We need to talk

The three of them walked to the place where they were supposed to meet each others. The boys were still wrapping their heads around why such a powerful Witch would be a headmistress to what Sheyken would call for now a grade school. She seemed to be someone who would be the head of a cult or guild. They could not ask Salina the questions they wanted to ask her as when they got out, the streets were already busy and lively.

They got to a place cold Silina's and walked in. They found Lariote and Esiyana having something to eat while Lasore was still unconscious. They joined them and the boys talked to Esiyana about what happened while Lariote and Salina also chatted away. They booked their room and this time Lasore was put with Lariote.

"Boys, starting tomorrow I do not think you will have time to sightsee. So, once we have seen our rooms let's meet back here. We also need to buy new clothes for everyone. The brown lizard skin clothes of the desert do not go well with the status of the town and since you young, you cannot be wearing your armor every time or it might get taken away."

Salina said. Everyone was excited especially Esiyana. The boys went to see their room and it was different from what they were used to. The beds seemed to be of high quality but the room's temperature was not regulated. It's seemed the weather there was cool enough to not have such a magic tool. Lariote left Lasore in their room and they all met downstairs.

"I guess we will treat today as a fun day before the hard work begins."

Salina said and everyone was loving this side of her. Victicus words were playing a major role in her development as a social person and her not only thinking about getting stronger and advancing. They left the place and the day already had such a good feeling that the boys did not even notice the cute girl who was a receptionist at the Inn.

The was one thing that Sheyken knew, and that was to stay far away as possible from a girl who is shopping, especially if you were paying. This time he was being treated to so he folded like Lariote and Falgur had and followed the girls who walked like they were about to paint the city red.

It was war, the war on clothes and accessories had started and they were losing to two girls being followed by three boys. The men walking with their wives and girlfriends felt their pain but found solace in that the older beautiful girl seemed to be the one paying. It was a small victory to all men that made them pump up their chests but seeing their fellow men carrying mountains of boxes their hearts sank now knowing that the cruelty of women knew no bounds.

What they did not know though was that the boys carrying those boxes were full of smiles. Smiles of thanks to Uros for giving birth to such beautiful creatures. Sheyken and Lariote had been helping Salina choose dresses and she would try them on making them tell her what they thought about them. Falgur was doing the same for Esiyana and Sali was slowly fading away in his mind as the girl went from cute to simply beautiful in his eyes outfit after outfit. That was not the reason why they were smiling though. They were smiling because the next shop they were going to visit was an underwear shop.

"Sheyken, you still do not want to put all these in a storage device."

Salina said as she looked at the stacks of boxes the boys were carrying.

"No, if you do, how would you know you have won the war."

"What war?"

"Cough, cough, I just mean this is how this is supposed to be. Just let us be gentlemen and stop pushing our manliness to storage devices."

Salina did not understand his reasoning but went with it.

"Anyways, we will meet at the market. We have to get into this shop now. It's girls only."

The boy's hearts were so shaken by what she said that Sheyken just put everyone into Ruby in one split second like they had not just had a conversation about it. They pointed their dejected faces to the market without looking back at the girls like they had been wronged. Salina who still did not know she understood Sheyken's humor just laughed but Esiyana who did not know what was up with them did not know what to say. She took her hand and stepped into the store.

"Boys will be boys. Do not worry about them."

She said with a smile.

Huffs and puffs were heard by the people in the market at that time. No one talked but they all knew the missed opportunity. Lariote who was now the leader of the protests bought three meat sticks and gave one to each of them. They ate them like wild animals and that bought their mood back.

They searched the market for what they would like and Sheyken found two nice necklaces of the same kind but looked different form one another. One was bloody red and the other looked like an expensive white diamond.

"What are they?"

He asked the lady selling them.

"They are called lovers' curse."

Sheyken who still did not know how his blood and curses were connected felt nothing.

"Lover's curse?"

"I see you must be new in town. They are well-known stones, pretty and expensive. The story goes that a man once gave a bloodstone which was of his blood to a woman he loved. He had put a Blessing on the stone and broke it in half with the other half being crystal clear. He carried that stone with him as if it turned blood red too, it would mean that the woman loved him too. The stone never tuned even when he married her, had a child with her and her seeming happy. He died young as all he did was look at the crystal-clear stone and could not stop but to stress over why it never turned Blood red."

"So, the Blessing of the stones turned into a curse?"

"Yes, I see you got a good mind child."

The lady said.

"It's a tragic story, does anyone know why it never turned?"

"Well, the boy was a noble's son. The girl was a beautiful rose that all the men wanted, but she could not say no to such a person of high status. It is said she loved someone else before she married the noble's son and some say even the child was not his. This is only speculation though as it is an old tale."

"So, does it really work? Does the other stone turn if the person you give the bloodstone to loves you?"

"Hahaha, so young and already talking about love, how the new generation grows so quickly. It works, but only if you tell the person what it is before you give it to her. The neckless will put itself around their neck if she agrees to receive it after hearing how it works and she can only take it off when yours has turned bood red too or when you take yours off. She can take a roundabout way buy taken yours off herself and that will allow her to take hers off."

'Damn, this thing might as well be cursed as it all depends on me after she agrees to put it on or she might have it around her neck for as long as I want.

"Awe, they are already done?"

Falgur said with another meat stick in his mouth and pointing at the girls.

"I will take them, how much."

Sheyken said in a hurry.

"30 gold coins"

'What!!!!"

Sheyken screamed in his mind. The girls were getting close to where he was and he had no time to argue the price or to check if they were authentic or not. He gave the lady the coins and Ruby made them disappear like they were never there after he moved his hand on top of them. Seeing this, the lady gulped. She had charged him an exorbitant price thinking he was just another rich kid but him making them disappear was telling her that he had a Blessing.

"Awe, what are you trying to buy Sheyken."

Salina said with interest. Sheyken was confused about what to say but the lady was quick to act.

"Well, well, well, there she is."

The lady said to both Sheyken and Salina's surprise. She took a bracelet that had a crescent moon that was dark blue, a tree that was dark green and a star that resembled the sun that was bright yellow. They were all made out of diamond-like stones and the bracelet itself was made out of some kind of white material resembling white gold.

"Here you are."

She said as she took Salina's hand and put it on her. Salina seeing the beauty of the bracelet could not help but hold out her hand which the lady passed on to Sheyken to finish putting it on.

"I told you It will look beautiful on her. Its symbolizes many things but what most think it symbolizes is the growth and the cycle of life itself."

The lady said.

"You can come back anytime for anything else. Make sure you remember me."

She said hoping that he didn't. Sheyken was thankful for the save. The bracelet even looked more beautiful than the necklaces.

"Wow!"

A second had not finished with him having put it on her and Esiyana was already holding her hand and jumping up and down. She seemed to have relaxed more as the day progressed and was getting close to Salina. She looked at the bracelet and then at Falgur repeatedly, making him almost choke on his food after seeing her look at him that way.

Salina could not even say thank you as she was being led away by a dejected Esiyana to the food stands.

"Young legend, I see you have leveled up. At this rate, you will reach that unattainable level that all men are chasing."

Lariote said with a fist pump in acknowledgment of such a boss level move by his young master.

They finished eating and sightseeing. The day was well spent as everyone was in a happy mood. Salina could not stop looking at her new bracelet though, making Sheyken smile. They reached the Silina's and the place was not that busy. They all went to their rooms except for Lariote who was feeling like a third while and he needed a drink.

The boys were in their rooms and were about to read the booklets Quileth had given them when they heard a knock on the door. Falgur opened it and Salina was outside. He let her in knowing she was not there for him.

"Sheyken, WE NEED TO TALK."

As soon as he heard those words, he looked at the window and thought of jumping out to safety. Falgur hearing those words wanted to laugh at him but did not want to feel the wrath of a berserker. Salina was laughing inwardly after seeing Sheyken's reaction. She did not know why he acted that way to such words as he acted the same way at the Teleportation station.

Falgur left them and closed the door. He put his ear on the door so as to hear what was being said but could not hear anything as Salina had cast her sound isolation spell. He cursed his bad luck and went to the dining hall and saw Lariote talking to a cute girl who was as old as Salina. In the room Salina sat next to Sheyken.

"I think that was the first time I had a good time with other people either than Alati."

Salina said. Sheyken just gulped as he did not know where the conversation was leading to. Seeing him all tensed up, Salina sighed and decided to jump straight to the point.

"We are not nobles."

She said looking up at the ceiling.

"And I do not know why you are so interested in me when you are this young. At your age, all I would think about is getting stronger, but we are two different beings and I do not know what is going through your mind."

She said as she looked at him.

"This has caused people to try and put you and me on a path I do not know you even understand at your age."

Sheyken was starting to think that he should have jumped out the window when he still had the chance.

"Do not get me wrong. I can see how imported you are for someone of your age and who is not of royalty and noble blood to Seduralto and the Guild master. Not to mention Senjira and Finisrepo the people already adore you. I even meet the queen personally because of you and got everything I need to advance."

Sheyken wanted to kill himself right there. He knew there was a 'But' coming.

"But please also understand that me getting stronger is also important to me. That is all I know and it is all I have that I would consider mine. I do not know if you are playing a game or what, but this has made people want to get between you and me and direct our future. Tell me, do you even know what it is you are doing?"

She asked as she tried to look at Sheyken in his eyes but he was facing forward and did not want to look at her.

'Shit! this is worse than torture. Should I stay quiet or talk?'

He thought and decided to say something but had to stop as Salina sighed and said something before he could.

"I do not blame you. I also think you are more intelligent than your age, but you are still young to be thinking of me to be anything either than a friend. I am sure this conversation is like torture to you right now too."

Sheyken wanted to nod his head vigorously right then. Salina held out her hand like she was looking at a ring on her finger but she was looking at the bracelet.

"Thank you for this. You are the only person to ever buy me such an extravagant gift."

Sheyken smiled.

"I can only see your actions towards me as a child not knowing what he's doing or talking about right now and I will forever do so so long as you are a child. I will keep this with the hopes of you having the ambition to become stronger than me. When you come of age, we will have this conversation again."

She stopped for a second and looked at Sheyken.

"I hope before then that you will find someone who is at your age but if not, you will have to fight through the mountains of what is a mage's ambition and we do not have time for such things."

She said playfully.

"I am sure if you are brave enough to be pursuing me at your age, you must be grown enough to understand everything I have said and how I feel. You are one extraordinary kid already, so I am sure this will not break the relationship we have formed since we met."

"No, and sorry for putting you in such a position. It must have been hard to resolve to even have this talk to with a kid."

Sheyken finally talked which surprised Salina.

"You said it yourself, we are not nobles, but in this world, there are people who are promised to one another when they are born with some age gaps being ridiculous."

He said as he finally turned to look at Salina who was surprised at his words. He had been asking the adventurers about the topic and that is why they have been even encouraging him.

"I know you want to become stronger, and I more than want to become stronger. I want to have the power to carry the world. I shall respect you and stop these silly advances 'as you put it', because I see how it makes you feel, but do not get it wrong."

He said pointing at her heart.

"Just like any beast, I shall hunt it down and conquer it, and when I come of age, it will not be able to stay away from me."

Sheyken said and like a the young legend that he was, he stood up from his bed and walk to the door leaving a berserker stunned and still looking at where he was sitting as she did not know what happened when the conversation was going well until he started to speak. What he just said were not words of an 8-year-old but those of a Beast warrior.

The scene though was made awkward by Sheyken not being able to open the door and leave. Salina's spell was still active and prevented someone from opening the door. She finally turned and saw him still trying to open the door and immediately stopped the spell. The door swung violently as he was applying force on it making him fall. He got up and could not look back as he walked away still trying to act cool.

Salina did not know whether to laugh or still be shocked at his words.