The Dark Enchantress looked awkward for a moment, then grew miffed when he failed to mitigate his negative reaction. She hurriedly crunched the rest of her snack and swallowed. Then she glared at him and walked away, uninterested in further conversation.

Arwin silently slapped his head. Idiot! He had to get better control of his emotions. Or at least his physical reactions to them. He shouldn’t let them show on his face like that. She had obviously enjoyed something and naturally thought to share it with Arwin. This was a good sign; it meant she was growing comfortable with him. Obviously, some would get upset when faced with such a negative reaction to their enjoyment.

Of course, if you thought about it rationally, there was nothing wrong with what she’d just done. It was no different than eating sushi, really. It was just different from his own typical behaviour. But being different wasn’t wrong. Yet that was exactly how his reaction had made her feel. He needed to be more tolerant and open-minded.

“Enchantress!’ Arwin called after her.

She ignored him, stalking off.

He tried again, following a bit desperately, “Enchantress.”

“Leave me alone.” She kept walking.

He pleaded, “Don’t be angry. Orchid!”

She finally slowed to a stop and sullenly glared at him.

He caught up and tried to placate her. “I’m sorry. That was rude. I shouldn’t have reacted that way.”

“Whatever.” She turned her back to him and started walking away again.

“Orchid, please!” He chased after her and laid a hand on her arm to stop her.

She whirled on him. “Everything I do is disgusting to you, isn’t it? I’m so strange, so awful. What a creepy witch I am.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it? The fly soup? The fish? I’m just a monster to you, aren’t I? You’re just like everyone else, after all.” She angrily shook his arm off.

“Hey, now. You’re overreacting.”

“Am I?” She grew even more upset. “I’ve seen the way you cringe at every spider, the way you look at every web. You don’t think I’ve noticed how cautious you are around me?” She snarled. “You still think I’m evil. Just because I’m a little different.”

“I don’t know you well enough to tell if you’re evil or not!”

Her lips pressed into a flat line.

Oops. That hadn’t been the right thing to say. “I’m sorry.”

But she was having none of it. She turned away again, this time looking hell-bent on leaving the room with her fists clenched.

He rushed after her. “Orchid, I’m sorry. You’re not evil. Of course, I can see that.”

Her voice had gone cold. “I’m done. We’re done.”

He ran in front of her and begged. “I’m an idiot.”

She came to a halt, unable to stride right through him. “Yes, you are,” she agreed, then made to move around him.

“We’re different. There’s a culture clash. It’s ok. That’s perfectly normal. We’re from different worlds. We’re still getting to know each other.”

“Well, I don’t want to get to know you anymore.”

“But I want to get to know you better. I don’t want to have reactions like I just did. You’re beautiful and smart and playful. I like that. And I like that you’re different. I do. I just need some time to get used to it.”

“You don’t need to get used to it. We’re done.”

“Orchid, please.” He physically planted himself in front of her.

She stopped and defensively crossed her arms, but she didn’t make another attempt to brush him off or get around him.

He took a chance and put his hands on her hips. He looked her square in the eyes to show his sincerity. “Please don’t go.”

She continued to glare, but she didn’t make any effort to escape his light hold on her body. She glared back at him for a few moments, then looked away.

Arwin waited patiently, giving her time to deal with her emotions or perhaps speak. After a long minute passed in silence, he tried again. He slowly pulled her closer to him so their bodies touched, giving her time to pull away if she wanted to. She didn’t. “Stay?”

She muttered, still not looking at him, “Fine.”

“Can we go back to looking at the displays?”

She shrugged, still sullen. “Whatever.”

He slipped an arm around her lower back and gently pulled her to the aquarium closest. She came willingly.

They paused in front of an aquarium housing what could only be a star fish. Yes, not starfish; two words: star fish. A fish “stood” on a stage made from the wreckage of a wooden ship with a mic in one appendage and was lit by a spotlight overhead. Groupies, a kind of miniature grouper fish, thronged the stage with wide eyes and wildly cheered the under the sea star. It was impossible to hear outside the water, but from the way the groupies moved, it seemed like a lively tune.

He leaned towards Orchid. “Thank you for bringing me here, by the way. I love it. This place is stunning. You should be really proud.”

“Thanks.” She appeared slightly mollified, either from his words or because of the mollusks in a nearby tank, slowly waving comforting antennae and fingers at their caretaker. Perhaps in Heartstone, some species of mollusca mollified people.

They studied the displays together for a while, walking around the room. He kept his arm around her, and she didn’t push him away, allowing it. Arwin marvelled at some unworldly little blue sea dragons he recognized from home as glaucus atlanticus.

But as the minutes passed, she said nothing and Arwin soon felt impelled to do something to improve the mood. Anything. He didn’t want her upset at him. He bumped her gently with his hip. “Still mad?”

She edged away gracefully, finally leaving his arm, but didn’t reply.

Arwin followed her. Without thinking, he reached out and tickled her in the side. “Still mad?”

Orchid jumped at his touch. She turned a stern gaze on him and raised a finger in warning. “Don’t tickle.”

An involuntary grin split Arwin’s lips; he couldn’t control it. “Oh? You’re ticklish?”

“Arwin...” She backed up a pace.

Why did his name sound so good from her lips? He playfully stalked her. With exaggerated innocence and a smile he couldn’t help, he asked, “What?” He raised his arms up as if ready to reach for her.

Now it was she who couldn’t stop a small smile from appearing, though she obviously fought it. She brought her own hands up in defence. “Stop. Do not tickle me. You will regret it.”

“What? Tickle? No. I just want to hug you.” He drew closer. His hands went under hers.

Now a little laugh escaped her. “No!” She tried to push his hands away. “You’re lying!” She continued to retreat along the wall of aquariums, but he gamely followed, hands darting in and out and around her, making her ward him off.

“Ah-ha!” Arwin pressed forward, pinning her to the wall between tanks. His hands and fingers dove under her defences, and he avidly tickled her waist.

“Ah-hahahaha!” she cried out. Her beautiful body shook and fought, but his tickling relentlessly kept her helpless. “Sto-o-o-p!”

“Stop what?” he asked, still mock-innocently. He paused and let her recover her breath a moment. “This?” He attacked her again and made her breathless with laughter.

She gasped, barely able to speak, “Stop!”

He laughed.

She reached out, and an arc of purple electricity shot out of her hand.

Arwin jolted backwards. His eyes rolled back in their sockets. His body shook, and his jaw clenched. For a good ten seconds, he was helpless before coming back to himself. Unsteadily leaning on the wall to hold himself up, he breathed, “Ow.” He shook his head to clear it.

“Hmph. Told you.” She smirked.

“Ok. No more tickling.”

“Good boy.”

He came closer and raised his hands again.

She eyed him warily. “You’re not that stupid, are you?” She raised her hand again.

“No. Definitely not.”

She didn’t zap him again. When he pressed forward and wrapped his arms around her, she let him.

He leaned his head forward until his lips grew close to hers. He paused. “So we’re ok?”

“Maybe.”

He pulled her closer and kissed her. For a scary heartbeat, she didn’t react but soon melted and allowed him to kiss her.

When they finished, they pulled away from the wall. Her anger seemed to have been disarmed.

Arwin spotted a room off to the side. He pointed at the open door nearby. “What’s that?”

She perked up. “Oh, one of my hobbies. Would you like to see?”

“Of course.” He followed her toward the room. The bond between them felt palpable now. He wanted to reach out and hold her hand so badly that he actually had to physically refrain.

The hobby room was small, with a short balcony opposite the door. On the floor were three low tanks, each about the size of a small bathtub. A hose ran into each tank, pumping bubbles and aerating the water. Inside each tub swam a couple of hundred goldfish. These weren’t fancy specimens. They were the simple, small kind that people often use to feed other fish or give as pets to little kids.

Orchid grabbed a stack of something and squatted on one side of a tub, motioning him to sit on the other side of it. She knelt with her bum resting on her heels and put the stack next to herself. “This is goldfish scooping.”

“Goldfish scooping?”

“Here.” She handed him something from the stack. “This is a goldfish scoop.” It wasn’t really a scoop, being completely flat. It was shaped like a small racquet, but instead of a board or mesh inside the hoop, the ring was filled with a very thin sheet of rice paper stretched tight to the rim. The ‘scoop’, including the handle, was dainty, only about as long as his hand, the hoop as big as his palm.

Looking at the strange object, he asked, “How could you possibly scoop a fish with this? The paper would melt in the water.”

“Exactly,” she agreed. “You have to do it quickly before the paper breaks. And you must have the correct technique. The objective is to see how many you can scoop out of the water before the paper breaks.”

He gave her a doubting look.

She laughed, now relaxed and recovered from his earlier rudeness. “Here. I’ll show you.” She took a scoop in hand, moving in the confident manner of someone with experience and gripping it in a practiced way. Her arm and the scoop hovered over the water for a moment. At first, her movement startled the fish, but soon enough, they swam back under the limb, warily getting used to it.

She focused on the fish, watching them, tracking different ones until she found a likely target. Then the scoop dipped. It sliced into the water, not fast, yet not slow, but at what appeared to be a very calculated speed. The paper slid beneath a goldfish. Then she withdrew her hand and flipped the fish into a coloured bucket floating in the tub.

Arwin’s eyes widened in amazement. A big smile crept over his face as he watched her dip back into the water once, twice, eight more times. Each time a new fish fell into the bucket.

At last, the scoop broke. The paper couldn’t stand up forever. It withered slowly, tearing in parts, but she continued using the fragmented scoop, skillfully catching fish on the unbroken parts near the rim where the paper was strongest. An elegant strand of hair fell across her face, but she ignored it, totally intent on her task. She was patient, graceful, and precise. She was beautiful.

The last of the paper melted away. She sat back, at ease once again and sighed. She finally pushed the errant hair away from her face.

Arwin gushed, “Wow! That was awesome!” He meant it.

“It was terrible.” She tsked, evidently not pleased with her performance, expecting more from herself. “Only thirteen.” She upended the bucket, spilling the fish back into the tub. She appeared to have a competitive streak, at least with herself.

Arwin was still impressed. “Only thirteen? I don’t think I could even get one. Look how fast they are!” Indeed, when he passed his hand over the water, the fish darted away with unbelievable speed.

“It’s because the water is cold and fresh, full of air. The fish are fully oxygenated because they’ve been resting. Thus they move at top speed. But if you play for a while, the fish grow tired and will move more slowly. Then it’s easier.”

“Ah. That’s why you have three tanks. So you can change when they start to slow down, and it becomes too easy for you.”

She nodded, then pointed at his scoop. “Go ahead. Give it a try.”

He took a deep breath and put his arm out over the water. His very first dip tore the paper before he got anywhere near a goldfish. He’d moved way too fast.

Orchid wordlessly handed him a new scoop, not mocking him in the slightest.

Arwin, slightly embarrassed, was glad she hadn’t teased. He dipped again, this time going slower and entering at more of an angle. He ended up slowly chasing quick fish all over the tank, not even getting close to a single one. Before long, the scoop broke. “I don’t know how you do it. This is really difficult!”

“It takes practice. That’s life. Doing anything well takes time, effort, and concentration, whether it’s magic or goldfish scooping.”

“True.” He eyed the pile of unused scoops and gave her a sly smile. “Can I try another?”

She laughed, pleased at his enthusiasm. “Of course.”

Arwin practiced a couple of more times alone. But he knew it would be more fun if she joined in. “Come on, you too. I want to see the master at work. Er, mistress? Masterette?

“Expert?”

“Exactly.”

“I don’t know if I’m an expert, really. Not anymore. I’m ok. At my peak, I was number eight in Heartstone one year, back when I was competitive. My boyfriend at the time was number one, though.”

“There’s competitive goldfish scooping? You’re kidding.”

“I’m not. It’s a very old hobby. It has never been popular or even well-known throughout most of Heartstone. Only in Aizjia. Actually, I haven’t competed professionally in hundreds of years. They may not even have this kind of competition anymore.” She seemed a little sad at the thought.

“Why don’t you compete anymore?”

She sniffed. “Oh yes, that would be perfect. The Dark Enchantress, the most feared magicist in the land, evil incarnate, just dropping by for a bit of fun at a festival.” She looked sour. “They’d probably die of fright the moment I showed up. No one would dare challenge me, thinking I’d fry them on the spot if they beat me.”

Arwin could see that she was bitter about this. When they’d met, she’d seemed to embrace her fearsome image and have pride in it. But did she actually resent it too? Curious. And confusing. “Well, perhaps they don’t know you very well.” He shrugged. “Maybe people have the wrong impression about you.”

She looked up at him, studying him, perhaps looking for some sign that he was making fun of her. But he wasn’t, and she must have realized this, for she blushed and quickly stood, self-consciously brushing herself off. “I’m hungry. Shall we have some dinner?”

They were done with goldfish scooping for the evening.