"Hey, are you able to fly?" A young Finé asked Izetta who had jumped up into a tree.

"Uh… Maybe…?" Izetta charges magic into her feet before releasing it in a burst to propel herself off the tree. Gasping that she had no control and was hurtling towards the ground, she diverted the magic into her shield and put her arms up. With a boom, she crashed into the ground, leaving a small hole where her body lay.

"Izetta!" Finé panicked as she ran towards her. "Are you okay?!"

"Ugh… Yeah… Don't worry, Your Highness…" Izetta breathed out as she turned over to lie on the ground with her arms stretched out. Her magic flickers out, but it had protected her enough that she had no injuries. Still, she felt a little stunned by the impact.

Finé reached Izetta and looked over her, seeing if she was hurt. "Jeez, what were you trying to do?"

"Uh… Fly…?"

"Wah…?" Finé blinked. "I just wanted to know if you could, I wouldn't have forced you to, especially if you had never done it before." Then she bent down to look at Izetta's face more closely, "Please don't do something like that again, you really scared me."

"Oh…" Izetta blushed as she sat up. "I'm sorry, Your Highness…"

Finé extended a hand to Izetta and pulled her up. "Does it hurt anywhere? I can call for my guards to bring you to the infirmary."

"No, no," Izetta pat off the bits of dirt on her. "I was just a little dazed, I'm okay now. I'm sorry you had to worry about me…"

Finé heaved out a sigh of relief. She walked to Izetta's back and helped her clean up. "It's okay, you don't need to apologise so much. But… if you ever do learn how to fly, maybe… you could let me tag along someday?"

"Say, how are you doing?" Izetta asks with her eyes closed. Her fingers are interlocked in an upwards cup, resting on her legs as she sits cross legged on the bed. She takes another deep breath, exhaling slowly while maintaining her relaxed state.

The room remains silent, with nobody else in it other than Izetta. Opposite to Finé's table is now a table for Izetta as well, brought in when Izetta had asked for written records of her assessments from when she had just joined the Secret Service. She was going to put them somewhere in her wardrobe, but Finé insisted that Izetta could get a desk as well and be more organised. Now two stacks of papers lie on that table, the second stack being a retest that was just conducted yesterday.

Izetta was shocked when she compared the two. She knew and felt that she was better than ever, but her current self had become much stronger even compared to when she thought her training was complete. Other than her basic military skills, she easily broke her record at the obstacle course in the Secret Service although she had not run it ever since. Her accuracy, reflexes and knifes' sharpness were already near the testable limit, so there was not much to improve there.

However, when they tested the limits of her strength and speed, there was a significant increase. Yet only a few days have passed since Finé's father approved of their relationship and nothing Izetta did explained this growth. She went on some missions and trained with the Royal Guards, nothing too intensive. But now Izetta rests properly and her mind is at peace, resulting in not only her body improving, but her magic as well. And so Izetta decided to meditate for a while, to chat with her trusted companion.

"I didn't think you could still get so much stronger. I see that I was overworking you before, so I'm sorry. You needed some rest as well, but I was too caught up to let us take a breather. But now I promise you, those days are over."

A slow blush creeps up Izetta's face. "I'm sure you know already, but people are teasing me that it's because of Finé that we're reaching our true power. It may be a little late to ask this, but this means that you approve of her, right?"

As usual, there is no response. Yet Izetta has always treated magic as her friend, thinking of phrases like 'to my side' and 'thank you' when using it. Not only did it save her life from cancer, but it has also been growing with her throughout her life. From being unable to use it at all to now being seen as a monster by her enemies, Izetta remembers the long and arduous journey they have been through. Although Izetta has become more accepting of the praise for her, she has not forgotten her partner and where they started from.

"So… Finé and I are going out today. Is there something I can do for you? Maybe you like it when I eat a certain kind of food, or you like the feeling of some types of clothing? How about any activities? Finé said we would go on some rides later on, but I can always ask her if there's time to go somewhere else."

After a few more moments of silence, Izetta opens her eyes with a smile. "Well, if there's anything at all, just let me know somehow. Thank you for always being by my side."

With a hop, she gets off the bed and heads to the washroom. There she pulls the neck of her T-shirt to the side and a little lower. Looking at her skin closely, she can see a faded mark which is a new hickey that Finé left on her last night. Izetta gets to touching up on the makeup that she applied when they woke up, covering up the mark completely again. It would be well hidden underneath her T-shirt, but she wanted to make sure it wouldn't be visible while they were out having fun.

Lotte had easily picked up what happened that day after Izetta left as the White Agent. When Lotte came to pick up Izetta's clothes for washing, she noticed the dampness around the neck area. Then when Finé had asked for clothes that covered more for Izetta, trying to pass it off as Izetta's request, Lotte pieced everything together. It would have been too telling for Izetta to suddenly get new clothes when they were going to buy some for her soon, especially when those clothes would have all covered the neck area.

So Lotte offered to cover up the marks with makeup and teach them how to reapply it as well. Her jaw dropped when Izetta shyly transformed back to show the numerous amounts plastered all over her neck. With a sigh, she got to work and urged Finé not to leave them in open areas and to considerably tone down the amount. With her hands clapped together, Finé apologised to Izetta again and pleaded Lotte not to leak the information.

"Yes yes," Lotte replied with a resigned smile, "That's why I offered to teach you two how to cover up these marks as well. But if you two get too excited and keep going at it, people will see the marks sooner or later. Makeup can only do so much and even if both of you suddenly wear very modest clothing, that's very telling."

With their faces red, the couple could only hum in acknowledgement.

Izetta adjusts her T-shirt back into place and leaves the washroom. Just then, Finé pokes her head through the open door. "Izetta? Are you ready?"

"Yes, let's-" Izetta stops as she looks at Finé. "Uh, why are you dressed so differently? Ah, not that I mind."

Instead of her usual bun, Finé has her hair down in low twin tails. Instead of a dress, she is in a T-shirt and pants and she has sunglasses on as well. "I figured I should go in disguise," Finé explains with a coy smile. "I wouldn't want people to give me special treatment while we're out there."

"Oh… Then… how about I dress differently as well?"

"Huh, you don't have to. I don't think you've been in public a lot."

"Somebody might recognise me though, since I did talk to all those people in the tower. And… it might be fun to do it… with you…" Izetta rubs her fingers over her hand.

Finé lights up and takes Izetta by the hand. "Okay, let's see how we can dress you up."

Instead of her usual straggly hair that Izetta doesn't groom, she now has it straightened downwards. Since the only time that others did see Izetta was during the party and she was wearing a dress then, she did not need to stray from her usual style too much. She changed her shorts to pants to match Finé and got some sunglasses of her own. Finally, she picked up a jacket so that she wouldn't stand out but also planned to give it to Finé if she was cold after learning that the places they were going to would have something called air-conditioning.

As their inconspicuous car pulls into the parking lot, the Royal Chauffeur points to a dark armoured car that was parked earlier. "Remember you two, if something goes wrong, that car will take you to safety. The Royal Guards on scene will immediately react to protect you and escort you to it."

"We got it, we got it," Finé grins as she places a hand on the door's handle. "You guys are worrying too much. We're just on a normal outing like everybody else, nothing will happen."

"Just covering our bases," the chauffeur returns the smile as she turns off the car.

"Mmm, thank you," Finé appreciates as she gets out.

"Thank you," Izetta adds as she steps out from the other door.

The chauffeur walks in front of them as they head towards the mall. She plans to split off from them immediately once they get into the mall, so they still look like a normal group to any passersby but Finé and Izetta will still get to enjoy their date with just the two of them.

As the couple trail behind, Finé steps closer to Izetta. "Finé," Izetta whispers, "How should I address you while we're here? I shouldn't use your name or other people may realise who you are, right?"

"Oh it's fine," Finé brushes off. "There are people that name their children after me and even my father. Even if heads turn at my name, I look different enough that they won't think that it's me. How about you? Do you want me to call you by another name?"

"No… please use my name," Izetta tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

Finé brushes her hand over Izetta's. With a smile, she holds it and squeezes it lightly. Izetta's cheeks colour and her eyes look away, but she returns the squeeze and smile.

As soon as Finé and Izetta enter a huge clothing store, Izetta stops in awe. Looking around the sea of colours, she becomes captivated by all the different types of clothing and the many styles that are flaunted by the mannequins in various poses littered throughout the store. She thought she had seen a lot of clothes when she was picking out a dress for the party, but now she is completely blown away.

Finé looks back at the dazzled Izetta, smiles and adjusts their intertwined hands that have not let go since the parking lot. "Do you know where you want to go first?"

"No… I-I mean," Izetta clears her throat as she regains her bearings, "There's really just way too much for me to see here. Finé, are you sure you don't want to do something else while I pick some clothes? I'll take way too long to go through this place."

"Don't worry, I'll be trying on clothes with you. This'll be a new experience for me as well so I'm raring to go." Previously, the only times Finé would see stores like these were when she was there to assess their potential, never as a regular customer. So now that she could act like a normal girl with her girlfriend, she would savour the opportunity.

"Huh? Don't you already have tons of clothes though?"

"Yes, so I'll probably only buy one or two that I really like." Raising their held hands, she beams, "But we're here on our date, so let's have fun together."

Izetta relaxes with a smile. "Yes, let's."

After Finé and Izetta had finished dressing up and buying the clothes Izetta liked, they had lunch together before dropping off their haul in the car. Now they had entered the amusement park nearby, ready to begin the next part of their date.

Izetta notices the spring in Finé's step. "Finé, what are these rides like? You seem very excited to go on them."

"Oh, have you not seen what they look like before?"

Izetta averts her eyes with a blush, only now seeing the multitude of labelled buildings that have inhouse rides along with the tracks that go to the sky for the outdoor ones. "Uh, no. They look very… big?"

"Well, I haven't been on any of them myself either, but I did see the advertisements they put out. How about we start off slow then?" Finé points to the sky, towards multiple small carts fashioned to look like carpets that are attached to free rotating arms. "That's the magic carpet ride, designed to make it feel like we're leisurely flying."

"Oh, sure," Izetta smiles and they go towards the ride. 'Does Finé like to fly? She picked this one first although there are probably other slow ones on the ground. It should be fine though, compared to what I've been doing, a leisurely flight is nothing.'

Finé and Izetta get strapped in into a couple's cart and the ride whirls to life. The carpet wavers as it lifts upwards into the sky. Then it dives and rises, advances and pulls back, imitating how it would be like to fly through while sightseeing.

Izetta looks at the corner of her eye to see Finé smiling as her head bobs about. 'I guess she is enjoying it, maybe we can do more activities that feel like flying some other time.' Then Izetta tenses up ever so slightly as her eyes flicker to the side, the realization hitting her.

'Of course! Finé did ask me if I could fly before. She must have wanted to experience it herself! But… I did ask Grandma if she could teach me how to fly and she said she never learnt it as it was too much effort…'

As of now, Izetta had only emitted tangible magic from her hands and feet, the easiest parts for a witch. Although it is possible to fly like a plane with just that, she prefers to have full control which entails discharging magic from all parts of her body. Even her full body shield involves a different skillset, focusing on maintaining a layer around her and keeping things out, rather than dynamic flow and propulsion.

Izetta did try to lift herself off the ground once she got the hang of outputting magic from her hands and feet, but even drifting afloat was hard and it consumed a lot of magic. So she took her grandmother's advice to just forget about it. 'But… my magic is getting even stronger and I do have more spare time, so maybe I can try again…'

"Izetta?" Finé snaps her out of her thoughts. "Are you okay? You look like something's on your mind."

"O-Oh," Izetta shakes her head to refocus. "I'm okay, I guess my mind just wandered off. It's nothing."

"Is the ride boring you? I'm sorry, I must have picked something too slow compared what you usually do."

"No, it's fine, really," Izetta smiles as she adjusts her hand on Finé's. "This is relaxing."

Finé returns the gesture. "If you say so."

Izetta waits for Finé to look away as the ride slows to a stop. 'I shouldn't push myself too hard while learning how to fly though. I don't want Finé to worry about me or think that I'm forcing myself to use magic for her. She'll also probably catch wind of it if I'm suddenly away for longer so I'll work at it slowly and surprise her.'

As Finé leads them to the next ride, Izetta looks at their held hands with a small smile. 'After all, just being with her is so wonderful…'

Finé and Izetta spend the afternoon going on rides such as display galleries, spinning ones and rollercoasters. Despite mulling over flying earlier, Izetta lets herself loose and fully immerses herself in the experience, marvelling, laughing and screaming with Finé. To end the day, they are now finishing their dinner by drinking through couple straws, looking at each other dreamily while Izetta has a slight blush.

Finé looks down at the empty cup as their straws sputter. Then she looks back up to see Izetta doing the same. With smiles beaming on their faces, they pull back and wipe their mouths.

"I had an absolutely amazing time today," Finé savours, "How about you?"

"Yes… so did I," Izetta breathes.

"Let me go and pay," Finé offers as she picks up her belongings. "Then we can go back and have the real dessert in our room," she winks.

"Hu- O-Oh…" Izetta's cheeks flare up as her eyes look away. She realises that Finé is suggesting that they kiss more back home. Earlier when Finé leaned in, Izetta felt steam escaping from her ears just thinking about how others could see them kissing which made her fidget. Soon Finé realised Izetta's discomfort and apologised as she broke off. With her completely red face, Izetta could only stammer that doing it in public was still too much for her.

Izetta's eyes drift back to Finé as she begins push her chair out. "Ah, Finé, wait-"

"Huh?" Finé blurts out as she stands up.

"Ow!" both Finé and a man yelp as her shoulder knocks into his hand that was holding a drink. The man was not paying attention either, causing the drink to fly out of his hand and splash onto another woman that was walking beside him.

Izetta immediately goes to Finé's side while the woman squawks at her dress and the man looks at it in astonishment. Finé rubs her shoulder while waving to Izetta with the other, trying to say that she is okay.

"I-I'm sorry," Finé apologises to the man. "I didn't see where I was going."

"You!" the man flares up as he spins to Finé. "You made me spill my drink on my girl! Do you know how expensive the dress I got her is?!"

"A-Again, I'm sorry," Finé takes a breath. "I can pay you back if it doesn't come off, but we should get her cleaned-"

"Oh you're doing that alright, right now!" The man grabs Finé by the arm and jerks her towards him. "Come here!"

"Hey!" Izetta yells as she grips the man's arm, stopping him from pulling Finé. Putting herself between the man and Finé, she glares, "She said she was sorry! Let go of her!"

"Tch, and who are you supposed to be?!"

"I'm-" Izetta freezes as she hears mumbling behind her. She turns around to see Finé, but gasps at the sight.

Finé is trembling with her eyes wide and jumpy. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry," she utters to nobody, "Please, please don't take me away. Don't take me away…"