Old Memories, New Beginnings

"That was another excellent exercise, you two. Keep up the good work," said Ronin passing two leafmen as he headed over towards his bird. He was getting ready to go home after another day of hard training with the leafmen. His body was exhausted and his muscles were tight and aching. He could not wait to get home and spend the rest of the day resting. Ronin soon reached his bird and tossed the saddle over its back.

"Hey, Ronin. I'm sorry for knocking down all those uh shields back there. I was just trying to get my sword belt," said Nod as he came over.

"Don't worry about it, Nod. Just as long as you cleaned the mess up you made and you didn't do it intentionally, it's all good," said Ronin as he hopped on the back of the hummingbird. Nod waved goodbye as the army general disappeared from view before getting back to his station.

Ronin pulled up to a huge tree surrounded by colorful leaves as he landed his hummingbird and lead it into his stable. He then walked to the entrance of the tree and stepped inside. The living room was average sized, with two couches and a chair surrounding a table in the center of the room, an arch way entrance that lead into the kitchen, and stairs that lead to the upper rooms. Ronin tossed his helmet and gear aside as he walked over to the couch. With a heavy sigh he plopped right down and laid back, looking at the ceiling.

"Now what do I do?" the army general thought to himself. He looked at one of the desk drawers next to the couch and opened it, seeing a book inside. He reached in and took it out. The cover had a light green and golden design that was pictured in vines entangling the words 'Memory Book.' Ronin opened it up and revealed pictures throughout his past life.

There were pictures of Ronin with a couple buddies from his day as a leafman, one with his parents, and another one with his first hummingbird. Ronin smiled as he continued to flip through a couple more pages and ended up flipping to another section that read 'The Love of My Life.' He flipped the next page and came to a picture of a young woman with a colorful flowery dress and long braided dark brown hair. She had a wide radiant smile and a sparkly look in her bright brown eyes. The woman in the photo was none other than Queen Tara herself as a teenager.

Ronin smiled and looked at a couple more photos beside the photo of Queen Tara in the flowery dress. There was one of her and Ronin sitting together on a rock in the pod surrounded by Lilly pads, another one of her, Ronin, and a Jinn friend making goofy faces with Nim Galuu at his tree, and another one of her and Ronin looking into each other's eyes romantically. Ronin stared at the last one with a deep look in his eyes and a slight frown upon his face. He began to remember a series of events that would change his life forever.

(Flashback)

18-year-old Ronin made his way to the entry line as he stood behind a couple of eager teenage boys and girls waiting for the same opportunity like he did. Ronin could not believe this was his chance to finally show what skills it took to become a leafman. A teenage boy his age noticed him and elbowed his buddy and headed in his direction. "You're in over your head, don't you think boy?" Ronin heard him ask.

"No, I don't think so. I think I have a pretty good chance at becoming a leafman. Besides, everyone at school knows I've got pretty good skills," said Ronin.

"Yeah, right. The sergeants are really strict about picking each member. Do you honestly think you'll make it past the training rounds? If you ask me, your chances are slim as a turtle trying to outrun a fox!" the boy said.

"I don't even think that makes sense," Ronin pointed out.

"Well to me it does, and it means your chances are slim to nothing," said the teenage boy. He and his buddy laughed as they headed over back to their places in line. Ronin looked down at the ground and started to think about what he was doing. Was becoming a leafman really a big accomplishment?

"Don't listen to them, Ronin. I know you're qualified well enough," a voice interrupted his thoughts. He saw the girl of his dreams, Queen Tara, coming over towards him. She was an awfully pretty young girl who stole his heart. She smiled at him as the line started to move.

"I don't know, Tara. They did seem like they were serious. What if they're right? What if I really do have no chance at becoming a leafman?" asked Ronin.

"That's just silly talk, Ronin. You and I both know that your chances at becoming a leafman are more than a million. I know that because I believe in you," Queen Tara said. She wrapped her arm around Ronin's as they both walked to the entrance way together. Ronin smiled as his confidence started to rise again, all thanks to Tara.

(Flashback cont.)

"A lot of you young men and women here today have entered these training rounds for a very reason. You all want to become leafmen, don't you? Well let's just say some of your dreams will come true and others will be crushed," the head general of the leafmen training program began to explain. The trainees sitting in chairs started to chatter quietly amongst themselves as parents and friends on the opposite side of the huge tree started to look around.

Ronin looked on worriedly as the sergeant had a list of names on a clipboard. He knew this was now or never. He gritted his teeth and gulped nervously. The last six days were grueling for him as he did various exercises while being yelled at by different sergeants. He just hoped that all that hard work would pay off.

"Congratulations to…" suddenly the head general started to call out names. A couple of trainees' looks brightened as they hopped up from their chairs and cheered happily. They high-fived their friends and parents ran and picked them up in their arms. Ronin saw the look on his father and mother's faces. He knew that they were hoping like he was. The general kept on going through a list of names, making each hopeful's dreams come true.

"And last but not least…" the head general suddenly came to a stop. Ronin knew this was the end. It was between him and the same teenage boy that had doubted his hopes before. The teenage boy smiled and made two fists. Ronin hoped that it would be his name on the list, but whoever it was, he would be happy for the other either way.

"Number 41!" the army general announced. The audience started to go wild with cheer and Ronin almost fell backwards in his chair. The teenage boy next to him looked down with a sad face while Ronin hopped up and ran over towards his parents. They stood there with open arms as Ronin crashed into them.

"Son, we're so proud of you!" Ronin's father said.

"We knew you could do it! Even if you didn't make it, we're still proud either way!" Ronin's mother said through happy tears. Ronin was just as breathless as they were when suddenly he heard someone calling out his name. "Ronin! Ronin!" it was Tara. The teenager excused himself as he ran over towards the entrance where Tara waited.

"Ronin, you did it! You're officially a leafman!" said Tara. Ronin picked her up and spun her around in his arms.

"I just don't have my parents to thank. I have to thank you too, Tara. You stood by me the whole time," Ronin said.

"How could I not? You're my best friend, Ronin," said Tara. Ronin suddenly took her hands, making the young girl's eyes widen.

"I'm not so sure about that anymore," Ronin said. Tara looked into his green eyes as their faces came closer together. By the time they knew it their lips met. Tara wrapped her arms around Ronin's neck and pulled him closer. They had totally forgotten about everything that was going on. They never even noticed their parents looking at them the whole time. It was official. It was the start of a beautiful future. And to the both of them they could not ask for more.

(Flashback cont. (a few years later))

The pod ceremony had already taken place. Tara was named the new queen of the forest and everything seemed to be set in motion from there on. Ronin was now named new general of the leafmen army despite being only 24-years-old. Everything seemed to change from there on to now. It was as if the whole world was not like it use to be.

Ronin made his way into his room at the leafmen base and set his stuff aside. He walked on over to his desk and looked at a bunch of papers. They were the lists of certain exercises that needed to be either enforced or crossed off the list. He sat down and got to work. Just as he got into focus he heard the clearing of a throat. Turning around in his desk he saw none other than Queen Tara herself. His eyes widened.

The queen's hair was now shorter and was tied back in a curly half ponytail. She was now wearing a green dress with white flower petals as the bottom. Even though she looked a little different she was still the same beautiful woman Ronin remembered. He got up from his desk and greeted her.

"Your majesty," Ronin bowed at her presence.

"Don't worry, Ronin. You don't have to bow," said Queen Tara.

"You're the queen. I must bow," said Ronin. Queen Tara smiled sweetly at his response. Ronin walked back over to his desk and continued to sort out the lists. Queen Tara was a little stunned by his actions. Why did he greet her then suddenly go back to work? She walked over to his desk and placed a hand on one of the papers.

"Ronin, you need to take a break from your work. Come with me for a walk in the flower garden," the queen said.

"I would love that, your majesty, but I'm just way too busy. I have to work on these documents," said Ronin.

"Please, Ronin. You're too busy and you need a break," said Queen Tara.

"I have to focus on work, Tara," Ronin repeated.

"Focus on work. I see," said Queen Tara, trying not to show her hurt.

"Maybe some other time, ok? Not right now," said Ronin turning his attention back to the documents. Queen Tara turned around and walked back towards the entrance. Her look now grew somber as she turned back towards Ronin who was still enticed to even notice. She thought for a moment before making a huge decision.

"You know what, Ronin? There won't be a next time between us," Ronin suddenly stopped doing his work. His eyes grew wide and he turned around in his chair clearly stunned by the queen's words. No next time? Is it what he thought he was?

"I know that you love your job, but you're getting too serious. Plus that smile that you always showed me years ago suddenly disappeared and I miss it every single day. If this is the way you want to be then I perfectly understand. Just don't get me that way, though. I'm sorry, Ronin. This is goodbye." Queen Tara explained.

It took a moment for those words to sink in. Did Queen Tara really mean it? With a heavy breath his eyes narrowed. "So be it." were all the words that came out of his mouth. Queen Tara gasped silently and looked down at the ground. She hoped that Ronin would protest and try to work things out, but apparently he would not even bother with it. Nodding in understanding the queen exited the room with tears in her eyes. Ronin was there left alone to focus on his work

(End of flashbacks)

Ronin's eyes suddenly opened as he had closed them in deep thought. He looked down and saw that he was still on the same page in the memory book. He decided that it was enough memories for now and closed the book and went to put it back in the desk drawer. However something stopped him from doing this. He looked to his left and saw someone standing at the entrance way of the tree. It was the same pair of brown eyes he had known years ago.

"I saw everything," Queen Tara said. Ronin just stared at her before taking a quick glance at the memory book.

"I know you still have the same pictures that were taken years ago. I thought you just stored them away," Queen Tara said with a small smile. "But I know you're not that kind of guy. Right?" she looked up at Ronin who still had the memory book in his hands.

"Of course. You know me too well," said the army general. He walked towards the queen who was still looking down at the ground. He lifted her head with one hand to make her look at him in the eyes. Queen Tara looked at him and was silent for a moment before stepping in closer. With closed eyes she leaned in towards his face, enticing a kiss that filled the moment with bliss.

Ronin's eyes never widened and he didn't even bother to break the moment. He allowed the queen to wrap her arms around his neck to feel closer than ever to him before. He then put his arms around her waist to fill in the small gap between them. She was the perfect fit in his arms.

Queen Tara pulled away soon after she felt the moment needed to end. The kiss only lasted a few minutes but for her it felt like a lifetime. She saw Ronin's closed eyes slowly open and look at her. "I never did give up on us. I felt hopeful that there was still hope for us," Queen Tara finally said.

"And there still is." Ronin said. He pulled her back in his arms and gave her a kiss of his own. Queen Tara happily wrapped her arms around his neck again. Ronin just wanted her now more than ever, just like she wanted him. Now they got their wish, and they would not wish for anything more now.

FIN

Another cheesy romance fic! Yay! No argument scene in this one if you ask me. I just had this feeling that Queen Tara decided to end the romance between them, but I felt like she did not really mean to end things between them. Besides, she still has feelings for him! Right? Right. :P

Was it good or bad? Leave me a review and tell me what ya thought :)