Kaitlyn threw up after they finished setting the arm. She barely managed to stumble away from the elf, who had been surprisingly stoic and vomit under the bush. Javorora had water ready for her when she turned back around. Fapallo nuzzled her with a chirp of, “You ok?”

“I am no healer,” Kaitlyn said, “I kind of hated that sound.”

“Stop thinking about it,” Javorora said quickly, “you look very green.”

Kaitlyn nodded, trying desperately not to vomit a second time. She closed her eyes and found herself seeking that quiet place of meditation. It helped. Her stomach settled and she slowly sat back on the ground.

“Are thou still ill?” the elf asked, looking pale but disturbingly calm.

“No,” Kaitlyn said. “Do you want to come inside and stay the night? I can’t offer much, but you can at least sleep in warmth tonight. I’m not sure where home is for you.”

“Nay, thank you kind witch but I must be home by moonrise or my parents will undoubtedly worry,” the elf said.

“I understand,” Kaitlyn said, pushing aside the pain thoughts of home and family brought up.

The elf ate the stew and complimented Kaitlyn’s cooking before they gathered their bow and left her little hut. Kaitlyn turned to Javorora and said, “Thank you for helping.”

“Of course,” Javorora said, “You are kind of a terrible healer if you can’t handle a simple broken arm.”

“Can we please not talk about it?” Kaitlyn almost pleaded. “Do you want to stay here tonight?”

“No, I can get back to my tree well before dark,” Javorora said. “Fair warning, during the winter I can be very hard to wake up. I will try to come whenever I am awake, but I wanted to make sure you knew… I won’t be able to come very often.”

“I will be ok,” Kaitlyn said, trying to put on a brave face even though inside she was very worried. She had never been alone so much and she already felt lonely. Fapallo helped immensely, and she thought if he had not been with her she would have given into a lonely despair a long time ago.

It was only a few days later they had their first frost. Master Garthis arrived with a warm wool cloak, gloves, a warm hat, thick shoes, and a bolt of wool cloth. He also brought her another bag of grain and a small jar of sugar. He also brought her two more books on basic spells. She found she was quite excited about these books.

Finally, he brought her two female rabbits. She put them in the little shed in one of the cages and added a little bit of the grain. She also added some carrots and some leaves from her vegetables plants. She liked them immediately, they were small and fluffy with very long ears.

“Master, I have a question for you,” Kaitlyn said. “An elf got lost and ended up here…”

“Wait, an elf got lost? How?” Master Garthis asked.

“Javorora hinted it had to do with the fact they hadn’t chosen their gender or caste,” Kaitlyn said.

“Ah, yes that would do it,” Master Garthis said. “I’m surprised they were allowed out of their village. Usually the younglings are kept close.”

“I’m pretty sure he knew he wasn’t supposed to have left,” Kaitlyn said.

“They,” Master Garthis said. “It’s an interesting thing that allows them to determine what gender they need more of in their community, either because of illness or war or something else. Until they choose a gender, the correct term is they.”

“How is that possible?” Kaitlyn asked.

“That their gender isn’t set until they reach maturity,” Master Garthis said, “I don’t know exactly, but I know there is a myth that dryad and elves are related. Or at least dryads and some elves. There are actually three distinct species of elves I know of and only the ones with the dryad myth choose their gender. Remember, plants are not gendered, they contain both parts for reproduction.”

“There are other elves?” Kaitlyn asked.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Yes, as I said I know of three distinct species,” Master Garthis said with a smile. “You are a curious person, aren’t you?”

Kaitlyn blushed and said, “Mama used to say I could ask questions until a saint wore out.”

“Well ask away from me,” Master Garthis said, “Next time I come I’ll bring a book on Elven species.”

“Thank you,” Kaitlyn said.

She and Master Garthis worked through the afternoon on her magic. Kaitlyn felt despair as her Master began snapping at her to duplicate the flame spell making it exactly the same over and over until she maintained a dozen small flames. He then went down the line and critiqued their differences and made her adjust them. Towards the end she found herself rubbing her temple with the beginnings of a headache.

The Master wizard stopped her and said, “Excellent! You are growing into your powers, but it looks like your limits are within reason.”

Kaitlyn frowned at him and he said, “You have worked hard and I just pushed you to do each of these spells many times with speed and accuracy. I want to tell you, I am proud of your focus and your studies. You are making excellent progress. I think by midwinter you will be disciplined enough to learn the identification spell.”

“Wait, you aren’t mad at me?” Kaitlyn asked. “I kept messing up the duplicate flame spell.”

“I was pushing you,” Master Garthis said. “I needed to see if we could strain your limits with these exercises.”

“Master,” Kaitlyn said, “I am a little worried being here alone. Am I… safe?”

Master Garthis did not reply instantly, but looked thoughtful. He finally said, “I think you are as safe as anyone can be in these woods. From what you told me of your hiding here, the house itself has some concealment if someone is actively hostile. Now, this doesn’t mean the house would know that a wandering werewolf with no hostile intentions until he already is grabbing you… but that is another possible use for the flame spell and for the tool spell. Neither are specific attack spells, but both have decent application you can use to defend yourself.”

Fapallo made a bark-growl and Master Garthis nodded, “And you have Fapallo. Even if he isn’t right here, all you would need to do is fend off an attacker until he returned and if you barricaded yourself in the hut you probably could.”

“Probably?” Kaitlyn repeated worriedly.

Master Garthis put a hand on her shoulder and said, “I will not promise that there is nothing that could break in and hurt or kill you. There are powers in the world which can overwhelm anyone or any defense. I will tell you that I think you are as safe in this hut as you would be back in your home. At least physically.”

Kaitlyn nodded, only slightly reassured. He sighed and said, “I wish I could bring you to my household, but I am worried if the unicorn’s curse would make it impossible for you to function.”

“I can be gone from the house almost the entire day before the pain hits me,” Kaitlyn nodded, “but when it begins… it’s still really bad. Will I ever be able to stop it?”

“I don’t know my child,” he said gently, “I hope as you continue to grow into your power you can find ways to manage the pain to allow you more freedom. I know this is not the most comfortable of homes.”

Kaitlyn smirked and looked at the hut. She missed her mother’s kitchen. She missed having more than a stool to sit on. She missed a real bed. She then said, “At least the house is warm and the garden keeps me fed, right? And as long as I have you and Fapallo to keep me from getting too lonely I will be ok. Maybe someday my magic will be strong enough that I can expand the house a bit to give myself a real kitchen, or a cold cellar.”

“Perhaps that is something I can help with next summer,” the master wizard said, “I will have to brush up on earth magic to build such a space. Elemental magics are not my strongest category of magic, I always have to go look up the more complicated spells.”

“What is your specialty?” Kaitlyn asked.

Master Garthis smiled and said, “Space and time magic. A pretty esoteric specialty really unless someone claims they are prophetic.”

“Esoteric?” Kaitlyn prompted.

“Only a few people know or care about it,” Master Garthis said. “Time magic really can only reliably look backwards. The ones who seek to know the future often go mad because the future is not set. You can’t see THE future, you can see A future, or more often you can see several futures. The further into the future a mage tries to look, the more variations and branches they must follow. But the past… knowing the past of a place or a thing is something I find fascinating.”

Kaitlyn smiled and said, “Thank you master.”

“Oh, speaking of which I wanted to show you a spell I put on the mirror,” he said.

Inside the hut, Kaitlyn pulled out the mirror the mage had brought to her before. He held it in his hand and taught her the words to say. Instead of reflecting his face it now showed a room. After a minute a small man walked past. He stopped and jumped a little and said, “Master Garthis! ‘Tis good to see you.”

“Hello Mr. Lanslet,” Master Garthis said warmly, “I am just showing Kaitlyn how to use the mirror to contact the household. I shall be home in a few hours.”

“Very well Master Garthis,” the brownie said with a bow. The flop hat on his head nearly fell off and he scowled as he scooped it back onto his balding head.

Master Garthis waved his hand and the view of the witch’s hut reappeared in the glass. He said, “This can also help you feel more safe. If you ever are truly in danger, contact my house and help will come. Probably Linnmel, because if there is something dangerous enough to threaten Fapallo, I am not sure I could stop her from coming out here.”

The large female dragon felt both Kaitlyn and Fapallo were “kits” and in opinion, should be safe in a nest. Fapallo hissed at her the one time she had tried to groom him, claiming he was not nestling and she was not his mother. She had huffed, pouted, and left without carrying away Master Garthis with her.

“Well, I am very pleased with your progress,” Master Garthis said. “To give you an idea of this, it took me three years to be able to conjure as many fire spells as you have today.”