Hello hello to anyone reading this! This is a couple that crosses over to different Rune Factory games, but the inspiration from these two comes from when I used to roleplay as Rosalind and a friend of mine shipped her and Dylas together.
This story comes from inspiration of several of our roleplays together, and after looking back on these couple years later I just can't deny my adoration for them. I decided to piece together their story and continue it, I hope you guys enjoy and a huge thanks to Kenzie who played Dylas and was such a fabulous writer and friend of mine. She wrote several of these pieces up till a certain part in the story and I want to give her amazing writing credit! Dylas is also personified as not a complete asshole to Rosalind which will seem strange to some people, but that's simply the way we wrote him!
Warning this first chapter ended up being VERY long… I promise chapters after this won't be as long.. Enjoy!
It was a rainy day in Alvarna and there in this town walked a young woman, umbrella twirling in her hands as she hummed a soft tune beneath her breath. The sky was dim and the clouds were heavy, raindrops dripped from the ends of the umbrella in a melodic fashion. The woman's mind had wandered so far enough away from her current setting that she walked aimlessly. There was so much for her to get done today, as a daughter of the De Sainte-Coquille family she was left with a lot of the work to do at home while her father and brother were off traveling for business. Although it was a great deal of tasks, she didn't mind, it was just something she had been raised to deal with.
While her mind was still formulating her to do list for the day, the only thing that was able to pull her from her thoughts was her notice of a man sitting on the edge of the docks not too far away. Her brow cocked, watching the man who seemed totally unfazed by the rain. Why would the man be outside in such a downpour? He's just asking to come down with the flu! Without much of a thought she moved to walk toward him, her heels clicking lightly against the wood grain of the dock. Once she was close enough she stood beside him she noticed her was merely sitting there fishing of all things, she spoke up softly - just enough to be heard over the rain.
"Why do you sit out in such weather like this?" She moved to tilt the umbrella to cover the man completely, assuring no more rain happened to fall on him. "You're surely cold, aren't you sir?"
The man had been lost in his own thought, fishing in peace before being interrupted. "Hm—?" A frown formed on his face as the rain no longer pelted him, causing him to move and look up to the petite woman above him. "... … …" He blinked, eyes widening as he remained at a loss of words. "I … I, uh …" His head shook slightly, shifting his attention back to his line out in the water before replying in a gruff mumble. " I like it. The rain I mean. And so what if I'm cold, it doesn't matter" The woman only blinked in surprise at his retort.
"You .. like it? Sir I'm afraid that's a very strange answer!" While she had a momentary thought of pulling away the covering over his head, she decides to let it remain where it be. Instead she leant forward to become slightly more eye level with the man, using one hand to keep the umbrella upright while the other brushed a lost strand of hair behind her ear. "Are you not concerned with such things as illness? Are you sure you are fine out here in such weather?" There was a pause in her voice, before she decided her own resolve and move to sit beside him. "Then allow me to stay, to at least keep you from getting soaked. You're simply going to cause me too much worry if I let you stay out here. Cold is one thing, but the rain is another." Her legs swung over the side of the dock.
"Can I ask why I'm worrying you?" The man interrupts in an almost irritated manner. "I'm nothing to you, neither a relative, a friend, or anything of the sort, why would I be causing you to feel anything but indifference?" His frown deepened into the corners of his mouth as he watched her sit beside him. He avoided her gaze as she tried to meet her eyes with his. "Lady– you're gonna catch your death out here, I'm only here because the fish are particularly active on rainy days, you're better off leaving."
Delicate lips purse at his questioning, not sure how to answer them herself with his aggressive tone. "Mm .. I suppose you have simply caught my attention Monsieur .. and while yes you are a stranger - that does not waver my growing concern." A soft grin appeared on her features as some of her french slipped out, a common occurrence from the girl. " And whether you are someone I am familiar with or not, sickness is not a thing to chance."
At his own concern for her, she simply waved a finger at the man in protest. "Do not turn such a concern on me, I beg of you." Another small smile graced her lips, as well as a gentle laugh. "I have the umbrella do I not? I'll be quite alright, I assure you."
"Caught your attention?" He interrupted once again, raising an eyebrow while being not quite sure of what to make of what she's saying. "Feh, go ahead, lady, though I'm not gonna entertain you or anything. And the only reason I'd be concerned with you is because I don't want to be blamed for the health of some woman, tch." There was an awkward silence between the two of them, the woman taking a moment to realize how weird she was acting taking interest in a stranger. Perhaps this was crazy, the man obviously didn't even desire any sort of company, but nonetheless she found herself content in sitting beside him. She finally perked up and shifted her once awkward, avoided gaze back onto him.
"Now, I'm sure you've got a name—?" Her eyes widened, her free hand covering her mouth as she looked almost disgusted with herself. "Oh my, I suppose it's rude to request your name without telling you mine first isn't it? I must apologize!" She cleared her throat, and smiled in a cheery manner as her spare hand rested in her lap. "My name is Rosalind de Sainte-Coquille! Though please do just simply call me Rosalind." The man only gave her a look from the corner of his eye, though finding her apologetic expression actually quite entertaining. He supposed he was going to be stuck with her for now.
When she spoke her own name he muttered it back quietly. "Rosalind …" His head nodded slowly, before all of a sudden it hit him, his ears perking up as he looked over to her in a surprised manner. "S-Sainte-Coquille? Just like Porcoline … you two are—" The man shook his head as if in disbelief. "you two are related? How? I mean he— And you look—" This was the first time the man took the time to really look at the girl who was so adamant on keeping him dry. Rosalind's stature was regal, long pastel blue hair falling over her shoulders with her bangs pinned back with a bow. Her facial features were delicate and her smile was downright enchanting. A scoff escapes his throat while he gradually turned a bright shade of red. "You two just look nothing alike … And if you must know, my name is Dylas, simply Dylas."
"Dylas!" Rosalind shrieks in remembrance, the name almost echoing at this point. "You work for my Uncle Porcoline! Why, my uncle speaks of you fairly often in his letters! No wonder you recognize my last name, you live in his quarters do you not?" Her hand rises to her cheek as she laughs rather merrily. "I suppose we don't resemble much of each other now do we? Though yes, he is indeed part of my family! Mousier Dylas it is wonderful to finally meet a fine man like yourself, Uncle simply couldn't speak fondly enough about you! I dearly hope he has been treating you fine, I do understand how … eccentric he is."
The man is still spending his time taking a good look at her, wondering how the hell Porcoline could be related to such a breathtaking woman. Sure she was a little strange, finding herself so concerned with the likes of strangers, but the whole damn family's strange. "… Uh … No, no you don't. You two look nothing alike … I just … wow." He shook his head slowly, his gaze moving to the water as he tries to concentrate on his fishing. Though when the woman beside him began to gush over him, his ears wilted considerably, a light pink hue coming to his cheeks as she does so. "Er— he does?" He swallowed, before he used his free hand to rub the back of his neck. "That's good to hear, I guess, better than being talked bad about, heh."
Dylas' golden gaze returns to look back to Rosalind, trying his best to muster up a nice smile but what showed is a fairly awkward grin. "Well it's nice to meet you too, Rosalind, glad to see there are some relatively normal people in your family—" He nods, evidently starting to open up a bit more as he continued on with their chat. "And yeah, he treats he just like a family member and let's me have a bedroom in his mansion so I really can't complain about him and his eccentricity."
A tune of approval escaped from her, joining in with the gentle symphony of the rain falling around them. "Please do take care of him for me, he's told me things about what a great man you are and what great help you are for him at the restaurant. Thank you so much for that." Her grasp adjusted on the hold of the umbrella between them. "Though this must mean you live with Sir Arthur as well, correct? I've known that man since we were mere children, he's always been a friend of the family." Her eyebrow raised briefly in realization. "Though … I actually believe I remember him talking about his friend who also lives in the household … but I remember him saying his friend wasn't too good with people …" While piecing together his attitude during the first moments of their meeting, the De Sainte-Coquille duchess was sure this was the man he was talking about.
"Yes, of course, you could say that Arthur is my best friend—" He paused as he heard what Rosalind had to say next, internally groaning and wanting to smack Arthur for telling Rosalind something like that about himself to her. "Did he now? Hm. Well, Arthur may be correct, I have very little patience with Hu—" He stopped himself, not wanting to offend her. "… people."
"Little patience is nothing to be ashamed of, I hope you do know." Her words spoke kindly, with her gaze to the droplets falling into the water before them. "If you are treated with no respect … well, patience is a difficult thing to maintain …" That piece of hair had fallen back in her face once again, she shifted to brush it behind her ear. "… Being raised as a Sainte-Coquille, I suppose I can admit I've grown to ... expect a form of respect, one way or another." Her smile appeared once more, bright despite the dreary weather. "Yes .. If I am not treated with such I suppose even I can be a tad temperamental myself."
"However," she continued. "my uncle tends to gush about what a hard working persona you seem to put on throughout work." Her eyes raised to looked back to him, batting her eyelashes briefly. "Sounds quite admirable! It's such a pleasure to finally get to chat with you. I feel like I owe you so much for being such a dedicated worker and friend to my poor uncle."
Once again the man's ears wilt out of embarrassment as he listens to what she say, looking away from her in the process. "Oh— W-Well then, that was very kind of your Uncle to say, I try and work my hardest for him seein' that he's given me a place to stay and a nice paycheck to go along with it too …" His smile is small, genuine and barely visible. "… You really don't owe me anything, it's me that owes your family something, Rosalind. Your Uncle is just too nice to me, that's his problem— don't know how he deals with my moods, heh."
"Not at all." She muttered, though making sure it was loud enough for him to hear; her own gaze remained in her lap. "Uncle Porcoline is indeed a kind man, though he also is a man who knows when someone else is worthy of praise for their hard work. If he believed you deserved any less – well he wouldn't have allowed you into his home to begin with." She looked to him once again, her eyes gleaming. "He would be disappointed to hear you believed you owe him anything at all."
A gentle hum escaped from her lips once again, as well a thoughtful sigh. "I thank you for being such a dear friend of his. Simply because of my family's stature, people tend to have – false intentions when becoming close to our family."
This statement caused a hand to run through his hair, while he nodded along to all she had to say. "I can see how there would be some people that would try and flatter, only to have sinister intents." He managed to look at her while giving a small smile. "But … there are also some good people in the world, some bad but mostly good— And I hope you'll be able to see past the worst and uh … stay in the presence of the best … My apologies for those that only befriend you in hopes of getting a taste of your … fortune …" Her expression is solemn, nodding along as he spoke, finding them nothing but truthful.
She blinked. "Ah —" She noted the sincerity of his smile, the words simply began to fluster her causing her gaze to shy away from him. "M-Mousier Dylas your words are truly .." She placed her hand against her cheek, attempting to cool their heat. "— far too kind …" Her lips turned up into a delicate smile, looking to him with a meek expression. "I .. I do hope I can follow your advice. Your presence I've learned to find peace in … perhaps it's because I feel like I know you already."
He watched her carefully, her movements and careful expression changes— noting how expressive she is. " … … …" After realizing that he had been staring for far too long his eyes move downcast to the water below. "Heh, I'm glad you think so, Rosalind … And if you of all people are able to find er— "peace" as you say, in my presence, then I believe there's hope for you yet." A gentle chuckle escaped his lips, before winking at the petite woman.
It was strange, a blush appeared on his face as her eyes remained on him. Why was he feeling like this around such a woman he barely knew? "… Hm?" He is then surprised with what he found behind him, his tail wagging. "N-No—" He turned to put both hands on his tail as if that would make it stop wagging. "I-I'm so sorry, this doesn't usually happen—!"
Her free hand now cups her mouth, attempting to stifle her giggling though evidently failing. "No—" Another laugh escapes her. "Do not feel embarrassed Monsieur Dylas— It's actually quite cute." She reached forward to place her hand on his arm, which was currently gripping down his tail; she grinned. "It means your happy, does it not?"
His face coloring now resembled that of a ripe tomato as she laughed at him. He glanced down as Rosalind put a hand on his arm, swallowing hard. "Er— Y-Yeah." He let out a small bit of laughter, laughing with her, despite the situation. Then, while looking up at her, an awkward grin turned up on his face. " … " He spoke up slowly, as if the idea was new to him. "… It … means I'm happy."
His sincerity. His sincerity was all she could notice, and how it comforted her so in this world of falsities. "… and your happiness is quite contagious Sir Dylas!" All of a sudden she noticed her hand was still on his arm, she then retracts in quickly, though the joyous expression not once leaving her. "Though I must say, your own happiness is quite the lovely sight to see."
Golden eyes watched as she retracted her hand, furrowing his brow slightly as he had enjoyed the comfort that came with her touch and wondering why that was so. "… Hm?" He glanced back up to Rosalind, listening to what she has to say with an awkward grin. "Is it? Heh, thank you, Rosalind, for saying so, I'm as happy to see you own happiness as you are to see my own …" She was so bizarre to him, so concerned with someone else's happiness. She had an exuberant amount of selflessness, and he noted that it wasn't something he saw in people often. All of a sudden he noticed her slight shiver, causing him to realize that she wasn't wearing a jacket nor an overcoat of any kind despite them being in the rain. With only a quick moment between that thought and his actions, he slipped the jacket off his shoulders to reveal his plain, black tee-shirt underneath. "…." With a nonchalant look he handed the jacket to her. "Here— you've lectured me on my own health and well-being and it would be a pity if that lecture was all for nothing if you got sick yourself …"
"What—?" The young woman's mouth gaped lightly, watching his actions with a stern eye. Though her own eyes widen at his explanation, the duchess' features flushed a dark maroon at his kind offer. "I – But – What about –" Words escape her, while attempting to turn down such an offer she eventually knew it was inevitable, letting her expression settle and giving in to the man's words. "... Thank you Dylas. You certainly are quite the gentleman .." Her reach is tentative, though the young woman finally took the jacket. She caught his gaze with her own to express her sincerity, before mouthing once more: "Thank you."
While she slipped the jacket over her shoulders, Dylas rubbed the back of his neck in a bashful manner to the 'gentleman' comment. "A-Ah, no, I'd disagree with that— as far as Selphia is concerned, I'm the resident grump, heh …" Thinking to himself— why did he tell her that? " … " He swallowed. "It's no problem, really, I—" He freezed as he saw her mouth the words 'thank you', feeling his cheeks heat up in a bright shade of red. "O-Oh, uh— is it getting hot or is it just me?" Stammering. "Not that I'm hot, hot as in attractive, I mean I'd like to think I'm a little attractive but I meant hot as in heat as in sun as in—" He stopped himself.
Rosalind adjusted the coat, embracing the warmth before speaking along with another bat of her eyelashes. "Really .. This is much too kind of a gesture, I do hope you yourself now do not become ill." Though as he continued she could only blink, watching him with an amused expression as he stutters. "Hot ..? I do not understand?" She then placed a hand to her mouth, the long sleeves covering most of her face; she attempts to stifle her laughter. Mousier Dylas!" Her words are spoken in between her giggling. "You do confuse me so! It is raining, why on earth are you warm? You are much too entertaining!"
A gentle laugh escapes his lips at his own loss for words, continuing to avoid her kind gaze. "Y-You tell me, it just got warm all of a sudden, I dunno, heh …" Finally he has the nerve to look to her— only to see her adjust his coat on herself and the bat her eyelashes "—!" If possible, steam would be coming out of his ears. "I-I'm glad you find me so entertaining, Rosalind, aha …"
Her gaze softens as he keeps his shied away. "I tell you –? How .. how would I know the truth to the reason as to why you're warm?" She blinked at the man's seemingly flustered expression, briefly becoming self conscious herself as she doesn't seem to understand. "Are you sure you're warm? Because I do still worry about your own health you know …"
The fishing line gets pulled in for a moment, before the man tosses it right back out while shaking his head."I-It was just a figure of speech, Rosalind, I don't expect you to know why I'm feeling so warm." He met her gaze with a shy smile before moving the jacket to cover more of her shoulder, to which this action caused a surprised look to appear on her face as a blush grew as well. "I was just teasin' you. I'll be fine, I promise …"
" T-teasing me …! Right–!" She piped up, paired with slightly nervous laughter.
A grin turned up on his lips at her reaction, noting that she doesn't seem very accustomed to teasing. "When I was younger my father would make myself, my brothers, and the rest of the village boys train in weather much worse than this in hopes of us becoming the strongest of warriors. So being in this kind of weather, you could say it really doesn't bother me."
Rosalind's expression shifts rather quickly, shaking out the umbrella in front of them to get the water off and into the water below. She turned to him with evident curiosity etched into her features, eager to listen to his story. "A warrior you said? Do continue!"
What's gotten into him? He wondered on if he's already over shared, but however he really doesn't have anything to lose in telling her— "I'm half monster … a U-Unicorn. I've dealt with everything from winds faster then could even think possible to the unforgiving cold of the snowy mountains … Warrior, yes— fighting off the monsters that dare come across myself or the people of my tribe and I guess you could say I still kind of have the warrior spirit, it's never really left me …"
He turned to look back at Rosalind to find a very amusing sight, she had her knees pulled into her chest, cheek resting against her knee with wide interested eyes. "… Unicorns?" Though she had noticed his animal like physical traits, being a unicorn was something she wouldn't have guessed. "Well if you are so … used to such weather, I suppose my worry was for nothing." She stopped, a keen smile turning up on her lips. "– Teasing of course." A slight laugh escaped her while her hand moved to tighten the jacket around herself, her shivering finally ceasing. "To think I was so concerned!" Her lips were pursed, before shaking her head gently. "–Then again even if you were the strongest of all people, I'd end up still worrying if even in the slightest."
Her concern only made him chuckle. "There really is no need to worry about me, Rosalind." He tried to reassure her. "I can take care of myself." There's a long pause as he thought over her words once again, she sure was interesting. "You know … I've never thought of that … I've just assumed that I would be the one takin' care of myself, you know? But who knows …" He reached over to pick a leaf from her seafoam-blue hair before tossing it behind him and giving a bashful smile. "Hm … maybe someone will have my back and keep my health in mind, just like I will to them." A pale blush appeared on her face, leaving the woman almost speechless. Though she simply looked away, letting the blush burn and eventually fade before continuing on with their conversation. She'd just never met a man like him.
After being so sheltered in her life, Rosalind had read several books and stories about such heroic people, and honestly she found herself enchanted by the man's tale. "Do you consider yourself a decent warrior? Strong even?"
"Hm?" He listened to her question, his chuckle turning into more of a laugh. "Yes, I do consider myself a decent warrior and quite strong— not to brag though, I'd just say I'm quite confident in my abilities, you know? I prefer hand-to-hand combat rather then using a weapon though, not what you'd expect of the classic Unicorn, heh." With her chin in her hand she nodded as he spoke, her eyes bright and smile wide. "And that makes me happy, hearing that you're pleased to know a Unicorn …" Dylas spoke once again in a soft tone, before the teasing one returns. "It's a pity for you had to stumble across me as your first Unicorn!"
"– Oh non! It isn't bragging if I was the one who inquired about it in the first place!" She finally speaks up. "It truly is good to have confidence in what you do, especially when it is something with such … admirable qualities!"
"Yeah?" He spoke, noticing how much talking about himself made him feel almost uneasy. "Well, if it's not too forward of me, I uh— I'd like to know some more about you … but I don't know where to begin, exactly, heh … But I'll give it my best shot with one of the most important questions you can ever inquire about—" There's that teasing smile. "What's your favorite food?"
"A-about me? I –" One brow rose and she blinked. "My – favorite food?" Out of all the important questions anyone's ever had questioned her about. Usually people only get to know her on such a superficial business level, to actually be asked such a real question was certainly new to her. "Ah …" Eyes scan the water below her, letting a finger circle against the dock. "I suppose … I've never really thought about it. Mais, I suppose my answer would be .." Her lips pursed tightly together. "Baked sweet potatoes!" A meek smile, wondering if such an answer was appropriate, though nodding once to assure herself of her honest answer. "Cecilia, my ma–" She bit her lip. "— my friend, makes them for me often! I suppose they are my favorite thing to eat!"
All Dylas could do was repeat her words in disbelief. "Sweet potatoes … Sweet potatoes?" He cocked his head slightly. "You like them? Huh … I would've thought your favorite food would be caviar or somethin' like that, to be honest … But no, that's great, sweet potatoes are really good! We make them at the Cafe in Autumn, people seem to have more of an appetite for them then for some reason—!"
The laughing didn't cease from Rosalind. "Yes – I-Is there something wrong with that? Caviar isn't even that good anyway … and what a strange question! Do you have any other better ones?"
"Hey, hey— food is an important part of life and to know someone's favorite food says a lot about them! But that's the only question I have for you, today that is, heh. Well perhaps you can stop the cafe then some time next season." The peridot eyes of the young woman widened at the statement, looking to him with a sweet grin of her own, giddy almost like a child.
"Today?" Her free hand grips the jacket a bit tighter in her evident excitement. "So you're ensuring I'll see you again then, yes? I didn't annoy you too much today?"
A gentle smile highlights his face as Rosalind inquires whether or not the two of them would ever see each other again. "Uh— If it's fine with you, then yes, I would very much like to see you again, Rosalind … It's getting into the evening now, don't you have to head home?"
All of a sudden, as if the time of day suddenly hit her all at once, Rosalind jolted upright and shifted to stand up in her frenzy. "Oh no—! I had no idea how long we had been sitting here talking! Oh goodness, uh oh ..!" Dylas blinked and watched her in her hurry, unsure of what to say to calm her sudden spike in stress. "Oh Dylas," The woman spoke once again in such a sad tone. "I'm so sorry, I really really have to run right now. I'm already late! But here—" Her hand went to his and slipped the umbrella into his. "You live in Selphia non? That means you're quite the long way away from home, go ahead and keep this okay? I live nearby, if I run I'll be home in less then a minute."
"Rosalind no— You don't have to," Though before he could even respond properly, she was already headed down the dock. The woman turned briefly around to wave and shout back at him through the rain.
"It was so great to meet you Dylas! I'll see you again soon!" And with that, she was gone.
The man was left dumbfounded. What on earth had just happened? To have such a woman come into his life, so quick and so suddenly, and leave just as fast. He responded with a weak wave, but she had already disappeared into the rain. There was a long pause while he remained lost in thought, before shifting his position back to the water and tossing his line back in once again.
"I-I'm home!" Rosalind shouted to the household, hurrying to slip off her shoes that were now soaked with water.
"Miss Rosalind!" The duchess' elvish maid piped up at the sight of her dear friend, almost drenched to the bone with water from running through the rain. "Where on earth have you been? Max and your father will be home soon with their guests and they're expecting you to be ready for dinner." She approached her almost cautiously, her hand raising to delicately touch the woman's soaking wet hair. "Oh dear, let's hurry now and run you a bath okay? Go ahead and get out of that coat and let's go up stairs."
"S-Sure Cecilia!" The woman squeaked, embarrassed from being yelled at. Though this was the first moment she noticed she still had the man's coat on, though she shook it off her shoulders and hung it up on the nearby coat rack. She followed briskly behind the maid who was simply giggling at her actions.
"Are you going to tell me what happened out there? I know that's not your coat."
Rosalind herself hadn't even taken a moment to assess what had just happened, it had all been so fast that her mind was still racing to catch up. Nonetheless her tone was as bright and excited as ever. "Oh Cecilia, you're never going to believe the man I met!"