Jungle Witch

Jay walked into Chanda's shop with a bounce to his step. He loved warm days. Then again, he loved every day. Why wouldn't he? Life was good. Not perfect, but good.

Chanda saw him come in and gave him a curious look. He couldn't blame her. They'd never talked, so chances were she didn't recognize him. She was from the Eastern District, so it was unlikely she'd even heard of him before.

He bowed with his usual flamboyance because he loved the smiles he got for the extravagance. "Hello. I'm Jay Sharma. Commander Abhay sent me to retrieve clothes."

Chanda smiled. "Right. He mentioned that you'd be coming. Give me just a moment."

He straightened, still grinning. "Of course."

"Why are you retrieving clothes for the Commander?" one of the women being fitted demanded.

"They're not for him. I assume they're for the Southern Lady since I'm taking them to the Southern Manor," Jay replied simply. Honestly, he didn't see why it mattered, but it would have been rude to say so.

"Southern Lady? That Jungle Witch isn't a lady of any kind." The woman sniffed. "I still can't believe Abhay would let that wretched creature into the city."

"He didn't let her in. He brought her here." Jay tilted his head a little, like a kid with a puzzling question.

"She's the Jungle Witch and Bura's Daughter," the woman snapped out. "That makes her evil. What right does Abhay have to bring that kind of terror here?"

"It's his job to protect the city and he's brought her here to solve a problem," he answered. He had yet to stop smiling pleasantly.

The woman bristled. "She is the problem, not the solution."

"What makes you think she's evil?" he asked her, genuinely puzzled by her animosity. "She hasn't harmed anyone since being here."

"Her father was a monster that killed or tormented everyone in the city," the woman countered.

Jay's smile broadened into a grin. "And, that's why Commander Abhay got rid of him."

The commander was taking a lot of heat for bringing the Southern Lady here, Jay thought. The people wanted to blame someone and being the one to walk into the gates with the Southern Lady had planted a target right on Abhay's back. The only thing saving him was that he'd been the one to rid Rivera of Lord Bura.

The name brought an unconscious shudder to Jay. He'd been ten when Bura had died and could still remember the terror that monster had caused. Despite that, he never understood why everyone was so against Bura's daughter. He knew from personal experience that children didn't always become their parents. Sometimes, they deliberately became something else.

Chanda came back with a bag, unknowingly interrupting the conversation. "Here you go, Jay. Thank you for doing this."

"It's no trouble," he said, brushing off her thanks with a grin. Jay turned towards the door. "I have to go now. There's work to be done."

"Tell Commander Abhay I said hello," Chanda said as she waved good-bye.

Jay stepped out onto the road then made his way across it to the Southern District. Things were noisy today with the discovery that the Jungle Witch was in the city. Everyone wanted to chase her out again but were too afraid to try. She wasn't a nine year old child like she had been the first time.

He heard someone preaching about how the Mistas have brought evil back into the city and it was up to the citizens to chase it back out again.

Jay could only shake his head. What had the Southern Lady ever done to this city, he wondered? She'd been a child when her father was killed, and no one had even given her a chance. It was no wonder that she said the word human like it was a curse.

Ignoring the preaching, Jay turned into one of the alleys that wove through his home turf. As he passed by beggars, he put a coin in a few shaking cups. He didn't have enough for everyone, but something was better than nothing. He'd just came out onto a wide road in front of Solon's Temple, when he saw Commander Abhay.

"Commander Abhay," he shouted, waving his free hand.

The Commander of Rivera's soldiers stopped and turned. "Hello, Jay. Are you going to the Southern Manor?"

Jay nodded. "I have to make breakfast and give the Southern Lady her clothes. There's some trimming that needs to be done around the yard."

"You better walk with me then," Abhay said. "I've heard there is a small crowd in front of the manor's gates."

The handyman tilted his head. "Are they coming to meet her?"

"No, they're afraid of her."

"They're being unfair and ridiculous," Jay returned with some annoyance. He didn't get annoyed easily, and when it did happen, he refused to let it last long. There was no time to mope around. "By the way, Chanda said to tell you hello."

A small smile escaped Abhay's usually stoic face. That smile faded when they approached the Southern Manor and saw the crowd standing around the gates. A man stood at the center trying to stir up a riot. Jay frowned again, as he listened to the man shout about the evils of the Desai family.

He looked up and saw the Southern Lady standing in her bedroom window. It touched his heart to see the mixture of pain, sadness, and fear in her dark eyes.

Suddenly, her eyes sharpened into anger as she jerked away from the window.

"I guess her anger is her shield," he said to himself.

"What did you say, Jay?" Abhay asked. "I was listening to the shouting man."

Jay shook his head. "Nothing. What do we do about the crowd?"

The commander sighed. "I may need to provide a guard or two for this manor and the Western Manor. For now, we just go in."

The people gathered at the gates turned their attention to the two men walking towards them. At first, they only whispered and pointed.

The leader stalked forward. Jay restrained a frown when he recognized the man as Hari, a worker at Solon's Temple. Hari's arms were crossed over his chest, and there was a distinct challenge in the way he stood glaring at them.

Jay let his grin widen. "Hello, Hari. Beautiful day, isn't it?"

"No," Hari disagreed, glowering at Jay. He gestured towards the manor. "And it never will be a good day as long as the Jungle Witch is in Rivera."

The handyman looked towards the manor then back at Hari. "Why is her being here a problem? She hasn't hurt anyone."

"Jay, you are such a simpleton. She's a threat to us all." Realizing Jay wasn't going to provide the fight he was looking for, Hari turned to Abhay and pointed an accusing finger at the commander. "And you brought her here. What were you thinking Commander?"

Abhay's spine seemed to stiffen. "She is in no way guilty for her father's crimes."

"She is her father's daughter," Hari pointed out, happy to have touched a nerve.

"That doesn't make her guilty." Abhay took a deep breath to calm himself. He couldn't risk agitating the crowd more. "Ebony Desai isn't staying in the city. She is only here to help the Mista family. Then she will return to Basilisk Jungle."

"Why does she have to be here at all? She could just do whatever needs to be done from outside the city," Hari said, waving his arms around as if emphasizing his point. "She's a danger to this city. We want her out, now."

The crowd behind Hari murmured their agreement.

Abhay's eyes hardened like steel. "We don't always get what we want, Hari. Now I want you all to clear a path or I'll make one myself."

That had several people stepping back. Abhay never made empty threats.

Jay sighed inwardly, but refused to lose his grin. That would be admitting defeat. "I'm sure there's no need for that, Commander. These people are just concerned that's all. If you say it's safe, then we can believe you."

"No, we can't," Hari shouted, turning to face the people behind him. "It was Abhay who brought that monster into the city."

Irritation bubbled up again, and Jay snapped back, "And it was Abhay who saved us from Bura." There were surprised looks directed at him, but Jay quickly grinned again. "So we should have faith in him."

Hari's chest puffed up indignantly, but Abhay spoke before he could say a word.

"Hari," Abhay's tone low and filled with warning, "this is the last warning. If you don't move, I will make you move."

Jay sighed and put the bag of clothes down. If there was going to be a fight, he wanted both hands free.

Hari glowered and opened his mouth. Abhay didn't even give him a chance to speak before simply slamming a fist into Hari's stomach. Hari gasped for air and crumpled to his knees.

"He did warn you, Hari," Jay informed him, still grinning.

"Jay..." Hari gasped again. "You...are an...idiot."

The handyman shrugged. Jay wasn't particularly concerned with what others thought of him anymore. Not since he realized that he'd always be tainted in their eyes.

Abhay took a step towards the manor. "Stand aside."

The mob moved out of his way faster than an arrow shot from a crossbow. Abhay walked past them without sparing anyone a glance.

Since he wouldn't have to fight after all, Jay picked the bag back up and followed Abhay through the manor gates. The commander shut them firmly before making his way towards the manor. The crowd gathered back around, obviously refusing to leave until the Southern Lady did.

Both men stopped when the front door opened. The Southern Lady stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. Jay had to take a moment to recover from the impact of her presence. She wore power as comfortably as most wore clothes. Right now her shoulders were tight with stress, and there were shadows under her eyes, like she hadn't slept well.

Something moved behind her, and Jay saw Raj slide out the door and begin roaming the yard.

"You shouldn't be out here," Abhay informed her bluntly.

"Raj had to go outside," she said curtly, her dark eyes on the crowd at the gates. She flung her hand towards them. Many of them flinched, but none of them ran. "I'm not going to run from them this time, Abhay."

"Hopefully it won't come to that," the commander answered, looking back towards the gates.

That didn't seem to reassure her.

Hari was up and shouting again. "See. That witch keeps cats."

Out the corner of his eye, Jay saw an enormous orange and black blur shoot across the yard. Raj slammed his front paws into the gate with an angry roar. The metal rattled under his weight, and it was obvious he could jump it if he chose. Everyone scrambled to get away as fast as possible.

Even Jay jumped a little, and Raj's wrath wasn't even directed at him. The handyman looked at the Southern Lady and saw that something had her mildly amused for a moment.

"They're practically tripping over each other," he ventured slowly, just to see what her reaction would be.

"Yes." Her smile was a little sharp around the edges now. "No one should ever call a tiger a cat. They don't like it."

Raj lowered back to the ground and walked away from the gates growling low in his throat. He made his way towards them, his tail lashing back and forth.

"I know, Raj," the Southern Lady said to the tiger. "Humans are too stupid to know the difference."

Jay knew better than to say anything to that, even if he had known the difference. So he merely grinned and held out the bag. "Here."

She took the bag, watching him suspiciously. "What is this?"

"Your clothes."

"Oh." The Southern Lady looked into the bag for a moment. Her eyes moved up to his again. "Thank you."

He beamed at her. "You are very welcome."

Raj stepped through the door, leaving the others to follow him inside.

"Let Naveen take Raj out back from now on," Abhay ordered. His tone was still a little sharp with irritation. He took another breath before adding, "Please. It'll be safer for everyone."

"Alright," she agreed hesitantly. She didn't like taking orders, but it was better than facing pitchforks and torches.

"You want me to what?" Naveen snapped.

They looked over to see him standing on the stairs, staring at Abhay in horror.

Jay couldn't help himself. Excitement had been buzzing through him since he got over the shock of Raj's display.

"You shouldn't have stayed inside, Naveen. Raj just showed those people why they shouldn't be bothering the Southern Lady." He held up a hand, a wide grin on his face. "He jumped about this high and they all scrambled away like he would just go through the gate."

Naveen's eyes widened and turned to Raj. Slowly he looked at Abhay again. "And, you want me to take it outside? He could eat me."

"Why would he eat you?" the Southern Lady asked sarcastically. She crossed her arms over her chest. "You'd probably give him indigestion."

Before Naveen could say anything, Abhay held up his hands. "Enough. Naveen you will do as I command. No complaints."

Naveen looked at the ground, but placed a fist over his heart. "Yes, sir."

Jay wondered if Naveen was always so short-tempered and yellow-bellied. Those weren't good traits in a soldier, especially one being groomed to be the next Commander.

With that taken care of, Abhay returned his attention to the Southern Lady. "What will you be doing today?"

"Searching for my father's other journals," she answered with a gesture towards the library. "Lord Bura always kept two journals. I found one, but it isn't the one we need."

"Alright. Don't go outside unless absolutely necessary," Abhay warned. "Seeing you might start a riot, and we want to avoid that if possible."

"You don't have to tell me that," she snapped out, anger burning in her eyes. The air suddenly felt heavier and thicker, as if something else was now filling it. "I've already been on the receiving end of one too many riots."

Hoping to relieve the pressure that her anger caused, Jay said cheerfully, "You won't have to deal with another riot. The commander and Raj dealt with those out there."

Abhay shook his head. "That won't work forever. Eventually, they'll find strength in numbers."

Jay glared at Abhay for nearly an entire second. The commander was not helping the situation. Determined to lighten the mood, Jay grinned again and said, "I'll go make breakfast."

Both Abhay and the Southern Lady looked at him for a moment as they adjusted to the sudden change in topic.

"You don't have to do that," she told him, her temper cooling enough to lighten the air again.

He flashed her a grin as he made his way towards the kitchen. "I know."

When he finished making the meal, he took a tray and went looking for her. He found her sitting in the library with the doors and windows wide open. Her hair was moving like there was wind in the room, then suddenly, it stopped.

Jay stepped into the room and set the tray down on the table. And, to block the noise of the crowd outside, he began closing the windows. "What were you doing?"

"Cleaning out the dust," she answered, eyeing the food suspiciously.

He ate a small piece of everything to show there was nothing wrong with it. That seemed to work because she pulled the food towards her and began to eat. Jay took the plate of steaks from the tray and carried it over to Raj. The tiger's ears perked up, and he took a large bite out of the top one.

"Do you need anything else?" Jay asked the Southern Lady.

She shook her head. "No."

"Then I'll go to work in the gardens."

He gave her another grin before leaving the library.

Naveen was sitting in the parlor, glaring out the window at the crowd. "They're going to storm the place and kill us all. And what's worse, I agree with them about the Jungle Witch being here. That won't stop them from killing me."

"I doubt things will actually get violent," Jay disagreed. He looked out the window, trying to convince himself of what he'd just said.

"You really are an idiot, Jay," Naveen mumbled.

Again, Jay merely shrugged off the insult. "I'll be outside if you need anything."

"You're going out there," Naveen demanded, pointing at the mob.

"Yes. Work still has to be done."

With a final wave, Jay stepped outside to begin trimming the plants.

Naveen rushed to the window, half expecting the crowd outside the gates to riot the moment the handyman stepped out. They shouted at him, but didn't rush the gates.

"He really is an idiot," Naveen said with annoyance.

"Who is?" the commander said from behind him.

Naveen spun around, snapping his heels together and placing a fist over his heart. "Jay is the idiot. He went outside, and that's bound to encourage that mob out there to come in here and kill us."

"I doubt they'll riot just because he's doing yard work." Abhay looked out the window and watched as Jay moved about the yard whistling some tune. Turning his attention back to Naveen, he said, "And, you shouldn't make snap judgments about people like that, Naveen. There's a lot more to Jay than you seem to think."

Naveen gave his commander a skeptical look. "Jay never thinks. He just keeps grinning." He added sarcastically, "Like he has anything to smile about."

"And, that is exactly why he smiles," Abhay countered. He decided that would be enough for Naveen to mull over for now. "Now I have to go."

On the way out the door, Abhay said over his shoulder, "Try not to pick a fight with Ebony."

Abhay should have saved his breath. Every time Ebony and Naveen were in the same room for more than a few seconds they did nothing but argue. When Ebony caught herself thinking about turning the trainee into a bug for some silence, she locked herself in the library and stayed there for the rest of the day.

She supposed she could be more sympathetic towards Naveen. His transformation was only three days away, so he was bound to feel a little stressed.

Between the mob outside and the tension in the manor, it didn't come as a surprise that Ebony was back in her father's library the next afternoon when she received her first visitor.

The knock on the library door had her grumbling irritably. She opened it ready to turn Naveen into a mouse, only to find it wasn't him at the door.

"Hello, miss," Jay greeted cheerfully. He never used her name. "You have a guest."

Baffled, she stared at him. "I...what?"

"Have a guest," he repeated, amused by her reaction.

"If it's one of the people who've been shouting at the gates, I don't want to see them."

"It's not," he assured her.

Her eyes narrowed. "Then who?"

"Lord Mohana of the Eastern District."

Curious, she came out and saw the lord standing next to one of the windows. It was the tall thin lord with the cold eyes. His salt and pepper hair was kept short, which only added to the appearance of seriousness he exuded. He chose simple yet well made clothes of silk, a subtle mark of his wealth.

"I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything, miss," Jay told her with his usual grin.

She watched him walk away, then turned her attention back to the lord. Silence stretched on as the two continued to take the other's measure.

"So you're Lord Mohana," she said, mostly to break the silence.

Now that she had a name, she could remember a little about him from before her father's death. Lord Bura had often referred to Mohana as the slyest of the lords. Coming from Lord Bura, especially regarding a human, that was high praise.

"Yes, I see you remember me," he replied with a slight bow.

"Only a little." She didn't bother telling him her only memories were of what her father had told her. It was never wise to tell someone what they didn't need to know. "What do you want?"

If he had a problem with her rudeness, Mohana made no comment about it. "I was just wondering what you intended to do with the Southern District now that you've returned?"

She frowned. "Nothing."

"That's a real shame," he said with a sad shake of his head. "You do know that the Mista family has taken over this district in your absence?"

Ebony shrugged. "So? They can have it."

He looked appalled, which she suspected was feigned. "Even if it is ruining this part of the city?"

"Have you forgotten what this city did to me?" she asked him with more than a little venom in her tone. "It's their own fault that no one was here to keep the Mista family away."

"Are you really that heartless?" Mohana asked her. "Have you not seen the state of this district's wealth, or lack there of?"

She stalked towards the window and threw open the curtains so he could see the mob outside the gates. "Did you not see that crowd you had to go through to get in here? They don't like me, so why should I care about them?"

Before the lord could reply, Naveen came out of the dining room. "Ebony, you missed..." He trailed off when he saw their guest. "Lord Mohana."

"Hello, young Naveen. How have you been?" Mohana asked politely.

Naveen was bristling with obvious dislike, but he was managing to keep control of himself. He even sounded polite. "Fine, and you?"

"I'm doing good. I was just having a discussion with Lady Ebony."

"She doesn't have time for your games, Mohana," Naveen nearly growled, clenching his fists in anger. "Get out."

"I don't need your permission to talk with the Lady, boy," Mohana returned with a small smirk.

Naveen snarled.

Ebony looked between the two. Deciding that she should probably be on Naveen's side - only because he was Abhay's trainee - she shifted so that she stood between him and Mohana.

"I think you should go now," she said, sticking to bluntness. "And just so you know. I couldn't care less about what happens to the people of this city, so long as the jungle is kept safe. Good bye, Mohana."

"Do you think that the Mista family will actually keep their promise to you?" Mohana asked in a chuckle. "How naive."

"They'll keep their promise, and you shouldn't cross me either," she replied with a smug smile.

She knew Mohana was trying to manipulate her into refusing to help Naveen's family. It was a waste of his time. She'd seen her father manipulate others too often to fall for it that easily.

With a gesture to the door, she said, "Now please leave or I'll have to sick Raj on you."

Mohana glanced towards the tiger that was standing up at the mention of his name. "You're a lot like your father. Cold and uncaring."

The air seemed to fizzle with static as her power responded to her anger. Pride had her keeping the emotion from showing on her face. She would not give Mohana the satisfaction of knowing he'd hit a nerve.

"Raj," she called.

The lord left without another word.

She turned to Naveen the moment the door was shut. "Do you want to be like the Commander or not?"

Naveen looked offended. "Of course."

"Then why do you let others manipulate you into losing control? Commander Abhay would never let anyone take his control away the way you just did."

He scowled at her. "And what would you know about it?"

"The snake that lets the mongoose agitate it will get killed," Ebony snapped out, trying to get him to see the point. "The snake that knows to wait calmly for a good opportunity will get the mongoose."

Naveen only looked more confused. "What?"

She threw her hands up. "You are such a moron."

Ebony stalked back into the library, mostly because she didn't want to get into another fight.

Her eyes scanned the library. Even though the dust was gone, the room was still very messy. Jay had offered to clean it up if she'd let him in, but she had refused the offer. Despite knowing her father was dead, she knew he wouldn't want anyone in the library but her, and her father's wants still mattered to her. They probably always would.

She heaved a sad sigh.

The library was where he'd taught her how to use her magic. She'd spent hours in here reading and practicing under his watchful eye. Not that she minded. It had always made her feel so happy to make him proud...until she started to notice his darker side.

Ebony closed her eyes in an attempt to block the memories, but it wouldn't work.

This room was also the first place she'd caught a glimpse of his darkness. A priest she'd known from Solon's Temple had come late one afternoon during her training. Because of the strangeness of her powers, Lord Bura had always considered her training to be very important. She could remember the flash of irritation in his eyes when the priest interrupted.

At six years old, the first thing she'd noticed was, naturally, the white rabbit the priest was holding. Curious about the furry creature, she walked over and touched its head. The rabbit blinked at her.

She'd been so absorbed in the rabbit she didn't notice anything until Lord Bura's voice turned cold. Her eyes jerked away from the rabbit to her father. The priest must have said something her father hadn't liked, because the look in Lord Bura's eyes matched his tone.

Very calmly, Lord Bura had ordered her to leave. She remembered noticing as she walked out that the priest's face went pale and his hands began to shake.

The next morning, Lord Bura had given her two white rabbits. He'd told her that the priest had left them for her. It's wasn't until three years later that she thought to wonder where the second rabbit had come from.

The next time she'd gone to Solon's Temple with her father, she'd asked for the priest to thank him for the rabbits. When Bura had informed her that the priest was gone, she looked up at him and saw a grin on his face that she'd known was evil, even at that age.

Shaking herself free of the memory, Ebony went back to searching for the journal. The sooner she found it, the sooner she could get out of this city and away from these memories.

After several more hours of uninterrupted searching, another knock disturbed her.

She grumbled about the interruption as she opened the library door.

Jay was there again, this time holding a bowl filled with steaming stew. "How about some dinner? And you have more guests."

She took the bowl and looked beyond him to see Naveen, Lord Devdan, and Indra standing in her parlor.

"Lord Devdan," she greeted coldly. Ebony still had no love for any human - with the possible exception of Abhay. She closed the library doors behind her to prevent anyone from going inside.

"Ebony," Naveen's father returned in a carefully neutral tone. He gestured towards his oldest son. "You remember Indra."

The Western District's heir bowed, which she didn't bother returning. He wore a royal blue, sleeveless shirt and white pants tucked into brown boots. His dark hair was cut to shoulder length and brushed away from his long narrow face. Like most others, he looked at her with apprehension and anger. Definitely an older version of Naveen.

"We've come to see if you were ready to remove the curse from our family," Devdan continued.

"Not even close." She took a spoonful of the stew Jay had prepared. It slid down her throat, warming her to the core. She couldn't help the small hum of pleasure.

"What do you mean 'not even close'?" he said, anger slipping into his voice and ruining her moment. "Naveen's transformation is in two days."

"I know that, but it can't be helped."

"We haven't prepared for Naveen's change because we thought you could cure him of the curse before his time came," Devdan informed her, clenching his fists at his side.

"That's not my fault." She glared at him. "You made that assumption. I never once said that I could cure him in time to prevent his transformation. For that matter, I never even said I could cure him at all."

All three men growled in anger.

"You mean we brought you back here for nothing," Indra asked irritably.

"I don't know. I said I would try to cure the curse, not that I could succeed." Deciding not to let them ruin the food, she took another bite.

"You don't care do you?" Indra demanded, watching her eat calmly as if nothing were wrong. "I bet your not even trying."

She looked at him with cold eyes. "Of course I don't care, but don't you dare tell me I'm not trying. I've spent the last three days in that library looking for your answers. None of you have any idea how hard this is for me."

Ebony set the bowl down, because she was too tempted to throw it. Anger pulsed through her, causing the pressure in the room to increase as her magic weighed down the air.

"Do you think I enjoy being back in this city with it's cruel humans and painful memories?" she demanded, her voice cold as ice. As if reflecting her tone, the temperature in the room dropped and frost began to form on windows. "Do you think that I would have volunteered for this? I'm here because the one person who cares about me told me I should come and help. So no, I don't care about you or your family. I don't care about this city. I don't even care about this house. All I do care about is doing what Sith told me to do which was help you." She paused to take a calming breath before adding, "I am trying, but it isn't my fault you jumped to conclusions."

"Now, Lady Ebony..."

She interrupted Lord Devdan before he could say another world. "Don't patronize me, Lord Devdan. If you want a quick cure, I suggest suicide. You are the main bearer of the curse so it could work, but even that isn't a guarantee. If you don't like that option, I suggest you back off and let me work."

She headed upstairs to her room.

Jay lifted her bowl and followed her up. The tiger growled the moment he entered her room. Ebony turned away from the window she'd been staring out to face him.

"Down, Raj," Ebony ordered. "It wasn't him."

"I brought your dinner up," Jay explained, setting the bowl down on the small table he'd put in the room for her. "You should finish it."

She considered him for a long moment before nodding. "Thank you."

He left her alone to get some much needed rest.

Ebony finished her food, mostly because it was there, then looked out the window. The crowd at the gates was starting to dwindle down. Even mobs had to sleep, she thought snidely. Ebony moved over to the bed and settled down to sleep.

In two days, Naveen would transform. While she could see that he wasn't happy about that prospect, it might help her to see the transformation. No point in letting the opportunity go to waste. She fell into sleep debating on what she needed to do next.

Jay came to pick up the dishes a few hours later. He could feel Raj's watchful eyes on him. Jay held his finger to his lips and gestured to the dishes on the table. Satisfied that Jay wasn't here to disturb Ebony, Raj laid his head down, but his eyes stayed on the human.

The handyman frowned when he saw that the Lady had been tossing around in her sleep and her muscles were tight with agitation.

He watched her for a moment and thought about what the people of Rivera thought of her. To them she was only the Jungle Witch. They didn't see her forget to eat because she was trying her best to save the Mistas. None of them noticed her spend hours locked up as she searched through book after book. Not one saw her sleep disturbed by dreams or the pain in her eyes when she saw something that reminded her of her father. Those nobles had no idea what she was going through or that the Southern Lady was just as vulnerable as everyone else.

The handyman promised himself he would do what he could to ease her troubles, even if it was simply by making sure she got her three meals a day.

The first thing Ebony did the next morning was go into the library. She was still searching through the books. Because her father's specialty had been transformation, she took nothing for face value. Each book was pulled off the shelf and flipped through before she decided it wasn't the one.

Most thought of magic as poofing and things were done. This was not the case. There were certain rules, such as mass having to stay constant, and only a few were capable of breaking those rules. It was something her father had called physical properties of the world. Even when those rules were broken, there was always some sign of the magic.

In this case, the journal she was looking for was probably disguised as another book. This book would have a bunch of nonsense written in it. The trick would be recognizing it as nonsense meant to fill pages.

There was a knock on the door. She directed some of her mother's power to the door then said, "Come in."

Jay entered carrying a tray full of fruit. "Breakfast."

"Thank you," she said absently, with her focus on the book in her hand.

"I'll be back with your lunch in a few hours," he informed her as he turned for the door.

She glanced at him now. "Why?"

"What?"

"Why will you be back? I don't understand why you are taking care of me?" She seemed genuinely puzzled by this.

"Someone should," was all he said before leaving her.

Ebony stared at the door for a moment before shrugging it off. He was just a fickle human and would probably grow weary of tending to her eventually. Some part of her hoped he wouldn't and even had a logical argument for that hope, but she squashed it. Hoping for anything good from a human was a wasted effort and doomed to failure.