Michael headed upstairs. He didn't want to force a conversation with Stefan just to make him feel better.
He closed his bedroom door and plopped onto the bed. He's been doing this same routine the entire week they've been here. Wake up, listen to Ellis and work, take a small time to rest or eat, or just go to sleep and repeat the same thing for tomorrow. The best part about his day is at night, when he's alone, when the lights are low, and he spends the rest of his time with his sword. She was the only thing he was looking forward to.
The sword hummed on his back.
He drew his sword and faced the ceiling.
Aren't you going to lock the door, the voice said, or are you finally letting me see the outside of your room?
Michael thought he was just as frustrated as her. He didn't mean to have her locked in his room and to have her transform only when they were alone. It would only raise questions that Michael had somehow found a girl out of nowhere and he was just following the made-up story that his party believed.
Evelyn was supposed to be in Aldoria, so it wouldn't make any sense how she randomly popped up in the middle of their quest. Even if he wanted for her to walk freely from his miserable room, he just couldn't take that risk.
She appeared beside him in her ghostly form, slightly hovering over the sheets of his bed.
He noticed her hand poking through his cheek. "Are you mad at me?"
I know I can't leave your room, she said, but you have to realize that I'm still with you even if we're not bonded. I can still look around when you're not holding me.
"Then...did you enjoy watching me clean the stables?"
She smiled. It looked like she was trying not to laugh.
"I want to walk around with you again," he admitted. "There's this really nice man that bakes bread and, on some good days, he spreads this sweet cream between them and gives it to me for free. I think you'd like the taste too."
The sword flashed in his hand. "But you can't take me outside."
"I know, so is that why you're mad at me?"
She squeezed his cheek. "I'm not mad at you, Michael, where did you even get that idea from?"
"I mean," he gently pulled away her hand. "It's been a week and the only time you spend as a human is with me in my room."
"Is there something wrong with that?"
"Umm—is there…something wrong with that?"
"No, stupid," she squeezed his cheek again. "It's cute but I don't mind this at all. If I have to spend my time as a human with you, there's nothing wrong about that. Do you understand me?"
Michael rubbed his face as he nodded.
Evelyn slumped onto him, pressing her weight over his body.
"Sorry, I just thought you would be mad at me."
"Why would I ever be mad at you?" she said softly. "All you ever think is how much you care about me."
He wondered how the smell of her hair always remained the same after every time she transformed. She was laying on his chest as her dark brown hair ran down his shirt. It was this warm feeling again that he didn't want to go away.
Evelyn turned to face the ceiling like him. "Michael, were you serious about asking me to meet your party when this quest is over?"
"Do…you not want to meet them?"
"I already met them."
"Yeah, but not like this. Stefan already knows that you're real and thinks you're my girlfriend."
She frowned.
He noticed the weight shifted on his chest. "Evelyn?"
"I'm not your girlfriend?"
"No, you're…" he covered his eyes. "You're more than a girlfriend to me."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Michael could feel her creep closer to his face. He didn't know how flustered he probably looked but she was trying to tease him again. There was definitely some strange part of her that always enjoyed this.
Evelyn tried to move his hands. "Michael?"
"You're laughing," he complained. "Why do you keep doing this to me?"
"Oh, come on," she pulled his hand. "It's okay for me to sleep next to you but it's harder for you to say you love me?"
"I did say I love you!"
Evelyn pouted. "I wanna hear it again."
He groaned. "Maybe I shouldn't let you meet them."
"Michael, think about it," she suddenly sat up. "If you show me to them then who's going to be your sword?"
Michael sat up along with her. She was right, if Evelyn was going to show up in person then he wouldn't have a sword to wield.
Evelyn leaned in front of him. "You never thought of that?"
Michael thought his head was about to explode. "Umm…"
She laughed. Michael always liked the way she smiled whenever she was trying to make fun of him.
He scratched his head. "I guess if I really did want you to meet them, then it can't be before we go on any quest."
"I told you."
"I could just buy another sword and act like it's you."
She glared at him.
"Oh, right," he nervously laughed. "Sorry."
There wasn't really much of a need for Evelyn to meet his party. Showing them that he has a girlfriend didn't bring any benefit to him as an adventurer. He's been doing fine without having Evelyn show her face. But Michael also did imagine that Stefan wouldn't stop talking about her if she didn't get to meet them.
Michael sighed and laid back in his bed. "I'll figure it out. For all the things they've done for me, I think it's only fair that I at least show them who you are."
"As a girlfriend or as a ego sword?"
"I don't know yet."
She leaned over him. "Do you wanna know what I want?"
He thought her golden eyes were beautiful.
"I don't want anybody to know about us. I like the secret that we already have. If you're going to tell someone about me then I wouldn't be special anymore, right?"
"You're always going to be special to me."
She snorted with a smile. "You're so stupid."
Michael even liked how her voice sounded.
"Aren't you going to lock the door?"
He sprung from his bed to lock his door. It was a miracle that nobody had opened his room whenever Evelyn was transformed. Michael had a routine of checking the lock and making sure that nobody would suddenly enter his room and finding out what he's been doing every night. Or was it the fear about having other people know about Evelyn?
She was right, he didn't want anybody else to know about her. He felt like he was the only person that deserved her and to have someone else acknowledge her presence, it was like he was ripping out a piece of his heart.
Michael thought it was too embarrassing for her to know about these selfish feelings he had for her.
But she was literally out of this world. There was nothing that could even be compared to Evelyn. If Michael can't even protect her, how could he even show her to the public? The amount of eyes that would envy Michael, their desire for his power, and none of them would stop until it was in their hands. He just couldn't bear that thought.
Michael laid in her arms again. The only thing he could feel right now was the touch of her fingers brushing across his face. He loved whenever she did this, or maybe, he just loved her.
Evelyn giggled. "What's so funny?"
He must have been smiling hard. "Nothing."
Her voice was so soothing, talking to him as she caressed his hair. Michael couldn't make out what she was saying but he could feel himself drifting to sleep.
Was the door locked? The door was definitely already locked.
He never felt more comfortable in his entire life. The touch of her fingers were so soft, the smell of her body lulled him even further, and the sound of her voice only confirmed his reason for life. He loved Evelyn. He wanted to say it a hundred times over. She was the sole reason for the colors in his eyes. She was the shining light that he wanted to protect.
Evelyn was his and Michael was hers. He wasn't going to allow anything to break their bond.
With these immature thoughts playing through his head, his eyes finally closed as he enjoyed the warmth in her arms.