Bookbound Bunny: Chapter 7 - 8

Chapter 7 - Herbs

"You want to go and... Pick flowers?" Rose asked, unable to hide her suspicion.

"Not just flowers. Like... Magic herbs and stuff!" Lily answered, trying to sound more reasonable.

"Herbs aren't magical; they're medicinal. I know they sort of sound similar, but..." Rose began answering until she saw Lily putting on an extremely pouty face.

"How do you explain healing potions then?" Lily asked, drawing Arakil's earlier reasoning like a prepared weapon.

"What do you mean? They're magic potions that heal you?" Rose asked, taking the bait.

"If they're magic, does that mean people mix blood into them?" Lily dropped the bombshell with childlike smugness.

Rose opened her mouth to try to answer or dispute it, then paused as she wasn't entirely sure of that herself. Surely they don't mix blood into potions to make them magical? Right? That would be super gross. Rose began to frantically wonder.

"See! That means the plants must have some magic in them." Lily declared.

"Okay... Granted, that makes some sense, and gods, I hope you're right about that..." Rose said as she faked retching. "But what does that have to do with you? I don't know if they will let you swap from scribe to potion maker..."

Lily looked around frantically and then responded in a hushed whisper. "Can you keep a secret?"

"For you? Always." Rose responded without hesitation.

"I need plants to learn magic," Lily said, barely audible. "I'm also going to be a mage, just like you."

Rose felt her heart breaking at Lily's earnest assertion. She didn't want to spoil her little sister's childlike enthusiasm with a harsh dose of reality. She found it odd that she was acting out so unexpectedly, as other than some emotional outbursts every so often, Lily had always been reserved and grounded despite her situation.

"Really? What's the plan?" Rose asked, trying her best to sound supportive.

Lily leaned in again. "This is the big secret. Don't tell anyone."

Rose nodded and made a hand gesture of zipping her lips shut.

"My mom's book really is magical," Lily whispered. "His name is Arakil, and he says he can teach me magic."

The absolute joy plastered on her face made Rose feel awkward at that revelation. Surely Lily was too old to develop an imaginary friend? Was she having a late childhood or something? Rose's concerns were interrupted when Lily pulled on her hand.

"You can't tell anyone!" Lily demanded. "Otherwise, they will take my book away again."

Rose immediately leaned down and ruffled the hair and ears on Lily's head.

"I already promised, didn't I?" Rose tried to reassure her. "But even though the outside is relatively safe close to the walls, it's still risky."

Lily nodded in agreement. With wide begging eyes, she delivered a line so perfectly that Rose couldn't help but feel struck. "That's why I didn't go alone, I wanted my Big Sis to protect me!"

Rose clutched her chest, pretending to stagger dramatically.

"You got my heartstrings wrapped around your little finger, you little devil," Rose replied teasingly. "Who taught you how to weaponize your cuteness? Was it your friend Arakil?"

Lily shook her head frantically, her bunny ears flopping from side to side. "No, he didn't. But he did give me something for protection."

Lily reached into her pocket and pulled out two pieces of folded paper. Rose stared at the pages, feeling very puzzled as Lily carefully unfolded them with the utmost delicacy, revealing paper of what looked like the highest quality without even a hint of a blemish.

Where did Lily get this paper from? This isn't common parchment; it's absolutely pure white! Did she steal it from somewhere? Rose couldn't help but worry in disbelief. After all, everyone had tried to pull pages from that book unsuccessfully.

Hell, I even tried to burn it when Lily wasn't looking... Rose hated to admit.

It was a moment of weakness when she had given in to a small fit of draconic rage at being defied by a mere book. Her tiny temper flares had been one of the reasons she had stopped hanging out with most other children, except for Lily.

Lily's docility and inherent cuteness brought out a different sentiment in Rose than her instinctual competitiveness toward her peers, which was why she doted on the bunny so much. After all, she was her little sister.

"It took a lot of effort for Arakil to make these. So he's passed out." Lily interrupted Rose's thoughts. "That's why I need plants. Since I don't have magic blood. Then he can teach me magic without falling asleep."

Rose felt very conflicted by this explanation. It sounded far too in-depth for a simple childish delusion. Rose briefly considered that perhaps Lily was telling the truth but dismissed that idea rather rapidly, as the paper she proudly showed off was entirely blank. How was a blank piece of paper supposed to protect her?

If I don't agree, she's going to just sneak out by herself. Rose reasoned. And Lily will never forgive me if I tell the staff, even for her safety.

"Okay," Rose eventually agreed with an affirming nod. "On our next free day, we can go pick some flowers."

"Thank you, Rose!" Lily cheerfully responded, like a beacon of bliss, as she practically threw herself into Rose's side for a hug.

"Of course!" Rose replied while returning the hug. "What kind of big sis would I be if I couldn't protect you?"

***

Today was finally the free day Lily had been eagerly awaiting. Arakil was still asleep, so she couldn't do much in that regard other than continue practicing the magic drawings he had demonstrated. She was extremely confident in the protection spell and had moved on to practicing with ink rather than pencil, and the attack spell was close behind.

She wanted to practice more with ink, but unfortunately, she had to dedicate most of it to her writing lessons. However, she found that practicing the precise penmanship required for the magical diagram had also improved her penmanship as a by-product.

Lily put on clothes she didn't mind getting dirty and carefully stored her two spell pages in a breast pocket. She also brought a small basket she had acquired from one of the store rooms. Before she left, she checked on Arakil, but there was still no response, so she carefully hid the book under her mattress.

Lily excitedly knocked on Rose's door and smiled happily when it opened. She saw her big sis appear prepared and ready to go.

"Well, aren't you excited?" Rose teased.

"I am. I have so much work to do to catch up to you." Lily answered.

Rose chuckled to hide that the compliment made her feel a little weird, considering she still shirked most of her lessons. Her teachers would have probably given up on her if it wasn't for her natural aptitude from her heritage.

"Before we go, I have a surprise for you," Rose said, disappearing into her cupboard.

Lily bounced on her heels as she eagerly awaited. Then Rose approached with her hands behind her back. Before Lily could peek and see what it was, Rose placed something on her head and started to ruffle it around as she adjusted it.

"Hey! Watch the ears!" Lily complained and tried to struggle a little.

Her ears were certainly more malleable than those of other Demihumans, but it still felt uncomfortable to have them manhandled. Rose grumbled and then made some adjustments. Then, there was a popping feeling, which was met with relief for her ears.

"There we go!" Rose said proudly and pulled Lily over to a mirror.

Lily looked curiously in the mirror and saw a massive sunhat resting on her head with holes specially made for her bunny ears to pop out of. At first, she gasped with surprise, then smiled happily.

"Thank you, Rose!" Lily said cheerfully.

"I think I need to make the holes bigger next time," Rose giggled. "But I didn't want to let you go outside without some extra shade."

"Gosh... I totally forgot," Lily blushed sheepishly. "I would have come back home looking like a boiled crab."

"And we definitely can't have that." Rose teased. "Good thing your big sis has you covered."

Lily nodded energetically.

Rose grabbed her last few things, and they headed out. When they exited the orphanage gate and entered the city streets, Rose reached out and held Lily's hand tight. Ceedale was famously well-run and safe as far as cities go, but Rose wasn't about to take any chances.

"When was the last time you even left the orphanage?" Rose asked curiously.

"Umm..." Lily mumbled as she tried to think. "I think when they took us to see the adventurers sparring with the city guards?"

Rose frowned. "That was years ago!"

"It's not like there's anything here in the city for me..." Lily moaned.

"I guess..." Rose sighed. "I just don't want you rotting away in your room. The world needs to see how cute you are."

"You make it sound like you always go into the city," Lily said skeptically.

"Well... I may have snuck out to avoid class on a few occasions." Rose admitted. "I was pretty dead set on becoming an adventurer for a while. So I used to watch them a lot."

"What made you change your mind?" Lily asked. "I hope you didn't because of me."

Rose laughed. "Sorta? But not really. I definitely can't take you out on adventures. But the orphanage really wanted me to go to magic school, and they said if I graduate, I can skip adventurer ranks."

"Really? Do all magic schools offer that?" Lily asked.

"Well..." Rose mumbled, seeming hesitant to answer.

"Well?" Lily pressed.

Rose sighed before finally answering, "They want to send me to Regarth."

Lily's eyes went wide with astonishment. Regarth was said to be in the top ten schools in the entire world. Everybody knew the name; it was extremely famous and one of the few schools with dedicated access to a dungeon. It was said that unless you were the cream of the crop, you could not get into Regarth.

"H-how?" Lily stammered.

"Promise not to get mad?" Rose asked.

Lily nodded her head frantically; she had to know the answer.

"The orphanage made me do a magic test." Rose began to answer.

"All the kids do that," Lily pointed out. It was one of the ways the orphanage helped determine future opportunities for the children.

Rose nodded. "But, there's a second test. The first test helps detect kids with hidden potential. I passed that... And then the second test revealed I have very deep ties to a bloodline magic."

Lily gasped. "That's amazing... But... Why didn't you tell me?"

Rose frowned. "I was worried you'd hate me for it."

Lily felt guilty. She probably would have been insanely jealous if it hadn't been for Arakil's promise and that starry display.

"I'd never hate you, Rose," Lily replied, giving a quick squeeze via their connected hands.

"Thanks, Lily," Rose said, squeezing back.

"So... You passed, and then what happened?" Lily asked, still curious. "Doesn't it cost a fortune to go there?"

"I thought so too, but apparently, you can get into Regarth in a few ways." Rose began answering."You can take a test, and if you pass, you will be allowed to enroll with a reduced fee based on your results. Most get in that way, although only the richest of the rich can afford it unless they do extremely well in the test.

"Secondly, you can get a referral from a respected alumni or staff member. However, this almost never happens; if your referral fails, you're held responsible. Staff members can get potentially fired, and alumni could have their diplomas stripped.

"The third method is if you have a potent or unique bloodline magic, which gets you in with a heavy discount or even for a full free ride. That is how I got in, although I was apparently just short of the free ride."

Lily was nodding along, trying her best to commit Rose's words to memory. When she got her magic, she needed to know her potential prospects if she wanted to follow after Rose.

"I bet you could have gotten the free one if you weren't slacking off," Lily playfully teased.

Rose made an exaggerated wince. "Yeah... But in fairness, I had no idea what the test was. I thought maybe they were punishing me for doing badly on the first test... If I had known, I probably would have taken it seriously."

"At least you still passed the second test despite that. Imagine failing and then finding out you missed Regarth."

Rose's body gave a small shudder. "Gods... I would have never lived that down. I would have been a laughing stock."

Lily couldn't help but giggle. Even if that had happened, Rose would have beaten up any kids who dared laugh at her.

"So anyway..." Rose spoke. "To answer your original question. Regarth's name means so much that graduating from it lets you get a headstart as an adventurer."

"That's amazing. I knew it was big but didn't know it was that big." Lily expressed her shock.

"Yup! It's super exciting," Rose admitted. "They even have optional courses for adventurers you can sign up for. You can even go into the dungeon."

"That means you're probably going to have to stop slacking off." Lily teased.

Rose sighed with a reluctant nod. "Probably... If I dropped out with the rich kids in the first year, I think that would ruin any future job opportunities for me."

Lily gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I believe in you, big sis!"

"Well, now I just have to pass!" Rose stuck her tongue out. "Watch, I'll become an honor student just for you."

They both laughed at that declaration. Lily was happy to see Rose's excited side, and Rose was delighted to finally reveal this secret.

By now, they had reached the city gate. The city guards only briefly questioned them before allowing them to exit. They were also friendly enough to suggest staying within visual range of the guardpost for extra security.

"I bet those guards just want to show off to my adorable little sister." Rose snorted. "If anything comes, I'll be the one protecting you."

Chapter 8 - Gathering

"Wow..." Lily gaped as she stared at the scenery beyond the city walls.

Lush greenery spread out as far as the eye could see, with light vegetation covering the ground except for a well-traveled path scarred with wagon tracks. There was a nearby forest practically begging to be explored and tickled Lily's imagination. In the distance, birdsong graced the air, adding to the tranquil and enchanting atmosphere.

Lily was awestruck; she had no idea there were such untamed wilds beyond the city walls, and had never seen so much nature in one place. Sure, the orphanage had a small yard cordoned off with some sparse trees and vegetation, and some of the wealthy city residents had gardens, but nothing of this scale.

It certainly didn't help that the walls were high enough that nobody could see past them unless you climbed on top of a tall building roof, something Lily almost certainly would not be capable of. For her entire life, the world had been contained to the city.

"This is your first time outside the walls, right?" Rose asked.

Lily nodded, her ears flopping wildly against her sun hat.

Rose giggled at the cute sight. "Some of the boys do it quite often. Especially the ones who want to be adventurers."

"Tim?" Lily asked.

"Yes. He swings his stupid sword around in the sheath, or so I've heard," Rose answered. "He isn't bothering you again, is he?"

Lily shook her head.

Tim was a Leonia, another Demihuman related to lions. He was overly rambunctious and fond of roughhousing with the other kids. While normally this wouldn't be a problem, Leonia are all naturally quite strong, and Lily was unusually weak despite being older than him. This resulted in the younger boy bullying her, at least from Lily's perspective.

The staff at the time had mostly brushed it off, saying that Tim had a crush on her. Lily couldn't understand that reasoning; if she liked someone, she would want to treat them nicely and gently. Eventually, it became too much for Lily, and she verbally exploded at the boy, who then lashed out in retaliation. This resulted in quite an altercation—that is until Rose stepped in.

Rose had sent the proud lion tumbling away with a single punch. Rose declared that Lily was her little sister and would punish anyone who bothered her. Rather than fighting, Tim fled to lick his wounds at such a fierce display and hadn't approached Lily ever since.

"Good. Let me know if that ever changes, Tim or anyone else," Rose declared.

Lily gave Rose's hand another squeeze.

"Come, let's go pick some plants," Rose said and led the way.

Lily had no idea what she was looking for, and Rose was likewise clueless. The hope was that just focusing on variety would be enough, and at least one would be useful for Arakil, and then they would know what to look for. They picked two of everything whenever possible and threw them into the basket. Flowers, herbs, and most likely quite a few weeds. Anything that looked different from the grass was picked.

They were forced to wander a little bit away from the city perimeter to get more variety, although they were still well within what felt like the safety range.

"Do the other kids really come out here?" Lily asked.

"Mostly the other side," Rose answered. "Occasionally, small monsters appear weak enough that even a ten-year-old can beat them up with a pointy stick or a big rock."

"Really?" Lily asked curiously. "What kind?"

"Nothing bigger than a slime or dire rat," Rose answered. "When something like a dire wolf or gremlin appears, the city guards quickly get rid of it."

"Gremlins..." Lily mumbled. She had only seen an illustration of one in a book, and they were quite vicious-looking, with oversized mouths filled with teeth.

"They look worse than they are," Rose said reassuringly. "They are small, and a good kick is enough to nearly kill one."

"Why do you say that like you've had firsthand experience?" Lily asked with suspicion.

Rose coughed and failed at hiding a mischievous grin. "I may have snuck out once to try fighting one with some of the boys."

"Why would you do that!?" Lily demanded.

"To get stronger, of course. You have to beat monsters to get stronger." Rose answered, flexing one of her arms.

Lily stared with suspicion and doubt. That sounded too convenient.

"Don't give me that look," Rose rebuked. "It's what all the adventurers say. Why else do you think they hunt monsters?"

"To keep everyone safe?" Lily answered.

"Even if a few good people want to be a hero, there are far too many adventurers around," Rose reasoned.

"Money?" Lily tried again.

"That's definitely closer," Rose replied. "But the number one reason I heard was power."

"So, did the gremlin give you power?" Lily asked.

Rose sighed. "No... There were too many of us around. If I was alone, then maybe."

Lily couldn't hide her frown; the explanation didn't sound very reasonable.

"I'm telling the truth; you can ask any veteran adventurer if you don't believe me," Rose defended herself.

"And you said my magic plants were unbelievable," Lily grumbled.

Rose held out a freshly picked dandelion and raised her eyebrow. "Magic plant?"

"I didn't say that one was one..." Lily objected. "Plus, Arakil said the plants might have Mana inside them."

"Hmm... Convenient," Rose teased.

They laughed at each other.

***

The plant gathering was going relatively well. Occasionally, a traveler would wave at the two, and one of the guards would check on them from time to time. It was a pleasant experience for Lily, and she vowed to get out a little more often.

Eventually, they found a nice spot to sit down, have a break, and eat. Lily was immensely grateful for Rose, who had the foresight to pack some sandwiches and water. The two spent most of their break people-watching, seeing all manner of visitors heading to and from the city.

Rose tried to spot any adventurers, while Lily was more interested in seeing the various animals, wagons, and carriages. They even played a game of guessing the cargo or the travelers' intent.

"Is this area safer because of all the people?" Lily asked.

"Yup. This is the main road, so it's kept safer than the others." Rose answered. "The other exit is basically the city's backyard, and it's kept a little wilder for newbie adventurers."

"How?" Lily asked. "Can't the monsters just... Roam around?"

Rose pointed to various points in the distance and swirled her hand vaguely. "There are guard posts around those areas; they do a pretty good job of deterring the monsters. There's also some patrols on the road."

Lily nodded along to the explanation.

"Actually... I think my magic teacher also mentioned something about wards?" Rose said, scratching her head.

"What are those?" Lily immediately asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Oh no... I can feel my big sister ranking dropping," Rose said sheepishly. "I'm not sure... I can't remember..."

"I guess if you get kicked out of Regarth, I'll get to see you again sooner." Lily teased.

"... I'll start paying more attention..." Rose grumbled.

Moments before they were about to continue after their break, one of the guards approached. He waved friendly to the two, and both girls smiled and waved in response.

"You two sure are hard workers," the guard said with a bright smile. "Are you trying to earn some extra pocket money?"

"Actua-" Lily began responding.

"Yes. We're looking for herbs." Rose interrupted.

The guard actually nodded as if he expected that response. "I used to do something similar when I was your age. Although I'm afraid I don't see much the alchemists will like in your basket. This area has been picked pretty clean of the good stuff."

"Oh..." Lily said, feeling a little dejected. If these weren't magic herbs, they probably were not what Arakil needed.

"Ah! Don't look so down, little miss!" the guard responded in a small panic. He did not want to earn a reputation for making little girls cry. "There's a little hollow nearby here, hidden in a small cavity. Not many people know about it, so it might have something."

Lily immediately brightened up.

"Thank you, sir," Rose said politely, happy Lily had recovered.

"No problem, kiddo," the guard replied with relief, "Just passing along the favor I was given."

"Favor?" Rose asked with a hint of suspicion.

"I'm also from the orphanage," he answered. "A friendly guard back then helped me out and told me about this little treasure trove. So now I'm continuing the tradition."

"That's really nice," Lily said happily.

"It's pretty cool," Rose admitted.

The guard nodded, happy to have earned some heartfelt praise. "Great, quickly before my break ends. Then you two should head home afterward; even this safe zone is riskier when it gets late."

"Yes, sir, we will," Rose responded.

"Osmin," the guard replied. "There's no need to call me sir; I'm certainly not that old yet."

Osmin chuckled to himself.

"Thank you, Osmin," Lily replied.

True to his words, he took them to an area that, from a distance, would be easily overlooked. There was a cavity in the ground that was hard to spot unless you were very close. Looking down into the indent in the ground, numerous flowers could be spotted, and Lily gasped in surprise.

"Pretty..." Lily whispered.

"Most people call this the flower hole," Osmin explained. "It's pretty to look at but nothing valuable. However, here is the real secret..."

The guard pulled out a large dagger and cut away at some large roots blocking what looked like a small opening. He was precise with his cutting, ensuring he did not remove all the natural camouflage.

"Take a peek," Osmin said proudly, gesturing to the hole.

Rose was the first to approach, leading the initiative to carefully push aside the salvia flowers blocking the view. Lily followed closely behind. True to his word, the inside was a rather sizable hollow filled with all sorts of strange plants neither girl had ever seen before.

"I don't think I can fit in there..." Rose admitted. "I can reach in and grab some of the ones at the front, though."

The guard laughed. "Yeah, it's one of the reasons I stopped using it. Just be careful who you pass the knowledge on to; someone greedy might dig up the entire thing and ruin it for everyone."

"That would be horrible..." Lily replied with a frown.

"Agreed. Hence, the secret." Osmin said. "You should be small enough to fit in; just be sure not to pick it clean. Leave enough behind, and it will grow back quite quickly."

"That sounds..." Rose muttered.

"Magical?" Osmin answered.

Lily nodded in agreement with Osmin, but Rose still seemed skeptical. Still, she had to admit this was a positive outcome.

"Great. I'll leave you two to do your collecting; I need to get back to my post before someone complains," Osmin said, feeling rather happy about sharing this secret with the two.

"Thank you, Osmin," Lily said politely.

"Yeah, thanks!" Rose added.

"You're very welcome. Tell the orphanage staff that Oz says hello," Osmin requested, and both girls nodded in agreement.

He waved goodbye and started walking away.

"Oh! One more thing!" Osmin said, suddenly stopping. "When you try to sell to the alchemist, tell her Osmin sent you. She's a nasty old bat, but she means well. Usually..."

They nodded and thanked him again, although Lily had no intention of selling the plants. On the other hand, Rose was intrigued by the idea; perhaps when Lily stopped with this imaginary magic book friend, they could sell the stuff and get something fun.

"That was nice of him..." Lily said a little shyly.

"Yeah, I'm a little surprised," Rose confessed. "With the way some of the boys describe the guards, you'd think they had fun punishing kids."

Lily giggled. "You don't need to be a genius to figure that out. They're probably causing all sorts of trouble."

"You're probably right," Rose said. "Or maybe he was just totally charmed by my cute little sister."

"I don't see how me being cute helps?" Lily rejected the idea.

"Cuteness is the ultimate weapon. It can defeat anything," Rose declared.

"Even mighty dragons?" Lily asked teasingly.

"Especially mighty dragons." Rose pointed a thumb to her own grinning face. "Case in point."

They both laughed again. Today had been far more enjoyable than either of them thought it would be.

Lily reached up and pulled off her hat, her ears flopping with newfound freedom.

"Keep my hat safe, please. I'll crawl in the hole and grab some plants."

Rose agreed and supervised the task. Lily crawled down and stuck her head in; the hole wasn't big enough to fit her entire body in, so they decided on a coordinated effort. Lily would pick and hand the plants backward, and Rose would take them from her and place them in the basket. Nothing too complicated, but it simplified the job and the time required.

At first, Lily was slightly anxious about sticking her head into a potentially dark hole as she knew her body would block out most of the sunlight. However, when she did indeed block the sunlight, some of the mushrooms a little deeper in the hole revealed themselves to be softly glowing. Lily was mesmerized, and it only solidified the idea that plants were magical in her mind.

Lily picked at least two of everything while carefully following Osmin's advice to leave enough behind. She also didn't want to crawl too deep into the hole, concerned about getting stuck; that would be far too embarrassing!

"I think this is enough, Lily," Rose said.

"Okay!" Lily shouted back and began to crawl in reverse.

Rose helped her get to her feet and began dusting her off, even wiping the dirt off her face with a handkerchief.

"Well. I'd say that's more than enough for one day." Rose said, pointing to the full basket.

"Yes! Thank you for the help, Rose!" Lily said joyously.

"My pleasure. Let's head home," Rose said, carefully placing the hat on Lily's head, with careful attention to her ears this time.

Lily reached for the basket, but Rose insisted on carrying it for her. While Lily didn't seem any worse for wear, Rose was worried that today's activities might exacerbate her sickly condition.

Rose also fully unfolded her now dirtied handkerchief and used it to partially cover the basket's contents. If Osmin was to be believed about their worth, she didn't want to tempt anyone's greed. They certainly looked strange and unlike any plants she had seen before.

"Promise me you won't eat the plants," Rose suddenly said.

"I'm not going to eat them," Lily pouted. "They are for magic ink!"

Rose nodded, feeling a little relieved. The plants might be poisonous, and she had no idea what ideas were flowing in that silly head of hers. Rose was already uneasy about the inevitable aftermath of Lily's magic plan failing and didn't want to add accidental poisoning to her concerns.

"Kee-eeeee-arr!" A hoarse, screeching noise echoed out.