Chapter 108 –
The day passed by as days should. It turned into night which led to another day. In time, it turned into weeks and the weeks into a month, granting Sebastian the promise of ordinary days in the university.
But one person was not very happy with the way things were going.
“You’re going to the library again?!” Eirian asked Dorin, almost shouting.
The people around them looked at their direction and kept their eyes glued on the lovely red-head girl with pink eyes, wearing a long, tan coat and a plaid mini-dress underneath.
“But it’s a Sunday today, Sundays are the only days we can have fun!” she said with a pout.
“I know, but there’s a report due tomorrow, and we’ve been going out every Sunday for the past five weeks...”
“But I want to go watch a movie with you!” Eirian complained, stomping her dainty feet, her red curls, bouncing on her shoulders.
[You go ahead, let me borrow the books you need instead], wrote Sebastian who hated the attention, though Eirian was the center of it all.
“That’s right,” said Margarette who found the lovers’ quarrel quite interesting. If indeed it was what it was. “You two go ahead and have fun, Sebastian and I can go to the library instead.”
“You need to research something too?” Johan asked absentmindedly beside her.
“Nah, I like to read comic books when I’m there,” she answered with a grin. “After all, it’s been a while since we all had time to hang out together like this eversince classes started. How about you?”
“Jacob told me to read more. Said it would help to improve my vocabulary,” Johan mumbled. “And since Dagon is with Lord Umbra for the weekend, then I have nothing better to do.”
“Actually, I don’t have any specific titles in mind,” Dorin told Sebastian. “I was planning to look around the library for the stuff I need.”
“Hmph! What’s so good about studying anyway?” muttered Eirian. “It’s just stuff we already know, anyway! Some of them are not even fateful to actual history!”
“Yeah, if only we could prove it, right?” Dorin replied, nodding.
[What do you mean, not faithful?] Sebastian asked curiously.
“Like the Black Revolt and the Puppet Prince and everything else!” Eirian started, turning red in the face. “They can’t even get their facts right!”
“A puppet king?” Margarette looked at her with a frown.
“Remi, who else?” Eirian said, matter of factly.
“But after the mad king killed all the Revants in the Black Revolt and King Reginald the Kinslayer stepped down, it was Remi the Pure who founded the Holy Alcione Empire!”
“Oh, come on, do you honestly believe an eight year old kid can govern the entire empire on his own?” Eirian said with a smirk.
“I heard the same story from Damien Wolfsbane,” Dorin said to back her up. “That written history always sound prettier than the truth. But I would much rather hear the truth.”
“Ho-ho, as expected of Damien!” said Eirian with an almost proud look on her face. “Did he tell you about the Thunder God’s Revolt as well?” The look in Eirian’s eyes became solemn all of a sudden.
Dorin didn’t reply, he simply looked at her and held his tongue. He finally gave a deep sigh and kept his gaze down.
“There are so many things I still don’t know, Eirian, that’s why I am here. There’s so much I need to find out on my own.”
[But most of written history glorify the empire.] wrote Sebastian. [In fact, it makes me wonder, how Eirian came to know of such things.]
“I listen to the little folk,” replied the older girl. “I seek those who lived through it instead of those who simply write down what they think happened.”
[Does that mean that you were already there during the Dark Revolt?]
Eirian looked dangerously at Sebastian.
Sebastian tried to keep his hands from shaking as the words in his slate changed.
[Joke. You can’t possibly be alive for thousands of years!]
There was a drawing of a smiley face next to it.
“How dare you imply that I’m as old as a hag!” Eirian said with a cute pout, her arms crossed against her chest.
“Yeah, Eirian is too pretty to be that old...” Johan said, staring at her.
Sebastian glanced at Johan.
‘I guess even Johan isn’t immune to her charms without Dagon around,’ he said to himself. This was the first time the fire mage has been without the small dragon by his side.
[Anyway, we’re wasting time here, we’re going ahead to the library, if you two haven’t decided yet.]
Ten minutes later and the five of them are all gathered in a long table in the university library.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha! Look at this one! This is so funny!” said Eirian, pointing out a comic book panel to Margarette who laughed with her.
“Oh, that’s a good one!”
“Shh, not so loud,” Dorin signaled them with his finger to his lips. “Remember, we are in a library.”
“Well, no one else seems to mind,” Eirian told him with a bright smile which garnered a resounding sigh from the rest of the room, men and women alike.
“And please stop with the charms,” Dorin told his friend. “How can people read if you keep enchanting them?”
This made Sebastian think.
‘Could it be that he’s immune to Eirian’s enchantment? Then her hold on him could simply be brought by blind fate, since she practically raised him up.’
Sebastian kept his gaze at her, just like the rest of the people in the library’s main hall, but in reality, he was looking past her. A trick he found was useful as to not fall for Eirian’s hypnotic charm. Aside from coming up with his own spells to counter Eirian’s enchantment, of course.
He has been practicing several spells and counters to fight the strong enchantress, and he has found this the most easiest way to elude her charms.
“Aw, is my Dorin getting jealous with all the attention I’m getting?” Eirian said with a giggle. “Just when I was starting to have fun...”
Eirian stood from where she sat across Dorin and went around the table to stand next to him.
“So tell me, who is it that you like most in your friends?” Eirian asked him. “Is it your buddy the fire mage or the little mute kid Sebastian? Or is it this lovely girl Margarette?”
The three kept staring at Eirian as she called their names.
“They are all my friends, so please don’t do this to them,” Dorin said calmly. He was about to clap his hands to wake them up when Eirian stopped him.
“I wanted to have fun in town, but you refused to come with me, now that I’m having some bit of fun here, you’re trying to stop me!” she said with a pout. “Just what happened to the Dorin I knew who listens to everything I say and knows how to hang loose? This happened ever since that Phineas locked your Id up!”
“Hang loose?” Dorin’s brows wrinkled. “The only place we can hang out back at home is in the barn. The last time we hang loose was when you dared me to steal milk from the neighboring goatherd and make cheese all day. You disappeared the next day when my mom got home and saw me sick to my stomach.”
“But that was real fun, wasn’t it?” she said, laughing. “Remember the time we looked for bee hives to hunt for honey and ended up in the river all day to keep them from stinging us? And that time we went to the nearest village to buy a gift for your mom and ended up wasting all our money on snacks?”
“Well, yeah, it was all fun,” Dorin smiled and looked at his three friends. “But still, playing with my friends is not fun at all.”
Eirian gave him a lovely pout, she even fluttered her lashes at him, but Dorin stared back at her with a serious frown on his face.
“Hmph. I really hate that you’re so hard to manipulate,” she finally said, looking away. “It takes so much effort to get my way with you!”
“Whatever, just stop playing with my friends, or I’m really gonna get mad at you.”
Dorin clapped his hands twice, then.
The people in the library seemed to give a slight jolt as they woke up from her charm. They looked around a bit, trying to get their bearings, and simply went back to their own business.
Sebastian did the same, watching how the others were acting around him, thankful that Eirian wasn’t giving him much attention.
‘So, Dorin has a bit of immunity, but is not completely unaffected by her charms,’ he thought. ‘At least she knows how to respect his decisions. Or does she? How long can someone who could easily get what she wants, last in a place and a situation like this?’
Sebastian sighed as he kept his thoughts to himself.
Who is he supposed to tell, after all?
The others have no memory of the times they were enchanted, and Dorin adores his friend too much to get mad at her.
And What is he supposed to say to Dorin?
That his friend is a psycho?
That she’s trying to push everyone close to Dorin away from him?
Even Xander has stopped showing up at their room, after Eirian told them that there was no need for them to join their group.
But Dorin doesn’t seem to notice any of this.
He doesn’t see anything wrong with the things she does.
Blind fate.
That’s what it is.
A believe that the best friend he adores can never be evil.
Until it’s too late.
And Sebastian and the rest of Dorin’s friends were going to find that out the hard way.