Chapter 27 - Tourism

Behind his the household, Tetsuo activated a Ficium pipe protruding from the ground. Bianca watched in amazement as the writing on the pipes began to softly glow and water began to spout like a fountain.

“Ta-da.” Tetsuo gave an un-enthused exclamation as he began to wash his face. She continued to stare at it, not saying a word. “Um, darling. I know it’s cool but even so we still shouldn’t waste water.”

“Right, right, of course.” She said this, but still continued to stare. She slowly stuck her index finger into the stream of water, watching the water dribble down her finger. She took it out and observed the droplets traveling down her knuckles. “Can I drink this, or will I mutate into some magical demon monster?”

“You can’t drink it because it’s not purified. All it does is draw the moisture out of the ground and concentrates it here. I put in a request with the kingdom about making it draw moisture out of the air instead, but now…” Tetsuo rubbed the dot where Eleanor's icicle had pricked him on his throat. “Anyways, just don’t drink it alright?”

“Okay…”

They had already disturbed some of the other residents with their outburst earlier, so they were careful to return to their room quietly this time. Silently, Tetsuo shut the door behind them. He held the lid of the lantern by the bedside and activated it with Ars, extinguishing the flame within.

Quietly both of them slid into bed together. The frame was small, intended for one person, so Bianca moved to lay on Tetsuo’s chest. In the past, he would have struggled to let her lay there for too long, but today he felt like he could fall asleep this way. He was unsure if it was because of the training he’s received as a knight, the Ars within him making him stronger, or simply the joy he felt having her with him again. He could feel the warmth coming from her soft breaths through his shirt. He slowly traced his finger over the length of her back, gently rubbing the places he could feel were tense. She realigned herself so that she could see his face more easily. Tetsuo could see in her eyes, although they were tired and strained and red, there was still that familiar tenderness he thought he would never see again.

Bianca slowly reached over to his other arm, and slowly drew her hand down it to his hand. She made him turn over his hand and spread his palm. With her finger she traced from his palm to the tip of his ring finger, before sliding back down it, resting at the ring he was wearing. She smiled as she raised her hand, displaying her own ring to him. “I’m so glad.”

She pushed herself up off the bed and brought her face close to his. She smiled softly, before closing her eyes and kissing him softly. Enchanted, he did the same. Carefully, she pulled back and returned to resting on his chest. They sank into each other’s warmth, beginning to drift to sleep.

“I missed you so much…” Tetsuo’s voice trembled.

“I missed you too…” She replied hazily.

“I’m scared…”

“Why…”

“What if I wake up tomorrow, and none of this was real?”

“I feel real, dummy…”

“I just can’t stand the idea of losing you again.”

“You’re the one that left me…”

“I did not.”

“Yeah..?”

“I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow.”

Tetsuo waited for a response, but was met with her snoring. He took a deep breath in, and stroked the side of her head. With her in his arms, he gently fell asleep with her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I can’t believe you live here. It’s filthy!”

Tetsuo walked Bianca through the streets of Tervana. She looked with disgust as she saw the unused ceramic toilet sitting in the middle of the street.

“It’s alright. You get used to it. Besides, you’ll be staying in the capital of Alvania starting today, so you won’t be near any of this.”

“Ew, you kinda sound like one of them.” Although Bianca laughed, to some extent Tetsuo felt like he had betrayed her in some way.

“Yeah… I guess so…”

Bianca clung to Tetsuo as they walked past someone passed out on the side of the street. Empty glass bottles were strewn haphazardly around them. Tetsuo asked Bianca to wait for a moment as he walked over to the individual and verified they were alright. Tetsuo carefully nudged them awake. After the man had adjusted from his daze, Tetsuo handed him a leather canteen of water, before moving him along the way.

Bianca looked in awe, a large smile creeping over her face. “Look at you. It’s like you're a completely different person here. Real public servant vibes.”

“You think?” Tetsuo beamed a little from her compliment. “I wanted to become a knight because I thought the kingdom could help me find a way back to you. I guess along the way I started to really embody it, huh?”

“Oh.. I see…” Surprisingly Bianca seemed dejected by this information.

“My job at the workshop too. It was for you.”

“Right…” Bianca turned away and continued to walk. Confused, Tetsuo ran up to join her.

“So, anyway. You’ll be decently busy with Alvania's rehabilitation program, but it’s pretty important to pay attention to. It’s only a month long anyways. Well, one of their months. I’ll try to drop by when I can to help. If you want.”

Bianca walked dismissively without saying a word. Tetsuo stooped down to try to see the kind of expression she was making. She turned to him and motioned for him to stop. Both of them stood in the center of the street. She reached out and grabbed his hands, holding them in front of them. She looked into his eyes with a concerned expression and spoke.

“Tetsuo. How do we get back home?”