The Call to War

Chapter 22

Kathyln breathed in deeply before exhaling in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom, as soft music played from an artifact. She was wearing a simple black dress that hugged her body a bit more than she normally wore, and stopped right above her knees. The dress was something that she knew her mother would disapprove of, and would no doubt lecture her about why she had no business wearing a dress like that, but she didn't care. Kathyln had a vision for tonight, and there was no room for her mother's opinions in it.

She turned around and looked at a properly set table in the middle of the room. It was a round table with a pristine white tablecloth on top, two plates of food with silver dome covers that reflected the light from the two candles in the middle, and two glasses of white wine. The table was roughly the size of the one in her room at the wall, so a cart was beside it with an ice bucket holding the bottle of wine, along with dessert which was also under another domed lid.

Everything was set, all that was missing was Lunaris. Kathyln's maid had already returned and left, so she knew he had received her invitation. The anticipation of waiting only made her more nervous, but it would be difficult for anyone to tell just by looking at her. She looked back in the mirror, her makeup was perfect. Her lips were a light red, just a light blush on her cheeks, and eyeliner and mascara that made her eyes pop.

Knock knock knock

Kathyln took one more deep breath and smiled, it was time. She walked over to the door and opened it to see Lunaris standing tall in his uniform, looking more handsome and dashing than usual.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. I wanted to see my father off since it's been so long that I've seen him," Lunaris said with a nervous expression.

"Not at all, I'm happy you were able to see him," Kathyln replied as she stepped aside and gestured for him to enter.

Lunaris entered and immediately saw the table. "Wow, what's the occasion? I know it's not our anniversary yet."

"Hester is more at ease here, and is busy catching up with some old friends. So I thought it would be nice to have some time alone together, since she won't be coming by to check on me," Kathyln replied with a small smile.

"I'm that case," Lunaris said, as he leaned in and gave Kathyln a light peck on the lips. "Why don't we enjoy our meal?"

Kathyln nodded and the two approached the table, with Lunaris pulling out Kathyln's seat for her. Once seated Lunaris joined her, and the two removed the silver domes concealing their dinner. Both plates held a sizable piece of fish on a bed of rice, surrounded by roasted mixed vegetables, and a roll to the side.

Before either could start eating, Kathyln raised her glass. "A toast?"

Lunaris smiled and raised his glass. "To a romantic evening together."

"And to us. May we have a long and happy relationship together," Kathyln added.

They both blushed a bit from the insinuated meaning of Kathyln's words as they clinked glasses and took a sip before beginning their meal.

They both enjoyed their meals with light conversation, mostly driven by Lunaris, as Kathyln was more accustomed to a quiet dinner. Lunaris tried to slow down his eating since Kathyln took smaller bites, but he still finished a bit before her.

"Are you ready for dessert?" Kathyln asked as she finally finished her meal.

"It's been so long since I've had dessert, it honestly feels like a foreign concept to me," Lunaris replied with an amused tone.

Kathyln smiled as she pulled another plate from the cart with a silver domed lid. She removed the dome to reveal the most delicious smelling and looking slice of chocolate cake Lunaris had ever seen. The cake itself was chocolate, as was the icing, while the filling was a raspberry jelly. Lunaris' mouth watered as the thought of eating his favorite dessert stood prominently in his mind, before he noticed something wrong. He leaned over and checked the cart, which only had the ice bucket and wine.