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Description
Some minutes later, Grace, Alex and Max returned to the lobby. Except for Alex, they had changed into more winter-appropriate clothes. Martha had just finished serving another patron. "Ah, you are back!" the genie greeted them.

"Yeah! You gave us nice rooms. Thank you for that. So, do you want to go out and show us the city now?" Max asked.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I have to work. My shift won't be over for several hours." Martha replied. "But I'm going to introduce you to some friends of mine. One is the genie Sami. His lamp is here in the hotel. The other is my friend Amelia. I phoned her and she promised to come over and pick you up."

"Wonderful!" Alex said. "I'd love to meet that other genie."

"Let's go and meet him." Martha put a Will be back in 5 Minutessign on the reception desk and led the group into the lobby. There were two old oil lamps on two stone pedestals. One was Martha's lamp. Martha walked over to the other lamp and rubbed it. Blue smoke poured out of the lamp and formed into the body of male, blue-skinned genie with black hair.

"Hello Martha." he smiles. "Is your shift already over?"

"No." Martha sounded a bit sad. "But some friends of mine want to meet you. These are Grace and Max and this is Alex."

"Hi," says Alex, with a smile at Sami, "hello," says Grace.

Sami bowed to all of them. Alex and Grace felt his magic meeting theirs. For Alex, it was a very pleasurable experience, but Grace felt a subliminal hostility.

"Something wrong, Sami?" asked Grace, "I feel a bit unwelcome around here."

"Let's say I had bad experiences with a witch, once." Sami's voice dropped quite a bit, here.

"Really?" asked Grace, "What happened? And when?"

"She bound me to the lamp and made me a slave. That's what I've been for the last 4000 years." Sami replied with bitterness in his voice.

"We're sorry to hear that, Sami!" Max took Grace's hand squeezed her a little. "Right, Grace?" He slightly pulled on her hand.

"Sorry to bother you, Sami." Grace followed Max's lead and backed away from Sami.

Now Sami turned towards Alex. "Sorry that I have bothered you with my story."

"What bothered me more was how you treated my friend Grace," said Alex with a mad look on her face.

Sami looked to the ground. "I'm not used to dealing with humans. Usually, they just treat me like a slave and abuse my powers. And, for the last 190 years, I was locked away in my lamp. Not very much of a social life."

"190 years?" Alex asked. "You missed a lot then."

"What's 190 years, if you witnessed the last 4000 years?" Sami asked.

Alex mouth popped open. "4000 years? You must have quite the experience, then."

"I'd say so. Shall I teach you how to use your powers, young genie? In turn, maybe you can give me history lessons of the last 190 years." Sami proposed.

"Okay, after you," said Alex, with bow. Both genies turned to smoke and went inside Sami's lamp.

Meanwhile, Grace and Max, together with Martha, returned to the reception. A young, dark-skinned woman had just arrived. What astonished Grace and Max most were her facial features:The nose was very pointy, her ears a bit larger than normal and her front teeth were quite prominent. Besides that, the woman looked quite normal

"Hello, Amelia! Thanks for coming over. May I introduce...?" Martha presented Grace and Max. "These are Grace and Max. They are from Arizona. I met them when I visited Carrie last winter." Then she turned towards Amelia. "And this is Amelia Maus. She's a friend who used to work at the hotel."

"Nice to meet you!" Grace greeted Amelia. Grace sensed something strange about Amelia. "Miss Amelia, may I ask you something?" Amelia nodded and Grace asked: “is this how you've always looked?"

"How... how do you know?" Amelia was quite shocked.

"Simple, I'm a witch and I can sense the aura of transformation magic around you," said Grace.

"No need in denying it, then. I was a mouse once. But a genie turned me into a human." Amelia explained.

"Wow," said Grace, "was it Sami or Martha that turned you human?"

"No, it was Gregorios." Amelia replied.

"I should warn you about Gregorios." Martha said. "He's evil to the core. Don't ask any wishes from him."

"Understood," says Grace, "We will stay clear of him, right Max?"

"Definitely..." Max looked scared.

"Don't worry Max, I'll protect you from this bad genie," said Grace, with a smile. Max blushed and when Grace saw this, she turned a little red, too.

"Would you like to go and see the town? There's a nice Christmas Market." Amelia proposed.

"Sure! We'd love to!" Grace and Max replied.

"Alright. Let's go then. I'll bring you back to the hotel later." Amelia said and led them out of the hotel.

Amelia, Grace and Max spend the next few hours at the Christmas Market. They marveled at the products from artisans sold there and had some sweet treats, like caramelized almonds, candy floss, and some hot, alcohol-free punch to warm them up. Eventually, they got a bit tired of the hustle and bustle. Max asked Amelia for a calmer place and Amelia lead them to the lakeside. While Grace and Max walked side-by-side on a path along the shore, Amelia followed them in some distance. The mouse girl didn't want to bother them now.

"It was a wonderful idea to come here, Grace. I've really enjoyed the evening." Max said. Suddenly he realized that Grace seemed very thoughtful. "Is something wrong, Grace?" he asked.

"Max, I wonder if it would've been better if we never met Sami," said Grace, in a sad tone.

"He's a genie slave like Martha, right?"

"Yeah, but it's different, a spell was used to bind him to a lamp,"

"A 4000 years old spell? Must be very powerful!"

"Oh yeah, big time powerful, witches and wizards in those days were far more powerful than nowadays," explained Grace.

"I guess you can't break the spell, then?" Max asked.

"No way, for that kind of spell, only the caster can undo it,"

"I see. I feel kind of sorry for Sami." Max replied. He took Grace's hand. It was a comforting feeling for them both.

"Yeah, me too," said Grace, as she looked at Max, "He has every right to hate me."

"Not you. The evil witch who trapped him." Max tried to console her.

"Still, you didn't feel the aura of hate his magic was giving off earlier."

Max nodded. "The world of magic is still a mystery to me. It was quite a surprise for me to find out you are a witch."

"Yeah, I was afraid that you would be scared off by it."

"I guess it's kind of poetic justice. I mean before Martha changed my family, I was a real jerk. I'm so sorry for stalking you. I guess I got more than I wished for in the end." Max smiles. "Don't worry, your magic doesn't scare me away."

"Thank you, Max," said Grace, as she hugged him.

Max embraced Grace. Both stood for a few moments, close to each other. Max hesitated for a moment. Then he pushed his shyness away and kissed Grace.

Grace eyes were wide as she enjoyed the kiss. Suddenly, fireworks appear in the sky.

"I didn't know they have a firework display today. I like this place!" Max said, after he finished the kiss. As usual, he was completely obvious about Grace using her magic.

"It's a reflex for witches and wizards, I got no control over it," said Grace, with a blush.

"I like it." Max said. They kiss again.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Part 1: [link]

Part 3: [link]
Part 4: [link]
Part 5: [link]
Part 6: [link]
Part 7: [link]
Part 8: [link]

Proofreading by

Grace, Max and Alex are OCs by

Description
Some minutes later, Grace, Alex and Max returned to the lobby. Except for Alex, they had changed into more winter-appropriate clothes. Martha had just finished serving another patron. "Ah, you are back!" the genie greeted them.

"Yeah! You gave us nice rooms. Thank you for that. So, do you want to go out and show us the city now?" Max asked.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I have to work. My shift won't be over for several hours." Martha replied. "But I'm going to introduce you to some friends of mine. One is the genie Sami. His lamp is here in the hotel. The other is my friend Amelia. I phoned her and she promised to come over and pick you up."

"Wonderful!" Alex said. "I'd love to meet that other genie."

"Let's go and meet him." Martha put a Will be back in 5 Minutessign on the reception desk and led the group into the lobby. There were two old oil lamps on two stone pedestals. One was Martha's lamp. Martha walked over to the other lamp and rubbed it. Blue smoke poured out of the lamp and formed into the body of male, blue-skinned genie with black hair.

"Hello Martha." he smiles. "Is your shift already over?"

"No." Martha sounded a bit sad. "But some friends of mine want to meet you. These are Grace and Max and this is Alex."

"Hi," says Alex, with a smile at Sami, "hello," says Grace.

Sami bowed to all of them. Alex and Grace felt his magic meeting theirs. For Alex, it was a very pleasurable experience, but Grace felt a subliminal hostility.

"Something wrong, Sami?" asked Grace, "I feel a bit unwelcome around here."

"Let's say I had bad experiences with a witch, once." Sami's voice dropped quite a bit, here.

"Really?" asked Grace, "What happened? And when?"

"She bound me to the lamp and made me a slave. That's what I've been for the last 4000 years." Sami replied with bitterness in his voice.

"We're sorry to hear that, Sami!" Max took Grace's hand squeezed her a little. "Right, Grace?" He slightly pulled on her hand.

"Sorry to bother you, Sami." Grace followed Max's lead and backed away from Sami.

Now Sami turned towards Alex. "Sorry that I have bothered you with my story."

"What bothered me more was how you treated my friend Grace," said Alex with a mad look on her face.

Sami looked to the ground. "I'm not used to dealing with humans. Usually, they just treat me like a slave and abuse my powers. And, for the last 190 years, I was locked away in my lamp. Not very much of a social life."

"190 years?" Alex asked. "You missed a lot then."

"What's 190 years, if you witnessed the last 4000 years?" Sami asked.

Alex mouth popped open. "4000 years? You must have quite the experience, then."

"I'd say so. Shall I teach you how to use your powers, young genie? In turn, maybe you can give me history lessons of the last 190 years." Sami proposed.

"Okay, after you," said Alex, with bow. Both genies turned to smoke and went inside Sami's lamp.

Meanwhile, Grace and Max, together with Martha, returned to the reception. A young, dark-skinned woman had just arrived. What astonished Grace and Max most were her facial features:The nose was very pointy, her ears a bit larger than normal and her front teeth were quite prominent. Besides that, the woman looked quite normal

"Hello, Amelia! Thanks for coming over. May I introduce...?" Martha presented Grace and Max. "These are Grace and Max. They are from Arizona. I met them when I visited Carrie last winter." Then she turned towards Amelia. "And this is Amelia Maus. She's a friend who used to work at the hotel."

"Nice to meet you!" Grace greeted Amelia. Grace sensed something strange about Amelia. "Miss Amelia, may I ask you something?" Amelia nodded and Grace asked: “is this how you've always looked?"

"How... how do you know?" Amelia was quite shocked.

"Simple, I'm a witch and I can sense the aura of transformation magic around you," said Grace.

"No need in denying it, then. I was a mouse once. But a genie turned me into a human." Amelia explained.

"Wow," said Grace, "was it Sami or Martha that turned you human?"

"No, it was Gregorios." Amelia replied.

"I should warn you about Gregorios." Martha said. "He's evil to the core. Don't ask any wishes from him."

"Understood," says Grace, "We will stay clear of him, right Max?"

"Definitely..." Max looked scared.

"Don't worry Max, I'll protect you from this bad genie," said Grace, with a smile. Max blushed and when Grace saw this, she turned a little red, too.

"Would you like to go and see the town? There's a nice Christmas Market." Amelia proposed.

"Sure! We'd love to!" Grace and Max replied.

"Alright. Let's go then. I'll bring you back to the hotel later." Amelia said and led them out of the hotel.

Amelia, Grace and Max spend the next few hours at the Christmas Market. They marveled at the products from artisans sold there and had some sweet treats, like caramelized almonds, candy floss, and some hot, alcohol-free punch to warm them up. Eventually, they got a bit tired of the hustle and bustle. Max asked Amelia for a calmer place and Amelia lead them to the lakeside. While Grace and Max walked side-by-side on a path along the shore, Amelia followed them in some distance. The mouse girl didn't want to bother them now.

"It was a wonderful idea to come here, Grace. I've really enjoyed the evening." Max said. Suddenly he realized that Grace seemed very thoughtful. "Is something wrong, Grace?" he asked.

"Max, I wonder if it would've been better if we never met Sami," said Grace, in a sad tone.

"He's a genie slave like Martha, right?"

"Yeah, but it's different, a spell was used to bind him to a lamp,"

"A 4000 years old spell? Must be very powerful!"

"Oh yeah, big time powerful, witches and wizards in those days were far more powerful than nowadays," explained Grace.

"I guess you can't break the spell, then?" Max asked.

"No way, for that kind of spell, only the caster can undo it,"

"I see. I feel kind of sorry for Sami." Max replied. He took Grace's hand. It was a comforting feeling for them both.

"Yeah, me too," said Grace, as she looked at Max, "He has every right to hate me."

"Not you. The evil witch who trapped him." Max tried to console her.

"Still, you didn't feel the aura of hate his magic was giving off earlier."

Max nodded. "The world of magic is still a mystery to me. It was quite a surprise for me to find out you are a witch."

"Yeah, I was afraid that you would be scared off by it."

"I guess it's kind of poetic justice. I mean before Martha changed my family, I was a real jerk. I'm so sorry for stalking you. I guess I got more than I wished for in the end." Max smiles. "Don't worry, your magic doesn't scare me away."

"Thank you, Max," said Grace, as she hugged him.

Max embraced Grace. Both stood for a few moments, close to each other. Max hesitated for a moment. Then he pushed his shyness away and kissed Grace.

Grace eyes were wide as she enjoyed the kiss. Suddenly, fireworks appear in the sky.

"I didn't know they have a firework display today. I like this place!" Max said, after he finished the kiss. As usual, he was completely obvious about Grace using her magic.

"It's a reflex for witches and wizards, I got no control over it," said Grace, with a blush.

"I like it." Max said. They kiss again.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Part 1: [link]

Part 3: [link]
Part 4: [link]
Part 5: [link]
Part 6: [link]
Part 7: [link]
Part 8: [link]

Proofreading by

Grace, Max and Alex are OCs by