In Exchange for Magic

I clung to Ez, and began to plead with him. "Do something! Do something!"

He seemed to come to his senses at the last second and create a cushion of air for us to fall on to. A great woosh ran past my ears, and we fell onto a giant pillow of swirling oxygen.

We were back at the campsite! We weren't dead!

I collapsed on to the ground, panting for all I was worth. My heart had nearly beat itself our of my chest!

"For Pete's sake, Rose!" Ez snarled. "Don't do that!"
"Me!" I cried. "Me?! What did I do?"

"You... You..." he fumbled for the right words, waving his hands wildly about. "You complemented me!"
"So?"
"So... Don't do that!"

I picked myself up off the ground, dusting off the remnant of my dress and placing my hands on my hips.

"Maybe you should learn how to take praise!" I retorted lamely, for lack of a better come-back.

Ez opened his mouth to argue, but then sighed, thinking better of it.

"Yeah... Well... It's about dark now..." he said awkwardly. "You'll need to stay the night here. The Shades won't stop looking for you for another couple of hours, even if you've still got that necklace."

I remembered that I was still wearing the Elf Gold, and my fingers flew to the tiny masterpiece around my neck. I guess I should cut Ez a break... He had, after all, saved my life once or twice tonight...

"But I'm sure you'll be able to leave by tomorrow morning, though. So don't worry," he finished

"You're really going to let me stay here? In your camp?"
He shrugged. "Yeah. Just don't... touch anything, and you'll be fine."

Okay, the cutting of the breaks is now, officially, over. Did he seriously think I was going to burn the place down just by touching something? Come on!

Ez stalked away, leaving me to fume in his absence.

I mocked him quietly. "Myah-myah-myah! Don't touch anything! Myah!"
"I heard that!" he called from inside a tent.

Damn him and his magical pointy ears!

He crawled back out of the tent, which seemed to be made of a nylon-like material, holding a large sleeping bag. He flung it open, and spread it out about a yard away from his own bed, which was the pile of blankets and pillows that I'd landed on earlier.

He dusted his hands together, and stepped back to admire his handy-work. As an afterthought, he moved the sleeping bag a few more feet away from his bed.

Night had settled in. I could hear strange songs of night-birds and the air had gotten crisper.

"Hey... Ez?" I asked hesitantly.
He grunted.
"Thanks. For... You know... saving my life. And letting me stay the night. I'm really... Just... Thanks."

In the moonlight, he blushed.

"You're welcome."

He seemed to think that things had gotten unbearably awkward, because he ambled over towards the small table he'd set up to continue polishing his weaponry.

If he thought he was going to get away from me that easily, he was dead wrong.

I got up and followed him to the table.

"So... Seriously, are you an Elf... Or what?" I asked again, raising a finger to touch his pointed ears.

He jumped when my finger met his skin, and ducked away from me.

"No, we've been over this. I'm not an Elf."
"Then what are you?"
"It's none of your business. I've told you my name. That's enough. Too much, if you ask me."
I scowled. "Why won't you tell me?"
"Why do you want to know?"

"Curious, I guess," I sighed, and folded my arms across my chest.
"Curiosity killed the Imp," he retorted.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, come on!"
"You're leaving in the morning, anyway. It doesn't matter."

He was tight lipped and rigid. I guess isolation had hardened him. He wasn't exactly... Social. Or, for that matter, nice.

"I'm going to sleep," he told me, and pulled off his leather belt. He laid it out on the table, taking the weapons from it first. I watched him kick off his shoes and remove the dagger he kept strapped to his calf.

He walked over, barefoot, to his large mass of blankets, and I sat down, cross-legged, on my sleeping bag. We were both on our respective "beds" ready for the most awkward night of our lives.

Absentmindedly, he tugged his shirt up over his head and began to remove his calf-length shorts.

"Hey, hey, hey!" I called. "Hold up there, cowboy!"
He glanced down at his half-naked form, and, one again, blushed. "I... Oh! Sorry. I guess I'll just sleep... erm... I'll just keep my pants on, shall I?"

I nodded vigorously, and he sunk, shirtless, into his bed. I had to turn my head to avoid looking at his stomach. What if he had some kind of gross third Elf eye growing there? Or an extra arm? Or -- even worse -- What if he had really nice abs?

"Um...?" I questioned, tugging at the hem of my dress. "Would you happen to have anything that I can-"
"Right!" he called. "Sorry!"

He hurried over towards a long clothes-line, and plucked off a pair of short-ish shorts, and a breezy girl's tunic-top. He tossed them to me, and I examined them.

"Ez... These are girl's clothes," I stated.
"Yeah? So?"
"So... Where did you get girl's clothes? Is there something you want to tell me?"
He scowled. "How do you think I got them? I stole them."

I honestly couldn't figure the guy out. One second he was this hardened woodland criminal. The next, he was a modest elf-boy-man-thing, who blushed from embarrassment!

"Turn around," I ordered.
"What?"
"Turn around!"

He jumped in surprise, and did so. He didn't even try to sneak a peek at me as I changed.

The shorts were nice and comfy, and I could tell they'd be good for traveling. Which is what I'd be doing a lot of if I was going to find someone who knew how to get out of Fairy-land, or Attannia... Or whatever. The top fit snugly, and I fondly thought that I looked like a proper forest dweller. A real Attannian!

I turned back around to see Ez, with his back turned like a good little boy.

"Okay," I told him. "I'm decent."

And then he turned around. And my worst fears came true... He was built!

I crawled quickly into my sleeping bag, trying to ignore my discovery, and Ez got into his bed. By this time, the moon was high overhead, and I was getting sleepy.

Suddenly, Ez cried out in realization.

I sighed heavily. "What now?"
"It's... It's a full moon," Ez choked out.
"So what?" I yawned. "It's not that bright. Go back to sleep."

He fidgeted.

"N-No... You're wrong. It's very bright. So bright. Too bright. I've... I've got to sleep in the tent tonight. S-Sorry," he stuttered, and scrambled out of his bed.

He nearly tripped over himself in his haste to get into the shelter. I shook my head, confused.

Ez was... Strange. To say the least.

I rolled over and fell into a light, uneasy sleep.