Chapter 23: Chapter TWENTY THREE

Mia hadn't said a word on her way to the library. Her neck hurt, gnawed by her nervousness. Ethan was right behind her, impassive. She really wanted to go and join her friends. The prospect of wandering around outside with the offer of a distraction from her conflicting thoughts sounded particularly enticing. If it weren't for the fact that she would have preferred to go without the Vila accompanying her. Which was obviously not an option.

Arriving in front of the library doors, Mia turned to the young man who was smirking and about to speak before he beat her to it.

"No."

"You don't even know what I was going to say!" groaned the blonde.

"Oh yes," he chuckled. "You were planning on trying to bamboozle me with "everything will be fine with my friends, you don't have to come with me, they can protect me too" or something like that."

"Tss," she hissed, gritting her teeth in annoyance.

Ethan quietly giggled as Mia pushed open the library doors and entered the sacred place. She didn't appreciate being so predictable, especially when the Vila took pleasure in making fun of her in the process. All to ask for something she knew he was going to refuse.

She ignored him, sulky, as she scanned the shelves for a book to read. Ethnology, magic, architecture, history, herbology... Nothing found favor in her eyes. Even researching information about human genocide seemed boring to her. Of course, she was curious, but the idea of ​​locking herself in the infirmary while her friends went to have fun outside seemed to her terribly bland.

"Fine," she sighed, you won.

A victorious smile was born on the lips of the Vila, which made Mia want to kill him.

Don't get used to it, she thought, glaring at the young man.

They headed for the infirmary, still having about thirty minutes to kill. Since Lily was joining the party, Mia had decided to join her early and help her complete her morning chores if she hadn't finished them yet. At least that would keep her busy.

Lily called out to her friend as soon as they walked through the door, not the least bit concerned about the Vila's presence. Fairies rarely took sides.

"Oh, Mia! she exclaimed happily.

She greeted Ethan with a simple nod of the head devoid of hostility which he returned calmly and returned immediately his attention to the young woman.

"We thought you might need some help before we go," Mia explained.

"I was just about to go to the canteen to pick up our packed lunch. You're free to come with me, then we'll wait for Arry and Andrei together," she offered, winking at Mia.

She frowned, perplexed by the fairy's gesture. She quickly forgot about it, however, as they headed for the canteen. Lily told her two or three anecdotes about her morning that she carefully listened to during the trip. Her friend's enthusiasm was contagious, and it didn't take long for Mia's sullen mood to dissipate. She even managed to completely conceal Ethan's presence two meters behind them, leaving them a semblance of privacy.

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Lily entered the kitchens and came back a few seconds later with the packed lunch which she shoved into Ethan's hands without warning. By reflex, he grabs the object so that it would not land on the ground, but he immediately gave the fairy a pointed and displeased look, as if to say "Do you think I am a slave?". She chuckled, quickly accompanied in her laughter by Mia, as they left the canteen to join the entrance of the castle.

Arry and Andrei were already waiting for them, ten minutes ahead of the established time. They were focused on a heated discussion but turned to each other with smiles on their faces when they saw their friends. Arry's smile turned into a discreet grimace when she saw the Vila which she quickly erased so as not to show anything. It was obvious that she was not very comfortable in his presence, and that pained Mia. Oz himself kept his distance from Ethan, preferring to watch them from a few feet behind.

"Don't worry, she'll get used to it," Lily whispered before joining them.

I wish she didn't have to get used to it, but hey.

Ethan was true to himself: unfazed and silent, following them with his hands in his pockets. This time Mia saw with relief that he stuck with the group. At least she could almost tell herself that the situation was normal. In a large group of friends, there was always that person with whom we have the least affinity, even whom we do not appreciate, but whom we support since he was friends with the others. Ethan was that person. You just needed to ignore him, which she had been trying to do since early morning.

They chatted cheerfully during the thirty-minute walk that separated them from their destination. Mia had no idea where they were headed, but she trusted her friends for choosing a beautiful location. They crossed a few hundred meters of forest, zigzagged right and left, then finally arrived at the edge of the forest.

"It's a bit far, but we shouldn't run into any other students here," Arry explained to Mia. Indeed, the young human was beginning to feel a slight fatigue in her legs and her pulse had accelerated under the effort. She had never been a great athlete, and it had to be said that it had not improved when arriving at the Arena, but the view that paraded in front of her was undoubtedly worth the two and a half kilometers that they had traveled.

The landscape was composed of a wide flowery meadow surrounding a small lake, itself surrounded by a beach mixing sand and small pebbles. It didn't feel as comfortable as the sandy tourist beaches of her world, but it was authentic and natural. The blue sky, the gentle caress of the sun, and the cries of the birds gave a magical look to the place. Mia immediately felt soothed and light as cotton as she crossed the meadow to get closer to the lake.

Oz, who had accompanied them on the way, hurried back to the forest again after exchanging a look with his mistress. Mia watched the fur of the animal disappear at the edge of the wood, curious. The pair did not separate often.

"He's going hunting," Arry said.

Intrigued, Mia carefully observed Andrei who hastened to clean a corner of the beach using a spell. He had simply placed his hand on the ground, breathed a few words, and the pebbles sank deep into the sand, leaving the area clean and ready for their installation.

"I usually use it to create quicksand, but it's also useful in those cases," Andrei explained to the young human with a wink.

Mia smiled with a nod. She preferred to see that kind of constructive magic: harmless, used simply to help someone or to make her life easier. The experience of the tournament had somewhat put her off offensive magic, or at least when she witnessed it firsthand. Ethan, whose presence she had forgotten, put the packed lunch on the area prepared for this purpose and sat down, observing the lake, visibly bored. The blonde's three friends took off their sandals and put them down a few yards away, stirring up the sand around the Vila which got into his closed shoes. He swore quietly as he pulled them off, causing both Mia and Lily to giggle.

Mia got rid of hers in stride, wishing to join her friends who were already taking a dip by the lake. The warm water tickled her toes, and she could feel her body reinvigorate with the feeling of well-being that filled her with the contact of the water. She wouldn't have called it hot, but the gentle rays of the sun more than heated the temperature of the liquid.

"Watch where you step," Lily warned her, her nurturing nature taking over. "Some stones are slippery."

"I'm not made of glass you know," laughed Mia sinking to her knees in the water of the lake, wetting the bottom of her beige dress.

If she had turned and seen the look Ethan had given her after her statement, she would surely have ended up choking him right here.

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