civilwarnovels Book 5: Chapter 102
Book 5: Chapter 102
Book 5: Chapter 102
Gloria turned her head. She stared at Ramon as he tiptoed out of his room and slunk down the hall, his tail waving as it disappeared from her view. Gloria put the grape pinched between her claws down and got up. Her head poked out of the entrance of her room as her claw grabbed the doorframe. What are you doing? she asked, her voice not exactly a whisper but not loud enough to attract any adults attention.
Ramon flinched and turned his head, a panicked expression on his face. Nothing, he said to his sister. Im just getting some water.
Glorias eyes narrowed, and she glanced at the pink-eyed goat, which was standing on Ramons head. Despite the holy dragons movements, Kozabokget remained perfectly balanced, her knees bending every so often to prevent herself from falling off. Just getting water? Gloria asked. Why do you look so guilty then? Are you going to play a prank on someone? You shouldnt. Tafels not here anymore; if you play a prank on anyone else, theyll beat you until you cry.
Im not playing a prank, Ramon said and brought his claw up to his mouth in a shushing motion. Be quiet. Go back to feeding your bear.
Gloria pursed her lips. If you dont tell me what youre really doing, Im going to tell Mommy youre up to no good. Then well see if she believes you about getting water.
Ramon made a face. Fine, Ill tell you, but you cant tell the adults, okay?
Gloria bobbed her head up and down.
Ramon looked around before whispering, Theres people outside looking for dragons. I was going to spy on them to see what theyre up to.
Gloria tilted her head. Isnt that dangerous? What if theyre here to harm us?
I have Kozabokget, Ramon said and pointed at the goat standing on his head. Shes strong enough to be sealed in the evil-sealing tower. If anything goes wrong, shell protect me. If those people are out to do bad things, if I can catch them, then maybe Grandma wont force me to study; shell realize how strong and resourceful I already am.
In the end, you just dont want to study, Gloria said, staring at Ramon. She nodded. Ill go with you.
Ramon glanced around, making sure no adults were nearby. Alright, he said. But you have to be quiet. If were caught sneaking out, then Im going to blame it on you.
Ramon shrugged. I dont think its special. She said I could use it to hit bears. It can also be used as a weight to prevent the stone tablets from moving when Grandma stomps around.
Oh. Gloria scratched her head. Do you like it?
I havent used it yet, Ramon said. He scratched his chin. Wait right here; Im going to bring it with me. Maybe the humans will have a bear. His eyes lit up. Or I can use it on the humans! He whirled around and dashed back into his room, not caring about keeping quiet because the floor did that for him.
***
Tafel walked back and forth, picking up stone tablets on the ground and putting them inside of a portal. Stella was perched on the edge of a desk, watching the demon store her spells. Why are you putting them away? the fairy queen asked. Did you learn them already?
Tafel continued with the task at hand, not bothering to make eye contact as she spoke. I took them all out to get an overall view of them, to see if they were directly connected or not. Since they arent, its better to work on learning one spell at a time. When all the tablets except for the first one was put away, Tafel closed the portal and placed her hands on her hips. She stared at the tablet, mumbling to herself as she read and reread the words scrawled on it. After a bit, she sighed and sat down by the desk, taking out a piece of paper and a quill from a nearby drawer.
Whats wrong? Stella asked.
Nothings wrong, Tafel said. Its just Minervas handwriting is a bit hard to read.
Well, duh, Stella said. She wrote this with her feet. She doesnt have hands.
Tafel blinked. The fairy queen raised a good point. Yes, youre right. Minervas footwriting is hard to read, so Im rewriting it. Copying and rewriting is a good way of learning as well. Itll help engrain the spell into my memory.
Youre not going to try it out first? Stella asked and fidgeted in her seat. She came here to look at spells, not to watch a demon study!
No, Tafel said and shook her head. When it comes to learning new spells, its better to have a solid foundation of knowledge before attempting them; otherwise, something could go terribly wrong.
Stella kicked her feet and pouted. How boring.