Ch. 16 Ice cream!

Fritz could not believe it, a giant metal beast that roared to life when they got into it. Shaking and moving along as they sped faster than any horse could take them across the land. He looked out the window and saw a vast city of stone and steel. He could not believe his eyes. This must be one of the beautiful kingdoms of the human lands that he heard so much about. Humans were walking along the sidewalk, all going to and from different places.

He took it all in and couldn't help but drool a little. Penelope noticed his excitement and asked him a question. "Do you not get out much?"

"I've never seen such amazing things in my life!"

With a look of worry on her face, Penelope parked her car in front of a building that said ice cream in front of it. "Would you mind if we made a stop before taking you home?"

He looked at her, confused, and shook his head. "I don't mind at all, Penelope."

The way he said her name filled her with a sense of being a big sister. She loved it when he called her by it. She felt like a mother lion protecting her cub when she looked at him and decided that from this point on, she would do everything she could to keep this kid smiling.

"What kind of ice cream do you like, Kaz?"

Fritz was still not used to being called by that name. He also had no clue what ice cream was.

"Would you mind calling me Fritz and what is ice cream."

Penelope let out a yip as he said those last words. "Oh my god, your poor thing, we need to get you some ice cream stat!"

She opened the door to her car, and Fritz struggled a little but finally managed the contraption to open the door to his side. He stumbled out of the vehicle. Still a bit unfamiliar with his new body. Quickly Penelope rushed around to his side and grabbed his hand. It was warm to the touch and made Fritz feel good. He tightened his grip a little, and she blushed. Penelope could not get over how cute this kid was. All she wanted to do was protect him and seeing how he lit up in the car and even now made her even happier.

They entered the ice cream shop, and Fritz noticed it was a little cooler in this room. Something was blowing cold air at him from the top of the door, and he liked it. The hot air outside was stuffy, but the air in this place was fresh and refreshing. He stopped at the door and appreciated the air conditioning for a little bit before Penelope called him over.

"Look at all these selections and tell me which one you want to try. Don't be shy. We can try all of them if you want!" She looked so excited, and it made Fritz excited. He had never had ice cream before, but if it made her happy, then it made him happy.

She ordered a vanilla sample and handed a stick to Fritz. It had a small dab of something slowly melting on it. He looked at it, confused. She laughed and put hers in her mouth. Fritz looked at her and did the same thing.

"Oh, my gods!" Fritz exclaimed loudly for the whole store to hear. He had never tasted anything like it. It was cold on his tongue, but the flavor was terrific. It felt sweet like fruit but not quite like any fruit he had ever tasted. The solid clump of ice cream melted quickly in his mouth, and he swallowed it only to moan a little in excitement. "What was that?"

Penelope laughed even harder till tears slowly started forming in her eyes. "that Fritz was just the start of our adventure here."

An adventure, that was a funny word for it who knew delicious eating things made someone into an adventurer. Fritz and Penelope tried out multiple types of ice cream more than he could count, and he eventually decided on one. He liked the butter pecan one, so she ordered an extra-large scoop in a wafer cone. He had never had so much fun in his life. He was even able to eat the bowl; the ice cream came in!

It was starting to get late, and Penelope looked at her watch. "Well, Fritz, I think we need to get you home now. Your parents must be worried sick about you."

"Right…" Fritz was not sure how to feel about that. Something in his subconscious told him that nothing was waiting for him at home, but for some reason, he did not know why he felt that way. They made their way to the address posted in his chart and arrived at a decent-sized house with some cracks in the wall and a roof that needed repairs. He looked at this place and thought it was a palace of some sort, but again his subconscious told him it was not all that great. He had never felt this feeling before. It was like something was tugging him down, trying to make him hate everything he saw.

She got out and opened the door for him. She looked a little worried but did not stop him from leaving. As he did, she said one last thing. "Remember, Fritz. If you ever need anything, you know where my office is."

"Thanks, Penelope. I will make sure to come to see you tomorrow!" His words lit up her heart, and she somberly walked to her car and drove away slowly, watching him as he entered the house. Hoping that he would be alright tonight.

He entered the house and saw that two people were sleeping on the couch with a bright box talking to them. He had seen something in the ice cream shop as well and was fascinated by it. He naturally started walking up the stairs towards a room that he, for some reason, knew was his. He walked in and sat in a chair in front of a box that was dark. He accidentally nudged the desk, and the box lit up. On the screen, it said Forged Fantasy. Fritz was not sure what it was, but his hands seem to move by themselves as he reached for the mouse. He was dead tired now that he thought of it and decided to move to the bed instead. When he laid down to close his eyes, he heard the strangest thing.

"Nice to meet you, Fritz, my name is Xora."