I do not own Legend of Dragoon or any of the characters.


Honesty

Cade watched as Dart set the White-Silver Dragoon Spirit in Shana's hand, resting it on her abdomen.

"With this, we should be able to save her," Dart said.

He turned to Lavitz, both nodding, but just as Dart reached for his own Dragoon Spirit, the one Shana now held shone blindingly, even brighter than it had when Dart healed Drake, as well as inadvertently healing the others, even Cade. Cade nodded to himself. He had suspected that might happen as soon as Shirley handed them the Dragoon Spirit.

"Wh...What!?" Dart asked.

"It's chosen her," Cade said.

"Cade's right," Rose said, just as the light grew brighter for a moment before fading, leaving Shana sitting up and staring at the crystal sphere now held in her hands.

"Shana!" Dart gasped.

"Dart...what is this?" Shana asked.

"It's the Dragoon Spirit of the White-Silver Dragon," Dart said. "So then...I guess Shana really is..."

"A Dragoon," Lavitz finished.

"If she wasn't, this much power wouldn't have been drawn from the Dragoon Spirit," Rose said, turning away. "Shana purged the poison with her own power."

Sanator stepped forward, giving Shana a brief inspection. "It's true. Her spirit has been completely restored. The poison is completely gone."

"Dart, what's going on?" Shana asked.

Dart held out his own Dragoon Spirit in answer, the spirit shining as brightly as Shana's. As did Lavitz's when he held it out a moment later. Then Rose's, though she kept hers at her side, staring down at it.

"I don't know if it's a coincidence or fate," Dart said. "But you were saved with this power, Shana. Do you feel it? This is the power of a Dragon. The power of the Dragoon."

The other three put theirs away as Shana's grew brighter still as she focused on the power.

"Yes, I feel it," Shana nodded. "It's so warm. Not only powerful, but very tender as well."

"Ex-Excuse me," Sanator said, shielding his eyes. "It's a bit too bright for my eyes."

"Oh!" Shana gasped. "I'm sorry!" She hurriedly slipped it into her pocket, the light fading instantly.

"Can you stand?" Dart asked.

Shana nodded and stood, taking a step away from the bed before doing a twirl, smiling brightly. "See? I'm fine now!"

Dart nodded and turned to Sanator. "So...this is all kind of hard to explain."

Sanator raised his hands. "I'm sure I wouldn't understand even if you told me. It's enough just seeing a miracle with my own eyes. It was worth waiting this long. Also, there's no need to worry about payment. Just put a swift end to this war. That would do."

"There's no longer a threat of a Dragon," Dart said. "The rest will be taken care of by King Albert soon."

"I see," Sanator said, humming thoughtfully. "You defeated that Dragon. You may win your way through to a pretty good level. Wait, not just that. You might be able to win the title of the strongest in the world!"

"The strongest in the world?" Dart asked, frowning in confusion and looking to Lavitz, who shrugged.

"Are you interested?" Sanator asked. "Well, you are just in time for the hero competition. Daredevils are coming from all over the world to compete with their brawn and brains. If you are interested, go to the arena. I'm looking forward to seeing you compete."

Dart nodded and they thanked Sanator one last time before they left. As they walked through Lohan, heading for the center, since that was the most likely place the arena would be, Cade raised a hand to his chest. His wounds had left jagged scars, as Sanator had predicted, but he'd removed the stitches, and those holes had healed already. He'd also asked Dart what the Black Monster was on the way back to Lohan, and he'd explained that it was a creature that showed up every hundred eight years when the Moon That Never Sets turned red and which slaughtered entire villages, then disappeared again. Years ago, when Dart was a child, it had attacked his village, and he was the only survivor. It had even killed his parents. Since then, he had vowed revenge, and had gone on a four year journey to try and find it, returning shortly before Cade met the group.

"There it is!" Shana said excitedly, pointing to an arena ahead of them.

They walked around it until they found the registration booth and stairs leading down into the arena beside it. A few minutes later, it had been decided that only Dart would compete. Lavitz was ineligible from that type of competition due to being a knight, Cade wasn't interested in the competition, Rose claimed to not like the word dude, which the guy at the counter had called them all, and also said she didn't see the point, since she'd just beat everyone easily and spoil the competition, and Shana simply promised to cheer for Dart. Dart shrugged and headed into the arena as the others all went to watch from one side. The tournament was more entertaining than Cade had expected, and Dart did very well. His first opponent was a man with gold armor with a green cape, a battleaxe, and a hook for a right hand. The man cheated and used a weak paralysis poison to try and give himself an edge, but Dart still won. However, shortly after that, there were two other people who caught Cade's attention. One was an elderly man with a sleeveless, purple martial arts uniform, long grey hair, and a red headband who beat his opponent in seconds using martial arts. The other was a man with silver hair cut short, a sleeveless black shirt with intricate white designs decorating the front, black pants, and black boots. He also won in seconds, but by wielding a sword almost identical to Cade's, except that where Cade's handle was silver, this man's was gold. Cade stared at him, eyes narrowed. He felt a darkness from this man similar to the shadow he could feel spreading over the world.

"His sword is the same as yours," Rose commented.

"Yeah," Cade nodded. "He's got good taste. He's good, too."

Rose nodded in agreement. Dart's second opponent was a man wearing a full suit of silver plate armor with a red horse-tail sticking off the back and wielding a bastard sword, though he seemed to prefer wielding it in one hand, unlike Dart's two-handed preference. The fight was brutal. The man was skilled with his blade, and he made Dart work for it, but in the end, Dart defeated him. The next opponent was a behemoth of a man in red armor with a chainmail cape and a massive hammer. The man was so big Cade was almost willing to believe he was actually a Giganto. He was powerful too. His brute strength allowed him to easily overpower Dart, however, Dart was able to outpace him, giving him a slight edge. However, just as it looked like Dart might win, the behemoth managed to land a particularly devastating blow to Dart's torso and sent him crashing into the wall of the arena. Dart barely managed to regain his feet, and when he attacked again, he only barely managed to avoid a strike, then landed his own, finally taking the behemoth of a man down.

"That was close," Cade said.

"Very," Lavitz agreed.

"He got careless," Rose said. "If he'd have lost, it would have been his own fault for letting his guard down."

"That's true," Cade nodded, just as the silver-haired swordsman, who had been identified as Lloyd, once again defeated his opponent in an instant, as he had every time. "I'm interested to see if he can beat this guy."

"We'll probably find out," Rose said. "This one is still toying with everyone."

Cade nodded in agreement. "There's something off about the way he fights."

"Besides the fact that he hasn't even had to block a single strike?" Lavitz asked. "He just seems to suddenly not be where hos opponents are attacking, then beats them in a single blow every time."

Cade nodded. "That too. But there's something else. I just can't quite...place it."

Dart returned to the arena to face his semi-finals opponent, an archer wearing iron pauldrons with animal skins decorating the side closest to his neck, then hanging behind him in a pair of tails, brown pants with iron armor splints hanging outside his hips, iron boots, and leather gauntlets. Dart moved to strike first, but simply received an arrow through his left calf for the effort. Shana gasped harshly, covering her mouth. The rest of the fights had been surprisingly blood free for a competition in which maiming was allowed, if frowned upon. However, this archer clearly didn't mind drawing some. Dart broke the arrow head off and pulled the arrow out, then charged again, limping this time. He received another arrow in the right thigh, fortunately in the front and only piercing his muscle, rather than the artery in the inside of his leg, which would kill him in seconds. Dart once again removed the arrow and charged. Another arrow his his left arm, then his right. As his sword bounced off the ground, the archer hurled three apples into the air, then shot through them into Dart's chest. His armor deflected the arrow, but the force of the impact hurled him backward. He ripped the arrows out of his arms before standing and staggering back to his sword, but from where Cade stood, he could see the fear in Dart's eyes now.

"This is terrible!" Shana said.

"He can do it," Cade assured her. "He just needed to be reminded to be more careful. Bludgeoning his way through almost cost him two matches, now. He'll be careful from here on."

"Agreed," Rose nodded.

Sure enough, instead of charging headlong into the battle again, Dart took off to his right. The Archer turned to shoot him, only for Dart to cut back the other way, avoiding the arrow and beginning to close in on the archer rapidly. The archer smirked, readying another arrow and moved to shoot Dart again, only for Dart to once again change direction, this time reaching him as the arrow shot past. He slashed at the archer, but the archer batted the blade away, then spun out of the way of another slash, knocking an arrow as he spun, then firing, only for Dart to have ducked, getting under the shot. Dart shot forward, slashing upward at the archer, carving a shallow scratch across his chest as the archer leapt backward. The archer flipped, landing on his feet and readied another arrow. Dart once again took off around the archer. The archer turned, aiming, only to fire on the other side from where Dart was heading, so that when Dart changed directions, the arrow stabbed through Dart's lower leg, tripping him up. Dart quickly removed it and stood, taking off once again. Again the archer moved to fire behind where Dart was heading, but Dart didn't change directions this time. The archer swore, firing ahead of Dart, only for Dart to turn directly toward the archer. The archer haphazardly fired an arrow, but his aim was rushed and desperate, and he hadn't pulled the bow back fully, sending it slowly and allowing Dart to slash it out of the air. Then, Dart crashed headlong into the archer, knocking him to the ground and putting his sword to the archer's throat.

"Yield," Dart said.

"I yield!" the archer said, swallowing hard.

Cheers erupted around the arena instantly, and Dart hobbled back into the waiting room for the competitors, pulling out a healing potion as he went. As he got to the waiting room, Lloyd and the older martial artist, Haschel, both entered the arena. Haschel was fast, disciplined, and skilled. However, as with everyone else, he couldn't even come close to landing a strike on Lloyd. Lloyd simply seemed to suddenly be elsewhere every time Haschel struck at him. Cade narrowed his eyes. Lloyd's skill was borderline inhuman. However, Haschel was doing better than most. Even though he couldn't hit Lloyd, he was able to avoid most of his strikes. He received several shallow gashes, but he avoided most of the counter strikes. However, the end was inevitable, and sure enough, Lloyd finally went on the offensive, reaching Haschel almost before Haschel could react and taking him down in seconds.

Haschel bowed to Lloyd out of respect for his skill, and both left. There was a short intermission before the final match so that Dart and Lloyd, though mostly Dart, could rest. Then, both returned. As always, Lloyd allowed Dart to have the first move, and as always, Dart's strike was nowhere near Lloyd. Loyd's, on the other hand, slammed into Dart's armor hard, sending him staggering backward. Lloyd followed, proving himself to be more aggressive than in any of his previous fights. Dart struggled to fend him off, managing to deflect several strikes, though he received several gashes on his legs and the exposed parts of his arms as well. Finally, Lloyd backed off, beckoning Dart forward as he did. Dart took a moment to analyze the situation. Then, he committed. He charged, slashing rapidly, but carefully, and yet, everything he tried hit nothing but air. Lloyd was constantly two steps ahead, striking Dart hard, then moving out of the way of Dart's counter strike almost before he had even thrown it. Finally, Lloyd's sword crashed into Dart's armor hard enough to throw him backward. Then, as Dart stood, Lloyd gripped his sword with two hands and held it vertically in front of himself. He swung it in a slow clockwise circle, then stopped with it diagonally down to the left. He charged faster than Dart could react to and slashed upward, hurling Dart into the air, then jumped, slashing him five more times in under a second, then slashed downward, sending Dart crashing down on his back before landing and leaping backward away from him as Dart struggled to stand.

Cade's jaw dropped, as did Lavitz and Shana's. That was impossible. No human should be able to fight like that. It just wasn't possible. Humans shouldn't be fast enough to be able to pull something like that off.

Dart pushed himself up and Lloyd grinned, gripping his sword with both hands. Dart raised his own and both charged. However, when Dart moved to strike, Lloyd suddenly began to move so fast that Cade actually lost track of him for a moment, only catching the flash of his blade as three almost-simultaneous impacts rang out, then Lloyd was behind Dart and Dart slowed to a stop. He looked back at Lloyd, only to drop his own sword and collapse.

"Oh my god!" Lavitz said. "What was that?"

"He's so strong!" Shana gasped.

"He's a monster," Cade said. He glanced at Rose, seeing the gears working in her head as well. "He's almost as good as you, Rose."

Rose rolled her eyes. "You're back to that again, huh?"

"I'm a fan of telling the truth when I'm talking to beautiful women," Cade shrugged as the fighters who got the highest all made their way into the arena. Lloyd was in first, Dart in second, then Haschel was in third. The archer Dart fought had also technically placed third, but apparently he had left after his match, so it was only the three of them. Once the placements were announced, Lavitz headed for the waiting room to get Dart.

"I wonder who Lloyd is," Shana said. "He seemed familiar somehow."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Cade said. "There's a good chance we'll never meet him again."

"Do you really believe that?" Rose asked quietly as Shana walked toward the waiting room's stairs to wait for Dart.

"I'm not sure," Cade said. "I could feel...something, about Lloyd. Something seemed...off, somehow. And yet, at the same time, I couldn't sense him at all. I can feel the people around me, and yet to my...gift, or whatever it is, he seemed...almost like a ghost. There, and yet not. Confused."

Rose nodded. "He sort of reminds me of you. The same silver hair, the same sword, and you both wear black, even if you do hide yours under that poncho."

"Wearing the same color clothes doesn't make people the same," Cade said. "Otherwise, I'd wear blue so that I could be more like you."

Rose shook her head. "I suppose I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

"A little bit," Cade smirked.

They turned to the others as Dart and Lavitz returned, along with Haschel.

"Dart, congratulations on second place!" Shana cheered instantly.

"Thanks," Dart smiled. "I wish I could have won first prize for you."

"It's okay, Dart," Shana beamed. "You looked very cool! Besides, just having you safe is enough for me." She glanced at Haschel. "So, who's this?"

"You only watched Dart, didn't you?" Haschel asked, smiling knowingly. "Oh well." He chuckled as she began to apologize. "Don't worry, it's universal. Girls in love are blind."

Shana's face flushed instantly, but Dart simply sighed.

"It's not like that," Dart said. "You haven't changed at all, Haschel." He turned back to Shana. "He's never serious, except when he's fighting."

"That's not...that's true," Haschel conceded. "But the goal of my journey is a serious one. I am looking for my daughter, who ran away."

"It was a four years ago when we met," Dart said. "It was when I was on my quest pursuing the Black Monster."

Cade noticed Rose's eyes narrow slightly, though her face remained stoic otherwise.

"That tootsie over there is your friend too?" Haschel asked, smiling kindly at her.

"Don't 'tootsie' me," Rose said flatly. "My name is Rose."

Haschel looked between the two of them several times before turning to Dart. "So, which one of them is your sweetheart?"

"W-What are you talking about!?" Dart stammered, face darkening. "Besides, I told you about Shana many times!"

"Did you?" Haschel asked, humming thoughtfully. "So, you still think of her as your baby sister?"

Shana blushed, but held her hands to her chest, staring at the ground.

"Stop that!" Dart scolded Haschel.

Cade sighed. "Dart, how about you and Shana go and see the sights around the arena. Apparently there should be several games you can play. While you're doing that, I can go with Rose."

"Excuse me?" Rose asked, crossing her arms. "And why would I agree to that?"

"Because there's something you and I need to discuss anyway," Cade said. 'Wouldn't you agree?"

Rose narrowed her eyes, her right hand's fingers twitching as she resisted the urge to reach for her sword. "Fine. I'll go with you."

Cade nodded and glanced at the others as Dart and Shana walked away, Haschel and Lavitz leaving the arena area together. Cade looked around, seeing a stall with a cabin scene inside of the open room. He walked over, Rose following, and the stall's owner explained it was a game in which a curtain would be lowered, and then when it rose, they'd have to spot what the owner changed.

"So, what did you think we should talk about?" Rose asked, left hand on her rapier's grip.

"You don't trust me," Cade said. "I understand your reasoning. You're a very practical person, and I told you all next to nothing about myself when we met and I asked to be allowed to travel with you within five minutes of meeting. Not to mention that what I did tell you about myself was partially a lie. I'm sorry for that, by the way."

"Get to the point," Rose said flatly. "I don't have time for a sob story about you wanting me to trust you."

"But I do want you to trust me," Cade said. "I don't like having to lie or hide things from someone as beautiful as you."

Rose's eyes narrowed slightly, and her grip on her sword tightened. "Is now really the best time to try and flirt with me? You haven't given me a single reason to trust you."

"I know," Cade said. "That's why I needed to get you alone. You're not like the others. You've seen and experienced things they can't imagine. I can tell just from looking you in the eye, let alone sensing the incredible amounts of pain I can from you. I don't know what your life has been like, and I can't even begin to imagine. But, I'd like to tell you about mine. Everything. Then, after, you can decide what I do next. Whether I stay and continue to help, whether I leave, or whether I should die. If you allow me to tell you everything, I'll do whatever you decide I should."

Rose watched him for a moment before nodding just as the curtain rose. "The animal head, the fire place, and the painting."

Cade raised an eyebrow. He would have only said the animal head. However, the stall's owner told them that Rose was correct and gave them three tickets, explaining they could be exchanged at a counter by the exit for prizes, assuming they had enough.

"Thank you," Cade smiled as they walked away.

"Okay, now start talking," Rose said.

Cade nodded. "Well, the first thing I should tell you is, I'm not human. Not fully, at least. I'm half Wingly."

Rose stared at him, eyes wide with surprise.

"Is that really so surprising?" Cade asked.

"It would explain why the Dragon's poison didn't affect you," Rose said. "Your magic protected you. But other than that, and your silver hair, which also isn't a definitive sign of your species, you've never showed any sign of being anything besides human."

"That's because I didn't want anyone to know," Cade said. "For a variety of reasons." He sighed as they stopped at a game involving guessing which man had a bird under his hat every time the three of them shuffled their position. "My mother was a Wingly, living in the Forest of Winglies in Mille Seseau. It's one of two homes that remain for the Winglies, hidden from the rest of the world." He paused his story to guess which man had the bird, winning them more tickets before they began to wander again. "However, my mother didn't fear or despise humans, as most of the others in the forest did. In fact, she felt they had been correct to fight the Winglies. She also was a firm believer that Humans and Winglies could live in peace now that the war was over and so far in the past. So, she left the Forest. She met a human and fell in love with him, but he was killed by a monster.

"After his death, she tried to return to the Forest, but she had been banished for leaving, and was turned away. She began to wander, and eventually saved a traveling merchant and fell in love with him. Together, they conceived a child. However, before I was born, he was attacked by bandits and killed. She killed them in return, then found a home in a small village and had me. We live there for years before bandits attacked the village. My mother fought them, but they had tamed monsters and used them in the attack, so my mother had to use her magic. The villagers feared her power, so they drove us out. I didn't understand why at the time. We traveled for a time, my mother teaching me to fight with a sword, as well as to wield my magic. It was weaker than hers, since I was only half Wingly, but I studied hard, and mastered whatever she taught me.

"But I was young. The first village we tried to live in, I found a friend and showed him what I could do. He told his parents, and they drove us out of the village. The next village, I used my power to defend a mother and her newborn child. We were driven out again. My mother explained that humans naturally fear things they can't understand, and that if I wanted to live with them, I needed to keep what I was hidden. So I did. I got good at hiding it. But we had begun to live away from the humans while my mother trained me. Because of that, the humans shunned us when we visited the village, simply because of rumors about her being a witch, rumors that started only because we lived in the woods."

He stopped, leaning on the railing around the arena, staring down into it as he saw nothing but memories.

"One day, I had a nightmare," he said. "The world was swallowed by darkness, and all I could hear were the voices of hundreds of thousands crying out in fear and despair. When the shadow faded, there was nothing left but a scorched, burning landscape, molten rock and lava covering almost everything. When I woke, I could still feel the dread, the darkness, the shadow, slowly spreading to blanket the world. I'd felt shadows before, but never like this. Those felt made me feel cold and fearful, but this felt hopeless. The dread was nearly suffocating, and the cold seeped into every fiber of my being, leaving me shivering and pale even in the sun. My mother understood that what I was feeling was very real, and very dangerous, though we didn't know what it was, so she made a decision. She taught me a spell to absorb, or to give away, a Wingly's magic power."

"That's possible?" Rose asked.

"It is," Cade nodded. "It's an ancient, and forbidden spell, but it's also a very powerful one. Even taking a small piece of a Wingly's power is fatal. As is giving it away. My mother taught me the spell, taught me everything she could, and then made me absorb her magic. I became stronger than she had been, but at the cost of her life."

"Why would she do that?" Rose asked.

"Because she knew that I had to go and find out what was causing the shadow, but that if I didn't absorb her power, I would never survive the journey," Cade said. "I tried to refuse, so she used a marionette spell to force me."

"I'm sorry," Rose said sincerely. "That must have been hard."

"It was," Cade said. "But it was for the best. It gave me the strength I needed to go on my journey, it strengthened my soul, so that sensing the shadow was no longer slowly killing me, as it had been before, and it eventually led me to the most beautiful woman I've ever known."

Rose rolled her eyes. "You really are stubborn, you know that?"

Cade smiled as they stopped at an open room with two trees cut outs and several bushes set up across the middle of the room, small openings lining the halls in the back and sides.

"What kind of game is this?' Cade asked.

"You throw balls at monkeys, they throw balls back," the game's owner said. "The more you hit, the better your score, and the more tickets you win."

"Sounds fun," Cade said, handing him a ticket, the man passing him a leather pouch filled with red rubber balls.

Then, as soon as Cade had one in his hand, the man tapped on the wall of the room. Monkeys swarmed into the small room instantly, hurling white rubber balls at him. Cade yelped, avoiding them and hurling his own back quickly. He didn't bother trying to count how many monkeys he hit, or how many times he avoided being hit. He just focused on not being hit. Then, after nearly ten minutes, a ball hit him in the eye then a dozen more hit him in the head and upper chest, knocking him backward. He groaned, rubbing his eye and looked up, seeing Rose standing over him, one eyebrow raised.

"Your turn," he said, holding up the pouch.

Rose's eyebrow climbed before she accepted the pouch. The monkeys quickly gathered their balls and set up the cut-out plants, a couple of which had been knocked over at one point, and Cade and Rose gathered Rose's balls. Then, Cade accepted his winnings, using one of the four tickets he'd won to pay Rose's way. The monkeys emerged and Rose began to launch her projectiles while avoiding there with the same fluid, beautiful grace with which she wielded her sword. She was untouchable, all but dancing around the monkeys' balls while every one of hers found its mark, often hitting at the same moment as the monkey was emerging from its hole. Finally, after nearly twenty minutes of this, the monkeys suddenly stopped coming out. Rose stopped, raising an eyebrow and the stall's owner tapped on the wall, only for a monkey to emerge long enough to send a ball into the stall owner's head. He shook his head, then laughed.

"I guess that means you win," he laughed.

"That was amazing, Rose!" Cade grinned. "You were incredible!"

"I was just throwing things and not letting them hit me," Rose shrugged.

"Maybe from your perspective," Cade said. "From ours it was amazing. You move with the grace of a dancer!"

"It's nothing special," Rose said. "I don't even know how to dance." She looked around. "Let's go find something else to do."

Cade nodded, accepting the ten tickets Rose had won, and they continued wandering. As they walked, Rose glanced at Cade.

"What plans do you have for Dart and the others?" Rose asked.

"Do whatever I can to help them," Cade said. "I'll do my best to find out the source of the shadow and stop it. In the mean time, I have this...feeling that I'll be able to get closer to my goal by following them. Plus, I want to spend some time getting to know you."

Rose sighed, shaking her head as they reached an obstacle course. Cade grinned, giving Rose a challenging look and she rolled her eyes, then nodded.

"Fine," Rose said. "Let's get this over with."

She handed over a ticket and followed a short path to the obstacle course's starting point, the course circling the arena, then started as soon as the game's owner gave the word. She didn't slow down past a jog the entire way, dodging around swinging logs, or ducking under spinning ones, just as gracefully and beautifully as she had the balls those monkeys had been throwing. Cade watched her in unveiled awe as she rapidly made her way through the obstacle course. She flew along, avoiding every obstacle perfectly, and within less than a minute, she had won. Cade shook his head, smiling widely as the man running the obstacle course stared at her in shock.

"You're incredible!" the man said.

"Thanks," Rose said, not sounding especially sincere. "Your turn."

"Oh, there's no way I'm beating your time," Cade said, handing off a ticket and stepping forward.

As soon as man gave the word, he was off. He pushed himself hard, allowing himself to act to his full capacity, rather than restricting his movements and speed to a human level. He hoped Rose decided to let him stay. Even when she was being cold, it was nice being around someone as beautiful as her. He also hoped she would start to trust him a bit more. It would be nice to be able to actually get to know her. She was such a mystery.

He saw the finish line and grinned, breaking out into a sprint. However, just shy of it, a log crashed into his left side, throwing him to the ground. He groaned miserably, thumping the bottom of his fist on the ground before standing and walking back to Rose. Her face was neutral, but he could see the tiny spark of smugness in her eyes. He rolled his.

"Oh hush, Rose," he said. "I believe we've already addressed how incredibly amazing you are, and how no one can even come close to matching you at anything."

Rose rolled her eyes just as several small rodents ran past on a wooden track above them. Both followed them to a small booth where people could bet on which would win. Cade grinned.

"I may have spoken too soon," Cade said.

Rose snorted in amusement, but when he looked, her face was still neutral.

"Did you just laugh?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"No," Rose said flatly.

He watched her for another moment before huffing and walking toward the stand. When they arrived, they both bet two tickets on two of the three rodents and all three took off as soon as the gate opened. Cade grinned instantly as his rodent began to quickly pull ahead.

"Looks like I might actually beat you at something," Cade grinned.

"You realize this says nothing about either of our abilities, right?" Rose asked.

"Hey, let me have my small victory," Cade said, only for his face to fall as his rodent tripped and Rose's sped past his winning. "Oh for fuck's sake!"

"Looks like even the rodents know who deserves to win," Rose said.

Cade grinned. "Hurtful, but I'm glad to know you're enjoying yourself."

Rose rolled her eyes. "So, what next? Should I beat you at another game?"

"Actually, I was thinking about finding a quiet place to drown my failure in alcohol," Cade said. "I certainly wouldn't mind having someone as beautiful as you as company, though. And obviously I'd pay for yours."

Rose shook her head. "What is it with you today?"

Cade shrugged, walking away. "Coming?"

Rose sighed, nodding and following him away from the arena. After a few minutes of searching, and asking one person for directions, they finally reached one of Lohan's many bars, finding it largely empty, as it was a smaller one that was out of the way compared to the rest. They walked to the bar and sat down, both of them ordering a drink. As the bartender walked away, Cade sipped at his drink and smiled. It was more bitter, than he usually preferred, but it was also a bit stronger than he usually got. He liked it. He glanced at Rose, who was staring straight ahead, lost in thought and a slightly forlorn expression on her face.

"Am I really that bad of company?" he asked, Rose looking over at him with a frown. "Someone as beautiful as you shouldn't be looking like that."

Rose shook her head. "You really don't know when to quit, do you?"

Cade smiled. "Not usually, no. Especially if it's worth the effort to not."

Rose rolled her eyes.

"But I will if you want, on one condition," Cade said.

"What's that?" Rose asked skeptically.

"You have to ask nicely," Cade said. "And you have to smile. For real, though."

Rose sighed, shaking her head. "You really are the worst. I'm not going to smile just because you ask."

"Oh, I know," Cade said. "If you did, it wouldn't be real. It'd probably still be beautiful, but it wouldn't be real. For it to be real, you have to smile because you want to."

Rose sighed, taking another drink. "Well, I'm not doing it."

"Then I get to continue flirting," Cade grinned victoriously, Rose leveling him with an unimpressed look. "Just admit it. I worked that choice perfectly. Either I get to successfully make you smile, in which case I'm satisfied, or you essentially give me permission to flirt with you. And giving permission to flirt is, in effect, flirting back."

His grin grew as Rose's eyes narrowed, though the corner of her lip twitched slightly.

"What was that?" He asked, eyes widening dramatically. "Was that you trying not to smile?"

Rose's lips pulled tight, and she turned back to her drink. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I don't know why you try to fight it," Cade said. "I'm sure your smile's absolutely dazzling, every bit as beautiful as you are."

Rose took a drink, but her cheeks were starting to darken slightly.

"Well whataya know," Cade smiled. "You're cute when you blush."

Rose's cheeks darkened, but she shot him a venomous, warning look. Cade simply grinned proudly.

"I can accept that as a victory for today," Cade smiled. "My heart could probably only handle so much beauty for one day anyway." He turned back to his own drink as Rose glared at him.

"What is it with you?" Rose asked. "What do you even want from me?"

"I want to erase the pain in your eyes," Cade said, Rose instantly taken aback. "I want my friend's suffering to end so that she can live her life happily. I want to help her remember how to smile, and I want to be there to protect her smile."

Rose stared at him in surprise as he finished his drink and signaled the bartender for another. "You..."

"I don't know what you've gone through, Rose," Cade said. "I can't even begin to imagine. But whatever it was, it hurt you. It probably damn near broke you. So you hardened your heart and cast away your feelings to protect yourself. But no one should have to live like that. I want to be able to help you bear whatever burden you carry, and I want to teach you how to feel happy again. To feel like you belong. I know what it's like to feel like you don't have a home, and I know how to recognize when someone else feels it. So no matter what you say, or how cold you try to act toward me, I'm going to be right here. If you don't have a home, then I'll be yours."

Rose swallowed hard before finishing her own drink. "You're a naive child who doesn't understand anything."

"Maybe I am," Cade said. "But even so, I will still do whatever I can to help you. Even if it means my journey ends."

Rose stared at him for a moment before gritting her teeth. "You're a fool. You really don't understand. How would losing someone else help me stop suffering?"

"Depends on how that person dies, and why," Cade said. "I don't plan to die, but if dying will help you, then I'm not afraid to."

Rose grit her teeth before standing and walking out of the bar. Cade sighed, finishing his drink before following.


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