Looking For The Bookworm

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 9, Post Number 202

-Outside Sombras Manor, midnight-

Wearing his usual outfit of olive green jacket over white t-shirt and olive green cargo pants with black boots, Leonidas had his Silver Falchion in its scabbard on his left hip. With him was Sabrina, who was dressed in her usual pink-and-blue outfit and carrying her staff. Leonidas had no idea where she had gotten the contemporary clothing from, but that was a question for another time. They were standing outside of Sombras Manor, a structure that was imposing because of its design and age.

"What were we here for, Big Guy?" Sabrina asked the scar-faced mage.

"We're here to find a young woman named Agatha Johnson, who's a big fan of books. Her friend Catherine Corvinus hired me to find her and bring her back to Capital Crocus. Catherine hasn't heard from Agatha for almost a week now." Leonidas repeated the rundown of the job he had been given.

"Oh. I wonder why that girl would come all the way out here just for some books. My guess is that she thought she'd find some really old ones worth reading." Sabrina commented. Leonidas shrugged his shoulders.

"That's my guess too." Leonidas seconded the pink-clad blonde's opinion. Sabrina jabbed her staff at the building.

"Well, we'd better get to it, Big Guy. I'll go first and light the way for us." She told him how they would approach the beginning phase of the exploration.

"All right." Leonidas agreed to the idea. He could not see in the dark and he could not see invisible enemies, so letting the other blonde lead the way was not a bad idea. Sabrina led the way to the mansion's front door and when she reached it she paused to let Leonidas catch up. Leonidas held the door open so that Sabrina could go inside and light the way for them.

-Inside Sombras Manor-

The pair stepped into a foyer that was on the small side. The light Sabrina was casting revealed that a red carpet was beneath their feet and they had two choices of path... left or straight ahead. To the left was a hallway that had not been cleaned in quite some time because there were dust bunnies lining the baseboards plus a few sitting in the middle of the hallway. Straight ahead was a hallway that was as dusty as the one to the left and had a few dusty racks of old weaponry on both sides.

"Hey, this kinda looks like your place, Big Guy. It's kinda dark and it's not very clean." Sabrina commented. Leonidas turned his head left and glared at her.

"That's very funny." Leonidas retorted sarcastically in response to the jab at his apartment. Sabrina laughed at him.

"So, which way do we go?" Sabrina asked Leonidas. The scar-faced mage shrugged his shoulders.

"This is my first visit to this place, so I have no idea where the library is." Leonidas replied. Sabrina jabbed diagonally across her body with the staff, pointing towards the left.

"I say we go left." She suggested. Lacking any other ideas, he was going to go for it.

"Works for me." He replied. Sabrina led the way and Leonidas followed at her left side. They began to move down the hallway and soon reached a door on the left side. Sabrina looked at Leonidas.

"I wonder what's in there?" Sabrina asked a rhetorical question. Leonidas did not respond but instead put his left hand on the doorknob, then twisted it and opened the door. Sabrina went inside followed by Leonidas.

-Inside the room-

Sabrina and Leonidas found themselves standing inside what looked to be a small art studio. There were a few unfinished paintings sitting in an open closet in the top left corner of the room and straight ahead of them there was a grimy window facing the outside. A few steps from the closet stood a dusty easel holding an equally dusty canvas with a simple message painted in bright red letters.

GET OUT!

"Looks like someone really doesn't want us here." Leonidas sarcastically remarked on the message that had been left for them.

"Well, that's just too bad! We're not leaving without that Agatha chick! I need the money for a shopping trip!" Sabrina retorted. Leonidas looked at her with a questioning look. The pink-clad blonde refused to take the statement back.

"So many people make fun of me for wearing these clothes! I can't help it that they're the only thing I have right now!" Sabrina angrily explained the reasoning for her remark. Leonidas blinked and looked at his partner for a few moments.

"OK..." The scar-faced mage replied since he was at a loss for words. Sabrina suddenly sported a pouting face.

"I thought you'd give me more support than that!" Sabrina criticized him for his lack of sympathy. Leonidas remained quiet for almost a minute.

"Well, Agatha's not here, so we should move on." Leonidas broke the silence. Sabrina folded her arms across her chest.

"Fine. You don't seem to care about my problems at all. You only care about what I can do for you!" She said accusingly. Leonidas sighed.

"You're the one who chose to follow me here, Sabrina. I didn't ask you to come with me." Leonidas pointed out. Sabrina glared at him for several seconds before throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"OK, fine! We'll talk about my clothes later!" Sabrina agreed to put the discussion off until a more convenient time.

"All right then. Let's get going." Leonidas repeated his earlier suggestion.

[Post Word Count: 926]
[Total Word Count: 926/11,000]

-Sombras Manor, the next room-

After leaving the small art studio behind Leonidas and Sabrina moved down the hallway to the next room, which was a small reading room that had a lot of dust. It had a large wooden bookshelf on the left wall and a large leather chair to the right of it. The window to the right was grimy and had a few cobwebs on it. Placed to the left of the chair was a stack of books that looked like they had been sitting there for quite some time because there was a dust bunny perched on top of it as if surveying its tiny kingdom.

"Well, she's obviously not here." Sabrina commented. Leonidas did not say a word as he walked around the chair and looked at it just to be sure that Agatha had not gone to sleep or anything like that. He walked around to the front and saw that the chair was empty.

"She's not here." Leonidas echoed. Sabrina motioned towards the door with her left hand.

"C'mon, Big Guy. Let's move on." She suggested. Leonidas went first and Sabrina followed, closing the door to the reading room behind them.

-In the hallway-

The pair were now back in the main hallway and were facing another one that ended with a turn to the right that would likely lead them back to the hallway they had seen when they first entered Sombras Manor. They spotted a door on the right and what looked like an opening with stairs that led to a basement, but they could not see the latter well enough to know for certain because of the angle at which they were standing. They would check it out later.

The pair walked over to the door they had spotted and Leonidas put his left hand on the doorknob. He opened the door and Sabrina peeked inside, the blue light she was producing illuminating the area. Leonidas left the door open and took a peek himself to see that they were looking at a small storage room for old furniture. Inside was an old rocking chair covered with cobwebs and dust plus a few other odds and ends like an old wooden chest, an old wooden broom that was ironically coated with cobwebs, and even an old oil painting so covered with dust that seeing the face of the subject was almost impossible. Dust bunnies were also everywhere... they were seated in the rocking chair, they were sitting on the chest, and they were sitting on the floor.

"She's not there either. Not unless the dust bunnies ganged up on her and threw her in that wooden chest." Sabrina reported.

"Yeah." Leonidas remarked. He shut the door on the room and the two continued a short distance down the hall until they came across the opening they had spotted earlier.

"Looks like a basement." Leonidas commented. Sabrina stepped a half-step ahead of him and let the light shine down the stairs.

"You go first, Big Guy." Sabrina said. The scar-faced mage obliged, walking down the stairs while bending his head down because this space was clearly not meant for tall people like him. Sabrina followed close behind with the blue light.

-In the basement-

Leonidas reached the bottom of the steps first and drew his Silver Falchion. Sabrina reached the bottom not long after he did and looked towards the back wall. Leonidas followed suit and saw that they were now presented with a choice of six doors parceled out along a fairly wide hallway. There were three doors on each side.

"Which door do we open first, Big Guy?" Sabrina asked Leonidas. He silently pointed towards the first door on the right and began to walk towards it. He opened it just as Sabrina got to it and he peeked around the door to take a look inside. Inside the medium-sized room was a wine rack on the back wall that was loaded with old green bottles of wine and a few wooden barrels in racks along the left and right walls that were presumably full of wine as well.

"Looks like we found the wine supply. We could throw a serious party with this stuff." Sabrina commented on their discovery. A moment later all of the bottles rattled in the rack as if trying to dissuade the mages from taking any of the alcohol. The two quickly got the hint.

"Fine, fine! We'll leave it alone!" Sabrina shouted to whoever was listening. Leonidas quickly shut the door to the room before the bottles could be thrown at them.

"Still, you could throw a really big party with that much wine." Sabrina clung to her point despite the warning she had just received. The two of them quickly moved on to the second door on the right. Leonidas opened it and Sabrina peeked inside.

"Oh look, an empty room." Sabrina flatly remarked. Leonidas looked inside and quickly saw that she was being truthful. There was absolutely nothing in there. No old furniture, no wine, no dust, nothing.

"Yeah." Leonidas commented laconically on her discovery. He shut the door and the pair moved on to the third door on the right.

[Post Word Count: 870]
[Total Word Count: 1,796/11,000]

Sabrina sashayed to the third door ahead of Leonidas and posed in front of it holding her hands towards the door as if presenting it.

"What's behind Door Number Three, Big Guy?" Sabrina asked a rhetorical question in the tone of a game show hostess. She then stepped aside and let Leonidas open it. He looked in first followed by the young woman, who was now standing at his right.

"A mirror. I think." Leonidas dryly answered the question. Inside the room was a shimmering mirror as tall as he was in a silver frame. The room was empty except for the mirror, something which raised a lot of questions.

"Why is it the only thing in there?" Sabrina asked him. Leonidas shrugged his shoulders.

"Beats me. We probably shouldn't go near it." He suggested that they keep their distance from it. Something was off about it. It was way too clean for a household object that had been in storage for a long time and the longer he looked at it the better he could see a face that looked to be emerging from the mirror.

"Hey Sabrina, do you see that face in the mirror?" Leonidas asked his companion so that he could get confirmation that he was not the only one seeing it. Sabrina leaned a bit closer to the door and looked. As if responding to the question the face came into better focus. It looked to be female because of the slender look of the facial features.

"I see it, Big Guy." Sabrina confirmed. Suddenly Leonidas was hit with a bad feeling.

"We should leave it alone." Leonidas suggested. The face's mouth opened and its face showed a look of anger before an ear-piercing scream sounded and it pushed against the mirror as if trying to escape. Sabrina cried out in pain and covered her ears as Leonidas slammed the door shut, ending the piercing noise they were being subjected to.

"I agree. Let's leave it alone." Sabrina seconded his suggestion. Leonidas' ears were still ringing from the sonic attack, so he did not quite understand what was being said.

"HUH?" Leonidas asked.

"LET'S LEAVE IT ALONE!" Sabrina repeated her response in a louder voice.

"OK." He agreed after hearing what she had said. He stood still for a minute or two until he could hear again before walking over to the door on the left across from the third one on the right. As he approached the door Sabrina looked to the left for a few moments.

"Do you think we have company?" Leonidas asked her. Sabrina only pointed to the left. He looked and saw quite a few ghosts floating in place close to the stairs and glaring at them with empty eye sockets.

"We've got company, Big Guy." Sabrina dryly replied. Leonidas turned away from the door and faced the spirits with Silver Falchion in hand. One of them began to float towards Leonidas and Sabrina stepped in front of the scar-faced mage with wand in hand. More of the spirits began to join the first and Sabrina raised her wand and channeled blue magic into it, then cast a visible azure cone of magic that hit the ghosts, banishing ten of them in one blast. The rest floated in place for a few moments, then began to move towards the two blonds.

Sabrina readied her wand again as the ghosts drew closer and closer. They were almost to the pair when Sabrina fired the cone of magic that hit the ghosts, banishing another ten with a single shot. The surviving spirits suddenly vanished without a trace, leaving Leonidas and Sabrina standing victorious.

"And stay gone!" Sabrina taunted the ghosts.

"Nice work, Sabrina." Leonidas complimented his companion for her ghost-banishing prowess. Sabrina giggled.

"I'm not just a pretty face!" She said in triumph. Leonidas turned towards the door they were going to open and put his left hand on the knob, then opened it. He peeked inside and saw a room of old wooden chairs with dust bunnies sitting in them. The room was full of cobwebs in the corners on both the ceiling and on the floor and the chairs themselves had cobwebs stretching between the legs.

"Oh hey, more dust bunnies!" Sabrina commented.

"And some cobwebs too." Leonidas dryly added. He shut the door and the two walked further to the left. They had opened four of the doors in the basement and there were only two remaining before they would have opened all of them. Leonidas highly doubted that the person he was looking for was down here, but he was not going to leave the basement until he had checked every room.

[Post Word Count: 784]
[Total Word count: 2,580/11,000]

After finding the room filled with dust bunnies and cobwebs and leaving it behind Leonidas and Sabrina stood in front of the door to the next room on the left side. Leonidas gripped the doorknob with his left hand, then opened the door. He peeked inside and Sabrina followed suit.

"Oh hey, another meeting room for dust bunnies!" Sabrina exclaimed. Leonidas spotted nothing but dust bunnies littering the floor of the room and hanging around along the baseboards. There was no rhyme or reason to their sizes... some were about the size of Leonidas' fist while others were about the size of a marble.

"Too bad we're not here to kill the Dust Bunny King because he's sitting right in front of us!" Sabrina joked.

"I don't see any of them wearing a crown. Which one's the king?" Leonidas asked with mock sarcasm. The other blonde giggled.

"Why don't we go ask them?" She suggested.

"No thanks." Leonidas dryly responded. He shut the door and the pair moved on to the last door. Leonidas placed his left hand on the doorknob and opened the door. Sabrina peeked inside just as Leonidas began to peek as well. There was a gathering of porcelain dolls seated in small wooden chairs wearing tiny, well-made white dresses and bonnets seated around a round table. In front of each of them was a miniature white porcelain tea cup on a miniature white saucer.

"Um, are we interrupting a tea party or something?" Sabrina asked Leonidas. The scar-faced mage blinked. Suddenly a blonde doll with icy blue eyes seated at the right of the table turned its head to face the two blonds.

"There's always room for guests." The doll informed them in a soft monotone. Moments later two more tiny chairs materialized out of thin air and the chairs holding the other dolls moved to make room at the table for the two new chairs. The hair on the back of Leonidas' neck stood up and Sabrina yelped.

"No. No. NO. Just NO." Sabrina stated her refusal in no uncertain terms. Leonidas quietly shut the room door without a word. The two blonds faced each other and shuddered.

"Let's get outta the basement. The person we're looking for is obviously not here." Sabrina suggested.

"Yeah." Leonidas readily agreed. The pair swiftly moved to leave the basement, moving at a brisk walk towards the stairs. Sabrina went first and Leonidas brought up the rear.

-The first floor-

"Man, those dolls were SOOOO creepy. I don't want to see any more dolls for a long time." Sabrina complained about the unexpected and unsettling encounter with the tea party.

"You said it." Leonidas concurred with his partner. The two then moved away from the basement stairs and retraced their steps to the entrance, then turned and faced down the main hall. Sabrina's light revealed that ahead of them loomed an empty hallway and what looked like the opening to a staircase on the far right side.

The pair began to walk forward while looking out for ghosts, but as they walked the worst "opposition" they encountered consisted of countless dust bunnies hanging around the baseboards. They were gathered along the sides as if watching the two blonds go through the hallway. At the end of their trip they had not fought any ghosts... in fact they had not seen a single one. They now stood in front of the staircase that would take them to the second floor of Sombras Manor.

"I'll go up the stairs first." Leonidas told Sabrina and began to climb the stairs. Sabrina followed close behind him, her light being barely enough to light the way because Leonidas was blocking it with his body.

-On the second floor-

Leonidas arrived first and Sabrina was not far behind him. The pair now stood on the second floor, which had a long and wide hallway with eight doors and a window at the end in front of them and another hallway with paintings hanging on the walls to their right. Another window was to their left and moonlight was filtering through the grimy window, casting a square light that illuminated the area around the stairwell, but that was made redundant by the light Sabrina was casting. It still made for a slightly eerie sight, though.

"Wanna go down the hall in front of us?" She asked Leonidas.

"Sure." He answered laconically. The pair had barely taken three steps towards the hallway when a sizable group of at least thirty ghosts appeared in front of them. Both blonds stopped where they were and prepared to fight their way through the spectral mob assembled in front of them.

[Post Word Count: 780]
[Total Word Count: 3,360/11,000]

"Stay out of the way, Big Guy! I'm about to fire another Azure Cone!" Sabrina warned Leonidas to stay where he was so that he did not get caught in her attack. Leonidas moved to Sabrina's left and stopped, then watched as a group of ghosts moved in on them. He raised his Silver Falchion above his head and waited until one of them outpaced the rest, then brought the sword down on the attacker in a cut that split it from head to toe... if it had had toes to start with.

It vanished with a scream and Sabrina fired the Azure Cone moments later, cutting a swath through a mass of spirits waiting to attack the two. Ten of the ones in front vanished in a cacophony of male and female screaming, leaving nineteen left. The remaining spirits moved in on the pair, but Leonidas stood his ground. His magic was no good against them, but his sword was and that was all he needed. Having Sabrina helped too.

One of them approached with its arms extended towards his throat and Leonidas waited until it closed in, then chopped it in half with a slash that went from the left shoulder to the right hip. It disappeared and another one rushed in only to get a stab through its chest for its trouble. Its empty eye sockets met Leonidas' eyes before it vanished in silence.

Sabrina fired another Azure Cone and another swath of ten spirits vanished in screaming that sounded almost simultaneously. With only eight spirits left Leonidas prepared to fight it out, but they had other ideas and vanished as suddenly as they had arrived. The scar-faced mage turned to face Sabrina.

"Well, that's that." Leonidas commented on the short and sharp skirmish with the ghosts.

"Yeah... for now. Don't get complacent, Big Guy. They'll probably round up some friends and hunt us down for another fight at some point." Sabrina warned him against relaxing too much.

"OK." Leonidas laconically assured the mage. Sabrina jabbed her staff down the hall that was now clear of angry ghosts.

"If our bookworm's in one of those rooms she should have heard the commotion. Maybe we'll find her sooner than we expected." Sabrina suggested before expressing the hope that Agatha was closer than they had anticipated. As if on cue the last door on the right side of the hall opened up and a squeaking sound was coming from within.

"That's way too convenient." Sabrina remarked on the timing of the door opening. She was visibly apprehensive about going to see what was inside.

"I agree. I think it's an ambush waiting to happen." Leonidas told her that her concern was a valid one. He hung back for a minute or two to see what was going to happen and his patience was rewarded when nothing happened. Instead of feeling relieved Leonidas' concern began to grow. It was like someone or something wanted them to go towards that room.

"Do we head towards it or do we leave it alone?" Sabrina asked Leonidas. The scar-faced mage took a moment to think it over before announcing his decision.

"Let's head towards it. Cautiously." Leonidas answered. The person they were looking for might be in there and since neither of the blonds knew where the library was they were going to have to check every room until they found it. He also wanted to find the source of the squeaking that was starting to get on his nerves. Since it was his idea Leonidas led the way and Sabrina followed behind. They got to the door and Leonidas peered inside while Sabrina peeked out from around him.

Inside the room was nothing but a single dusty window letting in moonlight, thick cobwebs along the baseboard of the floor, and a dusty old rocking chair that was still rocking. It seemed like someone had been sitting in it until recently. Perhaps a spirit had been using it until the door opened.

"A rocking chair that's rocking despite no one sitting in it. That's weird." Sabrina said.

"You said it." Leonidas concurred. Suddenly the chair stopped squeaking so much and started slowing down. The squeaks were spaced further apart as the chair began to come to a stop. Just before it stopped it moved back one last time and then rocked forward with a spin, facing the pair before coming to a total stop.

"I say it's time we get going." Sabrina suggested.

"I agree. Let's go." Leonidas said. He stepped back and Sabrina followed suit, giving him enough space to grab the door and push it closed. The pair swiftly moved on and began checking behind the other doors in the hallway.

[Post Word Count: 790]
[Total Word Count: 4,150/11,000]

-The third floor, forty-three minutes later-

Sabrina and Leonidas had searched the remaining rooms on the second floor and had found nothing but more old, dusty furniture that was not haunted. They had went to the third and final floor to look for the person they were sent to find. The pair had already checked everywhere else, so if the person was not on the third floor then they were just not in Sombras Manor.

The pair exited the stairwell and looked onto the third floor, which had the same layout as the second floor down to the grimy window on the left that let in moonlight. There were also eight doors, four on each side of the hall that they were looking down. The second door on the right was ominously open and Sabrina drew attention to it with her staff, pointing towards the door.

"Hey Big Guy, do you see that open door? Does this situation look kinda familiar to you too?" Sabrina asked Leonidas.

"Yeah, this looks familiar all right." Leonidas replied dryly. He wondered what haunted piece of furniture lurked in the room they were about to enter. He was hoping that the door would open onto the library where Agatha was likely to be, but he highly doubted that he would be that lucky. He would probably find more porcelain dolls having a tea party or another haunted rocking chair, maybe even another haunted mirror.

"Well, let's go see what's inside." Leonidas stated the obvious thing to do.

"You first, Big Guy." Sabrina insisted, getting behind him and gently nudging him into motion by poking him in the back with her staff. The scar-faced mage turned around and made eye contact with the young blonde woman.

"Don't do that." Leonidas firmly instructed her. He was not a beast of burden and would not be treated as such.

"Sorry!" Sabrina sheepishly apologized. He was not sure if she really meant it or was just saying that to get him off of her back, but he let it go in favor of heading towards the open door. He walked up to it first followed by Sabrina, who was likely using him as a human shield. He peered inside the room and expected trouble, but to his surprise he caught a break.

It was the library they were looking for.

"Finally." Leonidas remarked. Sabrina emerged from behind him and looked into the room to see what had prompted the scar-faced mage to say what he did.

"Yay! The library!" Sabrina exclaimed. She went into the room first and Leonidas followed silently behind her.

-Inside the library-

"Whoa. Have you ever seen so many books in one place before, Big Guy?" Sabrina asked Leonidas.

"I can't say that I have, Sabrina." Leonidas replied. The room had wall-to-wall bookshelves that were crammed full of books that were all older than him. A few of them had yellowed pages and quite a few of them had ribbons of different colors that were employed as bookmarks. The bookshelves were so tall that old-fashioned rolling ladders were attached to each one. Finally there was a thick wooden square table in the center of the room that was so loaded with books that it was impossible to see the top of the table.

If the library were not in Sombras Manor his mother would love this place.

"Hey Big Guy, look to the right! There's a tent!" Sabrina notified Leonidas and pointed towards it with her staff. The scar-faced mage looked on the right side of the room and there was an olive green canvas tent sitting in front of one of the bookshelves. The sight of a tent in a library was so odd that he looked at it for a few moments before speaking.

"Catherine was right when she said her friend was a major bookworm. Agatha's literally got a tent set up so that she doesn't have to leave the library to sleep." Leonidas remarked. The two blonds heard a moan from inside the tent and tightly gripped their weapons.

"Agatha? Is that you?" Leonidas asked whoever was inside the tent. He was hoping that if Agatha was in there she was all right and was not in danger. Another moan sounded and a rustling sound came from inside the canvas structure.

"That doesn't sound good." Sabrina remarked as Leonidas began to slowly move towards the tent with Silver Falchion at the ready. He did not know what to expect once he got to the tent, so he was keeping the weapon ready to use at a moment's notice.

[Post Word Count: 768]
[Total Word Count: 4,918/11,000]

Leonidas approached the tent and the flap opened just as he got to it. Out crawled a young woman with orange hair and red-rimmed glasses. She was dressed like a librarian... she was wearing a wrinkled gray jacket over a white blouse and gray skirt. The young woman saw the Silver Falchion in Leonidas' hand and looked up at him with a worried look.

"Are you Agatha Johnson?" Leonidas wasted no time in asking the young woman her name.

"Y-yes. Why?" She asked nervously. Leonidas put away the Silver Falchion and looked down at her.

"Your friend Catherine Corvinus told me that you'd be here. She sent us to take you back to Capital Crocus." The scar-faced mage explained what had brought him here. The young woman seemed to forget all about the earlier situation and stood up to talk to him face-to-face... or what passed for face-to-face since he was almost a foot taller than her.

"Oh, Cathy. Always looking out for me. You have good timing... I'd say that I'm pretty much done here after spending over a week in this place." Agatha told him that she was ready to go. The orange-haired young woman looked behind him and pointed.

"Who's the blonde? Is she your friend?" Agatha asked. Sabrina popped out from behind Leonidas and hugged his left arm tightly while glaring at the bespectacled young woman.

"I'm his GIRLFRIEND!" Sabrina firmly declared. Leonidas groaned and looked at Agatha.

"We had to fight a lot of ghosts to get to you, Agatha. When we entered the room we heard a moan and didn't know if the ghosts had gotten to you first. How did you survive so long holed up in the library?" Leonidas asked her. The latter pointed towards her tent.

"I keep a silver weapon in my tent just in case ghosts or other supernatural beings come calling. I also carry at least three week's worth of food and water when I go somewhere so that once I set up my tent I don't have to leave it to get provisions." Agatha explained how she had lasted so long in Sombras Manor. Leonidas wanted to ask what she did about a shower or a bathroom but decided that he was better off not knowing.

"That explains it. You sure do like books, don't you?" Sabrina asked the young woman. Agatha laughed a little.

"I sure do. I've been around them ever since I was a child and couldn't get enough of them. I'd read any books I could get my hands on all day every day. Science, history, mathematics, geography... even if I didn't fully understand the contents I'd read the book because it was there." She explained how she had gotten her love of books. Leonidas was certain that Agatha and his mother would get along quite well. He was just worried that his mother would try to "convince" him to marry the bespectacled young woman despite the fact they had just met and did not have any chemistry.

"Are you ready to go?" Sabrina asked Agatha.

"I'm ready, lady. Let me put all of these books back on the shelves, pack up my tent and other belongings, and get my silver weapon ready. It'll take a bit to do all that, so I hope you've got some time." Agatha replied.

"Oh, we've got the time." Leonidas remarked. He had gone to quite a bit of trouble to get here and was not going anywhere without the bookworm. Agatha clapped her hands together.

"Great! I'll get started now!" Agatha replied cheerfully. She walked over to the table that was loaded down with books and picked one up, then walked over to the shelf it came from and gently put it back into place. Leonidas watched her go about her work while he felt Sabrina's eyes burning into the side of his head. He looked down and left and saw the blonde glaring at him with a look of anger and jealousy. Leonidas promptly ignored her and went back to watching Agatha put the books she had taken off the shelves back where they belonged.

"Quit watching her, Big Guy." Sabrina muttered a warning to him, a warning he instantly ignored. Leonidas was not into Agatha, but his companion was under the impression that he was. Sabrina was mistaken... Leonidas was really interested in Samantha Halsey or Morgan Spruance.

[Post Word Count: 734]
[Total Word Count: 5,652/11,000]

-Sombras Manor, thirty-seven minutes later-

"Sorry about the wait, guys. I've finally finished putting up all the books and I put them back exactly where they go!" Agatha proudly declared. Sabrina was not impressed.

"What about your tent? When are you gonna take that down?" Sabrina asked pointedly. The redhead's tent was still sitting where it had been set up. The redhead's belongings were still inside of it.

"That'll take a while longer. You see, I wanted to put every book back where I found it before we left." Agatha answered. Sabrina's face showed frustration.

"That's great and all, but we're in the middle of an old manor that's full of ghosts. They're dead. I don't think they'll care if their books aren't in alphabetical order." Sabrina snarked. Leonidas kept quiet and let the two young women talk.

"Patience is a virtue, young lady." Agatha blandly recited an old adage. Suddenly Leonidas felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up and spun around to see a ghost dressed in old butler attire pass through the door. Leonidas drew his Silver Falchion, approached the spirit just as it had successfully passed through, and slashed down in a one-handed chop that split it from head to toe. It screamed as it vanished, leaving the trio alone... for the moment. He turned to face Agatha before speaking.

"What you were saying about patience?" Leonidas made a sarcastic remark in response to Agatha's adage. The redhead stood in silence for a few moments.

"Point taken. I'll get started right away." Agatha replied. She turned away from Leonidas and Sabrina and began to take down the tent she had lived in ever since arriving here.

"Stop watching her, Big Guy. I mean it." Sabrina muttered another warning and attached an implied threat that would be carried out should he ignore her words.

"Someone's jealous." Leonidas laconically remarked. He heard a gasp from Sabrina, who immediately got into his face. Or tried to. The height difference made that a bit of a challenge for the shorter blonde, who was so upset that she grabbed a chair from the table Agatha had been sitting at, set it down in front of him, and stood on it, leaning down to make eye contact.

"I'm not jealous of her!" Sabrina retorted. The way she was leaning over to make eye contact put her chest not too far from Leonidas' face. He felt that that was intentional... she was trying to distract him from Agatha with a view of her sizable chest. The scar-faced mage was not distracted by that trick.

"Are you trying to show me something?" Leonidas dryly asked his companion. Sabrina gasped and covered her chest with her left arm.

"LEONIDAS JARNEFELDT!" The other blonde said in indignation. She quickly got down from the chair and moved it back to the table, then stomped over to the scar-faced mage. She then looked up at him.

"I can't believe that you'd say something so vulgar! I thought you were better than that!" The young woman continued to lecture him from her lower vantage point. Leonidas took it in stride because he was used to his mother starting off a lecture using his full name. Agatha must have heard the discussion between the two blonds because she stopped packing up and turned to face him.

"Wait, you're Leonidas Jarnefeldt? Are you related to Leona Jarnefeldt?" Agatha asked.

"I am. I'm her older brother." Leonidas replied calmly. He did not like whenever that subject was brought up. It was not because the younger sister was outshining the older brother... it was because he wanted to make his own way in life and that was harder if people believed he was trying to get a leg up by mentioning that Leona was his sister.

"I can see the resemblance." Agatha commented.

"A lot of people say that." Leonidas remarked. It was true that they had some resemblance. Both of them had green eyes and blond hair, which was odd considering that their mother Sophia was blonde but their father Samuel had dark hair. He supposed that life did not always make sense and that was certainly true with Sabrina.

"You have a sister?" Sabrina asked Leonidas, her earlier indignation at his comment about her trick to distract him from Agatha having been forgotten.

"I have a sister." Leonidas confirmed.

"Does she know that you're in Fiore?" Sabrina asked.

"No. Not at all." Leonidas replied dryly. He had been a busy mage and had not had the time to send her a letter. Besides, he figured that Leona was too busy with her own career to worry about him. He was fine with that because their relationship had gotten rocky after she had been exiled from their home village and it had gotten worse when she made it big in Fiore after becoming a Wizard Saint.

"I'll get back to packing my belongings up now." Agatha said to Leonidas and Sabrina before proceeding to do just that.

[Post Word Count: 838]
[Total Word Count: 6,490/11,000]

-Outside the library, the third floor-

Once Agatha had packed up all of her gear and had handed the tent to Leonidas she picked up her silver weapon, which was a silver shortsword reminiscent of the one he had recovered for Janine all those months ago. Now they were outside the library with Leonidas in the lead and carrying the rolled-up tent under his left arm while holding his Silver Falchion in his right hand, Agatha in the middle of the group with a backpack of gear on her back and silver shortsword in her left hand, and Sabrina bringing up the rear.

"Are we ready to go now?" Sabrina asked the group. Leonidas knew that it was a way to ask Agatha in an indirect way.

"I'm ready." Agatha replied.

"Good. Because I thought you were going to cover each book with a little blanket and sing a lullaby to them all before you left." Sabrina snarked about how long it took the orange-haired young woman to prepare to leave the library and Sombras Manor.

"Sabrina, please be polite." Leonidas tried to politely rein in his companion's sarcasm before it cost the pair their payday.

"Fine." Sabrina huffed.

"Lead the way out of here, Leonidas." Agatha said. Leonidas obligingly turned right and began to walk towards the stairwell that would take them to the second floor. The trio walked towards the stairwell and looked around them for ghosts wanting to keep them from leaving the manor. They did not see any as they lined up to go down the stairs with Leonidas leading the way. He awkwardly began to descend while Agatha and Sabrina followed not too far behind the scar-faced mage.

-Sombras Manor, the second floor-

Leonidas emerged from the stairwell and looked around them with his Silver Falchion clutched in his right hand and Agatha's tent carefully held under his left arm. He did not see anything, so he stepped forward to give his traveling companions room to fan out in front of the stairs. Agatha strolled past him and looked around.

"We haven't seen any ghosts yet. So far, so good." Agatha commented to the two blonds. Leonidas looked around them again before speaking to her.

"C'mon. We'd better keep going. The longer we hang around here the greater the chances of encountering ghosts." Leonidas suggested to her.

"Yeah, lady. It took us long enough to get you out of the library and I really don't want to spend the rest of eternity here because I got caught in an ambush we couldn't get out of." Sabrina made another sarcastic remark at the orange-haired young woman's expense. Leonidas frowned.

"All right, all right. Let's keep going." Agatha conceded. Again Leonidas led the way to the stairwell that would take them to the first floor and again he led the descent. He moved carefully as Agatha started down moments after he had started and Sabrina followed shortly after Agatha.

-Sombras Manor, the first floor-

Leonidas reached the bottom first and looked to the left. There sat the large wooden double doors that would take the trio out of here. Seeing no danger around, Leonidas walked forward several steps to give Agatha and Sabrina space in which to move. The pair reached the bottom and Agatha gravitated towards the doors.

"There they are. Just a little bit further and we can leave this place." She commented to the two blonds who had "rescued" her.

"I'll lead the way. Follow me and don't be slow." Leonidas stated. He walked around Agatha and began walking towards the doors with his sword at the ready in case they would have to fight their way out. The trio walked in silence and Leonidas actually heard one of the young women behind them hold their breath as they drew closer to the exit. The only sound they could hear was their footsteps on the wooden floor.

The trio walked until they reached the double doors. Leonidas stopped in front of the side hall to the left and Agatha moved past him to open the doors. He heard a drawn-out CREAK of the wooden door opening and saw moonlight spill into the manor's foyer. One set of footsteps walked outside while another walked to just behind him before stopping.

"C'mon Big Guy! We're getting out of here!" Sabrina urged Leonidas to join them. The scar-faced mage turned around and began walking towards the door just as Sabrina exited. He was not sure if she was going to hold the door for him, but she darted back in and held the door open with her back.

"I won't leave you here, Big Guy." Sabrina assured him with a smile.

"Thanks." Leonidas said as he carefully passed by her, trying not to strike her with the tent he was carrying. When he went through Sabrina followed behind him. When she was through she shut the door behind the trio and turned to face them. The trio had managed to leave the manor without incident. Now they would have to get home somehow.

[Post Word Count: 846]
[Total Word Count: 7,336/11,000]

-Capital Crocus, outside Leonidas' apartment, 5:17 A.M.-

Leonidas and Sabrina had taken Agatha back to her friend Catherine and had been paid for their work. It had been a long but otherwise uneventful walk from Sombras Manor to Capital Crocus and both of them were tired, especially Leonidas. He had been tasked with hauling the bookworm's tent under his arm and the limb was so used to having to hold something that it was stuck that way for the next few hours.

"We did it, Big Guy! We got that lady back to her friend and we got paid!" Sabrina congratulated Leonidas on a job well done. The scar-faced mage looked at her.

"Yeah, we did. I'm glad that's over." Leonidas agreed. Sabrina walked over to him and started to poke him in the chest with her staff when they made eye contact. Perhaps remembering his warning back in the manor to not prod him like a beast of burden, Sabrina quickly pulled her staff back before it made contact.

"Now we need to talk about my wardrobe. You said back in that manor that we'd talk about it. Now's as good a time as any!" Sabrina asserted. The scar-faced mage detected more than a little self-interest here, but he kept quiet.

"OK. We'll talk about it." Leonidas agreed. He had indeed made that promise and he was going to keep it even though he would much rather crash on his couch and go to sleep.

"Let's go inside your place, Big Guy. It's getting kinda cold out here with it being night and all." Sabrina suggested that they go inside his apartment to talk. Suddenly the wind picked up and the other blonde shivered. He was unaffected because he was dressed for lower temperatures, but she was not doing so well because her outfit did not cover parts of her body.

"All right." Leonidas agreed to that request without reservation. He opened his apartment door and Sabrina went inside followed by Leonidas himself. Once they were both inside he shut the door behind them.

-Inside Leonidas' Apartment, the living room-

"Man, would it kill you to clean up this place a bit?" Sabrina complained about the state of his apartment. The couch cushions were out of place from him using it as a bed and the television was on an anime channel. The kitchen counter had a bag containing half a loaf of bread sitting in the approximate center and just to the right to it was a well-used paper towel loaded with bread crumbs. One way or another some of the crumbs had found their way to the surface of the counter itself.

"If you don't like how my place looks we can always go back outside." Leonidas offered sarcastically. Sabrina got the veiled threat and raised her hands palms out in a "I don't want trouble!" gesture.

"No, no, we can stay in here! This place is fine!" Sabrina quickly backed down. Satisfied that he had made his point, Leonidas moved on to the topic they were going to discuss.

"Now you said something about your clothing. What did you mean by that?" Leonidas inquired. The other blonde cheered up and looked at him with a wide smile.

"Shopping!" She called out. Leonidas blinked.

"Excuse me?" He asked with audible uncertainty.

"You heard me, Big Guy. I wanna go shopping to buy some new clothes so that people won't look at me so funny!" Sabrina clarified. Leonidas crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her. Her current outfit was kind of odd and it made her stick out like a sore thumb, so he could see her point.

"OK. You want to go shopping for clothes that are more modern so that you blend in more easily." Leonidas attempted to sum up everything he had heard her say so far.

"Yes!" She exclaimed. The scar-faced mage was not particularly excited about having to spend money he was saving towards a larger apartment, but he could see the other blonde's point. She had also helped him out in Sombras Manor, so he was willing to indulge her a bit.

"All right. We'll go shopping later today. I owe you that much." Leonidas agreed to the request. Sabrina jumped at him and hugged her the best she could considering she could not get her arms around his chest.

"YAY! SHOPPING!" She happily exclaimed. Leonidas silently hoped that he would not end up regretting his decision.

[Post Word Count: 748]
[Total Word Count: 8,084/11,000]

-Leonidas' Apartment, 5:31 P.M.-

True to his word Leonidas had taken Sabrina to Capital Crocus Mall later in the day once he had had some time to sleep. The pair had made a day of it with visits to all of the clothing stores in the mall. They had gotten lucky when the stores were having a sale, which eased the financial hit Leonidas had taken by a decent margin. He had returned to his apartment loaded down with bags like a beast of burden.

So much for his earlier claim that he was not one.

"I found a lot of things I can wear so I look more like a normal young woman instead of someone wearing a costume!" Sabrina exclaimed.

"I know you did. Believe me." Leonidas remarked sarcastically, referring to the number of bags he was carrying. He walked over to his couch and set them all down on the piece of furniture.

"Today was a good day." Sabrina stated with contentment.

"It wasn't a good day for my wallet." Leonidas countered with another sarcastic remark. It seemed to soar right over Sabrina's head because she walked over to the couch and picked up a bag, then rummaged through it and pulled out a pink t-shirt and blue jean shorts.

"And they're just my size too! How great is that?" The other blonde asked a rhetorical question about her good fortune. The scar-faced mage eased off of the sarcasm because Sabrina was genuinely happy and he did not want to ruin that. She put the t-shirt back into the bag they had come from and reached into another bag, pulling out a pink tank top.

"I like this tank top. It fits just right!" She told Leonidas before holding it up in triumph. Moments later she put it back into the bag and she turned towards the scar-faced mage as a realization hit her.

"Now where are we gonna put all of these bags?" Sabrina asked him.

"I... don't know." Leonidas answered, folding his arms across his chest as he tried to think of a good answer to that question. The most obvious answer he could think of was to offer his room, but if he had another young woman over and they saw the bags of women's clothing they would draw the wrong conclusion. He did not want to leave them in the living room either.

It might be time to accelerate his plans to improve his living space. He might need to go searching for a two-bedroom apartment because he could not let Sabrina live in a one-bedroom apartment without violating the terms of the lease. Leonidas had not expected to do this so soon, but he had little choice in the matter.

"I might have an idea. I'll need to go apartment hunting, though." Leonidas answered. He was not sure if he could find anything today, but he would definitely try tomorrow. He would need some time to look over everything carefully before committing to another lease.

-The next day, 7:08 P.M.-

Leonidas had went apartment-hunting around 9:00 A.M. this morning and had not expected to make any great strides, but to his amazement he had managed to find a two-bedroom apartment that was both affordable and located in the same neighborhood as his old one. He had paid off the fee for early termination of the lease in his previous apartment and had begun renting the new one immediately.

The layout of the living room and kitchen area in the new apartment were the same as is was in the one he had just left. The layout of the bedrooms was the same, but there were two of them, one for Leonidas and one for Sabrina. There were also two bathrooms so that there were no conflicts about who got to use it first. Now he did not have to worry about paying financial penalties for letting Sabrina live in a one-bedroom apartment in violation of the lease.

"I like this place already." Sabrina stated as she surveyed the living room and mini-kitchen.

"Me too. It looks familiar." Leonidas remarked facetiously. The rent was only about four hundred more Jewels a month, so it was not that big a deal. He would need to find some work to get back the money he had spent on the shopping trip and he would need to start paying slightly higher rent each month, but today he had completed one of his goals, which was to get a better apartment. There was no shortage of work for a freelance mage, so finding employment was not the problem.

He could worry about that later, though. Right now he was content to live in the moment and feel triumph over completing a goal of importance to him. It had come about in an unexpected way, but he was not going to complain.

[Post Word Count: 814]
[Total Word Count: 8,898/11,000]

-The next day, 9:09 A.M.-

Leonidas woke up on the couch of his new apartment to the sound of rummaging in the refrigerator. He sat upright, put his feet on the floor, and stood up, then turned to face the appliance. He started walking towards it and had taken five steps when he saw a flash of pink and blue. The next thing he saw was blonde hair longer than his own running down the back of a pink shirt.

It was Sabrina.

Leonidas turned away from her and walked back to the couch, where he sat down and looked at what was on the television. It had been left on some slice-of-life anime named Fortunate Meteor and he had no idea what was going on in the current episode. A black-haired young woman was playing an electric guitar at a talent show and the "playing" was loaded with amplifier feedback and was full of awful screeching that sounded like nails being drawn across a chalkboard. In fact it was so awful the audience had covered its ears and some members were running for the exit doors as fast as their legs could carry them.

"Hey Big Guy! It's nice to see you up this early!" Sabrina greeted Leonidas while holding a can of soda in her right hand. Sabrina was dressed in a new pink tank top and blue jean short shorts. Her hat was nowhere to be found... with the modern casual clothing the other blonde actually looked kind of cute.

"Hey Sabrina." Leonidas greeted his new roommate. While moving into a new apartment was an expense that he had not planned on incurring just yet, Leonidas was glad that he had made the decision to look for a two-bedroom apartment. For one thing he could host Sabrina without having to worry about paying penalty fees and facing other consequences for violating the terms of the lease in his previous apartment. Another benefit was having his job partner close by in case he needed her help on any more jobs that took him to a place with supernatural enemies like Sombras Manor.

"This place needs some work so it doesn't look like a bachelor pad. It's a step up from your last place, but that's not saying a whole lot." Sabrina remarked on the apartment. The scar-faced mage frowned.

"Everyone's a critic." Leonidas sarcastically retorted. He had went out on a limb and gotten into a new apartment partially because of her and he did not appreciate that remark.

"I mean, it's great and all that you'd do this, but you really need to put some effort into fixing this place up a bit. Like getting a bed for yourself so that you don't have to sleep on the couch like you've been doing." Sabrina explained the meaning behind her previous statement. Leonidas was mollified somewhat, but he still did not like his apartment being insulted because it did not live up to her standards. He was paying both their ways, after all. The scar-faced mage set aside his irritation and spoke to his roommate in a calm voice.

"I'm working on that, Sabrina. But first I've got to get the money. Once I get the money I'll go looking for some furniture." Leonidas stated that he intended to fix up the apartment by getting better furnishings once he could actually afford to do so. He was trying to avoid bringing up the matter of who was paying the rent so that he did not spark a conflict with Sabrina. He was also trying to save money to get his mother out of Desierto so that she could live some place safer... he was not sure if he wanted to bring her to Capital Crocus or try and settle her in Hargeon Town, but making a decision of that magnitude could come later.

Sabrina looked at Leonidas for a moment as if pondering something important.

"Even though it sounds like I don't do anything but bite the hand that feeds, I've got to give you credit for making room for me and my stuff. You're a good guy, Big Guy." Sabrina replied in all seriousness, paying the scar-faced mage a compliment that did not sound like just a platitude to keep him off her back.

"I try to be one." Leonidas replied in return. He had wondered whether becoming roommates with someone who did nothing but bash his apartment for its appearance and cost him his chance to potentially date Samantha Halsey was the right choice. He still held some resentment towards the other blonde for being possessive and driving away a potential girlfriend, but he had to account for the fact that Sabrina had helped him fight supernatural enemies who had him badly outnumbered and had helped him on past jobs despite dropping multiple hints that her presence was not wanted.

When all of those details were taken into account it was safe to say that Leonidas' relationship with Sabrina was best described as complicated.

[Post Word Count: 838]
[Total Word Count: 9,736/11,000]

-10:32 A.M.-

Leonidas was sitting on the couch surfing through television channels and looking for something to watch while Sabrina was in her room doing whatever it was she was doing. He had no interest in what she did and was content to watch television... if there was anything good on. So far he had found nothing but old sitcoms he had no interest in and a few anime series that were too niche for his interest including a really weird one about billiards that involved the characters making improbable trick shots at will, another odd one about Texas Hold 'Em poker where that card game had become the dominant pastime of an entire country, and even one about bicycle racing. After a few minutes of searching in vain Leonidas turned off the television and got up to go to the refrigerator and make a ham sandwich to eat before doing anything else.

Leonidas walked over to the kitchen island and set down a clean paper towel, then walked over to the refrigerator and opened it. He fished out the plastic container of sliced ham he had been using for the past five days and closed it, going back over to the island and setting the plastic container down. He turned around and walked over the the cupboard to pull out a loaf of bread. Once the bag with the loaf of bread was in hand the scar-faced mage returned to the island to actually make the sandwich.

He reached the island and set the loaf on the counter next to the paper towel and opened the bread bag. He picked out two slices and set them on the napkin before reaching for the container of ham and prying the lid off. Three slices of meat were picked out and set on the paper towel and the lid placed back on the ham. Leonidas then placed the ham on the bottom slice of bread before putting the other one on top. Now that the sandwich was made it was time to eat it.

Leonidas picked up his culinary creation with his right hand and raised it to his mouth, then took a bite out of it.

Mmmm... refrigerated ham.

"You eat like a bachelor too." Sabrina snarked. Leonidas turned his attention towards the doorway leading to the two bedrooms and saw the other blonde standing with her arms folded over her chest. She was wearing a pink short-sleeved t-shirt with blue jean short shorts. The scar-faced mage frowned as he lowered his meal to address his roommate.

"Well, what do you expect? I AM a bachelor." Leonidas retorted. The other blonde laughed.

"I thought you'd know how to make something other than sandwiches." Sabrina commented with a smile. Leonidas continued to frown.

"And I suppose that you do?" Leonidas countered, putting the ball back in her court. The other blonde's smile disappeared and she looked at the floor.

"...No..." She answered meekly. Having made his point, the scar-faced mage let the matter drop.

"...Mind if I make a sandwich for myself?" The humbled Sabrina asked.

"Be my guest." Leonidas gave his approval to the request. The other blonde walked over to the kitchen island and began to make her own sandwich without any further comment on his lack of cooking ability. When she finished making it she stood over the kitchen island and took a bite out of it.

"Hmmm... not bad. Not bad at all. It's a little basic, but it'll do." Sabrina commented on her handiwork. Leonidas resumed eating his own ham sandwich as the other blonde resumed eating hers. The scar-faced mage probably needed to learn how to cook so that he could eat something other than sandwiches, but he could do that later. Right now he had other priorities such as saving money for a bigger, better apartment and saving money to send to his mother Sophia so that she could get out of Desierto and live somewhere safer.

That "somewhere safer" would have to be far away from Capital Crocus, though.

Leonidas did not want his mother hounding him about grandchildren. He also did not want her to see Sabrina because if she did the older Jarnefeldt would assume that they were dating and pressure him to marry her. Leonidas wanted neither of those things to happen, so it would be best to put some distance between him and her... if he could. Sophia had a habit of trying to control the lives of her children and if she got to Fiore she would inevitably resume giving him "advice" on how to live. She would also invite herself over to Leonidas' place every chance she got.

Leonidas was not on very good terms with his mother, but regardless of his feelings towards her he could not just leave her in Desierto. He would try to get her out of there and set her up in Fiore. He might come to regret that choice, but he would work towards that goal anyway.

[Post Word Count: 836]
[Total Word Count: 10,572/11,000]

-3:03 P.M., Leonidas' Neighborhood-

Leonidas was dressed in his usual outfit of an olive green jacket over white t-shirt and olive green cargo pants with black boots and was walking through his neighborhood just to do something other than sit around his apartment all day long. He had brought his apartment keys with him and they were stashed in his right cargo pocket. He had no set destination in mind and was just wandering.

The scar-faced mage walked through the neighborhood and wondered how Samantha was doing. He had not seen her since their last meeting at Capital Crocus Mall a few months ago and despite the unpleasant circumstances behind their parting he could not help but to think about the young woman who was his first real acquaintance in Fiore. She had greeted him in a friendly manner and did not let his facial scar scare her away, two things which made Leonidas like her. It also helped that she was beautiful.

He would have liked a chance to date her, but Sabrina had picked the moment he and Samantha were talking to arrive and cling onto the scar-faced mage before trading verbal barbs with his neighbor. He was pretty sure that that had killed any chance he had of getting a date with Samantha. Leonidas was not sure if he and Samantha would have gotten together even if they did go on a date, but now he would never know for certain.

Leonidas continued to walk until he came across a young blonde woman with waist-length hair wearing a baby blue t-shirt and knee-length white skirt with brown sandals. She must have felt him looking at her because she stopped and turned to face him. His heart skipped a beat when that happened.

Was it Samantha?

When she faced him Leonidas saw his neighbor. He was not sure how she would respond to their chance encounter, but to his surprise she seemed to be in a good mood.

"Hey Leonidas! It's been awhile!" Samantha warmly greeted him.

"Yes it has." Leonidas replied. The other blonde's face turned a light shade of red.

"Hey, uh, I was wondering... did you want to go to the mall with me?" She asked. The scar-faced mage's heart began to beat faster.

"Certainly." Leonidas replied with a calm that belied how he really felt. Samantha smiled at him.

"Great! Let's get going!" She said. Leonidas began to walk by right side as they started the walk to the mall.

-Capital Crocus Mall, 5:05 P.M.-

Samantha and Leonidas entered the mall and walked through the entrance hall, then took a right and walked towards Earthland Eagle. The food court was packed like it always was... it was a good thing neither of them wanted to eat there because with fifty-plus people waiting in line they would be waiting quite awhile. As they walked Samantha turned her head and looked up to face the taller mage.

"So, um, I've been thinking. About us." Samantha awkwardly started off. Leonidas looked down to face her and gave her his undivided attention.

"I think... I think we should just be friends. I don't think that we're compatible after what that other girl said and did." She said to him. Leonidas was not terribly surprised by that statement. He had suspected that he had lost his chance with Samantha after what Sabrina did, so he was not heartbroken in the slightest. He was only mildly upset, but his face did not show that.

"I'm fine with that." Leonidas replied calmly. Samantha looked surprised to hear that response. Perhaps she had expected him to beg her for another chance or fly into a rage. Perhaps she even expected him to cry.

"I... I didn't expect you to say that." Samantha confessed. Leonidas thought on his feet and had a response ready within seconds.

"Look, Samantha. I want you to be happy even if I'm not the guy you choose to date." Leonidas said plainly. He was not sure if that response was the right one, but it was exactly how he felt. Samantha looked at him and did not say anything for several seconds. Her face turned red and he did not know if that was due to anger, sadness, or another emotion.

Roughly a minute later her face returned to its normal color and she smiled at him.

"Thanks, Leonidas." She said plainly before reaching out and giving him a hug. It was Leonidas' turn for his face to turn a light shade of red before he returned the embrace.

"We can talk about the details later if you'd like, but for now I just want to walk around the mall." Samantha said before releasing him from the embrace. Leonidas pulled his arms away from her and lowered them to his sides.

"Certainly." Leonidas replied, his face still a little red from being suddenly hugged.

"Great!" Samantha exclaimed. She pointed towards a store at the far end of the floor named The Fashionable Lady.

"Let's go in there!" She suggested.

"OK." Leonidas agreed. Together the two blonds walked towards the store to spend some time together... as friends, of course. Leonidas was satisfied with this outcome because while he was not dating her he was still on good terms with his attractive neighbor, which would make life easier and less awkward since they would not be avoiding each other.

[Post Word Count: 900]
[Total Word Count: 11,472/11,000]