Chapter 2: Capricorn

Time passed, things changed, and Allegra fitted in right with the meager population of Castanet Island. After their meeting at Ocarina Inn, Wizard and Allegra managed to avoid each other with much skill. Allegra evaded Wizard during his daily luncheon visits at Ocarina Inn, and Wizard never went out at any other time. That is, until one special day, they collided into each other on the streets, papers streaming along the air, floating down the sky like snow.

"Oomph!" exclaimed Allegra, in exasperation.

"I'm sorry…" muttered Wizard.

"No, no, it's nothing," replied Allegra, helping him gather his papers. "What are all these documents for?"

"Not anything related to any of your business."

"Suit yourself. Why do you always seem so distant？You don't tell anyone anything about yourself. Why?"

"I have my reasons. Why do you ask so many questions? Then why do you mind so much about my business?"

"I don't. It's just pure curiosity."

"You're the one to talk," smirked Wizard. "You never told—"

"I have my reasons, too!" snapped Allegra.

"My, my. Defensive, too, aren't we?"

"… I should get going now…"

"You never answered my questions…"

"Same for you," Allegra shot back, setting off for the Accessory Shop at Garmon Mines.

Before Allegra could land a knock on the door, the door swung open, and a peculiar, purple-haired man greeted her enthusiastically.

"Welcome, welcome! Please come on in, Allegra, gumdrops!'

"Gumdrops?" questioned Allegra with one eyebrow raised.

"Yes, gumdrops, sweetums. My newest word for you."

"Sweetums? Julius, you aren't turning into an old hag, are you?"

"Huff! Course not, it is just my way of showing my friendly affection for you, chocolate. Now, enough said. We should get started!"

"Wait! Wha-" exclaimed Allegra as she was hauled away to the dressing room in the back of the shop.

"Never knew there was such a room? Well I'll tell you, this is especially for one business that I only will open for you today (and days like today)! Ahem, allow me to introduce my newest business, the 'Dress-Up Allegra' business!"

"... you can't be serious, Julius. Besides. Why today?"

"Dear, dear, dear. Well, I'm going to offer you a bonus deal today. Ta-da! A calendar! At the price of only $10!"

"$10? For a calendar. $5 is what I will allow."

"$5? Tsk. You are harsh, gumdrops. You just cut my price down by 50%! No seller would let you into their shop if they knew how harsh you were! Well, I was testing your generosity (not much generosity, eh?). Anyhow, today is..."

"What? You've kept me waiting for 3 minutes already."

"... THE FIREFLY FESTIVAL! OHMYGOSH, OHMYGOSH! CAN'T YOU BELIEVE IT? IT'S HERE ALREADY!"

"It's just a festival to watch fireflies. Nothing more."

"My, my. You are very oblivious to the town's events. Ahem. The firefly festival is the festival of lovers watching fireflies together! Knowing your famous popularity among the citizens, you've probably already got a date, eh?"

"... I didn't know that you had to bring a date..."

"OH NO! HOW COULD THIS BE, SWEETUMS? AFSJHGKRJGHLA! WE MUST GET YOU PROPPED UP RIGHT AWAY BEFORE THERE IS NO MORE TIME! AIEEEEE!"

And so, Julius "propped" her up to the max of his skills and towed her away in his jeep to the Sonata Tailoring. Julius skipped in to the tailor's, the bell tingling to indicate a new customer, with a dazed Allegra right behind him.

"LUNA. WE NEED YOUR HELP HERE. LUNAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Yeesh. Julius, give me a break, alright? Or else my ears'll be deaf before I can be of any use. Why, isn't this Allegra! You look really pretty, but you do need a dress... Those shorts and that tee will not work with your lovely hair and face!"

"Exactly. You've just flat out guessed what we need your help for! Allegra, gumdrops, what style do you prefer?"

"Just nothing to frilly, fancy, or dressy."

As soon as she finished her sentence, Luna and Julius dished out the whole dress section of the shop, putting forth countless dresses before Allegra to choose from. Interestingly, the final dress that they decided on was not of her choice after all... But then again, those were 2 fashion workers helping her, and their sense proved just right.

Stepping out of the dressing room, a new Allegra in a sapphire blue dress that shone to the light with every step appeared before them. The effect was just too jaw-dropping, effortlessly stunning, and eye-catching, and the color fit her complexion and hair perfectly.

"... Allegra... You look..." sputtered Luna in awe.

"ABSOLUTELY TOO BEAUTIFUL! YES! YOU LOOK LIKE A GODDESS AMONG HUMANS! WELL DONE, DONE TOO WELL, LUNA DARLING!" squealed Julius.

Just then, they heard much of some growling, muttering, and arguing coming through the door. And to their surprise, as soon as the door flew open, three young men of the names of Luke, Gill, and Wizard literally flew into the room, crashing onto the floor into a heap of tangled arms and legs.

"Oomph! Stop tugging, Luke!" exclaimed Gill.

"Ouch! See now, Wizz, if you didn't struggle this much, we wouldn't be in this much trouble..." said Luke.

Standing up, Wizard brushed himself while claiming, "Ladies and gentlemen, sorry to bother you all, as you can see-" Then he broke off, for before his eyes, stood whom he believed to be a living angel.

"Wow... You look great, Allie," stated Luke.

"You look perfect and all, I admit, but who's the lucky guy?" questioned Gill.

"You see, that's our next problem... She doesn't have a date... because she never knew that she had to bring a date to the Firefly Festival," pondered Luna.

"You don't have to bring one..." said Gill. "But... we do have a solution..."

"Why yes we do," cackled Luke evilly. "A perfect plan!"

"Shush, Luke, you make this sound like we're going to abduct her or something. You see, the gaping man right here has the same problem. We're just a step behind you guys because he put up a struggle about it all," stated Gill.

"Ah, then let's get him caught up," Julius happily said.

Then they dragged a now conscious Wizard into men's section and set him off to the dressing room.

"Hurry up, Wizz, you're keeping us all waiting!" whined Luke.

"Oh shut up! I'm coming, I'm coming," muttered "Wizz", and he came out fixing his azure tie.

Everyone felt the same feeling of amazement that they felt earlier when Allegra had stepped out of the dressing room. This time, instead of gaping, everyone pushed Allegra and Wizard together, until the two stood shoulder to shoulder.

"Aww... You two are like two pieces of a puzzle that fit together perfectly!" gushed Luna.

"Doesn't this scene remind you of those soap opera couples that look like gods and godesses?" wondered Luke, scratching his head.

"For once, I agree with you, Luke," Gill shook his head.

"Ditto Gill," clapped Julius.

The two however, remained silent and only gazed at each other with enough warmth to melt the whole room.

"What are we waiting for? Time's up, the festival's here! Let's gooo!" Luke fist-punched the air.

At the festival, everyone just stayed with their date, laughing into the fresh, night breeze and enjoying the lovely scenery of fireflies and little carts that sold many funny goods. All the couples seemed to chat and laugh along, full of action and energy, that is, except for the "soap opera couple".

"... Are we just going to stay like this all night?" mumbled Allegra.

"I hope not. Should we chat?" asked Wizard.

"Sure. You start."

"Hmmm... You look absolutely dazzling tonight. You've probably amazed everyone, even me, with your stunning beauty."

"!"

"Hahaha, you look even prettier when you blush."

Wizard then bent down and brushed a lock of hair that fell onto her face. Allegra then blushed even harder.

"I will be back in a second," Wizard grinned, standing up from their spot on the grassy fields by the waterfall.

"Wait, where are you going?" questioned Allegra.

"I'll bring back a surprise," Wizard replied with a crooked smile.

So Wizard left, leaving Allegra to wonder what he could possibly bring back. She thought of how wonderful everything was at the moment, and how she wished that time could just stop forever in these hours. All the conflicts of the past disappeared into the night sky with all the fireflies, all the worries evaporated away into the mist. Suddenly, this ethereal scenery was interrupted by screaming, running, and... fire. Fire, the one thing that Allegra despised more than finding a cockroach in the bottom of her glass of water. Flames spread all over the grassy fields, smoke filled the whole air, and Allegra froze. Unable to move from her spot, the familiar black smoke once again bottled up her lungs. The next thing she sensed was a pair of hands grabbing her away.

And then darkness seeped into her. Blacking out. Again.