{-Rennyn-}

  It was grounding, in a way—to be out in the cold, to hear the crunching snow beneath their feet and see the puffs of air from each exhale. It may not have been the most interesting scenery, as everything was either dead or covered in snow, but it was a welcome one. He was still a ways away from a complete recovery, but he took no longer lying in bed as good progress.

  Also, he surprisingly found some enjoyment out of throwing snowballs at Noa. Even if Rennyn also used it as a reminder that the fight in front of him was, in fact, for training, and neither of his friends were in any real danger.

  “H-hey!” One snowball hit Noa’s shoulder, which made him miss the lunge he’d planned for Seldir. “Why are you only picking on me?”

  In one swift motion, Seldir knocked Noa to the ground and pointed a spear to his chest. “Because you still need some work with distractions.” Seldir sat his spear aside and helped Noa up. “But that was pretty good, all things considered. You doing alright?”

  “If you stopped throwing random stuff at me I’d be better…”

  “You have to pay attention to all of your surroundings. Next time, try to figure out when Rennyn’s going to throw it. You’ll have more time to react to everything that way. Maybe Lyrei will be willing to volunteer to throw some snowballs at me, too, so you can see how I handle it.”

  “Okay.”

  “Now, how about some hot cocoa?”

  “Yes, please. It’s freezing out here…”

  Noa went ahead and walked inside, but Seldir instead brought his attention to Rennyn. “Are you going to come in, too? Need any help?”

  “Despite Kaylin’s reaction to just about anything I do, I am capable of taking care of myself,” was Rennyn’s simple answer as he stood up. He hadn’t exactly meant for it to be harsh, just the truth.

  Luckily, Seldir seemed to understand that. “And as long as you know where your limits are, I don’t mind.” Just before he went inside, he said, “I’ll make sure you’ve got a cup of cocoa, too. We’ll all have some.”

  Seeing that he was already gone, Rennyn simply decided to thank him for it later. Instead, he just took one last deep breath of the cold air to prepare himself for what awaited him back inside. It would be loud enough to make him on edge, warm enough that he was reminded of everything that he had to protect… and it would have his companions, who always brought along a mixed sense of happiness and dread at the thought of being with him.

  But it was something that he was going to go in and conquer anyway, because that’s what had to be done. Besides, he knew that the cocoa was good, and he was starting—or at least trying—to get comfortable with accepting those small fragments of light where he could.

  So he walked in, then went over to where Lyrei and Noa were.

  “Do you know where Kaylin went?” Rennyn prompted. “She shouldn’t have anywhere to be…”

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  “A knight came and wanted to talk to her,” Lyrei said. “Dunno what it was for, though. He didn’t say a whole lot before convincing her to go somewhere else. Oh, and before you ask, they literally went right outside. I’ve been able to see her for most of their conversation from here.”

  “I should go see—”

  “I’m pretty sure they’re done by now. I saw the knight walk away a minute ago.”

  Before he could ask any more questions or try to think of a solution on his own, Seldir came back with a small tray. He sat a cup of cocoa in front of each of them, setting an extra one on the table and taking the last one for himself.

  “I figured Kaylin would want one, too,” he said, almost to himself. “I know she doesn’t want to admit it, but she likes this stuff just as much as the rest of us. Besides, we’ve got the money to spare for once—all those extra chores around the place really did us some favors.”

  It wasn’t a moment after he sat down that he noticed someone and waved. “And here she comes.”

  Rennyn actually had to try very hard not to immediately ask the question. Instead, he waited until Kaylin joined them, and quietly thanked Seldir for the cocoa. Rennyn could tell that something was slightly off, though, and he saw the letter that she had with her. So he then chose to get straight to the point and ask, “What did that knight want? Lyrei said you met with someone. Is that where the letter came from?”

  And despite his concerns, she didn’t really seem worried when she explained, “I was told not to talk about it out loud too much, since it might draw attention to us, but you can read the letter. It’s overall a good thing.”

  “But something’s wrong. Like something else happened.”

  “Well, I was certainly surprised and, honestly, a bit hesitant… There’s no need to worry, though. Go on and read it.”

  He cautiously took the letter and opened it, immediately noticing the official seal of Askoria’s royal family. Then he read on to realize it was a formal invitation to a ball, with a handwritten note attached to it reading, ‘I’ll provide what you need. Meet me in the throne room once you get there, too, and I’ll explain why it took so long. We have a lot to talk about. -King Dain.’

  …

  Lyrei was practically singing. “I told you we were going to attend a ball! It was bound to happen eventually, with all the nobles we’re meeting! Ooh, I’m excited already!”

  “I don’t think you’re going to like it as much when you get there,” Noa warned. “I’ve been to a couple of them. They’re not exactly the romantic evenings that you’re probably imagining.”

  “We’ll be there by request of the king,” Kaylin said. “You all have to remember that you’ll be in front of countless nobles. Our actions, except for Noa’s—but frankly I trust his judgment when it comes to this—will be a reflection on King Dain. And that’s not something we want to mess up.”

  Rennyn, meanwhile, was more stuck trying to remind himself that it didn’t have to end badly. A vocal part of him feared for the worst, not just about the ball but of the situation in general, and he knew that he had to shut it up somehow. It was a lot easier to do when the idea was a bit closer to reality than he would’ve liked.

  “I don’t think we should worry about that yet,” he mumbled. “We still have to see what King Dain has to tell us. The ball was probably just a good reason to get us to come.”

  “But we’ll still be able to go, right?” Lyrei prompted. “I mean, that part of the invitation seemed genuine. And I really, really want to see what a real noble ball looks like.”

  Seldir shrugged. “I guess that;s something we’re just going to have to wait and see. But between all of the stuff with Dhymos and his minions, I think it’s… definitely a change of pace. Maybe not a good one, but we can see what it ends up being.”

  Rennyn mumbled something that vaguely resembled an agreement. He walked a little quicker though, when they got to the castle gates and pulled out the invitation for the guard to see. “We’re here by request of King Dain. Can you let us in?”

  The guard only gave a passing glance at the invitation, as well as the attached note, before nodding. “I’ll show you to the throne room. King Dain will be able to talk to you there.”