✧The Earthe of the Elves✧

28- Knox

Knox's POV

(Technically this is before the 2nd half of chapter 28. This scene is NOT described in Mia's pov).

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Bhailewood bustles with life as Mia and I stroll down the path leading to the library and cafe, her favorite spot for lunch, I've learned.

After training this morning Mia asked if I wanted to get lunch with her, which was funny, because I was going to ask her if I could tag along when she went. So, of course, I said sure, and here we are, heading inside.

When we enter the bookshop I'm hit with a wave of heat and the smell of old paper and tea. I've always liked the library, it feels very welcoming.

Despite the busy crowds outside there are barely any elves inside, so we choose a table right in front of a window that opens to the lively scene outside. I already know what I'm getting, so I ask Mia what she wants before heading up with our order.

"One pomegranate salad with a glass of water, and a strawberry parfait please," I say to Sky, the girl at the counter. She nods with a friendly smile and turns to make our lunch. Sky trained with me when I was younger, and we were friends as far as training went. In the past I always thought she was pretty, I would sometimes get nervous when I talked to her, but now.... She's just the nice girl I sparred with. Something has changed. Part of me already knows, and part of me, for whatever reason, wants to ignore it and pretend it's not there.

"Here you are." I'm snapped out of my thoughts by Sky's voice as she hands me a tray with our food. I thank her and walk back to Mia.

"So, do you come here a lot too?" Mia asks as she scoops out a strawberry from her parfait with a wooden spoon and pops it in her mouth.

"Mmm, sometimes," I reply, shrugging. "Not a ton, but I like it here."

"Same, it's a nice place to come to chill. Forget stuff for a bit."

Ah, yes. The inevitable act of wanting to forget things. Forget 'things' as in the approaching war. I haven't told Mia yet, but I'll be fighting in that war. I'm old enough, and although it's not required I feel like I should. I'm planning on telling Mia soon, but not now. She has enough on her plate as it is. She's been training every day and worrying about her visions ever since the pool day. It's been two weeks since then, since she got a vision about the color green while underwater in the pool room. I cringe at the memory of watching her eyes roll back in her head, unmoving. It scared me so much I almost breathed in a mouthful of water.

"Anyway, thanks for coming here with me. El has been busy, and it's less fun to eat alone."

"Of course, this is nice. I mean, who wouldn't want to spend their afternoon with you?" I finish in a sarcastic tone. Mia rolls her eyes and smiles, her teeth flashing. Her smile lights up her whole face, and for a second she doesn't seem to have the burdens she carries on her. I hope I can help her carry those burdens, because she does not deserve to have that weight.

"Yeah, with all my talking and trying not to be awkward because I never know what to talk about... " She finishes with a silent laugh and continues to eat her parfait. I look down and stab my fork into my salad, the lettuce crunching and the few pomegranates exploding with sweetness in my mouth. I risk a glance up at Mia.

She's chewing a fruit and looking outside, a calm look on her face. Her freckles stand out in the afternoon light, small brown dots across her skin. Her golden hair hangs down around her, framing her face, her jawline, her nose, her pink lips. Something in my gut flares to life, an adrenaline-like feeling inside me. I swallow and quickly look back at my salad as Mia looks away from the window. I just sit there for a minute, staring at my salad, until the feeling fades.

We talk for the rest of lunch, just normal, casual talk, friendly talk. It's when we're sitting in the cafe, just talking, that I finally allow myself to accept it. The feelings I've been feeling lately. I'm not even sure how to describe it. But she's kind, and funny, and brave- one of the bravest people I know, considering her circumstances- and she's strong, much stronger than I ever thought she was when I first met her. She's honest with me and says what's on her mind, even if I won't like it. She's pretty, and not like Sky, who just has a face that most would consider pretty. Mia is the kind of pretty that makes you wonder how she does it, how she manages to just look that gorgeous just sitting here, talking and eating. The kind that gives your stomach this wrenching feeling sometimes, a feeling completely foreign to me.

It's in this library, this little cafe, that I realize it's her. Her that I want to stick by, her to be the person I can go to just because I can. I don't know how else to describe it, but I know. It's Mia. Sometimes I feel like my elf senses notice, even if I'm not looking at her, that she glances at me the way I glance at her. Like she feels the same way. But, like me previously, something is holding her back. But it's there.

I turn away from Mia and pretend to scan the bookshelf behind me so I can take a second to grin at the wall.

What a weird feeling, whatever this is.

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AW