Chapter 35: A Memorable Day

I take aim at the junior knight in front of me, I pull the trigger on my rifle and the bullet punches clean through his shield and he shatters into motes of light. I look back at the front and I see a small group of knights flanking to left. Alfie and Jacob had their hands full fending off the assault from the front.

I swap to my SMG [Thousand Cuts] and I spray into the flanking forces. Those who had shields raised them, the bullets denting and sparking off the metal surface. The shields were not full metal, they were made of sheets of metal, over leather and wood. I’m pretty sure modern firearms can go through a shield like that back in my world but it seems things are different here. Afterall Thousand Cuts had much lower damage as compared to even Danse Macabre.

However, one of the knights without a shield shattered into motes of life when one of the shots hit him in the eye. The rest of them were freezing up from the [Fear] effect, all of them hunkering down as the shots pinged off their armor. Idly I wondered if I could even inflict fear onto the demons.

[Sunlight Spear] Charlotte shouts as her spear flies at the grouped mass of knights. We were getting a lot of new skills these past few days as we fought stronger opponents in training. Her spear struck the middle of the group and there was a burst of white light. The knights yelped as they began stumbling around, her spear had an effect where it inflicted [Blind II] to those struck by the burst.

[Blazing Bolt] Momo intoned as a ball of fire flew at the group, the fireball detonated incinerating all the grouped up knights. Well that's what you get for not watching your spacing…

[Searing Lance] Momo shouted as she hurled a blue flamed spear at the front line. The spear punched right through two of the knights, their raised shields melting from the strike. That’s one of her new skills, she got it after she was pummeling a Mage barrier yesterday. It’s damage was high and had high [Magic Penetration] but it was an extremely narrow projectile.

I turned to look at Momo and saw her eyes were now ablaze with fire. That was from her other new skill [Fiery Soul]. This was by far her most interesting new skill, it made it so that the higher her [Arcane Heat] the more damage her spells did. This made her increasingly more dangerous as the fight dragged on and if she could manage her [Arcane Heat] well she would be able to fight more effectively from the increased damage.

[Draining Mire] I hear Ivan shout as the floor below the group of knights turns to a sticky black mud. The knights shouted as they tried to extract themselves from the sticky mire they now found themselves in.

[Ferrus Cull] Ivan said as his pickaxe glowed red and he swung at one of the knights. The knight raised his shield in an attempt to block but the strike crumpled his shield like a tin can and the knight was blown in motes of light.

[Concussive Wave] Jacob said as his shield shot forward and white wave blasted the front line back. It was a new skill that turned his single target [Concussive Bash] into an area of effect knockback and stun.

Really powerful when paired with Alfie’s upgraded [Throat Piercer], her skill didn’t change much with the skill only going up two ranks, so now it was actually [Throat Piercer III] but she didn’t have to say the whole thing to use it. The main thing now is that she could now do three quick jabs instead of one. Sure enough Alfie shouts her skills and her three quick jabs find three throats.

This battle looked pretty much over, I looked over and saw Volva cut down another knight as Ivan blow three more apart with his [Beryl Shatter]. They were all getting pretty good at working together, now they were using their abilities to complement each other which made them much more dangerous.

[Thorned Shackles] Amethine said as purple thorns emerged from the ground and bound the last few knights. They groaned in pain as the thorns dug into the gaps of their armor drawing blood. Amethine had some interesting developments as well, she was getting Dark Magic as new spells. She got this spell one when she recognised one of the knights who had raped her in the past. The knight was facing us in a spar and Amethine recognised his voice. She tried to hit him with [Lightning Spear] in anger but it was blocked. That was the moment she got the spell, those were some really nasty thorns. They inflicted [Poison] and [Bleed] and if the target was bound for long enough the [Bleed] would turn into the [Hemorrhage] status ailment. This will cause the target to bleed profusely from all the wounds they have. Considering how much the thorns cut into the bodies of those it bound, they would be losing alot of blood if they received the [Haemorrhage] ailment.

[Rapid Fire] I intone as I take aim with my rifle [Simuna’s Regards] and the heads of the last knights explode from the shots.

“Well that’s it I guess.” I say as I swap out [Simuna’s Regards] with Danse Macabre and holster it.

“I think we’re getting better at this.” Charlotte said cheerfully.

“Yeah, definitely.” I say with a smile.

“Ahh that’s a good fight, nothing like a battle to get your blood circulation going.” Jacob said as he walked over.

“Nice to see you’re getting used to this.” I reply.

“Well I was always the kind of guy to hit the gym to unwind. Not really into lifting weights but a few good miles on the treadmill works great for me.” Jacob said as he gave me a thumbs up.

“Good to hear.” I reply with a laugh.

“Oh yes Katsuro?” Charlotte said suddenly from the side.

“Hmm?” I ask as I turn to face her.

“Could you head down the armourer for me and get a few extra strips of cloth? I wanna do something with my armor.” Charlotte asked.

“Sure.” I reply as I furrow my brow slightly, confused at the request. I don’t mind helping my girlfriend on something like this but it was an odd request considering she could easily do it herself.

“Thanks, I don’t like walking around the castle unless I absolutely have to. I don’t like the stares I get…” Charlotte said sheepishly.

“Yeah no problem. Any cloth will do?” I ask.

“Yes anything will do.” Charlotte said happily.

Is it just me or is everyone acting happier than usual today? I don’t recall ever seeing Charlotte this… bubbly.

“Alright see you guys back in the room.” I reply as I turn and head off to get the cloth.

Well whatever, I’ll just go get that cloth and head back to the room.

The trip over to the blacksmith went quickly enough, when I said I was retrieving the cloth for Charlotte the blacksmith immediately gave it to me. It was a nightmare to get anything for myself here in the castle. No one wanted to help me and everyone gave me dirty looks. Well a glare would always get them moving. I guess Styx was right being feared is definitely useful. No matter how much you dislike someone, if that someone can kill you then you best do as he says.

So with that I headed back to the room and as I approached the door I noticed something strange. There was no talking on the other side of that door, in fact all I heard was the occasional shuffling of feet. Like someone was sneaking around in there…

Are we getting robbed? Where are the rest?

Well let’s see who’s brave enough to try and rob ME…

I draw my Danse Macabre and swap to Thousand Cuts. I take position by the door and kick it open. I point my gun inwards and move in…

“SURPris….” I hear voices shout as it peters out.

I look around the room and see my party standing in the room with surprised looks on their face. My gaze turns upwards and I see a big banner with the words HAPPY BIRTHDAY written in red.

“Erm what’s going on?” I ask as I look at the banner.

“It’s a birthday celebration.” Jacob said awkwardly.

“Who’s birthday is it?” I ask as I look around the room.

“Before we answer that could you put that down…” Jacob said as he pointed at the smg that had it’s barrel pointed at Ivan.

“Oh right, sorry.” I reply sheepishly as I swap back to Danse Macabre and holster it.

“So… who’s birthday is it?” I ask as I look around the room.

“It’s yours!” Charlotte said in exasperation as she walked over to me and took my hand.

“It’s not my birthday, is it?” I reply in confusion as I look at her.

“Well you told me your birthday is two weeks before mine and my birthday is two weeks from now.” Charlotte said as she held both of my hands in hers.

“Oh… you actually keep track of the dates? Also sorry about that, I thought we had an intruder or something ” I reply sheepishly as I scratch the back of my head.

“I mean knowing you we probably should have expected you might react like that. Anyway, the calendar here is a little different but we all figured out the dates after a while.” Jacob said.

“Oh, err… well let me show you what my personal calendar looks like.” I say slightly embarrassed.

I walk over to my room and take out the calendar journal I got from one of the attendants. I opened it and showed them what I had written. It was just a list of things to do and the date of arrival for the rifts. I didn’t really care whether it's the fourth season of the waxing moon or whatever. I just know what will happen in how many days.

“You need to unwind dude. That looks like a workaholics calendar.” Jacob said as he slapped his hand on my shoulder and began leading me to the couch.

“Take a seat my friend.” Jacob said as he gave me a wink.

I sit down slightly at a loss on what to do. My last birthday celebration was when I was fourteen and even for that one it was a simple one. With my dad off fighting no one was really in the mood…

It’s been so long since I’ve even thought of a birthday celebration. I remember there’s supposed to be a cake and presents but that’s about it. Then again I feel I’m a bit old for presents…

Just as I thought of that I saw Charlotte walk over with a brightly coloured fruit cake. There was a single red candle that was lit, it’s warm orange glow gently swaying as Charlotte put it on the table.

“I didn't know what kind of cake you like, so I made you a fruit cake. I remembered that the Japanese like cakes made from crepes so I made it in that style.” Charlotte said a bit nervously.

“You made this?” I asked incredulously.

The cake looked amazing, it was made of many many layers of crepes with what looks to be cream in between the layers. The top was dusted with what looked like sugar and the fruits on top were covered with a shiny layer of sugar. At the centre the candle looks to be planted in a strange orb made of chocolate.

“I told you I would make you something one day.” Charlotte said shyly.

“You're looking at almost a day's work Katsuro.” Jacob said with a grin.

“A day? Where did you get the time?” I asked in surprise.

“You know how yesterday I said I wasn’t feeling well because it was… the time of the month…” Charlotte said as she blushed.

“Let me guess, you lied.” I say with a smirk.

“Well… yeah.” Charlotte said with a playful smile as her face turned pink.

“Alright alright, save the love dovey stuff, song first.” Jacob said with a laugh.

So with a laugh they all began to clap and sing. It’s been awhile since I heard the song Happy Birthday. I don’t really remember if I’m supposed to sing or clap or just wait… so I just decided to awkwardly clap along.

I’ll just admit it, I’m not good at this kind of thing. I wasn’t the most outgoing type so I usually just tagged along during most excursions with my friends. Most of my birthdays were rather private affairs with me mostly spending them with my family. I never liked parties…

“And now a special performance by your significant other.” Jacob said dramatically as the song ended.

With that everyone went silent as I turned my gaze to Charlotte who was standing in front me her face pink. I saw her take a breath as she put a graceful hand at the base of her neck and she began to sing…

I found a boy… for me...

Oh darling, if you dive right in, I’ll follow your lead

Well, I found a boy, handsome and sweet

Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me…

Her beautiful voice washed over me and what came next left me gobsmacked...

Baby ich tanze durch die Nacht,

mit dir in meinem Arm,

barfuß auf dem Gras,

hören wir unseren Lieblingssong.

Wenn du sagst du fühlst dich schlecht,

flüster‘ ich leise bis du checkst was du wert bist,

Baby du bist perfekt für mich.

How the hell is she singing in German? I thought our words were auto translated but… as I listen to her sing I start to realise why she is a singer worthy of a king. She just sounded so much better in her native language…

Well I found a man, stronger than anyone I know

He shares my dreams, I hope that someday I'll share his home

I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets

To carry love, to carry children of our own...

As I listen I start to feel my eyes grow hot and I struggle to blink back tears…

Baby ich tanze durch die Nacht,

mit dir in meinem Arm,

barfuß auf dem Gras,

hören wir unseren Lieblingssong.

Wenn du sagst du fühlst dich schlecht,

flüster‘ ich leise bis du checkst was du wert bist,

Baby du bist perfekt für mich...

When the song ended I didn’t know what to say, I just looked at her with my eyes wet. I stood up and pulled her into a hug as I placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

“Thank you…” I whisper as I feel her hand reach up and cup my cheek.

“Your welcome…” Charlotte replys softly.

“I don’t deserve you…” I say as I tighten my hug.

“You do… you just haven’t realised it yet…” Charlotte said as she pecked me on the cheek.

“Thank you…” I say as I finally feel the tears fall.

“Happy birthday…” Charlotte said as she pulled back slightly and gently wiped the tears from my face.

I pressed my forehead against hers, I don’t care if everyone was watching. To me Charlotte was all that existed now, nothing else mattered…

“I love you Charlotte…” I say softly.

“I love you too…” Charlotte replied gently with a smile.

We stood there for a while as we just enjoyed being in each other’s company. But like all good things it ends eventually.

“Come on we still need to blow out the candles.” Charlotte said with a giggle as she pulled away and led me back to the cake.

“Make a wish.” Charlotte said as sat down and faced the cake.

I don’t really know what to wish for if I’m honest, I don’t really want many things at the moment. I guess beating the Rifts would be a good wish. Although it does seem kind of lame, that’s like wishing on your birthday that you would do well at work…

I feel I have pretty much everything I want right here, that is of course excluding the crazy things like bringing the dead back to life…

Everything I want is right here… the dead back to life…

I know what I want to wish for…

With my wish in mind I blew out the candle to the sound of clapping from the rest of my party.

“What did you wish for?” Ivan asked curiously.

“He can’t tell you that, it breaks the tradition.” Jacob replied with a laugh.

“It’s fine, I wished…” I say but I pause as I look around at all the smiling faces around me.

“My wish is that we all can do this again next year, all of us.” I say with a smile.

“Sounds good to me.” Jacob said as he plopped down next to me on the sofa and slapped me on the shoulder.

“Now pull out the candle.” Charlotte said eagerly.

Seeing her excitement at the suggestion, I reached over to pull the candle out of the chocolate orb. I bet there’s another surprise here, maybe fireworks would shoot out or something…

As I removed the candle the chocolate orb opened up and it fell apart into slices. It turned out the chocolate orb was hollow and made from many segments. The orb was held together by the candle and now with the candle gone, it fell apart and gooey caramel flowed out and covered the cake.

“Now that is cool…” I say as I look at the flowing caramel that was now dribbling down the sides of the cake.

“Took me a few tries to get right. You like it?” Charlotte said as she sat down next to me.

“I love it.” I say as I wrap an arm around her.

“Glad to hear it.” Charlotte said with a giggle.

Then we cut the cake and I gave everyone a slice before I took one for myself. When I took the first bite, I was surprised to find I could taste it. I could really taste it, not the usual numbed taste that I’ve been enduring. I could REALLY taste it, the sweet cream between the layers, the syruppy caramel, the tart sugar coated fruits, all of it…

“What’s wrong?” Charlotte asked as she noticed my pause once I put the cake in my mouth.

“I can taste it…” I reply as I turn to her, my eyes wide.

Charlotte’s eyes widened for a moment then her mouth turned into the widest smile I have ever seen on her face.

“That’s great…” Charlotte said, her voice shaky as her eyes watered.

“I guess you kept your promise to make me something when I got my sense of taste back.” I say as I pull her close and she leans her head on my shoulder.

“Yes I suppose I did…” Charlotte said as I planted a kiss on the top of her head.

The party then progressed with me and Charlotte feeding each other the cake. I don’t remember the last time I was this happy, I need to make sure everyone gets out of this in one piece...

Then Ivan took a seat next to me.

“Hey Ivan, thanks for helping with all this.” I say as I grab a glass of wine and hand it to him. Thus far from what I have gathered his favourite pastime is drinking.

“I didn’t do much, most of this was done by Charlotte and Jacob.” Ivan said as he took the glass.

“Well thanks anyway, do you have birthdays like this back home?” I ask as I grab a glass for myself. Charlotte seeing me talking to Ivan had gone over to talk to Volva.

“Well we do have cakes, but we have pies as well. We usually also eat smoked and salted fish. We also drink and make toasts.” Ivan replied.

“Really?” I ask with a grin, well that last part was very easily inferred from what I have observed from Ivan.

“Yes, we did not always have access to sugar so we used pies made from fruits occasionally.” Ivan explained.

“Oh that’s interesting, you got any birthday traditions?” I ask.

“Well I wanted to make a toast later but there is something else… you are eighteen now correct?” Ivan asked.

“Yeah.” I reply.

“Ok since I am older than you…” Ivan said as he put his glass down.

Ivan then reached out towards me, I wasn’t sure what exactly he was doing so I just let him proceed. I hope he doesn’t kiss me...

He then grabbed my ears and pulled lightly.

“Grow up and don’t be noodles.” Ivan said.

“Erm… what?” I ask, as I looked at Ivan blankly as he pulled on my ears.

“It means grow up tall and strong.” Ivan said as he let go.

“Ok… what does the noodles have to do with anything?” I asked, still confused.

“If you only grow tall but not strong you will be thin, like noodles.” Ivan explained calmly like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Oh I see.” I reply with a laugh.

“That’s interesting, then why pull on my ears?” I ask.

“I’m not sure about that. I’m supposed to pull your ears eighteen times and chant grow up don’t be noodles but I think you don’t want that.” Ivan said with a grin.

“Yeah eighteen times is a bit much.” I reply with another laugh.

“How do the Japanese celebrate their birthdays?” Ivan asked.

“Well it’s more or less the same as this. We do have festivals where children visit shrines to pray for health and happiness. There is something else… for couples we usually go on a date with our significant other…” I say as I turn my gaze to Charlotte who is laughing with Volva and Alfie.

“Oh then perhaps we should have done this another day then, like a day after. We don’t want you to die young after all.” Ivan said.

“Die young?” I ask.

“It is considered inauspicious to celebrate a birthday early. It is believed that if you do so the person in question may not reach their actual birthday next year.” Ivan explained.

“Ahh I see, well I guess I can always go on a date later down the line…” I say. As I looked at Volva I suddenly remembered something.

“Say Ivan, has Volva said anything to you about a date?” I ask as I remember my little suggestion of the two of them going on a date together.

“No, why?” Ivan replied, now it was his turn to look confused.

“Well Volva told me you want her to ask for more things right? I suggested she ask you on a date one of these days.” I say.

“Oh, yes Volva is still having trouble with that. She doesn’t ask for much, I feel she is still hesitant to desire things in general.” Ivan replied with a slight frown.

“I’m sure given enough time she’ll be able to overcome it. What does she ask for anyway?” I ask.

“Oh when we make love she asks for things, like kisses and she also asks me to go faster or slower occasionally.” Ivan replied calmly.

“Oh… I see…” I say my face going slightly red as I silently regret my decision for asking.

Then again… since I've already fallen into this pit…

“Actually what do the two of you actually do when you two… you know.” I ask in a slightly hushed voice.

“Well I put my pen…” Ivan began

“No no no I know how it works. I meant like, are you usually on top or is she? Or do you do it face to face or do you do it from behind?” I ask curiously.

To be honest I have only done it in the most basic position. Me on top, the girl on her back and with her legs spread. Afterall the past times I did it, both of us were not in the most romantic mood…

“We mix it up, sometimes we do it standing up, sometimes we do it on the desk, Volva’s the one that likes to experiment. Apparently that place…” Ivan said as he paused and I could see his expression darken for a moment.

“That place taught her many ways to do it. She told me she wanted to find the position that feels best for her.” Ivan said.

“So did she find it?” I ask as I lean in closer, afraid of being overheard.

“She said she likes it when she’s on top, apparently it goes in a lot deeper that way. She also likes to sit on top and rock her hips back and forth while keeping me as deep in as possible.” Ivan said as he looked away as if lost in thought.

“So what do you like?” I ask to shift the angle of the conversation slightly.

The reason I’m asking all these questions is that I know if all goes well at some point I’m going to be doing it with Charlotte. Although I have done it before I will admit I have basically zero experience. I only know my thing goes in, I move in and out, then I shoot after some time.

I really don’t want to mess this up honestly, a girl only loses her virginity once and so I want to make sure I get it right. Afterall, if you have a problem or a mission, you start by gathering intel...

“Well, I like it the best when we are face to face. I enjoy the kisses and hugging more than the physical pleasure honestly.” Ivan said.

“Then what feels the best?” I ask.

Ivan cupped his chin for a moment as he pondered the question.

“It feels best when she is bent over the desk and I’m behind her. She’s a lot tighter in that position, so it feels better.” Ivan replied.

“What feels better?” I hear Charlotte say to my left and I nearly jump out of my skin.

“NOTHING! Nothing…” I reply in panic as I turn to face her.

Charlotte looked at me for a moment before her eyes narrowed in suspicion. She didn’t say a word she just continued to glare at me.

“Erm… erm…” I stammer in reply, I don’t remember the last time I was this afraid…

“We were just talking about sex, Katsuro was curious about what would feel best for you.” Ivan replied, calmly.

Kill me… someone just kill me...

Charlotte’s eyes widened until they were as wide as saucers. Her face went pink and her mouth dropped open.

“I assume you two haven’t done it?” Ivan said as he raised an eyebrow at Charlotte’s reaction.

“I… MEN!” Charlotte shouted as she turned on her heels and stormed into our room.

“What’s that about?” I hear Jacob ask as he walks over.

“We were talking about sex.” Ivan replied again and Jacob choked on the wine he was sipping on.

“Why?” Jacob asked as he cleared his throat and wiped his mouth.

“Katsuro wanted to know how to best satisfy Charlotte.” Ivan replied bluntly.

This was an interesting quirk about Ivan, he’s soft spoken most of the time but when he talks he REALLY talks. No bullshit just cut right to the heart of the issue. But that doesn’t mean he’s dim witted.

Although I’m embarrassed to all hell I’m still lucid enough to realise that Ivan gave me a way out with his reply. Afterall, he omitted the part where I asked about how it would feel best for me…

To be fair with my reaction just now, nothing short of the hard truth was going to work with Charlotte. She once told me part of her education involved reading body language and controlling your own natural impulses. As Charlotte said, the body is a page, you just need to learn how to read it…

Yeah I’m definitely not getting that past her…

Well at least it’s an incentive to be honest in our relationship…

“Erm next time maybe you shouldn’t talk about this topic in the immediate vicinity of your girlfriend, actually maybe don’t do it in the extended vicinity either.” Jacob said dryly.

“Well… yeah…” I reply with a sigh.

“You should go talk to her.” Jacob said.

“What am I supposed to say?” I ask as I run my hand through my hair.

“I don’t know.” Jacob replied as I gave him a look.

“Ok look I don’t know what you’re supposed to say but what I do know is if you don’t go in there and talk to her you are never going to hear the end of this. Girls never forget things like this, I once had a girlfriend who brought up the fact that I missed our anniversary a year later. I had totally forgotten about it but NO, I think she had it written down somewhere just to remind me later.” Jacob said.

“Oh…” I reply, now feeling really worried…

“Dude having her yell at you is better than her stewing on this for a week. Trust me.” Jacob said.

“I guess…” I say with a sigh as I walk over to the door.

I press my ear to the door and try to see if I can hear anything.

“Dude just go in, my god you look like you’re trying to breach and clear.” Jacob said in exasperation.

I looked down and saw I was standing with my body to the side of the door, my head poking around the edge as I listened at the door. Now that I think about it I am in the posture I usually take right before I storm a room filled with enemies...

Ok fine, fuck it…

I open the door and I see a bulge under the sheets of the bed.

“Charlotte?” I ask tentatively.

“Leave me alone.” I hear her squeak from under the sheets.

“Charlotte come on.” I say as I walk over.

I don’t hear a reply so I take a seat on the side of the bed. I reach over and try to pull the covers off and I feel her hold onto the sheets to stop me from pulling them off.

“Charlotte… look I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have… talked about that stuff.” I say as I put a hand on top of the bulge of the sheets.

At those words I feel the sheets shift and she pops out. She turns to look at me and I see her face as red as a tomato. She bites her lip for a moment as she looks at me.

“Do you really want to do it?” Charlotte asked softly.

“What? No, I… Ok I’ll start from the beginning.” I say as I take a deep breath. Charlotte’s looks at tentatively her shoulders hunched as if she was hiding.

“Basically, it started when I was asking Ivan about Volva, as you know the girls are having trouble asking for things.” I say and I see Charlotte nod slightly.

“Yeah, so Volva is starting to ask for things.” I say, at those words Charlotte perked and sat up immediately.

“Really? What does she want?” Charlotte asked as her blush faded. Typical Charlotte, even when she’s embarrassed to death she still focuses on what’s important…

“She wants to try and find what feels the best when she and Ivan… you know.” I say and immediately Charlotte’s blush returns.

“Oh… well I suppose it’s good she at least was willing to ask…” Charlotte said, her voice small.

“Yeah so, I figured at the time, in my stupidity it would be a good idea to ask him what they found out, because I think at some point we would be… you know.” I say tentatively and Charlotte seemingly shrunk back in the sheets.

“So I wanted to find out what would make it feel the best for you. I said I wanted our first time to be special so I decided to gather some… intel.” I say.

“Intel?” Charlotte asked as she looked at me as if I had grown a second head.

“You know information.” I reply.

“I know what intel means, why did you use that word?” Charlotte said as she got out of bed and walked over to me.

“Well, err… I wanted to make sure our first time to be as good as possible and if you have an objective you start by gathering information on how to best approach it.” I reply a little confused by her reaction.

At those words Charlotte seemed to deflate and she took a seat next to me.

“I just wanted to make it perfect…” I said as I looked at Charlotte. Honestly her reaction was unnerving me, was it something I said? Is she upset? Well more upset than she already is…

“It doesn’t have to be perfect.” Charlotte said as she reached over and took my hand.

“You don’t have to worry about it not being good enough. This isn’t a problem to solve.” Charlotte said gently.

“I just wanted it to be as good as possible.” I reply.

“It will be, you know my mother always told me something.You see I’m a bit of a perfectionist myself, I always think I could do more, or whatever I do isn’t good enough.

She told me no one’s perfect, the little imperfections in life is what gives it its charm. If everything was perfect then life would be really boring. Perfection doesn’t exist and besides I’m not together with you because you’re perfect, I’m together with you because you’re you. For me it will be perfect no matter what.” Charlotte said with a smile.

I was struck dumb at her reply. In truth she was right on the mark, I was viewing this whole thing as a problem to solve. She’s right this isn’t something to solve, it’s something the two of us are supposed to experience together…

“Yeah I guess you’re right.” I say with a smile as I reach up and cup her cheek.

Charlotte returned the smile and she shut her eyes as she leaned in. I was about to lean in and kiss her when my vision was suddenly turned black. All I could see was darkness and a smiling glowing red face in front of me.

I jerked back in shock and I saw Styx smiling at me, his black body between me and Charlotte.

“What are you doing…” I say coldly.

I was honestly one step away from drawing my gun on this idiot.

The girl of your dreams has arrived Dark Champion

She waits for you on the path to a royal’s bedchamber...