Doug wasn't exactly sure why he was up. Normally, if he woke up it was because of a nightmare (red, fire, death, gone, gone, gone), but that night it hadn't been the case. The red head dwarf tugged on his boots and shirt, looking around the little home and peeking into his adoptive grandmother's room to make sure she was okay. Granny Blossom slept soundly, giving a little sigh when the young man placed another blanket over her.

Frowning, Doug ventured downstairs, checking to make sure everything was in place. The doors and windows were secured (and freezing! Geez, he hated the cold), nothing looked out of place. Doug scratched the back of his head in mild confusion and with a mild shrug, retreated upstairs to grab some warmer clothes. Strangely enough, despite the late hour he wasn't tired. Far from it. He felt like he could take on Dylas with his arms tied behind his back...which he could do anyway but that night just felt like it would be easier!

Small pink and green leaves scratched against the stone roads of Selphia as the wind brushed them along. Early spring was always cold and Doug cursed the fact as he tugged his shirt tighter about him. Stupid brain and not wanting to sleep. The dwarf gave a huff as he walked up the stone steps to the square. It was quiet besides the breeze, sane people were actually asleep. Even the caste lights were off. It stood proudly before him, absolutely stunning in the moonlight, but for some reason, filling him with worry. The lamp outside the princess' room was lit; she still wasn't back.

Frey and Forte had left four days ago, packed for a long trip if the bulging bags gave any hints. It wasn't strange for the duo to take off. Frey could never sit still for long, and Forte normally volunteered to escort her through various caves in search of some item, or in the past, to help the Native Dragon, Ventuswill. Requests took her out of town often, but lately she seemed to be always out. She would leave early without a word to anyone but the castle staff and return late into the evening.

Several times she had vanished by herself all night, only to come back acting like nothing had happened. She helped when she could, took care of her duties and her farm before leaving. Bruises and scraps were the norm on the princess, leading to Dr. Jones asking someone to escort her on her outings. She did just that. Inviting the townspeople to go with her. She seemed to enjoy it, the company. Frey kept smiling. The smile was fake though. Doug was growing increasingly more worried as time went on with the plastered expression.

They weren't dating, exactly. Doug was indeed in love with the princess, and she had some feelings, as she refused dates from any other guy that asked but readily went with him to lunch. She spent a lot of her time with him and vice versa. When Forte couldn't go with her to a jaunt to Autumn Road or she needed someone to go with her to the Sech's Territory, Doug accepted with little hesitation (often leading him begging for Blossom to let him leave).

Doug had kissed her, once. A spur of the moment thing after she had tried to smile that not real or her smile at him. He had told her that if she was going to make that face, then he would do everything he could to stop it. After that it had been a blur as things escalated a bit further. Frey had apparently come to her senses and they had stopped before doing anything they would regret later (Doug would not have regretted it in the least bit. He was a man and her skin felt wonderful against his own). It had been awkward after that, and a few days later Forte and the princess had left on their trip.

"Yo, little Doug." The dwarf bristled, suddenly pulled out of his thoughts. So much for quiet.

Leon climbed the steps across from him, waving for the younger to approach like some grand kind. Fully dressed, the fox like man gave a sneaky grin, making Doug feel a bit weary. "Waiting for the princess to return, are we?"

Doug felt his cheeks heat up. "S-shuddup."

Taking the hint that the dwarf wasn't going to come any closer, Leon went to him. His ever present fan was missing, and as he got closer, Doug could see the tired lines dragging under his sharp eyes. He stood there, gazing at the shorter man for a few moment before asking, "Have you ever felt like you've failed your mission? You worked so hard and did everything right, just for the outcome to be something you tried to avoid?"

Doug raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Oh, don't be stupid. You know what I'm talking about." It was the first time the dwarf had every heard the man get angry. Doug knew who he was talking about. Frey. The girl who had fallen from the sky and spent almost a year trying to keep Ventuswill alive. Frey who destroyed an emperor and risked everything, just for the stupid dragon to die in the end. Leon, Dolce, Amber, and Dylas had gone through the same thing, but at least they had succeeded for awhile, to his knowledge. He had tried to talk to her about it, but she said she was fine.

"They returned, you know. About twenty minutes ago through the airship entrance. I opened the bath house for them to use. Your princess is in a state. I just thought I would let you know." Leon turned away from the dwarf, intent to return back to his place of living. Doug followed, cursing his own stupidity and maybe Frey's too.

There was a single light lit in the inn. Just enough so if someone came in late they could find their way to their rooms. On the stairs sat a lone figure, chin resting on her hand and snoring softly. Doug caught the soft look the Dragon Priest sent the Dragon Knight. Adoration and love, but not the sibling kind he would use when watching Xiao Pai. More like when Doug's dad would look at his mother, so many years ago. The minute the man caught Doug looking, it changed into his normal teasing expression. "Seems our little knight needs to go to bed." Leon bent down and poked Forte in the cheek. She roused in an instant, batting his hand away. Sleepy eyes gazed around the inn's waiting room.

"Frey must still be in the baths, hmm?" Leon questioned, taking Forte's outstretched hand and pulling her to her feet. Her hair was down, dripping water on the floor. Her armor was in a pile at the foot of the stairs with her sword and shield. She went to take the stairs to go check on Frey, only for Leon to gently take her shoulders and steer her towards the door, only stopping to collect her things in one arm.

"I have to go check on the Princess. She might have fallen."

"I don't think that's a concern you need to worry about anymore. Doug is finally here."

Forte nodded her head like it was an appropriate answer, but her head continued to bob long past the normal agreeing time. Leon gave her another small smile, one that Doug knew full well he wasn't meant to see but couldn't really avoid as he was walking past the duo, leading her out the door with a hand on the small of her back.

Seeing as Frey was probably the only on in the bath, Doug let himself into the woman's washing area, keeping the door partly open so that he wasn't accused of anything (Lin Fa would probably tell Volkanon and he would be a dead man). It was mostly quiet, besides from the sound of the gushing water from the lion fountain's mouth and the sound of hiccuping coming from the far end of the pool where a certain princess stood.

Frey was stunning, Doug couldn't and wouldn't deny that. Her mint green hair was free, hanging in dripping strands over her shoulders and back. Her skin was pale from being hidden in warm clothes because of the bite of winter, except for the rosy hue caused by the steam and heat of the bath. Her eyes were close, giving the look of a peaceful angel.

Her beauty was quickly over shadowed by the horrid marks that were revealed in her rather bare state. She wore the customary washing suit, but it did nothing to hide the bruises along her skin, some yellow with age and some fresh, large splotches of red and black. One marred the skin of her cheek, enhanced by the dark shadows that stood under her eyes. Her legs were scrapped up, painful cuts and tears abusing the skin, angry with being cleaned as some were inflamed and bleeding.

She was attempting to brush her hair. One hand had a fist full while the other was almost frantically pulling at a knot with a comb. It would have been an adorable sight if she wasn't silently sobbing. Doug was pulling his boots off when Frey let out a heart wrenching sob, and he watched as she collapsed to already injured knees, head down and crying like she had never cried before. The dwarf was in the water without even noticing he was fully clothed. In seconds he was beside her, wrapping his arms around her damaged frame and pulling her into his lap. Frey leaned her head against his shoulder, clearly not caring who was holding her up. She continued to cry, painful sobs that she tired to muffle in the soaking fabric of his shirt. Her small but strong hands fisted up on her lap, turning chalk white, causing Doug to gently pry her fingers straight lacing them with his own to avoid further injury to the woman.

In a normal circumstance, the dwarf would have no clue what to do, but for some reason he kept his head and let his instincts do the work (something Blossom would be proud of). He had had a break down only a few months after he had moved to Selphia. Granny had been a wonderful help and he would thank her when he returned for it.

After seeing the bruises, he understood why Jones had come to each of them, instructing them to never let to Princess go anywhere by herself. At that thought, Doug couldn't really blame the woman for leaving. He went through that when he had first arrived in Selphia. After a checkup, the doctor and his wife had worried about his mental state and he was essentially assigned a babysitter when Blossom was busy. It had sucked. He met Keil however so that was a plus he supposed.

Doug rested his chin on Frey's head. He resisted the inappropriate urge to snicker; the hair brush stuck in the strands of her hair. It wasn't long before the painful tears had turned into small wails, then back to hiccups. She trembled in his hold, rubbing her eyes (and nose) against his shoulder.

Frey pushed against his chest, blinking tiredly before looking up. Confusion was written all over her face. "Doug?"

He forced a smile, releasing one of her hands to wipe his face. "Hey." The princess continued to stare at him, only to bury her face back into his wet shirt. She was embarrassed. Like most people, she wasn't one of those beauties when she cried. Her eyes were blood shot, the green contrasting vividly with the red. She pulled away to wipe her nose before returning to her spot. Doug could only smile like a sad idiot. He freed his hands, reaching for the brush that was still stuck and slowly working it through the snarl until the hair was free and the comb could go through easily. He repeated to process for the rest of the strands, feeling Frey relax against him more and more with each pass.

"Frey, why haven't you healed yourself? Or let Forte?" The elephant in the room. The water spout gave more of an answer then the woman did. He finished with her hair, putting the comb at the edge of the bath tub before slowly pushing the princess away so he could see her face. She stubbornly refused to look at him, instead staring at her bare thighs. He could see a nasty looking cut on her hip, something that would have almost healed completely with her magic. He gave a sigh, kissing her lightly on the forehead as he reached up to brush tears gently away from her face.

Pulling away from the princess, Doug tugged his soaked shirt off. It was uncomfortably heavy and he didn't exactly plan to leave until he had some answers. Frey turned so that her back was to his chest; It was a stubborn off apparently, but she seemed content with him. "When I got here, I got myself hurt a lot." Doug muttered into her hair. "My family was gone and I had to avenge them. But I was weak and was up against a damned fire breathing chicken." Frey snorted. "I thought by hurting myself, maybe I could make it better. It didn't work; I just ended up making Granny Blossom sad. And look what that revenge did? Nothing." As he went, he got steadily louder, growing frustrated with himself and with the princess. "You are driving yourself into the ground, Frey. You are destroying yourself, and for what? Ventuswill was cruel to you, Frey, so why are you mad at yourself?!"

Frey drew her knees up to her face, wrapping her arms around them. Doug wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into her neck. It was his turn to cry, and he did. "You did everything you could. You rescued the Guardians, you did all you could for her. You didn't fail. You didn't!"

"She was family..."

"This whole town is your family, dammit! What would happen to Amber if you did something stupid? What would Forte do? Visnal, Clorica, or Volkanon? Would Ventuswill want you to do this to yourself? Would she be happy? What about the people before here? Someone has to be looking for you! Wouldn't they be sad if they finally found you and you were gone?"

Silence followed the rant once again. "What about me?" Doug sat straight after what felt like an eternity. Green light slowly encased the princess. Bruises faded to a dull yellow green and the scratches closed. Frey sagged against the dwarf when it was done, panting lightly. "I'm sorry." She mumbled, exhausted. "I'm so sorry..."

Well, I haven't posted anything in awhile! Geez! I got this game recently and have fallen. In. Love! I've been playing it non-stop. I totally ship DougxFrey and I really, really, really, reaaaaaally, love Leon and Forte together!

Doug is a bit out of character as is our little princess, but it's fanfiction. What can I say? I wanted something mushy, gushy, and and grossly adorable. So I wrote it.