Forbidden Fruit

Special Chapter 4: Palladium Thoughts

It's been a few days since the incident. I made sure that Onyx was healed immediately from what happened to her from the witches. Every time the witches are mentioned now, she gets that scary look in her eyes. I hope she gets her mind off of them. I don't want her to get in trouble because of a few misbehaved witches. They don't deserve her attention... Hopefully headmistress Griffin takes some disciplinary action when she receives the letter that headmistress Faragonda sent her regarding the incident.

Every time I see Onyx these days, I feel as though I just want to hug her and touch her... I am aware of my feelings towards her. However, student teacher relationships are not appropriate in a school environment. I should try and keep my feelings in check. I don't want to cause her any trouble or make her feel uneasy.

Today is the Day of the Rose. The day we're supposed to celebrate our mothers. I'll be travelling home to go meet up with my family. After packing up, I head for the Alfea gates. On the way there, I say goodbye to a bunch of my students. I wonder if I'll run into Onyx... Oh! There she is!

"Hey, Onyx!"

She turns towards me.

"Professor..."

Her voice is a bit shaky.

"I just uh... wanted to say goodbye before leaving."

"Yeah... Bye..."

For some reason, it's really awkward talking to her, knowing about my own feelings and all. It almost seems as though she can read through it, with the way she's acting. She probably doesn't want anything to do with such a thing.

"Are you going to see your mother too?"

She shakes her head without really saying anything.

"Oh. Do you... want to talk about it?"

"It's okay. You should go spend time with your mother while you can."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then."

She smiles and waves at me. I wave back and leave for my trip home. Onyx must be having problems back home as well, considering what she is. Even her mother, though? Does even her mother not want her? And here I am worrying about my own feelings when I should be more concerned about how Onyx is dealing with all these things. I should come back as soon as I can. I need to at least be there for her when her parents aren't.

After celebrating my mother, I start heading back home.

As I'm walking to the library, I see a familiar figure pass by.

"Oh! Onyx!"

SheI turns around towards me. A beautiful smile graces her lips. I feel myself uncontrollably smiling back at her.

"Professor Palladium! You're back?"

"Yes, I just got back. Are you heading to the library?"

"I am."

"May I join you?"

She nods at me. What a nice coincidence. We both head to the library while making small talk about how our days went.

There's no one but us in the library.

"What kind of books do you come to read here, Onyx?"

I ask her while looking for a book through the shelves.

"Well, I mostly read some books about light magic."

I turn my head towards her. Our eyes meet and she immediately looks at the floor. She's not being honest with herself.