It was a mild and pleasant late afternoon.

The sun danced across the fields of grass.

Under a solitary willow tree, William sat. The leaves were changed from its lovely green to
shades of orange, yellow, and red for autumn, colors William could see, he was delighted.

He sat in the shade, guitar in his hands. He had come here many times before to practice,
he loved the serenity of it all. He always came here alone, though by the end of today he
hoped he wouldn’t have too.

His left hand moved up the neck of the instrument, his fingers, shaky, adjusted to make a
chord. He pressed down, it took more effort than he remembered.

“Today’s the day.” He thought, as his fingers picked on the metallic strings.

He continued to play, gaining more control as he went through the motions. The full
realization of what he was going to do washed over him, he was anxious but determined.
He was going through with it, damn him to hell if he didn’t.

It was just the early evening when he got up and eagerly walked towards home. The bells
from the distant towers rang, as usual.

His mother was already outside when he got home, she was seated at a small outdoor table
with a lantern making final adjustments to the bouquet until she deemed it as quality.
Absorbed in her work, she only raised her head once she heard his footsteps in the garden
gravel.

“Son!” She said, hands still in the roses

“Hi mum!” He smiled, scratching the back of his head

“I’m just making final touches to the bouquet.'' She moved her head down again, moving her
hands through the flowers and stems.

“Alright. Thanks for doing this again, mum.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Will. I’d do this even if you asked me for flowers to give to a
tree.” She feigned a laugh and took one of her hands off from the arrangement of flowers
and wiped off a tear from her face.

“I can’t believe my boy is so grown up now. Oh, I remember the days when you were still a
small devil, running around in the crossroads with your siblings and friends..” Her hand
moved back down, she made her final adjustment.

“How time flies..”

She grabbed the bouquet, stood up and faced her son.

“Just promise to be home before sunrise.” She said, handing William the flowers.

“I promise.”

“Good.” She moved closer, adjusting her son’s tie, taking the guitar from his hand, then
moved back.

“I’ll go get that thing you asked Cynthia to buy for you the other day, just wait a moment.”

“Alright.”

She opened the door to the unusually large but cozy cabin they called home and moved in,
emerging later with a medium sized music box made from wood.

“Here.” She said, handing it to her son

“Thanks mum.” He put it in his right pocket.

“Good luck!”

They both exchanged smiles and bid each other farewell before William set out on the
cobble street.

The lamplights glowed and flickered in a pale hue similar to butterscotch for tonight. He
looked to the sky, the light of the stars just starting to appear. With both hands firmly
grasping the bouquet, he waited, and not for long.

He could see some parts away, her silhouette and her visage. He could see her merry but
thoughtful cornflower blue eyes, the same pair he had fallen in love with a thousand times
before. She came closer, under the light.

Parts of her hair were tied to the back of her head, she wore a long dress none dissimilar to
her normal one, though it was a coloration of white and dark scarlet red instead of black and
purple with parts seemingly having been embroidered with silver. And William could see,
very faintly from the distance, eye shadow of oyster pearl coloration. To him she was simply
stunning, and he felt a little ashamed that he only presented himself with a newly ironed suit
and tie.

He breathed in. And then out. He waved over to her.

“Hey! Hey! Lucy! Over here!”

Their eyes met.

“Ah, William!”

She walked over swiftly, stopping in front of him, looking down with a smile
“You came.” He spoke in a tone, sounding almost like disbelief.

“Of course I did! It’s a date right?” She said, enthusiastically.

“O-oh, yeah! Uh.” He suddenly remembered what he was holding in his hands. The bouquet
or roses, the thing she should be holding right now.

“Oh-right! Here! These are for you!” He said, sheepishly handing it over to her.

“Roses, you shouldn’t have!” She gladly took the assorted flowers from his hands.

“They smell nice, a little wet in some places? Oh! Did your mom grow these?”

“Yeah, she did. Fresh off the garden”

“How sweet.” Pausing for a moment, she looked behind her and looked back at Will.

“Shall we…y’know.” She nodded her head further down the road.

“Y-yeah, let’s go.” He said, nodding in approval.

They started to walk down the cobble street together, heading into the heart of town. They
were quiet for most of the way there, but they didn’t mind. It was pleasant silence, maybe
because they had known each other for as long as they did. As they arrived in the middle of
town, William immediately recognized the place he reserved a spot for them in.

It was a small, quaint, and charming restaurant. A place his father suggested, though he
wasn’t quite sure if he’d actually ever been here. The inside was filled with warm light and a
moderate amount of people.

She noticed him looking into it. “Is..that the place?”

“Yeah, it is. Have you been there?”

“I’ve seen it. I’ve just never been inside. Mum and Dad don’t really take me out much.”

“Oh. “

“Well, better late than never, eh?” She elbowed his arm playfully “C’mon, it’ll be great!”

“Yeah!” He fired back with his own.

“We’re off then!” Her hand grasped William’s arm firmly.

“Wha-”
Before he could finish that sentence, she’d already dragged him along with her fast pace.
They got to the receptionist, got in, got handed menus, ordered, served, and just like that
they were seated.

This panicked William, who didn’t expect to be here this fast.

He stiffened. His head bowed down slightly. His gaze was on her, she had her head down,
looking at her plate, she wasn’t looking at him, good, maybe I can get a grip on myself while
she’s occupied, he thought. He straightened himself up as well as he could.

“So, how was your day today Will?” She was looking at him now

“It was actually quite pleasant. As pleasant as things could get, since, y’know.” He jabbed his
fork into the piece of meat in front of him to hold it in place and began cutting with the knife.

“Ah, right.” She took a sip of her sweet apple wine.

“Dad and Cyn are left for a “business” trip though, so that happened.” He continued to cut.
“How about you Lucy? How’s your day been?”

“It was good. Did more practice today than usual. Mum helped me get dressed, so that was
nice.”

“Ohh.” He took the newly cut piece of meat and consumed it. “How’d practice go?”

“Same old, same old. Hay targets, 60 ft, 80ft, Y’know?”

“Ah.” He took his own drink and drank. “I know I’ve said this before, but really I think it’s
admirable how you’re so passionate about things you like.”

“Oh, t-thanks again.” She blushed, slightly. He didn’t notice.

“Actually, now that I think of it, how did you get into gunning? If that’s alright with you.”

Her mouth opened, then closed, she was in thought for a few moments.

“I guess it really started when I was a kid. Even back then, I was interested in ranged
weaponry. Made slingshots from scratch, back then.” She looked down and had a short
pause

“I guess my old fear of thunder played into it too. I-I’m over it now! Obviously. I was
frightened mostly because of how loud and archaic it sounded. A sudden crackle of sound,
after a bolt of light crashes down from the heavens, what kid could truthfully tell they wouldn’t
be afraid of that? Anyway-I’m getting out of track. Where were we? Right! Guns. As you
know, I only received formal training when I was 15. Holding and looking at my first firearm
was fairly uneventful. Firing it? Much different. Its sound immediately reminded me of
thunder, no, it was thunder. The thing I dreaded so much before was in my hands.”
She had another pause.

“In this trinket I could summon it any damn time I pleased. I became the tempest,now I
control the thunder. And that moment, it just felt so cathartic, y’know?”

“Woah.” She couldn’t see it, but William was smitten.

“Yeah, that’s a little embarrassing, sorry if it’s not the cool origin story you wanted-”

“I loved it.” He said quickly “An honest start. Very respectable.”

“You’re only saying that to make me feel better.” She took another sip from her glass.

“Am not.”

“You are.”

“Am not!”

“You are.”

“Am not! Swear on me mum.” He chuckled.

“Hhmmmmm..” She put elbow on the table, and rested her head on her hand. Her eyes were
squinted slightly, her face still a slight coloration of red. “Alright. How about you William?
Why’d you choose to be a bard?”

“Ah.That. Well I’ve always liked music and song, that’s mostly on mum. She sings a lot, from
childhood till now, she actually wanted to go the full way and become a singer before
becoming a tailor. Never knew why she didn’t decide to go all in, I think she would’ve done
nicely, I've, uh, always liked her singing, I even tried to join in a few times before. I
wasn’t..good at it but dammit I was trying.”

“Cute.” She added

“R-right. Uh. Aside from her, I guess Enel was another reason.”

“That’s new. Who’s Enel?”

“My cousin.”

“Oh.”

“She left”

“Oh.”
“Yeah. She was kind, cheery, and liked to sing too. Actually encouraged me to pursue being
a bard and, well, here I am.”

“She sounds lovely. Hope I can meet her one day”

“I hope you can too.”

A short silence followed. They were almost done with their plates.

“You, uh, I probably should've said this earlier, but you look stunning.”

“Really?”

“Y-yeah! You look great in that! Really killing it.”

“I-thanks. You, you look great too.”

“Thanks.”

Their night went on smoothly. They talked a little more, they finished, they paid, and they left.
They were out on the cobble road again, going back to the bridge.

“That was nice.” She said, looking down at him. “Shame it ended so fast, eh?”

“There’s..actually one last thing I planned”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, but, y’know it is getting pretty late. We can-”

“No.” She quickly replied. “We’re doing it.”

“Well. It’s pretty far out.”

“So? We’ve been almost everywhere in this place. Can’t be too far!”

“I-alright. Follow me.”

They went further down the road, then eventually, out of it, into the fields. The place he’d
been too many times before.

A small gust of wind grazed the field of grass. The sky above them, swirling with stars gently
smiling. It was nothing less than a night handcrafted for two. William cracked his fingers, and
let out a small sigh. He reached into his pocket, and took out the small music box. He
whistled a very short tune and casted spell. A spectral hand manifested and held the music
box aloft from the ground, he couldn’t see what her reaction to it was, though he hoped she
was impressed. He turned the winding lever, and let the music play.
William turned back to her, bowed slightly, and extended his hand.

“Care for a dance?”

“I’d love to.”

She moved to him and took his hand, he stood upright and held her other hand, her fingers
seemed hesitant.

“Anything wrong?”

“No it's just--I don’t usually dance.”

“That makes both of us then.”

They chuckled.

“Nevermind then. Hold hope!” She said enthusiastically, her grip tightening.

“Lock eyes.” He followed.Their gazes locked on each other.

“And let’s dance..” They said, and in an instant William pulled her with him, they swayed,
swung, and spun in the fields.

Their hearts were beating, smiles wide, they danced as best as they could. From a technical
standpoint their dancing was…horrible. But that didn’t matter, not to them, they were happy,
they were together.

The music box emanated an orchestra of sounds and instruments. It was a slow piece,
nothing less but perfect for a dance in the fields, to him, atleast. The piece was reaching its
highest point.

“This is quite nice.” She whispered.

“I’m glad you feel that way.” He whispered back

The dance continued for the entirety of the music, a constant slow waltz between them.
Their last few moments of music and dance, spent in each other’s arms. Slowly, they both let
go. William moved slightly back and bowed once more, Lucy followed. They stared at each
other for a short while.

“W-we. We should get going now huh?”

“Ah! Right..home.”

They nodded at each other, and walked back to that cobbled road they’d known so well.
The night was getting colder. He glanced back at Lucy, she was closer now, that’s fine. He
thought he was lingering in a dream with how it all went, it was better than he thought it
would be. He was too absorbed in that thought to fully notice what followed, and in a
moment he snapped out of it when he felt something slip into his hand.

He looked at Lucy, she was much closer now, a slight blush on her face, he looked down at
his hand, it was intertwined with hers, they were holding hands.

"Lucy."

"Yes?"

"We're.. holding hands."

"I know."

"And you're not even..a little embarrassed?"

"No. Are you?" She looked at him, still blushing, with a face of bemusement.

"No it's just…usually, holding hands are for when people are..together, y'know?" He said,
averting his gaze.

"We are together, aren’t we? Even if it's just for tonight?"

“We’re..together?”

“Obviously.”

“Obviously?”

They chuckled.

"Even if not, we held hands during our dance, is this really the thing that puts you off?"

“W-well! I asked you for that so-”

“So do you want to stop holding hands?”

"No."

"There."

There was a momentary silence.

“Well then….you won’t mind me doing this now won’t you?”

He rested his weary head on her arm as they continued to walk. She blushed more, and
turned away. He noticed.

“I-I’m sorry if-”

“No no no.” She quickly answered.

“I-I’ll allow it.”

“Hm.”

Another silence followed but not long after, Lucy turned her head back down and looked at
him.

“I-, William.”

“Yes?”

“By any chance, are you free on friday?”

“I am.”

“Do you-” There was a brief pause. “Y’know after marksman practice. Do you want to go
stargazing or something?”

“Oh, like, just the two of us?” He said, poorly hiding his enthusiasm. She noticed.

“Yeah, just the two of us.” She said, matching his enthusiasm with her own.

“Lovely.” He leaned in more. “Can’t wait.”