Crystal Thornheart sat silently in the mission briefing room. Most of the single-day missions she dispatched had already returned. The only one she was still waiting for was the mission she had assigned to Adrienne, Merlin and Arthur… She leaned back in her chair, sighing to herself.

"What's taking those three so long? What could they have gotten themselves into…?", she muttered.

She leaned forward again, wondering if perhaps something bad may have happened. She also wondered if maybe they were just horsing around and were taking too long unnecessarily. In that case she would certainly need to scold them upon their return. Maybe even some punishment would be in order…

Her thoughts were interrupted when the door to the briefing room flew open. She looked up to see Adrienne, Merlin, and Arthur walking in! But they looked…disgusting… Merlin and Adrienne's robes were covered in dirt and had several tears and rips on them. Some segments of their clothes even looked…burned… "Just what in the world happened to them?!", she thought. Then there was Arthur… His armor was caked in a black substance that reeked… It took everything she had just to stomach the stench!

"Do…do I even want to know what happened to you three…?", she asked.

"It was a crazy day, Ms. C!", Arthur exclaimed.

"Yeah, you might want to have a word with Brittany Village about their mission requests…", Merlin added.

"We ended up fighting a wyvern…", Adrienne said, flatly.

"What?!", Crystal shouted. "A-and none of you are injured! But, why?! I just…"

Crystal took a moment to compose herself. Hearing that the young trio had fought a wyvern and walked away mostly unscathed rattled her. Moreover, she would definitely be having a word with the Village Elder of Brittany. Something like this never should've happened, nor could it be allowed to happen again.

"Well, we certainly have much to discuss then… This would also explain why you all look the way you do…", she said.

She looked at Arthur again, seeing the black substance that was covering his white armor, and then it hit her…

"Oh gods…", she muttered.

She started to gag as Arthur chuckled to himself.

"Yeah, I can't really smell it anymore!", he said.

"All three of you go and get cleaned up right now!", she commanded. "We'll continue after that!".

She sent the three of them away to go bathe. She sat back at the desk and wondered how they might have been able to defeat a wyvern in combat… "Perhaps I underestimated them… Maybe they can take on some more difficult missions…", she thought.

A short while later the three returned to the briefing room, clean and feeling refreshed.

"It was nice to get cleaned up, but I don't think that smell is ever coming out of my armor…", Arthur wined.

"We'll get some new armor for you, Arthur. And we'll have some new robes for you two tomorrow as well, Merlin and Adrienne", Crystal stated.

The three thanked her, and then sat down to recount what had happened on their mission…

Sometime later…

"Well, I must say I'm impressed!", Crystal said. "Even if it was still an adolescent, for you three to be able to take one down at your current ages and experience levels…and with no injuries at that!"

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"Thank you, Ms. Crystal!", Adrienne stated. "It was truly a team effort! Everyone did their part!"

"It certainly sounds that way!", Crystal replied. "Well then, to reward you all for your good work, why don't you all take tomorrow off. It's good to rest after a mission like this!"

Merlin, Adrienne, and Arthur all looked appreciative.

"Furthermore", she continued, "I'll be having a word with the Brittany Elder about this incident. It is partially my fault for not inquiring for further details, but they should have been more forward with what they were facing. There's also the issue of payment, the amount that was originally agreed upon is far too low for a mission that was this dangerous! Lastly, seeing as how you three have proven yourselves… I think for your next mission, I can give you something a little more difficult…"

"You really mean it!?, Arthur shouted.

"Calm down, Arthur!", Adrienne chastised as Merlin just laughed to himself. "We appreciate this, Ms. Crystal! We won't let you down!"

Crystal smiled, feeling proud of her young pupils. "I know you won't! Now then, you three can get out of here. Take it easy tonight and tomorrow! I'll have something big for your next mission!"

Later that night…

Merlin sat in his room replaying the day's events in his head. They had really taken on a wyvern, albeit an adolescent one, and not only lived to speak about it, but they had also vanquished the beast…

"Perhaps there will be promotions for me and Arthur", he thought to himself. For mages and spellknights as young and inexperienced as themselves to have achieved such a thing, at the very least Crystal had promised to send them on a more important mission…

Not quite ready to sleep, Merlin stepped onto the balcony that connected his and Adrienne's rooms. It was a place where they would frequently meet and talk with each other until late into the night, but they had made no plans to do so this night. Even so, when he walked onto the balcony, Merlin looked to the other side and saw Adrienne sitting there, looking up into the night sky. Her long black hair gently blowing in the breeze with the moonlight reflecting off of her dark skin. Dressed in a nightgown she seemed ready for bed, yet here she was. Merlin couldn't help but stare. He had always considered Adrienne attractive, but recently he had been noticing her more and more… Finally, after a few seconds she noticed his presence. She turned and her eyes softened…

"Good evening, Merlin", she said, softly.

"H-hey Adrienne", he replied, embarrassed that she had caught him staring at her.

"What brings you out here at this hour?", she asked.

"I just wasn't ready to sleep yet. It was a bit of a crazy day, wasn't it?", he replied.

Adrienne chuckled. "It was indeed that!" She then looked to the ground and after a few seconds looked back up at Merlin. "Won't you sit with me for a few minutes?", she asked.

Merlin sat in a chair next to Adrienne and the two of them looked up into the clear night sky, the gentle breeze still blowing.

"So peaceful!", Merlin thought to himself, when Adrienne spoke up… "Merlin…I…wanted to say thank you…"

He looked over at her, confused. "Umm, what for exactly??"

She looked back at him, earnestly. Her red eyes staring directly into his.

"For saving my life", she responded.

"I…did?", he said, puzzled.

Adrienne chuckled for a moment and the smiled at him. "You did", she said. "When I had given up against the wyvern, when it was about to kill me, you pushed me out of the way."

Merlin thought for a moment and then remembered he had tackled her to the ground just as the wyvern unleashed its flames. "Oh yeah, I remember now! But to be honest, I didn't really think about it, I just…kinda moved…"

"The fact that you didn't even need to think about it… You've never hesitated to jump into action when someone needed help. I've always admired that about you", she replied.

Merlin couldn't help himself from getting a bit flustered at her words. "O-oh y-yeah?! Well to be honest, I wanted to give up from the moment I realized what we were dealing with. Seeing you take charge and face that thing head on…you're the only reason I kept going."

Adrienne briefly expressed some surprise at Merlin's statement, but then a sly smile crept across her face… "Is that so?? In that case, maybe we should agree to stick together then… You know, to survive…something like that…"

"Sounds good to me!", he replied, nonchalantly.

Adrienne flinched back slightly as her ears perked up. She could feel her face heating up. So much so that Merlin could see the red on her dark skin…

"Something wrong?", he asked, "You're looking pretty red."

She scowled a bit, seemingly irritated with Merlin's obliviousness. "How are you so dense…actually, never mind! I've decided I'm going to bed! Goodnight!"

She puffed as she stood and started to walk back inside.

"Goodnight, Adrienne! Sleep well!"

"Hmph!"

With that, Merlin decided that he should probably get to bed himself. It may have been a hectic day, but at least he would have tomorrow to relax and recharge! He entered back into his room, lay down, and drifted off the sleep…