The hours that followed felt surreal to Evren. He was used to walking on eggshells with Lyra, watching his words and actions and trying not to get in her way.
But now, she seemed to have nothing better to do than hover around him and watch what he was doing, making small talk. He stood up and she was there next to him. He turned around and she was so close that his hand hit her arm.
“Ahaha… is this what living together is going to be like?” she laughed, “Both of us bumping into each other like we are intimate lovers.”
He laughed about it, too. Though the fact that she was everywhere that he went was suspicious. He finished off the list of rules and then unceremoniously stuck them to the wall next to his desk, where they could be referenced at any time.
The final list read:
Keep your side of the house clean.
Don’t interrupt Evren when he’s studying.
No body contact, except for hands and arms.
No rubbing or massaging, unless you ask first.
Tell Evren which boys you talk to every day.
Share your feelings.
Practice the Basic 10 every day.
Practice Binding and Warding for an hour a day.
Sit together at every meal.
No sharing the bed until trust is established.
She’d tried to argue about a few points, but the last rule she’d accepted like it went without saying.
“Of course, I’ll sleep on the floor. It’s up to you, the boy, to decide when we grow close enough to share a bed.”
She said those words with confidence. But as she set about hanging her clothes, with the same efficiency he had long admired in her, she was muttering to herself.
“I’ll show him how trustworthy I can be…”
It didn’t take long for him to move his meager belongings into the wooden wardrobe that was now his. As he hung them up, Evren noted the changes to his supply of clothing. He actually had multiple standard uniforms, which were all big enough to fit him. One had long sleeves and long pants, but every other resembled the uniform that he was wearing; short sleeved shirt and shorts.
“Thanks, mom,” he whispered, knowing she was likely the one who had packed his bag.
When he looked at the beige toga that was reserved for combat training and duels, the stitching caught his attention. The outfit was held together by a series of tiny hooks now.
He asked Lyra about that, and she actually blushed, saying, “It’s so the toga can be removed quickly without ripping the fabric.”
“Was ripped fabric ever a problem before?” he mused.
Lyra’s face turned an even brighter shade of red and she answered, “For boys it was, Evren. I heard some seniors complained about constantly having to mend their togas a few years ago, and so they changed the material and added hooks.”
It all sounded suspicious to Evren. Lyra was definitely holding back some information, but she seemed to be growing flustered, so he didn’t push the topic.
Peering into her open wardrobe, Evren was curious to see what changes had taken place to the girls’ uniforms. He’d never dared invade her privacy before, but now she just watched as he poked through her clothing.
“Why are you going through my things?” she asked defensively.
Interesting! There was no anger in her voice, only a careful inquiry. No lectures about privacy, no slamming the wardrobe closed in his face. This Lyra was toothless, tolerating whatever he did to her. She reminded him of… himself!
“I’m just checking to see if you have any secrets, I don’t know about…” he said, testing her response.
Lyra smiled nervously and replied, “Of course I’ve got nothing to hide, feel free to look.”
She had six outfits neatly hanging there. There were two dresses with floral print, something the original Lyra loved to wear too, and the two sets of uniforms. Then there was the beige toga, made from the original durable material, that felt coarse and loosely-knitted as burlap. It wasn’t made with comfort in mind. It was made for casting and absorbing spells with ease. But hers hung on two separate hangers.
“How come your toga is a two-piece?” he asked her.
Huh?” she asked from behind him. She sounded distracted. He had the feeling that she’d been looking him over while he explored her closet. Do girls do that now?
“I asked… why is your toga in two pieces?”
He turned towards her, holding the hangers with her toga on it. The bottom half was a skirt, and a short one at that. It was made from rough material, with an open weave, that would barely reach halfway down her thighs he imagined. And the top half was the same material, fashioned in a low-necked tank top that would likely hang loose over her tiny torso. The whole outfit was much more provocative than the tent of opaque beige that girls used to wear.
“It’s a standard uniform, Evren,” she said, taking the toga from his hands and hanging them back in the wardrobe. “They need to accommodate all girls’ dueling styles. Some girls prefer to cast with no top on. It’s called ‘skin-to-skin’ casting.”
“I know what skin-to-skin is,” he said quickly. He vividly remembered using that style earlier in the day, with Marshal Yulia of all people!
“Well, those girls don’t wear this part,” she said, pointing to the tank top.
A new understanding slowly dawned on Evren. What had happened earlier that day had not been an misunderstanding, or a strange quirk of the Marshal's. There would be other girls who would go topless into duels. Girls he knew and studied with. He would be facing them in battle without their shirts on.
“Gods! How am I going to duel girls who are half-naked?” he asked himself. “I’ll be utterly useless the moment I set eyes on them.”
He’d actually lucked out earlier, being made senseless with Tilo's Null Orb spell. He didn’t have to see, touch, or smell his female opponent or his female support caster. This new style of dueling is going to be terrible for his concentration but highly exciting at the same time.
“Don’t worry,” Lyra said, taking his hands lightly in hers. “If you can’t stand seeing girls topless, I promise I’ll keep my toga on for every match! You’ll see, there is no freshman who can outbattle me, with or without skin-to-skin.”
“Thanks,” he replied, feeling a mixture of relief and disappointment. He briefly pictured Lyra casting spells wearing just this semi-transparent skirt. Her breasts may not be as big as they will be a year from now, but he could see their shape though the tightness of her shirt. The bumps that outlined her nipples excited him so much that he had to look away.
He peered into Lyra’s wardrobe once more, and noticed an unusual outfit that didn’t match any of her other clothes. It was black and leathery, with leather straps and buckles that glittering like polished bronze. He picked it out and turned to her.
“What is this?”
“This, Evren, is the latest fashion,” she replied, taking it from his hands with a smile. “We don’t always have to wear our uniforms, y’know.”
She held the hanger in front of her body and looked at him.
“What do you think?”
The outfit was little more than a leather sports bra and a tiny pair of black leather shorts held together by four leather straps. His imagination went into overdrive, conjuring images of how amazing she would look with it on.
“There’s a dance being held tonight for all junior casters,” she was saying, “But me and some friends are planning to sneak in. Wanna join us?”
“And you’re wearing that?” Evren asked incredulously.
“Uh huh. I’ve got to show off on the first day. If I impress the upper-class students, you and I will be the most famous freshman support couple in no time,” she said as if she’d been planning this for ages. “So… Wanna come to the dance with me?”
Evren looked into her beautiful eyes. They were his greatest weakness. He would have to stop looking at her, otherwise she’ll quickly have him wrapped around her little finger. He gave one last peek into the wardrobe before closing the door. The two dresses were still there.
The other Lyra would have worn one of those more modest dresses with floral print. He wasn’t going to tell her what to wear, but he did note the change in her attitude.
The new Lyra cared more about being popular than looking respectable.
“I’ll think about it. First, let’s focus on getting this room cleaned up.”
“Yay!” she cheered, as though he’d said yes.
* * * * * * * * *
They spent the next few hours cleaning the grime off the walls and polishing the stone floors until the room shone like the temple of the Sky Father. Lyra and he scrubbed a layer of scum off the bathtub together, which was a strangely intimate experience, as he’d never been in the bathroom at the same time as her before.
Evren loved to see her scrubbing the walls of the tub, she had worked up a sweat and her skin shone with an oily sheen.
“I suppose we’ll need to sort out a bathing schedule,” he commented off-handedly. “That way we don’t walk in on each other bathing.”
“Yeah,” she agreed vaguely. “We wouldn’t want that happening. Do you wash in the mornings or after evening meal?”
“Well, I used to wait until you went to bed, but there’s no reason to do that now… Yeah, I’ll wash in the evenings.”
“Then, I’ll take a bath right after you get out,” she said with certainty. “That way we can save bathwater.”
“But, wouldn’t it feel weird for you using the same bathwater as me? I can drain and refill the tub after I’m done.”
“Oh no,” she protested, looking up from her scrubbing.
Her eyes contained that same intense look he had fallen for so long ago. A trickle of sweat ran down her neck.
“I would prefer to share water. It’s such a waste to change it.”
“All right, then evening baths for both of us,” Evren concluded. He wondered at the small satisfied smile that crept over her face, but he didn't want to make trouble when they were getting along so nicely. Girls need to have some secrets.
“Ugh… I think the dance is starting soon,” Lyra panted, really putting her back into the heavy brush she was dragging across the stone surface. “Can we stop here and get ready now?”
“I’ve still got a lot of cleaning left to do. I’m going to air out the bedding and clean the toilet room. But you can go ahead and get ready. Thank you for your hard work.” he said genuinely, so happy with their time spent together.
“Aaww… So you’re not coming with me?” Lyra asked, sulking.
Evren stopped what he was doing and looked into her pleading eyes. Was new Lyra really disappointed that he wasn't going with her? His brain was still spinning and a rush of emotion threatened to overcome him.
“I’m sorry, Lyra. You don’t know this yet, but I’m not much of a ‘sneaking into a dance’ guy. Plus, you said this was the junior dance? That means my sister Dia will be there... She and I really don’t get along.”
Or did they? He wondered for the first time if the change in the world had also affected the way his sisters treated him. He hoped it had, because any change would be an improvement in his relationship with Dia.
“Hey,” she said, reaching across the tub to touch his forearm. “If things are as bad as you say, I’ll protect you from your sister, okay?”
Evren smiled.
Thanks, Lyra, but I’d prefer the quiet of this room to a crowded, noisy dance hall.”
“All right,” she relented, tossing aside the scrub brush. “But you HAVE to come to the freshman dance tomorrow. It’s mandatory and apparently the boys all put on a show for the girls. I’m going to get ready!”
Lyra left for the main room. She didn’t tell him not to look, but he was very careful to keep his eyes from wandering to the doorway. He heard her wardrobe opening and closing, and the sounds of her getting ready. He imagined her putting on that ridiculously sexy leather outfit, and had to force the vision out of his head before he got too excited down there.
Minutes later, he heard a small voice calling to him, “Evren, could you come here please? I need your help with the buckles.”