The sun was just setting as we dressed to go have dinner, so instead of taking the shortcut through her gardens, we went out her front door and strolled along the west side of town, admiring the brilliant colors lighting up the clouds along the horizon. "It looks like it'll be a nice day tomorrow," I commented as we stood at the lookout point near the inn, watching as the sun finally vanished below the horizon. "Want to go fishing? You said you needed to, and we still haven't managed to go."

"What, didn't you enjoy today's alternative activities?" she said teasingly, looking up at me with laughing eyes.

I leaned down and murmured in a low voice, "You know I enjoyed every moment of it."

She blushed bright red, then grabbed my hand and held it as we walked towards the restaurant. When we arrived, she hesitated a moment at the door. I gave her hand a squeeze, saying, "You know, we don't have to eat here if you're not up to it. I can just go in and order something to go for us, if you would rather."

She squeezed my hand back, and smiled gratefully at me. "No, but thank you for offering, Leo. I told him I wasn't going to grovel, and I meant it. I just need a moment to brace myself in case he's there."

"Think 'ice princess'," I said with a grin. She laughed, and we went on in.

Sure enough, when we stepped inside, Dylas was there at the counter, his back to the door. I felt Avani stiffen momentarily, and I gave her hand another squeeze. Dylas turned around and blanched when he saw us standing there, his words of greeting dying on his lips. He seemed unable to speak, so I just smiled and asked for a quiet table for two. He scowled at me, then nodded and led us to a small table far from the counter.

He handed us menus and said, rather brusquely, "Drinks?"

"Tea for both of us, please," I responded politely.

He frowned and turned to look at Avani, but she was looking over the menu and ignoring him. He turned and stomped off to get us our tea, and I saw her shoulders relax. "Well," I said, "it wasn't as bad as it could have been, wouldn't you agree? We certainly seemed to catch him by surprise when we walked in."

Avani set her menu down and looked at me with a grave expression. "Leo, not only do I really not want to talk to him while we're here, I also really don't want to talk about him. Please, let's talk about something else, okay?"

"As you wish, My Lady," I said with a smile.

Just then Dylas returned with our tea. "You ready to order?" he said gruffly, staring fixedly at Avani.

She continued to ignore him, instead looking at me with a twinkle in her eyes and saying, "Will you order for me please, Leo?"

I grinned back at her, saying, "Oh-ho, presenting me with a challenge, My Lady? Well, let me see... I recall you once telling me that with a few exceptions, your food preferences were based more on the nutrients you derive from what you eat rather than the actual taste of the food. So based on what I think your nutritional needs are right now, as well as planning ahead for the remainder of the evening...."

I paused for a moment, rubbing my chin as I considered. "I'm going to say that you will likely need a meal comprised of about two-thirds carbohydrates, for energy—you'll need plenty of that; one-third protein, for strength; and a little fat, just to keep those lovely curves of yours curvy. So...."

I thought for a moment about what menu options would best fit those needs, not failing to notice Dylas's scowl deepening. "Let's start you with snapper sashimi, followed by a vegetarian curry on rice with a side salad, and a large glass of fruit juice. And for me, rainbow trout sashimi, followed by grilled lamp squid, fried veggies, and fried rice, and just tea to drink. Thanks, Dylas," I said, handing the menus back to him. He grunted and stalked off, muttering under his breath.

I leaned forward and said in a stage whisper, "The service is perhaps a little lacking, but I hear the food is quite good."

She choked slightly on her sip of tea and giggled. I leaned back, relieved to see her smiling again. "So about tomorrow... do you have any place in particular you'd like to go fishing? No? Then how about we pack our swimsuits and a lunch and head over to Keeno Lake? It's always summer there, so it should be a good deal warmer there than it will be here. And it's a good place to fish—I often head there when I'm fishing for lamp squid or rainbow trout. How does that sound?"

"Perfect!" she exclaimed happily. Just then Dylas arrived with our sashimi, plunking the plates down unceremoniously before stalking off again. I looked at her and shrugged, then we set about enjoying our meal.

Afterwards, I ordered a slice of chocolate cake to go for Avani and paid the bill, making sure to leave a generous tip for Dylas—knowing that, in his present mood, doing so would irritate him more than leaving no tip at all. I didn't really care how he behaved towards me, but it pissed me off to see him being so bitchy and childish to Avani, who certainly didn't deserve such treatment.

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

As we walked down the street, I turned to head down the steps to the back of her gardens, and she stopped and grabbed my hand. "Where are we going?" she asked.

 "I'm walking you home," I said, surprised that she'd ask such an obvious question.

"Don't you want to stop by your room for anything?" she asked, looking confused.

"Such as...?" I replied, uncertainly.

"Oh...." she said, blushing and looking away. "I... I assumed you were staying the night. But I guess not?"

Looking down at this amazing woman standing flushed with disappointed hope before me, I felt an overwhelming tenderness wash over me as well as passion rising up from deep within me. I pulled her to me, saying in a low voice, "Would you like me to stay?"

She turned a little pinker and nodded her head, burying her cheek against my chest. "Then by all means, let's stop at the inn first. Would you care for a bath, too, while we're there?"

"Mmm, that sounds wonderful!" she murmured, looking breathtakingly sensual as she gazed up at me with half-lidded eyes. My heart felt as though it would burst, and I thought to myself that I had no right—no right at all—to feel such happiness. But as I returned her gaze with a smile, I knew that, right or wrong, I couldn't help being happy as long as I remained with her.

When we walked in, I told her to go on ahead and enjoy a long soak—I needed to get some things together and check on my foxes before my bath, so she'd have plenty of time. She squeezed my hand and smiled with an almost child-like delight before bounding off to the ladies' baths.

I climbed the stairs to my room and dropped my rucksack on my bed, waking the foxes from their nap. I told them they could stay or follow as they pleased, as long as they kept out of the way. They looked at me sleepily and yawned before curling back up and going back to sleep, tails tucked around their noses. I gathered up my swim shorts and a towel, a change of clothes, and my toiletries, placing them neatly in my bag. I gathered up the rest of the materials for my translation work that I'd left behind this morning, setting them on top of my clothing. Then I grabbed my fishing pole, shouldered my pack, and headed down to the baths.

I met Avani in the lobby after we finished bathing and offered her a refreshing fruit juice. A jeweler had recently opened a small shop in the lobby, so while we sipped our drinks, Avani looked over his wares.

I smiled to myself as I thought perhaps she was exhibiting a very feminine love of jewelry, so I was both surprised and amused when she came back, musing, "He had some decent emeralds and sapphires for sale, though the price was a little high. My stocks of gems are running low since I keep using them to upgrade weaponry and armor. I think I'd still prefer to mine my own gemstones than pay for them, though it's nice to know that they're available if I need some in a hurry."

I burst out laughing, and she stared at me, puzzled by my reaction. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Nothing. You're just adorable, that's all," I replied, grabbing her hand. "Come on, let's get going. Your cake must be calling to you by now."

She grinned gleefully as she looked at the small white box in her hand, then she looked up at me and asked, "Would you like to share the cake? You don't seem to hate sweets like Dyl... like some others I know, but you didn't get yourself anything either."

I pulled her to me and leaned in closer to her, saying in a low voice, "I have an entirely different sort of dessert in mind, one that I hope we can enjoy together." She turned bright pink, gave my hand a hard squeeze, and swiftly pulled me out the door.

We headed up the street towards the shortcut to her back door, and as we reached the steps leading down to her gardens, Avani stopped short and stiffened. I looked east, following her gaze, and saw Dylas coming along the street towards us. He was looking down as he walked and hadn't seen us yet, but before I could pull her down the steps and out of his line of sight, he looked up and stopped. He just stared for a minute, looking from Avani to me and back again. He took a step forward, but Avani turned and ran down the steps without a word, pulling me along with her. I gave him a cool nod as I followed, noting that his expression appeared to be a muddle of anger, anxiety, jealousy, and grief.

I felt certain that with the way things were progressing, he'd be knocking on Avani's door first thing on the fourth morning, begging for her to take him back, and I wondered how she'd feel by then. I found that my own feelings were mixed. I was surprised to find that with our new intimacy, I now felt strangely possessive of her, desiring her to look at me and only me. But I also enjoyed the camaraderie that the three of us enjoyed. We made a good fighting team, I thought, and I'd hate to lose that, especially now that the Sechs Empire was threatening the kingdom. I'd just have to wait and see what happened—there was really nothing else I could do.