“We stabilized her last night, but it’ll be a week before she wakes up,” Ying informed Milly as Milly sat at Rain’s bedside. “Her internal bleeding has stopped, and her fractured ribs are on the mend, though my team still has much work to do.”
“And her leg?” Milly asked quietly as she stared at the mangled limb.
“Thankfully, it will heal,” Ying answered, and Milly felt a weight lift off her shoulders. “Those fairy healers knew what they were doing. I’ll need to speak with their Chief about how we can share our healers and learn from each other.”
“I’m sure he’d be interested,” Milly assured her. She tore her gaze away from Rain’s leg and looked towards the southeast corner, where a team of healers hovered over Xavier’s unconscious form. “And… Xavier?”
“He’s in rough shape. My team was up all night repairing his skull and stabilizing him. I’ll spare you the gruesome details. He’ll make it, but he won’t wake up for a couple of weeks.”
Ying waved her hand towards the eastern row of cots. “Rain and Xavier aren’t the only ones injured like this. We have a dozen other Freelancers who have badly hurt in the field. Healer’s Touch does wonders for mending injuries, but the process takes its toll on the body. I’m hopeful that there will be higher-tier healing spells that won’t have such a high cost to the patient, but it will be a long while before anyone is strong enough to pick them.”
“He’s going to be angry when he wakes up,” Milly said worriedly. “All the time he’s losing, just lying there. He’ll fall so far behind everyone else.”
“Better behind than dead,” Ying remarked. “Now, I’ve got to do the rounds, Milly. You can stay with Rain for the next hour, but after that you’ll have to go. We’ve had to space out our visitors to keep a sense of order around here.”
“Okay,” whispered Milly as she gently held Rain’s hand.
“Oh, and if you would keep that new Aura of yours active, that would be wonderful,” Ying added as she strolled to the team healing Xavier. “It helps us stretch our magic a bit further. I’ll have Tyrell pick that talent when he hits level fifteen.”
Milly glanced down at the transparent pink aura that pulsed out from her feet in a steady rhythm, its complex symbols floating within the circle as if they were ducks on a pond. Healer’s Aura was the first talent she picked when she and Calista had leveled up. It was a second-tier spell that enhanced all other healing magics within its area, which was large enough to cover the entire medical floor.
“I will. Thanks Ying,” Milly said gratefully. “For everything.”
Ying left, and Milly stared out of Rain’s bedside window as she listened to her best friend’s labored breath.
“I wonder if you’ll get to pick your class while unconscious, like I did,” Milly finally said, trying to fill the silence. “I want to hear all about it, so you’d better wake up soon.”
She gently stroked Rain’s hair, working through the tangles that had become permanent fixtures for all three of them. Spotting some dried blood behind Rain’s ear, Milly weaved a tiny jet of water and gently washed the blood away, depositing it into a bucket a Rain’s bedside.
“I evolved my water magic this morning,” Milly told her, uncertain if Rain could hear her. “From beginner to advanced. My water magic is more powerful, but I also have better control. That’s why I could… could wash away your blood like that. It’s simple to do now, but I would never have been able to do something that required that level of control before. You would have been soaked, as if I’d turned a firehose on you.”
Milly coughed as she tried to stave off her sorrow. Rain lay skill, without sign she heard anything Milly said.
“When you’re all better, we… Cally and I… thought the three of us could go explore some of the nearby islands in the eastern ocean. A little vacation to get away from all the… all the fighting… just for a few days. Sapphire offered to guide us, and Samson – he’s a Farmer who is specializing in shipbuilding – offered to build us a fancy raft. I’ve never been on the ocean before. I hope I don’t get seasick.”
Milly sniffed to choke back her emotions. “I evolved my Healer’s Touch to advanced, so maybe that can help with the sea sickness. And… and with Healer’s Touch and Healer’s Aura, I hope it is enough to keep you safe. I should have been able to keep you safe yesterday, Rain. I’ll do better next time… I promise.”
Guilt clutched Milly’s heart. A tear built in the corner of her eye, which she wiped away irritably with the back of her hand. She desperately wanted to reach out and pour her newly advanced healing magic into Rain’s mangled leg, but Ying had advised against it.
“Healer’s Touch accelerates the target’s natural healing,” Ying had instructed her. “But the source of the healing still comes from the body. Proteins, fat, and vitamins – the spell will take anything it needs to repair bone, muscle, skin, and organs. So if the body doesn’t get time to rest – and if it doesn’t get fed – the healing will eventually do more harm than good. So we have to go slow.”
I feel so helpless. I’m more powerful than all the medics, but all I can do is sit here and talk to her.
“Cally… Cally didn’t like her new Battlefield Commander class at first,” Milly continued. “But it turns out the class has a lot of diversity. It’s not just about battle. It covers everything that an army – and apparently you, me, and Cally count as an army – needs to travel the wilds. The class is as much about exploration as it is fighting.”
Rain twitched, and Milly held her breath hopefully, but she fell still once more.
“She picked a bunch of new talents,” Milly went on. “Wilderness Logistics lets her summon a mobile Tutoria Emporia and Mission Board to wherever we are, so we don’t need to worry about returning to the Castle of Glass to turn in missions or buy items. Enhanced Scrounging increases the gold we find in the wild by twenty percent and has a chance to increase the rarity of the treasure. Battlefield Communication allows Cally to telepathically communicate with her captains across a three-mile radius. She made me a captain, and… and she can make you one too… when you wake up… I’ll be like having cell phones. I never had a… a phone before.”
Tears fell onto Milly’s lap as she abandoned her attempt to hold them back.
“Battle… Battlefield Stabilization lets her put critically injured soldiers into stasis for a day, so they can be transported to a healer. I was going to take a similar talent from the healing section in the talent web, but her version was better. I wish… I wish we’d had it yesterday, so we could have saved you from this pain.”
Milly felt her emotions begin to spiral as grief butted up against the joy she had found in Calista’s arms only hours before. The conflict fueled her guilt, and in that moment, she wanted nothing more than to be anywhere else but at Rain’s bedside. The realization added more guilt to her growing tangle of emotions.
Stop being selfish, Milly. Rain… she needs you. Don’t leave her just lying here, all alone. And you shouldn’t be happy – its not fair to her if you are happy.
“I… I made Cally take the same Regeneration talent I she made me take. And she picked a talent called Defensive Instincts that she’d had her eyes on for a while,” Milly spoke quickly, as she eyed the elevator. She wanted to leave, but her guilt forced her to stay. “And she took Improved Perception – that skill she gets from her Huntress’ Scrunchy – because she didn’t want to lose it if she stopped using the item. Turns out that the combination of the item and talent compounded together, so she’d at advanced level now.”
Why am I so selfish? Rain almost died, and here I am wanting to flee her bedside. Are you going to be the self-centered, lonely person you’ve always been, Milly? Are you…
Milly felt a gentle hand rest between her shoulder blades, and she jumped in surprise.
“It’s just me, honey,” Calista comforted as she rubbed Milly’s back, spotting the conflict in her girlfriend’s eyes. “Did you tell her about the hand-to-hand combat skill I made you take?”
“No…,” Milly said with a sniff. “I forgot about that one. Are you done already?”
Calista wiped Milly’s tears away gingerly with her thumbs. “Elmer and Alison have it well in hand. They know where to find me if they need me. I wanted to be with you. Come on, love. You need some food in you. Billy has cooked up a lunch of boar and mushrooms – again.”
Milly stared down at Rain, conflicted.
“Rain will be alright with Ying,” Calista insisted, lifting Milly to her feet, and nudging her towards the stairs. “Rain wouldn’t want you moping over her. She’d want you out there, getting into mischief.”
“I feel guilty leaving her,” Milly admitted.
“I… I know, honey. At the end, with my dad, I would stay at his side in the hospital for hours and hours, even when his mind wasn’t there. It… it wasn’t a healthy thing to do, for me or for him. We’ll come back and see her tonight before bed, okay?”
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Okay,” mumbled Milly. She already felt her tangle of emotions slowly being unwound by Calista’s careful touch.
“Besides, after everything we’ve been through, I think we’ve earned some retail therapy,” Calista declared with enthusiasm. “Food first, then the Emporia!”
“What’s retail therapy?” Milly asked.
Calista’s smile was as broad as it could get.
“Oh, this is going to be fun.”
* * *
“Do you like the maple or the walnut? I like the softer color of the maple, but the dark brown of the walnut is just so striking,” Calista asked Milly as she stared at the two dining tables Tutoria had materialized in furniture section of the Emporia. “The maple begs a home-cooked family meal, but the walnut wants us to throw a party.”
“Cally, should we really be spending our gold like this?” asked Milly, drowning in the sea of Calista’s capitalism. “Shouldn’t we be getting something practical, like…”
Milly was at a loss. She’d never had money – not a single dollar – that she could afford to waste. She had spent her whole life scrounging for furniture in dumpsters and living on cheap food like potatoes and peas. She had developed a deep-seeded frugalness in her poverty that was at odds with Calista’s more laissez-faire approach to personal finance.
“… like armor, or weapons. Or Waypoint Crystals?” Milly finished weakly.
“All the Waypoint Crystals are sold out today, and the armor and weapons are… well... shit. At least compared to what we have now. No offense, Tutoria.”
“None taken,” replied the Emporia Tutoria chipperly as she sat atop the maple table and swung her legs playfully. “My armor is for players under level ten anyways, so they stand a fighting chance. It’s not meant for people stronger than that.”
“Besides, Milly, we have a new home – our first home as a couple – and it needs to be decorated. We don’t want to come back to that empty, musky floor every day, right?” Calista beamed, as she ran her finger across the glossy top of the walnut table.
“I… guess not?” Milly said uncertainly. She couldn’t help but compare their new home with her old apartment. At least their new home didn’t have cracked sinks. “I want you to be comfortable, Cally. It’s the beginning of spending our lives together. It’s just that… I don’t even know where to start. I’ve never really… shopped before.”
Calista laughed and wrapped her arms around Milly’s waist.
“You start by picking maple or walnut.”
“Okay. Umm… walnut. No, maple. Wait…” Milly said indecisively.
“Too late. You said walnut first. Retail shopping is all about impulsivity. Let go of the consequence and embrace the splurge. Tutoria, we’ll take the walnut!” Calista declared excitedly.
“Excellent choice, Milly,” chuckled Tutoria as she clapped her hands together. Two Delivery Tutorias, dressed in their blue and black uniforms, appeared and carried the table out of the Emporia to deliver to Milly and Calista’s new home. “That table, with the delivery fee, will be a thousand gold.”
“A thousand gold!” Milly exclaimed in disbelief. “Cally, that’s too much!”
“We’ll give you seven hundred, Tutoria,” Calista attempted to bargain.
Tutoria laughed. “Sorry Calista. The prices are set by the AI Director, not by me. If you want a discount at the Emporia or any other store, you’ll need to take the Discount talent. It’s in the commerce section of the talent web.”
“Well, damn. Fine, we’ll pay your exorbitant price. Now, I want to look at dressers next.”
“Cally, we have inventories. Why would we ever need a dresser?” Milly reasoned.
“That’s logic. Logic is also not allowed during retail therapy. Besides, what kind of bedroom doesn’t have a dresser?” answered Calista, as Tutoria materialized three options.
Milly couldn’t help but smile at Calista’s energy. Her girlfriend was having fun, and after everything they had been through – after the horrors of yesterday – Milly couldn’t bear to take that away from her. Milly let her defenses down.
“Okay, Cally, you win. But, if you don’t mind, maybe I’ll try out this retail therapy with… something smaller?” Milly suggested. “Like… um… soap or something? You can be responsible for the decorating. I’ll be responsible for not smelling gross.”
Calista beamed. “Of course, honey. You leave it to me! You do you.”
Milly gave Calista a peck on the cheek, then headed over to the pharmacy section of the Emporia, a section that closely resembled its Earth counterpart. The shelves were lined with all manner of hygiene products, each one with half a dozen different options.
“What can I help you with, Milly Brown?” asked a second Tutoria Emporia that suddenly materialized next to her in the aisle.
“Fuck!” Milly shouted awkwardly, jarred by the sudden appearance. “Tutoria, you surprised me.”
The Tutoria shrugged non-apologetically.
You know, after two weeks, I’ve figured out one carnal rule to this place. At their core, all Tutorias are a bit of an asshole.
“Well, I guess I need your help. I don’t know what to buy. Maybe we can start with… shampoo?”
Shampoo was one of those few things Milly had afforded herself in her old life that felt like a luxury. She always bought a generic no-name brand, and she would only use it when the grease in her hair had built up too much to manage.
Tutoria leaned in and sniffed Milly, then cringed. She rubbed a strand of Milly’s hair between two fingers and looked disappointed.
“Listen, Milly,” Tutoria began, taking on a motherly tone. “You’ve got a girlfriend now, and you’re gonna need more than shampoo if you want to keep that fiery redhead happy. Plus – and trust me on this – you’re not going to want to go through this God Contest without a rigorous personal hygiene routine. There are monsters in the wild that will leave you smelling like a rotten corpse.”
Tutoria projected a merchant screen in front of Milly. It was filled with a vast collection of hygiene products separated into two dozen distinct categories – far more than were displayed on the shelves in front of them.
“Let’s see. Here’s a shampoo and conditioner that should work for your… rather greasy hair. What’s Calista’s favorite scent?” Tutoria asked.
“Her… favorite scent? I… I don’t… I mean, we’ve only been dating a week,” Milly stuttered.
“It’s lilac!” shouted Calista, clearly eavesdropping.
“Lilac shampoo and conditioner. That’s twenty gold,” Tutoria said as she materialized the items from her merchant screen and set them on the counter. “Oh, we have lilac soap too. That’s another ten gold.”
“Thirty gold? That just seems so much. I don’t think…”
“She’ll take it, Tutoria!” Calista said, trying to contain her giggles. “I do love my lilac.”
Milly couldn’t help but grin at Calista’s giggles, and she felt her inhibitions start to fade.
She’s enjoying this more than her own shopping! That little minx.
“Then… maybe a hairbrush next?” Milly requested.
“Centaur hair or goblin hair?” Tutoria asked.
“I… what? Goblin hair? Eww… no,” Milly protested. “How would that even work?”
“Centaur hair it is,” Tutoria concluded, pulling the brush from the merchant screen before Milly could protest. “Okay, Milly, what’s next?”
Milly spent the hour buying the simple luxuries she had denied herself in her old life, and the pile on the counter began to grow quickly. Lotion, creams, and facial cleanser. Three fluffy bath towels – each a different color – and soft cotton bedsheets. Her final purchase was a three-wick candle, also lilac scented, that Milly pictured burning on a small end table next to their bed while they cuddled together. The thought made her smile.
Our bed. This whole relationship still feels surreal. I’ve been alone for so long that I’d given up hope I would find anyone who cared about me, let alone someone who would love me.
“I… I think that’s it, Tutoria,” Milly finally said after her pile of purchases covered half the counter. “I think I’ve stretched the flexibility of my frugalness to the breaking point today.”
“Just one more thing, Milly,” Tutoria said with a smirk. She pulled a bright pink razor blade from the screen and stared down at Milly’s legs. “Calista, do you like hairy or shaved?”
“That’s none of your fucking business, you little pervert,” Calista called out, not bothering to turn away from the four full length mirrors she was intently studying.
“We’ll just go ahead and add this to the pile,” Tutoria said to Milly with a wink. “On the house.”
* * *
By the end of their retail therapy, Calista had made considerable progress furnishing their new home. She’d picked a deep, brown oak color for their bedroom, which now had a dresser, end tables, lamps, a full-length mirror, rocking chair, and a dozen wicker baskets, though Milly could not fathom what Calista wanted to put in them.
Calista had also outfitted the north-eastern office as a second bedroom for Rain, with a lighter maple color for the furniture. The open area between the two rooms was now a large dining room, with the walnut table placed against the eastern window so they could bathe in the morning sun as they stared out at the vast blue ocean.
The early stages of a living room had been started along the southern wall off the elevator, but Milly had held her girlfriend back after the purchase of a leather couch, marble coffee table, and more throw pillows than Milly believed could be reasonably placed in any single room, let alone on a single couch.
By the end of their retail therapy, the couple had spent nearly ten thousand gold and dwindled their savings below a thousand.
“Well, what did you think?” Calista asked as they exited the Emporia and headed for the northern mountains to meet Lightpaw.
“It was… fun,” Milly admitted, her fingers circled around Calista’s wrist. “It took my mind off Rain, and the fairies, and Stone and Brass, and everything else, if only for an hour.”
“When my dad was sick, I used to go to the mall every day after school so I could forget about what was happening to him, and what I was going through. I wanted to forget about my pain and the loneliness that I knew was just around the corner,” Calista said softly. “My dad was all I had in the world. Mom abandoned us when I was three, so dad raised me by himself. We were inseparable.”
“He sounds like a great dad,” Milly said, not knowing what else to say.
“He was the best. I just… wasn’t a good daughter, when he really needed me to be. I was angry, and I took that anger out on people around me, including him, even as his illness stripped away who he was, piece by piece. We didn’t… depart on great terms.”
“He’d be proud of who you’ve become, Cally,” Milly assured her.
“You know what the worst part was? After he died, I couldn’t feel happy without drowning in a deep sense of guilt. It was like I was punishing myself for moving on – for living when he no longer could. My school counselor called it Survivors Guilt. I let that guilt consume my life, and soon the bitterness and anger became a bit part of who I was, and it turned me into the bully you knew at work.”
“Cally, you’re not…”
Calista spun around and placed her hands on Milly’s shoulders, her piercing eyes filled with determination.
“Milly. This God Contest… it’s a cruel game built by cruel gods. In two weeks, we’ve seen the horrors of war and re-lived the worst moments of our lives. Rain almost died, and tomorrow it could be me, or it could be you. We’ve attended more funerals than I ever thought possible, and they will not be the last.”
“Cally, why are you telling me this?” worried Milly, and was surprised when Calista smiled.
“Because despite all that we have lived through in two weeks, I’ve never been as happy in my life as the moments I am with you. But I don’t want our happiness to become poisoned by our guilt. Whatever comes our way – whatever terrible things this contest has in store for us – I want us to treasure the moments we have together, without guilt and without remorse. Rain would want that too.”
Milly embraced her girlfriend and held her tight.
“Even if that means we spend all our gold shopping?” Milly laughed weakly as she let the guilt she harbored fade.
“Especially if it means spending all our gold,” Calista laughed. “I love you, Milly.”
“I love you too, Cally.”
With that, they headed into the northern mountains towards fairies’ new home, their steps just a little bit lighter.