There was no sign of Avani in her study, but the heavy door leading to her workroom and smithy was slightly ajar. From within, I could hear the furious clanging of metal on metal. I passed through the doorway and found her there, pounding vigorously on a sword blank. From the manner in which she worked, it was clear that she was simply blowing off steam with some hard physical labor rather than trying to craft a quality weapon.

She paused when I came in and looked at me, her eyes still sparking with anger. She wiped the sweat from her brow, leaving dark streaks across her forehead in the process. "Well? Is he gone?" she said, tersely.

I shrugged my shoulder. "No idea, I didn't wait around to make sure he left. If he hasn't yet, he probably will as soon as he gets his sea legs back," I replied drily. She looked at me questioningly, and I explained, "He looked seasick, as though he might pass out or puke any minute."

She snorted, saying, "Good. Serves him right. I still can't believe...." and with that, she turned back to her work and began hammering again with a vengeance.

After watching her for several minutes and seeing no sign of her anger subsiding, I put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. "Hey," I said as she looked up at me, "how about we go clear out some monster infestations? It might be a more effective use of your energy."

She set her hammer down, and thought for a minute. "Sure," she said, "but I'd like a bath first—I have sooty sweat dripping into my eyes!"

I laughed, and we headed back downstairs. Dylas had indeed left by then, so we grabbed our gear from her storeroom and headed out the back door, through her gardens and towards the inn. I spotted Dylas down the road as we reached the inn, looking utterly dejected as he slowly walked up to the restaurant door. Serves him right, though, I thought angrily to myself as I held the door for Avani.

We enjoyed long soaks in the fragrant baths, then met up in the lobby. I bought a cold juice for her, then we went to my room to pick up a few things and check on my foxes before setting out for the airship. Avani asked if I had any place in mind, and I suggested we return to the cave in Sercerezo Hill where the Sechsons had installed their secret lab. I thought it likely that a number of vicious creatures still roamed those maze-like caverns. She agreed, and off we went. We reached the cave after a few small skirmishes with monsters in the wild, and after taking a moment to check our gear and prepare ourselves, we headed in.

As I'd suspected, there were still numerous monsters lurking in the large, shadowy caverns. Avani fought like a demon, venting her fury and frustration on the unlucky monsters that crossed her path. I could barely keep up with her, she moved so quickly, and she was unleashing such power in each blow that I could barely get in a jab with my spear or cast a single spell before she'd entirely annihilated the denizens of each cavern. So for the time being, I kept back and let her have free rein, conserving my energy for healing and backup, should either be needed. I was concerned, though, about how much energy she was using, and wondered if she had enough food at home—I knew that at this rate, her appetite would be enormous by the time we'd finished.

Sure enough, by the time she'd had enough and we returned to her rooms, she was drained and famished. Looking in her kitchen, I thought to myself that she really needed to go shopping, urgently. For the time being, I tracked down Vishnal and asked him to order some food from Porcoline's, giving him enough money to cover the expense. He happily obliged, always ecstatic to do anything for his dearly beloved Princess. As he left, it occurred to me to wonder if Dylas would be delivering it—that could be awkward. But as it happened, Vishnal waited for the order and brought it back himself. When I asked him why Dylas wasn't doing the deliveries, he said that Porcoline had mentioned that the waiter was feeling unwell and had gone to bed. As well he should, I thought grimly as I took the food into the kitchen.

While we were eating, a knock came on the front door. Before Avani could move, the door opened and Illuminata stepped in, her face pale and eyes red from crying. She simply stared silently at the elf, waiting for her to speak. After a moment of nervous hesitation, she began to apologize profusely. "I'm so sorry, Avani," she began, and I had to admit, she sounded sincere. "I... I know there's really no excuse, but... but Dylas said that you didn't care about him anymore, that you'd dumped him for Leon, and, well... I-I get envious sometimes, seeing everyone else running around with lovers. Mine left years ago, you see... and elves live such long lives. Sometimes I get so lonely... because even if we aren't human, we still feel as humans do. But if I'd known that you hadn't broken up with him, I swear I'd never have done... that. Can you ever forgive me?"

Avani set her dish down on the table and stood up, walked over to Lumie, and said, "I just have one question. How long has this been going on between you and Dylas?"

Lumie looked her in her eyes and said, "He came to me late last night for the first time, and he stayed the night with me. That's the extent of it."

To my surprise—thinking that Avani was going to slap her or at least tell her to get out—she put her arms around Lumie and hugged her tightly. Lumie looked taken aback, and then she began to cry silent tears as she hesitantly returned the embrace.

"I'm sorry you got caught up in our fight, Lumie," Avani said softly, and I wondered at her generosity of heart, to be so quick to forgive a woman who only that morning had been caught in bed with her lover. "Dylas was using you to get revenge on me for something that was really all in his head in the first place. It was terrible and wrong of him to do that to you, and I certainly don't blame you for it. Dylas bears sole responsibility for his actions. I'm not angry with you, so please don't worry about it anymore."

Lumie nodded, and turned away, saying "Thank you, Avani," in a hoarse whisper before running out the door.

"You're pretty amazing, you know that?" I told her as she sat back down beside me.

She looked at me in surprise, saying, "Huh? Why's that?"

"Oh, nothing, just thinking out loud," I replied with a smile. "Here, try a bite of this," I added, spearing a particularly tasty looking shrimp from my plate and popping it into her mouth, distracting her from further questions.

When we had finished eating and cleaned up, I looked at her and said, "You know, I still owe you a date. Do you want to try again tomorrow? Are you up for that?"

She thought a moment, then said, "I'd like that, but do you mind just staying in? The weather is supposed to be pretty awful tomorrow, I heard. Besides, I've enjoyed our evening together, and I wouldn't mind just spending some more quiet time like that with you, curled up on the sofa in front of the fire, reading or talking or whatever. Unless that would bore you?"

"You never bore me," I replied with a smile. "That's one of the things I love about you." She looked startled and blushed so adorably, I couldn't resist gently stroking her rosy pink cheek before turning to leave. "So shall I be here, say, around 10:00?"

"Sounds perfect. That gives me time to finish my morning chores, provided that it does rain. See you tomorrow, then," she said as she walked me to the door.

************

I awoke the next morning to a terrible thunderstorm. Rain was falling so heavily that it was difficult to see through it, and thunder boomed frequently as lightning flashed repeatedly in the sky. Definitely a day for staying in if possible, I thought to myself.

As I stared out the window at the dreary weather, Xiao popped in with my breakfast tray. I had developed a taste for Lin's Eastern-style breakfast of grilled fish, miso soup, salty pickled vegetables, and rice, and that was what she had brought up for me today. I sat at my desk to eat, looking over the material I'd so far translated in the book I was working on. I found a few minor alterations I wanted to make and made them, then as soon as I finished eating, I headed down for a hot bath.  

Afterwards, I packed up my book in my rucksack, told Sano and Uno to stay there where they would be warm and dry, and headed out. Pausing at the lobby door, I noticed that there were no umbrellas left to borrow in the large urn next to the coat rack. So I shouldered my rucksack and made a run for it, taking the shorter back route through the castle gardens to Avani's back door.

She let me in quickly, exclaiming at how thoroughly drenched I was. She pulled me over to her wardrobe, and rummaging around for a moment, she pulled out a robe and boxers I'd left behind one morning. She insisted that I change out of my wet things right away while she hurried off to start coffee brewing. Then while I sat before the fire and sipped my cup of coffee, she took my wet clothes to Clorica for her to set them out to dry near the great hearth in the castle's kitchen.

"Ugh," I said as she returned and sat down next to me, pouring herself a cup of coffee and topping mine off. "Now I smell like wet dog."

She leaned in and sniffed delicately at me, saying, "Not all that much. You just smell like... Leo!"

"Leo?" I asked.

"Yep, I think I'll call you Leo from now on. It fits you perfectly!" she said with a big grin.

"Don't be pert, little miss," I said, setting my cup down.

"Leeeooo!" she sang out, leaning in closer to me.

"Damn. That... that's cuter than I could have imagined, at least when you say it. Well, two can play at that game. Which shall I call you? My Lady? Or perhaps Princess Avani? Or would you prefer I just call you Li'l Avani?" I replied with a slightly malicious grin.

To my surprise, she seriously contemplated the choices I'd given her. "Call me My Lady," she decided.

"So that's what tickles your fancy, is it, My Lady?"

She blushed a little, then leaned her head on my shoulder and said, "It sounds so nice when you say that, Leo." I felt my own cheeks redden slightly, and I put my arm around her shoulders and drew her closer as we sat gazing into the fire and listening to the rain pounding on the roof and the distant rolls of thunder.