Oh Hex No

Between his work for the school and lessons with Serena, Erik wasn't getting much sleep in. It was worth it, though. In only a month, he was already finished with the entire third year curriculum. He was still behind, but it was definitely something.

He was nearly dozing off in his seat while Serena prepped some tea in his kitchen, and he was startled awake when a couple sparks flew from her wand and zapped his arm. He winced and rubbed the spot where he got shocked.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"You have to wait until nightfall to sleep," she said, bringing over a cup of tea for him. "If you take a nap you won't be able to sleep through the night, and you'll be groggy in the morning. We have to catch the early train, and I don't want to wait until the next one at noon just because you slept in."

"You'd rather take the noon train than take the early one without me?" he asked, raising a brow.

"It's a six hour ride," she said. "I'm doing you a favor by keeping you company."

"Sure, you're doing me a favor," he teased.

"Stop it," she said, swatting his arm.

"Careful," he chuckled. "Hot tea in my hands."

"Drink, it'll wake you up," she instructed. "Then we can squeeze in one more quick potion lesson."

"Actually, I was going to call it a little earlier today," Erik said. "I was going to head into town."

"Town?" she frowned. "How come? Are you tired of me?"

"Yes, I'm tired of you."

"Erik."

"I placed an order at the dress shop," he said. "My mother likes to make her own dresses, so I'm taking back some nice fabrics and trims for her. As a solstice gift."

"Oh, that's sweet," Serena said. "So... are you going to tell her?"

Erik set the teacup down with a sigh and sunk in his chair. Just thinking about lying to his mother was giving him a headache, and Serena could see it.

He felt terrible about it, but not as terrible as he would have felt telling his mother the truth. He knew she would blame herself and her reputation right away, and she wouldn't be able to let it go easily.

"No," Erik said after a while. "She has enough on her plate without worrying about me and my situation. I'll just keep doing the lessons with you until I know enough to take the exam. If I pass I'll tell her everything, but it'll be okay since I have my license. And if I fail... I guess I'll open up a creepy shop like Markus."

"Don't worry about failing the exam," Serena said firmly. "I know I give you a hard time, but you're doing really well. You'll be ready by the end of the year, and everyone will swallow their words."

Erik cracked a small, tired smile.

"I guess we'll see."

After Serena left, he headed out into town as well. He was quick to pick up his fabric order, but while the seamstress went to the back to fetch it, he noticed a small table of accessories by the counter. Specifically a pair of pearl earrings that seemed to shift from blue to pink in different lighting. He hesitated for a moment, then picked it up and added it to his purchase. Serena would like it. It would be a good solstice gift for her, even though it wasn't anything big or fancy.

Erik stayed up as late as he could, but it was still a hard time waking up in the morning. He was still snoring when Serena appeared in his apartment and yanked the blanket off of him. He yelped in surprise and sat up so fast that his head started spinning.

"What did I tell you?!" she said. "Get up, we're going to be late. The carriage is waiting."

"Carriage?" he asked, voice cracking.

"Of course," she said. "What were we going to do, carry our bags all the way to the station?"

Erik didn't say anything. That was exactly what he was going to do. He yawned, and Serena swatted him again.

"Get up, lazy," she said. "Meet me downstairs in five minutes. And... put a shirt on."

She turned a little pink when she realized Erik was shirtless. It took a moment for it to register in his brain too, but when it did, he quickly pulled the blanket back up on himself.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll come down," he grumbled.

It didn't take long for Erik to get dressed and ready. He only had one small bag slung over his shoulder for the week. Serena looked at it, then looked at him in confusion.

"Where's your stuff?" she asked.

"This is my stuff."

"Oh," she said. "Okay. There's room over here."

His eyes widened a bit when he saw that Serena had four elegant looking trunks stacked on the back of the carriage.

"You know we're only leaving for a week, right?" he asked.

"I'd rather be overpacked and prepared than underpacked and unprepared for an event," she said. "Come on, get in."

Erik had never been in a carriage. He'd hitched rides on the back of wagons or horse drawn carts, but never something so fancy. The seats were a blue satin that he almost felt guilty sitting on. Serena sat on one side, but the other bench was occupied by a regal looking cat that was sprawled out over the whole thing.

"Excuse me, your majesty," Erik said, sliding the cat to the side.

The cat mewed in protest as Erik sat down and took up some of his space, but then jumped into Erik's lap and started kneading.

"Montague likes you," Serena grinned.

"The claw thing kind of hurts," Erik said.

"Let him do what he needs to do."

By the time they arrived at the station, Montague was draped over Erik's shoulders. He kind of just accepted it at that point. He followed behind Serena as she dropped their bags off with a train attendant. Erik had always done it himself, but the attendant seemed glad to take care of it with the hefty tip Serena had given him.

Another attendant was ready to greet them when they boarded the train. He gave Serena a big smile and bowed his head respectfully.

"Miss Bellwood, we have your personal cabin prepared," he said. "I take it this is your guest?"

"Yes, Mr. Erik Marvell," she said, gesturing to Erik. "I hope you'll take care of him."

Erik had never been referred to as "Mr. Marvell", and a respectful title like that felt wrong. Even the attendant eyed his wool clothes pensively, but then offered him a smile and nod as well.

"This way, please."

Serena's personal cabin was surprisingly roomy for a train, with two benches that converted into beds if they wanted to take a nap and a table that pulled out for meals. She sat down and Montague hopped off Erik's shoulder to join her. She looked over at Erik and smiled.

"You okay?" she asked. "You can sit."

"I didn't know we'd be getting a cabin," he said. "Usually I'm in the cheap seats in the back. I assumed that's what you were getting me when you said you were taking care of the tickets."

"Oh, I prefer the cabin," she said. "My grandfather sponsors this company, so we have a personal cabin we can use. We don't actually pay for it. The fare and meals are on the house. Or the train, I suppose."

Erik slowly sat down and examined the cabin with fascination.

"So what do we start with?" Serena asked. "Cards? Maybe we can read a book? Or maybe we can-"

"Serena," Erik chuckled, cutting her off. "Relax. The train hasn't even started moving yet."

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I guess we haven't spent too much time together aside from the lessons. I don't want you to think I'm boring."

"I don't think you're boring," he said. "I enjoy your company, even if we're not doing anything."

"Oh," she said. "Well... me too."

"It's the solstice break," he told her. "It's time to rest. You should rest, too."

"Okay," she said softly. "What are you doing for the holiday? Is your family visiting?"

"It's just me and my mother," Erik said. "The rest of our family disowned us. It's alright, though. Usually we have a quiet dinner together."

She seemed a little disappointed to hear that, then lit up.

"I just had the most incredible idea," she said. "My family is usually alone for the solstice, too. My mother, grandfather, and I spend the night together. You and your mother should join us!"

"Oh, I don't know," Erik said quickly. "We don't want to intrude on family time."

"It'll be so much fun," she insisted. "You'll love my family. And I'd love to meet your mother."

"Serena, you don't understand," Erik said slowly. "We can't be seen around your family. It'll muddy your name."

Serena seemed mortified at the very suggestion of it, though it was true.

"Muddy my name with who, the pretentious bigwigs?" she scoffed. "Don't you dare say something so ridiculous again. We'll have a great night."

Erik had nothing to say to that, he supposed. He wasn't sure what his mother would think, but it didn't seem like it mattered. Serena seemed pretty set on having them over for dinner. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.