For better or worse, things in the Winter Estate get a bit livelier.
After Michael agreed to become my new personal aid, he was given the task to help me shower after practice to see how he would react. To Delic, it seems that giving the newbies the task of washing me as their first job amuses him because it reassures him that he is the only one comfortable with my naked body at any given time. Since he doesn't get much of a reaction from Isaac, he wants to see what Michael would do. Let's just say he was just about as flustered as Alex and Xander were when they first had to wash me.
Michael is very obedient following me around while I do my rounds at the estate. He is also very patient when I have to sit at my desk for hours looking at documents that need to be signed and approved. He got curious as to why a girl my age is doing an adult's job, so I told him my story of how I got to this point in my life. He was very curious about me and asked all sorts of questions. This is the first time anyone was really interested in the nitty gritty parts of my life, so I was happy to elaborate.
He seems like a good kid who would never abandon his partner, but he isn't always well behaved.
Due to a freak accident between Isaac and Michael the following morning, their room is singed from Isaac's fire magic because Michael thought it would be funny to scare Isaac while he was changing into his uniform. In order to set the room back, Michael has to use his light magic to restore the damage that has been done which is what he spent the whole morning doing.
These two here are more of a handful than the twins were. Isaac is clingy, and Michael is rambunctious without guidance. Are they both really eighteen years old?
Since it is Sunday, I decide to have a walk around the city to see how things are. I don't normally do this because I'm usually buried in paperwork, but Delic thought it would be a great idea to see the people that I'm supposed to be watching over and protecting. Delic is really good at copying my signature, so he doesn't think it will be too much of an issue if he takes my place for the day. If he has any problems, I told him to ask me through the mind link.
I couldn't possibly ask Alex and Xander to come with me. Sunday is the day that I give all of the dark elves the day off at the same time so that they can be with their family enjoying themselves. The twins spend their Sunday morning getting me ready and training with Edward, so they deserve the afternoon with their family.
Family... It must be nice to have them around all the time...
"Are you crying, Lady Viola?" Michael asks as he walks up to me.
I feel my face and realize that a few tears have fallen from my eyes. I wipe my eyes and recompose myself. "No, I'm just fine. Something must have gotten in my eyes, and I didn't realize."
Michael lets out a small laugh. "How do you not realize that something is in your eyes?"
"It happens," I bark, turning around and crossing my arms. A few moments after I turn around, I feel a warmth enveloping my back. I look up to find Michael gently hugging me with one arm over my shoulder and the other on my head petting me. "Wh-what are you doing?"
"You looked lonely" is Michael's short answer. "I heard that Delic told you to go for a walk around the city to take a break from your desk, but I found you standing by yourself in the middle of the hallway leading nowhere. If there's something on your mind, is it okay that I'm the person you talk it out with?"
This is almost laughable. Here I am, the city's most important person, crying because I don't have my family anymore. Sometimes I forget that I'm still a kid. Sometimes I forget that it's okay to talk to others when I'm not feeling fine. Sometimes I forget that I don't have to keep such a strong front on all the time.
For some reason, feeling the warmth coming from Michael causes me to break. I quickly spin around and hug Michael digging my face into his body crying my eyes out. I don't know if it's because I haven't felt someone's genuine warmth in a while. I don't know if it's because I have been so stressed lately and decided to hide it so as to not worry the others. Whatever my reason is for keeping this feeling in is apparently no match for Michael's spontaneous caring nature.
We both fall onto the floor, and I just sit there crying into Michael's shirt as he pets my head to soothe me. Not long after we were sitting on the floor did I hear footsteps running towards our direction. I didn't really care who it was. I just wanted to lay on Michael's lap and fall asleep after my crying outburst.
"Voila! What's wrong?" Delic asks as he falls onto his knees in front of me.
Michael holds a finger to his lips as a sign to Delic that I am fast asleep. "The Lady is sleeping," he whispers as he continues to stroke my hair.
"What did you do to Viola?" Delic quietly interrogates, staring intensely at Michael.
"I didn't particularly do anything except hug the Young Lady," Michael explains as he looks up at Delic. "It seems like she had a lot more on her mind than you originally thought."
Delic glances down at my puffy face and wipes some of the wetness that the tears left behind. "We should probably get her into her bed, so she can rest better," Delic suggests as he tries to pick me up.
I roll over in the opposite direction closer to Michael. "It looks like I will be the one to carry her to bed," Michael teases as he gives Delic a smug expression.
Michael carefully stands up so as to not awaken me and makes his way over to my room on the other end of the house. When he makes it to my room, Michael gently lowers me onto my bed and covers me with my blanket. He begins to walk away when I unconsciously grab onto his shirt.
"Please don't go," I mutter in my sleep.
Silently laughing at the perfectly timed command, Michael takes my hand as he grabs a nearby chair to sit next to the bed. "I won't go anywhere, Lady Viola," Michael responds, moving some of the hair out of my face.
"Don't even think about doing anything funny to Master while she is asleep," Xander threatens from the doorway.
"How did you get inside? I'm pretty sure Delic closed the door behind him when he left," Michael questions keeping his back towards Xander.
Xander steps forward over to the bed. "It is an aide's job to ensure that the master sleeps peacefully without worry or threat," he recalls as he snatches Michael's hand from my head.
"But she told me not to leave her," Michael says as he stares at Xander with his glowing golden eyes. "And why do you think that I'm a threat? I wouldn't hurt a single hair on the princess's head. If anything, you dark elves with your dark magic would do more harm than good to the Young Lady."
"You angels with your light magic think that you're so high and mighty since you can save people's lives. Master might trust you, but you got a long way before I begin to even think about trusting you," Xander snarls glaring at Michael with his shining amethyst eyes. "If you can abandon your partner, then you can easily abandon Master's side, and we certainly don't need someone as flakey as you."
Michael whips his hand out of Xander's grasp and turns his back to him again. "I didn't abandon my partner, and I most definitely won't abandon my position as Lady Viola's aide," Michael whispers. "I am going to repay my part in earnest whether you trust me or not."
"Why you-"
"Who's there?" I groggily ask as I wipe my eyes. When the static from my eyes vanishes, I find that I'm in my room alone. "How did I end up in my room? Did I fall asleep somewhere?"
'You looked lonely.'
Huh? Why did Michael's face pop up? When did I last- ah-
I bury my face in my hands embarrassed as I remember what I did.
I can't believe I cried in front of Michael!!! Did I really fall asleep from crying again? Oh god! Why me?! That's so embarrassing!!
Meanwhile outside of my room, Xander and Michael stand on opposite sides of my door.
"Why did you transport us out of the room?" Michael questions as he leans against the door.
"If Master saw us in her room while she was sleeping, we would be under a barrage of ice without anything to defend ourselves!" Xander yells trying to slow his heart from the near death experience.
"Why would she attack us if we were in there? Isn't it our job to always be by her side?"
"Master doesn't like it when there are people in her room while she sleeps if we aren't getting her bath ready. It's mostly Delic's fault since he keeps staring at her for a creepily long time after we put her to bed."
'Xander, are you there?' I call via mind link.
'Ah... yes, Master. Do you need anything?' Xander replies with a wavering voice.
'Why are you in front of my door talking to Michael?' I ask as I open the door.
"M-master! You're awake!" Xander says as he slowly creeps behind Michael. "Were we too loud?"
I scratch my head and fix my clothes. "A little. Did you come into my room while I was sleeping?" I question as I intensely stare into Xander's eyes.
"No! No, of course not! Why would I do that?" Xander waves his arms around then sets his hands on Michael's shoulders. "We just so happen to run into each other when I was heading to the kitchen and Michael was leaving your room."
Suspicious but I'm too tired to deal with it right now. "Whatever," I brush off as I look outside. "I'm planning on heading into the city. Would you two like to accompany me?"
Xander vigorously nods his head. "I would love to accompany you, Master!"
I glance over at Michael, and he smiles. "If that's what you want, then I can't say no."
With that, the three of us head out to the Business District since that is in Xander's area of protection.
The walk to the Business District is quite refreshing I have to admit. I was expecting it to be boring, but there was actually a lot to see in the city. I haven't really been out into the city since my family died almost ten months ago aside from going to the Mayor's Hall, so I almost forgot what it actually looked like. It was nice to see interracial gatherings and families because that means that Eshea is doing its part in connecting everyone together.
Once we make it to the Business District, I find lots of tall buildings and a sea of people in formal attire. Something one would expect to find in a district such as this, but it is still very fascinating. Xander calls his men out from the shadows every time we pass by a stationed spot for them to greet me as I browse through the buildings.
Despite not being in an official position in the city, I still have the privilege of spontaneously meeting with some of the CEOs in these businesses, so I take it upon myself to do some surprise pop ups to make sure that there isn't any dirty dealings going on. Of course, Xander tries his best to limit the buildings I go into since I am technically supposed to be taking a break and not thinking about work.
The three of us stop by a nearby café to get something small to eat since I start feeling a bit hungry.
"Are you two getting along nicely?" I ask out of nowhere as I take a sip of my iced caramel macchiato.
"I would like to think we are," Michael answers, eating a piece of his chocolate muffin and side-glancing at Xander.
"More or less," Xander mumbles behind his carrot cake.
They're lying. They're scent is so strong it's almost nauseating.
"Then, if you are getting along like you say you are, how about you two feed a piece of your food to each other?" I suggest with an evil eye.
Xander and Michael are stunned by the suggestion I proposed. They look down at their food then back up at each other.
"Friends are capable of feeding each other, right?" I continue to press, wanting to see if they will actually do it. Suddenly, another idea came to mind.
This is no longer seeing if they get along. This is seeing how far I can mess with them because their mild hatred for each other is messing with my nose.
"How about this? I will feed you two a piece of my donut. You two will feed me a piece of your food. Then you will feed each other. Once you accept my donut, you can't back down from feeding each other."
Now I know that they can't ignore this rare opportunity for me to feed them. I know that Xander has feelings for me, so this is a huge temptation for him. Not that I'm trying to play with his feelings, but these two need to learn to set their hatred aside if they want to be able to perform their duties correctly and efficiently. I can smell a tiny ounce of affection coming from Michael, but I would not like to jump to conclusions since it could be a one-off thing.
To entice them more, I cut two bite size pieces from my donut and hold each piece out to the guys. The two stare at the piece of donut in front of them and really do try their best to restrain themselves; however, Xander couldn't contain himself any longer and took the donut piece practically swallowing it down whole. Michael then follows behind Xander and takes his piece of my donut. I give the two a smile full of joy and constructively evil intentions.
Xander with his carrot cake and Michael with his chocolate muffin offer me a piece, and I readily accept them as I love baked goods. Then came the hard part for the guys. Ready with their pieces from their food, they stare at each other for a bit not wanting to continue even though they had already accepted my donut. They glance over at me, who is stupidly smiling at the scene that I have created, one last time before glaring back at each other. With a deep breath and a sigh of defeat, Xander and Michael feed each other their food as I sit there quietly clapping at their awkward acceptance.
I know that light magic users and dark magic users don't really get along too well which is why I asked the question in the first place. Even if Michael never asked to become my aide, I always knew that Michael and Xander might not get along just because of the long historic hatred between the two abilities. However, now that these two abilities are together, I can find a way to use them against Black Snow if only Xander and Michael can get along. Dark magic to destroy. Light magic to restore. If used correctly and under strict instruction, these two abilities can be so much more powerful.