The next morning, when Lucas sat down to talk with everyone else about what had happened, he left the kiss out. When he was finally done explaining how the awkward conversation had happened, Hura’gh said, “What? I was trying to help.”

Lucas shook his head at that, and Kar’gandin merely laughed and shook his head. Only Danaria’s brother Adin seemed nonplussed.

“What’s the big deal?” he asked with a shrug. “It had to happen sooner or later with everything that’s going on.”

“You don’t think it will cause trouble?” Lucas asked.

“She had to grow up sooner or later. ” Adin said with a shrug, “And this is as good a time as any. Once our name is cleared and we have enough for a proper dowry, it will be time to consider how she could best be used to cement further alliances.”

Lucas did his best to keep his building anger off of his face. He wasn’t sure why this was upsetting him, but it was. This is the way it was done here. Nobles played games with peoples lives and the ones closest to them were their most ready and disposible pawns.

Still, the idea that Adin would marry his sister off to a man twice her age just because the guy had the right last name or could get him the favors he needed for some scheme or another to succeed repulsed him, and he fumed about it for the rest of the day. Of course, Danaria made every effort to avoid him, too, which gave him plenty of time to tinker in the lab.

That should have been what he wanted, but even as he tinkered with making strength and agility potions that lasted as long as his flask of long-lasting curative did, the thoughts about it nagged at him. Should he have done something differently? Should he have lied to her or kissed her back?

Lucas had no idea, but it bugged him.

He didn’t actually see her again until he was being driven back from another insufferable luncheon and saw her sitting there in Meadowin’s square, weaving a crown of flowers together with some of the younger children. In the afternoon light, it was impossible not to find her stunning. She’d taken to wearing simpler dresses after Lucas had pointed out just how much her extravagant wardrobe cost, but even so, in a simple lavender frock, she looked like a little princess sitting there with the flowers in her hair.

That was what made him stop the carriage to talk to her. At first, that did not go well, and even though she didn’t speak harshly in front of the children, there was a chilly aura about her the whole time.

“It was lovely to see you today cousin,” she said, not really meaning it, “but I’m afraid I must be heading home.”

“Why don’t you ride with me back to the manor,” he volunteered, giving her his best smile, but she brushed it off.

“A good constitutional is excellent for the health,” she said, “You should try it sometime.”

Lucas stood there for a moment, watching her leave, then he turned to go back to his coach but said, “Fuck it,” to himself and then called to Mort, “I believe that Miss Parin has the right of it. I’ll walk back to the Manor; you can go on without us.”

Mort gave him a little salute, then flicked his reigns, bringing the horses to life and leaving him and Danaria alone on the road out of the village. Lucas jogged a few steps to catch up, and they walked in silence for a hundred feet before she said, “When I said you should try to walk more for your health, I did not mean today.”

“I mean, when a pretty girl asks me on a walk, is there even another answer besides yes?” he asked, feigning innocence. That simple line made her blush more than it had any right to, and silence returned for a long time before they finally talked at once.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I—” he said at the same moment she said, “I’m sorry I reacted so poorly the other night—”

They were both quiet for a moment before they again spoke at once. This time, they said the same thing. “No, please, after you.”

This caused them both to laugh, and finally removed the pall from the moment. That was enough to let him finally look at her without finding a look of disgust waiting for him, and for now that was enough.

“Look, this isn’t what I wanted to ether,” he said. “Not originally, anyway. When I came from Earth and found wizards and shit here, I thought that was amazing. More than anything, I wanted to be one of those, but I found out pretty fucking quick that this world doesn’t allow a lot of choice in those things, and after that, well, I sorta fell back on my old tricks, you know?”

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“That sounds terrible,” she agreed before asking, “But where is this Earth place? Is it far away?”

“Very,” he agreed, cursing himself for forgetting. “But the point is, if the only thing you have is a skill that makes money, then what the hell are you supposed to do? Even if it is wrong?”

“That doesn’t make it right, you know.” She said sadly. “Even after my brother explained all of this to me, I still don't think that it makes things right.”

Lucas was about to go into some explanation about how the right could outweigh the wrong, but at the mention of her brother Lucas realized that would have been a very Adin answer to give. So he didn’t. Instead he just said, “You’re right.”

“Having these skills is still wonderful, though,” she said, trying to put a positive spin on it. “Some people with talents never find a use for them, you know, and now you’re healing the sick and doing other… less reputable things. Why not find something else you could make? People pay good money for more than drugs, don’t they?”

“You know, what… fine,” he agreed. “I’ll try. No promises I’ll succeed, but I will try at least.”

“Good,” she smiled. “That’s a fine start.”

“Your brother mentioned that you had a talent before, didn’t he?” Lucas asked, trying to change the subject.

“Most nobles do,” she agreed noncommittally, “but mine is nothing special.”

“No?” he smiled. “What can you do?”

“If I tell you, you must promise it will be our secret,” she said, looking at him suddenly serious. “Especially not my brother. He loves his secrets, and for some reason, he insists on keeping this under wraps. I think he doesn’t want people to think less of our family because of how pathetic it is.”

“I’ll never tell,” Lucas agreed.

Danaria beamed at him for a moment before turning away and searching the sky. “There, do you see that Sparrow?”

Lucas had no idea what a sparrow looking like, but he saw the tiny bird, and said, “Yeah. Cute little guy, isn’t he.”

She pointed at it, and for a moment, he thought that she was about to blast it out of the sky or something. Instead, it flew to her before landing on her finger and tilting its head to look at the two of them.

“You’re what… summoning it? Controlling it?” Lucas asked, genuinely impressed. Unlike his alchemy, which was nothing but a glorified video game, this was real magic, and to him, that was cool as hell.

“I’m… riding it, let's say,” she said, struggling for a word. As she spoke, the thing took off and began to circle the two of them in a very unnatural way as it flew tiny laps in the air. “I can tell it what to do, I can see through its eyes and hear through its ears, but eventually it breaks free and…”

As she spoke, the bird suddenly altered course and took off back into the sky once more, leaving them alone. “Pretty pathetic, huh?” she asked, forcing Lucas to give her a dirty look.

“What are you talking about?” he said louder than he intended as the little bird flew away. “That shit is fire right there.”

“But I can’t really do it with larger animals,” she sighed. “They just… they fight me, and there is little to be done in taming common songbirds.”

“Well, you know what I think? I think you should keep practicing, you know?” he said, trying to cheer her up. “Today, sparrows and robins or whatever, and if you work really hard, maybe you’ll be able to use ravens or squirrels in a month or two.”

“I can do it with squirrels too, already,” she said with remarkably less enthusiasm than he would have thought this warranted. “But I'm not sure if I can ever do use my talent on something bigger than that.”

“Nah, I’m telling you, today song birds, tomorrow eagles, and in a year or two dragons at least,” he laughed. “Hell, maybe you could use this on people too. We’re just nothing but animals, after all.”

“Well, if I did that, then I’m sure Adin would be able to make a much better match for me,” she smiled sadly.

“As far as I’m concerned, you can do whatever you want with your life,” Lucas said with a smile. “You shouldn’t have to listen to your brother, and I say that as someone, your brother has to listen to whether he likes it or not, so if there’s a man you fancy, you just tell me, and I’ll tell him to stop his scheming, and we can set up the match that will make you happy instead.”

“Well,” she said, pausing in the shade of an oak tree not so far from the Manor’s gate, “There is one man I know. He’s not particularly suitable, but…”

“Hey, that’s great,” Lucas said, “How about him? Is he interested in you too?”

“I mean, I think so…” she answered.

She blushed hard enough then that he was confused. At least until he figured out that he was the man she was talking about. After that, he cursed himself silently. He’d been trying to mend fences with her, not find creative new ways to break her heart.

Right now, women were a terrible choice for him for any number of reasons, but this woman, right here. Danaria. He couldn’t have picked a more complicated match if he tried, barring Arissa, of course, but he’d sooner drink arsenic than let that woman into his bed chamber.

They stood there underneath that oak tree for a few seconds while he tried to figure out what to do. It was apparent to Lucas that she was waiting there for him to kiss her, and confess his feelings for her.

He was unwilling to do that, but he was also unwilling to toss her heart away and put another crack in it. So, instead, he took her by her hand and kissed her fingers lightly before saying. “I think we both know that this unsuitable man of yours… He’s probably not in the right place to respond to your affections right now, but someday… when he’s a better person, then maybe—”

She hugged him before he could finish what he was going to say, but he decided to drop it so as not to spoil the moment. Instead, he stood there for a long moment, letting her cling to him before they finished their walk to the Manor.

“So long as he’s getting better, I will wait for him,” she said finally. “If you must tell my brother something, then tell him that.”