81 A Little Compelled.

Lili arrived in Zeph's backyard in the afternoon. She spent most of the day with her mom talking about school and how days were going. Genevieve's pregnancy was starting to show, and Lili started spending more quality time with her mother. After the baby is born, her mom will need to focus on it and their time together will lessen for a while. No one knew what gender the baby was yet, but Lili was excited either way. They also video chatted with her dad and grandpa for a while. When her mom decided she needed to rest for a while, Lili went to Zeph's place.

The first person she saw was Ivy, but something was odd about her. The blond-haired half-elf had a goofy grin on her face. 'She must be having a daydream about Zeph again,' Lili thought. Ice formed around Lili's hand and she snuck up behind her best friend.

"Bwaa!" Ivy screamed as something cold slid down the back of her shirt. She hopped around trying to get it to fall out. Lili started laughing at the poor girl's plight. "What was that for?" the half-elf whined.

"You were off in Zeph-land again, and I thought that would bring you back." Lili gave her an impish grin. "It worked didn't it."

"Rrrmhh," Ivy grumbled. "You could have just tapped me on the shoulder or said something."

Bianca came outside with a pitcher of lemonade. "Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" Bianca joined the conversation. She saw the little prank and approved.

"So what's Zeph working on today?" Lili asked.

"Nothing. He's not supposed to train for the next week." The blond smirked. "Alex said that if he tries to, I get to do whatever I want to make him stop." Ivy had an odd looking smile.

Lili looked at Ivy. "Okaaaay." Then she turned to Bianca, "What's up with her?"

Bianca tapped her pendant and pulled up the pictures she took that morning. "I decided to prank Zeph and she reaped the benefits."

Lili's eyes bugged out. "How did that happen?" Bianca started to explain while Ivy just stared at the picture with a red face. When she finished, Lili asked, "That's pretty good. No wonder lover-girl here is all loopy."

The insult caught Ivy's attention. "I'm not loopy. I'm just… er… I'm just in love. You wouldn't understand," she tried to defend herself.

"Sure, because love makes you act like a creeper."

"It's not her fault." A new voice came in from the table at the patio. "When an Ashgrove woman falls in love, she falls hard. It's almost like a family curse."

"Mom!" Ivy said surprised. "When did you get here?"

Tara looked at her daughter. "I've been here since brunch. Semara was kind enough to invite me. She also introduced me to a drink called a mimosa. They're quite good, if not a little strong for my preference" she said feeling a little giddy. Semara made them with a shifters metabolism in mind, so the elder half-elf was slightly buzzed. "You would have noticed if you weren't staring at the young lord all morning," Tara teased.

Ivy quietly complained in a whisper no one could understand.

"Wait, what did you mean curse?" Lili asked.

"Almost a curse. It's similar but isn't." Tara motioned for them to join her on the patio and sit at the table. "The reason we equate it to a curse is that it causes us trouble. The women on my side of the family always fall madly in love, but there's always some difficulty standing in the way of that love being fulfilled. Let's take my mother and Eli, for example. She fell for him but had to wait for him for over half a century before she even met him again. I, on the other hand, had to deal with some annoying noble inheritance and family disputes when I met your father. You see, I was technically marrying down when I decided to marry him. In the end, it worked out. But, there were some red prejudices and complicated politics that we had to deal with." After getting a glass of lemonade from Bianca, Tara continued. "Then there's you, my little sunflower. You fell in love with a boy who has no interest in love at the moment. And by the time he's ready, you'll have more than enough competition. There's also no telling what might get in your way in the future."

"I don't really see how that's a curse. It just sounds pretty normal." Bianca said.

"That's not all. There's also the way love affects the women of our family. The story my mother told me is that one of our ancestors performed some sort of ritual. Long story short, it was said that a woman of our family was seduced or tricked into falling in love with a man that ended up betraying her. To prevent that sort of thing from ever happening again, our ancestor created a spell that would guarantee a happy love life. Since then, ladies of the Ashgrove lineage were able to tell when a boy's feelings were genuine or insincere. It also lets us know, instinctually, if someone would be a good match. Then there's the compulsion for us to follow our heart. That way we don't talk ourselves out of falling in love with someone or lie to ourselves about our feelings.

You've probably noticed that Ivy's become a little fixated on the boy, much more than a girl usually would be. That's what I mean by it's like a curse. We get a little, for lack of a better word, obsessed when we're in love and that usually leads to something troublesome. Why this one time, I got caught sneaking into the Phillips' mansion when Narius was sent there for a diplomatic conference with the regional nobles." She looked at Lili, "Your grandfather was surprised that they had an intruder, but he was even more shocked that the culprit was some strange half-elf girl trying to sneak into one of the guest's rooms in a trench coat." Tara chuckles as she recalled the story.

"MOM!" Ivy cried in shock and embarrassment.

"What's so shocking about a trench coat?" Lili asked innocently.

Bianca giggled, "It's not the trench coat itself, but what was under it."

"Why what was under it?" Lili tilted her head curiously. Tara grew a little red.

"Probably a negligee," Bianca answered for the slightly embarrassed woman.

"Oh," Lili said uninterested until the gears in her head finally started turning. "OH!" she started to blush a little at the realization.

Feeling playful, Bianca decided to ask, "So what was it? Something elegant. Something naughty, like stockings and a garter belt. Maybe some lingerie?" Bianca didn't see much of a reaction, and then grew a knowing smile. "Or was it… nothing at all?"

Tara didn't say anything. She didn't have to. Her bright red face answered everything for her.

Ivy saw the blush. "Mom, you didn't!?"

"Ahem," Tara coughed. "Anyway, our desire to pursue love can sometimes get the better of you, so just be careful okay dear. Remember, just because you want to do something, doesn't mean you have to do it."

"Wait, does that mean that the only reason Ivy is in love with Zeph is because of magic?" Bianca asked.

"Not at all. Her initial interest was probably due to the spell. It let her know that the boy she was looking at was a good match. However, the fixation doesn't start until she actually develops real romantic feelings for her target." Tara took a sip of her lemonade. "That is to say that she had a crush, so the spell told her to see where that goes. Then she met that crush and fell in love. Now, she's somewhat compelled to make that love blossom."

"But what if he never loves her back? Wouldn't it be cruel to be forced to love someone who could never love you back?"

"No Ivy, the spell doesn't make you fall in love. It compels you to pursue love. The moment Ivy decides that it would be impossible to be with Zeph, or if she falls out of love with him, then the fixation will stop. It's hard to describe. The spell isn't controlling her in any way, it's just trying to nudge her in the right direction."

"If it doesn't try to control you, then why did you break into my grandpa's mansion in a trench-coat?" Lili narrowed her eyes at the older woman.

"Uhm, that is." Tara looked to the side. "I didn't have to go see Narius, but I went along with my desires because I really missed him at the time. We hadn't seen each other in months."

"But why the trench coat?" Lili pressed.

Tara grew redder. "Err… ummm."

"Because she's a bit of a pervert." Bianca laughed.

"Bianca!" Tara looked at the fox in shock and anger.

"What, I've seen some of the fine literature that you and Relina read." Bianca winked. "It's some pretty intense stuff.

"Does that mean Ivy will be a pervert too?" Lili asked, sending her friend a look of pity. "I've seen her grandma lend her some of those books with the shirtless guys on it."

Bianca and Tara continued talking about some embarrassing things. Lili was taking mental notes and trying to understand the more adult-oriented topics. Meanwhile, Ivy was banging her head on the table. "Make it stop," she said in a small voice.

_____________________

Zeph was floating in the pool. It was an odd feeling, swimming outdoors in winter. Magic kept the pool warm, and the backyard was still green despite fall already passing. He was surprised that fall only lasted two months and winter came early. Bernard said that it happened sometimes. No one else seemed to care about the seasonal shift, so Zeph decided to go with the flow, like usual. He looked over to his swimming partner. "What made you decide to hang out in the pool with me instead of with Bianca and Ms. Alcott? Judging by all the noise they're making, I'm pretty sure they're talking about something interesting."

"Why? Not enjoying my company?" a wet wolf tail came out of the water and slapped him on the belly.

"Nah, who would complain about a pretty girl in the pool. Even if she's not wearing a proper swimsuit." Zeph laughed. He glanced at Semara. She was wearing a shirt with a picture of a wolf pup playing with a ball that looked like the moon and some jean shorts.

"I'm not the only one. You're wearing regular clothes too." Semara looked at the boy wearing a soaked t-shirt and black shorts. "I'm pretty sure you gave Ivy a nose bleed earlier with your white shirt getting soaked."

"Ugh don't remind me," Zeph said with a shudder.

"What's wrong?" Semara asked.

"Ever since this morning, Ivy's been looking at me in a weird way. It gives me the creeps."

"True, she's starting to look like her mom when Tara starts talking about her husband." Semara used her tail to paddle closer to him. "Did you know that Ivy's mom stalked her dad for a week until he agreed to go on a date with her."

"Stalked, really?" Zeph looked over to the patio. "No way."

"She said she was just trying to get his attention, but it sounded like stalking to me. She followed him around, took pictures of him, and snuck into his house once." Semara said.

Zeph had a quick flashback to the nonconsensual cuddle session. "Okay, that might explain a few things." A worried look flashed across his face. "Hopefully Ivy won't do that."

"Please, Ivy's a harmless little butterfly. Even if she did keep you held against your will, you were the one that pulled her in."

"I'm going to get you two for that by the way."

"I'm sure you will," Semara grinned mischievously. Sure she had payback coming, but Bianca's would be much worse.

"Wait, that's why you're hanging out with me right now, isn't it. Trying to get on my good side."

"Busted." Semara smiled at him. "Is it working?"

Zeph scoffed. "Anyway, what do you think we should do today? I can't practice anything, or Ivy threatened she would do something, and I don't feel like being sexually harassed by a pre-teen again."

"Who said we had to do anything. Just laying back and letting the water take us where it may is fine. Plus we can talk about whatever. Besides, Ivy's not that bad. Now if a shifter girl was after you, then you might have to be on guard."

"Why's that?"

"We mature faster than humans, warrior race remember. Anyway, a shifter girl at your age would be well into puberty and looking for a mate. They can be aggressive."

"I'll be sure to keep the charm under control when I'm around the shifter girls then."

"I wouldn't worry about that." Semara chuckled.

"Why?"

"Ivy's called dibs. And if any girl wants to get to you, they have to get through Ivy and Lili. Pay more attention to your surroundings in school tomorrow and you'll notice how many girls are looking at you."

"I knew about the looks, but I just thought they didn't approach because they were scared of me or something. I am quite the badass you know."

"A badass who cuddles with a kitten when he goes to bed." Semara laughed.

"A kitten that can fly," said with a smug retort.

"Speaking of the fluff ball, where is she?"

Zeph closed his eyes and linked up with Rin. His vision changed and he was now crawling through the grass getting ready to pounce on a squishy ball of light. Opening his eyes, Zeph smirked. "She's playing tag with Ethris. They're in the garden."

"Oh, okay." After a long pause, Semara asked another question. "So why aren't we wearing bathing suits again?"

Zeph shrugged. "I didn't feel like changing clothes."

With a yawn, the young lord stretched and continued his lazy day in the pool. He made small talk with Semara for a while, and then they joined everyone on the patio in the evening. Alex and Keva decided to cook dinner. Ashley declined to join everyone and continued to isolate herself in the guest room. Lili, Ivy, and Tara left late in the evening. It was a good day for Zeph, and he felt more relaxed than he had in a long time. His mind felt fresher. Now he just had to go the rest of the week without practicing magic. Bernard even sent a note to him for his teachers. It told them to exclude him from any training during the evening classes. Hopefully, it won't be too boring.