Rings

After reassuring Mal that I was okay (for the fifteenth time…), he showed me to my room.

"I can show you around the tower later, but I would like for you to rest." Mal told me as he opened a door.

We walked inside and saw an explosion of pink. Everywhere I looked, I saw pink. Even the ceiling wasn't safe.

"Eh...What's with all the pink?" I asked

"I was told that pink was very popular among girls" he told me "Was I wrong?"

"Not all girls like pink." I told him

"Oh. I understand. You probably don't want to sleep here then. I can change it all if you want." He said

"No no. You don't have to go through all the trouble" I said.

"But I don't want to force you to stay here if you don't feel comfortable." Mal said

"It's okay. In fact my favorite color is pink." I said, trying to reassure him.

"Really? Then, you are happy with the room?" He asked

"Mhmm" I nodded

"Then please get some rest. We can talk in the morning." Mal said as he walked out the door.

"Sounds like a plan. Goodnight" I said

"G-goodnight" he said happily and closed the door.

I take a quick shower and sleep on the very pink bed.

MAL'S POV

*That was the first time I ever wished someone a goodnight* I happily thought to myself

I walk to my room and work on my potions. I want to be prepared for when I start teaching Hero.

*Maybe we can be friends or perhaps more…* I shook my head *No. Someone like him would never think of being that close to me*

I look down at the potions I was mixing. *Is this a good idea? Getting close to Hero?* I wondered

I sighed *I need sleep*

HERO'S POV

"First, I want to make a deal" I said

"Deal?" Mal asked

I nodded. In the story, it didn't take long before the hero figured out where Mal's hideout was. I don't want to freak Mal out but I also don't want to hide from the problem. I want to keep Mal safe and the only way is to…

"Train me?" He asked bewildered

"Yep. I teach you how to use a sword and you can teach me how to use magic." I said

He tilted his head, "I guess that's fair. But why would you want to train me?"

"I just want to keep you safe" I confessed a bit embarrassed

"I...okay." He said with his head down with a red face.

"Okay!" I said to get rid of the tension in the air. "Would you like to make a schedule?"

"Sure" he agreed

In the end, we decided to have Mondays, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday dedicated to magic classes.

Tuesday's, Tursdays, Saturday's dedicated to sword training.

"Unfortunately we don't have enough materials for classes. Would you like to go into town with me?" He asked

"Sure. We can also buy swords for training." I said

Then remembered something. "What about the guards?"

"I already made a spell to make us unrecognizable" he said as he took out a box. He opened it and revealed two identical rings.

"If we put these on, we seem invisible to the guards" he said "Hold out your hand"

I held out my hand and he slid the ring on my middle finger. I held it up to my face for a better look. Looking at the ring up close, I saw that my ring had a darker blue stone then Mal's. He had a light blue stone with elegant engravings around the ring whereas mine had a larger stone in the middle with engravings right on the stone.

"Why are the rings a little different?" I asked

"I use spells like this more frequently and don't need as much help with magic but since this is completely foreign to you. You need a much bigger magic boost" Mal explained

We got some bags to carry anything we bought and we were off.

As we walked into the shopping center, I saw many shops. I looked around and saw someone selling swords and armor.

"I'll be right back" I told Mal

"Sure. I'm going to look around here for a while. Take your time" he replied

Mal had given me some money to spend so I went into the store and looked around. In the end, I got a light and slim sword for Mal and a heavier one for myself.

"You got a wife?" The guy asked me as I was paying

"Pardon?" I asked

He nodded towards my ring. "I'm guessing you have a son you are training"

"Oh n-" *wait! I can't tell him the truth* "-how'd you know…" I said nervously

"You had a look in your eyes while shopping for the smaller sword. Like you put a lot of thought into finding the right one. You also have a ring on your married finger." He said

*In this world, the middle finger must be the ring finger instead* I thought

"Ah yeah" I said "Well I've gotta go"

"Good luck with the wife" he said as he waved goodbye

I walked out the store and walked around to find Mal. I finally found Mal talking to an elderly woman in a herb store.

"Hello. Do you need something?" She asked when she saw me staring

Mal turned around and saw me. "Hero! You're done? I was talking to Anne here. She's in charge of this Herb store."

I looked over at her and said "It's very nice to meet you"

She looked at me and stared at my hand. I looked down and said "Oh, no. No wife for me."

She laughed and said "Don't worry. I know it's for a spell."

"You know?" I asked

Mal looked at me and said "I'm sorry I told her but I trust her with my life. I practically grew up here." He said

I nodded and said "If you trust her then I trust her"

Mal looked outside at the sky and said "It's getting late. We should head back"

Anne suddenly laughed and both Mal and I looked over at her.

"I am so sorry. But you two look like a married couple." She explained

Mal stared in shock. I looked down at our rings and asked "is it the rings?"

"That's part of it."Anne said "You both look out for each other. Ya hear?"

We promised and said our goodbyes.

As we walked home, I told Mal about the man at the shop. We both laughed.

"I am so sorry. But the ring only works on the middle finger. I thought you knew that the middle finger was for marriage" he apologized

"It's not a problem. You will just have to explain why my so called 'wife' is actually a man" I teased

"Ha...what?" He asked

"Well, you wouldn't want me to be a liar. Would you?" I asked

"Guess not. Then I can pretend to be your son." He concluded

"I'm guessing you want Anne to be my wife" I said dejected look

"That's right." He said

"That wouldn't work." I said "we're both around the same age. No one would mistake you for my son"

He thought about it, sighed and said "I guess I'll have to invest in a wig"

I laughed as I pictured him in a wig. We talked and laughed until we got to the castle.

*This is nice. I hope this can last forever* I thought to myself

We went into the tower and made plans for our training.