"Did you finish the book?" Noelle asked.
Trace's face reddened, he looked away not wanting to answer the question. But suddenly, Noelle's hand was around his neck. An extremely smug laughter resounded in his ears.
"You have grown up a lot," Noelle teased. "You are just like that character from the book, you accept everything."
And I am the senior, Noelle mused in her head. But she refrained herself from making any moves. If only I were a Level 2 Sentinel, she thought. Her mood worsened and she did not speak until it was time to part.
"I will take you to a play tomorrow, be ready for it," she said before climbing on the carriage.
Trace nodded and suddenly noticed the coachman looking at him. He greeted before walking away. After looking at content of that book, he hid it from Master. Walking home, he prayed that his master wouldn't have found it.
…
The next day, Trace accompanied Noelle to watch the play. Surprisingly, there were a lot of women present. Some were even Level 2 Sorcerers. Nervously, Trace looked around to see if there were any men present. Yes, there were few.
Noelle held Trace's hand and led him to the seat. The theater was slowly getting packed with people. Unfortunately, the gallery seats were already booked and they were sitting among other people. Thus, Noelle did not speak and quietly watched the play.
Two beautiful actresses on the stage acted with passion. The romantic scenes between them received cheers and the strong dialogs filled the hall with loud heartbeats. Over a period of an hour, various scenes from the comic Trace's received from Noelle were played on stage.
The successful show had a steamy climax with a happy ending. It was toned down from the comic but still left Trace's head spinning. He was led out of the theater by Noelle who was smiling widely.
"Did you like it live?" Noelle teased.
Trace tried to collect his thoughts but images of the two female actress didn't leave his mind. He followed Noelle into the restaurant again today. His head was fallen on the table like a crushed man.
"I think it's too much for you, let's watch normal plays from tomorrow," Noelle laughed.
As promised, the following plays Trace watched had minimal intimate scenes. And he soon got used to this life. Some plays went out for longer period of time, so on those days he reached home after dusk. He did tell his master about all things except the comic book and the play adapted on it.
Two weeks passed and almost everyday he would go out with Noelle. The friendship was stronger now, and Noelle always talked normally with Trace. Sometimes, she would even ignore strangers and speak while moving her mouth.
One day, they saw a play with a cool villain and imitated his smug laughter with arms on each other's shoulder. The next, they bought same accessories as the hero of justice.
Along with them, the old coachman also watched all the plays. He stayed calm for all shows but the first. His hopes were slowly increasing as Noelle grew more an more accustomed to her voice.
…
"Trace, look at this. Didn't they use this on the show today?" Noelle said, pointing her finger on a menu card.
"Yes," Trace said after looking closely. "But haven't we already bought the show's merchandise today?"
"That's for me, we didn't buy anything for you today." Noelle said.
The coachman listening closely to the conversation did feel anything off. He patiently waited for the next words from the receiver. But he would have jumped if he saw the item Noelle was planning to order.
Noelle spoke the orders and Trace moved his mouth when the waiter came. But at the end, she placed one finger on her lips and winked at the waiter. Her another finger pointed at the item.
The waiter smiled warmly but was conflicted in his mind. I guess rich kids live another life, he thought. He recited the order names in his mind and walked out.
While waiting, Noelle fiddled through the shopping bag. She took out a purple wig with cute little cat ears and wore it. Then putting her face on her arms, she stared at Trace.
"Yes, it looks good," Trace said when Noelle didn't speak.
For some time he managed to match Noelle's gaze but then looked out of the window. In the corner of his eyes Noelle was still looking towards him. He only looks like a girl, Trace thought.
A knock was heard and Trace opened the door. The food was placed on the table as usual. But this time there was two additional glasses.
The wine glasses were filled up to half and waiter left the cabin. Every door on this floor had automatic locks. With a light click, the door was locked meaning it couldn't be opened from the outside unless a special key was used.
Immediately, Noelle's hand went for the wine glass. This was a special type of wine used in today's comedy shows. It thinned the voice of the actor when he drank it. She took a small sip and said.
"Trace, how do I-" Noelle stopped.
She was surprised by her own voice. It was now very sweet and melodic. Before speaking again, she took another sip. Trace also took as small sip to taste the wine.
"Trace" ~
Noelle's face redden, she looked at the glass and a smile appeared on her face. After completely chugging the wine. She lightly slammed the glass on the table. In another moment, she went down the table and popped up at the side of Trace.
"Trace" ~
The old coachman hearing the transmission squinted his eyes. Suddenly, loud voices had turned light and soft. He pressed the round dial closer to his ear.
In the cabin, Noelle had one of her finger on Trace's lips. Her knees on the seat and her body bending forward. With the other hand, she removed the wig and put it on Trace's head.
Trace shifted his body backwards but now was close to the wall. He pushed away Noelle but the little devil sprang back. Noelle licked her lips and extended her hand to his chin.
A sweet giggle echoed in the room as Noelle searched something on her wrists. She swayed back and forth, even crashed her head on Trace's once as she tried to unbutton her sleeves.
In the midst Trace's head was spinning. He tried to focus but saw multiple images of Noelle swinging. The figures took a mouthful of wine and tried to hold it, came close to him but suddenly coughed.
While this was transpiring, a figure stepped into the restaurant. The waiter greeted the new customer and led him into the floor upstairs. Just as the two climbed the stairs, they saw an old man peeking out of a cabin with one hand pressing against his ears.
"Open this door immediately, I saw teenagers indulging into indecency from the outside," the figure standing beside the waiter said.
Immediately, the old coachman's attention turned towards the newcomer. When he realized which direction the man's hand was pointed to he immediately stepped forward. Thinking back to the words from the man's mouth left him shell shocked.