Amyra: Welcome to part 2 of chapter 1

Cloudy: I finally finished it! I hope you guys enjoy it!

Amyra: Took you a while though...

Cloudy: I spent about six hours on this chapter. I think...over the how many days I didn't work on it...?

Amyra: At least a week.

Cloudy: O_O

Amyra: Yup.

Cloudy: Thanks to GroundZeroFireworks, TheAnime4Fan, Project AE Hachi-Roku, and Xillas for reviewing last chapter.

DISCLAIMER: Yeah, no. We most definitely don't own them.


"Finally! I found you. Come here, Rusty!" called a boy with black hair and honey golden eyes. It was just half past ten as Jude stretched his arms above his head and made a beckoning gesture with his hands. In the shelf above the medicine cabinet was a small red-orange cat that lashed her tail back and forth as she stared at him. Jude Mathis had been at this for a whole hour. It all started with Grandma Emma, one of the patients in the Clinic, asking for her cat, Rusty (normally, the Clinic wouldn't allow animals, but Rusty was stubborn). Of course, being the goody-two-shoes he was, Jude offered to find her cat. He stood there awkwardly as he nervously smiled.

"Um… Do you want milk or something….?" Jude asked, unsurely. Rusty just continued to stare. After a few seconds, Jude's smile turned into a frown and his arms faltered a little bit. "Ah...how about-"

"Jude, what are you doing?" came a voice behind him. He jolted and craned his neck to see his Professor and Mentor standing with his hands behind his back and a raised eyebrow. Jude gave him a bright smile with his arms still stretched upward.

"Oh! Doctor Haus! Sorry, one moment, please…" he said. He turned his attention back to Rusty and gestured the cat to come with his hands. "C'mon, Rusty! Grandma Emma is looking for you."

Rusty continued to stare at him as she lowered on its haunches. Jude grinned, thinking that Rusty was finally coming down. Oh, don't get him wrong. He was right, though, not in the way he expected…

"Meow!" Rusty exclaimed as she leapt down with her claws unsheathed. Jude's eyes widened when he realized it was too late. He couldn't get away on time.

"Yiiikes!" he cried. The pesky cat scratched his cheek and clawed his hair, thoroughly messing it up. Jude tripped over his own feet and fell on his rear. Rusty was lucky to use him as a cushion as she clung to his white shirt.

"You done?" asked Doctor Haus with his hands behind his back and a slightly amused smile on his face. Jude hugged the now oddly calm cat in his arms and nodded sheepishly.

"Y-yes, I'm done."

Doctor Haus nodded and motioned him to get up. "Alright, get up, Jude. We need to talk."

"Is this about the Doctor's License?" he asked. The doctor gave him a brief nod. Jude got up with a bit of difficulty (Rusty was a bit heavy) and held the cat with care. Doctor Haus began to lead the way down the halls.

"I recommend you take the exam for it soon. If anything, I will take you there the day after tomorrow." he began, "You've been training under me for a year now, and you are, by far, the most impressive student I have ever taught."

Jude's face tinged red with the praise. "Doctor Haus, I'm glad you think of me highly, but, I'm still under the age requirement to get the license. I still have much to learn…"

"That's true, but I gave you a recommendation to your school and they agreed to let you take the Exams. Your previous test scores from your old school and this year's were good enough for the requirements." Doctor Haus said. Jude felt Rusty shift in his arms as he slowed his pace.

"But… I've only been here for a year. If I leave and pass the exams, who will take care of Elize when something comes up? Wouldn't I be shipped off to another town once the results come out?" he asked as he came to a complete stop. Ever since he first moved into the capital of Rieze Maxia, Doctor Haus was kind to provide him with a place to live. In exchange, he would take care of Elize, his niece. The girl was a sweet, shy child who found Jude to be an annoyance at first, but Jude managed to get along with her. Of course, one should never forget the floating doll called "Teepo". His mentor walked a few steps more before stopping. He turned to face Jude with a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry about that, Jude. My niece will be fine. She's already growing into a fine young lady." he said. Jude frowned. Elize was like a little sister to him. Even though he hadn't known her for longer than a year, there was no way she would just let him leave if he passed the Exams.

"But the day after tomorrow is so soon…"

Doctor Haus placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well, just give it some thought, Jude. You don't have to if you don't want to."

Jude nodded. "Alright. I'll give it some thought."

With a nod of finality, the Doctor headed to his office near the front and left Jude to his thoughts. Rusty mewed up at him and pawed his face. He shook his head and gave the cat a huff.

"Okay, first things first, I need to get you back to Grandma Emma." he muttered to himself as he continued down the hall. It was too sudden. He had only been training under Doctor Haus for only a year, and already, they wanted him to get his License. Of course anyone would jump at the opportunity, but not Jude. It seemed too suspicious to let a fifteen-year-old kid like him to suddenly be allowed to.

For some odd reason as he dropped off Rusty with Grandma Emma, he couldn't shake the feeling of dread. He just knew that something bad was waiting just around the corner. Little did he know how right he was.

~An hour later~

"Jude!" called a voice. Jude looked up from the medical file in his hands with a bit of shock. He would recognize that sweet, childish voice from anywhere. Elize and Teepo, the floating stuffed animal (Jude was shocked to find out it wasn't some weird monster) was just opening the doors to the Clinic with a bright smile. Jude watched her with surprise as she trotted right up to him to the front desk.

"Elize? What's up?" he asked as he placed the file down. he wasn't really reading it anyway. With the offer of the Doctor's License stuck in his head, he doubted he would ever get anything done at this rate. The girl bounced on her heels.

"Jude, you said you'll play with us today, but you disappeared! I wanna play with you!" Elize said. Jude's shoulders fell, clearly remembering his promise to play with her later that day.

"Elize, I'm sorry, but I can't right now." he said apologetically, hoping she would understand as he reached over the counter to pat her head. "I'm still working."

"But you promised!" Teepo said as he landed on Jude's hand with wide eyes.

"Yeah, but that's after I get off from work." Jude said as he pulled his hand back. Teepo jumped back in the air as Elize bit her bottom lip.

"But that's not fair! You said you would play with us yesterday, but you didn't!" she complained. The young apprentice faltered a bit. He couldn't deny the fact that he did promise her, but Doctor Haus made him do some extra work after business hours that forced him to stay well into the night. Although, in his defense, he barely broke any of his promises, especially to Elize and Teepo.

"Elize-" Jude barely had the second to finish his sentence when Elize snapped at him.

"You meanie! You broke your promise!" she yelled. Jude stood up abruptly, shocked as Elize turned on her heel. Teepo followed her the moment after he stuck his tongue at Jude.

"W-wait! Elize!" Jude called after her with a hand reaching for her. It was pointless. Elize had already disappeared into the busy streets just beyond the door. He stood there for a moment, mentally scolding himself for hurting Elize.

"Jude? Are you alright?" asked a nurse nearby. Jude looked at her and shook his head.

"Sorry, Prinn, but can you cover my shift? Tell Doctor Haus that I need to take care of something!" he said as he went to the break room. The nurse, Prinn, looked bewildered by Jude's unusual behavior, but nodded anyway. Jude didn't take long to change into his normal outfit of a white jacket with a navy blue overcoat that was lined with light blue accents. Within two minutes, he was already gunning out the door.

"Just hurry back!" Prinn called behind him. He acknowledged her with a quick wave of his hand and began to search through the streets to find Elize. He passed by many of the locals, asking them if they had seen the girl and her doll. One wouldn't find it odd to see a girl with a floating doll, unless they weren't around from there. His worry grew when he couldn't find her after ten minutes. Soon he began to call out for her.

"Eliiiiiize!" he yelled as he cupped his hands around his mouth to project the sound over the bustling noise. "Elize! Where are you?! I Promise to make it up to you! I'll even make you chocolate!"

"Are you looking for that girl with a purple dress, boy?" said an old, elderly voice behind him. He spun on his heel and nearly face palmed when he recognized the owner of the voice. An old lady with a cane was standing there with a smile. She was one of the few people that Jude came to trust (despite her unusual habit of appearing out of nowhere) that ran an item shop.

"Granny Blossom! You've seen Elize and Teepo?" Jude asked her. The old woman chuckled and pointed a bony finger toward the plaza.

"She's over there, dear."

Jude spun on his heel and felt his eyes widen in surprise. He immediately spotted Elize hugging someone and felt a flood of relief and fear. He didn't recognize the cloaked girl with blonde hair. "Thanks, Granny!"

He rushed over to Elize, "Elize! You had me worri-?!"

Jude barely had the chance to dodge when Teepo chomped his face. He panicked and tried to pull him off while yelling, "Teepo, get off of me!" Though, it sounded much better in his head than the smothered sounds he heard.

"Princess Milla!"

'Princess what?!' he thought to himself as he managed to pull Teepo off. He took a gulp of fresh air as Teepo glared at him.

"That's what you get!" Teepo said, nearly overpowered by a booming voice that clearly said, "PRINCESS MILLA!" He barely braced himself for the sudden gust of wind and Teepo blew into his face. Jude flinched and hugged Teepo in fear of him flying away. He didn't want another thing for Elize to be mad at him about. Once the wind stopped he spotted someone he thought he would never be able to see.

"What? But he's-" he cut himself off as Elize trotted to his side.

"Jude, who are they?" she asked him. Jude shook his head as he released Teepo and took Elize's hand. His mind was reeling with the information he just gathered. Obviously, the best knight of Rieze Maxia was bowing to-

"Princess...Milla?" he questioned. The Princess didn't seem to hear him as she gave Ivar a flat stare.

"...What are you doing here, Ivar?" she asked. Jude blanked out for a second.

"...Eh?"

Elize's eyes widened with Teepo's. "Eeeeeeeeehhh?!"

The sense of dread in Jude suddenly spiked. He was either screwed, or blessed. He just hoped it was the latter.


Amyra: I'm too tired to do this. And we actually put Blossom in there...

Cloudy: For those who don't know, that would be Granny Blossom from Rune Factory 4. I used her name on a whim...

Amyra: We agreed on using her though.

Cloudy: Oh yeah! I forgot. ~

Amyra: Hahaha... Yup.

Cloudy: So um...Tell us what you guys thought about this chapter! It was fun writing Jude's side! :D

Amyra: Till next time.

Cloudy: Later!