Oh My, I Messed Up the Story

Was that an actual compliment from her usually silent friend? Blaise never said anything he didn't mean and also wasn't the kind to mince his words. Abby was confused. He had never complimented her before.

"Really?" she asked skeptically.

He nodded. "Yes. I believe that with you here to aid your sister, the Kanta will continue to reach new heights."

That was one of the nicest things he could have said to her. He believed in her capabilities even though he had never seen her do anything of note. Their conversations primarily consisted of silly childhood stories from home and commentary on the journey.

Blaise didn't know that she had gotten an academic scholarship into a prestigious university or gotten into a fairly large graphic design firm straight out of school. There was nothing in this world that would indicate her intelligence.

Yet he still thought she would be of help to Katie, who was arguably one of the most innovative people in this world. That meant a lot to her.

Her heart warmed and she smiled genuinely at him. "Thank you. That's a really nice thing to say."

"I meant it," Blaise said firmly. He shifted slightly, seeming almost nervous, before speaking again. Abby had never seen him get nervous before. "There is a misunderstanding I would like to clear up before I go…the only reason I laughed so hard when you took in that lynx was because I had been holding back laughing at other things you did."

She gaped at him but he continued.

"I have always thought you were amusing but did not want to offend you by laughing. I believed my point was proven when you were so upset by my laughter at that time but then you did not seem to mind when Katie and Alamar laughed at the same thing later.

"I admit that I do not understand why that is the case. Nevertheless, I wanted you to know the truth before I left and sincerely hope that your anger with me will cease. I do not wish for us to part on bad terms."

Abby was completely thunderstruck by what he was saying. Then all this time…he wasn't completely stiff and humorless? He thought she was funny?

More importantly…why did he seem almost sad at the thought that she was angry with him? She had never seen him display such a basic human emotion before. She had seen concern but that was about it.

"I was only mad because I wasn't trying to be funny that time and you didn't laugh when I was trying to make you!" Abby blurted before instantly regretting it.

He hadn't been aware of her attempts to see if he had a sense of humor. Would he be offended by them? She immediately tried to backtrack and apologize. "I'm sorry; I had never seen you laugh before so a few days before I found Simba I had been trying to be funny but I was a little upset that it didn't work."

Blaise squinted at her in confusion. "Why would you do that?"

"…I was curious what made you tick. I figured everybody had to have a sense of humor but I hadn't seen yours yet. I'm sorry," she apologized again, feeling like a terrible person.

He shook his head. "There is no need to apologize for that. Truthfully…I am flattered that you were curious about me."

Wait, what? Was that really something worth being flattered over? Most people would find that weird. Abby hadn't thought their relationship had much substance; that they were simply two people who talked to keep each other entertained on a long and boring trip.

A small part of her was quite pleased that his feelings for her seemed to run deeper than she thought. Another small part told it to shut up because this would never go anywhere. He was leaving as soon as they got word back from Edmund and Marcy.

Even if Blaise did have a secret sense of humor they were still too different. He was a proud member of the Warrior class and wouldn't leave his post for someone as insignificant as her. He had never given her any indication to believe he didn't see her as a job until now.

Abby was still trying to think of something to say in response when Katie burst in waving a letter in her hand. "You guys! I heard back and they said yes! Blaise, to catch the next ship to Shibatsu you'll need to meet up with Edmund tomorrow and head to the capital to pick up Marcy."

Her heart sunk. It was time for him to leave already? She had known this was coming; she shouldn't be feeling disappointed.

Their friendship had always been a temporary diversion for the road destined to go nowhere. Abby would be able to make more permanent friends here without having to worry about them getting killed in a different country on some dangerous mission.

"Excuse me, Miss Abby. Madam Clan Leader. I have preparations to make for the journey," Blaise said seriously before giving them both a salute and heading off to the stables.

Abby sat down at the kitchen table, at a loss. Katie smiled knowingly and sat down across from her. "You're going to miss him, aren't you?"

"No! What makes you think that?" she replied defensively.

In her heart of hearts, she knew she was lying. She would miss him terribly even though it wasn't allowed. He was never hers to miss. He was merely a Warrior fulfilling his duty to see a person in need safely to a foreign land.

Katie set the letter down on the table and raised an eyebrow at her. "Because you're acting the same way around him as you did around that boy you had a major crush on in seventh grade whose family moved to Minnesota. You moped for days."

Abby inwardly cursed. There was no hiding anything from the one who knew her best. It had always been impossible keeping secrets from her sister as they were growing up. Not only did Katie know her too well, she had a special knack for getting her to spill her secrets.

First she said Abby would miss him then she jumped straight to having a crush? Did she really though? She couldn't possibly be interested in someone so stoic all the time even if he was handsome and kind and dependable.

"Don't give me that look," she snapped. "I would never be interested in a boring guy like that!"

Katie simply shrugged. "I didn't think I'd be interested in an overgrown man-child but here we are nearly two children later."

"Two childr—you're pregnant?!"

She nodded. "I'm only three months along so we haven't told anyone else yet but I figured you should know. But that's beside the point. I'm trying to tell you that you have no control over who you like. Sometimes it just happens. My feelings for him crept up on me and didn't happen until we had been married for a while.

"I thought I couldn't like him because he was too much of a goofball and never took anything seriously. He showed his serious side more over time but before that point I was already in too deep. He was the best friend I ever had, apart from you. Caring about him as a person led to caring about him as a man. It was natural since we spent so much time together. How long have you been traveling with Blaise now, six months?"

"Something like that. But we were sort of lunch buddies before then," Abby admitted.

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Lunch buddies?"