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English is a complicated language.
Filled with words that sound the same but have wildly different meanings, conjugations that didn’t make much sense, and confusing contractions, the language was a mess. Not to mention that it was so incredibly regional that British English had its own words, pronunciations, and phrases that didn’t even appear in American English.
In short, the English language regularly gave Chise a headache.
The language in and of itself was complicated enough but, naturally, adding Elias into the equation complicated matters considerably.
Elias was a mysterious man, who said only what he needed to and then seemingly vanished. From the way he spoke it was startlingly clear that he had mastered the languages long before she was born. Yet that created another, complex, problem.
Having lived in England for what she presumed was hundreds of years, he often used older versions of words, or used outdated phrases she didn’t entirely understand. The language had changed considerably since the days of Shakespeare and Marlowe, yet sometimes he used the language as if he was one of their contemporaries.
Which, he technically was.
Chise guessed a large part of the problem was the books he seemed to always be reading were not from the modern era. More often than not it seemed they were at least from the early modern period, if not the Medieval one. While he was firmly in the modern era, he still was surrounded by fragments of a language that had long since evolved.
In short, Elias remained the root of her problems, the English language only served to add fuel to the metaphorical fire.
Laying on her bed, she stared at the ceiling above her, hoping that maybe, just maybe, if she stared at it long enough she might find the carved somewhere in the wood. Sighing, she closed her eyes, resigning herself to her fate of constant confusion.
“Stop overthinking, I’m sure it’s fine,” Ruth said, coming up to lay beside her.
Chise rolled over, laying her head on him, twinning her fingers into his familiar course black hair.
“What do you think he meant?”
“I’m not going to lay here and even entertain the thought that I could ever understand Elias Ainsworth and his motivations. Why don’t you just ask him if you’re so confused?” Ruth asked, nudging her with his nose as a show of support.
Chise made a noise of disapproval, clearly displeased with his suggestion.
“Oh hey Elias, the other day when you asked if I was free to go mushroom picking in Scotland this weekend, and I said yes, then you said ‘it’s a date then’. Did you mean like a romantic date or like a day we set aside just to go pick mushrooms? Because it’s the only thing I can think about and I’ve consulted every dictionary I can get my hands on and I’m still confused,” she said sarcastically.
“That seems perfectly reasonable to me,” Ruth commented, closing his eyes.
She sighed as that was meant to be overly dramatic and impossible. Despite her progress in the year she’d been with him she was still too shy and anxious to ever be that forward with him unprompted. Despite their growing closeness, they were still disconnected when it came to what exactly they were to one another.
“Maybe there’s a like...Medieval version of ‘date’ that I’m missing.”
“There is the fruit,” Ruth said.
“Not helping,” she commented dryly.
“Oh I’m sorry, did you want me to sit here and feed into your stress filled over examination?”
“No, that’s not it,”
“Look I don’t have the answer to whether or not Elias aksed you on a romantic date or if he was just being dumb as a bag of rocks as usual. The way I see it, you have two options; you can ask Elias if he meant it romantically or you can suck it up and wait,” Ruth said plainly.
Chise chooses to wait.
The truth of the matter is she wonders in idle moments if she's strong enough to face the all too present possibility of rejection. In the quiet moments where she ponders their relationship she can’t help but wonder if she could handle him turning her down, of saying they’re just friends.
Part of her, the more rational part, says she would be grateful to have Elias as a friend. The larger, more emotional part screams that it would kill her silently, day by day for the rest of her life.
She wonders if she could live with that, with knowing they’ll never be more than what they are now.
In the end she chose not to push for an answer, but to silently bear the burden of continuing with a relationship status that could only be described as undefined.
_______
The rest of the days between her and the weekend in question passed quickly. Perhaps it was due in part to her near constant daydreaming, but either way she was grateful that before she could blink it was Friday night and she was on her way home for the weekend. As she sat on the train watching the landscapes shift from the man made structures of the city to the rural bucolic scenery of the countryside she let her thoughts drift to Elias.
Despite how much she tried to ignore it, she desperately wanted her outing with him to be a date in the romantic sense. As much as she tried to ignore her growing fondness towards him, she simply couldn’t ignore the way her heart jumped at the prospect of them together, romantically.
When she had confided in Alice about their upcoming mushroom misadventures her friend had insisted they pick out an appropriate outfit. Convinced that this was in fact a date, Alice had helped her find a cute but casual outfit that would work for such an unusual outing.
While her friend insisted that the mage was madly in love with her, some part of Chise simply refused to believe it. Elias caring about her the same way she cared for him seemed too idealistic and improbable, so she staunchly refused. Still, part of her wondered, dreamed, that maybe if she could just find the right outfit like in the movies he would fall for her.
Despite her best friend’s efforts, Chise did not dare to dream. She didn’t imagine Elias sweeping her off her feet, or kissing her under the distant moonlight. Instead, she focused on the much more likely scenario of him droning on lecturing her about the magical properties of mushrooms for several hours.
Afterall, if this was indeed a first date, it would be just like Elias to pick something so unusual and inherently unromantic as mushroom picking.
Unlike the romantic dates and moments she had seen in movies, mushroom picking didn’t really seem to have the potential for any meaningful moments. There really wasn’t an opportunity for him to drape his arm around her casually, nor was it appropriate for either of them to wear something dressier than their usual clothes.
No, instead of something simple like coffee, or dinner, Elias Ainsworth had chosen mushroom picking.
Which led her back to thinking it was not in fact a date and he had simply misspoken. Either way, she mused as the train approached the familiar platform, there really was no use dwelling on it now. Seeing Elias waiting for her, even in his human glamour, made her heart leap in her chest.
Regardless of whether it was a romantic date or not, she was still grateful to be able to spend the weekend with her favorite person, even if he was a bone head.
The unlikely pair walked back to the house together side by side, talking easily about their respective weeks.
It was a cloudy, overcast day in October, the gravel crunching beneath her boots as they continued to walk along the path to their house. She wondered if it would be nice out tomorrow for their outing, or if it would continue to be cloudy and cold.
Not that it mattered, of course.
Alice had thought ahead and created an outfit with layers so regardless of the weather she would look cute. Her friend had even given her something called ‘mascara’ to put on, though Chise wasn’t sure she actually wanted anything that pointy and dangerous looking near her eyes.
The rest of the evening passed in quiet comfort, with a nice, simple dinner of lentil soup. Once they had eaten they settled into the respective places in front of the fire for the evening. It was peaceful, familiar, as they seemed so removed from the world outside, curled up in their home. The fog settled across the land like a thick blanket, making it so that even if they peered out the windows, they couldn’t see beyond a mile. It felt oddly comforting, as if a partition had been put up between themselves and the others in the village, affording them some solitude.
These were the moments she adored and held dear.
Casting a glance over at him, she watched the fire illuminate his features, casting warm shadows over his tall, and normally dark figure.
Idylly, she wondered if she could live in a moment forever.
____________
The morning seemed no different than the previous evening, making it seem as if no time had passed at all. Thick fog still clung to the land, blotting out the sun and hanging heavily in the air.
“We’re going to leave in about 30 minutes, please make sure you have everything,” Elias said, grabbing a quick bite to eat.
She nodded, her heart pounding wildly beneath her chest. He was sitting in his usual spot at the table, looking over some paper intensely. Part of her wanted him to look up, to see her new outfit, but the larger part of her doubted he would even notice that she was wearing something a little different.
Silky, however, noticed immediately, coming over to fawn over her, making a pleased humming sound of approval. Chise felt herself flush in pleasure, glancing at Elias who was still completely engrossed by whatever he was reading.
Seeing her longing glances at the oblivious mage, Silky cleared her throat before continuing to hum in pleasure even louder.
Elias looked up, confused, and looked over at the pair.
He cocked his head sideways, taking in Chise’s slightly different appearance. Instead of her usual skirt she was wearing a simple pair of jeans tucked into her brown boots. For her top she wore a simple red plaid button up that had simple white lace accenting it, giving it a more feminine touch. The lace matched a pair of boot toppers she’d put on, for both warmth and to add a bit more flare to the outfit. She had topped it off with her usual green coat.
“That is very nice for...mushroom picking. A lot of pockets...for the mushrooms,” he commented awkwardly gesturing to her jeans, almost as if he didn’t know how to compliment her.
Still, it was more than she had been expecting and she flushed in pleasure.
“Thank you, I’m looking forward to it,” she said, suddenly feeling nervous.
“I am too,” he said.
She was expecting him to expand more on the statement, maybe dive into why they needed mushrooms in the first place, but he left it there before returning to whatever he had been reading before.
Sighing, she tucked into the small breakfast Silky had put together, anxious to see what the day had in store.
Once they finished breakfast, Elias retreated to his study briefly to grab a few things before they walked out into the cold autumn day so that they could travel to Scotland.
It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but when Elias held his arms open to her it made her heart jump into her throat. As he wrapped his warm arms around her and pulled her close, she silently wished to whatever ancient gods were listening that this was in fact a romantic date.
Thorns black as a starless night enveloped the pair, and within a few moments they arrived at their destination.
Looking around, still held within Elias’ arms, Chise found herself in one of the most stunning forests she had ever seen. In each direction thick tree trunks sprung up from the ground, stretching up towards the sky. Around them beautiful gold and orange leaves cascaded down carried gently on the wind. Fog clung still hung in the air, but it was slightly thinner here, bathing the land in a warm, comfortable grey.
Placing a gentle hand on the small of her back, Elias guided her over to a nearby clearing. The view from here was incredible, as she could see the lochs that dotted the land in between vast swaths of golds and oranges.
“I thought you might like to see this place, Scotland is beautiful this time of year,” Elias explained, his hand still on the small of her back.
Taken aback by the serene beauty, she spoke candidly for the first time.
“It is, but why mushroom picking, do we really need mushrooms?” Chise asked, turning to look up at him.
It was a bit windy this high up, and his cloak billowed out behind him in the wind. Against the golds, oranges, and reds he seemed warmer, more approachable no longer the distant master of thorns and shadows.
“Partly,” Elias admitted, and she could feel the hand on her back press itself closer.
“Elias,” she pleaded.
There were questions she had that desperately needed answers. The heart of the matter was it was hard going on like this, all the unsaid words hanging in the air between them only served to further separate them.
He sighed, the air rushing out of his skull in a huff, his breath showing in the cold autumn weather.
“I just thought, perhaps you’d enjoy this place is all,” he said, nuzzling her fondly, causing her heart to skip several beats.
“So the mushrooms...were a guise to get me here?”
“We do need mushrooms, so I thought we could kill two birds with one stone. Have a nice date picking mushrooms,” he explained simply.
“Do you know what date means?” Chise asked, slightly incredulous.
“A date can be many things, a verb, an adjective, a noun…”
“But what do you mean it as, how are you using it?” She pushed him, needing an answer.
“A social engagement between two people that often has a romantic character. I read that in a book Angelica sent me, I thought this could be an appropriate date,” he said, a note of excitement in his voice.
Ah, there it was.
Despite the days she had spent agonizing over it, Elias’ admittance to it being romantic still caught her wildly off guard and she found herself struck dumb, unable to think of a response.
“It’s alright if you don’t feel the same way, that’s why I thought I’d leave it open ended.”
“You did that on purpose,” she said in disbelievement.
“Did what on purpose?”
“Left it open ended, oh my God Elias-” she groaned, feeling another headache coming on.
“What?”
“For the past week I’ve been wondering, overthinking, if you wanted this to be romantic or platonic. It’s been driving me absolutely nuts,” she explained.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause you undue stress,” he said, his tone apologetic.
She sighed, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, “But you did. Sometimes words complicate matters rather than solve them, and speaking the Queen’s proper English from 1604 only makes things worse.”
“I don’t speak like that, Tudor English is much more complicated and superfluous,”
“Maybe not to you, but I’m not a native speaker. All I ask is that you consider your words, and consider the impact they have on me. I’m happy this is a date, really, but for a while I was so stressed out about it. Words carry great power, especially when they’re spoken by someone you really care about,” Chise explained.
“I think I’m beginning to understand that better now. When you say aloud, that you care so deeply for me, it is very moving. Now, it’s as if I can feel the impact of words instead of simply observing them and how they affect others passively,” Elias said.
Looking out over the scenic mountains and lochs of the Highlands while Elias confessed that her words moved him so deeply seemed surreal. All that she had feared now seemed nothing more than a distant half forgotten nightmare. Here, next to him she seemed so much closer to a life she truly desired, and one she had crafted for herself.
“Can I ask you one more question though?”
“Of course,” Elias said, tilting his head, curious as to what his bride would ask.
“Why mushrooms? Out of all the things to do and places to go that could either be platonic or romantic, why did you choose mushrooms?”
“I had no other notion of what you might enjoy that was different to our usual outings. You do always seem to enjoy exploring the forests though, and I don’t really know what else people do in forests so I did some research and apparently people enjoy mushroom hunting,” Elias explained, fishing a piece of paper out of his pocket, to show her.
She recognized it as the paper he had seemed so focused on over breakfast.
“How old is this?” she asked. Upon closer inspection the leaflet seemed to be incredibly outdated, especially if the typeface was anything to go by. In addition the women pictured next to the men had long dresses, the hems reaching their ankles.
For someone so incredibly intelligent and well read, he could really be oblivious, Chise thought to herself.
“Oh I don’t know, maybe a hundred years or so,” Elias said,
She laughed, “Ok well like language, customs change. Mushroom hunting for a first date isn’t really a thing anymore. Let’s work on communicating better moving forward, ok?”
“Language is a fickle, fleeting mistress, but for you I would chase the sun if that’s what it took,” he said, nuzzling her again in apology.
Chise smiled at him fondly before walking over to where he was.
“Shall we continue, we do have mushrooms to find. I’ll make a deal with you too, the winner can choose the next date,” Elias suggested.
Chise laughed, twinning her fingers through his.
“Isn’t that a saying?” she asked, teasingly.
“It is, albeit an old one. I believe the modern one you’re referring to is ‘To the victor go the spoils’.”