(Asher)

Safreya had spent the last two weeks diligently studying for the scholar’s tournament. Mallea had worked on her crafting skills and read up on magical materials day and night for the crafter’s tournament. Asher, Kylie, Iliastyr, and Vladimir had been training their minds and bodies for the warrior’s tournament.

Asher and Kylie had scheduled a private training session later that night. For the time being, however, Asher was alone with his roommate for the first time since the game of confessions.

“Your real form is a lot tinier than your human disguise,” Asher teased. “I’d bet you’re, what, a head shorter than Mal?”

Iliastyr’s kaleidoscope skin didn’t redden, but Asher could feel the embarrassment regardless. “Why should that matter?! You’re a good bit taller than Kylie, you know…” The faellarin responded, standing as upright as he could.

Asher’s chuckles deflated the arrogant Iliastyr as the Setric boy put his arm around the faellarin's shoulder. “True enough. You always know how to make a human’s perspective look silly, Iliastyr.”

“Speaking of Kylie… is today the day?”

Now it was Asher’s turn to be embarrassed. He and Kylie still hadn’t discussed their confessions from the other night. There was complete silence between the two after they'd admitted they were each other's first loves.

“Yeah. Is it odd that I’m more nervous about that than the tournament?” Asher said, rubbing his neck anxiously.

Iliastyr’s wings fluttered him over to Asher. The faellarin pressed his head against Asher’s, calming the human boy. “You’ll be fine. The protagonist’s best friend usually ends up with the girl of his dreams,” Iliastyr said. “In comedies, anyway.”

“Well, let’s hope this isn’t a tragedy,” Asher replied with a wide grin. “By the way, you are, too… Iliastyr. My best friend.”

“Not Kylie?” the faellarin said with a jealous undertone.

Asher shook his head. "Hopefully, after today, she’ll be something more... Yeah. Hopefully.”

Iliastyr sent Asher on his way with a supportive slap on the back. As Asher jogged past the cobblestone streets on his way to the archer’s guild, he couldn’t help but notice a elderly vendor selling flowers. Asher paid for a single rose before moving on to the Archer's guild.

Kylie sat cross-legged in a meditative stance facing away from the door, her long hair down against her back. Without ever being asked, Asher sat behind Kylie and started braiding her hair. He layered strands over the back of her head one by one to make a crown-like braid. Once the braid was finished, he carefully slid the rose into Kylie’s hair.

“A little more decorative than practical, don’t you think?” Kylie asked, her fingers prancing around Asher’s handiwork. “Still, it feels beautiful. Thank you.”

“Kylie, about the other night,” Asher started. Then, in a flash, he found himself deflecting one of Kylie’s chakrams with his blade.

The two danced around one another, lashing and dodging one another’s movements. Ducking under Asher's blade, Kylie kneed the defenseless young man in the chest and toppled him over. The Novadancer pressed her boot onto Asher, ensuring he was down.

”We can talk about that later,” Kylie said, her chakram returning to her hand. “For now, we train.”

They trained for hours, just as Kylie had desired. The childhood friends wore themselves down into sweaty heaps on the training room floor, gasping for air until sunlight stopped entering from the windows. Illuminated by two small lanterns, Kylie and Asher stumbled to rise once more. Kylie reached for Asher’s rose, checking to make sure it was still there. Despite the rest of her exhausted, disheveled appearance, the rose and braid remained intact.

Kylie shook her head, collapsing onto a metal bench in the Blade Guild’s practice room. Reaching to the side of the bench, Kylie undid a canister filled with water and held it to her lips. Asher did the same and chugged down a revitalizing gulp of paradise.

“That was good, but you won’t be beating any blue rankers with that ordinary sword. I hope Mallea finishes your magic weapon before the tournament,” Kylie said, spinning her chakrams on her finger.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Mallea had promised to make a suitable magic weapon for Asher during her training. The Blacksmith’s Guild was supplying low-level ferrious, an arcane isotope of iron, for any young guild members as long as they paid back the price of materials. However, Mallea wasn’t satisfied with giving Asher a weapon of such a mediocre substance. She wanted to give her friend a showstopper, to quote Iliastyr, but she was running out of time.

“She’ll come up with something amazing,” Asher replied. “I believe in her.”

“You should. She's a good friend... Well, I think fifty-eight rounds might be enough,” said Kylie, wiping sweat from her brow, ”so I guess it’s time to talk.”

Asher curled up into a ball on the bench, hiding his face behind his legs. I was her first love. I know that now. Asher wondered. But does she still feel that way? That’s the question I’m too afraid to ask. We were inseparable since birth. Neither of us knew if we'd survive the two years apart. But we're both warriors. We needed to know that we would be able to live without the other if something happened. Which is why my first question should be...

“So, how were the two years without me?” Asher asked.

“To be honest? I thought they'd be horrible. Originally, I was just counting the days until you were selected and joined me,” Kylie said. “But surprisingly, things turned out... really good. My dancing shows sell out, I made a fast friend in Iliastyr, and our band is pretty popular. I’ve even had little girls come up to me, aspiring warriors and bards alike, and tell me they want to be like me.”

“I always knew you’d be a bigshot when you left Mazgrove,” Asher said. “Novadancer.”

“Such an embarrassing title,” Kylie giggled. “You earned a little nickname yourself. Some archer girls from Arukan called you Wulashasa the other day. Apparently, it means ‘boy like the sun.’”

“Am I really so radiant?” Asher said with a chuckle.

Kylie got up from her own bench and strode toward Asher’s. The Novadancer reclined next to Asher and reached for her hair, pulling Asher's rose out. Kylie slide the rose into Asher's hands and placed her calloused fingertips over his.

“You really are,” she replied, eyes wider and more helpless than a wild doe facing a barreling carriage. “That’s why I first fell for you.”

Asher blinked. Then blinked again. He was almost sure that he was asleep. If he was, it was a dream that he didn't care to wake up from. “If I tried to describe why I first fell for you... well, we’d be here all night,” he half-joked.

“So, Asher…,” Kylie said, her eyes darting away. “How were your two years without me?”

“Good, I think.” Asher pondered. They had been good; there was no doubt about that. Just not as great as his days with Kylie. “I spent most of it caring for Ashleigh and Clovis and providing for my family. I even taught them to dance, just like you taught me.”

“Are you still any good?” Kylie asked, holding her hand out to Asher.

Asher helped Kylie from the bench and quickly clasped his fingers around hers. He put his hands around her waist and began to lead, repeating the same steps she’d taught him many years ago. It felt like we’d teach each other something new every day, Asher thought. New skills in the arts, interesting scholarly facts, lessons in battle... Kylie, I’d be half of who I am now without you. I'm not sure how I lived two years without you. But I found out that I can, and that's important.

“Yeah, you’re still pretty good,” Kylie laughed, gracefully flying through the air as Asher lifted her.

Asher dipped the landing Kylie before pulling her back into their dance with an elastic-like motion. The longer his hands spent on her waist, the more he felt like he would combust. I obviously still love her, Asher thought, so why can’t I say so?

“Do you think those two years apart were good for us?” Asher said, trying to lean into what he wanted to say. “I missed you like crazy, but…”

“I know what you mean,” Kylie said. “We were starting to get a little codependent there towards the end.”

“Right. I learned that I don’t need you to survive,” Asher said, “I think that's important. Since now I know that I don't need you, it’s easier to say how much I want you.”

The great Novadancer tripped over her feet for the first time in her dancing career. Kylie tumbled directly into Asher's arms and, looking up at him, took a deep sigh.

"Prepare a girl before you say something like that," Kylie pouted. "But... yeah. Growing up, I felt like I could hardly breathe without you. But I'm my own woman now. The Novadancer. Still, for two years… I’d close my eyes and pretend all my dancing partners were you. I’d envision you in the closest empty seat of every concert hall. I imagined your hand guiding mine with every arrow I shot,” Kylie’s said, her eyes glossing over. “I don't need you. I can live without you. I just… don’t want to.”

Asher placed his hand on Kylie’s cheek, and she put her own hand over his. Kylie leaned back into one final dip as their dance concluded with eyes closed and lips pressed gently. After sixteen years together, it took two years apart for Asher and Kylie to have what they'd waited so long for.