In the Hands of the Caster: IV

In the Hands of the Caster IV

She was still there.  So the whole thing wasn't a dream.  Rolling on my side, the first thing who I thought of was Dani, and there she was, still sleeping on my shirt.  I felt my face crumbling slightly, hating the idea that she had to sleep under my bed.  She must have heard me moving because as my other hand touched the floor, her head jerked up and she started looking around wildly.  "I-It's okay," I tried to assure her, keeping my voice low.  "You're still here."
"Am I supposed to be relieved to hear that?" she asked, trying to make her voice sharp but still obviously sleepy.  "What time is it?"
I turned my head to the side, "Quarter till five."
"Quarter till five??" she repeated back, sounding incredulous.  "But classes don't even start until after 7:30.  Why in the world would you wake up so early?"
"I-I like to go get coffee," I muttered.  "I also like to sit at the shop and read a bit."
"You read?" Dani said, sounding a bit surprised.  "I would have never guessed."
"Well you never asked," I answered back.  Honestly, considering we had dated for so long it was odd to think about how little we actually knew about each other.  Maybe this was why its considered smart to live with your partner before marrying them.  "I don't like to read anything too interesting, just-" I was about to continue when my dorm room door flew open and Karsten pounced inside like a hungry cat.  I jerked myself up into a sitting position.
"What the hell, Karsten?" I blurted out.
"Where is she?" he asked with a huge smile and started looking around the room.
I felt my face pale.   "W-what?  W-where is who?  There's no one here!"
"You know who I'm talking about!" Karsten said gleefully as Fynn quickly came into the room.
"D-Dan-" I started.
"Sabine!" Fynn said with a huge grin, joining Karsten in the search.  "After we left the library, we assumed that you probably cleaned everything up and went to go meet her.  "I can't say that I agree with your decision, but it is fun to catch you in the act."
"What the hell are you two talking about?" I hissed.  "You're lucky that we didn't all get in trouble…"
Karsten and Fynn both stopped looking around to stare at me.  "S-so you," Fynn began.
"You did take care of it then?" Karsten finished off.
I felt my face grow red.  I hated to lie, and to my best friends I hated it even more.  But I thought about Dani under the bed watching them rummage around my room.  "I…I t-took care of it," I said in a worried voice.  "B-but you guys should really be heading out."
"Heading out?" Karsten chuckled, dismissing the whole experiment now that in his mind it was 'taken care of.'  "You mean you really are alone in here?"
"Why the hell wouldn't I be?" I snapped.  "I just broke up with her yesterday!"
"So you did do it!" Fynn asked.  "You actually broke up with her?"
"Y-yes," I stuttered.  
"How did it go?" Karsten asked.  "Did she cry?  Dani seems like the type of girl that would cry about a breakup…even for the reason that you broke up with her."
"S-shut up!" I said to him.  "Look you guys-"
"Check the bed," Fynn interrupted with a smile.  
"The bed!" Karsten exclaimed, also smiling and smacking his forehead.  "Why didn't we think about that?"  He immediately fell to his knees and started looking under.
"S-stop!  Stop!" I screamed at him, diving out of my own bed and pushing him aside.  Karsten's eyes were wide with surprise after he slid across the floor, crashing into my closet.  
"What the hell, man?" he said, rubbing the back of his head.  "There wasn't anything under there except a shirt and a plant…" he paused.  "Who the hell keeps a plant under their bed?"
"No Sabine?" Fynn asked, still standing upright.
"Nah," Karsten grumbled.  "Nothing but a bunch of junk."
"Damn," Fynn said.  "And here I thought that we were going to see something interesting."
"W-well you're not!" I growled.  "You two need to get the hell out of my room.  Don't locks mean anything to you?"
"It's not my fault that your lock doesn't work properly," Karsten said, standing up again.  "So everything with the magic spheres worked out okay?  You didn't get in trouble did you?"
"No," I said.  "I told you that I took care of it."
"Hmmm," Fynn said.  
"Hmmm what?" I asked, growing impatient.  These two were inadvertently digging me in an even deeper hole with Dani the longer that they stayed here.  
"So nothing happened with Dani or Sabine?" Fynn asked, not bothering to hide his disappointment.  
"No," I grumbled.
"But you broke up with her," Fynn pressed.
"Yes."
"So she's single?"
"Yes."
"Did you see Sabine?" Karsten asked.
I thought about Dani under the bed.  "No," I answered immediately.  "I was walking back to the rooms and I saw the library windows and ran up to find you two idiots doing exactly what I told you not to do."
"We were just trying to help-" Fynn began.
"Oh trust me," I said in a sarcastic voice, "you two have helped me plenty."
The two of them looked a little confused by this last statement, but to my relief were finally starting to leave the room.
Thank hell.
"Well I guess we'll get ready for class, we have math at eight," Karsten mused.  "You want me to come back for you?"
"No," I said.  "I'll meet you both at class.  I wanted to stop at the shop and get something to drink and check into some things."
"Well, alright then," Karsten said, slapping Fynn on the shoulder.  "I guess there's nothing for us to see here."
"Guess not," Fynn answered.  As the two started to finally leave the room and I felt myself relax, Fynn turned back to me.  "Are you going to see Sabine tonight?"
I lowered my eyes.  Shrunken Dani or not, I wasn't about to waste this chance.  "I am," I said quietly.  "Now will you two please, just leave me alone?  I need to get ready.'
"Alright, we're going, we're going," Karsten said, shutting the door behind him.
I immediately jumped to the door and locked it again.  Only someone as big as Karsten could break into my room so easily.  Fynn by himself, even Azzo would knock before bursting in so I quickly lowered myself to the floor, pressing my cheek against it, looking for Dani.  "D-Dani?" I hushed.  "Dani, they're both gone now, it's just us.  You can come out now."
I saw her emerge from behind the pile that was my t-shirt, her hair still in a braid but the front of it, sticking up all over the place.  It would have been cute just seeing her at her normal size, but like this, it was damn right adorable.  What wasn't adorable was that her face was almost as red as her hair.  "What the hell?" she hissed to me.
"I-I'm sorry," I said, sitting up on the floor as I saw her coming out.  "I didn't think that Karsten would be in here the very next day."
"So he was the one that did this to me?" she said, coming out from under the bed, still clad in yesterday's school clothes without the knee socks or loafers.
"I don't think that he knows just what he did."
"Can he fix me?"
"Dani, I don't know," I said.  "I don't think he even completely understood whatever spell he cast.  Do you want to talk to him?"
She shuddered.  "No."
"Why?"
"Karsten was always your friend who scared me the most," she said in a simple voice.  "We'll figure something out, I just…I don't want to involve him in this.  Not him."
"Okay," I answered her.  "So what about clas-"
"Were they talking about Sabine?" she interrupted.
"Uh…I don't know what you mean."
"Sabine Taylor," she said firmly.  "The junior that is in my gym class.  Is that the Sabine that they were talking about?"
"M-maybe?" I answered hesitantly.  
"Y-you're going to see her?" she asked.
There was no point in hiding it.  If I told the truth now, maybe she would let the whole thing go.  "I have a thing with her tonight, yes."
"A thing?" she repeated.  "What does that mean?"
"Honestly Dani," I said.  "It's not really any of your business."
She fell silent.  "Y-you're right," she answered, her voice trembling slightly.  "Here I am acting like a jealous girlfriend and we've been broken up since…" she trailed off, pretending to think.  "Well hell, it hasn't even been twenty-four hours.  No wonder I'm surprised."  She crouched down and started pulling her knee-socks and put on her shoes.  
"Dani," I said, lowering my voice.  "It's not like it's a date-"
"Of course not," she interrupted.  "What kind of guy would break up with their girlfriend and have the nerve to go out with another girl the next day?"
"Dani-"
"Furthermore," Dani continued.  "What guy would go on a date with another girl when his ex-girlfriend is only six inches tall because of a spell that his own idiot friends had cast on her.  Tell me Nikolaus, do you know what they were trying to do?"
I shrugged.  "I don't."
"Was it a curse?  Were they trying to curse me?"
"Of course not!"
"Or were they trying to make me…" she trailed off, looking away.
"What?"
"Were they trying to make me a better girlfriend for you?  More like Sabine, maybe?"
"Dani," I said honestly.  "I wouldn't want you be anything like her.  You and Sabine are two completely different people."
"Whatever," she shrugged, standing up.  "So what am I going to do today?  You said that you go to the coffee house and read?  Well what am I supposed to do?"
My eyes widened.  What was I supposed to do with Dani?  It didn't feel right simply to leave her here by herself all day, but did I really want to take the chance and sneak her to class with me?  I looked down at her, biting my lip nervously.  "D-do you want to come with me?" I dared to ask her.
"Well I was hoping that you would."
"R-really?" I blurted out.  "You want to come with you?"
"Well I'm assuming that you and I take very similar classes," she reasoned, always so practical.  "It doesn't seem fair that just because I'm like this that I start to fall behind in my studies."
"What if someone sees you?" I asked, becoming more worried.
"No one is going to see me," she said with a slight hint of threat in her voice.  
"Well then where am I going to…um…keep you?" I asked.
"With everything that has happened, I don't feel bad for making you figure that out."
"Well okay," I said in a soft voice, pushing myself off the floor to stand.  Dani's grey eyes widened, and though I didn't want to admit it, I saw a trace of fear in her.  "I-I'm going to stand up now," I warned her.  "Are you going to be okay?"
She tried to play it off.  "Why wouldn't I?  You're still Niko.  You were always taller than me."
"Not like this," I muttered.  "Maybe you should turn around…or I could put you up somewhere higher?"
"Meaning that you would have to grab me again?"
"Daniela, I have never once grabbed you," I said firmly.  "The only time that I did was when you were unconscious so that no one would see you.  I would never grab you otherwise.  I just don't like the idea of you being on the floor when I'm walking around."
"Why?"
"Because it's weird!" I blurted out, embarrassed.  "Don't you think it's weird?  How can you not be scared about this whole thing?  If I was you-"
"I am scared," she said quietly, interrupting me still.
I paused.  "You are?"
"Of course I'm scared," she said quickly.  "I'm not even tall enough to do anything for myself.  And yes, for the record…I would prefer it if I were higher off the ground.  But sleeping under here, is still the best way.  Karsten and Fynn would have found me right away if not for where I was."
"You're right," I reasoned.  Looking over at the clock, I noticed the time.  "Damn," I muttered, "it looks like I won't have time to get any reading done, but I can still get some coffee."  Lying back down on my stomach, I collected her plant and tissue, trying not to think about what Dani was using them for and set them back behind the computer on the desk, hidden from anyone who would come into my room.  "Alright," I said to Dani, crouching down near her.  "Let me set you in my closet for now while I get ready and then we'll be off."
Her eyes looked frightened as I set my hand down near her.  "And you'll careful right?" she asked, stepping towards me.
"Yes," I answered quickly, beckoning her to come closer with my finger.  "Now come on, or we'll be late."
"Y-yes, yes," she said, staggering into my palm, a sensation that I was definitely not used to yet.  "Okay," she said up to me.  "Go."
"R-right!" I said, standing back up.  Slowly, I walked her over to my closet and set my hand down on one of the shelves.  "I'm just going to get changed in the bathroom, take care of stuff and then we'll get going."
"Sounds okay," Dani mused, leaning against the closet wall.  "I'll be here, I guess."
"Good," I said, trying not to smile at her.  I plucked my towel off the hanger and started to leave when I heard her tiny voice call out to me.
"Nikolaus?" she said.
I closed the door again, softening my face for her.  "Hmm?"
"Are you really going to see Sabine tonight?"
"I…uh.  I'll have to see," I said, chickening out, slinking through the door and down to the showers.

***

"Come on Dani," I said a few minutes later once I was showered, dressed and ready to go.  "You were the one that said that you wanted to come to class with me.  This makes the most sense."
"But it's your school bag," she muttered, standing on the edge of the closet, looking down.  "Is that really safe?"
"It's a hell of a lot safer than staying here, and it's a lot more comfortable than staying in my pant pocket.  Come on," I said, holding my hand towards her again.  "It won't be so bad once you're actually inside."
"Well…okay," she mused.  "But…I don't like this."
"I don't like it either, but I think that this is the best way."  I lowered my hand into my bag and watched with fascination as Dani sat in the corner.  "Here," I offered, taking two of my larger books out of and tucking them under my arm.  "I'll just carry these around so you have more room.  Is there anything else that you need?"
"I need you to figure out what the hell happened to me, and how to fix it."
I rolled my eyes.  "Other than that?"
"I need you to tell me the truth," she said.
"A-about what?"
"Did you break up with me to have a chance to go out with Sabine?"
"Dani-"
"Nikolaus.  Please don't lie to me.  Is that why you did it?"
"That's part of it, yes," I admitted, lowering my head.
"I see," she said in a small voice, not daring to look at me.  "Nikolaus, when classes are over, I do want to brainstorm about this.  I want to go back to my original body."
"I want that too," I said honestly.  And I did. Having her around 24/7 was already getting pretty weird and it hadn't even been a full day.
"Will you at least talk to Karsten about what kind of spell he cast?  Maybe that would be a good place to start."
"And if he asks why I want to know?"
"Make something up!" Dani said, exasperated.  "If I'm going to ever be myself again, we need to figure this out.  One day missing from school, I might get away with it, but if I'm missing from classes for two or more days, people are going to start wondering where I am.  They're probably going to call my mom.  Nikolaus," she said in a firm voice and I looked down at her as I gently set my bag over my shoulder.  "We need to figure out something.  Otherwise I am afraid of who is going to get involved with this."
She was right.  A missing girl would draw attention.
What was worse was that a lot of people knew that Dani was coming to see me the night that she didn't come home.  I would be the first person that people would talk to in regards to her disappearance.  I frowned.  "You're right Dani," I reasoned.  "I'll talk to Karsten today.  We can start trying to figure this out.  But…but I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?"
"I'm leaving the room now, I have to close my bag and you're going to have to be quiet.  I can't draw any more attention to myself right now."
She nodded slowly.  "Y-yes," she said.  "I understand.  Close up the bag.  I won't make a sound."
I gave her a sad smile.  "I'm sorry," I repeated, not raising my voice above a whisper.

Crossing the campus to get to the coffee shop wasn't really anything new for me.  I had been enjoying 'coffee like beverages' since I was in middle school.  I was sure that eventually I would get into actual coffee but for the most part, what I loved was drinks that involved the terms, 'mocha', 'peppermint', 'white chocolate' and so forth.  What made this trip extraordinary was that my ex-girlfriend was with me.  In my bag.  I shook my head in disbelief about the whole situation, trudging along, trying to keep my steps steady and light for my passenger.  I couldn't stand the idea of her body rocking around in my bag.  I really was going to have to talk to Karsten about this if I was going to have any chance of figuring out what to do.
"A-are you okay?" I whispered towards my bag.
"What do you mean?"  A new voice answered, nearly causing me to stumble backwards.  I quickly grabbed my bag and held it to my chest but to my relief, and I'm sure Dani's, I didn't fall.  Quickly I composed myself.
"S-Sabine??" I asked incredulously.  "What are you doing here?"
"I'm off campus, I'm not doing anything strange," she said with a smile.  "I was on my way to get something to drink, maybe grab a danish or something.  What about you?"
"S-same," I agreed, trying not to smile back at her.  I had to remember that Dani was in my bag, listening to the whole thing.  "But I'm not going to stay, just grab a quick drink and head to class."  I tried to push past her, but her long legs easily kept in stride with mine.
"So how are you today?" Sabine mused, keeping up with me.  I glanced over and saw that her black hair was in a high and sleek ponytail that easily flowed down her back, swishing gently in the slight breeze.  "You were a little upset."
"Well of course I was," I muttered.
"How was the mousy redhead?"
"Her name's Dani," I hissed, trying desperately to keep myself composed.  "And she's fine.  Better than fine."
"Huh."
"Huh, what?" I snapped.
"Well it's just…word has it that she never made it back to her room."
I stopped in my tracks.  "Who's been saying that?"
"Everyone.  No one.  Look I'm sure she was just a little crank about the whole thing, probably ran home to her mommy or something silly like that.  I wouldn't worry too much about it."
"Y-yeah, I'm sure she's fine," I answered quietly, still pressing forward before Sabine stepped in front me of me, cutting me off.
"What's with you today?" Sabine asked.  "One minute you're hot, the next you're cold.  What is it?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"Are you hanging out with me tonight?" she asked, pulling a stick of gum out of her skirt pocket.
"I was planning on it," I said.
Her dark eyebrow arched.  "Really?"
I nodded.  "Yes really.  I mean, that was the plan wasn't it?"
She smiled.  She really did have the most amazingly sexy, crooked smile.  I felt myself blush, almost ashamed because Dani was there.
Almost.
"Well then I guess I'll see you tonight.  Where do you want to meet?"
"I'll…" I looked down at my bag.  Ex-girlfriend or not, Dani didn't deserve to have to hear this.  "I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Sounds good," Sabine said, walking up close to me.  "I look forward to it.  Come to think of it though, I'm not really in the mood for coffee or a danish anymore."  Instead she reached in her pocket and pulled out another stick of gum.  "To help with 'after-coffee' breath?" She asked with a smile, offering it to me.  I smiled, and took the piece out of her hand.
"Thanks Sabine."
"No problem," she began and then did something that I did not expect.  Playfully, she reached towards my crossover bag strap and pulled me closer to her.  
The movement caused my passenger to scream out in surprise.
Sabine immediately let go of my bag, her face in shock.
"W-what the hell was that?" She asked, looking down at my bag.  "Did I hear something scream from inside your bag?"
"N-no," I blurted out, backing away.  "Must be my new cell-phone ringtone."
"Oh?" she said, reaching towards my bag again.  "Lemme see it then."
I saw her hand coming towards the strap.
I wondered how Dani was doing.
"Let me see," Sabine said, reaching for the bag again.