Rose's POV

We enter a few more shops. Mikey, Andrea and I separated into a group after wanting to get a closer look at some of the clothes in this town's boutique. I am very grateful that I don't have to worry about expenses due to my above average pay grade. If I didn't have a job, I would have already spent half of the money provided by the Academy just at the antique shop.

Aisha and Malik were a very unique couple, I don't know much about seers, but I do know that they were utilized greatly during the Victorian era. I make a mental note to look into everything about the Coven Community when I return to the Academy library. Anyway, I think I will make a few purchases in this shop. I already picked out a gold headpiece with pearls on it. The golden jewelry is crafted into the shape of leaves and looks very eye catching. It is similar to my air item, but this piece remains solely atop of my head.



I see a cornflower blue dress in the back of the shop. I walk my way towards it and am instantly stunned by it's design. The dress has slight ruffles on the shoulders and has a tie between the chest area. The color of the dress itself is a matte, yet unique blue that makes me curious about its fabric. I check the size and am delighted when I see it's a medium. The thing about my size is that because I have a smaller waist but larger chest and hips, many clothes are tightened around my upper area.



I continue looking through the racks of clothing until my gaze lands on a pure white sundress. I tend to favor brighter colors and elegant designs. This dress is more square shaped on the top, with slight ruffles from the waist and above. The rest of the dress is more loose, yet still graceful.



I pick it up and check to make sure that it is in my size. With my two dresses and head wear, I make way towards the cashier. The total price ends up being around $37 because the dresses were a 2 for $25 deal. I grab my bags and check up on my friends. I see that Andrea is looking at an aqua blue formal-collared shirt.

"You could pull it off." I say to him.

"Tu la pensi così?" He asks me. [ T : You think so? ]

"Sì, andrà benissimo con i pantaloni formali." I input. [ T : Yes, it will go great with formal pants. ]

He nods with my words, showing his agreement. When Andrea moves to the cashier, I check up on Mikey.

"Do these pants make my butt look big?" He jokes.

"Most definitely!" I nod vigorously. We bust out laughing. He changes out of the dressing room and walks out in his previous clothes.

"I think I'm going to get them." He tells me. I nod and walk towards the front of the store where Andrea is already waiting for us.

"I forgot to ask, but what did you get at that creepy store?" Mikey asks me. Andrea opens the door for me as we leave the shop with our new clothes.

"I got a few books, a couple of rings, and a bag." I vaguely say.

"Oh! Can I see the rings?" Andrea asks.

"Of course, how about during lunch?" I propose, he nods. We catch up to the boys when we enter the bakery. I see Oliver indulging in a chocolate filled crepe with strawberry dipping sauce. Jaxson and Jake are sharing a plate of cream puffs. AJ, Ryder, and Tony are looking at the menu. Meanwhile, Daniel is eating a muffin and Danny an assortment of cookies. I walk up to the counter, looking at the menu.

"Hey beautiful," A boy not too older looking then me approaches the counter. "Can I get you anything?" He flirts.

"Yes, may I please have an order of the cream cheese raspberry filled biscuits?" I politely ignore his attempt.

"Of course, coming right up." He says. I make a move for my card when he holds up his hand. "It's on the house." He winks.

"That's very kind of you ....." I trail off.

"Peter." He catches on.

"Thank you Peter, my name is Rose." I say. He gathers together my food and comes back to me with my food quicker than everyone else's.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl." He smiles with his dimples. I sense that he is quite a charmer with the ladies. I grab the plate with a slight blush covering my cheeks.

"Thank you very much. I would like to tell you that I don't quite swing your way, if you know what I mean." I smile. It takes him a moment to understand, but when he does, he blushes brightly and excuses himself. I lightly laugh at his behavior. I turn around and take an open seat in between Jake and Andrea.

"You never told me you like girls." Jake mumbles, also blushing.

"I am bisexual. So technically, I didn't lie, but I didn't tell him the full truth." I state.

"You're bisexual?" Andrea asks surprised. I nod.

"I can be a good little sub when I want to be." I naughtily joke. Jake begins choking on the water he was drinking, Andrea looks at me mischievously, and everyone else starts laughing.

"Non sei così innocente, dopotutto." Andrea smirks at me. [ T : You are not so innocent after all. ]

"Hey! Non ho ancora avuto il mio primo bacio." I argue. [ T : Hey! I still haven't had my first kiss. ]

"I don't understand that. You are easily the most stunning girl I have yet to meet, but you have never been kissed before. If I wasn't into guys, you'd be the next best thing." He teases.

"I am just waiting for the right one." I shrug. I take my first bite into the pastry and hold back a moan. This is the tastiest biscuit I have ever had. I motion to Oliver to try it and he does. His eyes widen and he takes another bite.

"This is really good!" He says to me with the food still in his mouth.

"Dude, gross." Jake whines. I laugh at his childish tone. After everyone samples the raspberry biscuit, we come to a collective agreement that I have the best taste.



We walk out the bakery after complimenting the bakers. The next shop in the town is an arts & crafts shop. I squeal and rush inside. I register Ryder telling me that they will meet me in the next shop. I only nod in response to him, too enthralled with all of the supplies in front of me. I take a look around the shop and see Arthur looking at some oil paints.

"Arthur!" I exclaim.

"Hey Rose!" He chirps. "I need your help." He tells me. I make my way over to the selection. "Should I get the 12-pack or 18-pack? The 12 is less money and provides me with the basic paints. The 18 is more expensive but provides more color options." He states. I look at the sets and run the numbers in my head.

"Actually, the ratio of dollars per ounce is greater for the 12-pack. The 12 set is $5 per oz because all of the tubes combined equal 4.8oz, you divide the cost of $24 by this number to get the ratio. The 18 set is $4.17 per oz because all of the tubes combined equal 7.2oz, you divide the cost of $30 by this number to get a cheaper ratio. So, I would go for the 18 set because you would actually be saving money and it gives you a better variety." I state.

"I always forget that you are a mathematician," He mumbles. "Thank you so much!" He hugs me, grabbing the 18-pack. I say goodbye to him and begin my search for supplies. Since I am already in the paints section, I select what I need.

I see a 10 set of painting brushes with different edges and grab ahold of it, smiling all the while. I couldn't get these in my village because we were only able to purchase standardized brushes, now my paintings could be more sophisticated and show more depth.



I then look at the acrylic paint section. Different artists have their own preferences for paint consistencies, mine just happens to be acrylic while Arthur's is oil. I ultimately decide on getting a 24-pack of different colors to my liking, this is so I can combine certain colors to get another.



I move out of the paint section since I have everything I need from there. I look around the shop and grab a 36 set of colored pencils. I need new ones because I have used up my old pencils.



I get to the sketching section of the shop and look for a few more items. I see a variety of different sketchbooks that I could possibly get, so I pick out a standard one. It is navy blue, has a string bookmark, and has an elastic holder to keep together the ends. It is fairly basic, but is just what I am looking for.



I need a few more things before I can check out. I am looking all over the shop until I come across a set holding all of the supplies I need. The set itself contains graphite pencils, erasers, a ruler, shading utensils, charcoal pencils, and a few other smaller items.



I take all of these things to the front to pay. When the worker sees me, she chuckles.

"A fan of art?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Yes. I usually sketch drawings on the daily, but I don't really paint unless I have free time." I reply.

"What do you like to paint?" She asks as she scans the items.

"I usually do landscapes, the only portrait I did was one of somebody who joined the heavens." I say, remembering the time I painted a portrait of Adele and gave it to Garret on the first anniversary of her passing. The worker nods.

"You are quite a stunner dear." She tells me.

"Thank you miss." I politely respond.

"Where are you from? I would have been sure to remember a face like yours had I seen you." She inquires.

"I am just visiting some family friends." I smile at her. She nods her head.

"Well, my name is Cassandra. Tell me if you are ever in town, I would love for you to meet my son." She smiles at me.

"Will do Miss Cassandra, my name is Rose." I say. She lights up at my name.

"Rose," she sighs. "Such a beautiful name." She says. "Sorry dear, your total is $97." She apologizes for getting off topic.

"No worries miss." I hand her my card. She puts everything in a bag and returns my card to me. "It was a pleasure to meet you ma'am." I tell.

"Likewise my dear." She kindly smiles at me. Miss Cassandra looked about 40 years old, her eyes held the loving warmth only a mother could provide. I walk out of the shop and catch up to the boys when I see them walking into another shop.

"Woah!" Daniel exclaims.

"It looks like someone had fun." Danny motions to my acquired bags.

"It was amazing! They had so many things in there. I was awe struck when I saw the quality of some of the supplies. And then-" I stop my ramble when I hear a throaty laugh.

"I'm sorry sis, but you looked like a kid in a candy shop." Oliver laughs out. I roll my eyes with a smile gracing my lips.

"Yeah yeah." I mumble. I take a look around and release a chuckle when I realize that we are in a literal candy shop. There are candies, chips, snacks, and other junk foods lining the shelves. I hear a group of familiar voices join us in the shop. I turn around and smile when I see Roman, Clay, Aiden, Matisse's group and Joel's group enter the shop.

"Bestie!" Matisse shouts, leaving Roman's side.

"Matisse!" I return the energy. We hug enthusiastically, creating a scene in front of everyone.

"I am starting to think he likes you more than me." Roman says.

"I do." "He does." We reply at the same time.

"Well what is everyone doing just standing here? Let's get some snacks!" Joel pumps his fist. And just like that, we disperse. I take a look around the shop and see many different treats I could choose from. Just as I have come to the conclusion that I won't get anything, I see my favorite snack. I pick up two of the largest containers from the options and go to check out.



"Really Rose?" Daniel laughs.

"What? I can't resist." I pout. What can I say, yogurt covered pretzels are bomb. I bring them up to the counter and the worker looks amused.

"We have a deal on all sweet and savory snacks. Buy 2 get 1 free." He says. I smile brightly and grab another container, of course it the same size as the other two. He chuckles at my enthusiasm and rings me up. It ended up being around $28, but do I regret my decision, no. Not too long after, everyone has what they want. I notice that the 22 boys and I are all carrying bags. We head out of the shop and into another. This continues on until we reach the salon.

A few people from our group of 23 leave, but most of us stay. The workers look at our group and begin taking us to their stations individually. A more feminine, dark-skinned man approaches me. He seems about early 20's, is on the shorter side, and has dreadlocks.

"You are a beautiful young lady, let's see what I am working with." He says. I sit down in his chair. "My name is Damien. So what can I do for you today?" He asks me.

"Hello Damien, my name is Rose. I don't want my hair cut, I just want a trim. I want it to be cut to where I will have no split ends, but so my hair somewhat maintains its length." I try to convey to him my vision. He nods.

"I can work with that." He shrugs. He wraps a towel around my shoulders and brings me to a sink. I lay back in the chair and let him do his job. Damien wets my hair, then washes it with purple shampoo. He conditions my hair after, combing it all the while. We talk about everyday things, our hobbies, our likes and dislikes, Damien's husband.

"Anyway, so that's how he proposed." He finishes telling me the story.

"That is so romantic!" I squeal. I feel oddly comfortable around Damien for only knowing him for an hour or two. I let out an involuntary sigh when my thoughts dwell on whether or not I'll find my soulmate.

"What is it V?" He asks. Oh yeah, I told him my backstory and he insisted that he have a different nickname than everyone else.

"I just wonder if I am ever going to find my soulmate. I mean, I haven't even had my first kiss yet." I sigh once again.

"None of that V. You are beautiful and gorgeous. From what I've heard so far, you are smart, compassionate, not to mention that you have a killer figure. Anyone would be lucky to even be your friend. You may not realize it now, but that special person you will eventually meet will most definitely appreciate you saving yourself for them. Don't worry, your too young for wrinkles." Damien hypes me up. I just smile and nod.

We pick up our conversation once again, and after almost 2 hours since I walked in, my hair is ready. Damien put some products in that moisturizes my hair and gives a shine to my unnatural hair color. When I look in the mirror, I gasp. My hair is layered, and looks extremely healthy. I thank Damien repeatedly, still gawking at my reflection.



Once I am out of my trance, I ask Damien to recommend some products. He recommends me with some of the hair products he used on my hair, what he thinks will work best with my hair, and also gave me a recommendation for skin care. After we walk around the shop, me choosing whether or not to pick out some items, I am holding lots of personal care products.

I got a shampoo, conditioner, hair mask, curling cream, hair moisturizer, detangler, and a mist. Then, for skin care, I got a quartz roller, body cream, body lotion, body butter, body wash, a sugar scrub, an exfoliating scrub, a hydration cream, face moisturizer, and some SPF. My hair products smell like honey and my skin care items smell of roses.





I go to the cashier and pay for everything. It was a couple hundred dollars in total, not including the generous tip I gave Damien. I sit with the rest of my bags along a wall of the salon, waiting for my friends. The golden boys only got minor trims, so they were out of the shop way before me. Oliver, William, Gabriel, Trevor and Clay decided that they didn't need any haircuts, so they never came into the shop in the first place.

Aiden and Jaxson are getting their hair cut very short, so they are still here. Mikey and AJ are waiting for Jaxson to finish up, Roman and Joel are waiting for Aiden, Matisse and Louis are waiting for Timotheé, and Stephen is waiting for Marquez. Within the next half hour, we are all out of the shop bearing our new hair styles. The ones who didn't wait in the shop are just walking around. I see a spa shop, so I bid the boys goodbye and go inside. A worker sees me approaching and ushers me to a seat.

"What can I do for you?" She asks.

"I want to get a manicure, preferably white french tips." I say. She nods, immediately gathering some supplies. She begins massaging my hand and cutting my cuticles. I never really spend money on myself, let alone get my nails done, so I am glad to be able to unwind for a day. An hour and a half later, I am walking out of the shop with my freshly done nails. I love the way they came out, the woman was very skilled at her job.



I see the boys heading into a restaurant, so I catch up with them. I see smiles on their faces when I return.

"Did I miss something?" I ask.

"Not much!" AJ rushes out.

"Yes, not much. Just that little AJ over here has a crush." William teases. I look to see AJ brightly blushing while glaring at the older nature wielder.

"Will." AJ whines.

"You should have seen it, he saw her and couldn't stop staring." Louis smiles at my friend.

"Louis." AJ whines louder. The trio are acting like brothers, and based off of the faces of the others, I am not the only one who sees it. "She ... I ... w-well she uh.." AJ stutters out, causing light laughs to go around the conjoined tables. We had to combine a couple tables together to fit all 23 of us.

"What does she look like? Do you know her name? Where did you see her? You better use protection." I fire out questions like an obsessed mother.

It's just that even though AJ is good looking, he was often passed up due to his shyness. So the fact that he had the courage to admit that he has a crush is somewhat of a big deal. My friend blushes a deeper red and doesn't answer. A waiter saves him and asks us what we would like to drink. She is quite beautiful, and looks about my age.

"What would you like to drink?" She asks me.

"Water will be fine, thank you." I smile at her. She smiles back with a light blush covering her cheeks. She walks away and everyone turns their head to me.

"Now who has the crush?" AJ teases. I just shrug, blushing a bit. I do my best to conceal a smile, but fail miserably. I can't help it, she is fairly attractive, and is very polite. Not to mention that her aura seeps confidence and beauty. The attention goes from me to a bunch of conversations around the table. When it is time to order, I choose a Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta dish.



Time flies by and we are already walking out the restaurants, our hunger fed. Based off of the sun's positioning, I can predict that we only have a few hours before we must leave.

"I am going to spend some time with Belvedere. I will see you all before we head back." I say. As I am carrying my multiple bags, I pass by a flee market. I decide that taking a look around won't hurt, even if I literally just ate. I am walking down the isles when I see a rectangular basket of grapes. I decide to buy some so that Belvedere and I can snack on them, bringing some back to the Academy for my twins as well.



I get to the clearing where the dragons are being kept, surprisingly without dropping anything.

'Belvedere, oh Belvedere.' I say.

'Little one, oh little one.' He smiles through his words. It has become a regular thing to introduce my presence to him that way, even though he can already smell me from a mile away.

'I brought some grapes for us to snack on. We don't get too much time to ourselves, so I am taking advantage of this opportunity.' I say, setting my bags down near him.

'Thank you little one, I can't recall ever eating grapes.' He tells me.

'Open your mouth and catch.' I instruct. I throw a grape his way and wait for his opinion.

'It tastes weird, different.' He tries to describe.

'A good different?' I ask. He nods his head. 'What do you want to do?' I question him.

'Little one, if you don't mind, can you sing to me? I know you don't really do it in front of others, but I enjoy your heavenly voice.' My companion sheepishly asks. I smile at him and kiss his forehead.

'Anything for you my stubborn dragon.' I tell him.

'Thank you my feisty little one.' He replies. I take notice of how the other dragons are watching Belvedere and I. I move my bags closer to him and set down the grapes to where he can reach them if he wanted to. I lay against his neck from his curled up position on the ground.

I begin humming, as I always do, to get my companion familiar with the tune. The words flow out of my lips delicately, my harmonious tune being carried be the breeze. I am aware that every dragon at Stone Heart can hear me, but I just focus on my companion. * Ancient of Days - City Alight *

Though the nations rage, kingdoms rise and fall There is still one King reigning over all So I will not fear for this truth remains That my God is, the Ancient of Days

None above Him, none before Him All of time in His hands For His throne it shall remain and ever stand All the power, all the glory I will trust in His name For my God is, the Ancient of Days

I continue the song with a gentle like passion. I know the goddesses above approve of my message when I feel a beam on sunlight stream on my face. I do not hold any religious affinity, I just believe in the gods and goddesses that created this world. I hold my own opinions, not prejudiced against anyone's decisions. I sing a few other songs until I notice the sun about to set. I realize that every dragon is looking at me as if I am a delicate treasure that they must protect.

'The sun is about to set, shall we fly?' I ask softly to Belvedere, interrupting his peaceful trance.

'Yes, we shall little one.' He says. I move away from his neck and place all of my bags and grapes a little farther away so that Belvedere and I have enough room. I mount his back and we take off.

Belvedere and I have developed our trust tremendously. I can now ride Belvedere when he is flying at full speed without any worry in the world. He trusts in my abilities, so he holds no more fear of my safety while on his back. He knows that if I ever fall off of his back, he or another dragon will catch me. I think about how lucky I am for my life to have turned out this way, how so many people support me, how I have the three best companions in the world. I take in the serene environment of nature, watching the sunset while flying on the back of my majestic companion.

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