Loop Two - Chapter Eleven

Amber wrapped her arms around Cassy’s waist, aware the entire time of how compromising the position was.

Cassy, on the other hand, didn’t seem to notice at all. She whooped, loud and joyful, as they shot over the wall then immediately came falling back down towards the earth below.

Oh no. Amber’s grip tightened around Cassy, her front pressing into the blonde’s back as they came crashing down. The broom beneath them dug into her as gravity did its thing, but then Cassy leaned forwards and their downwards momentum turned into a forwards sweep that had Amber gasping as wind beat at her face.

And then, in a blink, they flew off the side of the cliff overlooking Norumbega.

Amber opened her squinting eyes as they slowed down. The city spread out beneath them, ancient homes following crooked old streets, with splashes of light from windows and lanterns.

“Whoa,” Amber said.

“Isn’t it great?” Cassy asked.

I think she’s talking more about the flight than the view. But... yeah, I can agree to that much. “It’s awesome,” Amber said.

“Do you know where to go now?”

Amber shrugged. “I don’t know. Someone mentioned a cafe?”

“Coffee would be nice, yeah,” Cassy agreed. “But where’s it at?”

“I haven’t been to Norumbega much, so I don’t know. Maybe the middle of town?” She pointed over Cassy’s shoulder to a spot near the centre of the city that had a large open plaza, then she squeaked and hugged Cassy closer as the broom tilted and they shot off in that direction.

The two of them flew in a wide, circling arc over the plaza, tilted to the side as they spun around so that Cassy and Amber could see off the side and down onto the street. It wasn’t exactly filled with people, likely owing to the hour and the fact that it was a Sunday afternoon, but there were still plenty of people below. “That looks like a good spot,” Cassy said.

Amber didn’t have time to see where she was talking about before they swooped down for a landing.

A large fountain sat in the middle of the square, jets of water pouring out of the mouths of some monstrous figures and into a big basin whose bottom glinted with a layer of coins. Cassy skimmed so close to the top that Amber gasped as a spray of cold water sprinkled over her feet and calves.

And then they came in for a landing, Cassy pulling back on her broom so that they were hovering just a pace off the ground.

Amber leaned to the side a little awkwardly until her foot touched the ground, then she swung herself off and straightened her uniform skirt.

Cassy flipped off the broom with a lot more grace and a lot less decorum. Amber grew increasingly aware of all the folk looking their way. “Right! Coffee!”

The nearest shop sat right at the corner of the nearest intersection. It was, strangely enough, similar to a lot of the little non-corporate bistros Amber had seen here and there. The sort of family-owned place that most little towns had at least one of.

The new decor made the place stand out a little, but not in a bad way. It was fresh, at least compared to the other shops and stores around the square. She’d never actually seen a cobbler before, or a store that sold nothing but pots and pans and utensils.

Amber and Cassy moved closer to the cafe and then hesitated at the entrance. There was that earthy, powerful smell of coffee in the air, and there were clearly a few machines to prepare it behind the counter, but the room was lit by hanging lanterns filled with yellowish oil.

“Be right with ya!” came a call from behind the counter. A moment later a middle-aged woman came around with a notepad that she tugged out from her apron. She was wearing a long, modest skirt, which Amber would have expected to see someone Amish wearing. Then again... she glanced back onto the street and noted that most of the people were wearing similar clothes, with the occasional running shoe or bright blazer tossed in for colour.

“Yo, just two of us,” Cassy said. She made a peace sign for the lady.

“Sure thing,” the lady said. She brought them to the side, where a small round table was free. She wiped it down with a swipe of a wet cloth. “Menu’s over the counter, if you know how to read. Otherwise I can help you.”

“We should be fine,” Amber said. She glanced over, just to make sure the menu was in English. It was, though the entire thing was written on a board with chalk and a little difficult to parse at a glance.

“Are you two girls from the academy?” the woman asked.

“We are, yeah,” Cassy asked.

She got a nod for that. “Figured as much, what with the skirts and two girls being all on their own. I’ll give you a minute.”

Cassy blinked a few times, then turned to Amber. “Skirts?” she asked.

“I think the uniform is a bit on the daring side for the locals,” Amber said.

“It almost reaches my knees,” Cassy said. “Will they faint if I show up in shorts?”

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Amber snorted. “Probably? I haven’t seen any TVs or ads or anything around here. They’re probably like... people from a long time ago, like before the seventies and eighties. Actually, they’re probably further than that, style and clothing wise.”

“Huh,” Cassy said as she looked around. “Well, I’m not changing to suit them.”

“I can’t imagine you doing that, no,” Amber said. She glanced at the menu until she found something decent. “So, uh, what do we talk about?”

“Queen of small talk, huh?” Cass asked with a laugh. “Uh, how about... how’d you become a magical?”

“Really?” Amber asked.

“If you wanna,” Cassy said.

“I figured it would be somewhat taboo, but maybe not.”

Cassy shrugged. “Wouldn’t know if it was. Wouldn’t care all that much either.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Amber said. “Tell you what, if you tell me your story, I’ll tell you mine.”

“Sure! But you first,” Cassy said. She had a sort of grin that Amber could only describe as shit-eating.

“Alright. Well, uh, it happened... I guess technically only this week?”

“Really?” Cassy asked. “I thought it would’ve been a while ago. You don’t have the, uh, you know, weirdness about being magical.”

“You mean like Morgan talks about?” Amber asked.

“Yeah. I tripped all over the entire first day,” Cassy said. “Moving was way too easy all of a sudden.”

“Hmm, no, I didn’t have any of that. The first time the Seelie offered was in my hometown, Hollowpoint.”

Cassy snapped her fingers. “That was on the news!” she said. “That’s some town in New York, yeah?”

“To the west a bit,” Amber said. “But not too far from there, I guess. It’s a small town. Basically just a speed bump on the highway. We have a couple of old factories, but that’s about it.”

“So you became a magical to defend your town?”

Amber shook her head. “No, I refused.”

“You what?” Cassy asked.

“I said no. Actually... I threw the first Seelie I met into the face of a boogieman who was chasing me.”

Cassy stared, blinking slowly. “You’re nuts,” she said.

Amber couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her, and it only became worse when Cassy joined in. “Maybe, a little. I didn’t trust it. I still don’t trust them entirely. They’re too... I don’t know.”

“They’re cute, but it’s creepy-cute,” Cassy agreed.

“Yeah, exactly. So I said no, then I holed up in my house with my dad. Uh, things happened, and we were moved to some camp. A lot of people there. It wasn’t the nicest place. My dad’s been sick for a long time, and... yeah, that made it worse.”

“Oh,” Cassy said.

“Yeah. So I didn’t have much of a choice. It was help my dad or... not. And I couldn’t not.”

Cassy nodded. Amber jumped a little as she felt a squeeze around her hand. She hadn’t noticed Cassy reach across the table to where her hands were balled up together.

“My story isn't that bad, I guess,” Cassy said.

“It’s not all bad,” Amber rushed to reassure. “My dad’s better now. Healing magic is a thing. In my first loop I healed him myself but ended up in Agartha, and that was... a bit of a mess.”

“Huh, so you didn’t have to endure all that much of the weirdness then,” Cassy said. “But, yeah, I’m not sure if the weirdness is worse than having a sick dad. Sorry?”

“Don’t be?” Amber tried. She’s being surprisingly... sensitive. At least, for Cassy.

Cassy shifted in her seat, eyes roving across the room as if to make sure they weren’t being listened to. There wasn’t anyone nearby though, at least, not close enough to overhear unless there was some magical trickery at work.

“I used to be...” Cassy gestured to herself, making a motion that Amber interpreted as meaning “larger.” “I tried everything, but none of it worked, you know? I mean, it was probably going to fix itself eventually, maybe. Or maybe I could get an operation or something? I did plenty of exercise, and I ate right. I know I did.”

“Okay,” Amber said. It was her turn to squeeze Cassy’s hand. She hadn’t moved it out of her grasp yet.

The blonde grinned. “Then I met a Seelie, and that all changed. That was... maybe three weeks ago? I dunno, I didn’t go back to school other than one day where no one recognized me. That was... weird. Everything was weird.”

“Weird how?”

“People treated me differently. Really different. Not like... you’ve seen those awful Hollywood movies, where the actress pretending to be an ugly teen takes off her glasses and gets a makeover and is suddenly hot or whatever? I thought it would be like that.”

“It wasn’t?” Amber asked the obvious.

Cassy shook her head. “It was, and it wasn’t. I wasn’t just hot as hell, I was magical. Untouchable, but people still wanted to be near me. I don’t know, it was weird. Just weird.”

Cassy pulled her hand back, and for a moment Amber felt the cold loss of contact. Then the waitress stood by the side of their table, notepad in hand. “So, do you girls know what you want?”

***