A Familiar's Guide to Magic

a silver lining

"You know, sarcasm is the lowest form of wit."

"But the highest form of intelligence." I forced a smile as I stomped my way through the door.

The small office smelled like an herb garden, behind the front counter were shelves filled with glass jars of unknown substances. I peered around skeptically as Willow passed by me strutting straight toward the counter. I jumped back in surprise when a thumb sized creature zipped by my face and a woman popped up from behind the counter.

"You're being completely unreasonable!"

I watched as the creature zipped back towards the petite woman, pulling at her hair, golden dust shooting everywhere.

"Now, see here! I've had just about enough!"

Willow cleared her throat and the woman froze. She let the tiny fairy buzz off out of sight as she smoothed a hand over her wild curls, trying to attempt to look sane.

"I'm a bit embarrassed that anyone saw that. Roland is a bit miffed this morning."

Her gaze fixed on me, eyes widening as she stepped up to the counter.

"Is that–Miss Plum, said there was a human at the academy but to see one with my own eyes..."

Her cheeks were flushed and there was a friendly smile on her face. She appeared rather enthusiastic about the fact that I was there in her office. Honestly, it was a nice change of pace to not have someone glaring at me.

I took a step closer, lifting my hand outward to greet her. "I'm Charlotte, but my friends call me Charlie."

That wasn't a lie—not completely. If I had any friends they would call me Charlie.

The woman stared down at my hand for a moment, before grabbing a cloth from the counter beside her and wiping at my skin with it. My brow lifted. One more wipe over my palm and she deemed my hand safe enough to touch.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Charlie. I'm Agnes, Cauldron Academy's head nurse. I take care of aliments, magical and otherwise."

Agnes gave my hand a quick shake before releasing it. She grabbed another cloth and began cleaning her own. I dropped my hand to my side, trying not to feel offended. Agnes' dark eyes flitted between Willow and I.

"Is there something that I can do for either of you?"

"Master Kenji wanted you to take a look at her, make sure nothing was damaged by the summoning."

Agnes gave me a more thorough once over.

"Of course. You can head into that room. I'll be with you in a minute, just need to handle Roland."

She motioned toward a closed off room to the left. I hesitated for a moment, glancing toward Willow. Who responded with crossing her arms over her chest and sighing as if this was a waste of her precious time.

I rolled my eyes and dragged myself off toward the check-up room.

I opened the door and stepped into the room. The moment I was alone reality set in all over again. A reality that was stranger than fiction. I needed to get the hell out of here and back to earth. There had to be a way to undo whatever was done to summon me here.

"Hey Agnes, I'm feeling better now. I'm going to head back to—"

My eyes widened as I took in the sight of the shirtless boy who had stepped out from behind a screened partition.

"You're not Agnes."

I shook my head, words failing me. It's not like this was the first boy I'd ever seen without his shirt. But none of those boys were—so pretty. Yeah, that was the only way to describe him. Pretty like a flower in a garden.

Silence settled over the room and I knew I was breaking Willow's stupid rule. I should say something or look away. I'd already stared long enough to find myself categorizing him as lean by the slight definition of his muscle. Long enough to notice the small mole to the left of his belly button. Long enough to hear my own heart beat radiating through my chest.

He coughed into his hand. That brought me back to my senses.

I turned around quickly, cheeks burning. "I'm sorry I didn't realize someone else might be in here."

I wanted to scold myself for totally ogling him without restraint, there was no way to play that off as being taken by surprise.

"Agnes told me to come in here—I'll just go wait outside."

There was a soft chuckle.

"It's fine. The room is all yours. I'm finished here, anyways."

Fabric rustled and I imagined he was putting his shirt back on. I bit the inside of my cheek.

"Are you a transfer or something?"

I shifted on the balls of my feet. His voice was deep and clear, it helped to offset his delicate features.

"Or something," I mumbled back.

"Playing it aloof, eh? That's just going to make people around here more curious about you."

Did he not know I was a human or was playing dumb about it? But considering the other reactions to my origins, I was certain if he wouldn't be talking with me as freely as he was if he knew.

"That's me. A woman of mystery."

The door flung open and I jumped back as Agnes entered. She looked as startled as I felt, glancing between the two bodies in the room.

"Oh dear. I forgot all about you, your Hi—"

"That's fine, Agnes. I can show myself out."

"I swear I would forget my head if the darn thing wasn't attached. This is quite embarrassing."

He walked towards the door, his footsteps light and airy like he was gliding rather than walking.

"I'm Tobias, by the way."

He turned toward me, lingering by the door for a moment. I met his stormy grey eyes, stomach full of butterflies.

"Charlie."

He gifted me a warm, friendly smile before turning toward Agnes.

"Thanks for patching me up. You're the best."

She blushed, waving her hand dismissively. He gave a nod toward Willow as she stepped up behind Agnes.

Tobias glanced back over his shoulder. "See you around, Charlie."

"Yeah, see ya." 

Perhaps, this place wasn't so bad. I smiled to myself as Tobias disappeared from view. I turned to catch Willow staring me down with her arms crossed over her chest.

"You're not here to flirt."

My smile dropped into a deep frown.

"I wasn't flirting. It's called being friendly, maybe you should try it."