From the first time he had seen her, he had been fascinated. For a while, all he had been able to do was watch her move, fight, talk and laugh. But once he had seen her summoning, he had been head over heels for her.

It was a strange place their group had found themselves at, both familiar and foreign at the same time. There the mana three had been, but it looked a bit different although he couldn't say if it had grown or shrunk. When they had decided to move, they had met another group, just like theirs. Two half-elves had been part of it and a blond girl, as well as a young swordsman dressed in red.

Cless had been eager to talk to the boy who was apparently their leader but they had soon learned that the strangers spoke a language familiar in sound but incomprehensible to them. For lack of better things to do, they had decided to follow the stranger's mimed invitation and followed them to some flying machines with strange design that brought them into a town.

The town was just as strange as the rest of the world they had seen so far, both familiar and strange at the same time. Claus had seen towns like this before, but he never seen nor heard of this particular one. There had been two parts of town, poor looking slums and another part where only grand houses where build, the one closest to the palace. Shops and official buildings connected the two parts of town, or maybe it was rather a city, though it didn't seem as big as Midgard to Claus.

They had been greeted by a red-haired idiot of a flirt, that made Arche laugh and Mint hide behind Cless upon their first meeting. Claus would have liked to punch him. The other group had a short talk with the man, before they indicated Cless and everyone to follow them to one of the buildings in the middle of town.

The interior looked like it was some sort of research facility. Claus would have liked to talk to the people working here but he didn't know enough of their language to ask. Even Arche, who seemed to get some of the words, didn't understand enough to talk. Claus wondered if they had another way of using mana despite the healing artes of humans and the spells of elves and half-elves.

They were led into the cellar of the building, a cold room much like a laboratory.

That was where he first met her, a big breasted, black haired beauty. From the start, he couldn't tear his eyes away from her, no matter how displeased the idiot sounded after noticing it. She was just so perfect, her body, her movements, the keenness in her eyes, everything. The elder of the two half-elves started explaining something they didn't understand – but from the look of it, half of the other group didn't either. All the time that woman was talking, Claus stared at the maiden in lilac garb.

When he then stepped forward, holding both of her hands out with a strip of paper flowing in mid-air in front of her, as she closed her eyes and spoke something that sounded like she was reciting a formula, he watched her with even more interest. The melody of her words and even some of the words reminded him of his own summoning skills.

It still shocked him when she cried Udine's name, clear as if she spoke the same language as them, and the lady of the waters appeared in front of them, ready for her summoner's orders.

Claus couldn't believe what he saw. Hadn't he been the only one who still owned the rings necessary to form a pact with a summon spirit? But there she was, different but unmistakably Udine. Summoned but the whims of that beautiful woman. Claus was beside himself with astonishment and … fascination. Never had he laid eyes on a woman like her.

He had so many questions he wanted to ask. But he couldn't think of even one of them, as he reached into his pocket to pull out one of his own rings and knelt down in front of her to present her with his precious

Garnet ring, symbol of his pact with the fire djin Ifrit.

He asked her the only question that came to his mind-"Will you be my summoner?"-when he heard her gasp with what he hoped to be shocked joy. Her eyes flickered to the rings on his hand, then back at the one he wanted to present her with. For a moment, she stared but then she closed her hand into a fist.

She yelled angry at him as she hit him hard. The last thing, he could see or hear were Arche and the younger half-elf, chanting something spiteful in unison.

A/N: This is for my fiancée as it was her stupid idea in the first place.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this! Leave a comment if you want and feel free to add it to you favorites. If you spotted any mistake, let me know. I don't really have a beta so every mistake is entirely my own fault.