I awoke with tears in my eyes that morning.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes, why did I have that dream?
And why was it so vivid?
With the shake of my head, I moved my sheets and stretched.
Jinnah entered the room with a plate of breakfast and a cup of milk. "Good morning, my Lord." She set the plate and cup on my nightstand.
"Morning," I replied groggily.
Jinnah sat on her bed. "Have you thought of what to get Lord Meridian?"
I reached for a slice of toast. "Not really," I replied. "He has almost everything he could want, and the one thing he did suggest would take too long to make."
Jinnah hummed.
I brought the toast to my lips and bit into it with a satisfying crunch. As I chewed I mulled over my thoughts. I remembered having a similar problem with Saori.
She also wasn't a very materialistic person. Though that was more because her parents were loaded rather than a factor of her being lonely.
Now that I mentioned it, that's why I got her that ring. It was more of an 'I thought about you' gift.
The kind of thing you give to someone when you don't know what they want.
I never thought she'd care about it as much as she did though.
Wait a minute, maybe I've been overthinking this whole thing. If all Meridian wanted was a friend, then the greatest gift I could give him is a promise that he'll always have a friend.
No matter what.
I jumped from my bed. "Jinnah!"
Jinnah gasped in surprise at my sudden outburst, her cheeks flushed. "Y-yes?"
"Start baking a cake, because I got the perfect gift for Meridian!"
Jinnah gave a firm nod. "Right!"
— — —
It was later in the day.
Meridian and I found ourselves near a river in the forest.
The reason we were here was twofold.
One, I wanted to keep Meridian far from the estate while Jinnah and the staff worked.
And two, I needed to find a stone to carve the ring out of.
Meridian rushed ahead of me and pointed out a fish flowing down the river. I stepped beside him.
It was black and blue. With long eyes that stretched along its sides. This was one very weird fish. And actually, the first one I've seen in this world.
Meridian rolled up his sleeves and dipped his hands into the crystal clear water. The fish swam away immediately. Meridian pouted as he sat down on the riverbank.
"Well, at least it didn't bite me." He mumbled.
I smirked. "You think you could throw an Eternal Balance into the water? You'd probably fry enough fish to feed the entire estate for days."
Meridian blushed with embarrassment. "It's not that powerful, but even if it was you have no room to talk." He crossed his arms and looked away. "Humph."
I chuckled softly as I took a seat beside him. My gaze drifted to the riverbed where dozens of stones lay underneath the water.
I rolled up my sleeve and reached in. The water was cool to the touch. I picked up a smooth stone and shook the water off my hand.
I then brought the stone to my face for a closer look. It was white with gray grooves running along its surface. A very pretty stone.
"What are you going to do with that?" Meridian asked curiously as he leaned closer, his hands on his knees.
I raised a finger and created a high-pressure water cutter at the tip. "I'm going to cut this rock in half."
"Why would you do that?" He asked.
I glanced at him. "…to see inside of it, obviously."
Meridian chuckled sheepishly. "O-obviously."
I held the rock in place with one hand and with the other I cut into it. The cut was easy enough. Each half of the rock looked the same inside as it did outside.
I showed the halves to Meridian.
"Does this look cool to you?"
He tilted his head with a finger to his chin. "It's certainly pretty," he replied. "Can I find one?"
I nodded eagerly. "Yes please." This was perfect, I'd let him find the perfect stone, then I'd steal it and turn it into a ring.
Meridian beamed. He reached into the water and retrieved a large stone. Then he created a shadow blade at the tip of his finger.
He cut cleanly into it and pulled both halves apart. He then showed both halves to me.
"Do you find this one pretty?"
The interior of the stone was a dark green with spots of deep red.
"I do."
Meridian and I continued to cut through stones and examine their interiors. A lot were duds, but some were truly standout and would've made beautiful rings.
Still, I was holding out for the one.
The one stone that would just scream, 'make a ring out of me!'
And that's when Meridian stopped me to pick up an unremarkable stone. "Look at this one."
I stood beside him. "I think that one is gonna be a dud, Meridian. We should keep looking."
"There's no harm in just looking, right?"
I shrugged. "I guess not." The more time we spend here, the more time Jinnah has to prepare.
So I had nothing to lose.
Meridian held the gray stone in one hand and cut it with the other. I was fully prepared for a gray interior, but instead what greeted us was a spiraling swirl of purple crystal with spots of gold.
My jaw dropped as Meridian pulled the stone apart. So did he the moment he saw it. "It's… It's magnificent." He whispered to himself.
He then turned to me. "I'm going to keep this one, is that alright?"
I swallowed a lump.
That's just great, how was I supposed to steal it now?
"Uh…" I averted my gaze and scratched behind my neck. "It's cool, or whatever."
Maybe if I downplayed the significance of the stone, he'd be disappointed and toss it.
Meridian didn't do that though. He just grinned and held out half the stone to me. "I saw that look in your eyes, you want a piece too. Right?"
I blinked. I guess some problems solve themselves.
"Yes please," I admitted.
Meridian placed half the stone in my hand and took my other hand in his. "There, now we both have a piece."
"Thank you," I grumbled.
"You're very welcome," he teased.
— — —
We returned to the manor later that evening.
Jinnah had the cake prepared and stored it in an icebox. The staff was all clued in, even Phillip knew of our plans.
Though he only told us to keep it simple.
Weirdly, he never celebrated his son's birthday before this, but at least he isn't stopping us.
Anyway, all that was left now was for me to make a ring. I stared at the stone sitting atop my desk.
My heart was pounding.
I only had one shot at this. There wasn't a second chance waiting for me.
And there wasn't a do-over button, yet I felt good about this. Like I was finally taking a step in the right direction.
I raised my finger and created a water drill at the tip. The drill rolled over the ugly, gray surface and peeled it away to reveal the beauty beneath.
The crystal began to shine in the dim light of my room.
I carefully rotated the stone with narrowed eyes. A soft hum escaped me as I gently bobbed my head.
I worked through the night, pouring my patience, endurance, and discipline into this ring.
This won't be a cheap gift because I'm broke or because I don't know what to get.
This will reflect me.
Who I want to be.
Who I need to be.
Everything I do now will be done with my heart and soul. I won't be a loser anymore. I won't blame this world for my actions and rot away behind my insecurities.
I know it'll be hard.
I know I'll face consequences for standing tall.
But I'll do it anyway, that's who Lafayette will be to this world. A man who sticks to his guns and keeps pushing forward.
Starting with this promise to a friend.
My friend, Meridian.
As the morning sun peeked through my window, I raised the finished ring with a smile.
"I promise I'll never leave you, no matter what," I whispered.