Welcome to Gaia! ::

Stephanie had finished up the last of his coursework and communicated his latest orders to his head steward back in Phronese, so he finally had a few moments to relax. And that was when he realized that he had not eaten for hours and his stomach was protesting that neglect. He really had no one to blame but himself; Humphrey had gently tried to interrupt him at one point and he had waved away the concern. He supposed he should have at least asked for something he could nibble without diverting his attention too much. No matter; now that he was free he could simply go to the cafeteria himself and save his manservant the trouble.

The prince rose to his feet and moved to stand before the floor length mirror that he could not actually see his reflection in. He had left his eyes their natural brown for most of the day, but maybe he could try something more interesting. An icy blue? A beautiful and unforgettable purple, like his sister’s? Something bold like red?

Behind him, Stephanie heard footsteps and Humphrey approached to straighten his clothing. ”Should I fetch something fresh from your wardrobe?” Stephanie gently waved off the idea with one hand.

”There is no need to trouble yourself. I will not be out for long; I only intend to take a meal and return.” Humphrey bowed his head respectfully as he stepped back, leaving Stephanie to his seeming perusal of the mirror. But when his stomach grumbled audibly, Stephanie decided that perhaps it was perfectly fine to stick with brown for the day.

Stephanie stepped from his room and made his way to the cafeteria with Humphrey quietly following on his heels. He took a seat and waited for the menu that he could not read; he had already decided what he would have before it was even given to him. Stephanie made a habit of skimming the minds of other diners to determine what dishes were on offer and which had gained the most favor from the students around him, but he still made a point of studying the menu in feigned indecision for a moment before placing an order. He had come clean about his blindness to Aleithia, but had not in any way relaxed his routine before others. He dared not even assume that Humphrey already knew, though if anyone else did then it would be his loyal and ever present manservant.

It was a thought that had occurred to Stephanie recently, especially after learning that Alethia had suspected all along. If she had managed to hide the thought from him, she might not be the only one. But the prince would not bring it up with his servant; he thought he might sooner throw himself in the closest river. It was certainly not worth thinking about while they were in public where he rarely spoke to Humphrey at all unless it was to relay his orders. In fact he rather doubted he would be speaking to anyone while he took his meal; his sister was not with him and he had made no effort to seek other company.

A familiar voice called out to him and Stephanie smiled as he rose to his feet, turning toward the young lady who approached his table. ”It is a pleasure to see you as well, Miss Alosa. I am well, as I hope you are?” The prince stepped around the table to pull out another chair. ”Please. I would enjoy the company.” He had not thought to have any, but would happily make an exception for this person in particular.

Once Alosa was seated, Stephanie returned to his seat. For the first time he was able to take in her appearance, albeit indirectly. The dark hair and pink eyes almost reminded him of Aleithia, though his sister’s eyes were more violet. But there the similarities ended; Stephanie had never known his sister to wear anything quite like Alosa’s woodlands themed dress and knee high stockings. His impression of the clothing was faint, however; Humphrey was far too polite to stare at a young lady.

Stephanie paused for a moment of thought when Alosa mentioned that she rarely saw him outside of class. He had not really thought about it, but he tended to spend his time in his room if he was not in class. He had no extracurriculars and very few friends. But that hardly seemed like a pleasant thing to say to Alosa. ”I suppose you are right. I’m afraid I’ve been quite busy going over some correspondence from home. But it is quite nice to find someone familiar to share a meal with.”

Alosa’s thoughts fluttered through her mind without inhibition, including ones she clearly would have hidden if she had known that Stephanie could hear them. Much as she was apparently schooling her expression more now that he might be able to see it than she had when he was completely blind. He supposed it was natural; everyone had something to hide and he had no intention of prying too deeply.

Stephanie was not entirely surprised that Alosa brought up his blindness, especially in light of his behaving normally now. He was a bit uncomfortable with the topic, but he could hardly avoid it. ”Yes, everything has been returned to normal now including my sight.” It was not a lie so much as it was a misdirection. His sight was returned to normal, or what had been normal for him since he was still only a boy. ”I must say, it is nice to have such a lovely face to match with the pleasant voice that guided me through that nightmare. It is no wonder that your brother would be suspicious of any man holding your hand for far too long.”

A slight smile softened Stephanie’s features. He could understand the sentiment all too well, having a beautiful younger sister of his own. His instinct was to drive away any worthless mutt unworthy of sharing the same air as her. It was not the right way to think, of course. And he would never truly drive anyone away who found her favor. Now even more than before he dared not allow himself to cage her in that way. But that did not mean that the instinct had died; he did not think that it could. He just had to rise above it.

But that was neither here nor there. After all, Alosa was not his sister, but rather his… friend, perhaps? Stephanie chuckled as Alosa politely said that his correspondence must be quite interesting. ”Gods no, I am sure you would find it aggressively boring. However, it is very important and there are some tasks that I cannot leave to others just because I am away, attending classes.” Stephanie could not be certain of Miss Alosa’s background, but if she was attending Utopia then he could only assume that she also had a noble upbringing and would have some idea of what he meant. There were decisions he should be the one making, no matter how much he may trust his stewards back home.

When Alosa spoke next, it was almost as though she was reading his mind. Were they friends? He had only just tentatively broached the thought with himself. And when asked, his smile grew somewhat wider. ”I would like to think that may be the case.” She was offering to spend time with him? What would they even do? Stephanie did not like to think of himself as boring, but… he had no hobbies, he could not even read any longer, he only listened to music and drank wine. He dared not even overindulge lest he make a fool of himself. But was he really going to turn down pleasant company just because he did not know what to do with it? ”I will have to take you up on that offer. Hopefully between us we can find a better use for our time than writing letters.”

”Yes, Miss.” Humphrey replied with a sharp bow, heels clicked together and spine rod straight. ”Is there aught I may do for you?”

Steph? Stephanie paused to consider this. He was surprisingly unaccustomed to having his name shortened. But did it honestly trouble him? Steph. She had said that the nickname suited him. If they were to be friends, he supposed a nickname would be far less stiff. ”You may, if you like.” he decided at last. Steph… Should he use a nickname for her, as well? He did occasionally call Aleithia by one. But truly, nothing came to mind; perhaps he would give it further thought at another time.

Stephanie had to actually chuckle a little, muffling the sound behind his fist. He did not take Alosa’s words poorly; he well knew that she was not saying that she was glad he had been deprived of his sight. She was just glad he had not seen her in that state, much as Stephanie was somewhat glad that Aleithia had not seen him so helpless. No one wished to have others witness them at their lowest.

Alosa had moved on, but Stephanie still had something to say on the matter. ”You need not explain yourself, Alosa. I do understand. But you should know that you have nothing to be self-conscious about. You comported yourself very well for someone who had never been in a war situation before. Your calm demeanor was a greater help than you likely realize; panic is nearly as deadly as a sword in war.”

The mention of Alosa’s sister was brief and accompanied with a much tighter hold on her thoughts; it was clearly a topic the young lady did not wish to discuss. Stephanie of course chose to respect that. ”My own sister would not mind if I was a bit less obsessively protective. I suppose it is a shared flaw between older siblings; we have to be reminded that our little sisters have grown into strong and capable young women.”

Another chuckle escaped Stephanie when Alosa cheerfully declared that she usually did leave tasks to others. It was so refreshingly honest that it actually caught him off guard; he had not even needed to skim her thoughts. She went on to mention dozing off in classes and Stephanie’s shoulders shook a little with the effort not to laugh again. ”Oh, my. I might be a little jealous.” Not really, he was quite accustomed to being as busy as he was, but it still amused him to say.

His mirth subsided somewhat though a smile lingered as Alosa pointed out that their hands on history lesson had doubled as a good bonding activity. She was not wrong; the brotherhood of the battlefield was a very real thing. He was sure he could have thought of gentler ways had that been the actual goal, of course. But he could not complain about having such pleasant company and it seemed to be that he only ever bothered to interact with other students during calamities. Oh, gods… he did hope that would not remain his habit.

”I’ve not really explored at all. And we need not know anything about art to take enjoyment from viewing it.” As long as he was with Alosa, he ought to be able to appreciate the pieces well enough to hold a conversation. ”Whatever you might like to do, I will join you.”

Humphrey hesitated when told he did not need to bow. The man straightened and turned his head toward Stephanie as though looking for guidance before facing Alosa once more. ”My apologies, miss, but it would be remiss of me not to show proper respect to Master Stephanie’s peers.”

Was Alosa unaccustomed to the mannerisms of servants? No, that did not seem to be quite right… but they did make her uncomfortable. He was honestly not certain what to make of that. He supposed the ideal solution would be to instruct Humphrey to behave more naturally around Alosa. However, he would not be at all comfortable with that. Humphrey was his manservant and he had certain expectations of the man, including in regard to his behavior.

But before Stephanie could chime in on that interaction, Alosa had taken his hand and exclaimed how pleased she was that they were friends. Stephanie smiled softly at her earnest outburst. ”I am also glad.” Alosa made a valiant effort not to mention her kingdom of origin, but she could not seem to help picturing it fondly. It was all the hint that Stephanie really needed, but his expression did not change. It was still a forbidden topic and he did not like to draw that sort of attention to himself.

Their food arrived and Stephanie gave an appreciative nod to the server. Alosa was watching him. He could feel it. Stephanie turned to her with a small, puzzled smile but she said nothing. Well, he did not think he had anything on his face; he had not begun eating yet. Stephanie did take a small bite of his food then, chewing and swallowing before he spoke again. ”You mentioned artwork. Is that of particular interest to you?”

Stephanie had not meant to laugh aloud and it was something he normally avoided, but even so he had not expected for Alosa to become flustered by the sound. Had he upset or offended her? No… Her reaction had confused him for a moment, but he knew that what he was reading was not negative. In fact, he would dare say that Alosa was actually attracted to him. It was not the most outlandish thing, he did like to think he was easy on the eyes, but he had not been expecting it. Not from someone who had seen him stumbling around helplessly.

”With hard work and a bit of luck, you will never need to know what to do in a situation like that. It is our charge to prevent that from ever happening again. So let us focus on that and do our best. That is the most important thing we can do going forward, I believe.”

His second chuckle brought a different flustered reaction to Alosa and Stephanie was further amused as she explained why he should not be jealous. But beneath that amusement he was once again reminded of his sister, Aleithia. Sheltered was, as often as not, a kinder way of saying caged. Kept locked away and never allowed to do anything lest if reflect badly on the family.

Ah, but he was letting himself get distracted. There was nothing to be gained from dwelling on it. He could not change his sister’s past, but he knew the dear girl would change her own future somehow. And he would, at the very least, stop getting in her way but more importantly he would be there for her every step of the way.

”I am certain that will change, in time. And hopefully you will be ready when it does.” Alosa composed herself and went on to speak of observing the art. It was strange the way she spoke of it; she almost seemed apologetic for not knowing more than she did. He supposed it was somewhat understandable; it was a pastime of the elites to pretend that they knew more than their peers. He was no different, really. But he had lost much of his interest in studying paintings in particular when he lost the ability to see them.

There was still a bit of awkwardness between Alosa and Humphrey and that did cause Stephanie some concern. His manservant was like his own right hand, not to mention his surrogate eyes, and he did not want to do without the man’s aid. But it was hardly gentlemanly to make a lady in his presence uncomfortable. ”I do apologise. Humphrey has been indispensable to me since I was a child, but perhaps I could bid him stay behind for our outing?” It would just be for a short time, he reassured himself. He could manage for a short time.

Alosa had been fidgeting with her hands for some few minutes by then, but Stephanie had not really understood why or paid it much mind. The revelation was a surprising one and he was glad that he had so much practice in schooling his features and not reacting to what he might hear in another’s mind. Had the dear girl been thinking of holding his hand again this entire time? Stephanie was unsure of how to react to that realization; he was unaccustomed to touching people much at all. Accepting Alosa’a help and thus her hand in his had been an exception due to extenuating circumstances. And of course he had not objected when she greeted him by taking his hand into both of hers. But it would surely be a breach of manners for him to take her hand unbidden unless he was placing a properly chaste kiss on her knuckles and even that did not seem appropriate at the moment.

Stephanie drew his attention back to the conversation at hand. ”If you would prefer to be outside in the sun and water, then that is what we should do. The artwork will not be going anywhere; we can view it together at any time if you are of a mind to. At least for our first outing together, would it not be better if you are comfortable and in your element?”

Alosa’s mind was quite the little basket of surprises and Stephanie considered that perhaps he just did not spend enough time around lively young women. He had withdrawn somewhat as he usually did prefer to focus on conversation with a person rather than what was in their head, but some impressions were still hard to miss. He felt her pout rather than to see it and he was at a complete loss to explain what he had done to garner that response. Well, whatever it was Alosa had soon brushed the thought aside and moved on from it. With any luck, it was not important or terribly upsetting.

His companion seemed even more out of sorts when it came to the subject of Humphrey and Stephanie opened himself more to her thoughts. The poor girl was having such trouble explaining what she meant that he hoped he might be able to garner a greater understanding if he just peeked a little behind the curtain. But what was that about her being a danger to men? Should he be worried for himself as well as Humphrey?

Alosa assured him that she had her power under control but Stephanie still scanned Humphrey’s mind quickly. He would not force his manservant to remain if the man had a reasonable fear that he was at risk. There was concern there, but Stephanie was surprised and a little humbled to find that the concern was for him; Humphrey had not considered leaving his side for even a moment. The prince almost smiled; he was lucky to have the stubborn old man with him. He did not know what he would do when Humphrey retired.

”I understand. As well as I need to, at any rate. If you say you have control over your powers, then I trust your word and I am not worried. Humphrey, you may decide for yourself. I will not ask you to remain if you are uncomfortable.” He knew what the response would be, but it was still a good habit to have these interactions out loud. Part of it was for Humphrey’s benefit; his manservant knew of his powers, just not his blindness, but that did not mean he would assume that Stephanie had taken his feelings into consideration. His words were also somewhat for Alosa’s benefit as she could not have known he had done so. He might be a spoiled little prince, an accusation he had heard across many minds, but he was not a cruel master and he would not have that implied by his silence.

”I prefer to remain, my lord.” Humphry gave a respectful bow of his head. It was less formal than his usual bow and this time Stephanie did smile with faint amusement. He could tell the old man was trying not to make Alosa more uncomfortable, but just could not bring himself to do less than that much. Humphrey hesitated for a moment before speaking to the young lady directly. ”There is no need to apologize, miss.” This time he did not bow and even managed a warm, grandfatherly smile for Alosa despite the stiff posture he took when waiting for further orders.

The focus of the conversation shifted back to the outing they were planning. Stephanie was content enough with an outside venture, though he supposed he ought to worry about the chill in the air. But he was not expecting Alosa to ask what he liked to do. Stephanie chewed his food thoughtfully as he mulled over that question. He had many activities if only to keep himself active and fit, but he could not say they were things he actually did for enjoyment. They were perfunctory; the hobbies of a perfect prince determined to give his parents no cause for the complaints they were so fond of. What did he actually enjoy? Reading, once upon a time, but… better not to dwell on that.

”I do enjoy music.” Stephanie responded at last. That was something he could share, at least. And it was far less suspect than inviting a young lady to enjoy a glass of wine after dinner in his room. That was just where he typically enjoyed a nice glass of red, but somehow he did not think anyone would take such an invitation to mean anything so innocent. ”But really, music is something that can be enjoyed in any setting. So we will have music and you will choose where you would most like to enjoy it.” A better compromise he surely could not have asked for.

Stephanie smiled softly at Alosa. ”Please, do not be worried that you will push me away. Whatever you might say, you are still the young woman who helped me when I could not help myself. You have earned a friend in me; you could not change that with an awkward or misplaced word or two.”

Alosa’s face lit up with a smile when Stephanie mentioned that he enjoyed music and she excitedly asked him about his favorite kind. ”I prefer classical music, mostly instrumental though occasionally I will listen to opera or chant. I am particularly fond of chamber music. An orchestra is a fine choice for a large ceremony or ball, but I find chamber music to be far more intimate. But then I suppose the choice of music ought to match our activity.” It would be lovely to have live music, but would hiring musicians be taking things a step too far? He did not wish to misrepresent his intent.

As Stephanie considered just where the boundary lay between a platonic outing and a courting gesture, Alosa made a sudden movement in her seat before popping quickly to her feet and excusing herself. Stephanie was perplexed but nodded as she darted away from the table. So energetic… Stephanie was mildly amused as he continued eating his meal in Alosa’s absence. It did not take long before his companion returned to reveal her idea.

”The solarium does sound very pleasant.” And if he did hire musicians they would not have to suffer the cold of the outdoors. Ah, but that really did seem a touch inappropriate the more he thought of it. His phonograph would have to do and it was a wonderful device. Oh, it was more than worth the extra effort to have it brought from home; he did not know what he would even do if he had to instead spend his evenings in complete silence. ”As you will be making arrangements, please do inform me of when we are to meet.”