And this is the closing chapter for the main part of Taming! I hope you all enjoyed it this far. After I post this, I'm going to label it as "Complete." I may add bonus chapters, but, as I mentioned in the prologue, that's unlikely. Maybe if inspiration strikes or I finish the Elemental Spiral (which is unlikely for several years at this point...) Thanks for sticking with the story! Also, it's entirely coincidental that this ended right with the finale of Elemental (Halfling eventually to come!)

ThFallenHer0: Well, when you've got insomnia (at least in my experience), you learn to live with never enough sleep. I think I average five hours a night, thereabouts? It's a learned skill. As for Elias, yeah, he's pretty much just accepted he's going to have to clean up a lot of messes. As for Luca and Bubbles, they totally ship Katalina and Elias. And here's the Happy Ending you've been waiting for!

Chapter 13—Deep in My Heart

"Time really has flown by, hasn't it?" I can hear Katalina talking to Bubbles as I approach.

Today, classes were delayed about an hour due to most teachers having meetings. I was up early this morning, and took a walk, thinking over the past almost three weeks. The past two days, the last two of Katalina's trial, had flown by. When Klaus had admitted that he had fallen in love in less than two weeks after meeting, I was astounded. I believed that it took a lot longer than that to actually fall in love. As it turns out, I was wrong. It's not what happens to everyone, but it sure as heck has happened to all the Goldstein brothers. Percy knew Eliane a week before proposing when they were both eighteen. Klaus fell in love with Selene in under two weeks. And I fell in love with Katalina.

Back to the present.

"Is now really the time to get sentimental?" I know, I'm being hypocritical. Sue me.

She jumped, and turned to me, "Elias! Why are you here?"

"I've come for you."

"Huh?"

I gave her a look, "I can't just sit still by myself waiting when my Buddy's finding out the result of the trial today."

"Elias…" she smiled at me and I turned around and was a bit embarrassed at what that smile was doing to me.

"Let's go." I said gruffly.

"Thank you." she said, sincere as can be.

"Don't mind that. I'm doing it for myself."

"Even so, thank you." She insisted.

"Welcome…" I mumbled.

I brought her to the auditorium, where trials were held. "The Judgement is going to start soon. I can't be here." I told nodded, looking nervous, and I continued. "It'll be okay. For sure. Well, it'll be okay if…" she looked up at me alarmed and I smiled, "Only if you don't pull a Selene."

Her brows came together in confusion, "What she do?"

"She went straight to my brother's office after her own trial was over. Klaus told me about it. She came into his office looking like she was going to cry, and told him that she didn't make it."

Katalina gasped, "She didn't!"

"She did. And nearly gave my brother a heart attack. Until she started laughing."

"Oh my gosh!"

"Yes. And then she went to class and pulled the same trick on us." I shook my head. "I swear I nearly strangled her."

"That's so mean! But…" Katalina looked like she wanted to giggle.

"But looking back, it was actually pretty funny. Honestly, I kind of wish I could've seen Klaus' face. I bet it was priceless." I smiled comfortingly at Katalina. "Feeling better?"

She nodded.

"You'll definitely pass." I informed her.

"Elias." She looked me in the eyes, "How can you know that?"

"I'm the one who trained you, after all." I sniffed, making a joke out of it.

She giggled, "Yeah, that's right. I'll pass for sure because of that."

"That's the spirit. It's not like you to be so pessimistic."

"Yeah!" It was so wonderful to see her smiling again.

Oh yeah. The carbuncle was on her shoulder. "Sorry, Bubbles, you get to come with me." I held out my hand and he hopped off her shoulder, scurrying up my arm with a squee before coming to sit upon my shoulder. "Right then, we'll wait outside."

"Okay! And thanks, Elias."

I nodded, smiling back at her. I turned around, opened the door, and left the auditorium.

Her trial would take at least a half an hour, so I decided to go ahead and check the prefect's office to see if anything had been dropped off at the prefect's office that I needed to do. I pulled the key out of my bag and opened the door. Bubbles bounced happily on my shoulder as I made my way to the desk. There were only a few things for me to do, and they were done quickly. I looked at the clock on the wall, and realized that I should probably get going.

I got up from the chair—which, by the way, was extremely comfortable, and it was no wonder, seeing as how much time Klaus usually seems to have to spend in it—and went to make my way to the door. But my clothing caught on something, and a folder fell, causing a bunch of papers from inside it to flutter to the floor. I swore and started to gather the papers up.

One of them caught my eye. It was labeled, "Elementals—Real or Merely Legend?" written in Klaus' neat script. The folder was labeled for one of his classes. It was a research project then. I think I've heard about elementals. They're also called phoenixes sometimes. But that's about all. They're very rarely mentioned anywhere and not much of anything is known about them. Lots of people don't even think they're real. It's just like Klaus to take on such a difficult project. I'll have to ask him about it when he gets back. It honestly sounds quite interesting.

I head back to where I told Katalina I'd meet her, and set my bag down on the ground. I was about to sit down and wait when I heard my name. "Elias!"

"Katalina! How'd it go?" all the worry I'd been feeling about this came back in full force as I turned to face her.

"Yeah, actually…" She looked sad. Oh no oh no oh no no no...!

But then she grinned and squealed, "I got in! I'm now an official student here!"

"You got it…" Then it processed in my mind. "You got in?!"

"Yeah! I passed!"

"...YES!" I cried out, smiling, "Really, I can't believe it!" It was too good to be true. "Does this mean we can carry on being together around school from now on too, right?" It was way too good to be true." I reached out and hugged her, acting entirely on impulse.

Her smile, somehow, grew wider, "Yeah! It means we can still be together from now on!"

"Great!" I was matching her grin, feeling light and carefree and just plain happy. It was a wonderful feeling.

Then she started to laugh.

My eyebrows went together in confusion, "What? What's wrong?"

She shook her head, "Nothing, I just thought that it's not every day I get to see you so happy for me."

Wait. What am I doing?! What's wrong with me?! I hurriedly released her, backing up a couple steps. It must be hormones. It has to be. Klaus said they're almost always responsible for unusual behavior in teens. Yeah...hormones...gah…and now I'm all awkward again! "Ah...I-it didn't mean anything!" And there's my dratted blush. She started giggling again. Sun help me… I took a deep breath. "But, really, I'm so glad." Might as well be honest.

"Yeah." she agreed, "It's all thanks to you, Elias."

And so I play Klaus for a moment. "Well, yeah, I guess it's natural you'd get in after I trained you so hard." The corner of my mouth twitched as we looked at each other, and when she smiled, so did I. Wait. "...I promised you, didn't I."

"Hm?"

"I promised you that I had something to tell you if you got officially enrolled into the academy."

"Ah, that's right."

I looked her dead in the eyes, her warm, chocolatey brown eyes...focus, Elias! "Katalina." Her eyes were wide and innocent as she looked back at me. "When you were attacked in the Tower of Sorrow, I was very scared. When I thought I might lose you, I was terrified. It was a kind of fear I've never felt before."

"Elias…"

"I even thought that I would trade my power, trade everything to my name, if I could save you. I'd throw it all away if I could save you. I would've even given up my life for you if I meant I could see you smile again. And that's when it hit me, completely and entirely, how I felt about you. Actually, no. I'm sure I've known it all along, but I was having trouble accepted it, and kept trying to deny it. I didn't want to accept that I could feel this way. I've spent most of my life trying to kill off unneeded feelings. I wasn't interested in anything other than being top of the class and improving my magic in a way befitting my family's name. Again, actually, no, I just pretended that was all I was interested in.

"But then, Selene kept nagging me and telling my to—what was it?—'stop being a robot and become a human' or something like that. And you appeared in front of me, and somehow slid into my heart. I realized how much I depended on you, smiling beside me. It's the first time I've felt this way. It's the first time in my life that anything apart from reputation and magic had meant so much to me. No. You're far more important than magic." I reached out and touched her hair, running my fingers through the soft strands of one of her pigtails.

She was red, and for some reason, I wasn't. "You've changed me. It's like you took me and painted me in a completely different color. My purpose is no longer for the Goldstein name, or for my father, or my brothers. I want to become great just for myself. That's what you taught me, Katalina. You've led me to the answer I've been looking for."

She shook her head. "That's not true. I was just the spark that ignited your thoughts. It's you, Elias. I'm sure you found the answer by yourself."

"Thank you." I smiled at her, gently stroking her cheek with my fingertips. "You said once that you liked my magic, right?"

"Yeah?"

"I was very pleased when you said that. So pleased I wasn't sure at the time whether or not to believe you. Your words make me want to be the one who is always by your side, someone worthy of your admiration."

"Elias…"

I inhaled, and looked her right in the eyes. "I love you."

Her eyes widened and the surprise was clearly evident on her face.

"It's you, or no one else." I continued, "I think that means I love you. Will you be with me, Katalina? I want you to be very close to me from now on. I love your smile. I want you to be my girlfriend."

She was nodding profusely, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, so close to spilling, but not.
"Oh, yes! Oh course! I love you too, Elias!"

My smile grew, "Katalina." I pulled her into my arms, holding her close. Her face flushed at my boldness. Well, gosh dang it! I'm going to be bold!

"Elias! I-I feel a little embarrassed now, so…" She sputtered. She's adorable and she doesn't even realize it.

"Who cares?" I smirked, "I don't want to let go."

"B-but people are going to start coming s-soon!"

"So what? I want to hold you right now." And she doesn't know how long I've been waiting to do so. "I love you. You're really my girl now, right?"

"Y-yeah…"

"Good."

"Elias…"

"Yesterday, when Luca touched you...no, even just normally, when you look happy talking to Luca, I couldn't stand it. And when you snuck out of the dorm with Yukiya, I just hated it all."

"Wha…" she blinked in surprise.

"I mean, I don't want you to get close to any other guys. I think it's a strange feeling, too." I admitted, "But I can't help but get that funny feeling about it." I tightened my arms around her a bit, "I want you to be mine and mine alone."

I swear I saw a light flash in her eyes. "So, what you mean is...that all of those times you've gotten mad that suddenly...it's because you've been jealous?"

I looked away, feeling my face heat up. I was starting to wonder when the dratted blush would come in. "You probably think it's really childish, huh?" I lifted one hand to cover my mouth, to make an attempt to cover the blush.

"N-no! I mean….I feel happy about it."

My eyes snapped back to hers, "R-really?"

Her face was just as flushed as mine, "I, um, I mean…" Even her ears were red, and it was entirely adorable. No wonder Selene always coos over me when I get flustered. It's cute when Katalina is.

I took her hand in mine, holding it close. Her's was so small compared to mine. "But, if you are, I'm glad. I'm not going to let anyone else touch you." I cradled her face in my other hand, and began to lean in a bit. I closed my eyes and lightly pressed my lips to hers. I felt like I had to be careful with her, that if I held her to hard she'd crack. I knew she was stronger than she looked, but it was hard to not think of her like that.

She was precious, and I was going to treat her as such.

This was so much better than the other kiss. That one was an accident. This was a kiss between lovers who'd finally confessed their feelings to each other. I felt like I could stay like this forever. Like I never wanted this moment to end, no matter how much reason told me it would. Screw you, Reason. You're not welcome right now. I love you, Katalina. I love you.

"Ah, to be young again. I do miss those days. I had a sweet romance with such a beautiful book, Ms. Art Book, back in the day…" Curse you Grim! Why, Grim, why?!

"Ah?!" Katalina yelped and pulled back.

"W-what the crap!?" I cried, "Is that Grim?!"

"N-no...I don't think so…" She looked down at where she'd dropped her bag, and a piece of paper came out from the little pocket in the front and floated in the air.

"Really! Flirting on sacred school grounds when you're only students!" It scolded. Is that an acceptance letter?

"Oh. It's you." I sighed.

And I seem to have offended a piece of magical paper, "What do you mean 'Oh, it's you'!? I'm the Acceptance Letter!"

I looked over at Katalina, "It sounds just like Grim, all stuck-up."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. They're brothers."

"Really, now?"

And the letter perked back up, "Oh, you guys know my brother?"

"Y-yes…" Katalina said hesitantly, "We call him Grim…"

"Did somebody just call me?" And there he is. Speak of the devil and the devil shall come. Grim came out of the larger pocket of the bag and floated over to the letter.

"Oh! Grimoire!" the letter cried.

Grim chuckled, "Acceptance Letter! Why, it's been a long time, hasn't it?" The two magical items started conversing, forgetting about Katalina and I entirely.

'Squee squee!" And there's Bubbles. He hopped back onto his favorite spot—Katalina's shoulder.

She giggled and look at me, "It's very lively, isn't it?"

"Yeah." I smiled slightly, "Weird things are always gathering around you, aren't they?"

"Pfft…" I could see her make an attempt to not laugh, and saw that attempt fail as she burst into giggles.

"But, it's always fun to be around you." I chuckled, "I can't seem to forget to smile if I stay with you. Really, I didn't realize how important those days were to me before." I smiled at her, "I promise to treat you right, so I can always see your smile from as close as possible."

She managed to quell her giggles, "Elias…"

Something hit my head. I was so surprised I stumbled, "What the heck!"

Katalina reached over and picked something up—an envelope. "Elias, it's addressed to you. A strange bird dropped it. It's over there." She pointed and I looked to see a particular pheonix immata perching in a nearby tree.

"That's Blayze." I saw Katalina's confused look, "Selene's familiar. I haven't seen him since before she left."

"Oh. I wonder why he's here?" Katalina looked at me, "Read the letter. I'll try to go talk to him."

"Good luck. He doesn't like most people. He barely tolerates anyone but Selene." I was already ripping open the side of the envelope. It contained a single piece of paper.

Elias,

This'll be short. I'm coming back to the school in the next couple of days. Selene will not for a while. I don't even know at this point if she will come back. There's too much to include here, but I'll explain when I return. It's a mess.

—Klaus

I stared at the sheet, rereading it several times. What's a mess? And why is there a chance Selene might not come back? Just what happened.

Something touched my arm and I jumped, "Elias? Are you okay? You look really worried."

"It's from Klaus. He says he'll be back within the week. But he's not sure Selene will return at all." I can't really say much else, I'm in such shock.

"Why not?"

"I don't know." I admitted, "Klaus said he'd explain when he got back." Just then, the warning bell rang. "And it's time for class."

"Yeah." She gently took my hand, "Let's go."

As we walked, I only had one thing left to say. "If anything good came of today, I look forward together as your buddy...and a partner in your life."

"I look forward to it." She looked over and smiled comfortingly at me, "It'll all work out okay. It can't not."

"That didn't make sense." I pointed out.

"Did too!"

"Hey! Don't leave me behind!" Grim shouted.

"Me neither! Don't forget about me!" the Acceptance Letter cried. I rolled my eyes as we stopped to let them catch up.

I turned my gaze to the sky only to see Blazye in flight. A quick flash of light, and he was gone.

Selene, I hope you're alright.

Authoress: Wowzers. This is actually done! I'm actually very proud of myself. Now I can continue working on other parts of the Spiral.

Aurora: Yup. Good job. Now, when'll Mom get back to the school? You've got me anxious.

Authoress: Eventually. I'll tell you that much. Certain things have to happen first. And it's going to be a rough period of time in Halfling for a long while. It's going to be difficult to write, only because I get so involved in my stories that if it's an extended period of not-so-happy story times, it starts to affect my mood in my own life.

Aurora: Yup. When she wrote chapter 47/48 of Elemental, she took two weeks to start writing again because she kept getting so depressed and upset that she had to stop.

Authoress: But it'll be worth it. I hate causing my characters pain and suffering, but it's often necessary for the plot. I'll get it done, don't worry. I'm way to involved in the Spiral to give it up now. Seriously, I've got big plans for this story.

Aurora: She does. Eventually, once it's all done (however many years that will take) she'll do a major edit on the entire thing and make it her own original story.

Authoress: I mean, if something like Fifty Shades of Grey (which is dirty and I'll never read), which was a Twilight (which I did read and it wasn't as bad as the movies ended up being) fanfiction, and it got published as a series and made into a movie, why can't the Elemental Spiral?

Aurora: It's a good point, honestly. And, it just gives her more motivation to finish the Spiral.

Authoress: Darn tootin' it does!

Fun Fact 15: It took approximately four months for me to complete this story start to finish (not literally, I guess, but more in the way of I started it and then finished it four months later, with lots of time in between where I didn't write).