Ike jolted awake. He stood, looking around. What… where…

A cavern spread around him. Vaulted ceilings sported long stalactites that dripped into a bright blue sulfur spring. Some of the stalactites had directly formed into columns, supporting the vast, open space. In the distance, Shawn paddled around, occasionally ducking under the surface of the water. He waved when he saw Ike staring. “Good morning. Have a good nap?”

“I… yeah,” Ike muttered. He rubbed the back of his neck. I guess mages can still take naps.

“Experiencing it for the first time?” Shawn asked.

“Uh… I guess?”

Shawn nodded. “You’ve heard of it, right? When mages get exhausted, you won’t feel much, but your body will just shut down on you the second you feel safe. You mages don’t usually need to sleep, but when you do, you do it fast. It’s a real all-or-nothing situation.”

Still a little disoriented, Ike nodded. He ducked his head under the water and washed his face. He stood, slightly more with it now. “Speaking of sleeping, what about you?”

“What about me? A young boy needs his sleep.”

“You’re older than all of us. Are you okay? Even the black-robed mages kept you hooked up to a mana vein, and you sleep when you’re away from one for too long. I can put two and two together. Do you need to be connected to a mana vein? Are you dying, or something?”

Shawn shrugged. He kicked his way to the edge and lounged against it, his short little arms supporting a short little body. “I don’t function like a human. Something like death is different for me than it is for you. Killing me…I’m not even sure what that would entail. But if I’m not connected to a mana vein, I will go dormant. It’s not death. It’s more like what you just did.”

Ike raised his brows. He nodded. “So if we want you awake, we need to get you near a mana vein?”

“Or to carry my own weight.”

Ike sighed. He stretched. “We need to make sure you’re connected to a mana vein every now and again, then. How often does it need to be?”

“Seems to be about a month or so?” Shawn shrugged. “Depends on the mana quality and a lot of other things, too. But about a month seems right.”

“Wait, but didn’t you have to ask the mountain spirit who lives here if you can use it? What if they say no?”

Shawn shrugged. “Then you carry my weight.”

Ike sighed. “How much do you weigh? All told.”

“I am a small mountain,” Shawn said.

Ike pursed his lips. A small mountain was still a mountain. And more than he wanted to carry, which was the most important part.

“Enough soaking.” He was clean, and who knew how long he’d been asleep. A fresh pile of clothes and a soft towel awaited him on the edge of the pool. Ike dressed, holding out the smaller clothes to Shawn. The boy joined him a moment later.

The filthy armor he’d brought from Ket’s was gone. He looked around, but there were no traces of it. Quietly, Ike sighed. Back to finding a pair of outdoor clothes.

The robes the queen had provided were finer than he was used to. Not suited for the outdoors at all. Soft white fabric draped his body. Gold embroidery and gems encrusted it at the hems, cuffs, and collar. A matching pair of white slippers and a gold-embroidered white headband finished the look. Beside him, Shawn wore about the same thing, though smaller.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“I look like a bride,” Ike commented after a moment.

Shawn snorted. “Then what am I? The ringbearer? And for that matter, who’s the husband?”

“I’m the husband,” Ike said.

“But you just said—”

Ike rolled his eyes at Shawn. “Come on. You can walk now, so let’s walk up to the banquet, huh?”

Shawn leaned in. “Is it Wisp?”

“Is what Wisp?”

“The husband!”

Ike shook his head. Turning dramatically to look at the ceiling, he sighed. “Would you look at the time? Oh, man. Looks like we won’t be able to get a certain someone to a mana vein. Too bad, too bad.”

Shawn laughed. He punched Ike’s leg. “You’re the one who’s gonna end up carrying me.”

“At least I won’t have to listen to your sass.”

“Boo!”

A figure lunged at Ike from the ceiling. He stumbled back, instinctively reaching for his sword. Two hands grabbed his wrists, and a great force spun him around. He landed on his back, staring at the ceiling.

Wisp clung to the ceiling by her tiptoes. She shook her head at him. “So uptight!”

“You’re the one who attacked me.”

“Always be on guard, young man.” Wisp released the ceiling. With a neat spin, she landed on her feet and spread her hands. “Tada!”

She wore the feminine version of Ike’s robes. They had a longer, more flowing skirt, but, wisely, someone had given her loose, comfortable legging as well. Just like Ike’s robes, in another wise move, her collar was high and tight around her neck. Gold and gems glittered at the neck, wrists, ankles, and belt, and two hairclips clung to her scalp for dear life. Her hair wasn’t much less tangled than usual. Less dirty, yes, revealing a luxurious shiny dark black, but not less tangled.

Ike held out his hand. “Give me the hairclips. I’ll fix your hair.”

“Huh? It’s fine!”

“Look, I’m no girl, but I know what a brush is, unlike someone. Come here.” He gestured her closer.

Somewhat unwillingly, Wisp turned her back to him. “Ugh… hair things. Spiders have it easy, you know. We only have a few nice, thick hairs, and they’re evenly spread over our whole body. Unlike you weird head people. Isn’t it inconvenient when they get tangled?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Ike took the brush and began. He was no beautician, but there were times where he’d grown out his hair. Mostly in rebellion against his uncle, who thought it was unmanly or something. Wisely, he’d always taken the razor to the lengths before it got too out of hand, but the experience meant he knew how to manage long hair, unlike a certain spider someone.

“You’re very motherly,” Shawn mentioned, his eyes twinkling. “I guess you really are the br—”

“I wouldn’t know,” Ike interrupted him.

Shawn blinked. “Huh? Humans need mothers to exist. You have to have had a mother.”

“I did. She died when I was too young to remember.”

Shawn opened his mouth, then shut it. He fell back a little. A pensive expression appeared on his face.

“At least she didn’t try to eat you,” Wisp piped up.

Ike snorted. He glanced at her. “Do you spiders just react to everything by trying to eat it? Giving birth, mating…”

She considered, then nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. We eat our thread too, you know. Recycle it.”

“Huh. Efficient.”

Wisp pointed at Shawn. “For the record, I’m the bride. If anyone’s eating anyone, I’m the one eating him, okay?”

“That’s not what he…” Ike trailed off. Why am I arguing this? He nodded. “That’s right. I’m the husband here.”

“You two are nuts,” Shawn muttered under his breath.

Ike brushed as they walked. The floor sloped gently upward. Light shone at the end of the hallway by the time he finished. He fastened the two gold clips in Wisp’s hair to hold back her bangs and passed the brush back to her. “There you go.”

“Mhm! Thank you,” she said, spinning around to beam at him.

“Welcome,” Ike said. He smiled back at her. A warmth welled up in his chest. A precious feeling. Is this what it feels like to have a little sister? He’d never had any siblings, but now, he felt like he had one.

Clarina stood at the top of the path, waiting for them. The injured and scruffy girl he’d encountered in the woods couldn’t compare to the present Clarina. She was clean, now, and wore gorgeous white-and-blue robes studded with sapphires, gold, and pearls. A gold halo-style crown crested her honey-blonde curls, which draped down over the generous neckline of her gown. It was a proper gown, too, not a robe. A train of gossamer floated from her shoulders and down her back, fluttering on the breeze like butterfly wings.

She smiled. Her eyes traveled up and down Ike, and her brows quirked up in approval. “You look great.”

“Oh…thanks,” Ike said, suddenly self-conscious. He adjusted his cuffs awkwardly.

“What about me?” Wisp demanded, jumping in front of Ike.

“You all look great,” Clarina clarified. A slight blush warmed her cheeks.

Wisp’s eyes widened. She looked between Ike and Clarina, then gasped and darted to Ike’s side. “Ike!”

“Yeah?”

“I think she wants to mate!”