Cinder X Bella ~ Two!

Wishing that she were a more dutiful daughter—but only out of fear of being chastised—Bella ensured she took the time to be cleaned up and properly prepared for Signor Tobias’ arrival. As he arrived, the young lady kept a smile on her face when selecting her new dress to wear that evening, as she would never purposely embarrass her father, especially in front of company.

While they yelled at each other loud enough for the servants to hear, that was no excuse to do so in front of outsiders. Profusely thanking the tailor for his assistance as well as for personally delivering the dresses, Bella sent Signor Tobias on his way, only then allowing her smile to melt away.

Staring at the gowns now laid out on her bed, Bella ever so slowly began changing and getting ready for the evening, her eyes constantly drifting over to the notebook now placed squarely in the center of her writing table. “It seems my task of running the household has just been a charade this entire time. So… all the duties and tasks I've been assigning would’ve happened either way?”

She scoffed and pulled the dress on roughly. “No wonder Sienna was making fun of me. Most likely, the entire household staff has been laughing at my instructions. When I handed them out, they were merely humoring me on my father's orders, as he gave them those same instructions, or likely, even better ones the night before. He's made me a laughingstock.”

Bella tried to tell herself she didn't care, as in truth she loathed the chore in the first place. Frankly, she detested the stately manner, delegating household tasks, and having to be prim and proper. Halfway through getting dressed, she was flushed and sweating from anger, needing to shed the clothing and clean her face before trying again. 

“Lo, the house!” 

Freezing in surprise for a moment, Bella quickly turned and started dressing as hastily as possible. “The carriage is already here? They're nearly half an hour early! How am I supposed to be pleasant before sitting down for tea?”

As soon as her clothing was in place, and her hair was properly ordered, Bella rushed down the stairs, only to be stopped by the icy glare of her father just before the butler pulled the door open. Slowly, as gracefully as possible, she finished her descent. “I can be nice. Maybe we can just talk about the weather?”

As it turned out, she needn't have worried so much. The Duca’s butler was perfectly comfortable allowing her to be seen and not heard. In fact, he barely looked at her his entire visit, addressing all questions and conversation topics solely to her father.

Given how the day had gone, it was a snub that rubbed Isabella the wrong way, and she couldn't help but be sullen over tea. Obviously, this went unnoticed by Matteo, but it greatly distressed her father, who responded by being noticeably tense and over-proper. “Maestro Corretto, perhaps you would favor me with a walk about the grounds whilst my daughter checks on the arrangements for dinner?”

“Nobile Alaric, I am a guest in your home! I insist you call me Matteo, or we shall be drawing out conversation for no reason the entire night!” The tall, proper man chuckled as he swirled a glass of wine in one hand. “I'd be more than happy to stroll to erase some of the aches of the day’s travel, but perhaps we could circle round to… the cellar at the end of the tour?”

A great amount of relief showing on his face, Alaric gestured Bella away and stood up to direct the tour. “I'd be more than happy to show you our fine vintages… Matteo. Let us away.”

Instead of going down to the kitchens, as would likely be expected of her, Bella sulked her way up to the bedroom, pausing only to look in the mirror at the sage green dress she was wearing. With a huff and shake of her head, she tried to move on and ignore the fact that the fabric was doing her skin tone no favors. Smoothing her dress, the young lady sat on the side of her bed and slowly slid until she was prone so she wouldn't wrinkle her new dress.

More out of annoyance than anything else, she whispered a fighting song to give her enough mental energy to tackle the rest of the evening.

“Rise, rise, warrior! And I will tell the tale of valor, this time of glory and pride!”

Mice came running from all corners of the house, as she knew they would, as they always did. The sight would infuriate her father for more reasons than one: first of all, because it would show how many vermin had actually infiltrated his domain. Second, she’d been banned from singing ever since she had gained her very first skill upon turning ten and unlocking her Basic Class—known generally as a child class.

Even so, it had never stopped her from singing, which had led to her lying to her father and the entire staff for years. She claimed that her levels had been stifled, but they’d been steadily increasing in preparation of turning fourteen, when a simple trip a few hours down the road to a Class Shrine would unlock her Advanced Class and the more powerful skills that came with it. Then… when she was eighteen… unlocking her Full Class would give her the final skills the system had determined she earned.

With all the mice watching on, Bella gently trailed her fingers across her arm, willing the system to show how she’d grown. As her skin traced along her forearm, golden words—swirling tattoos placed by the system—appeared and faded as she read, only to be replaced by more until she had finally gone over the entirety of her class and skill details. 

Basic Class: Beast Singer

Basic Skill: Animal Communication: Level 10/10. 

When vocalizing in a melodic manner, animals can [Perfectly] understand your intentions. Unless you do something to enrage them, non-magical creatures will go out of their way to protect you. 

Advanced Skill: Minor Creature Control: Level 3/10.

When communing with non-magical minor creatures—size limit: the tips of your fingers to your elbow in body length, maximum of five pounds—you are able to exert [Rudimentary] control over their actions.

Requirement to advance to level 4: Chain together a series of at least ten commands for an animal under 1 pound in weight, making it successfully learn and complete the desired action smoothly and in the correct order.

Breakthrough skill: Locked. Reach Skill level 10 with [Basic Skill] and [Advanced Skill] to unlock!

“You know what? Maybe tonight's the night I finally push to level four-” Footsteps along the wooden hallway just outside her room caused Bella's eyes to flare wide with terror, and she sucked in a sharp breath, waving at all the gathered rodents to scatter and hide. The last of them ducked into the folds of the curtains just before the door flung open, revealing Bella's favorite maid, Mia.

“Signorina Bella? Are you in—oh, there you are! I thought you might need help with your evening dress, but I see you’re already prepared.” The maid swept a critical eye over her attire, reminding the young lady that, favorite or not, Mia would always be loyal to the person who paid her. If she knew what Bella was up to with singing to her creatures, she would immediately inform her father. “I know you've had a hard day, so I brought a cloth to wash your face and thought I could perhaps redo your hair? There's enough time for it.”

Feeling completely spent, Bella reached over and gave Mia’s hand a grateful squeeze, then she turned so the maid could begin braiding. After enjoying the relaxing, glorious feeling of someone else preparing her hair, she thanked Mia and descended the stairs in much better spirits.

“You look lovely, Isabella.” Her father was waiting at the landing, a slight flush in his cheeks showing that the walk had invigorated him—that, and perhaps a bit too much pre-dinner wine. His formality had mostly vanished, though he escorted her to the dining room and personally pulled her chair out. Both Alaric and Matteo waited until she sat to seat themselves, as was only proper.

Dinner was quickly served. The men immediately began discussing hunting, allowing Bella to focus on her first meal since breakfast. She had nothing to add to the conversation, having never been on a hunt, which she rather appreciated. Her close ties to animals had made the idea of eating meat less appealing, and she’d even tried not eating meat—only for her father to ruthlessly stomp that idea out of her. A week with only meat on her plate had taught her to appreciate a good balance, so she ate with gusto.

Still, the cook knew her habits and liked her. Her plate always had plenty of vegetables, and there was fish for at least three dinners each week. As she tiredly contemplated her meal, Bella's ears perked up as her father finally asked a question which interested her. 

“Matteo, how very rude of me. I never did ask why, exactly, you were headed to the Barony in the first place.” Alaric blinked rapidly, clearly having consumed a fair amount of wine, going by how red and splotchy his cheeks were. It was rare for guests to stay for dinner, and the merchant allowed himself to drink even less often. When he did, oftentimes he needed to head to bed earlier than usual.

“No offense taken, none at all, Alaric!” The Duca's butler waved off the question. “You know the Baron's wife is with child, yes? She's due at any moment.”

“Are you off to play midwife, then? What a fine set of skills you have.” Alaric chuckled, smiling to the side as Bella giggled along at the thought of the overly proper man playing doctor.

“No, no. Nothing nearly so shocking. You see, the Baron’s son is also turning ten.” Matteo raised an eyebrow and nodded knowingly, “He wants all his staff in attendance, on hand for his wife, but wants to balance this with a celebration of the boy unlocking his Basic Class and first skill. Apparently, the young man already has a way with plants, and the Duchess has been looking for someone of high enough birth to tend her exotic garden. I'm to report back if he has a proper skillset, after offering the young man a sponsorship under the Duca’s tutelage.”

“Can I come with you, too?” Bella blurted out, feeling nearly as shocked as the others appeared. She backpedaled furiously, but it was too late. “I'm so sorry, I don't-”

“Ahem. Young mistress, that certainly wouldn't be… frankly, it would be unheard of for a butler, a young master, and a young mistress to be traveling without a proper entourage,” the butler sputtered, quite put off by her boldness and not seeming to hear her attempt at an apology.

Bella glanced to the side, noting the thunderous expression on her father's face, and decided she had already come this far. “I'm certain there will be guards for the Baron's son, and I'm sure I can secure a proper chaperone? Perhaps our cook wouldn't mind?”

“You expect me to make my own meals, then?” Her father tried to question lightly, though it came off with a slightly too-dangerous tone. “That doesn't seem very polite of you. Her place is here, as is yours.”

Matteo squinted at Bella, “How old are you, girl?”

Bella blushed, opening her mouth to answer, though her father took control of the conversation with a low voice, “Just shy of fourteen.”

The waves of anger roiling off her father caused Bella to slink down in her seat, lowering her eyes. Completely unaware of the by-play, the butler let out a polite chuckle, “Well, see, what reason would you have to come along to the Barony? Oh, you wanted to meet the new baby? Completely understandable. However… I do not think it is in the cards, this time around.”

“No, I was hoping to gain the tutelage of-”

“That's quite enough, Bella. There is such a thing as pushing too far,” Alaric stated without looking at her. “You were neither invited, nor would it be right for you to use your position to force the issue. You seem rather tired, so perhaps you should retire for the evening?”

“Don't worry, young miss! If you’re just about to reach the important age of fourteen, you should be unlocking your Advanced Class soon. I'll make sure to swing by and see if you have some skills the Duchess would appreciate. Perhaps you could even become a lady-in-waiting someday!” Matteo kindly stated as Bella stood and gave a dispirited curtsy. Seeing her reaction, the butler glanced over at Alaric. “You will be off to the Class Shrine fairly soon, won't you?”

“At some point.” Her father calmly tried to avoid the conversation. “Currently, we are working on building up her managerial skills so as to help her run a household in the future. I've been planning to put it off until she's shown not only interest, but aptitude.” 

“Oh, I see. I’d worried for a moment you were a follower of the Sect of Scoprire. I’m glad to hear you aren't setting this poor young lady up for failure. I’m certain there aren't many awakening artifacts left undiscovered in our kingdom.” At Matteo's words, Bella paused and glanced over, just so happening to meet the butler's eyes, causing him to uncomfortably explain his words. “Apologies, I am referring to a small but unfortunately rapidly growing group of people who believe unlocking their classes at a Class Shrine is too simple. At the ages of fourteen and eighteen, they embark on a quest to find an awakening artifact.”

“I didn't even know it was possible to increase your class outside of a Class Shrine.” Bella’s words caused her father's face to flush red, and he slowly began to stand to shoo her out of the room.

“Ah, I hadn't realized that wasn't common knowledge.” The butler took a swig of his wine, noticing the glare being directed from father to daughter and continuing to speak so as to hold off the incumbent awkward silence. “There are three ways, in fact. A Class Shrine is the most common and easy. Finding an awakening artifact is another, though as I mentioned, quite difficult. Other than that, any ruler of a nation can make a direct request to the system to grant you access. Often, the third option is offered by the crown as a mark of favor.”

“Thank you for your teachings, Signore. And… goodnight.” Bella curtsied once more, this time with much more happiness behind the action. Quickly, she stepped out of the room before anything else happened, though she waited just on the other side to try and calm her rapidly beating heart.

“I know you have ambition, Alaric. Though… I certainly hope you are not holding out in hopes of seeing her blessed by the King? No? The Queen, then? I hope you know how unlikely-”

Bella raced up to her room, a new plan forming in her mind.