Amaury

Finally, the weekend was here. And just in time for the weekend, he also got his first salary. However, it wasn’t much, as he had only worked at the academy for a few days. However, it should be enough for a few gifts.

Amaury went to the capital with one of the carriages that were always to be found at the academy and wandered through the small shops. The coachman had wished him a lot of fun and pointed out where he could find the carriages that would take him back to the academy. Now that he was finally free, Amaury couldn't wait to roam the many shops. He already missed his siblings very much. For today, he had the following plans: buy gifts. Nothing more. After all, his siblings were waiting for souvenirs from the capital.

Well, strictly speaking, they were pushing for it. Two days after he wrote and sent his first letter, he received their reply. His parents were happy for him, while Ethan was eagerly awaiting the promised gifts. Apparently, he had told all his friends that Amaury would send him some enchanted cloth. His parents had tried to avert the evil, but Ethan insisted that Amaury had promised. He didn't, so he hoped his little brother wouldn't be too disappointed. This fabric was just too expensive.

Amaury quickly found a toy store where he bought two small stuffed bears for Ethan and Adaliz. The shop also sold children's books, but he didn't see any that his brother would like. After that, he went to a small jewelry store, where he found hair bands for Ava and Aleidis. Since Aleidis liked the texture of velvet, he bought one made of blue velvet for her. For Ava, he found a similar hairband but decorated with sparkling little pearls. The ribbons didn't cost much. And that was a good thing because he couldn't afford expensive gifts. Not yet. In the store, he also found a few sparkling and glittering glass buttons, which were sold individually. Of these, he bought a few for Ava. She was guaranteed to like them.

When Amaury left the shop satisfied, a couple of girls came towards him. Surprised, he spotted Aili. The other girls were probably her friends with whom she had argued. He was pleased that they apparently got along again. Aili smiled happily when she saw him.

"Amaury, right?", she greeted him immediately. "Thanks again. Because of... You know."

He nodded, embarrassed. "You're welcome."

"Oh? This is your mysterious comforter?", asked one of the other three girls. She had bright blue eyes that sparkled curiously. The other two girls were twins. They walked hand in hand beside Aili.

Aili blushed. "Maiken!"

"So it's him?", the girl, Maiken, giggled all the more.

Aili sighed. "Yes. May I introduce you all? This is Amaury. He's a baker." Now she looked at him again. Her light brown eyes shimmered honey-colored in the sunlight. "Amaury? These are my three friends. Maiken, Menka and Silja. They are sisters."

"I'm glad. But... I don't want to be a bother...", he scratched his head embarrassedly. Aili was so pretty. And so taken.

"Oh! You don't. We want to go out for coffee. The coffee is certainly not running away from us. So? Amaury? You're a baker?", one of the twins asked. "How long have you been working at the academy? Surely not for long? We've never seen you before."

"Right. I've only recently started", he confirmed nervously. The twins stared at them with piercing eyes.

"Hmm... How old are you?", the other twin asked. They looked almost identical. Amaury wondered if Aili could tell them apart. "I heard young people are hired less often. You're never older than nineteen, are you?"

"Silya! You're rude!", protested Aili.

"Yes, exactly. What if he's fifty!", the other twin giggled. Aili had introduced her as Menka.

"I'm eighteen. I recently finished my apprenticeship", he replied unshaken. "And I really hope that I don't look so old now, even though I already feel like it after a few days at the academy. I have back pain like an old man!"

Aili smiled, but the twins continued to look at him carefully.

"Eighteen?" Silja raised her eyebrows and looked at Aili. "Hmm..."

Menka snorted. "Are you planning to ask Aili out?"

Perplexed, Amaury stared at her. "What?"

"As friends, we need to find out about your intentions", she continued. Her two sisters nodded. Aili, on the other hand, sighed and looked apologetically at Amaury.

"We'd better go get our coffee. It was nice to see you!", she said, pushing the three witches away slightly sourly.

"Likewise", he muttered.

Aili had a boyfriend, why would he ask her out? He didn't steal anyone's girlfriend. He looked after them briefly but then walked on. Slightly irritated, he tried to scare away all thoughts of Aili. If he was honest with himself, he had to admit to himself that he wanted to steal her from her boyfriend.

It took some time, but finally, he found a small bookstore where he found the last gifts. A cheap but pretty fountain pen and a diary for Adaliz and a funny picture book for Ethan.

Aili

The argument was over, but I knew that Maiken, Menka, and Silja did not agree with me. They didn't like Nio. But so far, they let the issue rest after we spoke about it early in the morning. We sat down in our favorite coffee shop and drank our favorite drinks like almost every other weekend. A tradition that we have maintained since our first year at the Academy.

"Aili?" Silja looked at me worriedly as she stirred in her cappuccino. "Are you okay? You've been very quiet for days."

"Is everything okay between you and Nio?", Menka asked. "Did you fight?"

I nodded. "Of course not. Everything is fine." I looked at my black coffee. All of a sudden, I didn't want to drink it anymore. "I told you that this morning."

"Really? He wasn't mean to you?", asked Maiken. "I don't want to argue with you again, now that we've made up, but... Or are you just in a bad mood? That doesn't suit you. I'm really worried."

"What?" I frowned.

"Well, usually you're always very cheerful and talk about everything and everyone", she explained. "And you haven't drunk any of your coffee yet. Usually, you'll always finish long before us."

I looked at my favorite drink again. "Maybe I'm just in a bad mood", I muttered. "Nio isn't mean to me. But thank you for worrying. I'm fine." That wasn’t true. Since my meeting with Nio at night, I felt more than just weird. What happened... Well. It was something normal, right? All couples did it. So why did I feel bad?

Even Candy had noticed that I was behaving differently than usual. And instead of criticizing me as usual, she asked me every night if I was okay. She had even offered me her help.

I didn't need any help.

Everything was as it should be. I had three wonderful friends and a boyfriend who loved me.

What more could a girl ask for?

Well, Nio had no idea of my engagement. Nobody knew about it. Besides, I didn't plan to marry Oswald. No. I would break off the engagement as soon as I had a chance. In my eyes, it didn't exist. I had never agreed to it. This silly engagement would have been dissolved long ago if Mom didn't insist on it. For Dad, the only important thing was that we children had a secure future. Therefore, he did not stand in Mom's way. Nothing about Oswald was safe! Even if Dad thought Oswald's behavior was just a phase. Marriage will make him reasonable, he had said. Such nonsense.