~ Marie ~

She’d been expecting a shopping center or a business area but she hadn’t expected a house in a normal neighborhood. The white two-story house had a small porch in front that was well lit by the porch light. Marie followed him up the porch and into the house.

Two women stood in the middle of an empty living room.

“This is Eliza and her assistant Sofia. They will be the ones to take your measurements.” He gestured to the woman with black hair before gesturing to the woman with brown hair. Both women gave a short bow. “Just follow them into one of the rooms and they’ll guide you from there.” Eliza walked ahead while Sofia made sure she followed before turning around and walking away. Each room she passed was empty except for the last bedroom on the right. This room had a bed though it was bare. A black bag and clipboard lay on the bed.“If you have any questions at all during the process, please let us know.” Sofia spoke to her while Eliza opened the bag. Marie nodded but they were so quick that it only took a few minutes for them to take all the measurements they needed. They wrote down her shoe size and discussed appropriate colors for her skin tone. Sofia asked if she’d be interested in piercing her ears but she refused.

Once they had written everything down, Eliza turned to her and smiled.

“If you don’t have any questions or concerns, you’re free to go.”

Since she didn’t have anything she needed to ask, she headed downstairs. Marie went into the living room but didn’t see him. She heard his voice coming from a room to the left. Should she wait in here or try to find him? She decided to follow the voice in the hope that he’d tell her she could go. Marie entered the room to find him talking on the phone. He glanced at her and raised a mug before placing it back on the counter. Adrian grabbed the mug next on his left side and took a sip. Marie picked up the mug and savored the light-colored coffee. She tuned out his voice as she waited for him to finish.

“Marie.” She blinked and looked back at him. “I wanted…” He trailed off without finishing his sentence. A few moments later, the two women entered the room. They bowed towards Adrian before they left. He didn’t continue speaking until she heard the front door close. “How does your teleportation work?”

“Why?” His smile was amused as he took another sip of coffee.

“I think it would be better to use this house for your dance lessons since there’s no furniture to worry about. Would you be able to teleport over here or is there some condition that needs to be fulfilled before you can?” She pressed her lips together. Marie had forgotten about the dance lessons.

“I can teleport over here.” There was magic on the house but nothing against teleportation. No barrier either. Was this a future safe house? “Do you want me to come at a specific time?”

“Eight should be fine.” He took another sip from his cup before placing it down on the counter. “Would you like a quick lesson right now?”

“Quick?” He glanced behind him and she noticed a digital display on the stove behind him.

“We have about thirty minutes." She nodded. He’d said dancing was required so she needed to take every opportunity she could get. If she didn’t want to embarrass herself then she needed to learn as much as possible.

They moved back to the living room, where he explained the waltz. He showed her the steps a few times before he had her try to repeat the movement herself. Once she had practiced the steps several times, he stopped her. Adrian walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder while he took her right hand in his. He corrected her posture before they slowly practiced the steps together.

Practicing the steps together was harder than alone. She kept looking down, worried that she would step on his feet. Or trip over her own feet.

“Don’t worry about getting it right. You’ll get the hang of it eventually.” She knew that what he was saying was right but she couldn’t stop looking at her feet. Everything just felt awkward and stiff. They practiced for a bit before Adrian stopped. “I need to check the stove. You can practice on your own if you want. “He walked away while she looked down at her feet. Marie stepped wrong and staggered sideways. She managed to right herself. Marie frowned at her feet. She was going to go out tomorrow and look for some books on dancing. If she could learn at home without him, then she might pick this up faster. She practiced a few more times before she stopped. Marie wasn’t even sure she was remembering the steps correctly anymore.

She headed into the kitchen for more coffee. Marie sat down and took a sip as she watched him move around. Adrian took two containers out of the fridge before he started to combine them together. He placed one of the containers in the sink before he tossed the salad in the bowl.

“Hungry?” Was their lesson done then? She’d prefer to go home than to eat here.

“I’m fine.” Her stomach growled. Adrian shook his head as he turned towards the cabinet and pulled out two plates. The smell of whatever he was cooking was starting to fill the kitchen. “I don’t need you to feed me.” Her stomach growled again but she ignored it as she looked away. She could feel her face heating up.

“When was the last time you ate?” Breakfast, probably but that shouldn’t matter to him. “Do you not like lasagna?” Adrian opened the oven and pulled out a pan. He placed it on top of the stove before he pulled off the aluminum foil revealing a cheesy mass and releasing more of that smell.

“I’ve never had lasagna.” He glanced at her for a moment before he turned back to the pan.

“You’re not allergic to anything, are you?”

“No.” But then she didn’t really eat anything beyond sandwiches and burgers. He turned and placed a plate of lasagna and salad in front of her. She was glad to see that the portions he served her were small. Not at all like the portions she was served back with the wolves. Marie picked up her fork and cut off a small piece. It was hard to get a little bit of everything but she eventually managed it and took a bite.

It was good. Very cheesy but she enjoyed the way it tasted.

“How does it taste?”

“Good.” He refilled her mug and placed it next to her plate before sitting down and eating his own meal. The dance lessons might not be so bad if he kept serving her coffee. She took a sip before she went back to eating. Marie briefly wondered if he was going to feed her after every lesson. Not that it mattered. She shouldn’t be getting used to any of this.

*~*~*~*~*

On Thursday, she spent most of her afternoon practicing everything she’d learned. Marie felt like she was finally getting the hang of it. She stepped forward wrong and fell forward. Marie used the wall to keep herself from falling to the floor. Time for a break. She sat down on the sofa with a sigh. Physical activities were not something she was good at. The last case had shown her that. Marie frowned as she tried to keep the different steps straight in her head. Magic wouldn’t help her with this. She sighed as she glanced at her watch. There was only an hour before her lesson.

Adrian had told her nothing new. Any time she asked questions about what his goals were, he would switch subjects or give her the same vague details. Nothing on what her true role was. Why was he going through so much work for a party? There had to be more. She shook her head before she got up to take a shower.

Marie teleported over once it was time. Adrian was leaning against a wall, looking at his phone when she arrived.

“Ready?” He straightened up as he put his phone down on a nearby table. Adrian went to her and got into position as the music started. They danced several songs before they stopped. “You don’t look at your feet anymore and your posture is improving.” He let her go and she stepped back. Marie had improved but she didn’t think she’d improved enough to dance in front of other people. Not that she had a choice. “Just a reminder. We won’t be having a lesson tomorrow. Saturday, I'll come by at 7:40. We'll drive out to the hotel and then get ready for the opening ceremony. Afterward, we'll have dinner and we can explore the grounds. Nothing will start until the next day."

“What will start?"

“I'll tell you more when we get there." He smiled in response to her frown. This was what he said every time she got close to learning something new. "Now that practice is done, we can head to the kitchen. I just need about fifteen minutes more to finish cooking the food." They went into the kitchen. She took a seat while he started cooking. Marie watched as he prepped the meat. This was one of the few times she’d ever seen someone cook from beginning to end. Micheal, the previous Guardian, wasn’t good at it.

“Do you have a preference for your steak?”

“Preference?”

“How cooked it is. Do you mind if it’s pink in the center or do you prefer the meat to have no pink?”

“Whatever you normally do is fine.” She didn’t care as long as the meat was cooked properly. He nodded before he placed the meat inside a thick-looking metal pan. Adrian cooked the meat on the stove for several minutes before he placed the whole pan inside the oven. He messed with the timer on the stove before leaning against the counter.

“Have you ever thought about learning to cook?

“No.” Was he going to keep asking her questions until the food was ready? She thought about leaving but her stomach growled in protest. Adrian served her a fresh cup of coffee. Marie took a sip and decided to delay leaving until she finished it.

“Never wanted to learn?” She shrugged.

“My mentor didn’t cook either.”

“Mentor?”

“The previous Guardian.“

“He didn’t know how to cook?”

“No, he didn’t have time between cases. He mostly ate things he could hold with one hand.” She took a sip of coffee.

“Like sandwiches?” His smile was amused.

“Yes.” She frowned as she glanced at the timer. There were only a couple of minutes left.

“How long were you with your mentor?” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him sideways. Was he asking because he didn’t trust her?

“Why does this matter?”

“Just curious.” The timer went off and he went back to messing with the oven. She took another sip of coffee. He placed a plate in front of her before he refilled her cup. She looked down and noticed that the steak was not alone. The side consisted of potatoes and carrots chopped into bite-size pieces. Marie picked up her fork and took a bite. It was good but this would be the last time she’d be coming over.