Evie felt relieved to be back at Paperblank Village. She, her friends, and her family loitered around the hospital with the rangers. Evie, her group members, and her parents sat outside the building in a row of chairs. The rangers checked them to make sure they were okay. The ones who had been injured were treated: Ben for his thorn gashes, John for his wing, Sam for his arm, and Mateo for his belly. There was quite a lot of activity going on around the hospital.
The witch doctor moved her fingers across Sam's arm. Smiling, she said, "Well, young man, your arm is nearly healed. I don't think you need this anymore." She untied Sam's sling.
He shuffled excitedly on the gurney. "Thank you so much, Evergreen." He, John, Ben, and Mateo were separated from the uninjured people. The young boy looked up to the billions of stars shimmering through Paperblank's treetops.
On his gurney, John shared heroic tales from his and Ben's journey with Ranger Krysta. He was having a little too much fun. "One day, we found a nearly dried-up mermaid. Ben and I fought against two sea monsters to save her."
Ranger Krysta moved his wing back and forth. "You must have been very brave, John."
"Oh, I was. Even more so than Ben."
"Hey!" Ben shouted from his gurney. "Last I checked, John, wasn't I the one who dove into the ocean to get the sword?" He flinched a little when a doctor rubbed some medicine on his gashes.
John, Ben, and Sam may have been suitable patients, but Mateo was still stubborn. He refused treatment. There were two doctors and rangers with him—including Ms. Julie. Maria and his mom tried to keep him calm, but nothing worked. Frankly, Mateo felt better (the fairies' magic helped him), so he believed he didn't need a doctor. Every time someone tried to touch his belly, he pushed them off.
"I'm fine!" he said. "Let me go. I have a mission to complete." He hopped down from the gurney and shoved past the doctors and rangers.
They stumbled. Mateo was scrawny, but he was powerful.
Ms. Brook turned all motherly. She pointed at the gurney. "If you don't get back here when I count to three, young man, there will be consequences," she threatened.
"Please, Mom, I'm not a child anymore." Mateo, sure as heck, was acting like one. He tried to leave, but he bumped into Ms. Julie.
She took his shoulders. "Listen to your mother, kid. You need to let the doctors look at your belly."
"I will heal on my own. I am twenty-one years old." Mateo fought against her. He managed to pull Ms. Julie off him. He shuffled to the hospital's bridge.
"Why is he being such a jerk?" Tate asked.
Evie had the answer. "It's because he's scared."
Keegan disagreed with her. He crossed his arms. "No, it's because he's a baby. I don't know why the Union hired him. He's pretty useless if you ask me. A sorry excuse for a ranger."
Evie flashed him an angry look. "No, he's not, Dad. He's scared. I think he has an injury he doesn't want us to know about."
Euphorbia, who rested on her shoulder, watched the young man leave. Even she was trying to figure out his strange behavior.
***
Mateo hit it up at the bar. He promised never to have another drink, but he could not help himself. He was too stressed.
Paperblank's bar was lively that night. Groups of men sat at wooden tables. They bumped their beer cans together and announced, "Cheers!" Others fought each other in a bar brawl. They knocked down pictures and empty chairs.
Mateo ducked under a cup that flew over his head. It smashed into the white wall behind the marble counter. He gulped down an entire glass of Cabernet and grumbled, "I hate being an adult," to the bartender.
"Oh, I agree. It's awful," the bartender chuckled. He grabbed a cloth and wiped the beer off the wall.
Mateo held his glass up to him. "Give me another one."
The bartender did. He filled Mateo's glass and adjusted some bottles in the bar's cabinet. Despite being a small village, Paperblank had a wide range of beer and wine, including Rosé, Cabernet, Chardonnay, IPAs, Sweetwater 420s, and draft beers such as Miller Lite and Trifecta.
Mateo gulped down his second glass. He was already starting to get drunk. He tightened his grip around the cup's smooth surface. "You-You want to know wha-what's worse? My-my dawg gone mom does not acc-accept me as a real man yet. I am young. I will heal on my-my own." He crossed his eyes and shook the glass. "Give me another one. No-No, give me two."
Maria and Ms. Brook spent a good hour wandering around Paperblank Village looking for him.
Ms. Julie escorted Evie, her friends, and her parents to bed. Evie and her group members would remain in their cabin, but the village inn set up some rooms for her parents, Ms. Brook, Maria, and Ben. Maria, though, did not want to go to bed until she knew Mateo was safe.
She and Ms. Brook checked behind treehouses, non-treehouse buildings, barrels, and crates. Their search finally took them to the village's deepest, most empty section, where the bar was. Cheering came from it. Maria and Ms. Brook passed the 21 and Over sign. They looked inside the small but loud building.
Maria's face grayed at what she saw. "Oh my God." That was all she could say.
There was Mateo, drunk out of his mind. He stood atop a table with a crowd of men around him. They had to be at least twenty to thirty years older than him. Honestly, Mateo looked like the youngest person in the bar.
He held his Cabernet glass over his head and asked, "Who's tired of being an adult?"
"Yo!" The men lifted their glasses. Another brawl started up at the back of the crowd. It became all too clear that Paperblank Village was more on the medieval side of Pinta Country rather than the modern.
Mateo stumbled over his own feet. He fell off the table and landed on two more men in their mid-forties. The wine in his glass splashed onto their faces. They now glowed a grape purple.
Mateo jumped to his feet. He clutched the table to help his balance. "Who-Who wants to come with me and show these a-adults and peas-peasants no mercy?" His words were beyond slurred.
"Yo!" the men said again.
One of the men Mateo accidentally knocked down got up and flicked his ranger cap off his head.
Ms. Brook was so embarrassed. Her face burned. "I can't believe him. He said he would never have another drink."
Mateo, though, had always had problems with alcohol consumption—even as young as fifteen years old. While he had managed to cut back on wine, especially after the banquet, he still habitually turned to it when he felt stressed. One of the reasons why he became a ranger was to try to get away from his addiction.
Maria remained calm. She knew Mateo's good side was still there. He was her fiancé, so he would listen to her. The twenty-one-year-old rested her hand on Ms. Brook's shoulder. "I'll get him, Ms. Brook." She took a deep breath and stepped into the bar.
Maria passed tables and ducked under flying beer glasses.
A fifty-year-old man sitting at one table smiled creepily at her. "Hey, baby," he sneered.
Maria ignored him. She wasn't there to join the party but to rescue the love of her life. She shoved through the crowd to get to him.
"Oh, Maria," Mateo giggled. "He-Here to join the afterparty?"
She shook her head and grabbed his arm. "No, I'm here to take you home. It's time for bed."
Behind them, a forty-year-old man said, "Aw, come on! We could use a hot chick like you right now." He reached for the young woman's shoulder.
Mateo may have been drunk, but he still vowed to protect his fiancée and baby. He grabbed the man's hand and gave it a strong push. He held his other arm up to Maria. "So-Sorry, dude. She-She's with me."
Maria was beyond uncomfortable. She tugged Mateo's arm. "Come on, Mateo. We need to get out of here."
He was not finished yet. He tried to punch the man who attempted to touch her but missed. He merely tripped over his own feet again.
Maria scooped his cap up from the floor. She took the glass from his hand and chucked it off to the side.
The drunk crowd moved in on the young adults. The forty-year-old was their leader.
"Stay back!" Maria shouted.
Ms. Brook saw things heating up. She couldn't just stand there and watch. Her son and future daughter-in-law were in there.
Mateo could not protect Maria for long—not in his condition. The crowd cornered him and her. Their backs hit the bar's wall. Mateo moved his arm down to Maria's belly.
"Come with us, man," said the forty-year-old. "We will give you and that beautiful lady a nice place to stay tonight."
"Hic!" Mateo answered.
Maria shook with fear. She had never been so scared in her life. Strangely, she could tell Mateo was nervous, too.
Just before things could reach an unhealthy level, Ms. Brook's voice washed across the bar: "Leave those children alone!" She jumped into the fray.
Ms. Brook punched the drunk men away from Mateo and Maria. She kicked them and twisted their hands behind their backs. The woman swiped her feet under the legs of a few others. She grabbed Mateo's rope from his belt and tossed it forward. It wrapped around three more men. Ms. Brook flicked it, and they flew backward toward the counter. The path to the bar's exit opened. Now was the perfect time to run.
Ms. Brook snatched Mateo's ear.
"Ow!" he slurred. His mother dragged him across the room.
Maria followed. She peeped over her shoulder at the crowd of drunk men. "And let that be a lesson!"
***
It was the Night of the Second Moon. Evie did not want to sleep until she experienced a moment with it. She held Annabelle close and sat cross-legged behind the loft's window. Her friends, including Sam, were sound asleep. They were exhausted after such a hectic day.
Evie smiled at the sight of the second moon poking through Paperblank's tree branches. The glowing white ball was almost directly under the first moon. Legend had it that magic in Pinta Country was at its highest peak during the Night of Second Moon. Evie started to think that was true. The glow in Euphorbia's dress came back, but just a little. She still rested on her shoulder.
Evie thought about the day. How on Earth could she and Mateo fix their family? Her mom and Mateo's mom hated one another, and her dad was against her hero. She recalled a part of the prophecy: "The Guardian is weak, but the pebble speaks. Found in a stream, it climbs to its peak. Two shall find it. Two share its magic—the magic of the Green Guardian. The boy shall return." The boy was Sam, but what was all the talk about Evie and Mateo sharing the magic of the Green Guardian?
Evie held her hand up to the two moons. "Please help me," she whispered. At that moment, she heard the screen door of the cabin squeak open. Evie crawled to her sleeping bag. She took Euphorbia off her shoulder and set her down on her pillow. The little girl gently touched her tiny arm. With Annabelle in her hand, she shuffled to the loft's edge. Evie's eyes caught Mateo, Ms. Brook, and Maria.
Ms. Julie tiptoed past a sleeping John to reach them. "What in the world?" she whispered when she saw how drunk Mateo was. "I thought he said he would never have another drink."
"Yeah, about that..." Maria angrily stated. "He almost got himself killed."
"Well, maybe this is a good thing," Ms. Julie joked. "We may finally be able to look at his belly." She tried. She moved her hand toward Mateo's stomach, but he took hold of her wrist.
"Just forget it," Maria said. "He's too stubborn."
"No." Ms. Julie shook her head. "We're going to find a way to get a doctor to check him out, no matter how many tries it takes. For now, let's get him off to bed. And then you two need to head to the inn."
Maria and Ms. Brook nodded.
Ms. Brook, clearly a little upset, mumbled, "I still intend to sue the Union." She wrapped Mateo's arm around her shoulders.
"That would be a bad idea," Ms. Julie admitted. "Don't you see, Ms. Brook? We had to assign him to this mission. It was the only way for him to meet Evie. If it will make you feel better, we will give him two months off after this."
Ms. Brook huffed. She was leaning more toward four months, but she would need to get the Union to change their mind. Ranger Anthony was just too "wonderful".
Evie watched the whole thing with widened eyes. Her ears picked up the sound of howling outside. It was like a beautiful lullaby.
Ms. Julie, Ms. Brook, and Maria also heard it. "The werewolves are calling out," Ms. Julie said. "When that happens, it means the Night of the Second Moon is almost at its peak. Maybe it'll heal Mateo overnight."
Right after those words, Mateo's belly flickered again, but not gold. Instead, it was a light green. For once, he felt no pain.
Smiling, Ms. Julie added, "See? I told ya. He will hopefully be back to normal in the morning."
"Hopefully." Ms. Brook was still fearful. She still did not know what was wrong with her son. She, Maria, and Ms. Julie helped him into his room.
Evie's eyes did not leave them. "The werewolves," she mumbled. Her parents told her they were a sign of good luck. Whenever the werewolves cried, it meant there was light on the horizon. It may have been an old wife's tale, but Evie believed it. She wanted something good to happen. She hated seeing Mateo distressed and her family so dysfunctional. She just wanted a peaceful summer camp.
The little girl crawled to her sleeping bag. She climbed inside and rested her head on her pillow, parallel with Euphorbia. Evie wanted to stare at her all night; she was so beautiful.
The fairy slept with her head on her hands.
Evie mimicked her. She sighed deeply and closed her eyes. "Tomorrow is a new day," she whispered as she fell asleep.
The wolves continued to howl.
***
Mateo slept like a baby that night. He stretched his arms over his head and snored. He drooled onto his left arm. His room was completely silent.
Moonlight from the two moons poked through his closed curtains. The rays stretched across the floor and touched his injured belly. Mateo flinched, but he kept on sleeping. He lowered one of his hands and gripped his sheets. For a second time, his belly flickered green.
The moonlight tried to pull the sickness out of his intestines, but it was difficult. The lost trust had not yet been regained, meaning the gods could not heal him. Along with the fairies' magic, though, they could at least ease the effects of the poison. Of course, that all boiled down to whether or not the boy let them help him. He did not.
As if he sensed the moonlight, Mateo touched his belly. He turned onto his side. He always accepted nature's help. It was rare for him to not. From out of nowhere, he snapped awake.
The moonlight quickly retreated outside.
Mateo sat up in bed. He looked around the empty room, shivering, when he got a sudden chill. At least he was almost entirely sober again. Mateo did not remember much after the hospital visit. He heard the wolves' howls. Groaning, he flopped back down on his pillow. Mateo pulled the covers over his head of black hair. There was now no chance for the moonlight to reach him. Under the covers, he mumbled his sentence at the bar, "I hate being an adult," and fell asleep again.
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