The Jackson Suites had turned out to be a set of rooms overlooking Eskretet's market district. There was a living area with plenty of seating and table space just as extravagant as the mayor’s office back in Tosa, and Trevor suspected this was done on purpose. The reds and golds offset each other nicely, at least.

Three other rooms shot off of the living space, and Trevor inspected them all. One was a bath room with everything he would need, and the other two were bedrooms. They were nearly identical to each other, with large canopy beds, dressers, and chairs. Testing one of the beds, he discovered that they were truly luxurious.

He did all this exploring alone. Trevor had sent the young serving girl away almost immediately, content to wait for Adabelle to return in silence. He knew better than to worry about her, and he spent his time taking in the view from a chair on the balcony.

Just above his head, a few floors up, was the golden magical circle. He had set his eyes on it for a good twenty minutes or so, watching the whole halo spin and trying to pick out anything within that he might have recognized. Eventually he gave up, having gleaned nothing except that it was very pretty.

The city below was much more interesting. Even as the moon rose higher, people were busy going to and fro both on foot and on wagons. Larger creatures more similar to rhinos than horses pulled freight that would require a team of wracors, and it seemed like everyone was preparing for the festival.

What caught his attention most were the spheres of light moving through the forest surrounding the castle. It was set between two moats and was at least a few blocks thick, and walkways could be seen through the trees at this angle.

The lights would bob and weave through the area, stop, then resume while leaving a copy of themselves behind. Even though the halo clearly illuminated everything this close to the castle, the orbs could easily be picked out.

Trevor had no idea how much time passed with everything from the forest to the city to the moonlit mountains grabbing his attention. The halo radiated a gentle heat, and eventually he fell asleep on the balcony.

When he woke up, he was covered by a jacket that he recognized as Adabelle’s. Trevor smiled to himself at this turn of events as he stood up and stretched. The sky was already beginning to brighten, and the halo hadn’t changed at all.

Turning to head back inside, he saw that one of the bedroom doors were closed, and assumed that meant Adabelle was inside. He placed her jacket on the chair nearest her room and prepared himself a shower. Since they were meeting a king today, it seemed like getting himself cleaned was going to be the easiest part.

As he was finished and dressed, a knock came at the door. Trevor hesitated, looking back towards Adabelle’s room. He had no qualms about opening a door, but if the visitor needed something from her specifically then he wasn’t sure what to do.

Before he could make a decision, the door opened to reveal Lailah and a finely dressed, older dwarven man who followed her right in. She was carrying a large bag that looked like it might have had some clothes in it, and he was toting what appeared to be a medical bag.

“Ah, Trevor, good morning!” Lailah greeted in her thick accent. “Glad to see you’re already up. Kadrus here will be taking care of you, and I’ll be taking care of Adabelle.” As she spoke she looked around. Seeing that one of the doors was closed, she head in that direction.

“She’s still sleeping,” Trevor said, stepping in front of Lailah before she could get too far. “What’s going on?”

“Not to worry about little miss bedhead, I have a Full Night’s Rest for her,” Lailah said as she stopped. “Would not believe the hoops I had to go through to get some on such short notice, but I’m nothing if not resourceful.”

“Why do we need to wake her up so soon?” he asked.

Lailah smirked and patted him on the cheek. “You have an audience with the king in just a little bit,” she explained. “So we’re going to make sure you’re both presentable.”

“In just a little bit?” Trevor asked. He hadn’t been expecting things to happen this quickly.

“Of course! I get everything done around here,” Lailah claimed. “Even when they stick me downstairs taking care of the rich folk who do nothing but complain. So, are you going to let me get in there and help my sword sister or are you going to stay in my way and I’ll have to go through you.”

“While I’m sure the latter would be a sight to see, and while I’m sure it would take you very little time or effort, taking care of her is the best thing to do right now,” he said, moving out of Lailah’s way. “Have at it.”

“Good man,” the elf said, grinning. “Kadrus, take care of him in his room, will you?”

“Yes, Lady Lailah,” the dwarf said before heading directly towards the other bedroom.

Trevor hesitated as Lailah entered Adabelle’s room and closed the door. With nothing else he could do, the young man followed the dwarf.

Who immediately closed the door behind him. “Lady Lailah said you were American.”

“That’s right.”

“Suit and tie?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Cummerbund?”

“That might be going too far, unless it’s common here?”

The dwarf shook his head. “No, I just like them,” he said as he set the bag on the bed. Reaching in, his arm went far deeper than should have been possible, and Trevor recognized it as the same type of container Melvirn worked with.

“There’s a time and place for them, I suppose. What kind of suit?“

“An Earth one that has proved favorable to Americans, styled to match Lady Adabelle.”

That perked Trevor up. “I don’t mind matching, but what do you mean by an-“

“No more talking,” Kadrus stated firmly, pulling out sewing tape. “It is time to work.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Trevor said quietly.If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

The next hour was spent being poked and prodded by the dwarven man, who had also pulled a stepladder out of his bag, and getting measurements. There were no further questions, not that Trevor knew what to ask. Getting measured actually wasn’t even the worst part, as that came after Kadrus pulled out a cream colored suit and started making adjustments.

Eventually, Trevor was forced to put it on. He was surprised to find that the fit was actually really good despite how quickly the tailor was working. It still required a few last minute changes, but those were done swiftly. The young man turned to look at himself in the mirror.

The cream colored three piece suit was accented by a dark shirt underneath and an orange tie. Looking at it closely, he noted that it was the same color as Adabelle’s eyes. Trevor moved around, trying to find anywhere that didn’t fit right, but it had been expertly done. When he turned around to thank Kadrus for his work, he saw that the dwarf had already left. He didn’t even hear the door open.

Heading out to the living space, he stopped dead in his tracks. Adabelle’s door was open, revealing the woman in all her glory. Their eyes met, and he had to stop himself from swallowing.

Adabelle wore a sweetheart cut dress that matched his suit, though it had flairs of orange near the bottom. It hugged her body before hanging like curtains from her hips, where a slit up to her thigh revealed her leg and similarly colored heel sandals. Her tail swished back and forth erratically, likely through a hole made specifically for it. Everything matched her perfectly, and Trevor couldn’t say anything about it.

“Look at that!” Lailah exclaimed, popping up directly behind Adabelle. “I told you the messenger boy would be speechless, and for good reason.”

“His name is Trevor,” Adabelle all but whispered as she took him in.

Trevor busied himself with his cuff links as he walked the rest of the way into the room. While he had been momentarily blindsided, he tried to recover gracefully. After all, he had known Lailah brought clothes with her, so he shouldn’t have been surprised.

“You look great, Adabelle,” he said after clearing his throat.

“Thank you,” she replied quietly.

“You’re both so smooth,” Lailah said with a mischievous giggle. She pushed Adabelle out of the doorway after checking the woman’s hair. Nearly the entire length had been braided, which gave her the appearance of a white waterfall all the way down to her knees. “Now, I must go, but I will be back quick quick quick for your audience.”

“You didn’t have to set it up for so early, Lailah,” Adabelle protested.

“It wasn’t me, but the king himself,” the elf claimed, tapping the other woman on the nose. “Someone made a good impression the last time she was here. But that was then, this is now, and I really must be going to get myself ready. See you soon, messenger boy.”

“Bye, Lailah,” Trevor said, not bothering to look at the smirking woman as she left. The two stood awkwardly, doing their best to watch each other without making it obvious, before the young man sighed. “Would you like to sit?”

“Yes, please,” Adabelle said before heading towards one of the lavish couches. “I do not care for dresses. Comfortable clothes with robes when I have to act in an official capacity is just fine, and armor for adventuring. Even casual wear. Just not dresses.”

“It’s probably not worth much coming from me, but I think it suits you wonderfully,” he said, taking a seat across from her in a chair. For the first time in Trevor’s life he had a suit tailored specifically for him and he was surprised by how much of a difference that made. “You may not like to wear it, but I’m glad I got to see it.”

“Well,” Adabelle started with uncharacteristic hesitation. “Perhaps I’ll grow to like it the more I wear it. We’ll have to see.”

“At least the color is really nice,” Trevor offered. “It matches you really well, which is a lot more than I can say about my pasty complexion. Well, tanned now, I suppose; I’ve spent a lot of time outside lately.”

“It’s very nice,” Adabelle said. “I’ve seen a lot of people prepare to meet the king before, and they’re usually dressed overly showy or, as Jackson would put it, super tacky. I wasn’t sure what Lailah was going to prepare for you, but she really pulled through.”

“I wasn’t expecting us to match like this,” Trevor stated. “But now that I see it, I don’t mind it.”

“Yeah, it’s nice,” Adabelle said. She reached up and tucked away one of her bangs, looking away as she smiled.

Now that she wasn’t looking at him, Trevor found himself staring as though he had somehow won their game. He drank in everything he could, from the way her ears twitched to the way her tail fidgeted to the way her hands tugged and smoothed her dress on her lap.

It wasn’t the first time he felt that she was cute, nor was it the first time he felt she was cute, but it was the first time he struggled with what to say to her.

And then, he made a decision.

Trevor opened his mouth to speak, but found that it was dry. That wouldn’t do. He stood up quickly, fast enough that Adabelle’s attention snapped back to him, and he walked towards a pitcher of water on a table near the door. Pouring himself a glass, he drank the whole thing in a few gulps. Setting it down, nearly slamming it, he turned to look at her again.

His heart beat loudly in his chest, his stomach felt queasy, but he couldn’t deny that he had to get it out.

“Adabelle,” he started, his mouth already feeling dry again. “Will you go to the festival with me?”

Adabelle’s wide eyes took on a confused look at his question. “We are going to the festival together,” she said slowly.

Trevor took a few steps towards her. “No, I mean, I’m sorry,” he said. “I meant, will you go to the festival with me.”

“With you?” Adabelle asked.

“With me,” he repeated “Like, not just as friends. But, a…”

A part of him choked as he began to say it. It wasn't as though he had never asked anyone out before. He had his fair share of relationships, both good and bad, but they never felt like they had these kinds of stakes attached to them. Adabelle was a cut above anyone else he had these feelings for.

The conversation with Wayne and what he had said flew through his head. This was all wrong, but Trevor didn’t want to stop.

While leaning heavily towards staying, he hadn’t decided yet. He knew staying was better for him, but still fumbled with the idea of shirking his responsibilities in that other world. That was strike one.

Trevor knew she hadn’t been sending him signals. While he knew he was bad at that in general, he was certain he would have noticed one or two. That was strike two.

But the moment was right. As Trevor saw her all dressed up, he knew that for a fact. It felt so, so right, and she looked so good sitting there. The potential burden of asking evaporated from his mind.

It was the right moment, he just had to seize it.

So he took his shot, and tried not to aim for his foot.

“A date,” he finally managed to say, his voice suddenly much stronger as he steeled his conviction. He took another step towards Adabelle, holding his hand out towards her. “I’d like to go to the festival with you on a date.”

Adabelle’s eyes widened again as she stiffly stood up. He set his other hand in his pocket and clenched his fist too hard, his fingernails digging into his skin, but he didn’t allow himself to relax. His mind worked overtime, watching every detail even as the negativity started piling on.

She walked up to him, and he wondered if he had made a huge mistake. As his mind continued to become clouded by his thoughts, Adabelle gently grabbed his hand with both of hers. She smiled brightly even as her face darkened from the heat of the moment.

“I would love to,” she answered quietly.

The tension was released from Trevor’s body all at once now that the hard part was over, and he inhaled deeply once he realized he hadn’t been breathing. Adabelle smelled strongly of vanilla, a fact that the young man immediately seared into his memory.

Before anything else could be said, three sharp knocks rapped on the door. The two pulled away from each other quickly as it opened, revealing Lailah in a dark dress of her own.

“Come on, both of you, we’ve got-“ the elf stopped to stare at the two rapidly reddening faces of Adabelle and Trevor before she began cackling and walking away.

Knowing they were expected, they both followed quietly, unable to stop smiling.