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The next day, Emily spends her morning working on a new spatial storage. She crafts a small bag holding several spaces within, linked together like her belt, which she sorts through, moving the excessive magical materials within to the bag. Afterwards, she begins the slow process of taking apart the pipe system in her room, disconnecting every machine and stowing them in her new long-term storage. Her friends join her after lunch to help. Before evening comes, the room is back as it was when Emily moved in a year and a half ago.

They spend the remainder of the evening relaxing in Emily’s room together, talking and laughing about their time in The Dome until the early hours of the morning. As everyone leaves to make their way back to their own rooms, Emily and Juliana are left alone.

Emily approaches Juliana, hugging her from behind as she waves their friends goodbye, resting her chin on her shoulder.

“Hey, Jules?” Emily asks softly.

“Yes, Emi?” Juliana responds, leaning back into her.

“Let’s go on a date tomorrow.”

Juliana tilts her head to face Emily with a smile.

“Gladly,” she whispers against her lips, letting Emily close the distance.

***

In the morning, Emily and Juliana leave The Dome and board the train together, dressed casually, with Emily’s weapons in her belt for once.

“Do you have any plans in mind for our date?” Juliana asks excitedly as the train leaves the station.

“Well, I don’t have the full day planned out. Only the evening,” Emily replies. “Is there anything you’d like to do in town?”

“I’d quite like to visit Auntie Annie, and you could do with a haircut.”

“Fair point,” Emily says, running her fingers through her long hair. “I’ve been putting it off for a while and it’s gotten quite bad.”

“Perfect! I know exactly what you should get,” Juliana chirps, her eyes lighting up in anticipation.

“So, you’re choosing, are you?” Emily asks with a raised brow, a teasing smile playing on her lips.

“Yep!”

“Haha, fine. Would you like to help me pick my piercings too? I want to get some more.”

“I’d love to. How many more are you thinking?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe five or six.”

Juliana nods enthusiastically, reaching out and tucking Emily’s hair behind her ears to get a better look at them.

“I definitely have some ideas. This is gonna be so fun!”

The train carries them out into the city, towards the commercial district. They first visit a popular hair stylist, where Juliana happily debates with them about what to do to Emily’s hair while she simply sits back and watches on, happy to trust her girlfriend’s judgement.

“Have you finally decided?” Emily asks as Juliana bounces over with the stylist, Roberto, in tow.

“Yep! We’re trimming your fringe and bringing the rest of your hair back to shoulder length,” Juliana explains.

Emily nods, sitting back and letting Roberto run a brush through her silky locks.

“It’s such a shame to cut all this off. You nobles always have such lovely hair,” Roberto mutters wistfully, placing down the brush as he doesn’t find any knots.

“She looks prettier with shorter hair!” Juliana states resolutely, making Emily chuckle.

“It also gets in the way less when fighting,” she adds, receiving an eye roll from Juliana.

“Your hair didn’t seem to cause you any issues in The Glade.”

“I’m just that good.”

They joke and laugh as Roberto cuts Emily’s hair, removing the long excess grown during months of disregard. By the time he’s done, Roberto can’t help but agree with Juliana’s judgement as Emily pulls silver from her belt to pay him.

“It was a shame to remove so much, but it really does suit you,” he says as he takes his payment with a grateful bow.

“Thanks,” Emily replies, turning to face Juliana. “How do I look?”

Juliana steps forward, reaching up and taking Emily’s chin in her hand, tilting it from side to side. A blush rises to Emily’s cheeks as she stands still under her girlfriend’s intense gaze, letting her move her to her will.

“Stunning,” Juliana whispers, pulling her hand back and flashing a dazzling smile. “And you’ll look even better with more piercings. Let’s go.”

Emily nods, the colour in her face fading again as she steps forward and wraps an arm around Juliana’s waist, leading her out of the shop. They slowly walk along the suspended gangways, taking in the sights of the expensive shops selling their wares and the well-dressed people browsing them.

They eventually reach the piercing studio, a small shop down a quiet alley with displays of simple jewellery in the window. They step in, looking around at the art on the walls as their eyes quickly fall on the thin, heavily tattooed woman sitting in the corner drawing. She looks up as Emily and Juliana walk in, revealing her face, covered in metal and smiling warmly as she recognises them instantly.

“Hello again, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you two. What can I do for you today?”

“Hey, Claudia,” Emily says, shutting the door behind them. “We want some more piercings.”

“Well, you came to the right place then!” Claudia says with a chuckle, gesturing to the chairs in front of her table. “Take a seat. I assume you know what you want done.”

Emily and Juliana oblige, both nodding as they sit down.

“I want my seconds done on both sides,” says Juliana, tucking her hair behind her ears so Claudia can see them better.

Claudia leans forward, narrowing her eyes for a moment as she focuses before she sits back and nods.

“Sure, you have plenty of room. What about you, Emily?”

Raising a brow, slightly surprised the woman remembers her name, Emily grins.

“I want a lot.”

Claudia’s eyes light up, but she quickly schools her expression, offering Emily a warning.

“How many? It’s not a great idea to get too many at once. It will slow down your healing.”

“It’s fine.” Emily waves off her concern. “I heal very quickly anyway. I was thinking of seven.”

Claudia excitedly leans forward again, her caution abandoned with Emily’s disregard of her clear warning.

“All on the ears?”

Emily quietly shakes her head, and Claudia claps with joy.

“Finally! It’s been ages since I did something other than ears. Come on. Give me specifics.”

“I was thinking two more on my left lobe,” Emily starts, tucking her hair behind her ears and pointing to the inner left fold. “And one here. Then on the right, two up here.”

She runs her finger along the cartilage of her ear as Claudia nods along, inspecting the placements with a practised eye.

“And finally, a lip and eyebrow on the right side.”

“Good choices,” Claudia says after a few moments of silence, leaning back in her seat. “Asymmetry suits you.”

“Thanks!” Juliana chirps, having suggested most of the placements herself. “That’s what I told her. It matches her eyes.”

Emily doesn’t react, remaining still despite the bubbling discomfort that rises in her chest at the mention of her eyes. Neither Juliana nor Claudia notice as they keep talking. Claudia rises from her seat, gesturing towards the displays at the front of the shop.

“Take a look and choose the jewellery you want while I prepare,” she says before turning to the drawers behind her.

Emily quickly presses down her discomfort and moves with Juliana to the displays, looking over the various hoops and studs presented. Juliana picks a pair of simple silver-coloured hoops, while Emily chooses an assortment of black studs and hoops.

By the time they turn back, Claudia has rolled her chair over to the padded table in the middle of the room, with a small portable table beside her holding needles and clamps.

“Right. Which one of you wants to go first?”

Juliana eagerly steps forward, sitting down on the edge of the table.

“Me!”

“Haha,” Emily chuckles at her enthusiasm, pulling over a chair to sit beside her as Claudia grabs a needle, clamp, and hand mirror.

“Could you hold this for me please,” Claudia says, handing Emily the mirror.

Emily complies, holding up the mirror for Juliana to look at as Claudia moves the blunt end of the hollow needle along her earlobe, adjusting the placement until Juliana is happy. Emily lowers the mirror after she’s happy, placing it down and taking Juliana’s hand in hers.

Claudia clamps her ear in place, putting the sharp end of the needle to it and noticing Juliana tense slightly.

“I’m going to count down, and I want to you take a nice deep breath for me on two,” Claudia says gently “One. Two.”

On two, Juliana takes a long, deep breath, and on three, she clasps Emily’s hand tighter as the needle pierces her flesh. Emily strokes her hand in a soothing motion, and she relaxes after barely a moment.

“There we go,” Claudia says, hooking one of the silver hoops into the end of the needle and sliding it into the new hole. “Now for the other side. Do you need the mirror again?”

“No thanks,” Juliana replies. “Just make them match.”

Claudia nods, grabbing another needle and positioning it, following the same process of counting down for her. After Juliana’s finished and has a satisfied look, she and Emily switch places so she can hold up the mirror as Claudia starts on Emily’s left lobe.

They choose the place for the first piercing quickly and, as Juliana places the mirror down, Emily offers her hand with a grin. Juliana happily takes it as Emily calmly waits for Claudia to start.

“Would you like a countdown as well?” she asks.

“No thanks. I’m ready whenever you are.”

Claudia nods, pushing the needle in without hesitation. Emily focuses on the sensation of the cold metal sliding into her skin, letting out a sigh of satisfaction that even surprises herself. Her eyes widen, and a light blush appears on her cheeks as Juliana gives her a curious look.

“Metal feels... comfortable,” Emily admits quietly, struggling to put her feelings into words.

“Haha,” Claudia laughs at the exchange, patting Emily on the shoulder after putting a cap on the back of the new stud in her ear. “No need to be embarrassed. I feel the same. Why do you think my face looks like this?”

The slight tension in Emily’s shoulders relaxes at the reassurance, and Juliana silently squeezes her hand, tracing her other hand up Emily’s arm in a soothing motion that warms Emily’s heart.

“Thanks,” she says with a grateful nod as they continue to the next one.

After finishing her left lobe and the two new piercings in her right ear, Claudia asks Emily to lie down for the rest. Emily finds the process relaxing and, by the time they’re done, she’s almost tempted to get more.

This will do for now. I can always pierce myself later. It’s not like my hands will shake.

Running her tongue over the metal loop on her lip, tasting the metal and grinning with satisfaction, Emily pays Claudia. They both thank her before leaving to roam the city, eating meat skewers from a food stall for lunch, and visiting Annie to chat and browse her clothes.

As evening comes, and Emily’s departure grows ever closer, she leads Juliana towards the edge of the city, approaching the wall in the northwest from the ground.

“Why are we out here?” Juliana asks, glancing around at the quiet streets, and up at the tall buildings surrounding them.

“You’ll see,” Emily says as they step onto a street with a clear view of the base of the wall.

They walk closer and, as they approach the looming wall, Emily turns and sweeps Juliana up into her arms.

“Ah,” Juliana squeaks, wrapping her arms around Emily’s neck and looking at her sceptically. “I’m not complaining, but why did you just pick me up?”

“So I can do this,” Emily responds with a grin, leaping up into the air as a green magic circle forms around her legs.

She climbs invisible steps, rising up to the top of the wall before stepping onto the open metal top.

“Emi!” Juliana cries quietly as they crest the top, glancing around with concern. “We’re definitely not allowed up here. What if the guards find us?”

“Don’t worry,” Emily replies with a confident smirk, setting her down. “They won’t come by this section again until an hour or so after dark, and they don’t have a magical warning system for people scaling the wall from the inside.”

Juliana narrows her eyes, following Emily to the outside edge.

“How do you know this?”

Emily simply flashes her a smile, summoning a pair of cushions from her belt and setting them down.

I don’t need to tell her about pissing off the guards in frozen time to prepare for this.

She sits down with her feet hanging over the edge, tapping the cushion beside her. Juliana drops down on the cushion with a huff, leaning against Emily’s shoulder and gazing out across the grassland stretching into the horizon, staring at the setting sun.

Emily silently pulls out platters of meats and bread and they eat in comfortable silence, no words needed as they enjoy each other's presence. The sun creeps lower the whole time, eventually bathing the plains in a golden hue.

After they finish eating, Emily puts the empty platters away and wraps an arm around Juliana, who leans her head against her shoulder.

“It’s beautiful,” Juliana whispers, finally breaking their silence.

“Mmh,” Juliana hums, tearing her eyes away from the horizon and turning to kiss Emily on the cheek. “I certainly won’t ever forget it.”

She pulls away, and Emily looks over to see her reaching for her necklace.

“I’ve been trying to work out the right time to give you this, and you’ve set the scene perfectly!”

She pulls her hand back with a long, sandy brown length of fabric following. One side is bare, but the other has a long chain of faintly glowing green runes.

“I thought that if you were going back to the desert, you’d probably want a scarf to keep away the sun and sand,” Juliana explains with a faint blush, tentatively holding the scarf out.

Emily smiles and lowers her head, letting Juliana wrap the gift around her neck. She reaches her hand up to run her fingers along the soft but sturdy fabric, noticing a floral scent and bringing it closer to her nose to sniff.

“I gave it an enchantment for air cleansing,” Juliana says. “If you breathe through it, it will block all bad odours and dust. Instead, you’ll smell the lilies I imbued it with. They’re my house flower, and I hope it will always remind you of me no matter where you are.”

Emily meets Juliana’s tearful gaze, dropping the scarf and reaching out to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

“It’s perfect,” she says, unable to keep the croak from her voice as her own eyes water. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have anything to thank me for. You’ve already given me so much: I just wanted you to have something to remember me by. I love you so much, Emi, but I can’t follow you.”

Emily feels something in her heart break at Juliana’s straightforward admission, and her tears flow freely.

“I can’t be with you forever. I’m just not strong enough.”

Emily wants to say something. To tell her it’s fine and she can protect her anyway. But images rise to the front of her mind: images of Juliana’s body, lying lifeless and broken on the dungeon floor; images of Juliana cowering in her arms after descending into the depths of The Crystal Waters; images of Juliana shaking in fear after Emily scared off a group of lowlifes in the city.

Her churning emotions bend the air around her, making the winds sway to a slow beat as a faint mist of water surrounds them as if the air itself was crying. Juliana leans forward, pressing her forehead to Emily’s and running a hand along her cheek, releasing the tension in her jaw with her touch.

“I’ve… accepted that,” she whispers quietly, her words dripping with pain and only fuelling the magical maelstrom around them. “After tonight, we’re done. So, please. Just for tonight. Can we forget about that and just be each other’s one last time?”

Emily can’t bring herself to speak, gently nodding before shutting her eyes and locking their lips together in a final embrace of sorrow and desire.