Curse Breaker

The Rain Doesn't Sing

"In a dried land, namely, at the ends of a red scorching hell…"

"There was a mansion made of ice…"

"And I strongly wish to tell you an ancient story about it."

-EXEC_ FLIP FUSIONSPHERE

Plip… plip…

Two glistening beads of water trickled from the water pump and plopped into a little girl's tin bucket as she held it under the head trying to get some water. Impatiently, she waited for more water to come trickling out of the pump but no more came. Despairing, she grabbed the lever and roughly jerked it downwards, frantically pumping for more water.

"No… no… NOO!" She wailed forlornly and collapsed to her knees on the baked ground as the red sun beat down mercilessly on the desiccated land. A breeze wafted through the area but it was small comfort for the parched little girl, for it was tepid and carried the stinging sensation of desert sand. With a convulsive sob, the little girl threw her bucket and kicked the pump with unbridled despair mixed with fervid passion.

Water… it hasn't fallen here in over two years… the reservoirs… they were running out and the city of Sander was slowly dying…

A young man with mismatched eyes of differing shades of violet and black hair sauntered into the inn, the conditioned air a blessing after the scalding heat of outside. With a somnolent sigh, he flung his white coat off him and onto an empty stool at the bar. "Remind me not to wear a coat…" He mumbled dourly to himself and with a bored expression, looked up at the bar tender that was pouring a glass of hippocras- spiced wine for a cerulean-eyed woman with round glasses and lavender-tinged hair- the only other customer besides the young man. "Yo' granny…" He called out to her indolently. That instantaneously got the woman- Vapor's attention. The only thing she hated more than the fact she was old was when rude young punks like this man called her out on it. She didn't even look that old for the El Lady's sake!

"Watch your mouth mister- what's your name?" She retorted churlishly and accepted the cocktail the bartender before taking a generous quaff from the flute. She frowned and casted a black look at it. "No ice…" She muttered in an undertone to herself. "My name is Add Vertizemont." Add snipped back, just as chafed at the woman's brusque tone as she was about his age comment. "Advertisement?" The woman replied lazily and pushed up her glasses, her eyes narrowed in a complacent expression. Add flamed ruddier than the desert sun before regaining his composure and with a petulant snort, acidly rebukes the woman's taunt. "Not Advertisement! It's Add Verti- Oh screw it! Stupid people like you don't get it!" He huffed indignantly and flagged down the bartender. "Can I get some scotch?" He queries with a truculent expression. The bulky frame of the dark-skinned bartender glowered suspiciously at him. "Can I see some ID?" Add pursed his lips together in an embittered frown and placed his white hat on the countertop.

"Come on man? Can't you humor me?" He enquires in a whining tone. The barman shakes his head and crinkles his forehead, his heavyset black eyebrows forming a dangerous frown. "Underage drinking is against the law." He replied firmly and reached under the counter, pulling out a tattered rag. With a loud ptooh! he spat on the varnished cedar and starts to polish it. Scrunching his nose, Add scooted his chair away from the counter. "Do you see any-" He begins but is cut off by a withering glare from the bartender.

"Drop it kid."

Vapor chuckled softly and with an incensed expression, Add whipped his head towards her. "What's your problem granny?" He spits vehemently and narrowed his eyes. With an airy wave of her hand, Vapor replied, "Ah… it's just rich to see kids like you who think they're cock of the walk get told off. Seriously, kid… you have no right to be calling anyone stupid here. Like really? You're not even wearing proper desert clothing." She jeers and takes another draft of her beverage. Despite himself, Add could not help the pink tinge that blushed his ears. "I'm not from around here." He snaps cantankerously and folds his arms, sticking his nose up in the air with a mien of affronted dignity.

"That's obvious kiddo…" Vapor drawls and leans back in her seat. A low growl escaped from Add's throat and he bared his teeth in a fervid scowl. "Stop calling me kid… grandma." He scoffs mordantly and attracts the bartender's attention. "Can I have some frozen hot chocolate?" He asked and blows his bangs away from his eyes. The bartender shakes his head and points at Vapor's half-empty glass. "Do you see any ice in there?" He inquires rhetorically. Add released a soft hiss and was about to ram his fist against the counter in frustration, but he remembers the bartender's spit polishing and decided not to.

"Why not?" Add griped and allowed a choleric glare to drift around the empty bar. "Water is scarce… I can't make things with ice." The bartender grunted and shrugged his shoulders apologetically. Add gawked incredulously at him. "Why not?"

The bartender grimaced and looked up to the ceiling, making a motion to ward off evil he explains the city's plight to the rather peeved Add.

"Sander hasn't received rain in two years… the reservoirs only have about ten percent remaining in their stocks. We've already had to cut off water supplies to several smaller towns and villages out there… you should see it. It's a series of ghost towns out there."

Add groaned disparagingly and placed his cap back on his head. "Great… just great… so I traipse all the way out here for nothing?" He grumbled dourly and drew a thin line on his face. "What were you even here for anyways? You look to be from the western lands." The bartender observed and gave Vapor a fleeting look.

Add heaved a noisy sigh and rolled his eyes. "I'm a mercenary slash explorer of sorts. Ya' know? I travel the world looking for work and such… I had to come to the eastern lands because everything is all nice and cozy in Rurensia and I figured I'd sniff around for some work here before making way to Fahrmann." He stated in a sing-song tone and restlessly fidgeted around like an ADD case.

"Peace is not a bad thing." The bartender says in a philosophical tone and wipes the sweat off his brow. Add chortled humorlessly at the man's words.

"It is when you make your living off settling conflicts." He replied tartly.

"Huh…" The bartender said with a deliberate nod of his head.

"Can I get some juice then?" Add asks and studied his nails with a detached expression. The burly bartender nods, "Without ice-"

"I know." Add crisply interjected.

"What kind?" The bartender probed, ignoring Add's peremptory remark. Add shook his head and held his hands up. "I don't care… I'm dead thirsty and from the sounds of it… I want to preserve what water remains in my flask." The bartender nodded approvingly and scurried off to pour the young man a glass of juice. "Will orange juice be fine?" He called from the back of the room.

"Sure…" Add sighed and flips his long bangs away from his left eye, only to have them drift back into his line of vision, obscuring it. Vapor, who had been interested in the conversation despite her detached expression leaned towards Add with a peculiar expression on her face- the expression of one who knows something and is eager to share it.

"You looking for work kid?" She queried and drained the rest of her glass. Add balked at the use of the "k" word again, but he bit back the angry retort that's on the tip of his tongue and he nodded. "Yeah…" He replied. Vapor smirked broadly and opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the arrival of the bartender who came carrying a sizeable glass of orange juice. "Here you go." He said and placed the glass down in front of Add, who inclined his head slightly to acknowledge the drink. "Thanks…" He said and took a sip.

"I'll be in the back of the room if you need me." He stated, to which Add replied with an indifferent flex of his shoulders. "Ok…"

"Well… if you want to make a little money, this prospect should interest you." Vapor continued once the bartender had left. Add, noting her unwillingness to talk about the "prospect" in front of the bartender, narrowed his eyes suspiciously and cocked his head to the side. "Why did you wait?" He pressed. Vapor's eyes widened, not quite understanding.

"Why did you wait until he left?" Add clarified and jerked his thumb to the back of the room. Vapor let out a sharp bark of laughter and she rolled her eyes with a crooked smile on her mouth. "Because these people here are simpleminded folk and this particular issue has been the cause of a great deal of ludicrous superstition and foolish dogma. You aren't afraid of ghosts are you?" She teased. Add snickered at such a silly idea. Him? Afraid of ghosts? As if.

"Course not. So what's the task and who do I need to contact to make an arrangement so I can get my money?" Add enquired eagerly and made eye contact with the lavender-haired elder to let her know she had his undivided attention. Vapor tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and launched into detail about the mission.

"Well… in the desert near the outskirts of town… there is this mansion encased in ice-"

"How can a mansion in the desert be encased in ice?! It's like a motherfuckin' two hundred degrees out there!" Add interrupted with an impassioned note of astonishment in his voice. He clearly remembered how he nearly suffered a heat stroke out there.

"Shut up! Who's telling the story here?" Vapor snapped and crossed her arms, looking rather put out. "Sorry…" Add muttered with an embittered note in his tone.

"Ok… so like I was saying before you interrupted me (Kid's these days have no respect), there is this mansion encased in ice. Well… people believe that it is cursed and stay full well away from it which is rather unfortunate because of all the ice surrounding that place. Why… with that amount of ice Sander could replenish its reservoirs which could buy us at least another year! But… superstitious fools think there's a ghost there and refuse to go near it." Vapor explained, sounding irked.

"Is there a ghost?" Add enquired dubiously and took another sip of orange juice. He expected Vapor to violently repudiate the question, so it was much to his surprise when she just merely flexed her shoulders.

"Who knows? People have reported seeing a porcelain-skinned girl dressed in white fur with amber eyes and blue hair, but that could just be a mirage conjured by the heat." Vapor responded and took her glasses off, looking at them with a contemplative expression.

"So… let me guess… There's this person out there who's willing to pay someone to go check out the mansion and see if it's cursed? And if it is, the person has to break the curse." Add stated in such a matter-of-fact tone that he made it sound like a statement, not a question. Vapor nodded, trying hard not to let her impressed feeling show through.

Maybe this boy can break the curse we've all been suffering from…

"Indeed… you should contact Emirate… he's the city's mayor and the one to call about matters such as this." Vapor advised and Add nodded his head in agreement with her words.

"Perfect." He said with a self-satisfied grin and downed the rest of his orange juice, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a couple of silver coins.

"I know what I'm doing now." He added as he placed the coins on the counter and grabbed his coat. "Thanks Granny!" He flung over his shoulder as he left the bar. A vein throbbed in Vapor's neck and with juddering hands, she rubbed her forehead. "Don't mention it." She spat out in between clenched teeth.

The walls of the meeting room where Emirate met his visitors were painted in the ubiquitous white while the mosaic-tiled floors were an eggshell blue. The windows were cleverly glazed, so as to allow sunlight without admitting in unnecessary heat and a flowering cactus plant decorated the cypress desk that Emirate sat across from Add at. Emirate himself was an impressive figure with toned muscles, a well-defined frame, tanned skin, and thick russet brows and a beard. He carried himself with zeal and confidence and it was blindingly clear to Add as to why he was the mayor during these troubled times. It would take someone with strength of character to keep this city together when everything seemed to be falling apart.

"So you'll check out this cursed mansion, you say?" The mayor inquired and cocked a dubious eyebrow at Add who nodded, looking thoroughly exasperated. "Yeah… got a problem with that?" He drawled flippantly and scooted around in his chair. Emirate snorted and allowed a smile to creep across his face. "No I don't… I'm just surprised, everyone else I tried to send runs away screaming, like the very devil is after them." He replied lightly.

Add sniggered, "Sissies…" He taunted under his breath.

"But yes… I do want to thank you for volunteering to undertake this mission Advertisement." Emirate stated in a deferential tone and bowed his head. Add groaned loudly and face palmed himself. "It's Add Vertizemont… Vertizemont…" He snarled and crossed his arms, looking piqued.

"Ah… I apologize Add… Very well… you have our city's thanks…" Emirate apologized and drew in a deep breath before exhaling. Add snorted acrimoniously and adjusted the hat on his head. "If you'd really want to thank me… you'd pay a large amount of dough…" He sassed and scratched the back of his head. The mayor nodded and spread out his hands, palms-up. "Of course… if you succeed, I shall allow you access to whatever you need in the city's storage vault to continue your travels and about ten million ED… Never say I wasn't generous." He added those last five words with a smile upon seeing the flabbergasted expression on Add's face.

Finally at a loss for words, Add nodded numbly and stood up. Ten million ED! That was more than he made in twenty missions put together! "Th-thanks… Uh… can I have a map?" He enquired distractedly and looked around the room. Emirate nodded and opened a drawer behind his desk, pulling out a folded sheet of paper. "Here you go." He said and handed the sheet to Add who took it after a moment's start.

"Ok… great…" Add mused and bit his tongue, unfolding the sheet of paper and scrutinizing the map with a critical eye. "Oh hey… you have it marked! That's a great help." He noted and set the map down on the desk, tracing the route with his finger. "Yes, of course we do… people from the city go to observe it at a distant and occasionally, a mischievous ragamuffin gets a little too close and comes back gibbering nonsense about some girl they saw." Add nodded, just barely registering that piece of information and quickly calculated the distance in his head.

Let's see… if this is accurate… and if this… and say I don't get held up… it should…

"It should take me about three days to get there…" Add recited out loud and folded the map back up, tucking into his pants pocket. "Is there anything you need?" The mayor queried and folded his hands contemplatively. Add shook his head and with a roguish smirk, he replied. "Naah… I'm cool. I got the water I need and I can't think of anything else I need save for my Nasod Dynamos which are right here." At the word "here" he patted the white leather knapsack he had slung over his shoulder.

"I wish you the best of luck." Emirate said solemnly and bowed his head. Add laughed gaily and rolled his eyes. "I don't need luck… this should be a piece of cake!"

With those words… he left and started his journey to the mansion encased in ice…

And that concludes Ch1 out of my two-shot! I felt the compulsive urge to write an Add x Eve fic when I first saw those two together… and now… I have gotten off my lazy arse and done it :D This story is based off the beautiful song "EXEC_ FLIP FUSIONSPHERE" and my goodness! That song is just so gorgeous I had to write a FF based off it. Another note is that Add and Eve's appearance is going to be irregular, so the cover showcases what they look like… I don't know about how I characterized Add… he seems a little too mellow but… *Sighs* I gave it my best shot… Leave a review to let me know what you thought! The romance in this is pretty light… but it's only a two-shot… I don't like to rush… and I think next chapter will be pretty long… next chapter will come after an update for Your Typical (Not) Fairy Tale and Yami No Tsurugi… There… everything will end and it may or may not surprise you :D I support Add x Eve and I think it's underrated… sure… Add needs to see a therapist before he starts dating… but that's true for all of his pairings that he needs counseling… and besides… people can change… I think it's that dynamic that makes Add x Eve so interesting… how blind hate, rage, and lunacy turns into grudging admiration, and then respect, and then… LOOOVEEEE! *Throws heart shaped confetti all over the place* That concludes my incessant rambling! Remember… flames will be frozen XD

*NOTE* FF is being a prick and the image manager is bugging out... so here's a quick rundown of the appearances in case I don't get the cover uploaded soon... Add is wearing the Elrios Salvation Army outfit (I believe that is what it's called... it's that white military-looking outfit where the girls have those ridiculous hats and they were wearing red while the males were wearing white) and Eve is wearing the Glacial set... hope that helps... and I pray that FF stops its humongous levels of derp :L