As Adabelle had to remove her armor, which apparently took longer than Trevor originally thought, he was told to shower first. He allowed himself a little extra time to soothe his muscles in the hot water, but not too much. After getting dressed in pajamas, he left and saw that Adabelle was ready to take her turn. The young man gave her privacy.
Heading out to the balcony just as he had the night before, Trevor looked over the city of Eskretet. He had a newfound appreciation for it now that he had seen it up close. Seeing it from the castle had its charms, but it was in the streets and amongst the people where it really became the experience he had wanted.
A moment of pity passed through him as he thought about all the nobles and foreign dignitaries who skipped out on such things. Taking tunnels to get around may have been a good way to cut some time off of your trip, but you barely got to see the city that way. While Trevor was absolutely fine with visiting Kadrus, he figured that it wouldn’t be through the tunnels if he did so again. It was the streets or bust.
Trevor smiled as he watched the floating, glowing orbs that were now making their way around the city. He knew they weren’t needed because of the abundance of street lamps, but they were pretty to look at and very on theme for what the festival was named after. Glancing back up at the halo, he figured that it had to be incredibly important, as well.
It didn’t take long for Adabelle to join him, dressed in her black pajamas and her long hair wrapped up in a towel. She wordlessly offered him a health potion as she sat down, closing her eyes while enjoying the breeze. He took it and set it in his inventory, not bothering to argue since it was such a handy item to have.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Tired and sore, but fulfilled,” she said with a languid smile. “I wanted to get it all out of my system before tomorrow, and I think I’ve succeeded.”
“That’s good to hear,” Trevor chuckled. “I’ve been thinking about it all day, and I’m not sure how it works in this world, but I’m really glad you’re here to defend my honor if I ever get challenged to a duel.”
“Oh, it’s up to me to defend your honor, is it?” Adabelle asked, opening one eye to look at him. “Should I be calling you Sir Trevor from here on? In the hopes that someone might challenge you, of course, and then I’ll get to intercept them.”
“Please, do not do that. The moment I get caught without you then I’m done for. There would be tales of brave Sir Trevor, the man who bravely ran away spreading like wildfire around the city.”
“Running away, you say?”
“Yes, running away. That’s all I’ve got going for me,” Trevor announced. “They challenge me, I’d politely decline, which will probably be ignored, and they’ll expect a sword fight or something. I’d say, ‘hold on, who said anything about swords? This is going to be a race!’ And when they’re confused, I book it. Or, if they agree, then I book it while they take it completely seriously.”
“You’re a scoundrel, you know that?” Adabelle laughed. “That would basically be an instantaneous loss, but something tells me that wouldn’t bother you.”
“I have very little stake in the game,” he said with a shrug. “I could be bothered to pick up a sword to defend your honor, but something tells me that will only work in my head, and only barely in my wildest imagination. On top of that, it’s not even needed because of how awesome you are.”
“Well, you are wrong about one thing,” she claimed, reaching over to brush some hair out of his face. He was suddenly very glad he never got that haircut he was thinking about.
“What part am I wrong about?”
“That running away is all you’ve got going for you,” she said softly. “You’re far more than that.”
Trevor smiled and looked back over the balcony. “Ah, thank you,” he said, scratching his head. He wasn’t used to accepting compliments, and changed the subject. “So, about tomorrow. I have some thoughts.”
“Go right ahead.”
“First, I’m very much looking forward to it,” he said, his smile turning into a grin. “And I received some words of wisdom from Klar.”
“Thank you for that, by the way,” Adabelle said quickly before he could continue. “I received a message from the Quest Master saying that the first quest was done, and that you were being chatty so to wait for the second. That was pretty amusing to see.”
“My pleasure, lady,” Trevor chuckled. “He told me that I should stay ignorant of the festival’s big draw. I believe he said this in an effort to make the experience better, so I would appreciate it if you helped keep me in the dark.”
“Keep you in the dark? At the Festival of Golden Lights? I don’t know, that seems like it may be too hard,” she teased.
“I’m sure you’ll manage.”
“Yes, I will,” Adabelle said with a content sigh. “Honestly, I’ve already had plans to do just that. I’m sorry to say that I’m going to be busy for the first half of the day, but what I’m getting in exchange is going to absolutely blow you away.”
“That’s fine, so long as you can join me for lunch, even if it’s a late one,” Trevor replied easily.
Adabelle hesitated. “That’s fine with you?”
“If you say I’m going to be blown away, then I believe you,” he said with a shrug. “Though, now that I’ve got lunch on my mind, would you like some hot chocolate?”
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Summoning two mugs of still-steaming hot chocolate from his inventory, he handed one to her before sipping his own. “So, you’ll never guess where I got us reservations for lunch,” he said smugly. “At least, I hope you won’t, because if you do then I was probably lied to about how exclusive it is.”
Adabelle sighed appreciatively after taking a sip of her hot chocolate. “Before I guess, is this one of the Halffle Inn’s mugs?”
“That’s right. I asked for two more for the road and promised to bring the mugs back,” Trevor replied. “But I’m really excited about this place we’re going to eat at.”
“And what if I already made plans with, I don’t know, the castle chefs?” she teased.
“We can do both, then. I can store meals in my inventory and they won’t get cold for weeks, lady,” he bragged. “We can visit every restaurant in Eskretet and have meals for days if we really wanted to.”
“Ugh, you’re so smug,” Adabelle complained as she hid her smirk behind another sip of hot chocolate. “I didn’t make any plans because I fully expected us to wander until it was night time so that you could see everything.”
“I’ve been all over the city doing another quest for Klar, delivering a huge pile of fireworks, so I’ve seen it,” he said, tapping her foot with his. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see it with you at a much slower pace. Also, you’re getting off topic, you’re supposed to be guessing.”
Adabelle pouted. “I don’t want to guess; I don’t like being wrong.”
“So you think you can be cute and I’d just tell you?” Trevor challenged.
“Am I being cute?” she challenged back, no longer bothering to hide her smirk.
Taking a breath, Trevor shook his head. “Lady, it’s like you don’t even have to try,” he chuckled. “Fine, just one guess, then.”
“Alright, just one guess, but it’s going to be the fanciest place I know and I’m going to be incredibly disappointed when it’s not. Can you live with that?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.
“No, but I’ll find a way.”
“Then my guess is Matteo’s,” she said confidently, crossing her arms with smug satisfaction. “And if you don’t take me to Matteo’s, I will be really, really, sad.”
“Dang, is this Matteo’s place really that fancy?” Trevor asked, doing his best to hide his smile.
“I’ve eaten there once and I’m on the waitlist for another meal,” Adabelle snorted. “My reservation is for the beginning of next year.”
“Wow, that’s some wait list. Is it really so impressive?”
“It is. And I made that reservation last year,” Adabelle continued. “There’s a reason why it’s so good. The chef is Summoned, and his Power is literally Cooking. Not only that, but one of his skills allows him to make little thin strips that you place on your tongue, and it figures out exactly what you like, or what you’re craving, and he makes it. There's no menu involved. There are few experiences that I would call transcendent, but eating there is one of them.”
“That sounds like it’s one of the greatest things of all time,” Trevor said, having to look over the balcony to prevent her from seeing his grin.
“Maybe, if you’re good, I’ll take you when it’s my turn,” she teased.
“I don’t know, waiting until next year?” he sighed. “Can’t we just go there, say, tomorrow? With my reservation?”
Adabelle’s confidence faltered. “… What?”
“Turns out the owner of the restaurant is a close personal friend of mine,” Trevor gloated, turning to face her. He grinned at the dumbstruck look on her face. “In exchange for doing a quest, he not only gave me an outfit to wear tomorrow, but we’re also going to be having lunch at Matteo’s.”
Jolting upright, Adabelle’s eyes went wide and her tail rapidly smacked into the side of her chair. “You’re not just teasing me right now, right?”
“I am not,” Trevor said. “Klar owns it and, not only that, he is absolutely over the moon for my Power. Says that all I need to do is say the word on where I want to go and, if he does business there, he’ll pay for the trip so long as I take goods for him. I did him a favor by stepping up to help him and his people with the fireworks tomorrow, and apparently he thought I was worth it.”
Trevor watched as Adabelle stared at him before she finally found her voice. “We’re going to Matteo’s?”
“Yup.”
“You do realize that our first date is going to be the pinnacle of our relationship, right?”
“Wow, really hyping this place up,” he said with a chuckle. “I always thought the pinnacle of our relationship was getting to know you and taking care of you, but you do you, lady.”
Adabelle blinked before shaking her head. “I’m sorry, I’m just surprised, is all,” she admitted, reaching out to place her hand on his arm. “This is the second time you’ve used your quests to help me. What I should really be saying is thank you, Trevor, for thinking of me.”
“It’s the easiest thing in the world for me,” he replied before realizing what he was saying. His face burned, but he didn’t turn away, instead taking her in under the soft glow of the castle’s halo. “And now that I’ve said it out loud I realize it was really corny, I’m sorry you had to hear it.”
“Don’t apologize to me about the way you feel,” Adabelle said softly. She seemed to hesitate.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes, everything is great,” she replied. Setting down her hot chocolate, she scooted her chair closer to his and hugged his arm with both of hers, resting her head on his shoulder just as carefully as she had before. “But, if you apologize, then it’ll make me think you’re being insincere, and I don’t want to think that of you.”
Trevor paused, though he wasn’t sure if it was because of her words or her proximity. Feeling her against him without her hard armor was more electrifying than he thought it would be, and he relished her touch even as he realized he was starved for it. He decided to unpack that later, and eventually nodded.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Adabelle,” he said with a smile, eying her horns. That would make resting his head on hers difficult, but every relationship had their own set of growing pains. “So, to recap, tomorrow you’re going to do whatever it is you signed up for in order to show me a good time. Then, we go to Matteo’s and, afterwards, probably wander the streets?”
Adabelle nodded. “Until it’s dusk, and then you’ll see the fruits of my labor. We’ll return to the castle just before dark, and by then my surprise for you will be ready.”
“This kind of sounds like the ultimate date,” Trevor noted.
“It’s going to be one we’ll remember for years, yes,” she agreed.
“Then I suppose we should start heading for bed. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and rest is important.”
As he began to stand up, Adabelle refused to let go. “I fought a lot of people today, and I deserve some friendly contact with someone who sees me as more than just a sword to overcome for glory,” she said quietly. “Maybe a few more minutes?”
Trevor was about to tease her again, but thought better of it. Pulling his hot chocolate back into his inventory, he settled back in and placed his now free hand on one of her arms.
“Take as many minutes as you need, lady,” the young man said. Truth be told, he was absolutely fine with more of this, and they sat out for a little while longer.