Felix didn't want to attend some stupid Ball. Really, he didn't. Why bother wasting time with stupid girls and stupid guys when you could be busy training? Isn't that why they were at this academy in the first place?

Irregardless of his feelings on the matter, it appeared as if preparations for the Ball was in full swing. And it was mandatory for all students to attend.

Professor Byleth had invited Dorothea from the Black Eagles House to join the Blue Lions House. After she had accepted, their professor had immediately nominated her for the dancing competition. To his surprise, the girl was a natural. He'd heard her talk about her days as a performer with Professor Manuela but he had brushed it aside as something trivial. Clearly he'd misjudged Dorothea's skills. Yet her victory in the competition only drove home how close the Ball was, irritating him the more.

Seiros help him.

Apparently the goddess wanted him to suffer, because he still had another problem to contend with. Swaddled in violet velvet atop his desk was the doll Annette had lost in the greenhouse. How it had gotten itself gripped between the spindly fingers of a towering tree was still a mystery to him. He absolutely refused to believe ghosties - no, ghosts - had been involved. The least he could do was to investigate the area. It was his turn at the greenhouse today, anyway.

With a sigh, Felix carefully unwrapped the soft bundle of velvet, revealing a charming little redhead doll. "Looks just like her," he mumbled fondly, running the pad of his thumb through its yarn spun hair. "But hers is more orange." He paused, glaring down at the doll as if it had offended him somehow. If only the yarn had been a touch more yellow, it'd be a striking resemblance to the little warlock.

"Yellow, huh? Like that damned boar's greasy noodle hair." Annette had said she hoped someone specific would ask her to the Ball. Naturally, everyone's first thoughts for a partner seemed to be Prince Dimitri. He'd never have thought she might fancy the brute but considering how every breathing woman alive swooned in his presence, he couldn't dismiss the possibility. But she'd insisted she wasn't interested -

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Felix scoffed aloud. He tried in vain to push away visions of her dancing with the boar out of his head. The doll's vibrant red hair burned his retinas, taunting him to impress it with yellow to create the perfect shade of orange. What else made orange? White could, right? And then he thought of Ashe, with his shocking head of silver hair. How well he and Annette got along, how similar their interests and manners and fears were.

Felix didn't dislike Ashe. Hell, he'd rather she danced her heart away with him than with Dimitri. So why was it bothering him so much? Why would the two of them going to the Ball together be an issue? Felix was dead set on sneaking away to train when Professor Byleth wasn't looking. He didn't care about pointless things like this.

Frazzled, Felix busied himself with caring for the doll. Ensuring its material was good as new, clean and without mold, he gently folded the velvet wrapping around it. His ministrations worked to smooth a veil of calm over his fried nerves. When at last he tucked in the remaining portion of velvet into the rest of its folds, he held the bundle between his hands and considered it.

A knock sounded on his door. Was it his professor dropping by to see if he'd lost anything? Honestly, how she managed to collect so many items was a testament to everyone's absent-mindedness. Maybe he should invite her for training after his chores were done, if only to stop thinking about Annette twirling and spinning around with Ashe. He gently set the doll atop his desk and moved his neck from side to side, relishing at the pop of his joints as the muscles loosened.

Within two strides, Felix was at his door, opening it for his guest. "What's up, prof…" the words died on his tongue at the shock of orange braids below him. A pair of orange braids attached to the head of a warlock he'd just been thinking about. His fingers constricted around the door knob, his knuckles bleeding white. "Annette?" he managed to choke out her name, his vocal chords wringing with alarm.

Steaks and cakes what is wrong with me?

The little warlock looked up at him with her doe eyes and glanced behind him. "Oh, uh, come in," he told her, stepping out of her way. His mind was blank. Unsure how to proceed, Felix pushed his door closed and took a second to gather himself. It didn't seem to work.

He moved stiffly, his heart thudding so fast its erratic pulse must have done something odd to the rest of him. Felix only felt adrenaline rushes like this when his opponents were mighty forces to contend against. Ah, that must be it! Her magic must be radiating off her person, challenging his very being into battle.

Feeling more at ease with this rational conclusion, Felix stood before her with one hand on his hip. Waiting for her to ask him to fight each other. Yes, she'd make for a formidable foe, he thought.

But when Annette primly folded her hands before her and timidly glanced up at him, he started to wonder if he'd miscalculated her intent. Maybe she was just nervous to ask him to train together? She needn't be. The girl was a ferocious beast.

"Hello, Felix," she began politely, her eyes shining in the midday light. Wow, he thought. It was like looking into a clear pool of water. He'd never seen a blue so rich. He had to pity every opponent she'd ever faced. Surely they'd taken one look at her and thought she was nothing to fear. After all, she was tiny and optimistic and reluctant to hurt others. Not to mention irresistibly adorable.

Wait, no. What? Felix's nose scrunched as if he'd caught a whiff of something foul. Annette hesitated, watching him warily. He cleared his throat and offered her a composed but welcoming grin. Right, she had business with him. Had she rehearsed her battle invitation? A thrill danced along the back of his neck. Anticipation swelled in his chest.

She began again, almost dubiously. "So, uh, it was your turn to clean the greenhouse, right?"

"Yes," he replied, searching her face for any hint of a proposition to cross swords - or rather, magic against steel. He brightened visibly, tossing the strands of hair that fell into his eyes aside. Actually, he wouldn't mind seeing how well she could handle a blade. Yes, she had the potential. No, a lance might be better suited for her slight build. His mind raced at a cavalry's gallop, wondering what she'd choose to attack him with. "A pegasus rider, huh?" he mumbled to himself, appraising the vision of her flying at her enemies, ripping them in two with one sweep of her lance, the sun glinting off the metal and the spray of blood as it arced into the air. Better yet, she could launch fireballs and thunderbolts at one guy and stab another at the same time. A truly horrific sight. A grin tugged his lips up.

"Felix? Hello?" She said, jolting him back to the present. He blinked, shifting his weight to his other side. Seeing as she had his full attention, Annette's gaze faltered for a split second before she smiled up at him. "Well, I went ahead and took care of it. I also cleaned up the greenhouse."

Huh, that wasn't where I thought this was going, Felix thought. With a perplexed frown, he tried to read the answer on her face. But the girl simply beamed shyly at him, her gaze steady and suspiciously hopeful. "Why?" he asked her.

To his surprise, a vivid blush spread over her cheeks. "I just wanted to...help you out. So that…" She broke off, floundering. With a frustrated huff she said, "Okay, fine! I'm bribing you. So you'll forget!"

"Forget what?" He had absolutely no idea what could bother her so much to resort to bribery.

"Are you really gonna make me say it? Before! In the greenhouse. I want you to forget what you saw and heard."

For some reason, he immediately thought back to the night he had gone to save her from the ghosties. They'd had to witness Sylvain and his date, an excruciating experience to say the least. Yet as he recalled those events, so too did a host of other things. The sugary smell of Annette's hair, the warmth of her body against his as he'd pressed her into the tree -

He drew in a shaky breath, his gaze darting to her lips. Which were now twisted into a pout. When he didn't respond, her mouth curled into a smile as she continued, snapping him out of whatever trance he'd been in. "If you agree to forget about it, I'll take your shift in the stables. Do we have a deal?"

Ah, of course. Felix almost snorted as the realization dawned upon him. They'd had fun hiding away from Sylvain that night - or at least it seemed like they had. Despite her fear of ghosts coming to catch her and the awkward little rendezvous they'd had to see, they had gotten along well. She'd even made small talk with him on the way up to the dorms. No, this was about something else.

And he couldn't agree with her demands. Not when her song was so catchy. "No thanks," he said.

Annette clearly had expected a different outcome. "No?! But that's not okay! You have to forget about it. Right this moment!"

With a shrug, he said the only thing he could. The honest truth. "I can't. It's permanently etched into my memory." Although said memory may be a tad faulty, he thought. He'd fudged those lyrics up for sure. "A mountain of sweets, as well as steaks and cakes. Stacks of them, apparently." he mused, thinking back to her little jig for the plants. "I'm also intrigued by those bears and swamp beastie songs you mentioned."

The tangent had begun. He'd been thinking about this for far too long and now he could finally ask her about his questions. As Felix softly smiled to himself at the memories of her dancing, smoothing out his hair as he did so, Annette started to quake with murderous rage.

But Felix was too absorbed in the enchanting spells she'd woven. It had to be magic, right? Either in her voice or her footwork - footwork! Excitedly, the swordsman looked directly at her. "Ah, and I've been meaning to ask about the move that went along with 'crumbs and yums.' Was that fencing footwork?" Yes, they could battle together anytime. But this! This was paramount.

Ashe had praised her for being well-rounded and now he was seeing her touch in everything. On top of her excellent grades, the warlock was well-versed in the most surprising and unexpected of topics. Perhaps she could take a look at his own fencing and offer pointers?

Unfortunately, when Felix noticed the sheer horror and anger in her expression, it was too late. "Stop it, Felix! You're a villain!"

"Hm?" he was stunned. He very rarely complimented anyone for anything. Yet here Annette was, acting as though he'd gone and done something unforgivable.

Annette waved her arms about like she was about to lob a fire spell at his face. Thank Seiros she didn't. Instead, she gesticulated as she ranted. "You think you're so funny? Keeping a straight face while mocking my singing and dancing?"

Mocking? Felix blinked several times, suddenly very much at a loss. He took a step toward her to try and explain but a fiery tempest had consumed her. "Well, now you have to forget about it. Please! What if I make you a nice steak dinner? You like steak, don't you, Felix?" Her voice rose with desperation and she closed the distance between them, searching for anything she could use to tempt him into erasing his own memory. An impossible feat, really. "It will be yummy!" she insisted, her last word taking on a sing-song quality.

A crease formed between his brows. Seiros above he could already hear her song again just from that little stress on that word. She had a lovely voice. Clear as - clear as...Annette grabbed his hands in her small ones, trying to entice him to agree. Strangely, the feel of her skin blazed through him from his hands to his toes. The hair on the back of his neck prickled.

She tugged him with her toward his door, prattling on about how amazing her steak was going to be. He thought of a possible explosion happening, since she said she had a knack for creating them in the process of cooking. But then he remembered that steaks went with cakes in her songs and then he realized she'd nearly seduced him into complacency. She misunderstood him if she believed he was making fun of her.

Felix refused to budge and Annette looked over her shoulder at him, confused. "This isn't about steak. I just -

"Fine! Be stubborn. Tell the whole world for all I care! I'll just learn to live with the funny looks I'll get from everyone. They'll all say, 'There goes that Annette, the girl with the funny ideas about food!' You're the evilest of villains, Felix! I'll hate you forever and ever!"

With that, Annette let go of him and raced out of his room with the most terrifying face he'd seen her make yet. But all he could think was he'd upset her and he didn't know why or how he'd gone wrong.

His chest ached and his mind swirled with confusion. "Huh. I was just trying to be nice. 'Funny ideas about food.' Even the bullies in her head are ridiculous." He released a defeated sigh, staring at his open door through which she'd fled. "I really don't understand that girl."

As he was wracking his brain for some kind of answer, someone slipped into his room and closed the door. Felix startled, stunned that he'd been so lax in his own room. His hand instinctively dropped to the sword strapped to his hip.

"Really would prefer it if you didn't chop me into pieces, thanks," Sylvain's voice rumbled. The guy leaned against the back of his door with his arms folded across his chest.

"What do you want?" he grumbled, contemplating unsheathing his weapon to shoo him away.

Sylvain shrugged, his hair falling into his eyes. "Oh, nothing."

"Then go make yourself useful. I have greenhouse today," Felix said, making his way over to him.

"Annette took care of that," the skirt-chaser practically purred, his eyes narrowing in delight as Felix's own widened. "Poor girl was yelling her head off. Even Ashe was worried. But I know you're not the type to pounce on a girl. Maybe threaten them with a sword, sure. If only you were keen on another kind of sword you might get a different kind of yelling."

Felix glared at him as if he could stake him through the stomach with one look. "Can you please lay off? You really have no self-control, do you?"

"I have plenty," Sylvain proudly declared.

He did not have the time for this crap. Felix said, "Out."

"My man, I'm only trying to help you. You really have no clue how to talk to girls, do you? Oh, boy," he smirked, pushing off from the door after catching something in Felix's gaze. "Don't tell me you've never been in love with someone before?"

Felix felt as if he'd been dealt a blow he couldn't parry in time. "What?" he guffawed. "Look, I'm not interested in chasing girls everywhere I go. I have actual goals here."

"You wound me," Sylvain feigned a bruised ego, but his eyes glittered deviously. "Listen, all I'm saying is this Ball is more important than you may think. It's not some waste of time. It's a chance to finally spend some quality time with that special someone." When Felix stared blankly back at him, not understanding what he was getting at, Sylvain clapped his hands on his shoulders. "The Goddess Tower is the perfect opportunity. I'll even let you know when I've finished my confessions - I mean one confession there." He backpedaled, trying to goad Felix.

"That's nothing but a stupid story," Felix snapped.

"Yeah but it's tradition now. Girls eat it up. Trust me," he winked.

Felix reached up and flicked him hard on the temple, sending the dolt careening backwards with a pained shout. "I said get out."

"I would be pretty pissed at you if you weren't so hopeless," Sylvain told him, rubbing his forehead where he'd been attacked. "Well, whenever the love bug bites you can always come to me to hear how to treat it. Though I'll bet you'll act like nothing's wrong and fumble your way into more trouble. Poor Annette," he said dramatically. "At least she has no shortage of admirers waiting to ask her. But maybe you like fighting off other rivals."

"Fight? Who?" Felix asked, suddenly very interested. "Anyone strong?"

At that, Sylvain thumped a hand against his chest. "Very. You'll need to have nerves of steel to contend with them. Not actual steel, mind you. Please don't cut down the other students. Well, I'll be waiting to see how you handle it all. Best of luck, oh hopeless one."

And so Sylvain hummed a little tune, something so similar to Annette's own song that it riveted Felix to the spot. Then his bedroom door closed behind the playboy, and he was left standing there in the middle of his room, unable to make sense of anything that had happened today.

"What is wrong with everyone here?" he groaned, shaking his head.

When he turned around, he spied the velvet bundle atop his desk. Annette's doll. Her face rose to the forefront of his mind, the little grin of hers softening her features into something altogether lovely. A peculiar sensation squeezed his heart. It was a stab of pain, but it was sweet in its precision. He pressed his fingers against the fabric over his heart and frowned, perplexed.

AN: Thanks as always for your support, reviews and patience. Finals week is about to swoop down and kill me haha so I've been preparing for the end. A lot of stuff has been going on but I can't wait to finish this story!