Levi

"Take them!" said Levi. "Oh" I grabbed the bundle of daisies from his hand and said "Thank you." I didn't want to pressure him so I left it at that. Was he trying to make amends? "We should go back to the house now, I don't want to worry your parents." Levi nodded silently with his head down. I had begun to turn away when Levi reached out and grabbed my hand before walking ahead, pulling me behind. I don't think he realized how fast he was walking, basically dragging me but his grip never faltered until we made it back to the house.

Once we were back inside, Levi loosened his grip but didn't let go entirely. We were around the same height so our hands hung comfortably at our sides. Levi had turned to look at my face and I in turn looked at him.

Levi was very cute. If I were less mature, I'd definitely have been jealous but all I could do now was appreciate his beauty. His once neat white hair had been mussed and his pale cheeks were seemingly flushed from running. As I stared, his cheeks got redder though which only made me stare more intensely. Was he coming down with a fever? He'd only been outside for a short time so that couldn't be right.

My thoughts were interrupted when Levi pulled his hand away and ran off in the direction of the sitting room. Huh, well at least he's inside.

—

By the time I walked back to the sitting room, the adults had arrived. My parents stood on one side of the room while Levi's parents stood next to Madelaine who was still seated in the armchair. I looked around for Levi before spotting him hiding behind his mother.

Everyone in the room excluding Levi had turned to me as I entered. The adults only glanced before continuing their conversation on commerce but Madelaine stared with a wide grin on her face. She looked like she was about to erupt with laughter but held it in. Had I done something funny?

—

Shortly after my return to the sitting room, my parents decided that it was too late to travel and invited the guests to stay overnight. Frieda graciously accepted before being led with her family to rooms.

In summary, the night had gone rather well. I thought I'd definitely made friends with Levi at least as I moved my hand over the daisies in my pocket and Madelaine seemed fine although I didn't know what she thought was so funny. Even though I was mentally older than her, Madelaine confused me. We'd never really had a conversation though so maybe her enigmatic aura was a result of that. I decided that nothing more could be done for now so I headed back to my room to wash up before bed. I placed the daisies in a cup of water beforehand and set them on my dresser.

As I lay in bed, I pondered the tonight's events. I didn't know specifically, but Frieda and Ahren were definitely important officials in the spirit lands and they were elves. Whether they were the natives I'd learned about or migrants like the humans I didn't know but I thought it made sense for them to be the natives because they'd discussed trade with my parents. I was annoyed at what little information my parents shared with me but from their perspective, I suppose telling a four year old wouldn't be worth their time since I'd probably forget. When I proved my basic fluency in Tillish, they began to keep me in the loop more but I didn't want to push too hard with achievements otherwise I'd be more of a worry than an asset. After gathering my thoughts, I slept.

—

In the morning, we ate breakfast with our guests. Last night, there had been a subtle tension over the room but that was no longer present as the adults jovially discussed trade. I didn't understand enough of the words to know what was happening fully but they looked like they were coming to an agreement.

Breakfast had concluded and I was about to go meet with Mr.Adler for class when I felt someone tap my arm. I turned to see Levi with a smile on his face. "Do you want to play in the forest?" he asked. So cute. "I'd love to but I have a lesson with my tutor now." Seeing Levi's fallen expression, I felt guilty. He must be pretty bored. "You could come with me if you like." Levi's expression rebounded, even brighter than before while nodding vigorously. I didn't know anyone would be that happy about sitting in on a class. "Will your sister be alright by herself?" I asked. "Yes" Levi said bluntly. I got the feeling it was the truth but I couldn't help but feel there were ulterior motives.

While walking to the classroom, I suddenly had a thought. I'd never asked anyone directly before about magic; I didn't even know the word for it. But if I asked Levi about it, he was a child so I doubted he would snitch and he might know something. "Hey Levi, have you ever seen someone move stuff with their mind?" Wow, I'm so articulate, truly a master of vocabulary. I cringed internally but Levi seemed to get the idea. "Do you mean-what I assume the word for magic to be-?" said Levi. I nodded. Levi laughed "You don't believe all those fairy tales do you?" I stopped walking in surprise. "What do you mean?" Levi had stopped walking too. "Charlie, magic's not real."