Sorceress

HOME SWEET HOME (Ruby P.O.V)

- Oh, fuck! Are you all okay?

No one answers: Lucifer is sitting on the lawn with his head low and breathing heavily, Lucyfur is doing the same but she's lying on the ground and my girl is leaning on the backdoor of our house in Kerys, pale and sweaty, breathing heavily too. I'm bent over a rose bush trying to decide if I throw up or not, I feel sick but I made sure to have my stomach empty before the flight just in case. It doesn't matter how many times I do this, I'll never get used to it and besides this time flights have been too long. We've made four stops along our way here and we spent two days in a random city in order to let me gather some strength and to let my family have a couple of good nights' rest and nice meals that could stay inside their stomachs. Lucy needed it more than anyone else, she's feeling better but is still very skinny and she'll need some time to gain a healthy weight again.

I take a deep breath and lift my head, I'm still feeling slightly dizzy but at least I don't see double... now I just feel exhausted. Our garden looks pretty good despite being unattended for 9 months, the protection spell I casted around the house kept everything in good condition and nobody has trespassed on our property. Everything seems right. I get closer to my girl and put my hand on her cheek, she opens her eyes and swallows hard.

- Are you okay? – She still looks pale.

- My head hurts a little and I feel my pylorus dancing in my throat but yes, I think I'm fine. Can we go in?

- Of course, let's go – Iselen steps to the side and I cast the spell that unlocks the doors.

The kitchen remains dark and it's a bit cold in here, everything is tidy and clean. I open all the windows of the house with a whisper in order to let in the fresh air that smells of the sea and I make sure that the cat's bowls have some water and light food. Lucifer walks with confidence through the corridor like he's the real owner of this place, however Lucy is cautious and she looks around with curiosity but never leaves Iselen's side, rubbing her body against her legs. The black cats stops at the living room door, turns his head and meows softly; the tabby cat hesitates for a moment but she follows him finally, I guess he wants to show her his favourite place to take a nap on the windowsill. Both felines seem to have signed a nonaggression pact and they behave scrupulously polite with each other, although some palpable tension remains, but at least they don't want to fight till death anymore. I wonder what happened between these two centuries ago...

- Ruby, are you okay? Babe, you're bleeding... - Iselen runs to me scared while I feel a blood drop running from my nose. I conjure up a handkerchief while I try to calm her down.

- I'm fine, I've made a huge effort to bring us all here and this is the way my body complains about it.

- Do you need to drink? – She lifts her arm and puts her wrist closer to my lips.

- No but maybe I should go and lie down for a minute. In fact, I think I'm going to sleep for hours. Do you want to eat something before? Cats have food and water in the kitchen although I believe they're going to stay curled up on the couch all night long.

- No, I don't want to eat, let's go to bed. Where's our luggage?

- In our bedroom – I answer while climbing the stairs slowly – We'll unpack tomorrow and...

- Ruby! Oh my God, what have you done? – Iselen stares at me in disbelief standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by bags, before diverting her eyes to...

- You asked me for a canopy bed, don't you? – She looks at me again totally in shock and back at the huge bed with simple posts in a honey coloured wood. The rosy linen curtains ripple in the breeze that comes through the open window, sheets are white and blankets are light grey, several rosy and grey cushions are leaning on the headboard. A gloriously display that looks very inviting – Babe, I really need to lie down now.