A Ragnarok Online fanfiction by Magus LaFlamme
"Heal Clip"
•+•+•+•+•+•+
Disclaimer: Ragnarok Online does not belong to me. It is the legal property of Gravity Corp. and Lee Myung-jin.
•+•+•+•+•+•+
December 24…
Prontera was quickly becoming anxious as the first signs of Christmas slowly introduced itself to the adventurers of Rune-Midgard. The streets were more crowded than before – shops and stalls were sprouting everywhere like fresh mushrooms after a thunderstorm, and they were selling all sorts of goodies, ranging from Tentacles to the mightiest of armors. People gathered around them to see what they can give to their loved ones this coming Christmas, and goods began flying off the shelves and carts faster than a low DEX spell caster could cast a maxed-out Soul Strike.
Amongst the crowd of civilians and warriors was a pink-haired mage named Lady Aduka. Her crystal blue eyes looked with longing at the items that the merchants were selling to those who can afford them. Although she wasn't exactly a noob when it comes to the world of adventure, she still considered herself a noob when it comes to money-making. Not every monster is weak against Fire Bolts and Soul Strikes, and even if they were, she'd have a hard time killing them, due to the fact that she often trained alone!
The brown backpack that was hoisted on her left shoulder limply swung against the chill December breeze – it used to be overflowing with Red Potions and other healing stuff. But because she often trained alone in the wilderness, they all ended up being chugged down just minutes after she bought them at the shops. Her Poring-shaped pouch – which contained roughly 10,000 zeny when she first began adventuring – now contained only 100 zeny.
She sighed in disappointment. She was the embodiment of a weakling: pathetic, alone and broke.
Feeling sorry for herself, Lady made her way to the benches alongside the central fountain and sat, knees hugged closely to her chest, and her chin resting in between them.
Pity. Anger. Disappointment. Fear. Isolation. Depression. Not exactly the emotions that should be felt during the holiday season…
The gentle snow seemed to agree with that statement, as they beautifully rained down on the capital city. Its grace made everyone stop, looked up and smiled in awe.
Too bad she never noticed them.
•+•+•+•+•+•+
Her state wasn't left unnoticed. A nearby acolyte noticed her as he was shopping for some supplies along the sidewalk. He felt that she was feeling down – call it instinct, but it was inborn among all acolytes. They can sense whether a person is in trouble or in dire need of help.
It must've came from being a support person and all that stuff…although he wasn't planning to be one. He wanted to be a strong Monk someday.
After paying for his brand-new Fire Sword mace, the brown-haired, hazel-eyed acolyte walked towards the bench she was sitting on, and made his presence by heavily sitting down on the cold metalwork. The force made Lady jump slightly, and she raised her head to see the culprit.
"Hi," the acolyte greeted.
"H-hi." She greeted in return, and went back to feeling all depressed. Why is this person talking to me? She asked mentally.
Why is this person not talking to me? People say I made people talk to me easily all the time. My charm must be disappearing! The acolyte told himself mentally as well, and so he tried to strike a conversation with the mage. She's cute…if she'd only lose the frowning expression. It ruins her image…
"So…are you with somebody?"
"No…"
"You mean you're all alone?"
"Yeah."
"Okay…" The acolyte looked around in hopes that he will find a thing to discuss. The falling snow successfully got his attention. "The snow's really pretty this year."
Lady just nodded, not getting why the acolyte was talking to her. She silently sat there, listening to every word he's saying, commenting about the beauty of the city during the holidays. Pretty soon she was dozing in her seat, not caring if he was still talking. After all, she wasn't interested to begin with.
"…and so – hey, are you alright?" The acolyte noticed her sleeping, and gently shook her shoulders in order to wake her up. "I must be pretty boring, aren't I?"
Lady rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry; it's just that I'm tired from all the training that I've been doing for the past few weeks. It's hard to level all by myself…plus the fact that I'm broke." She motioned to her bag, which was lifelessly sitting beside her. "I can't buy any more healing items. It looks like I'm stuck at being a mage…"
"Is that so? Hmm…if you like, I'll support you for free! I know a good place to gain experience quickly! What do you say?" he offered, looking at her expectantly.
She blinked. "Huh?"
"I train at the Glast Heim Graveyard; it's filled with undead monsters and is a good place for honing your skills. I can take you there and support you until you become more powerful. All you have to do is to launch a Soul Strike attack at those creeps until they perish!" Without further ado, he stood up from his spot and took a gemstone out of his robe pocket. Holding the gem in between his fingers, he muttered an incantation and threw it on the ground. Within seconds, a portal appeared before them, its bright aura shining for all the people to see. "Let's go!"
The mage looked hesitant, and never left her seat. Glast Heim? She heard from all the other adventurers that it was only for those who were powerful enough to enter. She wasn't powerful at all! There's no way she can survive in there!
"But, but I'm not that strong enough to go to Glast Heim!" She cried, clutching her four-slotted Rod tightly.
He chuckled and shook his head. "Nonsense! That's what I'm here for…let's go!"
That's what I'm here for…those words struck something into Lady's heart. Suddenly, she felt relieved and light-hearted.
It must be because she's not alone anymore…
…it must be because he promised that he won't abandon her…
The acolyte extended his hand, waiting for her to accept it, which she did with gratitude – and they stepped into the warp portal together, and vanished without a trace.
•+•+•+•+•+•+
True to his words, the acolyte stayed with her throughout the time they were in Glast Heim, and usually they'd share the same enemy – he'd whack it with his sword mace while she would attack with a Soul Strike from afar. They shared screams and laughter as they ran away from raging Hunter Flies and exchanged battle cries as they ran after Ghouls and Zombies.
All the priests who were there smiled at the pair, seeing how happy they were. Occasionally, someone would cast all the necessary buffs on them in order to make their training easier.
And along the way, they manage to know each other better…
"Thanks for accompanying me…what's your name?"
"Huh? Oh…it's Arcite. What's yours?"
"It's Lady Aduka."
"Lady Aduka – nice name! Whoa, watch out behind you!"
Soul Strikes started flying and beatings can be heard. Zombies and Ghouls dropped dead one by one, as they worked together to get stronger.
"Why aren't you using your healing skills like the other priests and acolytes here?" she wondered.
"Because I'm not going to be a priest."
This statement surprised her.
The acolyte beamed with pride. "I wanted to be a strong Monk. How about you?" Another undead creature, this time a Wraith, appeared behind them, and Arcite managed to whack the creature with his sword mace. Lady helped him kill the monster, talking to him while doing so.
"I wish to become a skilled sage someday. I wanted to know more about the elements and how to use them to help people."
"I see…I know you can do it, Lady. That is a wonderful aspiration."
With the last whack and the last Soul Strike orb given, the monster met its demise, leaving the mortal world with a hair-raising cackle. Pleased with their performance together, both mage and acolyte regarded each other with a silent gesture of admiration – a smile.
He took out another gem from his pocket.
"Let's go back to Prontera."
She nodded. "Okay."
•+•+•+•+•+•+
Once again they were back at the same bench where they met before. For a few minutes they talked, reminiscing about their escapades in the graveyard. Gone were the hostility and discomfort that both felt earlier. After all of the events that had taken place, Arcite and Lady Aduka learned to like each other's company.
Night descended onto the place, Christmas lights started to illuminate the streets of Prontera and Christmas carols filled the cold December air. The atmosphere gave Arcite an idea.
"Wait here," he told the mage.
He stood from his seat and was lost among the crowd of shoppers and tourists. The mage patiently waited for his return, and pretty soon he was back…with a clip in one hand.
"This is for you." He said, handing the accessory over to her.
She studied the item curiously. Lady looked at Arcite, clueless. "A…clip?"
He tsk-ed, wagging his index finger as if reprimanding her.
"Not just a clip. It's a Heal clip. You mentioned earlier that you had a hard time training because you don't have the money to buy all those potions. With this, you won't be worrying about that anymore."
What he said made her speechless. "Why I…"
He took it from her hands and attached it onto her hair. "It looks good on you, unlike me. Consider it as my pre-Christmas present."
"Oh, Arcite…" Lady surprised him by giving him a rare smile – one that came from the heart. "Thank you. This is the best pre-Christmas gift that I received in my entire life."
"Now it's much easier for you to become a sage," he commented. "Let's meet again once we turn into our dream professions, alright? Same city, same bench, same date." He extended his right pinky finger, urging her to do the same.
She extended hers and wrapped it around his gloved finger. "Promise."
The scene was so beautiful – the snow gently falling upon them, the cheerful atmosphere, the glowing lights…
It was a night to remember.
"Next year?"
"Next year."
•+•+•+•+•+•+
A year later…
Up until today, she still remembered that promise. And she lived up to it – after a rough year of training and taking tests, Lady Aduka was officially a Sage.
The Heal clip that Arcite gave her that fateful day was still attached to her hair, and it became her standard accessory no matter how many times she changed her equipments. It never left her hair; it was always seen clipped at the right side of her head.
She fulfilled what she told him when they went training at the graveyard – Lady already mastered the elements and aided random adventurers in their travels by enchanting their weapons with the right element. She assisted fellow spell casters in defeating enemies with her ground enchantment spells. And just like Arcite, she aided weaker jobs by supporting and healing them.
The chill air blew gently all over the plains of Geffen, where she was recuperating after a heavy battle with a group of Kobolds. A single snowflake escaped from the soft borders of the clouds and slowly fell down – landing on one of Lady's open, gloved palms. "Christmas is coming again," she told herself.
It's the fateful day when she and Arcite promised to see each other again.
It's the day when she received her first clip…
They'll see each other again soon…It's time that she gave something to him in return…and she had an idea on the perfect gift.
Rising to her feet, she marched towards the gloomy gates of Glast Heim, her mind set on that purpose.
First, she must earn a decent amount of zeny for it…
•+•+•+•+•+•+
Glast Heim Sewers.
This is where she frequently trains in order to hone her skills. Stings (Earth monsters with fairly expensive loots) and Gargoyles (long-range monsters with also fairly expensive loots) dominate this place. The moment Lady Aduka arrived, she immediately called upon the Energy Coat spell in order to protect herself. A violet aura surrounded her body, protecting her from physical attacks near and far.
Lady touched the Heal Clip on her head for good luck – a habit she developed after the acolyte gave it to her. It always proved effective. "Now I'm ready."
But before she could even get started, a shrill cry pierced through her concentration.
Not far from where she was standing, a male mage was running in terror from two Stings. He casted Fire Wall after Fire Wall at them, but it wasn't enough to hold them back. The poor kid kept on running, when he tripped on a loose rock and fell face-first onto a wandering Gargoyle. "CRASH!"
Of course, the winged creature wasn't happy with what he did. The monster pushed the mage off and aimed his Silence Arrow at him, while from behind the two Stings were eager for the kill…
He went pale – this was it, his demise. "HELP!!"
Suddenly, a pink barrier appeared from underneath him, blocking the attack that the Sting launched from behind. "What the?!" The mage saw the pink-haired sage standing a few feet away, hand extended in a casting fashion.
"Now's your chance! Attack them!" she cried. He nodded fiercely.
"Fire Wall!" he shouted, injuring the earth creatures in rapid succession, which gave him ample time to cast a painful, maxed-out Fire Bolt. Meanwhile, Lady Aduka took care of the meddling Gargoyle by sentencing him to death with a maxed-out Earth Spike. She kept on casting Safety Wall on the poor mage until the gloved mud freaks were defeated. "Phew. Glad that's over," he sighed with relief.
The pretty sage ran over to him, to see if he's alright.
"That was quite a mob. It's good you're still alive!"
"Yeah…it's all thanks to you, miss. Thank you for saving me." He tried to stand straight, but the pain in his ankle won't allow him to do so. Taking a deep breath, Lady extended her palms at him and in an instant, his ankle was healed.
"Does it still hurt?" Her tone was filled with concern.
The mage was amazed. "Wow, a Heal clip!" he exclaimed, sparkles present in his eyes in admiration. A big sweatdrop formed on the back of her head, and she chuckled.
"Yep, I guess you're alright. Be careful next time, okay?" she told him. "And just to make sure…" Lady reached for the inside of her backpack (yep, the same backpack as before) and took out ten blue gemstones. "Here."
The mage took them gratefully, and held them close to his chest. "Thank you, ma'am!"
She winked. "Think of it as a pre-Christmas present. Bye!"
And with that, Lady Aduka walked away in search of expensive relics to sell; while behind her the lucky mage waved and thanked her again and again. A smile was etched onto her lips…ah, it feels so good to help others in need, she thought.
She looked over her shoulder and gave the male mage a glance, her smile growing even more as he casted Safety Wall onto himself to protect himself from a newly-spawned Sting.
I was just like him a long time ago…
•+•+•+•+•+•+
After that incident, Lady Aduka proceeded with her objective – to collect as many relics as possible to sell in order for her to buy that special Christmas gift for Arcite. She killed dozens of Stings and Gargoyles, collecting their drops every time they were successfully extinguished. Oftentimes, she would get slotted Ribbons and various sorts of arrows. But it was much to her delight whenever she would get Gloves and Bow Thimbles – they cost a fortune when sold at the cities.
She had collected tons of loots that her backpack couldn't contain them all. The petite sage was starting to stagger underneath the weight of her things. Panting, she sat on the mossy pavement and took out a single Butterfly wing.
"Time to go back to Prontera and sell all of these!" She told herself. Lady crumbled the delicate wing in her palm and threw it in the air, watching as the powder fell onto her like soft confetti. It landed on her head, shoulders and body…
…and she quickly vanished in a flash of light.
•+•+•+•+•+•+
Prontera looked the same as it did a year ago – with the same starry night sky, the same Christmas lights and the same Christmas carols filling the atmosphere. Lady waltzed through the bustling crowd in order to reach the central part of the city – to the bench where she promised to meet Arcite once she became a sage.
The Butterfly Wing brought her back to her save point in the southern part of the city, that's why it took her a long time to get to the promised meeting place. Along the way, she sold all her loots to fellow adventurers until she gained enough money to purchase her secret gift. She was about to sell her Ribbons too, when she heard a faint plea for help…
"Please spare me a little amount of your zeny…I need it to buy some healing items…" A young novice was pleading to every single adventurer, tugging at their clothes gently in order to get their attention, not far away from the central park. She was all cold and slightly dirty, probably from her traveling, and noticeably famished. Others would take pity on her and give her some items, while the other unmerciful ones would shove her aside and say rude remarks at her.
"Get out of my way!" A male knight gruffly told her, and let his long brown cape hit her on the face when she fell down. The novice was on the verge of crying when the sage approached her.
The sage knelt beside her. "Don't cry...it's going to be okay," Lady said, patting her shoulder.
She sniffed, unable to hold back her feelings. "I'm not lying…I really need them so that I can change into my first job…they won't believe me," the poor novice croaked, tears already falling from her eyes. "They say I'm just a fake."
"I believe you," the pink-haired lady assured her, and handed the novice her remaining Ribbons. "You can sell these if you like, or you can use them as headgear. They're all slotted, so you can still put some cards in them. Don't cry now…"
The female novice wiped her tears with the back of her pink gloves and took the Ribbons from Lady Aduka. She smiled broadly at the sage, and much to the surprise of the former – she gave her a big hug.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she chanted over and over. Lady giggled at her display of gratitude and hugged her back. "Use them wisely now, okay?" Not content with her gift, she dug through the same Poring-shaped pouch and handed her 100,000 zeny. This made the novice squeal with glee and hug her even more – until she can't breathe.
"Okay, okay that's enough!" the sage cried. "Can't – breathe – here!"
"Oops, sorry miss sage! I was just…sniff…I wish there were a lot of people like you in this world…"
She said nothing at this and just smiled. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas too, miss sage!" The novice chirped, and Lady managed to cast a Heal spell on her before she ran off to the nearest item shop. She was watching her go, her expression nostalgic…when she heard a chuckle from behind.
"How I envy that novice."
•+•+•+•+•+•+
That voice! The sage abruptly stood up and turned to face the source of that remark. Sure enough, there was Arcite…now a fully-pledged monk. His head was covered with the hood of his coat, and on his torso she could see the trademark insignia of the Monk guild engraved onto his belt buckle. His features matured over the times that passed – a sign that he had accomplished what he was looking for in his travels.
"Long time no see, Arcite," Lady Aduka greeted, smiling warmly.
Arcite took off his hood and combed his hair with his fingers. "You haven't forgotten our promise."
"Of course!" she beamed proudly. Then she remembered something. "Wait here, I'll be right back!"
The monk watched her scurry among the merchants' wares and squealed after finding what she was looking for. He scratched his cheek with one finger in amusement as she paid for the merchandise quickly – and jogged towards him. His eyes widened in surprise when she saw the thing nestled on top of her palms.
"This is for you." She proclaimed.
He was speechless. "It's…a Fire Fist."
She smiled proudly. "Yep, I figured that you need one of these, now that you're a monk. It's my Christmas gift."
"I…" Before he could mutter another word, Lady handed the weapon to him, and he stared at it for a long time. "Thank you…" he managed to say.
"You're welcome…" Lady looked at the ground, blushing. "It's also my 'thank you' gift…you don't know how many times your Heal clip saved me -"
She did not finish her sentence because he suddenly hugged her, the fire fist still clenched in his hands. Words were not spoken while they stayed in that position for a long time, as the snow gently fell from above, blanketing the surroundings with a soft layer of white. In their point of view, the world became a soft, gentle blur…
Moments later and he released her, breaking the silence between them. From his pocket, Arcite withdrew a beautiful, wither-less rose – and it was Lady's turn to become speechless.
"This is my gift, and my 'thank you' present," he proclaimed as she took it from him and admired its timeless beauty. "Merry Christmas, Lady Aduka."
"Merry Christmas too, Arcite…"
•+•+•+•+•+•+
Both monk and sage sat on the bench, admiring the beauty and magic of the occasion, with the former's arm wrapped around the latter's shoulders. The monk was already wearing the Fire fist and the sage had the rose still clutched in her palm.
She looked at the sky and smiled.
"The snow's prettier this year."
He looked up at the sky as well and smiled. "I agree."
•+•+•+•+•+•+
A/N: I hope you enjoyed reading this fic as much as I loved writing it. -smiles-
And to all those who read my other fic, Witherless Rose, rest assured that Chapter three will be out very soon. -thumbs up-
Until then,
Magus LaFlamme