With the help of Serena, I sent a letter to my sister, letting her know of my whereabouts so she won’t need to worry for me. The nymphs were very accommodating of me, which makes it easier for me to adjust to my life here.
I never knew I needed this type of break if it weren't for the rogues attacking me that night and if it weren't for Javi rescuing me.
From time to time, I still think about school, but as soon as I think about it, I quickly dismiss the thought.
Speaking of class, I wonder if Leo got my package for his cat? I remember handing it would before Chace’s birthday. I sure hope Ivah likes it.
Speaking of cats, it seems like Javi is pretty attached to me. In fact, she won’t leave my side wherever I go.
“Shouldn’t you be with your master rather than me?” I just left the cave where the nymphs are trying to help me recover my magic, but just like any other day, they still can’t figure out the reason for my magic to be blocked. My sister even tried to unlock it using an artifact of the tamers that he previously used to release Kellar’s magic. Unfortunately, even that did not help with my dilemma.
I can’t even tell what is happening with myself right now, but I can tell that the magic is still with me. I just lost the ability to let it out.
“I think Javi is just worried about you.” Kellar greets me, following far behind Javi. He smiles and cocks his head to the side. “It’s not safe for someone without powers to lurk in the magical forest.”
“And yet, as the tamer, you’re doing the same.” I point out.
Kellar shrugs, to my disappointment. “At least I know how to defend myself without Javi.” He gives me a sidelong glance and mockingly smirks at me. “Unfortunately, I don’t think that I can say the same for you.”
“Shut up and go take your ritual bath already!” I snap and start pushing him into the cave where the other nymphs are waiting.
Kellar just laughs before heading inside the cave. It seems like the time that I have spent with him in the magic forest has brought us closer to one another, just like we used to when we were kids. If there’s something positive about my stay here, I guess it would be that.
Even though I am satisfied with my life right now, I know that I should not dwell here for any longer. There’s also the matter of finding Kellar’s other half, which has been on hold for some time now. I didn’t mean to, but frankly, I don’t even know where to start, nor do I have any clues as to where to look.
I started asking Arcie, but it seems like Uncle Luke can’t say anything more than tell me to trust the black cat. I mean, I already tried that, but it seems like Javi doesn’t respond. As far as I know, Javi is the only black cat here.
“STELLA!” Serena suddenly pops out of nowhere, startling me and Javi with her sudden appearance.
“Goodness, Serena.” I have my hand placed over my heart as I am trying to calm myself. “Can’t you appear normally for once?”
“Normal?” Serena tilts her head to the side. “How does one appear normally?”
“I–uh…” Damn it, I forgot that Serena is a nymph. Of course, he would not know anything about acting normal since her definition of normal might be different from mine. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it, but I would really appreciate it if you didn’t appear behind me next time.” I try to fix my hair as best as I can before talking to her. “So, what’s up, Serena? Do you need something?”
It might be a trick of the light, but I thought I saw her expression fall. “As a matter of fact, princess, I do. Unfortunately, it would be best if we went somewhere private.”
“Alright.” I don’t know what Serena wants to talk to me about, but judging by the look on her face, I am guessing that it is not a trivial matter. “Javi, you stay here and look after Kellar, okay?” Javi lets out a whine of protest but quietly stays in place while Serena and I head to another place to talk.
“Kiddo, listen.” Serena’s look alarms me because it is the look that someone usually holds when they are about to bring bad news to someone. “You know how the young tamer boy has his soul split and now he is sick because of it?” She pauses and waits for me to nod before she continues. “Well, it turns out that whoever did the job sucks. Kellar’s condition is not getting better.”
I have a feeling that this might be the case as soon as she mentions his name, but I still can’t fight the feeling of distress that goes along with it. “But Kellar doesn’t appear to be sick anymore. In fact, he doesn’t even cough or fall.”
“That’s because you’re here, and he wants to hide it from you.” Serena explains. “Though the water might take away most of his pain, it cannot fully replace the other half that he’s missing. Kellar only has about twenty days to live, Stella.”
I fall defeatedly to the ground. Twenty days!? It’s all hard to process. I stare at the floor dumbfounded.
“Stand up, Stella.” With Serena not being her usual cheery self, it only made it harder for me to calm myself. “There’s still hope for him. You need to find his other half.”
“But how!?” I can’t help but scream. I am not yelling at Serena, but more on the current circumstances. “Serena, I have no clue where his other half is, much less figure out where to find it!”
I was getting so desperate with the situation that I started to cry. My fist clutches the grass beneath me in frustration.
I always prided myself on being someone who could overcome anything with her brains and talent. But when it comes to my friends, especially Kellar, it was never the case. I hate that I can’t do anything for him. I hate that Kellar even has to pretend that he isn’t in pain when he is in a tremendous amount of it.
I’m awful. All this time I have been really selfish and only thinking about myself. Kellar’s the one who’s sick and dying, and yet he's still taking care of me.
I was living under the false pretense that everything is fine, but it is not.
Something cold presses on my forehead. I look up only to see Javi sitting before me, dropping something on the ground before sitting.
“Javi, what—” I pause when I look down at the item that Javi dropped. “Javi, why do you have this?”
Behind Javi, Serena walks in to join us. “What’s that?”
“It’s a ribbon.” I pick up the red ribbon from the ground that’s supposed to be a collar for a cat. “I sent this to the human realm. It was for a friend who has this small…black cat…” I whisper, remembering what the message that Arcie told me from Uncle Luke.
At first, I thought that he was referring to Javi, but he wasn’t specific about which black cat. Or maybe…
“Javi, can you head to the human realm? Are you perhaps Ivah?” I am not a tamer, so I can’t really know, but what Javi did after I asked my question was enough for me to confirm it. She starts to stretch her body the way that Ivah usually did before exposing her belly to me.
I dropped the ribbon collar that I was holding when I realized that Javi had already brought me to the person I was looking for this whole time. I can’t believe it!
I curse before I scramble to get to my feet.
“Where are you going?” Serena asks.
“Home!” I pause just so I can look at her and wave her goodbye. “I need to get to the human realm!”