JOHN RASCLIFFE (PART 2)

Feinburg's great library, the home for tons of knowledge and research, one of the remarkable landmarks across the continent that attracts scientists and scholars from everywhere.

"Why is he late?", Thought Cristina who was waiting in front of the library's entrance, she was holding some books by her left hand over her chest while her right hand was holding a small bag.

"Maybe he didn't want to embarrass me and told me yes, but he needed my help with the lectures so he can't ignore it, maybe he just forgot about our meeting, ahhhhhh, I should have reminded him today in the academy, but I didn't have the courage to call him.", Thought Cristina, she started taping her right foot on the ground as a sign of impatient waiting.

"So, he's not coming.", Thought Cristina while looking around here right and left, looking at the people walking here and there.

"No, he's coming, probably something distracted him.", Thought Cristina while still eying everyone around her, it's clear that Cristina isn't the best social person, she couldn't talk to John about their meeting since yesterday and now she's asking herself if he's coming or not, her looks around her contained a lot of worry as if she hasn't gone out with any colleague or even a friend before, the people around started looking weirdly at her.

"Finally! I started doubting he would show up.", Thought Cristina after spotting John who was walking towards the library with a medium sized bag in his hand.

"Why was she acting weird like that before noticing me? Did she really panic because I'm late?", Thought John while approaching Cristina who was now very calm.

"Hey! I hope I didn't make you wait too long.", Said John before he stopped in front of Cristina.

"I thought you have forgotten about our meeting, I-I don't mean that you're irresponsible of course, people tend to h-have some important things to do and that's probably why you didn't make it on time, o-of course I'm not b-blaming you so please don't get me wr-.", Said Cristina in a complete panic without any order in her talk before John hushed her calmly while raising his free hand to calm her down.

"Calm down, take a deep breath, no need to panic, Cristina, I won't judge you because I'm the one being late so sorry for making you worried, there was that restaurant and I was hoping to try it soon but I thought it's a good idea to try it together, that's why I'm late, it was a bit crowded.", Said John confidently.

"Damn it! She's even more nervous than yesterday, it's more of social panic than shyness.", Thought John, Cristina took a deep breath and looked at him more calmly.

"Okay, but there was no need to tire yourself, you shouldn't bother yourself with me.", Said Cristina in a more calm manner.

"Why not? You're helping me and I'm already costing you your precious time and also we don't know how long we'll be studying, so having a meal together is a good idea, if you can't accept it then consider it a repayment for your generosity yesterday.", Said John politely, Cristina looked at him quizzically.

"But it was just a simple sandwich that I make everyday before going to the academy.", Said Cristina politely.

"And that makes it even better, sometimes simple things are important to us and you didn't have any others, you shared it with me without hesitation and I respected this from you so believe me what I've done is nothing compared to what you did, you were simply more generous.", Said John smartly, Cristina was stunned by his reply, in fact, this simple sandwich is what she can afford as a lunch at the academy so basically he's right but still she felt a huge difference between them.

"W-well, I don't know actually.", Said Cristina.

"Why don't we settle this inside instead of wasting both of our time?", Asked John.

"Y-yes, you're probably right, follow me, I know the section of the botany.", Said Cristina before turning and walking towards the entrance of the library.

"Botany? Why?", Asked John, Cristina stopped and turned.

"I thought that we need to make sure that your knowledge about the types of different plants and herbs is good, most people who suffer from alchemy are due to their lack of knowledge of the types of plants used and their characteristics.", Said Cristina confidently, John thought about what she said.

"Actually she's right, why didn't I think about that? No wonder she's the smartest one in the class.", Thought John.

"O-of course if you're good at botany then we can skip it, sorry i-if I insulted you by mistake I was just tr-.", Said Cristina in panic again and instantly John stopped her.

"Calm down, Cristina, please, you didn't say anything wrong, in fact you're right, I'm not that good at botany, but even if I was, you were thinking in the best way to help me so of course I won't say you're insulting me either way, you're the smart one here, not me, so trust yourself more, okay?", Said John politely, Cristina thought about what he said and again he was trying to make her more comfortable and to trust herself as he's trusting her already, it's just that she's not used to being helpful to anyone.

"Fine, then come on.", Said Cristina more confidently before turning and walking inside the library with John behind her.

The calmness ruled inside the library, tens of sections with lots of students and even older people seeking knowledge.

John and Cristina were sitting for nearly three hours now, they were sitting on wooden chairs and in front of them laid a table which holds all of their things, their were different types of herbs beside the bag which was in Cristina's hand before, different books laying everywhere on the table and on the side of each of them the leftover meals that John bring with him.

"So that's why we may add any species of relweed in a potion even though their toxic side, of course they have other valuable characteristics.", Said John.

"Indeed, why would we add them without any reason and add a catalyst to work as a binding agent to the nervous toxins in it? Wouldn't that be useless?", Said Cristina illustrating something in one of the books while looking confidently at John.

"That's exactly what I was asking myself.", Said John.

"No problem, the important thing is that you now know, look.", Said Cristina before grabbing one of the herbs and showing it to John.

"This is a Zemanin relweed, its original home is clearly Zemania, it's a village in Kozelsk kingdom with a huge diversity in plants life.", Said Cristina.

"And how did you get it here?", Asked John.

"I picked it up along with other herbs that we may need today for you from the academy's greenhouse.", Said Cristina.

"I haven't been there yet and I don't know why actually, can they really grow anything in there?", Asked John.

"Of course, the greenhouse in Feinburg's alchemy academy is the largest one in all of Plistura, it was the result of a brilliant famous dwarf architect from volgast who was responsible for the designs and the channels for the divine energy and another famous elf mage that was the director for the divine energy safe usage across the greenhouse, there's over 500 chambers that you can control the temperature and humidity within each chamber separately using a control panel charged by the divine energy produced from the central divine block, you can grow whatever you want, just adjust the internal environment in the chamber that suits the type of the plant that you need to grow and continuously add the needed supplements, it's easy and actually fun to try.", Said Cristina enthusiastically, John noticed how she's confident and enthusiastic while talking about alchemy and botany generally, that's passion more than anything, she even didn't stutter a single word during the whole three hours, if only she can talk with people just like she talks about alchemy.

"You seem to know a lot about botany and everything around it.", Said John.

"That's because of my upbringing environment, I was raised in a farm and my mother was making a small room at the back for the domestic plants, I grew up on liking the plants and gradually knowing their characteristics.", Said Cristina before stopping.

"I-I think I shouldn't have said that, w-we can complete what we were just t-talking about.", Stuttered Cristina, she suddenly became tensed horribly.

"Hey, what happened? You were fine and everything was fine, if it's about the part of the farm then I remind you that I'm not judging anyone, no need to fear me or anything like that.", Said John calmly, Christina looked at him in worry, talking about her simple life to a noble is an idiotic act, but again, John proved to be different, he doesn't mind listening to her, but there's also more about her upbringing that she doesn't want to mention for anyone generally.

"T-thank you, but I really don't want to talk about it, let's just focus on you now.", Said Cristina while trying to focus again, John decided to not push her further and let her be comfortable.

"Okay, back to the Zemanin relweed, as an example of how good the characteristics of a relweed can be, this relweed can be added in divine energy enhancing potions due to its soul purifying components, the truth behind their origin isn't actually known but mostly they were gifted to us by the gods.", Said Cristina confidently.

"Yeah, the gods.", Said John in a strange manner that Cristina couldn't understand.

"Yes, the gods, and that's just an example, wait.", Said Cristina before looking for another herb in front of her bag, while looking for another herb, two girls of the same age as John and Cristina were passing by the botany section before one of them spotted John and Cristina then told her friend to look too, Cristina brought the herb.

"Here it is, this is a-.", Said Cristina before she noticed the two girls looking at them while one of them was laughing calmly.

"Cristina? What happened?", Asked John.

"A-actually it's getting late, maybe we can call it a day f-for now.", Said Cristina in panic before she started gathering her things, John looked back and noticed the two girls, even one of them waved for him, these two are from the class.

"Wait! Is she afraid of getting seen sitting with me?", Thought John while the girls left, Cristina has already gathered her things.

"Thanks for the lunch, it was really good and fun to share with me." Said Cristina while standing up.

"Don't mention it, hey, listen, I don't want to put any pressure on you but you were going to complete explaining and actually I made good progress in the past hours more than the whole three weeks' lectures, so what happened suddenly?", Said John politely while standing up.

"Nothing, J-John, I really had fun while talking with you, b-but I really need to get going now.", Said Cristina while looking at the floor before walking away fast.

"Hey! Can we meet again?", Asked John, Cristina stopped and turned slowly.

"I-I will see about that soon.", Said Cristina.

"Fine, I'll wait for you, do you need company while going to your home?", Said John politely

"N-no, but thanks for your offer, it's not that l-late and I don't want to bother you.", Said Cristina before walking away, John looked at her walking away in a quizzical manner and looking around her in discomfort.

"I'm really not understanding her, I'm sure that she's not weird or mentally ill, she has some sort of social anxiety but she's not ill, I'm sure, after what just happened I'm even more excited to understand her more, and actually she's better than all of those professors in the academy.", Thought John.

The second day at the academy, John was sitting in the auditorium as usual while listening to the lecture, he was feeling better this time and was understanding things clearer than the recent lectures, the few hours he spent with Cristina actually paid off, now he understands a lot about the herbs used and isn't lost among the professor's scientific terms, all of that from a single meeting with her, what about a few more? He will master the alchemy in a short time, John looked at Cristina at the other side of the class, she was completely immersed in the lecture like always.

"But I still need to understand her more, she seems so sensitive and can panic easily, she may be afraid of dealing with nobles but why? I know that a lot of people don't like us but she didn't show any sign of hate, she's just avoiding contact with anybody that I even felt that she isn't used to having any friends.", Thought John while looking at Cristina before looking back at the professor who was finishing his lecture.

A few moments later, the professor was already out of the auditorium by now, Cristina was gathering her things before one of the girls behind called her.

"You shouldn't get close to Rascliffe, his father is a close friend to the minister at his kingdom Vidin, don't raise your hope commoner.", Said the girl behind Cristina who in turn turned to look at her to find the same two girls from yesterday, she remained silent.

"What? Can't talk? Oh I forgot how you stutter in every word you say.", Said the second girl before she and the girls close burst in laughter, Cristina just turned and stood up while gathering her books and leaving the auditorium in a hurry, John noticed her leaving and the girls laughing behind but he couldn't understand what was going on.

"Hey man.", Said Philip who came and sat beside John.

"Hey Philip, how're you doing?", Said John while looking to Philip.

"All is good, but I couldn't believe what I heard from the girls this morning.", Said Philip.

"You hear a lot from them as you hang out too much with them, not my life.", Said John smartly.

"Well looks like you're not that right, you were hanging out with that commoner named Cristina, didn't you?", Said Philip, John looked at him in a strange way.

"Commoner? Yeah, she's helping me with my studies, I've been struggling since I joined the academy this semester and she seemed smart and polite, not a weird one as you mentioned before.", Said John while looking upset.

"She's different than us, people like her shouldn't hang out with us, John, do you want the people saying that a noble like John Rascliffe is hanging out with a stuttering commoner that's afraid from her shadow and walks with her head in the ground because she knows that she's lower than us.", Said Philip.

"Stop this nonsense, Philip, she's just helping me, and you should better stop calling her commoner cause she's way more smarter than us.", Said John seriously.

"Just don't make her think she's on the same page as us, we're much better than people like her.", Said Philip seriously.

"And you should better tell your girlfriends to stop bothering her without any single reason or believe me I will deal with them just as they deserve, put her out of your mind and you won't even notice her presence.", Said John threateningly before standing up and leaving, he clearly knows now that this girls were picking up on her just because she was helping him and what's worse is that Cristina is a very timid person and she won't reply especially with people more powerful than her who can hurt her easily, that's what made John angry with them, Philip looked at him in anger, he's the typical arrogant noble that wants his noble community to be the best without any commoners in-between them, that's why he hated knowing that someone as John Rascliffe was hanging out with Cristina, that's not what he was brought up in.

At the end of the day, John was out of the academy, he noticed Cristina walking out of the gates too so he decided to approach her.

"Hey!", Called John, Cristina noticed him and stopped, she started looking around in worry.

"Y-you are talking to me?", Asked Cristina in hesitation while looking at John before looking at the ground, she was trying to avoid direct contact with him.

"I saw you and decided to thank you about yesterday since you left in a hurry, I'm actually feeling better because of you and I'm already waiting for our next meeting.", Said John politely, he noticed how clearly Cristina was avoiding him.

"Y-you are welcome, I-I will see what time is available for me soon, g-goodbye now.", Said Cristina in fear while walking away from John, she was hugging her books and looking at the ground while moving away.

John opened his mouth to call Cristina but decided to stop and leave her now.

"If she's afraid of getting seen with me because of those bi**** then I'll ask her in front of them, she must know that not all the nobles are bad people.", Thought John while looking at Cristina who walked away fast in her timid manner.

The next day in the auditorium, everything was usual and the current professor has already finished his lecture, John looked at Cristina at the other side, she was gathering her things again to walk out of the auditorium until the next professor comes in, he started feeling sorry for her, if he didn't ask her for help then she wouldn't be so tensioned between her colleagues just because she wasn't born a noble, but this ends now.

Cristina has finished gathering her books and stood up but just before she stepped out of her bench she found John in front of her which surprised her.

"How are you today?", Asked John politely, the girls around looked surprised especially the two behind Cristina who made fun of her before and the main reason she became more afraid from socializing with the people around, Philip on the male side noticed that John was standing in front of Cristina and she was tensioned.

"What're you doing John?", Thought Philip while looking dead serious.

"I-I'm fine, excuse me b-but I was going out for a bit.", Said Cristina in hesitation, John noticed that she was holding her books firmly over her chest and her grip was very tight, she was very nervous and avoiding looking at his eyes again, it was even harder for her as this time lots of eyes were focused on her so she decided to walk away but as she stepped aside John moved in the same direction to block the exit for her.

"I don't see any reason for you to wait outside alone, I'm sure that no one will dare to disturb you.", Said John before looking at the exact two girls.

"Right, girls? I think that Cristina is a very good woman that deserves better than this, don't you think?", Said John seriously, all girls close to them were surprised by this, John was looking very serious and it was a clear message that messing with her is missing with him and missing with him is missing with one of the most influential men across the continent, Alphonse Rascliffe, his influence is much higher than nearly all of the parents of the students in here.

"Good.", Said John after no one dared to talk with him before looking at Cristina.

"Sit down, Cristina, it's not fair for the smartest student in the class to leave like that.", Said John politely with a warm smile, Cristina looked at him before looking at the ground again while thinking nervously, she even started sweating from tension.

"Please, I'm sure you'll be more comfortable that way.", Said John politely, he was trying to decrease her fear and tension gradually, she looked at him again before nodding positively and sat back in her bench without talking, she glanced to her left side and saw several eyes fixed on her and John but all what mattered for her was the eyes fixed on her so she quickly looked back at her books nervously.

"Don't be nervous, I'm sure that everything is fine.", Said John politely, Cristina looked at him and nodded.

"F-fine, t-thank you.", Stuttered Cristina, her hands were shaking a bit from tension.

"By the way, I still need your help with the lectures, since no one around is smart as you which makes a lot of people useless then I got no one to save me except you, I'll be waiting for you at the library just like before, and I'm not taking no as an answer, Unless you're willing to leave a helpless man unaided.", Said John politely with a little joke and a smile while completely respecting Cristina's nature, she thought about it before nodding Shyly while looking to the side.

"Perfect, I'll see after the lectures end at the library, goodbye for now.", Said John politely.

"G-goodbye.", Said Cristina while looking at john and there was a faint smile on her face that John barely noticed, finally she smiled!

John didn't want to embarrass her so he walked back towards his bench, Cristina simply lowered her head and looked at her books and that's when a more visible smile appeared, for the first time in her life she felt like having a friend who unexpectedly is a noble!