Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Or the series.

So I wrote this story about this time last year. I guess it'll do. For now.

Also, my chapters are usually relatively short. This one's only about 650 words. But I guess that's… uh… how I write. Incompetently? Maybe.

For some reason I was going crazy with POVs throughout this text. So it begins from Uncle Dumpling's perspective.

Yay! Enjoy.

-x-

Pucca had been making deliveries, and was on her way home, so I'd heard. Lunch was over now, it seemed, and the customers had all gotten back to their jobs, or whatever else it was they were doing. I considered checking the mailbox. Pucca wasn't here to do it, like she usually does. I swung open the heavy doors and, never had I knew, I would be overcome with a rush of mixed emotions upon being forced to face past memories.

What I saw was a girl, a young adult, dragging behind a little suitcase nonchalantly on the footpath, with her hair all up in a plait at the back except for a single, rebellious strand hung down in front of her face.

Actually, I thought, I really shouldn't be thinking about this. This is the girl that nearly got me and my brothers killed and then made the whole ordeal practically pointless by taking in that shallow wizard, the one who calls himself Master Soo. I'm not jealous - and I'm sure I'm not kidding myself when I say that - but I'm not really sure why he runs the village, or why he happened to be bestowed with that kind of magic.

Suddenly, the girl came to a standstill, then smiled, and spoke. "Well, fancy seeing you again-"

"Kua? I- I-" I flustered.

"No, it;s okay", Kua reassured me. walking towards me; approaching the steps to the restaurant door near which I had been standing all this time. She's good at reassuring; though her voice is calming and sweet, you would never think it would be a trait for someone like her. "I know how you feel", she then said.

'I know how you feel'? How could she possibly know how it feels? It's not like she's been mauled by sharks or anything.

"It's just-". She looked down at her feet, her face reddening. "I made a mistake".

"No, Kua. Please, don't think that". Oh. She was making me feel sad for her now. "You're free to make your own decisions".

"But, really - I wasn't expecting this. Being a maiden - it's so demeaning. Master Soo - it felt like he didn't even value me amongst a bunch of other girls, and even then I'm not sure if he valued them either. I just don't think I really looked into this far enough."

First impressions, and love, can be misleading, I thought. Well, then, I suppose we all make mistakes sometimes.

"I forgive you, Kua", I mumbled, half-nervously, "because I know you have good intentions".

She went back to smiling - her usual, cheerful self - and looked up at me. "So… I guess, we'll continue this business, then. Where are Ho and Linguini?"

Oh, no. Not this. Really? My heart took a leap in anticipation.

"They're just in the kitchen", I said, dragging my words slightly and making a slow turn for the door.

She went on regardless. "Oh… well, tell them I called, and that I'm sorry… because I chose you"

Was this cardiac arrest? No; it was love. Surprising, and rather frightening love. I would assume that cardiac arrest is a lot worse. What was I even thinking?

I shuffled my feet, finding my balance. "…Should we tell them, then?"

"I think so", she replied, and we walked into the restaurant together, with her effortlessly dragging in her suitcase and me still trying not to feel so weightless