It had been a few hours after the dinner had ended and everyone at the Magnar Manor, except for the night sentries, should be asleep in their own quarters. As for me, Helena Gracie, I cannot help but have my heart furiously beating at this time, making it so sleeping would be quite the unreasonable request. Alexius had told that I did not need to be alert, he would come wake me up when the time came. Still, one cannot control one's heart so easily, and so, as I wait for him to show up, I try to calm myself, but am unable to.

Is it the thrill of upcoming adventure? Is it that my childhood friend will be coming to my room? Is it that he is taking me away on an adventure after accepting the engagement? Regardless of the reason, it is quite hard for me to take control of my excitement. As it gets to a point that is frankly unbearable I shout inside my heart “Ugh, I can't take it anymore! Come here, now!”. As if responding to my desire, I hear a gentle knock on one of my windows, meaning Alexius is here. I immediately change my mind and decide that I actually need some more time to calm myself, but I hear the sounds of my window being opened.

“Helena, hey. Wake up, it's time.”

I fake being asleep to buy time for my heart to settle down, but it just won't. Stupid heart, settle down! With a slightly open eye, I see Alexius sigh and approach me, probably to shake me lightly. I decide that maybe I really should wake up.

“Ah, I'm up... Just give me a second.”

I fake some sleepiness in order to buy time, but Alexius ignores it and pulls something from his Treasury Sack. It is a big hooded cloak that could easily cover me from head to toe. He throws it on me without even waiting for me to sit up on the bed.

“Apologies, but there is no time for you to properly dress yourself. Once we are at the inn, you can do that. Oh, and when jumping from the window, don't forget to touch the slow fall brooch, this is the second floor after all.”

Although I am still pretty excited, I feel it dampen somewhat. I'm definitely not pouting. Oh well, this is how Alexius has been his whole life, after all.

“Okay, just turn back for a bit so I can fasten this properly then...”

“Uh? No problem, I can barely see anything in this darkness.”

He might say that, but he could see clearly enough that he realized I glared daggers at him and decided that he probably should listen when a lady asks him to turn around. After I am ready and stand at the side of the bed, he silently hands me over a pair of boots that he also probably took out from the Treasury Sack. I put them on and am finally ready to leave.

As I approach the open window I feel a slight chill as the cold wind of an autumn night flows into my room. Fortunately, most of it is held at bay by the cloak I am wearing. I climb up the window and take a deep breath before jumping to the ground. As I touched the brooch beforehand, my fall feels more like a gentle gliding through the air. As my feet touch the ground, my heart is beating faster than ever. It finally really dawns on me that we are doing this. Even though we are officially engaged, it's like we are lovers, eloping despite their parents' disapproval.

“Wow, uh, This is actually more unnerving than I thought it would be.”

I whisper, slightly embarrassed and thinking what would my parents think when the next day came. Alexius touched my shoulder lightly, as if to encourage me somewhat.

“Getting cold feet? The really exciting part hasn't even come up yet.”

That's not what I mean! Was what I wanted to tell him, but decided not to. I just smiled, slightly lowered my head and gestured for him to lead. He took my hand and gently pulled me along as we walked to the manor's gate in the darkness. It was quite a pleasant walk.

We easily pass by a pair of sleeping sentries. I wonder what Alexius did to make them sleep like that, poor them. They would probably be harshly scolded the next day. I know that Alexius left a letter behind that, among other things, pleaded mercy for the sentries, but who knew how Lady Magnar would react?

We reach the outside of the Manor, the streets of the noble quarter of the capital. I had seen many of the different appearances of the capital, but walking during the wee hours of the morning was a new experience to me. It was... Strange. But I still felt comfortable because Alexius was beside me.

We had to walk very carefully in the noble quarter due to the many patrols, it wouldn't do to get caught at the start of our adventure, but with some patience and care, we were able to reach the merchant quarter. There, Alexius told me we would stop at an inn were we could rest for a bit before dawn, then change clothes and head for the city's gate. Once we arrived at the inn, Alexius did not enter through the front, but instead led me to a back entrance, at which he knocked several times until the door opened and a man silently ushered us in after a glance. He exchanged little more than a smile with Alexius before accepting a small gold coin and leading us to a room.

The room was quite large, with a reasonable amount of furniture, however, it did not seemed like the kind of place where a noble might decide to rest, although that might be the point.

“It's not too shabby I suppose. This room seems well enough kept. However, I must ask you, Alexius, why is there only one bed in this room?”

It's not that I suspected him of anything, but still... He shrugged and gave me a smile.

“What can I say? According to the story I have fed this place's owner, I am nothing more than a rich merchant's son, eloping with the daughter of a poor artisan, who my miserly father would never ever allow me to marry. I think it would be obvious that in this situation, the man would not be all that concerned with the woman's honor or preserving her chastity. It is useful to have him think that, you know, I don't think he will try to listen on us.”

If my face did not turn beet red at the implications he was making, I suppose I made a good job of hiding my embarrassment. Still, now that the excitement in my heart had somewhat subsided, I realized that I was really quite tired as I did not sleep at all back in the manor.

“Hmm, well, we are officially engaged after all, so I suppose this much shouldn't be a big problem. Although I trust that you will not stare too much or... Be inappropriate.”

He took off the cloak he had been using and threw himself on the bed, making himself quite comfortable in one half of it.

“Don't worry, I would never do something to hurt and sadden you. Also, I will wake up at the break of dawn, so don't worry about the time. There's not that much time left before it but... You should rest.”

I nodded at him and went to sleep, my thoughts sleepily wandering to how we might be behaving right now if we really were the eloping merchant's son and artisan's daughter.

I heard that usually one shouldn't be able to remember their dreams often or very clearly. So why was it that after waking up a few hours later, I could barely look at Alexius without remembering my dream and becoming red with embarrassment? It was so vivid in my memory that I almost think he took advantage of me in my sleepy state... Except in my dream, I took plenty of initiative... I will just try my best to forget it... and deflect when he asks me if I'm not feeling fine. Wait, don't they say dreams are more easily remembered when they are interrupted? Then it is Alexius' fault for waking me up when he did...

We left the capital with no problems. As we crossed its gates into the surrounding land, I wonder if my absence in the manor has already been noted and what is everyone's reactions. I also cannot help but feel slightly nervous about whether our preparations were enough.