"I still can't get over how good you look," Jurie pinched Paley's cheeks as they walked to the entrance of the mall. They bought two sets of seasonal clothes and pajamas for each orphan.
"That hurts," Paley rubbed his sore cheeks. She had been pinching them continuously since they exited the shop.
"Well, we'll see you two in a bit. You must be here by ten, okay?" Madella kissed Jurie and Teerom on the forehead.
"Of course," They replied and separated, Paley and Madella heading back to the orphanage, and Teerom and Jurie going on a date.
"Shall we go get something to eat?" Teerom asked, gentlemanly offering his arm.
"We shall," Jurie took it, and they wandered the Gouon Mall for about ten minutes before finding a restaurant called D'amore. It was at the center - where the spiral staircase was - built into the corner.
There was a large corner door leading into it. The restaurant was spacious and had a tranquil atmosphere. A fancy small chandelier hung above every table, which all had white cloths covering them. Waiters and waitresses walked around, making sure that every couple was happy.
Violinists around the room played a subtle, soft tune in sync. The restaurant wasn't that busy, but their service was still impeccable.
"Welcome to D'amore, young sir and young ma'am." A waiter approached Jurie and Teerom as they entered. "Please take a seat wherever you'd like. We'll bring you a menu shortly." He bowed. They nodded and walked past, choosing a seat next to the window.
"After you, my lady." Teerom pulled the chair for her.
"Thank you," She sat down, putting her legs under the white cloth. Teerom hurried opposite her as a waiter arrived with menus. He handed them one each and waited as they made their order.
"I'll get the- uh... Whatever she gets." Teerom couldn't decide; there were too many options.
"I'll have the spaghetti and meatballs," Jurie said confidently.
"You will have that too, right, sir?" The waiter looked back at Teerom as he noted down the order.
"Of course," Teerom replied.
"Any drinks with that? We have the finest of wine."
"How much will it cost?" Teerom asked hesitantly.
"The price ranges from ten silver coins to sixty gold coins."
"Ah, I have this much." He took out a bag and dropped eighty silver coins onto the table, "Will it be enough?"
"You will have thirty-two silver coins left from the main order. I'd recommend buying Sandro, but you can opt for something cheaper if you wish." The waiter turned Teerom's menu to the wine page and pointed to the wine he suggested.
"Okay, we'll have a bottle of that." Teerom nodded agreeably.
"Perfect. In that case, would you like me to take the money now?"
"That'd be great, thank you," Teerom replied, and the waiter left two silver coins on the table, taking the rest with him to the counter before heading to the kitchen.
"That outfit suits you. It really makes your muscles pop out." Jurie rested her head on the back of her hands.
"Thank you. Your dress suits you too. It really shows off your abs." Teerom joked.
"Oh, shut up." She giggled. They chatted about random topics for a while as they waited for their food. It came quickly, about fifteen minutes later, but it was nice and steaming hot. The spaghetti looked flat, but the meatballs seemed so tender that Teerom's mouth was watering.
"Thank you," The two nodded politely and dug into their food before the waiter could begin to pour the wine. They were orphans, so they never really had to care about manners, which was why most of the other customers were staring at them now.
"Sir. Ma'am. It's etiquette to drink your wine first." The waiter said politely. The two had already downed half of their spaghetti, planning on leaving the meatballs for last.
"Oh, right, sorry." Teerom took the glass and put it under the waiter, who poured blood-red wine into it from a black, gold-striped bottle. Jurie did the same and held up her glass to Teerom.
"Cheers!" They clinked their glasses, spilling a bit of wine onto the table. "Shit, sorry!" Teerom apologized to the waiter.
"Don't worry. It's but a minor spillage." The waiter reassured.
"Oh, okay." They continued and downed the entire glass after the waiter left.
"Wow, that's delicious," Jurie said, setting her glass down while Teerom was still drinking his, "I might just get another glass." She grabbed the bottle and poured herself another glass.
They got drunk quick.
Teerom only had about two drinks, but Jurie continued until the bottle was empty.
"This spaghetti is delicious..." He said, picking the meatballs apart and revealing the dull meat within, "But Mom and Paley's food is so much better."
"Agreed!" Jurie shouted, disrupting the quiet of the restaurant, "Hey," She found his hand after a few drunk attempts and held it. "I love you." She grinned lazily.
"I love you too, Jurie." Teerom held it back. They weren't that drunk that they were falling all over the place, but they were drunk enough to say the magic words without hesitation.
"Hmm..." Jurie caressed her shoulders ecstatically, "Say it one more time." She urged.
"I love you," Teerom replied.
"I love you too," They giggled obnoxiously.
"Jurie!" Teerom whispered, "I have a confession to make,"
"What is it?" Jurie whispered too.
"Remember that time when you were taking a bath at midnight? I wasn't sleepwalking."
"What?" Jurie would've been shocked and embarrassed if she was sober. A few months before Paley arrived at the orphanage, Teerom got up in the middle of the night to pee. He didn't notice that Jurie wasn't sleeping next to him and went into the bathroom without knocking. There, he saw her butt-naked, getting out of the bath.
She fell backwards in a panic, revealing more than just her butt, but Teerom closed his eyes, mostly from shock, and pretended he was asleep. It helped that he was so astounded that he couldn't move or have even begun to form words. She had lightly put him back to bed that night after quickly getting dressed, but they never spoke of it as Teerom confirmed he was sleepwalking the next day.
"I have a confession to make too." She had a guilty and extremely embarrassed expression. She squirmed awkwardly as she contemplated telling him. "Ah! Whatever, let's go." She took his hand and dragged him out of the restaurant.
"Aren't we gonna pay?" Teerom asked and dodged the door frame.
"We already did."
"What about Paley? We gotta meet him at ten."
"We've got time."
"Where are we going?"
"The stars. I wanna see the stars."
Paley slowly flew across the sky. He didn't have to fly too far up since the night hid him well. Above him, the sky was clear, and the stars were out. He spotted the shopping mall in the distance and flew towards it, landing in an alleyway next to it.
Teerom and Jurie weren't at the archway, so he waited against the wall for them. He shifted from standing against the wall to sitting on the benches to looking into stores nearby as he waited. They didn't come.
After about fifteen minutes of waiting, he went to look for them. He looked everywhere within the mall, but there was no trace of them. At some point, he did go to the D'amore restaurant and described them to the waiters.
One of them, the one who served Teerom and Jurie, stepped forward and confirmed that he saw them.
"Where did they go?" Paley asked.
"The girl said she wanted to see the stars, and they left that way." The waiter pointed toward the north archway (Paley came in through the south archway).
"Thank you," Paley hurried off to look for them.
On a wide street, lit by extremely dim flame lamp posts, Teerom and Jurie sat on a staircase. The houses around them had switched off their lights, leaving only the night sky to light the area. The cobble stairs they sat on weren't too comfortable, but they didn't mind.
"They're beautiful." Jurie rested her head on his shoulder.
"Yeah," He wasn't looking at the stars. He was looking at her, "They are..."
"You're not even looking at the stars, stupid." She laughed.
"Maybe I am." The usual Teerom, struggling to be cool, vanished. He had a dreamy gaze that captivated her and drew her closer. She sat up slightly and moved closer. He glanced at her lips and looked back into her eyes. Both their hearts were thumping audibly. Both their throats felt swollen with nervousness.
They closed their eyes.
Took a deep breath,
and moved in.
It seemed to last for an eternity. Their lips connected, and they kissed under the sparkling stars. Paley had been flying for a while, searching for them from above. He'd spotted them, but since they were in the middle of kissing, he landed on a rooftop and waited, checking his nails awkwardly.
He spotted two bulky men approaching from the other end of the street behind Teerom and Jurie. It had been a while since he'd seen it, but a pitch-black, evil aura covered the men, big enough for him to take immediate caution. He quickly cast an illusion spell on Teerom and Jurie, hiding them.
The men passed by Teerom and Jurie, who kissed again for the fourth time, but as they passed, Paley noticed one of them holding a familiar-looking tag. It was a slave tag. A female one. By instinct, he followed the men, forgetting about Jurie and Teerom. They seemed to know that something was off because they sped up when they reached the other end of the street.
Paley had already taken to the air to follow them, so even when they continuously looked back, there was no one there. He didn't question why he knew what the tag was or how he knew that a diagonal line on the back meant it was a female. He just followed the men blindly.
They exited the city from the northwest gate and hopped on two horses. Paley stood atop the wall surrounding the city, watching them like a hawk. He glanced back at the mall, then to the orphanage, hesitating to pursue further.
'I want to use my magic to help people.' He remembered the words he said to Madella and decided to continue following the men. Wherever he was following them, he knew he wouldn't be back for a while.