Xonel: Alright, so by now I think its pretty obvious that Chloe Valens is my favorite character, not just out of Legendia, but pretty much out of anything. For right now, anyway (that position used to be held by Arya from Eragon). Well, I recently saw "Ponyo", the new Miyazaki film. It was AMAZING. Seriously, I think its my favorite Miyazaki film now. How does this relate to the story? Well, (beware of minor spoilers!!!) the mother in the movie is married to a man who works on a ship and spends a lot of time out at sea (reminds me of Senel), and I thought that she herself kinda looked like Chloe. Well, once I got that in my mind, I kept thinking that. And then we see that the mother is a crazy driver (literally, I doubt anyone's as crazy as her when it comes to the road), and she's a little nonchalant about everything. She doesn't question the fact that a fish turned into a little girl. Oh, and she's scary when she's mad. And so spawned this idea. What if those two parents really were Chloe and Senel? Heh heh... Let's see how Chloe lost her mind... (told from Chloe's perspective)

Chappy: Hop! Xonel doesn't own Tales of Legendia! Hop! Spoilers up through Chloe's character quest! Hop!

How Valens Went Insane

After they stopped me from killing the man who took my parents from me, I decided that I couldn't face everyone at that moment. I went off into the forest by myself to think.

It didn't surprise me when he came. Out of everyone, Senel was the one I expected to come back and talk to me. The only problem was, I wasn't ready to face him. Out of everyone, he was the one I needed to talk to the most, and he was the one I was currently the least prepared to talk to. After all, even I get a little impatient and tend to be a little downcast when all of my hinting has gone unheeded for almost a year now. Standing there in the rain certainly did not help my mood.

It struck me, suddenly, that I needed to end this ridiculous running-around-in-circles here, right now.

He let me lean on his shoulder for a bit, and with a few simple words, he changed my entire perspective on rain. I used to hate it, now I actually kind of liked it... I still do. Because of what happened next.

As we were walking back to the city, I struggled to get the words out. Finally, about halfway there, they tumbled out, suddenly and unexpectedly.

"Senel, I'm in love with you."

He continued for about three steps, then noticed I had stopped dead in my tracks. He turned and gave me a questioning look. My heart began to plummet, thinking he was entirely too weirded out by my statement and was thinking of an easy way to phrase his rejection.

"Chloe, did you say something? What's wrong?"

I blinked. Then hung my head in exasperation. Had he really not heard me? After all this, he truly didn't hear me? I growled inwardly and looked up. Yes, his expression spoke honestly, and it said he had heard only a mumble. I took a deep breath.

And let it out as a sigh. I really wasn't cut out for this. Chloe Valens was a knight. Knights don't fall head over heels for people, get nervous when they're around them, and act... What was the word Norma had used? Oh yes... Knights did not act "giddy"...

"Senel," the caress that was in my voice was purely unintentional, "I'm..." My throat seemed to close on its own.

Senel's expression softened. "Chloe, how many times do I have to say it? You don't have to worry about anything that happened back there. You did the right thing in the end, that's all that matters." He embraced me and I seemed to freeze on the spot. I couldn't seem to get my own arms to function and return the embrace, but I certainly didn't want him to pull away.

Which of course, he did. Idiot.

How could he even think that I was still worried about that?! Couldn't he tell that this struggle of mine was entirely different?!

"Senel, I love you!!"

I felt as if everything went silent. The world was watching, like my life was some kind of idiotic soap opera. I could hear the previews now: "She tried to kill him, but still loves him. Will he forgive her and return her love?" Ugh. I sound like Curtis.

Senel had such a dumbfounded expression on his face I would have laughed, if not for my current feelings of mortification. I was going to die from embarrassment. I just knew I was.

Senel's jaw worked for a second or two before words finally came out and reached my ears.

"Chloe, you...?"

Alright. I was two seconds away from smacking him, Will-style. I forced my voice to be calm, not an easy feat with so many stupid emotions running through me. "Coolidge, I-" He cut me off before I could finish.

"I never thought I would hear you say that!"

I blinked stupidly. "Huh?"

A genuine smile lit up his face. The smile that I-dare I say it?- absolutely loved because about a year ago, it seemed he never smiled like that for anyone, save Shirley. "Chloe, wasn't it obvious? Ever since Will cracked that stupid joke about us in the Bandit's Lair, I haven't been able to get the thought out of my mind. I've liked you for a while now, Chloe, and I think..." he seemed embarrassed, and refused to meet my eyes. "I think maybe what I feel is more than just liking you..."

What happened next, I can't explain. It wasn't me. It must have been the black mist taking me over again or something.

I punched him in the stomach with all my strength an took a step back as he doubled over in pain.

"Agh! You know, I tell you I return your feelings, then you go ahead and punch me even harder then when I said Harriet thought you were Will's lover?! What the heck!?!"

My eye twitched at the mention of that absurd moment in time. I forced the thought away. Senel was in enough trouble as it was.

"Despicable! Are you really telling me that all this time you just ignored all my blatant hints! Or did you really not see them?! Are you saying that I humiliated myself all those numerous times- even resorting to taking NORMA'S advice- For NOTHING?! Worthless coward!!!"

Senel stood, still wincing, and showed me an expression that was more than just a little ticked off, and utterly confused. "What are you talking about?! How come YOU never got the hint?! Did I ever act the same around ANYONE as I did around you?"

"Did you not even get what happened in the Thunder Monument?! Everyone else saw through my horrible acting! In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that everyone has known about my feelings for you for quite some time now!"

Senel was, apparently at a loss for words. Something finally seemed to click for him, because when he met my eyes, there was realization there. "You mean that all this time...?"

Argh...! If I wasn't careful, I was going to forget that I was angry. It was just so funny that he was so unbelievably dense. Funny in hindsight, that is.

I crossed my arms and turned away from him, too stubborn to let him off the hook. "Idiot."

"Well, geez! If you've loved me for this long, why didn't you just come out and say it sooner?!"

Oh ho ho... Now THAT was reason enough for me to be angry. I spun around and faced him. "Because every time I was about to you would go all starry-eyed about Shirley! Sure, I always thought of it sort of as a competition between us, but she was still my friend! And you were obviously in love with her! Who was I to get in the way of you two?!"

"WHAT?! How many times do I have to say it before you guys get it?! Shirley is like a sister to me! She IS a sister to me!" He pointed an accusing finger at me, which I wanted to violently break off. "And now I have one question!"

"What?!"

"Are we a couple?!"

"Yes, we are!!"

Silence once again.

A few moments passed before we made our way back to the city, dawn already upon us.

This had to be the absolute weirdest way to start a relationship in history.

...xXx...

Author's Note: Hm. Well, I intended for this to be one short thing, but I think it actually wants to be its own mini series... So this is part one!

Um... If either of them were (ahem, in YOUR opinion...) OOC, my defense is that this is an alternate universe. It wouldn't really make sense anyway for them to officially become a couple at this point in the game, anyway. so... yeah...

On a side note, for anyone that's interested, at "www. riders academy .webs .com" (take out spaces and quotation marks) I'm posting up some fanfics that are chatroom-based. Me and my cousin wrote them, so check them out if you're bored. They're also on quizilla on an account called "dorkycousins".

As usual, reviews are much appreciated :)