Weaver

Prague

The next few days were so overwhelmingly busy that Alice barely got to see the sights in Prague. Most of the time was spent explaining to tourists what everything did, and trying to prevent anything from being blown up. A few non-magical people came in – Alice still couldn’t quite make herself call them “regs” – and she was kept busy making sure they didn’t walk into things, since the vacuum store spell sent them into a kind of stupor.

            “Hey!” Gabriel’s voice made her look up from the dazed man she was guiding out the door. The elf was chasing after a skinny young man who’d tried on a pair of magically propelled roller skates, in spite of the “please do not try on the magical roller skates” sign that hung above them.

His skinny arms were pin-wheeling as the skates sent him shooting forward, “I can’t stop!”

            “Stop!” yelled Gabriel.

            “I can’t stop!”

Alice winced as the boy barreled into a nearby stand of potions, sending the shelf crashing down. Azura moved with lightening speed, weaving a tight net of threads and casting it under the shelf. Several bottles broke under the sharp edges of the wood, but most of them were cushioned, clinking together musically as they rolled around. The boy had no such net to cushion his fall, and he came down hard on his backside and sat there moaning in pain.

Alice clenched her fists at her sides, trying not to lose her cool. There were other customers in the shop, and they were all staring at her and the moaning boy on the ground. Azura grunted with the effort of holding the net aloft. She slowly began to lower it, and one of the bottles tipped off, a spray can labeled “Bottled Emotion”. It hit the floor and started spraying sharp burst of mist into the air. Maya ran over to pick it up, and then she stopped, hand hovering in the air above the tin bottle. A look of extreme misery crossed her face, and she burst out, “Oh what’s the point in all this! You might as well just drop the potions! Let them all break.” To Alice’s astonishment she proceeded to sit down on the floor and wail at the ceiling about the pointlessness of it all. Gabriel ran over to her, looking dismayed, and then he too stopped and slumped down onto the floor, putting his head into his hands with a groan, “She’s right. What’s the point in all this ridiculous traveling? Why are we even here? It’s not like we live here.”

“What the hell is that fruit cake on about?” Altair cocked his head to one side, his eyebrows raised in disbelief. Then he inhaled deeply and frowned, “Awe, he’s right. Why the hell am I even here? What’s the point?”

Alice made a dart for the bottle on the ground, which was spinning in crazy circles as it let out its compressed potion. She tried to keep her hand clasped firmly over her nose, but some of the spray must have slipped through her fingers, because when she grabbed it and held it away from herself she felt a little depressed about it.

Customers were lolling about in the aisles, moaning about why they’d come shopping, and what was the point of spending any money. Alice ran to the back and stuck the Bottled Emotion in the desk drawer, shutting it with a bang. This was not good for business! She ran back into the shop and opened the door, propping it open with the door stop, hand still pressed over her mouth.

Shakra, who was watching all this from the fireplace, was rumbling with laughter, and Alice turned and snapped, “I’m glad you find this all so amusing!” but her voice was muffled and it came out sounding like, “Gad flies are also musing” and Shakra just blinked at her and said, “What?”

Azura had a silk handkerchief pressed to her nose and mouth. She helped Alice open the windows and they both waited until the customers started to stand up, looking confused. Maya blinked and said, “Goodness, what am I doing sitting on the floor?” and Gabriel shook his head like he had water in his ears, “I felt so depressed a second ago.”