Breakfast was eggs, Hoppep meat, fruit salad, and crumpets.
“How’s everything coming along, Garth?” I asked after swallowing a pineapple piece. “The labels ready?” Soon it’ll be time for us to leave for Greinne, but I wanted to make sure everything with the auction house was on the up and up before that.
“Yes, master. And the bottles will arrive today.”
“Oh, will they?” I was glad to hear it. “The girls should be done with the potions, have them fill it up. And how did your meeting with the auction house go?”
“Good master.” He smiled. “The manager was very friendly. She said I was incredible and would make a great businessman.”
“Businessman? She probably wants to get in your pants.”
“No!” He protested my cynical comment, but then his confidence waned, “Okay, but… she was polite.” He was an innocent boy.
“Okay.” I shrugged. Garth wasn’t the type of guy who’d sleep around with whoever, so I had nothing to worry about. “I don’t really care about how friendly she was to you. Tell me how the deal went.”
“Okay.” He frowned. “It went well, master. She was enthused when she saw the potions and heard your name. She promised to give us 70% if we stay with them exclusively.”
“How did you reply?” I took a bite of the crumpet.
“Ah, I said, yes… Should I not have?” He was worried he’d made the wrong decision.
“Was it only for those 3 products? Or the company?” I was afraid he’d signed something stupid for a moment, but he quickly put my worries to rest.
“Only for the 3; the All-day Vitality, Over-clock, and Mana Storm.”
I nodded. “Alright, that’s fine.”
“Do you want to look at the contract, master?”
I shook my head. “No, I’ll leave it to you.” I wanted to do as little as possible when it came to my company: Sherrie Industries, Inc. “You’re the CEO.” Right now, all I wanted to do was focus on the stuff for the trip. I finished the bombs, the tattoo removal potion, the bootleg pendants, the insect repellent version 2.0, the magic snorkel, the deception ring, etc., but there was still much to do. “You’re in charge of the company. I  know I can trust you.”
“Yes, master.” He bowed. He sounded more confident; I liked it.
“Good, good. And where’s Petra? I need to… run an errand.” She wasn’t at the table.
“I think she’s watering the flowers, master.”
“Watering the flowers?”
“She likes to help us out when she has nothing else to do.” Sterling explained. “Though, I told her she didn’t need to water them so early in the morning.”
“Okay.”

***

I tapped on her shoulder and said, “Stop wasting time on flowers and take me to 45 Crocker St.”
“Crocker Street…” She repeated.
“And let’s stop at the chocolate shop on the way.” Though I planned on coercing both Madelief and her husband, I thought it might be best to buy him some chocolates. His love for chocolates was a kind of flaw in his character. “Bring in the horse,” I said to Petra and pointed at the horse grazing in the grass. “I’m going to go get some Alstro.”
“Alstro?”
“Never mind. That’s not important; just get the horse.”
“Yes!” She nodded. “Ah…” Then instead of going for the horse, she stood there scratching her head.
“What is it?”
“Can I have some of the flowers?” She gestured to the flowers in the garden.
“You want some of the flowers?”
“Yeah.”
“What for?”
“I have a date.”
“Date? You?”
“Yes.” She was offended.
“With who?”
“With Leo.” She shyly said.
“Oh, Leo. I remember him.” Good for her. “Yeah, sure- No, ask Sterling and Benard; they’re the ones doing this.”
“Okay.” She nodded.
“Alright, go get the horse. I’m going to the lab.”

***

I burst into the lab and found all the girls reading books, except for Priscila, who was brewing something. Something I clearly wasn’t paying her to brew.
“You guys done with Mana Storm?” They’d finished the rest of it already.
“Yeah,” Priscila said, and everyone nodded. “Everything’s finished.”
“Okay, Garth should show up with the bottles today. When he does, help him fill it up.”
“Will do.” Again, Priscila spoke for everyone while they nodded their heads.
“Okay,” I said as I went into the storage room. There were two little  boxes in the corner with a paper sign that said: ‘Do not touch’. Both of them had 4 bottles of Alstro in them. I used [look-a-look] to pick the right one; each had different doses of poppy tears.
“What is that?” Priscila asked as I came out of the storage room. “I noticed it had a ‘Do not touch’ sign on it.”
“It’s something you shouldn’t touch,” I answered her.
“Oh, okay.” She pouted.
“Okay, I’m leaving. Be nice to Garth; you guys will be dealing with him when I’m gone.”
“When are you leaving for Greinne?” Swapna asked.
“Soon, probably next week.”
“Oh, that is soon.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Well, see ya.”

***

While the carriage was rolling through the busy streets, I knocked on the little window and shouted, “Stop here.”
Petra looked at me through the little window and said, “Here? Got it.”
As soon as the carriage stopped, I stepped out and said, “You don’t need to park. I’ll be back in a second.” And ran into the shop. I quickly bought the chocolates he liked and ran back into the carriage. “Alright, go ahead.”
“Alright, sis.” She whipped the horses forward.

***

We stopped on the driveway of a large house with a grey roof. Kids were playing in the yard. Two of Madelief’s husbands were having tea in the gazebo with their friends. The husband I wanted, the one with 53333 points, wasn’t there.
“Wait here,” I told Petra and walked up the steps to the front door with a box of chocolates in one hand and a box of Alstro in the other.
I knocked, and a maid opened the door, “You must be madam Sherrie.”
“Yes.”
“Mrs Sienkiewicz is waiting for you.”
“Madelief?”
“Yes, Mrs Sienkiewicz.” She repeated and moved to the side so I could enter.
“Okay.” I nodded and stepped inside.

I hadn’t been in the house for more than a second before Madelief showed up and hugged me.
She ignored the box of chocolates and asked, “What’s in the box.”
“Alstro. 4 of them.”
Her eyes widened. “4!” Her eyes looked mad with delight; they creepily dilated. “Oh, Goddess, thank you!” Again, she hugged me.
Then she reached for the box, but I twisted my body and refused her the box. She was rightfully confused. “Let’s talk in your office.”
“Oh, okay…” Her eyes continually glanced at the box of Alstro as she led me to her office.

We entered her office, and I took a seat at her desk. While she moved slowly, confused and disoriented.
“Why don’t you sit down,” I told her, gesturing to her seat across the desk.
“Did you want something else?” She asked as she took her seat. “I  thought we came to an agreement yesterday.” Her hands were shivering. Then, suddenly, she spoke as if a lightbulb had turned on in her head, “You want the present! I did promise you a present.” She opened her drawer and said, “Don’t worry, I have it right here.” She took out a brown envelope and put it in front of me.
I ignored the envelope and said, “Yes, we did, but unfortunately, you’ve misunderstood the agreement.” There was no polite way to say it… So I took a deep breath and readied myself to crush her. I touched the [Shield of Andromeda] that hung underneath my shirt one last time.
“What do you mean?” Her eyes were still focused on the box of Alstro, oblivious to the true nature of the contract she’d signed yesterday.
“It doesn’t just prevent you from disclosing information about Alstro, but also of the contract.”
“I see. That’s understandable.” She smiled. “If that’s all-”
“It also prevents you from harming my family and me. Your heart will explode if you attempt to harm us.”
“Oh…” She scratched her head. Her eyebrows twitched. And she scratched her face… “Okay, I guess that’s understandable.”
I sighed. “I’m glad you understand, so it’s best if you don’t try to harm me while I explain the rest of the contract.”
“The rest? That isn’t it.” She scratched her head with both her hands; her actions were a mixture of her withdrawal symptoms and confusion. She looked a lot worse than yesterday. I wonder how many days it’d take before she’s on the floor frothing…
“Yes, well… I need to see Sven, your husband.”
“Sven? How do you know Sven? And what do you want with him?” Her eyes twitched with suspicion, jealousy, anger… She couldn’t understand why a stranger knew his name.
“Well, if you ask me what I want…” I shyly scratched my cheek… “Well, his points.”
She created a dent on her desk. I instinctively moved back. “Do you think my husband’s a stupid stud like yours!” She roared with fury. But  the next moment, she clutched her chest and collapsed to the ground.
“I told you not to do that.” I put down the boxes and moved around the table. She was on the ground, shaking in pain. “Did you think about  killing me or something? I told you the contract prevents that.”
“Err…” She grunted. Despite being on the ground, her eyes looked ferocious.
“I’m afraid you have to give me your husband. Ultimately, it’s for the good of humanity. But also, the contract mandates that you do 10 favours for me per month. I wanted to make it unlimited, but that was  impossible.” A level 23 law magician doesn’t have that kind of power.  “And how I know about Sven…” I put my index finger on my lips. “That’s a secret.” She flared her nostrils in anger. “That isn’t the only secret I know. I know you’re an Experience Points Chaperone for the queendom.” Instantly, fear replaced the ferocity in her eyes.
“You’re a spy.” She said. “Who do you work for?”
“Well, for myself.”
“Don’t lie to me!” She said before putting her palm on the ground and lifting herself up. I took a step back.
“You’re in no position to ask me questions.” Strangely enough, her false belief that I’m a spy seemed to have calmed her down. She sat back down in her seat.
“How did you figure it out? Who else knows? Who else is compromised?”
“Don’t worry, no one else knows.” I shook my head. “Anyway, I think you understand what kind of favours I’ll be asking you in the future.”
She gave me a hesitant nod. “I was going to tell you today.” She said while she scratched her arm. “What’s in that damn stuff!?” She suddenly shouted, looking at the box of Alstro. “It’s like I’m going crazy without it! Ah! Anyway, I was going to tell you. My gift, it’s probably what you want.”
“Yes, probably.” I agreed before I sat back down and opened the envelope. It was just as I suspected, a document containing information about a man with 12428 points. “I’ll ask for more later. For now, I already have enough on my plate.” I put the document back in the  envelope. She silently stared at me, and I said, “I should probably explain one more thing.”
“What more.” She spat contemptuously. Her furious kerfuffle had dishevelled her hair and clothes, and she looked broken.
“The potion I gave you has poppy tears in it. You know, Papaver.” Poppy tears is the colloquial term for Papaver.
“What!?” She clenched her fist; her anger was quickly replaced by a pained expression. She stopped clenching her fist and rubbed her chest. “Is it one of the ingredients?” Suddenly, she sounded tired.
“Ah… No.”
“Err.” She grunted.
“Don’t worry, I reduced the dosage in this batch. I’ll slowly wean you off it. I do need you alive, after all.”
“Oh, aren’t I lucky,” She said sarcastically.
I pushed the box of Alstro to her. “I’ll tear up the contract in 5 years. Just do what I say till then.”
“Hmm.” She groaned and took the box. Her eyes lit up for a moment when she looked inside and saw the 4 bottles. “Okay.” She closed the box and put it in her drawer.
We sat in silence for a full minute before I repeated, “Sven, I need to see him.”
“How do you know him?” She questioned again.
I put my index finger on my lips. “Shhh. You don’t ask me questions.”
“Hmm.” She groaned. “I’ll give you more men. I have access to 100s of men like the one in the envelope. I can give them all to you, but-”
“No.” I shook my head. I didn’t have time to play around, “This isn’t a  request. The contract you signed clearly allows me 10 favours; if you  refuse to obey them,” I pointed at her heart, “boom.”
“But- But you lied to me.” She grunted. She was right; if it was a normal agreement, a signature like that would mean nothing. Any reasonable judge would throw it out when they learn of the  circumstances. But it wasn’t a normal contract, it was a magic contract, and the moment you sign it, no matter the circumstances, you were bound by magic to follow through.
“Take it easy now; you don’t want to hurt yourself.” Sven might not be  her most loved husband, but he was certainly her most prized. “You’ve already signed the contract, blame your bad luck if you want, but know by helping me, you’re helping all of humanity.” She looked at me like I was nuts. Or it could’ve been the poppy tears making her weird. “Don’t  believe me if you don’t want to. It doesn’t matter to me; either way, you’ll give me some private time with Sven.”
“Just because I fucked your boyfriend, you can’t-”
I shook my head. “This has nothing to do with that.”
“If you want me to apologize, I-”
“This has nothing to do with that.” If anything, I was offended that you wouldn’t let me suck your tits. “Stop stalling for time. And don’t overthink it; I’m only doing this for points. I know Sven has 50000+  points.”
“How do you-”
“No questions, remember.”
“Hmm.” She groaned. “If you think you’ll get away with this-”
“Just don’t do anything stupid and get yourself killed.” Our eyes locked, and sparks flew… We didn’t speak for minutes. She knew I had all the cards. Finally, she blinked and backed down.
She silently stood up and walked out of the room; I followed behind her with the box of chocolates.