The First Outdoor Date

“You should at least humor her a bit,” Cheddar said. “You going there to drink the potion-laced tea, then leaving as soon as you’re done is only making you look suspicious.”

“You know I’m just avoiding too much human contact. I need to avoid long conversations, too. It’s not like I’m going there to make her like me or anything.”

“Still, you don’t even know how long you need to keep this façade going. So best to at least establish some rapport with her. Remember, five minutes, Human. Five minutes. You’ve been at this for weeks, and the longest record your heart beat was five minutes. You have ways to go. Again, if she really even manages to complete the true love potion.”

Lief scowled.

“Also, you haven’t been responding to the Book’s summons in a while now.”

Lief shrugged. “Yeah. And?”

“Did drinking the love potion dull your brain or something? If you keep ignoring the Book, you think Love won’t notice?”

Lief pursed his lips.

“Be careful, Human. You might end up annoying Love before obtaining the one true love potion.”

Lief leaned back on the chair, sighing. There were still tons of things he had to sort out.

***

Humor her… Cheddar’s voice rang in Lief’s ear as he waited on that same chair in the Dariens’ greenhouse.

Then Aine walked in. For the first time, she was not in her usual overly long balloon dress that would drop to the ground. She was wearing a blue dress that was a few inches below her knee, revealing her ankle socks and white mesh shoes.

She sat opposite him, and he noted the strange glint in her eyes.

“What do you think about my dress?” she asked.

“Well…You look charming in anything, My Lady. Though I must say, you look lovelier today.”

Aine chuckled. “I finally got my mother to stop messing with my wardrobe. And that’s all thanks to you.”

“How so?”

“It’s my first time having a suitor actually come back. Most bail out after the first date. My mother’s ecstatic.”

“I suppose that’s a good thing then.”

“Yes. Very good. People usually find me weird. Different. But I suppose you’re quite different yourself. That’s why you’re here again.”

Lief smiled. “I am hoping different means I’m good company.”

“Oh, sure you are. That’s why—” Aine leaned closer. “I realized we should not confine ourselves inside this greenhouse.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Let’s go out. A date outside this mansion.”

Lief’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry?” he repeated.

“I want us to start meeting outside the manor, starting today. That would be more fun, right?”

What the hell is she thinking? “Uhh…I’m sorry. But My Lady—”

“Come with me,” Aine interjected, “Or else…I won’t be serving you the tea that you very much like.”

“What?” Lief responded sharply, forgetting to keep up the nice act. Seeing Aine’s questioning look, Lief quickly regained his composure. He feigned a cough. “I’m sorry, My Lady. I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

Aine winked. “Take it or leave it. I will only give you the tea if you do what I want.”

Lief pursed his lips to keep himself from cursing. What the hell is going on?

***

Aine grabbed Lief’s arm, leading him out of the greenhouse.

Aine, who was usually cooped up in her workshop brewing potions, was never really fond of going out. She had only ever been to a handful of locations outside the Darien manor. But it would not hurt to have fun once in a while, especially now that she had stumbled on something interesting.

Even the sight of Mila carrying the usual canteen did not dampen Aine’s excitement. Aine just grabbed the canteen, downed the tomato juice in one go, and then proceeded to drag Lief along, ignoring the latter’s protests.

“I’m not really sure this was a good idea,” Lief said, and Aine could tell he was gritting his teeth.

“Oh, it’s going to be fun,” Aine replied, smiling brightly. “We’re going to have soooo much fun.”

***

The carriage ride was more excruciating than writing the most frustrating stories. Lief sat opposite Aine, revisiting his decisions in his head, realizing he might have made more wrong decisions than he’d care to admit.

“So, how is it in Erlantz?” Aine asked, probably her twentieth question since they’d entered the carriage.

She had asked this question before, too, Lief thought. Aine had been repeating questions she had asked him before during their ‘dates’ at the greenhouse. But now, she seemed more interested, egging him to give longer responses.

“I’ve never been there,” she continued. “I heard it’s a lot colder there.”

“Yes, it is,” Lief replied, trying his best to appear polite, despite the increasing agitation. “Definitely, way colder.”

“You’ve mentioned before that your family’s business is trading gemstones.”

“Yes, and that’s why I’m here in Berwin.” I’ve said this before, too, Lief thought, masking his annoyance with a smile. “For that business. And then, I met you.”

“Of course. Don’t you think that sounds like destiny?” Aine’s stare was growing more intense as she spoke. She seemed to be scrutinizing his every word and expression.

Lief paused, unsure of how to respond. “Sure…” he managed. “Destiny…indeed. Uhh…” Lief coughed, looking away, feeling increasingly uncomfortable at Aine’s gaze. “Mind if I ask again where we are going, My Lady?”

“I told you…we’re going to have fun.”

***

Fun, huh… Lief stared down at the familiar cliff in front of him. Clusters of clouds hovered along the sides of the cliff, completely blocking the view below. Only the distant sounds of waves crashing on rocks signified the presence of the ocean lying in wait at the bottom.

Aine took him to the edge of the forest at the far end of the North Section. There was nothing there but the vast, deep cliff that served as the boundary between the land and the ocean. Hundreds of years ago, Lief witnessed people being sacrificed to the so-called water gods. The sacrifices stood on the same spot where he now stood. Others were pushed, others were forced to jump, while others embraced their fate and jumped willingly. One of Lief’s earliest main characters was a sacrifice resigned to her fate. The thing was, she was afraid of heights, so she couldn’t go through it eventually. She ended up running away, meeting her male lead during her escape. That was quite the story, and quite a hassle to write, too.

“So,” Aine spoke, disturbing Lief’s recollection, “what do you think?”

“Uhh…May I know why we came here, My Lady?”

“Have you been here before?”

“No,” Lief lied. “Not really.”

“This is the end of the North Section. Below that cliff is the ocean.”

“I see. That’s…interesting. I can hear the waters.”

“I thought this would be a fun place for our very first outdoor date. This is actually a very famous suicide spot.”

“Uhh…huh?”

“People who’ve totally given up on life come here to end it all, at the very end of Berwin, where the land meets the water. Poetic, isn’t it?”

“Y…yeah. Poetic.” Sure…And you chose this for a date. Lief was irritated, but though he’d hate to admit it, he found it partly amusing as well. Aine truly was different.

“More importantly,” Aine continued. “They said the ghosts of the departed would wander around here, still trapped between life and death.”

“I see.”

“I come by here sometimes, you know, in hopes of encountering the said ghosts. One of my books said any item dropped by a ghost is a really valuable potion ingredient. Like one of the rarest ever.”

“That seems like an interesting…book.”

“Yes. I have tons of those books. Have I ever told you before that I like to make potions? You don’t seem…surprised by that part?”

“Uhh…I think you mentioned once.” Seeing Aine’s pointed look, Lief quickly added, “Or no, I think I heard it around…somewhere. I mean, you and your family are quite famous.”

“Of course.” Aine laughed. “Ah!” Aine pointed at something near Lief’s feet.

Lief looked down and saw what seemed to be a small silver badge.

“Can you pick that up?” Aine asked.

Lief picked up the badge.

“Lucky! That could be a ghost drop!” Aine clapped.

Lief stared at the badge. It looked like one of the badges the military wore. Someone might have dropped it during one of their usual patrols.

“And that one, too!” Aine pointed at something on the ground again.

Lief turned to look, but couldn’t find an object of interest. “I’m sorry. What did you see, My Lady?”

“There!”

Lief looked again and realized she was pointing at a large rock. “This rock?”

“Yes, exactly. Would you pick that up, please?”

“What would you need a rock for?”

“I’m looking for ghost drops.”

Lief’s brows furrowed. “It’s a rock, My Lady.”

Aine shrugged. “Well. Who could tell what the ghosts were carrying when they died?”

Lief just stared at her incredulously for a moment. Humor her, Cheddar’s voice resounded in his head, and begrudgingly, he bent to pick up the rock.

But that wasn’t the end of it. Aine continuously asked him to pick up all sorts of things, from fallen leaves, rotting fruit, and even had Lief walk around for almost thirty minutes to search for a strand of hair he couldn’t even see. Aine stood under the shade of the tall tree while Lief walked around nonstop, picking whatever she wanted.

Lief tried his best to hide his clenched fist and smile through gritted teeth. But the longer they stayed there, the clearer it was that this wasn’t Aine’s idea of having fun. She was simply making fun of him. 

Damn this girl.