"Perhaps you could show me your town," he suggests, still slightly irritated, "then I have a picnic planned for us for lunch."

"A picnic?" she says, adding some fake excitement as she leads him down the steps and towards the town center.

"Yes, my dear. It will actually be my first. In Alumenia we do not have such wide, open spaces outside. My sources say that it is a good way to stem a romance."

She smiles at his attempt to woo her, though her heart remains cold and lifeless. The remainder of their morning is spent wandering through the various shops displaying the Derven wares. All of the owners...