Maya looked at herself in a mirror, noticing how her body was shaping. The physical element of using magic was enough to begin erasing traces that years of depression had left. It took over a month but Maya finally felt that she could keep up without struggling through constant muscle soreness.

It was a shame, though. The cold weather demanded more layers of clothing, which concealed her tremendous progress from onlookers. Yet Maya liked cold weather and the cosy feeling of wrapping herself in a warm jacket, defying the chill that wanted to seep in from the outside.

Mid-Octobers in her memories weren't as cold as the subtle mountainous climate of Amellan. It could be even colder outside the walls and the closely packed, idyllic town. Perhaps because she had already faced dangers outside, Maya was feeling bolder recently, or at least had grown to trust the safety of the great walls. Otherwise, she would never have been putting on her jacket this late.

Maya's phone received a text and she smiled at the screen.

Behind her, the silence was sliced open by the harsh rip of tape unspooling, followed by a jagged tear as Elena bit it off. It was a common sight—Elena's bandaged and patched-up fingers weren't something that could stop her from twirling knives between them.

'Shouldn't an artist's hands be considered precious?'

Elena was concerningly proficient in handling knives, but the new addition to her collection—an ornate butterfly knife—proved a bit tricky to master.

"You've never been on the roof, right?" Elena said casually as she wrapped the fresh cut on her finger without batting an eye at such an injury. "We can try gazing at those pesky stars…"

"Maybe some other time," Maya answered as she was checking the time, without giving a second thought to Elena's sudden suggestion.

It wasn't yet midnight. She could make it to Purple Garden before then.

This wasn't Maya's first stargazing invitation today. Despite Mellgrah's minimal light pollution making stars brilliantly visible on clear nights, stargazing wasn't a popular activity. For good reason—the nights here were deadly, or so people said. But on her 17th birthday, Maya was eager to revisit what had been her favourite childhood pastime.

Elena seemed to linger for a moment as Maya was putting on her shoes, then asked, "Where are you going?"

But Maya only smiled coyly as she slipped out of their dorm room. As the doors shut, Maya thought she could hear Elena sigh on the other end.

Perhaps Maya had been leaving her hanging more often lately, choosing Adam for adventuring instead. It was new and exciting, and something Maya wanted to experience too. Surely Elena would understand; otherwise, she wouldn't bother dating Keith.

🜺🜺🜺🜺

The Purple Garden had its name derived from the elegant glass pavilion and ornate decorations that bathed everything in ethereal purple light. Throughout the warmer months, vibrant purple blooms would add to its splendour, though now in October the garden lay dormant. Yet even without flowers, Maya found the place enchanting, almost otherworldly in its beauty.

Despite the dark, the garden remained a mesmerizing sight within the dormitory grounds. Moonlight filtered through the glass pavilion's intricate patterns, casting mystical shadows across the peaceful student sanctuary.

Within this setting lay a carefully arranged picnic blanket, adorned with a humble assortment of snacks, and a young man standing with his hands clasped behind his back, attempting to conceal both his nervous energy and the rush in which he had prepared this romantic surprise. Seeing what he had prepared put a smile on Maya's face.

Save for the two of them, there was no soul in sight.

Adam wrapped her in another blanket to keep her warm as they gazed at the sky. Then, at the stroke of midnight, he lit a candle on a chocolate muffin and handed it to Maya.

"Happy birthday!"

"It couldn't be happier," Maya smiled brightly.

Instead of blowing out the candle, she passed her hand over the flame and stole it from its spot. Then she blew on it in her palm to make it grow larger, illuminating their faces, before clutching her fist to destroy it.

"That's so cool!"

"…I can't create my own yet," Maya said as she looked at her opened palm where the flame refused to manifest itself.

"You'll get there," Adam encouraged her.

"Tanya said that if I haven't done it yet, I may never." Maya tried to conceal the creeping disappointment of her failure in her tone. "It happens to some."

"You're great at everything. I'm sure it will come to you."

"I really suck at fire magic, though."

"I don't see why you worry about it. You have three other elements."

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"I suck at earth, too." Maya averted her gaze, smiling bitterly.

"Two's still more than the rest of us."

No matter how much Maya downplayed her abilities to Adam, he gazed at her with unwavering admiration and optimism. His attitude reminded her of young Leo from her childhood—no matter what anyone would say, they were still living a dream.

They chatted late into the night. Adam shared a story about his recent D&D session with his friends. Though he presented it as if it were new to him, Maya knew from Isaac that these game nights were a regular occurrence.

'Does Adam not like his geeky friends? It sounds like they have a lot of fun though.'

Though they had spent hours talking and sharing stories, they couldn't forget to be cautious. Since they were out past curfew, Adam walked Maya back to her dormitory to ensure her safety.

Hiding from patrols, they found themselves on her doorstep, laughing after narrowly escaping a guard. Then silence fell between them. Adam gently tilted her chin up and drew her closer for a kiss—their first kiss, and Maya's first kiss ever.

Although it was something she couldn't stop thinking about for a long time, finally happening, she couldn't quite handle the rush of emotions and her own flushed face.

"See you tomorrow," Maya blurted awkwardly and quickly got into the dorm building, pushing the doors shut with her body and leaning on them with her back.

A giddy smile spread across her face. Her heart was still racing from their narrow escape from the guards and that unexpected kiss. She leaned against the door, letting the moment sink in.

The soft ticking of a grandfather clock echoed in the silence of the ground floor common area, and then a shuffle followed by a faint clatter came from the direction of the kitchen. Maya's heart seemed to freeze for a moment and her blood ran cold.

No one should have been here at this hour—especially not in complete darkness.

Maya contemplated running upstairs when another, more unsettling and bewildering sound came from the darkness. While the first noise could have been a rodent, this one… this one was a distinct sound of liquid being poured, followed by a chilling slurp.

Her mind conjured all manner of monstrosities that could be lurking in the shadows.

Maya's hand cautiously reached for the light as she tried to move closer with minimal motion. The simple act of flipping a switch had never been so terrifying.

"Don't," a familiar voice came from the darkness.

The tension melted from Maya's shoulders as Elena's familiar voice dissolved her fear into relief.

"Odd time to return home," Elena drawled with a cheeky tone.

Ignoring Elena's request, Maya switched the light on. Elena squinted and grumbled in discomfort, shielding her eyes from the sudden brightness.

"Havens! What are you doing in the dark, Elena?!"

"Making coffee…?" Elena picked up a cup from the counter, still covering her eyes with another hand.

"Coffee?! At three a.m.?!"

"So, you do know what time it is…" Elena grinned, peaking behind her hands, then slurped some hot liquid from the cup to make space to pour in the rum.

"Oh, come on. I don't give you crap about your nightcrawling activities."

"You know that it isn't smart to roam around at dark. Weren't you afraid of vampires just a couple of weeks ago?"

"I wasn't outside the Walls."

"I don't think those four students that went missing recently were either."

"Are you… worried about me?" Maya narrowed her eyes.

Elena was now caught in an uncomfortable situation. "I just don't want to be accused of having something to do with your death. Having a room to myself is a pretty strong motive."

"So, you keep telling yourself," Maya wasn't buying her excuses.

"Whatever. Don't you have to sleep or something?"

"Yes. But you do too."

"Can't."

"Why?"

"I have some commissions to complete. I'll do it here, so I don't bother you."

Maya looked at the counter where was Elena's sketchpad. She wasn't lying. "Is the order that important that you have to lose sleep over it?"

"I can't sleep. So I'm just using that time more efficiently. Besides, the woman I'm doing this for is leaving for Elador soon. And if she is satisfied with me, she'll send me art supplies from there."

Elena would always complain about how she couldn't find proper tools and supplies for her art here in Amellan. This was a small town and demand for such things wasn't high.

"Okay. Good luck then."

Maya turned toward the staircase, but Elena called after her. She paused and looked back, waiting to hear what Elena wanted.

"Happy birthday," Elena added, sounding disinterested.

Maya smiled knowingly. Elena was doing her best to feign indifference.

Exhausted, Maya entered the room and threw herself on the bed. She felt something small underneath her—a package wrapped in an old newspaper that she hadn't left there. Inside the package was a box containing a note written in terrible handwriting:

To light fires for you.

Under it was a beautifully ornamented, metal lighter, engraved with an image of a Chinese dragon. It was beautiful. But Maya knew that there was no way that Elena could afford it. She had already run out of liquor in the fridge, which usually indicated she ran out of cash to buy new. And the one antique store they had in the town was wickedly expensive. Which was fine because its target customers weren't students, anyway.

She ran downstairs. "What's this? We said no gifts," Maya scolded her.

"It's not a gift," Elena said casually while still sketching. "It's a loan. You can return it when you no longer need it."

"What if I say I don't need it right now?"

"Do you have your Spark under control?" Elena stopped sketching.

"No."

"That's the condition for returning this item," she returned to sketching. "Your request has been denied."

Maya laughs at her automated response. "Thank you. It's beautiful," she said sincerely.

"Had to be. To make it harder for you to refuse it. Plus, it's useful."

"It must've been expensive. Oh, Havens! You haven't stolen it, right?"

"Don't worry. No one will come for you," Elena laughed. "I acquired it legally. Traded it for some art."

"Thank you again," Maya looked at it with a smile. "Good night, Elena."

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