Chapter 155 - 152 - Courting
The Smith and the Enchantress gazed into each other's eyes, at a loss for words, blushes slowly creeping onto their faces. They both had so much to say to each other.
What classes had she chosen? Was she still mad at him? Would she be open to his courtship?
How to apologize for how she had acted, and how to thank him for his advice and care? Did he know something about why her Choosing had been so weird? How had that cut got on his face and who did it?
They were both lost for words.
Enchanter Melinda was not.
"This won't do, the enchantment isn't strong enough. Try again."
"Huh?!" Isabella gasped, distracted. "What do you mean? Clearly the shirt is enchanted with [Fire Resistance]!"
James looked down at the shirt she was presenting. He wasn't an expert in embroidered enchantments, but the embroidery itself looked fine.
[Appraisal]: Cloth shirt, Fire Resistance (3)
[Substrate Analysis]: Essence 0/?
Something had gone wrong, but not having witnessed it himself, he couldn't be sure.
"Try again," Melinda repeated. "If you remember everything we discussed in class, you should be able to figure it out." She waved Isabella away, but Isabella put her hands on her hips defiantly.
"Well I can't do that now, can I? You! James!" She thrust a finger and pointed at his face. "What do you think you're doing here with a wound like that, untreated! It'll scar! Come with me at once!" She spun, hair and skirt flaring outward from the centrifugal force, and stomped over to her bag.
Melinda shrugged at James, and he followed after the young woman.
"Aha! Here it is." She whirled around again holding a small vial of potion, and looked up at the taller young man. "Come on, sit down, I'll get you cleaned up."
She was totally oblivious to everyone else in the room staring at her, their enchanting work forgotten on their desks.
James, for his part, was also oblivious, and so he sat in his normal chair and looked up at Isabella, who was looking down at him with a stern expression. Or, rather, at the cut on his cheek. With delicate, dexterous fingers she gently peeled back the bandage, revealing the wound James and the Steward had been ignoring in their haste to prepare to defend themselves against House Sanchez.
"It looks like I caught this just in time. You'd better be grateful!"
Isabella gently dripped potion into the cut and the flesh knit back together without even a hint of a scar.
"Phew, no scar. Here, drink the rest of this." She thrust the half-empty vial into James hand, and he would have fumbled it had it not been for his class levels.
It was the first time their hands had directly touched.
He managed an eloquent "uh huh" and drank the remaining potion in a single gulp.
Isabella brought her face closer to his, mere inches apart, as she stared intently at his cheek.
"Ahem," Melinda pointedly cleared her throat from across the room, and everyone turned to look at her. "James, Isabella, you're distracting everyone else."
Like a spell was broken, the two young enchanters suddenly became aware of everyone else, and flushed scarlet.
Several minutes later, they found themselves seated in a private conference room across a low table, with privacy enchantments and wards activated, and the city guard sat in a corner keeping an eye on the two young adults.
For a moment, they both sat, unsure what to say, until suddenly they both spoke at once.
"Why were you late tod—"
"What Classes did you—"
They both paused, but it was James who took the lead.
"Isabella," he leaned forward over the table between them. "Tell me, what Classes did you take?"
Isabella couldn't help herself and looked away. "Knifewielder and Enchanter," she said quietly.
"Oh thank the gods!" James felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders, akin to taking off his armor back when he was low level, and he slumped back into his chair. "Thank the gods," he repeated.
"Hey!" Isabella exclaimed. "Why was my Choosing so weird, anyway? Did you know that was going to happen?"
"Huh? Something happened?"
And so Isabella explained how pessimistic her Classes had been, and how the combination of Knifewielder and Enchanter had been the only one offering a hope of survival. "You know something, don't you? That's why you were so upset, right?" Isabella gazed into the Smith's bright blue eyes, searching.
But James shook his head. "No, I've never heard of that happening. I didn't even know you could talk to your Class options, when I Chose." He paused for a moment, nervous, and then took the plunge. "Isabella… are you still mad at me?"
"Huh, what for?"
So much had happened that she had completely forgotten being upset with James.
"Er, you know, telling you to make sure to pick a Combat Class? You told your guards to arrest me."
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"Ah!" Isabella flushed scarlet once again. She covered her face with her hands. "Er, oh my, that is, uh…"
James waited nervously, and eventually Isabella got control of herself again. "I owe you an apology, James. I was completely in the wrong! My whole family stayed up all night explaining how wrong I was, right up until my Choosing, and, er… I'm sorry!"
She bowed forward abruptly, and her hair covered her face though the tips of her ears were still bright red.
"Isabella," James said gently. She looked up, afraid of what expression the blonde retainer might be making at her after her atrocious behavior the night before.
But he just had a gentle smile of relief on his face. "I'm just glad you made it through your Choosing and Chose good Classes."
Isabella felt her heart pound in her chest as she met his gaze, and had to look away. She sat up straight and cleared her throat.
"Ahem, yes, well, in no small part I have you to thank for that, so… Thank you, James."
She looked back at his face—more accurately, his cheek—and righteous anger started to replace embarrassment.
"Now, James, tell me, who cut you? How did this happen?!"
James explained the conflict with House Sanchez, though he tried to avoid the gory details. Shockingly, Isabella insisted. "James, they got away?! This won't do! We must go to my father at once—"
"Ah, no, there's no need. Three of the men are dead, and the last one is in custody." James nervously endured Isabella's penetrating stare until she nodded with satisfaction. "Good. I couldn't stand the thought of someone who would try to kill you walking free. Next time, don't scare me like that!"
"I'm rather hoping there won't be a next time," James said, but Isabella frowned.
"If it's a noble House…" she trailed off, thinking. House Sanchez was led by a Marquess, but surely there were still steps her father could take, even as a Baronet…
"Isabella."
She looked up.
James had a look of determination on his face that was utterly captivating.
"I know my situation isn't great right now, with this conflict between my lord and House Sanchez…"
She held her breath, waiting for him to finish.
"But, Isabella, from the first moment I saw you, I knew that there was no other woman for me. I want to know you better, and would be honored if you would allow me to court you."
Isabella looked down from his face and saw his hand extended to her, palm up in the formal way.
"Ah, ah, ah…"
Flustered, she looked all around the room, even as James' gaze remained locked on her. The guard was watching intently, but professionally, and there was no one to ask for help.
Her heart pounded in her chest and her face felt like it was burning and she was taking so long to just say yes and surely she was offending James but she looked into his eyes and he just patiently waited for her answer and there was no offense there just a quiet strength and hope that his feelings would be reciprocated and she extended her left hand and delicately placed her fingers in his and thank the gods she had several boosts in Dexterity already because it was taking all her focus to keep her hand from trembling and she nodded. "Yes, James, I want to know you better, too."
They stayed like that a long moment, smiling and gazing into each others' eyes, until a conspicuous cough from the guard broke the silence and they came back to their senses.
""Ahem."" Like mirror images, they pulled their hands back and turned to the side and cleared their throats.
James breathed a quiet sigh of relief. That was the most stressful thing he'd ever done! Thank the gods for his massive Dexterity. And thank the gods she said yes!
He looked across at Isabella, his Isabella, and saw that she was blushing again.
Everything was perfect, except…
"Unfortunately…" he started, and he couldn't believe how fast Isabella's head whipped around to meet his gaze. "because of the circumstances, I won't be able to prepare a chaperone very often, given how few retainers my lord has and how busy Sebastian is…"
"Oh!" Isabella breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned crossly at him. "Don't scare me like that, James! My father can prepare plenty of chaperones! Rather, look, you already have a guard, right?"
"Whoa, hey, I'm here to ensure James' safety for Sir Cortez, I'm not really a chaperone…" the guard protested, not wanting to be dragged into this.
"Ah, that's right!" James hurried to his feet. "Now that I'm courting you, we really shouldn't be alone like this."
He held out his hand to help Isabella to her feet, then started to pull it back, unsure if it was really appropriate to take her hand like that…
But her hand lashed out like a striking snake, making full use of her Speed, and snatched his before he pulled it away. "Thank you, James," she said forcefully, and smiled up at him sweetly.
James was still blushing when they returned to the classroom, no longer holding hands, but still standing closer than would normally be polite.
"Finally!" Raven exclaimed, hand extended over a small bowl of water.
"Huh, what happened?" Ewan asked.
"Congratulations, James, Isabella. I wish you the best," Ricardo nodded gracefully.
"Yes, yes, well done James, now everyone return to your projects," Melinda directed, and the romantic drama was temporarily put on hold.
Isabella looked down and frowned at the shirt on her desk. James considered it as well.
"I had to make the pattern smaller," Isabella pouted. "The enchantment wouldn't take when it was bigger."
"Hmm… what did it feel like?" James asked.
"Like trying to push open a door with my brothers pushing on the other side."
"How's your mana after trying?"
"I have plenty of mana!" Isabella said forcefully.
"Well, try tiling it, then."
"Tiling?" she tilted her head cutely. She didn't recall talking about that in class…
"Yeah, like ceramic tiles. Do more than one of the pattern and then enchant them all at once. You could try doubling up the thread or making the enchantment bigger, but if you don't have the Skill or raw Willpower to force it, the enchantment won't take. You only just got your Enchanter Class, right?"
"Yes, but I have [Basic Elemental Enchanting] now!"
"At what level?"
"...One," Isabella admitted.
"Look, just try making a bigger triangle out of four [Fire Resistance] patterns, and then try that. It takes more magic power, but you'll get a stronger total enchantment."
Grumbling, Isabella took up her needle and thread again, and James returned to the back of the room where Melinda was waiting impatiently.
"Sorry, where were we?"
Melinda set aside the book on space and time enchantments, and opened another on advanced magic circuitry designs. "Magic power storage," she said, and pointed at a diagram. "You see, this formation allows an enchanted item to store magic power, but it relies heavily on the substrate…"
That evening, the Aspirant Knight returned to Headquarters.