I wrote this one-shot based completely off of the end of the second arc to Rune Factory 4. This contains spoilers for those who have yet to beat that portion of the game. Other than that, I really hope you enjoy this one-shot.

Gone. She would never come back. If our paths were to cross again, I would want nothing more than to spend every day laughing and joking with you. I lunged towards her body as it swirled in the bright, white abyss of the Forest of Beginnings, but my hands hit nothing but the smooth pavement of the spot where she used to be. Gone. My last, best friend. I smashed my hands the floor, tears streaking down my cheeks. "How am I supposed… how… do I say my final goodbyes with a smile? You idiot." I sobbed as I struggled against the wave of misery that washed over me. Gone. How could she be gone?

I moved to sit on the floor, and buried my face in my hands. It felt like my heart was in fire, or maybe it felt like my chest was on fire because my heart had been ripped out by that stupid dragon. Where she went, I couldn't even go and find her to ask for it back. My sobs grew louder before the eventually turned into wails of torment. "Venti, why did you have to go? Why did you leave me? I don't want to live in a world where you don't exist!"

"Frey?" a tentative voice called.

My head snapped up to see the four guardians huddled in the door to Lady Ventuswill's chamber. I registered each one of their faces the exact moment they saw the misery painted on mine. Amber rushed to me and fell to the ground beside me, gently grasping me by the upper arms. "What's wrong? Where's Ven?"

As I explained, I saw each one of their hearts break in their own ways. Amber fell into my arms, sobs racking her small frame. Leon frowned, staring off into the distance while hiding his face behind his peacock fan so we couldn't see his tears. Dylas morphed his sadness into anger, only because being mad was easier to come to terms with than to mourn. And Dolce, well, she shoved her talisman in her pocket as Pico stared at her, desperately trying to figure out some way to make things right. That was the thing though. Nothing would be right, not for a long time. Without Venti, what could ever be right?

After a while, everyone went on with their lives. People went back to their jobs, the town held festivals once again. Everything seemed relatively… normal. Every day was the same. I would tend to the fields, placing whatever mature crops I had grown in the shipping bin. Then I would brush and feed the monsters before making my way around town to help whomever needed my assistance. I would greet people with the biggest smile, just like I always had. It was only when it was night time that it got bad. I was scared to sleep because, every single time I did, I dreamed about her. I dreamed about when Ethelbert took over her body. I couldn't save her, and the dream is no exception. I get to watch myself unknowingly kill her. Over and over and over again. I eventually stopped sleeping all together.

I went through months in a daze. I rarely ate anymore. I couldn't make myself stop missing her. I started going to the Spring lake on some occasions, just to try and calm my always scampering thoughts. I sighed and leaned my head down to rest on the grass as I lied flat against the Earth. I closed my eyes against the blue sky and focused on deepening my breaths. I jolted from my trance when I felt a pair of strong hands roughly shake my shoulder. I gazed up into the sapphire depths of Leon's eyes.

"It's not safe to fall asleep out here, you know. Monsters do still exist, remember?" Leon scolded gently, while forcing me into a sitting position.

I rubbed my hands against my eyes, hard enough to create little personal galaxies behind my lids. "How did you find me here?" I questioned in a tone a little more harsh than I meant it to be.

He looked at me for a moment before flipping his fan open to hid his face behind. "Forte does rounds here, if you recall. She just might have let it slip to me that you come here on certain occasions after a little persuasion."

I mentally cursed her for telling this nosy fox-eared man where I come to be alone. "Did you need me for something or did you just want to fill the air with the sound of your voice?"

He smiled at me before reaching out a large, tanned hand to ruffle my hair. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something, but it isn't safe here. C'mon, let's head back to the castle. We can talk there."

I sighed as I got to my feet. I smoothed a hand over my hair as I began to make the trek back to the castle, side by side with Leon. He began whistling some tune I had never heard before as he lazily battled the monsters that attacked. When we got back to the castle, the sun had set and everyone had closed their stores and settled into bed for the night. I unlocked the door to my room before pushing it open and flipping the light switch. Leon shoved his way past me, knowing I fully intended on locking him out. He sauntered into my room and sat down on the edge of my bed. I watched him as he stared at me and, after a while, I couldn't take it. I began to pace, the feeling of his eyes on me making my skin crawl with anxiety.

"What did you want?" I spit out between two clenched teeth, but he just kept on watching me.

He took a deep breath, as if readying himself, before he finally opened his mouth to speak. "It's about Venti."

I stopped dead in my tracks, my breath catching in my throat. Venti. How long had it been since I heard someone utter that name, or even allow myself to think it? The name rippedopen my still slaughtered heart. The fire I felt the night she left returned with a vengeance. I gasped against the pain, my hand curling into a tight fist against my side. "What about her?" I demanded, venom practically spewing with each word.

Leon looked at me with understanding. "I know how it feels. To miss her so much that you swear she set fire to your heart." My eyes found their way to the ceiling, the wall behind his head, anywhere but at his piercing gaze.

"Everyone in town felt the loss of Ven. But after their grieved, they were able to come to terms with the fact that everything will be okay. You won't let yourself move past this. It's destroying you." Leon muttered softly, as if he was undecided how I would take his words.

He had a good reason to be hesitant. As he finished his sentence, rage boiled inside of me. "I won't let myself move past this? What makes you such an expert on what I've grieved over and what I haven't?" I screeched, surely waking up everyone in the castle.

Leon looked at me sadly. "You've lost weight. There are bags under your eyes from where you haven't slept. I used to take walks late at night when I couldn't think of anything else but her, and I heard you screaming when I walked past the castle. Were the nightmares of what happened that haunting? I began to wonder if you ever had any peace at night, and I asked Vishnal to secretly relay your patterns at night to me. When he told me you had started not returning to the castle at night, I got worried. He hasn't told me of a night you've slept soundly in your bed since then. Why can we all see how this is affecting you, but you can't?"

"I'm fine. There's no need to worry." I muttered as I walked over to the kitchen counter I had installed after I moved here and filled up a glass with water. I took a small sip and immediately felt sick to my stomach. I gripped the glass hard in my hand, trying to keep myself calm.

"Ventuswill was my friend too. I not only lost her now, but again a very long time ago. I know what it's like to miss her, but Venti would want you to move on. Venti would want you to be happy again, to smile like you once did. Venti-"

As he talked, I tightened my grip on the glass. "Venti this, Venti that. Just stop already!" I shrieked, shattering the glass in my hand.

Leon just looked at me with a foreign sadness painted on his face. "Venti wouldn't have wanted this."

I wiped my bloodied hands on the skirt of my outfit and walked calmly to the middle of the room. If our paths were to cross again, I would want nothing more than to spend every day laughing and joking with you. Ventuswill. My last, best friend. Gone. She was gone and she wouldn't come back, no matter how much I needed her. She was just… gone. Then I snapped. I lunged myself at my desk covered in papers and swept my arm across the top, knocking everything to the floor. I dug in the drawer for the charm that Venti gave me and threw it as hard as I could against the stone walling of my room. I threw whatever my hands could grab before Leon processed what was happening and came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my middle to effectively restrain me. My rage quickly cooled off and I began to sob, letting my knees give out from beneath me. Leon sat down on the ground, pulling me into his lap and rocked me gently. To and fro, he rocked, trying to hush my choked sobs bursting from my chest.

"I miss her so much it hurts." I blubbered into his barely clothed shoulder.

He shushed me softly. "I know, honey. I do, too."

That was the night I realized that even though I wasn't okay at the moment, but eventually with time I would be. I realized that I had gained more than I had lost. Venti would always be watching over me, and this town. She would live on through the memories she created with me. Though my memories were once lost, the ones I shared with her were much better than the old ones. With these, I would never forget my last, best friend.

I hope you enjoyed it! Leave me a review and let me know what you thought! It actually does help a lot. Thank you for reading.