The girls rode quietly on the wagon for a time, the surrounding market and its people eventually giving way to the lonely forested path beyond.

"Why must you be like this," Aeres groaned.

"What do you mean?"

"Always causing trouble for others is what I mean. How am I supposed to explain you being late this time?"

"Just me late? Does that mean you're somehow expecting to get there before me?"

Aeres dropped her head as she let out a long sigh. "By any chance, have you not looked in the back of the wagon?"

Elica bent over so she could gaze into Aeres' peridot eyes, the girls feature that she found to be the most exotic and alluring. "I must have been too distracted by you," she smiled.

"Flattery will get you no where," she huffed as she sat up. "Anyway, I have a special order of silk-"

"Silk?" Elica interrupted, turning to peer into the back, "how rare, whats the occasion?"

"I have no idea," she replied as Elica turned back, annoyance clear on Aeres' face. "Anyway, back to the point, no, I'm not going to be late. Where do you even think I got the horse and wagon? I had to go and get it from the master earlier this morning."

"Aw, are you mad at me," she asked with a whimper. "Will maybe a kiss make you forgive me?"

"Are you out of your mind," Aeres burst out. "You need to control yourself better in public, what if people see us doing that," she scolded in a more hushed tone.

"But we left town a little while ago, and nobody really lives between town and the dyery. Come on now, I'm sure a little peck on the cheek wouldn't cause any harm," Elica reassured.

"Absolutely not, you never know where prying eyes might be," she said before entering a more hushed voice. "Furthermore, from what I hear, scouts from Treue Manor have become more active in town, so it's even riskier to be behaving in this fashion than normal."

"Lord Rene's scouts you say? What business would they have in spying on us?"

"What they are looking for and who they are spying on, I do not know, but it can't possibly bode well. So, we absolutely need to keep our heads down even further than normal, just in case, am I understood?" 

Her voice had shifted from its normal song like ring to a harsh tone Elica hadn't often heard as she talked.

"Understood," she replied with a dejected tone.

"You'd do well to take it to heart, there is no telling how we'd be punished if others found out the true nature of our relationship. You may get away with banishment since you're a native, but I might get killed for Lights sake!"

Silence fell between the two, only the sound of the horse's steps and the wagon's wheels along the dirt road disrupting the peace. 

"You know I don't want to do anything that would hurt you, right? I just want to protect you, always and forever," Elica finally said almost inaudibly, her eyes now fixed on her hands clasped in her lap.

"Of course I know that," Aeres replied, reaching over with her free hand to gently rub Elica's back. "Know this though, If I'm in trouble, I don't want you getting yourself needlessly caught up. I don't think I'd be able to handle the guilt of you getting hurt purely for my sake if it's possible otherwise," she said with a soothing voice.

Elica's gaze stayed fixed on her hands, unsure of how to handle the situation. She knew their relationship had to stay a secret for their own sake, but she never knew how to handle this type of situation when that fact was brought to light.

"Here, give me your hand," Aeres went on, placing her hand on Elica's, and pulling her right away from its partner. "Since we're almost to the dyery, I'll leave you with this." 

Elica watched curiously as the girl brought her palm to her lips, the soft warmth of the kiss spreading through her body.

"If you ever have the urge to kiss me when it isn't safe for us to do so, or even if you're lonely and want me in your presence, just remember this feeling and give it a little kiss," she urged affectionately.

"I will," Elica smiled, feeling the vigor returning to her body. "But aren't you worried at all that someone may have seen you do that, the dyery is coming into sight now after all," she said teasingly, pointing to the building ahead of them.

"Oh hush, it may have been an odd spot as opposed to the top, but, compared to an actual kiss, this won't raise any suspicions. Anyway, hurry up and get in there, poor Frie is probably doing everything himself."

"Okay, okay," Elica replied as she hopped off the wagon and started towards the workshop.

"A warning though," Aeres called after her. "I drove the wagon rather slow while we were talking, so you'll be really late now!"

"That's fine, the trip wasn't without its perks," Elica yelled back as she turned to face Aeres again. "I got this out of it," she said, giving her right palm a peck.

Elica watched as the girl covered her face. "Hurry up and get in there," she shouted from behind her hands.