After we finished breakfast, Lucia and I split off from the rest of the group and started traveling along a dirt path that was behind the house. 

And unfortunately, considering that neither of us have spent that much time exercising lately, it didn’t take that long for both of us to get winded, considering that we were in the mountains right now.

Luckily, we didn’t have to worry too much about succumbing to the cold due to Lucia’s proficiency with fire magic.

“Phew… I don’t think we would’ve made it very far if you didn’t have that trick of yours.”

I said while huddling close to Lucia as she was casting her magic.

“I dunno, Ameil has been scaling up and down this mountain ever since he was a kid.”

Lucia replied while heating the both of us up a little through the use of a sizable wick that she conjured.

“Yeah, that tracks. Hopefully, Anne can keep up with him today.”

I replied simply before stretching my arms a bit.

“What? You worried for them?”

“A little bit yeah, considering that Ameil tends to be a magnet for trouble, and I don’t think Anne has the same level of resistance that he does when it comes to the sorts of things that he deals with on a daily basis.”

“Ah, nah she’ll be fine. A trek in the snow is nothing for her, compared to what she had to deal with when she was a baby.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, you didn’t know? She apparently had to fight off some sort of life threatening illness when she was still in the womb.”

“How’d she manage that?”

“I hear it was just her will to live, but honestly, I have a feeling that it’s the latent magic power that she possesses.”

“So, hypothetically speaking if you and her were to go head to head in some sort of magic duel, who would come out on top?”

I asked, slightly curious.

“Probably me, considering that she decided not to take any magic courses, and instead went into botany.” 

Lucia said with a hint of confidence in her voice before stretching her arms a little.

“Although, even with magic lessons, I think I’d still be able to come out on top.”

“Why do you say that?”

“No reason, I just got a feeling that I’d come out on top.”

Lucia said before stopping me in my tracks.

“Anyhow, it looks like we’ve made it.”

She remarked before pointing to an overgrown well that seemed to not have been used in quite a bit. 

“You sure this is the well?”

I said after inspecting it for a couple of seconds.

“Positive, it just looks like that since it hasn’t been used in a while, probably because most people have forgotten about the legend.”

Lucia mused.

“I see… so uh, do we have to do some sort of ritual in order to get a wish from the frog that apparently lives here or…”

“Just think of what you want to wish for while staying very close to the well. Oh and have your eyes closed until you’re finished with your wish.”

“Alright, sounds easy enough.”

I remarked before shutting my eyes closed.

Hmm… what to wish for…

Riches? Good fortune… no, those types of wishes always backfire somehow.

Oh wait, I got just the thing.

“Alright, I’ve made my wish.”

I said before opening my eyes.

“Same here.”

Lucia remarked while leaning against the wall.

“Now what? Do we just wait and see if the wishes come true?”

“Depending on what your wish was, it might take years to see if it came true or not. So, yeah we kinda just have to wait and see.”

She replied before turning to look at me.

“Welp, there’s nothing left to do now except walk back I suppose, unless there’s something else you wanna check out.”

“Hmm… actually, I think that I do want to spend a bit more time alone with you out here.”

“Really now? I didn’t take you for an outdoorsman.” 

Lucia said with a bit of a smirk on her face.

“That’s because I’m not, I just want to spend more time alone with my favorite person in the world without anyone budding in.”

“I feel like you’re just getting bolder and bolder as the days go on.”

She asked before dismissing the magical flame that she had been maintaining and putting her arms around my neck.

“It’s your fault you know.”

“I’m aware.”

She replied confidently before closing in for a kiss.

In turn, I just put my hands around her waist and embraced her.

Even though we were currently outside in the harsh wilderness, I felt warmer than I ever did when I was alone back home, despite the fact that I used to have access to electric heating.

“Hey, Lucia.”

I said, after taking a second to catch my breath.

“Yeah, Otto?”

“Thanks again.” 

“For what?” 

She asked with a hint of confusion in her voice.

“Just for being yourself, I suppose.”

“I don’t think that’s something you should thank me for. After all, it’s kinda hard for me to be anybody else, you know.”

Lucia said before giving me a peck on the cheek and recomposing herself.

“Now, shall we continue?”

“Yeah, sure that sounds good to me-”

Before I could finish, I felt something fall onto my head.

It was a snowflake.

“Huh, that's weird… I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t supposed to snow for another week or so.”

Lucia remarked before looking up at the sky.

“And from the looks of it, a blizzard might end up developing.”

“How can you tell?”

“Personal experience.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Regardless, it looks like we’re gonna have to cut our little respite short, Otto. Sorry about that.”

“No problem, it’s not like you were the one who made it start snowing.”

I said before shrugging a little.

“Also, I don’t want your parents to get worried about you, on the same day that they first met me.”

“Fair enough.”

Lucia remarked before conjuring another spark of fire.

“Welp, it’s settled then, let’s get going before we get buried in snow.”

“Lead the way.”

I said before holding out my hand expectantly.

In turn, Lucia just intertwined her fingers with mine and started leading me back to her family’s cottage.