Enjoy! :)
MxM belongs to Yuzu Mizutani (of course, or it would have ended this way XD)

"Oh goodness," Mel thought to herself. Was he going to do what she thought he was! They were only friends, FRIENDS! Right? She had to act quick to protect his feelings!

"I-I'm sorry!" she said, bowing down, and suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.

Fern, on one knee, looked up at her quizzically.

"What Mel? You haven't done anything wrong. I was just going to ask you, formally, if you would accept me as your body double."

"Ohhhhhhhh." Mel thought to herself, embarrassed.

"Well, did you have to get on one knee!"

Fern's confusion cleared as he understood what she thought he was doing.

Smirking at her, he grinned,"Pfft. Mel, did you honestly think I was going to do that! You weirdo. I was just following Hahze tradition, although I should have expected that you wouldn't understand.

We do it to pledge to our new masters and get permission to cast the spell of binding."

Clearing his throat, he whispered, "Do you, as the New Master Wizard, Merleawe, agree to take me, Fern, as your body double, for better or worse, through good times and bad, till death do us apart?"

"O-of course Fern. I would be honored," she stammered, a bit nervous as to what the secretive "spell of binding" would entail. Also, this pledge was sounding awfully familiar. Where had she heard it before?

"Good."

Standing up, Fern began to mutter a spell in a language she couldn't decipher.

Placing his forehead against hers, he closed his eyes and placed his hands on her shoulders. Flustered by his sudden closeness, Mel assumed that he was casting the shadow spell that would bind them together.

Warmth enveloped her as her eyelids slowly fluttered shut. She felt safe and protected by this decidedly Fern-like aura that was surrounding the both of them.

After chanting for awhile, Fern said "Mel, repeat these words after me"

She repeated the strange sounding words the best she could, thinking that there was no way she could ever pronounce these Hahze words right.

Suddenly, another aura swirled up around them. This one, she thought, strongly resembled her, reminding her nostalgically of her hometown, her family, and all her friends.

Her eyes still closed, she could experience a merging of these two qualities, until they, while not exactly one, were closely tied together.

Fern finished the spell and stepped back. Merleawe, opening her eyes, was saddened by the lack of his warmth.

Exhausted, Fern sat down on the grass, and exclaimed "There! Now try it!"

"Try what"

"No one told you what the link does?"

"Uhh… no?" Glenn, Yue, and Vaith hadn't mentioned anything about the effects that came with having a bond with a Hahze. Apparently it was supposed to be top secret.

Grumbling, Fern stood up again.
"Close your eyes Mel and try to tell me something with your mind."

Mel thought this was a bit odd, but tried to send him a message, thinking to herself that it probably wasn't going to work.

"Of course it's going to work!" Fern said emphatically. "The bond allows you to send me mental messages. It only works when you want it to though, and it doesn't work the other way around.

Although, Mel, you'll probably need a lot of practice before you can control it perfectly," he said sarcastically.

Merleawe was shocked. What if she accidentally sent Fern all of her thoughts?

"Heheh, that's why you'll need practice!" His eyes flashed emerald as they sun shone on them while he laughed at her under the setting sun.

Mel stared; Fern needed to laugh more.

It made his face look so much nicer and even better looking. Covering her mouth, she glanced at him to see if he caught that thought, but if he did, his face showed no reaction.

Much to her dismay, she was going to have to watch very carefully what she thought from now on.

Erecting mental barriers, Mel told Fern "We'd best go to dinner now."
Fern glared at her, "From now on, only communicate with me mentally. You need all the practice you can get."

Mel sighed, and replied okay in her head. She looked up to see if he caught it, and was rewarded with him nodding in approval.

At the dinner table, Mel sat with the king, Princess Seraphia, their body doubles, Yue, Glenn, and Fern, with Vaith standing guard.

They chatted about mundane things until it was dark. Bidding each other good night, they each walked to their respective rooms.

It wasn't until Merleawe got to her suite's door that she thought of Fern and how they would sleep.

The luxurious room appointed to master wizards had an adjoining bathroom separated by doors that locked.

If one person needed to use it, they would have to lock both doors.

Designed to fit two people, since the Master Wizard always had a body double, they would share the suite, with only the bathroom dividing them.

Usually, body doubles would be the same gender as their master, but Mel had specially requested Fern. She hadn't thought of the consequences of sharing rooms with a teenage boy though.

Noticing her silence, Fern asked "Well are you going to go in?"

Jumping, Mel nodded rapidly and inserted the key to their, it had such a weird tone to it, room. There were two doors leading to the suite, but Fern had chosen to follow Mel to hers, increasing her nervousness.

She hadn't thought much about it when they were younger. Fern was only 12, like a pesky younger brother. But now…

Awkwardly, she stood there as he silently departed to his side.

"Uhh… Goodnight Fern. I'm sure you're tired from all the traveling"

"Goodnight."

Using the bathroom first, Merleawe made sure to lock both sides of the doors.

She didn't want Fern peeking or anything. Immediately after thinking this, she heard an indignant "Pfft," on the other side of the door.

"As if Merleawe!" he shouted.

Blushing, she hurriedly used the shower, brushed her teeth, and got in bed. A few minutes later, she heard him wash up too.