The days following her encounter with Dawn went by harder than Marina had thought. For she was restless and couldn't wait for Adelia Adella to return to Azure Gul so she could ask her for some answers and advice. Marina tried to keep herself busy with Helpers' chores and even took up extra work but her mind was still cloudy. Her and Dawn had decided to not interact in public to avoid any kind of suspicion but they saw each other everyday at the Grand Marketplace. While Marina would be helping her family in setting up their stall or in selling their goods, Dawn would pass by their stall, the pair would exchange greetings silently and secretly, and then he would disappear. 

It was the fourth day after their meetup at the West Zone. Marina and her family were at the Grand Marketplace for their daily business. 

"Mother, I'm going to go take a look around," Marina informed her mother as she finished arranging some baskets of fresh produce at their stall. 

"Alright but don't go wandering off like you did before, Marina. Take a round and come back as soon as possible. We need your help to selling our stock," Mabelle said sternly. Marina grinned at her sheepishly in reply and nodded. 

After that, Marina was off on her usual round of the marketplace. What she loved was that every day, there were new stalls being set up and due to that, she got to meet new people from all over Azure Gul. About ten minutes away from her parents' stall, Marina stopped when she saw a stall decorated in a very interesting way. Purple velvet embroidered with intricate golden patterns was draped at the entrance to make it look like they were heavy curtains. Marina's heart leaped in excitement. It's a Teacher's stall! 

As she walked up to the stall, she saw that it was being set up by a young woman. She had shaggy black hair which was tied up on the top of her head in a bun, with her dark violet strand falling loose along her face, just up till her chin. She had swapped the traditional violet Teachers' gown for a dark violet knee-length tunic with big puffy sleeves and large cuffs, which she had paired with dark violet harem pants.  

Marina came closer to offer her some help when she stopped to admire her work. A painter! Marina thought with a huge smile. 

"Hello! Did you make all these?" she said brightly, causing the young woman to turn around to face her. For a second, Marina was taken aback by how beautiful she was. Are all female Teachers this beautiful?

"Yes," she replied with a soft smile. For her bold look, she was actually quite soft-spoken. 

"They're beautiful! Is it your first time at the Grand Marketplace?" Marina said politely. The young woman raised her eyebrows in surprise. 

"Yes. How did you know?"   

"I've been coming to this marketplace ever since I can remember and I take a round of all the stalls every single day," Marina replied with a chuckle. 

"Thank you," said the Teacher with a smile, "It feels really nice to have someone appreciate my work." 

"I'm Marina Mae, by the way," Marina said, holding out her hand.  

"Alfa Albina. Pleasure to meet you," the young woman said in return, stepping forward to shake Marina's outstretched hand. As Alfa moved, Marina caught a glimpse of the painting behind her and she feels like all the air had suddenly been knocked out of her. On a large canvas was an exquisite painting of a giant blue rose against a dark grey background. It was as if someone was looking at it closely from an aerial view, showing every single detail of the rose, each vein in its petals drawn perfectly. Marina felt goosebumps erupt all over her body and she was suddenly teleported back ten years, when she first saw the rose through the Black Water's Eye.  

"T-That's a very i-interesting painting..." Marina stuttered, nodding her head to the painting behind Alfa. She tried to maintain her composure and hold the smile on her face but she could feel her body trembling. She immediately let go of Alfa's hand so she couldn't detect Marina's emotions. Alfa turned around to look at the painting Marina had mentioned.

"Oh this one? It's my latest work, and out of all paintings that I've done, this one is my favourite so far," she stated, smiling warmly at it.  

"Did... Did you paint this from o-observation?" Marina asked, gulping. She took in a deep breath to keep herself calm. 

"Oh no... I had this... Dream, as strange as it may sound but I saw this flower in my dream and it took my breath away. It was so... Alluring that it wouldn't leave my mind and so, I thought I'd paint it," Alfa replied enthusiastically. Marina didn't know what to say. Her mind suddenly went blank. She had so many questions for Alfa but she didn't know if it was the right time for her to be asking them. She pretended to study the painting and she chewed on her lip as she contemplated on how to continue the conversation, her heart beating furiously against her ribcage. 

"Has... Anyone seen this painting till now?" Marina finally asked after a few minutes. 

"No, not yet. This is the first time I've showcased any of my work. Before this, I just drew and painted for myself," Alfa replied immediately, causing Marina to nod slowly. 

"What... How much are you willing to sell this painting for?" Marina asked hesitantly, feeling a bit nauseous after looking at the rose constantly. Alfa looked a bit surprised. 

"You wish to buy it?"   

"Well, I would like to know the price for it first," Marina nodded, her head pounding. 

"I haven't finalised it's price yet because I didn't think someone would be interested in buying it immediately," Alfa replied sheepishly. Marina couldn't understand what to do next and hated the situation she was in. She wished Dawn was nearby so she could ask him for some help. 

"Sorry if this sounds strange but... Could you... Hide this painting?" Marina asked, mentally facepalming. 

"Hide it? Why?" Alfa asked, utterly confused. Marina racked her brain for a suitable answer. 

I wish you for to hide it because there might be people around us who might hurt you if they found out you were somehow linked to the blue rose.

"Well you see, I-I would like to buy it from you. But... I don't have any money with me right now. My parents are... Buying some things from here and I would... N-need to get some money from them... So, if... If you put it on display and... Someone else ends up liking it, they would end up buying it before I do... And that would be such a heartbreak!" she finally replied, exaggerating the story more as she went. After her long statement, she immediately went silent and pursed her lips. Alfa stared at her and blinked, nodding slowly. Then, to Marina's relief, she let out a hearty laugh. 

"That's so nice of you, Marina! I can't believe you like it so much! But don't worry, I have done more paintings of this flower. Even if someone buys this one, I'll bring more of them tomorrow and you could choose from those if you like," she said with a wide smile, and Marina's heart sank. That was not the turnout she expected from their conversation. 

"You have more paintings of the blu--- of this flower?" Marina squeaked miserably. 

"Of course! I have drawn at least ten more versions of this flower. That's just how much I loved it!" Alfa replied excitedly. Marina smiled half-heartedly in return, not knowing what do to next. She had to speak to Dawn. She glanced to her left, where her parents' stall was ten minutes away from her. Then she glanced to her right, where the West Zone gate was fifteen minutes away from her. She momentarily closed her eyes. I'm sorry, Mother, but I need to wander off today as well...

"Still! Could you... Reserve this painting for me for... Let's say... An hour?" Marina asked, unable to breathe properly. Alfa tilted her head in confusion. 

"If I don't show up at your stall within the next hour with the money to buy it, then you can put it on display and let whoever you want buy it," she explained, hoping Alfa would agree. After staying silent for a minute, Alfa finally smiled. 

"You've got yourself a deal, Marina Mae," she said and Marina sighed in relief. 

"Thank you so much, Alfa!" she cried out loudly, almost hugging the young Teacher in delight. With that, she was off. She spun to her right and sprinted at full speed towards the West Zone gate. 

Five minutes later, she entered the Warriors' Zone. She stopped abruptly at the entrance, panting hard. How would she find Dawn? She looked around and dashed to the first building she was familiar with, the mess hall. Maybe she could ask someone about his whereabouts there. She heaved open the large wood and iron doors of the mess hall and was greeted with a dozen Warriors working inside. She gulped, suddenly becoming nervous, and took in a deep breath. Slowing down to a walk, she weaved her way through the Warriors and tried to search for someone to talk to. Suddenly, she saw a familiar figure. He had his back to her but the body structure and hairstyle gave Marina a boost of hope. 

"Dawn!" she cried out, speed walking up to him. The figure turned around and Marina stopped in her tracks. 

Uh oh...