Chapter 1: Bad Magic

Rita Mordio had extensive knowledge of magic. At fifteen years old, she had experience with nearly all kinds and was skilled with all that she touched. Today, however, was different. She had just witnessed magic she had never seen before.

"Hey, Yuri, we should head back to camp. The old man got hit with some weird magic," she announced with a concerned look in her eyes. She tried to keep it out of her voice. Raven had his back turned, and while she was sure he could tell something wasn't right, she felt no need to alarm him.

Yuri Lowell studied her face carefully before replying nonchalantly. "Sure thing, that's more than enough for today, anyway." He waved it off like it was no big deal, and everyone followed without question. Rita stayed at the back of the group, observing Raven as discreetly as possible.

When the group returned to camp, they had a simple dinner by the fire. Rita sat across from Raven, where she could assess his behavior. He was interacting pretty normally with Karol, but he had a strange look in his eyes when he met hers over the fire. She waited until everyone split up for the night before changing into comfortable clothes and grabbing her coziest blanket. Then she took a deep breath and let herself into Raven's tent.

"Hey," she said softy, and he turned towards her.

"Rita, darlin','" he said shakily, with that indescribable look still in his eyes. "I don't understand…"

She shook her head and cut off his words. "I don't know what kind of magic that was, but it isn't anything good. I think I should stay here and keep an eye on you tonight."

Raven looked worried. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea right now, darlin'," he said, looking her up and down hungrily. Great, Rita thought, of all people to get hit with a horndog spell, it's Raven.

"I'm staying," she said, determined to win the conversation.

"It... shouldn't be you," he answered carefully.

She shook her head. "I'm the only one who knows what to look out for. So let's just go to sleep, okay?"

Raven nodded, and they laid down beside each other. They said nothing, and he kept his eyes on hers, burning into her until he finally spoke. "This is… really hard," he said, letting out the breath he'd been holding.

"You'll manage," she said, finally looking away, while holding out an arm, silently inviting him to snuggle into her. He jumped at the invitation, nuzzling his face into her neck, breathing in her scent. Her magic was hard to resist on a good day. The others didn't really get the pull he felt. It was something you needed your own elemental magic to comprehend. Without his permission, his hands were on her, beginning to roam. Stupid freaking spell, she's going to roast me to death by morning! he thought.

"H-Hey!" Rita exclaimed. "Watch the hands, old man!"

"S-Sorry, darlin', I swear I didn't mean to -"

"I know," she said, cutting him off again. "It's fine, Raven. Not your fault." His expression changed when she said his name. It was something she typically avoided. Thinking of him just as 'the old man' was easier than allowing him to be Raven. Because when she thought of him as Raven, she felt safe. And when she thought of Raven, she saw a beautiful man whose wind magic made her tingle. The affection he was looking at her with now that she had said it was a complete 180 from the lust he had in his eyes only a minute ago. She had to remind herself to breathe before she spoke again. "I think there's more to this spell than we originally thought," she said carefully.

He smiled at her lovingly, caressing her cheek with his fingertips before nuzzling back into her neck. "I have a really bad feeling that it's more like a truth serum, Rita, honey." When he pulled back, she slipped under his arm, placing a hand over the blastia in his chest - she also liked this phrase better than thinking of his heart - and said nothing when he placed his other hand gently on her waist.

"Just sleep," she murmured. "It'll wear off soon enough."

He was silent for a moment before he replied. "Okay, darlin'. Sweet dreams." She swore she felt his lips press gently to her hair, but refused to acknowledge it.

It took Rita a long time to fall asleep. She listened to Raven's rhythmic breathing and felt the gentle rise and fall of his chest beneath her head while her thoughts raced around. Allowing this night to happen wasn't fair to either of them, and she dreaded how she would suffer after it was over. She hated every second of how crazy she was about him and had been since the very beginning. Despite her maturity, he had called her a child enough times for her to vow to never let him see an ounce of her feelings. She felt absolutely crushed every time he came on to Judith. Stupid, half-naked Judith. Exactly how was she supposed to compete with that? Every single time she felt like she and Raven had some sort of moment, it was immediately followed up with some remark about Judith's body. And so Rita kept all of her feelings to herself. Even if he wanted her, the others would never understand. And there was no way he was ever going to want her.

She thought it would get easier when he betrayed them all. Rita was excellent at holding a grudge, and he had caused harm to her closest friend. She never even had friends before this adventure, and he had taken one of them, putting her life in jeopardy. Rita understood that he had been used, yet he still tried to kill them all. That should have made her hate him. But the way he had tried to sacrifice himself for them… When she thought he had died, Rita sobbed loudly, and Yuri had to carry her - screaming and crying - from the scene. Thankfully, Raven didn't see that. Thankfully, he returned to them without so much as a scratch, because she would have killed him for leaving her - them - like that. She had no intention of ever letting him know, but all was instantly forgiven the moment she knew he was safe. She knew there would be a big thing among the group, a decision made over what to do with him. She spoke to Yuri beforehand, knowing that she wouldn't get a say in the matter without being a member of the guild. "He can help us save Estelle. We need him. I mean it, Yuri. If the old man goes, I go, too." She had no idea if her words impacted the outcome at all. But she had meant what she said. If Brave Vesperia had sent him away, she'd have walked away from all of them.

At some point, Rita's mind must have stopped churning, allowing her to fall asleep, because she woke in the middle of the night to the most pleasant feeling of strong arms around her and warm lips at her neck. It took awhile for her to realize where she was and that it wasn't a dream. "Raven. Raven! Wake up!" she hissed.

"Mmm, what's wrong, darlin'?" he mumbled sleepily. He was clearly not awake.

"Y-You're kissing my neck in your sleep! Wake up," she said, shoving a finger into his stomach. Her finger was met with rock hard muscle, and she blushed, remembering that the baggy clothing was just another way he chose to hide his identity. It was enough to wake him, and he pulled back, a shocked look on his face.

"Sorry!" he said, horrified. "I wouldn't - I'm so sorry," he said again. "I can't -"

"Control this, yeah, I get it," she finished for him. His features softened, and the adoring look from before returned.

He brushed his fingers across her cheek again, and shut his eyes. "It feels absolutely wonderful and absolutely horrible at the same time," he said softly. He opened his eyes and locked them on hers. "It's so wrong. I want you so bad," he said, his voice strained. When Rita said nothing, he continued. "I want to keep you safe. I want you to stay, here, with me." When she tried to speak, he shook his head sadly. "I never wanted this to get out. I shouldn't have put my feelings on you, and if this didn't happen, I promise that I would have kept it all to myself."

Rita placed a hand back onto his heart. It was impossible not to think of it that way in this moment. "You're not the only one who feels things. But I can't - I have a lot that I need to do right now. I need to figure out how to fix Estelle, and I need to find a way to save your stupid life. I don't know know how I'm going to do that yet. I'll freeze you in time if I have to," she said quietly.

He smiled and gave her a small squeeze before she noticed the shivering. "The magic is starting to wear off," she said. She reached to the extra blanket she had brought, wrapping it, and her arms around him. "Just try to sleep, okay?" She tried to stop thinking about all they had both said, but there was one small detail that she wasn't able to let go of. "Raven? The whole Judith thing. It was to make think you didn't like me." In the end, it wasn't really a question, but she needed to hear it from him.

"Yes, darlin'."

They didn't speak again until morning. Raven woke up feeling normal but embarrassed. "Are you good?" Rita asked. He nodded, unsure if he could say anything to her at all right now. "Then I'll see you at breakfast," she said, escaping his tent as quickly as possible, and grateful that no one else was awake yet. They probably should have talked about it later, but they both let it go, and Rita kept her promise. Safeguarding the blastia in his chest resulted in Raven becoming frozen in time, no longer continuing to age.