Merlett: The BloodFairy Romance

Pancakes & Courage, part 1

Zachary woke up (for real now). He sat up on his bed, and brushed his hair from his face. He then looked at the paravan, towards were Scarlett was sleeping, and immediately felt a huge stone getting rolled onto his chest. With closed eyes, he took a deep breath, and went to take a bath. Maybe it will help him ease up.

Scarlett woke up the sounds of Zachary pancsikáling in the dézsa next to the paravan. She had a relatively calm sleep compared to our lovely rangerboy, and she was in ease. She stood up, made her hair, and went to the desk to do his morning routine; studying blood. But not before she said:
- Good morning! - to Zachary.
- Good morning. - came a little surprised answer from the dézsa. She then sat down, and started to do... idk this is not the interesting part lol, here we go time skip I don't fucking care I KNOW YOU WANT THE ACTION HERE YOU GO YOU FREAKS:

She suddenly got interrupted in the middle of this by a voice from behind her:
- Scarlett, I want to ask something from you. - she turned around. Zachary was standing there, only in a single towel covering his lower abdomen. He looked confident on the inside, but Scarlett could see that at any given moment this courage could fall apart completely. She blushed a bit, and nodded. Zachary continued:
- I was thinking about this for a while now, and I just wanted to ask you if you would honor me by going to the grand ball with me? - Scarlett was surprised. Not because she wasn't expecting this at all (in fact, she did a bit), but she thought it's gonna be a bit more awkward. Luckily, it wasn't (HAHA YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE GIVEN ME 4 MONTHS TO PREPARE I'M GONNA TURN THIS SHITFACE ONTO A SKIBIDI SIGMA RIZZLER).
- Well, yes, I would, thank you for asking! - replied le bludhoonter, and it was followed by 10 seconds of awkward silence. Just for the sake of it. Zachary smiled, and went to felöltözni. Scarlett continued her work, and after a while, she got a sudden burst of thought; she should go to the old hospital. Just to check. She listened to this urge, and quickly packed up for the journey. She almost made her exit, but she saw Zachary feeding Jeremy from the corner of her eye.
(After Zachary got back:
- She said yes! 😲
- 😎🥵 - replied Jeremy, with a small victory dance.)
- Zachary, would you like to escort me? I'm going to the old hospital.
- Yeah, sure, let's go. - he said, then they left. Going down the stairs, they spotted an open door, and Tia sitting in a room at a desk. They looked exhausted, despite being around 11 o'clock.
- Hi there! - greeted them Scarlett. - What are you up to?
- Interviewing guard-candidates. - Tia sounded really exhausted.
- Oh, crams, are there many?
- Well, 6 people came already, I hope it will increase until the opening.
- You good? There are... well... - said Zachary, pausing for a moment - ...many papers on your desk.
- Well observed, Zachary. - replied Tia. - By the way, do you want to... - they looked at Scarlett, then back at Zachary - ...meet before the ball? - The ranger's eyes widened for a moment, but then he remembered the dance-practice. However, Scarlett were not as amused as these two...
- Yea, sure, I think I could use that still.
- Cool, see ya' there then. I think I will stay here for a while...
- Okay, we won't bother you any further, bye! - said Scarlett, then she made her way towards the exit. Zachary also said his goodbyes, and followed Scarlett through the door, out to the courtyard, and finally, towards the road in the city.

The journey was silent. Scarlett was anxious, thinking about the hospital; and Sylvaris (the doctor from a previous episode, but I prefer the term 'cunt'). The mere gondolat (őszintén amúgy faszom ebbe az idióta angol terminológiába hogy 4 különböző szót írnak le kb ugyanúgy csak éppen máshol krákogják ki a gégéjüket közben, most épp nincs kedvem kikeresni xd) of him made her stomach turn upside down. At least he cannot leave the palace. But this time, it was slightly balanced by the fact that she got asked to be a companion for the grand ball. Despite that, the couragious man who did this, was still not a really talkative person. Neither Jeremy.
After a couple of minutes, the hospital was standing in front of them. In it's heydays, it was a really imposing structure; the civil was had made it's toll on it, sadly. The walls were torn, the windows smashed, but they could see that the locals have already started to fix it up with what they had. It was functioning, and that's what truly mattered. Scarlett entered the building, but she quickly regretted that decision.
- Daaarliiing! I didn't think I would meet you here, how delightful! - he sounded happy. The kind of happy you would hear from a fucking cunt. - What brings you and your bird-odoured friend here? - Z̶a̶c̶h̶a̶r̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶d̶o̶w̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶l̶e̶ ̶f̶u̶c̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶b̶u̶i̶l̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ Zachary made sure not to express his annoyance on his face. Jeremy made a small growl, but kept his cool as well.
- What the hell are you doing here? You said you cannot leave the... - asked Scarlett, but she was cut short:
- Oh, just fixing things up, running the place, you know. And besides, you should've listened more carefully, my dear, I'm allowed anywhere NEAR the palace. With some company, of course. - he lifted up his hands; they were tied by tight chains, and a tall guard was holding them behind him.
- Don't you worry. - said Scarlett, with mild annoyance and anger in her voice. - If it's on me, you will rot in a cell.
- Ooohohoo, what's with the attitude? Don't you remember that I made y...
- S̶h̶u̶t̶ ̶y̶o̶'̶ ̶b̶i̶t̶c̶h̶ ̶a̶s̶s̶ ̶u̶p̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶I̶'̶m̶ ̶g̶o̶n̶n̶a̶ ̶p̶u̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶'̶ ̶d̶i̶c̶k̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶y̶o̶'̶ ̶a̶s̶s̶ ̶'̶t̶i̶l̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶b̶l̶e̶e̶d̶s̶,̶ ̶f̶a̶m̶,̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶d̶o̶ ̶y̶o̶'̶ ̶f̶a̶n̶y̶-̶a̶s̶s̶ ̶m̶a̶g̶i̶c̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶,̶ ̶y̶a̶'̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶r̶t̶ ̶n̶i̶g̶ Big words from someone in shackles, don't you believe so? - said Zachary. His anger was slightly visible on his face now. He took a step closer.
- Oh, so you do have a voice, birdman! - replied Sylvaris, and he also took a small step forward. - Sadly, it is quite underwhelming, if I do say so.
- It may be, but it gets me to places outside of a run-down hospital and the palace-underground. Like the ball. - Zachary felt something strange in his head, but couldn't pinpoint the exact feeling. He never talked to this to anyone. At least anyone he remembers. - I would say we'll meet you there, but sadly, we won't.
- Would you bet your throat on it? - smiled Sylvaris. Before Zachary could come up with something, the doctor took a step back, and continued. - Ehh, no reason to bite each other, absolutely no reason. Besides, Scarlett darling, eventually - he leaned a bit closer to the woman - you'll find out who is really on your side. - He finished, but not before giving a side-gaze to Zachary. To his surprise, he saw something unusual about the boy. His eyes started to fog-up, with a dark purple shade. His mouth was already raised for an uncanny smile, and he even started to reach for his bow; but then he felt a hand on his lower arm. The touch was gentle, and it made him calm down; the fog left. But Sylvaris' smile remained.
- I do. - replied Scarlett to the doctor, and left in a hurry. Zachary looked upon Sylvaris, but didn't engage in another verbal competition. He rushed out as well.

Scarlett seemed really agitated and frustrated. Zachary, being not the man of words, rather deeds, he had an idea:
[
-🎵Fogd meg a varázspálcám,
Nem baj ha a gáré kiskorúúú...🎵
-🤔😶
-🎵Turkálj most a gatyámban,
Amit ott találsz az bizony nagyon jóú.😜🎵
]
- Have you ever climbed rooftops? - At first, Scarlett couldn't place this question in her mind, but nonetheless, she answered:
- Well... not really... - she raised her eyebrows.
- Would you like to? - replied this awkward piece of crabmeat, and held out his hand. - It always heps me ease up. - Scarlett quickly worked out the man's intentions; she grabbed his hand, and followed him towards an alley. Zachary stopped, looked up, and in the blink of an eye, he started climbing. He took a wrong step at a point, but managed to hold on, and in seconds, he was up on a rooftop. Scarlett was surprised, and slightly amused by this. Zachary held down his hand in a helping gesture.
- Come, I'll pull you up.
- Oh, okay, hold on... - Scarlett pulled herself up, but couldn't grab Zachary's hand. Or in fact anything; she fell down.
- You good?
- Yeah, just a second... - as soon as she said that, she started to stand up; but stepped on her dress, and fell again. This time, into a small puddle of water. Zachary came (🤪🤪) down, and helped her up. He then proceeded to stand beside the wall, holding a B A K. Scarlett stepped on Zachary(😳😜😎🤫)'s hands, and managed to pull herself onto the rooftop. Zachary followed her with swift motions. Both standing there now, they saw the city from up above; in all it's might, and vulnerability, for it seemed the destruction that the war brought, hasn't been fully fixed yet. But it held a slight charm, a sense of strange tranquillity. They laid down on a roof nearby, to absorb all this. They laid there for a while, listening to the sounds of the city, and the wind.

Scarlett was the first to break the ice:
- Why are you meeting with Tia this afternoon? - she was totally not jealous. Not at all.
- Well, eehhh... - Zachary took his sweet time thinking about an answer. He was planning to surprise the girl with his unmatchable dancing skills. - ...I need his help for...
- For what?
- You'll find out soon.
- Alright then, keep your secrets and your hand-to-hand notes to yourself, I guess.
- I do not know what you are talking about right now. - if you've ever heard something that was unconvincing, this was far more worse, I can assure you. Scarlett scolded Zachary with a gaze only angry mothers are capable of (you know well what I'm talking about), and turned her head. She saw her old house again. She had a sudden burst of happy memories; family gatherings, bedtime stories, birthdays...
- Do you know when is your birthday, Zachary? - she wanted to ease up the tone a little bit.
- To be honest, it's been long since I've had one...
- Me too. Me too. - she held a small pause, the proceeded - I think it was... wait a second, how old are you?
- 24.
- Oh, you youngster. I'm well over 200. - she let out a small giggle. To her surprise, Zachary also did just that.
- I thought you were younger, to be honest.
- Thanks. - she blushed. That's it, keep on reading.
- I couldn't even imagine living for that long. How does it feel?
- Strange. Definitely. But I guess it is the same cycle as for humans, just... longer. You know your grandparents, your parents, but time will slowly claim them, then you have children, grandchildren, etc., but time will catch up to you as well in the end. Just not over 80 years, but, like, 700.
- I guess if it's not that amusing every time, it at least must be interesting seeing this long slice of history happening in front of your eyes.
- Yeah, at least if you are not in a cell...
- Gosh, I'm sorry...
- Oh, don't bother. It was a long time ago. - she reassured Zachary with a smile. - But back to the topic, do you know when is your birthday?
- I guess somewhere around early spring. I do not remember the exact date, but I do remember the trees and the wilderness coming back to life the same time we celebrated it.
- Must've been good.
- Yes. It was. - he paused to think back for a second. Despite his mother being the thing she is now; the birthdays were cool. - And what about you?
- That's the thing; I don't remember. Not even the season. - she curled up a little bit. - I wanted to get my dosszié from the hospital, they keep a record of every employee. But that freak showed up, and I just...
- I get it.
- Thanks. - said Scarlett. Zachary suddenly got struck by s really chivalrious idea:
- I could fetch it for you, if you want...
- What? - Zachary had an urge to reply "oh, nothing", but a voice in his head couldn't let that slide. Not this time.
- I can get it for you. I don't care about that asshole.
- Really? 🥺
- Yes. 😌 - Scarlett was more and more surprised and flattered by Zachary today. She felt really appreciated, after a long, long time.
- Thank you! I... ahh, I hope it's on a day near. We've always had pancakes...
- What are those?
- Pancakes?
- Yes.
- Don't tell me you've never heard of pancakes!
- I am. - Zachary started to smile awkwardly.
- Well, not for long, come on! - she climbed down, and was followed by the boy. She remembered a CUKRÁSZDA nearby, and started nearly jogging towards that direction.

It was still there where it was all those years ago, and in relatively good shape. They went in, and Scarlett ordered two portions of (inferior) Am-Erich'aa-n style pancakes. They started to eat it in front of the store on a bench. Scarlett felt a sudden rush of happy memories and hotness flowing through her body. It tasted like in her childhood. Not as good as her father's, but still. She looked over Zachary, who seemed to really enjoy it as well:
- Is it good?
- Mphm. - he was devouring two at once. Scarlett laughed, and continued to finish hers.