Cathedral groaned, "How much longer?"
Scott grimaced, looking down at the map Morana had given them, "A little farther, we'll get there by sundown, then we'll make camp and rest for the night."
Cathedral sighed, trudging on.
As the sun began to vanish beneath the waves, they reached what must've been the Adura Portal.
The Portal wasn't anything like what Cathedral expected.
It wasn't grand, made of gold and silver, with jewels imbedded into the sides. It was a gaping hole in the ground, edged with a thin line of silver mist.
"Here we are," Scott announced, plopping onto the ground.
Cathedral sighed, collapsing into a pile, "Do we have anything to eat?"
Scott looked down into the napsack that had been given to them, holding all the resoucres that could be spared, "We have a potato, some freeze-dried fruit, and some oatmeal."
Cathedral grumbled, "That's it?"
Scott nodded.
"Then why's it so heavy?" Cathedral asked, sitting up.
"There's a lot of water in here," Scott explained, "And... there are a few of coins, golden and silver ones, with a weird flower on it."
Cathedral glanced into the sack and shuddered, "It's an equinox flower, the only flower that grows in the realm of the dead."
"But why would they choose an equinox flower as their symbol?" Scott asked.
Cathedral shrugged, still shaken up, "I have no idea."
A velvety voice came from behind them, "There they are!"
Cathedral and Scott winced at the same time, recognizing the voice of Daphne Estrada.
"We've come to share our food," Daphne said with a smile, "I know my sister wouldn't give you much food and all, they have like, zero resouces."
Daphne paused, running her hand through her silky hair, "Also, they don't tend to treat royals the way they should be treated, especially not handsome young men like you."
Scott beamed, as though knowing that Daphne was talking about him.
Cathedral, however, glared at Daphne.
Daphne didn't seem to have noticed, and if she did, she didn't show it, "Here, I've brought you a feast!"
She opened the sack her servant was carrying and took out the food.
Bowls of salade, soup, and spagetti. Plates of meat, delicacies, and fruit.
Scott gaped at all the food while Cathedral scowled at Daphne.
"Scott, we should go, she must've followed us this entire way, this isn't-" Cathedral cut herself off when she saw that Scott had begun helping Daphne unwrap the dishes and was chatting with the brown haired girl as though they had known each other for centuries.
Cathedral bit her lip, beginning to take in their conversation.
"I think I've seen you somewhere before," Daphne was saying.
"I don't think so," Scott grinned, "I would have remembered meeting someone as charming as you."
Daphne laughed, "So, my husband was saying, 'Ms. Estrada, please help me get that,' and I said-"
Scott cut her off by scooting closer to her, "He still calls you Ms. Estrada?"
"Sometimes."
"So formal," Scott said, chewing on a piece of bread, "I would just call you Daphne."
Daphne laughed, beginning a sentence, but Cathedral cut her off.
"Are you flirting with her!?" Cathedral demmanded.
Scott froze, turning to face Cathedral, "O-of course not!"
Cathedral scowled, "Liar!"
"Cathedral, dear, he's having a good time, let him be," Daphne said in her calming voice.
Cathedral glared at the silky haired woman, "You're married!"
"Oh, my husband knows about this," Daphne assured her, then gave her a kind smile, "How good of you to worry about me."
Cathedral fought a blush, trying hard to be angry at Daphne, yet couldn't. She turned away, unable to look at the girl.
"I'm going to go check out the portal," Cathedral muttered, getting up, ignoring her growling stomach.
"Have some food," Daphne offered kindly.
Cathedral gritted her teeth, wanting to say no, but failing. She found herself sitting down and helping herself to some moist cupcakes, her favorite.
"Cat, I'm going to go take a walk with Daphne, okay?" Scott asked.
Cathedral nodded without thinking.
As she ate, Cathedral sighed happily, thinking about how glad she was to have all this food to eat.
She looked up, and her cupcake almost fell out of her mouth.
Scott and Daphne were standing by in the field, silhouetted by the dying sun. Scott had one hand on Daphne's waist and both Daphne's arms were wrapped around Scott's neck.
Cathedral screamed, shooting herself to a stand, marching towards them.
"Cathedral, relax," Daphne's voice washed over her, making her stop in her tracks, "Scott was telling me about someone he wanted, but was afraid to tell them, so I offered to teach him about all that romantic stuff."
She paused, "And of course, that includes kissing. Would you rather he practiced on you?"
Was it Cathedral's imagination? Or did Scott's lips curve into a smile?
"N-no," Cathedral began, but Daphne nodded to Scott, who began walking towards Cathedral.
Cathedral backed away, fear seizing her heart as Scott made his way towards her.
She took step after step, until her back was to the portal and she had nowhere to go.
"S-Scott," she warned, but Scott wasn't listening.
Scott stopped a foot away from Cathedral, expertly looping his arm around her waist.
Cathedral struggled, until Scott's lips pressed against hers in a French kiss. She stopped struggling, surprised by the flutter of her heart.
"Do what Daphne did," Scott said in between kisses, "And kiss back, stop making me look like an idiot!"
Cathedral nervously wrapped her arms around his neck and began kissing back.
After all that Scott had done to hurt her, Cathedral found it surprising that she didn't want to let go.
Finally, Scott pulled away.
Cathedral wanted to wine, to beg him not to pull away, but she bit her tongue and pushed all of her thoughts about the kiss to the back of her head.
When they looked around, Daphne was nowhere in sight.
"We should get ready to go," Cathedral said, glancing at the sky which was now filled with thousands of glowing stars.
Cathedral gawked at the specks of light.
Back in the five districts, there weren't that many stars, but here.
Here, the stars glowed like guardians of the Heavens, blazing in the night sky, lighting the paths of all travelers who ever got lost.
Scott pulled Cathedral into his arms, "Cat, we should rest, tomorrow is going to be a long day."
Cathedral nodded, snuggling into his embrace as they curled up on the blanket Daphne had left for them.