No. I knock on the door.

Your cheeks flush, and you knock on the door, using the noise as a cover for latching the door.

“Come in.” you hear your father say, disguising any fluster very well.

You open the door and enter. Vidar was lying back in his seat while Cassia was sitting upright on the desk, eyeing you with that calculative look and a smile.

“Allinia,” Vidar says, “What is it, dear?”

Butterflies begin to flutter in your stomach as you look toward Cassia. “W-well.” You start, subconsciously looking away and pivoting your right foot on its ball. You catch this nervous tick and mentally kick yourself as you stand straight and look Cassia in the eyes. “Lady Cassia.” you pronounce. “I would like to formally request that you mentor me in the ways of magic.”

Cassia looks at you with interest while your father looks at you with confusion.

“Allinia, dear.” Your father says, standing up. “I thought you didn’t want to learn magic.”

“I was a child who was upset and demoralized by so many rejections and failed attempts.” you say, feeling an indignant tone rising in your voice. You clear your throat. “But, I’m willing to give it one more try.”

Cassia daintily holds a finger to her lips as she hums, almost like the purr of a cat. “I accept your request.” she says.

You feel the excitement coursing through you, and a wide smile, unable to be contained, appears on your face.

“But,” Cassia interrupts, “only if I have your father’s blessing.”

You look to your father, excitement overriding every lesson you’ve learned about controlling your outward appearance.

He hesitates, thoughts clearly churning in his head. Long enough for anxiety and worry to creep in and erode your previously found joy.

“You have my blessing.” he says finally. “But only if your lessons do not take her outside of the city walls past sundown.”

Joy returns to you.

Cassia scoffs. “You sure do know how to spoil a girl’s fun.” she prods playfully. “Very well, I plan to move here anyway. So I guess I won’t be taking you back to my hut for training anytime soon.” Her eyes then look straight into yours. “Unless, of course, you want to start now. If not, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for me to be finished moving in.”