Coming back down the stairs to the waiting group and being exposed to the clinking of glasses, clatter of dishes, people laughing, and the lyrical flow of the muddled conversations was almost too overwhelming for my newly attuned senses and I contemplated coming up with an excuse not to go out. Quite honestly, I really didn’t feel much like going out anymore, I wanted to stay in my room and explore my new abilities, but Garret had been gentle, but firm that he still wanted to take me out and show me a nice evening and that being exposed to all the influxes of auditory and sensory information would help dull me to the sharpness I was experiencing now.

“You can do it,” he said softly as we reached the bottom of the stairs. “You won’t get used to it until you press through and learn to block out the unnecessary bits. Is a blessing and a curse in the beginning, sometimes more of a curse.”

I wanted to ask him how he knew all this, it seemed like he either had experienced himself coming into magic later in life or guiding others before me, but he had not offered that bit of information and I hadn’t gathered my wits enough about me before we had left my room to ask then. Also he seemed to make my mind melt into a giddy soup whenever I tried to make eye contact to talk to him so I had that to contend with as well.

“Let’s go, this will be a fun evening anyway, I promise to make it so.”

He placed his hand on the small of my back and pushed me gently forward, guiding me towards the group waiting for us near the door. If he could feel me trembling with excitement at his touch he didn’t say anything, only kept the pressure firm and reassuring.

“There you two are,” Mable said with a wink as we approached the group. “Wondered what happened to you both and if we just needed to leave you to have alone time.”

“Mable,” I said with a soft groan.

“Rose was just being a darling and indulging the artist in me by testing out my craftsmanship and we got carried away,” Garret said with a low chuckle. “Don’t worry, I am not ready to steal her away from you for the night just yet. Did anyone have a place in mind for the evening?”

Mable turned to Bleu and gestured to him. “Tonight was his idea, I assumed that he had something in mind. I was going to let him take the lead and figure everything out.”

Bleu looked absolutely miserable, shoulders slumped and a dejected look on his face. He kept looking longingly at Mable then took turns glaring between the other gentlemen who were also there to try to woo her. The three other men looked like they were taking the whole thing in stride, I guess it was easier for them to deal with the fact this was a group date because they had known from the very beginning that they weren’t going to be the only ones there with her. It was probably for the best that only Bleu seemed miffed about the situation because he looked like he wanted to find any of the three of them walking alone down a dark alley soon so he could have his revenge. His ire was ill placed, it wasn’t like any of the men had known there was someone pining for her already, she had been the one who had orchestrated the mess, but she was pretty and charming enough for him not to want to place the blame on her. He was in the stage where she was the goddess who could do no wrong.

“I was going to take Mable to Princess on Mains,” he said with a deep sigh. It was not lost on me that he specified he was planning on taking her and her alone. I had been an unfortunate tag along.

“Princess on Mains?” Garret echoed with amusement in his voice. “That’s a very expensive and pretentious restaurant. The kind of place where you get a whole peacock brought to your table and set on fire for your entertainment before they slice you a tiny piece not enough for a mouthful and demand your entire month’s pay in return for the luxury of having a hint of a taste of food.”

“It’s the least she deserves,” Bleu said with a glare. “A classy girl like Mable deserves to be treated to only the very best and that is one of the best places offered in the city.”

“I think you have yet to learn that women aren’t delicate, flighty creatures who only want to hold up their pinky while they drink their tea. Some of the heartiest eaters and drunkest lushes I know are women and I think these gentle ladies would rather have a full stomach and a full pint glass we can afford to refill rather than the scent of good food wafted in their general direction and the two sips of wine we could afford.”

“I could afford more than a couple sips of wine for her.” Bleu growled.

Bleu was puffing up his chest, standing up taller like he was going to be able to tower over and intimidate Garret. I bit my bottom lip to hold in a giggle about how he looked a lot like a rutting buck in his first season getting too self confident and thinking he could assert dominance over an established male. Garret looked unimpressed, not changing stature at all and staying relaxed. It was like he had already anticipated the exact response Bleu was giving.

“I’m sure you can, it’s called hyperbole,” Garret said. “Besides I don’t care what you end up doing with your portion of the date, my goal is to show Rose that she is the sweetest bud on the vine. If you are dead set on going there, have at, I will take Rose somewhere I think she will enjoy a bit more. I’m sure you won’t mind since that will lower your party of competition down to four instead of six for taking the attention of your object of affection..” His lips cracked into a grin that gave away he knew exactly what he was doing by needling the younger man about just how many suitors had shown up for Mable.

“Maybe you should go somewhere else then. I don’t think we’ll miss having the miserable company,” Bleu snapped. “Why was he invited along at all if he’s just going to act like this?”

“I’m not the one being miserable, you need to relax, I’m not competition for you, focus your energy on those who are.”

Mable let out a loud groan of frustration and stepped between the two men, facing Bleu. “Look, this is stupid,” she chastised. “Get yourself together and realize he’s just giving you advice, good advice, and you’re just making yourself look like an ass right now. We’re supposed to be going out and having fun, not trying to watch you have a dick measuring contest and losing.”

Bleu’s mouth dropped open and the other three dates for Maple went red in the face from trying not to laugh and escalating the situation.

“I- I-” Bleu stammered, then snapped his jaw shut and got a half-angry, half-embarrassed look on his face. “I just wanted to take you somewhere nice. I want you to feel special and taken care of and-”

“Right you’re not in charge anymore,” Mable declared, throwing up her hands in defeat. “Garret, you lead the way.”

Looking pleased, Garret returned his hand to the small of my back and guided me towards the door and held it open for me. I avoided looking over to see what Bleu’s reaction was, because I was afraid that I would not be able to hold back the flood of laughter that was threatening to spill from my lips any longer.

The night was still very young, a soft glow just still barely illuminating the backs of the imposing mountains that overlooked the capital. The air was still a bit humid and warm, the perfect weather for a leisurely walk. It was all the more enjoyable once Garret had slid his hand into mine. It felt so natural yet so exciting and intimate, he gave it little squeezes as we passed various shops and landmarks and he pointed out what they were and told short stories about things that had happened there. For someone not from the region he seemed very knowledgeable about the history of the city.

“Here we are,” Garret announced, gesturing towards a brightly lit building on the corner of the street we had been traveling down.

There was a line of people waiting outside the door chatting and laughing, obviously it was the place to be if people were willing to wait to go in. We had passed plenty of other bars and places to eat on our walk so far, it would have been far easier for them to have picked anyone one of them and found no trouble with getting a seat.

“The Gilded Siren?” Bleu said and laughed through his nose. “We could already be taking a seat at Princess on Mains, we’ll be waiting for ages out here.”

“We won’t, have faith in me,” Garret said with confidence, walking us past the waiting queue towards the front door. “Wallace!” he called out to the man posted at the door.

“Garret!” the man replied in a similar thick accent and stepped away from the door to offer his hand in greeting.

The two men gripped each other in a firm handshake, then embraced with loud claps on each others’ backs.

“Glad to see you’re working tonight, it has been too long since I’ve seen you.” Garret must have been carefully trying to enunciate more clearly around those from this kingdom because now that he was talking with someone with a similar accent he had dropped all pretense of being easily understood. “You know I hate to hop the queue, but might you have space in the family room for a couple of young ladies and their escorts?”

The man grinned and looked at me. “Where are my manners? The name’s Wallace,” he said and stuck his hand out to me, palm up.

A little thrill ran through me as I realized how he was about to greet me. It was a gesture I had seen amongst noble society towards women, but as a lowly bard who was obviously of commoner blood I had never had the pleasure of it being a gesture extended to me. I shyly placed my hand in his and he swiftly brought my hand to his lips and pecked the back of my hand, gave it a squeeze, then released it with a grin.

“So nice to see such a pretty young woman doing charity work. What inspired you to go slumming with the likes of him?”

Garret gave him a good natured punch in the shoulder and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “Very funny, but you forget your wife is much more charitable, what with the signing up to look at your sorry face every day.”

“Right you are,” Wallace chuckled. “No one is using the family area tonight as far as I know, you might have the place to yourself. Go on in and enjoy your night.”

He stepped aside and gestured for the group of us to enter the brightly lit bar. Inside was an absolute cacophony of the clinking of glasses, animated conversations, and even the clank of instruments and other equipment being set up in the back of the place on a small stage, it appeared that there would be live entertainment to look forward to later. I squinted my eyes and tried to defocus my attention on any one auditory focus, it seemed like every conversation and scrap of glass on the table tops was begging for me to pay attention to it specifically.

Garret made a beeline for the bar counter, grasping my hand gently so he could pull me along with him. I was glad that he understood that I needed a bit of extra guidance in that moment and it wasn’t a good idea to leave me to my own devices. I might have ended up just standing there unable to function enough to have gone anywhere under my own power. The whole auditory intensity was going to take a lot of adjustment otherwise being a bard in taverns was going to be impossible for me. That would figure, I finally come into my magic and become an outstanding artist only to have the side effects cripple me from ever using them.

“Garret! It’s good to see you again, I was starting to think you didn’t like my cooking anymore!”

A middle aged woman with bright red hair and verdant green eyes skipped out from behind the counter and threw her arms around him. She had the same guttural accent as the man at the door, only a bit more lyrical. If all of the people from Garret’s region sounded the same, they all could easily take over the barding community with their singing alone if they felt like it.

“No I love your cooking, just was looking for someone special enough to share it with,” he squeezed my hand and looked at me fondly. “This is my Rose. Rose, this is Anna.”

“Pleasure,” Anna said brightly and held out her hand to shake mine.

It took me a moment to register that I should probably accept her gesture. My brain had short circuited at the fact he had called me his Rose. We hadn’t even sat down to officially start our date and he had gone ahead and claimed me as his own. I felt that usually that would probably be a red flag kind of attitude, but it felt right and flattering coming out of his mouth.

“Pleasure is mine,” I managed to mutter out while we shook hands.

“Well then, I suppose you’ll be wanting the family party room, yes?” she asked happily.

“Please, if it’s free,” Garret answered.

“It is, no parties or weddings to celebrate tonight, you came on a good day. Tomorrow night we have a wedding booked and it promises to be chaos, you know how it gets.” She started walking towards a door to the side of the counter and pushed it open. “Come, let’s get you set up and your drinks and food ordered. Once the entertainment for the night starts it’s going to be hard to hear yourself think.”

The reserved room was empty of patrons but filled with several tables with already burning candles set on each table. It was a more intimate space that blocked some of the intensity from the cacophony from the bar. Garret gently guided me to a table in the corner of the room and pulled out my chair for me. I accepted the gesture and sat, his fingers grazing over my shoulders as he pushed my chair in.

“Let me help you push some tables together for my friends,” he offered to Anna, then gave me a soft look that asked me to stay put and not jump up to help.

Together they pushed together two tables that were relatively near to my own, but more towards the center of the room and waved over the four remaining members of the party. Once extra chairs had been resituated, Garret pulled one out and nodded towards Mable. A small… okay, maybe large… pang of jealousy sparked in my chest. I could tell that it was a gesture meant to just be polite and nice, but I still was so used to her stealing the attention of every male in sight that I worried for a moment if maybe he was starting to be taken in by her charm as well. Bleu also seemed to be having a real problem controlling his jealousy and he stormed over, snatching the chair from Garret’s hands and gesturing for her to take the seat from him instead.

“Oh for gods’ sake,” Mable groaned and rolled her eyes, pointedly taking a seat entirely different from the one offered.

Bleu looked like she had backhanded him instead and awkwardly sat himself down in the seat directly across from her. He looked utterly lost, like he had no idea what he had done to upset her. Garret shook his head slowly and hesitated before walking back to our table and sitting down. Perhaps he had wanted to say something or give some sort of advice and decided that it was not worth poking the wasps’ nest again a second time that night.

“Not a lick of sense in his head yet,” Garret said softly, just loud enough for them not to be able to hear at the other table. “He is immature and jealous, that will be his ultimate downfall and going to lose him the focus of his affection and probably a few more in the future until he figures it out. I can tell he has not had much experience with the fairer sex as of yet.”

“He had no chance anyway,” I replied, “Mable has no interest in settling down with anyone.”

“I could tell that much, she has that look about her. Like a wild mare luring in the young, wild stallions who fancy to frolic with her for the day, but bucking them away so she can wander into a different field to find another stallion another day.”

“I wish I was more like her,” I said with a soft laugh that probably came out as more of a sigh than I intended.

“Why? He asked with a confused look on his face. “A woman like that is fun for a night or two, but she will not hold the warmth of love and devotion that makes a house a home. She will not make a man’s soul sing out to be bonded to her the way a soul like yours does to everyone around you. No, I much prefer to have someone like you by my side, besides you are so much more beautiful than she could ever hope to be.”

I let out a long, low laugh that was a tad more bitter than I intended it to be. “I highly doubt that you mean that, but thank you for trying to flatter me. I know she’s drop dead gorgeous, anyone with eyes could see that.”

His left eyebrow raised and he leaned forward, reaching his hand out and placing it on the table expectantly for me to place mine on top of his. “What did I say when we first met this morning? You chronically undervalue yourself and it is painfully obvious that you do not see the brilliant light that shines from within your soul. It is like the warm sunshine that splashes on your face on a chilly morning making you feel like everything is right and just in the world. Your beauty is unmatched because it radiates from within and is natural, not fake or forced.”

Cheeks once again on fire I found it hard to meet his eyes. I suddenly felt so shy that part of me wanted to get up and run away to find a quiet corner to try to collect myself, but he had a soft, but firm grip on my hand.

“I don’t know about all that,” I muttered softly. “I think you’re just trying to be nice.”

“You have not seen you as she truly is before, I suppose how could you before now? Look at her now with your new senses, focus the magic flowing through you on seeing the truth of your friend.”

I slid my eyes over to look at Mable, she was sitting where I had a full view of her face. It seemed like one of the other three men at her table had managed to get her out of the foul mood Bleu had put her in and she was giggling over some joke or comment they had made. She reached up and twirled a lock of her red hair around her finger, then tucked it behind her ear in a cliche move meant to be flirty. At first I could see nothing but the fair, beautiful Mable with luscious lips and cute button nose, but the longer I looked, the more it seemed like the light around her was shifting and the shadow of a different face peaked out from beneath like she was wearing a transparent mask. The girl beneath was not ugly by any stretch of the imagination, but it was not a living embodiment of the goddess of love like the illusion portrayed. Even the color of her hair faded beneath a haze of red to something more resembling a light gingery blonde.

“It’s not real…” I gasped softly. “That’s what she meant earlier. I thought this whole time she had just hit the ultimate jackpot with genetics.”

“She is good at what she does,” Garret admitted, “it likely fools almost everyone she meets. Those of us with enough magical power are going to be able to see through it, but those are not the types that she is trying to fool anyway I suspect. Now you see why I am not swayed by her illusion. It is not that she would not be pretty enough without her illusion, but she is not after anyone who wants her for her true self, she wants people to look at her with lust and longing and that is the effect she wants. She attracts the vapid, the men who only care about a pretty face and not the substance behind it and I am simply not that kind of man.”

I couldn’t help but feel a little bit bad for her. I had been envying her for having so much self confidence and self assurance this whole time, but in reality she did not have enough of either of those to be her authentic self and instead chose to be an over stylized version of what she thought men wanted her to be. I supposed it treated her well and she got to have her fun without attachments and all the attention she craved, but it had to be lonely knowing that the reason the vast majority of men paid so much time and attention on her was due to a lie and without that lie most would not bother.

Garret’s free hand reached up and gently cupped my chin, pulling my gaze away from Mable and back up to his eyes. “You do not need those kinds of tricks, you are stunning just the way nature made you and when you were born all the rules about beauty and grace were re-written with you in mind.”

A breath caught in my chest and my heart thundered in my ears. I had never, ever been talked to with such affection and conviction that I was worthy of such sweet, wonderful words. I wouldn’t have cared if he kept up the impromptu poetry forever, but Anna had returned to the room to take our orders and he broke our physical contact with one last caress of his thumb just below my bottom lip.

“What can I get for you and the lady?” Anna asked with a knowing smile on her face.

“Order whatever drink you desire, Rose, do not hold back thinking you need to worry about anything. For food, Anna, please a little bit of everything from back home, I want to show her a bit about where we come from.”

She nodded and looked expectantly to me.

“I usually just order ale,” I said with a soft, awkward laugh as I realized now unsophisticated that probably sounded.

“Woman after my own heart,” Garret said with a smile, “a bottle of mead as well, something to compliment the meal if you would.”

Once she had left, his hand found mine again and he gently stroked the back of my hand as he gazed at my face. “Since you are about to learn a little bit about my lands, I feel it’s only fair if you tell me a bit about your own. You do not strike me as someone from this kingdom.”

“Yes and no,” I explained. “I was raised within the boundaries of this kingdom, but I was raised in a Druid commune. We did not participate in society and had a very different culture from everyone else here.”

“Druids?” His smile widened. “I suppose I should have known with a name like Rose.”

“Technically it’s Rose Vinewood. I tend not to give out the surname unless I absolutely need to since it seems like everyone thinks it then becomes free range to make some sort of comment or joke about how it’s surprising to see a Druid not caked in dirt and using a leaf as a loincloth.”

“There is a community of Druids not far from my home village, they actually keep bees which my village uses to make meads of all types. Somewhat of a regional specialty. My father was a brewer and I have fond memories traveling with him to the community to purchase enough for a new batch and bringing it back. They always seemed like they were very happy with what they did and the bees thrived under their care.”

“They sold it to you?” That concept confused me greatly, my commune would have never done anything that might be profitable or contribute to societal life. In fact, if any one of the Druids had gotten it into their heads to try to do something like they they would have been politely, but firmly asked to leave.

“Of course, it was mutually beneficial. We didn’t give them money of course, but they seemed happy enough being paid with a keg or two from the last batch we made or if we heard there was something else they might need we brought it too. Food, medicine, clothing… anything like that was always welcome for bartering.”

“Wait, clothing? These were surely strange Druids. Are you sure they were Druids at all?”

“Of course,” he laughed, “do you think they made their trips into the village naked? Would have made for an interesting sight, that’s for sure.”

“My commune was always naked and none of them ever felt inclined to visit anywhere civilized. I don’t think I wore any sort of clothing until I decided to leave. Even then I had to stitch it all myself very badly because none of them had any idea how to make any. Some of them had never worn clothing in their entire lives.”

“Well had I known that I would have gladly shown up to your commune and adopted your customs to enjoy the sights you had to offer.”

I looked away, trying to stifle the nervous grin that was breaking out on my lips. He was so good at making me flustered enough to where I had no idea what to say to the thinly veiled lewd comments he was making. By the looks of it he was enjoying making me squirm in my seat. I was saved by Anna returning with a couple helpers in tow to deliver food and drinks to everyone. At first it seemed like the other table had ordered quite a bit of food, but after drinks had been placed on their tables along with a few plates, a majority of the plates came our direction.

“Anna, there are only two of us!” he exclaimed then let out a belly laugh and several plates were placed before us.

“You said a little bit of everything, so that’s what you get,” she replied, clanking several of the plates closer together so she could fit my large glass of ale on the table next to me. “You don’t have to eat it all, I can always package it up for later.”

The spread was impressive, filled with rich stews featuring meats that I could not place by sight or smell. There was also a section of different types of breads, cheese, and spreads, both sweet and savory, far too much food for the two of us. Garret took great delight in explaining each dish, where it came from, any cultural significance held, and the regions the dishes originated from. By the time he had made a full circuit of the table and I had taken a bite or two of everything offered I was already stuffed. Hearty dishes with lots of potatoes and dairy seemed to be a common theme. He was a much more robust eater and he had no problem finishing off most of what was left, though I noted he did not really touch the dishes I had pointed out as extra tasty to me, I had a feeling he was leaving them specifically for me.

Ale drank and my glass filled a couple times with mead, I was feeling much more relaxed and it looked like he was as well. He had not been all that uptight or nervous to begin with, but there was a notable shift in demeanor like he had been at least a little worried about the night going well.

“I’m going to be bold for a second,” he said after draining the last of the mead from his glass.

“What have you not been already?” I asked, deeply amused at what his definition of bold must have been.

“Not this bold no. Would you be willing to have a late night stroll this evening and maybe… coming back to see my modest bachelor home?”

I was certain my face and neck were achieving new shades of scarlet and I couldn’t help the nervous giggles that started to escape my throat. Throwing caution to the wind I was about to agree, but then, like a punch to the gut that destroyed my mood, I remembered that I had already promised Mable that I would go with her on the quest to break into the dungeons of the castle.

Sensing my downturn in mood his face became concerned. “What is it?”

“Oh no, it’s nothing, I would love to accompany you, I really would… but, I promised Mable I would do something with her tonight.”

“Then reschedule, surely she will understand, I’m sure she will end up taking at least one of those boys back with her for the evening anyway.”

“No, we have to go do this, we agreed to…” I trailed off. Would the wizard be made if I spilled our mission to Garret? He hadn’t said we couldn’t tell anyone specifically, though I did feel that it was perhaps heavily implied.

“You can tell me, your secrets are safe with me.”

There was something so sincere in his eyes that I trusted that they would be, so I sang like a canary about everything that had happened that day with the wizard and what we were planning to do. Garret nodded along, grunting his understanding where appropriate.

“So when do we leave?” he asked once my story had concluded.