we will seek my buried inheritance

[self_composed]

Bella fixes French toast for breakfast to salvage stale bread, and, having seen Charlie off to work, hops in her own car and makes for Alice's house. She arrives at nine-thirty, and goes up to the doorbell and rings it.

Comments

[self_composed]

"Beg pardon?" Bella says. "No, there was no tea, I just grabbed the treasure chest and hauled it out. Let's see what's in here."

[edgeofyourseat]

"...You were gone for like half an hour," he says.

[self_composed]

Bella opens her mouth, then closes it, and then takes out her phone. "Do you have any form of timepiece on you?" she asks.

[edgeofyourseat]

He digs his phone out of his pocket and hands it over.

[self_composed]

Bella compares them, and sure enough, his is 32 minutes ahead of hers.

"Okay, that's interesting," says Bella.

[edgeofyourseat]

"Yeah, I wonder what the fuck it's for," he says.

[self_composed]

"It's for Elias Frobisher being a weirdo," says Bella, and she opens the box.

It has five compartments in it, and there are plenty of triangles, plenty of squares, about fifteen pentagons, and no hexes.

And one star.

[edgeofyourseat]

"...Well, fuck," says Alice.

[self_composed]

"Ah-huh."

[edgeofyourseat]

"...Hey, close that for a sec?"

[self_composed]

"Uh, sure, why?" She puts the lid down.

[edgeofyourseat]

He reaches over and opens it.

"'Cause I wanted to see if I could do that or not," he says.

[self_composed]

"Congratulations."

She returns to staring at the empty hex compartment.

[edgeofyourseat]

"So, what the fuck are you gonna do about that?" he asks, pointing to the star.

[self_composed]

"Nothing - well, I'll wear it, but no wishing - until I have a good idea why stars go wrong and think I can get around it."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Good plan."

[self_composed]

"Yeah."

And, unnecessarily: "There's no hexes in here."

[edgeofyourseat]

"...yep," says Alice. "Noticed that."

[self_composed]

"Fuck."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Yep."

[self_composed]

"Are there any of these I shouldn't wish onto the necklace that you would like to have?" Bella asks quietly. "In case... it takes me a long time."

[edgeofyourseat]

"I can live without any of 'em," he says, shrugging.

"...How big a coin does it take to fix broken bones, though?"

[self_composed]

"Did it with a pentagon for my leg, when I fell. A square might have been enough but I didn't have one to try at the time."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Then I think I want one of those," he says, grabbing a pentagon. "And some of these," a handful of squares.

[self_composed]

"That all?"