Prompt - Lighthouse or a wizard's tower

Tourlitis Lighthouse

Title: The Wizard’s Tower
Author: charisstoma
Word count: 324

“There it is,” the realtor said. “Now remember the wizard doesn’t like anyone poking into his possessions and whatever you do don’t take anything that’s his,” he shivered, “or break anything. This is a short term time-share only and the terms of the contract are very strict with strict punitive penalties.”

“What’s the worst that you’ve heard of?” Mr. Claire asked.

“I’m can’t tell you that.” The realtor flushed, “Do remember that the tower is self cleaning. You’ll always have fresh sheets in the morning or,” the flush darkened, “whenever you get out of the bed.”

There were fresh clean sheets on the beds, he found. And perhaps it was that that made him careless. It was a mistake to drop the coffee mug and then sit to watch how the kitchen would self- clean itself. There was a pause but he didn’t expect a voice to cheer and then the words,“I’m free,” from thin air.

Packing was done quickly and the boat called to escape from the tower. He made it to his plane with plenty of time and breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped through his door, shutting it firmly and leaning against it. He was out the cost of the remaining days of his time at the tower but he figured it made up for the cost of replacing the mug. He was wrong.

“I’ll buy you a new mug. A better one. One that is microwaveable and larger,” he pleaded.

The wizard looked at him and a smile stretched. “Oh my new servant, I can always buy another mug. One that’s microwaveable, psff,” he snapped his fingers. “Instead I’ve got you, to keep the kitchen clean. Much better than a new mug. Think of it as something like the movie, the Disney version, of Beauty and the Beast.” With a wave of his hands, “See you get an extended stay in a picturesque place. What could be better?”