The Blight Chronicles: Odalia & Alador

The Competition

“Rise and shine Alador!” shouted Odalia as she threw open the curtains in Alador’s bedroom. 

Ever since the two started their partnership Odalia had taken it upon herself to add some structure to Alador’s life. Every morning she would head to his house before school to make sure he would get out of bed and follow a morning routine. Even though they had been doing this for over two years Alador still had a hard time getting out of bed on his own. 

“Come on,” she said as she pulled the covers off of the still sleeping Alador. For someone that looked like they never slept, Alador was a really heavy sleeper. “Did you stay up late again? You know that’s not good for your complexion." She let out a heavy sigh, "I guess I should be happy you made it onto the bed this time.” 

She stood there for a moment with the sheets in her arms watching him still sleeping before letting out a quiet groan “Honestly Alador,” she could feel her cheeks starting to get warm as she leaned down to kiss him on the cheek “now go take a shower and brush your teeth. I’ll have breakfast ready when you get out dear” she whispered.  

"Ok" mumbled Alador before getting up and shuffling to the restroom with his eyes still closed. While he did that Odalia made his bed before heading downstairs to get started on breakfast. 

Since they had started dating this was the only way to wake him without having to push him out of bed or out of his seat. Even though they had been dating for over a year now it still made her feel self-conscious even if it was just the two of them in the house. Or maybe more so because they were alone. 

There were also the days where she would arrive to find he had already gone through his morning routine and was just waiting for her to arrive to eat breakfast together. On those days he would always greet her by kissing her and saying “good morning dear.” 

The first time he did it she was so taken aback that she was momentarily stunned. It had been the day after he had asked her to be his girlfriend. Part of her had been convinced that she had dreamt the whole thing and he had not really asked her to be his girlfriend so when he kissed her the next morning she didn’t know what to do. She just kept staring at him, unable to speak. Her brief moment of hesitation seemed to bring him down a little. She could not stand seeing him sad so she did her best to compose herself and muttered out a shaky good morning dear. As soon as she said it his eyes lit up and he pulled her inside the house where she saw that breakfast was ready and the table was set. This was his way of showing off the latest upgrade to the Abomibutler which judging by the bags under his eyes he had spent the entire night working on.

After having asked her to be his girlfriend he had taken it upon himself to research the topic of couples and how they were supposed to act. He did not have a good reference at home since neither one of his parents was around so he had to make sure to learn things on his own.  The greeting at the door had been one of the things he learned from the books.   

After finding out about the books Odalia asked him to not do any more research on the subject. She told him he didn't need to do so, that they would figure things out on their own together just as they've always had. Even though she thought it was really sweet that he would go out of his way to learn how to be a good romantic partner she was afraid of what other "couples" books he would try to mimic if left unattended. Just thinking about it made her face burn.  

Alador was very straightforward and impulsive which she loved but it also caused him to take action without second-guessing himself which always took her by surprise. A few weeks ago there was a day when her hair tie had torn, making her bun come undone. She always carried a spare in her pocket but she did not have time to take it out before Alador had pulled her towards him and started kissing her. That was the first time they made out and the day she found out he could not take his eyes off her when she had her hair down. Having that in mind, the thought of him learning things from random books made her nervous. 

Though he was more mindful of showing affection in public than she was. After they started dating Odalia made it a point to kiss Alador in front of his abominations class making sure Darius saw. She had meant it as a way to show Darius and anyone else that wanted to get between them that they were closer than ever. She had expected Alador to not react but she was pleasantly surprised when he looked at her dumbfounded, his face completely scarlet. She had to admit she liked being able to make his cool and calm demeanor fade. 

Once Alador was done getting ready he headed downstairs to meet with Odalia. She had just finished making them breakfast and the abomibuttler was finishing setting up the table. Although his creation could cook now there were still days where Odalia would make them breakfast. He assumed it was because she was afraid some abomination goo would fall in the food. He had already assured her that it was unlikely to happen and even if it did it was completely sanitary. His abominations were made with all-natural ingredients so even if some goo did fall in the food it was still edible.  

"Oh good, you're here, take a seat we need to discuss what you plan to present for the competition." 

"I'm not sure but it's still a couple of months away." Mumbled Alador taking a seat. 

"I know but it's going to be the week after Grom and you know how hectic everything gets that time of year. We have to prepare ahead of time and make sure you have the materials you need."

There was an end-of-the-year competition being hosted by the abominations coven. The winner would be awarded a spot in the Abominations coven as well as a hefty cash price. Over the years they had been slowly building up their savings. They had started a little business where Odalia would read people's fortunes and Alador would do repairs. They had chosen not to sell any of Alador's inventions until Blight Industries was established.

Their goal was to raise enough money by the time they graduated so they could purchase a workshop. They wanted Blight Industries to get a good start with zero blemishes on their record.  So they made sure to spend their time wisely. The small business ventures that they had taken over the years were there to give them experience. Although they were both very bright they still needed the work experience and connections. Of course, Odalia's magic also helped them with making the right friends. Part of why Odalia had wanted to do reading for people was so that she could look into their futures and see who would be beneficial to keep around. She would also use it to discourage future business rivals from ever even getting started.  It wasn’t anything personal, it was just business and their business came first.

"Yeah, you're right though I'm sure we already have everything here. There's also plenty of designs to choose from." He said as he munched on some toast. 

"I suppose so I just want to make sure you have everything you need," she noted, going over the materials they did have and the funds that they could spare in her head.

Alador noticed her getting lost in her head like she often did so he reached out, to take her hand, and looked her in the eyes "I have everything I need."  

Odalia was immediately brought back to the real world being grounded in place by Alador’s eyes. She looked away to hide her face from him even if it was Alador she still did not like anyone seeing her get flustered. 

Still holding on to her hand Alador let a small smile slip onto his face “Right now there is something more important that we need to discuss.” 

“We do?” She tried thinking about all the things they needed to do but by far the most important was the competition. 

“Yes, you still haven't told me if you would like to go to Grom with me?”