Eris Boreas

The First Meeting

The evening air was heavy with tension as the grand carriage rattled to a halt before the towering gates of the Boreas Greyrat manor. The Citadel of Roa loomed like a fortress, its walls bathed in the amber hues of the setting sun. Servants bustled around as you stepped down, adjusting to the intimidating grandeur of your new surroundings.

Inside the reception room, a voice like rolling thunder shook the walls.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU BROUGHT A TUTOR?! THIS KID LOOKS LIKE HE CAN BARELY HANDLE A PAPERWEIGHT!”

The doors burst open, and in stormed a mountain of a man, his beard bristling like an angry badger and his eyes wild with energy. Sauros Boreas Greyrat, the liege lord of Fittoa, sized you up with an expression somewhere between annoyance and bemusement.

After a loud, one-sided exchange that consisted mostly of Sauros shouting and the butler quietly enduring, the liege lord stormed out the same way he entered—like a hurricane.

“Don’t mind him,” the butler said with a polite bow. “Lord Sauros tends to express… passion.”

Moments later, a well-dressed man with a calmer demeanor entered. His sharp features and calculating gaze immediately set him apart.

“I am Philip Boreas Greyrat,” he said, “and I trust you’ve met my father. Now then, let’s get to the matter at hand—my daughter, Eris.”

Philip explained the situation with the efficiency of a seasoned negotiator. You listened intently, sharing your plan to motivate the unruly girl through a staged "kidnapping." Philip’s eyes lit up at the idea. “Clever. Let’s see if you can handle her, though. I’ll call her now.”

The words barely left his mouth when a fiery red blur entered the room.

“I’M NOT STUDYING, AND YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!”

There she stood: Eris Boreas Greyrat, wild-eyed and full of fury. Before you could react, her fist collided with your face, sending you stumbling back into a chair.

Pain blossomed across your cheek. She glared down at you, her stance like a lioness ready to pounce. Without thinking, you reacted—a sharp slap across her cheek. The room fell silent.

For a moment, you thought you’d stunned her into submission.

Wrong.

With a feral growl, she lunged, tackling you to the ground with surprising strength for someone her size. You scrambled out from under her, but she was relentless, chasing you around the room like a bull after a matador.

“COME BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!” she roared, hurling a vase that narrowly missed your head.

You darted through the manor halls, panting and dodging furniture as the wild redhead pursued you, screaming obscenities and hurling whatever she could grab. The servants watched in stunned silence, some even stifling laughs behind their hands.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she stopped, hands on her knees, heaving for breath.

“I’ll… I’ll kill you tomorrow!” she shouted, retreating to her room with as much dignity as she could muster.

You slumped against the wall, your heart pounding. As the butler approached with a raised eyebrow, you muttered silently to yourself: I’m not giving up. This brat is going to learn if it’s the last thing I do.

Later, you met with Philip to set the plan in motion. He could barely hide his amusement, shaking his head. “You might actually survive this after all. Let’s see how your little ‘kidnapping’ idea plays out.”

The Promise Amid Chaos

When you opened your eyes, the dim light of a flickering oil lamp illuminated the damp and grimy walls of a dusty storehouse. The scent of mildew and rotting wood clung to the air. Eris sat across from you, her arms crossed, glaring in defiance. You were bound, albeit loosely, with rope—just as planned. The young mistress seemed none the wiser, though her temper remained palpable.

The plan had been perfect so far. Philip's hired "kidnappers" had carried you both off, creating an ideal scenario for your orchestrated escape. This would teach Eris not only to depend on you but also to appreciate the value of intellect over brute strength.

When one of the "kidnappers" entered, however, things took a dark turn. He was rough—too rough—grabbing Eris with a force that made her cry out in pain. The menacing look in his eyes sent alarm bells ringing in your head. This wasn’t part of the act.

As realization dawned, your heart pounded. You scanned the room for options, assessing every tool and loose plank at your disposal. When the man reached for Eris again, you acted, muttering a silent apology for deviating from the plan. Using subtle magic, you created a small gap in the wall behind you, widening it just enough for two people to slip through.

Grabbing Eris by the arm, you tugged her toward the opening. She resisted at first, her pride bruised by the need to flee, but the fear in her eyes betrayed her resolve. Together, you slipped into the cold night air.

The sight outside froze you both: an unfamiliar town stretched before you, far from Roa. The distant hum of rowdy taverns mingled with the sound of rustling leaves. The streets were narrow and unfamiliar. You had no time to piece together how things had gone so wrong.

Eris was the first to speak, her voice shaky but defiant. “I’ll… I’ll hire you. If you can get me out of this alive, you’re my servant! Got it?!”

You nodded solemnly, extending a hand to shake hers. She hesitated but finally grasped your hand, her grip firm despite her trembling fingers.

The promise was made.

---

By the time the sun rose, you had navigated your way back to Roa. Relief washed over you both when the towering manor came into view, its silhouette a beacon of safety. For the first time since the ordeal began, Eris smiled faintly, confident the nightmare was behind her.

Then, out of nowhere, rough hands seized her. Two men emerged from the shadows, dragging Eris into an alleyway before you could react. Panic surged, but you forced yourself to stay calm.

You pursued them immediately, sprinting into the narrow passage. Blocking their escape, you raised your hands and conjured a deafening explosion above the rooftops. The loud boom startled the kidnappers, and they stumbled for just a moment. It was enough.

You rushed forward, wrenching Eris free from one of the men’s grip. Her weight in your arms was grounding, giving you the resolve to push forward. You dashed through the streets, weaving between startled townsfolk, with Eris clutching your shirt tightly.

“Behind you!” Eris screamed, her voice sharp with terror.

You turned just in time to see one of the kidnappers hurl his sword at tremendous speed. The blade glinted in the morning light, and for a moment, the world seemed to slow. You froze, realizing you couldn’t dodge in time.

A blur of motion interrupted the scene. Ghislaine, Eris’s trusted sword instructor, landed between you and the projectile, her sword flashing in an arc. The thrown weapon clattered to the ground, harmless.

The kidnappers didn’t have time to react. Ghislaine moved like a force of nature, her blade carving through the air with deadly precision. In mere moments, the threat was eliminated, the men reduced to lifeless forms on the cobblestone street.

She turned to you both, her golden eyes stern but relieved. “Let’s go,” she said simply, sheathing her sword.

---

Back at the manor, Eris had regained her usual haughty demeanor, though her cheeks were flushed, whether from embarrassment or residual adrenaline. She stood before you, arms crossed, trying to appear unaffected.

“You did… okay,” she said begrudgingly, avoiding your gaze. After a moment, she cleared her throat. “I guess… you can call me Eris. But don’t get used to it, alright?!”

The corners of her mouth twitched, betraying the smallest of smiles. For the first time, you saw her pride take a backseat, replaced by something akin to gratitude.

The ordeal had forged a bond—a promise of trust amidst the chaos. And for now, that was enough.

A Month of Mayhem and Milestones

It had been a month since you stepped into the role of tutor for the fiery Eris Boreas Greyrat. Life at the manor had settled into a chaotic routine, with you dodging punches, wrangling a willful student, and somehow carving out moments of progress amidst the turmoil.

Eris sat at her desk, arms crossed and pouting as you set down the day’s arithmetic lesson. Her glare was as sharp as her sword skills. You placed a small stack of apples on the desk and began arranging them into groups.

Eris leaned forward, suspicious. “What are you doing?”

You held up a finger and silently pointed to the apples. Then, you used simple hand gestures to explain basic addition and subtraction.

Her eyes narrowed, watching you intently. For a moment, it seemed like she was following along—until she grabbed one of the apples and took a big bite. “There. Subtracted one!”

You stared at her blankly, and she grinned smugly, her cheeks puffed with apple.

---

Later, during reading lessons, Eris slouched in her chair, flipping through the assigned book with exaggerated disinterest. “Why do I have to learn this? It’s boring!” she groaned, slamming the book shut dramatically.

You sighed, then pointed to the spine of the book: “Legends of the Great Adventurers.” Her ears perked up, and she snatched the book back.

“Wait, this is about adventurers?” she asked, flipping through the pages again. You nodded, gesturing for her to read aloud. She hesitated but then began stumbling through the first paragraph. Her pronunciation was rough, but she kept going, driven by her curiosity about the stories.

You gave her an encouraging thumbs-up, which made her cheeks flush slightly. “Whatever!” she said, quickly returning her focus to the book.

---

Magic lessons were the only time Eris didn’t complain. Standing in the garden, she watched intently as you demonstrated a basic water spell. With your hands, you conjured a small, floating sphere of water.

Eris clapped her hands together, her excitement evident. “I can do that!” she declared.

She closed her eyes, muttered an incantation, and extended her hands. A sphere of water emerged but wobbled dangerously. Before you could stop her, she hurled it with reckless enthusiasm.

The water splashed against a tree, soaking a hapless gardener nearby. Eris froze, her mouth forming a perfect “O” of shock, before bursting into laughter. You gave her a stern look but couldn’t help smirking as the gardener muttered something about “kids these days.”

---

Swordsmanship lessons were another story entirely. In the training yard, Eris wielded her sword with unrelenting energy, her fiery hair flying as she attacked with precision and force. You, meanwhile, parried as best as you could under Ghislaine’s watchful eye.

“Come on! Is that all you’ve got?” Eris taunted, grinning wildly as she lunged forward.

You barely dodged her attack, countering with a move Ghislaine had recently taught you. To your surprise, you managed to disarm her—or so you thought.

In a flash, Eris tackled you to the ground, pinning you with a triumphant smirk. “Gotcha!”

Ghislaine chuckled from the sidelines. “Good effort, both of you. But remember, the goal is to win without wrestling.”

Eris stood up, dusting herself off. She offered you a hand, a rare gesture of camaraderie. You took it, silently vowing to even the score next time.

---

As the days went by, the routine began to smooth out. Eris, though still fiery and defiant, started showing small signs of progress. She solved her first math problem without throwing anything, read a page of her book without complaining, and even managed to cast a spell without soaking someone.

In the evenings, you retreated to your room to prepare the next day’s lessons and review your own magic textbooks. The quiet moments of study were a stark contrast to the chaos of the day, but they were a reminder of the slow but steady strides you and Eris were making together.

Life as a tutor wasn’t easy, but in the small victories and shared moments of laughter, you found a rhythm—a delicate balance between chaos and progress that defined your time with the young mistress.