The Meeting
(Rudeus POV)
Winter was always worse when the sky looked like it had nothing left to offer. No warmth. No light. Just gray clouds and wind. It reminded me of the kind of days I used to spend in bed back when I didn't think tomorrow would be much different from yesterday.
But I wasn't in bed anymore. I was at Ranoa Magic University, pretending to be a person again.
My classes weren't hard. They couln't be, not after what I'd been through. Even the researchers and professors who whispered about me didn't quite understand what kind of magic I'd really faced. What kind of pain? They saw a quiet prodigy. I saw a ghost trying to learn how to be human again.
And that ghost apparently caught someone's attention.
"Greyrat, right?"
I blinked and looked up. A tall figure with golden hair and an easy smirk approached me outside the lecture hall.
Luke Notos Greyrat. I knew of him. Vaguely. A distant relative. I'd never cared to meet the rest of the family.
"Yeah," I said. "That's me."
"The Princess would like to speak with you."
Princess?
I raised an eyebrow. He didn't clarify. Just turned and walked away, confident I'd follow.
And I did.
Because what else was I going to do?
The student council room was warm and polished. Everything smelled like herbs and parchment. A place that felt too clean for someone like me.
I immediately saw Ariel Anemoi Asura. Sitting at the center of the room like she belonged there. Next to her stood Fitz, as always an expression unreadable behind his glasses. He gave me a polite nod.
"You must be Rudeus Greyrat," Ariel said. Her voice was smooth. Not soft, but practiced. Like everything she said had a purpose behind it.
"I am," I replied. "You called for me?"
"I did." She smiled like a carved mask. "Thank you for coming." said with intention
I sat down across from her without being told to. I wasn't one for formalities.
"You've made quite the impression," she said. "Your magical capabilities, especially. Word travels quickly among the staff."
I stayed quiet.
"Which is why," she continued, "I'd like to formally invite you to join the Student Council. We could use someone like you."
There it was. The pitch.
"No thanks," I said immediately. "I'm not interested in student politics."
Luke made a small scoffing sound behind me. Fitz's posture didn't change.
Ariel, to her credit, didn't look offended. Just... intrigued.
"Why not?" she asked, eyeing me on why I would decline her request.
"I'm here to learn," I said. "Maybe find something useful in the process. I'm not looking to get wrapped up in power games."
"You say that like you haven't already been wrapped up in worse."
I looked at her for a moment longer than I meant to. There was a sharpness in her words, but not an attack. More like... curiosity.
"You're not wrong," I said still thinking about my current condition and eris
"Then wouldn't that experience be valuable in helping us navigate ours?" she asked. "This university is a storm. I'd prefer to face it with a few people who've weathered their own."
I leaned back in the chair. "No offense, but your storm isn't mine."
And that should've been the end of it. I was already thinking of leaving.
But insead of dismissing me, Ariel glanced at Fitz. Then turned back and said something I didn't expect:
"Then indulge me, Rudeus Greyrat. Stay a few minutes. If not for politics... then for conversation."
She gestured toward the tea Luke had reluctantly set between us. "Tell me, do you always decline offers before hearing the full terms?"
"Only when I'm fairly certain the price is hidden in fine print."
Ariel's smile widened slightly. "You assume I'd be that underhanded."
"I assume everyone is, at some level. Nobles just tend to be better at dressing it up."
Her eyes glittered with interest. "How very cynical. Is that wisdom from experience, or paranoia?"
I shrugged. "Does it matter? Both keep you alive."
"True," she said, swirling her cup. "But if survival is all you aim for, you'll find yourself outmaneuvered by those who aim higher."
"And if you aim too high," I countered, "you stop seeing the knife at your feet."
There was a pause. A soft clink of porcelain. She didn't look away.
"Then it's a good thing I'm learning to see both."
I raised an eyebrow. "Is that what this is? Practice? Am I your test subject?"
"Would you be offended if I said yes?"
"Not really," I said. "I've been used for worse."
A beat passed. Not awkward tense. Like two chess players figuring out the opening moves, like Magnus against Drunk Magnus...(Okay maybe not that far)
"You're more fun than I expected," Ariel said finally. "Not many people talk back to me like that."
"Maybe they're smarter than I am."
"Or maybe you're just too tired to pretend."
I gave her a long look.
That one hit closer than I liked.
"I'm surprised you don't try harder to convince me," I said, changing the subject. "Most nobles would've offered favors, flattery, maybe even veiled threats by now."
"Oh, I can do all those things," Ariel said lightly. "But I prefer honest conversation. It's harder to fake, and far more revealing."
"Spoken like someone who fakes it constantly."
She gave a soft, real or fake laugh. "Touché."
We moved on from there, slowly. Talking about the Academy, the departments, the theories. But the tone stayed sharp, aware. Like we were still testing each other. Still fencing with words.
And oddly enough...
I liked it.
It caught me off guard. Not the invitation, but how... casual it felt. Genuine, even. I had no reason to stay. But I also had no pressing reason to leave.
So I stayed.
We started talking.
Not about the council. Not about politics, at first.
We talked about the Academy.
She asked me what I thought of the research departments. I told her honestly some were jokes, others were interesting. We debated the effectiveness of combining chantless magic with elemental theory. She had surprising insight.
Somewhere in there, I asked why she really cared about this place. About student councils and noble networks.
Ariel's answer wasn't rehearsed.
"This is a rehearsal," she said, calmly. "For the life I'll return to. Politics back home is war in slow motion. And I prefer to walk in with allies."
"So you're building an army."
"I'm building connections. The difference is in intent."
I almost smiled at that.
She looked like someone used to being listened to. But not necessarily understood.
Maybe that's what kept me sitting there longer than I planned.
"You know," Ariel said, crossing one leg over the other with the poise of someone trained to make it look effortless, "for someone who claims to dislike politics, you're surprisingly good at it."
"Is that a compliment or a warning?" I asked.
"Both," she replied. "You have the tone of a man who's negotiated with demons and walked away bored."
"Only because they were less manipulative than your average noble."
Luke coughed in the background, not even pretending to hide his amusement. Fitz, still as stone, adjusted his glasses.
Ariel tapped a finger against her teacup. "Careful. That kind of wit might get you promoted."
"To what? Chief Sarcasm Officer?"
"Vice President of Knowing Better," she offered with a straight face.
"Tempting," I said. "Is there dental?"
"Only if you survive Luke's tea," she said with mock solemnity.
"I heard that," Luke muttered from across the room.
"I intended for you to," Ariel replied sweetly.
There was a short pause then I actually chuckled. Just once.
Ariel leaned back slightly, eyes still on me. "You laugh less than Fitz."
Fitz made no comment. Probably because it was true.
"Not much worth laughing at these days," I said, still holding the ghost of a smile.
"Then consider it a public service," Ariel said. "I'm trying to fix that. One deadpan sorcerer at a time."
That earned her a glance. "Ambitious."
"I aim high."
"I aim to stay out of the line of fire."
"Shame," she said. "You'd make a wonderful decoy."
"I'll keep that in mind for your next assassination attempt."
Luke actually groaned. Fitz sighed like this was somehow his life now.
And for a moment, the room this polished little bubble of formality felt almost like something normal.
Almost.
"You're surprisingly well-read," I said, swirling the tea that Luke had begrudgingly placed in front of me.
Ariel chuckled, elegant but not condescending. "I'd hope so. I had a kingdom's worth of tutors and a decade's worth of pressure to know everything."
"That sounds... exhausting."
"It was," she replied simply, her smile flickering just a little. "But I found ways to enjoy the work. Like pretending my tutors were noble enemies and every lesson was a duel."
I gave a soft snort. "That's one way to survive politics."
She leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm. "And you? Why not politics? You clearly know how to read people. You're careful with your words. And your silence says more than most nobles can in a monologue."
I looked away. "I've had enough of people using me for what I can do. I'd rather keep to myself."
A moment passed.
"I see," Ariel said, voice quieter now. "Is that what you think I'm doing?"
That question sat in the air for a while. Not defensive. Not offended. Just... honest.
"I don't know you well enough to assume anything," I said.
"Fair," she said. "But let me be honest, too I did invite you here because you're powerful. You're dangerous. And dangerous people are better as allies than strangers."
I raised an eyebrow.
"But," she added, her voice shifting, softening just a little, "I didn't expect to enjoy the conversation this much."
I blinked.
That made two of us.
We talked longer than I expected. About politics, magic, the nobility, the strange contradictions of power. And then, somehow, about other things music, the absurdity of noble dances, Fitz's tragic taste in books suprisingly (he denied nothing), and the weather back in Asura Kingdom.
It was strange.
Easy.
Like I could set down a part of the weight I'd been carrying just for a little while.
"You don't smile much," Ariel noted as I stood to leave.
"Not much reason to," I said.
She tilted her head slightly. "Maybe you just haven't had enough conversations like this."
I didn't reply. Not because I disagreed... but because part of me wondered if she might be right.
I expected that to be the last of it.
It wasn't.
A few days later, Fitz approached me outside the library with a single sentence:
"The Princess wishes to continue the discussion if you're not busy."
And for some reason, I wasn't.
The meetings weren't scheduled. They were spontaneous. Informal. Always private.
Sometimes they happened weekly. Sometimes two weeks would pass before I was called in again. Luke was always annoyed. Fitz was always silent. Ariel was always composed.
But when we were akone, it was different.
We talks about magic thory. About what kind of ruler she wanted to be. About whether strength alone made someone right, or if wisdom mattered more.
And sometimes, it was stupid things.
She once confessed she hated tomatoes. I told her I used to be terrified of bugs. We both laughed at the idea of either of us acting like children. But there was something real in that laughter something I hadn't felt in a long time.
At some point, I started looking forward to those conversations.
Even if I didn't say it.
Even if I told myself it didn't matter.
(Ariel POV)
I invited him because I needed strength.
But he stayed because we both needed something else.
Not loyalty. Not protection.
Just... the ability to be human, for a moment.
He never joined the council.
But he always returned.
And I started waiting for that knock on the door.
More than I should have.