Fall in love in a weekwe get by

“So you arranged this?!” – I almost screamed with indignation. Although almost immediately I realized: why be indignant? I must say thank you! Charlotte saved both of us from a boring official event, lifted Dr. Norwood's spirits by giving him the opportunity to do botanical research instead, and I have the hope of chatting with him in a non-work environment. But… – “At least help me put myself in order! I don’t know how to clean myself of dirt, put my shoes back, or heal my feet! And they hurt!

– It's simple. Your hands are full, so channel your magic mentally. To do this you need to concentrate. Focus on the desired outcome.

I closed my eyes and remembered my reflection in the mirror before heading to the academy. I want to be the same again.

– Not this way. Step by step. Details.

“I could show you!”

– You must understand the principle. I won't be able to show every little detail.

Fine. First the shoes. We remember the fitting, the feeling of soft leather comfortably enveloping the foot, the sole being stable despite the heel. The pleasure of extremely high-quality shoes, which in a previous life I could not afford.

The boots flowed off her feet in a misty haze and turned into shoes – clean, without a trace of swamp mud, exactly the same as those she stepped into the portal in. It worked, I did it!

Now chafed feet. It turned out to be very easy and somewhat reminiscent of yoga classes. Although I did not reach any heights in yoga, I remembered something. Imagine the warmth running through your body, focus on the painful areas… What a relief it is when your legs stop burning with fire! It seems that even the fatigue has passed.

– Fine. Remember how you did it. A useful skill. Just practice and you won't have any problems. I have to go.

And she disappeared.

"Where?! Why do you keep disappearing?"

I might as well have been asking questions of the wall.

Loud, excited voices were heard – Dr. Norwood and someone else. I focused on the dress. Clean and fresh, as if you had just put it on… I remembered Grisella’s words: “Magical, Miss Blair! Few people suit the cage the way it suits you,” – undisguised flattery, of course, but it really suited me.

Chance, then? Great. Let's get it here. Now I'm ready.

***

I couldn't help but recognize Chester Fully even if I wanted to. In life, the contrast between these two was even more striking than in the photographs. Chester, round-faced, comfortably plump, looking like a ruddy donut, ran, exactly ran, almost skipping, in front, Dr. Norwood followed.

“Miss Blair, this is Mr. Fully.” Mr. Fully is Miss Blair and your beloved grass. Urgently get rid of one from the other before they enter into a wonderful symbiosis.

– What symbiosis?! – I looked with new feelings at the greenery occupying my hands, it suddenly seemed suspicious and unpredictable.

– Oh, for God's sake! Dougal! You are as usual! Don't worry, Miss Blair, he's only joking. I'm extremely glad to meet you. Extremely!

“Mutually,” I agreed somewhat nervously. – But, if you can, really, take it all?

– Yes, yes, of course! “Something like a ditch appeared in Chester’s hands. – Put it down! Carefully! Don't remember the antennae of Arenarius! He won't survive this!

I was about to say that the forced march through the swamp was unlikely to provide the antennae with proper treatment. Norwood got there first.

“Chester, Miss Blair crushed your arenarius for two hours, he didn’t mind.” And he doesn't look like he's dying.

– He is in a state of passion. The consequences will come later.

– We are also in a state of passion, if you remember.

– Yes, yes, you were thrown into a swamp and the portal network jammed. Nonsense! Maybe you just didn't want to go to Edinburgh that much? You know, there is a theory…

– Spare me from anti-scientific nonsense!

I carefully put the “bouquet” into the cuvette – it seemed not roomy enough for such an armful, but suddenly it expanded in breadth and depth, adjusting to the required volume.

“Wonderful,” Chester whispered reverently. – Look! He trembles to the rhythm of his heart. This makes it easier for him to perceive your magic. And they will still claim that this is not reason! – the last exclamation sounded pathetic and indignant, as if from a podium.

“It’s an elementary survival instinct,” Norwood objected, however, quietly and, it seems, solely out of a sense of contradiction.

“You never took the diverse and amazing world of flora seriously,” Chester waved it off.

– Well, why not? This world looks great in the form of tinctures in test tubes.

– Incorrigible pragmatist! Miss Blair, but you! You see? Do you feel it?

“Honestly, I only feel the desire to sit down,” I admitted. “But it’s unlikely that my amateur opinion matters.”

– Miss Blair, you can go home. I don't think they're waiting for us in Edinburgh anymore.