The rest of the day was a whirlwind of activity as they left the park to see the city. There were fewer stalls set up out here, but the restaurants were working double time. Several had added outdoor seating to accommodate the increase in visitors, and even then they could have used more. There was even one that had an entire alleyway converted into a dining space, and was proving immensely popular.

Every so often, Trevor would pick out people setting up fireworks on top of different buildings and smiled to himself. That was going to be a perfect end to the night, not only for him but for everyone, and he was proud to be a part of it.

While the park had musicians at every bridge and often in between, those playing in the city were more evenly spread out. They were no less skilled than those who had procured a premium place at which to play, and Trevor found their music enjoyable. He wasn’t the only one, and several blocks had been turned into dance parties that the traffic closer to the castle wouldn’t allow.

Adabelle asked if Trevor would like to dance, and embarrassing memories of previous events on Earth flooded his thoughts. At first, he politely declined, stating he wasn’t much of a dancer, which was as much of an understatement as he thought he could make. He knew he was absolutely terrible.

Despite his courteous refusal, Adabelle asked again as they came across another crowd dancing to a much slower beat. It was then that Trevor realized that she wasn’t asking just to be polite. She really wanted to dance and, after dragging her around everywhere, he was quick to change his mind if only to make sure that his date was happy.

Offering his hand with a shaky apology on how terrible he was, she smiled brightly as she took it and led him into the impromptu dance floor.

With his hand on her hip and hers on his shoulder, they smiled at each other as he was taught how to dance. Adabelle’s patience was extraordinary, and it took Trevor a lot less time to learn than he thought. While she was an amazing teacher, he couldn’t help but wonder how much his Dexterity stat helped him out in regards to how easily his body moved the way he wanted it to.

Much to his surprise, hours passed as they danced. Not always at the same place, but all over and to several different kinds of music. Trevor found it easy to get lost in Adabelle, and he was surprisingly unconcerned with ever being found again.

“I’m very, very happy,” he whispered as they moved together.

“So am I,” she replied, leaning her forehead against his. “Though, we should be getting back to the castle. It’ll be dark by the time we get there.”

“Once this song’s over,” he gently requested.

“That’s quite rich coming from someone who claims he’s not much of a dancer,” Adabelle teased.

Trevor couldn’t help but smile. “I’m coming around to it.”

The two continued until the song was over before rushing off towards the castle. As the sky got darker, the people were starting to find their spots to watch the festival’s fireworks display. That made traveling through the city a lot easier than Trevor expected, especially as the park was nearly empty by the time they passed through it.

When Adabelle started leading Trevor into the castle, he realized he had no idea where they were going. “So, what’s the plan now?” he asked as they passed by the only elevator he had used so far.

“It’s a surprise,” she laughed. The smile on her face was infectious, and Trevor suddenly thought that it didn’t matter where she was leading him; wherever it was, he knew he would have a good time.

They traveled deeper into the castle than he had gone before and into another elevator. As Adabelle brought them up, she stopped at the top floor. She took his hand as the sound of explosions started going off outside.

“No! We’re missing the start!” she complained. “Can you run?”

Pulling the Horn of Swift Heroics from his inventory, Trevor nodded. “After you,” he said before blowing on it. Honestly, his legs were very tired, but he could deal with that.

With a determined look on her face, Adabelle started running through the halls. She gradually increased her speed until she found where Trevor’s sweet spot was, and led him to a tall staircase. They began climbing it higher and higher, and the young man realized that they were going up one of the castle’s towers. It was a long trek, and he was breathing heavily by the end of it, but it was all worth it when they emerged on top.

Brilliant colors flashed everywhere, starting as dull trails of fire from the rooftops to explode safely above the city. Trevor found himself hollering and laughing despite his burning lungs, unable to help himself. They were so high up that the fireworks exploded only a few stories above them. He worried about the potential danger, but quickly forgot about it as the smoke floated around the tower without so much as touching it.

Adabelle led him away from the crenelations and onto a raised platform. Trevor followed, still doing his best to watch the fireworks all over the place, and sat down on the loveseat sofa that had been brought up here. She sat and snuggled up to him, placing a hand on his chest. As he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, her tail wrapped around his waist, and he felt safer perhaps than he ever had.

“Surprise,” she announced, gesturing towards the light show.

“This is amazing,” he remarked. “You are phenomenal, Adabelle.”

“I have a set of skills the king needed, and luckily someone asked me out early enough that I knew what to demand in return,” she replied, sounding satisfied. “They wanted to try a new summoning ritual, one that required two people, so I agreed.”

“You summoned someone today?” Trevor asked.

“Yes, an elven woman named Lirwen,” she answered. “She was an adventurer in her world, so I related to her easily. I can tell she’s going to fit in just fine.”

“That’s good. Always a worry, though, isn’t it? How they would react to a new world.”

“It is, but most are grateful for a second chance,” she replied. “It’s really rewarding, especially when you watch people you summoned help change the world for the better. That’s one of the principles that Lucent values most, which is why our country performs so many rituals. That, and we’re the leaders in advanced magical circles, which helps a lot.”

Trevor tore his eyes away from the fireworks to smile at her. “You’re just a great force for good in this world, aren’t you?” he praised.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

“I try, but I’ll be able to do more once I’m mayor of Tosa,” she said, determination evident in her eyes. “There’s a lot I can complain about when it comes to Jackson, but I plan on continuing his vision after he retires. On that, I completely agree with him.”

“You’re going to do great, and everyone knows it.”

Adabelle tilted her head, locking eyes with Trevor, and smiled. “Of course. I’m going to do my best, and I know my worth.”

“I suspect that you’re still worth a lot more than you’d give yourself credit for, but I’m planning on being around to help you whenever you need it,” Trevor said.

“I’m looking forward to it,” she whispered, her voice almost being drowned out by the fireworks.

A brief lull in explosions caught Trevor’s attention, and he turned away from her. It restarted slowly with a trickle of lights on the far end of the city, but very quickly became a torrent. Fireworks started going off in waves, circling the castle. The young man found himself yelling approval again, and this time Adabelle joined him.

The lights circled the castle three times before the sky all around lit up at once in a spectacular finale. Everything got quiet after that, though they could pick up the people down below cheering. Unwilling to release his date, Trevor used his leg to clap. “That was awesome, Adabelle,” he said. “This was-“

“Only the beginning,” she interrupted, pointing downwards towards the halo.

Caught off guard, Trevor fixed his gaze on the castle’s magical circle. It started glowing brighter as columns of golden light started to appear in waves, and he realized he could no longer hear the crowds. After the fireworks, the silence was deafening as even the air seemed still, but the faint sound of music reached his ears.

The columns of light started off small, but began growing in size as time went on. They ebbed and flowed in time with the music, and Trevor realized that the halo was the source. A beautiful, haunting melody slowly filled the city. Despite how loud it had to be for them to hear it clearly, it was soothing and warm.

The young man found himself entranced as the columns grew to be larger than the towers, and his eyes were drawn to a golden glow emanating from the tallest one. Squinting, Trevor could make out King Eskretet standing on a raised platform similar to theirs. Based on the way he was waving his arms, he looked exactly like a conductor keeping time for an orchestra.

“This is what Klarkartar wanted to keep a secret from you,” Adabelle said as she watched him. “Would you like me to tell you more?”

“Absolutely,” Trevor breathed, not taking his eyes off of the light show.

“The halo is the pride and joy of Eskretet,” she explained happily, still watching the awestruck young man. “It’s also the most powerful and intricate magic circle known to the world. When it was first created, it was supposed to be a defense mechanism against invaders who thought the country was weak after the liberation. It could fire off magical bombs that would decimate armies of everything that wasn’t high leveled Summoned. It still can, but that was its original purpose.”

“So what about protecting people in duels?” Trevor asked.

“Just something else that the kings figured out it could do,” Adabelle answered. “It’s an incredibly versatile circle, and scholars are still determining new things about it regularly. However, it has a tendency to gather more power than it needs and store it, risking the city.”

Trevor finally looked away. “That’s what this is for, isn’t it?” he intuited. “To get rid of the excess.”

Adabelle smiled. “You understand, then. It was calculated that the halo only needed around 60% power in order to protect the city, and everything else is fired off into the sky like this. The current King Eskretet has the third highest Mana of all the kings thus far, so it’s a particularly spectacular show, as the magic circle is constantly taking from their pool.”

“Is that uncomfortable?”

“If it is, not one of them has complained,” Adabelle said. “Our current king comes from a culture where music is of the utmost importance, and he’s also the first to incorporate that into the Festival of Golden Lights. It sounds loud from here, but it’s actually the same volume throughout the city.”

“It’s inspiring,” he said, awe evident in his voice, as he looked back over the lights. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“It really is quite amazing, isn’t it?” Adabelle agreed.

The columns had started taking on other shapes, snaking upwards into the sky as they disconnected from the magical circle that spawned them. They mingled as they rose, passing by each other in intricate patterns that left short afterimages behind. Once they were high enough, they exploded into showers of gold that disappeared shortly before they hit the castle. All around the city they dropped a little further, though they never touched a single building.

Light saturated the sky as the teardrops fell and disappeared. It was almost as though the stars themselves were falling, and Trevor watched in awe, feeling his eyes become wet as he had never seen anything like it before. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to get this kind of experience anywhere else, and he pulled Adabelle even closer.

“Thank you for this,” he said. “Thank you so, so much, Adabelle.”

“You’re welcome, Trevor,” she replied, patting his leg gently.

The music changed into something more upbeat, but still beautiful. Taking a breath, Trevor turned to look at his date. “Hey, stand up.”

Slowly blinking at his strange request, Adabelle unwrapped her tail from him and stood. Trevor followed suit and pulled the sofa into his inventory before offering her his hand. “There’s music, so we should be dancing, right?”

Adabelle’s face lit up as she nodded and took his hand. He pulled her close, pressing his body against hers as they began to dance. The lights from above could be seen clearly in her eyes, and he immediately decided that this was the best way to see them.

“I have a confession to make,” Trevor said softly.

“Is it one that I’ll like?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Probably,” he chuckled.

“Then go right ahead.”

Taking a breath, Trevor nodded more to himself than to her. “All day, I felt like I knew exactly what to say,” he started off slowly. “Quick quips, playful teases, fun conversation, all with the backing of raw enthusiasm. Right now, I have something to say, but I’m not sure if I have the words for it.”

“That’s going to make it hard for me to understand, you know,” she teased gently. Their dance slowed into a rhythmic sway as they stared at each other. “You imply that you’re speechless, but it sounds like you’re readying yourself for a speech.”

“I know,” he said, smiling. “I’m just… I know I’ve never been happier than I have been today. The last few days, I’ve considered myself completely blessed to be here. To arrive in this world, to meet everyone, and to get to know you. You, in particular, inspire me to be a little more selfish.”

Adabelle gave him a strange look before laughing. “More selfish?”

“That didn’t come out right,” he laughed. “What I mean is, I want to take better care of myself because I know that’s what will make you happy, and I know that because that’s what I want for you. I want to be by your side, feeling this every day, and taking care of you. More than that, I want to let my guard down and allow you to take care of me.”

“That's not exactly the reason I'd like you to take care of yourself, but it's a start,” she chided lightly.

“I know, but I’m living in the moment,” he said. “I’ve always been the guy who cares about other people, sacrificing my own happiness. And it wasn’t until just recently that I realize how lost I’ve been. You called me out and helped me see what I’ve been missing for so long.”

Adabelle leaned her head forward, placing her forehead and nose against his, and stared into his eyes. “Say what you need to say, okay?” she whispered.

Trevor swallowed as he gathered his thoughts. “I’ve taken a liking to you, Adabelle,” he said. “Being with you makes my mind and heart race. It’s not… It’s only our first date, and it’s not a fully complete feeling yet, but I can tell that it could be. One day. And there’s a part of me that knows you’re way too good for me, but I want to be selfish. I want to keep you close. I want to be happy, and I don’t want to let you go.”

Adabelle listened carefully, barely blinking, as Trevor confessed his feelings for her. Her eyes were full of understanding on what he wanted to say, and she smiled. “I don’t think I mind this brand of selfishness,” she admitted, moving her hand from his shoulder to his chest. “As long as you don’t mind that I can be quite greedy when it comes to some things that I really want, too.”

The young man blinked. “Really?”

“Yes, really. Let me make myself perfectly clear about how I feel, Trevor Anderson,” she whispered. Adabelle leaned forward and kissed him.

Although surprised, Trevor returned the kiss as the light-filled heavens rained all around them. Once again, lightning flowed through him at her touch and, true to his word, he didn't let her go.