Ria hammered away at the piece of metal as Harold watched. Sweat lined down her face and body as she continued to work with the hot metal. After hitting it into the desired shape, she placed the tools down and sighed, wiping away the sweat from her head.
Harold looked at the finished product. "Not bad." He noted. "Little rough around the edges."
She had improved greatly for the short amount of time which she was learning under him. She would've made a fine blacksmith, but she was determined to be a Captain.
If he wasn't under the impression that she was a child of Poseidon, he might've just thought that she was a child of his own. Not that'd he ever tell her that.
"Something seems to be on your mind." Harold added. "Spit it out."
"What?" Ria looked towards him. "No...there's nothing..."
"There is obviously something." Harold sighed. "Come on. Just say it. Is it about your little crush getting cozy with other women?"
"What?! No!" Ria denied, her cheeks becoming red. "I'm not jealous!"
Harold raised an eyebrow at her.
"Okay...maybe I am jealous..." Ria pouted. "While we're waiting for the next auction, I know Nikolas, Melinoe, and Era are just getting ready and getting to know each other a little more to work better, but..."
She rubbed her arm, sighing wistfully. "....I want to do things with him too."
Harold looked at her for a moment, before finally speaking. "Did you accept Era's offer to join your crew?"
"Of course!" Ria replied. "I'm surprised she wanted to, though."
"She's always been an adventurous kid." Harold spun a tale on the spot. "And she's old enough to go on her own now. You better take good care of her."
"You know I will." Ria smirked.
"Not so sure about that." He muttered.
"Hey?!" Ria exclaimed.
"Anyways, you're free for the day. Shoo." Harold suddenly stated, pushing her out of the door.
"Huh? Wait, what?" She asked in confusion.
"Go on, go bother your boyfriend or something." Harold replied.
"He's not my boyfriend..!" Ria started, but the door was shut in her face. "...yet..."
Well, that just happened.
'Wait a minute!' Ria realized an important fact. 'If I'm free for the rest of the day, then I can go find Nikolas and go on a date!'
And so she did just that, rushing over to the Stormcloud Inn, where the others were currently spending free time listening to gossip and rumors, and dragged him out excitedly.
"And there she goes..." Melinoe grumbled.
"Are you jealous?" Era asked.
"For the last time, no!" Melinoe exclaimed.
Ria and Nikolas walked through the city, Ria humming happily as she was attached to Nikolas' arm. Everybody who watched them walk through the street immediately thought that they were romantically together.
Of course, Ria couldn't keep the blush off her face. But she continued to push forwards, determined to deepen her relationship with Nikolas and give him the best first date he's ever had.
However, while Ria was excitedly thinking about what to do and where to go, Nikolas was in thought about something else. 'Her heartbeat is quick again.' He realized. 'But she isn't as timid as before, when this happened. What changed?'
YOU ARE READING
The Son Of Snakes
FantasíaA monster. Cursed by the gods and feared by all. Medusa, the famed gorgon which turned those to stone with one look, had lost all hope in her life when she stumbled across that crying baby. She was ready to put the abandoned child out of its misery...
