Celica left the range to find Charles frowning, arms crossed. She felt a twinge of anger as she found a glimmer of disappointment in his eyes, until she realized he was looking at the door, rather than at her.

“What are you thinking?” she found herself asking.

“I am wondering,” he said, after a moment, “whether there is a way for me to get in that room and not get marched out again.”

“I reckon that, with persistence, you might get knocked out first.”

He nodded gravely. “I suppose a tactical retreat is in order, then.” And he set off down the corridor.

Celica stared at his back for a moment before following after him. She dismissed her power as she walked, hair shortening and feeling returning to her limbs. With a shiver she blamed on the air conditioning permeating the building, she pulled the sleeves on her coat down. It was a bizarre feeling that only moments ago she would have been impervious to such sensations.

As she pulled closer to him, she could spy the hint of a smile playing on Charles’s lips. He slowed down ever so slightly, letting her catch up so that they were walking side by side.

_Let him think what he wants_, she told herself. She wanted to go to the nearest park area, and Charles just happened to have set off in the same direction. It did not mean she would have to endure the trip in silence, however.

“So, does the sleazebag act ever work for you?”

“Sleazebag?” He sounded hurt. “I like to think of myself as honest, thank you very much.”

Alas, at this point, Celica was feeling rather candid herself. “I’m surprised your honesty hasn’t landed you on the wrong side of sexual harassment charges.”

“Yes, well, what’s a little scandal here and there?” He coughed, looking uncomfortable. “It’s not as if it’s a terribly bad thing. People might make faces and call me immoral, but there are always those who enjoy that kind of attention. Do you not like to be considered beautiful, after all?” 

“Of course I do,” she said in a small flare of vanity, unsure of whether that was a personal compliment or a general example. It would be terribly like Charles to say that all women were beautiful. Still, she had to keep Adela’s case in mind. There had been some history there, and even if it was as simple as her being more familiar with Charles’s antics, she was curious. 

Celica had often found that the simplest course of action for this manner of thing was to ask, so she did exactly that. “It doesn’t look like it worked well with Adela, though. What happened there?”

Charles gave her a short look, one that she had seen on Lily the other day, when she had asked a similar question. Lily had refused to answer, then. Unlike her, however, Charles seemed to fold with a sigh and a smile.

“We know each other because of our families. At that age business deals sometimes turn into playdates when families are in friendly terms.” Celica frowned at that. Business and playdates, he’d said, but from what she knew, Adela’s family was incredibly wealthy. Disgustingly so, one could even say, if they were so inclined. Her eyebrows shot up when she made the connection and Charles winked at her. Well, if he had that amount of credit to flaunt around, there was little he could do that would discourage some people from getting close to him. “You could say I did something stupid at one point and lost her trust. Made some promises I ended up breaking.”

“Not very honest of you,” she observed.

He shrugged. “One rarely learns without making mistakes,” he admitted. “Since then, I’ve found that openness is the best policy. Sure, people might resent me for it, but it is much more difficult to be disappointed when one knows what to expect from the outset. Where is the wrong in letting people know where you stand?”

“That is very noble.” Unrealistically so, even. “How do I know you’re not simply painting yourself in a positive light?”

Charles snorted at that, as if amused that the question had to be asked at all. “Of course I’m doing that. I’m talking about myself here, after all. What you take from the painting depends on how much of a cynic you are, ma petite Celica. If you believe me at all, that is.” She could not find an answer to that. It seemed Charles cared little for what she thought of him in that regard. Perhaps she would have to ask Adela for her side of the tale the next time the opportunity presented itself. They reached an intersection, and Charles noticed her eyes turning to the corridor leading outside. “Well,” he started, pausing in his stride, “that wasn’t exactly what I thought would happen today.”

A tiny sliver of curiosity nibbled at her mind, and she asked. “For the sake of the argument, what were you expecting?” 

“Honestly?” he said, “I thought I’d treat you somewhere nice to eat and see where that took us. When you said you had a place in mind… it was rather forward, but I didn’t think much of it. Still, it was interesting.” He offered his hand, and Celica found herself shaking it. “Maybe I’ll see you around,” he told her with a small bow of his head and a show of sparking white teeth, before heading off the opposite way.

She did not follow this time. Celica stood there, a small crease on her brows, feeling a strange surge of irritation as she watched the man walk away. 

Completely unrelated to him, she was sure. 

She had many things to feel irritated about. Her experiments, for example. They had not gone too well, though perhaps just as well as she had expected. Maybe it was how she seemed to be actively seeking these heart to heart conversations. She had been jesting when she referred to herself as Alice’s nosy roommate, but perhaps there was a grain of truth to the joke. Such a nosy lady she was turning into. Or perhaps it was the fact that she was still getting used to the pacing of this third year in the Academy. Soon, they would be out in the battlefield, and all they would be able to rely on would be themselves and the person next to them. Maybe not even that.

Celica turned away, clawing at her pockets for her earpiece as she made for the nearest park area. A few moments of rest in the fresh air would do her a world of good, and music always helped clear her thoughts.