It's sunset now. I'm not a night owl so I estimate two more hours till I'm tucked in like a child and having the best sleep of my life. Today felt exhausting and all I did was visit home. Luca extends a hand and helps me out of the carriage, no stumbling this time.

"It appears your fiance is waiting for you." He comments. Kace and Adria stand by the entrance. One looks excited and the other, cold. I have seen Kace angry, a little sad, his resting face is generally cold but this. It's like a man killed his own mother. I see his eyes drop to the bracelet Luca gave me.

"We visited her home. She needed a companion and I happen to have been available." The mage picks up on his mood. "And the bracelet is a gift."

"You don't need to explain anything to a butler." Kace replies, giving sharp looks to the two of us.

"Kace..." Adria shrinks like a fawn. "Riselle went home, she got to see her parents. Lets be happy?"

"Of course. I have cooked Riselle her favorite Fillet Mignon."

"Yay!" The brunette runs towards me, linking her arms in mine and dragging me towards our usual table in the dining room. Kace's mood doesn't improve, and I'm certain it's more than just jealousy (if any jealousy at all) making him act this way. Maybe Rowan was bullying him.

While we were on the carriage I decided I'd give Kace one of my paintings, I wonder if that would improve his mood. I excuse myself from Adria and run up to my room to get it, promptly returning. I planned to do this after supper but he cooked me my favorite food so I can't stand eating it when he's all sulky like that.

"Riselle your dinner is starting to get cold!"

"Sorry, I had something to grab."

Adria extends her neck to look at the painting I am holding closely to my chest. It's a field of Aster flowers I painted three years ago. I was at the field from sunrise to sunset, mx. Selly making me redo it until it looked decent to their standard. The sun was warm, I did my best to make it reflect in the painting, with the light hitting every petal and height of grass.

"You made that?" Adria asks.

"Yeah, it's been collecting dust in my room so I thought I'd give it to Kace as a thank you. He does a lot."

"Oh, my, goodness! Aren't you two so sweet! Ack!" She squeels. "KAAAACEE...."

My fiance wasn't anywhere to be seen in the dining hall, but after Adria screamed his name he showed up like a lightning bolt. His first instinct is to frown at my untouched Fillet Mignon.

"It must've gotten cold by new, shall I make you a new one?"

He's talking so formally.

"No, it's fine. I uh, want to give you this. I'm not much of a painter but I don't have the money to buy you expensive gifts so here." I notice my hands tremble. His own graze over mine as he takes the painting away, his eyes carefully scanning every inch of the art.

"I'm sorry..."

"Eh?"

"The painting is beautiful. And after I was being so incredibly rude and jealous."

Adria slaps a hand over her mouth. I blink a couple times. Did he just admit to being jealous?

"I will take it." He continues, softly. "Thank you Riselle. Only you could surprise me the way you do. And please let me replace your fillet mignon."

"No! Not after you made it for me personally!" I stammer. "Now I will enjoy the fillet mignon cooked lovingly by my fiance."

"I hope you like it." Kace pulls his glove off. I watch it closely, unsure of what he is intending to do. He reaches for my hand and pulls it up to his face, planting a kiss on my knuckles. My face burns, my heart is racing. He walks away casually with the painting in his arms.

I turn to look for my friend before sitting down but instead I find her doing laps around the dining room. Primal instincts perhaps? So I sit by myself. Rather, I plop onto the seat like a raindrop and stare silly at the ceiling in a daze.

Mx. Selly once told us love was the destroyer of all. It created art only to destroy it, and it destroys what already exists. An artist would be no longer. There were no exceptions, they said. There is no world where art exists because of love. I honestly don't agree with them, I think love is why we make art. But I understand where they're coming from.

Mx. Selly's mother was an artist so important she changed the trajectory of the kingdom of Revellis. When she met her husband, she had a baby (who is now Mx. Selly) and no longer had the time to create things. Eventually she died having never made a single piece of art since before her baby. Mx. Selly, not wishing to end up like their mother, never married and never fell in love.

Sometimes I wonder if I'd suffer the same fate. Regardless of ones philosophical interpretation on how love affects art, many people do lose themselves in pursuit of having kids and a family.

"Your fillet mignoooon is getting coooold." Adria returns, panting.

"Had a good run?"

"It was amazing. You two should kiss already."

"What!? No!? We're not a real couple."

"Then become one!" She stabs the food with the fork and attempts to stuff a huge chunk in my mouth.

"Maybe when I'm eighty!"

"Eat!"

"No you!" I shove the fork back at her, and we both turn into a laughing mess. Only after we finish making stupid jokes, I enjoy my now cold fillet mignon that I really wish I ate earlier. And it's far past my bedtime. Both my brain and my legs feel like mush.

No Rowan and no Eve today. What a delight.

Instead my evening is filled with thoughts of Kace, and the lingering feeling of his lips pressed against my knuckles. Oh god I actually have a crush on this guy. I haven't had a crush since I was fourteen. I was secretly seeing this boy at a bakery who kept luring me with croissants. When the headmaster found out, they scared me away from relationships so bad I closed my heart off entirely from romantic relations with people. It didn't keep me away from drooling over hot people but it did keep me away from envisioning a future where I'm not some single rich woman with her very spoiled fur children.

For some reason the headmaster doesn't even want a cat.