“Now we start gambling.”

The mushrooms were only ordinary mushrooms as long as you didn’t win over the moon witch. In the early morning hour was a queue to the witch, it was not long. Still, a lot of people had gathered, some that had come empty-handed, and some that just came for the show. There were injured people, there were stories of ghosts from an outer world, and the gambling off who would win against the moon witch was already ongoing. She was sitting on a chair outside her cottage, a table in front of her. Each one had their round at the table, and the losing ones were paying.

“The winner takes it all”, the moon witch told, looking from Sasha to Elias. She nodded. “I will play with him.”

“I have picked the most mushrooms. I will play”, Sasha said.

“No. I decide who plays and who pays.” She stepped closer, putting on a sharp nail at Elias's chin and rasping from his mouth to his ear. “Boy, I can see the dragon breath is heating your chest. If you lose it's mine.”

“You have made your stakes clear”, Elias said and pushed the crushed mushrooms forward. “What game do we play?”

“A table of chess”, the witch told him.

She sat down, and at the table in front of her Sasha saw the smoked signs off a chess table. The black boxes were ashes, and the light ones were on fire. The pieces were in white oak, carved by the finest craftsmen.

The moon witch was the protector of the forest. And she paid dearly for having her ghosts up to the game. Then she often crushed the adventures brave enough to enter the woods and come back unharmed. Stripping them of both mushrooms and powers. Still, adventures kept searching for their luck, making the moon witch one rich lady.

Sasha sat down on a chair and sighed. Her mother had trained her in the chessboard, still she had lost to the moon witch on her first encounter. Esmeralda's chances was not good, not many would dare the challenge.

The witch started in her classic manner. Then she used her favourite piece, the queen. She liked to go behind the enemies defences. Sasha had seen it before. She picked the pieces one by one, disarming Elias.

“You are a good player”, Elias agreed, looking close at the table. His chin resting in his hand.

“I do have some practice”, the witch chuckled, “but you hold your grounds surprisingly well.”

Elias picked up the horse and Sasha almost hit her head in the wall. She had seen this before as well. The witch flattered him, and he made a rash decision. Sasha caught Elias eyes, she looked stern at him and discreetly shook her head.

He moved his fingertips, hesitated and dropped the horse back. The game was still on.

“This will do it”, Elias said and moved the king one step. “Check.”

Sasha looked at the table. She was not sure, but if she looked two or three moves ahead she was pretty sure it was not just check.

“Checkmate”, Elias said a while later, and bowed in the witch direction. “Thanks for an entertaining session. It has been humbling.”

The witch chuckled.

“Ever the gentleman. Well, you deserve it.”

She blew a wind over the mushrooms, covering them in stardust.

“Well done”, Sasha said. “Now, my ankles hurt, and I am starving. I do remember someone owing me a dinner.”

“It is just dawn”, Elias said, raising from his chair, leaving it to the next in line.

“We will eat from dawn to dusk. You could afford it”, Sasha counted.

“Very well. Let’s hit Esmeralda's, shall we?”

Esmeralda’s was full of people this time a day. All the locals went down for a baguette and some chatting. The prince visit caught more than one eye.

“What you did in the wood worked, but it was stupid”, Elias said.

“We got away from the super charged boss ghosts. That ain’t stupid.” Sasha countered.

Sasha had gotten a pretty neat sum from Esmeralda as well. With the dragon breath and the mushrooms she could afford something extravaganza. She would buy something for Ivy. Elias looked up from his table, smiling at her, and winking at Esmeralda. Her friend came to their table, picking up their breakfast plates.

“We will have some errands to do, but I promised her a dinner. Could you come up with something extra tonight?”

“A dinner for two?”

“Yes, and if you could book the table behind the kitchen it would be appreciated.”

“Yes sir”, Esmeralda said her nose high and the voice stiff. “Anything for the prince.”

“I will pamper you today, but you will have to work for it.” Elias said, taking her hand and walking down the streets in the city.

“Work?”

“You will see” Elias said and shook his head. “First off breakfast, then we go for lunch at Evelina’s, and finally the dinner.”

“I am pretty filled up after all the egg and bacon.Where are we going?”

It looked like they were heading for Evelina’s, but she really wouldn’t coop with more food. Not even Evelina’s cookies.

“You know, I really admire your fighting technique, but I promised my mother to train you. What you pulled off in the wood was far too risky. We can borrow Evelina’s backyard.”

“You will train me? The moves were perfect, there is nothing extra to be added”, Sasha argued. She had been trained by the best, “I did calculate with the blood losses. It hurts, but I had an healer at my disposal. What I did was by far the most efficient.”

Elias slowed down, lifting his eyebrows.

“You did calculate on the ghost biting you?”

“Yes”, Sasha confirmed.

“Well, it was efficient, but let me show you a different approach.”

They were there. Sasha looked at the apple trees and the high grass. She wondered if Elias had chosen the place on purpose. She had made him rather purple. Had he guessed?

“So. I will pretend this tree here is the ghost. You run forward, and you attack. Straight ahead, the knife slicing through the stomach. And then the ghost tore at your shoulder.”

“Yes?” Sasha agreed. That was pretty much the scenario.

Elias took a step forward. He picked up a wooden stick and ran forward. The first part of the attack was precisely as Sasha’s, but then he changed direction. Instead of putting all force into the attack, ramming the ghosts body, he made an evasive move, ducking underneath the ghosts arm, or in this case the branch of the apple tree. He came up from behind, dragging the tree close to his body and slicing the stem.

“That works good on an apple tree. Would you have had the time with a moving subject?”

Sasha was done taunting him. He got her curious. What he showed could work. She wouldn’t have thought off it, if she hadn’t seen how fast and smooth Elias had done the move. She was lighter than him, she could learn that.

“Give me your best ghost”, Elias said. “I am ready when you are.”

Sasha inhaled, feeling the adrenaline rush in her body. If he could do the stunt on her, she would learn the moves.

It took less than a minute, and a light pink blush on Sasha’s chin. She had known the move, still she had not been able to avoid it.

“Show me Elias”, she said, “please.”

They were laying in the grass. When they had come to Evelina’s the grass had been heigh. Now all was bend down, the marks of several fights in the small garden.

“I learned something good today. I bet my muscles will feel sore tomorrow though.”

“They should”, Elias said.

Sasha hummed. He was strong and there was much more to him than what he let show.

“How come you can be so strong? I mean, both physically and magically, at your age?”

“Good genes?” Elias said, chuckling.

“That wont make up for it. Although I think yours are better than mine. Really, tell me.”

“What do you think?” Elias asked and there was sharpness in his voice.

Sasha gulped. He knew what she was thinking. Was she brave enough to raise her voice out loud?

“I think the queen learned you to be a taker. Please prove me wrong.”

There could be no other way someone was so strong. He must have cheated. That made him not much better than them, and foolishly she really wanted to be proved wrong.

“Mother had me inherit magic she had stolen. It was not voluntarily.” Elias voice had a sharp edge, he looked accusingly at her. “I guess you would know as well as I, that she does not care that much about the receivers wishes.”

Sasha felt a cold tingling along her spin. Off course. How had she not thought of it? Why would the queen treat him better just because she loved him? It was their good luck she did not knew anything about Ivy’s gift. Her sister knew the future, of that the queen had no idea.

“You cant take magic?”

“No Sasha, not really, I am a healer. And a strong healer. We get stronger the more we practise. And I have had a lot of practice.”

“You took mine”, Sasha said.

“I stored it, I can not use it, and if my intentions wouldn’t have been pure, I would not have been able to do it. I tried to protect you.”

His voice was dark, and he moved aside from her, becoming silent. It was obviously he had gone places he did not wish her to follow. Sasha kept quit. Elias had done nothing but helped her.

What had she done in return?