Title: A Dearest Hope

Rating: T

Genre: Romance/General

Disclaimer: I don't own Rivera, I wish I could but I don't.

Summary: After all the events with Hector done, Riviera was full with happiness. But a certain angel still couldn't find his happiness... LedahxEin. R&R please.

Chapter 1

A long blonde haired Grim Angel held her Diviner—Skadi—in battle mode, ready to strike down at the younger wingless angel. Her long blue cloak and white robe blew behind her as she brought down her axe. The wingless dark haired angel was left open and couldn't find away to block her attack. He closed his eyes, prepared for the attack that never came. He didn't know what happened but he could hear someone said, "Oh no, you don't" and as he opened his eyes again, he could see a black winged angel in front of him, shielding him from the attack.

The female angel didn't look happy at this, and she flew away, mentioning something like, Maze of Shadow, or something like that, for the wingless angel's mind was on the now kneeling angel in front of him. The angel looked so exhausted and pale from the deadly attack. He supported himself with his own Diviner—Lorelei, black wing folded with several feathers fell to the white ground. His shoulder-length blonde hair was messy and his dark red robe was tainted with dark, fresh blood.

"LEDAAAH!" Ein the wingless angel screamed as he approached his dying friend who had shielded him from the attack. He kneeled in front of his friend, fresh tears streaming down his face.

Ledah said something under his breath, something about Ein, but the mentioned didn't pay attention to it, in his mind ran many questions that he want to ask his dearest friend, "Why…"

Ledah who already lost emotion as the price for Diviner smiled a little at how his friend, whom he betrayed, still cared about him. "Farewell… Ein…" and with that he exhaled his last breathe leaving his friend cry in agony at his death.

"NOOOO!" the young Grim Angel woke from his terrible nightmare, his friend's death. It has been a week since Hector's scheme but he kept dreaming it like it happened yesterday. He cried his heart out, tears ran through his face down to his hands, that shielding his face. "Why…" he whispered, "why he have to die…"

"Fiaaaa!" a young girl called. She had a long orange hair that tied in each side of her head with black ribbon, and also wear a black ribbon as bandana. Her garment—a sleeveless shirt with the sleeve made separately, mid thigh skirt, and a robe tied to her waist—was the same color as her hair. She also wore black shirtless tops under her shirt and long black stocking with leather boots on her feet. She ran to the small kitchen with bouncy step, "Fia… have you seen Ein? I couldn't find him… I want to play…"

"Lina… don't run in the kitchen, you will knock everything," Fia said to her sister. Fia was a very kind young woman with long green hair that grew past her waist, beautiful face and kind green eyes. She wore a white shirt—with black ribbon on her neck and part on her chest to her waist was black—green long skirt that has the same color as her hair. "As for your question, I don't know where Ein is, when I woke up he wasn't on his bed, I wonder where he is now…."

"Well… I will look for him then…" Lina walked out from the house. Their house was located in small village of Elendia, one of the Sprite's villages in the promise land, Riviera. Demons was once threatening danger in Riviera but thanks to Ein and his companion they stopped the demon and also Hector who want to destroy Riviera to activate the Retribution.

Elendia located in the center of Riviera, near the World Tree Yggdrasil, where Ursula the Guardian lives. Elendia was a quiet village that depends on nature, see by how their house created by entangled of thick, big branches of tree, and the Magic Guild was located in the natural cave.

Lina walked toward the Groove of Repose, a place for relaxing. Several sprites like to stay there in their free time, chatting or just admiring the nature. The place was covered by trees and well, quite relaxing with its wind that blew softly. Several cut trees was made for a place to sit, and in the corner of this place, sat a young Grim Angel, who lost his wings when he received his Diviner. His short dark brown haired blew slightly as the wind pass, along with his long blue-white scarf. His young face seemed sad at the moment as he gazed toward the blue sky.

"EIIIIINNN!" a cheerful voice of Lina woke Ein from his dreamy state. Lina bounced on the older angel, "Ein, let's play. Lina wants to play with you," she said.

Ein just looked at the young sprites and patted her head gently with his gloved hand, "I'm sorry Lina, I just… I just don't want to play right now."

"Why not? You have been saying that for this past week, is there something on your mind? Lina will listen to what Ein want to say." She sat beside Ein waiting for his answered.

"I'm sorry, I can't, I mean… I just want to be alone for awhile," he forced a weak smile to the hyper girl who looked down. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"All right, but you know if you need anything I'll be glad to help you okay? You also have Fia, Serene, or Cierra," she smiled at Ein and leave.

Ein went back to his dreamy state, thinking about those days he spent in Asgard with Rose, Ledah and even Malice. He lowered his head and suddenly sadness took over him, just thinking about his friends made him cried. Slowly but surely tears made it way down his cheek, wet the baby face of his. He placed his hands on his face and cried his heart out.

"Ein?" a soft female voice asked him. She placed her gloved hand on Ein's shoulder. She was Rose, his familiar. A week ago Rose was a black winged cat, and now she was a young girl with black hair, which tied with green ribbon in each side of her head near her neck. She still had her black cat's ears and black tails. She wore a black suit with green ribbon on her neck and on her waist. She wore pair of black gloves with green stripe on the wrist. "Are you still…"

"Of course I am!" Ein half shouted to his Familiars, "I… I just can't forget him… not like this… not…" he sobbed to his hands, again.

"Oh Ein" Rose just hugged Ein's sobbing form in her arms, patting Ein's back in doing so. Even that Ein never told her, she knew well that Ledah meant more than a friend to Ein, thanks to their physics connection. Unfortunately the poor boy never got a chance to say how he felt toward the blonde angel. "I know I'm probably can't help you at the moment, but at least… you know we're all worry about you Ein. You have been acting different since Hector's scheme. Of course no one knows the reason except me, but… you know, how hard you cry… Ledah won't…"

"STOP IT!" Ein shouted made Rose startled, "Please… just leave me alone for now…" he continued in softer tones. "How can I forget those events when I dreamt about it every single night I slept on…? I… I was so helpless…. I even can't defend myself… I… it's my fault…. it's my fault…" he sobbed to his hands again, more tears streamed down his face down to the ground. Rose just patted his shoulder one last time before going to Fia and Lina's house.

Rose entered the house and flopped down on Fia's bed. She sighed, she knew what's bothering Ein but couldn't find a way to help him. Of course the other girls had been asking her what's wrong with Ein, but she couldn't tell them for she was afraid it will hurt their heart to hear it, especially Fia.

Rose didn't realized that Cierra and Serene had entered the house and now standing before her. Cierra, the Scarlet witch, was a young woman in her early twenties with long red hair. She wore a black witch hat and one piece sleeveless dress that divided in 4 narrow pieces on the skirt part. She wore long gloves as exchange of the sleeves, and mid thigh red boot on her feet. "Rose, what's wrong?"

"Yeah, you kinda look down there. I bet it has something to do with Ein," Serene the last Arc—one of Sprite's race—said. She was a tomboyish girl with dark blue hair and wore a black cat ear hat on her head. She wore a dark blue vest with white shirt—which has black strip in the middle—beneath it and pairs of tight black short pants. In each her arms was white bandage that covers her elbow to her wrist and pairs of white gloves, and of course as an Arc she has black bat wings on her back.

"Well you guess right there Serene, I can't stand seeing him like that, blaming himself over and over. It has been a week and yet he still blaming something that even not his fault," Rose said in frustration holding her head on her hands that her placed on her lap.

"He's still thinking about him, right?" Cierra asked suddenly earning a quick stare from Rose who couldn't believe Cierra knew and from Serene who didn't have clue what the witch talking about. Cierra caught their glances, "I know about it lately. I mean by the way he act and how he didn't want us to know. What would poor Fia said about this," she finished.

"So… I kinda left out there, will you please fill me in, I don't understand what you're talking about," Serene said casting the other two girls demanding glare.

"Is it okay, Rose?" Cierra asked the familiar. Rose looked at Serene for a moment studying her clueless look, she glanced to the room then to the door, made sure Fia and Lina didn't there to eavesdropping them. After made sure that the condition was clear, she nodded at Cierra. "I will tell you in one condition,"

"What?"

"You won't tell Lina or Fia about this," seeing Serene nodded Cierra continued, "You know, Ein still blame himself about what happen at Yggdrasil, I mean about Ledah's death."

"So… how can this are related to Fia?"

"Will you just listen to me first?" Cierra asked in annoyance. Serene just scratched her dark blue hair and grew silent. Cierra then continue her tale, "Do you remember when Ledah's dead? Ein had been so quite at that time. No matter what we said to him to tell what on his mind, he never really talked about it. Sometimes I could see him shed a tear, I'm sure he was thinking about his dead friend at that time. I mean… it was so sad. Ledah died because he shielded Ein from Malice's attack, of course Ein would feel that his friend's death was because of his weakness, for he couldn't block Malice's attack at the moment."

Serene was about to say something at that, but Cierra's glare stopped her. The Scarlet Witch then sat beside Rose on Fia's bed with Serene sat on her other side. "And then… Fia was become the last sacrifice to broke Seth's seal and dead alongside Malice. After we defeated Seth-Rah we came again to Ursula's place, Yggdrasil. Ursula revived Fia and brought her back to us." She took a breath and glanced at Serene, "When you and Lina busy ran toward Fia and cheering, Ein put his head down and a single tear flew from his eyes."

"Huh? Didn't he happy to have Fia back? I mean, she is our friend." Serene cut her, earning her a glare from Cierra, "err… sorry, please continue,"

"Well… I guess what really made him sad was the fact that Ursula can only brought one person back, and she brought Fia because she was sacrificed. BUT, that's not what Ein wants, I think he wished Ursula would want to bring Ledah back instead of Fia." she paused before continue, "I swear when Fia's back he mouthed 'no' all over at that time."

"Oh I see… so that's why you don't want Fia to know," Serene said looking at the ground, "That girl would be heart broken when she know this, and Lina too…"

"Good thing Ein never spit this out; he was good at keeping secret," Rose commented. "I know, losing Ledah at this moment was pained him beyond anything. That blonde guy meant a lot to Ein, you know?"

"Wonder if there's anything we can do about it," Serene said then sighed.