SNOWE'S LESSON FOR LIFE

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

The saloon was booming with happiness and activity, you wouldn't think there was a war going on right now. All three Lo siblings were currently trying out some of the games being offered, while also avoiding Igor since a lot of people know that he cheats.

"Hey Snowe, need a drink or something?" Snowe turned just as he was greeted by Louise, while Desmond was on the other side of the bar, talking to Axel and Konrad.

"Yeah, just give me something that would help calm my nerves without any after effects." Snowe answered, while looking over the joint.

On the balcony, the gentle music coming from Etienne can be heard all over the room, while Charlemagne was on one of the chairs below having a little talk with Oskar and Deborah, who were currently sitting on the couch.

Ornan is currently sharing stories with Gary, while Ema was currently having a little girl talk with Rachel.

"The way that everyone's so cheerful in here, you can never tell that there is a war going on outside." Snowe said.

"Well that's the idea." Louise replied, while handing Snowe his drink, "With all the fighting and traveling we've been doing, especially the Cray Trading Company giving us a headache because we got some things they want so badly," She says the next part more to herself, "or rather some ones."

Snowe picked up on it, having already heard about one of the reasons why the mermaid sisters are here on the ship, "So basically this place is just a way to get away from it all for a while." He said.

"This and the hot tubs," Konrad said, "although ever since Gareth made that statue of Link, everyone started to feel right at home here."

Snowe started to think about what he should talk about next, when Basil showed up to take a little break from his game, "Hey Snowe, it's been awhile." He greeted his old friend from Razril.

Snowe looked up to see the young boy he used to talk to whenever he and Link went out to enjoy a little fun in the town, "Hey Basil, can you be honest with me if I were to ask you a personal question?" He asked, yet he had to clear something up when Basil got a strange look on his face, "Not that personal."

"Well in that case, sure." Basil answered.

"Recently I've been hearing everybody explaining why things have been going so well with Link while everything I did was a complete disaster. I was wondering if you can tell me if things were really that good when we were growing up." Snowe asked.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I think that everyone in the town was thinking that everything was one big illusion when we look back on it." Basil started to explain, "Sure we had the Knights of Gaien around to protect us, yet when your father showed his true colors when he not only didn't even bother to send us any help, but also to act like he was going to be a hero when he tried to attack Link for saving the island."

"And what about when we were growing up together?" Snowe asked.

"The friendship was pure, that I can tell you since that is the reason why Link hasn't have you killed yet from the beginning." Basil answered, "Although I think it didn't help matters any when Sir Glen kept personally training Link and your father kept making sure Link was nothing more than your little shadow, that follows and does whatever you tell him."

"I was that bad, wasn't I?" Snowe asked, while rubbing his hands all over his face.

"More like misguided." Konrad said, deciding to step in, "I think you were a good person from the start, its just that you've spending most of your life trying to please people so that they would be proud of you, but when your own father didn't even send a single ship to help you protect the island, that's when I think you got a good cold slap of reality. You tried everything you could to prove that you aren't completely helpless only for it to blow up in your face. Link has already dealt with such things when he was growing up and the only thing he had to listen to was his own heart and the fatherly advice that Glen gave him."

Snowe felt like he was starting to know his old friend better, while he realized that he doesn't even know himself that well since he was always under his father's watchful eye, "I guess I need to know myself a little better before I try to apologize to Link for everything I put him through." He said.

"Might be a good start, although in a way it's a good thing that you did." Axel said, "Considering where we are now, I'm pretty sure we would have been worst off if you hadn't, and that Rune of Punishment would be used to help Gaien with their personal gain."

Snowe just finished his drink and decided to give one of the games a little try.

Here is the latest chapter. Sorry it is so short, right now I saving everything for the last chapter. Read and Review, and have a Merry Christmas.