"Hahaha!" After several glasses of blackberry wine and mugs of honey beer, as well as plenty of delicious food that the waitress keeps bringing, laughter echoes through Theo's table. Hermes is very polite and talks with Theo about all kinds of things, especially asking about his life and telling his own stories as well.
"Really, Theo, it is impressive how you made it here being an orphan from Kriegfall. I admire you!" Hermes raises his mug of beer and toasts to Theo with shining eyes. The more blackberry wine Theo drinks, the more he tells stories about how he used to run from smugglers in the slums of Kriegfall, making Hermes and Clarice even more impressed.
The conversation flows naturally and in a nice, pleasant way, but while Theo and Hermes seem to become good friends, Lorien and Sarah grow quieter, giving vague answers or even ignoring the curious Hermes' questions. He seems to give up trying to talk to Lorien, but with Sarah, his curiosity only increases.
"Lady Malveryn?" Hermes smiles kindly at Sarah. "Did I tell you that I had to speak with more than twenty friends from the west so we could remember the name of your House?" As soon as he says that, Sarah finishes taking a good gulp from her glass of wine, already the eighth, and her movements are clearly slower due to all the alcohol. "It must be because we are not seeking fame or glory." She responds in a rough tone.
"Oh, naturally." Hermes smiles and tries his best to remain friendly even though Sarah clearly does not want to talk to him. "I cannot help but be curious about your family, after all, Calmera Valley is like a mystical fortress, you are self-sufficient and send tons of food to the western borders, correct?"
"The people in the cities at war need more food, so of course we help." Sarah seems to grow more impatient, but still tries to answer Hermes while Theo only watches in silence. Hermes should read the atmosphere better, or he simply cannot ignore his curiosity and continues asking Sarah questions. "Your family is truly honorable, I bet that attracts the attention of nobles like the Dalemmar and other enemies of that kind…"
"Yes, we have many enemies, but we are stronger than ever," Sarah responds proudly, and Hermes' eyes shine even more with curiosity. "I imagine… I even heard rumors that Calmera Valley has its own Dragon Rider, someone whose focus is to serve the Malveryn family and who does not even answer to the Emperor… A truly War Hero?"
"Yes, that is also true. He is my older brother." Sarah speaks again in a proud tone, and Hermes becomes even more curious. "Your brother? He must be very reserved since I have never heard of a Lord Malveryn besides the Count, who by the way is already a very old man…"
Sarah's expression grows darker and more impatient. "Why are you asking me so many annoying questions?" She demands, and Hermes only smiles politely. "Sorry to bother you, My Lady. It is just that you are such a fascinating, talented, and beautiful woman that I end up becoming immensely curious."
"What?" Sarah makes a disgusted expression. "Are you…" She tries to suggest something, but Hermes quickly shakes his head with a sorry expression. "No, no, that is a misunderstanding, My Lady, I did not mean-" He tries to apologize, but Sarah's expression worsens, and she pulls her own chair closer to Theo.
Hermes grows desperate and throws a pleading look at Theo. "I really did not mean that, please, believe me!" While the poor guy begins to panic, Theo can see a cruel sparkle in Sarah's eyes, and he can only shake his head with a sorry expression toward Hermes. "It is alright, don't worry. We all drank too much, so things can get confusing."
"I see…" Hermes sighs in relief and notices a provocative little smile forming at the corner of Sarah's lips as she hugs Theo's arm. He finishes drinking the rest of the beer in his mug and stands up. "Thank you for the pleasant company, but I think I have drunk too much for today, so I will take my leave." He also signals to Clarice, who hesitates a little but also stands up.
"I say the same about the company," Theo nods kindly to Hermes. "By the golden ring on your finger, I guess we will see each other in the Dragon Rider classes, right?" Hermes touches the ring on his finger and smiles at Theo. "Yeah, I am looking forward to the lessons. And I hope we meet again soon."
"See you, friend," Theo says goodbye to Hermes, who leaves the tavern with his sister after leaving two gold coins on the table to help with the group's expenses.
The trio is alone again, but when Theo and Sarah look at Lorien, the mysterious boy is slumped over his mug of beer, clearly passed out. That makes Theo laugh, but Sarah's smile is different, and she tightens her hug around his arm. "Finally, we are alone and can share that bottle of wine in peace."
"You want another bottle? Is this not the fourth?" He asks in an amused tone, and Sarah laughs while finishing pouring the rest of the wine from the bottle into their glasses. "It is the fifth, actually… How do you drink so much and still look sober?"
"Sober? Haha!" Theo laughs. "I am seeing everything spinning, that cannot be right, and I thought I had good alcohol tolerance… this wine must be really special, right?"
Sarah tries to stay serious, but she cannot because of her current state and ends up laughing. "This wine is really strong indeed, hehehe~" Theo also starts laughing. "Then let's drink another bottle, what do you think?"
"Why not two or three more?" Sarah raises her hand to the waitress and orders another bottle of blackberry wine before turning her attention back to Theo and rubbing her face against his shoulder. "This feels good…" She says while closing her eyes and smiling.
"Yeah, it does…" Theo enjoys Sarah's company more and more despite her eccentric personality. While they simply enjoy the moment, the waitress brings another bottle of wine, and just as Theo is about to fill their glasses, a loud explosion sound echoes. 'Booom!!'
"HOW MANY ARE THERE!?" Lorien wakes up startled and pulls out a small silver dagger that Theo cannot even see where it came from. The boy looks in a terrible state and confused, just like many people around them. But Sarah starts smiling. "The new students' festival! It must be starting." She quickly stands up and pulls Theo by the arm. "Let's go see!"
"What kind of festival?" Theo asks while standing up, and Sarah responds excitedly. "The kind with dancing, games, and fireworks!" She also grabs the bottle of blackberry wine from the table before leaving a few black coins on it.
"Oh," Theo becomes excited and follows Sarah, but as he passes Lorien, he also extends his hand. "Are you coming?" Theo calls, and Lorien slowly stretches out his hand. "I think I drank too much-" The boy stumbles because he is so drunk and almost falls, but Theo reacts quickly and catches him.
"Lorien?? Are you alright?" Theo becomes concerned, but at the same time, being so close to Lorien, he feels a very pleasant and distinctly feminine floral perfume coming from the mysterious boy. "Big brother…" Lorien looks at Theo with a gentle smile. "I really drank too much."
"Haha, I see." Theo helps Lorien sit down and fixes his hair. "I think you'd better not go out like this." When Lorien nods lightly, Theo continues. "Do you have somewhere to stay?" Lorien nods again. "I rented a room in an inn across the street. I think I need some good sleep."
"Come on, I will help you get there." Theo offers his hand to Lorien, who quickly accepts, and while Sarah throws annoyed looks at the boy, Theo helps him cross the street and reach a large building full of cozy rooms.
"Thank you, Big brother…" Lorien smiles warmly at Theo while entering the inn. "See you tomorrow, right?" He asks, and Theo nods. "Of course." Then the boy finally enters the building.
Theo barely has time to breathe before he feels Sarah's soft arm wrapping around his. He turns and sees Sarah's excited smile. "Now we can finally enjoy ourselves alone."
"Sure," Theo smiles back at Sarah as they walk along the sidewalk. There are dozens of nobles in the streets of Dragons' Gate, which seems as busy as daytime, but now the sky is full of stars, and Theo is surprised he did not notice night had fallen due to all the lighting in the streets and houses made by luxurious lamps that cast a strong light everywhere.
More explosion sounds echo, and now Theo sees the starry sky being painted with various bright colors flying in every direction, creating dragon shapes with the fireworks. "Whoa! It is so beautiful…" Theo has never seen anything like that, but Sarah seems more focused on him. "Yeah, it is beautiful."
"Come on," Sarah pulls Theo through the lively streets of the village with the bottle of blackberry wine in her other hand. They walk while watching both the fireworks in the sky and the joyful people in the streets as they drink wine and laugh. When they reach the main square, the excitement of the people of Dragons' Gate seems even greater, with hundreds of nobles having fun together with commoners, many wearing special costumes and celebrating everywhere.
Sarah notices dozens of people gathered in the center of the square forming a large circle, dancing together in pairs as if they were following the same lively choreography. "We have to join them! I always wanted to take part in that dance." She looks very excited, but Theo makes a sorry expression. "I don't know how to dance."
"I will teach you, you fool." Sarah smiles charmingly and pulls Theo toward the people in the center of the square. He has no idea what to do, but Sarah guides him from one side to the other, and he quickly gets the hang of it. He just needs to spin in sync with her and with the group, circling around the center of the square and keeping the circular formation.
Because both are drunk, their movements are sloppy and more relaxed, focusing on each other while they dance happily. "This is so good, hahaha…" Sarah's laughter echoes and makes Theo smile, too. After years of living a nightmare in the slums of Kriegfall, that happy moment feels like a dream, and he wants to enjoy every second.
As they keep dancing, Theo becomes more confident in his movements and starts improvising, spinning Sarah around him while both spin together with the others. With one hand, he holds her back, and the other goes lower and lower along her slim waist to her wide hips.
Sarah keeps smiling beautifully while trusting more and more in Theo's movements to the point she completely lets herself go and her body falls backward. But of course, he holds her while she bends her body and sees the world upside down, spinning with him wildly.
Their dance becomes so intense that Theo leaves the formation so they will not disturb the people in the circle, and they keep spinning around the square without caring about anything else, only listening to the beats of the lively music and spinning, focused on each other.
At one moment, Sarah separates from Theo by only a few meters, both spin alone, and then she makes a somewhat crooked curtsy due to the alcohol before running toward him and jumping. Theo reacts quickly and catches her in his arms, spinning her high while holding her by the waist. She opens her arms and closes her eyes, letting him spin her in the air, feeling so safe and well.
At that moment, she opens her eyes, and the starry sky seems more beautiful than ever. She looks down and finds Theo's loving smile, which makes her smile even more. For Theo, that moment seems to stop in time, and he only wants to appreciate Sarah's pure beauty.