The next few hours flew by in a daze. All Serali could think of was that she would meet Galen again. She kept reminding herself that he might not be what he seemed, that he could be just another power seeker, but she just couldn't imagine him that way. Of course she'd only met him once, and they had talked for only a few minutes while they danced, but still he had struck her as being a good person, an honest person. But then, she thought, what do I know of people? I've only known the few at Land's End. The city is different, Breck always said it was. She shook her head. Enough of that, I'll just be careful and see what happens. Though I hope… she left the thought unfinished and went upstairs to get dressed.

Dressing had always been simple, she just picked whatever outfit happened to catch her eye. Even after acquiring a much larger wardrobe, she used the same method, but today nothing seemed right. She tried on half a dozen things before giving up and putting one at random, a fairly simple and comfortable dress of emerald green that went well with her eyes.

Realizing that it was almost time, she hurried down the stairs to the base of the tower. D'Trevius Park was only a few minutes' walk away, and she strode briskly down the street, eager to arrive. The park was just inside the city walls, so she didn't have far to go.

Out here near the edge of the city the traffic was light, merely a few carts and a scattering of pedestrians. Sreali hardly noticed them as she headed towards her destination. As she reached the trees that lined the edge of the park, she looked around. There were quite a few people there, couples strolling, children playing, solitary men and women out enjoying the fine afternoon, but Serali couldn't see Galen anywhere.

Then she spotted him. He was standing only a few yards from her, looking off towards where the top of Janus's tower was just barely visible over the tops of the nearby buildings. He hadn't noticed her approach because she had gone by a route that was actually shorter, but meant that she approached the park from a slightly different direction, rather than from the tower.

She walked over to him, suddenly hesitant and shy, something she had never been. He turned his head and saw her. For a moment they just looked at each other, and then Galen walked over and said hello, and Serali managed to answer without making a fool of herself. He took her hand in his, giving her a pleasant tingly feeling, and they walked into the park. Afterwards Serali couldn't recall the details. They had talked about their lives, the differences between being raised as a nobody in a small town and as a noble in the city, things like that. The subject didn't matter, talking with him was wonderful in and of itself.

He walked her home, leaving her at the front gate with a brief kiss. It wasn't a kiss to write poems about, but it was the first Serali had ever had and she went inside in a daze, wishing that every day could be like this one.

Janus didn't comment, other than to say that tomorrow they would have lessons as usual, but also as usual her evenings were her own.