No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

I promised myself that once Madam Delula released me for the day that I would help work with Anne to get her chores done. Lunchtime for me comes around but I beat her to the kitchen. She comes in to grab my plate and just about jumps out of her fur to see me there. I offer my services again and she reluctantly accepts. Before I leave I look over to see Penny working diligently and she notices me. We exchange a look and then it is on. I slyly get Anne working at a faster pace getting food out and plates back. She has to clean the floor in Madam Odette's bedroom today so I assist with that. Between the two of us, we finished in what sounded like a record time. But two vs one will do that.

After finishing up Madam Odette's room the two of us assisted one of the garden ferrets in moving wheelbarrows of soil. They're working on getting a new compost pile set up so next year they can have more, richer soil. I was light on Anne because she is in her nice maid outfit. I'm sure it gets dirty but anything to help it stay clean. We helped as much as we could and got them caught up just in time for dinner. Like before, I was able to sneak Anne into a faster work pace and sure enough we were able to finish half an hour before we did last night. She and I brought the last of the plates back to the kitchen. Anne was about to walk out but I managed to stop her, "Oh Anne! Hold up a second."

She waited for me. "Penny, you good?" The short little skunk comes around to the counter where I'm at, "I am. Finished up and now I'm done for the day. We do this, you remember what you owe me?"

"I do, I do."

Penny walks around and grabs Anne's hand, "C'mon, we worked hard to make this happen." Anne is pulled off into Penny's corner of the kitchen where she cleaned up and got ready. Anne still looks lost as to what is happening but quickly realizes what's going on when Penny drops a recipe book on the table. Penny grabs an apron to keep herself clean. The two go over some basics while I sit at the small table and watch. The rest of the kitchen has gone home but those two are still working. The echo is different than when there are half a dozen people. It's more open but empty.

It's about 40 minutes before Penny and Anne come over with a plate for each of us. I take a look at poke it with the spoon they provided. It bounces back and forth, "It's pudding!" Penny corrects me, "Gourmet Pudding, with crisps." I take a scoop and there are little bits of what I think are graham crackers. I take a bite and quickly realize they are more than that. There's a sweeter flavor that I immediately identify as cinnamon. That mixed with the vanilla and chocolate pudding, while strange, is very sweet.

The three of us each share a small helping to taste the work. Everyone seems to have the same agreement that it was a good first try. As was our agreement, after Anne finished her lesson I assisted Penny in cleaning up her small corner of the kitchen. It's a few bowls, some leftover ingredients, and about 20 minutes of work between the two of us then we both get to leave. Penny goes off her own way to their homes while I take the short trip down the stairs to my little overhang shed. I dig through my bag looking for a new set of clothes. The ones I have on are just gone from everything that I did today.

With all the hustle and bustle I almost forgot one important thing. Madam Odette ordered me to meet with her after my day was done. With the kitchen cleaned up now was my chance to meet up with her. Instead of going out the doors, I head to her office first. Knocking has no answer so I head to the bedroom. There is still no answer for me. I look over the railing trying to find where she would be. I eventually ask the badger who stands by the back door. He informed me that he saw her by the shed. I'm not sure why but I have a feeling that I should be very worried.

I head outside and sure enough, she is sitting at the table by my shed with a book in her hand. She's reading it and that strikes me as bad. I step down so that she can hear me walking on the grass. She marks her book before putting it down, "Red, have a seat please." I take my seat across from her looking at her face. She does not break eye contact with me the entire time and it is incredibly unnerving. "So, do you remember what I asked of you yesterday?" I pause going over the entire day. I learned with Madam Delula, helped Anne, and cleaned the kitchen after her lesson. The only time I saw Madam Odette was when she was talking to me about my lessons where…

Oh no.

Oh god no.

She asked me to visit her after my lesson. I helped Anne instead.

It has been weeks since I have been scolded for anything. I've been on a great path following every request she had of me and executing them with precision in a timely fashion. And now I may die. In my thought of panic she speaks up, "Oh good, you do remember. But that also means that you forgot." There is no apologizing to this woman. This is no asking for forgiveness. I've learned by now that there is only a swift punishment. I cringe but I answer, "Yes, Madam Odette."

"So, what's your excuse?"

"There is no excuse Madam Odette, I did forget to meet with you after lessons."

"Yes, you did. Why did you forget? What were you doing?"

"I had been helping Anne."

"Well Red, if that seems to be distracting you from what you should be doing then I think that you should cease and focus on what you should be doing."

I should cease? But that would mean that Anne wouldn't be able to learn how to cook. All that hard work I put in would be wasted just after she got started! I don't fight back often but this is one time I have to, "I will do better next time Madam Odette."

"Better? That doesn't tell me that you will stop as I have asked."

I'm stuck. I'm trapped but I can't stop, "I will put your requests first before working on others."

"So, you do not intend to stop?"

"No Madam Odette, I do not."

"Even though I have not told you to?"

"Yes, Madam Odette." I bite my lip and wait for it.

"It seems that what you are doing is very important to you but don't let it happen again."

"I will make sure Madam Odette."

"You're not getting away with this one though. You will join Jerry on night watch tonight since you seem to be so interested in how things work around here."

Jerry walks to the grounds until sunrise, making sure that there are no trespassers and that anything that was left out is put away. Essentially my punishment is that I don't get to sleep tonight.

The sun rises signaling Jerry is done for the night and I'm off to see Madam Delula for lessons again. I knock on the door and for the first time she is up, "Come in Red." I enter and she is sitting at the desk looking over a wide array of books. "Good morning Madam Delula."

"Good morning Red."

"I'm glad to see you're up."

"Still up. I didn't sleep last night trying to come up with something for you today. I still don't have anything for me to teach you today." She stands up with a book in her hand, "So you are going to teach me something. You wanted to learn about Visum, more specifically long sight, so here." She hands me the book, "You have till noon tomorrow to research and come up with a spell of your own that uses Visum. I'll be here to assist if you need it but you will be mostly on your own on this assignment."

"So… I have to make a spell?"

"Yes, if you are as smart as I believe you to be you should be able to hit the milestone that signifies your independence. You're able to learn on your own so I want to see if you can create on your own. The day is yours to do with as you please as long as you have something ready tomorrow. Now if you excuse me, I am going to go to bed for a few hours."

"Yes, Madam Delula."

I step out holding the book she handed me. With a glance, I can tell this is nothing like I've read before. It's a lot thicker and just at a glance of the first few pages, it is a different level altogether. Small text, some advanced terminology that I'm not 100% certain I understand; this is going to be a challenge reading let alone making something from it. I'll take a few hours to see what I can figure out on my own before I do anything else.

I sit at the table by the shed quickly looking over the index. There is some overlap from a couple of the other books I've read such as elemental bonds, reactions, and some practical applications but Visum seems to be one of the finest refined elements you can get meaning that it is hard to focus with, collect, and use. There isn't a simple way of doing it either. I'm trying to find something that mentions a different method. Everything else has always had an alternate means to collect energy but this just seems straightforward. I wonder if she has another book. But she barred me for a while so she could sleep. Wouldn't Madam Odette have something? Wouldn't hurt would it?"

"Madam Odette? You wouldn't happen to have a book on Visum that I could borrow would you?" There's no response. Normally she's around and shows herself when she's directly addressed. I know better than to ask again otherwise she'll see me as demanding. There's no response so she may be busy. I walk up to the house where the badger lets me in. As usual, the place is bustling with life as people work. I walk up to her office door knocking where I get a muffled response. Inside she's behind her desk leaning back. She looks to have been doing something on her computer. "Yes?"

"Hello, Madam Odette. I was wondering if you have a book on Visum that I could borrow."

"I'm sure I have at least one but it would be in the library. It's down the hall towards the front door, two doors on your left side across the hall. Be sure to return it when you're done."

"Thank you, Madam Odette."

I go to leave but she stops me, "Oh Red. One more thing."

"Yes, Madam Odette?"

With a devilish smirk on her face, "You look tired. Did you have a late night?"

"Yes, Madam Odette."

"You should get more sleep. Take care."

I close the door behind me with a forced smile on my face. I understand that it was my mistake but she can just dig deeper into the wound. I accept it and move on looking for the library. "Front door, across the hall, two doors down, and here?" I open the door and the smell of paper hits me. "Yes, here." Walking in there are a lot of books crammed into this small room. Shelves upon shelves that go to the ceiling with stairs to a second floor. There is one book that is on a pedestal near the door. Inside is the entire collection of every book here and where it is located. I look through and find a title that strikes me as what I may need. It's titled Dr. Angram's Simplification of Sight and Movement. I'm noticing that most magic books are really to the point.

I find it where it was located and head back to my table to dig into it and see what I can make. The theory is rather simple. Focal points are the eyes, cheeks, and the muzzle of the nose so it's all focused around the face but the focal points are precise. Skimming through I find something that intrigues me. It's the magical simulation of a lens such as glasses or binoculars. I take that and start working on getting the idea. I play around with it and get it to where I can create fake lenses in my paws that help me see better. I adjust my paws when I get the weird distinction that the lenses are giving the illusion that everything is closer. Then, it hits me.

I remember reading about loose and solid bonds and some of the effects that they have on simple elements such as stringing air together. I thought and wondered how that would be applied to Visum and would it be possible to make a magical telescope? I think I may need another book.