Kirche whistled as the three left the carriage, standing with her hands on her hips as she looked up at the large mansion. "So you even live in the royal castle...Man, you should have mentioned this sooner! Don't expect me to figure something this big out on my own, just tell me next time!"
David looked sideways at her, while Tabitha simply walked forward to greet the butler who'd come from the front door, and was now standing with a slightly forced smile at Kirche's comments.
After speaking with the butler for a few moments, Tabitha waved the two in, and they followed behind her. Kirche came in with no problem, but when David passed the man, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
"I apologize for stopping you, and I know it is not my right to question Lady Charlotte's friends, but that is a strange style of clothing you have. Is there some new fashion trend going on in Tristain?"
David blinked. "Uhh...No, I immigrated to Tristain from America. Far as I know, it hasn't caught on yet."
The butler tilted his head curiously. "I've never heard of a country called 'America', but then again, I am not well-informed of the politics of other kingdoms. I'm simply Lady Charlotte's butler, after all."
"Yes, you are, and please stop harassing David." Tabitha said, with an uncharacteristically irritated tone, which was such a surprise that the butler backed off immediately.
David waved her off. "Calm down, he was just asking a legitimate question." Tabitha sighed, before nodding.
"Sorry, I just don't like it when people interrogate my friends." she said, before turning around, while Kirche simply stood between them, unsure what to do.
The butler smiled, bowing to David. "I apologize, I meant no harm. I simply thought it would be a good idea to test the first boy that Lady Charlotte has ever called a friend. Her mother is very overprotective, you see, so-"
"I don't think my mother would care who I can and can't be friends with." Tabitha said, the increase in the number of words per sentence proportional to the amount of venom in her voice, and as she turned around, David flinched at the expression on her face.
He hadn't even been aware that Tabitha could get angry, much less be as she was now. Her blue eyes were narrowed and filled with barely-concealed rage, and she was at the cusp of tears.
This was something entirely new to him. Seeing Tabitha emotional was something he had been completely unprepared for, and from the shocked look of Kirche and the butler's faces, it was unexpected to them too.
Tabitha's hand not carrying her staff was balled into a tight fist as she stomped forward to the butler, passing by Kirche, who held a hand out before deciding against it and bringing it back.
"Never mention my mother again, I don't want to hear about her!" she shouted, and David had to step back at the force of her voice. An angry Tabitha was something terrifying at a completely different level from anything else this world could throw at him. He was glad it wasn't him at the end of her words, but he felt bad for the butler. "My mother has nothing to do with my life, she just sits in that stupid room and hugs that stupid doll and crows about a daughter she can't even recognize! Don't ever use her as an excuse for anything, least of all questioning the few people I do choose to be close to! Can you really trust me so little that you think I'd just befriend anyone who gave me attention?!"
After her rant, Tabitha stood panting, glaring at the butler, who stood stock still, staring at her in shock, unable to comprehend what was likely one of the first times she'd reacted so violently to anything.
The room fell into a dead silence as she stared at the butler, before turning around and running off into the depths of the house, and David could see tears falling from her face in the split second before the door slammed behind her.
"Tab-Hey, wait!" Kirche said, before David shook his head, holding her back with a hand on her shoulder, much as the butler had done to him earlier, though this time it held a completely different meaning.
"Partner." Derf suddenly said, lifting himself from his sheath, his voice quieter than usual...Another oddity, David hadn't known a sword could have tone in its voice, but right now, there was a bigger thing to worry about than his sword reading the mood.
"What is it, Derf?" David asked through gritted teeth, and glanced at the butler, who acted as if he didn't notice the talking sword.
"You need to calm down." the sword said, and he blinked.
"I am calm." he replied, and if the sword had a head, it would no doubt be shaking it.
"You're trembling, partner. Look at your hands. Don't defy me, I've lived a long time. I can tell when my wielder is frustrated."
David blinked, before raising his hands as Kirche studied him with a curious expression, along with some other emotion he didn't really try to pay attention to, and to his surprise, he found that the sword was right.
His hands were shaking, and his runes were randomly flashing as if he was holding a weapon. As he realized Derf was right, he noticed that his whole body was trembling just as his hands were, and after glancing at Kirche, he could tell that she was looking at him in what seemed to be...fear?
Why was she afraid? Was she simply that distraught at her friend's outburst? He could understand it, Tabitha was the mild-mannered extremely quiet bookish dandere type, for her to act like that had to be as huge a surprise to her as it was to him.
"David...are you okay?" the tanned girl asked, and he blinked several times, before closing his eyes and folding his hands together, inhaling and exhaling deeply in an effort to calm himself.
Once he felt his trembling stop, he opened his eyes and unfolded his hands, smiling to her. "Yeah, I'm good now...but Tabitha…"
"Comfort her." Derf said, and the two looked at the sword.
"What?" Kirche asked. "She was on the verge of using a spell just now, trying to get involved would-"
"I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to David." the sword snapped. "Partner, go comfort her."
"What would I do? She doesn't trust me anyway, what possible use could I be?"
"It's precisely because she is suspicious of you that you should talk to her. You know where she's gone, and you know what to say to calm her down. Use that manipulative mind of yours to win her over again."
"I won't allow that." Kirche said, and David looked at her. She folded her arms under her chest and looked at him with a serious expression that didn't fit her personality at all. "David, remember that favor you asked of me, about the heirloom book?"
David blinked. "What does that have to do with-"
Kirche interrupted him with the raise of her hand, and the grim tone of her voice caught his attention immediately. "I'm calling on that now. We're going on a little date in the town. Don't try to worm your way out of it either, I happen to be very persuasive when I want to be."
"What possible reason could you have for going on a date when Lady Charlotte is like this?!" the butler suddenly shouted, before coughing into his fist. "I apologize, I should not question you. It is best to let her be for a while. I will escort you to the town, so please follow me."
The butler grabbed onto their wrists with more force than he probably should have considering that in his view, both of them were nobles, but neither complained as he pulled them out of the front door of the mansion, though David remained confused as to why things had changed so suddenly.
