It had been three days since Mia had retreated to the infirmary, avoiding Ethan like the plague. Lily had eventually taken pity on her friend and brought her some books to spare her the task of going to the library and running into the vila. Perhaps she should have gone herself, since the fairy seemed to take great pleasure in tormenting her by bringing back romance novels. She wasn't particularly interested in discovering that Istarea's love stories were very similar to those in her own world.
The picnic had gone on rather normally after the accident, except that Mia had spent the rest of the time replaying the scene in her head and carefully avoiding eye contact with Ethan. Her friends had continued their discussions without paying much attention, except for Lily, who relentlessly pierced her with her inquisitive and mischievous gaze every time she made the slightest move.
Since that moment, Lily's eyes had been animated with a glow of 'I know what happened, and I know what will happen soon' every time they landed on the young human, sometimes accompanied by a mischievous smile that Mia would have loved to wipe off her face. At least, she had the decency not to bring it up again.
Out of the corner of her eye, Mia noticed a few words appearing on the enchanted paper she had placed on her newly acquired desk. She was tired of reading while lying in her bed, and had finally given in and asked for one. The young woman sighed as she used a makeshift bookmark (a piece of cloth) to keep her place in the book she was currently reading.
« Still determined to stay in your room? » the message read.
Mia rolled her eyes before grabbing her quill.
« Still determined to ask me that same question every day? »
The response came quickly.
« You won't be able to avoid me for the rest of your life, you know that, right? »
« Only until one of us dies. »
She crossed out the last sentence until it was nothing but a large black line, so he couldn't decipher what she had written when she sent her next reply. It wasn't necessary to push the sarcasm that far, especially since she didn't mean it. Or at least, she didn't mean it anymore. She could lie to herself as much as she wanted, but she couldn't let someone die like that. Especially after their little accident, further proof that no matter how much she tried to fight the situation, the outcome would be the same: even her own body was starting to betray her.
The door to her room suddenly opened, making her jump. For a moment, she feared Ethan had come to fetch her and drag her outside by force, but she was relieved to see it was only Arry and Andrei, with Oz a meter behind them.
"Hey, Mia!" Arry called out, throwing herself onto Mia's bed, clearly very enthusiastic.
Mia shifted her chair with a sigh, placing it in front of the two magicians.
"Still sulking?" her red-haired friend said with a big smile, as Andrei coughed into his fist, feigning exasperation at his girlfriend's lack of tact.
"I'm not sulking. I'm quietly reading in my room, my supposed haven of peace."
"For three days?" the magician asked rhetorically, raising her eyebrows, clearly skeptical of her explanation.
"Which basically means you're sulking," added Andrei, earning a glare from Mia.
The young man joined the redhead on the bed, sitting beside her.
"What happened at the picnic? It's obvious you're avoiding Ethan," affirmed Arry.
So, she got the confirmation that the two magicians hadn't seen anything, and Lily hadn't gone around telling everyone about the scene. She could at least find comfort in that fact.
"I don't want to talk about it."
Denying that something had happened was pointless. She was starting to get to know Arry, and she suspected that her friend wouldn't let the matter go otherwise. Arry let out a simple "oh," disappointed, but quickly regained her composure. After all, that wasn't the main reason for her visit today.
"Andrei invited me to the ball, but we thought it would be more fun if you and Lily came too!"
"Do you really think it's a good idea?"
She could count at least three good reasons why it wasn't a good idea: Having to go with Ethan, the possible repercussions from the death of the werewolf, and, oh, Ethan.
"Come on! We're going to have a blast, I guarantee it! It's not the first ball they've organized, even though the last one was... last year. There's a huge buffet, alcohol, music, and everyone's generally in a good mood!"
Mia had to hold back a laugh hearing her red-haired friend's list of arguments. It sounded very much like what her friends on Earth would tell her to convince her to join them for a party when she wasn't particularly inclined. The food, drinks, and music might not be the same between the two worlds, but it was clear that in any universe, young adults had similar expectations for a successful festive evening. And Mia had been to enough parties to know that they never went entirely as planned. Her pseudo-death was direct proof of that.
"And the fact that there'll be alcohol is supposed to reassure me? The thing that completely disinhibits you and makes you do stupid things? Aren't you afraid the werewolves will go completely wild?"
"The security will be reinforced, of course," explained Andrei. "Plus, they won't even know who to attack. It's a masquerade ball, everyone will conceal their magical essence to pass as another species. It would be foolish to blindly attack when there's a chance they might assault one of their own."
"Come on, please!" begged Arry, giving her best puppy-dog eyes. "Lily has already agreed, we just need you!"
"Fine, fine," Mia yielded, raising her hands in the air in a futile attempt to counter the redhead's excitement.
She had never been hard to convince when it came to a festive event. Even when it wasn't the right time or the best idea. It was important to have fun in life, and she needed to relax a bit.
They spent the next hour discussing their ball attire. Since costumes weren't in fashion, the dress code resembled a modern Venetian carnival: a fancy mask and an evening gown. Gradually, the infectious enthusiasm of the redhead began to overcome Mia's anxiety, making her genuinely look forward to seeing the castle decorated for the occasion.
It's like a prom, except the students are creatures that can kill me in a few seconds, nothing to worry about! she thought ironically to herself.
Her next activity after her friends' departure brought her mood back to where it started: gloomy. If she had agreed to go to the ball, she now had to inform Ethan that he was expected to attend as well. It felt way too much like a disguised date for her liking.
It's not a date, it's just for my protection, I don't have a choice.
« I'm going to the ball with Lily, Arry, and Andrei. Just so you know, » she wrote after pondering for a few minutes on how to inform him without it seeming like an invitation.
« Not without me, and it seems I haven't been invited, » was his response.
Mia held back a scream of frustration, letting out only a muffled growl. Was he really going to make her ask him? Something told her he had written that sentence with a devilish smile, relishing in taunting her at this moment. And she had a feeling he wouldn't let it go because he knew she wouldn't go if he didn't. After all, she had promised.
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« I'm a woman, I shouldn't be the one asking, » she tried, knowing it was the most cliché argument she could use. She didn't even believe it herself.
« Then the woman won't go to the ball. »
Did she really want to go that badly? The answer was, of course, no, not when the price was giving up her pride. But she had already accepted Arry's invitation and didn't particularly want to let her friend down. The magician would be extremely disappointed, and she might even hold it against Mia. The idea of upsetting her only friends seemed even more terrifying than setting aside her pride.
« Fine. Would you do me the immense honor of stalking me for my 'protection' at the ball on Saturday? »
At least sarcasm helped to swallow the bitter pill of what increasingly seemed like a date invitation, no matter how she turned her words.
« Only if you leave your room before this weekend. »
Her grip tightened so strongly on her pen that she thought she was going to snap it in two. She took a long, deep breath to calm herself before responding.
« OK. Tomorrow. »
« See you tomorrow then. »
Which gave her half a day to salvage the scraps of her pride and prepare to face the vila.
The next day arrived far too quickly for her liking. The blonde had had a particularly hard time sleeping last night, her mind imagining a thousand scenarios of how their next meeting could go wrong. Eating breakfast had proven difficult with her lack of appetite, and she struggled to focus on her reading throughout the morning.
Mia had informed Ethan in the late morning that she had decided to leave her room for a little walk in the early afternoon and was nervously awaiting his response. She would have preferred to postpone this confrontation as much as possible, but it was futile, especially since her anxiety was growing as the day went on.
She had turned the situation over in her head several times and always arrived at the same conclusion: being stubborn wouldn't make her life any less complicated. If they could at least maintain a friendly relationship, the prospect of him tailing her every time she set foot outside the infirmary might not seem so daunting.
However... The question of her humanity remained a huge point of contention between the two. Even though he had claimed to have moved past it, she couldn't be convinced. Especially since she still struggled to digest the fact that he could hate humans in the first place. And then there were his little sarcastic remarks that particularly infuriated her. Sooner or later, she would have to lay her cards on the table and initiate this discussion if she wanted to move beyond the current status of their relationship. Apparently, it was time to lean towards the "sooner."
A small voice in the back of her mind also whispered that she was terrified of reenacting the picnic scene. If he hadn't stopped her, how far would she have gone? That was a problem she couldn't resolve simply by talking, which made it even more anxiety-inducing. It was, in fact, one of the reasons she had locked herself in her room for so long.
She sighed at the task that apparently fell to her, as a response appeared on the parchment.
« I have a class in the early afternoon. Late morning or late afternoon? »
« A class? What kind of classes do vilas have? »
« Anthropology. It's supposed to help us build a network. »
Mia had to admit she had never been interested in vila education schedules, especially since Ethan had never brought up the subject. She assumed they didn't have classes, given they were here to find their soulmates. Her lack of knowledge about them wasn't surprising, considering that once she understood this soul bond thing, she completely lost interest. Especially when it involved Ethan.
She hesitated for a few minutes about the response she should give him. Late afternoon seemed to sum up as 'endless waiting and perpetual anxiety' but late morning made her extremely nervous, as she'd have to throw herself into the lion's den in less than two hours.
In the end, she decided not to respond immediately, preferring to take a few minutes to relax. There was still a book in the pile Lily had brought her at the beginning of the week, and distraction seemed perfect at this moment. She picked it up and opened the first page to read the summary inside:
« Greya is a fighter from the Human Union, Kayn is a vila actively involved in the slaughter of Greya's kind. Everything seems to oppose them. Yet, in the midst of a battlefield, they meet and discover they are soulmates. Heart-wrenching choices will be imposed upon them. Will their love transcend the war between their two peoples?
Inspired by true events. »
"Nope, nope, nope," Mia repeated as she put the book down, cursing Lily. She was sure her friend had done it on purpose! It wasn't that the book didn't seem interesting. She enjoyed a good romance, and it seemed like another source of information about the wars before the genocide of humans. It was mainly that the situation of the protagonists resonated too much with her own. She was clearly not ready to read a love story with characters she could all too easily identify as Ethan and herself.
Without further ado, she grabbed her quill and responded to the vila that the earliest time was perfectly fine for her. With no other distractions possible, it was better to stop delaying the inevitable.
The parchment didn't come alive with new words following her message. Mia decided to settle into her bed, waiting, since that was all she had left to do. Fifteen minutes later, as she was still wondering if he had read her reply, a knock brought her out of her thoughts.
"He couldn't have come looking for me this quickly, could he?" she wondered as waves of stress spread through her body.
After a long breath to gather herself, Mia opened the door to find that her assumption was correct. A slight grimace escaped her. She hadn't expected him to take her word so literally.
"You said as soon as possible," he explained, shrugging his shoulders.
"You... That's true. Let's go," she said, deciding it was pointless to engage in this battle.
Especially with the one that's coming up in a few minutes.
They walked towards the edge of the forest in silence, with Ethan following Mia, who was walking at a slow pace. She tried to hide her nervousness as best as she could, but the vila's silence only heightened her discomfort. They were supposed to be taking a walk, but the blonde's mind just couldn't appreciate the view of the flowery gardens that the academy's territory offered.
When they reached the tree she had used as a leaning post the previous week, she sat down, taking a deep breath. Ethan quickly followed suit, avoiding another condescending order from her, as she had done the last time. Before she could decide to speak, he beat her to it, apparently more impatient than she was.
"So, what's wrong? Is it because of Sunday? I know very well it wasn't you, no need to stress about it."
She sighed, thinking for a moment about her response. Beating around the bush would only prolong her torment.
"Listen, I've had a lot of time to think about... all this. I think we should at least try to get along. I know it's not what you're expecting, but we could be... friends, if nothing else," she proposed, grimacing at the word 'friends.'
Even for her, it was obvious that the term sounded wrong. Ethan's eyebrows shot up to the ceiling, and a look of indignation appeared on his face. She mentally berated herself, immediately regretting using that particular word. She could already tell from the way the vila's lapis-lazuli eyes darkened that she had just thrown gasoline on a fire.
"Are you serious? My life is at stake, and you want us to be friends? Ignoring me, barking orders at me, giving me those withering glares, you don't think that's already complicated for me? Having to watch over you, follow you like a little dog, knowing you'll let me die? And you think being friends will make it better?"
"Probably better than now! You talk about yourself, but we're in the same boat, I remind you! It's not easy for me either, but at least I'm trying!" she yelled, her frustration getting the better of her as well.
"Not easy for you? Are you kidding me? Your friends coddle you, and you have a guard dog, how is that not easy?! For fuck's sake, you have no idea what's happening..."
Mia had jumped to her feet, fists clenched, before cutting him off:
"Then talk to me! Instead of being sarcastic all the time, explain it to me!"
"Because you let me talk, maybe? You think I want to talk when you ignore me or shout orders at me all the time?" he retorted, getting up as well, trembling with rage.
Mia involuntarily took a step back in the face of the vila's fury. She knew he technically couldn't harm her, but he was still intimidating. However, she wasn't ready to back down. She still had a few questions to ask, and now seemed as good a time as any.
"Maybe if you didn't hate what I am, it would be easier! Why do you hate humans? Because we're inferior? Because we're just insignificant insects in your eyes?"
Mia's head began to spin. Her breathing was erratic in the heat of anger, and the pheromones emanating from the vila were intoxicating. The dosage seemed particularly high when he was overcome by emotion.
"Because you're weak! Dozens of vilas withered away when their human soulmate died during the war! My own brother died for defending humans! Because you and all your allies got crushed! Do you know what it's like to lose your soulmate for a vila? It's a prolonged agony of several weeks during which you slowly lose all desire to live, only to eventually descend into madness and let yourself die! A death you wouldn't even wish on your worst enemy!"
As Ethan's words found their way into her mind, Mia began to calm down. Understanding struck her as she realized he was terrified of suffering the same fate.
"But the war is over, "she said softly, "no one is actively trying to kill us".
She had said that to reassure him, but she knew it was a lie she didn't believe herself. After the fireball incident and the warning from the student in the hall, something told her she was definitely not safe from other accidents, and Ethan was right to try to protect her.
He sighed, relaxing slightly. Clearly, now wasn't the time anymore for shouting. He approached until he was only a few inches away from the blonde and gently placed his palms on her cheeks.
"You know that's not true," he said plaintively, locking his gaze with hers.
She felt like she was drowning, her muscles turning to cotton at the touch of his silken hands. Her eyes focused on the vila's lips, independently of her mind, which was starting to panic at the idea of losing control over her body. Ethan moved his head closer, instinctively responding to the young woman's call.
When their lips were just millimeters apart, Mia looked up at him with a pleading expression. She wasn't ready for their relationship to evolve in this direction. Not today, not after what she had just learned. She needed to step back, take a breather, and reassess. Ethan quickly understood her silent plea and stepped back two paces, sighing.
"Let's go back," he suggested, running his hand through his hair, resigned.