Novis

chapter 12

Before the day of the ball,  Alicea constantly thought of everything that could go wrong at the if the plan failed. Even during the walk from her house to the cave with Eric, she remained silent and lost in thought.

When they arrived, the area was quiet as everyone was preparing for the ball so getting by without any suspicion was easy. When they got to Eric's room, Celia was already there, with a mirror in front of her and several makeup brushes laid out on the table. She just looked at them and returned to puffing her face with powder.

"You know I do not mind all this but can you not make a mess of my room. I work, eat and rest here." Eric said looking at the brushes and makeup products.

"Eric, what was condition number two?" Celia asked, applying a fine black line to her eyelids.

"To be friendly, right?" his face showed a smile but his teeth were gritted and his fists were clenched.

"That's right! So, you were listening!" Alicea couldn't hide her laughter and stopped when Eric gave her a look. She was happy that the both of them were getting along. "I'm peckish. Eric, would you bring me some snacks?"

"What? I will not."

"But I bet Alicea is hungry too. Aren't you Alicea?" she looked at Alicea, who didn't know what to say. "Will you still refuse? I mean, she was a good host to us, shouldn't we be a good one to her?"

Eric sighed and then walked into another room. 

"Oh, no, I'm not hungry..." Alicea spoke as he walked.

"Let him go. It's fun to mess with him, isn't it?" Celia chuckled then returned to doing her makeup. 

"I have to dress up too, my father has laid out a special suit for me all the way from Paris of all places. I told him not to but he does not listen." Eric said as he brought a small tray with square shaped biscuits that were glazed. he placed it in front of Celia. She smiled at the sight of them.

"Just what I needed something sweet for my sweet tooth."

"I hope they turn out to be bitter for you." he muttered.

"Smile, Eric. It's a ball, a party!" Celia said with a mischievous smile.

Eric rolled his eyes, went back into the other room and removed his sword. He then walked over to the door to leave, "You, try to be nice to her." he pointed at Celia, glanced over at Alicea and then left.

"Be nice? I'm always nice, aren't I?"

Alicea looked up unsure of whether to answer or not. "Y-yes?"

"Yes, of course! Why else would I help you? They say humans don't appreciate anything, those rumours must be true."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I really do appreciate you helping me."

"Sure, sure. You know, I was very curious why Eric was so nice to you. He doesn't like humans because of their attitude. He is a warrior always helping them but they run away, scared and they never show gratitude. He and I would sit and complain about them all day in the past. Now, he has taken a liking to a human! I wondered why you're special." Celia picked up a biscuit and bit into it. "But I understand now it's because of how much he's thankful to your father. If he didn't have something to repay him for, I think, no, I know Eric wouldn't go this far for a human."

"Ah, really..." her smile faded. "I hope you don't mind me asking but what happened between you and Eric? I mean, it seems like you guys were close with the way you joke around."

Celia slowly put down her the biscuit.

"You really want to know? I thought Eric would have told you already. " She nodded and twisted herself on the chair to face Alicea. "I was a coward. My fear stopped me from helping him when he needed it. I'm sure you know the story of how your father died, right?