Marimo was shocked. And scared and shaky and his whole rebel phase was threatening to go as it came. Berry's angry look did not help at all. The very moment Marimo was about to articulate some mumbled words (because his mouth was already wide open) Berry yelled:
-Gosh, what? No, I'm not the Berry Jilly you speak of. I'm a nutty putty fairy that looks like her.
-Nice try -said Deleria, the governor's assistant- but nutty putty fairies do not copy memories, and you just told your last name and nobody said it before.
Berry seemed like she was trying to make something up, but then she gave up. She looked at Marimo in a way he couldn't decipher, sighted and said she was indeed Berry and she was indeed caught lying. And the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth was... (Marimo didn't even dare to breathe) the uncomfortable truth was: she, Berry Jilly, was too ashamed of her colossal failure to just appear and come clean.
A very wicked smile appeared in Deleria's otherwise bored face.
-Failure or not, deary, you are out of the forest and you know what that means...
Berry was about to cry judging by her face and her hands. Her hands were so tightly closed that she nearly scared her palms. Her face was long and serious. Marimo felt bad for her. She was obviously getting punished in a bad way, for sure. Deleria kept talking:
-You are getting your Mage Degree. In fact you just did. Same goes for Marimo. And as you clearly seem like you cannot do much for yourself outside *giggle* then Marimo's very first assigment is to get you safe and sound to Marble Castle in ToyBox City. And if something happens to you, brand new mage, Marimo will be held one and only responsible. Any questions?
To be continued...
