Rell and The Rose

Ch. 19, You Belong With Me

Rell

I snuck Poxel into my room in his squirrel form, and he was equally amazed by the waterfall throne and shower in the bathroom. I'd left his squirrel friends in the yard, with the promise that they could locate and dig up my magic mirror/phone I would bring them food. After playing in the water for nearly an hour Poxel turned into a tiny version of a wolf, and curled up in the crook of my arm. He breathed deep and easy, without worry.

Poxel?

He gave a low rumble, his eyes still closed.

Did Lorcan say anything about me?

A single golden eye opened, fixing me in his sights.

He misses you. Why did you leave us? There was an uncurrent of hurt.

I felt a pang of guilt, doubled by the way he looked at me with such trust.

I wanted to find the Blood Rose.

We could have found it together.

I paused. Poxel... Have you ever wanted to be someone else?

He opened both eyes, giving me a quizzical look as he shifted back into his true form.

Poxel is dragon. Why want to be anything else?

I laughed and then curled closer to his warm form. I missed you too. Then I hesitated, not sure how to broach this next subject with a dragon. Poxel... I haven't made any friends at school. No one will talk to me.

You burn them too?

No.... I'm not sure. But this girl named Ivy told me what to do for them to accept me.

Moderate interest. Light something on fire? He sent me a picture of the school up in flames.

No. No fire involved.

He shrugged his tiny dragon shoulders, and snuggled back to sleep. Try thing. If not work, we burn down school. That work for sure.

I smiled. Good plan.

I laid back for a moment, and then smiled. You think you could break into an office for me? Not burn anything, just open the door.

Finally his eyes open, a devilish smile lighting his face. Poxel lives to break and enter.

#

It was my fourth day of high school.

It had taken several hours for the squirrels to dig up and then deliver my magic mirror phone, which seemed unhurt from being buried, as I'd wrapped it tightly in a towel. Poxel and I spent half the night discovering that the phone needed to be fed from a wire in the wall, and then, finally two more days for me to fall into the deep, all-consuming enchantment that was the magic mirror.

It was the most bewitching magic I had ever encountered..

I discovered Instagram, Youtube, Twitter. I still didn't understand a thing called Wattpad, some sort of place for scribes and "badboys" to hang out, but that didn't matter. Finally, I had found what I needed. Or more specifically, the person I needed.

The Great, The Grand, The Taylor Swift.

And now, as the bell rang to release the students from the second class, I hurried to the main office building where Poxel had spent the last two days acting as a spy as various small animals, mostly rodents.

All clear, he said, with a feeling of glee. Mischievousness came naturally to most dragons, but especially to Poxel.

Thanks Poxel.