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bookhoardingdragon · 6 years

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That’s the Fey’s Problem - Ch 6

Rulo

Corn tipped her head to the side and scrunched her face at Boaz. “How many Corns do you know?”

Boaz lifted one eyebrow.

“I mean people named Corn. Not like actual corn. Cause that would be weird. Unless it was talking corn. Then it would be weird and cool and I would want you to introduce me.” It occurred to her that she was rambling. She waved her hand in a frantic air clearing gesture. “But that’s not the point! Answer the question!”

Boaz shook his head and propped his hands on his hips. Shoulders? Shoulder-hips? She should probably ask him about this stuff at some point.

“I heard that Rin and Hecate had a new roommate that needed looking after, but when I heard her name was Corn I assumed that something got lost in translation.” He made a sheepish face and shrugged.

Corn laughed. “Yeah I can see why you would think that.”

“Did you just dis your own name?” Felda sounded both incredulous and impressed.

Corn shrugged. “I like beating other people to the punch.”

Behind her Sil barked a laugh.

Rin pushes herself in between Felda and Corn. “Well this has been real and all, but we need to get our tiny disaster person home before the Fey that’s been eying us makes a move.”

“The what now?” Corn glanced around but wasn’t sure what Rin was talking about.

“Yeah of course.” Boaz shuffled his feet, and rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess I’ll see you around Corn?”

“Yeah of course!” She smiled eagerly up at him and he relaxed, grinning back.

“Alright let’s go!” Rin looped her arm through Corn’s and dragged her away. “You did great tonight Boaz!”

Corn woke up excited for the day. It was Friday and she had a new friend! She grabbed her phone off the side table, eager to text him and then remembered that she didn’t have his number. Well it was probably too early to text him anyway. She didn’t want him to think she was crazy.

It was probably too late for that.

Corn bolted upright in her bed startling Sil who was fixing her hair.

“Fricking pin feathers Corn!”

“Sorry Sil. I’m just excited.”

“You’re always excited.”

“True.”

“So what are you excited about today?”

“I’m going to skip class!”

“That’s a terrible idea.”

“That’s why I’m excited!”

Sil laughed at her. “Of course it is. So what are you going to do instead of go to class?”

Corn squirmed into a better position, crossing her legs and pulling her blankets into her lap to create a little nest. “First I’m going to the dining hall to eat a magnificent breakfast. And then I’m going out to the art center to hang out until I run into Boaz.”

“Wow so you guys really hit it off yesterday huh?”

“Yeah I think so.”

Sil smiled. “That’s great! Can I join you for breakfast?”

“Absolutely!” Corn flung her blankets off and bounded out of bed. “Breakfast friends!”

In the dining hall Corn prepared a feast for herself, taking full advantage of not having a time constraint. She had toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal and fruit. It was glorious.

Sil watched her gather this feast with growing alarm. When Corn finally stopped and settled in to eat Sil just stared.

“How do you manage to eat so much food? Not even because you’re so small, I don’t know any guys that can eat as much as you either. And we—” Sil gestured to herself—“have to eat a lot to keep up with the high metabolism and the wings. But you eat more than anyone I have ever seen!”

“It’s better if you don’t think about it.” Corn shoveled more food in her mouth. “Food was made to be appreciated and I intend to do my part appreciating it. Also I’m pretty sure there is no actual explanation for it.”

Sil shook her head and went back to her own food.

“Sil can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

Corn picked up a piece of bacon and nibbled on the end. “Where are you from?”

“I’m from Kiamar. In the Sky Teeth.”

“That’s super ominous sounding.”

Sil shrugged. “I’m pretty sure the Fae named them.”

Corn nodded sagely. “They’re very edgy.”

Sil snorted. “Please say that Felda some time.”

“Done.” Corn gave Sil a thumbs up and continued to eating. “So what was Kiamar like?”

Sil leaned forward, propping an elbow on the table and resting her chin in her hand. “Its very open there. Big windows, open terraces and rooftops set up to hang out on. And bridges. It’s beautiful and windy and open.” Sil sighed in a happy but longing sort of way.

“You miss it don’t you?”

Sil smiled wryly. “I do. It’s home. But I love it here too. This place is beautiful in a different kind of way. And maybe it’s not as easy to jump out a window and go for a flight but I’ve had a lot of different experiences here that I wouldn’t have had back home. And this is just school, it doesn’t last forever.”

“Yeah.” Corn slumped forward against the table suddenly feeling sad.

“Oh heyyy. That’s not a bad thing. After school you can do anything.”

“Yeah I guess.” Corn picked up a spoon and dragged it across the table.

“You’re parents expect you to go back home?”

“Yeah.” Corn heaved a sigh. “I love my family. And it’s not that I don’t want to be with them. I just don’t want to be there anymore. I want to see the world. Have adventures.”

Sil leaned back in her chair. “I get that. Family is hard.” She shrugged. “But this is your life. You can’t live it for someone else. No matter how much it hurts to disappoint them.”

Corn looked up at her friend. She felt… uncertain, maybe a little afraid, but hopeful too. “Yeah. Thanks Sil.”

“Of course. And you still have a couple years before you have to decide anything so don’t even think about it yet.”

Corn smiled. “I won’t.” She went back to eating.

Sil laughed and finished her own breakfast. “Well I am going to class today so I better go. See you later Corn.”

“See you later!” Corn waved but didn’t look up from her food.

When Corn finished she left the dining hall and headed for the Arts Center. Normally she would have gotten distracted by the beautiful campus on the way there but today she was on a mission.

Once she got to the Art Center she realized she had no idea where to look for Boaz, or when he would be here, but she figured if she hung around long enough he would turn up eventually. So she started to explore.

There was a lot of people around this morning, heading to class or collecting in groups to play music or work on projects. Corn followed the flow of people for a while, pretending she was one of them, and letting them lead her around the center. Eventually she took a seat on a stone bench on the far side of the Art Center. She was at the very edge of campus in a grassy spot behind a building. The forest drew close here and Corn wished she’d brought an instrument with her, she had a feeling the acoustics would be great with the trees for a backdrop.

But she didn’t have an instrument so she turned her attention instead to the monument that stood between her and the forest. Standing in top of a low pedestal was the statue of an Elf. She was dressed in an almost scandalous manner—her dress low cut and a slit up one side reaching almost to her hip. Corn wondered if that was why they’d hid her away back here.

The woman had a kind but mischievous smile on her face and one hand slightly extended like she was mid conversation. Corn wanted to be friends with her, she looked like she would be a lot of fun.

“That’s Queen Astra. The founder of the school.”

Corn whipped around, nearly tumbling off the bench. A boy leaned against the bench, smiling at her. He was easily the most beautiful boy she had ever seen. His features were perfect, fine to the point of being almost delicate. It was unnatural looking. Like he wasn’t actually real.

“I’m sorry—” he smiled slowly—“I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Corn felt an odd wave of dislike for this boy. “It’s fine. You only startled me.” Turning her back on him she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Good.” He slid a little closer. “So you like the statue?”

“I do, she’s—” Corn turned her head to look at him and found his face meer inches from her own. His eyes were a startling gold color and his pupils were slits instead of round holes.

“She’s incredible. Did you know she created this school to be a place that would welcome everyone no matter their species or race?”

There was something mesmerizing about him, Corn wasn’t sure what she hadn’t liked about him before. “Yes.” She nodded emphatically. “I did know that.”

“Very good.” He reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear before straightening up and hopping over the bench in one lithe motion, seating himself beside her. “But do you know why Astra cared so much about including everyone?”

Corn shook her head.

“Then I’ll tell you.”

Corn leaned in, eager to hear the answer.

“She was a Dark Elf, shunned and mistreated by her own people.”

“Oh yeah.” Corn turned away from him. “She was from Arith but she came to Olisaria because she heard that it was a better place than Arith, more welcoming. And it was, but it wasn’t everything that it could have been yet, so she became Queen and made it better!” Corn popped up to approach the statue. “I loved learning about her in school, even though we didn’t learn much. But I couldn’t get enough, so I read every book that had information about her that I could get my hands on.” Corn propped her hands on her hips and grinned up at the statue.

“Well you are a clever thing aren’t you.”

“Yes I am.” Corn spun around to grin at the boy who was now standing behind her. “And you are far too pretty. You would look better if you had a scar or a broken nose or something.”

“I would?” The boy looked taken aback by this.

“Yes. You don’t actually look real. A scar or something would fix that, make you look more dashing and less like a figment of imagination.”

“I see.” He looked amused now.

“What’s your name?” She couldn’t keep calling him ‘the boy’ in her head, that was preposterous.

“Call me Rulo.” He took her hand in his own and bowed over in a stately manner. “May I have your name?”

“Oh I’m Corn.”

“Corn.” Her said her name carefully like he was testing it, his head tilted to one side. “You seem like an adventurous girl, would you care to join me on a walk in the forest?” He gestured to the trees behind her. “There’s something I would love to show you.”

Corn looked into his smiling face and could think of no reason not to. So she shrugged. “Sure. I’ve got time to kill.”

Rulo grinned at her tugged on her hand, pulling her towards the forest. Corn was following him willingly when someone called her name.

“Corn?”

“Boaz?” Corn spun around pulling her hand free of Rulo’s.

Boaz cantered into view a concerned look on his face, but the minute he saw Corn his expression changed to one of delight and relief.

Corn was so excited to see him and encouraged by the range of emotions on his face that she raced toward him, sprang up onto the bench and threw herself into his arms.

The look of surprise on his face right before he caught her made her second guess this decision but by then it was too late so she simply latched her arms around his neck and welcomed the feel of his own arms around her torso.

At the sound of a throat clearing Boaz eased her off his neck but didn’t put her down, instead he looped one arm around her back and the other under her knees.

Rulo stood with his hands in his pockets scowling at them. “That was very touching, but Corn and I were about to take a walk.” He lifted one eyebrow in a come hither sort of look.

Corn had thought even before Rulo’s appearance that the forest was beautiful and she did want to explore it, but now that she’d found Boaz she didn’t want to leave.

Rulo sighed in annoyance. “Come along Corn.”

Corn shook her head. “Maybe some other time. I want to hang out with Boaz.”

Rulo looked surprised and then annoyed but simply shrugged before turning and vanishing into the forest.

Boaz released a long breath as soon as he was gone and lowered Corn to the ground. “That was close.”

“Close?” Corn looked up at him confused.

Boaz shook his head. “Rulo is one of the Fey Corn. He was trying to kidnap you.”

“What?!” Corn looked back at where he’d disappeared as if there might be some evidence to prove this. “Is that why he was so unreasonably pretty?”

Boaz barked a laugh and rubbed his hands over his face.

“Sorry about my greeting there. I just got excited cause I was expecting it to take me a lot longer to find you.” Corn looked away feeling embarrassed. She’d known him less than a day for stars sake. Throwing yourself into a boy’s arms was really something that should wait until you knew him a bit better.

Boaz laughed again. “I admit I was surprised by your enthusiasm but in this case I think it worked out well.” He smiled kindly and Corn felt relieved that he wasn’t going to hold it against her.

“But Corn, what are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.”

“Why? I mean, not that I didn’t want to see you again but don’t you have class?”

“I do. But I realized this morning that I forgot to get your number last night so I decided to skip class.”

Boaz smiled in an amused but perplexed kind of way. “You could have got my number after class.”

“I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find you if you weren’t in class and I didn’t want to have to wait till the weekend was over.”

Boaz grinned. “Well I’m glad you decided not to wait, but do you mind coming to my first class? I’ll skip the rest but this one is kinda important.”

“Not at all! Lead the way!”

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#that's the fey's problem #TtFP #writing #writeblr #original work #stories by liza #fiction #oc #fantasy

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