Wherever he looked, Faust found himself baffled by the building complex they would stay in for the next months.

When he looked around, he was surprised not to find any stairs. The street went up at a steep angle through a large iron door that marked the entrance to the pier. There was what looked like a living house within the building complex.

The others had put the horses into the small stables already. Faust ran his fingers through his hair and looked at what looked like the living house. It had a balcony on the second story.

When he was about to divert his gaze, the door on the balcony opened and Leona hurried out excitedly, leaning over the artful balustrade decorating the structure. She opened her long, blonde hair and let it flow over her shoulders as she looked down at Faust excitedly. He hadn’t seen her like this in… he couldn’t even remember when the last time was.

“Faust! You have to see this! Our room is… awesome!” she beamed.

Faust stopped in his tracks and his face froze.

“Our room?” he asked dumbly which earned him a sweet laugh.

“Yes stupid. Our room. We’re a couple, remember?”

He scratched his head and laughed at himself while smiling up at her.

“Now that’s music to my ears!”

He hurried into the house. The floor was made of beautiful, dark wood, that was a beautiful contrast to the white walls. To his left, he saw a kitchen and dining room. To his right a living room and library. It was mostly empty.

‘No wonder. We have only just arrived. The Tide would not leave anything behind for sure.’ He chuckled before he walked up the stairs to the second floor. There was a total of 2 doors. On the right Aquila leaned in the doorframe which was decorated with lavish carvings.

He had his arms crossed in front of his chest and looked at the arriving Faust with an amused smirk.

“Hey bud, your girlfriend is a bit overly excited about sharing a room with you I fear. You should know that I am jealous. My roommate isn't even remotely as beautiful as yours.” He cackled and from inside the room Faust could hear Cassius cursing.

“Ye are just unable to appreciate true beauty when you see it!”

Aquila and Faust both broke into a laugh. Faust looked into the room and saw Cassius adjusting some of the furniture. Faust could not make out what the fat man’s goal was, but Faust knew exactly how he could get Cassius into a spot.

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“You saying my fiancée is ugly?” Faust asked with an angry facial expression. Aquila had trouble not to piss himself from laughter when he saw Cassius’ face when the usually so articulate comrade of theirs did not know what to say. When he saw Faust and Aquila laugh a dry facial expression crept onto his face.

“Go fuck off you two.” He turned back to making micro-adjustments to the furniture placement.

Faust chuckled and turned to Aquila.

“Well, I will leave you lovebirds to it, I will see to my future wife…” he smirked at Aquila who sighed.

“Sometimes I am envious of your luck.”

“No luck, just natural beauty and charm. Find your own princess to rescue.” Faust showed his tongue to Aquila and turned on his heel. When he opened the door to his room he could hear Aquila groan quietly.

“If I had known you were this compulsively orderly I would have asked to live in the prison cells.”

“Oh shut up. We both know that the ratio of the distances between beds, cupboards, and table is not accurate. It is off by at least 5 centimeters. Even an unorderly oaf like you should recognize this!” Cassius retorted.

‘I am so glad Leona isn’t like that.’ He sighed before opening the door to their room.

It was a generously large room. It had a bed big enough for a couple with a beautiful canopy. The woodwork was just as beautiful as the rest of the house. There was a table, a chimney, and two closets as well as a few chests.

And somehow Leona had already managed to make a mess of their room.

‘She has taken off her armor and just threw it to the ground? The cloak on the table? The bed disorderly?’ he had to smirk a little before removing his cloak and the armor. Light came into the house through two beautiful, colored glass windows. He couldn’t see through them, but they let in a lot of light.

Lastly, he saw a door.

‘That must lead to the balcony.’ He mused as he threw off his mailshirt.

‘Finally rid of the heavy thing.’

Faust grimaced and loosened his shoulders which had gotten stiff from wearing the mail all day. Surprisingly his body recovered within less than a minute and he felt as if he had never worn the armor in the first place.

‘This body is truly a miracle…’ he smiled and couldn’t wait to train. Yet one thought didn’t leave his mind.

‘Everything be damned. The urge to take a swim is too big. Even in that fucking canal which isn’t exactly a beautiful lake, but the sea… has such an appeal… it's almost unnatural.’ He stopped in his tracks, on the way to the balcony door that was wide open.

‘What if… what if the changes to my body are associated with the sea specifically? That would explain the longing and the excitement fresh water couldn’t give me.’ His eyes sparkled. He discarded the thought for now.

‘I will enjoy this moment with Leona. I owe her that much.’ In his gambeson he stepped out onto the balcony where Leona stood, hair blown about by the wind the sunset basked her figure in a beautiful orange light, that amplified her beauty to the unimaginable to Faust.

Her smile entranced him because he knew who it was meant for. He could overlook the small harbor from the balcony and he felt strangely at peace. He knew why they had come here, but the city had already cast its beautiful spell on the couple.

They embraced each other softly before looking at the harbor beneath them.

“I think… I might not want to leave again.” Leona admitted quietly and Faust laughed softly.

“Maybe.” He smiled, but inwardly he had his doubts.

‘Let us see the dark side of the city first…’