Rune Factory 4 One-Shot
My first one-shot for the 3DS game, Rune Factory 4. I didn't beat this game yet, so no spoilers please… Thank yoooouuuu~!
I would also like to mention, that I am in LOVE with this game. Especially with one clumsy, blue-haired butler in par-tic-tac-ular. C: (Who, I swear to god, is such a LIAR about his cooking!)
"Just a Little Cold"
A day that started out like any other, waking up just before the crack of dawn, the blue-haired butler stretched his arms to the sky, seemingly well-rested, and a tiny smile stretched across his lips.
Another day already…
He took a quick pause to look out the window, the mixture of blue, and pink with a combination of periwinkle clouds dancing across the sky, and just slightly obscuring the bright orange sun in a way that could leave anyone breathless.
"Achoo!" His throat burst, and felt a bit more cold than usual, despite the fact that it was winter; his room was usually pretty warm, just like the rest of the castle. Perhaps this day was going to be a bit colder than usual? No matter.
He still had a job to do, and he started by getting dressed, quickly combing his hair, and checking his duties for the day. (Not before a couple throaty coughs)
Let's see… Sweep the floors, tend to the plants, prepare breakfast with Clorica, wake the princess…
Nothing unusual, he put the list down, grabbed the wooden broom, and began with the butlers' quarters on the west-side of the castle.
"Achoo!" He sneezed again. Yeesh, was it just him, or was the dust especially… floaty today?
"Bless you… Vishnaaaalllllll…. Zzzzz…." He turned his head halfway and peaked at his colleague's predictably surprising behavior of sleeping on the job. However, it didn't bother him, as long as she was able to work then what's the harm, right? Still, it looks pretty unprofessional when you have a series of diligent butlers who tend to every whim and one of them is snoozing away without a care in the world.
He chuckled at this, never before has he seen a dedicated worker as heavy-eyed as her. These two have been working together for years, obviously they've grown attached together like siblings or best friends, so it's wasn't unusual for him to quickly to turn around and pinch her nose to wake her.
"… Ah!" Her eyes shot awake. "Clorica." He smiled, "You know you really shouldn't be sleeping on the job." Clorica pouted at his chuckle, but she knew that he meant nothing by it, and just brushed it off with a quick nudge at his shoulder.
"By the way, don't forget-this morning we've to-" Vishnal wasn't able to finish that sentence due to the sudden wild cough that erupted from his lungs.
"That doesn't sound too good." Clorica puffed her cheek and grew narrow eyed at the blue-haired fellow. "Ah, it's nothing. Don't worry about-Achoo!" His sneeze was harsh enough for his hair to obscure part of his face.
"…. You're sick, aren't you?" The lavender-haired girl looked him in the eyes for a second just before knocking out again.
He didn't even bother to wake her up, because he knew she could hear him anyway, and just continued sweeping in a slight frustration. "No, Clorica, I'm not-Achoo!" He ran a hand across his hair to get it out of his face so he could work. However, he was shaking slightly, and he felt goose-bumps covering every inch of his arms and legs, he sniffed in his runny nose and just continued working.
"Zzz…. You're sick…. Zzzz… aren't you, Vish… nal?" Her eyes pried themselves open a bit and had a scolding look in them. "I'm… telling Mr. Volkanon, if you don't get out of that butler uniform and back to bed!"
Vishnal gave her a shocked look, "You wouldn't!" She turned around to go find the buff, elf butler. "I can… and I will!"
"Clorica…!" He chased after her down the hall until he had no other stop but Mr. Volkanon's chambers.
"Mr. Volkano-" Vishnal instantaneously muffled the sleepy-butler's mouth and pulled her out of the room as quickly as Mr. Volkanon didn't notice.
He dragged her far enough from Volkanon's room, until she quickly licked the palm of his hand off of her mouth, "Ah! That's disgusting!" He quickly rubbed it off on his side, "Don't do that, you handlicker!"
"What's to stop me from going back in that room and telling Mr. Volkanon of your current ailment?" Clorica cocked an eyebrow.
"If you so much as take one step back in that room, then…. Then…! Then I'll tell Mr. Volkanon that it was you who knocked over his quill pen and got ink all over the assessment sheets the other-Achoo-Day!" His hair fell over his eye again.
"….!" Clorica won't deny that it was her who spilled ink all over the sheets the other day, but she didn't know what was worse, getting scolded by scary Mr. Volkanon or being on the other end of a childish black mail…
Vishnal sighed, "Look, let's just continue like normal, we'll meet back in a half-hour to make breakfast." He coughed slightly.
"…" What other option was there? "Fine…" She consented. "But at least promise me you'll take medicine just after breakfast, okay? At least that!" She folded her arms before nodding off again.
"… It's a deal." He continued sweeping the floor and left Clorica to her duties.
After quickly watering the house-plants, it was nearly 6.a.m. Vishnal's favorite part of the day already, waking the princess. He slowly, yet eagerly made his way past Lady Ventuswill's chamber, down another long hallway, and into the Princess's room.
He looked on the opposite corner of the room, and made his way to her bed. Being careful not to be abrupt, he leaned over and gently shook her shoulder. Oddly enough, she seemed to be partially awake as her eyes opened almost instantly, and she smiled sweetly at the kind butler, happy to see him.
"Good morning, princess… You seem to be awake already." He stood upright, and watched as she stretched her arms, and stood up with him and took a quick minute to chat before she sped out the door to get on with her farming chores, not that she would have many, hence that it was winter, and the plants usually don't grow well during this season.
"How are you today, Vishnal? Did you sleep well?" She smiled brightly at the young man. "Fine, thank you very much. I hope you had a goodnight sleep yourself." She nodded eagerly.
"By the way, princess, breakfast will be brought to your room in a bit." She listened to him as she made her way to do the door to start her day, but just before she exited, she quickly turned to him, "Thank you, Vishnal. By the way, I know it's early, but I was hoping that maybe later, when you're off duty, you'd like to come with me on a little adventure?"
Vishnal smiled at her offer, straightened his stance, right hand over his chest and recited with confidence, "It would be my honor to accompany you, Princess Frey." He took a deep bow and sniffed.
Vishnal couldn't see the tiny pink blush across the princess's face, but he did hear her giggle, and that made him smile.
"I'll catch you later then." She flashed him one last smile before beginning her chores. Vishnal smiled at the empty door, and just like that, the sniffles came back, and Vishnal immediately felt cold and weak suddenly. He quickly took a deep break and tried to shake it off.
He sniffled again as he took a bite out of his eggs, Clorica gave him a scolding look out of the corner of her eye that said, "Eggs aren't good when you're sick!"
Vishnal noticed the piercing look in her eyes, but that didn't stop him from continuing his duties like normal. He turned to Mr. Volkanon.
"Mr. Volkanon." Vishnal tried to cover up a sniffle. "If I may, I'd like to know if-"
"GOODNESS GRACIOUS!" Volkanon interrupted suddenly.
"Ah! W-w-what is it, sir?" Vishnal looked shocked and confused at Mr. Volkanon's sudden outburst. Clorica suddenly woke up and looked at Volkanon with drowsy eyes.
"I forgot to bring the fruit! Silly me!" Volkanon laughed heartily as he quickly stood up and made way to the fridge, and maybe it was just Vishnal, but suddenly he felt a little light-headed. Perhaps the sudden outburst shocked him out of nerves? Or was his little cold getting worse by the minute? Either way, he didn't notice his forehead slowly plummeting into his breakfast.
"Vishnal!" Volkanon snapped him awake, scrambled eggs on his forehead, "Goodness, boy. What's the matter with you? You're drowsier than Clorica today!"
Clorica had enough of watching her best friend torturing himself like this, whether he liked it or not, he was getting his butt back in that bed and resting until he gets better!
"Vishnal is… is… Zzzz…." Vishnal and Volkanon gave it a moment.
"Ah!" Clorica woke up again, "Vishnal is sick! And he has been since he woke up this morning!" Clorica scolded Vishnal.
"WHAAAAAT? Vishnal, is this true?"
Vishnal quickly got up, the blood rapidly rushing through his head, darkening his eye-sight and slightly threw off his balance. "N-No, sir! Clorica is just…" He coughed wildly once more, "… making up stories."
"Vishnal, you're turning pale!" Volkanon grew wide-eyed.
"I am…" He cut himself off with a sneeze, "… not!" His shoulders began to shake, and he felt his skin growing hot, "I am…" His eyes were fluttering closed, but he forced them open, "… n-not…." He didn't even feel his face colliding with the cold floor.
"Vishnal!" Clorica ran to his fainted body, and hoisted his upper body against hers, his head resting on her shoulder, and his back against her chest.
"SWEET MOTHER OF A HOLY BUFFAMOO!" Volkanon hilariously stumbled, pulled him from Clorica's arms, and hoisted Vishnal's whole body over his shoulder like he was a rag doll, and ran out of the room, "MAYDAY! BUTLER DOWN! BUTLER DOWN! CALL A DOCTOR!"
As Clorica watched this extremely awkward and somehow sweet scene play out before her, she quickly knocked out as soon as it was over.
"CLORICA!" Volkanon boomed from down the hall.
"...!" Clorica's senses returned again as she tailed behind Mr. Volkanon.
…
"… is he?"
…...
"… thing serious."
… W-What?
"I suggest he gets plenty of rest and take plenty of vitamins, nothing dangerous fortunately…"
… Dr. Jones? … And… Mr. Volkanon…?
The young butler tried to pry his eyes open, and the only thing that greeted him was a blurry image of the two figures that were in-what appeared to be- his room.
"Ah good. You're awake." Dr. Jones smiled.
"W… Where…?" Vishnal felt something cold on his forehead, and quickly looked down at himself to find that he was in his… pajamas for some reason… and was covered from his neck to his feet in a thick and cozy blanket.
"Thank you so much, Doctor Jones." Volkanon put his hand over his chest and bowed slightly showing gratitude.
"Think nothing of it. Just doing my job." Dr. Jones smiled and turned to the sick boy in bed, "Don't go and push yourself too hard now, you hear?"
Vishnal tried to muster a response, but somehow he knew that either way he'd be lying in this bed all day whether he liked it or not.
Oh, Clorica…
Stupid! How could he be stupid enough to think a stupid little bribe like that would keep her from spilling a secret as crucial as this? He could slap himself silly for being such a moron. So much for that sick-prevention training… Vishnal hated being sick, it was boring, you feel horrible, and he wasn't even allowed to do the one job he enjoyed doing every day.
"Vishnal."
He directed his attention to Mr. Volkanon.
"I understand why you'd want to avoid being bedridden… Even though it's important to push for the best, you're only human. Dr. Jones is correct, don't push yourself too hard."
Volkanon quickly checked his pocket-watch, "Clorica will bring you some food shortly, in the meantime, please rest and think about why you should've just told me that you were feeling sick! And that's an order! Think about it! You're lucky I'm not subtracting this from your score!" And with that, Volkanon departed.
Vishnal felt himself a mess, the immensely cold cloth resting on his forehead, and the aching in his muscles… He hated to admit it, Volkanon was right, who could work in such a state? It's not like Vishnal didn't like his work, the total opposite, he loved it, and he works hard every day to become the best butler he can. And it even felt a little strange to him, but perhaps he needed a day like this. A day where he could just rest his worries off, and think of other things he's never had time to think about before. This was different though, it wasn't as if it was always all-work and no-play for Vishnal, he did have breaks on festivals, or whenever he would go have lunch with Clorica, or the guys, or when he would give in to his adventurer side with Princess Frey as he would accompany her to places he'd never seen up close and personal before.
He looked off to the side and saw dual blades resting by the desk, he suddenly remembered. Remembered how Princess Frey would always ask him if he was okay, and would give him little collectables they'd find off the ground whenever they'd explore a dungeon with her or a varying third party member like Kiel, Doug, or Margaret.
He very much enjoyed being with the princess, every time she was around, it would make him feel all warm and giddy inside.
Oh…. Forgive me, Princess… It seems I cannot join you on your expedition today…
He frowned at this thought, he loved going out and fighting alongside her as her professional butler who simply is a combat specialist on the outside to protect her on their journeys. If Vishnal wasn't the best cook, he was definitely a one-man army with those dual blades.
THUMP!
Vishnal snapped back into reality and quickly directed his attention to the door, "… It's open!" He responded.
…
"... CLORICA!" He shouted.
"Ah…!" A tiny crash sounded. "… Oooh… Darnit!"
Sleeping at the door? How predictable of her.
"It's open!" Vishnal called out in a broken and raspy-sick voice.
Suddenly the door was kicked open, violently.
(*Author's Note*- JESUS!)
Vishnal took cover under his blanket. "Good lord, woman!" And rose up again.
"I had no free hands." Clorica scrunched her eyebrows, her eyes still closed with a dreamy smile on her face.
What kinda dream is she having beneath those eyelids?
Vishnal would've scolded her like mad if his throat wasn't hurting so much or if he wasn't too distracted by that soup stain on her shirt.
"I told you! I told you so!" Clorica stuck her tongue out at him.
"We had a deal!" Vishnal destroyed his voice scolding the young butler standing across from him. "Thanks a bunch, Clorica! I can't even get out of this stupid room today, thanks to you!"
"Zzzzz…." She snoozed away, still with the tray of food in her hands.
"…." Vishnal gave it a moment.
"Ah! … Oooh, well… If you pushed yourself today, I know you would've keeled over at one point. I know Frey was supposed to take you on an adventure today. You should thank me! What if a monster got the upper hand against you because of one little, inconvenient, out of place sneeze? What then?"
Vishnal didn't respond, he hated to admit that she was right, but still, who wants to lay in bed all day blowing their noses through the back of their heads with broken down vocal cords, coughing and wheezing?
"There's always tomorrow." She laid the tray on his large nightstand. "Eat all this soup and you'll feel better in no time."
Vishnal thought she sounded like a mother, but he was thankful deep down of course. She went out of her way to prepare this for her friend so he could get better. Vishnal wasn't one to not show gratitude where it counts.
"… Thank you, Clorica." He sat up. His stuffy nose suddenly opening up and his breathing slightly improved. "We're best friends, Vishnal. This is what we do for each other. I know you would've done the same for me."
Vishnal wouldn't disagree with that. These two would, without a doubt, jump a bullet for each other.
"… Even if it ends up as a Disastrous Dish." Clorica smiled jokingly.
"Hey!" He blushed, embarrassed by the low blow on his unpredictably, bizarre cooking skills.
KNOCK KONCK!
"Hm?" Vishnal and Clorica directed their attention to the closed door on the opposite corner of the room, and naturally, Clorica got up to open it.
"Hello, Clorica. I just heard the news!" Frey stepped in and saw the sick blue-haired boy under the covers. She looked heart-broken to see him in such a state. "How are you feeling?" She let a hand sit on his head. Vishnal smiled at her gentleness, and responded with, "Not as bad as I-"He coughed "… look."
Clorica smiled at this scene, she knew that the Princess was especially fond of Vishnal, and vice versa, she felt like both Vishnal and she were in safe hands whenever the Princess was around.
"I'm sorry to interrupt. But I must get back to work now. I'll be back to check up on you, Vishnal." Clorica gave him a knowingly devious smile before departing.
That was…. Strange. Just what are you up to, Clorica?
No matter. He turned his head back to Frey, "Princess, I'm sorry to say, but I believe I won't be able to come with you on your expedition today."
"Don't apologize, Vishnal. I could just put it off until you get better." She smiled.
This shocked Vishnal, it was one thing to be in no condition to work, but he didn't think it'd be a burden, "Oh no, Princess! Please, don't rearrange your schedule for my sake. If there's something you must do, then I would advise you bring Forte or any of the other skilled warriors in this town."
Frey widened her eyes, and slightly blushed, "I… Before I was about to go find you, something came up, and I knew it would've been a waste of time to go after I finished, because we would've gotten back too late, and I didn't want that."
"… Are you sure…?" Vishnal trailed off as he asked when Frey nodded in response.
"Well, since your plans were crushed today… What do you plan on doing now?" He kept his eyes on her.
Frey leaned back in her chair, and thought about it for a moment… It was winter, the crops definitely weren't gonna grow, snowball fights were out of the question because she didn't want to go out and have fun while one of her closest friends was sick. Her chores and practicing medicine were pretty much done for the day… So what could she do now?
"… I could…" She blushed, embarrassed that she was about to say this. "I could take care of you today."
If Vishnal was feeling nauseous, he would've vomited a bullet hard enough to crack a hole in the wall. "P-Princess! No, no, no, don't trouble yourself with taking care of me! It should be the opposite! I should be the one-"He coughed wildly once more, making his point less convincing.
"Look at that, you're coughing your lungs out. You've convinced me, Vishnal. Convinced me that I should stay here until you feel better." She stood and picked up the tray of food and set it over his lap. Luckily, it was one of those legged trays, so they didn't have to worry about spilling anything over, hence that nearly everything on this tray was liquids. Orange juice, soup, and cough medicine. Yeah… all three of them.
"You're right. As a butler, you should be taking care of me. But you're also my friend, and as my friend, I should return the kind favor of tending to you when you're sick." She picked up the spoon, and cough medicine and poured a spoonful's worth onto the…. Well, spoon.
"Open wide now…" She pointed the spoon to his face. Vishnal gave a blank and embarrassed stare. Frey noticed this, "Come ooooonn… Say ahhhhh…"
Vishnal couldn't contain his chuckle as he adored the Princess's face when she made that noise. He was still against the idea of her taking care of him, but he knew that no matter how hard he'd try; her mind was dead set on this. She was going to sit in this room all day and take care of the young butler.
Vishnal grabbed part of the spoon, and unlike Frey, not realizing that their hands were touching, guided the spoon into his mouth, and choked on the strongly bitter taste of medicine on his tongue.
He coughed, but choked it down, and Frey giggled while patting his back.
"Hehe! … What do you feel? How bad is it?" She looked at him with concerned eyes. Vishnal reciprocated, but also tried to keep his distance so his cold wouldn't spread. "My nose is… Well, it's really congested… And my throat is on fire… Hopefully the cough medicine can help, but still…" He kept a bit of a broken smile.
"Hmmm…" Frey turned her head and noticed his pillow lying flat.
"Hm? Something wrong?" Vishnal noticed her spacing out.
She reached for his pillow, but he quickly put his hand over her wrist, both aware that their hands were touching…
He pulled away, pink dashed across his cheeks, "What ails you? I wouldn't touch that if I were you, Princess!"
Frey looked at him wide-eyed, but then she couldn't contain a cute smile, "Oh relax, I'm just trying to help you." She took his pillow and folded it in half.
Vishnal looked confused.
"You said you were congested, right? Well that's because you're lying flat on your back! Some elevation will help you breathe better." She set the folded pillow behind him, and gently pushed him back down.
Oddly enough, she was right, his breathing improved dramatically. Huh! He never knew that!
(*Author's Note* Elevating your head for a stuffy nose is EXTREMELY effective! ( ^-^)b )
He chuckled at her audacity… Perhaps being taken care of by the Princess was better than he thought.
She stood up, "Be sure to eat that soup." She wandered around his room a little bit. Standing in front of the large bookshelf mostly containing manuals about being butler or cook books or anything that could help him with his goals.
Eh, boring stuff…
She bent lower to see the other half of the bookshelf; and this piqued her attention, oddly enough.
"I didn't know you were interested in novels!" She pulled out one of the books, and quickly skimmed some of the pages.
Vishnal almost spit out his soup, "I-I… Er, I'm not! Some of those are…. Err… Mr. Volkanon's!A-A-And Kiel needed a place to leave some of his books! So, I err…"
Vishnal felt himself get flustered, unfortunately he was easy to read, like an open book (No pun intended), and Frey just marveled at how adorable he was getting rattled out about a silly topic like this. Even funnier, one of those excuses he just babbled is actually true, some of those were Mr. Volkanon's, but he didn't want them found in his room, so he just left them in Vishnal's room.
(*Vishnal to camera*"Say what?"
Author- Volkanon set you-*Volkanon muffles the author's voice* Mrrrff!
Volkanon- "Vishnal! You better be-AAH! *Snatches hand away and glares at author* … Handlicker!)
"Have you read this one?" She stood up and seated herself next to him, but not too close otherwise she'd get sick.
"'Romeo & Juliet'…?" Vishnal pondered about that one for a moment.
(Author- Might as well pick a story everyone's heard of, right?
… Okay, I got lazy. Sue me.)
"Actually… I have not. But I have read some of the other books the same author has-" Vishnal coughed like mad once again. "… written." He completed.
Frey smiled, and looked down at the plain book cover. "Well, what do you know about this one? Romeo and Juliet?"
Vishnal wasn't sure if the heat in his body was coming from sickness or sheer embarrassment of the fact that he literally owns a copy of this book. He could always pin it on Volkanon being the owner of the book, but of course, he's too kind to do that, Vishnal somewhat faked a cough, "It's uhh, actually, it's um… It's a romance."
Frey felt her heart flutter a little when she heard that word. "A… R-Romance?" She looked down at the book. "Yes, apparently it's a romantic tragedy… I haven't gotten around to reading it, of course…" He scratched the back of his messy hair.
"Hehe! Well, I thought the cover of the book looked interesting so I thought maybe…" She blushed as she held the book. A romance, huh? Now that Frey's thought about it, she doesn't really read as much as some of the bookworms in this town do, like Kiel, or Arthur. However, that's not to say she doesn't enjoy a good novel every now and again, but because she's always working, her taste in books is quite limited. That word echoed in her mind, romance… A tale of love…? Two people whose hearts conjoined in a way that no one can ever have the strength to breech? This wasn't the first time she's ever heard that word, love. But when Frey sat in that room, alone with Vishnal, the weight of those syllables dropped on her like an anvil. She enjoyed talking to everyone in town, and participating in bustling festivals like the Buddy-Battle or the Bean-Toss Contest, but whenever she was with Vishnal, nothing could ever wreck her joyful mood; it was as bright as the sun. She could sit and talk with him for hours on end, but why was her chest suddenly beating so fast…?
"Oh, you may-"He sneezed loudly. "… borrow it if you'd like." He sniffled.
"Oh, you… you don't mind?" She looked at him questioningly.
"Of course not, Princess! Why would I mind?" Vishnal lied back down and smiled at her brightly despite his pail skin, and baggy eyes. She smiled back, and set the book down on his desk, and sat in the chair next to his bed again.
"How do you feel now?" She looked at him with concerned eyes, and he returned her gaze, "… I've been better since you've been here, Princess." He smiled, and suddenly blushed, realizing what he just said. "I mean… err…."
Vishnal wasn't sure if he stepped out of line with those words, he still didn't want to admit that he was okay with Frey taking care of him. Cat's out of the bag now… Ah, well…. It wasn't as if the feeling wasn't mutual, Frey wanted to be with Vishnal since the start of this whole mess, and before that even. Vishnal loved being with the princess, not just as a butler, but as a good friend, someone she can lean on should she ever need it, and… also as a man who'd walk through hell to protect her. And that's just what he was, he may have not been perfect, but his heart was always in the right place when it came down to being there for Princess Frey.
Frey said nothing; she just smiled at him, brightly, her happiness reflecting on her face when he said that. She slowly reached for his cold hand, and wrapped hers around his gently.
(Author's Note- "God, why do I always write such fluff? Kill me.")
"I'm happy to be here with yo-"
KNOCK KNOCK!
PSSH!
A red-head dwarf suddenly drove through the center of the door, head hanging down.
"And that…" Dylas opens the door, with Doug's waist down hanging out of the other side.
"… Is how you open a door with Doug." He steps in, followed by Kiel, Arthur, Leon. "Vishnal! Hey, what gives, weren't we gonna head out for a bite at Porcoline's Kitchen today?" Kiel approached him with puzzled yet fascinated eyes, "Wow! You're deathly pale! You came down with the sniffles, didn't you?"
"What gave it away, the baggy eyes, or the fact that he's in bed?" Leon cocked an eyebrow. "Unless… sickness was an excuse to… take a day off, if you know what I mean." He directed his attention to Frey and Vishnal's joined hands.
Frey and Vishnal blushed furiously, snatching their hands away, embarrassed by the fact that they were caught red-handed. (No pun intendo… If that counts as one.)
"So sorry, were we interrupting anything?" Arthur also cocked an eyebrow.
"NO!" Vishnal and Frey shouted in sync, and Vishnal holding his throat in agony.
"Hehe, you're sure friendly…" Dylas lightly teased the two, not noticing that Doug was behind him with what appeared to be a mackerel?
PAH!
Dylas slammed into the wall.
"Hey!" Vishnal sat up, annoyed at their antics with one another. Frey tried to calm him down, and gave him a reassuring smile that said, I'll handle this. She stood up, "Would you two ladies stop your obnoxious bickering for TWO STINKIN' MINUTES?!"
Everyone went dead silent, Doug and Dylas having fistfuls of each other's hair prepared to brawl with each other, until they just got scolded by a girl.
"Seriously! Your friend has come down with a severe cold, and THIS is when you take the time to get into a catfight!? Have some damn decency! The both of you!" She held a ferocious look in her eyes that burned Dylas and Doug, finally cooling down, she sat back down next to Vishnal keeping that bright smile.
"Yeah, Dylas!" Doug pushed Dylas off of him, and quickly yet vigorously hopped on Vishnal's bed, back against the wall, and legs over Vishnal's body. "Man, you look like crap." He turned to Dylas, "See what ya do? One of my best buddies is practically dying in bed, and you wanna take a moment that could be spent towards cheering him up to pummel me? For shame, dude."
"What?! I'm not the one who tried to MURDER someone with a Mackerel!" Dylas walked past Frey, standing by Vishnal's head.
"You would if you could-"
"SHUT. UP." Leon, Arthur, Kiel, Frey and Vishnal all yelled in sync.
"Wow!" Kiel took the book that was sitting on this desk, "I remember this story! Forte used to read it all the time when we were little! She would cry like a baby while reading it!" There goes Keil, saying something that probably should not have been said.
(Forte- "… I'M GONNA KILL THAT KID…!"
*Author jumps on Forte, holding her back* WHOA GOD…!)
"'Romeo & Juliet'…?' Leon leaned over next to Kiel as he read the title, "I never figured you to be the type to enjoy such stories, Vishnal." Leon teased.
Vishnal gulped, but before he could get out a response, "Actually, it's mine!" Frey turned to him, "I walked in here one day, looking for Vishnal, with the book in my hands, but when I sat down to take a break, and I accidentally left the book in his room." She lied smoothly.
Arthur almost believed her story when he noticed the crevice in the book case behind her; he opened his mouth to say something, but decided to leave that matter where it was left off, besides Arthur was in no position to laugh at someone for liking such stories.
"Anyway…" Vishnal redirected his eyes to the rest of his friends, "What are you guys doing here?" He sneezed.
"Did you forget?" Arthur gave him an amused and bemused look, "We all made plans to have lunch at Porcoline's Kitchen today. We noticed you were late, so we thought…"
"We thought we'd change plans and come bother you instead!" Doug finished, and gave him a toothy smile.
Vishnal wasn't sure if he was happy or was confused, he was happy that he had such great friends like these people coming to visit him on a day like this, but he seemed a bit confused by Frey's perplexed smile.
Frey, on the other hand, was of course happy that their friends were here for him… But a small part of her wished they would just go away so she can have a nice, quiet day with Vishnal and Vishnal alone.
"Do you need anything, Vishnal?" She asked him in collected tone while Dylas and Doug's arguing seemed to be background filler.
Just you, my Princess…
"I'm okay, a lot better now, thank you, Princess." Vishnal gave her a serene smile.
There was a moment of silence after Leon silenced the two boys arguing like a married couple.
"… Sooo… What now?" Doug leaned his head back and turned his head to the sick butler.
You could leave… Frey's mind said.
"I figured this visit would head down in this direction, luckily I've come prepared." Leon randomly pulls out a deck of cards. "Wow!" Kiel snatches the deck away from him, "These are brand new! Where'd you get 'em?"
"Obsidian Mansion." Leon answered easily.
"Ho-ho! I love Cheat!" Doug got excited as he looked at the dumbfounded Vishnal. "Ah! D'you heard that? Doug says he loves to cheat! I caught him! I caught him red-handed!" Dylas gave a victory grin.
"Screw you, man! I said I loved the game 'Cheat' not 'I love to cheat!" Doug clenched a fist. "It's too late for apologies-!"
"Shaddap." Frey quickly silenced them. "… What's Cheat?" She quickly turned to Doug.
(*Author's Note* Cheat, for those who don't know, is another name for the card game, Bullshit.)
"Only the greatest card game known to Dwarves!" Doug motioned Kiel to pass him the deck.
Vishnal sat up, scooted over to the wall, and folded his legs so there could be more space on the bed for the others to sit.
"So the way this works… Hold on… We might need a table of some kind…" Doug looked around the room, "Ah, perfect! Frey, could you take that tray of food off the legged one and bring it here?" Frey turned around and totally forgot about his soup, and orange juice, it must've gone cold at this point. But before she could get up, a hand stopped her.
"Let me, Princess." Vishnal smiled, as he got up off the bed, "It's my job." He told her, Doug explaining and Dylas arguing to explain the rules being background filler.
Before he removed the tray, he quickly took the glass of orange juice and chugged it down, feeling a bit more energized and not so sluggish. He quickly drank the half-eaten soup without the spoon.
(*Author* Something I do quite often. (^-^)b )
He quickly pulled the tray out and brought the legged one to his bed, and climbed back onto it behind Frey. Dylas sat in the chair, Leon sitting at the side-edge of his bed, Arthur at the corner, Kiel at the back, Doug at the wall, and Vishnal between him and the Princess.
"All right, without Dylas or Doug so rudely interrupting…" Arthur glared the two boys." Essentially, our goal is to get rid of all our cards, and we do that by counting. So for example, if I put down a 2-The card must be face down-then it would be Kiel's turn-or Leon's depending if we go counterclockwise- to put down a 3, face down. However, let's assume he doesn't put down a 3, but he claims it is, and I call, "Cheater" Kiel must take the whole deck of cards."
"So the point is to keep putting cards down, lying or not?" Leon asked. "Yep." Doug answered, "The first one to run out of cards wins. Hope you all are pretty good liars." Doug gave everyone his game face. He took the deck and began passing everyone cards, distributing them evenly.
"Since I already know I'm gonna win…
Doug said with a dark grin,
"… Vishnal should go first!" He pointed at the sick butler, "How does that follow at all?!" Vishnal responded in haste. "Fine…" He looked at his deck, and quickly pulled out one of his cards, "Two." He put down a two.
"CHEATER!" Doug called out. "Huh?! No, it's actually a two! Look!" Vishnal showed the card to everyone and put it in Doug's face.
"What? Already?!" Doug took the card and put it in his deck. "By the way, Vishnal, and everyone who doesn't know, but if you actually are telling the truths when you put a card down, you say, "Take it", don't bother showing it." Arthur chimed in.
"Your turn, Frey." Kiel motioned to her. "Oh! Okay." Frey looked at her cards, and put down a three. "Three."
"Four." Dylas put down a four.
"Five." Leon put down.
"Six." Kiel put down.
"Seven." Arthur went.
"Eight." Doug put down.
"Nine." Vishnal repeated.
"Ten!" Frey started again.
"Jack!" Dylas put down.
"CHEATER!" Doug called. "Take it!" Dylas gave an evil grin. "Oh, WHAT?!" Doug took the whole pile.
"Queen!" Leon put down.
"King!" Kiel put down.
"Cheater!" Frey called him out.
"Aww!" Kiel took both cards.
"Ace!" Arthur put down. "Cheater!" Vishnal called out. "Ah!" Arthur looked surprised. "What's the likelihood of having one of two aces among all 7 of us?" Vishnal squinted his eyes in a devious smile formed across his lips.
"… Touche my good man." Arthur took his card back.
"Two!" Doug.
"Three!" Vishnal.
"Four!" Frey.
"Five!" Dylas.
"… Six." Leon put down…
"Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater!" Kiel shouted in his direction! "Aw, come on!" Leon raked in the deck.
KNOCK KNOCK!
"Vishnal!" Volkanon's voice sounded on the other side.
(*Author's Note* Ohhhhh shit...)
Suddenly everybody scrambled out of the card game, and tried to find a good hiding spot. Dylas ducked behind the door, Kiel stuffed himself in the bookshelf, Arthur hid his head with a lampshade, Doug slid under Vishnal's bed, Leon ducked for his desk, Frey jumped inside the bed covers with Vishnal, and Vishnal just faked being asleep.
Suddenly the door was flung wide open, and you could hear the sound of Dylas's forehead coming into contact with the broken wooden door.
(*Author's Note* Ooooh, that's gotta hurt...)
Volkanon stepped in the room, and approached the young butler hoaxing his sleep. Doug swallowing a lump in his throat, beads of swear rolling down his head as he approached, Volkanon had a look of pity on his face as he stared down at the young man,"... Poor boy." He muttered. Volkanon knew how passionate Vishnal was with his work, and he admired that most about him. Sure, he could be clumsy at times, and somehow mess up his cooking beyond belief, or weirdly get it right, but it was no exaggeration to say that Vishnal was one of Volkanon's most adept and hardworking students.
Frey lied perfectly still, not moving an INCH as she had her face pressed against Vishnal's rib cage. Kiel watched him as he walked up to Vishnal's desk, wondering how in the hell did Volkanon not see the only tiny blond boy sticking out of the bookcase. Leon starring at the burly butler's legs, wearing an expression that said, Holy Crapola...
"Hmm..." Volkanon looks at Vishnal's paperwork, "Ever diligent. Keep up the good work, Vishnal." He set the paper down and took his time leaving the room, walking past lampshade Arthur, who was about to bust a gut from the tension. Volkanon closed the door with a soft click, but they still stayed like that for some reason...
Suddenly the door opened again, striking Dylas's head once more, and this time it was Clorica with a basket of laundry, "The coast is clear guys..." She closed the door again.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief, Vishnal and Frey sat up from under the covers, Kiel pushed himself out of the bookcase, Arthur pulled up the lampshade, Doug slid out from under the bed, Leon got out from under the desk, and Dylas just knocked over, being slammed into twice in a row.
"Phew..." Kiel let out a sigh.
"That was... way too close..." Leon fanned himself.
"Agreed." Arthur put the lampshade back.
This continued for hours upon hours on end, both playing cards, and hiding whenever scary Volkanon came in, or Clorica would pop in every once in a while to watch their card games, despite his cold, Vishnal felt as if he never had one in the first place. Thanks to the company of Princess Frey and his trustworthy friends who literally bothered him just so he could feel better. He couldn't tell if that was a favor, or a liability, but either way, he was happy they were all there. After a while, Vishnal got tired of playing, so everyone got off of his bed and let him get settled.
"Doug!" Dylas lightly pulled his dwarf ears. "I challenge you… to SPIT!"
They sat on the floor, and they all watched the competitive game of spit between Dylas and Doug, it went from best 2 outta 3, to 4 outta 6, to 5 outta 7, so on and so forth. Vishnal didn't really watch the card game, but the sound of his friends having a good time was enough. He looked up at the mint-haired girl starring down at him with a precious smile. "Princess… Thank you for today." He smiled at her. "It was my pleasure, Vishnal." She rested her hand on his soft blue hair.
"Welp!" Doug stretched his arms to the sky, "That was a lot of fun, but I gotta get home or Grandma Blossom will tan my hide!" He turned to leave, but not without one last set of words to Vishnal, "Feel better, man! Next time don't cancel on us like that!" And with that, he ran out the door.
"I better get home too! I gotta make dinner. Bye Vishnal!" Kiel ran behind him.
"We must be off as well." Arthur and Dylas stood up, "I must get back to work." Arthur said. "And I gotta get back to the restaurant before Margaret gives me an earful." Dylas and Arthur left.
"… I gotta run too. Have fun, Lovebirds." Leon left.
Frey and Vishnal shared a blush, finally they were alone. "That was lots of fun." Vishnal smiled. "You looked like you had lots of fun." Frey returned the smile, "You too, Princess."
"… I'm sorry; I know you had different plans for today, Princess. I told you, you should've just asked Forte to go with you." He had a guilty look in his eyes, "Huh? No, no, don't apologize! I actually… did get what I wanted today." She veered her sight anywhere that wasn't him. "When I…" She swallowed a lump in her throat, "When I asked you if you wanted to come with me on an adventure today… I only wanted you to come along."
Vishnal's eyes widened and he blushed at her words, "Princess…"
"Oh! Hehe! Sorry about that. I kinda just said that without even thinking…" Frey looked up at the clock, "It's nine… I should let you sleep now." She stood up, and stretched her limbs, "Good night, Vishnal."
"Good night, Princess." Vishnal's eyes fluttered closed, letting the Sandman work his shift.
No other words said, Frey exited the room, but not before quickly turning around and giving him one last look and said, "Feel better, my sweet butler."
The next morning
Vishnal took a long look in the mirror, straightening his tie, "I feel great today." He whispered to himself. He took one his usual morning chores, sweeping the floors, tending the plants, and his usual exchange of blows with Clorica.
He was on his way to the Princess's room, as per usual, to wake her up, "Good morning, Princess." He lightly shook her shoulder. "It's time to get up."
A small groan came from the bed, and then a couple of throaty coughs, "Princess…?"
"Good morning-"She sneezed "… Vishnal. How are you this morning?" She stood up, her eyes looking a little baggy. "Fine… Princess… But, you don't appear to be." He hesitantly reached his hand forward. "Ah, I'm fin-"She coughed wildly.
"… You're sick, aren't you, Princess?" Vishnal looked at her. "Sick? Please, Vishnal." She laughed, but then it turned into cough, "I gotta… I gotta harvest the crops…" She stepped forward, but not before clumsily falling over for Vishnal to catch her in his arms. "… V-Vishnal…" She peered up at him shyly, blushing when he saw genuine concern and heart-break surface on his handsome features, and the feeling of his gentle, warm hands register on her back, causing her to shudder not out of sickness...
"Look, you're cold, Princess." He mistook that shudder as the winter air already taking its toll on her, he gently led her back to bed, folded her pillow in half, and covered her with her blankets.
"Clorica!" Vishnal cupped part of his mouth and called in his colleague.
"Zzz… Vishnal…. Don't shout so loud…" Her eyes shut as she said that.
"Sorry, but we've a bit of a change in plans." He pried one of her eyes open and pointed to the sick princess in bed.
"Let's quickly do some field work before we continue." Vishnal then turned to the princess, "Is there anything you should mention to us about your farm?" He looked her with those big purple eyes.
Frey thought for a moment, "Not really, be rid of all tree stumps and minerals, all the lumber and material stones in the Lumber box, and the mineral stones in the shipping box."
"As you wish." Vishnal motioned Clorica to follow him out into the fields.
At about a quarter to 9, Vishnal finally appeared back into the Princess's room, with what appeared to be a book in his hands,"Good morning, how do you feel now?"
"I'll be fine, Vishnal. Don't let me distract you from your work." She tried to put on a smile for him.
"This is my work, Princess. Please, allow me to take care of you today." He put his right hand over his chest.
"Vishnal..." She looked at him with big green eyes, but said nothing at the book in his hands. Vishnal noticed her starring, "Oh! ... Perhaps we may read a story together today?" He showed her the exact same book she was fascinated with yesterday, Romeo & Juliet.
Frey could do nothing but smile at her favorite butler.
Moral of the story: "Laughter is the best medicine."
YEAH! First Rune Factory fic! Let's throw a mother-effin' PARTY!
By the way, yes, I am FULLY aware that it's more so of Frey crushing on Vishnal instead of it the other way around. You know why? I just told you the problem. Because every time I look at fictions about ships, one of them is ALWAYS crushing on the other, and it's never the other way around. Perfect example: Fire Emblem Awakening's Chrom and Robin, Robin is ALWAYS the one crushing on Chrom. I think it's time someone did something about that, and that someone is gonna be me!
Welp, now that I've ranted, hope you all had fun! Look forward to more in the future! Bye!