The Town Where Lover's Meet was the name of a play. Diana had a book adaptation for Kiara to read, and she did so into the night as the Traveling cottage rumbled on. In the story, a traveler stumbled upon the town of Red Allure. They were drawn into it, finding exactly what they needed in red sandstone buildings and picturesque summer afternoons. It was a place where they could find themselves, the last stop in too long a journey. Their travels ended when they started working at a shop, and their life began when a woman came in one day. She was the maiden of Red Allure. Her hair shone like the stones of the town, presenting a portrait of the place personified. The woman was kind but careful, unsure of ideas of love, but the traveler was struck dumb, unable to contain the affection born at first sight. Every day she came into the store, he took his chance to get closer. She lived in the town all her life and liked the idea of showing him what it had to offer. This customer turned tour guide eventually became his lover, and the story played up how powerful Red Allure was. Were it not for Red Allure, he would not have met the love of his life. He was happy the town was built, certain he would have never found his ending without it.

Kiara put the book down in the late hours of the morning. She didn't dislike what it delivered, but it felt like the story wasn't for her. Throwing open her bed's panel, she climbed out to say as much and found the panel above opened too. The bed was empty. Kiara looked around. Danson and Keigo were still fast asleep, but there was an open shutter in the living room, showing the tall redhead's back. She headed over, and climbing out, found herself joining Diana in darkness. The moon and stars shone above, but could not twist the sitting shadows, bearing secrets of its denizens. This was what birthed the fear of night, but Diana was unperturbed, taking a bite of an apple.

“You’re up late.” She said as Kiara got comfortable.

“I was pulled into the book, I guess.”

“How did you feel about it?”

“Like it wasn’t really for me, I think.”

Diana chuckled. "Makes sense. Unless you're a wealthy heiress, looking for a place to throw money away, The Town Where Lover's Meet is a passable romance story at best."

Those words made Kiara think. “Are you saying this book was made to advertise?” Diana smirked, nodding. Kiara’s brow furrowed, “What type of town needs advertisement like that?”

“A new one, in a place people didn’t really go. About twenty years ago, this country was an entirely different place. That’s why you can find places like that Sylph Village. Elementals don’t usually gather where a lot of people go.”

“So someone built Red Allure and needed a reason for people to come there?”

"Yep! And it worked. The way my classmates would talk about it, you'd think they were going to find true happiness here."

“That’s kinda strange,” Kiara looked up. “Stories usually make people want to travel for adventure. I guess reality always has something different.”

“Maybe...or my classmates just didn’t know the world. There was only one option for them—prepare to live the same life as everyone before you.”

“So this must have gotten a lot of them to travel.”

Diana laughed, “It did, but they always came back. Red Allure is pretty and can get your attention, but it’s not a place to stay once you get used to it. You don’t settle in the Calm Lands the way it is now. In about ten years though, that might end up changing.”

“What about you?”

“Me?”

“Why did you travel? Sounds like you were in a pretty comfortable place.”

Diana’s smile shifted, once bright now dull. Kiara searched the girl’s distant eyes, but couldn’t see what she left behind. “I started traveling to look for my sister.” She said. A glass wall was almost in the space between them. Kiara knew she could ask more, but Diana didn’t know her well enough yet. She decided against it, going for a different approach.

“Was traveling like you expected?”

Diana guffawed. “Not at all! It was bad almost the moment I left home, but I was a kid at the time, only thirteen.”

Kiara imagined a scrappy girl, maybe armed with a metal pipe. She could see Diana fighting her way to where she was now. "You must have got into a lot of fights."

Diana shook her head. “I actually didn’t know how to fight at all. I took fencing classes of course, but the real deal was too different. It was Keigo that did all the fighting at first.”

Kiara looked inside. “You’ve known him for that long?”

“Since I was thirteen and he was eleven. We met a little after I left home.”

“Oh!” Kiara gasped. “You’re closer to my age than I thought. Are you seventeen?”

"Eighteen. I'm a spring baby. Keigo's a summer baby, so he has to stay a baby a little longer." The older girl smirked.

"You and him get along well." It was instant how quickly Keigo opened up to her. It didn't seem like they traveled together, but they talked as if they never split apart.

“We spent three years together, living pretty close. I guess I’m kinda dumb about these things. When I say that, a lot makes sense.”

“Such as?”

“Well, Keigo is my boyfriend.”

Kiara suddenly sat up straight. "Keigo is your boyfriend!" She exclaimed. Arrowhead barked at her as if to shush the noise. Diana laughed.

"I guess it's more of a sort of. We didn't get to work our relationship out. We only became a couple when we split two years ago. It was more like we promised to take each other's feelings seriously."

“And why did you two split up?”

Diana slipped into another somber thought. There was still some light in her smile though—the memory more good than bad. "Our lives had changed a lot from what it was like when we met, but things were changing back. I wanted to go back to looking for my sister. I told him he could come too but…" The smile slipped away as the girl returned to that moment. Kiara could almost see her grin, confident everything would be okay. Keigo had a different thought in mind. "He said that if he stayed with me, it'd put me in danger." She let out a huff.

“That sounds like it hurt.”

“It hurt a lot more than I imagined it would! I actually started crying, and that made him cry too. We looked horrible, standing there, crying to each other.”

“How did you two become a couple after that?”

"Working through our tears. Keigo said he was crying because he didn't want to lose the person he loved the most. I was crying because I hadn't realized how much I didn't want to let him go." She sighed. "I was a kinda stupid girl, Kiara! I didn't really think about crushing on someone, or someone having a crush on me. I even thought Keigo liked another girl when he would come to me for advice. I always told him to take his shot."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Kiara laughed. “Ouch. I feel bad for him.”

Diana laughed. “I do too! I remember all of those blank stares. He must have hated it.”

"And you?" At that moment, when she had to say goodbye.

“I saw all the good moments we had and it hurt. I thought about how we wouldn’t have any tomorrow, or the next day. I had plenty of friends before, but I remembered his smiling face different from all of theirs.” Diana hid her face. “I am not the main character of a romance story.”

Kiara shook her head. “I think you could be. There’s a lot of slow-build. The two become friends of convenience, slowly falling in love. Suddenly, they must part ways and they realize they never shared their feelings.” She smiled. Diana threw her head back with laughter. "Are things different after two years?"

The redhead nodded. “In a good way, and it’s not like we were completely apart. We crossed paths for a bit a year ago.”

“Is that where Danson comes in?”

“You’ll have to get that story from one of them, but I did meet him back then. Him and Keigo were traveling together. It had only been a year, but he had found someone he could be all right with. Him and Danson are either good for each other, or bad in the right way. Did you know they are worth the same amount?”

“How much?”

“150,000!”

"I guess similar bounties means they lived similar lives."

“That’s how I always saw it. I have a bounty of my own. The Council wants me apprehended, but aren’t married to the idea of killing me. Those two crossed the wrong people in their lives though. It’s why they’re in the Calm Lands now, even. Though that’s partially because they’re too stupid not to charge into a Brigade-Rebel skirmish. They got there too late though. All they could find were bounty hunters looking for scraps.”

Kiara thought of the two from the first day. Keigo and Danson had killed them so easily. Their lives might have been different, but both were inclined to cold decisions. She couldn't fault them for doing what it took to survive, but looking at Diana, she saw someone who'd take a different road. They all were interesting, but this young woman change the feeling of their group. Danson the Diamond, Keigo the Many… Diana the Bolt. Was there a hint to their differences in their titles? It struck her suddenly that she didn't know what they meant.

“Why do they call you the Bolt? What about the boys?”

Diana smirked. “It has something to do with how we use our magic, it's meant to warn people about us, but I think the Council just likes giving people titles." It struck Kiara that she didn't know what Diana's magic was. "Danson is the Diamond because his ice magic is difficult to melt. It’s easier to dispel it than melt it with heat. Keigo is the Many because he has a lot of different faces and forms. He transforms all the way to his soul, making him difficult to prepare for, and harder to track."

“And you?”

Diana's smirk sharpened. Standing, she stretched and bounce on her feet. A final bounce propelled her into the sky, where she remained as she stayed in motion. The girl didn’t slow down, kicking off of the air to change her flight abruptly. She landed with poise and a bow. Kiara resisted the urge to applaud. Diana the Bolt. It wasn’t because she used some form of electricity, but because she could bolt through the air.

“What type of magic is that?” Kiara’s eyes were wide.

“I use Striker Magic. You probably couldn't see it cast upon my feet." Diana held a finger up. Red strings wrapped around it, leaving it glowing red. She picked up the unfinished apple after that, tapping its side. As the light exploded chunks sprayed away. New strings wrapped the finger, and this time she pointed at a passing tree. She mimed pulling a trigger, and a quivering ball smashed into the side of it. This time, Kiara did clap. It was a good shot, considering they were in motion. “Striker magic converts my striking power into energy.”

“And you can do things like fire it, and strike the air.”

“Hence, Diana the Bolt.” Diana flipped her hair. “Though I would have chosen Diana the Striking.”

“How much are you worth?”

“Depends on where you are. Generally, my bounty is 120,000. However, one person wants me alive for 20,000, and another wants me dead for 30. Play your cards right, and you could get 170,000 off of my capture.”

“That sounds like it’d be exhausting. You probably have to hide your face all the time.”

“It depends. This nation isn’t known for bounty hunters because no one comes here. Some places though, like the Summer Seas? Between pirates, and smugglers, you have a bounty head buffet. Let’s hope you never have to worry about it though!”

As they spoke, they slowly came closer to their destination, standing now only a few minutes away. Rectangular buildings stuck up from the ground, glowing dimly with scattered dots of evening light. Even from the road outside, they could see the lanterns, painting the street with a pale white glow. An arch welcomed them as the lizren stepped into town; Red Allure wrote across its curve. Silence settled as Kiara sat beside Diana, ever so cautious they'd disturb the early morning peace. Even Arrowhead was reverent, slowing its pace to mute the cottage's clatter. Diana watched the buildings passing them by, searching carefully until she heard a muffled scream. Kiara heard it too, and the look they shared proved it was not their imaginations. When it came again, Diana brought Arrowhead to a stop and crouched on her perch.

"Kiara, do you think you can keep up?" This was not the girl from moments ago. This was the one riding in from afar, sniping a target before it took Aloryn's life. This was the Diana that hunted bounties herself, and even her breathing said she wouldn't wait long for an answer. Kiara nodded, and on drumbeat steps, Diana took off.

Even with all her years on track, Kiara knew she couldn't match that on feet, but the reason for her certainty did not reside in her legs. Her certainty dwelt within her now, gifted the moment she entered the sylph village. She learned a secret hidden in plain sight and needed only to see if it applied to her. Closing her eyes, she took hold of the wind. She felt it against her fingertips and pressed further, pushing the power until it flowed beneath her skin. It raced to something in the center of her chest, spinning her end over end into the air. As Red Allure grew small beneath her, she felt the wind again, stopping her flight. She breathed deep, relief pumping her heart. Bobbing, she pushed slightly forward. A smile went across her face. Confident now, she soared on the wind, catching up quickly to Diana below.

The redhead was hot on the tails of figures dashing down the street. Struck air warned them of her approach, doing no favors as a kick crashed down. The one she hit went still immediately. Diana did not, already swinging a leg around. Her second target went tumbling, making two more stop to face her. In the arms of the last, there was a struggling teenage girl. As Diana pounced, the two got in her way. Arms came swinging like bats, forcing her to bob and weave. One caught her in the side but mostly caught her arm, getting pulled for a tightened fist.

"Striker Crack!" Threads spun their light around her fist, bursting as she knocked a jaw from a face. Two arms swung for the back of her head, and she bounced over them, swinging her legs around. "Striker Crash!" They glowed as she called, feet smashing its head into the ground.

It shattered, and Kiara knew it wasn't human as it rose again. All four of them did. She swooped down to help. Diana's glare stopped her first, reminding her of other concerns. With height and speed, it was easy to track the kidnapper down. It hopped from building to building in desperate escape, oblivious to eyes watching above. Kiara caught it between a leap, tossing it up, freeing the girl. It crashed onto a roof. Coming down, she rushed to the victim’s aid. As she picked the girl up, footfalls came heavy. She turned in time to take a fist to her cheek, feeling individual fractures. Except, not even a second later there was only dull pain. She blasted the thing before it swung again, bringing her hand to her cheek. Was that the power of the Battle Effigy? She hadn't the slightest doubt that her jaw was broken. And yet it wasn't. That didn't matter; now wasn't the time to think. The figure rose and she noted its wooden body—segmented piece bringing a marionette to mind. She readied a blast again and the girl touched her arm.

"You have to do more than push it! It'll keep coming until its broken."

More than push? Kiara could do that easily to a wooden form. Air changed to fire as the marionette dashed forward. Scarlet fury ripped through the body, cooking shards to spent kindling too. A glass ball cracked against the roof, telling her the battle ended there.

She turned back to the girl, truly concerned with only checking. The girl’s lips met her own, and her eyes went wide. This seemed to surprise them both, as the girl pulled away. There was a slight caramel taste on Kiara's lips, her heart was rushing, mind spinning at the moment. She didn't have the first clue what to say, but the girl seemed ashamed, already looking aside. Kiara got a hold of herself as soft words came slightly loud.

“I’m so sorry!” For the abruptness, action, and whatever came over her. Kiara shook her head.

“I don’t mind! I get it, kind of. It’s like when a hero saves someone in a movie. They get overwhelmed, and can’t help kissing.” She said it hurriedly, realizing too late that movies didn’t exist here. Before she could explain, the girl touched her cheek. Kiara winced as a sharp pain ran through it.

“You got hit.” The girl said. Slowly, Kiara could feel the pain easing as black energy radiated from the touch. Behind her, Diana joined them on the roof, rolling two cracked orbs across it. She stared at Kiara with amused confusion and smiled.

“So, Kiara, who’s your friend?” She grinned, and Kiara looked at the girl…