#fom selfship

The mines were once famous for the quality of their emeralds. If you happen to find any, I'd pay handsomely.

Balor's handwriting was easily recognizable on the request board yesterday evening when I found his note.

Printed and a little scrawled, but perfectly legible. The kind of quick scribe that a merchant would need for scribbling down long lists of orders.

I found a handful of emeralds on my trip into the mines today. I'd been hunting for more silver- a dire need for a better pickaxe was buzzing around in my brain like a nest of wasps- but the request had been there, in the back of my thoughts, too. Impossible to forget or ignore.

Currently, Balor is stood at his cart. And I, like the oddity I am, am stood just out of his line of sight, the emerald I'd chosen to impart unto him resting in my palm. It is a little smaller than the others, but it boasts a cleaner cut, only a couple of minuscule inclusions, and is so vibrantly green I could almost call it magic.

The only reason I'm hesitating to approach my friend is because the wording on his request paper had also given me a bee in my damn bonnet, and I want to say something in particular when handing the gem over, but... I'm getting cold feet about it.

Yes. We'd gone to the Shooting Star Festival together.

Yes. We'd both been making occasional, lightly flirty comments toward each other since then.

And yes. Elsie has been bugging me about making a real move ever since the festival, which was over a month ago now.

But... still. I'm so woefully inexperienced and unprepared for any sort of romantic gesture or relationship. I'm terrified that I'm wrong about my own feelings for Balor, or that I'm misinterpreting his actions toward me.

I'm just... unsure.

I've never outright complimented someone's looks before.

I've said Reina has a nice fashion sense. That Celine's hair is always so well maintained. That Adeline has fantastic skills with her make-up.

But never...

Never someone's innate... well... appearance...

Never their face... or body, for that matter.

Even the thought of saying the words that have been harassing me all day is making my face flush so violently I worry I'm actually contracting some sort of illness.

Before I can well and truly chicken out, though, Balor turns, likely just bored, and spots me.

His usual, sly-ish, faint smile splits into a real, genuine grin, and he waves me over, and who am I to ignore him?

So, I trudge over.

"Evening, Maitiu," he greets me, and I can't help but smile back at him, "Had a productive day?"

He reaches out and brushes a bit of dirt from my hair, a bit of a smirk creeping into his smile.

"Yeah, yeah," I say, and lightheartedly bat his hand away, "Saw your request."

"Oh!" he exclaims, reaches for his purse, and begins to root through it, "The emerald? Here... let me..."

I hold out the emerald, "Well. Your post said you'd pay handsomely, but..."

Ugh. My hands are clamming up.

My face is surely as red as my famous summer tomatoes.

"Well... I wasn't sure how much that was, since..." I fumble over the words, feeling more insane by the second. Balor has paused his coin counting, eyeing me curiously, "Well. Since. Everything you do is... done. Handsomely."

Flawless execution. That was surely incredibly smooth.

Yes. I don't look stupid at all right now.

I stare so intensely at the cart behind Balor that I fail to really notice the blush creeping up his cheeks.

Instead of reacting normally, or behaving like a regular person would, I instead shove the emerald into his hands, mumble something about not needing payment, and scurry off back to my farm.

(I wake up the next day to find Balor has left a small pouch of 180 tesserae in my mailbox, alongside a note.)

thanks for the emerald! Would you like to join me for a meal? No interruptions this time. Meet me in my room at the Inn. Balor. :)