New Beginnings

MOTE Prompt Response

“To new beginnings!” Xander raised his glass in a toast.

“To new beginnings!” Quill, a good number of Hidden Shores locals, and Xander’s siblings echoed. Xander gazed around the pub in wonder. Here he stood, in his pub, and its possessive dragon, alongside his siblings, toasting the reopening of The Dragon’s Tale. It had been a rocky year to say the least. His parents had been killed in a freak car accident on Highway 1, their car plunging over the cliffs into the Pacific Ocean. As a result of their deaths, Xander and his sisters had inherited The Dragon’s Tale Pub. Neither of his two sisters, nor his older brother had wanted anything to do with running a pub in the small northern California town where they’d been raised. They had all happily given their blessings and shares to Xander when he’d decided running a pub was exactly what he wanted and needed to do after a high-flying career in the world of venture-capital financing.

He knew running a pub would come with a few surprises and road bumps, but was fairly certain that the biggest surprise – his discovery that the pub was sentient and that sentience was a dragon – was behind him. Once he recovered from the shock of discovering the pub was home to a dragon, and magic was very real, Xander felt like he was settling into, or maybe back into, life in Hidden Shores.

Standing in the main room of The Dragon’s Tale, Xander watched his siblings, the recently hired and rehired pub staff, and a lot of the locals eating, drinking, and laughing together. He was feeling as sentimental as a holiday movie. All that was missing was the sudden arrival of the big city girl looking to quickly sell her deceased mother’s house and get back to the city as soon as possible. He smiled. Exactly the opposite of what he’d done. Maybe he’d convince the fictional big city girl to stay and help him run his pub while they renovated her mother’s house together.

A gentle nudge against his mind signaled Quill wanted to say something privately. The dragon, or his spirit or essence, Xander hadn’t quite figured it all out yet and Quill wasn’t telling, could speak out loud so others could hear him, but because Xander was the official owner of the pub, Quill could also speak to him mind to mind.

You’ve done well, young Xander. Quill’s voice carried a hint of amusement.

What, now you’re my Jedi mentor? Quill-bi Wan? Xander chuckled.

I’ve been waiting to use that line. Seriously though, you have done well and I’m proud of you. I think we make a good team, and you will be very successful here. Xander heard the smile in Quill’s voice.

Thank you. I hope I can live up to your expectations.

I’m certain you will exceed anything I could think of. A word of warning though… do not let your guard down just yet. We still have work to do and there are those who would do anything to come into possession of this pub.

Xander gave a short nod. Over the course of the last six months, Quill had mentioned his theory that the accident that had killed Xander’s parents had not been an accident at all and in fact, had involved some type of dark magic. Xander wasn’t yet all that comfortable discussing such things as if they were commonplace, but he knew he’d have to have that conversation with Quill sooner rather than later.

“Xander! There you are!” Gabe, the oldest of his siblings, strolled up followed by Susannah and Kyrie, their sisters.

“We’ve been looking for you,” Kyrie, the youngest of the four, said, smiling up at him and wrapping an arm around his waist. “The pub looks great! And more importantly, you look happy.”

“I am happy,” Xander said, returning her squeeze. “This is what I was meant to do, I can feel it in my bones.” He had not mentioned Quill or magic to his brother and sisters. He could wait a bit before letting them think he was going crazy.

You’re not crazy you know. Quill’s voice was amused.

I know, but they don’t know that and that’s what they’ll think if I mention you or anything magic. At least for now.

You might start by talking with Kyrie. She knows, or accepts, more than she’s letting on.

“Xander? Earth to Xander!” The sister in question laughed and waved a hand in front of his face. “You in there?”

Xander shook his head to clear it. “Yeah, yeah. Sorry, just go lost in a weird combo of daydreaming and stressing about inventory.”

“One stressor at a time, big brother. You’re not magic, you can’t just snap your fingers and fix everything,” Kyrie said.

Xander raised one eyebrow. Huh. Seemed like Quill hit the mark. “What makes you think I’m not magic?” he teased.

Kyrie laughed. “Out of all of us, I have the least problem believing you have magic. You’ve always had that feel about you. It’s why you’re my favorite brother.” She glanced over at Gabe to see if he’d caught her minor barb, but he was busy explaining something to one of the locals while Susannah absently sipped her beer and gazed around the pub.

“Well, okay then. I guess I’m magic,” Xander said, sneaking a glance in the direction of Quill’s portrait over the bar. “Who knew?”

The portrait gave a small nod. Kyrie sucked in a breath and giggled. “I think I need to quit drinking. I could swear that painting of the dragon just nodded!”

******

The last prompt of the year was gifted to me by Padre: To new beginnings… To finish out the year, make your way over to More Odds Than Ends to see how everyone wrapped things up! Happy New Year!