Behind the Clouds

A Wizard?

"Elizabeth!"

Elaine came rushing up the stairs, her little boots clicking against the polished wooden floors. In her hands were the bright pink skirts of her bakery uniform, a white headband keeping her blonde hair out of her golden eyes.

When she had first heard from a colleague that Elizabeth had landed on the balcony, Elaine hadn't believed it at first. Quiet, timid Elizabeth was never one to flaunt her wings - let alone use them publicly in town. The thought alone was mortifying to the goddess, worthy of killing her from the shame alone. Yet, Elizabeth had allegedly arrived here with a stranger, floating down from the sky and landing right on the veranda. Now, that stranger was nowhere to be seen and Elizabeth was left all alone aimlessly staring out a window.

"Elaine," Elizabeth greets her friend, her tone entirely dreamlike. She stares ahead, her blue eyes unblinking as she doesn't even register the blonde's hands clasped around her own. Instead she focuses on the window, the jubilant dancers below.

"Are you ok?" Elaine asked, her golden eyes wide as she peered into Elizabeth's. Gaining no reaction, she frowned, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Someone just told me that you floated down onto our balcony."

Something flickers across Elizabeth's face. Floated? So that really did happen. Elizabeth did meet a wizard and he did help her escape from those pesky soldiers and nasty blobby creatures. She had floated above the sky without using her wings, and had watched as dancers laughed and twirled below. She had stepped upon rooftops and slid along tiles, her unpolished work boots paling in comparison to the grandeur of the entire situation. 

Everything about her paled in comparison to the entire situation. Yet Elizabeth was also the girl who had gone through it. She was also the girl who had lived that reality.

"So it wasn't a dream..." Elizabeth blinks, letting the words out slowly. She continues to stare distantly, unmoving and unfeeling, as her eyes drift to Elaine's worried face. Nothing noticeable passes through her features. "It really did just happen - I really did just walk in the sky."

A door swings open and two blood red eyes home in on Elaine, analytical and sharp. The owner in question was a man, a tall one, with spiked hair and a scar running down his neck and chin. He was dressed in a suit, the tie loose and his shirt untucked - the opposite of most people who worked within the building. Slowly, the man sifts his gaze from Elaine to Elizabeth, raising a brow, before he opens his mouth to speak.

"You can use my office if you want," He points to the door, stuffing a hand into a pocket. "I was heading out anyway, so I don't mind."

"I should really get back to work, Ban," Elaine smiles softly, her face flooding with pink. She gives him a little wave, distracted a little from the current situation. "But thanks for the offer. I hope you enjoy the evening off."

Nodding, the man then closed his office door and walked past the pair. His little pat to Elaine's shoulder hadn't gone unnoticed by Elizabeth, the goddess being a keen spotter of small details, but she didn't utter anything about it. She couldn't. She was still too dazzled from her encounter with the wizard to even think about Elaine and her possible love interest, Mr Ban. Instead, she simply watched as the tall man disappeared around the corner, Elaine staring wistfully after him.

A beat after, Elaine shakes her head and turns back to Elizabeth. Immediately, her pining expression morphs into one of extreme worry.

"Not even a word about it..." Elaine sighs, confused by the still distant expression on Elizabeth's face. Grimacing, the blonde then grabs Elizabeth by the arm and begins to lead her downstairs towards the bakery's kitchens. "You've clearly been spellbound - perhaps even lovestruck."