“First thing you need to know about Galas are the proper decorum,” Anna said. “Piper knows the most out of the three of you. She has had all the proper training as a royal of the Onyx kingdom. Tycen, you’re a good study so I believe that you will be fine. Levi, we have a lot to work on.”
“That’s a little hurtful,” Levi said.
“You know the least about our world and its traditions, I do not want you to say anything that got us in trouble. Even if it was on accident.”
“I mean I understand why we’re doing these, but to say we have a lot to work on… is a little hurtful.”
“If you think that was hurtful, you have no idea how the others will treat you,” Anna snapped. “Levi, remember how I was when we first met? What about Piper’s parents and family? They kidnapped, for gods’ sake, these people will not be as gentle. We have already had an issue with one of the houses, we cannot expect the rest to treat us well.”
“Yeah, alright, fair enough,” Levi said. Ever since Izzy left with the invitation and asked that bomb of a question, Anna had been drilling them in proper gala etiquette. “Should we talk about Izzy?”
“There is not much to discuss,” Anna said. “The answer was obvious the second she went on a date with Tycen.”
“And the obvious answer is…” Levi asked. He looked to Piper for help, who mouthed an apology and shrugged. Levi looked at Tycen, who also shrugged in confusion.
“Yes, the answer is obviously yes. She will be as strong as you teach her, Levi. However, she is smart and knows a lot about things that neither Tycen nor I are aware of. She brings some benefits to the team along with her name. The Avingtons are not a small name only known by this nation. Their inventions and research are known throughout the world. I see nothing but pros to her joining. Of course this is a team decision.”
“I’m for it,” Piper said.
“As am I,” Tycen said. All eyes turned to Levi.
“I want to see how she acts with her family before we say yes,” Levi said. “The invitation to the gala and then asking to join our team is strange to me.”
“Ever the skeptic,” Anna said. Levi shrugged.
“What can I say? People suck,” Levi said. “After all, I was kidnapped by my girlfriend’s family.”
“True, but you did invite Tycen pretty quickly,” Piper said. “And denied Declan with almost the same amount of quickness.”
“I did but look at Tycen and his class,” Levi said. “Just like Declan, Izzy is going to be doubling up a class that we already have. The biggest reason why I am more for it than Declan is because so little is known about summoners. I mean, she wants to be a ritualist, what if her rituals are focused on support only, boosts, traps, boons, and healing? That would free me up from doing complex rituals. I feel like that we could work on who summons what and when.”
“It almost sounds like you just convinced yourself that she should join our team,” Piper said.
“Har har, I feel like I was more explaining why I think two summoners are better than two sorcerers.”
“That is a fair assessment, and I am inclined to agree with you, Levi,” Anna said. “I believe two summoners are much better than two sorcerers. I cannot believe that I just said that. If you were to ask me that 18 months ago, I would have called you crazy. Which leads me to what I said earlier, her growth and effectiveness is on your shoulders, Levi. That is a lot of pressure we would be asking of you but I do believe that you can do it.”
Piper walked over and kissed his cheek, looping her arm in his. Levi inhaled; she smelled like vanilla. He kissed her head. “I think you can do great, too,” Piper whispered.
“I think teaching her would be fun,” Levi said. “That’s honestly not my hold-up. Once again, like Declan. I have the biggest secrets that I am holding. On top of that, you have all agreed to stick with me while we fight Prince Arbor or whatever. That is a dangerous mission, it would be terrible of us to not tell her all of that detail before we accept or not.”
“That is a fair point,” Tycen said. “Although, I don’t believe that will be a problem for her. As he has expressed how she wants to change the world. It is not our decision to make for her.”
“Exactly,” Levi said. “I’m all for her joining, if she is fully aware of the risks and decides for herself that she wants to.” The rest of the team nodded. They all agreed with what Levi was saying. The risks that they had trying to save the world were extremely dangerous. Any one of them could perish during this quest. However, that was their decision to make. They wanted this risk because there were also a lot of gains. They were going to grow a lot during the next five years.
“Now that it is decided, go back to work,” Anna said. Over the next few hours, Anna drilled Levi and Tycen in proper gala decorum. They learned how to enter, how to communicate, what to say, who to talk to, and so much more. Levi felt like his head was spinning with all the new information that he had learned. Levi had never attended anything fancy. He barely owned a pair of jeans. He had never owned a suit, and the only time he wore a tie was at his dad’s funeral.
They returned to Captial City to shop for the gala. Izzy had provided them with some general guidelines for what to wear. Anna had not brought any of her fancy clothes, but that was a good thing as they had different styles. Izzy said that the Qu’ant style of fancy gala wear was elegant tight-fit gowns for women. Then, for men, it was slacks, double-breast blazers, and vests.
Levi imagined it as similar to what a celebrity would wear on the red carpet. Once they arrived in Capital City, they made their way to the different clothing shops. Piper and Anna went to the dress shop, while Levi and Tycen went to a tailor. The men walked into the shop; there was a small chime as they entered.
“I’ll be right there,” A voice from the back called. The shop had various examples of suits, jackets, blazers, undershirts, etc. all spread throughout the shop. Levi had no idea what he wanted or what to look for. This type of clothing was way out of his comfort zone. He looked to his right and saw Tycen pursuing some of the hanging blazers. Levi left him to it and walked to the undershirts. There were various types of tunics, collared shirts, and plain form-fitting undershirts.
Levi slowly looked through each of the different types of shirts. He pet Serenity on the head. Her rough scales were a nice change in texture to help him calm down. The whole thought about the gala made Levi uncomfortable. Dancing, music, politics, interacting with a bunch of people who undoubtedly wouldn’t like him if they knew his secret.
“Thank you for your patience, young sir,” a middle-aged tailor said. “I am Vinnizo, owner of this wonderful shop. How may I be of assistance?”
“I’m looking for something to wear to the Avington gala,” Levi said. “I have never worn anything like this before… I’m way out of my league.”
“Non-sense sir, if someone like you got an invitation you are someone who is of class. Surely the gods have blessed me by bringing you and that fine young man over there to my humble little shop. Now, what color schemes do you like? I see that you have a beautiful aura dragon with you, would you want to match her feathers?” Vinnizo said.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“You know your stuff,” Levi said, surprised he knew what an aura dragon was. “Um I prefer darker colors.”
“Ahh, yes, of course. I aim to please. Right, darker colors, this way,” he led Levi down to the other end of the store near Tycen. “Good day, sir. I shall be with you shortly.” Tycen nodded.
Vinnizo lifted three different blazers. The first was a solid dark gray suit with dark red buttons and trim. The next blazer had a dark blue background with some gradient trim; there were white dots spread throughout. The blazer looked like looking up to a starry sky with the northern lights as the trim and buttons. The final blazer had golden flowers on a solid black background. The flowers had a sheen to them that would be reflective in the light.
“What do you think of these, sir?” Vinnizo asked. Levi touched the material of each, and it was crazy how soft it was. At first, Levi only liked the blazer without a pattern, but the more he looked at it, the less he liked it.
“I think I’d like to try the starry sky one,” Levi said. “Does it come with pants? And an undershirt?”
“Excellent choice,” the tailor said. Levi looked at him as if he would have said excellent to anything he said. “Yes, while you try this own, I will get the different accessories that are meant to match this.” Levi nodded, then walked to a back room. Serenity sat on the floor, looking at Levi as he took off his cloak. He shrugged the blazer on. Then, he buttoned the double-breasted buttons. His eyebrows furrowed.
Levi has worn a number of magical items since he arrived in this world over a year ago. They all had one distinct difference than normal clothing, there was a feeling like he could use push his mana through the item. The blazer had that same feeling, confused he pushed his mana through the item. The stars on the blazer lifted off the blazer and began to pulse in a beautiful display. Levi wondered what the point of that was, but he retracted his mana.
“That seems like an interesting feature,” Serenity said.
“Yeah, don’t understand the point of that. But it is a nice coat,” Levi said.
“I agree, it fits your skin complexion quite nicely,” she said. There was a knock on the door.
“Sir,” Vinnizo said. “I have the extras that you need.” Levi opened the door and found the more petite middle-aged man with several items of clothing. “I bought three different pairs of trousers and three different undershirts. This blazer would look best without any ties, in my opinion, and some shoes.” Levi observed the trousers. There was a light sand pair, solid color, no pattern. The second pair matched the coat exactly, with a dark blue background with white sparkles. The final was solid black without any patterns. The shirts were similar, there was a turtle neck long sleeve shirt, that was aurora blue. There was a buttoned plain sand shirt and a black tunic with a starry pattern.
Lastly, there were different shoes that were all some kind of uncomfortable-looking dress shoes. Levi shook his head and rejected the shoes, he liked his combat boots, he was not going to give that up. Levi decided that they would go with the plain sand pair of pants with the aurora blue turtle neck shirt. They, of course, didn’t call it a turtle neck, but that’s how Levi knew them.
After selecting the outfit, Levi put it on; everything fit perfectly. Levi wondered how the tailor managed to do that. He hadn’t even asked him any questions or checked his other clothing. Vinnizo just left him and brought back clothes that fit him perfectly. Levi looked in the mirror and was shocked. He looked great.
Levi hadn’t really gotten a good look at himself in a long time. His hair had grown, almost a mini afro. He had grown some stubble along his face, and it was the first time in his life he had been able to grow facial hair. The stubble was a small goatee, and he rubbed his hand on it. His face had slimmed out, really showing his high cheekbones and jawline. He turned his head, checking out his new face. He looked more handsome, and at least Levi thought he did.
His body had filled. He was not nearly as skinny as most people called him. However, he was a 3-star. He looked like a long-distance runner compared to Tycen’s professional American footballer—more muscle than before but still not that big. Levi loved the outfit. It was perfect; he felt like he looked like a celebrity to whom many people would be attracted. It was a surreal moment. Looking in the mirror and seeing a version of himself that he had only dreamed of. Only in his dreams would he have thought he would have trimmed the baby fat on his face, added more muscle, or even some facial hair. Yet here he was with all of that. He took a beat, appreciating his growth and accomplishments.
“What a wonderful situation, I’ve found myself in,” Levi said. “Of course its a matter of perspective, a year ago I was not happy. Oh well.”
Piper was trying on dresses with Anna, wondering how Levi was doing. She knew that dressing up was never a thing for him in his old world, and she was nervous.
“Piper, Levi will be okay,” Anna chided. “He is more than capable of dealing with discomfort.”
“You’re right,” Piper said with a sigh. “I just want him to be happy.”
“He is. It is also not your job,” Anna said. She held up a long dark green dress with a scrutinizing gaze. She frowned, placing the dress back on the rack.
“Do you miss Declan?” Piper asked, changing the subject. She was thumbing through the racks of dresses to see if there was anything that she liked. So far, she has been unsuccessful, but she hasn’t given up.
“Not as much as I thought I would,” Anna said. “It is quite sad though.”
“What is?”
“I liked the guy so much when he was around now that it has been a couple of months, I hardly think about him. I feel so heartless.”
“That is who you are though, why do you think I stick around you so much,” Piper teased.
“Shut up,” Anna sneered with a smirk.
“You aren’t heartless, Anna,” Piper said. She found something that piqued her interest. It was a yellow plaid jumpsuit. “I like this style but not this pattern.”
“I have more of those over here,” the clerk said. Piper followed her voice and started perusing over there.
“Anna can I ask you a question though?”
“What is it?” Anna asked.
“Why do you want a romantic relationship so badly? You’ve never wanted one, that was never who you were?”
“I do not know… I guess I have always felt like it was the right thing to do. It was what my family expected of me. After all Rayvin has been with your brother for so long, it just felt right?”
“But does it still feel right?”
“No, now it feels like I am forcing it,” Anna said. “So what do I do?”
“Stop worrying about what other people expect of you and do what you want.”
“I am not sure what that is anymore. I love being on this team and the quest we are on is clearly something I am going to do. But what about after?”
“I have no idea what I want to do after… I just want to be alive to do it. Which means right now, I have to get stronger,” Piper said.
“I suppose that is as good a plan as any I can think of. Now, may I ask you a question?”
“Fire away,” Piper said.
Anna stopped her search and looked at Piper. " How are you so good at forming friendships? Deep relationships? It seems so easy for you, and I have been trying to understand, to no avail, sadly.”
Piper looked back, thinking, “You know. Levi said that you were competing with me to form deep relationships. At the time, I thought it was madness. What did the Anna Onyx not have that I do? If I’m being honest, I still don’t think I have anything special or worthwhile. But Levi seems to think I do, so I’ll choose to believe him. Anna, I don’t know. I just talk to people. I know that’s not particularly helpful but Levi was a guy that I thought was cute so I talked to him. Tycen, you and him have much more in common than you think. Just stop putting so much pressure on yourself.”
“So your advice is to think someone is cute and talk to them?” Anna teased.
“Yep,” Piper said, looking at dresses. She paused and looked at Anna. “Be yourself, Anna. You are an amazing person: smart, beautiful, intense, strong; the list goes on and on. You don’t have to be liked by everyone, just by a select few.” Anna nodded at Piper’s words. They really touched her. Anna was not as good with people as Piper was. She never was, whether it was a nature thing or a nurture thing, she could never figure out. At some point, she just chalked it up for both.
Anna was always envious of Piper’s freedom. She could talk to anyone without any pressure from people trying to take advantage of her for the throne. She never had to be so vigilant with men who spoke to her. Piper was just a free spirit. Maybe that was why? But Anna didn’t feel like freedom was a good thing either. She felt that it was just as hard for Piper as Anna felt her path was hard.
“Piper?” Anna said. “Growing up, was it hard to be around me?”
“Growing up? It’s still hard. Anna, you’re the crown princess of a prominent kingdom. On top of that, you’re smart, beautiful, intense, strong….”
“Okay okay,” Anna said with a chuckle. “I get it.”
“I never had to worry about people only being friendly with me so they wouldn’t offend the kingdom. I never had to worry about making sure I kept up the right appearance all the time. I never had to worry about any of that stuff but you did. I don’t blame you for wanting so freedom from that life. It sounded brutal. I watched it slowly turn you to stone each interaction. I watched as your heart slowly closed off as more and more people used you. People only saw you for your influence not your soul.”
“Still must not have been easy, despite what I was going through. Always being in the background when you’re just as amazing, just as beautiful, smart, loving, and more. I am very grateful for Levi. He does a good job at showing that you are all that and more, while being respectful and caring. I’m sorry for all of that.”
“It was not your fault. There is no need to apologize, Anna. I hold no resentment for the past. Yes, I am very grateful for that goof. He is great at reminding me that I am special, too. Especially when I feel very not.” Piper held out another jumpsuit. Anna’s eyes grew wide, and her smile grew big.
“YES!” Anna said. “Absolutely, yes!”