Two

"Alright, everyone in the car!" Aigos exclaims in his British accent. We all pile in, happily chattering away.

"Let's go to the ice cream parlor." I suggest. What the hey? Its a celebration, after all. Why not start up the old destination war. Whenever we celebrate, which is rare, Eliza and I fight over where to go. Its always the same, she wants a burger and I want ice cream. Since we don't go out a lot, we tend to go overboard whenever we do.

"No friggin' way! I want a burger." retorts Eliza, set on winning again.

"Here we go." Aigos groans, shaking his head. "Let's vote on it," he suggests.

"Burgers!" Eliza states determinedly.

"Ice cream!" I sing out.

"I don't know about you, Shym. But Im feelin' ice cream." Aigos says.

"So do I." Jashym replies softly.

"No fair!" Eliza whines. "We went for ice cream last time. Give burgers a go." She was lying! No way am I letting her win again.

"You lie, Eliza Marie Stanford!" I exclaim angrily. "You won last time and we went out for burgers. Besides," I add hastily. "I think Jashym should choose. After all, it is his first outing as part of this family."

Eliza shrugs. "Fine. Ice cream it is." She gave up! Just like that. Why?

"Liza, you're being mean." Aigos chuckles.

"Aha! Just as I thought." I yell, expecting the worst.

"Don't worry, Ghost. We'll get ice cream, then go straight home. That's when Cruella DeVil here will tell you her plan." Aigos spoke laughingly. It can't be too bad then. I mean its Eliza, so its most definately a joke. But Aigos thinks she's being mean. So its not bad, but it could be horridly embarrassing for me. I should stop overthinking this. Its making me dizzy.

The car pulls up in front of the ice cream parlor. I love this place. The moment we walk in we are hit with cold air the scent of assorted hot toppings. Eliza and I sit at a booth in the back, cloaked in shadows and away from prying eyes. Just the way we like it. You never know when one of us may use magic, so we like to sit away from other patrons. Aigos and Jashym walk up to the counter to order for us.

When they return to the table with our order, Jashym had brought me my favorite sundae. I never even told him.. But I remember my demon lessons. Guardian pairings are bound wholly, they know one another through and through. Pure and intimate bonds are rare to come by. And here we sit, a guardian team of two bonds. Each pairing is counted as one for each demon and witch pair are as one.

As we eat our ice cream a strange feeling comes over me. Shivering, I glance about myself. Jashym is watching me, his face a blank expanse, giving nothing away. Fearless, he stares at me. Dropping my eyes to my sundae humbly, I ask, "What?"

He keeps silent so I curiosly return his gaze, taking this opportunity to study his face. He's laughing at me. His grey eyes are crinkled in the corners, a lopsided grin on his face. "Thou beauty hast struck me quite clueless, that is all." He replies in admiration.

"Wow. Jashym you really need to get with the times." Eliza begins, bemused. "I mean, who says 'thou' anymore?"

Thankful for the interruption, I speak up. " And 'hast' disappeared like, three hundred years ago." I quickly return my gaze to my ice cream.

Aigos grins mockingly at me. Uh oh. Now i'll catch it. "I believe its time to go home," he says. I just know that when we get home Eliza's gonna torture me to death.

"Its nothing to be afraid of, Ghost. Reall, most truly, nothing." Eliza states matter of factly.

"That's not very reassuring, Liza." I mumble, mouth dry. Climbing into the car I ask, "Swear?"

"I swear, Ghost. With a capital 'S'," she emphathizes.

Still unassured, I sink into a silent fear, my heart thundering in my chest. "Leela, calm yourself." Jashym speaks, his fingertips slowly tracing my collarbone. "Calm.."

His fingers are cool..

Warm..

Too warm. Hot!

"Ouch!" I yell, pulling away. "What's up with that?" I ask angrily, gestering to his hand as it falls into his lap.

"I didn't mean to harm you, forgive me?" He murmurs, his lips very close to my ear.

"Yeah, you're forgiven. Im calm at least." I breath deeply, taking in his scent. He smells of warm leather, spice and mint. I like it. Now I know why Aigos always breathes in Eliza's scent. Its a nice feeling. Its calming.

Jashym gathers me into his arms and whispers sarcastically, " Tch. And that is excactly the reaction that I hoped beyond hopes for." This confused me. He wanted me to react differently? I breath in more of his scent, its hard not to, being this close. Ah.. So sleepy. .

I yawn widely behind my hands as Jashym sings softly to me in the language of the demons.

"Yizran spoluk syfil emape saforil. Yizran doneh jievu minkola. Yizran."

He has such a beautiful voice..

Wait, wait..

No!

No, wake up! I can't fall asleep! Not to the voice of a demon! I hear Aigos' voice. It sounds so far away. The singing stops and I can open my eyes. When did I close my eyes?

"-Know you shouldn't." Aigos was saying icily. "Were you trying to put her in a trance? She is your witch. Your souls and hearts are forever one."

Wait, a trance? Another of Aigos' lessons flash into my mind. 'Whenever a demon sings or hums a tune he can put anyone into a trance, what they see during this time depends on the demon's purpose.' This is done for a myriad of reasons, all of them scary as hell.

With this thought I whined feeling extremely vulnerable. "Shym? Tell him you weren't trying to put me in a trance. Tell him he's mistaken. Tell me he's mistaken?" I desperately hoped that he would say it wasn't true. I wanted those very words out of his face.

"It wasn't to harm that I did it," he began. "I know that you're tired, I can feel it. You wish to sleep. That's all I meant to happen and it was working. Until you pulled yourself out of it." These words were directed at me and hearing them satisfied me.

"So, there," I said shakily. "Only trying to help. Stop scaring me, Gaiz." I grumble as I glance out the window. The world is blurring past us at an amazing speed. I smile. Aigos says that demons love to drive fast. Something about the adrenaline. Eliza and I think that its just them showing off. That or jackassery. Or both. Probably both.

A few moments later, the car stops abruptly. Its a good thing we bekieve in seatbelts. "What? Home already!?" I cry surprised. I mean, I get the speed thing, but the Academy is pretty far from home. We live on the very outskirts of the next town over. We should still be driving, regardless how fast Aigos drove.

"Tch. You fell asleep. Do you not remember?" Jashym asks as he opens the car door and carries me to the porch.

"No, I don't." I yawn, "So tired." Mumbling, I lay my head on his shoulder as he sings me to sleep once again.

"Yizran spoluk syfil emape saforil. Yizran doneh jivu minkola. Yizran."

I wake to soft voices outside my bedroom door. Standing, I realize that someone has put me in my pajamas. Ah, that must have been Eliza's plan. Have Jashym put me in my pajamas. At least I was asleep while he changed me. So I can pretend not to be embarrassed.

I creep across the floor to my bedroom door to hear better. "Will she mind?" Jashym asks in his quiet voice. Aw, he's worried about changing me. I can just pretend I don't care. Or that I didn't notice the change.

"Mayhap when she first wakes.." Aigos begins.

"But not after she showers. Showers always relax her." Eliza states. That scheming whench. How could she? But she's right.

"I think we should be asking the inhabitant of the room, herself." Jashym says thoughtfully. How sweet, he wants permission.

"We would," Eliza says slowly. "If she were actually awake." She finishes, obviously doubting Jashym's IQ level.

"Oh, but she is Eliza." Jashym croons. I gasp. Somehow he knows that Im awake. But how? The door swings open beneath my leaning body. I would have crashed into the floor had it not been for the waiting arms of my demon mentor.

"May I sleep with you?" he asks softly.

"Ah.. What!?" I stutter, petrified. Sex!? Who the frick does he think I am!?

He chuckles. How in the duece is this even remotely funny!? "In your bed. May I share your bed?" Oh. I get it. Like Aigos and Eliza.

"S-sure." I stammer shakily. So, this is Eliza's little trick. I glance at her. She's hiding her grin behind her hands. Her shoulders are shaking. I roll my eyes at her and head back into my bedroom. Jashym bids them goodnight and follows me.

As he does, I feel his eyes on me. The sound of the door locking reaches my ears. I spin around in fright, my hand clutching my heart. "Why'd you lock the door?" I ask him, suspicion dripping heavily from my words.

"Don't worry." Jashym mutters, his lips at my ear. He gently pulls into bed next to him, "I won't do anything. Goodnight." Again, he sings me tto sleep.

"Yizran spoluk syfil emape saforil. Yizran doneh jivu minkola. Yizran."

I lie stiffly next to him, listening to the sound of his voice. I decide I can trust his word. Feeling safe and comfortable, I fall asleep curled next to his cool body.