Visiting the bar for some food before I book a room, I manage to spot Leo sitting at one of the barstools by the nicely furnished bar counter. I walk across the wooden floor and underneath the lavish gold chandelier that emits a faint orange glow across the room, making my way over to Leo as I weave passed a server holding a silver dish platter. As I get closer to Leo, I notice that he's writing a letter with a black pen, a glass of wine off to the side of his letter.

"Leo?" I ask softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Leo jumps in response and glances over his shoulder, sighing in relief upon seeing that it's just me.

"Oh, Rosaline," Leo sighs, turning back to his letter. "What do you want?"

"I just came to get some food and I happened to see you. I just thought maybe you'd like the company," I say, taking a seat beside him.

"What's this? Is someone becoming fond of me now?" Leo chuckles, briefly glancing over at me with an amused look on his face.

"Oh, shut it," I attempt to keep from smirking and cross my arms instead of shoving his shoulder playfully in fear of making him mess up his letter. "What're you writing?"

"A letter to my little brother," Leo says, going back to writing. "I always write to my family once every two weeks. They mean a lot to me."

"You have a brother?" I raise my eyebrows in surprise.

"Two brothers and two sisters, actually," Leo says. "I'm the middle child."

"That explains so much," I gasp teasingly and Leo rolls his eyes, making me chuckle. "In all seriousness, how old are they?"

"Adrian is ten, Anais is thirteen, Mishka is twenty-two, and Aleksi is twenty-four," Leo says. "All of them live back in Helena with my parents."

"I'm sure your parents are very proud of you, you know," I say softly.

Beside me, Leo's breath hitches at my words and he pauses in his writing before he continues, and I manage to tear my eyes away from him to order my food when the bartender gets to me. When I look back, I notice that he's writing again and I sigh, sinking into my thoughts so that I don't disturb him any further. When my food finally comes, I slide a bowl of soup over to Leo, who sits up straighter in surprise and looks at me questioningly.

"I haven't seen you eat anything since we left this morning," I say softly, feeling concerned for his well being. "I figured you could use something, so I ordered a bowl of soup for you. I hope you like chicken, noodles, and carrots."

"I..." Leo breaks his gaze away from me to look down at the soup I slid before him, "yes, thank you, Rosaline."

I smile at him and turn to my own meal, which is a bowl of cheese broccoli soup with some crackers on the side. I toss one of my cracker packs to Leo and he catches it effortlessly, sending me a small smile of gratitude, which I return.

After we finish eating, Leo picks up his letter and slides it into his back pocket, along with his pen. The two of us then head towards the front desk to book our own separate rooms. Selia told me that she was going to get a room and just order room service instead of going to the bar, so I'm sure she's already probably fast asleep by now.

"Excuse me," I say to the receptionist, who beams at me in return, her smile reaching her blue eyes. "I'd like to book a room."

"Sure thing," the receptionist says, moving to her computer, her ginger hair falling into her eyes so that she has to brush it away. "Let me see, we have one room available at the moment. It appears we're quite booked. Will that work for you both?"

"One room?" I blink, static filling my mind. "But—"

"It'll work, thank you," Leo says, reaching into one of his pockets to pull out a wallet before he begins to dig through it. "Charge it to my card."

Leo hands his card to the receptionist, who happily rings us up before she hands Leo his card back and moves to the counter behind her to grab us our room key.

"Here you go," the receptionist smiles. "Enjoy your stay!"

Leo puts his wallet back into his pocket and begins walking towards the elevator as if nothing about the situation concerns him, meanwhile, my mind is still currently malfunctioning.

"Leo," I start as I rush after him, struggling to keep up with his long strides, "you just paid for us both. Not to mention, it's a single room—"

"Most single rooms have two beds, if that's your concern," Leo says casually, pushing the button for the elevator.

"Last time I checked, that's not always the case," I say.

"What's the matter? Worried I'll take your magic in your sleep?" Leo glances over at me, raising a brow.

"Well..." I stammer, "not exactly. It's just..."

I trail off as the elevator arrives and I sigh, wondering if maybe it really isn't a big deal after all. We're both adults, anyway. I shouldn't be getting so embarrassed over sharing a room with him. Why exactly am I embarrassed in the first place? I mean, there's no denying that Leo is incredibly attractive, but...

"—the shower when we get there," Leo says.

"Sorry, what?" I blink, shaking myself out of my thoughts as I stand beside Leo in the elevator.

"I said, if you don't mind, I'm going to take the shower when we get there," Leo repeats.

"Oh," I shake my head, "sorry, no, go ahead. That's fine."

"You sure?" Leo raises a brow.

"Yeah, absolutely," I smile, glancing over at him and trying to appear reassuring.

"Alright..." Leo trails off, frowning slightly.

The elevator arrives to our floor and the two of us step out to walk to our room, the key in Leo's right hand. When we reach our door, which is red with gold numbers on it, Leo puts the key in the lock and pauses, his lips parting and closing in thought before he turns to look at me, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes serious.

"I hope they are, you know," Leo says softly.

"Sorry, what?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion.

"My parents, I hope they're proud of me," Leo says.

"Oh," I breathe out before I offer him a smile, moving to place a hand on his shoulder. "I know they are. They have to be. I mean, look at you."

"Yeah..." Leo breathes out, returning my smile. "Thank you, Rosaline."

With that, Leo unlocks the door to our hotel room and the smile I wore just a few seconds ago drops when I see that there's only one bed covered in blue sheets and white pillows. While the rest of the room is very nice, accompanied by a white chandelier and a circular blue rug, as well as a window along the far wall with tan curtains and a dresser that also has a TV mounted on the wall above it across from the bed, the fact of the matter is that there's only one bed.

"If you want, I'll sleep on the floor," Leo says we we enter the room.

"No," I frown, "you don't have to do that."

"Are you sure?" Leo asks, looking at me uncertainly. "You seemed really bothered by sharing a room, much less a bed. I wouldn't want you to be even more uncomfortable."

"No," I shake my head and smile at him, glad for his thoughtfulness, "I promise it's fine. Go take your shower. I'll get one in the morning before we leave."

"If you say so..." Leo trails off, still not convinced.

Leo unpacks his things before he goes to the bathroom, which is across from the bed off to the left, meanwhile I unpack my things and change into a large t-shirt and some shorts while Leo is in the bathroom. As I climb onto the bed and pull back the covers, my book from Freya in my right hand, I hear the sound of running water come from the bathroom and smile at the peaceful sound. I then settle into the bed and open the book, picking up where I last left off.

So far, what I've learned is that the woman who wrote this believed her specialist ability of light to be unique compared to most specialists. While all specialists are extremely powerful, she believed her magic was unique because it could not only cleanse impurities and heal but also cut through any obstacle in its path. Unlike most other magic, which grows in power the better you learn to use it, she believed her magic grew when she grew as a person, that her magic depended on her inner strength and her heart.

Any who wields this kind of magic must have the purest of hearts and the strongest of ambitions. Never give up on your dreams, the things you believe in, or the ones you believe in. Always believe that there is nothing that cannot be done. If you do, this magic will favor you. However, I believe that, just as how all magic is based on the soul of the wielder, if you have this magic, you were chosen by it for a reason.

But be aware, if you are able to control light, you are also able to control darkness, for there cannot be light without dark, nor dusk without dawn. Many do not know this about light magic users, but that is because they are so rarely come across in the first place, nor do many light magic users ever unlock their dark magic. Do not be fooled by the name— dark magic does not mean that it is bad, for the only bad magic is magic that is used wrongfully by its wielder.

"Dark magic, huh..." I mutter aloud. "I barely even know about my light magic, let alone dark magic."

I suppose now that I'm done monologuing I should explain how light magic works. Although, this is my journal, so it's only fair of me to write at least a little of myself into it. In any case, the first time I summoned my light magic was when I was five. I had summoned an orb into my hand in the kitchen when I was reaching for the cereal box on the counter. 

Not all specialists have the same capabilities when it comes to their magic, and even if they do, it doesn't mean they have to follow the same path. For instance, some specialists who use water magic only cast spells while others use weapons, and some use both. And some water magic users have different abilities in general than others. Therefore, I'm not entirely sure if you'll be able to do everything I'm able to do, but I'll attempt to try anyway. At the very least, you'll be able to use a magic weapon if you choose, and I'll include a lot of sections on those, as well as regular combat techniques in case you ever find yourself needing them. Which, if you have these powers, I believe you have a long and rather important journey ahead of you.

I'm about to turn the page when I hear the bathroom door open and I look up, my breath catching in my throat upon seeing Leo in nothing but a white towel as he stands in the doorway, steam rolling out behind him. Slung low around his hips, the towel does nothing to hide his sharp v-line, and my eyes flicker up his toned chest that shines with water droplets and to his face.

"What?" Leo blinks as he runs a hand through his hair, pushing back his black bangs and making his hair stay slicked back with water.

"I, uh, nothing," I stammer, quickly averting my gaze back to my book and feigning innocence as if I wasn't just staring him down.

"Sure..." Leo trails off, amusement in his voice.

I sneak another glance at him after a few moment and my eyes widen in surprise to see a black and white sprawling tattoo of a dragon silhouette on his back, the only piece of color in the tattoo being the eye of the dragon, which blazes an amber orange, reminding me of the way Leo's flames looked in the night as the light reflected onto his blue eyes.

"Leo," I breathe out, staring at the magnificent piece, "what's that?"

"What's what?" He asks, turning around with a pile of clothes in his hands.

As if entranced, I slowly place my book down and slide out of bed, making my way across the room to him.

"Turn around," I breathe out, my eyes meeting his.

Slowly, Leo complies, his breath hitching when I gently reach out and trace the tattoo with my right index finger.

"This," I say softly.

"It's a dragon tattoo," Leo says, turning his head to the side to somewhat glance at me over his shoulder. "My parents used to call me their little dragon because of my magic."

"It's beautiful," I smile, my eyes raking over the masterpiece.

"You should stop, you know," Leo says softly and I furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

"Stop what? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to overstep—" I start.

"You should stop trying to get close to me," Leo frowns. "It won't end well for you."

"I see..." I frown in return, realizing I've been becoming much more fond of him than I've intended, but also feeling hurt by his words.

"Anyway..." Leo clears his throat, turning around to fully face me before he backs up a bit. "I should probably uh, go get changed. You should get some rest, we have a long day ahead of us."

"Right, sorry," I laugh, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly. "Good night, then, Leo."

Leo offers a half smile before he turns around and heads back into the bathroom, and I slowly head back to the bed, the memory of his toned body under my fingertips burning throughout my mind for the rest of the night.