She sat on the corner of her bed wearing a silk sleeping gown, fidgeting with her fingers as she scrambled with her thoughts thinking about him.

Her room was illuminated by lanterns and candles as the night settled in.

"It seems that you've not an understanding of your feelings now. But I know it clearly, and well. I can see myself in you when I was in love with your father. Tell me, what do you feel about him?" she asked, smiling with a comfortable warmth in her eyes.

"In love... is it? That may be the case. I can't tell if I am feeling anxious, but whenever we are alone, I can feel my heart beating loudly, and I cannot control my happiness as we speak. I feel safe when I am with him as well. What do you make of this, mother?"

"My dear, you have been ignoring your feelings and your heart. What you say is a natural feeling, and if you feel that it is right, then you must follow it without hesitation. Tell me, how have you become so attached to him in a short amount of time?"

She told her the entirety of what had transpired that night. She became firm, fearing for her safety but she listened and stood her silence. She spoke about him with a great enthusiasm, smiling, cheeks becoming flushed with a faint red color. It seemed that she herself hadn't noticed it.

"I see. What you have done was dangerous... " she scolded her, " but I will not tell your father. I will allow this one last time. But from now on, my dear, if there is anything bothering you, come to me. I will listen to you."

"I-I understand, mother. Forgive me for disobeying your warnings," she said, disheartened.

"But I will admit that he was brave to defend you when he was wounded. It seems that I have held him in a low esteem. You have changed what I think of him."

Still, she was silent. Thinking of one way to soothe her, a fond memory resurfaced from her mind, and she smiled as she remembered every detail, reliving it for a few seconds before speaking her mind.

"I do not like to admit it, but when I was at your age, I often went out to see the night sky without anyone accompanying me. It was the smallest thing, but through it I met your father. He too was watching and admiring the sky we once shared. So, my dear. Don't feel disheartened. As long as you know, then it is fine," she placed her hands on her shoulders and gave her an embrace.

"Now, why don't you ask him to accompany you to the twilight festival. I will allow it, but I will task Sofiya with staying close by. Are you fine with that?"

"The twilight festival?"

"Yes. It is a wondrous night that only happens every three years. The Thaliseans that have passed away sent their souls back to their creator, but they would return from the sky to roam and cleanse the land with a shower of light, to show their splendor. It reminds us that even though they are not here anymore, they still remain with us, to remind us that they will always be there to protect us..." she took a short pause then continued. "But they have disappeared for many years now, and so have the souls of twilight. But, we dedicate the festival to them so that someday, possibly, they might return and give us a sign. It is also a perfect time to promise something to your special someone. The Thaliseans look over that promise and protect it. They are like those who oversee that promise to make sure that it is kept."

"Is that true?"

"Well, it is what they say is true. But one cannot dismiss it. Believe, it is the trait of those who can make their dreams a reality. As long as you believe, then there is a chance that it will happen."

Her eyes lit up as she thought about it. Then she looked up into her eyes. "Are you sure? Will that be alright with you?" she asked to confirm.

"Yes. I won't deprive my daughter of her chances of finding someone that she truly likes. I have awaited this time just so I could help you if you ever needed it."

"Thank you, mother! I will make the most of this opportunity!" she embraced her tightly, snuggling up to her."

"Now rest, you will need your energy for tomorrow. Go to the west most section of the ramparts, near where the festival will be held. I assume that it will be quiet there, and it will also have a clear view of the moon. There you can be alone," and she kissed her forehead, doused the lamp and the candle's flame, then went out, meeting a tall man's shadow upon exiting the room.

She spoke in her dreams as her eyes closed and her mind settled. It was a wish of an eternal friend. One that would not disappear. A lovely wish started to become a recurring nightmare as an image began to form. One of a young man with a youthful and bright smile, standing gallantly with a sheathed sword next to his waist, his dark hair covering a part of his eye. His fiery temperament livened the atmosphere, and his dedication to justice and bravery burned like the sun. And next to him was a solemn looking young girl wearing a robed tunic. Her calm, cool, and silent demeanor cancelled out her friend's, but even with that they were close knit, inseparable.

Don't fall too far behind, Lorelei! Hurry or you'll miss it!" he yelled out, running at a great pace upwards on a hill, the sun rising in the distance. He had a wide grin on his face as he charged through without fear.

But she fell behind, unable to catch up to him. "Wait!" she cried out, panting. But her voice was unable to reach him as he drifted further away." But, before she could fall, a hand held her up. A soothing smile reassured her that she was not alone.

"Come, let us take it at our own pace. It's amazing that you tried to catch up to him, it was admirable, but remember that he is an abnomal person. He never seems to run out of stamina in whatever he does, always filled with vigor. I wonder where he gets his strength from," she spoke, looking at him with admiration despite his frame becoming smaller and smaller the farther away he got. She did not look to fear being left alone, but she knew, and was confident, that she would eventually be there to catch up to him and raise him up whenever he stumbles.

They finally reached the peak where a beautiful sunrise gleamed slowly from the peak of another mountain in the far distance, covered by a white sheet of snow. A vast lush green field served as their playground, a place where they eased their weary bodies and laid themselves down upon.

The three of them laid their backs on the grass, eyes closed, feeling the calm breeze brush by their skin.

"Ahh! This feels great! It's been a while since I've been here. I thought I'd never see the light of day," he said loudly.

"Well, that's what you get for voluntarily locking yourself up to train and study at the same time just to pass the academy. Goodness, if you only prioritized one thing," she replied.

"A man can pass any trial given to him as long as he has to will to keep going. And of course, I won't let the academy shatter my dreams! It's too big for that. I'll pass, no matter what it takes. Then I'll show everyone just how great I'll become. Then they won't underestimate me."

"I know that you can accomplish it. I mean, well, it's you after all. I think everything you've said so far you've done. It's amazing how you can seem to accomplish something so hard and difficult," said Lorelei, looking at the side.

"Well, Lorelei. If you try too, then you'll be able to make anything you want come true. Everyone's still complaining about how hard it is when I've already done it. Their problem is that they complain and don't really do anything about it. Have a bit of faith in yourself, why don't you?"

"Yes, Lorelei. It might just be the end of the world since I'm agreeing with him, but place a bit more trust in yourself. You don't seem to realize it, but you're a natural at almost everything that you do. You do have a dream that you want to fulfill, right?"

"No, I can't think of one. I don't know what I want, and how to find what I should aspire for."

"Well, you see, I don't want to brag, but I just accomplished the first step of my dream!" he roared out, getting up in one fluid movement, then placing both hands on his waist, as if to declare something to the world so that it may rejoice and applaud at him.

"I just became a squire! An official one! And I've got immediate assignments to go to the Ellanter wall and support the front lines. There's the place I'll finally make a name for myself. Demons will be running scared when they see me! Then, I'll finally be a part of the king's knighthood order after I beat the demon king!"

"Congratulations! That's an amazing achievement! You've finally done it, haven't you?"

"Thanks, Lorelei. If only Miss pessimisstic here can sympathize with me."

"Don't you think that's going a bit too far? Or maybe you're jumping a bit too far up ahead. I mean, the demon king. I know you're eager to get started and all that, but you've never even fought a real demon yet. How do you think you'll be able to match the demon king?" she argued, like she always would whenever he would make up some impossible task that he would end up miraculously accomplishing. It felt like a routine to her, but it felt natural to ask him all about it.

"With grit and determination! There's no way he can outlast me! I bet he won't be able to even keep up with me. I'm far from being at my limits anyway."

"Are you sure that you're awake? This might be another delusion of yours. You can't depend on that alone. Creator knows that there's only a few in this world than can match you in tenacity."

"I've already run laps before the rooster crows! And besides, you're that person that can match me, so you're just as guilty! Hear this, Lorelei, she got an offer to be in the most prestigious academy in Exaltier to become an officer, and what does she do? She declines it and chooses to graduate in the same academy as us instead, aspiring for the same thing."

"I would rather stay with Lorelei and be happy rather than be apart from her and feel depressed over there. I'm still far too young to become a knight."

"A knight?! You never told me that you were offered to be a knight! That's... something that I thought you'd get eventually, but not before me!" he became silent as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes, thinking hard before speaking once more. "This one's a scary man woman, Lorelei. You think I'm ambitious and tenacious, but you've never seen her. She's like a brute that's been let loose- " but before he could finish his sentence, she had already performed a magnificent throw on him, sending him lying on his back again.

"Argh! What did I tell you?" he spoke, out of breath. "Something else, isn't it?"

All three of them would laugh at the exchange and let bygones be bygones. They were like brother and sister, inseparable by their bond built with time.

It was then that the fated day came for him to leave their presence. It was a sorrowful day as they grudgingly left each other. The last he saw of him was when he wore a distinguished shiny steel armor, a cape and a shield decorated him.

"So, I guess this is finally it?"

"Go already. You're making this harder for the both of us," she said, urging him with a bittersweet smile.

And so, he did. With his radiant smile, he departed.

A few months passed until the dreaded news arrived to them, and along with that was a familiar sword, its blade cleaned from the blood that had stuck on it.

It was a familiar sword, and touching the hilt only made it all the clearer. Their sorrows mounted as their emotions cascaded into an uncontrolled sob as they wept for him.

A great battle began with him as part of the main front line, and along with the others he disappeared, never seen from again. A monstrous demon decimated and left no survivors, including him. There were no bodies, but there was no proof of them dying or living. That was what they had told them.

Lorelei looked on with tears as her only remaining friend cried her heart out, embracing his sword in her arms, shouting his name into the heavens, "Arthur! Arthur! Why did you have to leave us!" she uttered. Her calm and unmoving disposition became alien to Lorelei, but she knew that her agony was genuine. She loved him, but she never had the chance to tell him before he left. She vowed a promise that Lorelei could not hear.

A few more months passed, and the promise was fulfilled.

"Will you truly be leaving, Dione?" she asked.

"I must, Lorelei. Forgive me. I still cannot accept that Arthur simply had died or vanished. With this, I will search for him, and I shall bring him home. Forgive me for leaving you alone, Lorelei, I will return shortly after I have found him. I am sure that he simply stumbled somewhere, waiting for someone to come and get him."

And so, she too left her presence, departing with a great rank at a young age, decorated with medals and honors from many distinguished knights. Her excellence brought her high in an instant, pushed by her promise and motivation, she rose unlike anyone had ever seen, and so, she was prepared.

Many days she had become alone, roaming the empty gray castle halls without a company other than Sofiya. Her silence and anxiety brought her to no end of worry, so she too aspired to excel in many things. She furthered her education, learning about all that she could, studied many arts and methods, even going as far as to train in fencing only to refrain a week after.

She awaited her ever morning, every night. She expected her to come through the door with Arthur hanging on to her shoulders, walking beside each other. But nothing but dust and the wind came through.

Her already trembling heart was shook even further by the new of something she had thought the possibility of, but never thought possible.

She spent her nights locked up in her room, cradling her legs, not having eaten nor changed her clothes. But she was pulled out from her depressed state by him, her father, comforting her along with her mother. And it was then that she wept for so long, finally letting go of the sorrow she had kept bottled up.

"There, there, Lorelei. Everything will be fine. We are here, and will always be here for you, never forget that."

And so, her sorrows became a nightmare, one that, if she had made another friend, that he or she would disappear from her grasp again, never to be seen from or heard from.

He moved like a blur as he quickly faded from my line of sight. There was a cold, sharp pain that stung me from my back where my wound from last time was slowly being reopened as I was sent stumbling forward, brought down by my own momentum and weight.

I struggled to stand but succeeded, seeing him brandish his sharp and flexible rapier with a haughty confidence that came with a cold stare.

However, my mind was more occupied with other things rather than my demise in the hands of a snake.

I collected myself and held my weapon firm. I charged the man with a fraction of my energy, but one thing motivated me. A pair of eyes looking drown from her stand. Her eyes of concern where all that I could see, but it was more than enough.

He thrust with a forward momentum. Sending a flurry, scratching and wounding me. But it had a flaw to it that I had already seen a dozen times over. I've felt its cold lash on my skin as it lacerated my flesh. I have one chance.

I Evaded with my body and took a giant step to the other direction, eluding his initial attack. Once I had avoided its direction, he was wide open from his sides. I took the chance to cleave with all my might and send him down to the ground with the flat ended of my sword.

He yielded, then came a roaring applause, one louder than yesterday.

It went by like some routine, and I found myself back on that same garden where I beheld her image.

"I told you it would be dangerous! But why did you have to insist?" she said, looking over me with worry and a soaked towel in hand. The cold water sent a shiver up my spine while it stung as she applied it on the side of my wound. "And please don't move too much. It'll irritate the wound further."

She wore an exquisitely beautiful light blue dress that only reinforced her status, and made her look even more angelic the day I first truly laid my eyes on her. Her hair was neatly kempt that flowed down along her back as it gave off a faint but fragrant aroma. On it was a good tiara resting comfortably on her head, adorned with a few bright and colorful stones that gleamed as the light shone on it.

the amount of wealth on her didn't make her prideful, and it showed on her face of concern as she treated my wounds.

"Well, I wanted to impress you, like I said. Besides, I wouldn't want to back down from that. But still, thank you, Lorelei. This is the second time that you have helped me. I haven't even repaid your for that time," I couldn't think but feel helpless for giving her this responsibility. I couldn't stop myself from smiling at her, then laughing at the mess I had become, and one that she had to clean. "Besides, I'm so close to winning that I can feel it. Well, I can feel something else, but it's painful, and nothing like winning."

"There is no need for you to do so. You being here is more than enough for me. I could have not asked for anything more... But there is something that I wanted to ask you."

"Well don't keep me in suspense. What is it about?"

"I-I wanted to know if you wanted to go with me to the festival of twilight tonight? Just the two of us?"

"The twilight festival? What is that?"

"Well, it's a celebration of light as I've been told. But I will keep the rest of it a secret until tonight."

"Alright, I'll look forward to it. Do I have to wear anything fancy?"

"No," she laughed. "I don't think that will be needed."

And thus, we had made a promise. The day dragged on as be talked and spoke about many things we knew and didn't know about. We roamed the many rooms of the castle and laughed away at the bliss of it all.

"Come," she said, pulling me by the hand. We ascended a set of stairs leading up, passing by many other floors until we were at the highest peak of the castle, a tower overlooking everything.

She opened the door and revealed a magnificent sight where the sun gleamed brightly, and the clouds, it felt like I could touch them if I reached out a bit more. Everything in the distance became clear, and the people down below became small dots. It was a breathtaking sight as the wind blew at me, refreshing and warm.

"This is a special place of mine that I go to when I look at the stars. Well, one of my special places. This one is the best by far. Please, tonight, I want you to meet me here. I will be waiting."

"Is it for the twilight festival?"

"Yes, so please. Will you?"

"Absolutely! No way I'll miss it for the world."

Then it was my time to leave that a familiar face appeared through the doors of the hall, breathing raggedly, her clothes tattered, and she was covered in wounds. A couple of guards accompanied her, guiding her in the case that she falls. Her eyes turned to me, looking graciously. She declined the helping hands extended to her as she threw herself onto me. I could feel her heart beating fast, and the shuddering of her body. Her monotonous face could not be seen, but it was replaced by one of fear and urgency.

"Zachary! Lavis, it's being attacked by demons. You have to go back and save Sir Hark. He won't last long enough to wait for anyone else! It has to be you, please!" she begged, a single tear falling from her eye. "I've been traveling for so long that I don't know what's become of the town by now."

I felt a strong pang of pain assault my mind, my throats felt dry as I had to swallow the information, unable to believe that I just had heard. Though I was happy to see her, I knelt to her level and wiped the tear away. I looked at her eyes sternly and spoke, trying my best not to break down and panic.

"Stay here, and don't come back until it's safe. Call for help if you want, but I will go ahead now. I promise, I'll save Sir Hark. I won't let anything happen to him. I promise, Louise," I said, standing up and leaving her to the guard's care, quickly departing the castle for the Inn, brushing aside anyone that I came into contact with. It felt like the insides of my body burned as I ran faster than I had ran before.

I barged into the door of our room in the Inn and saw Gino looking over his bed, where scrolls and books were spread out in the open. He had a perplexed look on his face, which turned to surprise as he looked up at me.

"What a sudden visit. Already done having fun with the princess?"

"There's no time! I have to get back to Lavis, and quick!" I reached for my father's sword on the corner and my rucksack and ran outside, wasting no time.

"Wait! Hold on, what did you just say?!" Gino yelled out to me, his voice fading as I got down the Inn's main room.

Right as I opened the door, there Daphne stood, astonished as she looked at me, wide eyed.

"What's wrong? You look ragged. Did something happen?" she asked. But I didn't have time to explain. Every time that passes is a chance of saving Sir Hark and Lavis lost. "I'm sorry, but I have to get to Lavis, fast!" I squeezed through the door way and made my way towards the city gates, panting but not stopping.

There were masses of people going towards my direction, many accompanied with carriages, wagons, and people carrying heavy sacks and loads.

I hurriedly looked around and rushed at the first one my eyes glanced on. A tall brown horse, saddled nearby on a stable by the gates. I took the reins as I leapt onto its back, cutting the rope restricting it with my sword.

Then after eluding the guards from the gates I was finally free, galloping full speed back to Lavis. Deep in my heart, I wish and prayed for their safety. My thought was clouded of nothing but how they were faring during these times.

To return back to the land, where a lush green area spanned acres upon acres, untamed and unkempt by anything that man had to offer, yet with it came a deep mystery that hid many. The two dimensions of humanity and nature separated what I saw and what I perceived.

A faint breeze, a stagnant wind, a warm ray of light. I felt, tasted, smelled, saw, all of it came back to me like a wave.

Meanwhile, as she was left in the care of the guards, Sofia stood in the chaos, having heard the change, and even more.

"Ah, Miss Matten! This is urgent. I come from the town of Glace, orders from the governor. The nearby towns are being assaulted by demons everywhere! It's like they appeared from the forests, and some out of thin air!" He emphasized, showing a great amount of panic. "We must send forces to quell this, otherwise they will make their way towards Exaltier."

"What is the situation with Glace?" she asked firmly, changing personas.

"I know little of the ones out of reach from our town, but the ones nearby are already engaging in battle. Without any leadership from their lords, I doubt they'll last very long."

"Very well," she replied. "I shall relay this right away," she then looked at the castle guard beside them and spoke authoritatively. "Please leave this woman in my care. I will get her to the infirmary. Gather all of the generals and commanders to the king's hall, I will call the king and queen to address the problem."

The man left with a bow and ran out of the door, hurrying himself as he understood the urgency of what was happening.

"Please hold yourself together for a little while more. I shall get you help, then you can explain your part in this," she spoke to her, fatigued and unable to speak, replying with a nod instead. She then fell into a deep slumber, succumbing to her fatigue.