Pride & Prejudice

Chapter Two

"Aza~!" Selim's facade was back on as he busted down the door to the bookstore she called home with a kick.  

"Selim!" Aza's voice sounded relieved from the back of the bookstore. "I'll be right there, please hold on for a minute!"

There was a thump, and the sound of shifting paper, before Aza came out from a room in the back.  Selim took in the form of the small human, feeling something very much akin to anger.  

 Aza had a bandage over her left eye, which was the first thing Selim focused in on.  As she approached, he noticed the way she winced, and how there were bandages peeking out from under her slightly ragged navy sweater. Her pigtails, held in place by two navy bows, seemed just a bit off center, as if the one who put them into place wasn't able to see clearly out of their eye.

Something dark stewed in him at this. Someone had been hurting her.  

"Aza!" He tackled her in a hug so that they were close enough he could whisper in her ear.  

"What happened to you?" He hissed. "I told you to call me if anything happened, and it looks like something happened."

"I'm fine, really! You know how clumsy I am; a bookshelf just fell on me!"

She'd improved at lying overnight, somehow.  He'd have been proud if it weren't him she were lying to.  

"Really? It fell just on one eye, on just one leg, on your entire chest? That must've been an oddly shaped bookshelf, Aza."

(Translation - This is your last chance to stop lying before I get really really mad!)

Aza tugged at her pigtails, pulling out of the tackle-hug.  

Selim noticed this immediately.  Pulling at her pigtails was one of her nervous habits.  

"It was! It was so weird! But hey, I'm getting better at alkahestry! I was able to heal some of my injuries last night, but I couldn't get it quite right, ehehe~! Why don't I take you out back so I can show you!"

(Translation - I'll stop lying don't get mad but I can't tell you here!)

Selim smiled, "Yay! Please show me, that's gotta be so cool~! It sucks that you got hurt though!"

(Translation - You better stop lying once we get somewhere safe!)

It was worse before?

Who would dare to hurt his pawn so badly? They were going to pay...

The nuances to the conversations between Aza and Selim were always odd. Even over the phone, it was little details like what words were emphasized and the tone of each sentence that created the secret code that only the two of them could ever understand. 

 It was this code that reassured Aza that yes, he wouldn't hurt her, or at least - at least he wouldn't kill her, anyway, because they'd inexplicably formed a bond deeper than words.  So she'd hoped, anyway.  

At first, when they originally met, she was an unknowing pawn.  A friend to make him seem more human.

But then, one day, she showed a talent for alkahestry. Everything changed after that.

It started subtly. Selim started making their games secret training. 

 Hide and seek became a game of 'sense the chi' and 'hide from the significantly more powerful enemy'. Tag became 'how quickly can you run a long distance to the safe zone while evading a single powerful enemy'. He started putting the library to use - real use, researching alkahesteric theory and the dragon's pulse. 'Truth or dare' became 'how well can you lie and follow orders'.