Reece reached the top of the plateau and switched off his small lantern. Breathing heavily, he swept the hair from his face and gazed at the moonlit horizon. He glanced in another direction and he spotted his village, barely the size of a dot from up here.

  He prayed his parents were still asleep by the time he snuck back home, or else he would be in big trouble. None of them could really understand him, although he knew his father did but would never admit it. His curiosity, ability to dream and imagine things far beyond what he had seen, was all passed down from his father. What he got from his mother was tenderness, kindness, and his strength. His mother had this sheer indomitable willpower to do anything she set her mind to.

  He skipped forward, enjoying his few minutes of freedom, basking in the glory of the moonlit atmosphere when a certain sight caught his attention. He paused for a moment, observing the spectacle in front of him. The moonlight revealed a lone tree standing at the center of the plateau. It was enormous, and its bark was as thick as a fool’s head. On its branches were blue leaves, glowing with a bioluminescent shimmer; reflecting the light from the moon. His jaw dropped in awe as dried leaves rustled beneath the gigantic plant. He wondered how he’d failed to notice the tree in the first place.

  He wandered forward and spotted a tree stump directly in front of this tree, and he realized the trees had been two at a point in time, but someone had cut the other off. He sat on the tree stump, and took in the beauty of the scenery.

  He began picturing how he would sketch the scene, so absorbed in his thoughts that he nearly missed the sudden grunt that broke the silence. Frowning, he pinched his nose and glanced around, trying to confirm if he heard it correctly.

  Soon again, the grunt came and he stood up, on alert. No one should be out by this time of the night. He quickly began to regret his decision to sneak out and realized maybe his parents were actually right and he should stop wandering in the dead of the night.

  The person kept grunting and by now, it was obvious that the grunt was coming from the edge of the plateau, directly opposite the one Reece had climbed from. The mountain, although, wasn't as high as most of the other mountains that scattered across the kingdom, it was important to Reece’s village, as it was a boundary between their village and another one called Erona.

  Soon enough, a hand appeared at the edge of the mountain. “Oh, dragons!” The person cursed and Reece realized it was a feminine voice so he calmed down a bit. Then a staff was tossed on the plateau before another hand showed up and soon enough, a cloaked individual rolled forward and landed on the floor, panting.

  “That was fun,” the girl said aloud, coughing from exhaustion. Reece sat down, watching as she pushed herself up and brushed the dirt off her cloak. Amusement bubbled inside him, but he bit back the laughter.

  After a moment, she grabbed her staff, unfastened the bag at her waist, and slipped off her cloak. When she turned, her eyes met Reece’s and she froze.

  For a moment, everything paused. Her eyes blinked once in her frozen state. It wasn't until the breeze suddenly increased its pace and swept her hair into her face did she speak. “You saw all that?” She demanded with a tone of arrogance.

  Reece could tell this was going to be a rather annoying conversation. “Yes,” he replied with a beady eye gaze.

  “What are you doing up here?” She demanded. “It is the middle of the night!”

  “You are up here too,” he replied and then subtly added. “In the middle of the night!”

  She walked across the area and stood exactly in front of the large tree. “Waoh,” she muttered. “This is beautiful.”

  Reece stood up from his tree stump and moved closer to her. “Yes.” He grinned; at least they agreed on something.

  “You know what they call this tree?” She demanded.

  “No.” Reece said. “I have never heard of a tree that has blue leaves.” He said, wondering how he’s never noticed that tree. He’d always gazed at the mountain, and he never saw a blue tree.

  “It doesn't have blue leaves,” she corrected. “Its leaves react with moonlight, to reflect blue. There is a tincture in it that causes that reaction, on a normal day it is just barely green.” She nodded.

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  “So what is it called?”

  “The Armastus,” she nodded. “Named after…”

  “The goddess of love,” he whispered. Armastus was the patron goddess of Reece’s family. Even though his parents weren't very religious, they always paid reverence to the goddess.

  She glanced sideways at Reece as he finished speaking, and he did the same. It was the first time Reece had truly looked at her, and he realized she was stunning. Her hair was a deep red, almost brown, just like her skin; smooth and unblemished, except for the freckles scattered across her cheeks. Her eyes were light brown, like the color of desert sand. When she smiled, small dimples appeared, and this made him blush.

  He glanced away after a while. “I wish I could take this scene home,” she beamed.

  “Me too, I should have brought my materials, I knew I should have.” He sighed.

  “Materials?” She inquired.

  “Yeah, my drawing materials.” He explained. “I have an entire set, my dad got it for me.” he sighed.

  “I have pencil and paper in my bag,” she said offhandedly.

  Reece glanced at her. “That could work,” he nodded. “I just won't be able to color it.”

  It is better than having nothing at all,” she smirked..

  Reece swallowed, her smile was a bit distracting. “Where did you come from?” He asked.

  She glanced up at him with furrowed brows. “Why are you asking?”

  “Reece shrugged. ‘It's not every day you run into someone on a mountain at this hour, carrying writing materials. I just wanted to make sure you're not some wandering spirit.”

  “Pfft,” she rolled her eyes. “You are quite annoying,” she handed him the paper and pencil. “Just shut up and draw.”

  “That's exactly what a spirit would say,” Reece watched with amusement as she smacked the front of her head in exasperation.

  “Will you stop with the spirit nonsense and please draw. I will have you know this is actually a normal routine for me. I sneak out a lot… I try to clear my head.” She explained.

  Reece chuckled. He realized he found her company rather pleasant, which surprised him. The whole point of stepping out at midnight was to be alone and feel the world in its most natural form, without any noise or disturbance.

  She was the same too, he could tell by just looking at her. Her eyes were inquisitive, a little unfocused but it was because she had so many things that caught her attention and she was trying to capture it all at once.

  She knelt silently beside him as he placed the paper on the tree stump. Surprisingly, the tree stump was smooth without any bumps or contours, so it was easier for him to draw on it. He backed the scenery, imagining what he had seen trying to envision it.

  He paused then glanced at the girl. “Can you stand in front of the tree?” He asked, her eyes lit up and she immediately wanted to argue. “Just do it,” he said before she could say any other word.

  She sighed and walked up to the tree without saying anything. When she stood in front of it, the bluish glow of the tree reflected against her body and hair in such a dazzling view. Reece opened his mouth for a moment but quickly closed it, getting himself together.

  He turned around and then he began to draw. Although he was only going to get the scenery in black and white, without any real colours, he poured everything into it, determined to capture the beauty as best as he could. His hand moved fluidly through the piece of paper, and the more he carved his imagination into the paper, the clearer his head became..

  It was a familiar feeling, one he’d grown addicted to. He had this obsession towards drawing and painting that if he saw a scenery he felt like drawing, he would be physically uncomfortable until he could put it down as a diagram.

  It took him a while to finish the drawing, and throughout, the girl only watched the process slowly, her desert eyes barely blinking throughout the process. She was so invested in what he was doing that it surprised Reece that she could be this calm.

  When he finished, he glanced at the work and gave himself a little nod. “Not my best work, considering the crudeness of the drawing environment, but it's alright,” he appraised his own work with a bit of skepticism.

  The girl glanced at him. “This isn't your best work?!” She exclaimed, as she glanced at the diagram with bulging eyes. “This is wonderful!”

  “Thank you,” Reece blushed.

  She glanced at Reece with awe. “You are really good,” she chuckled. “Dragons!” She exclaimed again, glancing at the work. “Is that me at the center?” She pointed to the image of the girl standing in front of the tree.

  “Of course, who else would it be?” He quipped, raising his eyebrow.

  “Can you give me?” She demanded, her eyes trailing across the paper, she admired it way more than Reece expected.

  “Sure,” he nodded. “You can have it,” he normally wouldn't let go of his drawing that easily but since she provided the materials he drew it with, he decided it was just proper if she held on to it.

  Reece stood up from his kneeling position and turned back to the tree, gazing at it. “The Armastus,” he muttered. When he turned his head sideways, he found out she was standing beside him now and their eyes locked on each other.

  Her eyes were mesmerizing and when he gazed deeply into it, he realized it seemed to be glowing under the glint of the Armastus tree. She was looking at him too, her face devoid of most emotions, like she was lost in thoughts, yet her eyes were boring into his.

  Neither moved for a while just staring at each other; Reece had no idea what was going on in her mind but he felt something tighten in his chest as fear rose within him. It wasn't the usual kind of fear he felt from danger, this one was from the realization that such a girl existed.

  She grunted at last. “I feel like I should give you something in exchange for this,” she raised the paper in her hand.

  Reece shook his head, breaking from the spell that had encapsulated them. “Oh, no…” his voice sounded off, so he cleared his throat before speaking again. “ Oh, no, you don't need to worry. It's all good.”

  She raised her eyes stubbornly. “I will of course give you something,” she said and then walked up to her bag and began to shuffle through it.

  Reece found himself gazing at her from behind; he was entranced at how her hair fell across her back. After a while she turned around and pressed a button into his palm. “That's important stuff, when we meet again, I will have something better to give you,” she explained with a wide smile on her cheeks.

  Reece chuckled, he analyzed the button, realizing it was golden with intricate silver designs on it. When he glanced at the design it formed the shape of a winged creature that was most likely a dragon. “It's a royal button,” he gasped.

  The girl gave him a smug look before picking up her bag and staff. “I have to go now,” she declared. “It's already getting late and I don't want a new set of scars,” she pulled up the hood of her cloak and began to walk towards the edge of the mountain.

  Reece watched as she began to climb down. He rushed towards the edge and she gave him one more glance before she began to descend rapidly down the edge of the mountain. It was at that moment Reece realized he hadn't asked for her name.

  He wanted to scream, but she was already far away. He sighed, realizing how he might never see her again.