DISCLAIMER : May contain spoilers from the manwa/novel.

SUMARRY: Short daily snipets of the relationship between Athanasia and Lucas.

CHAPTER ONE

I stared at the mess around me. Paints, yarns, silk ribbons, trinkets of different sizes, and scissors were scattered like bombs in a mine field across the floor of my bedroom. I even had streaks of paint on my morning dress.

Goodness.

I closed my eyes and slowly took a deep breath.

Everything around me started floating. Items, once strewn, started to gracefully glide in midair. I started humming softly as my fingers continued their motion, like a concert master in an orchestra, with nothing but the energy of the wind as my aid. I snapped my fingers, and then 'poof', everything was squeaky clean and in rightful order.

"Well, this is much easier than I thought." I mussed. They did say I'm a genius.

"So, this is what you're doing."

I looked around, and there he was, always barging in my bedroom like he owned the place. He didn't even knock on the door.

"Lucas."

My mentor. The infamous magician of the black tower. Dark hair. Red eyes. Spawn of the devil.

"You missed a spot though."

"Wha-" I stopped mid sentence as he walked over, cupped my face, and wiped what must've been a smudge of paint. I became as stiff as a pole as the room suddenly became warmer for some reason. As usual, he's crossing the line so casually. We've been like these for years, and the longer the time passed by, the harder it is for me to examine how, when, or where our relationship exactly began to change.

And yet, I still have no freaking idea what he really thinks of me. Is he serious? Or is this some kind of a game? Is he treating me like this just because I'm a constant source of amusement for him?

"What do you want so early in the morning?" I said grumpily. I just want to shove this uncomfortable questions somewhere down the drain.

"I need your help."

Well, that's new.

"What kind of help?" I asked with a tiny bit of hesitation. Lucas will always be, well, Lucas. Most of the time I don't know what's going on in his head, but, he saved my ass so many times.

Ah, it's so hard to have a conscience. Unlike this person..

"I just need a volunteer in a magic demonstration. Those idiots are pestering me to teach them."

"Then, why me?" I frowned.

"Only you can do it." He stared at me rather intently. "I'll just explain once we get there.".

So, here I was, 'volunteering' my pretty face on the line as Lucas started teaching them how shield magic works. Basically, shield magic is a form of protective spell that manipulate space and energy to act as a barrier from different forces, usually an enemy's attack.

It's a pretty basic spell, however, a lot of magicians underestimate it. Magical barriers work in different forms but always depend on the caster's magical energy, ability, and knowledge. So, if you lack on those three things, you may end up badly hurt or worst— killed.

"Did you understand everything I said?" Lucas narrowed his eyes. The scholars looked like they had plaster on their faces, but they nodded vigorously, clearly not wanting to destroy their chances of learning magic from him.

I had to give them credits though.

Their newfound admiration for Lucas was one notch away from being ludicrous. It is a privilege to learn magic from the black magician himself, but Lucas' is not really talented in the art of teaching. Their brain must be aching after trying so hard to understand his unintelligible explanation.

"Alright. First, I'll demonstrate how it works, then you can try it on your own." He stood up and motioned for me to come closer.

Everyone started staring at me as I stood beside him. I do get the occasional stares from reckless young men, but they were openly staring at me for some reason. It made me kind of conscious a little bit.

Out of nowhere, a book flew by and smacked one of the students on the forehead.

"Stop fooling around, you dimwits."

Everyone immediately looked at the ground like naughty children. Yet, these are scholars of the kingdom and from well known families as well. Which made it quite hard for me to grasp the fact that Lucas was well respected and utterly infamous now that his real identity had been exposed.

"Now, Princess, if you don't mind standing a few yards away from me." He pointed at a spot, and I simply followed. He, then, raised an arm, palm facing my direction, as the air around the room tensed up. His black locks started moving in a wave-like motion. Circles started looping, illuminating lines started swirling, and then came a sudden gust of wind as everything settled into an intricate magic circle around him.

The hair at the back of my neck immediately stood up. Lucas' magic was, by far, the most intricate and captivating of all. Far surpassing that of my father. Well, little is known how he acquired such knowledge. Scratch that. Very little is known about him at all.

"Now, Princess, try to attack me."

I blinked. "Pardon?"

He scowled. "I said attack me. Give it all you got."

It took a bit of a while before I managed to process what he said.

"Are you nuts?!", was all I coud say after realizing he was absolutely serious. My magical energy isn't like that of a normal person! I could tore the whole place part.

"Just do what I said." I would've laughed then and there, if not for his glare.

Is he crazy?!

"Come on. We don't have all day."

I sighed. "Alright, alright! Fine."

Don't blame me if the tower turns into dust.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly as I slowly let my magic materialize into the air. I heard the scholars muttering in awe.

"Keep going."

Everything went bright at that point. A few seconds later a loud crackling noise resonated around the room. As the light started fading, I saw Lucas with such an eerily, familiar expression. Red eyes glowing, a sinister smile— my jaw dropped— and just like that, my magic disappeared.

I could see small electrical currents surrounding him, crackling and sizzling, before finally settling down as everthing went back to normal. There's not even a scratch on him. The room didn't suffer either.

"Amazing!" The students looked absolutely stunned.

"Isn't that a channeling spell?"

Everyone stared at the student who spoke up. But Channeling spells is no where basic, and not really used as barriers nor shields.

"Good observation, Warren." Lucas smirked. The said student beamed at his praise like a docile puppy.

"I showed you a slightly different form of barrier. I simply redirected the princess' magic, that way there will be less chance of inflicting damage if there are people or buildings nearby. Remember, when you serve in the front lines, you don't fight alone. You work in a unit."

That's surprising, I thought. Coming from someone who only do things for his own interest.

"In addition, I used the princess' magic to my advantage by using it as my own barrier. I can also revert her magic if I so desire." He sent me a sly glance.

I crossed my arms. "So, you can kill me by making my own magic bounce back to me, is that what you mean?"

"True, but I'd rather keep you with me all the time." He smiled in what could've been mistaken as flirting.

Oh God, how can he say something to silly in front of others?!

I could hardly keep myself from squirming in embarrasment. I really don't want to look at the scholars staring at us back and forth.

"However, only a powerful magician like me can use this level of magic." He boasted. I sighed inwardly, thankful that he's back to his old self.

He continued to discuss different kind of protective spells, the pros and cons, and during the discussion, it seems he had completely forgotten that I'm still in the room. I didn't mind though. I did my own study, silently staring at Lucas' profile as if I discovered a different side of him. He seemed gentler, not just towards me but others, as well.

Or I could be just seeing things.

I walked to a nearby table and fiddled with the tools and herbs there while making mental notes here and there whenever I heard something interesting off the book. Since Lucas made me read tons of magical literatures I already know more than a thousand spells, except, of course, the forbidden black knowledge.

"What are you doing?"

I nearly dropped a vial with a lime colored substance. "Stop sneaking up on me all the time!"

I swirled around in fury only to find myself almost squeezed between the table and Lucas.

He's too close, like he was peering over my shoulder, but given the fact that he's several inches taller than me, he looked more like a sulky bear towering over a puppy.

"Ummm. Can you move back a little bit?" I looked to the side.

"Why?"

What do you mean why?!

"Because you're too close to me."

He smirked. The bastard. "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Duh.

"Erm.. your students are staring."

They were, indeed, staring.

"You look just like a couple." They said in unison.

I was speechless. Dumbfounded. Flabbergasted, but, I was not given ample time to defend myself nor counteract what seems like a potential hot royal gossip because there was a sudden ruckus outside.

"What in the hell happened here?" The chief barged inside the tower and pointed outside. The soil around the building looked like it was crushed, as though a meteor hit the ground, except the library, in its center, looked completely unmarred.

Lucas shrugged. "The princess wanted to show us her new magic, so we just obliged."

Oh, how dare he place the blame on me!

I shot him a glare, but the chief intervened just in time, "I-is that so? Well, if it's the princess, then, I guess it's fine. We'll just have this fixed later."

What? I stared at the chief incredulously and then back at Lucas.

"Told you. Only you can do it."

Author's Note: I'm still grasping the chemistry between Athanasia and Lucas, but I hope their interaction is as natural like in the novel or manwha. Please do leave a review, suggestion, or any request. I'm still thinking what to post next, so stay tuned!