A few hours before the elven lord’s departure...
Artie was walking through one of the halls of the Baron’s mansion when she heard soone call her from behind.
"Artie..."
She paused, heaving a sigh then slowly turned to et Eliron’s gaze.
Artie tried to pull out her signature smile, but no matter how much she did, it would not co out.
It didn’t matter after all, Eliron would see right through it.
"Yes? Shouldn’t you be getting ready to leave?"
"Eh, most of my things are in the spatial storage, I’m good to go at any ti."
"I see. So how can I help you?" Artie asked, holding her elbow as she stared at him.
Outside the Baron’s mansion, dark clouds had begun to form, a promise of rain within the hour.
Eliron took a few seconds to answer.
"Are you alright?" His voice was softer than usual, and even though he tried to act a little nonchalant, knowing she hated being a cause for concern, Artie could still sense it.
Artie sighed and raised her hands, doing a quick twirl.
"As you can see my lord, I am in perfect health."
Eliron stared at her, clearly not satisfied with her answer.
She frowned and sighed. "Actually..."
’I shouldn’t be doing this.’ Artie thought.
She had decided to put him at a distance, to pull back. But the look he was giving her... it was too much to bear.
He looked so teasable! How was she to pull back if he kept offering himself to her like this?
Technically, if resisting ended up costing her even more ti, wasn’t that in itself a distraction to her goals?
’Yes, yes...’
Maybe pulling back completely wasn’t the solution.
Artie ford up a little argunt in her head, convincing herself of why teasing Eliron was actually beneficial to her goals.
She took a step closer to Eliron. She was not smiling, but her forest green eyes searched his.
"Actually... You did a number on last night did you not?" She held her hands behind her back.
"I have to say, I could barely sleep after you touched so inappropriately, my lord. I’m love sick, if you would call it that."
"...?"
Eliron blinked. He stared at her for a mont longer, no words leaving his lips, then he coughed and took a step back.
"Uhum! I see you are in perfect health."
Artie smiled, to her own surprise. Seeing him flustered was like the most potent healing potion in existence!
"I told you. You worry too much, or is it that you crave my teasi—"
Artie suddnely froze as a silhouette of her sister appeared right beside Eliron, a cold look on her face as she stared at her.
Then she smiled...
She swallowed, her hands were beginning to shake behind her back, thankfully away from Eliron’s gaze.
Clasp!
Eliron placed a hand on her shoulder. His grip firm but tender at the sa ti.
Badump—
Artie felt her heart racing at his touch. To her surprise, her sister’s ghost imdiately vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind.
She took in a deep breath and stared at the hand, her eyes slowly moving to his.
"I understand that we all have sothing we like to keep to ourselves. But rember, you always have us, there is never a need to fight alone."
He smiled. "Also, you may try to avoid for as long as you want. But like I said last night, I will never let go, no matter how hard you try."
"You say that. But there are cris that are simply unforgivable." Artie replied, her stoic facade slowly cracking.
"I’ll be the one to decide that." Eliron smiled.
"There are many other pure, innocent girls in Artaris..."
"I guess I am the problem, I never seem to fall for those types."
Artie stared at him for a little longer, before Eliron pulled back.
"I am getting late, I should go..." he turned to leave then paused. "Oh, and good luck with breaking the curse."
"?!"
Artie’s eyes suddenly widened.
’Was it Yennefer??’ No, it was unlikely.
Although she didn’t seem like the type to keep a secret, when it ca to things like this, she was very reliable.
How then did he know??
"How did you—" she tried to ask, but Eliron had already vanished.
The present ti...
’I’m such a fool.’ Artie thought.
"Lady Artie, are you alright? You been staring at one spot for so ti now." Ash said, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"I’m fine." She answered plainly.
They were outside the main building of the estate, waiting for the knights on the porch.
The rain had begun, heavy gales of wind cut through the compound, howling like enraged demons. Just from being close, Artie could feel the chilling temperature of the winds.
"I apologize for my tardiness, there were matters to attend to." David, the head knight, walked up to them from behind, interrupting her thoughts.
He was dressed up in his full knight armour, and had his sword strapped to his back, while a row of daggers lined his belt.
The junior knight, Samuel was dressed in the sa manner.
He gave Artie a look, before turning in the other direction.
’Hmm?’
Strangely, he did not seem at all annoyed by her presence.
Considering their unsavory interaction, she had expected a much colder reception.
"No problems at all, we did not have to wait long." Ash took his hand in a firm handshake. "We will be in your care."
From the friendly tone Ash took with him, it seed that had t at a different ti other than today.
David nodded. "Shall we?"
The four of them walked into the rain, heading towards the building that acted as an entrance for the catacombs.
"Ugh!! Why do I have to do so much work?!"
Yen was seated in one of the many offices in the estate. The room was ward by a magic lamp which casted golden hues over the entire space.
Outside, the rain was pounding against the glass, leaving trails that glided dowm the mirror in long streaks, just before rging with the water on the windowsill.
In front of Yennefer was a sight that nearly made her nauseous.
Stacks of paper that went as high as the ceiling, a quil, and black ink sitting next to it.
Finding out who the leaker was was just a charade, why then did Eliron have to make it so elaborate??
’It’s probably because I didn’t tell him isn’t it?’
Eliron had asked what was bothering Artie, but it was a secret that was not hers to share, so she declined.
His simple response then was ’okay’ with a smile. And now, she had to draw magic circles on all this papers...
"I’m going to die doing this work~"
Creak!
As the door was pushed open, Yen imdiately put up a dignified look and began sketching a rune on the first parchnt.
The butler, Cornelius walked in with a cup filled with a steaming hot liquid.
"I see you are hard at work, lady Yennefer." He said with a smile.
Yen nodded. "The spell is a complex one, I must make sure to avoid any and all forms of error."
Cornelius nodded. "I see..."
Then he stared at the stack of papers, and exasperated look on his face. "But still, this is quite a lot..."
’Tell about it!’ Yen scread internally.
He placed the cup next to her, a sweet fragrance reaching her nose.
Yen kept up her dignified look, barely sparing it a glance. "What is it? Hot chocolate?"
The butler shook his head. "Coffee, it will help you fight the exhaustion."
Yennefer nodded. "Thank you Mr Cornelius."
He smiled and turned around to leave. "Inform if you need anything else." He glanced over his shoulder.
Yennefer picked up the cup and brought it to her lips, taking in a large gulp, then letting out a satisfied sigh.
Cornelius stared at her for a second longer before walking out of the room.
The mont the door was shut, a wide grin appeared on his face.
’Perfect, simply perfect...’
He adjusted his suit. ’I wonder if the party has started below?’
The butler began whistling a rry tune as he walked down the hall. His footsteps echoing through the area.
’It’s about ti I finished my assignnt...’
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