Ruby was busy putting her face on the pillow and then screaming in embarrassment. Yeah, pretty productive activity.

"What are you doing, miss?" Rita asked as she saw what her master was doing.

Ruby jumped in shock, immediately sit down on her bed.

"Nothing," Ruby said, trying to act normal. "I'm just... admiring this pillow. And you should knock before entering my room!"

"Right, sorry miss," Rita said, smiling. She walked toward her master. "Anyway, I saw you running in a hurry just now. That's why I hurried here. Is something wrong?"

Ruby avoided Rita's analytical gaze.

"Nothing's wrong," Ruby said. "I just... feel like running."

"Ah, I see," Rita said. "Yes, I get it miss. Sometimes I feel like running too."

"Uh-huh," Ruby said.

"But what about miss Aurora?" Rita asked.

"Wha-what about her?" Ruby said, nervous.

"Well, you refused to leave her side before," Rita said, "but now not anymore? Why?"

"Ah, she's awake already," Ruby said. "So it's fine now."

"Really?" Rita asked, obviously not believing her.

"I said it's fine!" Ruby pouted.

"Miss..."

Ruby sighed. "Okay, fine, I admit it. I made a stupid mistake..."

"What mistake?" Rita asked.

"I... That was... Uh... Um..." Ruby's face was burning. She tried to hide it with her pillow. "I just made a mistake, okay? No need to go into details!"

"Alright, then why don't you just apologize?"

"Forget it. I don't think I can even see her right now."

"But Miss, I heard that class activities will be stopped for now," Rita said. "Isn't it possible for Miss Aurora to go home soon? In fact, someone sent me a message from your father asking if you're going to go home too."

"What....? Then... How long will it be stopped?"

"I don't know," Rita said. "Probably until they fix most of the academy's facilities."

"That doesn't mean anything!" Ruby exclaimed. "Make it clear, is it going to be long or short?"

"Sorry, Miss, I can't tell," Rita replied. "It all depends on the situation. The point is, you might not be able to see her soon. So if you have unfinished business with her, I don't think you can wait."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"That's unfair," Ruby said. "I need time to prepare."

"It's just how it is, Miss."

Ruby buried her face into the pillow she hugged in frustration, making small sounds of "pomf."

***

The next day inside the library, Ruby peeked at Aurora, who was busy looking around the bookshelves. Sera was there too, seeming to help her pick several thick books. Ruby still didn't understand how they could be so happy reading books with so many words. They usually didn't even have drawings in them, making them even less appealing to her.

After picking up the books, they settled at a table in the corner of the room. On the table, a huge map was spread out, and they seemed to be trying to match the books with the map.

"What are they doing?" Ruby murmured.

"It seems like Miss Aurora is trying to learn about neighboring kingdoms," Rita, who was standing behind her, said. "Based on the books they're picking," she added.

Ruby was wondering how Rita could tell from that far, but then she remembered that Rita had exceptional eyesight.

"I see," Ruby said. "But why is she suddenly interested in that?"

"Ah, I heard the rumors," Rita said. "The second prince ran away to the elf kingdom. So maybe she's trying to learn about it because of that?"

"That makes sense," Ruby said. "She's always so busy. She doesn't even need to care about it anymore."

"Yes, that's admirable," Rita said.

"Of course it is," Ruby said. But for some reason, she felt disappointed and even irritated. Maybe because Aurora seemed unaffected by what happened yesterday and was already busy with other things, while Ruby couldn't stop thinking about it. Did that mean Aurora didn't care? Was that why she could move on so easily?

"So, are you going to talk to her or not, miss?" Rita asked.

"Uh, um... She's clearly busy, so I don't want to bother her," Ruby said, making excuses.

"Miss..." Rita looked at her master in disbelief.

"I'm not running away, I promise!" Ruby said.

"Miss, I haven't even said anything yet..." Rita sighed.

Ruby looked even more nervous. "A-and Sera is there too. I don't think... I can do it."

"Fine, then you can just wait here, but I won't," Rita said as she walked toward them.

Panicking, Ruby grabbed Rita's hand to stop her. "Wha-what are you doing?"

"I have some business with Miss Aurora too," Rita replied.

"You're lying!"

"I'm not. Did you see this, miss?" Rita showed Ruby her sword. "While I'd love to keep this for myself, the one who actually owns it is the one who put the request at the adventurers Guild, right? That was Miss Aurora."

"Oh, right," Ruby said, already forgetting about it.

"Then can I go now?" Rita asked.

"B-but don't say anything about me!" Ruby pleaded.

Rita sighed. "Of course, miss."

"Promise me!" Ruby said, not realizing she was raising her voice too much.

"Ruby?" Suddenly, Aurora's voice interrupted, making Ruby's heart jump. Of course, Aurora had heard her, as Ruby had raised her voice in a quiet place like a library.

"Are you there?" Aurora asked. Her voice was getting closer.

"Wha-what should I do?" Ruby panicked.

"You should just give up and meet her, miss," Rita suggested.

"But..."

It's too late, the blue girl was standing there, looking at her. They stared at each other for just a moment before both shifted their gaze.

"Um... Hi?" Aurora said.

"H-hi..." Ruby replied.

It was so awkward. Both of them were blushing and unable to look at each other directly.

"Well, good luck miss," Rita whispered as she pushed Ruby forward. Rita's push was a little too much, and Ruby stumbled, almost falling.

But nothing could be done anymore. Aurora was there, right in front of her.

Still, she wasn't prepared. What should she do? What should she say? What was the first thing she must say so she wouldn't screw things up even more?

"Um, anyway," Aurora said, finally breaking the ice, "want to join us? I'm trying to learn--"

"No!" Ruby quickly said. "I want to talk to you alone... If that's okay?"

Ruby didn't know where her sudden bravery came from, but she didn't want to talk about this in front of Sera.

"Oh, okay," Aurora said. "Actually... I had something I needed to tell you too. So it worked out just fine."

"Huh?" Aurora had something she wanted to tell her? Ruby's heart immediately went into panic.

"Let's try to look for a place where nobody's around," Aurora said as she started to walk toward the door. "How about the academy garden? Thankfully, it didn't get destroyed by the rebels' attack."

Ruby didn't reply; she just followed her without words.

They walked in silence, every step giving Ruby more and more anxiety.

The way Aurora said it, whatever she wanted to tell her, it wasn't a happy thing.

"No way... is she going to reject me? Is she planning to end our relationship?" Ruby knew that all of this was just her own negative thinking, but yet, she couldn't be sure that it wouldn't happen.

Ruby couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed Aurora's clothes, stopping her step.

"Wait, about yesterday," Ruby said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I don't know what I was thinking... I was just overwhelmed by my emotions and I--"

"So... it was nothing?" Aurora asked without looking at her.

"Yes," Ruby said. "I mean no! I mean..."

Ruby was at a loss. How could she explain it without telling Aurora how she felt? Was that even possible?

She tried hard to think, but nothing came to her mind. Aurora was waiting. She couldn't keep hesitating forever, so she decided to just come clean and be honest with herself.

"I think I like you," she said.

After saying that, nothing else mattered anymore. She just said whatever was on her mind.

"I really like you. I'm sorry about yesterday, but to be honest, I didn't really regret it. I had been wanting to do that all this time. I just... don't know why I feel this way. We were supposed to be just friends, but I want more."

Aurora didn't react. All Ruby could see was her back; she couldn't see what expression Aurora was having right now. Was she shocked? Angry? Disappointed?

She did it. She finally admitted her feelings towards Aurora. Part of her felt relieved that she had successfully put her feelings into words, but the uneasiness grew the longer Aurora didn't show any reaction.

"I see," Aurora finally said. "So that's how it is... But before that, I have something I need to tell you first."

Ruby gulped. "Okay."

It's going to be bad news, right? Of course, it's going to be bad news. Ruby wasn't really ready for this but then Aurora opened her mouth.

"What are you going to do if I'm not who you think I am?" Aurora asked.

"What?" Ruby blinked in confusion.

"What if..." Aurora continued, "I'm not the real Aurora?"

***