After seeing a number of really awesome Ristelle fics, I decided I wanted to try my hand at it. There aren't enough of em in my opinion. This is my first 'pairing' fic and I gotta say, it's been pretty fun coming up with everything. So if any of y'all enjoyed this first chapter, I'll gladly continue it. Oh and as always, reviews are appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Vesperia or any of its characters.

Chapter One: Rendezvous

In hindsight, Rita realized, perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to jump straight into another adventure without proper planning. By all accounts it had been a decent span of time since she and as she regarded them, her 'band of oddball and idiot friends', had saved the world. So much so that most of them had eased back into a relatively routine lifestyle. …If one could call doing odd jobs or killing hordes of monsters for a living normal.

Aside from Brave Vesperia and Raven's usual antics, Estelle had also long since settled in Halure. Eager to finally live her life according to the way she wanted. Now as for Rita herself, she had decided to embark on a pertinent mission to find the key to unlocking a very sustainable future. She had hopes of testing certain sedimentary rocks for combustibility. The mage had become so enraptured with her research of the Northern Peyoccia Plains, that she hadn't even realized just how long it had been since she had actually seen anyone. It wasn't until Judith had the sheer audacity to abruptly convene with her during an intense experiment, that it had dawned on her...

CREAK!

"...AH!" Rita yelped as she jumped back a bit on the Fiertia's deck.

After she straightened herself she quickly glanced around. "The hell was that!?" A sudden chuckle was heard as it accompanied someone's footsteps rounding the deck's corner.

The figure that came into view was none other than Judith. "I'm sorry, did I frighten you?"

Rita huffed, "No way! You just caught me off guard that's all." She then crossed her arms and glared right at her. Just as she predicted, Judith had that one specific damn smirk across her face. "...What, is that what you were aiming for?"

Her expression softened into one of concern. "Oh, no not at all, your reaction was cute is all."

"Tch, whatever," the poor girl couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed.

Judith crept over to the railing where she leaned over. Her gaze exploring the world as they flew by. "I was just wondering what it is that could be keeping you up at this hour. You're usually not one to make idle time."

"Well it's just..." Rita leaned back against the cabin.

A part of her wanted to voice her concerns over the immediate prospect that Judith had come to her about. ...That, and the guilt she had regarding a certain someone.

Earlier that day, Rita had been deep in her own private musings amidst a camp of fellow mages and members from Ruins' Gate. All of them with the plan of surveying the region's rock beds. Even though they were far from any other settlement, Judith had somehow still managed to locate her. A testament to her searching skills no doubt.

Judith had come to her with the prospect of going on a little journey of their own. The very same one they had once talked about doing that night in Aurnion, as something they could do after they had saved the world. A venture with the both them and Estelle, a chance to broaden their horizons when time finally permitted them to do so. Unfortunately, as she saw it, it was something only Judith had time for. But once Judith had informed her that she had already talked about it with Estelle beforehand, so she'd have time to prepare, Rita couldn't bring it to herself to say no. Especially not after hearing how excited Estelle was to hear that she'd be going too. Rita figured though that she would have to somehow get back at Judith for making decisions for her... And all Judith had said about their destination was that it was an island south of Hypionia.

"...it's just what?" Judith asked inquisitively.

Purely out of instinct, Rita turned her head to the side and brought her gaze down upon the deck.

'Should I just tell her I have no idea of what to say to Estelle after not visiting her for months? She must have been so disappointed even if her letters said otherwise... NO, no way. Judith would just get that damn smirk again if I told her, and she'd say something annoying along with it.'

She suddenly felt her face heating up. "...It's just I have no idea of what the hell type of rock I could be studying in a place you refuse to say jack about. That's all," Rita grumbled.

Judith's ears pointed down as she reassured her. "All shall be known in a couple of days."

Overhead, they could hear Ba'ul bellow.

Shifting her weight from the rails, Judith turned around to face Rita with a hand to the side of her head. "Ba'ul says he's sure you'll find figure something out sooner or later."

She brought her gaze upwards and merely scowled. "Great, so now the whale eavesdrops?"

"Well not always, but you'd be surprised at what he'll listen in on."

"Lovely. I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Rita said as she started to head back inside. "I'm going to try to get some sleep. Don't stay up too late yourself, as we'll be needing your expert directional skills come tomorrow."

"Alright I promise," she said softly.

Ba'ul gave his own 'good night' as Rita approached the doorway, causing her to jump again.

"You better not pull that crap while I'm trying to rest!" was all they heard as the door closed.

"Heh," she soon stretched and felt fatigue wash over her. "Things are going to get interesting, wouldn't you say old friend?" And not to her surprise, he gave his sentiments in a more acceptable fashion.

As luck would have it, the next day met them with fair weather. Blue skies with nothing but cumulus clouds dotting the sky. Ba'ul arrived around the outskirts of Halure sometime around midmorning, with his passengers departing eagerly into town.

No matter how many times the mage had visited Halure, the sight of the great tree never ceased to amaze her. Needless to say, by the time they were passing by the mayor's house, she was yet again engrossed in her own thoughts.

Catching Rita looking off into space, Judith decided to bring her back to reality by posing a sudden question on her. "The blossoms are rather romantic this time of year, wouldn't you say?"

"Well," Rita said, reigning her focus outward to respond, "I suppose so, if you're into that type of stuff anyway."

Slowing down her stride to match with the brunette's, the Krityan looked at her with a frown.

"Hmph, and here I figured that was what was on your mind."

"W-what? Why would something like that even be on my mind?"

Most of the time being with Judith was an easy affair. One could usually have nonchalant conversations with her that never really got too deep, but sometimes that easygoing attitude gave way to a very perceptive side. And Rita hated it.

Before Judith could respond, she quickly spoke up again, "I was just contemplating when I might find the time to study the great tree. It's hiding secrets and I intend to uncover them!"

In truth she really was thinking that over, but only to a small extent. No, what was really taking priority was a certain princess and her own heart rate. With each step her anxiousness grew, intensifying the guilt and other odd emotions that she had. Persistent odd emotions that time after time, she would try to ignore.

"In that case, I look forward to hearing about your finds," was all she said before casually turning her attention forward to the windy road roads before them.

A slight breeze passed by them, bringing the sweet scent of blossoms along with it, and that only furthered hindered the mage's attempts to put herself at ease.

'Ugh, only two more blocks...'

Knock! Knock!

From behind the door, they heard hurried footsteps accompanied by from what sounded, a few stumbles. Finally, for what seemed like an eternity to Rita, the big wooden door to Estelle's house opened.

Judith who was in front of her, was met with both a wide smile and a big hug. "Judith! It's so great to see you!"

"I hope it was nothing unfortunate that caused your delay here," Estelle said worriedly.

Casting her ears down with an amused look on her face, the Krityan couldn't help but smile. "But Estelle, I checked my logs earlier, we've arrived on time dear."

"Oh..." A sudden surge of embarrassment came over her, "Really?"

The older woman merely nodded.

"I guess in my excitement I forgot to keep track..!"

"Eh, it happens," the mage added with crossed arms from behind Judith. "Not like it matters since we-"

Not even half a second later, Rita was interrupted by a sudden bear hug.

"Rita!" Estelle's hold on Rita only tightened as she continued, "It's been far too long! I've missed you so much!"

The younger girl could only stand there with a bright blush across her face, as the Princess held her with an iron grip. There was no getting out of something like that.

"Sorry about that," she could barely breathe at this point, "I-I meant to visit earlier but a recent major breakthrough had me tied up..."

"It's okay Rita, you're here now and that's what matters!"

The mage was suddenly hit with déjà vu. "Yeah you're r-right." She could feel some of her pent-up guilt ease away just from Estelle's words.

The older girl released Rita once she had realized how long she'd been hugging her. Finally, the younger girl could breathe again.

Breaking the short silence, Judith stated,"We've been out here for some time, may we come in while you round-up what you need?"

"Oh, uh of course you can! I'm sorry for keeping you two out here like this!" The Princess then bowed apologetically.

"I suppose I can forgive you," she began with a faux serious tone, "if you were to help me decide on what foods to bring along. I plan to do a bit of shopping before we leave and any recommendations would help."

The pink-haired Princess who was expecting something much worse, happily agreed to her conditions. "I'd be delighted to lend you a hand!" Once Rita saw Estelle nodding seriously at helping Judith out, she couldn't help but bring a palm to her face. Estelle's naiveté truly knew no bounds.

Moving aside, Estelle gestured for them to come inside. "I can't wait to show you two what I'll be bringing with me."

The Krityan was the first to go through the doorway, "You've certainly piqued my interest Estelle, but remember, we can't take too much with us."

As soon as Rita entered the main hallway, she felt it was necessary to caution everyone, "Yeah bring too much junk, and there will be a problem. We have no damn room as it is."

"Junk?" She quickly followed up to them after closing the front door, "Wait, do you think we should tidy up the Fiertia?"

As they headed into Estelle's den, Rita took to sitting on the floor where some belongings were laying about, while Judith sat down on Estelle's couch. "Idiot," the mage sighed, "Things are fine as is, it's just the ship's cabin and cargo hold are small, and they are already holding things from Brave Vesperia's guild jobs. So that leads to us having a limited inventory this time around."

With a bizarre amount of enthusiasm, Estelle posed herself in such a way as if to prove something. "Well in that case, I promise not to be a burden and bring too much with me!"

Judith had to stifle a laugh at the sight, while Rita shook her head. "Never mind! You don't have to make a promise to something that would clearly never be a damn issue in the first place!"

Rita's words fell upon deaf ears as she remained standing, undaunted with firm resolve. "No matter what, I won't let you guys down!"

The blue haired Krityan was looking pretty amused at this point, " Heheh, I see we won't have to worry about limited amounts of motivation in the future."

The mage sighed heavily, "What the hell have I gotten myself into this time..."

Something was telling her that this escapade would be her most difficult challenge yet, in more ways than one.

AN: I hope everyone is in character. D: