Chris: I actually made this for an iRO fanfiction contest. And, yeah, I didn't win. Oh well. I just decided to post it on so I could get some pointers or tips. Oh, and this is kinda of like the prelude to another RO story I'm going to write….When I finish a fic.
Puppy Love
The dancer sighed as she sat on the floor. Today had been a hard day of performing to admiring audiences as she and her group traveled across Rune-Midgard, showing off their various skills. She turned to her partner, a Bard named Roland. The bard grinned at her tired expression.
"Tough day, huh, Mistel?" The bard twirled his guitar around him, plucking a few strings on it to make sure it was tuned. His sand-blond hair glistened with sweat as he brushed an arm over his face, wiping it with his sleeve. The dancer nodded at her partner, smiling slightly.
"Yeah….But at least we put on a good show, right?" Mistel's dark green hair shone like an emerald in the setting sun. Both of them were traveling in a wagon with their troop of performers. Their last visit had been in Prontera, where hordes of people had come, watching them work their magic with music and dance. Roland grinned, nodding his head.
"We sure did…I thought my hand was going to fall off because of all those handshakes. How many people were there?"
"Probably around the hundreds. Our best performance yet." Mistel smiled. Her blue glinted with laughter as she picked herself up and grabbed her robes. "I'm going to go wash up. We have another performance tomorrow, and I need to make sure I'm clean enough for it."
"Yeah, go ahead. I'll be there after you, okay? First I need to make sure these guitar strings are okay. I played them kinda rough this time." Roland mumbled under his breath, inspecting his guitar strings and plucking them at random intervals. Mistel looked back and smiled at his diligence. She walked towards the tent that the troupe used for washing.
Noticing that she had left, Roland sighed and put down his guitar. He leaned against the side of the wagon, thinking to himself. 'Another performance done…But why don't I feel satisfied…I played my best and the audience loved it.' Roland twiddled his fingers, trying to think of a reason. His gaze strayed to the tent that Mistel had walked into and he got his answer.
"Sigh…I guess I finally realize it. I'm in love with her. Every show, she is at my side, doing her best to compliment my playing skills. Eh…I guess I just admired that in her. And that admiration turned into love…" Roland picked up his guitar and began playing a few strings. "But I'm sure she won't fall for a guy like me…She probably likes that strongman, Tarmut. Stupid knight…."
"Who are ya talking to, Roland?"
"Whoa!" Roland nearly dropped his guitar as he spun around. He placed a hand on his heart, breathing a sigh of relief as he saw that it was only another one of the troop performers, a wizardress named Ryltia. She chuckled, her light-blue hair falling into her eyes.
"So…Betcha you were thinking of Mistel, huh?" Ryltia leaned closer to Roland, grinning.
"Wha…N-No I'm not!" Roland blushed and shook his head fiercely.
"Oh, you're not? Really? Not even a little?" The wizardress moved back, her tone like that of a young schoolgirl.
"W-Well…Fine! I was thinking of her! Happy!"
"Aw, you don't have to be so mad, Roland." Ryltia grinned. "You don't have to bother hiding it around us. We all know you like her a lot."
"H-How!" Roland eyes widened. He thought he kept his emotions and thoughts hidden very well.
"It was kinda hard finding out. Of course, it helped that you kept staring at her sometimes during dinner. And lunch. And breakfast. And after performances." Ryltian winked, wagging her finger at him. "I bet you've been thinking of naughty things. Bad, bad Roland."
"Ryltia! You know I don't do that! You're sick for even thinking of such a thing!" Roland turned around and was about to leave in a huff when she grabbed his shoulder.
"Relax!" She released Roland and opened her arms in a shrug. "I was just joking. Just watching out for my friends, you know. But I still can't believe she doesn't notice you like her. Sometimes she can be really dense." She shook her head sadly, but then brightened. "When are you going to tell her! I wanna be there!"
"Sometime…Later. And I'm not going to tell you where! I don't need a bunch of eyes gawking at me!" Roland turned and left, stomping off towards his tent. Ryltia snickered.
"Hehehe…" She left the tent as well and walked behind it, where a knight was standing. "Ready Tarmut? We don't want to mess this up! The rest of the party members want those two to finally confess their feelings too, ya know?"
The knight grinned, scratching his silver-gray hair. "Don't worry 'bout it. I've got it all set up. Come on, make sure Roland goes to the campfire and stays there, okay?"
"Got it!" Ryltia dashed off, heading in Roland's direction. Confident that the wizardress would get the job done, he walked towards Mistel's tent, where he saw her inside.
"Hello? Can I come in?" Tarmut peeked his head through.
"Huh?" Mistel looked up. After her shower, she had changed into more normal clothes, such as a blue skirt and a white blouse. "Oh, Tarmut! Come on in. What can I do for you?"
"Ah…Well, you see, it's about Roland…" Tarmut put on his best sorrow face and looked at the ground. "He's at the campfire…He's been hurt."
"What! What happened!" Mistel stood up, her eyes wide with fright.
"Well, as he was walking towards his tent, he felt into a pothole and sprained his ankle pretty badly. I think you'd better come see." Tarmut bowed his head even more, but this time it was so Mistel would be able to see his smile.
"Oh! Of course!" Mistel dashed off towards the campfire in the middle of the ring of tents, leaving Tarmut behind. Watching her run off, Tarmut smiled and chuckled. Now that his part of the plan had been fulfilled, he could only hope that Ryltia had accomplished hers.
-
At the campfire, Mistel rushed up to see Roland staring at the fire, sitting on a log nearby. He turned and saw her.
"Oh…Hi Mistel…" After that, he just went back to watching the fire.
"Roland? What's wrong? Someone said you were hurt!" Mistel's pace slowed and she sat next to Roland.
"Oh…I'm not hurt…" Roland mumbled. "Not hurt at all…Really…"
"Then what's wrong! You're acting really weird, Roland. Where's that cheerful bard that I knew?" Mistel looked at her partner with concern in her eyes.
"Nothing is wrong. Sigh…Actually, something is wrong." Roland kept looking at the fire and the ground, avoiding the dancer's gaze.
"Well, what is it?"
"It's…Dammit Mistel! I'm in love with you, okay! I just didn't know how to say it! I was going to tell you earlier today…But I saw you with Tarmut! I knew you liked him better than me…" Roland stood up, his eyes narrowing.
"W-What?" Mistel looked stunned. She stared at him for a while before stammering out, "B-But…R-Roland…"
"Don't say anything! I know that you like him better than me…And after I saved all of that money for your present…" Roland grimaced.
"P-Present?" Mistel stood up as well, reaching for Roland's hand. His expression softened for a while before hardening again and he tore his arm out of her grip.
"Hmph, yeah. Here you go." He pulled out a wreath made out of wild flowers and tossed it to her. She caught it, her face filled with wonder.
"Oh…A Puppy Love! Roland…You shouldn't have…"
"You're right! I shouldn't!" Roland glared at her again.
However, Mistel was finally getting tired of his accusing. "Roland, listen to me! I'm not in love with Tarmut!"
"Hah, that's what I though! Huh? Wait…What did you say?" Roland looked confused.
"I'm not in love with Tarmut, okay? I never was in love with him." Mistel looked at Roland, who was starting to blush at his behavior. "Actually…"
"Huh? What?" Roland looked up at Mistel, who lightly walked up to him.
"I'm in love with you." Mistel pecked Roland on the cheek and enfolded him in a hug. "Hehe…I can't believe it took us this long to get our feelings out…But I'm glad you feel the same way."
"T-Thank you, Mistel. I love you too…" Roland hugged her back, tears coming out of his eyes.
"Awww! How cute!"
"What was that!" Roland and Mistel leaped apart, frantically searching the area. Ryltia and Tarmut popped out, grinning.
"We knew it!" Ryltia grinned and slapped Tarmut on the back, who winked at Roland. Roland gave a groan.
"You guys!"
Chris: Well, review please! Tips and pointers will be appreciated. Flames will not.