“This is going to cause a backlash, Collar.”

His mother, not telling him no, not denying that it would do what he said he wanted it to do, foster togetherness amongst the common and merchant class, was reminding him of the other Lords and Ladies of Damme and their likely reaction. Even some of those on his side would look askance at dancing with Rosewater. Or even simply sharing in the same dance floor with her.

“They’ll have to face it sooner or later, mother,” Collar said at last, glancing to Dapper, beaming with pride at him beside Lace’s hopeful skepticism. “This is easing them into it more than it is doing what my heart says is right.”

“And your heart says?” Dapper asked.

“Confess my love to everypony,” Collar grumbled. “I love her. I love Cloudy, and… I could love Rosemary. Given time, and a measure more freedom for her so it doesn’t feel wrong.”

“Commendable,” Lace agreed, “but the circumstances don’t exist to give her more play. You could join her more often in the garden when she goes. I know you only join her now and again.”

“Those are the times she gets to talk to others of her friends and lovers without walls closing her in,” Collar said, shaking his head. “I don’t want to intrude more on that, and especially not to try and start getting to know her more… romantically. Not in the presence of others yet.”

Lace’s lips twisted into a moue of displeasure, but she nodded. “Stars, I wish sometimes you would have had it as relatively easy as your father and I.” Lace slipped from her chair and pulled out a snifter of brandy and poured two tumblers half full. “Collar?”

“I have to not be tipsy, mother, and that brandy of yours gives me quite a kick.”

“And you had best be on your way then,” Lace said, smiling. “And your father and I will toast your love. And, Collar,” she added, raising her glass. “In case it wasn’t clear, I approve. This is one of the few paths I can see where we don’t end up with a tense negotiation to the end of hostilities. I’m glad it’s not a political marriage alone.”

“Thank you, mother.”

“Woo her, son,” Dapper said with a wink. “And don’t forget. Sometimes things happen in the heat of the dance. Don’t fight it if your heart calls you to it. You’ll regret it later.”

Lace gave her husband a suspicious look, flattened her ears, and glanced briefly at Collar. “As much trouble as it might cause… he’s right. I’m not telling you to sweep her up and kiss her, mind. But if your heart and the heat of the moment call…” She waggled the glass. “Are you sure you don’t want a glass before you go? You can blame it on being a mite tipsy.”

Collar glowered at it, then at her, and sighed. “Fine. Just a sip. I don’t want to seem like I drank after checking on Stride.”

“How is he, by the way?”

“Not a clue. Cloudy went chasing after him and I have no idea where either of them are. I… hope they’re back before night settles in, otherwise I might have to answer some uncomfortable questions about where they are and what happened with ‘I don’t know.’” That, in itself, was enough to down half the glass. “I hope they just went off barhopping with him or to the Prim Tap and Lager to calm down. Someplace comfortable and safe.”

Collar stared at the glass still in his magic, sighed, and downed the rest, giving him a warm glow as it went down to start a low glowing heat in his belly. “Someplace I wish I was.” With her. He flinched as the thought shocked through him. Seeing her today, eating lunch with her in public, joking and teasing her along with Cloudy, had been…

It hurt. He wanted more, and more, and more. Those public moments. Private moments. Comfortable moments.

You can have those. But you need to reach for them.

Cloudy and Rosemary were right. She wasn’t going to reach for them until he was ready. She was patient, but that patience wasn’t infinite. If he waited too long, she would choose Dazzle. If he didn’t go to her tonight, she would dance with him instead of Collar.

“Jealousy,” Collar said softly, closing his eyes, “is hard to master.”

“You mean that young buck Dazzle?” Dapper asked. “It can be. Rosemary told me you told her not to deny herself what’s a part of her life.”

“I did. I was trying to keep from feeling jealous. To give her an out if…”

“I’ve already got a brief ready to file with the middle court, Collar, in support of anypony who wishes to have their Merrie marriage recognized here,” Lace said after a moment of waiting for him to finish the painful thought. “It was something I’ve had ready for some years since we started accepting immigrants from Merrie, but nopony seems to want to try and challenge the fairness of the law in court.”

“Now go. This is an important moment in your life, Collar, whether you recognize it for what it is or not. The first dance you have with her is special.” Dapper raised an eyebrow, grinned, and went on, “Do you really want it to be in front of the cold jackanapes at the quarterly Gala?”

“How do I look?” Rosewater asked, then stopped herself, turned a circle, and glanced in the mirror again.

“The same way you did five minutes ago,” Seed said lazily. “Stunning, auntie. Just like you did this afternoon and this morning. Relax. Well, as much as you can.”

“But…” Rosewater took a breath and pulled her attention away from the mirror and her critical examination of the redone braid and the blue ribbons, freshly laundered and cleaned with too many spells and help from both Seed and Petal. They glowed almost, their satin glory shining in her pink braid. She really did look like she was trying to bridge the gap between cities. “Alright. I… don’t want to seem like I put too much effort into how I look.”

“Dear,” Petal said from the other side of the room, running a brush through her own mane, “you’re courting him. It’s no secret to anypony. Today was the first hint that you’ve made any progress.”

“Unless you count them laughing and frollicking from the Primrose to the Palace,” Seed cut in slyly, giving Rosewater an arch-browed look. “That was more than friendly rumors I heard coming back from Damme over the past few days.”

The familiar fluttering of butterflies in her stomach almost made her stop and check her image again. “I never meant for it to be private. It was supposed to be a foil, and his continued chill towards me…” She swallowed. “It was supposed to be…”

“A part of a plan.” Petal’s level voice held a note of gentle reproach. “You always tried to plan everything out. I remember that. Lesson plans. Meal plans. Day trip plans. I also remember that Carnation tried to nip your ears whenever you got too focused on carrying out those plans and not enjoying what you’d planned for.”

“I know. And she did.” Rosewater took a breath and let it out. They’re right. “I look fine? Do you think he’ll like it?”

“Absolutely,” Petal said. “He could barely keep his eyes off you during lunch, if my little birds spoke truly, and was completely enraptured.” She rose from her sitting position and nuzzled Rosewater’s shoulder. “I’m happy for you.”

“Me too, auntie. It’s good to see you actually reaching out for romance.” Seed made a show of rolling to his hooves and nuzzled her other shoulder. “We should get back out to the festivities. Our guests will wonder what the three of us are cooking up if we stay back here too long.”

“What you’re cooking up, you mean,” Petal said with a snort. “But he’s not wrong. The dance starts soon, and that’s what he said he’d be there for.”

Collar gave Platinum another sidelong look as they came up to the Rosewine bridge. “Something wrong with how I look?”

“That’s not your usual collar, my lord.”

“It’s my dress collar,” he said with a small huff. “Honestly, we’re trying to show them solidarity. It wouldn’t do if I came in one of my work collars, or bare of any sign of office.”

Platinum returned his sidelong look with interest. “Of course, my lord. Which is why we’re going to the dance and not the closing ceremony.”

“We’re staying until the closing ceremony. They’ll be celebrating the saving of a foal and the cross-city cooperation in doing it. We want to encourage that, Platinum, and we don’t want them to be afraid to come to us if something like that happens again. Or for our ponies to be afraid of them if the same happens to one of ours.”

It was all purely logical, and reasonable, but his heart beat faster at the thought of sharing even a group dance with Rosewater, nevermind one of the more intimate slow dances that Merrie’s latter-night dance gatherings were famous for.

He would be staying that late. He’d made the promise to himself that he’d see the closing ceremony and even speak there if the prevailing winds asked him to do so. He hoped Rosewater would speak as well.

Stars, that would be a coup-d'etat as far as opinion towards her was concerned.

It would also, he reminded himself, paint a target on her that would almost certainly splash onto him, at least from his own side. It would also make their ‘debut’ at the gala, even if it wasn’t to proclaim their official relationship, even more important and make it clear to all that they intended to continue their working relationship.

He was not surprised when they crossed the bridge to find Rosewater waiting for him with Petal and Seed by her side, she still beautiful, and perhaps even more so…

Stars, is she wearing rouge? She hardly needed it with her muzzle and cheek marks, but the subtle shade made them stand out more, not less, and accentuated the softness rather than the sharpness of her features.

“Is that… is she wearing…?” Platinum muttered beside him, then shut up, her ears flat to her skull for a moment before she advanced to place herself between the greeting party and him. “Good evening. I am here as an official government escort of Lord Primline Collar, heir to Damme’s rulership. I demand the promise of safety, and the bond of the treaty upon it.”

“Given, and freely,” Seed said, stepping forward and proferring a small scroll. “Our copy of the treaty sanctioned charter for this gathering, including all rights and requirements we, as hosts, provide to our guests. Guest rights we extend to you, my lord, as both the lord of these lands and as—”

“As the gathering organizer,” Petal finished for him, stepping up to greet Platinum formally as well. “It is a joint effort between us as both husband and wife, and as lord of the land, and lady of the winery that organized it.”

“I give my word, as heiress of Merrie that these rights will be upheld, and will speak so to a representative of the treaty. Collar will be well taken care of, and I will see to that personally.” Her attention, for the last sentence wasn’t on Platinum, but on Collar, and the resonant warmth in it made his heart flutter anew. “You have my word. I won’t leave his side.”

Platinum stared at her for a long moment, then cleared her throat. “My lord, is that—”

“It’s acceptable, and I accept, my lady, your offer of escort.” He’d rushed saying it, nearly stumbling over the words. Already he could hear the instruments, heavy on folk string instruments and woodwinds, even a drum of some sort that was beating a slow tempo in the distance. “Shall we get to it? It sounds like things are about to start.”

“And me?” Platinum squeaked. “What do I do, my lord?”

“My dear Platinum,” Petal murmured, “I think Prim Prism and Prim Tremor would like to do some catching up as well. They’ve been abuzz since Dazzle came back from your impromptu meeting.”

Leaving me with Rosewater alone for an escort. Collar glanced between the leaders of the Garden, his appraisal of them shifting subtly as he realized they’d cooked it up between themselves and Rosewater. “Well, my lady. It appears that my escort’s time is spoken for, and I am in need of a new one, so I accept, and place my trust in your hooves.”

Rosewater’s heart raced as she strode up the ramp to the dance platform, easily large enough to fit a dozen dancers at once, and more straw had been strewn around the grass around it to give good hoof purchase for another three dozen, should that many actually want to dance to the sound of the band.

Empty now, save them, Rosewater, and Collar, she strode to the center front of the stage where ponies were gathered in a close semi-circle, waiting for the opening speech of the dance to begin.

“Good evening, everypony,” Rosewater called out to them, and went on before more than a small smattering of calls back filled the air, “tonight we’re here to celebrate more than the hoped for unity and peace we can achieve together, Merrier and Dammer, young and old. Tonight, we also celebrate a disaster averted. To all of you worrying, Raindrop Dancer is fine, if exhausted from his ordeal, and resting at home with his family. The doctor said she expects a full recovery and no ill side effects from his accident.”

A small cheer rose from the crowd at her words.

“While his rescuer is not here, Lord Collar has made it clear that he will convey any thanks wished upon the mystery pegasus to them, if you wish to make them to him, officially or not. But, he didn’t come here only to sit at a table and be bored. He came to join us also in celebration of that unity we hope to achieve, that this festival is a celebration of. Tonight, he will join us in dance and song—”

“Singing?!” Collar cried out theatrically, holding a hoof to his breast. “My dear mare, dare you suggest that I attack my hostess’s ears with my singing voice?”

Rosewater laughed and danced aside to shoulder him lightly as the crowd laughed, and raised her voice over it, “The singing will be optional!” She leaned in closer and stage-whispered to him, “But the dancing isn’t.”

Collar surprised her by laughing aloud. “I should hope not! I was looking forward to showing off my four left hooves. I’m told they’re quite impressive.”

“I hope that some of you will join us in dancing across city lines, and stay for our closing remarks. That’s it for now, everypony.”

“Refreshments are available still, at reduced price for tonight,” Petal added, stepping up beside her. “All of our vendors that stayed agreed that their remaining stock would be sold at half price. Wine, some Dammerale, plenty of nonalcoholic beverages, and light snacks are left, and fresh, cold water on demand.”

More cheers went up, with the added effect of a good chunk of the crowd peeling off to head towards the repositioned concession area.

“For the rest of you wanting to dance,” Seed called out, stamping out the start to the first song they’d decided on that night, “let’s start it high-stepping, with the Garden Square dance! Grab a partner, square up, and let’s have a hoof-stamping good time!”

Rosewater was delighted and shocked when Collar bumped into her and pushed her into the center of the stage as the first beats of the dance started up. “I thought you had four left hooves!”

“I guess we’ll find out, and if you can bear to talk to me, or walk, after this dance is over.”

Rosewater laughed and rose to her hind legs, forehooves forward as he met her hoof-to-hoof.

“You take the lead,” he whispered as they touched cheeks briefly. “I’ve never danced the Garden Square before.”

“Then watch my hooves, follow me and listen to the beat.”

Years of ballroom training didn’t prepare Collar for how fast Rosewater moved. This was no stately dance, full of pauses and bows, this was a romping, stomping, spinning dervish of a dance that saw them coming close to other pairs of ponies, briefly sharing partners, and then back to each other.

The first exchange nearly sent him tumbling, but Rosewater and both other ponies slowed down to guide him through it, and the next saw him laughing as he exchanged places with Petal to briefly dance with Seed, while Rosewater spun through a spin with Petal.

Then he was back with her, laughing, his heart thundering with the excitement and exertion, and the song slowed as more ponies joined them on the stage, both Merrier and Dammer by their look, and even a few that appeared to be mixed couples.

“You’re having fun,” Rosewater murmured, resting her cheek against his, her breathing coming hard and hot against his neck. “You’re glowing.”

“I feel like I am,” he replied through his own heavy breathing. “I’ve never danced anything this energetic before. Even with Cloudy. She’s been practicing ballroom dances.”

“I’m glad.” She took a deeper breath and leaned against him more heavily. “I’m glad you’re here. It means a lot to me.”

He wanted to tell her, to say the words right there in front of everypony. Then the music picked up again and even more stomping hooves drowned out the wants and desires of the moment, replaced by the thrill of movement, the warmth of the cups of her hooves against his, and the occasional guiding nudge of her neck against his, getting them out of the way of less experienced dancers as Merriers taught their Damme counterparts how to dance the Garden Square.

They were still the center of attention, and he saw it in every turn, every spin and stamp of hind hooves, and curious looks from his exchange partners, Merrier and Dammer alike. Wanting to know, no doubt, why he was so friendly with Rosewater.

The dance only lasted for ten minutes, with breaks and pauses for breath and to let ponies off the dance stage, and both he and Rosewater stayed on the stage for the entire ten minutes before the band needed to take a short break.

A panting Seed trotted up to them and spoke to them briefly, his ears splayed in what looked like a devilish parody of humor.

“What’s he up to?” Rosewater asked nopony in particular at Collar’s side. “I hope he’s not trying to ‘help.’”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

Rosewater chortled and bumped against him. “If you get Seed’s help when his ears are like that, look for the pie before you sit down.”

“After that hoof-stamping, partner-swapping dance, let’s go a bit slower,” Seed called after turning away from the band. “This is the Merrie Two-step”

Rosewater groaned, glanced at him, and opened her mouth.

He cut her off before she could say anything. It was his chance. “I want to dance it with you. Whatever it is.”

“It’s a slow dance,” she answered. “One of the few Merrie dances that doesn’t involve switching partners at some point.”

“That’s why it’s called the two-step?” Collar asked, glancing around to see other Merriers talking to Dammers, and a few Merrier couples, thruples, and qouples talking amongst themselves and glancing their way. Even down on the larger dance area strewn with now-dirty hay, ponies were checking to see what they’d do.

“It’s called the two-step because we cross forelegs and step in time with each other. It’s an embodiment and demonstration of the togetherness and cooperation in Merrie.” She leaned in closer. “It’s very intimate. If you—”

It was only through an effort of will that he only bumped her cheek with his instead of nipping it. Or kissing it. “I do. I’m not going to learn anything about the culture of the Garden if I step away from anything that looks inconvenient.” He winked at her and tapped a forehoof. This was his chance to show her how comfortable he wanted to be with her. “Now, my teacher, show me how to dance the two-step.”

Cheek to cheek again. But staying, and not breathing hard and barely able to think about how close she was. Rosewater was intensely aware of just how close they were, and just how intimately close they were, with forelegs intertwined and crossed, swaying back and forth breast-to-breast with Collar.

All she would need to do if she wanted to kiss him was pull back, wait for him to look up for why she’d pulled away.

But she’d promised herself. Not until he made the first move.

And yet… dancing with him, or swaying around the platform, feeling his blush fade and come back, was torturous. She knew he wanted to say the words, but he was holding back. For what reason, she had no idea.

She wanted to ask him so many questions. Why he’d chosen where he had for their next date. Why he’d not spoken the words yet. Why he’d not yet kissed her when both of them knew he wanted to. His toast on their last date, their making food for Prim Palace as… ponies in love?

“Collar?” She asked at last, only a few minutes into the slow dance.

“I’ve been thinking tonight,” he replied quietly, the tone of his voice startling her into pulling back to look into his eyes. They were as needful as hers must have been. With the falling night, they looked soulful, and he glanced off to the side. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about. Regarding Rosemary.”

The way he said it, as an afterthought added hastily, told her it was nothing of the sort. “We can go for a walk. The Rosewine hill isn’t open to the rest of the festival. It’ll be private if you want to keep it sealed to privacy.”

The relief in his eyes and the brief flattening of his ears told her all she needed to know. “That would be best. It’s something Lace wanted me to ask you, but the time to ask was never right.” He broke away first and started making his way through the more crowded platform and down to the less populous surrounding dance area.

Walking through the once-bustling festival grounds was a touch painful. It was her first. She’d always been at the noble’s gala, and the camaraderie and joy of the Commoner’s Gala was… soothing. A balm. It was the way things were supposed to be.

With it almost empty, it was a reminder that it was a single day. The only ponies left were the tabarded workers cleaning up the bits of detritus and packing down the festival-provided stalls and tents. A few of them looked up from their work to nod at Rosewater and eye Collar with a little more pointed curiosity, but didn’t ask questions.

That was a little strange, but not overly so. The more work they did tonight, the less they’d have to do tomorrow, pay or not, and could have fun and relax and spread gossip no doubt including her and Collar’s tryst, whether it turned into anything or not.

Once they were past the tents, the garden village was all but empty, with only the foal caretakers in the roped off area having a small dance of their own, far more chaotic and less coordinated than even the inexperienced Damme adults, but heartening to see the forty or so children and ten caretakers laughing in the bright light spilling from lanterns strung all around the perimeter.

Barely visible, there was a warding spell around the ropes, a faint reddish tinge matched by the glowing horn of a resting unicorn apparently tired, but maintaining the alert in case any foal tried to leave the supervised area.

“They’re not taking any chances,” Collar observed, startling her.

“No. Not after what happened to Dancer. They wouldn’t normally be so vigilant in the safety of the garden, and so far from the river.” Rosewater pulled her attention away from them. “Everypony’s still on edge.”

“Understandable.” Collar nodded to the unicorn maintaining the spell as she glanced at them, and hurried on. “Is there anypony likely to be around?”

“No, but it’s best not to assume.”

Collar’s expression calmed, and he nodded. “This will be familiar, then.”

The world outside shimmered briefly, then dimmed as he shrouded them both with invisibility. Rosewater added a silence just inside the shell of his shroud. “I remember when we first walked like this on my side of the river. When you and I were still fencing with word and action.”

“That seems so long ago,” Rosewater admitted, smiling at him and hoping the reason for the needed guile was what she hoped. “We’ve both come a long way.”

“Me, more than you, it seems,” Collar replied in a somber tone. “It’s been harder and harder to hide what I feel for you, Rosewater. It’s not friendship. Not merely that.”

Her heart skipped a beat, and she hesitated, waiting for him to say more for several steps before she added, “I’ve seen it. Cloudy’s told me some, and Rosemary a little more. They’ve held your confidence, though I could tell they had more they wanted to share.”

“They’re both good, honorable ponies. More than I, because I’d have had the courage to tell you long since, if I were.” Collar’s voice was pained, but he didn’t go on. Not immediately, as their path took them up the long, sloping path around the northern slope, rather than the southern, towards an area made for dates.

It was a choice she made, to reach at least this much for what she wanted before he offered it to her, and she held her tongue for long minutes as she guided them along the branching paths that led further onto the terraced hill and higher towards a rocky area that was ill-suited for grapes.

“What to say,” Collar said at last, “has been bothering me all day. All week. How to say it. When to say it. Where. The best place, time, mood, and… everything just right in order to tell you.” Still, he didn’t say it, and it was all she could do not to bite his ear and get him to admit it. “Stars, it was never this hard with Cloudy.”

“Just say it, then. Sometimes there is no perfect place, time, or mood, Collar. Sometimes the best thing is to just say it, and let the saying set all three.” She did nip his ear then, teasing and playful, and let her lips linger briefly before pulling away.

He stopped, and she with him, barely halfway to the bench and rocky area, and turned to her.

And there, on a dirt path, surrounded by grape vines settling down for winter, with Damme visible in the distance nearly indistinguishable from Merrie by their angle, he kissed her.

The chill of night fled at the first touch of his lips to hers, and it lingered far beyond a simple peck or anything that could be construed as an accident. Her lips parted after a bare second, and his followed as she hungrily took what he was offering, and reared up, him a heartbeat behind, taking his forelegs and twining them with hers as they had been for the dance.

He met her breast, to breast, and his ardent kiss deepened until she felt the flick of tongue against hers, exploratory and voluntary, inviting her to deepen it as well.

She did not, but pulled back to take a breath, leaving him standing staring at her, bewilderment, then wry amusement in his eyes and the set of his ears.

“And I attack you like a teenager who just learned what a kiss meant,” Collar said with a chortle and a nip against her chin. “Instead of telling you I love you. I have been in love with you for… weeks now, though I hadn’t the wits or guts to see it or admit it.”

“And I, Collar, have loved you since I said I could fall for you,” Rosewater said softly. “I wanted to tell you, and so many times before, but I didn’t want to scare you.”

“Probably wise,” Collar said wryly, grinning and nipping her cheek. “You were leading us someplace before I…” His grin faded, and he glanced at her. “I didn’t ask.”

“I give permission, retroactively, for you to kiss me,” Rosewater replied in an equally wry tone. “I gave it when I told you what I wanted. I’ve merely been waiting for you to accept that my permission meant… you could say and do what you have. I love you, Collar, and I…”

“I love you,” he finished for her. “And I wished all day today that I could say it. Dancing with you, like that… so close that I could, if I wanted to, kiss you without even needing to break our embrace… it was too much.”

“Seed knows how to push ponies to the edge,” Rosewater said and offered him a small smile and leaned against him. “He’s always known how, for good and ill purposes.”

“I need to thank him. I was planning to do it on our next date, you know.”

“I know. The place told me as much.” She gave him a sidelong look. “Did you find my note?”

“I did. I set our camping supplies back in a nearby overhang, so they should stay dry as long as needed, and weighted them down with wood.” Collar ticked his ears, glanced at her, and shook his head.

“What is it?”

“Not sure yet. Just… a nagging worry.” Collar shook his head again, his expression troubled, then clearing. “We’ll just need to bring food.”

For a moment, Rosewater tried to think of whatever it might be that he was worried about, but the touch of his lips, the new freedom she had to express herself to him… it got in the way of her worries. For now. She shook her head, too, and bumped her shoulder to his. “You didn’t take any food?” Of course not. Rosewater chuckled. “Oh, thank the stars.”

Collar raised a brow.

“Bears. And wolves. And even rabbits, mice, and rats would have raided the stores minutes after you left.” She chuckled and leaned more heavily against him. “I do appreciate the thought you’ve put into our next date, and the effort. But…”

Rosewater fell silent, smiling to herself as she led Collar further up the hill towards the bare stony ground.

“But?” Collar asked after they’d made half a turning around the hill, leaving both Merrie and Damme behind the last curve. “I can’t see much of anything up here.”

“Just wait,” she said, nudging him lightly. “I think… we can risk dropping the invisibility if you take the silence and I manage a misting veil. The view shouldn’t be dimmed to appreciate it. Not on a night like this.”

She felt him taking over the silence spell, his magic meshing with hers in an odd way that she hadn’t felt as he tried to impose how his silence spell worked on top of hers. It was a more brute force approach than her spell, telling her just how much power it took for him to maintain it, but he didn’t complain as she wove her misting weaving into his invisibility shell, feeling it fade as they traded responsibilities, and felt the meshing of magics again.

It was utterly unlike Glory’s spell, but no less effective for that.

Rather than taking the invisibility away immediately, Rosewater bled it into her misting spell, until from the outside of it, he and Rosewater would be no more remarkable than the bench they sat on side-by-side.

Slowly, the view brightened, the moonlight above and the Mare gazing down on them turning the shades of gray and shadow into a more colorful tapestry of trails and grapes overlooking the ocean and the cliff some hundred meters down a gentle slope, bounded by the sturdy wall of stone that kept ponies, and too curious foals, from getting too close to the dangerous edge.

“What was the but that needed to wait?” Collar asked gently, nosing her cheek, then hesitating and kissing it. “Stars, I can kiss you and not worry about you…”

“Me?”

His ears flattened to his skull, and he glanced out at the ocean just as the lighthouse some ten miles south began lighting off its gigantic crystalline beam. It focused far out to sea at first, visible for the cone of light it made in the fog rolling in some miles out to sea yet.

“You getting the wrong idea, or raising your hopes when I had no right. Not when everything was still so up in the air.” Collar blew out a breath and shook his head. “Cloudy rightly berated me for not telling you on our last date, but she listened when I told her I wanted to get this right. To tell you exactly at the right moment. To give us a chance to…” he waved a hoof.

“Work it out. What it means?”

“For the future. For our ponies.” Collar’s voice tightened, and he spared her a brief look. “What it would mean to us. To you, me, Cloudy, Rosemary. What we’re getting into, Rosewater. Without even knowing each other for more than a couple of months, and half that time as enemies.”

“I know. I should have approached you much sooner. Before Carnation was exiled, even. Before Roseline died. Before—”

“Stop. Don’t second-guess yourself, Rosewater. You had no idea any of those things would ever happen, and certainly not in the way they did. Only with hindsight can our plans seem so foolish.” He nipped her cheek again and leaned his forehead against it, his horn resting just ahead of her ear, almost touching hers. Almost close enough that she could…

No. He’s not ready. I’m not sure I am. To share herself on such an intimate level… to open her heart and push it at another through her talent was…

“I know,” she said at last. Minutely, she relaxed and rested her cheek against his forehead, grateful for what it meant. “I wish we’d had more time together before…” Vaguely, she waved a hoof at the waves far below, barely white lines in the darkness of the ocean from so far, and only the faintest sound of their crashing against the cliff’s talus beach reached them.

“I wish we had, too. But the time we do have, I don’t intend to be idle. Call it making up for lost time.” Collar chortled and raised his head to kiss her cheek, then her muzzle, then the markings, making her shiver and raise her head. “Ticklish?”

“Sensitive, stars,” Rosewater laughed, working her jaw and shaking her head. “The marks and the coat are softer and finer, and more sensitive to touch than the rest of us. It helps us find the wind, and captures scents close when we focus.” She drew in a deep breath, focusing on her heritage with an intentionality that she hadn’t had much occasion to do since she was a foal just learning what it meant. “Cloudy kissed you before she left, and the lingering scent of your lovemaking from last night… she plied her mouth?”

Collar’s ears went flat. “You can tell all that? Just from a sniff?”

“Some. I had to guess how she made you come, but I’m glad she enjoys your taste.” Rosewater winked and nudge him with a hind hoof. “Relax. I don’t sniff and tell, Collar.”

He glowered at her, the twinkle in his eye turning his severe expression into a mockery. “But do you kiss and tell? That’s a high crime and misdemeanor in Damme, I’ll have you know.”

“And misdemeanor? Which is it? Is it a high—” She never finished her question, as he kissed her lightly on the lips, then drew back and pushed in more strongly when her eyes widened.

She lost herself to the kiss for moments, leaning back against the bench as he slid from it to half-stand in front of her, forehooves braced against the bench on either side. It was no bed, but it didn’t need to be. They wouldn’t have sex out here, not yet, and not so soon. She knew him too well to worry about that…

But she could dream.

And she could smell the same on him. The act of kissing was more intimately tied to him than it was for her, and the more he shifted and plied his tongue against hers, her lips, and her teeth, the more she could smell the arousal on him. No wonder, then, that the act of giving a kiss was more tied up in emotional bonds for him.

She’d thought, since he was with Cloudy, that he’d understand that kisses could be not much more intimate than a hello.

Not so for Collar, with his Dammer upbringing and the mores of all the ponies around him.

His kissing her was more than ‘I love you.’ It was a declaration of his attraction to her as a pony, and his desire to be with her, carnally. It was, she supposed, close to what a Merrier would consider a declaration. An intent to have children.

He wasn’t only telling her he loved her, then, but that he intended… to marry her. To start a family with her. It was very Dammish, bundling all things love and marriage into a single act, and she should have considered that sooner.

“You’re tense,” Collar murmured, pulling back after a few moments of resting nose-to-nose. “Is something wrong?”

“No. Not…” Rosewater sniffed lightly and nosed his chin. “I misunderstood too much about what you were telling me, Collar. A kiss, to you, isn’t merely ‘I love you,’ is it? Not the way a Merrier would say it.”

Collar sat on the path, his forehooves still on the bench, and nuzzled her breast, then rested his cheek against her shoulder. “It is… and it isn’t. Working through my feelings for you, Rosewater, and working through what I wanted to say, how to say it… it made me realize that kissing you had become more than what it usually means to me. It was a symbol of a commitment to you. To see this through to whatever end it may have.”

“Then kiss me again, Collar.”

They talked, kissed, and teased each other for another half hour, their ears attuned to the distant music when their talk lapsed into silence and let the faint susurrus of wind and wave reach them. Collar learned more and more about what her kisses could be like. Small kisses, kisses that made him wish they were truly alone and could explore, comforting kisses… it was the reason he’d wanted to save it for their next date.

But having done it, told her, and spoken with her about what was going to change—not much at first—he wouldn’t take a moment of it back, even if Roseate herself interrupted them right then.

The time let him solidify the vague worries he’d happened upon and put a name to them, and consequences for what would happen if they were found together by any number of their opponents or the ponies leading them.

“We’re going to have a hard time getting to our next date, never mind enjoying it in peace and solitude,” Collar murmured. “Our movements are going to be watched now.”

“Now?” Rosewater laughed. “Stars, Collar. We’ve always been watched. You and I more than most. My own ponies had gotten out of the habit of it for a while, but they’ve remembered how to do it.”

“What are we going to do?” Thoughts and plans swirled for a moment, unformed and vague ideas about what they could do, things they could do together with their magic and their talents. “We could hide, I suppose. Move farther back into the forest and away from the clearing.”

“Hide? Our campsite is visible from the air, and if anypony has been running patrols over the woods, they’ll have spotted the firewood. Not unusual in itself, as we have a number of herbalists that camp out to gather plants. But they’ll keep watching it.”

Collar made a noise and half-turned to lean against the bench and kissed her neck. “They will, won’t they, especially if they know it’s someplace you went when you were younger. Maybe…” There would be caves around and in the hills. Hardly romantic and not at all what he’d envisioned his date with her to be like.

“We could move it, but we won’t be able to hide the smoke from a fire, and it’s getting too cold to go without one at night. Even if we found a suitable hiding spot, like a cave or an overhang. We’d still need to hide it somehow.” Rosewater dashed his half-formed idea.

“What about the overlook again? Or the Wayfarer tree? Or farther in?” Places for her previous dates flitted through his mind, grasping for any idea they could use to be together. “I want to spend the whole day with you, Rosewater, not merely a few hours after dark. Someplace safe and warm, and out of the sight of others who wouldn’t understand.”

“My estate,” Rosewater said softly. “My home. I live alone, Collar. I’m a well-known homebody, even as much as I live at the Garden these days. I have… a secret space I can teleport to and from in the basement. Nopony knows about it, and when it’s not ready for me to return, I make sure the ward is recharged and back in place.”

“I had wondered how you got the camping set back to Merrie without getting caught.” He paused a moment. “Is it big enough for me?”

“It should be. It fit me and a camping set.” Rosewater nipped his chin and kissed him again, her eyes shining. “My home, Collar. I’m inviting you into my home.”

“Not your only home,” he whispered. “Stars, I wish I could come to the Garden whenever I wanted to tease you and talk to you, have lunch with you and simply… be. The little bit I saw today spoke to my heart, Rosewater. It’s beautiful here, and the ponies are so open and accepting.”

“Most of Merrie is like that, Collar. Your heart is here, in part.”

“Cloudy’s heart is still here.” A moment later, he shook his head. “And in Damme. She’s set roots down, ‘Water. She’s of both cities now, for good or ill.”

Rosewater hummed softly and leaned forward to rest her chin beside his horn, letting him rest his nose against the warm, thrumming expanse of her throat. She smelled… musky, part from sweat, he thought, but… it stirred wants in him that he hadn’t thought of.

“We’re all going to be of both cities,” she murmured after a moment, her voice thrumming against his nose.

“Rosemary was starting to fall in love with the city,” Collar said, his lips brushing her coat with every syllable, and kissed her neck, then the base of her jaw and pulled back to kiss her lips again. “I’m looking forward to seeing more of it, even if it’s only your home.”

“Only?”

“Especially. Please excuse my poor wording,” Collar said with a laugh, flattening his ears. “Rosemary would nip my ears for it.”

Rosewater chuckled. “She probably would. But… we should get back, and think about what we ‘really’ spoke of. The schedule for tonight only had an hour for dancing, and we should get one more in to show nothing has changed.”

But everything changed. He closed his eyes and nodded. “I’ve been meaning to ask you how… things will work with you and Rosemary. If we married. Before tonight, it was only an if, understand.”

“When?”

“Yes. When.” He sighed, waved a hoof, and stood up. “I don’t suppose you can take away the smell of you on my coat? Your ponies, at least will—”

“Collar,” Rosewater said with a laugh, pushing herself from the bench and into his embrace again, kissing him lightly. “We’ve been dancing together tonight. If I took that away, that would tell them something was going on. Seed, at least, suspects.”

“Stars, mare, everypony suspects after tonight. They’d have to be blind if they didn’t.” Collar laughed and kissed her again, reveling for the brief moment in the warmth of her, the weight of her as she leaned into him. “And they’d be right.”

“But rumors are like grapes around here, Collar. It’s not something you need to worry overmuch about. The only thing remarkable about our rumors is that it’s between us.” Rosewater nudged him away with her nose and stood on all four hooves, shaking herself and glancing back at her tail. A few of the blue ribbons were out of place, and she fixed them quietly. “How does my mane look?”

“Gorgeous. But…” Collar leaned in rather than using magic, and nosed one of the ones that was skewed and almost falling out. He hadn’t realized how much he’d stroked her mane, her neck, how often he’d nipped and nuzzled her neck. It only felt like a few minutes, but more than twenty must have passed. “Can I have this one? Cloudy’s going to want proof.”

“Liar.” Rosewater laughed and tugged the ribbon free. “But yes. You can have it. How are you going to hide it?”

“Hide it? I was going to say you gave it to me to give to Rosemary.”

“Oh? What did we talk about?”

“Your invitation to the gala. My invitation to you, personally, Rosewater. As a recognition of how closely we’ve been working together, and how much you’ve done to repair Lace’s trust in your future leadership.” Collar frowned down at the ribbon, then flicked his ears. “Can you tie it to my mane? Just a simple tail. I don’t have any pockets, and my day bag is at the palace.”

“For shame.” Rosewater clucked her tongue and did as he asked. “Let’s get back. This will cause enough of a tiff among your ponies as it is. How are you going to tell them that’s what we talked about?”

“By telling them. In my closing statement.” Collar winked and started back down the path. “Hide the secret in plain sight, and nopony will question it.”

When he didn’t hear her hoofsteps behind him, he stopped and checked on her.

Worry suffused her expression, fears that he felt he could recognize without them being spoken; Roseate would hear, of course, and do what she could to retaliate.

“Whatever she does, Rosewater,” Collar said softly, “I’m not leaving you. I made that promise to myself, to Rosemary, and to Cloudy. Whatever happens, we’re all in this together.”

Her coat shivered and she stamped a hoof. “Please don’t read my mind, Collar, it’s unnerving.” She smiled, chuckled, and shook her head. “I suppose I have become somewhat predictable in my worries.”

“I think that’s always been your worry,” Collar told her gently, and waved down the path. “Shall we go in the open, now that our talking is done?”

“My lord, if that’s what you call talking, shall I make assumptions about what you consider debate?” She pranced ahead to join him, her tail flirting, the worries of earlier apparently dismissed. Or at least buried. He was learning, and quickly, that she never really stopped worrying, she simply pushed it underneath the facade of normalcy and let herself experience happiness.

Pointing that out… it wouldn’t help. It would make her defensive. The best way, in his mind, was to protect these moments where normalcy, happiness, was normal. He’d wanted to do that on their dates, it had been how he’d wanted to see her.

Like this. Like she had been nearly the entire time he’d been with her today. Smiling, a spring in her step. Comfortable being affectionate. With him, especially, but with everypony in general.

The dancing was still going on when they came back to the festival grounds, though the tents and the rest of the infrastructure for the event was looking far sparser, and was being packed into carts by the industrious young ponies in the Garden tabards.

A few of them stopped to stare at Collar’s queue, tied with what was obviously one of Rosewater’s hair ribbons, and the spot where it had been seemed glaring in the way broken patterns seemed to draw the eye.

Rosewater didn’t even seem to notice on the surface, though her ears tracked the whispers that sparked up behind them.

“Relax,” Collar murmured to her. “Remember, it’s for Rosemary. A memento for your participation that she couldn’t be there to witness.”

“I know.” Her smile grew, and she bumped against him. “Thank you for taking it to her. She’ll know what it means when she smells it.”

Collar’s brows raised, then reminded himself Rosemary would be able to smell both of them on it, and know what it meant. Cloudy likely would, too. “Thank you for letting me pose the question to you.”

The dancing area was crowded still, and while the crowd on the edges wasn’t aware of them immediately, that didn’t last long. The heirs of the two cities having gone off, alone, to talk over some diplomatic matter was subject for gossip by itself. Collar coming back with one of her ribbons pulling his mane into a queue was subject for more gossip, and no doubt whispers that would spread and grow until…

He couldn’t remember if she’d worn anything on her lips, and no mirror, but she would have told him, and worried…

Thank the stars she worries so much. He caught the thought and let it go, resisting the urge to shake his head.

They didn’t need to explain to everypony where they’d gone, and stopping to explain it would only cause more comment than if they simply made their way to the stage where the dancing was still going on, albeit toned down and slow again for the last set of the night.

Seed and Petal broke away from the dancers to meet them at the edge of the wooden platform.

“You had a good discussion, I trust?” Petal asked, one brow raised as her eyes alighted on Collar’s mane.

“We did,” Rosewater answered before Collar could think up a response. “He has something to announce ahead of it becoming official through the treaty office. And he agreed to bring Rosemary a memento of tonight, and tell her everything that happened.”

Seed’s brows went up at that, and he chuckled. “Good. Rosemary, I think, would have loved to be here tonight. She loved coming when she didn’t make it to the main gala.”

“She loved making trouble with you,” Petal grumbled. “So, what is it you have to announce? Nothing earth-shattering, I hope.”

“Not at all,” Collar said with a laugh. “It’s something my parents and I were discussing as a thanks for Rosewater being so cooperative with negotiations, despite how long they’re taking.”

“And it should be announced tonight?” Petal asked, glancing at Rosewater. “To the public first?”

“Yes. Collar told me it would be made official tomorrow, but in the interest of further fostering the idea of unity…” Rosewater glanced behind her where groups of Merriers and Dammers were talking together, the music forgotten.

Collar followed her gaze, picking out his ponies easily by how they were asking the nearest Merrier what was really going on with Rosewater. They, largely Garden ponies, seemed to be explaining with head shaking and denials that she wasn’t who they thought. “Closing remarks are soon, right?”

“After this song,” Seed said, stepping back from the edge and giving Collar a more appraising look, the goofiness that Rosewater had warned him of vanished. The faintest of glows from his Rosethorn markings spoke enough to Collar about what he knew when Seed smirked, glanced at Rosewater, and winked. “Glad you two had a good—”

Petal knocked his ankle with a hoof and cut in, “Talk. It’s clear that it’s settled some concerns, so I’m grateful to you for taking the time to settle them, my lord. Rosewater has a tendency to over-worry on settled matters.”

“I do,” Rosewater admitted. “I know you were going to give the closing remarks, Petal, but I would like to have a few words along with Collar on the spirit of friendship and unity.”

“I think, rather than my speech, which I can give any time, I’d rather have both of you speak. You’re the future of our cities, my lord, both you and Rosewater. To hear you both speak of friendship would do more than my little part of Merrie stating it.” Petal glanced at Seed, nodded briefly, and turned away to talk to the band.

“Especially,” Seed said, grinning at apparently having been given permission to be mischievous, “after that beautiful show of friendship today.”

It was a reminder of what Collar had already realized. They’d be watched. Rosewater’s previous ‘secret’ haunts would be scouted on the regular. Whenever she disappeared for any time without explanation would be questioned, dissected, and compared with his movements.

He couldn’t take back today, nor did he want to. Today, and especially that night, had been so much of what he’d wanted for the last week that he’d have sooner given away one of his legs. It was something they would adjust to. They would need to be more careful… or be more brazen.

“It’s something we intended,” Rosewater said calmly. “It’s a sign to everypony watching that Collar and I are of one mind on friendship between our two cities. It’s what Celestia has been pushing for, throwing us together for our galas.”

“Save it for the remarks,” Collar murmured, nudging her shoulder with his. “I have some idea of what I want to say.”

“Good evening everypony!”

“Good night!” Somepony called from the crowd.

Rosewater chuckled, and even Collar let out a sharp back of a laugh.

“Hey, hey,” Petal called back, “We’re not saying goodbye yet. Thus, good evening!”

“But it is night, Petal,” Rosewater reminded her loudly.

“Good after noon,” Petal called back with a huff. “Since it is, undeniably, after noon. But!” She stomped both forehooves, and Dazzle sent a spark of light flashing above them. “Tonight, we celebrated the saving of a precious life, the unity of purpose we had in coming together, and the camaraderie we all share as ponies, as friends, new and old.” Petal stepped back to stand between Collar and Rosewater. “Also tonight, we celebrate what we hope will be a new symbol of our shared friendship, and two ponies who have a few words to share. Lord Primline Collar and Lady Rosewater Rosethorn, heir and heiress of our two great cities.”

Collar caught her eyes first, nodded, and stepped forward. “Good night everypony,” he called out, then shifted as if to turn away to laughter and a growl from Petal. “Stars, you make me feel welcome here. All of you. Merrier, Dammer, mare, stallion, filly and colt. That should also be your sign that I did not prepare a speech ahead of time. All I wanted to say is that I have felt incredibly welcomed here, and most especially by Rosewater. She has been a wonderful ambassador today, and for that, and her role in negotiating for the herdgild for her cousin, my mother Lace and I have decided to offer her a personal invitation to the Autumn Gala as our guest of honor.”

Instant murmuring rose from in front of them and from the few still on the platform behind them, and Collar turned to face the garden residents gathered there behind him. “I understand that all of you would rather have Rosemary back and among you, but our laws must be followed, and Rosewater has been understanding and patient with us as we work out compromises and deals that will meet the letter and spirit of the law.”

Rosewater took the uncertain looks of her garden ponies as her cue to move to stand beside Collar. “I know many of you question my decision. I know a lot of you think it would be easier to sacrifice a little in hardship to get her back sooner, as she is and has been a bright spark in the garden, but I am doing this, and she has agreed to it, to avoid that hardship. Our ponies have faced enough over the centuries of this war. First in blood, then in time, bits, and ransoms.

“Understand me that I’m in favor of ending this war on favorable terms to both of our cities, not with one side or the other having a clear victory. We’ve been through enough eye-for-an-eye vengeance to know that’s impossible. What I want is what we see here tonight. Friendship between our ponies, understanding of each others’ lives, and beyond the surface, our lives aren’t so very different than yours.

“Collar and I have come to know each other better over these months of negotiations, and where there were once misunderstandings and confusion, now we actively work to avoid those mistakes and work so that every day can be like today. I don’t want to fear him, or fear meeting him as a soldier. I want to welcome him to our fair city, just as I want, someday, to be welcomed to Damme.”

Collar set his hoof against her shoulder gently. “This is our welcome to you, Lady Rosewater. Be our guest at the Autumn Gala.”

“I accept, Lord Collar.”

Stars, I want to kiss you again. In his eyes, she could see the same desire.

Our date, she thought. Then, they could spend all day together, would spend it together. And she could use the furor about today to hide her intentions. Quite neatly, in fact.

Author's Note

And that's it for the Commoner's Gala! I'm down to 4 chapters of buffer, so no more double-chapter posts for a while. Next week: Preparations.