After some initial confusion (apparently asking for a favorite color after being offered someone's soul is out of pocket), we get to know each other.

Of course, despite emotionally relating to him, I won't let that completely decide whether I would bond with him. He still needs to check some boxes.

I ask a lot of questions, attempting to get a feel of his personality.

As I noticed before, underneath his rage at the world is a desire for freedom. He feels suppressed, trapped, unable to fully explore himself and the world around him with all of the expectations forced upon him.

He's very upfront about why he wants to bond with me. He wants my power to free himself.

Honestly, this doesn't put me off at all. Selfishness isn't as horrible as people think it is; in fact it's something I look for. Not only can I relate, but self__less_ness leads to sacrifice, which leads to death. I've already stressed how important it is that my bonded not die and leave me alone. Not that... I could technically find someone else to bond with. Or leave this world and go to the next. My bonded dying wouldn't set me back that far.

I quickly change topics before I can think of my old friend again.

I found, as we talked, that despite all of his rage he'd be happy simply being left alone. He seems really close to snapping, but at this point he has no desire for revenge - which would be just as dangerous. Though I could help him attain such a goal, the risk isn't worth it in my opinion. So it's a good thing that he just wants to get the fuck outta dodge.

I'm very grateful for this spell Titania has been using, picking through someone's true motivations and personality would take so long otherwise.

Though, it's still difficult to get a grasp of his personality. He doesn't even know himself. Instead, I focus on his motivations.

What follows is his first true attempt at avoiding a question, deflecting with his longing for freedom. However, I easily catch the deep loneliness that aches within him. He doesn't want to admit it, but he sought me out just as much for the promise of a friend as he did for freedom. I can't blame him, considering that's the entire reason I'm looking to bond in the first place.

We talk for a long time. I learn about him, small facts such as his distaste for the uniform he's forced to wear and his interest in shiny things. I notice that as we speak, he becomes more relaxed - reflected in his body language opening up and gestures being used to emphasize his words. Still, these changes are very minor and his iron grip on himself remains.

I decide that if he were to stay here for a while, away from the King, he would open up more and I could glean more of his personality. So, I tell him to come back tomorrow and tell Titania that he should be next in line whenever he arrives rather than at the bottom of the list.

The hope I sensed from him becomes stronger as I press the rune behind me twice - and the room lights up green for the first time.

I keep meeting others even as Daimier continues to visit every day. He's a very early riser apparently, one of the first to appear when I wake up for meetings. He told me they're staying in one of the hotels in the village.

I learned a lot about Daimier and his relationships as he visited. Despite his brother's care for him, Daimier hates his older sibling. I suppose being compared to someone your whole life will do that to you. However, he also seemed convinced Olivaire didn't care about him.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Not wanting Olivaire's clear love for his brother to go unnoticed, I shared my memory of my meeting with him. Including the fierce protectiveness he felt for Daimier.

Daimier was very surprised and torn up about it. I could tell he needed to process such a blow to his world, so I sent him off and told him to come back when he had processed the information.

He came back the next day - later this time. He was a bit calmer than usual, and told me he talked with his brother. Apparently Olivaire was shocked about Daimier's opinion of him, and had no idea the younger brother thought of him that way. They had a nice bonding moment.

Which, kind of made me regret helping them. To me, this was a bad sign.

One of my stipulations is for my Bonded to have no emotional commitments, as that leads to home sickness and a desire to return and possibly settle down. Plus, as stated multiple times, I'm selfish. It's either no emotional attachments at all, or only attached to me.

Either way, we continue to talk because at this point Daimier is my best bet. Even if his sheer depth of emotion is a bit overwhelming and is starting to gain attachments, he's got a lot of pros. He has less empathy towards others than the average human, which is hard to come by without said person also being a psychopath. He also doesn't think of me as lesser, or have any plans on abusing me or using me past his want for freedom. Most importantly, he's open to travel! Though, he does claim to want to go to a college first which I see no issue with. I can wait.

Well... I had no other options until my fifth day since meeting Daimier.

When Daimier leaves for the day, the next potential walks in to replace his spot on the chair. The woman looks entirely unremarkable, wearing straight black hair in a bun and sporting vaguely interesting orange-brown eyes. Her clothes aren't nearly as fancy as the other people I've been seeing recently, indicating she isn't a noble. Or is a very humble noble.

When the spell is cast, I'm instantly entrance by her mind.

It's calm, organized. Instead of directing thoughts to me to talk, she immediately opens her mind to me and bears her entire self to me.

Her name is Kaitlyn, and she represents exactly what I'm looking for. Her emotions are mellow, much like mine. They're practically calming compared to the whirlwind Daimier's are. She has an apathy towards others but isn't actively antagonizing. She has no attachments, and no intention of forming them - however she is perfectly willing to respect me as a partner. She wants to bond with me simply as a means to explore safely, especially to find lands beyond this one.

Above all, she's perfectly independent. She can fight, hold her own without needing me to protect her. She's got the smarts to plan when the odds are against her. I wouldn't need to watch her all the time.

I'm skeptical at first, because this is just too good to be true. The only con I can see is her disinterest with forming an emotional connection with me. But that's so small in the face of everything else.

The more I talk with her the more I realize that though she checks all the boxes, she's not perfect enough to raise suspicion.

As mentioned earlier, she has emotional connection issues. She seems completely incapable of forming emotional bonds, at all. Despite this, she has no intention to mistreat me either. She's just perfectly neutral to the world around her.

I end up having her return for a second meeting, while still meeting with Daimier. I find myself stuck between two people with their own pros and cons.

On one hand, we have a young man capable of giving me the emotional connection I desire. Someone who shares similar experiences with me and will likely become very attached and loyal to me if I were to help him. However, he is also capable of forming bonds with others. His emotions are also so strong that sometimes I find myself dizzy in the face of them.

On the other hand, we have a woman who checks every box on my list and continues to impress me with her skill. She has no possibility of becoming attached to someone else. Her emotions are so calm they feel like a balm to my soul and calm my own emotions further than they already are. However, she's apathetic and has no chance of forming any meaningful connections with me.

When Daimier finds out that I have a second candidate and I sense his emotions turn sour, I make my decision.

Sorry Daimier, but your emotions... can be a bit overwhelming at times.