Anton strolled carefully through the infirmary gardens. After a week of confinement to his sickbed, even this stroll felt like an exercise. The priestesses had worked wonders on his back where the creature's acid had seared away his flesh, but recovery remained incomplete. A large patch of angry scar tissue still remained on his back, still giving him pain with certain movements.
"Two more days," the head priestess had promised that morning. "Two more days of healing sessions, and your skin will be whole enough for discharge."
The garden's tranquility provided welcome respite from the infirmary's confines. Medicinal herbs grew in carefully tended beds alongside flowering plants chosen for their soothing properties. The gentle fragrance of lavender and chamomile hung in the air, nature's own healing balm.
As he took a corner around a flowering hedge, Anton spotted a familiar figure seated alone on a bench. Maria sat motionless, her gaze fixed on something distant and invisible. Her hair, normally fastidiously arranged, hung loose around her shoulders. Though physically recovered enough to leave her ward, the shadow beneath her eyes spoke of ongoing exhaustion from mana depletion.
Anton paused, watching her for a moment. The intensity of her expression suggested she was far away, lost in thoughts he could only guess at. Rather than immediately interrupting her contemplation, he knelt carefully beside a cluster of wildflowers growing at the garden's edge.
He selected blossoms of complementary colors. In days past, he would have spent considerable time weaving them together for his mom and sister, but now he extended his hand, allowing a whisper of mana to flow through his fingertips. The flowers responded to his magic, stems gently intertwining into a circular pattern, forming a wreath.
Satisfied with his creation, Anton summoned a phantom hand, a technique that he had invented and mastered. The translucent azure appendage materialized above his own hand, mimicking his movements as he directed it toward Maria. With delicate precision, the spectral fingers placed the flower crown atop her head.
Maria startled at the sensation, her hand reflexively rising to touch the unexpected weight. Her fingers traced the soft petals, and recognition dawned in her eyes. A genuine smile, the first Anton had seen since their return, bloomed across her features.
"Still playing around, I see," she said without turning around, her voice carrying a warmth that had been absent in recent days.
Anton circled the bench and lowered himself beside her. "Hey, it's to cheer you up," he replied. "What made you lost in thought? I could practically see the storm clouds above your head."
The lightness faded from Maria's expression. She turned her gaze toward the garden's central fountain where water trickled over carefully arranged stones.
"I've been replaying our encounter with that... abomination," she admitted. "Analyzing every decision, every spell cast, every moment. Wondering if there was anything I could have done differently."
Anton recognized the spiral of self-recrimination all too well. "Under those circumstances, you performed admirably," he assured her. "Though hindsight always offers clearer paths, doesn't it? Perhaps we should have retreated immediately upon first contact rather than engaging."
"That's just it," Maria's fingers twisted in her lap. "That creature exhibited abilities beyond any documented magical beast. Its regenerative capabilities alone should have signaled the danger. Yet I insisted for a moment that we could handle it."
"We all underestimated it," Anton countered. "None of us expected to face something with the wide range of abilities of an advanced mage and the vitality of a mountain troll. Even Master Blackwood seemed taken aback by its resilience."
Maria turned to face him fully, her amber eyes bright with intensity. "That's precisely why I've made my decision."
"Decision?"
She drew a deep breath. "I'm going to advance to mage immediately upon discharge."
Anton blinked in surprise. The path from apprentice to mage typically required something called advancement ritual.
"Maria, that's—"
"Necessary," she interrupted, her voice firm. "I've already spoken with Master Blackwood. He agrees that I have sufficient abilities to be a full-fledged mage."
She placed her hand atop his, her touch warm and unexpectedly vulnerable despite her resolute words. "Every elaborate plan, every clever tactic we devised crumbled in the face of the creature's overwhelming power. Theory and strategy mean nothing when confronted with such raw might."
Her fingers tightened around his. "Annie, I'm going to become stronger. Next time…." her voice caught slightly, "….next time I'll be able to protect you properly."
"I felt the same too," Anton admitted quietly. "Watching you collapse after exhausting your mana reserves, knowing there was nothing I could do to help you..." He shook his head. "It was unbearable."
"Then you understand," Maria said, her eyes searching for his.
Anton's heart beat rapidly as he gently captured Maria's hand in his own. With a tenderness that surprised even himself, he drew her into his embrace. This embrace felt natural and felt complete, it was as though the universe had crafted them as complementary pieces of the same puzzle.
"I know I'm not strong enough yet," he whispered. His chin rested lightly atop her head, the scent of her hair. "But I swear, one day I'll stand beside you as your equal. Until then, I'll remain by your side, supporting every step of your journey."
Maria's arms slipped around his waist, careful to avoid the healing wounds on his back. She pressed her face against his chest, and he wondered if she could feel the erratic beating of his heart.
"You've always been my equal, Annie," she whispered against the rough fabric of his infirmary garments. "Always equal."
No further words were necessary at that moment. The understanding between them transcended language. Though Maria had only entered his life mere months ago when he first joined the Mages Guild, Anton could scarcely remember a time when she hadn't been part of his existence. She had transformed from stranger to mentor to friend, and now to something his heart recognized but his lips had yet to name.
They remained entwined as the garden's shadows lengthened with the setting sun. The fading light painted golden highlights in Maria's auburn hair, creating an illusion of a crown more precious than the floral wreath he had crafted earlier.
As twilight descended and the infirmary bells chimed the evening meal, they reluctantly separated. Before they parted at the garden's edge, Anton touched her arm gently.
"Could you stay awake until a little later tonight?" he asked, his voice holding a conspiratorial edge. "Meet me back here in the garden after the midnight bell. I have something to show you."
Maria's eyebrow arched with curious suspicion. "What mischief are you planning now, Anton Weyland?"
He merely smiled, pressing a finger to his lips. "Patience young lady. Some enchantments require precise timing."
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The midnight bell had just finished its final toll when Anton slipped out of the male patients' ward. He moved with practiced stealth though the infirmary halls with the night attendants occupied with their rounds.
The garden lay bathed in moonlight, the silver illumination lending an otherworldly quality to the familiar space. Anton worked quickly, inscribing runes that he had thought up, while he was laying in his bed with nothing to do, at certain points around the garden. Each symbol glowed faintly as he infused it with carefully measured mana.
He had just positioned the final rune when a whisper of movement caught his attention. Maria approached, her white nightdress and robe appearing almost luminous in the moonlight. She moved with grace despite her recent injuries, her curiosity evident in every quickened step.
Anton hurried to meet her, taking both her hands in his and guiding her to the bench they had shared earlier.
"What schemes have you concocted this time?" Maria asked, her mock severity undermined by the spark of excitement in her amber eyes. "I hope it's worth risking the wrath of the Head Nurse."
Anton's thumb traced circles on the back of her hand. "Some risks are worth taking," he replied, his voice unusually serious. "May I see the bracelet?"
Maria extended her wrist where the bracelet he had crafted resided. What had once been an elegant bracelet now bore the unmistakable marks of their recent ordeal. The bracelet had corroded in places, most notably where the centerpiece, a delicately crafted lily blossom, had once been. Now only a tarnished outline remained where the acid splash had struck.
"I'm so sorry," Maria said, genuine regret in her voice as she traced the damaged area. "I tried to protect it, but the creature's acid—"
Anton gently placed his fingers beneath her chin, lifting her gaze to meet his. "There's nothing to apologize for. As I told you when I gave it to you, it was a protective charm"
His thumb brushed across her cheekbone. "I'm grateful it served its purpose. We can buy another bracelet together, but you…." his voice caught slightly, "....you are irreplaceable."
Maria's eyes widened at his words, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
"Now," Anton continued, straightening with sudden enthusiasm, "I have something to show you." He extended his hand toward the garden's center and snapped his fingers with theatrical flourish.
At once, the runes he had placed activated in sequence. Threads of light, silver, gold, and azure shot upward from each point, intertwining as they ascended into the night sky. Fifty feet above the garden, they converged and erupted in a silent, spectacular display.
Where common fireworks would have produced a momentary flash and thunderous bang, Anton's magical creation unfurled with deliberate grace. The lights coalesced into the perfect replica of a lily blossom, identical to the one that had once adorned Maria's bracelet, but immeasurably larger and more luminous. It rotated slowly above them, casting its gentle radiance across the garden and reflecting in the tears that had begun to form in Maria's eyes.
"Anton," she breathed, her hands clasped against her mouth in wonder. "It's beautiful."
The magical lily continued its slow revolution, petals occasionally releasing smaller motes of light that drifted downward like luminescent pollen before dissolving into the night air.
Anton turned to face Maria fully, taking both her hands in his. His heart hammered against his ribs as though seeking escape, and he forced himself to draw a steadying breath.
"Maria Lowell," he began, his voice surprisingly steady despite his inner turmoil, "from the moment you entered my life, everything changed. The world became brighter, more vibrant, more full of possibility."
He glanced upward at his creation before returning his gaze to her moonlit face. "Each day with you has been a reminder of how truly blessed I am to have found you. Every day with you is better than the last."
Anton shifted closer, the bench cool beneath them, contrasting with the warmth spreading through his chest. "I know we face uncertain times. But whatever awaits us, I want to face it with you. Not just as colleagues or friends, but as something more."
His thumbs traced gentle arcs across her knuckles as he gathered his courage for the final words. "I love you, Maria. I think perhaps I have since that first time I saw you at the reception desk.'"
A small laugh escaped Maria at the memory, though tears now flowed freely down her cheeks.
"Would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" Anton asked, the formal phrasing betraying his nervousness. "Would you allow me to love you properly, without restraint or pretense?"
Above them, the magical lily reached the zenith of its brilliance, bathing them in soft, golden light. Maria's tears glistened like diamonds on her cheeks as a smile of transcendent joy transformed her face.
"Yes, Annie," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "Yes, I would love nothing more than to be in your life….to be with you….in every way possible."
Anton's heart soared high, his lips meeting hers in a kiss that felt like coming home after a lifetime of wandering. The magical lily above them pulsed in time with their synchronized heartbeats, casting its blessing upon their union.
In that perfect moment, the dangers they had faced and those still to come seemed distant and inconsequential. Whatever threats lurked in the shadows of Malor Forest or beyond, they would face them together with a bond that transcended mere partnership.
As their lips parted, Anton rested his forehead against hers, his eyes closed in perfect contentment. "I love you, Maria Lowell," he whispered again, savoring the freedom to speak the words aloud at last.
"And I love you, Anton Weyland," she replied, her fingers threading through his hair. "More than any spell could ever express."
Above them, the magical lily began to fade, having fulfilled its purpose. But the light it had kindled between them would continue to burn like a beacon that would guide them through whatever darkness might lie ahead.