Right at that moment when time seems to stop, and beneath the spectacle of fireworks decorating the sky, together with the lively music, Theo sees Sarah more beautiful than ever with her happy smile and slightly flushed cheeks.
He brings her very close and her smile gives way to an expectant expression with bright eyes and trembling lips that he can barely wait to taste again, this time properly. Then, without hesitating, he slowly brings his hand to her face, and she rubs her face on it, closing her eyes for a second and smiling softly.
Theo does not need more approval than that, so he wraps his other hand around her neck and brings their faces closer. Sarah closes her eyes again and lets Theo lead everything, then he goes and… "HEY!" Someone bumps into him hard and shouts in annoyance, prompting Theo to hug Sarah to protect her.
"Who the hell?" Theo looks to the side and sees a man in luxurious clothes staggering with a bottle of wine in his hand, clearly drunk. Theo can only blame his bad luck and turns back to Sarah, who is now staring at him with a shy and frustrated look. "Can we go back to where we were?" He asks.
She laughs and pulls him by the hand. "Maybe I will give you another chance in the future, but now we have many things to enjoy at the festival." Sarah leads Theo around the lively square, showing him many interesting things at the festival.
They watch artists performing shows, which usually involve the main legends of the Academy: powerful Dragon Riders, wise mages, and also fierce warriors. Among such legends, Theo and Sarah even see a performance where Eruina appears as a mysterious Witch whose power no one truly understands.
Besides the actors' performances, the pair also sees other types of shows, such as a story about an ancient dragon told in the skies with fireworks. Everything seems very interesting to Theo, who enjoys every second beside Sarah.
She also shows him several parts of Dragons' Gate while they try sweets and local delicacies, as well as more alcoholic drinks with unique and delicious flavors. Although Sarah clearly knows a lot about the place and its traditions, at the same time, she seems to be experiencing everything for the first time together with Theo, making their experience even more special.
After three hours enjoying the festival, the pair is far more drunk than before, and they return to the main square. Sarah can barely walk properly without Theo's help, who seems only a little steadier than her.
He sits her on a wooden bench and buys a sweet and cold dessert for them, the delicious cone-shaped ice cream. Both enjoy the ice cream while laughing at each other for no reason, simply happy and drunk.
Theo finishes his ice cream first and watches Sarah while she finishes hers. In the end, she starts biting the crunchy cone and smiles at him with her whole face messy, looking like a child who just been covered in sweets.
"You are so cute," Theo extends his hand and gently begins to clean Sarah's face, making her smile even more and blush a little while keeping her eyes fixed on his. Theo, on the other hand, ends up focusing on her pink lips that look so soft and tasty…
The mood seems favorable again, and Sarah even licks her lips with an expectant expression. "Are you going to try to kiss me again?" She asks boldly, and Theo brings their faces closer again. "You can bet I will…" He does not want to seem too eager and tries to stay calm, but before their lips touch, loud screams echo. "AAAAAHHHHH!!!" Those are several desperate screams from several people at the same time.
But despite the interruption, both Sarah and Theo keep looking at each other with their faces very close. "Can we ignore the screams?" He asks, and Sarah laughs. "I think I know what it is…" A glow flashes in her eyes, and Theo knows she is interested in that, so he just sighs and steps back. "Alright, let's go see it."
"I will make it up to you later." Sarah winks at Theo while holding his hand and pulling him toward the screams. They move across the square to a place with more trees and find dozens of people gathered in a large circle. They seem to be shouting and cheering eagerly for someone like spectators of a competition.
"This way," Sarah keeps holding Theo's hand tightly and pulls through the middle of the crowd, heading toward the center of the commotion. As soon as they can see what is really happening there, Theo is surprised to see a large mud pit in the center of the area and two groups of seven people on each side, holding a big rope that crosses the pit.
"Tug of war?" Theo laughs at what kind of games the nobles enjoy. After seeing various types of card games, cubes, and other things involving skill and intellect throughout the night, that seems more his type of game, something involving strength and determination.
"Oh, yes, the good old freshmen tug of war." Sarah's eyes shine, especially when she sees the group standing on one side of the pit now: seven tall and strong men with luxurious gray clothes that are completely clean by the way.
While there are dozens of nobles around with clothes dirty with mud and expressions of defeat, the gray group keeps laughing with confident expressions on their faces. The group facing them now is formed mostly by men and some women, also with luxurious but different clothes. That diverse group looks quite strong, but they are being easily pulled toward the mud pit by the gray group, who do not even seem to be trying that hard while laughing and insulting their opponents.
"Those guys look strong…" Theo comments about the gray group and notices Sarah's expression becoming more hostile as she stares at them. "Let me guess, you don't like these guys, too?" As soon as he asks, she nods, and Theo sighs. "So they are also on the list… Friends of the Dalemmar?"
Sarah shakes her head. "Rivals, actually. Those are the Hargrave family, they are from another Kingdom and dispute territories at the border with the Dalemmar, being declared enemies. But they have many things in common, especially the bad habit of licking the Emperor's boots and disrespecting the Lyskarra family, so as a good student of the Academy, I have the moral duty to clean that scum away from here."
"I see," Theo smiles at Sarah. "You want to push them into the mud?" As soon as he asks, she nods with an excited smile. "I really want that, please." She even makes that cute pleading look, making it impossible for Theo to refuse.
"Do we not need a group too?" He asks, and she shakes her head. "This is not a test with strict rules; we can use everything we have to pull the rope. Look, the Hargraves are clearly using strengthening magic, but for their bad luck, mine is much more powerful, and with your superior strength, it will be easy for us."
"Alright, let's throw mud in their faces." Theo smiles at Sarah, and she smiles back at him with a grateful expression. They watch the Hargraves easily pull their opponents into the mud and humiliate them publicly before an older man announces yet another consecutive victory for them.
"Who will be next?" The older man exclaims, but nobody appears, and he continues. "Nobody wants to challenge the champions?" While that man calls out, Sarah speaks to Theo. "Do not start with everything, just hold firm and wait for my signal." She asks, and he nods in agreement.
Then the pair steps forward, creating a wave of comments from the spectators and drawing the curious gazes of the Hargraves. As expected, the men are impressed by Sarah's beauty and envy Theo for standing beside her. But the man responsible for the competition seems just concerned. "Only you two?"
"We do not need anyone else," Sarah comments in a loud and mocking tone, making the nobles laugh and generating annoyed looks from the Hargraves. She and Theo approach the rope, and the man in the center begins to tie it around the pair's bodies.
While preparing Theo and Sarah for the challenge, that man whispers to them. "You must be crazy to try it with two…" But despite his words, Sarah smiles confidently. "I could do it alone, but I like my partner's company," She glances at Theo and winks at him with a loving expression.
"We will be fine," Theo says to the man who finishes tightening the rope around his and Sarah's bodies, then returns to the front of the mud pit. But before he starts the match, the first man in the Hargraves' group signals for him to wait.
That Hargrave is not the tallest nor the strongest of the group, but he has the calmest and most confident expression, analyzing Sarah with a sharp gaze. "Who are you, My Lady?" The man seems genuinely curious, but another guy behind him throws a lustful look at Sarah, licking his lips. "She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen! I would love to dirty your face with something other than mud, My Lady."
Theo memorizes that man's face, obviously to find him later and teach him a harsh lesson about manners. But he also knows that Sarah is not a damsel in distress who needs his protection against that type of man, so he simply watches as she throws a confident and sadistic look at the Hargraves.
"I am the person who will make your lives, Hargraves, a living hell in the Academy," Sarah says in a very loud tone for everyone to hear, making the Hargraves frown. But she is not satisfied and continues. "I will not stop until each one of you returns to the flea pit you call home, crying tears of blood, or in pieces inside a box, which I prefer."
"Whoah!" Sarah's bold words are a clear declaration of war, generating shock among the nobles and indignation among the Hargraves, who begin throwing generic insults at her, except for their leader. That man only nods to the one responsible for the competition before turning his cold and cruel gaze back to Sarah.
The man at the front of the mud pit also looks at Sarah, and when she nods, he raises his hand. "Get ready…" He waits a few seconds and then lowers his hand. "GO!" As soon as he gives the signal, the Hargraves begin pulling the rope with all the fury that Sarah stirred in them, no provocations, no laughter, only a powerful will to drag her into the mud pit.
But contrary to everyone's expectations, the Hargraves cannot pull Sarah and Theo directly into the mud pit. Theo is behind Sarah, and the rope is tightly wrapped around his waist, making him the team's anchor, and he keeps his feet firmly planted on the ground like an immovable mountain, making it impossible for his opponents to pull them even a single centimeter.
Theo feels the powerful strength of the Hargraves through the tension in the rope, but he is surprised by his own strength, not even having to use it completely. He and everyone around are even more shocked because Sarah does not even seem to be pulling the rope, especially the Hargraves, whose expressions grow more strained the harder they try.
"Do you see now?" Sarah laughs while mocking the Hargraves. While Theo keeps their team firm in place, Sarah even lets go of the rope and throws a confident smile at their opponents. "You are pathetic!" A sadistic glow appears in her eyes, and she grabs the rope again. "Now, bow to your tormentor!"
A purple glow appears in Sarah's eyes and also around her hands, then she signals to Theo at the same time she pulls the rope. "Now!" Theo also uses all his strength together with Sarah and they pull all the Hargraves at once, breaking their stance and throwing them straight into the mud pit without any chance for them to resist.
"Yeah! Haha!!" Sarah cheers in happiness at seeing her enemies covered in mud and turns to celebrate with Theo. She throws him a beautiful, loving smile and suddenly jumps on him. But he reacts quickly and catches her in his arms, spinning her in the air while they receive rounds of applause from the spectators.
While the Hargraves climb out of the mud with irritated expressions and many nobles try to approach Sarah and Theo, she pulls him away from the crowd.
The pair runs from their fans and the crowd of nobles until they reach the lakeshore facing the Academy, and continue walking on the sand until there is no one else nearby.
"Ahh…" Sarah lets out a tired sigh and then reveals a bottle of white wine to Theo, who looks surprised. "Where did you get that?" She smiles while opening the bottle and handing it to him. "I picked it up on the way. You can take the first sip, my gallant knight."
"Haha!" Theo laughs and accepts the bottle, taking a good gulp of the wine. "It is not as good as that blackberry wine, but it works." He returns the bottle to Sarah, and she smells it shamelessly before taking a gulp as well. "How about we go back to that tavern to get more?" As soon as she says that, she almost loses her balance and falls.
"Hey!" But Theo reacts quickly and catches her. "I think we already drank too much today." While he holds her in that position, she drops the wine bottle onto the sand and keeps staring at him with a loving smile. "Yeah… I think the sky should not be spinning like this, right?"
"Certainly not," Theo comments while admiring Sarah's beauty. She keeps smiling at him. "Thank you… Today was wonderful, I do not remember having this much fun…"
"It really was…" Theo says while slowly bringing his face closer to Sarah's. A glow appears in her eyes while her cheeks begin to blush. "It just needs one more thing for the day to end perfectly…"
"I know," Theo wastes no time and seals Sarah's lips with his, kissing her mouth gently and enjoying all her natural sweetness together with the taste of alcohol. "Mmmm…" Sarah lets out soft moans while trying to follow Theo's lip movements, letting him guide the kiss.
Theo loves the taste and softness of Sarah's lips, but he wants more and slips his tongue inside her small mouth, tasting her equally delicious nectar. And her tongue, although clumsy, dances around his excitedly.
"Wait," Since holding that position is difficult for both Theo and Sarah drunk, he kneels on the sand, and she lies on his lap so he only needs to lean over her to keep kissing her mouth, which he does for several minutes, stopping only when they run out of breath.
After so many kisses, Sarah stops and smiles at Theo. "I think I cannot walk anymore today, you will have to carry me back. I have a room in that inn too…" She ends up stopping talking and kisses him again.
"Don't worry, I will carry you back," Theo says in small pauses while continuing to kiss her sweet lips. "But only after kissing you much more…"
"Hehe~" She giggles happily. "Alright, I will allow… only you… but you have to carry me back like a princess." She asks in a cute tone, and Theo smiles. "Of course, after all, you are a princess."
Sarah giggles even more, and Theo devours her lips with passionate kisses under the starry sky and with distant music in the background, a scene worthy of a painting, a night to remember.