Golden Day Off

A single sweet and upbeat voice played in our hero's mind as he lay in bed...

"Lucas... Lucas... aren't you going to play today?"

"Oh, you are? Then let's play hide and seek!"

"I'll go first... one, two, three... are you hiding? Four, five, six... this is going to be so fun! Seven, eight, nine... and ten! Ready or not, here I come!"

"Oh, Lucas... that was a terrible place hiding behind the Church!"

"No worries, will we play by the lake tomorrow?"

"Oh, you're going to find a flower for your sister's birthday? Good luck!"

"Then I'll see you the day after!"

It was night in the Clover Kingdom and a cool breeze swept the air. The only noise outside was the faint rustling of the leaves and the splashes of the fountain outside of Lucas's room. The peace was all around, except for Lucas's room.

The Light mage was tussling and turning in his sleep. His window was slightly open to let the breeze through, but that wasn't the cause of his discomfort. His dream was the source of it with the way he was behaving through his body language. He dragged his head, that was drenched in sweat, up and down his pillow. His eyes were twitching as he tried to force himself to wake up from his sleep. His hands formed into fists and grabbed onto the bed sheets.

"We'll always be... best friends...".

"Ahhhhhh!" Lucas shot himself upright, the sweat on his forehead being flicked forwards. He looked at his arms and felt his face. They were hot, but also cold at the same time. "Just... what... who was that? That was so intense... but I feel goosebumps. Was I happy in the dream-no, the nightmare? I'm so confused".

The confused Light mage left his bed and put on his slippers. A quick look towards the window told him that it was still the middle of the night, so he had time to go back to sleep. As he peered through his window, he realised his vision became blurry. With a quick wipe of his eyes, he knew the reason for it. He had been crying through his dream or nightmare that he was having.

"I... don't understand. I was a child in the dream, and it seemed like a memory... but who was that girl? Her face was too blurry and... I don't remember it happening. I don't remember much of what happened before... my sister and I left the Church...", he sighed. The Magic Knight was perplexed and didn't understand much about what was going on.

He closed his windows and drew the curtains. The ginger-haired mage decided he would take a warm shower in his en-suite to calm himself down, which is exactly what he did. The night continued as he then went back to sleep, peacefully this time.

"Well, that's that everyone. Today is a day off for you all", Captain Vangeance spoke towards every squad member.

No one responded but they all thought the same thing.

"Woah, a day off? I have no idea what I'm going to do but I'll enjoy it".

"Maybe I'll train a bit and power up my magic".

"I'm going to eat all I can!"

There were a crowd of smiled from almost every squad member that was in the common room. Even Senior Knights like David Swallow and Hamon Caseus were looking forward to relaxing for a bit.

It had been a few days since Lucas's dungeon exploits as well as Yuno's escort mission and this free day was a nice welcome for the two rookies too. The news about a mysterious enemy that a few of the Black Bulls fought also made its way round through the week and many have been on edge, so this news was great to relax for every Knight in the Golden Dawn. The only Golden Dawn member that didn't react well was Lucas. It wasn't because he didn't want a day off, in his head he was happy about the announcement, but he was instead too focused on what happened the night prior in his dream.

"All I want to ask is that you keep to the squad premises for today as there's a something planned for later on. Until then, train or relax, whatever you want". Vangeance then stepped backwards.

Langris Vaude, the Vice-Captain, also smiled genuinely for what seemed like the first time. It looked like he was happy for the day of rest too.

After the morning briefing, everyone dispersed to do whatever they planned on doing for the day. The only ones that were left in the common area were Lucas, Mimosa, and Yuno.

"So, what do you two plan on doing today? Yuno?" Mimosa asked. Her smile beaming.

The Wind mage thought for a second. All he had been doing since he joined the Golden Dawn were a few missions here and there, and when he wasn't on a mission, he was training. "Well, I was thinking about training again, maybe with Lucas...", he looked towards the Light mage "... but it doesn't look like he's feeling well today. Maybe I'll just relax for a while".

Yuno kept looking at Lucas and Mimosa did too. They both tried to get his attention, but it didn't look like he was responding. Instead, he didn't look good at all as he was sweating and breathing slightly irregularly.

Lucas was lost in thought but felt three weird sensations on his shoulder. He shook his head to snap back to reality and realised it was Mimosa giving him a few playful pokes.

"M-Mimosa? What are you doing?" The ginger-haired mage wondered.

"Oh, that's something I should be asking you! What are you doing daydreaming like that?" The Vermillion asked playfully.

"Nothing", Lucas responded plainly.

That response made the Plant mage feel odd. It wasn't that she felt he was rude, but because his demeanour was very different as opposed to what he usually acted like. Though, she continued her asking. "So, Lucas... any plans for today?"

"We'll always be... best friends...".

"Just... who was that? I just don't...!" Lucas shook his head again as he realised what he was doing. He looked towards his royal squadmate and she had begun pouting in an angry, but playful way.

"S-Sorry! I was just thinking about something... What am I doing today? Hm, maybe I'll see what the others like Letoile and Hamon are doing. Hamon did offer to teach me how to play poker!" Lucas quickly replied. He recognised he was acting rude and distant, so he tried to fix that issue. In his head he thought, "I can't tell her about my dream. She'd think I'm weird or something".

"Oh... okay! I guess I'll join you since I don't have too much to do", the royal replied.

"Sure! Oh, where's Yuno?" Lucas wondered.

"He left a few minutes ago. You were daydreaming and you know how Yuno is", she smiled.

"Haha, no worries. Let's go then". The two headed out the doors and into the front courtyard.

As they walked forward, the sun's beams shone down all around. Its rays hit and reflected off of the clear and reflective water's surface causing a nice shine and glitter. The courtyard had a few squirrels and birds running and flying around freely. The day looked very inviting for all.

"Oh! There's David, Hamon, and Shiren and they're sat around a table playing poker", Lucas pointed out near the fountain. The three Senior Golden Dawn mages had setup a whole area where they sat down and had started to enjoy themselves.

The Light mage and the Plant mage walked up to the three and started talking about joining them for a game.

"Oh, the rookie wants to play a game with us, ay? Why not? You know how to play, right?" David Swallow asked as he juggled some dice in between his fingers.

"N-no... Hamon said he would teach me but...", the mage looked towards the Glass Magic user and saw that instead of being ready to teach Lucas poker, he was instead busy eating a blueberry pie.

"Well that isn't good. Hamon is uh... busy for now, but I'll teach you, rookie. Mimosa, do you want to join?" The Dice mage asked.

"Oh, no thank you. I'll just watch for now", she replied.

Lucas and David sat next to each other and the two conversed about learning the rules of poker. Whilst the two did, Shiren turned towards Mimosa and spoke to her.

"Lucas seems to have opened up a bit, hasn't he? I remember his first few days where he was completely nervous, but it looks like he is trying to make friends. Did you have anything to do with this?" The Stone mage asked.

Mimosa was surprised at this, mainly because Shiren hardly spoke unless he was spoken to. "I guess Lucas can make anyone act different... David is chirpier around him, and Hamon even offered him food, haha", she thought. The mage then turned to answer Shiren. "I don't think I did anything, but all I know is that he loves to have friends, even though he's a bit shy", she smiled.

"I see", the Senior Magic Knight responded. "Do you like him?"

Mimosa started to cough at the unexpected question. There was no reason for him to ask something so abruptly, but he did anyway, and this surprised the Plant mage. "L-L-L-Like? N-no... no, he's just a good friend. That is all". Mimosa looked away, she realised she started to blush, and it seemed like David and Hamon also picked up on it as they sneakily smirked at her. Though, Lucas was completely oblivious.

"I see", Shiren responded plainly.

"I guess Lucas can't change how Shiren talks so plainly...", the royal thought with a sweat drop. She then realised, upon looking around for a few seconds, that someone who was usually around these three mages wasn't here. "Where's Letoile?"

The three turned to the Plant mage. "We're not too sure but she said she would join us later on. She was sorting something out, she said", Hamon responded, licking his lips from the blueberry residue.

In another part of the Golden Dawn base, a familiar female mage had just entered her room. The mage was Letoile and she sat down on top of her neatly kept bed.

In contrast to many of the other Golden Dawn squad members' moods, the Compass mage was not feeling the same type of joy. She put her head in her hands and tensed up.

"Ah... it's been such a long time since we've had a day off and I just... I don't know what to do. The whole ordeal with Lucas and the dungeon made me remember a lot of things that I kept buried. I used missions and patrols as a way to avoid thinking about it, but I guess it can't be helped anymore...", Letoile spoke to herself. She thought about something that made her breathing change pace.

"My parents... I don't think I can avoid them anymore. After three years... I miss them. Maybe I'll go visit them again. We haven't spoken properly since what happened".

The mage then remembered something about her little brother, Lewis. "That reminds me...".

Letoile stood up and walked towards her desk of drawers. There were ten in total and most of them were filled with small books that she would read for fun. "Let's see... 'The Ancient Demons' no, that's not it. 'The Land Beyond the Four Kingdoms' not what I need... 'The Fallen Angel'... Tsk, none of these are the right book!"

The Compass mage was starting to ger annoyed, but more at herself. "All these storybooks are in the way. I know which book I need bu-! I found it". As she moved the books out of the way and opened almost every drawer, she found what she was looking for. "This is it, 'The Caves of Many Secrets'... this is the book my brother and I loved to read when we were younger. It's because of this book that we explored so much and the reason why...".

Letoile walked back and sat on top of her bed once more. She slowly held the front cover and opened the book to the first page and saw what she had came to retrieve. The entire book had been modified and the pages that stacked on top of each other had been hollowed out in order for something to be placed within them. Her eyes widened with the shine of the object that was inside.

"The bracelet that Lewis said would look beautiful on me... Maybe I could wear it now? He was so persistent and happy about me wearing this, but I haven't worn it once. I think today's the day. It's small so it would work well with the squad uniform too".

Letoile slowly lifted her sleeve and tied the end of the gold bracelet around her hand. The soft shine of the piece of jewellery glittered in the air as the sun's peaking beams shone on it from the gap in the curtain. "Haha, he was right. It does look...

...beautiful".

Inside of the Golden Dawn Headquarters, within the Captain's office was where a little meeting was taking place between William Vangeance and Langris Vaude.

The masked man sat down at his desk and faced the Spatial mage who was sat opposite him. The sun beamed through the glass window and lit up the whole room.

"So Langris, what do you think of our new recruits?" Vangeance asked.

"You know my opinion on them. They're capable, sure, but I still don't understand the need for peasants to enter the Golden Dawn. We're a squad that pride ourselves on having nobles being the best in the kingdom...", Langris responded.

"Yes, I know the general perception our squad has but I felt it was time to throw a spanner in the works. You'll see what I mean... soon enough", Vangeance responded with what almost looked like an eerie smirk. Though, Langris didn't pick up on it.

"I hope you're right, Captain. Well, if there's nothing else, may I be excused?" Langris asked.

"There is one other thing. There has been a dungeon that has opened up near the border between the Clover Kingdom and Diamond Kingdom. I was thinking of sending our new recruits with a few others to explore that area. Do you have any thoughts?" The masked mage asked.

"Hm, another dungeon would be good experience for the two. Why not? We can send a Senior Knight with them too just in case", the Vice-Captain responded.

"That concludes our meeting", Vangeance smiled.

"Hi, guys!" The Compass mage waved. Letoile had returned from her room and met up with her other friends by the poker table. "Oh? Looks like you're in the heat of a big game!"

Letoile looked towards the poker table and she was surprised at what she was seeing. Almost all of Hamon's chips were with Lucas, signalling that the Light mage had gotten to grips with the rules of the game really quickly.

"Wow, the rookie is beating you badly, Hamon", the green-haired mage laughed.

"I... yep. Lucas is some sort of prodigy. First Yuno, and now him. Ah... this isn't good!" Hamon sat back to try and relax himself, but then sat back forwards to try to regain some of his lost confidence.

"Haha! This is fun. It's not like any games I've ever played but it's different. I would usually play normal games like hide and s-!" Lucas stopped as he remembered his dream last night.

"Let's play hide and seek!"

The mage shook his head, trying not to get distracted as he remembered the odd dream. "Well, anyways lets continue!"

The four played poker for the majority of the day. From when the sun was at its highest, to now when the sun started to set. A lot of the members had grouped up with where Lucas and the other mages were and set up a mini tournament to play poker. Lucas advanced pretty far in the entire tournament, but the ultimate winner was David Swallow, the Dice mage.

"Hoho! Well, I guess it's dinner time now everyone", Hamon spoke out.

The others followed the glutton and opened the doors to the food hall. However, what they saw was nothing ordinary at all, but in fact something extraordinary.

"What?!" Almost all of the Golden Dawn members screamed in unison.

In front of them was a sight to behold. There were numerous round tables all clothed with a nice and white tablecloth. The stitching itself had gold patterns embroidered onto them and the chairs that were placed next to them were of the same distinct pattern.

The dinner style was like a restaurant. Usually, it was a buffet-style selection where everyone could get, they wanted but this time each and every squad member were to be served individually. Their tables all had plates, glasses, and cutlery setup. It was just a matter of what they would choose to eat now.

Every squad member took their place at a table. Lucas's table had people who you would expect to be sat on it. Klaus, Mimosa, and Yuno all sat around with the Light mage and they waited anxiously for the menus. The other tables did the same.

Just before the menus were distributed, William Vangeance stood up from his table and made an announcement.

"Many of you, if not all, are wondering why we have set up something like this for you and it is a rightful question indeed", he turned towards Lucas's table and signalled to them. "It is because of our two new recruits, essentially. They persevered these opening few weeks with a few missions here and there. Yuno escorted a very important noble...",

As this was said, Yuno, along with Klaus and Mimosa looked at each other in an embarrassed manner. Lucas had no idea what this meant though.

"... and Lucas went on the task of exploring his very first dungeon. The treasures, along with the information gathered will only serve the Clover Kingdom further. However, these exploits are not the main reason for this dinner. It is because these two have entered a squad full of nobles, and a royal, and have not looked out of place at all. There's the common idea where we only accept the elite into our ranks. This is true, but the times have called for something different. If Lucas and Yuno continue on their path, they could also be considered elite themselves! So, everyone, I invite you all to raise a glass, juice for you young ones, for our two new rookies".

"Hooray!" Most of the Golden Dawn shouted in unison once more.

"Woah", Lucas spoke.

"Woah", Yuno spoke.

They were at loss for words, but they truly did appreciate what the Captain, as well as what their teammates were doing for them.

Lucas and Yuno simply looked at one another and nodded. There didn't need to be much more said after the show of support from everyone so the two just enjoyed the rest of the night and how it was going.