"I've already paid off the watch and city council. They will all look the other way, you are the only one I need to make this work," A young, overly ambitious man said, looming over an elderly woman.

"I don't care if ya paid off the Emperor himself, brat. I won't be allowin' it be done like this. It's not right," she responded, not stepping down in the face of the man.

"Let him do it how he pleases, woman. Better it be more shocking," her husband said, listening in on the conversation.

The woman sat still, deliberating for a moment. Finally, she lifted her head and spoke.

"Do what you must, but I played no part in this when she asks," the woman stubbornly replied. "For your sake boy I hope it works, else... It will be your death."

A group of seven strolled toward the city gates, headed by a large knight in shining silver armor and holding his helmet to his waist. Beside him, a slightly shorter man wearing a mages outfit stood, two Demi-Human female mages and a man donning a bow behind them, with a Celestial and Human making up the rear of the party.

"Well? 'Ave ya made the preparations?" the knight whispered to his side, glancing down to the mage.

"I've made them, Henry, but... perhaps-"

A hand nearly collapsed the mage's shoulder as it landed on it.

"Don'tcha even think 'bout backin out now, lad. We all spent a lotta time on this here, and money. Now, or never," the knight said, glaring down at the smaller gentleman.

The mage sighed but nodded his head nervously as they approached the gates.

"Are we ready to leave, Nessa?" Emily asked, looking to the Celestial standing beside her as they stood in the Association.

"Not yet, I have something I'd like to take care of in here first. You should head on out though, I'll meet everyone there."

It was a bit strange that she hadn't explained what she needed to take care of and Emily was about to ask about it, but in the end decided not to pry. Vanessa kept to herself sometimes, regardless of how much they trusted one another. She would tell her if it were important enough to tell, or in time.

"I'll be going first then, I'll see you at the restaurant dearest," Emily chirped out, hugging the disgruntled Celestial quickly before darting out of the Association and into the city proper.

She ignored the grumbling complaints from the woman behind her as the door swung shut, turned left, and began to stroll down a side road to where the taverns were located. When she had taken five steps however, she spotted Garrett by a bench, waiting for them as usual. She walked up to him and he stood up, smiling in her direction.

"Shall we?" Emily asked with a grin, holding out her left arm. "It is lovers day after all; it would be lonely not to at least pretend we both had one."

Garrett laughed and laced his own through hers as she began to set off, taking the leading role as usual with their playful banter.

"Actually," Garrett said, stopping her from advancing, "I was hoping we could try out a new restaurant today. It is in the other direction, do you mind?"

"Not at all!" Emily replied, beaming. "New sounds interesting. How will Vanessa and the others know, though?"

Garrett lifted his hand and wrote something in the air with his mana colored bright orange before sending off five beams in different directions, one going directly into the building Emily had just left.

"There, now they do. May I?" he asked, dropping her hand and spinning around to face the opposite direction, holding out his left arm for her to grab onto while calmly meeting her gaze.

Emily hesitated slightly before nodding and latching on, a slight blush tracing across her face. It was a bit embarrassing when he came off so serious. The man was handsome in his own way, and it really was lovers day.

As they slowly progressed through the city in the direction Garrett led her, she began to become intensely aware of how close their bodies were, walking arm in arm. The warmth of his pulling her close, his breath in the crisp air brushing past her cheek, the way he would glance over every so often to make sure she was comfortable... it all began to play further on the strings of her heart and while noticeable to her, he continued to lead her, oblivious to her thoughts and musings, sporting his same light yet confident smile.

The atmosphere only deepened as the crowds died away on their stroll, a rose petal flourishing through the air in front of them or resting on the sidewalk where they were walking. People loved the flowers on this day and the hustle and bustle of the world around them combined with the breeze must have caused more than a few to become jostled, losing a petal or two.

The same wind danced through her hair as she glanced up to him again, noticing a faint blush playing across his face as he caught her eye. Her heart skipped for a moment before a playful grin crossed her face, slight relief spreading through her body that she wasn't the only one embarrassed by this situation. He quickly reset his gaze forward, as if caught peeping. She nearly laughed.

The atmosphere lightened from then on until Garrett began to slow, pointing out their destination. An impressive larger building with a much newer appearance than those around it sat taller than those around it as well as holding an outside dining area surrounded by a white fence. Different colored flowers were elegantly laced up and down the fence leading to the archway that was the entrance, granting them access to a stone walkway.

Glancing around as they walked underneath the arch, Emily began to wonder why everything was so beautiful, yet no one was around to enjoy it. Perhaps this restaurant had a poor reputation if such a display still wasn't enough to attract customers, yet she had a feeling that wasn't it either when considering how vacant the surroundings were as well.

"Hmm, that is strange," he said, leading her forward along the stone pathway.

Her feet dragged slightly as she gazed about, absorbing the scenery of flowers upon the arch and the tables around them. It seemed impractical to have roses just resting on the tables rather than in vases, but perhaps the shopkeeper had thought to try something different specifically for this lovers day?

'But how will they fit plates...'

"Garrett, maybe we should go somewhere else today? This... this is enchanting, but it seems like someone might have bought the place out. We shouldn't interrupt if they're inside already," Emily said worriedly.

"It will be ok, the sign still says open, see? Plus, I made a reservation yesterday, I am sure they would have notified me if something came up."

Emily nodded but still required his leading to allow her feet to trudge forward as her heart beat rapidly in her chest. His reached outward and rested his hand on the door handle, slowly pulling it open while stepping to the side. She nodded and took a step forward as the warm scent of flowers and a beautiful strum of instruments to cascaded across her, a lone table occupying the entirety of the restaurant with a single rose set in the middle of it. Red tapestries hung from the ceiling and framed the table as candles along with some half-open shutters dimly lit the room.

Her hand clenched his arm tightly as she turned back to him and whispered.

"It's... beautiful. We... we really should go before they show up. I don't want to ruin this surprise for whoever set this up. Anyone would be lucky to have someone like that, but imagine them finding two random adventurers in the way."

He leaned closer to her and whispered back, his breath dancing across her neck as he spoke.

"You have no idea how relieving it is to hear you say that, Em. Please don't leave though," he said, pausing briefly as he stepped around her and made for the table, "it would make this much more embarrassing for me than it already is."

With that, her arm dropped off his as he continued forward, her eyes widening. He pulled out the closer of the two chairs before him and turned to her.

"I was hoping you'd allow me to share a meal with only you today, Emily."

Frozen in place, her heart continued its fast pace and her face flushed more than it had in years as she remembered their stroll here. Quiet streets, flower petals, the five messages, Vanessa ... all leading to this moment where a man she'd rarely seen blush was flushed as red as a rose while holding out a chair, waiting for her answer.

She nodded.