Nicholas sat comfortably with his back against a tree under the vast shade cast by the several trees around them. His sea-green eyes seemed distant as he drew in his sketchbook, his pencil scribbling joining the sounds of nature around him. The scene around him was serene, allowing anyone who was having a hard day to relax. Well, anyone but Nicholas.

  Internally, Nicholas' mind was a storm of emotions, with him thinking about his training with Zera that occurred a short while ago. He couldn't get his failure to channel Zera out of his head. He remembered vividly what it felt like when her mana touched his mana core. It wasn't physically painful, but it brought back some unwanted memories.

  Nicholas removed his pencil from his sketchbook and stared at his creation. His eyes darkened at the sight of the little boy in his drawing, surrounded by a raging inferno, while the silhouettes of people desperately ran away before being burned alive. He continued to stare at the drawing for a few moments until he closed his eyes and took a breath, trying to relax. However, not even a second later, a scene of fire raged behind his eyes, and his eyelids flung open.

  Nicholas' chest felt tight, and his face looked strained as he leaned his head back against the tree. He tried to think of something, anything, to get his mind away from his dark thoughts. Trying to clear his mind, he focused on the sound of nature around him. He could hear the birds chirping, the sound of the soft wind rustling the leaves above him, and... snoring?

  Looking to his side, Nicholas' lips curled at the adorable sight of Elianna sitting next to him, with her head leaning on his shoulder. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was rhythmic, indicating she was sound asleep. He chuckled slightly, and his dark thoughts washed away instantly at the mere sight of her.

  Nicholas recalled that after they reached the tree line, neither of them said much, so Nicholas proceeded to draw while Elianna leaned her head on his shoulder and watched. She didn't watch for long before she fell asleep, which Nicholas thought was because she must have been tired after training with her father today.

  Hearing the sound of a distant explosion, Nicholas looked forward and observed two mages training in an open area. A moment later, he felt Elianna stir, and he looked at her. He watched as her brows furrowed, and she slowly opened her eyes and smacked her lips. Nicholas silently cursed the mages for disturbing her sleep.

  Elianna's beautiful celestial blue eyes wandered a bit, looking at the scenery around her. Slowly, she looked up, met Nicholas' gaze, and smiled. But not even a second later, she became consciously aware of how close their faces were and that she had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

  Elianna quickly sat up, almost looking panicked, "S-sorry!" She wiped her lips, "I-I didn't drool on you, did I?"

  Nicholas laughed slightly and shook his head, "No, you didn't." He smiled with amusement, "Though you were very distracting with your snoring."

  Elianna's brows raised, and her cheeks reddened slightly before her eyes narrowed playfully. "I think you were just imagining the snoring."

  Nicholas chortled and shook his head, "Nope. You were very loud and obnoxious."

  Elianna crossed her arms and looked to the side with a pout, "I don't think so."

  "That's okay, I know so."

  Elianna's narrowed gaze flicked to Nicholas, but when her eyes settled on the sketchbook in his lap, her eyes widened slightly.

  Nicholas followed her gaze and quickly flipped the sketchbook to a new page, hoping she didn't see his horrific drawing.

  However, she did, and Elianna looked at Nicholas, feeling slightly concerned, "Do you want to talk about it?"

  Nicholas brought his pencil to his sketchpad and began drawing aimlessly on the fresh sheet without an idea in mind. He was silent for a few moments before asking, without looking at Elianna, "Talk about what?"

  Elianna sighed, "You know what, Nick. The failed channeling."

  Nicholas remained silent as he continued to free draw. He shrugged, "It was just a fluke."

  "A fluke," Elianna repeated flatly. She looked at him with a cynical expression. "Why do you always do that?"

  Nicholas' hand froze, with his gaze lingering on his sketchpad. His brows furrowed. "Do what?"

  Elianna glared at him, beginning to feel irritated, "Bottle up your emotions. It's not good for you, Nick."

  Nicholas sat there, frozen, staring at the sketchbook. "I'm not bottling up anything."

  Elianna's gaze fell, and she shook her head. She brought her knees to her chest and hugged her legs. "Well, then, if you don't want to talk, maybe you can listen to my feelings."

  Nicholas looked at her out of the corner of his eye, "Your feelings?"

  Elianna nodded and closed her eyes. "I was worried for you the moment Zera said you were going to practice channeling. I couldn't help but think about what happened to us the last time we practiced it. And I wasn't sure if that was the reason why you were held back today." She hugged her legs tighter and rested her chin on her knees. "I took you away from your aunt and Zera so you could relax, and I was hoping you would talk to me. But, of course, you don't seem to want to." She turned her head to look at him, her beautiful celestial blue eyes full of sadness. "And I wish that you were just better at sharing your feelings."

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Nicholas' brows raised high, and he turned to look at Elianna, "Lia—" Before he could say anything else, Elianna stood up and began to walk off. "Lia, hold on!"

  Elianna stopped and turned to look at Nicholas with an unreadable expression. "I'm sure my dad is expecting me. I'll see you tomorrow."

  Nicholas opened his mouth, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say. Instead, he just watched as she turned around and walked off, heading back toward the headquarters building.

  Nicholas' eyes fell, and he slumped back against the tree. He didn't know how long he sat there, sulking in his thoughts, but when he looked up at the sound of footsteps, his eyes fell on his aunt.

  "There you are," Freya smiled as her eyes settled on Nicholas. However, a moment later, she frowned as she looked around. "Where is Elianna?"

  Nicholas' gaze fell before he shrugged dejectedly, "She went back to see her dad."

  Freya looked at Nicholas, seeing that he was a little off. She was wondering if it was because of the training or if something had happened between him and Elianna. Deciding not to push it, Freya nodded, "I see. Well, come on. It's time to head home."

  Nicholas nodded and closed his sketchpad. He picked up the leather satchel Elianna had given him on his birthday and froze. He gingerly traced his fingers across its leather, picturing Elianna's beautiful facial features in his head, before he sighed, remembering her words to him before she left. He placed the sketchbook and pencils into his satchel, then placed his satchel into his spatial ring before he stood up.

  Nicholas followed Freya as they left the treeline and walked over to the stables, where he saw the carriage already waiting for them. Approaching the carriage, the driver gave them a nod before opening the door for them.

  "Thank you," Nicholas said as he climbed into the carriage, seeing his uncle already sitting inside, reading a few documents in his hand. "Hey, Uncle Mathew."

  Mathew looked up and smiled, "Hello, Nicholas." His gaze turned to the door as Freya climbed inside and sat next to him. "Hey, you."

  "Hello," Freya responded warmly, sharing a quick kiss with him. "How was your day?"

  Mathew shrugged, "Not too bad, actually. Yours?"

  "It was fine. Mostly admin work."

  Mathew nodded, feeling the carriage jerk as the driver began to ride off, before looking at Nicholas, "What about yours, Nicholas?"

  Freya followed Mathew's gaze, and they both frowned, seeing Nicholas looking deep in thought as he stared out the window.

  Mathew shot Freya a curious gaze and whispered, "Is he okay?"

  Freya sighed and whispered back, "He had a hard time with channeling training. And I think something may have happened between him and Elianna."

  Mathew looked forward at Nicholas, eyeing him for a moment, "Hey, Nicholas."

  Nicholas' gaze shifted to Mathew, looking slightly surprised after being knocked out of his thoughts. "Huh?"

  Mathew gave Nicholas a small smile, "You okay?"

  Nicholas shrugged and looked back out the window, "I'm fine."

  Mathew nodded, "That's good. And how was training?"

  Nicholas' eyes fell, remembering his failure at channeling. "It was okay. Zera and I sparred a little."

  Mathew stared at Nicholas, seeing how he looked deep in thought as if several things were bothering him. "Was that all you did? I heard you also hung out with Elianna. How did that go?"

  Nicholas' gaze flicked to Mathew and then Freya, seeing them both looking at him with warm smiles. He sighed and looked out the window. "I don't really want to talk about it."

  Mathew frowned, sharing a worried look with Freya. "Okay," Mathew said and looked at Nicholas. "But if you change your mind, we are always here to listen."

  Nicholas looked at them, giving them a small smile and nod, before looking back out the window. He watched as the scenery of Tri-Union City passed by until they eventually turned into the driveway of their mansion. Once the carriage came to a stop, Freya and Mathew hopped out first, followed by Nicholas.

  As they reached their mansion's front doors, Quinton opened them and bowed, "Welcome back, my Lord and Lady."

  "Hello, Quinton," Mathew greeted kindly. "Is dinner prepared already?"

  Quinton nodded, "It is, My Lord. I'll head to the kitchen and have it served."

  Freya smiled, "That's perfect, thank you."

  Quinton nodded and left for the kitchen while Freya, Mathew, and Nicholas made their way to the dining room.

  Once they sat down, Freya and Mathew made small talk about their day, talking about the different administrative tasks they had to do. Meanwhile, Nicholas just sat in his seat, looking at the table, lost in his thoughts.

  Luckily, a moment later, he was saved from his own thoughts as the doors to the kitchen opened, and the staff walked out carrying plates of food and drinks. They placed the food and drinks in front of Freya, Mathew, and Nicholas before walking off.

  Nicholas looked at his food and took a few bites of the meat. While the meat tasted delicious, Nicholas found himself lacking an appetite.

  Freya looked at Nicholas, concerned, seeing he wasn't eating much. "Nicholas?"

  Nicholas looked up at his aunt, "Yeah?"

  Freya smiled, "You're barely eating."

  Nicholas looked back at his plate and sighed, "I guess I'm not that hungry."

  Freya and Mathew shared a worried gaze.

  "Do you want us to have the staff make you something else?" Mathew asked.

  Nicholas shook his head, "No, thanks." He pushed the plate of food away and looked at his aunt and uncle, "Can I be excused?"

  Freya and Mathew looked at each other, then Freya looked at Nicholas and smiled. "Yes. Just let one of the staff know if you get hungry later."

  Nicholas nodded and stood up from the table. He left the dining room and went straight to his bedroom. Closing the door behind him, Nicholas leaned against it, looking up at the ceiling. He stood there, finding that his quiet room did nothing for him but just amplified the storm of thoughts going on inside his head.

  With a deep sigh, Nicholas went to his closet and got undressed before hopping in the shower. His gaze was distant as he washed himself, thinking about the events of the day. He remembered being so excited while sparring with Zera, then becoming ecstatic when he won. However, it all went downhill when they tried channeling, which he utterly failed.

  But honestly, that wasn't the worst part in Nicholas' mind. Out of everything that happened today, there was only one thing that stood out among the rest—his conversation with Elianna.

  Nicholas mentally scoffed, thinking that it shouldn't even be called a conversation since he didn't even talk to her. He remembered what she said to him vividly, almost as if she had just spoken to him a moment ago. And then, there was the look in her eyes. He can't get that look out of his head, the look of sadness.

  He hated the way she looked at him, and Nicholas never wanted her to look at him like that again. But, in order to do that, Nicholas knew that Elianna was right. She had called him out on bottling up his feelings, which he had a tendency to do. All she wanted was for him to talk to her, and he couldn't even do that.

  Nicholas leaned his head against the cold shower tiles, staring at the floor. The warm water was washing over him, and he wondered what to do next. Elianna had told him that she would see him tomorrow, but he didn't want to wait that long. He knew he could contact her via telemirror, but there was a chance she wouldn't answer. Plus, it wouldn't have the same effect as talking to her in person.

  After considering his options and deciding what to do, Nicholas stood up determinedly. He turned off the shower and stepped out, intent on talking to Elianna.