19 September 2023

So… It’s been a while. And I don’t remember much. So for a bit, I’m going to post three or so times a day, and work on refining everything with author’s notes and whatnot later. I’m impressed how much of a backlog I have, actually; it’s been hard to focus for a long time now.

Sarah wasn’t expecting a familiar to show up in her bedroom that evening. To be honest, she wasn’t expecting one to show up at all. She didn’t exactly fit the “magical girl” profile. Given the choice, she preferred to keep to herself, and her outfit tended toward dark colors, only softened by her golden-blonde hair. And even that she’d dyed black for Halloween last week.

And yet, here the thing was, a weird little pseudo-bunny sitting right on top of her AP Calculus homework. They stared at each other for a minute or two, when a male voice echoed inside her head. “How would you like to become a magical girl?”

Sarah blinked a couple times then scowled. “Heck no. Why would I want to do that?”

Prince Xavian Edwist von Hescher expected this to be a fairly routine contract. The girl–Sarah Dossinger, was it? – had few friends, and one of the highest compatibility scores Xavian had ever seen. By rights, she should have jumped at the opportunity; all his siblings’ contractors had.

So when Sarah declined, Xavian was at a complete loss. What was worse, she disregarded the idea completely, as if it was too much of a hassle.

“W-what do you mean?” he pushed. “Magical girls are granted access to magics and technologies beyond your wildest dreams! What’s more, they are afforded fame and fortune both here and among the Atlanteans. Why would you not desire that?”

To Xavian’s shock, the girl’s scowl deepened. “What person in their right mind wants to be famous? I have to deal with people way too much as it is. As for the rest, well. You know what they say. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Besides, I’ve got a pretty cozy life right now, anyway.”

Xavian couldn’t find words to reply to that. After several minutes where he gasped like a fish out of water, Sarah asked, “Could you move, please? You’re sitting on my homework.”

He hopped down to the floor, and the girl proceeded to ignore him to work on solving integrals and the like. After another several minutes, Sarah asked, “WHy are you still here? Don’t you have other people to bother? More contracts to make?”

“I… No, I don’t. I can’t, actually.”

That made Sarah pause. She pulled back to look at Xavian. “What do you mean, you can’t?”

Xavian flinched. “I, er… Well, it takes a lot to materialize an avatar and send our consciousness to this realm. Without the energy from a contract, it’ll take a while to save up the energy to go back.”

Sarah glared at him, making him shrink even smaller. “How long?”

“Er, it’s… a-about a week.”

“A week.” Sarah’s voice was flat.

“...Yes.”

After a moment, Sarah groaned and rubbed her temples. She muttered to herself, “Mina keeps rabbits, right? Maybe I can pass it off to her for the week.”

Xavian froze. “D-do you really plan on foisting me off like a common rabbit!?”

Sarah raised an eyebrow. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I? You’re the one who showed up unannounced. Why should that be my problem?”

Xavian’s fur bristled. “Don’t you know who I am?”

“Not a clue. Not that I care. You skipped straight to your crappy sales pitch, and skipped right over introductions.”

Xavian finally realized how badly he’d botched this whole thing. He did his best to draw himself up regally and bowed his head. “My apologies. I am Prince Xavian Edwist von Hescher, of the Arcadian royal family.”

The look Sarah gave him was filled with disdain, but before Xavian could protest, she just shook her head and turned back to her work. “Yeah, I really dodged a bullet there.”

“Eh?”

“You said Arcadia, right? The fae aren’t exactly known for making fair deals. They’re all about half-truths and twisted words; more like Kyubey in Madoka Magica.” She shot a glance. “Not that you seem very capable of that.”