That night, the castle was abuzz. Rumors were spread that the newly engaged couple had spent a day out, had a picnic, and even shared a kiss. Of course, the rumors quickly got out of hand, but the original one stayed prevalent. It circulated so fast that by the time the rumor was exaggerated, all the maids, butlers, and servants knew of it.
The one who spread it —the Queen herself.
She reasoned that exposure as a couple would help with their shyness, making way for their apparent attraction. Whilst she had been bolder as the Prince's fiancée, it was the rumor she spread that made him open up more. She wasn't sure why, but she went with it.
Later on, she found out that he opened up more because he wasn't as embarrassed after hearing the rumor for days; in the beginning, he had found it uncomfortable, but soon came to terms with it.
'While they both may not have the same personalities as us, I believe it should work.' The Queen thought.
Grey and Aurora, unaware of the rumors, both slept peacefully that night. Getting to sleep was utterly terrible, their minds were so full of thoughts that they couldn't even string a sentence together, but once they did, they enjoyed a sleep deeper and more comfy than ever before.
Lucas and Samantha were still 'enjoying' their time between royal sheets, and Matteo and Tyana were laughing like evil geniuses in bed. They were very proud of their daughter.
---
Grey woke up like usual, heading to the bathroom to get ready.
Once he was done cleaning himself up, he entered the bedroom with a towel on, opening his closet, only to find it empty.
'Huh?' He realized. 'My clothes are still in my hotel room, aren't they?'
He thought about wearing the clothes from yesterday but then shook his head. The very idea made him feel disrespectful; like he'd sully the memory by wearing them for a normal day.
Clack!
Grey heard the sound of a single shoe clicking on the floor as if to drag his attention to the door.
'She's very good at her job, I see.'
"Anise, could you please come in?" He spoke aloud.
A second later, the door opened, revealing Anise who held a set of clothes in her hands.
"Here are your clothes, Grey." She walked up to him and presented the clothes to him with a small bow.
"Thank you, Anise. But again, there's no need for formalities. I'll only be here for a little while longer." He took the clothes, following along with her to the door.
"Understood, Grey," Anise said with a smile. She closed the door behind her, leaving him to change in peace.
---
Grey entered the dining room behind Anise, finding both his and Aurora's parents there.
"How long have you been here, if I may ask?" He spoke as he sat down between Samantha and an empty seat.
"Not long, don't worry. There's no cause for an apology." Queen Tyana replied.
"That's good then." Grey nodded, looking Queen Tyana in the eye. "What's on the agenda today?"
"Well, tomorrow, Aurora will be leaving for The Island as the next course starts. Lucas will accompany her in Anette's stead, so you and Samantha are free to do what you wish." There was a glint in Tyana's eye as she spoke, seemingly hoping for Grey to pick up on something.
"I see. Then-" Grey was cut short by the door being opened.
Like yesterday, Anette entered in her formal uniform, followed by Aurora.
This time, however, Aurora was dressed casually. Her outfit matched Grey's; a white silk blouse instead of a t-shirt, black, ripped jeans made of only cotton, and black ankle-high boots without heels instead of sneakers. Of course, the clothes were doused in a fireproof treatment, ensuring that they didn't damage the material's biggest weakness; fire.
Again, she wore little makeup, a matte pink lipstick that was a little darker than her lips, and a small amount of blush on her cheeks.
In her ears were small teardrop alexandrite earrings that complimented her orange eyes. Her hair was in a simple ponytail.
Grey stared at her, watching as she moved to her seat between him and Tyana. He was embarrassed at what happened the day before, but he didn't really want to talk about it —not yet at least. It would be too awkward.
He snapped out of his trance when he felt a kick on his shin. He shook his head to clear his mind, blushing and then dug into his food. He was too flustered to do much else.
Similarly, Aurora blushed and dug into her food, reminded of what happened last night when she saw his face.
The adults all had a little laugh, smiling at the duo. Samantha was still a little wary, being an overprotective mother made her such, but she was happy for him. If he wanted to be with Aurora, then she wouldn't stop him.
They soon finished their breakfast, and the Queen directed everyone out of the room... except for Grey and Aurora.
Tap, Tap, Tap!
In the quiet of the room, a tapping could be heard, coming from under the table. It was Grey's foot, gently hitting the floor over and over.
"So," He spoke up. "You're going back to The Island."
"Yeah. We won't see each other for a while." She replied, picking at her nails.
"...This is... awkward."
"Mhm." She agreed.
They both thought back to last night, their hearts beating fast.
"Do you wanna stay?
"Do you wanna stay?"
They both looked each other in the eyes, speaking aloud.
"Haha!"
"Hahaha!"
"So, should I stay here?" Grey asked.
"Yeah, you should." Aurora nodded.
"Then you should stay too. Besides, you don't need The Island. My Dad can get the material, I learned how to teach from my Mom, and we can train together. I use a bow too." Grey began to list out positive points about leaving The Island.
"Of course. That sounds great!" Aurora smiled at him. It was the most beautiful smile he had seen yet.
---
Grey and Aurora stood in a courtyard, 20 meters from each other.
Both had a bow in hand; Grey wielded a compound bow whilst Aurora had a longbow.
"No Techniques, okay?" Aurora said.
"Of course. I don't need them." Grey replied, a smile on his face.
Since bows didn't have Arts, the main focus was on Techniques. Arts were things such as Ares' Cry, Grave's Blade, or even The Way Of The Wulf. Techniques, on the other hand, were movements that required Mana to achieve an effect. An example was shooting a single arrow that turns into multiple. Techniques were in Arts, but Arts weren't in Techniques.
"Ready?" Grey asked.
"Of course." Aurora nodded.
Grey grabbed an Ark from his pocket, tossing the coin into the air.
It flew high above them, spinning as it did, before finally falling.
They stared intently at the falling coin, and then at each other.
Ting, Ting-
The coin hit the ground, marking the start of the spar.
Grey ran to the side, grabbing an arrow from the quiver on his back. The arrows were blunted, so he had no hesitation when nocking it and pointing it at Aurora.
Aurora did the same, moving in the opposite direction as Grey. She similarly grabbed an arrow from her quiver, placing it on the bow and taking aim at him.
TWANG! TWANG!
The arrows shot forth, straight on target. Grey and Aurora moved again, paying no heed to where the arrows landed. Grey took cover behind a statue, whilst Aurora took cover beneath a hedge.
The arrows met in the middle, clashing against each other before falling to the ground. The sound was a signal for Grey to peek out, and he scanned the courtyard for her.
'Where is she?' He thought.
Suddenly, a thought came to him. 'I've been meaning to try this out. When is a better time than now?'
Of the things on Grey's to-do list, one of them was finding a use for his eyes. Whilst he always had Mana flowing into his eyes, blocking him from seeing Mana and allowing him to passively collect more, both he and Fallen Star felt that there was more to it.
He actively channeled more Mana into his eyes, focusing them on the retina. To block his eyes from seeing Mana, he channeled it into his lens, so what happened when he put it into his retina?
His vision shifted once more, becoming something akin to heat vision, but different.
- What in the?! - Fallen Star, watching through Grey's eyes, exclaimed. - Grey, do you know what you've just accomplished? -
'What?'
- Manareception, that's what! Something that no being other than a select few should have. Those being me, God, his little pets, and the beings of the first planet! -
'Manareception? Meaning I can see the varying levels of Mana?' Grey quickly figured out its use, smirking after hearing Fallen Star confirm it.
- Yup. It's pretty much a heat vision for Mana. Unlike Mana Vision, which lets you see Mana Particles, this lets you see the Mana in beings. -
'Is this what you see when talking about Mana Signatures?'
- No, that's something else. -
'Okay. Well, I have a spar to win, so...'
- Of course. Later. -
With that, their conversation ended, leaving Grey to rescan the area.
Just like with heat vision, everything was blue, but certain objects were a lighter blue. Once he got to the hedges, he noticed an orange silhouette.
'Aurora!'