She moved closer to him until their faces were almost touching. Her breathing was shallow, and he realized she was as nervous as he. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, and yet, to Athgar's mind, it wasn't nearly long enough. Slowly, their lips touched, and he kissed her. She responded with a passionate embrace.

Awakening early the next morning, Athgar rolled over to see the sleeping form of Natalia beside him. Gazing at her, he took in her beauty, a smile coming unbidden to his lips.

She opened her eyes to see him and broke into a smile herself. "Well," she said, "what do you think of bathing now?"

He blushed, despite his smile. "We should do it more often," he said.

She moved over towards him, kissing him tenderly. "Much as I'd love to spend all day here with you," she said, "we need to find a ship."

"Yes," he agreed, "I suppose we should be up and on the way."

"Perhaps we can linger just a while longer," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck.

The docks were busy, as usual. The seabirds flocked about, trying to steal fishermen's catches while men loaded and unloaded goods. Making their way down the pier, enquiring about destinations as they went, Natalia did all the talking while Athgar was content just to be in her presence. He watched the sailors working, wondering about what distant ports they might call home. A Temple Knight stood further down the pier, in discussion with what Athgar could only assume was a ship's captain.

"No luck here," said Natalia, returning to his side. "This ship's heading south, towards the Dark Coast."

"That sounds ominous," he said, "but I think I may have found us a ship. The Temple Knights have a fortress in Corassus, do they not?"

"I'm not sure fortress is the right word," she countered, "but yes, I believe they do, why?"

"There's a Temple Knight down there, at the end of the pier. I'd wager that ship's on church business. Do the orders cooperate with each other?"

"They're all part of the same church," she said, eyeing the distant warrior. "Shall we go and introduce ourselves?"

Athgar smiled, "I believe we should. Would you like to lead, or shall I?"

"You're in a good mood," she said. "Would it have anything to do with our stay at the inn?"

"Of course," he said. "I feel...invigorated. Full of life and ready to face whatever the day might bring."

"I feel the same way," she said, "though I must admit it's a strange feeling."

"Strange?"

"Yes," Natalia admitted, "it's not something I've done before. At the Volstrum we were all segregated. We weren't allowed to interact with men."

"Oh?" he said. "So you've never..."

"No, not before last night."

"I hope it was everything you wanted," he said.

She turned and kissed him.

He blushed. "Aren't you afraid someone might see?" he asked.