Page 6 of Magic Blooms

five

As I watched the cookies rise in Lorraine’s oven, I couldn’t help but think of what I would be doing back home, had I not landed here.

The engagement party would have already ended, and Dante and I would probably be making our first public outing as a betrothed couple.

My outfit would, no doubt, be fabulous, and some younger children may even ask us to sign autographs.

Instead, I was here learning how to prepare chemically enhanced pre-packaged food—and honestly, kind of loving it. I only hoped that my people back home were having an equally relaxing day rather than the panic, fear, and possibly war I feared would occur, given my sudden disappearance.

Lorraine gave me just enough time to pull the cookies out of the oven and set them to cool before she yanked me out of the house and out into public. Shame I hadn’t even gotten a chance to try one of the sweet-smelling snacks before we left.

Now it was true that while I needed to return home quite desperately, I was also beginning to enjoy my adventure, just like the heroes in the fairytales I’d grown up with.

I could easily spend days here in this cute little place exploring all the people and customs. The main street of Elyria, Georgia, was utterly adorable.

The buildings were built with a mixture of red, brown, and gray bricks.

Aged trees had been planted in even increments along the paved walkway, adding a nice touch of nature.

The types of stores we passed varied greatly.

I studied the signs carefully. Something called a coffee shop that smelled wonderful, a bookstore, a bakery, and an antiques dealer that appealed to me even more than the rest. If I lived in this place long-term, I would no doubt spend my days cooking and eating, cooking and eating. Then shopping and shopping.

No wonder there were so many larger people around.

Still, despite all the sights to be seen, I needed to keep myself on task. It was hard enough for me to get Lorraine to stay focused on the errands she insisted we must finish before even thinking about doing anything else with our day—anything else like finding my path home.

She pulled me into Jasmine’s Candles, Spices, and More.

Candles and spices didn’t really seem to go together in my mind, but what did I know?

As soon as I stepped in, the warring scents overwhelmed me.

There was just so much. I couldn’t say if any individual smell was pleasant because the combined effect ruined them all.

I coughed and settled myself near the door to wait.

The store lay empty except for one woman standing behind the counter.

Her hair was long and dark, decorated with feathers and other adornments.

She seemed to have put far more effort into her appearance than the other townsfolk we’d passed on the way here.

She wore oversized black, round- rimmed glasses that overwhelmed her otherwise delicate features.

More is more seemed to be the motto with this one, a sentiment I could definitely get behind.

She wore a low-cut shirt that revealed her ample… assets. I’d thought the oversized clothes I was provided last night were a sign of how modest these people were. I stood corrected.

Jasmine smiled warmly at Lorraine, and I could tell there was a deep history between the two. The woman held out her hands to Lorraine, who happily accepted them as she leaned forward, the two of them exchanging a kiss on each cheek.

“You have perfect timing. Your Butcher’s Broom and Borage Seed Oil just came in yesterday.”

“That’s wonderful, but that’s not why I’m here. I’d like you to meet my guest, Polly.”

They both turned toward me.

“Pollyiela,” I corrected. Though I was fairly certain Lorraine remembered the correct pronunciation. She just chose not to use it.

“Welcome to Elyria,” said Jasmine. Her smile for me was noticeably less warm than the one she’d served to Lorraine.

The affinity I felt for her earlier vanished in an instant.

“Where are you visiting from?” she asked as she swept her way back behind the counter.

“Well that’s what we came to talk to you about.” Lorraine leaned toward the other woman and whispered, “Polly has found herself here quite by accident.”

Jasmine’s thinly plucked brows shot up. We had her attention now. “Like you got off on the wrong bus stop? Or…”

“The other option,” clarified Lorraine after clearing her throat.

“That’s fascinating,” she said, turning her bright eyes to me. Looked like I’d gone up in her estimation.

“More like terrifying.” I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling the sudden need to protect myself.

Jasmine emerged from behind the counter again and started to circle me curiously. “You’re so pretty. And you speak English perfectly. That has to be magic, right? Can you understand animals too, or is it just humans?”

Lorraine answered for me. “She has an amazing connection to animals. Oinkers got loose in the inn, and he came right to her like she was the pied piper of piglets.”

Both women stared at me, one with her jaw hanging open and the other with a proud grin plastered upon her face. I was under their scrutiny, and favorable or not, I didn’t like it.

“I don’t understand them in the same way I understand you,” I said quietly as I glanced toward the floorboards. “But I can connect with them through their hearts. It’s not so hard if you stop to listen to what isn’t being said aloud.”

Jasmine nodded vigorously the whole time I spoke as if she couldn’t wait for her turn to speak. “So are you some type of elemental?”

Now it was my turn to be surprised. “You know about my kind?”

A corner of her mouth hooked up. “I know a lot. Elementals tend to be very connected to nature, both plant and animal life. What type of elemental are you?”

“Earth. The boring kind.”

She snorted. “There are no boring elementals.”

Maybe in a world of limited magic like this one.

But back in Vilea, there were earth elementals to spare.

Water elementals, like Dante, were the second most common.

And air elementals were around, but I rarely ever saw any.

They were too much in their own heads, more focused on meditation and studies than socializing.

They even had to be reminded to procreate to keep themselves from going extinct.

And fire was… special.

I’d never actually met a fire elemental before. They were only produced by cross-mingling the other magic types. Which was why my joining with Dante was so important. We could only hope that one of our children would be born of flame.

All the more reason for me to get back home quickly. I had responsibilities. Duties. My family needed me to fulfill my promises, and the longer I was here, the longer I was letting them down.

“You should’ve seen the way the flowers were reacting to her after she crash-landed. I wouldn’t mind having her help in the greenhouse for a few seasons.”

This particular aside told me that she’d spotted me long before I’d noticed her waiting in the woods. How much had she seen? How much did she know that she wasn’t yet letting on?

“I can’t be here for a few seasons,” I said pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration. “I need to get home quick. Preferably today.”

“Today might be a bit sooner than we can make happen,” warned Jasmine with a sigh. “Also I think you’re focusing on the wrong thing.”

This piqued my curiosity. “What do you mean?”

“I mean you’re focusing on how to get back. What you should be worried about is how you got here.”

“Understanding the mistake seems less important than correcting it.”

She shook her head in defiance. “People don’t just accidentally fall through portals. Someone sent you here, and it seems they did so against your will. What’s the point in sending you back if you’re just going to be pushed back through?”

I winced at the thought. “No. No one would have sent me here on purpose.”

Jasmine gave me a look of pity that made my stomach churn.

“I’m perfectly pleasant,” I insisted, uncrossing and recrossing my arms. “No one has any reason to attack me.”

Lorraine and Jasmine both chuckled as they studied me with matching expressions of wonder.

“Please don’t laugh. There’s nothing funny about any of this.”

“I just hope I never have to describe myself as ‘perfectly pleasant’,” said Lorraine. “You’re right. You are boring.”

“I’m not boring! I’m a good daughter. And a good citizen.”

“Yeah, and I bet you’re a good person, too,” Jasmine quipped with another untimely chuckle.

“I want you to help me get back home. Not judge me.”

Jasmine sucked air in through her teeth. “Honey, we’re not here to judge you. You can do that for yourself. What was it you said about listening with your heart?”

Funny. It really sounded like they were judging me. Not that it should matter. They weren’t my people. Let them think whatever they wanted. It shouldn’t matter.

And yet I still found myself clenching my jaw tightly.

Lorraine moved on, thankfully. “I’ve heard of people opening doors, but I’ve never done it myself. Let alone being able to choose where that door leads. I figured if anyone could help Polly get home, it would be you.”

“Well, yes, I am the best person to turn to. But like I said, it seems futile to send her back to a place that doesn’t want her.”

I sucked in a breath, and at last Jasmine seemed to notice how hurtful her words were.

“I mean, where at least one person doesn’t want you,” she amended. “Sending you back too soon could put you in far worse danger than you are here.”

I remained quiet. There wasn’t much to say to that. “Is the process hard?”

“It’s Peach Plains. You’re in the best place possible to get back to your home. You want a portal, you go to Peach Plains. But depending on your power level, portals can be hard to come by. The best way for us to open a door is to rely on nature to work with us.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means our best bet is going to be to wait for a full moon. Besides, I don’t yet have all the supplies I’ll need to open up a doorway.”

I glanced around her shop, which, to me, seemed to have everything under this strange yellow sun. “What else could you need?”

Jasmine shifted her weight. “It’s not good to have all that stuff on hand.

If I were the only one working here, then I can make sure no one buys items they shouldn’t be combining.

But since I can’t be here every day at all times.

, I try to keep the more dangerous items separated from each other.

We can’t have just anyone jumping to other realms. We’re not really supposed to mix in the first place—let alone en masse. ”

Was it that dangerous? Had someone from Vilea really done this to me intentionally? And if so, had they known where they were sending me? There had to be thousands or millions, even infinite realms out there. They couldn’t have known where I’d land or how I’d be received.

No. I refused to believe that someone had done this to me. It was some freak accident. It was the only explanation.

If only my stupid memory would come back, maybe I could piece everything together. And as excited as I was to go back home, Jasmine’s warning now reverberated within me.

What if I had been sent here with malice?

Then I’d be going right back into the arms of danger.

This was not shaping up to be a good day. Not at all.