Chapter Text
It was just a day like any other, Angelica was going through her usual daily routine, eating breakfast with her family, getting dressed, and working on a few commissions and sending deliveries to the college. It was after lunch that she got a knock on her door.
"Be there in a moment!" She called, still putting away the dishes into the sink to wash for later.
"You haven't finished your food yet." Her husband was eyeing her from the kitchen corridor with his arms crossed in concern. She thought he'd left the kitchen already.
"It's fine, don't worry about it," Angelica was wiping her hands on her trousers "plus, I dont-" another knock came from the door, more insistent and slightly louder now.
Whoever this was sounded like they'll be awfully irritating, so much for a good day.
Her husband turned to her and cocked his head slightly. She simply shrugged, she doesn't remember having any commission due today or anything being delivered today, so it's either an impatient employer, or someone she knew.
"Angie?" A familiar rich but youthful voice called and echoed through the hallways and into the kitchen where the pair were standing, the voice sounded.. concerned. Angelica and her husband looked at eachother.
What did he do this time?
"What is it?" Angelica tried coaxing the fidgeting blonde haired man Infront of her.
The two sat amongst the drawers and shelves full of different jars, magical items, and tools, the same place where Angelica had first met Chise. There were small colorful rocks that were lined up together in rows in a thin glass case with labels on each one on a shelf, a basket full of rolled up scrolls in a corner, old books on the top shelves, crystals on some of the tables, a few tools, and a mannequin or two in the corner, there were colorful lanterns hanging on the ceiling, some blue, some pink and yellow. The room had a warm and cozy yellow light that was comforting in contrast to the thick atmosphere (that you could practically slice a knife with) possessing the room.
"I would like to ask for some advice." The blonde stated plainly. But it was clear from his guilty face and fidgeting hands that something was bothering him.
What happened? Is Chise hurt? Angelica's thoughts were racing, imagining terrible scenarios, her cursed arm swelling up again and eating at her life force, a terrible skin-turning-inside-out curse, for Ains to be this worried, surely something has happened. "Well? On with it." She steeled herself for the worst.
"You see, lately.. Chise has been.. troubled these past few days, I think. I'm not sure why, but she won't tell me when I ask. I fear I may have done something again, I've been trying to remember what I've done to upset her but.. I can't think of anything that I think I've done wrong. She says everything is all right but it's quite obvious it is not." He finished and slumped his shoulders, casting his golden-brown eyes to the floor.
Oh. Angelica blinked, relief washing over her. Chise hasn't been injured or cursed again. "Troubled? How could you tell? I mean, how was she acting?" She cocked her head to the side questioningly, the tension dissipating. Perhaps she'd been overreacting.
"Well, she's been muttering things in her mother tongue, I'm too.. afraid to ask what she means. She seems sort of, tense? she hasn't been talking to me much either. Yet she insists nothing is wrong, it is messing up her concentration and spells." Elias shook his head slightly and pinched his chin between his thumb and pointer finger.
"..Yikes, okay.. muttering things?, do you remember any slight disagreements that you two have had?" Perhaps he didn't realize he'd offended her and forgot about the exchange, he can be quite oblivious at times. Elias shook his head and placed his elbow on his lap and leaned his head into the palm of his hand.
"What about comments or remarks? That could hint at something, it can hint at what people are feeling sometimes." Angelica suggested hopefully.
He closed his eyes and sat up, trying to recall anything that can solve this predicament. "..she commented that I made more acquaintances at the college. She seemed happy when she said that though." He offered.
"Anything else?"
"She once commented that I got a lot of gifts from colleagues."
"That doesn't sound like something she would be upset about though." She closed her eyes and tilted her head up humming thoughtfully.
"I really do not recall anything. Trying to recall my actions is probably a waste of time." He sighed.
"What about her familiar, ah.. Ruth, was it? Why don't you ask him? They share a connection right?" She suggested hopefully.
"I consulted with him aswell, and he refuses to tell me. He told me that she will tell me herself ..probably." he sighed again and hung his head despairingly
Angelica couldn't help but sympathize with the guy, he was oblivious and clueless but he really did genuinely care for Chise and he was trying, she could see that.
Inhaling, she clapped her hand together with finality and stood up. "Alright, we're out of ideas, why don't I come over and see for myself? maybe I can get her to talk aswell." She smiled at him, meeting his gaze, trying to cheer him up.
Elias' eyes brightened at that and he sat up a little straighter. "That could work." He said to himself and looked at her hopefully.
"Alright, let's arrange a meeting date then, shall we?" Angelica grinned encouragingly.
The bright yellow rays of the early morning sun intruded into Chise's dim room through her window and assaulted her eyes. She rolled over onto her side and covered her face with her blanket trying to shield her eyes from the bright attacker, it was a Sunday. No harm in sleeping in a little because there's no need to go to the college. She humphed at the thought of the college, at the thought of those professors. irritation crawled up her back like centipedes and thorny vines. Thorny, thorn.. Elias. She groaned in annoyance from underneath her blanket shield, she felt a bit guilty too.
"Talk to him, Chise. Nothing's gonna change if you don't tell him. Communicate." Ruth chided from the wooden floor,
"No, there's nothing wrong, I don't want to discourage him, I'm just being too.. clingy.. or childish." Maybe possessive too. She didn't say it out loud but she knew Ruth heard that part too. This had been going on for days now, she can tell Ruth has been getting a little impatient.
Ruth only huffed and went quiet again.
She sighed and rolled over again under her blanket, onto her belly this time, trying to shut out the light—but try as she might she couldn't feel comfortable again. She couldn't fall asleep, only adding to her annoyance. Memories of the last couple of days replayed in her mind like an old film tape, her feelings of annoyance and guilt grew. She quickly sat up from her bed and sighed heavily. "I can't go back to sleep, I might as well get started for the day."
Chise made her bed and took the clothes Silky had placed for her on the wardrobe, she felt a little better seeing the clothes there though, she's lived here for four years and she was nineteen now but she still felt grateful for Silky's small acts of kindness and consideration. She headed downstairs and bathed, once she'd finished and dried she peeked into the kitchen. Silky was still making breakfast, the brownie turned to chise,
"hmm" and then dipped her head with a gentle smile.
"Good morning, Silky." Chise smiled back at her warmly and walked out to the garden.
It was unlikely Elias was still awake by now, what should she do with all this? Time heals all wounds. She decided, it's nothing to get so worked up over. Quit being childish. She told herself. It's really nothing, she was just being petty after all.
Sighing, she strolled through the garden. Chise thought she had already grown out of this, why is she being like this? If she told Elias she was bothered by that he'd surely distance himself from them. Which wasn't what she wanted, what she wants is for him to be happy. She felt guilt pulling at her legs and back threatening to drag her into the ground. Why? Was she throwing a tantrum at this?
"Because you're jealous." Ruth stated plainly as he materialized next to her, ruby-red eyes staring up at her.
Chise was so lost in her thoughts she jumped, and stood still for a moment.
Jealous?.. I'm jealous? Why hadn't the thought come to her earlier? Why didn't she think of that? No, she knew that already. Deep down she did, she just couldn't admit it, she couldn't admit it because.. before she could finish the thought her face flushed beet red. All she could hear was the wind blowing, all she could feel was the gentle sun on her skin. The smell of the flowers and leaves suddenly seemed so fragrant. She turned her head to the view around her
Nope! Nope! Nope!
"What's wrong with being jealous? Elias was jealous when you made friends, and you weren't angry, I'm sure he'd be as understanding as you have been with him." The grim tried soothing. He thought the two of them have gotten better at communicating, but there are still times like this sometimes. He sighed, hoping Elias might take initiative this time.
"But if I admit that, that would be the same as admitting.." she stopped and her fascination with the scenery grew, Chise tried to think of something else.
"That you love him? He loves you too though? He'd be happy to hear that. Plus, you're married, isn't that normal among humans?"
"It's not that simple Ruth!" Chise covered her face with both of her hands.
Ruth could only stay confused and dumbfounded by this, why isn't it okay? it's embarrassing he guessed, but is it really that bad? Not even Isabelle's crush on the boy next door was this.. exasperating.
"Chise, Elias is already worried he's done something wrong, I thought you wanted him happy? Communicating and telling him how you feel certainly would. He probably feels that you can't trust him right now." He tried reasoning
"You're right.. he probably does! But hnnnnn..." She groaned, unsure of what to do.
To her relief she heard the door of the garden open, she strolled over and saw Silky there. "Is it time for breakfast?" Chise asked, grateful for the interruption. The brownie nodded, made a gesture to come inside, and closed the door.
The three of them sat at the table, morning sunlight filtered through the windows and onto their table. At their plates were some simple fried bread, bacon, fried eggs, and some baked beans, it smelled of fried meat and warm buttery goodness. Elias was at his usual seat, reading through some newspaper nonchalantly. Chise decided not to think about earlier and just munched into her fried bread. It was warm, buttery and crisp, she felt the warmth and butter melt into her mouth, as she swallowed her bite her stomach ached for more. After devouring all two slices she cut some bacon next and put it into her mouth. It was savory, oily, and crisp, different from the bread earlier, but just as tasty. she hadn't realized how hungry she was until it was time for breakfast. It was strangely quiet, there's usually some small talk or questions while they ate, but it was awfully awkward right now. She decided to ignore it for now and scoop some baked beans when she noticed Ruth stuffing himself, the corners of his mouth messy and dripping with sauce.
"Slow down you might choke, it's not like the food is gonna disappear." She told him, amused. Well, it practically is disappearing by the looks of it. She giggled to herself. Chise always found the sight silly.
Ruth nodded and continued stuffing his mouth, her chiding him like this during breakfast has become routine.
As Chise was about to finish her meal, she felt Elias looking at her, he had set his newspaper down earlier and was now almost finished with his meal, he now has his head turned to her. Ruth had already finished and padded off to patrol the property, so it was just her and Elias, except Silky who was washing the plates, pans, and putting away the ingredients behind them. "Chise," He began tentatively
I've been really unfair with him lately haven't I? all because of a little jealousy. She thought guiltily at hearing the uncertainty in his voice.
"Is there anything bothering you at all?" Elias asked earnestly. " I still struggle at noticing and reading things, so if I ever do anything I should not, do let me know."
"..there is," she glanced at him but didn't meet his eyes. "I've been thinking about it lately, and, well... Um, it's just that, well, you've been, ah.." trying to form a coherent thought, to find the words, felt like trying to form words with alphabet soup by spinning the letters around with a spoon.
"Do you need time, perhaps?"
"Yes, yes I do.. I'm sorry, I guess I haven't been exactly fair with you lately. I just need a bit more time to organize my thoughts, I told you we should communicate more and yet I tried hiding it from you instead. I'm sorry I broke our promise. It's not that I don't trust you, not at all, it's just, a bit complicated." guilt finally snatching and dragging the words from her throat.
"It's alright, I understand, I'll wait just like you did for me, take as much time as you need."
"..I promise, I'll explain eventually." Reassured by this, she finally met his eyes and smiled gently, trying to reassure him
"Alright." He said curtly but his voice betrayed his relief.
Chise felt some of the weight off her shoulders and a little more confidence. I'll tell him, I'll explain everything.
"Speaking of explanations, my colleague the other day gave me a gift of sorts, and she explained how to read it. It's a type of comic called a 'manga' from your homeland, it's titled 'Your Smile in Spring'."
Her confidence and the apology forming in her head were burned away by her irritation and resentment.
"You've been getting a lot of gifts lately from your colleagues." she remarked
"Mm, I've also been speaking with them lately aswell, we spoke of our interests." He said casually, not noticing her change in mood and placed one of the last few spoonfuls of bacon in his maw.
"我々がそこにもいないのに, コレッジについて話している.." she muttered.
that Casanova doesn't even realize it. Right. He doesn't realize it, it's not on purpose, he's just new to friends, it's all platonic. She inhaled, to calm herself. She'll probably have to explain that part too, ...and why it bothers her so.
Shifting uncomfortably and realizing she's acting childishly, she quickly scarfed up the remaining of her breakfast and washed it down with her glass of water. Grabbing her plates and glass, she made her way to the sink and quickly placed them to the side,
"Thank you Silky, it tasted great." Trying to smile warmly at the brownie, she turned and made her way to her room.
Silky glanced at her, concerned. Then at Elias who remained at the table, only one spoonful left on his plate.
"I'm not sure." said Elias, who noticed chise's murmurs earlier, was it the college she was upset about? Her studies perhaps?
Silky hummed at him worriedly and turned back her work. Normally her lady would have offered to help, but it seems that her current strained relationship with her master had bothered her too much. The brownie shook her head slightly, she hoped they'd make up soon, she missed the warm chatter during their breakfast meals.
Chise sat on her work table, Ruth napping between her legs on the floor. She was Flipping through an encyclopedia of Japanese herbs, she had bought it on a whim when she saw it on a shelf while on a trip to london with Alice.
The encyclopedia sat on her shelf for ages, and she was now making use of it to take her mind off the recent events. The book did have correlation to her current magic lesson though: how different herbs can interact with different bodily systems. The lessons she had would alternate between two categories she's made up, magical and has-nothing-to-do-with magic, this lesson being the latter.
Resting her elbow onto the table and leaning her head into her palm, a voice was nagging at her from the back of her head.
Shouldn't you be forming an explanation by now?
"I will soon." mumbled Chise and continued absorbing herself into the vertical lines of characters beside the colorful plant illustrations within the encyclopedia.
"It's right you know." Her furry black brother pointed out, red eyes peeking out from the dark under the table.
She sighed in agreement, dipping her head low and tried forming something in her head. But if she really did tell him what was bothering her and why.. how would he react?
Like an old friend, fear seeped into her mind and made it foggy, scary scenarios formed in her mind like condensation.
This fear, fear of what? What's there to be scared of? Elias wouldn't be angry, or disgusted, probably. This fear.. fear of..
Fear of rejection.
Finally conscious of it, finally acknowledging the reason, she rested her head into her forearm sighing she shut her eyes and went over everything she's been trying to keep to the back of her mind.
Elias had been become close with a female colleague of his at the college, and they've grown close. He talked to her sincerely and took her interests seriously, he expressed genuine interest in getting to know her. He was eager for companionship, but that colleague had a different kind of companionship in mind. Of course, Elias being Elias, was completely oblivious to this. She was happy when she heard he made friends, she really was. She was a bit put off seeing that one of them was a woman who was very friendly with him a bit too friendly.
She's just trying to make him feel at home. She told herself that time, but her instincts told her otherwise.. To her dismay, those instincts were right because soon they started exchanging gifts and letters. Which was insane because Elias never responds to letters!
It's not even Valentine's day too! She thought despairingly.
People keep eyeing the two of them and leering! I even had someone ask if my teacher and her were a couple! His male friends even thought they would look good together, she and him don't talk that much, not as much as he and his male friends do but still, plus he talks to me more. Her mind was racing in the fog, going in all sorts of directions, hot thick and humid, it clung to her skin until she ran into a droplet of a scenario.
Inside the droplet—incased by the water—unable to breathe—her heart dropped and she thought: Does he really talk to me more? They do look good together, more so than the two of us, maybe-
She thought for a moment- about to form another thought-
"You're jumping to assumptions" Ruth's voice broke in thunderously, using their connection to talk. It was abrupt and a bit startling but the reassuring warmth in his voice evaporated any mist that had previously clouded her vision.
"You think so?" replied Chise meekly.
"Mm, very much, so.. Just, quiet down for a moment." Ruth's gentle voice soothed
Lifting her head up from the book, it wasn't so hot anymore, a few drops of sweat clung to her skin but nothing more. She took a slow breath.
"Good, keep doing that." He encouraged her gently, now speaking out loud.
She breathed in and cleared her mind, waving away any molecules still floating around. She realized with some embarrassment that she'd been a bit.. overly dramatic.
"It's alright, Chise." The fluffy grim placed his front paws on her knees and pushed her away from the table slightly, using his paws, he pushed his body up and moved his nose to hers and nuzzled it. "That's what I'm here for right? An older brother needs to guide his little sister."
Flushing a little from embarrassment at her drama, she thought for a bit.
"A little brother always helps his little sister right?" Chise asked Ruth, who was now settling down back on to the floor, he was sitting on his haunches staring up at her.
"Sure, you have something in mind?" He already knew what she was going to ask.
"Mm," she glanced away shyly "Well, will you.. help me sort out my thoughts or atleast come up with something? I want to apologize to Elias and give him some peace of mind."
"Of course." Ruth replied warmly, he hung on the last part, as if trying to make sure she heard the whole thing.