Sorry for not posting for awhile. I have been quite busy with school. Also, I have been thinking on whether I should end the series sooner than I planned. Leave a review on what you think should happen with the story
When Aiz got up, she sat up from her bed and stretched her arms. She slept quite peacefully for a change. Looking down, she saw the plush rabbit she borrowed from Bell. It had been hugged by her the entire time she was asleep. Aiz found herself smiling as she further noticed how much Bell actually did look like a rabbit. She then got up and changed into her normal clothes. She picked up the rabbit and walked out of her room. It was pretty early in the morning, so almost no one was awake. The only people she could think of who would be up was Riveria, Finn, Gareth, and her. That was good since there wouldn't be people distracting her from her routine. Her morning routine was to train until it was time for breakfast. As she made her way through the hallways, she noticed how rare it was for there to be no noise. It was usually noisy and bustling with the many members going around. All the better reason to wake up early.
Finally, she entered the open area of the manor. It was a courtyard that allowed enough space to move freely and get nice view of the city. As she took in the pale morning sky, she heard a sound coming from her right. When she turned to see what it was, she saw that it was Bell. He was holding a wooden dagger and was striking a dummy. Most likely it was agility training. Though, it did surprise her to see him awake so early. Judging from the sweat coming of his face, he probably started about an hour ago.
"Hello Bell" She said to catch his attention. It worked and he looked over to where he heard the voice. He saw Aiz and stopped his training.
"Hi Aiz" he replied back as he was breathing heavily. "You also get up quite early?"
"Yes, I normally do training until everyone wakes up"she replied. Her training was simply just practicing swinging her sword and improving technique. She never had a chance to spar with someone. It would be rude to wake someone up just to train with them. The last time she did train with another person ...was when she trained Bell on top of the wall. On that thought, an idea popped in her head.
"Hey Bell, do you want to train with me?" She asked. Bell looked a little surprised by the question. He then nodded in agreement. The two then got into position, wielding practice weapons. Aiz noticed how Bell's stance was better than the last time they fought. His dagger was held in a defensive position, his body was ready to move at a moments notice, and his focus was much sharper. She was impressed by how much he improved and how fast she improved. That only made her more curious to find out his method of quick growth. Perhaps she might find out this time.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
"Yeah" he replied. A few moments a silence passed. Then, the two charged at each other, their blades clashing.
30 minutes have passed since they started. No noise was coming from either of them. Bell wasn't able to make a sound since he was unconscious and Aiz was too focus on not waking him up. She was giving him a lap pillow, as she always did when she would accidently knock him out. She gently stroked his hair and patted his forehead. The feeling of it was so comforting that she always felt happy when she does it. Of course, she wasn't to worried about someone seeing them as no one would be awake. Unbeknownst to her, two other people were awake and was watching them.
"Awww. They look so cute together" Tiona squealed while Tione was focusing on the two. The two sisters had woken up earlier than usual and had decided to walk around. Tione originally wanted to go visit Finn to see what he was doing, but Tiona pointed out that he was probably busy. That did left her a bit sad, but she got over it when Tiona suggested they see if anyone else was awake. After a few minutes, they walked out onto the balcony. It was a few yards off the ground and it overlooked the entire courtyard. As the two looked around, Tiona saw movement from the corner of her eye. Near the end of the courtyard were Aiz and Bell. They were having a training match as far as she could tell. Bell seemed to be barely catching up with Aiz's attacks, but he was putting up a good fight. The fight would have gone on longer, had it not been for Aiz hitting Bell in the head with her spin kick. Tiona cringed a bit when she saw the foot collide with his head. He was sent flying a few feet and hit the ground, unconscious. She was about to go help him, when she saw Aiz was already next to him. By then, Tione noticed the two and was watching them as well. Back to the two, Aiz checked to see if he had any injuries. What she did next confused the two sisters. She kneeled down in front of Bell's head and adjusted herself. Then, she slowly picked up his head and placed it on her lap. To finish it off, she started to stroke his head. Both Tiona and Tione had a look of shock, surprise, and confusion. Aiz has never let a man, even in if they were apart of the same familia, get too close to her body. Yet, they just witnessed Aiz herself, giving a lap pillow to a guy.
"I never thought this was even a possibility" Tione remarked. Tiona was gushing how adorable the entire thing was.
"Aiz got herself a boyfriend!" She squealed quietly to not alert their presence.
"You blockhead, they aren't dating. Aiz cares about fighting monsters, not boys" Tione scolded. Tiona glared at her for the insult, but then realized something.
"You are right! She only focuses on how strong she is. We should change that" She said.
"What do you mean?" Tione asked.
"We should get her and Mr. Argonaut together" she suggested. Tione paused and thought about it. From what she has seen, Aiz has been quite friendly towards him. The two get along very well and both of them do care about how the other is doing. It would be wrong to try and pair people up together, but it was Aiz's best chance to do something a normal girl would do.
"Sure, why not" she said. Tiona grinned and the two went inside to plan their operation.
As Bell opened his eyes, he first saw the pale blue sky over him. Next, he felt something soft and comfortable on the back of his head. Finally, he felt something stroke his forehead. A sense of deja vu came over him as he tried to remember why it felt so familiar. He remembered that he was training with Aiz. Training Aiz, looking up at the sky, something on the back of his head, and a gentle stroking. His eyes shot open when he realized why it was familiar.
"AAAHHHHH!" He screamed as he quickly brought his body forward and rolled a few feet away from Aiz. After he stopped, he jerked his head towards her. She was in a kneeling position and was looking at him in confusion.
"Did you...not like it?" She asked. He remained silent because he was afraid of what might happen if he answered. He also was thinking about why she gave a lap pillow, A LAP PILLOW for crying out loud, every time he was unconscious. Again, he didn't feel like sharing that thought since it may offend her. All Bell could do was to brush it aside and act like it didn't bother him.
"Sorry about that" he said as he got up. Aiz also got up and walked over to Bell.
"I'm sorry about kicking you in the head again" she said in a quiet voice. She hadn't meant to, it happened by instinct.
"It's fine, I just need some rest" he replied. As he began to walk towards the manor, Aiz remembered something important.
"Bell, Wait" she called. He turned around to see Aiz walking over to something on a bench. She picked it up and walked back to him. He saw that it was the plush he let her borrowed.
"I planned on returning it when you woke up, but I forgot about it when we were training" she explained. She held it out and Bell took it. It was exactly how it was yesterday, with no damage or stains on it. She had obviously been very careful with it.
"Thanks for keeping it safe" he said with a smile.
"It's fine, and thanks for letting me have it for the day" she said back. The two then walked back into the manor while starting a conversation. They talked about things like the dungeon and their gear. During which, Aiz brought up an interesting point.
"We maybe having another expedition soon. Do you think Finn will allow you to go?" she asked. Bell paused and thought about it. It at first seemed crazy that he, a level 2 adventurer, would go with high ranked adventurers to the lower floors. By himself, he wouldn't survive one minute down there. Though, he would have a huge party of people with him.
"Don't you think I may be too weak to join you all?" He asked with uncertainty. Aiz shook her head.
"It's perfectly fine. We took Lefiya on our last expedition and she was only level 3" she said. Bell wanted to point out that since Lefiya was a magic caster, she didn't have to fight on the front lines. However, considering that Lefiya would hunt him down if she heard that, he kept his mouth shut.
"Who knows? I might be allowed to join when the time comes" he said to clear up her question. She accepted it and they continued on to the great hall. When they got there, some people were already at the tables. As Aiz expected, Finn and Riveria were there. What she wasn't expecting was seeing Tiona and Tione walking up to them.
"Hey you guys!" Tiona said cheerfully. She and her sister were smiling, in a way that seemed off.
"Hello, since when did you guys get up so early?" Aiz asked. Tione dismissed it, saying that they just woke up early. The two then dragged Aiz and Bell towards a table and sat them down together. Strangely, one large plate of food was set between them.
"Umm, why did you only get one plate?" Bell asked.
"Why are you asking? Do you not like eating with Aiz?" Tiona asked with small smirk. Bell blushed and incoherent stuttering tumbled from his mouth. Aiz just blinked, not really understanding why Bell was getting flustered. She simply began to eat the food. Bell was still hesitant to start. When Aiz glanced at him and gave him a expectant look, he shakily ate as well. While the two ate, Tiona and Tione both smirked behind them.
"Step 1, success"