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After a very long day of duties and work at the knights of Favonius building, Noelle goes to the library, mainly for cleaning and maybe a little bit of reading. The girl expects to see all the lights off since it's past midnight already, but by her surprise, she's welcomed by the warm light provided by the lamps on the walls of the big library, she went downstairs with caution only to see a very familiar brown-haired woman sitting on the reception desk, the mage looked at her with a smile on her lips and closed her book and left it on the bookshelf behind her. It was like she was waiting for Noelle to arrive.
—Miss Lisa?—asked the maid with confusion, she wondered what Lisa was doing at this hour.
—Noelle! You came more late than usual, come here.
The girl obeyed while apologizing for the late hours, she had been especially busy that week since the windblume festival was getting closer and closer and as always, Noelle wanted it to be perfect for everyone. Lisa let out a little chuckle when she heard Noelle's involuntary sigh when she sat on the chair, getting behind the girl with an idea in mind.
—Miss Lisa, what are you doing here so late at night? I thought the library closed at 9 pm so I came to clean, did I miss an announcement or...?— Noelle wanted to stand up but Lisa pushed her down gently.
—Sweetheart, you remind me of Jean of how hard you work sometimes, maybe you need a little break, have you been sleeping well these days? —asked the woman with a worried tone while massaging the maid's shoulders softly.
—Oh! It's an honor to be compared to the Acting Grand Master... but I need to get to work, we mustn't let the books get dirty!
Noelle got up with determination, but it was too fast because she lost the equilibrium in an instant. Lisa helped her to sit again.
—The books are not going to run away honey, you can do it in the morning but now, you need to relax. —and to Lisa's surprise, the Favonius maid didn't protest at all. "I wasn't going to let her clean now anyways" Lisa thought while brushing the girl's hair with her fingers, it was longer than usual.
—I haven't got the time to cut it... —Noelle talked after a few seconds with a soft tone in her voice.
—It looks splendid on you! Have you tried other hairstyles? —Lisa asked, undoing the braids.
—No... lately I don't have time for myself...—the girl responded and Lisa smiled at that unusual honesty.
—Let's try a new one now then.
The librarian started to twirl Noelle's hair calmly, it was always so straight that even Lisa wondered how it would look. The girl just closed her eyes, also curious about how she will look afterward. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, interrupted by occasional soft chuckles provoked by Lisa and her electro power causing little tickles on Noelle's neck, the hair session was done, the mage loosened the rose hairband on her hair and put it on Noelle's, putting a little hand mirror on her hands for her to admire the final results.
—Is it to your liking? —she asked, confident watching the sparks on the girl's eyes, who was turning carefully as if she was scared to ruin the hair.
—I- I was... I- yes! —she touched the purple rose on her hair now. "It's just like Miss Lisa's haircut!" she thought, feeling kinda bad since she didn't want to steal it from her, actually she didn't want to steal from anyone so-
—I know what you're thinking sweetie, I can see the trouble in your eyes... It doesn't bother me at all! It looks so much better on a juvenile girl like you than on a grown woman like me.
—Oh Miss Lisa, don't say that! You have a very long life ahead of you!
Lisa just looked at her with a sweet look in her eyes.
They talked about their visions, studies, and the future. Lisa admired Noelle's determination and perseverance and was looking forward to her ceremony to officially be a Knight. She was a little worried though, the girl overworked too much and she never let herself have a break.
The clock marked 2 am and Noelle left the library with a more refreshed look on her face, Lisa stood up alone for a few seconds after making a decision, one last pupil will be educated under the knowledge of the Witch of purple rose before she has to part ways sooner than expected, teaching the importance of longevity, elemental magic and most importantly, self-care.
She walked to look for Noelle on the window watching her walk away to her home. Then she looked at the stars in the sky, wondering if her actions were enough to one day be in some history book as the Witch of Purple Rose doomed by wisdom and forced to give up the longevity she longed for.
The idea made her smile a little.