Elianna looked deep in thought as she sat at the dinner table. Her eyes lingered on her half-eaten plate as she indifferently pushed the food around. While she remained silent, her thoughts were running a marathon in her head.

  She couldn't get the conversation she had with Nicholas out of her mind. Elianna hated how she left things with him and wanted to contact him right away. However, she also felt irritated with him and didn't want to talk to him at all. She hated how he sometimes kept his feelings from her and just bottled them up. She knew he was horrible at expressing himself and just wished that once in a while, he would talk to her about how he felt.

  Sitting beside Elianna, Katarina cast a few glances her way, seeing her daughter's expression and how she barely ate. Casting a glance toward her husband, who was currently taking a large bite out of his meat, she leaned close to him. "Are you sure nothing happened at the garrison?"

  Lucian looked up at Katarina with a curious gaze, his mouth full. He briefly glanced toward Elianna before looking at his wife again. Then he swallowed his food and nodded. "Everything was fine. She and I just trained as usual. Nothing strange happened."

  Katarina looked at Elianna before looking at Lucian again, "Then why is she acting like this?"

  Lucian shrugged, "I'm not sure."

  Katarina hummed, thinking, "What happened after the training?"

  "Nothing. Elianna went to hang out with Nicholas, then came back." Lucian looked to the side, recollecting, "Actually. She did come back from hanging out with Nicholas earlier than usual."

  Katarina gave Lucian a deadpan look, "Our daughter came back from hanging out with Nicholas earlier than usual... Does that sound like normal behavior for her?"

  Lucian awkwardly cleared her throat, "Uh, no."

  "And, did you happen to ask her why she came back early?"

  Lucian sheepishly looked to the side, "No."

  Katarina let out a long sigh, "I see. Well, maybe we should ask." Katarina looked at Elianna and smiled as she was about to speak.

  "Yes, it's because of Nick."

  Katarina's and Lucian's brows raised, hearing Elianna's flat tone.

  Elianna continued to stare at her plate, pushing her food around. Then she stopped and looked up, peering at her parents through her bangs. "It's kind of hard not to hear you when you're sitting right next to me."

  Lucian chuckled, "She's got a point."

  Katarina shot her husband a brief scolding gaze before looking at her daughter with a small smile. "Sorry, Sweetie. Do you want to talk about it?"

  Elianna shrugged and looked back down, "We just had a disagreement of sorts."

  "What kind of disagreement?" Katarina asked.

  Elianna sighed, "The stupid kind." She pushed her plate away and looked at her mother, "Can I please be excused? I'm not really hungry, and I don't wanna talk about this."

  Lucian pointed at her plate, "You didn't eat much, are you sure?"

  Elianna nodded, "I'm sure."

  "That's fine," Katarina smiled. "I'll have the staff put your plate into the ice box in case you get hungry later."

  "Thanks, Mom," Elianna said with a smile as she stood up.

  She gave her mom and dad a quick hug before leaving the kitchen. Elianna unhurriedly made her way through the mansion before making it to her room. Eyeing her bed, she had half a mind to jump onto it and relax, but she knew she needed to get washed up first.

  Elianna went to her closet, where she got undressed before entering her bathroom and hopping into the shower. Feeling the refreshing water wash over her ivory skin, Elianna let out a small sigh as her thoughts drifted back to Nicholas. She grumbled slightly as she rested her head against the cold tile of her shower wall.

  Elianna couldn't help but wonder if Nicholas was mad at her for just walking off. She remembered hearing him call out to her, but she was just so irritated at the moment that she ignored him. She started playing what-ifs in her mind, thinking about how their conversation could've ended if she had just stayed after he called out to her. But she knew it wasn't good to linger on what-ifs or what could have been.

  Elianna raised her head off the shower wall and quickly finished her shower. Once she was done washing up and drying off, she returned to the closet, where she got dressed in a white T-shirt and pink lounge shorts.

  Elianna then exited her closet, walked straight to her bed, and jumped on top of it. Her face fell straight into her pillows as her mattress bounced a couple of times. Elianna could feel her slightly damp hair on her back, but didn't care enough to wrap it in a towel. Instead, she raised her head and reached under her, sliding her hand between her mattress and mattress frame, pulling out a pink leather-bound diary.

  Rolling onto her back, Elianna sat up, opened her diary to the next blank page, and took her pen out of its slot. With a passive-aggressive sigh, Elianna began to write in her diary, annotating her day, which consisted of going to the garrison, training with her father, and hanging out with Nicholas. She wrote about his failed channeling with Zera and how dejected Nicholas looked. She didn't hold back her emotions when she wrote about her and Nicholas' little disagreement and how she wished he would talk to her.

  Elianna physically huffed as she wrote about Nicholas, but then stopped, hearing a strange tapping sound. Her brows furrowed at the sound, and she curiously began looking around before her gaze fell on her windowsill. Elianna's head tilted slightly to the side, seeing a beautiful falcon with brown feathers on its body and silver feathers on its head and wings.

  Elianna stared at the falcon briefly, wondering what it was doing and why it looked so familiar. Then, her eyes widened, and a look of realization crossed her beautiful facial features. "N-Nick?!"

  Elianna's stomach did a cartwheel, and she slammed her diary closed. She quickly slid her diary under her mattress and got up from the bed. She began to make her way to the window when she suddenly froze. Slowly, Elianna looked down at herself, and her cheeks reddened heavily when she noticed she wasn't wearing a bra.

  Elianna rapidly turned around, her back to the window. Looking over her shoulder, she said, "H-hold on a moment!"

  Elianna swiftly ran into the closet, where she removed her shirt. Her face grew hotter by the second, knowing Nicholas was just outside her window, looking into her room as she changed. She put on her bra and replaced her shirt before heading out and approaching the window.

  Unlatching the window, Elianna stepped back after sliding it open and watched as Nicholas flew inside and landed on her bedroom rug. She blinked as a flash of green light emitted from Nicholas, and a moment later, he was standing in the middle of the bedroom in his human form.

  Nicholas turned around, his eyes full of regret, "Hey, Li—"

  "What are you doing here?" Elianna hastily whispered as she walked up to him.

  Nicholas sighed and looked to the side, "I needed to talk with you."

  Elianna's brows furrowed, "You could've used a telemirrior, you know?"

  Nicholas shook his head. "No. In-person is better." He looked up, met her gaze, and stepped up to her so their bodies were close. "And there is something I want to do with you."

  Elianna's eyes slowly widened, her entire face grew apple-red, and her stomach did a cartwheel. "There is something you want to do with me. At night. In my bedroom."

  Nicholas nodded matter-of-factly and spoke in a straight tone, "Yes."

  Elianna swallowed hard, "W-what exactly?"

  Nicholas opened his mouth to speak.

  "Elianna?"

  Hearing Katarina's voice, Elianna's and Nicholas's fear-filled eyes darted to her door. Elianna looked back at Nicholas and let out a high-pitched whisper, "Hide!"

  Nicholas wasted no time arguing since he was sure Katarina would not appreciate him sneaking into Elianna's room through her window at night. Emerald energy engulfed Nicholas, and he was suddenly gone.

  Elianna knew Nicholas wasn't actually gone, though. He had simply turned invisible. Hearing a knock on her bedroom door, Elianna quickly jumped onto her bed and rolled onto her side, facing the door. "Y-yeah?"

  The door opened, and Katarina peeked her head in and smiled, "Hey, who are you talking to?"

  Elianna cleared her throat and blinked a few times. "Talking? I'm not talking to anyone. I was just lying here."

  Katarina's brows furrowed. "Oh?" She curiously hummed and stepped into the room. "I swear I thought I heard Nicholas' voice. I had thought you were on the telemirror with him."

  Elianna mentally scolded herself, wondering why she hadn't considered that excuse. She laughed nervously, "No, not tonight. I was just, you know, writing in my diary."

  Katarina tilted her head slightly, "Are you okay? You seem flustered." Her eyes flicked up, seeing the open window. "Elianna, you shouldn't leave your window open at night."

  "Oh, sorry," Elianna said, watching as her mother walked over to the window and closed it. Her eyes did a quick once-over of the room, wondering where exactly Nicholas was standing.

  "So," Katarina said and turned to face her daughter. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about what happened between—"

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  "No," Elianna quickly cut in and smiled. "I'm fine. I just wanna rest."

  Katarina looked at her daughter for a moment before she smiled and nodded, "Alright. Well, let me know if you want to talk. Your father and I will be downstairs for a bit."

  Elianna nodded, "I will, thanks, Mom."

  "Of course," Katarina said.

  Katarina walked over to Elianna's bed and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before she walked out and closed the door behind her.

  Elianna let out a deep sigh and sat up in her bed, rubbing her temples.

  "That was close," Nicholas whispered, reappearing in the corner of her room.

  Elianna shot Nicholas a playful glare. "You think?" She picked up one of her pillows and tossed it at him. He dodged it with a chuckle. Elianna looked at Nicholas curiously. "So, why exactly are you here?"

  Nicholas' gaze turned remorseful, and he sighed, "Because, for one, I wanted to apologize."

  Elianna stared at him for a moment, "For what?"

  Nicholas let out another sigh and walked over to her. Elianna's cheeks turned red as she watched Nicholas approach and sit beside her on her bed.

  "For earlier," Nicholas began, his gaze locked on the floor. "I know I'm not the best at sharing my feelings."

  Elianna stared at him before she looked to the side, "I should apologize too. I shouldn't have pressured you into talking to me until you were ready."

  "Well, I'm ready now," Nicholas said and looked up at Elianna. "If you still want to listen, that is."

  Elianna met Nicholas' gaze. She turned her body to face him fully, "I do."

  Nicholas nodded, looking deep in thought before he began, "I was afraid. That's why I couldn't do the channeling with Zera."

  "Why were you afraid?"

  "Because," Nicholas sighed and looked down at his hands. "The last time I channeled was with you, and I was afraid that something like what happened the last time would happen again. Then, as soon as I felt Zera's mana touch my mana core, I just freaked out and pulled away."

  Elianna's eyes softened. "I see." She reached out and gently placed her hand on top of his. "You shouldn't be afraid, Nick. You have come a long way since then." She looked to the side. "Besides, that was with me. I'm sure channeling Zera will be different."

  She honestly believed that, too. After everything that had happened in her life, she knew that there had to be something either wrong or different about her. What it was, she had no idea.

  Nicholas nodded, "I agree, it will be different." He looked at Elianna seriously, "Which is why I'm here right now."

  Elianna looked confused. "What do you mean?"

  Nicholas took a nervous breath, "I mean, I want to try channeling again. With you. Right here and now."

  Elianna's eyes widened, and she became incredibly still. She stared at Nicholas in disbelief, "Y-you're serious?"

  Nicholas nodded, keeping his earnest demeanor, "I am."

  Elianna shook her head, "What, why?! You yourself just said that you were afraid because of what happened the last time! Who knows what will happen if we try it again?"

  Nicholas gave Elianna an amusing grin, "Just like you said, I've come a long way since then. I can, no, I will control the magic better this time."

  Elianna eyed Nicholas for a moment, looking nervous, and shook her head, "I don't think it's a good idea."

  "Please," Nicholas pleaded, taking Elianna's hand and holding it tightly. "I won't even use a combat spell."

  Elianna looked down and saw Nicholas holding her hand tightly. She blushed slightly before meeting his eyes, "But why with me?"

  "Because, like you said, channeling Zera will be different than it was with you. I want to channel with you again because I want to show myself that we can do it without destroying everything and overcome my fears."

  Elianna continued to stare at Nicholas, seeing the pleading yet serious look in his eyes. She could see he had thought long and hard about this. While she felt nervous about the idea, she couldn't deny that she also felt curious about trying channeling again.

  With a sigh, Elianna nodded, "Okay. I'll do it. What did you have in mind?"

  Nicholas relaxed slightly, feeling relieved that Elianna agreed, "Transmutation."

  Elianna raised a brow, "What's that?"

  Nicholas smiled and raised his hand. Earth magic swirled in his palm, forming together and taking the shape of a butterfly. "Transmutation is basically changing an object."

  Elianna looked confused, "But can't you already do that? I watched you turn a stick into a dagger once."

  "You're thinking of illusion magic. That's different." Nicholas looked at his earthen butterfly and placed it on the bed between them. A flash of emerald light engulfed it, and in the next moment, a leather ball was in its place. Looking back at Elianna, Nicholas said, "Use your mana vision to look at the ball."

  Elianna did as Nicholas said and pushed mana into her eyes. Her brows furrowed. "I don't see anything different about it."

  "Concentrate," Nicholas stated. "Look for a shimmer."

  Elianna's eyes narrowed slightly as she focused. The next moment, her brows raised as she noticed the ball had an emerald shimmer. It was hard to detect, unless you were looking for it. "I-It's glowing!"

  Elianna reached out to touch the leather ball, and her eyes widened as her fingers passed through the ball, which distorted in emerald energy. When she pulled her hand back, the leather ball's appearance turned back to normal.

  Nicholas chuckled and nodded, "You're seeing the active magical effect on the ball. You see, illusion magic isn't permanent; it simply changes the appearance around an object. That's why your fingers passed through it. It's not real. Not even transformation magic is permanent. With transformation magic, the object is bound into a shape with magic. Unlike illusion magic, it feels real when touched. But, once the effect dissipates or the magic is dispelled, the object will then take its original shape."

  Elianna nodded before looking at Nicholas curiously, "So, how is transmutation different?"

  "Transmutation is fifth-circle magic. It changes the very essence of the object. An object's essence defines what it is. And, by changing the essence, the alteration is permanent." Nicholas chuckled, "It's why credit keepers were created since mages kept making gold coins."

  Elianna smiled a little humorously, "That's a shame. I would've loved using you as my personal bank."

  Nicholas raised a brow, matching her smile. "And who says I would've accepted being your personal bank, as you say?"

  Elianna's cheeks reddened. "I can be persuasive if I want to."

  Nicholas chuckled, then looked back at the ball. With another flash of emerald light, the ball was gone, and it was once again an earthen butterfly.

  Elianna followed Nicholas' gaze, staring at the butterfly. "So, you're going to change its essence, then?"

  Nicholas nodded and looked at Elianna. "I am. Are you ready?"

  Elianna looked up, meeting his gaze. She steeled herself and nodded, "I am."

  "Good," Nicholas said, looking serious. "Do you want to do it with me on the bed or floor?"

  Elianna's eyes widened, and her face turned redder than it had ever been. She physically tensed, and the nerves she had steeled a moment before faltered, with her stomach flipping continuously. She squealed, "W-what?!"

  Nicholas raised a brow, wondering why she looked so flustered, "The channeling. Do you want to sit on the bed or the floor?"

  Elianna continued to stare at Nicholas with a widened gaze before she sighed, looked to the side, and whispered under her breath, "Idiot."

  "Huh? I didn't hear you?"

  Elianna looked back at Nicholas, composing herself, "The floor is fine."

  Nicholas nodded, and he and Elianna stood from the bed as he picked up the butterfly and sat facing each other cross-legged, with their knees touching. Nicholas placed the butterfly between them before meeting Elianna's gaze.

  "Alright," Nicholas reached out to her. "Take my hands."

  Elianna nodded and reached out. Her lips curved slightly as she slid her hands into his, feeling his warm, soft skin. Meeting his gaze, her heart fluttered as she stared into his deep sea-green eyes.

  Elianna took a calming breath. "I'm going to start, okay?"

  Nicholas nodded, looking a little nervous, "Okay."

  Elianna hesitated for a moment, with images of the first time they channeled surfacing. But she quickly pushes these images away, determined to channel with Nicholas successfully. She was also vigilant and mentally prepared to cut off the mana connection to Nicholas immediately if need be.

  Focusing, Elianna pushed her mana out of her mana core and into Nicholas' hands.

  Nicholas tensed slightly, feeling Elianna's mana flow into his hands and up his arms. She looked at him, slightly concerned, but he smiled and nodded reassuringly, showing he was okay. However, he was nervous and growing more anxious by the second, feeling Elianna's mana nearing his mana core.

  Elianna slightly tightened her hand grip and gently touched Nicholas' mana core with her mana. She watched as he flinched, shut his eyes tightly, and pressed his lips tightly together. "Are you okay?" She asked, her voice laced with concern.

  "Yeah," Nicholas said, his voice slightly strained.

  Elianna didn't move physically or her mana as she watched Nicholas with worry. A few tense moments passed before Nicholas let out a breath and smiled.

  Opening his eyes, Nicholas met Elianna's gaze and nodded, "I'm fine."

  Elianna returned his smile before continuing the channeling process. She drew his mana into and through her and hesitated for a moment before touching her mana core with Nicholas' mana.

  Nicholas and Elianna both let out a low gasp, feeling the connection was complete. A bright white raging fire of mana engulfed both of them, and Elianna's fears began to rise, seeing images of fire behind her eyes.

  "N-Nick..."

  "It's okay," Nicholas said, sounding nervous. He swallowed hard and gingerly stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. "We got this."

  Elianna's lips went slightly agape as she stared into Nicholas' eyes, which seemed to glow behind the white flame of mana. She felt the comforting strokes of Nicholas' thumb, which made her stomach flutter.

  Calming down, Elianna smiled at Nicholas and nodded, focusing on his deep sea-green gems.

  Nicholas returned her smile, enjoying the feel of her hands in his and how beautiful her eyes looked.

  With their emotions coming into check, the white raging fire around them seemed to calm and grow smaller into a tranquil flame.

  "We got this," Nicholas repeated, and Elianna nodded.

  Nicholas looked down at the earthen butterfly and began to concentrate. Soon, emerald energy began to swirl around the butterfly before it burst into emerald flames.

  Elianna's eyes widened, and she wondered what was happening and if the spell had failed. But when she looked at Nicholas, she saw he remained calm, making her think everything was going well so far.

  Looking back at the butterfly, they both watched as the emerald flame coated the object. Focusing intently, Nicholas willed the object to turn into the new material he desired.

  Moments of silence passed between them until, finally, the emerald flame subsided. The next moment, Nicholas smiled widely, and Elianna's eyes widened in awe.

  Sitting between them was the butterfly, which was now made of rose quartz.

  Nicholas and Elianna cut off their mana connection, seeing their channeling was a success.

  "That's... That's beautiful," Elianna stuttered.

  Nicholas smiled and nodded, picking it up, "It is." He looked at Elianna and held it out to her. "And it's for you."

  Elianna looked at Nicholas, surprised, "For me?"

  Nicholas nodded.

  Elianna looked back at the butterfly before she reached out and carefully took it. She curiously pushed mana into her eyes, seeing that there was no emerald shimmer coming from the butterfly, and knew its change was permanent. Cutting off the mana to her eyes, she held it close and stared at it for a moment before she smiled warmly, "Thank you."

  "No," Nicholas said as he stood up. "Thank you."

  Elianna looked confused as she stood up. "For what?"

  Nicholas chuckled before he stepped forward and took Elianna into a tight hug.

  Elianna stiffened, her cheeks turning a little red, before she smiled and returned the hug.

  "For helping me with channeling," Nicholas whispered.

  Elianna shivered, feeling Nicholas' warm breath against her neck. "Y-You're welcome."

  They held the hug for a few moments, enjoying each other's comforting embrace. Slowly, they broke the hug and smiled at each other as they stood close, with Nicholas resting his hands on her shoulders.

  As they continued to stand there, a silence fell over them, and slowly, their smiles faltered. Nicholas' eyes dropped to Elianna's lips before looking into her eyes again.

  Elianna blushed slightly, noticing his gaze. Her stomach somersaulted as she began to wonder how his lips tasted.

  Elianna slowly began to lean forward, with her heart beating rapidly.

  Nicholas' eyes widened slightly, and he suddenly felt incredibly nervous. Without thinking, he quickly removed his hands, cleared his throat, and backed away.

  "I, uh, I should get going," Nicholas stuttered.

  Elianna blinked before looking slightly disappointed for a moment, then she smiled and nodded. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

  "See you tomorrow," Nicholas nodded before going to the window as Elianna followed.

  Nicholas opened the window and looked at Elianna again. "Later."

  Elianna smiled, "Bye."

  Elianna watched as Nicholas took his falcon form and flew out the window. She watched as he flew away before she closed the window and latched it.

  Elianna backed away, made her way back to her bed, and sat on the corner. She looked down at the rose quartz butterfly in her hands and smiled warmly, a small blush forming.

  "You should've kissed me, you idiot."

  ***

  Nicholas took his human form once he landed on the balcony outside his room. Leaning against the wall, he rested his head against it and sighed.

  "I'm an idiot."

  With a shake of his head, he pushed himself off the wall before opening his balcony door and entering his room. However, he froze, his eyes wide, seeing the figure standing in the corner of his room with their arms crossed.

  "Hello, Nicholas."

  Nicholas cleared his throat, suddenly feeling a great sense of fear. He nervously chuckled, "H-hey, Aunt Freya. How are you?"

  Freya narrowed her eyes on Nicholas. "Come inside. We need to talk about you sneaking out."

  Nicholas' shoulder's slumped, "Crap."