Arcadian Summers.

The interaction with the witch had taken so little time that he managed to get into class long before the second bell. Even if little in this class was of any difficulty for him, he wondered what they would do today. Ms Summers was always finding new and interesting ways to challenge her students. Today, she was wearing a light purple dress, something of an omen in John's mind as it reminded him of his kingdom's banner.

In front of each chair, there was an easel with a canvas of a rather small size set sideways on it. Oil paint, brushes and painting knives, the smallest brushes were still pretty big and were all the flat kind.

"Welcome, everyone! Today you will try a very unusual technique involving speed painting. Sometimes the finer details are less important than the general impression that you want to convey to the public, especially when painting landscapes. It could be impressive, but when watched from a few feet away, who will care for each leaf, blade of grass or grain of sand? Painting, or drawing, has some things in common with magic: what you see is more important than what really is there," explained June. She had turned on the large screen TV on the wall and using a tablet was showing her students a few examples of impressionist paintings, where a close up showed that the people walking on a bridge were just a smudge of paint with a different color for the head, the brain filling the blanks and making the watcher believe that he is seeing actual persons. "You can play with this capacity from the brain to interpret things, and then, as long as you create the correct effect on the canvas, there is no need for perfection. A good example for this is the fact that you can create a beautiful painting with only simple tools if you apply yourself, but for this I will show you a little clip of a master in this technique that I'm sure you have heard about before today: Bob Ross."

The announcement got a few laughs in the classroom as the opening of the 80's show started. The iconic painter, almost a meme in this age, with his large ball of hair, was sitting in front of an easel with similar supplies as what the students had at their disposal. The technique was based on applying layers of one color at a time on top of each other in large moves and without waiting for the layer under it to dry first. In a few moves he was able to paint the overall shape of the landscape, and soon all that was left was to add a few light brushes here and there to smooth over some edges or add details. The style, while simplistic, had a very realistic appearance when looked at from a distance but revealed its trick when closed in on. Most of the details seen were simply not there; there were just enough elements for the brain to amplify what it was seeing and make it look a lot better than it really was.

"So, for today the assignment will be rather simple. I gave you smaller canvases than usual, so that everyone can have a chance to finish. I want you to paint a landscape of your choice using this technique and to hand in a finished piece by the end of the period. I'll be there if you need any advice. You can look on your phones for examples of landscapes as inspiration, and I have a few books or magazines that you can borrow."

Half of the students began to paint right away, either decided on what they wanted to paint or ready to improvise totally to finish on time. The other ones were rushing everywhere to find inspiration. John didn't need any, he knew already what he wanted to paint. He could see it clearly in his mind: the view from the front gates of his castle. The green plains, the forest, the tall mountains and the sun shining on the blue lake.

While painting, trying to think of how to use this particular technique, John noticed that Anna was painting what would probably be some sort of waterfall, with only nuances of grey and blue. John was using a few more colors, but he realized that he could do something nice with this once he understood the trick.

June passed behind them a few times and looked in a very appreciative manner at what both of them were doing. John was adding a few light strokes of yellow on various parts to add light to the whole thing, and it seemed to take life. The only thing missing from it were the flying islands which would be pretty hard to explain outside of a fantasy setting, but being a nerd, it would have surprised absolutely no one if he had painted something from a video game in the first place.

The bell rung, eliciting some groans from the few students who had not finished. June was very nice to her students and rated them fairly, but unless something specific happened which stopped someone from finishing, there was no additional time once the given ran out. There was a part of the grade that was on how someone managed their time and reacted to constraints after all, giving more time to anyone was unfair to everyone who finished in time but could have done better with extra time.

"Ms Summers, can we talk to you for a few minutes?" asked John as the classroom was emptying.

"John, how many times do I have to tell you to call me June? We? Ohhh right. But do get out of the classroom. It'll be better to talk in my office," replied the teacher.

"OK, can you bring my painting? I'd like to discuss it with you."

The art room empty, John heard it lock from the inside, and the young couple walked around the hallway to reach the entrance to June's office on the other side. This part of the building had the classroom, a private workshop, a large supply room and June's office all connected together but with doors in different hallways. John and Anna were alone here, with most students being already on their way to the cafeteria.

"Enter!" said June who was holding the door open for them. The office had the same dimensions as the one of his history teacher, but it looked very different. All of the walls were covered with paintings, some obviously June's and a few others probably from students. There were also a lot of art pieces lined against the walls on the floor; John recognized a few recent assignments that were waiting to be graded.

"So? What did you want to talk about? If it is about your painting, I can't give you an exact grade right away, but it is beautiful," said June.

"Well, there are multiple things, but this one should come first. Anna is an amazing cook and supplying me with delicacies instead of the gruesome stuff from the cafeteria. So we wanted to know if you would accept to have lunch with us while we talk about the rest," explained John.

"Amazing cook, really?"

"I'm not, he's just overstating things. But I'm not bad," corrected Anna.

"Not bad? Not bad? Don't listen to her, she's wonderful at many things, except judging herself. Would you imagine that she doesn't think herself cute and beautiful? No, anything she prepares is delicious. It would be a real pleasure to invite you, as thanks for everything you did for us." John was happy to see that he still could make Anna blush on occasion and noticed the smile on Anna's face when she did so.

"Oh, why not? But we'll have to eat here, as the Academy doesn't like having teachers eat with students in the cafeteria, I heard. And what did it have to do with your painting?" she asked.

"Wonderful. Oh, it's just about what you said before. About painting being a bit like magic. There's a trick with this painting. I'll show you. You have to be as far away from it as you can, look at it, then close your eyes, take ten steps and open your eyes again to see it," he explained.

"We'll hold your hand to help you," added Anna.

"Some sort of optical illusion? I'm intrigued now. OK, let's try. Would from the entrance to my desk be enough?"

"It would be perfect," replied John.

June stood with her back to the door, John on her left, Anna on her right, both holding one of her hands. She looked at the beautiful landscape that John had painted and tried to keep it in mind. She then closed her eyes and walked forward, guided by her students. On the signal from John, she opened her eyes again and couldn't believe what she was seeing.

The same landscape, but... real! And not only that, she could feel the wind on her face. Looking around she noticed that she was was no longer in her office but on the threshold of a stone building opening to the fantasy landscape. Some huge pieces of land were floating in the sky defying gravity, and some strange creatures were flying around them...

"It's real... It is true... I was not crazy! Magic is real? So, you two are...?" she stuttered.

"Welcome to the kingdom of Arcadia, June Summers," said John, and only then did June notice the circlets of gold on both his and Anna's head.

"We will have time to visit, but maybe we could discuss a few things around lunch first?" proposed Anna.

"It's yours, this whole place is yours?" asked June, still not believing her eyes. It took her a few moments to even notice that the simple crowns were not the only changes in her students: neither of them were wearing their uniforms anymore, John in a pair of jeans and a shirt with the collar open and Anna wearing a light blue summer dress.

The place looked really basic, made of stones with a rough finish, there was nothing to make it look better, no carpet, nothing hung on the walls. While they re-entered, she noticed a small pedestal with a glowing, blue rock on it and a bunch of colored orbs floating in the air above it. Behind this, she could see a great hall ending with what looked like a throne, here, again, nothing really fancy.

She followed the young couple (holding hands, so cute!) downstairs. The room had ten sides like the one above it, but there was a door on one out of two of them. In the center was a large, round table, made of wood, once again in the simplest shape it could be, and a few simple chairs around it. The table was covered with dishes and plates full of food. From simple sliced fruits or white rice to more elaborate dishes that looked like what one could find in a restaurant. She was about to make a comment about the appearance of the food and maybe another one on the sorry state of what she imagined should be a castle when her brain finally registered the presence of something so anomalous that it had ignored it first...

On the side of the room stood four... people? The first one looked like an athlete, a perfectly toned body, a skin the color of caramel and matted hair. She was wearing some sort of top and loincloth made of snakeskin and nothing else; the loincloth even seemed stuck on with nothing to hold it from the sides. And for some reason, she had some pointy ears, which could have looked really weird if not for the other three…

The second one, also pointy eared, had bright red skin that looked as if it was glowing and long blond hair that looked like they were made of light. And she was wearing some strange translucent catsuit that covered her from the neck down, muting her color a bit but hiding nothing from her anatomy.

The third one was green! Her skin was of a pale green and her hair of a darker one. She had vines coiled around parts of her body as well as leaves and flowers in her hair. She was wearing absolutely nothing and didn't seem to mind it at all.

Whereas two of the first three could be normal people in very convincing cosplay, the fourth one was putting the final nail on reality's coffin. The girl was literally see-through, made of blue green material, but in a human shape. It was hard to say if she was wearing anything, but parts of her body were shaped in what could look like a French Maid uniform, except for the lack of color and the fact that it seemed to be made out of her body.

John saw the shock on her face and led her to a seat. "Let's sit down, and I'll introduce everyone."

John then introduced each of the girls to June while also explaining a few things about his powers and this place; he left a few details about the identity of other magic users in town for now as it wasn’t relevant to the process of getting her comfortable with this. June listened carefully, saying hello to everyone in turn and nibbling at the large plate of assorted food she had been served.

“I just can't believe it, elves, dryads, a slime girl, talking animals… It sounds insane, and yet it feels so real… And what about me? Do you know anything more about what happened to me? About this blessing?” she asked him.

“Actually, yes… But what I know is very limited, so I wanted to introduce you to this before investigating it further. This has been a very busy week already, and I haven't found the time to look further into it yet. Have you heard of a lingerie store called Felicity’s at the mall? The owner is, how to tell it… special and in the backroom which is a sort of sexclub they have at least one statue identical to the one that you have,” he explained.

“I've heard of it, but I wear very little lingerie, most of it custom made by a fashion designer who is a fan of my art. I never went to this shop. You think that they are involved?”

“It is something strange; my powers should allow me to see the name of the things that I am looking at, unless there's something really powerful blocking them. I can see that these statues are ritual artefacts, dedicated to an entity, and I can see at least part of their effects, but I only see question marks for the name of the entity. Usually, when I can't see something, it is because it is much more powerful than I am, but it is only for details and not names. My mother… She doesn't know about any of this yet, we wanted to tell her last night but the timing was off. She goes to that store, but I don't know how much she knows about it. Now that I think about it, she looks really good and shows no real signs of aging. I mean she's not that old, but I think that this place could have had a similar effect as you experienced, somehow.”

So many shocking news and yet June kept her usual friendly smile while listening to it all. She was more fascinated than afraid by the non-human girls and seemed to take a real interest in the workings of the kingdom.

“From what you told me, this strange cult is more than it appears to be, but it does not seem to be dangerous. After all, your mother and myself have been touched by their influence for years without adverse side effects. I'm glad that you intend to investigate it, but I can't ask you to stop everything else for it. And I want to help you with a few things,” she explained.

“What sort of things?” asked Anna, curious about this reaction.

“First of all, I don't see any downside to joining your little kingdom, and it seems like that at this size any new member would be a huge boost. I could also try to fill one of these job openings you have if it helps. So, count me in! And then… I understand that you have been constrained by money, time, resources and skill, but this castle barely looks like one. I want to help you redecorate. But before we go there, I want to ask you something Anna. Are you really OK with all of this? So many girls turning around your man?” Anna didn't answer openly but leaned towards June to whisper in her ear. June giggled and grinned wider. “Really? Is that so? Ohhh… I think that I can help you with that actually. Alright, I'm reassured. Let's do this! How do we do that?”

“I don't know if I should be excited or afraid of what has just been exchanged here… It’s pretty simple, actually: I will activate the settings, a pop up window will appear in front of you with an agreement on it, and you will just have to click accept. Do you want the resident status or to be a full subject of the kingdom?” asked John as he was opening his interface.

“When I'm in, I'm not doing things halfway. Make me your subject, my King!” she replied in a sultry voice. She seemed to really enjoy the prospect, and it made John wonder about what she was expecting of the situation… He found the right option and gave her the form. She read it before nodding and clicking the button. This put the number of members of the kingdom to 8, only two more before he got an extra ring. John asked himself if there was a chance for Kim or Moira to accept the less constraining resident status. It would be a stretch, but not impossible if he played the right cards. Then, of course, it would open Pandora’s box of deciding who would get the extra ring...

“There was a visit mentioned? If I want to decorate, I will need to see everything, so maybe we could start with the royal bedroom?”