"Leave him alone!"

The ten year old Tara could no longer stand watching the young bully Bufo and his hench-boys beat up the pre-adolescent Ronin yet again. She intervened the first time and managed to stop them. But this time, they ignored her completely.

"I said, LEAVE HIM ALONE!" She yelled once more, moving in closer. She could not bear seeing anyone hurt this way, let alone her best friend Ronin.

"Hey, pretty girl" one of the bullies said, approaching her menacingly, "You want a piece of the action I see…"

Ronin looked up despite sporting a horrendous black eye, desperate to save Tara: "If you need…a punch bag….take it out on me. She's nothing to you…" He could not move. His arms were held down by Bufo's goons.

Young Ronin was horrified to see his best mate Tara come to his rescue again. All he wanted to do was to get home. He knew his parents would have worried if he had been away from them too long. They live in the outskirts of Moonhaven, and it was a distance to get to. Besides, Boggans have been spotted around the area once more. He knew – no, felt strongly that he had to go home.

That day started off so well for both children. It was their free day and Tara and Ronin were often out in the Forest, gathering seeds and picking up unusual stones, playing with fallen branches and just generally hanging out with each other. They were best friends after all and shared almost everything together.

Following a swim in their favourite lake, they would lie on its banks drying off, watching the clouds roll by. Tara would point out to one and guess what it is. Ronin would do the same. Then they would climb up the highest hill they can find and watch the fly-past of Leafmen on their amazing hummingbirds.

"They are headed to the Queen's palace…." Tara would say as she leaned against Ronin craning her neck to watch the flight of the Queen's guards and the Protectors of the Forest.

Ronin would follow suit, watching them just as intently as Tara did but allowing his gaze to see her face so animated and so full of wondrous awe at such a great spectacle in the sky.

Tara's face says it all. She really thought the Leafmen were incredible.

Ronin said, thinking out loud: "I would like to be Leafman one day. Just think... I would not only be a guardian of the Forest, but of the Queen as well." He then pretended to have a sword in his hand and proceeded to show off some swashbuckling moves to her.

Tara smiled. "I think you've always wanted to be like one of them…"

Then looking at him closely, when Ronin stopped showing off with a pretend sword, she continued: "I'm sure the Queen of Moonhaven would like you very much."

"Would you like to be Queen when you grow up?" Ronin was smiling now. Tara thought he looked really sweet when he smiles.

Then she giggled. She thought the whole idea of her being Queen one day was silly. She reasoned out that she is only ten years old, what would she know of the future? That seems so far away.

Little did she know that her giggling was making Ronin smile even more. She wrinkled her nose and said: "No, of course not, Ronin, I don't ever think I'd be chosen as Queen. I'm not really cut out to be one…" Then looking up once more, she grabbed Ronin's hand on a whim and led him away from the hill: "C'mon, we can see more of the flying Leafmen if we go this way!"

Tara was always impetuous as a child, daring Ronin to do all sorts of scrapes and misadventures whereas Ronin has often been more cautious and careful than she was. He preferred to plan and think things through whereas Tara would act on impulse and ask questions later. She was spontaneous to his more somber moods which only serve to complement them even better. This variance in their attitudes created a very close bond and friendship between them, and that irrespective of them being poles apart in their outlook in life it has equally been their saving grace to strongly keep them together.

As they headed towards a clearing in the Forest, their enthusiasm and excitement was heavily marred by the sudden appearance of the young Bufo and his gang of tyrants. Bufo has never really liked Ronin since his arrival at Moonhaven and he took it upon himself to permanently drive him away. He was always suspicious of anyone not being Jinn, a native of the Forest and as Ronin was bigger and faster than most of them, he thought he ought to teach this outsider a thing or two of who rules over what he considers as his territory. To Bufo, Ronin is not of that territory and therefore must be taken out or better still eliminated.

Everyone cowers to Bufo. Not many want to stand in his way.

"Tara, you should know better than be with him!" Bufo started, his hostile stance clearly showing intimidation. Tara instinctively stood right in front of Ronin as though she could protect him with her tiny frame and frowned at Bufo.

"You always pick on him! Go away or I'll tell!" Tara simply blurted out the words not knowing how exactly she could do that when they are both far from home and there was not an adult in sight. Still Tara was determined to stay where she was.

Bufo and his gang laughed. The scene to them was just hilarious. A little girl thinking she could take them on. That's two against six of them. They're outnumbered. They're scared. Bufo rapped his closed fist of one hand against his open palm on the other as a threatening gesture and moved towards them.

"Tara, the seeds, the stones…" Behind her, Ronin whispered in Tara's ear. He quietly took quite a number hidden in his pocket and Tara did the same with hers. Then Ronin continued in a low voice: "On three, Tara…one, two, THREE!"

Both Tara and Ronin threw a fistful of seeds and stones they have gathered earlier that day to the approaching bullies, at least enough to distract them and catch them unawares. In that split-second, Ronin grabbed hold of Tara and they both made a run into the Forest, hotly pursued by an angry Bufo and his followers who were shaking off what was thrown at them. But Ronin knew the Forest so well, ducking in and out of holes in the ground until they found one inhabited by mice. It was a risky move but they would rather face mice than Bufo. Hiding behind one of the stones facing the entrance to their cave, a mouse gingerly sniffed at them having such sensitive whiskers which sense vibrations in the air as well as their presence. On hearing Bufo approach it quickly ventured out at the entrance scaring him and his gang away. This gave Tara and Ronin enough time to slowly move out and run to the opposite direction.

Catching their breath when they finally felt they were in the clear, they hugged each other momentarily. That was a narrow escape.

And now, Ronin was having the bashing of his life from Bufo once more. He was on his way home after a having a great day with Tara, and was ambushed. Tara showing up and asking them to leave him alone was falling on deaf ears.

Ronin felt he has had enough. He has endured all this bullying for far too long. He was never been one to fight back unless he really honestly had to but now that Tara might get hit spurred him into action. His adrenaline went to overdrive. He has never been this angry in all of his young life. Using every single ounce of strength he possessed, he utilized his bodyweight to push one of goons holding one of his arms down, catching him off-guard and making him drop to the ground, taking the other goon along with them. Swinging his legs, he kicked one on the shin who then released him, freeing his arm to give a good punch on the side of the other already on the ground. Both yelped in pain. Satisfied that he has incapacitated them only for awhile, he wasted no time and made a bee line to the bully threatening Tara. Successfully also knocking him down to the ground, Ronin was about to raise his fist at him when Bufo instantly took hold of Tara, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"Hey Ronin! You better think twice before she really does get hurt."

Ronin glowered at him, releasing the bully he was about to hit. He stood up and faced him.

"Let her go, Bufo, how about just you and me?" Ronin took a moment to catch his breath. "You wanted me don't you? Only got this one black eye from you...I normally get two…"

Bufo sneered. But before he could say anything, Tara stamped on his foot so hard it caused him to cry out in pain. Ronin instantly hurled himself straight at Bufo and punched him in the jaw. He reeled backward and Ronin punched him again, this time in the stomach causing him to fall to the ground.

Bufo curled into a ball wincing in unbearable agony.

His hench-boys stood back, watching what was unfolding right in front of their eyes in absolute shock and astonishment. Their jaws dropped. Ronin has never ever fought them before. It was the first time they realized that sheer numbers alone will never be enough to take him down.

Ronin snarled: "You touch her one more time, Bufo, and I swear, I'd break your neck!"

Tara gently held his arm, her eyes pleading. "Ronin, leave him. Let's go…"

Ronin turned around to the rest of the gang. One by one, they walked backwards looking at Ronin in real fear and terror. The way he fought them today has made them understand that he is not to be trifled with ever again. Turning on their heels, they ran away from them as fast as they could.

Ronin sighed. He knew that he will only fight in defence but would never be like Bufo who just picks on anyone simply because "they don't fit." And the only reason he fought back today was because of Tara. He stared at her. He was not sure why he really was so very concerned about her safety. Yes she is his best friend but is there something more to this? He could not believe how incredibly strong his feelings were when she was in imminent danger. He did not mind being hit, but Tara? He literally thought he'd break apart if something bad did happen to her. He could not bear thinking about what might have been. His head started to hurt. He allowed Tara to lead him away. Now how can he explain to his mother where he got the black eye from?

~oOo~

"You seem so very deep in thought, Your Majesty…" A grown up Ronin in full Leafman uniform stood behind his Queen. Tara smiled, looking at his blue eyes that keep on melting her heart over and over again. She turned her gaze to a group of children playing in the courtyard and hoped that each one of those children would end up having a best friend like she had found in Ronin. She herself could not have been more grateful. Looking at him now, she could not believe how much fun and adventurous peril she had in her childhood, all the more poignant because thankfully, he was, and still is, very much in her life.

Of course now that they both reached adulthood, she being eighteen and the new Queen of the Forest with Ronin as her Leafman bodyguard and protector, her friendship with him has gone even deeper.

Linking her hand on the crook of Ronin's arm, she raised her regal head at him and said: "Just reminiscing our childhood days, Ronin…"

Ronin indulged her one of his sweet smiles as he laid his hand over hers: "Well, I distinctly remember a young girl saying that she was not cut out to be Queen…"

"And I remember a young boy saying that he wanted to be a Leafman one day…"

Looking at each others' eyes, they smiled warmly at one another.