It was late out. The stars were dancing and the moon glowed with such intensity. Underneath the celestial children, a glistening waterfall sang a calming melody as the field of moonlight lilies swayed to the tune. The trees danced with the wind as white petals traveled across the land. Near the bank of a lake where the waterfall spilled, sat a figure humming a lovely tune. The figure's long, elegant fingers gently stroked the white petals of a small bouquet they held in their hand.

Fly me to the moon

And let me play among the stars…

The figure brought the moonlight lilies to their nose and sniffed them. A relaxing scent filled their nostrils and the petals tickled their skin.

Let me see what spring is like

On a-Jupiter and Mars…

The wind came again and blew the petals off of the stems. White flowers flew to the trees went into the darkness. However, a figure behind a large tree caught a few of the petals in their hand. The person behind the tree then wondered who the person was singing with such a beautiful voice. They looked to see a…woman? The figure couldn't tell who she is. All they knew was that they were enchanted by her lovely voice.

In other words, hold my hand

In other words, darling, kiss me…

The person behind the large plant leaned against the bark and closed their eyes. Oh, the sweetness of the woman's voice was relaxing and soothing to their very soul. Unfortunately, the mysterious person accidentally lost their balance and stepped on a branch that was already on the ground. The maiden near the lake stopped singing and swiftly twisted her head to see who was behind her. She dropped her flowers and immediately drew her weapons. Two revolvers were pointed at the tree to wear the mysterious sound came from. Her senses were on high and the woman was ready to kill if she had to.

"Reveal yourself!"

Shit. The figure behind the tree thought to themselves as they fixed their appearance. They re-aligned their gold monocle after it fell off of their face while they were in a hurry to hide. They realized that it was useless to remain in their hiding spot and if they ran, they'd give away their position and might end up having to fight the siren that sang so beautifully. The person took a deep breath and slowly came from hiding behind the large trunk of the tree. On both ends, a pair of eyes widened at the discovery of who was singing and who was spying.

"You're…You're a Lumen Sage?!" The mysterious person immediately summoned his weapon from a beam of light when he realized who he was facing.

"And you're an Umbra Witch?!" He pointed the sharp end of his blade at the woman who did not lower her revolvers. Tension was high between the two as they continued with the staring contest and refusing to lower their weapons.

Gray eyes looked at the Lumen with intensity and curiosity. He was wearing some sort of holy white robe with gold lines that were proportionate. His long hair looks like it's silver under the moonlight. But why did the witch think about running her fingers through his cascading strands? Then again, she had to admit the man was very handsome. And the monocle on his left eye did catch her attention. For what man can have such beautiful ocean eyes? The Lumen Sage was no different either. His eyes seemed to be looking at the Umbra Witch's outfit. The material clung to her body and seemed to have fit her like a glove. There were small chains on her arms and legs and they were probably connected somehow. And just above her cleavage, there lies something that resembles a medal. Her jet black hair reached her waist and seemed to have been curled at the ends. However, what stood out the most was the witch's eyes. They were the softest silver eyes he had ever seen. The Sage's eyes looked down at her very red lips for a second and immediately thought that they needed to be kissed. Wait, what?

"Why are you here? Who sent you?" The woman's voice echoed in the air with authority. She wasn't going to back down if she was going to fight. However, the man arched his eyebrow in confusion.

"I beg your pardon? No one sent me here witch. I came here on my own! Why are you here?" Now it was her turn to be confused.

"I was here before you! How do you know about this place?" The man with silver hair sighed heavily and lowers his Holy Glaive. The witch lowered her revolvers as well, seeing that the sage meant no harm.

"To get away. To have a small sanctuary of my own after attending to my duties. And it appears we both are here for the same reason, are we not?" The woman nodded, kind of disoriented that a mere Lumen Sage somehow stumbled into her sanctuary while she was there. An awkward silence filled the air as both parties tried to think of what to say next.

"Um…"

"I do apologize." Gray eyes widened a bit. A Lumen Sage? Apologizing? She knows damn well that a Lumen Sage would rather take his own life than to give an apology to an Umbra Witch despite having to respect each other. "I didn't mean to frighten you. I didn't know you were here. I don't mean you any harm." The man in a white robe made his weapon disappear in a beam of light to prove that he was true to his word. The witch followed in suit and puts away her guns. Even though the intensity was gone, the atmosphere was very awkward.

The Lumen Sage didn't know whether to leave or to stay. Well, technically, the witch was there before he was and he did eavesdrop on her when she was singing. He scratched his head and cleared his throat. It was already discomforting to know that he was caught eavesdropping, especially on an Umbran Witch. The woman was at a loss for words as well. She didn't know if she should leave or allow the sage to have her sanctuary. Realizing that this was getting nowhere, she took a deep breath and contemplated on whether she would regret her decision.

"You can come to the lake. That is, if you want to." The man perked up as he saw the Umbran Witch turn around and went back to her spot. Was…Was a witch actually showing him kindness? Civility? He shook his head and walked to the lake. He sat in the field of moonlight lilies, but with a great amount of space between the stranger he just met a few minutes ago. The sage looked up to the sky where the moon was full and bright. His eyes were closed as he breathed deeply as he took in the fresh air. The man tried to fully relax but the confrontation that occurred mere minutes ago still had him on edge. Especially since that woman is an Umbra Witch.

The man internally scoffed. He really thought it was just some ordinary woman singing a song. Never in a million years he'd be listening to a witch. Just thinking about it makes his skin crawl. Umbra Witches are a clan not worth associating with. The clan was allied with the demons of Inferno, enemies of the angels of Paradiso. Even before he was born, the Lumen Sages and Umbra Witches never maintained a decent relationship with each other. The only reason they got along with each other is to make sure that the balance of light and dark are stable and to protect something called "The Eyes of the World". After all, witches are never to be trusted. The man discreetly opened his eye and spied on the woman. She seemed to have zoned him completely out of her world. She continued to play with the white flowers with her fingers but didn't continue singing her song. Disappointment settled in the controller of light. Wait, why is he disappointed that she isn't singing anymore? Was he really that enchanted by a mere witch? Well, he did admit that this woman was very beautiful. He didn't recall ever seeing a woman to be that beautiful before.

What are you thinking Balder? She's an Umbra Witch! You're starting to think with your flesh! Snap out of it! The man sighed internally as he tried to get rid of his thoughts. Him? Balder of the Lumen Sages, actually thinking that an Umbra Witch is attractive? That's just outright deplorable! In any case, Balder had to swallow his pride and give an actual and legitimate apology to this woman. After all, it is his fault that he stayed when someone was already in this secret place. And it was also him that created the confrontation when he accidentally gave away his position. Swallowing the lump in his throat, the young man turned his head to the woman of the night that tried to remain oblivious in his presence.

"Um…" White flower petals went still as the witch's fingers stopped playing with them. "I want to properly apologize for spying on you. I didn't know that an Umbran Witch was here." Grey eyes looked at Balder, clearly not moved by this "apology" he was trying to present.

"I do have a name you know." Great. Now the witch wants to start being difficult. He was trying to apologize here!

"Well, can you at least tell me what it is?" A short but heavy silence stood between the rivals. Balder was starting to get agitated by the witch's lack of response. What else is he supposed to do?! He was about to get up and leave until he saw the woman put down her flowers. Her eyes slowly looked up to him and the sage felt all the breath in his lungs leave him.

"Alright. I'll tell you…" Suddenly, a giant fist came straight for the controller of light as he barely dodged the attack. Balder immediately jumped up and summoned his Holy Glaive. What the hell is she trying to get at? No wonder why he was told by the fathers to be careful around these witches! They're nothing but trouble! The Umbran Witch brought out her two revolvers and pointed them at the sage. "That is, if you can beat me." Hmph. This witch had the nerve to actually challenge him to a fight? This should be easy to handle.

"Your actions against me will cost you your life witch! And here I was actually trying to apologize to you!" The woman with jet black hair shot her revolver at point blank range and Balder barely made any effort to dodge the bullet. He simply stepped to the side and let the bullet fly behind him. Balder felt his temper flair when he saw a smirk form on the young woman's red lips.

"Maybe next time, you shouldn't spy on a lady!" The young witch surged forward and began to shoot a barrage of bullets. The Lumen Sage dodged every single one of them and thrusted his weapon in several directions towards his opponent. Frustration washed over Balder as the witch continued to dodge his attacks. The mysterious woman jumped back then jumped forward and unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks. Balder was caught off guard as he tried to block attacks with his glaive. He was able to jump high into the air and landed on a branch in a tree.

Balder's blue eyes looked down at his enemy and noticed that she had a green aura around her. He knew that if he didn't finish the fight now, it would be harder to continue. Balder jumped out of the tree again and quickly dodged a giant demon fist that was coming straight for him. He looked to his sides and saw the giant pairs of hands ready to grab him. He dodged at the last second and grabbed on to the demon hands and propelled himself forward to the witch that summoned them. The sage's opponent didn't expect Balder to come at her flying full force and was immediately knocked to the ground. The Lumen Sage and Umbra Witch ended up tumbling over near the lake and came to a full stop when Balder pinned the woman beneath him. Both fighters were breathing heavily after the short battle when Balder pretty much knocked the wind out of both of them with his stunt. Gray eyes stared directly into blue ones and was deeply entranced. The man and woman blushed profusely when they realize the position that they were in. Balder immediately got off of the witch and dusted off his holy garment. The woman sat up and rubbed her head to soothe some of the pain. She's definitely gonna be feeling this tomorrow morning. The witch turned her attention to the victor of the battle and giggled. Balder heard the woman's sugary giggle and he didn't mind hearing it. But that didn't mean he wasn't annoyed by it.

"What are you laughing at?" The woman sat up and began picking white flower petals from Balder's hair. Their faces were close together and Balder could feel her breath near his lips. He tried with all of his being to keep the blood in his cheeks down in order to not give away how embarrassed he felt. Although, he did enjoy the wonderful feeling of the woman's elegant fingers weaving in and out of his scalp.

"Oh, nothing! I just couldn't picture a Lumen Sage look like a flower vase was dropped on his head. You know, being holy and all." Balder rolled his eyes as the witch finished up removing the flower petals and dirt from his once clean hair.

"Very funny." The witch finally pulled the last petal from Balder's scalp and observed it. She then looked to the man in front of her that was close to her face. She gently grabbed his hand and placed the petal in it.

"Rosa."

"I'm sorry?" The woman then enclosed Balder's fingers on the petal.

"You wanted to know my name in order to give me a proper apology right? My name is Rosa." That name sounded very pretty. And it seemed to fit her personality. A short smile tugged on Balder's lips as he put Rosa's hand in his.

"Well now, Rosa. I sincerely apologize for eavesdropping on you when it was none of my business. And it shall never happen again." Ruby lips created a smile as well.

"Apology accepted. And may I know who you are? It's only fair since you just found out about my name." The sage cleared his throat as he lets go of Rosa's hand.

"My name is Balder."

"Hmmm…strong and fitting. Although, I haven't met a sage that seems nice before." Balder smirked at the statement.

"And I haven't met a witch who picks flowers out of my hair before." Rosa chuckled at the retort. She fixes her hair and then takes out a pair of glasses with beetles at the ends of the rims. She was disappointed that they were cracked due to the impact of Balder launching at her like meteor.

"Looks like it's a first for everything, right?" A twinge of guilt went through Balder as he observed Rosa's glasses. He didn't mean to almost break them. An idea popped into his head and he took the glasses away from the witch. Balder waved his hand in front of the lenses and a beam of light instantly fixed them. After checking to see that they were in their original condition, Balder places the glasses onto Rosa's face. Rosa was fighting hard to keep herself from getting flustered. She wasn't used to this kind of thing.

"Yes, it is." Both man and woman genuinely smiled at each other. Maybe, this wasn't so bad. Rosa took off her medallion and looked at the underside of it. The watch on the bottom of the medallion showed the time and it was very late. She had to hurry up and get back home before she gets caught that she's missing by a sister.

"I have to go. Or else I'll get lectured to death by my elder." Balder chuckled as he stood up. He lended his hand to Rosa and brought her up on her feet. He figured he should get back to his quarters too. He had a meeting to attend to in the morning.

"I suppose so." Rosa smiled and looked up to Balder to see that she missed a flower petal. She delicately removed it and waved it in front of Balder's face.

"You know, you aren't that bad. For a sage." She winked as she blew the flower petal away. The witch then ran in the opposite direction and created a portal that she can jump through. Once she was in the portal, it closed behind her. Balder was left standing with a grin as he felt the flower petal given to him by Rosa in his hand.

"You're not that bad either. For a witch I suppose."

HELLOOOOOOO! I'M BACK FORREAL THIS TIME! I just got done with college for the semester three days ago and I've been doing nothing but cleaning, packing to leave my dorm, then unpacking back at home lol. I just wanted to relax and not do anything before I start working soon. In any case, I really wanted to write this story about Balder and Rosa because in Bayonetta 2, you can clearly see that they loved each other but we never knew how they met and fell in love. I honestly can't wait to get this story going! Now to just finish up the other shits I've been putting off for a long time _ Anywho, I hope you like this new fic of mine! Please review and please give constructive criticism so I can improve! Stay safe and stay awesome! Happy reading everyone! :D