Chapter 34: Chapter 34: The Luck Potion

Chapter 34: The Luck Potion

The problems at home for Balon were not resolved like a magic wand, when he came back home with Margie.

For, the little girl refused to sleep, eat, talk, bathe. And the former hero knew, that instead of healing Jack's wounds, he had just cut them open, and dug his nails into them.

Ok, this is going on for far too long. Margie should be a constant ray of sunshine for Jack, but she only makes him sob in dark corners, while he tries to do his duties.

I need to do something, before Jack does something drastic. Like, jumping off the edge of a cliff, or something similar.

So, I down the luck potion he got me, with the memory of the little girl's birth. My mind gets hazy, and I feel something like a hand take a gentle hold of my own, and then lead me down the hall.

The light tugging stops, when I am before Margie's room. I feel warm breath against my ear, and know what I must do. Slowly, I open the door, and see the little girl sitting on the floor, staring out the window.

"Hey, Margie? Do you want to go out for a walk?" I ask her, and she shakes her head. I feel the warm breath once more, and then decide to elaborate. "I can take you back to the human realm? It is spring now, and the snowdrops are in full bloom."

Wait, just from where do I know that there are snowdrops in bloom down there? I mean, it is not something I normally pay attention to. The little girl rises her lifeless eyes at me. I can almost swear that there is a small spark in them.

"Do you… want to go back to Bronze Gate Village? Visit your parent's graves?" I ask her. Immediately, I feel like slamming my head on the wall. Way to go, Balon. Bring the formerly dead girl to a graveyard! Yet, I can't seem to stop myself from blurting out: "You can make them flower crowns out of snowdrops. We can take your brother with us; would you like that?"

She nods, and then stands up. Which is way more progress than Jack has had with her in the past couple of months. When she comes to me, she takes a hold of my left hand, and then gives me a small smile. It looks so broken, that I want to hug her. Something stops me, and, instead, I lead her out of the room.

On the way out, I see Jack staring off into space, with the duster forgotten next to him on the floor.

I lean into the little girl's personal space, and then whisper.

"Jack would love it, if you are the one to invite him. I think, if I were to propose, he would simply say no. You want him to be happy, don't you, Margie? His most cherished memory is your first day in the world," Margie opens her mouth, and then closes it. I can see that her eyes are pooling with tears. "Just let it out."

"Jacky?" Margie more asks, then says. "Jacky."

Jack's gaze finally snaps from the spot he has been staring at, and he blinks at us.

"Balon, did Margie speak?" I can guess, from the tone of his voice, that he dares to hope.

I nudge the little girl.

"Jacky," she repeats, her voice weak with disuse. Or, maybe it was like that because she is, more or less, a spirit. "It wasn't your fault, Jacky."

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She lets go of my hand, and then rushes at her brother. I watch, as the two embrace one another. Normally, I'd be awkward at such a thing happening around me, but something tells me to keep quiet, and listen. And so, that is what I do.

"I should have never gone out to search for a job. I should have taken you with me, at least," suddenly I begin to place the pieces of the puzzle that is Jack and Margie together, but I want for them to give me the full picture.

"You couldn't have known that mom and dad would have died while you were gone. Jacky, you should have let go of me," Margie says, and I bow my head.

Just because I didn't know what was happening in my name, doesn't excuse me. Come to think of it, wasn't it around this time last year, that Jack ended up on the stone slab? My eyes widen.

"We must go, before someone else dies," I say, and the two siblings look at me. Jack has a grim resolve in his eyes.

"I am coming with you," he tells me, and I nod. This must have taken a lot out of him.

"I am coming too," Margie says, and then takes a hold of her brother's hand. Jack leads her to me, and she takes a hold of my hand as well. "We will make this right."

I zap us to that clearing, with its stone slab. There is a little old woman tied to the stone. Looking wildly around her. When she sees me, she screams.

"This must stop," I say, as I busy myself with untying her. Maybe, it is because of my urgency, or, because she recognized Jack and Margie, but she falls into something like a stupor.

When she is untied, I offer her my back. There is no way that she would be able to make the trek back to the village in her state. Jack comes to her, and shakes her. I can hear a wolf howling in the distance.

"We have to stop this, granny Gretchen. Please — get on Balon's back," Margie then surprises me, by coming to the granny, and slapping her on both cheeks. This gets the grandmother on my back, and we rush out of the clearing.

That evening, as I, personally, behead the old priest, I am left before a dilemma. Just what am I going to do with people, who worship me, and are willing to dump their fellow villagers to the wolves. It seems, I will not be going back to the Heavenly Realm anytime soon.  

The last thing I do, before the luck potion runs its course, is to name Jack the new priest. The potion did not lead me astray before, and I doubt that its final advice will do so — now.

Bravery? It can be many things.

 Such as two siblings laying flower crowns on the graves of their parents. Or, the courage to ship off all those people who would see others dead, to face the king's justice.

At any rate, Jack had enough of it, to turn a pagan tribe, into peaceful believers of Balon. Not the Forest Terror, but the Hero of Ultimate Fate.

End of Unlikely Partners.

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