HEY! Since you guys seemed so excited about it all of the sudden, here's the next chapter. Sadly, only a little while until this is done. It makes me sad and tears are brought to my eyes a little. I will probably write an epilouge, if not a sequel. Gotta tell me which.

Disclaimer: I have never, not once, owned Rune Factory or its sequel. I'm just another fangirl and rare girl gamer.

Fall 25th, 8 am, Alvarna

Kyle stretched, staring at the calm waters in the Port. No one else, except Mana, was there. Like Alicia had been told, she had made sure the area was vacant. That was an hour ago and she herself hadn't come back. The two stood there, waiting for the boat. There was no sign at all of it until the water started to ripple. Waves spread out, as if making an entrance for the boat. Instantly, they both locked their eyes on Cecilia, who was standing on the bow of the ship. Mana gasped, waving not-so-eagerly at her. The blonde noticed her, a sad smile on her face, and waved back.

"Mana…" Cecilia hugged her friend as she stumbled off the ship. Jake walked behind, looking extremely depressed. Two men, neither Kyle nor Mana recognized them, handled the coffin down from the ship. They stood there, looking around the port. Kyle suddenly gasped. "Oh, Kyle. Where's Byron?"

"Ceci… Ah. Mana, can you go get him?" The fiery-haired boy looked toward the girl, who simply nodded. As she ran off to fetch the mayor, Kyle turned back to Cecilia and the two men carrying the coffin. "Okay… Who are these guys?" Though Kyle tried to sound cherry, his eyes landed on Jake and his tone softened.

"Oh! This is Zavier," she gestured toward the older of the two. "And Nick." She smiled at the blue-haired boy. He murmured something as they carefully set down the coffin. "Oh right! We do have some good news." Kyle blinked in surprise at her. "I'm engaged to Nick!"

"Really?" Kyle's mouth turned into a broad smile. Why, Cecilia didn't know. She was just glad that the farmer was overjoyed. "That's wonderful. Maybe we can bring the town's joy back with that then." He looked somber all of the sudden. "They won't stop moping around, I'm worried."

"I noticed…" The elf's eyes scanned the red-head's clothes. Completely black, she figured Mana had made them for him. True, the three of them were also in black clothes, but she couldn't imagine Alvarna looking so dark. After a moment, she sighed. "Where are we going to bury him?"

"Apparently there's a graveyard behind the church. We'll be burying him with his wife." Kyle smiled sadly. Cecilia felt tears well up in her eyes. They slipped down here face silently. She stopped crying suddenly when she saw Byron running toward them. His clothes looked exactly the same except that they were black. She was afraid to see the rest of the town now. "Ah, Byron!"

"Hello." The mayor bustled past Kyle, shaking hands with Zavier. "I assume you are Zavier. Thank you for taking care of Jake during this time. But I'm sorry we dragged you into this." He bowed, turning to look at Nick. "Hello to you too, but I'm not sure who you are."

"Oh! I'm Nick." He shook the mayor's hand. "And um, it's okay that you dragged myself and Zavier into this. I'd hate to see Cecilia or a friend of hers sad." He looked back at the coffin for a moment. "You don't mind if we go to the Inn now? I'm sure that Jake and Ceci want to rest a little. And anyway, I think they need a break."

"You seem like a smart boy. I'm glad." Byron lowered his eyes. "Please, feel free to use the inn for now. We really don't have anywhere else for you to stay now."

Byron let them pass. His eyes locked on Jake. He stopped the boy, looking at the elf's face. His eyes were a little puffy. Byron sighed, patting his shoulder before pushing him toward the three. The Elvin boy stumbled, but Zavier caught his arm. There seemed to be a connection between this two and Byron noticed this. But it seemed like a good thing for the boy. After a second, he looked back at the coffin. Egan…

"Jake." The boy snapped his head up to stare at Zavier. Though his eyes weren't red anymore, the sad look was still on his face. "Brighten up a little. You can't mope around forever. I'll let you mope like this until the funeral is over."

Jake didn't say anything, staring at the wooden planks that made up the floor. Zavier sighed, grabbing the younger boy's chin and forcing Jake to look at him. The boy bit his lip, turning his eyes away. The adventurer realized that the elf was actually angry. Truthfully, and Zavier knew this, Jake had never been really angry with him.

"All right… be that way." Zavier leaned down, catching the other's lips. Jake, at the time, wasn't exactly pleased with his lover. However, there was no effort to push him away. In fact, he seemed to kiss back. He let Zavier push him down and just as this was happening, the door swung open.

"Jake, I-" Cecilia gapped at the two from the door. There were a few moments of quiet before she took a step back, muttering an apology. Zavier pushed off from the bed, following the elf girl calmly. Jake just sunk into the bed, covering his face with his arm.

"Ceci." Zavier stopped the girl by grabbing her arm. "Are you… uh.." The blonde couldn't think of a word to describe it. What word would you use to describe a girl finding her best friend and another of her friend kissing. He shrugged." Are you confused?"

"N-not completely." She looked down at the ground as she talked to him, embarrassed. She didn't think anything of it. After all, it's just like if someone had walked in on her and Nick kissing. Okay, so maybe it wasn't exactly the same, but it was the like, wasn't it? "So, how long..?"

"Not too long, I suppose." He leaned against the wall, tapping his foot. "Maybe… around the time I first met him?" He laughed, avoiding the younger girl's gaze. He glanced over at her, confused with her smiling face. "What are you…?"

Cecilia clapped her hands around his, smiling. "T-that's so… romantic! Love at first sight, I suppose!" Cecilia suddenly frowned, pressing a finger to her mouth. "But then…"

"What is it?" Zavier let a sigh pass his lips. He wasn't that annoyed by Cecilia, yet she still overreacted to something simple. He watched her begin pacing the hall. For what reason, he didn't know. After watching her for a while, he stepped back into Jake's room. Said elf was still lying on the bed. Zavier sat down, the bed shifting a bit under his weight. He ran a hand over the elf's hair, before leaning back against the wall. He let his eyes slide closed, trying to fall asleep. Though the funeral was that night, Zavier hadn't slept at all on the boat and neither had Jake. Now that it came to it, he hadn't realized how sleepy he was.

He didn't get time to exactly fall asleep, because something warm found his lap. He looked down, staring at Jake's head. He patted the elf, tugging on his ear. Jake didn't move, but his ear twitched and Zavier laughed. At this, the elf's ear turned red.

"Now that is something I didn't think I'd ever see." He smiled broadly when Jake sat up and started yelling at him. "Don't yell at me." He trailed a finger up Jake's arm. Jake turned red, swatting the blonde's hand away. "Fine, fine." Zavier leaned back against the wall again, closing his eyes. "I'm going to sleep, then."

"No, wait.." Jake grabbed Zavier's vest, pulling him into a kiss. Zavier smiled through the kiss, taking control by shoving Jake onto the bed. "Hey!" Jake wriggled a little, but Zavier just laughed.

Fall 25th, 3pm, Hot Springs

"Oh, where are they?" Julia peered out of the closed shop. She wasn't allowed to go to the church yet, but she had to close the Hot Springs. She pursed her lips, sighing when Rosalind and Max ran toward her. She closed the door, waving at the two. Max hugged her, kissing her cheeks. Julia was glad that she didn't have to do anything to her clothing, but make them longer. Rosalind outfit didn't fit her, she herself seemed without color. Max looked odd, covered in black and not blue. But then, that was how the whole town was. "It's soon, right?"

"Yeah, we should head over there now; Byron wants the de Saint Coquilles over there first thing. Apparently, father was closed to Egan. I mean I knew that he came in every so often, I didn't know they were friends, though." Rosalind took her best friend's hand, shaking her head. "It's weird, he's been so tense and not hungry lately.. I worry about him."

"Rosalind, don't worry, I'm sure he's fine." Julia looked at Max, who was flicking nervously at imaginary dust. "After all, if I died, you'd be out of it too, wouldn't you?" She smiled sweetly at her friend.

"Oh! Don't say things like that!" Rosalind scolded her, stopping in front of the clinic. Dorothy was leaning against the door, her face eternally hid behind her bangs. Barrett had his hand on her shoulder and they barely looked up when the three passed. However, they joined, walking quietly behind them.

It was such an odd trek. Julia could feel the tight atmosphere, it moved throughout the town. It had been there since they had learned of the death of Egan and it still stayed. The gray-blonde had a feeling it might even overstay its' visit. She didn't want it too. Not because she hated seeing her friends without their color (though she missed the vibrant colors), but because she was worried for the half-elf and his mood.

Of course, I still want reviews. I really apperciate everybody's input and reviews. ;D Oh, that's right, I fail at romantic scenes, kthxbye!