"Come on, Ky, the shipments leaving Manaron aren't going to wait for you!" Xandria called as she waited impatiently outside her best friend's house. She loved heading to the cliffs near Manaron to watch the ships leave, and dream of adventures away from her small home on the Summerhollow Isles.

She sighed, still waiting for Ky-ele, as a soft, salty breeze blew through her dark curls. Her intense blue eyes scanned her home town of Fayhollow. Although it was the largest town within the Isles, it was far from rich. Her eyes moved to the mine entrance down the hill. Fayhollow's main export was tin and copper, and no matter how much was mined, the Isles never benefitted. Manaron held Summerhollow's port. There were few fishing ships that ported at Manaron, but none were very successful.

Her eyes moved on to the ocean, and the small island hardly half a mile out from Summerhollow. It was Antum, where, within Faircliff Forest, was a tree farm, though all that could grow within the farm were a couple dozen oak trees and a handful of maples.

Her parents, of course, were very content with their lives, so it was up to Xandria to change her life. She had always loved sitting with Ky-ele, coming up with outlandish ways of getting off the tiny island. Everything from building their own boat to wishing themselves away had been thought of, and the ideas were beginning to become more outlandish every time.

Just as she began to ponder more realistic ways on how to get away, Ky-ele's door opened and out stepped her best friend.

"Well, you took your time," she said shortly as he shut the door.

"Sorry, but mom needed help with my brothers and sisters."

"Oh. Your father and Nicolas already left?" But she could already see it in his eyes. His warm brown eyes were always happy and smiling but were now tired from waking up early to help his mother.

He nodded. "They left early, hoping that they can find a new spot to fish. They're hoping that they can find where the fish have gone before the rest of the fishing boats do. The thing is though, it's been really hard on my mom, she's been needing me to help with the rest of my brothers and sisters."

"Oh, well, I'll make sure that you manage to get some fun in, okay? Now, let's go before the ships leave." She turned and ran through the town, heading for the cliffs, before he could respond.

He sighed and followed.

This was always how their friendship was. Xandria was the leader and had the wild dreams of adventure, while Ky-ele was the anchor to reality. But he never minded, Xandria was his best friend, and although she sometimes got out of hand with her adventures, it was his way of getting away from the troubles at home.

Together, the two thirteen year olds ran through the market, pushing passed the adults with their goods for sale. They watched the two run through, and shook their heads before returning about their business.

Xandria and Ky-ele made it to the woods, running towards Glassedge Cliff, their favorite getaway. There was a small, crystal clear lake that they often cooled down on hot summer days. Xandria's footfalls splashed through the shallows, quickly followed by Ky-ele's. They quickly crossed the tree line, and ducked below the low evergreen branches and made it to the cliff's edge. The cliff was a peninsula that jutted out into the ocean. One side faced west, overlooking the harbor and a perfect spot to watch sunsets. The other side faced east, looking out at the ocean. The sun had just managed to break free of the horizon.

A wide smiled appeared on Xandria's face as she breathed deeply the fresh, salty sea air. "I love it here," she said as she sat, dangling her feet over the edge.

Ky-ele sat silently next to her, his eyes on the large ships in the port below. After a long silence, the only sound coming from the crashing wave far beneath them, Ky-ele said, "Where do you think the shipments will go?"

"It could be anywhere," Xandria said, sounding amazed, "Our tin and copper could be turned to bronze weapons for some army, or the few fish we manage to catch could end up on the plates of royals in Varrock."

"You really think so?"

"Why not? In the rest of Gielinor, anything is possible. They can ship out supplies anywhere they're needed."

Ky-ele studied her for a long while.

"What?" she said finally catching on to his staring.

"You really want to leave this place, don't you?'

"Of course I do, there's so many things to see. Don't you want to go too?"

"I don't know." She sat in silence, waiting for him to continue, so he did, "It's just there's no guarantee that leaving here would bring a better life."

"You'll see, you're wrong."

He sighed and let it drop. He knew her plan. She wanted both of them to stow away on a boat at the first opportune moment and start a life of adventure. Growing up, he always thought it was her imagination, but now that they were older, he knew she was serious.

He felt bad that it would never happen for her and she'd be on Summerhollow Isle for a long while.

Finally, the boat below hauled up the anchor and let loose the sails and they soon began to sail away.

"Someday," whispered Xandria, "Someday, we'll be on a ship, just like that, sailing towards a new life."

And a new life did come, but it wasn't what Xandria expected. It was one that nobody within the Summerhollow Isles would've ever expected.

It was almost a year later, shortly after Ky-ele's fourteenth birthday and many things had already changed. Xandria and Ky-ele had grown closer than just simple friends. Some of the time that would've been spent on their adventures became times of them sitting under the trees together, Xandria wrapped in Ky-ele's arms. Once in a while, these moments were accompanied by a kiss, which was quickly followed by giggles from Xandria. Although she would never forget about her want to leave, she knew how he didn't like talking about it, so she kept quiet.

One early-summer morning, Ky-ele sat leaning against a tree, Xandria wrapped in his arms as they watched the sun rise from the sea, relaxing before spending the day hunting.

Xandria sighed, enjoying the beautiful sunrise and the comforting arms around her. She leaned her head back against his shoulder.

He hugged her close and kissed her temple. He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "I love you."

It took her a moment to take in what he said and realize that it was the first time he'd said it to her. She smiled. "I love you too," she said happily.

He hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek. "Come on," he said, "We should get those traps set up."

She sighed. "But you're so comfy," she said and laughed before getting up.

He laughed with her and got up, picking up the bundle traps. They worked together setting up the traps and baiting them, hoping to catch a few rabbits for their families.

It was already late morning when they had finished setting up all of the traps. They were so busy setting up the traps that they didn't notice the dark grey clouds rolling in. Soon, large raindrops splashed down on them, soaking them in the few seconds that it took for them to take shelter under the trees.

"I didn't know it was supposed to rain today," said Xandria loudly over the roar of the down pour.

"Neither did I," said Ky-ele, rain dripping from his hair, "I'm not sure if my father knew about it either. Hopefully it doesn't get too bad. He and Nicolas left early this morning, maybe they'll be back soon."

A bright flash of lightning streaked across the sky and was instantly followed by a loud boom of thunder that shook the ground. Ky-ele held Xandria close as the intense thunder and lightning continued.

"We need to go back home," said Ky-ele, shouting over the storm.

Xandria shook her head. "Manaron is closer, we can get shelter there." She took his hand in hers and started to run to the port. The ground shook beneath them with every mighty clap of thunder as they quickly made their way through the gates of Manaron.

The two teenagers found cover under overhang on the front of one of the shops along the street that overlooked the bay. For there, it was very obvious that the sea was just as stormy as the sky above. Huge waves rose up and crashed violently against the rocks and wooden beams of the docks, sending a salty spray up to mix with the rain.

"Look," said Ky-ele, raising his voice over the added noise of the roar of the ocean. Xandria looked out to the ocean where Ky-ele was pointing. She saw as some of the fishing vessels tried to make it into the safety of the bay. A rogue wave lifted the boats and slammed them into the rocks around the entrance of the bay, splintering them like they were toy boats.

Xandria gasped in horror. "They'll never survive those waters," she said, burying her face into his chest. But Ky-ele never looked away from the wrecked ships.

"Dad and Nicolas are still out there," he said quietly.

She wrapped her arms around him. "They'll be okay," she said, "I know they'll be okay."

They waited out the rest of the storm sitting under the overhang, wrapped in each other's arms. Hours passed until the rain finally let up and the thunder and lightning ceased. They left their shelter, just as others began to emerge from their houses.

The beach was littered with planks of wood from the ships, and the families of the fishermen who had been out in the storm rummaged through the debris, looking and hoping to find any signs of life. Ky-ele was quickly among them, looking for any sign of his father or Nicolas. Xandria sat on the edge of one of the docks, watching her friend. She saw him freeze as he picked up a tattered plank, but with his back to her, she couldn't see what it was. She stood and went over to see what it was that stopped him.

He held a cracked board in his hands, just staring at the writing across it. Her heart sank, reading 'Grace' carved and painted onto the wood. She had seen those same words painted across the back of Ky-ele's family's boat, The Ancient Grace.

"Ky-ele, I'm so sorry," she said.

"They were out there," he said quietly, "They were out there and they crashed along the coast. They're gone…"

"You don't know that," she said. "They could still be out there, no one has gotten the chance to look for any of the sailors. They'll show up."

He just nodded slightly, still holding on tightly to the scrap wood.

As the hours passed, only a handful of fishermen were found in the water and even fewer returned in their boats. The hours turned to a day, and as the days passed, the hope of finding any of the lost fishermen dwindled. Sixteen men were lost to the sea, leaving many families without heads of the family. Ky-ele's family was one such family.

The loss of the fishing fleet hit the communities of Summerhollow hard. After a couple days, the beaches were cleared of the wrecks, along with a number of unfortunate bodies. Ky-ele's father and brother were never found.

Life in the Summerhollow Isle returned to relatively normal, though the families that were hit the hardest struggled. Ky-ele was now left taking care of his family, since he was now the oldest of his brothers and sisters. Since they had lost their boat, Ky-ele was forced to work in the mines in Fayhollow, which was just as dangerous.

This left Xandria alone most of the time, and while she worked with her family in the bakery, her mind would wonder back to her daydreams of adventures.

Every so often, her parents would send her down to the port to trade with the over seas merchants. It was on one of those trips that she noticed the new ship.

She walked down the streets, buying what she needed from the vendors. She stopped at the herbalist to pick up a remedy for their sick mule that powered the grain grinder in the bakery.

Xandria glanced into the harbor as the woman gathered up the herbs she had requested. She spotted the unfamiliar ship instantly; newly painted letters were bright against the wood. "The Bright Warrior?" she asked.

The woman looked over. "Aye," she said, measuring out the dried herbs, "Someone new took an interest in our ores. I heard it was one of the Fremennik tribes." She shook her head. "Always feuding, those tribes. That ore is just going to go into those feuds. Well, rather them than us really, and they're paying better than the last buyer." She handed Xandria the small pouch of herbs. "Just mix this in with the mule's food, and she'll be all good."

Xandria nodded. "Right, thanks," she said, hardly listening. She carefully tucked the herb pouch away as she hurried down the street of merchants towards the ships. The Bright Warrior sat alone at one of the docks, no one around to watch the ship.

She slipped effortlessly onto the ship and looked around. She even dared to head below deck and though the crew was there, they didn't notice the young girl as they rested from the long journey. She explored the interior of the ship and even found a good hide away place in the store room.

She smiled to herself as she left the ship. She may have just found her way out of Summerhollow.

Every Essianday, Xandria made it up to Glassedge Cliff to see if The Bright Warrior returned to the port. She was pleased to see that, like clockwork, the ship sailed into the harbor early in the morning and didn't leave until late the next day. Finally, nearly a month later, the perfect moment came. It was Ivanday and Ky-ele had the day off.

Together, Xandria and Ky-ele walked up to Glassedge Cliff, all the while, Xandria went over what she was going to tell him.

Ky-ele flopped down at the cliff side, tired from a month of nearly solid work below ground.

Xandria sat quietly beside him, her eyes trained on her escape, The Bright Warrior, which would be leaving in only a few short hours.

Ky-ele watched her for a couple minutes then said, "You're quiet."

Xandria shook her head and returned to where she was. "Sorry, I was thinking."

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. "Oh? What's on your mind?"

She looked up at him. "Leaving."

He sighed. "You can't still be thinking about that."

"Not just thinking. Planning, Ky-ele."

"Planning? What do you mean?"

She pointed to the ship below. "See that? That's The Bright Warrior. It's been here every Essianday and leaving Ivanday with a cargo of ores. It's going to be leaving in just a few hours. I've gone down and checked it out, it'll be simple for us to sneak on board and stow away in storage. It's perfect." She smiled, proud of her plan.

But his reaction wasn't what she expected.

His arms dropped from around her. He stared at her in disbelief. "You can't be serious."

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? I've been dreaming of this my entire life, you know that. And now we have a chance to leave, Ky-ele."

"We?" he said, sounding angry, "Did you ever think that I don't want to leave?"

"But I-"

"No, you haven't. I have to provide for my family since the storm. They need me now that my father and Nicolas are dead."

"Ky-ele, I know their loss has been hard on your family, but how can you help them on what? A miner's wages? You can support them from the main land. We can go and make much better money and send it back to them. Everything will be fine."

"You don't know that, Xandria. We could leave and end up homeless in some city." She went to cut in, but he continued. "This is just your way of running away from your problems here. You need to grow up and deal with your life."

Tears began to gloss her eyes as his words cut deep. She struggled to find something to say back, but found nothing. She turned on her heels and began to storm away, but stopped, turning back to him, tears streaming down her cheeks, and said simply, "You'll see." She turned and disappeared among the trees.

Ky-ele stood, staring at the spot that she disappeared in the trees, still angry. As the minutes passed, with only the sound of the crashing waves below, he began to calm down. He felt sorry for his words, even if that was how he felt, he cared about her.

He'd apologize tomorrow, it was no use going to her now, she was too angry with him.

He walked home slowly, and despite the argument he had with Xandria, he fell asleep almost the instant he laid down in his bed.

It was a short night, and he was still tired when he woke the next morning. He got out of bed and got ready for another day in the mines. As he headed towards the mines, he took a detour to Xandria's house. The warm scent of fresh baking bread floated in the air around the bakery attached to her home, making him wish he had had time for breakfast.

He stepped up to the side door by the kitchen, and took a deep breath before knocking. He went over his apology as footsteps came to the door. They were too heavy to be Xandria's.

As he guessed, Xandria's mother answered. "Oh, hello, Ky-ele," she said, wiping the flour from her hands onto her apron, "What are you doing here so early?"

"I wanted to talk to Xandria."

"She's not here. I had thought she was out camping in the woods with you."

Ky-ele sighed. "No, we had an argument last night."

"Is everything okay?"

"She stormed off upset. She's probably still in the woods. I'll go look for her once my shift is done in the mines."

Her mother nodded and disappeared for a moment, before returning with a small bag. She handed it to him. It was warm in his hands. "Be careful in those mines."

He nodded a thanks and headed to a long day of work.

The sun had already disappeared by the time Ky-ele emerged from the earth. He was tired and wanted nothing more than to go home and rest, but he owed it to his friend to apologize. He sighed, gathering his remaining energy, and headed into the woods.

After hours of searching, there was nowhere left she could've been. He sat at the cliff, thinking. He was staring down at the harbor when it came to him.

"She left," he said to himself. "She left on that ship, and I won't see her again." This tore at him, but he wouldn't let himself believe it. She couldn't be gone. She was just out in the woods somewhere he didn't check. He nodded, trying to convince himself of it. He headed home, hopeful.

But as days passed, his hope dwindled. Soon, as summer and fall passed into winter, everyone had given up hope of seeing Xandria again.

So, this is my fanfiction about Runescape, and while it's taking place in a part of Gielinor that I've made up, the story WILL be moving to the mainland Gielinor that we all know and love. =)

While this is going to be my main story (well, there may be another if I get the inspiritation for another), I will definitely be going to writing other stories, one shots if you will, that may or may not be about Xandria or Ky-ele. But I'm definitely open for prompts for those other stories (they can be based off quests, or skills, or anything, really, even holiday events), that's if anyone actuallys reads this. -_- =)