When he stops thinking about his mysterious savior, Theo starts to notice people staring at him with strange expressions and whispering while pointing at him and the beautiful girl at his side.
Sarah also notices the small commotion they're causing in the square, making her roll her eyes. "The vultures found us. Of course, people like us can't go unnoticed." She gives a light wave of her hands, and the books on the ground float into her hands quickly, leaving Theo surprised.
"You seem good at using magic," he comments, but she just smiles and grabs his hand. "Let's find a more discreet place to continue our conversation." She barely finishes speaking before pulling him through the crowd, and Theo is so curious that he simply follows her.
They pass by nobles and commoners, guards and citizens of Dragons' Gate, until they find an alley between high buildings that seems empty, so Sarah pulls Theo inside it, then caresses his hand and gives him a funny glance. "Why is your hand so warm?"
Theo doesn't respond but pulls his hand back and stares at Sarah with inquisitive eyes. "Who are you, again?" he asks, and she just smiles charmingly. "Didn't I tell you? The name is Sarah Lysenne Malver-"
"Your name means nothing to me. Want to try again?" Theo speaks in a neutral tone, and Sarah lets out a little laugh before becoming more serious. "You speak like an arrogant commoner, which is contradictory in itself, but well, I understand that my approach might be at the very least… unusual. So let me give a more proper introduction."
Theo watches as Sarah changes her way of speaking and acting to resemble more of an educated, fine lady. "I'm the second daughter of House Malveryn of Calmera Valley, which lies in the west's Omnara Kingdom." Sarah points to a small crest with wheat and an apple on her robe. "See this symbol? My family is one of the largest apple producers in the Four Kingdoms."
"You seem proud of that," Theo comments in a curious tone, but a little sarcastic, and Sarah keeps a serious expression. "Don't compare me to those idiotic nobles who brag about their families' wealth. I'm truly proud to belong to a family of farmers, but it has nothing to do with household and everything to do with the fact that my parents and their parents and so on have been individuals who've fed this Kingdom's people for generations."
Theo can feel the pride and passion in Sarah's tone as she speaks about her family. And she continues, "I don't know where you came from, but where I grew up, there is no hunger and no poverty, because my family is fair and gives everyone dignified jobs and food to feed their families. So yes, I'm proud of my House."
"Hmm…" Theo remembers the place where he grew up, and that seems like hell compared to Sarah's description of her home. "So why did you leave there? Why leave your happy and perfect family to come here?"
"Because my ambitions are bigger than just feeding the masses," Sarah responds quickly with a glow in her eyes. "My family is already doing that job perfectly. Now I… well, I'm going to become the most powerful Witch the Four Kingdoms have ever seen, even surpassing my future master—"
"Let me guess," Theo interrupts Sarah. "Eruina?" As soon as he says it, Sarah laughs and nods. "You're not stupid at all. Yes, if I want to be the best, I might have the best mentor of all time, and I'm certain that's Grandmaster Eruina."
Theo can't help but let out a sigh as he remembers what Eruina said about his competitors for the apprentice position, and the idea of crushing the sweet Sarah under his feet like a worm doesn't feel pleasant at all. But since that moment still seems far away, he tries not to think about it and just smiles at Sarah as he walks out of the alley. "Good luck with that."
"Wait! Wait!!" Sarah runs and steps in front of Theo. "Where are you going?" she asks with a pleading face, but he tries to act cold. "Look, you seem to have everything very well planned, so I don't want to get in your way."
"No, no, no!" Sarah shakes her head while keeping a hand on Theo's chest. "You won't get in my way; in fact, I'm sure we can help each other a lot."
"Who's asking for help?" Theo makes a sarcastic tone, and Sarah adorably pouts. "I heard what you said earlier." As soon as she says that, Theo gets curious. "What exactly?"
"The part about you not being good at making friends," Sarah quickly explains and smiles kindly at him. "I'm not very good at it either, as you can see, but look," she makes another hand gesture, and a piece of paper floats out of her pocket, unfolding several times until it becomes a large map over a meter wide right in front of Theo.
Sarah shows a proud expression and points at the map. "I studied everything about the Royal Academy before coming here, every place, every rule, every secret I found in dozens of different books… I'm the best company you could wish for here, your best possible friend."
Theo is sure tempted by Sarah's proposal, especially with that glowing map right in front of his eyes, filled with the knowledge about the Academy that can help him a lot. But still, he can't help but give the mysterious girl a doubtful glance. There are so many questions in his mind, but they all culminate in a single one. "Why?"
"..." Sarah stares at Theo with a strange expression; her lips tremble, and she almost says something, but hesitates and then thinks for a second more before stepping back. A glow flashes in her blue eyes, and she looks away from Theo, her cheeks blushing for a moment. "Because… I enjoy your scent."
"Burhh!" He covers his mouth to avoid laughing too loudly at her surprisingly cute reaction, and Sarah seems to grow even more shy. But then he starts to wonder if that reaction is really genuine or just another one of the mysterious girl's games. Also, another thought pops into his head, and he speaks it out loud. "You mean the smell of roses and mint?"
"No…" Sarah says softly and shakes her head. "I mean the smell underneath that… your true scent." The girl seems more and more shy, making Theo feel a little sorry for her.
But he also grows more curious. "What kind of smell is that?" As soon as he asks, Sarah once again shows a soft, expectant smile. "It's a different smell but also very obvious; I've never smelled anything like it before, and I simply loved it! Ehhh, how to explain… it smells like… ashes."
"Ashes?" Theo has no doubt that the mysterious girl can smell his flames, which seems insane since even Eruina never mentioned that it had a scent in the first place. Now, Theo has even more questions about Sarah and what her intentions truly are.
"Yeah," Sarah nods as she puts on her most honest expression. "I don't have a good way to explain it, but I feel this scent in you, and it's such a strong smell…" She blushes a little and refocuses. "I know you have great power inside you, and since I want to be the best of the best, I need to defeat the best."
"Wait, you want to be my friend so you can defeat me?" Theo is confused, and Sarah laughs. "No, you fool! I want to get close to you to be right in the center of the spotlight, where the real action happens. Look, once I read in a book that it's more important to choose our enemies wisely than our allies."
She pauses and flashes a confident little smile at Theo. "But I disagree with that. Actually, I think that if I can turn my most powerful enemy into my most loyal ally, then my other enemies are in serious trouble!"
Sarah makes her speech with grace and charm, leaving Theo impressed in many ways. But he only stares at her with a strange gaze, making the girl nervous. "So?" He looks at her in silence for a few more seconds before laughing. "You are really, really weird."
"Hahaha!" Sarah laughs out loud and then suddenly turns serious. "Is that a problem for you?" As soon as she asks, he responds with a gentle smile. "Actually, I like it."
Sarah opens a beautiful smile, and the expectant glow returns to her eyes as she steps closer to Theo again and extends her hand. "Then let's start over, now in a proper way, my dear Theodore."
"Just Theo." He gently shakes her delicate hand. "I'm looking forward to what we can do together, Sarah Lysenne Malveryn of Calmera Valley. But I must warn you, we may become rivals at some point in the future, and when that time comes, I won't hesitate."
"You can call me Sarah," she throws him a confident and friendly face. "Returning the courtesy, I'll warn you too, if you could smell my magic, you'd know I'm not an easy target."
"Really?" Theo can't resist the curiosity and leans in to sniff Sarah up close, the same way she did to him, but the girl reacts extremely, blushing deeply and jumping back like a scared cat. "HEY! WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING?!?"
"Huh??" Theo gives the shy girl a puzzled expression. "Trying to smell your magic, of course. Didn't you do the exact same thing to me?"
"Yes, but…" Sarah keeps staring at him with blushing cheeks. "This is a very, very weird habit, ok? Don't do that again, please." She looks like a cute little bunny with all that shyness, making Theo enjoy her presence even more.
"Fine, fine, I'll avoid it in the future." He says in a gentle tone, but the girl still seems to be breathing heavily, her cheeks still lightly flushed. "Do you need more time, or can we go already?"
Sarah lets out a sigh and then raises her head again with a confident expression. "I'm good, let's move on. Well…" With a hand gesture, she makes the magic map appear again and opens it in front of Theo, revealing several locations with names and images of the Academy region, including the village of Dragons' Gate.
"Here," she points to a bright red dot on the map. "That's us," then she points to the large red brick wall beside them, "We're next to one of the most famous taverns of the Academy, and they have a delicious blackberry wine, how about it?"
Theo shakes his head. "First, I need to enroll in the Academy, then we can drink your fancy wine." As soon as he says that, Sarah laughs. "Alright, then let's go to the test arenas. There are two, actually," she points to small circles on the map north of the large square. "One for physical aptitude, if you want to be a warrior, and another for magical aptitude if you want to be a magician."
Sarah stares at Theo with thoughtful eyes. "Let me guess, you want to be a Dragon Rider, right? Then bad news, you'll need high scores in both tests if you want to have a chance."
"Got it," Theo was already prepared for that thanks to Eruina's advice, so he returns the thoughtful look to Sarah. "And you want to be the most powerful mage in the Four Kingdoms, right?"
"Indeed, but I prefer Witch, instead." Sarah nods. "Yet, unlike my idol, the Grandmaster Eruina, I don't see a Dragon Pact as a weakness for a great Witch. Actually, I have a plan that involves a very specific type of Dragon, and if I manage to get it, then I'll be able to shield my greatest weakness."
Theo grows even more curious about Sarah and eager to see what she's capable of. "So, physical or magical test first?" he asks, and she immediately points to one of the circles on the map. "Physical. Let's leave the most interesting one for last, ok?"