Chapter 5

While still stunned from Gemma's story, Brianna looked down at the table and said "But, but, I don't know if he even likes me back. What if he doesn't think I'm attractive enough? All the other women here are so beautiful, and I'm not that special. I don't know how to walk around like they do or how to flirt with him. And I don't really know how to cook very well. Everyone else is better than I am at everything."

Gemma, looked at her stunned for a moment, paused and then started to laugh a deep laugh that seemed to come from her toes. Brianna turned red and seemed to bristle at the laughter.

Gemma wiped her eyes again, but this time from mirth.

"You must be kidding me right? Ok, since you've been, oh I don't know twelve or thirteen, have not most of the men you have met not been trying to suggest various different ways to get you into bed?" asked Gemma smiling.

"Sure they all have, but that's what most of those beast do. They try to have sex with anything that moves," replied Brianna almost with a snarl.

"No, not all of them do sweetie. Well, at least not the decent ones like Aric. But regardless, most of them have what they call acceptable standards that a woman will have to meet before they are considered attractive to them.

"Call it their type if you will. It's the same for us women. We all know what we like when we see it. But for some men, they will often specialize. Some will like breasts, some butts, some like hair color, some like body types and some long legs, but in the end it all comes down to the type of girl you are.

"But you see, in the end, it's what makes one person attractive to another.

"But I'm willing to bet my tavern that you've been asked to warm a bed or two by almost every man, boy, and in some cases old man you've stumbled across haven't you? And I'm also willing to bet that you have heard so many pickup lines that you can recite them all by heart, so you have yet to hear a new one regardless of what city you visit, or am I wrong there too?" asked Gemma.

"No you're right, but I just thought that was how all men were," said Brianna now looking at Gemma intently.

"No it's because apparently you may almost be every male's type you meet and they sometimes can't help themselves," replied Gemma.

"Remember your first night here? Remember Melt, most of the men wanted to talk to you but couldn't, and only Melt was drunk enough to do it. I heard all about everything later.

"After seasons of practice, you gave off such a dangerous air they were all willing but nervous, but only Melt was the one who couldn't pickup on it.

"And let's not forget about those beautiful women you are worried about. Remember how they kept kissing and touching Aric the first night after you entered my tavern? They did it because they sensed a deep threat and they tried to keep Aric attention centered on them, yet he still ended up over at your table somehow," smiled Gemma.

"They were threatened by me? They were worried Aric would like me better," thought Brianna with shock.

Then that thought made Brianna smile. If they were all that worried she might still have a chance after all.

Even though she had a small smile Brianna said quietly "But I kept talking about how much I hated men. Everyone in this city knew how I felt. I'm sure that put Aric off from ever being interested in me."

That thought made her frown again.

"Yes everyone did hear it, but you noticed that wasn't enough to drive Aric off was it? All that happened was that he just became the one thing you needed the most at the time, a friend that didn't try to take more than what you were willing to offer. And because of it you learned that not all men are evil and you fell in love with your teacher," smiled Gemma

"But to answer your earlier questions: So you can't cook and he can. If you really want to learn, he can teach you. He's very good at teaching; he showed me how to make a better meal or two. And I didn't think I couldn't ever learn.

"So you're not as girly as the other women around here are. Don't be, that would make you try to be something you're not. Just let him like you for who you are. If you try to be someone else, at some point you'll revert back to yourself anyway, so you might as well be who you are from the start.

"And if you're worried if he likes you, look at how he was the first night you met him versus now. The other woman had a couple of seasons to try and convert him, but we all started to notice the changes six months after you got here. I can't count the times that Candice said I just wish he would fall in love with me to anyone that would listen," said Gemma.

"So that's what she was always saying after I got here," thought Brianna to herself.

But then Gemma leaned forward and said, "Just like me, there is something deep in his heart that haunts him. I'm willing to bet you have some idea as to what it is, but he's never talked to anyone about any of his past, no matter how many times we asked, but I bet you know something don't you," said Gemma as she leaned forward and whispered as if she was talking to a fellow co-conspirer.

Brianna thought about it for a minute, but she didn't want to give away any of Aric's secrets, but Gemma had shared more about herself than she ever told anyone today too.

"If I tell you what I know please don't ever tell anyone else," said Brianna seriously.

"You can count on my discretion," replied Gemma.

"I asked him a few weeks ago if he had someone, a wife or girlfriend, waiting for him to return and he got so angry I thought he'd have a stroke, then he looked real sad and said no. So I'm betting whatever happened to him was because he didn't get to be with the girl he wanted to be with," said Brianna.

"No, that reaction tells me he was more than likely deeply betrayed by the woman he was in love with. God knows I have enough personal experience with that reaction," said Gemma quietly as she looked down at the table. Brianna thought it looked as if Gemma might start softly crying again.

Once she looked back up a few moments later she said "Well now I know why he never let any of the ladies get close to him. I just wonder how you managed to get more out of him in the last six months than any of us have in almost two seasons," said Gemma as she looked Brianna right in the eyes.

"I don't know either," said Brianna slowly, "I was just being myself."

"See, like I told you. I guess that was good enough," smiled Gemma.

"What should I do now then?" asked Brianna.

"Well I guess that's up to you, but you better move quick because all the females in the city are like sharks that can smell that there is now blood in the water, and soon they are going to come out in force," smiled Gemma.

Before Brianna would feel comfortable confessing to Aric she just had to know what he did on the days they weren't together.

What if he had a woman that no one knew about hidden away somewhere. No, she just couldn't confess until she was comfortable. She decided to wait a few days and then talk to him.

So after passing the clearing where they held their training, she followed a stream to his medium sized well kept cottage that she could see easily in the distance.

"Well at least he built himself a nice home," she thought.

As she got closer she could see Aric sitting on the front steps, but his hands were on fire!

Brianna, before she thought it all the way through, started running as fast as she could to him, because she wasn't really sure what was going on with the fire.

As she got closer she saw him take the fire and appear to form it into globes, one in each hand.

She slowed to a walk as she saw him throw the globes in the air and immediately form two more globes. He did this till he had about six globes in the air juggling them. She came to a stop and she saw that as he juggled the globes the sizes changed.

First they were just about a size smaller than his hands, but then they got bigger till they were about the size of her head. Then he adjusted the size of each globe individually as he touched them so that each globe was at a different size.

Brianna stopped and stood there staring

Aric said without looking up "Hey, welcome to my home. There is juice tied to a stake in the stream if you want some. Otherwise I'll be with you in a moment."

At that moment Brianna realized that she still had her mouth open. She backup till she found her back was against a tree, and slid down to the ground.

She watched as he went through various creation of fire globes, then he banished them and then created a fire wall around himself. Then it disappeared.

After that then he created a large globe, about 3 times the size of his head and threw it I the air. Then he held up his hand that started glowing blue. Once the globe came down he cut it in half and it disappeared. He did that a few times.

Then he walked over to a tree sapling and bent it.

He held out his hands, one that started to glow white and the other green, and then he ran them back and forth along the sapling.

During this exercise sweat broke out on his brow, but he didn't' stop till the sapling was once more standing tall.

After he finished, he stepped back and turn too look over at Brianna, but frowned as she stared at him with eyes wide with shock.

Brianna tried to talk, but the words wouldn't come at first. She kept trying though.

"Yo ... yo ... yo ... you're a MAGE!" she said in shock.

Aric smiled "Why yes I am."

"But how can you use a sword or wear armor! I've always heard that those interfere with casting. How is that possible!?!" asked Brianna.

Aric frowned.

"I've always been able to do what I wasn't supposed since I was a child. It's not a big deal," said Aric.

"No, it is. It is a big deal. A very big deal! I've not ever heard of anyone that could do that," said Brianna.

"No wait, that's not right. A few seasons back I heard of one person that could do that, he was called a Battlemage I believe," said Brianna as she looked down with one of her hands on her chin and furrowed her brow.

"It was said he faced an army of 10,000 single handed to save a country's Prince, but he disappeared from that kingdom up north right about three seasons before I came here and nobody knows where he went, so that battle would have been just a little over four seasons ago now ... OH MY GOD! YOU'RE HIM AREN'T YOU?!?!" screamed Brianna looking up.

"Uhmm, well" stammered Aric, but Brianna wasn't in shock anymore but she staring at him with wide eyes.

Aric sighed, "Yes it was me, but it was more like 2,000 or 3,000 or so, not 10,000. You know how bards like to inflate numbers."

"But why are you here? Why aren't you in your home kingdom? What type of battle was it? Why didn't they make you a knight? Were you offered land? Why didn't you stay?" asked Brianna as she rapidly fired questions at Aric.

Then suddenly her face darkened

"You were playing me for a fool from the start weren't you? Just trying to get in my pants! The once great and famous Battlemage now reduced to taking lesson from a lowly weapons master! Go get your sword, I'll teach you to humiliate me!" said Brianna as she jumped up and started to draw her swords.

"Hurry up and get it out now you BASTARD! I'll not kill an unarmed man!" said Brianna in a heated rage.

Aric raised both hands defensively and slowly backed away while looking around nervously

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA! First that is NOT going to happen, I don't have a death wish and you're actually the one person that COULD make good on that threat," said Aric quickly

Brianna stopped advancing, but was still looking furious. Meanwhile Aric was looking extremely nervous.

"And that's not what happened with your training. I honestly didn't know more than what you taught me. Before you run me through, think about it. Did it ever feel like I knew what I was doing?" asked Aric.

"You could have used magic on me to make me think so," replied Brianna heatedly.

"Well that might have been possible if for one, I actually knew the enchantments for it, and two if you didn't have those two magic detection jewels in your sword hilts," said Aric

Brianna raised an eyebrow

"Yes I know that's what they are. It's not like I couldn't see the magic detection enchantments on them. Did you ever feel any magic while you were around me?" asked Aric.

Brianna shook her head slowly no

"If I had even an enchanted blade you would have known. And you even said my skills weren't any better than a foot soldier and not much else, right?" said Aric still worried

"No I guess not," said Brianna slowly as she put up her swords.

Brianna was no longer pissed, but she suddenly found some humor in the situation.

"But tell me, how did you get that title and survive on the battlefield with your pitiful skills?" asked Brianna now with a chuckle. "Was that also an embellishment by the bards?

Aric smiled feeling relieved

"Not quite. How it happened was a mixture of shock and desperation. I was trained as a foot soldier at the castle, but when the prince fell in battle I rushed to his side. In desperation I created a flame wall that burned all that approached it," said Aric as he slowly remembered.

"That sudden magic was enough to spook the soldiers who survived the casting and they ran. I pushed the wall far enough to ensure that they fled while I left the field of battle with the Prince to seek healing for him. But even I didn't know they would completely leave the battlefield that day," finished Aric.

"I sense there is more to this story," said Brianna sitting back down. "And I'm not going anywhere until I find out everything about you. It's not everyday a girl finds out her boyfriend is world famous."

"I am your boyfriend now, am I? Weren't you going to kill me just a second ago?" asked Aric smiling, "Don't I get any say in this?"

"If your common sense is working, the correct thing to say is thank you," smiled Brianna sweetly.