you're incredibly wicked

43: waning crescent in scorpio

The day of finals had arrived.

Serena was sitting next to Syzmon in a large indoor stadium that resembled the grounds outside but more closed in and less space to breathe. She was listening to Syzmon rave about his hometown while adding quite a bit of sugar into her tea: some would call it eyeballing, others would say she's going to bounce off the walls.

"What a wonderful place! My hometown is the lover capital of Grozine! Many soulmates often visit after their wedding ceremonies for their honeymoon and oh! It's such a dazzling sight to see everybody so in love!"

"That sounds absolutely breathtaking!" Serena took a large swing of tea. Today's tea was black, and not even a hefty amount of sugar could disguise her distaste for black tea. It ran down her throat like a snake.

As soon as she got over the taste of the black tea, Nikolai and Ginerva walked in the room. He gave her a glance with a smirk at the last second. Serena's heart started to pound like it was on the verge of exploding. Keep your cool, Serena thought. Keep your cool.

"Is something troubling you, Serena? You have an odd look on your face."

"Oh!" Serena jumped. "It's just... this tea. Black is one kind of tea that's not my favorite."

"You don't have to finish it then. Let me take it for you."

"No, I must. It's disrespectful in Grozian hospitality to not finish your drinks or food. Thank you though."

"Polite as ever." Nikolai's voice rang through her mind.

Serena's eyes widened.

"Nikolai, you need to stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Talking to me in my mind like this. Besides, shouldn't you be nice to whatever her name is?"

"She just talks and talks and talks. One ear it goes through and then out of the other."

She eyed where Nikolai and Ginerva were sitting, right across from her. Oh, this was going to be interesting.

"You really look like you don't want to be here."

"And you look like you're struggling to drink your tea. Say what you want, but your body language tells another story."

Serena shrugged and sipped the tea. Syzmon just gave an odd stare.

"I'm struggling. But, it's getting me through this."

"If you don't want your tea, I'll gladly drink it for you."

"If it's about indirect kisses...."

"It is about indirect kisses."

"Figures. You're just staring at the floor. Why are you?"

"If I look at you, I might be frozen in place. I won't be able to take my eyes off of you. You must be an ice queen, you want to know why? I'll tell you: you're a masterpiece and you shine in the light, reflecting your beauty across the room."

"Ah, that's sweet. Let me think for you: I'd call you the King of Flames. No matter what you do, you'll make me melt. Hell, I'm secretly giggling and kicking my feet on the inside I fear that I may melt right now."

"I can tell. You have this perplexing smile on your face. It's hard for you to hide how you feel."

"Not like you're any better."

By now, there was action going on in the middle, but Serena and Nikolai were staring at each other instead.

"And you got me." Nikolai bit his lip.

"Of course I did. You're bewitched."

"I would much rather have you here by my side right now, then be at this exam."

"You don't know how much I want you in this moment."

"Well, I want you in my bed...."

"Snuggled up with a good book!"

"With a book..."

"And Rupert!"

"And Rupert...."

"You don't sound very happy about that."

"To be honest, it's not what I had in mind. But if it makes you happy, then I am happy. We can do that tonight, and we can do it for the rest of our lives."

"Let's do it tonight then."

"Say less."

After the exams Claudia, Aubree, and Lizzie were walking down the halls and gossiping.

"Is it me, or has Serena been hiding something from us?" Lizzie asked.

"Well, it seems like she's always busy. We don't really see her as much as we should. She is a very popular figure, everybody wants to get to know the angel. That's how it's always been, since her older siblings came to the Academy." Claudia answered.

"But like, she's so shy, and to herself. She's nice, but it seems that she wouldn't want to be talking to everybody all the time you know?"

"Keep in mind, that she's also one of the perfect. They often have more duties than an average student here."

"Aubree you're mysteriously, quiet, quieter than usual." Lizzie gestured.

"I may know who her soulmate is."

"WHO?" Lizzie and Claudia said in unison.

"It's...."

"Wait. What if she's insecure about who he is? Being the soulmate of an angel is one of the greatest achievements of your life." Lizzie interupted. 

"She might want to keep the relationship private, which is understandable. But, I feel unsure about that decision." Claudia worried. 

"Listen, we should just be respectful about her decision. She might not be ready to reveal him, her, or they to the world. When she is ready, she will be comfortable with her soulmate. It's not good to be nosey in other's business. I understand Serena actually. My soulmate and I, we have a private relationship. It's what makes us happy."

"I didn't think about that actually." Claudia realized.

"Oh, but what if they're no good for her? You hear about horrible soulmates all of the time these days." Lizzie worried.

"As somebody who extensivly studied the Angel leinage, I can confirm that all of the soulmates were kind souls and wonderful people. Finn became soulmates with a gentle girl who was in the grasp of a horrible family and Ellie had a scholarship student who proved his worth by defying all of the odds. Look, I had to do a project on them last year. Then, it became my newest rabbit hole."

"That's the most I've ever heard you talk. Like ever." Lizzie said.

"Don't get used to it. I actually got to meet up with my soulmate after class. We're going to study in the library." Aubree started to walk away and had a skip in her steps. 

"Have a great time! Tell them I say hi!" Lizzie waved.

"Don't have too much fun!"