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“Hefty little lad, isn’t he? Ah-ah-oww— easy on the highlights there, mate.”
Douxie managed to keep his hold on the heavy two-year-old in his arms, the kid yanking the longer stands of his blue hair outward as he wiggled and climbed along his torso in order to better explore the new visitor to his home. He planted his feet into Douxie's hips and stared at him in studious sort of way that was starting to make the wizard feel judged. He leaned a ways away, but was unable to escape the infant's glare.
"I think he likes you?" Zoe guessed, though she might've been lying to make him feel better.
This kid was trying to read into his soul. Douxie could tell.
Nancy came around the corner and handed over a bottle in a hurry as she tried to get everything situated inside.
“Oh, here’s his bottle," she said with a soft smile. "My little Toby-Pie gets so impatient when its time for his afternoon snack. Here. Now, you give him that and I’ll fetch us some tea.”
Zoe leaned further away from the two when Hisirdoux gestured for her to take over. They had a silent argument with only their eyes, which Douxie quickly lost, granting him the full pleasure of babysitting without her, and he rolled his eyes, accepting his fate as caretaker while Zoe called out towards the kitchen after Nancy.
“Would you like any help in there, Nancy?”
“No, please, you just make yourselves comfortable, and I’ll be back in a jiffy!”
With that, the two immortal teens shared a worried look, their voiceless conversation more concerned than it was a few moments before.
Nancy's face looked tired from days of constant sorrow, but she was putting on a brave mask for her house guests and grandson. Then again, she had always been strongest in times of crisis, hadn't she?
The funeral had been just this morning, but neither Zoe nor Douxie had been prepared to have been formally requested to attend by Nancy Domzalski. They knew Ralph and his wife well, and had been in Arcadia for most of their lives, but none of the mortals knew that. It was a tragedy what had happened to them. To be so lucky as to win the lottery only to cross paths with the worst luck of all as their cruise ship vanished beneath the unrelenting might of a sudden storm. Nancy had to be going through unimaginable grief, and yet through all of that, she had personally called each of their stores and asked them to come to the funeral, as well as to her home afterwards to discuss matters both important and entirely unknown to either wizard.
They'd followed her back to her house after the public services, and then they had waited as she changed her grandson into more comfortable clothes and prepared a bottle for him, also as she offered a saucer of milk to Archie who'd snuck in alongside them, not that Nancy minded the third houseguest. Neither wizard could get comfortable just waiting around though, not with so many questions sprouting between them. Why were they here? How much did she know? Were they really considering "that thing" they had discussed on the way over?
"Bah!" The baby called impatiently, reminding Douxie to hand over the bottle, and knocking the immortal teen out of his thoughts as he did. Douxie shook his head and handed over the bottle with a small apology as Toby knowingly took over the task himself without much need for the wizard's assistance.
Archie was already whiskers deep in his own milk dish as the sounds of pots whistling in the kitchen finally broke the still silence, and with that, the three started to whisper amongst themselves in the living room.
“Any ideas why we're here?” Zoe muttered
“None that I can think of aside from the obvious, but it makes you wonder.”
“You don’t think she—”
“She very well might?” Archie chimed in.
“Just in case, Zoe, did you bring the—”
“Yeah,” she interrupted, already three steps ahead of his thoughts.
"And the—"
“Brought that too.” She nodded, gripping the strap on her purse. “Even if this isn't the reason she brought us here, are we sure this is the right thing to do?”
“The right thing? Probably not. But the thing I want to do… yeah.”
“We could get into a lot of trouble for this if anyone finds out.”
“Nobody’ll find out.”
“That’s what you said about that dancing spell in France.” Zoe grumbled through her teeth.
“I fixed it right after!”
“It caused mass-hysteria!”
“Okay, but that was all on them, I fixed the first guy in literally like an hour. He was fine when we left!”
"Oh yeah and what about that incident with Rasputin?" Archie added.
"You and I both agreed Rasputin is stricken from the record!"
"Tea time!"
The three of them let out a jump as Nancy came back, and clammed up quickly as the baby finished his bottle.
Quickly, they traded teacups for Toby, and with that all taken care of, Nancy motioned them to the empty love seats.
"Now then, let’s have a seat and talk.”
The immortal teens went for the nearest sofa as Nancy took the seat across from them. She burped her grandson and let him on the floor to crawl around, to which he made an immediate bee-line towards Archie, who scooted his saucer out of the infant’s path, but opted to play with the toddler to keep his attention while the "grown ups" talked beside them.
There was a moment of long quiet as the three took long sips of their drinks before Douxie finally leaned forward and cleared his throat.
“We are so sorry for your losses, Nancy. If there’s anything we can do to help you, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Right.” Zoe nodded, easing cautiously, but curiously into the next part of her statement. “That said though, we were a little surprised you called us here… you know… specifically.”
“R-right!” Douxie stammered, smiling politely, but through a veil of apparent awkwardness. “But I can’t say I’ve ever been formally requested to attend a funeral before.”
“Not that we are offended or anything. Your family has always been some of our best customers, hands down! We're honored you included us in this delicate time, and we're going to miss them terribly!”
“That too. Certainly that much. Yes." Douxie ran a nervous hand through his hair and let out a breath. "Bleeding balroths, there really are no words. No good way to ask this, but I suppose what we’re trying to figure out is—”
“You want to know why an old woman invited two practical strangers to her family’s funeral service.” She replied with a knowing look. A softness laced in her voice that would be amused if it were under any other circumstances.
He tugged at the gray button up collar of his dress shirt and fluttered his blazer a little as nervous fingers worked their ways to awkward grips on his knees.
“I’d be lying if I said we weren’t the slightest bit curious.”
Nancy was quiet as she reached behind her and pulled out a photo album stuck between the couch cushions. Planted there deliberately, the two wizards knew, but they stayed silent and curious nonetheless.
“I know this might sound a little crazy, and you can always write me off as a looney old woman, stricken with grief, but I just ask that you hear me out until the end, okay?”
“Of course,” Zoe nodded.
“Absolutely,” Douxie swallowed.
She opened the album to a page marked with a post-it sticker and turned the book over to them.
“Now, I know I am old and my eyes and mind don’t quite work like they used to, but I know you two have been here longer than most people realize. In fact, I can’t remember ever meeting you for the first time, yet I know your faces and where you work here in Arcadia.”
They shuffled guiltily as they stared down at the photographs. There were multiple shots, all of them spread throughout differing decades. A photo of Nancy and her husband on a date at the diner back in the 50s, a red-striped uniformed Douxie with a serving tray snuck into the background. A picture of a much younger Nancy in what was probably the 20s or 30s, dancing at a party where Zoe stood in the background, her hair and clothes far different, but her face recognizable enough. The list went on, as the two looked at the evidence before them, not the first time this has happened to them of course, but it still never got any easier to be accused with face to face. Hiding immortality was a lot simpler before the invention of cameras, that was for darn sure. Regardless, now the trio knew where Nancy was going with all of this, all she had to do now was ask it.
“Now I don’t know how you do it, or what you are, but I do know that we have been friends before. Perhaps longer than even I can remember.” She turned the page and there was a high school aged Nancy in a class photo together with Zoe and Douxie. One of the years they’d attended public school together just to keep up with the mortal’s educational knowledge for someone who was supposed to be a teenager. They had been good friends back then, and remembered those days like they had only been a few years ago, instead of almost an entire lifetime.
After a short time, and a lot of wide-eyed staring, Nancy eventually closed the book and took it back.
“I’ve lived a good, long life, sometimes longer than I thought I would ever have," she said. "I would gladly trade places if I meant I would no longer outlive my family, but there’s not much that can be done about that. We all have a plan, I suppose, and even now I find myself wondering what mine is supposed to be. But now, with Ralph—”
Her voice shook and she took a sip of her tea to steady her nerves. When she came back, there was not a hint of reserve in her tone, she was calm, confident, and knew exactly what she was going to say next.
“I am all that little Toby-Pie has left in this world. We're each other’s last bit of family. Though I don’t know just how many years I have left in me, or when my luck will finally run out, I do know that without me, I won’t have any idea what could happen to poor Toby, and I know I don’t want him growing up without anyone around to love him unconditionally.”
The two wizards watched her intently, each forgetting about their tea as they let her continue.
“I don’t know if you can, or if it is even something I can ask of you. I am not asking for eternal youth, or Heaven’s forbid, to live forever… but I just need a little more time to make sure Toby-Pie can grow up with his family.” She placed her hands together and squeezed them tightly. “I’ll do anything to make that happen. Anything at all! No matter the cost.”
A long moment of silence came before finally Douxie cleared his throat.
“Nancy…" He let out a breath and a smirk despite himself. "You are incredibly astute.” He looked up at her and his smile quickly shifted into something more serious as he leaned forward. “And you’re right, we have known each other for many years. Most people forget, and others are forced to forget, but… well… you should know that we are not supposed to meddle in the affairs of the mortal world unless it is to protect it from darker magics.”
“I—”
“However—” He held up his hand gently as Zoe beside him began pulling small glass vials out of her purse, the last thing to appear from the bag being a good-sized golden goblet that she laid out across the table. “You don’t know just how much we owe to you, Nancy.”
“You’ve helped us out of more jams than one over the years.” Zoe added, as she started mixing together the ingredients within the goblet.
She blinked, confused, but that overwhelming feeling that just by looking at their faces, there was love there, friendship, comfort and warmth that came from years together, though none that she had any proof of in her own mind.
“Now, Zoe and I are going to help. It goes against all of our rules, but we won’t just ignore you in your time of need.”
“From today forward you will not have to worry about running out of time to spend with your grandson, and as an added perk, you won't even worry about aging within the privacy of your own mind.”
"It'll be like the worry has totally vanished."
“Now, this won’t make you immortal, Nancy.” Zoe warned. “You will not get terribly sick or age a day past today, but you can still be hurt and killed by most mortal means. This will give you time, but that’s about all, do you understand?”
Nancy seemed to perk up, the magic of it all enough to swell past even the sensation of her mourning.
“I do. I don’t know all the details, and I can't remember why, but I know I can trust you two. It’s part of the reason why I called you over.”
They smiled at her and took each other’s hands, Douxie sliding the cup over to her with a wink.
“The brew inside is a memory potion, so you will forget all of this again soon, probably by the end of the day, if I had to take a guess, yeah?”
He looked to Zoe for confirmation, to which she shrugged but nodded more or less sure.
“Do I have to forget? I won’t tell anybody about this. I can keep a secret to myself, don't you worry. You know, I was a spy—”
“In World War I,” the two said in unison, chuckling a little to themselves as they did.
“We know.”
“And for a spy, you sure have told us you were a spy quite a few times.” He laughed. “Though only after you trusted us wholly, I know. But, I’m sorry, this is just the way it has to be. Magic is complicated and messy. Sometimes memories are the price you pay for health— actually, come to think of it, a lot of the times memories are the price. Sleep spells, anti-binding magic—”
He began listing off magic cures with his fingers before Zoe nudged him hard with her elbow.
“Ahem!” She warned. “Anyway, the cup is what’s most important here. It’ll grant you the time you need, if you’re worthy of it.”
“What if I’m not?”
“You are!” Douxie exclaimed whole-heartedly. “Don’t worry about that, Nancy. We wouldn’t try this if we weren’t absolutely positive it would work.”
“Do I want to know what would happen if it didn’t work?”
“Probably not.” Zoe said simply, though at the same time Hisirdoux was already adding:
“Well, did you ever see The Last Crusade ?”
The pink-haired woman nudged him again, harder this time, as Nancy gulped at the movie reference and grabbed slowly towards her own neck to mask the shock.
“So this is the Holy Grail then? The real one?”
“Um, I mean, who can say?” Douxie shuffled, cautious not to reveal too much again less he get another elbow to his side.
“Just drink it, and all your problems will disappear. Or well… one of them anyway.”
“Thank you,” she smiled, tearing up, which made their eyes begin to water as well. “I can never begin to thank you for your friendship. I can't imagine how I can ever repay you, especially when I won't remember. I’m only sorry we weren’t allowed to stay friends.”
“Ah, what do you mean? We’ve always been friends.” Douxie waved his free hand. "No payment required."
“Right, and we’ll continue to be friends long after today, that’s a promise.”
“I hope one day Toby will make friends as great as you two. And if by chance, you do become close with him in the future as well—”
“We will absolutely keep an eye out for him when we can.” Douxie bowed his head. “You have my word.”
Zoe nodded, and motioned to the chalice.
"Welp, down the hatch, Nance."
Nancy had a small, hazy memory of a wild night of drinking with her closest girlfriends many, many years ago, a set of bright-blue eyes fading back into present day as she realized just how much of her life had been touched by these two immortal angels, or aliens, or wizards, or whatever they were.
With a smile, she grabbed the cup and began to drink, the flavor not the worst thing she’d ever had, but still something she’d gladly wash down with her tea as soon as she was done.
Meanwhile, Zoe and Douxie clasped tighter to the other’s hand, stretching out their magic towards the cup as it blended together into a glow of purple.
Wizards needed magic for the anti-aging spell to take effect, but if they pooled their magic together, they should be able to make the spell work on a mortal body.
They’d not had much practice with this, but the spell seemed to stick, and Nancy placed the empty cup back on the table before finishing the rest of her tea.
"I dont... feel any different? Is that normal?"
"Normal enough," He assured. "Don't worry, it's actually a very basic spell, well basic enough considering your mortality. Just... rest assured, Nancy, it'll all be fine by tomorrow."
With that said, they immediately began packing up, but Nancy stopped them before they could stand and she motioned back to the kitchen.
“Now, wait, hold on just a minute you two! You said my memory probably wouldn’t fade until later this evening, right?” She winked. “Well I have a ton of casseroles and some cookies if you two would like to spend what time we have left catching up for a few hours before you go?”
“I guess that would be okay. We do have the time after all? Well time in years... not so much for your memory...” Douxie's awkward attempt at a joke grew quieter as he decided against it, earning a lifted brow from Zoe, but thankfully not another nudge of her elbow.
Nancy only chuckled at him, feeling more nostalgia that she didn't quite understand. The three of them must have joked around like this quite often, hadn't they? It was a shame she'd forget it all again soon, but in a way it was nice that they would remember the time for her. Remember it, and keep it with them even long after her time. Speaking of... How old were they? How many friends had they made throughout the years that they'd had to say goodbye to? What had she done to be granted such an immeasurable gift from them?
"So you'll stay?"
“Before Hisirdoux tries to make another joke,” Zoe teased. "Yes, that sounds lovely. Let's catch up while we can."
"Oh, good! To be honest, I don't know what I'm going to do with all this food, but the neighbors keep bringing dishes over."
“We're happy to be of assistance." Douxie bowed with a growl of his stomach to follow. He cleared his throat after with a nervous chuckle and added. "You know, while we're here, I actually have a few stories about Ralph as a kid that would probably have you reeling!”
“Oh do you now?” She smirked, the melancholy blend of emotion hard to read, but she was grateful for the stories nonetheless.
“Archie, watch Toby for a little longer while we help Nancy prep the food, okay?”
*MEOW*
He nodded back, playfully teasing Toby with his tail as he kept the child’s attention. Douxie always got a kick out of this game when he was small, and Archie was happy to see his knack for babysitting hadn't worn away after a few hundred years.
“You know,” Nancy added. “I think I had a dream once that this kitty could talk, isn’t that something?”
They paused a moment and shared a look before chuckling and then walked with her into the other room.
“Oh, if you only knew, Nancy.”
“If you only knew.”