Embers of Sun and Flame: Before We Have It (Fuegoleon x OC)

Chapter 33 Waiting and making plans

The sounds of spoons clicking against porcelain cups, plates, the wooden tables lingered in the air, which was coupled with the sweet smell of cakes, pastries and the herbal undertones of tea. It all was wrapped together with the chatter of other customers at the café.

"Thank you for the invite," Neva uttered while eyeing the piece of strawberry cake in front of her, as if trying to seem a little less eager to take a bite than she was.

"Don't mention it," Solara uttered, looking outside from the window while taking a hold of her tea cup. Lavender and lemon, an interesting combination...

Neva took a hold of the silver fork, and cut herself a piece. The sponge of the cake gave in under the pressure, but regained its shape moments after. A little bit of whipped cream dropped onto the plate, along with a strawberry slice since the cake was generously filled.

"How have you been?" Lara continued, trying to sound as casual as possible, while they both knew, more than well, that the war wasn't too far behind them. Just a few weeks, if that. And yet it seemed like so long ago, because of the sense of normalcy that existed within the walls of the Royal Capitol. Apart of Julius and Damnatio having gone missing. And... the Golden Dawn having only a fraction of its members due to the events of the previous year.

"Good," Neva answered before taking another piece of cake, and savouring the taste. "How about you? Probably busy with wedding plans."

"Yeah," she chuckled. "Quite so. Which..." she averted her gaze for a moment. "I have to admit that I have a... slight ulterior motive in inviting you for tea..."

"Oh?" Neva quirked an eyebrow.

"Mhm," Lara nodded. "You see, because... I'm a foreigner, I have this... feeling that it'd be better for my reputation if my entrance was more eye catching than a traditional one."

Neva nodded. She could relate to the idea of feeling out of place. Though she had lived all her life in the kingdom, had been born and raised there, she wasn't exactly eager to tell her origin story to just anyone. But Solara didn't seem quite so reluctant. As in, she wasn't one to necessarily bring it up, but if she was asked, she'd tell it. Because she was proud of her heritage. Or so it seemed to Neva. And yet, she could understand why Solara felt so. "Yeah, it's better to show... strength in the noble circles here, especially if you're foreigner."

"So, I was going to ask you for a favour."

"What kind of a favour? Flowers, dress...?" Neva asked with curiosity, taking a hold of her tea cup.

"Well, I asked Tani for help with my bouquet, but I was thinking about how diamonds reflect and refract light. And, feel free to tell me if you don't want to for any reason, I was thinking about if you could make some kind of tiny diamonds with your magic during the ceremony. So, if I then use my magic to reflect an aura of sunlight, it could reflect from the diamonds in a way that would..." she paused for a while, swirling her hand in the air while trying to choose a word, "pop".

Neva thought about it for a while. I could make small diamonds for sure. Larger ones take a lot of mana, and the bigger they are, the fewer I can make... But I'm also not going to fill the aisle with diamonds, because she needs to be able to walk...

"What are you thinking?" Solara asked, tilting her head and putting down her cup.

"I'm thinking that... wouldn't you need to cast a lot of light to reach all of the diamonds?" Neva begun, looking at Lara with a slight frown. "I mean, either it'd have to be potent or then you'd have to concentrate on the rays to hit individual diamonds. Which is difficult, especially since... I've been told that it... that your focus might be elsewhere," she trailed off for a moment, perhaps thinking about another conversation, held with someone else. Until she regained herself, even if the faint blush remained. "So, would something... Less specific be better?"