"Thank you for coming, milord. We're grateful." A middle-aged woman was talking to Ro-Saleh. Her face was open and kind-looking, but she seemed tired.

  "We're happy to help. Can you tell us any more about what's been happening?"

  The woman looked back at a younger man, who was holding a baby in his arms. "We've been losing cattle every day or so. Always in the night, and usually from the east pasture. Whatever's doing it has been prowling around the barns, but it hasn't attacked anyone. Not yet, at least."

  "Have you seen the creature?"

  "No, not as such. No one has. But we've found footprints."

  "It's a damn bear. I'm telling you." The man holding the baby grumbled.

  "Hush, Trem. The adults are talking, now."

  "I am an adult, ma!"

  "Shush!" She waved the younger man off.

  Ro-Saleh was the pillar of patience. "Can you show me these prints?"

  "The water washed them away, but the chief took some sketches a few days ago. Would that help you?"

  Ro nodded. "Yes. Very much so. Could you take me to the village chief?"

  The man with the baby shook his head. "My son-in-law, Chief Banton, is out again on patrol. But we can take you to his house," the man responded.

  "That would work."

  The woman nodded. "Your people can enjoy the town. Everyone here would be more than happy to help provide meals and what little entertainment we have to offer, and maybe if they show themselves, whatever it is that's out there will make itself scarce."

  "You heard the woman. Go out and make a presence in town."

  The woman pulled on his hand. "This way, young master. Mind the puddles. It's sopping wet out here after all the rain."

  As he was dragged away, he shouted over his shoulder. "Look around town. Groups of two. And stay sharp!" He disappeared around a house with Na-Ya hot on his heels.

  As the Templars divided themselves into groups of two, I saw Maven start towards Tristan, but I grabbed her wrist before she could get too far. "She's going with me." I pointed back at Jorn, who was looking an awful lot like a drowned cat. "I think Jorn wants your company."

  Her face dropped. "You wouldn't."

  "I would." Pulling her backward, I called out to Tristan. "Hey Tris, you coming with me?"

  Her face lit up. "Yeah!"

  Maven pouted behind me. "I wanted to spend time with Tristan."

  "Don't worry, Maven. I know you love Jorn. Don't try to hide it."

  "I hate you so much." Turning, she shouted to the man. "Hey Jorn, get your ass put back together! We're going on patrol." She slopped through the mud toward her partner for the day.

  Tristan walked up to me. Her sapphire eyes looked like they were glowing despite heavy clouds above. "It's small, but Goodfield has some amazing cheese. Want to find some with me?"

  My stomach grumbled. "What kind of cheese?"

  "The best kind. Sharp and crumbly."

  Figured. "Oh, the worst kind."

  She poked a finger into my chest. "This again?" Her sapphire eyes shone with defiance. "Just wait. One taste, and you'll be hooked."

  I laughed, but I couldn't help but look at her lips... "Okay, fine, you convinced me. Let's go find some."

  "Yes!" She pumped her fist. "You're in for a treat, good sir."

  "I better be." Looking around the village square, I didn't find any signs or anything to point us in the right direction. "You know where we can find it?"

  "Oh, maybe that way?" She pointed west.

  "Sounds good to me." Without hesitation, I started walking.

  "Hey! Wait up!" Tristan said behind me. Running up, she said, "What's the rush?"

  "There isn't one. I was just excited to explore with you." I held my arm out for her. "Coming?"

  Her eyes widened, and she froze in place. "Y-yeah!" Catching up again, she threaded her arm around mine. "Lead the way."

  I could feel heat radiating off her. Was she always this warm? Shaking off the feeling, I pointed toward a dirt trail that snaked into some trees to the west. "Let's go there."

  "Sounds great."

  Without another word, our legs matched one another's pace. Within minutes, we were deep in the forest. Under the trees, it was peaceful and tranquil. Birds were chirping up above, and the sounds of animals skittering in the undergrowth picked up the deeper we got. High above, the clouds were beginning to clear, letting the Tower's light filter down through the canopy as we strolled along the path.

  It was quite literally the prettiest place I'd been since arriving in Reial.

  "This place is beautiful."

  "It really is." Her hip brushed mine, making my heart skip. "And the clouds are clearing up!"

  Something rustled in the bushes ahead. My heart skipped a beat. "Wait." I put my body between Tristan and the monster. "Don't move."

  "Everything okay?"

  Squinting, I could see tan fur through the leaves. I pointed. "Something's up ahead."

  She gave it a single glance and said, "Looks like a deer. They're all over out here."

  Sure enough, a moment later, the deer popped its head up, gave us a single look, and bounded away. "Good eye." I looked over at her. She was grinning.

  "Were you going to protect me?"

  "Of course I was."

  "My hero. Saving little old me from the big, scary deer."

  "Oh, shut up." I pushed her off. "I thought it might be a monster."

  She reached out and grabbed my arm. Looping her arm through mine again, she said, "Oh, don't be a baby. I'm just kidding around."

  "Stealing my thunder, more like."

  "What thunder?"

  I puffed my chest out. "I'm nothing but thunder!"

  "No, you're not moody enough for that. If either of us were thunder, it would be me."

  She had a point. "You're not wrong."

  She smacked my arm. "Of course I'm not, but you don't have to agree so quickly."

  "And what, lie by omission? Never."

  That got a chuckle out of her.

  "So what would you say I am, then?"

  She stroked her chin. "Hmm... A dog."

  That wasn't nearly as cool. "Why's that?"

  "You're loyal, dedicated, and sweet. You're also not the sharpest crayon in the light bulb box, like you always say."

  "Rude. You could have stopped at sweet." Hold on... "Wait, you think I'm sweet?"

  "Very."

  I looked down at her. With her hair pulled back, I could see that the tips of her ears were just slightly pointed. I'd never noticed that before. "Go on."

  She seemed to notice what she'd said and blushed. "I mean... You're nice?"

  "And?"

  "And an ass."

  I laughed. "Rude."

  "I just say it how I see it." She nudged me with her shoulder.

  We were vibing so hard. "Hey."

  "Yeah?"

  "Maybe we should have a talk."

  "About?"

  "About this?" I gestured at our entwined arms.

  She pointed at a nearby shrub. "Look at that bush. Isn't that a great bush?"

  I tried to unhook my arm, but she didn't let go.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Instead, she pointed up the trail. "Hey, look ahead! There's a building. Let's go check it out!" She dragged me forward, practically running away from the conversation.

  "Wait!"

  "Nope!" She pulled me on.

  After a short run, we were outside the barn's front door. The front door was cracked. Inside, a dozen cows stood in cow stalls or whatever they were called. In the back, an elderly woman was churning what had to have been butter. In one of the stalls, an old man was milking a cow.

  "Hey, Bethany!" Tristan pulled us into the building.

  The woman looked up. "Oh, Bertram! I think two of the Templars are here."

  "Huh?!" The old man kept milking.

  The woman's face screwed up. "Templars! Two of them!"

  "The captain? What about him?"

  "Not the captain! Templars!"

  Tristan and I looked at one another. I was sure we were thinking the same thought.

  "I think he's deaf," I said first.

  She nodded. "Poor woman."

  I shook my head. "Sounds peaceful."

  She smacked me.

  Letting go of my arm, she fished something out of her belt pouch and walked up to the woman. "I'm Tristan, and that's Alex. We're with Light's Hope Temple."

  The woman stopped churning. "Hello, dear. I'm Bethany. This old coot's Bertram. Pleased to meet you." The woman extended her hand.

  Tristan's shoulders tensed. "Bethany, it's me, Tristan."

  "Tristan?"

  "I've been coming out here for years. Last year, you sent me away with a cheese wheel, remember?"

  "Oh, that's right!" Bethany looked Tristan over. "You're the boy from the temple."

  "Uh, yeah."

  "You don't look like him, though. Come closer, dear. Let me have a good look at you."

  Tristan knelt so the woman could see her better.

  Grabbing Tristan's jaw, the woman twisted Tristan around, looking her over in detail. When she was finished, Bethany let go and said, "You've certainly shaped up! You're quite the looker, now, even if you're girlish." The woman chuckled. "I'm sure some lucky lady will like that, though. "

  Tristan looked at me and shrugged. "Thank you, ma'am, but I'm a girl."

  She turned her head and called out to her husband. "Hey Bert! The boy from the temple's quite the looker these days! And he says he's a girl! I told you he was too pretty to be a boy!"

  "Tell them we don't want any!"

  "Deaf old goat." Bethany turned back toward Tristan and patted her face. "Well, a girl like you could have any man she'd like."

  "Oh, I'm not looking."

  "Of course you are. You're at that age. All those impulses and whatnot."

  "No, really.."

  Bethany huffed. "The only reason a girl your age would say that is if you already found one." She looked from Tristan to me. "That him?" the farmwoman pointed a crooked finger at me.

  "I... um..." Tristan blushed.

  "Boy." The woman waved me over. "I can't see too well these days. Come here. Let me get a look at you."

  I walked up to Bethany and crouched down. She reached up, grabbed my face, and pulled me closer. "This one's not bad on the eyes."

  "Don't tell him that. He'll get a big head."

  "We can't have that." The old woman searched my eyes. "Boy, you look like dogshit."

  "Thank you, ma'am."

  "Polite." She nodded at Tristan. "You treat her right?"

  "I do my best."

  Tristan crossed her arms. "He could do better."

  Bethany patted my cheek hard enough that it stung. "This one's been coming to see us for years. She's a sweet one, so you better treat her good, you hear? Otherwise, I'll send Bertram to get a switch. That'd straighten you out. It did all eight of our kids."

  "No need for that, ma'am." Tristan put her hand on my shoulder. "He's a good boy. Aren't you, Alex?"

  "I'm a very good boy." Please don't whip me.

  Bethany patted my cheek again. "That's what I like to hear." Standing up, she pointed to the back of the barn. "You here for more of our prized cheese, girl?"

  Tristan's eyes lit up. "Yes! If you don't mind."

  "Of course we don't, girl. Come. Follow me."

  The old woman shuffled away from the butter and toward the back of the barn. Opening a small door, she disappeared out the back.

  "You knew where this was the whole time?"

  "Maybe?" She batted her eyes at me.

  "I'm keeping an eye on you." I put my fingers over my eyes, then pointed them at her.

  "Ooo, so scary." With a smirk, she turned and disappeared out of the back door.

  Following, I quickly found myself outside a small cabin behind the barn.

  "Come on in!"

  I walked through the front door and found myself in a small, sparsely furnished house. On the nearest wall was a large shelf built into the wall, and on those shelves were dozens of urns, pots, jars, and wrapped goods of various sizes.

  The old woman reached up, grabbed one of the wrapped clothes, and walked to a counter. Placing the object on the counter, she unwrapped it.

  It was the gnarliest hunk of multicolored cheese I'd ever seen.

  Pulling a knife out of a drawer, she started cutting away. Once she'd cut ten or so slices off, she cut some bread and put the cheese on top of each piece, then smeared it into the bread with the knife. It smeared like butter.

  "Here you go." She handed each of us a piece.

  Tristan's eyes lit up. Without hesitation, she shoved half the slice of bread in her mouth. "Sho ghood," she said with a mouthful of cheese and bread.

  I wasn't so sure. Swallowing the lump in my throat down, I lifted the bread to my nose and gave it a sniff. It smelled like feet. "I don't know if I should." In an effort not to be rude, I added, "I don't want to take all of your hard-earned food."

  "Nonsense. I cut it for you. Eat up! We have plenty more." She gestured at the shelf filled with preserved goods.

  Tristan eyed me down with a big smile on her face.

  Taking a deep breath, I lifted the bread to my lips and took a small bite...

  It was the best cheese I'd ever had.

  "Holy shit, this is delicious."

  "Thold ooo!" Tristan had already shoved another piece of bread in her mouth.

  "Our family's made this cheese for generations. There ain't any better!" The woman puffed up with obvious pride.

  "Can I have more?"

  Bethany smiled broadly. "Of course! A growing boy needs to eat. Take as much as you'd like."

  Before she finished her sentence, I'd shoved the rest of the bread in my mouth and was looking for more.

  ***

  "What are you boys catching?" After parting with Bethany, who sent us away with three more cheese wheels, and Bertram, whom I was confident had no idea we were there, we'd been strolling through the village for a few hours before we came across a stream. A dozen boys and girls of five to fifteen were sitting on the shore and tending primitive fishing rods.

  One of the younger boys stomped his feet. "Nothing! Dak had a bite, but it got away."

  An older girl spoke up, "I swear I saw a grubber, but it doesn't want to bite."

  "You didn't see no grubber! They ain't up the river this far!" That boy, who was maybe ten, waved a stick at her.

  "You don't know that!" The girl threw a stick at the boy, nailing him right in the forehead.

  "Serves you right, Cam. Stop fighting with Belha."

  "Ooooh!" The boy pumped his arms and charged.

  I pulled Tristan away right as a mud fight broke out. As we hustled away, I couldn't help but laugh.

  "What's so funny?"

  "Oh, it just reminds me of my childhood, is all."

  I could see her studying me from the corner of my eye. "You lived in the forest?"

  "Yeah. Well, basically. I grew up in a small town near a big city. It was right next to the woods, so my grandpa, dad, and I went out camping a lot with some friends."

  "Sounds nice. Did you keep doing that as you got older?"

  I shook my head. "No. Most of my friends moved away over the years, and Dad stopped camping after my sister..."

  She squeezed my arm. "I'm sorry."

  "It's all in the past." Looking ahead, I saw that there was a large hill in the distance. At the top, there was a large tree ringed by boulders. Benches had been carved out of them, making it look like a rustic park. "Want to go sit down over there?"

  "Yeah."

  We walked over to the tree. Moving around to the far side, we sat down side by side. From the bench, I could see the Tower of Light in the distance. The Great Orb was growing dim, making the sky glow in brilliant oranges and reds.

  "I don't know if I'll ever get used to that."

  "To what?"

  I pointed. "To the Towers." Besides the large one in the center of Reial, I'd read that there were eight smaller ones along its perimeter. From my understanding, those towers collected the light before it could escape into a place called "the Wilds" and sent the energy back inward toward the Tower of the Sun. That's at least partially why the trees didn't all grow in one direction. I'd read there was a giant wall, too, but I couldn't imagine something so large.

  "I don't understand that one. You said there's a giant light in the sky in your world? And it moves?"

  "Yeah. It's called the sun. It's a giant ball of gas out in space."

  "Is space like the heavenly spheres?"

  "Nope. Not even a little." That was an entirely different bag of worms.

  "Your world sounds wild."

  "I guess it is." In a lot of ways, Reial made more sense.

  We sat for a time in silence, watching the Tower grow more dim. A question came to me. "So, you know everything about me, but what about you? Where did you grow up?"

  She shuffled. "Why do you ask?"

  "I realized you've never really talked about your childhood before."

  "Oh..." Her sapphire orbs lowered to the ground. "It's complicated."

  "Care to share anything?"

  She looked over at me. There was uncertainty written all over her face. "I'm from a place with trees, too. I spent my entire childhood playing in them. It was beautiful."

  "As beautiful as it is out here?"

  "More, if you can believe it."

  I honestly couldn't. "What about family? Do you have any siblings? Cousins? Parents?"

  She frowned. "Yes, family. No siblings."

  She was clearly uncomfortable. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it."

  She shook her head. "It's not that. It's just..." She ran her fingers through her hair. I noticed her slightly pointed ears again. "Can we talk about it another time?"

  "Of course." I'd let her bring it up next time.

  For a long time, the only sound was the growing chirps of the crickets as the sky turned to a deep purple.

  "Hey Alex?" Her voice was so soft, I could barely hear it.

  "Yeah?" I looked over at her and saw that she was looking at me.

  "I just wanted to say that I had a lot of fun today. And I'm happy this quest ended up being so easy. I've been wanting to go somewhere with you for a while."

  "You have?"

  "Yes. And this was perfect."

  It really was.

  "Alex?"

  "What's up?"

  She looked like she was struggling to find the words. "Um..."

  "You can tell me anything. You know that, right?"

  She sighed. "Thanks." Slapping her cheeks, she took a deep breath. "Okay, here it goes. I'm really bad at all of this, so I'm just going to say it in one big burst: I like you. I like you a lot. I have for a long time. I just don't know what to do with it because I've never cared about anyone before. It literally never crossed my mind. Then, you showed up, we got close, and I went through the Change, and now I get all nervous when you're near me, but I always want to be with you. That's why I'm always sleeping in your bed and doing things with you. I want you near me." Her eyes searched mine. "I'm not the only one who feels that way, right? Because if I am, I'll have to go find a hole to crawl into to die."

  Thank the Goddess.

  I wasn't the only one.

  "Are you going to say anything?"

  Before I knew what I was doing, I pulled her to me.

  Our lips met.

  She pressed her hands to my chest, her body tense, and tried to pull away.

  "I'm sorry!" I let her go. "I didn't mean to—"

  She giggled and launched herself at me.

  Our lips met again.

  Her body melted into mine.

  Our tongues brushed.

  It was nervous, first-time kissing. The kind where it was hard to find a rhythm, hard to know the lines. But when she pressed into me, a soft moan in her throat and her breathing ragged, my heart skipped a beat or three.

  We stayed like that for a long time, making out like two kids. Then, when I finally pulled away and opened my eyes, I saw that hers were wide open, and she had a lopsided smile on her face.

  For a moment, she didn't say anything. With a giggle, she asked, "So... Does that mean...?"

  I laughed. "Yeah, I feel the same way."

  Her entire body language changed. "Oh, thank the Goddess. If you didn't like me back, it would have been so, so, embarrassing."

  "Why's that?"

  "Everyone knows that I wanted to confess to you today."

  "Everyone?"

  "Yeah..." She sighed. "I made the mistake of telling Maven yesterday, and she told everyone but you.

  Something occurred to me. Everything was too perfect today. "So you planned for today to be a date?"

  She gave a mischievous grin. "Yeah. I kind of planned it with Na-Ya when we were walking out here." She looked shy again. "Did it work?"

  "Yeah, it did. It couldn't have been better."

  She laughed. "I'm so relieved." Her sapphire eyes met mine again. "I have no idea what I'm doing. I've been asking around for advice."

  "From who?"

  "From Na-Ya and Maven."

  "What'd they say?"

  "Na-Ya said I should just be honest and direct. Maven said I should be more girly and take you on dates, flirt with you, and make you feel like you should protect me. Oh, and play hard to get. She said that guys like that. But, I'm so, so bad at it. I told her I just wanted to have fun with you like we always do. Like we did today."

  "I like that more."

  Shes smiled. "Me too.

  I felt something soft press onto my hand. She'd placed her hand on mine. When I looked back up, I saw that she was studying my face. "Do you mind being patient with me? I'm kind of terrified."

  "There's no rush at all. I actually prefer it that way." That way I wouldn't fuck it up. I'd always been more emotionally distant than I meant to be in relationships.

  Devon popped into my head, followed by a wave of guilt.

  "Are you sure?" Tristan sounded nervous.

  I turned my hand around and wove my fingers into hers. "Yeah. And there's no right way to do any of this. We're friends. You don't have to do anything differently."

  She blushed. "So... uh... Maven wasn't right when she said I should play hard to get?"

  I chuckled. "No. Not even a little. That shit's awful."

  I felt her shuffle closer to me. Then, she leaned her head on my shoulder.

  My heart skipped a beat.

  "Thank you." She whispered.

  "For?"

  "For being my friend."