Lear had been right, Winna had liked the second set of dresses he'd grabbed a lot more. He'd also stopped threatening to come in if she didn’t try the next one on, since he'd realized that flustering her wasn't really helping the situation any.

That said, it was fun to fluster her. He'd quickly found it was one of his favorite things to do.

Soon, Ama had finished her quick alterations, and they’d paid, then were on their way to the tea shop.

He took Winna’s small hand and put it back into the crook of his elbow as the left the clothing store. “Are we good, now?”

Her dark eyes blinked, “Y-yeah.”

“Good.” the disguised fey man patted her hand. “I’m really looking forward to those tea cakes you mentioned.”

“Me too!” she giggled, brightening at the mention of the treats. "They're so good!"

Lear smiled at her. He hesitated for a moment, then told her, “Just so you know, we have a meaningful connection, Winna. A very meaningful one. One I don’t intend to abandon by leaving when I’m healed."

Her face heated, but she didn't say anything, keeping her eyes fixed ahead, though they looked a little glazed over.

So he continued, "I’ll have to go back home eventually, yes, but I’ll stay as long as I can with you. And then when I have to go, I will come back, provided you're okay with that. I’d say you could come with me, but it’s an awfully long trip, and the feylands aren’t always pleasant for humans." Maybe, with some finagling, he'd get permission to set up a mushroom ring portal so he could travel back and forth more easily. It would take a lot of convincing, though. "I don’t think you want to leave your home here, either. The cats wouldn't enjoy a trip like that, either, and I know there's no way you could ever leave them behind. Nor would I want you to."

Winna was quiet for a few more moments, but then set her head against his arm. “I-I…I’ll probably leave here someday. But not…not now. I’m not ready for that. Maybe when everyone I know is gone, as sad as that sounds, but that’ll make it easier.”

“That’s understandable.” he told her. “We can travel in style, then, and you can take the kitties with you.” Unless, of course, he could get that portal set up...but that was a big unless. To be fair, though there were other generals and ministers who'd have input, his only real boss was the king, and Asher was a good sort, despite being royalty.

“Lou won’t be around then.” the young woman murmured.

Lear grimaced, “No, but I expect there will be another cat to keep Diana company on that long journey, though. One you love just as much.”

She was quiet again, then took a deep breath and managed a smile. “You’re right. I love them both very much, but I’ll also love other kitties just as much, too. They won’t replace my Lou, but I can love it too. I…I have infinite love for infinite kitties.”

Lear snorted. “Good. And sorry, I didn’t think before I spoke."

“Oh, it’s fine. I shouldn’t get emotional.”

“No, it’s okay. When the people we love die, it’s sad. That includes pets. It’s almost worse with pets, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, cause they’re innocent. I’m glad I have Diana. She’s ancient and basically immortal.” Winna smiled a little.

“You know, I’m actually kind of curious about that."

“Yeah?”

“Yes.” They arrived outside the tea shop, and pushed inside.

“There you are!” Bekka sang, “Welcome in!”

“It smells good.” Lear commented.

“It always does!” Winna sighed happily as Bekka showed them to a table.

The entire tea shop was decorated in pale pinks and creamy whites. Even the tablecloths were light petal pink with white polka dots. It was an altogether cheerful little place, and the large window at the front of the shop let in a lot of light.

After perusing the menu for a little while, they ordered, and Bekka traipsed happily away.

“So, you’re curious about Diana?” his lovely companion asked, steering the conversation back to her beloved familiar.

“Yes. Divine-sent familiars are uncommon. Even more uncommon than humans who can use magic. I think Diana is only like the…” he wrinkled his nose as he searched his memory, “third I’ve heard of. Ever.” Familiars were usually made by the magic user they were meant to be helping.

“Oh?” Winna tilted her head to the side, curious.

He nodded, “Do you know which goddess blessed your family?”

The young woman shook her head, sighing, “No, I don’t. That’s one of those things that I think has just been lost over time. You’d think we’d remember something like that, though!” She gave a wry smile, then paused, adding, “I wonder if that’s added to the lessening of the magic throughout the generations, that we don't even remember her name anymore.”

“It’s possible.” he shrugged.

It was quiet for a little while.

Lear broke the silence, musing, “I would be very interested to know which goddess it was, though.”

“Me too, honestly.”

“If we could figure it out, you might be able to go to a temple and ask for re-affirmation of it.”

"Reaffirmation of the gift?” she blinked, seeming surprised at the suggestion.

“Yes. It’d restore the power that has been lost over the generations. If the goddess in question is willing, anyways. There’s no guarantee.”

“Interesting. I’ve never would have thought something like that was possible, honestly, so I've definitely never considered it before."

“I’m not surprised, divine-given gifts like yours aren’t exactly common. Normally it’s more like…you’ll be wealthy, or gifted in archery, or an amazing musician, or something more like that. It’s rarely the ability to use magic, even if it is only healing magic.”

Winna shrugged, gesturing vaguely with her hands, “I know I should probably know this kind of stuff, but I don’t, so…if you say so?”

Lear smiled a little, shaking his head, “I know. Sorry, I’m not really expecting an answer. I know you don’t know, by no fault of your own. I’m just musing aloud.”

Bekka returned to the table with their order, which consisted of a towering, two-tiered tea-tray and two pots of tea. “There you go!” she smiled at them. “Let me know if you need anything else!”

“We will!” Winna smiled at her friend, “Thank you, Bekka.”

“No problem!” Bekka waved as she walked off to tend to other customers.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Lear poured them both tea, and added some sugar to his. He noticed that Winna took both sugar and milk in hers, which he filed away for future reference before turning his attention to the treats on the tea tray. “Now, I’m going to taste one of these famous tea cakes!”

“Well, I don’t know about famous, but I think they're pretty fantastic!” his young human companion grinned.

They both took one of the treats. It was a small square piece of cake covered in chocolate icing, piped in delicate swirls and hearts, broken only by the occasional, well-placed dot of pink icing, and a fresh raspberry on top. They bit into the delights in unison.

“Yeah, that’s pretty good.” Lear nodded approvingly. The cake itself was a moist, chocolate confection, with a tangy raspberry filling to cut the sweetness.

“I love them!” she giggled. "I'd say I should learn to make them, but then nothing could stop me and I'd just have them all the time!"

Gods, he loved her smile.

They ate their treats and drank their tea, and were soon on their way back to Dern’s house. The dwarf waved at them from his porch as they retrieved the cart and very patient Poppy.

“You’re a very good girl, I’ll give you oats again when we’re back home.” Lear told the beast, reaching out to rub the pony's neck.

“You spoil her!” Winna grinned.

“Yes. There’s no harm in spoiling animals.” He told her as they climbed into the driving seat of the cart.

“You’re right, there’s really not.” she sighed, tone happy.

“You spoil them just as much.” he replied.

“I do my best.” Winna nodded agreeably.

Once they were a little ways out of town, Lear removed the illusion magic.

“There you are.” she smiled at him.

“I was never not here.” he rolled his eyes a little.

“No, I know. This is just actually you, I mean.”

“I know.” Lear smiled back at her, then reached out and slipped his arm around her to pull her close. “Just so you know, whatever this turns out to be, between us, it’ll be good, alright? Even if we part ways, it’ll still be okay.” he paused, “Do you trust me on that?”

“I…I think so.” she murmured, leaning into him.

“Good.” he nodded.

They rode for a long while in a comfortable silence, until the enormous hill the town sat beneath seemed a lot smaller, and the cottage was visible in the distance.

Winna finally spoke. “What should we do for the rest of today?”

“I mean, I have thoughts and suggestions, but I don’t think you’d like them at this point.” Lear snorted. There were quite a few things he'd like to do with her, but she probably wasn't ready for them yet.

Winna blinked, “I mean, I’m open to suggestions.”

Realizing she’d missed his innuendo, he arched an eyebrow and shot her his most wicked smile, “Are you sure?”

The young woman immediately turned bright red. “Oh! No! No…no.”

“I thought so. You missed my tone.”

“You’re the worst.” She rolled her eyes at him.

“Yes, yes I am.” he grinned, then thought for a moment and told her, “But in all seriousness, I’d like to get into some of those old books, see if I can decipher any of them.”

“Sure.” Winna shrugged. “I think I’ll weave. I’m almost done with the last shawl.”

“Alright. Let me know if you want help.”

“I will.”

They drove up to the cottage, and Lear dropped Winna off at the cottage, then went to turn the cart around, meaning to take it back to the barn.

A sudden, strange feeling that he couldn't place caught him off-guard, and he paused.

“Hm.” the fey man frowned, flicking his second set of eyes open.

“What’s wrong?” Winna was standing in the doorway, and looked back.

“I don’t know if anything is wrong, per say.” he told her. “Something just feels…off. I can’t-” he cut off as a large heat signature hurtled itself at him from the sky.

Lear reacted, flinging himself sideways off the cart.

Poppy neighed in fear, rearing back as something she couldn't see blasted by her.

The fey man rolled, landing somewhat upright, but in a crouching position. He saw Winna start to leave the house. Terror that she’d be hurt coursed through him, so he shouted, “Stay inside!” as he darted to his feet, his claws now extended, as he attempted to make it to the cover of the cottage.

But the unseen attacker swooped back in and slammed into him, throwing him to the ground and then landing on top of him so hard that he worried several ribs might have broken. A pair of unseen hands grabbed his shirt, and Lear grabbed at the area, catching hold of whoever was there, and pulling for his magic. A hiss of pain escaped him as the poison hindered him, but he was able to direct the magic into his attacker and break up the illusion spell that kept it invisible to normal eyes.

An unfortunately familiar face grinned peered down at him, its skeletal face in a permanent, evil smile due to its lack of skin.

“Not so strong without your magic, huh?!” Veris hissed. “I should have killed you last time! That’s what I get for assuming you’d just die on your own! But I’ll finish the job now!”

“Lear!” Winna sobbed, starting to take a halting step out once more.

His eyes flickered to her, “Stay inside!” he screamed again, filled with horror at the idea of her getting hurt or killed. “He can’t touch you if you’re inside!”

The young woman froze and withdrew entirely into the cottage. But she left the door open, clutching the frame, visibly trembling in terror as she watched.

“Oh, that’s no fun!” Veris cackled, “I could stay amused for a long time with her!"

“Over my dead body!” Lear spat into the other high fey man’s face.

“That’s the general idea!” Veris cackled.

Lear had a few more tricks up his sleeves, and pulled for his magic to release his wings, kicking forward as he did and blasting the attacker off of him.

In a test of strength, Veris would usually be no match for Lear, but with the poison weakening his system, he was much easier prey. The only reason Veris had been able to hit him with the poisoned barb to begin with was due to the powerful illusion spell the crazed fey man excelled in. It was the same illusion magic that had masked his presence there at the cottage just now, so that Lear hadn't noticed him until it was too late.

-

Terror seized me as I watched Lear and the horrible-looking fey attacker blasting around as they fought.

The…thing was a strange looking creature, and looked like some kind of walking skeleton. Or rather, it was more than just a skeleton, I could see muscles and tendons, but there was no skin at all, which was a truly horrifying, nightmare-inducing sight.

My heart pounded in my chest. The fight wasn't going well for Lear, from what I could tell. For the first time, I desperately wished my magic had fighting applications instead of just healing, if only so I could help save my fey patient and companion.

The grappling pair slammed into the ground before the cottage, just by the front steps to the porch. Dirt, dust, and rocks filled the air for a moment. When it cleared, I saw the attacker had Lear on the ground, and was clutching him by the throat.

The strange bone-fey gave a terrifying, rasping laugh, and bore down, putting pressure on Lear’s neck, which sent him gasping and scrabbling at the skinless fingers on his throat. His face turned an alarming shade of red as he struggled to breathe.

“Lear!” I sobbed, wanting to run outside, to push the dreadful, bone-y, muscle-y…thing away and drag Lear into the house where he’d be safe, but I knew that if I set foot outside the protection of my home, I’d be as good as dead.

The thing slowly turned its horrible, skeletal face towards me. Its dark eyes burned with a terrible, evil delight. “Okay now, little girl. Let me in.”

“N-no!” I cried.

“I’ll rephrase. Let me in,” he leaned down more heavily on Lear’s neck, “or I’ll make you watch as I kill him right now.”

“No!” I sobbed, clutching the door frame so desperately in my terror that it hurt my fingers, though I barely noticed.

“It’ll be slow and painful.” the evil fey hissed, clearly delighting in the situation. “I’ll strip his flesh, and then-”

“Stop!” I gasped, unable to take it anymore. “W-will you promise not to hurt us i-if I do?”

“Would you accept the promise of a fey?” he snorted.

“I-I would. You can’t lie.”

“If that’s what you want.” it cocked its head back, hissing again, “Let me in!”

“D-don’t!” Lear gasped, his voice literally strangled.

“I-I can’t watch you d-die!” I squeaked miserably.

“H-he’ll-” Lear started to protest, but the other fey bore down even harder on his throat, and Lear gargled awkwardly.

“You’re running out of time, little girl. Let me in!”

“I-I-I….” I took a deep breath, then started to step aside. But before I could tell the evil thing to come in, a small grey shadow slipped by my feet. “Diana!” I gasped, terrified as the little familiar left the safety of the cottage.

“What’s this?” The attacker was caught off-guard at the appearance of the little diluted grey tabby.

Totally unafraid, Diana walked forward, her tail raised in interest.

Much to my surprise, the skeletal fey man scrambled off of Lear, suddenly desperate to get away from my oldest little friend, “Don’t come closer!” he screeched.

“Diana, please!” I screamed. Gods forbid if anything should happen to her! I could lose both my Annie and Lear in one go, at this rate!

Lear gasped for breath for a few moments, clutching at his throat, then his eyes rolled back as he fell unconscious.

The fey attacker finally managed to haul himself to his feet, and had half-turned, I assume to run, before Diana was upon him, her incredible power welling suddenly and swiftly.

There was a sudden, blinding burst of magic, and I threw my hands up to cover my face, screaming, “ANNIE!”