The Arcana: His Apprentice

Thank You - Asra's POV

       The parade finally ended. The parade floats have all gone back to the palace and the crowds have gone to their homes. The streets are covered in the fallen down decorations and the fairy lights that shone brightly have dimmed. I look at Y/N, her head still resting on my shoulder. She slowly lifted her head up and looks at me.

"Let's get going." Y/N says and smiles.

I nod and we stand up on the branch. I start climbing down the tree trunk carefully. I reach the bottom and look up to see Y/N climbing down. She almost reaches the bottom and I offer my hand out to her. Y/N looks at my outstretched hand and takes it. She jumps down to the ground and smiles up at me.

We walk back down the stone path, still holding hands. We walk past the closed down market area. The booths were empty of their contents and the torches burnt out. A few carts with people loading their bags of produce that wasn't sold onto the carts. A few oil lanterns placed onto the carts for some guidance in the dark.

We finally made it to the shop. All was the same as we left but with one difference. The woman from before, the one Y/N called "auntie" is standing outside of the shop with an angry look on her face.

"Uh oh..." Y/N says quietly.

The woman strides up to Y/N and crosses her arms across her chest while looking at her.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady." The woman says sternly.

Y/N smiles sheepishly and scratches the back of her head with her free hand, still holding onto mine. The woman looks over at me and then looks down at our conjoined hands.

"Wait...who is this young man and why are you holding his hand?!" The woman says with shock in her voice.

"W-what?" I say, with my voice cracking and my face flushing.

Y/N takes a deep breath and looks up at the woman.

"He was selling masks behind the shop by himself, so I decided to buy all of them. He's never seen the masquerade parade before so we went together. We didn't do anything bad, we just saw the parade. I'm sorry for worrying you Auntie, it won't ever happen again." Y/N says apologetically.

"Hmm..." The woman hums, then sighs to herself.

"Alright, as long as you're safe." The woman says with relief in her voice.

The woman looks back at me and squints her eyes at me.

"And who might you be?" The woman asks.

I blush and straighten my posture. Why does it feel like I'm asking someone's father for their hand in marriage?

"H-hello ma'am, my name is Asra Alnazar. I-it's a pleasure to meet you." I say with a stutter while fidgeting in place.

"Hm, polite. You will be a good influence on my niece. She really needs it. She's a bit of a trouble maker if you haven't noticed." The woman states.

"Hey!" Y/N says, letting go of my hand and crossing her arms across her chest while pouting. The woman chuckles slowly and smiles at me.

"My name is Aurora, I'm Y/N's aunt." The woman says kindly.

"Aurora? Like sleeping beauty?" I question.

"So you enjoy fairy tales?" Aurora asks.

"Of course, and the name suits you. You are very pretty miss." I say shyly.

The woman chuckles and smiles at me.

"Such a flatterer. I like you." Aurora says.

Aurora looks at Y/N and crosses her arms.

"Y/N, can you go inside and heat up some leftover strawberry tarts for me?" Aurora asks.

"Sure Auntie." Y/N says and walks inside the shop through the back door.

"Thank you sweetie." Aurora says, then faces towards me.

"Where are you from?" Aurora questions.

"I was born here." I answer.

"Where are your parents?" Aurora questions again.

"I don't know..." I say, looking down at the stone ground.

"You poor thing..." Aurora says and crouches down to my level.

"Do you have any place to stay at?" Aurora asks.

"I'm staying with a close friend." I answer sternly, remembering Muriel is still at home with Faust.

"Do you have a job?" Aurora continues questioning.

I shake my head no, still looking at the ground.

"Hmm, well...would you like to work for me?" Aurora asks.

"Huh?" I look up at her, looking at her questionably.

"Well, as you know I own this shop." Aurora says, gesturing to the dimly lit shop behind her.

"And Y/N attends school for a majority of the day. Leaving me to attend the shop by myself, so if you don't have a job, you can come and help me out." She says with concern in her eyes.

"But my magic isn't very powerful..." I say, my voice a strained.

"You don't need magic to move some boxes around." She says with amusement in her voice.

I look back down at the ground and kick a pebble to the side.

"And if you want, I can help you strengthen and practice your magic." Aurora says with a small smile on her face.

I look up at her with shock.

"R-really?" I question, surprise present on my face.

Aurora smiles and nods.

"Yes, I will train you." She says kindly.

"Th-thank you." I say, still shocked but very grateful.

"I trust you. Although this is our first meeting, I trust that you will be honest and will protect Y/N. She seems to really like you, so be there for her when I can't."

"Y-yes ma'am, I will." I say, blushing at the thought of being by Y/N's side.

Aurora smiles and stands up. All of a sudden, we hear the back door open and see Y/N pop her head out.

"Auntie, your tarts are ready." Y/N says.

"Alright, I'm coming." Aurora says and looks back at me.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning for your first shift." She says, turning towards the store and walks inside.

"Thank you again." I say.

Aurora walks inside and Y/N steps out of the shop. She walks over to me while smiling.

"What was that about?" Y/N questions.

"Your aunt wants me to work for her." I answer, smiling.

"Really? That's awesome." Y/N says, smiling as well.

We look at each other for a bit until I clear my throat.

"W-well, I should go. My friend back home is waiting for me." I say.

"Alright, be safe on your way back." She says while smiling.

"I will, thank you." I say, looking at her.

Y/N smiles and walks up to me. I look at her skeptically. She continues smiling and suddenly hugs me. I looked down at her in shock as she hugged me.

"I had a really good time tonight, thank you." Y/N says softly.

I blush and softly hug her back. Feeling her warmth against me. Y/N lets go of me and smiles again.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She says, and walks back into the shop.

"S-see you." I say, standing outside of the shop alone, although it's too dark outside. My flushed face is still noticeable.