Chapter One

Runaways

Frey remembered when she first saw an airship. She was a little under six years old, and was taking a stroll with her mother when they caught themselves draped by a large shadow. Frey looked up, and saw what seemed to be a giant balloon hovering in the sky. Awed, She tugged her mother's hand and asked, "Mommy, where did that balloon come from!?"

Her mother laughed, and told her 'that balloon' was called an airship. "An airship takes you to places you can't necessarily get to on foot, or when the journey will take longer if you do."

"It's so high up!" Tiptoeing, Frey craned her neck back so as to gaze up at the airship in all its glory. "Can we ride one, Mommy?" Her mother shook her head with a gentle smile. "Aww, why not?"

"Your father doesn't like travelling. We wouldn't want to leave him here all alone, would we? He'll get lonely."

The almost six year old deflated. "I guess not…" She hung her head with disappointment. Her mother sighed, and, their hands clasped together tight, they resumed their journey home.

But Frey never stopped thinking it. Not too many of them passed by their town, but whenever they did she would stop whatever she was doing, look up at the sky, and imagine how it felt to be up in the sky, surrounded by clouds and embraced by the gusty winds.

And now, more than eighteen years later, she was finally fulfilling her dream. She gazed at the mountains passing by, the top of the bushy green trees covered with snow down on the ground, and imprinted the image to memory. She shivered intensely as the wind barreled against her, wishing she had thought to bring a spare coat.

"Mommy?"

Frey looked down to her lap. "What is it, Noel?"

Her son, whose arms were wrapped around her stomach and whose chin rested on her knee, stuttered, "M-Mommy, I'm c-cold."

"I know, sweetie." Frey stroked Noel's head. "Don't worry. As soon as we land we'll find you a nice warm bed to sleep in, okay?"

"Okay…"

Smiling gently, Frey reached for the large coat sliding off Noel's back and wrapped it around his shaking body. Noel retreated into the warmth of his mother's coat and his trembling decreased, though by no means did it stop entirely. She ran her fingers through his hair and he closed his eyes, soothed by both his mother's touch and the sound of the airship's propellers.

Frey's hand hovered over the fresh bruise on her son's cheek. She sighed, hunched down, and kissed the bruise as softly as she could.

"He's adorable," a random voice commented. Frey turned to face the source of the voice, and found it was a grey haired old man with glasses and a cane resting near him. He smiled warmly at her. "How old is he?"

"He just turned seven a week ago."

"How nice. My granddaughter recently turned seven as well. " The old man hesitated. "…If I may ask, how did he acquire that bruise?"

Frey stiffened. Unsure of what to say, she eventually decided on this: "He had an incident with a stray monster a few days ago."

"Oh my," the man's eyes widened. "He's quite lucky to have escaped with only a bruise, then. I had a nasty encounter with a Mamadoodle once. Nearly pecked me to death, it did."

"I guess that explains the freckles then…?" Frey stifled a giggle at the man's affronted expression, and quickly apologized.

"It's alright," the man shrugged. "Not the first time my freckles have caused me grief, and it won't be the last."

Frey did giggle then.

"Oh!" She started when something occurred to her. Smiling nervously, she asked, "Excuse me sir, but could you tell me…where exactly this ship is taking us to?"

The man gaped. "Do you mean to say you got on this ship without checking to see where it was going?"

"…Honestly, it was bit of a spur of the moment decision," Frey admitted. She didn't say anything more, but simply played with her son's hair. The man observed her for a minute, his gaze flicking down to the boy in her arms, before relaxing.

"We're on our way to Selphia," he told her. "You've heard of it, haven't you?"

"Yes, of course. I've heard a Native Dragon resides there as well."

"Is that so?" The man shook his head. "I'll have to do my best to avoid him, then. Reptiles frighten me, you see. It won't be too hard. I'm only staying for a week. What about you? How long do you plan to stay in Selphia?"

Frey thought about it for a minute. "For as long as I can."

It was late in the afternoon when Noel tugged Frey's skirt excitedly, pointing down at what appeared to be their destination. "Mommy, Mommy, I see it! I see the town…it looks so small!"

Frey laughed. "That's because we're still up in the sky, baby. Once we get down, I'm sure it'll be a lot bigger." It would have to be, if it could house a dragon.

By the time they finally landed, the sun was dipping into the ground, giving off a dark orange glow. After having to stop Noel from dashing off, the two followed the rest of the passengers off the ship and into the town of Selphia, their captain shouting after them the directions to the Bell Hotel-which luckily enough was only about five minutes away.

"Noel, don't step on the snow," Frey said, but did nothing to stop him from trudging through the snow piled up on the sides of the pavement. It rarely snowed back home and he was smiling so much, she didn't have the heart to spoil his fun. She did, however, cut in once he started rubbing his eyes and yawning. She picked him up and, wiping the snow off his ankles, made her way inside the hotel.

It was a teenage girl who greeted the tourists. "Good evening, all of you. We welcome you to the Bell Hotel with open arms." She bowed deeply, then straightened back up and flashed a cheerful smile at them. "If you all would please get into a straight line, my mama will be able to give you all rooms in no time!"

The group of tourists did as she asked, compiling themselves into a singular line at the front desk, where a kindly woman waited to assign them to a room. Like her daughter, she was garbed in Eastern attire that matched the inn's theme perfectly, and emanated warmth and kindness. Coupled with their platinum hair, Frey could definitely see the resemblance.

When Frey finally made it to the front of the line, she was greeted with a smile. "Hello. My name is Lin Fa. How can I help you? Oh!" She jumped, a sparkle of joy suddenly in her eyes as she gazed at Noel. "How cute! The journey must have taken a lot out of him for him to sleep so soundly."

Indeed, Noel had fallen asleep in between the time Frey picked him up and now. His tiny arms were loosely enwrapped around Frey's neck, and he snored lightly against her chest. Readjusting her hold on him, Frey smiled at Lin Fa and replied, "Thank you. We've both had a long day, so I'm just looking to get him into bed. By tomorrow, I guarantee you he'll be jumping on the walls." And I'll be paying the damages, she added mentally.

"He wouldn't be a normal child if he didn't. My Xiao Pai used to skip around the house when she was little. You wouldn't believe how many times she came crying to me about yet another scrape. Her papa always got so mad, but I thought it was adorable." She glanced at her daughter, who was now balancing a pile of plates on her arm. "Xiao Pai! Be careful with those; we've already lost eight plates this week!"

"Okay, Mama!" Xiao Pai called out in reply.

Smiling, Lin Fa returned her attention to Frey. "Now, where were we?"

"I was asking for a room," Frey said.

"Oh, yes. Here you go," Lin Fa handed her a key. "That will be…eighty nine gold pieces, please. Your room is on the second floor. Enjoy your stay!"

After paying the eighty nine gold pieces, Frey traveled up the stairs and to her room. It was a snug room, with a single bed placed against the back wall. Sighing, Frey finally allowed herself to feel the total exhaustion she'd accumulated over the past day as she climbed into bed, gently tucking Noel in next to her. He woke up for a brief moment, just long enough for him to yawn and cuddle his pillow until becoming still once more.

Frey's smile over this display of cuteness faded as her eyes landed on the purple bruise on her son's face. It taunted her, reminded her of a monster she prayed would not follow them-but of course she knew he would. He did not give up so easily.

Don't worry, baby. Frey thought as she closed her eyes and lost herself to slumber. I won't let him hurt you again.

AN: This is my first Rune Factory fic~Looking online, Frey/Doug don't get a lot of attention, which I think is weird because considering (SPOILER) he could be considered an 'official' love interest-at least in my book. So here I am, adding to the small list of Frey/Doug stories. Hopefully you guys like it. If you have any constructive criticism, don't be afraid to tell me-and it'll help you guys too, since the better at writing I get the better story you guys get to read!