Chapter 5 | Chapter 7

I was determined to put a possible meeting with the old vampire out of my head for the time being, and I spent the morning keeping myself busy. I most definitely had more cheerful things to think on, and they quickly pushed aside the foreboding. By early afternoon, I had painted a masterpiece, taken care of my garden, and had breakfast. I packed up the painting and took a quick shower – partially because it was mostly cold, and partially because I had places to be.

More specifically – I was meeting Mariko at the city shops to look for a ring for Alex. This was not something I wanted to do on my own… and a trusted friend like Mariko seemed like perfect company for the outing.

I arrived before Mariko, and – wouldn’t it figure – right in the middle of a summer cloudburst. Dodging more lightning strikes than I cared to see, I hurried into the store and began looking around.

I was still looking around when Mariko arrived, and I was just as confused by the selection as I had been when I arrived. Everything was sparkly and pretty – and one pretty much looked the same as the other. How was I ever going to decide?!

“Dušan, are you SURE you want to do this? You practically just met the girl. You hardly know what she’s like, even.” said Mariko, and clearly she was not happy with me. Apparently talking theoretically about Alex being the one and actually getting the ring were two very different things.

“Of course I am!” I assured her, and continued gushing about Alex’s good looks, amazing kisses, and our easy conversations.

Mariko didn’t look convinced, but she seemed to resign herself to the fact that I wasn’t about to change my mind. We turned back to the ring display, and I pointed out a tiny sparkly ring that appeared to be in my budget.

“Um, Dušan – that’s not going to work.” Mariko quickly pointed out some that she was sure were more appropriate, and I cringed at the prices. Mariko again expressed her doubts about the match, but I cut her off and waved one of the sales-girls over.

A good chunk of my meager fortune later, I was still trying to convince Mariko that what I was doing was the right thing.

“Thanks for your help, Mari.” I told her, “I truly couldn’t have done this without you. I promise, I’m not rushing into something that will be bad for me. I know this is the person I’m meant to be with! It may be fast, but it’s a sure thing. Now I just have to convince Alex!”

Mariko didn’t reply, but she gave me a huge hug and we both thanked the sales-girl for her help. I headed home, again dodging the lightning, with a huge smile on my face. Everything was falling into place. If only my dear mother could see me now. I’m sure she’d adore Alex.

On the way home, I called Alex and set up a date for that weekend – and then the hard part began. Waiting. I painted, and gardened – although most of the time was spent at the easel. I had to recoup the price of the ring, after all – but I wasn’t going to begrudge Alex the expense. She was certainly worth it.

Friday arrived, and I nervously waited out front of the Von Haunt Chalet – the most romantic place I could think of when I was planning this whole thing out. By the time Alex arrived, I was a sweaty wreck. Or at least I felt like one. I wiped my hands off on my jeans and greeted Alex by kissing her hands, which seemed to immediately charm her. Breathlessly, she started in about how she was sorry she was late – work had kept her overtime.

I interrupted her, assuring her it was more than fine, and took her hand, pulling her towards the front doors. I showed her around the Chalet, then we wandered out back to the beautiful gardens. The whole time, she kept up a running conversation about her work and the celebrities that had stopped in earlier today – and the massive tips she had gotten from them. I swear, I was so nervous I barely heard a word she said. By one of the fountains, I pulled her close for an embrace, which succeeded perfectly in what I wanted – it shut her up.

“Alex, love, you know how much you mean to me, right? I swear, I can’t imagine life without you.”

“Of course, Dušan!” Alex gushed.

Before she could say more, I handed her a rose, then took a deep breath. I started to say more, but my tongue seemed stuck to the roof of my mouth. Embarrassed, I tried to hide my nervousness with another kiss. I don’t know whether it worked or not, but it helped calm my nerves some – and I quickly took the rush of adrenaline and dropped to one knee.

“I know I haven’t known you long, Alex, but you’re everything to me.”

I fumbled the ring out of my pocket, almost catching it on the small tear in my suit, and held it out to her. “Will you marry me?”

“Oh, Dušan! Look at that RING!” Her eyes lit up as she grabbed it out of my hand. “Yes!”

… And before I knew it, she had leapt into my arms. I only just managed to catch her in time, and I set her back down carefully. We celebrated with a kiss and a sunset stroll around the rest of the gardens before she excused herself because she had to work early.

When I arrived home, the first thing I did was phone Mariko with the news. She congratulated me, but somehow sounded sad. After our earlier conversation, I didn’t want to press for why, so I quickly made the excuse that I needed to let other people know, and said goodbye.

After Mariko’s lukewarm response, I elected to just text Sonia with the news, and I got an elated reply, which made me feel instantly better.

I ate my dinner of some cold granola and yogurt, with my head still in the clouds. I couldn’t believe I had come so far so fast in the last few weeks. I was on my way to becoming an accomplished artist, and now I had a fiance… and two amazing friends. What more could I ask for?

… Other than, perhaps.. a roof over my head?

(A/N: Welcome to Simnano, story two for me. I hope you like this story so far, it only gets better. Next post for this story will be July 5th! This is by far my favorite story-driven challenge I have going now, and the amount of inspiration I’ve gotten for it lately shows. There was no way I could have waited until August to post these chapters!)

Chapter 5 | Chapter 7

Chapter 1.6 | Chapter 1.8

When Caizey woke, it was to the rays of sunlight playing in colors on the wall from the stained glass windows. Stretching happily, she crawled out of bed and groaned at the temperature. Apparently there was a summer heatwave going on. She found her hot weather dress, and headed downstairs. A couple of paintings later, she noticed that her stomach was growling, so she took a break from painting to get some fruit salad for breakfast.

Pulling her fruit salad out of the fridge, Caizey again smiled to herself about her new dining room furniture. And a bar – what had possessed her to buy a BAR! She didn’t even know how to make drinks! Chuckling, she shrugged. That just gave her a new project – learning how. If she ever had the time, that is….

She washed up her dishes and put them away, then headed back to her art room. The inspiration was clear today, and she carefully began work on what she was sure would be a masterpiece.

It turned out that Caizey was right. It was the perfect painting to keep, too, to commemorate mastering the painting skill. She made a mental note to actually furnish the living room… parlor? .. to match the painting, because it looked sorta silly in there by itself.

Pulling out her furniture catalog, she lost a few hours picking things out and planning what to spend. The poor catalog was now dog-eared all to heck, but such was life when you had a whole house to furnish!

Crawling back into bed that night, Caizey decided she had spent enough time alone this week. Tomorrow, she was definitely going to take the day off of painting and head out on the town. It was supposed to be even hotter, then, too, and spending time in her still-un-air-conditioned house just didn’t sound like fun.

She spent the next morning weeding her baby money trees, whistling to herself.

Then, she practiced her pick up lines in the mirror in the bathroom, happy to finally have a shower and bathtub. This house was really coming together, now! However, it was getting hotter, and it was long past time to get some socialization in, so Caizey headed out to the local bar.

…. And look who was here! Lucian! And who was that at the bar? Another handsome man. She surreptitiously greeted him, hoping that Lucian wouldn’t notice when she jotted down the man’s number for another day.

Wouldn’t you know it.. it was “Knight Night” at the bar – and there were a million people here. Caizey waved at a few familiar faces, and sat down to chat for a little while.

Finally, she decided enough was enough, and snuck behind the bar to get a hug from Lucian. He looked as overwhelmed by the crowd as she was, and was definitely amenable to calling in a replacement and heading out the back door with Caizey.

They drove a while, heading into Windenburg to the closest Nightclub – the Narwhal Arms. Caizey had a blast joking with Lucian on the way, and she was more than willing to hop straight onto the dance floor with him when they got there.

Luckily, this weren’t quite as crowded here, and there was plenty of space to “get her groove on”. Lucian laughed at her antics, and they shared a grin over the music. Even the DJ got a little carried away and put the music on auto-play, coming down from the booth to dance with everyone else.

Later, on a break from dancing, Caizey and Lucian found a quiet corner to get to know each other a little better.

Spying a random closet, they took advantage of it – although Caizey was pretty sure several other people in the club noticed. Lucian was ready to head home since he’d had a long night – but Caizey was not, so they parted ways. She was sure she could find a ride home… and started glancing around the club again.

Bingo! Caizey wondered why all the bartenders seemed to be hot in the area, and headed over to make his acquaintance. She made a stop by the flowerbed outside the front door, and picked a rose to surprise him with.

It turns out his name was Blaine, and he was so Self-Absorbed he hadn’t even noticed Lucian and her antics from a bit ago. Which worked out in her favor – and she quickly charmed him completely. He called in a replacement, and Caizey agreed to meet him outside.

On her way there, she noticed the pompous guy from the other bar than she’d given the potion to.. and she chuckled to herself. It didn’t look like he remembered her, though, luckily.. and she pretty much ignored him.

A heated kiss later – Caizey noticed out of the corner of her eye that Paolo had spotted her and Blaine. Oops! Guess she wasn’t going to worry about calling him again! She made her excuses to Blaine and hopped on her broom to go visit the Magic Realm and escape this crazy club.

She related the entire hilarious story to Morgyn – who appreciated a good laugh, then Caizey charmed her out of the last couple of Mischief spells she needed for her spellbook. After a little practice session, Caizey decided that she was so close to having a full spellbook – there was certainly no reason to stop now.

She tracked down Simeon, and after a bit of light conversation, she managed to get her last two spells out of him. She now knew all the spells, and the potions, too! She hadn’t completely topped out her experience bar to Virtuoso, yet, though, and so she found some more folk to practice her new skills on.

She reveled in the way the magic sparkled in her hands and she threw spell after spell. Her opponent blocked a few spells, but he couldn’t block them all.

Soon, a well-placed zap spell knocked him off her feet and netted her a few simoleons. What luck! – Or was it skill? Caizey smirked to herself and headed off to the basement to mix up some more needs potions.

L. Faba grinned at her as she walked by, and they shared a smile. Her mentor was incredibly proud of all that she had accomplished, and all the duels she won. Caizey was sure she had heard about Caizey mastering her spellbook, too, since the three spellmasters were very close friends.

Finally, exhausted, Caizey headed home. Her comfortable canopy bed was calling her, and after a lovely bath, she fell into a sound sleep, dreaming about dancing spells and grown money trees.

(A/N: This story is now on “break” – but don’t worry, Caizey will be back in August. If you’re interested in stories like hers, feel free to check out my “Foreshadowed Sunset” vampire story – I have 8 new chapters of it coming in July! .. and 15 chapters from my Mermaid Legacy story, “Tails of Sulani”, also coming over the next month. Caizey will see you again in August, and I’m so excited to be caught up on posting her story finally so I’ll be able to dive back into playing her. She needs an heir, after all… and that house needs wallpaper!!)

Chapter 1.6 | Chapter 1.8

Chapter 1.5 | Chapter 1.7

Days later, Caizey was back in the Magical Realm, working on some more needs potions. She had workers all over her house back home – installing a greenhouse in her backyard. The new windows she had ordered were due to come in in a few days, too. With all the noise the workers were making, she hadn’t been able to think straight, so she decided it was time to work on her magic some more. Perhaps they would be done by the time she got home!

Simeon, the Practical magic teacher had turned out to be a great friend. Whenever she got the chance, Caizey spent some time with him, either chatting or training. She felt she was pretty much at the end of where she could go with her Mischief magic, so concentrating on the other two schools of magic kept her occupied.

She was also steadily improving her dueling skills. Not only was she winning, she was having fun with it. Sure, it was frustrating to lose occasionally – but winning usually netted her some more ingredients and sometimes even money.

Really, things couldn’t get much more perfect if she wanted them to. If someone had told her where her life could go a few weeks ago, she never would have believed them…. and there would have never been a question in her mind as to whether to take the crazy offer her “benefactor” had offered.

After that last duel, Caizey’s phone went off – apparently the workers were done with her greenhouse. She could wait to see it, however, because there were more duels to be had. Lots of them.

She had won every single duel. Even the one against Darrel Charm – the braggart who said he couldn’t be beaten because of his Ancient Bloodline. With a bag full of new ingredients and a wide smile on her face, Caizey hopped on her broom and headed home.

The new greenhouse was amazing. It just needed a coat of paint – but she could do that on her own. It’s not like she didn’t know her way around a paintbrush! Caizey had also discovered a loophole. You were only supposed to get one Money Tree – but nobody made the seeds immune to magic. Her Copypasto spell had worked admirably – and she now had enough plants to seed the whole greenhouse with Money Trees. If one was good, more was better, right? All she had to do was wait for them to grow and her money worries were over forever.

That reminded her – she had to go check out her new bed, too. She put the new bed linens on it and gazed at it happily for a while, almost dumbfounded at how far she’d come.

Her comfortable bed could wait for a while longer, however.. because she still had to pay for those new windows she ordered. The smells of the magical herbs she had successfully grown filled the room with inspiration, and she painted late into the night.

Finally, her stomach growled loud enough to distract her, and she headed into her new dining room. She gazed proudly over the full table, and contemplated ordering a chandelier for above it. It was still a little too dark in the room for her taste. Then she laughed at herself wryly. She had bought a huge table and full kitchen for just her. What a silly thing she was – but she had the advantage, now, of being able to be as silly as she wanted with her life and her funds.

Days later – and who knows how many paintings, the workers finally finished installing the windows. She could finally say she had a real home. Granted, she still needed to put up wallpaper and finish furnishing the other rooms – but she’d made a real start to things.

The greenhouse was even fully painted now, with little money trees sprouting happily inside it. Life was perfect.

(A/N: I apologize for the lack of story in this post – there’s only so many times you can describe a duel and have it be interesting. Then there were the house pictures, which I really wanted to include so everyone can see this masterpiece, but they required very little in the way of explanation. I have one more post of this story to publish tomorrow, then this story will be going on the shelf until August while I work on Simnano in July. But the best part is, that last post will put me back to being caught up and ready to play Caizey as soon as July is over!)

Chapter 1.5 | Chapter 1.7

Chapter 1.4 | Chapter 1.6

There was something to be said about coming home to your very own house. With the sun shining, (although, strangely, it was also snowing…) and a plan in her head, things were most definitely looking up. She used her lamp and explored the house – a full two stories with a basement. The basement even already had a cauldron in it, and the bathroom upstairs had a sink and toilet, so she wouldn’t have to order those. Her first order of business was to order a few lights, and the basics necessary to at least make salads at home. A shower was definitely high on her list, as well – and a bed. But those could wait, being that she still had a healthy stock of needs potions. She happily painted away on her easel set up on the back porch while awaiting the lights, fridge, and counter, and luckily it didn’t take long to arrive.

She had the delivery people set up the fridge and counter in what would eventually be a kitchen and dining room, and she counted herself lucky that at least all the electrical outlets and such were already set up. A quick salad eaten while standing up prepared her for a marathon painting session, earning as much money as possible in as short a time as she could. She really wanted to get some windows in this house – staring at drywall was already getting old.

Before starting on her painting spree, she made a couple calls, and ordered some catalogs so she could get an idea of where she wanted to go with furnishings and window types. Sure, she had blueprints – but that didn’t mean she had to follow them – right?

The lighting wasn’t the best for painting, but the knowledge that she was in her OWN home, earning money for things that would be exclusively hers made all the difference. Inspiration flowed, and she gladly ran with it, making painting after painting.

Those needs potions were amazing – and they kept her going for hours. Caizey felt weird not eating, though, so she ended up making some more salads to eat on her breaks. After her painting marathon, she decided she should head out and start getting to know her neighborhood, too. I mean – it was Love Day!

On her way out, she decided to plant the stuff she had harvested from the magic realm, starting her very own garden. After asking a neighbor she found walking on the road directions to the pub that was supposed to be in Glimmerbrook, she headed in that direction, humming to herself.

Since she had some potions standing by that she wasn’t about to use herself – namely a nausea potion – she decided to try one out on the pompous jerk who gave her a weird look when she entered the bar.

Caizey had to hold back laughter when the potion started working and he ran for the bathroom. Served him right. Meanwhile, she romanced the cutest guy at the bar – one Paolo Rocca – and didn’t care what anyone else thought. Which was a great change for her from high school when she’d cared way too much what people thought of her. It was so freeing to not care!

A first kiss later, Paolo argued that he had to go home, so Caizey headed back into the bar and looked for new prospects.

Not seeing anyone of interest, she went up to the bar and ordered a drink. That was when she noticed the bartender. OOhhh! She chatted him up for a while, then convinced him to ditch work and go to the nearest museum for a date.

Lucian turned out to be a great date, and Caizey had a blast getting to know him.

He was very curious about her story about her benefactor, and her transition to Spellcaster – which gave them plenty to talk about. Apparently he had been born and raised in Sulani, and was always missing home. He talked about being able to commune with the Island Elementals, and his experiences swimming in the ocean. Caizey made a mental note to take a vacation out to the Islands when she could, because it sounded amazing.

For the second time that day – she found herself romancing someone… and Lucian was as into her as she was into him. Mind you – she wasn’t thinking anything permanent – god forbid! – but she was definitely thinking he was at least Mr. Right Now!

They ended the date with a passionate kiss, and Caizey went in and looked around the museum.

Caizey looked at some paintings – which ticked off some requirements for her aspiration, but she quickly found herself distracted by another romantic prospect. And since Lucian had left – she was going to need a ride home, anyway.

Kabir was from the city, apparently, and was just visiting the museum for the day. He was gorgeous, though, so Caizey took some time to get to know him a little better.

Another “first kiss” later – and she’d convinced him to give her a ride home. Love Day had been a blast. she was definitely going to have to do this speed-dating thing again soon!

After arriving home, she waved goodbye to Kabir, and settled in for another long night of painting. It wasn’t like she had a bed yet – and setting up a tent in her own backyard seemed a little silly. She definitely had more simoleons to earn – her home needed furniture, after all. And windows. Couldn’t forget those…. and before she knew it, she was lost in the catalogs, admiring stained glass windows. It was going to be a long night..

Chapter 1.4 | Chapter 1.6

Chapter 1.3 | Chapter 1.5

Caizey started her “day” with a rematch – she couldn’t resist. The duel went well, spells flying back and forth. A good hit gotten in at the end won it for Caizey.

However, perhaps she should have resisted the fight. Magic coursed through her body, leaving no spot untouched and tingly. She ended up flat on her face on the floor, and Spellcasters ran from all over to check on her. Apparently, it was something called “overcharge.” If you used your magic too much too fast, you risked this happening, and it could even result in death. So, since she was on a bit of enforced break, she took the time to get to know the other two trainers that lived at the magic center. One was named Simeon Silversweater, and he taught practical magic. The other was Morgyn Ember, who taught untamed magic. L. Faba was the Mischief magic teacher… and all three could teach potion recipes if your friendship was solid and they deemed you ready. After spending a couple hours, getting some new spells and potion recipes, and letting her magic drain back down to a healthy level, Caizey found another duel.

Both Morgyn and Simeon watched, for she and Tricia were well – matched. Ultimately, Caizey pulled ahead and went to find her next match.

Word definitely travelled fast in the magic realm. Caizey had her choice of young spellcasters willing to take her on. And with every duel, her style and spellcasting improved.

In fact, she won most of her duels this day. Then, feeling her magic getting too high again, she went to go experiment with a cauldron.

However, apparently that wasn’t without it’s pit-falls, too. A bad ingredient combination backfired on her and left her cursed, to the other students great amusement. She posed for pictures, and dealt with the ribbing good-naturedly as much as she could.

But one girl went too far. Furious, Caizey challenged her to a duel. The girl laughed and laughed at her…

… But she wasn’t laughing when the duel was over. Nobody bothered her after that. Partially because, once again, she overcharged and ended up on her rear. This time, however, she was ready for it.

She had purchased a familiar, because she had learned they would protect her from death in the event of another overcharge, which seemed sorta necessary. She also managed to get rid of the curse. Now she just needed a long shower….

… Which she took care of posthaste. She had named her Raven Steel – after the color of his feathers, and he was there whenever she needed him.

After another rest, Caizey was right back at dueling for prizes. Mostly they were just potion ingredients, but she needed those, too. So that worked just fine for Caizey.

She tried to celebrate too loudly every time she won, but at least a little celebration had to be done.

Her potion mixing continued to improve, as well… and she only very rarely messed one up. She credited her familiar for keeping her safe from curses, even though that wasn’t supposed to be one of his jobs.

Her friendship with her mentor, L Faba had improved to the point that they were now fast friends. Another Spellcaster Rank had come and gone, and still she got better. Things just kept looking up. However, she felt it was more than time to take care of affairs at home. She collected her things and headed back to her “box” of a house. She had a little more money than she’d had the last time she was there, and she’d found a lantern she could use to explore her new home. L. Faba wished her well, and gave her another spell and potion recipe to take with her. With a jaunty wave, and Steel at her back, she headed home. What a neat word. HOME. A smile spread across her face as she walked to the portal, through it, and out into the brilliant mid-morning sun in Glimmerbrook.

Chapter 1.3 | Chapter 1.5

Chapter 1.2 | Chapter 1.4

Caizey woke up disoriented and confused. It took her a while to remember that she was now a Spellcaster, in a tent at some weird garden house in a magical world. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. So much had happened in her life in such a short period of time that it was a little bit overwhelming. She sat there, lost in thought for a few moments, then took a deep breath and steeled herself for another new day.

Climbing out of the tent, she turned around and contemplated it for a while. Too bad it hadn’t come with instructions of how to pack it back up. Putting it up had been pretty self explanatory, but making it fit in that tiny bag it had come with? She wasn’t looking forward to it.

Stalling for time, Caizey looked around the area, and found a log that was ribbiting. Carefully, she pulled out the frog and set it aside – who knows what she was going to need for the “potions” that L. Faba had mentioned. And if nothing else – perhaps she could sell the frog to another Spellcaster who needed it.

Looking around some more, she found some wild plants, but they weren’t fully grown yet, so they weren’t ready to harvest. Caizey made a mental note to come back and look at them when they were grown, remembering that she had to grow some “Wild Mandrake” at home – whatever those were. There wasn’t a whole lot else around, so there wasn’t anything else to distract her, and she turned, resigned, back to her tent.

After a good half-hour wrestling with it, she managed to at least get it and the tent poles all packed back into that little bag – but it hadn’t been pretty. Packing back up her backpack, she headed back to the main building, her stomach growling. Some more mac and cheese was calling her name.

Mac and cheese made a strange breakfast, but at least it filled her tummy. Nobody joined her meal this time, but that was okay with Caizey, because she wasn’t feeling all that social this morning.

After cleaning up her dishes in the small kitchen, Caizey returned to the cauldron and did some experimenting. She didn’t come up with anything, but it was fun, anyway. She quickly lost track of time, and spent most the day playing with her new magic skills.

A nearby magic duel caught her attention, and she watched avidly, looking forward to the day when she could do that herself. The note had said she needed to be able to win duels. She wondered idly if there was anything to be gained from winning them. With that thought, she headed back to “her” cauldron, and experimented some more.

At dinner time, she walked through the kitchen – only to find that someone had left some books out on the table. Looking around, she found she was alone, and her Klepto fingers were itching, so she snatched the books and hid them in her backpack. Never knew when she was going to want to do some research on Spellcasters., and surely she would eventually have lights at home to read by, right?

Exhausted, Caizey went back to the greenhouse and set up her tent again. In the dim light from the portal, she fell asleep soundly, never noticing the people who came and went, looking at her tent in confusion. Apparently camping out in the magic realm was a novelty.

The next day, Caizey decided that randomly experimenting on cauldron was a waste of time, and she tracked down L. Faba, and requested some training. L. Faba was more than happy to help out, and taught her her first spell. Learning the proper motions that went with it took time, however. Luckily L. Faba was a patient teacher.

L. Faba also helped teach her how to do a potion, and how to experiment properly – which meant that Caizey could try to learn some new potions on her own. Today, though, at least she had someone helping, and she managed to successfully brew some Needs potions that would definitely come in handy later.

Caizey also spent some time trying to get to know some other Spellcasters, and even found one willing to be her first duel partner. She wound up her only spell and threw it…. only to have her opponent dodge it deftly.

Her opponent’s responding spell caught Caizey right in the chest, nearly knocking the breath from her. Gasping, Caizey tried her one spell again – and watched as it fizzled in front of her.

The next spell from her opponent knocked her flat on her back. Luckily it was just a friendly duel, and the girl quickly helped Caizey up and helped her dust off, making sure she was okay. Caizey wasn’t about to let this first failure go to her head, though, and vowed to keep practicing.

The days passed, one blurring into the other as she practiced and learned. Her spell motions slowly became more fluid, and her potions more effective.

Then there came the day that she finally figured out how to catch her opponent off-guard. Even L. Faba was impressed by the force with which she threw her spell, and Caizey almost felt sorry for her opponent.

Almost. It was her first win, though, and Caizey couldn’t help but celebrate. L. Faba smiled with pride, and the glow of success warmed her whole body. She could get used to this!

Caizey had been making use of the Needs potions she kept brewing, which allowed her to sleep less and practice more. She also spent some time making friends. Or, at least, trying to.

She kept getting better at duels, and started betting potion ingredients on them, allowing her to get more ingredients every time she won. Granted, she still lost sometimes, but it was becoming less often. She was becoming a real Spellcaster, and her rank even improved, allowing her to learn more spells and potions. Life was good. She was still poor, and she hadn’t gone home.. but that was okay for now. She had other priorities.

Chapter 1.2 | Chapter 1.4

Chapter 4 | Chapter 6

I was in such a good mood when I woke up on the planned “date day”, that even the moody clouds above couldn’t dampen my spirits. I completed my chores at home as quickly as possible, gathered up my paintings from yesterday to drop off at the gallery, and hurried into Windenburg.

The paintings, luckily, sold handsomely, and they gushed over my improvement. I appreciated the compliments.. but I had places to be, so I excused myself as soon as I could politely do so.

Once again, I picked up Alex at the cafe … and no matter how she pleaded, I wouldn’t let her know where we were going. “It’s a surprise!” I insisted – several times – before she finally gave up. I made her cover her eyes when we got to the bowling alley until we got inside…. because there’s no hiding the sounds of a busy bowling alley!

Her face broke into a grin, and she mentioned she hadn’t been bowling since she was a child. I assured her that I wasn’t very good, either… so we were in good company. We rented a lane, and set about having a good time.

Alex was right, though. – She WAS terrible at bowling. But it was funny to both of us, so it didn’t exactly ruin the evening. We giggled over her last gutter ball, Cheered when she actually hit pins, and generally had a great time.

I made a surprise strike near the end of the game, so I pulled out the win… but before that, it had by no means been assured. All in all, it was a great evening.

We sat around and talked for a while after the game, and I made sure to set up yet another date for her next day off of work. She seemed as excited as I was about our next meeting, and we sealed the evening with a torrid kiss.

I spent the next day painting, gardening, and fishing, catching up on the things I should have done the days before. It was turning out to be a fabulous day.

After finishing another painting, I headed down to the pond to catch something nice for dinner. Amazingly, I caught two, and figured I could have fish in the morning, too. But it seems that was not to be.

As I stepped into my camp, I was surprised by my friend Mariko who had decided to try her own hand at painting while waiting for me to come back from wherever I was. I was overjoyed to have company, and wondered at the coincidence of the two fish I’d caught.

We chatted while I cleaned the fish (and amazingly, she didn’t even seem squeamish about it!), and then we chatted some more. We talked about her job at the library, we talked about my paintings, we even talked a little about the changes that had happened to the town since my family left it, even though very little of it had been good.

I even went so far as to confess my feelings for the lovely Alex, and Mariko seems to be 100% in support. I sheepishly told her that I had been thinking about ring shopping, and she encouraged me, and even offered to come along for moral support.

By this time, however, both of our tummies were growling, so we set about making fish for dinner.

As it happens, though, Mariko isn’t very good at setting fires… unless it’s setting herself on fire.

Luckily, she was alright beyond some small burns that I carefully put some ointment on…. and I proceeded to take over fire duties for the night.

The fish was fabulous, crisp on the outside, flaky on the inside, and we both devoured our shares quickly.

Since it was a special night, I broke out some marshmallows… and we made S’Mores for dessert. She gave me a big hug on the way out the door… and we agreed to meet the day before Alex and I’s next date – to go pick out rings. Maybe it was a bit too soon, but I knew how I felt… and I hoped Alex did, too.

After Mariko left, I was cleaning up the campfire when one of the locals stopped by. It clearly was NOT to be a friendly visit, however, and she left me with a cryptic warning about leaving the old Vampire in the mansion, Vladislaus Straud, waiting.

As the sun rose on another day…. after my sleepless night as I watched the old mansion’s lights flickering on and off all night…. I shivered, dreading the confrontation that sounded like it was going to have to happen to get the old man and his.. friends? .. to leave me alone. I liked my life, I liked my home, and I wasn’t giving up either because of some night loving freaks. Still… I couldn’t help but wish I had real walls to keep me safe. And, with any luck, keep my beloved Alex safe, too. Thinking of her put a smile back on my face – at least for a moment. I couldn’t allow myself to dwell on her for too long, however, I had money to make if I was going to be able to care for her, too… and a house to save up for.

Chapter 4 | Chapter 6

Chapter 2.3 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.5

Generation Two: Brown

Appearance: Brown hair, unkempt clothing style
Traits: Loves Outdoors, Loner, Child of the Island
Aspiration: Beach Life
Occupation: Conservationist
House Goal: 20,000 worth

A Family Grows

Since Kali was born, I’ve been so busy I’ve barely had time to socialize, so when Mom and Dad came over for a visit and brought an island feast, I was overjoyed. I’m so glad my parents are around to see their grandkids growing.

We spent an enjoyable evening together, and I think they really liked getting to meet Kali. For a change, she was well-behaved and barely cried all night.

The next day, however, it was back to the grind of being a parent. The laundry line broke, so I was outside fixing it when a storm blew in. It quickly went from just rain into a real Monsoon, and I hurried back indoor.

Luckily, Aleki didn’t have to go meet any clients while it was storming, and was able to do all his work from home. We’ve really both been working hard to make money for another expansion to the house. With Kali growing up soon, we’ll need the extra room.

I’ve been slacking on my aspiration – which is currently to do a lot of beach-combing and grilling, so after the storm passed, I spent some time digging in the sand. Didn’t find much in the dark, though, so I’ll have to do some more in the coming days while I’m out surveying the land for work. Needing to grill stuff is another reason we’re upgrading the house – we’ll finally be getting a real deck to relax on by the ocean!

Kali had her birthday, and grew up to be a real silly girl. She seems to be getting into everything at once, and I wonder how my parents made it through the toddler stages. I’ll be glad when I’m not chasing her around the house anymore. … Or do you always end up chasing your kids, I wonder?

Parenting is a never-ending task, it seems.. and keeping up with the household chores just makes each day exhausting. I count myself lucky that we finally are getting a bigger house, but taking care of it is seeming like a monumental task.

Kali is progressing quickly in her skills, though. She loves playing with blocks, and the dollhouse we got her seems to be one of her favorite toys. I read her to sleep each night, and Aleki comes in to give her a goodnight kiss, too.

Speaking of Aleki, we take what time we can together, and he’s really been an amazing partner. He seems to always be there when I need him, and he tries to help around the house as much as he can.

I’ve been feeling sick to my stomach lately, though, which means more cleaning.. but it could also mean something else. I steel myself for what the reaction might be… and I go to tell Aleki.

“Guess what?”

Aleki was concerned that it seems like we JUST had Kali, and he knows we’ll have to deal with two toddlers at once, but he was excited at the same time. The prospect of a new baby keeps me with a smile on my face – despite the fact that I seem to be far more sick this pregnancy than I was the last time.

With the big expansion to the house, We also ordered a fish pond built for Aleki. He’s really been working hard, getting commissions on almost a daily basis, sometimes more than one a day, and I decided that he deserved a treat just for him. When the pond was finally done, he was overjoyed to stock it full of Koi fish. He spent hours in the pet store picking out just the right one – while I tried wrangling Kali away from the hamsters and small pets.

Speaking of his work, he’s really been doing well. His commissions are often more than a couple thousand dollars, which means neither of us are really worrying about being able to pay the bills and take care of our growing family. That really takes a load off of our shoulders, and is MUCH appreciated.

Harvestfest arrived with very little fanfare, and Aleki let me sleep in. I’ve been so tired, I really needed the break. When I did wake, it was midafternoon, and I found Kali and Aleki quietly playing in her room, trying very hard not to wake me. It was so sweet.

Aleki says his “Zen” moment every day is when he goes out to feed his new fish – and I can definitely see that he is glad for the opportunity to get out of the house.

The expansion was finished today, and both of us are overjoyed.

We now have a full dining room, and a living room to gather in with friends and family.

The kitchen, also, got a couple upgrades, and I have some upper cabinets to store things in, now.

I adore the new deck area, and I plan to have a house party over the weekend to invite the family to see our new house and .. well, just get together. It’s been a while, and I want to spend some time with them.

The house expansion was finished none too soon, because late that night I went into labor. With Kali asleep in the next room, we decided to do a home birth, and Aleki tried very hard (and unsuccessfully) not to panic.

Before long, though, our son Jayce was born… and both of us were thrilled to put him to bed for the night and get some more sleep ourselves.

Kali seems to like the house expansion as much as we do, and spends a lot of time wandering around the new room, curiously touching everything. Luckily, none of the new knick-knacks are breakable, and she’s been surprisingly gentle with them.

To top off the week, Aleki got a record commission of almost 4 thousand dollars! It was an amazing thing, and I’m so glad his talent is finally being really rewarded. With commissions like that, he’ll be able to spend less time working, and more time with the kids, which is never a bad thing.

(A/N: This family is too cute. They’re very close to each other, and seem to really enjoy spending time together. Both parents are doing well in their careers, and the house is WAY past the monetary goal for the generation. I just need a couple more promotions for Kimber, and to finish her aspiration, and then it’ll be all about raising the kids. Oh, one other note – I did give little Kali a makeover and change her hair color with thoughts to the next generation’s theme – red – so if you’re wondering where the red hair came from, that’s where. I will let Jacye grow up into whatever clothes and colors EA gives him, but it just made sense to start Kali’s theme early so that it won’t be a huge abrupt change in hair color when she grows up.) Lastly, this story was not only nominated for a golden plumbbob, but we won Best Legacy!

Chapter 2.3 | Rules for this challenge | Chapter 2.5

Chapter Four | Island Spirits Welcome page | Chapter Six

Nork’s day started pretty much like they always did. By the time he woke up, Utel was already busy in the garden, even though the baby had kept them up at all hours of the night. The baby seemed very strong, and her cries were potent. It boded well for her continued survival. It was too bad it wasn’t a boy, but Nork was sure they could try again.

Nork went out to join Utel in the garden, and was feeling magnanimous enough to help her out. After the herbs she gave him for his fish, Nork had changed his mind about gardening. Perhaps it wasn’t a waste of time, after all.

The morning didn’t stay normal, however, because of the huge monster plant that Utel had somehow grown. She had continued to care for it, and it had grown and grown. This morning, it had produced a tasty-smelling fruit, and no warnings from Nork would keep Utel away from it.

Before he could save her, the plant devoured Utel with one gulp. Nork yelled and ran towards them, intent on killing it and freeing Utel, but before he could attack, the plant spat her back out. She was filthy and uncomfortable, but she was alive. Nork made up his mind to keep an eye out on that plant, and to keep Utel safer from now on.

Later in the day, after Utel had cleaned up in the waterfall and returned to the hut to care for the baby, Nork visited the village hot springs. To his delight, Utas was there. Immediately, he began flirting with her, but she was initially unhappy with his advances. Nork felt very confused, but he persisted.

Eventually, she came around again, and she seemed suitably impressed by his stories of his long journey to get to the village.

She insisted on talking about inane village gossip, however, and Nork was “forced” to find a way to silence her.

The night had a satisfying conclusion, after all, and Nork headed home with a huge smile on his face.

The next morning, the skies opened up, and the rains came down with a vengeance. So much so that neither Nork or Utel needed to make their daily trips to the waterfall. Utel simply showered in the rain near the garden. Nork certainly didn’t mind the view!

As the storm worsened, however, Utel retreated to the hut to care for the frightened baby, leaving Nork to his woodworking. He wasn’t about to seem like he was afraid of the lightning and run to the hut like everyone else.

With no one watching, however, the lightning really was pretty terrifying. In the interest of keeping the woman and baby safe, he decided the hut was probably a better idea.

Late that night, after the storms subsided, Nork lit the campfire and cooked some dinner. Only to have a spare spark hop out of the fire and nearly set him ablaze. Despite all the rain, the log chair caught fire quickly, and Nork was left to simply watch it, and his dinner, burn to ash. Dejectedly, he returned inside and “borrowed” some of Utel’s veggies. When she wasn’t watching, of course.

The time flew past, and before Nork knew it, the youngster had grown into a toddler, and was getting into everything. Nork was glad he had been right that the baby was strong. Speaking of babies, he had recently found out that his liaison with Utas had also borne fruit, she now had a baby by her side, as well. Nork felt absolutely swelled with pride, and hoped this baby would be as strong as his first one was.

Nork was getting pretty good at his woodworking, and everyone in the village was starting to take notice. He was getting orders for raised garden beds like the ones he’d built for Utel, and he’d come up with other things to build, too. He still went out fishing with the guys from time to time, but for the moment, he had so many requests for things that he felt chained to the bench. He had even been able to figure out a tub that held water, so they wouldn’t have to carry the toddler to the waterfall to bathe her. She still seemed perpetually dirty, though, because she was constantly “helping” her mother with digging in the garden.

Nork wouldn’t admit it to anyone else, but he was getting quite attached the the little one. When no one was looking, he even hugged the child affectionately.

They were almost like a little family, and Utel seemed to thrive as a mother. She cooked daily vegetable feasts in the barbecue pit, which Nork was more than happy to partake in, as well.

The little one really seemed to enjoy playing in the water, and Nork was glad they didn’t have to carry it far from the ocean for her to play in in her little pool. Now other mothers had taken notice, and poor Nork had more work to do than ever.

He was determined to give Utel a baby boy, however, and now that there was “room” in the hut, he made sure to “work” on that, too.

Little Saazul didn’t seem to mind, and found ways to get filthy while Utel and Nork were “busy”.. giving Utel more work to do when they were finished.

Soon, Utel’s belly began growing, and Nork watched her almost possessively, hoping that this youngster would be a strong baby boy to carry on his legacy. Luckily, Utel had been staying away from that monster plant, and allowed Nork to care for it. Nork had found he could keep it pacified with cuts of fish from his fishing forays… so he had one more mouth to feed.

Things were definitely looking up for Nork, after all. He didn’t like to think back on his reluctance to move away from his old home, but he was glad he had taken the mystic’s advice.

Chapter Four | Island Spirits Welcome page | Chapter Six

Chapter 1.1 | Chapter 1.3

Caizey held her train ticket in sweaty palms, and watched the train pull up to the station. She couldn’t believe that this was what she was going to do… and her stomach was tied in empty knots. Once she got on that train, there was no turning back. She had already determined that there was no way she could afford a ticket back to Oasis Springs once she got to Glimmerbrook. Turns out trains were expensive. She had already placed a call to the Gallery where she had been working, and quit her job.. and her last hundred bucks was still in her pocket. This just HAD to work out.

The train whistle blew, and, with a heavy sigh, Caizey walked to the train, and pulled herself aboard. Turns out the ticket really was valid.. and she was on her way. She absent-mindedly found a seat on the train, and looked out the window. She wondered what the rest of the day would be like, and whether she would ever see Oasis Springs again. Tears appeared at the edge of her eyes, and she fought them back. Hopefully, this was a good thing, right? She was going to have her very own home. Things just had to be looking up… because there certainly couldn’t be any way for them to still be going down.

Before she knew it, the train had arrived in Glimmerbrook, and she was deposited, mostly alone, on the station platform with her battered luggage. Based on the hand-drawn map on the back of the letter, she should be able to walk to her new home… and, at a loss for what else she could do.. she picked up her bags and started walking.

An exhausting hour later, she walked up to a huge house. If you could call it that. No windows, no wall paint.. But the guy was right, it did have doors. And a roof. Hardly able to believe her eyes, she dropped her bags, and walked up to the front stairs. The mailbox flag caught her attention, and she pulled down the door to the mailbox to find another aged envelope with her name on it. Inside, she found a key. And nothing else. Grasping the key, she walked up to the door, and tried it out. It worked! The door squeaked open, and the smell of dust and cobwebs assailed her senses.

Stifling a sneeze, she walked in, and simply stared. In the darkness inside, she could JUST make out a pile of things in the front room. A bundled-up tent, a box that said it contained an Easel, a set of paints, brushes, and some canvasses, and a tube like you would store posters in. Curious, she drug the  tube out to the front porch where there was more light. Inside, apparently, were the house’s blueprints. Well, at least it was supposed to have windows. Apparently they’d never gotten quite that far.

Sighing in frustration, Caizey drug her bags inside, placed them by her new tent, and pulled out the letter to re-read for the thousandth time. The bit about the portal and the person to contact drew her attention, and, for lack of anything else to do – she didn’t have a flashlight, and the house was too dark to explore without one – she dumped out her backpack on the floor. After re-packing it with the tent and painting supplies, She locked up and pocketed the key.

The path the letter talked about was easy enough to find, and it led on towards the sound of rushing water. Following it, eventually she stepped out on to a huge cliff at the top of a waterfall. The portal the letter mentioned was right there – and – with her heart in her throat, Caizey stepped up to it. Reaching her hand out to it tentatively, she could feel rushing air and a spinning sensation appeared in her head. Resolutely, she took a deep breath and stepped into it.

She nearly ended up on her face with dizziness in a twilight world, and she was immediately sure that those portals were going to take some getting used to. Looking around herself, she righted her clothes, and walked towards the immense building in front of her. Someone was coming out the door as she reached it, and making quick inquiries, she was pointed in the direction of the basement steps to find this L Faba person.

L Faba turned out to be a light-skinned, lilac-haired woman with a welcoming smile. Caizey introduced herself, and L Faba said that she had been expecting her. She went into a long explanation about what was expected of a “Spellcaster”, and Caizey tried her best to listen.

After a few minutes, she broke into L Faba’s monologue.

“I’m confused.” Caizey started. “I’m not a Spellcaster – how am I to do all these things expected of me without being one?!”

“Oh – of course.” L Faba replied, “I forgot the most important part.”

With that, and a quick wave of her wand, L Faba flung some purple bits of light into Caizey’s face.

“Go outside, and find me seven motes. You’ll know them when you see them. Bring them back to me.”

Feeling even more queasy, Caizey climbed the stairs, went outside, and immediately noticed the “motes” that she hadn’t been able to see before. They were little balls of light, and they were scattered around the lawn. Quickly, she went about picking up seven of them, and before long, she headed back down the stairs with the globes of light.

L Faba seemed delighted, took them from her, and asked her to step back.

Caizey stepped back, unsure of what was going on, and watched L Faba begin to wave her wand again. This time, a blue light emanated from it, and Caizey felt herself pulled off the ground into the air.

A tingling sensation travelled the length of her body, and settled in her fingertips as her feet again touched the floor.

“There.” L Faba said, “Now you’re a Spellcaster. You have much to learn, though, and I suggest you get to it. Don’t forget all I told you, and, above all, follow your heart. When you’re ready, come back to me, and I can teach you spells and potion recipes.” And with just that, she abruptly turned and headed upstairs, leaving Caizey standing alone near the huge cauldron, more than a little bemused. Shaking herself to get rid of the lingering tinglies, she followed L Faba up the stairs, and immediately began exploring her surroundings. After finding all the rooms in the main building, she went outside, and found some more portals.

Going through one of them, Caizey found herself in a marketplace of sorts with a beautiful fountain in the middle. It seemed mostly deserted, though, and she wondered where everyone was.

Out of curiosity, she approached the stores, and talked to the ghosts behind the counters. Of course, everything was far too expensive, but it seemed there were wands, brooms to ride, familiars, spell and potion supplies, and even magical tomes to buy. Everything a Spellcaster might need – and then some.

Caizey stepped back from the stores, and thought for a moment. What next? Clearly, she was going to need money. And the best way to do that was painting. She set down her backpack, and pulled out the easel. Quickly, she found out that it wasn’t very hard to set up, and before long, she was hawking her wares like any street artist.

Before long, she had gotten her first commission, and she set to work.

People practically appeared out of nowhere, and watched her curiously as she did her work. It was terribly distracting, but at least she was able to make a little bit of money as the evening progressed. At least – she thought it was evening. It was very hard to tell in the perpetual twilight around here. After a while, she realized she was going to have to head back to the main building and find a bathroom. She quickly packed up and headed back through the portal.

Thankfully, a bathroom was easy enough to find, and Caizey was quick to make use of it.

With everything that had happened, her stomach was growling quite loudly, so she made use of one of the cauldrons placed around the building, and made a huge pot of mac and cheese. Several other Spellcasters came and joined her meal, and before long, she felt so much better.

She explored the bookshelves, and found a history of Spellcasters. Out of curiosity, she sat down and began reading. She didn’t get too far into it, however, before she realized just how tired she was… and she re-shelved the book, and headed outside to find a place to set up her tent.

After trying out another portal, which sent her to a lovely garden house with no one around, she decided this was probably the best place. Exhausted, Caizey set up the tent, struggling a bit with the rods and material for a while before the whole thing came together. Unsure how to feel about the whole day, she climbed inside, rolled out the sleeping bag, and crawled inside. Before long, she was blessedly sound asleep, in a dreamless twilight world of lights and spells.

Chapter 1.1 | Chapter 1.3