"Esmeralda! O fair maiden, come down from your perch and meet me!"
"Fernando! Fernando! My glorious Fernando! I descent from my tower to meet thee!"
"Esmeralda! Esmeralda! I love thee as a flower loves the light! As the snow loves the mountains! As the owl loves the night!"
"Oh Fernando! My Fernando, words alone cannot express my love for you!"
"Esmeralda!"
"Fernando!"
"Esmeralda!"
"Fernando!"
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It wasn't a pleasant task, but someone had to do it.
The thought ran through Fia's head as she carried the sordid mass of garbage to the door.
Technically, taking out the trash was Ein's responsibility, but he had left earlier that morning and hadn't yet returned. The bin was full to overflowing, and Fia hated the sight of it. It was like a fetid, loathsome blight on the pristine elegance of her spotless home. Removing it wouldn't be a pleasant task, but someone had to do it.
That someone was her, of course. She was not one to shirk her duty. It was her damned sense of responsibility that had prevented her from living the quiet life she desired, compelling her to go rushing out, addressing every wrong.
Care for a strange boy? Someone had to do it. Expedition to Rosalina? Someone had to do it. Seal the Accursed? Someone had to do it. Save the world? Well, someone had to do it.
Not that she minded, no, she was proud of her accomplishments. And it wasn't like she had lost anything. Quite the opposite, in fact, her life had been greatly enriched by the friends she had made on the quest.
Lacrima had brought her Serene. Headstrong and volatile, the Arc had nevertheless been a comforting presence in her life.
From Nelde had come Cierra. Calm and composed, she was a rock in times of trouble.
But, above all, the quest had given her...Ein.
Ein, who never made his bed. Ein, who never wiped his shoes. Ein, who never put the toilet seat down and ate too much at dinner. Ein, who peeked when she was bathing and never got her jokes.
Being in love with him was not a pleasant task, but...
Someone had to do it.
---------------------------------------------------
Rose sat and silently watched her master scrape at the earth with his bare hands. He had managed to dig a reasonably large hole, and showed no signs of stopping.
"Aren't you going to help?" he asked.
Rose answered with an irritated shake of her head. She might only be a familiar, but he had no call to be treating her like a dog.
"Fine." Ein replied, and they lapsed back into silence.
Suddenly, Ein reached down into the small pit he had dug and dragged out an unassuming iron box, it's lid secured with a sturdy looking padlock.
Rose's eyes widened in surprise. Things, she felt, were getting slightly out of hand.
"What's in that one? Not more keys, I hope?"
"No, this one's the real thing." Taking out the keys he had recently obtained, Ein inserted one into the padlock, and attempted to turn it. He didn't succeed.
"Hm...not this one then. Let's try another key." Ein tried another key, but that one didn't work either.
Rose looked at the massive horde of keys nestled on her master's keyring. It appeared that she was in for a long wait...
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And there arrived a great white stallion, its hooves shod with shoes of gold. Astride the stallion rode the brave knight, clad in his shining armour, every piece a dazzling credit to the blacksmith's craft.
In his left hand, a shield, in his right, a sword shaped like an arcing thunderbolt, so sharp it cut the very air in twain.
Bravely did he face the dragon. Though it clawed and flamed he remained unharmed, and with one swing of his mighty blade he parted its head from its body, thus slaying the fearsome beast.
And with his gentle hands did Ein lift her unto his horse, and together they rode triumphantly into the sunset...
Fia stood in the middle of her living room, lost in her day-dreams, rubbish bin still held in her hands.
Fia sighed. A romantic at heart, but realistic of thought, Fia knew that her fantasies were just that. Fantasies, with little or no chance of ever coming to pass.
Still...a girl could dream, could she not?
Sighing wistfully, Fia hugged the bin close to her body, closing her eyes to enjoy a moment of pure frivolity.
Only when she opened them again did she notice the large brown cockroach staring back at her.
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"AAAAIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!!!!"
A piercing scream rang through the house, startling Cierra and causing her to drop the book she had until recently been so absorbed in.
What was going on? Was it an invasion? Was it murder? Was the house on fire?
No...it couldn't be. She didn't remember casting any spells recently.
"AAAAIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!!!" came the scream again, followed by a metallic clang and the sound of running feet. It sounded like it was coming from the living room!
Pausing long enough to pick up her wand, Cierra rushed downstairs, nearly breaking her neck on the steps, and arrived at the living room with her staff battle ready, prepared for demons, vampires, zombies and all manners of vile demonkin.
Instead, she found Fia cowering behind the sofa, staring fearfully at an overturned garbage can, its contents spilling out onto the otherwise clean floor.
Fia's eyes were glazed with fear and shock, and she was trembling so badly her outline was nothing but a blur.
"There's...there's...there's a cockroach in the house!!!" screamed the terrified girl.
"What? That's it? All this fuss over a bug?" Cierra was annoyed, but tried hard not to show it.
"You don't understand! It was huge! It tried...it tried to jump on me!!" Fia shuddered, remembering the loathsome feel of the insect scuttering along her arm.
She pointed to the heap of trash, where, sure enough, a pair of antennae could be seen. Clearly, the roach was buried deep in the heap.
"If you want, I can get rid of it for you." offered Cierra, eager to return to her book.
"Yes! Please! I don't want it running loose in the house!" Gratitude and admiration flashed in Fia's eyes, Cierra was very brave if she was going remove the cockroach. Fia herself could not even contemplate going near the pile of garbage, much less rooting around for the bug.
But when she saw Cierra lift up her staff and point it at the bug, Fia knew that she had made a big mistake.
"Cierra, what're you doi-" Fia was cut off by a shout from the Scarlet Witch.
"I'll show you the power of magic!!!"
"NO! Wait, you might-"
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"Hm? What's wrong, Rose?" Ein noticed that his familiar seemed distracted.
Rose waited a moment before replying. "Nothing, I thought I heard a noise, that's all. Sounded just like 'Boom!'"
"Well, I could really use your help with these keys..." Ein had tried over half the keys already, yet the chest was still locked and his arm was aching from fatigue.
"Sod off, Ein. Do I look like I have opposable thumbs?"
And the pair lapse once more into silence...
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