Dia found Noctave sitting on the swan bench located deep in the hedge maze. Noctave flinched when she heard her footsteps, but relaxed when she saw it was Dia. Dia sat next to her, and they held hands. They were silent for a time, both of them were unhappy.

Dia broke the silence. "Do you trust Umbrum?" That's a loaded question, thought Noctave. "Well, I'm not so sure. I'll wait and see what he wants to do." Dia didn't like her answer. "I don't think that waiting around will help."

Noctave felt confused. "What do you mean, Dia?"

Dia said "I don't trust Umbrum. Why should I? He hates my parents-" 

"With good reason." 

Dia sighed. "I know, but this is the same guy who tried to  invade Illuminana! Why should I trust him?"

Noctave played devil's advocate. "Is he, though? He seems a lot more relaxed after 4000 years." 

"A lake that seems serene on the surface often has a monster lurking in its depths."

Noctave thought about the proverb for a while. Dia had a point. He seemed calm and relaxed around her, but she's his daughter. Of course he acts better around her.

"The best way, in my opinion, to tell if someone is a good person is to see how they treat their servants. I've only heard good things from Noxis about Umbrum, so...?" 

Dia wasn't convinced. "Do you really trust the word of Noxis?" 

Noctave nodded. "If he's willing to prank Umbrum multiple times and is still alive, I think I can trust Umbrum."

Dia stood up. "Well, you might be able to trust him, but how can I? He hates my family, so why should I trust him?" 

"Your family hates Urainia, but you trust her fine." Dia countered. 

"My mom hates Urainia, but Umbrum has a very violent rivalry with my father, and Iris always got threats from Umbrum. I'm not saying that my parents treated him well, but he really isn't helping with his temper."

 "Well, he can always learn to be better. I stick by him-"

"NO!"

Noctave was shocked by Dia's sudden outburst. 

"I don't want you around him. Please, I don't want you to get hurt." 

Noctave rolled her eyes. "Please, Dia. I can take care of myself. The moon in growing in power, and it'll be a full moon in 2 weeks. My magic is powerful enough to combat his."

"But what about the new moon?" 

"I'll be fine, Dia!" Noctave walked away from the bench. She needed to leave before she got enraged.

Dia followed her, not knowing that Noctave needed space. "Noctave! Please don't go!" 

Noctave groaned. "No, if you can't trust me to defend myself, why don't you follow me around everywhere?" 

"I'm sorry Noctave, I just don't want you to get hurt."

Noctave ran off in the hedge maze, wanting to lose Dia. Dia followed close behind, wanting to make up. 

Frustrated, Noctave thought, When we she get the hint that I don't want to see her?

Noctave knew she couldn't out run Dia, so she hummed a melody to make her invisible. Dia knew she was invisible, and prepared a spell to break it. But when she did, she saw there was now 3 Noctaves.

Damn, Noctave really want to lose me. But she needs me. I just need to figure out which one is the real Noctave.

The best plan she could think of is to challenge them to a fight. She had the advantage, it was 1 in the afternoon.

She aimed a ray of sunlight at 2 of them, but before it could make contact, all 3 of them disappeared. The hedge that was in its way was badly burnt.

 Iris wouldn't be happy to find the hedge maze destroyed, so Dia resolved to stay away from fire based spells.

Dia saw a bunch of Noctave clones running about, but they didn't appear to be able to talk. 

If Noctave still has these clones running around, she must be still singing. I need to listen closely, and follow the melody.

Dia waited patiently, and soon, she heard a faint song with lyrics in a language she didn't recognize. She followed it, shoving aside Noctave's clones on the way.

Noctave was in the center of the maze, a small patch of forest. She sat on a limb of the large oak tree, singing her song. It was too high up for Noctave to spot Dia on the ground.

Dia teleported up there to meet Noctave, startling her. 

Dia started apologizing. "I'm very, very sorry for saying that you can't defend yourself, Noctave." 

Noctave was exhausted. "I accept your apology, but I need some time alone." 

Dia was understanding. "Before I go, can I give you a parting gift?" "What sort?" 

Dia motioned in for a kiss, and Noctave returned it. For a moment, they both felt bliss.

Afterward, both of them felt a bit bashful. It was the first kiss of the relationship. 

Dia broke the silence first. "Well...that was really nice, wasn't it?" Noctave agreed, but said "Isn't it strange that we've just shared out first kiss, yet our parents don't know about the depth of our relationship?"

 Dia laughed nervously. What would happen if mom and dad did find out?

Noctave continued "I mean, Umbrum definitely knows. Look at all the shade around here."

Dia began to play with her loose curls at this uncomfortable fact. What would he think of me kissing his daughter? I doubt he'd be happy.

Noctave winked at Dia. "Why should we let that stop us? We're old enough to be in a relationship, and if it works out well, we might even make it to the altar and have a castle of our own." 

Dia wasn't so sure. "Might. We're not soulmates just because we've shared our first kiss." Noctave nodded in agreement. "True. Would you like another one?"

She did, and they parted ways afterward. Noctave didn't care what Umbrum thought, she was going to stay with Dia.

Dia was willing to stick by Noctave, but she couldn't help but worry about her and Umbrum.