HE CAME ON AND I GOT ON MY BOOTS AND JACKET HE GRABBED MY HAND IN HIS AND WE STARTED DOWN THE SNOW COVERED TRAILS JUST WALKING HAND IN HAND LOOKING AT...THE ICE HANGING FROM THE TREE LIMBS IT WAS JUST BARELY DUSK AND SO PRETTY WE WERE HOPING TO COME TO A CLEARING TO BE ABLE TO WATCH THE SUNSET. WE GOT TO THE CLEARING JUST AS THE SUN STARTED GOING DOWN AND ALL THE COLORS IN THE CLEAR SKY WERE SO BEAUTIFUL. HE PULLED ME DOWN ONTO A LARGE TREE THAT HAD FALLEN AND WE SAT UPON IT WATCHING THE SUN FALL. That’s nice, but they were... grabbing. I hate them. I hate them all. And I hate Mom for doing this.”“Are you sure it was your mmom. I mean, you know what The Christmas Ball is like. We both should have known and maybe even expected this.”She shook her head. “No. I’m certain this is Mom. It’s who was asking that makes me sure. I expected to dance with maybe Kevin and the others, but these guys...” She shuddered again. “Come on.” She grabbed my hand. “Let’s get our coats and go before anyone. She was trying to get a boy's attention, and he didn't know me, so she started kissing me right in front of him. He apparently didn't care enough about her to say anything. The kiss just went on and on, until she pulled away from me breathless. We were never apart that whole summer, wherever I was, she followed and vice versa."Dad and George gave each other a high five, until Mom's glare caused all of us to get quiet.She got up and took some plates to the sink; Melissa got up to help her, as. “I want to live. I choose to accept your offer, and discover if I can live without devouring humans.”Bells cheered, her bells ringing noisily as she attacked him with a delighted hug from behind, making them both almost fall. As Eigis growled and tried to twist free, Lady Death Eyes dipped her head solemnly, acknowledging his decision and hiding a smile at her daughter’s antics.“Good,” Even Hiryu sighed in relief, although he couldn’t say exactly why, only that he remembered something Bells had.