Soon as Lucy stormed off the area, Freidmirth began to squirm in her embrace, which had stolen Anasthasia's attention. Her blue eyes peered down, looking at how he scrunched his snout, and eyes squinting with doubts.
"Anasthasia"
"Fried, you're awake."
"I have been awake not too long ago."
Anasthasia batted her lashes as she stared at his amber eyes, clearly concerned of him. Words left unspoken, all the while, her hand caressed his glistening lava-red scales. With every stroke that she did, he purred in response, releasing a chirp along with his smoky breath.
"Anasthasia, why aren't you saying a word?"
She pressed a thin line on her dainty lips, causing it to bloom with a pink shade. She muttered, giving Freidmirth a penny of her thoughts, "I was thinking about what happened last time."
"You mean this so-called curse?"
"Curse?" Her head bobbed, agreeing to his every word before closing her eyes, turning to a whisper, "I thought I had overcome it completely. Do you know why it came back?"
"No, not that I know of."
"It's just so strange."
Freidmirth rolled his eyes, mumbling under his breath, "Clearly, you're insane. You're someone beyond common sense—"
"Excuse me?" She glanced at him; eyebrows twitched with irk.
"Nothing, carry on."
"Can you sense the changes around me?"
"No."
'Why did I even ask him that question? Of course, he wouldn't know about my prismatic powers.'
She hummed softly, then halted when he blurted things out of nowhere, "Your powers are unique, Anasthasia."
"You think so?" She gave a slight grin on her face, and her fingertips perched atop his head, prodding his tiny dark horns.
"I really can't sense the power. I'm looking at you, looking with a presence of negligible mana."
"Well, what you said is true."
"Then, why are you so powerful?"
"Cause you missed two important things." She giggled, and released her hand from the playful prods, raising her two fingers.
"What would that be—"
"Let's just say you're weak at the moment."
"You!" Freidmirth's pupils dilated from her remarks. He flung and thrashed his limbs, attempting to escape from her clutches while he uttered, "Just wait! When I revert, I'll whoop your sass!"
"You're free to try."
Anasthasia tittered for a while. By and by, her peals of laughter ran dry, then died out in silence. She leaned her shoulders near the stonewall, arched her neck, and then shut her eyes. With that, her consciousness became one with her thoughts.
Thinking back, she tried to remember what had happened the first time she overcame her curse.
***
Anasthasia panted hard, sprawled on the marble floor as she breathlessly rejoiced, "I finally did it!"
"Well done!"
Her ears perked up as she witnessed the clapping sounds that reigned to the side. She sat upright, shifting her gaze and saw Edward in all smiles, approaching her way.
"Sir Edward, you're here."
"Indeed, I decided to take a look at your progress."
Seeing him nodded, she averted her gaze, mumbling, "It's still not enough."
"Tasha, let's make things clear. It's much better than before."
"I always think about how changing this legacy would be a huge hurdle. If I have to change this, then I must continue working hard."
"You did it! It's quite a milestone." Edward raised his shoulders, sliding his hands to his dark plain trousers. He drew close, stopped his tracks about several inches away from her, and lowered himself, meeting her height.
"But then I'm paying the price—" Her gaze dawned upon his grey eyes that gleamed with sorrow. This sent shivers to her spine, and her voice rang hoarsely, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be, that should be my line." His hands reached hers with gentleness in mind before muttering, "In fact, you saved us from our eternal curse."
"But I didn't think—"
"We still owe you, and that will never change."
"If you insist."
"Allow us to help you overcome this curse of yours."
"Sir Edward, we don't even know how and when it will end—"
"We'll think of a plan." Edward gave a subtle wink and flashed a grin from his polished pearl teeth. He then trailed off.
"This is just the beginning."
***
Anasthasia snapped back to her senses with fierce. She panted hard, and frantically looked around her. When she realized where she was, a sigh of relief came. Meanwhile, Freidmirth caught her attention by frisky scratches on her arm.
"Anasthasia, don't worry me too much."
"Was I even?"
"You had a nightmare."
"That wasn't even a nightmare," She flicked his snout, causing her to jeer further, "You give me goosebumps from all of these concerns, coming from a self-proclaimed dragon at that!"
"You're trying me—!"
"Sister Ana, I'm back!"
'Sister?'
"Oh! This pretty little red dragon of yours finally woke up!" She pranced her way, holding a leather messenger bag to the side, she leaned close to Friedmirth, quipped with glee, "This one has pretty eyes too! May I know his name?"
"His name is Fried." On the other hand, he shifted his head at a sharp rate; amber orbs sent ablaze. It didn't bother her as she chuckled further, "He's a quirky one."
"I think so too!"
Lucy unzipped, rummaged her hand inside. Then she pulled out the luscious crimson fabric and handed it to Anasthasia.
'This is beautiful.' Eyes scrutinized every detail of the cloak— a durable quality made from refined silk, lushes of white fluffs and feathers on every edge of the cloth, and its color draped down to her heel—was something her eyes could never take away from it.
"I know what you're thinking; it's beautiful, isn't it?" She revealed a smug grin, then she added, "Wear it!"
"It's indeed a beautiful cloak, oozing with opulence." She carefully wrapped herself around the cloak, and a sense of warmth and comfort had assaulted her senses.
"This is infuriating!" Freidmirth popped out from an opening of the cloak, rolling his eyes and growling, "I feel sick being this close and tight!"
"What is the dragon roaring lightly for?"
"Lucy, ignore this one. He's just upset."
"Very well then, may you help me carry these rolls of fabric back to the place where it rightfully belongs?"
"Even if it's this damp and dirty?"
"Why not? We can just clean it?"
'I like the temperament of this little girl; I'm digging it.' Anasthasia wondered, then giggled after that.
"Sister Ana, would that dragon be alright if you stack it along with the rolls of these fabrics?"
"It's not a problem at all!"
Lucy nodded, and Ana spread her palms, welcoming the rolls handed to her. Freidmirth panicked, nudged closer to her chest as he tried to get away from the tight spaces.
"Anasthasia! What are you doing?!" He muffled under the layers of fabrics.
"Keep it low, or we will get busted before we get there!"
"Sister Ana, Is it heavy? I can take some more."
"Don't worry about this. Who do you think I am? A weak woman?"
"Oh my, I'm your biggest supporter." A soft giggle escaped from her luscious pink lips Then, and she went on the queue. "Let's go!"
Lucy and Anasthasia strutted in casual motion amidst the buzzing activities in the streets. But things on her arms, including Freidmirth, weighed quite a lot. She increased her focus, calculating the amount of air needed to uplift, albeit not that could garner any attention from her powers. Her hands silently beckoned the wind, floating at a hair's breadth.
She got into a deep focus, ignoring her distractions until Lucy's voice chimed in repetition.
"Sister Ana…"
"Oh, we're here?"
"Yes, you seemed so lost in your thoughts. I'm so sorry for letting you carry those."
Anasthasia leaned away from the towering rolls, and tilted her way, eyes crinkling and mouth twitching from her comments.
"I'm perfectly fine. Just lost in my thoughts."
"Please be careful; you might stumble down."
"I will; I will…"
Lucy stood by the black steel two-way door and reached the bronze tinged doorknob. From the sudden clank, the subtle twinkling chime of the bell rang through Anasthasia's ears. She looked around and saw the natural shades of wood and steel by the furniture, walls, and accents found within the large room.
Anasthasia followed her struts, and gently let go of the wind that uplifted the weight. Lucy placed the rolls on the large table, a polished sheen visible on its amber wood, followed by hers.
"That should do. Thank you for your help."
"The pleasure is all mine, Lucy." She smiled, but then she also noticed how their voices echoed subtly. It was not enough to disturb a general chit-chat, but this entailed soundproof. No sound within could freely escape and diffuse outside of the room.
'This is quite a quiet place. 'Anasthasia pondered, 'This is essentially perfect for—'
"Sister Ana, may I be blunt this time and ask?"
Anasthasia nodded, despite her tone that gave a slight foreboding chill in her heart.
"You're a magician, right?"