AN: Due to Popular Demand, Chapter 1 has been split into 2 parts. Enjoy.

Dia felt the chill of the wind and the deafening silence of the woods. She noticed that Noctave didn't seem to notice it at all. Kind of strange. She usually loved nature walks, but these walks weren't in such ominous woods. The ground was hilly and covered in dead leaves, shrubs, mossy rocks, and glowing mushrooms. She spotted crows all over the area and glowing eyes in the darkness. Could it be the goblins Noctave told her about?

There were sounds of something scuttling in the undergrowth. Dia jumped, but was caught by Noctave. It revealed himself to them once Noctave used her wand as a torch. It was a long, white snake with many eyes. He stood up, making himself as tall as Dia. His 16 eyes looked at Dia with an otherworldly intensity.

Dia was frozen in fear, squeezing Noctave's hand. Noctave stepped in front of her.

"It's OK! She's a friend of mine! She's not a risk!"

The snake's gaze went to Noctave and slithered away. Dia tugged on Noctave's sleeve to her attention.

"Who was that?"

"Chryses. He is one of the guardians of the Black Forest."

Dia tried to hide her shock, but her eyes gave away her fear.

Noctave comforted Dia. "Don't worry, the Midnight Maidens are just up ahead. We'll be outta here soon enough." Noctave rubbed Dia's back to comfort her further. Dia nodded in response, her touch was electrifying.

The Midnight Maidens were growing in a spiral around a great tree, the thickest and oldest in the entire wood. It had some scars from attempts to chop it down, but they were only bark deep.

The Midnight Maidens were only thirteen inches tall, with velvety texture and petals that were a midnight purple. The stems and leaves were a near black in color.

"So, Dia," asked Noctave, "how will you take them? Midnight Maidens can't and won't survive when separated from its roots, in addition to wilting once exposed to sunlight."

Dia cast a spell that made one of the flowers arise from the ground and she guided it into a pink glass planter that was in her dress pocket. Noctave was impressed.

But behind Dia, she spotted a jet black wolf nearby, traditionally thought as a bad omen. But it disappeared before Noctave could inform Dia.

The walk back was spent with Dia and Noctave having a conversation to get to know each other better. Noctave actually tried to keep pace with Dia this time. Dia asked the first question. "Where did you get your magic?"

"Study, mostly. Though I have a familiar to boost my magical prowess. Though I don't have much right now, it being the new moon and all."

Dia looked at the completely black disk in the middle of the sparkling ribbon above the brim of her hat. "So your power is connected to the moon phases? Seems like you're already fairly powerful. How far was that distance you teleported?"

Noctave thought about it for a bit. "I think...5 feet, though I'm sure my familiar helped me greatly. When you teleport, it helps to know exactly where you're going."

"I''ll keep that in mind. I' don't teleport often. Can you tell me a bit about your familiar?"

Noctave held Dia's hand."Of course, his name is Noxis, and he's a black cat."

Dia wasn't thrilled to hear that. "I don't really like cats that much."

"Don't worry, he has no fur!"

Dia shivered at the thought of a hairless cat. "That doesn't make it better! That only makes it worse!"

Noctave frowned. "I guess I''ll shift the conversation. Do you have someone to do your makeup for you? Because it''s flawless."

Dia felt flustered, her body temperature rising. Is she flirting with me? I haven't experienced this for a while...

"Oh, thanks Noctave. I mostly do it myself with help from my servants and mom."

Noctave asked her another question. "Is gold your favorite color?"

"It's yellow, actually. But gold is such a warm and pretty color."

"What about you? What's your favorite?"

"It's a tie between teal and purple."

Dia pointed to Noctave's hat. "That hat is really interesting, Noctave. Where do you find such hats?"

"Well, it was once the fashion in Noctaria to wear these sorts of hats, especially by sorcerers, and I adopted it to show my heritage and power. The moon disk is synced to the moon, indicating my power level. The bow is just a cute detail, though the sparkles could represent the stars in the night sky."

"That's really interesting!"

Dia stopped walking, thinking of what to say next. Noctave seems to be really into me...and I really like her, as well. But maybe she's just flirting to mess with me...No, no, we can't have another Halucina.

But...she likes me...She must, or else she wouldn't comfort me when I saw the snake. Or decided to help me out finding the flower.

I have to tell her.

Shyly, Dia asked Noctave"C-Can I confess something to you?"

Noctave was shocked. "We've just met! But if it's that important..."

After a bit of silence, Dia spoke again.

"Well, I must admit I am attracted to you. Romantically, I mean. Is...is that okay with you?"

Noctave breathed a sigh of relief. She expected something far worse.

Winking at her, she responded with "OK, that's good. Well, I kind of have an "attraction" towards you. too. We should stay in touch."

They parted ways after trading post addresses. Noctave went straight to Castle Eventide and Dia went to Castle Dayspring. Neither told their parents of their newfound relationship.