Fortuitous Meetings

DISCLAIMER: Me no own, you no sue. And I'll feed you to Gul-chan's dragons if you try, so there.

first i m p r e s s i o n s

In the 21st year of the reign of King Ordene of Fantasinia, the royal family and their closest attendants journeyed to the much-diminished Empire of Bronquia, to the north of their borders. After the anarchy that had followed the wartime death of Emperor Karza, Ordene—then the Royal Prince—had taken the Holy Sword and helped a family of Royal allies in Bronquia assume the throne instead, thus restoring peace between the nations. In gratitude, the new Emperor and his family had invited the king and his retinue to enjoy their hospitality every year to commemorate the event.

This was the first year, however, that the queen and the seven-year-old princess had come along for the trip.

---

"Yggdra, don't fidget. Sit up straight, like a proper young lady should."

The young girl perched on her knees at the carriage window started, then squirmed back around to sit properly on the seat cushion, giving her starched governess a pouty look as she clutched her skirts. She was small for her age, with shiny, straight golden-blonde hair that fell to her shoulders and huge sapphire-blue eyes. She wore a velvet-and-brocade green dress and vest over a white linen shift with lacy edges, fine deerskin boots, and a jewel-encrusted platinum clip that softly pulled her hair back from her face. But despite the way she was dripping in finery, she didn't seem to be very aware of her own social status. Instead, she seemed preoccupied with getting another peek of what lay outside the closed carriage box.

"Papa said we'll be in Flarewerk soon," the little princess reminded her governess, kicking her heels against the plush seat. She pronounced the name of the Bronquian capital slowly and carefully, as she'd been instructed. "I want to see what it's like outside!"

"Patience, Yggdra," the old woman said in a slightly annoyed tone, turning back to what she was really interested in—tatting a spool of lace. "You'll get to see foreigners soon enough. Though, mind you, these Bronquians are a nasty, barbaric lot, no matter how civilized their new ruler is. I would have much preferred that we stay in Paltina, but His Majesty insisted, so here we are. Keep a safe distance, Princess."

Yggdra made a face and turned back to the window, watching the country swirl by. Up ahead was a walled city made of red brick, and the red-washed stone of a bright palace just beyond it, with red banners flapping at every tower.

No matter what her governess said, Yggdra couldn't have been any more excited to see this strange new place… and finally, maybe have an adventure or two of her own here, just like her papa.

---

Meanwhile, in the dirtiest and most out-of-the-way of Flarewerk's slums, a boy stood at the door of a poorly-built thatched-roof wooden house, bidding a hushed farewell to the pair of girls that stood just inside it.

He was ten years old, though he could've passed for older between his height, the layer of muscle he'd built performing various kinds of work, and the mature look on his face. He had bright crimson hair cut unevenly an inch or so above chin level and bright golden eyes with deep purple shadows under them; although there were smudges of dirt on his secondhand clothes and a square white bandage on his cheek, he had a noble set to his features—few Bronquian commoners possessed the proudly arched nose, high cheekbones, and strong brow he did. And only two other people living had the same pointed ears as he.

"Remember, you two have to stay inside today," he told the twins, looking from one blonde, blue-eyed girl to the next. "Those damned Royals are going to be all over town, and if they see either of you, you could be killed. Mom and Dad won't be back 'til lunch, and I need to go work in the field, so you'll have to watch Emilia for now. Okay?"

"You be careful, too," one of the twins reminded him, crossing her arms. "If they come near you, hide your ears. I bet all the Fantasinians know what to look for."

Her sister nodded, placing one hand on her hip and pointing a judicious finger at him. "Yeah! You should be staying home today, too, so don't keep lecturing Luciana and me! We're the responsible ones in this house!"

The boy sighed. "You guys are mean. But seriously… there are six of us here. Just Mom and Dad can't get enough money to buy food for all of us, and we can't even sell any of the Imperial heirlooms, since that would give us away. You two are in the most danger from the Fantasinians, so you need to stay here and be safe. So I have to go work today."

Luciana gave him a look, then shook her head and hugged him. "Then… you'd better go. If you're late, the overseer will get mad again. And Aegina and me hate seeing you come home hurt."

"I'll be fine. I won't be late. Tell Emilia I'm sorry I couldn't wait for her to wake up… I think she might be sad about that." The boy hugged each of the twins in turn, then backed down the steps and ran off along the dirt road.

"Be careful, Gulcasa," Luciana hissed anxiously after him. If he heard her, he didn't respond at all.

---

As the carriage slowed to a stop on the cobbled main road through Flarewerk, the door at its side swung open to show the smiling face of a tall, crowned, blonde-bearded man. "How's my little princess doing?"

Yggdra jumped up with a happy cry and ran to hug him. "Papa!"

King Ordene lifted his daughter out of the carriage and swung her around in the air before setting her down on the streets. "We're here. What do you think of the heart of the Empire?"

Yggdra turned in a slow circle where she stood, wide-eyed with delight. "Wooooow! It's so red!"

Her home, the royal city of Paltina, was shiningly white, with most of the buildings made of white marble brick and the streets cobbled with the leftovers from any construction. The blue-and-white banner of the phoenix fluttered at every corner, a testament to the people's pride in their monarchy, and the city was built in a radial design around the castle. Flarewerk, however, was built up a slope leading to the big black castle, which sat up on the coast as if keeping a watchful eye over the smaller buildings before it. There were small shops set up along the sides of the street, and every flag Yggdra saw was a deep scarlet, emblazoned with a black dragon rampant.

As the princess looked around wonderingly, the king smiled at her, then turned to the carriage driver. "I'm glad I was able to bring her here. Up until now, the peasant insurrections have been too common and too violent for me to risk taking my family along."

The driver shrugged. "Well, milord, I don't know what I can tell you. There are still plenty of people in Bronquia who aren't happy about the change in power. The common people might have settled down now, but who knows about the future. Even now, you hear talk about how the rightful heir to the Dragon Throne is still out there somewhere."

The king turned to look briefly at Yggdra, then shook his head. "Well, all I can say about that is that I hope that the times of war are going to be over soon. These hands are a little tired of wielding the Gran Centurio against brave people in the name of justice. Peace is more important than war, and the land of Bronquia might be entirely decimated in the next big battle. The last thing this world needs is another Lost Aries."

"I know what you mean," the driver said fervently. "And, milord… I'm sure that Her Highness will be able to enjoy a peace in her life that we couldn't while we were growing up. You've done everything you can to see that she lives happy."

"I really do hope that you're right," King Ordene said softly.

---

Seeing the other workers beginning to trail off, Gulcasa dropped his hoe with a sigh, took off his shirt, and used it to wipe the sweat off his face. He really hated field work during the planting season; swinging a hoe into the unyielding ground to stir the soil for hours on end under the vicious sun was bad enough without the new Imperial officials overseeing the work. They were cruel people, absolutely faithful to that cursed pretender to the throne and happy to use the whip on anyone who didn't share their fervor. Gulcasa hated them almost as much as he hated the current Emperor.

At the very least, he reflected, someone his age didn't have to plow. Under Bronquian law, young children could not do heavy work of any kind. If not for that law, he didn't doubt that he would have been forced into that unwelcome task instead of this one.

He would feel a lot better when fall came around and it was time to harvest the wheat that would grow in this field. Somehow, Gulcasa always felt better with a scythe in his hands, even if it was only one of the dull, blunt things used to collect produce. His parents and the girls took pride in that fact, since Bronquia's elite dragon-riding knights were all skilled scythe-wielders, and said that this was only one more way that the ancient dragon Brongaa's blood flowed strongly in him. His great-grandfather, he was often told, had been a great and noble knight as well as a strong ruler.

Since he apparently had such great worth, Gulcasa just wished that one day he would have the chance to prove it.

Pulling his shirt back on, Gulcasa picked up his hoe, took it back to the rack of tools, and retrieved his miserly wage of twelve coppers. Aching, frustrated, and just plain tired, he put the coins in his pocket and headed towards Flarewerk proper, hoping to slip through the streets quickly so that he could get home to Luciana, Aegina, and Emilia. There, he'd be able to get some rest.

However, he'd almost forgotten the fact that the Fantasinian entourage was going to be occupying the main street today. Seeing the cluster of nobles and middle-class people in the streets, Gulcasa cursed under his breath and tried to thread his way along the side of the street while looking for some kind of opening to get to the other side.

"Hello!"

Gulcasa started, then turned around to see a girl a few years younger than him standing behind him with a bright smile on her face. She was dressed in such ridiculous splendor that she had to be a noble, and yet here she was in the streets, talking to someone dirt-poor.

It occurred to Gulcasa that the only difference between the two of them was fortune, and for some reason that just made him angry.

"You must live here! I've never been here before, but this is such a beautiful city! I'm so happy I got to—"

"You're Fantasinian, aren't you?" Gulcasa interrupted, his hands curling into fists and barely-controlled hate straining his voice.

The girl stopped short and blinked at him. "I… um, yes, I am…"

"It's because of you… because of you, and your people, that my country is like this! It's because of you Fantasinians that everyone is suffering! I can never forgive any of you! So don't come near me with that face like you wanna be friends! I hate all Fantasinians! Go get lost! Leave me alone!"

Angry and confused, Gulcasa shoved past her and through the tight wave of people, fighting his way towards the other side of the street. He heard the Fantasinian girl calling for him to wait, but ignored her. He wasn't sure why he'd lost his temper so easily—usually he was good at keeping hold of it—but seeing that girl, who'd so obviously been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, had just irrationally irritated him.

Finally breaking out of the crowd, Gulcasa wove towards the slums, sticking his hands in his pockets.

And stopped dead, horror slowly seeping into his heart.

The twelve coppers he'd earned today were gone!

Gulcasa felt around in his pocket frantically, feeling his heart stop for a split second as his ring finger poked through a hole in the corner. The money must have fallen out while he'd walked home—but where? With all those people standing around, there was no way he would be able to find it all even if he spent all day looking!

"Oh, no… Oh, gods, no…"

For however long the Fantasinians stayed in Flarewerk, Luciana and Aegina couldn't go down to the mill to work. His parents' wages fluctuated depending on how much work they could get done by the hour and their employers' moods. For now, everyone was counting on the money he earned so that they could buy food and pay tax and tithe. And today they'd be twelve coppers short. Now what were they supposed to do? If they couldn't buy enough food for everyone… or if their payments came up short…

Gulcasa slumped down to his knees in the street and curled up, miserable. Today definitely claimed the prize for being the worst day ever.

---

"Have you seen Yggdra?"

The noble blinked at his king and shook his head. "N-no, I haven't seen the Princess anywhere. Why? What's wrong?"

Ordene sighed and shook his head. "It's nothing. It just seems like she's wandered off. She has been awfully excited about coming here, and so I bet she just gave everyone the slip so she could explore."

But though he acted calm, Ordene was secretly worried. As the carriage driver had said, there still were a lot of peasants in Bronquia loyal to the old Imperial family. And if one of them had taken it into their head to kidnap his daughter for some reason…

Well, he just wouldn't think about that now. After all, Yggdra probably had just wandered off on some normal, little-girl flight of whimsy.

---

"Hey—" Yggdra called uncertainly, catching sight of the angry boy sitting slumped in the street. "Um, um…"

He didn't answer. Maybe he didn't hear her.

"Um, um, um…" Yggdra ventured a little closer, looking around nervously. "Um, excuse me…"

"Go away," he said in a growl. "I'm really not in the mood."

Yggdra shrank back for a moment, but shook her head and took a few more tentative steps forward. "Um, um, but… Um, you dropped…"

That got his attention. He jolted up, staring at her carefully cupped hands in utter shock, then launched forward, grabbing the fistful of pennies away from her. "That's mine!"

Yggdra twisted her skirts in her hands anxiously as he carefully counted out the coins. "Um, um, um… is… is that everything? I, um… I don't know if I got it all…"

The boy just sighed, looking almost painfully relieved, and shoved the money into his pocket. Then he turned and gave her a look that was half-wary, half-scathing. "Look, you… just get out of here. This is no place for some idiot noble, especially a Fantasinian noble. I'm not the only one who lives here who hates people like you. So… so go run back to your mommy and daddy and your perfect life." With that, he turned on his heel and headed further down the road.

Yggdra sighed. She supposed that was as much of a "thank you" she would get out of him, but… for some reason his attitude made her so nervous. She wished she knew why he didn't like her so much.

Well, all she really could do now was go back to her papa, like he'd told her. Everyone was probably worried by now…

But when Yggdra turned around, she found that there were two paths behind her, and that she couldn't really remember which one she'd taken. She'd been focusing on not dropping the boy's money anywhere, and both of the roads looked so similar…

"What am I… supposed to do…?"

---

Gulcasa hadn't gotten far down the road when he heard a sound behind him that made him whip around in disbelief.

The Fantasinian girl was sitting in the middle of the street, absolutely bawling.

"What in the world is wrong with you?" he demanded, walking back towards her. "I said go back to your parents… or… wait, don't tell me…!"

The girl blinked up at him, her face all red and her big blue eyes swimming with tears. "Please… please help me!"

And, jumping up, she latched on to him, flinging her arms around his waist and clinging tightly.

Gulcasa sweatdropped. "What are you doing?"

"I can't… I can't find my way back and… and everyone's going to be looking for me and… and… please… please help me!!"

"O-okay… okay… just… just let go, and stop crying!" Gulcasa shook the girl's shoulders in an attempt to dislodge her, thinking all the while, What is WITH her?!

The girl looked up at him with such desperation that he couldn't stand it and sighed, running both hands through his hair.

"You just need to get back to the street, right? Then you'll run into somebody you know or who can at least take you to your parents. I don't think you're very experienced at taking directions, so I'll take you back myself." And then I can get you out of my hair and go home. "So… stop looking at me like that. I'm not going to ditch you here."

The girl nodded and wiped at her tears, her lower lip quivering.

"Just… follow me and we'll get you back to the main road. Okay?"

She nodded again, then reached out and clutched his hand tightly in hers.

"Jeez…" Thoroughly embarrassed and irritated with himself for even agreeing to do this in the first place, Gulcasa headed down the street, pulling the Fantasinian girl after him.

She followed obediently at his heels as he walked, letting him tug her along by the hand. Her trust in him felt confounding—hadn't she heard him say how much he hated Fantasinians?—but all the same, it made him want to do right by her.

In other words, it was weird. And Gulcasa didn't like feeling so conflicted.

Within a few minutes, the two of them had reached the edge of the street.

"Here. I'm sure you can find your way back now. I've got to go home. My family is waiting for me."

"Um, wait…"

Gulcasa turned; the girl dropped his wrist and gave him a wavering smile.

"Thank you…"

"Tch…" Feeling himself blush all the way to the tips of his ears, Gulcasa turned back and ran down the road, just wanting clear of all this confounding business for good.

---

"Papa!"

Ordene whirled around, sighing in relief. "Yggdra! Where have you been all this time? I was just about to send out an order to search for you!"

Yggdra ran straight into his arms so that he could pick her up, sniffling a little. "I… got lost," she confessed. "But, but… there was a boy who helped me."

"Really?" Maybe, Ordene reflected, the people of Flarewerk weren't a complete lost cause after all.

"He seemed really angry, and he said he hated Fantasinians, but… he was also very kind." Sadness crossed Yggdra's face. "And… I never even learned his name."

"That's too bad. We could've given him some kind of reward for helping you," Ordene said with a sigh. "But we should take you back to your mama. She's worried sick about you."

It didn't really matter, did it? After all, his daughter would probably never see this boy again. And anyway, he had to stop encouraging her to run off like that. It had taken at least ten years off his life.

Even so, Yggdra never forgot it.

---

"Where have you been?" Luciana demanded shrilly as Gulcasa closed the door behind him. "We thought for sure that something had happened to you!"

Gulcasa shook his head. "Sorry. I met this weird girl on the way back, some noble or something. She was lost, and I couldn't just leave her there."

"You are way too nice for your own good," Aegina informed him. "Who cares about nobles anyway? Come on, come eat lunch."

Gulcasa sighed, and did. All he really wanted to do was forget the whole thing anyway. It was way too embarrassing to dwell over.

But despite all his efforts, Gulcasa never forgot it either.

:owari: