No More Returns
1375 Words
The sight of Quincy narrowly escaping 'heroic death' in order to protect the 'food' he had made for himself gave Regulus an odd feeling, which he found both a little funny and a little touching. The wizard covered his mouth and pretended to cough a few times, really to hide the expression on his face and prevent himself from stifling a laugh. He waved his hand and said to the werewolf youth, "You stand behind me.
"Oh..." Quincy dropped his head and ran after Regulus, hanging his head in defeat. The wizard held out his right hand, spreading his five fingers wide and chanting a staccato incantation under his breath. A silvery circle of light spread out from beneath his feet, like a shallow ripple on a clear lake. Everything in the kitchen that came into contact with the silver circle glowed as if someone had given it a fresh coat of silver paint. The shimmering light was so bright that Quincy couldn't keep his eyes open. He closed his eyes, feeling the intensity of the light through his eyelids. After a while he heard Regulus say, "All right, open your eyes. Only then did he tentatively open his eyes a tiny slit.
He let out an incredulous gasp. The kitchen was fixed! The holes in the walls were gone, the walls were still intact, not a crack in sight, all the pots and pans that had fallen to the floor were back in place, and the choking smoke that had been everywhere was gone. It was as if the disaster he had just caused had never happened.
"Don Regulus, this is ......," he said, looking up at the wizard in admiration. Although he was taller than Regulus, he felt so tall at the moment that he had to look up to do so.
"It's just a restoration spell, no big deal." Regulus was airy.
"What a magic spell!" The magical spectacle piqued Quincy's curiosity, "Does it restore everything?"
"Well, most of it, I think. Magical items can't be restored."
"So with this spell, you'd never have to clean your room again?" Quincy exclaimed.
"In theory, yes."
"Then why did you hire Miss Selena to clean up on a regular basis?"
Regulus grimaced. "Why waste magic when you can do it for money?"
"Can you teach me!" Quincy asked eagerly, "so I won't be afraid to break things later."
"Magic is not something you can learn just because you want to! Besides, I think it's better if you don't learn magic ......"
"Why? Do you think I'm too stupid to learn?" Quincy asked disgruntled.
"No, you can blow up the kitchen just cooking, wouldn't learning magic really mean summoning a meteorite to level my house?!" He put his hands behind his back and stared at Quincy like a stern teacher at a student, "Besides you're better off not challenging yourself with food more difficult than an omelette for now."
"Oh ......" Quincy responded in disappointment.
"I'm going back to my study." Regulus said. After taking two steps, he turned back around and took the porcelain plate from the young werewolf's hands as he looked on in disbelief.
"What are you looking at! I just don't want to waste food!" He puffed out his cheeks.
Regulus buried himself in his books as usual until his stomach rumbled in due time, reminding him that it was time for dinner. He left the study and went downstairs. The dining room was lit, the table clean and tidy, the mahogany surface reflecting the light. The cutlery and food were set out, and the Hon. Regulus' dinner today was ...... a lacklustre pot of fruit and vegetable salad.
The wizard, who had always loved to study everything, had no desire at the moment to even explore the taste of the salad. Salad, he thought, well, let it be, salad is salad, at least it's full of vitamins and vegetable fibre for health and bowel movement. He looked around with his appetite gone and noticed that Quincy was nowhere to be found. Wasn't that guy supposed to be serving his master with enthusiasm? Where was he?
"Quincy?" cried Regulus.
"Uh-uh-uh!" A muffled voice answered.
The voice wasn't in the dining room, nor in the kitchen, and if Regulus wasn't so dazed that he couldn't distinguish the source, it would have come from the foyer.
"Quincy!" the wizard called the werewolf youth's name as he ran towards the foyer.
There was a huge box in the foyer, the same one that had sent Quincy, with a wide roll of tape beside it. Through the half-hidden lid, Regulus could faintly see what the box contained.
"Are you in there, Quincy?" he asked, giving the box a gentle kick.
"Yes." The box shook and Quincy's cracked voice came out, "Sorry, Your Excellency, I can't seal it from the outside, so please move to seal the box yourself."
"Why are you hiding in the box?"
The box didn't move and Regulus waited a moment, but the young werewolf still didn't answer. He hadn't suffocated, had he? he thought worriedly.
He was about to open the lid when suddenly a wailing cry came from inside the box.
"Please send me back, Lord Regulus," the werewolf youth said, "I made a mess of things. I ruined your family's kitchen, and even though you restored it, I made a mess of it. You must have hated me ......" he huffed.
Regulus suddenly felt weak.
"I don't hate you, Quincy," he said in the tone of a man talking to a schoolboy, "come out."
The box twitched. "You're very angry with me."
"I'm over my anger."
"I can't do anything, I'm just making a mess for you. Please send me away and I won't bother you any more!"
"I said I wouldn't send you back."
The box was silent for a moment and asked timidly, "Really?"
"Really. I always do what I say."
"But I'm ...... useless, I can't even cook a meal ...... and you don't want me to warm the bed ......."
Don't ever f*****g mention bed-warming again, Regulus growled in his mind.
"No one is omnipotent to begin with." He said in as patient a tone as he could muster, "Everyone has to learn, step by step. You can stay." He paused, finding that last sentence less than apt, and added, "You have my permission to stay."
"Oooh!"
The box erupted in cheers. The young werewolf leapt out of the box like a jumping clown and pounced on Regulus, who lost his balance and fell to the ground with a thud, almost fainting as Quincy pressed himself against him and wrapped his arms around him.
"Thank you, Don Regulus! You are the kindest man I have ever met!" Quincy burst into tears of excitement and stuck out her tongue to lick his face.
Regulus, who had never been subjected to such an attack, covered his face to prevent the young werewolf's saliva from dripping on him.
"Don't lick it! It's filthy! Who did you learn that from? Are you a dog? I said no licking! Why the hell are you not wearing clothes again?" He couldn't help swearing.
At that moment, there was a sudden, clear sound of a key unlocking the door. The foyer door opened.
"Sorry to disturb you so late, Mr Regulus." Selena entered tentatively, "I found a mistake in the recipe I gave Quincy yesterday, it was my personal 'healthy vampire recipe', not for humans ...... gah?! "
She let out a choked cry.
The female vampire entered and saw this sight: Quincy□□□□□□, pressed against Regulus, the wizard dishevelled, flushed and angry, her cheeks stained with suspiciously clear fluids ......
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you!" Selena covered her eyes.
"Wait, wait, Selena!" said Regulus, reaching out to the vampire, counting on her to save him from the werewolf youth.
"Please pretend I wasn't here, Mr Regulus, and carry on." Selena drifted away.
"Don't go, Selena! Listen, it's not what you think! It's a misunderstanding!"
"No! I don't want to hear it! Just let it be a beautiful misunderstanding forever~~"
Selena held her face, screamed into oblivion and ran into the endless night.
- Writer
