Silas POV

“A week has gone by since we arrived in Desfyra. Rosewyn hasn’t said a word about what my sister told her. She’s been acting like nothing happened. I thought she would run in the opposite direction of me, but she was as casual and comfortable as normal. It’s like she’s pretending we aren’t in a castle surrounded by servants and courtiers. I have heard the maids murmuring about how adorable our kids will be, and there couldn’t be a better match for me than the Red Lady. Every time I bring up the subject of the compatibility stone, she changes the subject.” I vented to Braxton as we kicked back beers in his little cottage. He has a place not far from the castle, so I often sneak out to see him.

“Si, what did ya expect?” Braxton hummed. “You let her walk in a lion’s den unprepared. You even poked the lion with your companion comment. She was a sitting duck. Why would she come to you now?” He hiccuped from the beer bubbling in his gut.

We were sitting at his kitchen table with a beer keg right next to us to keep the alcohol flowing. His cottage wasn’t big, but it had two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen that flowed into a sitting area where he entertained his warrior buddies when they were in town. Braxton’s choice of decor was rare weapons he collected over the years. This place looked more like a hunting lodge than a cottage on the inside.

“She needed to be important to me or those courtiers would have torn her apart. You heard Mylor. He’s the nice one among those clowns.” I wasn’t about to pull my punches on the people who have been shoving the subject of marriage down my throat.

“I suppose. Your words have had the whole city a buzz. The mysterious Red Lady has captured the heart of their sweet prince.” Braxton gave me a belly laugh. “Emera giggles every time we go out together, hearing the wild stories of your budding romance.”

Emera and Rosewyn were put up in the castle for now although Braxton has been chomping to have Emera move in with him. Braxton and Emera have been inseparable because of their incomplete mating bond. Rosewyn warned them it would only get worse if they didn’t give in. Emera wants to wait until the queen has given her word to protect Rosewyn. Rosewyn won’t tell me what the hang-up is, and Amory just tells me to talk to Rosewyn.

“Braxton, what should I do?” I looked at my best friend with hope. He gave out the best advice.

“Take her out of here. Get drunk and start confessing anything and everything. Truth begets truth, Si. Show her yours.” Braxton was dead serious in his expression. “If you mess it up, you can kiss the girl goodbye.”

Solid advice from the drunk orc. Time to plan a research trip.

Two weeks later…

“Are you sure about this, Ro?” Emera asked as Rosewyn and I were getting ready to leave.

“Em, you don’t need to worry. I can keep Silas safe while he practices his magic.” Rosewyn assured her friend.

Red and I had made progress in research on polymorph magic. I have mastered shifting into a rock and a daisy, but I was ready to try something more complex. We were headed to my hunting lodge where I could shift without restriction. It was still on the royal family’s grounds, but far enough that people wouldn’t spy on us. I was trying to be excited for our trip, but the weight of the conversation waiting for us was wearing on me.

Outside, our boat was waiting at the dock. I got a simple long boat to carry our gear downriver. My sister saw us off and whispered something to Rosewyn, which made her freeze for a moment. I quickly pulled her away from my sister and hurried her into the boat. We looked back at Emera and Braxton who were clinging to each other like their life depended on it. Rosewyn gave me a knowing glance. Those two were going to be fully mated by the time we got back from our research trip. It was only a matter of time.

The next day…

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“Are you ready?” Rosewyn asked me as she held my journal in her hand.

“Do you have the reversal spell?” I replied. She nodded, looking down at it one more time. “Then, yes, I trust you.”

We were standing by a large maple tree outside of my little hunting lodge, praying to heaven that I would be able to morph into a mouse. I did as Ramire had, and studied the mouse on every level I could think of for a whole week. Rosewyn worked on piecing together the spell Ramire used by sorting through every reference of the spell. She made several different versions and we found one that allowed me to shift into a rock and a daisy in the lab. I had faith we could do this together. She has been talking me through the shifts and back like a mentor. When she changed forms it looked painful and awkward as opposed to Emera’s graceful transitions. Rosewyn’s shifts might be messy, but I know she’s the real master. She had more forms than Emera, and she experienced the exact magic we hoped to replicate.

“Okay, experiment one, begin!” She encouraged me.

I had written the spell on amber mythril stone to act as my magic item. Rosewyn talked me through it. I focused on the small, agile form calling my mana to replicate it. I felt myself shrink like when I had become a stone. My bones compressed and felt lighter. Pain set in as my bones resettle into a different shape. The pain continued to grow as I forced my mana to remake my skin over the new structure of my bones. The sensation burned every nerve that I had. I felt myself slipping away from the new form as I tried to endure the pain, but I failed. My mana forced me back into my normal form.

Opening my eyes, the pain overwhelmed my body. Rosewyn rushed to my side throwing a blanket over me. She pulled me to her and tried to heal me with the new magic I taught her. Her magic rushed into me like someone dumped ice over my head. It was freezing, but it eased the pain my shifting had caused. I heard her panicking over the blood dripping from my body, but I couldn’t focus on that. Her chilled mana ran through me, healing every place it touched. The icy touch relaxed me. I clung to her magic in my body until my vision faded to black.

Six days later…

This trip has been rough so far. Every day I try to shift into a damn mouse and fail. Red stays by my side the whole time, talking me through it. I try to endure the pain. My bones reshape themselves each time, but growing skin over my new shape has been difficult. I failed after an hour of attempting to shift, causing me to pass out afterward. Red uses her healing magic to ease the pain. Her magic feels like a cold bath against mine, but it’s refreshing for me. I welcome it more and more each time. Who knew it was so hard to become a damn mouse?

Today’s attempt ended the same way, but I managed to cover myself in the skin for a few seconds. These days with Red have been amazing. We haven’t felt any outside pressure here or worried about our best friends back at the castle. The whole world seems simple in this little four-bedroom lodge. It was time I enacted my plan to get Red talking because this might be as relaxed as we will ever get. I pull out a few different bottles of elf wine for dinner and bring it to the table.

Red’s sitting there laughing at me as I limped toward the table. I hurt my foot chasing Red through the forest this morning. “What’s with the wine?”

“We made progress today. I was a hairless mouse for a few seconds.” I smiled, uncorking the wine to pour it into our glasses.

We feasted on the roasted rabbit and potato mash we had cooked up in the kitchen. The wine was flowing, and I saw Red’s cheeks begin to blush from the alcohol. “This week has been the most relaxing time I have had in years.”

She giggled. “Yeah. It’s been nice not worrying that someone was going to arrest or kill me for a change.”

“Has it always been that way for you?” I asked without much thought. This conversation was supposed to be about the compatibility stone.

“Since I was twelve,” she answered, shoving another bite in her mouth.

“Has being here helped?” I didn’t want her to be miserable.

She gave me a small smile. “Being here with you in this lodge feels like we left the world behind. It’s the most peace I have had in the last year. So, thank you for that.”

Downing the rest of my glass, I tried to keep my smile from overwhelming my face. “I should be thanking you. It’s been decades since I found being home unstressful. In fact, I think your presence here has given the whole city hope. Has that been a burden to you?”

“A burden? You mean because the whole city thinks we are going to marry and produce an heir?” She hummed.

So, she was aware of what the stone meant to my people. “Yes, that. Has it been hard?”

“That depends.” The look in her eye changed. Hell, the vibe in the room seemed to change as she leaned toward me. “Do you want it to be false hope, Si? Because your sister has been trying like hell to convince me to marry you, but I couldn’t stop wondering why she was doing it and not you. Shouldn’t you be the one romancing me with the possibilities of our future? One where I can walk around free from the council and you have the chance to fall in love.”

My fork clanked against the plate. Amory had already tried to get Red to marry me? What the hell! I can make my own decisions about my future, Amory. “Red,” I placed my hand on hers. “When I kissed you, you panicked. I decided then and there that I wouldn’t force you into anything. I plan to stick to that, however, Amory was right. I see an amazing future with you. One where my research ends the laws against you. We create more items like this one for our kids and other hybrids. Emera and Braxtoon would have to hide their relationship. We could change Gleaca for the better, but the best part is how much I could fall in love with you, Rosewyn. We could be like this as long as my sister sits on the throne. Hell, we could leave Gleaca and see the world. It could all be possible, but it doesn’t have to be.” Rosewyn was crying at this point, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. “You could choose to live here if you want. Away from prying eyes with Emera by your side. You have choices, Red.”

“Sounds like I have too many,” she sobbed. “I never had many until now.”

“Then, experiment until you find your answer.” I encouraged her.

“That’s a lot of experiments,” She gave me a small grin.

“Well, let’s get started.”