"Amelia. I don't need that."

"Of course you do! What if you run into him today, you've got to let him know you appreciate his gifts!"

Besides the necklace, Amelia also put a small set of the flowers behind my ear. One small blue rose and a baby's breath tied by twine, and painstakingly pinned to my hair.

"We can't do much about your attire, but we have to do everything we can to assure your beauty, my lady!" Her eyes sparkled.

"You seem like you're having fun."

"Of course! My lady has her heart open for once, and a man in pursuit!" She smiled slyly at me. "Even my lady has her nicer hunting attire on."

My nicer attire didn't amount to much. They were simple, clean, and not torn to rags. I usually save these for if my current stuff is totally destroyed, but…

Ugh. Maybe she was a little right.

"All right, all right. There's no guarantee I'll run into him though, you know."

"But how could you not, my lady!" Amelia insisted. "A bouquet, then hair twine, and then a whole deer! He's brought a gift each day after the flowers. He must be waiting for you. I'm sure of it!"

I turned my head to the side. Her insistence makes me worried. She tied my hair up with the twine and made a new belt from the material of the deer, and did what she did with the flowers. I hope things won't look too awkward with me looking like this-it felt odd to worry about looking pretty now.

With Amelia shouting hurried instructions of how to carry myself as a lady as if she hadn’t raised me to be a noble, I made my way into the forest.

After a small way things seemed to be odd. There was a large amount of flower bushes now sitting on the forest floor. Roses, hydrangeas, dragon lilies…how are these out here?

While a small selection of flowers grew near the forest's edge, I've never seen flowers so deep in these woods. And I've never seen such an abundance before.

'Could someone have planted these here?'

"Kali."

"Wagh!"

With my heart in my throat I turn to the voice. Who else could it have been. Warren.

Drenched in water from head to toe. He looked like he was sparkling in the light as he pushed through the bushes.

He gave me a gentle smile and it looked like a huge weight was off his shoulders.

"You've recovered well I take it?"

"Just fine." I spoke, trying not to stare at him. With mainly white hunting gear, the water made most of his physique visible. 

'Ugh. I feel like such a pervert. I just need to focus on the conversation at hand!'

"Thank you again for saving me, Warren."

"Of course." A shinning smile took place on his features. Ah. I placed a hand over my heart.

Looking me up and down. He seemed pleased.

"I see you've made good use of the gifts I gave you."

"Yes. My- Amelia, the lady who raised me was very ecstatic." Saying that she was my nanny would imply I was of noble or upper class, and if he didn't know who I was, I didn't want to risk him learning my identity before learning who I am.

"Who has raised you?"

"My-…" I almost didn't want to speak, but that would only make me seem untrustworthy.

"My mother died when I was young. And my father… He couldn't care less about me." I felt the gem under my tunic. "Which is why I'm even more thankful we've met. Things had been terribly dreary until you arrived."

I looked around at the flower bushes.

"Even this forest seems like a dream instead of a nightmare now." I spoke, cradling one of the blue roses and reaching up to the one in my hair.

I turned to him with a soft smile. I didn't realize how tired I was all this time. Struggling to survive in this place… All those times feel so far away.

"So, if you could just keep being part of my world, I would be ever so thankful."

It felt out of line and cheesy to say, but I feel like a heroine in a fairy tale right now. Shouldn't I be able to act a little more freely?

He stood straight, dripping water from his hair and down his chin. Eyes locked on me like I was the only thing in the world. It made my mind go blank.

Before I could apologize for overstepping he spoke.

"Hunt with me. If you hunt with me, I'll stay right here and spend as much time as I can in this forest with you."

"Is there any reason it has to be hunting?"

"Well… ". He began. "As I usually come to this forest to hunt, it wouldn't be strange to tell my aide such a thing. But if I were to come out here and then not return with monster parts… ". He averted his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck.

I understood where he was coming from. I'd be in the same position with Amelia if I hadn't told her anything.

"I understand. Then, shall we go?"

"Huh?"

"Hunting, Warren. It's obvious you must have been after something before coming here. A trafulfluf I assume since you are positively soaked."

He looked depressed.

"Yes. I was hunting one when it collapsed the tree I was on and I fell into its watery home below. " He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I had to run as quick as I could since fighting a trafulfluf in it's natural habitat would be suicide."

I laughed a little. It seems even the empire has its shortcomings.

"There's no need to fear. In fact, the water is the best place to face one, if prepared."

"What?"

"Here. Watch and learn!"