It just couldn't be helped. Danny was head over heels in love. What a wonderful and precarious phrase, so often used by poets and writers. Useless flowery language, meant to show how love was just so much grander for them, made it feel ephemeral and unreachable. However, Danny was certain he was feeling twice as giddy as those twats. He was certain Joan felt the same way too. Sure, they hadn't exactly spoken, but he saw the occasional gaze she threw his way in arithmetic lessons. Maybe Alric was right about those stories, cause what else could this be but the greatest of love stories ever told?

There was just one problem. How in the high court was he supposed to court her? Surely it needed to be grand and romantic but what was the move exactly? Should he line the road to a fancy dinner with flowers? Maybe get her a golden bracelet with their names on it? Danny wasn't too sure, but he was sure that he didn't want to follow her home for the former or had the money for the later. That left only one option, writing a sonnet. He tried that with Abigail, but it didn't seem like she enjoyed it. That is why Danny had a new trick up his sleeve. Singing the sonnet to Joan via his new lute practice.

It had been one grueling year for Danny, well most of one. He filled his days with studying the lute, playing those blasted arpeggios for Morcar, or Mr. Teach, as Danny settled upon. The drunk spent all of two days teaching him the notes and arpeggios. He made sure Danny played them almost constantly but never offered any actual guidance. Took Danny piecing it together by ear to figure out even the most modest of drinking songs. Lords above, he had been forced to take the stage after those two days of teaching.

Danny suppressed a shiver, that night had been etched deep into his very soul. Lords above, he barely knew how to even make a note come out, much less play “Faiwer Fellian”. It led to some very angry drunks, including the ever-magnanimous Mr. Teach. Luckily being the son of the drunk led to a thorough education in this regard so Danny had to just belch out “Upon a Hill” and “Blaine Aledrunk” disregarding the lute entirely. It was certainly a trial by fire, and Danny got burned.

Although, if Danny had a trial by fire, Alric seemed like he walked through an inferno. Danny saw him just a few weeks ago before he said he needed to go off. Alric had just disappeared last year after the fight with Bruno. Bruno himself had taken as a sign he was the winner and strutted about like the next chosen champion of Lord Pompous himself. However, Bruno would be in for a rude awakening come Nameday. Alric had transformed from the idealistic hero out of a story to a barely held blade at your throat. Alric told some of what he did while training, and Danny felt bad for anyone who tried to fight him. Apparently, the demoness was harsher to her students than her enemies.

Danny didn’t have time to be concerned about his brother, he had his own concerns after all. Namely, how in the high court he was supposed to write a sonnet. Blast it, he was going to have to talk to Morcar wasn’t he?

Danny stood from the table he had been collecting himself at, at least that’s how he’d put it. Much better than “staring off to space.” Before he could think of a better solution, He marched over to Morcar’s own spot at the bar. The man didn’t bother diverting his attention from his drink, but Danny didn’t let that stop him.

“Morcar I need your help”

No response. Danny couldn’t help but sigh, the drunk just had to make things difficult. Pinching the bridge of his nose, to prepare himself for this headache Danny reaffirmed his desire to not bash this man’s head in. “Mr. Teach, I need yo-”

Danny didn’t get to finish the sentence, as it died in the whirlwind surrounding him. Before he knew it, He was back at his table with the old man sitting before him in a chair, all concern and compassion in his eyes. Danny heard a snort in the background and couldn’t help smiling slightly knowing Mom was watching the proceedings. Then cringe once he remembered what he was meant to do.

“What is it you need good old teacher to help you with?” Morcar said with a knowing smirk. Danny couldn’t help but ball his fists battling with the urge to knock a few more of the man’s teeth out of his glittering mouth. Cool it, hothead, just breath slowly. Slowly. Danny craned his head and saw that same smirk, somehow even more obnoxious then only a second ago. Just get it out, blast it.

“I need your help to woo a girl,” Danny spat out with an unwarranted amount of vehemence. Well, maybe it was warranted as Morcar seemed to be frozen solid. Silence reigned supreme in the bar for that moment, not like it wasn’t already quiet except for the duo. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Danny quickly followed.

“Well lad, I… thought you preferred men considering how often you go on and on about that Alric friend of yours. Not that there is anything wrong with that, with Lady Memory and all,” Morcar seemed a little too hasty to defend himself for Danny’s liking. Sure, he talked about Alric but that was because he was concerned with the big oaf and respected how he was never afraid to be himself. If Alric was scared, he was scared. If he was happy, then he was happy. None of that fake rubbish so many in this city seemed ever so fond of. Wait a moment. Danny was supposed to be upset right now.

“Well I’m not, you old drunk, maybe all those ales have addled your mind? I was wanting to write her a sonnet and figured you could help me compose it, or at least teach me how.”

This set off another round of staring at Danny. “You understand that a sonnet is merely a type of poem, not a type of song, right? Sure, we could write a sonnet then put it to music, but then it would be better to simply write a ballad. Sound better too,” spoke Morcar slowly, as if speaking to a dullard.

Danny felt his cheeks ripen like a tomato; he swore that was the type of song he looked up in the school’s library. “So, how do we write this ballad thingy?”

“What do you know about her?” Morcar spoke excitedly. Maybe it was the alcohol speaking. How would Danny know? He’d never seen Morcar without at least a little bit of rum in the barrel. Either way, it was the most excitable he’d seen the old coot since he first agreed to be his apprentice.

“Her eyes are brown and her hair black. She has the cutest button nose and rosy cheeks. Even her chin is…” Danny trailed off at the flabbergasted Morcar staring at him. Maybe it was a bit more than just a little rum in the barrel. “Wh-what is wrong?”

“Brat, what do you actually know about her? What is her laugh like, her aspirations, what does she do when she’s sad to make her feel better? You know, like actual things about her, not this vapid heap of dung you’re flinging my way.” It took Morcar a few more moments to get down from his high horse.

“…Okay, so say that I don’t know that stuff because I may or may not have never spoken a word to her directly.” Danny tried to drop that bundle of knowledge as carefully as a baby off a cliff. It took another two rants for Morcar to calm down.

After a long sigh, Morcar continued with a calm defeated attitude, “Look, lad, you need to do some scouting if you want to succeed. It is going to take more than how pretty she is to win over her heart. Go approach her and start talking. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Now get to practicing, it looks like it’ll be an important night to study your arpeggios.”

---

Lords above, could palms get this sweaty? Danny had already wiped them five times and was starting to get a damp handkerchief. Maybe he should wring it out? No, that’d probably be too gross. Danny ran his hands through his bleached hair, less to straighten his already rumpled mop than to calm his frazzled nerves. Deep breath. Danny had this, just walk up there and start talking to her, simple.

Danny felt he was doing a lot of confidence walking lately as he strode up to Joan, busy talking with her friends and twin Abigail. One of them noticed Danny and stopped all conversation to gawk at him as he got ever closer to Joan’s back. Come on he had this. Blast it all, just get it over with already.

“He-hey Joan… mind if I sit here,” Why had he never noticed his voice sounding this whiney before?

Joan seemed pleasantly surprised, given by the smile she flashed Danny. Abigail did not, judging by the dirty look she shot him. “Why yes you can, we certainly would be happy to have you. You’re Alric’s friend, right? Danny was it?”

“Ye-yes that’s right!”

Finally, he had an in. Morcar said the next thing to do was to start learning about her. Nodding his head, Danny took an unassuming seat with a small but noticeable distance between the two parties.

“So…” Danny felt his mumble trail off. Lords above, was this the feeling of “the hunt” as Josh had put it with his usual lack of eloquence. Felt like Danny’s heart was about to break out his chest and his pits were already halfway to matching the sheer dampness of the misty air around the Vigil Falls. Oh, blasted high court, they were staring at him now. Why were they staring? Right, he started talking. “Joan, what have you been doing lately?” Danny felt the words spill out of him in a tumble.

“Huh? Well, I’ve been doing the same as everyone else. Preparing for the Nameday ball and worrying over what essence I’ll get at Nameday,” Joan spoke with casual ease while waving the question away.

Danny wasn’t quite sure where to take the conversation after that. He didn’t take the time to prepare a list of questions, half-convinced he wouldn’t even make it this far. Well, maybe he could just melt into the background. Highcourt knows he wished he could avoid the stares. This was just like that night all over again.

No, had this. If he could face down a hoard of drunks, he could face down a group of girls. Just like the stage, deep breath in, smile, and make them do the work themselves. Danny put on his best rakishly good smirk, ran a hand through his hair and asked the simplest question he could think of, “So what were you ladies talking about earlier?”

Seemed like Joan’s eyes just lit up. A passion known only to drunks for their sweet ambrosia emanated off her like a fiery hearth. “So, we were just talking about that fraud Havisa and how she totally didn’t get with Lancelin, even though I said…” Danny triumphed at his success. Oozing with satisfaction and anticipation as he got Joan to tell him everything about herself and her friends. She was practically as detailed as a faithful of Discovery in their information gathering. Danny later found she was a faithful of discovery, guess the Lord liked to gossip. Danny couldn’t help himself sink ever deeper into his heart as the days rolled by. She was fascinating and beautiful. Driven and wickedly intelligent. Danny knew she would be running this town one day and could help but imagine being by her side.

He was truly in love for the first time.