As I walked leisurely beside Arthur through the multitude of courtyards, I felt my hand grow warmer and the warmth began to travel up my arm and to my cheeks. I peeked through my lashes up at him, only to jump slightly when he caught me looking at him. He frowned as he looked down at me.

"Do I have something on my face?"

I shook my head, "No."

He nodded and looked away, "So, what do you want to talk about?"

I let the question hang in the air for a minute before I finally answered him, "Tell me about where you come from, your family, and everything else."

He nodded and started to talk, giving my hand a gentle squeeze as we continued to walk together.

The soft glow of sunset gently lay over the courtyard as Arthur continued to tell Astera of his past. Every so often he would glance over at her, only to see that she was staring at him intently. Normally her eyes were harsh, but this time they held a hazy look about them. She had yet to say a word since earlier, but it seemed that she didn't want to say anything as she listened to him talk continuously.

"So after my brother got my mum, they finally managed to get me out of the tree I was stuck in." he said with a slight smile upon his face as he finished telling one of endless memories from his childhood.

Astera looked up at him expectantly in silence and he was about to open his mouth to start another story when a grumbling sound interrupted him. With a nervous laugh he placed his left hand over his growling stomach and looked over at her meekly.

"I-I guess I should go eat."

She nodded and gave his hand a squeeze before she let it slip from her grasp, "You'll come back right?"

Arthur chuckled and patted the top of her jet black hair, careful to not touch her horns in the process, "Probably not tonight, but I'll be back tomorrow. I need to go eat and sleep."

She blushed lightly and puffed out her cheeks as she knocked his hand from her head, causing his hand to brush lightly against the base of her horns. It was velvety and smooth to the touch but heat emanated from it. She looked stunned as his hand fell back to his sides, but she quickly gained her composure, "Well, you should leave now then if you want to get down there in time to have a warm dinner."

He nodded and looked at the wall that towered beside them and to the sunset sky before he looked back to her, "So how am I supposed to over this?"

"Climb back over."

Her blunt answer almost caused him to dead pan, but her expression told him that she was completely serious. He glanced at the wall before he turned to fully face her; she looked up at him quizzically.

"So do I get a parting kiss goodbye?"

Astera's face lit up cherry red and her mouth hung open. The next thing he knew, he was being shoved backwards into the oh-so familiar portal. Tumbling backwards through darkness, he popped out of the portal a few seconds later flat on his back staring at the sparse tree canopy above him.

"YOU BETTER STAY AWAY FROM ME, YOU GOT THAT?" her voice echoed through the trees, causing some of the birds to take to the air and he chuckled lightly as he sat up.

He was back at the entrance of the forest. Getting up from the ground he dusted himself off before he started to walk back to the village humming to himself cheerfully.

The moment Arthur asked that question, I lost all respect I had gained for him in the past few hours. I summoned the portal, and pushed him through it. Huffing I stalked away from the closing portal to walk back to the tower. Running up the steps two at a time, the train of my dress hissed lowly in protest as it followed me up, and I burst onto the promenade. Rushing to the railing, I made it in time to see Arthur fall out of the portal onto his back.

Taking in a huge breath, I shouted from the top of my lungs, "YOU BETTER STAY AWAY FROM ME, YOU GOT THAT?"

Breathing heavily I gazed out at the ocean and the black silhouettes of seagulls as the danced together in the now peaceful sunset. A gentle tug at my heart made me frown, I had forgotten how lonely it truly was up here and after Arthur had left, the loneliness was starting to settle back in. Sighing in despair, I looked down and watched the shadows below me creep up as the fading sun started to sink into the ocean.

Bouncing slightly as he walked, Arthur kicked a loose stone down the path and let a low whistle slip past his lips. The stone bounced and clattered lightly on a few other stones before settling into the dirt as Arthur stepped over it. The air was thickening with heat it seemed every step that he took towards the village. After a few minutes, a peculiar sound reached his ears. He stopped walking to peer into the low plant life around trying to pick out the direction of the noise.

Shaking his head, he continued down the path and the noise became louder and clearer. The low boom of drums could be heard and the faint twang of a guitar. Confusion swept over Arthur and he began to jog down the path, sweat beading up slightly on his brow. At once the plant life stopped and Arthur was left staring at the village that was now bustling with men, women and children. Red and yellow banners were hung from some of the thatched roofs and flags from the newer homes roofs. Between the people, Arthur could catch glimpses of the fountain and more people jumping around it.

A hand clamped onto his shoulder and he jumped slightly. Looking back he relaxed; Francis grinned down at him and gave his shoulder a light squeeze.

"So I heard about what happened earlier today Mr. Big Shot."

Arthur blushed slightly and shook Francis's hand from him, "It wasn't anything spectacular-"

"Arthur!" The two men looked from each other to see Michelle skipping over towards them. She came to a stop lightly in front of the giggling, "Are you boys just going to stand here, or are you going to come and celebrate?"

Francis smoothly slid his arm around Michelle's waist and pulled her up against him, leaving her to blush slightly, "Of course I'll come and celebrate, but only if I can have this fine lady to be my escort."

Michelle began to giggle again and Arthur smiled lightly before he left the couple to themselves as he walked into the fray of the celebration. Men and women alike clapped him on his shoulders, thanking him or congratulating him for making the trip up to the castle. He smiled halfhearted at them, before he walked on.

Sighing tiredly, Arthur sank down onto an abandoned stool that sat on the outskirts of a small dance circle. The women laughed and spun as children wove their way through their fluttering skirts. But his eyes never watched any of them, but he gazed up at the tower that could be barely seen in the dusk.

"Arthur, there you are!"

Arthur cringed at the mention of his own name and turned in his seat to see who was calling to him. To his amazement, Yao was standing beside him with a small smile on his face.

"Hello Yao," he sighed out as the Doctor pulled over a stool to sit beside him.

"I take it you didn't go up to the castle of your own free will after I told you not too, did you?" Yao asked in a low voice as he watched the dancers.

Arthur shook his head, "She pulled me up there by force. But you're wrong about her."

Yao peered over at him in mild surprise, "Am I now?"

Arthur was about to open his mouth when an extremely tall man stepped out in front of the pair, "There you are Yao, I've been looking all over for you."

Yao stood up to greet the man, who was a good foot taller than him, "Ah, yes. Hello again Captain Ivan."

Ivan smiled and began to make conversation with Yao, giving Arthur the chance at him carefully. Ivan though taller than Yao, had an extremely child-like face for a grown man that tall. His violet eyes showed nothing but kindness from under the light fringe of ash blonde hair. He was wearing a light tan captains' coat over his white shirt with a blood red sash tied securely on his waist, the pommel of a sword peeking out from beneath his coat. His dark pants were tucked neatly into his brown boots. The strange thing though, was that he was wearing light pink scarf in the heat of the night.

Ivan stopped talking with Yao when he noticed Arthur still sitting, "Oh, who is this Yao? A comrade?"

Arthur stood up and offered his hand to him, "I'm Arthur Kirkland, pleasure to meet your acquaintance captain."

Ivan's eyes lit up in recognition as he shook Arthur's hand, "The Arthur Kirkland? The one they are throwing this party for?"

Arthur tried his best to smother the grimace on his face as he let the handshake go, "The very same."

Ivan seemed to only be more excited at this fact, "So that means you've been up there then! Tell me, what is up in that castle?"

Arthur was a bit taken aback by Ivan's eagerness, but Yao stepped in, "Ivan is a traveling merchant who has an interest for abandoned castles."

"w-Well," Arthur glanced at Yao and then to the castle before he looked back at Ivan. "There wasn't anything up there."

"Really? Well that's a shame," Ivan slumped forward slightly before he smiled at Yao. "How about we go and get that book you were telling me about? And while we walk can you tell me the full legend behind the castle anyway?"

Yao nodded, and Arthur waved them off tiredly before a random girl grabbed his hand and pulled him on to the dance floor before he had the chance to sit back down again.

It was late into the night, and the partying was now reaching its peak. The air was thick with laughter, music, the smell of various foods, and humid air making it hard for anyone to breathe. Arthur panted as he bowed to the girl in front of him that he had just finished dancing with before he staggered his way off of the dance circle, making his way to a vendor who was handing out drinks. He tipped the vendor and walked away drinking heartily as he began to wander the village.

The closer he got to the Bonnefoy Inn, the less people there were. When he was few houses away, a puff of a breeze blew the acrid smell of large amounts of wood burning. Confusion swept over him, as he peered behind himself, looking for the smoke that should have been there. He shrugged as he turned the corner of the last house only to gasp in horror.

Large orange and red flames danced along the roof top of the Bonnefoy Inn, casting pitch black smoke into the night sky, blocking out the moon from view. He could feel the heat of the flames burning against his skin and his drink slipped from his grasp, splashing onto the ground next to him. He opened his mouth to take in a deep breath when the heart stopping boom of a cannon pierced the night festivities. There were screams of terror from some people before everything went silent. Arthur stood shaking as the adrenalin poured through his veins, looking around himself for anything that might jump him.

Finally, from the harbor, Arthur heard a lone hoarse voice yell, "ATTACK!" Many more voices joined in on the cheer and the pounding of running feet could be heard. Turning on his heel, putting the fire to his back Arthur searched the darkness beyond himself in the direction of the harbor.

Second to last chapter y'all! Get ready for it!