A/N: Alicia is my favorite bachlorette in Rune Factory 2. I just find her to be the most interesting female character. But it's a shame that she and Mana have no chance of getting married if you don't choose them :P So here is a series that will explore Alicia as a romantic option for the other bachelors after Kyle steals away their lady loves like the little woman-stealing romeo he is XD
But for the sake of not sounding repetitive, I won't be mentioning their canon love interests much, otherwise every chapter will have the same "I lost my love to Kyle" thing, and that will just get repetitive :P Just assume that either Kyle has married or is close to marrying the appropriate lady-character for each man. We'll start with the beginnings of the relationships, and I'll write farther points of each pairing as I get inspiration. I'd also like to include some chapters where Alicia is the mother of the various child characters, and some with her thoughts/role if Kyle marries Rosalind. I'll happily take suggestions if you have any :) A little extra inspiration is always welcome :D
Anyways, this should be the only long author's note. Happy reading!
AAaaaaand I made a mistake and uploaded the same chapter twice, so that's been fixed now XD Sorry about that!
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Max&Alicia 1: For the Greater Good
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Alicia had always secretly hated the Dance festival. At the very least it tended to be a good business day for her, though. Several of the village girls had met with her (Mana even being so eager as to rouse her from sleep at the crack of dawn) and paid to have their love fortunes told for the day. Would they be asked to dance? By who? By how many gentlemen? And that part was all well and good.
But the fact remained that after the excitement of the morning preparations, Alicia would spend much of the rest of the festival alone. No one would ask her to dance, and she could either watch from the side-lines, secretly brewing bitterness towards even her closest friends, or she would walk the abandoned streets of Alvarna to sulk in her own eternally single solitude.
For the moment, she hadn't decided she wanted to do either of those things, standing by the clinic as music filled the plaza and the excited couples began to fill the area around the fountain.
"I can't believe you were right!" a voice squealed unexpectedly from her side.
Alicia jumped, but tried to make it look like she was just readjusting her hat, "Of course I was right Cammy. My predictions always are."
The small girl giggled, "Yeah but…you have to admit, seeing Dorothy and Barrett dancing together is kinda…farfetched."
Alicia looked back out to the plaza to see that, in fact, the two were dancing in one of the far corners, both blushing, but…doing an admirable job despite both their apparent lack of knowing how to dance in the first place. Dorothy rarely asked for predictions for herself except occasionally to find her little sister. Said little sister, on the other hand, was always asking questions about Dorothy.
"When will my sister get married?"
"When do I get to be an aunt?"
"Barrett? Are you positive you read the prediction right? Try again, just to be sure."
It was a little exasperating, but Alicia could appreciate Cammy's concern for her sister's happiness. After all, what else were siblings for?
Speaking of siblings, Alicia turned her attention to another odd couple gracing the plaza streets. Ray, her quiet and somewhat shy brother, for the second year in a row had garnered enough courage to ask Rosalind to dance. Now if he would only ask her to dates in between festivals… It lifted Alicia's spirits a little to see him smiling. She didn't often show it, but she did want him to be happy at least as much as Cammy wished for Dorothy. Even if he was choosing to be happy with the town's spoiled smarter-than-thou princess.
Taking her gaze off the couple, she gave Cammy a smirk, "Hasn't Roy asked you to dance yet?"
Cammy's face twisted into a hilarious grimace that only a child could pull off, "EWWWW!"
And just as planned, she scurried away as far from the dance as possible, making exaggerated gagging sounds as she dramatically stumbled along the path. She would be seeking out her friend soon enough, though. Out of sheer boredom if nothing else.
For her part, Alicia had had about enough of the music and merriment for today. She was already starting to feel sick with envy. Even Mana, who had no suitor, at least got to dance with her father, the two of them laughing and smiling as they twirled near the stairs. So with an underappreciated dramatic turn on her heel, she walked away, leaving the plaza far behind. She walked a ways without purpose, past the shops and Kyle's farm. Perhaps she would head for Alvarna Pond. It would be quiet there, and she could wallow in self-pity without being disturbed.
But her path to the pool was unexpectedly blocked by a pacing blond under the trees. Alicia was puzzled for a brief moment, as every year prior Max would be seen dancing with Julia until the sun set, but then she recalled having seen Julia dancing with Kyle. It hadn't registered at first, even if it was unexpected, but seeing Max alone on such an important festival day finally brought front and center how odd it was to see them apart.
The thought brought a sense of amusement to Alicia's otherwise blue mood. If there was one person in the village that she thought less of than Rosalind (at least the girl had a good sense in men), it was the woman's cowardly older brother. It didn't help that he was one of her most out-spoken skeptics.
"Missing something?" she asked coyly, finally announcing her presence, and bringing his pacing to a sudden halt.
His face flashed annoyance briefly before a figurative light-bulb lit above his head, "Alicia, haven't you a partner to dance with?"
Her amused expression immediately shifted into a frown. Who did he think she would dance with?
"I'll take your silence as a 'no'," he tucked his hands behind his back, expression solemn, "In that case, perhaps you would grant me the pleasure of being your dance partner for the afternoon?"
She crossed her arms defiantly, "And why would I ever consider that a pleasure?"
Max was starting to look agitated again as he shifted his weight, though by his wary glances in the plaza's direction, she quickly realized he was not irritated at her.
"Consider it not for yourself, then, but for the greater good."
Her eyebrows rose, "Greater good? I fail to see how—Wait…" she gasped, "You want to spy on Julia, don't you."
Max took a step back at the accusation as Alicia tried hard not to outright laugh at his expense.
"No," he answered sharply, "I was…not expecting to dance with Julia this afternoon. There is no need for me to keep tabs on her."
Alicia had to take a moment to process that. Had something been going on between Julia and Kyle for so long that Max had given up? Inwardly she berated herself for not paying better attention, but the more she thought about it, the more instances of a new, blossoming relationship between the farmer and the bath-house keeper that really wasn't so new after all.
But if he wasn't wanting to dance to look after his apparent 'ex', then there was only one other person he could possibly care enough about to warrant such extreme measures as dancing with the town fortune teller that he was normally so adamant about being a charlatan.
"No! Absolutely not!" Alicia snapped between gritted teeth, "If you wish to keep an eye on my brother today, then you will have to find some binoculars and climb a tree!"
Max didn't even flinch, "That is why this is for the greater good! You don't exactly have the most favorable impression of Rosalind either, as you've clearly shown. Together, we can agree to watch for the well-being of both our siblings.
Alicia hated how much his idea both made perfect sense and made no sense at all. She tapped her fingers idly, glaring at the man for a good thirty seconds as she weighed the one pro against the overwhelming cons.
"Fine…we shall…cooperate for now."
"For the good of our younger siblings?" Max offered her his arm. Alicia slowly took it.
"For the good of our younger siblings," she gave a curt nod, and together they walked stiffly to the plaza.
Max stood at the top of the stairs for a moment, locating their targets, before leading her into the plaza and offering a polite bow, "Shall we."
"If we must," she sighed, and the dance began.
Those near enough to notice their entrance them gave the couple odd looks…except for Mana who's face lit like a firework. Alicia mouthed an annoyed 'not a word' in the younger girl's direction, to which Mana only giggled.
She and Max maneuvered via dance to the other side of the plaza where they could be nearest Rosalind and Ray without the couple noticing the presence…at least not immediately. For now the younger couple seemed to be contently enjoying one another's company as though there was no one else in the entire world but the two of them. Alicia was starting to feel a little sick again. Happy for her brother, but mostly sick…
Still, from this distance, it was hard to pick up any of their conversation. So mostly Alicia and Max had little else to do but dance, and occasionally duck into the street whenever it seemed that Rosalind or Ray would look their way.
"I'm pleasantly surprised," Max mused, "I wasn't expecting you to dance as well as you are, as I've never actually seen you dance before."
Her head snapped from observing her brother to his almost smug face. She glared, and answered with a huff, "Surely you didn't think my mother taught Ray to dance, did you?"
"Hmph, fair enough." There was a pause, then he cleared his throat, "Well?"
"Yes?"
"How is my dancing?" he flashed a dazzling, if not expectant, smile.
She supposed one back-handed compliment deserved another, "You are certainly a better dancer than Ray."
The ending 'which isn't saying much' being left unsaid, but completely understood.
"I should certainly hope so," he scoffed.
His eyes suddenly widened, and he swept her out of sight again with a muttered, "Drat."
"Did they see us?" Alicia asked incredulously.
Her answer came in the form of Rosalind storming into view with Ray shyly following behind.
"Max! What do you think you're doing?!" the periwinkle-haired girl demanded, stomping her foot, and effectively stopping the dance as all eyes turned towards the source.
"Why dancing of course!" Max gave his sister another bright smile.
"It is the Dance Festival," Alicia added. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ray was also mildly annoyed, but more than anything seemed exasperated.
"My relationships are my business," Rosalind snapped, jabbing a finger into her brother's chest. All the while Max never stopped smiling.
"Dear sister, you must be mistaken. I simply noticed that our dear friend Alicia hadn't a partner to the dance this year, and took compassion on her plight."
Alicia felt her own smile starting to become strained as she resisted the urge to jab him in the ribs.
Rosalind glanced the fortune teller's way suspiciously, "I sincerely doubt that."
Ray sighed, "We appreciate your concern, really," he turned to Rosalind, "It's nice our older siblings care enough about us to put aside their differences like this, don't you think?"
Rosalind's irritated expression softened a bit at his prompting, and she let out a long sigh, "It also isn't fooling anyone...It was a valiant effort, but you've been caught, so you no longer need to put on this act," she gave her brother one last warning glare before turning back to her date, "Ray? Shall we return to the dance?"
"I would love to," offered his arm, and Alicia felt a glow of warmth at his smile as the two of them returned to dancing.
"He used to offer to take me every year," she commented absently, watching the couple twirl away. She realized she had never really paid attention to how great a dancer her brother had become. She was proud…and a great teacher. She'd been so focused on her own loneliness, she hadn't been able to fully embrace her brother's happiness. But watching the couples dance now…didn't feel as empty as it had earlier today.
Max gave her a surprised look, "I don't remember ever seeing you dance with him before?"
"I always turned him down," she waved her hand dismissively, "I was too embarrassed to admit the only person that wanted to dance with me was my baby brother," she blinked away the pressure building up behind her eyes before it could become tears, "Is it wrong that now I wish I had taken him up on the offer?"
Max followed her gaze back to their younger siblings, "No. I know exactly what you mean…"
He quickly cleared his throat, "But just so we're clear, I still don't fully approve of Ray…quite yet."
"Of course," she nodded firmly in agreement.
"Well," he smiled, perhaps a little more genuinely than before, "Shall we?"
He offered his hand, which she eyes suspiciously, "You're serious?"
"We're still the only two here that don't have partners. We may as well."
Alicia rolled her eyes, but accepted the offer gracefully, this time without glancing in Ray's direction every ten seconds…now it was more like every thirty seconds, and only so she could see him smiling.