Unlikely Romance

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Chapter One

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The chore was not a hard one by far, and Tika was happy about it. Otik had given her the day off
and all she had to do was deliver the list of supplies needed to keep running the inn. She opened
the door and milled about, waiting for Stephen, the grocer, to finish with the old woman’s
groceries that was ahead of her.

Stephan smiled when he saw her. Tika was just growing into her gangly body and her sharp
features were beginning to grow out and show the loveliness that lay within. Her hair, usually
unruly, was now a vibrant copper colored red and, now that she took some time with it, had
definite curls that framed her face and brought out the vibrant green of her eyes and warmed her
complexion. She wore a lovely yellow dress with green ivy embroidery; it was simple and made
of cotton, but it suited her. “Tika, what brings you here today?” he asked once the other
customer had left.

“Otik wanted me to bring you our next grocery order for the Inn,” she answered as she walked up
to the counter and handed him the note.

Taking the note and looking it over, he said, “I can have this filled by tomorrow... or did he want
you to get it to him today?”

“No, all he wanted me to do was deliver the order to you,” she said. “Then I had the rest of the
day off.”

“Ah,” said Stephan. “Then I guess you have the rest of the day off.”

“I do! Thank you, Stephan!” with that she was gone, likely to the lake where others her age
would be gathering.

Shaking his head, he followed the motion Caramon Majere as he helped deliver Farmer Sedge’s
delivery of eggs and other baked goods by the farmer’s wife. Stephan liked the Majere’s.
Raistlin was an excellent source of herbs for cooking, both fresh and dried and Caramon earned
his keep by farming. While Caramon was the most personable of the two and always smiling and
willing to talk, Raistlin was the one Stephan seen the most. It was not to say that Raistlin wasn’t
easy to get along with once you managed to pry open the shell (usually by talking about herbs or
anything to do with herbology...), but he had his little ‘fits’ of silence where he just didn’t feel
like socializing, no matter what the subject. Then it was impossible.

Caramon didn’t know how not to be sociable. “Good day, Caramon, how are the Sedge’s?”

“They’re fine,” he answered, smiling while he unloaded about five large baskets. “Mrs. Sedge
baked bread this time, as well as some different kinds of sweets.”

Stephan looked them over, smelling the bread from the counter as he arranged the baskets. “Her
baking sells well. Any eggs?”

“And milk and cream,” Caramon answered as he began to unload the cart. “The vegetables
aren’t quite ready, although Mr. Sedge says that there should be a good crop of peas soon.”

“Ah good,” said Stephan, as he watched Caramon’s eyes follow the motion of Tika as she walked
away. “Ah yes, she was here delivering a order request for the Inn. She has the rest of the day
off... you know.”

“Really?” Caramon asked intrigued, then sighed. “I can’t. Mr. Sedge wants his cart back before
dark.”

“Ah, too bad,” said Stephan, then he moved to another topic. “How is Raistlin doing in that
school?”

“Oh, he’s helping teach the younger classes now. I’m guessing he’s getting close to being
Tested,” Caramon’s smile faltered. “But school is out for the summer. I think he’s home. I
don’t get to see him much in the summer; too much work at the Sedge farm.”

“Don’t worry, he keeps himself busy enough,” Stephan pointed to the herbs that hung in the
window and also in the stand, and Caramon smiled in understanding. “And he’s still working as
a healer as well, is he not? I haven’t seen him yet today. Would you like me to say hello to him
for you?”

“Yeah, sure,” said Caramon, smiling again, then he swung up into the driver’s seat of the cart.
“Well, I should really head back. Nice seeing you again, Stephan.”

“You too, Caramon,” and with that Stephan looked after his next customer. “Nice day, today,
eh? Oh, and Mrs. Sedge had her baking delivered... right in time for lunches, is it not?”

* * *

The forest path to Crystalmir Lake was particularly pretty in the noontime sun, and Tika took her
time to allow herself to enjoy it. Thankfully, it was also cool as the early summer made it quite
hot and not for the first time, she thanked Dezra for thinking of having a summery cotton dress
made for days off.

She hummed to herself as she carried her basket carrying her lunch. She didn’t usually get much
chance to take a day to herself, nor to wear her better dress and simply enjoy being young.

Underneath a tree just down the path, but yet out of sight of the path, was a young man who lifted
his head at the sound of her humming happily to herself. Sighing, knowing it to be another silly
girl who would likely spot him, he went back to his book.

Abruptly, however, the humming went silent.

Looking up from his book, he thought he had been spotted, but seeing no one, he crinkled his
brows. Strange... the young man thought, as he stood and brushed the leaves and grass from his
heavy cotton pants and the heavier shirt he liked to wear as he always was a touch chilled. Both
were clean and well kept, new even, as he had two part time jobs to supplement his income as a
teacher when school was let out for summer.

He looked around, trying to spot the girl, but still saw no one around. With a small sign, he
picked up his book and searched a bit, looking down the road where he had last heard the
humming. Two men, although not big men, had the young red head cornered against a tree. It
was obvious by the way she used the basket she held as a shield that the attention was
unwelcome.

Slipping back into the cover provided by the trees, he silently moved closer until he was right
behind a large vallenwood, and could hear what was happening. “Come on, sugar, you’ll like it,”
said one.

“Go away!” she said. “I’ll scream!”

“Go ahead,” laughed the other. “Who’ll hear you? There’s no one within a mile of here...
certainly no one to hear you.”

It was by far enough for him to hear, and, stepping out behind them, he took some sand up from
the pathway and chanted, “Drowsi!” while throwing sand at the one man who held the girl.

He slumped instantly to the ground, asleep. Grasping his spellbook like a club, the young man
swung with all his strength but at the last moment, the bandit blocked it and knocked the book
from his grasp. He then pulled back his fist and punched her savior in the face, knocking the
younger man to the ground before following up with a savage kick to his ribs. The young man
curled up in pain, then heard the man grunt, and rolled over to his back and kicked as hard as he
could his foot into the man’s groin. With a cry, the bandit fell to the ground, hands between his
legs. Getting to his feet, the young man grasped the Tika’s hand and they took off running.

When he felt they were a good enough distance from the bandits so that it would not be worth
their while to make chase, he stopped and turned to her, “Are you all right?”

She looked up at him, handed him back his spell book, and said, “Are you?”

At this point, she reached up to his quickly bruising face and said, “Come on, that will have to be
taken care of.”

He followed her through Solace, and then he said, “You work at the Inn, right?”

“Yeah, I stay there too,” she said.

He shook his head, “What will people think if they see your dress torn and you pulling me in
behind you? No... I’ll go home. I can take care of this myself.”

With that he turned on his heel and was gone before she could say anything. It was at this point
that she realized that she had never even asked his name; she didn’t know who he was. But as he
was by far out of her sight, she had no choice but to head back to the inn. Sneaking in the back
so that no one would see her, she crept into her room. Setting the book down, she cleaned herself
up. She hadn’t been pawed at, nor hit, and so no marks had been left but her dress needed to be
cleaned and repaired.

Wait... she realized. I still have his book! She picked it up, ignoring the tingling sensation, and
opened the cover. The book caused her eyes to ache and she closed it quickly, realizing that it
was a spellbook and that meant a young wizard. Pursing her lips, she tried to think of who would
practice wizardry and perhaps know the young wizard. Now that she thought of it, he had
dropped one of the bandits with a spell. With a sigh, she looked out the window.

* * *

The next morning, she asked Otik during the morning chores before the inn opened, “Otik, is
there any wizards in town or near it?”

“Yes, why?” asked Otik.

Tika chewed her lip, “There was some trouble yesterday, and I think a wizard rescued me. Only,
he was beat up a little, and somehow in the confusion I ended up with his spellbook.”

Otik listened and his expression darkened, “And you didn’t say anything?”

“No harm was done, but...” she looked up at him. “I’m worried. He was kicked really hard when
one of the men punched him.”

She proceeded to describe what had happened, and even the general appearance of the wizard.
With a sudden brightening in his eyes, Otik said, “I know who you’re talking about now. Yeah,
he’s the frailer twin of a local family. Can’t quite remember his name, though. But if he knows
you work here, and he’s missing his book, you can bet he’ll be back looking for it. Shame,
though... I think he’s the one who lost his father in an accident and then his mother just wasted
away...” he thought about it some more. “Has an older sister– never much liked that one– and a
big twin who works for the Sedges... blast it, what was their names now?”

Tika remembered hearing about them now, but never about the wizard twin, only the farmer and
the healer... wait... wizards dealt with herbs, and the healer twin was a herbalist. “I think the
bigger twin is Cam... Car... something,” said Tika, with a smile. “But now I know who you’re
talking about.”

Otik harumphed, “Well, I heard some other things about that bigger twin... you stay away from
him, you hear?”

“The bigger twin?” asked Tika.

“Yes,” said Otik. “Girl-chaser. Falls in love every other week, but they never last.”

“Oh.”

Not something she wanted to get mixed up with, “What about the healer twin?”

“Him? Oh, I don’t know,” said Otik. “Never heard of any girlfriends. He liked that Miranda,
but nothing ever came of it. He’s very shy, that one. Still... never can tell about wizards. And
with how quiet it is, I can make do with Dezra today. Go find him before he finds you.”

Tika finished up and ran upstairs to change into another cotton dress, one a bit more demure and
more for working than one for around town. Grabbing the book and wrapping it in a scarf, she
went out the back way. She tried to remember where it was said that the healer lived, and went
down to the ground level to ask Weird Meggin. Chances were if the healer was around, she
would know where to find him. After a few minutes of running, she was at the front door where
the big wolf lay. Tika wasn’t brave enough to get any closer to that and called, “Mistress
Meggin!”

After a few minutes of calling, the old woman came out and lifted her brows at the flushed young
woman, “And how can I help you, young mistress Waylan?”

Tika stopped for a minute to gather her thoughts as Meggin allowed her to come to the door so
that they could speak, “I’m looking for the herbalist... the twin... I can’t remember his name...”

“Raistlin?” Meggin lifted her brows. “Why would you be after Raistlin?”

“Well, I... uh...” stammered Tika.

“Oh dear, not that kind of trouble...” murmured Meggin. “Are you sure that’s how you want to
solve it?”

“Eh?” Tika looked up in confusion, then it connected and she flushed as deep a red as her hair.
“Oh no! He... ah... saved me from two bullies yesterday but in the excitement dropped his
spellbook... and I wanted to thank him.”

She held up the book as proof, and Meggin nodded, “Ah, yes, he was sporting a spectacular
bruise on his face... his left eye is swollen shut too... I had wondered where he had gained that.”

“Is he here?” asked Tika hopefully.

“No, child, he went home,” answered Meggin with a laugh. “He’s still quite sore and also has a
headache from the punch to his head, I’d imagine. Went home to rest with some willow bark and
a draught for pain I had made. He’ll likely be sleeping it off. If you would like, I can take the
book and give it to him next time I see him.”

“No...” she answered. “I’d rather give it to him myself. Where does he live?”

Meggin sighed and gave her to the directions and Tika set off running again, this time up into the
trees and the walkways as she made her way to the tree that housed Raistlin’s home. Finding it,
and being surprised by its small size, she knocked on the door. When she didn’t get an answer,
and nary a sound to indicate that he had heard her, she put the book into her purse and tried to tie
it shut. It bulged and gaped, but it wouldn’t move. She hitched her skirt up, and then climbed to
the one open window. Using the sill, to prop herself on the edge, she looked in and saw the
slender form sleeping in the bed.

None too gracefully, but silently, she climbed in and walked across the floor to look down on his
sleeping face. She took the book out and set it down on his night stand, then sat down in chair by
his bed. He would likely wake soon, and in fact, the creaking of the chair as she sat in it did
wake him. Opening the one eye that could open, he could only lay there looking at her in
surprise, and slurred, “What’re you doin’ here?”

“Somehow I ended up with your spellbook,” she explained. “And I came to thank you.”

“Oh...” he said. “You’re welcome.”

They fell into a silence, and he sat up, clearing the sleep out of his eyes. “What time is it?”

“Mid-morning,” she answered, then asked, “Are you hungry? I can cook you something, if you’d
like? At least let me thank you that way...”

In truth, Raistlin wasn’t hungry, but since that was the only way it would get rid of her, he said,
“That would be fine, thank you.”

“We weren’t properly introduced, you know,” she said as she exited the room to allow him
privacy to get dressed and do whatever he had to do. When he came out into the main room, she
said, “I’m Tika Waylan, my father... well... adoptive father is Otik.”

He shook her outstretched hand, “Raistlin Majere.”

“So... you’re a wizard?”

“Not quite,” he answered as she began to pick through the kitchen for something to cook. “I’m
still just studying. I hope to be... someday...”

“But you’re a herbalist, too?” she said as she opened the shutter to the kitchen and then began to
chop up vegetables and some potatoes, picking out spices from his collection.

“Yes,” he answered, feeling things moved into familiar territory. “I sometimes help Meggin with
her work.”

Again the silence as she worked, this time moving things into a cast iron frypan and cooking it
over the fireplace. He could smell the familiar mix of spices as it was Otik’s rather famous
recipe for spiced potatoes. That it was being cooked for him, in his own home, spoke of how
much she now thought of him. With a slight sigh, Raistlin knew that even if he liked her and he
hadn’t made up his mind one way or another on that, Caramon would also be and Raistlin, again,
would lose the battle that Caramon wasn’t even aware of being fought. She would be Caramon’s
girlfriend.

But now she was preparing a cut of meat, skewering it after slathering some of his wine on it
with some herbs beaten into the meat, and then also setting it above the fire. He made to protest,
but she hushed him with, “Be patient, it’s worth it, Raistlin.”

If the smell said anything it probably would be too. His stomach, usually not his big concern,
was reminding him of how little he had to eat this morning and that even this heavy lunch would
be welcome. But now she was cooking eggs, gently peppering them and frying them in another
frypan. Raistlin wasn’t used to anyone cooking for him. Only Kitiara and Caramon ever had and
you could hardly call what they whipped up ‘cooking’ as neither could. But here was someone
who knew her way around a kitchen and in fact made her way in life by cooking.

Raistlin would have been lying if he said it was an unwelcome change in his home. A few
minutes of cooking, and light banter back and forth about what he liked, and what she liked, and
the meat cooked. She took it all off the fire and set it on the table, taking two plates and serving
it for him.

The portion would have fed two Caramon’s, but he didn’t really have the heart to tell her that.

As they ate, he finally asked, “Was that Otik’s famous secret recipe in my home?”

She blushed and nodded, “Yes, but you can’t tell anyone I did that for you. Otik would have a
fit.”

“Mmph,” he muttered as he pushed away his plate, most of it still on it. “Don’t worry, I’ll likely
eat it for supper. Cooked meat doesn’t go bad as fast.”

“But... but you hardly ate anything!” she exclaimed. “Surely, you can take a little bit more?”

“I never do,” he shrugged as he leaned back. “I never have eaten even that much.”

She sighed. No wonder he was so thin. “Was it good?”

“Oh yes, very, thank you,” he yawned. “Excuse me, that was rather rude.”

“Oh no, you’re tired and I woke you,” she said as she cleaned up. “I’ll clean up if you feel like
another sleep. I can let myself out. Thank you for letting me do this for you.”

Raistlin tried to stifle another yawn, but he couldn’t. The heavy lunch seemed to be weighing
him down and he walked numbly into his room, collapsing into the bed, lulled by the sound of
humming as the girl went about cleaning up after herself.

* * *

When Raistlin woke again, he noticed that the dust that usually sat on his night stand was cleaned
off, and there was a distinctly fresher air about his house. Getting up he walked out into the
living area to the sudden shock of perfect tidiness. Tika had not only cleaned up after herself, but
had also scrubbed down his floor, dusted his furniture and beaten the dust out of his rugs. The
windows were polished clean and daylight streamed into the house.

Scratching his head, he mumbled, “I meant to do that... damn...”

A note was pinned to the inside of the door,

            Raistlin,

            I would like to do this for you again.

            Tika

He sighed and sat down in the chair of the living area, taking the quiet moment to study his
spellbook as he wondered at the sudden change in his social life.