Message to His Beloved Elf

Summary: It is Raven and Rena's first anniversary, but when Rena wakes up, she finds that Raven has disappeared, leaving behind a mere piece of paper that contains a heartfelt poem from the man himself, and a clue which she must decipher. With each passing minute, Rena yearns to see her lover, but the only way to his whereabouts might be embedded within his message.

Rinku: Hello eveyrone, Rinku here, a frequent story-reader and reviewer in the Elsword and GC archives :)

If my name rings a bell, that's most likely because I don't really follow the 'Great job keep it up' thing that almost everyone does. I like to give constructive criticism and show the authors what their strengths are when I review. I love fanfiction, and I make it a thing of mine to help authors recognize their weak and strong points in their writing from a reader's perspective because I want to see them go beyond their level of writing.

Anyway, I originally planned to be a songfic author cuz I love both music and writing, but due to some inspiration from a certain couple, I wanted to... Give 'em a gift even though I'm only one of their followers in Tumblr. You would probably know the existence of RenaE and RavenH, the guys behind the 'Ask the Elrios Team' page in Tumblr, right? Well, they are my inspiration for this fic and I hope that they get to read and enjoy this. A special thanks to Jetstream Girge and Shizukana Yuki for helping me with the proofread.

Anyway, the classes (Most of them will come in later):

Elsword – RS

Aisha – EM

Rena – WS

Raven – BM

Eve – CEm

Chung – DC

Ara – SD

Elesis – BH

I got this idea from my friend Girge: To add some mood for this specific scene until the end of the chapter, play 'Honeymoon Avenue' by Ariana Grande when this mark (*) appears. Lastly, I hope you guys enjoy this fic from this new-time author *bows*

Dislcaimer: I do not own Elsword. I only own the plot and the poems.

Today's the day…

The tall, tanned man stared at the small calendar in his room, a faint smile on his face. His lustrous, white coat blanketed his body, hiding his true strength as his jet-black hair caressed his jawline. The sword he wielded was sheathed in its dark, leather casing and his amber eyes were fixed on the date on the calendar that was circled in vibrant, red marker pen. A note that said '1st Anniversary' was also put on that date.

Outside his window, the coming of dawn was not yet visible as the stars were still shining, but he was wide awake. He had to make sure his plan would work.

He then glanced at the small picture frame that sat on his night stand. In it was a picture of him and a gorgeous-looking woman holding hands. The woman had long, lime hair falling down to her waist. Her gleeful, green eyes shone like emeralds, matching her oh-so-ever joyful smile. But the detail that stood out most was her long, pointy ears, suggesting that she was of the elven race.

But her ancient heritage meant nothing to the man. He didn't care if she was either human or elf. The important thing was that he was hers and she was his. They loved each other and that was all that ever mattered to him. That is why he would dedicate himself for today.

For her…

With one final glance at the portrait, he walked to the door.

"Now, time to set the plan in motion." And with that, he left the room.

Hope Rena likes my surprise…

Rena let out a drawling yawn as her dream came to an end. Sitting up on her bed, her eyes lazily opened and looked around the bedroom. Sunlight from her open window enveloped the room, while the cool breeze from outside freshened Rena, arousing her from her half-conscious state. She was greeted by birds singing melodious tunes, as if for her. She looked at the birds and gave them a sprightly grin, showing her pearly whites.

"Good morning~" she chimed.

Rena got out of bed and stretched as she would every day. But then she remembered something important. She knew there was something special about today. She quickly looked at the calendar next to her mirror and her face beamed with excitement. The day was labeled with 'My 1st Year with Raven' surrounded by a pink heart. I can't believe it; Today's the day!

Without second thought, Rena rushed to her bathroom and took a warm shower. Then, she opened her closet and took out her regular attire: The clothes given to her when she became known as the 'Wind Sneaker'.

She absolutely admired those clothes, because that was the day she had become a stronger asset to the Elgang and to both the humans and the elves, and in honour of her success, Elsword proposed that they celebrate. Until now, she had absolute pride in them.

And besides… Raven did say that I looked cute in it, mmhmhm…

After checking herself in the mirror one more time, she went to the living room to greet everyone. But when she came in, there was nobody there.

"That's weird. Where is everyone?" She wondered.

She looked at the wall clock to her right, the metal hands saying that it was already 11:30. The Elgang was supposed to be awake by this time of day, but today not one single person was found in the house.

This bothered Rena, so she went around the home to look for them. She looked everywhere, inside every cupboard and closet, under the beds, up on the roof, and thinking that they were being cooked by some witch just like those siblings (She really needs to lay off the children's fairy tales), inside the fridge and the oven. However, they were still nowhere to be found. Giving up, she went back to the living room, and slumped on the couch.

Now she was really worried. Where could they have gone?

I don't think they took a mission or something, and Raven-

As she mentioned his name, tears started to build up in the corner of her eyes as she frowned.

I thought we were supposed to celebrate today…

Suddenly, she noticed that on the table to her right there was a piece of paper. Curious, she took the paper, discovering that there was a poem on the back. Every word was handwritten in black ink and no letter was mismatched nor out of place.

The message was:

I went out to buy my beloved Rena a gift today

But it got left behind, to my dismay

Go to the place where we'd laugh and play

Against the wind, your lovely, green hair would sway

The last line was written in bright red:

Love, Raven

Rena suddenly smiled. But despite her up-curved mouth she was confused. What could this mean? She had no clue. But it came from Raven, so it must mean something.

Maybe it's a message, a reminder or maybe even a cry for help-!

Rena bonked herself in the head for that last thought.

Way too extreme… Maybe… Could this be his way of celebrating our anniversary…?

With that being her only reasonable explanation she decided that this was a game made by him. Deciding to play along, she slipped on her boots and locked the door to the house, bringing nothing but the folded paper with her as she headed for the town of Ruben, which was not that far away.

As she walked, she looked at the note again.

"The place where we'd laugh and play, huh…" She pondered on it for a moment, until realization dawned upon her.

"Wait, isn't that-"

(*) After walking for some time, Rena finally reached her destination: Ruben's park. As she stepped into the public space, the smell of fresh air greeted her while she could hear the birds singing up on the trees. Looking around her, she wondered where Raven's gift could be. Following the stone pavement that stretched across the park she explored the area.

Grass covered most of the open field while countless trees surrounded the place, shading to the ground below. The playground, consisting of slides, swings and the like, was located in the middle of the park. Lampposts and wooden benches accompanied the pathway that she walked on.

Looking at the play space, she smiled as a wave of nostalgia came over her.

"Wasn't it here that I played Tag with Raven?"

She closed her eyelids, smiling as she reminisced that one happy moment in her life…

Rena and Raven were happily chasing each other through the park. They were the only ones left in the recreation area, making the playground their own theater for two. The silver moon illuminated Raven and Rena like a spotlight just for the two of them. The countless stars became their audience, while the trees swaying in the cool breeze were dancers for their play. The star of the show, Rena was being chased by the leading man, Raven who was 'It'. Seeing that he couldn't catch up to her, she looked back at him.

"You can't catch me, you can't catch me~" She playfully taunted.

"Oh yeah?" Raven challenged. "Watch me!"

Rena continued running, but she saw Raven catching up on her. She suddenly yelped as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist, immobilizing her. Behind her was Raven, who rested his head on her shoulder while chuckling at the elf's reaction. Rena laughed with the human.

"See, told you I'd catch you," he whispered in Rena's ear, calming her with the smoothness of his baritone voice. "As always,"

She turned around to face Raven, and she held his hands tightly.

"Alright, alright, you got me…"

"So, wanna play another round?"

"Nah," she answered. "Let's take a breather." Raven eyed the metal swing-set.

"What about the swings? I can push you really high up!" Rena grinned, her smile sweeter than sugar.

"Sure, why not?" Raven then suddenly swept up Rena into his arms carrying her bridal-style, which made her cheeks turn pink.

As he set Rena down, she sat herself down on one of the swings while Raven stepped behind her, ready to push.

"Ready?" He asked, receiving a small nod from Rena.

He pushed her slowly at first and then he started pushing harder, soon Rena could feel like she had the ability to reach the glistening stars up above.

"Mmhmhaha!"

The melodious tone of Rena's laughter suddenly made Raven's heart skip a beat. That angelic voice he hears every time she even speaks made his heart feel weird, and even now he still was not used to the euphoria it had given him.

But he would prefer if it stayed that way.

It made him feel happy, loved, and was it was proof itself that after all this time his existence finally meant something to someone. He would do anything to hear that voice. He absolutely yearned to hear that voice, Rena's voice.

Like a soldier who has regained his morale, he pushed Rena higher, which further thrilled her more than ever before.

"Raven," Rena called. "Push me as hard as you can kay?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Using all the strength he could muster, he pushed Rena one more time.

As she reached the peak of the swing, Rena suddenly stood up from her seat and after regaining her balance, grabbed her knees and somersaulted in midair, landing precisely on her feet. As she regained her posture, she could hear Raven clapping behind her.

"Thank you, thank you! You're too kind!" Looking back to him, Rena bowed elegantly.

"You know, you look beautiful when your hair sways in the wind," he stated followed by a chuckle.

"Mmmhmm, really?"

Raven smiled, placing his hands onto Rena's hips, gazing into her bright, emerald eyes. "Of course. Would I ever lie to you?"

Rena giggled as she lost herself in Raven's valiant, ochre orbs. "C'mon Raven, you already know the answer to that,"

"So I'm guessing it's a 'no' then…"

After what felt like an eternity to the two lovers, Raven looked at his watch and back at her again, trying to hide his frown. "…It's getting late. We should go back home now,"

Letting out a soft yawn, she answered as they started walking away from the swings. "I guess we should… But first…"

"Hmm, what is it, Re-"

Raven turned around to face her, but Rena immediately silenced his lips with a small kiss.

"Thanks for tonight, Raven," she said, smiling. "I wish we could do this more often, especially after we regain peace to Elrios again,"

"Don't worry, we can go here when we don't have any missions, okay?" he gave Rena his hand. "Now, shall we go?"

Instead of holding his hand, Rena clung on to Raven's arm as they left their moonlit play, applauded by the sounds of crickets and fireflies…

Looking back at the recollection of her pleasant, little memory, Rena could not resist letting out a smile. She absolutely cherished that evening because it had happened during the days they had just started dating. Opening her eyes, she immediately felt like going to the swings.

That was when she found something peculiar on one of the swing seats: There was a small, light-green box beside a white card with a dove printed on the front placed neatly on the exact same seat she once sat on. Someone had put a gift on the swing set, and from the looks of the box it was most likely recent.

"Could this be the gift Raven was talking about?" She wondered. "There's only one way to find out…"

Curious, Rena approached the seat and took the package. Removing the lid, she was surprised by the content: an arched, green headband. The headband was sturdy, yet flexible and what looked like a white marigold was attached to the side.

Rena slid the headdress on her head, trying it on herself. It fitted snuggly upon her scalp, a perfect fit. Smiling, she then took the snow-white card and flipped the cover open, revealing a motif of gold-outlined doves and another message, written with the same handwriting as before. Rena read it aloud:

"Did you like the gift? Hope it wasn't too hard

But my love for you is more than mere headband and card

Have a snack and visit the place where I'd smile as you happily eat

I always knew that Vanilla was your all-time favorite,"

The minute she finished reading, heat had crept up on her face, making her feel all light and giddy inside.

She covered her warm, pink cheeks. "Aww… that's so sweet of him- Wait, so that means there's more?"

She examined the poem once more. The place where you happily eat, huh… I think I already know where that is, she said to herself. Raven, you're making this way too easy, mmhmhm…

Stuffing the card into her pocket, Rena walked away from the park, eager to see what happens next in this 'little scavenger hunt' Raven made for her.

Rinku: As you can see, my writing's not as good as the things I tell others to incorporate in their stories yet. I still need more practice and experience with fanfic writing. This is where you, dear reader, come on. I need help, I need help on trying to improve myself in literature, so any advice or tips you can give me will be greatly appreciated, especially on me trying to not be 'too wordy'. Also, this will be your chance to flame on me for those people I might've offended in some of my reviews. But please, at least use your account so I can apologize to you personally and make amends.

So, that is the end of the first Chapter of my fanfic. I hope you guys enjoyed it and again, please leave a review if you liked it or not. Thank you and I hope to see you soon! *smiles and waves farewell*