“You have to put some back.”

“No, it’s okay, I’ve already tallied it. We’re still well under one gold. I could get more!”

Zero stared at the tower of books on the table, watching it grow taller and taller, one book at a time, while the delighted girl flitted through the aisle, grabbing whatever caught her fancy and placing it on the pile without a second thought. “It’s not about the coin.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Ivy agreed, on a completely different page than the boy. “One gold really is a lot. I don’t know if we’d be able to spend it all here. Actually, we probably could, but that would be so many books.” The girl completely oblivious to the irony of her declaration as she set another one on the table, beginning a new stack, before skipping back to the shelf.

At first, Zero didn’t understand what Ren had meant when he had told him not to let Ivy take him for a ride. It had made no sense. What ride? Where were they going? Why wouldn’t he let Ivy take him? After all, the girl was perfect. The loveliest vision with the most gracious soul. An absolute delight in every way. Wherever she went, he would follow. Whatever she wanted, he wanted to give.

At least, he had thought that.

Until now.

Four more books were added to the pile while Ivy giddily frolicked about with no sign of slowing down.

Zero had never thought to account for this type of situation.

But Ren had, and he had given the boy a gift before they had parted ways.

A warning.

To not mindlessly fall into the trap that the girl had effortlessly set in the same way that the man continued to do so. To be a victim to her luring smile and pleading gaze and enchanting dance.

It was quickly becoming clear that it didn’t matter how much he loved the girl...

There was no way he was getting stuck carrying all of those.

Least those books become a gateway to taking on more of the girl’s belongings in the way that it had for Ren.

Then, she’d have two fools to carry around rocks for her.

And Zero definitely didn’t want that.

“It’s already too many books,” he told her calmly, nipping it in the bud before he allowed things to get further out of control. “You just started grabbing the moment we got in here. You don’t even know what you have.”

Ivy froze in the middle of pulling another book, and she gently slipped it back into place as her eyes shifted uncomfortably away from the devil’s stare. “That’s not true.” She went to the table and grabbed the top book, sifting through it, mustering all the false confidence she could. “I’m really interested in… various windmills and their construction and uses.”

Zero carefully plucked the book from her hands. “No, you’re not.” He glanced through it, actually interested in it himself but not so much so that he wanted to carry it around at this time. “We need to put them back.”

“All of them?”

“What do you think?”

The girl looked at the excessive hoard of books and sighed, coming to grips that she had gotten a few too many steps ahead of herself. “I think that you might be right and that… maybe… I chose a few books without actually knowing what I was getting.”

“A few?”

“Yeah… or maybe all.”

She knew he was right and that it really was all of them, but it was hard not to get wrapped up in her excitement. It had taken her six whole years just to be able to accumulate three books that she could read and enjoy before trading in from town to town. Some of them she didn’t mind trading, but most she wanted to keep to read again later on. Unfortunately, she was never able to. It was necessary to pack light while traveling, and even though she could carry a couple more, the lack of coin prevented her from it. There was always something that was more important that required what little coin they had; food, clothes, supplies, lodging. Ivy was thankful for what she did have.

But that didn’t mean that she didn’t sometimes wish for more.

And now that the opportunity had arisen and they had a shiny, gold coin all to themselves, she wanted to take full advantage of it. Though, it was probably wise to take her time and think her choices through, least she have to carry around her bad decisions until the next town.

With a heavy heart, she returned the books to their proper places with help from the devil before starting again, actually looking through and carefully considering her options rather than snatching the closest book for her own.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

It would do her no good having to go through all of that again.

Once the girl was no longer a threat, Zero was able to turn his attention to the shelves where he regarded the title of each spine, pulling the ones that caught his interest and thumbing through them. He stole a glimpse at the girl, her eyes shining as she hummed softly, a small, much more manageable pile of books already forming at her feet.

Sakura had told him to get one for Ivy and one for himself.

But he wouldn’t do that.

He would choose the one for Ivy.

And she could choose the rest.

He knew that she enjoyed fiction and anything about animals and plants. Fiction could be risky though, as the girl loved happy stories but not the ones that became or ended sadly. He didn’t want to choose a book that would ultimately make her cry as her last read had made her do. She would certainly like one about animals, but a book about plants would also please her while being more practical.

Zero found a thick text on gardening and foraging and the different uses of that which can be grown and found. He handed it to the girl, her face lighting up as she looked through it, skimming over the words and pictures. She glanced down at her pile, comparing the sizes, and then back at him, suddenly unsure.

“It’s kind of heavy,” Ivy pointed out, conflicted in her want for the book and the actuality of having to pack it around.

“If you want it, I can put it in my bag. Or I can pick something smaller.”

She shook her head, beaming. “No, I want this one. I love it.” The girl leaned down, placing the book on top of the stack and pulling out the bottom one, offering it to the boy.

“Carpentry,” he murmured, slowly flipping through the pages. “Thank you.”

“I know that you and Ren already know how to build, but I thought it could help give ideas for our future home.” Her violet orbs were hopeful, her voice like a secret. “I want a library. Just a little one along the wall or in the corner with enough extra room for a new book every now and then. Will you build me one?”

Zero nodded.

How could he say no?

She pushed herself up onto her toes, her hands pulling his face down, the kiss quick but sweet before she turned back to the shelves with a smile. “What kind of house do you want?”

“A log cabin would be best for the mountains.” He turned back to the shelves as his mind wandered elsewhere. “There are plenty of pine trees and stone so most of the materials are already there.”

“A cabin would be lovely! One with a large stone fireplace and maybe even a loft,” the girl gushed, the vision becoming grander by the moment. “We could nestle it in the trees and plant flowers all around it. Oh! And a garden. A great big one.”

The requests seemed reasonable to the devil, though a little optimistic. “There’s already a good-sized garden close to the chicken coop. We could expand on that one or make a new one if you prefer.”

“That’s right. There’s already one, isn’t there. It’s just been so long since I’ve been there, it’s easy to forget. When was the last time you were there?”

Zero thought about it. “A few months before I found you. We went there often to see if Sakura had returned, and we’d stay for some time. How about you?”

“I think about two years ago.” Ivy pulled another book, barely looking at it before putting it away. “I’ve only been a few times for a day or two at most. Sakura didn’t like going up there, but I love it. It’s so quiet and pretty.” She gazed up at the boy, misty-eyed and dreamy. “I feel like I belong there, like I’m safe there. As though all those trees and creeks and mountains are surrounding to protect me. Do you feel like that when you’re there?”

He nodded. It never ceased to amaze him how the girl was able to put her feelings into words and how similar they were to his own. “Are you excited to go back up there?”

“I am!” Her smile bright at first but it slowly dulled. “But I don’t want to leave again,” the girl confessed. “I’m tired of traveling and sleeping in a tent and keeping everything I own in a pack. I know some people prefer it, but I just want to stay in one place for once. I want a roof over my head and to sleep in the same bed every night. It was nice at Marisol’s. I want that. I want something that’s ours.”

Zero looked down at the girl, the answer obvious. “Then let’s stay.”

She chewed nervously on her lip. She really wanted to. But it was so hard.

“Sakura?” The boy already knew.

“Yeah,” her voice quiet.

The devil nodded in understanding. He knew just how difficult it could be for Ivy to go against what the woman wanted. How she struggled between her feelings of appreciation and guilt for everything that had been done and given for her. How despite it all, she yearned for independence.

And there was no doubt that Sakura wanted what was best for Ivy. But once the demon set her sights on something, she went full force and wouldn’t slow down for anything.

Not even to reevaluate whether or not it was the right thing to do.

Or to notice whether Ivy was following or just being dragged along behind her.

Zero took the girl’s face in his hands and smiled gently at her, attempting to encourage her in the way that she often did for him. “If you want to stay, then let’s stay. You tell me to do what I want. You need to do what you want. And Sakura can do what she wants.”

Ivy hesitated. “I just don’t want to hurt her. Sakura’s already done so much for me. It feels so unfair to tell her that after everything she’s done that I just want to stay in Hollis and not do this anymore.”

“Life’s unfair.” It wasn’t cruel, just the truth. “But you can’t make yourself unhappy to try to make someone else happy. I don’t think she wouldn’t want that anyways. Have you ever told her you want to stay in Hollis?”

“Well, no.” The girl bashfully bit her bottom lip. “I can’t say that I have.”

“Then you should.”

The answer may have been obvious, but it was always so much easier said than done.

“Okay,” Ivy sighed, not looking forward to the future conversation and wanting to steer away from the current one. “So... what do you want?”

The same things she did.

He leaned over and kissed her. “I want to go to Hollis. I want to build a home with a small library and a big garden. And I want to stay there with you. What do you want?”

The same things he did.

Ivy smiled. “I want to go to Hollis. I want a home with a small library and a big garden. And I want to stay there with you.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do. Do you want anything else?”

The girl pursed her lips together, glancing away, considering it thoughtfully. She gazed back at him, eyes glowing. “Plumbing!”