Celia returned to the living room with a little box in which something was clattering as she moved towards the fireplace. Tom placed his book down and suddenly seemed to pay full attention to the young girl in front of him. His eyes fixed on her every move which in turn made Celia squirm while a red tone began to tint her otherwise pale cheeks. Soon enough her grandmother gave her a quick nod that made her feel confident once again. She opened the little box in her hands and took out a small yellow flower bud and placed it slowly on top of her hand. With a simple twist of her fingers, the flower opened up into a bright yellow one and grew three times the size. The flower now had developed roots and leaves and was in the prime of her life. Getting closer to Tom, Celia offered the flower to him without saying anything. He took it in his hand while carefully holding it as to not break the fragile flower.
"Is this all?" he asked after he looked at the flower and Celia didn't seem to want to do more. Celia didn't say anything more, she simply held her fingers together while pointing at the fully grown flower.
"Now watch this!" she said playfully while opening her fingers together and making her palm lay flat in the air. At the same time, the yellow petals of the flower turned their color to bright white and changed their shape into little spherical puff making the entire flower change the way it looked. With another quick movement of her fingers, the young witch made the round puffy flower triple in size once more and as Tom was raising it towards the light, Celia suddenly moved right in front of him and blew on the fragile flower. Before he knew what happened, Tom was filled with numerous white puffs from the top of his head while Celia started laughing at his blank expression. Joining her was Beatrix who tried to muffle his laugh as much as she could before she exploded as well. Hearing the laughter in the living room Aria approached to see what was going on. With a startled look on her face, she shouted while almost tripping going over.
"Oh my, Count Thomas are you okay? What's all that?" she pointed in disbelief. While panicking and staring at the laughing women in the room she heard a deep laugh join them. Still in shock, she couldn't believe it, the Count was laughing together with them. Looking at his servants panicked expression and realizing what happened, Tom started laughing together with them.
"Ah, you got me there..." he said while trying to contain his loud laugh but he couldn't stop for long enough before remembering and starting all over again. "We're fine Aria, you can go ahead, it's just a little joke of ours," he reassured the servant who looked as if the whole world was going crazy. After she left, they finally managed to control their outbursts and contain it by just snickering from time to time. Celia started picking up the puff from Tom's hair when he grabbed her arm.
"It will take forever to do that, let me," he said while his light fingers played around his hair. Once he snapped his fingers, all of the puff was burned, disintegrating into a fine dust. Celia was watching carefully as this new way of playing with fire fascinated her, and she was disappointed that it ended all so fast.
"I think it's time for bed young lady" Beatrix said while Tom was still holding Celia's arms which were trying to poke at the thin dust in his hair. She raised herself from the sofa and went on to the hallway to call for a maid to help them as it was customed when being guests in a Count's manor.
"Yes nana." She just answered in a disappointed voice, sad that the good time they were having would come to an end. When Tom moved to let her arm go, she noticed a small puff still lingering in the hair behind his ears. She quietly reached and slid her fingers through his hair in order to take it. She felt a sudden jerk as Tom was now clenching her hand tighter to keep it from moving forward and his eyes were looking at her with a complicated expression. His eyes that once reflected the cold shine of the emerald now held a fire in them which kept her own eyes into a strong, unbreakable bond.
"You missed one." she managed to mutter before her hand was freed and the fire in his eyes died down.
"Thanks," he said curtly while fidgeting with the book that was now once again in his hands. "Goodnight!" he added as Celia made her way toward her grandmother still a little unsure of her steps.
Once in her room, the young witch noticed she still held the puff she reached for before, crushed in her fist. With a short wave of her hand, she turned the puff into another bud ready to once again become a pretty yellow flower. Putting the bud near the head of the bed, she lounged on the bed without changing while observing the innocent life that had made her feel flustered.
Soon enough Aria came knocking into the room, ready to help her change and prepare her for bed. Once done with her preparations Celia got into her bed and closed her eyes. But instead of drifting into the world of dreams, before her eyes were only his eyes, that expression, the warmth of his fingers and their closeness which made her heart race as if she was running.
It was the first time to feel this way, for someone to make her flustered, anxious and happy at the same time, it was weird, it was awkward, it was unheard of. She didn't know what to do with all the sensations she just experienced because of a simple gesture. All her senses were heightened, she could remember his scent, a scent that felt so comfortable and at the same time made her fidget in embarrassment. The warmth of his touch seemed to linger on her hand, unable to dissipate even after his hand was no longer there. The fire in his eyes seemed to pull her closer to him without being able to resist, everything was so strange and new to her, and yet so interesting and enticing.