BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

 Hey everyone!

So, like it says in the title, I got a big announcement. This May 11th will mark the tenth anniversary of the Silverwest Trilogy!!! 

Wow. I can't believe that it's been that long since I started writing about the adventures of Marcus and his fellow warlocks. To celebrate, I have decided to make the eBook version of the first book in the series FREE for purchase on Amazon. So mark your calendars!

From May 11th to May 15th, 2023, the Kindle eBook version of Silverwest Manor, Silverwest Trilogy Book 1, will cost ZERO dollars!

The Silverwest Trilogy has a place near and dear to my heart because not only is it the first book series I've ever completed, it's also probably around where I felt my writing skills really started to flourish. I've come a long way since then, but I know I still got a long way to go before I can even hope to reach the same heights as the greatest writers from my childhood, J. K. Rowling, Eoin Colfer and Cornelia Funke, to name a few.

I want to thank everyone who has given me their support for all these years, and I want to thank you as well for taking the time out of your lives to read my stories. Nothing would make me happier as a writer to know that there are people out there who enjoy the worlds I've spun with the words I weave.

Happy reading, everyone!

The Vampire's Coffee Shop Ch. 20

Chapter 20

The Alchemist

It was a morning like any other. Peggy had come in early and was enjoying breakfast with George and Uncle Theo in the coffee shop’s dining room, which was bacon, eggs and toast with milk. While chewing on some bacon, Peggy stared at the page of a book laid open on her lap. 

The book held tips on how to pass a magic license exam. Having gotten up to two stars on her card, the next step for Peggy on her journey to master the magic arts was to gain a third one. Once she had that, she would officially be a full-grown magic user. But getting her third star wasn’t going to be as simple as getting the first two. It wasn’t enough just to master certain spells. Not only did she need to build her magic power up to a certain level, she had to show judges how good she was at controlling that magic power. And even that’s just half the battle. She also needed to take a test to show how much she knew about the laws and rules for using magic.

As for her Boss, he was in the kitchen doing some last minute baking before the work day started.

All in all, it was business as usual. But then – 

“Gah!”

Peggy heard a man shout and looked up. She spotted blackish smoke leaking out of the kitchen door and her heart leaped to her throat.

“Boss, are you okay?” she cried out. She flew out of her seat, debating whether to check the kitchen or grab George and run.

But then Boss answered back, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

The door flew open and the black smoke that had been leaking out was sucked back in. Boss stepped out with his right hand held up where the smoke gathered and spiraled into a ball. The smoke was then covered and trapped in a solid, round ice crystal.

The vampire tossed the ice crystal into the trash bin with a frustrated sigh and said, “The oven, on the other hand, is not.”

“What happened?” George asked his father.

“It went haywire and turned everything inside into charcoal,” Boss replied. “I’m going to have to call an alchemist to take a look at it.”

“Why not let me take a look?” Uncle Theo asked. “I do know a thing or two about alchemy. I could probably fix it in a jiffy, and it wouldn’t even cost you a noble.”

Boss, however, bluntly refused. “No thanks,” he said. “The last thing I need is the oven spewing out ancient words in a deep, monster voice straight out of the Nightmare Realm.”

That would definitely fit in what you’d think a vampire’s coffee shop would be like, Peggy thought.

“That sounds so cool,” said George. “Let’s do it!”

Boss, however, scowled at his ten-year-old werelion son and said, “Absolutely not! You can do that on your own oven, but I’m not letting anyone do that to mine!”

Despite being a vampire, he absolutely HATED stuff like ghosts and monsters, basically anything you’d find in a horror movie.

As an extra precaution, he forbade anyone from going into the kitchen and went as far as to draw glowing line shapes on the door that would magically stop anyone from sneaking in.

Despite the decommissioned oven, it was business as usual for the vampire’s coffee shop. He unlocked the door as scheduled and manned the bar counter while Uncle Theo and Peggy went around taking orders from customers. Alan Ares, a young goblin man who was also the shop's newest addition, joined them around midday. 

Late into the afternoon, when patrons became scarce, a giant lizard with a jungle-green color scales and a scraggly, red beard walked in. He had on a pair of blue denim overalls over a white t-shirt stained with brown, black and gray spots. His hands were covered in gloves made of brown thick leather and his feet was protected in a pair of big, leather boots. In his right hand, he held the handle of a big, red metal toolbox.

After burping loudly and setting his toolbox on the floor, the lizard called out, “Did someone call for an alchemist?”

He really startled Peggy.

The lizard was not what Peggy thought a typical alchemist would look like. This whole time, she always pictured alchemists as these sort of like scientists, dressed in white lab coats, or fancy suits or dresses. But the lizard looked no different from a classic repairman.

“About time,” Boss said crossly when he emerged from the kitchen. “Right this way.”

The lizard snapped his fingers twice and ordered, “Come, Gassy!”

Four pairs of metal spider legs sprouted out of the toolbox and lifted it up.

The toolbox wagged one butt end and went, “Bark bark!” before following the lizard into the kitchen. 

Curious, Peggy followed the two fantastical men inside and watched as the lizard approached the huge, black metal box at the back, the oven. The front of the oven had a latched panel with vent lines, while on top, there was a big tube that stretched up into the ceiling.

After giving the oven a quick look-over, the lizard muttered, “Lookin’ good so far. Let’s see what the inside’s like. Gassy, inspect!”

“Bark bark!” barked the toolbox. 

The lid on top flipped open and a bunch of metal spider legs with magnifying glasses at the end unfolded out of it. They swept the magnifying glasses over the oven for a brief moment before pulling away and stopped in front of the lizard’s face. Glowing red words flashed across the see-through glass at a rapid pace. But the lizard seemed to have no trouble reading it all.

He grimaced.

“Yikes,” he said. “Looks like the magic crystals took in more power than they could handle and overheated. You’re lucky the thing didn’t explode.”

It could have exploded!? Peggy thought, alarmed.

Boss, however, remained cool as a cucumber and replied, “Luck had nothing to do with it. I was pretty thorough with the enchantments on this place and everything in it. This shop’s probably even safer than the royal palace.”

“Yep, I can see that now,” the lizard said after reading a bit more. “Just what I’d expect from the famous Trickster who cracked through the magic defenses of the Ariela Kingdom’s ruling class. By the way, was it true that when you were at Paladia School, you - ?”

Boss quickly cut the lizard off and said, “Nope, absolutely not. And please don’t ever mention it again.”

He glanced back nervously at Peggy and the others gathered at the door.

What in the world did he do at Paladia School? Peggy wondered. Whatever it was, it was probably bad enough that the vampire was determined to take the secret to his grave.

Feeling withering stares at him, Boss tried desperately to change the subject and said, “Anyway, about the magic crystals, is there any way to salvage them?”

The lizard shook his head and replied, “No. If Gassy saw was true, the crystals in the oven are way past their last legs.”

When he put his hand on the oven and muttered some magic words, a thin layer of orange light shined around the oven. It looked like the oven was covered in the thinnest of fabric. But that same thin glowing fabric broke apart, pulling the heavy kitchen appliance to pieces with it. 

Round and round the pieces flew with the lizard standing in the middle looking like a sun with planets orbiting around it. The lizard kept a close eye on the small bits and pieces of machinery that floated by his face until he spotted a diamond-shaped black stone among the debris and reached out to grab it.

“There we go,” he said, holding the stone to the ceiling light.  He slowly turned the stone over while it was pinched between his thumb and pointer finger, looking at it carefully. “Yep, definitely can’t use this anymore. You’re gonna need a brand new one.”

Boss sighed and muttered, “I was afraid you’d say that. Do you think you can make one right now?”

“Of course!” said the lizard. “Who do you think you’re talking to? If you’re this town’s foremost magic expert, I’m this town’s foremost alchemy expert! Alright, Gassy! Bring out my lab.”

Gassy the walking toolbox went, “Bark bark!” And then it spat out a table full of glass tubes and beakers full of colorful liquids. After cracking his knuckles, the lizard grabbed two glass tubes and mixed liquids together into a beaker. Doing that, he looked closer to what an alchemist should look like in Peggy’s eyes.

When he noticed Peggy was watching, he stopped and with a grin, asked, “First time seeing an alchemist at work?”

Peggy shyly nodded in response.

“Let me guess,” the lizard said. “I didn’t look like a proper alchemist at first.”

“Well . . .” Peggy looked away and shrugged.

“Ha! Don’t worry about it,” said the lizard. “You wouldn’t be the first. I know most alchemists like to wear fancy suits and coats when they’re out in public. But alchemy can be dirty work, ‘specially when you’re working with machines or potions. You’re guaranteed to get stains splattered on your clothes.”

"Is alchemy hard?" Peggy asked.

The lizard stroked his chin while thoughtfully going, "Hmmm. I wouldn't say alchemy is hard, but like regular magic, it depends on the level. Making potions and simple magic items is a piece of cake as long as there's nothing wrong with the recipe and you follow it right. But the more powerful the item you're looking to make, the harder it is to make it. Not only because you'd need special materials, but also because you'd need to put in some really high level magic spells. And those can be hard to get right because of how lengthy they are. Most people wouldn't imagine it, but there's A LOT of math and writing involved with magic. And that's especially true with alchemy and magic item making."

As he talked, he resumed mixing liquids together until the final mixture turned pink in the beaker. While his left held the beaker of pink, he held his right hand out towards the toolbox and said, “Mold.”

“Bark bark!” went Gassy the toolbox. 

A metal pincer claw popped out of Gassy holding a black box. The lizard took the box and poured the pink liquid into a small hole at the box’s top side. An orange light appeared at the left and right sides of the box that few as more pink liquid entered the box. As soon as the orange light became diamond-shaped, the lizard pulled the beaker of pink liquid away, set it down on the table and shook the box as hard as he could.

When he was done, he turned to the toolbox and said, “Alright Gassy, let’s light this thing up.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” said Alan, “but why do you call that thing Gassy?”

The lizard looked at the young goblin and blinked. “Because . . . that’s what I named it.”

The goblin scowled and said, I know THAT. What I wanted to know was WHY you named it Gassy.” 

“Oh, that’s easy,” said the lizard. “This is why. Gassy, start!”

He took out a pair of tongs to hold the box and put it close to the side of Gassy that everyone would later find out to be the toolbox’s rear end.

Gassy barked and then, while making a “toot” noise, spat hot blue flames out that brushed around the black box. Basically, the reason the lizard named his toolbox Gassy was because it could fart fire.

After watching the toolbox go fiery “toot” for a while, Boss glanced at the lizard and said to him, “You better not make my oven like that.”

But the lizard assured the vampire, “Don’t worry. I’m nothing if not professional.” And then he burped. 

That didn’t do much to reassure Boss.

"By the way," the lizard continued while cooking whatever he poured into the small black box, "you planning to join the race this year?"

Race? What race? Peggy wondered as she listened to the men talk.

Boss crossed his arms and thoughtfully went, "Hmmm. Honestly, I haven't really thought about it."

So he said, but Peggy could tell by the look on his face that the vampire actually just did not want to join.

"Why not?" asked the lizard. "You made a career out of outrunning the knights. I'm sure you've got a decent shot at winning."

Scowling in dismay, Boss said, "I didn't make a career out of anything like that. Besides, that was years ago when I was a kid. I doubt I can pull off the stunts I did back then."

"But you're still a Four-Star spell caster, aren't you? asked the Lizard. He pulled the black box out of the flame and then moved to dip it in some cold water.

"There are others who're just as good at magic as I am," Boss said over the sizzling of intense heat against water. 

"It still wouldn't hurt to try," said the lizard. He split open the black box and out popped a pink, diamond-shaped crystal. "What about you two? Wanna join the race?"

Peggy and Alan exchanged looks.

"Sorry," said Peggy, "but what race are you talking about?"

The lizard's eyes widened in astonishment. "You don't know about the race?"

"They're from out of town," Boss explained.

The lizard went, "Oh, that explains it. Well, the race I'm talking about is a contest that this town holds every year. First person to reach the finish line wins. Magic can be used, but only as long as it doesn't hurt anyone. And obviously, direct attacking or fighting is not allowed."

He held his hand out to the toolbox and it spat out what looked like an old-fashioned type-writer. The lizard stuck the crystal onto the top of the type-writer where paper usually goes and then, with a practiced hand, rapidly danced over the keyboard with his fingers. Dozens of small hammers followed his fingers' pace and bopped on the crystal. It was a nonstop music score with a lulling affect on Peggy in an otherwise quiet afternoon in the kitchen.

To keep from falling asleep on the spot, Peggy whispered to Boss, "What's he doing?"

Boss gave Peggy a quick glance and replied, "He's inscribing a magic spell onto the crystal. Magic items need to have magic spells written on them so the item would know what to do when used. Alchemists who make magic items used to do it by hand, which can be a pain in the rear. But with that type-writer, they don't have to go to that kind of trouble anymore."

"I see," said Peggy. "So it's kind of like computer programming."

Alan happened to hear everything and asked, "What's a computer?"

After punching that final key with a strong tap, the lizard declared, "Done!"

He pulled the crystal from the type-writer and then once more looked it over with a piercing eye. And then he said, "Okay, let's get this baby in place."

But before he could install the crystal into the oven, Boss stopped him.

"Wait," said the vampire. "Don't think I didn't notice you put that weird magic spell on the crystal. Uncle Theo put you up to it, didn't he?"

"Uh . . ." the lizard went, but his shifty gaze was all the answer that the vampire needed and he silently glared.

Finally, unable to handle the pressure, the lizard hung his head and said he would do it over again. When he was finally done, he tossed the crystal into the ring of flying machine pieces and then spoke some magic words. The pieces quickly gathered together and assembled themselves until they were once more a whole oven. After the oven returned to its spot in the kitchen, the lizard took a look inside and then fiddled with the switches.

"There," he said, "all done."

Boss tried the oven out for himself and nodded with satisfaction. He thanked the lizard for his good work and after a brief discussion about payment, it was time for the lizard to leave. But before he left, he had a question for Peggy.

"Say, young miss," he said to her, "you asked an awful lot of questions about alchemy. Are you interested in becoming one yourself?"

Peggy, however, shook her head. "No, I was just curious," she replied.

"Oh, well that's a bit disappointing," the lizard said. "But in that case, what do you plan to become in the future?"

"Well . . ." Peggy hesitated to answer. In all honesty, she had no idea what she wanted to be in the future. She never thought about what she would actually use the magic she learned for.

Sensing he might have said something he shouldn't have, the lizard decided to cut their talk short and go home. But even after he left, his question stuck to Peggy like glue.

What do I want to be? She wondered. What do I want to do?

She would mull these questions over and over in an endless cycle, never to truly fade away as days passed.

<== Chapter 19                                                                              Chapter 21 ==>

The Vampire's Coffee Shop Ch. 19

Chapter 19

The Shaman

Boss knelt down at the ledge over the canal, frowning at the water below. He had good reason to frown because the water was a mix of glowing, rainbow colors, which was something that water was not supposed to look like. Peggy, Roy and the Head Magus stood watch behind him. 

“I see, I see,” Boss said. “This really is an emergency.”

With a soft grunt, he straightened up and did a few twists to pop his spine.

“So? How in the world did the canal turn from a river of regular, crystal clear water into a stream of liquid rainbow?” he asked. “I can tell it’s not a magic spell. If it was, you’d have taken care of it already yourself, Head Magus.”

“Do you really need to ask?” asked the lady in the white dress and witch’s hat. “I’m sure you must have figured it out already, being a former detective’s assistant and all.”

“It looked like pollution from an alchemist’s workshop, but I just wanted to be sure,” said the coffee shop owner.

“You’d be half-right,” said the Head Magus. “A delivery wagon carrying supplies for an alchemist hit a bump in the road, got thrown off-balance and completely flipped into the canal. The driver’s okay. Some magicians were close by, saw what happened, and stopped him from falling in. But they were too late to stop the wagon from hitting the water. A bunch of bottles must have broken and spilled everything out, which got mixed together and then leaked out into the water.”

“And that started chain reaction that turned the whole water system into a sloshy rainbow mess,” Boss finished. “This stuff didn’t get into our drinking water, did it? I don’t really like the idea of anyone guzzling rainbow down their throats. This stuff looks absolutely poisonous.”

The Head Magus shook her head.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “As soon as word about the accident reached us, we sealed off all the drinking wells. But just in case, we sent out an alert, warning everyone not to use their sinks and stuff until we checked everything out. Tom’s doing that right now, going door to door.”

“Right,” Boss said, nodding. “I get what’s going on now. But what do you want me to do about it? I may be a Four-Star spell caster, but it's not like I can clean the whole canal with just a snap of my finger."

"We need all the help we can get," said the Head Magus. "At this point, I'd be okay having a total newbie on board."

"That bad, huh?" said Boss. "Alright, I'll help. It'd be bad for all of us too if the canal doesn’t get cleaned up fast. What's the game plan?"

The Head Magus cleared her throat and put her serious business face on. Cue the epic music soundtrack.

"Ahem! Once we've got as much people on board as we can, we'll split to different sections of the canal. On my signal, we will all cast the best cleaning magic spell we got, no skimping on magic power. We'll have alchemists join us to throw whatever they could cook up on short notice into the canal too.”

But despite the town’s top magician’s inspiring bravado, things did not go the way she had hoped. 

As soon as the Head Magus fired a flare into the air that made a loud pop noise, all over town, people of all shapes, sizes and costume fashion senses gathered along the canal and shot lasers out of wands, staffs, bracelets, necklaces, fingers, mouths, and eyes. Some people in lab coats threw glowing crystal balls, gemstones, and weird clumps of machinery into the rainbow water that exploded with brilliant showers of blue sparks. The light spread and replaced the milky rainbow with crystal clear water, but only for a moment. A blink of an eye later, its rainbow hue returned as bright and thick as before.

The collection of magicians went at it for a good five minutes before the Head Magus finally called for everyone to stop. Many collapsed on their knees, gasping for breath and sweating buckets as if they had just finished running a miles-long marathon.

“This is going nowhere,” she said breathlessly. She threw off her hat and wiped sweat off her brow with her forearm. "Actually, I think we might even be making it worse. It could be my imagination, but I thought I saw a bunch of faces in that rainbow water laughing at us."

Peggy came over with a tray of cold drinks she bought from a nearby eatery. She wanted to help out with the clean-up too, but she didn’t know any kind of magic spell for that. Being the only one made her feel a little left-out, so she wanted to do at least something for the others.

“Thanks, Peggy,” Boss said when Peggy handed a glass to him. “You can go on home, if you’d like. I think we’re all done for the day.”

“What about you?” asked Peggy.

“I’ll be sticking around a little longer,” the vampire answered. “Me being a Four-Star spell caster means I have more magic know-how than most, so the Head Magus will probably want me in the meeting to think up a new plan to clean up the canal.”

“Think you’ll come up with something?” asked Peggy.

Boss flashed a wry smile and replied, “Maybe. But don’t worry. If worse comes to worse, I’ll try reach out to my mom to take care of it. We should be fine in the meanwhile.”

“If you say so,” said Peggy.

With nothing left for her to do, Peggy left the others behind and started to make her way home. Roy also stayed behind to keep helping out. As she traveled through the streets of Featherkeep, she could feel that the earlier somber but peaceful air had been replaced by a sense of anxiety. People were worried, and why wouldn’t they be? Something bad had happened to their water which is really important to their lives, and that’s scary. Peggy, herself, felt dread while thinking about what could happen to the town if nothing could be done about the canal.

She turned a corner, sighing, and then went, “Oof!”

“Eek!” shrieked the little girl who bumped into Peggy. She fell and landed on her bottom.

“Oh, I’m sorry! Are you okay?” Peggy asked the little girl. She reached out a helping hand, but the little girl was already picking herself up.

“I’m fine! I’m fine!” she said. “You don’t need to worry.”

“Uh . . . I’m over here,” said Peggy. 

The little girl had been talking to her reflection on a shop window. Her eyes flew wide when she realized she was facing the wrong way and turned around saying, “Sorry about that.” She spoke to a lamppost.

Peggy put a hand to her hip, frowned and stared at the little girl apologizing to the street light. 

The girl was human with short, brown hair and jungle green eyes. Her height was just a little over half Peggy’s, and she wore a shirt as blue as the ocean with long, flowing sleeves. Matching the shirt, the girl had on a long skirt with different layers of blue, starting from dark to regular, to light, and then to practically white at the hem. A pair of light blue sandals poked out. The girl also had a necklace and bracelet made of big, blue oval stone beads with the same white waves as the ones stitched to the cuffs of her shirt sleeves.

“Say,” said Peggy, “just wondering, but do you normally wear glasses?”

The girl gasped and gaped in wonderment and surprise. “How’d you know?”

She was back to talking to her reflection on the window.

“Lucky guess,” said Peggy. “What happened?”

“I accidentally tripped and then my glasses fell off,” the little girl explained. “I heard it go tap-tap-tap and then sploosh!”

“Sploosh?” Peggy had a bad feeling about this. “Were you by the canal when that happened?”

The little girl nodded.

Oh boy, Peggy thought.

“The guard rails stopped me from falling in,” the little girl said. “But I can’t see a thing without my glasses. And I need to get back to the temple fast.”

“Temple? What temple?” asked Peggy.

The little girl had funny look on her face.

“Can’t you tell just by looking at my outfit?” she asked. She spread her arms apart and did a twirl. Both her loose sleeves and her skirt trailed in the wind. “I’m a water shaman, so of course I’m talking about the Water Temple.”

Peggy blinked.

“What’s a water shaman?” she asked.

The little girl’s jaw dropped.

Shocked, she cried out, “You don’t know what a water shaman is?”

“I’m from far away,” Peggy said.

“You must be from really, REALLY far away if you’ve never heard of a water shaman,” said the little girl. “Ahem!”

She straightened up and put on an air of importance. But the little girl’s efforts only made her look both cute and funny because she was still talking to herself on the shop window.

“Listen up!” she commanded. “A shaman’s job is really, really important. We’re in charge of keeping the world in balance. We do dances, play music and a bunch of other stuff to fix the world so bad things don’t happen to people. There are four kinds of shamans, fire shamans, wind shamans, earth shamans, and water shamans like me! And each kind of shaman has its own temple. Since I’m a water shaman, I belong to the Water Temple.”

“And you need to go back to this Water Temple?” Peggy asked.

The little girl nodded.

“The grownups will get mad if I’m out too long,” she said. “So I really must be going now. I’m sorry for bumping into you. Bye!”

She turned and started running.

“Wait!” Peggy cried out. “Watch out for the - !”

The little girl conked her head and cried out, “Ow!”

“- street light. Are you okay?”

Teary-eyed with her hands cupped over her nose, the little girl shook her head.

“Oh, geez,” Peggy groaned. She grimaced at the sight of red seeping out between the little girl’s fingers. “Your nose is bleeding!”

The little water shaman also had a big, deeply pink spot on her forehead.

Unable to leave the girl in that state, Peggy sighed and told the girl to hold still.

“I’ll fix you right up,” she said.

Now how did it go again? She wondered. While recalling what she read in a book, she clapped her hands together and focused. Under her breath, she whispered the magic incantation word for word as she had memorized them until she could feel something warm and grainy in her palms. And then she threw her hands in the air and sparkly red dust flew out.

The little girl closed her eyes as the red dust was draped over her. When the dust disappeared, so did the swelling on her forehead and the blood from her nose.

“Better?” asked Peggy.

The little girl nodded and replied, “Loads. Thank you!”

“You’re welcome,” Peggy said, flashing a smile.

“Anyway, I’m really sorry for the trouble,” said the little girl, “but I must get going now.”

The little girl turned to leave, but Peggy put a restraining hand on her shoulder and said, “Hold it. You can’t see anything right now without your glasses, right? How do you expect to find your way home like that?”

“But-!” The little girl protested, but Peggy cut her off.

“No buts,” said Peggy. “Come on. I’ll take you to the town guards. They’ll help you get home. If I remember right, there should be a station close by.”

Hand in hand, Peggy and the little girl traveled down the streets and headed to a guard station. Along the way, Peggy noticed how empty the town had become despite still being daytime. But she just chalked it up to everyone going home early because of the canal mess and thought no more of it. She never realized that someone watching her and the little girl from a rooftop far away had something to do with the magically empty streets.

On their way to the guard station, they just happened to come across a section of the canal. That was when the little girl suddenly stopped and asked Peggy, “Hey, is something wrong with the water here? My bracelet and necklace are both tingling, and that only happens if something bad happened.”

She held up her wrist for Peggy to see the stone beads of her bracelet glowing and shaking. The beads even made that buzzing sound like a vibrating smartphone.

Peggy wasn’t sure if she should tell the little girl about the accident, but ultimately did when it became clear the girl wasn’t going to let it go.

“That’s terrible!” The little girl cried out in dismay after Peggy’s brief overview about the rainbow canal. “You must be really worried, then.”

“A little,” Peggy admitted. She would be lying if she said she was not. The others said that the drinking water was still safe, but there’s no telling how long it’ll last or if it’ll stay safe while the canal remained all rainbow.

“In that case, I’ll do something about it,” the little girl volunteered.

“You?” Peggy looked at the girl doubtfully.

“Yeah, me,” said the little girl. “I’m a water shaman, after all. It’s my job to take care of messes like this. Just watch! I’ll have that nasty stuff cleared out lickity-split!”

She let go of Peggy’s hand and then turned to face the canal.

“Hey, it’s dangerous,” Peggy said. “Don’t get too close to the canal.”

“I won’t,” the little girl promised. And then she muttered, “Over here should be close enough anyway.”

To be honest, Peggy didn’t believe the girl could do anything about the canal. Water shaman or not, how could a single kid do something a whole bunch of grownups could not? But she figured it wouldn’t hurt to let the girl at least try as long as it’s not dangerous.

Peggy would soon realize she sorely underestimated the child.

CLAP! Went the little girl’s hands. Wait one second . . . two seconds . . . three seconds . . . CLAP! And then repeat one more time.

From the mayor’s office where a very important meeting was taking place, a certain vampire who owned a coffee shop noticed the room suddenly get darker and looked up. He glanced out the window, saw the sky had gone dark as if night had fallen and pulled out his pocket watch to check the time.

It was still half past Two in the afternoon, way too early for the sun to set.

“Who turned off the sun?” the coffee shop Owner wondered.

With darkness shrouding the entire town, the only sources of light came from the little girl’s bead necklace and bracelet, which shined bright blue. Her hair and eyes, as well, changed color to blue and glowed like lanterns.

And then she began to sing. 

She sung words that Peggy never heard before, in a melody that sounded like something out of the Middle Ages. It was serene, peaceful, and with the added light show, absolutely mystical. And as if the magical lights from the girl’s jewelry and hair was not enough to make things magical, voices out of nowhere, from people unseen, joined the little girl in chorus. They ranged from children as young as the girl herself to full grown men and women. And they could be heard from all corners of the town.

Peggy watched in awe as blue light replaced the rainbow colors of the canal water below and spread out to every inch of the man-made river. The shining illumination looked almost like a giant curtain drawn between the two sides of the town.

When the little girl was done singing and the voices faded away, the light disappeared from the canal to reveal pristine, clean water that sparkled against returning daylight. And it stayed that way, unlike when the grownups threw whatever magic spell they could think of into it.

As the little girl’s hair and eyes turned back to their original colors, she beamed at Peggy and spoke proudly, “There! No need to worry anymore. The water here’s as clean as it was at the beginning of Time!”

“I can see that,” Peggy said. Looking at the water now, she had no choice but to take the little girl’s word for it.

Suddenly, something dropped down from the sky and landed perfectly over the little girl’s face. It was a pair of big, round glasses with thick, black frames.

“Oh!” the little girl cried out. She blinked once and then twice before touching the side of the glasses with her fingers. “My glasses. I can see again.”

Peggy gaped at the girl, wondering just where those glasses fell from. But then - 

“Lady Undine! Lady Undine, where are you?”

Everything was tranquil and peaceful with no noise except for the sloshing of canal water. But that tranquility was disturbed by a lady’s voice calling out for someone. Peggy looked around for the source of the voice and found a curtain of blue light still remained a few feet away down the road.

“Lady Undine!”

“Oh!” The little girl cried out. She seemed to recognize the voice. “Hey! I’m over here!”

She faced the curtain of light and waved her hand over her head while shouting. But whoever was behind the curtain of light just continued to call out for this Undine person. Clearly, she could not hear the little girl.

The little girl dropped her hand down and then turned around.

“That’s someone I know from the temple,” she explained to Peggy. “It was nice meeting you, but now it’s really time for me to go home.”

“Got it,” said Peggy. “It was nice meeting you too.”

“Thanks again for all your help,” the little girl said.

“That should be my line,” said Peggy. “Try not to lose your glasses again.”

“I will! Bye!”

After bidding Peggy farewell, the little girl turned around and ran straight into the curtain of light. Once she was swallowed inside, the curtain burst into tiny sparks, like mini-fireworks and disappeared.

Peggy watched as the last signs of the little girl to disappear before she turned around to walk away.

But then she froze and wondered aloud to herself, “Huh? Where did all these people come from?”

Only a few seconds ago, there was no one around. But now there were people out and about as if they had always been there. Many were crowding the stone railing, whispering to one another while pointing at the canal below, both pleased and confused by the canal’s sudden cleanliness.

The Head Magus and the coffee shop Owner soon showed up, and when they spotted Peggy standing by the canal in her lonesome, they rushed over to ask her what happened.

When she was done telling her story, the Head Magus looked at her in disbelief.

“You’re telling me that a little girl pulled off something nearly a hundred grownups could not?” she said.

“Well, she is a water shaman, according to her,” Peggy said.

Boss cut in and said, “Peggy, we had five full grown water shamans with us, and they couldn’t do a thing, and that was with an army's worth of backup. The only shaman I can think of who could do something like this by themselves would be a shaman called the Undine, the most powerful of all water shamans.”

“But the Undine’s back at the Water Temple, so that’s impossible,” said the Head Magus.

“How come?” asked Peggy. “Where is the Water Temple?”

“It’s up north, the Head Magus replied, “several days away, even by flying. And there's no magical gateways connecting this town and the Water Temple, so there’s just no way the Undine could be here.” 

I can think of one way, the coffee shop Owner thought. But I'll just keep that to myself.

He looked up, but whoever was watching the whole thing from the rooftops had long since gone away.

Although a really, really, REALLY crazy story, Peggy was likely telling the truth and a single child really did clean the whole canal’s water with a song. That little girl must definitely be the Undine, thought the coffee shop Owner. And in his experience, whenever crazy stuff like that happens, it's often connected to a single person that the vampire knew really, really well. 

**********

Far, far away from the town of Featherkeep, beyond even the borders of the kingdom, there was a grand temple, a structure so huge that it housed its own city made of blue stone, which made clear its connection to water. Somewhere in that temple-slash-city, there was a lady in a blue dress looking for someone named Undine.

"Lady Undine!" the lady said for the umpteenth time. "Where are you?"

She was close to giving up hope of finding this Undine when suddenly, a voice called out to her from behind. The lady turned around to see a little girl running towards her. This little girl wore the same kind of dress and also had on a pair of big, round glasses.

"Great Waters of Life!" the lady cried out. Great relief washed over her and she quickly ran over to meet the girl. "Lady Undine! Where have you been? What happened to you?"

"You'll never believe it," the little girl replied back. And then she started telling the lady a story which began with meeting a T-Rex dinosaur that popped out of nowhere and screamed, "Merry Rex-Mas!"

<== Chapter 18                                                                          Chapter 20 ==>

The Vampire's Coffee Shop Ch. 18

Chapter 18

Memorial Season

When Peggy woke up and looked at the clock on her bedside table, her grogginess was immediately wiped clean and replaced with panic. She flew out of bed and scrambled to clean up and get ready for the day while mumbling frantically, “I’m late! I’m late! I’m late!”

But upon reaching the coffee shop after running like a maniac, she found the door locked and a “Closed” sign hung behind the window. Breathless and drenched in sweat while staring at the sign, she finally remembered that today was a holiday off.

Flashback a few days ago, Boss had announced that the shop would be closed for a day during the Memorial Season. The Memorial Season is a period of time, about a week or so long, when most people take time to remember and honor their ancestors or loved ones that passed on.

“Now that I think about it, your ancestors are from China, right Peggy?” he had asked her.

She replied back, “Yeah. Why?”

“I have some spare prayer sticks if you feel like holding a small memorial for your ancestors,” Boss explained. “China, if I remember correctly, likes to do things the same way Zhao does.”

Peggy blinked in surprise. “You burn prayer sticks for your memorials, Boss? I thought you were completely Westernized, so I didn’t think you’d do traditional stuff like that.”

“I still do on occasion,” said Boss. “My mom’s side of the family are the sort to do their own thing regardless of time and place, but my dad’s side of the family does like to stick to the old ways when they can. I’m not all that hung up on tradition myself, but I can dig pride in one’s roots as long as it’s not taken to extremes.”

“Basically, you don’t want to deal with nagging from the old folks who ARE hung up on tradition,” Peggy said.

Boss admitted, “It’s like you read my mind.”

Flashback over, Peggy stared at the locked door and the darkness beyond the windows.

“Now what do I do,” she muttered to herself while staring past her reflection on the door window’s glass.

Since this is the Memorial Season and all, it made sense for Peggy to go do memorial stuff like burn those prayer sticks that Boss had lent her. But she had left those behind at her room, and she wouldn’t even know where to burn the sticks without bothering anyone anyway. Smoke from prayer sticks had a sharp smell that was sure to irritate anyone not used to them.

As she puzzled over her next move, a vaguely familiar voice called out to her from behind.

“Peggy? What are you doing out here?”

Peggy turned around to see a young man in a trench coat staring back at her.

Who’s he again? She wondered.

Her confusion must have shown on her face because the young man’s lips quickly curled into a dismayed frown.

“It’s me, Roy!” the young man said. “Remember? We met at Lord Bellbrook’s place.”

“Oh yeah!” Peggy cried out. She finally remembered. “You’re the Inspector’s assistant that time at Uncle Theo’s house! It’s been a while. What are you doing here?”

“I came for some coffee, of course,” said Roy.

“Well, tough luck,” Peggy said. “The shop’s closed for the day.”

“I can see that,” Roy said, peering over Peggy’s shoulder to glance at the “Closed” sign. “But then why are you here?”

“Out for a walk,” Peggy lied. “I just happened to pass by here.”

“Dressed for work?” Roy pointed out.

“Well, it IS the Memorial Season, after all,” said Peggy.

“Would you like to show me around town, then?” Roy asked. “I’d like to get to know the area better since I just moved here.”

A wry smile crept onto Peggy’s face and she asked, “Is this your way of asking me out on a date?”

Blindsided and flustered by the question, Roy became red in the face and reeled back. “Wha-!? N-no! I just - !”

Peggy quickly cut him off and said, “I’m kidding! I’m kidding! I’d be happy to show you around town.”

At a glance, it looked like it was business as usual for the town of Featherkeep and its people. However, having lived here for a while now, Peggy noticed as she and Roy wandered the streets, avenues and boulevards subtle differences from the town’s usual everyday. She could feel a slightly more somber air come from the townsfolk gathered at eateries, headed to some unknown destination, or just wandering about like she was. Dark and stiff clothing seemed to be the fashion of the day.

Some places underwent more drastic changes for the day. While going across a park, Peggy noticed a huge crowd gathered at the statue of a young girl with a big pointed hat who stood tall and proud with a big broomstick in hand. The girl was practically buried in flowers and offerings, and there were even folks on their knees in prayers. It was there that Peggy and Roy ran into the coffee shop Owner, dressed in a black suit beneath a cape draped over his shoulders. A delicate, polished chain held his cape together. In one hand, the vampire held the handle of his umbrella, which he leaned on and treated like a walking stick. The fingertips of his other hand pinched the brim of an old top hat. He was also clean-shaven for once.

When Peggy spotted him retreating from the crowd gathered at the statue, she called out to him, "Hey Boss! Fancy seeing you here. George is not with you?”

Boss looked mildly surprised to see Peggy and Roy, but he quickly hid it and replied back, “He’s out with friends. We just got done with some family business, so I gave him the rest of the day to spend however he liked. As for me, well . . .” He threw a brief glance back at the statue of the girl with the broomstick as he spoke. “ . . . I’m just making some Memorial Season rounds and paying my respects.”

“Already done with that?” asked Peggy.

Boss shook his said and replied, “I still have a few more places I’d like to go.”

“In that case,” said Peggy, “do you mind if we tag along? Roy’s new to the area and I’m showing him around. But I figured you’d know the town better than I do.”

Boss gave Roy a look, and Roy looked back. They each had piercing gazes, as if trying to see right into the deepest reaches of the other’s mind. Roy’s eyes also held the excitement of anticipation.

“Sure,” the vampire answered after a short moment. “I don’t mind the company. But what about you, Roy?”

With a frown, Roy replied, “I know what you’re thinking, and we’re not on a date. It’s exactly as Peggy said: she’s just showing me around. Nothing less and nothing more. So, please let us join you.”

“As you wish, then,” said Boss. He put back on his top hat and then pointed the way forward. “Follow me.”

He led Peggy and Roy through the hustle and bustle of the town’s main streets, occasionally stopping to drop a flower that he pulled out of his hat on a pile building at the base of a statue or monument. Peggy noticed that many, if not all, those monuments had something to do with the Shadow Civil War.

That wasn’t the only thing Peggy noticed.

“Psst! Hey, Roy!” she hissed. “Do you have some kind of beef with Boss?”

They had stopped for a bit while Boss talked to a half-golden retriever dog lady wearing a baby blue apron in front of a flower shop. 

“No,” Roy whispered back. “Why do you ask?”

Peggy replied back, “You’ve been shooting mean looks at his back for a while now.”

Roy blinked in surprise. “I was?” 

“It definitely looked that way to me,” said Peggy. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Roy quickly replied. “Nothing at all. I was just curious, is all.”

“Curious?” Peggy said.

“You know by now he’s got some story behind him, right?” Roy said. “It’s just strange that the same person from those stories, legends really, is standing right in front of me, living life like a normal person. You know?”

“I wouldn’t exactly call his life normal,” Peggy said, remembering Boss’s mom and Uncle Theo.

"In the stories I heard, the Trickster was a happy-go-lucky brat without a care in the world," Roy said. "He's usually seen laughing like an idiot no matter where he was or what trouble he was in. But seeing how he's so pensive, quiet and tired-looking all the time, it's hard to believe that he and the brat from the legends are the same people. I wonder what happened to change him like that."

“Beats me,” said Peggy. There was a lot she didn’t know about the guy, after all. “Why don’t you just ask him?”

“Maybe when I get the chance,” said Roy.

Their next destination after Boss’s chat with the flower shop lady was Paladia School. Even from far up the road, Peggy could see a huge gathering of people at the gates of the prestigious school. 

“That’s a lot of people for the middle of a school’s day off,” she said.

“Correction, Peggy,” said Boss, “Paladia School is still open. George’s school was only off today because that’s when its anniversary fell on.”

“Still a lot of people at the gate for the middle of the day," said Roy. “Is the school doing something special for the season?”

Boss threw Roy a funny look and said, “Well, of course. One of the reasons that we got a memorial season this time of the year is because of what happened at Paladia twenty years ago.”

“What happened twenty years ago?” asked Roy.

Boss’s funny look changed into a very deep frown, but before he could say anything, a lady’s voice echoed out of the school’s main building and spread beyond the protective outer walls. 

Peggy recognized the voice as Daisy’s, a worker of the school.

“Ladies and gentlemen, teachers, students, and assorted staff members, thank you for coming. We will now start Paladia School’s memorial tradition, the March of the Teachers.”

Boss swore under his breath.

“It looks like it’s already starting,” he said. “Now where’s a good place to watch.”

He scoured the area, looking left and right, up and down until he found someplace perfect.

“There!” he exclaimed, eyes skyward. “Let’s go!”

“Let’s go? Where?” asked Peggy. “And how?”

Rather than answer with words, Boss chose to use action. He unclipped his cape and tossed it into the air. The cape stretched itself out ten times its original size and dropped down over the trio’s heads like a dome-shaped tent. Line shapes glowed bright blue across the black fabric as it covered the world around Peggy and company.

When the tent pulled away, it revealed a world different from the one Peggy and the others were in earlier. No longer did any buildings or walls tower over them. Instead, there was just open blue sky and cotton white clouds. They stood on a platform of gray concrete stone, which turned out to be the rooftop of a five-floor building facing the school.

“Come over here!” Boss called out. He beckoned to the others to join him at the edge of the roof.

Roy and Peggy exchanged looks before joining the vampire by the wall and railing. He nodded to the school below where they could get a clear overhead view of the whole front of the school. At the top of the stairs was Daisy holding a piece of paper to her face. Done speaking, her hand holding the microphone was down to her side. 

Down below the stairs, on the courtyard, five figures in suits of metal armor stood in line facing another tall, armored figure that Peggy quickly recognized as Ethan Stonecrest, the chief director of the school’s board. They each had a sword strapped to their hip.

“ATTENTION!” his voice boomed.

The five armored figures stamped their feet and gave the chief director a salute.

“IN FORMATION!”

Four of them paired up and made two columns and rows while the fifth stood alone at the back.

Ethan Stonecrest turned at his heels and faced the gate.

“FORWARD MARCH!”

He led the armored figures marching to the gate before turning around and headed back to the main building. 

As Boss watched their steel shoes made rhythmic noise against solid pavement, out of the blue, he recited a poem:

“Oh woe on this Day, when Darkness gripped Paradise. Lost are many a dazzling Light. Weep, all Good and Righteous, for We live in an Age, when Symbols of Peace must bear Arms.”

Peggy stared at Boss.

“What’s that all of a sudden?” she said.

“It’s a poem,” Boss replied.

“I get that,” said Peggy, “but why the poetry?”

“It’s how the ritual starts,” Boss answered. “We were late to the party and missed out on Stonecrest reciting it, but it wouldn’t be right to watch without hearing the poem.” 

“What’s it about?” Roy asked.

“Mainly, the poem talks about what happened twenty years ago,” Boss said.

“What DID happen twenty years ago?” asked Peggy. “You never got around to telling us.”

“Bandits invaded the school,” said Boss.

“Bandits WHAT!?” Roy cried out. He looked understandably horrified.

Boss regarded the young man coolly and responded, “Keep your voice down, Roy. We may be far from the school, but voices can get carried far by the wind.”

Roy glanced back down. The armored figures had already disappeared inside the main building.

“The Paradise in the poem is the school,” Boss explained. “During the Shadow Civil War, many schools were attacked, especially the schools where rich and powerful families sent their kids. Paladia School was just one of them. Collectively, the villains who boldly stormed into those schools ransacked them, held people hostage, kidnapped students, you name it, are the Darkness the poem mentions. 

“As for the part about lost light, that’s about the many teachers AND children who were hurt in those attacks. The attack on Paladia was arguably one of the worst during the Shadow Civil War. I think you can tell how bad it was just knowing that they’re holding the ritual during the memorial season.”

Roy was speechless. He could not believe such a thing could happen at a school, to children no less!

“Finally, Symbols of Peace in the poem means teachers,” Boss continued. “You heard the announcement, right? They called the ritual the March of the Teachers. All those guys and gals with armor and swords marching around the school are not soldiers. They’re actually honest-to-goodness teachers in honest-to-goodness metal armor. The swords are made of wood, but they’re sturdy enough to break bones.

“Both the March of the Teachers and the last part of the poem is basically a message to all the leaders and rulers here, telling them that there’s something really wrong with this country if teachers of all people have to carry around weapons in schools of all places and walk around the school like prison guards.”

"Was Stonecrest there when the school was attacked?" Peggy asked.

Boss threw her a look and asked, "What makes you ask?"

"Well . . . " Peggy hesitated before continuing. "I heard that he was always wearing that suit of armor every day at school. I kind of had a feeling something must have happened to make him do that."

"Who can really say for sure why Stonecrest wears that armor all the time?" said Boss, resting his arms on the railing as he watched the audience disperse at the gates. "Maybe even the man himself doesn't know why he does it. In any case, that's his business, and his alone."

The vampire straightened up and stretched his arms. 

"Anyway," he said, "there's no point in staying now that the March has gone inside where we can't see. Let's get going."

Just like before, his cape became a dome of darkness around the trio. And when it shrank away, the world around them was changed back to the road where they had been earlier.

"Now where should we go next?" Boss said. "Paladia was pretty much the last place I wanted visit, but if there's any place you want to go, I'm okay showing you the way."

But sadly, this was where their trip around town would come to an end. For as soon as Boss popped the question, the Head Magus appeared, shouting, "Heeey!"

She came running towards them and stopped right in front of them to catch her breath. From all those huffs and puffs, Peggy could tell the sorceress must have come running a long way.

"Man, am I glad I found you," the Head Magus gasped hoarsely. She was still bent over and drenched in sweat while looking up at Boss. "We got an emergency on our hands!"

<== Chapter 17.5                                                                            Chapter 19 ==>

The Vampire’s Coffee Shop Ch. 17.5

Chapter 17.5

The Visitors (Part 2)

In the modest coffee shop that was renowned as the best in the town of Featherkeep, a lone vampire sat at a random table, arms crossed, frowning at a sheet of paper laid out in front of him. The vampire, the Owner of the shop, had been presented that paper by a young goblin man who had visited the shop only days earlier. And that sheet of paper was a job application.

It looked like a normal job application. The young goblin who wrote it up was honest about his experience and he was sincere about wanting to work at the shop. However, there was one HUGE problem with it. And that problem was the goblin’s biography was totally false.

But that alone was not what troubled the Owner so deeply. The REAL problem was the true identity of that young goblin. 

On the job application, the goblin named himself Alan Ares. But the goblin’s true name was Alphonse, and his dad’s the king of this land. Of all things, the future ruler of the whole country wanted to work for the coffee shop and its Owner.

Many people would probably think it was exciting to hang around real royalty. But for the Owner, he could only see it becoming a real big headache.

After sighing again, he muttered to himself, “Now what am I going to do?” 

On one hand, if he let “Alan” work at the shop, it would bring in a lot of unwanted attention to the shop, the Owner, and his family from people the Owner would really like NEVER to meet. On the other hand, if he said no, that would mean crossing the single most powerful family in the country and he’d still end up with a lot of unwanted attention. There’s also the third option of going straight to the King and letting him know what his son’s up to and have him deal with it. But would the guards even let a lowly coffee shop owner step foot in the castle, let alone speak with the king?

No matter what his options, he’d still have to deal with a heap of troublesome stuff.

“Just what in the world did I do to deserve this?” he wondered aloud.

But even as he asked that, he remembered a whole bunch of stuff he did in the past that warranted bad karma.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!

The Owner looked up.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!

Someone was outside knocking on the front door.

“Now who could be here at this hour?” 

The sun had long since set and there should be a sign on the door that told all that the shop was closed for the day. But despite all that, someone was there signaling they wanted to come inside.

Understandably wary, the Owner pulled out a small mirror from his pocket and waved his hand over it. A ripple distorted and erased his reflection, replacing it with an image of outside the shop. Four men stood at the door, three humans and one goblin. The humans all wore matching blue capes and jackets. And strapped to their hips were swords. 

The goblin, however, wore a gold cape. And his jacket was white with gold edges. He had no sword, but in his hands was a walking stick with a gold, round top crown studded with purple jewels.

One look at that fancy getup was enough to tell the Owner who the men were and he swore under his breath. In hindsight, he should have expected them to drop by. 

Knowing he shouldn’t waste any more time, the Owner hastily went over to the door to let the men inside. The visitors entered one by one in the order of blue, gold, blue and blue. One blue cape stayed by the door while the other two stayed at the side of the gold caped man. Rather blatantly, the blue capes always had at least one hand on their swords.

As soon as he closed the door and locked it again, the Owner stepped into the circle his visitors formed and dropped down on one knee before bowing his head to the goblin in the gold cape.

“It is an honor to have you here, Your Majesty,” the vampire said to the goblin.

The goblin stroked his small, pointed beard thoughtfully and went, “Hmm. So you recognize me.”

Like any other goblin, he had green skin and ears shaped like bat wings. But he was also a bit taller than the average man, and stood with a straight back. Both his gray mustache and beard were neatly trimmed. And although he had command of all the wealth and luxury in the land, he was gaunt and strong-looking like a soldier.

“Of course,” the Owner said in response to the goblin’s comment. “Who would not recognize their own king?”

That’s right. The tall, proud-looking and aged goblin was the King of the land of Ariela.

“So you just recognize me as the King, huh?” the regal goblin muttered.

“Is something wrong, Your Majesty?” the coffee shop Owner asked.

“It’s nothing, never mind,” said the King. “Anyway, I see no reason to stick around too long, so let’s get straight to business. Do you know why I am here, Coffee Shop Owner? Or should I call you Trickster?”

The coffee shop Owner didn’t stir at his old nickname. He had expected someone like the King to at least hear of his old exploits.

“Either would be an honor, Your Majesty,” he replied. He kept his eyes trained on the floor’s wood panels. “And to answer your other question, does it have to do with your son, Prince Alphonse?”

“Indeed,” said the King. “You see, he came to see me one night and expressed interest in working for a meager coffee shop. And not only that, it was the coffee shop run by none other than the infamous Trickster who played a major role in the Shadow Civil War.”

The King kept careful watch of the vampire kneeling in front of him. But the former Trickster and currently a coffee shop owner didn’t even flinch at the mention of the Shadow Civil War. Instead, however, he spoke up.

“With all due respect, Your Majesty, my role in the Shadow Civil War was nothing compared to the role the Hero of Light played.”

“Hmm.” The King stroked his beard again.

“My apologies for getting off topic,” said the Owner. 

“It is fine,” said the King. “Anyway, about my son, I decided to allow him to work here. I just came to let you know that.”

The Owner finally looked up, dumbfounded. “You what?”

“Was I not clear enough?” said the King. “I said I will allow my son to work in this shop. I know that you must have been worried about how I would feel about Alphonse being a lowly drink server, which is why I came here to tell you that I think that playing the role will actually be good for my son.”

It sounds more like you came here to force me to let the prince work here rather than lay my worries to rest, the Owner thought. The King had spoken like the Owner already hired the Prince when the vampire actually wanted to do the exact opposite.

“And don’t worry about giving my son any special treatment,” the King continued. “As long as there’s a good reason for it, you may scold him however you wish. It would, however, be best if you keep his identity as royalty hidden. And about his safety, obviously I will have knights in disguise around to keep an eye on him. But I do have confidence in the protections of the Trickster’s own domain.”

He’s leaving me no room to say anything, the Owner thought. 

For some reason, it felt like the King was actually bullying him. But why? Did the King had some kind of grudge with the coffee shop Owner? Could it be that they had actually met somewhere before during his Trickster days?

The coffee shop Owner glanced up at the King, but the monarch just smiled back.

Yeah, there’s just no way, the coffee shop Owner thought.

And then he sighed his deepest sigh of the night and said:

“It would be my honor to have Prince Alphonse here.”

*********

“So that’s what happened,” said the town’s Head Magus.

She had come by for her regular afternoon tea when she noticed more stress than usual in the vampire coffee shop Owner and asked what was wrong. For today, she had chosen to come as a human instead of as a creepy doll. Even the coffee shop Owner who knew the Head Magus longest did not know why she liked to transform into that doll so much.

“It must have been pretty nerve-racking, dealing with the King of all people,” she said.

“It was definitely one of my more stressful meetings,” the coffee shop Owner admitted. “And things are just going to get more troublesome around here now that I have to deal with the Crown Prince every day.”

“Wow, am I glad I’m not in your shoes right now,” said the Head Magus. “You know, there’s a word for what you’re going through right now.”

“What?” asked the coffee shop Owner.

“Karma!”

The Owner frowned at the Head Magus. “You’re enjoying my suffering right now, aren’t you?” 

“A little,” the Head Magus admitted with a smug grin.

The Owner scowled at her. And then an idea came to him.

“Say,” said the vampire, “what’s your schedule for the next month?”

A few more days later . . .

“There you go,” said a young goblin after pouring fresh coffee into the Head Magus’ cup. “Is there anything else I can help you with, Ma’am?”

“That will be all, Alan,” the Head Magus replied with a friendly, but extremely strained smile. “Thanks.”

Completely ignorant, Alan beamed back and replied, “Not at all. Anything for one of this shop’s most valued customers.”

He didn’t even notice that the town’s top magician’s hand was shaking as she brought the cup to her lips.

From across the floor, Peggy called out, “Hey, newbie! Come help me clear this table. We’ve got a party of five waiting outside.”

“Coming!” Alan replied back. And then he gave the Head Magus a small bow. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to step away for a little bit. But I’ll be right back to give you a refill.”

“Take your time,” said the Head Magus. “No, seriously. Take your time.”

Alan flashed the Head Magus another smile and then strolled away.

As soon as he was out of earshot, the Owner asked the Head Magus, “So how’s our new guy doing, Miss Most Valued Customer?”

The lady magician glowered at the vampire and said to him, “I so hate you right now.”

**********

The King sat in his office, deep in thought. In front of him, on his big work desk was a stack of papers he had finished going through for the day.

A knock at the door brought the most powerful goblin of the land back to his senses and he called out, “Enter.”

One of the huge, black wood doors swung open to give way for a tall human man with black hair, and a big, hooked nose. He wore a blue suit with lots of shiny medals adorning the jacket. Hanging from his belt was a sword.

“Done for the day, Your Majesty?” the swordsman asked the King.

“I am,” the King replied. “And I guess it’s the same for Alphonse, since you’re here.”

The swordsman nodded.

“He has already retired to his room,” he said.

“How was he?” the King asked.

“Prince Alphonse was nothing short of excellent,” said the swordsman. “He was an honest, hard-working, and friendly. Everyone he met had nothing but praise for him.”

“Good! Good!” The King clapped his hands together in glee. “As a father, nothing makes me happier than to hear my son doing good work. And?” His eyes grew sharp. “What of the Trickster?” 

The swordsman shook his head and threw his hands in the air.

“Disappointingly normal,” he said. 

“Hmm,” went the King. “That’s too bad. I’d like it if he squirmed some more. But I suppose I’ve done enough for a satisfying revenge. Still, it’s hard to believe that he didn’t remember me, even after I went to the trouble to get the gang back together for that little meet-and-greet.”

“With all due respect, Your Majesty,” said the swordsman, “we only did battle with the Trickster one time around twenty-five years ago. A lot has changed since then.”

The King stroked his beard.

“I suppose,” he said. “I did look a bit wild back then.”

A bit? Thought the swordsman. I don’t think having a Mohawk hairdo dyed bubblegum pink and full monster-like face paint is just “a bit” wild. Probably even the Trickster in his wildest dreams could not imagine a member of royalty looking like that.

It wouldn’t surprise the swordsman to learn that the Trickster thought that the King, a prince at the time, was just some weirdo knight who could get away with any weirdo thing.

<== Chapter 17                                                                             Chapter 18 ==>