We began to talk together and walk while shopping. I started talking to her about the curse between our demons. Mano was surprised that our demons were in a relationship. Then what the demons at the slave auction told me, and she had no idea what to do about the information. She said she had no idea. We stopped at a bakery, she got apple pie, and I got pumpkin pie. We kept talking and walking, and we found a place with a nice view, and we got to sit and talk.
"So, our demons were together, and were cursed?" Mano asked, still coming to terms with everything.
"Yes, I didn't know how to go about explaining all this to you or anyone," I told her, just sitting with her, looking at the view over the kingdom. We are going to graduate soon, and we will be entering adulthood soon. I looked at her while we were sitting together. She was silent for a while, and I didn't push her. I wanted to do something to show her that I wanted to know if she had any answers to breaking the curse, to ending this mess, but... I kept up with my readings on this curse, and everything that even mentioned something like this. But nothing got me any closer to fixing this. The silence between us stretched out for a long while. The sun was warm on us. I was just waiting for something to come up, or until she said something to end the silence.
"... did you read up on anything to do with the curse on both our demons?" Mano asked. My shoulders slumped. Out of everything I wish she had said, why did it have to be that?
"... No, unfortunately, there isn't anything on removing the curse," I told her, playing with my hair out of habit.
"Then we will have to contact our demons separately," Mano said, straightening her back.
"Right, we can't afford to cause the curse to enact," I said, standing up with her. We headed off in silence again. That is, until I remembered something. "Wait, I have to go do something!"
Without thinking, I took her hand and pulled her with me, using ice to make wings on my back. I flew, holding her in my arms, even though she was taller than me. I flew faster than a carriage could carry us, even with magic. I flew across the continent to the Palistan kingdom. Saintess Diana lives behind those walls. I know how the original plot went, and I know Scarlet can handle the fat man at the gates. That green-haired boy would honestly be better for Scarlet than Julius, but it's not my life, so what am I to say? I flew over the walls and saw Scarlet there. She clearly saw me and looked upset that I was getting ahead of her. I kept flying until I reached the main building of Diana. I landed with a soft tap of my feet and set down Mano. With the snap of my fingers, my wings vanished. Mano looked down at me with a changed expression, like she was enamored and a little flustered.
"Gia!" A man came running over. I turned, and there was Sean, a friend from this kingdom. He came from a foreign kingdom that no longer has a name. He has developed a crush on Leonardo, and it's very cute.
"Oh, Sean! What are you doing here?" I asked him, Mano standing behind me.
"Diana sent me a letter to greet you here." He explained with a calm smile. Leonardo could benefit from someone like him to keep him from getting grey hair.
"She's inside, yes?" I asked.
"Yes, she's been excited to see Scarlet mostly," he said.
"Understandable," I agreed.