I made a promise and I kept it. The next day, at noon, I took Deotra to the market for our date.

The Silken Rivers were the biggest open air market in Blossom City, the place where the differing cultures that made up Kierhai’s population blended together to make a melting pot of sights and sounds that dazzled and amazed the senses. I had never been even when I had last been in Blossom City; now I was being guided through by someone who knew its ins and outs.

Deotra clung to my arm, almost pulling me along with her excited pace. I don’t need emotional transference to see how happy she is. This has been a long time coming for her. Today’s her special day and I intend to make sure it’s as memorable as it can be. As we passed under the red archway into the market, we plunged into the midst of a crowd full of people going this way and that, yet she wove through them like a snake through tall grass.

She hadn’t been able to sit still all morning. After inspecting my arm to ensure I didn’t have any lasting issues with it, she made sure Monaco was stable. The wolf beastwoman had an elevated temperature, but other than that Deotra and Drache had done an excellent job of bringing her back from the brink.

Monaco stirred but didn’t wake as Deotra and I carefully removed her bandages. She mumbled something under her breath but I wasn’t able to catch it. She’s had a rough night. I don’t know if I should tell her everything that happened or not, but sooner or later I’m gonna have to tell her something. Her wounds had closed thanks to Drache’s healing but she was still in no condition to go running around looking for answers.

“Are you sure it’s okay to leave her here like this? If she wakes up she could bolt.”

“Where would she go? According to what you said, her own crew sold her out. The smart thing for her to do would be to sit tight and wait for us to come back.” She passed me a thin piece of parchment. “Leave her a note. Tell her we’re going out and will be back after dark. And that it’s best for her to stay put until we return.”

I did as I was asked. Slipping the note into her palm, I closed Monaco’s fingers over the parchment so she’d notice it right away. “Alright. So. Regarding that date you wanted to go on, did you have somewhere in mind?” Blossom City’s recreational opportunities weren’t exactly well known to me, even when I’d been in the city in the past. I’d never had a need to avail myself of them so I hadn’t bothered to learn much about them.

“The Silken River Market comes to mind. I went there often when I was living here. It was the best place to find things I needed, and a few other odds and ends.” She looked at her collection of paper lanterns, which were now unlit. “We could get some lunch there. There are plenty of shops and tourist spots, too. And we can get something for Monaco on our way back.” She fidgeted a bit. “I’m sorry I tried to push you to abandon her yesterday.”

Deotra shrank into herself, withdrawing as though she were a hermit crab trying to cram itself into a shell that didn’t exist. I scoot across the floor of the shrine and put my arm around her. “I know you were trying to put my safety first. I was also being irrational about saving Monaco. Any pragmatic person would’ve left her behind.” We both watched Monaco sleep, her chest and the covers of her blanket rising and falling with each breath. “It must be hard to deal with someone who contradicts himself all the time. A year ago I would have left Monaco and washed my hands of that mess in a heartbeat.”

She leaned into me, her head nestling against my cheek. “So what changed in that year?” she asked.

“Not sure. I’ve been through some serious mayhem recently. Saw two regimes crumble, mostly in on themselves because of their own political nonsense. Helped two royals who couldn’t be any more different escape from people who wanted them dead. Most importantly I learned things about myself, and about the best friend I thought I knew front to back. It’s anyone’s guess where the change actually took place.”

“Do you think you changed for the better?”

I squeezed her tighter. “I hope so. I’m not really the best judge of character. Apparently even when it comes to myself.” We sat in silence for a moment before she spoke again. “We’re always changing. Change is inevitable. The question is whether we grow. Some people spend their whole lives changing into something they don’t want to be or never expected. Others change so little they think they didn’t change at all. Either way, how much they learn from it is never constant.”

She sighed. “I wonder which one I am.”

That’s a question I can’t answer. I don’t know enough about her past to compare. It’s still a sore subject so I won’t poke at it now, but eventually I need to find out what happened to make her leave her home forest. Familiars like her can’t survive outside of a mana wellspring, and yet her connection to Drache allows her to. So how did she meet Drache?

Abruptly, she stood up. “Well, enough about that. Heavy thoughts like that are going to ruin the atmosphere. Shall we?” She offered me her arm, and I rose up and took it. “I’ll show you the sights. There are a lot of street performances during the day, and once the sun sets the more intricate ones incorporate pyrotechnics into their shows. Local folklore draws a lot of foreign visitors, especially when they can watch it play out accompanied by dancers and actors.”

We stepped out of the rundown building and out into the sunshine. My eyes ached from the sudden exposure momentarily, but quickly adjusted. For more than a hundred feet, rows and columns of neatly arranged grave markers made of engraved stone columns jutted out of the ground, with paths of stone between them making it easy to walk past. Deotra and I passed through the graveyard without a word, and I did my best not to tread on any resting places for fear of disrespecting the dead. After what happened at the Valley of the Last Sunrise, better safe than sorry.

Deotra didn’t want to ride in a rickshaw down to the Silken River. When I asked her why she smiled at me. “I’m in no hurry to get there. Why pay a local to give you a tour when I can do that myself?” Together we passed under the red archway that marked the entrance to the graveyard, entering a quiet square where various vendors selling flowers and charms were peddling to those visiting the graves.

Beyond them, the city stretched before us. Tall, towering places of business built in the Kierhaian style stood above the smaller homes, which were humble and homey. “The area around the Graveyard District tends to be home to more of the older people in the city. It’s quieter here, so maybe they just find it more peaceful. Or maybe it’s just them being aware of their mortality. Either way, there’s fewer people wandering around, so it made a great place for me to stay when I was here.”

She stopped suddenly, her eyes looking off into the distance. Following her line of sight, I saw a tiny shop built into the corner of a building, an old woman perched on the steps leading into it. She was a wizened old thing, all wrinkles and faded, wispy hair, dressed in a clean white robe and swaying gently back and forth. The shop itself had over a dozen paper lanterns hanging from hooks mounted on the stall, with one very unique lantern depicting a child holding an elderly woman’s hand sitting on the counter next to the old woman.

“Oh. I thought… I can’t believe she’s still here.” Deotra said, her hand over her mouth.

“Who is that?”

“That’s Jun… when I lived here, I used to take lanterns from her shop all the time. I thought by now she’d have died.” She pulled me off the street and into the shade of another building. The old woman nodded her head to a passing neighbor, basking in the warmth of the noonday sun like a cat without a care in the world. She had a blank white lantern in front of her, and was in the process of painting it with a brush.

“Do you see that one on the counter?” She pointed at it. It was blue, and the child and old woman on it were messy as though the painter had done it with a shaky hand. “Her granddaughter made that for her. It’s her favorite.” She chuckled. “I stole it without even thinking about it. It was just another day for me, and I needed another one. Also it was a very nice color.”

“So what happened?” I asked. She sighed. “The next day when I went out to go buy things, I saw her running around asking her neighbors if they knew what happened to it. She was frantic. I heard her telling perfect strangers that it was a gift from her granddaughter. That it was all she had to remember her by.” Her voice trailed off. “Turns out her granddaughter died a long time ago. By now she would’ve been a fully grown woman. I waited until after midnight, then came back and put the lantern back. From that day onward I stopped stealing them.”

A fair number of Jun’s lanterns had a recurring theme; foxes. Several of them depicted foxes at play, lounging under cherry blossom trees, even one in a marital robe standing next to a human man. “You wouldn’t have something to do with that, would you?” I said motioning at the lantern with the image of marriage on it.

Deotra’s shoulders raised, pursing her lips. “I maaaaay have been caught returning it. As a fox. Because I was too scared to come back in human form.”

She put her face in her hands to hide her embarrassment. “She must have thought it was some kind of divine intervention or something. She always made fox themed lanterns after that, and made a habit of giving them away for free every so often. I felt so bad for putting her through it and I didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth. What could I tell her?”

A family came by and Jun started to converse with them. She handed the family’s young child one of the lanterns, with a fox flying a kite painted on it. The little girl gave her a gap toothed smile before running off with her new toy. “You know, that’s actually really cute.” I said, more to stir the pot than to reassure her.

She moaned behind her hands. “I should’ve said something. Even if she thought I was crazy. I feel bad for putting her through that.” I scratched my chin. “I don’t know. Maybe you didn’t cause as much harm as you think.” Her eyes peeked out from between her fingers. “What do you mean?” She said in a squeaky voice.

“Sure, she was probably scared she was going to lose the only memento she had to remember her grandchild by. But you restored her hope. You gave her something to believe in. She thought someone was looking out for her.” Deotra shook her head, still behind her hands. “But it wasn’t true! It was just me, not a god.”

“It might seem that way. But in her eyes, it doesn’t really matter. She’s putting so much more good into the world because she believes that someone, maybe even the spirit of her granddaughter, might be looking out for her.” Deotra sniffled. “That feels like I was lying. Like I tricked her.”

I hugged her, shaking her gently. “It’s complicated, sure. People tend not to be that simple. If you ask me, you did a good thing, even if it started out as theft.”

She wiped her face on her sleeve before lowering her hands. “Do you really think I did the right thing?” Her voice wavered the way a child’s would, her eyes watery and tone shaky.

“Alverd says that if you have to think about whether you did the right thing or not, odds are you did and you just need to make sure you did. The day you stop asking yourself if you really did the right thing is the day you stop caring about whether you did or not.”

I patted her on the shoulder. “Try not to think so much about it.”

“But I do. I worry all the time that I’m going to do something wrong and then you… I mean, someone will hate me for it.” It was quick but I caught her biting her tongue. She really cares too much what I think. But that can work to my advantage a little. I rested my chin on the top of her head, nuzzling her ears.

“Well I think you did the right thing by making it up to her. So as far as I’m concerned, that’s the long and short of it.”

Finally satisfied, Deotra let out a sigh of relief. “Okay. As long as you’re alright with it.”

We left Jun’s corner shop and continued down the street, stopping to get food at a street vendor. The badger beastman minding the stall used his tail to thump the stones that made up the street, drawing attention to himself as he set about cooking meat on a heated stone mounted on his cart. Using metal tongs, he turned over thin strips of beef as he danced in place, slapping his tail on the ground to music only he could seemingly hear. When he saw us come up, he called out to Deotra with a deep, raspy voice.

“Good gods, is that you, Red?” He let out a good natured chuckle. Deotra guided me over to him.

“Um, you must be Kwan. My, uh, mother knew you. She told me about you.” Kwan gave me a once over, his dark eyes staring at me from beneath a mess of black and white hair. He squinted, then pulled a pair of spectacles out of his pocket, big thick round lenses fogging up immediately from the steam coming off his grill. He grumbled, wiped them off on his robe, then put them back on while stepping out from behind his cart to look at me again.

Wait. Did Deotra just tell a lie? I gave her a side glance. A wave of caution emanated out of our link, as if to tell me that I was to play along and that she’d explain later.

“And who might you be?” He said as he towered over me, a full foot taller and with thick arms that looked like they could uproot trees. “Um, hi. I’m Kuro. I’m, um…”

Deotra wrapped her arms around me and sighed dreamily. “He’s with me,” she said, not bothering to clarify. “My mom left Kierhai a long time ago. But she did find who she was looking for. She’s living happily ever after right now.”

Kwan glanced at her, then me, then her again before bursting out laughing. “Ha! Well now. Isn’t that something? That’s good. You’re the spitting image of your mother, kid. If I didn’t know better I’d say you looked exactly like her.”

I nudged Deotra. “So I take it you’ve known her for a while.”

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The badger beastman walked back around behind his cart. “You could say that. I’ve been setting up on this street for almost thirty years. Almost everyday for months, this girl walks by my stall, never buys anything. She stands out. Hair like that, not surprising. Not a lot of redheads around here.” He did something with his claw like fingers and twirled the tongs expertly, flipping his meat strips in seconds. “So anyway, one day I ask if she wants to try anything at my stall, and she freezes up.” He picked up a pair of meat skewers sitting on the side of his cart and offered them to us. “She takes one, and the way her face lights up after she starts eating it, I’ll never forget.”

Deotra took them and handed one to me. “My mother ate here all the time.” I put the skewer to my mouth and bit off a piece, and the taste of the meat, still saturated in the marinade, hit me like a speeding arrow. It was more than delicious, it was mild enough to enjoy but spicy enough to give it a kick and grab hold of my taste buds.

“So one day I invited her to take a seat, tell me something about her,” Kwan said. He pointed at the nearby stone benches that lined the street. She sat down and told me about how she was looking for her soulmate. We talked a good long while about it. Me, I’m lucky. I met the love of my life years ago.” He showed me a painted picture hanging from a corner of his cart’s rooftop, of him with a badger beastwoman, her ears rounder and softer than his but with the same black and white hair. They had three kids, and since they all had the same hair it was harder to tell who they took after more.

“You must be very proud of them.” I said.

“They’re grown up now. Two of them are merchants in Standing Stone and one became a Noble Wolf. I’m glad at least one of them stayed close. His mother and I get lonely sometimes.” He smiled at Deotra. “Like mother, like daughter, huh? Looks like you managed to find a nice boy for yourself too, little one.” She blushed and buried her face in my sleeve, mumbling to herself.

“To be honest, I’m not that knowledgeable about love or soulmates or anything like that,” I said. I put my arm around Deotra and held her tight. “But I can tell she really loves me. So I’m going to do my best to live up to that.” There was an explosion of warmth, color, and heat from our emotional link, surging out of her and into me, filling me with everything from happiness to embarrassment to hope all at the same time.

“Well you better. Her mother did a lot for people around here. She helped people out of binds, kept their spirits up, and looked out for us while she was here. We all missed her when she disappeared. But I’m glad to know she finally found her soulmate. You tell her Old Kwan said hello and that she needs to come back for another skewer if you see her again.” He gave us another pair of skewers for the road, refusing payment. “I’m just glad to see that it all turned out well in the end.”

We left Old Kwan to his stall, and he resumed beating his tail on the ground in his practiced rhythm, swaying to the beat of his own music as he cooked more meat on his stone grill. After we had gotten a fair distance away, I asked the question eating away at me.

“So how long has it been since you left Kierhai?”

Deotra’s ears wiggled. “A little more than fifteen years. Old Kwan was always an absent-minded sort, but it looks like his vision is going, too. If he was as sharp-eyed as he was back then, he’d know I look exactly as I did back then.” She turned her eyes downward. “I know it was a lie, but if he figured out who I was, it would cause problems. A lot of them.” Something itched at the back of my mind, like I could sense that Deotra was hiding something from me that I really needed to know.

“What kinds of problems? The kind that might bite us now?”

She fidgeted, then nodded. “Part of my decision to leave was due to Drache saying I was good enough at blending in with mortals that once I made it to a new country I’d have a chance to start fresh. But it was also because we caused some trouble on our way out.”

She poked her pointer fingers together at the tips. “When it was time to leave, Drache mentioned needing to acquire something first. She didn’t tell me that she wanted to take relics from the Repository until we were on the grounds, though. When she told me her plan, I didn’t have any objections so I went through with it.” She shrugged. “We took the Staff of Farewells. Had we the time, Drache might’ve also gotten the Hand of the Usurper, too. But things didn’t work out that way, so we had to make do with just the Staff.”

“Did you also steal the Tree of a Thousand Branches?” I asked. The image of that accursed book reappeared in my mind and I shuddered as the sensation of perceiving dozens of possible futures came with it.

“No. The Tree isn’t in the Repository. Unless it was moved there in the last fifteen years. I don’t think that would be likely given that if someone could steal the Staff of Farewells from there, you’d immediately want to put another relic in its place.” I scowled.

“So why leave the Hand of the Usurper there? Why not move that to a safer location?”

Deotra shook her head. “The Hand slays godlike creatures. The only beings who might be trusted with such a thing are just as easily slain by it as the Kings would be. The two angels who rule in Shardin can’t touch the Hand, and probably don’t want it moved about recklessly because of what it can do to people who gaze into its blade. They likely didn’t relish the idea, but moving the Hand would’ve created more potential problems than it would’ve solved. My question is, how did Monaco confirm that the Hand really is still in the Repository? She said that she didn’t even get inside.”

“We can ask her for more details after we get back. For now, I’d rather just not worry about it.” Until I learn some things for sure, all I have is conjecture. I can wait a few more hours until Monaco confirms some of my theories, and then I can build from there. Besides, it’s distracting from the point of this trip. “Is there anything in particular you’d like to show me, Deotra? Maybe something in the markets?”

“There are a few attractions that are made for tourists. I want to take you to one place that doesn’t have anything to do with that, though. There’s a place in the Silken River that I really want to show you. Should we head over there?” I put my hand in hers, interlocking our fingers. “Lead the way.”

We floated the rest of the way to the Silken River. Both of us were quite the sight, two blushing young lovers holding hands out in the open, a perfect display of a couple still too nervous to do anything too overt in public. A few passersby gave us knowing looks, everything ranging from doe eyed fawning to sly winks. Are they judging me? Or us? Why are they looking at us like that? Is this normal? Is it weird to be so happy out in broad daylight?

Deotra’s voice resonated in my mind. “Some of them might be jealous, others are happy, some might be remembering things from their youth. Either way, what does it matter what they think?” She leaned against me, her fingers squeezing mine. “We have each other. Some soulmates live their whole lives without finding their other half.” I returned her gesture.

“Lucky us.”

A half hour later, we walked under the red arch of the Silken River, into a bustling marketplace. True to its name, the Silken River markets had several waterways flowing through the district. Large open air market squares were placed on multiple tiers, with water flowing down artificial waterfalls into central locations at the heart of each square where people could congregate to talk, eat and conduct business, surrounded by stalls manned by merchants peddling their wares. At the corners of each square a cherry blossom tree stood, its branches swaying and spreading their delicate pink petals across the area.

Most of the vendors were selling local specialties, and Deotra was quick to guide me to the stalls where the quality of the goods leaned towards the authentic side. A hare beastwoman with snow white hair tried to sell me on a beautiful dark blue silk robe, her stall draped with similar robes that all had the same fine quality. While Deotra enthusiastically agreed I would look great in it, the price tag was well outside my means; we had to bid the beastwoman farewell, but she didn’t seem too fazed.

We stopped to watch a street performer in a loud, bright red and gold outfit as he did cartwheels and flips in a corner of the square. A group of children gathered around him as he leapt forward and started walking on his hands, his legs bent back and dangling over his head like the arms of a praying mantis. He somersaulted back to his feet and began stomping around, swinging his legs out in a comical manner as if he were some beast twenty feet tall, flapping his arms like wings. Every so often he would let out a series of long, whooping calls, then transition back into another set of gymnastics.

“What is he supposed to be?” I asked Deotra.

“A dragon dancer. There are some old stories about how dragons might have walked the land before Kierhai was one nation, and how they all had to hide among the mortals to survive into this day and age.” She scrutinized his performance before speaking again. “I think the tale he’s telling is about one dragon who was so proud he refused to change his behavior after assuming human form, and despite the other dragons saying he’d be found out, the mortals just treated him like he was drunk.” I snorted. “Well, if it worked, he was right.”

Time flew by as we went from square to square. In the Silken River’s largest market, the center of the square was a giant lake with a stone island in the middle, upon which a single cherry blossom tree and shrine stood. This district was several hundred yards across, length and width wise, making up for the space dedicated to the pond with tightly packed market rows filled with people buying clothing, jewelry and food.

By the time we’d made the rounds through the square, the sun was hanging low enough in the sky to cast the square in a dark orange hue. Yet despite the failing light, it looked as though the people were getting more excited by the prospect of nightfall. Deotra took me by the hand and guided me down to the water’s edge, where many others were gathering. Some had blankets spread out for them to sit on, others had brought actual pillows. Even the children were unusually silent, each of them looking around and at the sky as if waiting for something.

“It’s almost time,” Deotra said as the last rays of sunlight vanished. As darkness fell over the square, I felt a bit of unease. Shouldn’t someone be lighting the paper lanterns strung across the square? Shouldn’t that have been done already? What’s going on? A feeling of calm washed over me, Deotra sending her reassurance to me through our link. “Relax, Kuro. Just sit back and enjoy.”

Five minutes later the dark and silence was pierced by the sound of a string instrument resounding over the still waters of the pond. It was high-pitched, but unlike any string instrument I’d ever heard. Before my eyes, the island in the middle of the pond illuminated, a single paper lantern now hanging from the tree. A woman in a beautiful pink dress, with patterns reminiscent of the blossoms of the tree she was kneeling under, played a teardrop-shaped instrument with four strings. A melancholy song that spoke to me of dark times swept across the dark square, slow and low like a creeping darkness.

The pace quickened. Her fingers plucked at the strings, and suddenly light and color burst into being as a giant figure appeared over her. The form of an enormous fox, its body a dazzling red and orange, rolled and bounced in the empty air, drawing reactions from the gathered children. My jaw dropped. Woah. How did they do that?

I mean, it’s obviously magic. But is it an illusion? Some kind of enchantment? Deotra put her arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder. “Stop trying to figure it out. Just enjoy!” Taking a deep breath, I did as she asked. It was tough, but eventually I fought the urge to let my brain try to puzzle out the how and just get caught up in the sights.

A story played out in the air over the pond, told by shifting lights that flickered as if cast by candles. A woman with flowing black hair holding a blue green orb, of warriors marching in time, of a city being built around a massive black rock, which I realized with a start was Standing Stone.

The woman with the black hair is the goddess Eternity. This song must be about the history of Kierhai. To my shock, I watched as farmers rose up from the ground like ghostly white phantoms to fall in behind a soldier clad in shimmering white armor, blocking the path through a narrow canyon as a blazing yellow sun climbed over them. The battle of the Valley of the Last Sunrise.

The fox was the only constant in everything. Dragons flew over the square in a circular pattern, almost like a school of fish. Two winged humanoids clashed against armies of demons, the lights scattering and reforming into new creatures even as the pace of the woman’s song reached a crescendo. Just when it looked like the two would be overwhelmed, the woman ceased her playing and the square went dark again.

From the four corners of the square came four processions. Each was a single file line led by a warrior representing one of the four warrior disciplines that comprised Kierhai’s military, lit lanterns held by those behind them. A slender crane beastwoman bore the banner of the Gilded Feather, a line of young, beautiful women in orange and red robes singing behind her.

The Blood Tigers were led by a tiger beastman in his red armor, standing straight and tall as he carried their banner. Behind him were a mix of men and women in white and red robes, singing in a language different from the Gilded Feathers’. Across the way, a tall elven woman in green and gold armor hoisted the banner of the Flawless Jade, a number of elven men and women behind her in matching robes, singing in yet another language.

The last procession was the Unmoving Earth. Led by a human man in glittering black armor, his banner paved the way for a line of men and women dressed in black robes with silver trim. Unsurprisingly, they too also sang in a language different from the others. “Each of them are singing in the language of their respective cultures, before the unification. These days many are taught the common tongue, and the old languages are kept only for ceremonial purposes.” Deotra said as she watched the spectacle unfold.

When the four warriors reached the water’s edge, they paused. Planting their banners, they spoke together in the common tongue. “From this day forth we are one nation. Four as one, one forevermore. In the name of the angel, the Noble Wolf, first servant and left hand of Eternity, we pledge to be one people.”

The surge of excitement among the children in the crowd peaked as they all looked up, fingers pointing as if looking for something… or someone. A tiny pinprick of light quickly became a falling star as it streaked downward, coming to rest on the island where the woman began to play her instrument again. The light morphed slowly into the form of a man dressed in gleaming silver armor, a green cape billowing behind him, his head hidden beneath a helmet shaped like the head of a wolf. The light “folded” itself into him like wings before disappearing, and the children cheered as their nation’s hero, the Noble Wolf, stood before them.

The music picked back up, into a frenzied but measured tone that seemed to release the energy gathering in the crowd like it were cutting a taut rope. The Noble Wolf began to caper about the island, his cape swirling as he howled long and wild to the moon above. “Who shall answer my call? Who shall march under the banner of justice and peace with me?” In response, dozens of children ran to the water’s edge, and to my great surprise, walked into the water.

Or rather, onto it. The children stepped onto the surface of the water as if it were solid. A few very young children had to be guided onto the water by older siblings who held their hands, but they too rushed to join the others when they saw their feet hold steady. The Noble Wolf began to dance across the surface of the lake, the children gathering behind him, each of them howling as they did some kind of freakish war dance around the center island.

Then Deotra pulled my arm. “Come on. Let’s go too.”

“Wait, won’t it be weird? It’s mostly children out there.” I protested.

“Nonsense. Nobody will care. And even if they do, I don’t. Please, indulge me one last time.” She gave me a pleading look. Oh, no way in hell I can argue with that face.

“Okay. But I’m terrible at dancing.”

She laughed. “I wouldn’t call what they’re doing a dance. Just do your best to keep up.”

I was nervous all the way to the water, made worse by the fact that so many people were pointing at Deotra and I. Like the people outside the Silken River, there were mixed reactions, but this time it was mostly people poking good natured fun at the boy being embarrassed at the cute girl dragging him out onto the water to dance in public. When we got to the edge, I tentatively put my foot on the surface, and was shocked when it was as firm as the stones of the street. I put my full weight down, and when I didn’t plunge into cold water, I stepped out onto the lake in full.

An odd sensation took hold of me as I moved in time with the children, who more or less romped across the lake like animals trying to walk on two legs. Deotra was the picture of grace, swaying to the music of the instrument as though she knew the steps. Her feet swept across the surface without a sound, not even a ripple showing where her sandals touched the water under her flared pants. She closed her eyes and allowed the music to show her where to go, her arms held in a circle over her head.

She was the center of attention. Even the children looked at her like she was the goddess herself come to dance with them. In the light of the lanterns, she exuded purity and poise, and even the musician was enraptured by her, seeming to adjust the tempo to Deotra’s steps. Her gentle hand never left mine, as she pulled me through the steps I placed my hand around her waist and tried to keep up.

The song went on and I didn’t know for how much longer, for as far as I was concerned the world outside the square ceased to exist. The crowd, the children, the performers all melted away as Deotra and I became the only things that mattered. My heart felt like it was thumping against my ribs, ready to burst out of my chest with happiness. Without a doubt, this is the best moment of Deotra’s life. Her joy is so overwhelming she can’t contain it. She waited so long for this, and now it’s finally here.

The music revved up again, building to a climax. When the musician plucked her final note, only the warbling sound of that final delivery remained in the air, before applause shattered the immersion. Deotra and I stood on the placid water, and she opened her eyes. They sparkled like stars, and I could see my reflection in her golden irises. Then she buried her head in my chest, making soft mewling noises.

“Oh gods I’ve never done something like that. Am I still on the ground? I feel like I could just float away.”

I hugged her, patting her on the back. “Me too. Let’s get off the lake and go find somewhere to sit down.” She nodded.

“We should wait for the crowds to filter out first. We can sit by the water’s edge and let them leave first. You sound like you need to catch your breath.” She wasn’t wrong. My heart was still pounding, partly from exertion and the rest from the emotional transference.

We took a seat on a stone bench, watching as the performer playing the Noble Wolf and the musician took their bows. Then the Noble Wolf took the musician by the hand and escorted her across the water. The four processions turned and marched out of the square together, and I wondered if they were performers or actual soldiers. Either way, it was a stellar show. A far cry from the quiet life back in Marevar.

“Thank you,” Deotra said as she snuggled up against me. “Today really was the best day of my life. And in no small part thanks to you.” She planted a quick kiss on my cheek, and my face caught fire.

“Well. Um. I’m just glad I did so well for my first date. It’s not like I have a lot of experience on the matter.” She smiled. “Neither do I. But we made it through, as we always do. I’m looking forward to many more.”

The people emptied out of the square in short order, leaving only a handful of vendors to show their wares to a dwindling number of shoppers. “Shall we head back? We still have to get something to eat for Monaco.”

She scowled, jutting out her lip like a pouting child. “Can’t we stay out a little longer? Please?”

I laughed. “Oh, alright. Just for a little…” My voice trailed off when something caught my eye. There was a soldier moving across the square, skirting around the lake. Off to my left, another soldier in the same outfit, black and gold armor resembling a dragon, was angling towards us. Throwing a glance over my shoulder, I saw two soldiers standing at the top of the steps of the amphitheater-style seating area, blocking off our escape.

Legionnaires. They look like Legionnaires. The blood in my veins froze. I pulled Deotra close. “We have company.” She gnashed her teeth, but then gasped.

“Wait, there’s something wrong with those men.” She sniffed the air. “Their armor smells like death. Death and bloodlust. It’s wrong. Why does it smell like that…” Her legs scrabbled against the ground as she tried to burrow into me to get away. “My head… I can’t think…”

Her more animalistic instincts are telling her to run. But I can’t. It’s like my legs are frozen. Why can’t I move? My legs are so heavy…

The first soldier stopped in front of me. Black vapor came out of his visor when he exhaled, a raspy choking gurgling sound that made me think of a dying man’s last breath. I stammered, but choked on spit and the rising bile in my throat. I wanted to scream but somehow could not.

The soldier reached out a black gauntlet with dried blood on it towards me, and all I could do was watch.