Dolce wanted to see her again. It sounded strange, but no one had given Dolce as much comfort as Frey had in awhile. When she said to her that she would talk to her tomorrow...was she really being sincere? It might be awkward for Frey the day after, but at least they could cross paths. Dolce wasn't the best at making friends, but she felt as though as she had made peace with Frey.

Dolce swung open her closet and examined her clothing. That was when the light blue sun dress caught her eye...she had finished sewing it months ago, but she could never summon up the courage to wear it. Peasant girl's clothing, the nobility that Dolce had come across might have said to her.

Not that Dolce cared in the slightest. She stared the dress down for a little while longer before finally slipping out of her pajamas and putting on the dress, letting her hair flow down around her casually.

"Let's see if this'll catch her attention…" Dolce muttered to herself.

"Oooh! Impress WHOM, Dolly?!" Dolce jolted upright as a high-pitched shriek rang out in the room. Dolce whirled around at find Pico standing, well rather floating, there.

"None of your business," Dolce snarled, picking up one of her shoes and hurling it at the ghost girl. But naturally, the shoe sailed right through Pico and hit the wall behind her.

"Aww, don't be shy, milady! I'm sure whoever you're trying to impress is already stunned by your amazing beauty!" Pico chirped, picking up the shoe cheerfully and dusting it off.

"I'm not shy, you idiot." Dolce snapped, grabbing the shoe and tugging it on along with the second one.

"Hehe~! How cute! My Dolly is hiding her true feelings with a cold and icy exterior!" Pico gushed, swirling a little in the air. "That's what I love about you the most, Dolly! Wait, no-I love everything about you! I love you, Dolly!"

"I asked for my sister, and I get a fanatic ghost girl…" Dolce groaned, running a brush through her hair and splashing some water on her face from the basin Nancy had laid out for her earlier. She walked right through Pico.

"I'm your fanatic!" Pico corrected, gliding after Dolce downstairs.

"Go away. I'll exercise you for good." Dolce threatened, grabbing a nearby talisman and throwing it at her.

"Eek! No, not the talisman!" Pico cried, swirling away. "Okay Dolly, I'll leave for now, but I'll be back~!" She chanted, vanishing in midair. Dolce heaved a sigh and composed herself before heading downstairs. She was immediately greeted with the aroma of apple pie. Typical Nancy foods. In fact, Nancy was already at the table, scrubbing dishes. She smiled warmly at Dolce as she headed downstairs.

"Well, it looks like someone's finally awake! I was going to wake you up, but you looked so peaceful and cute…" Nancy said, chuckling a little. "Have a seat, Dolly. I made you your favorite." Dolce smiled meekly and sat down, a wave of anxiousness washing over her. Why she was feeling so self-conscious about her dress now, she had no idea. Nancy didn't seem to mind, though.

"Where's Jones?" Dolce finally asked, taking a spoonful of the pie and eating it.

"Emergency client meeting, he said."

"And you didn't come with him?" Dolce asked, skeptical. Nancy pouted a little and shook her head.

"What kind of person would I be to leave you two alone?" She smiled and ruffled Dolce's hair, as if going it to a child. Dolce couldn't help but grin. "Is something wrong? You've hardly touched your breakfast…"

"Um…" Dolce sighed and glanced down. It was better to be honest with Nancy then to lie to her. Besides...Nancy was good at catching lies. Almost too good. "I'm just going to meet someone today." Nancy's eyes widened a little, but she just smiled and nodded.

"Is that so? You look very nice...I was wondering what the occasion was!" Dolce blushed a little and glanced down. If everyone was going to react so differently to Dolce today because of some dress, then what would Frey say? "It's alright, Dolly." Nancy insisted, her voice soft. She picked up the plate and grinned. "I won't tell Jones...I'll just save this slice for him, okay?" Nancy gave her a small wink, and a rush of relief collapsed over Dolce.

"Thank you…" she replied softly, standing up and tucking in her chair. "I'll go now…"

"Okay, have fun! Don't stay out too late," Nancy reminded her as she headed out the door. Dolce heaved a giant sigh once she was outside. What if Frey wasn't there at all…? She brushed the thought of it away, making her way over to the town square.

Dolce stared up at the gigantic castle. Despite the castle being so welcoming, it seemed so ominous to her. Just beyond one room, Ventuswill was lying limp in main room, fallen under some sort of illness that none of them, not even Jones, could cure. Would she lose her friend again, after all this time she waited for her to come back? Dolce swallowed, unable to take any more steps toward the castle. Maybe Frey would be just beyond those couple rooms...her thought were suddenly interrupted by an intruding voice.

"Well...if it isn't little Dolly." Dolce whirled around to find Leon standing beside her. She sighed and shook her head. Leon had a tendency to impose on other people, especially people like Frey...maybe he wanted something with her.

"What do you want, Leon?"

"Me? Oh, nothing…" Leon smirked at her, his ears twitching slightly with interest. "What's this? You've dressed up and made yourself all pretty." He reached over and tugged at a lock of her hair. "What's the occasion, hm?"

"None of your business." Dolce muttered, glaring at him and brushing his hand away.

"Oh, come on, Dolce. I can keep a secret." Persistence was usually a good thing, but sometimes for Leon, it could just make him come off as annoying. Dolce heaved a sigh again, giving into his persistence.

"Fine. I just need to talk to Frey, that's all. Satisfied?"

"Oh...and why is that? Do you two have a secret date?" Dolce could tell he was joking, but she felt herself blushing in spite of herself. She wondered why…?

"No." She retorted, hiding her face from Leon. Probably no point in doing in, though. She could already sense the grin forming on his face.

"Well, good luck with that. She's been working on the farm all day and hiding in her room." He sighed a little. "She's hopeless. I wouldn't be surprised if she's only been talking to Vishnal or Clorica for the past couple weeks. Honestly, if she didn't have me to check in on her…"

"Wait, what?" Dolce's eyes widened a little at this. She knew Frey worked on her farm every morning, but all day? "Leon, Frey's room is on the right?"

"What? Dolce, you can't just intrude on her like that…"

"I don't care, Leon. You do it all the time." Dolce pushed Leon out of the way and opened the door that led to Frey's room. and sure enough...Frey was there.

Dolce could tell right away that something was wrong. Frey was sitting on the edge of the bed, her feet cross-legged in front of her. But...she was staring off into nothing. Upon closer inspection, Dolce had realized that her eyes were clouded over, and she seemed so pale…

"Frey…" Dolce stuttered, at a loss for words. Leon came trailing behind her.

"I told you so." He said, looking over at Frey with concern. "She hasn't eaten in awhile. She just holes up in here."

"Why do you care?" Dolce snapped. "The only reason you want Frey to get better is so you can get back to harassing her, is that it?!" Now it was Leon's turn to be surprised.

"You...you really think that?" Leon stared at her with disbelief. "That's...that's not true, Dolce." He looked disappointed with her, maybe even a little irritated, but he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Frey is like a sister to me. Of course I want her to get better. You really I would just harass her all the time?" It was too much for Dolce to process.

"Leon...I need to talk to Frey alone." Dolce refrained from saying I'm sorry. A look of hurt flashed across Leon's face, but he nodded a little. Without another word, he turned around and left the room. Right at that moment, the guilt hit Dolce like a ton of bricks. She had been careless with her words, again. Maybe she did owe him an apology...she turned around and shook Frey's shoulder.

"Frey, it's me…" She said softly. Frey blinked a little, and looked up at Dolce with surprise.

"D-Dolce?" She blinked again and rubbed her eyes. "Er...what are you doing here?"

"To talk. You said we would talk tomorrow." Frey gave her a confused look, but realization dawned over her before long.

"Oh...oh! Dolce, I'm so sorry…" Dolce shook her head quickly, and Frey looked down guiltily. "Well...at least you're here, now."

"You look sick." Dolce stepped forward and searched her pockets, taking out some medicine she had on hand. "Drink this." Frey stared at it for a moment.

"I don't really-"

"Drink this." Dolce shoved the medicine into Frey's hands. Frey nodded slowly and drunk it in one swallow.

"Thank you." Frey smiled brightly at Dolce, causing her to flinch. She wasn't expecting her to smile… "Hey, you look different." She propped her chin on her hand and looked at her up and down.

"Well...I just decided I needed a change," Dolce murmured, not able to meet Frey's eyes. Why did she feel so exposed when Frey looked at her?

"It's nice." Frey grinned softly, looking at her with...what was it? Respect? Admiration? Dolce felt her face go hot. "You should dress like that more often."

"I guess…" Dolce muttered. "Um, Frey, about last night...I just wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

"For talking to me…" Dolce was was surprised to find that there was no irritation or snarkiness in her voice, and that her voice had gone soft. Frey's eyes widened a little, but she smiled at her again.

"Oh...that? No problem! I needed someone to talk to, too." She looked at Dolce's dress again, something going soft in her eyes. "We can talk more, if you want…"

"Really? Um...thank...thank you."

"No worries." Frey grinned and stood up, taking a step toward Dolce. "I have an idea. Do you want to go somewhere with me? Tomorrow?"

"W-what?" Dolce looked at Frey for a second. "This isn't a date, right?" Frey laughed and shook her head.

"No, of course not. We could just hang out together, that's all." Dolce smiled, just a little.

"Sure. I'd like that."

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow, then." Dolce nodded in response, the room going silent.

Frey brought a hand up to Dolce's face and brushed away a stray strand of hair. She hand lingered there for a second before she hastily, pulled it away.

"T-tomorrow." Dolce muttered, turning and exiting Frey's room, trying to not feel embarrassed. She wondered if Frey would keep her agreement with her this time.

She could still feel Frey's hand on her face...