Part I - Summer - "We stayed up and watched the stars."

He followed her outside, stepping into the warm summer night air. She slid closed the doors behind them, and the two of them sat on the edge of the porch.

"You're probably not used to sleeping on the floor," said Miyu.

"Hmm?"

"Reason why you can't sleep."

"I mean, that is true. But I don't think that's the reason why."

"Then what is?" she asked.

"… Dunno."

Her hand found its way to his lap, where he took it, and held it. She rested her head on his shoulder. In the dark, a cool night breeze blew through Miyu's father's back garden. Trees rustled nearby that they couldn't see.

They sat there for a while. Stars twinkling overhead. The chirping of crickets.

"The bath," he said.

"Hmm?"

"I really needed it. I didn't realize it, but I was still in 'exam mode', I think. The water really relaxed me. Untensed my whole body."

"I'm glad."

"You knew I needed that bath, didn't you? That's why you were so pushy."

"Well, partly that. You mostly just smelled bad," giggled Miyu. "From the ride."

"But I don't smell bad now."

"No," she said, turning her head, pushing her face into his shoulder. "You smell really good."

Their fingers interlocked in his lap. He ran his thumb along the back side of her hand.

"It's a big house," he said.

"Yeah."

"What do your parents do, anyway?"

Miyu, who seemed puzzled by the question: "… Well, Papa spends most of his time taking care of his garden. Mama usually visits the other families during the day, running errands and making appearances. And of course, she cooks—"

"No, I know, but I mean—for, like, a living."

"… Eh?"

"I mean … the tuition, and sending the two of you off to Crystal City every year … Must be expensive …?"

"Oh," said Miyu, realizing what he meant. "Well … Everyone in Lazumere helps out everyone else. When it's spring, we"—she mimed planting crops with her free hand—"… and then in the fall, we …" She mimed harvesting crops. "Whatever money we make from selling to outside towns—it belongs to the whole village. The only reason Elegia and I get to go to school, is because of the hard work of everyone who lives here."

"Huh. I see …"

"It was a really good harvest year, the year before we enrolled. Originally it was supposed to only be Elegia. But we had so much that they could afford to send me as well. So I … tagged along, I guess. It's why we're in the same year, even though he's older."

"Why did you tag along? … You chose Crystal Engineering. That didn't last very long. What did you do, roll dice to choose your major?"

She snorted. "Shut up. … Well, it was something like that, I guess."

Miyu, still leaning against his shoulder, tilted her head to look up at the sky. Cameron followed her gaze.

"The stars … They're so much brighter out here," he said.

"Mm-hmm."

"What are we doing tomorrow?"

"Hmm … I have a lot of Reliquary duties tomorrow, first thing. It's always like that when I get back. But I should be free, at least before evening. You and Heinrich can go walk around during the day. Mama and Papa can help you guys out if you need anything. Even Elegia, too."

"Yeah, I'm sure your brother would be more than willing."

"Don't worry," she said, mock-aggressively. "I'll make him!" And then, normally: "But honestly, you and Heinrich can just take it easy if you want. You're in the countryside now. Everything moves at a much slower pace. That's what this whole summer should be like. It'll actually be strange for you, I imagine: it might seem slow at first—and it is, it is—but you'll be surprised at the end, when it all feels like it went by in a flash. That's why you have to savor it, while you're in the moment. That's the magic of places like Lazumere. In the City, every day went by so fast, everything was so hectic, packed to the brim with things to do. Obligations. Assignments. Tests. Yet strangely, each school year feels so long in comparison. … Well, here it's switched around. Slow days. Short summer."

"Is that so, Ms Nocturne?"

"Yeah."

"… Yeah."

They spent the rest of the night like this. Talking about topics of little consequence, punctuated by long periods of silence where neither said anything, the two of them enjoying the warmth of the other's body next to them.

… And how would the memory of this—this, this peaceful moment between them—which in any proper relationship, might have been some kind of welcome respite in the midst of all the usual interpersonal turmoil that must inevitably result from the coming together of disparate hearts, souls … turmoil that they never quite had, ever—… and gee, why exactly was that, Cameron Callihan? Did it ever raise any flags in that dense head of yours? Did you ever give it any serious thought? Did you ever stop to wonder, why three years in, you still didn't know what her parents did? Why the only thing—the only thing—you knew about Archie was his name? Why you never asked her about what her duties were as the lead priestess and next incarnation of Lazumere's tutelary deity Princess Aerya of the Lillium and what the implications of this were and what they would possibly mean, what they could portend, you complete fool, for any kind of future, any hope for the POSSIBILITY OF A LIFE TOGETHER THAT THE TWO OF YOU COULD CONCEIVABLY HAVE, YOU STUPID FU—…

… Hrm. Okay.

(Ahem.)

Sorry. Let's try that again.

… And how would the memory of this—this, this peaceful moment between them—be tainted by all that he would come to learn in the next two months? … And what would that mean, by way of simple logical retroactive induction, for the entirety of their memories together? The entire three years' worth?

But all of that had yet to come.

So here, now, in the true past, the past Cameron was still in—not as it was to be remembered, after the events of this crystalline summer—sitting here, outside, with Miyu …

Was this true bliss?

… If the only factor separating not-bliss from all-bliss was everything he didn't know …

Was it real?

*

The next morning, Cameron awoke later than he'd wanted to—no surprise, given how late it was when the two of them finally went back inside—to an empty house. He expected to at least see Heinrich next door, but saw only his futon neatly tucked away in one corner of the room.

He walked through the estate, the only sounds distant birdsong from outside, and the slap of his bare feet on the wooden floor as he went from room to room, peeking in each one hoping to see a familiar face.

Passing by the dining room, he could smell the faint aroma of frying oil lingering in the air, perhaps the only trace left that breakfast had ever taken place here. (… Just how long did he sleep?)

Not knowing where else to go, he headed for the open front door (according to Miyu it was usually left open during the daytime, especially in the summer—something you couldn't get away with safely in Crystal City), where he saw, facing away from him, standing in Miyu's father's garden, someone he'd never seen before.

The stranger's head was tilted up to the sky, and she wore a flowing white traditional elfen robe, its sleeves so wide and long that they seemed to him like wings. With both hands, she carried a golden purifying staff.

Cameron watched the figure for a long time from behind the doorway, his breath taken away by the strangely tranquil sight before him.

He wasn't sure what it was that entranced him so. Maybe it was the traditional raiments, immaculately white, billowing slightly in the light summer breeze, the cloth all but glowing in the blinding daylight (he had only ever seen such clothes in illustrations; to see them in real life was something else entirely).

Or maybe it was the fact that he was still a bit groggy from just waking up, his mind not quite awake yet …

… Or maybe it was the fact that, when the stranger turned to walk away from the Nocturne estate, her side profile revealed to him that it was no stranger at all, but in fact the very girlfriend whose ancestral home he had slept in the night before. The same elf he had been with for the past three years.

And so it was that Miyu Nocturne, clothed in her traditional priestess robes, holding her purifying staff, walked out of the courtyard, and headed for her duties at the Reliquary, completely oblivious that she was being watched by her boyfriend from the doorway.

And with that, their summer in Lazumere had officially begun.