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Annette heard The Argument long before class started. Sort of. She heard it in the sense that it was very loud, but there was enough distance from the greenhouse and the second floor dorms for the words themselves to be lost in the stone walls.
When it all finally fell silent, Felix emerged from the building, storming his way past the greenhouse, and glaring straight ahead. It wasn't that Annette wanted him to ignore her, but right then, she was very glad he wasn’t giving her the time of day. Hell hath no fury like a swordsman with anger management problems.
It was early in the day, though. Annette had only been tasked with gathering a basket of vegetables for the kitchen staff after a mishap that left part of their stock bruised and squashed. Once she got the fresh vegetables back to them, everyone could have breakfast and, hopefully, feel better about any disagreements. No one was angry after a good meal!
Honestly, it was probably a foolish expectation. At breakfast, she hadn't even checked to see if Felix was there.
Later, as the rest of the Blue Lions filtered into the classroom for the day’s lessons, it was impossible to ignore that he wasn't present.
"Where's Felix?" Annette whispered to Mercedes, who frowned delicately and scanned the room.
"Not here," she answered unhelpfully. "Is he running late? Perhaps breakfast didn't sit well and he's gone to see Professor Manuela?"
Felix with a tummy ache was, frankly, a little hilarious. A mighty warrior, brought low by a splash of milk!
Before she could laugh, however, Sylvain stomped into the classroom and fell angrily into a seat near the doors.
That was… different. Sylvain usually sat in the front with herself and Mercedes, and while he never took studious notes and was more interested in lollygagging, he excelled regardless. Sitting in the back was a universal sign for "Don't pay attention to me," and sitting by the door meant "I can't wait to leave."
Had he been involved in the screaming match she'd heard?
The minutes ticked by, ticking closer and closer to the hour mark. Still, there was no sign of Felix. She shouldn’t care so much—he was bullheaded, rude, plainly evil…
Annette knew she was going to do something very stupid.
"I'm going to find him," she declared, gathering her things.
"Oh, my," Mercedes replied, hiding a smile behind her hand. "How unlike you. Don't worry, I'll take notes for you."
"Thank you!"
No one stopped her as she fled the classroom, although she did have to duck behind a hedge when some gossiping bishops turned a corner to keep them from asking questions. The monastery's staff didn't appreciate the students wandering during class hours. They had to be accounted for, after all, and both she and Felix were about to be decidedly unaccounted for.
The massive bells in the cathedral began to ring, making it official: Annette was skipping class. It was a little scary—and exhilarating. Like an adventure!
Annette let her breath out in a whoosh when the bishops left, but the elimination of one problem brought forth a new one: she didn't have the foggiest idea where Felix was. Staying stranded outside the classrooms wasn’t going to help, so she let her feet aimlessly guide her as she tried to get inside his head.
Her first thought was the training grounds, but the instructors knew the students were supposed to be in class and wouldn't allow anyone unaccompanied by their professor to use the equipment. He'd be frogmarched off the grounds before he could touch a wooden sword.
(Which was a funnier image than the tummy ache theory, if she was perfectly honest.)
There was no way Felix would be hiding out at the cathedral, not with so many people attending it—which also excluded the dining hall, lake, and marketplace. Would he duck into the stables, or would the pervasive smell of barnyard keep him away? Could he be blockheaded enough to hide in the bathhouse and risk passing out in the sauna?
Oh, gosh, was he unconscious in the sauna right now?
Annette needed to get moving!
She paused, stiffening. Where had she wandered to?
The greenhouse greeted her yet again. She'd gone way past the bath house—admittedly, it was before she realized that was where she wanted to go—and it had been a miracle no one had stopped her on the way.
Annette turned around. Maybe, if she stuck close to the dorms, people would merely think she was running late? And when she got close to the baths, no one would see her slip inside for a quick peak?
She passed Leonie's room and Lysithea's rooms, then Mercedes's, and as she neared her own, she heard the clanging footsteps of a knight in armor drawing nearer. Annette had been ready to explain her “tardiness”, but she froze up as each step got a little louder, a little clearer. She had a sterling record from the Fhirdiad School of Sorcery. If she got in trouble, would it tarnish her reputation? Would it reflect poorly on house Dominic? Would she need to work twice as hard to redeem herself? How daunting…
The door to her dorm shot open, a hand flying from its depths to yank her inside. She was so stunned she couldn’t even scream.
"Why were you just standing there?" Felix hissed incredulously when he shut the door behind them. "Did you want the knights to find you? You’re supposed to be in class!"
Standing dumbly in her dorm, staring at Felix with his ear to the door, Annette felt her brain frantically scramble to make sense of the scene in front of her. This was her room. Annette's. The room assigned specifically to Annette.
It was—
"My room!"
She hadn't meant to lose control of her winds, but in her shock, they came out, anyway. The bed crashed against the wall, blankets fighting to stay perfectly tucked into the corners. Her books jostled on her shelf and loose sheets of paper cycloned off the desk. All her collected knickknacks found new homes in all four corners of the room.
Felix was plastered to the door, eyes wide.
"What was that about?" he demanded when she reigned the magic back in.
"Forget that!" Annette groused. "What are you doing here?!"
Pulling himself from the door now that he was no longer pinned there, he barked, "You left the door cracked and I needed a place to be!"
So simple. So confident. Like he was correct just because he said it was so.
"The place to be is in the classroom, Felix! You can't just break into a lady's room!" she roared.
"I didn't break into anyone's room," he contended. "The door was open!"
"You're defending the indefensible!"
"Fine! Rat me out, then."
Annette clamped her mouth shut. It would be the appropriate thing to do; neither of them was attending the classes they were supposed to, and Felix was certainly breaking all kinds of rules with his clear disregard for propriety and privacy. She should have him delivered to the professor via tornado.
But something was wrong. It was the reason she'd skipped class in the first place. Being a tattletale wouldn't get her closer to solving whatever the issue was, and would only alienate her from Felix in the future. That… didn't sit well with her.
"I won't do that," she stated.
"Oh?" He asked, combative.
"I'm still mad about what you did," Annette grumbled, "but I'm glad I found you… You found me? Whatever—I was looking for you. So I'm going to formally invite you to stay here for the time being. In my room. Which is mine."
Felix rolled his eyes, but didn't protest.
"A little gratitude might be nice?"
"For the love of—Thank you. Happy now?"
Annette nodded, leaning down to collect some of her defenestrated items.
"Perfectly content," she replied. No matter how prickly he got, she wasn’t going to let him work her up again!
Whatever fight Felix still had in him only held out for a couple of minutes before he was helping her with some of the mess. Annette thanked him much more earnestly than he had.
“Can’t say I expected this of you,” Felix said when they were finished, tone much more neutral than it had been. “You’re very… studious.”
“My perfect attendance is ruined,” bemoaned Annette.
“So why are you cutting class?”
“Hm? Oh, I’m cutting class because I wanted to know why you were cutting class!”
Something dark clouded his eyes, and Annette could hear the effort he was making to keep his demeanor calm when he responded, “That’s hardly your business.”
“You made it my business when you sequestered yourself in here,” she argued.
Frowning, he said, “You’re like a dog with a bone. Let it go!”
“No!”
How many times were they going to argue each other into a stand-off? Annette caved the first time. She would not do so again.
“Look,” Felix bit out, conceding, “Sylvain was going to be there, okay? That's why I didn’t go to breakfast, either.”
“You didn’t go to—Okay. Okay.” Annette took a big breath. “So you’re avoiding Sylvain because…?”
“He’s an idiot,” he spat. His temper was simmering. “Tried to set me up on a double date on our next rest day. I told him no, he couldn’t take that for an answer, and it. Escalated.”
Annette remembered the muffled yelling from earlier. Sylvain’s usual antics wouldn’t have devolved into a fight of that volume, not before Felix got fed up and left. How could it have gotten so out of hand that it left them both miserable?
“What happened?” she asked.
Felix sighed. “What usually happens,” he muttered. “‘You’re a stick in the mud’ turns into ‘You’re actually helpless’ turns into ‘Do you even have feelings?’ and I got sick of him pretending he’s not a hypocrite so I threw it back in his face. Sure, I don’t go around professing my love to every person that catches my eye and it makes me unapproachable, but at least I don’t smile as I break hearts because I don’t know how to connect with people.”
That was… harsh. And painful, because while Annette couldn’t claim to know their history, it was evident there was truth clinging to every poisonous word. Whoever crossed the line into Too Far first was subjective and it wasn’t her place to assign blame. She wasn’t either of their mothers—that’d be weird—but she didn’t want to watch them wallow.
“I can’t tell you what to do or say that’ll make things better,” she admitted, “but it’s sad to see friends fighting, you know? What do you want to do?”
“I want to brain him with a weapon.”
“No. Try again.”
“I don’t know!” he growled. “I want him to just… be a person instead of a caricature! But his life revolves around his sordid idea of love, so we’re just going to keep going in circles like this! I’m going to brain him. Maybe it’ll rewrite his thought process.”
“Don’t break your friend’s skull, please,” Annette begged.
“I’ll think about it.” He wasn’t very convincing.
“While I don’t think skipping meals and class is a great solution,” she said, hoping to steer him away from his violent plotting, “I think taking the space from each other to cool down is a smart idea. It’ll give Sylvain time to think about what he wants to do, too. And, uh, hopefully, he won’t want to break your skull.”
Okay, maybe she shouldn’t have said that last part.
“He can try,” challenged Felix—Oh, no, was he getting excited?
Annette had met teething toddlers that handled their discontent better than Felix. She needed to change the subject.
Luckily, Felix had mentioned something interesting in his grievances with Sylvain.
“You might not profess your love to them, but there are people that catch your eye, then?”
Felix looked so offended Annette was half-certain he was going to march right out of her dorm and turn himself into the knights just to get away from the topic.
“Not you, too?” he complained.
“I’m not trying to hook you up!” she denied. “It’s just… conversation.”
“It’s gossip.”
Yeah, that was fair. “I won’t say a word! Not even to Mercie!”
“I didn’t even say there was anyone!”
“But there is?” she pressed. “Felix, have you met a pretty girl while away at school? Oh, that’s so cute! It’s like in the stories!”
Felix mocked, “Who are you, Ashe? I expected better from you!”
Annette couldn’t even be mad; his face had flushed a pretty pink that was creeping down into his collar.
“Feliiiix!” she teased. “Is she so beautiful she takes your breath away? Is she in our house? Is she a student? Is she an older woman? Scandalous! Ah, wait, is she a woman? Felix!”
“She doesn’t—”
Annette squealed, “A she!”
“Wait, no—”
Like she did when she and Mercedes swapped stories, Annette tugged Felix towards the bed, shoving him down to sit on the edge and excitedly joining him. She leaned in, demanding, “Tell me everything.”
“There’s nothing to tell! Also, isn’t this…?”
Felix had lovely eyes, like polished bronze. This was an observation Annette could make because she’d crowded so far into his space that she could see herself reflected in them. He smelled like the rosemary soaps the merchants peddled in the marketplace. To know both of these things meant she was…
Too close.
Felix may have stolen away into a girl’s room uninvited but Annette was just as guilty of impropriety. The difference between them was that Felix simply didn’t care; Annette forgot to care. The bed, the closeness… Oh, if anyone were to walk in…!
Lurching back so suddenly she bounced on the mattress, Annette stammered, “S-sorry! Oh, geez, oh, no, I didn’t mean to make this awkward!”
Hiding her face in her hands, she couldn’t stand to look at him. She was so embarrassed!
They stayed like that for several stretched-out minutes. If only Felix would show her mercy and say something…! Rebuke her, absolve her, anything!
Finally, he cleared his throat and Annette's shoulders jumped.
“She’s… hardworking,” he said, haltingly and unsure.
Huh?
“Smart, too. Not an older woman, you busybody.”
Peeking through her fingers, Annette stared at him. The blush hadn't receded and Felix wasn't quite looking at her, but he didn't appear angry. He was just… talking.
A peace offering.
“Is she nice?” she asked into her palms.
“Of course,” Felix said adamantly. “As nice as her voice. I like her singing.”
What a hint! In her head, Annette ran through the faces of everyone in the choir. She thought she knew them well from the times she would join them. They all had such beautiful voices that they all could have been perfect candidates.
Goddess. Felix had heard her sing before. He must have laughed himself sick thinking about her childish nursery rhymes, comparing them to this other girl. The difference must have been like night and day. She’d never hold a candle!
But… Why was Annette comparing herself to this other person in the first place? Where did that compulsion come from? It wasn’t like she wanted Felix’s attention!
Right?
Suddenly, she didn’t want to hear about Felix’s crush anymore.
“I know you don’t really want to spill the beans,” Annette interjected quickly, “so you don’t have to say anymore. I shouldn’t have pestered you about it. Still, I’m happy with what you did share! Turns out your type is just like you!”
Flustered, Felix asked, “Like me?”
“Well, yeah,” she shrugged. “Hardworking, smart, has a nice voice.”
“She is nothing like me!” he wheezed. “I don’t think she’d… appreciate the comparison, either. And my voice isn’t… nice.”
“Aw, don’t sell yourself short! You should talk more, it’s nice to listen to you. That is, when you’re not being mega rude. Like always.”
Felix collapsed backward across the bed. "Look," he prompted, "I know one of your secrets and you know one of mine. Just… don't say anything to Sylvain. It'll be just like today except worse. Nothing's going to happen between me and this girl—she's got… a rather low opinion of me. So let sleeping dogs lie, understand?"
And that was… sad. Sure, Felix was carrying the weight of her songs around his neck like a trophy and wholly unapologetic about it, but no one deserved to feel unwanted.
Thus far, he’d also kept quiet about her silly singing. He was trusting her to return the favor. So even if it turned out to be an unhappy ending, Annette wouldn’t let Felix down.
“I got it,” she said quietly. “Pinky promise?”
Felix scoffed, “What are you, five?”
Still, he raised his hand, the littlest finger extended.
Beaming, Annette latched her finger to his.
“You know, Mercie is much kinder about pinky promises than you are,” she mused.
An eye roll. “I imagine she’s much kinder about a lot of things.”
“She’s certainly kind enough to take notes for me today. When class gets out, I’m going to find her to make copies. Do you want to come?”
He grimaced. “She’s going to do that thing where she laughs at me with her eyes. Again.”
“Huh?”
“I should probably come, though,” he concluded without explaining that. “The professor’s lessons aren’t useless, so I may as well study them.”
“Great! We can all get lunch together after!”
“You still want to spend time with me?” he asked in disbelief.
Annette frowned. “Don’t stay for lunch if you don’t want to. I just figured since you missed breakfast…”
“...I’ll stay.”
When they sat down together at a little tea table with Mercedes, they received an unexpected guest. Sylvain, wordlessly, placed his notes on the table in front of Felix and walked off. Felix traced the curling sheets of paper with his fingers, nodded once decisively, and began to copy them.
They would be okay.