03 - The Daughter of The Florist

We rejoin Desan to discover what has been brewing in that confused mind of his.

 Colette walked through the streets of Garriz in the later hours of the morning. Desan, to her surprise, was not home when she had woken up, which was unusual. However, Colette wasn't worried. She figured after hearing how troubled he was that he was out looking for work. Colette's mind drifted back again to her own troubled thoughts. In her mind she pictured the fox from her childhood sitting before her.

 'If only I could go back in time... Then I'd stay a little longer.' Colette sighed and brought herself back. She wondered how everyone else was so content with being unable to use magic and how others gifted with a magic coped with being denied what only came naturally to them. Looking around it seemed like no one actually cared. Like they all accepted it and moved on. Almost as if magic didn't exist at all. But it did. And Colette found herself now wanting to use it more than ever before, but she knew that just wasn't possible. Just like everyone else she had to accept it and move on.

 'If only...'

 Sitting in a bar, Desan brainstormed ways to spread his idea. Late last night after tossing and turning in bed, he came to an idea that pleased him. He would gather others from Ormo and start a rebellion for the free practice of magic. All he had to do was find others who were willing to fight for the cause. He decided his starting point would be this bar. Here he'd try to spread his word, talk to some of the people, maybe even get the owner in on it. Desan waved over the bartender, the owner of the bar, and ordered a drink. When the bartender set down his drink Desan motioned him closer with his hand. The bartender looked at him strangely but leaned in anyway to hear what Desan had to say.

 "Are you happy with the way things are right now?" Desan said in the bartender's direction. He looked at Desan with narrowed eyes and gave him a questioning glare.

 "What on Dhuala are you talkin' about, kid?" Desan looked around slowly to make sure no one from the City's Military was around.

 "Magic. It's wrong to limit it, don't you think?" Desan asked, grabbing his glass and taking a casual sip.

 "Kid, what'er you tryin' to say?" the bartender put a hand on his hip and gave Desan a challenging look. Desan sighed. This old guy wasn't getting his point at all.

 "Look, I'm starting a rebellion to gain the free practice of magic for everyone. Are you in, or what?" The bartender's eyes grew wide and he grabbed Desan's drink from him.

 "Are you crazy?! Don't go startin' trouble in my bar, kid!" Desan jumped when the bartender began to scream and walked quickly out of the bar, patrons watching him leave with questioning looks as the old man continued to scream.

 Desan wandered around Garriz wondering what to do next. The bar was going to be his base of operations. That was surely not an option now. He felt depression setting on once again and tried his best to put it off. He had to keep trying, for Colette if anything. While walking around town Desan found a flower shop. He decided to go in, maybe the younger women there would have an easier time accepting Desan's idea than the old bartender did. Desan walked into the small shop, the scents of hundreds of different types of flowers welcoming him inside. Bouquets and potted arrangements lined the floors, ceilings, and walls. At the back of the shop stood the owner at a counter. She was a tall, thin woman with long blonde hair tied back into a pony tail. She wore a yellow plaid apron and a smile on her face. As Desan walked up to the counter she nodded in his direction.

 "Good morning. How may I help you today?" the woman had a very light, soft voice.

 "Actually..." Desan hesitated. This woman didn't look like the rebel type at all. But he knew he had to try. "I was wondering if you or anyone in your family is magically inclined." Desan spat nervously, rubbing the back of his head. The woman gave him a strange look.

 "No... Why?"

 "Ya see... I'm trying to change the law so that everyone can use magic. But I need others behind me first. Would you happen to know anyone...?" Desan asked shyly. The woman's expression turned to that of disgust.

 "No! Look, Sir. Ormo is already full of troublesome people as it is. The last thing we need is someone going around causing trouble for the government!" From the green house just to the left of the counter a young girl that resembled the older woman peeked through the door.

 "Now, kindly leave my store before I get the City's Military." The woman folded her arms across her chest and scowled at Desan who turned with a sigh and walked out of the shop. When Desan was gone the young girl came out of the green house and looked at the older woman curiously.

 "Mama, who was that?" the young girl asked.

 "No one Clarise, please go back to the green house." The young girl hung her head and did as her mother said. She had heard everything Desan said to her mother, and was interested in finding out more. She thought for a moment and decided that if she snuck out now she could probably catch up to him. So Clarise took off her apron and slinked out the back door of the green house. She walked the back alley for a bit before turning out onto the main path. As she did she found Desan sitting on a bench across the way. Clarise approached Desan slowly.

 "Sir?" Clarise clasped her hands behind her back and looked worriedly at Desan, who was staring at the ground.

 "Huh?" When Desan looked up to see the short blonde human girl staring at him with bright blue eyes he didn't realize who she was.

 "Are you the one that was just in my mother's flower shop?" Suddenly Desan recalled seeing her looking through the cracked door.

 "O-oh! Yes, I am. Why? Who are you?"

 "My name is Clarise... I'm the daughter of the florist you just spoke to... I was wondering... What exactly is your plan for making magic an open practice?" Desan looked at the girl for a moment. She obviously wasn't the rebellious type, but she could be a start.

 "Well... I'm going to start a rebellion." Desan answered calmly. Clarise seemed to take in the idea for a minute, really soak in the meaning of rebellion. She stared through Desan for a minute or two, thinking.

 "A rebellion, huh? This guy obviously doesn't know what he's doing... I should offer to help him out. After all, I've always wanted to learn feather magic, anyways." Clarise looked at Desan with a smile and held out her hand.

 "I want to join you." Desan seemed surprised by this. He took the girl's hand slowly and shook it.

 "Are you sure?"

 "Yes."

 "It'll be dangerous."

 "I know."

 With that Desan was on his way to starting the rebellion. It was a small start, but at least it was something.

 "Meet me here tomorrow at 2 o'clock. You think you can do that?" Desan asked Clarise.

 "Of course. I'll just have to sneak away from the shop again. No big deal."

 "Great. See you tomorrow. Then we'll look for others, okay?"

 "Alright."

Author's Note

Check my blog "excitement" to find out how the world of Dhuala came to be. I forgot to mention earlier that Garriz is the name of the town Desan lives in. He kind of lives in the "country" part of town though. I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter. I think it's because I forced this chapter out while I had writer's block.