10 The Salon of Enchanted Beauty (Part 1 of 5) Teaser

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In the kingdom of Linsal, the most prestigious profession was that of sorcerer and the most prestigious of sorcerers graduated from the famed Laronia Institute of Sorcerous Arts. One of the most recent graduates to leave those sacred halls had bright purple hair styled in an elaborate wave, yellow slit cat eyes, and was currently sticking her tongue out the left side of her mouth in concentration as she painted the sign of her new shop. Once completed, the enchanted paint would turn the sign into an active enchantment, dazzling potential shoppers, if, that is, she could finish it without making a mistake.

Philliya Wridall had never been terribly good at painting or drawing and her enchantment diagrams barely achieved passing grades in class. But she didn't care. She could draw well enough to make the enchantment work in the way she wanted. They didn't need the extra fancy swirls and flourishes to function so what was the point of including them in the diagram? She could perform enchantments and channel sorcery, so, therefore, that was what mattered.

She'd grown up steeped in sorcery, the youngest of seven children born to sorcerer parents, and it had been a perfectly logical choice for all seven of them to study sorcery. Philliya would have been stupid to turn down her parents' offer to pay for her to study at Laronia. All six of her elder siblings had studied there as well, so off she went, her head and heart full of sorcery, dreaming of one day living the life of a lone sorcerer in a tower. She had thrived in the classes (aside from the low marks in Diagram classes) and had practically wallowed in all the old musty sorcery books that the library housed.

However, her second semester of study brought reality crashing down upon her. It happened when she decided that she should start building a book collection of her very own. She was quite sensible so she had gone to a secondhand bookshop that other students recommended for having cheap prices. It was on the shelves of that shop that she realized even "cheap" was completely unaffordable.

Back in her dorm room, she ran some numbers and came to a horrifying conclusion. She had zero funds for her dream of a sorcerer's tower out in the wilderness somewhere. Sorcerers spent money almost as fast as they earned it. Her parents were no exception, and, after funding six other siblings, there was only enough money left over for Philliya, the seventh, to attend school. To put it bluntly, Philliya was broke.

Ever the sensible person, Philliya had immediately reevaluated her career options. A life in a tower was out, and so too was hiring herself out as a guard (who would hire someone as small as her?) Also out was any other career that involved large amounts of start-up funds. Eventually she settled on a small shop of some kind, but even that would need money. So she began planning and saving.

All through her remaining years at school she feasted on the books in the library, copying by hand enchantments and diagrams that might be useful later on since she couldn't afford to buy the books. She also frantically pursued any opportunity for money that came her way. Therefore, by the time she graduated (with newly fashioned purple hair and yellow cat eyes), she had just enough funds to launch her new shop.

With one last wiggle of her tongue, she completed the sign and the enchantment glowed to life flashing the name of her new shop "The Salon of Enchanted Beauty".

Stepping back, she examined the sign and its placement with a critical eye. "That should suffice." She watched as the secondary routine of the enchantment drew out fantastical images of elaborate hairstyles which cycled through a rainbow of colors. It was programmed to never repeat itself and was a variation on an enchantment she'd found in an old book. Of course, the original creator had never intended for the enchantment to be used for a hair salon.

Philliya capped the bottle of paint very carefully, stretched elaborately, and only then finally entered her completed shop. The inside was just as tiny as the outside indicated with only enough room for one customer at a time, but a heavy scent of sorcery filled the air from all the ingredients she had in stock. After renting the shop and stocking it, she was back to almost broke again with just enough money for a few weeks of food.

She stored the paint away in a locked box with some of the other valuable items. "Time to find some customers!"

Gathering up her bag, a stack of flyers, and a cloak, she headed out of the shop. With a snap of her fingers the door lock enchantment activated, sealing the shop while also displaying a "Back in a few hours" sign. Another snap of her fingers activated the number queuing system so customers could take a number to wait for her return.

Her destination? The palace! Her target clientele would mostly be from the upper class or nobility so she'd picked to open her shop in Kastoburg, the capital of Linsal and the home of the king and his court. Not just anyone could enter the palace, but she had a backdoor pass. Her eldest brother, Toraf, was one of the sorcerers of the court who worked directly for the king. By visiting him, she could rub shoulders with potential customers. Of course she would never dream of pestering the noble ladies of the court. Instead, their maids and ladies-in-waiting were her targets. Happy with her plan of action, Philliya presented her pass at the servants' entrance and the guards allowed her to enter.

Toraf greeted her absentmindedly when she turned up, too focused on his work to really register her arrival, and waved her off in the direction of the door. Philliya took that to mean that the present time was not the right time to talk and left to canvas the palace. Dinnertime would pull Toraf out of his work and she'd catch him then.

She spent a few hours wandering the halls frequented by the maids and managed to hand out a few fliers, but a guard took issue with her actions and firmly told her to mind her own business and please leave. Instead of leaving, she went back to Toraf's rooms and found him finally not buried in his work.

"Tor!" She grinned cheerfully at him. "I came to see you now that my shop is complete."

He poured himself a cup of tea from the teapot which hadn't been there when she first visited. "I suppose you can't be convinced to sell the shop and find a proper job for a sorcerer instead?"

"Now, now, we've had this discussion before, big brother. I'm sure my shop will be successful. That's why I came here to Kastoburg." Before he could interrupt, she continued, "I'm not good enough, and I don't have a title high enough for work at the court. You're the eldest so you have the title and you fit right in here. I wouldn't like it. But, if you want to help your sister out, I have told you before that you could spread the word about my shop. The ladies of the court would love it. If only they knew it existed."

Toraf closed his eyes briefly and sighed. "You always were stubborn once you set your mind on something. I will mention your shop if I have the chance, but I rarely interact with the ladies of the court. They prefer to consult with my female peers on affairs of sorcery."

"That doesn't mean they don't come to visit you." She giggled. "But anyway, here's some flyers detailing what I can do. I would pass them out myself, but a guard kicked me out for doing so earlier." She rolled her eyes dramatically and plopped the sheaf of paper onto the nearest table. "I should head back to see if any customers have come by while I was gone."

Philliya bounded up, sure that she'd return to find customers waiting for her. Toraf rose to his feet more slowly.

"I'll accompany you to your shop. I wish to see it now that it is complete and I have shopping to do. Mother and Father will want to hear news of you and your…venture."

"Wonderful!"

Toraf escorted her out of the palace through one of the smaller main gates, while Philliya chatted merrily. She explained all about her plans for the business and wrapped it all up with "Do you like my new hair and eyes?"

Toraf only grunted and nodded very slightly. "It certainly is very...unusual."

"Exactly! I want people to ask about it. It shows off my work," she burbled happily as they walked up the street to her shop. "Here it is! Wonderful, isn't it?"

He stared up at the sign and examined the storefront. "It's...small. But unique. The enchantments are well-crafted," he added grudgingly.

"Thank you! I can always buy a bigger shop later if needed, but doesn't it add to the mysteriousness of a sorcerer to run a small shop hidden away where you have to hunt for it?"

"That is one way to look at it. Or it says you couldn't afford the rent on a shop in the main shopping district."

"Psshh, details, details. I won't let you kill my happiness. Now, let me check the queueing enchantment." She muttered a few words and a panel in the diagram lit up. But her face fell slightly as it displayed a zero. "Oh. But, I'm sure a customer will come by later today. Thanks for escorting me, Tor! I'll come up to the palace often to see you." She waved cheerily at him, and, after unlocking the door enchantment, vanished into her shop leaving Toraf staring after her with an eyebrow raised.

"That sister of mine is far too optimistic." He sighed and retrieved a piece of parchment from his pocket containing his shopping list. Without a backward glance at the small shop, he set out for the larger shops in the biggest shopping district.