Aurora kept asking for more details about her family's forest, and Sera happily told her anything she wanted to know. But why was Aurora so interested in it? Sera wasn't sure.

Sera had a guess though. It must have something to do with James. After all, he was so adamant about wanting to enter that forest for some reason. And because he was so eager, Aurora seemed to get interested too.

Anyway, talking with Aurora was nice for Sera, even though the topic was the creepy forest full of monsters. Sera felt good. That was until her eyes went to Aurora's hand.

There was a beautiful bracelet with blue gems all over it. A gift from Ruby. It pained Sera's heart a bit.

Now she remembered. Sera had been planning to give Aurora a gift. That's right. After receiving that rare book, Sera had thought about giving Aurora a gift in return, but because she had been busy and a lot of things had been happening, she had forgotten about it.

No, probably the best way to put it was that she had been running away. After all, she couldn't think of anything to give to Aurora.

Aside from books, Sera is not sure what Aurora likes. She was almost giving up and considering just giving her a book, but she felt like she wasn't being creative. It felt like she was just copying what Aurora does.

Jewelry might not be bad. But again, she feels uncreative because isn't that just copying Ruby? Not to mention, unlike Ruby who knows a lot about stuff like that, Sera wasn't really interested. It would be embarrassing if she picked something bad and forced Aurora to wear it.

"Are you okay?" Aurora asked. "You look stressed. Are you tired of talking about the forest?"

"No, no, I'm fine," Sera said, trying to smile.

"Okay," Aurora said, still observing her for a moment. "So, there's nothing more? Even if it's something small or something that sounds unimportant?"

Sera shook her head. "Sorry, but I think that's all. I can ask my parents or family if you want to be sure..."

"Will you do that for me?" Aurora said. "Thank you."

I will do anything for you, Sera thought, but of course she didn't say that. That would be embarrassing.

"You're welcome," Sera said instead, trying to smile.

Aurora nodded. And then they were silent.

A sudden awkward atmosphere filled the room. Sera got nervous, thinking of something more to talk about, but she couldn't find anything that sounded interesting.

Meanwhile, after Aurora accomplished her goal there, she suddenly looked depressed.

"What's wrong?" Sera asked. "Is something bothering you?"

Aurora tried to smile. "Nothing, it's just..."

"Yes?" Sera said.

"Am I too kind?" Aurora asked. "I mean, does my kindness seem suspicious to you?"

"What?" Sera said.

"Never mind," Aurora said. "I'm just a little tired. I'm going to head back for now."

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Wait..."

Aurora stood up from her seat and smiled. "Good night, Sera," she said.

"Good... good night," Sera forced to say as she watched Aurora leave the room.

Sera was stunned there. She knew she messed up. Something was clearly wrong with Aurora, but she failed to stop her. She failed to find out what was bothering her. And she still didn't know what gift to give her.

"Ah... I'm so stupid," Sera murmured to herself.

While Sera regretted her inaction, Aurora was going back to her room. She opened the door and entered it. Her maid, Lyra, was there waiting.

"Welcome back, miss," Lyra said.

"Yes," Aurora replied.

"Is something wrong, miss?" Lyra asked.

Aurora shook her head. "Nothing. Anyway, tomorrow can you go meet Nicholas?"

Lyra was surprised, and a blush crept up a little. "Yes," she said. "Is it about the cards?"

"I want to know the progress about that too," Aurora said. "But no. Please ask him to check about magic crystals. Is there anyone who bought them in a huge amount?"

Lyra gasped. "Miss, are you going to do business in that too?"

"No," Aurora said. "Not this time. Anyway, try to get as much information as possible."

Lyra nodded.

"Anyway, I'm tired," Aurora said. "I'm going to sleep now. Good night, Lyra."

"Okay, good night, miss."

***

Ruby was taking a walk when she saw Aurora dragging herself in the direction of the library. Ruby stomped her feet in frustration. Aurora was going to meet Sera again, so annoying.

Ruby then followed her in secret. Looking at Aurora, it turned out her feelings from before were right. Aurora didn't seem to be in a good mood right now.

What's bothering her? Ruby wondered. Aside from the obvious thing, like Nova of course, she thought.

Aurora entered the library. Ruby peeked through the window and saw Aurora's mood improve as she met Sera. This annoyed her. If Aurora wanted someone to talk to, why didn't she come to her?

Probably because she wasn't good at anything, the negative part of Ruby surfaced.

She knew that was just her being negative, but there was truth in it. There was nothing she could do for Aurora. She was small, weak, her magic mastery was still bad and hadn't improved. Her personality wasn't great either.

The only good thing about her was that she was born into a marquis family. But that didn't matter when Aurora's enemy came from a duke family.

The voices of Aurora and Sera chatting jolted Ruby from her thoughts. She wasn't sure what they were talking about, it was too hard to hear from outside the room. But listening to them made her feel jealous and lonely. In the end, she ran from there.

With nowhere to go, she ended up outside of Aurora's room. Lyra was there, sweeping.

"Are you looking for my master?" Lyra asked. "She's at the library."

"I know," Ruby said.

"You're not looking for my master then?" Lyra asked, giving her a questioning look.

Ruby didn't answer, she ran again and ended up back in her own room.

In the end, she tried to forget everything and just sleep.

Morning came. Ruby woke up feeling fresh and full of energy. She slept a lot, but her mind was still a mess.

Taking a bath, she felt annoyed. Changing clothes, she felt annoyed. Eating breakfast, she felt annoyed. Even when she walking to her classroom, she felt annoyed.

Everything was annoying, and she didn't even run into Aurora on the way to her class.

Aurora came almost late, so she didn't get a chance to talk to her. Annoying.

Ruby shot a intense stare towards the blue-haired girl, but Aurora replied with a smile. She looked like her usual self.

Has Sera been successful in making her feel better? Ruby thought, feeling annoyed.

Today was filled with boring lessons. Time felt like it was moving at a snail's pace, so slow. Ruby's feelings of annoyance started to fade, and boredom set in.

Until the class ended.

Ruby was too lazy to move, so she remained seated. She didn't even glance in Aurora's direction. Thinking, will Aurora come to her?

It would be great if she did, but what if she just left?

Ruby felt annoyed again.

"You're not sleeping again, right?" Aurora asked suddenly. "The class had already ended."

Ruby almost smiled. She came! But she held back.

Ruby wants to reassure her that nothing is wrong. She just feels like trash right now. It happens once in a while. But instead, she said, "You spend the night with that girl again, huh?"

Come on, don't say it like that. We're just chatting," Aurora giggled. "Why are you acting like a jealous boyfriend?"

Ruby pouted and said, "So what if I am?"

"Okay, I get it," Aurora said, patting Ruby's head. "You just want me to spend some time with you, right?"

Ruby likes it when Aurora pats her, but the way Aurora treats her, Ruby can tell that Aurora sees her as a little sister or something.

That's annoying.

But it's not Aurora's fault. After all, what she knows is that Ruby likes Finnick. There's no way she could know that Ruby's feelings have already changed.

Not to mention they're friends, it's weird to have special feelings towards a friend like this.

"So, what do you want to do?" Aurora asked.

"A lot of things," Ruby replied.

"You're acting so spoiled," Aurora smiled.

"Can't I?" Ruby asked.

"Fine. I have nothing to do anyway," Aurora said. "Let's do whatever you want today."

Whatever she wants? Ruby thought.

Ruby quickly glanced at Aurora's lips.

I want a kiss, Ruby thought.

Her face turning red. There was no way she could ask for that.

Then, something else. Something else she wants to do.

"Then... Can we talk?" Ruby finally said. "Yesterday, something was bothering you. I'm not sure what it is, but it probably has something to do with Nova or Marina. I don't know. I just... hope you'll talk to me more. About yourself. About your problems. I... I might not be able to help, but..."

I want you to rely on me, Ruby thought. Even a little.

Aurora smiled, looked relieved.

"Okay," she said. "Then let's talk."

Aurora sat beside Ruby and started to talk about her worries. She talked about the nagging feeling she had about James, her inability to figure out what Nova was doing, and most importantly, her own feelings right now. Why he was depressed since she talked with Marina.

"Well, if she doesn't want you to be kind to her, just don't," Ruby said. "Give all that kindness to me instead."

Aurora giggled. "Okay."

Ruby smiled. It's not like she didn't notice either. She knows even now that Aurora is hiding something from her. But that's fine.

Ruby grabbed Aurora's hand and hugged it. No matter what happens, she still likes this blue girl.

***