{-Lyrei-}

  There was exactly one thing she took away from the dancing demonstration yesterday, and exactly one thought that stayed with her as they were getting ready.

  “Do you think they’re gonna do it?” Lyrei twirled in front of the mirror in order to look at every part of her new dress. “They were close while they were waltzing. Closer than they needed to be, I think. Another try at a big romantic ball will probably be what they need, won’t it?”

  She looked over at where Noa was, but he was still behind the screen getting dressed. After a moment, he said, “I think I have a good idea of what you’re talking about, but just to make sure we’re on the same page… what, exactly?”

  “You know! Kiss! Rennyn and Kaylin were practically just about to do it before, and they probably only didn’t because we were there, don’t you think? It’ll make the moment even more special if they were able to do it during the ball.”

  “Not everything’s a fairytale.”

  “I know, but you got to admit that it’ll be pretty amazing, wouldn’t it? I wonder if there’s something we could do to help them. I’m assuming they didn’t do anything—or have been doing really anything related to it—because they don’t think it’s important enough. So what do you think we could do in order to make it seem important?”

  “What about… not messing with them? Let them do it all on their own. If they want to do it, then they will, and I don’t think getting involved is going to change anything. At least not for the better.”

  She let out a stubborn hmph. “You’re spending too much time around Seldir, you know that? Now you’re just as boring as he is.”

  “I’m just saying, I think romantic feelings are a little bit down in the list of stuff we have to talk about…”

  That was also when he walked out, all dressed up in his new suit. He seemed to lose most of his confidence then, sheepishly prompting, “What do you think..?”

  “I think it’s great!”

  The tailor—who’d nearly fallen asleep on a chair on the other side of the room—perked up and grinned. “Yes, hun, it’s lovely! Go on and take a look at yourself in the mirror, see how all of it looks on you. Though if you’re willing to take my humble opinion, I can assure you that you look like a handsome young man. And I’m not just saying that because I made it.”

  He cautiously walked up to the mirror, then just… stood there. And after a moment, he smiled. “You know? I think you’re right. I like it.”

  All of their attention was drawn away from it, though, as the door slowly opened. Kaylin was talking before the door was even partially open. “You’re both in here, aren’t you? Do either of you know where Rennyn is..? I thought he might’ve been resting, but I didn’t see him in his room.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Lyrei tilted her head as she thought about it. “I think Seldir mentioned that he was going to spend some time out of town with a new friend of his. The lieutenant of the knights, I think? Said it was kind of serious, but not really anything I had to worry about. And I haven’t because, well, it’s Seldir, so…”

  “Did he say anything about Rennyn being with him?”

  “Take this with a grain of salt because I’m pretty sure I was only half-listening at the time, but I don’t think so? But… I guess that would make sense. It’s pretty obvious that he still doesn’t like just sitting around…” She shrugged. “If he did go, though, then Seldir’s with him, and Seldir knows what he’s doing. Besides, I get that he’s eager to move around, but Rennyn hasn’t seemed like the ‘let’s head straight towards wherever Dhymos’s minions were’ version of himself.”

  Slowly, Noa prompted, “Unless you know something else that we don’t?”

  It was clear immediately that there was more to it than what Kaylin was going to tell them, and that only seemed to be confirmed when she said, “It’s not something you have to worry about right now.”

  “Well, you’re worrying about it,” Lyrei remarked. “And if we’re a team… doesn’t that mean that this is something we should all at least understand? Maybe there’s nothing we can do, or you think it’s just going to bother us or something. But keeping us out of it entirely isn’t going to make things any better.”

  “I’m just worried,” Kaylin said simply. “I know he can make stupid decisions. King Dain… can’t trust us with the goddess’s armor, at least not yet. And I’m afraid that Rennyn’s going to try to do something to change that, when the only thing we can do is wait.”

  There was… a lot that could be said about the situation, honestly, and none of it was ideal. Lyrei thought of a pretty good reason to not worry so much about it, though, even if it was still her opinion from before. “Seldir’s with him. And with them together, there’s probably nothing to worry about.”

  “Besides, it’s probably around noon by now, right?” Noa prompted. “I don’t think they’re going to take much longer.”

  Kaylin didn’t quite seem to believe any of it.

  “You know, what we talked about wasn’t just whether or not Rennyn slowed down and thought about what he was doing. It was also making sure that we all trusted each other. And right now, I know you’re worried, but I think it’s safe to trust Seldir to take care of Rennyn.”

  “You’re… probably right,” Kaylin mumbled with a small nod.

  All of a sudden, the tailor clapped her hands together. “Well, I’m sure everything will turn out perfectly fine, too! And since you’re here, this is the perfect time to remind you that I need to get your outfit ready, too, love! You’ve been avoiding me since I got here. I’m here for all five of you, and if you have a problem with that, you’re going to have to bring it up to King Dain.”

  That, at least, seemed to give Kaylin something else to protest. “I don’t need your help. I’m sure we both have more important things we could be doing.”

  “Not when it’s my job, I don’t. You two, keep her here, won’t you? And you can thank your other friends’ little disappearing act for giving me nothing else to do.”

  Lyrei took the initiative immediately, practically pulling Kaylin further inside. “Come on, it’ll be fun! Then we can talk about all the stuff that could happen in the ball, too! It’ll be just what you need to relax a little, I promise!”

  “I really don’t need this,” Kaylin muttered. “It’s all just the excuse King Dain had to give in order to bring us here, wasn’t it?”

  “But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it! You can stay for at least a little bit, right?”

  “Alright…”