"Please come again!"
The vendor's voice rose in a jovial arc, echoing through the kaleidoscopic surge of the crowd as he waved a grease-stained hand at a retreating customer.
Today is good business.
A prideful sigh escaped him as he closed his eyes, tilting his chin upward toward the star-dusted sky. He planted his hands firmly on his waist, a wide, satisfied smile stretching across his weathered face. For a man of his trade, the festival was a golden tide, a rare moment where the world's hunger turned into a clinking symphony of coins.
"Two skewer small plate sets, please!"
The vendor's chin snapped down as he turned his attention back to the counter. His gaze landed on the two figures who had just taken their seats, and a flicker of recognition sparked in his eyes. He had seen these faces before — two young, striking souls who had sat at this very stall once when the world was much quieter.
"You came back? Did my skewers hit the lovely couple's hearts that well?" He chuckled, his fingers already dancing with practiced ease as he reached for his carving knife, the steel gleaming under the amber lanternlight.
So he really did know who we were before.
Vionette thought as she watched him, a faint, amused smile curling her lips. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting out a soft, melodic huff of laughter, finally accepting the fact that they had been successfully fooled by a simple street vendor.
On their first visit, the man hadn't known Noa's identity, but he had certainly recognized the Princess. He had played the part of the oblivious host perfectly, providing them with the one thing they craved more than food — a moment of normalcy. Even now, after the grandeur of their speeches and the weight of their new titles, he treated them with the same rough, honest familiarity.
"Don't add as much spice as you did that day, k?" Noa said, casting a teasing, sidelong glance at Vionette.
"Heheh — I remember well that the Miss is not particularly good with spices. Don't worry, I'll keep it mild," the vendor replied, his voice a knowing smirk as he began to turn the meat over the sizzling coals.
"Who said I can't handle it? I was just… taken aback that time, that's all." Vionette pouted, her crimson eyes flickering with a defensive, yet playful, spark.
Noa didn't offer a verbal retort. Instead, he reached out and grabbed her cheeks with both hands, squeezing them slightly and wiggling them back and forth.
It was a gesture of effortless affection, treating the sovereign of a kingdom with the same casual playfulness he might show a younger sibling like Lina.
"Don't you dare lie to me, do you even remember how desperately you were reaching for the water that time?"
"Aws I shaid, I wash whust tahen ahwack!"
Vionette's voice came out muffled and distorted, her mouth pulled into a funny shape by Noa's grip. Her cheeks flushed a light, beautiful scarlet that had nothing to do with the heat of the grill.
She's really cute today.
"Here you go, your skewers are ready to be digested!" The vendor announced, sliding the wooden platter across the counter.
"Ooohh!" Noa finally released his hold on her, his hands moving with predatory speed toward the food. "They look even tastier than last time."
"Mmm-hmmm…" Vionette nodded eagerly, her previous indignity forgotten like mist in the sun.
Chum!
They took their first bites in unison, and for a heartbeat, the world seemed to stop. Their eyes sparkled with a shared, radiant joy as the flavors exploded. The spices, perfectly balanced, draped over the succulent meat like a fine silk robe, while the rich infusion of sauce and oil provided the perfect, decadent finish.
Cling…
Vionette placed the coins down on the wooden counter with a sharp, rhythmic sound. Noa stood up, skewers in each hand, while Vionette's arm swept up a packet of chocolate sticks from a nearby display.
"Here's the pay, keep the change," she said, waving a hand dismissively as she stood to join him. "We'll get going now — we still have a mountain of things to do tonight."
"Please come again anytime!"
The vendor watched them go, a small smile playing on his lips. He saw Vionette skip a few steps to catch up to Noa before she reached out and claimed his left hand, interlacing her fingers with his as if staking a silent, permanent claim on him.
…
As they drifted further down the thoroughfare, Vionette's head was on a swivel, her crimson eyes darting left and right in search of their next conquest. Noa took a piece of meat to his mouth from a skewer before he held it near her lips; she accepted it without hesitation, her eyes crinkling in delight as she chewed. They moved with a slow, languid pace, two predators enjoying the peace of their own territory.
"Noa…" Vionette pouted suddenly, her finger extending to point toward a specific stall. "I want something from there too."
Mmm?
Noa followed the line of her finger. She was pointing at a knife-throwing game, where a row of heavy, unbalanced blades sat waiting for someone to challenge the moving wooden targets. Specifically, her gaze was fixed on a couple nearby who had just walked away with a shimmering earring.
Grab!
Before she could react, Noa's hand wrapped around her wrist. With a sudden burst of energy, he began to sprint, pulling her along in his wake. His mind was already made up; getting her a prize.
"So," he shouted back at her over his shoulder, his purple eyes bright with a competitive fire. "What kind of thing do you want?"
"Anything is fine, really," she laughed, her silver braid flying behind her like a streak of moonlight. "As long as you are the one who gets it for me."
"Is that so~?"
They arrived at the stall in a blur of motion. The owner, an Eryndorian man with a tired face, looked up to greet them, but the words died in his throat.
"Welcome! Are you — Y-your Majesties!?"
"Shut it. Just give me one round."
Noa slammed the coins onto the wooden counter, his expression turning deathly serious, as if he were facing a high-tier boss rather than a carnival target.
The atmosphere around the stall shifted instantly. A heavy silence fell as a circle began to form, the crowd drawing back in a mix of awe and confusion.
Hearing the owner's shout, people gathered in droves. The Eryndorian citizens looked on with trembling uncertainty, wondering why their new rulers were bothered by such a trivial game, while the people of Crimvane simply leaned back and grinned, knowing exactly how the two acted.
"P-please do not mind. Your Majesty can take any prize he wishes— "
"Just give me the goddamn knives," Noa interrupted, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "And don't even think about trying to fix those unbalanced ones to make it easier."
"Y-yes." The owner's hands shook as he handed over the knives — blades he had intentionally weighted poorly to ensure the house always won.
What is going on? Why are they here, at my shop? If he misses because of the knives, he won't really execute me… right?
The man's internal panic was a palpable thing. He looked at the Crimvane citizens in the crowd, who only gave him reassuring, shark-like nods. Then he made the mistake of looking at Vionette. Her crimson eyes felt like twin pools of blood beneath the lanterns, and he quickly averted his gaze, his heart hammering against his ribs.
Noa took the last two skewers and stuffed them into his mouth, holding the wooden handles between his teeth so his hands would be free. He gripped the knives, his purple eyes sharpening into two lethal points as he tracked the erratic movement of the targets. Then—
Swoosh…
The sound of the release was almost silent, but the impact was anything but. The audience's jaws dropped in a collective, stunned silence. A single knife had sliced through the air with such force and precision that it drove through the center of every single moving target in its path, pinning them all to the back wooden wall in a perfect, vertical line.
"There you go. That's how you do it," Noa mumbled around the skewers, his voice muffled but triumphant as he retrieved the sticks with his hand.
Vionette's eyes sparkled like facets of a ruby as she watched him. A slow, amused smile curled her lips, and she stepped closer, the scent of her perfume mixing with the smoke of the festival.
"Wow~ Blackie, you really are the best," she murmured, her voice dipping into a silken, honeyed tone that sent a shiver down his spine.
"Please… please take anything you like!" The owner gestured toward the prizes with trembling hands, his face pale with relief.
…
The two continued their walk, the air growing cooler as they moved toward the quieter fringes of the city. The road this time was a sanctuary of stillness, a pocket of peace where the crowd had thinned into distant ghosts. Yet, the light did not fade; it lived in every corner, as the sides of the street were decorated with hanging lanterns that glowed in deep crimson and warm amber. Chilling breezes swept through the road, carrying the scent of woodsmoke and old stone.
They were currently sharing the packet of chocolate sticks they had bought earlier. Noa's arm was draped heavily around Vionette's waist, pulling her into his side as they walked. Vionette held the packet, her other hand feeding Noa a stick with a look of pure, unadulterated bliss. She was practically glowing, the gift he had won her shimmering on her wrist.
"It's the last one." Vionette pulled the final chocolate stick from the packet. "Do you want it?" She held it out toward him, her expression innocent.
"Let's split it then."
As Noa spoke, Vionette stopped her movement abruptly. Noa, caught in his own forward momentum and not realizing she had anchored herself to the spot, kept walking for a half-step, his hand pushing firmly against the small of her back.
He looked back, startled, and saw that Vionette already had the last chocolate stick held playfully between her teeth.
"Then… come and take it." Her eyes danced with a playful, sovereign tease.
Noa stood still for a heartbeat, his purple eyes devouring the sight of her. Then he took a deliberate step forward, closing the space between them until their shadows merged into one on the cobblestones.
"That's how you want to play it, my little Princess?"
Chop.
He bit down on the other end of the stick. His hand slid slowly around her waist, pulling her against him, while Vionette reached up to grab his collar, pulling him down to bridge the height gap.
The chocolate stick shortened with every agonizingly slow bite. Their eyes remained locked, the world around them dissolving into a blur of amber light and shifting shadows. Their eyelids grew heavy, their gaze filled with an affection so thick it felt like a physical weight.
"Mmm~"
Finally, the chocolate stick vanished, and their lips met in a soft, lingering kiss. The festival's noise became a distant, meaningless hum. Vionette let go of his collar only to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling him deeper into the embrace, while Noa's hands tightened around her, anchoring her to him.
One had lived a life more solitary than anyone else, a soul rejected by even the world; the other had lived a life surrounded by 'friends' whose smiles felt like daggers aimed at her back.
The two shattered cores, unburdened by each other's histories, only recognized a reflection in one another as though fate itself had drawn a mirror between them. It was no love born of rescue, no promise whispers, no tale exchanged between hearts — it was the fierce harmony of two storms circling the same sky.
Their differences mattered little, for when the wings of a single bird took flight, they moved in perfect harmony, rising and twisting as if the world itself had carved them from the same breath of wind — distinct yet inseparable, two halves forming a 'whole' that existed only in their union.