The night was approaching over the city, and she would begin to see the lanterns that she had passed lighting up as people began to celebrate the solstice.
Hours passed. Puck had left her a tasty soup and sandwiches in the fridge, which was comforting after the long day. By the time she got into the bed that night, he had still not returned. Around three in the morning, the door opened and Puck came in, looking exhausted as he closed the door behind him.
Cal was asleep, undisturbed by his arrival. She had the left the rest of the house clean, as it was before.
He sat on the couch heavily and took off his helmet, resting his head back as he stared at the ceiling.
He sat up a little, looking over his shoulder towards the bedroom. “I’m here. I’m sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep.”
He nodded sleepily, resting his head on her shoulder. “Mmhmm... just... something’s wrong with the Ortus. There’s not enough Magyck for everyone.”
There would be something fuzzy on the edge of her brain, something she couldn't quite place. "I don't know how it's happening. No one does."
She would feel something similar to a barrier breaking and water rushing through it as suddenly, her memories of the Ortus returned to her, the cloudiness dissipating from her brain.
Her eyes widened and she sat up quickly. "Puck! God.. Something happened at the Ortus! Someone was messing with it!"
"He messed with my memory," she said, putting a hand to her head. "You mentioning it helped me remember. He was doing something to the machine. I tried to stop him but he made me forget and got away."
He frowned, standing up nervously. "What do you remember about him? Did you get a name? What did he look like?"
She tried to remember. "He.. he was an elf.. Black hair, grey eyes. Kinda smug.. Ugh.. I'm so sorry, Puck."
He was frowning, but shook his head, reaching down and placing a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "It's alright, Cal... there's no reason for you to apologize. He was an elf, then? That means that he's still in the kingdom!"
