Brown leaves fall and swish around me in the cool breeze as we make our way to the Frosted Rose.
Elias nudges me with his shoulder and I turn to see his smirk.
"So Kelric, you going to tell Marinah you like her or should I?"
"I- you.. what!? I don't even think about her that way!"
My lie is bad and I know Elias isn't going to let it go.
"You should see your face right now! Hahahah- blurgggh.."
I'm astonished to see that the mornings breakfast he ate hadn't been fully digested.
I hit him too hard and feel a little bad. I'm going to have to explain why I have no room in my heart for such things. If I don't, Elias will never stop his teasing.
"Elias, do not make such jokes again. After the ball, I have to tell you something about me. About what I plan- no. About what I must do."
He's still bent over at the waist, but I can tell he's serious when he nods and speaks.
"Of course, Kelric. I didn't know it bothered you that much. Sorry, my friend."
I hook my arm under his and half carry him the rest of the way. There's a new woman at the front entrance, but she apparently recognizes us and ushers us inside.
When we get up to the third floor, I see that our table is the same as last time. Marinah and Kathlyn are engaged in conversation and don't notice us till we are pulling out our chairs.
"Oh! Elias, Kelric, Marinah and I were just talking about which homeroom teacher we'd prefer to have. Do you two have one in mind?"
I turn to Elias and shake my head, I only know of one teacher by name and I'm not sure if he has a homeroom.
He gets the hint and takes over the flow of conversation naturally. He's very good at it.
I keep my eyes away from Marinah as I sit down, I can't let her presence soften my heart for the future to come.
Soon, I'm brought into the conversation again by Kathlyn.
"….and you Kelric, I bet all the teachers have their eye on you. I'm still amazed that you beat Colvin in the exam!"
"Who's that?"
I get blank stares from the three I'm dining with, well I think there's three. I'm trying hard not to look at Marinah.
Elias rubs his chin and chuckles.
"Colvin Tarber, Prince Colvin third in line for the throne.. you haven't heard of him?"
"No, am I supposed to have?"
Elias's chuckle turns into full on laughter as Kathlyns jaw drops lower.
"Hahaha I guess I shouldn't be surprised that even Royalty doesn't catch your notice."
I shrug my shoulders as a thin man walks up to our table, I think he's the waiter at first but his stance puts me on edge.
I think I only detect his presence because he's allowing me too. His wiry body has an unnatural amount confidence in each step and his gray eyes are purposeful.
I'm about to explode out of my chair when he stops ten paces away from us.
This man is like me, a killer.
His accent is strange and I've only heard it a couple times before.
It's from a small island county to the south, Sasia. The isle of assassins.
"Eyy, hello young peoples. I am known as Emiliano and am here to tells you that the brotherhood has stopped accepting contracts for your lifes."
Elias and the girls are confused, so I ask him, "Why?"
His beady gray eyes stare at me as he answers.
"Because of you, great champion of deaths. This is a sign of.. hows you says.. respect."
"I see."
He then turns and walks away after , it's hard to track his retreat as he masks his presence and walks up to the fourth floor.
Marinah's voice calls to me now and I forget that I was trying not to look at her.
"Who was that guy and what is a 'great champion of death'?"
Elias seemed to have a spark of recognition when the man was talking, so I turn to him for help again. I don't want to explain to Marinah the monster I really am.
Elias understands my look and starts talking.
"Haha I've never heard of that term before.. but what I do know is that he was a member of the Brotherhood of Assassins. I don't know who payed them to kill us, but it seems like they wasted a lot of coin."
Both girls gasp at this revelation and I give Elias an imperceptible nod.
Dinner is good, but awkward. I don't know how to engage with Marinah without turning into a fool, so I don't speak.
That man's sudden introduction and speech had thrown everyone off a little and my silence isn't noticed.
After Elais and I get up to leave, my eyes catch Marinah's and my heart clenches at her sad expression.
I have to steel myself internally and stir my rage a little until I'm able walk away.
Elias seems a little strange as well as we walk back to his house. I had thought what happened at dinner slipped his mind until we enter the sitting room.
"Kelric, I think I need some answers."
I sigh a little as I reply, "Can it wait till after the ball? I'm not sure how you'll react to what I have to say."
He debates for a long moment until he finally agrees.
We play a close game of Glory War and have to pause mid match to get dressed in the idiotic suits.
Elias's usual testing mode is back on.
"Kelric.. you wouldn't happen to know how to dance?"
I freeze and stop pulling up the sock to my knee.
"I'll take that as a no, put on your suit quickly and let me give you a fast lesson."
I'm all feet and awkward legs as he shows me the forms and after a minute, I'm deemed worthless.
The butler is watching off to the side and I see a small smile disappearing as I glare at the two hatefully.
"Woah woah woah Kelric, calm down. I'm just relieved to see that you aren't good at everything."
"Everything? The only thing I'm good at is fighting!" I say in a huff.
Elias stops to mull this over and nods.
"Yeah, well you're so good at it that it makes me happy to see you fail at something."
My mouth drops open at this, I didn't know he was so petty.
The butler faintly coughs to catch our attention.
"If I may, young master."
Elias just shrugs his shoulders and waves him over.
The butler runs me through the paces again, except this time, he calls out moves from invisible attackers.
"Horizontal slash, left leg."
"Sword thrust to stomach."
"Low kick, right leg."
I'm just as shocked as Elias when my body moves through the sequence perfectly to the rhythm of clapping hands.
The butler looks mighty pleased with himself after showing me what my body can do.
"That should serve you quite well for tonight, master Kelric. I suppose you two should get moving however, if you want to show up at a respectable time."
'Let's get this over with.'