The Otherworlders Academy - An Original Teen Fantasy

S2-Ep. 4.13 (R) - The Charm Offensive

Gabriel laughs, charmed by her delightfully respectful concern for his feelings. "No, not at all." He smiles. "I'm what they call an Animatronic Mage, which means that I can bring inanimate objects to life."

"Oh, wow!" Fiona exclaims. "That sounds really cool! You know we have an Elemental Mage at our school... Cameron. I don't know too much about his abilities, though."

"An Elemental?" Gabriel replies. "That's impressive." He raises a brow. "They're usually pretty powerful... top of the food chain as far as Mages go."

Fiona let's loose a hearty laugh. "Yep! That sounds about right. Top of the food chain! Right where Cameron believes he should be!"

She shakes her head, then tries to mouth the term for the kind of Mage Gabriel said he was so she wouldn't forget it. "Okay," she says, "let me make sure I've got this right. You're an Anima... um, an Animatropian...?"

"Animatronic," Gabriel gently corrects her. "I'm an Animatronic Mage. Here..."

He deftly twirls Fiona towards the buffet table. "Let me show you," he says.

As they pass by, Gabriel lifts a hand and artfully waves it over the utensils. A single knife and fork suddenly stand at attention. He makes tiny circles with his index finger and the utensils dip and swirl around each other in perfect time to the music, mimicking Gabriel and Fiona's dance.

Fiona throws her head back and laughs. "That is so cool."

Gabriel shrugs. "If you say so," he says humbly. "I mean it was fun when I was eleven and used to pitch toy armies against each other in epic battles across the living room floor, but nowadays?" He shrugs again. "It's pretty 'meh' as far as magical powers go."

The waltz suddenly ends, and Gabriel and Fiona stare at each other not quite sure what to do now. While they both enjoyed each other's company, mothers are not so subtly ushering their daughters in Gabriel's direction in the hopes that he'll dance with one of them next.

Gabriel, sensing that he's about to be cornered by a gaggle of young women, takes a step back and makes a low, exaggerated bow. "Well, mi' lady, it was an absolute pleasure sharing this dance with you."

Fiona smiles, and plays along, curtsying deeply. "That it was, mi' lord. That it was."

Gabriel laughs as he guides Fiona off the dance floor. Leaning in, he whispers, "Thanks for rescuing me from the eager clutches of the anxious mothers desperate to get their daughters wed — at least for a little while."

Fiona laughs.

Gabriel rolls his eyes as he straightens. "Seriously, though. With all of the husband-hunting that goes on at these events, it can quickly become a living nightmare!"

Fiona looks up at Garbiel and smiles, happy to have been helpful. "Anytime you need a little rescuing, Gabriel, you just give me a call," she says with a playful wink.

***

Reconvening with Ava and Inez near the buffet table, Fiona is still blushing when Ava immediately interrogates her. "So, how was your dance with the Chancellor's son?!"

Fiona casually plucks a strawberry from a fruit platter sitting on the edge of the table and pops it into her mouth. She chews, swallows, then says, "He was, in a word, lovely." She breaks out into an unabashed smile.

"And he's so cute!" Inez adds.

Fiona laughs. "Yeah, and cute," she admits. "But more than that, he was so polite and thoughtful. I wasn't quite expecting that. And who knew..." She shrugs. "That I'd enjoy a waltz of all things!" She chuckles softly. "He was a doll. Now, what about you two?"