Melody of Mana

Days passed and while I still had a few things to do it was nearly a vacation. I worked on my spells in the afternoon, and spent time with my family where possible. I even managed to borrow a maid from my mother to help me get ready the morning of my meeting with Ulanion.

I rose slowly as the girl woke me. There were no alarm clocks as such, but there were still plenty of ways to measure time, and there was always someone awake at the house. As I tiredly walked over to the small dresser she spoke.

"Don't worry miss Alana, I'll have you right ready for your date."

I was instantly awake. A date? No, no this was way too early, it was... breakfast. I cursed internally, bemoaning how often I neglected the common customs of this world. I'd been on practically zero actual dates over the years, and had totally forgotten. Here they liked to have them at breakfast.

"I... thank you," I attempted. It was too late, I couldn't back out now without massive repercussions.

If only I'd thought. He wanted to go to one of the nicer restaurants in town. I'd been imagining him being nice, but he'd probably asked around the men he was working with for good places, even gotten the info that here we did this in the morning. Any other girl, any normal human girl in this whole country would have understood in a heartbeat, but no, no I had to have a whole lifetime of non-matching social information buzzing around in my head.

The maid was happy, seemingly thinking that my mood, for I was in quite a mood, was just nerves. I also had to admit that she was very good at her job. I knew how to do my hair, and makeup and all the things I needed to for this, but there was really no substitute for having a professional help. By the time she finished I looked excellent. At least choosing my clothes wasn't an issue, as I had rather few, and even fewer that would be proper for this.

"You look perfect; he'll be thrilled," she declared as I finally stood before the mirror in my room.

"Thank you, you're really good at this." The girl smiled and winked before going to get the carriage.

The air around the restaurant was quiet and subdued. From behind hidden corners and curtains lights shone, magical based on the color. They evoked images of the dawning sun, but all were indirect, warming the room, but not brightly enough to disturb any of the patrons. The tables were similarly arrayed, with bright colors and fresh flowers, the whole place evoking the image of a fresh spring day at dawn.

Ulanion was there, waiting for me near the entrance. He had worn a lovely outfit in cool blues based clearly on military garb. That was the standard, particularly since he was in some capacity working for the army. It also looked magnificent on him.

He raised an eyebrow as I looked him over. "Something wrong?" He asked.

"Where in the world did you get those in that time frame?" I responded, indicating his outfit.

"Ah, a particular tailor was suggested to me, lovely man. I must admit that I've never before seen a bard who used magic to mold and create in that medium." He offered out a hand as the waiter approached to lead us to our table.

We engaged in a bit of small talk, catching up on each other's activities for a bit until our food arrived. Orders hadn't been taken, but rather the dishes were based on what was freshest and best as a morning food. It was nice, lots of fresh fruit and things like porridge.

"I, wasn't sure you would come," he finally said as we reached the last bit. "I'm not quite familiar with how humans do things, so, I worried a bit that I might have made some faux pas,"

"Why did you think you'd messed things up?"

"Well, it had been some time since we last spoke, when I told you..." he started, "and I know you do things, quite differently.

"To be honest I didn't realize until this morning that you were asking me out," I admitted.

"Really?" He looked outright floored by that, "But... isn't this standard practice for humans?"

"It is. Thing is, I haven't been on all that many dates, particularly not one so formal." He still looked a bit stunned, so I continued. "So this isn't how things are done in Atal? How do your people, date or court or whatever?"

"Well it depends a bit. Mostly though you ask someone if they'd like to join you at a festival. There's music and dancing, and things like that, games and the like. They come often enough and if you both have fun, well, you go again. That continues until the couple decides to make things more permanent." He sighed. "It's not so, formal, and not so... well early."

I nodded. "Honestly, the early morning thing has always thrown me too. I get the why, but it's just a lot right after waking up. I have to admit, going to a festival does sound more fun to me."

"I haven't heard of any upcoming, but if you'd like to?" He tilted his head.

"Sadly they're very rare. The normal time for gatherings and celebrations is winter too, when nobody has anything to do. There's some in summer, but spring is busy for most people. Between making sure the fields are right and all the work around that and the administration of it all everyone is just busy." His face fell a bit as I spoke, not sad as such, but understanding. "But, if you find something you think looks fun..." At that he perked right back up.

"I'll be sure to invite you," he declared.

"Please do." I still wasn't completely sure if this would go anywhere, but, he was nice, and I did rather like him.

A small bell rang lightly a few times. Not enough to disturb the guests, but the light sound drew everyone's attention to a small man who stood to the side. "Esteemed guests, the sun will be rising shortly. For those who wish to watch the spectacle we have a viewing platform just upstairs."

We both shrugged a bit, but went to see what all the hype was about. The platform was much the same as the eatery below, if lacking in seats. There was plenty of room for everyone who wanted to to stand, close by their partner to look at the brightening east.

I hadn't watched too many sunrises in my time. I was really more of a stars and night kind of person. As the first rays pierced the horizon though I understood. The sky was so bright and so clear in this world, so unmarred by pollution and odd skylines that it was something I'd have to see again.

The pink and gold exploded outwards as the sun crested, bright light flowing down and onto the whole world. The buildings that had looked so drab from the street shone brightly. The fields and farms around lit green in an instant as the wave of light crept across, something about the crisp air making it all seem far more bright and vibrant.

"How beautiful," I said idly.

"Indeed," Ulanion agreed, but out of the corner of my eye I noticed he wasn't looking at the dawn.