I cried into Enora’s chest, remembering the eyes of my parents. She didn’t say anything and pulled me close.

Once I finally stopped crying, she wiped the tears away. Her beautiful red jewels looked at me in worry. “Are you okay? Was it that owlbear?”

“No…Well kinda…That owlbear’s dead eyes reminded me of the last time I looked my parents in the eye. I really am weak…”

She shook her head, before pulling me back into her embrace. “You aren’t weak. It is okay to be sad. As long as you can smile when it's all over, okay?”

I nodded as I tightened my own embrace. “Can you hold me like this for a while?”

“Of course…I can hold onto you anytime.” She stroked my hair gently.

“Enora…Do you think my parents would be happy?”

“I don’t know. I hope if they are watching you that they like me. If they aren’t happy… I just need to become a person that would make them happy. Make you happy.”

I looked up into her eyes once more. The crimson irises stared back into my own brown eyes. “I think they would like you. Maybe they would say I should have gotten to know you more first, but you already make me happy. I have never felt this before. The warmth of your touch brings me butterflies. The warmth of your eyes when they look at me makes me nervous, but I can’t look away. The warmth of your heart that would love me makes me happier than I could ever imagine. You do tease me a lot, but I know you are a clumsy princess. I love you so much even though we don’t know much about each other. I want to know everything there is about Enora Twilight. I already know your favorite color. Now, I want to know more. Like…what kind of music do you like? What are your favorite activities? I know my parents would also love you. I would be scared of them taking you away if anything. You are just…Just…Like staring at the sun. Even though you are…”

“Shhh…”Her face was bright red and her eyes watery.

Before I had a chance to close my own, she kissed me. I leaned into the kiss, and closed my eyes. My lips shared the warmth of her own.

I finally broke away from Melle’s lips. If she said anymore, I wouldn’t have been able to keep it together. Her honest confession made me feel so happy I could cry. I thought I was the one trying to cheer her up. She called me bright, yet she was the one. She called me clumsy, yet she was the clumsiest person I knew. She said she loved me so much, and now I couldn’t let her go. I hoped her parents were looking at their kind daughter. This girl who is so honest with her feelings.

“Dork…” That was the only thing I could say as I held onto her at that moment.

“Yes?”

“Dork…” If I said I wasn’t crying, that would have been a lie.

“Yes?...”

“Dork…” I cried tears of joy while holding her close.

“E-enora… Wh-what’s wrong?”

“I-I am just so ha-happy…” Nobody had ever said something like that to me before. The honesty in her voice as she spoke her truth about me brought me to tears. The honest beating of her heart as she told me all of that made the tears flow out. Why was she the one making me happy after she was sad? Was this something normal for her? I also wanted to know everything about her. If she could make me this happy I also…

“I love you so much, Melle…” I held onto her tightly. She was like water. If I didn’t hold onto her tightly and keep her love in a dam it would flow away from me. I would never let that happen. I would prove to her that she was amazing, and I would prove to her parents that I was someone worth holding onto. I looked into her eyes full of warmth again. Even through blurry vision, I could see her love for me.

“Dork…”

“I know…”

“Dork…”

“I know…”

“Dork…”

“I know… Jeez, after all that… It’s okay, I still love you anyway, and I will always be your dork.”

“How long are you two going to be sappy? It’s gross…The owlbear is dismantled by the way…Thanks for the help.” I had felt her coming, and still I let my guard down.

Melle was too much. Too dangerous. She would definitely be the death of us. My face was flushed, and I needed to take this embarrassment out on someone. The source of the interruption was the obvious choice.

“Shut up, Chibi!”

“Like I said! It is Nai-chi-bee! Come on you two! We need to hurry and eat, or our quest will be delayed! Sheesh… Stupid vampire…Stupid Melle…” She walked away, not giving either of us a chance to reply.

“I think we should listen to our new friend. I feel better now.” Melle stood up and stretched. Then she reached one of them out towards me. “Come on, partner!”

“Yes!” I grabbed onto her own warm hand, letting her assist me in standing. I used my other hand to pull out my parasol before we walked back to the others. “Dork.”

“I love you too!” She proclaimed and kissed my cheek.

When we arrived the owlbear was already dismantled into neat chunks.

“On second thought…I think I’ll wait in the carriage,” Melle said, trying to pull herself away from me.

“What kind of adventurer can’t stand the sight of a fresh kill?” Ethora asked in annoyance. I couldn’t help but glare at the dark elf.

“It’s okay. She is right…” Melle tightened the grip on my hand, but she steeled herself as we walked close. Despite being afraid, she was walking forward. Despite being disgusted, she still moved. She said she was weak, but in comparison to me, she was so strong.

“Can you store the rest of that, Miss Enora?”

I did as the Dothnur asked, storing the chunks on the ground in my own space. Once it was gone, Melle breathed a sigh of relief.

“Are you seriously an adventurer, Miss Melle?” Ethora stared at my love in disbelief.

I was frustrated. They didn’t know how strong she actually was, and they didn’t know how much their words could hurt. I grit my teeth together, but when I looked at Melle she was still smiling.

“I am sorry. I don’t have any excuse, but I am still new to this.”

Don’t!

Melle bowed in apology. “I am still new to this, but I will become stronger. I already have my affinities. Now, I just need to learn to use them. Then, I will wake a sleeping giant!” She clenched her fist.

I was right. She really was stronger than me.

Ethora returned her a smile as she chuckled. “That’s good. It is great to have aspirations. I already knew you were green, so it is fine. The food is almost done, so sit there on the grass.”

The smell of the owlbear wafted to my nose. I had only drank Melle recently, but her taste was the best. Still, the meat did smell good…

For the first time since I met Melle, I ate a regular meal. The taste couldn’t compare to the life nectar of my love, but it was decent.

“You have a piece of meat on your cheek…”

I blushed, but before I could get it myself, Melle was faster. She used her mouth to clean it off.

“EWWWW! Stop! I hate both of you!”

“HAHAHAHAHA!”

Enora rested her head on my lap again. The carriage bounced along the road once more after our break. My face was on fire. “Did I really say all of that? So embarrassing…”

“Dork, if it was that embarrassing to say. Why did you say it?”

“I mean…It was all true…”

“I hate both of you. We didn’t even learn anything about magic during that stop because you became so sappy.”

“It’s fine chibi. We still have tonight,” Enora said.

“It’s Nai-chi-bee…”

“Are you making fun of me!?” Nychibi got loud again.

“No, no. I would never dream of…” I waved my hands trying not to laugh.

“Hehe…who is the evil one now?” Enora smirked.

“This is why I hate both of you.”

“I’m sorry, Nychibi. You are easily teasable.”

Nychibi went red before turning her head out the window again. “Whatever…”

I poked the cheek of the sleeping princess in my lap as it started to become dark outside. I knew we would soon be stopping again. “Five more minutes, Melle Melle…”

“If you don’t wake up I will bite your cheek.” Her cheeks were very squishy and easily biteable.

“Mghhh…Ow!”

I clomped down on her cheek, nomming away at the squishy.

“Why did you do that?”

I pointed out the window of the carriage. “It’s getting dark outside.”

She sat up from my lap just as the carriage stopped. “Does that mean you have to bite my face? Are you the vampire here?”

“Hehe, I could be…” My eyes wandered all over her face.

“Come on, you two. We need to set up camp, and don’t forget you said we would learn magic tonight!” Nychibi said, pointing at my girlfriend.

We listened to our new friend and piled out of the carriage. We helped Ethora pull out food for the piris, and Enora pulled out more of the owlbear meat from her storage.

“How much stuff do you have in there?” I asked.

“Piri! Piri!”

“Not too much. There was this outfit…” She pointed at her frilly gothic dress. “There are the outfits and toothbrushes we got from those stores. There is the rest of the owlbear meat, some coins from my home, and a few mementos. Some of them are from Earth.” After laying down the owlbear meat, she started to feed Crowberry.

“Piri. Piri.”

Ethora began to cook the owlbear meat in a pot over the campfire. She was making owlbear stew, and Nychibi sat near the campfire, tapping her bird foot impatiently. After the piris were fed, we also sat down next to the fire. The pot boiled away; meanwhile, we were leaning against Crowberry. He seemed to like Enora a lot, and he didn’t mind me laying against his black feathers.

“Piri. Piri.” This time Snowberry was the diligent guardian of the carriage.

“It’s time to teach us magic, vampire!”

“I will teach you both after you have eaten. Patience is a virtue, chibi.”

“Fine. I will hold you to that, then.”

Ethora handed bowls to everyone. “Say…Why do you want to learn magic so badly, Miss Nychibi. I watched you take down that owlbear. You seem strong without…”

“I have to! Without magic, I will never be able to achieve my goal.”

Ethora raised her eyebrow as she brought a spoonful of stew to her mouth. “It is good to have goals. I also have something I want.”

“What’s that?” The green bird asked between bites.

“You all met my cousin Belethor. He settled down as a merchant in Fallicri, but that isn’t a life I want. Sitting in one place, nothing ever happens. He asked me so many times why I hadn’t tried to settle down yet. Roaming around with these two…”

“Piri!” “Piri.”

“...That is something I am more suited for.”

“Right. But that doesn’t answer the question. What do you want?” I asked after my own bite of the stew. It was delicious, but still, why were there the same vegetables again?

“I have no idea what I want…”

“Huh?”

“I have no idea what I want. I figured at some point in my journey I would find it, but I still don’t know. Maybe I will find it this time…” She looked up towards the stars twinkling so far away. “I am going to sleep. Can you three put that pot away when you are done?”

“Sure.”

“I wonder what that was all about?” I asked as soon as Ethora fell asleep.

“More importantly! Magic Time! Miss, Vampire!”

“Sure, ‘Miss’ chibi,” Enora said.

Nychibi didn’t quip back; instead, we both sat intently awaiting Enora’s words. It was like I was in school again. I was down bad for the teacher in this instance, though.

“You know, maybe I should get you glasses after all?”

“What are you talking about now, dork?”

“I was just thinking that you would look really cute in glasses, and it would fit the situation.”

Her cute face went red, but sadly there was a buzzkill among us. “Seriously! You two need a room! I don’t want to hear anymore! Magic…please.”

“Right...the next part is actually hard, so listen closely. Especially you, dork.”

I straightened up my back and paid close attention to the lesson.

“You have both already learned to move the mana in your bodies, and you have both succeeded in pushing the mana out. The next part involves visualization and instinct.”

She pushed a thin black mist out of her hand. “You need to be able to visualize the effect you want as well as the element. At the same time, you have to convert the mana inside your body to the desired element. This is the part that is more instinctual and different for everyone. Your body already knows the elements it can use, but you can’t actualize them without a trigger. For me it was easy to use shadow, since I lived in it. Imagining a shadow was simple, and the instinct of changing my internal mana was the same.”

“So it has to be instinctual? But earth should be easy since I lived on Earth? There was earth everywhere.”

“You lived in a city, dork. Maybe it would have been easier if you lived in a mud hut. Then you would have had water and earth around you. I don’t really know how to explain something instinctual, but that is how it is for me.”

“So I just have to imagine the wind? I have to feel the wind in myself? This will be easy since I can fly!” Nychibi proclaimed as she puffed her flat chest out.

“I wouldn’t be so sure…”