“You know Ashy, when you and Jasmine walked in asking for matching dresses, I didn’t think your fashion style was looking like a reverse carrot,” Melissa said, using her measuring tape to find my measurements.

  “I just like green!” I pouted, raising my arms out so she could continue wrapping me up and poking the black dress with pins.

  “Yeah, and with your red-hair you look like a reverse carrot. Green body, red-hair. How did you do that, by the way? I thought witchmarks were permanent?”

  I shrugged, which caused Melissa to hit my arms to make me stay still. I grumbled, but returned to being static. “My Goddess let me do it after her last task for me.”

  “Nyla did? What was your last task, Ashy?” Melissa casually said, and I froze in place. I turned to look at Jasmine, who just smiled!

  So, I said nothing for a bit. Melissa pouted, but went to write the measurements in her book. Jasmine took that opportunity to come a bit closer. “Ask her about herself instead, you dolt. You don’t have to answer every question.”

  I nodded at Jasmine, and when Melissa returned I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes to think. “Just somethin’ silly, you know how it is. Somethin’ about helping the folks out. But how’s it been for you, Missy? I know I ain’t had time for your weddin’ preparations, but I want you to know it's a priority! But I don’t know what ya wan’?”

  Melissa chuckled, and released me. She instead went to Jasmine. “And you still want blue, Jazzy?”

  “Of course! And since Ashy is paying for it, make it look really nice!” Jasmine cheerfully responded.

  Melissa began to measure Jasmine this time, who actually stood straight without needing to be touched and woman-handled. “Mighty fine of ya to be carin’ bout the wedding, but you’re just the Chief Bridesmaid, Ashy! All ya gotta do is make sure Jazzy and yourself look good, and invite some other bridesmaids. Like Mary.”

  “Ophelia?” I immediately said.

  “Who? Wait, the vampire’s daughter? She’s been in town a bit when the suns out, so I guess she ain’t a vampire, but I don’ rightly think she knows me, Ashy. Wait, how do you know her?”

  “Carrots?” I responded. “Wait, you don’t like Ophelia? She’s really nice.”

  “I reckon I’d like her fine, but she ain’t one to talk to a commoner like me, ya know. Them [Noble] types live in their own little world." Melissa continued, brushing past me to continue her measurements.

  “Yeah!” Jasmine added. “Agent Marigold called me an [NPC]! I mean, it’s true, but she didn’t have to say it.”

  Melissa pulled off Jasmine for a moment to stare at her face. “That bitch. Ashy! You smacked her upside the head for that one, right? Can’ have some pissy-lady from the Capital thinkin’ lowly of us Oakhearters. Oakheartians? I can never recall what Lady McReer wants us to name ourselves.”

  “N-No? Was I supposed to?” I murmured. I was having a hard time following the conversation, since It already left from me asking if I should be inviting Ophelia.

  Melissa wagged her finger at me. “Of course! Can’ be having our Priestess lettin’ that kind of slander be runnin’ around in our city! But I can imagine it’s tough when you just bought your land - congratulations by the way! - and got told about taxes.”

  “Uh-h– your priestess? What?” I immediately interjected.

  “Jazzy told Lord Skye and I, and I guess most of the town, that you were planning to buy the stew and call it the “Cock-it-twice” which is a weird name, by the way,” Melissa said. “Figured you were goin’ to do a blessin’ for the town before you opened it up and started offering medical advice?”

  “COCKATRICE!” I angrily shouted, causing both Melissa and Jasmine to look at me. They paused, and then both burst out into laughter.

  “Sure, Ashy! I’ll cock-it-thrice,” Melissa joked, which caused Jasmine to laugh even harder. My face burned, and I felt my thoughts spiraling into retreat. I tried to open my mouth to defend myself, but no words were coming.

  “Calm down, Ashy,” Jasmine said. “We’re laughing at the words, not you! It’s a funny name, and I don’ even get what it's about.”

  “Yeah, Ashley.” Melissa said, wiping a tear from her eye. “Cockatrice, I get it. You surely have to find it funny.”

  I crossed my arms, not looking at either of them. “Look, I don’ like people laughin’ at me or my words. Bad enough I don’ even get why it’s called The Cockatrice, but my mentor told me too.”

  Jasmine nodded at Melissa, and then walked over to me. She put her hand on my shoulder, and then leaned up to twist my head to face hers. “Ashley,” she slowly began. “Get over it. We ain’t after you, and we’re not mocking you behind your back. We’re laughing at it in front of ya. I know you’re goin’ to Flowers-By-The-River soon, and I don’t want ya leavin’ thinking that your TWO normal best friends don’ like ya.”

  Melissa shrugged and pulled out a cigarette. “Speak for yourself. No one in this room is normal, Jazz. Least of all you.”

  “Rude! I am the most normal person here. I’m not marrying a [Paladin] or a [Cryotheurge]. I mean, being a [Cryotheurge], not marrying one. Sorry Ashy, I’m already engaged!” Jasmine said, raising her hand to show a ring.

  I leaned in to inspect it. The band itself was silver, and the gem was a ruby. Very typical of an Eloran marriage. “It’s very nice, Jazzy!”

  “Thank you, Ashy! See, not so hard to just talk. Next thing you gotta know is that there’s no ‘rules’ to conversation. You just… talk about whatever’s in your mind.”

  “Good Protector Above, Jasmine. Are we teaching Ashley how to socialize?” Melissa said, raising the cigarette and putting it against her lips. She sparked the end and took a heavy drag. “Want one, ladies?”

  “I’m alright, Melly! Thank you though,” Jasmine immediately said.

  “Levan says that smo–” I began, but Jasmine put her fingers atop of my lips.

  “No rules, but no advice. Talk about yourself and how you feel, not what you know or advise.”

  I glared at her, but that didn’t fix the problem! They both looked expectantly at me. “I… uh… don’t want one. Th…thank you, though?” I choked out.

  “No problem, Ashy. I’ll have your dresses ready in a few moments. Jazzy said we’re going out on the town for her birthday bash. That's true, Ashy?”

  I looked at Jasmine, and just gave up. “Sure! I guess we’re doin’ that.”

  Jasmine clapped her hands and leaned in to hug me. Melissa joined in too, and my body, again, froze. However, it was Jasmine and Melissa, and while I wasn’t the biggest fan of Melissa for reasons…

  I wrapped my arms around the two.

  “Amaril Above, you’re still so cold. Ask your goddess to warm your skin up, next time, Ashy,” Melissa shivered. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  She walked off to her craft room, and Jasmine released me from her embrace. “I’m honestly gonna miss ya, Ashy. Shame we didn’t get along in school.”

  “You two bullied me!” I immediately barked out, then covered my mouth. Jasmine looked at me, and patted my shoulder.

  “Two things, Ashy. First is the whole… ‘Girl, you didn’t really want to get along with anyone who wasn’t Adrian, and you even snapped at him.’ I mean, I get it now you just like your privacy and space and slow steps, but as kids…” She let it linger. “But the second is this: Who cares? I know you do, but I don’t think it’s healthy to hold onto a grudge like that. Ledger this, ledger that. Why don’t you just wipe the slate clean and think it’s all a new thing?’

  “It’s not that simple. I only have my past experiences! It’s the onl–”

  “Ashley, you are holding nearly 500 gold pieces on you, a doctor, and a priestess! People change, and you’re not the same angry poor weirdo. You have friends! So, if you can change and be different, why can’t any of us? You think none of us are aware of your prickly personality? I’m just lookin’ past it to the Ashley I like, not the weirdo from when we were like… 10? That was 8 years ago!”

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  I chewed on my tongue for a moment, and then rubbed my head. “Fine! I’ll… stop thinking about the past.”

  “Great! Because, yeah, you’re the rich girl now, and you’re paying for everything, Ashy,” Jasmine cheerfully said, clapping her hands together.

  Melissa walked out of the back, holding three dresses in covers. They were of the same cut and style – the “Oakheart Special,” I figured. Looking at them side by side made it look like staring at a garden, a winter sky, and a rosebush.

  The dresses were made of heavy silk that shined in light, swallowing the rays to add to its sheen. The bodices were stiff, embroidered with different threads. All of them moved up towards a high, structured collar – they all looked very serious, and far more importantly, very, very pretty.

  Mine was Forest Green, embroidered with Bronze Thread that looked like branches trailing upwards. They linked together with bronze buttons as well, and to my surprise, they had pockets! Deep ones. I immediately shoved my hands inside, grateful to have something to do with them.

  The petticoat underneath was a dark shade of cream, but poofed out just enough to be comfortable. Not the boning and incredible bracing that Ophelia’s dresses had, which often made me feel like I was about to head to a ball.

  Jasmine’s was blue, holding the same general appearance, but her thread was silver. Rather than the vine patterns, Melissa had decided to make them look like falling snow, and her dark blue petticoat made her almost look like a cheery winter cloud.

  Melissa’s was pale pink with a dark red petticoat. The thread was red, mimicking petals of flowers that coiled against it.

  And we ALL had matching shoes! Mine were green flats, Jasmine and Melissa appropriately wore blue and pink heels.

  We quickly put them on, and stared at ourselves in the shop mirror. Jasmine and Melissa looked like sisters, at least with slightly different faces and different eye colours.

  But I didn’t look too off either. Having red hair and green eyes made me look unique, at least to myself.

  Except, now that Melissa mentioned it, I in fact did look like a reverse carrot. “Amaril darn it. I need a new favourite color…”

  “Nonsense! Green looks great on you, Ashy,” Melissa said. We smiled once more, before heading out to the shops.

  Geralt’s Candy Emporium was one of the five places I had visited often in Oakheart when I was a child, and one of the places I genuinely knew. When Jasmine had said ‘new candy shop’ I figured we were going somewhere else, but the small shack that sold sugared fruits had become, well, massive.

  Students and non-working adults littered the outdoor patio, and I could see some of my old underclassmen working as servers and waiters. I was about to head inside, but Melissa pulled Jasmine and I to one of the front tables in the Patio to take a seat.

  I nervously glanced around, as the area was way too open. Faces that I recognized and didn’t walked around, talking, smiling, and eating together. I could hear Melissa and Jasmine talk about something, but I was far too focused on taking in the sights and trying to make sense of what was going on.

  “Woah, Jasmine, Melissa, you two look really nice! And is that real silk?” A female voice asked, as I turned around to look at her.

  The waitress was approximately my age, and I swear, I could recognize her. She had brown hair, and a rather plain face, and wore the striped candy uniform.

  She looked at me before gasping. “Lady Hart! I’m so sorry! I thought you had white hair now, forgive me miss-”

  “Who–” I began, but Jasmine nudged my hip. Hard.

  “It’s really nice to see you too Annabelle!” Jasmine spoke over both of us. “Ashley, this is Annabelle, she was one of our classmates! Currently working as a [Waitress], but doing some [Alchemy] on the side.”

  I looked her up and down, and I swear I could have recognized the face, but admittedly, recognizing a face and knowing someone were two different prospects for me. I was already struggling to figure out who to forget so I could remember Aywin, and now there was a completely new person in front of me.

  This was challenging!

  “Actually, about that – Lady Hart,”

  “Please, just call me Ashley,” I said, which DIDN’T get a hip-nudge from Jasmine. If anything, she looked like she approved.

  “Okay, Ashley! Are you taking in apprentices? I mean, for your clinic, not the farming… I don’t want to be a [Farmer]. But, I’m very good with my hands, and if you teach me, I swear I’d be a decent [Nurse]!”

  I turned to look at Jasmine and whispered. “What is she talking about?”

  Jasmine sighed, and raised her hand. “Can you get uh… Peach Parfait for Ashley, Strawberry Parfait for Melissa and a ‘Mango-Dragonfruit-Passionfruit Slam’ for me? And some sweet tea! I’ll talk to Ashley and get her to say yes, Annie!’

  She smiled appreciatively at Jasmine, wrote it down, and skipped off.

  Melissa and Jasmine turned to me. Before Jasmine even spoke, Melissa did. “Yeah, a lot of the townsfolk are hoping you’d tutor them in medicine. Even if they can’t be doctors like you, a nurse or something is a great job. And, they’re hoping you wouldn’t even charge them…”

  I considered that for a moment. “I don’t mind teaching them, but they’d have to take the Levanite Oath and pay attention to the Ledger.”

  “That’s the second time you mentioned that. What is The Ledger, Ashley?” Melissa inquired.

  “Uh…” I began, trying to figure out how to say it, but Jasmine hit me.

  “Melissa, could you go for a smoke. I need to talk to Ashley,” Jasmine politely said, but her eyes stared daggers into Melissa’s. Melissa rose her hands placatively, and got up.

  Jasmine watched Melissa leave, and then go to the corner to smoke. When she was out of earshot, she turned towards me. “Stop talking about The Ledger, Ashley.”

  “What, why?” I responded.

  “I… you realize you’re the only one who talks about it here, right? And that has a lot to do with your other side. Don’t mix the two. And I can’t believe I have to remind you of all people – she is Adrian’s wife. He definitely knows what The Ledger actually is.”

  I stared at Jasmine and then swallowed. “I.. Sorry. I can’t help it,” but Jasmine shook her head.

  “You are bad with people, and I know that. You’re all or nothing. But remember when I talked about your white hair and you dodged it? Do that more about what you actually do. Redirect the conversation back to them, don’t give information about yourself. Now, when Melissa comes back, she’s going to ask us both about what that was about.”

  “...Oh.” I muttered, looking at my dress. “So what do I do?”

  “Tell her that the Levanite Oath is something you made up – “

  “It is!” I proudly said, but she waved me off.

  “ – And The Ledger is you being weird about accounting. Then redirect the conversation about her wedding.”

  I nodded, and Jasmine waved at Melissa with a warm smile. She nodded, but didn’t return immediately, finishing off her cigarette and then returning.

  “Sorry about that, Missy. I just mean like… I learned… about medicine… from my goddess… and I have to make sure… people… worship and give tithes… right?” I fumbled out.

  Melissa nodded, but she wasn’t really paying attention. “Got it, weird church stuff. You planning on taking on apprentices if they can’t pay then?”

  I looked at Jasmine, who shrugged. “Are you, Ashy?”

  I bit my lip, and sighed. “I dunno! I don’t mind it, but they’d have to listen to me, and you know how particular I am about stuff. I need it done right, or it’s not good enough.”

  Melissa tapped her fingers on the table. “Yeah, that’s good. I mean you saved my Ma, so I can see why you’d want anyone following your teachings to be as good as you are. And for a lot of the people here, being a [Nurse] is a good way to make some money, everyone needs a healer.”

  I said nothing, and Jasmine said nothing. The silence hung in the air. I looked at Jasmine, who purposely was ignoring me.

  The silence led for another minute, and the tension and weight was getting to me. It was heavy and I was sure I was screwing something up.

  “So… uh… where do you want to go for your… wedding party, Melissa?” I fumbled.

  That lit her eye up though. “I wanted to go to a Vintner! The Margeth make great wine, and I was hopin’ you and Jazzy could whip somethin’ up in the fall for the hens!”

  “The hens..?” I repeated. “Nevermind, wait, Margeth's?”

  “Oh right, you were gone for a while! A halfling moved in a bit ago. She makes some really good wine!” Melissa giggled, and Jasmine joined.

  “Yeah! Nice lady. Used to be an adventurer. Keeps to herself. Didn’t know you didn’t visit though, Missy! She’s really nice!”

  I was trying to catch up, when Annabelle returned to our table and placed three glass cups in front of us. Mine, the only one I paid attention to, had white scoops of ice cream surrounded with…

  CANDIED PEACHES.

  I immediately got the spoon, but then recognized my sleeves were not rolled up. I began to work that through, before looking at Annabelle who was looking at me expectantly.

  I hesitated, and looked up at her, and her eyes met mine. I swallowed, trying to think this through.

  And then it clicked.

  “Sure, I don’t mind teaching you, but I’ll be leaving town for a while. I already bought The Cockatrice and need to get it set up. So, if you help Jasmine setting it up for me when I return, I’ll take you as an apprentice, IF you promise to follow my Master’s Teachings exactly.”

  “Of course! Um.. I know you’re taking a chance on me, but is there any chance I’ll be paid?”

  I looked at Jasmine and shrugged. “Sure, how does 1 a day sound?”

  “I don’t mean to be ungratef–” Annabelle began, but Jasmine cut her off. “She means 1 Gold.”

  Melissa immediately choked, and Annabelle just stuttered. Jasmine immediately smiled. “Great, Anna! I’ll come pick you up. I already handle the money, so I have you! Working WITH Ashley is nice. You don’t work for her. She hates that.”

  “Yeah, I do.” I went back to my dessert as Annabelle and Jasmine began to talk. However, I sensed a familiar presence.

  I didn’t raise my head at all, keeping it low. Melissa giggled, and then the sounds of a quick kiss popped out.

  Damn it.

  I kept my head low, but I could tell I was being stared at.

  His strong hands softly grasped my wrist, looking at my exposed arm. “Ashy, what did you do to your skin?” Adrian asked, raising it to inspect. Of all the things he could notice - my red hair, my green dress, being surrounded by friends - of course he’d notice that. His fingers rubbed over my burnt and scraped skin.

  I pulled away, to see him and Aywin standing side by side.

  Rhyvesta damn it.

  ? Phoenix Flight [Lite LitRPG - Dungeon Diving - Slow Romance] ?

  by RainyLiquid

  Weak to Strong, gathering of powers, skills, and spells.