Chapter 9: Refract

What…Just…Happened?

Sol had gotten back in bed after his conversation with the stranger, but sleep evaded him. He couldn't help but think about her. The way she talked, her little recruitment pitch, and that kiss at the end…

Oh, come on, man! Really? You're the Last Dragonborn! Focus.

Sitting up, he snapped his fingers together. On the nightstand next to his bed, a candle ignited into action, slowly melting away. Sol crossed his legs together and sat his typical meditative position, forearms resting on his knees, open palms facing downward. But rather than close his eyes and try to drift away, he simply stared straight ahead, out the window to the left of the bed. Earthland's moon was out tonight, and Sol noticed it was almost full in appearance, save for a little sliver of shadow cutting into the edge.

You've gotta get your priorities straight. There are too many things going on right now for you to deal with.

Raising his right arm and pointing out with his index finger, he wrote with light in the air in front of him. Letting out a deep sigh, he began to work on his list.

1. Get Serana's soul out of Mira and into her own (or a suitable replacement if hers can't be recreated)

2. Win the Grand Magic Games

3. Figure out what the card is really for, and who that girl is

Pulling the small card out of a pocket dimension, he looked at it again, hoping to see if he could find some significance to the symbol. After two minutes of flipping, bending, and angling the card, he decided that the symbol was indeed just a crown.

His mind flashed back to the stranger. He couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed at the thought of her kissing him. While he had planned to ask Serana to marry him, it wasn't like he had ever expected any physical connection between them. He had always felt contact with others was only necessary during confrontation or reassurance, not love. And it certainly wasn't like he planned to ever have children of his own. He didn't even know if it was possible, a vampire and a dragonborn creating life. Something about it just felt off.

But there he was, thinking about the brief intimacy he had shared with someone he had only met three hours ago. Part of him felt that the gesture had been insincere, perhaps to throw him off balance, to destabilize him.

Well, it worked. Congratulations.

But another part of him, for some reason, felt like it had been sincere, that she had meant every word of what she said. He hadn't given his own appearance much thought before now. Sure, he made a conscious effort to keep clean (he could eliminate most dirt or blemishes simply by moving in and out of his light form, a term he liked to call refracting) but it had been out of self respect, not to impress others. And now he knew that at least one person took notice.

Do I really have time to be in a relationship with someone? Hell, where would I even start?

Scenarios began popping into Sol's mind. Going to the beach with her, eating out at restaurants, going to formal parties, relaxing by a fireplace. As he continued thinking of any future he might have with the girl, another, more familiar face came to mind.

Mirajane.

He hadn't considered her before now. It never occurred to him that Mira could have feelings for him. After all, they had fought each other, and it seemed like she feared him more than anything. But they had hugged back in the infirmary.

That hug wasn't because I like her. I felt the need to lessen her uneasiness, that's all. To make her more confident in me, to make her believe me. Besides, I only need her to free Serana.

This thought process, while not completely reassuring, mostly convinced him that he could not, or rather should not, love Mira. Satisfied, his thoughts turned back to his visitor.

Didn't she mention something about letting go of my past? Hmm…

He spent a solid half an hour thinking through it. It was nearly impossible she knew anything about him or his past in Nirn. After all, she seemed to closely mirror the physical and societal attributes of those in Earthland. Beyond that, he had been stuck on Tenrou Island for seven years while that spell protected it from Acnologia's attack. It seemed quite unlikely that she'd have learned anything from then. Unless…

Zeref! It's him!

He had just figured out who she had been referencing earlier. After all, it was unlikely Jura or Mira, or anyone from the Grand Magic Games had someone like her under their employ. And the several months Sol had spent spying on Fairy Tail to gain information after Tenrou was in isolation, as distant from the group as effectively possible. Which meant the only person who could have truly felt Sol's power "first hand" had to be Zeref.

I figured you hadn't forgotten about me. Seems you couldn't finish me off, so you want me to work for you. Typical.

Sol was so annoyed by the idea that Zeref would seemingly go from attempted murder to alliance in such a short time that he actually scoffed aloud. He had encountered enough people like that for one lifetime back in Skyrim.

Holding his hand out, palm open, he manipulated the light around him to recreate the image of the girl. Getting up out of bed, he walked to the door, to study her.

Hell, if I'm gonna be with someone, might as well figure out what I like and don't like about 'em.

He circled around the projection several times, each time taking note of a different feature of her figure. She seemed to be wearing some sort of bra, exposing her stomach, and baggy pants rolled up to the knees.

Seems ineffective in a fight, but to each their own, I suppose.

Her right arm was armored in a golden colored metal and engraved in the shoulder plate was the same symbol from the business card.

She couldn't be bothered to make a whole set? Odd.

Most surprisingly to Sol was the fact that his mystery guest didn't appear to be wearing any shoes. But, then again, he had noticed some citizens around Crocus also went barefoot.

Maybe that's normal? Weird.

Each time he circled around her Sol found himself becoming more and more fascinated by her appearance. Something about her body language just screamed confidence, like she was always the strongest person in the room. Suddenly, he got an idea.

It hasn't been too long… perhaps I could still find her.

Sol transformed yet again into his own world, becoming one with the light around him. Shooting up into the sky, he did a quick scan of the city. Nothing.

Damn. Guess I'll have to keep looking.

It didn't take him long. She was on the outskirts of town, sitting under a tree on a hill overlooking the city. It appeared to him that she was asleep.

Well, here goes nothing…

_?_

She found herself on all fours, beaten. Powerless. She tried to move, but she couldn't. It was all too much for her. No matter what she tried, they always seemed to come out on top. Tears rolled down her cheeks unchecked, like a dam that had busted open.

She looked up. There he was, standing in front of her. She looked surprised to see his hand reaching down to her, giving her the opportunity to stand again. She took it.

"It's okay, Dimaria. I'm here. They can't hurt you anymore." He put his hand on the back of her head, gently stroking her hair, which had been dirtied in the fight.

She couldn't help but be sad. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that they beat her.

"I know." She buried her face in his chest, feeling the warmth of his robes. He was all she cared about anymore. Not this fight, not the mission, nothing. Just him.

"I'll always protect you. I promise." She pulled her face away to see his, and the happiness that it displayed only made her sadder. She put her face back to his chest, quietly sobbing.

She noticed that he had started to pull something out of his pocket. Looking down, she saw the necklace he had given her before. God, that felt like so long ago.

"You dropped this." He put the necklace in her hands, and she felt it radiate in her hands. "Try to hold onto it this time, okay?" He smiled, brushing the hair away from her face with his hand.

She laughed a bit. "Yeah, sorry." She squeezed him tighter, holding him close. "Please come back to me."

"I will." He planted a kiss on her forehead, then left her embrace to face their enemy one last time. He looked down to the ground, the protective instincts inside of him taking over. When he looked up, when he finally came face to face with them after not seeing one another for what felt like years, the glow of his eyes shifted from orange to red.

"Hey." She woke up, jumping at the sound. It was Sol.

_Sol's POV_

"Oh, hello. You scared me." The girl looked up to him, and for the briefest second the look in her eyes was an innocent one, full of compassion and trust. It quickly faded. "Well, guess it didn't take you long to let go of your past."

"I'm not here for the job." Sol crossed his arms. "I just came her because I wanted someone to talk to."

That seemed to take her by surprise. She blushed. "Oh. I don't know if I'm the person you should really be talking to. Don't you have friends you could go to for your problems?"

"No, actually, I don't. Not yet, anyway." He sat down next to her, leaning up against the tree. "Besides, it seemed like you wanted to talk earlier but couldn't."

"Well, yeah, I've got to get back home. There's a job waiting for me, and it takes at least a week to get here." She looked at him much like a misunderstood child would, trying to explain to an adult why something was without having the right words to say.

"Don't worry about that. I could get you home in a few seconds if I wanted to." Sol looked at her smugly. "That is, if you ask nicely."

"Why didn't you say that earlier?!" Annoyed, she yelled at him like she would a friend.

He yelled right back with the same annoyance. "Well maybe you should've asked earlier!" Looking down and scratching his head, he blushed. "S-sorry about that. I don't mean to be rude."

"It's okay. I get it. Next time I'll ask." She looked ahead, out at the city. "So what'd you want to talk about?"

"Well, I guess knowing your name would be a good place to start." He looked at her with a kind expectance.

"Sorry, but I'm under orders from my boss not to tell you who I am." She shook her head, still looking out at the horizon.

"Oh, so I assume you were also under orders when you decided to kiss me before you left?" He crossed his arms, awaiting her counterargument defiantly.

She didn't give one. Mostly because now she was really blushing. "Fair enough." She put her hand out for him to shake, finally turning to look him in the eyes. "Dimaria."

Dimaria.

Sol was taken aback by this. Now that he knew her name, it made her all the more beautiful to him. He gently took her hand and shook it, knowing all too well that a handshake wasn't quite what either of them had in mind at the moment. "Sol."

"I know." Dimaria leaned her head back against the tree. "And now you know my name, which means I'll probably be chewed out when I get home. Anything else you need?"

"Well, since you can stay now for the next few days, I'd like you to stay and watch me during the Games."

"I don't know if I can. I was also told to try and keep myself hidden from certain people around here."

"Oh, that's not a problem either. I've got just the thing." Sol reached into his pocket dimension, spending several seconds rummaging through his things. When he finally found what he was looking for, he pulled it out and reached out to give it to Dimaria. She let out a sudden gasp, like she had seen a ghost.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me now you're afraid of one little necklace?" Sol teased her, laughing at the notion. "Anyways, I used to use this necklace as a kid, before I learned any magic. It turns the wearer invisible. Found it on the street."

"Oh, thanks." Still awestruck, Dimaria held out her hand to take the necklace. Now sitting in her hand, she felt Sol's warmth and radiance beaming out of the necklace. The sudden urge to cry hit her again, but this time it was real. Teary eyed, she instinctively clutched to Sol, hugging him fiercely.

Confused, Sol could do nothing but return the hug. "Uh… yeah… of course. No problem." He looked to his left, where Dimaria's head was, finding comfort in her hair occasionally hitting his face as it blew in the wind. "Now that you've got that, you should be able to sit in the viewing booth with me tomorrow without being seen."

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she released her grip of him. "Yeah, that sounds great." She smiled at him, her tears mostly gone, save for one that had run down from her left eye. "Thank you for coming here tonight, Sol."

"Thanks for having me." He took his right hand wiped away the tear. "If you want, I could take you back to the inn and you could room with me for the night?"

"Okay." She grabbed his hand, and they zipped across the sky together. Landing back in his room, Dimaria let out a sigh. "That was nice. I've never done anything like that before."

Sol was preparing his clothes for tomorrow. "I do it all the time. Helps me refresh myself so I can focus." He lied down on the bed, pulling the cover over his body. "I'm going to bed now, feel free to stay up as long as you like."

Dimaria went into the other room and changed into a set of black and red pajamas. She got into bed on Sol's right and tucked herself in. Facing him, she put her right arm around Sol, laying behind in and pressing close to him. And together they fell asleep.

AN: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know it's a bit more on the romance side, but I promise there will definitely be more action in the coming chapters. I felt this was a really important chapter to write, just because it gives a lot of insight as to the motivations and feelings that Sol and Dimaria are both going through, and why they seemingly get together so quickly. Next chapter will focus more on Day Three of the Games, so I'm looking forward to writing it. Hopefully you do too! Feel free to leave a review!

Also, speaking of reviews, it has come to my attention that some of my readers may prefer that I leave an Author's Note at the end of each chapter, as opposed to creating a separate page. I agree, and for a while the chapter number offset has really been bothering me. After giving enough time for an adequate number of viewers to read the page, I have removed the page entitled "Author's Note 1". Any Author's Notes will now come at the end of the chapter, as they have now for the previous two chapters. Whoever the guest reviews is that suggested this, thank you.

Have a wonderful day! Feel free to leave a review and ask questions! I will certainly answer them.