Liza's 21st Birthday

Trigger warning: This story mentions suicide, death, and profanity.

"Liza!" Laura called for me from the kitchen. "Liza, I need you to go into town and pick up a few things for dinner." 

"Okay," I called back to her. She was the woman who raised me after my mother died during childbirth. I was my mother’s only child, and my father committed suicide after her death. I heard rumors that it was because he couldn't support a child. The stigma of abandoning children in this country is tough. He would have never had another job unless he fled the country, but even that is difficult

William adopted me shortly after, but his sister, Laura, has been the one to raise me. I never met William’s wife, all that I knew was that he was married. I always imagined her to be like a princess trapped in a tower far far away. But neither William nor Laura know that I know she exists.

I made my way into the shopping district of Rhaumn heading straight for my favorite bakery. "Good afternoon Liza." I turned to see the local baker waving me down.

"Good day Mrs. Hankly, how are you today?" She made the best morning bread in town. When I was younger she'd make me my favorite Sourdough bread in mini loaves to give to me when William or Laura would bring me into town.

"I have someone I'd like for you to meet. He's my older sister's son, only a few years older than you." She smiled like she was planning something. I'd know the mischievous smile.

"Oh yeah? Where is this person then?" I replied to her with my brow raised and my arm now propped up on the counter like we were placing bets. Mrs. Hankly has tried introducing me to men who were passing through town most of them were appealing to me. 

"Sawyer! Come out here for a moment. There's someone I'd like for you to meet."

I giggled as I heard the crashing of pans from the back. "Real smooth one you got back there." Mrs. Hankly laughed at my sarcasm.

The curtain was pulled aside as a short man with dark brown wavy hair and red eyes emerging from the back. His skin was a darker complexation with an olive undertone. Is he part elf? He was taller than me, but not tall enough to be an elf.

"This is Sawyer, my sister married a half-gnome, half-troll. He's been gifted with earth, plant, and water affinities. He'd make a great farmer, but he's more interested in studying at that tower in Alfryn's domain. Never understood the interest in becoming a scholar." Mrs. Hankly shrugged her shoulders and walked into the back leaving Sawyer and me alone in the shop.

"Sorry about my aunt, my mom told me she can be a bit eccentric at times," Sawyer said with a shy almost blushing look on his face.

"Oh, I'm aware, I've had 20 years to learn that much about her."  We both laughed at that. The pressure seemed to lift off of him with that remark. "So how long are you in town for?"

"I'm here for the next several months. My goal is to get into The Sourcer's Iyceum to become a scholar. My dream is to study dungeons. I heard a story about them being connected to Tartarus. Something called Muges are the guides into the Tartarus." Sawyer continued in a ramble but his face seemed to light up talking about his future. He is kind of cute when he's excited. Maybe I'll stop by on my next trip into town.

"I hope for the best for you Sawyer. I best be going, I have to get supplies for dinner tonight. I'll see around." I turned my back to him and waved as I headed outside.

"When will you be back!" Sawyer blurted out in a frantic way almost tripping over his own feet. He seems a bit clumsy for wanting to be a scholar.

I turned to look over my shoulder, "next time." I giggled as I left out of the shop. Mrs. Hankly might have nailed this one, but we’ll see.

I bought all the supplies Laura asked me to get plus a small present for William since his birthday was coming up. William's birthday was only 10 days before mine so we usually celebrate together.

I got home and started helping Laura with dinner. "Will William be home for dinner tonight?" I asked, knowing he usually only comes home on the weekends.

"William will be home tonight, he's bringing a special guest as well." Laura was smiling at the thought of who, but chose not to say.

"Is it someone from Coby?" I prodded, hoping to learn more about who is coming for dinner.

"It will be a surprise. Your gifting is coming up this birthday, and we're hoping to influence it to be something that can be useful." Laura gasped like she wasn't supposed to tell me what she had just said. "I've said too much, please ignore that, or at least act like you don't know anything."

"So you're saying my current attributes are worthless then?" I felt a sting at the implication, my attributes are all good skills for enchanting scrolls and writing inscriptions, but I've never met anyone who could teach me. I never really needed any magic to help me in my day-to-day life.

"I didn't mean that." Laura tried to correct herself, but the damage was done. "You have great attributes, but there is no need for them in this town. Unless you wanted to go learn at The Sourcer's Iyceum. William has already told you he has connections to get you into the intern program without doing the entrance exam."

"And I already told you that I didn't want handouts." I spat back. "I think I need some air." I left the house to wait outside for William to come home.

Time seemed to go by slowly, but eventually, I saw two figures walking down the road over the horizon. "William!" I took off running towards them. Running right into William's arms.

"Hey there. I wasn't gone that long. Did you get into a fight with Laura?" William questioned me, but I just buried my face into his stomach. William was more than a foot taller than me. Although everyone was taller than me since I'm a half gnome, half-dwarf. Two of the shortest races on Coia.

"Everything is fine, I just really wanted to see you," I said as I felt a pair of eyes burning into my back. I turned to see who he brought with him. It was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. She was around 5 and a half feet tall with straight black hair with an undertone of red. Her skin was as dark as Sawyer's but instead of an olive undertone hers were more redish-orange. Her eyes sparkled, but it was hard to determine the color. She had the perfect hourglass figure and plenty of assets to share from all angles.

"This is Aziam, she's an old friend of mine.

"She can't be that old looking like that," I replied, and Aziam smiled.

"She's of the succubus race, they tend to retain their youthful look for decades if not centuries," William spoke as he pulled away from my hug. I looked between the two of them and questioned if this Aziam was William's secret wife. "Let's hurry on home, I'm sure Laura is waiting on all of us."

By the time we got home, Laura had just finished putting dinner on the table. We were having beef stew, which was mine and William’s favorite, and we had enough for everyone to have seconds.

After dinner, we sat around the fireplace. "I brought Aziam to introduce you to her. Aziam is a skilled Mage. Her Affinities are fire and lightning gifted at a fourth degree. She taught her sister lightning and fire magic several years before you were born. She also has connections to The Sourcer's Iyceum." Watching William talk about Aziam made it very clear that this woman had to be his secret wife. The way they looked at one another and how his eyes lit up when speaking to her.

Aziam cut in where William had stopped speaking. "William has told me a lot about you. I think it would be best for you to study at The Sourcer's Iyceum. Scroll enchanting is a unique skill to be gifted with, but an elemental affinity is needed to get the best use out of that attribute. So I offered my assistance in training you over the next few weeks. Hopefully by doing so your next gifting will be an elemental gift."

"I don't have any desire to study scrolls, but I'll work with you if that's what William wants," I responded reluctantly.

"Great, we'll start tomorrow morning." Aziam stood up and William showed her to the spare bedroom. "It's late, sleep well tonight, my training isn't easy."

I helped Laura finish cleaning up in the kitchen. "So is that William's wife?" I came right out and asked the question.

"Liza, I think it's late enough for you. Aziam's training you in the morning, I can take care of the rest here." Ushering me out of the kitchen and right to my room.

The next morning came and my training began. We started off with a lot of physical exercises which completely drained me. By the time lunch rolled around, I could only think about going to bed instead of giving in to the hunger I felt. I was already wiped despite already being a relatively active person.

Three weeks went by and my birthday is tomorrow. Finally used to the physical exercise and now able to use basic water and fire magic. My gifting should go well.

"Liza," Aziam called to me from the living room, "why don't you take today off and head into town? I'm sure Laura wants to make you a special dinner for your 21st birthday." Laura always makes my favorite meal and buys me the best pie in town.

I headed into town and went straight to Mrs. Hankly's bakery. "Mrs. Hankly! Tomorrow is my 21st birthday! What did you get me‽" I skipped right inside just in time to hear all the pots and pans falling to the floor and shouts from the back.

"Liza!" Sawyer came rushing from the back, "Hey, hi. How are you? You look well." Blood rushed to his face making him blush from just seeing me. Can't say I actually disliked this man. I've only spoken to him that one time a few weeks ago, but he is attractive and seems to like me.

"Would you like to join us for my 21st birthday? I should be receiving my next gifting. William and Laura are hoping for something elemental." The way Sawyer's face lit up and the smile spread across his face instantly made me flustered. I quickly turned away and headed for the door. "I-I-I'll be back later for my birthday pie, can you let Mrs. Hankly know for me." I can feel my face getting warm and I needed get outside and get the rest of what's needed for dinner.

"I can do anything you ask," I heard Sawyer shout back to me and my heart started jumping. Oh no, I need to get a handle on myself especially since I just invited him to dinner tomorrow.

After getting home I realized I forgot to go back for the pie. "Great, I have to go back tomorrow and possibly walk with Sawyer alone all the home." I let out a sigh and tingles ran across my body with a flutter in my chest. "I should go practice. That should keep me occupied." I trained until dinner, ate, and went to bed.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" I found Aziam, William, and Laura standing at the foot of the bed.

"Morning" I replied, trying to sit up and rub the sleep out of my eyes. The three of them told me to get ready for the day and we'd head for the church for the gifting ceremony. Giftings don't have to be done in a church, but our local church is run by a fortune teller who can determine gifting's and their base level unless it’s something unbelievably rare.

Laura had handmade a white gown with blue, green, and red trim along the bottom and around the sleeves. It was a comfortable and fitting dress and fell elegantly against my curves. After bathing and putting the dress on we left for the church. Aziam stayed at the house saying something like she'd get everything ready for our return.

At the church, they had a separate room for the crystal needed to assist the fortune teller. He was average height with no distinctive features and a very forgettable face. He spoke confidently and clearly almost intimidatingly. I stepped up to the crystal and followed his directions. Placing my hand on either side of the crystal while he closed his eyes and calling on his powers to see what kind of gift I had received.

"Ah, very nice, unique indeed. Miss Liza, you should be very pleased to hear you have an affinity for crystal magic. A second-tiered elemental magic at a second-degree base level. Congratulations." The man spoke opening his eyes with a welcoming warm smile.

I could hear the excitement coming from Laura and William from behind me. I'm sure they're going to try to convince me to enroll to become a scholar now. I sighed and smiled back at the man in front of me. "Thank you for your time." I removed my hands from the crystal and bowed as he chanted a small blessing for me.

I turned to Laura and William and they embraced me with the biggest hug that forced a genuine smile on my face. "Let's go home and celebrate," William said while still crushing Laura and me against him. I nodded against his stomach.

"I forgot to get the pie yesterday and accidentally invited the baker's nephew to dinner as well."

"Oh‽ Is that so?" William looked down at me with his left brow raised as to imply more.

"It's not like that. Apparently, he's staying with the bakers while he applies for The Sourcer's Iyceum. His parents aren't too thrilled about the idea I'm assuming." Laura and William shared a look between them as if making a nonverbal plan and I felt a little out of the loop.

"Alright, well let's not keep this man waiting then." Laura broke the hug apart and started heading towards the door. The two of us followed right behind her.

We got to Mrs. Hankly's bakery shop and Sawyer was helping another villager with their order. "Afternoon, you must be the nephew I've heard about," William spoke louder than necessary. My face flushed red and I grew twice their size. Shit.

"Hi. I-I'm S-Sawyer. I-I'm Sara's nephew. Sawyer stuttered like crazy when speaking to William. To be fair William's look could be very intimidating just by his size alone.

Silence stilled the air creating a very awkward feeling for myself that I'm sure was William's doing. "Pie!" Sawyer awkwardly shouted before rushing into the back and once again knocking some pots or pans off their racks.

"He's kind of clumsy, don't you think?" William said in a teasing condescending way while giving me a side eye. I just rolled my eyes in response and left the air to fall silent again.

"Don't trip with that pie!" Mrs. Hankly shouted from the back.

"H-H-Here's your birthday pie. Ha-Happy Birthday Liza." Sawyer handed over the pie to Laura who took it before William clasped his shoulders making stumble a bit.

"Alright, let's head home," William said without allowing any conjecture from anyone, and off we went. I could hear Mrs. Hankly giggling from the kitchen in the back as we left the bakery.

At home, Laura was in the kitchen making dinner for all of us while Willian, Aziam, Sawyer and I sat in the living discussing the future for the two of us at The Sourcer's Iyceum. I couldn't keep my eyes off this man. He began to cry when Aziam told him she'd write his letter of recommendation for his entrance exam, but she wouldn't be able to promise his entry as she could mine. Since my entry recommendation would be based on the scroll enchanting skills. Sawyers nonetheless, seemed overjoyed, and I couldn’t help feeling the happiness that was overflowing from him.

The rest of the night went by with nothing but joy, laughter, and a hopeful future. A perfect end to my 21st birthday.