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In the end, Ashlynn won the loop tossing game by a single toss.

Nyrielle’s ability to match Ashlynn toss for toss broke the younger woman’s rhythm enough that she missed her fourth throw by a laughable margin.

Even with her enhanced physical abilities as Nyrielle’s Seneschal, there were limits to the level of perfection she could achieve.

After that, it would have ended in a tie if Nyrielle hadn’t failed on her last throw, trying for a winning toss on a red peg and narrowly missing it. Ashlynn, however, wasn’t entirely convinced of Nyrielle’s failure.

As the barker gathered their prizes, Ashlynn studied Nyrielle’s face. That last throw had been suspiciously wide for someone who had matched her shot-for-shot until then, but perhaps even Nyrielle was capable of feeling a little bit of pressure and making minor mistakes.

"You didn’t let me win, did you?" she asked, even as the man presented them with more spindle-shaped shells than she’d ever won before. Her eyes widened at the collection before she caught herself and waved him off.

No matter how real this felt, they were still sharing a dream. These weren’t prizes she could take with her, even if it would have been nice to have a keepsake of the evening. Still, the suspicion remained as she turned back to Nyrielle.

"That last throw," Ashlynn said, letting her voice trail off as she raised an eyebrow at Nyrielle.

"My darling," Nyrielle said with a light laugh. "You don’t have to save face for me. If I lost, I lost. I’ll just have to win the next one," she added with a twinkle in her eye. "What other games are there to play?"

"We could go fishing," Ashlynn suggested, pointing to a booth further down the street with a small crowd of people holding crude fishing poles and clustering around a row of barrels.

"There are colored wooden rings floating in the barrels. You have to collect rings to earn better prizes. I guess it’s not that different than the game you mentioned in the Southern Steppes, just played with fishing poles. "

"There’s a large difference between a game that tests a lancer’s aim at a gallop and a game that that is simpler than hooking fish in a barrel," Nyrielle said, giving Ashlynn a teasing poke that turned into a light tickle. "But that doesn’t mean I won’t play with you," she added with a sly wink as her hand slid lower on Ashlynn’s hip, pulling her close enough to bestow a chaste kiss on the other woman’s startled lips.

For a moment, Ashlynn’s heart raced and her eyes darted around, afraid of how the common people would react to such a public display of affection between two noblewomen.

But in her memories, it had been a very normal night with nothing but polite and respectful treatment for the daughters of Count Blackwell.

Now, despite Nyrielle’s behavior that would have shocked a good number of citizens in Blackwell City, the common people went on as if everything was normal, giving Ashlynn the momentary illusion that the people of her home town accepted not only her relationship with another noblewoman but with a vampire as well.

The thought was too silly to hold on to, but, at least for a few hours, she let herself indulge in the fantasy. One day, she hoped, it wouldn’t be fantasy anymore. Until then, she would treasure the memories she made with Nyrielle this night.

One game turned into another and while they remained competitive, neither woman cared whether they won or lost in the end. The real prizes weren’t the baubles handed out by the barkers but the precious moments they shared.

Suddenly, however, Ashlynn stopped halfway across a street as a familiar aroma assailed her nose.

Unconsciously, her mouth began to water and she’d already taken several steps in the direction of a man on the corner with several steaming baskets sitting atop pots of water and filling the air with a scent that, to Ashlynn’s nose, might as well be wafting from the Heavenly Shores themselves.

"What is it that’s caught my darling’s attention?" Nyrielle asked as she followed along beside her lover. The brilliant yellow lemons were easily recognizable but the strange black gleaming shells scattered all over a tray in front of the vendor looked like nothing Nyrielle had ever eaten before.

"Stuffed mussels," Ashlynn said, stepping into the line and fishing out a pair of copper pennies.

"You get five of them for a copper penny. It’s filled with rice and raisins, allspice and herbs and with a little bit of lemon it tastes like the summer sun on your face on the cliffs overlooking the sea," she said, eagerly pressing her coins into the vendor’s hands.

Seeing the two beautiful noblewomen, the man wasted no time, quickly splitting open a mussel to reveal the spiced rice stuffing underneath the glistening steamed mussel.

With a flourish, he squeezed a bit of lemon juice over the morsel and presented it to Ashlynn like he was offering up fine jewels.

"You eat it like this," Ashlynn said, taking one half of the shell and using it as a scoop to spoon the rice, raisin and mussel mixture into her mouth.

For a moment, she did nothing, closing her eyes and savoring the familiar flavor.

The fresh chopped herbs blended with the lemon juice to give it a freshness that contrasted with the salty muscle and the soft, delicate texture of rice.

Combined with the subtle sweetness of the raisins, the dish teased and tantalized every flavor, leaving her eager for another.

"Fish, you can find in rivers and lakes," Ashlynn said after opening her eyes, finding Nyrielle holding a mussel of her own and looking at Ashlynn with an amused expression.

"But mussels like these you can only get from the sea.

In the old countries, they make this dish with dates instead of raisins, but here, only people like the heads of guilds or the nobility can afford dates shipped over from the old countries. Most people use raisins instead."

"And it really tastes like the sun on your face?" Nyrielle said, eyeing the mussel with a dubious expression. "Are you certain that I’d enjoy it?"

"Oh! That, that’s not what I meant at all," Ashlynn said, her face turning bright red. "The lemon and herbs give it brightness and freshness, that’s all. You liked the steamed trout that Georg and I made for you before we left the Vale so you should like this."

"You’re too easy to tease my darling," Nyrielle said, imitating Ashlynn’s action and scooping up the morsel of rice and mussel for herself. The taste was exactly as Ashlynn had described, fresh and bright, but briny in a way that was different from any fish dish she’d ever been served.

"I can see why you miss these," she said after savoring the dish. "Should we get more? I see they have small buckets we could take away. You don’t have to limit yourself to just a few."

"Um," Ashlynn paused for a moment, biting her lower lip and thinking.

"I forgot that this is a dream but since it is, we should be able to go anywhere I can remember. I’m going to buy a basket," she said, pointing to another vendor further down the street selling various goods woven from the wide bladed dune grass that grew along the beaches.

"Once I finish filling it, I want you to fly us to the clifftops over there," Ashlynn said, pointing off into the darkness to the north of the city. "We can have a picnic under the stars, just for us."

"I’d like that," Nyrielle said with a smile as she unfurled her wings. "Get as much as you want. My wings can carry you even if your basket is filled to the brim with heavy stones."

"In that case," Ashlynn said, a mischievous gleam appearing in her eyes. "Wait here, I’ll be back in just a few minutes."

When she returned, Ashlynn had a slightly guilty expression on her face and a basket that was so full of food that she needed two hands to hold it. Nyrielle, however, met Ashlynn’s guilty look with an indulgent expression and held out her arms to her lover.

"Come, my darling," Nyrielle said. "The night has as many hours as we need. We can savor as many dishes as you wish," she said, scooping Ashlynn up in a princess carry before her powerful wings began to beat, lifting them into the cool night air above Blackwell City.

In Nyrielle’s arms, Ashlynn clutched the basket tightly and revelled in the feeling of Nyrielle’s strong arms holding her close as they flew through the night.

The basket held many things she wanted to share with Nyrielle but the most important thing to savor, as far as she was concerned, was the time they spent together.