Aria carefully placed a porcelain jar on the cabinetry and dipped a dry licorice root into the creamy, white, fragrant honey inside. "Then why did you agree to move in with her?"

"Because she is a senior. It isn't fair. We freshmen get dingy wooden cabins on outskirts of the moors while they get to live in the towers."

"You could just room in with them, if it bothers you that much" She swirled the root in honey until she was satisfied and handed it over to him, carefully steering her hand away from the pythons moving sluggishly around his face.

The gorgon took the it from her, eyeing the substance "Where's the fun in that?" He placed it in his mouth, letting the ethereal sweetness spread over his tongue. It slightly burned at the back of his throat. "What was that?"

Aria had gotten her laptop out to update the school blog of Bertha's whereabouts. It was necessary to let her customers know of her location since it kept changing every single time. Once she was done she went back to rummaging around in her shelves.

"Honey from white clover infused with ginger. Don't want you catching a cold because of me." She said trying to open her stubborn cupboard door. It gave a hopeful budge.

"Aww. So you do care~"

"Unlike someone, I take responsibility for my actions" the cupboard door finally flew open. Aria took the neatly folded towel out and threw it at Eury "Dry yourself"

"You know? I've been keeping you company for more than one nights. Why not let me work here. I promise I'll be good."

"There's no work for you here"

"Aren't you lonely here"

"Not really." Why would she be lonely? Her little shop with was her everything. And for some reason Bertha seemed to like Eury Gorgon more than her. That playboy didn't even bother to see Bertha as a living entity. Aria looked around, reminiscing.

The subtle scent of the sandal wood tent pole holding the magic fabric up. The wooden countertops and the worn out shelves. All of her hand crafted potions and poisons. What she liked most was how the shop came to life when she entered it. It took her many moons to perfect the spell. The circular wooden base with chicken legs beneath it, modelled after the walking house of the great Baba Yaga* herself. It was no easy feat for a novice. Every shard of wood, every straw, every yarn of fabric in her little tent had to be imbued with magic. Bertha was far from perfect. Aria could not control her. It's like she had a mind of her own. Bertha roamed wherever she wanted and stopped whenever she wanted. The worst part was getting Bertha to move again once she settled down. A moving shop was necessary for her business. It made it difficult to track things back to her. The last thing she wanted was to be caught in the act of selling merchandise on campus property. That could land her an expulsion.

The bell chimed once. It always chimed as a warning when any living soul stepped within a couple of metres radius around her tent. Someone was approaching the shop. Aria rushed to the window to take a look. 

Aria saw a shivering gargoyle being led around by a Frankenstein. "Oh, it's just a regular", she relaxed. 

Eury shoved her off the little window to get a look. "What do you mean 'regular'? Isn't that the student representative?"

"Doesn't mean he can't be a regular customer". Aria said shoving him back.

"Who's the girl?" He pointed at the pale girl walking towards them. "She's pretty"

"You don't know?  I thought you must've kissed most of the seniors by now. She's the scholarship student. Agatha Stein. She rarely attends any of her classes. But the professors are too scared to confront her about it. Needless to say, she also manages to stay on top of her class. There's something weird about her, though. It's best if you don't involve yourself with her."

"Oh come on. You're just saying that because she got the scholarship and you didn't"

"You really think I'm that petty? Don't you think it's weird that she's the only Frankenstein's Monster around. I mean, frankensteins are pretty rare creatures to begin with. The few that exist are hundreds- no, thousands of years old. It's a little strange for one of their kind to be just two years old. Don't you think?"

"Okay. I get it. Stay away from her. What about the gargoyle?"

"Well, what about him? He's the only heir of Jebachim, I hear."

"So, he's the future Guardian. He must be loaded"

Aria looks at Eury in disbelief. "God. You're incorrigible. Did you learn nothing from what happened tonight?"

There was a knock on the door. 

"They're here already." Aria turns to the Gorgon. "Stay behind the counter. And try to be quiet". She said opening the door.