As the early morning rose, I felt the comforting embrace leave me. My eyes fluttered and opened to Lukia, who gently folded my cloak and placed it on a chair. Her expression was tired but free of stress. I sat up and leaned over the bed. Lukia noticed me awake and covered her chest as she spoke.

"Thank you... Thank you for letting me stay here for the night. It helped a lot, really. You're a very kind person, Caleb." The blush in her cheeks was out of embarrassment and timidness. She was nearly naked with me through the whole night. There was no question my body was pressed against her own in full function. I kept my legs crossed and cleared my throat.

"Lukia...I-" Her gentle hand pressed against my mouth and hushed me. A soft smile appeared on her face while she stared into my eyes.

"Say no more. I'm grateful. Tia is going to be a lucky girl when she has you. I'm a bit envious, but what you did for me, I have no right to mess it up." The soft expression stays as she turns to leave. Reflexes kick in with my hand reaching forward to grasp hers...

"Sorry... Did I say something in my sleep?" Lukia gently pries my fingers away and, looks at me, and giggles.

Exhaling a deep breath, she speaks. "You said plenty. I shall respect her for your sake. You should be mad at me, but I guess you're still quite young. Marrying a young noble is what all the pretty girls dream of, right? Well, maybe not as young as you, but having much more than you've ever had sounds scary. Don't mind me... Just messing with my feelings, is all. Sometimes I forget that you are still growing into an adult."

"We are meant to wed when I turn of age for marriage. I've never thought about romance or marrying someone for a while. What almost happened last night-"

"Didn't happen. Just two companions sleeping next to each other, supporting each other, caring for each other. Nothing more, as much as I think we should forget it... I certainly will remember for better or worse."

"Gale's an idiot."

"Yes, he very much is. But I have no right to push into his personal matters unless he wants me to. Which I fear isn't his priority for some time. In a way, I admire him more because of it. I'm horrible for betraying what I felt all this time. So much so." As she continued to speak, I started to shift into my clothes and equip my gear.

"Like you said before... If things were different... Maybe it would have been destined. However, I respect what we are, I didn't realize it until it nearly happened what I was feeling. Part of it was my own fault for even feeling that way. Emotions and growing up isn't easy for anyone."

"You got that right, Caleb. I'm still pretty young... Maybe in time, Gale might recognize me. I shouldn't get my hopes up, don't you agree?" A sad smile across her face leaves me a little twisted inside. Words jumbled in my mind, but I couldn't leave her hopeless about her future.

"My father, as honorable as he was, still loved more than one woman in his life. Of course, he stayed with his wife, but that didn't stop him from getting to know my mother while his first wife was alive. I don't know what he saw in my mother that made him fall for her, but he was happy with his choices. I don't know if I feel the same as he did, but what do I know..."

Soft hands cup my cheeks. Lukia gently kisses my nose and lets out a cute laugh. My cheeks blush slightly at the sudden gesture. Rubbing my cheeks with her fingers, her lips kiss my forehead, and she hugs me tightly. "Don't start with me! Toying with me like that and trying to make it hopeful is truly evil. You are going to pay for that!" I begin to laugh as she teases me. I try to tease her back, but she stops for a moment to say a few more words. "I'll be the judge of that when you finally marry Tia and live your life with her. Hopefully, you'll forget about that and don't break her heart."

"Y-yes..."

"Good. But, if it doesn't work out with her... You know where to find me, cutie." With a playful tone, she leaves my room with a wink. Having the last laugh in the conversation, I can't help but scoff at her. She wasn't toying with me when she said that. A part of her probably hopes that this feeling she has will fade to save our companionship, but the other part of her is still a young woman who wants to have a relationship with someone who could take care of her and give her what she wants from someone.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The next ten minutes I spent fighting these thoughts in my head. Telling myself to be careful in the future since now I am "heavily" aware of my emotions and what that can do to me in the future. For now, I had to join up with everyone so we could set off for the mountain trail that would take us all the way to Barou on the other side. Gale stated it could very well take a full month with horses to navigate those steep cliffs and paths. We were to gather supplies for the journey and head off in a few hours. Herk and Yann would take care of provisions while Gale and I purchased mountain gear for safer travel. Leaving my room, I head down to the tavern, where Gale is waiting by the door for me.

"Have a fun night?" I froze. His wide grin caused my eye to twitch in frustration. Of course, he knew of my encounter and long night with Lukia because he didn't open his door to her.

"Not a word. You owe me big time." I walk out of the tavern, leaving him there. Gale soon follows and laughs.

"That was the bet. Besides, I've seen the way you guys look at each other. I mean, no offense, but clearly, you are way out of her league. I mean, I've heard stories of nobles as young as ten getting married to young men and women, but of course, there are times when one of the people is in the hundreds and the other is barely twenty."

"I know this country and many others don't see that as an issue when it comes to political and nobility pairings. It's all planned, and the houses I know whose children have been in those don't really spend time with their betrothed until they are well into their thirties. That's beside the point."

"Are you sure? I could have sworn-"

"I'm engaged already."

"What? You're what?!" Gale was dumbfounded.

"You heard me. I thought I mentioned to you before that I my father arranged something for me already." A vein formed on my head out of frustration with Gale.

"Sure, I thought as a joke! I was half drunk at that time, too, I think. How would I know if you were serious?!"

"It's whatever, you know now!"

"Look, I'm sorry! I thought maybe if you were going to stick with us, I figured if some of us had a happy future together, I would do the right thing and make it happen. Didn't realize you didn't feel that way, honest." I stopped walking. Gale blinked with his eye and questioned why I stopped. Taking one step forward, he saw the embarrassment on my face trying to hide my real emotions about the matter.

Gale twisted his face into a vile smile and wrapped his arm around my neck to lean close to my ear to tease me. "Oh...! So, that's how it is. You do fancy her. Look at little Caleb being naughty. I didn't think you had it in you to be scandalous!"

"N-Not so loud! A-And we aren't going to be a thing. This already is awkward enough as it is being in the same party."

"There's nothing wrong with it. If something did happen, could you tell your betrothed about your mistress Lukia?"

"Lukia isn't like that. She wouldn't just try to mess up what I already have. Besides... I don't know what Tia might think... I wouldn't want to know... Her wrath would be unimaginable..." Gloom loomed over me at the sudden thought of Tia knowing about this. Anxiety poured into my stomach just imagining her being furious.

"If that is what you wish, I won't tease you too much about it. Let's grab the gear and get back with the others before it gets too late." Dragging me along, having to see his stupid grin was not how I wanted to spend the morning but here we were.

Thankfully it didn't take long before we got the gear from the general store. Paying out of our funds, we still had roughly half left over. Rys didn't charge us for treating us, so we had more than enough to buy any provisions we desperately needed for our journey.

When we returned back to the tavern, where everyone was waiting for us, I nearly stumbled over myself at the sight of Lukia. Gale caught my arm and looked to see her as well. With a slight chuckle under his breath, a few simple words rang out. "Are you sure you want to leave that behind now?"

Before me, Lukia turned her attention toward us. It had been a little more than an hour since I had seen her, but at that time, I almost didn't recognize her. Her hair barely went past her neck, unlike the ponytail she usually would hold her hair in. The long, luscious hair was no longer visible, but what remained was a more refined version of the woman who spent the night in my bed with me in it.

Freshly washed up and clean was an entirely new Lukia. The sternness of her face was defined in a warm glow. She wore a deep blue cloak and a light brown leather vest for armor. The white shirt underneath had a light green scarf tied around at the base of her neck. She was fitted for the coming change in weather but also for any encounters we might face.

Standing before me was Lukia, reborn from the ashes of what she once was. I was left speechless and quickly hurried to my horse, giving the gear to Ivian and Herk to place on theirs. I looked to Lukia, who continued to set her saddle on her horse and turned to look at me. I tried to avoid her gaze, but she smiled and spoke.

"I'm counting on you to watch my back up there, Caleb. I'll do the same for you. Let's do our best for the party." Approaching me with her hand out, I looked into her eyes. They were filled with purpose and life. I couldn't help but shyly smile and reach out. Taking my hand, she pulled me close and hugged me while whispering into my ear. "I won't let you down."

Lukia pulls away and winks. Her confidence and personality had completely evolved. I felt my anxiety leave my body, freeing up any of the stress within me. Given the current circumstances, I wasn't ashamed of everything. Gale rounded us together and we left the town to ride for the mountains. It would take us less than a week before we reached the base. Until then, we continued forward...