In Which I Make Several Mistakes

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With the last faded bit of sunlight, Sophie used a pale pink crystal to create a beam for you to travel through.

"We have to be quick," she said. "This would be easier if you had a nexus, but. . ." She sighed. "Come on."

I didn't even ask. 

On the other side of the beam was a small valley nestled between snow-capped mountains. Here it was closer to the afternoon rather than nightfall, and you could clearly see the scenery around yourself. The surrounding valley was filled to bursting with flowers, and the dark wood cabin in front of you contrasted nicely with their pastel hues. A light was on in the window, and smoke puffed jovially out of the chimney. It was a bit cold, but nothing you couldn't stand.

"Here we are!" Sophie said with pride. "Andromeda Valley. For now, this is where you'll be staying. There's food, books, and elixirs inside—as well as an Imparter like mine and Mr. Forkle's. To use it, all you have to do is say one of our names and we'll appear. Try to only use it in emergencies, though."

"All right . . . thank you."

Sophie smiled. "Thank you, Y/N. I'll see you tomorrow."

Sophie handed you the pink crystal and one like her home crystal, then glittered away. You stood there for a moment, stunned. It was finally sinking in.

This was all happening. You'd left your home and traveled to some fae land with strangers and now you were being left alone in the mountains.

What in the world had you been thinking?

Ok—ok—deep breaths. You slipped the two crystals on like necklaces and calmly opened the cabin door, pushing all thoughts of panic to the back of your mind. You'd deal with them later.

Inside, the cabin was small but cozy. To the right, a welcoming wingback chair stood in front of the crackling fire, with a coffee table beside it and a worn rug beneath. Daylight filtered in through lacy curtains, but the fire's glow still cast everything in a warmer light. To your left there was a small kitchen with a stove, cupboards, and what you assumed was the elves' equivalent of a fridge. There was also a small table and chair. Straight ahead was a door that lead to a bedroom and bathroom combo. The bedroom had an elven-stocked wardrobe and seemed comfortable enough. 

After unpacking as best you could, you went back out to the kitchen. On the table was a silver square—the Imparter. Upon searching the cabin further, you found food and elixirs in the cupboards and a wide array of books sorted neatly in their shelves in the sitting room. 

You selected a thick novel, bound in stone and written in Dwarvish, and settled comfortably in the wingback. The fire was warm, but not uncomfortably so, and though you were tired you figured you could get some reading and language practice in before you needed to go to bed.

Sitting there, however, with your big stone book and small silver Imparter, you couldn't focus at all. Sophie had said this would work for her and Mr. Forkle, but would it work for other people as well? Once the possibility entered your mind it wouldn't leave.

I could just test it out . . . hang up immediately . . . After all, what if I need to get ahold of someone and both Sophie and Forkle are busy? It couldn't hurt to test it. It probably won't work, anyway.

Let's try it.

"Keefe Sencen."

Nothing happened.

You grunted and moved to set the Imparter down, not exactly disappointed, but not happy either. Then—

"Uhhh . . . hello?"

You whipped the Imparter back up and stared at it with wide eyes. Keefe was staring back at you, confused and maybe a bit curious.

"I—uh—um—"

Keefe laughed. "Is that firelight or are you really that red?"

"I—wha?" 

Oh, why had you thought this was a good idea? You hadn't even thought of anything to say, and you had only just met today! What if he thought you were creepy?

When you didn't say anything, Keefe's amusement turned to concern. "Hey, are you ok? I was just teasing, you know—"

"I'm fine!" It came out a bit more rushed than you wanted it to, and you felt your face heating up more. "I—I'm sorry. I just wanted to see if it would work. I didn't mean—how do you turn this thing off?"

"Oh, no, that's ok! I don't mind talking to you, if you really couldn't wait to see me again." He swaggled his eyebrows again and laughed. You couldn't help but giggle. 

"No, I really did just want to see if it would work. You don't have to stay." 

"Oh. Ok." Keefe looked . . . surprisingly disappointed. 

"I mean—if you want—I'm free to chat. . . ."

He brightened up at this, and you wondered just how lonely he was. 

"If you insist," he smirked, running a hand through his hair in a pompous act. "I have some time to spare." You giggled again. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Oh—I was trying to read this Dwarvish book—" I angled the Imparter so he could see and saw him cringe. "—but I wasn't really into it."

"Yeah, definitely," he agreed. "I could think of a thousand other things to do that would be more fun."

"Oh, I don't know. I feel like this is the epitome of excitement."

"Nah, cleaning Foxfire would be so much better."

I laughed, thinking back to mentions of the school in my papers and shaking my head. "You're right; that would be pretty fun. I think sitting alone and reading in a foreign tongue takes the cake, though. At least with cleaning you can have friends help you."

Keefe got a little quiet at that. "Did I . . . say something wrong?"

He mustered up a smile. "No, no. You're fine. It's nothing."

You could tell he didn't want to talk about it, so you let it slide despite your concern.

After that, you fell into easy conversation and talked until the sun started setting behind the mountains. Disregarding his own late hour, Keefe seemed to be just as animated as he had been earlier in the day. It was only when you started yawning that he decided to call it a night. 

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, ok? Goodnight, Y/N."

"Goodnight, Keefe. Thanks for being so nice to me."

He smiled. "What else would I be?"

Then he was gone.


Whew! I didn't get the chance to write last week like I had hoped, so this was all done in one sitting. I'll give it to you guys now since it's mostly a filler chapter anyway and edit/revise later. Thanks for putting up with me lol. See you next time! 

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