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It wasn’t long before Lilie emerged from the crowd, looking to Aaron like a dove among pigeons as she strode toward him, smiling. He smiled too at the sight of her, heart fluttering as she drew near, remembering with disbelief that the feelings they shared, their kiss, [i]everything[/i] really did happen. The past few weeks were so wild he wasn’t sure until now that it wasn’t just a dream. 

Despite his delight, his heart jumped into his throat when he felt Lilie twine her fingers in his. Something ingrained and instinctive sounded in the back of his head, some alarm bell he didn’t even have the time to name, and by reflex he pulled away, glancing around to make sure nobody had seen. That was risky, right? Who knew who was watching, what might spark rumours – who knew what Count Benjamin might think, let alone Varis! The smart part of his brain told Aaron his reaction was perfectly logical, but even still, his hand felt intolerably empty the second Lilie’s left it. 

It all shot through his mind in the space of a second, and realizing Lilie might be offended, Aaron recovered by placing his hand appropriately on her back, moving with an apologetic smile to guide her to a seat. 

[color=f0d705]“I just got here,”[/color] he reassured her as they walked, eager to move past his awkwardness. In any case, even as much as leading Lilie to a seat, however chaste and proper, was enough to make his heart flutter. [color=f0d705]“How were your classes?”[/color] 

The sudden movement spooked Lilie for a second, her eyes wide as she looked up at Aaron. About half a dozen questions popped into her head: Was that too forward? Did her nails accidentally scratch him? Were her hands dry? Did it feel weird? Did she do something wrong? Maybe there was some sort of mage etiquette that she had missed—Ben wanted her covered from elbow to knee but then continuously walked in on her, so she was shaky on the rules.

Lilie semi-recovered once she sat down, though her hands were a little more fidgety than she would have liked. [color=deepskyblue]“Um, they were okay,”[/color] She replied. [color=deepskyblue]“Though the Dowsing class I just had with Max is gonna be a little rough, the teacher is scary. I think anything that isn’t pure affinity is going to need a lot of attention on my part.”[/color]

[color=f0d705]“Dowsing?”[/color] Aaron asked, noticing Lilie’s discomfort and feeling like a monster for it. Maybe that [i]was[/i] uncalled for, it was such a simple gesture after all – and not to mention how badly he realized he wanted it now that he’d pushed it away. Goodness, it almost felt like his first day at the Academy again. Not that his first experience with Varis was anything close to this exciting new path he was tiptoeing, but he felt the same sense of insecurity, not knowing whether he was stepping on solid ground. 

At least this round of nerves made him giddy instead of sick!

[color=f0d705]“I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard of ‘dowsing’ before; I haven’t the slightest idea what that means,”[/color] he chuckled, very interested in moving the subject on. [color=f0d705]“But you don’t need to give me a lesson. You must be tired I’m sure.”[/color]

He knew he was. And hungry – maybe they should continue this conversation after getting some food. But he just sat them down, would it be weird to get up again so fast?

At long last, Aaron had to laugh at his own awkwardness, running his fingers through his hair. [color=f0d705]“I’m sorry, I must seem a wreck,”[/color] he finally confessed, looking bashfully over to Lilie. His eyes were doubtlessly bloodshot and rimmed with dark circles that even concealer couldn’t cover, and he had no idea what he was doing. Why pretend he was anything but a total mess? It was Lilie who wanted him to lean on her, after all.

[color=f0d705]“I’m just so glad to see you,”[/color] he finally said. His jaw worked for a second, thinking he had something else to say, but eventually he closed his mouth, realizing that was the only coherent phrase he could utter at the moment. 

If Aaron thought she was tired, she wasn’t sure what he would use to describe himself. It had been noticeable enough for her to notice when they first met up, but now that they were on semi-even level, it was obvious the poor guy was ragged. Lilie wanted to ask, but now she hesitated; he already withdrew from her once, what if he reacted poorly to her asking? He did say he'd explain later, and it was later, so it was probably better not to. Right?

His apology poked at her already bubbling guilt, though it wasn’t until he admitted he was glad to see her that Lilie finally gave him a much more genuine smile. Ah, there were the butterflies! Maybe she really was overthinking things. 

[color=deepskyblue]"I'm happy you're here with me, too,"[/color] She replied cheerfully, clapping her hands together. [color=deepskyblue]"I think any hard class will be easy so long as I get to see you."[/color]

As she finished talking, she felt her stomach grumble. Oh, right, lunch! She got up and placed her bag on her chair, turning to Aaron. [color=deepskyblue]"Let's leave our bags here and get something to eat first, though,"[/color] She patted her stomach. [color=deepskyblue]"My cycle's all messed up again. I tried to be good, but my inner clock gets so wacky when I go back home. I guess you never have to worry about that at the castle, huh?"[/color]

It was such a small thing, but even just that little comment made all of the unpleasantness buzzing in Aaron’s head melt away. He didn’t dream it the first time; Lilie was happy just to see him! He stood up dreamily as she did, still floating in the giddy warmth that spread over him at something so small. 

[color=f0d705]“Good idea,”[/color] he agreed, following Lilie. He grinned at her comment about her day-night cycle. [color=f0d705]“Nah, I guess not. Although they [i]do[/i] try to get me to sleep in when I go home, I always end up getting up at the normal time anyway. Old habits I suppose.”[/color]

An unusually quiet sense of melancholy tried to speak up in the back of Aaron’s head, remembering how miserable he’d secretly been at the realization that they wanted him to sleep in because they now had someone else to do all his old tasks. As painful as that had been to swallow, Aaron had a sudden thought that Noila castle seemed awfully dreary compared to the dining hall this evening – and present company. 

Hm. Maybe with Lilie around, a year away from the Noilas might not be so hard to survive. 

[color=f0d705]“But aside from that, you must have enjoyed your break, seeing your family,”[/color] he continued, filling  a plate with a hearty, balanced meal. [color=f0d705]“They must be proud of you.”[/color] 

Lilie followed suit, not being too picky with her choices. Admittedly she wasn’t completely paying attention to the food as she was hanging onto Aaron’s every word. As he mentioned her family, however, she couldn’t stop her frown. 

[color=deepskyblue]"I don't know, they were a little weird this time,"[/color] She ended up admitting. [color=deepskyblue]"I mean, the first few days were fine, and I guess my brother was the same as always, but they were...um, how do I describe it?"[/color]

How [i]did[/i] she describe her mom's sudden distance? Her dad said it wasn't related to Lilie at all, but it happened from one day to the next! She kept staring at the pictures in the hallway looking depressed, too, and she usually only did that around the anniversary of Lilie’s grandmother’s death. 

[color=deepskyblue]“...I don’t know how to describe it,”[/color] Lilie ended up admitting, shaking her head. [color=deepskyblue]“But it’s not just them that are acting differently. Everyone in town kept staring and whispering, and some of them were taking pictures of me! I mean, it’s better than getting glares, but this was just as weird!”[/color]

Letting out a sigh, Lilie felt like she was complaining too much. [color=deepskyblue]“It was good to be home. But there’s a lot of stuff that’s changing for everyone, and I guess I just need more time to get used to it, you know?”[/color] She tried to spin it as a positive, not wanting to drag down the conversation. [color=deepskyblue]“How about your family? I bet your mom was happy to see you.”[/color]

Aaron’s brow furrowed at the sudden sadness in Lilie’s voice. Things were chilly at home? And he’d just ignored her for weeks on top of that! He wanted to reach out and hug her, but that annoying little alarm bell in his head wouldn’t let him.

[color=f0d705]“They’re probably not used to having noble mages like yourself visit their town,”[/color] he offered, trying, like Lilie, to lighten the mood. As for his own family…

[color=f0d705]“She was, yeah. She always is,”[/color] he ended up murmuring the last part, remembering the pain he was about to inflict on the poor woman by cutting ties for a year. A [i]year![/i] Stars above, he’d been so wrapped up in how [i]he[/i] would be affected by the distance that he hadn’t even spared a thought for his poor mother! Could she handle it? He knew nobody stronger in the world, but she was ill – it was hard enough on her when he left the household, how would she manage complete silence for a year?

Aaron felt sick to his stomach as the two of them returned to their seats, and his food was suddenly a lot less appealing. But he tried to push the thought away. She always insisted she was stronger than she looked, and she had Dora and Clara and Princess Ryner to look after her. And if he told her [i]why[/i] he was doing this, surely she’d at least [i]understand[/i], if not forgive him for it. They’d all made sacrifices for their charges; it was time for him to make his. 

[color=f0d705]“Of course, I kinda stressed them out the past few weeks,”[/color] he added delicately, doing his best to tease out an uneasy grin. [color=f0d705]“But luckily that’s over now, and we— [i]I[/i] shouldn’t have to worry about that anymore.”[/color] 

[color=deepskyblue]“That’s good!”[/color] Lilie was happy to hear that at least he was better. She picked up her fork as she looked down at her food, deciding now was a good time to get in a bite before continuing the conversation. As she did, she chewed slowly, a thoughtful expression on her face. She let out a small noise of discontent, inhaling sharply as she held her hand out to stop Aaron from continuing.

[color=deepskyblue]“Wait,”[/color] Her muffled word came out, though she took a second to swallow before giving Aaron a serious look. [color=deepskyblue]“What do you think of the food here?”[/color]

Aaron did a bit of a double take when Lilie spoke up, thinking for a moment that she was about to spit out her food. At her question, he simply stared for a moment, feeling immediately self conscious.

[color=f0d705]“Uh, it’s… fine, I guess? Good?”[/color] he answered slowly, not sure if he should admit that food was food to him and the food here nourished him as much as the food at home did. 

Making direct eye contact with the blond, Lilie slowly shook her head. [color=deepskyblue]“Fine. Just fine,”[/color] She repeated his words before using her free hand to point to her plate. [color=deepskyblue]“Exactly. I cook way, [i]way[/i] better than this. So when are you coming over so I can show you how much better I am than these cooks here?”[/color]


The laugh escaped before Aaron could catch it, the blond hunching over the table as his shoulders shook in silent laughter. [color=f0d705]“Don’t let Her Highness hear you say that, I think she hired these cooks herself,”[/color] he joked, composing himself enough to take a bite of his food as he considered her question. 

When [i]could[/i] he go over? The logical part of his brain said never, it was a ridiculous idea to start with and he would be a fool to attend. Come on, a visit, most likely unannounced, to another Count’s [i]dorm[/i] just so he could have dinner with his mage? Ha! Anyone else and he’d have laughed the idea out of the room. What a ridiculous risk, and what a flagrant disregard for his own master’s confidence, especially since his sneaking around was the very thing that got him into the present mess.

But the logical part of Aaron’s brain was uncharacteristically quiet for the moment, and drowned out by a newer and significantly louder part that told him he’d be a fool [i]not[/i] to do it. He was about to wilfully cut himself off from everyone he knew and loved for a [i]year[/i] to cleanse himself of his sneaky, lying, untrustworthy sins – what was one more to finish it all off? It was just like in movies, when a character goes on one last binge before quitting drinking. If anything, it’d be [i]smart[/i] to purge his last few rebellious urges before committing himself to Varis, right?

He almost chuckled again – the very thought of him, of all people, having a [i]rebellious[/i] streak would be funny if it wasn’t apparently true – but his mind was already made up, and some deep part of him feared that if he reneged on his decision now, he’d never find the courage to make it again.

[color=f0d705]“I’ll have to get back to you on the time, but tonight would be lovely. I’d have to be done by six regardless, but I bet we can make it work.”[/color] He took a drink of water before he could take the promise back. Goodness, what on earth got into him? He wasn’t sure, but he was surprisingly steadfast in wanting to ride with it for as long as he could. Besides, tonight was prime for something like this; ironically, Varis’ annoyance would work in his favour, and Aaron predicted he’d want the dorm to himself for the morning. Plus, there was the fact that it was now or never – once he walked back through that door, he’d have to give up on sneaking for good. 

Somehow, Lilie didn’t think she could possibly be any happier, but on Aaron’s answer, her face lit up considerably. For some reason she thought that he would say no, but she was delighted to see that he kept to his word. She couldn’t really stop her smile even as she ate, completely satisfied that he finally made the commitment. Sorta. But that was good enough for her! In the back of her mind, though, she figured at least she didn’t have to worry too much about impressing him—she meant no offense to Her Highness, but her skills in the kitchen were [i]way[/i] better—and started mentally considering what she could make. Oh, she’d have to make sure Ben wouldn’t stick around, she wanted some private time for just the two of them to make up for the lack of communication. And maybe for something else that was better kept behind closed doors.

Lilie couldn’t keep her eyes off Aaron despite the tiny blush building up on her cheeks. [color=deepskyblue]“Then it’s a date,”[/color] She wanted to say it confidently, but her giddiness got the better of her, and it came out as the words of a lovestruck, shy girl as she batted her eyelashes at him. 

Seeing Lilie light up further reassured Aaron that he made the right decision, and hearing the word [i]date[/i] filled his stomach with butterflies. He busied himself with his food, hoping Lilie wouldn’t notice the red flush in his ears, though he did pause long enough to say, smiling, [color=f0d705]“Can’t wait.”[/color]
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