Musa blushed. "Thank you" she said quietly.
"Shall we?" said Tegryn as he stood up and held out his hand.
"Shall we what?"
"Dance, of course!"
It was the perfect thing to do as far as Tegryn was concerned - he had just had the tastiest meal with the girl he loved, with some ultra-romantic music playing in the background setting the mood just right. A long, slow waltz would be the ideal end, assuming they didn't knock the table over in the process - clock towers aren't exactly renowned for their abundance of dancing space.
Taking his hand in her own, Musa got up and stood up close to Tegryn, looking demurely into his eyes as she rested her free hand on his shoulder. Smiling softly, he gently placed his hand around her slender waist and slowly began to lead. They glided smoothly across the small floor, stepping perfectly in harmony as a couple so deeply in love should, spinning around and around as though their movements were an extension of the music itself, building up to an almost magical crescendo.
As the dance finished and the music gave way to something more serene, Tegryn and Musa embraced lovingly at the centre of the clock tower. Musa held him tight and snuggled her head into his chest - he could feel her trembling.
"Are you alright?" he asked. "You're not cold, are you?"
Saying nothing, she softly ran her hands up and down his back as though she was desperately trying to draw some sort of strength or comfort from him. Eventually, she pulled away and spoke.
"I want to share something with you... something very special to me."
She walked over to a small box that she had placed nearby and picked it up. She brought it over to Tegryn and opened it.
"Please, take it."
He reached into the box and carefully took out what appeared to be an ornament of some kind, in the shape of an elaborate flower. Cuddling up to Tegryn, Musa touched the flower with her hand. A moving holographic image of a pretty young woman suddenly appeared - she was almost identical to Musa except for her long, jet black hair, and the full-length dress billowing around her. Tegryn stared deep into the woman's eyes - they seemed so familiar, and not just because she was the spitting image of his sweetheart. He had definitely seen her somewhere before... but where?
"Beautiful, isn't she?" Musa said, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Yes..." he murmured, trying hard to remember... and then it hit him. "Yes!" he said, snapping his fingers. "I've seen her before."
"That's not me, silly." Musa giggled.
"I know she's not you... she told me so."
"Excuse me?"
"She told me so. She said she's not you."
"But.. that's impossible, she's..."
"No, seriously... I saw her in a dream last night."
She gasped. "You're kidding, right?"
"No. Let's see now... I was standing in a green field, near a wood. I remember the sky... such a vivid shade of blue, tinged with lilac, dotted with lines of small, round clouds - they were so... weird... if I didn't know any better, I'd say they looked almost like musical notes. I could hear birds singing, and their song was one of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard. And then I heard someone singing gently behind me... her voice was so wonderful and soothing, like a lullaby. I looked around, and she appeared in front of me, emerging from a light mist. She came towards me and hugged me, but it wasn't a loving, romantic hug like the ones you give me - it was more like a warm, affectionate hug. Naturally I thought it was you so I went to kiss her, but she stepped away and laughed. "iI'm not Musa/i", she said, "iBut I am close. You make her so happy, and she wants to make you happy too... please, open up to her... keep nothing hidden/i"... and then she vanished and I woke up. That was it."
He could feel Musa was shaking, so he looked down at her - she was staring back at him in disbelief, her face soaked with tears.
"Do you... do you know who that was?" she asked between sobs.
He shook his head.
"That was my mother!" she cried. Tegryn held her comfortingly as she sobbed into his chest. "I can't believe this... this is so... wow. You dreamt of my mom!"
They walked over to the edge of the balcony and looked out over Alfea and its surrounding forests. Tegryn put his arm around Musa, and placed the holo-image in front of them. As he looked at the image of Musa's mother, he became aware that he was also trembling slightly - the significance of this event was starting to hit home.
"I don't understand this... how was I able to see your mum in my dream when I'd never even seen her before... and why?"
Musa couldn't speak at first. She had barely managed to pluck up the courage to speak about her mother to Tegryn, but nothing could have prepared her for this. She reached out, trying to caress the image standing before them.
"She came to you..." she said quietly. "I don't know how, but she came to you. This is major, so major."
"She said... I had to open up to you, but... but how? Am I hiding something from you? Is there something you want from me?"
Musa took a deep breath and pulled herself together. "Well... there is one thing. When you came back you mentioned your family, and ever since then I've really wanted you to tell me more about them."
"Oh... I see."
"I know it's difficult. I know it hurts you - but please?"