While I didn’t need to sleep every night, I tended to keep to a regular schedule, if only so I could demonstrate good habits for Aveline. Status enhanced bodies didn’t need all that much rest, or even much food and drink. But this was a very hectic period of time. Me, my Commander, and my Captains, all agreed that we needed to hit the ground running if we wanted to get this Order off the ground. We had spent the entire night before the day of the Ball running around and organizing certain things with those of our number who didn’t have work or class in the morning. My own class for the day was just going to be a History lesson with Professor Altaburry, and I was making the executive decision to send out Bait in my stead to oversee it. While I didn’t have real-time communication with my clone, I did receive his memories whenever he dispersed, so I wasn’t technically skipping. Aveline would be at school today anyway.

  All that to say, my command staff and I had all agreed that the six of us would be attending the Ball as a unit. We didn’t feel the need to bring anyone else as an escort, certainly not any of the other Classers. Our Order didn’t yet have an identifiable uniform anyway.

  It was on the list of things to do.

  The very long list.

  So, while my Captains and Commander were out looking for appropriate dress for the Ball, I was somewhere entirely different.

  Standing awkwardly out front of the gates of Draymoor Hall, wondering if I should have brought flowers.

  This was a bad idea.

  Sylvia and I hadn’t really…gotten together in what I would consider a traditional manner. We had confirmed our feelings together in a very awkward manner back during the war, and gone from there. I hadn’t ‘asked her out’ in the typical way; we had just…sat down and talked, I suppose. Normally, I would have vastly preferred to repeat that. Maybe after a few more months of casual, private dinners together, I would have felt comfortable enough to have a frank discussion about our feelings.

  But these were extraordinary circumstances. It wasn’t every day that the Crown threw together a literal Ball in the Blutstein equivalent of the royal palace.

  I felt that…I should do this. Not only that, but I kinda just wanted to.

  Even someone like me had a bit of romance in their heart.

  Now, if only I could dredge up the nerve to actually step inside those gates. I’d been standing here outside of them for what felt like ten minutes straight, just staring up at the window I believe belonged to Sylvia. I had no idea if she was even inside right now. It was still early morning, and I’d hoped to catch her before she left for her own classes. I might miss that window of time if I didn’t get a move on. I needed to pick up a suitable formal outfit of my own for the Ball when I was done here.

  I was being ridiculous.

  I knew Sylvia; I had nothing to be afraid of. I don’t even really think the Sculpted woman was going to turn me down. She was probably already intending to go, if only as a representative of the Order of the Eclipsed Dawn.

  I still didn’t move.

  I was so locked into my spiraling thoughts that I didn’t sense the person creeping up on me until they spoke up.

  “Nathan?” A familiar, wizened voice spoke behind me in a startled tone. “Whatever could you be doing here?”

  I pointedly didn’t jump, despite how surprised I was. Instead, I pivoted on one heel to find Grey standing behind me, holding what looked to be a cloth bag of…bread.

  Well, croissants, to be precise. I…hadn’t known they had those on Vereden.

  Huh.

  My mentor must have noticed my stare, because he hefted the bag to eye height and smiled at me. “Oh, just fetching the daily bread for Sylvia and I. There’s a bakery on campus I’m quite partial to. Would you like one, Nathan?”

  You know what? Why the hell not.

  Maybe some food would calm the roiling of my stomach.

  “Sure, thank you,” I said, accepting one of the buttery horns from the older man. The two of us leaned up against the brick wall that surrounded Grey’s home, and dug into our light snack together. As we did, we stared out at the horizon over the ocean bearing Blutstein, and enjoyed the warm play of light over the waters.

  It was…nice, just to enjoy a simple moment like this with Grey. We were both so busy, most of the time, that they were rare. I felt a pang as I realized they might become even rarer with the new workload I had voluntarily chosen to take on. I knew just how busy his own Order kept Grey, and now I would have to balance the same thing. I didn’t regret it, though. It was just…one of those tradeoffs.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “You’ve come a long way, Nathan,” I heard Grey say, off to my left. Shifting my gaze away from the sparkling seas, I turned it toward him, to see that he had been watching me instead. It was often hard to parse emotions in his strangely colored, two-toned eyes, but not now.

  There was visible pride in them now.

  I felt myself flush, which, if anything, only caused the smile on his lips to widen.

  “We didn’t get the chance to speak after the celebration yesterday,” He mused. “You and your new command staff were looking quite busy indeed. I didn’t wish to interrupt such an important event. My deepest congratulations on the formation of your new Order. I…assume the Regent has already ratified your charter.”

  I nodded quietly, feeling a tad awkward a the direct praise. “Ah…yes. Isolde and I saw him last night. We agreed to announce it at the Ball later. Are you…going to be there? I know you were intending me to go in your stead, but, well. With things…”

  “You’re wondering where we stand now that you’re the master of your own, separate Order?” Grey asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Technically, we’re rivals now,” I pointed out, using one end of my croissant to do so.

  A snorting laugh escaped Grey then. “Hardly. Nathan, the relationship between different Orders is not that antagonistic. Despite the precedent that you might expect, considering my…history with that fool Shacklock, it doesn’t work that way. There’s simply too much work to be done to be at each other’s throats, and I’ll be blunt.” He said, setting one wrinkled hand on my shoulder and giving me a kind smile. “The Eclipsed Dawn is too entrenched in Herztal for us to be threatened by your nascent organization. Besides. You have other goals and other priorities than the fields in which my own Order is steeped in. Assuming the leadership of your ‘Polaris Reach’ has no bearing on our relationship as master and apprentice. It’s still possible for you to represent me in that capacity.”

  I let out a long, slow sigh of relief and nodded. “Alright, that’s one thing settled, I suppose. Now I just have…an almost endless series of other things to get to.”

  Grey outright laughed at me. “You signed up for this life,” He said, completely devoid of sympathy. “Now, I’m sure you didn’t come all this way just to banter with an old man. Just what could you have been staring at my gate so nervously for, hmm?”

  I scowled at his teasing grin. He knew exactly what I was doing. Sylvia and I had never hidden our relationship from her father, back when we were still together. He’d been a bit uncomfortable with it, but had never protested. Grey was just teasing me.

  We were interrupted when I heard the sound of the door to the manor open behind us, and a voice called out. “Father?” They said in a confused tone, approaching the gate. “Is that you over there? I thought I heard your voi-oh.”

  I turned just in time to watch as the gate opened as well, and a Mithril head crowned by golden hair poked through the gap. Sapphire blue eyes settled on Grey and I leaning against his wall, and blinked at us in confusion before an amused smile crossed her silver lips.

  Sylvia fully stepped out from the gate and crossed her arms, smiling in amusement at us. “Hello, Nathan. Father. Catching up, are you?”

  I coughed into one fist in slight embarrassment at being caught, while Grey just laughed as we both pushed off the wall. “Something like that,” He said unashamedly. “I’ll just go put these in the kitchen, shall I? I’ll leave you two be.”

  I exchanged a nod of farewell with my mentor as he approached his daughter. Sylvia smiled at him as he laid a fond hand on her shoulder in passing, and then he was gone.

  Now I was just standing around awkwardly, while Sylvia stared at me with a disconcertingly knowing look in her eye. She was looking at me like she already knew exactly what I was here for, and was just waiting for me to find the balls to do it already.

  I took a deep breath…

  And let my anxieties flow out of me with them.

  I calmed down. I mean, what did I have to worry about, anyway?

  This was Sylvia. I knew her. There had been long hours we’d spent together, simply…talking, in the old days. I knew her own fears, anxieties, and hopes nearly as well as she did. And once upon a time, she had known the same about me. She might still be piecing together her memories about me, but…

  Maybe it was sentimental of me, but I really, truly believed the care she had felt for me was still there, deep inside.

  Forgotten, but not gone.

  I crossed my arms, smiled, and met her gaze, quirking an eyebrow at her as I did. “Hey, did you hear that the Ball is being held today?”

  Sylvia returned my smile, hers taking on a teasing lilt. “Perhaps I did, perhaps I didn’t. Why might you be curious about that, hmm?”

  I rolled my eyes at her, well used to the subtle mischievousness inherent to the Sculpted woman. She had specialized in traps before settling on an Illusion magic-based path, after all. “Because I’d like to attend with you, Sylvia. As something…more than friends,” I said seriously, straightening up. “I’d like you to be my date for the evening.”

  Sylvia’s gaze…softened, as did her smile. “I would like that, Nathan,” She said in a much gentler tone. For some reason, before I could even internally celebrate, I could see her visibly ponder something, tapping one finger on crossed forearms. Her posture hardened, and for a moment, I feared the worst before she nodded firmly. “I can do it if I hurry.”

  “Hurry?” I tilted my head. “Hurry what? If this is about needing a dress, I know someone who can help-”

  Sylvia cut me off, shaking her head. “No, that isn’t the issue. You’ll see what I mean later, in all likelihood. It should be…obvious. Father went out for that bread to calm my nerves, after all, with what I’m doing today. I promise you, Nathan, I’ll meet you there this evening. I might be a bit late, but I will be there.”

  I blinked rapidly, taken aback, but nodded nonetheless. “Ah…alright then. I’ll see you then, I suppose?”

  Before I could react, Sylvia darted forward and ghosted a slight, barely there kiss across my left cheek. “You will,” She whispered, only inches from my skin.

  I shivered, and judging by the renewed teasing tilt to her lips, Sylvia noticed. She nearly danced away toward the gates to Draymoor Hall, pausing only momentarily to look over her shoulder at me with half-lidded eyes. “Wear the coat,” She purred. “I liked it.”

  And then she was gone.

  I shook my head slowly, unable to stop a low laugh from escaping me.

  That woman, I swear. She was going to be the death of me one day.

  Hopefully not literally.