Know Who to Count On

Chapter 10: The Best-Laid Plans

She can talk to ghosts? Alexis kept his expression neutral, not wanting to offend her in any way, but he'd be lying if he didn't admit to himself that he found her statement difficult to believe. Still, he reflected that her magic was unlike anything he'd encountered before, so why couldn't it have applications unknown to him? She'd also said it was a rare type of magic...if he chose to believe her it would make sense as to why he hadn't heard of it before.

He glanced at Liara who was looking uncomfortable, something he wasn't used to seeing in her. From what few talks he'd had with the petite girl, he'd gotten the impression that she wasn't very spiritual, nor was he. This didn't mean he couldn't open his mind up to something new, difficult though it might be. He could tell Melody was embarrassed by what she'd said. She seemed to be waiting for him to say something negative, dismissing her words as most had in her life. He was not going to be one of those people. This girl had no reason to lie to him about this and if he wanted her to trust him going forward, he felt he ought to start trusting her too.

"So, what was the experiment you performed? Something with a ghost?"

Melody kept her gaze on the glass in her hand as she spoke, clearly finding it easier to speak freely if she didn't have to look him in the eyes. "Yes. There's a ghost that is around this room often and she's sitting here beside me on the arm of the sofa." She took a deep breath and Alexis decided to wait. "Her name is Beatrice. When-when you said the gem detects mana, I remembered that the book said spirits are basically made up of mana, so I got her to 'touch' the gem." He could hear the inflection on the word 'touch' and he smiled. She was being so careful with her words, worried that if she wasn't perfectly clear with what she was saying, her explanation would be for nought.

"I see," he said, glancing over at where the talisman rested. "Can you ask her to touch it again? Did she touch it with her hand before? I admit, I know nothing of spirits but I wonder if they have more mana in the bulk of their form than an appendage?" He saw her look up to the side, something he'd seen her do earlier which he now assumed was to try and communicate with the ghost. "Can you speak non-verbally to her?" he asked, finding his fascination growing.

Melody shook her head, then stopped, cocking her head to the side in thought. "I-I don't know. I've only ever spoken to them verbally, but Beatrice says I called her earlier and all I did then was think about talking to her. So maybe I can communicate with them non verbally..." He watched as she sat silently for a moment and then looked to the side, presumably to the ghost. After a moment she looked slightly defeated. "I tried to talk to her in my head, think the thoughts at her, but it didn't work. She said that when I called to her earlier it wasn't words, just more of a feeling." Melody chewed on her lip, an action Alexis couldn't help but think was cute. She looked back to the side. "Beatrice, can you maybe...sit on the gem?

Alexis watched as the gem lit up again and he wasn't sure, but he thought it might have been slightly brighter than before, though still not near as bright as when it had touched a living person. As strange as it all sounds, I believe her. I didn't feel any of that unfocused magic around her like I did earlier, so this wasn't something she did. There is a ghost sitting next to me on the table...

"Well," Alexis said, taking a deep breath. "Today has been quite the ride. Save a lady from an evil prick, find out the lady is a long lost daughter of my rival, decide to marry said lady, then find out she can commune with spirits. I don't know about you, but I think this day could have held a few things back for later. We still have the announcement ball tonight to deal with."

Melody shrank back into the sofa slightly, still fussing with the glass. "So, um, you still want to marry me? After all that? Even though I can speak to ghosts and after I told you my father might kill you?" She sounded incredulous, an appropriate emotion given the situation.