Moonlight Ball

That night, he eagerly loaded up his horse with the things the chief packed for him. He prepared everything he thought they might need until the morning and also brought a cape to cover her with in case the weather became too chilly. He hadn’t passed the palace gate yet, but he was more than excited for his trip.

The road ahead of him seemed brighter and every step towards his destination felt exhilarating to him. As he was mindlessly traipsing down the road, he spotted a hazy figure walking towards him. He wasn’t sure who it could be, but upon closer scrutiny, he finally realized whose silhouette it was. It was the person he was supposed to meet, Iris, who was casually dressed in a baggy shirt and pants. She looked like a boy from afar, especially with her hair loosely tied up in a bun.

“Ris?” Sidrain called out. He couldn’t hide the surprise in his voice, and Iris looked up after hearing her name.

It looked strange. Aside from her being dressed out of her usual attire, he wasn’t really sure whether Rosemary even owned such clothes. She was carrying a lot of luggage too. The luggage was big enough for three people, so from a distance, it looked like the luggage was walking. It was a round, full moon-like bag, he observed, and Iris was carrying it with painstaking effort.

“What’s all that, Ris? Give it to me, I’ll hold it for you.”

Iris instinctively pulled the baggage away when he tried to take it from her. “No,” she flatly refused.

“Why?” Sidrain couldn’t help but ask back.

“It’s a burden I need to carry.”

“There’s no such thing as that. We’re going to share a burden. Give it to me.” Sidrain gallantly jumped off the horse, but Iris stepped back again. She stumbled but managed to regain her balance.

“Never.” Iris said as she shook her head.

Looking at her face, Sidrain could tell she was serious. He was bewildered at what was transpiring in front of him. The woman he loved carried huge baggage, stubbornly refusing his help. He couldn’t figure out what to do next.

Do I have to unpack and carry her luggage? It’s not hard, but why should I do that? Why the hell isn’t Iris giving me her luggage? Sidrain fretted as he stared at Iris and asked. “Can’t we do it here? Do we really have to go all the way there?”

At these words, Iris immediately looked up, saying, “Oh!” She glanced around the vicinity before nodding energetically. It was still a long way from their agreed meeting place, but the vacant lot they were currently in looked suitable for her. She smilingly looked at Sidrain and said something in ancient language.

In an instant, the area was enclosed with a barrier. Sidrain just remembered that Iris was a wizard, but her behavior was very unusual. Then she said, “Hey, hey, I’ve been thinking.” Sidrain felt an ominous premonition at these words.

“Well, you said you wanted to have a physical relationship with me. But I, uh, don’t think I love you. Not yet. I mean I do like you, but I don’t think it’s love. But, uh, so, uh, anyway, I’m not yet sure. But you wanted to do it today, Your Highness.” Iris spoke nervously with a hint of red in her cheeks.

She rubbed her face and gathered her hair up. Then she opened her luggage which contained a huge pile of magical scrolls. “Well, I can’t. I can’t just do it yet. I mean,” she said as she rummaged through her luggage, took out a thin lace glove, and threw it towards Sidrain’s direction. She expected him to catch it but Sidrain was too shocked to react and the gloves hit his face.

“I’d like to challenge you to a duel.”

Sidrain’s brain was malfunctioning and wanted to simply deny the reality at this point.

His first love had asked for a duel because she didn’t want to sleep with him.

***

“Well, well, take out your sword, Your Highness.”

Iris, who said so, quickly began to recite a spell in an ancient language. Her mana began to increase enormously. Sidrain knew she meant to attack him with all her might. He was the Sword Master and no matter how great a wizard she was, she couldn’t beat him in a duel. Despite knowing that, Iris was doing her best to resist him. Through a duel. Did she despise the idea of sleeping with him so badly that she’d rather engage him in a losing fight? Sidrain’s heart ached at this idea.

“Stop.” Sidrain didn’t want to think about anything now.

“Oh, no, no! Well, your Highness, you’re right to do it if you want to. This is your wife’s body. But I think it’s better to do this because I, Iris, have free will! Now, pick up your sword!” Iris said desperately. She seemed to have thought this through.

For the first time since he knew Iris, he wanted her to stop talking.

Iris opened her eyes widely and reversed her mana incantation. Before she knew it, Sidrain collapsed. It wasn’t like this when he caught a dragon. His legs were now weak and he couldn’t stand.

“Are you serious?”

It was hard to answer and so Sidrain chose not to. Soon Iris’s mana returned to normal and the barrier she created around the perimeter vanished. Iris carefully approached and squatted down next to Sidrain.

“Hey, are you not feeling well?”

“No,” replied Sidrain.

“I don’t know what is happening but let me see if I can fix it!”

“Ris, if you don’t shut up, I think I might lose sexual attraction towards you for two weeks.” Sidrain buried his face between his legs and muttered, “I’d appreciate it if you’d shut up. My lady, I love you, but I hate you a little right now.”

Iris, bewildered, sat next to him and asked, “Did I do something wrong?”

“No.”

You did nothing wrong. I’m the bad guy for trying to take advantage of you under the guise of being your husband. I should be heavily punished by the heavens. Yes, that’s what it should be like for me.

“You know, if I lost, I was really going to do it with you,” said Iris.

“Oh, yeah? And what did I say just now?”

“What?”

“What happens if you don’t shut up?”

As soon as she remembered, Iris shut up immediately.

***

They were under the pitch black sky in the middle of spring. The stars twinkled brightly as if begging to be noticed by the pair. The scenery could have been perfect for a romantic evening, but right now, Sidrain couldn’t afford to raise his head. Next to him was Iris gently patting his back to make sure he was feeling okay.

“I-I’m sorry. Did I do something wrong?” Iris nervously asked.

“No,” Sidrain replied, softly staring back into Iris’ worry-filled blue eyes.

This question and answer played back like a broken record until dawn arrived to mark the start of a new day.

The following week, of course, Sidrain didn’t lose even an ounce of sexual attraction towards Iris. Every morning, without fail, Iris was gently woken up by a soft, loving kiss from a half-lidded and still sleepy Sidrain. Not too bad for a morning routine, Iris caught herself thinking.