AN: Konnichiwa, minna! Sorry for the long wait.school coming up and
all.~makes a face~ Ah yes, just a side note.there's a little bit of
swearing in here.bad guys tend to do that so..hope you don't mind! hhuummm
I guess I'd better get on with the story, huh? Been dragging it out for
far too long :P But that just means that I get more
reviews.hmmm.reviews.satisfied readers.reviews..readers.~moves hands back
and forth~ hehe, just kidding. Well, on with the show! Er.story.eh heh heh
heh ^^"
R.D- Yeah.well, it's kind of the same, I mean, Rose is hiding out in a forest.except she replaced the cool giant wolves with the even cooler dragons! ~hides from big snarly wolfies~ eeeeee.. Well, thanks for the review, I hope you continue reading!
Ai-chan- Heheh, as I've said before, I love writing Rose's character.but having my readers like her is even better! And eventually, Van may be able to..insert evil cackle here..
Leviathan- Sssaannnkkkyyyuuuuu!!!! ^_^v
Megumi- Eh, I don't care about the length of the review, just so long as it's not a flame and you take time out of your busy busy day to do so! Thankees ^^
June Mermaid- Heheh, it is, isn't it? ^^ And don't worry.Van and Rose will have many encounters, I believe.~checks schedule book~ yup! ^^v
Kohuei- I hope my e-mail answered your questions! Thanks as always for the review!!
Rose tossed and turned, but sleep wouldn't come. She sighed deeply, hugging Smoak to her. He squeaked in his sleep, then settled down. 'Oh Van..' Seeing him today had not been good for her. 'I was getting along just fine, just starting to relax.then he had to come along and.' Rose let go of Smoak, turning over, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, resting her head on her pillow and staring at the stone wall. Thinking back on the whole occurrence between her, Van, and Allen, she had to giggle quietly. Really, the whole thing had played out like an anime. Come to think of it, her whole LIFE turned into a badly angsty/dramatic/action/adventure shoujo manga. She lay flat on her back now, staring at the ceiling. 'If only my love life would come into play and work out as easily as the main characters..' Snorting, Rose sat up and reached for her hunting clothes. She needed to take a walk to clear her head. She missed him so much, she didn't know what to do. Everything had hit her so suddenly.her parents, her heritage, him, those strange animals that made her shudder even now.and then there was him. Rose smiled to herself as she edged past the sleeping guards. At least, they appeared to be sleeping.
'I'm just going for a walk. I don't know when I'll be back, but don't worry about me. I'll call if I need help.' Rockythia cracked open a flaming eye, nodded once, and then closed the heavy lid to resume his pseudo-sleep. Rose continued her journey. Using the night sky as her guide, she stopped to rest when she reached a large boulder. She sat, one leg dangling down to the ground, the other tucked beneath her in a triangle. She leaned back, lifting her head to face the sky. Why couldn't she just forget about him and stay with her friends? Images flashed in her mind. Merle, Allen, Millerna, Dryden, Chid..she clasped her necklace in the palm of her hand. And Miguel. She would never forget him. Thinking back, she really never actually liked him as he liked her but still, he was a good friend to her and didn't let her down when she needed him. 'Van, on the other hand.oooooooo that jerk!' She heaved her bajillionth sigh that night and dropped her head. 'If he's such a jerk, then why can't I forget about him?' Rose resisted the urge to punch something.
" Eeeehhhhh, I'm going to go insane! I need to stop thinking." she held her head, shaking it slowly back and forth, breathing deeply. She missed them all.but she had an obligation to stay with the dragons. Not that she minded, of course, she loved them all very much. They were a second family to her.
' But spots cannot marry stripes, Rose.' Rose jumped fifty feet into the air, whirling to come face to face with Thayanna. She held a hand to her heart, panting.
'D.don't do that! You scared me.' Thayanna chuckled, keeping her head at eye level with Rose. Meanwhile, Rose pondered what Thayanna meant.
' What do you mean by that? Spots marrying stripes?' The dam sighed, laying down and looking at her princess.
' Leopard people do not marry tiger people. Dragons do not marry horses. You are meant to be with your own kind, child. You want to be, many of the dragons know it.' Rose sighed ashamedly. Was she really that obvious?
' But.to leave all of you.I don't want to do that. Besides, I have no 'people' left. I'm the only Arethian left, remember?' Thayanna chuckled quietly, nodding.
' This is true. However, Draconians, as well as dragons, were your allies. The Arethians and the Draconians often inter-bred with one another.' Rose paled slightly.
" Thayanna! How could you think that that was what I wanted to do!" She went red in a matter of moments.
" I get what you're trying to do, and it's not going to work. He.well, you know what he said about me! He never really wanted me around, he only let me stay there because I was Hitomi's daughter, and then when he found out that I wasn't really that." Rose had reverted to actual speech in her anger.
' Stop that, Rose. You know perfectly well that you were Hitomi's daughter, in every way but the one that doesn't really matter. Hitomi raised you as her own, and you are. And besides, you missed a very crucial part of your mothers stories. Did she not once refer to a machine that Zaibach used to try and break her and Van apart?' Rose froze, trying to recall everything Hitomi had told her about her adventures. A cold sinking feeling dragged her gut to her feet as she went freezing all over, filled with a horrible dread and guilt.
' The Fate Alteration machine.but they couldn't have used that, Van broke it when he..but they could have repaired it..oh, Thayanna, I'm such an idiot!!' Again, the dam shook her head.
' You are merely the closest thing to a human other than the draconians. No race is impervious to mistakes.' Thayanna blinked. Rose had disappeared from her eye level. Hearing a tiny groan, she glanced down. Rose had sunk to the ground, hands over her head.
" Rose no baka! Baka, baka, baka, baka!" She was chanting it like it was her mantra. Thayanna sweatdropped slightly. Perhaps she shouldn't have said what she said, but something had to be done about her princess. Bending down, she nuzzled Rose to a standing position.
' You'd only be an idiot if you don't go to him.' Rose glanced up, startled. Thayanna blinked. Tears were half-formed in the girls eyes. 'So many responsibilities for a child her age.but she has persevered as well as anybody could ask her to.' She was startled as Rose threw her arms around her neck. She had never been hugged by anybody before. She purred slightly, nuzzling Rose affectionately. She was going to miss her little princess.
' Could.could I take Smoak with me, if he wants to come? I don't think I'd be able to cut myself off from all of you completely and I.' She was cut off by a rustling bush, and the aforementioned dragon burst through, into Rose's arms.
' Can I go, please? Please, please?' Thayanna chuckled. She couldn't keep those two apart even if she tried. Thayanna didn't think that Smoak would wait 2 minutes before sneaking off to follow Rose.
' Do as you wish. After all, one of us has to stick around to make sure that our princess stays out of trouble until it's alright to get into trouble.' Smoak completely missed the meaning of what Thayanna said, but Rose turned a cherry red.
' I don't get into trouble.at least, not that easily. Not without a fight, you know me.' Thayanna chuckled.
' So go on. It's a long walk. Or flight, for that matter.' Rose nodded, picking Smoak up and placing him on her shoulder.
" Thank you Thayanna. For everything." With that, she jumped into the air, flapping her wings twice to gain some speed. Waiting for the right moment, Thayanna sent out a thought to her.
' And I expect to be invited to see the product of the trouble you get into!' In the distance, she could see an outlined figure stumble in mid-air, falling several feet.
' Thayaannnnaaaa!!!' A pained cry shot across the space between them, with a puzzled question following.
' What trouble? Where? I don't get it..' Laughing, Thayanna went back to the den to deliver the news of their princesses departure. She just hoped things went smoothly for Rose. * * * * * * * * * * * *
Van sighed, standing as still as was possible with people poking and prodding him. In one more day he would be 20, and his advisors were acting odd. They were grinning to one another and giving him odd looks. He didn't like it at all.
" I swear, Allen, they're up to something. I can feel it." Allen chuckled, watching the fitting with amusement.
" I'm sure that whatever it is, it will be good for you. You know your advisors." Van growled quietly.
" Exactly. Which is why I'm suspicious of them." This gained another laugh from Allen.
" Don't worry about it Van. Go, have fun, be merry, yadda yadda yadda." Van sighed, glancing out the window. 'One year.has it really only been one year?' (Insert sappy flashback music here :P nah, just kidding..) He sighed again. He missed her so much.but despite his search, he couldn't find Rose. He even tried using the pendant, but it just swung all over the place. Really, the party being held tomorrow would only serve to make him miserable, of that he was sure. 'Ever since that stupid notice that they got of some princess or another coming.and it only happened yesterday morning! I just HOPE that they didn't think they could get away with telling her that we're already engaged.' Van groaned again, and the tailors took their stuff and left, finished with the fitting.
" Come on Van. I think Merle wanted to talk to you. Something about the decorations or something. Apparently we're having a special guest, from what I heard from some of the servants. Van cast a slight scowl at him and couldn't resist the barb.
" You mean the maids you flirt with shamelessly?" For a moment, Allen blinked at him. And then he laughed, nodding his head.
" Most likely, although my memory fails me at the moment." Van chuckled. Well, Allen would never change. He burst into laughter as his imagination caught hold of him, giving him an image of an old man trying to talk to maids. Allen shot him an odd look and rolled his eyes, continuing on. Van rushed to catch up.
" Sorry, sorry. Just thought of something weird." Just then the familiar brown furball streaked with a flash of pink tumbled into him.
" Lord VVAAANNN!!! I can't WAIT until tomorrow!!!" Van shot Allen a curious look, but Allen was busy glaring at Merle.
" Why would that be, Merle? It's just a party." Merle stammered, eyes wide.
" W-well, you know, it being your.um.birthday and all.well.I gotta go..bye now!" With that, she was gone. Van blinked, then looked at Allen.
" Ok. You guys are hiding something from me. What is it?" Allen blinked at him.
" Nothing. Nothing's going on. Why would you think that?" Van glared at him, then continued walking.
" Never mind. I'm sure I'll find out soon enough." Allen grinned to himself. He too, along with Merle, Millerna, Dryden and Chid had received a letter. Granted, it was from somebody they thought to be dead, but Folken said that Rose was coming back. Along with some other stuff about her being the sorceress, but the important part was that she was coming back. And Allen couldn't be more pleased. Van was in for a big surprise the next day. * * * * * * * * * * * *
Folken sat back in his chair, rubbing his forehead tiredly. He wasn't sure that he had done the right thing in telling the others at Fanelia that Rose was indeed coming back, seeing as she sent him a quick message by thought.how, he wasn't sure.but what was done was done. And there was another matter to tend to. Judging by the action in the forest close to Zaibachs capital, he was sure he wasn't the only one that felt Gaia tremble days before. Something big had happened, and he felt a particular need to go to Fanelia. But that would mean placing Dillandu in charge.and knowing Dillandu, Fanelia would be attacked the very night he left. So he was placed between the proverbial 'rock and a hard place', as Rose often said when she was with them. Although, the saying didn't make much sense to him, seeing as a rock was also hard. But that was beside the point. He could leave Naria in charge.and then he would feel comfortable enough bringing Miguel with him, for he wasn't blind in realizing that Miguel missed Rose greatly, as well as the other Dragonslayers. But it would be ludicrous to bring the entire squadron to Fanelia. They wouldn't make it past the borders. Tapping his fingers against the arm of his chair, he let his thoughts wander, ironing out the finer details as they came. 'Besides. A trip to Fanelia is long overdue.' * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sargon chuckled, watching the sun rise from his study window. It was good to be out of those miserable caves once more. And everything was going according to plan. The next day, everything would come to a head, and all hell would break loose. Figuratively speaking, of course. He toyed with the crystal glass between his two fingers, the liquid sticking to the sides of the cup and oozing back to the bottom when he paused. Standing, Sargon walked over and looked at the mantle of the fireplace. Above it, there was a painted portrait of a young woman, smiling lightly. He sighed, frowning. 'They destroyed everybody.' Sargon shook his head, ridding them of unwanted thoughts. 'Well, I had better feed those damned creatures before they start making noise.' He finished his drink, and left the room, not before casting the delicate glass into the roaring fire. * * * * * * * * * * * *
Rose landed softly, in one of her more modest outfits, at the edge of Fanelia. Smoak lay perched on her shoulder, practically asleep. She flexed her wings, working out the cramps. 'Ow.' She sighed, tucking her wings close around her. People would probably be frightened but.oh well. They would have to learn to live with it. Rose put her cloak on, despite the slight heat that the day gave off. Raising the hood, she made sure that her face wasn't visible before she set off to the town, breathing in. Like many buildings, she slowly started to realize that cities, too, had their individual smells. She rather liked this one. Beside her, Smoak sneezed, and started snoring. Rose giggled, sidestepping the main roads in favor of the less-traveled ones. She had once again opted for the safer option of concealing her weapon until it was needed, seeing as a sword such as hers..or rather, her fathers..attracted a lot of attention. From the one group of bandits that she did encounter, she removed her cloak, flexed her wings, and growled. The babies were gone in 60 seconds (ok ok, pun intended -_-) She got a few odd looks as soon as she could no longer avoid the main paths, but she just fixed them with a glare and moved on, ignoring the whispers.
" Smoak.wake up.it looks like something big is happening tonight." She nudged the top of his head, speaking quietly. She had a feeling that a strange girl with wings starting to growl wouldn't go very well with the few people that she saw. Blinking, Smoak raised his head and looked around.
' Why'd you wake me up?' He whined, yawning. Rose giggled, rubbing his eye ridges lightly.
" Crybaby.anyway, let's head to the palace. Hopefully nobody will remember me..but I have a feeling that Folken meddled too far this time. Come on, hide under my cloak. People here don't like dragons, remember?" Smoak nodded, hopping off her shoulder and fluttering into a little side- carrier that Rose had created before they entered the city limits. It was really just an oversized bag, but he didn't complain. Carefully rearranging her cloak and buying a small wheel of cheese, she broke it in half and stuffed half of it into the bag. Rose suppressed a giggle when she heard the sounds of serious sniffing.
' Meat?' Rose patted the slightly bulge lightly.
' No silly. It's cheese. Try it.' So saying, she bit into her own piece. As she did, she felt an odd shifting in her back. Blinking rapidly, she whirled. Something was wrong. She turned forward again, then shrugged her shoulders. Her wings had disappeared. Rose sweatdropped, looking at her cloak again.
' Heheh, Rose, you were always like that. Can't you just accept a gift from your mother?' Rose glanced up as a crow landed on the top of a street stall. 'Say what?' The crow fluffed it's wings, cawing.
' Your mother, Queen Aranor, gave you your wings as your heritage. She understood the need for you to hide them, and so I was sent to deliver the technique.' He was quite puffed up by now. Rose nodded her head in thanks, and carried on. 'Well, so much for restoring a bit of normality around here.' She finished the cheese, and hearing a quiet burp from the bag, grinned.
' Good non-meat.I like humans, I think.' Rose giggled behind her hand, trying not to look too obvious to the people in the more crowded center of the city. Boy, it was noisy! True, she had only really left the palace once or twice during the day, but honestly, could people shout about their stock any louder? Ducking her head, she turned to examine a clothing rack as a familiar-looking cat-girl zoomed past, on some 'serious' errand. Rose quickly hurried on, wanting to reach the castle without being noticed. No such luck. A hand reached out from an alley and pulled her in, clamped over her mouth so that she couldn't cry out. In a natural reaction, Rose bared her teeth and bit down on the hand.
" Ow! By the gods Rose, I should never have let you live in the wild!" She blinked as the hand let go of her, and turned, lowering her hood, safe in the dark.
" Miguel? Is that you?" The familiar smiling face of the man that helped her escaped came forward into the light.
" The one and only. Folken is here too." Rose looked behind Miguel to see that he was right.
" You guys!! I missed you both so much!" She proclaimed, flinging herself into Miguel for a hug. It was true, she missed human contact. Rose felt his arms wrap around her and she sighed. Then she heard Folken let out a dramatic sigh.
" Of course, the younger male gets more attention than the best friend who's older, wiser and much cooler." Rose giggled, detaching herself and doing a similar fling onto Folken, knocking him back a bit.
" You were saying?" She grinned impishly as she stuck out her tongue. He laughed again, patting her on the head.
" And look at that, you've reverted to your original looks. That should make it easier." She looked at him as he snapped his mouth shut.
"..make WHAT easier, exactly?" Folken winced, looking at Miguel for help. Miguel shook his head.
" Never mind Rose.we just came to view the festivities tonight. It IS Van's 20th birthday, after all." Rose blinked. Now that she thought about it..it had been a year since she left. Which meant..
" Aw man! I missed celebrating my 18th birthday!!" Miguel fell over and she rubbed the back of her head.
" But then, that's not really the point, is it?" Folken shook his head just as Smoak decided to make an appearance.
' Humans!' Smoak rushed over to Folken's shoulder, sniffing. Before Rose could react and call him back, Miguel had his sword out, which made Smoak puff up and prepare to 'smoke' him, seeing as he couldn't exactly breathe fire yet.
' No, no Smoak! It's ok! Just.stay there!' Rose waved her arms frantically, ignoring the looks that Folken and Miguel shot her.
" Miguel, it's ok. Smoak is my friend, he came with me when I left the woods." Miguel continued to stare at her.
" You stayed with DRAGONS?!?!?" He asked incredulously. She winced. Ooops.
" Umm.." Folken plucked Smoak off of his shoulder and handed him back to Rose.
" And, it appears that you can talk to them as well. I believe you have a lot of explaining to do, miss Rose." Rose hung her head, sighing, while Smoak extended his neck, sniffing.
' Cheese?' Rose groaned, leading them both to a small outside diner where they ordered food and an obscene amount of cheese. It was time to explain a few things. * * * * * * * * * * * *
Van sighed, looking around the ballroom. Somehow, his advisors had managed to keep down the number of available females in the room, so for once, his party had an even ratio of men to women. Which only made him more suspicious. Allen, Chid, Dryden and the others were all smiling and chuckling for no reason, and his advisors were also smiling. Van resisted the urge to groan. This was only going to end badly. Earlier he had caught Merle in Rose's room. She had practically avoided his gaze and said that she went in there to remember some things. But Merle was always bad at lying, and Van was confused as to why she would want to. Besides, they had all made an agreement to keep the room the way it was, in case.in case they ever found her. And if not..it would serve as a memory. Van shook his head, sighing. Soon his advisors would force him to face the fact that very few people could survive completely alone for an entire year. He missed her, wanted her to come back.and he still didn't know why she ran away in the first place.
" Van, cheer up! It's your birthday party, after all!" Merle latched onto his arm, giving him a vague sense of déjà vu.
" Yeah. But everybody is acting so strangely tonight." Merle grinned nervously, hugging his arm.
" Don't worry about it, Lord Van. Oh yeah! I got you your birthday present. It's not much but it looked so pretty in the marketplace." She handed him a delicately carved box, inlaid with silver leaves and a golden dragon on the top of the curved top. He opened it carefully, looking inside, and gasped. Merle jumped slightly, smile growing wider as her tail waved furiously back and forth in excitement. Van carefully lifted out the jeweled figure. A dragon filled the expanse of his hand, jade and amethyst sparkling as the scales, bits of rubies for it's eyes. A girl was sitting side-saddle style upon it, polished ebony hair blowing back in an invisible wind. She wore a long white dress, opal used for the fabric. It had long bell sleeves rippling slightly and cinched at the waistline, tied with a piece of seashell white stone. On her head she wore a simple gold and silver circlet. She looked like Rose.
" Merle.I.." Merle smiled, patting him on the cheek as he put the figure back into the box.
" I knew you'd like it." Van didn't say anything as Merle waved quickly and raced off towards the back of the covered stage set up in the corner of the room for entertainment. They had already had a few princesses sing, as well as a few males. They were all quite good, really. Van glanced at the figurine in the box once more and sighed, going back to watching the nobles. * * * * * * * * * * * *
Rose sighed, infuriated that she had been put in this position with such ease. Smoak nuzzled her neck affectionately, sending her muted reassurances. Merle popped her head through the curtain.
" Oh come on Rose, jeez, everybody's upset tonight! Smile!" Rose merely glared at her, tugging at her dress. Folken and Miguel snickered as Allen grinned, patting her on the head. She twitched.
" You know I hate it when people do that to me, right Allen?" He nodded, grinning. She grumbled.
" After this is over, I'm going to drag you into the training room and kick your sorry-" Allen cut in.
" But, you wouldn't beat up a Knight Calei, would you?" She glowered at him. 'Ugh, I can't believe that I'm doing this.' ~Flashback~
" Rose?!? Folken was right, you ARE here!!!!" Merle had just latched onto Rose in a grip of death as Rose sent Folken a glare. Folken looked uncomfortable. They had just entered the castle and were hiding in Rose's old room, which, she noted with happiness, was kept exactly the way she had left it. Merle was bouncing up and down excitedly, telling them to wait there. Within 10 minutes she had assembled the rest of the old 'group' (tired of writing all their names..you know who I'm talking about -_-""") After many greetings and a bit of hushed talking so as not to alert anyone else that they were here, Merle had told Rose that she needed a birthday gift for Van. Rose had then panicked slightly, seeing as she didn't exactly have any money.
" Oh don't worry, you can just do something else!" Little did Rose know when she agreed, that the 'something else' would be a performance in front of everybody there. ~End Flashback~
" Merle! Remind me to kill you! Slowly, and painfully!" Merle rolled her eyes.
" So, we're going to announce a new princess is going to sing..and now it's true.and then you just walk up those stairs and do your thing. Van sees you, is astounded, and everybody's happy." Rose just settled for scowling at Merle. She grinned.
" I'll take that as a sign that you're ready." Before Rose could object, Merle was gone and she could hear her talking to the maestro. She let out a deep groan, sighing and petting Smoak.
' Well if nothing else goes right, at least you look pretty!' Rose sighed, glancing down at her dress. Merle had been particularly insistent that she wore this outfit. It was an off-white color, very simple in design. It had a scoop-neck and belled out from her elbows to her wrists, but was still light, thank god. From there, a dreaded hourglass corset gave the dress more form, and it fell softly to the floor, a thing corded rope tied around her waist. The light circlet she wore establishing her position among the Arethians rested on her hair,
' Thank you, Smoak. I appreciate it.' * * * * * * * * * * * *
Van glanced up and finished off the dance with the princess he was currently talking to as the maestro walked slowly up the wood stairs of the stage, about to present another princess. The one before this one had been particularly awful, not quite reaching the high notes required of the song. They had listened politely, clapping at the end, and the orchestra resumed. Now however, he was slightly dreading the next announcement. Who knew what would happen? He glanced to the side, spotting Merle grinning. What was she doing over there?
" Ladies and gentleman, sirs and madams. May I introduce our next singer, one whose presence we have sorely missed here in Fanelia. It gives me great honor to present the Princess of the Arethians, Daughter of Aranor." A few titters of laughter ran through the room. Everybody knew that the Arethians were myths. A memory of the dragon girl flashed in his mind, and the hidden reprimand she had given him made him wince slightly. ' But still.the Arethians? Weren't the Draconians supposed to be allied to them?' He turned his eyes to the stage. And then proceeded to have a miniature heart attack. 'ROSE?!?!?!?' And Rose with a small dragon perched on her shoulder..Van blinked. 'Dragon? No.it couldn't be..'
" Um.hello everybody. Thanks to Merle back there." here she paused and glared at the cat-girl, hidden in the shadows. 'So THAT'S what everybody was excited about.'
" I was.convinced..to sing a song. I hope you enjoy it. It's also kind of an apology to someone.they know who they are." With that, she cleared her throat, and the orchestra started up.
There is something that I see, In the way you look at me, There's a smile, There's a truth, In your eyes.
But an unexpected way, On this unexpected day, Could it be, This is where I belong? It is you I have loved, All along.
There's no more mystery, It is finally clear to me, You're the home my heart searched for, So long And it is you I have loved All along!
There were times, I ran to hide, 'fraid to show the other side, Alone in the night without you.
But now I know just who you are, And I know you hold my heart, Finally, this is where I belong. It is you I have loved, All along!
There's no more mystery, It is finally clear to me, You're the home my heart searched for, So long. It is you I have loved, All along!
Van could only gape as a slight instrumental took over. She was beautiful. And she looked just like the figurine Merle gave him. She had done a heavy amount of planning, that was for sure.
Whoa over, and over, I'm filled with emotion, Your love, it rushes through my veins, And I am filled with, The sweetest devotion, As I look, Into your perfect face.
There's no more mystery, It is finally clear to me, You're the home my heart searched for, So long, And it is you I have loved, It is you I have loved, It is you I have loved, All along!
Rose bowed at the end of the song, a slight blush covering her cheeks as the guests applauded. He never knew that she could sing like that. Van rushed towards the stage, weaving through the crowd. Rose was back, and he was going to talk to her, even if she didn't want to listen.
AN: Okies, wow, this is a long chapter!! Enjoy, and don't forget to review ^_^ Otherwise I'll sic Smoak on ya :P ~Smoak in the background, eating a large wheel of cheese~..-_-
R.D- Yeah.well, it's kind of the same, I mean, Rose is hiding out in a forest.except she replaced the cool giant wolves with the even cooler dragons! ~hides from big snarly wolfies~ eeeeee.. Well, thanks for the review, I hope you continue reading!
Ai-chan- Heheh, as I've said before, I love writing Rose's character.but having my readers like her is even better! And eventually, Van may be able to..insert evil cackle here..
Leviathan- Sssaannnkkkyyyuuuuu!!!! ^_^v
Megumi- Eh, I don't care about the length of the review, just so long as it's not a flame and you take time out of your busy busy day to do so! Thankees ^^
June Mermaid- Heheh, it is, isn't it? ^^ And don't worry.Van and Rose will have many encounters, I believe.~checks schedule book~ yup! ^^v
Kohuei- I hope my e-mail answered your questions! Thanks as always for the review!!
Rose tossed and turned, but sleep wouldn't come. She sighed deeply, hugging Smoak to her. He squeaked in his sleep, then settled down. 'Oh Van..' Seeing him today had not been good for her. 'I was getting along just fine, just starting to relax.then he had to come along and.' Rose let go of Smoak, turning over, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, resting her head on her pillow and staring at the stone wall. Thinking back on the whole occurrence between her, Van, and Allen, she had to giggle quietly. Really, the whole thing had played out like an anime. Come to think of it, her whole LIFE turned into a badly angsty/dramatic/action/adventure shoujo manga. She lay flat on her back now, staring at the ceiling. 'If only my love life would come into play and work out as easily as the main characters..' Snorting, Rose sat up and reached for her hunting clothes. She needed to take a walk to clear her head. She missed him so much, she didn't know what to do. Everything had hit her so suddenly.her parents, her heritage, him, those strange animals that made her shudder even now.and then there was him. Rose smiled to herself as she edged past the sleeping guards. At least, they appeared to be sleeping.
'I'm just going for a walk. I don't know when I'll be back, but don't worry about me. I'll call if I need help.' Rockythia cracked open a flaming eye, nodded once, and then closed the heavy lid to resume his pseudo-sleep. Rose continued her journey. Using the night sky as her guide, she stopped to rest when she reached a large boulder. She sat, one leg dangling down to the ground, the other tucked beneath her in a triangle. She leaned back, lifting her head to face the sky. Why couldn't she just forget about him and stay with her friends? Images flashed in her mind. Merle, Allen, Millerna, Dryden, Chid..she clasped her necklace in the palm of her hand. And Miguel. She would never forget him. Thinking back, she really never actually liked him as he liked her but still, he was a good friend to her and didn't let her down when she needed him. 'Van, on the other hand.oooooooo that jerk!' She heaved her bajillionth sigh that night and dropped her head. 'If he's such a jerk, then why can't I forget about him?' Rose resisted the urge to punch something.
" Eeeehhhhh, I'm going to go insane! I need to stop thinking." she held her head, shaking it slowly back and forth, breathing deeply. She missed them all.but she had an obligation to stay with the dragons. Not that she minded, of course, she loved them all very much. They were a second family to her.
' But spots cannot marry stripes, Rose.' Rose jumped fifty feet into the air, whirling to come face to face with Thayanna. She held a hand to her heart, panting.
'D.don't do that! You scared me.' Thayanna chuckled, keeping her head at eye level with Rose. Meanwhile, Rose pondered what Thayanna meant.
' What do you mean by that? Spots marrying stripes?' The dam sighed, laying down and looking at her princess.
' Leopard people do not marry tiger people. Dragons do not marry horses. You are meant to be with your own kind, child. You want to be, many of the dragons know it.' Rose sighed ashamedly. Was she really that obvious?
' But.to leave all of you.I don't want to do that. Besides, I have no 'people' left. I'm the only Arethian left, remember?' Thayanna chuckled quietly, nodding.
' This is true. However, Draconians, as well as dragons, were your allies. The Arethians and the Draconians often inter-bred with one another.' Rose paled slightly.
" Thayanna! How could you think that that was what I wanted to do!" She went red in a matter of moments.
" I get what you're trying to do, and it's not going to work. He.well, you know what he said about me! He never really wanted me around, he only let me stay there because I was Hitomi's daughter, and then when he found out that I wasn't really that." Rose had reverted to actual speech in her anger.
' Stop that, Rose. You know perfectly well that you were Hitomi's daughter, in every way but the one that doesn't really matter. Hitomi raised you as her own, and you are. And besides, you missed a very crucial part of your mothers stories. Did she not once refer to a machine that Zaibach used to try and break her and Van apart?' Rose froze, trying to recall everything Hitomi had told her about her adventures. A cold sinking feeling dragged her gut to her feet as she went freezing all over, filled with a horrible dread and guilt.
' The Fate Alteration machine.but they couldn't have used that, Van broke it when he..but they could have repaired it..oh, Thayanna, I'm such an idiot!!' Again, the dam shook her head.
' You are merely the closest thing to a human other than the draconians. No race is impervious to mistakes.' Thayanna blinked. Rose had disappeared from her eye level. Hearing a tiny groan, she glanced down. Rose had sunk to the ground, hands over her head.
" Rose no baka! Baka, baka, baka, baka!" She was chanting it like it was her mantra. Thayanna sweatdropped slightly. Perhaps she shouldn't have said what she said, but something had to be done about her princess. Bending down, she nuzzled Rose to a standing position.
' You'd only be an idiot if you don't go to him.' Rose glanced up, startled. Thayanna blinked. Tears were half-formed in the girls eyes. 'So many responsibilities for a child her age.but she has persevered as well as anybody could ask her to.' She was startled as Rose threw her arms around her neck. She had never been hugged by anybody before. She purred slightly, nuzzling Rose affectionately. She was going to miss her little princess.
' Could.could I take Smoak with me, if he wants to come? I don't think I'd be able to cut myself off from all of you completely and I.' She was cut off by a rustling bush, and the aforementioned dragon burst through, into Rose's arms.
' Can I go, please? Please, please?' Thayanna chuckled. She couldn't keep those two apart even if she tried. Thayanna didn't think that Smoak would wait 2 minutes before sneaking off to follow Rose.
' Do as you wish. After all, one of us has to stick around to make sure that our princess stays out of trouble until it's alright to get into trouble.' Smoak completely missed the meaning of what Thayanna said, but Rose turned a cherry red.
' I don't get into trouble.at least, not that easily. Not without a fight, you know me.' Thayanna chuckled.
' So go on. It's a long walk. Or flight, for that matter.' Rose nodded, picking Smoak up and placing him on her shoulder.
" Thank you Thayanna. For everything." With that, she jumped into the air, flapping her wings twice to gain some speed. Waiting for the right moment, Thayanna sent out a thought to her.
' And I expect to be invited to see the product of the trouble you get into!' In the distance, she could see an outlined figure stumble in mid-air, falling several feet.
' Thayaannnnaaaa!!!' A pained cry shot across the space between them, with a puzzled question following.
' What trouble? Where? I don't get it..' Laughing, Thayanna went back to the den to deliver the news of their princesses departure. She just hoped things went smoothly for Rose. * * * * * * * * * * * *
Van sighed, standing as still as was possible with people poking and prodding him. In one more day he would be 20, and his advisors were acting odd. They were grinning to one another and giving him odd looks. He didn't like it at all.
" I swear, Allen, they're up to something. I can feel it." Allen chuckled, watching the fitting with amusement.
" I'm sure that whatever it is, it will be good for you. You know your advisors." Van growled quietly.
" Exactly. Which is why I'm suspicious of them." This gained another laugh from Allen.
" Don't worry about it Van. Go, have fun, be merry, yadda yadda yadda." Van sighed, glancing out the window. 'One year.has it really only been one year?' (Insert sappy flashback music here :P nah, just kidding..) He sighed again. He missed her so much.but despite his search, he couldn't find Rose. He even tried using the pendant, but it just swung all over the place. Really, the party being held tomorrow would only serve to make him miserable, of that he was sure. 'Ever since that stupid notice that they got of some princess or another coming.and it only happened yesterday morning! I just HOPE that they didn't think they could get away with telling her that we're already engaged.' Van groaned again, and the tailors took their stuff and left, finished with the fitting.
" Come on Van. I think Merle wanted to talk to you. Something about the decorations or something. Apparently we're having a special guest, from what I heard from some of the servants. Van cast a slight scowl at him and couldn't resist the barb.
" You mean the maids you flirt with shamelessly?" For a moment, Allen blinked at him. And then he laughed, nodding his head.
" Most likely, although my memory fails me at the moment." Van chuckled. Well, Allen would never change. He burst into laughter as his imagination caught hold of him, giving him an image of an old man trying to talk to maids. Allen shot him an odd look and rolled his eyes, continuing on. Van rushed to catch up.
" Sorry, sorry. Just thought of something weird." Just then the familiar brown furball streaked with a flash of pink tumbled into him.
" Lord VVAAANNN!!! I can't WAIT until tomorrow!!!" Van shot Allen a curious look, but Allen was busy glaring at Merle.
" Why would that be, Merle? It's just a party." Merle stammered, eyes wide.
" W-well, you know, it being your.um.birthday and all.well.I gotta go..bye now!" With that, she was gone. Van blinked, then looked at Allen.
" Ok. You guys are hiding something from me. What is it?" Allen blinked at him.
" Nothing. Nothing's going on. Why would you think that?" Van glared at him, then continued walking.
" Never mind. I'm sure I'll find out soon enough." Allen grinned to himself. He too, along with Merle, Millerna, Dryden and Chid had received a letter. Granted, it was from somebody they thought to be dead, but Folken said that Rose was coming back. Along with some other stuff about her being the sorceress, but the important part was that she was coming back. And Allen couldn't be more pleased. Van was in for a big surprise the next day. * * * * * * * * * * * *
Folken sat back in his chair, rubbing his forehead tiredly. He wasn't sure that he had done the right thing in telling the others at Fanelia that Rose was indeed coming back, seeing as she sent him a quick message by thought.how, he wasn't sure.but what was done was done. And there was another matter to tend to. Judging by the action in the forest close to Zaibachs capital, he was sure he wasn't the only one that felt Gaia tremble days before. Something big had happened, and he felt a particular need to go to Fanelia. But that would mean placing Dillandu in charge.and knowing Dillandu, Fanelia would be attacked the very night he left. So he was placed between the proverbial 'rock and a hard place', as Rose often said when she was with them. Although, the saying didn't make much sense to him, seeing as a rock was also hard. But that was beside the point. He could leave Naria in charge.and then he would feel comfortable enough bringing Miguel with him, for he wasn't blind in realizing that Miguel missed Rose greatly, as well as the other Dragonslayers. But it would be ludicrous to bring the entire squadron to Fanelia. They wouldn't make it past the borders. Tapping his fingers against the arm of his chair, he let his thoughts wander, ironing out the finer details as they came. 'Besides. A trip to Fanelia is long overdue.' * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sargon chuckled, watching the sun rise from his study window. It was good to be out of those miserable caves once more. And everything was going according to plan. The next day, everything would come to a head, and all hell would break loose. Figuratively speaking, of course. He toyed with the crystal glass between his two fingers, the liquid sticking to the sides of the cup and oozing back to the bottom when he paused. Standing, Sargon walked over and looked at the mantle of the fireplace. Above it, there was a painted portrait of a young woman, smiling lightly. He sighed, frowning. 'They destroyed everybody.' Sargon shook his head, ridding them of unwanted thoughts. 'Well, I had better feed those damned creatures before they start making noise.' He finished his drink, and left the room, not before casting the delicate glass into the roaring fire. * * * * * * * * * * * *
Rose landed softly, in one of her more modest outfits, at the edge of Fanelia. Smoak lay perched on her shoulder, practically asleep. She flexed her wings, working out the cramps. 'Ow.' She sighed, tucking her wings close around her. People would probably be frightened but.oh well. They would have to learn to live with it. Rose put her cloak on, despite the slight heat that the day gave off. Raising the hood, she made sure that her face wasn't visible before she set off to the town, breathing in. Like many buildings, she slowly started to realize that cities, too, had their individual smells. She rather liked this one. Beside her, Smoak sneezed, and started snoring. Rose giggled, sidestepping the main roads in favor of the less-traveled ones. She had once again opted for the safer option of concealing her weapon until it was needed, seeing as a sword such as hers..or rather, her fathers..attracted a lot of attention. From the one group of bandits that she did encounter, she removed her cloak, flexed her wings, and growled. The babies were gone in 60 seconds (ok ok, pun intended -_-) She got a few odd looks as soon as she could no longer avoid the main paths, but she just fixed them with a glare and moved on, ignoring the whispers.
" Smoak.wake up.it looks like something big is happening tonight." She nudged the top of his head, speaking quietly. She had a feeling that a strange girl with wings starting to growl wouldn't go very well with the few people that she saw. Blinking, Smoak raised his head and looked around.
' Why'd you wake me up?' He whined, yawning. Rose giggled, rubbing his eye ridges lightly.
" Crybaby.anyway, let's head to the palace. Hopefully nobody will remember me..but I have a feeling that Folken meddled too far this time. Come on, hide under my cloak. People here don't like dragons, remember?" Smoak nodded, hopping off her shoulder and fluttering into a little side- carrier that Rose had created before they entered the city limits. It was really just an oversized bag, but he didn't complain. Carefully rearranging her cloak and buying a small wheel of cheese, she broke it in half and stuffed half of it into the bag. Rose suppressed a giggle when she heard the sounds of serious sniffing.
' Meat?' Rose patted the slightly bulge lightly.
' No silly. It's cheese. Try it.' So saying, she bit into her own piece. As she did, she felt an odd shifting in her back. Blinking rapidly, she whirled. Something was wrong. She turned forward again, then shrugged her shoulders. Her wings had disappeared. Rose sweatdropped, looking at her cloak again.
' Heheh, Rose, you were always like that. Can't you just accept a gift from your mother?' Rose glanced up as a crow landed on the top of a street stall. 'Say what?' The crow fluffed it's wings, cawing.
' Your mother, Queen Aranor, gave you your wings as your heritage. She understood the need for you to hide them, and so I was sent to deliver the technique.' He was quite puffed up by now. Rose nodded her head in thanks, and carried on. 'Well, so much for restoring a bit of normality around here.' She finished the cheese, and hearing a quiet burp from the bag, grinned.
' Good non-meat.I like humans, I think.' Rose giggled behind her hand, trying not to look too obvious to the people in the more crowded center of the city. Boy, it was noisy! True, she had only really left the palace once or twice during the day, but honestly, could people shout about their stock any louder? Ducking her head, she turned to examine a clothing rack as a familiar-looking cat-girl zoomed past, on some 'serious' errand. Rose quickly hurried on, wanting to reach the castle without being noticed. No such luck. A hand reached out from an alley and pulled her in, clamped over her mouth so that she couldn't cry out. In a natural reaction, Rose bared her teeth and bit down on the hand.
" Ow! By the gods Rose, I should never have let you live in the wild!" She blinked as the hand let go of her, and turned, lowering her hood, safe in the dark.
" Miguel? Is that you?" The familiar smiling face of the man that helped her escaped came forward into the light.
" The one and only. Folken is here too." Rose looked behind Miguel to see that he was right.
" You guys!! I missed you both so much!" She proclaimed, flinging herself into Miguel for a hug. It was true, she missed human contact. Rose felt his arms wrap around her and she sighed. Then she heard Folken let out a dramatic sigh.
" Of course, the younger male gets more attention than the best friend who's older, wiser and much cooler." Rose giggled, detaching herself and doing a similar fling onto Folken, knocking him back a bit.
" You were saying?" She grinned impishly as she stuck out her tongue. He laughed again, patting her on the head.
" And look at that, you've reverted to your original looks. That should make it easier." She looked at him as he snapped his mouth shut.
"..make WHAT easier, exactly?" Folken winced, looking at Miguel for help. Miguel shook his head.
" Never mind Rose.we just came to view the festivities tonight. It IS Van's 20th birthday, after all." Rose blinked. Now that she thought about it..it had been a year since she left. Which meant..
" Aw man! I missed celebrating my 18th birthday!!" Miguel fell over and she rubbed the back of her head.
" But then, that's not really the point, is it?" Folken shook his head just as Smoak decided to make an appearance.
' Humans!' Smoak rushed over to Folken's shoulder, sniffing. Before Rose could react and call him back, Miguel had his sword out, which made Smoak puff up and prepare to 'smoke' him, seeing as he couldn't exactly breathe fire yet.
' No, no Smoak! It's ok! Just.stay there!' Rose waved her arms frantically, ignoring the looks that Folken and Miguel shot her.
" Miguel, it's ok. Smoak is my friend, he came with me when I left the woods." Miguel continued to stare at her.
" You stayed with DRAGONS?!?!?" He asked incredulously. She winced. Ooops.
" Umm.." Folken plucked Smoak off of his shoulder and handed him back to Rose.
" And, it appears that you can talk to them as well. I believe you have a lot of explaining to do, miss Rose." Rose hung her head, sighing, while Smoak extended his neck, sniffing.
' Cheese?' Rose groaned, leading them both to a small outside diner where they ordered food and an obscene amount of cheese. It was time to explain a few things. * * * * * * * * * * * *
Van sighed, looking around the ballroom. Somehow, his advisors had managed to keep down the number of available females in the room, so for once, his party had an even ratio of men to women. Which only made him more suspicious. Allen, Chid, Dryden and the others were all smiling and chuckling for no reason, and his advisors were also smiling. Van resisted the urge to groan. This was only going to end badly. Earlier he had caught Merle in Rose's room. She had practically avoided his gaze and said that she went in there to remember some things. But Merle was always bad at lying, and Van was confused as to why she would want to. Besides, they had all made an agreement to keep the room the way it was, in case.in case they ever found her. And if not..it would serve as a memory. Van shook his head, sighing. Soon his advisors would force him to face the fact that very few people could survive completely alone for an entire year. He missed her, wanted her to come back.and he still didn't know why she ran away in the first place.
" Van, cheer up! It's your birthday party, after all!" Merle latched onto his arm, giving him a vague sense of déjà vu.
" Yeah. But everybody is acting so strangely tonight." Merle grinned nervously, hugging his arm.
" Don't worry about it, Lord Van. Oh yeah! I got you your birthday present. It's not much but it looked so pretty in the marketplace." She handed him a delicately carved box, inlaid with silver leaves and a golden dragon on the top of the curved top. He opened it carefully, looking inside, and gasped. Merle jumped slightly, smile growing wider as her tail waved furiously back and forth in excitement. Van carefully lifted out the jeweled figure. A dragon filled the expanse of his hand, jade and amethyst sparkling as the scales, bits of rubies for it's eyes. A girl was sitting side-saddle style upon it, polished ebony hair blowing back in an invisible wind. She wore a long white dress, opal used for the fabric. It had long bell sleeves rippling slightly and cinched at the waistline, tied with a piece of seashell white stone. On her head she wore a simple gold and silver circlet. She looked like Rose.
" Merle.I.." Merle smiled, patting him on the cheek as he put the figure back into the box.
" I knew you'd like it." Van didn't say anything as Merle waved quickly and raced off towards the back of the covered stage set up in the corner of the room for entertainment. They had already had a few princesses sing, as well as a few males. They were all quite good, really. Van glanced at the figurine in the box once more and sighed, going back to watching the nobles. * * * * * * * * * * * *
Rose sighed, infuriated that she had been put in this position with such ease. Smoak nuzzled her neck affectionately, sending her muted reassurances. Merle popped her head through the curtain.
" Oh come on Rose, jeez, everybody's upset tonight! Smile!" Rose merely glared at her, tugging at her dress. Folken and Miguel snickered as Allen grinned, patting her on the head. She twitched.
" You know I hate it when people do that to me, right Allen?" He nodded, grinning. She grumbled.
" After this is over, I'm going to drag you into the training room and kick your sorry-" Allen cut in.
" But, you wouldn't beat up a Knight Calei, would you?" She glowered at him. 'Ugh, I can't believe that I'm doing this.' ~Flashback~
" Rose?!? Folken was right, you ARE here!!!!" Merle had just latched onto Rose in a grip of death as Rose sent Folken a glare. Folken looked uncomfortable. They had just entered the castle and were hiding in Rose's old room, which, she noted with happiness, was kept exactly the way she had left it. Merle was bouncing up and down excitedly, telling them to wait there. Within 10 minutes she had assembled the rest of the old 'group' (tired of writing all their names..you know who I'm talking about -_-""") After many greetings and a bit of hushed talking so as not to alert anyone else that they were here, Merle had told Rose that she needed a birthday gift for Van. Rose had then panicked slightly, seeing as she didn't exactly have any money.
" Oh don't worry, you can just do something else!" Little did Rose know when she agreed, that the 'something else' would be a performance in front of everybody there. ~End Flashback~
" Merle! Remind me to kill you! Slowly, and painfully!" Merle rolled her eyes.
" So, we're going to announce a new princess is going to sing..and now it's true.and then you just walk up those stairs and do your thing. Van sees you, is astounded, and everybody's happy." Rose just settled for scowling at Merle. She grinned.
" I'll take that as a sign that you're ready." Before Rose could object, Merle was gone and she could hear her talking to the maestro. She let out a deep groan, sighing and petting Smoak.
' Well if nothing else goes right, at least you look pretty!' Rose sighed, glancing down at her dress. Merle had been particularly insistent that she wore this outfit. It was an off-white color, very simple in design. It had a scoop-neck and belled out from her elbows to her wrists, but was still light, thank god. From there, a dreaded hourglass corset gave the dress more form, and it fell softly to the floor, a thing corded rope tied around her waist. The light circlet she wore establishing her position among the Arethians rested on her hair,
' Thank you, Smoak. I appreciate it.' * * * * * * * * * * * *
Van glanced up and finished off the dance with the princess he was currently talking to as the maestro walked slowly up the wood stairs of the stage, about to present another princess. The one before this one had been particularly awful, not quite reaching the high notes required of the song. They had listened politely, clapping at the end, and the orchestra resumed. Now however, he was slightly dreading the next announcement. Who knew what would happen? He glanced to the side, spotting Merle grinning. What was she doing over there?
" Ladies and gentleman, sirs and madams. May I introduce our next singer, one whose presence we have sorely missed here in Fanelia. It gives me great honor to present the Princess of the Arethians, Daughter of Aranor." A few titters of laughter ran through the room. Everybody knew that the Arethians were myths. A memory of the dragon girl flashed in his mind, and the hidden reprimand she had given him made him wince slightly. ' But still.the Arethians? Weren't the Draconians supposed to be allied to them?' He turned his eyes to the stage. And then proceeded to have a miniature heart attack. 'ROSE?!?!?!?' And Rose with a small dragon perched on her shoulder..Van blinked. 'Dragon? No.it couldn't be..'
" Um.hello everybody. Thanks to Merle back there." here she paused and glared at the cat-girl, hidden in the shadows. 'So THAT'S what everybody was excited about.'
" I was.convinced..to sing a song. I hope you enjoy it. It's also kind of an apology to someone.they know who they are." With that, she cleared her throat, and the orchestra started up.
There is something that I see, In the way you look at me, There's a smile, There's a truth, In your eyes.
But an unexpected way, On this unexpected day, Could it be, This is where I belong? It is you I have loved, All along.
There's no more mystery, It is finally clear to me, You're the home my heart searched for, So long And it is you I have loved All along!
There were times, I ran to hide, 'fraid to show the other side, Alone in the night without you.
But now I know just who you are, And I know you hold my heart, Finally, this is where I belong. It is you I have loved, All along!
There's no more mystery, It is finally clear to me, You're the home my heart searched for, So long. It is you I have loved, All along!
Van could only gape as a slight instrumental took over. She was beautiful. And she looked just like the figurine Merle gave him. She had done a heavy amount of planning, that was for sure.
Whoa over, and over, I'm filled with emotion, Your love, it rushes through my veins, And I am filled with, The sweetest devotion, As I look, Into your perfect face.
There's no more mystery, It is finally clear to me, You're the home my heart searched for, So long, And it is you I have loved, It is you I have loved, It is you I have loved, All along!
Rose bowed at the end of the song, a slight blush covering her cheeks as the guests applauded. He never knew that she could sing like that. Van rushed towards the stage, weaving through the crowd. Rose was back, and he was going to talk to her, even if she didn't want to listen.
AN: Okies, wow, this is a long chapter!! Enjoy, and don't forget to review ^_^ Otherwise I'll sic Smoak on ya :P ~Smoak in the background, eating a large wheel of cheese~..-_-