Chương 163: Possibilities

Instead of spending the rest of the night wondering about the possibilities of futures he could hardly imagine, Damion spent the night wondering what a future with Elicia would be like. He had no desire to join the Sorin family, especially not if there were more people like Thomas there. Would Elicia leave her family? Would she want to travel the world, seeking places no human had ever seen? Would she face those unknown dangers with him?

When morning finally came, Damion was happy to put his mind to rest and force his body to work. Unfortunately, when he saw Elicia wearing her skimpy exercise outfit, Damion had a rush of hormones and had to run ahead quickly or face a very embarrassing situation. On seeing Damion run away after just looking at her, Elicia was worried she had pushed things too far with Damion. She had not planned to kiss him. His honest worry over his future and her desire to comfort him had led her to not think about her actions.

Elicia briefly considered going to Mage Teft for advice, but she decided against it. If word got back to her grandfather that she was not winning Damion over, then he would push to replace her with another member of the Sorin family. With everything Elicia knew about Damion, she knew one of her cousins or sisters would not be able to entice him, which meant they would resort to unscrupulous methods to entrap him.

As Elicia worried more about Damion being trapped by her family, she considered if this was the best path. She could leave. Walk away and work as a knight as she grew her magic power on her own. Her family would let her, they had even threatened her with being kicked out of the family if she did not take the assignment of Damion's attendant. What Elicia could not convince herself of, was that Damion would be alright if she left. Perhaps she could just bide her time and pretend everything was going well with Damion.

Once he graduated, he would go on to whatever he planned to do, and she could go to a quiet little Green or Yellow Zone town and make her own life. After Damion's run, Elicia made breakfast for them as she usually did. As she put the food on their plates Elicia decided it was time to break the awkward silence that had built up since last night.

"I wasn't… I didn't plan to… it just happened. Maybe it is best we pretend it didn't happen." Damion was still trying to wrap his head around the situation and as much as he would like everything to feel normal again, he knew ignoring it was not the answer.

"I know you weren't trying to seduce me into your family. I'm pretty sure you gave up on that plan. So, don't ask me to pretend my first kiss didn't happen."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"I don't know. You know how I want to explore. I don't know if… if anyone else can keep up with me."

"Being together with someone doesn't mean you have to keep up with them. Just that you let them in and that you support each other." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"I just don't know how it would all work. What the future would look like if we were to…"

"The future will look like the future. If you keep worrying about trying to make things as perfect as possible then you will just spend all your time thinking and none of your time doing."

"You mean you want to…"

"No," Elicia cut Damion off.

"I'm not saying anything right now. Other than to think about it. My goal is to become strong on my own. Once my grandfather realizes he won't be able to get from me what he wants…"

"You mean me," Damion said with a halfhearted smile.

"Yes. When he comes to that conclusion, he will toss me aside and try and fill my place with a more malleable member of the family. I am fine with that. I've only stayed this long because I've come to like you and don't want you to fall into their trap."

"You like me?"

"I wouldn't have kissed you otherwise," Elicia blushed.

"I don't know how long our paths will stay together or if once you graduate I'll ever see you again."

"Is this an argument for us getting together or not? Because it kind of sounds like you are pro-together, since we might never see each other again after I leave here."

"I'm just trying to make sure we both make the best choice possible," Elicia quickly said before Damion could throw out any more suggestions regarding her motives.

"Okay. Pro waiting and seeing what happens and not letting your gramps get his way."

"Glad you understand."

"So, what do we do now?"

"First. You realize what you haven't done yet and then you get ready for class."

"What I haven't done yet?" Damion repeated. He was confused by what she meant. They shared a single kiss and he listened to her confession about her situation. After Damion thought about it for a moment he realized what Elicia meant.

"I like you too."

"Good. Now go get your books," Elicia told him and then winced inwardly as she realized she sounded more like his maid then a girl that liked him. For the rest of the day Damion was on cloud nine. He had never been good with women on Earth and his life on Nerotath had not improved his relationship skills in the least. But now he found himself in a situation where he was actually living with an attractive young woman.

If it was not for the large amount of homework each of his professors gave him, Damion would think he was in heaven. After dinner, while Damion was hunched over his desk studying, Elicia came up behind him and hugged him tightly. The action startled Damion. Elicia had always maintained a certain distance before, but now she appeared to be a lot less reserved.

"Is there anything I can get you before I go to bed?" Elicia asked Damion while hugging him.

"Uh, no. I'm good," Damion managed while trying his best to settle the butterflies in his stomach. He could feel Elicia pressing against his back and he felt incredibly self-conscious from her touch.

"I'll let you keep studying then," Elicia then gave Damion a peck on the cheek before releasing him from her hug. As she left his study she turned and said to him, "Don't stay up too late."

"I won't," Damion managed as he tried to get his focus back on his schoolwork. After an hour of fruitless study, caused by him not being able to free himself of hormone-driven thoughts of Elicia, Damion headed to bed and fell asleep. Having not slept well the night before, he was able to fall asleep fairly quickly and in the morning he awoke early to the sound of Elicia speaking. Damion recognized her voice, but not the words she was saying.

Evidently she was speaking Tal and to whomever she was speaking, it sounded like neither side was happy. Damion knew he should not eavesdrop on someone's private conversation, but since he guessed Elicia was speaking with her grandfather about him, he figured it would be best if he knew what was said. Too bad he did not speak Tal. While Damion had not completed the quest from the Magic System to learn Tal, he figured it was only a matter of time.

As long as he could learn a few words, Damion knew the Magic System would take care of the rest. He just needed to keep listening and hope he could figure out a few words.