The Blight Chronicles: Odalia & Alador

Proposal

The release of the magazine added an element of attention that they had not anticipated. Prior to its release, hardly anyone in their daily life knew about Blight Night other than those that had participated. Now with each day that went by more and more people knew and soon it felt like everyone on the Boiling Isles knew about the event and knew who they were. It would not have been so bad if they had focused on their achievements that night but instead everyone that knew them was hyper fixated on their supposed engagement.

Trying to avoid the questions from the other students and the teachers was becoming progressively more exhausting for both of them. Odalia did her best to avoid answering but after a few days of this, it was becoming more evident that people were not going to stop asking until they got a direct answer. They would not be able to handle much more of this, especially not Alador. All the attention had caused him to shut down completely when people came up to him. As soon as somebody started talking to him he would turn around and start heading in the opposite direction. If there was no escape route he would use his magic to create one.

They already had so many other things to worry about, they didn't need this engagement hanging over them. This is why Odalia had decided to take matters into her own hands. They could not tell people that they were not engaged that would make their bond seem weak. That was something they could not afford. There were already plenty of people trying to separate them because they saw them as a threat or because they wanted to work with one but not the other. Right now what they needed was to appear more united than ever.

Even if they had never discussed the subject, both were aware that they would eventually get married. That's what Odalia assumed anyway. They were bound to each other after all. A marriage ceremony would just be a formality right? It was no big deal. They were already living together. They even slept in the same bed. Taking the next step shouldn't be difficult. These were the thoughts that ran through Odalia's mind as she sat across from Alador as they both worked on completing paperwork.

She watched Alador while he continued working. He looked exhausted. These past few nights he had been having trouble sleeping. She would often wake up in the middle of the night to find that he was no longer next to her rather in his old room. His bedroom had always been a safe haven for him though he had not needed to use it as such since she had moved in. Not until now. He was so overwhelmed by all the people that the only way for him to feel better was to be completely alone.

This could not go on for both of their sakes. She knew exactly what she had to do but even after making up her mind it was still difficult to make the words come out.

Come on Odalia there's no room to be bashful you have to do this. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. She opened her eyes again and was ready to speak but a letter on the table caught her attention. She was not trying to delay the matter at hand but something about the letter made her feel uneasy. It could possibly be a death curse, which was not surprising. This would not be the first that they had received and she was sure it would not be their last. Still, if it was a death curse it would be better to get rid of it sooner rather than later.

She grabbed the letter and inspected it. It was not a death curse but it was an envelope with no name and no return address. The only thing written on the envelope was Alador's name. She hesitated for a moment before opening it. As soon as she did she felt her heart sink.

"Alador," she whispered.

Something about the tone of her voice captured his attention and he felt a chill run down his spine. When he looked up he saw Odalia's face had become completely pale. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"It's a letter from your father," she said softly, handing the letter to him so he could read it.

It took him a moment to understand what she had just said. It had been several years since the last time they had communicated with each other. He hadn't even seen his father since he met Odalia. Now he sends a letter. Why not send a message or call? He took the letter from Odalia and started reading it.

Odalia couldn't make out what he was feeling. His face was a mask of indifference still there was something in his eyes. She watched him stare at the letter for a while wondering what was going through his mind. It had been years since the last time he had seen his father. Had he seen the magazine and decided to finally reach out to his son to congratulate him? No, whatever was on that letter was not good news. The further Alador read through it the darker his expression became.

"Alador, is everything ok? Is your father alright?" mumbled Odalia. It dawned on her that Alador's father was a guard. What if the reason he hadn't reached out to his only son in all these years was that he had gotten hurt? Alador didn't look up to face her. She could see him shaking and it made her worry even more. " Alad.."

"It's an eviction notice, he wants the house vacated after we graduate," he said in an emotionless tone.

"What? Why?" she asked, surprised.

Alador did not answer, he seemed to be in a daze while continuing to stare at the letter in his hands. She wasn't sure if he had even heard her. She moved to be next to him and took the letter from his hands. He didn't make any motion to stop her.

Odalia quickly read through the letter and soon realized the reason he wanted them to move out was because of her. He had read the magazine and believed that she was Alador's fiancé. He did not want them living together in his house so he wanted them out the week after graduation. She had never met the man but she would have never imagined he would do something like this.

". . . I'm sorry Odalia. This is my fault." said Alador glumly, slumping in his chair. He stared vacantly at the floor looking defeated and lost.

She had never seen him like this before and she didn't like it. His whole world had been turned upside down. This was the only home he had ever known. On top of that, it was the only place he truly felt comfortable and now it was being ripped away for reasons he could not comprehend. She knew that he felt responsible for this but there was nothing they could do about it. His father was the owner of the property plus he was a member of the Emperor's Coven. Even if he did not have a high title in the coven he still carried their mark. That would be enough to ensure that two covenless student witches could not fight back.

Odalia took a look around at what had become her home in the past few years. She started recalling every memory they had made there together before looking down at the broken state Alador was in. He was still looking down at the floor so she lowered herself to one knee and took both of his hands in hers.

"Alador please look at me," she said in a soothing tone. Alador hesitated for a moment before looking at Odalia who was smiling up at him. It was that sweet smile she always used to let him know that everything would be ok.

"I know that this was unexpected but it was not your fault nor does it matter. We have made a lot of memories here but this house is just a building. You are my home and I am yours." she said, lifting his face gently. "It doesn't matter what roof we have over our heads as long as we have each other we will always have a home. We will be okay."

Alador leaned into her hand and returned her smile. "You are right," he said gently.

"Of course, all this does is change up our plans a little. We had already discussed getting a bigger space so you could work. We could make that our new temporary home as well. It would be perfect. What do you think?"

He did not say anything, just simply nodded giving her a soft smile.

"Good, now there's only one question left unanswered," noted Odalia looking down. Alador saw that her face had become flushed and her hands had started trembling but could not understand why.

"What would that be?" he asked in his usual steady tone even though the way Odalia was acting was making him feel nervous.

Odalia looked up at him again and held onto his hands a little bit tighter. Her hands had stopped trembling and there was a fire in her eyes that always showed itself when Odalia had set her mind to doing something.

"Alador, will you marry me?"