The Magus Teacher

To divulge personal information she hadn't revealed to anyone else, Anna had allowed herself to feel a form of vulnerability akin to nakedness. It made her feel embarrassed to the point of wishing to cover her face and quietly escape before any further humiliation could be wrought by her own making. In truth, there was no particular reason to reveal information to him about the tragedies that befell her. So why? Why did she feel the need to do such a foolish thing? Soldiers around the entire castle complimented her everyday but none of them had ever put her on the pedestal of a noble.

They, as she did herself, felt that Johan's honorable heart was the only reason she could exist here in any capacity. To them, she may have been no different than a commoner, with her saving grace being her angelic beauty. Indeed, she was no more than a commoner wearing the skin of an angel. However, when Zunza complimented her, there was a genuine humility to every word that graced his lips.

Noble? Lady Anna? She detested the comparison that arose within the confines of her mind, but Zunza's humble nature was reminiscent of the prince that stole her heart so many years ago. In his eyes, she was someone important, referred to in a overwhelmingly flattering light, and was no different from anyone else in the castle. Possessing the unfounded belief that he was merely a privileged noble who enjoyed having his ego stroked was so foolish as to be laughable now.


That he had received it with such heartfelt compassion left her speechless. None of his words were disingenuous nor did they lack in sincerity. There was no facade.

He held her hands firmly as their eyes met. Genuine emotion. In those eyes, Anna did not feel as if she were a burden nor a commoner. His passionate gaze made her feel as if she were truly someone worth being revered. As he placed his hand across her face and flicked her nose, Anna found it even harder to form any sentences that might have issued forth from her lips. She had desired to earn this recognition later on in time, when she had earned the right to fight alongside her comrades here in this royal castle. To be certain, Anna had heard how kind she was a countless number of times, far too many to count. However, of the many, not even one had spoken it with the conviction he did. He had paused for a moment after he finished speaking to her, his hands returning to his own person. However, that was only momentary as he turned to her, removing his glasses so that she could see the true nature of his eyes.


"I am truly a monster, a being born into this world to be nothing more than a weapon to fight the Northern aggression, or to bring an end to the East. My mother, if I could even call her that, was kidnapped from the East, and forced into a marriage to bring me into this world...a freak of nature born with a genetic deformity that would force my Mystic Eye to appear....I can't even turn them off like a normal person. I am forced to wear glasses, thankfully to hide my shame as the continuous use of my real eyes causes me pain."

The flood of information coupled with Zunza unveiling his eyes left Anna flabbergasted.. She had gleamed through his records but those only revealed baseline information. This, however, was far more personal. Anna was silent for a moment, unsure of what to say as she gazed into his supernatural eyes. However, that silence would only be temporary. She raised her hands towards his face, placing her soft palms against his cheeks. To her, he was no different than who he had been up until now. Nothing would change that.

“You're not being fair to yourself at all. You consider me to be a noble yet you label yourself as a monster because of something you consider a deformity? My perception of you has not changed in the slightest. Before I met you, I foolishly thought you might have been like so many of the other nobles of the castle. Now I know how foolish that my assumption truly was. Zunza.... people have told me how kind I am... but not one of them told me how wonderful I am with as much conviction in their words as you did. The way you stare at me... the way you speak of me... it makes me feel as if I'm already someone who has accomplished so much. You are a great man. Wonderful. Compassionate. Gentlemanly. These are the words that spring to mind when I look at you. Anyone who thinks otherwise is not worthy of being in your presence. I won't allow you to speak so lowly of yourself when you've been so warm and gentle towards me. Not one bit. Here... "


In that instant, Anna briefly pressed her lips against his forehead, embracing him with all the heartfelt emotions he had poured into her. To deny that there was no affection in her heart for this magician who graced her presence only moments ago was utterly futile. She was not prepared to feel that way ever again. The torture she had experienced in the honor of someone who had seemingly abandoned her was still fresh within her mind. She hated how affectionate her heart was, how easily she could fall in love...

What had once been a humble and rather delightful banquet for two had changed drastically over the last few minutes of brief discussion. While Anna's reveal of her horrible past had been a dreadful thing to hear from someone so fair, Zunza's own admittance of what he was left a foul taste in his mouth, and his mind. He felt dearly sorry for Lady Anna, she was a woman of integrity, and to be assaulted in such a manner made him question the whole Western society. Just where was the line to be drawn if all manners and etiquette were thrown to the wind for personal gain and ambition? Zunza couldn't imagine the type of people who would act in such a barbaric fashion, but he also knew that they had to be people who were close to the former royal family who had disappeared and in that same vein they were also people who were close to the current royalty. This brought an edge of fear to his mind and while he studied her face for her reaction to the hideous truth of his eyes, his mind went a hundred miles a second trying to piece together a possible list of wrong doers who would need to be dealt with a hasty manner. Otherwise their foul hatred would corrupt the new regime after all.

Her reaction was not something that he expected from a young lady faced with the repulsive and insidious side of the noble families of the Western Hierarchy. She placed her palms on his cheeks, her soft touch, and calming demeanor causing him to stare deeply into her eyes. Never had he been around a woman who could tolerate the sight of his true self for too long and even more so he had never been around a woman who would actually talk with him for that matter. Most of the ladies were chasing the military types, parading around the castle like they owned the place, and in a way he was thankful for that. Not having young noble women chasing him was something that he had once been thankful for, but now in the presence of such understanding and grace he found himself almost at a loss for words. He subtly wished he had more practice saying the right things to the fairer sex or more training in the way of noble etiquette as he found himself now floundering in a lake of his own inadequacies. He was not at all prepared for this young lady to act in the way she did: with care and a clear charm that was her own and only hers.

She spoke to him, almost admonishing him for his speech about himself, and almost making him second guess his whole outlook on himself in its entirety. His father had spoke of women with the gift to make a single man feel like he was the center of the universe, but he had never met one of these women. Well, until today. He felt emboldened and more so he felt more at ease than he probably had felt in a long time. Her words, so warm, and welcoming explained how she interpreted who he was and how he acted nothing like the monster or weapon that he believed himself to be. It was clear that through their shared turmoils that they were linked in a way that was theirs and theirs alone. He allowed her the time to speak on him, to gauge the type of man that he was through her eyes, and then after she was finished she surprised him with something he didn't think anyone would ever give him.

A sign of affection.

If the young man could get any more red in the face he did, a natural reaction to the emotional roller coaster his body was going through, and quite easily visible regardless of how much he wanted to hide it. She kissed him on the forehead, a single memory of the woman who had been his mother before she died filled his mind. A single kiss on the forehead as she passed on into the next life. A few tears welled up at the side of his eyes as Zunza jerked away and cleared his eyes with the sleeves of his coat jacket. "I'm sorry Lady Anna, I did not mean to jerk away so suddenly...I just find it odd that anyone would show me affection or speak so highly of me in any regard. But you do...I don't really know how to react to displays of affection as I have never had anyone think of me in any other manner than a weapon or as Johan's adviser...forgive me for inadequacies.", more honesty as he grabbed his glasses and placed them on his face as the all too familiar feeling of pain shot up through his head at having them off for far too long. He looked at Anna for a brief moment, taking in the sights of a woman that he barely knew, but seemed to be so close to.

"You're far too perfect of a woman, Lady Anna.", he said as he stared into her emerald orbs with his own normal looking eyes. He could spend hours staring into them and find himself lost, but he wouldn't care because he truly felt something more than an academic inkling to this young woman. No, he felt the spark of a potential romance, at least that is what he thought that tight feeling in his chest was, and this unusual feeling of delight was.

Even though she was hardly a stranger to love... Anna had felt as if she were experiencing the emotion for the first time. That fact alone perplexed her beyond measure. She had experienced this scenario before. A flashback of the Leonhardt prince appeared in her mind, as thoughts of what once was flowed through her mind in endless arrays.

For them to appear in this moment, she considered them to be nuisances meant to dampen her resolve in consoling the man before her. She had failed to enjoy this scenario before. Were these flashbacks meant to serve as a reminder of her failure, did they mean to discourage her from seeking someone else? No. She wanted to be done with this already. Her losses were many, far too cruel to count.

She had gained so much back in return that those tragic memories were all but an afterthought. Anna felt unworthy of all the praise she had been given but now found herself cherishing every word he said. His gentle demeanor and kind words were doubtlessly genuine. He revealed something from his dark history, exposing himself in a way not many people would dare. Anna would not allow him to berate himself as if he was a grotesque beast - unworthy of affection and generosity - nor idly stand by while others did the same.

The warmth of her embrace was not merely the result of innocent affection, it was a moment frozen in time, meant to show him that he would always find content in her company. As she held him, a small, rosy, blush colored her milk-white cheeks. Her heart was beating abnormally fast, racing within her chest as she closed her eyes, hoping to quell her quickening heartbeat so as to avoid embarrassment.

Even so, she would no longer be ashamed of him nor would she desire that same shame to fester within his heart. As if it were a casual fact, they had revealed a significant part of their history they found difficult to convey without the judgmental eyes of others bearing down upon them.

They may have varied slightly - Anna never openly chose to hide the jagged scar around her neck while Zunza's eyes were required to be hidden, lest he falls victim to severe trauma. Zunza pulled away in an abrupt motion that caused Anna to worry. Had she said something wrong?

Her worried expression ended before it could truly form. No. Her gentle eyes could perceive a few tears as they wet the sleeve of his coat jacket.


He then turned to her and explained his reasoning, even though an explanation was unnecessary. She understood. She, too, was unaccustomed to being showered with such genuine words of recognition; recognition that she felt was undeserved.

"You're far too perfect of a woman, Lady Anna."

Gazing into her emerald eyes as he uttered that series of words, the incessant heartbeat from moments before became even more frantic as she held his gaze. In no uncertain terms, the benevolent maiden had been rendered speechless.

Of course, it was not from the compliment but because she felt as something else was ready to control her body. If it were a form of possession by a supernatural force, then what possessed Anna now was a spirit of love and passion.


His eyes. Gentle eyes that would never forsake her, never betray her. Hearing those words merely accelerated the process of what was to come. Without hesitation, she wrapped her hands around his neck and rose up to kiss him.


There was a distinct difference in size between them but Anna, having already fallen victim to the romantic allure of the moment, cared little for such a small inconvenience. She deepened the kiss, tasting the remnants of food she had given him. Much to her fortune, the taste of sweetness was still fresh on his lips. Cinnamon? Strawberry? Vanilla? Lost in this kiss, her mind had suddenly departed this world for the realm of dreams...

For many years the idea of love had never been something that Zunza had spent moments contemplating or thought about. He had always spent so much time thinking about his family, his lineage, and the knowledge that he needed to gain to better understand the magic that he wielded. In essence, there had never been a time for love, or even the inkling for a romantic interaction. He supposed he could blame that on all of the work his father had put into his education or all the time that he had been placed into isolation as to not have him be distracted from his training. Still, he wasn't ungrateful for it, and respected his father immensely for placing the emphasis on making him into the man he was today. After all, he was a good man, and a staunch defender of the West's supremacy. Even if most people didn't believe that about him, while it did sting, he did at least respect their opinion. Even if it was wrong.

Still, all that being cloistered away in isolation did not prepare him for any of this, and though he had the proper etiquette befitting a nobleman, he did not have the right "training" to interact with the fairer sex. Especially one who actually fancied him in a way that he didn't dare believe would have been possible if not for the circumstances of their situations. It also didn't help that he felt a weird around her, not a bad weird, but a really amazing type of weird. A feeling of butterflies that just wouldn't go away and a gnawing anxiety that seemed to perplex his mind as he tried his best to glance at her from time to time. Every glance would send another shock wave of weird and unknown emotional responses through himself that he just wasn't used to having. Usually he was stoic and spent the majority of his time in a lab, a library, or out on some duty for a nobleman, but in all of that time he had never felt quite like this. While his mind told him to get over these emotions and move forward, his heart seemed to be screaming at him in a way that he had never been screamed at before.

It took all of his reservations and all of his willpower to not just give in to these emotions inside of him and just grasp her in a way only a man could grasp a woman. He had worked hard to gain this position within the Hierarchy and proven his loyalty time and time again, he felt that if he gave in that all of that would be tarnished. The image he had worked so hard to set forth as the real him, lost forever to the scandals of Western rumors, and lies spread about the type of man that he was. Still, something inside of him told him that it didn't matter. That the work he had done to create this image of himself was worth throwing away for just a second more of her smile, a second more of her presence...hell just a second more alone with her just eating food. And slowly, but surely that part of him was winning out. The emotional Zunza beating the rational Zunza was nothing new to the man, but this time it wasn't over some kind of passionate speech he had to give or some kind of big political decision. It was over a woman, a woman who he just couldn't keep his eyes off of in fact.

He could see something from her that most women didn't have and the more he stared at her the longer he felt a warmth that shook him to his very core. This warmth only increased as she wrapped her arms around his neck and elevated herself to his face. "Lady Anna...", he went to speak to her, maybe trying to rationalize what was going on, and maybe try his best to remain in control, but the young lady had something more in mind for him. A kiss, a passionate kiss that had far exceeded anything that Zunza had ever imagined, and for that very moment time stood still. His mind racing, his heart beating, and all rational thought melting into a simple passionate embrace of a woman who actually cared for him. He wrapped his arms around her back and held her close as the two embraced romantically, making sure to squeeze her close firmly, but gently as he didn't want to hurt her.

Her lips were soft. Its funny what sort of things seem to come to your mind as you embrace the one you care for, even if you didn't know before that you cared for them, but now it was one of the predominant thoughts in his mind. That and the smell of her hair and the fragrance of her perfume. Everything about her swam through his head like a million fire flies lighting a path leading to a realm of euphoria. He just let himself sink into oblivion at that moment, falling from thought, and just focusing in the moment. For a moment, he was at peace.

Enraptured by the passionate kiss, her mind in a daze, Anna was floating blissfully within the sensation of his lips. His scent was overwhelmingly indulgent; being embraced by him was equally euphoric – it had been some time since she was held so affectionately by another man. This whole scenario seemed so unexpected that she briefly questioned the authenticity of the situation. Was she experiencing a dream? Had he been the man she truly yearned for in this lifetime?

He was no prince charming - a romantic symbol of man that woman thought of in their dreams - but a man with a passionate heart who showered her with undeserved praise. What they shared now was nothing short of a mutual bond. Neither would allow the world to judge them. They would defend the other without an ounce of hesitation in their hearts. Zunza Lowellen was the man Anna could truly envision being her husband. As questionable as that thought was – seeing as though they had only met each other today - Anna was precisely that type of woman.

Dreamlike scenarios captivated her mind in much the same way as the women she scoffed at for believing in the fantasy of a prince. Her heart abounded in love and compassion, so when she was graced with it in equal measure, it was always such a foreign idea to wrap her mind around. With Zunza, it would always be a constant reality. As he pulled her into his embrace, her chest pressed against his own; two heartbeats felt as if they had melded into one.

She deepened the kiss, tightening her grasp around the back of his neck in order to keep herself balanced. For a moment, she wondered how everything had escalated so quickly, how she had forgotten to—how she had forgotten to... How she had forgotten to ask him about the proposition of teaching her the nuances of magic!

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

The benevolent maiden suddenly realized she had made a terrible mistake. Her intention – which, to be quite honest was a total failure now - was to treat him to a wonderful meal, request his assistance in teaching her, and continue to make at least a smidgen of an impression on him to keep him satisfied. To tell the truth, she had achieved none of this, to say nothing of her obliviousness towards the fact that there had been an ample amount of opportunities to pose the question to him leading up to this moment.

If she posed the question now, not only would it seem awkward, it would give him the impression that everything she did up until this kiss was simply a way of seducing him into procuring his assistance. Having already been showered in his praise, she could not bear the thought of him having any negative thoughts about her.

To him, she was a savior away from a life of constant judgment and the overwhelming pressure of trying to live up to his name. To her, he was a dignified man who could sympathize with the shame and disgust of feeling useless, of feeling as though everything you did lacked all manner of promise. She had finally found someone who she could relate with and find solace.... but what if she decided to ask the question now? Wouldn't that seem as though this whole sequence of events had all been a farce?

He would probably see her as someone who was sent to make him lower his guard and reveal personal information. That thought alone filled her with dread. So much so that her eyes had shot wide open, she pulled away from the kiss, and gazed into what would most likely be a pair of dazed yet confusing eyes. When she did, tears slowly started to fall from her eyes as she said,

“I've made a terrible mistake. “

With those words, she swiftly turned away, leaping through one of the castle windows and into the night, to avoid the judgment she felt she would receive if she revealed the initial reason she brought him here. It was so unlike her. Her gentle nature aside, Anna was the type of woman who was use to getting her point across without missteps. How could she have failed to do so here? For some time, this question would dominate her mind....