Sorry for not updating for a long time. After many thoughts and much help from a friend of mine, I was finally able to make this chapter feel right. The last chapter two I did was horrid in my opinion and was deleted. Please enjoy! ^_^

Warning: Might contain game spoilers and rated for somewhat bloody battles.

A Job Well Done
Chapter 2
A Rest Stop at Lionel Castle

Having rescued Princess Ovelia and bringing her to safety, the Cardinal gave Ramza and his party a hero's welcome. They were offered rooms in the castle itself. Ramza, of course couldn't just accept such an offer but the Cardinal insisted and it would be rude to protest any further. So it was decided that they would stay here for the day for a well deserved rest.

Ovelia was to stay at the castle as planned. This meant Agrias would stay also. Ramza would continue onward the next day to help Mustadio and his holy stone.


As on any other day, the market was packed with people. Most were commoners buying the few scraps of food with what little money they had. Some were not as lucky and became beggars on the side of the road. Shops lined the path, advertising their products on display. Overall, the market was a cheerful place for most people if they could avoid thieves.

Walking down the market was none other than Rad himself. For over half an hour, he had been searching for Alicia and Lavian. He sighed to himself as another fellow commoner brushed past him hastily in the crowded streets.

Finally, he found them at a weapons shop, looking at a display of swords. Quickly, he made his way towards them through the large crowd.

"...a blue sword with ice element, nice. And the blue matches with my armor too," Alicia was saying when Rad approached them.

"So this is where you two have been, I've been looking forever!" Rad exaggerated.

"Is something wrong?" Lavian asked.

"No, Agrias wanted to see you two," Rad delivered his message.

"The Captain? We'd better hurry," Lavian gently put down the Ice Brand she was looking at. They both quickly ran towards the castle, leaving Rad behind.

"You're welcome..." he grumbled softly.


"Go with me? Are you sure that is wise, Agrias?" Ramza was saying as Lavian and Alicia arrived. Ramza and Agrias were in the courtyard. It was a small area, just big enough for an elegant oak tree to provide shade from the harsh sunlight. Short wild plants grew among the floor, contrasting with the gray stone walls on all four sides.

"Yes, Ramza, I think it is for the best. The Princess is safe under the Cardinal's protection and I will be here to watch over her," Agrias explained. It was rare for Agrias to be seen without her armor and today was no exception. She was in almost full armor with her sword sheathed at her side.

"If you think it is best," Ramza agreed. Unlike Agrias, Ramza stripped off his battle armor as soon as possible. He was left with the cotton shirt he wore underneath. His sword and armor were left in his room. His hair was still a mess from the last battle though.

Their conversation was interrupted by two pairs of rapidly approaching footsteps. Lavian and Alicia stepped through the double doors. "Lavian/Alicia, reporting as requested," they saluted in unison.

"What took you so long?" Agrias demanded. Ramza opened his mouth to tell Agrias to ease up, but stopped himself. It was not right for him to say, at least not yet.

"Rad could not find us," Alicia answered.

"I suppose the incident was unavoidable, but I expect that to be improved with time. But more importantly, I have called this appointment to inform your current working status. You no longer work for me.," Agrias explained.

The look of confusion was immediate on both of the girls' faces. "Are we...fired?" Alicia asked.

"Did we do something wrong?" Lavian questioned.

"No, it's none of that," Ramza suppressed a chuckle, "Agrias thought it would be best that you travel with me,"

"But Captain, why?" Alicia asked.

"A knight does not question what he is told to do," Agrias lightly scolded.

"Just be ready to leave tomorrow morning," Ramza said.

"Yes, Sir!" Alicia and Lavian saluted once again in unison.

"Ramza," the newly appointed captain corrected.

"Excuse me, Sir. I didn't get that," Lavian asked.

"My name is Ramza. Call me Ramza," Ramza smiled.

"Yes S....er.....Ramza," Alicia nodded.

Sensing that Ramza was done, Agrias said , "You are dismissed, be sure to be ready." The two knights nodded and made their way out. As soon as they were gone, Agrias turned to Ramza with a skeptical look. "You spoil them too much."

"Don't question my ways and I won't question yours," Ramza grinned.

Agrias nodded thoughtfully. "Fair enough. Just take care of them or you'll have me to worry about."


"Wark....," the yellow chocobo cooed softly as Rad brushed him softly. It was his first long rest stop since he had been rescued from the group of goblins that cornered him. He had sneaked into a few battles to help out a little,but he mostly known for carrying Princess Ovelia on their way to Lionel.

"Like that, Boco?" Rad whispered softly. He continued brushing slowly and working away dirt stuck in the feathers. Boco nodded his head and made more cooing noises.

"So how was it? Carrying the princess I mean. Lighter than Ramza in full armor, yeah?" Rad asked. He spoke to the chocobo almost every time he groomed him, sharing his thoughts and feelings as if Boco was some kind of biological diary. Chocobos were smarter then what most people gave them credit for and Boco was no different.

It was at that precise moment that Ovelia just happened to be taking a walk and heard voices near the stables. At first, she couldn't tell who was talking but the voice sounded familiar to her. Her curiosity got the better of her and she walked over to find out. "She's really beautiful, I wonder...if all princesses are like that," Rad wondered out loud, unaware of Ovelia's presence.

The chocobo suddenly began to wark and shake his head as the princess entered the room. Rad, however, was completely oblivious to that fact. "Calm down already, have you gone crazy?!" Rad yelled over the noise. Boco rammed his beak onto Rad's head, trying to warn him. "Ow! What was that for?!" Rad cried, rubbing the place he was hit.

"Wark waark wark!" Boco stared at someone behind the squire, hinting that someone was was watching.

"Behind me?" Rad turned around and came face to face with Ovelia. His eyes widened in surprise. Regaining his composure quickly, he kneeled down, mimicking the movements Ramza had done before. "Uh...Your Highness," he bowed and lowered his head, afraid to look at her. He could hear Boco also kneeling and bowing as well.

"Oh, please, I didn't mean to...interrupt," Ovelia said apologetically.

"Not a problem, have um...Your Highness uh...," it was obvious that Rad had never spoken to royalty before, but he was trying his best. Ovelia tried to conceal her laughter, but a smile broke out.

"What's so funny, Princess?" Rad asked, a bit offended that she was laughing at his futile attempt.

"Nothing, nothing at all. Please speak as you normally would."

Rad got up to his feet. "Uh...Princess, about what I said earlier, I only meant that I never saw royalty before and would never dreamed of meeting anyone like that. It was just a surprise, that's all. I'm sorry if it sounded different," Rad appologized quickly.

He took a peek at her face, hoping to see a favorable expression. She watched him carefully, as if studying him. After an awkward minute of them staring at each other, she finally spoke, "I've never spoke with a...commoner either. I was never allowed to."

Rad turned back and started to groom Boco. "Oh, ok," he nodded thoughtfully. Again, there was another awkward moment of silence.

"The chocobo, can you show me how to take care of him?" Ovelia asked.

"Sure, wanna try brushing him?" Rad asked, holding up the brush.

"Of course," Ovelia smiled as she took the brush from him. She slowly approached Boco and mimicked Rad in an attempt to groom the chocobo.

"I think he likes it better when you groom him," Rad noticed at the content look on the chocobo's face. Boco lowered his head and warked once. Ovelia smiled as she started on Boco's neck and started working upwards. Boco warked once again, this time a bit more harshly. The startled Princess stopped immediately.

"Princess, try brushing down," Rad corrected her, trying to hide a chuckle. She nodded and raised the brush to Boco's head and brushed downwards through his neck and on to his back. Boco let out a content coo as she continued.

The peaceful environment was shattered by the sound of pounding feet. The door slammed open, revealing Agrias Oaks, the blue on her armor matching the night sky. She bowed upon seeing the Princess and said, "Your Highness, dinner is now served. The Cardinal requests that you accompany him for dinner."

"Oh, thank you, Agrias," Ovelia handed the brush over to the squire. "It was nice talking to you, Rad."

"Yeah, same here, Princess."

Agrias looked up at Rad with a surprised expression on her face. She was surprised by Rad's informal speech. She attempted to give him a warning that it was not proper.

Agrias was interrupted was interrupted before she could say anything though. "Come along, Agrias," Ovelia called, a little further down the path.

As soon as they were gone, Rad let out a sigh of relief. "That went well, I think...," he said out loud to himself.