Twilight was shining through the window, illuminating the four people sitting around the table in the living room. The keyboard was lying on the furniture, and the girl was sitting in front of it, staring at the dragon rider talking to her grandmother.

“...I don’t think it’s going to be easy to ask her for the sheets, especially now that I’ve helped her get-”

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

“That’s probably Findir.” Ryder turned and glanced at the door.

“I’ll open it!” Aoede hopped off her chair and zoomed toward the entrance before turning the lock on the knob.

“Good evenin', everyone! Sorry it took so long. I wanted to give my precious a new paint job, but I couldn’t quite figure out what color to pick.” The yellow-ear sniffed. “Dinner smells lovely tonight!”

“That's because Grandma cooked her best dish! Of course it smells nice!” The green-ear stood akimbo with a pleased expression.

“Seems like yer spirit’s back up already!” As Findir was holding his instrument case with his right hand, he patted her head with his left instead.

“Mostly.” Her ears twitched, though she didn’t reject the patting.

“Good, that’s good.” He then passed by her and placed the case by the dining table. “I heard ya talkin’ about somethin’ outside the door.”

Aoede swiftly locked the door and went to the kitchen to place tableware for five.

“We’re speculating what else could be the key to breaking the curse. Ms. Miuzika mentioned there might be other songs that needed to be played before and or after ‘My Truth In May’. It’s unlikely only one song would be played at the wedding, and so we're going off of the assumption that is the 'surprise' for now. We’re going to visit Alin’s house tomorrow again to examine all songs on the sheets, both piano and non-piano.”

“My memory’s not as good as it used to be, so I might need to visit a potion shop to get it jogging.” Syrinx chuckled.

“I see!”

CLANG CLANG CLANG

“Dinner first! Talk later!” The girl stood in front of the dining table with a small pot and spatula in her hands.

“I’ll grab Green’s portion for him first. Thank you again for the meal, Ms. Miuzika.” The rider left his chair and went to the kitchen to grab a big bowl of salad.

“You’re welcome, deary.”

After Ryder went down to the street to give Green his meal and returned, the gang began their dinner. The plant dragon extended a bulb up and into the dining room to join in. The musician would intermittently tell a few short jokes to lighten the atmosphere. It never failed to make everyone, except Brown, laugh. As twilight handed its baton to the night, they finished their dinners and waited for Findir to show off his instrument.

“I’ve been keepin' the identity of my instrument as a surprise. Now that it’s finally ‘ere, feast yer eyes upon my precious!” The yellow-ear unlatched the case and opened it up.

A pristine, lemon-colored violin, with a few differences from its counterpart on Earth, and its bow were sitting inside the padded interior of the case. Findir lifted it up so everyone could take a closer look.

“That’s an… interesting color choice,” Ryder commented.

“Thanks! I thought it’ll help me stand out more when I play on the streets! Now,” He placed the violin on his left shoulder and picked up the bow. “I shall play a song that is dear to my and my grandfather’s heart. Enjoy.” He adjusted his posture, put the bow on the strings, closed his eyes, and pulled.

Even at the start, Brown was already enjoying the soothing sound of the violin as it had been a long time since she heard it. She wondered how much the others liked it, so she turned to observe their reactions and was surprised. The two female Felmiers had a slightly confused look, whereas her rider’s eyes were so widened that it looked like it was about to pop out.

Ryder smacked his palm against his forehead and swore, “Fuck! I’m a big fucking idiot!”

The musician abruptly halted the song and opened his eyes. “Eh? What’s wrong, Ryder?”

“The song! I should’ve known what was missing from the song! The original version that I listened to in my hometown had a violin part! The one that you’re playing right now!” The human exclaimed as he pointed at the violin.

“What?!” The Felmiers all shouted.

Findir was especially flabbergasted. “I don’t understand, Ryder. How-”

“I know all of you have a lot of questions, but let’s leave that for after the curse is broken. There's a dangerous creature in the jungle right now that's going to wake up soon. I don’t know when it will, but I'm not taking any chances, so let’s go back to the Knight right away.” The rider rose from his chair and headed straight for the exit.

“I- Very well, Ryder.” The musician swiftly packed his violin back into the case and shut it tight. “Seems like yer time to be a hero again came sooner than expected.” He grinned at the girl.

Excitement filled Aoede’s entire body as she nodded with an unbridled smile. She turned back and hugged her grandmother.

“Stay safe, my dear.” Syrinx gave her granddaughter a kiss on her forehead before letting go.

“I will! And I’ll save Attis!” The green-ear nodded before putting on her helmet.

“Let’s go!” Ryder unlocked the door and headed down the stairs with Brown. The two Felmiers followed closely behind him.

“Good luck!” the old woman blessed.

Green was swiftly informed about the situation and sprinted alongside the gang. He extended his vines and placed the girl on his back. The earth dragon shifted back to her scaly form and encouraged the cat-man to sit on her back as well, which he did. The dragon rider gang rushed as fast as they could to the gate. After the walls were behind them, Ryder started shooting seeds with Green along the path to the Knight. The seeds rapidly grew into a two-meter plant before the tip began glowing brightly, thus illuminating the road.

With only a few hundred meters left until they reach their destination, a surge of nauseating mana suddenly washed over all of them. Then, it was followed by a deafening roar from within the jungle. Everyone immediately stopped dead in their tracks and shut their ears as tight as they could. Seconds later, a dark figure was tossed out of the jungle and landed close to where they were, causing the girl to yelp.

Ryder rushed over to the dark figure and illuminated the small area with a ball of light above his head.

“Hey, Ryder.” Purple lifted his head and smiled forcefully. “You’re not going to like what I have to say next.”

A melody of destruction grew louder and louder from the jungle before an entity burst into the open.