I squeezed her palm tightly and pulled her after me.
"Alastia, hurry up!" I rushed her, weaving between passersby. "I want to have time to see this city."
We stepped out onto a bustling street, where merchants were already making a racket and carts with those very ill-fated kegs of beer clinked.
"Let's go to the local bazaar," I suggested, not letting go of her hand. "There will probably be something interesting there."
"Let's do it," she agreed easily.
We walked, holding hands. I genuinely tried to do something nice for her, to behave somewhat correctly, but so far it was coming out frankly awkward. My head was empty, romantic topics for conversation were nowhere to be found, so I blurted out the most banal thing I could think of:
"Listen, Alastia... what's your favorite color?"
She squeezed my fingers slightly. "There are too many colors in the world to choose just one," she answered.
And then, overtaking me in a couple of quick steps, she turned around and leaned down slightly, looking right into my face.
"You're somewhat... cute today, Zenhald," she said with a sly smile, and then simply reached out and placed her palm on the top of my head, affectionately ruffling my hair.
From the surprise, I nearly tripped over my own feet. Something treacherously skipped a beat in my chest. I hastily swatted her hand away and took a sharp step back. My wounded ego, which she had trampled just yesterday with her joke about my height and masculinity, demanded an immediate rematch.
Snap. Crunch.
A loud sound of breaking bones and stretching tendons echoed through my body. A couple of random passersby shied away in horror. I began to intentionally fracture my own skeleton, forcing the bones to rapidly stretch in length. Following that, I had to quickly build muscle mass so as not to look like a plucked chicken on thin legs. Now I was hungry, very hungry.
A second of horrifying anatomical transformation—and done. The fabric of my suit stretched, but held. Now I towered over her by half a head. Broad in the shoulders, tall, and absolutely definitely no longer resembling a "pretty boy."
"Ha! So how do you like this?" I crossed my arms over my chest, now looking down at her.
Alastia's eyes noticeably widened. She swept her gaze over my new figure, froze for a second, and quietly exhaled: "You never cease to amaze."
Then I took a half-step forward. I raised my now-massive hand and, trying to be as careful as possible, lowered my palm onto the top of her head. I softly, almost weightlessly, stroked her locks.
Her hair turned out to be incredibly silky. It was a wildly unfamiliar sensation—touching someone with such gentleness.
I noticed how a light, but perfectly obvious blush appeared on her cheeks. She was flustered by a simple, awkward touch. And it was absolutely worth every broken bone.
I pulled my hand back and smiled warmly. "Let's go. The road awaits."
"Yeah..." was all she could answer quietly, obediently stepping after me.
"Look at that swo-o-ord..." I bit my tongue just in time, turning away from the weapon shop so as not to ruin the date with talk of bloodshed. My gaze darted frantically from side to side. "Oh! Look at that hat!"
I slapped some stupid wide-brimmed hat on my head, critically evaluated myself in the shop window reflection, and took it off. "Hmm, no. I think it would suit you better."
And then I noticed where her gaze was directed. Alastia was staring intently at a light dress with completely bare arms—something like an elegant sundress. A quiet, long-standing longing could be read in her eyes.
"Oh, let's get that sundress!" I suggested enthusiastically.
She reached out a gloved hand, gently touched the fabric, and answered with a light sadness: "I won't be able to wear it anyway."
I knew why. Because of her curse, any exposed skin was a deadly threat to those around her. She had to hide behind thick robes and high collars.
"It doesn't matter!" I interrupted her decisively. "Don't think about others today. Let's only think about us today and no one else. I think it will look insanely good on you."
Alastia looked at me in surprise, and then a warm smile touched her lips. "Let's do it. You're right."
She bought the dress, and I immediately took the parcel from her, taking it into my new hands, so she wouldn't have to carry anything heavy.
"Listen, let's go eat now, and then go for a walk? Into the mountains, the forest, or the steppe... Somewhere with fewer people."
I kept catching her studying gaze on me. Was I doing everything right? I had no idea. All people want to be desired, and I was trying with all my might to fulfill this goal, walking blindly.
Soon we entered a more or less decent establishment hidden from the noise. A menu landed on the table.
"Listen, Alastia, what do you want?" I pushed the parchment aside. "I am completely useless at choosing. Why don't you order some food for us?"
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"Alright," she quickly skimmed the list, though for some reason it took her quite a while to choose. "Hmm... Yes, I'm sure."
She whispered something quietly to the approaching waiter, and then shifted her gaze to me. Her eyes radiated a soft light.
"You really never cease to amaze me today, Zenhald."
I leaned forward a bit, resting my elbows on the table. "For such beauty, one can make an effort," I blurted out.
I reached out and carefully touched her hair with my fingertips. Alastia immediately lowered her eyes and hastily looked away.
Damn. Something's wrong again. It's not working, I thought in a panic. I had to save the situation urgently. I nervously tapped my fingers on the table. Tap-tap. And then lines I had been memorizing all last night surfaced in my memory.
I cleared my throat and started quietly, almost in a whisper:
"I remember a wonderful moment: Before me, you appeared, Like a fleeting vision, Like a genius of pure beauty...
In the languor of hopeless sadness, In the anxieties of noisy bustle, Your tender voice long echoed to me, And I dreamed of your sweet features." @Pushkin
She froze. Alastia listened to me, forgetting everything in the world. She was so happy... She smiled, blushed, and sometimes raised such a look to me that my heart skipped a beat.
"You cut my soul without a knife with your beauty," I added, trying to secure the success.
Alastia thoughtfully traced a finger along the wooden tabletop. "And besides my beauty... do you like anything else about me?"
I tensed up. My brain worked at full capacity, trying to produce the right answer.
"I won't lie, your beauty mesmerized me. But your soul is what made me stay. They meet you by your clothes, but see you off by your mind..." I tried to improvise, but it came out somewhat jumbled.
"Wow," she raised a thoughtful gaze to me. "And what did you find there? In my soul?"
I looked right into her eyes. I said the only truth I knew for sure:
"You are strong, Alastia. Even when the whole world around you is crumbling into the abyss, you keep holding on."
I reached out and covered her palm with mine.
She didn't answer, only looked at me with such sincerity that I felt sick of myself. What a disgusting person I actually am, I thought bitterly to myself. Throwing beautiful words left and right, playing the role of a knight, while I don't even know if I'm real right now.
I saw two waiters heading toward our table, carrying trays. A plate with appetizing sausages and eggs landed in front of Alastia, while steaming potatoes with meat were placed in front of me. For drinks, we just got water.
The food turned out to be incredibly delicious, but the process itself turned into some kind of awkward, quiet torture. Eating was somehow embarrassing. Now she would cast brief glances at me while I diligently pretended not to notice, then I would openly stare at her, and she would carefully hide her eyes.
I felt completely ridiculous. I am over a thousand years old, and now I sit here getting flustered by a random glance, like a teenager on a first date. Or... is this just another role of mine? And I've gotten so deeply into it that I started believing it myself?
When I was almost finished eating, I couldn't resist and reached my fork right to her plate to snatch a piece of sausage. Alastia softly covered my hand with hers and gently pushed my fork aside. And then she scooped up some food with her own spoon and held it out to me.
"Say 'Aah'," she said with a light smile.
"Aah..."
I obediently opened my mouth, and when the spoon touched my lips, I carefully took the treat. Alastia slowly pulled the empty spoon back, not breaking eye contact.
Is she playing too? the thought flashed through my head.
I simply rested my chin on my crossed arms and began to openly watch her eat. There she takes a glass of water, takes a sip, and out of the corner of her eye watches my reaction again. There was so much comfort in this quiet game.
"Well, shall we go?" I asked when she finished her water.
"Yes, let's go," she nodded.
We left the establishment. I carefully took her hand. POP. We found ourselves in an endless, sunlit flower meadow, surrounded by a dense forest. Not a single living soul around.
I handed her the parcel with the purchase and turned away, letting her change.
When she called me, I froze. The light sundress fit her flawlessly. But most importantly, her shoulders and arms were completely bare. No heavy robes, no high collars or gloves. Here, away from people, her curse threatened no one, and she could finally breathe freely.
Noticing my absolutely transfixed gaze, Alastia slightly shifted her bare shoulders. "Do you like it?"
"Yes..." was all I could exhale, feeling my mouth literally drop open in admiration. It suited her incredibly well.
The rest of the day we wandered through the endless field, knee-deep in grass, and picked flowers.
"Look, I found blue ones!" I shouted, showing her an armful of bright blossoms.
"And I found yellow ones," she replied, wearing thin gloves, almost touching her face to the petals and inhaling their scent.
We sat down right on the ground and started weaving wreaths. My fingers didn't immediately remember how to interweave the stems.
"How is this done... Like this, then here..."
When my blue wreath was ready, I raised it high above my head, pointing it right at the sun. I looked through the flower circle—and in its center was Alastia. She sat in her light sundress, lifting her face to the wind.
I moved closer and very carefully, trying not to graze her, lowered the wreath of blue flowers onto her head.
"It suits you so well..." I said quietly.
With an elegant gesture, she tucked away a strand that had escaped from under the wreath, and then leaned forward. Her face was so close that I smelled the scent of yellow flowers. Alastia raised her wreath and carefully placed it right onto my disheveled crown.
We looked at each other in these stupid flower crowns, and the silence of the meadow was broken by our light, genuine laughter.
Without a word, we simply leaned back, lying down right on the thick grass. Lying shoulder to shoulder with her. We were silent and just watched the white clouds slowly drift across the bottomless sky.
We probably lay like that, in absolute, pacifying silence, until the very evening.
When the sun finally began to set, giving way to twilight, I propped myself up a bit and lightly slapped my palm against the ground. Obeying my silent call, hundreds of tiny fireflies began to rise one after another from the thick grass. They swirled over the meadow, filling the gathering darkness with a soft, golden shimmer.
I stood up, brushed off my suit, and walked over to Alastia, holding out my hand to her. "Time to go home," I said softly, breaking the silence.
But instead of leaning on my palm, she suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward her with unexpected force. I lost my balance and tumbled back into the grass, ending up right pressed against her.
She leaned even closer, so that her lips were right by my ear. "I want time to freeze," she said in a hot whisper.
At those words, spoken with such desperate sincerity, everything inside me turned upside down. I slowly turned my head. Our faces were just a couple of centimeters apart, illuminated only by the dance of the fireflies. We looked into each other's eyes. I leaned forward, and our lips touched.
But even the most beautiful eternity has its end.
Deep in the night, when the full, cold moon was already ruling the sky unchallenged, I reluctantly broke our seclusion. "It's time for us to head back."
She cast a sad look, full of quiet longing, at the starry sky. The off-the-shoulder sundress, the flower wreath, this shelter from the rest of the world—all of this had to be left here. "Yes... it's time," she agreed with a heavy sigh.
I took her hand again, intertwining our fingers tightly. Pop.
We stood right at the foot of Mount Slick, shrouded in thick night fog. The familiar outlines of the fortress.
Only now, something had imperceptibly changed.