It Takes Two To Tango

"Magic?"

"Magic!"

Drill Instructor Maid Tanya Degurechaff was, in many ways, Katarina's worst nightmare in a variety of ways. Despite them being the same age, she was many times more advanced in just about every topic that was relevant when it came to schooling.

All topics... but one.

Because Katarina's personal handmaid, her second, her assistant in most matters, and most important of all, her teacher and tutor... had never studied magic. She had never even thought she might possibly be able to use magic. In her own words, she had been born a commoner, and thought herself as mundane as they came. 

To think she had quite literally not found out about her magic for so long, for all her life, for no other reason than just because she'd never tried it out. 

"It's too different to what I'm used to," Tanya said, a protest in her voice, barely quivering at all. "How was I supposed to know I could just... will it to happen?"

"How else would magic work?" Katarina responded, walking ahead of her maid, raising her finger. "Even for me," she explained, gesturing with her wrist, power made manifest, the immense power of her heritage exploding forth and putting on display all her talent and skill, creating a five centimeter tall bump on the soil by the side of the stone paved road that lead to the gardener's shed.

Katarina looked at it with pride. She'd improved her magic immensely, and had discovered that by using a combination of magic and a hoe, she could till the ground very efficiently and effectively, since her magic, while not showy or impressive, had a side effect of loosening up the soil wherever she used it.

The memory of Tanya suggesting it might be of use for her farming actually brought her mind back to the present. "See? I just put my mind to it, and then it happens!"

"That only gives me more questions," Tanya moaned out loud, raising a hand of her own and creating a sphere of light. "It does not appear to have the same properties as the light that Miss Campbell creates."

That much was true. Tanya could not heal. Maria's light magic was a little bit more versatile, and it gave her abilities Tanya did not have. Maria could see Dark Magic, while Tanya could not.

On the other hand, based on their tests, Maria's magic was not exactly an offensive powerhouse, whereas Tanya's attacks started at extremely lethal and scaled up into big badabooms. Also was a lot brighter, so it was very good at illuminating dark areas.

"Maybe Light Magic isn't really the same across users?" Katarina posited.

Then again, Maria was a sweet, caring, kind and lovely girl, it was very easy to believe that her magic had the exact same offensive firepower as Tanya's, she just didn't have the right heart and mindset to use it. Meanwhile, Tanya, with the heart full of anger that she carried, no doubt a byproduct of her tragic and sad backstory, was able to channel it into strong destructive power...

Ah, if only Katarina could have Maria heal Tanya's wounded heart like she did the black hearted sadistic prince's-

Wait.

"Wait wait wait, I totally could do that!" Katarina muttered. "It's probably a secret route..." she muttered.

"My lady, what are you muttering to yourself over there?" Tanya asked. "Ah, we're here."

Indeed, they were at Katarina's... garden. More fields than a garden really. Years of work, training, studying, researching and an assortment of other ings had lead Katarina to have one of the most well cared for and well developed fields one could find in the whole wide world! Too bad they were only really small enough to provide a couple of snacks every once in a while, delicious though they might be.

"Right!" Katarina said. "So I was thinking," she said, "what is your opinion of Maria?" she asked. She was already in her gardening work clothes. Tanya wore a regular maid dress, naturally, but the fact that they'd be out gardening today was made clear to anyone who looked at the maid's feet, or the fact that she carried a pair of heavy duty work gloves in her apron pocket.

"Of Miss Campbell?" Tanya asked. "I suppose she is a fine enough woman," she explained. "Though she is not of noble birth, her achievements and status speak for themselves. She is intelligent and diligent, and I do sorely wish that my mistress had Maria's dedication for academic pursuits."

Katarina pretended not to flinch, but at least, she was starting off on the right foot! Tanya clearly thought quite highly of Maria, as was to be expected from the Heroine, naturally. She had a natural charm that made people like her at first glance, and it was only the original Katarina's evil that made it impossible for the two to be friends. Best friends!

"So!" she said, "since she's smart and she's very good, maybe you should ask her for help regarding your magic studying?"

Katarina looked expectantly at her maid, even as she tied the bandana that would keep her hair away from her face, clueless as to what was going on within her maid's head. Anticipation filled Katarina.

And as for the other end of the conversation, as for what lay beneath the ever impassive and stern visage of the Demon Maid...

There was turmoil within.

I, Tanya Degurechaff, servant of a noble household, should not have magic at all. I am a commoner, I really should not have this power. I thought I didn't. Being X had not showed itself, not even once, since I arrived within this world. I had achieved too much success before, and my power had been stripped from me. I had thought this to be the case, but in reality...

In reality I had been trying to use magic that was incompatible with this world's common sense.

By sheer coincidence, pure chance, I had found that I could cast Light elemental Magic. A coveted prize among the nobility, although with the help of the Claes household my power had been kept under wraps. Not like I could do much with it, in contrast to Miss Campbell, I can essentially just reproduce the spells I was taught as an Aerial Mage.

Not much use for magic that reproduces the effect of combat drugs or bombardment magic in a maid's day to day life, and I do not wish to once more thrust myself into the flames of war.

But still...

I am actually at a loss on how to proceed in this encounter. I fear I might be walking into a terrible minefield.

After all...

My lady Katarina Claes might be the daughter of a Duke, a future princess by marriage, a farmer by vocation and a leader of people by talent, but at the end of the day, she is still a young girl. A young girl with all the trappings of one. 

Kind, caring and gentle as she was, Katarina was... still a young girl in the end.

And that meant that the wrong answer here could hurt her feelings. And hurt them pretty badly. It was obvious to anyone who looked at her that Katarina thought the world of her friends, but even more so than most, Katarina thought the world of Maria Campbell.

Most thought it just a girl's adoration for a friend.

I'm not so foolish. I can see quite evidently that my lady struggles with her attraction to the same gender. I can understand the problems inherent in such a thing, in this society. The Kingdom of Sorcier did not look fondly upon such things, although my lady had an advantage over most.

Her future husbad would surely overlook indiscretions, and most would assume that if my lady invited a woman to spend time with her from time to time, it would surely be an act of friendship between two women.

I was prepared to support them, of course.

But there was another issue. Would my lady get offended if I rejected her offer for help? Maria Campbell was sure to be of much help when it came to the use and manipulation of light magic, and may well be my best choice. The element was rare to begin with, and practitioners with the level of power and control Maria Campbell displayed?

There was only one, and it was Maria herself.

However... however..!

Currently, it had been decided that the one who would help me develop and train my magic would be Katarina herself. Rather than hire a tutor for me, Katarina had been chosen to do it by her parents for no other reason than because it was something that was to be kept completely secret.

And more importantly... Katarina had jumped on it.

"I..." 

There was a moment of silence between us.

"I would prefer to continue our current arrangement, my lady," I said, trying to maintain a calm and level tone.

She seemed surprised, but gave me a smile.

Alright..! Minefield avoided! I feared for a moment that this was a trap. I had to make sure not to accidentally insult Maria, but at the same time, it was obvious that my lessons were important to my lady, probably because it was one of the few times in which she could feel like my superior.

"Alright, I guess, if you want," she said, trying to feign disinterest, though it seemed like she was very proud of herself.

I tried not to smile, as we set about farming.

As long as we could continue to move in the same direction, at the same time, I would manage to keep my lady safe, happy and my future secure.

Speaking about which, I looked at the sky, and gauged the time from the sun's position in the sky. "We don't have much longer, my lady, let us water the fields quickly so we may get to your dancing lessons."

Indeed.

A metaphor. We'll continue to dance towards the future, in perfect step with each other. They say it takes two to tango, and I'll make sure that I'm the first partner my lady thinks of.