A.N. Yay, another chapter in the Orange Tea saga. For some weird reason, I've actually gotten more and more inspired to write this story as time has gone on (which seems to be the opposite of most stories). That's a good thing; at least I think it is….

Anyway, thanks again for all the re/views (reviews and views). Believe it or not (you've probably noticed it already, but I'll say it again :P), I just bumped over the 100 views and 10 reviews, too, which waaaay surpassed my expectations. You guys are awesome.

LL: How dare you diss my Julia? She's, like, totally awesome in every aspect know to man.

*cough* But anyway, you actually caught that little blurb about Yue? All I'm going to say for the time being is to keep your eyes peeled for the sneaky woman (which shouldn't be too hard); she'll play a rather large part in the soon-to-be-evident plot (wait, there's a plot?).

tLoRF: I admit, Cecilia was OOC at the end of the last chapter. But, (supposedly,) Max's attitude is starting to wear off onto good ol' Cecilia.

RW 501: Gotta love Yue (though personally, I prefer white/tan women over other… ethnicities. Call me racist if it pleases you.).

SG: What exactly do you mean, did she mean Jake? I fully meant Julia, if that's what you meant, though Jake might make an appearance sometime in the far future (I really don't know O_o').

Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory 2 or any of it's respective characters. If I did, then Cecilia and Max really would be married in the game (then Julia would be all mine :D).

…

Alvarna docks, Spring 2nd, Cecilia's P.O.V.

"Rosalind, you're late," I said softly as the young woman paced slowly towards me, the bright moonlight catching her aquamarine hair ablaze in beautiful blue flames.

A magical laughter filled the air as my close friend paced, ever-slowly, towards me on the wooden dock, "Am I late, or are you just early?"

I felt a warm feeling settle in my stomach as the woman sat down just a few inches away from me. "I'm sorry mi-lady, I wasn't trying to be rude."

More giggles filled the near-silent night air as Rosalind jabbed me in the right shoulder. "Don't you get sarcastic with me."

Our girlish laughter continued on for a moment, but it soon gave way to silence. It's interesting how every moment there are a thousand sounds that fire off around you, but you are too busy to notice. The soothing sound of the breaking waves, the quiet clicks of the chirping crickets, even the soft sound of the cool wind as it whips through the half-dead grass, it all can be missed if you don't take the time to listen.

Like those peaceful sounds, a thousand different thoughts seemed to fire through my head, each wanting its chance to be spoken. Most thoughts seemed to revolve around Max, others around my tussle with Julia just few days ago, and still others about the problems of every day life. It's hard not being able to express yourself when your emotions bubble up inside of you, but such is the life of a maid. If only I could ignore those thoughts as I ignore the beautiful sounds which we were blessed with from heaven above.

"Rosalind?"

"Hm…?"

I slowly tipped my head downward to stare at the hypnotic waves that splashed up every few moments, as if on cue, onto the silver sand. "Did you hear about the incident with Julia?"

Rosalind's sweet smile immediately sunk to a disgusted frown as my words were blown past by the misty ocean winds, "I wouldn't hesitate to say the whole town has heard about it."

The warm feeling in my stomach immediately faded to a cold lump at the sound of Rosalind's words. "What?" I murmured.

As Rosalind paused, a sudden gust of wind shot between us, stinging both my eyes and my ears. Why wasn't Rosalind answering? What was she hiding from me?

"It was just so… unlike you to expel someone from the mansion, especially when all they were trying to do was make up with Max," Rosalind murmured, her sweet perfume-like smell masked by the acute winds.

I blinked. It felt so right in the moment, yet all it brought me now was guilt and embarrassment. This one incident ruined both my credibility and my self-confidence. But who would've guested that it could escalate to such a tremendous casualty?

"Well how come you acted like everything was all 'good and swell'?"

"Friends forgive and... well... try to forget. Or at least they try to avoid the backlash while pretending the event never happened."

I took a deep breath before answering, savoring the tangy smell of salty sea air mixed with oily sweat from a hard day's work, "I just don't know what came over me. It felt as if I was protecting what was mine from an intruder."

Rosalind glanced over at me suspiciously, her eyes flashing like Max's did after solving a difficult riddle. "Protecting what is yours, huh?"

I quickly averted my face as a rush of embarrassment flooded my system. "Ok…."

"Ok, what?" Rosalind said, as a smug look spread across her moonlit face.

"I might have a small-"

"Hey, Cecilia!" a cheery voice called out, interrupting me mid-sentence.

A sigh of relief quietly escaped my mouth as I turned to see Yue waddling towards Rosalind and me, "Hello Yue, what brings you here at this time of night?"

"Well, everyone excluding Yue has heard about it," Rosalind spat, obviously angered by the intrusion.

"How could she not have heard about it, she was the one visiting with Julia," I hissed quickly as Yue's soft footsteps grew ever louder.

"I don't know."

Yue flashed me a smile as she wedged down between us on the damp wooden dock. "I was just about to spend the night out here, under the stars."

I took a deep breath in, letting the rich, foreign smell of coffee engulf my senses, before smiling back, "Well, where's your sleeping bag?"

"I don't use a sleeping bag."

"Oh...," I said quietly, slightly flustered by Yue's response, "well you can just buy one from-"

"I take pride in the fact that, instead of wasting money on such luxurious amenities as a sleeping bag, I focus all my money into making my business prosper."

I slowly leaned back to take a single glimpse of my close friend as she rolled her sparkling eyes at the unusual woman, "Good for you, Yue."

A childish grin immediately spread across Yue's face, replacing the woman's already beaming smile as my polite words rang softly through the night air. "Thanks, Cecilia. Well, I better be going. The monsters will be out soon, and those creatures are all but friendly to humans."

Rosalind and I watched breathlessly as Yue jumped down from the musty dock into the small wooden boat that sat, nearly motionless, in the calm ocean water. Why had Rosalind been so cold to Yue anyway? As far as I knew they had never been much more than acquaintances, if even that. What had changed?

"Good riddance," Rosalind huffed as the small vessel slowly disappeared into the vast ocean fog which lined the dim horizon, "I thought she'd never leave."

"She was only here for a moment."

"Felt more like a lifetime."

I glanced questionly at my friend, "Why?"

Rosalind quickly averted her head away from me, causing her hair to splash up over her shoulders in a silky waterfall, "That is my buisness, and mine alone. Anyways, back to what we were talking about earlier..."

The ever-familiar feelings of nervousness and embarrassment immediately erupted through my head, "I am tired."

"No," Rosalind snapped, a sudden burst of frustration filling her every word, "you're not using that excuse again."

"Good night, Rosalind."

Rosalind said nothing in reply, so after a moment I slowly rose to leave. The warmth of a well-made bed, the friendly glow of a wax candle, even the annoying click of Egan's pencil as he tapped it upon his wooden desk, it all seemed extremely inviting compared to the conversation which Rosalind and I had just taken part in.

"Best watch yourself Cecilia..." Rosalind murmured slowly as she disappeared behind me into a thick wall of ocean mist.

...

If this chapter took too long for being so short, I apologize. My family and I were out camping for the 4th of July weekend (for those non-American people out there, the 4th of July is an important U.S. holiday), so I've only been able to work on it for a couple days. Sorry again for the long 2 week wait.

Anyways, normally I'd ask you to review, but I won't. Instead, I want you to review someone else's story (*cough* not that I wouldn't mind a review too *cough*). Remember, find any grammar, spelling, or wording mistakes and I'll list your name along with the mistake you corrected at the bottom of the page.

- Sir Gigous