. She could try speaking in Elvish with him, but she remembered how that had gone with the headmaster, and opted out.

“Can I just look around?”

The store keeper shrugged, and went back to his book.

Harmoni wandered around. The store was small, but the shelves were full. There were notebooks and pens, like she had wanted. There were books along the back wall. Harmoni liked books, and was tempted by the titles on some of the spines, but she should probably check the school library first.

And there was more. White out. Tape. Scissors. It seemed this store really was for students.

Harmoni grabbed a notebook and a set of pens. She headed to the front, only to slow as she reached the counter.

“You don’t have money, do you?” the store keeper asked.

Harmoni just shuffled, gripping her things a little tighter.

“This always happens,” the store keeper said. He was speaking in Elvish this time. It was possible she wasn’t supposed to understand. He couldn’t see her pointy ears, after all. They were hidden behind her hair. “That school really needs to work out a better system. Other planet’s currencies are useless here, and I can only take nick-knacks so many times.”

Harmoni didn’t even have nick-knacks. Nothing she could barter with, as far as she knew.

The store keeper’s gaze fell back on them, and he stood up taller, so he could lean over the counter. He switched back to Standard. “Excuse me? Is that a dragon?”

Fleck tensed a bit, eyeing the man.

“Yes. Why?”

“Relax, I’m not stealing him.” The man waved a dismissive hand.

Harmoni finally figured out what was off about his Standard. He put the emphasis on the first syllable every time, and it didn't always go there. Harmoni wondered if she should speak that way in Elvish.

“It’s just, dragon scales, or horns, or teeth. They’re very valuable. So. We could trade. . .”

Harmoni and Fleck exchanged glances. It seemed like their best option. They traded a scale for the notebook and pens, with the store keeper assuring them they could always come back.

If dragon scales were so valuable, he was probably short changing them. Fleck accepted trading his scale since the man had asked, instead of just trying to take. But it still came off a bit like asking for a finger nail. It was weird and he hadn’t liked this. He liked it even less with that knowledge.

Fleck was probably right, but there was nothing else in here she really wanted. She wasn’t going to pick a fight trying to get more things, or worse, money.

‘Come on,’ she thought, rubbing Fleck’s head. ‘Let’s get back to school.’

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

~~~

Harmoni had completed her first week and . . . nothing eventful. Her four classes were mostly talk so far. On Friday in Basic Magic, they did meditate for the first time. Harmoni had sat perfectly still with her eyes closed for about a minute, and she’d been truly relaxed. Then she started to feel uncomfortable. Then sitting there with all her other senses active made it very tempting to open her eyes. After all, she could feel the wind and hear things moving in the grass. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there before giving in and cracking one eye open, but it happened eventually.

When she opened an eye, she could see Rasha sitting perfectly still, but both her eyes were open. She shrugged when she saw Harmoni looking at her. The elves in class seemed to be doing better, but not universally. Eddie shifted her weight, and another student might just be asleep. The zenny picked a wedgie.

Wesles wasn't there. She'd originally thought he was taking the class at a different time, since she hadn't seen him the first day. But no, he'd just skipped the first day of Basic Magic. Something about not being interested in orientation. And it seemed he'd skipped this day too. Or walked out in the middle of it without anyone noticing.

So not the best first session. Harmoni hoped she’d get better. The whole reason she’d come here required meditation and feeling the power of the universe.

As for the other classes, Potions was mostly things like stirring or boiling water. The basics, supposedly to make sure they understood them. Wesless was clearly bored by the whole thing.

Harmoni stayed with him, as his potions partner. He was easy to spend time with. He didn’t demand anything from her socially, but was ready to pick up anything she put down. And he was easy to work with for the potions. That part was important.

History of Magic class was interesting, though it seemed more like history of Iva.

Fleck sometimes joined her in classes, but sometimes went out and did his own thing. He'd kept training with Asplenium one day, but another day he'd spent all on his own, wandering the forest and learning about the nearby area. Not like he was missing anything. He knew the knowledge she learned, and she'd know the things he did.

Same with sleeping really. Sometimes he'd join Harmoni in the dorms and sleep under the bed or at its foot, but Asplenium had shown him his cave. And there was a bit more space there.

Harmoni had to check the stables each day. They were supposed to be clean in the morning, though she usually cleaned them in the evening, as one of the last things she did. Sometimes, she didn’t have anything to do in there. It was relatively clean, or enough people were already working there wasn’t much point.

She visited the library early on, and found a romance book to check out.

Fleck wouldn’t have taken her as a romance person.

And maybe she wasn’t, but one thing was for sure, she was tired of nonfiction.

It could be tricky to read sometimes if it was late or cloudy. Again, no electric lights. But a few rooms, like the library or study rooms, had magic light. And if she sat close to fire she could read. Eddie even showed her and Rasha a trick, where if you put something reflective behind the fire, it created more light.

She finished reading on Saturday. Nothing much happened, the characters were overdramatic, and it wasn’t realistic. Even she and her zero real-life romance experience knew that. But she found she was entertained by it. If nothing else, it was funny.

The next morning, she got her breakfast at the cafeteria, and sat down with Fleck. Fleck sat on the floor, rather than a chair, and dropped his head on the table.

Then someone plopped down across from Harmoni.

That was unexpected. The only person she talked to much, aside from Fleck, was Wesles. And she hadn’t seen him outside of classes.

She looked up.

“Rasha? I didn’t think you ate here?”

“Well, I have to go and eat meat sometimes, but it’s not like the food here’s inedible. This weird jello of theirs is good.” She poked the clear blue jello on her plate. It seemed to move more like liquid than anything else.

Harmoni tried to smile, but it might’ve been strained.

It was.

“Wasn’t the headmaster supposed to help with your diet?”

“Well.” Rasha glanced around, and her voice was quieter when she spoke. “I think he was also supposed to get maps of the castle.”

And he hadn’t done that yet either.

Fleck tilted his head in concern. “Are you eating alright? You can always come with Asplenium and I in the morning. We eat meat.” Obviously.

Harmoni relayed the message.

Rasha laughed, covering her mouth. “Thanks Fleck. I might take you up on that sometime.” She spoke directly to Fleck, something both he and Harmoni appreciated. “It would be nice. But honestly, it’s not so bad to go alone. And I sometimes have company now. There’s a man out by the pink ocean who also goes spear fishing.”

It was quiet for a moment.

“Really?” Harmoni asked, trying not to sound too high pitched.

Rasha nodded. “I don’t see him every day. I don’t go spear fishing 'ery day. But it’s nice to have some company when I go to the pink ocean. He’s apparently new, and a human like you.” She tilted her head and frowned. “At least I’m fairly certain he’s human. He’s covered in a lot of slime, so it was hard to tell at first.”

“Oh.”