Lucky Rabbit

It took Thaniel a few precious seconds before he gathered himself enough to chase after his friend, and by the time he did, it was too late. When he reached the students’ hall, Ms. Davenport was there, directing him firmly up the stairs, in spite of his insistence that he needed to speak to Geraldine.

“You’ll have to talk to her tomorrow, Thaniel,” the woman said, not without some sympathy. “But right now, it’s time to get ready for bed. The bell is going to ring-” Just then, the bell did ring, and she nodded in satisfaction. “At any moment. Which means, I’m afraid, that the time for discussions and, possibly, reconciliations is over.” She gave him a pat on the shoulder and turned to shush a pair of girls who had just entered, giggling loudly.

Shoulders slumped and feet dragging, Thaniel made his way upstairs, then to his room. Just before he opened the door, however, he paused before continuing a few feet further down the hall. Peering around the corner, he murmured, “I could wait ‘til lights out and use the secret passage.”

That…didn’t seem like a good idea. Quite aside from the fact that he might get caught, Pandy didn’t think Geraldine would react well to having Thaniel show up on her doorstep at midnight. The girl had seemed genuinely distressed, and the best thing for her might be a talk with another friend and a good sleep. Not that Pandy had ever had a good friend to talk to, but she did know quite a bit about the rejuvenating power of rest. Which made it all the more depressing that that was one thing that might well remain forever out of her reach.

When Thaniel looked down at her, Pandy gave a firm shake of her head. It might be terrible advice, but it was the best she had to offer. Thaniel’s face fell, but he sighed and nodded back. “I’ll talk to her in the morning,” he agreed with obvious reluctance.

Back to the room they went, and this time Thaniel entered, only to find the space empty. He paused, beginning to close the door behind him, when it was pushed wide again and Isidor stepped in. The older boy’s hair was still damp, hanging down into his face and eyes even more than usual, and he was wearing the knee-length nightgown boys on this world – or at least in this country – wore to bed.

Dark eyes scanned Thaniel, and Isidor frowned as he took in the smaller boy’s soaked and disheveled state. Pieces of straw stuck out of Thaniel’s curls, and there was a smear of black ash down one cheek.

“You should go clean up before the bathrooms are full,” Isidor said, stepping back out of the way. He hesitated, then added, “Are you all right?”

Thaniel’s eyes came up, and he smiled at Isidor, relaxing a bit at just this small show of concern. “Lightning struck the stable,” he told Isidor, brightening at the thrilling memory before hurrying to add, “But everyone’s okay.”

Isidor’s eyes slid to Pandy in an almost accusatory way, as if it was her fault that part of an otherwise structurally sound building had attempted to pancake Thaniel. Which, in a way, it was, so she buried her face in her paws and refused to meet his glance. “I’m glad,” Isidor said, then closed the door behind them.

Thaniel’s version of brushing his teeth was…slapdash, at best, and he just wiped his exposed bits down quickly, then left the bathroom for the next boy. Isidor was seated at his desk, reading, when they returned, and the two boys only exchanged a few words while Thaniel hid behind his wardrobe door and changed.

Pandy felt bad about that, too. The friendship blooming between the two boys had wilted noticeably since she dragged Isidor to the third floor with her. She really hadn’t realized how problematic it would be for him, and she’d thought the Heartsplit Charm would be enough to make up for it. Well, she’d just have to find another way to convince him to stop being angry at her, or at least to stop treating Thaniel so coldly.

Thaniel took a bit longer than usual to fall asleep, but Isidor at least appeared to do so immediately, rolling over with his back to the room and beginning to produce deep, measured breaths. Still, Pandy remained beneath Thaniel’s outflung arm until she counted to one thousand, and she thought that the sounds coming from Isidor’s bed were a bit more natural. Only then did she wiggle free and drop to the floor, scampering deep beneath the bed.

Shhh! Do you want me to be recaptured?

Keep calling me System.

Or something.

Just not…that.

Pandy hesitated. Keros wasn’t her System, though. Or at least not the System she’d first interacted with. He was a person – a god, anyway – and people had real names.

I know what it is.

And no.

…

Call me, uh, K-Man.

she answered without thinking. That was a totally cringe name. People on the internet would be embarrassed by that name. He was Greek, right? Or Greek-adjacent? Not that she really knew anything about ancient Greece, other than that they made pretty statues. The sum total of her knowledge of modern ‘Greeks’ lay in the college sorority system as depicted in movies, which-

she said.

…

I guess that’s all right.

What’s wrong with K-Man?

She didn’t really want to tell him it sounded stupid, so she said,

Well, that’s true, I guess.

Kappa will work.

Why weren’t there emojis? How was she supposed to know if he was upset because she’d rejected his idea? What would happen if the person – god – who seemed to be directly controlling her System got mad at her?

Then she had what seemed like an absolutely brilliant idea. Within two seconds, she knew it wasn’t, but by then it was too late, because she’d already said, and the scent of honeysuckle and some kind of sweet, cooked grain was filling the space beneath the bed.

“Oh, I knew you liked me!” a sultry voice squealed, and soft arms pulled Pandy into a bountiful bosom.

She didn’t dare try to wiggle free, because who knew what she would knock loose, so she just tried speaking instead. “Hello, Aglaea.” It was a bit muffled, but it worked! Yes!

Oh, no…

Why did you do that?

Lips pressed down onto her head, and Aglaea released her just enough so Pandy could look up and see the goddess’s smiling face. “I’m so glad to see you again, darling,” Aglaea said, then glanced around, with a look that might have been innocent on someone else’s face. “Have you seen my Kero-Kero, though? I’m afraid he’s gone just the teensiest bit missing.”

After those first few words, Keros remained conspicuously silent, so Pandy swallowed hard and said, “Um…no? I definitely haven’t, uh, seen him.” Heard, yes. Well, not even that, really. She’d read him, but Aglaea hadn’t asked about that.

The goddess’s emerald eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but she said, “Well, if you do, please let him know I’m looking for him. And so are a lot of other people.”

“That… I definitely…will? I mean, yes, of course.” Not that she needed to, because Pandy had no doubt that Keros could hear every word. “But if I can… Um, who is-?”

How Aglaea managed to look so perfectly relaxed while lounging beneath a bed, Pandy didn’t know, but it probably had to do with the sublime self-confidence that oozed out of her. She waved a manicured hand, and Pandy couldn’t help but notice that her fingernails were painted a deep red to go with her lipstick this time. Tiny pearls decorated their surfaces, and the nail on her forefinger boasted a delicate golden butterfly that opened and closed its wings as she moved.

“Well, you know how you told me that sweet Kero-Kero was in the eeniest, weeniest spot of trouble?” 

She had? Being chained to a rock in some unknown location was eenie, weenie trouble? What happened when a god got in big trouble, then?

Resting her head against her hand, Aglaea gave a dramatic sigh. “It turns out that when he placed you here, he may have…skipped a step. Or two. And someone decided to get all upset about it and filed a complaint.”

Pandy mentally rolled her eyes at Keros. That sounded like him. He really hadn’t done anything right since the very beginning, had he? If she hadn’t known better, she might have thought he was one of her people, the Horrendously Unlucky. But you couldn’t be a god and be unlucky, could you?

“How so?” she finally ventured to ask, when it seemed that the goddess was too busy examining her nails to continue.

Aglaea looked up from her flawless manicure, and held the tiny butterfly out toward Pandy. Now she could see that it didn’t just look like gold, it was actually made of gold, and all of the colors on its wings were exquisitely crafted from barely-visible gems. “Is this off-center? Or do you think it’s supposed to be that way?”

Pandy managed to edge backward, craning her head as if trying to see better. “It looks, uh, perfect, at least to me?”

The goddess’s lips curved. “Well, that’s all right, then.” Reaching out, she began absently stroking Pandy’s fur. “You see, when someone is reincarnated on a world where a god has settled, the god doing the reincarnation is supposed to ask for permission.”

She waved her fingers dismissively. “It’s a formality, really, because everyone likes a little fresh blood now and then. Adds some spice, you know? But Keros couldn’t find the local goddess, so he just…slipped you through the cracks, as it were.”

Pandy stilled. “Couldn’t find her? Was…is her name Ismara, by any chance?”

Aglaea gave a little clap. “It is! But apparently she’s gone away without telling anyone, and while there are a few other gods on the planet, this,” she swirled a finger to indicate their immediate area, “is hers. Or possibly not.”

“Hold on,” Pandy said. “What do you mean, ‘not’?”

The goddess waggled her hand. “Someone is contesting Ismara’s claim. They say they challenged her a while back, and while the contest came to a draw, in Ismara’s absence, control should automatically default to them. And, darling, it seems they don’t want you here.”

Wait, what? What had Pandy done to some unknown god? Or did it have nothing to do with her, and this god was just using her as an excuse to get their little vendetta on the books? What had happened to Ismara? Because if this was an example of how the other god worked, Pandy was pretty sure she preferred the status quo.

“So…what’s going to happen to me?” Pandy asked, ears pressed flat against her head.

Aglaea cooed and grabbed Pandy again, pulling her in for a huge hug. And, honestly, it was a fairly pleasant experience, if you ignored the fact that Pandy was actually a human being. Though she had a feeling the goddess wouldn’t have behaved any differently even if Pandy was in her true shape.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Aglaea said, snuggling her cheek into Pandy’s fur. “Without Keros, they can’t do anything. He has to be the one to cancel his own magic. That’s the rule. So as long as he’s missing, you’re safe.”

She sighed, warm, sweet breath tickling Pandy’s nose. “Though of course Kero-Kero is in bigger trouble all the time, too. He’s been ordered to appear for a…trial, I suppose, though that word isn’t quite right. But he disappeared, and Zeus is just a wee bit unhappy with him. Which is why it really would be in his best interest to come back soon. I’m sure he can explain everything.”

“And if he can’t?” Pandy whispered. She knew this feeling. This was the feeling she got right before things went really, really wrong. When the giant parade balloon was about to carry half a dozen elderly tuba-players into the sky, or an entire scout troop found their way into the lollipop display and emerged covered in suckers.

Aglaea hesitated. “Well, darling, you’d still be fine, you know? It’s just that you’re only allowed one chance at this, so you’d go back into the cycle of lives like everyone else, rather than remembering this one.”

Pandy glanced up. “And Thaniel?”

The goddess chewed her plump red lip, somehow not getting lipstick on her teeth. “Well, things would go back to the way they would have been if you’d never been reincarnated here. So he would…also return to the cycle of lives.”

“He would die,” Pandy said flatly. “If Ker- if he can’t convince Zeus, or whoever, to leave me here, then Thaniel will die.”

Reluctantly, Aglaea nodded. “But honestly, darling, it’s best for everyone to get it over with. The longer Kero-Kero drags his feet, the more upset Zeus will get, and the more likely it is that he’ll rule against my sweetie and this Ismara out of sheer spite.” She lowered her voice. “Between you and me, Zeusie can be a little – just a little! – immature sometimes, and this teensie issue is keeping him from getting back to his golf game.”

Gods played golf? But Pandy shook her head. She had far more important things to focus on right now. Like, “Is there anything we can do? Anything that will…make Zeus rule in favor of Ker- um, your…boyfriend?”

The goddess pursed her lips thoughtfully, tapping her chin with one finger. Finally, she shrugged. “Only one thing I can think of, darling. You have to find this Ismara, and she has to tell everyone she did actually approve your arrival. Then everything will be as it should be, and poof,” she flicked her fingers, making a shower of glittering motes fall down over Pandy, “problem solved.”

Glancing at her bare wrist, she said, “Now, I have an appointment to get my hair done, and I simply can’t be late. It takes decades to get in with Psecas, you know. Do be a love and tell my sweet Kero-Kero to turn himself in, won’t you?” She smiled at Pandy, and for a moment, her gaze sharpened, looking past Pandy’s eyes and to something hidden within her.

“And let him know I love him, and I’ll help any way I can. Please.” This was said with a sincerity that her bubble-headed façade couldn’t quite hide. Then she faded into more of the scintillating particles, and Pandy was alone. Alone other than the two sleeping boys, an elemental tortoise, and a god she now suspected was hiding in her head.