Chapter 92: The Star Festival (Part 1)

Disclaimer:

Hi guys! Apologies for the late upload but I wanted this chapter to be very good. I was also waiting to write this chapter since Chapter 46, hehe.

The next few chapters won't be as long a wait so stay tuned!

There are references to events in past chapters to help with foreshadowing and whatnot. Here they are:

Chapter 30, 46, 49, 61, 91

With that said, I hope you enjoy!

Two weeks had passed since Lucas, Hamon, and Melody tried escorting Rachel Kira to a spring ball for it to only end up in a fight against two enemies that were planning to bomb the three royal houses.

Since then, there have been little updates on the enemies in regards to how they were in their trance-like state, as well as why they were planning a terror attack.

Whilst that whole incident raised a lot of questions, there was one thing for certain in the HQ of the Golden Dawn, and that was…

"Excitement!"

Mimosa screamed in the base's common room as she held Letoile's hands and shook them furiously. There was smoke coming out of her flared-up nostrils and her yellow eyes lit up like sparkling stars.

It was safe to say that the Vermillion was definitely not referring to the bomb threat but was on about something completely different and that was why she was so carefree.

"Yes, yes, I know you're excited, Mimosa…", Letoile sweat-dropped. "You've been asking me what activities to do as if I'm some sort of expert on it…", she thought to herself.

"I mean, aren't you as excited as I am? Letoile, tonight is the Star Festival!"

The royal calmed down slightly by eventually letting go of the Compass mage's hands. However, her excitement only shot up again as she started listing off all the activities that she wanted to try out.

"Face-painting!"

"Magic Shooting!"

"Dinner by the gardens!"

"Haunted Houses!"

After she named each activity, a single finger pointed up until all ten were out in the air.

Letoile just smiled at her enthusiasm and she felt a touch on her shoulder. The green-haired Magic Knight turned around to see David as he also took in the glee radiating from the Plant mage.

"Looks like our Mimosa is excited for the festival. But…", he whispered as he covered his mouth with the side of his hand. "... She's probably more excited about her date with Lucas, ay?"

"Shh! You don't want to make her nervous, David. She's refused to call it a date since the day she asked him", Letoile whispered back.

"Hehe… I guess it isn't exactly a date since they're not together but it's nice to think about", he chuckled, finishing his whisper.

"What's going on, guys?" Klaus walked over as he heard all the noise. He was reading a book a few minutes ago and decided to join the others.

"Oh, just looking at Mimosa and how happy she is about the Star Festival", David replied. "Wait a minute, you're usually the one that's all gung-ho about the celebrations. What happened this year?"

Klaus froze and started to cringe. Sweat fell from his forehead and he had to take his glasses off to wipe them before putting them on his eyes again. "I think… she'll be there. I've been told to go around the festival with her and… I'm a bit nervous", he gulped.

At this point, Yuno also joined in the group that was slowly starting to get bigger as time went on. Bell flew away from Yuno's shoulder and landed on David's as they all looked at Klaus fidgeting and getting nervous.

"Oh yeah… After coming back from the Forgotten Forest, you did tell us about your potential engagement!" Bell stated, forming a heart sign with her hands.

"So, you're also going on a date, like Mimosa is?" Yuno said plainly which made a loud noise come out from the Plant mage's mouth.

"Gah?! Wh-What do you mean… a 'date'? I'm just going around with Lucas! There are absolutely zero romantic connotations there. ZERO!" She panicked, raising her right hand and touched her index finger and thumb together to signal how inaccurate Yuno was.

"Enough with teasing Mimosa…", Letoile said as she calmed everyone down. "Let's get on with teasing Klaus! So, what is she like…?" The Compass mage winked as she joined her hands together near her heart, giving the Steel mage puppy-dog eyes.

Klaus face-palmed. "You know what, I'll let you guys meet her if we see you around later. She's just… quite the character", he gulped again before dropping the conversation in its entirety.

After this, more and more squad members arrived in the common room until there were just three remaining to enter.

"Where are-?"

As if on cue, Lucas, Hamon, and Melody were the last ones to arrive, and all three immediately slumped into one of the large, brown couches against a wall.

"Long day?" Yuno asked as he walked up to Lucas who was on the end.

"Don't even… start", he yawned. "After another escort mission in the morning, we were called up to the Magic Knights HQ to get another recount of the whole bomb incident… for the fifth time now", he slouched back.

"I understand that they need our information, and that sometimes they need to ask us multiple times so that there's no discrepancies, but… five times, really?" Hamon shook his head. "Man, I've worked up an appetite".

"I remember you telling me briefly about that night. Was that royal there as well?" Yuno wondered.

Lucas opened his eyes and a set of veins started to pop out the side of his head. "Oh, don't even mention her to me. Honestly, I hope I never see that person again", he replied with a strong sense of frustration.

"A-At least, the Star Festival is later…", Melody brought up as she sat up straight. "I heard that 'Shooting Star' is playing…!"

"What or who is that?" Lucas asked, intrigued at the name.

"What?!" Mimosa, David, Hamon, Letoile and Melody all shouted with the latter's voice being the loudest. "You don't know about them?! Their first ever concert was at a Star Festival a few years ago. It's the reason for their name!"

Lucas raised his hands as a way to apologise. "I'm being s-serious!" He protested, feeling heavy glares on him.

"Same here", Yuno added, taking a few of the glares away from the Dual mage.

"Hm, I guess it makes sense actually", David nodded, calming down from his initial shock. "The band only go around the Noble and Common Realms. I've never heard about them playing in the Forsaken Realm…", he scratched his chin.

"Oh, yeah…", Mimosa agreed. "They're this really cool band that plays at all the big events! There's f-!"

"There's four of them in a band and they all play different musical instruments! A guitar, the drums, keyboard, and many more, depending on the song of course. There's a lead singer but sometimes they all join in! Oh, and I heard they're also getting bookings at parties for the royal families too!"

A lot of eyes fell on the Sound mage who interrupted Mimosa's explanation but, instead of judging her or anything like that, they all just smiled and laughed at how enthusiastic the purple-haired mage was for once.

"Wow, we've never seen you so pumped up like this!" Letoile smiled at her.

"Ahaha…", Melody scratched the back of her neck in embarrassment. Her enthusiasm managed to catch up to her immediately and her face went red. "S-Sorry about th-that…", she smiled awkwardly.

Shiren nodded. "I like the enthusiasm. I've heard about them as well. They play every Star Festival and also have gigs throughout the year at various events".

Everyone then looked at the Stone mage, surprised that he was so into his music and band culture.

"What? Hey, even I have my interests", he replied bluntly.

"You'd never… really expect it from you", the rest of the Golden Dawn thought in unison.

After a few minutes of general chit chat, the door to Captain Vangeance's office opened from upstairs. He walked out with a handful of papers in his hands. The Vice-Captain, Langris, also had a pile with him as well.

Everyone went silent as they expected a briefing but the two kept on walking.

"Um, C-Captain?" Klaus raised his voice to which the World Tree mage stopped.

"Yes, Klaus?" He asked. Then, he looked around and saw that the entire Golden Dawn was right below him, kneeling in place as they always had done whenever he was upstairs, under the glass mosaic which shone the evening sun's rays through it.

He sighed and put the papers down, choosing to address his squad.

"I'm not really sure what you guys are doing here. You've finished your missions for the day and I'm pretty sure there's a festival going on that you all should be enjoying", he smiled as he looked at all of his squad members. "Remember to have fun, make memories, and be there for the ceremony at the end of the event. The Golden Dawn is always expected there", he nodded.

The whole squad looked at each other but didn't get up straight away.

William sighed again but a light chuckle left his mouth. "Well, you don't need me to tell you to go. Leave and have fun!"

They all clover-saluted.

"Yes, Sir!"

"He's late…".

Mimosa tapped the floor with her dark-brown, knee-high boots for a few seconds, looking around to see if she could spot the person that was on her mind amidst the dense crowds around her.

"S-Sorry, I'm late!"

Lucas finally appeared, a few minutes later than what the agreed time was. With a pout on the royal's face, Lucas started to repeatedly apologise.

"I had to take care of a few things but I rushed here afterwards! Basically, I-", he started to explain but all of his words fell on deaf ears. He finished his sentence but Mimosa's blank expression didn't tell him anything about how she was feeling. Instead of hearing her squadmate's explanation, she was lost in her own head.

"With Lucas here now, where can we start? Shall we do the face-painting first, or shall we participate in the games? Ooh, there's so much to do!"

"Mimosa?" Lucas stood in front of her, waving his hand inches away from her distracted face. Eventually, she jerked back to reality with a red blush all over her panicked face.

"Ah, Lucas! Okay, let's get this started!"

The two walked off with Mimosa leading the way. Lucas eventually caught up after a few seconds, but he was also looking around at everything he saw, taking the sights all in.

"This… is amazing", he said with stars in his eyes. "I've never seen anything like this before".

Now that the evening was here, the beauty of the Star Festival came alive. There were crowds of hundreds of people in the near vicinity with many more around the rest of the Royal Capital. To the sides, and in and around the vast amounts of people, were different stalls that housed many activities to participate in.

There were also markets for buying and shopping for food and different items and accessories. Lights adorned each area as decorations to make sure that even a person the furthest away could spot them with no problem.

"Woah, compared to the population of Hoffvol, there's already more people in that little crowd in front of us!" He exclaimed, mouth wide open.

"Did you never have any events like this in the Forsaken Realm? I thought things like parties and gatherings were common no matter where you were", Mimosa asked.

"Obviously we had birthdays and the odd gathering where we'd visit a neighbours house but… something like this, and to this extent? No way - it wasn't even a possibility", he replied, thinking back to his early life.

"Do you wish you could show this to your folks back home? If you'd have let me know beforehand, I could've definitely arranged transportation for them. You know, by using my royal connections and all", she giggled.

"Nothing too extravagant, Mimosa! We all know how flashy you like to be but still… it would've been nice. Well, there's always next year!"

Then, a loud bang from the sides caught the mages' attentions. "Woah, we've got to do some of that!" Lucas pointed, getting excited.

The two walked over to a wide stand that had a row of red and white targets all lined up. There were a small number of people around so it was perfect to try out.

"Good evening, Ma'am", Mimosa greeted as she raised her hand.

"Oh my, two members of the Golden Dawn are here? That's a welcome surprise", the young lady with short, brown hair waved as she ushered the two forward. "Would you like to try the game out?"

"Yes, we would. Um, is it just hitting the target?" The royal asked.

"Here". The lady threw some small cushions the size of her hand to both Lucas and Mimosa. "All you do is throw those at the target and gather some points. Once you hear a bell, stop and we'll calculate your score".

Lucas juggled the small cushions in his hands. "Hm, sounds simple enough. What do you say, Mimosa?"

Mimosa tightened her grip around her own cushions. "I'm looking forward to this!"

The young lady set the two in front of her with enough space between them so they could throw without bumping into each other. "When you hear the first bell, start throwing!"

"So, just target practice, huh? In the entrance exam, I hit all my targets so I've got some experience, not to mention all of the missions that I've been on since then", he smiled to himself as he threw a cushion in the air, catching it as it came down.

"There's four sections to a target - 25, 50, 75, and 100 points in the middle. Hm, let's see how this goes!" Mimosa flicked her hair to the side, for it to only return to how it usually was.

The bell then rang, prompting both mages to start throwing their cushions.

"Take this!" Lucas threw a cushion and hit the target right in the middle.

"I can do that as well!" Mimosa shouted, hitting her own target in the same place.

"What about this?" Lucas used both hands to throw two cushions. They hit just outside of the middle but he was sure that he got a good amount of points with that.

"You missed the middle, Lucas. I'll show you how it's done!" Mimosa threw two cushions, one after the other, with her right arm. They hit the middle again so it looked like the royal was now in front.

The lady watched on and grabbed a magic item from the side and brought it to her mouth. "Look here, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls… We have two members of the Golden Dawn battling it out to see who becomes the winner!" The magic item acted as a microphone and speaker as her voice was broadcasted all around the area.

Eventually, after a few seconds, a large crowd started to gather around the stall and they were all watching on as Lucas and Mimosa competed against one another. The cushions were hitting but then falling down a slope right below the row of targets so the two could keep picking up their ammo.

"Go, go, go!"

"I'm not gonna lose!"

After a minute or so, both competitors ran out of cushions to throw and the bell rang again, closing off the slope and signalling the end of their turn. The two looked at each other and a bit of sweat was dripping down from their foreheads.

"Maybe… We don't go as hard on the other activities?" Lucas laughed.

"Yeah, I don't want to tire myself out again", Mimosa responded, giggling.

"Everyone gathered here this evening… After calculating the scores, the winner has accumulated a record total of 2500 points! The one who lost has… uh… hm, wait a second. They've… also achieved 2500 points! There's no winner… It's a tie!"

"What?!" The two shared their reaction, shocked as to how they drew.

"WHAT?!" The crowd then repeated much louder than how the Golden Dawn duo did.

The lady grabbed her magic item again. "2500 is our highest score ever! If you think you can beat it, then step right up to face the targets! But.. if you don't think you can, then try to score as high as you can and choose from our selection of prizes!"

This got the large crowd roaring as they were ready to compete.

The lady walked to the side and put her hands on each of the two Magic Knights' shoulders. "Phew, that was quite something, huh? You both threw a total of 60 times each so I'm surprised your arms haven't fallen off! Well, since it was a draw I'll give you both a prize".

She opened a side area to her stall which unfolded to become a small table. On it, were a selection of prizes that all had point requirements on them. However, as Lucas and Mimosa far exceeded the points on each prize, they had free range to choose anything.

"There's some good stuff here…", Lucas said as he scanned each prize.

"You can say that again…", Mimosa replied as she got a closer look.

After a few minutes, the two left the stall with the crowd starting to get even bigger. In each of their hands were their rewards.

"Shall I try it out - this 'All-Purpose Ring'?" Lucas asked, fiddling with a small, colourless ring that had a white centre.

"We'll do it at the same time", Mimosa said as she touched her own ring.

As the two made contact with their prizes, they started to change into many different things. First, was a black tophat that sat on top of both their heads. It had a glowing outline to it which looked like it depended on what magic the user had.

"Your tophat has a green glow around the border. Is that for your Plant Magic?" Lucas pointed.

"Must be since your glow is… huh? Your glow is yellow which makes sense with your Light Magic but… WHAT?" She then started laughing, holding her stomach. "The black part of the tophat turned all blue! You have a glowing, blue tophat with a glowing, green outline!"

Lucas's face was of shock. He took his hat off and looked at it and, just like the royal said, it was two different colours that were glowing very brightly.

"I don't think… the hat knew what to do with two attributes", Lucas laughed. "Is this a malfunction?"

"It looks quite cool though, don't you think so?"

"I wonder what else this 'All-Purpose Ring' can turn into?" Mimosa asked as the two tapped the white centre again.

From going to a pair of fake moustaches, gloves, monocles, a walking stick, and many more things, the two tapped their prizes one more time.

The next thing they turned into was a pair of glasses with the star-shaped frames being the colour of their magic. They were only frames so it was more of a decorative thing rather than something you'd actually need to see with.

"This is quite funky". Lucas played around with his glasses, spinning them around his finger.

"What about this?" Mimosa tapped the centre and the glasses turned into a green earring with a large circle border. "Look at these hoops! Well, uh hoop since there's only one", she smiled as it fitted perfectly in her right earlobe.

"I'm not sure how many things it can turn into, so I think I'm happy with these glasses", Lucas said as he wore the pair properly. "Much better than the hat that makes me look like a beacon…", he sighed and shook his head.

"Good choice. I actually really like it as an earring. Well, do you think it suits me?" She asked, balancing the hoop on her right palm.

"Yeah, it looks really good on you". Lucas tilted his head and got close to examine the earring. "It actually is quite a nice piece of jewellery, considering it's actually a toy", he chuckled.

Mimosa took a few seconds before replying because, inside her head, she was squealing. "He said it looks good on me! That means he also likes how I look, right, and not just the earring? Well, I'm taking the point regardless!" She then straightened herself out. "Th-Thanks, Lucas".

"Right, so, what's next?" Lucas asked, still fiddling with his new blue and yellow glasses.

"Hm, what is next? When I thought about this, I had a clear plan in my head about what order we'd do things in. The target practice activity wasn't even there, so… if we're going to follow the list I prepared, then…", she thought deeply before going to reply. "How about -!"

"Oh, hello there, you two!"

The two teens turned around to see three people walking towards them with Lucas recognising all three whilst Mimosa only knew the one.

"Are you enjoying yourself, David?" Lucas waved with his two arms up high.

"You bet I am! You remember Tina and Natalie, right?" The blond man pointed with an open hand.

"Of course, from the mixer, correct?" Lucas smiled, waving at the two who waved back.

"How could we ever forget you, Lucas? You're the cutie who likes your flowers, right? The way you were so confident in expressing your interests… Just wow!" Tina walked forwards and rustled the ginger's hair with her right knuckle.

"Oh, come on, surely that's not the only thing you remember about him. He has a dream to become the Wizard King as well!" Natalie shouldered Tina playfully.

"Um…". Mimosa made a slight noise which made the four turn to her. The new arrivals apologised for not paying attention to her as well.

"Oops, sorry about that, Mimosa - I'll introduce you. Tina and Natalie, this is Mimosa Vermillion of House Vermillion as well as the Golden Dawn", David nodded.

The black-haired Tina waved. "Hello, nice to meet you! I own a flower shop in Nean and you're welcome to visit anytime!"

"Thank you…", Mimosa shyly nodded, eventually smiling.

"And I own a bakery right next to Tina. Come by and I'll give you some free pastries, cutie", Natalie winked which made Mimosa sweatdrop.

"I'll be sure to remember to visit", the royal smiled.

Then, Tina and Natalie noticed the Magic Knight's robes around the teenager. "You're a royal and part of the famous Golden Dawn, hm? It's nice to show off your squad robe at the festival. God knows why David doesn't do that", Tina shrugged.

"Hey, it's because I don't like to use it as a way to get to the ladies…", he slicked his hair back, posing. "I want them to like me for me, not just because of my squad".

"That didn't stop you from wearing it at the mixer, though", Natalie rolled her eyes. "You didn't even take it off when the two of you were smooching at the end of it".

Lucas, Mimosa, and even Tina started to blush at hearing the details.

"You also enjoyed yourself after kissing Hamon!" Tina argued. "You were even upset for a week after he rejected your invite to the festival!" The woman who owned the flower shop also started to blush as she exposed her closeness with David.

"O-Of course, I'd be upset! I thought we had a thing going b-but he's started to ignore me!" Natalie dropped her shoulders, getting upset again.

"Hey, hey, come on now, ladies", David tried to calm down the two but Tina had already put her arm around the baker.

"You started it but I'll be the one to finish this argument. How about we go for a round on that stall with the target practices?" She said, tightening her grip on Natalie.

Natalie nodded and tightened her own grip around Tina. "Winner buys dinner for the two of us. You upset me so I'll upset your pockets!"

The two then rushed over to the ever-growing queue by the stall that Lucas and Mimosa had just walked away from.

The three who remained were left with blank stares, trying to piece together and understand what just happened.

"Did you just…".

"Lose my date? I think so…".

The Dice mage sighed before spinning in a circle and smiling again. "Oh well, I was making progress with Tina but she seems a handful. Maybe I'll try another mixer?"

"Wait, wait, wait… You weren't dating both of them?" Mimosa asked, making both Lucas and David gasp in horror.

"Who do you think I am?! I may be a player but I am a man of my morals! One partner per person is a code that all should live by!"

"Mimosa… did you really think that…". Lucas couldn't even finish before his audible gasp started to turn into a bout of laughter.

"I mean… King Clover has multiple wives so it isn't that much of an impossibility", the royal put her finger to her cheek as she looked in the air.

"There's two things wrong with that, Mimosa. First of all, you're comparing me to the most important royal in the kingdom. The other thing is… you're comparing me to that king!"

"You just repeated the same point, David…", Lucas poker-faced.

"I'm a man of my morals! The king isn't someone that you'd want to be compared to in the first place!" David protested.

"Y-Yeah, I can understand that", she responded as she apologised, putting her hands together.

"Anyway, even if I was a sleazebag… didn't you hear? Natalie has a thing for Hamon who, unfortunately, keeps rejecting her... And I thought they would work after the mixer", David shrugged.

"Is there something going on with Hamon?" Lucas sat down on a bench to the side and asked, tilting his head to the side. This made the other two who were standing up switch focus to him.

Mimosa exchanged looks with David. "You don't know about Hamon? C'mon, it's pretty obvious why he rejected Natalie". She pointed up to the sky as she made her point.

David joined Mimosa as they stood together, side-by-side. "Our young royal here is quite the observer, huh? On the other hand… Lucas, you need to keep your eyes open!"

"H-Huh, what? Have I missed something big? Hamon's been just as he has been since I've known him!"

The other two wagged their fingers at him as they bent forwards.

"No, no, no, Lucas", David started.

"Hamon is clearly infatuated with someone else, and it's someone you know!" Mimosa answered, making a heart symbol with her fingers.

Lucas stared up into the sky, squinting his eyes and rubbing the side of his head as he tried to think. "Who could it be? Has he acted differently around someone, or am I right in thinking he's the same? Hm…", he thought deeply before a light bulb appeared on top of his head. He opened his blue eyes widely and almost gasped as he made a connection. "Is it… hm, actually… Could it be Melody?"

Then, silence from the other two with identical shocked faces donning them.

"L-Lucas, how did you figure it out…?"

The Dual mage cupped his chin with his right hand and started listing off a few things that he noticed. "Well, we've had a few missions as a trio for the last two weeks and sometimes he's quiet around her, but then other times you can tell he wants to have a conversation with her. It'll be about random things as well like the weather, breakfast and dinner, or even shopping…".

"Wow, you do pay attention in that kind of way". The Dice mage put his thumbs up in approval.

"The first mission the three of us had was escorting one of the royals and he was trying to talk to her on the way. I didn't really pay much attention but, when the conversation ended, he was… maybe he was upset? I'm not exactly sure what it means, but as you said he likes her…", he shrugged.

David raised his hand. "Well, it's not confirmed yet but… you can tell. It's just that he's not really going for it, you know?"

"If you're sure you like someone, why don't you just talk to them about it? Surely beating around the bush is a drag and just prolongs things", Lucas asked, wondering.

Mimosa started to blush but had to input her train of thought. "U-Um… actually it might not be so easy for s-some people, you know?"

"How so?"

"Th-There's a f-f-fear of rejection, which is the main thing. Another problem is finding the perfect time to confess and, oh, if you do tell the other person your feelings, you risk ruining your friendship! There's multiple reasons why and you can't just t-tell them to t-talk to them ab-about… it so easily!" Mimosa started her explanation in a normal tone but, as she got to the end, her voice was getting higher and higher.

"Oh, Mimosa… You're too obvious", David sighed.

Lucas began to nod as he listened to the royal. "I… never thought of all that. Hm, relationships and all are just too tough for me to completely understand right now".

Mimosa was turning as red as a tomato with the topic of the conversation being so close to home. She started to sweat and was turning around everywhere, darting her eyes away from Lucas in any way possible.

"I-I-I-I'm gonna try to find some water!" She shouted, rushing away into the distance.

Lucas stood up and dropped his shoulders. "What's up with her all of a sudden?" He tried looking in the direction she went but his new, colourful, star-shaped glasses didn't help with his eyesight.

David rolled his eyes and sighed again. "Your big brother will help you out, Mimosa. You'll owe me for this!" He walked forwards and sat down on the bench. "Hey, Lucas, join me for a sec".

The 15-year-old sat down and listened in. "What's up?"

"You know I was just with Tina, right?"

"Yeah…".

"We were actually together at the start but Natalie joined in afterwards as she had no one to go with. Well, anyway, when a boy and a girl are together in certain scenarios, it's classed as a date. I don't need to tell you what a date is, right?" He asked, putting his arms at the back of the bench as he leaned back.

"No, of course, not. I do have some knowledge about these things!" Lucas protested.

David chuckled. "Yeah, sure you do. Dates can include anything like going on a picnic or to restaurants. Parties and festivals are also included, and even just spending time together classes as a date. There's much more but you get the point".

"Why are you telling me all th-".

David turned around for a second to see someone walking towards them. "Ooh, that looks like my cue to leave! I see Shiren over there and it looks like he needs me for something. Sorry, gotta go!" He quickly jumped off the bench and hurried away in the opposite direction to where he just looked, leaving a smoke trail behind him.

Lucas reached his hand out momentarily before dropping it. "Why did he tell me all of that?"

"Phew… I'm refreshed now!"

Mimosa returned holding two bottles of water. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and handed Lucas the other bottle. "Here you go", she smiled. "Looks like David disappeared, huh? Shall we start walking around again?"

The two stood up and did just that but there were a few thoughts floating around in the Light mage's head.

"A date means two people that are in a relationship, right? But David and Tina didn't seem like a proper couple, so could it also mean one of the stages before you enter a relationship?"

"What should we do next?" Mimosa asked, looking around.

"A date can include a festival… So, boys and girls can go on dates at the Star Festival. Huh, convenient. W-Wait a minute…".

"Maybe some food will be good…", Mimosa said aloud.

"A date can be between a boy and a girl", he thought as he focused on the Vermillion in front of him. "At a festival…", he looked around. "Spending time together…", he gulped and then stopped in place as his eyes widened.

"Am I… on a date with Mimosa?! Hold on a minute… She asked me to go to the Star Festival but… was it as a date? Does she… l-l-like me in th-that way?!"

"Lucas!" Mimosa shouted, snapping the sweating Lucas out of his deep thoughts. "What's up? You seem to be in your own little world, haha!"

Now it was his turn to turn into a tomato with how red he became. He started to sweat and quickly brought the bottle of water to his mouth. "U-Uh, I think I'll take a s-s-s-sip right now!" He shouted before gulping the entire thing down. "She can't like me in that way… Surely?"

"Are you alright? Do you have a stomach ache or something?"

As if being targeted, Lucas's stomach started growling quite loudly in response. "Oh, no… I just…", he tried to think of an excuse. "... I remembered that I didn't even have breakfast before leaving for the morning mission!" He held his stomach tightly as if reprimanding it for being so loud.

"Haha, that's no problem at all!" Mimosa giggled. She turned her head around and looked for an appropriate stall to match the current predicament and found something that looked quite interesting. "Shall we go there?"

In and out of the great amount of people, the two mages walked and stopped just outside of a food truck. It had a picture of a burger and fries overhead, attached to the metal trailer.

The mage had calmed down a bit as his excuse actually turned out to be the truth. He, in fact, was quite hungry after all. "Ooh, I've wanted to have burgers for a while now!" Lucas gasped. He lightly tapped the Plant mage on her shoulder. "Did you do this on purpose?"

Mimosa waved her hands in the air. "N-No way, how on earth would I have known to plan all that out? Still, I have some space for a snack so let's see what we have here", she said before turning to look at the menu that was out on a wooden display board just outside of the trailer.

"There's burg-?!" Lucas started before stopping himself as he saw a big, red 'X' across all of the burger options. "I can't believe it…", he sighed.

"Sorry there, young man. There was a big guy that bought the whole lot just a few minutes ago and he even finished them all with no problem at all. I couldn't believe it!" The man inside the trailer explained, apologising to the teenager. He had a black, medium-length beard with a few grey hairs in it.

"Who on earth could've bought their whole stock?!" The two thought, perplexed.

"You could try the only thing we have left on the menu. We only sold burgers in previous years but we thought we'd add something new to see how it does", the man pointed at the bottom of the display board.

"The Mystery Candy", Lucas read.

"Correct. It's essentially candy floss or cotton candy, depending on what you want to refer to it as. However, you make it yourself!"

"What? We actually have to cook it from scratch?" Mimosa panicked. She imagined herself in a kitchen with a mess all over her face and clothes. "All I can make are sandwiches. I… have no experience in anything else!"

The man laughed. "No, don't worry about that. I provide the basic sugar and arm work, but you provide the sweetness. All you do is place your hands over the machine and your mana finishes the job off. Quite cool, ay?"

"I've never done anything like that before…", Mimosa replied, intrigued.

"Me neither, but I'd love to try some!" Lucas said with saliva almost drooling down his mouth.

The man led the two inside his trailer and started the machine up. He added the sugar and a pink colouring and the machine started to spin it around, heating it up as it did. "Okay, now one of you, place your hands on the top".

"Can I go first?" Mimosa asked, pointing to herself.

"Go for it", Lucas motioned.

The royal stood right beside the machine and lightly pressed her palms against the glass covering. Slowly, her mana started to transfer and the cotton candy glowed and pulsated for a few short seconds, before calming down.

"And… voila!" The man opened the machine and took the sugary dessert out with a serving stick. He handed it over to the girl whose yellow eyes were beaming.

She took and looked at it for a few seconds. "Wow… I can't wait to have it!" She stared intently at the stringy pieces of pink sugar that were all joined together in a fluffy texture. She opened her mouth and took a chunk out of it. "Ooooh, that is delicious!"

After a few seconds, Mimosa opened her eyes and saw that Lucas was close to drooling once again. She shook her head and put the cotton candy nearer to his face. "W-W-Would you… like to try some?"

"Sure, if that's okay with you?"

Mimosa put the dessert even closer so that he'd practically have to eat a part of it if he didn't want it going all over his face. He opened his mouth and took a chunk out the other side, leaving the cotton candy looking like an hourglass with two parts on the sides missing.

"You said it… delicious!" Lucas licked his lips, savouring the sugary sweetness.

Mimosa smiled before noticing something on his left cheek. "You… have something there".

"Where?" He asked, not getting the bit that she saw.

She leaned in and used her thumb to wipe away the small bit of fluffy, pink sugar near his lips. "There. See, I got it", she winked.

Lucas, hearing David's words in his head once again, started to blush once more. However, he wasn't exposed as a louder noise got their attention.

The man was chuckling. He was watching all of this as he stood to the side, leaning against a small stool near the window of the trailer. "It's usually the man doing stuff like that for the woman but… I know times are changing. Still, you two make a cute couple doing stuff like that". His light chuckle started to turn into a laugh.

"W-W-We're not a couple!" The two shook their heads, disagreeing intently with the statement.

"J-Just f-friends!" Lucas shouted.

"And sq-squad m…embers!" Mimosa added.

The man scratched his beard. "Hm, I guess I made the wrong judgement. It's just that you two look like a couple is a-!"

"P-P-Please can I make some cotton candy now?!" Lucas interrupted quickly, jumping up and down inside. He practically got in the man's face to make sure he wouldn't talk about that particular topic anymore.

"S-Sure…", he replied.

Lucas then put his hands on the machine that was spinning with pink sugar. He started to transfer his own mana and everything was going well until he side-eyed Mimosa who was smiling to herself as she watched on.

"If this is a date, and she likes me… Do I like her in that way as well?" He started to put more weight on his hands as he was distracted. "What does it mean to like someone in that way?"

"Ah!" All of a sudden, the three shouted together as the glass covering shot off with the cotton candy growing abnormally large. It was filling out the entirety of the inside and even starting to fall out through the window.

The owner of the trailer got out and quickly set up a large enough container outside which held the crazy amount of cotton candy. Fortunately enough, the sugary threads didn't grow any bigger than that.

"How much mana did you transfer?!" The man shouted.

"I don't think I did much at all!" Lucas shot a small magical bullet of light in the air which then dispersed slowly after. "Only like that amount!" He then thought back. "Well, I tried to do that much but I was distracted, ehehe…", he sweat-dropped.

"Huh?!" The man shouted again but this time it was more in amazement than shock. "I guess your mana is rich with energy then. Looks like being in the Golden Dawn isn't just for show, hm? Well, anyway, do you want to try some of this cotton candy? There's plenty around!"

"You can't just leave it as is!" Mimosa said as she bit a mouthful of her own cotton candy.

Lucas got handed five sticks of cotton candy from the man since there was so much of it.

"I can have one of them but what on earth do I do with the other four?!" He asked but the bearded man was busy with his own things. There were more people around the trailer and they all eyed up the fluffy, pink clouds that were around, courtesy of Lucas.

"Step right up, get your sweet cotton candy right here! Thanks to the Golden Dawn, the cotton candy here is sure to get your tastebuds dancing!" He shouted, writing something next to 'The Mystery Candy' in a marker pen.

"Woah, that much yul… It's good that we got ours for free, right?" Mimosa watched in awe as she saw the man hand over tens of cotton candy sticks to ten people within seconds.

"He's a good businessman", Lucas replied. "But I'm not too sure if using the Golden Dawn's name to sell your food is the moral thing to do…", he thought with an awkward smile.

Mimosa turned to Lucas. "Since our hands are full, let's sit near that water fountain there", she pointed a few metres in front of her.

It was a small water feature with a circle of market stalls around it. The fountain had a statue of two doves in the middle with water flowing out of their beaks and down below. This water continually circulated through the entire fountain, making it seem like the water was endless.

"Yeah, let's go. It'll take a while to finish these and I don't want to waste it", he smiled before walking over.

"Ah, that hits the spot", Hamon yawned as he sat back on a wooden chair.

The glutton stretched his arms and legs and felt his stomach. He then slowly bent forwards to rest his face on the small, rectangular table in front of him. He opened his eyes and saw the tower of wrappers that were piled on each other, slowly tilting away.

"Those burgers reeealllly filled me up", he said to himself as he raised his hand to his mouth in order to cover a burp. "After Shiren disappeared, this was the only thing I could entertain myself with...", he sighed.

The Glass mage then sat properly on his seat and looked around at all the other tables. He saw lots of friends together, enjoying their evening, but he also saw plenty of couples holding hands and getting close to one another.

All of a sudden, he pictured Melody's face in his mind which made him shake his head for a few seconds. "No, no, no, what am I thinking?!" He held his blushing and hot face and put his elbows on the table. "It's clear that she's not interested in me with the way she's being. She even… forgot the time we spent together a few years ago".

FLASHBACK - SIX YEARS AGO:

A few days have passed since Hamon's confession to Eleanor ended in heartbreak and embarrassment. He was now in his room, all alone, and sat on the bed, curled up in a ball.

To the right of him were the blue, red, and green flowers that he found on the cold, wet floor on that dreaded day. The very flowers that gave him some hope and strength to carry on were now sitting beside his large bed, basking in the radiating sunlight.

"I know those flowers were left by someone. Th-They saved me from all the gloom and grey that I was starting to see but… how do I go about changing myself? If I'm not liked the way I am, how should I move forward?"

Hamon found the sign to carry on but he didn't have the means to do so just yet. He was only 15-years-old so he had no real experience. He started to fidget with his arms and repeatedly kick his legs about as if he wanted to move but didn't quite have the complete motivation to do so.

"Oi, why have you been crying to yourself?"

"H-Huh?!" Hamon shouted as he retreated behind the side of his bed. He peeked above the mattress to see a girl just sitting on the inside of his window sill, cross-legged. "Who on earth are you and what are you doing in my house?!"

"Never mind me, big guy, you've been dulling my mood ever since I saw you from my house over there". She pointed across the street to a large, three-storey house. "We just moved in and the first thing I see outside my bedroom window is you and your sorry face".

"You're… the new neighbours?"

"Duh, what else have I been saying? Anyway, why are you so upset? Did someone hit you or something?"

"N-Nooo, not exactly. Actually, y-yeah… Gah, anyway, if you don't tell me who you are, I'll scream!" Hamon shouted, now standing up as he tried to hold his ground.

"Hehe, it's unlikely they'll catch me. See, look at this", she said as she brought her right hand into view.

A translucent ball was floating in her palm and it got bigger until it circled around the teenage girl. Hamon looked at her but it didn't seem like anything happened. That was until she started to speak, or rather tried to.

Her mouth and throat were moving but no words were being said. Hamon tried hard to listen in but he couldn't hear a thing. The girl then undid her magic and peeked through the hole she made.

"You couldn't hear anything, huh? Now, I'll put the sphere around you", she said and transferred the silent orb around Hamon.

He tried to speak but the girl couldn't hear anything. She cupped her ears and shook her head to signal to Hamon that no sound was coming through. After that, she undid her magic.

"My magic is sound-based so catching me is quite difficult, hehe. Tell me why you were upset or I'll just keep on annoying you", she pointed and winked.

"Why… do you care so much? You don't even know me", Hamon asked but figured that ending this whole conversation would be the best thing to do, so he explained. "I… just want to be strong but I'm not sure how. Maybe I have to change the way I look to be strong, or do I have to be more confident? I… I'm not too sure".

"Ho…", the girl nodded. "Well, aren't you going to become a Magic Knight? I'd say that's the first step to becoming strong. I mean, I see that grimoire tucked underneath your pillow", she nodded towards the bed. "Why are you hiding it?"

Hamon turned towards the pillow and slipped his spellbook out, holding it close to his chest. "I received this on my birthday a few days ago but I have no experience in training or anything like that. My family aren't into battling and we're heads of the food industry, but I want to be different".

The girl then showed off her own grimoire. It was a crystal-blue colour which lit up as every ray of light hit, deflected, and reflected off it. There were musical notes around her darker-blue three-leaf clover in the middle. "I have my own here, but I'm no Magic Knight. Still, I do missions for my family business and all so I'm plenty strong already!"

"Y-You're not a Magic Knight? I thought only those people could do missions for the kingdom", Hamon asked, confused.

"It isn't necessary but it is recommended. My parents have some weird grudge against the Magic Knights and they take it out on others", she shrugged. "My point is… I'm experienced and I can teach you some things about being strong", she declared.

"I have Glass Magic which is a far cry from Sound Magic. Are you sure you're not bluffing?"

The girl put her hand to her chest. "Wha- How could you say that? I know what I'm talking about when it comes to strength! Besides, Glass Magic and Sound Magic could be one lethal combination. So, whaddya say?"

"Before I answer, can I know why you're doing this? You don't even know me", the 15-year-old pointed to himself.

"Fine… I hurt someone badly", she gulped. "They're very close to me and now I don't know if they'll ever speak to me again. They're very kind, maybe too kind, so I just wanted to pass on some of that. Urgh, maybe it's to do right by them, I dunno", she explained.

"Hm, well, if you want to be kind can you at least tell me your name?" Hamon asked for what seemed like multiple times now.

The girl jumped down by using her arms as a boost against the window sill. She landed and flicked her two, purple pigtails to the side so they rested over her shoulders. Her green eyes sparkled like jewels against the shining sun that was behind her. She smiled, or rather she smirked as she looked at Hamon.

"The name's… Melody Schubert", she said with a little pause in the middle. The young teenager put her hands on her hips as she introduced herself. "And you are?"

"I'm H-Hamon Caseus".

Melody stretched her arm out and offered a hand to the Glass mage and he, after thinking for a second or two, accepted it.

FLASHBACK - END

"After that… we trained like crazy every single day. The person who left the flowers made me make up my mind, but Melody was the reason I passed the exam. And… she doesn't remember any of that?"

Hamon opened his sad eyes and everything was a blur for a moment or two. There was something in front of him but he couldn't quite make it out until a second later.

"Helloooo?"

"AH! M-Melody?!"

"Y-Yes, it's me…".

The 'something' in front of Hamon was not actually a 'something' but a 'someone'. Melody Schubert, as if knowing that the glutton was thinking about her, showed up all of a sudden.

"Wh-What are you doing here?" Hamon asked quickly, rushing his words.

Melody frowned. "Should I not be here? All of the Golden Dawn are at the Star Festival so it's obvious I'd be here. Besides, didn't you see how… excited I was back at the base?"

"N-No, that's not how I meant it…", he dropped his shoulders and sighed. "I meant right in front of my face".

"Oh… haha", she awkwardly laughed. "I was just walking around when I saw you on your own. I wasn't sure if you were sleeping or not so I came closer and that's when you woke up. S-sorry, I'll go since I think I disturbed you", he frowned again.

Hamon instinctively reached his hand out and grabbed the Sound mage's. "Uh… Um…", he started to redden again. "I didn't really think about this properly...", he looked away for second. "Shiren doesn't seem to be coming back, so...", he looked back at Melody. "W-W-Would you… like to go round the festival with me?"

Her nervous expression slowly turned into a smile. "He's been acting odd recently but… also kind of nice", she thought. "I'd b-be happy to".

Lucas and Mimosa sat on the fountain border with their cotton candy in their hands. They saw many different people walking together as part of a crowd, or flying with a group of people on broomsticks or even carpets.

"I've never seen flying carpets like that". Lucas pointed with his right hand that was holding onto one of the five cotton candy sticks he had in total.

"You used to see them all the time but, since they're quite expensive now, people prefer to use broomsticks", Mimosa replied, now finishing her only flossy dessert.

Lucas leaned back against the railing and took everything in. "This place… is so different compared to the Forsaken Realm. I mean, it's really amazing but I wish things like this were common everywhere. I'd love for the people living there to experience all this".

Mimosa joined him as she slouched back. "I've been to the Forsaken Realm a few times and I agree with you. If you can share what we have here with them, then things would be much more fun for everyone".

"Maybe…",

"Hm?" Mimosa turned, intrigued.

"Maybe I'll be the one to change it. I'll become the Wizard King and help give everyone the life that they deserve. The Forsaken Realm and the Common Realm should be just as important as the Noble Realm".

Mimosa was silent as she just watched him. "He's… so determined. Declaring and fighting for his goal. It makes me think of what I should do. Do I… have a goal like Lucas?"

"Oh, talking about all that and I didn't even notice that I finished that whole cotton candy just like that!" Lucas laughed and felt his stomach. "Although… If I try to eat the rest of these…", he twirled the four others in his left hand, and then took two with his right. "... I might put on some fat that I really don't need!"

"Well then…".

"If that's the case…".

"Then don't mind…".

"I-If I d-do…".

Lucas and Mimosa jumped all of a sudden as panic hit them.

"Where did those voices come from?!"

There was giggling from the set of four voices that the two mages heard. Eventually, they stopped as they came into view from where they originally were.

"Oh, come on! It's us, Mister Lucas!"

Four children came out from around the sides of the water fountain. They all ran towards Lucas and climbed all over him, targeting the cotton candy sticks that he was holding.

"If you weren't children then you'd definitely be leeches!" Lucas shouted, trying his best to stay on his feet.

Mimosa gawked at the peculiar scene and started to recognise the four children. "Hang on a minute. Aren't these…".

"Oh, hi. It's the Miss who found me back in Nean", one of the girls waved.

"Yep, Mimosa, it's Daisy's sisters. Alice, Grace, Sonia, and Chloe…", he said as he tried to sit down with the four still on his clothes and head.

"If they're here, then where's D-!"

"You four, I told you to stay put!" Another familiar voice shouted from the distance and got closer within seconds. "You ran off saying you spotted a friend but didn't tell me who. Thankfully, Chloe is the slowest so I caught u-!"

The familiar voice was Daisy who just appeared in full view to the group of six. She saw Lucas and Mimosa and smiled but then focused on her siblings who were now resting on his shoulders, two on each.

"So, this is who you spotted", she sighed with a sense of relief before waving at the two mages.

"Well, Lucas, thanks for the invite", she winked.

NOTES:

Here is the start of Lucas's and Mimosa's 'Date', shall we say?

There will be more Star Festival chapters, of course. I just want to separate them into their own sections. Here was the start of the festival and the others will incorporate the rest.

What did you think about their date so far? David really gave Lucas something to think about, didn't he?

Hamon and Melody… Is something going on?