"Are we there yet?" I questioned.

I heard Leraj's laughter behind me before he moved his horse. His hand rested on my thigh gently and my skin goosepimpled. "Almost. Not far now."

"You are so lucky I'm an excellent rider," I replied, blinking into darkness.

"Well if you hadn't been, we could have ridden in the same saddle."

I narrowed my eyes and looked in his direction but it was really pointless. Leraj had insisted I be blindfolded so I didn't ruin the surprise. It was very disconcerting riding my horse blind and had to remind myself to be calm and the darkness was only temporary.

The sounds of Liones had died long ago so I knew we'd left the city. As for through which gate, I was at a loss. My hearing was heightened from the other sense deprivation so I could hear the softness of Myra's footfalls. The dirt roads or leaves would have crunched underfoot; mud would squelch, which meant we were in the countryside that stretched between Liones and another town or city. Off the beaten path, so to speak.

A sweet scent tickled my nose and I turned in it's direction. "I smell... roses? And woodsmoke?" I canted my head and stopped Myra. "Leraj, are you taking me to the Rose Cottage?"

"Pfft, no! Why would I do that?" Then I heard him whisper to Butch, "How the hell could she smell them from all the way here?"

"You are!" I cried, jabbing a finger at him.

"I'm over here," he called a little to my right; I readjusted my aim with a sheepish grin. "Fine then, that part of the surprise is spoilt." I reached up to undo the blindfold. "Hey, keep that on! There are more surprises when we get there."

I pouted. His hand touched my thigh again before he pecked my lips. I leant forward for more but he'd withdrawn. Taking one of my hands and cradling it in his own, we walked side by side to the Rose Cottage.

I'd stumbled on the Rose Cottage within the first week of being in Liones. We'd just become apprentice Holy Knights so Leraj and I thought it would be a good idea to party with some others.

Bad idea.

Someone brought out their own concoction. 'A spin on the Vanya ale but extra kick', the other knight had said. Well, it did kick. I became this competitive, egotistical bitch who challenged a Holy Knight to a footrace. I ended up running 18km without one stop until I reached the Rose Cottage and 'blessed' the roses. No idea where the other guy went.

I woke up in the care of the little old lady who owned the cottage and after that, I visited her once a week when my scheduled allowed to tell her about my day and such over biscuits, scones and rose tea. I loved the cottage and I loved Marigold. She was the grandparent I never had, filling the gaping void my parent's death had created in my heart.

She passed a little over a year from our first meeting, breaking my heart all over again. Still did just by thinking about it. There was no way I'd ever forget those mirthful brown eyes and cheeky smile.

I hoped someone had taken great care of her cottage – last I heard, a relative had taken over. It had been Marigold's pride and joy. The owner's had invited me out but I'd never had the heart to return to it. And when I finally did, I had no time to visit.

"We're here." Leraj's voice startled me back to the present and I was hit with a wall of rose scents. Heedy, overpowering, familiar and comforting.

I sighed happily. Leraj's cold fingers removed the blindfold and I blinked in the late morning sun. My eyes adjusted and I took in the cottage.

A red dusted roof and pale cream bricks – just as I remembered – that formed a quaint home nestled amongst emerald greenery. Someone had planted a willow tree in the time I'd been gone and it towered over the cottage, branches sweeping the slates of the roof. Smoke tailed out of a circular chimney.

My eyes drifted down, down to the prickly formation of roses that lined the path leading to the front door. Yellow, reds, pale blues, white, pink – a sea of roses in full blossom, buds beginning to open, the carpet of rose petals. Winter might have been on the horizon but Marigold's garden never faltered to bloom and be vibrant colours in protest.

I dismounted slowly and strolled in through the gate of her picket fence. My fingers brushed the petals and shimmery leaves.

"I asked the owner if he'd allow us to rent the place out for the week."

I pivoted towards my boyfriend, mouth hanging open. All that came out was a deflating squeak. While I was ecstatic to have the chance to live in the Rose Cottage, I couldn't do that. We had training – I had training. I had to become a lot stronger if I wanted to go against the Sins again. I also had to prove to Hendrickson that I was ready for another mission.

His smile fell away. "Look, Estra, you need a break."

"No, I don't. I need to get back to training and become stronger."

"That is the opposite of what you need right now." His voice wasn't challenging as he said that, dismounting. "You don't even talk about what happened with the Sins," he whispered as he drew nearer, "and I know something has shaken you."

I bit my bottom lip and turned back to the roses. There really was no simple way to tell him that I no longer felt the same urge to hunt the Sins down or that all the memories we created before coming to Liones felt hollow and empty. Like none of it was real in the first place. That was why I needed to go back and return to the usual routine, put everything back in its place and retrain my focus on the purpose of this life I live.

He slipped his fingers between mine and tugged me towards the cottage. "If you're still adamant to return to Liones then I won't stop you. But let's look inside the cottage first before you climb back on your horse." I couldn't say no to those amber puppy eyes.

With a roll of my eyes, I followed after him. He stamped his feet twice on the little straw mat before the cream wooden door before unlocking it with a small key and pushing the door open smoothly. The same narrow hallway greeted me and for a split second, I felt tiny, gazing up at a little old lady's wrinkled face as she bent and reached out a hand to me.

"You going in?" asked Leraj and I shook my head to dispel the nostalgia rising in my chest.

"Sorry. Just...everything feels the same. It's like this place hasn't aged at all." I copied his stamping then hesitantly stepped over the threshold.

Honey and lime greeted me, Marigold's signature pies that always filled the house with the heavenly scent. I trailed a hand along the wall and moved deeper down the hallway. At the end, it split left and right. Right would lead us to the dining area, lounge, kitchen and patio; left were the two bedrooms and shared bathroom/ laundry room.

I froze at the intersection, felt the weight of all my worries fading away. Leraj is right – even if I won't admit it to him. It's been so long since we've had time to ourselves. Marigold, please help me again like you've done countless times.

"Are you coming?" Leraj lingered at the doorway, watching me. "You can come in, you know?" I laughed and he grinned at me.

"Just letting you have your minute of peace before I unravel my list of holiday fun," he said as he followed me. He peeked around the corners. "Which way do you want to go?"

"The kitchen." I grasped his hand and flounced right. Yes, flounced. I'd left my rigid nature back at the door it seemed; the Rose Cottage was the place I could be the younger version of myself I had to give up.

Marigold hadn't really liked walls in her house; she tried to have as little as possible. That was why the kitchen, dining area and lounge space coexisted beside each other in an open space. The kitchen had a simple stove top and a fireplace with a cooking grate and a pot hanging above it; a deep sink and a cooler box that stretched along the wall to fill the space in the corner. She had an island counter and perched on top were two steaming pies, one marked with a H and another with L in pastry letters.

I was drooling as I scrambled over, took a knife from the block and cut myself a piece. I took a bite of the Lime pie and groaned, crumbs scattering everywhere. Leraj laughed and I turned on him with a wide-eyed possum stare. "What? It's delicious. Have some."

He came over and sliced himself a piece of the Honey pie. "I like it a bit sweeter," he said as he took a bit, his eyes never leaving mine. My cheeks went hot and I took in the layout of the rest of the room. A simple round table was off-centre in the room, which had always irked me to no end and had caused a few bruises when I'd moved it and Marigold had found out; two cushioned sofas were positioned in front of another fireplace, this one larger and more ornate, decorated with pictures and trinkets from a younger Marigold's adventures.

I had another out of body experience: Marigold scolding me as I balanced on the ledge above the fireplace where the memorabilia were.

What. The. Hell?

That made absolutely no sense. The ledge was barely two inches wide. Maybe I was imagining another place of the house – like the roof! - and I'd accidentally spliced two memories together. That or I was drunk and had done things that weren't possible when sober (which happened quite often – somehow I always ended up at Marigold's door when partying went too far in Liones).

"What's out that door?" I came alive to Leraj pointing at a simple door on the wall. Like any sensible person, I crammed the remainder of the pie into my mouth and headed towards it.

It opened easily, swinging inwards. A large deck stretched out to meet manicured lawns and a hedge of Black Beauty rose bushes that followed the fence. The willow tree grew in the corner and cast a shadow on half the backyard. A birdbath and a few garden ornaments took up the other far corner, alongside an empty pond shell in the ground.

I kicked off my boots and took a running leap off the patio, landing on the soft grass. It was cold underfoot and I wiggled my toes before walking towards the roses. Black Beauties were my favourites and I cupped one now, burying my nose in the petals (after first checking for ants).

I sensed Leraj before I heard him. A rush of cool breeze rattled the roses and petals scattered, riding the wind like little boats in a river. I turned to Leraj and tangled my fingers in his golden locks to bring his face to mine. I kissed him, hard, soft, lingering, teasing. There wasn't much he could do besides step closer and cradle me tight.

I pulled back, gazed into his amber eyes and blurted, "When this is all over, we should grow old here...together."

He stiffened. Not visibly but I felt the tensing of the muscles in contact with my skin. Then his amber eyes softened and he dropped his forehead to mine.

"I think that's a great idea, Fox," he whispered. As another gentle breeze stirred my hair and clothes, I closed my eyes and hummed.

So no idea what to do in terms of a new computer and it's making it hard to update. Thankfully, I hadn't written any ideas for this chapter so it made it easier to write whatever XD Found this chapter relatively hard though because it's so normal. There's no fighting and stuff, it's just these two being regular humans instead of Holy Knights. The next one to two chapters may be the same as I wanted to show how Estra's character begins to change. 

If you notice any issues with the formatting and layout or missing sections, let me know because I'm using a different program on my old computer to type (I ran out of Microsoft Word).