Helen and Arthur were heading back to camp, excited to tell everyone that not only did they have a dungeon dive tomorrow, but it was going down a tunnel no one has ever been before. As they approached the camp everyone appeared to be conversing happily, although Tess seemed to be covering her face with her hands, while Claire and Lilia seemed to be looking over the red dress she had to wear in Frozen Hell.

"Alright everyone, we have an A rank dive for tomorrow morning," Helen announced as she arrived.

"Great," Adam said as he got up, the rest of the male members of the group following. "Now it's time to get to work."

"What kind of work are you doing?" Arthur asked.

"You'll see. Come on lover boy, you're coming with me," Adam then picked Arthur up and through him over his shoulder.

"Hey! Put me down! I'm not a sack of potatoes here!" Arthur yelled.

"You'll thank me later," Adam replied as he and all the male members left camp.

"Bye papa," Sylvie said as she waved from Tess' lap.

"What just happened?" Helen asked as she watched them all walk away.

"Adam lost what little mind he had left," Jasmine replied.

"Helen come on," Angela announced excitedly as she came out of her tent with her bag. "We've got some work to do too."

"What kind of work? What are you all talking about?" Helen asked, completely confused as to what happened in the short time she was gone.

"Getting Tess here ready for her and Arthur's date night," Claire chimed in sounding as excited as Angela.

—————————————————————

"Hmmm, I would have thought there'd be something we could use here," Adam mused as he walked past the shops with Arthur over his shoulder.

"What are we even doing?" Arthur groaned. "And why can't you put me down to walk."

"While you were gone it was mentioned how you and Tess haven't been on a date yet. So it was decided we were going to make that happen tonight, and we're going to help you get ready," Elijah replied.

"Adam. Remember our duel on the way to Xyrus when I was five?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" Adam replied, barely paying him any attention as he looked around.

"Put me down now or else I'll challenge you to a rematch in front of all these people," Arthur threatened, releasing a little mana from his core.

"Man you're heavy," Adam replied, and lowered Arthur down to his feet. He then groaned as he stretched his back. "You're going to have to walk from here, I can't hurt my back with us having a raid tomorrow."

Arthur decided to ignore his flimsy excuse, and decided to get down to business. "What are you even looking for?"

"I'm trying to find you some decent clothes for your date. Based on what Jasmine said about when your two were traveling, I bet you didn't exactly bring any nice clothes," Adam replied.

"There aren't any shops like that here, and why would there be? This is a new outpost literally at a dungeon," Durden replied.

"Well then why didn't you stop me sooner?" Adam questioned.

"To watch you make a fool of yourself," Durden replied with a smile.

Adam grumbled in frustration, then looked to Curtis. "Hey your majesty, you look like you're about Arthur's size, and I bet you've got some nice clothes on you. Mind letting Arthur barrow some for tonight?"

Curtis didn't reply, he just looked off mindlessly. He had been like this for a while now, since shortly after they climbed out of the wagons. Reason being, Lilia wasn't on speaking terms with him. Ever since she saw Curtis checking out the woman riding a mana beast away from the outpost, she had been angry, angry at herself for thinking he was serious about her. She had heard rumors that he had been dating a lot of girls, and in her mind she was just his next girl in line.

"Hey what's up with him?" Adam asked as he gestured to Curtis.

"Girl trouble," Theo replied with an amused tone as he slapped Curtis on the back.

"Gods," Adam groaned as he rubbed his forehead. "I'm so happy we aren't teens dealing with that kind of crap anymore."

"Mhm," Durden replied as he nodded in agreement.

"Well thank you for the tour of the outpost, but it doesn't look like you'll find what you want here. That said, this time wondering did help me make a plan, so thank you," Arthur replied as he started to walk away, but was stopped by Adam grabbing his shoulder.

"Nope, not done yet. We still need to talk to you about dating. Tell me, did your parents ever tell you about the birds and the bees?" Adam asked.

This was normally considered one of the most awkward topic a parent could bring up with their child, but Adam looked almost eager to talk about it.

"There is something very wrong with you," Arthur replied with a deadpan expression.

"What?" Adam replied, sounding amused. "I just want you to be ready for anything.

"Fine, talk away. Under one condition."

"What's that?" Adam asked, ready to start embarrassing Arthur.

"I take first watch in the dungeon while you sleep," Arthur replied, an evil smirk forming on his face.

"Why would Arthur make a deal like that?" Feyrith asked. "It sounds like a win for that guy."

Durden chuckled. "The reason why Adam wasn't Arthur's mentor and Jasmine was, is because he felt Arthur would kill him in his sleep one day."

They looked to Adam, his face serious as sweat dripped from his forehead, as he tried to decide if Arthur was just messing with him, or plotting his end.

"Not worth it," Adam replied and walked behind Durden.

—————————————————————

Evening came and the sun was setting as the guys finally returned to camp. Despite everyone's desire to return sooner, Adam made sure to emphasize the fact that women take a long time to get ready, and that they should wait until dinner time, or someone came to get them. The only benefit Arthur saw in this, was that he was able to get a gift for Tess when no one was looking.

"Finally," Claire groaned as she and Lilia marched up to them. "What took you all so long?"

"We wanted to make sure you ladies had all the time you needed to have her ready," Adam responded, trying to sound like he was doing them a favor.

"Tess had been ready for over an hour!" Lilia shot back. "And Arthur looks the same."

"I told Durden they wouldn't have shops with nicer clothes here, but he was determined to find something," Adam replied as Durden just looked like he was just accused of a murder he didn't commit. "He even said we needed to stay away since women take so long to get ready."

The two girls were glaring at Durden now, who was waving his hands in front of him as he shook his head.

Helen then hooked Adam by the neck with her bow and started to pull him away. "You should really learn to take responsibility when you screw up, and don't blame others when you put your own foot in your mouth," Helen scolded.

This whole time Arthur was looking past them, his eyes focused on Tess as she stood up and fixed her dress. When Arthur and Tess' eyes locked they both smiled as Tess turned away as she blushed. Arthur could see the work they put in to Tess' appearance immediately. Her cheeks had a brighter tint of pink, her bright turquoise eyes were more prominent, and her lips were a darker shade of pink, almost red. As Arthur looked back on the time they spent at Xyrus Academy, he could now honestly say that she always looked beautiful to him. Even though he was pretty sure she wasn't wearing any make up while at Xyrus, he couldn't argue about how it made her look more mature and stunning.

"Ok now Arthur," Curtis whispered from behind as he saw Arthur's eyes locked on Tess. "This is the part where..."

Arthur stepped away from Curtis and the others and began walking to Tess, as he put his cloak into his dimensional ring. Arthur knew exactly what to do now, thanks to the etiquette classes from his past life he had to take before he became king.

Arthur arrived at Tess and bowed slightly as he took her hand. "You look so beautiful this evening," Arthur said then kissed the back of her hand. It was a little more than probably most boys he age would do, but Tess was a Princess.

Tess blushed and smiled from Arthur's actions. Being a princess she had young noble boys greet her similarly, but she always knew they were meaningless actions and empty words. But now as Arthur did them, they felt so real and genuine, leaving her heart fluttering with joy.

"So, shall we go, my Princess?" Arthur asked as he held out his arm.

"Yes, let's," Tess replied as she hooked her arm with his, and the two left the campsite.

They didn't walk for long, just far enough to be away from the anxious and anticipating stares of everyone else from the campsite, before Arthur stopped.

"I umm, I got you something," Arthur stated as he pulled a small velvet pouch from his dimensional ring.

He opened the bag and pulled out a sliver charm of two leaves making a heart.

"Arthur it's beautiful," Tess replied with a loving smile. She then noticed it was on a silver chain, and a leather one. "Why are there two chains?"

Arthur pushed the ends of the leaves together, and a click was heard as they separated into two separate leaves. "Half for you, and half for me. Two pieces of a whole, that when together make something beautiful," Arthur explained with a lightly embarrassed smile as even he realized how cheesy that sounded, but knowing that at this age cheesy was something acceptable.

"Just like us," Tess replied, understanding Arthur's meaning, as she gazed up at him with a dreamy smile.

Arthur nodded and put out his arms around her neck, and clasped the necklace. Tess then took the other half, and with Arthur bending down slightly, she was able to tie the leather string around his neck.

Tess took hers into her hand and gazed at it, knowing she would treasure it forever. "When did you even find this?"

"When they were dragging me around looking for new clothes. There was a point when they weren't paying me any attention and I thought I'd like to get you a gift," Arthur replied, as he scratched the back of his head feeling a little embarrassed. "I wanted to give it to you right away, but all those eyes on us was making me feel a little uncomfortable."

"Oh thank goodness I wasn't the only one," Tess admitted with a sigh of relief. "They were making me feel so nervous about this."

"Same, that's why I decided to try and keep our first date a little more relaxed," Arthur replied with a confident smile, and took her by the hand, leading her.

"Oh? What did you have in mind?" Tess asked.

"Even though we both are perfectly comfortable in a more formal setting, and considering how much pressure I feel everyone was putting on us, I feel a more relaxed and fun date would be something we both would enjoy more right now," Arthur stated.

"That, and there aren't any formal options are there?" Tess asked in a teasing tone.

Arthur cleared his throat. "No, no there aren't."

Tess giggled as she took his arm and hugged it. "It's ok. I'm sure I'll love whatever you planned." She then used a wind spell to push herself up a little bit and kissed his cheek.

Arthur blushed a little. "Anyway, even though a lot of the shops here are for buying and selling weapons and other various gear, there are quite a few that sell food." At this point they entered the part of the outpost full of shops. "So I was thinking, why don't we try eating at all of them."

As per Arthur's plan, they entered right between two large food carts. One was grilling meats, while the other seemed to be making something that resembled fried dough. Together, they began to make Tess' mouth water.

"Ok, I really like this idea," Tess replied after smelling the air.

Most of the shops were hastily built, and mostly were buying and selling equipment, with only the few taverns and the Inn looking as if they planned for an extended stay. Most of the actual shops selling prepared foods weren't even buildings, but instead food carts with some looking as if they were built on to allow a few people to sit and watch as the food was prepared.

Arthur and Tess started at a cart selling kabobs. The man working was constantly turning the food over a grill that was built into the cart, while also simultaneously working on a griddle right beside it. The man reminded Arthur of chefs from his old world that cooked in front of the people who were going to be eating the food, as he seemed to be also putting on a show with the help of some simple wind spells.

Arthur and Tess walked up, and the man without stopping his cooking show, looked up to them, with a raised eyebrow and a smile. "What can I get for you love birds, pig mole or rock lizard?"

"One of each," Arthur replied.

The man nodded and focused right back to his cooking. Arthur wondered why he assumed they were a couple, but then realized Tess was still holding his arm with a big smile on her face. Arthur glanced around, and noticed a lot of people were looking at them. But as he looked at them it all started to make sense. It wasn't unusual for feelings to form between party members of the opposite gender, or as of late, between different races. What really made them stand out was Tess. Almost everyone there was wearing armor, or some kind of clothing that appeared to be intended to wear into a dungeon, and no bright colors, and almost none of the women walking around were wearing much, if any makeup. Tess on the other hand was wearing a nice red dress that just popped in the dull colored crowd, and was clearly wearing makeup.

"Here you go," the cook replied, as he handed them two bowls of fried rice and mixed diced vegetables with a skewer of meat on top of each.

They saw an empty bench by the food cart, and proceeded to walk over, Tess' right arm still holding tight to his left. Suddenly Tess stopped mid step, nearly causing Arthur to fall.

"Woah," Arthur said as he caught himself from falling. "Why'd you stop?" Arthur asked, but received no reply.

He looked back to see Tess frozen in place, still with her blissful smile on her face. Quickly realizing her state Arthur looked around, everyone was frozen in place, even food being flipped in the air was stuck mid air. Arthur knew this scene all too well...

"Static void," Arthur breathed out as his body shook.

"So that's what you call this," a familiar voice rang out from behind him.

Arthur tried his best to turn around to look, but Tess' grip on his arm was too strong. All he could do was barely see him out of the corner of his eye.

"Windsom? Is that you?" Arthur asked.

"Is this better?" Windsom asked, now standing in front of Arthur and Tess.

Arthur shot himself back forward, his eyes wide. "Did he just teleport, or was that just his speed. Did he use static void again on me and just walk?" Arthur asked himself rapidly.

"Having fun I see," Windsom commented as he looked down on Arthur in an almost judgmental stare.

"Well I am a teenager, life is supposed to be a little fun," Arthur replied, not sure if he should have just avoided his question.

"Regardless, why are you wasting so much time?" Windsom asked, his voice sounding annoyed.

"Can you please clarify what you think I should be doing?" Arthur asked, wanting to get straight to the point.

"The elixir you were given. Why haven't you and lady Sylvie used it?" Windsom asked, sounding even more annoyed.

Arthur was at a loss for words. He remember Windsom telling him to absorb it with Sylvie, but with everything that happened all those months ago, he just forgot about it. Arthur knew telling him he forgot about it was probably the wrong answer, but what else could he say? That he didn't fully trust him? Arthur knew that wouldn't go over well either.

"Is there some kind of rush for us to use it?" Arthur asked, trying to avoid the question.

Windsom sighed, his annoyance becoming even more clear. "No not at all. Just give it back if you and lady Sylvie feel like dying."

"Was that some kind of threat?!" Arthur asked, as he tried to keep himself in check.

If anyone else had said something like that he would have released the pressure from his core as he prepared to strike, but he knew better than to even consider challenging Windsom.

Arthur then felt a shortness of breath, as Windsom released some pressure from his core. "You dare imply I would ever harm Lady Sylvie!?" His tone was calm, but his action just showed the offense he held.

Arthur was practically gasping for air, hanging from Tess' arm. Quickly Windsom regained control of his core, allowing Arthur to breath again.

"I am merely stating the implications of not using the elixir pearl. Now, use it tonight, otherwise you both will not be strong enough to handle the coming threats," Windsom stated.

"What threats? The dungeon?" Arthur asked.

"Enjoy this time with the elf princess now, but don't forget the elixir again," Windsom stated, then disappeared.

Arthur suddenly felt a jerk on his arm.

"Hey, why did you stop?" Tess asked.

"It's nothing, just thought I saw someone I knew," Arthur lied, and continued with Tess to the bench, and the remainder of their date.