When I inherited our small fortune, I wanted them to burn the money at first. I was disgusted at having so much wealth when I considered how I destroyed everything between Father and I. Then I attempted once to use it for the betterment of the man I loved. He refused me; afterward, I decided to box away the money and never use it, living off of my wages from my job at Arxia Academy.

❂❂❂

The next day, Micah entered the kitchen, where Light Spinner was cooking some little bread-like things over the stove. "What are these?" he asked, pointing to the pans. His eyes went to a carton of red fruit. "And these?" A bottle. "And - "

Light Spinner had the funniest try-not-to-laugh face Micah had ever seen. "Crêpes in the pan. Strawberries in the carton. Whipped cream in the bottle."

"Oh." He'd never seen any of those things, but he'd heard of them. "You didn't seem like...a whipped-cream sort of person to me."

"And what makes a whipped-cream sort of person?" Light Spinner said, taking out the crêpes and crowning them with strawberries.

Micah thought for a moment. "Maybe someone who likes going to the beach and doesn't care if they get sand between their toes?"

She eyed him with amusement. "I've never been to the beach before."

"What?" he exclaimed as she poured more batter into the pan for another round of crêpes. "That's horrible!"

"Equally horrible you don't know what whipped cream is," Light Spinner teased. "Tell me about the beach. What do you do there?"

Micah grinned back. "Well...can you swim?" 

She shook her head with a sad smile, and his mouth dropped open. "Swimming's fun. But not in the winter, because it's too cold - we live in the northern area of Tropicilas. But in the summer, when it's broiling outside, it's a great way to cool down. Do you know what seashells are?"

"I've read about them," Light Spinner said. "Norwyn gave me an encyclopedia of them when I came to Mystacor. It's probably still in my library..."

Her voice trailed off as Micah dashed to her office and looked for it. It was a heavy book thick as his first three fingers, and he grabbed it, hurrying back to the kitchen and opening it up. Disappointingly, the book was written in Meyan.

Light Spinner gave him a gentle look. "What are you trying to search for? If you say it in Standard, I can find it in the book."

"I'm looking for the Concha."

Light Spinner panned the crêpes off, then flipped the page, pointing at the one marked Closca de conx. "Is this it?"

Micah nodded. "I'd pick up dozens of these on the shore - they sell for almost five crescents apiece, and that was how my family earned money. We also have a wreath of seashells on the door back at home."

Light Spinner smiled, dishing up her own plate. "Tell me, Micah, how does it feel to swim in the ocean?"

"Cold," he said as Light Spinner put her fork beneath her veil. "But it's freeing to know you're just a part of the Eastern Ocean and you don't have to control it." At her gaze, he stopped himself. "Is that weird?"

"No," she said. "Keep talking. I hear the ocean is salty. We have the mist beaches here, but they're not the same. What's it like when you get a mouthful of salt water?"

Micah chewed for a moment. "Scary. You swallow the ocean, but it feels like it's swallowing you. I remember when I was little, I was doused and I thought I would drown. The waves are so strong."

Light Spinner ate in silence for a long moment, thinking, then spoke again. "We're going to the doctor before class. They will help your arm and bind it in a more proper cast."

"C'mon, don't you trust the healers?"

"Mystacor has better medicine," Light Spinner said, clearing her plate. "Go brush your teeth so we can go."

He sighed, getting up from the table. "Yes, Light Spinner."

As he passed, she put one of her warm hands on his shoulder-pads. "Micah?"

"Yes?"

She spoke quietly. "Thank you for telling me about the ocean."

A long pause. "You're welcome," he said, though it was almost in a whisper.

✧✧✧

They walked along the road to the neighborhood clinic and into the office. Light Spinner spoke to the receptionist. "I'm here to inspect a sprained wrist."

The Del receptionist studied her; unlike Light Spinner, she did not wear a veil, meaning she'd probably been born here. "Yours, or his?"

"His."

The woman pushed her glasses up on her nose. "Sit here. We'll be right with you."

"Thank you."

Micah shifted in his seat with a frown; the doctor's office was obviously uncomfortable. I feel the same way. Against her will, she recalled when someone she long ago knew used to work here. He had been so excited that being a medical intern had been his first job, thanked her profusely for helping him study.

She gazed down; her fists were clenched. Get out of your daydreams. You'll never see him again. Micah sighed, and she shifted her gaze to his. "What is it?"

Micah frowned. "I've never been in a doctor's office before. It smells too clean. Like medicine."

By the three moons, detective, I wonder why. "We won't be long. The doctor will just examine your arm. It won't hurt; I don't think so, at least."

"If you say it doesn't hurt, it will."

"Perhaps."

The doctor exited his office. Light Spinner stood to go in with Micah to the room, but the older man stopped her. "You're not allowed back here." Her ears burned. Not this again. "I know about your tricks, and so do all my patients. I won't have you scaring them with your..." he leaned close, and she smelled cigars. "Dark magic."

Nell was never like this. Even after everything that happened. Light Spinner sighed, stepping away so she wouldn't cough. A doctor smoking a cigar was one of the smaller ironies in Mystacor. "Micah wants me there."

"Yeah, doc," Micah said. "It'll be fine!"

"I have my rules," the doctor said, placing a finger on Light Spinner's Guild badge. It was a less overt way of saying, I don't give a moon whether you're a queen or not - you're dangerous, and you don't belong back here. "I expect them to be followed."

Light Spinner smacked his hand away, anger rising in her chest. "Just go into the office, Micah," she muttered. "Don't argue about it." Micah opened his mouth to protest, but she glared at him briefly, and he shut it again as they disappeared into the examination room.

Light Spinner gritted her teeth as she sat back down. She herself dreaded the doctor, since Norwyn always had to be there to ensure they would let her in, despite her being almost twenty-nine. This doctor had humiliated her in front of other staff and patients in the past, and it was more people who now believed her to be dangerous.

The minutes crawled by until Micah emerged with a better cast. And when the doctor gave her his bill, Light Spinner handed it to him in crescents rather than moons as she and her apprentice walked outside.

✧✧✧

The next day, Light Spinner led Micah into her office to begin their first day of class. The room had a small waterfall on the far wall that gurgled gently and a large desk in the middle that was clear except for a single gemstone. Light Spinner beckoned to it, and of its own accord, it moved up the table to her.

Micah's mouth dropped open. I've never seen someone use that kind of kinesis magic before. "You actually moved it! How?"

"There's magic everywhere," she said gently. "For sorcerers, it is renewed every month, fallen from the skies during the eclipses of the Three Moons of Enchantment. The princesses channel powerful elemental magic through their runestones..." As she continued talking, Micah picked up the gemstone, biting it. How did it move?

"...After many years of serious study and discipline," Light Spinner said sternly, giving him a look. He put the gemstone down quickly, giving a sheepish giggle. Definitely not like that. She sighed. "You're one of the most talented students I've ever seen, Micah - but you lack dedication."

He straightened up. "I'll prove to you that I'm worthy! Here, I'll show you!"

Micah tried to beckon the gemstone to come to him, but Light Spinner's white hand slammed down on his. She spoke, her eyes soft. "Not yet. First, you must promise to do exactly as I say."

He grinned, trying to joke. "I was afraid you'd ask me that."

"Well?"

Micah sighed, giving her a smile. "I promise."

Light Spinner returned it, her veil shifting slightly as she released him. "Good. It is time."

❂❂❂

Did you know...

● I was ill this week and had trouble putting out illustrations, so the last scene is missing one. I also can't give you the scene from the show since Youtube hates me and keeps striking my content.

● Nell, Light Spinner's lost love, was a Medicancy doctor - a doctor who uses sorcery for medical purposes.

Tell me what you think...

● What do you think the ocean may symbolize for Light Spinner?