Heart of a Monster

The bell on the front door rang out throughout the dining room signaling the arrival of another customer. Its ringing was almost entirely drowned out by the commotion of all the other patrons in the restaurant. However, Aridean had managed to always make a note of when she heard the doorbell chime; she did not want to keep anyone waiting. Customers that had to wait on her would often be angry with her.

Everything seemed like an ordinary day in Mutt’s Tavern: Thellian villagers seated throughout the dining room alongside a few passing traveling merchants or other mobile folk. Dirt littered the floor near the door despite the welcome mat and small bits of food were visible under tables. Creaking of wooden furniture under the guests and the chatter or discussions between said guests could be heard all around.

Aridean was delivering plates to a table of dwarves when she heard the doorbell ringing. Her ears flicked at the chime, which two of the dwarves laughed at. Although embarrassed, the minotaur waitress finished serving her clients and turned to find the new customer. It was a pleasant surprise to her to find that Simon and Finn had stopped by for lunch; the duo were seated by a window table near the door. Not often did a smile creep across her face while she was working, but Aridean just could not contain herself as she approached Simon.

Although she was almost certain she already knew what the two were planning on ordering, Aridean playfully asked the men what they would be having. Just as she guessed, Finn came by for a meatball sandwich. Though he did decide to mix things up by asking for a plate of chips instead of french fries. Simon’s order was also just what Aridean had expected: grilled salmon with a side salad.

Only a few minutes after handing the order to George in the kitchen, Aridean reentered the dining room and made straight for Simon and Finn’s table. She happily handed over their meals and asked if there was anything else she could get the two. Finn was unable to answer her as he had already begun to stuff his sandwich into his mouth. Simon, on the other hand, looked at Aridean with his usual tired face. Just as his lips began to move, the doorbell rang out again which caught both Aridean and Simon’s attention.

Aridean gasped and felt her whole body tense up upon registering who had just entered the restaurant. Clad in shining armor, but dripping with blood, was a knight. This was not just any knight, but the same one that Aridean kept seeing in her dreams; the one that continues to slay a female minotaur and then come for her. Aridean’s eyes went wide and she could feel her breathing quickly becoming erratic as the knight surveyed the room. Although his face was covered, it was clear that the knight had stopped to focus in on Aridean, standing only a few meters away.

Having realized that the knight was looking for her for whatever reason, Aridean’s blood felt cold all throughout her veins. The only warmth she could get came from something wrapped around her wrist. She managed to pry her eyes from the imposing knight by the front door to the restaurant to see that Simon was holding on to her. His warm hand and gentle touch, however, was not quite enough to convince Aridean that everything was alright. Even so, Simon began to speak just as the knight started slowly walking in Aridean’s direction.

“Aridean? Wake up,” Simon said, completely ignoring the entity that struck pure terror into his adopted daughter.

“W-what?” Aridean responded, confused by what it was Simon was telling her. She could not tell which was more baffling, what Simon had said to her or his seeming obliviousness toward the knight coming their way.

“Aridean! You need to wake up already,” Simon continued.

“H-huh?” Aridean snorted as she jolted awake in her seat.

“Ah, there you are. Have you been sleeping well recently? You still seem to stir a lot in your sleep,” Rana asked with concern in her voice, but a gentle smile on her face. Rana was lying in a hospital bed and Aridean was seated in a small folding chair by her side. After their mission to put a stop to the sasquatch, Rana had been admitted to the rebel base’s hospital. Vidor had also been forced to allow a doctor to look him over but had long since escaped the building saying he had things to do before the recruitment celebration that was scheduled that evening.

“Oh… sorry, Rana. I came by to keep you company, but I guess my snoring isn’t really good conversation,” Aridean said, avoiding the question Rana had asked. Rana let loose a quiet giggle.

Walls, flooring, and ceiling were all, as all structures in the base, made of smoothed stone. However, the hospital was different from other stone buildings as every square inch of the building was scrubbed every day to avoid any sort of infection in the patients. Although she volunteered to work in the mess hall, Aridean had been a part of the cleaning crew for the hospital on more than one occasion.

Rana’s room was fairly standard by all accounts; there was the bed, a countertop for staff materials, and a window that looked out into the rest of the underground town. Unnatural, magical lighting coming from the miniature sunlight orbs outside was illuminating the room. Unfortunately, there was not much in the way of entertainment for patients.

“Well, while you were sleeping, I did at least finish reading that book you brought me the other day. Thanks again for getting that for me, it’s been really dull being cooped up in here,” Rana said. The minotaur reached for a small book on the countertop by her bed and handed the novel to Aridean. Aridean took the book and put it in her backpack which she had set on the floor beside her chair.

“Of course. At least today you should be getting out, right?” Aridean responded as she zipped up her bag.

“If it weren’t for grandfather worrying so much, I probably would have been out yesterday. Honestly, I still don’t believe I required a hospital visit. No broken bones, just a soreness in my leg, arm, and pride after being thrown into Vidor. But grandfather was worried that maybe I had a concussion or even internal bleeding after the blow. I’m just glad I didn’t end up goring Vidor; still counting myself lucky my horns didn’t hit him,” Rana complained with her natural gentle and friendly tone.

Aridean was not about to forget Mikali’s reaction to seeing his grandchildren injured. Despite having spent nearly two years with him as her boss, Aridean felt incredibly uncomfortable just mentioning his name. He was part of the reason she, unwillingly, wound up joining the rebel army after all. However, the concern for Rana and Vidor displayed a side of him that Aridean did not think he had. Although Aridean did not particularly care what he thought, what he said to her and the way he said it after Rana and Vidor were seen by a doctor stuck with her: ‘Thank you for protecting my grandchildren, thank you’. He had spoken that phrase while holding Aridean’s hands in his own; she remembered feeling them tremble somewhat.

Even someone as tough and cold as Mikali can care for someone. I actually thought he was about to start choking up, Aridean thought to herself. She shifted herself in her chair for comfort before noticing Rana looking at her with the familiar, caring smile that she spread on her face.

“You never answered me, Aridean: are you still having bad dreams? Is there something you want to talk about?” Rana asked with a concerned tone. Rana’s older-sisterly nature made it impossible for Aridean to hide just about anything from her. Even if Aridean did not wish to discuss anything, Rana was sure to pry so as to know whether or not everything was okay.

“W-well… yes, I am still having bad dreams. It’s nothing new though, I’m fine, promise. They’ll probably just go away with time,” Aridean answered. Rana clearly remained unconvinced by the serious expression that she now had.

“If you say so. But if you ever do need to talk about anything, I’ll be there to listen,” Rana replied, having relented from forcing her way into Aridean’s business further. She continued with a playful smile, “I just want to know that my team is doing well.”

“Thanks, Rana. Wait, your team? Even after what happened with the sasquatch, you managed to make the rank of captain? That’s incredible,” Aridean said with a hint of astonishment. Despite the mission being a success, it ended with most of the team having taken some serious damage. Aridean did not expect Rana or herself to have passed their tests due to the circumstances regarding their encounter.

“Well… technically speaking, I’m not a captain yet. Although we did ensure that the sasquatch would no longer trouble the supply settlement, we did suffer some blows that could have been easily avoided had we just been a bit more careful. I never could have imagined something as large as that sasquatch could move so quickly. You did mention they are capable of some impressive acts, though. I’m ashamed to admit that wasn’t the first time I’ve underestimated an enemy, but I’ll learn from that mistake and do better in the future,” Rana began to explain while grabbing a cup of water from the counter by her bed. “Anyway, I’ve convinced grandfather to allow me a sort of probation regarding my captain ranking status. Not being an officially organized military, there are plenty of loopholes in his system I can exploit. It helps that our intel did not really specify what it was we were going up against and that I just know how to get what I want from grandfather. He’ll actually be by in just a little while to brief me on our first assignment.”

“I’m glad to hear that I’ll get to be a part of your team. I won’t let you down, Captain,” Aridean responded, which was met with a bit of a snort from Rana.

“Captain, huh? That’s going to take some getting use to. Perhaps you could just keep calling me Rana, okay? I’m also glad to hear you’ll be happy to join Vidor and myself. I knew you wouldn’t be comfortable on a team with people you don’t know too well. Plus, Vidor would be upset with me if I did not push to have you assigned to our team,” Rana replied with another short laugh. “Speaking of Vidor, he asked me to remind you to meet him in the plaza later if you came by. Said something about wanting to spend some time with you during the recruitment celebration.”

“Yes, I was going to go back to the barracks for a quick shower before heading to our meeting place,” Aridean replied.

“If that’s the case, it’s a good thing I woke you up. You should probably get going if that is your plan. The celebration should be starting within the hour after all,” Rana commented as she took a sip of water.

“Okay, I’ll be going then. See you later,” Aridean said as she stood from her chair. She collected her bag and made for the door; Rana smiled and waved as Aridean left the hospital room.

Out in the hallway, Aridean gently closed the door to Rana’s room behind her. She let out a loud sigh before turning and walking down the hallway to the front door. There were only a few other occupants in the hallway apart from Aridean, mostly cleaning staff and a couple of nurses who were loudly discussing their evening plans. It seemed to Aridean that other patients were still in their assigned rooms and any visitors were already gone. If anything, that made Aridean feel a bit more comfortable as she made her way out of the building.

Keeping close to the wall the entire walk down the long hallway, Aridean reached the reception of the hospital. She gave a curtesy wave to the smiling and jolly, dwarven clerk at the desk as she moved through the room to the door. Loud clopping from her hooves on the stone floor echoed across the room, but it did not seem to bother the clerk. Even so, Aridean felt a bit insecure about the loud noise potentially drawing attention to her. Regardless, she finally reached the door and pushed her way out of the hospital. Aridean drew in a deep breath and let it out before turning in the direction of the barracks.

“Maybe, with some luck, the showers are mostly clear because of the festivities today,” Aridean said to herself as she began to walk back to the barracks.

Stonehaven was busy and bustling with citizens setting up booths, decorations, and moving equipment through the main street on which the hospital sat. Aridean kept close to the walls of the buildings on her way as she was trying to avoid others. Although there were plenty of other minotaurs around mingling and conversing with the humans, dwarves, and elves, Aridean just wanted to keep to herself. Stonehaven was accepting of the minotaur people, but her life in Thellia had instilled in her the desire to keep out of sight. Despite having lived in this underground city for nearly two years, old habits just die hard.

Eventually, Aridean arrived back at the barracks. As she pulled the door open, a pair of elves stood on the other side just inside the foyer that divided the male and female barracks. Without a word, Aridean pulled the door back and stood behind it to allow the elves to pass. One of the elves nodded their gratitude as they walked away and Aridean slipped inside the stone building.

Quickly, and as quietly as her hooves clopping on the stone floor would allow, Aridean made her way over to her personal bunk near the far end of the female barrack. Her backpack fell onto the bed as she arrived at her bunk. She knelt down by her bed and reached underneath to pull out a footlocker. With a clicking sound, the latches were undone and the lid to the container was pulled open. Aridean secured a change of clothes and a towel from the box before closing it and slipping it back underneath her bunk.

Despite having noticed that she was the only occupant within the barracks, Aridean elected to continue trying to keep the noise down as she made her way to the showers. She quietly pushed the door open and entered the shower room. A total of twenty shower stalls, ten on each wall to her left and right, lined the room she was in. Between the stalls were several small benches, underneath some of the benches were drains for collecting any excess water. At the far end of the shower room was another doorless passageway that led into the lavatory, though Aridean did not have any use for those facilities at this moment. It seemed that not another soul was present, much to Aridean’s relief.

“Oh, good, I really didn’t expect to be the only one here,” Aridean said to herself as she draped her fresh set of clothes and towel over a stall’s curtain. After pulling the opaque, white, plastic sheet of a curtain closed, Aridean began to remove her clothes. Just like her clean clothes, she draped the used set over the curtain as well. Now prepared, the minotaur turned around to the stone wall of the stall that held two large buttons, one blue and the other red. These shower buttons were about up to Aridean’s stomach on the wall and controlled whether cold or warm water would be used for the shower. After being pushed, Aridean would have seven minutes to clean herself. Aridean pushed the red button and almost immediately, the showerhead three feet above her began to rain warm water down upon her. She was clearly delighted by the experience.

Warm water ran down her body, from the top of her head and horns all the way down her legs and hooves. Her fur and mane were matted to her skin, as though plastered to her body by the water. Although she was enjoying the shower, Aridean knew she was on a timer and quickly took some shampoo from a nearby dispenser within the stall and began to scrub it into her fur coat. Soap and suds also began to ride down the tall minotaur and pooled around her hooves as it slowly flowed into the drain beneath her. Just as the last of the soap was washed from her fur, the shower’s refreshing rain ceased.

“Really wish I had just another minute or two, but I need to get going anyways,” Aridean quietly said to herself, slightly upset her shower was now over. She took the towel she had brought in and began to dry herself. The process of removing water from her fully furred body took a fair deal of time, but it was something that just could not be helped. After sufficient drying, Aridean began to put on her fresh clothes. She dressed in a plain, white t-shirt and specially made jeans for her minotaur legs; it had become her favorite casual get-up. She, unfortunately, did not have much else to wear anyways.

Now decent again, Aridean pushed open the curtain to the shower and grabbed her used clothes. She made a quick trip out to her bunk to put the dirty clothes into a small basket under her bed and retrieve a large hairbrush from her footlocker. With the brush in hand, Aridean moved to the lavatory so she could see in a mirror just how much brushing her mostly dry mane needed. She spent a few minutes brushing a few knots out of her mane before looking pleased with herself in the mirror. Satisfied, she left the lavatory.

“Okay, I think I’m ready… I just hope Vidor doesn’t expect me to get too involved in this festival,” Aridean said as she put her hairbrush back with her other belongings.

Honestly, I’m still not so sure about even going out tonight… I would much prefer to just study something new in one of the textbooks at the library. But, at the same time, this will be just like all those times Jean walked me through Thellia. Sure, it made me a bit uncomfortable, but having him near made everything okay… mostly. I’m sure being with Vidor will make being in public easier, Aridean thought to herself as she exited the barracks. Despite her hesitations, Aridean was certain that she would be spending the evening with Vidor.

Back through the town of Stonehaven, Aridean was again trying to keep out of the way of other citizens as they were finishing setting up their booths and equipment. Magical and artificial light from the glowing orbs on the ceiling of the underground city were starting to dim. Every evening, the bright orbs would dull so as to simulate moonlight in the underground. Aridean had come to find out that this was done to allow non-rebel citizens and children in the city the chance to experience moonlight. Lights in and around the stone buildings were slowly being turned on to illuminate the streets as the celebration was beginning.

Still don’t really understand the whole fuss about turning the pretend suns down if we’re just going to turn on all the lights, Aridean mused in her head. Although she recalled that she had been told it was to allow some semblance of a normal life in the city for citizens, the whole idea just seemed entirely unnecessary.

As Aridean arrived at the main plaza of Stonehaven, the celebration had gotten into its full swing. Everywhere she looked were people of various races talking, laughing, eating, and drinking together. Booths with long lines were set up to serve various snack foods. Some booths hosted carnival games, none of which Aridean had ever had the chance to play; lines for these stalls seemed to contain a much younger and hyperactive demographic.

Delicious and mouth-watering scents wafted through the air as the loud commotion from crowds everywhere surrounded Aridean. Feeling a bit out of place in the party plaza, Aridean found herself a stone bench to sit on at the edge of the plaza.

I really wish Jean was here, he would have loved something like this. I remember all the times he said he’d drag me by my horns through the Hunlio carnival if we ever had the chance to go together. Maybe he finally got to go now since he didn’t have to worry about me tagging along? I should probably start looking for Vidor, he should be around here somewhere, Aridean thought. She began surveying the crowd for signs of Vidor. Although there were several tall, black-furred minotaurs in the plaza, none of them had the white patch on their snout that Vidor had. It was at this point that Aridean began to worry; there were a lot of people around.

D-did he forget about me? I-I don’t like being out here with so many strangers. Maybe I should just go back, Aridean deliberated with growing concern. Just as she stood from the bench she was sitting upon; a familiar voice was heard.

“Boo!” Came Vidor’s voice from behind Aridean. Aridean jumped from the bench with alarm and turned to see Vidor smiling at her. Her fur was standing on ends and her eyes were positively bulging from the startling greeting. Upon noticing her distress, Vidor’s smile quickly faded.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you that bad,” Vidor apologized, scratching the back of his head.

“U-uhm, don’t worry about that. I’m just a bit jumpy is all,” Aridean replied a little flustered, her heart rate never having come down despite the spook factor having left her.

“Well, I didn’t make you wait too long, did I? Just wanted to make sure that your surprise was ready,” Vidor mentioned, his goofy-looking smile slowly returning to his face. In all honesty, Aridean had forgotten Vidor mentioned having a surprise for her. She thought tonight was just going to be the two of them talking, walking, and snacking on some of the doughnuts that the Stonehaven bakery had prepared.

“I wasn’t waiting long, but I am glad to see a familiar face now,” Aridean said.

“You were already having second thoughts, weren’t you? Well, I’m glad you didn’t take off without me. C’mon, I want to give you your surprise before we actually join in the fun here,” Vidor said, gesturing Aridean to follow him. Without hesitation, Aridean walked right beside Vidor as the two began to walk down a street away from the plaza.

Commotion from the celebration was slowly quieting down as the two moved further and further from the plaza, even the delightful smells were becoming lost to their nostrils. Vidor was quiet all the while as the two walked down the street, though his carefree smile remained on his face. Aridean initially thought it a bit odd that Vidor was not making much noise until she realized how far from the plaza they had gotten. While the talking and laughter could still be heard, Aridean wondered why they were leaving the celebration so far behind. Where exactly were they going for Vidor to give her the surprise he prepared for her?

“Well, we’re here,” Vidor exclaimed with enthusiasm as he stopped Aridean in front of a very familiar building.

“The… mess hall?” Aridean asked, confused. Vidor smiled at her and pushed open the door.

Aridean gasped as the duo entered the mess hall. Inside was not the normal, family-run restaurant aesthetic dining room that she had become accustomed to. It was as if the entire building had been renovated from top to bottom. The room itself looked as though it belonged in a five-star restaurant. Marble columns were spread in an orderly fashion throughout the room and red carpets covered walking space between tables. Tables were covered by cloth sheets, elegant seating surrounded said tables, and candlelight surrounded a single, well-made table in the center of the room. Vidor took Aridean by her hand and walked her to the center table where he pulled a chair out for her. Aridean could not tell what was more surprising, that Vidor had somehow managed the change of the mess hall or that his happy-go-lucky nature allowed him to act so gentlemanly.

“Pretty cool, right? Not only did I make sure we would be the only ones here, but I got a magician to apply an illusion to make it look straight out of the capital city,” Vidor bragged smugly as Aridean continued to look around the room in amazement. Illusion or not, the dining room was absolutely captivating given its current degree of elegance.

“Vidor… you did all this? For me?” Aridean asked after finally processing her surroundings.

“Well, this is just thanks for the other day. I saved your life back in the Konarch Forest and now you saved mine. Thing is, you also saved my sister’s life, so I felt a bit shown up,” Vidor answered with one of his big smiles. “I definitely don’t show it as much as Rana does, but I don’t know what I’d do without her. A fancy dinner doesn’t really repay you saving her, but I’m hoping it’s a start.”

“I-I don’t know what to say. This is… like a childhood dream come true right now,” Aridean spoke, giving her full attention to the minotaur sitting just across from her. “Jean had always talked about the two of us going around the country and visiting big cities. He knew I wouldn’t really care much for it, but he kept hyping up the two of us sitting in a fancy restaurant in the capital.”

“Oh… w-well, I’m glad you think it’s nice,” Vidor responded, his smile slowly fading as he sounded a bit flustered for some reason. Aridean was about to ask if everything was alright, but the door to the kitchen was thrown open. Out stepped Sven, one of the mess hall staff, who pushed a well-polished food cart out towards the table Aridean and Vidor were seated at. Sven was dressed in a remarkably well made and expensive looking waiter uniform. Upon Sven’s food cart sat a large, covered platter.

“Dinner is served; hope you like seafood,” Sven said as he uncovered the platter on the cart. Aridean’s eyes went wide at the sight of the meal that Vidor had ordered for the two of them. There were two separate, but equally impressive, grilled fish dishes served with steaming rice, mixed vegetables, and large, well-oiled salads. Even the food Vidor had prepared for this dinner looked as impressive as the mess hall’s illusion. Additionally, there were two wine glasses and a large glass bottle which caught Aridean’s attention for a moment.

“Oh, that’s just apple cider; I know you and Vidor don’t drink. Took some time, but I found the fanciest, non-alcoholic stuff we had for you,” Sven assured Aridean as he poured out the drink into the two glasses. He moved the meals from his cart to the table and set the cider bottle in the center of the table before grabbing his cart and returning to the kitchen.

“Seafood and apple cider? Vidor, how did you manage that?” Aridean inquired. Given Stonehaven was far from any coastline, fresh seafood was as valuable as a goldmine. Apple cider was easier to come by but was not necessarily a commodity in the rebel base. Both were items of great interest to anyone in the underground city who wanted to at least pretend they were dining fancifully.

“Well, the cider’s actually mine that I’d been saving for a while; this seemed like a good use for it. It’s the fish that was hard to get: required a few favors to the head chef to get into his high-end storage,” Vidor answered as he began picking at his dinner with a fork.

“I never imagined I’d get to do something like this. Jean could always paint a picture in my head for me, but not even in my wildest dreams did I think I’d actually be somewhere like this,” Aridean commented as she cut off a piece of fish. The delicate piece of food simply crumbled as her fork sliced through it with ease. She picked up the first cut with her fork and brought it to her lips. Only one word came to her mind as she bit down on the juicy, tender fish: delicious.

“Uhm… Aridean? Do you… well…” Vidor began to ask but seemed to stop himself. Aridean noticed that Vidor had not even taken a bite of his food, which was very unlike him.

“Vidor? Are you alright?” Aridean asked, putting her fork down on her plate as she awaited his answer.

“I-I’m fine… just… uh,” Vidor responded with uncertainty in his voice before giving a quiet groan. “Aridean, are you in love with your friend Jean?”

Aridean was entirely taken aback by the question. She had not anticipated Vidor asking something like that to her. Both of the minotaurs looked to one another in silence. Aridean’s face was filled with surprise while Vidor’s seemed to show concern.

“V-Vidor, why are you asking that?” Aridean asked. She felt that an otherwise wonderful evening was derailed by a single question. Vidor groaned again before answering.

“It’s just, I was trying to put all this together for you. I know it’s cliché and all, but I thought this might be romantic. But the thing that bugs me is that you only seem to want to talk about Jean and all the adventures you two had planned,” Vidor began to say apprehensively as his eyes began to avoid Aridean’s. “I know Rana’s already mentioned… well, what I think about you. I-I was hoping all this might, y’know, make you feel the same way.”

Still processing Vidor’s confession, Aridean’s gaze fell upon the table in front of her. She was having a difficult time trying to formulate a satisfactory response. Her mentioning of Jean was not in any way meant to offend Vidor, but nonetheless left her feeling guilty that she brought him up. Silence lingered throughout the mess hall again for what felt like minutes.

“To tell you the truth… I think I was,” Aridean finally announced, which was met by a quiet and annoyed moan from Vidor. “How could I not have been? He was the only person other than Simon that actually didn’t mind me being around. He was a ray of sunlight in a stormy sea of hateful and scary humans. Jean made my terrifying life in Thellia bearable… even enjoyable at times.”

“I… understand,” Vidor said with his head held low over his dinner.

“But it’s been almost two years since we last spoke to one another… I’ll always think of him as my friend, but I… sincerely hope he’s moved on from me. The people of Thellia were always talking about us; they would not have allowed us to be together anyway. But knowing that doesn’t help the void in my heart that I made when I ran away,” Aridean continued. “Since then, it was recent, but I think I’m starting to realize that there’s someone here that is trying to fill the void that I created when I left him behind. Someone just as kind, brave, and fun. Someone whose personality is almost a perfect copy of his. Now, whenever I even say his name, his face and this other person’s are practically interchangeable. When I think about how much I miss Jean… I start to realize how much I’ve fallen for someone here too.”

Vidor’s eyes began to light up a little as he looked back up at Aridean across the table.

“D-do you mean…” Vidor began to ask before being cut off.

“Living in Thellia made me fear meeting a fellow minotaur. I thought that the minotaur people were nothing but trouble or savages despite never having met one. Jean asked me what it was like to be the only minotaur and to never have met another. At the time, I said I was happy with him and Simon. But… I think I was lying to myself. I was certainly grateful to have them, but I was so alone as the only minotaur in Thellia for almost seventeen years. Over the last two years, someone very special found me and saved me from not just certain death, but that crushing loneliness. I-I was so scared when I saw you and Rana about to be killed by that sasquatch. I… I don’t ever want to lose anyone else that I love,” Aridean professed as she began to tear up. “Vidor, I loved Jean, yes. But right here, right now, I need you to know that I love you. You’ve always been there for me; whether I was scared or sad, you’d be there. I would never have made it through all the training, the chores, or any of the last two years here without you. Anytime you go on a mission, I’m so scared that you might not come back. I don’t want to mess this up, but I don’t want to lose you either.”

It was now Vidor’s turn to stare in stunned silence. Aridean felt hot all over after her confession and a single tear rolled down her cheek. Having had completely ignored the exquisite meals before them, the expertly prepared dishes had since grown cold. After a moment of quiet, Vidor snorted and then began to laugh.

“Aridean… you don’t know what that means to me. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I promise I won’t ever leave you to your loneliness again. I love you too,” Vidor said, sliding his hand across the table and gently grabbing Aridean’s. Aridean sniffled and another tear rolled down her cheek; she could not recall a time she felt this happy. His hand felt so warm in her own.

“I… thank you, thank you so much,” Aridean responded, wiping her tears off her now smiling face.

“Wow… it’s even more impressive than I imagined,” Vidor commented.

“W-what’s impressive?” Aridean asked, both confused and a bit embarrassed.

“Oh, this is just the first time I’ve seen you smile for real. I wish I could have seen this sooner,” Vidor answered, Aridean gave a quiet laugh. “And I think that’s the first time I got you to laugh. I’m so glad I set this up tonight, sorry I made it so awkward.”

With their feelings now known to one another, the duo sat together at the table and ate the now cold dinner. Although they both knew it would have been better warm, the fish still tasted incredible despite the temperature drop. Once their plates had been cleared, Sven returned to retrieve the dirty dishes. Before returning to the kitchen, he caught a glimpse of Vidor giving him one of the goofiest smiles Aridean had ever seen. Sven smirked and gave Vidor a thumbs up as he walked the dirty dishes back to the kitchen. It appeared that Sven was entirely aware of what Vidor’s non-verbal communication meant.

“Uhm, Vidor? Is this what they call a… date?” Aridean asked as Sven exited the dining room. She felt a bit embarrassed asking the question as she felt she already knew the answer but wanted to confirm with Vidor anyways.

“Uhh… huh… y’know, I think it is. I-I mean if you want to call it our first date, I’d have no problem with that. B-but if you think this is going too fast, I don’t want to rush you or anything. I mean I’d be happy if this was our first date, but… I really meant for this to be the night I finally tell you how I feel. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d get this far,” Vidor hastily and awkwardly replied. Another laugh from Aridean seemed to signal to Vidor that she was happy to call this their first date as well.

Although she had never considered dating, Aridean was particularly happy with calling this her first date. After a lifetime of ridicule and belittling from the people of Thellia, she never gave finding love the time of day. It all came back to her personal fear of minotaurs that she thought it would be best if she never met another. But right now, she felt as though nothing could ruin her evening. Even so, she wished she had something a little nicer to wear for her first date with Vidor.

“I hope you enjoyed dinner. But are you ready for your surprise?” Vidor asked enthusiastically. Aridean was caught off guard.

“What? I thought this dinner was the surprise,” Aridean stated.

“Nope! Like I said, dinner was just thanks for saving Rana’s tail. In fact I’ve actually got two more surprises for you,” Vidor responded as he produced a sheet of paper and a pen from a bag that he had pulled from under the table. He passed the paper and pen to Aridean who looked to him with obvious confusion.

“Uhm… what’s this?” Aridean asked.

As she finished her question, the front door to the mess hall was pushed open and in walked an elven man. Aridean recognized the man as Yuthe ‘Sparrow’ Galesong, a high-ranking member of the rebels. His motivations for having joined the rebellion, however, was something that she was not made privy to. Yuthe moved to the table where Aridean and Vidor were sitting. Standing between the two minotaurs, the elf gave a courteous bow and stood with his hands behind his back. Puzzled by the inexplicably impeccable timing, Aridean quietly wondered if this scene had been rehearsed.

“You know Sparrow, right? He’s got an assignment out west and Thellia is out that way. I had an idea given he’s gonna be out there. So, he’s doing me a favor: he’s going to deliver a letter from you to Simon,” Vidor explained, much to Aridean’s surprise.

“I owe Vidor for running several errands for me, I believe this arrangement works out substantially in my favor. Take your time writing whatever you wish to send. I may not be a postman but rest assured that I will deliver your message without fail,” Yuthe added.

“Vidor, you have no idea what this means to me. I miss Simon so much, but…,” Aridean spoke, choking up a little.

“Hmm? What’s wrong? I thought you’d be excited to tell your dad how you’re doing,” Vidor said, surprised by Aridean’s sudden and unexpected hesitation.

Aridean was not sure how to respond. She was being given the chance to write to her adopted father. It was something she had dreamt of doing since she started living in Stonehaven alongside the rebels. But, deep down, an unsettling feeling kept her from ever putting a pen to paper. How was she supposed to explain to a former military officer of the Empire who raised her that she was now a part of the, literally and figuratively, underground organization working to undermine his authority? What would she say differently from what she had in the letter she left as she ran away? What would Simon think of her now after two years apart?

However, what bothered her most was the even more terrifying question: Would Simon even want to read a letter from her after everything? Aridean was able to vividly recall the dream she had a long time ago; the dream she had before arriving in Stonehaven. In that dream, Simon had locked her out of the farmhouse and could be seen through the window balling up a letter and tossing the last birthday gift Aridean had given him into a fire. Is that what the result of her letter would be? Aridean was too horrified by the thought to lift the pen in front of her.

“I-it’s just… I-I don’t know if Simon would want to hear from me. I’d probably upset him by writing to him after so long,” Aridean eventually explained with a sullen expression. Vidor looked at her with astonishment while Yuthe waited silently and patiently by the table.

“Aridean, I’m not going to say I know what’s best here, but don’t you at least want to try? You lived together as family for most of your life; he’d probably be more upset you didn’t write sooner. I know I wouldn’t want to keep grandpa waiting two years if we were separated. If nothing else, what have you got to lose just writing a letter to him?” Vidor encouraged.

Aridean took a deep breath before biting her lip as she looked at the blank paper before her. Vidor was right, she really had nothing to lose given she practically renounced Simon after running away so long ago. It was probably the idea of trying to work her way back into his life that scared her. However, with Vidor’s encouragement, she did manage to pick up the pen she had been loaned.

“Hey, there you go! Just take your time; I’m sure he’ll love to hear that you’re alive and well,” Vidor exclaimed with a smile. Aridean, however, was not entirely convinced yet.

“W-what makes you so sure of that though?” Aridean asked, the worry in her voice so strong she sounded as though she may start to cry.

“Because you two love one another, right?” Vidor answered with a confident and self-assured grin.

How can Vidor be so romantic and yet so cruel at the same time? I love Simon; I miss him dearly. But I can’t fathom why or how he could love me in return. Running away two years ago was for his sake… now, how could I be so bold as to worm my way back into his life? Aridean depressingly thought to herself. She looked to Vidor across the table, who was still smiling at her. After taking a deep breath, the pen in her hand was pushed into the paper before her. However, no motions to scribe a single letter were made.

“V-Vidor… I really appreciate the thought, I really do. But I… I’m scared. I abandoned Simon two years ago. I can’t do something like this,” Aridean stuttered apprehensively. Vidor’s smile shrank a bit after hearing Aridean.

“Well… I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. Tonight’s supposed to be special… maybe this gift was a bad idea. I didn’t really consider how you felt about something like this being sprung on you. I’m real sorry about this,” Vidor apologized, his beaming expression had softened a fair deal. Aridean slowly set the pen back down on the table before looking back at Vidor. Yuthe, who had elected to remain silent throughout the exchange, simply looked to Vidor as if to non-verbally ask if they were done. Vidor smiled and gave a nod to the elf. With that, Yuthe gave another courteous bow and left the mess hall. Now alone again, the minotaur couple sat quietly in the middle of the lavish, candlelit dining hall. Aridean was a bit surprised by how quickly Vidor was to give up on encouraging her to go through with writing the letter. It seemed a bit unlike him, but she assumed that her reservations told Vidor everything he needed to hear.

“You don’t have to apologize; if anything, I’m sorry for being so ungrateful,” Aridean responded with a discouraged tone of voice. She wondered to herself if avoiding contact with Simon really was for the best. In her heart, she knew that writing a letter to her adopted father was everything she wanted and more. However, her own logic dictated that she must distance herself from Simon for both their sakes.

“Well, I guess that one was a bust. But I’ve got one more gift for you,” Vidor said to Aridean’s surprise. Vidor stood from his seat at the table before adding, “C’mon, I wanted to give you this somewhere special.”

“Another gift? Vidor, when did you find the time to set all of this up? You really didn’t have to go through all the trouble, you know,” Aridean inquired. Vidor laughed as he took her hand in his and led her to the front door of the mess hall.

“Don’t worry, this is the last one and there’s no way even I could mess this one up! Let’s get out of here, the illusion should be wearing off soon anyways,” Vidor said gently pulling Aridean by her hand out of the dining room.

Outside, Vidor led Aridean around the side of the mess hall. Down the street, the commotion from the festival could be heard in full swing. An enticing smell of different sweets and snacks lingered through the air. Aridean knew Rana would be upset if she were still stuck in the hospital.

In an alleyway behind the mess hall, Vidor led Aridean to a flight of stone stairs that led to the roof of the mess hall. Not much light was able to reach the duo in the alley, most of the lampposts were on the street out front of the building. The couple’s hooves clopped loudly against the stone as they ascended the stairs. Having reached the flat roof, Aridean immediately took notice of a cushioned bench near the front railing. In front of the bench was a small firepit filled with small branches and tall, dry grass. It seemed that the pit was hardly large enough to roast marshmallows.

Vidor gently pulled Aridean toward the bench on the roof and insisted that she sit as he reached into his bag. He had procured a flint and some tinder and began attempting to strike a fire. After five failed attempts to strike fire into the pit, Aridean reached into the firepit and took the smallest branch she could find. Just a bit of concentration and touching her fingertip to the end of the branch set the dry wood ablaze. She carefully returned the branch to the pit where a fire quickly began to burn through the organic fuel. Vidor looked just a little embarrassed as Aridean sat back down on the bench.

“Okay… well, I feel useless now,” Vidor murmured with feigned annoyance. Aridean’s response was to giggle quietly as Vidor sat down beside her. Together, the two looked past the firepit in front of them to the festival in the brightly illuminated plaza. Music, laughter, and screeching children could be heard coming from the plaza.

“It’s quite the view; I wonder if this is what it’s like in the capital city,” Aridean finally said with wonder.

“We’ll get to find out one day, I’m sure of it,” Vidor said, lifting his arm closest to Aridean over her and around her back. Slowly and cautiously, Vidor rested his hand on Aridean’s shoulder. Much to his surprise, and her own, Aridean did not resist the gesture as she normally did when someone went to touch her.

“Thanks for tonight, Vidor. I really enjoyed it,” Aridean said, scooting just an inch closer.

“Don’t thank me just yet! I haven’t given you your last gift; almost forgot actually,” Vidor replied, quickly retracting his arm and reaching into his bag again. From out of the bag emerged a necklace. The necklace was made of an above average sized, silver chain. Only one ornament was attached to the necklace: an ivory disc, only two inches across, with a silver trim and a bright, shining ruby set in the center.

“I want you to have this. Rana said it belonged to our mom. Not only do I think it’ll look good on you, minotaurs also think rubies bring happiness and good fortune,” Vidor said confidently. His gift was met with Aridean’s shock and awe. Although she did not wish to be ungrateful, such a gift seemed a bit much especially after the evening the two had already had together and that she just learned it is a memento of Vidor’s mother.

“Are you sure you really want me to have this?! But surely it means a lot to you and Rana. I can’t accept something so special,” Aridean began to protest. Despite her protests, Vidor smiled again as he began to undo the latch on the necklace. Without another word, he wrapped the necklace around Aridean’s neck and closed the latch. Aridean felt the presence of the cool, metal chain around her neck, but her fur kept her from experiencing any chilling sensation.

“Happy birthday, Aridean,” Vidor excitedly exclaimed as Aridean inspected the accessory around her neck closely.

“W-what? But it’s not my birthday,” Aridean quickly interjected with confusion. Vidor laughed as Aridean adjusted her new necklace to sit more comfortably around her neck.

“I know, but you never told me when it really is. I just know you kept saying that you were almost seventeen when we first brought you in, so your nineteenth birthday must be coming up soon. All the surprises tonight were to make up for having missed the last two,” Vidor explained with his usual enthusiasm. Aridean was simply left speechless by Vidor’s actions.

“I-I don’t know what to say… thank you… for probably the best birthday I’ve ever had,” Aridean said with another smile on her face. Vidor wrapped his arm around her again. Aridean, in turn, snuggled up against Vidor who was delightedly surprised by the unanticipated display of affection.

“Well… I, uh, we… uh, d-did you want to… I don’t know, go check out the festival?” Vidor clumsily managed to squeak out.

“I’d be happy to just sit here for a while longer,” Aridean answered, looking out toward the festival with Vidor and resting her head on his shoulder.

“R-right. I think I’d like that too,” Vidor replied somehow sounding simultaneously both joyous and nervous. Together, the minotaur couple sat on the bench on the roof of the mess hall gazing upon the festival in Stonehaven in silence. The only sounds were the crackling of the firepit and the distant commotion of the celebration going on in the plaza.