Story Explanation

[unwantedgirl]

Once upon a time, Chise was a happy child. She lived with her mother, father and younger brother and despite all the strange things that were attracted to her, things were okay. Chise is something known as a Slag Vega and her presence attracted spirits that were both good in nature and terrible in nature. Her family accepted this and her father worked hard to protect them, warding away the evil spirits and keeping their family safe. Both he and Chise's mother encouraged her to stay strong and not let fear consume her whenever she saw the spirits. For awhile it seemed as though everything was going to be okay.

But then her father left, taking her baby brother with him.

Chise and her mother continued trying to make it in the world but it soon became too much for her mother to handle. Their lives were constantly plagued by spirits and monsters and there seemed like only one way to deal with it. So, in a moment of desperation, Chise's mother attempted to kill her by strangulation. She would have succeeded too, with no one there to stop her, but at the last second she withdrew, releasing her daughter and instead she killed herself.

Left alone in the world, Chise was soon passed around from family member to family member, though never for long. None of them could deal with the strange nature of the girl or the abilities that she had, passing her on to the next person the first change they got. Because of this, Chise began to think of herself as a curse and unlovable, drifting through life and just accepting that she would never have a home or people that loved her. She was still constantly plagued by beings of varying natures but she did her best to ignore them.

Eventually, when she was sixteen, Chise made a choice. The only choice she thought she really had. A man had approached her while she was living with yet another family member and convinced her to put herself up for auction. She had no idea what she was nor why she would be of worth to anyone in this particular sort of auction--one filled with magical items, creatures and beings--but she agreed all the same. The man and his associates taught her to speak and read English and eventually placed her in the auction in hopes of making quite a bit of money off the Slay Vega.

And their plan worked.

She was purchased for five million pounds by Elias Ainsworth, a being of unknown origins that is somewhere between human and monster. He told her that she was to become his apprentice and his wife and whisked her away from the auction with a tap of his cane (staff), freeing her of the shackles she had been bound in. Chise had no idea what to expect from this strange being and was even more confused when he began to treat her as a human. Like a real person. He wasn't scared of her nor was he put off by the fact that she could see things others couldn't. In fact, he could see them as well and it was Elias that first explained to her what a Sleigh Beggy was and what that meant for her. He promised to teach her how to use her previously untouched abilities and show her everything she had never experienced before.

Starting with their former banshee house keeper and the faeries that dwelled in the forest near their home in the country side.

Within in the first few days of living with Elias, Chise also met another person that would become important in her life by the name of Angelica. Said woman is a witch of the magus craft, meaning that she can create machines that run on magic. She was hired by Elias to create a few items for Chise and was also the first to explain to the girl the difference between sorcerers and mages. (Sorcerers are the ones that craft and use spells while mages can harness actual magic from the fae realm.) The concept of familiar was also explained to her by Angelica, something that Chise was rather fascinated with.

She was then introduced to Lindel and the dragons he protected, particularly one named Nevin who was near the end of his time on Earth. He asked her to use the tree he would become to make her staff one day and she promised to do just that, staying with him until he had finally passed. While she didn't admit it out loud, part of her felt envious of Nevin because he was free now and no longer had to deal with the world. The jobs continued pouring in, with their next one being a journey into Ulthar, the town where cats gathered. Here Chise was introduced to the King of Cats and the feline showed her the source of evil in the village that the cats fought to keep at bay. As the King explained to her what they were there to do, Chise was grabbed by a strange individual and dragged out over the water with a spell where she was dropped in.

While underneath the water Chise was pulled into memories of a spirit trapped by the evil that the Cat King had shown her and shown the story of what brought on such an evil being. Before she could get all of her questions answered, she was pulled from the water by Elias and informed them of what had happened. It was decided that Chise would have to be the one to attempt to spell, given that Elias's was more skilled with dark magic than light, but before she was able to complete the task she was grabbed once more by the figure that had dumped her into the lake initially. The figure was accompanied by another this time and it was revealed that this new figure was an old acquaintance of Elias's--a man named Renfred with the other person being his apprentice. Their interference led to Chise finding out that Slay Vega's die very quickly because of how much their power drains them. Despite their insistence that Chise needed to be saved from Elias, the girl refused and managed to free herself from them before being saved by Elias. By this point the evil begin had begun to escape the confines of the island it was trapped on and the King of Cats stepped forward to assist Chise in what was to come. Together, now that there were no more distractions, they were able to complete their task--though instead of destroying the evil and the spirit trapped within it, Chise was able to save them both and reunite them.

This massive use of power caused Chise to fall into a coma like slumber for the next two weeks. During this time, the fairy queen Titania and her husband Oberon paid a visit to where Chise slumbered and with Obern's assistance, Chise awoke.

Both Elias and Chise were quick to return to work and they began to take jobs from the Church once more. Their next important task was to investigate strange happenings in a graveyard which lead to them discovering a grim. Said grim thought himself to be a real human when, in actuality, he had once been a dog that adored his human girl more than life itself. Before Chise was able to do anything to help him Alice--Renfred's apprentice--appeared with the intent on capturing the grim because of an order from someone that had forced them into working for him. Chise stopped her and tied Alice up, hiding both her new hostage and the unconscious Grim in the forest. Once he was awake, the Grim told Chise his story and then Alice awoke and explained to them why she was after the grim. Renfred and Alice had planned to use the evil spirit from the cat country to appease their employer but Elias and Chise had foiled that plan. Alice decided on her own to set out and find something else they could use, determined to capture the Grim so that her master would not be harmed for failing their employer.

Elias finds them during this explanation and Alice begs him to do something about 'the strange kid that employed them', wanting Renfred to be safe. She and Elias talk about everything that's been going on while Chise and the grim listen, only for both of them to startle as the grim senses something. Chise, realizing what's about to happen, shoves Alice out of the way, saving her from an attack and getting stabbed in the shoulder in place of the other girl.

Renfred and Alice's employer reveals themselves, then, accompanied by the chimera he'd been attempting to create--the chimera that was responsible for stabbing Chise. The being taunts Elias, seeming to know him rather well, and it causes Elias to snap and go after the being. The grim catches Chise as she's dropped from Elias's grasp and pleads with her to wake up. This prompts his memories to be shown to Chise and she learns his story, waking up afterwards to comfort him, while Elias and Cartaphilus--the strange kid--continue to fight. Chise steps in to stop her master from doing anything he may regret and, after Chise starts to unleash her own power to strike out at their attacker, they are all whisked away by a will of the wisp before Cartaphilus can attack again. They have very little time to regroup before the Wandering Jew finds them again and, while Elias, Renfred and Alice hold him back, Chise and the grim form a bond after he asks to be her familiar after the will of the wisp helps him realize that he needs to accept what he is. The two complete the bonding spell and bound together forever, Chise renaming him Ruth. He attacks Cartaphilus on Chise's order and kills his chimera, prepared to attack the man himself but Cartaphilus brushes him off, calling everything done. He leaves them there with a promise that they have not seen the last of him and Elias, Chise and Ruth are finally able to go home.

After their run in with Cartaphilus, things calm down. Angelica pays a visit and Chise spends a day out with her, learning a bit more about magic in general from her and how a being such as herself, a Sleigh Beggy, siphons energy and returns it to the world around her. Chise has a bit of a breakdown, showing cracks in her usual calm facade, when Angelica comments about how Chise doesn't need to do everything because it's what others might want. She struggles with the idea of doing something for herself, realizing how selfish she is relying on others the way she is now, and eventually returns home to talk to Elias (who has been held up in his room since the fight with Cartaphilus). She finds the door unlocked and let's herself in though is immediately shut in, cutting Ruth off from her and she gets her first real view of Elias's true form. He apologies for his state and asks her to stay, which she does, keeping him company until morning.

Come morning Chise awakes from a strange dream in which Elias had been choking her and about to bite her face, finding him nowhere in the house or on the property. (He left her a note saying he'd return in the evening.) Chise and Ruth pay a visit to Father Simon, the priest whom is Elias contact within the Church, to see if he knows where Elias may be. (Which he does not.) The pair continue their search and it's during this time that Ruth calls Chise out on loving Elias. She tries to deny it but Ruth explains that there's nothing wrong with loving someone dearly, that it's a very precious thing. Chise's response is "If only it were that simple for me" to which Ruth replies "You are so stubborn..." They continue their search and end up passing by a beautiful garden owned by an older gentleman whom is being 'stalked' by a Leannan Si--a type of vampire that drinks mens blood and in return gives them great talent. Ruth ends up leaving Chise there with the old man and the vampire (whom the old man of course cannot see) to continue searching for Elias, telling Chise that she looks tired and should relax as the old man had offered them tea. The man introduces himself as Joel and explains how he's very happy to have company as he's usually always alone. He asks Chise to read a manuscript he wrote which Chise accepts, finding it to be a rather typical story of finding love but there was something rather forlorn about it. Joel has fallen asleep with the vampire curled up beside him by this point and Chise realizes then that Joel's talents don't come from the Leannan Si at all--something she says outright. She tells Chise that years ago she had finished with another victim and been searching for another when she'd been drawn to Joel's garden because of the roses. While admiring the flowers, she was startled and looked up to see Joel and it felt as they he saw her--that their eyes met. "He isn't my type at all!!" but for some reason she stayed, drawn to Joel despite not being able to feed off him since there was nothing he wanted and was willing to give up for a talent. Joel wakes around this time and Chise compliments his writing and asks him to please share anything else he writes with her in the future which delights the old man up--and his Leannan Si. As Chise is about to leave, Joel escorting her through the garden, she asks if the story was inspired by the flowers. He explains that while he's never dated anyone he once saw a beautiful woman in the garden with red eyes and silver hair that seemed almost other worldy. He focuses on Chise again and in that moment sees the Leannan Si beside her, briefly, before the moment passes and he bids Chise farewell. (It would seem that Chise was most likely the cause of Joel being able to see the Leannan Si again but it's hard to say for sure. Chise also starts to ask her if she loves Joel but she cuts Chise off with a kiss telling her that for her kind, loving a man means killing him so no, she doesn't love him.)

Chise starts to head home and hears Ruth's voice in her head telling her that he's found Elias. She immediately heads for the woods where they are, finding Elias resting in a pool of water. She goes to him and asks what he's been doing, clearly upset with his disappearance and lack of explanation which Elias takes note of. He gives her a vague answer, which Chise is aware is probably a mix of truth and lies, and she reluctantly accepts it--though she makes it clear she expects the truth at some point. That she's tired of just accepting whatever he says and not questioning things. Before the conversation can go any further, a faerie appears announcing that it has a message from Lindel just as a dragon arrives.

Turns out that Lindel's message was an invitation for Chise to come stay with him for a bit and work on a staff. Without Elias. So Chise and Ruth head out with the faerie, who is Lindel's familiar, on dragon-back to visit the dragon lands. There Lindel greets them and shows them around, showing Chise how big Nevin's tree has grown and giving her a knife she can use to cut a branch from it for her staff. (She falls out of the tree while attempting to do so and thankfully Ruth was there to catch her.) After finally procuring a piece of the tree and picking out the wood she would use for the handle later that night, the settle in for the night and Lindel tells Chise the story of how he met Elias which is also, in turn, his own story of how old he is and how long he's wandered the Earth as a Magi. (He crossed paths with Elias while he was wandering the tundra as a nomad with his caribou, the creature wandering out of the darkness unable to tell him where he'd come from or what he was. Lindel ended up taking the creature to his master though she didn't have any real answers either, and tasked Lindel with his care. She is also who gave Elias his name.) It's during this story that Chise learns about Elias admitting to Lindel that he was fairly certain he had once fed on humans and she realizes that what she had thought was a dream--of Elias about to bite her--was not a dream at all.

Chise spends the next day carving her staff, a task that she is unsure how to do at first but soon gets into a groove with, whittling away at the wood all day until Lindel finally pulls her away from it. With the moon bright in the sky, Lindel sings and weaves magic through the air as flowers bloom in the moss around them, giving Chise her first glimpse of the elves that live in the area. (Who are quick to draw her into their dancing.) When she's finally able to pull away from their dancing, exhausted, she rests by the water's edge and all of the magic in the air from Lindel's singing allows her to turn the water into a scrying mirror to see Elias, who happened to be in the garden of their home at the time. She tells him that she misses him and he admits how quiet and cold the house is without her, prompting Chise to admit that Lindel had told her the story of how they met. She promises to tell Elias some of the things she's been keeping from him as well and that'll she hurry back as soon as her staff is done.

The next day Chise finishes carving her staff and Lindel puts the finishing touches on it using some of her hair and a gem that rested at the bottom of a lake for years touched by the glow of the sun and the moon. After he's done, he hands it back to Chise and when she takes it back she's transported somewhere else--to a place between realms. There she's reunited with Nevin, the dragon whose tree her staff was made from, and he comments on how sad she looks; not as sad as before but still sad. He encourages her to talk and she does, explaining that she feels she's become selfish. That she use to not be bothered by just doing whatever others wanted her to do and accepting whatever she was told as the truth but now it does bother her. She's started to feel alone and scared realizing that Elias has been hiding things and lying. She worries that he'll abandon her for feeling as she does. Nevin asks if Elias had ever given her reason to feel that way and Chise tells him no, but just like everyone else, the moment they don't need her they'll get rid of her. Nevin then asks if Chise minds him talking aloud and proceeds to thank Chise's parents. He goes on to say that beasts will sometimes get rid of their young if they are weak or kill them if times are hard because more young can always be had. But Chise's mother let go of her neck allowing her to live. He then thanks Chise for allowing him to fly one last time before he passed on and expresses how good a person she is for all the good she's done--helping people, saving Ruth, etc. Chise objects that she never set out to do those things and Nevin tells her that it doesn't matter; even the quietest words and the smallest actions can save someone. That she has the power to help people. He ends their meeting by telling her that she is free, that she doesn't have to live under the veil of her curse because she has the choice to do so much more.

Returning to the land of Dragons, Chise apologies to Lindel and expresses that she needs to go home. He offers to get a ride for her but Chise impulsively calls upon some faeries to help her, using their magic to turn herself into a giant phoenix and fly home. She surprises Elias and tells him that she's home...before exhaustion hits her from overexerting herself. She passes out curled up in Elias's lap as he thinks to himself how warm it feels once more.