Strawberries

Atlas stood outside the palace, waiting for his master and the Moon Goddess. He was shaken to his core. He had been elated when he was tasked with delivering a message to Lady Tuzi, as seeing her always brightened his day. But when he had arrived at the palace earlier, what he saw made even the hairs behind his neck stand up. There was no doubt that dark sorcery had been used as all signs were pointing to it. A dark curse of unknown origin had been summoned here.

And yet, that heightened sense of danger was replaced with immense concern for her. He had spent many of his free hours training Tuzi on the art of defeating werebears. Atlas loved being around her because of her unbridled candor and her penchant for laughter. Her voice was like music to his ears.

He may be a celestial soldier serving under the Sky God, but on the hierarchical structure in the Realm of Gods, he was low ranked. His face was pretty enough to get him a reservation into the beds of many goddesses and nymphs. But it was all fun and games. They were always holding onto hope that an alpha god would take notice of them.

Atlas knew the rules. A quick tumble in the hay was acceptable but nothing more could ever come of it because of his humble station. Having worked his way up from being a soldier ranked to being promoted as the Captain of Guard to his lordship, certainly helped make him more attractive to the ladies though.

But regardless of his station, Lady Tuzi always referred to him as high company and treated him as if he was her greatest of friends, disregarding his background. Her warmth and kindness was genuine. He simply could not imagine a future without her there.

His attachment to her grew so, that he even volunteered to help her practice silly magic spells, such as creating instant strawberries.

Atlas recalled seeing her just a few weeks ago at the Celestial Hall gardens. Tuzi was sitting cross-legged on a stone bench with an old spell book on her lap. She was concentrating so hard on whatever was written on the page, that her nose was twitching slightly. Old bunny habits die hard.

He kneeled down on one knee by the side of the stone bench and leaned in closer to get a better look. Tuzi was used to having Atlas nearby, so she did not pay him any attention even when his face was practically next to her's, and she could feel his breath.

It was not until Atlas raised a finger and placed it upon her nose. That twitching instantly stopped, and her large hazel eyes had moved slowly from reading the pages to being centered directly upon him.

She did not move her face away from his hand, but tilted her head inquisitively while watching him. "Atlas, your finger is on my nose," she stated as a-matter-of-factly.

"I know that," he said easily with a smile. He wanted to see if she would twitch her adorable nose again.

But instead, after watching him for a moment, she gently pulled her nose away from his finger. Her curious demeanor began to change into one of mischievousness, and she bit his hand! So surprised was he, that he didn't even move his hand away.

She started giggling and chided him menacingly, "That's what you get! Touch my nose again, and I'll bite your fingers off!"

With the sun highlighting her hair and her hazel eyes dancing with laughter, her face was glowing.

Her pink lips looked inviting.

He wanted to kiss her.

But he knew that was impossible.

Instead in retaliation, he started tickling her. She squealed and laughed harder, almost falling off the bench, trying to push his hands away. Their playful moment was interrupted when the old book that was resting on her lap before, almost fell to the floor. Both Atlas and Tuzi stopped their play fighting and reached out at the same time to catch the old thing before it fell onto the dirt. They caught it, one side held by the lady, and the other held by the soldier.

Tuzi took the book and gently examined it, to make sure it was not injured. "I have to be careful with this. I borrowed it from the Celestial Hall libraries and must return it tomorrow."

"What is the book for?" he asked.

"I am trying to learn a spell to make strawberries," she answered, while flipping through the crinkly pages. "It is my Lady Goddess's favorite fruit. Well, mine's too," she said with a bashful grin. "If I can learn to make strawberries, then we can have it all the time. I would not be at the mercy of Lady Season anymore. Ah, here it is. Let me finish reading the passage."

While she was doing that, Atlas was staring at his finger where she had just bitten him a moment ago. Gently, he touched that finger to his lips. He suppose this is as close as he could ever get to being able to kiss Tuzi. She was afterall, the Moon Goddess's lady.

"Atlas, can you help me hold this up while I try this spell out?"

"Of course." She handed the book to him and he held it up to where she could read the book clearly. She scanned the page quickly again and began to move her hands in circle motions around and around, before flicking her fingers in an outward direction and saying the word, "Fraga."

With a sudden poof! A large strawberry fell onto her lap. She let out a delightful squeal and picked it up, staring at it closely. "Atlas, look! I did it!"

He set the book down, peering curiously at the strawberry in her hands. "So you did. But how does it taste?"

"I do not know…" And with that, she raised the large strawberry to her mouth and took a small bite out of it. Instantly, she spit it out, coughing and sputtering. Atlas patted her on the back.

When she calmed down, she stared accusingly at the offending strawberry. "Ugh… you're so sour," she growled at it.

"Awww… It can't be that bad," he said, trying to comfort her.

"But it is!" She suddenly looked so depressed. She thrusted the strawberry to his face. "Try it, if you don't believe me."

He looked at the red fruit, half eaten, dangling in front of his eyes. Frankly, the idea of eating a fruit formed from a spell was kind of gross. But she was looking at him so dejectedly, he didn't have the heart to say no to her.

"Okay then." He took it and without thinking anymore about it, popped the fruit in his mouth. The most sour citrusy taste attacked his taste buds. Oh gawd it was awful. Gross, he thought. He was doing his best not to have a reaction to it, because the lady was watching him so intently. He forced himself to swallow and said, "Its… Not so bad…"

Tuzi looked extremely surprised by his response. "Really?!" She looked suspiciously at him. "You aren't lying to me, are you…?"

"Of course not," he lied, not wanting to trample her spirit. A little fib won't hurt anyone. "It tasted…okay… Maybe just a few more times, and you'll make it taste sweet."

After processing his words, the smile that lit up her face could launch a thousand ships. She immediately began to move her hands in circular motions again, repeating the same gesture and word to create more instant strawberries.

And as a result, he ate all the fruits that came out of the spells, even if they were smelly and spoiled. His lie only ended up hurting himself, as it gave him food poisoning for days after. But she was his enchantress, and he had sworn his sword to protect her from the moment they met. He meant every word. This included protecting her feelings too.

When he laid in bed after clearing his insides, the Sky God paid him a visit after discovering from his other soldiers what had happened. The entire regiment was having the time of their life regaling what a "love sick puppy" Atlas had become and that he was fully trained and whipped. The soldiers were pooling coins together to buy him a collar and a leash.

His lordship wore a guilty look as he glanced at his soldier's green face. "Atlas… Are you doing this because I assigned you to Lady Tuzi…?"

"No…" Atlas was sweating beads and was having a hard time speaking. "She just needed a volunteer for her spells… I thought I could help… I uh… Just ate one too many strawberries…"

The Sky God tried to suppress his laughter, but he couldn't help but chuckle. "Atlas," he said, "you're one of my best soldiers, so I'm going to give you a small piece of advice. Lady Tuzi belongs to the Moon Goddess. If you're looking for pleasure, I suggest you find it elsewhere. If the Moon Goddess finds out that you have designs on her pet, even I won't be able to save you." The Sky God shuddered. "That woman can be pure evil when she's mad."

The soldier closed his eyes against his lordship's words. The Moon Goddess's wrath was known to all, when angered. "I know…" But try as he might, Tuzi was never far from his thoughts.

Atlas didn't understand it, but the helplessness he felt at not knowing where Lady Tuzi was was growing rapidly into fear. It was like an empty hole gaping in his chest, and it was only getting bigger.

When he saw his master and the Moon Goddess emerge from the great palace doors, he stood at attention. Immediately bowing his respects, he waited for his master's next orders.

"Atlas," Sky addressed the soldier. "Return to the Senior Council and inform the Creator about the happenings here at The Goddess's palace. Let him know that dark sorcery was summoned at her place during her absence and that blood has been spilt. The Mortal Mirror has been tampered with and we will need his assistance in finding out what is wrong with it. And lastly…"

He hesitated, wanting to choose his next words to be as gentle as possible. "Please let it be known that Lady Tuzi's whereabouts are currently unknown. If anyone has any information, please inform us immediately." He glanced at Moon, who winced as he said the words, almost as if they stung her.

She had been silent with her eyes downcast, having difficulties processing the scene she had just witnessed in her own home.

Atlas accepted the task. Before he turned to leave, he asked his master and the lady, "Forgive me for making an assumption beforehand. But can I assume that her Lady Goddess won't be staying at her residence? If the Great Creator asks, what should I tell him?"

Moon honestly hadn't thought of that at all. She didn't have an answer for him. Where does one go when they have lost their home?

"She will stay with me…" the Sky God responded, looking her way. "If that is fine with you? You know my place pretty well by now… And you are familiar with my people. Your room there has always been maintained for you, in case you were to return."

She took a breath. It really can't be smart to stay with him. Her feelings were conflicted enough as it is. Being around him always felt great, until it didn't anymore. Everything's a mess right now. Would it even make sense… Staying at his place would only complicate already tangled feelings.

"Sky, I really don't know…" she started.

"I really insist," he nudged gently. "If anything, my household would be more than happy to see you. You are always a welcome guest and it's been a long time."

There was a moment of silence as she thought about what she wanted to do… It would be weird to knock on the Creator's door and say, "Hey Dad. Can I stay with you because someone cursed my home and killed everything there?"

Her friend, the Goddess of Seasons was also not in residence at the moment. Where else could she go… No matter where she went, that dark feeling without Tuzi would always linger there. It would never go away until she was where the Goddess could see her again. Staying with Sky was not a good idea, but at the same time, she didn't have the energy to fight him on this.

"My Lady…?" Atlas asked, waiting for her answer.

"I guess that's fine…" she responded with a nod in Sky's direction. "Thank you for letting me stay over."

"No, this is a difficult time for you. I am glad to be of any help," he responded kindly, patting her on the arm.

Atlas pocketed his answer and strode purposefully towards the Senior Council chambers.