“I’ll keep it short since I’m sure none of you want to hear me prattle on for too long,” Oscar starts, receiving several subdued chuckles from the gathered mages. “We’re all here today, as friends and allies, to celebrate the wonders of exploration and discovery. Tomorrow my little group and I shall be travelling into the unknown, braving the dangers of The Glade to bring back new knowledge and resources. As with all trips into that Goddess-forsaken forest, it will be fraught with danger. Death shall loom over our heads at each turn, and some of us may not make it back alive. However, through our sacrifice and hard work, we will bring forth innovation and hope. We will delve further into the mysteries of the arcane and find new discoveries to push us all forward in our paths as mages. So, I ask all of you here today to raise a glass. Raise it in hope and encouragement. Raise it in celebration and expectation that our trip shall bear fruit. Wish us all luck that we may return unharmed, and cheers, to the pursuit of knowledge!”

Everyone in the room raises their glasses to match, with Emily following suit.

“To the pursuit of knowledge!” everybody echoes in unison, before taking a sip and returning to their private conversations with newfound energy.

Emily lowers her glass with slight confusion, turning back to her table.

“I don’t know what I was expecting, but that was surprisingly sombre.”

“Haha, I guess this is the first time you’ve been near an expedition group, right?” Dante asks.

“Yeah.”

“Other than trips into the edges of The Glade, which barely qualify as expeditions, most journeys end with the deaths of at least seventy per cent of the participants. It’s only expected that the last celebration before is treated as a send-off for the dead.”

“That makes sense,” Emily agrees, nodding in realisation. “You don’t exactly seem too worried?”

“Of course not! If I die, I die. My family are warriors first, mages second. We’re trained for battle from the moment we can walk. I’m just following my destined path. If I get to blow up some beasts while I’m at it? Then bring it on!”

Emily scoffs at his blasé attitude.

“To each his own, I guess. I don’t have any plans to die any time soon.”

Dante laughs at her response but doesn’t comment. Emily turns her attention away, looking towards Juliana and seeing her staring back with a look of concern. She reaches out, taking Juliana’s hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze as she speaks again.

“Don’t worry too much, Jules. There’s no way in hell I’m letting some random beast kill me off. I’ll be back before you even realise I’m gone,” she says with a gentle smile, meaning every word.

Juliana’s anxiety doesn’t seem to decrease as she grips Emily’s hand tighter. Noticing this, Ivor reaches over and taps her shoulder.

“I’ll protect her with my life,” he signs calmly.

His reassurance only seems to worsen Juliana’s mood, her face dropping into a scowl. However, before she can argue, Emily breaks out in laughter.

“Yeah right, big guy. If you think I’m letting you die and coming back alone, you’re dead wrong. Can you imagine the scolding Jules would give me? We’re both making it back, even if I have to drag you away by the scruff of your neck and kick everyone else to the wolves.”

Ivor rolls his eyes, but a small smile still creeps its way onto his face. Juliana nods sagely, before adding her own warning.

“If either one of you dies, I’ll work out how to summon your dead spirits back so I can tell you off properly!”

Emily giggles at her mock threat, feeling her grip loosen but not release. They move on from the depressing topic, returning to casual conversation as they wait for their food to arrive. Juliana only releases Emily’s hand when the side doors to the hall open again, and dozens of servants file into the room pushing wheeled carts of food covered in silver cloches.

Emily recognises the servant who took her order in the crowd, walking in a straight line towards her table. She moves to stand behind Emily again, lifting the plate of food off her cart and placing it on the table in front of Emily. She steps back, leaving the cloche on and waiting. All conversation in the room slowly dies as everybody waits in anticipation.

The moment the last plate of food is placed down, all of the servants step forward in perfect sync and dramatically lift the cloches off the food. Emily grins slightly at the sight that greets her, two large hunks of still-steaming bread filled with slices of fresh salami, surrounded by a luscious green salad. Before touching her food, she looks around the table and takes in everyone’s choices.

Juliana has several platters of bread, meats, and vegetables set out before her. Ivor has a bowl of steaming stew, filled with large chunks of beef and peppers. Linda has a deep dish filled with neatly stacked slices of various vegetables, creating a pretty spiral of colours that holds Emily’s interest for a few moments.

Enzo has a plate filled with long noodles of pasta, topped with a creamy white sauce over a couple of large chicken breasts. However, Dante’s meal is the only one that makes Emily’s jaw drop and draws the attention of the entire table. His plate has several crispy potatoes placed in a ring around a large hunk of meat, a large hunk of meat that is currently blazing in blue fire.

What the hell? Is that even a real dish or did he just ask them to set a steak on fire?

“If I were you, I’d just ignore him,” Enzo mutters tiredly to the group, clearly used to his pyromaniac friend's antics.

Laughing slightly, Emily decides to heed his advice and digs into her food. Their meal passes with a pleasant atmosphere, with everybody at the table making light conversation, tactfully avoiding mentioning their upcoming expedition. After everybody has finished their food, and Emily has helped Juliana finish her platter, the servants return to collect their empty plates and take dessert requests.

They make peaceful conversation as they wait, and soon the servants return with their sweet treats. Everyone chooses something normal, Emily opting for a mixed fruit crumble, but Dante doesn’t. He instead has a small flaming cake with ice cream inside, a baffling choice to everyone around the table other than Enzo, who claims it’s a normal dessert in the Hibiscus march and is actually very nice.

After everyone tries a bit and is forced to agree, they soon finish eating. The servants once again clear the table, then start requesting everyone leave their seats. They then quickly set about removing the tables from the hall, clearing the floor completely before returning carrying assorted trays of drinks.

Emily stays with her small group, watching in interest as six well-dressed ladies and gentlemen appear on the stage, from a small door tucked behind it, carrying instruments. They settle into place on the stage and begin playing some soothing music that quickly fills the hall.

Is there a sound amplification spell on the stage?

Curious, Emily excuses herself from her friends, who all separate to mingle with the other mages in the hall. Linking her arm with Juliana’s, she heads towards the stage to get a closer look. After getting close enough, she sees the stage set up in a circular fashion, with a simple glowing green magic circle carved into the floor.

“Are you interested in our array?” a voice asks from behind.

They turn around to find Oscar standing with a proud smile, holding a glass of bubbling alcohol as he watches them.

“Oh, hey Oscar. Yeah, I’m a little interested. Why are you guys only using a temporary array?”

“We don’t use the capital mansion’s hall enough to justify setting up a permanent one. We can fill this circle with two lesser wind crystals and it lasts for a full day, whereas the permanent version we have set up, in the main event hall of our territory’s capital, uses ten crystals and the array is far more complicated to carve.”

“Wow, given how excessive this banquet is, I wouldn’t expect you to choose the cheap option for anything,” Emily comments with a teasing grin.

“Magical resources and mundane resources should always be considered with different outlooks. Never waste resources that can be used for progression, even if it’s to leave a good impression on your allies,” Oscar answers with complete sincerity, surprising Emily.

“Huh, that’s a very sensible opinion,” Emily mutters quietly.

“Anyway, it’s lovely to meet you again, Juliana,” Oscar says, bowing his head lightly. “I hope you’re enjoying our little celebration.”

“It’s wonderful. Thank you for being such a warm host,” she responds with an amiable smile. “The food was lovely. Now all I need to complete my evening is to convince Emily to dance with me.”

“Haha, well I wish you luck on achieving your perfect evening.” He glances towards the musicians and flicks his hand towards them. “I hope you enjoy, here’s a little helping hand.”

As he starts walking away to rejoin the crowd, the music shifts from a faint background hum to a clear, rhythmic melody. A bright smile blooms on Juliana’s face as she looks at Emily.

“It sounds like he just gave us the perfect music to dance to.”

Emily freezes, a light blush spreading across her cheeks as she awkwardly avoids making eye contact.

“I don’t know how to dance,” she admits quietly, forcing Juliana to lean in to hear.

Juliana’s smile only grows as she takes both of Emily’s hands in hers and starts pulling her towards the centre of the room, where everybody has cleared space, and a few couples are already locked together in a slow waltz.

“That’s fine, just follow my lead and I’m sure you’ll pick it up quickly enough.”

Unable to argue with Juliana’s excitement, Emily soon finds herself uncomfortably standing in the middle of the dance floor with no clue what to do next.

Ah well, worst case scenario, if I embarrass myself too much, I can always reset and practice dancing before trying again.

Her silent decision completely calms her nerves as she allows Juliana to guide her. She places one of Emily’s hands on her shoulder, moving her own freed hand to Emily’s waist. With their other hands clasped firmly out before them, she leans in and gives her instructions on how to move and hold herself.

“Keep your back straight and stay close to me. We’re going to step in time to the music, try to maintain the same distance from me at all times. When I step forward with my left foot, you step back with your right and vice versa. Just stay relaxed, enjoy yourself, and try not to step on my toes in those shoes if you can. Ready?”

Emily nods, only slightly regretting her shoe choice, and Juliana moves.

“Back right, side left, right to left. Forward left, side right, left to right.” Juliana slowly goes through the steps, telling Emily exactly how to move as they go.

After a few repetitions, Emily slowly grows comfortable with the movement.

“Good! Now we speed up a little. One two three, one two three, one two three.”

As Emily relaxes into the dance, their motion grows smoother and she begins to enjoy herself. Her smile grows to match Juliana’s as they spin around the floor in time to the music, unconcerned about anything other than each other.

After a while of slow waltzing, the rhythm of the music changes and Juliana guides Emily in a new set of movements, moving faster and with more purpose. They continue to enjoy themselves as the music shifts a few more times throughout the evening, and at one point a welcome system notification pops up before Emily.

¯¯¯¯¯

Skill learned: Ballroom Dancing (passive)

[Ballroom Dancing (passive)]

User knows how to dance to ballroom music.

_____

The moment the notification arrives, she blinks it away and instinctively corrects her form. This time when the music changes, she doesn’t need Juliana’s instructions: she smoothly switches form and step pattern on her own.

They continue dancing late into the evening, only stopping as the music starts to wind down and people begin to leave. Emily follows the crowd, guiding a tired Juliana out of the mansion and back through the garden by the waist. The train on the way back is far busier, every booth in their carriage being full, and Ivor chooses to join them in theirs.

They sit in silence the whole way back, not bothering to make conversation as Juliana struggles not to fall asleep on Emily’s shoulder. When they arrive back at The Dome, they bid farewell to Ivor before he steps into the transportation circle to move to his room. Emily and Juliana do the same, before slowly walking through the hall back to their rooms where they pause without entering.

Juliana turns to Emily, burying her face in her shoulder as she pulls her into a tight hug.

“Please be safe,” she whispers weakly.

Emily smiles a sad smile as she wraps her arms around Juliana and starts stroking her hair.

She’s really not cut out to be a mage.

After a few minutes, Emily pulls away slightly, tilting Juliana’s face to look at her and gently wiping a tear from her cheek.

“I’ll be back before you know it. Study hard in the meantime, otherwise Tom and Hester may end up beating you to second circle.”

“Haha,” Juliana lets out a small giggle. “I’ll already be second circle when you get back, just you wait.”

“I’m sure you will be,” Emily whispers with a smile, leaning in and placing a soft kiss on her lips.

Emily separates from their hug, placing her hand on the door behind her before turning and taking a step through.

“I love you.”

Emily freezes as she hears Juliana’s confession.

“I love you too,” she answers truthfully before the door reappears, sealing her in her room, feeling more alone than ever before.

¹

Only one chapter for release tomorrow ;(